OSPREY….SWOOSH
UO: Alright let's see if we can get back on schedule.
Ash: Let's do this
Misty: Ready
Anabel: Let's go
Gabby: Here to play. Tori too.
May: Me and Max are good to go
(A slap is heard getting the others to groan)
UO: Brock?
Dawn: Brock.
UO: Hit on a girl?
Max: It was Lucy Heartfillia
UO: Damn it Brock. DISCLAIMER NOW
Ash: Unitedosprey1991 does not own Pokémon or Kamen Rider. He would be a Billionaire and I would age with Misty and or May As my girlfriends. Dawn and Anabel would be contenders as well.
Normal: Dialogue
Italics: Thoughts, Flashbacks, and telepathy.
CAPS: Attacks
Bold: Yelling and Belt Noises
Bold and Italics: Yelling in head:
Underline: Dates and locations
Chapter 39: Celestic Legends
When we last left our heroes they had just defeated another one of Glen's plans and kept a town from being lost to the dimensional gap. May, Anabel and Dawn also gained new forms in the form of mega stones and their new mega evolutions that merged them with their pokémon companions granted them more power.
Now we find them less than day outside of their destination of Celestic Town. The first vistages of light were beginning to show and the first one up was surprisingly Anabel. She looked at her bed mates and smiled. Ash had his arms around May and Dawn with Misty taking up a position across from her. She sat up and stretched slightly and crawled out from their bag. She was dressed in an undershirt and sweatpants, the undershirt showing her developing B-cup breasts. She knew she would need to start wearing a bra soon. But it's not like they cared what was showed at this point having been traveling together for so long.
She walked bare foot over to a nearby stump and started to meditate. One of the things she had done to improve her psychic abilities was meditate and clear hear head. This also helped her with connecting with her pokémon as they seemed to improve as she meditated more. After about forty minutes she opened her eyes and realized someone had wrapped their arms around her stomach.
"Hey there." Said the person hugging her. "You must have been deep into your meditation to not notice me hug you." The sweetness in the voice told her it was May.
Anabel relaxed into the hold. "Sorry, it's just really peaceful." She said.
"Come on, Misty and Dawn are up but they just haven't moved. They want to talk about how we are handling this relationship."
The two walked over to see Misty and Dawn had adjusted their positions so Misty was now on the right side of Ash. Anabel subconsciously went to Misty who nuzzled into her.
"So we've been together all four of us for the last five weeks. I want to know, how do you feel about…well all of us sharing a guy." Misty asked.
Dawn was the first to answer. "I know I've been with Ash the shortest time, but I wanted to know him sooner." She held May's hands which were wrapped around her stomach. "Loving Ash has never been the problem, its learning to love you three. And you know what, I found it was easy to love you three the same way." She finished with her usual confidence.
"I know how you feel. At first me and Misty agreed to share Ash because we didn't want any competition. As time wore on, I began to see her as a sister, then a really close friend and now I feel like I can't sleep without her. Something to think about is when we get to "that" phase in our relationship. Would you all be willing to be with each other?" May asked the girls.
The others thought this for a few moments.
"Yes." The answer surprisingly came from Anabel. "If it came down to it, I would not mind if I was "that" with you girls. You're my best friends, why should I not show it. It wouldn't be any different from kissing Ash."
"Would you try it?" Misty asked from behind her. Anabel turned to face her. Anabel hesitantly nodded, it wouldn't hurt to do it. That's why she squeaked when Misty leaned into gently kiss her. She was briefly shocked before something in the kiss caused her to relax into it and close her eyes. Breaking from it Misty looked at the empath's eyes. "How was it?"
"It felt…great." She said blushing up a storm. Misty cooed and hugged her close.
"I'm glad I was awake for that." Ash said getting the four to break out of their stupor.
"How long were you awake?" Anabel said snuggling into Misty's chest.
"Just long enough to see that. Not going to judge if that's what you're asking. If you girls want to kiss each other, I ain't stopping ya." He said with a smile. This got the girls to relax and snuggled into him. They cuddled for a few minutes before the rest of the camp started to stir and they broke away to get some light training before they reached Celestic Town.
An hour later after they finished breakfast and started walking towards their destination. As they walked Anabel was watching the scenery when she started to hear snippets of something talking to her.
"Temple…find…the gate…connects…space…time."
Anabel looked around. "Something wrong little Eevee?" May asked.
The empath shook her head. "No must be the traveling."
"Don't worry, if I know the area, Celestic Town should be another hour." Dawn said.
Soon enough they reached the Celestic Town outskirts. As they walked, they overheard some excited murmurs.
"Cynthia's home."
"Our hometown champion is here."
"I can't wait to see her."
Ash turned to one of the people. "Excuse me but who is Cynthia?"
The young woman looked at the group. "Cynthia is the Sinnoh League Champion. She also lives here."
This piqued the group's interest and went to where the woman told them Cynthia was doing a demonstration. They arrived to see a blonde woman with a long dark coat, alongside a dragon type pokémon. Ash pulled out his pokedex.
Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon. When it folds up its body and spreads its wings, it can fly like a jet plane at the speed of sound.
Cynthia was petting Garchomp. "Of course taking care of your pokémon can only get you so far. What I propose is I face two volunteers in a two on two battle. If having one pokémon is the proof of a bond then knowing how to battle with two pokémon should how much you have with your entire team.
The group that was gathered instantly started clamoring for the attention. Cynthia looked around and spotted the group of trainers. She pointed at Ash and Drew.
"You two young men." Ash and Drew faked looking around and then pointed at themselves.
"Yes you two come on, don't be shy." Cynthia said. This got a snort out of their friends. Those two shy, what a riot.
They walked over to Cynthia. "So what are your names?" Cynthia asked.
"I'm Ash, and this is Drew. It is an honor to meet you." Ash said.
"Likewise. So here's how we will do it. You each will have one pokémon and I will use two pokémon. No substitutions."
"That's fine just give us a minute." Drew said as he took Ash aside. "How do we handle this?" Drew asked.
"Your asking me?"
"Yes. I can't be the one deciding all the time." Drew said with confidence.
"Alright…how about Riolu and Swampert."
"You sure Riolu can handle it?"
Ash nodded. Drew took off his hat. "Alright then." He tossed his jacket and his hat to the girls.
Cynthia nodded. "Against you two, Garchomp will go easy on you. As for my second. Time to battle Togekiss." (Her first team)
Dawn saw the pretty pokémon and took out her pokedex. Togekiss, the Jubilee Pokémon and the evolved form of Togetic. It is said that Togekiss never appears where there is conflict.
When the egg like pokémon showed up, Misty was hit with a bout of sadness. She missed her Togepi, as she let him go back in the Mirage Kingdom. It was essentially her child, well more like her and Ash's child. A sudden image of her holding two children, one with her hair color and one with Ash's hair bombarded her. She let a tear fall across her cheek.
"You miss him don't you?" Anabel said gently. Misty nodded. "He was my baby. I hatched it and raised it like my own child. It was…hard to let him go."
Anabel hugged her. "As long as you don't forget him, he won't be far in your heart."
Misty smiled and nuzzled Anabel.
On the battlefield, Ash looked at Misty. "Man, seeing that Togekiss must have dragged some memories up.
"You can comfort her later. Don't let the fact it's a Togekiss distract you. Right now our pride has been slighted."
Ash looked firm. "Your right. Riolu I choose you."
"Let's ride, Swampert."
Cynthia looked at the pokémon. A Riolu was rare enough, but a Swampert out here was unique. But this Swampert seemed familiar. Perhaps it was the stance it took, almost mimicking his master's stance. In fact both were mimicking their trainers almost like they were mirrors. No matter, they were normal trainers and she was the champion of Sinnoh.
"You two may have the first move."
"Gladly. Swampert Mud Shot on Garchomp."
Swampert fired multiple muddy shots. But Cynthia was ready.
"Garchomp use Slash cut through the shots. Togekiss use Aura Sphere on Swampert."
Garchomp sliced through the muddy bullets, while Togekiss charged up and fired. As it got close, Riolu came in and to the surprise of the spectators he caught it and held it.
Ash chuckled. "I can tell your surprised. Riolu normally don't learn Aura Sphere until they evolve. But this little guy is from the Kingdom of Rota. He was supposed to be the heir apparent to the throne but he gave it up to travel with me."
Cynthia was slightly shocked. Rota Riolu don't leave the kingdom that often, but to see one out here in the possession of a trainer like Ash. Perhaps Ash had more talent than she thought. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Riolu sent the Aura Sphere at Togekiss. Togekiss was forced to dodge it.
"Togekiss use Aerial Ace." Togekiss sped up and targeted Swampert who moved up to block the flying attack. This allowed Swampert to grab its wings.
"Suplex it right out of the sky Swampert." Drew called out mimicking a throwing motion. With little effort Togekiss was sent flying but recovered before it could hit the ground. Meanwhile, Riolu charged with it paws glowing for attempt to hit Garchomp. Garchomp quickly powered with a Brick Break and the next two minutes the fans were treated to a sight of small pokémon fought off the champion's strongest. This was broken up as Swampert came in with a Take Down and Riolu got out of the way of the attack. Swampert shook it off and looked ready for more.
After seeing what Swampert did, Cynthia confirmed her suspicion. "You are not ordinary trainers are you?"
Ash smirked. "You never asked. How did you figure it out?"
Cynthia pointed at Drew. "Only one trainer does that pre-battle routine with the hat and jacket. Plus the rumors of your pokémon performing wrestling maneuvers are clearly no exaggeration. The Wrestling Trainer Drew. Runner-up to the Lily of the Valley Conference and completer of the Kanto Battle Frontier." She pointed at Ash. "That makes you his friend, the Hoenn League champion, the Lightning champ Ash Ketchum."
Ash scratched his nose. "You've done your homework. Riolu Force Palm."
"Swampert back it up with Ice Punch."
Riolu stepped in ready to hit Togekiss with Swampert following behind.
"Togekiss use Grass Knot."
Togekiss' eye glowed and two pieces of grass came together and tripped Swampert. Swampert fell over to its dismay and fell onto Riolu and they both tumbled into a wall.
Swampert got up and looked at the smaller pokémon. Reassured it was okay they stood ready to defend themselves.
"Garchomp use Dragon Rush, Togekiss use Aura Sphere"
Togekiss charged up the Aura attack while Garchomp started to rush at their opponents.
Riolu looked slightly scared but Garchomp reassured it.
"Two can play that game. Swampert use Ice Beam to freeze the ground."
Swampert fired the ice-cold attack and dragon caught the ice. He started slipping and sliding away from his opponent. Right into the path of the oncoming of the Aura Sphere from Togekiss. Comparatively, Togekiss was weaker that Garchomp, but it still stung for it to hit its teammate.
Just as the battle was getting good, Cynthia raised her hand. "That's enough. We came here to demonstrate how two different trainers could battle together for the first time. It is obvious that you have worked together and I underestimated the skill. Great job, you raised your pokémon well."
The rest of the crowd applauded at the display and eventually dispersed. Cynthia told the group to follow her to show them something interesting.
"Celestic Town is considered one of the oldest settlements in Sinnoh. They have many legends concerning legendary pokémon. In particular the Time Pokémon, Dialga and the Space Pokémon Palkia." They eventually arrived in some ruins.
"I've been going around the region finding out about the ancient history of the region. Have you ever been in Hearthome City?"
The group nodded. "I was there to look at some of the ruins. Specifically the Amity Park ruins. It was fascinating what they worshipped in years past. A line I distinctly remember translating. 'When every life meets another life, something will be born.' What do you think it means?"
The group thought about it and then Tori stepped up. "I believe it relates to the passage of time. Think of time like a river, it is always flowing in a particular direction. Introduce a new factor including new friends, the course of the river can be changed. So that birth means a new destiny possibly.
Cynthia smiled. "That's a very poetic interpretation Tori." Cynthia waver her arms. "These ruins are what inspired me to be an archeologist I am particularly interested in this one sect that was active around the time of this region's founding."
"What kind of sect?" Dawn asked curiously.
"This sect was spread throughout the region, many of their buildings are scattered through this region, however I believe Celestic Town housed a very important religious relic."
She took them over to a large tower. "This building here was seen as very important to the pre-Sinnoh civilization. They believed that this world was once part of another world or universe. Seems like a crazy thing to believe in, but it was their beliefs."
This sent up warning bells to the heroes. If this tower was connected to the Kingdom, was one of the temples here as well?
Cynthia sighed. "It is a shame. We can't get into the temple. I have translated the inscription on the door. It said 'Only those who bear the symbol may proceed. The Kingdom's treasure lie within.' In addition take a look." She pointed to a gap in the ground. "We can't even access it without a flying type."
Anabel who had been listening, suddenly heard the voice from before, this time it was crystal clear. "Find the place where time and space connect. Take a leap of faith. Show your belt to unlock your destiny."
The group had started to turn around while Anabel was musing. Ash was the first to notice.
"Ana?" This caught everyone's attention. Anabel ignored it and walked towards the gap.
"Anabel get back." Cynthia called prepared to go after her when Drew grabbed her shoulder. Before she could protest, Anabel was on the edge of the gap. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and lifted her leg. She took a step and hit something solid. She looked down and saw she was standing on an invisible bridge.
"Not invisible, optical illusion. These temple planners were really good." Anabel said to herself.
Cynthia was shocked. "What is going on?"
"Do you want to know what's inside Cynthia? Now's your chance." Gabby said. Anabel took a couple of steps forward and then pulled out her buckle to face the door. Now that they had a look at it, the door had the same symbol as her belt. Holding it up, it shot a beam towards the door. The symbol glowed before it popped out and turned ninety degrees. It then slowly opened shaking off the thousands of years of dust. At the same time stairs started to appear connecting the ledge to the temple.
Once inside Cynthia marveled at the architecture of the place. "Wow, I knew that the Pre-Sinnoh peoples were great builders, but this is amazing." She said as she took out her note pad.
"They built temples like this all over Sinnoh. Probably other places as well. They were designed to test heirs. There were two near Eterna City and a third near Lake Valor. There might be another near Twinleaf Town." Drew said as they all summoned their weapons.
"Have you been searching for them? How do you know so much?" Cynthia inquired.
The heroes looked at each other. "I suppose we can tell you our story." Ash said as they sat down.
For the next hour, the group told Cynthia about the history before the current history. They also talked about the powers they inherited and their role in the future."
"Wow…I never knew how much history is still to be discovered. So this temple is one of these testing grounds."
"Yes its Anabel's, me Max and Misty have already taken theirs." May said. "If it's like the previous temples, we can probably rely on Drew's knowledge to get through it."
"I would not be so quick to rely on me. I might have been lucky with the first couple of temples but this is not recognizable to me."
May pouted adorably getting Ash to chuckle.
Drew turned to Cynthia. "You're more than welcome to study the temple when we are done, in the meantime perhaps you can help us with some of the puzzles."
Cynthia nodded and everyone stood up. "Alright so where do we go from here?" Ash asked.
Anabel looked at the door. It had one statue on its right and a missing one on the left. "I think we need to return the missing statue."
Drew nodded. "Makes sense. Now how to get there." They walked up to see a switch. Max ran over to step on it. The platform rose up. Max stepped off it and it lowered again.
"Guess it needs constant weight." Brock said. Looking around he spotted a small statue. He went over and picked it up and placed it on the switch. The platform rose again and the group waited at the door while Drew went to get the key after lighting up a couple of the
In the next room, Misty freaked out when three spider like creatures showed up. Anabel quickly sliced them up and quickly moved further in after placing a vase on the switch to open up the gate. Then they were force to lock themselves in to proceed.
In the next room they were forced to contend with the spiders and lizard like creatures. As they were fighting, some of the statues started to move as well. After a couple of minutes they cleared the room and opened the chest that appeared. They then moved the statues around to open up the next door.
In the next room there were more lizard creatures. As they were fighting, Cynthia was told to try to escape. She find to her shock that the path was cut off, the tower's age apparent.
"Uh guys?' Cynthia called out.
"May take care of that!" Drew said parrying a blow.
May kicked her opponent and ran over to Cynthia. Seeing the game held out her hands.
VINE WHIP
Cynthia watched as the vines came out of her wrists.
"Cynthia just walk across I got you." May said. Cynthia nodded and started walking across the vines. Reaching the top of the stairs she watched amazed as one by one her new friends ran up the walls or jumped across the gaps.
"You are amazing."
Ash scratched his nose. "You haven't seen anything yet." He looked at the door. "Okay now what?"
"We should avoid the spikes and get over to the switches over there." Anabel said. They proceeded carefully over to the switches. Gabby and Tori stayed on the switches and Anabel went into the room that opened up. After beating the statues in there she grabbed the key and returned to the room where they proceeded to the next room. Here they flipped a switch to move on but realized that they had to hit the switch again. Gabby was useful here as she sniped the switch and moved forward to the next room.
In the next room, Ash and Drew were forced to face much stronger lizards with blades. Cynthia having already convinced these trainers were special. She was worried as the lizards were blocking their attacks, but a couple of lucky slashes and the lizards fell. Looking at the room they saw a large scale with a platform that was slightly elevated. Realizing what they had to do, they moved the heavy statues carefully onto the scales which allowed all of them to hop across.
Reaching the next room, it was filled with more monsters. They continued to fight until they reached another door. Going through the door, there was a large circular room.
"This has to be the mini-boss chamber. Anabel get ready." Drew said.
Anabel nodded. They didn't wake long as the statue in the middle of the room came to life. Anabel quickly pulled out Royal Circle while the knight lifted up the massive sword. Anabel quickly spun her chakrams and threw them. One of them hit the knight chipping off a piece of the armor. The other spun and started bouncing off the wall. As the two weapons bounced around Anabel was forced to dodge the very heavy sword. One by one the armor was ripped off as the empath danced and weaved around the knight. Once all the armor was stripped off, the knight discarded the large sword and pulled out a sword similar to Drew's. Anabel quickly caught the flying weapons and shifted them to their short sword forms.
As the battle progressed it was obvious that the knight picked up a ton of speed with the armor removed. However, Anabel was clearly more flexible as she ducked, flipped and contorted her body to dodge the attacks and then countered with her own quick strikes. This continued until the knight was cut off at the legs by twin slices. Brought to its knee Anabel decapitated it ending the fight.
"Great Job Ana!" Dawn cheered.
"That was amazing!" Misty called out.
Anabel blushed at here friends cheering and felt compelled to bow for her performance. A door opened up to reveal a treasure chest. Anabel walked over to the chest and opened it. She curiously took out what was inside. It was a grey rod that was glowing green.
"What is this?" Anabel asked curiously.. She walked over to see the group talking about something.
"What's going on?" The empath asked curiously.
Tori pointed at the statue. "That statue looks like the one from the beginning of the temple but we have no way to move it on our own. We are trying to figure ways to move it."
Anabel looked at the statue then at the glowing rod. Looking up again she swung it launching the orb towards the statue. The statue glowed green and Anabel moved back. The statue moved in the direction she did.
"Okay, now how do we get this out of here?" Max asked.
Cynthia looked around and spotted a bell shaped object. "Why don't we moved it over there?"
Anabel looked at the direction she was pointing and moved the statue to the spot indicated. The bell came down and enveloped the statue.
"I think this moved the statue to another room. Come on." Anabel said.
In the room next to theirs they saw the statue coming out of another bell.
"Well that confirms our theory but how to get through these narrow halls?" Max asked.
Anabel looked at the statue and noticed it looked like the statues that had been attacking them. Activating the statue she moved it to the walls and swung the rod. The hammer smashed through it.
This shocked the group. "Well now, let's keep going." Brock said. Anabel just moved forward with the statue following with her and her friends trying to avoid the statue. After destroying a beam statue which covered a switch, Brock stood on the switch the move the platform so the statue could climb up to another bell like construct.
Moving into the room with the scale, Anabel moved the statue onto the scale.
"I guess we need to add more weight to allow this to move." Misty said. This was a simple fix as they moved around to allow the weight to be distributed. As they were doing so Max noticed something on the wall. Pulling out his Hookshot he fired up to in and landed on the platform.
"Max what are you doing?" May called out.
"I saw something here. Someone want to help out?" He called back.
Anabel had just moved the statue to its designated spot and turned around. "I got it." She floated up to Max who caught here and moved around to the door on the other side. The others moved to the next room. Cynthia decided to ask what is on her mind. "How long have you been training these powers of yours, from the way you use them you seem like you've been using them for a very long time?"
"At least a few months. Since at least meeting Drew, Tori and Gabby here." Ash motioned to them as Drew helped them down. "What we learn is actually our pokémon's attacks. It may not be a perfect match but it is good enough."
"And these rider belts do they help this process?"
"We call the process Aura Bleeding. The more we use certain attacks the more our bodies can use them to the point we can some weaker forms of the attacks in our normal bodies. A couple of us like me and Anabel are more connected to Aura, with her being an empath while I'm an Aura Adept."
Cynthia nodded. "You must have an incredible bond with your pokémon to do that."
Ash blushed as he found Misty's hand. "Yeah, in more ways than one."
Cynthia looked at the two and then looked at May and Dawn who were watched the scene with a smile and then found each other's hands. "I guess your of the belief that love isn't limited to just a man and woman huh?"
The four shook their heads. Cynthia giggled. "I am not one to judge, I assume Anabel is a part of this as well?" The nods gave her the answer. "Its cute, four girls finding the love of their life had transcended time. I could make a book about this. I wish you all the best."
Soon enough Anabel and Max returned with Max hold a large key.
"I think we would need this don't you think?" Max said.
Ash nodded and they went to the rotated tower. Moving the tower up Anabel move the statue on onto the platform and then moved it down to the bottom floor. Smashing its way through the room they moved to another bell sending the statue to the next room.
Coming to the gate, Max fired his hook shot and slipped through the gate to activate the gate switch. Moving the statue one more time they finally got to the room with the other statue and was moved into place. The door that was locked was now open. Moving through they had to avoid the swinging axes and activated the switch to the door. Finally reaching the last door, Anabel inserted the key and the door opened.
Inside it was dark save for a small light in the center.
"Good luck Ana." Ash said kissing her cheek. The empath nodded and walked to the center of the room. Pulling out her belt, she held it up to light. A beam shot out from the eye and hit the area of light. Soon the room lit up slightly blinding the people there. When their vision recovered they saw the room was made of white marble. Looking down hey saw that room was flat and rectangular, not like the temple's circular structure.
"This…looks like some sort of ballroom." May said what was on their mind.
"You are correct." A mature female voice said. They turned to see a mature woman sauntering up to them. She was in a purple dancer outfit with jeweled circlet on her head. Her mouth was covered by a veil, her arms were in similar translucent silk as her legs and had bracelets on. Her stomach was exposed and her breasts were covered in a jeweled bra (Think the female spell fencer outfits from Bravely Default.) Ash blushed at her figure exposed like and then blushed more knowing Anabel could be like this getting the other girls to giggle.
"This is a banquet hall. Many events took place in areas like this. Excuse my rudeness, my name is Lila." The now named Lila said with a curtsey. Anabel returned it. "Before I became part of the knights, I was a simple performer with a traveling troupe. I was raised with the troupe since I was little and I was found to be a natural dancer and in time a seer. One day we traveled to a town on the shore. We had heard that one of the Princes was in town so we performed with him in attendance. I do not know why, but something in me compelled me to do one of our most complicated dances. Perhaps it was because the Prince was there, perhaps it was an emotion I had not experienced. But after my performance, everyone gave me a standing ovation and the guardian and his entourage met me after the show. To say I was intrigued that someone as lowly as myself caught his attention, but he escorted the troupe back to the Kingdom walls. During that time I was introduced to his knights he had at the time, Kasumi, Haruka, Takeshi and Masato and we got along fabulously.
One night while I was getting ready for a performance I had a vision of an attack on the prince. I tried to warn him but he was busy and so it was fortuitous I found him just as the attack began. I did not know when compelled me to fight but by the end of the attack, I was exhausted and Satoshi looked at me like I was some sort of priceless artifact. With the blessing of my troupe, I moved to The Palace and began my training as a knight of my Prince. Falling in love with him and his fellow female knights was only natural. My story is that even the lowliest of people could become a knight."
Lila looked at Anabel who was blushing. "My attire was one of the things that seemingly pulled me to Satoshi. This was one of my favorite dresses." She twirled around. "He always appreciated my dances. We all had a unique talent and he always found time to support us."
Lila turned serious. "Are you aware of what you need to do?"
Anabel nodded as she pulled out her belt. "I have to beat you in order to access my final form and your spirit moves on."
Lila nodded and did the same. "I may have been a dancer, but it did not make me a less capable fighter."
"I expect nothing less." Anabel said as she inserted the card in at the same time as Lila.
HENSHIN
EVOLVE
(Play the Battle Frontier Theme from Emerald)
The two were encased in their respective armors and pulled out their chakrams. They swung them at each other and then started to battle each other. Each kick and punch was complimented by a dance as they had to avoid the chakrams for they couldn't tell if it was theirs. Five minutes of impromptu dancing later, Anabel had the first mistake. She back flipped to avoid one of the chakrams only for another to come dangerously close to her head. She was forced to contort her body and then fall to the ground which opened her up to a kick to the chest. A few more kicks later she was sent into the wall and Lila had both of her chakrams ready to strike.
"Impressive. But now what will you do now that you are unarmed." Lila said pulling back to launch her attacks. Anabel looked around and spotted one her chakrams. Timing it just right she leaped out of the way and activated one of her cards.
EXTREME SPEED
She quickly ran and had to flip out of the way of the bouncing attacks and picked up her weapon. She held it up and scanned another card.
PSYBEAM
The multi-colored beam was launched and Lila was forced on to the defensive. Anabel used the time to find her other weapon. Spotting it near where Lila was, Anabel formulated a plan.
"Whatever you have planned is not going to work." Lila called out.
"What do…I forgot you're a seer."
"Exactly, I can see your moves a couple steps ahead. And here is my counter PSI BLAST."
Anabel was forced into a pillar knocking the wind out of her. As she struggled to stand Lila raised her hand.
MANA MISSILES
Anabel was sent onto the floor.
"When I trained with knight my abilities centered on mind arts. Whatever you throw out I can counter."
Anabel stood up with her weapon ready to attack. Discreetly she flicked her hand to catch the other chakram.
"It seems you still have some fight in you. No matter." She raised her weapons and began to rotate.
"Good-bye my descendent this has been a wonderful dance.
"Your right this is over." Anabel said getting a look of confusion as she pulled up a card.
ZAP CANNON: MAXIMUM ENERGY
Anabel charged up her attack. Lila chuckled. "Your attack won't stop my attack. The Twin Chakram Cannons are my most powerful moves. What can you do with one?"
Anabel giggled. "Simple your in position for my attack to work."
Lila was confused until she heard something charge up.
"This dance is over. No hard feelings." Anabel said as the attack fired from both directions and swallowed Lila."
(End previous song begin Baten Kaitos To the End of the Journey of Glittering Stars.)
Lila survived but her armor was in ruins as she powered down. Despite the tears in her clothing, Lila looked proud at her descendent.
"Well, done." Lila said as she started to break down. "I was always willing to put myself in front of my Prince. You are worthy of that respect." Lila looked to the ceiling. "I was always lucky to be in the presence of my prince. Do you regret it?"
Anabel shook her head. "Not one bit."
Lila smiled. "Good. Here." Lila showed her the card she had earned. "Your final form. Use it well."
Anabel smiled as she looked at the card. It said Kyokan Seer on it. Lila returned it. "Perhaps I have one more dance in me." Lila took up a stance and she started to dance to some unheard beat. She slowly disappeared, but the smile never left her face as she vanished into the afterlife.
Anabel smiled. "Good-bye. I hope you have a happy afterlife." She said as the rest of her friends appeared.
"Great job Ana." Ash said kissing her gently. Separating, they made their way to the chamber where Lila's body and treasure were stored. Picking up the body sealing up the valuables they left the temple.
Outside they buried Lila in a simple grave. Cynthia thanked them for letting her study the ruins and left not seeing that the spirits of Lila's troupe had taken over the grounds. If one was paying attention, one could see a dancer moving with the rhythm that only she knew and was smiling.
Two Days Later (DP095)
Two days after their adventure in Anabel's temple found themselves in the pokémon center getting ready for the next contest. Dawn was calling her mother and Johanna had started talking about her contest in the town.
"This contest was the end of my streak. Tiger Lily Lila was here name. Shame she left after that win. She was a great coordinator. I do know she went into Poke Styling." (For the record they are two separate people. Lila is Anabel's Japanese name, while this Lila is anime exclusive)
Ash who had been paying attention was confused. "Who is this Lila person exactly?"
Dawn gasped and then pulled out a magazine with the woman's picture in it. "She designs coordinator outfits and pokémon accessories."
"If I recall her shop was in town." Johanna said. This got Dawn's eyes to light up and called over May to discuss their plans. Saying good-bye to her mother, they immediately headed out to the shop with the other girls accompanying her. Drew and Ash headed to the park to figure out their next gym strategy.
An hour later, Ash was still frustrated at the lack of progress they had on tackling Hypnosis. Fantina was known for using that strategy and if they couldn't figure out a way to beat it they were toast.
Ash saw his pokémon were asleep and Drew's were not much better off. They thought by sending their Aura would keep them awake but it did not work as well as they hoped.
"Still no luck huh?" Drew said as he walked over to a tree. Ash followed him to the tree and sat down. "No. I don't know what to do."
Drew sighed. "Let's change topics. What did you think of the battle between Anabel and Lila?"
Ash smiled. "Anabel was amazing. Both of them were." Ash blushed. "Lila's outfit…I imagined Anabel in that. It was really pretty."
Drew laughed.. "You think Anabel would wear that for you?"
"I hope so." Ash said.
Drew looked at the sky. "How are you handling four girls at a time? Man to man."
Ash closed his eyes. "Like I have four precious diamonds with me at all times. Each day they get more beautiful."
"Never took you for a poetic type bro. But nonetheless true. I sincerely hope that our brethren will get the hint as easily as you.
(In one universes, a blonde student sneezed while throwing a kunai somehow setting of mass chaos. In another, a red headed boy sneezed just before going back to his reading.)
Drew sat up. "We still have time to figure it out. Come on we have a contest to attend."
Ash nodded and follow Drew to the contest hall.
At the contest hall, the festivities had begun. Dawn was in the dressing room with May trying to fix up her hair, with May unsuccessfully doing so. A small commotion was heard and the girls turned to see a woman in a long dress approach them with what appeared to be an assistant.
"Oh dear that hair is a mess. Here let me fix that for you." The woman said and in no time at all Dawn's hair was fixed up into a twin pony tails with two fluffy balls holding them up.
"Thank you so…much." Dawn said looking up at the woman and gasped. "Your Lila! Oh wow thank you so much.
Lila lowered her sunglasses. "Well now if it isn't Johanna's little girl. Oh you remind me of her at her age with straighter hair."
Before Lila could gush over her, her assistant pulled her aside because the contest was about to begin.
Dawn watched as Lila appeared in, according the announcer, the first time in twenty years. She released a Cherrim in its flower form. She used a Magical Leaf and then activated Sunny Day which awakened Cherrim's ability and created a beautiful appeal.
Dawn was amazed at the appeal. "That was beautiful." She said.
"I know it was a great appeal Dawn but you need to remember she's our opponent." May said walking up. Her new outfit had incorporated arm covers similar to Lila's dress in the temple.
"I know. Good luck, Beautifly."
May smiled and walked out for her appeal. She sent out her Blaziken which use its Fire Punch and Blaze Kick to create a Caeporia dance.
A few more coordinators later Dawn was up. She released her Buneary and had her use Ice Beam to create a slide. Then she ordered Dizzy Punch to create makeshift skis from the ears. This worked for a few seconds before she lost control. Thinking quickly Dawn moved to where Buneary was flying and caught her. The catch was played off as catching her jumping off from a ski jump and the two were given good scores.
In the dressing rooms, Dawn was talking with May when they heard Lila talking with someone. They walked over and saw her talking with Joanna like they were old friends.
"Mom?" Dawn asked.
"Oh hi there dear. I was just catching up with Lila here. We were talking about our battle all those years ago."
"Ah yes, that takes me back. You know that battle inspired me to be a stylist. However, I still have the dream being in the Grand Festival and I hope I win today." Lila looked up to see Ash walking towards Dawn and May.
"Great job girls." He said sweetly. Lila turned to Johanna. "Don't worry about it." Johanna answered the unspoken question. "All that matters to me is that Ash treats my baby girl the same as the others."
Dawn buried her face into Ash's shoulder. "Mom!" She groaned. Ash chuckled. They were distracted when the results were revealed. All three coordinators got in and after a shuffling, May and Lila were on the same side of the bracket with Dawn on the other side.
Ash kissed the younger girls cheeks and congratulated them. He left and Lila finished her conversation with Johanna. Hanging up she turned to Dawn. "It is really nice to see you. You have become a beautiful young lady."
Dawn blushed. "Thank you Lila. It means a lot coming from you."
May smiled. "I'm glad we're not the only ones. Good luck Miss Lila."
Lila returned the smile. "Thanks. How about after this I take you girls to my shop. I am sure you can find something you can work with." Lila said as she walked away. The two younger girls smiled. It was nice to have rivals like her and Zoey.
An hour later the finals had arrived. Dawn had gotten to the finals quite easily with her Ambipom. May and Lila ran into each other in the semifinals where Lila's Delcatty was able to charm its way past Bulbasaur. Now the finals were set with Lila going for her fifth her ribbon and Dawn going for her third.
"Five minutes on the clock. And Begin!"
"Ambipom, Spotlight."
"Delcatty time to shine."
The two pokémon stood ready. Dawn made the first move and ordered a Swift. Lila countered with a Substitute queuing her famous 'Tiger Lily Smile' as Delcatty maneuvered in between the monkey's tails and fired off a Shockwave denting Dawn's score.
Dawn responded with a Double Team and managed to get around behind Delcatty causing a heavy dent in Lila's score. Dawn's confidence was short-lived as Ambipom suddenly had hearts in her eyes and caused the blue-haired girl to panic.
Up in the stands Ash was concerned. "What just happened, Ambipom looks like a love struck teenager."
"Its Skitty line ability." Drew said with a wince. "Cute Charm works the same as Attract. That means Delcatty is a boy. Ambipom is going to have a hard time." Just then Delcatty used Sing. "And now it's worse. In the games, conditions like Sleep and infatuation can be doubled up. Dawn now has to recover from both of this." He said.
On the battlefield, Dawn was trying to wake up Ambipom as Delcatty struck it with Iron Tail and kept up the pressure with Shockwave. Ambipom awoke and tried to counter with Swift. Delcatty used Substitute to get out of the way but ran into a Double Hit which caused Cute Charm to activate again. Dawn kept trying to snap Ambipom out of its daze managing to get a Double Team off before Delcatty struck with another Sing and countering with a Double Hit. Ambipom shook it off and feeling her connection with her trainer unleashed a massive Swift barrage which overwhelmed the Substitute. With time running own, Lila ordered a Shockwave while Dawn ordered a Swift. The two attacks budged not giving an inch. Dawn threw more power into the connection between her and her partner. That little extra oomph overpowered the Shockwave and collided with Delcatty just as the time ran out.
When the smoke cleared, Dawn had barely beat out Lila to her and her friend's joy. Lila sighed and went over to pet Delcatty. "You did great Delcatty, guess Johanna's drive past down to her little girl." She watched as Dawn was presented the ribbon for the contest. She saw the smiles on her friends face. "No, she isn't a little girl anymore. She's something more. I just can't place it." Lila said smiling as Dawn celebrated with her friends.
Next Day Celestic Town Museum (DP096 and DP097 influenced the chapter)
After the contest the gang decided they still had a couple of days before they had to get back on the road. So at the suggestion of Tori, they headed towards the museum in town. When they got there they were surprised to see Cynthia talking with an elder woman greyish blonde hair. The champion turned to see her new friends approach.
"Oh hello there. I was just telling my grandmother here about the temple ruins we went to the other day. Grandmother these are the kids I talked about."
Professor Carolina took a good look at the trainers. "I see. So one of you unlocked the Celestic Tower."
Anabel raised her hand. "I did mam."
Carolina nodded. "With the temple opening we can do more research into this Pre-Sinnoh civilization. Come let me show you something."
Carolina led the group to a very well secured room. "This is the Lustrous Orb. We have increased the security on the orb after the Adamant Orb was stolen. These two orbs are said to power Dialga and Palkia and it was a shame first one was stolen. Though I thank these Kamen Riders for giving their all and making sure civilians came first."
The group smiled. Just then a middle aged blue haired man walked up. "What those Riders are, are cowards."
"Cyrus, good to see your wit is as sharp as ever. Children this is business mogul Cyrus. What do you mean they are cowards?"
Cyrus walked up to the orb. "I mean instead of securing the scene they chased after those monsters. And those masks they wear, what do they hide? Are they truly protecting us or are they with those so-called dark riders?"
Dawn was about to speak but Misty held her back, Drew doing the same to Ash. Cyrus gazed at the orb. "Such power contained within the Orb. Power to change time and space. Having both in hand you can change the world to fit your needs."
Anabel happened to be walking around and brushed against Cyrus. Instantly she was bombarded with images.
Vision
An explosion…Team Galactic showing up…They end up stealing the Orb…Cyrus revealed to be working with the organization. Ash getting poisoned protecting her...kaijuu attack…Misty and her creating a duel strike."
Vision End
Anabel gasped getting Cyrus to look at her. "Sorry about that." Cyrus waved it off. "It is fine." He looked at Ash and Dawn. "I want you to two to touch the Orb. I feel something in you two will ignite the orb."
Dawn and Ash looked at each other and moved hesitantly to touch the orb. Through their auras they could feel something. They debated with each other on what to do.
Meanwhile Anabel got Misty's attention. She whispered into here. "Cyrus is not who the public believes."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "What is he?"
"I don't know. I think Team Galactic."
Misty widened her eyes but then narrowed them. "We'll see how this plays out."
Cyrus was getting frustrated. "What is taking so long? Why are you not saying anything?"
"Sorry, we wanted to be sure. But we didn't feel anything spark." Dawn said.
Cyrus growled. Just then an explosion happened in the museum.
Professor Carolina rushed to seal the room only to find the door jammed. "Security has been compromised we need to secure the Orb now!"
The gang immediately rushed into action and the Orb was placed on a trolley. They started to run in an effort to get the orb out of the museum. Going down the first hallway, they encountered multiple shadow troops, a purple haired gothic woman and what looked like a Toxicroak.
Brock stepped up. "Get out of here guys, I got this." Brock said holding up his belt.
Before they could protest, Max stepped up and put his belt on. "Don't worry we'll be fine." He said as they got into their stances.
HENSHIN
EVOLVE
Onyx and Ace pulled out their weapons and charged into the fray.
"Come on we need to go now!" Drew called out as they turned around. Going down another hallway, they ran into a familiar trio.
"Well now if isn't the twerps." Jessie haughtily said. Cynthia was about to pull out her poke ball when she noticed that the others weren't reacting to these three as strongly as the other Team Galactic members.
"At least we don't have to worry about our bosses interfering with our conversation. The Team Galactic Boss was leading this operation." James said.
"Are you sure, we should be…Where did Cyrus go?" Gabby asked curiously.
"Must have gotten lost in the confusion." Misty said.
"Yeah about that Cyrus fella. He's the boss that Glenn has been conspiring with."
This got everyone to widen their eyes except for Anabel who could only step back. "I knew it."
They turned to Anabel. "I somehow saw visions. They…told me about what is happening. I told Misty but until now…"
"Its fine, what's done is done." Ash said reassuring the empath turned seer. "What do we do now?"
Before they could answer the ceiling collapsed, revealing Ace and Onyx struggling to get up. Team Rocket leaped back. The purple haired woman turned to the three. "Good job keeping the riders occupied, Team Rocket.
"Of course, Commander Jupiter." Jessie said with disguised venom. Ace had recovered enough to toss smoke bombs which blinded the villains.
"Get them now! They can't escape!" Jupiter ordered. The grunts and the dark troopers scattered to find them.
Meanwhile, the group was trying to make its way to the exit. This was slowed considerably as Ace and Onyx were not fully recovered and they were also carrying the orb.
"This is bad, we are already down two riders and we still have to get the orb out." May called out.
Cynthia looked down the hallway. "If we can get to the exit we should be home…free…" They reached the exit only to see multiple grunts, troopers and a couple of kaijuu, one like a Bronzong and another like Flareon. In front of the group was Cyrus.
"I knew there was more to you than meets the eye." Cyrus chuckled. "Now then, hand over the Orb and surrender or these Kaijuu will destroy this museum and you.
The Riders contemplated this offering. Before they could act, Ash sensed something. Turning behind him he widened his eyes and pushed Anabel out of the way. Before she could register what happened, Ash took a Poison Jab right to the chest. The group turned to see they were surrounded on both sides. Anabel crawled over to Ash as he moaning in pain.
"Ash? Are you okay?"
Ash looked up with pained eyes. "I've…been better. Better you than me."
Anabel teared up slightly at that. Meanwhile Drew cursed. One of their aces was down and both of the healers were going to have to work over time to get Brock, Ash and Max back to fighting shape. And considering they would need someone to protect the healers, they would be down to four capable fighters.
Anabel stood up and faced the larger group. "You hurt him. You hurt our boyfriend." Anabel said pulling out her belt. "Your going to pay for that!"
Surprised by Anabel's confidence, the group grinned and pulled out either their belts or their weapons. Misty stood next to Anabel. "You pissed of the wrong group." She said pulling out her belt.
After giving out orders, Drew stood in from of the Toxicroak enemy with Gabby at her side. Tori and Dawn were able to move everyone off to the said and May was chosen as guard. "If you think if you've seen everything you got another thing coming." He said pulling out his phone and pressing a button that wasn't Leo.
STANDBY: PISCES
Gabby put on her driver. "You made a bad mistake. Now prepare to be put on my mantle."
HENSHIN
COMPLETE/EVOLVE/ORION
Where the teens stood now stood four armored fighters ready to attack.
Zodiac and Orion were using their knives to cut and slash into the museum. However the amount of opponents started to become overwhelming and it wasn't being helped by the constant barrage by the Toxicroak opponent, dubbed Toxic Puff.
"Okay tell me we aren't normally this outmatched." Orion yelled.
"No. But we are four against I don't know how many. We need some sort of edge. Think we can pull off a duel strike?"
Orion nodded and spun her knives and crossed them over her chest. "Let's do this!"
Zodiac nodded and put his knives in a cross. "Right."
"LET'S GO! DUAL STRIKE
(Advance Wars Dual Strike: Hero Duel Strike OST)
The power coursed through their bodies, as their emblems merged, both of them taking the other's power as their own. Snapping their heads towards their opponents, they charged at them and then became a blur.
Toxic Puff watched as the two riders sped through the ranks. In short order they met up in front of puff as the troopers fell like dominos.
Before it could react they were on him like rapid wolverines. Despite Zodiac's limited skill in knife wielding, his partner's skill gave him the edge, while his power was shared with Orion making her attacks more devastating in this synchronized dance. Once enough damage was done they activated their finishers.
STANDBY PISCES: FINSHER
ORION: MAXIMUM ENERGY
COMBO: SHARK HUNTER BREAKER
Knives glowing gold and blue respectively, they vanished again. Reappearing behind Puff, they re-crossed their arms.
"PISECES BREAKER
"HUNTING SLASHER."
The monster blew up with a vengeance. "Yippie Kiya you over grown frog."
"Thanks for the Hunt."
The two riders looked over to their friends to be sure they were okay and then watch Triton and Kyokan fight their way out.
Kyokan and Triton charged down the steps as the Kaijuu and the soldiers charged at them. Kyokan swung her chakrams in a wide arc as she sliced through three soldiers. She quickly scanned a card.
SHADOW BALL
She fired off multiple shadowy balls before shifting her weapons into dagger form and moving into close range. Meanwhile Triton had formed multiple water streams and was cutting through their opponents.
WATER PULSE
She fired off the large ball of water and scattered her opposition. She leaped back and stood back to back with Kyokan.
"There's a lot here and we can't seem to get to the kaijuu." Triton said pushing back another enemy.
Kyokan swung her weapon at two more opponents. She then reached into her pouch to pull out a card when a card glowed. Pulling it out, it revealed her new card.
"…Triton get your Queen card out."
"Why?"
"If we use what Ash and Drew pulled off combined with our final form cards we might be able to get out of this."
"You sure?"
"Your in charge remember I just gave you an idea."
Triton blocked a charge. "Let's do this." She said taking out her Queen card. At once, the two scanned their cards.
QUEEN
SEER
The two were enveloped in light. Triton assumed her Queen form while Kyokan's armor changed. Her armor was lithe looking while also gaining shawl that connected her wrists. Her helmet picked up a gold circlet and her body was adorned with rubys and topaz. Her chest area and her waist were slightly darker and outlined in gold. This was Kyokan Seer form.
Triton glanced behind her. "You look great. Ready?" She said holding Lugia length wise in front of her.
"Yes. And Thanks." She said moving one of her chakrams in front of her.
"LET'S GO DUAL STRIKE
In their minds eye, their emblems were connecting. As they merged they could feel each other's power flowing into them. Snapping their eyes open they moved into end their opposition.
Kyokan danced her way through the opposition with ease. This was helped by the fact she started to develop a sixth sense for attacks. One came in from behind her, she swung up and slashed through its chest. Two more were going for her head and legs. She spun her self-sideways and cut through them with the knife form of the weapon. Once the soldiers were removed, she turned to the Flareon monster. It fired multiple fireballs at her. Kyokan though danced as though through an invisible rhythm. Twirling and jumping, she dodged the attacks while getting closer she started scanning cards such as Psychic and Psybeam that did a large amount of damage. These attacks had water influence thanks to her team-up with Triton She then leaped up into the air and pulled out two cards and charged them.
LUSTER PURGE: MAXIMUM ENERGY
ZAP CANNON: MAXIMUM ENERGY
COMBO: LIGHTNING PURGE
Doing a dance in the air as the chakrams charged, she stopped as it reached maximum power.
"This dance is over, no hard feelings." She said holding out her hands and firing the beams obliterating her opponent. She landed and held her chakrams aloft and bowed.
Triton was stabbing like no one's business. She let go of Lugia which floated next to her, a gift from Kyokan, and started punching and kicking. With the extra reach provided by the telepathy, soon enough, the remaining troops were decimated and Bronze Bell was left. She hovered up and activated her finishing cards.
AQUA JET: MAXIMUM ENERGY
HYDRO PUMP: MAXIMUM ENERGY
COMBO: HYDRO DRILL
Triton pointed Lugia down and spun rapidly. Propelling with massive water power, she effortlessly cut through the bell shaped monster.
"May you rest in your watery grave." Triton said as her opponent blew up. She turned her attention skyward as she heard helicopters taking off. In the confusion, someone had gotten the Lusterous orb. They had won the day but lost their objective.
"No the Orb!" Professor Carolina shouted. Cyrus just laughed. "Until next time riders." He said taking off.
The powered riders returned to civilian form. "We may have lost the Orb, but we are alive. In my book that's all that matters." Misty said.
"True that. But the question is what do they want with the orbs? What they want can't be good."
The heroes watched as their opponents took their target. They now have more reason to train, in order to counter what ever Team Galactic and Glenn have in store. What will happen? Find out next time on Journeys of the Dreamer.
END OF CHAPTER
UO: Alright we are almost on my track but whatever.
New Forms.
Kyokan Seer: Anabel's final form. She develops a basic precognition sense that can be shared during Dual Strikes.
Preview: As they head to Hearthome City and eventually Dawn's hometown, Max runs into Angie as he receives his first pokémon. Then Dawn develops doubts which gets prayed upon. Finally while in her hometown she encounters her temple where she needs to sure in her conviction. What will happen? Find out.
Next Time: Light of Hypnosis
Please Review Kindly. Next update is Bleach Grand Prix. Also check out my pals, Lalapie203, Spartan719, Code-Emperor07, Kurogane 7, Soleneus, Soulsilverlord, Vanishing Raptor, Kage Bijuu, Giratina Zero EvashinobiKaiserKnight Kamen Rider Super-Fan and NorthSouthGorem. I help on a lot of their works.
OSPREY…SWOOOSH