Chapter 57 - Heading Out
Despite having been lying unconscious for two days, Ash and Khrista now had more than enough strength to get out of bed and sneak through the halls. They were just about to leave the Pokemon Center when Nurse Joy caught sight of them.
"What do you two think you're doing?" she asked, causing the two to freeze in their tracks, Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. "You should be in bed, resting!"
"Not with Legendaries trapped in Sinnoh's Battle Frontier," Khrista responded.
Nurse Joy frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I wasn't the only person who was hit with the Red Chain," Ash reminded Nurse Joy. "Dialga and Palkia are still out there, and we have to free them before they they come here and rescue Cyrus."
Nurse Joy became pale. "You can't be serious."
"I'm afraid that he is completely serious," Merlin responded as he came through the Pokemon Center's entrance. "Dialga and Palkia are still dead loyal to Cyrus, whether we freed Ash or not."
"So we've got to go and rescue them," Khrista stated matter-of-factly.
Nurse Joy looked concerned, but swallowed her worry. "All right - you two can go. Just don't do anything that exhausts you too quickly."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy!"
As the group left the Pokemon Center, Ash's eyes widened as he looked around.
"Quite the set-up you guys have here," he noted.
Pikachu grinned. "Wait 'til you see where the Pokemon get to live!"
"I'm afraid that will have to wait," the Uxie near them responded. "We have to find the Pokemon and Trainers that you will want to bring along."
Khrista nodded. "For my team, Ray is going to be one of the more obvious choices. If we have to fight Dialga and Palkia - and we will - Ray's going to be great on the offensive. Raichu, and maybe Vapor and Swamp too."
Ash frowned slightly. "How can you sound so confident? Do you know their Types?"
"Sure I do! Dialga's a Dragon/Steel-Type, and Palkia's a Dragon/Water-Type." Khrista smirked. "While Dragon-Types would be more than helpful, the Legendaries other weaknesses can be put to our advantage."
"Meaning that I could take out Palkia!" Pikachu realized.
"Exactly," Khrista confirmed. "Let's see...Swamp, Ray, Raichu, Vapor... I guess I'll throw Linoone in there, too."
Ash exchanged looks with Pikachu. "I'll take you, Charizard, Infernape, Gible, Sceptile, and Heracross. Any idea where they might be?"
Pikachu nodded. "Everyone's been hanging out in the Fields. Come on!" He leapt off Ash's shoulder and took off for where the Pokemon were most likely located, Khrista, Uxie, and Ash in pursuit.
"What are 'the Fields'?" Ash asked as they went.
"It's pretty much an area underground that has a controlled environment, from what I've seen," Khrista explained. "It's the closest we can get down here to what the world used to be like."
They quickly moved by the stone huts - which gained a curious look from Ash as they passed - and into the Fields, where the began to look for their Pokemon.
Khrista took in a breath, her nose twitching like crazy as she took in the smells of her surroundings. She quickly caught a familiar scent, and, turning her head in the direction the smell was coming from, grinned when she caught sight of the Pokemon that was approaching. "Hey, Ash. I think someone's seen us."
Ash and Pikachu turned their heads, their eyes widening in surprise.
A moment later, a familiar Fire/Flying-Type had landed in front of them, roaring and spewing fire.
"About time you got out here!" Charizard exclaimed. "That Nurse wouldn't let me in to see you, Ash!"
Ash chuckled. "You wouldn't be able to fit through the door! What makes you think you could have, even if she let you?"
The fiery dragon scowled, then chuckled, causing the others to laugh as well.
Ash scratched the back of his head, a nervous look on his face as the laughter faded. "Listen, Charizard - I'm going to need your help."
"With what?"
"We need to go to an island off the coast and free Dialga and Palkia," Khrista explained. "You up to it?"
Charizard looked surprised at this, then grinned. "Up to it? You might as well ask a Pidgey if it can fly! I'm so in!"
"Good," Ash stated. "The others I'm looking for are Infernape, Gible, Sceptile, and Heracross. Any idea where they are?"
Charizard nodded. "Yeah, sure - everybody's been doing this big family reunion thing not too far from here. I left when it got too crowded for my liking. Come on." He allowed Ash and Pikachu to climb on, then took off in the direction he had come, leaving Khrista and the Uxie behind.
Khrista's gaze scanned the area. "Any idea where I might be able to find my team, Merlin?"
The Being of Knowledge frowned slightly. "I sense quite a few large gatherings, Khrista. Your Pokemon could make either one of those groups."
"Look for Ray, then," the teen suggested. "He could be in one of the groups."
"Hmmm... No, I'm afraid he is not. All four Rayquaza have taken to sleeping around or near the hole, so as to keep people from getting hurt by coming too close."
"Right...the Air Lock ability." Khrista let out a sigh of annoyance. "So, where should we look first?"
"You could try behind you."
Khrista turned to see who was speaking, only to find a sky-blue furred creature with what looked like angel's wings. The creature's voice seemed somewhat familiar...
"Do I know you?" Khrista asked cautiously.
"It's me, Grace the Eevee!" The Pokemon looked at her wings and smiled apologetically. "Or, Grace the Angeleon, now."
"Angeleon?" Khrista repeated. "You don't mean that's the Flying-Type Eeveelution?"
"Yup!" Grace grinned. "The Professors have been looking for me so that they can study my new form a little, but I don't want them to do anything yet. So, I came out here to do a little flying." She pointed with a paw in the opposite direction Ash had gone. "Your Pokemon have been hanging out over that way. Come on!" She took to the air and zoomed off.
"She's fast," Khrista noted. "And she's given me a challenge."
There was a familiar feeling in her gut, and the blue-eyed teen found her shirt shifting color to the same sky blue as the Angeleon's fur.
She quickly took to the air herself and flew off after Grace, Merlin not too far behind.
"So, how'd you manage it?" Khrista asked after she had caught up. "Evolve, I mean."
"You remember how you mentioned that there was a large collection of feathers in Unova?" Grace asked.
"The ones that fell onto the bridges? Yeah, I remember. Why?"
"There was one feather in specific - the Pretty Wing - that was all but useless for raising stats. That's the only feather that makes up my wings."
Khrista's eyes widened. "Seriously? You evolved by using a Pretty Wing?"
"Well, I had to be holding it when I went through Luminous Spring. I don't know if there are any other qualifications, though."
Khrista smirked. "Well, whatever it is, I'm going to try and find out."
The three soon arrived at the area Grace had mentioned earlier, finding that the Pokemon in Khrista's team were pretty spread out, each Type or species in their own little group.
"Let's go to find Swamp, first," Khrista remarked. "He's the leader of the team, and the one who would probably know where everybody is."
Raichu was the first one to catch sight of the Trainer. An instant later, a large crowd of Pokemon of all Types had gathered around Khrista and Merlin, each one wanting to get to talk to the teen first.
"Guys, calm down!" Khrista exclaimed, laughing. "I'll get to talk to all of you, don't worry."
"How long ago did you wake up?" Raichu asked.
"A couple minutes ago," Khrista answered. "Ash is up and about, too."
"The Electric Kid?" Sparkler inquired. Despite being Liz's Raichu, he had recently taken to spending more time with Khrista's Electric-Type. "I've been sensing that Trainer's energy level for some time. It almost feels like when Zapdos is sitting right in the middle of the Square and I'm in my hut."
Khrista's eyes widened. "Seriously? He's got that much electricity in him?"
Sparkler nodded. "He's going to need some training, too, or else he's going to end up zapping somebody by accident."
Khrista let out a sigh. "Well, that'll have to wait until after we go after Dialga and Palkia."
The entire group froze and looked at her in astonishment.
"...Go after Dialga and Palkia?" Linoone repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Ash told me that Dialga, Palkia, and quite a number of Pokemon are being held in or around Stark Mountain," Khrista explained. "If we can't go and get them freed, they're probably going to hunt us down. I've already decided on who I'm going to bring with me to go after them - if you guys want to, of course. I was hoping to bring, out of you guys, Raichu, Vapor, Swamp, and Linoone. Any complaints?"
The four mentioned Pokemon looked at each other - or, more accurately, looked at Swamp.
The Swampert frowned. "Dialga and Palkia...are you sure we can take them on in their state?"
"Positive," Khrista responded confidently.
"You need not worry over whether you can or not," Merlin spoke up. The collection of Pokemom turned to look at the Psychic-Type as he continued, "White took on Primal Dialga in the form of a Vulpix at level 50 or so. I believe you will be more than strong enough to take on Dialga and Palkia in the present day."
All the Pokemon looked at each other upon hearing this. Khrista couldn't tell what they were thinking, on account that they were all looking at Swamp, and his face was guarded.
"Well, I'm good to go whether you guys are or not," Vapor spoke up. "I've heard enough about these guys that my Aurora Beam attack should do more than enough damage at this point."
"I'll go to," Raichu added. "I never got to do much in the citadel up there, and it's been a long time since I last fought a Legendary." She grinned.
"Yeah!" Linoone's entire body wagged at the thought, and Khrista just had to laugh at the Normal-Type's enthusiasm. "I can't wait!"
Swamp looked down at the Pokemon around him, which were now looking at him expectantly. The Swampert looked a little lost and surprised because of the quick choices made around him.
"C'mon, Swamp," Khrista stated, holding out a hand. "I'm going to need your help, too. What do you say?"
The Water/Ground-Type looked a little uneasy, but upon seeing the look on Khrista's face and the determined shine in her eyes, he gave a nod and placed his paw in her hand.
"Let's get this over with," Swamp stated.
The crowd of Pokemon around Khrista and her team broke out into loud cheers.
"Awesome!" Khrista exclaimed, grinning. "Now we just need Ray and we've got ourselves a full team!"
"You do realize that Ray is staying at the hole in the cave roof simply on account of the storm above us?" The Uxie hovering nearby asked.
Khrista blinked but then she scowled. "Right. Well, shoot."
"We're going to need a Pokemon that has either Air Lock or Cloud Nine," Vapor spoke up. "That storm's not going to let up just because we're going."
"And I don't think that we need all four Rayquaza at that hole," Raichu added with a knowing look. "Ray can probably come."
Khrista's scowling expression instantly brightened. "Then we can bring him!" Her blue eyes moved over to look at the Being of Knowledge. "Do you think you could get my team's PokeBalls, then?"
"I do not believe I will be facing difficulty from such a task," Merlin replied coolly. He gave a nod, then disappeared in a flash.
"Umm...can I come, to?"
Khrista blinked, then looked down at the winged, four-legged Pokemon standing near her feet. "Why would you want to, Grace? We're kinda going into the lion's den."
"I want to be able to help," the Angeleon replied stubbornly. "I've always played Mystery Dungeon games - I want to see what it's like for real."
"I dunno, kid," Raichu replied, frowning. "From what I've heard, the Frontier Ruins aren't exactly the best place to be - even if you're a Level 100."
"I'd let her come along."
Khrista stiffened in surprise upon hearing the voice, then turned to look behind her.
Khrista frowned. "Joshua, are you nuts? We don't know what's going to be over there."
"Then we keep her close," Joshua replied with a shrug. Khrista noticed by this movement that there was a green strap on his shoulder - a backpack, maybe? "Besides, she's probably going to need the experience sooner or later."
"We?"
Joshua gave a nod. "Right. I'm coming with you - I talked to Ash about it already."
Khrista's frown turned into a scowl, and she let out a sigh. "All right. And you're absolutely set on bringing Grace with us." She motioned to the Angeleon, who looked up at Joshua hopefully.
Joshua glanced down at the Flying Eeveelution with his hazel, green-speckled eyes. Then he gave a nod. "Yeah. She'd probably stow away on your Rayquaza as soon as we were starting to leave."
Grace scowled at the idea. "Maybe."
Khrista sighed again, then gave her cousin a look. "So, does this mean that Ash is already at the hole that was left behind?"
Joshua gave a nod. "It actually isn't too far from here." He turned and started moving - deeper into the Fields and further from the main hub of the Underground. "Come on, it's this way!"
Khrista looked around at her collection of four Pokemon, then gave a nod and started after Joshua. The four Pokemon followed after her, Linoone keeping in stride with his Trainer.
It wasn't long before the group arrived at the place where Cyrus' citadel had once rested. One could plainly see through the hole left behind by its felling the dark storm clouds and the rather dangerous, large fireballs that fell from their confines. Occasionally, Khrista thought she could see a peak of sunlight come through before the clouds closed up again.
At the bottom of the hole, Khrista caught sight of Ash - now actually wearing his Sinnoh outfit and baseball cap - standing with a certain Uxie by Ray's tail. The regular-colored Rayquaza was hovering near the spring green and white-lined Rayquaza that was part of White's team - Sirius.
Nearby stood a familiar, brown-haired girl wearing a purple jacket with her back to them. She was looking up at the orange and black Rayquaza who called himself Quetzal.
"Hey!" Ash waved at the two Avatars as they approached, the Pikachu on his shoulder mimicking the movement. "About time you two got here! What took you so long?"
"I wasn't sure whether we should let Grace the Angeleon come along or not," Khrista replied as she came to a stop.
Grace, who had taken to the air when Khrista had run off after her cousin, landed in front of the still-human teen and grinned.
Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "Angeleon? I haven't heard of that Pokemon before."
"The child is a rare Flying-Type breed," Merlin agreed. He turned his attention to Khrista as a flash surrounded him for a moment. A red backpack and a belt with four PokeBalls and a Master Ball appeared in front of him. "Here are the supplies you will need. Professor Rowan also asked me to bear a message: be careful and come back alive."
"We will," Joshua replied with a nod.
Merlin gave a nod, then disappeared in a flash.
Khrista turned and looked up at Ray. "Hey, Ray! Are you up to coming with us?"
The Rayquaza looked down at his Trainer. "Are you sure that it would be all right? I mean, what with the storm going on and all -"
"It will be fine," spoke up the bright green dragon near them. "One is more than enough, now."
Ray looked over at the other and gave a nod. "If you say so, Sirius." He looked back down at Khrista. "That settles that. I'm coming with you."
"As am I," spoke up the cobalt Rayquaza near them. "I am not about to let my Trainer face those monsters alone, believe me."
"I didn't expect you to," Joshua called back. "I've already got your Ball, anyway." He took a Great Ball from the belt around his waist and held it aloft.
"Show off," Khrista muttered.
"You didn't expect to go off without me, did you?"
Khrista turned her head and watched as an Areodactyl landed on the ground near them and a familiar, naturally red-eyed Trainer leapt off it.
"Red?" Ash frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"Yellow told me what you guys were up to," Red replied, walking over to his brother. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his brother. "Did you really think that you were going to leave without me for this?"
"But Red -"
"I know what you're capable of," Red replied calmly. "But this is going to be dangerous, and definitely not some game." He looked over at Khrista and Joshua with a particularly strong glare. "Are you really sure that you three are up to this?"
"Yes," Khrista and Ash stated. The two looked at each other in surprise upon hearing the other speak at the same time.
Red let out an annoyed sigh. "Professor Oak was right - stubbornness does run in my family," he muttered under his breath. "I'm coming along with you guys to make sure my brother doesn't do anything stupid."
"Hey!" Ash exclaimed, indignant.
Pikachu grinned at the outburst. "Well, you are."
Khrista let out a sigh. "Fine. But I don't think that any more people would be a great idea. We could attract more attention than we want, so we're probably pushing it with four." In her left ear, the teen heard someone grumble under their breath, then remembered that Green's communication device had been left in her ear.
Red shrugged. "I'm still coming." He jumped onto Aero's back. "So, are we going or not?"
"We're definitely going," Khrista responded. Ray lowered his head near her so that she could climb up and sit down in the red circle on his head. "We're going to have to move fast if we want to rescue the Legendaries ASAP."
Joshua nodded in agreement as Corza lowered his head completely, allowing the boy to climb on. "Let's go."
Spacial Break
Cyrus awoke from his dreams with a gasp, sweating profoundly because of the nightmare he had just gone through. Within seconds, however, he had regained his bearings and realized that he was in a position that he didn't want to be in, Legendary fail-safe or not. Quickly, the Galactic began to search his pockets for the device he had obtained long ago, in case a situation like this arose.
Cyrus was forced to pause a moment later, realizing that someone was approaching the room he was presently trapped in.
The door opened a crack, and a short man with a balding head was pushed inside.
"Let's see how you like Dusk's nightmares!" came a sneering voice from outside the room. A moment later, the door was slammed shut.
The man got to his feet, dusting off his unmarked clothes. "Well, that was certainly unwelcoming."
"Wait and see what they'll do next," Cyrus replied drearily.
Charon looked up and, upon seeing the haggard look of the Galactic Leader, gave a false gasp of surprise. "Oh, my! This is certainly a surprise - the mighty leader of the world, reduced to a sleepless state." He chuckled. "I didn't think things would end like this, what with Maria not appearing at all."
A deep scowl found its way easily onto Cyrus' face. "Don't talk to me of White. She isn't what we should worry about now. It's that uncontrollable Mew-child."
"Ah, yes. Her." Charon chuckled again. "Well, there seems to be at least that in common with people from that girl's neighborhood. Almost every single one of them has some sort of trait that makes them absolutely unpredictable. I had hoped to find a way there myself so that I could see it in action, but my Warp Ring Portal seems to have mysteriously disappeared from the wreckage. I hope the Pokemon around here aren't going to do anything with it."
"I wouldn't underestimate them, Finitivus," Cyrus sneered. "Especially considering who it is that they are allied to. That filthy -"
"You will not 'talk trash' about my Trainer and Exploration Guild Leader, Cyrus," came a dark voice that seemed to reverberate throughout the room.
Something hit Cyrus in the back of the head, and he started to lose consciousness.
At the same time, he pressed a button on a device located in his pocket.
He felt something grab his arm, then nothing.
People are making their moves...