*Updated December 2021*
Chapter 6
Sweet Dreams
"Welcome, Christopher Davis."
Chris, once again, awoke in the purple wasteland of his dreams. The usually violent shades of purple seemed much calmer, and Chris knew immediately something was different. Perhaps this has to do with that Pokémon warned me of earlier, he wondered.
Flashback...
(Silver Heart,) Chris heard the voice say. (My master wishes to meet you tonight in your dreams. Do not be frightened.) With that, the large bird flew a way.
End Flashback...
So its master wishes to meet me. So where is it? he pondered. He turned his head to his immediate left, and then his right.
"Are you perhaps, looking for me?" asked an unfamiliar voice. Chris turned abruptly to the sound of the voice. Facing him was a large, white bird that was almost dragon like in appearance. The bird was covered in a light shade of blue on its belly, and it had blue mask like things over its eyes. This was the by far the biggest Pokémon Chris had ever seen firsthand, dream or not.
"W-w-who are you?" Chris stuttered.
"Do not be alarmed, child. I am the Legendary Lugia," the Legendary Pokémon told Chris.
If what I remember hearing about Lugia is correct, it is rumoured to live deep within the Whirl Islands not far from my hometown. That's an interesting coincidence. "Why have you been appearing in my dreams? I'm nothing special," Chris muttered.
"Now, that is where you are wrong, Chris. You are more special then you could ever hope to imagine," Lugia soothed.
"What is so special about me? I'm just a fifteen year old trainer who was born in Johto," he argued.
"Have you ever wondered why only you seem to be able to understand Pokémon?" Lugia asked Chris pointedly.
"Constantly," Chris answered. "Do you have something to do with that?"
"I suppose you could say that..." the legendary diving Pokémon replied, shrugging its massive dragonic wings.
"What does that mean?" Chris snapped, and then bit his tongue. "I'm sorry for snapping. This is just all so confusing."
"It is fine, Chris. I understand your confusion. However, the answer to your question might unnerve you. Do you still wish to know?" Lugia asked Chris.
"Please, I must know!" Chris insisted.
"Very well, Chris. You might say that one of the reasons you can understand Pokémon is because, well..." Lugia hesitated slightly. Its large eyes began to narrow, and Chris couldn't help but wonder if it was thinking.
"Spit it out!" Chris yelled impatiently.
"You have my DNA in you!" Lugia snapped finally.
"What!" asked a rather dumfounded Chris. I have Pokémon DNA? Am I not human? Does my mother know?
"Stop thinking! You're giving me a headache," Lugia muttered.
"You can read my mind?" This keeps getting more and more complicated, Chris muttered mentally.
"Indeed it does, Christopher. I know I don't look like it, but I am in fact a Psychic Pokémon. Do you recall the restaurant?" Lugia asked.
The restaurant? Chris pondered. He must mean The Shiny Miltank. "A few things happened there," he finally answered. Just what is Lugia getting at? Is he trying to remind me of my sudden aversion to meat?
"Do you remember how you figured out that Melanie was really from Greenburg," Lugia reminded him.
Flashback...
"Where are you from," Chris asked her.
"Um... Penelope Port," she murmured, before breaking eye contact with him. Chris raised an eyebrow at her tone.
"Never been, is it nice?" he asked her.
"Yeah, it is um... great," she claimed. I hope he doesn't figure out I'm really from Greenburg. I can only hope he doesn't see through my lie, she mentally prayed.
"I think you aren't telling me the full truth," he muttered. She said Greenburg didn't she? I swear I heard Greenburg, he dismayed.
End Flashback...
"What happened there, anyway?" Chris asked the massive Pokémon. "I swear she said Greenburg."
"She didn't say it, she thought it," Lugia confirmed.
"What!? How did I hear it then?" Chris cried, completely perplexed.
"Simple, you read her mind," Lugia muttered nonchalantly, as if this wasn't a big deal.
"Hey, Lugia, is it possible to faint in a dream?" Chris wondered.
"I suppose it would be, why?" Lugia asked.
Chris responded with a loud thud.
"Now this is an interesting scenario."
Chris began to slowly open his eyes. By the time they were fully open, he realized he was face to face with a large blue bird. It was not nearly as big as Lugia, however.
"Good morning, Chris," the blue bird cooed. It was light blue, and had an even lighter blue puff on its chest. It had a long tail, and Chris could feel what little heat this dream world had, evaporate when he was near this Pokémon.
"And who are you?" Chris demanded.
"My apologies, I'm Articuno," the blue bird soothed. "And these are my colleagues, Zapdos, and Moltres."
Chris watched carefully, as the blue Pokémon gestured towards a yellow bird, and yellowy orange bird. Chris first inspected the yellowy orange bird. It was a bit larger then Articuno, and had a more pointed beak. The most notable difference between Articuno, and the bird Chris suspected was Moltres, was the fire. The top of Moltres' head was on fire, as were the back of its wings, and its tail.
The third bird gave Chris, a massive case of déjà vu. It was a tiny bit smaller then Articuno, but its beak was much longer than the others. The bird was bright yellow, with black along the back of its wings and tail.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Moltres said.
"Indeed, it is," Zapdos agreed.
"B-b-but I've seen you before," Chris cried at Zapdos.
"Yes, you have. You have seen me as well, Chris," Articuno confirmed.
"I have?" Chris wondered.
"Think back, towards when the blizzard hit the Silver Forest," Articuno suggested.
Flashback...
"What do you say we get a little sleep, until the storm is over anyway," Chris suggested. He was completely exhausted, and could barely keep his chestnut brown eyes open.
(I guess you better wake up then,) Charmander declared cheekily. Chris poked his head out of the hollow tree, and his jaw dropped.How cliché is this,he thought to himself.
The blizzard was gone. Just as soon as it had begun, it ended. As Chris gazed upon the horizon, to where he saw the blizzard heading, he could have sworn he saw a large bird, flying in the middle of the storm.Probably just my imagination,he reassured himself.No way I'd see anything like that. I'm not special...
End Flashback...
"You were there after the blizzard?" Chris asked.
"To be technically more correct, I was the blizzard. That is why nobody could figure out how the storm worked. Quite simply, it was my doing," Articuno told him.
"Why though?" Chris questioned.
"It was a test. Lugia wished to see if you were worthy," Articuno explained.
"But then why did Lugia have you fly all over Anotica? Would it not of been easier to just start the storm the day of my journey?" Chris wondered.
"Everything that happened before you left, happened for a reason," Moltres added. "The blizzard, the argument with your mother, the incident with Charmander, and when you saved her from the Mankeys all happened for a reason."
"It was part of the test Lugia planned," Zapdos explained. "Lugia knew your mother would not let you leave on your journey initially. He knew she would change her mind. He knew how you would react to not getting a Cyndaquil. He knew the guilt you would feel. He knew you would try to save the Pokémon."
"So everything that happened that day was fated to happen? If he knew all this, then why test me?" Chris pondered.
"The key word, in that last statement, was "try." Do or do not, there is no try," Moltres explained, causing Chris to groan. Even in my dreams I can't avoid pop culture references.
"So, Lugia, was seeing if I could do it?" Chris asked.
"Precisely," Zapdos answered simply.
"Speaking of Lugia, where is he? He was here not too long ago, and now he is gone," Chris murmured.
"Do you not remember? You fainted, presumably from the information overload," Articuno muttered.
"So then where am I? Am I still dreaming?" he wondered.
"You might say, that this, is a dream within a dream," Zapdos confirmed.
"Just when I thought it couldn't get any more confusing," Chris sighed. And enough with the pop culture references for the love of-
"Oh trust us, Chris; it is going to get more confusing. But we are here to help. We will be watching you," Articuno soothed, as the dream world faded to black.
"So, you are back with me now it seems," murmured the familiar voice of Lugia. Looking up, Chris realized that the trio of birds he had been with previously had been replaced by the bird that they originally replaced earlier in the dream. This is weird, he thought.
"So, I think I've got most of this. I can understand Pokémon, read minds, I have your DNA in me and the whole blizzard sequence was test." Chris summed up. "Is that it?"
"There's a lot more too it than that," Lugia sighed. "The mind powers you posses, aren't quite what you are thinking of. You cannot just read minds whenever. You must concentrate on the person; you cannot simply wander into a Pokémon center and expect every mind in there to be readable. You must truly focus on the person you are trying to read the mind of. At least until you have a better grasp on your powers, but I still wouldn't recommend attempting it in battle."
"So I couldn't just randomly read a trainers mind in battle?" Chris whined.
"That would take a great amount of concentration. You couldn't afford to put that much concentration on a person in battle, or you will surely lose," Lugia reminded him.
"I suppose that is a fair point," Chris admitted.
"Have you anymore questions?" Lugia asked.
"I only have one more question. What did Zapdos mean when he called me, 'Silver Heart'?" Chris wondered.
"Chris, you are a member of the Valiant Hearts!"
"The Valiant Whats?!" Chris demanded.
"Yellow, Silver, Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum; do these words have any meaning to you?" Lugia asked Chris.
"Yes! They were in my dream from the other night. What do they mean?" Chris pondered.
"Each of those words represents a member of the Valiant Hearts. You, Chris, are the Silver Heart," Lugia roared.
"I am?" Chris asked sceptically.
"No, you just randomly have special powers, and Legendary Pokémon speaking in your dreams," Lugia muttered sarcastically. Where'd the sarcasm come from? Is this what Lugia is normally like, or is it more formal like it was when this conversation began? I suppose that's not all that important, Chris decided.
"Who are the others?" Chris asked, finally accepting the fate that had befallen him.
"That is for you to figure out on your own," Lugia boomed, in a deep ominous voice.
"You don't know, do you?" Chris poked.
"... Shut up," Lugia moaned. I think it's definitely the sarcastic option.
"Good morning, world!" Melanie cheered. "I hope Chris is up!"
The sun shone brightly on her brilliant lilac hair, as she released her three Pokémon to help take down the camp.
"Sandshrew, please go collect up any loose items. Tangela and Yanma, please help take down the tent. I'm going to find Chris," she commanded. Her Pokémon each gave her a curt nod, and went on with their tasks.
(I find it thoroughly amusing that the women get the hard job,) Sandshrew crudely whispered. Unfortunately for the mouse Pokémon, a certain vine ball heard him.
(Asshole!) Tangela screeched, and slammed one of her many vines into his back.
(Jeez, it was just a joke,) Sandshrew whimpered. (Women are so touchy. At least that Chatot seems like a ripe good chap.)
(Those two will be trouble. My spidey sense is just tingling...) Yanma muttered.
(Yanma, you are like, so not a spider. According to that adorable Chris human, you are what is known as a clear wing,) Tangela told the young, naive bug.
(I am a clear wing? What is that?) Yanma pondered.
(Beats me, Sweetie. Chris called you a clear wing Pokémon, so I assumed you were,) Tangela soothed.
(Oh. That makes sense,) Yanma chuckled. (Chris is really smart. I wonder when he and Melanie are going to mate.)
If Tangela were currently ingesting a liquid, she would have surely spit it out.
Meanwhile, Melanie had finally made it to Chris' tent, only to find that not only was it still up, but Chris was still asleep.
"Wake up, Chris. We should get going. You want to battle the gym leader soon, don't you?" she asked him, giving his shoulders a shake; no response. She shook again, harder this time; still no response.
"Chris, you're scaring me! Wake up!" she screamed. She shook him furiously; he still wouldn't budge. She moved her fingers along his neck, checking for a pulse; there was none.
"Chris! Wake up! You're not dead, you can't be! Please!" Melanie cried, tears beginning to form in the corners of her green eyes. I've only just begun to get to know you. You can't die! I won't allow it, Melanie thought. She put her hands on his chest, and began pumping.
"It appears your friend is trying to wake you," Lugia muttered knowingly.
"You mean Melanie?" Chris asked.
"Yes, that would be the one. She thinks you are dead," Lugia told him.
"What! She thinks I am dead? What would possibly give her that idea?" Chris challenged the legend.
"Well, I suppose this isn't a dream technically. We could not fully communicate like this in a dream. This is almost like a purgatory. It was the only way for us to meet properly at this current time," Lugia explained
"Wait, so I am technically dead? You killed me?" Chris whispered.
"Technically," Lugia muttered, once again shrugging its wings. "I wouldn't get to worked up. I would have never let you die. You're far too important."
"Bastard! Send me back right now! I can't die yet, and Melanie is worried sick!" Chris screamed.
"Do not forget your place, Chris. Despite being a powerful human, you are no match for me," Lugia snapped in exasperation.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. Just kind of surprised me," Chris apologized.
"That is fine. You are too valuable to lose," Lugia confirmed.
"W-w-what do you mean?" Chris stammered.
"Without you and the other Valiant Hearts, there is no hope for the world," Lugia explained.
"But you said so yourself, you are more powerful than me. Can you and the other Legends not deal with this yourself?" Chris wondered.
"We are powerless. Long ago, it was prophesized that nine humans, infused with the powers of the strongest Legends, would save us. We are truly powerless. We guardians of the Hearts have been in hiding, and we must remain there," Lugia muttered.
"But why?" Chris pondered.
"The Chaos," Lugia said simply.
The Chaos? Chris wondered.
Flashback...
"Hold it, Galiano! You're coming with us!" shouted a masculine voice. Chris inspected the man, and realized his voice matched his outer appearance. He had long scruffy black hair, and blue eyes. He had a rather muscular build, and looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks.
"Hello Biff. Hello Morgan," Steven muttered. Chris guessed the buff guy must be Biff and the other one was Morgan. He had long, purple hair and violet eyes to match. He wasn't overly tall, and had a slender figure.
"You heard him, Galiano! Your coming with us!" replied the one Chris guessed was Morgan.
"No I'm not, Morgan. Now leave or I shall make you.
"How? You don't have any Pokéballs," Morgan laughed.
"Xatu, use Psychic on these morons," Steven muttered, apparently not seeing them as a threat. Suddenly, a green totem pole like bird appeared out of nowhere, and within seconds of its appearance, those two morons were long gone.
"Wow your Xatu didn't even attack, and they ran away. You must be some trainer," Melanie said.
"I suppose you could say that. Now as for you two, you have to watch out for those goons. They work for an organization called The Chaos. As long as you are a trainer, they may come after you. And with that, I take my leave," Steven replied.
End Flashback...
"A couple of their goons attacked us in Auburn Town," Chris remembered.
"That is correct. They have been hunting us down. They hope to use our powers to lure the Valiant Hearts," Lugia explained.
"Why?" Chris wondered.
"They too have learned of the prophecy. They wish to use the Valiant Hearts for their own means," Lugia answered.
"And it is our job to stop them?" Chris simply asked.
"Correct. But you mustn't let yourself be caught by them, or let them find out you are one of the Valiant Hearts. They will come after you," Lugia told him.
"I understand. I have gotten a similar warning before," Chris replied knowingly.
"Then I shall send you back to the waking world. I'm sure you will enjoy what you find," Lugia chuckled.
"What do you mea-" Chris began, but was cut off by blinding light.
Chris eyes fluttered open, and he instantly realized what Lugia had been hinting at. Melanie had her mouth over his.
"Oh, Chris! Please wake up!" she cried. Chris noticed the streams of tears running from her eyes, and decided to intervene.
"Um, Mel-" he began, but was immediately cut off by a tight hug.
"Christopher Davis, you had me so worried!" she screamed. Her grip on him intensified, and Chris couldn't help but flinch a little.
"Can you, like, loosen your grip," he begged her. Luckily, she complied.
"When did you wake up?" she asked him suddenly. Her demeanour looked insanely tense.
"When you were giving me mouth to mouth, why?" he asked her, a tinge of curiosity to her voice.
"Oh nothing, I'm just glad you did," she replied, breathing a sigh of relief. Chris knew there was something up, but he decided not to pressure it.
"Speaking of which, you're pulse stopped. Were you dead?" Melanie sniffled, the effects of the crying only starting to wear off.
Chris thought quickly, deciding a lie would be for the best right now. "No. I took a sleeping pill. A really, really strong one."
"That's good, I guess. You scared me so bad, though. Maybe don't take those sleeping pills anymore," she murmured.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm sure it won't happen again." At least it better not, he mentally challenged.
"I hope so. Now let's take down your tent. We have to keep rolling if we want to reach Evertown."
"You mean you haven't heard from him yet?" asked an incredulous female voice.
"That's right! He still hasn't even tried to contact me," screamed another voice, which was also feminine.
"I'm sure he has his reasons, boys will be boys after all," the first feminine voice soothed.
"You're right, Professor. I'm sure he will phone as soon as he gets to Evertown. Although, he is sure going to get a piece of my mind," replied the second female voice, which was now much calmer.
"As he should," replied Professor Hannah Hemlock.
"Well, I really must be going. Thank you for the tea, Hannah," the other woman replied.
"You are very welcome, Selena. If he phones, I will be sure to pass on your message," Hemlock said.
"Thank you, Hannah," Selena replied.
As Selena was leaving, only one thought went through the Professor's mind. Chris, what have you done?