Chapter 6
The Nightmares
A couple of days have passed since Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters had their exploration with Team Charm at Aegis Cave. On one stormy night, the five pokémon sat on their beds and had a conversation with each other at their home in Sharpedo Bluff while it was raining outside with occasional flashes of lightning strikes.
"This storm, although scary, is a good refresher for all of us," insisted Leon.
"It's been a while since we had one here, after all," replied Blaze. "Now, Team Go-Getters, I know we mentioned this story of ours to you before...but our big adventure had involved me and Leon stopping the destruction of time from happening."
"Yeah," Ian said, "it feels like it happened such a long time ago."
"That's right," Leon responded. "Basically, Blaze and I went to the future once to see what a paralyzed world looked like, then we fought Dialga at the top of Temporal Tower to put the Time Gears in place to restore time and prevent its paralysis. Thinking about our adventure now really does make it feel like those things really happened a long time ago. Now that time has completely returned to normal, and peace has come to the world..."
The piplup realized something from his statement.
"Wait! That reminds me! Since time has returned to normal...it became possible for everyone to evolve at Luminous Spring again! Well, except both me and Blaze, unfortunately. When we were at the spring, the voice over there told us that we couldn't evolve because of a distortion in the fabric of space. I still have no idea what that 'distortion' thing means..."
"He's right," Blaze said. "Time may be back to normal, but there are some things that are still outta whack around here."
"Well, don't take it too hard, guys," insisted Ian. "I mean, look at us! We haven't evolved yet, either!"
"Yep! We still want to keep our adorable appearances intact for a while longer!" said Chikorita.
"Uh-huh!" Charmander said next. "Still being cute in your current evolution is what matters more than enhanced strength!"
"I guess so!" Leon replied with a smile.
"Me too!" Blaze agreed.
A sound of lightning startled everybody, as the storm got a little more intense.
"Boy! I think we better get to sleep right away!" insisted Blaze. "The storm's getting a bit worse around here!"
"I agree, Blaze!" Leon replied.
Everyone else agreed, as they said "good night" and laid on their own beds to get to sleep.
Elsewhere in a forest outside of Treasure Town, an unknown floating pokémon observed the town in the pouring rain…
"Things are proceeding nicely..." the pokémon said with a deep and ominous male voice. "This forest's distortion in the very fabric of space itself is growing. If the distortion itself expands further...my own power will be amplified! Even though I failed to destroy time...things will be much different now."
He sensed that another pokémon was coming his way.
"Someone is approaching me! It's Cresselia...the persistent pest who wants to foil my plan! I mustn't be caught...not ever!"
He floated away from the forest to escape capture from Cresselia, who appeared floating into the area. She had two purple rings around her body, with one on top and one at the bottom. Her stomach was colored purple, while her head was yellow and shaped like a half-moon. She looked around the forest for the mysterious pokémon, but to no avail.
"He got away again..." she began. "This is the closest I've ever gotten so far, but he always slips away. It may be impossible to catch him...but I can't give up now. He must be caught before the fabric of space is completely distorted, and before the world is thrown back into turmoil! I must do whatever it takes...to stop Darkrai!"
She floated away from the forest to continue searching for Darkrai…
The storm had cleared the next morning, as the sun shone brightly on Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters' home at Sharpedo Bluff. They all rose feeling refreshed and energized as usual, as they grabbed their belongings and got ready for another exciting day of exploration jobs.
Once the day had ended, the teams were fast asleep in their beds for another night. Leon, however, was starting to have a dream…
He saw a colorful environment that had nothing else but a swirl of different colors that changed frequently in his dream.
"I think I'm in a dream here..." he said.
Suddenly, a pokémon with purple rings around her body appeared in front of Leon…
"Who are you?"
"I am Cresselia."
"You're Cresselia?"
Ignoring Leon's question, the lunar pokémon went on to say something ominous to the piplup…
"Your very existence is...pushing the world toward ruin."
"I'm pushing the world...to ruin?!" He looked absolutely shocked by her accusation. "How am I doing that?!"
"Because you are in this world."
Suddenly, Leon's vision flashed white as he cried out in pain.
"...And you...exist here..." Cresselia continued. "If you remain here..."
Another flash occurred.
"The world will be destroyed!"
Leon's vision flashed a couple of times before he screamed while a third flash ended his dream…
He woke up by darting out of his bed as he yelped, panting heavily from the nightmarish dream he had. After a few moments, he calmed himself down and tried to process what had happened.
"W-what was that?!"
Leon looked around the bluff to see that everyone else was still sleeping soundly.
"Everyone's still asleep, I suppose..."
He sat back down on his bed to go back to thinking about the dream.
"Was that a dream that I just had? If it was...then it was an unusual one I had."
Leon shook his head.
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it… It's not even dawn yet...so I'll try and get some more sleep."
He lay back down on his bed and went back to sleep.
Another morning came, and this time, Blaze appeared to me more cheerful in saying his "good mornings" to the rest of the gang. Despite noticing it happen, they decided to ignore it and smile widely. They got ready for yet another day of exploration.
After today's explorations, the teams were once again in their beds sleeping during the night. However, Leon had yet another dream as he tossed and turned…
"Oh no, not again..." he said.
He found himself back at the colorful surroundings, as Cresselia appeared once more…
"You said you were Cresselia...right?"
The lunar pokémon nodded in agreement, as Leon spoke again.
"Cresselia, please tell me more...about what you said last time. You said that my existence is driving the world toward ruin. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"You are a former human that came from the future. You are not of this world of the past, and therefore, you are creating the distortion in the fabric of space."
Leon was understandably shocked by another unbelievable accusation made by a pokémon who appeared to be nice...
"I'm creating a distortion...in the fabric of space?!"
"If it were to expand...this world would be ruined."
The piplup found it hard to fathom on the idea.
"The distortion of space...w-will ruin the world..."
"You are a presence that must not exist in this world!"
Cresselia started to disappear from Leon's dream…
"You must...not...be here..."
"W-wait! Please, tell me more!"
She vanished from his sight, as Leon struggled to keep his dream going. Eventually, he fell asleep, but he had a hard time sleeping through the rest of the night.
The next morning, Leon felt Blaze trying to wake him up.
"Hey, Leon...c'mon, wake up."
The piplup slowly opened his eyes as his chimchar pal shook him a bit, urging him to get up.
"Wake up, pal!" Blaze said with a more urgent tone. "It's already late in the morning!"
Realizing this, Leon rose up quickly as he used his flippers to clear his eyes of the sleep he had left in him. He looked around to see that Team Go-Getters had appeared to already get a head start on their explorations today. The piplup then turned to Blaze.
"Hey, Blaze…where are Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita?"
"They already left and went to do their jobs today! They were worried about you, but I told 'em that you were eventually gonna be fine."
"Thanks for encouraging 'em..."
"Never mind that, Leon. Come and take a look at the sky!"
Leon had noticed that Blaze was again unusually cheerful than ever before, as he and the piplup looked out of the jaw of the bluff to witness the clear blue skies and the sun that shone brightly. After a few moments, Leon turned away to think about second dream he had last night…
That dream felt strangely real… he thought. I was told that I can't exist in this world… In my dream...Cresselia said that if the distortion in the fabric of space expanded...the world would be destroyed.
A light went on in Leon's mind, as he had an expression of alarm.
Wait! The distortion of space! We heard that somewhere before! It was at Luminous Spring where we were told that I was somehow connected to the distortion of space!
The piplup had a somber look on his face, as Blaze turned back to him. Leon continued to think to himself…
In that case…then what I heard about my existence ruining the world… Maybe...it could be true. Merely by existing here, I might cause the world's destruction. Is this what I am here…?
Blaze snapped Leon out of his thoughts.
"Why are you daydreaming, Leon? It's not like you."
The piplup turned to the chimchar, as Blaze now appeared to have a big smile.
"C'mon, Leon! Let's see some energy!"
Leon decided to smile too, as he thought to himself once more.
Blaze's even peppier than usual… but he could be right, though. It's still not completely certain whether I'll destroy the world or not! There's just no point in feeling sorry for myself...so I gotta cheer up!
"I'm fired up for today's explorations!" Leon said out loud to Blaze.
"That's the Leon I know! Let's make this another successful day!"
Team Poképals went out of the bluff to try and get started for today's exploration jobs. As they got on the cliff and started to make their way into Treasure Town, Bidoof came running toward them.
"Hi y'all! Hold up! There's big trouble, by golly!"
He stopped in front of Leon and Blaze, as he panted heavily before he spoke again. He had a look of worry on his face
"I'm glad I caught you both! I reckoned you were about ready to go out for the day..."
"What's wrong, Bidoof?" Leon wondered. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Th-there's trouble afoot! Little Azurill...is in trouble!"
"Azurill's in trouble?!" Leon and Blaze both exclaimed in alarm.
"Yup yup! They brought him into the guild to try and see what was wrong with him!"
"Then we gotta hurry and get over there!" Blaze said with a determined look.
The three pokémon rushed to Wigglytuff's Guild to check on Azurill.
Once they arrived in the guild, Bidoof followed Leon and Blaze into their old room, as they saw a worried crowd gather around Azurill. Team Go-Getters was also there among the group, as they, in fact, did not leave for their exploration today. They were somehow alerted by one of the magnemite officers, also present in the room, to check on poor Azurill who was on a bed. Leon and Blaze got a closer look on him and were alarmed by his condition.
"Oh no!" the piplup began. "Will Azurill be okay?"
"I hope so..." Sunflora answered. "There seems to be no danger to his life, but..."
She tried to say back up her claim, but had no further explanation.
"What happened to him?!" questioned Blaze.
Marill turned to Team Poképals.
"He's been sleeping and sleeping..." he replied, "...but he won't wake up."
"What?!" exclaimed Leon and Blaze. "He won't wake up?!"
"Yes… I tried to wake him over and over, but he's still asleep. I got so worried for him that I brought him to the guild here."
Azurill tossed and turned frequently, as he moaned softly. He appeared to be suffering in his deep sleep.
"He seems to be tormented by something..." assumed Blaze.
"He's been like that the whole time he's been asleep," replied Marill. "It's almost as if he's suffering...could he be having a bad dream?"
"Hey, hey, that could be it," said Corphish. "The way the little fellow is tossing and turning, it looks like he's having a nightmare."
Team Poképals turned to Chatot.
"Hey, Chatot," Leon began, "do you know how we can wake up Azurill?"
"Unfortunately...I've got no fresh ideas too," the parrot replied. "To be locked in a nightmare...and being unable to wake for days on end...is honestly something I've never heard of before."
"Since he's asleep," Chimecho inserted, "we can't feed him anything like berries. We're simply at our wit's end on trying to come up with a cure."
"You'd think you could know a way of getting rid of a nightmare..." Corphish said.
"Uhhh...everyone, can I say something?" said a nervous Bidoof. Everyone turned to him.
"Whatcha got, Bidoof?" wondered Loudred.
"I've been thinkin'… Since we can't make the nightmare go away...if we somehow figure out what kinda nightmare he's havin'...maybe we can figure out why that little Azurill can't wake up."
"Oh, RIGHT! So we should LOOK into Azurill's dream!" Loudred got a little annoyed by Bidoof's suggestion. "How do we look inside a DREAM?!"
"Yikes! I'm sorry!"
"Actually..." Chatot cut in. "That might be possible."
Everyone turned to him in alarm.
"WHAT?!"
"Hey, hey! How do we do it?!" questioned Corphish.
"We find Drowzee," answered Chatot. "If anyone can do it, he can."
"Drowzee, huh..." wondered Leon as he put a flipper on his beak. After a few seconds, he realized who that pokémon was.
"Wait! That's it! He's the first outlaw pokémon that Blaze and I managed to capture back at Mt. Bristle to save Azurill!"
"But...why Drowzee?" Blaze said.
"This is only a rumor," Chatot insisted, "but pokémon around here say that he has the amazing ability to enter someone's dreams.
Everybody was surprised by the parrot's implication.
"Really?!" exclaimed Leon. "He can enter dreams?"
"As I said," replied Chatot, "it's a strict rumor, so I wouldn't say that it's the truth. However, the possibility does exist."
"I get it," Blaze said. "So if we were to ask Drowzee...maybe he'll be able to get into Azurill's nightmare!"
Team Poképals turned to the magnemite officer.
"Hey, Magnemite," Leon began, "what became of Drowzee after you guys arrested him?"
Everyone turned to the officer as he spoke.
"He was subject to intense grilling by Sheriff Magnezone, as Drowzee expressed remorse and vowed to never break the law again. We released him as a result of that."
"Did he really straighten out, though?" questioned Corphish. "Hey, hey, it sounds sketchy to me!"
"Now's not the time to be quibbling over that, Corphish!" announced Sunflora. She directed her attention back to the magnemite officer. "Where's Drowzee now, Magnemite?"
"He has gone away to cleanse his mind and spirit at Mt. Travail." the officer answered. "He stated that he would study self-discipline there."
"Mt. Travail is located in the mountainous region," stated Chimecho.
"So that's where Drowzee is now," Blaze said.
He and Leon turned to each other with determined expressions on their faces.
"That's right, Blaze!" the piplup replied. "We have to go to Mt. Travail and get Drowzee to help us!"
"Leon and Blaze..." Marill said, as he had tears in his eyes. The always heroic duo turned to him as he continued.
"You always, always help us...thank you so much."
"Don't worry, Marill," Leon replied. "We promise that we'll come back with Drowzee so we can get your brother out of his terrible sleep."
"It's decided, then~!" announced Wigglytuff. Everyone turned to him.
"We'll leave this crucial matter to Team Poképals here~! I know all of you are worried about Azurill...but let's have Leon and Blaze handle it themselves. All of you should go on as usual~!"
Chatot flapped his wings as he turned to the crowd.
"You heard the guildmaster, everybody! Let's get to work~!"
"YES, SIR!" the apprentices cheered.
Wigglytuff turned to Team Poképals again.
"Remember, both of you are in charge of finding Drowzee, so don't fail us~!"
Leon and Blaze turned to him.
"Understood, Wigglytuff!" they both announced.
Everyone, except the magnemite officer, Wigglytuff, Chatot, Marill, and Azurill, left Team Poképals' old room. When they arrived at the main room of the guild's quarters, Leon and Blaze spoke to Team Go-Getters about the situation that was currently unfolding.
"Man, it's pretty awful that poor little Azurill has gotten himself into a nightmare he can't wake up from..." began Leon.
"Yeah, I wonder what it could be causing it?" wondered Ian.
"Guys, how did you get word of Azurill's condition?" questioned Blaze.
"That magnemite officer told us to come to the guild just as soon as we were leaving town," Charmander answered. "He alerted us and we went into the guild with him."
"Judging by the way that poor little guy was tossing and turning on the bed," Chikorita inserted, "I can only hope that it's not too serious..."
"Well, we better not dwell on it too long, guys," Leon announced. "We should both do our jobs today and get 'em done as soon as we can!"
"Yeah!" everyone else cheered.
The two teams went up the ladder to go up one floor to the boards floor. While Team Go-Getters stayed behind to pick out their jobs, Team Poképals went ahead and out of the guild to go to Treasure Town to prepare for their trip to Mt. Travail and find Drowzee.
Since this was a mission to locate Drowzee on Mt. Travail, Leon and Blaze themselves only went into the dungeon, so that the former outlaw would not be scared off. The dungeon itself had around twenty floors of mainly fighting-type pokémon, which had no specific advantages or disadvantages to the duo, so they were at least level in battle. Leon and Blaze, however, still needed to hurry up to the summit.
When they eventually arrived at the summit of Mt. Travail, they saw Drowzee staring out at the landscape in front of him. Leon and Blaze approached him and greeted themselves. He turned around and was surprised to see the both of them.
"Whoa! It's b-both of you!" Drowzee exclaimed. "What did you come here for?! I kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of a life of crime!"
"Calm down, Drowzee!" instructed Leon. "We're not here to arrest you again. We need your help this time."
"You need my help?"
"Yup!" answered Blaze. "Do you remember little Azurill?"
Drowzee nodded his head, as the chimchar continued.
"He's been locked in a deep sleep and won't wake up!"
Drowzee gasped in alarm, as Leon spoke next with a concerned expression on his face.
"No one knows why Azurill won't wake up. It was at the guild that you, Drowzee, can possibly enter dreams, and that's why we searched for you."
"So, Drowzee," Blaze said, "can you please help us?"
Feeling overwhelmed by the request, the hypnosis pokémon gave it a careful thought before he gave out his answer with a look of regret on his face.
"I...did a rotten thing to that little Azurill way back when… I don't know if doing this would ever make up for it...but if it would help Azurill even a little...I'd be glad to help. I'm not sure how useful I can be now...but I'll certainly be proud to try and help out."
Leon and Blaze had a big smile on their face.
"That's great to hear, Drowzee!" Leon replied.
"Then let's not waste any more time!" the hypnosis pokémon announced. "Lead me to Azurill!"
Team Poképals turned around and made their way back down Mt. Travail with Drowzee following them.
Back at Leon and Blaze's old room, Drowzee, examined Azurill carefully for a few moments, while the duo, along with Marill, watched anxiously.
"Okay, Leon and Blaze," Drowzee said after a while, "I want both of you to get stocked up for an exploration into Azurill's dream!"
"Yes!" Leon exclaimed in excitement. "We can do something about his dream, after all!"
"That's right! It's completely possible to get into his dream."
Team Poképals turned to Marill.
"Marill, we're about to tackle the mystery of your brother's unending nightmare!" Blaze said.
"That's great!" Marill replied with a smile, feeling cheered up.
"But I want both of you, Leon and Blaze, to be extra careful when you're inside Azurill's dream," warned Drowzee, as everyone else turned to him. "There's something rotten in there...and I have a feeling that's caused the dream to go bad, or worse than that."
"A-are you sure…?" questioned a concerned Blaze.
Drowzee nodded in agreement.
"Okay then," Leon said. "We'll be on our guard."
"One more thing..." The hypnosis pokémon added. "I want the two of you to enter the dream only. I'd go as well...but at my current skill level, I think I'd slow you down too much. I'm sorry I can't do anymore at this point, but..."
"Hey, it's fine!" insisted Blaze. "Sending us into the dream is more than enough!"
"Thanks for the help, Drowzee." Leon said. "We'll go and get ready for the trip into the dream."
Team Poképals turned around and made their way into Treasure Town to carefully prepare for the journey into Azurill's dream. They switched out some of their items by putting collected treasure chests away, and getting various food items to help out in battling pokémon that may be in the dream. When they got back to their old room, Drowzee transported Leon and Blaze into Azurill's dream, using his unique powers that Chatot talked about.
Once the duo was inside the dream, they could hear Drowzee's voice coming from above.
"Leon! Blaze! Can you hear me? It's me, Drowzee!"
"We hear you loud and clear!" the piplup announced.
"That's good. It sounds like both of you are safely inside. As I've said before, there's something very bad about this dream. Now, I don't think I need to remind you...but be very careful in there."
"Thanks for the advice, Drowzee!" shouted Blaze.
He and Leon turned to each other.
"Okay, Blaze," the piplup said. "Let's get deep within the dream and find out what's causing it!"
The chimchar nodded in agreement, as they both went deeper into Azurill's dream.
The dream itself was unusual, in that there was still a dungeon that Team Poképals had to navigate through in order to get into the deepest part to find out of what is causing it. There were just over fifteen floors of normal-type pokémon, which resembled some members of Wigglytuff's guild, albeit as negative beings that fed off from the dream. Not only that, but Leon and Blaze found their bellies emptying faster on every half mile they took venturing in the dream. They were thankful to have extra apples supplied in their team bag, just in case the trek in the dungeon took longer than they had planned.
Leon and Blaze eventually got to the depths of Azurill's nightmare, where they appeared to be in a never-ending wide hallway with purple walls and surfaces on each side.
"Looks like we've reached the deepest part of the dream, Leon." Blaze began.
"Yup. Let's look around for a moment..."
They browsed across the environment, hoping to see the source of the nightmare.
"Nothing yet," Leon said after a few moments, as he looked at what was ahead. "It appears as if it's just one long path from here..."
"Well, let's keep walking," suggested Blaze. "Maybe we'll get there."
Leon agreed, but just as he and his pal tried to go forward, the light in the area flashed black a couple of times, before it went completely dark.
"Ahhh! What's going on?!" shrieked Blaze.
An ominous voice began to speak…
"...You… How did you get here?"
"Be careful, Blaze!" warned Leon. "There's someone here!"
The piplup turned his attention to the voice.
"Who are you?! Show yourself at once!"
A couple flashes of white light occurred, then the entire lighting of the hallway came back, as Cresselia revealed herself! Team Poképals, startled by her appearance, jumped back a few feet.
"Hey! Are you…?" Blaze began.
"That's right...I am Cresselia!" the lunar pokémon confirmed.
It's her all right… Leon thought. She's the one from my dreams….
"I cannot begin to understand how both of you have come here," Cresselia continued, "but nevertheless, I find your visit ever so convenient! I have longed to meet both of you!"
"So, C-Cresselia...about my dreams..." Blaze said. "They weren't just ordinary ones after all..."
Leon turned to his best friend in shock.
What did you say?!
"Then what I saw in my dreams..." Blaze continued.
"Yes," Cresselia said. "What I told you in your dreams is true...both of you are not supposed to exist in this world."
Leon turned back to her.
"What?! You told him that too?!" he exclaimed.
Blaze turned to his friend.
"I knew this was going to happen, Leon..." he said.
The piplup turned to him once again, as he continued.
"I suspected that you and I were having the same dreams! I went to the future...then I came back to this world...to cause the world's destruction! That's what Cresselia here said in my dreams!"
"It wasn't just me that had those dreams!" exclaimed a shocked Leon, realizing the truth. "You've had 'em too, Blaze! Cresselia said that you're another presence that must not exist in this world!"
The two turned back to the lunar pokémon.
"Excuse me, Cresselia," Blaze began. "Could you please explain something for us? It's true that I traveled to the future and came back again...and that Leon was a former human who came from the future...but I don't get the idea of us causing the distortion in the fabric of space in our world. If space itself becomes distorted...why will the world be destroyed?"
"If the distortion in the fabric of space expands," Cresselia explained, "the power of darkness will expand as well. This will lead to the eventual envelopment of the world in a nightmare."
"The world will become enveloped within a nightmare?" questioned Leon.
"Yes. Do you know where we are at this very moment?"
"In Azurill's dream?" Blaze replied.
"That is correct," answered Cresselia. "More precisely, we are in his nightmare. He will remain trapped by the nightmare...never to awaken again. This nightmare will eventually creep across the world. For now, only Azurill is afflicted with the nightmare...but soon, other pokémon will be drawn in by the nightmare's widening web. More and more pokémon will fall into this never-ending sleep, until ultimately, everyone will be locked in this nightmare without end."
Leon and Blaze seemed shocked by this unimaginable idea.
"Everyone?!" they bellowed.
"Cresselia, we want to know what it will take to get rid of the distortion in the fabric of space," Leon said.
"Yeah!" Blaze responded. "How can it be eliminated?"
"There is but one way to eliminate the distortion," Cresselia began to answer. "Both of you...must be destroyed!"
"What?!" Leon and Blaze announced with utter shock. "Destroy us?!"
"Long have I waited for this opportunity..."
Cresselia slowly started to get close to the two pokémon…
"My opportunity...to destroy you both!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Leon demanded. "We don't want to be destroyed! We just want to know more about what's happening!"
"Are you saying that both of you would rather see all of the pokémon swallowed up by the nightmare?"
"That's not...what we want..." replied a nervous Blaze. "Is t-this really true, Cresselia? If we're destroyed...will the world really be saved?"
"Yes. It will be saved. It is your existence only...that is driving the world to ruin!"
Leon and Blaze grunted in worry, as Cresselia got very close to them!
"Please forgive me...but this must be done! Prepare for your destruction!"
She reared back and got ready for her attack!
"The world must be saved once and for all!"
The duo prepared for their certain doom, when suddenly, a voice rang out, interrupting Cresselia's attack.
"Hey, Leon and Blaze! Where are you?"
The lunar pokémon grunted in frustration as she stepped back from Team Poképals.
"Curses! I was interrupted, just as my work here was nearly finished!"
She floated a few feet away from them.
"Even though I failed this time...I will see to the destruction of both of you! Of course, if you wish to save the world on your own...consider eliminating yourselves first. Farewell."
Cresselia vanished in front of Team Poképals, as they dropped to the ground on their backsides in relief.
"Man, that was close..." Leon said.
"There you are!" the voice rang out from behind.
Leon and Blaze got back up and turned around to see that it was Drowzee who came running to them.
"I-it's you, Drowzee!" the chimchar said. "What are you doing here?"
"Both of you were taking so long to come back that I got worried." the hypnosis pokémon answered. "I had to be brave and come looking for you."
He looked around the area before he turned back to the duo.
"There's something dangerous about this place. We shouldn't stay here much longer. Let's get back outside to the guild for now."
Leon and Blaze nodded in agreement, as Drowzee transported himself and the two out of Azurill's dream.
Not long after the three pokémon got out of the dream, the rest of the guild, along with Team Go-Getters, went into Team Poképals' old room to get the story about their trip. They explained to everyone what transpired in the dream for a few minutes, until Chatot spoke up.
"...I see. Both of you encountered Cresselia...and she said that Azurill's nightmare is caused by the distortion in the fabric of space."
"That's right," replied Leon.
"It nothing is done about it...all pokémon will join Azurill in a never-ending sleep. That's what Cresselia said, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes..." Blaze answered with a somber look.
Chatot flapped his wings in alarm as he squawked.
"If all of that is true...this is terrible trouble indeed! We have to do something!"
"So, Chatot, do you know about Cresselia?" questioned Leon.
"Yes, but I only know her from rumors only. From what I've heard, it is said that she appears only during the night of the quarter moon. It is also said that this pokémon can heal others' emotional scars simply with the gentle light from her body."
"But...she didn't sound so kind to us when we were in the dream, though!" insisted Blaze.
"There is one more thing about Cresselia," Chatot continued. "She is said to possess a mystical power that can banish darkness."
"The power to banish darkness, huh..." Leon wondered.
"Hey, hey! Let me get this straight," Corphish interrupted. "If we don't do somethin' soon, all of the pokémon in the entire world are gonna fall asleep forever? If that's so, it means we need to do somethin' now to fix the space distortion!"
Everyone had a comment or two about the idea in panic for a few moments.
"Everybody, settle down!" announced Drowzee.
The crowd quieted themselves as he spoke again.
"Now, Leon and Blaze," The two turned to Drowzee. "Did Cresselia say anything about how the distortion of space can be stopped?"
They were both alarmed by being asked that ominous question.
"What?!"
"Er...how to stop the distortion of space?!" Blaze nervously said.
"Whoa! Why are you being jumpy about this?" questioned Drowzee. "Was it something weird that I asked about?"
"N-no, it's nothing..." Leon insisted. "We were thinking about something else..."
"So, uh...a way of stopping the distortion of space..." Blaze said.
He thought hard about it, but he decided that he didn't want to reveal the terrible truth and solution to everyone here.
"N-nope! I don't remember Cresselia saying a single thing about that!"
"I see, then..." Drowzee responded. "That is rather unfortunate..."
"Not to worry, everybody~!" Wigglytuff announced, as they all turned to him. "We'll look into the distortion of space together~! If we don't we won't be able to stop the nightmare from spreading~!"
The guildmaster turned to Chatot.
"Chatot, wrap it up!"
The parrot turned to the crowd as he flapped his wings to dismiss them.
"Okay, everyone! We'll disband for the day. Starting tomorrow, you are to individually investigate the distortion of space itself!"
The guild members nodded in agreement as everybody, except Marill and Azurill, made their way out of the room to get rest for tonight.
When Team Go-Getters and Team Poképals got back to Sharpedo Bluff, it was already nighttime. Leon and Blaze waited for Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita to fall asleep, so that they could go to the top of the bluff to have a discussion to themselves only. The chimchar appeared to be ashamed as he first started the conversation with a grunt of frustration.
"When we were back at the guild...Drowzee had asked us if we knew how the distortion of space could be stopped...but I lied! I didn't even think twice about it!"
"We should know that there is a way to stop the distortion!" Leon replied.
"But...that's for us to be gone from this world," answered Blaze, with a tone of regret present in his voice. "I just couldn't bring myself to say that. I have to wonder now though...is this something we really must tell everyone about?"
He turned away from Leon, who had a somber expression on his face. After a few moments, Blaze turned back to his best friend to continue their conversation.
"So, Leon...what should we do now? If we were to eliminate ourselves...would the world be saved? If that's the case...then maybe it's the right thing to do so..."
"Blaze, no!" the piplup suggested in alarm.
The chimchar simply grunted in frustration as he spoke again.
"I can't take this anymore! I just don't know what to believe at this point! All of this worrying has made me tired...so let's just go downstairs and get some sleep, Leon."
Blaze went downstairs into the bluff, while Leon stayed in place, worried and thinking about his best friend, and the situation that they were in…
Poor Blaze...he's taking it quite hard right now. After everything we've been through today, this is only natural for him to be worried. Hopefully we'll find the right answers to our difficult problem, sooner than later…
Leon finally decided to head into the bluff to try and get some rest.
After only thirty minutes of trying to sleep, Leon awoke in the bluff and sat up on his bed. He looked at his best friend Blaze, who appeared to be sleeping at least, before he turned away and thought to himself.
I understand that we're causing the distortion of space...but how that leads to the world's ruin is simply unbelievable. I thought it was just merely something from a dream that first time...but then that second dream occurred. When I was told about the distortion of space...that was when I started to think that maybe it was true.
Leon realized something about the dream.
Hey! Come to think of it, the morning after I had that dream, Blaze said to me that I was daydreaming and it was not like me to do so. He then told me to get energized, and that was when I noticed that he was unusually upbeat then! It was only because he had just woke from the same dream about Cresselia which I had! At that moment, Blaze must've been acting extra cheerful around me, because he suspected that I just had the same dream, and thus, tried to cheer me up. He had to be frightened by it, but he was much more concerned about me.
Leon then thought about what happened in Azurill's nightmare.
What Cresselia said while we were in the nightmare, and what she tried to do...I felt crushed by that. But...that's why...I have to keep my spirits strong!
He yawned as he covered his beak up with one of his flippers. He finally started to get tired as he laid back down on his bed again, and hoped to keep his spirits going strong.
After a few hours of rest, Leon woke up and realized that it was still dark outside. He looked around to see that Team Go-Getters was still asleep, but when he looked at Blaze's bed, he saw that his best friend was not there.
Whoa! Blaze isn't here! Maybe he went to the top of the bluff… I gotta find him!
The piplup went upstairs to the top of Sharpedo Bluff and saw that Blaze was standing near the cliff, staring out at sea. Hearing his best friend approaching him, the chimchar turned around to the piplup.
"So, Leon...you're awake too, huh?"
"Yeah...I couldn't get enough sleep at all..."
Blaze turned back to the sea as he spoke again, wearing a sad look on his face.
"Leon...can't we be allowed to stay? Can't we stay in this world?" The chimchar turned to his best friend once more. "When we fought Dialga at Temporal Tower...you did so even though you knew that you would be gone, Leon. Because even if you were to disappear...you thought that it would save the world… That's why you did it, right?"
Leon nodded in agreement, as Blaze spoke once again.
"Then if that's the case...maybe we should do that this time too."
The piplup now had a somber expression on his face.
"Blaze...it's true that I fought Dialga knowing that I would be erased from history if we succeeded...but that had to be done to prevent the planet's paralysis. Back then, I was willing to disappear if it meant saving the world. I feel the same this time too...but is this situation really the same? Something feels different this time around here."
Leon went closer to Blaze.
"Is that what you think, Leon?"
The piplup nodded in agreement.
"If so, should we still consider vanishing from the world?"
"I don't know, Blaze..."
The chimchar simply grunted.
"You don't know? You must be thinking that maybe we ought to disappear, Leon..."
"But something's weird about this..."
"What's weird about it?"
"Everything that Cresselia said to us..."
"What exactly was odd about what she said?"
Leon nodded, as Blaze spoke again.
"But we separately found out that we are causing the space distortion while we were at Luminous Spring too! If Azurill can't wake up from his nightmare because of the distortion...well, I think we simply have to believe what we were told."
The piplup grunted in frustration.
"I guess that's true, Blaze… But something...is different about vanishing this time around! I know something is different around here...but what could it be? Just give me a moment to think about it carefully."
"No problem, pal."
Leon turned to the sea to think thoroughly for a few seconds. Later...
That's right! This is different from before! Back then with Dialga, my disappearance wasn't really a choice! I'll explain it to Blaze right now…
He turned back to Blaze.
"So, Leon...what's exactly different this time?"
"At Temporal Tower, I was willing to disappear...but it's not the same this time!"
"What?! Really?!"
"Yeah, and I did what I did back there because I had to, just so I could change my future because I knew it would lead to world peace. My choice wasn't really the choice to be gone, though, and there's no telling what will happen this time if we both disappear now. We don't really know if that will bring peace to the world again, Blaze!"
The chimchar thought about what his best friend just said for a few moments before Blaze spoke once more.
"So what you're basically saying is that nothing about this is certain?"
"That's right."
Blaze had a sad look on his face again, as he was still unsure about all of this.
"It's true that things aren't completely certain...but..."
He turned to the ocean once again.
"It is a fact that you were a former human who came from the future, Leon, and that I did go there with you and then come back to this world. Adding to that fact, it does seem that, because of us, space has started to distort."
Blaze turned back to his best pal once more, as he continued to speak.
"There's just no escaping the fact that we changed history...so that must mean what we were told is true."
Leon had a hint of tears in his eyes, as he still felt that his best friend was still not convinced.
"Blaze..."
The chimchar looked to the view above Treasure Town, as he noticed that the sun was starting to rise.
"Leon, look over there!"
The piplup did as he was told, as the sun rose enough to make daylight come to the area. He and Blaze realized that it was now early in the morning.
"The sun's rising..." Leon said with a smile. "What a beautiful sight to see..."
Another thing came to Blaze's mind, as he spoke once more.
"Leon..."
The piplup turned to his chimchar pal, as he noticed that he had tears in his eyes.
"This s-sunrise here made me remember something, Leon...it isn't the first time that I saw it from here before. The f-first time it occurred...was when I was with G-Grovyle."
"Grovyle?"
"That's right. Remember when we first came back from the future and we slept here? This was when I saw the sunrise from here for the first time. I just remembered something about that then...it was something that Grovyle asked me."
Leon carefully listened to Blaze as he continued speaking.
"He said that when all hope seemed lost while we tried to escape in the future, I refused to give up. He admitted that he given up, so he told me how I managed to stay strong. I guess that struck him as being strange, so that's why he asked me why I refused to give up. But I didn't know how to answer...because I didn't know why I was brave then. I thought hard about it though, and I began to realize something…"
Blaze pointed to Leon.
"You, Leon. You were the one that helped me to be brave because you were always with me. That was when I finally realized how I managed to stay strong, and that's exactly what I told Grovyle."
The piplup had a wider smile on his beak, feeling touched by his best friend's comment. Blaze turned to the ocean once more before continuing, as he had a somber look on his face again.
"Just before we lost him in the Hidden Land...Grovyle entrusted me with his last wish. He told me to watch your back, and that you and I were considered to be the greatest of combinations. Well, it's true that we are a great duo...but I'm letting him down on looking after you properly. I'm so ashamed of myself..."
Turning back to Leon again, Blaze had an expression of renewed hope on his face. He went beside him.
"So, Leon...if you're not giving up...then I shouldn't give up either!"
"Blaze!"
Leon had tears of relief and joy streaming down his face, as he ran up to Blaze to give him a nice, warm hug, which he gladly accepted.
"I'm s-so glad to hear that you're not giving up!" The piplup said in between sobs. "Thanks for b-believing me, little brother!"
"You're welcome, big bro." Blaze replied with a big smile.
They held each other for a few more moments, before they separated themselves and talked again.
"There's just gotta be a way of fixing things without us having to disappear, Leon!" Blaze said.
"That's the Blaze I know! We have to keep going, so we can find a way out of this tough situation!"
With that said, Team Poképals finally had their confidence returned. They went down the stairs to get ready to find a solution to the space distortion mystery that they were caught up in.