"Chosen Children…"
Rex, Dylan, Rose, Mina, Zack, and Luke widened their eyes. They were not in the room of the inn where they had gone to sleep, but were… floating in the space? It felt strangely unreal like in any dream, but at the same time it felt real. In front of them, a pink luminous ball appeared inside which the shadow of a somewhat small creature with a long tail was projected.
"That is…?" Zack asked recognizing that shadow.
Then, the shadow disappeared and they found nothing more and nothing less than Mew.
"Mew!" they all yelled in surprise.
"Hello!" the little one greeted them, "So you are the chosen ones… I see, Arceus was right: you have great potential"
"Hey?" Mina asked, "Arceus? did he choose us?
"Yes, he told me everything… and I must tell you too…"
All the PokeDestined fell silent to listen intently to Mew.
"The world we live in is going through a crisis," Mew told them, creating an energy sphere that displayed an image of a great dark storm.
"That happened in the flight race!" Luke mentioned, "And on the journey to Azurview!"
"But the stormy sky is only a fragment of what is really happening…" Mew mentioned changing the image. Now, the eruption of a volcano appeared next to an earthquake; then, it changed to show an earthquake in a forest full of Pokemon; and later, a snowy forest, which was beginning to notice a melting.
Rose gasped at what was happening, the others seemed calmer, but their faces showed concern for the inhabitants. Mew continued:
"Disasters happen again and Pokemon go crazy for them. However, I think it is due to the presence of some strange entities…"
"The atoms of darkness?" Rex asked, "We've seen those things come out of some possessed Pokemon."
"They're not exactly possessed. It seems more like they are in a deep sleep that gets them out of control, while they are in that state, they are not aware of what they are doing "
"More like a nightmare…" Dylan commented.
"That's what I was getting at," Mew said, "I think it might be someone who's already given a human-turned-Pokemon trouble, like you guys. It also caused a destruction of time and almost a warping of space."
"Time and space..." Rex said thinking about it very clearly, "But the Pokemon that can do that are..."
"Dialga and Palkia, yes. But they have specific places from which their dimension is accessed or even where they can manipulate and control the Pokemon world without leaving it. It's those places that worry me: the Tower of Time and the Space Rift. They may have been desecrated."
"Desecrated?" Rose asked, "By whom?"
"Like I said, someone who also gave trouble to a chosen child like you. His name is Darkai: the Pokemon of nightmares. He is the main suspect."
"Aren't there many Darkai in the world?" Mina asked.
"Darkai is a legend that brought the destruction of time. But his plans to bring about a world of infinite darkness were reversed with the return in time of a chosen child. Then, he tried to warp space, but was again stopped by him. In his last battle, he tried to escape through a dimensional hole, but Palkia got in the way and warped the hole, making him disappear and losing his memory."
"If he lost his memory, he shouldn't be a danger, then," Rose commented.
"Unless I got it back," Rex concluded, "Could it be that, Mew?"
"I'm afraid so. Because of that, and now that that human is missing, he may have restarted his plan. I need you to go and secure the Tower of Time in the Hidden Land."
The chosen children looked at each other: now they had a new mission that they did not hesitate to accept. However, there was still a question mark.
"Where is the Hidden Land?" Luke asked.
"I can't tell you the way to get there" Mew told them, "But I know who can help you with that: the Wigglytuff's Pokeguild. They met the chosen child and his human companion, and also how they both went to the Hidden Land. Travel East, to a Sharpedo-shaped cliff, there you will reach the Treasure Village and the Pokeguild is on the hill behind the village…"
As he spoke to them, the atmosphere faded.
"Time is running out..." Mew mentioned, "But you should know that you must be careful: the journey from here will be much more complicated since darkness has spread over the Pokemon that live in this direction and there will also be a few more dangers, such as Pokemon enraged by the changes that occur: make them see reason "
"Okay, we promise" Rex said, supported by all of his friends.
The atmosphere of the dreams disappeared and then the kids woke up in that inn where they had gone to sleep.
"Everyone saw it, right?" Mina asked.
"Yes, the trip is more difficult than it seemed..." Zack commented, "Darkai, the Tower of Time, the Hidden Land, the Pokeguild... many places to face and sure opponents to defeat"
"Do you really think we can deal with that?" Rose asked doubtfully.
Rex got up.
"I have to admit that I was scared yesterday. I could never climb more than two floors because of my fear of heights," he said, "But I still want to help this world. That's my wish"
The rest of the kids looked at each other before giving a significant round of applause that they too were willing to continue the adventure. Then, more willing than ever, they all stood up and put their paws together as a team.
"Team Poke-Destiny!" they all shouted together.
After such a demonstration of unity, they went down to the entrance of the inn. There, Mrs. Swanna together with her assistant Dedenne, had prepared a breakfast of some bread, milk and berries for them. The kids admitted that while the hostel they stayed in was humble, it had excellent service and even better food than any hotel any other child in their world had ever visited. When they were done, they thanked Swanna and Dedenne for it, and unexpectedly, they didn't have to include it in the bill.
Returning to the square, they bought some supplies with the Keckleon brothers (fruits and berries) and headed out of the city, where there was a map of what would await them next.
"It will be hard to remember these points," Rose commented, "couldn't we have a copy of the map?"
"Well, I don't have anything to make one with," Dylan declared, "Remember we don't even have pockets…"
"So, do you already have a new direction?" asked a voice behind them.
The kids turned and saw Alakazam along with Charizard and Tyranitar.
"Yes, we should go to the Pokeguild and then to the Hidden Land" Rex told them, "We should go see Dialga"
"Okay, then…" Alakazam said as he handed them a scroll, which was the same map as the one beside him, "You'll need something to guide you with. Oh, and this too…"
He handed them a plaque that had the letters of 'Rescue Team' engraved on it.
"Rescue team?" Zack asked as he watched, "But we're not rescuers."
"Your actions can say more than your words" Tyranitar told them, "Besides, you should keep it because then no one can deny that you are there to help"
"Well, that sounds like a good idea," Rose commented and she tossed it into the backpack next to the map, "Thank you very much."
"Hey, kid… Rex, right?" Charizard told him, "I hope you get stronger as I still think you have a lot of hidden potential. And when you do, we'll have our revenge."
"Count on it, I'll get over this fear of heights!" Rex replied, encouraged.
So, with everything in place, the PokeDestined headed out of Azurview toward their next destination. However, as they watched them leave, Tyranitar asked his partner Charizard:
"Why are you so sure that Charmander can give you a great battle?"
"Well, it's just a guess..." he replied, touching his head as a sign of being silly. However, Alakazam already had the same assumption as him:
"It's because of that mark, isn't it?" he asked.
"Well yes, although it seems strange to me... I've only seen that mark once... and it was in a battle that I never forgot in my youth..."