Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Author Notes: Chapter 30 has officially arrived! Enjoy!

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Chapter 30 — Danger Arising

Latias took in a deep and steady breath, eyes closed and mind at ease in the middle of a deep trance. The wind blew by in soft breezes, caressing the diminutive feathers that adorned her body and carrying with it the fresh scent of the ocean before her. The only sounds that occasionally interrupted the peacefulness were the soft rattles of leaves from the dense vegetation behind her, the repeated rolling of the sea's waves, and the faint chatter of her companions, whose words were completely lost on her.

For the longest time, the red dragoness remained motionless, listening to the feedback her psychic senses gave her from the surrounding area for anything that would be of use to her to achieve her goals. Yet, despite her ample scan and her best attempts at filtering out all the ambient interferences that got in the way, nothing worthy of note came up. Latias let out a barely perceptible scoff of irritation and, at long last, opened her golden eyes.

Ash and Bianca, who had been sitting nearby on a large rock checking out their brand new PokéNavs and discussing their features, looked up at her with restrained optimism. However, their faces fell when all they got from the dragoness was a frown in return.

"That look doesn't seem promising," Bianca commented, idly kicking some sand with her shoe.

"Because it's not," Latias replied. She let out a sigh and looked up as if searching for answers in the endless blue sky above them. "It's so hard to look for something so… abstract, something that has no physical form that I don't know what it feels like."

Bianca closed her PokéNav and tucked it away inside her backpack. "But, shouldn't Sky Pillar have a physical form and not be, well, abstract?"

"Sky Pillar is a physical thing, yes. But its dragons-only pull isn't."

Ash walked up to the dragoness and gently caressed her long neck, eliciting a soft croon in response from her. "It's alright, Latias. You did your best. Hopefully, Latios has something this time around." He raised his head and looked at the blue dragon, who was a couple of hundred feet further down the beach and in a similar trance, with Brock and Pikachu sitting nearby. "Looks like he's still searching."

"Seeing as I got absolutely nothing, I wouldn't get my hopes up." Latias shook her head in annoyance and breathed heavily. "This is the third time we tried today, after all." She paused for a moment. "So, how long was I gone this time?"

"A couple of hours," Bianca answered. "You really dozed off this time."

Latias made a face. "Whoa, time flies. It didn't feel that long to me."

"Hey, don't feel bad if we're unable to find Sky Pillar today." Ash gave the red dragoness another comforting pat on her neck. "I seriously doubt Aqua or Magma are gonna finish their evil plots today. Even if it takes us days or weeks to get there, we should be fine."

"That's a good point, yeah. Thanks." Latias smiled and gently nuzzled him affectionately. "Maybe we're pushing ourselves too hard."

"Yeah, it's too optimistic to expect you'd find Sky Pillar immediately." Bianca hopped off the rock, stood up, and stretched herself. "Let's go see if Latios has anything."

Latias nodded and began to levitate toward the distant form of her brother, with her two friends walking after her at a leisurely pace. "I wish we could just look it up on a map. It'd be so much easier."

"Sadly, it's not possible." Ash scratched the back of his head while letting out a short laugh. "I tried to look up Sky Pillar on my PokéNav. All I got was lore stuff, not an actual map."

"Lore?" Latias asked curiously. "What does it say?"

"Some interesting things but no directions." Ash shrugged. "Just says it's a place rumored to exist but has never been found. Just a bunch of Hoenn urban legends revolving around Rayquaza and dragon-types, basically."

"And that's not going to be useful to us right now," Bianca said with a frown. "So, we can't help you. It's all up to you and Latios." Once they arrived where the rest of their friends were, Bianca walked in a circle around Latios. "He's still in a trance," she whispered.

"He is," Brock said, also keeping his voice down.

Bianca sat down next to the former gym leader. "Well, looks like we're off to a good start."

"Let me guess, nothing again?" Brock asked.

"Nothing again," Latias confirmed. "Unsurprisingly, even. So, unless Latios has something, we'll have to move again." Latias let out a weary exhale. "This is going to take a lot longer than I thought."

As if on cue, Latios' bright red eyes slowly opened, causing everyone to look at him expectantly. The blue dragon gave his friends an apologetic look. "I got nothing again."

"Well, if neither of you two has anything, I'll prepare lunch, then." Brock stood up and went over to his backpack. "Something to eat should do us good before proceeding."

"Yeah, good idea. It looks like we're going to be here for a while. I'll help you." Bianca stood up and went to help the former gym leader.

"So, what's Sky Pillar like?" Ash asked curiously while sitting down with his legs crossed on the warm sand next to the legendary dragon. "I know you've never been there before, but have either of you heard anything about what's it like?"

Latios gradually dropped his levitation and comfily rested his body next to his trainer. "Well, Ho-Oh told me that it's basically its own region, drifting through the world's oceans at Rayquaza's will. At the region's center is a massive stone pillar so high it's like it's holding up the sky, that's Sky Pillar itself."

Bianca rose an eyebrow. "Wait, wait, hold on a second. We're looking for a whole region?" she asked incredulously. "I thought Sky Pillar would be like, some kind of rock pillar hidden somewhere in Hoenn."

Brock stopped for a second, pondering the dragon's words while holding a frying pan and some utensils in his hands. "That's very strange, then. I've got even more questions now."

"How so?" Latios asked, craning his neck to the side to get a better look at his companions.

"As far as I know, the entire world has already been mapped by humans. Considering we've got satellites and technology and all that. It's hard to believe there's an entire region out there that's hidden and undiscovered," Brock elaborated. "If it is, how does it stay hidden?"

"Not just that, I wonder how an entire region moves," Bianca commented in amazement. "This place sounds magical, almost too hard to believe. But this does explain why you guys insisted on looking for it on the coast instead of walking inland."

"I know it sounds hard to believe, but I don't think Ho-Oh would lie to us about it. She has no reason to. In any case, we'll get our answers when we find it." Latios grimaced in contempt. "If we do, that is."

"Hey, be optimistic, Latios." Bianca gave him a kind smile. "I know you can do it. If you saved Rustboro City, you can find an entire region."

"Thank you, Bianca. Aside from that, she didn't tell us anything else helpful."

"On the bright side, because it's an entire region, it should be unmistakable once we find it," Latias added. "Finding the trail to it is the hard part that we're struggling with."

"Did Ho-Oh say anything about how to find this trail?" Pikachu asked.

"She mentioned the pull to Sky Pillar is instinctual to all dragons, something that should come naturally and without being forced. Maybe we're making a mistake by actually trying to find it consciously? Or we're trying the wrong way? I don't know," Latios replied with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, only you'd know that," Pikachu responded. "Can't help there. Not a dragon."

"Hey, if you believe Ho-Oh then I'm sure you're on the right track, somehow." Ash gave the dragon twins an encouraging thumbs-up. "You two can do this."

"By the way, you two often mention Ho-Oh when talking about other places or Pokémon," Bianca noted. "I remember the tales you told us not long ago, too. It sounds like she's done a lot for you both. Is she that special?"

Latios smiled fondly, his eyes brightening at the mention of the divine phoenix. "Ho-Oh is very special to us, yeah. Even as we grew up being orphans, she was always there for us and is the reason we survived our early years and all the hardships we faced. She taught us so much about everything and spent a lot of time with us."

"Yeah." Latias let out a nostalgic sigh, a contented look forming on her face. "I remember how she'd find ways to teach me things using fun and games whenever I didn't want lectures, or how she'd always be happy to give us company, love, and care whenever we needed it. Even as a baby I have fuzzy memories of her watching over us, especially on gloomy days. She is very important to us."

"She clearly cares about you both," Pikachu commented with a tender smile. "She came off as pretty nice and friendly that time we met her in Kanto."

"She is," Latios agreed without missing a beat. "Ho-Oh always watched over us. Whenever we were scared, sad, lonely, or depressed, she'd be there to make it better. She's been a permanent figure in our lives, like our guardian angel. That's why, even as we struggle to understand what it means to find Sky Pillar, I have no doubt she was being honest with us."

Bianca hummed, tapping her chin in thought. "It'd have been a little more useful if she gave specific directions, though. Instead of something so abstract and cryptic like an instinctual attraction."

"I don't think you can give specific directions to a region that moves," Brock pointed out.

"Probably not," Bianca acknowledged with a nervous laugh.

"Even if she could, I doubt she'd have done it. I'm sure we've brought this up before, but Ho-Oh's always been secretive on other Legendaries. I'm not surprised we don't have more details than what we're currently working with." Latias levitated to the edge of the beach and stopped just above the water's rhythmic waves, staring intently at the vast sea stretching as far as the eye could see until it was lost on the horizon. "Why? We don't know. But I trust her and respect her boundaries. Even if it means we're left scratching our heads in confusion trying to understand what to do next. I know Sky Pillar has to be out there, somewhere." Her eyes narrowed with determination. "And we'll find it."

"I'm happy you're confident in our chances." Ash's eyes brightened as he got an idea. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his PokéNav. "Hey, Latias?" Ash called out after a moment of silence.

Latias turned around, expression softening into a kind smile. "Yes, Ash?" She tilted her head with curiosity when she noticed that he was pointing his PokéNav directly at her. "Huh?" She blinked in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Ash grinned. "So, while you were meditating earlier, I've been trying out some of the cool stuff my PokéNav has. And it has a camera! I thought you looked cool with the ocean behind you just now, so I took a picture to have as my background." He eagerly flipped the device and showed the screen to the dragoness, which now had the picture he had just taken as its main screen, behind the icons of its many applications. "I think it looks awesome!"

Latias froze on the spot, eyes locked on the ecstatic and clearly oblivious boy as well as the device he was holding, a noticeable scarlet blush forming on her cheeks. She tried to say something, but whatever response she had in mind only came out as an inaudible stammer.

Bianca, who was currently helping Brock prepare his stew's ingredients, snorted and stifled a giggle.

Latios smirked and nudged Ash with his head. "Oh! Hey, Ash?" He flashed Latias a knowing grin, prompting her to give him a horrified look. "You sure you got a good picture? She was a bit distracted and not expecting it. Maybe you could ask her to pose so it comes out way better?"

"Maybe?" Ash looked at the photo on his device's main screen. "I think it looks good. But we can try it if you think it can come out better, I guess."

"I think it's perfectly good as it is!" Latias cried quickly, flying between the two of them and shoving Latios into the sand with her body. She threw him a very acute death glare and then smiled sweetly at the young trainer. "Actually! Why don't you tell me something nice about your PokéNav? I've been so distracted with Sky Pillar I haven't seen you play around with it. So, what can it do?" she asked, intent on changing the subject.

Pikachu burst out laughing and gave her an impressed nod. Latios sneered as he psychically brushed some sand off his side.

"Sure." Ash reached into his other pocket and took out his Pokédex. "So, turns out I can sync it with my Pokédex and use it to get more info on the Pokémon I've seen." He pressed an icon on the PokéNav's screen and then pressed a button on his Pokédex. "Remember that Seviper we ran into a week or so ago? Since my Pokédex registered her, I can now use my PokéNav to look up where Seviper are commonly found. This is called DexNav." The PokéNav's screen flashed and pulled up a map of Hoenn, on which several forests and routes along Hoenn's western side lit up in bright orange. "See? This is where we can typically find other wild Seviper."

"That's neat," Latias complimented, rather surprised at the amount of complex functionality packed into such a small device.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. It also gives me the option of looking up popular or strong trainers known to use Seviper, too." He closed the map application and brought the device back to its home screen. "Among many other things that we're just testing out. It's so useful."

"That it is," Bianca agreed. "I'm still exploring all it can do myself."

"Get used to the map feature, Ash," Pikachu suggested, a teasing tone in his voice. "You're gonna need it. A lot."

Ash stuck his tongue out at him. "I plan to. Never getting lost again."

"Anyway, mind coming and helping out?" Bianca asked. "Let's have a quick meal, then we'll worry about finding Sky Pillar."

"I'm in." Ash put away both his Pokédex and PokéNav into his backpack and stood up. He brushed some sand off his pants and then went over to help his friends prepare their food and set everything up.

The group proceeded to have a quick meal, happily chatting amongst themselves about various other topics. Once they were done and had packed most of their things back into their bags, they decided to take a short leisure break before resuming their search for Sky Pillar.

Latias let out a hum of enjoyment as she closed her eyes, laying on her back on the ocean surface. The weather was perfect, with not a single cloud blocking the warm sunshine that hit her chest and belly and provided a cozy warmth. For a moment she let herself completely forget about the recent stresses and just lived the moment.

Ash, who was enjoying a quick swim in the meantime, gave Pikachu a silent nod. The two slowly swam toward the red and white legendary and, when they were right beside her, swiped their arms in a wide arc to splash water onto her. "Gotcha!" Ash called out, laughing.

Latias let out a surprised squeak and opened her eyes as the water landed all over her. She tilted her head to look at them and only smirked in return. Then her golden eyes let out a faint twinkle of blue light.

"Oh no!" Ash shouted in faux panic, turning to swim away along with Pikachu. Then a shadow blotted out the sun, causing him to look up and see a rather large mass of water floating above them.

"Gotcha," Latias repeated in a triumphant tone as her eyes stopped glowing, causing the water she had lifted to crash down on Ash and Pikachu, whose surprised screams were muffled by the loud splash.

Latios chuckled at the wholesome sight of Ash, Latias, and Pikachu playing in the seawater. 'Maybe I'll join them in a bit. It'll help clear my mind,' he thought. The blue dragon idly looked to the side, taking in the lovely beach that spanned far into the distance, and wondered where they should be moving to next. Yet, for some odd reason he couldn't quite pinpoint, Latios found himself unwilling to advance further. He frowned, wondering where the sudden bout of uncertainty had come from. After trying to sense Sky Pillar's signal for several spots over several hours now, something in him resisted the urge the advance further. 'Wait a second…'

"Hey, Latios!" Ash called out with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Aren't you gonna join us?" He waved at the dragon. "Come on, the water's great!"

"Sure…" Latios replied hesitantly, still thoroughly distracted. 'That's odd. Every time we move further along the coast for a new spot to try our senses, it fails. Yet our movements were involuntary in between them.' His eyes widened. 'Does that mean, we were moving closer when not actively thinking about it? Is that how it works?' He scowled and shook his head. 'If that's the case, why do I feel like it's not moving anymore? It's not like we're there yet…'

'Skailyn's ward… it's moving,' Ozul realized with widened eyes, observing from a faraway cliff south of the Petalburg Woods coastline. The towering barrier appeared to ever so slowly drift away from Rustboro City and into the surrounding wilderness, stopping for long lapses of time before moving on again. Once the Gengar could tell its epicenter had left the city, he rose and whispered, "It's time."

Ozul took a few moments to mentally steel himself for what was inevitably about to come, shifting his tense gaze toward the open ocean in the direction where he knew Emerald Paradise was located, along with its two present deities. His eyes narrowed as he disappeared with a wisp of purple smoke.

The Gengar reappeared atop a large flowing river flanked by two imposing cliffs that split a lush forest somewhere in the southwest of the Kanto region, right in front of the ruins of a stone temple carved into the face of one of the cliffs. Ozul wistfully contemplated the ruins, silently paying his respects while reminiscing of the once glorious past of the kingdom of Pokémopolis—once a close ally of the kingdom of Pokélantis.

Ozul flew ahead and phased through the rock walls, entering the temple's structure and arriving into one of its many decayed rooms which only seemed to remain standing by pure miracle. His eyes glowed dimly as he psychically levitated two of the oddly-shaped artifacts in the room and carried them out along with him.

Ozul held the dark device and the unearthly urn up, one in each of his spectral hands. "Brave warriors of Pokémopolis and Pokélantis, arise!"

The two items began to glow with a crimson light and suddenly erupted in a violent torrent of energy that spread dauntingly throughout the canyon, materializing into two towering forms that dwarfed the stone walls at their sides and the river below. The first figure, a titanic Gengar with frightening black runes marked all over his body, let out an ethereal roar that seemed to thunder across different dimensions.

The other figure, an Alakazam of equally massive proportions and with similar black markings drawn all over his monstrous body, immediately spun about and uttered an aggressive battle cry. He lifted both of his massive spoons and held them pointed at the Gengar in a menacing manner.

"Stop it," Ozul ordered firmly, causing both titans to stop and look at him in confusion.

The Gengar smirked wickedly and reached at Ozul with a large clawed hand, intent on absorbing the far smaller Gengar into himself for power.

Ozul's eyes flashed briefly, causing two small crystal orbs to materialize next to him. Another flash of his eyes caused both orbs to shatter loudly, releasing two streaks of white light that swiftly flowed to the two released titans.

The two colossal Pokémon froze on the spot as the energy spread through them and seemed to seep into their very beings. Their pupils shrank ever so slightly as life and sentience sparkled within their gazes, and a gush of memories of a life long left behind coursed through their minds. Once their minds had settled down, the two titans' attention immediately focused on the smaller Gengar. "What does our King command?" the Gengar asked reverently in a deep and rumbling voice.

"It's time for war," Ozul answered simply.

The Alakazam bowed respectfully. "Understood. We will fight to the end for our King."

Ozul glanced at the temple ruins, taking note of the last remaining artifact and its sole occupant. "Assimilate him," he ordered. "You will need as much power as you can get for the coming fight. There is no point in leaving one here for Legendaries to find."

The Gengar grinned darkly and took several heavy steps toward the diminutive temple. He reached down and wrapped his shadowy claws around the bell-like stone paintbrush resting atop its entrance. Immediately, crackling purple energy surrounded the giant artifact and rushed up the Gengar's arm. A brief and faint scream that swiftly faded into deathly silence was the sole response from its occupant.

Gengar's body tensed as an immense rush of power coursed through him. "Yes!" he shouted ecstatically as the black markings on his body glowed intensely and his body grew even larger as the giant Jigglypuff's power and life flowed into him, causing him to tower even over the colossal Alakazam next to him and over the entirety of the forest surrounding the area. "Who are we fighting?" he asked in a booming voice.

Ozul gave him a steely and unintimidated stare. "Does it matter?"

"…No," the Gengar answered after a moment's thought.

"Good." Ozul's eyes began to glow as he held both of his arms up. "One last thing." In his left hand, a vibrant emerald-green orb materialized into existence. At the same time, a jagged grey stone with a red and blue sigil within it slowly oozed out of his right hand until it rested on top of it.

Ozul levitated the Gengarite and pressed it to the colossal ghost-type's body, causing him to let out a piercing shriek as the Mega Stone sank into his body and released a potent flash of blinding rainbow light that engulfed its body. The light muddled into a thick shroud of scarlet energy with such intensity that the sky and forest were stained in a blood-red afterglow.

As his body morphed into its mega evolved form, the giant Gengar let out a thundering roar with such power that an earthquake rattled the forest, causing large chunks of the canyon walls to cave in and collapse all around them. The thick veil of energy abruptly detonated and released a potent shockwave that tore a huge crater in the land and blasted away a large section of the canyon's walls, uprooted hundreds of nearby trees, and diverted the river's course with its devastating surge.

The titanic Mega Gengar set down its two new front appendages and grinned sinisterly. The runes tattooed throughout its body glowed an eerie purple as they strained to contain the beast's immense power. "So much power! I am invincible!"

"No, you're not." Ozul calmly floated to the beast's face, whose eyes were now far larger than his entire body. "Be careful, for your opponents will be mighty." Ozul lifted the emerald-green orb on his left hand and slammed it straight into the pupil of the Mega Gengar's third eye. The orb sank into the ghost's forehead eye, tainting it with a deep green hue of energy. "This is the Jade Orb. Use it wisely." Ozul flew back and psychically filled in the details of their assignment into the two titans' minds. "Now, come."

The Alakazam's eyes glowed, prompting the three of them to teleport away in a powerful flash of psychic energy, leaving a scarred crater in the middle of the forest and everything unnervingly silent.

Ozul reappeared alone in a pitch-black void. His body immediately turned translucent to phase through solid objects, lest the immense pressures of the ocean's depths crush him. The Gengar moved ahead and stopped before a large rock formation on the seafloor. He looked at the formation intently, carefully looking for two distinct stones among the hundreds upon hundreds that lined the underwater structure. The moment Ozul finally noticed them, he tapped them while releasing a small burst of ghostly energy. "Arise."

The two stones flared with red light and burst open in a fierce maelstrom of energy. An underwater tremor rumbled through the area, causing rock formations to collapse in the unseen darkness as the red lights expanded into a pair of gargantuan luminescent forms that swiftly solidified into a Gyarados and a Feraligatr, both covered in the same runic black markings as the previous two titans. The two water-types let out a pair of ferocious roars that caused the water to vibrate uncannily across the depths, scaring nearby Pokémon into hiding.

Before the two titans could turn on each other, Ozul raised both of his hands and materialized a pair of crystal spheres, which instantly shattered upon contact with the ocean's immense pressure. The two bursts of light that emanated from them flowed toward the two titans and crept into them. The water-types spasmed for a moment as the light seeped into their minds, allowing sentience and life to form in their once-empty eyes.

"Our King calls…" the Gyarados growled in a deep and monstrous voice.

"Indeed," Ozul replied with a curt nod.

Several miles above on the ocean's surface, the giant Alakazam's eyes glowed, causing the two awakened monsters to be teleported away.

Ozul teleported soon after, reappearing at Izabe Island, located on Hoenn's eastern coast. He swiftly made his way over to Izabe lake, where he spotted a mostly-submerged giant stone Poké Ball. The ghost-type tapped the sphere, causing it to glow with a veil of red energy, and then dived into the lake's water, where he found a similar giant stone Poké Ball on the lake floor, almost completely buried by sediment. Ozul tapped it as well, and then said in a commanding voice, "Arise."

The water on the surface churned violently as the pair of giant stone Poké Balls detonated in a flurry of crimson energy, causing the lake's water to split in half and overflow its banks as two gigantic forms materialized in it.

As with the previous two encounters, Ozul formed two crystal spheres and shattered them, causing two streaks of light to surge forth into the two newly-formed titans, a gigantic rune-covered Claydol and Kabutops. The two recoiled as a gush of memories from a long-lost life filled them, causing them to freeze for a moment and then look at Ozul respectfully.

"What does our King command?" Claydol asked dutifully.

"For you to battle," Ozul answered. His eyes glowed as he psychically filled in all the details for the two titans. "Let's go."

"Understood." Claydol's eight eyes glowed in a bright shade of blue light. Immediately, all three were teleported away, leaving the disturbed lake to slowly settle down into unnerving calmness once more.

Ozul, along with the titanic Kabutops and Claydol, reappeared on the same cliff where he had been overlooking the powerful ward protecting Latias and Latios earlier. Already waiting for him were the immense Feraligatr, Gyarados, Alakazam, and Mega Gengar. Along with them, atop the cliff's face, was a certain sinister spirit along with his golden staff, overlooking the ward cautiously.

"We're ready, my King," Ozul announced as he levitated to the spirit's side and bowed loyally.

"Well done, Ozul, well done," Azrael praised off-handedly. "It's time."

"Are you truly sure you want to go through with this, my king?" Ozul asked. "I'm sure you're aware of the risks involved." His expression turned a tad somber. "And the consequences of failure. I just visited Pokémopolis. It brought back… unpleasant memories of Pokélantis."

"I am." Azrael remained silent for a moment. "Leave. You cannot be discovered yet. I hope you don't return to find a celebration of my capture."

"Understood." Ozul turned to face the six awaiting monsters. "Two Legendaries will come to confront us. Stop them at all costs. Do not underestimate them." The Gengar gave his king a last contemplating gaze and then teleported away with a wisp of purple smoke.

The colossal Feraligatr, Gyarados, Claydol, Kabutops, and Alakazam turned and lumbered toward the open seas, their movements causing the cliffside to quake and their contact with the water kicking up large waves that battered the nearby beaches.

"It will be done, my king," the Mega Gengar said reverently. As he watched the others leave, the ghost-type opened his mouth and formed a concentrated blob of crackling shadows within it. The monstrous Gengar let out a ghastly laugh and fired the Shadow Ball toward the protective shield in the distance. The moment the purple sphere crashed into it, a powerful rippling shockwave emanated from the ensuing blast and shattered the ward into nothingness.

The peaceful visage of a resting black dragoness disappeared in an instant. With her teeth bared ferociously, a pair of yellow eyes snapped open and a harrowing growl that made the sky itself rumble with the unbound power of an enraged goddess thundered throughout the region.

Chapter End

Author Notes: And that concludes the chapter! Looks like things are heating up! I hope you all had fun reading it! And, lastly, don't forget to leave a REVIEW with your thoughts! I love to hear them!