Chapter 109; Shadow and Maria

The cold, strong wind current hit Shadow in the face as he slashed through the aethers of Hoenn, riding on his Salamence.

The black hedgehog quietly observed the land and sea halves of the region as they continued heading to their destination.

"Soon enough… nothing will ever be the same" he thought.

He had come to accept it over the last few days.

Following the fiasco in Forina and his threat to Maxie, the president of Socexp had revealed the nature of the grand plan to Shadow.

He remembered his employer's words specifically.

"This is team Magma's grand plan. This… is the king of Groudons".

Shadow in that moment was barely keeping the PTSD from taking over.

A Groudon had almost killed him and then he learned his entire purpose was to actually revive the strongest Groudon.

Cause that's what that husk was. The strongest of the Groudon species.

After leaving the suffocating heat of Groudon's domain, Maxie had invited Shadow to his quarters where he gave Shadow a history lesson.

In the ancient past, around 3000 years before their time, Hoenn, albeit inhabited by humans, was dominated by two rivaling god pokemon species; the gods of land, the Groudon, and the gods of the seas, the Kyogre.

The two species were dubbed gods by the people of that time because of their massive size and extreme power. Power so great it could flood an entire city or swallow it in a fissure.

The Groudon and the Kyogre of course, being opposites, waged war on each other. The war lasted a thousand years and the humans were caught in the crossfire, as those two species existed long before humans arrived in Hoenn. To the gods, humans were collateral damage.

It was unclear if humans were too stubborn to leave when they saw the gods' conflict or if the gods were once peaceful and so the humans were able to coexist with them for a time. But one thing was for certain.

The war of the gods began as all wars do; in pursuit of power.

Details were hazy about the day history changed forever. Some said a huge meteor, almost the size of Mt Chimney landed in Hoenn, leveling the mountain and creating the crater inside which the city known as Sootopolis was later built. Others claimed it was not a meteor but a gigantic energy beam that fell from the sky.

Nobody knew for certain. But there was also an undeniable fact.

That disaster had brought great power to the region which spread around Sootopolis affecting several pokemon species.

But none were affected as much as the Groudon and the Kyogre.

The two species grew to desire the energy for themselves. And naturally, that brought them into conflict.

And a deadly conflict it was.

For a thousand years, the Groudon and the Kyogre clashed for the energy, with the people of Hoenn caught in the middle, unable to leave and only being forced to struggle to survive.

Through the centuries of war, each species grew to have a king; a Groudon and a Kyogre that proved themselves superior to the others of their respective kind.

Accounts from that time also claimed the kings looked different compared to the others of their kind. They also emitted what was described as a 'primal' aura.

The war destroyed Hoenn and drove not only its people near extinction but the two species as well.

The Groudon and the Kyogre went extinct slowly but steadily until only the kings were the lone survivors.

And seeing as there were no more pawns left for them to sacrifice, the two decided to take it upon themselves.

Meeting in the crater where the energy had first came to be, where Sootopolis was today, the two fought for a hundred days, their power so great and so evenly matched that not only could they never defeat each other but the weather around Hoenn was affected to an extreme extent.

Floods and thunderstorms clouded the southeast part of Hoenn, while drought and intense heat laid waste to the northwest part.

And then suddenly, without any explanation, the conflict ended.

The weather returned to normal abnormally fast.

And the bodies of the two kings had disappeared, becoming a distant memory in the span of a day.

Following the disasterous weather Hoenn began to change as it took the form it had today.

"But" as Maxie had said "there were two events on that day that indicated the gods had not gone far".

In the seas of Hoenn somewhere a huge pillar of water had shot to the sky. Nobody could tell where exactly.

And at the same time, a mega earthquake struck the land, out of which the Mt chimney volcano was born.

Maxie couldn't accept those two events as random. So he set out to explore the volcano as a young adult.

And there he found it.

The very room where the husk of the king of Groudons remained, stripped of its power and life force.

Of course, that meant that wherever that pillar of light had come from, that was where the husk of the king of Kyogres resided.

Of course no one had found it and there was also no known way to track it yet.

But that was none of Maxie's problems.

He had read about Groudon's abilities and stories of the species known as the gods of land. And being someone determined to raise the living standard of humanity since he was a boy, he knew in that moment.

Groudon was his ticket to achieve his dream.

"But… we lack the proper energy to awaken it and return life to its husk. Which is why I believe using professor Cosmo's Mikado meteor will be a good enough source or at the very least, a nod to the right direction".

Mikado meteor. That was what it had been named by the Hoennians.

The night following the end of the war between Groudon and Kyogre, a star shower had rained across Hoenn.

Locals believed it was the work of a pokemon that had appeared towards the end of the war. A pokemon called Rayquaza.

Although it seemed to be of similar origin as Groudon and Kyogre, Rayquaza didn't have a vast population. In fact some believed no more than one existed.

Maxie wasn't sure what part Rayquaza took in the great war but it had been seen saving Hoennians during the one hundred day clash between the king of Groudons and the king of Kyogres. Its very presence eradicated the abnormal weather.

The Hoennians came to love Rayquaza for this and immediately attributed the star shower to it, as Rayquaza was a long green dragon capable of flight and known to frequent the aethers of Hoenn.

Several meteors of small size fell to the earth during the star shower. The Mikado meteors.

In the moment it seemed like a pact between Rayquaza and the Hoennians. A promise by the great dragon to always defend and protect them.

But it was merely a self inflicted illusion.

After the end of the war and the disappearance of the husks of the kings, Rayquaza also disappeared, not being seen in Hoenn for two thousand years. Rumored sightings had of course been reported but none of them confirmed.

Fearing the potential return of the kings and their species, the Hoennians began worshipping Rayquaza as the god of the skies or god of heavens as they called it back then. Many of the survivors then banded together and, over the course of the next 200 years built an extremely tall tower near Sootopolis on a desserted island in the middle of the seas.

They named the tower the Sky Pillar and declared it Rayquaza's domain.

After the tower's completion, the leaders of Hoenn's tribes would visit the tower together, seeking to meet the legendary Rayquaza and ally with it to prepare for what they deemed the inevitable return of the gods.

But Rayquaza never came.

Slowly but surely, in the need of the people to forget and move on, history became legends and myths and the Sky Pillar was left to rot on its island.

And that was where the history lesson ended.

Seeing how both his encounter with the virus monster version of Groudon and the history of Hoenn had shaken Shadow, Maxie gave him the order to rest for a few days and collect his thoughts before they would move on with their plans to steal the Mikado meteor from professor Cosmo.

And Shadow had tried to relax. But the Magma hideout wasn't really the best place to be when trying to calm yourself.

Especially with someone as annoying as Courtney never leaving him alone.

So Shadow and Salamence had taken to the skies, flying around Mt Chimney and the surrounding areas until Shadow asked himself where he would be able to relax and come to terms with everything. And they had to find a solution quick. Any day now the operation would be underway. Grunts had already been starioned in Fallarbor town, awaiting the order.

And the answer to his question was obvious.

"Maria" his voice was a whisper when he realized where he needed to be.

Salamence looked back at him, feeling Shadow's rising emotions.

"Eyes ahead" Shadow ordered it.

Salamence obeyed.

Landing at route 117, Shadow made sure his pokeballs were out of sight before heading for the pokemon food farm/pokemon daycare centre Maria's family owned.

History repeated itself with each step he took. With every step, another what if scenario that he had thought that day popped in his head.

With the most obvious one whispering doubt in his ear.

"What if she has a boyfriend?"

Finally arriving at the door, Shadow raised his hand to push it open but found himself freezing.

It was like his brain had short circuited again by the mere thought of seeing her.

The door opened.

Maria bumped into him as she walked out.

"Shadow?"

"Ma… Ma.. H-hi Maria".

The blonde girl chuckled as Shadow wished he could just open a hole into the ground, hop in and wait out another thousand years.

The gods returning and waging war on Hoenn sounded a lot easier than talking in that moment.

"Took you long enough to visit" she playfully joked.

"Y-yeah… too much work…"

He then noticed Maria was holding two huge bags of Pokemon food.

"Let me help you with those" he said before he could even make the thought to offer help.

"Thanks. Take one of them. Both are extremely heavy".

"It's no issue" Shadow assured her as he took the other one off her hands, easily holding them up.

"Wow. You make it look so easy".

The two walked into the field behind the shack housing Maria's family's business, through a small opening on the fence sealed by a gate.

In the field now, they were greeted with looks of question and subsequent excitement from all the pokemon that were patiently waiting for their lunch.

And the first to approach was a marill.

"There you are!" Maria excitedly picked it up and gave it a big tight hug "there's my baby! How's my little munchkin doing? Aren't you the cutest. Have you been behaving?"

"Marill" Marill cried out in joy.

Shadow's heart, usually cold, calculating and cynical, was thawing at the sight of Maria being affectionate with her Marill. It was if she was the sun melting everything around her with her unending warmth.

His mind then went a few days back. To Butler's tent.

The words he had spoken to his Absol that day echoed in his head.

He couldn't claim he felt shame in those words. Absol was a tool to get team Magma closer to the completion of the grand plan.

But the thought of Maria finding out how he treated Absol made him very uneasy.

"More than that… should she find out I even have pokemon…"

He subconsciously touched the pouch he was wearing inside which his pokeballs were safely stashed.

It had to be enough. It wasn't like Maria would forcefully open the pouch to see what was inside.

"Shadow let me introduce you to my marill sister, Debbie" Maria turned to the hedgehog, the Marill also facing him.

"You've given it a name? Why?"

"Why else? I grew up with her. We're like sisters".

Shadow forced his face normal but inside he was full of questions.

"A sibling bond with a pokemon?" he thought.

He had never once seen his pokemon as something remotely close to that.

"Don't just stand there you silly. Open the bags and help me serve them their breakfast" Maria giggled as Shadow had dozed off and was unaware he was being surrounded by the hungry pokemon calling the field their temporary home.

As soon as Shadow realized it, he was met with the masks of anticipation worn by the pokemon.

Though he didn't feel anything deep about that moment, he did experience a sudden need to act.

Quickly pulling out a knife from his pouch, making sure he didn't also pull out any of his pokeballs by accident, he cut the bags open. Maria in the meantime had set her Marill down and has brought a couple of big deep dishes closer.

Shadow poured the pokemon food inside and several pokemon immediately charged in.

"Is that it?"

"Are you kidding? We are just getting started" Maria joked as she pointed towards the further end of the fields "the bowls are scattered around the field. We need to find them and fill each one. Unless… you have somewhere else you need to be" she quickly added, on the chance that Shadow was just passing by.

"No, no it's ok, I'm on leave for a few days" Shadow quickly assured her. Technically it was true so he didn't feel too bad about saying a version of the truth.

"Great. Let's go. Can't keep our adorable guests waiting. Come on Debbie" Maria picked up her Marill again, setting it on her shoulder.

Shadow lifted the bags, careful not to spill any food and followed Maria, the weight being nothing for him.

"Is all this food homegrown?" he asked as they looked for the next set of bowls.

"Yes. It's part of the reason my family's daycare is so popular. Two in one. Therefore my father has lowered the prices a bit, you know. No cost for food supply so less need for depreciation".

Shadow was surprised at the use of the word.

"You understand how finances work?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I just… I mean you… I mean I… that was stupid of me to say".

"I think I understand why you would think that. You are immersed in the world of business. I am just a farm girl in a way. It is not an entirely baseless assumption".

"It's not exactly that…"

"Tell you what. Help me with the food and we can talk about it afterwards ok? The little ones are waiting. And you don't have to feel like you said something stupid. I don't take such things personally".

While walking through the fields and filling the bowls with food, they came across and unexpected sight.

"Oh look. A pokemon egg. Two of the pokemon must have mated" Maria said overjoyed as she picked up the egg.

"Which ones?" Shadow asked.

"Who knows. Father has a policy for situations like this. Watching out for eggs from a specific trainer's pokemon costs extra. Currently no one has paid for this".

"But don't they know there is a chance the pokemon could mate if they are in the same egg group?" Shadow inquired.

"Some do. But most trainers just ask we help raise their pokemon to a good enough stage so that they may become more powerful. It's a common phenomenon" Maria solemnly said "a lot of trainers are always trying to find faster ways to the top".

Shadow looked at the egg for a moment.

"And what do you do with eggs like this? Ones than no one wants to claim?"

"We raise them and then release them to the wild. Dad was once a trainer but has since retired. So he knows how to raise a pokemon to survive. Debbie also came from such an egg".

"And why is she still here?"

Maria pet Marill on her shoulder.

"We became attached to each other. She was born as an azurill. At first she was to be released. But when she evolved due to our strong bond I knew she was meant to be here with me. So dad let her stay".

"I see. That's… that's good. For you two I mean" Shadow finally said, not really knowing how to reply.

The two finally finished filling the bowls and saw they were now on the other end of the field. Maria suggested they sit down and enjoy the peace and quiet of the field before heading back. Shadow agreed.

"So" Maria asked "how is the internship going?"

"Ok so far. There was a near miss lately but I pulled through".

"Near miss?"

Shadow recalled the feeling of being absorbed and trapped inside the virus Groudon while trying to not look too haunted.

"Just a small work accident. Nothing major".

"Were you hurt?!"

"As I said. It was a near miss. But it all ended… ok".

Maria wanted to ask more but could see it was a sensitive topic.

"Is this why you're on leave right now?"

"Yes. Chairman Maxie was kind enough to allow me this".

Maria scoffed quietly.

"If only he was this kind to pokemon. Do you know that he once wanted to buy our land?"

"This… this field?"

"Yes. He wanted to secure a contract to build a power plant for the city as he doesn't trust gym leader Wattson with his work in the new Mauville".

The news made a dent on Shadow's view of Maxie, but he shoved the thought aside believing it was sentiment talking.

"And how did you save the land?"

"The people of Hoenn stepped up. They rallied for days, until Maxie stopped to appease them. It's thankful he cares about his image in the eyes of the people".

She laid back looking at the sky.

"I'm sorry if what I'm saying is bothering you. You work under him and I understand your loyalty is to him to some extent".

"It's ok… you didn't take my words personally so neither do I".

Maria smiled.

"So what about you? Where do you come from?"

Shadow's eyes gleamed hauntedly for a moment.

"It's… complicated. But… I lived in Sonic the hedgehog's hometown for a while before coming here".

"Really?! You know him?! What is he like?!"

Shadow's heart ached with jealousy.

"I don't know him personally so I really can't say".

"Oh pity. I think I told you when I met you but I would really like to meet him one day. His actions against team rocket are true inspiration. Did you see how he and his friends stood for both people and pokemon in Johto?"

Shadow nodded.

"I did".

Before Maria could ask any more questions about Sonic, Shadow took over.

"How was your visit at your grandfather's?"

"It was pleasant but the first day was a bit of a disappointment. We were planning to visit the oceanic museum together later that day but it closed down. All because of those jerks of team Magma and their horrible leader, the enforcer".

Her words stung Shadow like a Beedril's sting.

"Sorry to hear that".

"Eh, it's ok. I will visit again soon. Maybe by that time his side-project will also be finished".

"Side-project?"

"Yes. I saw a folder on his desk when I went to get something for him. He said it was his passion from his previous job. He used to study about the deeper biology of pokemon, far beyond what scientists like professor Birch do".

"I see. Sounds like many could benefit from his research".

"I'm not sure about that".

"Why is that?"

"The name on the folder wasn't exactly a reassuring one".

"What was that title?"

Maria took a second to reply.

"The ultimate life form".

Shadow was intrigued by the name.

"What was the point of the research?"

"No idea. I didn't look into it. But there was a small report. It mentioned something about space studies. So it must be linked to something… what do you science folk call it? Extraterrestrial?"

"Yes. That's the term. Very interesting though. Has your grandfather considered…?"

"Working with Socexp scientists?! No. It's bad enough my cousin works with them at their sister location in a tropical region. Can't remember the name. I think it was something like aloha or something".

"I see. But I am impressed if you would allow me the compliment. You are very knowledgeable despite the simplicity of your life".

"Oh thank you, you're sweet" Maria said joyfully "but what about you? I have told you so much about my life and family but you are still an enigma. What about your folks? Do you have any siblings?"

Shadow racked his brain on how to avoid the question. The answer was something that could never be allowed to resurface.

Maria's face then turned to that of worry.

"What's wrong?"

"Trouble. Charmeleon, Swellow, roselia! Come here quick!"

The three pokemon amongst the many Maria's family was caring for, rushed to her side as she headed urgently for the shack.

Shadow followed her to the shack. From afar he noticed a middle aged man on a verbal fight with a group of people.

The people wore familiar red suits.

"Magmas" Shadow thought, instantly realizing the bind he was in out of nowhere.

"I told you thugs never to come near my property again!" Maria's father Geraldo threatened the Magma grunts with a scythe.

"Ohohoho. Look what we go here fellas. The farmer thinks he can boss us around" one of the male grunts laughed.

"My oh my, rural chumps have no respect today" a female grunt laughed.

"You know chairman Maxie could buy out your land in an instant if he really wanted, right old man?"

Shadow cursed inside.

Of course it had to be Courtney.

"The people of Hoenn will stand in your way like last time".

"Then they are fools. They are standing in the way of progress Socexp plans to bring forth for the region. For the people's own sake too".

"Dad!" Maria came to the rescue followed by Charmeleon, Swellow and roselia.

"How cute. A little girl with three puny pokemon. Whatever we will do guys?" Courtney mocked Maria.

"You will make like a tree and leave!" Maria warned them as charmeleon exhaled a fiery breath.

Shadow had purposefully remained out of sight up until this point, weighing his options.

He knew these grunts could do some serious damage on inexperienced trainers like Maria. But if he opted to face them…

"I would have to fight them without my pokemon…" he thought.

The grunts took out pokeballs. As did Courtney.

Shadow's body moved before he had a chance to think.

He quickly dashed in front of Maria and faced down the grunts.

"You want to get to her, you go through me!"

The grunts all wore looks of shock.

Courtney's face though was worse.

It was a mask of betrayal.

Cold sweat ran down Shadow's neck.

He had feared the grunts would expose him either with their words or if they forced him to call out his pokemon.

But now those shocked expressions might have sealed the deal on their own.

Sticking to his guns and not changing his expression in the least, Shadow took a decisive step forward.

The grunts all stepped back instinctively. Even Courtney.

Shadow grinned. It was such a slight grin it was imperceptible.

Reputation was a most useful tool.

The grunts then looked ready to speak.

Shadow wouldn't let that happen.

"Beat it. Or else".

In Magma language, or else meant a complete and utter beating before Shadow reported them for insubordination to Maxie.

The grunts all fled but not without shouting a 'this isn't over' warning to Maria and her father.

Courtney especially shot a death stare. Directed at Maria.

Shadow caught the stare but immediately regulated his own heartbeat as he had been trained to do, to make himself seem calm. That was quite a rush.

This meeting would have repercussions but he would deal with that later.

"Shadow" Maria said in absolute awe before unexpectedly giving him a massive hug "that was so brave".

"A brave act indeed" Geraldo said in approval "facing down team Magma with no pokemon and having them flee? A most impressive act of outstanding bravery".

"It was… nothing" Shadow looked away in shame which Geraldo and Maria attributed as shyness.

Charmeleon, Swellow and roselia all showed their gratefulness to Shadow by nuzzling him to his surprise and inability to react.

He wasn't used to such displays of affection.

Geraldo then went inside with the excuse of having to confer with his wife Meredith on what actions they would take to keep team Magma off the premises, thereby leaving Maria and Shadow alone.

A few moments went by until Shadow processed his surroundings and realized he was left alone with Maria and the 3 pokemon.

"I… uuuh…"

He had frozen. He didn't know what to say. Or if there even was anything to say.

Maria hugged him again with another smile.

"I knew it. I knew you were a nice guy".

"I… thank you".

Maria giggled at Shadow's stuttering. It was out of this world cute.

Shadow's phone buzzed. It was Maxie.

"What is it?"

"Duty calls… looks like my leave ends early".

"Oh pity. I was just thinking about inviting you for dinner so my mother could also meet and thank you for your bravery today".

Shadow was taken aback. Dinner? Meet Maria's mother? Where was this going?

Regardless,without paying it much thought, Shadow agreed in his own Shadow way.

"There will be other leaves soon" he said, mustering a genuine smile.

Maria smiled back.

"It better be real soon then"

And with those final words, she gave Shadow a quick peck on the cheek, before going back inside the shack.

As she closed the door while maintaining eye contact, Shadow could swear he saw her wink.

Leaving his crush's farm behind, Shadow read the message from Maxie.

"Spike in volcanic activity. Operation has been pushed forward. Join your forces in one hour in Fallarbor. That's an order".

Shadow begrudgingly followed the order. Finding a remote location, he called out his Salamence and quickly rode it.

"Fallarbor town" he almost barked the destination at the dragon type.

After a few seconds Shadow added something.

"Please".

Salamence shot Shadow a perplexed look before crying back and soaring to the sky, heading for the remote town.

The pieces were in motion. All that was left was for the enforcer to join the party.