I'm gonna level with you guys...I know it's been a long time, and that's the way it's gonna be from now on. I've reached a pinnacle time in my life where playtime is basically over. It's time to think about the future, and in order to do that I need to focus on my goals before all else. EchidnaPower is essentially retired. Dash Adventure is cancelled, SATDD is cancelled, I don't hang around to chat anymore. And for a while it seemed that this story would be cancelled too. But there's one part of me that just refuses to let this go, the part of me that hates to leave things unfinished. The other projects required other people...this story requires only me. With that being said, to any of my internet friends who read this, I thank you for the time I've had being EP, but now it's time to move on. ChaosDazer did it, now I'm doing it. A certain few of you will know who I'm referring to. To my readers, is this story through? No, I'll still update when I have the spare time, such as now. Would I like you all to still review? Yes, I enjoy reading them. Will I answer reviews or PMs? Most likely no, I don't have that time to spare. This story is alive because of the minimal requirements it involves. I hope you all can understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, and I hope you harbor no ill will towards me for it. It's time for EchidnaPower to move on, but the story lives. I thank you for my friends for the support you've given me through the years, and who knows? Maybe one day I'll return. But for now at least, I have my goals in the crosshairs, and it's time to catch them. Dear readers, enjoy this update.
_
Chapter 58
Misty's POV
It's been a pretty rough couple of days. Ash and Paul finally had their full battle, and what a battle it was. Ash's powerhouses came up big for him against Paul, and in the end Ash came out victorious…but the price was high. Ash won, but all of his Pokémon had been severely injured by Paul's Pokémon and their brutal strategies. For the whole rest of the day afterwards, Ash didn't wanna talk to anyone or see anyone or even think about anyone. Brock suggested that I give Ash his space, so he let me have his bed while he slept somewhere else. The next day I woke up and Ash was gone, I got the others up to go check and see if he was checking on his Pokémon, but as it turned out, Ash wasn't there.
He was outside, sulking over what had happened over the course of his full battle with Paul. Once Nurse Joy discharged Ash's Pokémon from the intensive care unit, I took them outside to try and cheer Ash up. It worked to a certain extent, we all played and had some innocent fun, and it seemed that Ash had broken out of his funk. But when Brock explained that he thought he saw Uxie in Lake Acuity, we went into the library and did some research, and Ash thought that the whole situation was getting kinda "fun", which it wasn't.
He was trying to force himself to be happy, which meant internally he was still upset about the fact that his Pokémon had endured a beatdown like no other. That left Dawn's plan. Earlier Dawn had come up with the idea for a Pokémon circus, and she wanted my help to do it. I wanted so badly to disappear at that time, it was so weird what she was having her Pokémon do, making freaky faces that it seemed only Riolu thought was funny during their rehearsals, and that's not a very big accomplishment, since Riolu is still just a baby, his sense of humor is easily triggered.
Maybe I was being too harsh on her, I dunno why I was so upset about her show, she was just trying to help after all. And in all honesty, it seemed to work, somehow…anyway, next thing we knew, the three workers who had been repairing the battlefield since the day of the battle came in, and they started trashing Ash! For no reason! And then the short one shot a net and snagged Pikachu, and they revealed themselves as Team Rocket. Sure, why not? It had been a while since we ran into them. They took off running; Ash caught them, and after blasting them off, Ash seemed to go back to his real old self. Well I had to admit, there's nothing like pounding on Team Rocket to make you feel better.
We headed back on the road shortly after that, and for once we were allowed a few days of uneventful rest, some might say those kinds of days are boring, I call them a refreshing change of pace. It's so nice not having someone trying to kill you every day. Now we were walking through a cornfield, the ears of corn stretching towards the sky to compete for the sunlight…of course their little competition was making it very hard for us, since we couldn't see over them.
Normal POV
"Whose idea was it again to go through the corn?" Misty asked in annoyance, "Oh yeah, my boyfriend's." Misty pushed back another ear of corn, accidently smacking Brock in the face when the ear whipped back.
"You know if you hate travelling with us so much," Ash replied without looking back, "Why do you bother? There's a nice and corn free Gym waiting for you in Cerulean."
"Like I'm that dumb," Misty responded with a huff, "The only things back home are my sisters, and as much trouble as I go through for you, it's better than catering to their every whim."
"Then why complain?" Ash asked.
"Because it's all I can do to break the silence." Misty replied apathetically. That wasn't the real reason she was complaining of course, but she felt the argument beneath actual effort.
"Hey, Piplup," Dawn said. Her Pokémon had been waddling on ahead with Pikachu to try and see when the corn would end, "See any daylight out there? Misty's complaining is starting to get on my nerves."
"Watch it." The redhead warned.
Almost immediately after that, Piplup began chirping with excitement, "Hey, what's up Piplup?"
"I think Pikachu and Piplup found their way outta here! Come on!" Ash began running forward, and before they knew it, they were out of the corn and back into the sunlight, "We made it guys! Michina Town!"
"What an incredible view!" Dawn eyes sparkled with awe at the majestic sight before her, Michina Town was a town surrounded by nature, and by nature, namely enormous snow covered mountains that seemed to have faces carved into them by rain and wind, green and lush foliage centered by a flowing stream, a picturesque image of what paradise was.
"Wow, it's beautiful!" Misty exclaimed, "And look at that water! Ash, I wanna go swimming! C'mon, let's take a break here!" Misty exclaimed pleadingly, tugging on her boyfriend's arm.
"Oh now you're nice." Ash rolled his eyes, "I dunno, we still have a long way to go."
"Oh please Ash, please please please?" Misty batted her eyelashes at him, a usually surefire way to get him to yield, and sure enough, it proved itself an effective strategy once again.
"Weeeelll…I guess a swim could be nice, whaddya say Brock? Do we have time to stop?" Ash asked.
"Does what I have to say on the matter really make a difference? Misty has her heart set on this." Brock laughed in response.
"Then I guess we're stopping." Ash shrugged.
"Yes! Thank you Ashy!" Misty pressed her lips hard onto Ash's cheek, practically ripping the skin off his cheek with her kiss, "Come on Dawn, let's get changed! The sooner I get wet the better!" The two girls hurried off, laughing and giggling in joy and amusement.
Ash then fell to the ground with a goofy grin on his face, which was soon hidden by his hat that had fallen off his head and landed on his face. "I love you Misty." He said groggily.
"Misty loves you too," Brock tugged on Ash's arm and got him back to his wobbly legs, "But don't tell me, tell her." Ash apparently wasn't even self-aware yet, as he just moaned dreamily and wouldn't firm up, "Boy, Misty did a job on you this time. Come on Ash, left foot right foot." Brock led the trainer over to the water, where Misty and Dawn had already gotten into their swimsuits and started swimming with all their Pokémon which they had released.
"Better get Ash out of here," Dawn said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wrapped it, "If he gets a look at Misty while he's like that, he might faint."
"Good point, in this state, everything probably looks like Misty." Brock laughed.
"You guys are silly." Misty giggled bashfully, "I know how to bring him back." Misty threw a wave of water at Ash, and once the water hit her boyfriend, he spluttered and looked around aimlessly trying to figure out what happened, "Snap out of it Ash!"
Ash coughed and rubbed the water out of his eyes, and the first thing he was greeted with when he focused his eyes was the sight of his beloved Misty in her light blue two-piece bikini, her hair pulled back into that familiar ponytail of old, "Looking good Mist." He said cheekily, which earned him another splash.
"Don't drool Ash, makes you look like a dork." Misty replied with a smirk, "Come on, what are you waiting for? Get changed and joined in!"
Ash laughed, "Alright, I'll be right there! In the meantime, come on out everyone!" Ash tossed out his Pokéballs, and Staraptor, Gliscor, Buizel, Grotle, Monferno, Charizard, and finally Riolu appeared to join in on the fun. "Time for some good old fashioned playtime guys, have a ball!" After announcing that, Ash took off behind a tree to put on his swim trunks.
"Riolu!" Misty swam over to the edge of the riverbank to interact with the little baby, who didn't seem to wanna get in the water. "What's the matter Riolu? You don't wanna get in?" Riolu shook his head as he stared into the gently flowing water.
Ash came walking up in his swim trunks and stood behind Riolu, "He's saying the water's too deep." He said, reading the Emanation Pokémon's aura messages.
"Oh is that all?" Misty asked. "Don't worry Riolu; you have nothing to worry about, I'll be right here to help you!"
Before he could even think about it, Ash had knelt down behind him and picked him up below the shoulders, "Come on Riolu, time to get wet!" Riolu was smart enough to see what was coming and began squirming in Ash's grip to try and get free, but Ash was just too strong, "Don't worry! Misty's gonna catch you! Ok, one, two, three!" Ash gently tossed the flailing and panicking Riolu towards Misty, who caught the little Pokémon after the small splash and held him close to her chest.
"Riolu, relax! I got you!" Riolu eventually stopped his flailing and opened his eyes to see Misty smiling down at him, "See? You're not gonna sink, I'm holding you!"
"Cannonball!" Ash suddenly leaped into the air and curled into a ball, and splashed down hard and made a wave come crashing down over everyone in the surrounding area, that of course included Misty and Riolu.
"You might however drown." Misty said sarcastically. "What's with you Ash? We spent like five minutes convincing Riolu to come into the water, and then you go and do something like that, you're gonna scare the living daylights outta him!"
"No I won't! I'm just showing Riolu how to have fun in the water! Here, watch this!" Ash turned towards Dawn and gave her a splash, much to the black-haired trainer's amusement.
"Think you're funny huh? Take this!" Dawn splashed back, and that got Ash to splash some more, and pretty soon an all out water war was taking place, and it was enough to drive Pikachu, Buneary and the other Pokémon to the other side of the river away from the foolishness.
"Hey, come on guys, how old are you anyway?!" Misty exclaimed, trying to shield Riolu from the water with her body. Of course, Riolu was able to sense that whatever Ash was doing, he was enjoying it, so apparently forgetting he had been scared of the water, Riolu slipped up and out of Misty's arms and started doggy-paddling towards Ash through the back and forth waves, and started splashing along with them, "Well that makes sense." Misty huffed with her arms crossed.
"At least you don't have to worry about teaching Riolu how to swim." Brock shrugged, "And hey, as long as he's having fun right?"
"I wanted to teach Riolu how to swim!" Misty whined, "Just my luck that Riolu's a natural, just like all the other baby Pokémon we've ever had." Misty got out of the water and went over to Azurill, who was watching Happiny ride Buizel in circles. "Or not."
"Happiny can't swim yet, I guess it's just an aura thing." Brock replied dismissively.
Suddenly however, Happiny began exclaiming happily, as round green objects started bumping into Buizel, and then carried down the river past the other Pokémon, "Hey guys, heads up!" Misty exclaimed.
"Are those…watermelons?" Ash asked.
"They are!" Brock replied.
"Wow, guess this must be our lucky day!" Ash exclaimed, gathering the watermelons into his arms, "Hey, easy Riolu!" Riolu had been struggling to grab onto a watermelon, but he wound up almost getting smothered by it.
"I got it." Dawn giggled and took the watermelon for herself, "So who's hungry?"
"Hold it!" Suddenly a boy and his sister came running up to them, "Those watermelons are ours!"
"Yeah, they were cooling down but the stream caught 'em." The girl added, pointing over to where watermelons in a somewhat broken net were being held submerged in the water.
"Oh, what a shame." Dawn sighed.
"Tough break." Ash was about to give the melons he was holding back, but then the blue-haired boy decided to have some fun.
"Hey, you want those melons? You can have 'em on one condition! Beat us in a battle!" he exclaimed.
"You wanna battle?" Ash asked excitedly.
"Yeah! We'll settle this with a tag battle!" the sister replied, pulling out a Pokéball along with her brother.
"If that's what you want!" Ash exclaimed, "Hey Misty, ready to win some dessert?!"
Misty was about to accept the offer to battle with her boyfriend, but then noticed Pikachu looking at Buneary, "I think Pikachu had his heart set on battling with Buneary, I think Dawn should take this one."
"Really? You wanna tag battle with Buneary, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Pika pi pikachu!" (I sure do!)
"Well alright then! Ready Dawn?!" Ash asked.
"You know I am!" Dawn replied.
Within minutes, the whole group was changed, and they headed over to a small clearing where the grass had been removed for any trainers that wanted to battle. "The battle is between Kiko and Kato of Michina Town, and Ash from Pallet Town and Dawn from Twinleaf Town! This'll be a two on two match with each trainer using only one Pokémon each, and the battle will be over when both Pokémon on either side are unable to battle!" Brock announced.
"Alright Heracross, let's go!" Kato threw out his Pokéball, and a Heracross appeared from it.
"Beautifly, come on out!" Kato's sister Kiko tossed out her own, and a Beautifly emerged from it, fluttering in place and ready for battle.
"Alright Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash gave his signature call, and Pikachu leaped onto the field with cheeks sparking furiously.
"Buneary, let's go!" With an acrobatic twirl, Buneary leaped up and over Dawn and landed in front of the coordinator, and then took a quick and determined glance at her battle partner Pikachu, who nodded at her in response.
"Alright, let the battle begin!" Brock shouted.
"Buneary, 'Ice Beam' on Beautifly!" Dawn made the first move and ordered Buneary to fire at the butterfly Pokémon, who was unprepared for the sudden attack, and took the hit, pushed backwards by its power.
"No ya don't!" Kato shouted, "Heracross, let's get going! Use 'Megahorn'!" After watching Beautifly fall back, Heracross took off with its horn glowing with power.
"Counter with 'Iron Tail' Pikachu!" Pikachu rushed forward with his tail now hard as steel, and the mouse leaped into the air to meet Heracross's move, but when the two attacks collided, both Pokémon were knocked back down to the ground, but only Pikachu was able to make a quick recovery as he flipped backwards and landed on all fours, his cheeks sparking with determination.
"No way are we going down that easy!" Kato exclaimed, "Heracross, 'Horn Attack'!"
"Beautifly, 'Bug Bite'!" Kiko added. The two Pokémon flew towards their opponents with attacks armed and ready, but Ash and Dawn had their own moves ready as well.
"I'm hungry, let's make this quick! Pikachu, 'Volt Tackle'!"
"Buneary, use 'Bounce'!"
Both Pikachu and Buneary surged forward with their most powerful physical attacks charged up, and they leaped up to meet Heracross and Beautifly, and this time it was a clean hit as both Heracross and Beautifly were knocked to the ground by their power. "They didn't faint; looks like these two are stronger than I thought." Misty said to herself, as she watched the battle take place with all the other Pokémon.
"Alright then," Kato said, "Let's try something more long distance! Heracross, use 'Hyper Beam'!"
"Yeah! Beautifly, unleash your 'Solarbeam'!"
"Dodge it!" the two other trainers shouted.
When the attacks fired, Pikachu and Buneary squeezed in tight to each other to avoid the attack, and they managed to escape getting hit as their bodies pressed together was too narrow a target to hit. "Now Buneary, 'Dizzy Punch'!" With the attacks finished, Buneary took a split-second to smooch Pikachu's nose and immediately surged ahead with her ears glowing with energy.
"Ok Pikachu, shake it off and use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu did just that, he shook his head to try and get his emotions in check, and then he blasted a 'Thunderbolt' at the fluttering Beautifly.
"Dodge it Beautifly!" Kiko shouted.
"Heracross, use 'Megahorn' to knock that back!" Kato countered.
Buneary made it to her target and started swinging with her ears, however Heracross was able to avoid the first few attacks and managed to counter by swinging his energized horn and banging Buneary back to where she came from, while Beautifly was able to dodge and allow the electricity to fly right by it.
"Buneary, are you ok?" Dawn asked. Buneary quickly got up and nodded without looking back at her trainer.
"This battle is turning out to be interesting, in more ways than one." Misty giggled to herself, seeing Buneary take a timeout to kiss Pikachu had amused the water-trainer.
"Ok Beautifly, time to use 'Silver Wind'!" Kiko ordered. Beautifly gained a little more altitude and began flapping its wings faster and faster; creating a glittery gale that pounded the two Pokémon below, "Yeah! Now we've got 'em!"
"Think so?!" Ash shouted, "Quick Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt' and stop that attack!" Pikachu managed to charge up enough power to get off a 'Thunderbolt' that was just strong enough to bring a stop to the 'Silver Wind'.
"Alright! Now Buneary, use 'Dizzy Punch'!"
"Heracross, defend with 'Horn Attack'!"
The two Pokémon met in the middle of the field and began taking swings at each other, but Buneary seemed to have the obvious disadvantage as Heracross's tough horn was blocking every attack Buneary tried. Eventually, Heracross managed to get a good hit in, and sent Buneary flying high into the air, helpless to do anything.
"Oh no, Buneary!" Dawn cried.
"Now Beautifly, 'Shadow Ball'!" Beautifly flew up towards the now panicking Buneary and started charging a ghostly ball of energy.
"Uh oh, that's not good." Brock commented.
"Pikachu, quick! Use…huh?" Ash was about to order Pikachu to help Buneary, but Pikachu had already jumped up and used 'Iron Tail' to make the 'Shadow Ball' detonate right in Beautifly's face. "Uh, yeah, 'Iron Tail'! I meant for you to do that!"
"Smooth recovery Ash." Misty scoffed.
While Ash's recovery may not have been smooth, Pikachu made sure that when he landed back on the ground he was there to catch Buneary and keep her from having a nasty fall. "Pika chu?" (You ok?)
"Bun eary." (Am now.)
"Thanks Pikachu!" Dawn exclaimed, "Alright Buneary, let's finish this! Use 'Ice Beam'!"
"Pikachu, merge that 'Ice Beam' with a 'Thunderbolt'!"
The two partners fired their most powerful attacks simultaneously, and the energies swirled around and merged to create one super strong beam that impacted the two opposing Pokémon before their trainers could even react, and when the attack finally wore off, Beautifly and Heracross dropped and went down.
Seeing the result of that final attack, Brock ran onto the field to check on the status of the two Pokémon, and wasn't surprised to find that his suspicions had indeed been confirmed. "Beautifly and Heracross are both unable to battle! The winners are Pikachu and Buneary!"
"Yeah, we won!" Ash cheered.
"High five Ash!" Dawn raised her hand up in the air and Ash gave her five, while the two victorious Pokémon shared a victory hug on the field, "Now we can have a nice snack!"
"I guess so. You beat us fair and square." Kiko sighed as she returned her Beautifly to its Pokéball, "That was a great battle though."
"Yeah I'll say, your Beautifly really had some great moves." Ash replied.
"Hey! What about my Heracross?!" Kato shouted.
"Relax dude," Ash sweat-dropped, "Your Heracross was awesome too, that 'Megahorn' is something else!"
Kato smiled when Ash said that, "Well, I guess all that's left is to eat."
"Eat?! Aww yeah, now we're talking!" Ash ran over to the stream and grabbed the watermelons, "What are we waiting for?!"
"We're waiting to cut them Ash, unless you plan on eating the rind!" Misty replied.
Ash sweat-dropped, "Hey no sweat! I'm sure ol' Brocko will have these chopped up in no time, ain't that right Brock?"
"Sure thing Ash, just gimme a knife and I'll have these watermelons sliced, diced, or whatever form of 'iced' you like!" True to his word, Brock had the watermelons opened and sliced in a matter of minutes with his fancy knife cuts, "There ya go! Watermelon for everybody!" Then Mamoswine came up behind Brock and stared longingly at the plate full of watermelon, "Whoa there big fella, you can have some too, but you gotta let everyone else have some!" Brock then proceeded to pass the watermelon around to everyone, much to the dismay of Mamoswine who was watching the plate of fruit shrink right before his eyes.
"Alright yeah!" Ash finally got his hands on his slice, and immediately began taking bites out of it, seeds and all. "Wow, this is the juiciest watermelon ever!" Ash then spotted Riolu eating and decided to play a little trick, "Misty'll probably kill me for this…but it's worth it!" Ash scooted over to Riolu and got the young Pokémon's attention, "Hey Riolu, wanna see something cool?" Ash glared intently at a dandelion growing in the grass, and cocking his head back, he fired the watermelon seeds out of his mouth like a machine gun, ultimately ruining the poor plant. "Heh heh, awesome huh?" Riolu was inclined to agree…in fact he agreed so much that he wanted to try for himself. So he cocked his head back…and accidently swallowed the seeds, leading to a choking fit. "Whoa, Riolu! Brock!"
Ash's panicked cry got everyone's attention, and they all crowded around Riolu who was holding his throat as he coughed violently, "What happened?!" Brock asked.
"He-he must've swallowed some seeds when he tried to spit them out!" Ash replied.
"And why would that have happened?! Were you goofing off trying to pretend to use 'Bullet Seed', because if that's what you did, I swear…" Misty was so angry that she was about ready to slit Ash's throat, but a pained squeal from Riolu averted her attention away from her soon to be ex-boyfriend, "Brock, do something!"
"Right!" Brock picked the choking Riolu up off the ground and held him across his forearm tilted downwards and began giving the Emanation Pokémon back thrusts.
"Why aren't you doing that wrestling move or whatever?!" Ash asked in a panic.
"You can't apply the Heimlich maneuver to an infant Ash! This is the only way I can do anything! Now calm down, Riolu doesn't need anyone panicking." Brock continued softly hitting Riolu's back, and eventually the seeds that had gotten lodged the in the little fighting type's throat came out and fell to the ground, much to everyone's relief, "There ya go, feel better now?" Riolu craned his neck to look back at Brock and nodded gratefully, exhausted from the frightening ordeal.
Once it was all over, Misty took Riolu into her arms and hugged him close, "You poor thing, at least thanks to Brock you're alright now." She cooed softly.
"Wow, that was kinda scary." Kato said.
"Yeah, we're sure glad your Riolu is ok!" Kiko added.
"No thanks to Ash." Misty spat.
"Hey, it's not like I madeRiolu choke! You don't think I wasworried too?!" Ash replied.
"I'm sure you were, but you've got to learn to be more responsible!" Misty turned her back on Ash and walked over to all the other Pokémon, who had since gone back to their watermelon, mostly because they wanted no part of the quarreling couple's argument. Dawn, Kiko, and Kato went with Misty, leaving Ash and Brock to talk.
Ash crossed his arms and exhaled, "I guess Misty's right, it was pretty stupid of me to mess around like that." He said begrudgingly.
"She'll get over it eventually." Brock said reassuringly, and as long as you and Riolu are still cool, everything should work out fine, and I doubt he'd be mad at you for this."
"Yeah, maybe…I'm not feeling anything bitter in Riolu's aura or anything, so I guess we're still cool…" Ash replied, "I should still apologize though."
"Good idea." Brock replied with a nod.
Ash went over to Misty who was still cradling Riolu in her arms, and he was relieved to find that Misty had sensed his remorse and allowed him to approach the baby Pokémon, "Hey, I'm sorry Riolu, can you forgive me?" Naturally, Riolu hopped out of Misty's arms and hugged his true trainer, reassuring him that he held no ill will towards him, "Thanks Riolu, you're awesome."
After the touching Trainer-Pokémon moment, the group finished their snack in peace, and then was given a tour of the town by Kato and Kiko. "You really can't come to this town without seeing the ruins!" Kato said.
"Ruins?" Ash asked.
"Yeah! Of a temple from thousands of years ago!" Kiko replied.
"Hey, my guidebook talks about those ruins too." Brock commented.
"Sounds pretty interesting if you ask me." Misty added.
"They are!" Kato exclaimed, "Trust me, you're gonna love 'em!"
"Well we don't have anything better to do, so I say we go check 'em out!" Ash exclaimed, "Lead the way guys!"
"Oh…um…well…" Kiko chuckled.
"What's the matter?" Dawn asked.
"Well the thing is, we kinda gotta get home, but we'll point you in the right direction before we go!" Kiko replied.
"Yeah! Just go through the forest over there and walk all the way to the lake, and then you gotta climb up the mountain and you're there!" Kato explained.
"Oh gee, is that all?" Dawn slouched with fatigue just at the thought of the long excursion ahead of them, "It could be worse I guess, at least we don't have to go to space or anything."
"I sense sarcasm." Misty replied in a sing-song voice.
"Says the queen of sarcastic remarks." Dawn huffed.
"She's got ya there Mist." Ash chuckled.
"Careful Ash, every day I don't use my mallet is another day the mallet fuse gets shorter." The redhead warned.
"You guys are real characters!" Kato laughed, finding the whole banter highly amusing.
"Well, it was nice meeting you guys, thanks for the battle!" With that, Kiko and her brother headed home, leaving Ash and Co. on their own.
"Well, we're not gonna get there if we just stand here, let's get going!" Ash hurried into the forest which provoked the other three to go after him, and much to their delight, and in Dawn's case relief, the forest wasn't nearly as thick as they originally thought, and within minutes they had reached the lake that Kiko and Kato had told them about, "Wow, check that out!"
It was indeed a marvel to behold, the rock that had the ruins at the top just seemed to emanate pride by the way it seemed to stick out where its chest would be if it were alive. Two narrow waterfalls were pouring out of holes in the mountain, flowing into the lake below which was clearer than even the freshest water. "It's beautiful!" Misty gaped in awe.
"Yeah, and the ruins are waaaay up there." Brock pointed out to the group. Then the breeder took a deep breath and exhaled with vigor, "Man, I can just feel positive energy flowing through this place!"
"Me too! It feels like getting a recharge!" Ash added, stretching his arms out to take in the serene feeling.
Unbeknownst to them however, something was stirring in the lake, and a vortex of darkness momentarily appeared in the sky and disappeared again before anyone could notice. Pikachu went down to the water's edge for a drink, when suddenly his ear twitched as he sensed something out of the ordinary, "Pikapi!"
"What's the matter Pikachu?" Ash asked. Suddenly the lake didn't seem so serene, as the water seemed to get sucked upwards and began swirling into a powerful vortex, "What's going on?! Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash ordered the electric mouse to attack, and the lightning hit the water and broke up the vortex…but despite that, something still seemed off.
"What…was that?" Misty asked in shock.
"I dunno, that vortex came outta nowhere!" Brock replied. Suddenly Pokémon of all different types came running out of the forest, just trying to escape from the area, "The Pokémon are all running away!"
"Something's happening!" Dawn gulped fearfully.
"Something like that?!" Misty pointed towards the middle of the lake, where suddenly a much a larger vortex formed, and this it brought friends with it as three more vortexes shot up into the sky, where a huge vortex of what seemed to be pure darkness sucked up the water…and what was worse, the dark vortex seemed to want more than a drink, "Let's get outta here!"
The teens took off running, but Dawn had been grabbed by the wind and started to fly away, "Guys!"
"Dawn!" Ash managed to grab ahold of Dawn's hand and started tugging to bring her back to earth, but if it weren't for Misty and Brock, Ash would've gotten sucked in with her. After a short struggle, Dawn was able to get back onto solid ground, but then she noticed that the two other members of their party had been sucked in, "Piplup! Pikachu!"
The two Pokémon flailed helplessly in the wind of the vortex, until Pikachu grabbed onto Piplup and the penguin fired a desperate 'Bubblebeam' to try and use its power to resist the pull of the vortex. "We gotta do something!" Misty shouted over the wind.
"I can only think of one thing! It's Charizard time!" Ash was about to release his dragon and go after the two Pokémon, when a man and woman ran up seemingly out of nowhere, "Whoa, who are they?"
"Now Dialga, come forth!" the woman cried, "Dialga, please save these Pokémon for me!" Just then, the legendary Dialga appeared through a time portal, and flew up to the two struggling Pokémon just as Piplup ran out of energy and stopped firing. Just before the two Pokémon were lost forever, Dialga caught them and pulled them safely away from the vortex's pull.
"The legendary Pokémon that rules time…Dialga…" Brock said in awe.
"That's Dialga? Incredible!" Misty gaped.
"But…how can it be here?" Dawn wondered.
"And how can she talk to it?" Brock added.
Moments later, Dialga came swooping down and dropped off Pikachu and Piplup into the waiting arms of their respective trainers, and as soon as they were safe, the Temporal Pokémon flew back up towards the vortex and unleashed a 'Roar of Time' attack that negated the vortex completely. The splashdown of the water however created a huge wave that the teens ran up a ledge to avoid being swept away by, "That was close." Ash commented. Once the danger seemed to be over, Dialga hovered over the humans and roared out a victory cry, "Hey Dialga!" But just then, another portal appeared in the lake, and out of this portal came the legendary Pokémon Giratina, who Ash and his friends had already been acquainted with through their adventure with Shaymin. "It's Giratina!"
After morphing into his real world form, Giratina flew up to Dialga and attacked the Temporal Pokémon, first by ramming into it, and then blasting a huge ball of blue energy at it. "Giratina must still be angry with Dialga!" Dawn exclaimed. Dialga roared and tried to get away, but the Renegade Pokémon's rage refused to let Dialga escape, it chased after Dialga and pinned it down into the water, making a huge splash that again almost swept away everyone.
"It's too dangerous, get away quick!" the strange man suddenly shouted.
"Right!" Dawn for one wanted badly to leave while she could, but her other party members didn't seem to have any desire to leave now. "Guys, come on! We gotta get out of here!"
"No way Dawn! Giratina's our friend, and Dialga saved our Pokémon! We gotta find a way to stop this!" Ash replied determinedly.
"That may be impossible Ash, Giratina's obviously after Dialga still!" Brock explained.
Ash growled and ignored the breeder's analysis and looked back towards the two battling giants, "Giratina, stop it! Dialga saved Pikachu and Piplup for us, come on! Remember us!" the trainer shouted. But the trainer's cry fell on deaf ears as Giratina blasted another ball of blue fire at the Temporal Pokémon at point-blank range, "Giratina…"
While the teens looked on in horror, the woman who had summoned Dialga stepped up and clasped her hands together, "Now transcend…the confines of time and space!" No one else could see it, but the woman's mind and soul had basically transported to another dimension, one where she and Giratina's mind and soul were the only ones there. However there was something very different about Giratina's aura, it was an angry red color as opposed to the woman's yellow one, "Giratina!"
"What's she doing?" Misty wondered.
"I dunno Mist…" Ash replied, "But…it's something like…the way I communicate with Riolu, when my aura connects with his."
"You mean she's connecting auras with Giratina?!" Dawn asked.
"Kind of…but…on a deeper level, it's almost like…their hearts are connected." Ash replied thoughtfully. Suddenly however, the woman gasped and grimaced at a supposedly unseen force, and stumbled backwards into the arms of the man by her side, "It stopped! Giratina must've pushed her away!"
"Sheena!" the man exclaimed with concern.
"Giratina's rage…it's too strong!" Sheena replied.
"Maybe for you it is!" Ash jumped into the lake and ran towards the two fighting Pokémon, ignoring the protests of his friends, "If Giratina doesn't wanna talk to her, maybe my aura can get through!" Ash got as close as he felt he could without getting right in between the fighters, "Giratina! Can't you feel I'm right here with you?! It's me! Ash!" The trainer tried to connect with Giratina's aura, but found that reaching out to the Renegade Pokémon was having no effect. "Uh oh…I guess it doesn't work that well unless it's Riolu or a Lucario!"
"Ash! Come back!" Brock yelled, using his hands as a megaphone to try and increase the volume of his voice, "Ash is overestimating the extent of his abilities with aura, he thinks he can connect to Giratina!"
"He's gonna get himself killed!" Misty exclaimed worriedly, "ASH!"
"Come on Giratina, why aren't you getting the message?!" Ash had tried to send his aura out to Giratina's, but after several failed attempts he came to the sad realization that it simply wasn't going to work. "It's no use!" Ash snarled to himself, "I'm not as strong as Riley, I can only use my aura with Riolu…so how am I gonna stop Giratina?" Ash was suddenly swept off his feet by a wave created by the splashing of the two giants, and he wound up flat on his back after the water subsided, "Giratina, stop it!"
All of a sudden, Giratina stopped thrashing and looked down to where the trainer and his Pikachu had been swept, and recognized the duo as the same two that it had gone on an incredible adventure with to save its world. Seeing Ash and Pikachu, the Renegade Pokémon calmed down and allowed Dialga to fly off, "I don't believe it…did Ash actually manage to connect to Giratina's aura?" Misty said in shock.
"Giratina, you remembered us after all!" Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
"Giratina's rage, it's gone!" Sheena was quite shocked at this development, but she quickly shook it off and focused back in on her goal, "Now's the time! Transcend…the confines of time and space!" Just like that, the girl's spirit connected to Giratina's just as before, only this time the Renegade Pokémon's aura was a peaceful blue as opposed to the red it was before. "You have misunderstood Dialga." Sheena said to the giant, "Please don't battle." Giratina nodded in understanding, and when the connection was broken, the dragon/ghost-type flew up into the air and opened a portal into the Reverse World, disappearing into it as if nothing had ever happened.
"It looks like Giratina gets it now." The man said satisfactorily.
"Nice if it's true," Sheena began, "But I should've seen it in its heart."
"Should've seen it in its heart?" Dawn asked, shyly walking up to the man and the woman he called Sheena. "Seen what exactly? If you don't mind my asking…"
"You see…I have the power to connect my heart with the hearts of Pokémon." Sheena explained.
"Connect hearts?" Dawn gasped in awe.
"That sounds like how Ash connects to Riolu with his aura." Misty pointed out.
"Your friend Ash is an aura guardian?" the man asked.
"Not exactly, he can use his aura to a certain extent, but it's not like he'll be making forcefields anytime soon." Misty replied thoughtfully.
"Hey!" Ash jumped back up to where his friends were standing, indignant at Misty's comments about his proficiency in aura, "I did make a forcefield once, remember?" the trainer boasted.
"You did it with a real aura guardian and his super strong Lucario, remember?" Misty quipped, causing Ash to face-fault. "But I digress, were you able to connect with Giratina? You obviously made something happen."
Ash got back up and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed at what he was about to say, "Well to tell you the truth…I think Giratina just plain recognized me and Pikachu, my aura didn't really get through or anything." He chuckled bashfully.
Misty scoffed, "And here you are making a huge fuss over your 'abilities' with aura, you're gonna need more practice before you can brag about that." The water trainer used air-quotes to emphasize her point, and needless to say Ash wasn't happy about it.
"I don't see you using aura for anything." Ash crossed his arms and turned his back to the redhead.
"I don't think I'd want to even if I could, that aura of yours has gotten us into a lot of trouble." Misty replied, also turning her back.
"Oh dear…" Sheena was stunned at the argument that had just taken place, not knowing the couple; she thought they were actually mad at each other.
"Relax; this sort of thing happens all the time. Watch, in about five minutes they'll be smooching on each other like they were the happiest couple in the world." Dawn laughed, "Ain't that right Ash and Misty?"
The two didn't flinch, but there was a distinct color of red on each of their faces. "I see…" Sheena decided to take Dawn's word for it and dismiss the argument as nothing. "To finish answering your question," Sheena began, turning her attention back to Dawn, "Yes, I can connect my heart to the hearts of Pokémon, that's why I was able to connect with Dialga, and it let me share some of its strength."
"Dialga's strength? Whoa…" Ash said in awe, the argument between him and Misty already forgotten.
"I'm sorry; I don't believe we've been properly introduced." Sheena said, "I'm Sheena, and I'm a guardian of these ruins."
"Same here," the man added, "My name's Kevin."
"So were any of you injured?" Sheena asked.
"No, we're fine!" Dawn reassured with a nod, "My name is Dawn."
"My name's Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu, thanks for saving him and Piplup by the way."
"Yeah thanks! My name is Misty by the way."
"It's nice to meet you all." Sheena suddenly gasped as she noticed something, and she walked up to Ash and Pikachu, and made a move as if she was about to touch Pikachu.
"Uh Sheena…I wouldn't do that if I were you." Misty tried to warn the guardian, Pikachu had a history of zapping people he didn't know who tried to touch him, but the redhead and the breeder next to her both gaped in awe when Pikachu not only didn't object to the woman stroking his cheeks, but seemed to enjoy it as he let out a happy 'chaaa' at the contact. "I don't believe it!" Misty whispered to Brock.
"Long ago…there was a thunder creature and its master, and they changed the fate of this town." Sheena said.
"Huh?" Even as dense as Ash tended to be, he could tell this story would have something to do with him and Pikachu.
"Yes," Kevin continued the story, "You see, it's part of the legend of this town."
"Wait a minute," Dawn said incredulously, "A thunder creature and its master?!"
"You don't mean Ash and Pikachu do you?" Misty asked.
"I do…I have a feeling our meeting may have been fated." Sheena said.
"Well…I kinda have a girlfriend already…" Ash chuckled bashfully.
Sheena gave him a confused look, while Ash's friends just sweat-dropped in annoyance as Ash's density came back into play, "I think you may have misunderstood." Sheena said.
"I'm positive he misunderstood." Misty spat.
Ash glared at his girlfriend, "Sorry, geez."
"I merely meant that the legend may have something to do with you and your Pikachu, so would you mind coming with us?" Sheena asked.
"Hey, I'll do whatever you want! After all, you saved Pikachu's life!" Ash replied determinedly.
Suddenly however, Brock lost control and dropped to one knee on front of Sheena, grabbing the beautiful woman's hand, "Sheena, I never had a chance to introduce myself! I'm Brock, another fated person!" he said passionately. He got up and walked slightly towards the lake, "Why just a short moment ago I took a fated tumble and scraped my elbow which then led to the fated fact that you would kiss it and make it better, and also have you stroke me with that beautiful hand of yours! Which is the miracle that took away all of my pain!" Ash ran back towards Sheena and went back to his original position, "All because of the fickle finger of fate! And now, we get to know each other and build our feelings on the fated love that I know is there inside! Such a lovely silken hand…huh?"
"Thank goodness." Misty sighed in relief. Brock found that the hand he was holding was no longer Sheena's, but instead Croagunk's, "I was wondering what was taking so long, you made a fool of yourself less than halfway through your little soliloquy." As if to emphasize her point, Croagunk gave Brock the jab that was inevitably on its way, and dragged the now crippled breeder away from the group. "Sorry about that Sheena." Misty apologized for the breeder.
Sheena was simply confused, while Kevin seemed to be glaring at Brock, unnoticed by the other members of the gathered group. Suddenly, the water in the lake swirled into a spout once again, and enveloped Dialga who had been flying around waiting for Sheena, "Dialga!"
The winds and the waters became so rough that a tree snapped and started flying towards Misty and Dawn. "Look out!" Kevin grabbed the two girls and dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a flying tree trunk, "Sheena, we've got to go, now! Or we'll be caught in the water spout!"
"But wait! We've got to help Dialga!" Sheena replied.
But just then, the spout grew larger in size and started swirling towards them. Kevin stepped in front of Sheena to try and protect his friend, when all of a sudden a portal opened right in front of the spout, and yet another legendary Pokémon made an appearance and saved them, "It's Palkia!"
"The legendary Pokémon that rules space!" Brock added. With a powerful swing of its arm, Palkia unleashed a 'Spacial Rend' that broke apart the water spout, and then the Spatial Pokémon distorted the space around Dialga, and freed it from its trap.
"Hey, look at that! Palkia saved Dialga from the water spout!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Why is that a surprise? Aren't they supposed to be friends?" Misty asked naively.
"That's right…you weren't with us yet…it's a long story." Ash replied.
Seeing the two Pokémon conversing with each other, Sheena folded her hands, "Transcend the confines of time and space." Sheena connected her heart with the hearts of the two legends.
"Hold on…transcend?" Ash asked.
"It means rise above, or go over." Brock explained.
"Right, which means this transcends your head Ash." Misty added with a giggle.
"Hey!" Ash crossed his arms and huffed indignantly, much to Misty's amusement.
"You see children," Kevin said, getting the attention of the teens, "Right now, Sheena's connected with the hearts of both of those Pokémon."
"She's…syncing with them!" Dawn said in realization.
"Exactly!" Kevin said with a nod.
"Thank you…Palkia…Dialga…" Sheena broke the connection, and the two legends went their separate ways, each heading back to their own dimensions.
"Just like that, they're gone…whoa." Misty said in awe.
"They've returned to their own dimensions." Kevin explained.
"Ok…I'm seriously confused, forgive me for sounding dumb but I'm not from here, can someone please explain what's going on here?!" Misty exclaimed.
"Sorry Mist, see, Dialga and Palkia got into a huge fight with each other when we stopped in Alamos Town…me and Dawn managed to get them to stop fighting by playing a weird song that soothed them. After that though, I really don't know what happened." Ash explained.
"I can explain it further." Sheena said.
"Whoa, really?" Ash asked.
Sheena nodded and motioned for the group to follow her, "Come, we're going to the ruins…all of your questions will be answered there."
The group began the long climb up the mountain. By this time, Buneary and Riolu had come out of their Pokéballs and rejoined the group, and Riolu became the topic of a conversation between Ash and Misty. "So you really think my aura causes trouble? Without it, we wouldn't have Riolu!" Ash pointed out, as he balanced the young Pokémon on his shoulders.
"I was upset Ash, ok? I didn't mean it. Your ability with aura is a blessing that only a precious few like Riley seem to have," Misty plucked the Emanation Pokémon off of Ash's shoulders and cradled him in her arms, "And yes, I'm very grateful to have Riolu…I just…I wish you wouldn't try to do things just because you think aura would help. You're not Riley, you can't stop bombs from exploding all by yourself…my point is I wish you'd be more careful."
"I get it Misty." Ash sighed. "Maybe I should practice using it more; it might even help Riolu grow up stronger."
"Fine, just don't practice in life or death situations." Misty sighed and hugged Riolu to her chest, "I wouldn't want this little one to grow up without a daddy."
Ash smiled tenderly and rubbed Riolu's head, "Don't worry Mist." Ash then stroked Misty's orange locks, causing the redhead to blush lightly at the contact. "I'm not going anywhere." Ash pulled Misty in closer and laid his head on hers just as she laid hers on his shoulder.
"See Sheena? I told you that they'd go back to normal in just a few minutes!" Dawn laughed.
"A very strange relationship, I must say." Sheena replied.
When they reached the top of the mountain, Sheena and Kevin led the teens into the ruins, where a secret underground cavern was hidden, "I can't believe…we're under the ruins!" Brock said in awe, as his head swiveled in all directions to try and take in the sights. Sheena and Kevin then opened a large pair of doors, which led to a large room with a strange device in the middle, "What is this thing Sheena?" the breeder asked.
"This is the Time-Space Axis." Sheena replied.
"What's it do?" Ash asked.
"The Time-Space Axis indicates the condition of every minute change in the time-space continuum." Kevin explained.
"Wow…I didn't even know that kind of thing was possible!" Misty gaped.
"It is rather amazing isn't it?" Sheena replied, We use it to investigate those places where time and space have been disrupted."
"Time and space disruptions…" Brock pondered the meaning of that, "You mean…like what happened today with Dialga and Palkia?"
"Something like that, yes." Kevin replied, "You see, we were there to see the strange mutation of Alamos Town."
"You were there?!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yes, and we were also present when that hole in time and space opened near the Glacier by Sonzonia City." Sheena said.
"I don't believe it…so, you were at the Flower Garden where Shaymin flew off from, and that means you probably saw Zero's ship!" Misty exclaimed.
"Come to think of it, we did see what looked like a strange vessel trapped in the ice." Sheena replied. Misty was about to question Sheena further, when a loud clang was heard from the Time-Space Axis. Sheena went over to the device and explained what every piece represented, "Here's our world," she said, pointing at the smallest sphere in the device, "Which is in turn supported by this," she pointed to the large sphere below the previous one, "Giratina's Reverse World." She then explained the two medium sized spheres at the top; "Here we have the dimension of Dialga…and here, Palkia's dimension…on top of that," Sheena turned her attention to a sphere protected by a mesh cage, "Arceus's dimension."
"What's Arceus's dimension?" Brock asked.
"Is Arceus…a Pokémon?" Misty followed up.
"Right Misty…Arceus is the legendary Pokémon that has been said to have created this entire world." Sheena replied.
"Our whole world…created by a Pokémon?" Dawn said in awe.
"He's also said to have created all of these worlds too." Kevin added.
"Wow…a Pokémon like that must be omnipotent!" Misty said.
"If the legends of Arceus creating worlds are true, then I'm inclined to agree with you Misty…" Sheena replied, "There is an omen that predicts Arceus will soon awaken from his long slumber…massive whirlpools of energy are beginning to form around Arceus…as he begins to awaken…these whirlpools are distorting space, and brought Dialga and Palkia's dimensions, which were designed to remain eternally separated, into contact with each other."
Kevin continued the explanation, "So Dialga and Palkia shouldn't ever have met, instead they collided with one another in Alamos Town!"
"And both of them thought the other was trying to threaten its territory!" Brock realized.
"Exactly." Kevin replied, "Their battle also affected the Reverse World, which brought Giratina into the conflict as well."
"No wonder Giratina was so angry with Dialga!" Dawn exclaimed, "But Sheena…you already resolved the conflict between Dialga and Palkia didn't you?" Sheena nodded at the coordinator.
"But wait a minute, why didn't Giratina understand when Sheena tried to connect with it, or when Ash tried to connect his aura to Giratina's?" Brock asked.
"I don't think Ash's aura was compatible with Giratina's." Kevin's statement made Ash sigh and bend over with disappointment. "As for Sheena, when a Pokémon's heart is overcome with rage, she can't connect with them."
"Rage?" Ash pondered this for a moment, when suddenly the Time-Space Axis began to rattle violently, "Whoa, what's happening?!"
Sheena and Kevin glanced at each other and nodded, "We've been using the Time-Space Axis to pinpoint the moment when Arceus will appear." Kevin explained.
"But why would it do that?" Ash asked.
"Arceus holds a grudge against humanity." Sheena sighed, "He is intent on bringing us all to justice."
"Justice?!" the teens gulped.
"Yes, justice." Sheena replied, "It's possible that Arceus will destroy us entirely."
"A Pokémon destroying all people?! That can't be!" Ash's adrenaline was beginning to race at the situation at hand.
"Have a look at this." Sheena pressed a button on the wall, and three waterfalls began flowing into a pool of water, and two lights began to show a visual presentation of the story Sheena was about to tell, "It's a legend of this place."
"Look at that! That must be Arceus!" Misty exclaimed, gasping at the Pokémon-like figure shining on the water.
"When it appeared that fragments from the stars would destroy much of the Pokémon, Arceus sacrificed himself in order to fend off the danger." Sheena explained.
"So it stopped meteors? That's unbelievable…" Brock said in awe.
"Arceus had been carrying the sixteen life plates around with it that could be used to counter all possible attacks." Kevin explained, "But he lost the life plates colliding with the meteors, making his death a near certainty."
"Maybe Arceus isn't so omnipotent after all." Misty thought out loud.
"Perhaps…it appeared that Arceus had sentenced himself to death, but then he was saved by a man named Damos, who returned the life plates to Arceus…back then, Michina was little more than a wasteland, spreading out over the land…but when Arceus saw this, he was overcome with pity, so he removed the powers of water, grass, ground, and electricity from the life plates…and on top of that, dragon. He then combined the plates into one powerful artifact…the Jewel of Life. Arceus trusted Damos and bestowed upon him the Jewel of Life, even though he knew he was putting his own life into grave danger."
"This doesn't make any sense though…" Misty said to herself.
Sheena had missed Misty's comment and continued her story, "Arceus's magnificent strength flowed through the Jewel of Life, turning that wasteland that was Michina into a fertile paradise."
"Sheena," Misty interrupted, "If Arceus was so benevolent as to sacrifice his life to save all of us, and then give up his power to help a barren land…why is he coming to…well to put it bluntly…kill us?!"
Sheena sighed sadly, "Well…the day came that Damos was supposed to return the jewel, the day when the moon covered the sun."
"A solar eclipse." Brock said, modernizing Sheena's words.
"Yes…however, Damos broke his promise, and instead of returning the Jewel of Life, he attacked Arceus."
"What?! But why?!" Ash asked in shock.
"Well…Damos believed that if he were to return the jewel, this area would go back to being an uncultivated wasteland." Sheena replied.
Kevin decided to take a turn, "Feeling profoundly betrayed, Arceus went into a rage, and destroyed this shrine. And then, in order to heal himself from his injuries, Arceus began a long sleep." After that, the water stopped flowing and the lights turned off.
"I can see why Arceus was so upset." Ash said.
"And as bad as this sounds guys," Misty added, Humanity deserves to be brought to justice."
"After seeing this, I can't help but agree…" Dawn sighed, "And after Arceus went so far as to give up a part of himself to help Damos…no wonder Arceus hates us."
"So in the end, we have Damos to thank for Arceus's wrath." Brock said angrily.
"Unfortunately yes…and sadly…Damos…is my ancestor." The teens gasped in shock at that. Sheena took a brass container and brought it over to the teens, "And this…is the Jewel of Life."
"It's beautiful!" Dawn breathed in awe.
"Indeed it is." Sheena then turned her attention to a stone tablet hanging on the wall, with foreign writing carved into it. "Return thus to Arceus, the Jewel of Life. Placate his rage; less destruction visit this land…you see? It is written."
"It's a message to us from our ancestors." Kevin explained.
"So that means they realized their mistake!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yes…" Sheena glanced down at the jewel, "We must return the Jewel of Life to Arceus, so that we may calm his wrath."
Suddenly the Time-Space Axis began rattling more violently than ever, and what sounded like an alarm began to ring from the center of it, "What's going on?!" Ash gulped.
Sheena and Kevin glanced at each other and nodded knowingly, "It is time," Sheena said, "Arceus is coming!"
"Quickly! We must get to the shrine entrance before Arceus destroys it!" Kevin shouted.
"Right!" the group ran as fast as they could to get back outside, but when the shrine began to rumble, they knew something was very wrong.
"Arceus is here!" Sheena ran in front of the others, and when she reached the entrance, she saw Arceus preparing to attack, "Arceus please! You've got to stop!"
Arceus stopped momentarily and hovered over to Sheena, "Who are you?" Arceus said, disgust evident in the Pokémon's voice.
"He can talk!" Dawn squeaked.
"And he doesn't exactly sound friendly." Misty added.
"I am a descendant of Damos…Arceus I know my ancestor did a terrible thing to you…please forgive us." Sheena opened the container and presented it to Arceus, "This is the Jewel of Life!"
"What?!" Arceus spat.
"I humbly return it to you." Sheena placed the jewel on a pedestal and stepped back, "My family has been protecting it so that one day we may present it to you again!"
Arceus hovered down to the jewel and observed it for a moment, "Um…Arceus doesn't look any happier." Misty whispered.
Arceus backed up slightly and growled, "You're saying this is the Jewel of Life?!" Arceus brought his front leg down and shattered the jewel, much to the horror of Sheena and the others, "The Jewel of Life is a part of me! It cannot, and will not break!" Arceus cocked his head back and fired an incredibly powerful 'Flamethrower' that nearly destroyed the entire shrine, only Kevin's quick reflexes kept Sheena from being killed then and there, as he grabbed the girl and moved her out of the way.
"A forgery…but…how?" Sheena wondered, devastated by the revelation.
"I don't get it Sheena, what's going on?" Dawn asked.
Sheena shook her head, "I…I don't know…I truly thought that it was the real thing all along!"
"Ok, so where's the real one?" Ash asked.
"Uh guys," Misty pointed to the sky, "More immediate problems!"
Arceus honed in on the group and glared icily at them, "I won't let humanity deceive me anymore!"
"Arceus wait!" Sheena cried, "I swear I had no idea it was a counterfeit, please believe me!" Sheena folded her hands ad prepared to try and connect to Arceus, "Now transcend…the confines of time and space!" Sheena began the connection, but she gasped when she sensed the sheer power of Arceus's rage, and she realized she had made a grave mistake. Sheena cried out and fell to the ground as Arceus harshly rejected her, and she was quickly helped up by Kevin. "Arceus's rage is too strong!"
Suddenly the wheel around Arceus's middle began to glow, and Arceus charged another attack, "You shall be brought to justice! RRRAAAAAHHH!" Arceus fired into the sky, and like fireworks, the attack exploded and started falling down like meteors.
"Oh man, this is it!" Ash shouted. The group braced themselves for what was to come, but they were saved by the sudden appearance of Dialga and Palkia, who shielded them with fields of time and space. "It's Dialga and Palkia!"
"Are you siding with the humans?!" Arceus snarled and fired a blast of fire at the two lesser legends, Palkia was thrown back by the attack's power, but Dialga took the worst of it as the Temporal Pokémon crashed into a pillar, which almost crushed the humans below. Palkia then prepared to attack, and launched an attack that Ash and Riolu immediately recognized despite its pink coloration.
"That's 'Aura Sphere'!" the trainer exclaimed. Palkia's 'Aura Sphere' looked like it hit Arceus, but suddenly the golden wheel around Arceus's body changed from gold to black, and the attack disappeared without Arceus feeling a thing, "Oh man! What happened?!"
"Palkia's attacks aren't working!" Brock shouted in shock.
"Arceus must be using the life plates to defend against Palkia's attacks! And judging by the color, Arceus just used the ghost plate!" Kevin explained.
"Wait a minute, are you saying Arceus just became a ghost-type?!" Misty asked.
"Precisely!" Kevin replied with a nod.
Just then, Dialga let out a determined roar, and fired a 'Hyper Beam' at Arceus, but again Arceus utilized the ghost plate, and the attack was absorbed without any trouble, "Out of my way!" Arceus used a brand new attack that looked like 'Twister', and the dragon-type move bombarded Dialga and Palkia, and forced the humans to flee as more debris came crashing down as Dialga went down again.
"What are we gonna do?" Dawn wondered in horror.
Dialga then turned to Sheena, and grunted something to the young woman, "Dialga…it's trying to tell me something!"
"Not even creatures of my own kind shall be forgiven for siding with human beings! Take this!" Arceus unleashed a 'Flamethrower' that engulfed the already down Temporal Pokémon.
"Dialga!" Sheena cried.
Ash couldn't watch the battle go on any longer, he had to at least speak up, "Come on Arceus, stop this!" Of course his cry fell on deaf ears, as Arceus fired another 'Flamethrower' that struck Palkia and then scorched the walls of the ledge the humans were standing on.
"That one was really close!" Misty exclaimed.
"If this keeps up we'll be toast for sure!" Dawn added.
Ash growled and clenched his fists, "Enough's enough! Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu gaped at his master in surprise for a moment, but then nodded determinedly and fired at Arceus who was now coming in for a close range strike. The electricity struck Arceus square in the chest, and the Alpha Pokémon stopped where he was.
"I don't believe it! Pikachu's 'Thunderbolt' actually managed to hit Arceus?!" Misty gawked in bewilderment.
"Of course!" Kevin said as he suddenly realized something, "Remember that Arceus lost several of his life plates, including the one that protects him from electric-type attacks!"
"That's right!" With this knowledge in mind, Ash ordered another attack, "Alright Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt' again!"
Pikachu fired again, and once again the attack managed to strike Arceus, but the Alpha Pokémon refused to be held back by a measly Pikachu, "Out of my way!" Arceus fired back with a 'Twister', one that was aimed directly at the humans, and the force of the gale winds blew everyone backwards and to the ground, "You all shall be brought to justice!" Arceus unleashed 'Flamethrower' to finish the group off once and for all, and at the last possible moment, they were saved once again…this time by the lone dweller of the Reverse World, their friend Giratina.
"It's Giratina!" Ash exclaimed.
"Yes! Giratina understands!" Sheena added. Giratina fired a huge 'Will-O-Wisp' attack at the Alpha Pokémon, but just as it did with Palkia, Arceus changed types to fire, and absorbed the fire-type attack before unleashing a 'Blizzard' attack that engulfed Giratina and further injured the already severely weakened Dialga. Palkia on the other hand had been protecting itself inside of a barrier of distorted space, and once the attack subsided, it lowered its defenses to fire a beam at Arceus. Instead of hitting Arceus however, the beam stretched out in front of Arceus and enveloped the legend into a pink bubble, momentarily trapping the enraged Pokémon. "Palkia is distorting space to stop Arceus!" With the Alpha Pokémon restrained for the moment, Dialga once again reached out to Sheena, "Dialga…" All of a sudden, the group found themselves being lifted off the ground as Dialga's power affected them, and moments later, they vanished without a trace.
Kevin was now faced with a huge problem all by himself, as he was forced to watch Sheena and the others be taken away by the now roaring Dialga's power, clueless as to what was about to take place. "Sheena…"
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A/N: This will probably be the last author's note for a while. Once again I'd like to take a moment to thank you all for supporting me, and to my friends, I am sorry I didn't make this announcement in a more timely manner, but I just wasn't sure what to do. Now I am. I am moving on from my other projects and focusing almost solely on my goals in life. This story will live on because I still need something to relax with, but I can't devote too much time to other things anymore. There are more important things in life, such as family, the future, I'm sure you all can understand that. Thank you once again for making EchidnaPower an enjoyable experience for me. To my readers, the ride isn't over yet. But it will be a slow ride. If you don't mind waiting, I admire your devotion. Until the next update, enjoy.