Chapter 12: Lunar Magic
Lily had never been to Mount Moon before. She'd seen pictures of it, and she knew that Luna had traveled all over the world. Mount Moon didn't look anything like it had in pictures. From Luna's reactions, it didn't look anything like she remembered it, either, so Lily was pretty sure it wasn't just the predawn light messing with her eyes.
One side of the mountain was marred with a huge scar in the earth. Trees and the ground itself all swept away in a massive landslide.
"The force we've been tracking. This is its doing." Lily had never before heard the wizard so spooked or angry. "It was here. It came, and it destroyed everything in its path." Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked her mentor.
"I never tracked it here," Lunamia said. "It knows we know, and it's been playing us for fools! Mount Moon paid the price, and Stars know what's next! Right now, its power is gathered in Vermilion City. I can't be sure if that's where it really is, or if it's just playing us again."
"Hang on," Lily said. "I've got an idea! I've been working on a new potion to track people and objects. Maybe it could fool your magic sense, but I should be able to use something touched by this power to track it. If it works, then we've got it for sure! If it doesn't, well, it doesn't waste that much time."
"That's not a bad idea," Luna said. "There's little better we can do at the moment. What do you need for the potion?"
"I've got just about all of it already," Lily said, getting out her cauldron and ingredients. "I just need a bit of something touched by the power… The stronger, the better. Shouldn't take much."
"I'll trust you know what you're doing. I'll see what I find on the mountain. I'll be back soon."
Lunamia followed the path of sheer destruction up the side of the mountain. It was a fairly tough climb, but the scattered boulders and trees actually made it easier than when she'd first climbed the mountain at the age of thirty-five. It was harder than hiking up the mountain she'd lived on for over half of her life, but not as much as she was prepared for.
Before too long, she came across a crater filled with collapsed rock, and she knew she'd found what she was looking for. In the center was a huge grey rock pulsing with evolutionary energy… And corrupted with the alien power she'd been chasing.
Lunamia fumed. That vile creature! Corrupting the legendary Moon Stone with its power, destroying half the mountain… It would stop at nothing until this world was nothing but rubble and broken dreams. She took a small glass sphere from her pocket, gesturing with her staff to pull all of the otherworldly power into it. Even just a small remnant of this being's power was almost too much for the bauble, but she had what she needed.
With the power contained, her marble was glowing with sky blue energy that twinkled like the stars themselves.
She stormed back down her stone steps, never breaking stride nor slowing down. When she reached her apprentice, the young teenager had finished her potion.
Murkrow noticed Luna first, and squawked until his trainer noticed. "Miss Luna!" Lily said. "Did you… Um, what's wrong?"
"That thing corrupted the Moon Stone," Luna snarled. She pulled out the marble she'd used earlier, and tossed it to Lily. "I've contained the magic there. Find this creature so we can bring it to justice."
"Um, yes, just a minute." Lily had never seen Lunamia this angry. She got passionate about magic, and considered herself an 'ally of justice' through and through, but she was furious now. Lily dropped the stone in her potion (a pretty blue color, producing small sparks of flames), and watched as a scene took shape.
The magic told her that it was near Vermilion City, just like Luna had said, and that this boy in the image was definitely the one with that power… But it didn't make any sense. He was just asleep peacefully in a Pokémon Center, his own Bulbasaur and Clefairy in the bed with him. He wasn't even as old as she was.
"… What's this?" Lunamia growled. "Is the spell messed up?"
"No," Lily said. "… It's that boy. He's the source of all this. He's a couple of day's walk north of Vermilion City. I don't know how- Wait, look!"
The image shifted. There was another boy, now. New Island. He wore similar clothes to the first one, but they couldn't see his face. He shot a massive stream of flames from his hands at something they couldn't see, and took off, blurring the image.
Back to the first boy. He was beginning to stir in his sleep – Something was bothering him.
"He knows we're watching," Luna said. "Stop the spell, now!"
"We've got to wait for it to wear off," Lily said. "It'll only be a minute longer."
Back to the other boy, using his magic to cause an earthquake.
The first boy began to toss and turn.
The boy in red was held up by a strange Pokémon, and began to glow with a rainbow of colors.
The images began blurring, switching faster and faster.
"It's unstable!" Luna yelled, grabbing her apprentice and pulling her away from the cauldron.
Everything happened at once.
The sky to the south lit up with the light of a huge amount of magic being released all at once. A shockwave of alien power blasted across the world. Lunamia passed out instantly. Lily, not being nearly as sensitive to magic, was able to just barely stay awake.
Lily's cauldron exploded. If Murkrow hadn't thought fast and used Mirror Move, she would surely have been hit by the shrapnel. Her vision became clouded with images.
She sees the boy in the green cap jumps up in bed, his luminous blue eyes darting around the room. The boy in red is flung over the ocean by the shockwave, splashing down in the water with tremendous force and sinking down.
A blue-and-white beast flies over Kanto's skies. The shockwave hits him, and he comes in for a rough landing near a lighthouse.
A brown-haired woman is visiting an old man in a lab coat. Both are struck by headaches and come up confused and disoriented.
A purple crystal glows, a white and yellow star-shaped creature tumbling out of it. It seems confused, before appearing to remember something. It closes its eyes, almost as if making a wish, and teleports away.
A girl and a boy ride a large green Pokémon, accompanied by several other Pokémon. The Charmander on the boy's shoulder suddenly evolves straight to Charizard, nearly throwing them both off. The girl with the sideways ponytail and Dedenne laughs, saying something offhandedly to the extremely confused and concerned boy. The small green dragon doesn't seem at all disturbed by this.
A boy with spiky brown hair and a Blastoise by his side is admiring the sunrise and a massive tree through a window, when an enormous hole is ripped in the space above the tree.
She sees a cave full of crystalline mirrors. As one, they begin to vibrate. As one, they shatter into so much glittering dust.
She sees a strange, distorted environment, littered with landscapes that don't conform to gravity or logic. A massive statue sits in her view, a strange Pokémon that looks vaguely like a nightmarish snake. Suddenly, it comes to life, and is immediately attacked by another Pokémon that looks vaguely like a Blastoise.
They kept coming, harder and harder to hold onto and remember, until the spell finally broke. Lily was relieved for a moment, but it was short-lived as her head felt like it was splitting open.
A boy comes to help her with a spell. A strange poem, a talking Meowth. The spell goes wrong, the boy is a Pikachu. She tells Luna of her accidental discovery. A journey. Kanto. More potions. Hoenn. More spells. A contest, just for fun. Disqualified. Sinnoh. An evolution, praise, happiness.
Overwhelmed by visions of the present and memories that never happened, Lily fainted.
If someone were to have asked what Gary Oak thought he'd be doing after winning a small tournament and staying overnight in a castle, it would be a safe bet to assume that what was actually happening was far stranger than whatever his answer would be.
Right now, he was wishing he'd paid more attention to the layout of Cameran Palace when Queen Ilene had offered him a room for the night after he'd won the annual tournament. After over half an hour, he finally managed to make it to the ballroom.
Ilene was already there, holding the same staff she'd presented to him last night. "You're going to the Tree of Beginning, aren't you, Aura Guardian?"
"Yeah," Gary said. "Can't let Ash have all the fun."
Despite the situation, she chuckled. "If you say so. Take this – Sir Aaron took it with him when he saved the tree long ago. It may help."
"Thanks," Gary said, taking the staff. "Now, I gotta go. Smell ya later!" Gary ran for the exit as quickly as he could, but found the way to his sports car blocked by a teenage girl and a middle-aged lady.
"You missed it, you know." Gary hadn't missed the fact that both women were dressed in witch costumes. "The celebration was yesterday."
"We aren't here for that. I am Lunamia, master of wizardry and spellwork."
"Humble…" Gary muttered. Lily heard him, but just shrugged.
Lunamia glared at him. "I need to speak to Lady Ilene about that." Luna pointed to the swirling mass above the Tree of Beginning, which was three times the size it had been earlier.
"She knows about it," Gary said. "Look, I'm heading there now, so if you really need to get over there, get in the car."
"You're ten," Luna said. "You aren't old enough to drive."
"Yeah, no one cares," Gary said. "Let's go, before that thing swallows up the tree."
"It won't end there," Luna said. "Fine. Lead the way."
Five minutes later, Gary was flooring it towards the tree. All the while, the portal grew larger and larger.
"What is that thing, anyway?" Gary asked. Lily was clutching the sides of the car for dear life, clearly not trusting the ten-year-old to drive safely.
"It's a portal to another world," Luna said. "If we can't close it, it could keep growing! I don't know what would happen to our world, or whatever is on the other side, but it won't be pretty."
"Got it," Gary said. "Just another one of these things."
"You'd been in this sort of situation before?" Luna was surprised. Perhaps she shouldn't have been, with how he was handling himself.
"Personally, no. My friend Ash gets himself into jams like this every couple of months, though."
"Ash?" Lily asked, still holding on for dear life. "With the Pikachu on his head?"
"Yep, that's the one!" Gary said. "Let me guess. You met him and were attacked by two weirdoes with a talking Meowth. There was a battle and they went flying into the air, yelling something about blasting off again."
"And then I accidentally turned him into a Pikachu," Lily said.
Gary laughed. "I wish I'd been there to see that! Even just a photo would be worth a million words!"
Luna looked to her apprentice. "When did this happen?"
"… In about eight months, I guess?" Lily said. "You see… Actually, I don't really have an explanation."
"Time travel," Gary said by way of explanation. "Stuff gets weird. Just sit back, and enjoy the ride."
"You both are going to explain that later." Luna looked to Lily. "And I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Would you prefer if Alakazam drove? Or Blastoise?" Gary asked. Lily and Luna's expressions told it all. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
By the time they had managed to reach the Tree of Beginning, the portal had stopped growing. It was still absolutely enormous, and the tree was looking far worse for wear.
"Right, everybody out," Gary said. "We're going to the top. Can you manage it yourself, O Master Wizard?" The way he said it made it very clear he was pronouncing the capital letters.
Luna glared at the rude boy. "Yes, I can. Lily, would you prefer to stay here?"
"I think I would like that, actually," Lily said, faintly. "Never let him drive again."
"I'm not that bad," Gary said, as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Fearow, Go!" The bird Pokémon materialized in a flash of red light, and Gary hopped on its back. "Alright, Fearow. I need to get way up there. You up for it?" Fearow crowed, and shot into the sky.
Lunamia created a magical whirlwind, flinging herself from the bottom of the tree to near the top. Another spell to cushion her fall, and she was up there long before Gary.
"Couldn't resist a bit of showing off, huh?" Gary asked, as he returned Fearow. "So, how do we deal with this? Got Palkia hiding somewhere?"
"Of course not," Luna said. "I may be able to channel the magic sustaining the portal into something else. Given enough time, I might be able to muster up enough power to simply dispel it, but that would be a ridiculous energy drain."
"I get it," Gary said. "Of course, the portal's just sustaining itself right now. Providing a small amount of force, magical or physical in nature, should allow us to reverse the reaction and have the portal collapse in on itself. I don't know much about the mechanics of spacetime manipulation, but Alakazam and Umbreon should be able to provide most of the required force. If we did that while you were weakening it with magic, I think it may just work."
Luna gaped at him.
"Pfft, did you think I'm just some dumb kid?" Gary asked. "Professor Oak is my gramps. I'm a researcher, too. Of course, before we do anything, we might want to wait until the portal is done spitting things out."
The last statement was in response to a Latias flying through the portal, carrying someone on her back. Luna stared again. A legendary Pokémon, that had somehow managed to end up on the other side of the portal? What were the odds of that…
"I know that girl…" Gary said, squinting at the figure. "HEY! DAWN! DOWN HERE!"
A few moments later, Latias made a sharp downwards turn and came to a stop in front of Gary. Riding on her back was, indeed, a very familiar blue-haired girl and an airsick penguin. Piplup dropped off of Latias, and started kissing the ground that made up the top of the tree.
"Gary… Wow! I didn't think I'd see you! Um… You're shorter than you used to be," Dawn realized. "How did that happen?"
"Time travel," Gary said. "I'll explain later. And I'm sure you'll explain where you found a Latias. We've got to deal with the gaping hole in space you came out of."
"I've got friends following me, they can deal with it," Dawn assured him. She looked up at the portal. "Um, wow. That thing's way bigger than it was back at the castle!"
A short scream, as a pink-clad figure fell out of the portal and landed in an undignified heap on the ground next to Dawn. The fairy-tale princess (there really was no other way to describe her) stood up and dusted herself off, pretending that it hadn't happened.
"Okay, and this is?" Gary asked.
"My name is Peach Toadstool," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Mr.…"
"Gary Oak," Gary said. "And this lady is Luna something-or-other. She's a wizard."
Peach looked closely at her. "… Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
"No, certainly not," Luna said. "I've never met you in my life."
"Alright," Peach said, but she still sounded skeptical. "There's one more coming, she's going to close the portal. I don't know when she'll be here."
"I've been here for several minutes, observing your conversation." The source of the voice was another fairy-tale princess, this one wearing blue and taller than any woman (and most men, for that matter) Gary had ever seen. And, more notably, floating several feet above the ground. "Hello. I am Rosalina." She lifted what looked like a toy plastic wand, and waved it.
The portal shrunk and vanished into nothingness in five seconds flat.
"… Okay, anyone want to explain that?" Gary asked. "Crazy wizard? Anything?"
Luna was all but paralyzed with fear of this new individual. She was just standing – floating – there, had casually wiped out what had been a massive threat to the world not ten minutes before... To top it all off, her own magical senses betrayed absolutely nothing that suggested this woman or her wand were anything more than a very tall lady and her toy. "Who… What are you?"
Rosalina laughed. "I told you my name. I am Rosalina, traveler and caretaker. Apart from that, the only thing I can say in confidence is that I am quite old despite my appearance."
"Yeah, that's helpful…" Gary grumbled. "Okay, fine, we'll figure it out later. The Tree of Beginning – That's the living rock we're on – could be damaged."
"It's not bad," Peach said. "I can fix it, easy. Lead the way, sir."
"Don't say that, you're twice my age," Gary said irritably. "And… I hate to admit it, but I've no idea whatsoever how to get there."
"The sad thing is, you'd still probably find it faster than Ash," Dawn said.
"Wow, look at you. I'm proud, Dawn," Gary said. He closed his eyes in though. "Still doesn't give us a lead, though."
You could ask!
"Okay, but who would I…" Gary stopped. "Who said that?"
Dawn shrugged. "It sounded like a little kid, but I don't see him anywhere."
I'm hiding!
Latias called out.
Nuh-uh, you've gotta guess! The voice giggled.
"Hold on," Gary said. "Mew lives here."
No I don't! A small brown creature, popped out of the ground at Gary's feet. See? I'm Diglett!
"A telepathic Diglett?" Lunamia asked. "Diglett isn't even a Psychic-type."
"Neither is Zorua," Dawn said. Gary looked at her, but she didn't notice and certainly didn't offer an explanation.
Yep, a totally normal telepathic Diglett! Nothing strange about me, nope! 'Diglett' said, bobbing up and down.
"You know, you're really bad at disguising yourself," Gary said. "We all know you're Mew."
"I didn't," Peach said. "… What is Mew, exactly?"
… Poo. Diglett glowed, and became a pink floating cat. You figured it out. So… Um, I'm Mew! He made a pink bubble in midair and started bouncing on it. I was hiding. You guys know Ash!
"That is ridiculously adorable," Peach said. "Aren't you a cutie pie?"
I've won over her heart already! Mew said. Yay!
"… Well, that answers one question," Gary said.
"Who's Ash?" Lunamia asked.
The best Pokémon trainer ever! Mew exclaimed.
"He wishes he was, anyway," Gary said. Mew pouted.
"… So, healing the tree?" Peach asked.
It's fine, Mew said. None of the crystals were cracked or anything, they're pretty tough. There's a lot of rock and ground Pokémon in there who can fix everything else up.
"Convenient," Gary said. "Now, what about this?" He held up Sir Aaron's staff. "There's a Lucario in here."
Mew flew over and poked it. Boop. He laughed. The staff began glowing blue, and a bipedal blue jackal was released.
Lunamia was done with this. "I'm leaving. This isn't going to start making sense anytime soon, and my apprentice and I have work to do."
"Good luck!" Peach called out, as she went to help the completely disoriented Aura Pokémon.
Luna sighed. When did her life become crazy? She then realized how stupid it was for her to ask that question. "To you, as well!" She yelled back. "Good-bye!" She cast a spell on herself to slow her fall, and leapt from the edge of the Tree of Beginning.
It was only after the middle-aged wizard had left that Lucario was able to stand and began to speak.
Where am I? Who are you? Lucario asked with his telepathy. He looked around wildly, but his eyes were caked with dirt.
Silly-billy, you know me! Mew said.
"Hold still, there's dirt in your eyes," Peach said. She didn't have anything she could use to get it out, so she just pulled it away with magic and quickly healed Lucario.
Thank you, Lucario said, finally able to see once more. I… Why am I on top of the Tree of Beginning? I was with Sir Aaron…
"When he 'betrayed' you?" Gary asked.
He never did. Lucario looked around. I ran my aura dry… I perished! How have I returned?
You did, Mew said. But now it never happened!
"This will be a headache, won't it?" Gary asked. "Let's just get back to Cameran Palace, and I'll try and explain everything."
I'll teleport us! Mew exclaimed. On second thought… There's a lot of us. And you're all waay bigger than me.
"Rosalina?" Peach asked.
"With the damage done to the space-time continuum, I won't risk transporting anyone but myself," Rosalina said. "I'll meet you up ahead." Without so much as a whisper, flash, or distortion, Rosalina was completely gone.
I like her, Mew said. She has secreportations.
"That's not a word, and it barely resembles one. Well, I suppose we'd better get to the car…" Gary said. He looked to Peach. "Better prepare for the long haul, princess. I'm not the only one with explaining to do."
"Oh, no, certainly not," Peach said. "How often do you get visitors from another world?"
"Right. Whatever… Just don't slow me down, okay?" Gary rode Fearow back down, Peach following in her own standard way.
"… Uh, Latias? Can I have another lift?" Dawn asked.
It had taken several repeated explanations for Mew to finally understand what was going on.
Okay, let me see if I've got this, he said, flying in front of Latias. You're from Alto Mare, and you woke up last week and your brother was back, and neither of you had any clue what was going on. And then a wormhole appeared in your garden and sucked you up.
He flew to Gary next. Time travel. And you're… Doing something with it?
"Just tryin' to make sure Ash doesn't mess up too bad," Gary said. "And mess with him a bit, see how long it takes him to figure it out."
You went to another world, Mew said to Dawn and Piplup. And neither of you had any idea what was going on here?
"No," Dawn said. "… But if I'm still, well, my normal age, does that mean there's another me in Sinnoh?"
Gary paled. He'd been so surprised to see Dawn, he'd completely forgotten that she'd been missing. "Um, call your mother soon," he said.
"Okay, that sounds like there's some need to worry," Dawn said.
Mew ignored this, and flew to Princess Peach. You're a fairy-tale princess looking for your prince! Isn't it usually the other way around?
"I'm just a princess, and he's not my prince," Peach said, exasperated. "Other than that, yes."
And you're a cool space lady! Mew said to Rosalina.
Rosalina chuckled. "Yes, I suppose. I have been called an 'immortal space witch' a few times… I am not entirely sure what an accurate descriptor would be, though… Hmm… Perhaps a business card…"
Mew was already to Lucario. You came back to life!
Yes. Lucario said. And you remember my story.
Well, I forgot most of it… Mew admitted. But there was this biiig fight, and lots of hurting, and then Sirerin-
Sir Aaron, Lucario corrected.
That's what I said. Sirerin did his magic-
Aura!
Majora, Mew said, and paused. No, that can't be right. Sirerin did his allergic and then everything got better and you were in a staff and Ash let you out and you gave the tree medicine and you died but you're back now.
Lucario stared at the tiny pink legendary, who looked quite pleased with himself. That's… Not incorrect.
Mew beamed.
It's still a gross oversimplification. Lucario said. It also fails in giving any decent idea of the timescale of these events. And you somehow turned 'aura' into 'allergic', whatever that means.
Mew pouted again. I'm not good with times.
Rosalina smiled. "Nor am I, Mew…"
"Alright," Gary said. "Now that that's finally done, what are you planning on doing now? You didn't really think this through, did you?"
"… Well, I'm going to find Mario and Luigi," Peach said. "Where and how, I don't know."
"I'll accompany her," Rosalina said.
I'm going with cool space lady! Mew yelled, flying into Rosalina's arms. Teach me your telesecrets, cool lady!
"I can try," Rosalina said. "It'll certainly be nice to have you along."
"… How do you avoid being seen?" Gary asked Mew. "… Dawn?"
Dawn was quiet. "I'm not sure. I'll definitely need to call my mom… But Peach and Rosalina, well, I want to help them. And Latias… What's she supposed to do?"
Latias trilled, coming close to Dawn.
She's gonna come with us! Yay! Mew said. He put a paw on his chin. I think she said that Dawn seems to attract legendaries, which'll make it a lot easier for her brother to find her. Or the other way around, I guess.
"It comes of travelling with Ash," Gary said. "… Alright, fine. I've got a car, I can drive us around. Not like I had much planned, anyway, and there's no way you're going to find and keep up with Ash otherwise."
"I can teleport," Rosalina reminded him.
"Yeah, no. Won't help. He gets lost going down a one-way street with a Pokégear, you need either me, or Team Rocket. I don't think you want Team Rocket."
Lucario, the only one who hadn't said anything, stood up. I will stay here, with Ilene. Though I know little of this time, it is still my home. I wish you all the best of luck, and thank you all.
"We didn't do much, really," Peach said. She smiled. "But good luck, Lucario. Take care of yourself."
He nodded. You, too. Though I have my doubts that you will. He left Gary's temporary room, off to find Ilene.
Gary laughed. "He's known us for less than two hours and he already thinks we're all like Ashy-boy."
Dawn smiled nervously. "Well… He's kind of right, you know."
"I have been known to be danger-prone…" Peach said. "By the way, I'm driving."
"You too?" Gary asked. "Man, no one ever complained when the fan club was around."
The name of this chapter is a reference to something.
Rosalina mentions that she's old. Yes. I can say with confidence that she is BY FAR the oldest character who will appear, be mentioned, or alluded to, in this story.
... Mew's in this chapter. He's a bit of an oddball, but his heart is definitely in the right place. This isn't the same Mew that Mewtwo was cloned from, and isn't the one that appears in the first movie. That one is much younger and lives near Pallet Town.
Also, Lucario's here, and everything is immediately solved by Mew.
The 20th Pokemon movie raises some interesting questions... I'll try not to spoil to much, but it's an alternate timeline, splitting off near the end of the first episode.
Rocker On: Mario and Luigi's power does regenerate, but by nature it's chaotic and can't be contained. Details about their power will be important later on, so I'll leave it at that for now.
So, uh... Different materials do different things. For a Mario-style magic wand, some sort of transition metal is required, as is some sort of gemstone - Glass counts. The type of metal and gem that works best depends on the person. Dawn got really lucky with diamond, pearl, and a platinum alloy (pure platinum is rare and incredibly heavy) being a perfect match for her.
Sonic is not from Mario's dimension, but both of their worlds have numerous natural gateways to a version of Earth that's a sort of cross between both their worlds and reality. For the sake of this story, Mario and Sonic DO know each other, but it's not likely that Sonic characters will get more than a passing mention (Shadow already has, but not by name).
On the note of Sonic, I'm so excited for Sonic Mania! I'll be getting it on my Switch come Tuesday. That's the plan, anyway.
Jessie and James get along with Meowth pretty well. Sure, they argue, but the three are best of friends with one another. Dawn has worked together with Meowth before, but... Team Rocket's usually not willing to get along with twerps, so that doesn't last.
At this point, I do not know what a Sun Stone would cause, though I'm leaning towards Gold Mario/Silver Luigi (it's not likely to come up anyway). The closest form they have that inverts those colors and flies is White Raccoon Mario/White Fox Luigi, but... Being approximately equivalent to Super Sonic, I think that one would require a fair bit more than an evolution stone.