A word of warning: this chapter will have a lot of big time skips.
Finally, someone reviews. Don't worry RedHerring, there's action in this chapter. But next chapter is where it really starts.
Chapter 6:The Team
The Spark Thief
It had been about two days since I finished my training, and Anubis and I were now in Jubilife City, heading inside a Pokemon Center. It took us a while to actually find this place, since there wasn't one in Twinleaf and we didn't recognize it right away. But we were glad to have finally found the place so we could relax.
Or so we thought.
As we walked up to the desk, we saw a nurse with pink hair I knew to be Nurse Joy. I could sense a feeling of nervousness and worry coming from her, but she hid it very well.
"Hello, there. May I help you?"she asked cheerfully, smiling.
"Yes, ma'am. We'd like to spend the night,"I said, addressing Anubis and myself.
"Alright then,"she said, reaching under the desk and pulling out a drawer. Anubis brought his muzzle to my ear.
"Do you feel that?"he whispered. I nodded.
'She seems pretty nervous about something,'I said telepathically, so as not to arouse her suspicion. The nurse then handed me a small key.
"You'll be staying in room 7, at the end of that hall and to the right."She pointed to a hallway at my left.
I nodded in reply."Thank you, ma'am."I turned to leave, but paused and looked back."Er, ma'am? Is something wrong?"Her smile faltered.
"Well...yes, I'm afraid so,"she admitted."You see, lately, we've been experiencing many power outages. They don't last very long, but there's so many that it's becoming a problem for the pokemon and guests we have here. It's very worrying."I tilted my head.
"Have you figured out the cause?"I asked.
She nodded."Yes, it seems that there is an Elekid that somehow manages to reach our power supply without anyone noticing,"she said."It keeps draining the power from our generator. It happens at least three times a day, morning, noon, and night."I brought a hand to my chin, looking down in thought.
"Sounds like it's keeping up with it's daily meals,"I said thoughtfully, then looked back at her."But how do you know it's an Elekid?"
"We've managed to catch it on security cameras for brief moments,"Joy said."It's very strange. Elekid are usually native to Johto. Why there's one here, I don't have a clue."
"Maybe we can do something,"I offered, but she shook her head.
"I appreciate the offer, but this particular Elekid is very crafty,"Joy told us."It's already managed to get past trained guards without being caught. Not even our Growlithe have been able to find it. I don't think you would be able to catch it alone."I smirked, tossing a pokeball up and down.
"Well, I may be new at this, but catching pokemon is what we trainers do, ma'am,"I said. The lights began to flicker without warning. We (that is, me and Anubis) looked up in surprise, while Joy just shook her head.
"Right on time as always,"she said as the lights went out completely.
"Which way to the generator?"I asked quickly. She pointed down another hallway. I quickly broke into a sprint, running down the hallway as fast as I can. As I neared the end of it, I heard distinct shouting accompanied by blasts of electricity. We turned a corner and saw the culprit standing in another hallway across from where we were. I could sense something strange about him. It was a vague sense of having met him before that I couldn't explain.
"Boo! Boo I say to you, sirs!"the Elekid said with a strange 40's mobster accent."You humans won't be catching the likes of me, see?"He blinked once, then looked at us. I took a step forward."There's something strange about you, human."He smirked."But you won't be capturing the Spark Thief, either, see?"He quickly dashed off at a speed I wouldn't expect from a pokemon of his shape and size.
"Spark Thief, eh?"I asked, running to catch up with him."Let's see how you like dealing with a superhero."
"This is gonna be awesome!"I heard Anubis say. I took a quick glance at him, seeing that he was grinning ear to ear.
"It'll be interesting, that's for certain,"I agreed as we exited the building, seeing the Elekid running outside the city borders at a pretty high speed. I quickly gave chase, following him into the forest, using my psychic senses to keep track of him. I chased after for a few minutes before reaching a small clearing, seeing the Elekid nowhere in sight. At least, not in human sight. I could sense that he was around here somewhere, but for whatever reason, I couldn't tell where he was exactly."Alright, I know you're here. Show yourself."I heard snickering, along with the sound of electricity crackling, which brought back memories of when I first met Mesprit and how she made me hear different voices and sounds. I watched, bemused, as the Elekid stepped out into the clearing.
"Getting rid of you ain't easy,"he said, smirking."You're a lot more persistant than those other humans, see?"
"Should I feel insulted by that?"I asked, eyebrow raised. His eyes widened.
"What--who--HOW THE HECK DID YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?!"he asked, obviously shocked. (No pun intended.)
"It's an ability I was born with,"I said simply.
He frowned."But what's this vibe I keep getting from you all about? I know you're not a normal human, so you may as well fess up, see?"I noticed that electricity was starting to crackle between the plug-like horns on his head, indicating that he was ready to fight at a moment's notice.
"My name is Ken Woods,"I told him."I'm the chosen one of Arceus. My job is to take down an organization called the Chrome Syndicate. Ever hear of them?"He rasied an eyebrow, then shook his head.
"Can't say I have,"he told me."So, what are they doing that's so bad that Arceus himself would want you to fight 'em?"I told him, and he didn't take it well."SAY WHAT?!? They want to destory us!? What for!?"I told him that as well, and he smacked his forehead."Yeesh, you humans ain't too bright, see?"
"Tell me about it,"I muttered."I'm not too proud to be a human, really."I shook my head, trying to get back to the problem at hand."Let's get down to business. We've come after you to catch you."He smirked at this, crossing his arms.
"You ain't the only one who's tried, see?"he said. Anubis hopped off my shoulder, facing the electric type down."What's the big deal, anyway? What's wrong with having a bite now and then? I'm not hurting nobody."He crossed his arms.
"Do you even know what that building is for?"Anubis asked. He frowned again, raising an eyebrow.
"No. Why?"he asked.
"That place is called a pokemon center,"I told him."It's where trainers bring their pokemon to rest and get their injuries healed. Whenever you take energy from that place, you're keeping other pokemon in pain longer."His eyes widened and his arms dropped to his sides. I could sense an incredible amount of surprise coming from him.
"But-but...I didn't know that..."he muttered, looking down."I don't want to hurt nobody. I was just trying to get by, see?"He spread his arms out."This place doesn't have thunderstorms often enough. So, a mon's gotta survive with what he's got, see?"
"What, you can't eat berries like other pokemon?"I asked.
"Berries alone don't cut it for us electric types, pal,"the Elekid said. He narrowed his eyes."Besides, I got a reputation to keep up. I'm the great Spark Thief, after all."He charged up electricity between his horns."Tell you what. Since you're this chosen whoever of Arceus, I'll take on your little friend there."He pointed at Anubis."You beat me and I'll join you, no questions asked. We got an agreement or what?"
"You're on!"Anubis said, not even giving me a chance to consider it.
"Are you sure, Anubis?"I asked. He looked over his shoulder at me."This'll be your first real battle, and you saw how fast he is."He grinned in response.
"Don't worry, buddy!"he said."You're not the only one who's trained with the Legendaries. I've gotten stronger, too!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a sec!"the Elekid said. We both looked back at him."You two trained with the Legendaries?!"We nodded in unison."Well, dang. This should be a pretty good battle."He started spinning his arms at high speed, generating an electric charge between his horns again.
"Alright, Anubis,"I said, snapping my goggles over my eyes."Let's start this off with force palm!"He charged forward, his right paw glowing with energy. The Elekid smirked and fired a blast of thunder that shot towards the Riolu, who quickly jumped over it, rearing his fist back. Elekid quickly jumped to the side to avoid it, causing Anubis to smash the ground and create large cracks in the ground. The Elekid whistled as Anubis faced him.
"Nice attack, kid,"he complimented."But can you handle this?"His right fist became covered in an icy mist, which made our eyes widened. He ran towards Anubis at high speed, fist pulled back to land an Ice Punch.
"Dodge it!"I shouted. Anubis tried rolling out of the way, but the Elekid caught up to him and managed to graze his shoulder, covering it in bits of ice and knocking Anubis off-balance. He quickly rolled into a standing position and rubbed his shoulder frantically, backing away from the Elekid.
"Cold, cold, cold, cold,"I heard him mutter as he tried to warm his arm up. I looked back at Elekid, who fired another bolt. My eyes widened. "Anubis, look out!"He looked up to see the bolt flying at him. He quickly hopped to the side, then glared at his opponent.
"No fair! I don't have any long range attacks!"he pouted angrily. I had to agree, that was a cheap shot.
Elekid just shrugged."Sorry, kid. I don't know what kind of cozy living style you got,"he said."But you can't afford to be fair out here in the wild, see?"Growling, Anubis charged at him, dodging past another bolt and knocking Elekid away with a quick attack. Elekid quickly stood up, but was knocked back down by a force palm from the Riolu.
"Calm down, Anubis,"I scolded him as Elekid stood up."Getting angry will only make things worse for you."
"Heh, at least he's learning,"Elekid said, readying what I assumed was a thunder punch. Anubis then prepared a force palm attack.
"Let's finish this!"Anubis said. Elekid nodded in agreement. They ran towards each other, fists pulled back. Once they were close enough, they swung their arms forward, fists colliding to create a small, explosive flash that probably would've hurt my eyes if I weren't wearing my goggles at the time.
"Anubis!"I shouted, worried for his health. When the flash died down, I saw that they were both still standing. Elekid was covered in bruises while Anubis had sparks crackling around his fur. Elekid groaned in pain, but managed to smirk in spite of it.
"Good shot, kid,"he muttered, then fell over, unconscious. I looked back at Anubis, who was breathing heavily, but still looked like he was in better shape than the Elekid was.
"Hurry up and catch him,"he said tiredly. I nodded, then pulled out a pokeball from my backpack. I hurled it at the Elekid, the sphere bouncing off him before opening up and firing a red beam at him, and pulling him within it's depths. The ball landed on the ground, but didn't even shake once before beeping to confirm the catch. I grinned widely, walking up to Anubis and picking him and the pokeball up.
"Let's get you two to the pokemon center,"I said, pulling my goggles back up with my free hand.
XXXX
"Oh! You're back!"Nurse Joy said. I saw her look at Anubis, who was on my shoulder. "Don't feel too bad. Like I said, not even our trained guards could it."She probably thought we had failed because of his condition.
"Who said I didn't catch him?"I asked, holding up the pokeball with Elekid inside. You can only imagine the satisfaction I felt from the look on her face.
"That's great!"she said happily. I nodded, placing the pokeball on the desk.
"Yeah, but the battle tired both of them out,"I told her."Think you could heal them for me?"She nodded.
"Of course,"she said."If you'll just call your Riolu back to it's pokeball, I'll have them fixed up in a heartbeat."I paused, then looked Anubis, who seemed apprehensive. Arceus had given me a pokeball for him, but the one time he got into it, he didn't like it at all. I looked back at the nurse.
"Uh, is there anyway you can heal him without it?"I asked."Anubis here really doesn't like staying in his pokeball."She smiled.
"Well, normally I wouldn't, but considering how you've helped the center, I can make an exception,"she said with a smile. Anubis hopped onto the desk as she picked up the pokeball."I'll be done in about 5 minutes."They both went into a hall behind the desk, the door closing behind them. I felt a little worried about it, but quickly dismissed it, knowing that this was a professional nurse.
Sighing, I walked over to a table near the wall like in a restuarant and sat down, leaning back against the wall.
"Hello there,"a voice said. I turned my head to see a young girl who looked about 15. She had dull pink hair with three braids on either side of her head. She wore a necklace with a red gem, and wore mostly light blue clothes. I recognized her almost instantly.
'Mesprit?"I asked telepathically.
"You can call me Maria,"she said with a smile.
"Okay, then,"I muttered."So, what are you doing here, Maria?"
"It's about that Elekid you just caught,"she said.
"You guys are watching me?"I asked, feeling somewhat offended.
"Don't worry, we're not watching you all the time,"she said with a dismissive wave."We just want to check on you now and then. Nothing wrong with that, right?"I shrugged.
"I suppose not,"I said."Now, about that Elekid?"
"You felt something strange when you first saw him, didn't you?"she asked me. I raised an eyebrow, then nodded.
"Yeah, what was that all about?"I asked.
"Do you remember when we first met?"she asked."When you heard those different voices and sounds?"I nodded.
"Yeah, his snickering sounded just like the first voice I heard,"I said.
"Ken, you were meant to come across that Elekid,"Mesprit said, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers."You and Anubis were destined to find and catch him. His speed and skills as a theif will help you when fighting the Chrome Syndicate."I blinked in surprise.
"Are his stealth skills really that good?"I asked curiously. She nodded.
"You heard what Nurse Joy said,"she said calmly."He was able to get past trained human guards and even a unit of Growlithe, who have very well-trained senses."
"But he was still caught on camera,"I pointed out. She just smiled.
"That's because he doesn't know what they are or what they can do,"she said."I assure you that if he knew what security cameras did, he would not have been caught."My eyes and her smile widened."He's just that good. How do you think he even got here?"I said nothing, prompting her to continue."He snuck aboard the S.S Anne, one of the most heavily guarded cruise boats in the world. He stayed out of sight for a solid month before finally reaching Sinnoh."My jaw dropped.
I saw her look over my shoulder, then I did same thing, seeing Nurse Joy walking into the room."If you want to know more, ask him."She stood up from the table."And remember, he's only the first of many you'll encounter."She walked out the door. I stared after her for only a second longer before standing up and walking over to Nurse Joy. Anubis was standing on the desk, looking as healthy as ever. He quickly jumped on my shoulder.
"Feeling better?"I asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, she's a miracle worker!"he said. Joy then handed me Elekid's pokeball.
"I hope you manage to teach that Elekid a lesson about stealing,"she told me.
"Somehow, I don't think that'll be easy,"I muttered humorously.
XXXX
We were now in the room Nurse Joy had given us before the incident with Elekid. I was sitting in a chair and Anubis was on the bed.
"Alright, you. C'mon out,"I tossed his pokeball causing it to pop open in a white flash, revealing the Electric pokemon. He looked around curiously, obviously wondering where he was."Ok. First off, do you have a name you'd like to be referred to?"
"Yeah, the name's Zapperton, see?"he said."I prefer to be called Zaps, if you don't mind too much."I nodded.
"Alright then, Zaps,"I said."Tell me, why do you want to be a thief? For that matter, why are you so good at it?"He grinned.
"Easy. I come from a long line of Electivire theives, see?"he said."My family have been theives for generations. It's sort of a tradition. The title of "Spark Thief" and the Zapperton name is passed on from kid to kid. And I'm just the latest, see?"
"So, your thieving skills are something you were born with, eh?"
"That's right, boss,"he said with a nod. I paused at that.
"Boss?"I asked. He nodded again.
"It's another tradition we have,"he said."Whenever we're caught by a human, we call them 'boss,' see?"
"Why?"
He just shrugged.
"I would prefer if you called me Ken,"I told him, then I shrugged myself."But if you want to stick to your family tradition, I won't stop you."
"Thanks. You're not bad for a human,"he told me.
"No problem,"I told him dismissively."Now, how do you know Ice Punch?"He held his fist up, an icy mist forming around it just as before.
"Is that what this is called?"he asked, staring at his fist."I've always been able to do this. It's one of the famous attacks my family's known for, see? My ancestor, the first Spark Thief, got hitched with a Medicham."The icy mist disippated, and he let his arm back down.
"That's another thing,"I said."Why did your ancestor become a thief, anyway?"
Zaps then told us a story about how how his ancestor had the family heirloom stolen from him by a Weavile, something called the Volt Ring. He told me that it gave the Electivire line complete immunity to ground type attacks, which was pretty impressive. The first Zapperton had sworn to the heavens that his descendants would be raised as the greatest thieves known to pokemon kind, and that one day one of his descendants would take the ring back. But he said that he would teach his line to never truly hurt another creature. They would only steal, never harming the innocent. He declared that some day in the distant future, one of his descendants, destined for greatness, would finally take back their family heirloom.
"Wow,"I said once he had finished."So, your family is honor-bound to live your lives as thieves until you finally take back this Volt Ring?"
"Heck of a story, ain't it?"Zaps asked with wistful smile."I grew up listenin' to it, see?"Anubis and I looked at each other, then back at Zaps.
"I was told recently that we were destined to meet you, Zaps,"I said, standing up."I heard that you're stealth skills would help alot against the Chrome Syndicate. It's possible that you're the one born to take back the ring."I held my hand out to him as he blinked in surprise."So, what do you say, Zaps? Feel like travelling with us?"He stared at me with wide eyes, then smirked.
"You got yourself a deal, boss!"he said, shaking my hand.
"Just one thing,"I asked. He tilted his head."Why did you come all the way to Sinnoh?"He frowned at this, looking down.
"I..."he hesitated."I dunno. Something in my gut just told me to catch the boat that brought me here."He looked back up at me, smiling a bit."Maybe it's just that destiny thing."I smiled as well.
"Anything's possible."
XXXX
The Flying Colossus
It had been about a week since we had met Zapperton. We had just beaten Roark and gotten the Mine Badge. Anubis had managed to knock out his first pokemon and weaken his Cranidos before being knocked out. Zaps' Ice Punch had taken the gym leader by surprise and we had managed to defeat him.
Roark had been nice enough to give me something called a Tm, which could apparently teach the move Stealth Rock, a move he had tried to use in our battle. Unfortunately, neither Anubis or Zapperton could learn the move, so I had decided to save it for later. At the moment, we were at the bike route to Eterna City, only to find out that it was a one-way downhill track.
"Well, that sucks,"I muttered as we left the gateway leading to the bike route, Anubis on my shoulder and Zaps walking next to me, arms behind his head. He didn't like being in a pokeball, either.
"Why don't you just fly to get us there, Ken?"Anubis asked as I sat down.
"I'm not allowed to use my powers for personal gain, remember?"I asked, pulling our map from my backpack.
"If we can't go this way, how do we get to the next city, boss?"Zaps asked. I stared at the map I was holding, tracing my finger along the path we had taken. I groaned audibly when I realized what we had to do.
"According to the map, we need to go all the way back to Jubilife,"I started, gaining groans from my two partners."Then head north into Floaroma Town."They groaned even louder."And finally--"I was interrupted when I suddenly sensed something flying above us, along with the sounds of colossal wings beating, which sounded very familiar. It was then that I saw a shadow on the ground that was rapidly becoming larger. I looked up just in time to see a rather large, winged, light purple creature with Krabby-like claws slam right into me, knocking Anubis off my shoulder in the process."Ow..."
"Hey! Nobody hits the boss like that!"I heard Zaps shout. I shoved the large creature off of myself, though it took quite a bit of effort, even with my strength. I stood up and rubbed my head, taking a good look at the creature lying in a daze. I recognized it as a Gligar, and an unusually big one, at that. I could probably stretch my arms out and I wouldn't reach his wing span. The Gligar flailed on the ground, trying to get up. I tilted my head, feeling the same sensation I had when I first saw Zapperton.
"Er...a little help here?"he asked, his voice sounding scratchy. I looked around quickly, making sure there was no one who could see us. I flicked my wrist, creating a small gust of wind that allowed the Gligar to gain some altitude."Uhh, sorry about that. The wind just went crazy, and next thing I knew, I crashed right into ya."
"Hey, accidents happen,"I said calmly as he perched on the ground, his head actually reaching my stomach. Yeah, he was that big."As long you didn't mean to, it's alright."He smiled.
"Thanks, pal!"he said happily. But then he frowned and blinked."Wait, you can understand me?"
"That's right,"I said with a nod. He tilted his head.
"Wow. Something's...funny about you..."he muttered, sticking his tongue out and scrunching his face as if he was concentrating.
"I can say the same about you,"I told him."You're rather big for a Gligar, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I get that alot,"he said, nodding."My name's Fang. But who are you?"
"My name's Ken Woods,"I said."What you're sensing from me is my elemental powers. I'm the chosen of Arceus."He gasped loudly.
"That's amazing!"he said, then tilted his head in confusion."Wait, what does that mean?"I slapped my forehead while Anubis and Zaps facefaulted.
"Basically, my job is to take down a group called the Chrome Syndicate, with a little help, of course,"I said, motioning to the two beside me."The Chrome Syndicate is a group of humans who want to rule the world and eradicate pokemon from the planet."He seemed to lose his balance for a moment before steadying himself again.
"Why!?"he asked."Do they think we're gonna try to destroy them first or something?!"I blinked in surprise, and sensed that Anubis and Zaps were rather shocked, too.
"Actually, yes, that's exactly right,"I said, unable to keep the surprise from my voice."How'd you figure that out?"He shrugged his wings.
"Heck, that was a total shot in the dark,"he told me."Well, if you're trying to beat them, can I help? I'm not that fast, but I promise I can really take a hit or two!"I crossed my arms and looked at Anubis and Zapperton, who nodded in unison. I looked back at Fang.
"Something in my gut tells me we're going to need your help,"I told him."So, welcome aboard."He grinned widely."But I'd like to know something."
"Lemme guess, you want the story on my size, right?"he asked. I nodded.
Fang told us that, simply put, he was born large. Sadly, his mother had died hatching his egg, and his father was forced to raise him alone. He was always scorned by other Gligar simply because of his size and clumsiness, which I could sympathize with, having been feared for my own ability. Eventually, he got fed up with all the teasing and flew off into the night. He said that he had been searching long and hard for something that could prove that he wasn't just a big, useless oaf like many others had told him.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that with us,"I assured him."I'm sure you'll be very useful to our team."
"Sweet!"he said excitedly."So, what do we do first?"I looked back towards the bike path, an idea forming in my head. Then I looked back at Fang and smirked.
"Think you can give us a lift?"
XXXX
The Dual-Minded Program
It had been a few weeks since Fang had joined us and we beat Gardenia. I had used the TM Roark had given me on Fang. It didn't do a whole lot against Gardenia's grass pokemon, but it was still helpful. A few days later, Zaps had evolved into an Electabuzz after we had reached Hearthome, which he was very happy about. Surprisingly, the evolution didn't hinder his agility or speed in the slightest. In fact, they seemed to improve.
Back to the present, I panted heavily as I ran through a metallic corridor, klaxons blaring. I was in the middle of a raid of a Chrome Syndicate base near a large river, and had set the base to self-destruct after knocking out most of the base's soldier's and setting free the imprisoned pokemon here, led out by Anubis, Zaps, and Fang. I was on the final stretch to the exit. But in a sudden flash, something appeared in the way.
It was...a Porygon?
"Get outta the way!"I shouted as I ran towards it. The Virtual pokemon tilted it's head.
"Okay!"it shouted happily in a child-like voice, floating to the side and letting me pass through. I didn't bother to look back, but I couldn't help wondering what the hell just happened. I continued to run for another minute before reaching a clearing with a river running through it. Waiting there were Anubis, Zaps, and Fang, along with the pokemon we had freed. I turned around in time to see the base going up in a fiery blast. I instantly thought of that random Porygon I had seen. Did it escape? Was it destroyed in the blast?
I shook my head, remembering the matter at hand. I turned my attention to the freed pokemon, which, strangely enough, consisted of only water type pokemon. I concentrated, making my armor disappear and my normal clothes replacing them.
"Is everyone okay?"I asked. Anubis nodded, grinning.
"Yep! Not bad for our first mission, huh?"he asked. I nodded as Zapperton hit his own palm.
"Heh! Those suckers didn't stand a chance against us, see?"he said, smirking as he looked through his "loot bag," as he called it. Yeah, we hadn't managed to get rid of his thieving habit, but at least he only stole from the bad guys. I turned my attention to the pokemon we had freed. They consisted of a few Lanturn, a Tentacruel, and surprisingly, a Milotic.
"So, how are you all doing?"I asked them.
"I could be better,"the Tentacruel said gruffly."But I'm glad I don't have to deal with those psycho humans anymore. Thanks for the help, kid."The Tentacruel then swam off.
"Yeah, thanks a lot!"the Lanturne chirped in unison, they swam away as well. I then looked at the Milotic, who quickly looked away with a blush. Had she been staring at me?
"How about you?"I asked. She blushed even redder. I raised an eyebrow, then looked at my team. Anubis and Fang shrugged, while Zaps grinned at me knowingly. I narrowed my eyes. 'What are you thinking, Zaps?'I asked him telepathically. He just grinned wider. I looked back at the Tender pokemon, then walked over to her, crouching down next to the river.
"What's your name?"I asked.
"I'm...Mystica,"she said, her voice sounding very beautiful. It actually relaxed me to just hear it."Can you...understand me?"
"That's right,"I told her."Are you hurt?"
"Well, yes, I'm a bit sore,"she said.
"Hmm, let me see if I've got something that,"I said, putting my backpack on the ground and rummaging through it. I pulled out a few different berries and a bowl and pestle. I put the berries in the bowl and started mashing them together, mixing the berries into a small stew. When I felt they were mixed up enough, I ignited a small fire in my hands and held the bowl just above it with telekinesis. I noticed her staring at my little 'magic act' in amazement. After about 10 seconds, I clenched my fist, putting the fire out. I grabbed the bowl and held it out to her."This should help with any sore muscles you may have."She just looked at me, still blushing."Well? Take it."
"Um, I can't..."she said timidly.
"Why not?"I asked, confused.
"Boss, she doesn't have limbs,"I heard Zaps say rather flatly.
"...I knew that,"I said quietly, mentally slapping myself for my stupidity. The bowl floated out of my hand as I used my telekinesis again, bringing the bowl up to her. She sipped the berry stew from the bowl silently, occasionally taking glances at me. When she was done, I brought the bowl back over to myself, putting it and the pestle in my backpack. I slipped it back on."Feeling any better?"She smiled and nodded.
"Yes, it's already starting to work!"she said happily."How did you know how to make that?"
"I trained under Shaymin for a while,"I said dismissively, shrugging my shoulders to adjust my backpack.
"You've trained under the Great Healer!?"Mystica asked, eyes wide.
"How strange. I thought that was just a human nickname,"a new voice spoke. We all turned our heads to see Shaymin walking up to us. I heard Mystica, along with Fang, gasp in shock.
"Oh my,"Mystica said softly, eyes wide.
"Cool..."I heard Fang mutter.
"I see you've remembered my lessons rather well after all this time,"Shaymin told me.
"Hey, I had a good teacher,"I said as my team walked up to us. I looked back at Mystica."Now, what do you say we help you find your trainer?" She just blinked at me.
"I don't have a trainer,"she said as if it was obvious. I tilted my head.
"But what about the collar on your neck?"I asked, pointing at the accessory I had noticed a few minutes ago.
"Those horrible people put this on me when they captured me,"she said sadly."It has spikes in it that are digging into my neck."
"That sounds painful,"Anubis muttered.
"It's a control collar, I'm afraid,"Shaymin said sadly."They use these to torture any pokemon they capture."
"Why?"Fang asked. Shaymin sighed.
"Simply for their own twisted pleasure,"she said, frowning deeply.
"That's just messed up, see?"I heard Zaps mutter.
"How do we get it off?"I asked the Gratitude Pokemon.
"It's electronic. You either need a code to deactivate it, or hack it,"Shaymin said. I rubbed my head.
"Well, that's a problem, 'cause I'm not that tech savvy,"I muttered."And even if I was, I don't have a computer."
"Heh, no sweat, boss,"Zaps said, gaining our attention. I saw him grin, holding up a finger crackling with electricity."I'll just fry the thing, see?"
"That's not a good idea,"Shaymin said quickly."You might overload the collar, which would make it explode and kill her."I looked back at Zaps, who now had a stunned look on his face.
"And even if it didn't explode, the electricity alone might hurt her very badly,"I added. The Electabuzz slowly, and wisely, backed away, cautiously bringing his arm down to his side. I looked back at Shaymin."Can you think of any other way to get it off?"She shook her head sadly, and I groaned in annoyance.
"Can we help!?"a slightly familiar voice asked excitedly. We all turned our heads to see the Porygon I had seen earlier. The Porygon floated up to us, looking through us for a moment. It waved it's arm happily."Hiiii!!"Something seemed rather strange about it. It sounded very excited and happy, almost insanely so. I also sensed something familiar about it, just like when we had met Zaps and Fang. The Porygon floated past me and up to Mystica, who tilted her head. The Porygon copied her movement, then something that looked like a metal tongue dripped out of where it's mouth would be if it had one.
"How exactly are you going to help?"I asked cautiously, not knowing what to expect."And who's we?"To our surprise, the Porygon's eyes suddenly inverted color, becoming black with white pupils.
"Madam, please raise your head,"it said in an older voice, now sounding very calm. Mystica looked at us with a raised eyebrow. Not knowing what was happening ourselves, we just shrugged. She looked back at the Porygon, then did as it said. The Porygon raised it's left arm and pointed at the collar. It's body started whirring strangely."Hmm, a simple 4-pass beta key encryption?"It's eyes became white for a moment.
"Noobs,"It muttered in a child's voice before it's eyes inverted again. After a few more seconds, it spoke in an older voice once more.
"Madam, please brace yourself,"it said, then it's eyes became white again.
"It's gonna be a biiiiiiiiiig ouchie!"it said with a child's voice. It's eyes inverted again, and Mystica seemed to tense up.
"Reducing toxin flow to zero,"it said.
"Retracting injection points!"it said cheerfully. Mystica winced in pain."Aaaaand done!"The collar opened and popped off, revealing two holes on either side of the Milotic's neck. I quickly caught the collar before it fell into the water."YAYNOWWEGONNAFLYWHEEEEEEEE!!"The Porygon started flying around randomly at high speed. It wasn't as fast as Zaps could run, but it was still pretty fast.
"I think this guy's taken way too many hits to the noggin,"Anubis said, tapping his own head for emphasis. We all nodded in agreement. We looked back at Mystica, who had her eyes closed in concentration. The holes on her neck glowed for a moment before mending themselves.
"You know recover? Nice,"I told her. She blushed again.
"OOF!"We all turned to see that the Porygon had slammed right into a tree. We watched on in confusion as it slowly slid to the ground, eyes spinning. The Virtual pokemon giggled insanely as it floated back up, then suddenly straightened itself out as it's eyes became black. The Porygon calmly floated over to us.
"Please forgive my other half's little outburst,"it said in a mature voice. It bowed it's head."Allow us to introduce ourselves. This Unit is COREM: Core OverRide Electron Module. A pleasure to meet you."It's eyes became white.
"And I'mma Zephyr!"it said in a child's voice again. I raised an eyebrow.
"Does that stand for anything?"I asked, curious. The Porygon drooped, tongue sticking out.
"I don't know..."Zephyr said slowly. We all just stared at it. Suddenly, it's head started spinning at high speed as it screamed and laughed happily. We looked amongst ourselves.
"This guy's a total nut job, see?"Zaps said, twirling his finger in a circle near his head.
"I think it's kind of cute,"Mystica said with a giggle.
"Yeah, cute in a psychotic kinda way,"Fang muttered.
"But he's a computer program. It's impossible for him to suffer from mental problems,"I pointed out."Unless..."I blinked once."Unless he's somehow sentient."We looked back at the Porygon, who's eyes inverted before it's head stopped.
"Zephyr, how many times must I tell you not to do that!?"COREM asked, sounding exasperated."You'll ruin our CPU!"His eyes shifted.
"But it's fuuuuun,"Zephyr whined. I cleared my throat, gaining their attention.
"You mind telling us your story?"I asked calmly. Zephyr nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, yeah!"he said happily, then his eyes narrowed."This is a story of mystery, intrigue, romance, and NINJAS! Lots and lots of ninjas!"His eyes shifted.
"Ignore him,"COREM said curtly."Allow me to explain the actual story."
COREM then told us of how a computer error occured when their creator first made them. They're creator was trying to create the first sentient computer programs, and they were the result. However, the system they were on was corrupted by the Chrome Syndicate, who wanted the two for themselves. Due to this, they were uploaded into the same physical body by mistake, and were then captured. But Zephyr's programming had been corrupted during the process, and he began acting so erratic that the Chrome Syndicate became angry with them before finally locking their combined consciousness within a highly secured computer in the base we had just raided. Apparently, I had unknowingly freed them from the computer when I activated the self-destruct sequence.
"And that is why we have come here,"COREM finished."To repay you for freeing us from that blasted computer."
"Huh,"I said, scratching my chin."Do you know what they wanted you for?"COREM shook his head.
"I'm afraid not,"he said."Like I said, the computer we were locked in was highly secured. Though we probably would have been able to escape had they not put us into sleep mode."His eyes shifted.
"Yeah, it really stunk,"Zephyr said."Thanks for getting us outta there, mister...uh...wait."He tilted his head."Who is you?"
"Yes, I was going to ask the same thing,"Mystica said.
"This young man is Ken Woods,"Shaymin introduced me."He is Arceus' chosen one."
"Wait, Arceus!?"COREM asked."Is that not the same being who created the world!?"
"The very same,"Shaymin said with a nod."He has chosen Ken to stop the Chrome Syndicate."
"What do those horrible humans want, anyway?"Mystica asked with a frown. Shaymin, my team, and I looked amongst each other. I cracked my jaw and told them. They took it about as well as Zaps and Fang had."EXCUSE ME!?"
"WHAA-!?"Zephyr shouted."That's horrible!"
"Zephyr, we already knew what their intentions were,"COREM said, sounding annoyed.
"...Oh, yeaaah,"Zephyr mumbled. I smacked my forehead, then looked at Shaymin.
"By the way, why are you here, Shaymin?"I asked.
"I was just here to check up on you,"she said, then looked at Zephyr/COREM. Wow, that was going to get confusing."I think you've already learned that these two, that is, Zephyr and COREM, are the next member of your team."
"Yeah, I figured as much,"I remarked.
"But...what about me?"We looked at Mystica."I-I'd like to stay with you, too. Do we really have to part ways?"I looked back at Shaymin.
"What do you think?"I asked. She frowned.
"No, I'm afraid she can't travel with you,"she said. I looked back at Mystica, who seemed very saddened."However..."We all looked back at her."I recall Mesprit telling me that you made a comment about Dialga and Palkia when you first saw them fight back at the hidden city. You said that a Milotic's singing might be able to calm them down whenever they get too riled up. So, if Mystica is willing to, she could come and live in the city's lake. That way, whenever Dialga and Palkia have one of their little spats, she can sing to calm them down."She looked at the Milotic."Would you say you're a good singer, Mystica?"She blushed.
"Well, maybe,"she said."I can sing, but I don't think I'm that good. But how will that let us see each other?"
"We have meetings at the hidden city every four weeks,"I told her."I'll bet you're pretty good. Let's hear it."She blushed again.
"Well, alright,"she mumbled, then cleared her throat. She closed her eyes and began to sing beautifully, her voice sounding like crystal bells. It was incredibly relaxing. As she continued, I heard a thud behind me, followed by snickering. I looked over my shoulder to see a rather humorous sight. Zaps was now lying asleep on the ground, snoring loudly. Anubis, Zephyr, and Fang were snickering hysterically, looking like they were about burst with laughter. I looked back at Mystica.
"I think you can stop now,"I said calmly, smiling. Mystica stopped her singing and opened her eyes curiously. I motioned towards the snoozing Electabuzz. The three other members of my team fell over, laughing hysterically.
"Did I do that...?"Mystica asked, eyes wide in astonishment.
"If you can put that hothead to sleep, I can't wait to see you sing to Dialga and Palkia,"I said with a grin.
"Well, I guess that settles it,"Shaymin said with a chuckle.
XXXX
The Reserved Mind
We had gotten the badge from "Crasher" Wake the other day; and had gotten the Cobble Badge from Maylene before that. During that time, Anubis and Fang had evolved, much to their own delight. After seeing Maylene's Lucario, he had just gotten so psyched up that he evolved right then and there. And Fang had evolved during a raid on another Chrome Syndicate base. Now the top of his ears could reach my neck, and his wingspan was longer than I am!
At the moment, we were on our way back to Jubilife City to reach Canalave, but...
"We're lost, aren't we?"Anubis asked sourly.
"No, we just...don't know where we are right now,"I muttered.
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"...Shut up, Fang."
"Do you know what route we're on?"COREM asked.
"I think we're on Route 212,"I said, staring at the map. COREM floated over, and I showed it to him.
He paused for a moment."Ken, you're holding it sideways."I blinked, then tilted my head to the side.
"Huh. So I am,"I muttered embarrassedly, turning the map in my hands.
"Now you're holding it upside down!"Zephyr said happily, flipping upside down as well.
"Dammit,"I muttered, flipping it completely. COREM flipped right-side up and looked at it again.
"Hmm, it seems we're actually on Route 205,"he said.
"Say what!?"I asked."But-but-but that means we skipped two cities AND Mount Coronet without even noticing it!"
"Looks like we were that damn lost,"Zaps said.
"Well, now we need to go south to reach Canalave, but which way is that?"I asked. We looked amongst ourselves, none of us knowing the answer.
'Excuse me,'a voice spoke telepathically, startling me.
"Who said that?"I asked quickly.
"Who said what?"Anubis asked me.
"I thought I heard somebody say something telepathically,"I said, looking around."Maybe I just imagined it..."
'Hm hm hm. How amusing,'the voice said, surprising me again.'I assure you, sir, I am not a part of you're imagination.'
"Where are you?"I asked, looking around and trying to sense who it was.
"Hey, boss. Is that who you're talking to?"Zaps asked, pointing behind me. I turned around to see an Alakazam walk up to us.
"Are you the one who was just talking to me?"I asked. He nodded.
'That is correct, sir,'he said telepathically.'Tell me, are you Ken Woods?'I nodded.
"Yeah, who are you?"I asked, feeling the same sense I had felt with all my other teammates.
"Good, then I don't have to speak telepathically,"he said."My name is Psyche. I am here to join your team and aide you against the Chrome Syndicate."I stumbled back in surprise.
"Whoa! Slow down for a minute, okay?"I asked, holding my hands up. He paused, then shook his head.
"Oh, of course. I apologize for my rudeness,"he said politely."Please, take a moment to discuss this amongst yourselves."He walked over to a tree and sitting near it cross legged, eyes closed. I held my forehead, looking at the others, who seemed just as surprised as I was.
"What do you think, boss?"Zaps asked."Think this guy is on the level?"
"I think so,"I admitted."I get the same feeling from him as I did whenever I met one of you guys."
"Really? What does that feel like?"Zephyr asked."Does it feel like you need to toot? I wish we could toot, but we don't have any organs."I decided to ignore that remark, looking at the Psychic from over my shoulder.
"I want to know how he knows everything like he's been travelling with us since day one,"I said. We all walked over to Psyche, who opened his eyes, a placid smile on his face.
"Yes?"he asked.
"All right, I want to know how you know everything about us,"I said.
"Very well,"he said, then spread his arms out."Please, sit."We all sat in front of him.
He then told us of how he had travelled across world, all the way from Kanto, which was really incredible. He was an orphan, his mother dying of some unknown disease. He had began travelling when he evolved into a Kadabra. He had apparently searched the globe, training his mind, studying about the world, and trying to find his reason for being. He evolved into an Alazakam upon reaching Sinnoh, and took it as a sign that he was meant to be here. He had climbed to the top of Mount Coronet and meditated there for a month; until finally hearing a voice that told him of what we did, and that he was needed to help save the world. He firmly believed that it was Arceus himself who had told him everything.
"After all, who else would know about an Alakazam meditating on top of a mountian?"he asked with a chuckle. I nodded.
"Good point,"I agreed."Personally, I think it really was Arceus. I've seen him with my own eyes."He tilted his head.
"Truly?"he asked."That must be quite a sight."
"You don't have a clue, pal,"Fang remarked.
"Well, then,"Psyche said, standing up, us following suite."I believe you said you were heading to Canalave. I've been there before. Shall I teleport us there?"
XXXX
The Dark Spirit
We were now in the Hidden City, having just finished a meeting. Before arriving here, we had gotten the Glacier Badge. On the way there, ZC, that is, Zephyr and COREM, had found a strange disc in Celestic Town. When Zephyr downloaded it's content out of sheer curiousity, they evolved into Porygon2. We had also passed by Lake Acuity to say hi to Uxie, where Zapperton had evolved again when he had seen a group of Sneasel, thinking they might have had his family heirloom, dragging us all into a huge fight with them. I had scolded him, but he was too happy about his evolution to listen, and now he was even faster, despite his bulk.
At the moment, we were all conversing in the mess hall. My team and I were sitting with Mew, Celebi, and the Latis.
"So, you only need one more badge, huh?"Latios asked me.
"Yep. Then we'll be set for the Sinnoh championships,"I said with a nod. I quickly turned my head and sneezed into my arm."Ugh. Sorry about that. Travelling through knee-deep snow in the middle of a blizzard will do that to ya."
"Bit of a head cold, huh?"Mew asked."Want some hot cocoa or something?"I held up my glass.
"That's kind of what I'm drinking,"I said with a chuckle. We all laughed a bit. I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye, then turned my head to the entrance to see Mystica slithering over to us."Hey, Myst. Something wrong?"I asked, deliberately using the nickname we had given her.
"I'm not sure,"she said."Everyone's gathered around something near the center of the city."We looked amongst ourselves.
"Well, this should be interesting,"Anubis said as we all stood up and left the building. We eventually reached the center, seeing everyone looking at something that was apparently on the ground. We managed to push our way through to see...
A small rock.
"This is what's got everyone's attention?"I asked, staring at the strange stone. It looked as if there was a simple face carved on it. I looked amongst the others."Anyone know what this thing is?"
"I believe it's called an Odd Keystone,"Uxie remarked, staring at the stone with closed eyelids."They were used in ancient times to trap evil or mischievious spirits. 108 to be precise. They are capable of creating the pokemon Spiritomb."
"Are there any spirits in this one?"Deoxys asked.
"Yes, I can sense them,"Giratina said."Three guesses how many, and the first two don't count."
"5?"Zephyr guessed."Eleventy 3? 108?"
"Ladies and gentlemon, we have a winner!"I shouted, pointing at ZC and earning a round of laughs."Zephyr, go touch it."I jabbed a thumb at the stone.
"YAAAAAAY!"Zephyr screamed happily, darting past me while giggling insanely, but then he paused.
"W-wait a moment!"COREM said frightfully."Don't I get a say in this!?"
"Nope,"absolutely everyone chorused.
"Imma touch it, now!"Zephyr shouted. He floated over to the stone and held his arm forward, tapping the stone once. Nothing happened. He tapped it again. Still nothing. Zephyr looked at it closely, his nose touching it. The stone shook once. Zephyr screeched and flew away at high speed, dashing right into my jacket. I sighed irritably, grabbing him by the tail and yanking him out. The little pokemon flailed around frantically, but immediately stopped and floated up straight.
"You can let go of us, now,"COREM said calmly, though with a hint of annoyance. I released his tail and looked away from him, noticing everyone staring at us with raised eyebrows.
"Weren't you looking at the stone?"I asked rhetorically. We all looked back at the stone, which was now shaking back and forth violently. Without warning, a strange, purple mist leaked out of the stone, dotted by small, green lights. Then, a pair of eyes formed, one of them normal and the other constantly swirling. Finally, a weird, zigzagging mouth appeared under the eyes. The strange creature looked around with a shocked expression.
"AAAGH!! WE ARE INNOCENT!!"it screamed fearfully, receding back into the stone."WE SWEAR WE ARE INNOCENT! WE WERE ALL FRAMED!!"We all looked amongst ourselves with wierded out expressions.
"What the heck was that all about?"Anubis asked. Cresselia slowly floated towards the stone.
"Spirits, please stay calm,"she said gently."You are not here to be judged nor punished. In fact, we're not sure how or why you're here. Will you please come out and speak with us?"Slowly, hesitantly, the creature came back out, looking around cautiously."Now, tell us, do you know how you got here?"
"N-no,"it stuttered, it's voice sounding like many different voices blended together. Made sense, I suppose."We were just sleeping peacefully, then something awoke us."We all glanced at Zephyr for a moment, causing him to shrink back in embarrassment. We all looked back at the Spiritomb."And then we saw all of you, and we thought you were going to punish us..."We all looked around. I didn't have a clue what was going on, and apparently, neither did they. I blinked as I looked through them. I noticed there was only one Legendary that wasn't here.
"Wait a minute,"I said, gaining everyone's attention. I crossed my arms."Where's Arceus?"They all looked around, also noticing our leader wasn't here.
"Hello, everyone,"a new voice said, we all looked in the same direction to see Arceus calmly walking towards the group. The Legendaries quickly formed an opening for him to walk through. I noticed the Spiritomb staring up at him with it's jaw on the ground. If he wasn't a spirit, I'd say that looks painful.
"Spiritomb,"Arceus said calmly."I know that none of you commited the crimes you were accused of."The Spiritomb said nothing."But there is something that you must do."He looked straight at me, and the Spiritomb did the same. Just like before, I felt the same sense that I had felt with all the other members of my team."That human's name is Ken. He is currently aiding us against a group of criminals who want all of us pokemon destroyed."The Spiritomb blinked. Arceus looked through all of the Legendaries."Everyone. Listen very closely. What I'm about to tell you may be beyond any of your belief."Obviously, this caught us all by surprise."But I assure you that it is nothing short of the truth."The Legendaries looked amongst themselves, as I did with my team."Within the Chrome Syndicate are an elite squadron of 108 of the top members."My jaw dropped.
"No way..."I mouthed, already figuring it out.
"These particular members are the very reincarnations of the blackhearted ciminals who framed every last soul within this Spiritomb,"he said. Gasps of shock came from everyone.
"That's incredible,"Anubis whispered to me.
"Holy shit..."I heard Zapperton breathe out.
"Whoa,"was all Fang said.
"The odds of this being mere chance are inconceivable!"COREM said in shock. Zephyr made no outbursts.
"Agreed. This cannot be a simple coincidence,"Psyche said.
"As you are aware, this body is only a branch of my true power and conciousness,"Arceus continued."So, how this has happened, even I do not know. But we must continue to fight despite this knowledge. We cannot allow them to fulfill their goals, as it would be the same as letting them destroy the world we cherish so much."
"Hmph, it goes without saying,"Mewtwo said, gaining everyone's attention. He spoke in a voice colder than I had ever heard before. "We must completely destroy the Syndicate. No questions asked."Mew floated over to him, sitting on his shoulder.
"There's no way we'll let them do what they want,"she said seriously. Celebi and Jirachi floated up next to her.
"We'll defeat them, no matter what,"Celebi said.
"It doesn't matter how many troops they have, we'll beat anything they throw at us!"Jirachi said determinedly. I saw Dialga and Palkia look at each other.
"You know, we argue on a lot of things,"Dialga said.
"But I think we can agree that these guys have got to go,"Palkia said with a nod. Giratina seemed to smile at her brothers.
"At least there's one thing we can agree on,"she said. Everyone began saying their own words of encouragement amongst themselves. Arceus looked straight at me.
"And you, Ken?"he asked, causing everyone to look at me. I looked over my shoulder at my team.
"What do you say, guys?"I asked. Anubis smiled.
"Hey, we didn't agree to help just to turn our backs to them now,"he said. I looked at Zaps, who smashed his fists together, electricity crackling fiercely between his tails.
"Those punks are gonna regret crossing the great Spark Thief, see?"he said with a grin. I looked at Fang.
"It'd be pretty stupid to just let 'em go around doin' whatever they fancy,"he said, shrugging. I looked at ZC.
"We gonna make all the bad guys go BOOM!"Zephyr said with a laugh.
"For once, we are in agreement, Zephyr,"COREM said. I looked at Psyche.
"I usually loathe violence,"he said calmly."But these humans are so appalling that they simply must die."I turned to look at the Spiritomb, who was staring back at me.
"And you?"
The Spiritomb floated over to me."We want justice. We will fight alongside you to find it. Though we have many names, you may call us Wrath."
I looked back at Arceus.
"Then it's unanimous. We'll demolish the Chrome Syndicate. That's all there is to it."
XXXX
End of Chapter
It's official. This is the best and longest chapter I have ever written.
All I can say now is review.