CHAPTER 40
Reshiram and Zekrom looked at each other and whispered a few words, as though they were deliberating. Rylan smiled a little as he watched them talk. From what he could tell, the two dragons seemed to disapprove of Slowking's idea and show delight in what Rylan had to say on the matter. He had never seen Slowking with such a bitter expression on his face, though, and that expression started to unnerve him.
"ZEKROM AND I HAVE MADE OUR DECISION," said Reshiram. "WE EXPECTED THIS MEETING TO BE ONE THAT SPARKED A TIMELY DEBATE, BUT ONE SIDE IS BLATANTLY INFERIOR TO THE OTHER IN THIS CASE."
"Blatantly inferior?" Slowking was starting to look quite angry. He did the best he could to wipe the frown from his face and stay calm.
"YES, SLOWKING," said Zekrom. "RIOLU IS CLEARLY THE WINNER OF THIS DEBATE. YOUR IDEA IS ABSURD."
Slowking closed his eyes for a moment. By the time he opened them again, he was smiling.
"Absurd?" he asked. "Oh, no, no, no. My idea is perfect."
Rylan backed away from Slowking, who then started to walk toward the two dragons.
"It's a shame to know that the two wisest dragons known to Pokémon are not very wise after all," said Slowking. "I can make everyone happy. I can make the both of you happy."
"FORGET IT, SLOWKING," said Reshiram. "WE ARE THE KEEPERS OF TRUTHS AND IDEALS. AS SUCH, OUR DECISION IS FINAL."
"Well, let me tell you what I've decided," said Slowking. "I've decided you should join your friend Kyurem as he wanders the Distortion World, desperately trying to find a way out. You're going to know what it's like not to have anyone around you. You're going to beg me to let you out when the time comes."
"KYUREM…?" Zekrom asked. "SO YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DISAPPEARANCE?"
"Indeed," replied Slowking. "Still, you should thank me for banishing that ruffian. He has never been any help to you."
"HE'S OUR FRIEND AND A TRUSTED MEMBER OF OUR COUNCIL." said Reshiram. "YOU BRING HIM BACK RIGHT NOW."
"Oh, I'll let him out," said Slowking, "but only when I hear him begging, pleading for me to be king of all Pokémon. In fact, you can join him right now."
"No!" Rylan yelled, running forward to try and stop Slowking. Unfortunately, it happened in a matter of seconds. The powerful Giratina emerged from behind Reshiram in the form of a dark haze with piercing eyes. It swooped down on Reshiram, and when the haze vanished, the white dragon was nowhere to be seen.
"RESHIRAM!" Zekrom bellowed. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, SLOWKING!"
"Really now?" Slowking asked. "The way I see it, you're the one who should pay for rejecting my idea for a paradise."
Giratina reappeared and charged toward Zekrom. To the surprise of both Slowking and Rylan, Zekrom was able to fly out of the way. That didn't stop Giratina from pursuing Zekrom, however.
The powerful black dragon gathered up his energy and unleashed a mighty electric shock which struck Giratina, causing him to vanish in retreat.
"A minor setback," said Slowking. "With me pulling the strings, not even you can keep Giratina away forever."
"PERHAPS NOT," said Zekrom, "BUT I CAN KEEP YOU HERE FOREVER."
"What?" Slowking asked.
"RIOLU, JUMP OFF THIS TOWER AND GET BACK TO YOUR FRIENDS." Zekrom's eyes and body started to glow a fierce light blue.
Rylan nodded and ran to the edge of the tower where the two elevating platforms rested. He trusted that Zekrom knew what he was talking about. Not wasting any time, he jumped off the tower, falling straight toward the ground.
"Where are you going?" Slowking asked. "What's going on?"
Rylan noticed the ground was approaching fast. Thankfully, with his stamina and body, he knew he could survive this fall. But he also knew he would sustain quite some damage as well…
Before he could think of just how badly he would be hurt, Aerodactyl flew by and caught Rylan with his talons. He then descended back down to the rest of Rylan's friends, dropping Rylan safely onto the grass.
"Whew…" Rylan breathed. "Thanks, Aerodactyl."
"I'm not about to let my new best friends get hurt," Aerodactyl said with a smile.
"What happened up there?" asked Vulpix.
"Slowking lost the argument," Rylan said, "but then he sent Reshiram to the Distortion World, and now he's trying to do the same to Zekrom, but Zekrom's fighting back."
Zekrom growled, the blue light starting to fade. "I CAN'T DO IT…" he panted. "I CAN'T OPEN THE GATEWAY BACK TO YOUR DOMAIN WITHOUT RESHIRAM OR KYUREM'S HELP…"
This time, he spoke where everyone down below could hear. Rylan and his allies looked quite concerned.
"Does this mean we're going to be stuck in the Province?" asked Gallade.
"No…" Slowking had slowly levitated himself down from the tower and finally touched grass. "Once Giratina shrugs off that electric attack, I'm sending you all to the Distortion World."
"Slowking…" Rylan shook his head. He realized that Slowking had finally snapped. Greed and selfishness had rooted firmly in Slowking's heart, and it wasn't letting go.
Zekrom roared in frustration. Just then, a strange noise made everyone down below turn around. A black vortex was struggling to open up.
"IT'S NOT ENOUGH," said Zekrom. "I CAN'T OPEN IT UNLESS AN EXCEPTIONALLY POWERFUL POKEMON HELPS ME…"
"Well, seeing as I'm the only one here who fits the bill," chuckled Slowking, "it seems you're out of luck."
"WHAT'S THIS?" asked Zekrom. His body began to glow blue once more. The vortex began to open further and further until it was big enough to travel through.
"What?" asked Slowking. "Who's doing this? Who's helping him? Ah…It matters not. I have no reason to stay in this place anymore. Zekrom will be lonesome enough if he remains here. Come, Team Tranquility. We leave now."
Slowking turned to face his two teammates, but what he saw was not what he was expecting to see. Jynx was unconscious. Bronzong was directly facing the dark vortex, channeling his own energy to help Zekrom open it.
"Bronzong!" Slowking shouted. "What in the world are you doing?"
Bronzong turned his attention to Slowking, using his psychic power to hold Slowking in place. As he did so, the vortex started to close.
"What… What is the meaning of this?" Slowking asked, struggling to move.
"Get in!" Bronzong shouted to Rylan and his friends. "Now!"
Rylan stared at Bronzong, wondering why this was happening. It took Gallade tugging at his arm to remind him that time was running out. They had to get inside the vortex before it closed completely, and Bronzong was making sure that Slowking couldn't follow.
Gallade ran into the vortex, followed by Vulpix, Buizel, Aerodactyl, Wingull, and Nidoran. Rylan was about run into it himself when he noticed Zorian running back toward Slowking.
"Zorian!" he called out. "What are you doing? We need to go now!"
"Give…it…back!" Zorian grunted. Rylan couldn't see what was going on.
"No! Stop!" Slowking yelled in frustration, unable to stop what Zorian was doing.
Zorian quickly sprinted back towards his brother with something clenched in his fist. "All right, let's get out of here!" he shouted.
The two brothers ran into the vortex together. Rylan felt the familiar flying sensation for a couple of seconds, then his feet touched ground.
Everyone had made it safely back home. As they looked around, they found themselves in the forest just outside Riverwood Town.
"What a relief!" said Wingull. "We're finally out of there!"
"Better yet," said Buizel, "Slowking won't be able to get out of the Province for quite some time."
"Um… Not sure if that qualifies as something good," said Zorian in a worried tone.
"Huh?" Rylan asked. He turned to face his brother, who was examining what he was holding in his fist. Zorian showed it to everyone. It was the bottom half of the key.
"I tried to take the key from Slowking before leaving the Province," said Zorian. "Looks like I only got half of it. We're not done with Slowking just yet."