After finding a key piece to Weldon's Legend Guardian accessory, Lapis' group decided to split up to cover more ground. Lapis learned about Team Aqua's involvement with Jade's kidnapping from Detective Kei, so he and Trinity tracked them down to Seafloor Cavern. They infiltrated the Team Aqua Hideout, and Lapis defeated Archie and his crew. But the villainous leader not only didn't know about the kidnapping, he also awakened the Legendary Pokémon, Kyogre. Now, it was a battle of intense weather over the Hoenn Region, with both Archie and Maxie beginning to regret their actions. With the crisis getting worse, the group decide to reconvene in a town floating on the water to find a way to access the Sealed Chamber. Will Lapis and his group be able to find this underwater cave in time?
Lapis' Pokémon:
Zuli (Lvl. 46 Swampert, male; Item: Soft Sand): Impish Nature, Torrent Ability, moves: Tackle, Strength, Mud Shot, Surf
Bixbite (Lvl. 44 Camerupt, male): Bold Nature, Oblivious Ability, moves: Rock Slide, Tackle, Ember, Earthquake (currently in PC)
Onyx (Lvl. 47 Mightyena, female; Item: King's Rock): Mild Nature, Intimidate Ability, moves: Take Down, Rock Smash, Crunch, Bite
Pearl (Lvl. 47 Grumpig, female): Lax Nature, Thick Fat Ability, moves: Psychic, Psybeam, Shock Wave, Confuse Ray
Celestite (Lvl. 45 Altaria, female): Gentle Nature, Natural Cure Ability, moves: Fly, Safeguard, Take Down, Dragonbreath
Amethyst (Lvl. 47 Vileplume, female; Item: Miracle Seed): Quiet Nature, Chlorophyll Ability, moves: Petal Dance, Acid, Poisonpowder, Moonlight
Pokémon sent to the PLA: Tiger Eyes (Linoone, male), Citrine (Makuhita, female), Kyanite (Electrike, female), Moonstone (Swellow, female), SmokyQuarz (Numel, male)
Chapter 41: Removing the Underwater Seal
Lapis felt like they were flying in the thunderstorm for months, but it was only for a few weeks. The rain and lightning hampered their movements, with Steven's Skarmory and Trin's Charizard struggling to keep up with Celestite. Despite this delay, Lapis was able to catch a Level 29 Wailord he nicknamed Sodalite, but he knew it was more of a formality at this point.
Suddenly, they entered a zone where the weather was normal. No harsh sunlight, no intense rain.
That's weird… the Nuzlocker noted as Steven motioned them to land on a wooden platform floating on the ocean.
Lapis then realized they were in a town where the houses, Pokémon Center, and even the walkways floated above a coral reef.
"Welcome to Pacifidlog Town," Steven said as they returned their Flying types. "Everyone's waiting for us in the Pokémon Center."
The three entered the floating building and saw Weldon and Samir talking to a pale-skinned girl wearing a seafoam blue dress. She was about the same age as her companions and was a little shorter than them, but her brown eyes and long black hair made her stand out. The younger Trainers saw them and waved them over.
"Hey, Lapis and Trinity. How did it go?" Samir asked.
The black-clad woman was still quiet since the Seafloor Cavern incident, so Lapis responded for her. "It went to shit."
"Oh... Kyogre's awake now?"
"Unfortunately," Steven said, crossing his arms. "The storms are already raging and making their way west. Our only option now is to find the Regis and ask them to help us."
Weldon sighed. "I figured that would be the case…"
"Why so down, Leland?" Lapis responded with crossed arms.
"We…haven't been able to find the entrance to the Sealed Chamber…"
"Didn't you have several weeks to do just that?"
The Kantonian looked at the strong currents outside the west-facing windows. "It's…been more complicated than we expected. Not only is the extreme heat sapping our energy, but it's also causing us to hallucinate. We landed in several locations, thinking it was the right diving spot, only to be swept away by the currents to Slateport City. It's…been a long few weeks for us, even after Steven left to find you and Trin."
Lapis looked at the female stranger. "Then, who's she?"
"Oh," she replied with an awkward smile. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. My name is Yuki Mizu. I'm a Pokémon Coordinator and friends with Summer, Weldon, and Samir."
"I see. Where'd you come from?"
"Don't be so blunt, Lapis," Steven warned.
"Oh, no. It's fine," Yuki replied. "We're all having some trouble doing our respective jobs. I was helping Summer and Aster, a Draconid and the region's Lorekeeper, find Rayquaza's location to see if it can help us as well. But…we got separated during a storm. I tried to go back to where I last saw them, but I kept getting pushed away, like there was an invisible barrier. That's what I was telling Samir and Weldon before you three arrived."
Lapis wanted to ask more questions, but he knew it wasn't the time to do so.
The rare stone enthusiast stroked his chin. "Curious. Trinity, what do you think?"
But the woman didn't respond. It was as if she was disconnected from the rest of the group.
"Trin?" Weldon asked, gently shaking her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"H-Huh? Oh…yeah… S-Sorry, I'm just…distracted, that's all."
"It's because of what happened, right?"
She sighed, a tear streaming down her face. "It was my job…my job as a member of the Tairiku Hogo-sha to make sure Groudon and Kyogre no longer cause trouble for Hoenn… But I failed…twice…"
Yuki clasped her hand. "It's okay, Trinity. We'll stop them. Everyone's doing their best with finding the Legendary Pokémon. You don't have to keep this all to yourself."
"Y-You're right, Yuki. Thank you." Then, she collapsed into the Coordinator's arms.
Everyone was alarmed but Yuki said, "It looks like she fainted from emotional exhaustion. I'll help her to a room."
Steven nodded. "Let's come up with a new strategy to find the Sealed Chamber. Lapis, you can walk around for now. I know you need to do that for your challenge. I'll let you know when we finish."
The Nuzlocker gave him a nod and, after exchanging Amethyst for Bixbite so the latter can gain more experience, exited the building, where he was greeted by a warm, soft breeze. The weather was still calm, unaffected by the outside extremes.
This is still weird… Why is the weather fine here when everywhere else is a mess?
Not wanting to contemplate this any further, Lapis walked around the town, temporarily invading people's homes now and then. He got TM27, Return, from the Pokémon Fan Club chairman's brother, but the next house he entered had a strange person that made him leave immediately.
"Come on!" a boy shouted out the open door. "I just wanna know where you come from!"
"'Yes' and 'No' are stupid answers!" the teen argued as he walked away. "Besides, you ain't got anythin' useful!"
Suddenly, he bumped into an old man, who shouted, "It's there! It's there! I finally saw it!"
Lapis sighed and rolled his eyes. Now what?
"Grandpa!" a teenage boy shouting, running on the walking platforms. "You shouldn't be out of the house without your medicine!"
"Nonsense, Amon! Those drugs were the thing preventing me from seeing the island! Mirage Island, the place I've read since I was a child, exists!"
"Not from what I've seen out that window…" Amon grabbed his grandfather's shoulders and said to Lapis, "I'm sorry about my grandfather. He usually keeps to himself, staring out the window to look for an island that doesn't exist."
"But it does! I just saw it!"
"Yeah, yeah, Grandpa. Come on, let's get you home."
The weather may be fine here, but some of the people here sure aren't.
Lapis' thoughts were interrupted by his PokéNav. After talking to Steven, he returned to the Pokémon Center where he saw Weldon, Samir, and the rare stone enthusiast preparing to leave.
"What happened to Miller and Mizu?"
Samir responded, "Trinity still isn't doing well, so Yuki will stay behind to take care of her. She'll also be our point of contact in case Summer contacts us."
"I see. Then let's get goin'."
The four headed to the western end of the town, the beginning of Route 132. From there, Lapis could see the sunlight was much stronger outside the unseen bubble of calm weather surrounding the town.
"What plan did you come up with this time?" Lapis asked as the three let out their Flying types.
Steven explained, "We'll be searching from the air, like before. But this time, you're going to surf amongst the currents."
"You gotta be kiddin' me… Why me and not Leland or Patajhad?"
"Well, you are the most experienced with surfing in the ocean compared to us."
"Plus," Samir added. "We need someone below to help us figure out if we've chosen the right path to the dive spot."
The teen crossed his arms. "This plan is stupid…"
"Don't worry, you won't be going in blind." Weldon let out his Gyarados, surprising Lapis. "Gyarados can swim ahead of you and Zuli while he watches our aerial movements. That way, he can make sure you're heading in the right direction."
"Well…guess that's better than goin' in blind."
"All right then, let's execute our plan!" Steven shouted. He, Samir, and Weldon flew towards the burning sun, and Lapis climbed onto Zuli.
Hopefully this works…
A few hours later…
"F-Finally!" Lapis weakly exclaimed as he and Zuli arrived at a large diving spot on Route 134.
"I-Is it over?" the Swampert asked, panting. "I-I don't think I can handle these currents anymore…"
"Looks like neither can Gyarados," the Nuzlocker added, seeing the Atrocious Pokémon's pained face.
"Lapis!"
Weldon, Samir, and Steven flew close to the water. The Kantonian tended to his Pokémon as the others jumped into the water.
"Ahh…this feeling nice after flying close to the sun…" Samir said with a relaxed smile.
Lapis shivered from the cold water as he swapped Zuli with Larimar. "Wish I could say the same thing…"
After the three jumped onto Gyarados, Lapis and his Spheal, Larimar, led the group into the ocean depths. As they swam towards the bottom of the ocean floor, they found a large rock with tiny bumps carved within a rectangle. The teen couldn't read the writing, but he figured they found their destination. Everyone swam up until they entered a pool to an underwater cave. It was completely dark, so Samir and Weldon sent out their Espeon, Akasha, and Electabuzz to illuminate the room.
Once everyone stepped onto dry land, they got a look at their new surroundings. Eight large mounds and two small mounds were arranged within the space.
Steven examined the closest one. "How interesting… It looks like this mound has the same indentations as the ones on that underwater stone."
"Can you read them?" Weldon asked.
"Um… I may be an expert on rare stones, but not with ancient languages…"
Samir then examined them. "Wait, I recognize this language. It's Ancient Braille!"
"Ancient Braille? What's that?" Lapis inquired.
"It's the ancestor of modern Braille. Ancient Braille was created as a way to provide information in dark, confined environments to avoid the ancient people from using up too much oxygen. Modern Braille, on the other hand, lets people who have trouble with their sight communicate using circular bumps to indicate letters and numbers. Ancient Braille also uses those bumps, but mainly as pictographs to symbolize ideas or nature to better illustrate their environment at the time. I know modern Braille but only a little bit of Ancient Braille."
"How fascinating," Steven remarked, stroking his chin.
"But how would that help us?" Lapis pointed out. "You ain't fluent in this Ancient Braille, Patajhad."
"True, but I know how I can be."
Samir pressed something on his watch. A light blue rectangular hologram emerged from the accessory, shocking everyone.
"Wh-What kind of sorcery's this?" the Nuzlocker stuttered.
The research assistant chuckled. "It's the power of my watch. With this, we should be able to translate any Ancient Braille inscriptions in the cave." Samir used the translator on each of the mounds and surmised, "This appears to be a pico-dictionary of sorts…which reveal how to translate Ancient Braille! I've got to take notes!"
As he did so, Weldon was fixated by something deeper in the room. He headed to the wall and rubbed his fingers against it.
"Hey, Samir! I found some Ancient Braille on this wall!"
The rest of the group ran over, and the research assistant used his translator.
"It says, 'DIG HERE'."
"You mean, the move Dig or actual diggin' with shovels?" Lapis inquired. "'Cause my Pokémon don't know that move."
"In that case…" Steven sent out his Armaldo and Aggron. "Paladin, Knight. Dig a tunnel through this wall."
His Pokémon nodded, and they bored through with their claws. After a few minutes, a rush of musty air blew into the room. The four carefully entered a second dark chamber and found more mounds, this time arranged in a circle.
"This is getting more fascinating by the minute!" Samir exclaimed as he added to his notes.
Weldon pointed to the mound furthest away. "That area. We should investigate it right away."
"But what about these mounds? They could hold a-"
But the Kantonian didn't listen. He walked to the indicated location and tried to find the Ancient Braille on it. Resigned, Samir followed and began translating.
When Lapis and Steven caught up, they heard the research assistant mumble, "Why them?"
"Them?" Steven asked.
Samir showed us the translation in his notebook.
"FIRST COMES WAILORD. LAST COMES RELICANTH."
The rare stone enthusiast stroked his chin. "Interesting. So those Pokémon also existed back then as well. But in this case… It is unfortunate that we don't have those Pokémon right now."
"What about that Wailord you just caught, Lapis?" Samir brought up.
The teen sighed. "Didn't bring it with me. Two Water types're plenty enough. Besides, I doubt anyone of us has this Relicanth Pokémon anyway."
A deep voice reverberated in the cave. "What a shame. So much for being the Guardian candidate for the Legendary Titans."
The group turned around and saw a cloaked man blocking their exit.
Lapis' eyes widened. That's the guy Weldon battled during that storm on Route 105!
"Hamsetrin…" Weldon uttered. "How did-?"
"I get here? I followed you, of course. Did you think I would let you achieve the assignment that rightfully belongs to my client?"
"Your client? You mean…"
The stranger showed them two Dive Balls. "I caught the required Pokémon along the way, which will be going to my client once I get rid of you annoyances."
Lapis gritted his teeth. I have a feeling I have to battle, but knowing how strong that guy is… I can't lose any of my Pokémon to that…weirdo!
After some thought, Weldon stepped forward. "Hamsetrin. I challenge you to a battle for the right to gain access to the Regis."
Hamsetrin laughed at the Trainer's determination. "So you think you've toughened up, have you? That bravado will not save you. But… I will accept your challenge on one condition: we have a double battle with only Water type Pokémon! Go, Wailord and Relicanth!"
The two Water types appeared, though one of them caught Lapis' attention.
"Uh…why does that Wailord look like a Wailmer?"
The cloaked man sighed. "That was the smallest Wailord I could find that would fit in this chamber. Do you have a problem with that, Nuzlocker?"
"Anyway…" Steven interrupted. "What kind of condition is that?! Weldon only has one Water type Pokémon!"
"Exactly. Which means an easy victory for me!"
But to his surprise, Weldon smiled. "You would think that, wouldn't you? Go, Gyarados and Swampert!"
The three were shocked to see the two Water types side by side.
"Weldon… Where did you get that Swampert?" Samir asked.
"From Harry. I had a gut feeling this would happen, so I asked him if I could temporarily trade Pokémon with him."
Steven grinned. "You're more cunning than I expected, Weldon."
Hamsetrin snarled, "It looks like you're beginning to form a connection to the Regis, seeing you now have enhanced intuition. But I won't let that happen!"
"We'll see about that!" Weldon turned to his groupmates. "You all better get on top of those mounds unless you want to be swept back into the sea." When he saw they were high enough, Weldon made the first move. "Gyarados, use Waterfall on Relicanth!"
After activating his Intimidate Ability, the Atrocious Pokémon lunged at the ancient Water type with a burst of water. But before he could charge upwards to finish the move, the cloaked man smirked.
"Wailord, protect Relicanth with Ice Beam!"
The Float Whale Pokémon shot a beam of icy blue energy at Gyarados, forcing the latter to retreat.
Weldon, undeterred, shouted, "Swampert, Muddy Water!"
The Mud Fish Pokémon roared, creating a wave comprised of the dirt from the surrounding environment. The dirty wave hit both opponents, with the Longevity Pokémon taking a little more damage.
"Relicanth, Double Edge that Swampert!"
The Rock type charged at the Ground type with powerful force, knocking Swampert back. Lapis expected to see some recoil damage but was surprised to see Hamsetrin's Pokémon take no damage.
The Kantonian forced a smile. "So this Relicanth has the Rock Head Ability. I'm not surprised you came prepared."
His opponent grinned back. "And it seems you've gained some experience in double battles since our first encounter. But that won't help against a skilled battler like me. Wailord, Rollout!"
The unusually small Pokémon braced himself and spun his body like a top into Weldon's Gyarados. Lapis had seen the move done by other Pokémon but never like this. The Flying type withstood the super effective hit, but his Trainer knew it would get a lot stronger with the Wailord now locked into that move.
"Swampert, use Mud Bomb on Wailord!"
The Ground type hurled a brown orb at the spinning Pokémon. The Float Whale Pokémon winced but was able to fling the mud off his body, temporarily blinding his partner.
"Now, Gyarados! Use Ice Fang on Relicanth!"
The tall Pokémon lunged at the Relicanth as icy blue fangs extended from his mouth. But Hamsetrin was prepared.
"Relicanth, Head Smash!"
The Kantonian watched in horror as the Rock type move not only broke the ice teeth but struck Gyarados in the face. The Atrocious Pokémon held back tears as he tried to shake off the pain.
"Are you all right, Gyarados?"
Weldon's Water type growled at the ancient Pokémon, eager to land any hit on the latter.
Weldon felt his Pokémon's frustration. "We can't let them continue to get the upper hand. Gyarados, Surf!"
The Flying type summoned a wave that towered over the other Water types.
"Wouldn't that hurt Swampert too?" Samir pointed out.
"Would it?" Lapis questioned. "I use Surf in double battles and it never hurt my other Pokémon."
Steven smirked. "Well, you do have different battle rules, Lapis. Normally, a move like Surf would hit every Pokémon on the field."
"Then why would Leland do that?"
Weldon answered Lapis' question by commanding, "Swampert, use Brick Break to protect yourself!"
The Mud Fish Pokémon nodded. His right hand glowed orange as the wave approached. Then, he sliced into the water, creating a gap that let him pass through unscathed. The wave slammed into Wailord and Relicanth, but the former didn't take much damage.
Hamsetrin chuckled. "Nice try, Leland. Wailord, Rollout! Relicanth, use Waterfall on Swampert!"
The spinning Pokémon struck Gyarados again as his partner slammed the Hoenn starter into the air. Both of Weldon's Pokémon fell onto the ground but were able to regain their footing. The young Trainer could tell they were getting tired, and he was running out of options.
The man grinned. "Giving up, Leland? Good. My client will be happy to learn of this."
Weldon clenched his fists but he calmed himself with a deep breath. "No… I'm not giving up, Hamsetrin. Not with this responsibility," he responded as he adjusted his cufflinks.
"What a shame. Then we'll make sure you lose it! Wailord, Rollout! Relicanth, use Take Down on that Gyarados!"
The two Pokémon charged at their weakened opponents, but Gyarados and Swampert braced themselves.
"Swampert, stop Wailord with Ice Punch!"
The Ground type stood in front of the spinning blue blur and punched him with an icy blue energy. To the cloaked man's shock, the move froze his Wailord and stopped the cumulative damage from Rollout. Undeterred, Relicanth continued his attack, slamming into the Atrocious Pokémon. Hamestrin then got another surprise as the Gyarados was still standing.
"Now, Gyarados, Payback!"
The hurt Water type grabbed his tormentor with his tail and surrounded himself with a purple energy. Then, he hurled the Longevity Pokémon into the air and shot a purple glowing orb at the falling Relicanth. The move made contact and even hit Wailord, shattering his icy cocoon. Hamsetrin's Pokémon now started to look worse for wear.
Weldon pondered something before giving his stalker a grin. "Swampert, use Brick Break on Wailord!"
The Fighting type move hit the pure Water type on the head, making the latter reel in pain.
Hamsetrin growled, "We can't let him open the chamber! Wailord, Ice Beam that Gyarados!"
The whale-like Pokémon regained his senses and shot the icy blue beam at the Flying type. Gyarados withstood the move and roared.
"Payback!"
The angry serpentine Pokémon launched another purple orb, dealing major damage to Wailord.
"Relicanth, use Waterfall on Swampert!"
The ancient Pokémon knocked the Mud Fish Pokémon into the air with his Water type attack, but Swampert was able to land on his feet.
"Wailord, Iron Head Gyarados!"
The deep blue Pokémon, creating a smooth silver cap on his forehead, slammed into Gyarados.
"Finally," the Kantonian said. "I got you now. Gyarados, wrap your body around Wailord!"
His Pokémon constricted the Float Whale Pokémon, incapacitating it.
"No!" Hamestrin shouted. "Relicanth, free Wailord by using Head Smash on Gyarados!"
The Longevity Pokémon prepared the move, but Weldon wouldn't let him knock out his Water type. "Swampert, protect Gyarados from Relicanth with Brick Break!"
The Ground type jumped in front of the charging Relicanth, taking the blow while dealing a lot of damage with the super effective move.
"Gyarados, finish Wailord with Payback!"
The double damaging move struck the Float Whale Pokémon, causing him to go limp. Gyarados let the Rollout-attacking fiend go, and the Wailord collapsed onto the ground, shaking the room. As Lapis braced himself, he thought he heard a soft click from the wall behind him.
Hamsetrin returned the fainted Pokémon. "You'll regret that. Relicanth, Head Smash Gyarados!"
As the Longevity Pokémon charged at his usual target, Weldon prepared for the final turn. "Gyarados, dodge and use Ice Fang! Swampert, Mud Bomb!"
The Atrocious Pokémon evaded the Relicanth and clamped onto his opponent's body with the ice-cold fangs. Now trapped, the ancient Pokémon was unable to dodge the super effective move. After the orb made contact, Gyarados threw the Relicanth onto the ground, the latter unable to stand.
A second click echoed in the room, and the wall with the instructions opened up, revealing a narrow opening.
"H-How did you?" stuttered the cloaked man. "I have the Pokémon and you don't!"
Weldon chuckled as his friends rejoined him. "So, my hunch was right after all."
Samir was shocked. "Wh-What kind of hunch?!"
The Kantonian adjusted his hat. "You see. I thought of a different interpretation to those instructions. If I didn't have the Wailord and Relicanth and as long as they are in the same chamber, maybe I could defeat them in the specified order to trigger the opening."
"So that's why you knocked out Wailord first, then Relicanth to end the battle," Steven concluded. "Very clever, Weldon."
"It doesn't matter!" Hamsetrin roared. "I still won't let you meet the Regis!"
He prepared another Poké Ball but stopped when Weldon's cufflinks started to glow. A small orb fell out of his right sleeve and rolled towards the Kantonian.
"What's this?" Weldon picked it up and examined the sandy brown sphere.
The sight of the accessory caused Hamsetrin to reel back in pain. He gripped the sides of his head and winced. "D-Damn it… Not again…" The man glared at his target. "You may have won this battle, Leland, but you won't win the war!"
The man threw a Smoke Ball onto the ground and was gone after the smoke dissipated.
"That was…strange. Why did Hamsetrin react like that?" Samir asked.
"I'm not sure, but that doesn't matter right now," Weldon replied as he fastened the sandy orb to his left cufflink. After feeling its power course through his body, he added, "All I know is that this orb must correspond to Regirock."
"Regirock…and Hamsetrin…" Steven murmured. "I wonder…"
"What's up, Stone?" Lapis questioned.
"O-Oh, it's nothing. We should get going before the region gets destroyed."
Weldon took a deep breath. "All right. Let's go."
Questions for the Chapter:
What did you think of the events in Pacifidlog Town?
What did you think of the Weldon's battle against Hamsetrin?
Will Weldon be able to bond with the Regis in time?
