Florian's heart raced as he stumbled his way up the stony cliffs his climbing skills were about on pare with an old man he had always hated minor hand injuries like paper cuts so feeling every scrap and callus dig into his hand as he crawled up the rocks mad him wished he never came here.
"Why did I even come here?" Florian asked himself. He was traveling in the middle of the wilderness looking for something that if the book Cherry was talking about was true was probably some imaginary monster made up by some dead guy two hundred years ago.
"You need help there Florian?" Juliana othered her hand as Florian struggled up the rock face.
"No I'm fine thank you" Florian grunted as he hauled himself up.
"Kluuaaaaaaa!" A loud guttural cry rang through the stony cliffs.
"What the?" Nashi exclaimed within seconds the sound was gone replaced by the ambiance of the wild.
Florian was starting to feel fluttery in his stomach he had come here assuming that Arven was just crazy and he was going on a wild goose chase for something that didn't exist.
He never assumed that these Titan Pokémon were real and maybe it was the fact that the sun was starting to go down but his heart rate was starting to rise.
"Ah don't worry about Nashi it was probably just a wild Klawf there native to this area" Julianna tried to reassure.
Florian felt a ding go off in his pocket he looked down to see his phone he was surprised to be getting reception out here.
He saw that Oort had been texting him
Are you still looking for that stony cliff titan thing?
Ya, but I'm starting to think that Arven guy isn't so crazy something seems off
Well, good luck with that bro
Thanks
There's this party at that Levi guy's house tomorrow tonight want to come?
Florian couldn't believe what he was seeing on the screen why would he want to go to the house of the guy who insulted him for liking contests?
Why would you want to go to that dicks house?
Dude think about how many people are gonna be there wouldn't it be a shame if we were to accidentally break something?
Normally Florian would immediately shoot that idea down but maybe it was because he was talking to Oort over text or that he was out in the middle of nowhere potentially about to be eaten by a giant titan but the devil on his shoulder was taking full control.
Dude count me in
Awesome see you tomorrow as long as you don't get killed by the stony titan.
"Claw!" A wild Klawf let out a guttural screech charging at Florian catching him off guard.
Florian stumbled backward to avoid the Ambush Pokémon landing flat on his ass thankfully Nashi and Julianna stepped in to confront the Klawf before it could get its claws around Florian.
Florian flailed helplessly as he tried to get up well Julianna, Cherry, and Nashi attacked the Klawf with Wooper, Sunkern, and Wiglett.
Florian rummaged through his bag trying to send out Fuecoco or Smoliv by the time he was able to get a hold of his Pokeball his friends had already sent the crab running with Mud Shot, Mega Drain, and Water Pulse.
Florian cursed himself out he had just sat on his ass like a rock well his friend had to fight off the aggressive wild animal.
"I'm sorry about that" Florian apologized finally stumbling onto his feet.
"I caught it!" Nashi yelled in excitement holding out a great ball. Florian couldn't believe that he was such a dunce that he had missed an entire battle and Nashi catching a Klawf.
The group continued on their search for whatever had made that loud cry earlier the further up the trail they went Florian noticed that more and more Klawf were beginning to show up scuddling back and forth with a feverish intensity.
"That's weird Klawf are pretty rare around here don't know why there's so many of them," Juliana remarked.
"Mabey it's their breeding season?" Florian tried to joke although nobody laughed at it not helping with feeling like a dunce.
"Alright, this is the end of the trail" Julianna exclaimed.
"Well clearly we walked all the way here for nothing now let's go-" Florian stopped dead in his tracks he felt as if something was watching him. Behind him an utterly massive Klawf leaped off the cliff face staring him down/
"Klawwwf!" the Titan Klawf cried shaking Florian to his core.
"Oh my god, it's huge!" Cherry yelled sending out her Spritzee well Juliana and Nashi sent out Quaxly and Dunsparce. Florian did the same sending out his Fuecoco he didn't want to sit there like an idiot again well everyone else did all the work.
"Klawf!" Klawf went for surrounding itself with large gray rocks launching them at Fuecoco.
"Spritzee use protect!" a gold and green barrier appeared around Spritzee and Fuecoco absorbing the Rock Tomb.
"Nokocchi Glare!" Dunsparce's eyes glowed bright red slowing the titan Klawf down.
"Aqua Jet!" Quaxly became surrounded in water slamming into the Klawf.
"Use Ember!" Fuecooc fired a small burst of flames at Klawf hardly denting it.
The titan Klawf went for Vice Grip picking up Fuecoco and Dunsparce with its massive pincer and squeezing it down.
"Nokocchi come back!" Nashi returned his Dunsparce sending out his own Klawf Florian did the same sending out Smoliv.
Nashi's Klawf went for Rock Smash only to be overpowered by the titan Klawf's own Rock Smash sending it flying backward in defeat Nashi quickly sent out his Dunsparce. Spritzee and Smoliv used the opening to attack with Razor Leaf and Draining Kiss although the Klawf still seemed to be largely unfazed.
"I got an idea" Julianna started digging through her bag pulling out a Terra Orb and throwing it to a Tulio causing an exceedingly bright burst of blue energy to forum around Quaxly the duckling did a dramatic pose as a blue crystal shaped like a water spout appeared above his head.
"Smoliv use Helping Hand! Smoliv tapped Tulio on the wing with her leaf causing Tulio's body to glow with a golden aura.
"Water Gun!" Tulio fired a Water Gun at the Klawf who tried to dodge but was stopped by its paralysis the boost from Terastallizing and Helping hand made the Klawf stumble back falling to its knees in pain.
"Awesome job Julianna!" Cherry congratulated.
"Klawf!" the Klawf staggered back onto its feet seemingly more energetic than before.
"Acabo de empeorarlo?" Juliana shouted Nashi pointed to his Pokedex which showed Klawf ability's it explained how Anger Shell lowered its defenses to heighten its attack power.
"Great I did just make it worse!"
Suddenly the Klawf smashed open the cliff face pulling out a strange-looking plant with its claw.
The Klawf began to devour the strange herb which seemed to invigorate, It, even more, and a strange pink aura burst forth from its body.
With shocking speed, the Klawf attacked hitting Spritzee with Metal Claw instantly knocking her out.
"Shit, what do we do" Florian cursed there was no way his team of two with almost no battling experience could take on the raging Titan Klawf.
"Nokocchi Pounce!" Dunsparce leaped forward pouncing on the Klawf slowing it down Cherry had the same idea sending out her Wiglett just to faint to Vise Grip however it activated Wiglett's Gooey ability slowing down the Klawf even further.
"Nokocchi Screech!" Dunsparce released a stream of sonic waves from its mouth hardly dropping the Klawf's defense the Klawf retaliated with a Rock Smash knocking out Dunsparce.
"Florian get Smoliv to use Helping Hand again!" Julianna yelled Florian got Aceituna to use Helping Hand on Tulio.
"Aqua Jet!" Tulio surrounded himself with water launching forward at Klawf the boosts plus the defense drop from Screech did massive damage to the Klawf.
"Glaw!" the Titan Klawf stumbled backward losing its footing it slid down the cliff landing below with a tremendous thud.
"Holy shit that actually worked!" Julianna said in surprise. The Titan Klawf had already run off into the depths of the canon all only evidence that it was ever there were a few tracks and the giant hole in the cliff where it had gotten the mysterious herb from.
"Florian, Julianna there you are" Arven appeared running up the cliff.
"Oh, well now you show up after we did all the hard work fighting the crab," Florian said to himself.
"All right lock my little buddy's coming through like champs"
"Well jeez I'd hope that we'd get thanks we were one wrong move away from being eaten by that Klawf the size of a building"
Arven looked inside the giant cavern the Klawf had got the Herbs from.
"I bet somewhere in here is more of that Herba Mystica the Titan was eating. Quick let's have a look around before it gets back"
"Watch your step it's pretty dark" the dark entrance of the cave gave way to a vast open cavern clinging to a wall of moss was a bushel of the same strange pink plant.
"This is one of the Herba Mystica it's exactly how it looked in the book!" Arven exclaimed picking out a few sprigs of the plant.
"Yes we found and it's all thanks to you guys"
"Now let's see what does the book have to say about sweet Herba Mystica" Arven pulled out the Scarlet Book and began to read it.
"It says here that the Sweet Herba Mystica is good for gut health and that it aids in digestion. Says it's good for stomachaches too or when you want to stimulate the ol, appetite" the way Arven described the herb sounded like a shady salesperson trying to get him to buy something.
"Now if I could just get him to eat some"
"Get who to eat some?" Julianna asked Arven's face turned a bright red as if he didn't want anyone to hear him.
"Alright! Now it's my turn to show off what I can do. You four about to get a taste of my cooking!" Arven pulled a bunch of cooking material from his bag Florian had no clue how he even fit that much stuff in his bag and started preparing sandwiches for them.
Florian couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with Arven the fact that he knew about the Scarlet Book which up almost everyone in Paldea thought was a bunch of stories created by some insane guy two hundred years ago couldn't be a coincidence.
"Hey, Florian you doing anything tomorrow?" Julianna asked. Well, Florian was doing something tomorrow he didn't want to tell her that he was purposefully going to mess someone's house up with Team Star.
"Um, ya I'm hanging out with some friends I met at school at Artazon"
"Oh, I'm going to Artazon I have to study for the math test I have on Friday"
"Why do you have a math test when like no one at the school"
"You're still able to take tests and stuff during the treasure hunt and my mom wants me to keep my grades up"
"Here you go! An Arven original sandwich packed full of herbs" Arven everyone a sandwich Florian sniffed it cautiously he still didn't trust Arven that eating something that glowed as bright pink as a glow stick was good for you.
"And I'll give you a badge-y know, as a thank-you for taking on that titan Pokémon"
"I call it a Titan Badge. Made it myself, using a replica of the gym badge see" Arven handed Florian a circular badge with the shape of a rock glued to it.
Everyone sat down to eat Florian took a bite it would've tasted amazing if it weren't for the Herba Mystica how a plant managed to taste like a maraschino cherry was beyond him it clashed with the taste of the ham and vegetables that Arven put in the sandwich. He saw that all his friends felt the same way about the sandwich but were trying to hide it from their faces.
"Well, how do you like it?"
"Very good"
"Yes, it's very good Arven"
"Ya, the Herba Mystica gives it a very um, unique flavor"
Before Florian could respond Juliana's bag burst open.
"Agias!" Don burst out of his Pokeball sniffing at Florian's sandwich.
Arven's face went sour at the sight of Don. All the joy he had from making the sandwich had vanished replaced with a look of bitterness.
"Argh! what's up with that thing? He just comes out of his ball whenever he wants?"
"What the hell is that!" Cherry yelled hiding behind Nashi.
"Oh? Ugh ya, Don's an um Unovan Cyclizar" Juliana explained. Florian thought that no one would buy that excuse
Don bent down to sniff at Florian's sandwich licking his lips.
"Hey! No! That's not for you!" Arven barked like Don was a disobedient dog.
"Oh, don't worry it's fine I don't mind giving him some of mine" Florian insisted mainly because he didn't want to eat it himself. Don grabbed the entire sandwich out of his hand scarfing down the sandwich within a few seconds the whole thing was gone.
"Hey! I went through all the trouble of making that for you, and you just gave it away!" Arven sighed.
"I hope you know that was all there was so now there's none left for you"
"Oh, ya I'm fine with that he wanted it more than me"
"Aw, come on. Now, you're making me feel like I'm the selfish jerk here!"
"Here you can have half of mine but you better enjoy every last bite" Arven practically shoved half the sandwich into Florian's hands Florian obliged and ate the half sandwich even if it was sweeter than a candy apple.
"Gia Giawwa" Don sniffed the half sandwich.
"No! No more you already ate the whole thing" Arven scolded.
"Agias!" Don's body started glowing with the same pink aura the Titan Klawf had.
"Wha-! Is it just me or has this thing sort of powered up somehow?"
"Whoa! I can't believe it! The power of this herb really is worth guarding!" Arven shouted.
"If they had that big an effect on your Pokémon then I bet-" Arven's face dropped like a rock.
"Uhhh, I bet it'll come in handy for that Treasure Hunt assignment we've got"
"Yup that's what I bet" Arven added checks flushed pink.
"Well now that everyone has filled their bellies with some of my legendary sandwiches. Guess it's time to tidy everything up" Nashi stepped in to help but Arven cut him off.
"Oh, you guys don't worry about helping me! After battling the Titan, you've earned a break" Arven insisted.
"Just leave this all to me!" Arven seemed insistent that they leave "Though I'd be much obliged if you'd get a head start on searching out the remaining four Herba Mystica for us" Arven practically shoved them out of the cave.
"Sheesh that guy is weird," Cherry remarked.
"I think there's something he's not telling us" Florian added.
"Huh, what makes you say that Florian?" Juliana asked.
"You don't find it a little suspicious how he knew that the Titan was going to be there"
Florian's phone started ringing he pulled it out of his pocket to see it was Professor Sada.
"Hello there Florian. This is Sada"
"I detected that Koraidon has regained some of its original power"
"It seems it will be able to dash at high speeds while your riding upon it"
"I hope you will continue to explore Paldea with Koraidon, as you have already done"
"Your route is not fixed but open before you. Seek your own path, using your map and the tools you have at your hands"
"Whenever you find your curiosity piqued, you should go and explore as your heart desires"
"Go forth on your journey…and take care of Koraidon for me"
"Koraidon?" Cherry asked.
"Ok, all be honest with you Don is a weird Cyclizar but he's not from Unova he's some sort of strange forum of Cyclizar that we're looking after for Professor Sada" Juliana explained.
"So what your saying is your looking after a mysterious Pokémon that nobody knows about and is extremely powerful," Cherry remarked.
"Yes, that's basically it" When Juliana put it like that, it did sound strange.
Florian realized that this whole outing was strange what did Arven know that he wasn't telling? What was the deal with Koraidon and Professor Sada and that Herba Mystica if the Titans were real then what about those strange-looking Pokémon in the book were they real?
It was clear that there was more to this story than what was at face value but what was behind the surface Florian couldn't be sure.
Under the cover of the night, the Titan Klawf's den sat empty.
Below the den several Team Galactic grunts carefully traversed the rocks.
Are you sure that bird will show up?" one of the grunts talked through a radio.
"Trust me it will Bombirdier love to collect things like rocks in their pouch and the rock Tera Crystal without Klawf guarding it will grab its attention" Saturn reassured through the radio.
Above the grunts, the sound of wings flapping cut through the night.
Above them, the Titan Bombirdier flew down to the ground several regular Bombirdier guarding it.
The Titan Bombirdier landed carefully walking into the cave once it was sure the Titan Klawf was gone.
The Titan Bombirdier emerged from the cave inside its throat pouch it was caring a large crystal glowing a brilliant Walnut brown.
The Team Galactic grunts watched as the Titan Bombirdier took off into the sky caring the rock-type Tera Crystal in its pouch.
"Saturn sure the Bombirdier has taken off with the Rock Tera Crystal"
"Excellent we will have our flying types follow it to see its nest is" Saturn announced.
"If we can be fined it then we could have both the Rock and more importantly the Flying Terra Crystals in our possession" Saturn smirked "And if we have the Flying Terra Crystal we will be one step closer to obtaining the Paradox Birds"
Saturn hung up the radio looking over a map of Paldea to see when the three Galarain birds would appear over Paldea if their calculations were correct they should be crossing from western Kalos over the Bay of Biscay in a few days and should arrive in Paldea within two weeks"
The radio began to buzz Saturn picked it up.
"Hello"
"Saturn the Titan Klawf has been captured it should be at the base soon"
"Excellent Jupiter and the Water Terra Crystal?
"Unfortunately gone it appears that Inteleon managed to take it again like the Poison-Type"
"What happened to our informant?"
"Are cameras showed that Rinto was unfortunately um, knocked out with a folding chair by one of Inteleon's friends"
"Well tragic but Klawf more than makes up for that"
Saturn smirked "Everything's going according to plan Sada's son should lead us right to the Titans" Saturn looked at the map showing off the Titan's territory.
"With the Titan Klawf gone, there will be an imbalance of power everyone will be scrambling for territory Sada's boy will have an even easier time finding them"
Saturn put down a pin on the Titan Bombirdier's presumed location around Artazon this was going to be too easy.
End Credit Song (Curses-The Crane Wives)
Sorry this chapter took so long I had my finals last week so I was busy writing biology notes :0
Anyways the story thickens the introduction is done now we're into the real meat and potatoes of the story.
Stay tuned for the next chapter because if I'm remembering correctly we're gonna get a bit of everyone's point of view next time so look forward to that :)