Aquiver

"Rise and shine!" a perky voice shouted, and poor Morty started grumbling as he flipped over onto his stomach, and pressed the pillow over his head, in an attempt to cover his ears and mute out his noisy roommate's voice.

"Rise and shine! Rise and shine! Rise and shine!" Ethan yelled and he ran around the hotel room, jumping up and down like a monkey. The Ghost Type Gym Leader could never understand how one could have so much energy on such a lazy morning.

It wasn't until a knock at the door, did Ethan finally halted his rowdiness. Morty groaned, as he tried to catch a least a few seconds of extra sleep.

"Ah... Ah... Ah... Ah... " Morty heard the many short gasps from Ethan, and wondering what was wrong. The Gym Leader drowsily removed his pillow and groaned louder than before. Pushing himself up, and giving his blonde hair a little tousle, he lazily left his bed, and he scratched his exposed belly, yawning a little.

"Hmm...?" he mumbled when he noticed Ethan standing before the door, his whole body trembling so much that Morty nearly thought that an earthquake was happening.

"Ah... Ah... Ah…," Ethan's gasps continued, and an irked Morty shuffled over, bare-footed, wearing a plain shirt and shorts he purchased from the Goldenrod Department Store. He stopped in his tracks.

"Ah," Morty uttered, when he saw them.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ethan screamed, before he stopped, swallowed a huge gulp of oxygen, and continued, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Shut up, Ethan!" Morty turned around, as the wall behind the beds shook. Their neighbor, Green, clearly irritated by being awoken in such a crude manner, was now pounding the wall. But Ethan had no sign of calming down, as he continued to scream.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Meanwhile, Green clambered out of his bed, and without caring that his hair was currently in a mess, flattened and not styled, he stomped towards the door, ready to swing it open and seriously knock Ethan out with an punch.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Grabbing the door handle, he pressed the open button next to it, and pushed the wooden door, as he readied his vocal cords.

"Shut the hell-"

Green Oak stopped short, his words momentarily caught in his mouth.

"Ah," Green uttered.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The next second, Lyra burst out from her own room, which was directly opposite theirs, and clearly she was also rudely awoken by Ethan's incessant shouting. She could have hollered at Ethan, but instead she froze.

"Ah," Lyra uttered.

Everyone was at a standstill, as their eyes were all fixated on the people standing before them. Morty, on the other hand, yawned and shuffled back to his bed, completely nonchalant about the situation.

An eternity went on, until Red's tired figure popped out of the door, his red eyes half-closed out of lethargy. The red-eyed trainer groggily moved out, swaying as he found himself seeing everyone out at the corridor (with the exception of Morty). Ethan was still screaming, Green stoning, and Lyra fainting, while Lance stood calmly behind two people he did not recognize.

"... What's going on?" he mumbled, as he tried to make out the features of the two unknown people in front of him. The male was donning a tight fitting red and black shirt, and loose pants that reached his knees. He was tall, muscular, but not too bulky. He had a pair of blue eyes, a white beanie with a red and black band on his head of black hair. The female, on the other hand, was a pretty teenager, and she wore a respectable, simple, red shirt and a pair of beige shorts. Her brown fringe was styled in a way that her fringe was hanging downwards, while a red ribbon was atop her head.

Red tilted his head to the side as he frowned in confusion.

"... Who are you?" he asked.

At that very moment, Ethan, Green and Lyra started choking on their saliva, Lance trying to suppress a laugh, while the two people exchanged awkward smiles. The male then turned back to Red and, chuckling, he extended his hand out and said, "So you must be Red."

Red's eyes blinked, his red eyes widening, when he met the blue eyes of the male teenager before him. He found himself standing straight, as if on guard, and he knew just the reason why.

This person is a strong trainer.

"I'm Red," he said firmly, as he return the male's handshake. The trainer smiled courteously, unfazed by the strong grip given by Red.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Red. I'm Brendan," he said, before he pointed at the female teenager. "And she's May."

"Hello," Red said, as the two ended the handshake. The red-eyed teenager then noticed Lance trying extremely hard to not laugh. He thought it was pretty hilarious, considering that the Dragon Master wasn't one to laugh so easily. But no, that was not the point. The other three were also gaping at him, as if they were labeling as some sort of idiot.

Was it something he had done?

Brendan let out a small chuckle.

"You really don't know who we are, do you?" he said, an amused expression on his face.

"... No…," Red trailed off as he stared harder at the male. "Have we met somewhere before?"

This time, Lance hurriedly excused himself, perhaps to find a spot to laugh out loud. The female let out a chuckle, a quiet chuckle, but Red still heard her.

"No, no," the male said, as he grinned. "We've never met."

Red glanced at Green, who was now facing the wall, clearly also trying to hide his laughter. What the heck was going on?

"I suppose we should do a re-introduction," Brendan suggested. "May?"

The female walked closer to Red, and smiling, she said, "I'm May Haruka Birch, a Pokemon Coordinator from Hoenn."

"And I," the male said as a confident smile lined his lips, "am the current Champion of Hoenn, Brendan Yūki Senri."

"Ah," Red uttered.

"Oh, my god, Lyra," Ethan said, eyes wide, his whole body shaking as he shakily placed two pieces of bacon onto his plate. "Oh, my god."

"One hot guy, two hot guys, three hot guys…," the pig-tailed girl droned on, her whole face flushing red, steam coming out from her head, all the while frantically putting large amounts of food onto her plate in a frenzy.

"Calm down, the two of you," Morty said as he stood in between the two of them.

"Oh, my god!" Ethan shouted.

"Four hot guys!" Lyra squealed, as her pig-tails propelled themselves up.

Morty sighed, and then he whispered, "I understand why Lyra-chan is so excited, but Ethan, you're the Johto Champion for Arceus's sake! Get a grip! Learn a little from Red and Green!"

As he said that, he pointed towards the two, who were sitting in a corner in the dining hall, eating their breakfast.

"Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god…," Ethan murmured, clearly not hearing whatever Morty was saying.

"Five hot guys. Six hot guys. Seven hot guys..."

Morty sweat-dropped, and gave the two a few pats on their shoulders, before he went off to get his own breakfast from the buffet table. Little did he know, that in the same corner where Red and Green were sitting, the two trainers were each doing their own little sort of chanting. Pikachu, on the other hand, wolfed down his breakfast in a hurry, the food too enticing for him to notice whatever the two trainers were muttering about.

"He came... But why... For what…," Green, who was wearing Red's cap yet again, muttered, before he shoved in a sunny-side-up into his mouth.

"... Brendan... Brendan... Brendan…," Red droned, as if he was trying to imprint that name into his brain. To think that he did not even recognize the name of the Hoenn Champion...

In another corner of the hall, Brendan, May and Lance were sitting together, eating their breakfast in silence. The Dragon Master's face was red from all the laughing from earlier, yet now carrying his usual stoic expression, while Brendan, who was wearing a pair of black contacts and changed out of his trainer attire, had passed his beanie to May, who wore it to cover her iconic hairstyle, along with a pair of shades.

"Fufu." May suddenly laughed, before she clapped her mouth shut. Brendan and Lance looked up at the Pokemon Coordinator, looking surprised.

"Sorry," said May sheepishly. "I can't help it. That boy was so funny."

"He really was hilarious," Brendan said, as he grinned, before his expression went neutral. "You can't blame him, really. How long has he been away again, Lance?"

"Three years, give or take," replied the Dragon Master.

"See, there you have it," Brendan said. "Three years of isolation is enough to make a person numb and unaware of many things."

"Red has always been a little dense at things, and also rather slow at human relationships," Lance commented. "But that doesn't change the fact that he was Kanto's strongest three years ago."

"Was?" Brendan asked, as he placed his fork down onto his empty plate.

"It's three years of isolation, Brendan," Lance replied. "Everyone else has surely improved and became stronger. Perhaps there are many who have long surpassed the strength of Red from three years ago."

"Hmm," Brendan said, nodding. "Fair enough."

"However," Lance said, smiling slightly, "I can't say for sure. Even for the Elite Four styled Gym Battles yesterday, he did not use his full team. Who knows how strong he has gotten over the years?"

"But why would such a decorated Champion as himself leave his position?" May asked as she rested her head on her palm.

"It's the League's way of operation," Lance answered dully. "Kanto has a different way of doing things."

"I see..." May nodded when she understood what Lance meant. She remained silent afterwards, thinking that she should not stick her nose in too much. She was on foreign ground, after all.

"Well then," Lance said as he stood up, pushing his chair backwards. "I shall go ahead and tell the rest about our plans for later."

The Dragon Master then headed off, while May excused herself to go to the toilet to wash her hands. Meanwhile, upon realizing that he was all alone at the table, Brendan went silent for a while, before he decided to go back to the buffet table to get another pancake to avoid looking like a friendless person.

After taking a quick check at her appearance, May nodded at her reflection, doing her daily ritual of filling herself up with optimism. Approving her own look, she then glanced at Brendan's beanie, before she paused for a while. Upon remembering Brendan crying back in his office the day before, her heart sank, as she collected her thoughts, as her chest slowly filled up with anxiety.

She remembered his distant eyes, the worry lines on his forehead, the foreign look on his face.

Somehow, she felt that he was getting further and further away from him. Perhaps it was that horrible nightmare that seemed to haunt Brendan every other night. Perhaps it was his workload as a Champion. Perhaps...

May held the beanie tight, as she shook her head in denial. She must be over-reacting. She must be.

"May, you were dead, in that nightmare. It was so vivid... What if-"

She frowned harder. She wondered if it was wrong for her to not tell him, that she had dreamed the exact same situation, with the only difference to be...

As if in response to her jittery emotions, her brain replayed that nightmare in her head. Cold sweat ran down her forehead, goosebumps all over her skin. It was frightening, to her, as terror gripped her, the scene so real-to-life that tears threatened to fall.

Brendan is dead, in my nightmare.

She tried to ease her nerves, but her knees buckled, losing its strength as she desperately held onto the edge of the sink. She glanced at herself in the mirror, and what looked back at her was a distraught teenager, fearful and drained of any sort of optimism she had tried to generate a minute ago.

Her grip on the edge of the sink tighten, before she slapped her cheeks hard enough to let out a loud clap sound. She stared at her reflection resolutely, almost angrily, as she reminded herself to stay sane, stay May.

Everything will be okay, she told herself.

With that, she glanced at her watch, noticing that she had spent far too long moping around. She had to get to the private lounge Lance booked the night before to have a proper meeting with the other members of the Major Arcana. Wearing the beanie over her head, along with her shades, she hurriedly rushed out of the toilet.

And as she turned round the corner of the corridor, she managed to stop in time, effectively avoiding a collision with the boy who went stunned before her. Peering through her shades, and upon recognizing the boy before her, she let out a gasp.

"C-C-C-Can I p-p-p-please h-h-have y-y-y-your autograph!" The boy thrust out a small white board, permanent marker clipped to it. May blinked her eyes in surprise, before she realized that the Johto Champion was actually a fan of hers. She chuckled when the boy let out a squeak of joy as she took his board. Upon giving him her autograph, the Johto Champion's eyes were sparkling so brightly that she could not help but let out a soft laugh.

Ethan started doing a mini celebratory dance, nearly forgetting that his idol was right in front of him. And when he did realize what he was doing, his face turned a reddish pink, as he bowed profusely towards May in his embarrassment. The female Pokemon Coordinator let out a small laugh, and after assuring the Johto Champion that it was alright, she smiled and said, "You are the Chariot, aren't you?"

The Johto Champion went still, the red tinge on his face vanishing. And when he gazed up at May, she felt herself paralyzed by the boy's eyes. His eyes were of a beautiful gold hue, a sort of wild determination running amok in his gaze. She nearly thought that she was looking at Brendan, before she waved the thought away quickly. Maybe because both of them are Champions, maybe that'd explain why they looked so similar.

"How did you know?" Ethan asked. May gulped nervously, as she found herself backing away.

No, they are different, she told herself. She had never seen such wild eyes in her whole life, and somehow, she felt almost scared of this boy.

If she had to describe this fear rising inside her, it was electrifying, intimidating.

"You'll know soon." She smiled. The boy seemed to blush immediately, as he backed away to hide his embarrassment. Meanwhile, the tension finally left May, as she glanced at the boy, a chill running down her spine.

Now that she thought about it, the Upright side of the Chariot was...

Control. Determination. Will power.

As for the reversed...

Aggression.

Her head seemed to clear up for a bit, and she let out a sigh.

The Johto Champion does fit to be the Chariot.

My cheeks are burning, literally.

My feet moved rigidly, left, right, left, right, as if gears were fitted onto my knees, forcing me to walk like a idiotic robot. My heart was beating crazy fast, as I tried to calm down the fanboy beast inside me. I tried to fix my fringe, smooth out my outfit, as I walked along the corridor which led to the lounge Lance had told all of us to go.

I tried to connect to reality, or to this dreamlike situation that was happening to me. I could feel a mini version of myself squealing and somersaulting inside my head, while the sane part of myself kept myself under control, fitting reins around my body to prevent myself from going berserk from happiness. I couldn't believe it.

May Haruka, the May Haruka, was walking beside me!

The heat on my cheeks increased, and I could feel steam coming out of my head. No way, no way.

I could gush on for days about May Haruka. A top Pokemon Coordinator from Hoenn, beautiful looks, and amazing performances. If Red hadn't come around, I might have chosen to fly to Hoenn and become a Pokemon Coordinator, just to meet her.

"Well, you wouldn't fit the image," Lyra had said, and I cringed at the thought of myself wearing frilly outfits. Yep, I wouldn't fit the image, at all.

But who would have thought that being a Champion also meant that I get a chance to meet my all-time favorite idol?

I silently congratulate myself over and over again, thanking all the Pokémon in the whole wide universe in my head, while I balled my hand into a fist as I screamed "Yes!" in my head, while tears gushed out of my eyes like waterfalls.

"Oh, we're here!" her angelic, goddess-like voice rang out, and I found myself connecting back to reality. No, no, no, don't let this walk down the corridor end.

In the end, this is reality, and I hate myself for being a part of it.

Thinking I should try to be as gentlemanly as possible, I nervously said, "I-I-I'll open the door."

With that, I walked before her, and my hand reached out for the doorknob. But before I could show off my cool and suave side (even though I doubt I have one), the door swung open, full force, and a sharp pain struck me in the belly. My jaw dropped open, as I stumbled backwards, collapsing into a undignified heap, moaning.

"So there you are, Goldy," Green's bored voice resounded. "I thought you drowned yourself in the toilet."

"The doorknob... stabbed me in the gut," I said, my voice raspy as I grovelled on the ground in pain.

"Sorry not sorry," Green said with a bored expression. "You're late, as always." He then glanced at May, and he immediately put up the gentleman look, flirt mode switched on.

"May-san, I'm sorry about this kid's unsightly behavior," he said, his husky voice evidently making May Haruka blush a little. "You look marvelous. Those posters don't do you justice."

"T-Thank-"

"That's my girlfriend, she's off-limits," another voice said firmly, and as I got up to my feet, I found Brendan Yūki bursting through the door, grabbing hold of May Haruka, as he glared at Green. Meanwhile, my fanboy heart cracked a little, but I could only sigh in exasperation.

I had nearly forgotten. The Hoenn Champion and top Pokemon Coordinator were dating.

"Whoops, sorry," Green answered immediately, looking apologetic. I guess even the most sadistic Gym Leader in existence wouldn't want to offend a Champion. Brendan's expression softened as he courteously invited me in, and I readily took his offer.

In the spacious lounge, the following are present: Red and his Pikachu, Lance Wataru, Brendan Yūki, May Haruka, Green Oak, Lyra Elm, and Morty Matsuba. Lance was once again, in his flashy outfit, cloak and silk and all, while Morty was wearing his purple jumper, his usual grin plastered on his face. Red was especially silent, his red cap on his head, the shadow covering part of his face. Lyra, on the other hand, was red from top to bottom, probably fantasizing about her hot guy list again.

A sort of tension was going on in the air, and I found myself gulping a ton of saliva instinctively. As I sat down next to Lyra, Green immediately leaned over and hissed, "Where did Gin go?"

"I don't know. Probably home," I whispered.

"Which is where?"

"I don't know."

"Wow, are you two really friends?" he said lightly, while I froze, finding a strange sense of guilt rising in my chest. Meanwhile, Lance coughed to get our attention, and soon we were sitting upright, looking at the Dragon Master, whose face had his usual stern expression.

"You all probably have many questions, but before any of them are answered, I believe we should let our guests speak," he said, as he flashily waved his cloak, with Brendan Yūki and May Haruka visibly sweat-dropping, clearly not needing some sort of grand entrance. The Hoenn Champion smiled wryly, before he stepped forward.

"So," he began, as he glanced at May, "as you all know, we came from Hoenn. And our reason for coming is actually, very simple."

He faced us, his blue eyes gazing into mine, then at Red, and for a moment there, I thought I saw a frown on his face. But the creases disappeared a second later, and I started to wonder if I was seeing things.

"The Major Arcana."

Lyra broke out from her trance, and looked around confusedly, while I grabbed her by the head and readjusted her to look in front. Green leaned forward, his eyes intently staring at Brendan. As for Morty, his grin disappeared, while Red was just paying attention, his red eyes startling to look at.

"May and I," Brendan Yūki continued, as he held onto May's hand. "Are Number VI, the Lovers."

The two of them then took off their shoes, showing "VI" tattoos on their ankles.

My mind blanked out as I attempted to compute whatever he was saying, and so did the rest.

"Two of you, a card?" I blurted out. "So you're each a-"

"A half-card," Brendan finished my sentence.

"When?" Green asked. "When did the two of you know?"

"Seven years ago."

"You told me-" Green said, as his eyes widened. He looked visibly irritated, frustrated, even.

"It wasn't the right time," Brendan replied calmly. "I know, I lied to you during that phone call, but it was too early for us to gather."

"I trusted you!" Green nearly yelled. "For four years, I thought I was the only card!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," Brendan said, as he frowned. Green got ready to shout something in reply, before he swallowed back his words, ruffled his hair and plopped back down onto his seat, muttering a "Whatever." He looked beyond furious, but somehow he seemed to understand what Brendan was coming from, and managed to calm himself down, while Brendan said a "Thank you" sincerely.

"Currently, there're five cards gathered here," May said. "Just one more and we will fulfill the prediction Celebi gave to Red."

Red looked visibly shook, as he frowned at May, clearly wondering how the two Hoenn natives knew about this.

"Green told me," Brendan quickly answered. "And according to the prediction, one of us will gain the powers of the Zap Plate."

I remembered Green talking about it to me and Lyra yesterday, before we received the phone call from Morty and Lance to come to Goldenrod, but I was still quite confused about the whole matter, so raising my hand like a student wanting to ask a question, I spoke, "What are the Plates all about? And what kind of powers do we get from them?"

"Thank you for asking." Brendan looked almost relieved, as he continued. "Do allow us to do a demonstration."

Afterwards, he nodded towards May, who nodded in return. The two of them then stood side by side, arms extending out, and what happened in the next moment was absolutely stunning and out of this world.

Their body seemed to have a metallic grey sheen covering it, glowing, as both of them extremely focused, as a gleaming light danced above their palms. A loud clang resounded in the lounge, and an array of metal chains and blades emerged, shooting out at such a speed that Lyra yelped, while I saw my life flashed past me, when one of the metal chains nearly cut me. It all happened so fast, and by the time I remembered to breathe, the whole lounge was decorated with daunting chains, and menacing blades of metal hovering around.

"Pika-pi!" Red's Pikachu squealed as electricity sparked at its red cheeks.

Red, Green and Morty were similarly shocked to the point of standing up from their seats, and even the usually stern Lance looked disconcerted from the shocking display. Brendan and May heaved out a breath collectively, before both of them balled their fists at the same time, and the chains and blades magically shattered into nothingness. The room was instantly reverted to how it once was, as if the two did nothing in the first place.

"What was that!?" I yelled as I excitedly jumped towards Brendan. "Teach me!"

The Hoenn Champion widened his eyes in surprise. Perhaps he had never expected anyone to react to such dangerous things the way I did, but soon he relaxed his shoulders and said, "I can't teach you that, Ethan."

"That's the plate power exclusive to The Lovers," Green said, as he studied Brendan and May. "Steel Type."

"Yep!" May chirped, her voice nearly drowning me in happiness. "It's the Iron Plate, to be specific."

"How... is this possible?" a voice spoke, and I turned around, just to see Morty looking so befuddled that it didn't feel like the Morty I know. Brendan, on the other hand, only gave a mysterious smile, before he replied, "We'll get to that soon, Morty, or should I say, Ryota Matsuba."

The Ghost Type Gym Leader seemed to freeze for a short while, before he went silent, as he gazed at Brendan, appearing strangely cautious and apprehensive. Brendan nodded his head towards him, before he switched his attention back to us.

"We gained the power of the Iron Plate five years ago," he said, as he unzipped his bag pouch, taking out a glowing grey slab. It was vibrating softly, as if it itself was brimming with life. "It will react to the appropriate cards that are worthy of its power. And it is possible for different cards to gain the power of the same plate."

As he placed it on the table, his hand no longer in contact with it, the plate stopped vibrating, appearing like a normal slab of metal. May then encouraged the four of us to try touching it, but nothing visible happened, indicating that none of us are able to wield its power.

"Are you able to use its powers when you're not near, or holding onto the Iron Plate?" Lyra asked, looking really interested.

"Oh yes, we can still use its powers," May said, smiling. "Once we come into contact with it for the first time, our dormant powers are activated."

"Woah." I gasped in wonder, as I saw my idol creating her chains once again, before the chains disappeared once again.

"But now here's the problem," Brendan said, interrupting my admiring session. "One of you here managed to use your powers, without it being activated."

We all went silent, as our gazes turned towards him, the trainer who had been silent throughout. His Pikachu glared as us, perhaps thinking that we were about to do something to him. But the trainer softly patted the Pokemon, who calmed down, but its large round eyes continued to stare at us.

Red's eyes peeked our from under his cap's bill, a frown sitting atop his brows. He sighed, and nodded slightly.

"You see, once we activated our powers, we can strengthen the power of Pokemon who are of the same type as our plate," Brendan explained.

"In other words, we can Mega-Evolve Steel Type Pokemon without any need of a Key Stone or Mega Stone," May added.

A wave of quietude washed over the lounge, as all of us slowly understood the concept of the plates, and the powers of the Major Arcana. Meanwhile, Red seemed to curled backwards, sinking into his seat, as he adjusted his cap, covering most of his face, rendering me unable to discern his expression and what he was thinking about.

"You can use the power of the Flame Plate without activation, Zero," Brendan concluded. "Why is that?"

We all then turned to Red once again, and the trainer, unnerved by all these attention placed upon him, merely sunk deeper into his seat, and answered in a low voice, "... I... Don't know."

"Can you show us your tattoo?"

After pausing for a long while, Red finally sat upright, and slowly removed the fingerless glove on his right hand, his fingers slender and pale under the room light. His Pikachu left his shoulders and obediently sat on the couch. The tattoo, black as the night, was a simple circle, with a slash across it.

A Null sign.

"Isn't The Fool... supposed to have the zero numeral?" Lyra said, her eyes staring intently at the pretty hand of the ex-Champion, while her cheeks blushed.

"Red…," Green began. "How...?"

"So Lance was right," Brendan said. "This is also one of the main reason I wanted to come earlier to Johto. Red, do you perhaps-"

"I don't know, alright?" Red snapped, looking irritated as he glared at all of us. All of us, including Morty and Lance, widened our eyes in surprise, for none of us had seen him so direct and annoyed before. Even his Pikachu appeared to be confused by his trainer's reaction. Tension broke out among us, as I exchanged glances with Green and Lyra.

"No, it's okay. I understand," Brendan broke the silence, his voice calm and certain. "Although I believe someone here holds the answers."

The Hoenn Champion then turned to Morty, who merely sighed, and raised his arms up in surrender.

"Fine, fine," he said, his voice lethargic. "Before I do that, tell me, what am I getting myself into, Hoenn Champion?"

"The fate of the world," Brendan said simply, shocking all of us. Morty, on the other hand, only smirked.

"I like that," he answered.

It was night at the Sevii Islands.

The red-haired boy looked at the terrace house before him, its gates closed tight. He stared at it forlornly, before he took out a small key, and inserted it into the lock that was holding the gates together. The metal chains jangled, and dropped onto the ground, and with a heavy sigh, Silver pushed the gates with much effort, and soon he was within the property itself.

The Sakaki House.

He trudged towards the main door, every step filling like lead. He should turn back, he really should.

But somehow, his body was not listening to his head, as his legs carried him forward, propelling him towards the lonely door. Standing on the rickety wooden floor, he felt his mind betraying his heart, as the fond memories of him, with his mother, and that coward...

Why was he here? He seriously wondered, but somehow he could not find an answer. He changed, perhaps he didn't have that much hate towards that man as much as before, but he was quite sure he held no love towards that coward.

His hands trembled, as he reached out for the doorknob, as he rethinks again and again whether he should open the door. Even though he knew that it will be darkness, emptiness and loneliness that will be inviting him. His mother was no longer here, neither was that man.

Tears threatened to fall, but he held it in. He must not cry.

"Sometimes men must cry, Gin," the coward's voice resounded.

"Shut up... Shut up…," the boy muttered with a strained voice.

"Live proudly, and cry when you want to."

"Shut... up...!" he hissed, as he covered his ears, as he bent down.

"Don't let me down, son."

"Don't you dare talk in my head when you never even shed a tear when Mum died!" the boy finally bellowed, his whole body tensed, as his eyes glared hatefully at the door in front of him. He panted heavily, as he turned around, and remembering that no one lived near the property, he relaxed slightly, somewhat glad that he wasn't heard by anyone.

He turned his head back, gazing at the door. He raised his hand, ready to turn the knob, but finally decided against it, as he distanced himself away from the door.

"I guess... I'll stay at somewhere else tonight…," he muttered to himself, before he stepped backwards, until a chilling feeling rose up in his chest, constricting his chest, robbing him of all oxygen.

He gasped heavily, as he felt the presence of something behind him, fearsome and unknown. Slowly, he willed himself to turn around, and he felt the color leaving his face instantly.

Before him, a black, shadow-like Pokémon hovered. A white fog-like ghostly plume billowing from its head covered one of its bright blue eyes, with the portion on its face resembling hair. Red spiky growth around its neck and skinny arms and long black tatters hanging from its shoulders, its black, claw-like hands were frighteningly huge. A trail of black rags seemed to be floating from behind its body.

"W-W-What are you...?" Silver stammered, as he gazed into the Pokemon's eyes, his breath immediately snatched away. Something was strangling him, digging under his skin, and the shadow suddenly wrapped itself over him, rendering him restricted and completely under the mercy of the Pokemon itself. His mouth was covered, and he struggled to breathe but to no avail.

Join us... Join us...

A raspy voice resounded in his head, and Silver flailed his arms desperately. His hands finally managed to grab hold of one of his Pokéballs on his belt, and without further ado, he threw it onto the ground, releasing his Feraligatr.

The Major Arcana... will fall.

The intimidating Water Type instantly released a Hydro Pump, with the wraith-like Pokemon releasing his grip on Silver. The boy coughed painfully, choking onto his saliva, as he tried to say a number of commands to his Pokemon. Feraligatr obeyed and instantly released an array of Water Type attacks. Meanwhile, Silver opened his five other Pokéballs, shooting out many commands, as his Pokemon unleashed a number of attacks, attempting to fend the assailant away.

You will join us... without fail.

Suddenly, the shadow dissipated away, completely gone, while Silver's Pokemon stopped their attacks, finding the shadow Pokemon nowhere to be found. They then slowly walked over to their trainer, who had already stood up, the boy looking up at the moon.

He didn't know what that Pokemon was, and what had happened, and if there was a clue, it was one thing:

The Major Arcana.

And if he had not heard wrongly, he remembered that prick and the gel maniac saying something about cards, and the Major Arcana.

Gazing up at the moon, he knew one thing.

He, and whatever the Major Arcana are, are in danger.

Major Arcana Character Fact Files:

1. Number VI, The Lovers: Brendan Yūki and May Haruka

Plate Power: Steel Type, Iron Plate

- Control metals

- Brendan Yūki: Primarily uses blades

- May Haruka: Primarily uses chains

- ?

Attack: Medium

Special Attack: Low

Speed: Low-Medium

Defense: High

Special Defense: High

Special traits: They can sense each other when the other half is in the vicinity