Episode 194: I Sea You
We open up to Clair leading the group to the Dragon's Den's entrance after they took their leave of the Pokémon Center after having a Gym battle against Clair. They entered the Dragon's Den, seeing it as a cave with a water path. Clair took them in by boat. They arrived to the center of the Dragon's Den and to what looks like a shrine located inside.
"Is that where he is?" Ethan asked.
"Yes. The Master is inside, waiting for you," Clair said. They all stepped out and entered the shrine. Clair bowed in respect to the elderly man sitting inside. He wore what looks like a samurai's armor. "Master, I have brought them as you requested."
"Thank you, Clair," the elderly man said. He looked at the Keyblade wielding Pokémon Trainers. "Come forward." They all obliged him and came closer. "I have known you would all arrive here one day." The group were a bit confused.
"You knew we would come?" Sora asked.
"Yes. The dragons have foretold your arrival. Recently, the dragons have sensed something I was not expecting; something the dragons have not expected to see after so long. A bright, shining light coming from each one of you," the Master said.
"A bright, shining light?" Ash asked.
"Yes. A light that is unlike any I have ever seen. I knew it had to be connected to the shadow creatures that I have been hearing whispers about," the Master said. Sora and his friends knew that he had to be talking about the Heartless. "It was said that the ones with a strong connection with the light would have strong ties with not only human beings, but with Pokémon as well. I wanted to see for myself."
"Um," Sora could only said.
"Come. We must go see him," the Master said.
"See who?" Kairi asked.
"Eevee?" Angel asked.
"You will see," the Master said. The Master led the group to a secret passage, going underground. They follow him down below. They saw all sort of dragon statues. They came to what looks like a chamber in the center. "My Lord, I have brought them before you as you requested." A sound of flapping wings can be heard in the distance. The flapping grew louder, knowing something was coming closer. They were in for a big surprise when they saw large black dragon. It has golden eyes, large wings, a silver underbelly and a long whip-like tail. It has has crown-like horns on its head. Togepi hid in his shell as the Pichu hid behind Angel, shaking in fear. "You stand before the king of all dragons, Bahamut."
"So you're the ones. The new generation of Keyblade wielders," Bahamut said. Sora and his friends were surprised by what he said.
"How did you know?" Sora asked.
"I have ways of knowing. And I know of your history," Bahamut said.
"That's one way to put it," Riku said under his breath.
"I wouldn't be making comments under your breath, Riku," Kairi said.
"If you know so much about us, then would mind if you share what you know about the Heartless, the Nobodies, and maybe about Organization XIII?" Sora asked.
"If you don't mind," Leaf added.
"As you know, there is darkness in all hearts, correct?" Bahamut asked. Everyone nodded. "Darkness has begun to grow as humans have begun to fight among themselves. The same for any other creature. This included the Pokémon themselves. The darkness eventually grew even more powerful, eventually giving birth to the Heartless. The same shall be said for the Nobodies as a being with a strong heart, regardless if they are evil or good, transforms into a Heartless, the bodies they leave behind begins to have a will of its own. There were those who began to think they shall command the Heartless, but alas, they were the victims of their own downfall as they became easy prey for the Heartless. Those of the empire, Palamecia were no exception. The Emperor was no fool, since he was fully aware of the Heartless."
"But Palamecia was still defeated," Sora said.
"Indeed. Even with this knowledge, the Palamecian Empire has still fallen. The Heartless were among the war that nearly engulfed the world into eternal darkness. The Heartless are darkness granted monster form, and as long as darkness exists, so shall they. When Palamecia has fallen, the Heartless were not destroyed, but they were sealed away in the realm of darkness. That was until a human has undone the seal and they were free to spread their evil once more," Bahamut said.
"And that's when we came in," Sora said.
"Yes. This was done by a human named Ansem, whom was doing research on the Heartless. But his curiosity has begun to bring chaos, to not only to this world, but several others. The Heartless were spreading like a plague. Ansem grew mad with power and he became consumed by the darkness itself. Ansem manipulated villains from different worlds into gathering 7 hearts of pure light with hopes of unlocking the door to darkness," Bahamut said.
"Ganondorf and the others," Sora said.
"But we did stop them," Kairi said.
"Yes, but despite that, Ansem still had what he needed to open the door to darkness. That was until the use of Keyblades, each born from the realms of light and darkness that closed the door to darkness once more," Bahamut said.
"That was when we fought Ansem," Ethan pointed out.
"Yeah. Good thing we stopped him," Sora said.
"Perhaps, but that was only the beginning," Bahamut said. Everyone all looked at the dragon. "There is still much to be done."
"What do you mean?" Kris asked.
"Other than you, there are still those who have the potential to wield the Keyblade," Bahamut said.
"You mean there are others just like us? If there are, then do you know who it is?" Ethan asked.
"I do, but I cannot answer. You must discover this for yourselves. And they shall be valuable allies for you when you battle the forces of darkness and protect the heart of all of existence: Kingdom Hearts," Bahamut said.
"So what you're saying is, we gotta find out who has a Keyblade and who doesn't, and have them join up with us to fight against the Heartless," Sora said.
"That is correct. And that is all I can tell you. I leave the fate of the worlds in your hands," Bahamut said, taking his leave.
"You have a daunting task ahead of you," the Master said.
"Yeah, we do. If what Bahamut said is true, then we should keep our eyes opened for anyone holding a Keyblade, and that's if they have one," Sora said.
After their meeting with Bahamut, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Pikachu, Angel, Eevee, Togepi, Azurill, the Pichu, and Marill started to take their leave of Blackthorn City and started to make their way back towards New Bark Town. But before they do so, they decide to head for Cherrygrove City and head for the canal city of Alto Mare before doing so. It took them a few days to get from Blackthron City to
But meanwhile, there is trouble brewing. It started with the opening of a book. It takes place at night in a library in Cherrygrove City.
"This is it. This is the book I was reading," a feminine voice spoke.
"Are you sure?" A second feminine voice asked.
"Yes, it tells everything. All about Latios and Latias-" the first feminine voice said before being cut off.
"But also about the jewel, right?" The second feminine voice asked.
"Right, but the last chapter is what's really amazing," the first feminine voice said.
"What's in the last chapter?" The second feminine voice asked. Footsteps are heard.
"Shh. Hold on a sec," the first feminine voice said. The Footsteps grew louder. "Someone's coming." She closes the book
The two figures, both revealed to be a pair of young women are seen sneaking in a museum. They have brown eyes and wear red lipstick. One has short, lilac hair while the other's hair is blonde styled in large curly buns with a bang covering her left eye. They wore identical outfits which happens to be black midriff-baring tops and black pants. They wore arm-length gloves, so the one with the lilac has light purple with gold rings on her arms and neck as the blonde has silver rings on her arms and neck. The one with lilac hair has purple on her pants as the blonde has reddish-pink on her pants. They each have what looks like a heart with a hole in the middle.
The young women climbed up to the ladder to an opened window, but not before leaving behind a rose and a card with their symbols.
A security guard comes in, holding a flashlight.
"Somebody there?! Who's there?!" The security guard exclaimed. He didn't see anyone. The guard moves his flashlight and finds a rose and a kiss-marked card in the place of the book the girls were reading, indicating that they stole it. "What in the?"
The two young women make their escape off the rooftop of the building, revealed to be a library, they were stealing from and land in their getaway vehicle.
"Here," the lilac haired woman said as she hands over the book to her accomplice.
"Kay," the blonde said, taking the book. "Alright, so tell me what the last chapter's about, Oakley."
"It tells all about how to operate a machine. Something called the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare," Oakley said. The two thieves speed off and go off the road, prompting their car to turn into a jet. "It's amazing. According to that book, it's the most powerful weapon ever built."
"Oh, I'm not really interested in that. I care much more about that beautiful jewel," the blonde said.
"Well, it turns out you have to use the Soul Dew to power it, Annie," Oakley said.
"Why do they call it the Soul Dew?" Annie asked.
"They say it contains the soul of a Latios, and it looks like a giant dewdrop," Oakley said.
"Speaking of Latios, we have to remember to capture those Pokémon for Giovanni," Annie said.
"Oh, yeah. Right," Oakley said. Soon, both girls, revealed to be Team Rocket agents, reach their destination. "There it is."
"Looks nice, and so peaceful," Annie said.
"Not for long," Oakley said.
Over to the Cherrygrove City Pokémon Center, Sora, Kairi, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, and the Pokémon have come to the local beach. They sat on their beach blankets after laying them on the sand.
Unknown to the group, there are two pairs of eyes on them.
"You see what I see?" One of the figures asked in the shadows.
"I do. Humans and land Pokémon. This is the first time I have ever seen anything like them," the second figure said.
"They look like fun. Maybe we could play with them," the first figure said.
"Everyone, I've been thinking," Naminé said. Everyone looked at Naminé with a look on each of their faces.
"About what, Naminé?" Lyra asked
"Marill, Marill," Marill said.
"About what Bahamut told us. About there being other Keyblade wielders other than us," Naminé said.
"You know, I was thinking about it, too," Tracey said. "I mean, I'm the only one in the group who doesn't have a Keyblade, so Bahamut would know about the Keyblade, but how can you be certain about protecting Kingdom Hearts? And what exactly is Kingdom Hearts?"
"To be honest, I don't have the foggiest idea. But I think we heard Ansem mention it before the light shined Ansem away," Sora said.
"But he does have a point. Kingdom Hearts has to be protected, and we may need all the help we can get. He must know even nine Keyblade wielders wouldn't be enough, so maybe an army of Keyblade wielders," Ethan said.
"Ethan might have a point. Our enemies has an army of Heartless under their control. The same can be said with the Nobodies," Ash said.
"He's right. The best we can do is work together to put a stop to the Organization," Leaf said.
Everyone all agreed with Leaf, knowing how it was very important. Just then, the mysterious figures swam a little closer, revealing that they were both mermaids. One has blonde hair, blue eyes and a blue tail. She wore pink clam shells covering her chest. The other has red hair, viridian eyes, and a red tail. She wore blue clam shells covering her chest.
"You sure about this, sis?" The redhead mermaid asked.
"Sure I'm sure. This is our chance to actually look at humans up close. Aren't you the least bit curious?" The blonde mermaid asked.
"Not really, Clover. We were told as little children about how dangerous humans can be. Just like in the stories," the redhead mermaid said.
"You're such a worryfish, Anastasia. They don't so dangerous to me," Clover said.
"That's what they want you to think. They wait for us to let our guard down, and them- WHAM! We're hooked!" Anastasia said.
"Would you stop worrying. Nothing's going to happen. I'm going to swim over and you'll see there's nothing to worry about," Clover said, swimming over to the group.
"Clover, no! Are you crazy?" Anastasia asked. Clover swims even closer to the group as they were about to leave when Clover spoke up.
"Hi there!" Clover greeted. Sora and his friends looked around when they heard a voice.
"Who said that?" Sora asked.
"Over here!" Clover said sticking out of the water. She waved to the group. "Hi again!"
"Wha?" Sora asked.
"Who's she?" Lyra asked.
"No idea," Ethan said.
"What are you doing there? You live here in town?" Sora asked.
"No, I just swam over here from my home," Clover said.
"Your home?" Riku asked.
"Eevee?" Eevee asked.
"Must have been quite a swim," Sora said.
"Where did you come from?" Naminé asked.
"Oh, I come from here," Clover said, confusing the group.
"You just said that you don't live in the town," Tracey said.
"Just who are you?" Kairi asked.
"Oh, right, you want to know my name. My name's Clover. What are your names?" Clover asked.
"Well, I'm Sora, and this is Pikachu, my partner, and these two Pichu are his adoptive little brother and sister," Sora introduced.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Pichu," the Spiky-eared Pichu said.
"Pichu," the Shiny Pichu said.
"I'm Kairi, and this is Angel, and this is Togepi," Kairi introduced.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"I'm Riku, and this Eevee is my partner," Riku introduced.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
"My name is Naminé, and this is Azurill," Naminé introduced.
"Azu, Azurill," Azurill chirped.
"I'm Ash," Ash introduced himself.
"My name's Ethan," Ethan introduced himself.
"I'm Kris," Kris introduced herself.
"I'm Leaf," Leaf introduced herself.
"My name's Lyra, and this is Marill," Lyra introduced.
"Marill!" Marill said.
"And I'm Tracey Sketchit," Tracey introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you," Clover said.
"Likewise," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Just why are you all the way out there? Why not come a little closer?" Kairi suggested.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Oh, okay," Clover said. Anastasia was growing increasingly worried for Clover's safety. She swam closer to the group. "Is this batter?"
"How about you come all the way out of the water?" Sora asked, taking off his shoes. Once he was barefoot, he walked over to Clover. "Here, I'll even help you up." Clover giggled.
"You're really friendly, aren't you?" Clover asked. As he pulled Clover up, he saw a fishy half, much to his shock. The rest of the group shared his shock. "What's wrong?"
"Uh, Clover, you're wearing a very realistic costume, aren't you?" Sora asked.
"Costume? What do you mean?" Clover asked.
"I don't think it's a costume, Sora," Ash said.
"I think he's right. She's a real mermaid," Kris said with awe.
"But mermaids aren't real," Lyra said.
"Try telling that to her," Tracey said.
"Well, if dragons are real, then mermaids are, too," Ethan said.
"You mean you never seen a real mermaid before?" Clover asked.
"No," the group all said.
Anastasia couldn't wait any longer and swam over to her sister.
"Get away from my sister, you barbarians!" Anastasia yelled. Everyone saw her tail splashing about when she swam to rescue her.
"Another one!" Naminé exclaimed.
"Get away from my sister this minute or I'll do something nasty to you!" Anastasia threatened.
"It's okay, Anastasia. They're friendly, just like I said they are," Clover said.
"You mustn't be so trusting, Clover!" Anastasia argued.
"Wait a minute, we weren't trying anything! We thought she was just a swimmer! We didn't know she was a real mermaid!" Sora said.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Everyone, this is my sister, Anastasia. She's very protective of me. She was just worried something bad would happen," Clover said.
"Um, how about we go somewhere private just so we can talk," Sora said.
"Okay," Clover said. With that said, the group went with the mermaid sisters to a private area on the beach just so they can have a private conversation. "Well, I have some questions I would like to ask you, if you don't mind."
"I don't see anything wrong with that," Kairi said.
"You just have to ask," Tracey said.
"Okay, here are my questions. Why do humans walk on two legs? What kind of music do you humans listen to? What do humans eat? Is it true that humans have Pokémon fight each other? Is it over territory or food? Or is it for mates?" Clover asked. The group were caught off guard by the questions as Clover was bombarding them with all sorts of questions.
"You just have to ask," Sora said.
"Well, I wasn't expecting all of that," Tracey said.
"I would like to know, please?" Clover asked.
"Um, the thing is, we walk on two legs, because we were born with two legs. Different people listen to different kinds of music. Also, humans eat all kinds of food, depending on what they like. Also as for Pokémon battles, we have them battle each other to make the Pokémon stronger, and to make the bonds between Pokémon and their Trainers grow stronger," Sora said.
"Oh, how interesting," Clover said, captivated by what Sora said.
"Is she always like this?" Leaf asked.
"I can tell you stories," Anastasia said. She shook her head. "What am I saying? We shouldn't even be talking to them, Clover! You're going to get us into all sorts of trouble if mother catches us up here!"
"You mean, you're breaking the rules by being up here?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. It was all her idea to come up here, but her interest in humans has been a sickness she always had since we were little!" Anastasia said.
"You could tell us why you're forbidden to come to the surface," Kris said.
"Because our ancestors saw what humans are capable of many centuries ago. The humans attacked our ancestors without feeling any remorse for their actions! As children, we were told that humans are heartless, dangerous savages!" Anastasia said.
"Hey now, I'm not sure what scary story you were told, but not all of us are like that," Ash said.
"Yeah. I mean there are good people and bad people, but you can't just judge every human being just because of what happened to your ancestors," Sora said.
"We know, because we've met our share of bad people, and we gave them what they deserved out of it," Kairi said.
"I'm not convinced!" Anastasia said.
"Come on, Clover. If they're bad as you say they are, then shouldn't have they have harpooned us as soon as they saw us?" Clover asked.
"They may not have harpooned us, but don't you think they could be leading us into a trap? Why would they ask us to come to an isolated area, huh?" Anastasia asked.
"Because we don't want to draw some attention towards you," Sora said. The mermaid sisters looked at Sora. "I mean, if someone were to see you and maybe capture you, you'd be in trouble! The whole world would know that you exist, but we couldn't let that happen to you, because we'd be your friends." Anastasia didn't know how to argue that fact. She didn't know what to think.
Up above, Team Rocket is searching for the group from their hot air balloon. Meowth has managed to find them.
"Twerps, ho!" Meowth shouted.
"Well, isn't this nice? The twerps are having a nice day on the beach," James said.
"But it'll be a shame if someone were to ruin it for them," Jessie said. They snickered evilly. Jessie gets a rubber net ready to capture Pikachu with. "Lower us down, because I wanna be close enough to see their faces when they cry!"
"Lowering down," James said, lowering the balloon close enough, but unseen by the group. "You may fire when ready."
"And here goes!" Jessie said, throwing the net. Pikachu's senses kicked in and did a backflip jump and avoids the net completely. The mermaids were surprised by the sudden net showing up. Pikachu lands right in Sora's shoulders.
"That was close!" Sora said.
"Where did that net come from?" Ash asked.
"I just have one, good guess," Sora said with an annoyed tone.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie started.
"And make it double!" James added with a rhyme.
"And here we go," Sora said, still sounding annoyed.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime, Mime!"
"Team Rocket!" Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, and Tracey all exclaimed.
"Not you losers again!" Riku said.
"I could ask you what you want, but that'll be a dumb question to ask," Sora said.
"You know what we want! We want Pikachu!" James said.
"And we ain't leaving until we get him!" Meowth said.
"That Pokémon just spoke like a human!" Clover exclaimed happily.
"How is that even possible?" Anastasia asked.
"It's not that amazing," Ash deadpanned.
"When will you finally learn? Every time you try, you fail miserably!" Leaf asked.
"Yeah, make like a drum and beat it!" Lyra said.
"Marill!" Marill added.
"Not after we beat you!" Jessie said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Arbok!"
"Get in there, Victreebel!" James called out as he also took out a Pokéball and threw it.
Arbok and Victreebel came out at the same time, but Victreebel chomps on Arbok for a change.
"James, can't you control your Victreebel?!" Jessie yelled.
"Victreebel, spit that out right now!" James called out. Victreebel spits Arbok out.
"Okay, let's do this!" Sora said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Weavile!"
"I choose you, Ampharos!" Kairi called out.
Weavile and Ampharos both came out at the same time. Stars swirls around Weavile upon entry.
"Arbok! Use Crunch!" Jessie ordered. Arbok charges at Weavile.
"Victreebel! Use Leaf Blade!" James ordered. Victreebel came at Ampharos with his leaves out and glowing light green.
"Ampharos! Use Signal Beam!" Kairi ordered. Ampharos fired Signal Beam, hitting Victreebel on the mark.
"Weavile! Use Ice Spinner!" Sora ordered. Weavile spins around with ice on his feet and spins right into Arbok.
"Use Wrap!" Jessie ordered. Arbok came at Weavile, intending to wrap his body around the Shiny Sharp Claw Pokémon.
"Use Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Weavile dodges Arbok's Wrap. "Use Metal Claw!" Weavile slashed at Arbok with a Metal Claw.
"Victreebel! Use Razor Leaf!" James ordered. Victreebel fired Razor Leaf at his opponents.
"Dodge!" Sora and Kairi called out. Their Pokémon managed to dodge Victreebel's Razor Leaf attack just by jumping.
"Ampharos! Use Dragon Pulse!" Kairi ordered. Ampharos unleashed a Dragon Pulse, hitting Arbok and Victreebel.
"Weavile! Use Ice Shard!" Sora ordered. Weavile unleashed Ice Shard, hitting the Team Rocket Pokémon. Arbok and Victreebel are sent to the balloon, landing on their Trainers. "Okay, Weavile! Use Metal Claw on their balloon!" Weavile jumped up and gave a metallic slash on their balloon, making Team Rocket go flying with their balloon zigzagging around and around.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Team Rocket yelled as they go flying. A star twinkles in the distance.
"Good riddance to those three," Sora said.
"That was amazing. I guess it's true that humans and Pokémon can work together. And it was to protect Pikachu," Anastasia said.
"Does that mean you've changed your mind about humans after all?" Clover asked her sister.
"A little. But why would you protect Pikachu that much? Why is Pikachu important to you?" Anastasia asked.
"Because Pikachu is my friend and partner. He and I have been through a whole lot since the beginning. That's the example of the bond between humans and Pokémon," Sora said.
"I think I understand. And I guess not all humans are bad after all. But I doubt mother would agree though," Anastasia said.
"But she'll come around one day," Clover said.
"Maybe you're right. But we should keep our encounter with humans a secret," Anastasia said.
"And we'll do the same with you. Besides, nobody will believe us even if we did tell them about you," Sora said. Anastasia smiled at that.
"You'd do that?" Anastasia asked.
"Yeah, because that's what friends are for," Sora said. Kairi and the rest of the group all agreed. Anastasia looked at her sister with a wide smile.
"See? You met some humans and you end up being their friend. And it makes me very happy, because I got to share this experience with you," Clover said.
"Clover, I'm happy to share this with you, too. So thanks for letting me out of my shell," Anastasia said.
"Anytime, sis," Anastasia said.
With that said, the mermaid sisters said their goodbyes to their new friends and promised to meet them again, some day. The group started to board the ship bound for Alto Mare.
The mermaid sisters swam back home to an undersea temple. There were mermaids and mermen swimming all around. One mermaid in particular has blonde hair like Clover, and she wore golden shells and has a golden tail. She wore a golden tiara on her head.
"There you are, girls! Where have you been?" The mermaid asked.
"We were just out for a stroll, mother?" Anastasia said. It was the half-truth.
"You didn't go up to the surface again, did you? You know how I feel about that," the mermaid said with a stern tone.
"No, mother, we didn't go anywhere near the surface," Clover lied. "We just did some exploring."
"I hope so, girls. The surface is no place for mermaids, because of humans are up there," the mermaid said.
"Yes, mother," Clover and Anastasia said.
"Now come. We have royal duties to do," the mermaid said.
"Yes, mother," Clover and Anastasia said.
They followed their mother into the temple, but their meeting with Sora, Kairi, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Tracey, and their Pokémon friends were still fresh in their minds. They already started to wonder what they were up to.
Speaking of which, the group has arrived to Alto Mare, unaware of the next adventure coming their way.