One of you readers asked me why and how Terra made the decision to comfort Wyvern back in Chapter 10. Well, here's the answer.
-.-.-.-.-.
Before the earthquake that sunk Diamond Island and claimed the lives of all but four of its residents, indeed very shortly before it, Terra the Charmander had come home from a particularly good day. Her and her friend Cobalt had gone out on – well, not a date per se, but a fun and friendly outing together.
That night, though, she recalled having a strange dream. It wasn't the first she'd had – it seemed that ever since she first met her cousin Cliff two years back, these dreams would appear randomly. And it seemed as if she could never remember them until some event caused her to remember.
The dream was just like the others – Terra found herself floating in some sort of abyss. It was as if Arceus had taken away the ground and everything on it, leaving nothing but sky, and then coloring the sky with constantly shifting red and purple hues. This strange place unnerved Terra, and because she could never remember it, it was always unnerving.
And then, with a short flash of light and a series of sparkles, a strange Pokemon faded into view. Terra squinted at the Pokemon, not recognizing her – indeed, it looked female even when its species was in question – and after a bit of thought, she suddenly recognized it. This Pokemon was Cresselia, the Legendary Psychic-type thought to represent the moon and grant sweet dreams.
Cresselia opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Terra realized that she was indeed speaking, but the words were too quiet for her to hear. "Speak up, please!" she said. "Could you please be a little louder, Miss Cresselia?"
This time, Cresselia raised her voice so that Terra could hear snatches of what she was saying. "A friend… unexpected… help… journey… guide… path… destiny… world… Pokemon… your…"
The Legendary seemed to be speaking through telepathy, as the words were forming themselves in Terra's head as Cresselia moved her mouth. "Um, I don't understand…" Terra said uncertainly. "What are you trying to tell me, Miss Cresselia?"
There was only silence. Terra was about to ask again, but Cresselia suddenly spoke again. There was nothing different about what she said, she only repeated, "A friend… unexpected… help… journey… guide… path… destiny… world… Pokemon… your…"
The Charmander shook her head, not comprehending any of it. "What do you mean? I don't understand this!" Her voice rose with frustration and her tail flame glowed a little brighter to show this, but Cresselia only shook her head sadly.
Terra dimly realized that this was all she was going to get from Cresselia. It was as if the Legendary physically couldn't speak any more or any louder. She guessed that entering other Pokemon's dreams had certain limitations on what you could say and at what times.
But now, the dream began to fade, and Cresselia grew farther away even as the strange skyscape began to stretch out. And just before Terra was sucked back into consciousness, she heard Cresselia's voice chime in her head one last time.
"A friend will appear in an unexpected place. He will help on your journey and guide you on the path to your destiny. The world of Pokemon is depending on your courage…"
-.-.-.-.-.
Several Days Later
Terra had instantly forgotten about the strange dream upon waking up. But now, stranded on Deepdark Island with her friend Cenric, it began to trickle back to her like a tiny stream. Cresselia's words echoed once more in her head as she peered over the cliff and saw the fossil Pokemon crouched on a rock on the beach.
Her home had been destroyed shortly after she had experienced the dream and Cresselia's odd words. Diamond Island was destroyed, with only her, Alphonse, and Evelyn surviving to tell the tale. When they had escaped, a storm had separated them, and Terra and Cenric had ended up washing ashore on Deepdark Island.
The wreck of a boat also seemed to have washed up on the island, along with a mysterious, frightening Pokemon that had chased them off upon waking up. But Terra, indeed losing her fear of the Pokemon and replacing it with curiosity, decided to walk back down to the beach and investigate. He was clearly a passenger of that boat, probably the only surviving one, and he might be in need of help.
However, her idle curiosity began to change to deep interest as she looked down upon the rocky coastline, observing the Pokemon sitting down on his rock and looking out over the calm, lapping waves. And then, all of a sudden, the words that Cresselia had spoken to her in the dream came back all at once.
"A friend will appear in an unexpected place. He will help on your journey and guide you on the path to your destiny. The world of Pokemon is depending on your courage…"
Terra now realized that she had been destined to be meet this fossil Pokemon. The huge, frightening, bird-like thing was her friend in an unexpected place. This relic of the past, which probably ate Pokemon like her for lunch, was a part of her destiny – although she couldn't imagine how or why. All she knew was that he was here to help.
"Now what's he doing?" Cenric asked, despite himself. Terra scratched her head and wondered aloud, "Maybe he's thinking?" The Buizel shook his head and said seriously, "No, that can't be it. My parents said that fossil Pokemon don't do much thinking. They act on instinct and aren't very bright."
The two of them continued walking down the slope of the canyon until they reached the beach again. Now they could see that the Pokemon had his head buried in his claws as if he had a headache. Too much thinking? Terra asked herself.
That was when they heard the quiet noises coming from his covered-up head, and saw his feathery shoulders shaking.
He was crying.
Despite her fear of the mysterious Pokemon, Terra hated seeing anyone be upset. She cautiously walked up to the rock he was sitting on until she was right next to it. "Um, sir… Are you alright?"
The Pokemon didn't answer right away, but flinched at the sound of her voice. At last, he muttered, "I'm alone here. I'm the only one that made it here. And there were five of us on that boat when the storm hit."
Terra realized it just then. "You were caught in that storm too?" she inquired, and he nodded. "I don't know where any of the others are," he said, voice still broken with emotion. "And my little brother was with us. He could be dead for all I know!"
Although he didn't cry, the Pokemon let out a long, weary sigh and slumped down on his rock. By now, Cenric had also walked up and was listening as well.
"Hey, it'll be fine," Terra said sweetly, patting the Pokemon's arm… or wing, or whatever it was. "All we need to do is get off of this island, and then we can find your friends!"
As you can see, Terra was an optimist.
"If we're going to be working together for the time being," the Pokemon said at last, "then we might as well get to know each other. My name's Wyvern."
The Charmander smiled inwardly. She was one step closer toward saving the world of Pokemon.
-.-.-.-.-.
Yeah, that last part is a direct excerpt from Chapter 10. I just thought it would be nice to end it off there.
But of course, Terra can't save the world of Pokemon alone! There's Gaby and Cliff, who have found two of the Shards and need to get them back. And there are still three more Discoverers out there!
Drop a review and see you soon!