Chapter 67: Bringer of Winds
Though the trip was long and unpleasant, Lucas, Skyler and Morgan arrived to their destination of Fallarbor Town within a day. Even with their exhaustion, the three had played tourist and visited one of the glass workshops that had made the tiny Hoenn city world famous. Now that they had the distraction out of the way, they could go for their real goal in the area: visiting Meteor Falls, the mythic waterfall and cavern which was rumored to be home to Legendary Pokemon Rayquazza. The falls were not far from the city now, and the three had planned out to spend the entire day there, and left early in the morning so that they could spend much time as possible and still return to the Pokemon Center by nightfall. Before heading out for the trek, Lucas had decided to check in with Professor Birch, the old friend of Professor Oak, and the man who had registered the teen as a Trainer for the region. He had not spoken to the man since leaving New Bark Town when he began his Hoenn Journey so many months ago, having been distracted by his quest to conquer the league, the threat of Team Cosmic, and more realistically, spending all his time with Skyler.
The professor was just like Lucas remembered him: more jock than academic, and had caught the man once again out in the field doing research not far from his lab, though thankfully there were no more threats of roving Poochyena packs now that Lucas had Diablo as his Pokemon. He filled the cheerful man in on his progress both as a Trainer and in capturing new species of Pokemon. When the teen mentioned he was near Fallarbor Town and his plans to visit Meteor Falls (though he left out the part about Skyler's attempt to find the mystical dragon Pokemon) the professor suggested he stop by and visit two of Birch's colleagues: a programmer named Lanette and Professor Cozmo, an expert on the falls. Before hanging up the professor also asked that if Lucas ran into his son, to please say 'hi' for him.
After the call Lucas told his two companions about what the professor had said and agreed the stopovers would be a good idea, and chose to visit Professor Cozmo first. Both people lived on the outskirts of town, closer to where the fields and farms were. The sky was clearer and they could start hearing the roar of the falls as a background din. It was easy to understand why the astronomer wanted to live in this area. His home doubled as an observatory, with a massive high tech telescope pointed at the sky with lenses no doubt made from the unrivaled quality of Fallarbor glass. Outside of town the ash from the volcano was kept at bay by the falls' artificially created wind, and the city's light pollution was equally repelled. The three knocked on the observatory/home's front door and were answered by the professor's assistant, a slightly frazzled but obviously very patient woman who greeted the guests politely. Almost immediately the three were invited in by the more gregarious homeowner.
Professor Cozmo was far more what Lucas had expected out of a professor than he had of resident Pokemon expert Professor Birch. Cozmo was an old and incredibly eccentric man with disheveled white hair, misbuttoned shirt and gleam in his eye that only got shinier when he learned what his guests had wanted: as much information about the falls as possible. While his overworked assistant got the three Trainers some tea and a place to sit down, the professor zipped around his chaotic office nabbing this book and that paper as he told the teens all he knew, "The biggest debate in the scientific community today is where Pokemon come from. The two most accepted hypotheses are that one, Pokemon are a series of native species to earth that evolved the way they did because of being largely isolated to one part of the world, the series of islands we know as the Pokemon Regions. Compared to the rest of the world our islands are very small but diverse, with several environs clustered together not far from one and other. I mean, just look around here. Within a matter of a few square kilometers we have the volcano, desert and a huge waterfall! It's small wonder that Pokemon are so unbelievably adaptable and metamorphosis—which is actually much more accurate to what they do than 'evolve'-so easier and quickly. And there is of course quite a bit of fossil evidence to show that Pokemon have been around even longer than mammals have. The fossil freak down the road will be happy to argue this hypothesis morning, noon and night.
"However, the other theory, the one I and many, many other highly respected researchers subscribe to is that Pokemon aren't native to earth at all, that they are an organism that came to our planet from outer space, and there is far, far more evidence that this is the correct interpretation. Pokemon are completely different from other animals in behavior, diet, structure, and probably shouldn't even be classified as animals at all. They honestly should be their own kingdom, but even that isn't right because, technically speaking, all Pokemon are a singular species,"
"Wait, what?" Morgan interrupted, "That can't possible be. Pokemon have hundreds of variations, that all look like all sorts of different things: rocks, plants, cats, dogs. Some of them even sort of look like people!"
"Aha, I knew you might say that. Then clearly you are unfamiliar with all of Professor Elm's work. He studies Pokemon breeding almost exclusively, a subject that is still incredibly mysterious. Many Trainers breed their own Pokemon, but don't really think about it that much, now do they?" Professor Cozmo grinned, "Granted, not all Pokemon will breed with one and other. A Gyrados can't breed with a Skitty, and a Geodude won't breed with a Pikachu. But Gyrados can breed with Wailmers, and Wailmers can breed with Skitty. And of course, all Pokemon, regardless of gender or species, can breed with Ditto. Just like Chihuahuas and St. Bernards look entirely different, they are both dogs, and genetically, even with all their variances, are the same. Pokemon are just like that, and their DNA is unlike anything else. Many of the native peoples from this region have legends and stories about Pokemon coming from the heavens, or being born from rocks that fall from the sky. And there is quite a bit to tie Pokemon to meteors and meteorites, such as Moon Stones,"
"I never really thought about that, but it's true. Clefairy are said to worship Moon Stones, and unlike other Pokemon evolutionary items, Moon Stones look like plain old rocks, just really black, like pieces of meteorites. I remember reading about this stuff at the Pewter City Museum when I was a kid," Lucas added.
"But you young people didn't come here to get lectured about my theories, I imagine you want to know more about the Legendary Pokemon that's said to have come from Meteor Falls. That's what most people are the most curious about. You three probably already know the basics, the legend the original inhabitants say caused the falls. A great star from heaven crashed into a mountain and tore it in two. Saddened by its injury, the mountain began to cry, and the falls were created. From the star itself, it ended up deep in the heart of the caverns, and in the darkness, the star hatched and a great dragon was born from it. It is said the dragon rose up and flew up into the sky, and flew around the world many times, flying faster and faster until it flew so fast the air began to move, and wind was created. It keeps flying, high above the clouds where no one ever sees it, and the few times that it rests it either goes back to the place of its birth, or to one of the two shrines the ancient peoples built to it to placate it. And when it awakens, the winds rise up again, usually during monsoon season," Cozmo concluded.
Skyler had remained quiet for most of Cozmo's lecture but now it was his turn to speak, "Rayquazza, right? I heard this same story, in Dewford—that's where one of the two 'man-made' shrines are, in Granite Cave—but is there any truth to it, is Rayquazza a real Pokemon?"
Cozmo was an old man, the burst of enthusiasm he received from having visitors began to ebb, and he finally sat down, organizing and straightening the pile of papers he had clutched during his lecture, "Unlike many of my colleagues I am not a Pokemon researcher, just a batty old astronomer who interned in a nation full of wondrous creatures and never left. The meteor proved to be real, about six years ago there was an attempt to use it to trigger a natural disaster. It ended up being an important Pokemon artifact, but it wasn't hollow and didn't appear to be an egg. As for a Pokemon that flies about the clouds? Maybe in the early twentieth century there was a possibility for that, but now we have planes, satellites, been to outer space. A Pokemon that large flying in the sky would have been seen by somebody,"
"But there have been sightings, haven't there? That's why the legends keep popping up, and why it's still part of the Pokedex even if it's only entered as a 'Legendary' Pokemon. Lots of other species have been discounted as fakes," Skyler added.
The professor nodded, "That is very true. A Pokemon that flies all around the world most of the time is something we can disqualify very easily in our modern world, but that isn't to say Rayquazza doesn't exist, simply that the ancients used a powerful monster to explain a natural phenomenon, it happened all the time. And the caverns in Meteor Falls are vast, and still not entirely mapped out. I've spent a half dozen decades outside of Fallarbor, and we only found the meteor the falls are named for in the last decade. Don't think for one moment that I'm trying to dissuade you from exploring. God knows the day I crush the idealistic dreams of curiosity is the day I retire. I'm merely separating the scientific fact from the colorful fiction. I find that reality tends to be far more interesting than myth anyhow,"
Skyler smiled and got up to shake his host's hand, "We thank you for your time and hospitality, Professor Cozmo. I think we'll be leaving now and satisfying that curiosity of mine,"
The other two Trainers said their goodbyes and the three headed for their next pit stop before finally heading to the falls. Like the observatory, Lanette's home was also far outside of town, and very easy to spot. It resembled a computer graveyard, with piles of cables and old parts tucked on the side of the house, and dozens of antennas and satellite dishes on the roof. The three didn't stay long. Lanette turned out to be incredibly anxious of people. She was a computer genius who had built upon Bill's original system of storing Pokemon digitally and expanded it to be far more user friendly by improving the organization modules. While brilliant, groups of people and city life triggered panic attacks, and she preferred the quiet of living outside the already tiny Fallarbor Town. When she first answered the door she almost shut it right away, until she saw Gizmo camped on Lucas' shoulder. Learning that he knew Bill, Lanette changed her attitude and invited the three in. She too was working on upgrading the system with Bill and Bebe to make the servers cooperate with each other faster and cheaper, so that soon the Pokemon Centers of all of the Pokemon Regions, and even the world at large, could transport and store Pokemon. Having stopped by and learning that the system was first up and running in Hoenn and almost all the bugs worked out, it would be expanded to Kanto and Johto next, with the far flung regions, the furthest regions outside the core four and bordering with the outside world would be connected next.
With their side trips out of the way, it was still mid morning when they arrived at the falls. Lucas had seen massive waterfalls before, with Mt. Coronet piercing the middle of Sinnoh the cascades were common and impressive. But still, nothing prepared the teen for the sight in front of him. From outside of town where Cozmo and Lanette lived, the trees rooted in the volcanic dirt obscured the falls from view, giving the impression that they were not very large. It was all an illusion. Now before the falls Lucas stood in awe of the crashing water raging down the mountain broken apart by the mythic space rock. The three Trainers and their Pokemon stood on a cliff where the falls rose several stories above them, but below their line of vision an even larger skyscraper would need to be placed to reach from the bottom of the Meteor Falls, where the water finally landed, to where they stood, making the waterfalls of Mt. Coronet little more than a joke. The crashing water was deafening, blasting the Trainers' ears as they took in the true majesty of the landmark.
"Like the professor said, there might not be anything there," Morgan screamed above the noise to be heard.
"So what? Even if there isn't you're saying you regret getting to see this firsthand?" Skyler replied, "This is what being a Trainer is all about!"
Morgan had to nod in agreement and the three headed down the path to actually get into the falls. Walking down the cliff they ran into some Trainers, and in the wild grasses Lucas had to break up a brutal fight between a Seviper and a Zangoose by catching them both. Flocks of fluffy Swablu flapped above them, Skyler grinning knowingly at the creatures since their presence was part of the legend, that the Rayquazza's birthplace attracted all sorts of dragon types to the area. While the charming little birds weren't dragon types, their evolutions, the Pokemon owned by Gym Leader Vito, Altaria, had the typing.
Entering the caverns behind the falls the mighty roar turned back to a low din, the drip drip drip of water and the chittering of bats becoming more prominent. The caverns were as impressive and immense as the falls themselves, huge and bathed in a ghostly light as the sunlight from the outside filtered through the falling water.
"I bet a soda that the first Pokemon we run into is a Zubat," Lucas joked.
"That's a sucker's bet. Everyone knows that virtually every cave has Zubat in it," Skyler replied as the three began exploring the massive cave, even in a low whisper their voices carried and echoed.
"Actually I heard they don't have Zubat in the Unova region," Morgan added.
"Really?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, except for one of their port cities where they are an invasive species, Unova doesn't have Zubat, they have a little Pokemon called Swoobat. Far less aggressive and not poisonous,"
As Lucas had predicted, Zubat were common in the cavern. In addition to the perpetual Trainer nuisance and its even more territorial evolution, the three also ran into the strange rock Pokemon Solrock and Lunatone, which according to the Pokedex were psychic types drawn the the meteor's mystic energy. The three got deeper and deeper into the cavern, finding all sorts of traces of humanity: artificial lights to help Trainers navigate the increasing darkness, the occasional stray item lost amongst the rocks and as they descended further, faintly visible in the dimming light were the markings of Hoenn's original inhabitants marking the falls as sacred. These were the marks Skyler showed to most interest in.
The peoples of the Pokemon Region were a rainbow of various races and ethnicities that trickled in from around around the rest of the world, their influences shaping the culture and behavior of their lands for thousands of years as they adapted to not only each other, but to the creatures that made these island nations home. More tropical Hoenn had more Polynesian influences than some of the other regions, and it showed in the artwork scrawled on the walls. Bold geometric patterns and faded colors that were clearly once extremely bright showed what looked like a massive serpent rising above the skies as stylized stick figures humbly cowered below it. Skyler traced the figures with his fingers, careful not to actually touch the surfaces and damage the ancient drawings, hoping the meanings these long gone peoples had left behind would spike some form of inspiration. Lucas noted the concentrated expression intently, the attractive angles of his face became highlighted as the scarce light illuminated him. After several minutes Skyler let out a breath, clearly trying to mitigate his frustration and spoke.
"Let's keep going. I think it's down this chamber that the actually found the meteor Professor Cozmo was talking about,"
Lucas was all for more adventure, but Morgan seemed far more skeptical, "Hey Skyler, I know you're really psyched about this Rayquazza quest, but haven't you noticed something that isn't quite adding up?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll be happy to hear what you implying," Skyler replied.
"Well, I mean, I saw the drawings too, so I can understand why people would think that Rayquazza was here. Obviously the people who used to live around here thought as much, otherwise they wouldn't have made them. But do you remember what you said was the other thing that made the falls Rayquazza's nest?" Morgan may have directed her question at Skyler, but she answered it rhetorically immediately, "That there were other dragon types in this cavern as well. We've run into all sorts of Pokemon here: Zubat, obviously, Lunatone, Solrock, Mawile, and I was even able to catch a Sableye in these much darker passages, but the only thing we haven't seen are any dragon types,"
Skyler smiled, "Morgan, you clearly forgot all your time in Blackthorn and the Dragon's Den. Dragon Pokemon are among the rarest ones. Even if we didn't see one for a week I wouldn't be discouraged. And we saw entire flocks of Swablu outside,"
"No, you're right, dragon types aren't easy to find or easy to catch, but I don't know, I feel like something isn't kosher about these falls. I can't put my finger on it, but well, something's off," Morgan crossed her arms and darted her eyes around.
Lucas looked between both of his companions. While Morgan's social graces left much to be desired, and as much as they argued and derided one and other, when it came to Pokemon Lucas trusted Morgan's judgment. As talented as Lucas was, he was still a far less experienced Trainer than either Morgan or Skyler, and he waited for the Dragon Tamer's reaction. Skyler seemed to regard his fellow Trainer's words carefully and eventually nodded, "If you're concerned we can leave soon, if Lucas trusts you, I trust you. And my family apparently trusted you. Even if we never really met before this Journey, you did stay in Blackthorn for a considerable amount of time, even if it was only partially Training and partially to be with Si-"
"-I appreciate that," Morgan interrupted. Another thing Lucas paid attention to. He had just remembered this was the second time Skyler had mentioned Morgan's time in his hometown, and this was the second time the dark type Trainer had cut him off before he mentioned something. It struck the teen as odd. Morgan was surly, but she seem to Lucas as secretive. Even when they especially didn't get along she had still disclosed the tragic reasons behind her ambition to be a Gym Leader. The only other time he remembered her being this evasive was in Hearthome. It made him curious but he didn't pursue it. Morgan was having the compassion to not meddle with Lucas' feelings for Skyler, and he knew he owed her the same courtesy.
Skyler seemed to have a similar unspoken contract with the girl. He regarded her look, partially threatening, but equally pleading and refocused the conversation, "I just want to check out the tunnel where the meteor was discovered. Once we're done there we can leave. It's still really nice that you guys are going along on my crazy scheme anyway,"
The three continued down into the caverns, now clearly far from where other Trainers ever ventured. The artificial lights were gone now, and they were left in almost pitch blackness. Skyler led the way with his trusty flashlight, while Morgan ordered her Houndoom Theenie to blow a small but steady flame to light up the rear. Lucas' team currently had no Pokemon to add to the light and instead tried to explore with the small light that came from the Pokevice, paying attention to Gizmo and Diablo to see if their mood switched from simply alert to frightened or aggressive. Eventually the group came up to a fork in the tunnels, both equally black. Skyler pointed the light down both ways several times, indecisive as to which route we should take.
"Is there a problem, Skyler?" Lucas asked his friend.
"Well, I'm not sure which way to go. I know it's around here, but there aren't any maps of this area and the location of the meteor isn't public knowledge, it was just a site far off the common Trainer trails. Once the meteor was found they picked up all their equipment and left. I don't want to get us lost now that we're so far off the marked paths. If we're not careful we could be stuck here the rest of our lives,"
"Then should we turn back?"
"No," Skyler said, his voice sounding steadier now, "Not yet. I know we're close, I can tell. I just, I just need to see for myself,"
Taking a deep breath the blue haired Trainer took a decisive step to the left and began walking. Without hesitation Lucas followed behind while Morgan let out a defeated sigh and came up the rear. They were in total darkness now with even the sparse light of their team barely penetrating the black. It was like the darkness had become a physical barrier. It was unnerving, but the Pokemon still remained calm, the Trainers kept going. The lack of light played with their sense of time, making it almost impossible to figure out how long they had walked or even if it was still daytime, but remarkably, a second source of light appeared before their path ahead of Skyler's flashlight.
As they kept walking, the light got steadier, and stronger, strong enough that the closer they got to it, they no longer needed their own illumination. There was a familiar sound as well, the sound of roaring water.
The three gasped as they came to the mouth of the tunnel. They had reached another set of waterfalls, brightly lit like the outside sky, but sure enough they were still inside. The water came from a crack in the ceiling, and light brown sandstone entirely surrounded them.
"We must be underneath the cliff at the bottom of the falls on the outside. Most of the water probably goes down the river, but it looks like some of it flows back inside," Morgan concluded.
"This is it!" Skyler gasped, "I know it is! I can feel it! This is the dragon's nest, the place they found the actual stone. If Rayquazza is here, or if there are any clues as to where it is, we're going to find them here,"
Now Lucas started having a bad feeling. He could feel Gizmo's claws digging into his shoulder, and Diablo's low growl. His fighter's instinct was in full force and as Skyler ran forward to start exploring, the tattooed teen shot his hand forward and grabbed his shoulder to pull him back, "Hold it."
Skyler looked back at his friend curiously. Lucas closed his eyes and focused his ears. The caverns were full of sound, most of it low background noise that was tuned out by any travelers, but with concentration, those sounds said everything. Like the above caverns behind the upper part of Meteor Falls the water made the most of the sound. The roar here was not the same as outside, the teen could here the chatter of bats and the distant cries and growls of Pokemon in the caverns, but most importantly, he could hear people.
Like the other parts of the caverns, voices even at a whisper carried and echoed, and standing in the right place one could hear conversation as though the person was just next them, even if they were hundreds of feet away. And what Lucas heard put a more disturbing context to the earlier growls and whines he had taken for granted, "Ugh, I can't believe I have to do this again. Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Don't tell anyone I said this, but the General really needs to stop looking into these fairy tales. This is just like the shrine back in Snowpoint all over again,"
"You were at that one, too?"
"Yeah...turned out that mystic 'Pokemon' was just some big-ass statue. Just as big of a waste of time as this one,"
"Not entirely. The Captain won't care that we didn't find anything. She's just as skeptical as you are. But the good new is we found tons of Bagon. These suckers made the whole operation worth it. We'll be even more unstoppable with an army of Salamence at our command,"
"Heh, you got a point. All we walked away from that other one was a bunch of frostbite and the Major all in a frenzy again,"
Skyler and Morgan joined Lucas where he was standing and looked down to the noise. Below them almost a hundred feet down were two Cosmic grunts in their distinctive lavender and blue fatigues. Behind the grunts were a series of small lizard-like Pokemon with large skulls shrieking and squealing as they tried to rip off a net that was confining them all. Lucas' knuckles turned white as he clutched the stone on the edge of his vantage point. He wasn't the only one to seem enraged. While Skyler looked incensed, the look on Morgan's face was pure murder.
"We have to stop them." Morgan's tone was frightening, and the more gothic elements of her fashion sense seemed to amplify how terrifying she could be.
The other teens didn't have be told twice and the three immediately formulated a plan to rescue the Pokemon and stop the grunts. Quickly and as quietly as possible, and hoping that their vantage point didn't have the same acoustics as where the grunts stood, Lucas called Steven Stone, the CEO of Silph-Devon Co and Pokemon League representative. The ambitious young executive expressed his gratitude for Lucas' information, and assured him the Pokemon League would be there soon. In the meantime, Lucas and the others had to distract the grunts as long as they could, and if possible, extract information on where the rest of their cohorts were. Though Steven and the others had been ruthless in ferreting the organization out of Hoenn, after the Mauville incident the group had seemed to all but disappear.
The next phase of their plan was set. Knowing the cavalry was on their way, the three Trainers crept down to the grunts position. And let all hell break loose.
"Go Celes!"
"Diablo!"
"Achilles, I choose you!"
Skyler's Dragonair, Lucas' Mightyena and Morgan's mighty Tyranitar rushed to the field of battle, and the Cosmic grunts didn't know what hit them. Mostly because when Lucas threw his right hook, the first grunt almost became entirely punch drunk. The other grunt found his hand crunched before he could reach for his Pokeballs by the jaws of a particularly brutal Mightyena. Skyler and his Dragonair whipped over to the captive Bagon and through perfect teamwork the net was quickly shredded and the small dragons stampeded to freedom. The first grunt recovered and tried to scramble away, only to be pinned under the massive foot of Morgan's gargantuan dark type Pokemon. The first man helplessly kicked his legs at the brute while the other whimpered over his most likely permanently damaged hand.
Lucas stormed over to the bleeding man and dragged him until the two were face to face. The sight disgusted him. Cosmic's ideology was the destruction of weakness through violence. Eliminating weak people and Pokemon. But the teen could think of nothing more weak or pathetic than the man in his clutches sobbing like an infant. Lucas seethed, "What were you doing here?" The man continued to sob so Lucas shook him until he ended his hysterics and repeated, "What was Cosmic's operation here?!"
It was the man under Achilles' foot that answered, his voice croaking from the pressure on his chest, "I remember you, you're the kid from Snowpoint, the one the Major wants. There isn't anything you need to know, you can't stop us any more than you could stop us in Snowpoint. You might screw over one operation, but it's not enough to divert our mission,"
"Achilles, press down," Morgan ordered coldly. Her Pokemon nodded and obeyed, pushing its heavy foot further onto the man's chest.
The man groaned in agony and submitted, "Okay, fine, I might as well tell you, Mathias is sure you're going to join us eventually," Lucas ground his teeth at the reminder of the older man who was trying to seduce him into the organization, but remained silent in hope he could get more information. He was proud of himself for keeping his temper in check, "Same thing as Snowpoint actually. Since our original plans with the device tests have been compromised by your little stunt in Mauville, we're refocusing on finding the legendary Pokemon. We're looking for Rayquazza but it's a snipe hunt. Nothing here that suggests a dragon Pokemon of that size was ever here. If you're worried we got some advantage, don't, there's nothing here and you already released all the Pokemon we found. Congrats, you beat two grunts. Be proud of that because you're never going to stop Cosmic,"
"Are there any more of you here?" Lucas continued.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Achilles."
The man screamed again, though his voice was growing weak. The Pokemon's foot on his chest made his breathing more and more labored. Meanwhile his companion was still sobbing over his wounded hand, "No! It was only two of us! The Captain figured the less men in the operation, the less likely to get caught. This was mostly recon, we only messed with the Pokemon so this thing wouldn't be a total waste of time. Shows what she knows, right?"
"Where is Marcia?" Lucas interrogated.
"Marcia?"
"The one you call Captain Rose!"
"She's at the other half of the operation, though I'm guessing she's having as much luck as we are,"
"And where is the other half of the operation?"
"That you're never getting out of me. You'll have to kill me first," the grunt spat back defiantly.
"Fine then," Morgan added, her voice strangely empty and even more terrifying than before, "Achilles, crush him,"