The Doomed Sprout

Chapter 21

« I must admit, while it was a sensible idea, I had truthfully never expected it to result in such a situation »
The Pokemon's imposing voice echoed loudly, reverberating along scattered orbs and gems in the ground and sky. Their gaze was fixed on a much smaller creature in front of them.
« Now that we have reached this point, I find it difficult to know how to proceed on the matter. Hiding such an energy would be impossible, yet leaving it permeate your puny body will be counter-productive as well... », they continued, sighing.
« Perhaps Celebi- ». As an idea was forming in their head, a loud purple distortion appeared in their realm, making them turn in surprise. « Palkia ? To what do I owe the pleasure ? »
« Yes, yes, hello... », hesitantly answered Palkia, looking around the area before stopping when seeing a small Pokemon, frozen stiff. « That's… Why is there a Shinx here, Brother ? »
« It is merely my method of making sure the damage done never reaches an irredeemable state. You seem… excited, did you see anything of note ? »
Palkia nodded eagerly. « I had originally come to talk about my change's rapid progression, but if this Shinx is who I believe them to be, it appears we may have guests soon ! »
The other Pokemon simply looked at them with confusion. « Who'd be so brazen as to follow either of us ? »
« You'll see ! », answered a giddy Palkia, before tearing open yet another distortion, sitting in front of it with gleaming eyes.

Things were finally happening !

« Why are so many things happening ! », pestered a frustrated Fen. She'd been ordered to wait near the gate as Cylan was finishing counting up their berry stockpiles. A lot had been used for the recovery of those injured in the recent battle, meaning every single one of them, and that dwindling reserve made many Pokemon worried.
Fen knew better, though. Cylan is a human, and humans plan for the future. He most certainly dedicated a large portion of the farms to healing berries. After all, if you could get a stable food source that's also a healing potion all in one, it's more than worth sacrificing some berry diversity. So this checkup was more to calm the Pokemon around, as well as a way to lessen Julian's workload, who was overseeing something in the Hidden Grotto, apparently, they had decided to make a permanent outpost there, which Fen was unhappy about. It was an excellent idea, of course, but Fen wanted to be the one to bring it up. She'd been using that place as her treasury and gathering grounds, and she didn't even have time to take out her crystal pile !

« Can't catch a break… I miss being in the wild », she continued. « Shouldn't have gotten down that darn tree »
« That what tree, now ? », asked someone nearby, making Fen fall onto her side in shock. The Pokemon laughed, before helping her up. « C'mon, now, can't have our proud residents having wobbly knees, kid ! »
Fen grumbled, accepting the help. «At least say hi before scaring me, Cedric. I didn't know you could sneak around like that ! »
The Gurdurr looked confused, before laughing out loud. « I'm injured as all hell, pipsqueak ! There ain't no way I could've sneaked. Nah, you just weren't hearing a thing ! »
The Nidoran sighed, before quickly changing the topic, catching up about his injuries and giving some advice, which Cedric seemed to accept without issues. As Cylan approached the two, he hesitantly waved goodbye, before walking back towards the medical room without a word.

« Were you two talking of something important ? », asked the curious leader.
« Not at all, no, we were just catching up. Why do you ask ? »
Cylan looked confused, before shaking his head. « Nevermind. We have a task to do. The jail is on the south part of town... ». He stopped, seeing Fen already walking, grinning at him.
« Been there before, remember ? It's hard to forget these things », the Nidoran sarcastically pointed out.
The Zoroark flickered briefly, before walking in silence, uncertain of how to answer that. It didn't take long for the two to arrive, seeing a line of holes in the ground with iron grates covering their entrances.
« Huh. What happened to the cage from before ? »
Cylan nudged her, pointing to the edge of the line where the cage was resting, empty. « It's the only one we have, and while Lumin would be threatening enough to put him inside, he's seen you open it up before. He might remember how to do it »
Fen said nothing, staring blankly at the leader, motioning with a claw to continue.
« ...Also we've lost the key somehow », he sighed.
« Was gonna ask. The only reason we got out was because the key was right next to us. You're not dumb enough to do that again »
Fen began checking each cell, trying to find her friend.
« This was a test, remember ? We did it on purpose so… ». Cylan stopped abruptly, which Fen took notice of.
« Something wrong ? »
« There's… a weird aura around here. We don't have any jailers, there should not be anyone's aura except Lumin's, and his would be recognizable ». He walked forward, pausing before looking at the last cell, completely empty. « Lumin's supposed to be here. Why are there traces of something else instead ? Where did he go ? »
Fen rushed to his side, staring at the empty cell. « Wait, what do you mean he's supposed to be there ? We need to find him ! He could be in danger ! »
Cylan looked at the Nidoran, stifling a giggle, deciding not to point out who they were talking about. He continued, « Do you know of any situations where Lumin has disappeared in the past ? The cell is still completely intact, and no one would risk opening it »
« N-no ! He's always been just… walking normally. He can't teleport! ». Cylan held her still as she started to dash around anxiously, getting her to calm down. « I-I guess it could be… Let me try something, can you open the door ? »
The Zoroark nodded, opening the way as Fen jumped down the hole, focusing on her sense of smell. Sure enough, there was some cooler air escaping from the space right in front of her. A new portal had formed right in his cell.
« That's… quite the coincidence », she murmured. « Hey, Cylan ? There's a portal to the Hidden Grotto in here. I'm going to do some recon ! »
Cylan was startled by the news, barely shouting his disapproval as Fen entered through the invisible portal, getting blinded by the brightness of the room she was in, covered in white. There was even…

« ..Oh »
That was all Fen could utter, seeing two titanic Pokemon covering her vision. Dialga was looking at her in disapproval, while Palkia was sitting down, laughing heartily (or in pain ? The sound was too loud to be certain of which one). Cylan, having entered the portal too, fell back in surprise.
« Welcome to another dimension, little fighter ! », Palkia let out, slowly rising up, still laughing.

« Welcome to the Sprout, little fighters ! »
Sera was overjoyed, seeing the face of the first Pokemon she was able to share what was most precious to her : her home. When everyone had gone into the Hidden Grotto to wait out the fight against the Lurantis without risks of collaterals, she was pretty frustrated at first. While she wasn't a fighter, it felt like she was abandoning the only two Pokemon she knew to fight a battle they couldn't win. Well, that Fen couldn't win. Lumin would probably just growl at the thing and somehow scare it off. Still, it turned out that there was a lot of work to do in this place as well.
Julian had already set up a thin wooden palisade around the natural exits of that place, but it'd only serve to prevent Commons from waltzing in, even a simple claw could tear some of it down. So they were tasked with scouting the area for mapping, eliminating small threats and gathering any sticks and branches that were scattered. The Eevee tried her best not to think about where these even came from, there weren't that many teleporters that branches would keep popping up like they grew from the ground ! What was the most important, though, was the scouting. She'd been given permission to stray far into any direction, considering her escaping skills, and in doing so, she'd found something more valuable than any silly stick : a Shiny. Two of them, even !

The two Shinxes looked around cautiously, uncertain of how to react, staring at the flimsy wooden walls supposedly protecting them from threats.
« It's, uh… A fitting name », pointed out one of them. « You sure this is a safe place ? ». Her tone was almost accusatory, making Sera nervous.
« No, no, no ! This is a… towards operating base, or something like that. I dunno, ask Cylan when we get back out. The actual Sprout is a proper place, a town, they call it ! And it's a lot more safe, I think ! ». Sera was doing her best to give off a good impression, mentally chiding herself for being so nervous. ''I think'', really ?
The Shinx glared at her in response, before sighing. « Uh, uh… Listen, I appreciate you helping us against the Drapion, but we've been doing well on our own for a while now. We're living well… mostly, and... »
« Lou, give them a chance, okay ? », the other irritably let out, small jolts of electricity coming out of her tail. « I get it, you don't like teaming up, but you've done it with me, right ? Then at least let's see what these Outcasts are talking about. We can't feed off Oran Berries forever ! »
« Speak for yourself », Lou replied, smirking, before nodding. « Alright. Let's… Are you alright ? »
Sera was standing in front of them, tail swishing so quickly it seemed like she had two of them. « Are you really named Lou ? », asked the cream Eevee, « because we've been looking for you ! »

« We've been looking for you !», said Palkia, whose imposing stature was completely dwarfing even the usually tall Cylan. « Well, one of you, in any case. I do not remember seeing this Zorua in my realm before... »
Fen's knees were weak from the anxiety, though she did her best to stand still, focusing her gaze away from any Pokemon in the room. « Why are we here ? Didn't this link to the Hidden Grotto ? »
She could hear a loud chuckle before the reply came. « Is that what you call my labyrinth ? No, little fighter, this door was made specifically for you, knowing you'd be looking for the new Archon »
« What's an Archon ? And… », she asked, before abruptly stopping herself. Celebi was already a jerk, will Palkia be one too ? Please actually answer me for once…, she thought.
Thankfully, the Legendary obliged without so much as a huff. « An Archon is a Pokemon that has been infused with His power for a specific purpose. They march on towards one another until one remains ». Fen could've sworn Dialga had sworn in a whisper, though she wasn't going to ask about it. « Once an Archon is defeated, their energy is transferred towards the closest candidate to gather the energy, usually another Archon », Palkia continued.
« So Lumin was an Archon ? », Fen asked, slowly getting used to the immense pressure in this place. « Why wasn't he moving towards them ? »
« That would be my mistake », Dialga let out, before moving to the side, showing Lumin being completely immobile, not even looking in her direction. « I had misunderstood how Archons worked, and prepared a countermeasure that led to him absorbing the energy, which I am now unable to remove without getting His attention », continued the blue giant. « I apologize for your friend, my goal was only to limit the harm Archons would do to the world »
« As if... », grumbled Cylan a bit too loudly, getting everyone's attention. As he noticed this, he immediately bowed to avoid their wrath.
Palkia's gems started glowing as Cylan levitated closer to him. « I see… No Pokemon would dare to act this way to us. You two are truly human, even if not in shape ! ». Surprisingly, Fen could feel that this made the Legendary happy, for whatever reason.
Getting some confidence over the reaction, she decided to push her luck. « What are the legendaries doing to this world », she asked. « Why are we here ? »
Palkia's mood shifted, going to a more serious tone. « You've been sent here for a very specific purpose. Your mission is crucial to the state of the world and will serve to save everything that exists... You are...»
Dialga sighed loudly, interrupting the monologue, before leaning their head closer to the Nidoran. « You're here to make things more fun for us. The removal of humans was a mistake, and we're all trying to fix it in our own way. I believe your arrival here was likely Mew's doing ». The Pokemon leaned away, focusing back on the Shinx. « Now, as I said, I am unable to remove the Archon's energy from him. While I'm unsure of the ramifications this may cause, I will send him back with you both. Whatever the results will be, it will ensure things remain enjoyable to spectate, at the very least »
Fen grits her teeth, struggling to accept how nonchalant they are being about the life-changing events they were causing. « You're all monsters, destroying Pokemon and Humans for your own sake... »
As they were being pushed towards the portal by an invisible force, another whisper could be heard, though she wasn't sure from who. Something about not lying… ?

That was all she could think of, before Lumin slammed into her, knocking her out.