In the last adventure, Team Space-Time, Celebi, Dusknoir, the Sableye soldiers, and the rest of the Guild crew came to, having been rescued by the founders of Team Temperature. The two criminal reformers offered their cooperation in a mission to locate Grovyle, wherever he is.
Chapter 7 – Demon-Type Revolution
"Seriously, I wonder why he doesn't just have a picture made of this," Blessing said, gesturing toward her bandages. "It'll last longer."
"So, Loudred and you are friends, in a way," Monferno replied. "It must be fun having such exchanges with him."
"But at least he knows what he's talking about sometimes. Seriously, though he does hardly any listening, he sure does talk a lot, and every now and then, he manages to speak of something profound. He's fooled by stuff sometimes, but never by such tripe concerning morality."
Monferno looked confused at that last statement. He gave Blessing some Sitrus Berry Soup despite that.
"'No such thing as pure evil,'" Blessing seethed. "Nothing…but TRIPE!" Practically screaming the last word, she threw her soup bowl down the Guild corridor.
"My parents believe that because—"
"Well, they're wrong! One hundred percent wrong! You hear me, Monferno?! Wrong! Wrong! WRONG! WR—" She made the mistake of standing up during her mad tirade, and as a result, strained herself and fell over.
"Blessing, don't strain yourself!" Monferno scolded. "You're still injured!"
The pain refused to subside, prompting Monferno to cook another serving of Sitrus Berry Soup. He mixed in a Sleep Seed as well. Serving it to Blessing served to calm her down and make her woozy after she drank it.
"I put a Sleep Seed in that soup," Monferno confessed. "You need to rest. You're too tense."
Blessing opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the proper words to say. Instead, she looked at Monferno with an apologetic expression. Monferno noticed that she looked as though she was ready to cry. She decided not to resist the Sleep Seed's effects any longer, and shut her eyes. She was asleep almost instantly.
"Sleep well, my rescuer," Monferno said, patting her head.
"Wouldn't it be just like them to not clean their mess up?" Pelame asked while helping the others search the rubble that was once the Grey Theatre.
"Well, it works out for us, right?" Pugno responded. "They left behind all their clues."
Pelame and Pugno got no farther in their search before they both started to feel dizzy. Everything went dark, and soon, Pelame saw Treasure Town being attacked by lots of Pokémon wielding a strange dark power. After her vision ended, she looked back in the direction of Treasure Town.
"That's a relief," she said, seeing no signs of a coup. "Treasure Town looks like it's safe for now."
"Wait a moment," Pugno said, shocked. "Did you see what I saw? I saw Treasure Town being attacked by a group of Pokémon using the same power we saw the Grey Theatre crew use on us."
"That's exactly what I saw!" Pelame answered.
"Two Dimensional Screams at once?!" Celebi asked, astonished.
"Not only that, but they both saw the same vision," Dusknoir noted.
Fahrenheit and Celsius looked at each other, having come to an important thought about the two founders of Team Space-Time.
"If you don't mind me asking," Celsius started, addressing Pelame. "Did you always know you have the Dimensional Scream ability?"
"No, actually," Pelame answered. "I've never had a vision before we went to the Grey Theatre. But on the other hand, my friend Pugno has had that ability all his life."
"I've had my Dimensional Scream ability since the days I was a human," Pugno added.
"Human?!" Fahrenheit exclaimed. He had never been so surprised. "You were human once?!"
"Yes, I was," Pugno answered sincerely. "I don't remember much of it. I lost my memory when I became a Riolu."
"Grovyle, Dusknoir, and I can fill you in on some missing parts of Pugno's past," Celebi said to the pair of Infernape. "We knew him since then."
Fahrenheit and Celsius stared at Pugno for a few moments without saying a word. They were thinking of something, but they couldn't say it outright yet. They came to a decision at last.
"Listen, all of you," Fahrenheit said. "After we find your friend, we have something very important to share with all of you. But we can't do so yet."
"Why not?" Celebi asked.
"We just can't," Celsius answered on her husband's behalf. "But all we can say now is that it has to do with…" Celsius looked around as if looking out to see if they were being spied on. She walked over to Pelame and Pugno and knelt down to their ears. "…the Alpha Bloodline," she whispered.
"The Alph—" Celsius quickly covered Pelame and Pugno's mouths before they could get their question out. "YES!" she shouted while doing so. "Sorry," she said, removing her hands from Pelame and Pugno's mouths.
"We understand," Pugno said. "We can wait."
"It sounds important," Pelame added. "But I'll wait, too."
It had been three hours since everyone had left the Guild to search for Grovyle. At that time, Blessing had awakened from her sleep, while Monferno was busy making a proper dinner for the both of them. Blessing could smell the food, and she seemed to enjoy it. She identified the fragrances of a Black Gummi and a Clear Gummi. She could also smell the fragrance of a Big Apple being cooked, as well as that of an Oran Berry, a Sitrus Berry, and a Heal Seed. The smell of all those delicious foods blended together put a big smile on Blessing's face. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a dorky expression on her face. Monferno entered Blessing's Crew Room with the recipe after five minutes.
"How did you know Black and Clear Gummis are my two favorite foods?" Blessing asked.
"Just a lucky guess," Monferno answered. "I just assumed based on your being a Dark and Ice-type Pokémon. Looks like I was right."
Blessing happily drank the soup and ate the Gummi garnish. Soon after finishing her meal, her happiness faded and turned to sadness.
"This was…her favorite food," Blessing said. "Orus Soup. My parents would make it for me and her. It was a slice of Heaven, especially when garnished with Black Gummis and Clear Gummis. It was a special treat for special occasions, like birthdays, academic achievements, my return home, what have you."
"Whose favorite food was this besides yours?" Monferno asked, his curiosity piqued.
"My older sister's," Blessing answered solemnly.
Monferno was taken aback. He never heard of Blessing having an older sister.
"Rather, my late older sister's," Blessing corrected. Monferno was even more shocked to hear that development. He felt a twinge of sympathy for her upon hearing such a tragic confession. But she wasn't finished yet.
"She had always wanted to be part of an Exploration Team, ever since she saw a Teddiursa bullying a Togepi. She ended up being picked on herself, which was when I scared that hoodlum off. My sister wanted to do things that mattered to the world, following the example of many Explorers the world had known. Team Space-Time was just starting out by the time she came to that decision. Her desire to become an Explorer was always met with objections from me, since I got it in my head that she'd die if she ever joined an Exploration Team. I'd heard of enough Explorer deaths to fear the same would happen to her. And when Darkrai killed my mother for refusing to take part in his final plan of attack against Team Space-Time, that was when I started actively resisting her choice to be an Explorer. I figured that if Explorers couldn't save my mother's life, that they couldn't do anything right. To my chagrin, she finally joined Team Space-Time and took on the name Loyal. And not too long after that, she died, realizing my fears. I don't know who or what killed her, but all I know is that's why…" Blessing started to sob. "..That's why your parents are completely, 100% wrong when they say there's no such thing as pure evil!" Blessing was bawling at this point. "If there's really no such thing as pure evil, then why did Darkrai kill my mother just because she refused to help him kill Pelame, Pugno, and Cresselia?! Why did Loyal's mysterious murderer kill her, then?! Were they just misguided souls, too?!"
Monferno didn't know what to say to that query directly. "Blessing,…that's one of the saddest things I've ever heard…" was all he could say to comfort her.
"I'm sorry if I sound like I'm insulting your parents," Blessing said with a breaking voice. "But when stuff like that happens in the world, how can they believe that? You're their son, so don't you know?"
"Actually, I do," Monferno said. "I must admit, what you just told me right now makes me think my parents would have quite a hard time with the culprits you mentioned. Darkrai, and that other figure wouldn't be easy to reform, but they'd be able to do it. They can reform any criminal at all, but it isn't always easy for them to do."
To even her own surprise, Blessing was hanging on Monferno's every word.
"There are some extremely special cases where they would have to rely on a special power of theirs to reform a criminal. You see, there are some that won't listen to reason. For those criminals, they have to use a special ability that forces them to experience all the pain they inflicted on others. Only then will they see the error of their ways. In fact, my mother Celsius was subject to that before Team Temperature was founded."
That last part caught Blessing's attention. "Wait; your mother was a criminal?!"
"Yes, she was. She never killed anyone, but her attempts to do so earned her the wretched reputation she had about two decades ago. She was vicious; whenever she attempted to kill a Pokémon, she'd ensure the victim was crippled for life by the time the law caught up to her. She was never captured, until one day when an attempt to escape caused her to fall off a cliff. The officers chasing her thought she had died of the fall, so they left her be. That was when my father found her and took her to a temporary residence he had built near that area near Mount Travail. When she awoke, he told her that he had to take her to prison after she healed. She attacked him as a response to that, but she was overpowered. My father then used his special power on her, making her experience all the pain she had ever inflicted on others; she felt all the bone breaking, the flesh cutting, the bludgeoning, the near drowning, the burning, everything. Not a single thing was left out. The ordeal left her catatonic for three days. My father told me that it seemed as if she was shocked at the things she did. When she came to, the first thing she said was 'I'm so sorry.' She left for Treasure Town's police station and turned herself in. She actually even begged the judge to give her the execution sentence. She instead got sentenced to fifteen years in solitary confinement, which was when she reflected on her life. When she was released, she was a very different Pokémon altogether, unrecognizable as the fiend who crippled an innocent old Farfetch'd just for passing by her. She returned to the Infernape who had reformed her, and they were soon married. They both decided to start an Exploration Team that focused on reforming criminals, which is how Team Temperature came to be."
Blessing had a lot to think about after hearing this tale of Monferno's. She had once been just like Celsius; doing bad at one low point of her life, and then going good again.
"That's why they don't think there's such a thing as pure evil," Monferno continued. "My mother was bad once, but she saw the error of her ways, and turned into the role model she is now. Together, my parents helped turn the worst of Pokémon-kind into model citizens."
"I understand now," Blessing admitted. "There's a fine line between an act of petty wrongdoing and an act of evil. But it sounds as though it's the action itself that's evil, not the one who does it. Even the best of us have made mistakes. Look at Dusknoir; at one time, a servant to a corrupted Guardian of Time. But now, you'd never think that an upstanding moral figure like him ever had anything to do with such a creature as Primal Dialga. And even Primal Dialga wasn't evil; he was only misguided and brainwashed. I'm beginning to think that maybe Darkrai might not have entirely been himself. I can't really be certain of that, though, not until your parents turn that power…" Blessing then decided to address the Wailord in the room, and also to finish an Apple she had saved for her desert. "By the way, what is this power of your parents'?"
"Glad you asked," Monferno said proudly. "You see, my parents were given special divine powers to help protect the world with. They serve a special order known as the Alpha Bloodline."
Blessing nearly choked on her Apple in shock. "What did you just say?" she asked after coughing up the Apple slice.
"The Alpha Bloodline. My parents serve them."
"Go get yourselves some drinks," Weavile said to Arbok and Drapion, giving them both some money. "And remember to stay out of my way."
"Yes, Lady Weavile," said Arbok as he and Drapion both entered the Spinda Café.
"The rest of you," Weavile said to the Pokémon following her. "Shop around, chat with others, I don't care what you do, just keep away from me. Got it?" They all nodded. "All right, then."
Weavile entered Treasure Town while the other Pokémon with her scattered around and did as told. Per her instructions, they all kept away from her, which left her as the only customer for green Kecleon.
"Welcome to Kecleon Wares!" said the green Kecleon brother joyfully. "How may I serve you?"
"Blast Seeds," Weavile said. "All of them. That's all."
"Certainly," green Kecleon said, gathering up the entire stock of Blast Seeds. "Six Blast Seeds will be 180 Poké. Does this complete your order?"
Weavile simply stared at the clerk. After about ten seconds, Weavile suddenly wolfed down all six of the Blast Seeds.
"Excuse me," both Kecleon asserted. "You were supposed to pay for those first. 180 Poké."
Weavile reacted by swallowing the Blast Seeds.
"Then…then," Blessing stammered, remembering something. "Then you did know the answer to Team Skull's question!"
"Of course I did. But I couldn't let them know that. Vital information about the Alpha Bloodline isn't to be known to the likes of those tainted by the Dark Blessing, like Team Skull."
"You know you'd have been sleeping with the Magikarps if I wasn't there to save you."
"I would take those secrets to my grave if I had to. Still, I am grateful to you for that save."
"But if the Alpha Bloodline is so full of forbidden secrets, why did you just tell me about some of it now?"
"Simple. It's because—"
An alarm sounded all throughout Treasure Town, cutting off Monferno's answer to Blessing's question.
"ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! TREASURE TOWN IS UNDER ATTACK! REPEAT, TREASURE TOWN IS UNDER ATTACK! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EVACUATE TOWN—"
Officer Magnezone was then interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Oh, no you whelps don't! You're all ours now! Treasure Town belongs to the Demon-types now! Stay put so I can mess you all up!"
"What's Weavile trying to pull now?!" Blessing demanded, levitating herself and flying out of the Guild.
"Blessing, wait!" Monferno called after her. "It's too dangerous!"
Blessing paid no attention to Monferno's warning. She arrived to find Treasure Town burning to a crisp. The citizens were evacuating as quickly as they could, as Weavile was attempting to prevent their escape. Blessing thwarted Weavile's attempt to pull Kangaskhan back into the burning town. However, the use of a Dark Blessing attack caused her to have to temporarily stop levitating.
"Look who it is," Weavile taunted. "The bratty Sneasel with the broken behind. Did you think you could levitate and attack at the same time? Because that's impossible, and you're stupid."
"You think I need to float in order to face you?" Blessing retorted, throwing a Demon Orb at Weavile, which was dodged quickly.
"Yes, actually. You're no good on the ground." Weavile conjured a group of four Demon Orbs and made them surround Blessing. The Orbs shot out small energy blasts at her. After that, the Orbs themselves collided with her. While that was going on, Weavile took that opportunity to snatch the green Kecleon clerk with Evil Threads generated from the tips of her claws. Once she got the clerk in her clutches, she advanced on Blessing and kicked her rear end, where the bandage was.
"I told you you're no good on the ground!" Weavile taunted triumphantly as she turned Blessing over onto her stomach and stomped on her injured backside. Blessing tried not to scream, hoping to deny her enemy the satisfaction of hearing such a thing. Weavile put her claws up to Kecleon's neck. "You could've been just like me, Blessing. If you had only stopped resisting the Dark Blessing's power, you'd enjoy the blood I am now going to spill on you!"
"Alpha Beam!"
The mysterious divine beam hit Weavile directly. Though Blessing and Kecleon were caught in the blast, they were completely unharmed.
"Sorry I'm late," Monferno said, rushing to Blessing's aid. "I would've been here sooner, but I had to deal with Team Skull blocking my path. By the way, nice shot, Mom."
"Thanks, my boy," Celsius said, having arrived with Team Space-Time and the rest of the group in tow. She then focused her attention on Weavile. "Causing trouble again, are you? I remember the days where you were nothing but a thief with standards. Now, you appear to have done away with those standards and have become a wannabe cold-blooded killer."
"Wannabe cold-blooded killer?" Weavile retorted. "That sounds good to me. I'd love to get your blood on my claws! In fact, every citizen of Treasure Town should fall to me!"
"Now, now, my Lady Weavile. There's no need for bloodlust."
Pelame and Pugno froze in horror at the familiarity of the voice that just spoke.
"Impossible…" Pugno whispered.
Blessing made a futile attempt to get to her feet in reaction to hearing the voice, which was familiar to her, too.
"Long time, no see, Team Space-Time."
The flames burning Treasure Town suddenly extinguished. When the smoke cleared, a familiar figure was in front of the group. A figure Pelame and Pugno hoped to have seen the last of.
"Trying to conquer the world again, Darkrai?" Pelame seethed. "I see you're not taking a covert method anymore. What's wrong? Did you finally realize that subtlety will fail you if you tried that again?"
"And furthermore," Pugno added. "You were to have lost your memories. You evidently cheated your way out of that, too."
"Indeed," Darkrai admitted. "Although I never suffered amnesia to begin with. All Palkia's attack did was slow me down. But the Dark Blessing renewed my strength as soon as I discovered it a year ago. With this new power, I no longer have to fear being chased. And speaking of chases, where's your friend Cresselia? She didn't die on you, did she?"
"Actually," Blessing started. "The only one here who will die is you!" Blessing lashed out, having wanted to do this for years. "This will be nothing compared to what my mother will do to you when you meet her in the hereafter!" Unfortunately, her Demon-magnified Guillotine attack didn't connect. In response, Darkrai launched an energy wave that blew apart Treasure Town.
"Do you see now the power of the Dark Blessing?!" he demanded. "This is the power the world will be ruled by. The power of the Demon-type!"
"Alpha Warp!" Fahrenheit shouted. In the blink of an eye, Team Space-Time and friends were out of Darkrai's sight.
"Cowards," Weavile mused. "Well, my Leader, shall we make this town ours?"
"We shall," Darkrai answered. "And by the way, the group of Pokémon that just fled from us are the only Pokémon you have my permission to kill. We can't afford to take any chances with them. While I reconstruct this town to make it a monument for what's to come, track them down and do away with them."
"With pleasure, sir."
Suggested music for this chapter:
Two Simultaneous Dimensional Screams – Just Wondering (Kingdom Hearts – Re:Chain of Memories)
Blessing and Monferno Confide – Missing You (Kingdom Hearts II)
Evacuation Warning – Danger (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - Gates to Infinity)
Treasure Town Attacked – Event: Madness (Sonic Adventure 2)
