Chapter 27

Pacificdlog Town

After a careful analysis of the entries during the Dark Days, Blake could see that they had been completely isolated from beginning to end, no one came, and anyone who left never came back. It was odd, how was this town missed when word of the Committee and Battle Circuit spread like wildfire across the world.

"So you're telling me you don't know a thing about the Pokemon Battle Circuit or the Pokemon Committee?" Blake asked, approaching the elder who was seating outside his house with a wooden fishing pole and string in his hands.

"…No, not once. But you keep putting that word in front of a lot of what you're saying, what is Pokemon?" The elder asked, using Pokemon as a verb while Blake's left eye twitched.

This question was completely worth losing his cool over, but remembering how the previous elder addressed Pokemon as strange creatures, it appeared that not even the Pokemon came near this town for a while now.

"You don't know what a Pokemon is?"

"No. I've seen that word in many of the entries in the log book, but I have no idea what it actually is." The elder noted, placing his fishing rod down.

'So I was right, they were completely isolated, even from Pokemon.' Blake noted mentally while taking all six of his Poke-balls off his belt. "This is a Pokemon."

Blake tossed all six Poke-balls he had on his belt into the air, releasing his entire team. The loud sound produced by a Poke-ball when releasing a Pokemon attracted the attention of all the towns' people who rushed out their houses to see what the commotion was about.

The elder stared in awe at Blake's six Pokemon team.

"W…What are those things?" The elder managed to get out, observing all of Blake's Pokemon. Crossing the wooden planks, the citizens of Pacifidlog Town rushed over the raft the elder's house was located on.

All of them nervously approached Blake's Pokemon, trying to get a good look at each of the strange creatures that appeared in their town. All but Shelgon and Poliwrath glared at the crowd, but Poliwrath took this a moment to show off, firing a jet of water into the air.

"Wow!" The town's people said as the water rained down on them as a mist.

Shelgon did the same, firing a Dragonbreath attack into the air. The green flames were a spectacle to the crowd, but before they fell back down on to the people, Poliwrath put out the flames with another water attack. The crowd applauded for the Pokemon, hoping Pupitar, Quilava, Gallade and Absol would do something too.

Quilava, Gallade and Absol just glared at the crowd who instantly backed away, preferring Poliwrath and Shelgon over them. But Pupitar, who was somewhat friendlier than the rest of them, decided to join in, firing a Dark Pulse into the air where both Poliwrath and Shelgon attacked it, creating a dazzling purple blast in the air.

"Amazing." The elder said in awe, Blake keeping a neutral expression even though he was tempted to smirk at the crowd's reaction to everything Poliwrath, Shelgon and Pupitar were doing. "How can they do things like that?"

Blake was caught off guard. He may have been a good trainer, but he was no Professor, and explaining why each Pokemon possessed these abilities was a feat Blake knew he couldn't accomplish.

"That's something not even the most skilled trainers can answer." Blake replied, looking at his team where Poliwrath was trying to convince the others to join in.

Quilava turned away with a snort, but found itself partially submerged in water since Poliwrath had pushed it off the raft they stood on. The Fire type Pokemon rose from the water, glaring at Poliwrath who was ready for what comes after picking a fight with Quilava.

The citizens of Pacifidlog Town stared in awe as Quilava jumped into the air, surrounding itself in flames as it dropped toward Poliwrath. Poliwrath countered the Flame Wheel attack with Ice Punch, partially freezing some of the flames which allowed it to push Quilava backward, straight into Gallade and Absol.

The three Pokemon landed in the water of the sea Route, the crowd cheering for Poliwrath. As the group of three resurfaced, Blake sighed inwardly since he knew this battle would get out of control pretty soon.

"Here we go again." He muttered.

All three burst out of the water, landing on the raft where they rushed at Poliwrath with dark scowls, engaging the Pokemon in battle. Pupitar and Shelgon were quick to jump into the four way battle, much to the crowds delight as they watched blasts of fire, water and green flames fly into the skies. Pink energy waves dispersed above the town, blades of wind flew out in all directions and dark energy sphere crashed into the water creating large splashes.

With his team distracted in a six way brawl, Blake pulled out his Pokedex, bringing up the map function to figure out where he was located in Hoenn, but what was strange was the his location never showed up on the map.

'Hmm…I must be too far from a signal for it to locate me.' Blake said mentally before requesting to location of Meteor Falls. 'Damn, I don't know where I am but judging from all the water, I must be on the east side of Hoenn, so that's at least a two week journey to get there.'

Eventually the match between all six Pokemon came to an end with an impressed crowd of people cheering for them.

Poliwrath proudly flexed its muscles in front of the crowd as they cheered for the Water type Pokemon who was the last one standing, the other members of Blake's team resting on their bottoms breathing heavily.

The stamina of each of his Pokemon varied, and judging from this session, it was obvious Poliwrath's was much larger than everyone else's, probably from his evolution a few weeks ago.

"Return guys." Blake said, returning all his Pokemon but Poliwrath.

The crowd groaned in disapproval since they wanted to see the battle continue.

"Sorry, but everyone else is pretty tired so I have to end the battle there." Blake explained as he took out a Super Potion to spray Poliwrath with and restore some of its health. "Plus, I have to make to Meteor Falls in the next month."

"Meteor Falls, that quite a journey you have to make." The elder noted, nodding to Blake. "But can you tell us your name. I must put down your name in the log book and speak about the boy who introduced us to Pokemon."

"Blake." Blake said before motioning for Poliwrath to get into the water.

"Alright Blake, good luck on your journey with Pokemon." The elder said as the town's people joined in, mainly telling Poliwrath to do its best.

8/4/0046/Evening

Route 121

Grace and Matt quietly walked along the dirt pathway on Route 121, both of them with the same question in mind. What happened on Mt Pyre?

Just a few hours ago the two of them had finally reached the mountain where Blake was located, they found a sight that didn't match the description of Mt Pyre in Matt's Pokedex.

Instead of a normal mountain at the center of a large waterway, they found an active volcano, lava rolling down the mountain side and into the water. The entrance to the mountain had been blocked off, and after a while the two of them were forced to give up and keep moving, hoping Blake had left the mountain.

'I wonder what happened to turn Mt Pyre into and active volcano?' Grace asked herself, looking down at her feet. Something was up, and it probably had something to do with Blake, that Absol and the Orbs. 'Could Blake be...dead?'

Grace took a moment to look up before shaking her head.

'No, Blake couldn't be dead. I'm sure his Crest would have acted up in some way.' Grace reasoned with herself. 'But they what happened to him?'

8/5/0046/Morning

Slateport City

One of the many grand cities in the Hoenn region, this one possessing the largest seaport of the region that was used to import and export numerous goods to other regions. It was filled with skyscrapers but divided into a business district and a residential district, creating hectic mornings as people commute from the residential area to the business district.

The harbor was well known for the contests and showcases it has with foreign trainers and tourists in order to promote the harbor and bring in more tourists for more money.

The city itself is nothing but a copy of the original Slateport City that was built further north than the original since it had been leveled during the Dark Days.

"Arika, take Toby and head to the park." Jim said, handing his blonde haired daughter the small child that had been suspiciously quiet since it woke up this morning.

Jim had spotted a tall male with auburn hair in the mass of people moving through the streets of Slateport City. He was dressed in all black, but that was hidden beneath the long brown trench coat he wore.

"Did you saw him, right?" Marilyn asked, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Yeah, he must've sensed Toby's Crest when it was open that night and tracked us down already." Jim explained, keeping an eye on the man that had been following them since they found Toby. He was truly dangerous, the man that possesses the Dark Crest of Heatran, Zane. "He's directly across the street from us."

"Dad, should I go now?" Arika asked politely.

"When we reach that intersection, the park will be to the right, but your mother and I have to keep going straight because the store we're looking for is that way. Take care of Toby." Jim said as they neared the intersection. The family of four split, the parents continuing down the street while the kids disappeared into the crowd of people that made a right with them.

"Is he still following us?" Marilyn whispered as Jim glanced over his shoulder.

Zane, who had spotted the family a while ago, began following them but he wasn't completely sure if this was family he was looking for since none of them radiated the energy given off by Crests of Light. As Jim looked over his shoulder, he made eye contact with Zane who was across the street which was all he needed to confirm his target.

"Heh, target sighted." Zane said before he jumped into an alleyway, disappearing from Jim's sight which put the man on edge.

"He's coming." Jim said sharply before tugging his wife into an alleyway with him, only for a black blur to appear in front of them to cut off their escape route.

"You won't be escaping me this time." Zane said, pointing at Jim and Marilyn while shedding his trench coat. Jim and Marilyn tightened their jaws before the two agreed mentally that it was time to fight.

The duo opened their Crests, a black circle appearing on Jim's wrist while a green tree trunk formed on Marilyn's left wrist. The two of them jumped, easily going up the twenty feet they needed to get onto the roof of the building they had been standing next to.

"Go!" Jim shouted as they took off in a sprint, but once again a black blur appeared in their path, morphing into Zane.

"Like I said, I'm not letting you escape this time. You may have weakened Heatran last time with help from that girl, but I brought down your Darkrai and Celebi with it." Zane explained, tightening both his fists as blotches of orange began to form all over the skin that was visible to Jim and Marilyn, his brown eyes changing to bright orange as well. "Now that you're defenseless, all I have to do is destroy you Crests and get that baby."

'He fully opened his Crest already?' Marilyn exclaimed mentally before Jim let out a yelp of pain. The woman turned to her right to see Zane standing where he husband had previously been standing, his left arm extended. Behind Marilyn, Jim had come to a skidding halt on his back, stopping just before the edge of the roof.

"First I'll take care of you." Zane said, pointing at Marilyn who instantly put up a cross arm block in front her torso, barely managing to put up the guard in time to block the horizontal beam of energy that was fired at her from Zane's extended pointer finger.

Marilyn gasped as she was sent flying from the minor attack, landing on the roof of the building behind her. The sleeves to her shirt that covered her forearms had been burned off completely and her skin was charred black as well.

'Ugh, I thought without Heatran around he might be weaker, but he's still just as strong as back in Mauville City.' Marilyn noted as she rose to her feet, spotting her husband enter an exchange of fists with Zane, becoming overpowered not to soon after the exchange began.

Marilyn jumped at the two men, easily closing the distance between them and herself with that one leap. As she neared Zane who appeared to be fully focused on Jim, Marilyn landed a full airborne roundhouse kick to the red head's head which sent him tumbling to his left.

"Are you alright?" She asked in whisper, observing her husband who was rubbing his jaw.

"He got me pretty good just before you landed that kick, but it's nothing to worry about." Jim explained. "If we work together as team he can't focus on both of us at once, even with his Crest fully opened so we just have to stick together."

"Right." Marilyn said before an airborne blur appeared in between them. Before either of them could react, two feet extended from the blur, hitting both Jim and Marilyn at full force which sent them flying in opposite directions.

The blur that both Marilyn and Jim could've guessed was Zane jumped after Marilyn, landing a second kick from beneath the woman that kept her in the air.

Zane appeared above Marilyn who grit her teeth when she saw that he was above her, preparing to take whatever the man could hit her with. Zane smirked and plowed both his fists into Marilyn's face, sending her flying downward.

Marilyn crashed into the side of building with a hard thud before she fell from the wall down onto a few garbage cans that were stacked up in the alleyway, knocking them over. Zane wasn't sure if Marilyn was conscious or not, but his focus was forcefully brought to Jim as he landed on the roof of the building beneath him. Jim was already in front of him; his fist reeled back with an incredibly peeved expression on his face.

"This is for hitting my wife!" Jim roared as he landed a reckless over the head punch to Zane's face, the blow sending Zane reeling backward.

Just as Zane hit the roof he rolled, getting back to his feet in an instant. Zane was now sporting a busted, bloody lower lip and a harsh glare that was directed at Jim. Jim was already angry at Zane, but as he charged at the man again, the red head seemed to speed up even more.

Zane disappeared, leaving Jim flabbergasted for all but a second before he reappeared to Jim's right, performing a sweep kick that removed both of Jim's feet from the ground. Before Jim could understand what was happening, Zane completed the rotation, preparing his right hand for use. As Jim realized he was falling, he felt a sharp jolt at his abdomen before he was fired into the air, seeing Zane's glowing right hand in the position of a finished uppercut.

Jim fell back down to the roof in front of Zane clutching his lower torso in pain, but Zane kicked the man's chest to get his attention.

"Where's the baby?"

"I'll never tell you." Jim replied in whisper before Zane turned around him, going down a list of options.

'He doesn't have the baby, and neither does the woman. So that means they found someone to watch it while they keep me distracted. But they wouldn't trust that baby with just anyone. It would most likely be someone who has a Crest.' Zane said, quickly moving through his options before realization hit him when images of the girl who had helped them in Mauville came to mind. 'That blonde girl!'

Slateport City

Park

"Toby, why do you always pull at my hair?" Arika whined as the small child held a fistful of her shoulder length blonde hair, tugging on it without a reason. The small duo sat on a park bench, watching the other kids play from a distance.

"Excuse me." A voice said, getting Arika's attention.

"Yes?" She said, turning around to face a tall, sixteen year old boy with a Pupitar floating beside him.

"Can you give me some directions? I'm looking for the seaport." He said, receiving a nod from Arika.

"It's bit confusing how to get there, especially with all the people on the streets right now. Would you like if I led you there?" Arika asked kindly.

"Sure."

"My name's Arika, and this is Toby." She said politely, holding at the baby toward the boy.

"Blake." He said, glancing at the baby that was currently staring at him curiously. After making a few noises, Toby began to reach toward Blake with his tiny hands.

"Aww, he wants you to hold him." Arika said, getting a blank stare from Blake. Instead of taking Toby from the girl, Blake poked his stomach, causing Toby to giggle before his forehead and Blake's right wrist lit up, revealing their Crests.

"Crap." Blake said, quickly hiding his wrist behind back. "You didn't see that."

"Wow, you have a Crest too?" Arika exclaimed in whisper to make sure no one heard her while taking a small hat of her backpack to place on Toby's head that effectively covered his glowing Crest.

"…Wait. Don't tell me you have a-" Blake was cut off when Arika placed Toby on the bench and raised her left hand to reveal her wrist. At her command it lit up, revealing what appeared to be an ocean in different shades of blue. "Don't tell me the star on his head is a Crest too."

"Sure is." Arika replied before Blake took a moment to observe her Crest, trying to identify which Pokemon she was tied to.

"Manaphy?"

"Yup." She said, giving Blake a nod.

'I remember what I saw on Mt Tsugi. Manaphy is part of the weird picture with Darkrai holding Jirachi with a Celebi. I can't tell if she's friend of foe.' Blake said, sizing up the girl to see how he'd fare against her in battle.

"Can I see your Crest?" She asked, surprising Blake.

"Umm…sure." Blake said, realizing that once she figured out which Crest he had, depending on her reaction, that would determine how this day would play out.

She gasped after Blake showed it to her, but then she looked up at Blake with stars in her eyes.

"You're the King?" She asked quietly as Toby looked up at seemingly nothing. Before Blake could answer, a blur landed in between him and Arika.

Blake gasped before he felt a muscular forearm hit his neck, throwing him to the ground. Next he heard a shriek from Arika as she was roughly shoved to the ground.

Toby looked up at the black blur with curiosity in his eyes before he was snatched up from the bench. The blur leaped up from the ground to the roof tops of Slateport City.

"Toby!" Arika shouted when she realized only one person would go through the trouble of taking Toby like that. Zane.

The red head smirked as he stared at Toby who was held in a small pocket created by his left arm.

"Finally. Alan will be pleased that I finally caught you." Zane said, observing Toby who began to cry and squirm in his arm.

A/N:

Part 27 is up. Blake continues his journey to Meteor Falls only to run into yet another hurdle in Slateport City where meets a two people who also possess a Crest.

In response to a request, here's a list of some of the Crests and their corresponding Legendary Pokemon. I won't name everyone who has a Crest because that would give away some huge plot points.

Blake - (This one is a secret for now, but you'll find out soon.) Mari - Entei. Robbie - Raikou. Matt - Suicune. Grace - Ho-oh. Lana - Lugia. Roy - Zapdos. Jim - Darkrai. Marilyn - Celebi. Arika - Manaphy. Toby - Jirachi.

The Dark Crests. Alan - Latios. Zane - Heatran.

I'd like some feedback on the fight sequence between Jim, Marilyn and Zane so leave a review and enjoy. :)