Hey guys, another update, and a quick one at that!

Now, when we left off, Mabel and Soos explored the Lost Tower, Grenda revealed herself to have caught a Barboach, Dipper and Lucas engaged in a training battle, and Pacifica and Wendy went deeper into the ruins and found a mysterious woman who goes by the name of Zinnia! What will happen next?

Now, before I begin, for those of you who don't play Pokemon that much and are mainly a Gravity Falls fan, I want to remind you guys that neither Lucas nor Zinnia are OCs. They are completely canonical characters in the Pokemon universe, with Lucas being the default name of the main male playable character in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and Zinnia being a special character introduced in the after-game of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

For those of you who are both fans of Gravity Falls and Pokemon, and have played through ORAS' Delta Episode completely, you might be asking; "well why is Zinnia in Sinnoh? She was never in any of the Generation 4 games…"

Well, after completing the Delta Episode and going to Meteor Falls and talking to Zinnia's grandmother, she reveals that Zinnia left on a journey of her own to find herself or something along those lines. Well, I used that as an opportunity to send Zinnia to Sinnoh to be added to the plot of the story! After all, the plot of this story isn't just Gravity Falls and Pokemon crossing over, it's meant to be treated as a remade plot of sorts, with the inclusions of an expanded Sinnoh Pokedex, new characters, an updated evil team, and more! Think of this as that Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remake you really want, but can't have because it's a crossover fanfic.

So, yes, as some new things will soon tie into this story, I felt Zinnia's appearance was only natural. And you know what? This means this story takes place after the events in Hoenn, so whenever I write my Hoenn crossover, it'll be a prequel to this!

Now enough of my Declaration of Independence length of an author's note, on with the show!

-Chapter 29: Zinnia-

"Zinnia?" Wendy asked. "You mean, like, the flower?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Zinnia smiled and nodded, her hands on her hips. "Like the flower!"

"What's that Pokemon you have with you?" Pacifica asked, pointing to the purple Pokemon beside Zinnia. "I heard you call it an 'Aster'?"

"Oh, Aster's just a nickname!" Zinnia giggled a little and picked up the Pokemon she referred to as Aster, cuddling it a little, as if it were a stuffed animal. "Her species' name is Whismur!"

"Whismur?" Pacifica took out her purple Pokedex and pointed it at Aster, activating it at the same time.

Whismur, the Whisper Pokemon

Normal-Type

Ability: Cacophony

Usually, its cries are like quiet murmurs. If frightened, it shrieks at the same volume as a jet plane.

Whismur was a mauve, bipedal Pokemon with a spherical body. It had two stubby arms and two round, yellow-tipped feet that lacked toes. Its ear covers were long and rabbit-like with yellow tips, and the ear openings could be seen as a hole at the base of each ear cover. Its eyes appeared as cross or plus sign-like black marks, and it had a simple, wide open mouth. It had a small, plug-like tail with a hole in it and a yellow crescent marking above it.

"I take it you two are trainers?" Zinnia asked, setting Aster down.

"Yeah, but…we've sort of run into a problem." Wendy replied.

"Oh? What kind of problem?" Zinnia asked. "After all, it can be fixed. Any problem can be resolved."

"Um, well…the entrance sorta…kinda…" Pacifica rubbed the back of her head. "…caved in."

"Caved in?" Zinnia crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. "This place is pretty stable, how could it cave in?"

"We have no idea, we just came in and then…the ceiling collapsed." Wendy explained.

Zinnia smiled. "Well, I do know of another exit to this place, but it's not easy to find."

Pacifica smiled as well. "That's great! Could you help us find it?"

"I dunno…are you sure you want to leave?" Zinnia smirked. "I mean, this place is pretty interesting, you could stay here forever!"

Wendy sighed and slammed the palm of her hand on her forehead. "We'd like to leave, Miss Zinnia."

Zinnia chuckled. "Yeah, I know, I was just about done here anyways. Come on!"

Aster followed closely behind the girl as she lead Pacifica and Wendy up the stairs and down some corridors. As they walked, something strange caught Pacifica's eye. One of the accessories Zinnia wore on her ankle was rather strange looking, and it looked like a large, blue metal brace, with a weird looking marble-thing embedded in it. It shimmered slightly, even in the near pitch-black darkness of the ruins.

"Um, Zinnia…" Pacifica began.

"What's up?" Zinnia didn't turn to look back at Pacifica, though her voice sounded chipper enough.

"What's that…thing on your ankle?" Pacifica asked.

Zinnia stopped, making the two girls forcibly stop as well. She turned her head over her shoulder and merely smiled at Pacifica, before turning back to face ahead and walking forward once again. Pacifica looked at Wendy with a confused look, to which Wendy shrugged.

As they started to continue walking, they glanced at the strange anklet from time to time, but every time they asked Zinnia about it, she almost never gave them an answer, and when she did, it was merely one to change the subject.

After a while of silence, Wendy spoke up. "This place is so empty…"

"Are you kidding? It's bustling with Pokemon!" Zinnia responded. "Are you saying you haven't seen any of the Unown that live here?"

"Unown?" Wendy pulled out her neon green designed Pokedex and looked through the entries she had acquired, but didn't find any labeled 'Unown'. "I don't have a Pokemon like that in here…"

"Well scan your dex around and see what you get!" Zinnia urged her to do so.

Wendy was confused, but she did as she was told and started slowly scanning her Pokedex around the room. After a moment, it locked on to a part of the wall in front of her and started showing data.

Unown, the Symbol Pokemon

Psychic-Type

Ability: Levitate

When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge.

"What the…?" Wendy was confused as she stared at the wall. "But there's no-"

"Take a closer look." Zinnia interrupted.

Wendy was even more confused as she squinted her eyes and leaned in towards the wall, noticing the hieroglyphics. Then, one of the symbols on the wall in front of her, one shaped like the letter 'I', turned to a dark shade of black, and the center of it opened up into an eye.

Wendy shrieked and fell back. "W-Whoa, what is that?!"

As the symbol broke free from the wall, startling Pacifica, though not even phasing Zinnia, it flew off into the darkness. Wendy panted and stood up, wiping the dust and dirt from his clothes.

"That's an Unown." Zinnia explained. "It has a total of twenty-eight different forms!"

"Wait, what?!" Pacifica gasped. "T-Twenty-eight?!"

"Yeah, one for every letter of the alphabet, plus a question mark form and an exclamation point form." Zinnia added.

"Oh." Wendy sighed. "So it's a gimmick Pokemon, pretty much…?"

"Yeah, exactly." Zinnia nodded as they continued walking. "They only ever learn the move Hidden Power, anyways, making them not the most useful Pokemon."

As they walked in silence once again, Pacifica broke the silence. "Seriously, Zinnia, no more changing the subject; what is that thing on your ankle?"

Zinnia stopped again and looked at her with a serious expression, and after another moment of eerie silence, she smirked.

"You'll find out in due time, kid."

"You put up a good fight, Dipper!" Lucas smiled and returned his Pokemon into its Pokeball. "But you've got a long way to go before you even stand a chance against the next gym, let alone fight me in the Sinnoh Conference!"

Dipper panted and returned his fainted Monferno back into its respective Pokeball. "You…y-you're strong!"

"And so are you, but you aren't ready for the next gym, and that's easy to spot." Lucas explained. "Your Pokemon were severely under-levelled compared to mine, which were on par with the Veilstone City gym leader's Pokemon."

"How far under-levelled…?" Dipper asked.

"Not far off, but not evenly spaced." Lucas explained, crossing his arms. "In fact, your Pokemon might not even be strong enough to fight your friends."

"What?" Dipper asked. "But…but my fight with Mabel-"

"That battle ended with a critical hit." Lucas noted. "Dipper, I'm not saying you're weak, I'm saying that you should train a bit more before the gym."

"…what are my levels compared to Mabel's?" Dipper inquired.

Lucas turned to face Mabel. "Mabel, may I see your Grotle?"

Mabel nodded and threw out her Pokeball containing her starter. He let out a moderately loud cry and nuzzled his trainer as a sign of affection. Mabel giggled. "H-Hey, c'mon now, easy boy!"

Lucas took out a rather old looking model of the Sinnoh Pokedex, though it was still a vibrant red. "Hmm…well, Dipper, your Monferno was a solid Level 24, but Mabel's Grotle is a higher level, at Level 27."

"That's only three levels off, though…" Dipper muttered.

"Yes, but with a higher level like this, Grotle's Defense stat is higher than your Monferno's Attack stat, making a super effective Fire-Type move not do as much damage to it as you would think, without the help of a critical hit or a hold item."

"Well then I'll train harder, and more frequently." Dipper crossed his arms and smirked. "Then me and my team will perfectly rival Mabel's!"

Lucas chuckled and approached Dipper, reaching into his bag and rummaging around, before taking out a thick, black stick of charcoal.

"Huh?" Dipper was confused. "Why are you giving me a piece of charcoal…?"

"This is a specially created hold item for Fire-Type Pokemon. I got it on one of my trips to the Johto Region a while back." Lucas explained. "This Charcoal will increase a Pokemon's Fire-Type attacks, so it's key to have a Pokemon hold it; a Pokemon like your Monferno."

"Wow, thanks!" Dipper smiled and took it, noticing that it was attached to a string, like a necklace. Then he called out Monferno, who was rather tired, and placed it around his neck. "Here you go, Monferno, this'll help during our upcoming battles!"

Lucas smiled at them and then approached Mabel. "I'm not gonna leave you and your friends out, but I don't have hold items for everyone."

"Do you have anything for my Grotle?" Mabel asked with some excitement.

"You bet I do!" Lucas reached into his backpack, taking out a moderately sized looking light greenish-yellow seed. "This is a Miracle Seed! These work like Charcoal, but for Grass-Types!"

"Whoa, cool!" Mabel eagerly took hold of the large seed and admired it. "Where'd you get it?"

"I got it on my first trip through Sinnoh, ten years ago, in Floaroma Meadow." Lucas answered. "It helped my Torterra on my journey, so I want it to help your Grotle on yours."

"Awesome! Thanks, Mr. Lucas!" Mabel beamed. Lucas handed her a strap, which she attached to the seed and wrapped around Grotle's right front ankle. "What else do you have?"

"Well, not much else, but I have another Charcoal, one I got from my journey here." Lucas responded. "I think your friend Pacifica mentioned she had a Combusken?"

"Yeah, she did, but-" Mabel stopped and gasped. "That's right, Pacifica and Wendy haven't come back from the ruins yet!"

"Huh?" Lucas was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Mabel, didn't they say they were going to explore the Solaceon Ruins?" Dipper asked.

"They said that a long time ago, and they still haven't come back!" Mabel said frantically, running around Dipper in circles and flailing her arms around before grabbing her brother and shaking him. "We have to go save their lives!"

"Mabel, let go!" Dipper shoved her away and straightened in clothes. "I'm sure they're fine, but we can go check if you want to so badly."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Dipper found himself being pulled by the arms by his sister as she frantically ran for the Solaceon Ruins, the others following close behind. Dipper, after realizing what was going on, wriggled out of his sister's grasp and ran alongside her. The group ran around the lines of trees and hopped the small ledges, nearing the ruins, and when they arrived, they all stared at the caved in entrance.

"What the…" Lucas walked over and felt the muddy stone. "Yep…that's a solid cave-in."

"What?!" Mabel exclaimed. "So…they're trapped in there?!"

"Oh man…" Dipper began rubbing his temple.

"Can't we, you know, blast it open and get them out?" Soos suggested.

"Too dangerous, the rest of the ruins could collapse and take them out…" Lucas responded, getting gasps from everyone else. "I'll have to call in an expert excavation team…maybe one from Unova can help, and we can have our regional team work with Roark as the head…maybe his dad can help us, and then-"

"Lucas." Dipper interrupted. "Look up."

Lucas snapped out of his ramblings and looked up at the cliff above the main entrance, seeing three figures exit from the cavern above; Pacifica, Wendy, and a girl he hadn't seen before.

Mabel gasped and smiled. "Pacifica! Wendy! Down here!"

The three of them looked down, Pacifica and Wendy smiling and carefully sliding down the rocks to reach their friends.

"What happened?!" Mabel ran over to them quickly.

"The cave collapsed, and it was crazy!" Wendy said, throwing her arms in the air for exaggeration and slight emphasis.

"But we managed to get out with the help of this girl here." Pacifica gestured to Zinnia. "Everyone, this is Zinnia. We wouldn't have gotten out this quickly if it wasn't for her help."

However, Zinnia didn't respond when everyone had greeted her. After some silence, she pointed at Lucas. "You're the champion, aren't you…?"

"Huh?" Lucas blinked, before smiling and bowing. "Yes, I am; my name is Lucas, Lucas Walker – or if you prefer my birth name, Tajiri Kōki – and I'm the Sinnoh League Regional Champion as of 2003."

"I've heard about you." Zinnia said, crossing her arms. "You've completed the Sinnoh Pokedex, as per the request of that Professor Rowan dude, right?"

"Whoa, really?" Dipper was astonished. "Lucas, you completed the Pokedex?"

"Yes, that's correct." Lucas nodded. "I've recorded the data of all 255 Pokemon that have been available for capture in this region, and it's taken me ten years to fulfill such a task."

"So that means you're working alongside Professor Rowan on the studies of Pokemon evolution…" Zinnia closed her eyes in thought. "I'm assuming you know of…that process."

"You mean…" Lucas took a moment. "…yes, I've studied that, and even Professor Rowan has barely turned up any leads on any further progression in our research."

Zinnia smirked. "Then hopefully, you can tell me what you've learned…in the form of a battle."

Lucas gasped, as did everyone else. Mabel scratched her head. "Wait…what are you guys even talking about?"

"…something none of you have even seen." Lucas smirked as well. "But my battle skills are a tad rusty…I doubt my Pokemon will respond to such a call to order."

"Then we shall have a normal battle, one to determine whether or not you truly deserve to wield such a power." Zinnia took out a Pokeball from her pocket and clicked the button on it, expanding it.

"Alright then, we'll each use one Pokemon each!" Lucas held up one of his Pokeballs, a rather old looking one that had slight rust on it. "My partner and I…we'll give it our all in this one!"

"Heh, you talk a big game, champ." Zinnia gripped the Pokeball.

"Well, this isn't an official league battle, so if you win, you won't take my role, you hear?" Lucas gripped his ball as well.

"That's not what I want to accomplish here today…" Zinnia muttered. "But enough talk!"

"I agree!" Lucas nodded.

"Pokemon battle, begin!"

-(End Of Chapter)-

And the plot thickens…again…

Yeah, another cliffhanger ending, but why not? I wanted to make this chapter pretty epic for you guys so that you wouldn't feel disappointed after I enter another absence.

You see…in two days, school is starting up for me! The horror!

I'll be entering high school finally, which means everything is about to get harder and harder as each day passes. That, and added marching band rehearsals…I'll be really busy, and I won't be able to update as often as I wanted to. I barely wrote anything over the summer, and now school has finally arrived. I've just hit a tough point in my life right now, with ninth grade starting out as an absolute bitch.

But hey, it can't all be bad, right?

Alright, now for the cipher!

WKH IROORZLQJ FKDSWHUV ZLOO VORZOB EXLOG LQ LQWHQVLWB, OHDGLQJ XS WR WKH VHDVRQ ILQDOH.

Can you solve it?

Anyways, I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…

Stay Tuned!

~087-B