Thanks to those who added this story to their favorites/alerts list! I am glad that I know that some people are reading my stories. XD I'm trying to include how Riley met all of his party pokemon (the ones that he use when you battle him in Pokemon Platinum) among everything else. The first chapter was boring, sorry about that. This story is having a slow start. Like Regigigas. DX Again, sorry if there's typos or repetitions, I didn't proofread very much...

Enjoy, and please review! They help a lot.

PS. I know that you can't use fly from Spear Pillar in the game...but you can in this story because I said so. XD

PPS. I made up Salamence's title...but I thought it suited him because on one of the Pokedex entries I saw on Bulbapedia, it said that Salamence was the fastest flier of all flying-types.

2 - The Ruler of the Sky

The two figures walked silently down the endless steps. This was the first time that they actually thought about how high up in the sky they were, as no matter how many steps down they took, they always felt like they were walking in place. Finally, the bottom of the stairs could be seen, and both of them stepped off at the same time. As soon as their feet touched firmly on the dusty ground of Spear Pillar, the staircase instantly vanished. Lucario and Riley both turned to look and saw that the glass platform had disappeared as well. They looked at each other, sharing the same thoughts, but before they could say anything, a powerful blast of wind swirling with dust knocked them off guard.

Riley was able to snatch his hat before it flew off of his head, and used his arm to shield his eyes, though also closed them instinctively. With all the dust flying around, keeping your eyes open would be hazardous. Lucario, cover your eyes! the man thought, using telepathy to warn the pokemon. Riley was able to see without using his eyes, as did Lucario, using the power of Aura to observe surroundings. It was peculiar, that he could now sense that they were standing at the peak of a mountain. At the Hall of Origin, they could not feel anything around them, as if the glass platform was a dimension on its own. Lucario had backed into Riley, and the two stood back to back, feeling the air swirl around them, with dust slapping at their bodies.

'This is strange,' Lucario observed. 'How is there suddenly wind?'

I suppose the Hall of Origins is in a different world from here...you've sensed it while we were there, have you not? Riley thought back, being safe by using telepathy instead of opening his mouth. Now, we are at a mountain's peak...that must be why it is so windy.

Lucario was silent, and Riley felt his aura filters brush against his shoulders as they rose up. The pokemon was sensing for a bearing. 'There is a cave opening in front of me,' he finally thought. 'We can find shelter there.'

Agreed. Let's go, Riley replied, following Lucario's senses and finding the mouth of the cave. Swiftly yet carefully, the two bounded for the shelter, and as they entered the darkness, they were suddenly shielded from the wind, and the flying dust ceased. Riley had reopened his eyes at this point, and peered out of the cave. The raging wind was swirling dust everywhere outside, blurring the sky with a brown fog. The sun was still slightly visible through the haze, though, and judging by the position and color of it, it seemed to be the early afternoon.

"It does not seem like this wind will die down very soon," Riley commented. "Lucario, is there a way out from this cave?"

'I shall check...' Lucario closed his eyes, with his aura filters rising up again as he scanned the dark cave. They could hear the slight rustle of wings from the Zubats and Golbats who were hanging from the ceiling deeper in the cave, where the dim light of the outside wouldn't reach. 'This cave route is very winding...' Lucario reported after a moment, opening his eyes again. 'It would take very long to go through it and find a way out...and there is something blocking my vision at some point. If I cannot see through it, I doubt that we may find a way past it.'

Riley sighed, glancing back at the blowing dust outside. If it takes that long to get through this cave, and if that object blocking Lucario's view turns out to be problematic, then they shouldn't risk going through it. There wasn't much time until the sun set, and staying in a middle of a big cave like this one at night was not very pleasant - with all the bat pokemon out hunting. There could have possibly been some ghost pokemon dwelling in the darkness as well, and if there were, it would be very dangerous. Riley sat back in a corner of the cave. "It would be best to just wait, then, and wait for the wind to go away as soon as possible. Then, we may find another way to leave this place." Lucario hesitated, then sighed, sitting next to him

'Understood...'

~o~o~o~

During the free time they had while waiting, Lucario had time to explain the modern world to Riley, as he had seen it before he passed away. He explained everything that he had learned - though it still wasn't that much information, seeing that the pokemon didn't have that much time to observe everything he saw. He talked about fireworks, electricity, cars, pokemon food, and finally, about pokemon trainers, pokeballs and pokemon battles. Riley seemed puzzled by the last few subjects.

"I do not understand this thing about pokemon battles," he said. "Pokemon freely let humans control them to win battles with other pokemon? And they do this as an enjoyment?"

'Yes...I did not understand it at first, either,' Lucario admitted. 'I did not see why pokemon would bond with the humans that had captured them...however...I had met a trainer back then, and he had a Pikachu that was taken away by Mew to the Tree of Beginnings...he was willing to sacrifice all that he had to save that pokemon...and as they found each other at the tree, the Pikachu seemed glad to be reunited with his trainer.' Lucario stared outside at the wind, deep in thought as he remembered this. 'I had asked the trainer why he cared so much about his pokemon, and he told me, "Because Pikachu and I are friends." After all that I had experienced...I had learned that trainers and their captured pokemon trust each other - are loyal to each other, and help each other when they are in danger. Just like friends...'

Riley let those words sink in, still thinking on the subject. He couldn't completely accept that captured pokemon were happy to battle other pokemon for their trainers, though he believed Lucario's words. He would just have to ponder about it more until he learned to understand it fully. After a few minutes of silence, Lucario mentioned something else.

'Ah, yes, and there was a strange kind of food that I had in the modern world...'

"What strange food?" Riley asked curiously.

'It was called "chocolate." One of the trainer's human friends offered it to me. It did not look very appetizing at first, but when I tried it...it was very good,' Lucario said, nodding approvingly. Riley stared at him for a moment. He had never seen Lucario say that any food he ate was good, though he rarely ate anything but berries, like most wild pokemon did. Hearing that Lucario said that something tasted good made Riley even more curious.

"Huh...I suppose I must try some, then," he replied thoughtfully. Lucario suddenly nodded more rigorously.

'Yes, you must. I will look for it once we are able to leave this place.'

As if on queue, the wind outside started to die down. Both Riley and Lucario stood up after seeing this. "At last..." Riley sighed, kicking his feet slightly to get circulation back into his legs. "Let's go, then, Lucario."

'Yes, Aaro- Riley,' Lucario quickly corrected himself, still getting used to the new name. As the last of the wind faded away, the two stepped out, back into Spear Pillar. It was very easy to scan the terrain now, though the sky was still dull. Spear Pillar was pretty much a flat platform, plus the sharp pillars, set on a mountain top. There didn't seem like another easy way to get out of the area. 'Hm...what shall we do now?' Lucario asked, a little puzzled. Riley was staring upwards, at the clouds.

"...Perhaps we can fly out of here?" he suggested. That seemed like an easy solution.

'But...neither of us can fly, nor do we have a pokemon who could assist us...'

"And that is why I will call for them," Riley replied, as if it were simple. Lucario stared at him in confusion, but before he could ask any more, Riley knelt down, placing both of his palms onto the dust-covered floor. Closing his eyes, he took a breath, then his hands flared with visible aura. The energy around his palms grew larger and larger, until he finally released it. This sent a shock wave that shook the mountain, and Lucario stumbled slightly, in awe of his former teacher's power. As the shock wave disappeared into the distance, Riley stood up again, looking to Lucario.

"I've asked those with wings to come and help us. They should be appearing...soon..." he suddenly stumbled a little, looking dizzy. "Ah...I have to sit down for a moment."

As he practically fell on his hands and knees, Lucario kneeled down to his level, looking suddenly worried. 'Mas- Riley, are you all right?'

Riley nodded surely, giving Lucario his usual gentle smile. "Yes...I have been sleeping for so long. Suddenly using so much aura took a toll on my body, it seems. But I'll be fine in a moment." He adjusted himself so that he sat with his legs crossed, and peered up at the sky. "Oh, there they come."

Lucario followed his gaze, and saw a flock of bird pokemon flying over to where they were. It was a flock of Swablu, calling noisily as they approached. The jackal pokemon was impressed by how quickly they came, like Riley had predicted. However, Riley seemed a little disappointed in a way, frowning as he watched them approach.

"...I should have thought more about what message to send to the pokemon before I called for them," he sighed. "Swablu are too small to be ridden on, especially to be ridden by two people..." Lucario frowned as well, now seeing the problem. He also knew that, since he was the metal type pokemon, he was unusually heavy, despite how swiftly he could move, and was therefore hard to carry. The Swablu had reached the two, now chattering noisily everywhere while flapping their cloud-like wings to stay in place. Riley looked to each of them with a frown, and Lucario could tell from reading his thoughts that he was feeling guilty of making all these pokemon fly up here for nothing. As the man hesitated, suddenly there was a great roar, not from too far away. Some of the Swablu turned around in the air to see what it was, and many others screamed as they flew away, scattering in fear of the sound. The roar came again, now even closer to the crowd. Only Riley and Lucario could sense what it was.

A great sound of the flapping of bat wings could be heard, and then a looming shadow appeared in the cloudy haze. Finally, a pokemon broke out from the clouds high above them, sending some of the fog trailing after its brilliant red wings. With a swift movement, the pokemon dived down to Spear Pillar, landing in front of Riley and Lucario with its strong legs and letting out one final mighty below. All the Swablu that were crowded around had fled away by this point, and the three figures stood there alone. The pokemon was a dragon, glaring down at the man and the jackal silently with sharp, keen eyes. It folded its red wings, as its blue scales covering the rest of its body shone dully from the light of the covered sunset. Riley and Lucario stared up at it in admiration.

"The Ruler of the Sky, Salamence..." Riley muttered in awe.

'Salamence, have you heard us?' Lucario asked. The dragon pokemon responded by lowering his wings, letting the two able to climb onto its back. Riley seemed a bit surprised to see such a calm and patient Salamence. It was usually hard to try to gain one's respect. Well, there were always pokemon who strayed from their common stereotypes.

"May we...?" Salamence nodded silently, and Riley smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Salamence. We are in your debt." He felt the dragon's thoughts shift, as he disagreed with that statement. They saved that disagreement to be dealt with later, as Salamence allowed the two passengers to climb onto his back. Once they settled, the dragon raised his wings, letting out another mighty roar before he flapped them with great strength, sending the dust on the ground flying, and a large, clean spot of the ground below them was revealed - the flat bricks that Spear Pillar was built on.

As soon as Salamence effortlessly gained altitude in the air, it suddenly gave his wings one huge flap, pushing the air behind him as he surged forward. This was movement was so sudden that his riders nearly fell off right then and there. Riley had to grab Lucario's paw to prevent the jackal from falling off, and gently grasped onto Salamence's long neck to steady himself as well. After this rocky start, the flying pokemon slowed down a little, not flapping his wings so rapidly as before, letting himself cruise in the wind.

The group of Swablu that had gone to Spear Pillar managed to follow Salamence before losing him in the sky, and had to use great effort to catch up with the dragon, even though it was just drifting with the wind. He was still fast enough to make it hard for the small birds to keep up. The flock of Swablu followed closely behind Salamence's tail, all calling out happily. Some flew close enough to brush up against Salamence's flanks, thoroughly cleaning him with their wings before they were pulled away by the air pressure. Then they had to flap their wings rigorously to keep up, to catch up with Salamence to clean him again, and restart the cycle. Lucario watched them and their work curiously. These birds had quite simple natures, always happy to assist others whenever they could.

A while later, the flock of Swablu got tired and started to slow down, falling behind the dragon pokemon. They finally gave up in trying to catch up with Salamence and, with calls of goodbye, all swooped downwards, to find a perch to rest at. I am sorry for your trouble, Riley called after them using telepathy. The birds didn't really seem to mind at all, though, not having great annoyance and impatience in their nature. It looked like they even enjoyed their time a little.

The trio were now out of the fog and could now, and the sky and scenery below them could be seen. The glorious sky was now changing colors, the sun sending waves of red, yellow, orange, and pink through it as the great orb of light sunk into the horizon. The forest trees growing tall and strong beneath them had the yellow light reflected on their brilliant, green leaves that rustled in the wind. There were small dots of lights in the distance, making up what Lucario recognized to be a town or city

'It is beautiful...' Lucario commented, staring at the scenery. Riley nodded in agreement, taking in the view as well.

Salamence let out a below as a warning before he closed his wings, letting himself dive down closer to the trees, making the plants shiver in the sudden wind as he flew by them like a jet. This seemed like something he did for fun, as the dragon climbed up into the sky again. When they were quite high up, Riley spotted lights below them. The lights seemed to be coming from several small buildings in what looked like a small settlement.

"Ah- that must be a town," the man observed. "Salamence, you may drop us off there, if you wish. Thank you for your help."

Salamence swooped down, landing at the outskirts of the town. It was quite a scene to watch the dragon land, but luckily, there was no one standing nearby to have their attention attracted to the pokemon. The two passengers climbed off of Salamence, thanking him once again before he set off into the sky again. After that, Riley and Lucario were free to wander around the town.

~o~o~o~

The old lady was heading home from Celestic Town's mysterious ruins, as the sun disappeared from view. It was getting quite dark out, and she hoped to be home before it became completely dark. She passed a couple of kids playing around one last time for the day before their parents called them back inside to hide from the cold. Some small pokemon were playing along with them, and the granny paused to smile at their happiness, glad to see that everyone was getting along. She remembered when her granddaughter was their age, playing outside with all the other kids and pokemon. But those times have passed now - that girl was now a young woman, and also skillful pokemon trainer, traveling everywhere to study her research of the world. She still visited often, though, and the old lady was proud of her for growing up to be such a strong and great human being.

Sighing wistfully, the grandmother continued to walk to her house, but then spotted two figures on her way. It was a young man, and a pokemon, wandering around as if they were lost. The old lady had never seen these two around town before, but for some reason, they looked a little familiar. Feeling as if she should help them out, she called over to them. "Excuse me, you two youngsters..."

The young man turned to face her after hearing her voice, looking at her in slight surprise. "Ah- Hello there..." The pokemon turned around as well, though remained silent.

"Hello," the old lady greeted back. "You two seem a little lost...do you need any help around here?"

"Um...," the man scratched his head from under his hat, looking a little embarrassed, "you see, we are kind of...new here. And we are looking for somewhere to stay for the night...may you suggest anywhere that we can go?"

"Hm? Well, this is a small town, and there aren't any hotels or anything..." the grandmother replied thoughtfully. "So, you are new here? Then, welcome to Celestic Town!" she welcomed belatedly, giving a warm smile. "You can say that I am this town's head."

"Oh, nice to meet you," the man replied. "I am known as Riley." He looked directly at the old lady now, and in his soft blue eyes, she saw a strange, deep wisdom buried within, as if he had lived for very long. "This is my...partner, Lucario."

"Very good, nice to meet you," the lady answered, shaking his hand. She thought for a minute, then said, "Well, if you are searching for a place to stay for the night, then maybe you would like to stay at my house for a little bit? We have a spare room that you may use."

"Really? Ah, but I am afraid that we have no money..."

"That is quite all right," the old lady insisted, nodding with a kind smile. "Everyone should be welcome in this town, no matter if they have money or not." The man hesitated still before answering.

"Well...then we will stay. Though for one night only. We do not want to become a bother..."

"Oh, not at all! Come, we'll head over there. I was just returning, myself."

As the old lady lead the two over to her large house, she glanced at the Lucario who followed the man. This pokemon...it's the same species as one of Cynthia's pokemon that she owns, she observed. That would explain why it looked familiar. However, the man looked familiar to the grandmother as well, as if she had seen him somewhere before, even though this was the first time that they had met. But, where had she seen him before? She just couldn't figure it out.