A new Journey
Chapter 9- Bonds
Colress and the Plasma Grunts were shocked by this unexpected turn of the events; the Lucario before them had somehow evolved into a new form. Of course, they weren't the only ones surprised by what they had just witnessed- Gary was shocked by this, as well. He also noticed that the stone in his bracelet was shining. Did it have something to do with this?
Blue looked at Gary and set him on his feet.
"Protect Eevee," Blue ordered simply before using his newfound speed to attack Blaziken.
Blaziken was taken by surprise by how suddenly Blue appeared before him. He couldn't even think about attacking the powered up Lucario before Blue delivered a powerful Aura Sphere attack to the Blaze Pokémon. Blaziken cried out in pain as he was violently thrown against a rock, but the impact of the powered up Aura Sphere was enough to destroy the device on his forehead, freeing him from Team Plasma's control.
Everyone was completely shocked by how powerful the Aura Sphere was, most especially Colress. Whatever had happened to make Lucario evolve like that, he needed to figure out a way to duplicate the results so that he could use them for Team Plasma's benefit. If he could figure out a way to capture that Lucario and experiment on him-
"So, you were here, after all, Colress," a familiar voice called out, cutting off Colress's train of thought.
Colress turned to find N, the former king of Team Plasma, along with a Zoroark, who was growling at him.
"N!? "
XXX
The grunts couldn't believe how quickly Lucario had defeated Blaziken. As the powerful Fire-type lay defeated at Blue's feet, the male grunt summoned a Sigilyph. Before the dual-type Flying/Psychic Pokémon could do anything, however, Blue quickily used a Thunder Punch on him, throwing the Pokémon back toward the male grunt, totally knocked out.
The female grunt growled furiously, calling her partner an incompetent fool as she took a Poké Ball from her belt and summoned a very angry Druddigon, who come out roaring. Before Blue could face him, the Eevee jumped in front of him, snarling at the Dragon-type Pokémon.
"(Let me take care of him!)"
Suddenly, the young Eevee began glowing and evolved into a new Pokémon with pale, cream-colored fur and pink feet, ears, and tail. There were two bows and scarves adorning it, one around its neck and one on its left ear. The bows were pale cream with pink centers, while the scarves were pale cream with pink and blue tips. It had four short legs with three visible toes on each foot, and its eyes were blue with white pupils and no visible sclera. Nobody recognized what kind Pokémon Eevee had just become.
"Ha! Do you really think that little pink Pokémon can stop my powerful Druddigon?" shouted the female grunt. "Druddigon, use your Dragon Rage!"
"(Right!)"
As, Druddigon used his Dragon Rage, the newly evolved form of Eevee glowed and absorbed some of the surrounding moonlight into her tentacle-like bows.
"(Moonblast!)"
Boom!
Everyone moved to shield their faces from the explosion, and when they dared to look at the dueling Pokémon again, they were completely surprised to find Druddigon totally knocked out. The female grunt was speechless. She couldn't believe that some little pink thing had defeated her Druddigon that easily; Dragon-types were supposed to be the strongest of all Pokémon, so how could such a small Pokémon- and an Eeveelution, at that- defeat it in just one hit? She was about to cut her losses and run away, but Gary stopped her, punching her right in the side of the face and knocking her out cold.
"I've always hated men who beat up women, but for you, I'm willing to make an exception; that was for what you did to May, Hugh, and their Pokémon," Gary said, still clenching his hand into a fist.
Like his subordinate, Colress couldn't believe that Druddigon had been defeated so easily by an evolved form of Eevee.
"That Pokémon is Sylveon, a Fairy-type Pokémon. I'm not surprised that you didn't know about the Fairy-type since they aren't really known outside of Kalos, but as you just saw, they are very powerful against Dragon-types," N scoffed at the Team Plasma scientist, regaining his attention before he continued, "Now, Colress, what is my father up to this time? I know he didn't attack this city without reason."
The scientist smirked as he looked at the former king of Team Plasma.
"Well, N, I won't say much because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it involves your dear Hilda and the legendary Dragon, Kyurem," Colress confessed with a dark chuckle.
N's eyes widenend in surprise at the mention of Hilda. Using N's momentary distraction to his advantage, Colress took a device from his pocket, and as N's Zoroark tried to stop him, the device teleported him away. N growled as he stared at the spot Colress had disappeared from. What was Team Plasma planning to do with Hilda and Kyurem? If his father hurt them-
"No. Calm down. Focus on the task at hand, then worry about Team Plasma's plans later," N thought as he turned toward the machine that Colress had used to control May's Blaziken and Mienshao. He didn't doubt that Colress had more of them stored away in his lab, but at least if he destroyed this one, it might inconvenience Team Plasma for a little while and prevent them from controlling other Pokémon in the area.
"Black, let's destroy this machine," N said to his Zoroark. "After that, I want to talk to that young man over there, with Lucario."
"(Alright. I also want to talk to that Lucario. That Mienshao called him Blue; unless I'm mistaken, that means he might be my brother,)" the Zoroark said to N, smiling.
XXX
It wasn't long until the police finally arrived and took the Plasma Grunts to the police station. Blue had returned to his old form after the battle was over, but he immediately collapsed; the evolution had consumed all of his energy. Gary took him and May's Blaziken to the city's Pokémon Center. While the Pokémon were recovering in the healing chambers, Gary took the opportunity to call Max on one of the center's video phones and ask about May and Hugh's conditions.
"May's injuries aren't too serious. She'll only need a few minor surgeries to fix the scars left by the burns, but she lost her sight in her right eye," Max reported, looking surprisingly calm as he reported the news.
Gary sighed. May didn't deserve that. Then, the young researcher asked about Hugh, and Max told him he was fine- just a few fractured bones- but it would still be a while until he would be released from the hospital. Max also explained that he'd had to sedate Hugh's Liepard with his Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder because the dark Pokémon didn't want to leave his side and had gotten aggressive whenever anyone tried to separate him from Hugh.
"I'm sending the Liepard to you, since you actually know how to handle aggressive Pokémon."
Max used the Poké Ball transport system to send the Liepard to Gary. Gary saw the bright light of the teleporter as Liepard's Poké Ball appeared. The young researcher took the Poké Ball and held it up to show Max that he had received it, then asked Max to tell Hugh that he would take good care of his Pokémon until he recovered before turning off the video phone.
He placed the Poké Ball containing Hugh's Liepard on his belt before looking down at Sylveon, who'd taken a liking to Gary and had been following him around ever since the battle. Maybe she smelled Gary's own Eeveelution, Umbreon, on him and had decided to like him based on that? Gary wasn't sure.
"Well, all that's left to do now is find your Trainer, little one," Gary said as he petted Sylveon's head.
"Pearl?" a voice called from behind the two.
Sylveon and Gary turned around to find a man who appeared to be in his thirties with messy, dark hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat similar to the ones Gary's grandfather would often wear and Gary himself had worn on numerous occasions whenever either of them worked in their respective labs. Whoever he was, Sylveon seemed to recognize him, running to this man and jumping into his arms.
"Ah, Pearl, I was so worried after you ran off like that," the man said as he hugged the Pokémon. He then pulled her away to look into her eyes as he added, "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."
"(I am so sorry!)" Sylveon cried, looking very ashamed. The older man held her close again and tried to comfort her.
"Excuse me, but is this Pokémon yours?" Gary asked.
"She used to be my sister's," the man replied. He offered one hand to Gary, smiling warmly as he said, "Thank you for looking after her for me. My name is Professor Augustine Sycamore."
XXX
Blue awoke to find himself inside of a strange chamber that he didn't recognize, and almost immediately, he was greeted by a human woman with pink hair. Unless he was mistaken, she was Nurse Joy- or at least, one of the many identical Nurse Joys who took care of Pokémon by offering to heal them in Pokémon Centers.
"Ah, you're awake," Nurse Joy smiled as she opened the healing chamber. "I'm glad to see that you're alright. It appears you've made a full recovery. You're welcome to go to the center's garden; your friend, the Mienshao, is waiting for you there."
Blue nodded. So, Green was also there. To Blue's surprise, he managed to step out of the healing chamber without any difficulty, and Nurse Joy directed a very gentle Audino to accompany him to the Pokémon Center's gardens. When he arrived there, he saw Green talking with that female Shiny Mienshao. Then, Green saw Blue out of the corner of his eyes and turned to him with a large smile.
"Blue!" Green shouted excitedly, running toward the Lucario. He was about to hug his friend, but was abruptly stopped as his face met one of Blue's feet.
"Ugh, Green… what the heck is that smell?" Blue muttered as he covered his nose with his paw.
Green groaned at the unwelcome reminder of the Stunky fumes still clinging to his body. Dammit, no matter what he tried, he still couldn't get rid of that horrible smell. The Shiny Mienshao muttered darkly that she would make May's brother pay for what he did to her.
"(It's no wonder why none of the other Pokémon in this garden want to get near us,)" the Shiny Mienshao said. "(I guess we need another bath.)"
With that, she took Green with her to take their third bath in an attempt to get rid of the foul smell. Blue sweatdropped as he watched the female Mienshao drag Green away. He shook his head and turned away from the two Mienshao, and that was when he saw the Blaziken he'd fought before resting at the other end of the garden. He could feel that he was very depressed, so he decided to go talk with the Fire-type Pokémon.
"Wanna talk?"
Blaziken turned around and saw Blue.
"(Oh, it's you,)" he said. "(Thanks for stopping me.)"
"No problem. That device on your forehead was messing up your Aura pretty badly. It's a good thing I managed to destroy it, or else the damage to your body would have been far worse."
Blaziken nodded silently. He still couldn't believe he had hurt his Trainer like that. He couldn't forgive himself for doing this. Blue sensed as much and reassured him that, even under the device's control, he was strong enough to resist killing his Trainer because of the deep bond they shared.
Before Blue could say anything else, he was interrupted when, from out of the blue, a young Zoroark tackled him with a hug from behind.
"(Big brother! Finally, we meet!)"
"Br-Brother?!"
XXX
At the Pokémon Center cafeteria, Gary was chatting with Professor Sycamore. From what he could find out, Prof. Sycamore was the Kalos region's resident Pokémon Professor but had been living in Unova for the past two years because his sister had been diagnosed with cancer and Nimbasa City had one of the world's best cancer treatment facilities. To help make the treatment easier for his sister, Sycamore had given her an Eevee, which she named Pearl, to keep her company. Unfortunately, his sister didn't make it and had passed away a couple of days ago. That devastated the Eevee, and she ran away, which led to Blue saving her in the park and her evolution into Sylveon. Gary explained what had happened in the park and at the Pokémon Contest to the older professor. Needless to say, Prof. Sycamore was surprised when Gary mentioned that Blue had somehow evolved and then changed back.
"Are you telling me that you made that Lucario Mega Evolve?" asked Prof. Sycamore, shocked.
"'Mega Evolve?'" Gary repeated, confused.
"Mega Evolution is a very special kind of evolution which allows certain Pokémon to temporarily evolve into their final form. But for that to happen, you need two special stones, one for the Trainer and one for the Pokémon, and there needs to be a deep bond between the two," Prof. Sycamore explained.
Gary showed his bracelet to Prof. Sycamore, who confirmed that it was a Mega Ring, the device worn by a Trainer that acts as a medium to allow a Mega Evolution to occur, but that still didn't explain how Blue was able to Mega Evolve since there needed to be a bond between Trainer and Pokémon for it to work.
"What if the bonds are already there? If the bonds are leftover from a past life?" Gary asked, staring into his cup of tea pensively.
"Past life?" Prof. Sycamore asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"
Gary explained the events of the past four years, starting with when Ash died at the Sinjoh Ruins and how he was forced to watch his best friend die with the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to save him, and ending with how he'd come to Unova in Ash's honor and met the Lucario who could use illusions to disguise himself as a human who looked almost exactly like a slightly older Ash, the only difference being Blue's red eyes.
"At first, I thought he was Ash's ghost, come back from the dead to haunt me for letting him die, but the more time I spent with him, the more I felt a familiar presence. The miko said human souls can be reborn countless times as humans, nature spirits, and even as Pokémon. She even gave me this bracelet, saying it would help me find what I had lost. When the stone reacted to that Lucario, I could see images that no one could know except for Ash and myself. That's how I knew: that Lucario is Ash's reincarnation," said Gary softly, still looking at his tea cup to avoid making eye contact with the professor.
Prof. Sycamore didn't know what to say to the young man before him. As a scientist, he didn't believe in spiritual things like reincarnation, but this young man believed from the bottom of his heart that his friend had returned to him as a Pokémon. Pearl the Sylveon rubbed her head against his leg, trying to comfort him. The professor reached down to pet her absentmindedly, and as she gazed up at him lovingly, he noticed for the first time that Sylveon's smile reminded him of his sister's. He took it back; he didn't used to believe in spiritual things, but after hearing Gary's heartfelt tale, he was starting to believe that his sister might have been reincarnated as a Pokémon, as well.
"Am I interrupting anything?"
The duo turned around to find N coming towards their table. N introduced himself to them and explained about his involvement with Team Plasma and the events that transpired two years ago- when he summoned Reshiram, the Great Dragon of Truth, while Hilda summoned Zekrom, the Great Dragon of Ideals- and how he found out that his father had been using him for his own personal gain, not caring for the Pokémon's well-being.
Gary and Sycamore were struck speechless by everything N was saying. After a brief moment of silence, however, Gary managed to ask N why he was telling them all of this. N explained that after Hilda had saved him from his father and from himself, he wanted to believe more in people, and that was the reason why he had decided to travel around the world with Reshiram. He owed everything to Hilda for helping him see that humans weren't the monsters he'd once thought them to be.
"But a few days ago, Reshiram became restless, saying Hilda was in danger. Colress has already confirmed that my father is up to no good and has somehow involved not only Hilda, but Kyurem, as well, in his plans. I saw what you did to that Lucario, and I-"
N paused as a delivery man suddenly approached him from behind with a package in hand, passed it to him, and left just as mysteriously as he'd arrived without uttering a single word. As the delivery man left, N opened the package and found a small tablet, which turned on automatically in his hand and revealed Ghetsis on the screen.
"Greetings, N," Ghetsis said through the device, his evil smirk unmistakable.
"Ghetsis, what are you planning this time?" N asked with a frown, wanting to skip the fake formalities with his father. "Where's Hilda?"
"Heh. Do not worry; the Heroine of Ideals is still alive... for now."
Then, the image changed, showing an unconscious Hilda chained to a chair. N could clearly see the myriad of bruises covering her body and gritted his teeth. How could his father do that to Hilda? Then, the image on the screen returned to Ghetsis.
"She refused to collaborate with us and give away Zekrom's whereabouts. She is quite a stubborn girl, but that's alright; I already know that you will be more than willing to cooperate in her stead. So, N, where is Reshiram? Don't try to lie to me and say you don't know; I've already received several reports about a white dragon flying above Castelia City."
"What will happen if I refuse to give up Reshiram's whereabouts? " N challenged.
Ghetsis continued to smirk, and at the same time, several people clustered around the Pokémon Center's television set let out collective gasps and murmurs of horror. Gary, N, and Sycamore turned to see what the commotion was all about and watched in horror as the news broadcast images of Opelucid City being frozen solid. N turned back to the tablet.
"Kyurem's powers are amazing, aren't they? Now, N, I will be waiting for you and Reshiram at Giant Chasm in three days. If you do not show up, your dear Hilda will become Kyurem's next meal."
With that, the tablet turned off. N gritted his teeth as he tossed the tablet to the ground in anger, breaking it. He fell to his knees, not knowing what to do. If he didn't show up with Reshiram, Hilda would be killed and more cities would be frozen solid, but if he did show up, he'd be putting the entire world in terrible danger. Gary and Sycamore were speechless; they didn't know what to say until Blue and N's Zoroark, Black, entered the room.
"Get up," Blue said in a cold tone. "My mother didn't die for someone who has a weak heart like yours."
Sycamore was understandably surprised to hear firsthand that Lucario really was capable of using human speech. Gary simply stood by quietly. He coud feel how serious Blue was in that moment.
"Black told me what happened over the past four seasons. You rescued my mother from those pochers, and I am truly grateful to you for taking care of her and my... little brother," Blue mentally cringed. No matter how many times he reminded himself that he now had a little brother, it still felt strange to say so out loud. "But I refuse to believe that my mother gave her life to save someone weak like you, who was once called Team Plasma's king."
Black had told him everything that happened to his mother. His mother had a gentle heart and treated N like he was one of her own. When Ghetsis revealed his true nature, he tried to kill N, but Zoroark protected him, shielding him from Ghetsis's sword, which pierced her heart. It was no wonder why Blue had seen her when he was hovering between life and death at the bottom of the lake with Gary.
N stared at Blue. Though his words stung, N could feel that they were actually meant to give him courage. N got up and looked at Gary before finally revealing why he'd been telling them his story before Ghetsis's unsavory interruption. He finally asked them to help him.
"I saw what you did for Blue and that Blaziken. I know I can't deal with Ghetsis by myself. Hilda could have called for Zekrom to help her, but she didn't for some reason. I am afraid that Ghetsis will use Reshiram and Kyurem in his plans."
Gary didn't need to hear anything else. He agreed to help him stop this Ghetsis, partially because Ghetsis reminded Gary very much of Hunter J, the woman who'd been responsible for Ash's death, and he would not allow this Ghetsis to kill Hilda or any other innocent people. Sycamore also offered to help. Since they were dealing with Dragon-types, it would be useful to take at least one Fairy-type with them, and Pearl was more than happy to help her saviors.
"I also want to help."
They turned around and saw May staring at them from the doorway with bandages covering the right side of her face. Blaziken was also by her side.
"They ruined the Contest and almost permanently injured Blaziken and Mienshao with those devices. I want to pay them back."
N was speechless; he'd never expected to be able to gather so much help to stop his father. He now felt like he actually had a chance to stop his father's madness for good this time.
"So, let's all go to the Giant Chasm," N said with determination.
XXX
At Giant Chasm, Hilda was still chained to the chair and trapped in a cell of Ghetsis's ship. Her entire body was in great pain, but even so, she found that all she could worry about was the hope that N wouldn't fall for Ghetsis's trap. Though her vision was very blurry, she doubted that this was the reason why everything around her appeared to have been sucked into a white abyss, leaving only a giant tree with an X mark in its trunk before her. The tree had a blue aura around it.
"Touch the seal…" a voice from the tree said.
"W-What…?" she said in wonder.
"Touch my seal, Heroine of Ideals."
For some reason, she could see the outline of what looked like a giant deer above that weird tree.
To be continued.
We're almost at the finish line for this story. Just three more chapters before the ending. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter, the battle against Ghetsis and Kyurem.
I want to thank Flock o' Seagulls for beta editing this. ^^