(A/N: So I had been thinking, you know when there's ever a huge blockbuster hit and they have a song for the soundtrack but it's like never heard in the movie?. Well, I decided to play that game as well. Unfortunately, it's not a song you would really hear during a scene, hence why they show that song with a music video, but just one of the themes of the movie. Anyway, the name of the song is "For You" by The Calling. If I happen to find anymore, I'll let you know about it.)
Chapter 6: Something Inside Blooms
The next morning, Matt woke up to the sun's rays in his face. Groaning slightly, he turned over and looked at the clock, which read 8:39. Normally he would get out of bed with no problems, but today, he was feeling a bit more tired.
"Well, we did do a whole lot of walking yesterday," Matt thought, struggling to get up. He then looked over and saw that Kari was still sleeping in her bed next to his. Deciding it was probably best not to wake her, he decided to use the time he had to do some training, especially with Houndour. He then picked up Raiden, who as always was not willing to get up so early, and they then went outside. "Raiden, it's been so long and you're still not willing to get up early?"
"Chu," Raiden said, yawning. Even he was curious as to why he's never been a morning Pokemon. Guess some things never change.
Once they got to an open field, Matt then took out three Pokeballs. "Alright guys, time for a little training!" There were three flashes of light, and Empoleon, Lucario, and Houndour appeared. Matt then looked to the canine Pokemon. "Alright Houndour, I'd like you to meet my other two companions Empoleon and Lucario. Now I'll be honest, I train hard with the Pokemon I have, but I'm never unreasonable with them. Do you feel up to the challenge?" It must have been an obvious question for Houndour, as he quickly nodded with excitement in his eyes. "Alright then, Empoleon, we'll start with you first."
The two then faced each other on either side of the field. Technically, Houndour was at a disadvantage since he was a fire-type. But Matt of course knew this: it would only make Houndour stronger. "Empoleon, start off with Hydro Pump! Houndour, use Flamethrower!" The two Pokemon attacked at the same time, with Empoleon shooting out a huge stream of water, while Houndour shot out a streak of fire, powerful too. The two attacks hit at the same time but neither seemed to be stronger than the other. Houndour was indeed strong.
"That was good, Houndour," Matt said. "Now let's make things a bit more interesting. Time we try out that new move, Empoleon. Houndour, use Shadow Ball, and Empoleon, use Hydro Cannon!"
Houndour opened his mouth and a dark sphere produced in his mouth, he then shot it towards Empoleon. Meanwhile, Empoleon opened his mouth and a similar sphere, this one blue, produced and he shot it towards Houndour. The two attacks hit and both resulted in an explosion. Once again, the attacks were even.
Matt was impressed, but also a bit surprised. "Houndour, I can definitely see that you were a good pick. Now, let's put your melee skills to the test. Empoleon, use Metal Claw, and Houndour, use Iron Tail!" The two Pokemon then charged at one another, Empoleon with claws extended, and Houndour with his tail glowing. The two then struck each other and continued to attack. Soon, both of them stopped due to exhaustion.
All of a sudden, however, Houndour started to glow. His figure grew taller and longer and before Matt's eyes, Houndour had evolved into Houndoom. "Alright!" Matt said, going up to him and petting him behind the ears. "You evolved into Houndoom, making you even stronger. Now I definitely know the five of us can't be beaten." He then looked over to Lucario. "Alright Lucario, want to go next?"
Matt and his Pokemon then continued battling for another fifteen minutes before resting, also known to them as meditating. Matt knew that Houndoom was new to the process and quickly showed him.
"You did well today, Houndoom," Matt said, his eyes closed as well as the others. "I know this isn't something you're used to, but you'll get used to it quickly. Meditation calms the mind and the body. Just let yourself open your mind."
And thats what they did. Matt let his thoughts drift off to somewhere else, where he felt comfortable and alone. All of a sudden, his eyes opened up with surprise and shock. "Oh crap," he said, standing up, forgetting what he had been previously doing. His companions looked at him with confusion.
"I can't believe I almost forgot," Matt said. Today was Kari's birthday. How in the world could he almost forget that? It didn't matter now, he had to come up with something quick, for he was not prepared. "Alright, let's think here," he said, mostly to himself. "I obviously have to do something nice, or else she's going to think I'm an asshole. Let's see, Eterna City is supposed to have a very nice restaurant here, but I don't know how I'm going to convince her to stay here for the next day or two. Veilstone City is the closest from here, but it's still too far to walk to. Oh well, guess I'll have to find a way to convince her, but even so, I think Kari will like it."
"Like what?" Matt stiffened slightly as he turned around and saw that Kari was behind him.
"Oh hi Kari," Matt said quickly, his heart beat rising. "Uh, I was going to say how I really thought you were going to like how I'm bonding so well with my Pokemon... and that Houndour evolved into a Houndoom!"
"Wow!" Kari said, surprised. "He did, and so quickly too. He must've seen a lot of battles then. So, we leaving after breakfast?"
"Oh, about that," Matt said. He then went to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. "Say listen Kari, how about we stay here in Eterna City for a bit? We could take a look around the city some more, and see if there's anything going on."
"I guess we could," Kari said, a bit confused. "But how long were you thinking we would be staying?"
"Well, maybe another day or two?" Matt said sheepishly.
"A day or two?" Kari asked. "Matt, I'm not sure if we could really find anything to do that'll take up at least two days."
"If only she knew," Matt thought to himself. "Well, look at it this way, we won't have to sleep in the wilderness nearly as much."
"Okay, you have me convinced," Kari said, laughing. "Fine, I'm sure there's plenty of things we could do."
"Well, before we do anything, let's get some breakfast," Matt said. "I'm not the only one who's feeling hungry."
Meanwhile...
Veilstone Citywas known for many things, but one of the particular things it was known for, unknown to the public was that it stationed the main headquarters of the infamous Team Galactic. Inside the base, a man sat in his office, staring at the computer in front of him.
"I know what I'm looking for, but how I can achieve it I've yet to find out," he thought to himself.
All of a sudden, the door opened and another man came inside. "Commander Saturn, reporting sir," the man said.
The first man nodded. "Do you have anything new to report?"
"I do, but I feel it would be best to say it in private," Saturn said.
"We are in private," the man said. "Now, what is it?"
"When we had done our reconnaissance at the Sinnoh Academy, we came upon an interesting find," Saturn said. "Apparently, they are trying to figure out the same things we are: finding Palkia and Dialga. However, they entrusted the critical information to an eighteen year-old female from Sandgem Town."
"I see, and where is she now?" the man asked.
"Last we heard, she was in Eterna City," Saturn said.
"So she's heading straight towards us," the man said. He then smiled. "Perfect. That will be all, Commander." Saturn then left the office. "So, the Academy thought they could hide top secret information within a teenager. No matter, for she'll soon be in our custody, and I, Cyrus, will find out the secret and the old world will crumble beneath me with Palkia and Dialga at my side!"
Over the course of the day, Matt and Kari went around the city, looking for anything that they could find. Matt, meanwhile, was secretively setting up arrangements for tonight, which usually meant he had to sneak off somewhere by himself, hoping Kari wasn't becoming suspicious of him.
One of the last stops they made was the Eterna Museum. The museum featured lots of ancient artifacts, mostly dealing with Sinnoh folklore. One of the amazing features that captivated both of them were the two statues of the two deities, Palkia and Dialga. "Wow," Matt said. "Who would've thought that such powerful Pokemon become known as gods?" He then looked over and saw that Kari was still staring at the two statues. "Kari? You alright?"
"Huh?" Kari said, breaking out of her trance. "Oh, I'm fine. Say, look at this." She then went up to a glass case which held a parchment that read:
Three Pokemon there were.
Into the lakes they dove.
Deep, deep, drawing no breath.
Deeper, deeper they dove.
Into suffocating deaths depths they dove.
Deeper, then deepest they alight.
From the lake floor they rise.
Bearing with them the power to make
vast lands, they rise again.
"I'm sure you know what Pokemon they're talking about," Kari said.
"Of course," Matt said. "Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. Mesprit, the being of emotion; Azelf, the being of will power; and Uxie, the being of knowledge."
"Wow, someone's been paying attention in class after all," Kari said, smirking.
"Well, if it deals with Pokemon, then yes," Matt said.
"It's interesting though," Kari said. "I mean, I've always been told it was Arceus who created everything, including Palkia and Dialga and the lake trio, and yet, they live in different dimensions."
"Space and time are like two sides of a coin," Matt said. "They must be properly balanced, otherwise who knows what terrible things could happen." He then became quite hesitant. "Hey Kari, you don't by chance still have that dress from that date we had with you, do you?"
"Uh, yeah I do," Kari said, a bit confused. "But what would I need it for?"
Matt then smiled. "Well, I thought maybe we could go somewhere nice tonight. Eterna City does have a nice restaurant, plus you can also bring your Pokemon."
"Well, that does sound like something I can't turn down," Kari said, sighing. She then smiled. "Alright Matt, I'll go along with it, but I have a feeling you have something planned."
"Oh trust me, you have no idea," Matt said, grinning.
A couple of hours later, the two then got ready, and they both walked towards the restaurant, which also happened to be an inn, known as The Noctowl Inn. "Well, I guess I spoke a bit too soon," Kari said, looking around the restaurant. It even had a small band for entertainment.
"Well, seeing as now is the best time," Matt said, taking out a small gift box. "Happy Birthday."
"Oh Matt, thank you," Kari said, blushing slightly. "Personally, I had thought you forgotten," she added with a smirk. Matt laughed slightly as she opened the box, which held a necklace covered in sapphires. Her eyes then teared up slightly. "Matt, it's beautiful." She then got up, walked to him and gave him a hug. "I love it."
"Glad to hear it," Matt said.
"So, have anything else up your sleeve?" Kari asked.
"Just one," he said. He then gave a wink and a nod to the lead singer of the band, and all of a sudden, the band started playing an all familiar song.
"Oh my God, you didn't," Kari said, obviously getting excited. "How did you know?"
"Well, with all the times you've played it and times you mentioned how much you love that song."
"Touché," Kari said, laughing slightly.
Matt then got up from his seat, and reached out his hand. "So shall we?"
"Oh, I don't know Matt," Kari said. "I'm not exactly the best at dancing."
"Come on, it's no big deal," Matt said.
"Alright," Kari said, taking his hand. The two then went out and stood in the middle of the floor. Kari put her arms around Matt's neck as he put his hands on her waist.
"Kari, there's something I have to tell you," Matt then said. "I haven't been able to tell you this before, but I feel if I don't tell you now, I may not get another chance."
"What is it, Matt?" Kari asked.
"For the longest time, I've had feelings for you. Deep feelings," Matt said.
"Oh," Kari said, a bit surprised. She then became quiet.
"I'm sorry," Matt said, feeling embarrassed. "I didn't mean for that to come all at-"
"No, it's fine," Kari said, blushing even more now. "The truth is, I've been feeling the same for you as well."
"Really?" Matt asked.
"Yeah," Kari said. "I also had a hard time trying to tell you, but," she added, her lips moving close to his, "I think I'm now comfortable to mention it."
"Me too," Matt said, and their lips met, with Matt placing his hands on her shoulders while she placed her hands through his hair. They then finally broke the kiss, and looked at each other. "So, I guess that means we're going out now?" Matt asked.
"Definitely," Kari said. "Now we just have to get RiRi to fall in love with Raiden and then we'll know for sure we have something going." The two laughed as they both continued to dance to the music played by the band.
(A/N: You've been expecting it for awhile and I finally let it loose. Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter and yes, Cyrus plays a big part in this story. Until then, stay tuned.)
FoxMcCloud7921