The Platinum Adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Kenshin: I have no comments. Sorry.
Journal Entry 6: The Clash of Power; Cyrus Akagi
"Wow, this place looks wonderful!" Cheryl says with total exclamation. Lucas could agree with her on that. Pastoria City is a really nice place.
They could see a Pokemon Center nearby and go to it, but as they get closer to it the ground below starts to feel softer and mushier. Lucas notices this and looks down, seeing his running shoes get all muddy. Cheryl starts to realize the marsh like soil and looks at her boots.
"Crap. Now I got to clean them again." He says in an upset voice. Since he got these shoes as a parting gift from his mother, for his journey, he values them above all his other clothing, even his hat.
"We can go to the Pokemon center and clean them." Cheryl says to cheer him up. The two friends then walk inside the center, rubbing as much mud on the mat as they could before taking their shoes off.
A barefooted Lucas walks up to Nurse Joy and asks, "Uh, Miss Nurse Joy, do you know where I can clean my running shoes?"
"Oh, of course. There's a bathroom down the hall, but with what's in this town you might want to wait." She says to him, quickly gaining his attention.
"Are?" – Lucas
"You two must be new to town, or else you would know about the Great Marsh." Nurse Joy begins while smiling at him. "It's a place where trainers can go to catch Pokemon from other continents. There are plenty of unique Pokemon there too."
"Is that so?" Lucas asks with great interest. He then asks her, "Where can I find it?"
"It's just north of this center. You can't miss it." Nurse Joy says to him. Lucas then smiles and thanks her for the information.
He walks over to Cheryl, who was cleaning off some mud, and tells her, "Hey Cheryl! Guess what I heard?"
"What?" She asks, rather interested now in what he was going to say.
"There's some safari zone around here that houses plenty of Pokemon to catch! Wanna try it out?" He says rather excited.
This excitement infected her and she leaps up and shouts, "Sure! Let's go!"
And so with this stuck in their minds the two friends dash for the Great Marsh, forgetting about the Pokemon gym for the moment. They enter the building leading into the marsh, and come before two people behind a counter. The first lady says, "Welcome to the Great Marsh, a safari game where you can catch as much Pokemon you want, but only with the 30 Safari Balls we grant you. Do you want to play?"
"Sure. We'll take two admissions." Lucas says. He looks back at Cheryl to confirm her approval. "How much?"
"Single admission is 500. Two will be 1000." She says to them. Lucas did not hesitate to hand over the exact amount. The second lady hands them two bags of Safari Balls. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." Both Lucas and Cheryl say, as they walk down the hall to enter the marsh.
The two of them look around and gasp in awe at the amazing water land they've entered. Stepping into the rich soil the two walk together to the middle. Lucas looks to his right and Cheryl turns to the left.
Lucas then says to her, "I'm going this way. We'll meet back here by lunch time when we're done, kay?"
"Sure thing! Good luck." Cheryl says to him, then leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek. Blushing at the contact he receives he watches as the beautiful girl wanders off deeper into the marsh. Lucas moves to his area, still blushing from the kiss.
--
By the time the clock struck 11 the two friends were already on their way back to the entrance. Lucas is the first to make it back, with three Safari balls around his belt. "That really was fun. I'm glad we came here…"
"Lucas!" Cheryl calls out to him, stomping through the mucky soil to reach the entrance. She stops in front of him, and then asks him, "How was your hunt? Did you catch anything good?"
"I was only able to get three Pokemon; Wooper, Tropius, and Yanma." He says to her, showing the three Safari Balls around his belt. "I'm glad I have Tropius though; now we can fly to other places."
"Well, I could only get Noctowl, but I'm still happy with it." She says, holding the Safari Ball to her cheek. She then looks up to him and asks, "So what's next for the day?"
"I guess we should move on to the Gym. But first a trip to the Pokemon Center." Lucas states before heading to the exit. Cheryl smiles in agreement and follows him close behind.
Both friends head to the Pokemon center; mostly to prepare for the battle he would partake against the Gym Leader. Lucas sends all but one of the Pokemon he caught in the Great Marsh to Rowan, saving Tropius. He then hands Luxray over to Nurse Joy so she could heal him, since he was the only one who had fought in a battle the entire day.
After Luxray was returned Lucas and Cheryl head over to the gym. By the time they got there though someone shouts out, "Oi, Lucas!"
Both of them turn around to see Paul running up to them. Lucas instinctively braces himself, but surprisingly the blond doesn't run into him. "Huh?"
"Dude, calm down. Don't act like I'm going to smash into your every time. I'm here to ask you…" Paul begins, but pauses when he sees Cheryl beside the dark haired teen. "Who is she your sister?"
"I'm his friend Cheryl. Lucas and I have been together ever since Eterna City." She says to him in a rather aggressive and agitated voice.
"Oh really? I think I would notice a girl hanging around dateless over here." Paul says as he points to his friend.
"She and I have really been together all this time. I was surprised you didn't see her." Lucas responds as he effectively backs up Cheryl's words.
Paul looks at Lucas as he corrects him then turns to Cheryl who crosses her arms around her chest triumphantly. "Heh. Sorry about that. Guess I didn't think you were important to notice…"
"Not important?!" She yells, wrapping her hands around his neck and strangling him. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S NOT IMPORTANT!!!"
"Cheryl, stop!" Lucas grabs hold of his female friend's abdomen and tries to pull her off, but fails to do so. He eventually tries harder, but his hands accidentally slide up and grope her. Both of them realize immediately where his hands are, and in unison their arms pull away from their current positions.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Lucas apologizes while blushing.
"It's okay…" She replies, looking down at her hands with the same red expression as his.
"So Paul," Lucas begins to change the subject quickly and turns to his blond friend. Paul is currently trying to regulate his breathing. "Why are you here? You want to battle me?"
"Nope. I'm here to see you in battle against Wake-sensei." Paul says to him, getting back up to his feet. "Isn't that why you're here? To battle the Pastoria Gym leader?"
"Sensei?" Lucas asks, rather confused as to why he would call a gym leader his teacher.
"It says here he's the Torrential Masked Master." Cheryl says as she reads the template in front of the gym.
"I'm going to learn all I can from him! He's my mentor." Paul states proudly, throwing a punch in the air. He then walks inside and says, "I'll be watching you battle this time."
Lucas sighs then looks at Cheryl and says, "You want to know something about him?"
"Huh? What?" She asks, still looking off into the distance thanks to earlier.
"His real name is Pearl. He constantly tells other people to call him Paul because he thinks it's a girl's name and gets picked on because of it." He explains. Almost immediately she giggles and clutches her mouth with both hands to prevent full-blown laughter.
"Lucas, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Paul calls out to him.
Lucas and Cheryl walk inside the gym, and gasp when they see what's inside; the middle of the gym looks just like a giant pool, and on the sides are solid paths. In the pool are a couple of platforms, probably for those who can't swim, but then again why go near the pool if you can't swim?
All the trainers inside look at the entrance and see Lucas with Cheryl by his side. Paul then says, "Wake-sensei, you have a challenger!"
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not your sensei?!" Shouts a big guy coming up from behind him.
Lucas takes one look at the guy up ahead and gasps. He then points shakily at the gym leader. "You! You're that fat wrestler guy from Veilstone!"
"Fat?! How rude of you! I'm Pastoria's Gym Leader, Crasher Wake! The gym leader who toughens his Pokemon by braving stormy white waves!" He roars, as his gym trainers cheer in response. "And I am by no way fat! I am the ideal weight for a wrestler!"
"Okay…" Lucas mutters to himself, sweat drop falling down the side of his head.
"Lucas, just hurry up and clobber him." Cheryl says, being the only one in the gym on his side.
"Oh. She must really believe in you to say something like that." Wake says, crossing his arms around his chest. "We shall battle with 3 Pokemon each over the pool. I hope there are no objections."
"Nope. Let's do this!" Lucas shouts with confidence, bringing his right fist up to his face.
--
Both Lucas and Crasher Wake stand at opposite ends of the pool, everyone else on the sidelines watching. Of course the only one who was on Lucas's side was Cheryl. Our diamond protagonist holds up his first Pokeball and the Gym Leader copies him.
On the side the referee holds up two flags, one red the other green. "In the green corner, the mightiest water trainer in all of Pastoria, Crasher 'Maximum' Wake!"
All the gym trainers cheered when his name was called, including Pearl, I mean Paul. "And in the red corner, Pokemon trainer from Twinleaf with 4 badges already under his belt, Lucas somebody."
"Alright Lucas! Go get him!" Cheryl cheers, though it was silent compared to the others.
"Let this gym battle begin!" – Referee.
"My Pokemon will take everything you throw at them and drag you down under! Victory will be ours, so let's begin!" He tosses his Pokeball into the sea, releasing Gyarodous.
"I hope you realize pride also has a bill; get ready to pay for it. I choose Gabriel!" Lucas sets free Gabite from his ball, which lands on the first platform.
"Gyarodous, give him a Waterfall Attack!" Gyarodous dives underneath the pool, as Gabite looks around for the water Pokemon.
"Gabriel, don't panic. Prepare for it to attack!" On Lucas' orders the dragon brings up a guard with his arms.
"Strike him now!" Gyaradous rises up from the depths and prepares to strike Gabite.
"Counter with Dragon Claw!" Lucas commands. Gabriel lungs at the water dragon and strikes it in between its eyes. But with the power of the Waterfall attack Dragon Claw couldn't do much. Gabite is sent flying in the air. "Gabriel!"
"Twister!" The sea dragon spins its tail while aiming it at Gabite from underwater, releasing a torrential tornado at the land shark. Gabite is hit by the attack full force, and collapses onto the platform defeated.
"Winner, Gyaradous." The ref calls, as the room is filled with the sound of Wake's trainers cheering for him. Lucas returns his dragon to its ball.
"Who knew this guy really was strong…" Lucas takes out another ball, and glares at his foe. "I'm glad I still have this guy; go Blitz!"
Lucas releases Luxray to the field, having it land on a platform. Crasher lifts an eyebrow in shock at this new Pokemon. "Ah, so you know of Water's weakness to Electric types. But don't think it'll be easy to make an aim."
"Don't need to! With all this water surrounding Gyaradous Blitz doesn't need to aim." Blitz then leaps into the water, already sparking with electricity. Wake pales at this knowledge, forgetting automatically about that truth. "Blitz, Spark!"
Luxray releases electricity from its body, having it stream throughout the water and hit everything in it. Gyaradous is easily struck and fried, collapsing into the sea unconscious. The ref then says, "Gyaradous is unable to battle; this battle goes to Luxray."
"Yay!" Cheryl shouts out, as all the others boo him. Growing mad, she glares at them and yells, "Oh, boo yourselves!!"
"This is where it gets interesting; I choose Quagsire!" Wake sends out the evolved form of Wooper, a Water/Ground type. It enters the sea and looks up at his foe.
"A ground type? I'm guessing Luxray won't be effective against it. Blitz, return." Lucas returns his electric type to its ball, saving him for later hopefully.
"Oh? Retreating already?" Wake asks the teen.
"Not at all; It's your turn, Tropius!" Lucas sends out his Grass/Flying type Tropius, which flaps its wings to stay high above the sea below.
"A grass type now? Quasire, use Water Pulse!" Quagsire opens its mouth and fires a super sonic blast of water, but Tropius easily flies high above the attack.
"Tropius, use Razor Leaf!" Tropius flaps its wings hard and release a flurry of leaves.
Quagsire dives underwater to avoid the attack then resurfaces when the coast is clear. Wake begins to come up with a plan. "If I can bring that Pokemon down then I can use a stronger attack on it. Use Slam!"
Quagsire leaps out of the pool to strike Tropius with its tail, but once again the Fruit Pokemon dodges. "Air Slash!"
Tropius swings its left upper wing and releases a slashing wind at the water/ground type, sending it crashing back into the sea. Quagsire dives deeper into the water. "Your Pokemon is going to have to land sometime soon. I'll use that time to strike."
"Then I'll just finish this fight without giving that advantage! Tropius, use Giga Drain on the water!" On Lucas' orders Tropius shoots out vines into the water, which start glowing bright green. After a few minutes of draining it stops and retracts it vines, and Quagsire floats to the surface unconscious.
"Winner, Tropius!" The ref calls.
Cheryl cheers out for Lucas, much to the dismay of Crasher Wake's side. They even begin to murmur amongst themselves. Wake grits his teeth together into a grinning smile, and then lets loose a full-blown laugh. Both Lucas and Cheryl look at him in confusion.
"I haven't met a challenge like this in such a long time. This is where things really get going! I choose you, Floatzel!" Wake sends out his final Pokemon, a lighter skinned version of Floatzel, a Pokemon Lucas knows allot about due to having one. It lands easily on a platform. "I hope you don't disappoint me here!"
"Don't worry; I won't! Tropius, use Razor Leaf!" It fires a flurry of leaves at the weasel.
"Aqua Jet!" Floatzel leaps high above the Razor Leaf attack and covers itself in water, then rockets towards the flying Pokemon. The attack moves so fast Tropius couldn't brace itself, and is knocked off its axis. "Ice Fang!"
Floatzel then bites into the Fruit Pokemon's wing, freezing it within seconds. Tropius falls into the sea quickly, and resurfaces covered in ice. The ref calls, "Winner, Floatzel."
As Wake's trainers, and Paul, cheer for his victory, Lucas returns his frozen Pokemon inside its ball. He then tosses out Luxray, shouting, "Blitz, it's all up to you!"
"Floatzel, use Ice Beam!" Floatzel fires a beam of pure ice energy into the sea, freezing it completely.
"What the?" Lucas was confused as to what was going on. Luxray steps on the ice, electricity sparking around its body. Floatzel hops on the ice as well.
"This time, your strategy from before won't work again." Wake says to him, bringing a grin upon Lucas' face. "Aqua Jet!"
"Spark!" Both Pokemon charge at one another, one covered in electricity while the other is in water. Both knock each other back, but Floatzel suffers more. With Luxray being a lower level though less than half its health goes down.
"Swift!" Floatzel fires a bunch of stars at Luxray, who braces for impact.
"Shock Wave!" Luxray releases an omni directional wave of magnetic energy, which pulverizes the stars. Once it finishes Floatzel rushes in at full speed.
"Crunch!" It bites down hard on Luxray's left front leg and begins whirling it around. Before it could get a dose of electricity Floatzel releases Luxray and sends it crashing into a wall.
"Damn!" Lucas curses to himself, trying to think of a plan for victory. 'I doubt Flash will work again…but what else is there…wait! I still have that!'
"Blitz, use Charge!" Magnetic energy gathers around the electric Pokemon, as it glares at Floatzel.
"I have no idea what you're up to, but it isn't going to work. Finish him off with Ice Fang!" Floatzel rushes over to Luxray at high speed.
"Use Flash!" Before Floatzel could reach Luxray it releases a bright light from all around it, blinding the weasel.
"Signal Beam!" Luxray opens its mouth and fires a beam of rainbow colored energy, which blasts Floatzel and knocks it down.
Floatzel collapses to the icy floor and faints. The ref raises the red flag. "Winner is Luxray. This gym battle goes to Lucas somebody of Twinleaf."
'Even when I win I lose…' Lucas sighs in defeat. But he was still glad he won.
"Lucas won!" Cheryl shouts in happiness. All the gym trainers moan and groan.
"Amazing…the undertow pulled me under. But I had a great time battling you." Crasher Wake says, returning Floatzel to its ball. Lucas retrieves his lynx Pokemon.
"Thanks. I had fun too." Lucas says with a smile.
--
"You've earned this badge kid. Enjoy it." Wake says as he hands Lucas the Fen Badge. The two of them were outside the gym right now in front of it, with Paul and Cheryl next to them.
"Ah, thank you. I got the Fen Badge!" Lucas shouts, placing his fifth medal inside the case. "That means I'm more than halfway there!"
"Ha! Don't think just because you beat me you'll be able to handle the next guy. I look forward to a rematch!" Wake says followed by a big laugh.
Cheryl smiles as she watches Lucas, but then the sound of someone walking past them catches her attention. She turns around to see a grunt of Team Galactic walking towards the Marsh. "Are?"
"Now look here Lucas, just because you beat Sensei doesn't make you a great trainer." Paul says to his friend.
"Now, for the last time I am not your mentor! Just because I knew your father doesn't mean you can just-"
"Lucas!" Cheryl shouts, interrupting the water gym leader. Lucas and Paul turn to face her. "There's a member of Team Galactic by the marsh. He was acting suspicious."
"If it's Team Galactic then of course they would seem suspicious! Let's go!" Lucas shouts, as him and Cheryl rush off to the Great Marsh.
Wake and Paul watches as they leave. "What was that?"
"I heard of Team Galactic. Those guys are nothing but trouble. Let's go back them up." Paul says as he follows after Lucas and Cheryl. Wake does so as well.
Lucas and Cheryl stop before the Great Marsh entrance, and were just about ready to enter. Before they could there was a large explosion; it wasn't strong enough to shake the earth, but it was good enough to linger in their eardrums.
"Ah! What happened?!" Lucas shouts, while the others release their ears when the ringing stops.
That same member of Team Galactic walks out of the Marsh casually, as if nothing happened. "Aw, that was fun."
Wake then shouts, "You! What did you do!?"
"AH!" He shrieks, leaving for the gate. Lucas takes out his bike and gets on. Cheryl hops on behind him and they head after the grunt. Meanwhile Wake and Paul head into the Marsh to check for damage.
On the other side the couple see the grunt running as fast as he could down the beach. Lucas and Cheryl pick up the pace and start pedaling hard, knowing that guy couldn't outrun a two-person bicycle. Cheryl shouts out, "Hey you!"
"AH!" He shrieks, running faster than before.
The two friends continue their chase. Their pursuit of the grunt continues even past the hotel. Lucas rides through the hotel gates and find the grunt half tired on the ground.
"I…can't…keep running…" He says through gasps. Lucas and Cheryl stop beside the grunt, gaining his attention. "That's it. Before you follow me to our hideout, I'll eradicate you. Zubat!"
"I got this, Lucas." Cheryl says as she takes out a Pokeball. She sends it out, revealing Noctowl. "Noctowl, use Zen Headbutt."
The brown owl releases psychic energy throughout the area, stunning the bat temporarily. It then slams into it in the form of a powerful head butt, a super effective hit. Zubat falls to the ground, but then flaps back up.
"Confuse Ray!" Zubat releases a ray of light at Noctowl, who is hit by the move.
"Noctowl, return." Cheryl returns her Pokemon to its capsule, and the grunt laughs.
"Pathetic woman. You want to try again or are you done embarrassing yourself?" He says with confidence.
"Spiritomb, use Shadow Ball!" She releases her ghost Pokemon, which shoots a ball of darkness at Zubat. The attack finishes off the bat.
"NO!!!" He shouts in defeat, returning his bat to his capsule. "I can't believe I'm losing…I have to…get out…"
He then runs off to the park, disappearing without a trace. "Damn. We can't go in there yet."
"It's not over yet. Let's go after-" Cheryl stops when she sees the black dressed blond woman they've met earlier in their travels, Cynthia. "You!"
"Ah! It's Cynthia!" Lucas exclaims while pointing at her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just walking by when I saw this guy enter the Lake." Cynthia begins, looking back behind her. "But this is good. I was hoping to speak to you."
"Hey, Lucas!" Paul calls out from behind them. He then stops before him. "We just checked the marsh; it's okay. Repairs will be finished soon."
"Well that's good. The guy got past us." Lucas says in distraught. Paul punches his palm.
"Damn. We'll just have to crush them later. Anyway, I got to go. See you...." Paul pauses when he sees Cynthia beside him and Cheryl. "Who is she, your sister?"
"No! Why do you think every girl I'm with is my sister?" Lucas asks him, now irritated by his constant assumptions.
"Well you can't expect me to believe you're friends with such pretty girls. This isn't a manga!" Paul reasons, causing Lucas to grit his teeth in anger.
"Now hold on there Pearl, Lucas is a much better choice to hang with than you." Cheryl says while holding her arms around him. Both of them blush but Lucas' is much more noticeable.
Paul grows an anger mark. "My name is Paul! I don't know where you got Pearl from, but that is not my-Lucas, did you tell them?"
"Yeah, pretty much." – Lucas
"GAAH!! I gotta go!!!" Paul runs away to avoid further embarrassment, going past Cynthia. Lucas watches his friend Paul leave, as Cheryl smiles in triumph.
"Your friend really is weird…oh yeah, where was I?" Cynthia begins to think over what she was going to say to him. "Do you know about the Psyduck by Route 210?"
"Oh yeah! What was wrong with them?" Cheryl asks her, hoping she would know.
"I have a potion here that can cure them from their illness. I wanted to ask if you would do this task for me." Cynthia pulls out a tiny bottle from her bag, and hands it to Cheryl and Lucas.
"Of course we can, but at the moment we have to deal with something else…" Lucas says as he tries to remember where the next gym will be.
"Well if you go then you'll also open the path to Celestic Town. I also need you to deliver this to my grandmother there." Cynthia reaches around her neck and unties a necklace, holding it before Lucas. "Could you do me these two favors?"
"Now hold on, you can't just ask us to do this." Cheryl says to her, feeling used at the moment.
"Does this town have a gym?" Lucas asks her, bringing Cheryl to twitch on her left eye.
"Hmm, maybe. I do know the Pokemon Champ was born there. Maybe that person may show up." At this Lucas instantly brightens up; his new interest on this new task.
"Sure. I can give this to your grandmother." Lucas says, as Cheryl pouts in anger.
"Thank you Lucas. Good luck on your journey…" And with that Cynthia walks down towards the hotel, and Lucas places his bike in his backpack.
"Ready Cheryl?" Lucas asks her, not even noticing the evil aura she was releasing.
She pulls onto his left ear and twists it. "You have to make it up to me later…"
"H-hai!" Lucas says quickly, trying to get her off his ear. He pulls out Tropius' Pokeball and releases it. "Tropius, can you fly us to Solaceon Town?"
The fruit Pokemon nods in agreement, and the two friends hop on its back. Tropius lifts off and flies away, easily carrying both of them.
--
Up in the air Lucas and Cheryl could see so much of Sinnoh, if they were higher up. Cheryl grabs hold of Lucas tight as they flew, seeing as they were so far from the ground. They could fall down and no one would be able to save them.
They eventually land in Solaceon village, and dismount off of the fruit pokemon, though Cheryl continued to hold onto Lucas. It isn't until they were on land that she releases him. "Good job Tropius. You deserve a rest."
Lucas returns his grass type to its ball, and both trainers soon notice that the sun is setting. The two friends walk over to the Pokemon center and enter inside, booking a night's stay. Lucas and Cheryl also heal their Pokemon for tomorrow's trek.
After dinner they head for their room, dressed in their common night attire. Lucas lies in his bed, but as he does Cheryl lies beside him. This catches him off guard, and while red as Kool Aid he asks, "W-What are you doing?"
"I like sleeping beside you…it makes me feel safe…" She whispers, almost instantly falling asleep. Lucas places his arms around her without realizing it, and eventually gives in to this feeling. The two succumb to their tiredness and sleep in eachother's arms.
The next morning they wake up together looking in one another's eyes, a warm feeling erupting from their hearts. Lucas is the first to rise up from the bed, and yawns while stretching his arms out. "Morning."
"Morning, Lucas…did you sleep well? I know I did." Cheryl says with a heartwarming smile on her face.
Lucas grins at her and says, "Yup! You were really warm…"
"Thanks…" Cheryl says, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Let's get dressed and ready to eat."
"Sure!" Lucas and Cheryl go into separate rooms and dress themselves up. Afterwards once they got all their stuff they head for the cafeteria and consume their faces with omelets and bacon. Once they were finished and their Pokemon were in tiptop shape they set out for Route 210.
Riding on the two-seat bike Lucas and Cheryl easily reach the demented ducks blocking the way. Cheryl reaches into her parcel and pulls out the secret potion they received from Cynthia. She sprays the Psyducks with her potion, and soon they begin to realize where they are.
The group of Psyduck then run around and eventually north of where they are, except one of them. That duck freaks out and hurries to catch up with the others, leaving the two humans to laugh at it. Cheryl then returns to the bike, saying, "Well I guess she wasn't bluffing. Let's get going."
"You don't seem to like her very much. What's up?" Lucas asks his female friend. Instead of answering him she begins pedaling, prompting him to do the same.
The two trainers continue riding up this newly discovered route, until they come before tall grass. The bike could not go through such environment, so they had to compensate on foot. Lucas places the bike in his bag, and stretches his left hand out to Cheryl. "Take my hand. This way we won't get lost."
"Okay." Cheryl takes his hand, and together they enter the tall grass. It took only two minutes for them to reach the end of the grass, but they could still see a bigger road to go through.
Lucas reaches in his bag and takes out his town map. "According to the map we continue north a few yards then go west. It'll take us straight to Celestic."
"Great. Let's get going!" Cheryl says, grabbing hold of Lucas' hand and running down the road before them.
Upon entering the new route the air becomes thick and hard to see through, like a fog just entered from the atmosphere. Lucas takes out Staravia and has it blow the fog away with Defog. They then continue down the road for their next destination, crossing bridges and meeting new Pokemon. The two even run into trainers who have taken refuge in the area. Together the two trainers topple them terrifically. (Hey, a tongue twister!)
The duo finally reaches the end of the route, and see Celestic town in plain sight. Just as they were about to move on, Lucas spots a Scyther eating berries from a tree. "Wow, what a cool looking Pokemon. I'm going to catch it!"
"Now? But we're right near Celestic." Cheryl says with a huff.
"This won't take long; go Natsu!" Lucas sends out his first Pokemon, which lands before Scyther and gains its attention. Before Lucas could make any commands though it starts glowing brightly, overshadowing all around it. Lucas and Cheryl watch Monferno in awe, knowing that it was evolving.
It finally stops growing and glowing, taking the form of Infernape. Lucas proudly smiles as he looks up at his strongest Pokemon. "Wow! Monferno became an Infernape. Now to test him out! Shadow Claw!"
Darkness enshrouds Infernape's left hand as it rushes after Scyther. The swift bug Pokemon dodges the strike easily and appears above it. Before it could make a strike the fire ape swings its tail at it, knocking it to the ground. "Flamethrower!"
Infernape takes in a deep breath and let's loose a powerful stream of fire, totally incinerating it mantis. Scyther falls to the ground unconscious, and Lucas tosses a Net Ball at it. His ball doesn't fail to work and he picks up his newly captured teammate. Scyther gets transported to Professor Rowan's lab.
"See? Told ya it wouldn't take long. Right Natsu?" Lucas says as he pats his fire Pokemon's back. Natsu proudly flexes its muscles and roars.
"Loud dogs are always the weakest." Cheryl whispers.
"What?"
"Nothing. Now for Celestic." Lucas says as he returns Natsu to its ball. Cheryl sighs and shrugs her shoulders. Lucas is such a weird person, but she doesn't care.
They enter the quiet little town and gasp in awe at its appearance. Cheryl is the first to enter, and Lucas follows after her. After they make it to the Pokemon Center Cheryl says, "It doesn't look like this place has a gym. Guess we should hand over that item to her grandmother."
"Yeah, sure…" Says Lucas in a depressed voice. He was really hoping to fight against a gym leader. "But how are we suppose to find-"
"How dare you talk to me like that you old bitch? I'll blow this entire place to pieces!" Someone shouts, interrupting Lucas. The two look to the center of the town and see two people. One of them is an old lady and the other is a Team Galactic grunt. If the latter is here then trouble is bound to arrive.
"Then do it! If you have the guts to do it then do it! I dare you to blow up this village!" The old lady shouts back at him, intimidating the younger person.
"Hey, what's going on?" Lucas asks as he and Cheryl stop running up to them.
The lady looks past the grunt and says, "This odd spaceman keeps saying he's going to blow this place up if I don't move from this cave entrance."
"Cave entrance?" Lucas then notices that she's blocking the only way inside of an underground cave.
"That's right, and I will blow up anyone who gets in…my…way…" The grunt stops once he sets his eyes upon Lucas. His face pales and his jaw drops. "AHHH!!! YOU'RE THAT TRAINER FROM PASTORIA!!!"
"I am?" Lucas takes a good look at the grunt, and then asks him, "Aren't you the guy from Valor Lakefront? The guy who blew up the marsh?"
"That's right! You look like him!" Cheryl says as she points at him.
"I don't stand a chance against these two! I'm out of here!!" He yells, running with all his might for someplace to hide.
"Huh. Takes care of that." Lucas says as he brushes his hands.
"Thank you young man. If I were a little more youthful I could teach him a thing or two." She says as she nods in front of him. "What brings you to this town anyway? You two on a date or something?"
"Huh?!" Both Lucas and Cheryl say in unison.
Lucas is the first to recover and says, "We're here to give this necklace to someone's grandmother." He then pulls out the Old Charm.
"The Old Charm! So then," The old lady says as she takes the necklace from him. "You must know my granddaughter Cynthia."
"So you're her grandmamma? Who would have thought?" Lucas blurts as he scratches the side of his hairy head.
'No wonder she irritates me already…' Cheryl thinks in her mind.
"Well while you're here, why not take a tour of the ruins?" She asks them while moving to the side to allow the two trainers entry inside.
"Hmm…that sounds interesting. Ready Lucas?" Cheryl asks her male friend. Lucas nods in agreement, and the two enter inside.
Inside the ruins they could see the hand-sculpted walls surrounding them. All around the two they could see rocks and more stones. At the very end of the ruins is a painting of some sorts. After crossing over the padded path they come before the painting.
It looks to be a painting of a triangle of sorts, with three yellows lights on each angle. In the center is a glowing red orb trapped by the three sides. After examining it Lucas says, "What is this about?"
"It looks like the three lights are trapping the red thing inside." Cheryl says as she looks at the painting.
"This is the balance of the three Lake Guardians; three Psychic Pokemon that live within the three lakes of Sinnoh." A voice calls out from behind. Lucas and Cheryl turn around to see the old lady walking up to them. She stops beside Lucas and stares at the painting. "A long time ago, at the beginning of life, there existed a Pokemon of ancient power. Before disappearing from this universe it gave birth to two Pokemon; one governed time and the other controlled space. Together they created the world we live in now."
"Oh yeah, I heard this. Apparently two Pokemon created the world. What does this have to do with that?" Lucas asks her.
"Other times one of the two would challenge the other to battle, and this would result in catastrophe. The three lake guardians were born by the ancient one to keep them in check. Together they could quell the rage of one of them, stopping their fight. As long as the three Lake Guardians can control one," She begins then stops to take a breath. "There will be balance throughout the world; Uxie the omniscient, Mesprit the omnipresent, and Azelf the omnipotent."
"So with that logic in mind, as long as they exist the world can never change." Someone from behind the trio says out loud. All three turn around to face this newcomer, and only Lucas and Cheryl gasp at whom they see.
The man standing before them is the same guy from Mt. Coronet. The blue haired man with his silver outfit approaches Lucas. The teenager shouts out, "It's you! Now I remember when I saw you before; you're that blue haired nut who knocked Cheryl over!"
"Hmm. I don't tend to leave an impression on children I don't know. Move." He then smacks Lucas in the face with the back of his fist, knocking him to the ground.
"Lucas!" Cheryl goes to his side and bends down to help him up.
The old lady grits her false teeth as she stares at the blue haired man. "Who are you?"
"I am Cyrus Akagi, supreme leader of Team Galactic. I have come to see this painting, and understand why I had to get rid of a runaway grunt." He says to them while staring at the picture.
"Well you have seen it now, so leave. Your presence is one that should not be around." She states, but doesn't get any insight within those cold, hollow eyes.
"I plan to create a world without strife and pain. Void of violence and suffering one sees in this world. And the only way to do that is to become the god of a new world, erasing this one as if it were nothing more than a terrible mistake." He states with malice, striking fear into the old lady's heart.
"You're the leader?! For what reason could you want to hold this organization?" Lucas yells at him. Cyrus looks down at our diamond protagonist. "There are people around here who have been suffering because of you bastards and your stupid plans of a new world. I don't care how important you may want it, but to make other people unhappy in the end is just wrong!"
Cyrus glares at the raven-haired trainer, who finally rises up to his feet. He wipes the mark he got on his cheek off and grits his teeth at him. After looking at him for a while Cyrus makes a classic anime villain laugh, and then says, "Now I remember you; you were that boy from Eterna City before I stole the template from the statue, and you were also there at Lake Verity with that other child."
"That was you?!" Lucas shouts, his anger growing even higher than before.
"Lucas, try to calm down. He may be extremely powerful compared to his other flunkies." Cheryl says to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Even if you could someone pull off this ridiculous plan to create a new world, you can't do it while the world is at balance." The old lady says to him, but her words fall on death ears.
"I will fix this imperfect and incomplete world with the creation of my own, starting by destroying this pathetic painting you villagers have protected for so long!" Cyrus then backs away and takes out a Pokeball. "Slash your enemies to death, Sneasel!"
Cyrus sends out his Dark/Ice type Pokemon Sneasel, which surprises both teenagers. Lucas takes out a Pokeball and throws it, releasing Floatzel. Cyrus then says, "You wish to challenge me? Fine. As the leader of Team Galactic, I shall crush you and whatever false hope leading you to believe you can achieve victory."
Kenshin: And that's the end of the chapter. In the next one Lucas will battle Cyrus one on one. Afterwards the boss man leaves and our two protagonists meet Cynthia again, who directs them to the next gym in Canalave City. Lucas goes through major training with some blue guy in Iron Island and then tackles the gym. What happens in-between each and afterwards is up to Ten-san.
Yusei: So enjoy this chapter as many times as you want, and check out the other stories on his profile, except the 13th one. Needs redone chapters.