CHAPTER 43
Zorian looked down at his body. He realized he had somehow transformed into Zoroark, a Dark-type Pokémon.
"R-Rylan, look at me!" he exclaimed. "What happened to me?"
"What happened to us?" Rylan asked.
Zorian turned around and spotted his brother. From head to toe, Rylan fully resembled the Fighting-type Pokémon, Riolu. Both of them had been changed.
"We're Pokémon!" said Rylan. "How did this happen?"
"Now that I think about it, Diana said that the machine was powered by a Pokémon," said Zorian. "Not to mention the parallel world was one primarily inhabited by Pokémon. Maybe the machine did this to us when it sent us here."
"How are we supposed to go home now?" asked Rylan. "The Rocket base is being attacked by Team Plasma. The machine might be destroyed."
"I never planned for us to go home right away," said Zorian. "I'm actually hoping that the machine is destroyed. Let's take it easy in this world for three years while they build another one. Hopefully they'll forget about us. We can find a way to get back home. We've made it this far already."
"Being Pokémon changes things, doesn't it?" Rylan asked.
"Well, look on the bright side," said Zorian. "We'll be able to fit in better with the inhabitants of this world."
"We certainly won't be able to do anything if we can't get out of this room," Rylan said.
Zorian looked around. The room was quite spacious and appeared to be made from stone. There were ancient-looking markings carved into the walls in a language neither of the two had seen before.
In the center of the room resided a marble pedestal with a long key held on top. It had holes down its shaft, making it look like a piccolo of sorts. Two thin, small lengths of some kind of fabric were tied around different parts of the key.
"What do you suppose this is?" Zorian asked.
"What is it?" Rylan asked. He was preoccupied, looking around the room. Before he could turn around and notice the key, he backed into the pedestal, accidentally bumping into it and touching the key.
The key instantly started to hover off the pedestal. Rylan quickly turned around to take a look, but before he could notice what was happening, one loop of fabric flung itself around Rylan's neck, the key emitted a bright flash of light, and Rylan fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Rylan!" Zorian rushed over to his brother and lifted him up.
The sound of churning water suddenly surrounded the room, breaking the silence. Moments later, panels in the stone walls began to rise, and as they did, water began to flow into the room, flooding it.
Zorian grabbed Rylan and covered his mouth and nose with a paw so that his brother would not inhale any water. He swam through an open panel just as the water reached that height. He noticed that there was more to this place than just that room; there were several halls filled with ancient, unrecognizable text.
He soon found a window that led outside, and he hastily darted toward the surface. As he was making his ascent, he noticed the water around him was starting to move like it was becoming agitated, making it harder for him to swim up. Determined to protect his brother, he fought against it, struggling until he successfully reached the surface.
Zorian swam to the nearest bit of land he could find and dragged Rylan out of the water with him. Looking out at the water, it appeared to be a massive lake. A whirlpool had just taken form in the middle of the lake, and it seemed to be growing rapidly.
"It's turning into a maelstrom…" Zorian said. "What kind of place is this?"
"You there!" yelled a voice. "This is not your territory! Get off of this mountain!"
Zorian turned his head. A large and menacing Shiftry was coming closer.
"What? Mountain?" asked Zorian. "Look, I don't want any trouble-"
"Go away!" Without another word, the Shiftry lunged at Zorian. Zorian quickly curled up around Rylan to shield him from the attack.
Shiftry knocked Zorian away with his branches. Zorian landed on a rocky ledge some feet away from the lake. He felt Rylan slip from his grasp. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Rylan was slowly slipping off the side of the ledge. To his horror, Zorian noticed that they were indeed on top of a mountain, and that the two of them were in danger of being knocked off of it. Rylan was going to fall if Zorian didn't grab him.
Zorian, immensely sore from both Shiftry's attack and the landing it resulted in, weakly reached out to try and grab his brother.
"Rylan…don't you fall on me…" he panted.
He clawed at the stone within his reach furiously but he didn't have enough strength to move closer. He then noticed that the strange item around Rylan's neck was close enough to grab. He reached out, grabbed the fabric tied around the top half of the key, and pulled. Rylan did not budge.
"Come on…" Zorian growled. "Come on!" He tugged at the key with all his strength, hoping it would be enough to save his brother.
The key snapped in two, Zorian still grasping the top half. Rylan dropped off the side of the ledge, the bottom half strapped around his neck.
Zorian felt his tears sting his cheeks. Furious and miserable, he clawed at the stone beneath him, desperately trying to push himself up.
"I told you to leave!" yelled Shiftry's voice. "This place shall not be defiled by outsiders!"
Zorian could hear the footsteps of the approaching Pokémon. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the beating he knew was coming.
"Gaaaah!" Shiftry bellowed in pain. His heavy footsteps fell back away from Zorian.
"Get away from him!" shouted another voice. "You are the one who must leave! You've caused enough trouble!" This voice sounded female and aged.
"Grr…" Shiftry stormed off angrily. Zorian tried to turn his head to see who saved him.
"Don't overdo it, dear," said the Pokémon. "You need to recover. Here…"
The Pokémon slipped something around Zorian's neck. It was small and made a soft, soothing chiming sound, but Zorian could not see what it was.
"What is this?" Zorian asked.
"A Shell Bell," said the Pokémon. "It's a natural healing item. It will help you recover faster."
"Can you help me up?" asked Zorian.
"I would if I had arms," the Pokémon chuckled. "Most unfortunate, given the circumstances. I could have used my psychic power to teleport you, but you are a Dark-type. Also unfortunate. It seems we have to wait this one out. When you have enough strength to move, I will take you someplace you can rest."
"Thank you," said Zorian. "Who are you?"
"I'm Starmie," said the Pokémon. "I'm known as 'Wise Old Starmie' around these parts, but you're more than welcome to call me whatever you want, dear."
Zorian nodded his head and closed his eyes. The Shell Bell was definitely helping him feel better. He rested for a few minutes while the pain in his body lessened. Starmie did not leave his side.