Hello, everyone! It's time for the Celestial Squad series to pick up where the prologue left off and for the dimensional adventures to truly begin! As the title may give away, the journey starts in the dimension of Avatar: the Last Airbender! As suggested from my spirit brother bopdog111, this dimension shall be called...the Elemental Nations! What do you think? Pretty fitting, right? Anyway, time to get on with the disclaimers. I don't own anything related to both Pokemon or Avatar: the Last Airbender. This was made just for the fun of it. So, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the true first part of the series called...
Celestial Squad: the Last Airbender!
Water, Earth, Fire, Air. A long time ago, a person who can master all four, known as the Avatar, kept balance between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. However, all of that changed when the Fire Nation attacked. The Avatar is known as the master of all four elements and only he has the power to stop the ruthless Firebenders, but when the world needed him most of all...he vanished. A hundred years have passed since then and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. During the time, a lot of folks believed that the Avatar was never reborn in the Air Nomads and that the Avatar Cycle's been broken. Still, a little few believe that the Avatar will return and save the world.
The Boy in the Iceberg
All was quiet in a land of icebergs surrounded by water. The only sounds that were heard were the local animals in the area and the splashing of the water. However, just as things were remaining calm, a bright light began to flash. When it died down, one figure could be seen floating on a piece of ice, that person...happens to be Makoto. He groaned and shook his head. "Ugh! Man, I haven't felt this dizzy since Koraidon saved me from a bunch of Houndour."
Blinking, Makoto looked around...and his eyes widened when he saw that he was surrounded by nothing but ice and water. "Huh!? This can't be right! I was just in the deepest part of Area Zero with my friends! What am I doing in a place that's just as cold as Montenevera and Glaseado?" He shivered when the wind blew a little, making him rub his arms a little.
Remembering his friends, Makoto quickly looked around and realized that he was all alone on a floating piece of ice. "Guys? Nemona? Arven? Penny? Hunter? Where are you guys?" When no one gave a reply, Makoto sadly looked up at the sky. "So, I'm not just in a random cold place...I'm all alone in a random cold place!"
Quickly checking something, Makoto looked down at his belt. He sighed in relief when he saw he still had all of his Poke Balls. "Good, I still have my Pokemon with me."
"Okay, Makoto." He told himself. "Think. You're lost in a frozen ocean on a chunk of ice, all alone with your Pokemon, and your friends are nowhere to be seen."
He stopped thinking when another chill hit him, making him shiver again. "Brr! Maybe wearing one the Academy's summer outfits isn't such a good idea if I'm in a place like this! If I stay here, thinking, I'm gonna freeze to death before I have a chance to find even one of my friends!"
He looked down at the cold water. "I-I could ask Koraidon to help me across the water, b-b-but I don't want him to suffer l-l-like I am!" Just after he said that to himself, one of his Poke Balls opened by itself. Out of it was Koraidon who was already in the water. Makoto looked as his Fighting/Dragon-Type friend was growling and motioning him to climb on.
Seeing that Koraidon wanted to help despite it being cold, Makoto couldn't help but smile softly at his Pokemon. "Thanks, Koraidon. You always come through for me no matter the conditions." He climbed onto Koraidon's back just before the Pokemon swam along in the cold water.
As Koraidon was swimming, Makoto decided to let his Pokemon know what was going on. "Looks like we got caught up in another mysterious adventure Koraidon. We need to find some land and then look for Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Hunter...and also find our way back home."
Nodding and growling in confirmation, Koraidon kept on swimming with Makoto on his back to begin their friend search...However, they weren't entirely alone in the cold water.
At a different part of the icy cold water, there were two people in a canoe. A boy and a girl both wearing blue overcoats. The boy was looking down at the water with a spear ready.
He saw that a fish was swimming close to the canoe. "It's not getting away from me this time. Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish."
The girl, Katara, noticed that another fish swimming over. Hesitating, she removes her left glove, took a deep breath, and moves her exposed hand. Soon, a water bubble with the fish inside came out of the water. "Sokka, look!"
Sokka didn't even turn his head, he was too focused on the fish he was looking at. "Shhh. Katara, you're gonna scare it away." He was just about ready to catch it. "Mmm. I can already smell it cookin'!"
"But, Sokka! I caught one!" Katara tried to move the water bubble over to the canoe. However, Sokka raised his spear...it burst the bubble, causing the water to drench Sokka while the fish went back into the water.
"Ugh! Why is it that every time you play with magic water I get soaked?" Sokka asked, pretty upset about getting wet.
"It's not magic, it's Waterbending, and it's.." Katara started to correct him.
Sokka cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture. Blah, blah, blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."
"You're calling me weird?" Katara easily found a way to counter. "I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water."
True to her word, Sokka was making muscles while looking at his reflection in the water, but after hearing what she said, he stopped and gave her a look. Their boat bumped into something. They both looked ahead and yelped when they saw that they have entered an area full of ice. They both worked hard to move their canoe away from the ice.
"Watch out!" Katara warned Sokka. "Go left! Go left!"
They had some close calls, but in the end, they jumped out of the canoe just as it got destroyed by two different blocks of ice. Now the two of them were on another iceberg floating on an even bigger iceberg.
"You call that left?" Katara asked after some silence.
"You don't like my steering?" Sokka countered. "Well, maybe you should've Waterbended us out of the ice."
Katara stood up. "So it's my fault?"
Sokka sat down. "I knew I should've left you at home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up."
The comment didn't make Katara any happier. Now she was about to let her brother have it. "You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained...I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" She didn't even realize that she was using her Waterbending in anger. It was even cracking the big iceberg behind her. Sokka took notice and his eyes widened at the sight. Still, Katara continued ranting. "Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!"
"Uh, Katara?" Sokka tried to point out to the cracking ice.
Katara wasn't finished yet. "I even wash all of the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT!"
Sokka panicked a little more when more cracks came to the ice. "Katara, settle down!"
"No! That's it! I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your OWN!" Katara snapped. With that last shout, she unknowingly made the iceberg completely break and also making her finally notice. The big pieces fell into the water, making waves. One of them pushed the ice they were on a little. They held on until the water settled down.
Once things have calmed down, Sokka finally spoke up again. "Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara."
Katara looked ahead in disbelief. "You mean I did that?"
"Yup. Congratulations." Sokka sarcastically commented.
They both leaned over their ice raft, just when the water in front of them gave off a glow. They backed away on their raft just as another iceberg came out of the water, only this one was more round than the last one...and glowing.
As everything settled, Katara walks to the edge of their ice raft to get a better look. She saw that deep inside the ice was a boy meditating with arrows on his fists and bald head. Suddenly, his eyes opened and they were glowing along with the arrows.
Katara gasped once she saw that. "He's alive! We have to help!" Grabbing Sokka's club, she ran off to help the person in the ice.
"Katara, get back here! We don't know what that thing is!" Sokka ran after her to stop her.
Katara ignored him and used the club to bash her way through the glowing ice. After a few good smacks, she was finally able to break the ice. The sound of escaping air was heard as the ice cracked from top to bottom. It explodes open just before a beam of light shot off into the sky.
The light got the attention of some seals who gave off roars.
The light was even seen by both Makoto and Koraidon. They both looked at it in awe. "Whoa! What is that?" Makoto asked.
Koraidon even gave off a soft growl.
"Maybe it could be a clue to where we could find our friends." Makoto smiled at the guess. "Koraidon, head over to the light!" Roaring in acknowledgement, Koraidon swam over in the direction of the light.
The light got the attention of someone else. In an iron ship floating through the water, the light was seen by a person with a ponytail and a scar around his left eye noticed the light as well.
"Finally." The person said while the light began to fade away. He turned around to the old man sitting behind him. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"
"I won't get to finish my game?" the old guy looked at the game in front of him.
"It means my search is about to come to an end." the person told his uncle who groaned. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!"
"Or it's just the celestial lights." the old person threw in a guess of his own. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." He motioned for him to take a seat. "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"
However, Zuko just exploded in anger. "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar." He pointed straight ahead where he saw the light. "Helmsman, head a course for the light!"
Back to the ice that had the light coming out of it, Makoto finally got on, returned Koraidon, and looked up.
On the other side of the ice, Sokka was shielding his sister from any kind of threat that could pop up out of nowhere...like the boy that Katara saw earlier.
"Stop!" Sokka raised his spear at the glowing boy who stood up...while the glowing began to fade and he passed out.
Katara managed to catch him as he slid down over to them. Sokka poked the boy in the head with the blunt end of the spear. "Stop it!" Katara got him to stop before she turned the boy over so he was laying on his back.
He began to wake up slowly, so he's looking up at Katara. "I need to ask you something." He whispered to her.
"What?" Katara asked.
"Please, come closer." He whispered.
Katara leaned in a little closer. "What is it?"
After a couple of seconds...his eyes shot open and he smiled when he asked her this. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"
Katara didn't expect a question like that. "Uh...sure. I guess."
Hearing a little something on the other side, Makoto climbed up part of the ice to see who it was.
Sokka yelped when the boy used some air to get himself back up to his feet. "What's going on here?" the boy asked while looking around.
"You tell us! How'd you get in the ice?" Sokka poked the boy with his spear again. "And why aren't you frozen?"
"I'm not sure." the boy absently swatted the spear away. Then he gasped when he heard the low growling sound of some sort of animal. He began to climb back up the ruined iceberg.
Both he and Makoto got up to the top at the same time, but Makoto stopped in surprise when he saw the boy happily jump down to a big furry creature that was in the bottom of the crater. "Appa! Are you all right?" The boy opened one of Appa's eyes. "Wake up, buddy!" The eye closed again. Makoto kept looking down as the boy jumps down and tried to lift Appa's head, not ending well. Katara and Sokka came around the corner and their mouths dropped when they saw Appa.
Appa finally opened his mouth with a yawn, also licking the boy who laughed a little. "You're okay!" He hugs Appa in relief.
Makoto looked down at the two of them with a small smile on his face. Seeing the boy and Appa reminded him of the bond he and his Pokemon share.
Appa stood up on his six legs and shakes himself to try and wake up some more.
Sokka couldn't believe his eyes. "What is that thing?"
"This is Appa, my flying bison." the boy happily answered.
"Right. And this is Katara, my flying sister." Sokka said in sarcasm.
The boy was about to reply, but Appa looked like he was about to sneeze. The boy ducked just before the flying bison let out a sneeze. Makoto was so surprised by the sneeze that he yelped and slid down on the ice.
He landed next to the boy and they, along with Katara looked to see that Sokka was now covered in snot from the sneeze. Sokka groaned and tried to get it off of him by rolling around in the ice and snow.
"Don't worry. It'll wash out." the boy assured him.
Both Sokka and Katara cringed a little when they saw how stretchy it looked.
Makoto stood up and dusted the snow off his clothes. "Are you sure about that?" He surprised the other three.
"Whoa!" the boy yelped. "Where did you come from?"
"It's kind of a long story." Makoto answered. "What about you guys? Do you live around here?"
Katara was about to answer the question, but Sokka stopped her. "Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light? They were both probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!"
Makoto raised an eyebrow. "The what?"
Katara rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. I'm sure they're spies for the Fire Navy. You can tell by those evil looks in their eyes." They looked to see the boy's smiling face and Makoto's confused face. "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You two never told us your names."
"Oh, right. I'm Makoto! Nice to meet you!" Makoto smiled and greeted.
The boy waved to Makoto. "Hey! I'm..." the boy stopped when he felt like he was about to sneeze. When he did sneeze, he shot up into the air. Makoto, Katara, and Sokka watched in shock just as he slid back down standing next to Makoto. "I'm Aang." He sniffed and rubbed his nose after answering.
Sokka still couldn't believe what he just saw. "You just sneezed...and flew ten feet into the air!"
Aang looked up at the sky. "Really? It felt higher than that."
Makoto blinked a couple of times. "Did I hit my head? How was he able to fly up with a sneeze?"
Katara gasped a little. "You're an Airbender!"
Aang smiled. "Sure am!"
Makoto looked at Aang in confusion. "...Airbender?"
"Giant light beams...flying bison...Airbenders...I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense." Sokka walked off to the edge, only to stop when he saw nothing but ice and water all around them.
Makoto looked around. He thought about bringing Koraidon back out, but he didn't want to make him suffer from the cold water again. Plus, he didn't know how Aang, Katara, and Sokka would react if they saw the Paradox Pokemon.
"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift." Aang offered. He used his Airbending to get on top of Appa's head.
Makoto smiled and nodded. "Thank you. That's very kind of you." He climbed up until he was on the saddle on Appa's back.
"We'd love a ride! Thanks!" Katara got on the saddle next.
Sokka didn't want to take any chances with the bison. "Oh no! I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster!"
"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know...before you freeze to death?" Katara asked.
Sokka was about to reply, but he stopped himself once he realized that she had a good point. So, without much of a choice, he sighs and climbs up to join the others on Appa.
Makoto and Katara looked excited while Sokka was just grumpy. "Okay. First time flyers, hold on tight! Appa, yip yip!" Aang shook the reigns that were on Appa's horns. Appa made a low rumble, and with a flick of his tail, he launches into the air...only to land into the water with a big splash as he began to swim them away. Aang shook the reigns again. "Come on, Appa. Yip yip."
"Wow." Sokka said sarcastically. "That was truly amazing."
"Uh, Aang?" Makoto started, looking down at Appa with sympathy. "Is he okay?"
"Appa's just tired." Aang answered the question. "A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see."
Katara noticed that Aang was looking at her with a smile on his face. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Oh...I was smiling?" Aang said nervously.
Sokka groaned in disgust while Makoto looks up at the sky. "This is getting stranger with each passing second." He quietly told himself. "Nemona, Arven, Penny, Hunter, where are you guys?" He kept looking up while Appa kept swimming in the water.
Back to the boat, night time came around, but Zuko still looked on ahead.
A person approached from behind. The person was Zuko's uncle Iroh. "I'm going to bed now." He gave off a yawn. "Yep. A man needs his rest." Seeing that his trick wasn't working, Iroh just tried to reason with his nephew. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed."
Still, Zuko countered. "Because their honor doesn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does." As he kept looking forward, his eyes narrowed a little. "This coward's hundred years of hiding are over."
Back with Appa, the bison was still swimming in the water. Sokka was sound asleep, Aang was laying on his back on top of Appa's head.
Katara scooted over to look down at Aang. "Hey."
"Hey." Aang greeted her back. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"
"I guess I was wondering..." Katara tried to find the right way to ask Aang something. "You being an Airbender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?"
Aang looked disconcerted. "Uh...no. I didn't know him...I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry."
"Okay. Just curious. Goodnight." Katara went off to get some rest.
"Sleep tight." Aang turned to rest, still looking upset and guilty about something.
Makoto was laying down. His hat was covering his eyes, but he was still awake. He even heard Katara and Aang talking about the Avatar. "The Avatar? I've never heard of something like that before." He was thinking to himself. "Maybe it's something I'll learn about another year in Naranja Academy." His sad eyes were still covered by his hat. "That is IF I can find my friends and go back to Mesagoza." After that, he finally decided to drift off to slumber while the bison still carried the four humans.
Makoto opened his eyes, lifted his hat so he could see, he kept his glasses on while he was sleeping.
But as soon as he opened his tired eyes, they widened, now fully awake in shock at what was happening in front of him.
At first, he noticed that he was no longer riding on Appa's saddle, but now standing in the middle of some sort of void! "What!? Where am I now?"
An explosion was heard. He looked in front of him again, only to gasp at what he saw. He was looking at a bunch of dangerous Pokemon that looked like they were from the ancient past in the middle of a dangerous battle. "Ancient Pokemon!? The last time I saw them was when I went down Area Zero! Are they...?"
Makoto couldn't even finish because he saw something else that made him stop in shocked confusion. He saw that there were now robotic-like Pokemon as well as the Ancient Pokemon going crazy. "What kind of Pokemon are they!?"
Laughter was heard from above. Makoto looked up to see some sort of cloaked figure laughing hysterically at the chaos happening below. He was even riding on a Pokemon that looks kinda like a Cyclizar...only more purple and metalic. "And this is only the beginning!" the figure declared. After that, Makoto grunted and shielded his eyes with his hat as a blinding light began to cover the area.
Yelping, Makoto shot up to a sitting position. He panted and looked around to see that he was in some sort of tent. "Well, that was a strange dream. I just wish I woke up back in my dorm room." Getting up and putting his stuff back on, Makoto began to think back to the dream he had earlier. "Still, I wonder what that dream was about anyway? The Ancient Pokemon, I recognized some of them, but there were also those...robots that looked like familiar Pokemon. What was that about?"
His thoughts drifted to the figure that was riding on the odd Pokemon. "And what about that guy? He seemed to be...enjoying the chaos that happened. And what about that Pokemon he was riding? It looked similar to a Cyclizar, though it looked completely different than Koraidon."
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a little spark coming from his bag. "Whoa! Now what!?" Quickly digging into the bag, Makoto found the cause of the spark and pulled it out. He looked at the sparking machine with a raised eyebrow. "Of course this strange adventure wasn't confusing enough! What's going on with my Synchro Machine?" The sparking died down.
Just then, he heard Katara calling out to him. "Makoto! Are you awake yet?"
"Uh, yeah! I'm up, Katara!" Makoto replied quickly.
"Good! Come on out, I'd like to introduce you and Aang to the rest of the tribe!" Katara said.
"On my way!" Makoto put his backpack on before glancing down at his Synchro Machine. Deciding to worry about it later, he put the machine in his pocket instead of his backpack before leaving the tent he was sleeping in.
When he got out, he saw Aang and Katara standing in front of a bunch of other people while Sokka was off to the side.
Katara smiled when she saw Makoto walking over until he stood next to Aang. "Guys, this is the entire village." She turned to the village to introduce the two boys. "Entire village, meet Aang and Makoto."
Aang bows to the village in a friendly manner while Makoto smiled and waved at them, but the villagers backed away from them anyway.
"Uh...Why are they all looking at me like that?" Aang looked down at his clothes. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"
Makoto looked at Aang's outfit as well, but didn't find any trace of bison snot. "You look clean to me. So, why do the villagers look so...surprised?"
An elderly woman stepped up to answer. "Well, young man. No one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found him."
Aang didn't expect a reply like that. "Extinct?" Even Makoto was confused by the answer.
"Aang, Makoto, this is my grandmother." Katara introduced the elderly woman.
"Call me Gran-Gran." Gran-Gran told them.
"Oh." Makoto smiled and tipped his hat a little. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."
Gran-Gran gave him a gentle smile. "That you, young man." She turned her attention to Makoto's outfit. "I must say. Not only is your outfit unusual, but a little too cold for the South Pole."
Makoto blinked a couple of times. "South Pole?"
The topic changed when Sokka was looking at Aang's staff. "What is this, a weapon?" He held it in his hands to get a better look at it. "You can't stab anything with this."
"It's not for stabbing." Aang used some air to bring his staff into his hand. "It's for Airbending." He opens the staff to reveal that it's a glider with red wings.
Not only were the village kids were amazed, but so was Makoto. "Wow! Cool!" The Pokemon Trainer even voiced his amazement.
"Magic trick! Do it again!" One of the kids even said.
"Not magic, Airbending." Aang corrected. "It let me control the air currents around my glider and fly."
Sokka didn't believe him. "You know, last time I check, humans CAN'T fly."
Makoto couldn't help but agree with Sokka. "He has a point, Aang. I've never seen a human being fly before. At least not without some help."
"Check again, you two!" Aang launched himself into the air with his glider, much to mostly everyone's amazement. He was doing loops in the air.
Aang looked down to smile at Katara again, of course he wasn't looking where he was going...and smacks head first into a snow tower. He struggled a bit, but he was able to pull his head out of the snow while Katara and Makoto rushed over to him. Sokka however just gasped at what happened to the tower. "My watchtower!"
"That was amazing." Katara commented. Makoto helped Aang back up. The Airbender closed his glider back up.
Sokka tried to fix his watchtower, but the snow piled on top of him. So he got up, annoyed. "Great. You're an Airbender, Katara's a Waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long." He walked away from them.
Aang turned to Katara. "You're a Waterbender!"
Katara looked a little nervous and was about to say something, but Makoto beat her to it. "First Airbenders, and now Waterbenders?" He shrugged helplessly. "What are they anyway?"
Katara blinked in confusion. "You don't know?"
Makoto was about to reply, but Gran-Gran walked over. "Alright, no more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores." She and Katara walked away from the boys.
"I told you!" Katara began to talk to Gran-Gran in excitement. "He's the real thing, Gran-Gran! I finally found a Bender to teach me."
Gran-Gran looked serious. "Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy."
"But he's special. I can tell." Katara looked back in Aang's direction. "I sense he's filled with much wisdom."
They looked to see that Aang was surrounded by the children...and his tongue was now frozen to his staff. "Sthee? Now my tongue with thuck to my sthaff." A child tugged on the staff, but that tongue was still stuck on it. The children laughed and clapped, but Makoto rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head.
Taking her eyes off of Aang, Gran-Gran turned her attention to Makoto. "What about the other boy?"
Katara looked over at Makoto as well. Seeing that he kindly excused himself and walking away to another part of the village. "He must be lost and needs someone to help him."
On the ship, Iroh watched as Zuko trained with two fellow soldiers on the ship. "Again." Iroh instructed.
Zuko blasts fire from his hands at the guards, but they missed. The guards shot fire from their fists at Zuko. He dodged, backflipped over them and lands behind them ready for another attack.
However, Iroh sighed and got up. "No! Power in Firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." Iroh gave a demonstration of his Firebending for Zuko. "Get it right this time."
"Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day." Zuko told his uncle. "Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."
"No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!" Iroh was more forceful with that last part.
Zuko growled before he blasted a guard with another blast of fire. "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic Firebending to defeat him! You WILL teach me the advanced set!"
"Very well." Iroh gave in. Then he sat down again. "But first, I must finish my roast duck." He started to enjoy his meal while Zuko looks on with a bewildered look on his face.
Back in the village, Makoto was still kinda cold. He found a spot where no one could see him and brought his Armarouge out for warmth.
Makoto rubbed his arms while Armarouge kept a flame out between the two of them to help warm his trainer.
Makoto gave his Fire/Psychic-Type a smile. "Thanks, Armarouge. I REALLY should remind myself to bring some winter wear before I leave my dorm room."
Armarouge nodded while keeping the flame going. "Arma." He looked around the village. He spotted Sokka from a distance. He looked like he was giving some orders to a group. "Armarouge." He made the flame go away to point in Sokka's direction for Makoto to see.
Makoto blinked a couple of times. "I wonder what Sokka's doing?" He was about to go over, but something in his pocket began to spark again. "Huh?!" He quickly took his Synchro Machine out to look at it. "That's what happened shortly after I woke up!"
Armarouge looked surprised as well. "Rouge?"
Makoto shook his head. "I don't know what's going on with the Synchro Machine! I must've broken it before I found myself in this frozen land." He sighed as it stopped giving off sparks. "I don't know what's going on with this, but I just hope I'm lucky enough to find someone to help me fix it. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on this while pretending that nothing's wrong." After putting the Synchro Machine back in his pocket he pulled out Armarouge's Poke Ball. "Thanks for helping me warm up again, Armarouge. But you should get back into your ball. I don't want anyone in the village to be scared." As Armarouge nodded in understanding, Makoto returned him to the Poke Ball.
Makoto put the ball away before making his way over to Sokka.
As he got closer, Makoto could hear Sokka talking to someone while pacing back and forth. "Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight until the last man is standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?"
Makoto got close enough, stopped...and raised an eyebrow once he saw that Sokka was actually speaking to a group of kids. After a couple of seconds, one little boy raised his hand. "I gotta pee!"
"Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks!" Sokka firmly told them.
"But I really gotta go." the boy begged.
Sokka sighed. "Okay...Who else has to go?" The answer was the rest of the boys raising their hands as well. Sokka slaps his forehead while the kids walked away to go to the bathroom.
Makoto decided to finally speak after being quiet. "Uh, Sokka? I don't want to seem nosy or anything, but what were you doing?"
Sokka turned to him and removed his hand from his head. "What do you think? I have to make sure the men of our tribe are ready for combat."
Makoto raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "But those were little kids. Why should they be ready for combat?"
Sokka was about to reply, but Katara walked over to them. "Have you two seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."
Aang was seen in the bathroom. As he left while adjusting his pants, he gestured to the bathroom as the boys got closer. "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" That got the kids to laugh.
Makoto chuckled a little. Sokka groaned as he turned to his sister. "Katara, get him and the other odd guy out of here. This lesson is for warriors only."
Makoto looked upset. "Who are you calling odd?"
A squeal of joy was heard. The three of them looked to see that Aang and the kids were using Appa's tail as a slide. Using some of Sokka's tools to help with that.
They went over and Katara and Makoto joined Aang and the kids in the laughing. Sokka wasn't laughing while pulling his tool away. "Stop! Stop it right now!" While the kids left, Sokka turned to Aang. "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on!"
This just confused both Aang and Makoto. "What war?" Makoto asked in confusion. Aang jumped off of Appa. "Yeah, what are you talking about?"
Sokka gave them both a look. "You two are kidding, right?"
Aang was about to say something...until he spotted something behind Sokka and Katara. "PENGUIN!" Makoto flinched a little before looking at what Aang was seeing. All four of them looked to see a penguin with four flippers. The penguin noticed that it was spotted, so it turned and waddled away.
Using his Airbending, Aang was quick to chase after the penguin in excitement. Makoto didn't expect that kind of speed. "Wha...? How did he...?" He wasn't even able to complete a question.
"He's kidding, right?" Sokka couldn't help but ask.
Both Katara and Makoto were now surrounded by a bunch of penguins while trying to find Aang.
"Aang?" Katara tried calling out.
"Aang? Where'd you go?" Makoto looked around until he finally spotted Aang. "There he is!" He pointed to where he saw him.
Aang laughed as he tried and failed to catch a penguin. "Hey, come on, little guy. Wanna go sledding?" He saw that Makoto and Katara were approaching. "I have a way with animals." He held his arms out, waddled, and began to imitate a penguin.
Makoto chuckled as he saw that. "Some people back home say I have a way with a different kind of animal too."
Katara even giggles. "Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me Waterbending."
"You got a deal!" At first, Aang smiled, but that went away as he gave her a reminder. "Just one little problem. I'm an Airbender, not a Waterbender."
Makoto turned his attention to her as well. "I may be new to this Airbender and Waterbender stuff, but isn't there someone in the tribe that can teach you?"
Katara looked away in sadness. "No. You're looking at the only Waterbender in the South Pole."
Makoto and Aang were surprised to hear the response. "This isn't right." Aang spoke. "A Waterbender needs to master water."
"Kinda like a Water-Type Pokemon should learn how to master water." Makoto said to himself. "Hmm. Maybe this place isn't that different from Paldea."
Aang thought of something for Katara. "What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have Waterbenders who could teach you."
"Maybe, but we haven't had contact without sister tribe in a long time." Katara told them. "It's not exactly turn right at the second glacier. It's on the other side of the world."
Aang pointed something else out for her. "But you forget, I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole." He gave her a smile. "Katara, we're gonna find you a master!"
At first, Katara smiled. "That's..." Now she looked uncertain. "I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before."
Makoto smiled in understanding. "It's okay, Katara. I know leaving home isn't easy, but trust me. Once you take your first steps away from home, you'll see that the entire world is full of amazing and interesting things. You'll learn about the world and also about yourself along the way. I'm not saying jump right to it, just give it some thought."
Aang nodded in agreement. "But in the meantime, can you teach me how to catch one of these penguins?"
"Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe." Katara pulled a fish out of her coat and tossed it to Makoto. Not a couple of seconds after that, the Pokemon Trainer was surrounded by a bunch of penguins.
He yelped when the penguins tried to get the fish. "Wait! I can slide in a different way!" That made both Aang and Katara blink.
Soon, Aang, Katara, and Makoto were having fun sliding down an ice bank. While Aang and Katara were riding penguins, Makoto was riding on Floatzel to let his Water-Type join the fun.
Katara laughed. "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"
"You still are a kid!" Aang told her before turning to Makoto. "By the way, Makoto! What did you say you're friend was called again?"
"His name is Floatzel! A creature called a Pokemon!" Makoto replied. Floatzel happily laughed as he kept sliding in the snow.
They continued to slide down the frozen landscape, even entering some ice tunnels. After the ride, they got up. The penguins waddled away, but Makoto decided to let Floatzel stay out of his Poke Ball.
Makoto laughed a little while rubbing his Sea Weasel Pokemon's head. "That was fun. Wasn't it, Floatzel?"
"Float!" Floatzel happily agreed, liking the petting as well. But when he opened his eyes, he and the other three spotted something in front of them and walked forward.
"What's that?" Makoto asked. They were looking at a ship locked in ice.
Katara looked on in dead seriousness. "A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people." She noticed that Aang, Makoto and Floatzel were heading in. "Wait, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby trapped."
Aang turned to her. "If you wanna be a Bender, you have to let go of fear."
Makoto smiled at her. "I may not be a Bender of any kind, but Aang's right. It's best to face your fears head on." He looked down at his Water-Type. "If you want, Floatzel can stay close to you." Floatzel nodded and walked closer to Katara.
Katara still looked uncertain, but decided to follow them inside anyway.
They made it inside and walked through the inside of the ship.
Makoto looked at old weapons in the ship as a question came to him. "I can understand why this ship is considered a bad memory for your village, Katara. Just look at the weapons." Even Floatzel hissed while looking at the weapons.
Katara gently ran her hand through Floatzel's fur. "This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks."
Aang stopped. "Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war."
"I admit that this is my first time hearing about some sort of war around here." Makoto admitted. "Float?" Floatzel asked in confusion.
"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" Katara decided to finally ask the Airbender.
Makoto turned to Aang as well. "You were in an iceberg?"
Aang nodded. "I guess I was. But I don't know how long I was in there...a few days, maybe?"
Katara was starting to realize something major. "I think it was more like a hundred years!"
Aang and Makoto quickly turned to her. "What?" Even Floatzel turned to her. "Float!?"
"That's impossible." Aang didn't believe it. "Do I look like a hundred-twelve year old man to you?"
"Think about it." Katara began to explain. "The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time. It's the only explanation."
Aang was stunned by what he was just told. He placed his hands on his head, walked backwards before he slid to the floor. "A hundred years! I can't believe it."
Katara knealt next to him. "I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all of this."
"I did get to meet you." Aang said, making Katara smiled a little.
"Hey, you also met me." Makoto smiled at the Airbender. "And also Floatzel too. You made some new friends, Aang. And if that isn't a bright side, I don't know what is."
"Float Float!" Floatzel nodded in agreement.
Aang nodded. "Thanks, Makoto." Suddenly a question came to him. "But what about you?"
"What about me?" Makoto asked.
"Well, you've never heard of the war either." Aang stood up. "Not only that, but you don't even know about Airbending or Waterbending."
Katara stood up as well. "Also, you have these creatures called Pokemon and keep them in orbs called Poke Balls. That's something that only you seem to know about."
Makoto sighed a little while rubbing his neck. "Well, the truth is I'm not really from here. I was brought here by some sort of bright flash of light."
"A flash of light?" Aang repeated. "You mean like the one from when Aang was freed?" Katara asked.
Makoto shook his head. "A light that happened before the one that I saw that lead me to you."
"What are you talking about? How could a random flash of light bring you to the South Pole?" Katara asked the Pokemon Trainer.
"I-I don't know. This isn't making any sense." Makoto tried to think back to before the flash. "The last thing I remember before the flash, I was with my friends and we were trying to find these items called..." His eyes slowly widened when the memory came back to him. "The Dimension Diamonds!"
"Dimension Diamonds?" Aang and Katara repeated, glancing at one another.
"Of course, that must be it!" Makoto exclaimed. "That explains why I've never heard of a war and why you've never heard of Pokemon! It was because these four items called the Dimension Diamonds must've pulled me away not just from my home..." He looked down at Floatzel. "But they pulled me and my Pokemon from our entire dimension as well." Floatzel just looked stunned by what his trainer just said.
"Wait wait wait!" Aang waved his hands a little. "Are you saying that you're from a different dimension all together?"
"I guess it does explain why you have creatures no one's seen before." Katara thought of something else. "Wait, if you got sent here, what about your friends?"
Makoto looked sad. "I have no idea. After that flash of light, I found myself alone on the ice of the South Pole." He looked determined. "If they were in the same place as me when we found the diamonds, they might be here in this dimension as well. I've gotta find them and figure out a way to get back home!"
"Do you know where to begin to look?" Katara asked Makoto.
"Actually, no." Makoto answered uneasily.
Aang placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Makoto. You'll find them. And if they mean that much to you, I'll even help you look."
Makoto was surprised. "You'd do that?"
Aang nodded. "Of course. After all, we're friends. You said so yourself." Katara smiled and nodded in agreement.
Makoto smiled at them in return. "Thanks, guys."
"You're welcome, Makoto." Katara replied. "Come on, let's get out of here."
They made it to the exterior of the ship. Aang entered another dark room while Katara, Makoto, and Floatzel stood in the hallway. "Aang? Let's head back. This place is creepy."
"Huh?" Aang's foot got caught on a trip wire on the floor. Behind them, a grate came down, blocking the door.
They looked at the grate. "Uh, Katara? What was that you said about booby traps?" Makoto asked while Floatzel hissed.
Around them, the machinery in the room began to move. And before they knew it, a flare was shot out of the ship as they looked out the window. "Float..." Floatzel gulped after seeing that. When it got high enough, the flare exploded in a small shower of sparks.
Aang looked at a hole in the ceiling made by the flare. "Hold on tight!" He grabbed both Katara and Makoto while Floatzel quickly got on his trainer's back. Aang used his Airbending to launch everyone out of the ship. Now he was jumping down to the ground while still carrying Katara, Makoto, and Floatzel.
Meanwhile, someone witnessed the whole thing through a telescope. It was none other than Zuko! He even saw Aang, Katara, Makoto, and Floatzel leaving the ship. "The last Airbender." He kept his focus on Aang. "Quite agile for his old age." He turned to one of his crew. "Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar..." Zuko looked through the telescope to see Aang, Katara, Makoto, and Floatzel running away back to the village. "...as well as his hiding place...and some rare creature I've never even seen before." He added while looking at Floatzel. His eyes arched in determination.
And there you have it! The start of Makoto's journey into the Elemental Nations! Seems like he's in a bit of a jam, doesn't it? How will the battle against Zuko play out with Makoto and his Pokemon thrown into the mix? Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Synchro Machine mentioned in the chapter is an item from the Indigo Disk part of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero you can get in the Central Plaza in the Terarium. The item will play quite the part throughout the series. What part may that be? Stay tuned throughout the series to find out. Until then...SEE YA!