Ash's Team
Styx - Hydreigon
Hemlock - Morgrem
Bane - Zoroark
Mirae - Mytheon
Sagitta - Togekiss
Libra - Hakamo-o
Castor - Krokorok
Polaris - Greninja
Artemis - Houndoom
Orion - Alolan Ninetales
Ladon - Appletun
Wisteria - Galarian Ponyta
At Oak's
Nettle - Naganadel
Hands pressed to his mouth, Ash kept his eyes closed. The unrelenting chiming of his Pokédex could still be heard from where he'd buried it in his pack. He didn't want to talk to anyone.
He didn't want to talk about fainting in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
He didn't want to talk about his spectacular loss.
He didn't want to talk about how Castor and Polaris were in somewhat critical condition from that battle.
He didn't want to talk about Sierra.
Sighing, Ash let his head fall into his hands. Legends, he was embarrassed. He was aware enough to understand he wasn't always the strongest. But he hadn't realized how much the publicity of his heroic feats had wiggled their way into his ego.
Prodigy.
Trailblazer.
Generational Wonder.
The last one made him snort derisively. Looking back, it wasn't a surprise it all went to his head. He'd been winning and winning since getting to Galar and he'd been recognized and celebrated for what happened with Omen. Ash had assumed he'd make it so far in the tournament, like it was a given, but here he was.
Looking around his hotel room, he made sure he hadn't forgotten anything when packing. Castor and Polaris would be discharged from the Pokémon center this afternoon. Ash had woken up right before they put him in the ambulance, so he was saved from another trip to the hospital. Everything checked out, he wasn't dehydrated, wasn't sick, he didn't even have low blood pressure.
He was 100% healthy and that baffled the paramedics. They finally settled on shock.
As if.
Ash knew it sounded crazy, but he was positive his fainting had something to do with Polaris. Nurse Joy had said the newly evolved Greninja had a sizable wound on his abdomen. Ash vividly remembers a burning pain in his gut before he fell unconscious.
He hasn't had the chance to look back on the footage since it only happened a few hours ago, but he was willing to bet his entire net worth that he and Polaris collapsed at the same time.
Another chime from his Pokédex made Ash grimace.
And the best part of this whole shit show?
Happy 16th Birthday to him.
Ash really didn't want to read everyone's pity messages so he was avoiding it all together. He'd get around to responding.
Maybe.
He'd check one, he decided. Grabbing his dex and flipping it open, he clicked the first message.
Giselle Goodshow
Received 03/14/xxxx at 10:21
That was embarrassing
Ash quickly snapped the dex shut, not even reading the rest.
He huffed a breath of self-deprecating laughter, but he really wanted to just hide. Knowing better, he heaved himself up from his spot on the bed and walked over to the in-room computer. Never let it be said that Ash Ketchum wallows for long.
With practiced ease, Ash found a last-minute flight that would land in Vermilion City. It was a bit more expensive compared to flying into Saffron or Fuschia, but Ash needed to get the Thunder Badge.
It was going to be a long flight, but not as long as his flight from Alola to Unova.
So. In seven hours he'll be returning to Kanto.
Joy.
He'd have to apologize to Hop, but nothing was keeping him in Galar now.
Realizing he packed up his room in his gloom and doom haze, he dug in his pack for his toiletries. Good thing he didn't check out too.
Mew, his mind was in shambles. 'Okay, sit down, lay out the facts.'
One; he lost rather dramatically in the second round of a tournament. His worst showing in his very short but illustrious career as a trainer.
Two; his Frogadier evolved - which was incredible - but was subsequently knocked out in a shocking finish.
Three; said Pokémon was very injured alongside his Krokorok.
Four; he has some weird connection with Polaris, who also evolved on Ash's birthday, which could just be a coincidence.
Five; he is returning to Kanto, where all his Dark and Dragon types are going to be harshly judged and criticized which will also reflect on Ash.
Six; his ranking number didn't change after his loss to Sierra, which was extremely questionable.
Scrubbing his face, Ash just sighed again.
Not wanting to talk to anyone is understandable. But at the same time, he didn't want to be alone. And Ash chose not to be alone.
He had already pressed the release on one of his Pokéballs before he realized the significance of what he'd just done.
In a flash of light, Artemis shook out her fur and stared up at Ash with the same soulful coal eyes she'd had as a tiny Houndour. She sniffed once, paused, and then shuffled forward to drop her head in his lap.
He really couldn't help it. Ash smiled. Reaching out, he started scratching the fur around her horns, making the Houndoom melt and close her eyes. Her natural body heat was soothing instead of agitating, making his heart burst with affection for his gentle teammate.
Scooching back, he patted the bed and Artemis didn't hesitate to jump up and curl up by his side where he lay against the headboard. Her head rested on his chest where he could scratch around her ears.
The two rested.
Ash rolled the Lure and Pokéball around in his hands, watching the light play off the shiny blue and red paint.
Sighing, he pressed both against his chest and whispered a quiet "Thank you" before clipping them back to his belt and hefting his pack.
That evening, gray and heavy clouds rolled in until thunder rumbled in the distance. Ash wove his way through the airport crowd, his gate at the very end of the terminal. His redeye, direct flight to Vermilion would take approximately seven and a half hours.
His heart felt oddly heavy as he took a seat at his gate. His time in Galar felt… unfinished. But he couldn't justify staying. He had nine months to get the remaining six Big Eight badges from Kanto to qualify for the Indigo Conference. Ash was strong, but he had no hope of defeating Sabrina, Blaine, or Giovanni at his current level.
Finally deciding to bite the bullet, Ash pulled out his Pokédex for the rest of the messages. He'd ignored it since Giselle's message and realized he couldn't pretend he didn't have friends any longer.
Valerie Kimura
Received 03/14/xxxx at 11:21
Guess I jinxed it O.o
Serena
Received 03/14/xxxx at 08:45
Happy Birthday Ash! And good luck!
Serena
Received 03/14/xxxx at 09:37
Are you okay?! You suddenly just collapsed! Is Polaris okay? Sierra took such a cheap shot! Please message me back!
Grimsley
Received 03/14/xxxx at 9:41
Call me back
Grimsley
Received 03/14/xxxx at 10:09
Call me back
Grimsley
Received 03/15/xxxx at 11:28
Call me back
Kukui
Received 03/14/xxxx at 11:12
Ash! Burnet and I are worried, please call us
Plumeria
Received 03/14/xxxx at 13:48
Just heard what happened, call me
The list went on and on; Hau, Gladion, Hop, Aiko, Priscilla. His missed calls were in the double digits. Sighing, Ash rubbed his eyes and thought of what to say. He ended up copying and pasting the same message to everyone.
Sent 03/14/xxxx at 17:35
I'm okay. About to fly back to Kanto. Call you after.
Sighing, he gave Giselle's message another read.
Giselle Goodshow
Received 03/14/xxxx at 10:21
That was embarrassing, that Sierra woman has no class, and that lip color with her skin tone? Please.
Your Krokorok has potential, but his Ground manipulation is pathetic. I could think of a dozen ways to improve upon his decent foundations. My darling Obsidian mastered those techniques ages ago.
Your Greninja is interesting, as is your connection to it. Interesting indeed.
Please make sure you are up to par for our next battle. I do not want it to be as inadequate as our first.
Regards,
Giselle Goodshow
Flipping his Pokédex shut, Ash tilted his head back and sighed. Goodshow was just as pretentious as usual, but he couldn't help but think she was offering her expertise in a roundabout way. Her beast of a Donphan would make a good rival for Castor.
Ash watched as Groups 1 and 2 were called forward to board. Hiking his backpack up his shoulders, he joined the line and had his digital ticket ready to be scanned.
But as he stepped forward, the weirdest thing happened.
A sudden SHRIEK of tearing sheet metal echoed through the terminal and a minute rumbling followed. Ash braced, feeling a brief vibration through his feet. Shocked shouts and gasps sounded as a few of the people tripped.
But after that one minor shake, everything was still.
Ash waited, arms braced for another tremor, but nothing came. Noise picked up as everyone waited cautiously.
The airline attendant straightened up as a look of confusion crossed his face. A hand came up to his earpiece and his lips twisted unpleasantly. Grimacing, the man reached for the microphone and flipped it on.
"Attention all passengers of Flight 909 nonstop to Vermilion City, Kanto. We regret to inform you our aircraft has been heavily damaged and is no longer able to support air travel. Furthermore, what looks to be an Ominous Wind has saturated the runway, reducing the visibility of our pilots. Flight 909 has officially been canceled. Please see our check in desk to receive accommodations."
Groans and growls echoed through the terminal, a few passengers marching up to the attendant to give him a piece of their mind.
Ash's eyebrows furrowed at the suddenness of it all, gripping and twisting his pack straps. Accepting he was stuck in Galar for at least a little while longer, he turned to find the exit.
However, he paused for a moment to look out the windows.
Through the thick purple haze and overcast sky, he didn't see what he expected. Instead of a crushed, dirty, or collapsed airplane, he saw one of the wings absolutely mangled. The metal looked as if it was torn right off the plane, exposed wires sputtering uselessly in the fog.
Two familiar silhouettes flickered, and Ash felt his heart stop. They were gone the next moment, but Ash knew what he saw.
Running his tongue over his teeth, Ash left the airport with a roiling gut.
He'd recognize that ghostly Primeape anywhere, and even now the boy still cradled Cosmoem.
"Ash!"
The moment he stepped out into the bustling crowd outside the airport, he heard his name called over the cacophony and pitter patter of light rain. Feeling on-edge, Ash tensed and turned to see, to his shock, Sonia sprinting towards him.
"Sonia? What-" He was cut off when she barrelled into him, clutching his forearms in a way that would have been agonizing once upon a time. When he got a good look at her, she was in a state. Frizzy, damp hair falling from her Ponyta-tail, purple bags beneath her eyes, and a frantic energy pouring from her.
"Thank goodness I caught you in time," Ash wasn't about to tell her he would be in the air right now if it wasn't for a creepy boy and his Primeape stalking him, "you need to come with me!"
"Uh, why?"
Sonia tugged on his arms until he let himself be dragged away. "I'm not strong enough, but I need to know, so I need you!"
Well that was concerning. "Why do you need me?"
His kidnapper huffed but didn't stop pulling him. "Leon isn't answering my calls and everyone else is wrapped up in the tournament. Plus you have experience with this."
"With what?" Ash was really tired of not getting a straight answer. He's literally only interacted with the woman for a couple hours.
So caught up in his annoyance he almost missed Sonia's whispered response.
"Legends."
Stumbling over his feet it took Ash a few awkward steps to right himself. 'How did she…?' All the while Sonia still tugged him along. Finally fed up, Ash dug his heels in and jerked Sonia back, glaring at her. She wilted somewhat under his stare.
"Explain."
Digging the heels of her palms into her bloodshot eyes, Sonia started to talk. "I went to the demolition site in Stow-on-Side. Behind the mural- it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen, it was everything I was searching for! It was a cavern holding massive monuments! Two humans stood behind two large lupines. One was holding a sword and the other a shield. Engraved at the bottom was 'Quod gladius impavida et audax clypeus altissimis tenebris premuntur, vincere norunt diem'. I mistranslated it before!"
"Sonia, I don't know Latin."
"It translates to 'The intrepid sword and dauntless shield conquer the darkest day'."
"As interesting as that is… I still don't know why you need my help. Or what you need it for."
The researcher huffed irritably. Good, now they were on the same page. "There was more lore engraved on the walls of the cavern. The Darkest Day is-"
BOOM
For the second time that day, something shook the ground. But unlike before, this one radiated. It rocked the city, the very floor beneath his feet swinging like a pendulum. The following shockwave sent rain, people, and Pokémon alike crashing down. Children's hands were ripped from their parents', a distinct crack was heard from the teenager's arm near the airport shuttle, a fire hydrant crumbled, sending gallons of water to the sky in a powerful geyser. Thunder echoed, rippling across the sky in a reciprocal roar. Screams of pain and horror and heartbreak were drowned out by the destruction and crashing above their heads.
Debris and litter pelted the masses before a deafening rumble kept everyone on their knees. Nearby structures cracked and crumbled, trapping vehicles and souls beneath. Fingers scrambled for ears to block the debilitating noise.
Vision went blurry and unfocused, but the opposing dark and light that clawed their way into existence were clear as glass.
Black clouds like a Dusknoir's gaping maw were met by a blinding beam of crimson light that ascended like an omen. The crackling, bloody sunbeam erupting from Rose Tower cast Galar in red.
Screams and cries of panic picked up volume as the ringing in Ash's ears faded. A father was clutching his wailing child while a woman tried to shake her too-still grandmother awake.
The earlier rumbling was still there, low and almost indistinct. It washed over Ash, vibrating his bones as he watched the inky blackness spread across the sky like grim tidings. Ruby bolts of energy cut through the creeping darkness, curving unnaturally as if being pulled.
A too-loud shriek of something unnatural cut through the havoc, leaving dreaded, nauseous silence in its wake.
Everything was obviously very, very wrong.
Ash pulled himself from the ground and turned, his mouth open to speak. Eyes snapped down and the words caught in his throat.
Sonia was on her back, gripping her ribs and gasping for air. A thin trickle of blood fell from the crease of her lips. Her turquoise eyes were frantically darting around until they landed on Ash.
"Shit, Sonia!" Ash stumbled over and as gently as he could palpate her ribs. Broken, and most likely a punctured lung. The steel traffic barricade beside her was presumably the culprit. Cursing under his breath, Ash pulled out his Pokédex before realizing the emergency hotline would be overwhelmed.
Haunting, city-wide sirens sounded around him the moment before first responders started Teleporting into the area. Snarling, he sensed a light gathering strength a few paces away, and Ash snagged the wrist of the person the moment they popped into existence. The man turned surprised but serious eyes to Ash, his Audino's ears twitching erratically.
"Help her, broken rib punctured a lung."
Nodding, the first responder knelt by Sonia, gesturing for his Audino to use Yawn and Heal Pulse. Before it could, Sonia snapped her arm out, digging blunt nails into Ash's forearm. Her wheezing stuttered a moment before she spoke.
"Darkest Day… dormiens silvam. Please, please! Find them!"
Sonia's eyes rolled back and the next moment, she was gone along with the man and his Audino.
"Fuck." Did he really have to get caught up in another regional shit storm?
Naturally.
Growling under his breath, Ash tried to figure out what Sonia was trying to say. Apparently the Darkest Day was coming around again. Just his luck. Though he should have known, one of the lines in Sabrina's prophecy literally mentions it.
'Fell'd by the Darkest Day...'
Ash dragged a frustrated hand through his damp hair. The beam of energy spearing the air had blasted the earlier storm clouds far, far away yet left Galar even darker. The red glare on everyone and everything reminded Ash of a signal flare in a silent cavern.
People and Pokémon rushed past him, evacuating the area while Ash stood like a statue.
Seriously, what a lovely 'Happy Birthday' from the universe.
Needing to translate Sonia's Latin, he whipped out his Pokédex and searched for a translation, getting stuck on the spelling of Sonia's words.
Dormiens silvam - Sleeping Forest
"What?" Ash was going to pull his hair out. All the movement and screaming and sirens were making it hard to think.
Wait.
No.
It was hard to think.
Almost like his acknowledgement broke a dam, a sensation akin to cotton filled his ears. Frowning, Ash dug his finger into one, his eardrums feeling like he was hundreds of feet underwater and unable to equalize the pressure. He squinted as he looked around, the alarmed populace blurring at the edges, their cries and fear muffled until Ash heard nothing at all.
It was silent in the heart of catastrophe.
Blinking rapidly, Ash tried to shake the encroaching fuzziness from his vision. It was like a mist was rolling over his periphery, tinged pink and glinting uncannily. Metal coated his tongue and fur brushed his skin. Raising his fists to rub his eyes felt impossible, his body heavy and slow.
No one paid him any attention as he swayed, his feet fighting through the weight to catch him as he stumbled.
Pink overtook all his senses, blocking out the red blaze until it was all he knew. In his last moments of conscious thought, he feared this was a repeat of Yveltal.
When he next blinked, it was quiet. The sky was obstructed by deep viridescent foliage that looked stark against his red-soaked retinas.
And, he was alone.
Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Ash?"
Not as alone as he thought.
Turning, Ash blinked in surprise. Ash hadn't expected a fellow kidnapee during his next shitstorm.
"Hop?" The poor kid looked traumatized.
'Join the club'
Ash scrubbed his face with his hands and groaned, already over it all. Shaking out his hands, Ash tried to spread out his senses, but immediately winced and reeled them back in.
It was like Glimwood Tangle dialled up to eleven.
There was light everywhere.
Trying to avoid a headache, Ash turned back towards Hop, the young trainer uncharacteristically quiet and still. He had a purpling bruise on his temple and a small scratch at his hairline. His clothing was scuffed and torn in a few places and he was rubbing his right elbow.
"Ash, I don't- I'm… not entirely sure what's happening. There was that horrible explosion and people were hurt and then I was here… wherever here is. What are you doing here? What's going on?"
Shifting uncomfortably at Hop's mixture of desperation and reliance on him, Ash looked around at the heavily wooded area in which they'd found themselves. Thin mist clung to the forest floor, tendrils seemingly wrapping around his ankles. "I was about to fly back to Kanto when my flight was canceled. Sonia found me, had some sort of breakthrough with her research. Then the bigger explosion happened and she…" Ash trailed off.
Hop stumbled forward, eyes wide. "What happened to Sonia? Is she okay?"
Ash grimaced. "She's injured, but she's getting help. She said…" Ash paused and thought for a moment.
Both he and Hop appeared without any memory of how they got here. Something calling them here. This was too similar to his discovery of Yveltal's cocoon. But at least with Yveltal, Ash still had memories of getting to the forest. This time…
Something was going on that involved the two of them. Couldn't one region be normal?
Of course not. The universe liked toying with Ash.
"She was saying something about the Darkest Day and 'dormiens silvam' which translates to sleeping forest. She found monuments of the two heroes that ended the Darkest Day. They were Pokémon; Legends. The 'Intrepid Sword and Dauntless Shield'."
Hop's golden eyes bugged out of his head and he whipped his head around, looking at their surroundings. In the far distance, a tiny town was settled on rolling hills.
"Slumbering Weald…" His voice was barely audible, but Ash caught it.
His heart stuttered.
"What did you say?" Ash whispered, almost threateningly.
Hop seemed to shake himself out of a trance and turned startled, almost fearful eyes to Ash. "Slumbering Weald… it's a forest by my hometown, Postwick. It's always been… avoided. Hallucinations and superstitions of witchcraft surrounding it. We're right on the outskirts."
"Slumbering Weald."
"What?"
"Slumbering Weald. For the third Claiming"
Olympia's words resonated in his head. What claiming? Is it… is it truly like Yveltal? Closing his eyes, Ash dropped his head and rubbed his temples. It felt as if a collar had tightened around his throat as he swallowed.
'Here we go again.'
Ash straightened and turned towards the deeper parts of the forest. "Well, let's go." If his voice sounded strangled, Hop didn't mention it.
Ash started walking.
Hop stumbled after him. "Woah woah woah why? This place is dangerous! Sonia's parents disappeared in there! They were researchers and wanted to study the weird shit going on, but they never came out! Search parties went in but gave up after only a couple hours. Ash, we can't go in there!"
The poor kid was shaking with alarm, weakly tugging Ash's arm. His words intrigued Ash. No wonder Sonia wanted someone with her before she went into Slumbering Weald.
'Find them!' she'd said.
He wondered if she meant the Legends or her parents.
He wondered if even she knew.
"We ended up here for a reason."
Ash was able to drag a stricken Hop into the weald when the kid's legs went slack with shock.
"How are you so calm?"
Ash almost snorted in amusement. He wasn't calm, his heart was racing and a chill had made a home within his spine. His hands shook, and black threatened to crawl down his fingers with every pulse of adrenaline and fear.
He didn't want to be claimed again.
He didn't want to be changed.
But the Legends would not be denied.
In the end, Ash just stayed silent. Hop didn't ask again.
As they walked, the trees gradually closed in on them, the mist slinking around their ankles growing thicker. Clicking and piercing shrieks disrupted the eerie silence every few moments. At one point Ash saw the glowing cerulean eyes of a Orbeetle, prompting him to release Artemis and Hemlock.
The Morgrem shivered as he was released, looking around with drooped eyelids. Artemis whimpered and tucked her tail, lowering her head and pinning her ears. Her nostrils flared as her enhanced sense of smell picked up on the various scents.
Their reactions concerned him.
Hop's reaction was delayed, releasing a newly evolved Dubwool, to whom he cuddled close and nervously ran his fingers through her thick coat.
Breaking the silence, Ash asked, "Recent evolution?"
Hop twitched at the new noise but nodded. "Yeah, she evolved in our first battle of the tournament. A nasty Machoke almost had us, but she showed it who's boss." He smiled at his partner, who huffed happily. "I was also knocked out during the second round, but stuck around to watch the other battles."
Ash almost couldn't believe he'd battled Sierra just this morning.
What time was it?
A sudden blast of heat to his right lit up the forest, eliciting a reflexive flinch from Ash. A twitching, crispy Orbeetle lay unconscious while Artemis huffed.
Hours seemed to pass like molasses, lethargy settling into muscles like it had always been there. The weald was unending, an ominous space as vast as it was consuming. The forest got darker as time went on and Ash knew the black clouds had finally swallowed the furthest reaches of Galar.
He wondered if it would spread until the world was covered.
The group of five finally came to a stop at a crumbling old stone bridge that crossed a thin stream a few meters down. The stone bridge gave him pause. Someone must have built it a long time ago, but that meant the weald used to be visited enough to warrant a bridge.
As soon as they stepped off the stone, it was like they had crossed some sort of threshold. The air was heavy and hard to inhale, and a thick pressure settled over them. Hop was more affected out of the two of them.
Ash had felt something like this before.
Having Hop wrap his fingers around Ash's arm, he led them deeper into the weald, knowing they were getting close.
Close to what? He wasn't sure.
Then, like a switch being flipped, a golden glow came from between two towering oaks. It was blinding in its brightness, drowning out anything on the other side. Ash felt Hop squeeze the fabric of his sweater in his fist.
Striding between the two sentinel trees, the trainers had to blink a moment before their eyes adjusted to the uncanny brilliance in the depths of the weald.
Hop gasped behind him and Ash knew his own mouth was parted in awe.
A small piece of paradise resided in the unforgiving expanse. A softly trickling stream to the left curled protectively around a towering outcropping that housed a shining archway. An altar of pristine stone remained untouched by the ruinous passage of time.
The two trainers and their teammates crept forward, brimming with both wonder and caution. But as their angle of view changed when they approached, that wonder turned into horror.
Skeletons surrounded two pedestals, their withered fingers grasping at the items innocently situated upon the podiums. Their jaws were still dropped in either reverence or agony. Some were obviously older than others, ligaments and tendons eroded away leaving a haphazard mound of bones.
Gleaming upon the pedestals, the sword and shield looked timeless. Shining, sharp, luxurious even after what must have been millenia. Blues saturated the pommel of the sword, reds covering the face of the shield, as if liquid gemstones had been poured into the molds.
The corpses died in worship.
Ash quickly shoved Hop behind him to spare him the appalling sight. There had to be a dozen bodies, six around each pedestal. He caught sight of two dirtied lab coats and swiftly looked away.
"Stay here." Hop didn't even argue, hiding his face in Lulu's wool. Ash slid forward, lightly placing his feet. He didn't know if this was some sort of booby trapped tomb or what. When he got close enough, he saw there were words engraved upon the archway, etched into what appeared to be metal:
'Egredere in cordibus vestris a saeculo et manifestabit
puer in gladio
puer scutum
deficere, est amittere vitam
ad maiorem ascendere ad triumphum
et facti militibus pacis'
More Latin. Using his Pokédex to translate obviously wasn't accurate, since he'd gotten Sleeping Forest which was supposed to mean Slumbering Weald. Biting the inside of his cheek, Ash looked around, his eyes drawn to the frozen corpses.
He grimaced when he caught sight of a weather-worn notebook next to one of the skeletons with the lab coat. Knowing this was most likely one of Sonia's parents made bile rise in his throat. Ash looked back longingly at his two teammates but wasn't going to risk Hemlock tearing the notebook to shreds trying to retrieve it for him.
As quickly and gently as he could, Ash tiptoed through the human remains to pluck the notebook off the corpse. He shook it out and flipped through to the last entry. The ink was faded but legible, thank the Legends.
The final entry was dated 19 years ago with a full translation of the engraving.
'Step forth and expose your hearts to the Heroes of old
A child of Sword
A child of Shield
to fail is to forfeit life
to triumph is to ascend to a greater purpose
and become warriors of peace'
"Aw shit."
"What, what is it?" Hop had taken a couple steps closer, face pale and eyes darting everywhere except the altar.
Ash repeated the translation out loud, adding, "Looks like we were brought here to attempt this." He looked back at the altar, seeing the pairs that had attempted and failed, failed in the harshest way possible. "Wait a second…" His eyebrows furrowed, "I thought the heroes were Pokémon? What are humans needed for?" Sonia had said the monument of the lupines included two humans.
Hop shuffled from foot to foot in thought. Ash watched as the fear and uncertainty slowly bled from the kid's eyes, something resembling determination taking its place. Hop squared his shoulders, lifted his chin, and shook like a leaf. "I don't know, but there must be a reason. We should try."
Now, Ash knew he could go either way when it came to recklessness or self-preservation. But this seemed a bit too risky, seeing as there was a good chance he could, you know, die.
Sometimes, on nights he couldn't sleep, Ash wondered what death looked like for him when he was claimed by Death Incarnate.
Grabbing the other trainer's shoulder in a strong grip before he could get closer, Ash turned Hop towards him and allowed his red eyes to bore into yellow. "Hop, we need to think this through. While our chances of surviving are high since something brought us here, we need to figure out who takes the sword and who takes the shield. Then, what do we do after we don't die? Where are we going and how are we getting there? Stop and think."
The 13 year old paused with a frown. "Something's happening at Rose Tower. This has to be about the Behemoth, I'm sure of it. But if it is… I worry what Chairman Rose has to do with it… and if my brother knows." Hop was quiet for a moment before shaking himself out of it. "Alloy can fly me, he's a Corviknight now. As for who gets which..." Hop finally fully turned to face the morbid scene before them. The sword and shield shined guilelessly from their pedestal.
"It's obvious you get the sword." Ash tilted his head in consideration, to which Hop scoffed. "Don't be daft, Ash. Everything about you is technical, threatening, and precise. Your words, your battling style, even your help. If that doesn't sound like a sword I don't know what does. Me? I'm reactive, defensive… I'm right, I know I am."
Hop turned back and the two held eye contact for a few tense moments. Ash released his breath and closed his eyes. Groaning under his breath, Ash sent a small prayer to Mew before gesturing for Hop to climb up.
Artemis and Hemlock growled and hissed, but didn't try to stop them. The Houndoom was doing a somber little dance with her forepaws in her unease. Not wanting them to see his death should it occur, Ash returned them without warning, Artemis's whine and Hemlock's growl echoing loudly as they disappeared. He swapped their capsules for the single Heal ball on his belt.
A tiny little Skitty appeared, looking up with big eyes.
Something must have clued the Zoroark into the seriousness of the situation because he dropped the illusion abruptly. Bane panted, shoulders bowing under the weight of their surroundings.
Ice eyes met crimson as Ash knelt down and ran a hand through the fox's wild mane, fingers dancing along the gold clasp. "I have something to ask of you, and I'm so sorry it's needed." Bane blinked at him, lips pulling back to reveal sharpened teeth in his confusion and apprehension.
Ash handed his whole world to Bane.
Gentle and horrified, Bane wrapped dagger-like claws around Ash's Pokéball belt.
"We're in another shitshow bud. The stakes are a bit… higher now. If something goes wrong, you take them and run." The dauntless Zoroark whined, stepping closer to Ash. "I'm sorry it falls to you, but you're the best chance." No one could do stealth like Bane.
With as little force as possible, Ash pushed Bane back, forcing him from the altar.
Pretending he wasn't breaking his teammate's heart, Ash looked at Hop, seeing him tie his pack around Lulu's neck. The Dubwool stepped back to stand beside Bane.
Nodding once, the younger trainer took a fortifying inhale before stepping towards the pedestal holding the shimmering red and gold shield. Ash followed his lead, stopping in front of the blue and gold sword. It was somewhat silly, he realized, how small the pedestals were in comparison to the two gorgeously deadly weapons. The blade of the sword stuck out at least two feet off the edge.
Ash stared down at it, the gold vibrant but unlike the Cuff attached to his arm. The weapon was both ornate and simple, timeless and new, dangerous and protective.
For a long moment, Ash stared.
Hop's nudge broke him from his daze.
The two trainers shared one final look, then slowly reached out their hands. As Ash's palm hovered a few centimeters above the sword, he felt a coursing energy not unlike the tiny stone he kept around his neck.
Without dwelling on the idea, Ash closed the distance and wrapped a calloused hand around the pommel.
A brief shock ran up his arm then dissipated as quickly as it came. His next breath left a metallic tang on his tongue.
Nothing else happened.
He lifted the sword, its weight surprising him and making his other hand dart around to reclaim control before he dropped the priceless artifact. Sunlight glinted off the tip of the sword like something out of a movie.
"Well that was anticlimactic."
A hysterical giggle escaped Hop's throat and he quickly hid his burning face behind the large shield. It practically dwarfed the 13 year old, and he looked a bit lopsided from the weight pulling his body to one side.
Ash raised his elbow awkwardly so Bane could tuck himself into his side, trembling with relief.
Ash held up the gleaming sword, eyes squinting when he caught something etched into the flawless metal.
Zacian
"Hey Hop, does the shield have something inscribed on it?" The younger trainer hummed and struggled to turn the shield around in his hands.
"Uh, oh yeah, it says Zam-uh, Zamazenta? Weird."
The two were quiet for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not exactly sure what we're supposed to do with these." What were they supposed to do, poke the Behemoth? Ash felt like he was more likely to stab himself than anything. There wasn't even a sheath lying around.
Now that he was focusing on the sword a bit more, it felt… it felt perfect in his hand if it wasn't so heavy. It was like some magnetic attraction was keeping his fingers wrapped comfortably around the handle.
"It's… buzzing." Hop looked so confused even as he tilted to one side trying to keep the shield up.
"I feel it too." That energy was so much more noticeable now, and if he looked close enough it was as if the sword was made of liquid gold; a constant state of flow and sparkling like a sunglinting river.
As curious as he was, they couldn't dawdle. "Come on, we need to go. You mentioned that 3,000 years ago Pokémon Dynamaxed and went crazy. If we wait too long, Galar will be trampled."
Blood drained from Hop's face and in the next moment, Alloy appeared, newly evolved and towering above their trainer. Metallic black feathers screeched against each other as wings ruffled.
Ash, uncaring of his audacity, set the sword on the ground and wrapped his arms around Bane, who clutched back just as tightly. "I'm so sorry, but thank you." He felt the Zoroark nod against his shoulder and after a few moments stepped back to be returned.
Blocking out Hop's one-sided conversation with Alloy and Lulu, Ash picked up the sword and released his own transportation. The battle cry Styx released was so unexpected that Ash stumbled a bit. His confusion immediately shifted to chagrin when Styx turned accusatory eyes at him.
Right. The tournament.
Oops.
"Yeah…" Ash awkwardly played with his dyed strands before sighing wearily. "We're in it again, Styx. You up for a little world-saving?"
The Hydreigon was quiet for a beat, two, before huffing and swatting his head with one thin wing. If he hadn't been used to this he would have fallen on his ass. He was only glad the sword didn't slice the wing.
Biting his lip, Ash managed to get the sword attached to his pack, the sharp tip at an angle and sticking out above his head looking utterly ridiculous. It would have to do.
Carefully, Ash pulled himself onto his starter's back and settled in. "We're going all the way back to Wyndon. Rose Tower, look for the red beam of light." One of Styx's smaller heads swiveled around to dart a tongue out at him in understanding.
"Ready?"
Hop was quiet for a moment from where he sat on Corviknight's back. Then he nodded to himself and decisively said, "Yes."
And off they went.
5 Hours Earlier
Footsteps echoed through the whitewashed hallway as the group of three made their way to the elevator. Rose Tower was an architectural marvel, but by The Heroes it was ugly.
Leon shuddered when he caught Oleana's dead-eyed stare, quickly turning his head in the opposite direction. She always gave him the creeps.
Chairman Rose was striding ahead, quiet, but Leon could see pent-up excitement and anticipation in the set of his shoulders. On their way over, Rose had shared some concerning information he had recently discovered.
Galar would run out of Particles. Sure it was far in the future, but finding out they weren't renewable or replenishing on their own was a major concern. As of fourteen years ago, almost every city ran on Galar Particles. They'd have to do a massive overhaul, costing billions - trillions - of dollars to repurpose Galar's entire power grid.
Sixteen years ago there was a worldwide power outage. The Great Wave. Every single city had gone dark. The Internet, transportation, generators, hospitals, everything had lost power.
Leon had been a child then, only nine years old. But Rose had already been Chairman at that time. He'd seen the devastation the outage had wrought. Planes fell from the sky, anyone relying on machines to survive slipped away, Psychic people and Pokémon alike seized and hundreds of thousands fell into comas or lost their lives. There was mass hysteria among Ghosts that led to casualties, trauma, and irreparable mental damage. The few nuclear power plants had meltdowns, worldwide communications were down for over a week, and that's not even touching on the cost of the fried electronics.
It was global mayhem.
At the time, utilizing Galar Particles had been in their early stages, just making their way into homes. These few homes and businesses running off Galar Particles were left completely unaffected by The Great Wave.
Paranoia pushed Rose to put everything into overhauling Galar's energy grid, and it also led him to double checking the renewability of these Particles. It's when he found out there was a limit.
Leon's mind had already started racing with possible solutions and strategies the moment the words had left Rose's mouth. Galar didn't have the necessary water sources for hydropower like Alola and Johto. It didn't have the open plains and rounded hills necessary for windmills like Sinnoh and Kalos. It didn't have the abundant sun like Hoenn for solar thermal or photovoltaic. It didn't have the bountiful geothermal wells like Unova. It didn't have the biofuel access from Weezing and Muk like Kanto.
Galar had Galar Particles. Leon didn't want to think about the cost of implementing multiple forms of renewable energy.
But, Rose apparently had a plan. A way to create more Particles. He had been tight lipped about it since they landed, practically bursting with suspense and a little pride to show Leon what he had created or discovered.
The three shuffled into the expansive glass elevator. Leon raised a curious eyebrow when Rose clicked open a hidden panel, a single button within. There was a brief light when Rose placed his thumb on it and Leon felt like he was being inducted as a spy and going to a super secret lair.
The elevator went up, up, up; farther than Leon had ever gone before and he had been sure he'd seen the entirety of the tower. He was Galar Champion, which meant inspections came through him for Galarian businesses that could negatively impact the environment or economy.
He knew Rose Tower inside and out.
Or- he thought he did. Because this wasn't on the classified blueprints that were in his desk. He felt his gaze harden and his lips thin.
"You better have a good explanation for this, Rose."
The Chairman, to Leon's shock, waved him off. "Nothing is as important as the security of Galar's future. You'll understand in a moment, my boy." Frowning deeply, Leon stepped off the elevator and followed the two heads of Macro Cosmos down another long hallway that ended in a pair of heavy double doors. Through the small windows, two other thick pairs of doors were visible.
Apprehension sat heavy in his gut.
A hand scan by Oleana gave them entry, each successive door requiring some other biometric scan from the vice president. Finally, the last pair of doors slid open, revealing a dark but massive chamber. Metal walls, metal floors, with a tremendous metal dome in the center.
Somehow, there was wind within the chamber, first pulling Leon forwards, towards the dome, then back. The cadence was rhythmic. Push pull push pull.
"This is the future of energy!" Rose spread his arms wide like his grin.
Leon was confused. "What is?"
The Chairman tutted under his breath and gestured to Oleana. "If you would." The vice president walked over to a control panel and slid her fingers down a screen. The enormous dome in the center of the chamber suddenly became transparent.
The Champion furrowed his brows and stepped closer, unable to figure out what he was seeing. It was a mass of gray, purple, and red, segmented and armor-like. It folded and coiled in on itself so many times he couldn't see where it started or ended. It pulsed an angry fuschia color, like glowing power cables looped all throughout the unknown thing.
It almost looked like the skeleton of a Gigantamax Sandaconda.
"Able to take in radiation and convert it into Galar Particles. Do you know how much radiation exists on the planet? Radio, infrared, ultraviolet, gravitational, acoustic, the list goes on! It's a new type of renewable energy. Well… not new. Just rediscovered."
Then it twitched, grew larger just as the wind pulled Leon forward.
Leon stumbled back in shock. "Is that a Pokémon?!" It wasn't wind… it was breath.
He whipped his head around to look at the Chairman, and the expression on the man's face was too wide, too wild.
"Say hello to Eternatus."
The games and anime don't give an explanation on how anything works, so I'm doing my best
I do not know Latin. And sorry about your parents, Sonia, we call that a ~plot device~
The altar scene was loosely inspired by a specific chapter in Traveler!
NOTE: I wanted to thank everyone who is enjoying Chaos Rising so far! I know with long, intense fics like this one, everyone has hopes and expectations and ideas for the direction I'll take it. Some people like the angst, some people don't. Some people like the pacing, some people don't. Some people like the unique Pokémon, some people don't.
This is all to say, thanks for coming along for the ride and I'm so excited for you all to see everything unfold! We've got so much action, emotion, and world building left to experience