Ecruteak City
It was some time after his last battle, the pair of Jackson and Leafeon finally made their way to the entrance of Ecruteak City. Like Jackson saw in the pictures and read about from his tablet, he learned that this place had mainly stuck with the history and myths of its olden times. As such, the place was old, including the old Japanese architecture, that filled most of the place. There were some modern buildings around, such as the Pokémon Center far off, as well as a couple shops, but apart from that, the place was as fitting as the description of the place suggested; A historical city.
"We finally made it." Jackson stated, looking about.
"Yes. The place you claim as your hometown." Leafeon answered.
Jackson looked about the place, seeing the environment, saying, "Yep. There were towns and parts of the city back in the Japan world that had these sorts of buildings. I wonder...is the food the same? Could I get some ramen? Maybe some yakisoba? Those were so good!"
"Sorry, what?" Leafeon questioned.
"Never mind." Jackson waved it off, "Any case, we can do some exploring later. First, let's crack down on where the gym is in this city." He pulled out his tablet, locating the gym in the city on it, and getting directions towards it. He wandered with Leafeon at his side, looking about the place. It was rather beautiful, all things considered. The nostalgia and the old-fashioned environment felt comfortable.
"I've been meaning to ask, but you mentioned the 'Japan' world you were in for a while." Leafeon recalled, "Did you like the place?"
"Absolutely. It was the very place where I met my master in martial arts, not to mention my senpais, Kenichi and Miu. Oh, and Seth Muto, as well."
"Right. If I recall, you said he came from this world, right? How did you learn that?"
"He mentioned it to me at one point." Jackson answered, thinking back to the evening way back when.
(Flashback)
Japan World, Ryozanpaku Dojo
It was nighttime. A ten year old Jackson was sitting on the edge of the walkway outside of his room. His hairstyle was short, and his attire was a pale green pajama top and bottom, and sandals. Sitting right next to him was a boy the same age as him, with short black hair and purple eyes, wearing similar clothing, only his was dark grey. This was Seth Muto.
Both had bruises and scratches on their bodies, which they were using ointment to rub on the spots. "Damn, I can't believe how tough they are on us, and we only just started training here a couple days ago!" Jackson grimaced, wincing as he touched an area on his arm where he got scratched, "Master Shigure has me to practice reaction capabilities by dodging real shurikens?! Who does that for training?!"
"Hey, you can swap with me, if you want." Seth noted, rubbing the ointment on his head, before placing a bandage over it, "Try taking a blow from Apachai while practicing your punches. Took them a minute to pull me out of the wall. I can't even sleep properly with these injuries."
"You at least have those psychic powers to suppress the blows taken to you." Jackson argued.
"I'm not skilled enough in using it like that. Plus, I already told myself I wouldn't use it during my training."
"So you would much rather take the hits like that instead of defending yourself with that power of yours?" Jackson questioned, "You really are strange."
"Eh, it's no big deal to me." Seth replied, flexing his arm to feel the mobility, "Especially since this is nothing compared to what I had to deal with a year ago in my world. I actually feel gratified."
"Gratified?" Jackson echoed, "You are seriously weird, Seth." The black-haired boy only huffed in response. He wasn't gonna tell Jackson what kind of life he had before stumbling onto this world. Jackson continued, "So, about your world, what's it like?"
Seth looked to Jackson, asking, "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm super curious about other worlds, is all. Is it difficult to explain?"
"No, not really." Seth answered, looking up at the night sky, "Compared to this world, the world I come from is more advanced when it comes to technology. I guess the biggest difference I could say compared to this world is that my world has creatures called 'Pokémon' in it."
"Pokémon?" Jackson echoed.
"Yeah. Amazing creatures that come in all shapes and sizes, and they possess amazing powers and strength."
"That sounds cool. Are they dangerous?"
"Some are." Seth admitted, "But people and Pokémon have learned to get along, to the point where many people become Trainers for them. Some make them as pets, while other use them in battles against other trainers to see who are the best. Some even use them to do performances."
"And the Pokémon are okay with it?" Jackson asked, "They almost sound like they are being used as slaves for other people's amusement."
"Some people do that, but we don't look to them as references." Seth assured him, "The true Trainers are one who coexist with Pokémon, and they work together to reach shared goals."
"I get it. Well, I would like to go to that world at some point." Jackson stated, standing up and stretching himself to loosen his body.
"You just focus on getting back to your world, first." Seth told him, "I'm sure you have people to return to."
"And you don't?"
The black-haired boy paused, before answering, "I do...some people. For now, I think I'll just stick around and train here so I can defend myself without my Psychic move."
"Well, I wanna stick around to gain skills to be versatile at protecting people from all sorts of threats in my world." Jackson stated, "Trust me, my world is fun, but not all that peaceful. That's why I decided to become a hero. That and... other reasons." Seth nodded in understanding, mentally understanding that they both have baggage.
"Then... you must rest." said a voice that made both of them jump. They spun around and saw one of Jackson's masters in Ryozanpaku, the weapon master Shigure, was sitting right behind them, and neither boy heard her appear, even as she was cleaning her katana with a cottonball on a stick. "There is... more training for you... tomorrow." she told Jackson, who tensed up, "And... it will be a lot more strict than... today."
"As will mine." said another voice, making the two jump again. One of Seth's masters, the judo master Akisame, was also sitting on the edge of the walkway, barely a meter away from Seth, and he had no clue he was there, even as he was writing on a notepad. "I am saying this not because it is necessary, but because I won't go easy on my training on you just because you stayed up all night." he told Seth, "Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, master." Seth replied.
"Okay, I'll go to sleep!" Jackson proclaimed to Shigure, and the two scrambled back to their room again, urging themselves to fall asleep. They could not be lax, cause their masters wouldn't allow it.
(Flashback ends)
Jackson thought back on those days, smiling as he looked around the place. "I wonder where Seth is at, right now?" he asked.
"I like to where we are at, right now." Leafeon argued, and Jackson, now focusing back on the road, realized they were off on a different path from where they were before. In fact, they were in front of a pretty fancy building. It looked like an old-school theatre of some sort. It was pretty popular-looking based on the people that were around the place, going in and out.
"Is this... The Ecruteak Dance Theatre?" Jackson asked, looking up at it, "I have heard about it. They have a group of maiko known as the Kimono Sisters. I believe Naoko was one of them."
"Maybe we should go and greet her and her sisters." Leafeon suggested.
"Some other time. Like I said, I wanna get my bearings and find the gym." With that, the trainer and partner left the theatre, going back the way they came.
It took a couple minutes, but they ended up finding the gym, which was another large old Japanese-styled building on top of a stone structure. "Found it!" Jackson stated.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Leafeon asked, "Do you think we should go in and challenge it?"
"We're not completely prepared for it, anyway." Jackson stated, "Besides, look at the front entrance." He pointed to the door to the interior, which had a message on a board in front, saying it was closed for the day. "We couldn't challenge it today if we wanted to." Jackson noted.
"Guess that's true." Leafeon agreed, the two moving along the road to the Pokémon Center, "So what do you know about this gym leader?"
"Let's see here..." Jackson muttered, looking at his tablet for information, "His name is Morty, the Mystic Seer of the Future. He uses Ghost-type Pokémon."
"Ghost-types? That will be interesting." Leafeon noted, "What do you know about them?"
"Well, I know that Normal and Fighting-type moves are completely useless against it." Jackson recalled, pulling up the info on Ghost-types, "Also, Poison and Bug-type are not strong against them. However, Dark and other Ghost-types are super-effective against them. Basically, that means Weavile and Dewott are going to be in my roster to fight him.
"Well, we'd better come up with a strategy." Leafeon told Jackson, "Ghost-types are a rather tricky sort."
They went to the Pokémon Center, where Jackson placed in his team to get recovered after their long journey. While he waited, he gathered information around the Pokémon Center, hearing conversations and talking to trainers who experienced battling Morty and his team. From what he could gather, his team was super tough, and there were only three Pokémon in his team.
"He has a Haunter, a Misdreavus, and a Gengar." Jackson understood, "Even Leafeon told me Ghost-types were tricky. However, there was one bit of information that caught my attention while I was here..."
Just then, he heard a tune over the monitor, along with Nurse Joy announcing that Jackson's team was ready for pickup. He returned back and got Leafeon and the rest with him.
"So, what did I miss while I was recovering?" Leafeon asked.
"Just a little bit of information gathering. Get this; some of the people are saying that the gym leader is currently at the Burned Tower." Jackson explained, "According what I learned, there were once two large towers, the Brass Tower and Bell Tower. However, long ago, the Brass Tower burnt down, now becoming the Burned Tower it is today."
"I wonder why the gym leader is there?" Leafeon asked.
"Only one way to find out." Jackson replied, looking at where the said tower was at, before making his way over to it.
A few minutes later of running, the two finally arrived at the destination. The Japanese-styled tower was definitely burnt down, to the point only about two floors remain, covered in burns and soot. It was gated off to preserve the scene.
"How did the fire start?" Leafeon asked.
"Lightning, about 150 years ago." Jackson explained, "This was once the tower dedicated to the Legendary Pokémon Lugia. However, once the tower burned away, Lugia flew away. There were also stories I learned about how three Pokémon apparently perished in the fire, but the Legendary Pokémon of the Bell Tower, Ho-Oh, went and revived them, becoming Legendary Pokémon themselves."
"You did your research on this place." Leafeon noted.
"Considering I'm suppose to be from this city, I felt having an understanding of the place would help me not draw suspicions." Jackson noted, "Let's go inside to meet the gym leader." With that, they entered into the building.
Inside, it clearly looked like nothing was touched for a long time after the tower burned to the ground. The rubble and burned wood were all over the place. There were some people looking about here, including two characters.
One was a young man with purple eyes and blonde hair with a purple bandana. He had on a black turtleneck shirt, a purple scarf that had red frayed ends and a golden ghostly-like pin on it, white pants, purple and black shoes with red soles, and purple bands over his wrists.
The other was another young man, with brown hair, blue eyes, and dressed like a magician of sorts, complete with a purple and lavender diamond-patterened tux and pants, a visible cummerbund underneath, a white, high-collar short cape held by a red bow, and white shoes with yellow soles.
"Is there any word on their location, Morty?" the magician-looking man asked.
"Nothing yet." The other guy answered, who Jackson understood was the Gym Leader Morty, "Mind you, we only got word of the rumor they were here. Please be patient. I am asking the Ghost-types that roam around, but nothing yet."
"Sorry. I've just been in pursuit of Suicune for so long..." the man stated.
"Excuse me." Jackson interrupted the scene, causing the two to look to him as he approached the pair, "Sorry to disturb you."
"Who are you?" Morty asked.
"My name is Jackson Alpphire. I actually recently moved here, and was planning to challenge the gym when I heard the gym leader was here instead." Jackson thought through his story on how he was going to be a resident in this town, and chose this. He relayed this to Leafeon so she got the same story.
"I see. Well, welcome to Ecruteak City." the gym leader greeted, "I'm Morty, and I'm the gym leader of this city. This is an acquaintance of mine, named Eusine."
"A pleasure to meet you, young man." Eusine greeted, placing a hand over his heart and bowing to him, "Forgive me, but I don't have time to spare for friendly greetings."
"Why is that?" Jackson asked, confused.
"Because I am on the trail of a Pokémon here named Suicune." Eusine explained, "Rumors were that he as well as the other two Legendaries that were with it."
"Suicune?" Jackson asked, "Who is that?"
"One of the Legendary beasts that are tied to the legends of this tower." Morty answered, "According to the stories told of this tower, when it was burnt down, three mysterious Pokémon perished in the flames. However, thanks to Ho-Oh's blessings, it revived the three, turning into the Legendary beasts known as Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."
Jackson pulled out his Pokédex, examining the info on the Pokémon Eusine was looking for. "Suicune. The Aurora Pokémon. Suicune embodies the compassion of a pure spring of water. It runs across the land with gracefulness. This Pokémon has the power to purify dirty water."
"That's incredible!" Jackson gasped, "And is it really here?"
"Last night, people said they witnessed the silhouettes of the Legendary beasts entering the Burned Tower, the very placed they died and were reborn." Morty explained, "We are hoping to seek them out to meet them."
"I specifically target Suicune because legends say it is the closest to Ho-Oh." Eusine further explained, "It has been my life long dream I have been pursuit of it for years, but no such luck. Whenever I get close, it ends up running away."
Jackson paused, looking to him, before saying, "Well, consider me intrigued. I would like to see if I can't find them."
"And what do you plan on doing when you do find them?" Leafeon asked.
"Dunno. I wanna meet them first, and if I get a chance, maybe I can catch one."
"Ha! I haven't been able to even get close to fight him, let alone meet them!" Eusine scoffed, waving a disapproving hand, "But by all means, go ahead and search for them. Suicune, however, is mine to encounter."
"At least he has better manners than that other boy that came along." Morty argued, "The moment he heard about the trio being here, he entered in without permission, saying he was gonna capture them."
"Guess I should get a moving before he gets to them first." Jackson assumed, before taking off with Leafeon at his side, leaving the two to watch.
"Ha! Those kids are way over their head." Eusine stated, "Might as well go ahead and search myself. We still need to check the basement of the tower." With that, he walked off, leaving Morty alone, watching them leave, before sighing.
"First the red-head, then Jackson, and now Eusine." he addressed, "I have a feeling they might develop something."
Jackson wandered down the steps to the lower floors, looking about the place. "Be careful, Leafeon." he warned her as she followed behind, "We don't know what we might find down here. And who knows what wood is rotted away and unstable."
"Trust me. I'll be careful." Leafeon assured him, "We don't know what might jump out at us, either."
It was as if she jinxed herself, for after she said this, something crashed in from the side. Jackson immediately reacted to this, evading the oncoming splinters of wood that flew, while covering his mouth from the soot flying. He looked through to see what had happened, and saw a pair of large glowing swords. Jackson then focused, and saw the silhouette of a Pokémon that looked oddly familiar. It was a penguin-like figure, but it was larger and different looking compared to Prinplup. When the soot died down, he witnessed a Pokémon that was a larger form of the said Pokémon, with metallic flippers, a black, blue, and white body, a yellow trident-shaped horns on its head, and large yellow feet.
"What the heck?!" Jackson questioned.
"You lot again..." the Pokémon growled.
Jackson pulled out his Pokédex again, pointing at the Pokémon. "Empoleon. The Emperor Pokémon, and the evolved form of Prinplup. It swims as fast as a jet boat. The edges of its wings are sharp and can slice apart drifting ice."
"I would be impressed if I didn't have a funny feeling I know who owns this guy." Jackson noted.
"Oh, it's you again." said a familiar voice, and out came none other than Cypher.
"Cypher, again?" Jackson questioned, looking a bit irritated, "Why do I keep bumping into you? And why did you attack the structure?! This is a historical area, and who knows if that was sustaining a part of the building!"
"I don't care. Empoleon sensed someone, and we thought it was the Legendary Pokémon." Cypher replied, "Turns out it was just you."
"So you came down here to search for them, too?" Jackson asked.
Cypher glared at Jackson, before scoffing, "Listen, if you are here to capture the Legendary Pokémon, you can forget it. They are wasted on a weakling like you. Only those who dream to become the strongest Pokémon trainer in the world, like myself, have the right to own them. A Team Rocket Grunt is more suited for you."
"Hey, that's not nice!" Leafeon growled.
"It's the truth. We aim to be the strongest." Empoleon argued.
"Listen..." Jackson started, "I get you wanna be strong, but Legendaries aside, I seriously don't get why you continuously demote me despite I was able to prove that I was strong? I am not that weak, and I have proved it!"
"Apart from that one fluke back in Azalea Town, you have not shown you are at my level at all." Cypher argued, "I am not here to praise anyone for what they can do that I can do better. That's why I am far more worthy of gaining the beasts than you."
"Yeah, I get that you hate being positive about anyone. I just don't get why you won't do it!" Jackson growled, pulling out a Pokéball, "Fine, how 'bout I prove my Pokémon and I are strong enough to beat you!"
"Be my guest. My Empoleon and I are more than enough for you and your team." Cypher stated.
At this point, Eusine had reached the stairs, before he stopped and witnessed the pair of trainer about to duke it out. "They are really planning on doing a Pokemon battle here and now, with the possible chance they might scare off Suicune and the others?" he asked quietly.
"Dewott, you're on!" Jackson shouted, throwing out the ball, and bringing out Dewott to the field.
"Oh, yeah! Now we're talking!" Dewott roared, drawing his scalchops, "If it's this guy again, I don't have to hold back! I wanna wipe that smug grin off his face since the day he beat us in that Bug-Catching contest!"
"Dewott, use Razor Shell!" Jackson called out, and Dewott launched forward with twin watery energy scimitars.
"Aqua Jet!" Cypher ordered, and Empoleon encased himself in water as he shot at high speeds like a spout out of a fire hydrant, striking Dewott before he could swing his blades, and causing him to topple to the ground.
"So fast!" Jackson gasped, before focusing himself, "But you dealt with my speeds, Dewott. Let's see them in action!"
"Right!" Dewott grimaced, getting to his feet.
"Use Whirlpool!" Cypher ordered, and Empoleon prepped a whirlpool above him.
"Before he sets it up, use Swords Dance!" Jackson called out.
"Time for a boost in strength!" Dewott declared, summoning swords that spun around him, boosting his attack strength greatly.
"It's too late." Cypher stated, before Empoleon threw the Whirlpool at him.
"Night Slash!" Jackson called out, and Dewott used one of his scalchops, and brought it down in a downward slash. The result? It cut the Whirlpool in two.
"What?!" Cypher gasped, both he and Empoleon amazed. Cypher was amazed, as he saw Dewott fight before in the Bug-Catching contest, and this was a completely different level of strength and skill.
"Yeah! All those sword-training classes are paying off!" Dewott cheered.
"It's far from over. Let's hit him with Water Pulse!" Jackson called out, and Dewott unleashed a sphere of compressed water at his opponent.
"Empoleon, use Metal Claw to block!" Cypher ordered. The Emperor Pokémon made his flippers glow, and he crossed them in front of himself, tanking the Water Pulse that exploded into him. He lowered his flippers, revealing his stoic face, much to Dewott's disgruntlement. "Now go in and slash him down with your Metal Claw!" Cypher followed up.
"Use your Razor Shells!" Jackson shouted, and Dewott prepped his energy curved swords from his scalchops, before launching forward. The two engaged in a clash, causing the two to push off of one another. "Dance with blades!" Jackson called out.
"Oh, yeah!" Dewott roared, unleashing one slash after another like a trained swordsman, while Empoleon was trying to get a way in, only to be countered and struck several times, before getting one slash that knocked him backwards, falling onto his back.
'This can't be right. How did he get his Pokémon this strong?' Cypher mentally questioned, 'There is no way he could train a Pokémon like that this good. Unless that Pokémon has a hidden potential.' He looked to see Empoleon rising up, a blue waterfall aura washing over him, indicating his defenses were lowered, which was followed by a red rising aura. 'Speaking of which...' he finished.
"Crap, the Defiant ability!" Jackson realized. The Razor Shell move has a chance of lowering an opponent's defenses, but in Empoleon's case, it also activated his ability, causing his physical attack to be boosted.
"If they don't stop soon, they will damage this place even further." Eusine grimaced, "Or worse, they will scare off Suicune!"
"Dewott, Water Pulse!" Jackson shouted, and his partner unleashed a ball of compressed water at Empoleon.
"Aqua Jet!" Cypher shouted back, and Empoleon barreled through Jackson's attack while encased in water, striking Dewott and making him tumble onto his back, injured greatly.
"Get up, Dewott!" Jackson cried out, fearing for his partner.
"Watch out!" Leafeon cried out, seeing Empoleon was about to make a move.
"Metal Claw!" Cypher ordered, and his partner got close to Dewott, his flipper glowing metallic as he was ready to unleashing the finishing blow.
Dewott snapped his eyes open, seeing what was gonna happen. "Not on my watch! Night Slash!" He shouted, drawing out his scalchop blade, and slashing right past Empoleon before he could make a move. He landed on one hand and his knees, exhausted, but Empoleon ended up collapsing to the ground.
"Nice move, Dewott!" Jackson cheered, punching the air, "We won the battle!"
"I wonder…" Cypher retorted in a sarcastic demeanor, returning Empoleon to his Pokéball.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Jackson questioned his snarky retort.
"You didn't even call out that attack. He made that move on his own without your approval. How can you say that was your victory? All it proved was that your Pokémon saw you hesitated out of being a weak trainer, so it took it upon itself to settle the fight for you."
Jackson looked concerned, even though Dewott shouted, "Hey! Jackson would've called out that move, even if I hadn't done it, right?!" He looked to Jackson, who's expression showed he didn't even think ahead.
"You didn't think that quickly, did you?" Leafeon asked him, knowing what he was thinking.
"You see?" Cypher smugly stated, "I don't even consider that a loss, because that last fight was not even yours to win. All you did was make failed attempts at trying to beat me. Your Pokémon sure have a sorry excuse for a trainer."
"Why you-!" Dewott growled.
"Dewott, enough!" Jackson stopped him, causing both he and Leafeon to look up at him. His eyes were shadowed, as he refused to respond to Cypher's words.
The red-headed trainer looked to him, before turning away, muttering, "Strength is everything, both for Pokémon and for their trainer. You are pathetic if you only have one or the other. Weak Pokémon won't account for anything, and weak trainers are abysmal if they can't command their Pokémon to make the right moves, or else they will have to make the move for them. I almost pity the Pokémon who train under you." He walked away from the scene, going to exit the place, leaving behind Jackson, Leafeon, and Dewott, the latter gritting his teeth, hating the guy who called his trainer weak.
Cypher stopped as he looked up at Eusine, who was glaring at him as he looked down at him. "What? Enjoying the show?" Cypher asked.
"You might've damaged this place with your antics." the young man noted, "And as for what you said to him before you left..."
"What about it?" Cypher asked, before walking away, "It is the truth." Eusine watched him leave, not like him.
Jackson, meanwhile, was still looking down, a bit depressed, while Leafeon and Dewott came closer to him. "Jackson, are you gonna be okay?" Leafeon asked.
"Yeah..." Jackson he replied, "But... he was right. I hesitated when I needed to act, and Dewott made the action in my stead. Sorry about that."
"Sorry for what?" Dewott asked, "I was making actions for myself long before we met."
"Dewott, rephrase that!" Leafeon argued, causing him to realize he might've said the wrong thing.
"No, it's okay." Jackson replied, looking to the two, "I just need to improve myself. I need to find a way to make quicker commands so you guys don't have to bail me out."
"That's not..." Leafeon started, but stopped. She could tell now wasn't the time to try and correct what he said.
"Come on. Let's go back." Jackson told the two, "Not sure if I am right in meeting those Legendary beasts." He called back Dewott to his ball. He turned and took a step back to the entrance, when suddenly, he heard breaking and splintering, followed by himself and Leafeon seeing the floor beneath them give way, causing them to fall below. Eusine gasped at the sight, and rushed over, looking down into the dark depths below, wondering if they were okay.
Down below, Jackson was on his side, grimacing in pain from the fall, but otherwise, his body was intact. He got back up onto his feet as Leafeon shook off the rubble, asking, "That was pretty sudden."
"Yeah. Guess the battle did a number on the floor we were on." Jackson assumed, brushing off his pants, before looking at her, "You all good?"
"No injuries to worry about." Leafeon assured him. The two looked about, with the Verdant Pokémon asking, "Where did we end up at?"
"My guess is that this is the basement of the tower." Jackson answered, looking about. It was stony area, and there was out of place areas where rubble had fallen. "We should probably find a way back upstairs again." Leafeon nodded in agreement.
The two started to walk to a random direction when they stopped. They suddenly felt a pressure from a path higher up ahead of them. They turned to the direction, and looked to see three silhouettes standing in a higher part of the basement.
"Can you feel that, Leafeon?" Jackson asked.
"Yes." she replied, "This feeling...there's someone powerful up there. Could it be..." She didn't have to answer, as the two figured who it could be.
They ascended towards the spot, where they saw the three were not moving, apart from some parts of their body moving. When they stopped, they saw the appearances of the three Pokémon. They all had dog-like appearances.
The one on the right had a red and yellow face, a silver walrus mustache, brown fur with a tan and gray fur underbelly. silver 'wings' on its back, along with a grey cloud going down his back, creating a tail-like tip, black bands on its ankles, and gray feet.
The one on the left looked like a sabertooth tiger, a yellow and white face with a black top, light blue whiskers, and white fangs. Its body was smooth and yellow with a white underbelly and black stripes, purple cloud-like fur on its back, three-clawed toes, and a light blue tail that looked like a lightning spark.
The one in the center was aqua blue with a white snout, and a large, teal, diamond-like headpiece on top. Its body was slick and light blue with a white underbelly and diamond patterns on the side, purple cloud-like hair flowing from the neck all the way down its back, and twin white ribbons coming from where its tail should be, waving all the way down along its sides.
Jackson paused in amazement at the sight of the trio, the central one he recognized from his Pokédex. "That central one... it's Suicune." Jackson recognized, "Then, the two next to it must be Raikou and Entei."
"The Legendary beasts." Leafeon silently muttered.
"Who are you?!" Raikou roared, "How did you come here?"
"Have you come to seek us out?" Entei questioned, "Just like any trainer would."
"H-Hold on!" Jackson waved his hands in defense, "I didn't actually come here to capture you, if that's what you think! I was just curious about you guys. In fact, I was just about to leave the tower when my buddy and I fell down here."
"It's true." Leafeon assured them, stepping forward, "Besides that, it's an honor to meet the three of you."
Suicune suddenly stepped forward to Jackson, getting closer to him as he looked at his face. Jackson seemed hesitant, but firmly held his ground. Sure, they were strong, but his masters in Ryouzanpaku? When they got serious, they were even more frightening.
"You...are not of this world, are you?" Suicune questioned.
Jackson was taken aback at this, as he asked, "H-How do you know that?"
"You have this feeling about you." Suicune answered, "Why are you in this world?"
Jackson paused for a second, before answering, "I am trying to find myself again. The person I lost when I let my rage take over. I am hoping being a Pokémon trainer would help me recover myself again."
"I see." Suicune understood.
"Do you trust this human, Suicune." Raikou asked, "For all we know..."
"But I can see in his eyes. He is one that is passionate in becoming a strong trainer." Entei noted, looking to the Electric-type.
"Yes, but his thirst for strength could also lead onto a bad path." Raikou argued.
"Which he is not." Suicune assured him, getting his attention, "I can see you have struggled, but you are wanting to be a kind trainer, a compassionate one. Your Leafeon is one such example." It looked to the Verdant Pokémon, who was a little surprised at being called out. "One who greets us with such honesty and who cares for her trainer would not be considered evil."
Jackson smiled at how he was being praised by such legendary Pokémon, before asking, "Tell me, what brings you guys here?"
"We merely felt nostalgic." Entei answered, "After all, this is the place we were reborn into who we are."
"True, but we were discriminated by humans because Pokémon like us who were suddenly brought back from the dead were unnatural." Raikou argued, "Now, we are hunted for our strength. I assume that was in your mind when you came to find us, like the one heart we sensed high above. Do not deceive me!"
Jackson looked to Raikou, answering, "I do not deny that was part of the reason. Cypher only cared about the power you guys wield. Me? I thought that if I could befriend you, and you were willing, I would like to fight and capture you."
"Hmph! At least you are honest about that." Raikou huffed.
"So, do you plan to challenge us?" Entei questioned.
"After getting a feel about you guys, I don't think I am ready." Jackson answered, "Besides, the first thing I wanted to do was meet you guys."
"Then we shall leave it at that." Suicune stated, stepping away from Jackson, "But I can tell you this; You are still growing. Your heart may be murky with self-doubt, but I can see crystal clear the compassion you have within you."
"And I see the passion burning up within you to overcome the past that holds you back." Entei noted.
"And I have witnessed the speed that even keep up with lightning." Raikou finished, "While I have my doubts, if these two are able to trust you as such, I guess I can as well."
"Thank you." Jackson thanked the trio, backing away from them, "Be honest; Do you think I can become the hero I once was?"
"That is up to you." Suicune answered, as Entei and Raikou suddenly took off, bounding around the basement until they shot upstairs through the hole made by Jackson and Leafeon, "Then again, you shouldn't try to go back to who you were. Instead, become someone better."
"Become...someone better?" Jackson echoed, "How do I do that?"
"You will find out soon enough." Suicune assured him, raising a paw, and placing it on Jackson's stomach. From his perspective, he felt how cold the Legendary Beast's paw was, but it was not uncomfortable in the slightest. It was a nice, gentle feeling. Suicune lowered its paw, and bounded around Jackson and Leafeon, before leaping up the walls, and exiting the basement like the other two did.
Jackson paused, watching them leave, thinking on the words they had given. "This is quite an honor, to be blessed by the Legendary beasts as such." Leafeon stated.
"Yeah..." Jackson agreed, "They believe I could be someone better than who I was. Before I let my rage take over. I didn't think I could be better than that. But how can I?"
"What do you think the first step should be?" Leafeon asked.
Jackson paused, before looking down the steps, and answering, "Well, the first thing I gotta do is gain the confidence of a great trainer. One who doesn't hesitate and let others take the actions for me. Cypher may be a jerk, but he is right about that." Leafeon did seem a bit hesitant. For her, Jackson was kinda missing a key point. Something he had that was the real reason why Dewott won against Empoleon.
"Boy!" called out a voice, and Jackson looked down to see Eusine appear. "Did you see Suicune?!" he asked.
"Yeah. I was just talking to it." Jackson replied.
"Amazing..." Eusine muttered, looking at where it took off, "I have been chasing Suicune for ten years, but never saw it that close. I'm almost speechless."
"Almost." Leafeon remarked, causing Jackson to look at her in amusement.
"By the way, I noticed Suicune took a big interest in you, as well as Entei and Raikou." Eusine stated.
"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, it would almost feel like they were waiting for me." Jackson stated, "But they were just nostalgic for where they were reborn."
"How do you know that?" Eusine asked.
"Oh, uh..." Jackson started, but the magician-looking immediately dismissed it by saying, "Never mind that." He looked at Jackson closely as he stated, "You know, legends state that Suicune only approaches those who have talent. Does that mean you have such a thing? I wonder if I should be more aggressive in approaching it...?"
"I dunno. Suicune seems pretty gentle." Jackson noted, "Maybe being more aggressive would push it away even more."
"What do you know?!" Eusine questioned, glaring at Jackson, "Suicune is my life's goal! You just merely stumbled onto it! Don't try to teach me about Suicune!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Jackson apologized, raising his hands in defense, before asking, "So, where did Morty go?"
"Oh, him? He went back to his gym already." Eusine answered, "As for me, I have to continue my pursuit of Suicune. May we meet again at some point." With that, he turned and went over to a long ladder that led to the floor above.
Jackson watched him disappear, before looking to Leafeon, "Buddy, let's go back to the Pokémon Center. We gotta prepare ourselves for tomorrow's gym battle."
"Of course. Let's be on our way." Leafeon replied, and the two went to the ladder, going outside again.
Elsewhere...
On an open hill that had Ecruteak City in view, Suicune, Entei, and Raikou had just come to a halt, looking back at it. "That boy is rough around the edges." Raikou noted, "Is he really the one who suppose to be one of the defenders against the threat?"
"According to Lugia and Ho-Oh, they were told that the day they come to seek destruction is fast approaching." Entei explained, "Maybe in the next year or two."
"Just who was it that told Lugia and Ho-Oh, anyway?" Raikou asked.
"Do you even need to ask?" Suicune answered, looking back at them, "The one who governs over all Pokémon; Great Arceus itself."
The trio looked very concerned about this, as Entei noted, "If Arceus is worried about this, and calls to Ho-Oh and Lugia for assistance, then we should be concerned, as well. Will the boy be ready?"
"I am not sure, but I have confidence he will be." Suicune replied, looking down at Ecruteak City again, "And if not, we must make sure he is tested so he can have the strength of heart and mind of what is to come. The threat of the Dark Legendaries."