Pokemon Adventures: Where Legends Cross
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon Adventures/Special.
Hmm, taking things slowly for now. Drafting's nearly come to a halt because of school activities. Will probably kick up speed again after two weeks or so.
Began writing on April 31st, 2011. Still drafting chapter 23.
Chapter 7. Vs. Aggron: Meeting the Love Birds
"NO!"
Pearl bellowed as he bolted up from his lying position, only regret it instantly as pain struck him from all sides; every part of his body ached, starting from the head right down to his toes. He felt as if he had been sleeping for five decades -
"Pearl safe! Pearl safe!" A familiar voice squawked as Perahiko flew straight into his face, blocking his view from the source of all the sudden joyful yowls and growls.
"Okay! Okay, Perahiko! I'm fine!" Pearl yelled as he pulled the overjoyed Chatot off his face. His freedom was short-lived, however, as Torahiko immediately threw himself over him and covered his face with licks and relieved yelps. And afrer Pearl pushed him off, then came a REALLY tight bear hug from Saruhiko.
"Guys, I'm really okay!" Pearl finally shouted, despite the big happy grin on his face as he greeted his team again. They were all there, from Infernape to Rotom, all sitting around (or, on occasions, on) the bed with overjoyed faces.
Now that the Pokemon gave him some room to breathe, he took the chance observe his surroundings. He was in a small room, though it had enough space to fit his entire team in, mostly featureless besides his bed. Looking out the window to his side Pearl could make out sillouettes of a small town, oddly reminding him of Twinleaf Town.
"Hey, you're awake!"
An abrupt female voice jerked Pearl's (and his Pokemons') gaze toward the open door, through which two people just walked in. A boy and a girl, looking slightly older than him - around sixteen, he supposed. The boy was stylishly dressed in red and black, an intelligent look in his bright red eyes and his jet-black hair hidden under a white woolen hat. The girl was garbed in black shorts and a sleeveless blue shirt, a blue bandanna tied around her head (was it Pearl's imagination, or did their clothes somehow match?). Despite her sparkling blue eyes and friendly grin, Pearl couldn't help but shudder a little inwardly as he noticed her lean-but-tough body and her protruding fangs.
"Are you feeling well?" The boy asked as he walked over to his bedside with the girl. "You were out for three days. The shipwreck must've been quite a shock, wasn't it?"
Pearl flinched, brought back to the horrid memories. The sudden Tentacruel attack, the hostile helicopters, the lightning entity's ruthless attack, the Wailord...
"Where... where am I?" Pearl asked, to no one in particular. "What had happened to me? I was swallowed up by a Wailord, and..."
"Oh, sorry 'bout that," the girl replied sheepishly. "We were heading off to Unova with my Walo when the crazystorm kicked up, and we went through the wreckage and found ya drowning, so we picked you up on the way. Oh, and we're in Nuvema Town of Unova. This is Professor Juniper's house."
"So I've made it to Unova," Pearl murmured quietly, barely noticing the girl's half-dead country accent (A/N: This is due to her exposure to Ruby, who in turn begins mimicking her accent). "Wow... er, thanks for saving my life. I thought I really was a goner when the - your Wailord showed up."
"Sure thing!" The girl answered with a friendly grin.
"Oh, I forgot!" The boy suddenly exclaimed beside her, rummaging through his bag until he pulled out a very familliar object and handed it over to Pearl. "Your PokeDex was soaked, so we had the Professor patch it up for you."
"Thanks again," said Pearl humbly as he received the prized item with both hands. "Wait, how do you know about the PokeDex? Professor Rowan said it's a very rare object..."
"Well, it is, but certainly not unique," the boy chuckled as he took out another PokeDex, one shapred differently from Pearl's. "I guess we never introduced ourselves, did we? I'm Ruby from Littleroot Town in Hoenn, and this barbarian here is my friend Sapphire, daughter of Professor Birch of Hoenn."
"Thanks for the intro, sissy!" Sapphire roared, giving Ruby a solid blow of the head; Pearl flinched at the sound of something breaking. "... and anyway, we're two of the three Dex Holders in Hoenn. Nice to meet ya!"
"Thanks again," said Pearl sweatdropping. "I'm Pearl, from Twinleaf town in Sinnoh. I came to Unova with my friend Dia - "
Swept off by the waves.
How could he have forgotten? (A/N: Because he's brain's not suited for remembering lol)
"DIAMOND!" Pearl shouted at the top of his voice, nearly leaping out of the bed in horror and causing everyone around him to flinch in shock.
"Huh? What - " Ruby stammered, a confused look on his face.
"Diamond, my friend!" Pearl exclaimed, almost grabbing the startled boy by the collar - instead he resorted to leaning forward and slamming his hands down on his shoulder. "He escaped the ship with me, and then the currents carried him off! Have you seen him? He's a guy with black hair and a round face and blue eyes and - "
"There was someone else in the water?" Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other with the same expression of horror on their faces.
"Sorry, Pearl." Said Sapphire softly as she turned back to Pearl. "You're the only one we found."
Pearl slumped against the bed in numb shock, cold dread spreading over his entire body. Diamond, gone? It was impossible. He survived that occasion when they were ambushed by Cyrus. He survived when Mars had defeated him flat and captured Mesprit by taking his mother hostage. He survived when he snuck into the Team Galactic airship alone, fighting grunt after grunt with only his newest Pokemon. And he survived even as Dialga and Palkia fought right in front of him, under control of Cyrus and the Red Chain. Bendable but never breakable, that was Dia. To have survived all of that, only to be defeated by the one element that he did not fear?
No, Pearl wouldn't have that. He wouldn't allow it.
"Pearl help Dia? I mean, Diamond?" Perahiko cawed, making him turn his attention to his team. Their faces were all grim with anticipation (even Pikahiko), already knowing what he would do, what they would expect him to do.
"I have to go find him," he said quietly, quickly returning all his Pokemon before struggling out of the bed, ignoring his muscles shrieking in protest.
"Oh no, you don't," said Ruby abruptly, blocking his way with a serious expression. "The shipwrecked site is a day's travel from here. Even if your friend survived the storm - which, I might add, is quite a feat on its own - , he could be anywhere by now."
"That's why I have to go find him, before it's too late!" Pearl protested as he tried to get past the older boy, flinching slightly in pain.
"Hold still, for cryin' out loud!" Sapphire sighed in exasperation, grabbing him by the arm and flinging him back onto the bed with inhuman strength. "See? Ya can barely even walk straight. At this rate you're gonna end up killing yourself by jumping into the sea."
"Try to calm down and listen," said Ruby, his stern look softening a little at his friend's bresqueness.
"I know how you feel, losing someone that is so close to you." As he said this Pearl noticed his gaze slightly wandering over to Sapphire, who looked over and met his eyes for a short while. The short contact broke quickly, leaving both teenagers looking away awkwardly with a slight blush and leaving a baffled Pearl: What was that all about?
Wordlessly Pearl looked out of the window, wondering on what distant shore Diamond would find himself. He automatically deleted any scenario in which he found no shore to land on; that just wasn't going to happen.
He wouldn't let it happen. They would set out together to folow their dream, like they always did.
Azelf watches over him, and his will was his strength.
"Can I ask you a favor?" He asked as he felt strength returning, crackling through his limbs like electricity. He looked up at Ruby and Sapphire, who looked back at him with sincerely sorry expressions. He knew that they were good people, and the idea that he wouldn't be able to repay their kindness properly was rather guilt-inducing.
"When you see Professor Juniper... " said Pearl, slowly coiling up the muscles in his legs. "... tell her I said thanks."
As soon as the words were our he bolted straight out of bed, ignoring the other Trainers' surprised cries as he raced for the open door.
However, he had underestimated the senior Dex Holders' own physical capabilities (in fact, he was new to the very concept of seniors at all). Fitting to his hyperactiveness Pearl was very, very fast for a fourteen-year-old boy, so it's no wonder he was quite shocked to find that Ruby had already beaten him to the door, his steps light as feathers and agile as the wind.
Summoning all the inate agility he possesed Pearl raced straight forward, ducking under Ruby's outstretched arm and sprinting down the stairs as quickly as his legs could carry him. As he reached the first floor and went for the the front door (which was, for some reason, also ajar), he heard Sapphire yell from way above: "Stop'em, Rono!"
An instant later something whizzed by Pearl's head with such speed that for a moment he was certain that Sapphire had flung the object at his head to kill. Only when it bounced of the floor - denting it slightly - and out of the door more than ten feet away did he realize that it was in fact a Poke Ball, which quickly opened up to reveal the Pokemon inside. While he was still about twelve feet away from the exit to see properly outside, he saw enough to realize that something large, bulky and silver had just erupted into existence to block his path from the outside.
Good thing he had a perfect counter for steel-types.
"Saruhiko!" He yelled without stopping, flicking a Poke Ball out of his belt to release the powerful Infernape. The Flame Pokemon rushed at the enormous beast with a challenging screech, both his fists reared back to unleash one of his most powerful technique.
"Saruhiko, use Close Combat!" Pearl bellowed as he reached the front porch. Saruhiko leaped through the door and at his opponent, bombarding the creature (which turned out to be a huge Aggron) with a rapid burst of punches, kicks and chops. Unable to resist the supereffective (A/N: not to mention STAB from someone with a base attack power of 104... poor Rono :( ) attack, the Aggron bellowed with pain as it staggered backwards, making room for Pearl to rush through and dash off to the side of the injured - yet not knocked out, to its credit and Pearl's surprise - Iron Armor Pokemon.
"Rono!" Sapphire's anguished voice gnawed at Pearl's conscience as he quickly returned Saruhiko, preparing another Poke Ball to take off as he spared a glance behind. The older girl rushed at her groaning Aggron, while Ruby cast a burning glare at him as he followed up from behind. Something in his now-blood-red eyes told Pearl that he wasn't going to forget this easily, even if he would be forgiven someday... if ever.
"I'm sorry," he said guiltily, momentarily pausing in his escapade to look at the two Trainers, though he couldn't dare to match their eyes. "I really have to do this. Go, Tarohiko!"
He yelled at the same moment he leaped up where he stood, so that when he came down the Tauros was already beneath him. "Let's go!"
Tarohiko let out a great bellow, immediately kicking off the ground and racing headlong toward the visible town exit (thankfully there were hardly any people on the streets), bearing his Trainer on top.
"Wait for me, Dia, wherever you are," muttered Pearl, gritting his teeth as Tarohiko burst through the exit in a terrific leap. "Hold out for me, like you always did! Our bonds won't be broken here, I swear!"
- Nuvema Town, Unova -
"I don't believe this," Ruby muttered loudly, slapping his forehead with an exasperated groan as he watched the younger boy race out of town up on his Tauros. "You okay there, Sapph?" He asked as he turned back to his (girl)friend, who was busily checking over Rono with an unhappy frown.
"I'm fine," she grumbled. "But that attack hurt; 's a miracle Rono didn't get pulverized by that Infernape, thanks to Sturdy. To think that he'd just rush out like that, without even listening! And you call me reckless." She added with a stinging tone.
"His friend must have meant a lot to him," said Ruby as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. I'd have done the same if I'd lost you, he added silently.
"I know that, but he doesn't even know the way around, ya know?" Sapphire snapped, handing over a Sitrus Berry for Rono to much on while working over his bruises with a Hyper Potion. "He might as well as try to find a Miracle Seed on a forest floor!"
Not that she'd have any difficulty with that.
"Maybe we should've gone with him," sighed Ruby, feeling that ther journey was going through enough screw-ups from the beginning. "Even if he knows the region like the back of his hand, he won't be able to find that friend of his alone."
"Would ya have helped him if ya had a chance?" Sapphire asked him as she turned to lock eyes with him sincerely.
"Of course!" Ruby exclaimed, slightly offended to have her, of all people, doubt him. "Our mission - whatever it is, is the only thing holding me back right now."
Now it was Sapphire's turn to sigh. "Ya know, now I'm starting to think things were actually easier back in Hoenn."
"That's because you were right, and I was wrong." Ruby pointed out, to which Sapphire retorted with a snort. "I am being serious, Sapphire. You know that I was a total jerk back then."
"Oh, so that means ya ain't one now?" Sapphire retorted, despite the cheeky tone.
"Ouch! I'm hurt you'd think of me that way," replied Ruby with an exaggerated flinch, playing along.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sapphire muttered. "Anyway... are ya sure of what you saw in your dream?" She asked for the fifth time since that day, again drawing closer to him with a serious look on her face.
"Totally," Ruby confirmed, desperately trying to ignore the fact that her face was mere inches away from his (he dared to hope that she looked a little embarassed too). "It was definitely Groudon that I saw, smashing down a Pokemon League building somewhere. And somehow I just knew that it was a region called Unova. You know, it just... came to me."
Sapphire nodded. "Ya, 't was life that for me too, 'cept for me it was Kyogre that was flooding the place."
"Mm - hmm," said Ruby, closing his eyes while nodding. The meaning of the dream was clear. The land that they were both standing on was in danger, and whoever that had sent the message wanted them to do something about it.
Of course, it was a lot to ask of two sixteen-year-olds, but then again they were anything but JUST teenagers. For someone who had saved this planet from being ravaged by two super-ancient Pokemon deities, saving the world wasn't exactly a novel request. And during the last three years they had learned a lot from their own senior Dex Holders, and now it wasn't a couple (A/N: Hell yeah, pun intended) of novice Trainers that the region was facing.
And besides, they were in this together; the very idea gave strength to Ruby. At least it would make up for all the contests he'd be missing out on for a long, long time.
"'s a mission meant for us to fulfill," said Sapphire, as if proving his point. It was she who suggested that they set off for the Pokemon League, the place where their dream suggested. And as soon as they set foot on Unova they were stuck with this not-so-little dilemma.
"But we have a duty as a Dex Holder as well," Ruby reminded her, trying not to sound argumentative for once; this was one conversation he didn't wish to drag. "In a sense we're his seniors. Don't you think we're oblieged to help him? He's prefectly justified in trying."
"Gah, I know, I know!" Sapphire exclaimed, throwing up her heands in defeat and plopping down on a nearby stump, prompting Rono to pat her back with his thick tail. "This is hard. I didn't know being responsible could be THIS difficult."
"Split loyalties," agreed Ruby. "When it comes down to it, it's a matter of who needs us the most."
"An entire region, or a single person?" said Sapphire, raising her eyebrows. "That hardly seems lika fair choise. Cut the crap and get to the point, Ruby. You wanna help Pearl."
Ruby gave a lousy attempt at a chuckle. She was always right.
"As a senior," he informed her, praying that she'd take him seriously. "You're the one who taught me about responsibility, remember? I'm just putting it into practice. Besides, there's nothing we can do about this whole saving-the-world thing until we learn something about this place. Why not take the chance to get to know Unova?"
"That's great!" exclaimed Sapphire, immediately brightening up at the possible solution to the dilemma. "So it's settled, then. Do we go after Pearl?"
"If we can find him, that is," Ruby chuckled again, pleased with how smoothly things were turning out. "Considering the way he launched himself out of town, though, it might be a chore."
"Ah, there you are!" A cheery voice broke into the conversation, and both teenagers turned to look at Professor Juniper walking toward them with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "What are you doing outside of the house? What about that boy you were looking after?"
"Er... he left in a hurry," said Ruby, unsure of how to make the slightly eccentric Professor (though, admittedly, not much more so than Sapph's father) understand. "You see, he was separated from his friend during the shipwreck, and we were planning to catch up to him and help."
"He told us to tell you he said thanks," Sapphire put in quickly.
"That's nice of you," said Professor Juniper approvingly. "It's always good to see young Trainers cooperating. I'd say he's a lucky guy, getting help from such an adorable couple like you!"
Ruby could instantly feel blood shoot up to his face and dying it crimson, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Sapphire wasn't faring much better. Somehow, in spite of all the frequent (and sometimes even deliberate) arguments the Professor deduced from the first glance that they were dating, and held firm to the belief despite their wild protests.
Not that he would complain if he really WAS courting Sapph, no.
"Professor!" A shrill female voice drifted from abovce, and Ruby looked up to see that an unfamiliar swan-like Pokemon was slowly descending from the air, a young girl around thirteen clinging to its feet.
"Bianca! What's the matter? You look shaken!" Professor Juniper exclaimed as the girl landed on the ground in front of them, the fear on her expression promising no good.
"Professor, Black sent me to inform you... Unova is in danger!"
Whew, that lagged. Finally done! And yay for Frantic! While Frantic and Special are my TTP (two true pairing;;), Frantic is usually the more fun to write. At least, for now.
I've been brought down with a cold for the last week, and was hardly in any condition to write. Apologies for the delay... but you'll still have to pardon me this weekend.
Well, not much to say about this chapter. Since Emerald appeared plenty of people would've expected R/S to show up sooner or later. And Bianca arrives in Nuvema with the grave news... who knows how the story will turn out to be? What will happen to rude!Pearl? Stay tuned!
And it seems that I'm beginning to get staple reviewers. Pikachu127 and G.T.F.W., many thanks to your chapter-for-chapter review and continuing affection for this fic!
Next chapter we turn to a small shoreline in the west of the continent. Until then,
Writing completed on May 5th, 2011. This is Yowl of Time, out.