Chapter Seven
Unlikely Savior
"PokéBlocks! Freshly made PokéBlocks! Specially blended to bring out the best in you!"
"Miracleberries, sold by the bushel! Cures everything from headaches to burns!"
"Step right up to the Haircut Booth! Don't be shy, and you could come away with a whole new look!"
Lynn had wondered before how so many people could live in a single city. But back then, she apparently hadn't taken into account how much said people could endure. Yelling, cursing, and grabbing over each other's heads didn't seem to be above anybody. Neither was haphazardly shoving, rushing, and dodging all along the narrow lanes. The passive Lynn was knocked down several times; each time, the individual who'd crashed into her didn't even pause long enough to notice.
Bit by bit, Lynn wormed her way through the teeming crowd, across the walkways, and past the towering black structures that shot up from all sides. Hugging her pack protectively again her chest, she winced whenever another person or Pokémon roughly buffeted past.
Take heart, Lynn told herself repeatedly. You always wanted to visit the cities in Mother Woodwort's stories. You knew things in cities were bound to be more…exotic. Aren't you lucky to finally be here?
Those words were easy enough to chant in her head. At that moment, however, Lynn would've much preferred to be sitting in a circle around the bonfire, listening to Mother Woodwort's stories about brave heroes in faraway lands…much more so than futilely trying to be one of those heroes herself. Just go to the Stadium like the Fearow asked you to, Lynn reminded herself, feeling the weight of the Rainbow Wing in her pocket. That's all. Then its soul can rest in peace, and you'll be free for good.
In the end, Feldspar proved to be right. The Verdant City Stadium was easy to find – Lynn spotted it right after she turned the corner. It was getting into the Stadium that was going to be ridiculously difficult. Like Feldspar had told her, the Stadium was an enormous cylindrical structure crafted entirely from gleaming white stone. Numerous archways around its curved sides provided entrances to an inner area…all of which were currently clogged with masses of humans and Pokémon alike.
Still clutching her pack with both arms, Lynn stared at the veritable flood of people moving beneath the arches. The crowds stretched all the way across her line of sight, winding off into the far distance. To make matters even worse, what looked to be gruff guards stood at every one of the Stadium's many entrances.
Creeping timidly through the crowd, Lynn watched one guard, a scowling Rhydon, shove back a small Totodile.
"The ticket booth is at the other side of the building!" the Rhydon growled irritably. "Now get out of my face!"
The little gator Pokémon fell back, whining loudly. "I know I bought a ticket just last week!" it yelled indignantly at the guard. "Just give me five more minutes and I swear I'll find it!"
The Rhydon ignored the Totodile's cries. As it turned back to the next individual in line, a tawny-haired human boy, Lynn saw a thin red slip pass from boy to guard.
"Hey, the end of the line's back there!" snapped a tall girl standing behind Lynn. Jerking around with a jolt, then murmuring an inaudible apology, Lynn moved hastily away. Unable to see where she was going, however, she bumped into someone else as she backed up.
"Sorry!" Lynn gulped out for the umpteenth time, recoiling and trying to move in a different direction. The crush of the surrounding crowd, however, was too heavy for her to escape. As she tried squirming through a small opening between two quarreling Psyduck, Lynn inadvertently lost her footing. With a yelp, she found herself tripping forward, knocking over a small girl as she fell.
"S-sorry," Lynn squeaked again as she picked herself off the ground. The girl she had knocked over, a slight, fragile-boned child nearly a head shorter, looked up through wispy purplish bangs.
"S'okay," the little girl said in a soft, lilting voice. Her large eyes closed briefly as she smiled, and the next thing Lynn knew, the other girl was on her feet and weaving her way expertly through the crowd. Surprisingly, no one seemed to take notice as she passed through. They certainly didn't yell at or tell her to move to the back of the line.
Curious, Lynn followed the other girl through the crowd. Not as nearly as adept, she lost sight of her bobbing head several times. Breaking past a cluster of chortling Spinda, Lynn caught a glimpse of the small girl walking past a guard and through a nearby archway. Summoning all her nerve, Lynn scurried in after her.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" the guard, a brawny Typhlosion, demanded, grabbing Lynn by the shoulder. "We don't appreciate brats like you trying to sneak in!"
Heart racing in panic, Lynn hurriedly tried to blurt out an apology.
"S'okay, Firrell," came that same soft voice. Lynn's head jerked about to see the little girl standing just inside the entrance, eyes closed and mouth curved into that same mild smile. "She's coming with me. You can let her through."
Still eying Lynn distrustfully, the Typhlosion released her with a rough shove. "Are you sure about this one, Eppie?" the fire Pokémon growled. "It looks awfully flighty. Not to be trusted."
"S'okay, Firrell," the girl, Eppie, repeated. Turning back to Lynn, she gestured for her to move forward. "C'mon," she said, eyes still closed. "I'll take you to my brother. He'll wanna see you."
Feeling the suspicious glare of the guard still fixed on the back of her neck, Lynn gulped and ducked her head. Not knowing what to say, she mutely hurried through after Eppie. She was just in time to see the other girl vanishing down a set of stairs half-hidden in the shadows between two arches.
Biting nervously at her lip, Lynn made her way down the steps as well.
The stone floor of the underground hall felt numbingly cold beneath Lynn's bare feet. Though small flaming torches had been affixed to the walls at regular intervals, their tiny fires weren't nearly enough to warm the frigid air. Nor could they illuminate the passage well enough to dispel the elongated shadows flickering across the walls.
Above the ceiling, Lynn could hear the faint sounds of metal clashing against metal, echoed by rambunctious cries and laughter. She wanted to pause and listen more closely, but her guide showed no sign of stopping. As she glimpsed Eppie disappearing around a dark corner ahead, Lynn had no choice but to dash after her.
For more several minutes, the two girls traveled down a wide marble hallway, the slap of their bare feet echoing in the enclosed space. Lynn kept her eyes on the white cloth of Eppie's sleeveless shirt and pants, the only part of the other girl that was readily visible in the progressively darkening passage. Eppie, for her part, didn't seem to need any sort of guiding light. She marched down the corridor with easy confidence, arms swinging and feet clearly well accustomed to the path they took.
Just when Lynn had just about lost all sense of time and direction in the nearly complete darkness, Eppie, footsteps as regular as clockwork, came to a halt. "We're going up now," her disembodied voice rose out of the shadows. "Better watch the first step."
Nodding, even though Eppie probably couldn't see her, Lynn tested the lowest stair with her toes before sliding one foot, then the other, onto its surface. Focusing all her concentration into the next step, then the next, she continued in this halting fashion the rest of the way up.
She bumped into Eppie as she neared the top stair. Hurriedly withdrawing to the side, Lynn slowly realized that the smaller girl was straining to push against something in the ceiling of the passage. She'd been trying, perhaps for quite some while, without much success. Slowly, Lynn inched forward, just as Eppie began to pound at the ceiling. The steps were wide enough for two people, and Lynn's free hand soon found the cold smooth surface of what seemed to be a metal door. "Ah, maybe we should…I mean, d-do you want to try it together?" she suggested tentatively.
Though she couldn't see much on the dark stairway, Lynn instantly pictured Eppie shaking her bangs out of her eyes and smiling. Sure," the other girl said agreeably. "Count of three?"
"One, two, and three…"
Both girls shoved with their combined strength at the heavy door. Lynn grit her teeth as a crack of light began to appear at its base. Bracing her legs against the top step, she thrust her shoulder under the metal and shoved…
With a stubborn groan, the door creaked open, revealing an illuminated opening so bright that Lynn automatically winced and looked away. Eppie, however, cried out joyfully upon being rid of the darkness at last. Before Lynn could even move, the other girl was through the door and out of sight. Lynn finally followed more hesitantly, one hand held up against the blinding light.
The sounds of scuffling and clunking were louder up here. Taking the final step out of the passageway, Lynn blinked. She was standing on the raised edge of a small courtyard flooded with sunlight. Lingering a bit, Lynn looked up at the sweeping stone walls that surrounded the enclosure, then towards the cloudless blue sky stretched high above it.
Slowly, Lynn loosened her grasp on her pack, then spread her arms to meet the caress of the sun. The fresh breeze whisking through her hair was a welcome relief from the musty underground, and the sun-warmed stones below seemed to thaw the soles of her numb feet. She certainly wouldn't have minded standing here for several moments more, basking contentedly in the light.
But realizing that Eppie was nowhere in sight, Lynn reluctantly forced herself back to attention. Debating whether or not to call out for the other girl, she walked down another flight of steps into the lowered center of the courtyard…
And met with the edge of a silver blade.
"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you."
Trying to force her throbbing heart out of her throat, Lynn hastily opened her mouth. The metal flashed as the sword drew closer, reducing what was left of her composure to a ragged, shaking mess. "I-I didn't mean to d-do anything wrong!" she choked out in frightened protest. "I-I…"
"She's telling the truth, big brother!" Eppie's voice cried out from the side. "Don't hurt her!"
The boy with the sword did not take his eyes off Lynn. "Eppie, move back," he commanded in a ringing voice.
"But…!"
"Move back before you get hurt!" the boy barked.
Though Eppie had called him brother, Lynn could see little resemblance between the two. Eppie, who could be deemed small and frail at best, was downright pathetic standing next to this bristling boy. With his muscled arms, flying black hair, and piercing dark eyes, he towered well over a foot above Lynn and would have made an imposing sight even without a sword in hand.
"Please, don't hurt her!" Eppie tried again. "You can't!"
Lynn gasped as the small girl hurtled forward, grabbing her by the hand and staring desperately back at the boy. "Please, big brother, listen to me," Eppie pleaded. "I brought her here to meet you…"
The sword flashed again and Lynn squeezed her eyes shut in terror. When she opened them, the metal blade was a fraction of a finger's length from her throat.
"I send you out for a practice sword, and you bring back this pathetic excuse for a Human?" The boy's voice was now quieter and more controlled, but still verging on a growl. "We have no use for strays like this, Eppie."
"Big brother, please." Eppie's voice trembled in an attempt to hold back tears. "Put down that sword." Her bony fingers tightened around Lynn's wrist, nearly cutting off her circulation with their surprising strength.
"She's right, you know," rang a clear masculine voice through the air. Lynn's eyes darted about in search of the speaker, but the boy's intense gaze never wavered from its target.
"Cro, we all know you're not permitted a real weapon out of battle," came the voice again, just as even as before. "Would you have a Master stumble in right now and see you waving that around?"
Lips tightening to suppress a snarl, the boy slowly withdrew the sword. Nerves severely frazzled, Lynn fell to her feet, Eppie's frail hand still clutching at her own. From the side, the shaken forest girl glimpsed a flicker of movement.
Jagged yellow tail bobbing out behind it, Lynn's rescuer leapt into the center of the stone arena, its attentive black eyes still fixed on Cro.
"Thank you," the wiry Pikachu said, nodding to the boy as he sheathed the sword. Turning to Lynn and Eppie, it (or was "it" a "he"? Lynn wondered numbly, not knowing how to address her sudden savior) inclined his head in greeting. "My name is Sparkacus," the Pikachu told Lynn, extending his tail towards the girl. "What brings you to the Stadium?"
Lynn shook the offered tail with a still trembling hand. "I-I..I'm Lynn. From V-verdant," she said. Despite trying as hard as she could to keep her voice from quavering, she predictably failed miserably. "And I came here b-because…because…"
"Coz I brought her," Eppie broke in, releasing Lynn's arm at last.
An irritated groan escaped the nearby Cro. "And why, Eppie, why?" the boy demanded, slapping the flat of his palm against the stone side of the courtyard. "Don't we have enough to deal with already?"
The small girl was not intimidated. Drawing herself up to her pitifully small height, Eppie moved in front of Lynn. "She told me to, big brother," the little girl said in a clear, proud voice.
Lynn blanched at this statement. But before she could object, Eppie continued. "Epiphany told me to bring her here after we saw her. So I did. Just like Epiphany asked me to."
"Epiphany again?" Cro snapped incredulously. "Honestly, Eppie, how many times do I have to say this? Epiphany's your real name! She's you, not some stupid imaginary friend who's got a hobby of getting you into trouble all the time!"
"I'm not Epiphany," Eppie stated unwaveringly.
"Oh, please. Why do you keep denying it?"
"Because I'm not," Eppie said, voice softer, but no less firm, than before. Head thrust back, she stared unfalteringly back at the angry boy. "Epiphany knows so many things that I don't," Eppie went on, voice dwindling into little more than a whisper. "Epiphany told me that, today, the last heir will finally arrive."
From where Lynn knelt, she could only see the back of Eppie's head, where her wispy purple hair was pulled back into a thin tuft of a ponytail. That lackluster lavender was a strange color for hair, one that reminded Lynn of wild Rattata fur. Eppie herself might have been no more than a small forest Rattata, claws dug into the ground and scrawny body braced for a blow. Cro, with his flashing eyes and sweeping black hair, should have been the swiftly attacking Sneasel.
Should have been.
To Lynn's disbelief, Cro's narrowed eyes were widening, the enraged snarl on his lips slackening into an open gape of surprise. "The last heir has finally arrived?" he repeated disbelievingly. His face contorted with anger once more. "What on earth are you blathering on about now!"
A slap of wood and squeak of rubber on stone sounded. Eppie had pulled out a practice sword and let it fall onto the ground. Without a word, she rushed to the stairs at the edge of the courtyard. Lynn caught a glimpse of Eppie's face as she passed. The girl's eyes were bright with contained tears.
"Eppie, wait!" Cro yelled after her. "For Martyr's sake, don't…!" He broke off, groaning in frustration, as the small girl disappeared down the steps. The slam of the falling metal door echoed after her.
From his crouch against the side of the courtyard, Sparkacus the Pikachu shook his yellow-furred head. "You can talk to her later," he called over to Cro. "But now that she's brought the sword, we had better practice."
"Screw practice, Spark! Don't you think I should get this straightened out first?" Cro shot back, voice so loud and furious that Lynn automatically tried to efface herself against the courtyard walls.
Summoning the last of her strength as Cro and Sparkacus continued to argue, she staggered onto her wobbly legs and hurried towards the trapdoor Eppie had left through before. Trying to reopen the door alone, however, proved to be an impossible task. Jaw clenched, Lynn clasped her fingers around the door's metal ring of a handle and strained with all her might.
The door did not budge one inch. Stomach writhing in dread, Lynn could only turn back to the courtyard and its two quarrelling occupants.
"Eppie may be upset now, Cro," Sparkacus was saying, "but how would she feel if you got yourself killed today? Now calm down and pick up the sword. Let's get in at least one practice round before this evening."
Breathing heavily, the boy bent and swiped the practice weapon into his hand. Faster than Lynn's eye could track, he leapt forward with a wild scream, forcing the Pikachu to dodge to the side. Sparkacus clenched his paws and countered with a streaking bolt of electricity from his ruddy cheeks. The scintillating attack branched out in Cro's direction, far too fast and wide to evade.
Lynn watched in fascinated horror as the electric stream arched towards the boy. Regaining total equanimity at last, Cro held up his sword and absorbed each lightning bolt with rapid turns of the rubber-coated weapon. The streaks of electricity became smaller and more numerous, forcing the boy to work his blade into a blur.
As Sparkacus's attack broke at last, Cro shot forward with his weapon raised. But though temporarily drained of electricity, the Pikachu was far from being out of energy. Cro's falling sword hit nothing but stone - Sparkacus had darted away from the attack with room to spare. Cro's eyes flitted about as an entire ring of lifelike Pikachu copies sprang up around the small arena.
Copies? I've seen that before, Lynn mused to herself. With the forest Pikachu playing by the Berry trees.
"Your Double Team technique's gotten better," Cro called out loudly. But if he was hoping to provoke an answer from Sparkacus, his cries were in vain. Brows knitting in concentration, Cro pivoted about on the ball of his foot. Without warning, he struck out at one of the Pikachu images. It disintegrated into nothingness as soon as the sword made contact. Again Cro made a stab at one of the many Pikachu. It too disappeared with a brief flash.
Frustrated, Cro swept his weapon through an entire row of the bobbing clones. They vanished, and with a flicker of light, more Pikachu copies materialized around the arena. Lynn stifled a squeak of surprise as one appeared only a foot away from her.
A deft sword stroke dispelled this false copy only seconds after it had appeared. Looking apprehensively upward, Lynn saw Cro's flushed face twitch into a scowl.
"And why are you still here?" he asked her. More of Sparkacus's Double Team clones shifted into view around them; Cro dispatched them all with a swipe of the blade.
Embarrassed, Lynn gestured to the closed trapdoor. "S-sorry, I t-tried to open it before…" she began awkwardly.
Before she could even finish, Cro had broken in with a sigh. Batting away more Pikachu copies with his practice sword, he extended his free hand and clasped it around the ring handle. "Here," he grunted, effortlessly hoisting up the trapdoor and indicating the exit with a jerk of his head. "Well, what's wrong now?" he demanded as Lynn hesitated.
"Um…er, well…I d-don't know my way around down there," she admitted, looking at her knees. "I can wait until you finish…uh, and follow you out. If that's okay with you," she added hastily. "S-sorry for the trouble."
Cro didn't answer. With a cry, he lunged forward and struck at a seemingly random Pikachu. In a flash, all the clones had vanished, leaving only one reeling Pikachu: the real Sparkacus. Without hesitation, Cro brought his sword to the Pokémon's head.
"Don't!" Lynn cried in horror.
Ignoring her, the boy smacked the flat of the blade against Sparkacus's skull.
The Pikachu slumped to the ground.
"No!" Lynn yelped, leaping onto her feet. She started forward, faltering as she remembered how Cro had threatened her before. But the boy even wasn't looking in her direction; he was more preoccupied with Sparkacus. The Pikachu was struggling into a semi-sitting position, Lynn saw with relief, one paw gingerly examining the bump swelling under his scalp.
"You're getting slow, Spark," Cro said wryly, leaning back on his sword.
"Speak for yourself, my friend. It certainly took you long enough to get past my Double Team attack."
"That was only because the sun was behind the clouds at the start of the match! Once I saw your shadow, Spark, I knew which one you were. But when I attacked, you should've at least tried to move! Unless…" Cro grinned and nudged the Pikachu teasingly with his toe, "…you really are getting slow. Honestly, you had more than enough time to launch a Thunderbolt or something when I was busy helping Miss Incapable over there." He jerked a thumb in Lynn's direction.
Sparkacus wrinkled his nose at this suggestion. "And run the risk of injuring our guest?" Trotting on all fours past the black-haired boy and up the courtyard steps, the Pikachu took a perch on a nearby stone block. "Please excuse my teammate," he told Lynn apologetically. "Cro often forgets the definition of courtesy. Try not to take him seriously."
Lynn, who'd been cringing at Cro's offhanded insult, couldn't help but appreciate this small kindness.
"No one asked you to," Cro said rather harshly before Lynn could reply. "Here at the Stadium, we could care less about you, Lynn of Viridian."
"Actually, it's… it's V-Verdant," Lynn corrected all-too-timidly. She hated how weak her voice sounded.
Cro's coal black eyes flashed in triumph. "Well, there's no way you're the last heir," he announced. "It doesn't matter what Eppie said. You can't even get the name of your own town right, and I'll bet you don't even know the names of the other cities in this region."
"Um…" Lynn racked her brains for even a remotely acceptable answer. "I know M-mer…curie," she said at last.
"Its name is Pewter City, not Mercury," Cro shot back sharply. "Some last heir you'd be, using those revolting Master names left and right. It's Pewter and Viridian, not Mercury and Verdant. For Martyr's sake, don't you have any pride at all?"
"Pr-pride? In…what?"
Ignorance may not have been a crime, yet the way Cro's face had contorted, he seemed apt to murder Lynn on the spot.
"Pride in WHAT?" he roared in Lynn's face. The girl backed hastily away as Cro's voice escalated into a thunderous yell. "It's bad enough that you just barge in here for no reason at all!" he shouted, eyes blazing. "And somehow Eppie's gotten it into her head that you're the last heir! How stupid is that? You've deserted us long ago, Lynn of Viridian! There's no way you're going to be the one to save us all now!"
"Cro, please," Sparkacus entreated. "It's clear the poor girl has no idea what you're talking about."
"Wait," Lynn started hesitantly. In fact, she was finally beginning to have some idea about what Cro meant after all.
But her timorous voice was drowned out by Cro's coarse laugh. "And why would she need explanations?" the black-eyed boy demanded, his shout simmering into a mocking hiss. "She's just another stray off the street. All she'll be to us is trouble, Spark. Heck, we'll probably have to clean up the whole mess when her Master finds out she's gone. She's obviously not capable of anything other than whining!"
His callous words stung badly. Lynn wanted to protest his accusations, exclaim that they were completely wrong. But to her uttermost humiliation, she felt hot tears welling up at the corner of her eyes, ready to spill out at a moment's notice. "I-I don't know what you m-mean," she said finally, bowing her head towards the ground so that Cro and Sparkacus wouldn't see her face.
"Even forgotten your Master's name, have you?" Cro snapped. "Isn't there anything you can do by yourself?"
That was it. The dam burst, sending fat tears streaming down Lynn's face. Hating herself for being so easily broken, Lynn kept her face lowered in hopes that no one would notice. "I don't have a Master," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. "I d-don't even know what that is!"
Cro saw the tears, all right. When his voice came again, it wasn't nearly as harsh as before. "Look, it's okay," he said quietly, having finally realized he'd gone too far. "Spark and I won't get you into any trouble. We can help you get back to your Master. Just…just stop crying, okay? "
The Pikachu cleared his throat abruptly. "And remember to excuse Cro for being a jerk," he finished for his friend. "That's just the way he is, I'm afraid."
"Listen to Spark," Cro agreed. Then, after a moment's pause- "Hey!"
Lynn managed a shaky smile. Pulling back tangled hair from her wet face, she slowly looked up at Sparkacus's kindly face and Cro's dark eyes…
Which were rapidly widening as Lynn looked him in the face for the first time. "You…you were telling the truth!" Cro cried in disbelief. "About not having a Master. And if you don't have a Master, then you must be a Master yourself." In a flash, his eyes had grown hard. It was Lynn's turn to gasp in surprise as she found herself at swordpoint, for the second time that day.
But at least this time it was only a wooden practice weapon, not the glittering metal blade that had instilled so much terror before. Spots dancing before her eyes, she forced herself not to turn away and make herself look even more guilty. "I-I don't know what you mean by Master," Lynn found herself saying at last. "I d-don't understand how you can tell if I'm one of them or n-not." Overcome by a mixture of fear and indignation, something in her finally snapped. "But I haven't done anything to you!" she cried, several more tears slipping down her face. "S-so…so stop threatening me!"
Behind her, she could hear Sparkacus thumping his tail in approval. Cro himself looked as surprised as Lynn now felt at her sudden outburst. Slowly, he retracted his weapon. But the suspicion was still there, caught in the furrows of his tanned forehead.
"It may be a stupid decision on my part," he said finally, frown deepening. "But maybe I'll give you one chance. But only one."
Cro's hand tightened around the hilt of his wooden sword. "Rest assured, Lynn of Viridian, that if you really are a Master, then you've already done something I won't forgive. And I'll be happy to go a heck of a lot further than just threatening you."
Stepping into the sunlight, Cro's free hand rose to his neck, indicating a thin black band that Lynn hadn't thought to take note of before. Glancing back at Sparkacus, Lynn saw that the Pikachu had a similar band fastened around his own neck.
"You have no Ring," Cro told the puzzled girl. "I didn't notice it before with all your hair in the way, not until you pushed it back just then. You know what that means, don't you?"
Lynn shook her head in confusion.
"Centuries ago, my people fought the ancestors of the Masters in this very city," the boy said, coal-black eyes blazing. "The ancestors of the Masters were made up of Pokémon rebels and the Human traitors who joined them. They defeated my people and the Pokémon who'd stayed loyal. And they Ringed us, forever marking us as slaves. Today, we're no better off. Some of us Ringed are servants or pets for the wealthy. Others, like me and Sparkacus, fight in Pokémon-Human battles at Stadiums to entertain Masters."
Cro's lip curled at this statement. "They probably thought that was funny," he snarled. "Making us fight the battles. It would have been funny to them, in a sick and twisted way. The ultimate irony."
And Lynn knew why.
"Your people," she blurted out before she could stop herself. "Your people were the Pokémon Trainers."