February 8th, 2307
Slateport, Hoenn Region
April Lavender swept her gaze across the landscape far below the pine forest ridge she walked along. A large bay could be seen in the moonlight, the twinkling lights of a city on the shore. Flashing red LEDs outlined a harbor and wharf which, at this late hour, was vacant.
Inside the motorcycle helmet Gary and she wore were bluetooth comms systems. She spoke into the microphone, "Gary! Where are we?"
Gary took in the view for a few minutes as they walked. He observed the broad southern beach, the shipyards on the east side of the city, and a lighthouse in the southeast corner.
An entire quarter of the city, on the west, was an open-air farmer's market full of vibrant tents. Towards the center of town was a red-roofed structure with a giant illuminated Pokeball symbol which could be a Pokemon Center, but was too large to be one. There was a blue-roofed structure that could be a Pokemart, but this, too, was far larger than what the games portrayed.
Further east was a regal building with a facade of white marble columns. While it could have been anything, it was in the proper location on the eastern shore of town where a museum should be.
Gary took it all in and gave April her answer, "We're in the Hoenn Region. That's Slateport city down there." His tone was calm, but in a forced way, as though his awe and excitement was in a fervent battle against fear and panic.
April knew that her expensive helmet cam was very capable in low-light environments. She reached up with a gloved hand and hit the record button so that audio and video would be saved. She shivered as a burst of cold winter wind pierced right through her heavy jacket.
Arceus spoke to them as they followed the snowy ridge, the telepathic words heard by everyone present and, somehow, by the helmet cams:
"We are the avatar of life and, inherently, energy incarnate; this mirage of Arceus which stands before you is imbued with healing and benevolence. Yveltal is the avatar of death and, therefore, decay; when they bring forth an image of themselves, it is as a shadow of plague, blight, and malevolence, yet a shadow of sufficient tangible volition to wrest the Stone of Origin from whence it was hidden."
Gary, "So, it's Old Testament stuff. Got it."
Arceus, "In the modern terms which you may prefer: We promote the diaspora of energy within a system unto order, unto pragmatic forms, unto fecundity, unto intelligent life, unto creativity and innovation, unto such a time as our guiding presence is no longer needed."
Gary, "Those are certainly words."
"Our antithesis promotes the decay of energy in a system unto disorder, unto unmaking matter to its constituent particles, unto the inevitable conclusion of the dearth of energy within the universe, unto void. This is not evil. Neither of our states of being, of order and disorder, may exist without the other, no more than a hot summer day may exist without the concept of a cold winter one to compare it to."
April averted her gaze from the alien city below and asked, "If Yveltal can do all that, why does it need the Origin Stone? What else could it possibly allow that thing to do?"
Arceus answered, "With the Stone of Origin in its possession, Yveltal shall bring about a perverse state of being that should not be: Life within decay and disorder, motive control over organic matter which should be devoid of energy, dredged from the energy of that which yet lives and breathes."
April, "I'm sorry sir, but I didn't understand that."
"We fear that it shall be made known to you very soon."
Another portal waited for them just ahead on the ridge, opening into a desert landscape in the daytime. As April and Gary stepped through, they squinted against the sudden daylight and waited for their eyes to adjust. Desert heat assaulted them like stepping out from an air conditioned building into the warmth of summer.
April found herself on the edge of a plateau, far above the desert floor. Hands on her hips, she looked out at the sand and cacti and the two-lane highway which weaved through the rugged terrain into the distance.
Gary was tapping her shoulder and urgently trying to get her attention. She turned to the right and began to say, "What, Gary." The words were never spoken; instead, she stood wide eyed and silent, staring at the landscape below, failing to understand, unable to think, unable to draft any form of conscious response through the barrier of primal fear.
The desert should have met the rainforest's edge. The rainforest should have expanded for hundreds of miles until it met the horizon to the south, where it eventually would become Central America.
For a radius of over a hundred miles, a circle of the rainforest had been felled, the soil ashen, as though a controlled fire had occurred.
Yet the trees were still standing, desiccated black husks jutting out from the barren soil. Within this dead circle, as far as the eye could see, there was not a single speck of green; the diverse flora of the rainforest had entirely withered away.
April heard a voice in her mind, the voice of Arceus, "For what reason doth thou believe this was done? Recall, Yveltal has already found the Stone of Origin."
April, still staring at the emptiness below, answered meekly, "Um, I guess it took that energy for itself, to wake up faster?"
Arceus, "Nay. I say unto thou, as a statement of unwelcome truth: The energy of this rainforest was taken for the sake of they who should no longer possess it, those whose time it was to return to dust."
Gary interrupted in a high-pitched tone of panic, "Hold on, wait. Whoa. You're not saying… Yveltal ripped the life itself out of this chunk of forest to raise the dead?"
Arceus confirmed this statement by way of instruction, "It shall require the collective effort of many powerful beings to subdue our great nemesis. Unto thou, we relinquish this battle: Evacuate the townsfolk, defend them from harm."
April and Gary squinted into the distance and saw that, sure enough, there was a small, traditional Mexican town full of colorful adobe buildings near the edge of the zone of death. The residents had already begun to flee, appearing like ants from the high desert plateau.
"You shall not be alone in this endeavor. The time and place for violence is nigh; fight with all that you know. Reinforcements shall soon arrive. Mew! Dialga! Come hither!"
April spoke, "I already know you're behind me. You shouldn't scare people like that, it's not nice."
A small pink cat Pokemon floated out from behind April and spoke telepathically, "Sorry! Please stay safe out there, okay? If the battle is too much for you, then help the people escape and flee with them."
Mew drew in close and hugged April and Gary, then hovered over to join Arceus and Dialga.
Gary took a sharp breath at the sudden appearance of the massive Dragon-Steel type legendary Pokemon from out of thin air. Quadrupedal like Arceus, but reptilian with blue hide and steel biological armor components, Dialga represented time itself.
The trio of mythological creatures vanished in a flash of light. Far away in the dead rainforest below, pinpricks of light could be seen as they led the charge.
Dialga was the first one to approach the awakened Yveltal. They calmly walked close to the being and were abruptly slain by a red beam of light, as even Dialga paled in comparison to the being it faced.
This did not happen, did happen, and had already happened as Dialga walked closer, threw back its head, and let out a roar so loud that Gary and April heard it from the plateau.
Two things happened at once:
A massive dome of opaque light appeared on the horizon in the rainforest. Barely visible over such a great distance, numerous specks charged into this field of contained time. Bubbles of pink light eclipsed April and co., who found themselves standing on a cobblestone street facing a blue metal sign which read, 'Bienvenidos Agua Azul'.
Mewtwo floated nearby, arms crossed. Before leaving to join the other legendary Pokemon he spoke to April and Gary through telepathy, "As I said, for your sake and mine, I hoped we would not meet again."
The muscular purple cat Pokemon vanished in a ball of light, leaving April, Gary, their 'mons, and Sally the Goodra huddled in a circle, watching each direction with apprehension.
The cobblestone hilly streets which ran between markets and businesses and adobe homes were busy at this time of day. The residents of Agua Azul stopped and stared at the foreigners who had suddenly appeared.
Gary began explaining, in Spanish, that they had to tell everyone to leave, that it was an emergency, that the whole town might be destroyed. At first, no one believed him.
Then, the screaming began.
Cars, scooters, pedestrians, sundry animals and Pokemon all fled as fast as they could from the south part of town. It was a disorganized and panicked rush which crowded the streets as people tripped and a car crashed through the tent stalls of the markets.
Guiding them was Arceus. Gary began to ask what they were doing back in town, then in a jolt of realization asked, "Oh, you must be another copy, or like, the true Arceus, right?"
"The true Arceus must remain in our world alongside Palkia so that portals between our worlds may be maintained," spoke Arceus in English. He then switched to traditional Paldean to speak to the townsfolk, "There is no need to hurry. The threat will not be here for some time, and you are protected. Leave this place calmly, and retreat as far away as you can."
April spoke to Gary in a jittery, worried tone, "Um, Gary? Are you seeing that too?"
Gary nodded stoically, lowered the visor of his motorcycle helmet, and placed a gloved hand on Smokey's shoulder. He spoke, "Smokey, I choose you. Let's go."
As the copy of Arceus shepherded the people out of town to the north, a flood of creatures began filling the streets on the east, south, and west. April and co. faced the oncoming horde in these directions, standing near a tiered fountain in a plaza in the middle of the small town, ready and able to prevent them from reaching the fleeing residents of Agua Azul.
"Take up arms," the voice of Arceus suddenly said.
A spear appeared in Gary's hands, with blades at each end. April found herself holding a shield and a short sword.
Even as the wall of creatures drew near, they often could not be readily identified. People, animals, Pokemon in various degrees of decomposition flooded the cobblestone streets, bringing with them a putrid stench. The stampede was a mass of amorphous flesh in shades of black and gray, the boundary between individual creatures not always visible.
From the sky above came the shrieks and screams of thousands of ghost Pokemon. As the ghosts, drawn to the death and carnage, spiraled above the town like a hurricane of ethereal purple clouds, the temperature dropped and a chill fog fell over the town, obscuring visibility.
Through this fog an animate human skeleton, clothed in decaying rags, shambled near and swiped at April. April screamed and raised her shield. Terra jumped over to defend her.
Suddenly, a spectral equine Pokemon charged through the mist and trampled the skeleton, bones flying in all directions, the energy that sustained it fading.
Spectrier, legendary steed of Calyrex, snorted and stepped over to April. April put a hand on the creature's ice cold snout and heard a tinny voice say, "We shall render aid… hurry, upon my back…"
April jumped up and rode Spectrier bareback, shield in one hand, heavy sword in the other, holding on with her thighs as the creature charged down the street towards the undead army.
Terra used her vines to jump up behind April. April called for Razor Leaf, Stun Powder, and Sleep Powder; as Terra disabled the creatures, most of whom were too decayed to be recognizable, April slashed at them with her blade.
April spoke mostly to herself, out of breath and frantic, "Okay, I can do this."
The black horse exuded a grim neigh which was naught but a distant echo and reared up on its hind legs, April hugging its neck to avoid falling off.
A cascade of ghosts descended from the gathering above, of diverse species: Ghastly, Haunter, Duskull, Misdreavus, Shuppet, Drifloon, Litwick, Frillish, Rotom, among others.
This river of ghosts, in shades of purple, gray, blue and orange, was the orchestra; Spectrier was the conductor.
April bore witness to one of the most powerful Ghost type Pokemon attacks in existence, Astral Barrage. Before her, the number of humans who had seen Spectrier express its full and haunting power numbered in the single digits.
As one, the shrieking, laughing, growling, sizzling, sparking, astral storm engulfed the foul miasma of decaying beings who should not be, returning hundreds to the grave.
Among this cacophony was Luna the Haunter, joining the fray among his fellow ghost-types and firing Shadow Balls in all directions as he went.
April stared at this spectacle, her helmet cam recording all of it. Movement nearby jolted her attention back to the dire reality of her surroundings. A Graveler, or what once had been a Graveler in life, limped towards her.
The rugged rocks that composed its spherical body had faded from dark gray to off-white. Bits and pieces of itself fell off as it stumbled along, leaving a trail of chalky debris. Eyes glowing red, it groaned and began throwing rocks at April, who felt them clang off of the heavy buckler on her left arm.
The Rock Throw attack struck Spectrier, who snorted in derision and kicked the Graveler into a wall. Although the brittle rocks, devoid of vitality, shattered like shale, this did not disable the undead Rock type; rather, it seemed to become agitated.
Placing both faded rocky hands on the broken cobblestones beneath, the Graveler roared and unleashed a Magnitude attack which rippled and shook the ground like a small, localized quake.
Spectrier was shaken; April lost her grip and fell flat on her back. Terra held on with her vines, then balanced on Spectrier's rump to deliver several smart vine whips on the Graveler as it neared April.
"I'm okay," April told Terra honestly, as her heavy duty motorcycle gear and helmet had reduced the severity of the impact on the street. The Graveler threw another rock at her which glanced off of her helmet with a thunk.
"Alright, enough of that," said April, "Mega Drain!"
With a resonating growl, Terra sent out tendrils of brilliant green energy that illuminated the fog surrounding them. The plant type attack ensconced the Graveler and withdrew what meager unholy energy sustained it. The brittle white Graveler became gravel.
The Mega Drain served its purpose, refreshing Terra. Terra stuck her tongue out and groaned as though she had taken a drink of something nasty.
April stretched, rubbed her back, and looked around. The Astral Barrage had cleared a significant amount of space while also dealing a lot of cosmetic damage to the buildings and vegetation. There were still an uncountable number of abominations on the way, but there was time to rest and regroup.
As April awkwardly climbed onto Spectrier's back, trying to pull herself up, something smacked into Terra and knocked her onto the street. April finished climbing up and looked over to make sure the Bulbasaur was okay.
Terra was shaken, but unharmed. Caustic purple sludge coated her green scales. The expression on her face read as feeling sick and disoriented.
A Grimer slid along the cobblestone, a trail of purple slime behind it leading to a storm drain. It hurled another Sludge Bomb attack at Terra, but Terra was prepared for it this time and she rolled out of the way.
April nudged Spectrier and said, "Get between them!"
Spectrier did so, stomped its eerie disconnected hooves on the road, and gave the Grimer a look.
April took a deep breath, grateful that her helmet kept most of the smell at bay, then dismounted and charged the purple slime Pokemon. Whether it was a part of the zombie army or just happened to live in the sewers of this town was impossible to discern.
It looked like a normal, healthy Grimer: A sentient pile of living sludge that forms in polluted areas. But then, a normal Grimer doesn't look healthy.
April stabbed it with her longsword. The sword sank to the hilt in the purple mess, and April let go of it as the Grimer absorbed the rest of it.
Backing away slowly with a sheepish grin on her face, April glanced over at Terra, who had crumpled to the ground under the effects of the poison, and considered her options.
Spectrier intervened. A Confuse Ray hit the Grimer; when the ball of light faded, the Grimer began to ooze around the area, desultory, and then fell into the storm drain, out of sight.
April asked Spectrier to please hold off anything else while she treated Terra. April slung her backpack off her shoulders, went through the first aid pocket, retrieved an Antidote spray, a Super Potion, a water bottle, and a microfiber cloth.
The Antidote took effect quickly and Terra hopped back to her feet. A crowd of undead creatures neared, these appearing to be people and animals; the reprieve of Astral Barrage had reached an end.
From the cobblestone streets in every direction, from the rooftops, from beneath the shattered streets gathered the horde. There were wild and domestic animals among them, the wild ones stampeding the town from the direction of the rainforest, many of the domestic ones skeletal, having been buried long before a town had been built.
They encroached on three sides; only the way back to the central plaza was clear. April climbed onto Spectrier's back and began moving in that direction. She ushered for Terra to join her, but Terra fiercely shook her head no.
Terra turned to face the oncoming mass of rotting flesh and bone. A bright white light suffused her. Squinting through this light, April observed Terra growing taller, bulkier, the bulb on her back blooming.
When the light faded, Terra the Ivysaur made a guttural croak and stood her ground. Vine Whip and Razor Leaf cut down most of the creatures that were already too far gone. A recently deceased and mostly intact coyote tried to bite her; she charged in with a Take Down tackle, headbutting the creature into a wall, and followed this with a Mega Drain that put the canid to rest.
Having made some more space, Terra turned and began running back towards the central plaza. Spectrier, with April riding on her back, trotted alongside, firing off Shadow Ball attacks from her mouth, the shrieking purple orbs bowling through creatures as they spilled onto the street.
Terra released a Sweet Scent from her newly opened pink flower, helping to cover the eye-watering stench that surrounded them.
Gary, still in the plaza, fought off the slow-moving, single-minded creatures with the spear he had been given, felling dozens of smaller undead Pokemon and animals. In the chaos he became separated from Smokey, who proceeded to battle on his lonesome, breathing fire, breathing smoke.
Sally the Goodra took a stand against the wave of creatures encroaching from the east, using a Hyper Beam to cut down a swathe and return them to where they should rightfully be.
As Smokey breathed blue-hot Dragonfury flames, incinerating the abominations which surrounded him, he backed into an alley to avoid being surrounded. It was a futile effort; the undead Pokemon and animals dropped down from the flat-roofed homes on the hill above.
Still, it was nothing Smokey couldn't handle. He was tired, but still able to fight. He breathed in and prepared to launch a Firespin at the newcomers.
Then, he saw a living Pokemon hiding behind a rain barrel. A little Zigzagoon, who had adapted to urban life in much the same way raccoons did.
Smokey divided his attention between breathing fire at the oncoming hostile creatures outside the alley and reaching the wild Zigzagoon to protect it from the zombie Pokemon already in the alley.
He was not fast enough. As the wall of gray flesh and white bone outside of the alley neared, almost grabbing Smokey, the mob of Pokemon and animals in the alley, famished after being brought back to a semblance of life, tore the Zigzagoon apart.
The back alley in the small town of Agua Azul glowed with a fierce white light. A roar resonated, so powerful that it shook tiles off of the eaves. Pulses of orange fire catapulted from the alley and slammed into the horde on the main road, each pulse exploding in a burst of flame, taking down dozens of creatures at a time.
A winged fire-breathing lizard Pokemon called a Charizard took dubious flight on uncertain wings, roared once more, flew over the crowd of foul creatures below, and rained down hell upon them.
Smokey the Charizard remembered Gary, in the plaza, and swooped in to his defense. After a terrible landing in which he tripped and slid along the street, Smokey got to his feet and walked over to Gary, breathing fire and slashing at several zombie Pokemon and animals who neared while growling.
"Smokey?! Is that you?" asked Gary. An unidentifiable mess of bone held together by tenuous flesh leapt towards him, and he knocked it out of the sky with his spear.
Smokey turned, brushing against Gary with his broad wings, and began fighting back to back with him and Sally the Goodra.
"Just like old times, huh?" said Gary, with a weak smile. Smokey replied to this remark with a fierce grin that showed his sharp teeth, eyes narrowed, smoke issuing from the nostrils on his long muzzle.
With this confident mien, Smokey swept a Flamethrower attack around the vicinity, illuminating the fog, sending capricious ghost Pokemon scattering, burning down a group of undead to ashes.
Sally the Goodra panted heavily, exhausted after two uses of Hyper Beam, and fired off weak Dragon Pulses at a shambling collective of animated human corpses.
Gary took a stab at a moldy, rotting Tangela which was so far gone it could not use its vines for attacks, as they kept falling off. He glanced over as April, Terra, and Spectrier approached, clearing a path to join their circle.
Gary asked April through their comms, "What happened to your sword?"
"I lost it," replied April.
"What? How?"
"I tried to stab a Grimer, and, well, it ate the sword…"
Gary rolled his eyes. April shouted, "Hey! I've never used a sword before in my life, it's harder than it looks! How are you doing so well with that spear?"
Gary stabbed a groaning creature and said, "It's a stick with knives on it. Seems pretty self-explanatory."
There was no further time for banter and rest. Despite clearing hundreds of creatures off the streets, keeping them distracted, keeping them from marching further north where the people of the town had fled, thousands more undead creatures approached the town from the rainforest on the south, from the cemetery on the east, from beneath the ground itself.
They came from every direction now, down the narrow streets, crawling over the damaged adobe homes, with such density that Spectrier and its ghostly entourage could scarcely make a dent.
As the stinking mass of the undead drew near, pressing April and co. into a tight circle back to back, Spectrier asked in its distant voice for April and Terra to dismount. They did so.
With a thunderous bang of shattered air, Spectrier vanished and then appeared once more, behind the gathered mass. Creatures went flying, some of them slammed against walls. This Phantom Force attack was repeated several times, Spectrier appearing at random and thinning out the crowd.
This did not prevent the vanguard of the undead – if it could be called that, as they had no strategy, only hunger – from drawing ever near. Hundreds of creatures and people who should no longer be living crowded the ruined town until the heroes' circle was only a small clearing in the center.
Sally the Goodra was glistening with sweat and slime, her attacks growing weaker and less frequent. Luna the Haunter had vanished at some point, fighting off the horde in other parts of town.
Terra had ceased using any attacks at all. She stared, wide eyed, gaze shifting around at the numerous foul creatures a stone's throw away. She backed up behind April's legs, trembling.
April crouched down and spoke, "Terra, I know you're scared. I'm scared too. You can do this, you're so much stronger than you think you are. Terra, if this is goodbye, I love you. Use Solarbeam."
Behind them, Smokey the Charizard paused between weakening spurts of fire to look up into the sky above, where the thousands of ghosts still circled, some of them heeding the call of Spectrier, others content to merely observe.
Gary observed the nervous wag of the tip of his flaming tail, the scared and vacant look in his eyes, how Smokey kept bouncing back and forth on his enormous, clawed, reptilian hind paws.
Gary turned and put both gloved hands on Smokey's shoulders, staring into his frightened eyes. His head was bigger now, the head of a dragon, with a longer snout, the vestigial fins having become proper ears that stuck up from both sides.
Smokey reached around with lanky arms, with long claws on the reptilian paws, and pulled Gary in for a hug, chin resting on his shoulder. The floodgates opened. In response to the tears streaming down Smokey's face, Gary began to shudder and sob as he spoke,
"Little dude, I know you just want to take off and fly away from this shitshow, but we really need you down here. Look, man. I don't know what happened to you, I don't know what you saw out there, but don't get sad. Get pissed off. Let it eat you up inside, it's okay to be angry sometimes."
Smokey drew back his head upon its long neck, watery eyes meeting Gary's gaze as he lifted the visor of his helmet.
Gary stepped back so that he only had one hand on Smokey's shoulder. He spoke somberly, "The important thing is letting go of that anger in a good way. You're a Charizard now, man, and that's awesome, but you have to be careful with all that power."
Smokey nodded and exhaled a plume of smoke. Gary sniffled, turned to point at the undead horded which was almost upon them, and said,
"This ain't the time to be careful, little bro. Right now, it's okay if you feel angry. Think about whatever you saw, man, and let it make you mad."
Smokey closed his eyes. He began to growl, his front paws closed up in fists. Convection radiated from the smooth red hide of his body. His external temperature became so intense that it began to burn Gary's hand through his armored glove.
Gary withdrew the hand and spoke calmly, "Now, use Overheat."
A half dozen portals of varying sizes opened up in the sky above the town of Agua Azul, Mexico. A moment later, avian and dragon Pokemon began pouring out of these circular planes between Pokearth and our world.
Leading the charge from the nearest portal was a familiar trinity of dragons in a familiar delta formation. An orange Dragonite, wearing goggles, tucked in her wings and arms and fell into a dive.
The three-headed Hydreigon and the saddled Salamence with a human rider followed suit, building up a dangerous velocity in free fall towards the town.
A long way down beneath them, towards the middle of the village, bursts of green, orange, and brilliant white energy sheared through the fog, cutting down dozens of undead creatures.
The three dragons snapped open their wings, absorbing a tremendous amount of force as they pulled out of the dive. They opened their maws and attacked as one accord.
They flew near the desiccated ground north of town, mowing down tracts of sundry risen dead with fire type and dragon type attacks. They alighted on the ground and used Hyper Beam, blasting open a clearing, an opening for a flock composed of hundreds of wild bird Pokemon to dive in and assist, pecking, scratching, using elemental flying-type attacks.
April and Gary heard static over their bluetooth headsets as Draco connected and spoke in his booming voice, "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I brought some friends along."
Several more Pokemon appeared from the portals, roared with great violence, and swooped towards the occupied town.
Every living being in the plaza looked up as the Pokemon approached.
An articulated Eastern dragon with deep green scales and red markings punctuated the air with a shrieking roar that hit multiple tones. This twenty-three feet long Pokemon, in appearance like a snake with two front arms and numerous fins which, perhaps, managed mobility in the air, obliterated the assembled zombie army with numerous attacks: Dragon Pulse, Extremespeed, Hyper Beam. It demolished generational adobe homes and leveled the entire market with reckless disregard as it tore through the abominations in an Outrage.
Gary and April recorded the entire event on their helmet cameras as Gary breathlessly exhaled, "Rayquaza…"
Two other dragon Pokemon had followed Rayquaza down from the heavens in a delta formation, breaking off at the last minute, one defending the west side of town, the other the east.
They were almost identical in appearance, except one had white and red hide and wings and the other had white and blue. Their wings were triangular, almost exactly like the wings on a jet fighter, and they did not flap them but rather stayed aloft by some other means and used the wings to navigate the air.
April had recently met them vicariously after completing Pokemon Emerald Version. She divided her attention between both directions as the two Dragon-Psychic Pokemon picked off the undead horde while dealing minimal damage to the town itself.
April spoke for the benefit of the recording, "Latias and Latios, the legendary dragons known for their intelligence and empathy."
Gary chimed in, "And ass kicking."
One more legendary Pokemon soared through the portal.
It was in appearance like a dragon, thought it was not classified as such. With white fur except for the blue fur of its belly and broad, massive feathery wings like sails, this Pokemon dove towards April and Gary with frightening speed.
When it opened its wings, the hurricane force of the wind knocked everyone in the plaza to the ground. Perched on its hind legs, it towered above every other Pokemon present, standing higher than those two-story homes which were left standing, with enough weight to crack the cobblestones.
Taking April and co. under its wings, it conjured a tornado vortex of wind from its mouth that slammed into the undead who crowded the plaza with wind speeds in excess of a hundred miles an hour.
Gary looked up at the seventeen-feet tall Pokemon, a wall of blue and white feathers rising far above him emitting vicious winds from its mouth as it shrieked, and spoke into his mic in a trembling voice, "O-kay, and we have Lugia, with its signature Aeroblast attack."
The tides were turned. Every undead creature was returned to its proper state by the dragon cavalry. The town defended, Rayquaza and Lugia stormed off to the south to render aid to Draco's dragon team.
The ghost Pokemon dispersed, Spectrier galloping away at supernatural speeds in their midst. The fog lifted and the sun shone down on the rubble and strewn remains.
Far in the distance, the massive bubble of distorted time faded. Latios and Latias landed in the ruins of the plaza and used telepathy to ask Gary and April to come with them. Gary was glad to. April, who didn't like heights, did so begrudgingly. Terra the Ivysaur helped by making a safety harness out of vines.
Smokey the Charizard followed behind after several failed attempts at taking off. Luna the Haunter tailed the fire-flying type.
Lugia stopped by to give a lift to Sally the Goodra.
Arceus (the copy who had gone to the south to lead the fight against Yveltal) met them in the middle of the wasteland. Yveltal had been contained in a prison of crystal which shimmered and refracted rainbow light.
The Dark-Flying type avatar of death incarnate was, in appearance, just like a bird. A gigantic bird who dwarfed every other Pokemon present. Even Arceus, who had altered his form for battle, was smaller. Even the gigantic feathered dragon Lugia was two feet shorter than Yveltal.
April and Gary held hands out of fear and respect as they gazed at the creature who had wrought so much destruction. It had sanguine plumage with black markings and vast wings that terminated in razor-sharp black talons which looked like scythes. The claws on the left wing were soaked with blood.
A white tuft of downy plumage ringed its neck. At the tip of a very long tail of red plumage were additional black claws.
The mood of the gathered pantheon was somber as Mew and Mewtwo hefted the spire of crystal between them and carried Yveltal through a portal back to their own world.
Gary and April remained silent, awestruck by the leveled rainforest around them which extended as far as the eye could see in each direction. Draco joined them with the members of Team Dragon Rush.
Only a few months ago, three massive, dangerous dragons landing right nearby in a rush of wind would have been terrifying. Now, it was benign.
Zephyr the Salamence lie on his belly and Draco dismounted. He, Aether, and Wyvern walked over quietly, respectfully, eyes fixed on the same three Pokemon as everyone else.
Suicune, the legendary dog of water, and Entei, the legendary dog of fire, walked with their heads drooped, snouts facing the ground, hot tears dripping onto the gray and barren soil.
Across their backs, between them, was draped the body of Raikou, the legendary dog of lightning. A deep, bloody, jagged gash ran from his neck all the way along his side.
The hundreds of Pokemon who had heeded the cry for assistance in the battle formed two rows, a hallway that the legendary dogs walked along. From common wild bird Pokemon such as Fearow and Swellow, to the most reverenced of mythical Pokemon, to April, Gary, Draco, and their domestic Pokemon companions; all present stood silent, still, crestfallen.
Suicune and Entei gently set down their fallen brother on the soil. Pokemon who had psychic powers or dexterity gathered rocks and boulders and built a cairn.
Suicune breathed an ice-cold Aurora Beam, freezing the rocks in place.
For a moment, both she and Entei sat, staring at the makeshift grave, as quiet and still as the lack of wind in what had once been a rainforest.
Then, they threw back their heads and let out a mournful howl as dozens of ghost Pokemon circled above them, shrieking and crying out.
Both legendary dogs turned away from everyone else present. Side by side, they took off at a run and vanished over the horizon.
Calyrex, riding on the back of Glastrier, rode near and reached down for Gary's hand. Through Gary, Calyrex spoke, "The very first tree shall be grown here. I shall see to it that this place becomes a sacred grotto."
Glastrier took off at a gallop at implausible speeds towards the Mexican rainforest, where Calyrex would establish a new home until such time as the barren land had been renewed.
One by one, the other Pokemon returned home to their world. Some of the bird Pokemon elected to stay, and flew off towards the rainforest.
Some among the gathered legends contributed to cleaning up the mess in town or consoling and assisting the displaced residents.
April and Gary sat, exhausted, in the dusty gray soil beneath the hot sun. They both took off their heavy, armored coats. Terra the Ivysaur half climbed into April's lap. Smokey the Charizard sat down next to Gary, gazing around as the true gravity of the situation dawned on him and the adrenaline faded.
April spoke breathlessly, "Oh, I'm going to need therapy for the rest of my life."
Gary nodded and weakly raised a thumbs-up of agreement.
Arceus drew near. They had reverted to their usual appearance, without the metal armor and added bulk. Behind them the air grew effervescent, offering a view of a beach on a beautiful tropical island.
Arceus addressed Gary in their rumbling primary voice, "Gary Redding, in return for thine aid, one wish shall be granted. What is it that you most desire?"
Gary took a moment to think, staring out across the wasteland at the portal in the sky which Lugia had emerged from. He informed Arceus that he needed some time to think.
Arceus turned to April, who was treating Smokey, Terra, and herself with Potions. She took off her helmet, brushed stray strands of blond hair out of the way, and replied,
"Well, I don't really want anything. I already have a great job, I have my friend Terra. It… would be nice if I could get along with my folks better, but I'm not going to ask you to intervene with that. Um, well… I guess if there's anything you could do to help me with my career as a Pokemon researcher, I would like to help people understand Pokemon better and get along with them."
Arceus settled to the ground, supine before April, and told her, "If this is your wish, it shall be so. Take hold of our sigil."
April removed her gloves and then, with a trembling right hand, reached out and touched the bronze crescent on the side of the entity.
Her other hand rose to her face as she exclaimed, "Agh, my head! Ow!"
The headache passed. April withdrew both hands and began to ask what Arceus had done.
"I'm so glad you're safe, April. I love you so much and I don't know what I would do without you."
Gary watched, flummoxed, as April looked all around, her startled eyes settling on Terra.
April asked the Ivysaur, "Did you say that?"
Just as confused as April, with an adorable head tilt, Terra inquired, "Oh, are you talking about me? Can you hear my thoughts?"
"Uhhh…. can you hear mine?"
"Wow! How did you do that? Your mouth didn't move! Wow!"
April turned to face Arceus, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, and asked, "What did you do to me?"
Arceus smiled warmly as they rose to standing, a smile felt by everyone present like a warm ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. They answered,
"We have granted you limited psychic powers, which shall grow in strength over the course of time. In the nascent months, you may converse with one being at a time whom you are near."
"Okay. Thank you. I need… to go lie down for a while," April did so, lying on her back on the ashy ground, both hands on her head, staring wildly into the sky.
Arceus walked over to Sally the Goodra and conferred with her in private. The Goodra touched the bronze sigil with a slimy paw, there was a flash of light, and nothing else seemed to happen. Sally waved goodbye as she stepped through the portal to Kauai and returned to her beach vacation.
Arceus spoke with Smokey, Terra, and Luna, each of whom had simple material requests which were easily met.
During this time, Gary had taken a walk across the wasteland. Now he returned, motorcycle helmet carried at his side, coat tied around his waist.
Gary reached April and Arceus. He spoke, "I'm ready to make my wish. I understand if the answer is no, if this is something you refuse to do."
Arceus sat calmly and replied, "We are listening. Speak your mind."
Gary took a deep breath, then released it. He clasped his hands nervously and began, "There's nothing left for me here. I burned my bridges, man. I don't want to spend my life as this… dropout loser, I wanted to go to college. I wanted to do big, important things. I wanted to be someone, but now I just can't, the stupid charge on my record… I keep getting rejected from, like, everything. Schools. Jobs. I can't even fucking vote. So, yeah I get it, this is going to sound crazy, and stupid, and maybe it is but… I just want a damn second chance. I want to start all over again, and this time, do it right."
Arceus shifted from sitting to lying couchant. They inquired softly, "We understand exactly what it is you desire. Do you? Are you aware of the finality of this decision?"
Gary nodded, "Yes sir, I understand. And…" he looked up into the sky, at the shimmering gateway to the Johto region, "I'm ready to go, if I may. As long as Smokey is cool with it."
Arceus' glowing, piercing eyes met Smokey's. The evolution into Charizard had resulted in a prompt growth spurt; at six feet even, he was taller than average for his species, near the tallest recorded Charizard.
This also made him slightly taller than Gary, whose lanky frame stood five feet, ten inches.
Smokey rested a long reptilian arm on Gary's shoulders. Gary placed his lanky arm over Smokey's shoulders.
The mental voice of Smokey was heard by Gary, April, and Arceus. Though still juvenile, it had grown a tone deeper, a bit gravely, "You're my friend, little dude. Where you go, I go, and you're gonna need me to show you around."
April realized what Gary was planning to do. She stood up from the ashen stump where she sat with so much force that she stumbled over her feet. She caught her balance and rushed over to Gary's side, a hand on his available shoulder.
She asked in a panic, "Gary! Are you absolute certain about this? You might not ever be able to come back again. What about your friends here?"
"I'm not important," Gary responded with a shake of his head, "No one will miss me. Hell, I doubt they'll even notice I'm gone."
"I'll miss you, Gary! I'm your friend, you big stupid idiot! How do you think I feel?!"
Gary paused, the thumbs of his gloved hands in his pockets, helmet held in the crook of his arm. Looking at the ground he answered, "Terrible. I'm sure that would make you feel terrible. And I didn't even think about that, because I'm a loser, and a mess up, so–"
April interrupted, "You're not a loser! Don't talk about yourself that way, look around you for God's sake! You and Smokey helped save an entire town!"
Gary remained taciturn, staring holes into the ground.
April suddenly lunged forward and pulled Gary in close for a hug, tears washing through the dust and grime on her face. She spoke through the tears, "I am your friend Gary, and I do care about you. No, you're not perfect, but no one is. You have a heart of gold and you really care about Smokey. And… I don't want to see you go, and, stepping into another world? Are you crazy? You aren't even packed for that!"
Arceus smirked and, in a flash of blinding light, Gary and Smokey were properly equipped for the trip. April rolled her eyes and remarked that she never expected to be the recipient of mind-bending eldritch sarcasm.
Gary finally spoke, in a quiet, distant voice, still not meeting April's gaze as she withdrew the hug, "April, you have… you're my friend too, and you're totally right. It's selfish, and unfair, and wrong for me to do this insane thing without asking you first so… April, Terra. Is it okay with you if I make the jump?"
April looked down at Terra and used her newfound powers to speak with her. Then, she placed a hand on Gary's shoulder and looked him fiercely in the eyes. She spoke, "Yes, if that's what you really want to do. Terra will really miss Smokey, but she understands if that's the choice you guys are actually making. Be careful, okay? There's no telling what you'll find on the other side. It may be nothing like the games or anime."
"I know, and I'm okay with that. I need to do this, April," Gary answered, looking into her eyes, "I'm going to finish school, and get a good job, and buy a nice house in the country so Smokey has plenty of room to fly."
April leaned in for another hug, one which Smokey, Terra, and Luna the Haunter joined as Arceus stoically observed.
Gary took a step back, looking down, appraising his new gear and apparel. It was all high-quality and comfortable adventure gear: Insulated black denim coveralls over his faded jeans. There was an athletic long-sleeved shirt beneath a high-end, armored, dark blue, cold-weather jacket from a company that specialized in gear for Pokemon pilots.
Waterproof, lightweight hiking shoes over wool socks. Gary's Charizard beanie. A pair of goggles around the hat with low-light lenses. Warm but dexterous winter gloves.
A modern hiker's backpack with twenty-five pounds of gear, the weight balanced perfectly, the pack contoured and adjusted to fit perfectly, a four-season hammock tent rolled up on top. In a side pocket was a rugged, waterproof, droproof, solar-charged Pokedex. Attached to a zipper on the pack was a keychain-sized Charmander plush.
As Gary pulled on his helmet and buckled the chin strap, Arceus spoke to him telepathically, "Within your pack, you shall find documents explaining who you are and where you are from. Further, your currency has been converted into Poke. The portal shall open nearby the city of Goldenrod, wherein you shall find an embassy within the railway station."
Gary took a moment to appraise Smokey's equipment, which was also high quality and a perfect fit. The Charizard wore a saddle, saddlebags, a five-gallon water jug, stirrups, reigns, LED lighting, a fold-down windscreen.
Smokey crouched so that Gary could sit on the saddle and buckle himself in with a safety tether. While he was doing this, he noticed the sash he was wearing which had magnetic holders for up to six Pokeballs.
Two slots were currently occupied: The cherish ball which Gary had found Smokey in took one spot, and a green and black dusk ball took another.
Gary plucked the ball off of the magnet. The status light was blank, unlit; the ball was empty, and not yet assigned to any Pokemon.
Luna the Haunter was playing with the other ghosts by the cairn, doing whatever it is that ghost Pokemon do with their free time. Gary called him over, held up the ball, and said, "Luna, return."
With a press of the central button, the dusk ball popped open. Luna was ensconced by a brilliant flash of red light which retreated into the ball. The ball closed with a hiss and a red light flashed thrice, then glowed softly.
Gary returned the ball to his belt as April picked up Gary's old backpack and took the camcorder out of it. April took off the lens cap and got it running as Smokey stood up and roared, Gary clinging onto the reigns and stirrups against his back.
With a swish from his long, powerful, flaming tail, Smokey took off at run, wings spread wide, and obtained lift.
The flight was wobbly and awkward as Smokey rose towards the Johto portal. Gary waved, then lie flat against the saddle as Smokey accelerated.
April zoomed in with the camera to try and read a sticker that had appeared on the back of Gary's motorcycle helmet. It was a sticker of Skitty, an adorable pink cat Pokemon. Circular text around the sticker read, 'Skitty is my favorite Pokemon! It makes me feel like a pretty princess!' in the Pokemon world writing.
With another roar and an unnecessary burst of fire, Smokey and Gary passed through the veil and vanished. Arceus spoke a single word, 'Farewell', and followed. The portal closed, as did the other ones in the sky, leaving only the portal to the island which was starting to shrink.
April and Terra stared into the empty sky where Gary and Smokey had been for a moment longer. Then, they walked through the portal back to Hawaii.
April stepped onto the beach as the portal fizzled close behind her. Destruction and desolation was replaced by the verdant tropical forest and the green of the ocean waves.
She stared out over the ocean, the camera still rolling in the midst of her silence, recording the audio of the gulls and the crashing waves.
April placed a finger over the stop button and said, "This has been Life with Lavender. Thank you for watching."
Without further flourish, she ended the video and joined Draco and his team at the campsite. A campfire had been started in the pit, supper cooking over it. April and Terra sat next to each other around the fire, and gazed over the Pacific into the sunset sky beyond.