Episode 254: Ben Blaze
Before we begin this chapter, I thought I shall announce that another OC will be introduced, connected to Sora's family, especially his father, and Sora will know him from his childhood, so he'll be based off of Obi-Wan Kenobi, so enjoy!
A whole day has passed since meeting Zell. Ever since he showed up Sora and Kairi practiced with their skills with their Keyblades just in case he showed up again. There was also the matter if Organization XIII and Vanitas to consider. The same can be said with the Heartless, Nobodies, and the Unversed. As the days have passed by, Sora and Kairi decided to take a small break from their training and go for a stretch.
"Kairi, you won't be jealous if I tag a long with Sora for a bit?" Lisia asked.
"Not at all, Lisia. I trust you one hundred percent. We can meet back here in a little while," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Okay, we'll see you later, Kairi," Sora said.
"Be careful, Sora," Kairi said.
"You do the same thing, Kairi," Sora said. He and Kairi gave each other a loving kiss before going their separate ways.
Kairi and Angel kept on walking down the path, looking for a pond to fill their canteens with water in case they were thirsty. As they kept looking around, they found something they didn't expect to find. It looked like an old temple.
"Huh? How long has this been here?" Kairi asked.
"Eevee?" Angel asked.
"Maybe we should have a look. Just for curiosity sake," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel agreed.
Kairi and Angel stepped inside the temple and she looked around in it. The inside of the temple was filled with some old statues, shaped like some sort of Pokémon. Kairi couldn't tell what kind it was since it was almost in pieces. She and Angel kept looking around in the temple, and they saw some old pottery shattered on the floor. Just when they were about to keep going, they heard something coming.
"Hello? Is somebody there?" Kairi asked. She didn't get an answer, so she summoned her Keyblade and held it tight. "Okay, whoever or whatever you are, show yourself now! I'm armed and I will use it to defend myself!"
"Eevee," Angel said.
Kairi and Angel prepared to engage whatever it was. But as it turns out, it's only a Pokémon. Kairi dismissed her Keyblade when she and Angel saw it. It is a small Pokémon that resembles a tan figurine made out of clay or mud. There are arching, red markings over its eyes, which usually appear closed. A red stripe encircles its body, and forms a ring on its belly. It has flat appendages that resemble arms. A spike protrudes from the top of its head and another, smaller spike under its body acts as its foot.
"A Pokémon?" Kairi asked. She took out her Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Baltoy, the Clay Doll Pokémon
Type: Ground/Psychic
Baltoy moves around by spinning like a top. Baltoy are known to make their homes in ancient ruins. It is said that Baltoy has lived with humans since the ancient days.
"Makes sense to me since we are in a temple after all," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel agreed.
"It is a cute Pokémon. How about it, Angel? How about we catch that Baltoy?" Kairi asked.
"Vee," Angel nodded.
"Go get it," Kairi said, stepping in to battle against the Clay Doll Pokémon. Baltoy starts things up by spinning around like a top. "It's using Rapid Spin! Angel! Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Angel dodged Baltoy's attack just by using her speed. "Use Swift!" Angel fired Swift, landing a hit onto Baltoy. Baltoy fights back by using a Psybeam, hitting Angel on the mark. She ends up being confused by Baltoy's Psybeam. "Angel, try to snap out of it!" Baltoy spins around again and lands a hit onto her. Baltoy then forces rocks to erupt and struck Angel, sending her flying. Kairi jumped up to catch her. "I got you, Angel!" She lands right on her feet. "Are you okay, Angel?"
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Take a rest for right now, Angel. You've earned it," Kairi said. She took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Surskit!" Her Pokéball opened and Surskit came on out to battle. Baltoy makes rocks erupt from the ground again. "Baltoy's using Rock Tomb again! Surskit! Dodge it and use Bubble!" Surskit dodged Baltoy's attack and blew bubbles right at Baltoy, dealing some damage. "Wrap it up with Water Gun!" Surskit fired Water Gun, landing a hit onto Baltoy, knocking it out. Kairi took out a Pokéball and threw it. Baltoy flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Kairi's Pokémon Box goes off asking her if she wants to keep Baltoy with her. She chose to send Baltoy to Professor Oak's lab. "Good work, Surskit."
"Surskit, Surskit," Surskit said. Kairi took out Surskit Pokéball and called her back inside. Kairi summoned her Keyblade and casts her cure spell on Angel to heal her.
"Does that feel better, Angel?" Kairi asked.
"Vee," Angel nodded.
"Good. Come on. Let's go back outside and see if we can find that pond," Kairi said.
With that said, Kairi and Angel went back the way they went to the entrance of the temple.
Meanwhile, Sora, Lisia, and Pikachu looked around for any signs of Vanitas, the Organization, the Heartless, the Nobodies, the Unversed, or Zell. Sora had his Keyblade out just in case.
"No signs of the Zell, Vanitas, the Organization or anything," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"After being tracked down by Zell, it's hard to blame you for being so jumpy. I'd be jumpy, too, if I had to go through that constantly," Lisia said. Pikachu's ears then perked up when he heard something.
"Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"What's wrong, Pikachu? You hear something?" Sora asked.
"Pika," Pikachu nodded. He got off of Sora's shoulders as Sora held his Keyblade.
"Get behind me, Lisia," Sora said. Not needing to be told twice, she did exactly that. What came out of the shrubs near them was only a Duskull, much to their releif.
"It's only a Duskull," Sora said, dismissing his Keyblade. He took out his Rotom Phone to scan it.
Duskull, the Requiem Pokémon
Type: Ghost
Duskull can pass through the thickest of walls. When it sets its next prey, it will doggedly pursue its prey until dawn.
"It's way past your bed time, Duskull," Sora pointed out.
"Skull," Duskull said. The Requiem Pokémon attacked with a Shadow Ball. Sora, Lisia, and Pikachu ducked their heads to dodge.
"Okay, that was plain rude," Sora hissed. He turned to Pikachu. "Okay, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired Thunderbolt right at Duskull, dealing some heavy damage. Duskull then fired another Shadow Ball right at the Mouse Pokémon to land a hit. "Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Pikachu forms a ball of electricity and lands a hit onto Duskull. The Requiem Pokémon was knocked out, so Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Duskull flowed inside and the Pokéball starts to wobble around and around. Stars swirls around Duskull to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box starts going off asking him if he wants to keep Duskull with him. He chose to send Duskull over to Professor Oak's lab. "And that takes care of that." He was wrong when a Shuppet came and attacked with a Night Shade. "What the?!"
"It's a Shuppet," Lisia said. Sora took out his Rotom Phone again to scan it.
Shuppet, the Puppet Pokémon
Type: Ghost
Shuppet loves feelings of envy and anger. If a person has feelings of vengeance, swarms of Shuppet will appear and line up beneath the eaves of the person's home.
"Well, you should have been here yesterday, because Zell has plenty of angry feelings," Sora said.
"Shuppet!" Shuppet said as it attacked with a Night Shade.
"Hey, what's the deal?!" Sora exclaimed.
"Sora, calm down! Your phone just said Shuppet feeds on a person's anger. You're only feeding your Shuppet by getting mad," Lisia said.
"You're right. Gotta remain calm," Sora said. He turned to Pikachu again. "You still good to go?"
"Chu," Pikachu nodded.
"Okay, go get it!" Sora said. Pikachu stepped in again as Shuppet attacked with a Night Shade. "Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Pikachu jumped up into the air and swings his tail at the Puppet Pokémon. Pikachu lands a hit onto it. Shuppet then attacked with Feint Attack and lands a hit onto Pikachu. "Okay, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired Thunderbolt right at Shuppet, landing a hit. Shuppet lands on the ground, beaten as Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Shuppet flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Shuppet with him. He chose to send Shuppet over to Professor Oak's lab. "Another Ghost-type Pokémon in the bag."
"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu said.
"If Kairi were here with us, she would praise you for making two successful catches," Lisia said.
"Speaking of which, we should head on back. Kairi is probably waiting for us by now," Sora said. Pikachu's ears perked up.
"Pi?" Pikachu asked.
"Pikachu, what's wrong now?" Sora asked. Pikachu got off of Sora's shoulder and went on ahead of him. "Wait up, Pikachu!" Sora and Lisia followed Pikachu right until he stopped at a hill. "What's up with you, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu points down. Sora looked down, so he got out a pair of binoculars he bought some days ago. He looked into them.
"I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary, must be a-" Sora paused when he spotted a Dusk down below. "Wait a minute! There are Nobodies down there! I see one of them now!" Sora said. Just then, a Berserker appeared and attacked. Sora summoned his Keyblade and clashed with the Berserker's weapon. "Lisia, run! Go get Kairi!"
"Okay!" Lisia said, taking off.
Sora attempts to fight off the Nobody, but several other Berserkers appeared and knocked him out. Pikachu tried to help him, but one swatted him off like a fly, so he lands in a nearby bush. The Berserkers were about to finish off Sora when a man appeared before them. He has green eyes, white hair and a white beard. He wore a black shirt, black pants, and gray shoes. He has a symbol of fire on his belt buckle. He is holding a Keyblade that is similar to the Master's Defense. Like the Master's Defense, it has a smooth, cylindrical, but it has a red shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The grip itself is somewhat unique in that, while most Keyblade grips are cylindrical, its grip is squared. This, in conjunction with the fact that the Keyblade's teeth are in the shape of an "E", its initial wielder, being an anagram of "Square". Its Keychain is made of several simple chain links and its token is the same fire symbol. This Keyblade shall be known as the Magnus Storm.
Pikachu knew he's a Keyblade wielder, so he uses the Magnus Storm to ward off the Berserkers and then destroyed the last of them. Once the Nobodies were dealt with, he heads over to the unconscious Sora and placed his hand on his forehead. He looked at the Kingdom Key and he knew a Keyblade wielder when he saw one. Hearing Pikachu hiding in the bushes, he turned to look at the bushes and spots the Mouse Pokémon. He smiled a big smile.
"Hello there," the man greeted.
"Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"Come here, my little friend. Don't be afraid," the man said.
"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu said, concerned for Sora.
"Oh, don't worry, he'll be alright," the man assured. Sora then regains consciousness as he sits back up, but the man helps him. "Rest easy, son. You had a busy day. You're fortunate to be in one piece."
Sora recognized his voice and he opened his eyes when he saw the man.
"Ben? Ben Blaze? Am I glad to see you!" Sora exclaimed happily.
"And I am glad to see you as well, young Sora," Ben said. He held up the Kingdom Key. "I believe this belongs to you." Sora took his Keyblade and dismissed it. "Tell me, what brings you out here in the Hoenn region?"
"Well, my friends and I are kind of on a mission to keep our eyes opened for some Keyblade wielders. Master Rei is somewhere in Hoenn along with us," Sora explained.
"Rei is here? And she's your master? I see," Ben said.
"Sora!" Kairi's voice shouted. Sora, Ben, and Pikachu turned to see the girls run up to Sora. Kairi wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Lisia told me what happened. I'm so glad you're okay."
"Yeah, thanks to him," Sora said, gesturing to Ben.
"Who's he?" Lisia asked.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ben Blaze," Ben introduced himself.
"Ben knew my parents and my uncle back when they were little kids. Ben, this is Lisia, she's our traveling companion, and this is Kairi, my girlfriend, and that Eevee is her partner, Angel. And you already met my Pikachu," Sora introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, and thank you for showing up when you did, Mr. Blaze," Kairi said.
"Please, Ben. And you are welcome, Kairi," Ben said. He pets Pikachu on the head. "I also see you're a Pokémon Trainer. I remember you were always fond of Pokémon."
"Yeah, Kairi and I have been to many places and seen, battled, and caught many kinds of Pokémon. I even caught a Duskull and a Shuppet before running into you," Sora said.
"Really? Well, I caught a Baltoy from a nearby temple," Kairi said. Ben chuckled.
"That is wonderful to hear. And are you participating in the Hoenn Pokémon League, Sora?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, and I'm also taking part of the Battle Frontier here in Hoenn, too; and Kairi is participating in Pokémon Contests," Sora said.
"And how many Gym Badges have you won so far?" Ben asked.
"Just three," Sora said, showing Ben his Gym Badges.
"A Stone Badge, a Knuckle Badge, and a Dynamo Badge. You only need five more to go," Ben said with a smile. "If your father were alive, he would have been proud of you." Sora smiled.
"Thanks, Ben," Sora said.
"How about we head back to camp? I'm sure we could use a rest after the excitement we had," Lisia said.
"I agree. I believe that the Nobodies will be back, and they'll be in greater numbers," Ben said.
Once they got back to their camp, Sora, Kairi, and Lisia filled Ben in about their past experiences and about their run-in with Organization XIII, Vanitas, and Zell. Ben was disturbed that there are other Keyblade wielders, but uses the Keyblade for darkness instead of light.
"And that's about it," Sora concluded.
"You never have a dull moment, Sora. Neither did I or your father when we were your age," Ben said. "I was expecting you to retrieve your Keyblade and your training when you are a tad older. But some things cannot be controlled."
"Just who did you learn the ways of the Keyblade from?" Kairi asked.
"It was from a Keyblade Master named Quincy Jin. He was one of the wisest men Kaito and I have ever met. He was a friend of Kaito's father. He treated us both like we were his sons. It was like Kaito had two fathers. He passed away before Kaito and Delia were married. I missed Quincy every day since his passing. The same can be said for Kaito," Ben said.
"Ben, do you know anything about Vanitas, like who he is and where he came from?" Sora asked.
"I'm afraid I don't, Sora. What I do know is that the Unversed are too dangerous to be left alone. The same can be said with the Heartless, the Organization, and the Nobodies. But I will not forgive them for targeting you, Sora. But I am glad you were able to hold them off," Ben said.
"Yeah, but I didn't do it alone. I had Kairi right at my side. And my other friends with me, too," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Good for you, Sora. You can never be alone as long as you have good friends right on your side," Ben said, smiling.
That night, Ben was up late as Sora, Kairi, Lisia, and the Pokémon were sound asleep.
"Hello, Ben," a familiar voice spoke. Ben turned to see Kaito's ghost. He was surprised when he saw him.
"Kaito?! Is it you?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, it's me. The beard is a new one on me. It doesn't suit you one bit. Looks like a white shag carpet on your chin," Kaito said. Ben laughed.
"There's no denying it is you, old friend. You never lost your sense of humor," Ben said. "But how is it possible that you're here? You're dead. You've been dead for years."
"Yes, I am dead, Ben. But it doesn't mean I'm gone for good. I spoke with Master Quincy the other day. He wanted me to tell you he said hi," Kaito said.
"You spoke with Master Quincy?" Ben asked.
"Yeah. He knows you missed him very much. He missed us, too. And he wasn't the only one. I missed you, too," Ben said.
"And I missed you, Kaito. Your son has grown into a fine boy. And I can say the same for your daughter when I see her," Ben said.
"You were always kind, Ben. Your heart was always pure," Kaito said.
"It's easy to have kindness with a friend like you. Rei felt the same way," Ben said.
"I know that. I just wanted to speak with you again, and I'm glad we had this talk," Kaito said.
"Me too, Kaito," Ben said. A tear slides down Ben's cheek. "I had always hoped I would see you again, even in my dreams."
"I'll always be close to you and the others, no matter what. Now I have to go, but I won't be far," Kaito said.
"I know, Kaito. Don't be a stranger," Ben said as Kaito vanished. Ben smiled as some tears slides down his cheeks, happy to see his friend again, despite being dead. He didn't care if it was a dream or not.
On the next morning, Ben stood before Sora, Kairi, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel.
"Where will you be going, Ben?" Sora asked.
"I'll be looking for Rei and tell her how proud I am of her teaching you. And I'm proud of you, Sora, Kairi," Ben said, placing each hand on Sora and Kairi's shoulder. "I'll meet up with you soon."
"Just keep in touch, Ben," Kairi said.
"I will," Ben said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, and Lisia said their goodbyes to Ben as he went his own way as Sora, Kairi, Lisia, Pikachu, and Angel continued on their way to Fallarbor Town for Kairi's upcoming Pokémon Contest and Sora's battle in the Battle Arena. The journey continues on.