-Chapter 11-
Dazzling Gleam
"Ma'am, he got away.", one of the Instinct trainers reported. V exhaled, and looked to the others around, "Let him go for now. I'd rather focus all our attention on the preparations for tonight.", she said. "Call QR Construction and get them to fix this wall while you're at it.", she added, and turned back to walk down the hall. She stopped and looked at one of the rooms, a dimly lit one, with stasis chambers much like those that Team Valor had. But inside the pods were high-level Blisseys, Snorlaxes, Machamps...even the amputee ones would be participating in the operation that would happen at nightfall. V let out a long sigh. It was going to be a long night, but she had been waiting for this opportunity for some time. "Rose...Garrett...just wait...just wait until we've painted the island yellow...", she spoke to herself.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Marleon rubbed the back of Red's neck. "You can slow down now, Red. They aren't following us.", he said. The Gyarados eased up, and the two of them were now coasting along. He wasn't entirely sure where they would go. As of now, Marleon assumed that no island of the Fire Islands League would be safe for them to go to. It would be a long journey to one of the other regions. He knew that firsthand, considering how long it took him to travel back to Rain Dance Island once his amnesia had vanished. Still, they needed a plan. He tried to convince himself that stopping at one of the other islands, maybe even Old Thunderbird Isle, just to resupply would be a good idea. But he didn't want to take the risk.
Wingulls were circling around their position. He watched them divebomb the ocean and splash, swimming up with Goldeen or Remoraid in their beaks. It was strange watching predation like this, but he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the fish that were becoming meals. After all, he was being hunted like prey just as they were. He closed his eyes, weighing the options. As of now, there was no plan that sounded like it was worth the risk.
A vision of Arcanine flashed in his mind. He thought that this would be the time he'd need a rescue from a Legendary Pokemon. He thought about that story, how Arcanine sacrificed something dear to it just to save the day. "Red?", Marleon asked. The Gyarados looked back to him. "I need to ask your permission for something.", Marleon said. Red looked confused, and Marleon took the sixth Pokeball from his belt. He showed it to the Gyarados. "I've been holding onto Drago...your mother...for a little while now. But I think it's about time we send her on. Would you give me your permission to bury her here at sea?", he asked. Red hesitated, but slowly nodded, letting out a low, throaty call in his voice.
Marleon smiled, and held the Pokeball out over the water. "She was always good to me. From the day we met, she was always by my side. I knew the odds were against us when she was chosen to be my starter Pokemon, but we pulled through, and were an extraordinary team.", Marleon said. He couldn't help that a few tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke. "I'm going to miss her. But she's given me quite the legacy. And she lives on with her son.", he rubbed Red's neck. Red made another throaty noise. Marleon knew it was the right time. "Goodbye, Drago. I'm returning you to where you belong."
He pressed the button on the Pokeball, and then dropped it into the water. The splash was small, and he watched the ball silhouette flash and grow into a much larger shadow, that of a Gyarados. The shape sank and faded under the water, a few bubbles rippling on the surface just above. Marleon wiped his eyes, and then spoke to Red again, "Come on, let's go to Old Thunderbird Isle. I think we'll be safe there. It's been deserted after Mewtwo's attack."
He pulled out his Pokedex, which had a built-in map, to figure out which direction they needed to go. But before he could point Red in the right direction, the two of them noticed something odd in the water. Something glowing...it was giving off a pink hue. Marleon at once wrapped around Red's neck, "I've seen that before! Brace yourself! It's about to make a whirlpool!", he called, recalling the day that he disappeared. He remembered a light in the water just like that. However, the light simply grew brighter, and then to their shock, a large splash erupted nearby. Red and Marleon looked up and gasped in shock as a whale had breached the surface of the water and was hovering above them mid-jump.
It was no ordinary whale. It was a Legendary Pokemon, Kyogre! The legendary whale that Team Aqua revered splashed on the other side of them, and then began to circle the two. "But what is Kyogre doing here?", Marleon questioned. Finally, the whale slid to a halt before them, its eye glaring at the duo. Marleon watched as an empty Pokeball floated to the surface nearby, Kyogre looked at it, and then back at them. The trainer reached in and picked out the Pokeball, the one that originally held Drago. The water dripped off the now empty, open Pokeball, and Marleon looked to Kyogre, "I suppose I should take this back...didn't mean to litter.", he said. Kyogre turned to Red and began to speak in a high-pitched shriek. Red responded with a deep growl. Marleon was completely out of the loop, he couldn't communicate with either one of them. Red then turned to Marleon and make a motion like they were about to dive. "Wait, Red, where is Kyogre taking us?", he asked, but of course, Red responded with some more roaring growls. At this point, Kyogre began its dive, and almost without warning, Red followed. Marleon gripped the Gyarados' throat and held on, taking a deep breath before they went under.
He could see the silhouette of the whale glowing that strange shade of pink in the distance. Red kept up with Kyogre, and as they swam, there was another light that began to glow past the whale. He held on for as long as he could, that light growing brighter and brighter, looking much like a large orb in the middle of the ocean. Marleon felt himself begin to slip. He was struggling to hold his breath...
"Master! Please wake up, Master!"
Marleon sat up and began to cough up water. That voice. He had never heard it before. He was weary, and it took him a little while to catch his breath. "Master! Are you okay?", the voice said. He turned and looked around, only seeing Red nearby. Marleon rubbed his eyes a bit, "...Red?", he asked. "Of course, Master! You can understand me now?", the Gyarados spoke to him. Marleon blinked, "I...I can!"
He looked around some more. They were on an island, but it was late at night. The ocean was glowing a vivid green, and they were sitting on a beach made of perfectly formed garnet stones. The sky was swirling with color, there were stars in the sky, but it appeared much more numerous and clustered than normal. It was as if there was zero light pollution in the sky, and he could see whole galaxies spinning. "Where...is this...?", he began to ask. Red slid a little closer, "This is Thrylikos Mons, what the humans call the Legendary Realm.", he spoke. As he said that, Marleon's other Pokeballs popped open, and the rest of the team joined the two of them. "Are we where I think we are?", Altaria questioned. "Woooooow...", Glaceon was in amazement. "Master, are you seeing this?", Seel asked. "Oh Master, I was so scared!", Flygon quickly embraced Marleon and nearly smothered him, the Pokemon was still shaken from the events from earlier. "Urff!", Marleon grunted as he was pinned down. "L-Listen...we're okay for now. Kyogre brought us here...I don't know why. But maybe we can find some answers about what was going on with Lugia.", he said, finally standing up. "Yes, that was the most bizarre thing, Master.", Altaria spoke. Marleon quickly waved his hands to them, "Please, don't call me 'Master'. I'm not your master.", he said. Glaceon tilted her head, "What do we call you then? Aren't you our...?", she asked. Marleon smiled, "We're partners. All of us. You all are members of my team, and are all equals. I don't ever want to hear you call me 'master' again. You can call me something else, like... 'friend' or even my name, 'Marleon'.", he explained to them. The five Pokemon looked to one another. Red was the clear leader of them and he made the decision, "We will refer to him as Marleon from now on."
They looked deeper into the island, where glowing lights illuminated a forest made of gemstone trees. Marleon led the way, and the Pokemon all followed. Red and Seel could actually swim in the air, floating just above the ground. The rest walked behind. As they went deeper into the forest, the lights became brighter and more numerous. They could hear chatter, banter...it almost seemed like a bonfire in the center of the island. There were old pillars that looked like they were created ages ago, and little totems whose eyes let off a ghostly glow when they passed by. They made it to the center of the island, where in a clearing was a strange flame. The fire was burning a brilliant blue, but when they looked at it, they could see visions of Earth. It was almost like a portal they could look through, the images flashing. It was here that they realized they were hardly alone. To one side was the Legendary Birds – Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, who were all having an argument and pecking at one another. To another side was the Weather Trio – Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, who were laughing and enjoying each others company. And near the flames were Raikou and Entei, two members of the Legendary Dogs. Suicune was not present.
Marleon and his Pokemon emerged from the clearing, and Kyogre looked over, "Ah, our guests have finally arrived! Welcome, make yourselves comfortable!" Marleon blinked again, he could understand Kyogre! "Th-thank you", he stammered. Rayquaza smiled, "I believe these are first timers. They must be adjusting to hearing our voices." Groudon stood and stomped on over, "Hey human! Show some respect or I'm gonna eat ya!", the large red Pokemon snarled. Marleon stepped back and bumped into his own Pokemon. Groudon then suddenly began to burst out laughing, "Ahahaha! I'm just teasing! Welcome, come sit!"
"Ugh...will those three ever stop complaining?", Entei muttered. The dog was referring to the Legendary Birds, who were squabbling. "That was my stick! I wanted that stick!", Moltres squawked at Zapdos. Zapdos jabbed with its beak, "Buzz off! I found this stick fair and square!" Articuno huffed, "Moltres, you'd just burn that stick up if you had it!" Moltres squawked back at Articuno, "But I wanted to burn it! I wanted the ashes!" Zapdos sat on the stick, "Well it's mine now!" Articuno shook its head, "Zapdos, give Moltres the stick back. It's clearly not-", but Zapdos shot a spark of electricity at Articuno, "Don't take Moltres' side! I'm sick of getting ganged up by you two!" "Yeah stay out of this, Articuno! This is my fight!", Moltres squabbled. The argument carried on like this until the three were tumbling on one another, slapping each other with their wings, biting and pecking and scratching. Raikou finally stood and shouted at them, "Shut up! All three of you! We have guests!"
The birds all turned and gasped at the sight of Marleon. "The human!", they cried, and the three raced toward him. "Oh cr-", Marleon braced himself, but the three simply surrounded him and seemed thrilled he was there. "Oh! The Seel is here too! How are you feeling?", Articuno asked. Seel wobbled happily, "Very well, thank you!" "I am glad! This human came right on time, no thanks to Moltres' humans!", Articuno spoke. Moltres flared it's flames, "I did not ask Charstar to do that! I will speak with him myself and tell him that practicing on wild Pokemon is wrong!" Zapdos seemed to move the closest to Marleon and kept brushing its feathers all over him, "This one is mine! It's on my team! It's my human!"
Kyogre floated over, "Actually, that one belongs to me. It joined my Team Aqua before it joined your team, Zapdos!" Zapdos squawked at Kyogre, "Like heck he did! See? He's wearing my logo!" Kyogre rolled its eyes, and glowing a bit, the human's shirt slid up. "Hey!", Marleon complained, but the legends could see the Team Aqua logo tattooed on Marleon's chest. "My symbol is marked on him. He belongs to me.", Kyogre made his point.
"You're both wrong.", Raikou spoke. "This human belongs to Suicune. It rescued him when he was young." Marleon blinked, "Wait...you're not talking about...?", he began, and Entei nodded, "I was there as well. Raikou, Suicune, and I were traveling and Suicune spotted a small human fall off a large boat. Suicune chose to interfere, and notified a Lapras pod who rescued the small human." Marleon exhaled. "Suicune did that? So...Suicune is my true Guardian Legend?", he asked. Raikou nodded, "Yes, that is correct." Marleon smiled, "I knew it! Where is Suicune anyway, I need to speak to it.", he asked. The two dogs shrugged, "Not sure."
"Human, how are you liking the clones down there?", Zapdos asked. Marleon tilted his head, "What clones?" Moltres chuckled, "You know that is not actually the real 'us' that walks on your plane, at least not all the time. Suicune and Lugia are there now, but the ones that cannot speak, and just seem 'wild' are clones." Marleon crossed his arms, "So that's why...that's how...I've seen multiple trainers with each of you.", he nodded. "Indeed, we have Mewtwo to thank for the process. We think it's healthy for the humans to believe they truly own us. Think of it as...us lending our powers.", Rayquaza spoke. "Yes, well the humans like me the best!", Articuno boasted. "No they don't!", Moltres huffed. "No I'm the best!", Zapdos shrieked, and the three birds began to argue again.
As they continued on, a flash of light emerged somewhere in the forest. "Ah! That must be Suicune!", Groudon spoke. Soon the legendary dog stepped into the clearing, "Entei, I need to speak to you about-", Suicune began, but stopped when it locked eyes with Marleon, "What...what is he doing here?!" "I brought your human here, Suicune! I thought you would like to see him just as the others did!", Kyogre spoke. "Kyogre you fool! He is unclean! Do you realize-", Suicune began to say, when Raikou interrupted, "It's quiet...why is it so quiet all of a sudden?" The dogs looked over and noticed the trio of birds were still, almost like statues. Their eyes glowing a strange shade of violet.
"Rayquaza, get Groudon and Kyogre-", Suicune shouted, but it was too late. The Weather Trio's eyes were glowing violet, they were still. Suicune looked back and saw Entei and Raikou cringing and tensing up, and then they too opened their eyes and stared blankly with violet eyes. Suicune was now the last one, and he glared at Marleon, who was staring at him, his eyes glowing, a grin on his face. "You...", Suicune spoke.
"Hello Suicune. It's been some time hasn't it?", Marleon spoke in a strange, raspy voice that was not his real one. "But how...how did you...?", Suicune trembled and began to collapse, fighting the mind control. "Shhh...it'll all be over soon. I have use of you.", Marleon spoke in that voice. All of his Pokemon were controlled the same way, eyes glowing violet, completely motionless. Suicune mustered, "Lugia...please...help...", before its eyes changed and it stood up and joined Entei and Raikou, now all of them under the spell.
"Pity that Lugia is not here. I would have preferred to claim that one without it taking much effort. Oh well...", Marleon spoke, and pulled out the old Master Ball he won from the Fire Islands League Championship, "I have my means of eliminating my nemesis." He turned and looked to his Pokemon team, "Come, my servants. Let us begin."