CHAPTER 22

"Hang in there, Rylan!" Gallade panted. "We've almost got him worn down!"

The two combatants had been quite worn down in this battle as well. They could barely manage to stand up, and their bodies were aching from being stung by ice attacks.

Kyurem was still standing, but he didn't look any stronger at the moment. As he had been weakened, the blizzard slowed down and then subsided, revealing the Dragon Pokémon and making him easier to attack and dodge.

Infuriated, Kyurem lunged and successfully struck Gallade with his tail, knocking him aside.

"Gallade!" Rylan shouted.

"YOU…ARE…FINISHED…" Kyurem panted, raising his mighty paw to strike Rylan.

"No!" Rylan shouted, aiming a punch to counter it.

The two paws collided, both Pokémon pushing, struggling to force the other away.

Gallade smiled as he noticed Rylan. "He's changed… He's getting so much stronger…" he said.

Kyurem growled as Rylan resisted the decisive blow. Rylan mustered his strength and took a step forward, forcing back Kyurem's paw a little. Rylan looked up at Kyurem and stared him down.

"I won't…let you…hurt anyone!" Rylan shouted. He punched upward, sending Kyurem back onto his hind legs. Rylan found his opening; he ran forward, jumped up, and struck Kyurem right in the belly, making the dragon stagger and fall down. Rylan fell to the ground as well, exhausted from the struggle.

"I…HAVE BEEN DEFEATED…" Kyurem moaned. "I HAVE…FAILED…"

Rylan attempted to stand up so that he could reason with Kyurem, but he barely had the strength to move.

As he laid in the snow, wrapped up in the warmth of the blanket Gallade had given him, he started to feel an oddly familiar sensation beneath him, as though an earthquake was starting up. A shrieking roar broke through the silence, then the quake ceased.

"No, not now…" Rylan panted, pushing himself up. He looked around the area, but there was nothing to see except for gray skies and white snow. Gallade was gone, and so was Kyurem.

"No!" Rylan slammed his fist into the ground. "What do you want with me?! Why do you make everyone around me disappear?!" he shouted to the empty area. There was no response.

Rylan stood up and continued walking up the mountain route. He knew now that whoever was manipulating Giratina wanted him to remain safe for some reason.

He soon realized that he was not very far from the top of the mountain. He and Gallade scaled it faster than he could have predicted. The clouds ahead were much darker, and Rylan could hear thunder booming in the distance.

Rylan successfully made it to the top of the mountain, and what a view it was. At the peak resided a vast body of water which spiraled into a powerful whirlpool.

Rylan could make out several other figures in the distance slowly making their way to the peak. The others were safe! Rylan hurried over to them as fast as he could.

Aggron and Buizel were the closest to him. Buizel looked quite beaten up, and Aggron was treating him.

"Guys!" Rylan called out to them. Aggron turned his head and spotted Rylan, looking relieved.

"Thank goodness you're all right, Rylan," Aggron said. "There were more Pokémon up here than usual. Buizel and I got here mostly by luck."

"No, you don't know the half of it," Rylan said. "The legendary Pokémon, Kyurem, was here on this mountain and he sent the other Pokémon in your direction so that he could stop me and Gallade."

"Kyurem?" Aggron asked. Buizel turned to face Rylan, looking quite shocked.

"Gallade and I fought with Kyurem," Rylan continued. "I managed to defeat him but Gallade got hurt, and before I could do anything…Giratina made them both disappear."

Aggron looked torn by this news. Gallade was his closest friend, his most trusted companion. "Not him…" he said quietly.

Buizel's expression changed from a look of shock to a look of suspicion.

"Well, at least we made it to the top," Aggron said. "Now there's a chance we can get everyone back and prevent this incident from happening again."

Moments later, the rest of the Pokémon started to appear at the peak. They all made their way over to Rylan, Aggron, and Buizel. Everyone looked exhausted except for Team Tranquility.

"Buizel!" Vulpix said, coming to her teammate's side and comforting him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine…" Buizel murmured. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Jynx patched me up," said Vulpix. "There were so many strong Pokémon on the mountain… I don't think I would have made it here without her."

"D'aww… Anytime, love," Jynx said with a smile.

The members of Team Drake met up and started discussing their experiences amongst themselves.

"Are you three okay?" Rylan asked Zweilous.

Zweilous's right head turned to face Rylan, the left head still chatting with his teammates. "A little worn out, but otherwise fine," the right head said. "We held our own well enough."

It comforted Rylan to know he had such strong allies, but he knew that if Gallade and Kyurem could be taken away, so could everyone else. He couldn't help but worry despite being happy to see that the others made it.

"So, what happened to Gallade?" asked Slowking. "Was he not with Rylan?"

"Gallade disappeared," Rylan said. "He was taken from us, just like Wingull and Nidoran were yesterday."

"It pains me to hear that," said Slowking calmly. "Gallade is a noble explorer and I can only hope we can retrieve him and all the others."

"Kyurem did say something, though…" said Rylan.

"Kyurem?" asked Slowking. "The legendary Pokémon was here?"

"Yeah," replied Rylan. "He told me and Gallade that the one who's controlling Giratina is on the mountain right now. Or at least at the time he told me. I have no idea if the culprit is still on the mountain or not."

"Then let us hurry," said Aggron. "According to what I've learned, the treasure we seek is in the middle of some ruins submerged under the water. It's at the center of the maelstrom there." Aggron looked at Slowking and Buizel. "You two are the only ones who can retrieve it successfully. Are you up for this?"

"Yes, sir," Buizel and Slowking responded.

The two Water Pokémon jumped into the water and let the maelstrom carry them to the center to conserve their energy. Once they were at the center, they dived down into it.

What they saw was nothing short of incredible. An ancient temple resided beneath the raging waters, and apart from mild erosion, it looked almost untouched. Buizel and Slowking swam inside and looked around. Slowking was able to read some of the ancient text inscribed on the walls, and he was able to lead Buizel further inside to the room where the ancient Pokémon kept their magic treasure.

It was a large room with not much inside to boast about. Glimmering softly at the center of the room was a small pedestal that looked as though it was meant to hold something. Slowking swam down to it and started to read the text engraved on it. He gave Buizel a thumbs-up and waved him over, indicating that he was on to something.

The two Pokémon examined the pedestal from every angle, but as far as they could tell, there was nothing there. Slowking attempted to tamper with it in several ways, thinking there was a secret to it, but in the end, there was nothing. It was just an empty marble pedestal in an empty room.

Slowking shook his head disappointedly and made an upward motion with his arms. It was time to leave.

The two of them resurfaced and swam back to their allies.

"So, did you find anything?" Aggron asked.

"The temple down there was quite a sight to behold," said Slowking, "but I'm afraid the treasure we seek is no longer there."

Aggron stomped and turned around. "That was our only lead!" he yelled. "Pokémon are disappearing, and now-!"

"Guildmaster, please compose yourself," said Vulpix. "We tried. The best thing we can do now is try and find another way."

Aggron gave a frustrated sigh and calmed down. "You're right. I'm sorry," he said. "Come on, let's get off this mountain and go home. Our friends are waiting for us."