PokeStones of the Dead – Chapter Four
Lavender had been secured. All the Dead had been banished back to the afterlife, cornered between Sabrina's attacking forces from Saffron and the energised trainers from Lavender. Route 8 was now clear of the Dead. The stranglehold the Dead had on the central regions of Kanto had lessened. To their delight, Temperance and Lillette heard from Sabrina and Janine that the Dead attacking Saffron had been forced to retreat.
"Thanks for your help at Lavender," Janine said. Temperance knew that her father had been killed when the Dead invaded Fuchsia, and respectfully remained silent, all the time holding his ring. "That ring… did you lose someone in the battle as well?" Temperance did not answer. He was unable to answer. The expression on his face was enough to tell her the whole story.
Janine understood, and choked back tears, unable to continue. Grief had taken many of them, and Temperance knew that he was far from alone when he lost his parents. Why was this going on? The Dead, controlled by an unknown necromancer, attacking cities all of a sudden. What could be gained from such surprise attacks? Apart from death and despair? Temperance and Lillette took their leave. They had things to discuss.
"Lillette, what's the situation now?" Temperance said, talking to her in front of the Saffron PokeStone. Radios and the television were broadcasting the great victory at Route 8, carrying pictures of Zapdos. Apparently, the Radio Tower was none the worse for the invasion, DJs still reporting with their usual enthusiasm.
Lillette put her slim hands on the PokeStone, almost as if trying to absorb the power within it. The Alakazam was wonderfully crafted, and could pass for a real one if not for its colour, but there was hidden power within, as well. Lillette knew that these stones were instruments of great power… and destruction, if one used them that way. It appeared as though they were also a portal to the realm of the Dead. Why was this happening?
"The Dead now occupy only the areas of Celadon and Fuchsia, along with Routes 14, 15 and 16 connecting them. They cannot risk another invasion of Saffron. It is too well protected now, and fresh reinforcements have come in from Cerulean. Fuchsia may try to strike out and retake Vermillion, but I have stationed several guards there. Their numbers have been severely lessened, and I think they will hold the fort for now."
"But… they may invade Cinnabar via the Sea Route 19 from Fuchsia, right? The forces at Cinnabar are weak… shouldn't we hurry –" Temperance was cut off with an impatient gesture from Lillette and a click of the tongue.
"The legendary birds are tied together. If Zapdos has awakened, I would not be surprised to find Moltres and Articuno active too. Seafoam is definitely closed to the Dead, at least in an open attack. In fact, I am surprised that there has not been news of Moltres torching the zombies at Victory Road, aided by the Elite Four. The world is changing. The legendary birds have not been seen in Kanto for over five decades. Something is happening that is causing them to move."
"What is happening… we don't know anything! We need to find out why the Dead are attacking! It is said that when Pokemon die, all their sins are extinguished, and they live a life of peace, right?"
"Yes. This is why I am so worried that ALL the Dead are attacking. A few evil and dark Pokemon, yes, but everyone? How powerful is this necromancer that we are talking about? Besides controlling thousands of Dead, he can also block the Rock Tunnel, all from afar."
"Lillette… I think there was an event that happened far previously that explains why this is happening. Are there any historical records?"
Lillette laughed, her clear voice sounding strange after the horrible cries and growls of the Dead. "No, you'd be hard-pressed to find a library here – everyone is so obsessed with Pokemon. I think that there is only one place with these records – Indigo Plateau."
Past all those Dead at Victory Road? But why can't we just get the Elite Four to tell us –
"And don't bother asking the Elite Four to tell us." Lillette continued. There is only one person who can gain access to those records – the Champion of Kanto."
"What…! The Champion…"
"Yes, and now that you mention it; I think that going for that prize might be a good idea. Before you say ANYTHING, the Elite Four will NOT just allow access even if the fate of the world depended on it. They're very rule-conscious, shall we say. Now, my house is nearby, and I am going for a wash. Do whatever you want to do – Saffron is very big – and we'll meet back here in two hours," Lillette concluded, turning away with a wave, throwing back her long dark hair.
Temperance was about to leave, but on an impulse, called after her. She was about the same age as him, after all, but didn't seem to have parents. "Lillette, where are your parents?"
Lillette froze in place, turning back, silent. Shooting Temperance an icy glare, she just shook her head, then continued walking. Obviously, that was a sore spot, and she had no desire to talk about it. Damn you, Lillette. My parents were brutally killed, and I talked about it to someone I just met a couple of hours ago. How much worse can your story be?
Temperance walked around the city, exploring. He considered getting a Leaf Stone to evolve Weepinbell, and almost did, until he felt his pocket. His wallet was gone. Curses! There goes any hope of buying anything. In the end, Temperance just did not have the mood to enjoy the city, or even explore Silph Co., but slumped to the ground, totally exhausted. Getting a room for two hours was out of the question, and he did not even have a tent to sleep for the time. If only Lillette had invited me… then again, maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea after all.
Temperance ended up spending the next two hours sleeping on the floor, like some homeless beggar. Nonetheless, he still fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from the prior battle at Lavender. Truth be told, he was only too aware that the battle was only won because of Zapdos' awakening.
A man, cloaked with some red material, was preparing a concoction in a room. He saw the four broken PokeStones he had collected displayed in a place of prominence, as if they were trophies. From one of them, the man moved his hands over it, muttering a language that was indecipherable. The Stone responded, and leaked some sort of yellow liquid that the man collected. Then he smirked, and said, "So, Zapdos… how mighty are you? Can you resist my call for your blood?"
Temperance woke up, shivering. He had been sleeping for two hours, even though it felt like only minutes. Hurrying back to the PokeStone, he could see Lillette approaching, evidently washed up. For one, she had had a change of clothes, although they were much the same as her original attire – long-sleeved shirt and long pants - army uniform, basically. Also, as Temperance got closer, he could faintly smell her shampoo – jasmine scented.
"So, we shall have some peace for a while. The leaders here can take care of any Dead in Celadon or Fuchsia. Is it decided that we shall go to Indigo Plateau?" Temperance asked.
"Yes, let us go. Reports are coming in that Moltres is active at Victory Road. We just have to instigate the Dead, and it will aid our cause… and then we will face the task of getting to the Elite Four and defeating them. After getting the records, we will… we should… find out why this is happening, and we can end this dreadful war once and for all."
The two left Saffron northwards, going to Cerulean. The water-based city was untouched by the Dead, still looking much the same, but the citizens were strangely silent. When seeing the two strangers, they practically ran away, clearly afraid. War affected everyone, not just those directly involved. And most had no desire to get mixed up in the affairs of those actively involved in this brutal conflict – even if their interference helped the citizens of Kanto.
Temperance still had a few questions, however. Why did no help arrive from Johto and Hoenn? Temperance was sure that such a conflict would affect every world, not just Kanto. If Kanto fell, the other two worlds would no doubt be in danger as well. Posing the question to Lillette, Temperance got another stern rebuke.
"Get with the times. The relationship between the three worlds has been very frosty, with all three thinking their world is the strongest, most deserving of help, etcetera. Not to belittle the Gym Leaders, but they have not ruled Kanto well at all. Strong Pokemon trainers have not been produced in a very long while – training fees have been rising for the Gym Leaders to buy absurd objects to improve their own Pokemon."
Temperance considered this. No help would be forthcoming. The situation seemed bleaker than ever.
Temperance and Lillette continued past Cerulean and towards Mt. Moon. Along the way, Lillette told Temperance of the events that had caused relations between Kanto and the other two worlds to become strained. Johto had proposed a joint tournament or exhibition that would showcase the Gym Leaders of all three worlds – a worldwide event that would be accompanied by a chance for trainers all over to challenge the Gym Leaders from all worlds. However, Kanto refused to take part on the grounds that the tournament would be a farce as Kanto trainers would overpower the other two worlds, and Kanto could not afford to waste money to organise an event just to dominate the other parties.
"Basically, Kanto did not want Johto to catch up to its state of development. Johto, as you probably know, is far away from Kanto in terms of income and general standard of living. Kanto felt that this tournament would give Pokemon in Johto unwanted publicity and thus would endanger its status as the top Pokemon world. So, they invented some excuse about financial difficulties, which angered Johto, as well as insulted Johto to really call off the event. Hoenn, upset at the way things had turned out, promptly took Johto's side and ignored Kanto." So that's why help hasn't arrived…
There was really only one way for the two to get to Viridian – through Mt. Moon, then Pewter. Finally, they would take the path of Viridian Forest to Viridian City proper, before eventually get to Victory Road via the west exit of the city. However, Temperance's sixth sense was worrying him. Something had been missed.
"Lillette, can't we just take Diglett's Cave from Vermillion? It goes straight to Pewter, and we would avoid Mt. Moon and all that long trekking…"
Lillette pondered the question. It was true that going back to Vermillion and taking the shortcut of Diglett's Cave would be easier than taking this long route. Admittedly, she hadn't even thought of the possibility in her haste, but the Digletts were multiplying faster than anyone had expected, and were practically blocking the path. Excited Digletts tended to cause cave-ins, and being stuck in a dark cave with only Digletts and Dugtrios for company was not high on Lillette's priority list.
"Hey, sorry, but we're already here. Going back to Vermillion and using the Cave would take about the same amount of time. We might as well grin and bear it. Anyway, the Digletts were lucky not to become one of the zombies. Vermillion was retaken too fast for them to be converted to one of those… things… let's not spoil their lucky break."
On their way out of Cerulean, the duo met Misty, who had apparently heard about their arrival and imminent departure. She had apparently released all of her Pokemon, from her prized Starmie to her little Poliwag. Actually, there were many Poliwags. Her Politoeds had been breeding. Temperance noted this with a little sadness. Everyone was on their guard, and no one really kept their Pokemon in their Poke Balls anymore. Even the most powerful of them. Gym Leaders came rather close to the top, and they still felt the need to have walking bodyguards. What was happening to everybody?
"Hey. Sabrina told me that you two were going to fight the Elite Four?" Misty asked. Lillette answered in the affirmative, and reached down to pat one of the tens of Poliwags. "Those all yours?"
"Yeah… I left my two Politoeds together for more time than I should have. Oh well, good luck for the Elite Four. I'll give you something… any of you have water Pokemon? Oh… Gyarados and Lapras? Gyarados I can't do anything about, but since Lapras can't usually fight on land, I'll let it do so. Give it to me."
Lillette did so, and Misty ran her hands over the water Pokemon, her hands glowing with a strange light. It was as if there was a pool of water suspended in the air. Slowly lowering itself into Lapras, the spell finished, and Lapras was now permanently encased in a water bubble that allowed it both to breathe more freely as well as to move on land. It worked perfectly. For the first time, Temperance wondered at the power of the Gym Leaders, and whether their PokeStones had their power. If so, someone controlling these stones would be practically all 8 Gym Leaders at once… a power that even the Elite Four could not overcome.
"Thanks," Lillette said. It was very nice of you." She and Temperance waved goodbye to Misty, who gazed one more time at her Starmie PokeStone, checking one more time that it was safe and secure, and then turned her back at the exact same time as the duo. No one noticed the dark figure sneaking away one of Misty's Poliwag babies, a mere shadow in the dark sky, lasting for only an instant, before it was once again lost in the distance, travelling at an unnatural speed.
Temperance and Lillette left Cerulean City as they entered Route 4, a very short path leading to Mt. Moon. Mt. Moon was inhabited by cave-based Pokemon such as Zubats and Geodudes, but the magical mountain also rarely featured Moon Pokemon as well. They were usually peaceful, as long as they were not disturbed. It was just going to be a short period of discomfort in the damp and dark cave, before they got out to Pewter City.
They could not have been more wrong.