Pokemon: Origins (PokeCommunity)

Pokemon: Origins
A story by the *Aura Guardians* Lucario/Riolu Fan Club of PokeCommunity

Intro
	Riolu decided to wait until its trainer arrived, and soon after waiting only for a few minutes, his trainer arrived and Riolu explained the shrine to him. "What's a shrine doing here in the first place? and why do the three Regi pokemon reside in it? Never mind that, I bet Absol is inside. Come on Riolu!" The trainer said, walking slowly up the staircase to the shrine with Riolu following behind him. The shrine was a very secluded area. It looked like a temple, and all around it were small cliffsides with grass and flowers growing wildly about. There was also a giant hole in the cave ceiling, which cast a bright light that shined down on the shrine, making the shrine seem sacred. It was hard for them to imagine that all of this was inside a cave. But as soon as they got to the top, they heard noise coming from somewhere, and from the top of the temple, Absol jumped down to greet the trainer and the Riolu. "Stay back Riolu! Absol! Why are you causing so much destruction on the town?" The trainer shouted. "Come on, give me an answer now!" The trainer shouted again. His voice echoed throughout the cave, and the Absol just sighed, and said to the trainer, "I see very well as much as you do , the destruction and chaos of the town. However all of that was not my doing. For the three guardians of this cave lie resting ahead. They keep the forces of nature in this region in check, and if one goes out of balance, the others also suffer a consequence, for all three must work in harmony with each other." "Then, why were you always in the town when those events occured? Why? The townspeople have always spotted you, and you are the one they blame for all of this." The trainer replied. "Well, if you have not noticed, many natural disasters have been happening all around the world, not just here. Climates in some parts of the world have been shifting and changing dramatically, and some parts of the world are drowned in darkness, or in an everlasting season of rain. Those events, I can not fully explain, but some evil has taken up upon this world and all who inhabit it, thus shifting the balances of the forces of nature. This is also one of the reasons why one of the guardians here have been disturbed, and why the town outside is in a bad shape. Did you not notice the weather before you arrived in this cave?" Absol replied. "Well, yes. I did notice that this town has been more humid and it has been extremely windy." The trainer said as he looked to Riolu and then looked back at Absol. "Now in order to fix this, you must place that stone you were given by the town elder in the shrine to restore balance to the three guardians. Now go, I will be watching." Absol replied. "Let's go Riolu. Don't worry, just stay close to me." The trainer said, walking inside the shrine towards the altar.

Prologue
	"What do you want us to to?" The trainer asked, looking at each individual spirit. Each spirit had the exact shape of it's pokemon counterpart, they also seemed to have a colored aura that surrounded them depending on their type. There were red, green, and sky blue colored spirits. "As you know, we are the guardians of this cave, and of the village. But we could not defend the village for very long, as an unspeakable evil has surfaced in this world, draining our powers in the process. We tried to protect everyone to the best of our abilities, but the evil pokemon was too strong, and it weakened us, dividing our powers into three. You see, we used to be one entity, but because of that event, we are three spirits." Regifire answered. "In order for us to be whole, you must recapture our lost powers and bring it back here. That task alone is dangerous, however, we still have our powers. Two of us do. But our other one has completely lost his powers." Regisky replied. "This is why I need you to go into Azure Forest with my sphere of power, and go deep inside the forest until you find a monument surrounded by fireflies. The monument is on a small island in the middle of a large pond, and I can not tell you how to cross it, because you can not swim in that water, but I know you will find another way. When you reach the shrine, place the sphere on the altar, and when it infuses my powers back, quickly bring it back here, becuase we do not have much time until the town gets attacked again!" Regipoison said. "All right." The trainer replied, taking the green sphere from the altar which lit up, and shined brightly, revealing a symbol of some sort inside the sphere. "Now go, and be careful. The path through the forest is full of tainted pokemon. I was the guardian of the forest, and when my powers were diminished, the pokemon who inhabited the forest became evil, tainted pokemon." Regipoison replied as the trainer turned around and said, "Don't worry. I can handle it." The trainer quickly ran only to get stopped by the Regi pokemon again. "Wait! Was there not a pile of rubble that blocked your path before you got here? Let us remove that for you." Regifire shouted as the three Regi spirits used their powers to shake the cave. "The road ahead should be clear, now go! Time must not be wasted!" Regisky said as the trainer and Riolu turned around and quickly ran outside the shrine with and out the cave, where he would soon find himself on his first important pokemon journey, into the Azure Forest. Riolu and his trainer entered the forest and continued walking forward until a strange looking Galvantula jumped out of a tree. "Oh no! This is far worse than I could have imagined. These pokemon aren't just tainted, they are Negative Pokemon!" announced the Regi. "Negative Pokemon?" said the trainer. "Yes they are pokemon of pure darkness. As you know a pokemon's level usually goes up, but when they are near enough to a source of darkness they level down and getting to level zero doesn't stop it. They continue and turn evil and change into horrible versions of themselves!" said the Regi. The Galvantula suddenly used a strange move. "Watch out for its Corrosive Acid!" Riolu quickly deflected it with Force Palm, then used Aura Sphere on the Galvantula. The Aura Sphere hit and the Galvantula cried out in pain and then quickly disintegrated. "What?!?" shouted the trainer. "Oh. I forgot to tell you that once defeated they disintegrate because their bodies aren't stable enough to survive fainting anymore." said the Regi. The trainer and Riolu advanced forward quickly defeating all the Negative Pokemon in their path. They soon came to a small clearing. "This is not the end yet, but we shouldn't let our gaurd down." Suddenly, a small portal appeared in the middle of the clearing. "I never thought it would actually... corrupt Celebi." Out of the portal came Negative Celebi.

	"Do we really have to fight Celebi?" The trainer asked, looking at the Corrupt Celebi. It did not look like your average Celebi, it was colored a dark green color, and had what seemed like a black aura emiting from it. "Stop! It may look corrupt, but it has not fully turned yet! There is still time to turn Celebi back to normal! Celebi is the guardian of the altar here, and if Celebi dies, the altar will crumble and become destroyed." Regipoison responded. "How are we supposed to stop it?" Asked the trainer. "There is only one option you can do that can purify the tainted Celebi's heart, and that is to play a tune." Regipoison said. "Well, I don't have any kind of musical instrument on me..." The trainer replied. "Do not worry, here use this Azure Flute." Regipoison answered as the stone in the trainer's hands emitted what looked like millions of crystals forming an Azure Flute. "That is all I can do for you i'm afraid, I am growing weak. Just play whatever tune or notes you want and maybe that will calm Celebi down." Regipoison said again. The trainer grabbed the floating Azure Flute, and started playing a calm, soft tune. Which seemed to echo through the magical forest. The Celebi started getting wild, but eventually a bright light started to emit from it. "Now, point my power stone at Celebi!" Ordered Regipoison. The trainer did as he was instructed to, and the dark aura surrounding the Celebi was absorbed into the orb, and made the orb shine for a moment. "Now Celebi is cured, and the evil power that was tainting it has vanished." Regipoison said as the trainer walked up to the now normal Celebi. The Celebi closed its eyes and started slowly falling down. The Trainer soon realized that it was about to faint. "Hey! Don't faint on me now!" The trainer shouted as he rushed to grab Celebi just before it hit the ground. "I know what can help..." The trainer said as he took out a small spray bottle and sprayed the Celebi with it. The Celebi opened its eyes and then flew up. "Huh? Who are you? How did you get access to the inner part of the forest where I dwell? Nothing is allowed to go deep into the forest because of the seal! Ah..." The Celebi said as it stumbled a little. "Calm down, you seem to be hurt. Do remember anything?" The trainer asked, looking around behind the Celebi. "Well, I am the guardian of the altar here. As you probably know, that altar holds remarkable powers that can revive spirit stones. The only thing I remember is seeing a bright light, and then everything else... well I don't know." Celebi answered. "Spirit stones? You mean the one like this?" The trainer replied as he showed Celebi Regipoison's power stone. "That stone! Did you take it from the altar in the cave?" Celebi asked. "Celebi, this trainer is here to purify my spirit stone to place it in the altar so I can become one with my brothers." Regipoison answered. "Well, you could have just said so. Wait how did you get through the barrier in the forest then?" Celebi asked again. "Well, I don't remember seeing any kind of barrier..." The trainer answered. "It must have fallen when Celebi became tainted." Regipoison said. "What? Me tainted by what? I do not remember such things!" Celebi responded in surprise. "You said you saw a bright light before, and then everything went blank after that correct?" The trainer asked. "Yes, I was originally sitting in front of the shrine, but all of a sudden I was blinded by light and I lost consciousness... I remember only that." Celebi answered. "In any case, Celebi, I need you to guide this trainer to the shrine now. The day is turning to dusk, and if we do not hurry soon, the village may be attacked and destroyed for good." Regipoison replied. "Ok. Follow me! Don't worry about it getting dark when you in the inner forest! There are plenty of fireflies to see the way!" Celebi said as it flew down the path, prompting the trainer and the Riolu to follow it. "All right. Let's go Riolu." The trainer said as he and Riolu followed the trail deeper into the now dark forest.

	The trainer and his Riolu followed Celebi deeper into the forest. As they went farther, it became darker, and Riolu stayed close to his trainer. Every so often the trainer would glance up and see Celebi; the soft light surrounding it was reassuring.

"Why is it so dark here? I thought that... when you got better again, the forest would become... lighter, for lack of a better word."

"Yes." Celebi stared straight ahead, small eyes narrowed in worry. "You have not restored the stone yet, so the forest is not completely healed. We shall have to be careful."

Almost as if on cue, a slight rustle, a whisper of a breeze, rattled the branches beside them. Riolu jumped as a big, spiky branch almost whipped him in the face.

"What was that?" The trainer asked quickly, reaching down and petting Riolu to calm him. "Be on the ready," he whispered to him.

"I... am not sure." Celebi turned around slowly, its clear wings fluttering in a somewhat hesitant manner.

No one was reassured by this, but they kept on trekking, glancing behind them every few moments.

As they walked deeper into the forest, darkness quickly surrounded them. Fireflies started to light up and fly around all throughout the forest, lighting up the ground and the scenery faintly as they flew. However, as they got towards the shrine, a mysterious mist shrouded it, and it was so thick, that even the fireflies faint light they emitted was swallowed up by it. "Here we are at the shrine's entrance. I don't know why this fog is here, but we will have to be cautious." Celebi said, quickly examining the environment around it. "We will enter first. Riolu stay close to me." The trainer said as he slowly walked forward into the mist. Riolu was following close by him and after a minute of walking forward, saw that the mist was no longer in front of them. They were finally at the lake, and they could see the small island with the altar on it. The lake was lit up in the moonlight, fireflies and untainted wild pokemon flew around the lake. Some pokemon were drinking from the lake, and others were resting underneath the tall forest trees. The moon was directly above the lake, and naturally shined its bright moonlight upon the forest. "This lake is really beautiful... I never thought that such a lake would exist in a forest like this!" The trainer said with surprise. Riolu was also looking around, amazed at the peaceful, almost paradise-like sight. Celebi came behind them and said, "It is amazing isn't it? Well, in case your wondering, the pokemon here are protected by the power of this lake. So they were not tainted. However, I don't know how I was afflicted, but anyways. In order to cross the lake and place the stone, you must take your first step on the lake and walk forward. The bridge is invisible, but if you have a pure heart, the bridge will be revealed and you may cross to the altar." "So I just walk into the lake then?" The trainer asked. "Correct, do not worry, you will not actually be stepping on the lake, as long as you do not walk off the path." Celebi responded. "All right then." The trainer said as he walked up to the lake, took a step forward, and soon after the lake lit up, and there was a bridge that appeared in front of him. The trainer and Riolu then walked across the bridge and ended up on the small island. The trainer then took out a stone, and when he was about to place it, he was pushed back and the stone floated and the whole forest seemed to become engulfed in a strong wind, then soon after, the stone became purified, and it shined brightly in it's place. "Now that it's purified, take it and hurry back to the cave! We don't have much time until..." Celebi was interrupted by an earthquake. "No... We purified the stone... it shouldn't have started!" Celebi said again. "What was that? What's happening?" The trainer shouted. "The forest and the village is about to be attacked! Quickly! Come here!" Celebi replied, but was quickly attacked by an unseen force and fell to the ground. "Celebi!" The trainer shouted as he ran across the bridge with Riolu behind him. He went up to Celebi and it got up, only partially wounded. "Don't worry about me, I can protect the forest." Celebi responded. "But you're not fully healed yet... You can't defend the forest by yourself!" The trainer replied, but Celebi turned around and got up. "I am the guardian of this forest, it is my duty to protect it with my life. You have a task too, as Regipoison instructed you, and as a former Pokemon Ranger don't you?" Celebi said. "Wait. How did you know..." The trainer was interrupted by another earthquake. "We don't have much time! You must place the stone at the altar in the cave to resurrect the Regi trio! Here, i'll open up a side path you can take that will quickly get you out of this forest! Follow it and don't look back! I promise I will take care of everything here!" Celebi replied as faint figures of tainted pokemon with bright red eyes approached in the distance. "Don't die on me now Celebi!" The trainer said as he picked up Riolu and started running down the forest path. As he went farther down the trail Celebi provided, it closed up, leaving no trace of it whatsoever, and eventually the figure of the trainer vanished. The other pokemon who were at the lake soon approached behind Celebi to defend it, and Celebi prepared itself. "I'm sorry... I knew this would happen. I don't know if I have the strength to fully protect everyone and this forest. Please... make it to the shrine on time..." Celebi whispered as the tainted pokemon drew closer, they started charging, and the pokemon behind Celebi also charged forward as well as Celebi.
Meanwhile, the trainer got out of the forest, and he put Riolu down. They both walked up the small mountain trail and as soon as they were about to enter the cave, they heard a dragon roaring. They turned around, and in the distance, they saw the figure of a dragon pokemon attacking the town. "Were we too late? We have to keep moving!" The trainer said as he ran into the cave with Riolu.

Suddenly the Dragon pokemon turned toward them and roared. It was not a pokemon they had ever seen before. It looked almost like Raquasa but made entirely out of dark, hazy crystals. Suddenly, a laser beam shot out from its mouth narrowly missing Riolu and its trainer. "That is a Corrupt Pokemon. It has always been Negative and affects all pokemon around it." announced Regi. "Duck!" shouted the trainer as it unleased another laser beam. "Corrupt Pokemon are much more powerful than Negitive Pokemon since all Corrupt Pokemon are legendaries." said Regi. "I'm afraid we cannot pass until it is defeated." "We won't know until we try!" said the trainer as he started running into the cave and up the mountain. The trainer and his Riolu ran and ran up the mountain path as the Corrupt pokemon hurled bolders and wrecked the mountain with its enormous claws. Riolu tried its best to hurt the Corrupt pokemon but every hit it made seemed to do no damage at all to the pokemon. Finally, they reached the shrine. Unfortunately, it brought them out into the open and the pokemon finally had its chance. It reared back its head and began charging up for its final attack. "Quickly we have to get to the shrine before it finishes us and then goes on to destroy the village!" said the trainer as he ran toward the shrine. The trainer quickly put the orb in its place and the ground shook. The three Regi Brothers arose from their slumber to protect the village. "Now attack!" announced Regiflying, Regifire, Regipoison and the trainer. "Go Aura sphere, Areo Strike, Flare Combustion, Toxic Destruction!" they all shouted as the dragon fired its beam and they fired their final attacks. The attacks collided in an explosion causing the Corrupt pokemon to shatter into a million shards. "Finally, peace has been restored. We will now watch over the land closer so that something like this cannot happen again." said the Regi Brothers as they walked away and down the mountain. "We should investigate these shards." said the trainer as he walked towards the remains of the pokemon. He got to the remains and he thought he saw a shadowy figure pick up a shard, look at it, grumble and mutter "useless". The trainer picked up a bunch of the shards and left the village with them in a sack hoping to discover more about these mysterious pokemon and stop them from bringing harm ever again.

Chapter 1

	"Suddenly the Dragon pokemon turned toward them and roared. It was not a pokemon they had ever seen before. It looked almost like Raquasa but made entirely out of dark, hazy crystals. Suddenly, a laser beam shot out from its mouth narrowly missing Riolu and its trainer. "That is a Corrupt Pokemon. It has always been Negative and affects all pokemon around it." announced Regi. "Duck!" shouted the trainer as it unleased another laser beam. "Corrupt Pokemon are much more powerful than Negitive Pokemon since all Corrupt Pokemon are legendaries." said Regi. "I'm afraid we cannot pass until it is defeated." "We won't know until we try!" said the trainer as he started running into the cave and up the mountain. The trainer and his Riolu ran and ran up the mountain path as the Corrupt pokemon hurled bolders and wrecked the mountain with its enormous claws. Riolu tried its best to hurt the Corrupt pokemon but every hit it made seemed to do no damage at all to the pokemon. Finally, they reached the shrine. Unfortunately, it brought them out into the open and the pokemon finally had its chance. It reared back its head and began charging up for its final attack. "Quickly we have to get to the shrine before it finishes us and then goes on to destroy the village!" said the trainer as he ran toward the shrine. The trainer quickly put the orb in its place and the ground shook. The three Regi Brothers arose from their slumber to protect the village. "Now attack!" announced Regiflying, Regifire, Regipoison and the trainer. "Go Aura sphere, Areo Strike, Flare Combustion, Toxic Destruction!" they all shouted as the dragon fired its beam and they fired their final attacks. The attacks collided in an explosion causing the Corrupt pokemon to shatter into a million shards. "Finally, peace has been restored. We will now watch over the land closer so that something like this cannot happen again." said the Regi Brothers as they walked away and down the mountain. "We should investigate these shards." said the trainer as he walked towards the remains of the pokemon. He got to the remains and he thought he saw a shadowy figure pick up a shard, look at it, grumble and mutter "useless". The trainer picked up a bunch of the shards and left the village with them in a sack hoping to discover more about these mysterious pokemon and stop them from bringing harm ever again." Said Richard (my owners grandpa) "Would you like to see that Riolu, who is now a Lucario, Luca?" "I know, youv'e told me that story and I'v seen Lucario plenty of times..." Luca said, Richard replied "Well, do you know it off by heart?" Luca said "Yes", he bagan to tell the story "from bringing harm ever again." Luca's grandpa had a smirk on his face and said "Well, I think your Riolu and you are ready..." he grunted to himself and took out something looking like shards in 16 different colours, "I want you and Riolu to find the secret to these shards, and find out who that shadowy figure was, Luca, now go out on your journey!" Luca was amazed, and said "Of 'course I will!!!... but where do I start?" Richard said "That is up to you, boy now go!... wait, you need to take this with you." "Whats that" Luca replied "A PokePod, it carrrys a map, Pokedex and everything in it!" I couldn't wait any longer so I went outside and started shooting Aura-Spheres everywhere in exitement, So Luca said his goodbyes, and we went to the nearest town, Regi town.

Chapter 2

The day was bright, and the crisp air of fall made their noses ache slightly. Luca wrapped a scarf around him, and looked down at Richard.

"This is gonna be great... It's like an adventure mystery! We'll go and find the crystals, and who that person was, and the whole thing about Negative and Corrupted Pokemon... I'm so excited!" Luca jumped in place, clapping his hands together.

"Luca, calm down! So where do we go now?" Richard said, through their telephatic connection.

"Oh, right." Luca gazed up at the sky. "Ooh that cloud is pretty... Anyways, these crystals, right?" He rummaged through his bag and brought out one of them, holding it carefully in his hand. It seemed alive, almost, glowing dully around its sharp edges. "We should go to that place where the Corrupted Rayquaza was."

"Do you know where is? Or do we need a—"

"Nonsense! Of course we don't need a map!"

After some time of traveling, Luca began to get tired. Same thing with me... except I was starting to get hungry. I haven't eaten since morning, and i'm starting to get really hungry... maybe I should ask Luca if we could stop to eat.

"Um... Luca?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah Riolu? Is there something wrong?" Luca asked.

"I'm hungry. Can we take a break and eat? I haven't eaten for the past few hours." I replied as my stomach began to growl.

"Sure. I need a break anyways, we have been walking for an hour already and we still have a little bit farther to go until we reach Regi town." Luca said, sitting down and placing his backpack on the floor. Luca reached in his backpack and started to shuffle through it. I patiently waited for the food, but after a few minutes of waiting, he started to look worried, I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but my hunger prevented me from speaking.

"Aw, darn I forgot the lunchbag that I was supposed to bring with me! There has to be some kind of food around here somewhere..." Luca said, quickly looking around to find a food source. "There! It's a tree with Oran Berries!" Luca shouted as he ran up to the Oran tree.

It was a medium sized tree, and the berries looked fresh and ripe for picking. I wanted to get some, but I couldn't reach them.

"Don't worry Riolu, i'll get them for you all right?" Luca said, picking up a branch from the floor, and with it, used it to make a few of the berries fall from the ground.

"Eat up! Don't worry about me, i'll eat when we arrive to the next town." Luca said.

"Thanks! Are you sure you don't want to eat some of the berries? They are delicious!" I replied in excitement.

"It's fine, i'll save my appetite for later." Luca said, as he moved his backpack behind him and laid down on it, looking up at the sky. "You know, now that I think about it, it's been a long time since we last had an adventure. The last time we ever left home was to help deliver gifts to the children of Brynestone Town. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah I do! It was fun, except, some of the presents were heavy." I replied smiling. We both started to laugh, and I quickly ate all the berries that Luca got for me.

Luca stood up, grabbed his backpack, looked at me and said "So, are you finished eating? If you are, then let's continue going to Regi Town. We should be there in the next 15 minutes."

"Yes I am finished, thanks for the food! Let's go!" I joyfully said.

We continued down the dirt path, filled with many twists and turns. After all, the next town was downhill. As soon as we got to the bottom of the hill, we arrived at a gate with a post sign to the left of us reading "LEFT: Karmi Villiage. RIGHT: Regi Town" We continued forward and went into the town. From what I heard from stories, this town is supposed to be one of those ancient relic towns where people dig up artifacts and other fossils and things. It seems interesting, but all this, is the start of a new adventure.

Chapter 3

We arrived in Regi Town after a few hours of walking from our village. The town was a lot bigger than I expected! From the outside, it looks like a very small town with only a few houses, but once your actually inside, there is lots of activity going on everywhere!

"Wow! So this is Regi Town! It's a lot different from what I thought it would be!" Luca said

"Remember, we need to find more information about the shards we were given." I quickly replied.

"Yeah I know. Let's see..." Luca looked at a billboard that had the map of the town on it along with various markers showing the locations of various shops, attractions, and directions to people's houses. "We can try the museum first. Maybe someone there can help us."

Luca started walking in the direction of the museum and I followed directly behind him.

When we finally arrived at the museum, we went inside, and saw statues of giant pokemon and what looked like a skeleton of a large dinosaur pokemon.

"Hello. May I help you?" An Archeologist asked.

"Is there anyone here who can appraise artifacts? Like gems or stones." Luca answered.

"Well, we only look at fossils, but our head researcher might be able to help you with any kind of gem related appraisal." The Archeologist replied.

"Oh. All right then, is he available?" Luca asked.

"Well, he has a busy schedule today, so he is off doing errands and should be back later on. Why don't you come back later, unless you want to browse our museum?" The Archeologist answered.

"Okay. We will be back then. Come on Riolu." Luca said

We went outside, and sat outside the stairs to the museum.

"So, what are we going to do while waiting?" Luca asked me.

"Well, we could always just walk around the town and go sightseeing." I answered.

"We could do that but, this is a mining town, and a giant one too. There isn't exactly much we could do here but..." Luca's words were interrupted by a man screaming.

A miner came running down the road shouting, "We need help! One of our machines in the mines malfunctioned and it's not transporting any of the things we mined from inside the cave! We also lost contact with the workers inside, and we can't go too far in because a thick smoke is emitting from the cave!"

"That doesn't sound good, come on Riolu, let's see if we can help!" Luca said as he got up and started running towards the miner.

"Which way is the cave?" Luca quickly asked.

"Keep going forward and make a right, then a left and you should see some stairs that take you to the lower section of the town. Wait, your not going to go inside are you? Your crazy! You can't handle the situation down there!" The miner answered.

"Don't worry I can handle it. I'm an EX pokemon ranger." Luca replied as he ran to the mines.

I followed him near the entrance of the mines, and by the time we got there, there was a thick fog covering the whole bottom portion of the town.

"I don't remember this ever being here before... Something isn't right. That fog is too thick to see through. I can't even see the bottom of these stairs!" Luca said.

"We have to get in somehow!" I shouted.

Luca looked around, and saw a lantern in the corner. He picked it up and lit it.

"We can use this to try to see through the fog. This can help us in the mines too but since the fog is also in the mines, I don't know how effective that will be." Luca said.

"I'll just stick close to you Luca." I said as I looked up at the shining lantern.

"Let's hurry, we need to find out what's happening down there!" Luca replied.

We slowly walked down the steps and traveled closer to the entrance of the mines, and when we got there, the fog seemed even thicker than before. But we continued forward inside, where we soon found ourselves shrouded in darkness and in the mist.

"Riolu! Riolu! Where are you!" Luca shouted, then coughed as the haze thickened. It pricked at his eyes, and he rubbed them, blinked, and squinted. The dim, vague circle of light provided by the lantern didn't help much, and he crouched lower to the ground when he felt his head brush against the ceiling. "Sure is narrow in here..."

"It is." Riolu fought his way through the darkness, feeling with his mind's psychic abilities around him, and laid a comforting paw on Luca's leg.

"Riolu!"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't let myself get lost." Sparing a smile, even though he knew Luca couldn't see it, Riolu stepped ahead cautiously. "Be careful. There are several rocks in the way."

"What do you—" His foot jerked backwards, and the sickening feeling of weightlessness hit Luca as he toppled forward, into the dirt.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Grimacing, Luca got back up, rubbing his chin where it had hit the ground. "I can see barely anything."

"Let me guide you." Walking out ahead of him, Riolu observed the tunnels of the mines closely, seeing the picture in his mind.

"What do you see?"

"There is a fork in the road, which way should we go?"

"I'm not sure."

"Maybe we should have asked that man for more information before we went rushing into this."

"Maybe we should have..." Luca said ruefully.

Shaking his head, Riolu advanced along the path, Luca following behind him. "We could... No, never mind."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Feeling the prickle of annoyance at not being able to satisfy his curiosity, Luca stopped and crossed his arms, lantern dangling from his finger. "What is it?"

"No need to be so impatient," Riolu sighed. "I was only going to suggest that we split up, I take one of the paths and you take the other, but I realized—"

"That wouldn't be smart."

"That was what I was going to say. It would be impractical. You wouldn't be able to find your way so easily in this dark, and if something attacks either of us we would be in much danger."

"We're still in danger here," Luca pointed out.

"No need to remind me. Besides, it was you who wanted to rush in here in the first place."

"Are you saying you wouldn't have wanted to save these trapped miners?"

"Who said they were trapped?"

"That guy told me—"

"He only said they lost communication—"

"That still means they're in danger, so we should—"

"Look. Listen," Riolu said, crossing his arms and trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"What?"

Sighing, he said, "You should have thought about this before—"

"Oh, so now I'm the one to blame!"

"I never said that, it's just—"

"We don't only have to find out the meaning of these shards—!"

"—careless—"

"—have to protect people too—"

"Oh, because it's part of your ranger duties—"

"I'm not a ranger anymore!"

"Exactly!"

"Look, why are we arguing?"

At this, the tumultuous raising of their voices suddenly crashed down into quietness, and they shut up, the only sound their loud and angry breathing. Riolu slowly turned around to face Luca.

"Why?"

"I... don't know," Luca admitted.

"We're supposed to be friends, friends hold strong together."

"And though arguments make us stronger..."

"It is, in the end, friendship that holds us together," Riolu completed, holding out his paw. Crouching down, Luca clasped it firmly, and cracked a grin.

"Awesome that you can still remember it."

"But of course. You and I were the strongest ranger team around, not only in battles, but in soul. I wouldn't forget the ranger chant for anything."

"It's been a long time, though."

"We're still together here, aren't we?" Riolu smiled as well. "Friends again?"

"Friends, and may that argument be behind us."

Starting to walk along again, Luca remarked, "It's cold."

"Unusually so."

"Yeah. I'd have thought it'd be warmer, considering it's farther down in the earth."

Realizing this, Riolu took a closer look at the mine tunnel they were now walking along in. Haven chosen the right-hand path at the junction earlier, they had noticed that the tunnel gradually sloped down. Because of this the temperature should have been increasing, but instead the Onix burst from the ground.

The Onix roared, and slowly approached us. It's eyes were red, and it started to attack Luca, but it missed him.

"Luca run! I'll try to distract it, i'll meet up with you later!" I shouted.

Luca ran forward, and I stayed behind to make sure that Luca was able to escape. The Onix then tried to attack me, but I avoided it and retaliated with an Aura Sphere, only to have Onix dodge it. The Aura Sphere hit the side of the cave, and a few rocks fell on the ground and almost blocked the path.

"Darn! I can't just wildly shoot Aura Spheres everywhere! The Onix will just dodge it and they will hit the sides of the cave and block our only way out! I can't just attack it directly either... Let's see." I said to myself as I closed my eyes and used my Aura to examine my surroundings.

I saw Luca run into a giant chamber that processed ore and in the middle of the room on the ceiling, was a giant stalagmite.

"There! I'll use that!" I said as I turned around and started running.

The Onix then started to chase me, and attack. I managed to dodge it's attacks, but I had to contact Luca quickly and tell him the plan.

"Luca. The Onix is chasing me now, and I have a plan that can knock it out. In the room you are currently in, is a stalagmite on the ceiling. I am going to use an Aura Sphere on it so it drops on the Onix." I telepathically said to Luca.

"I'll help you with your plan, it's too dangerous to do it alone! Lure it to the center of the room and i'll act as a decoy." Luca telepathically replied to me.

I then knew what I had to do, and as soon as I arrived in the ore processing room, I jumped down and hid behind a mining cart.

"Riolu! I'll signal you when to use your Aura Sphere!" Luca shouted.

Luca then ran to the middle of the room and then Onix rushed out of the corridor that I was in and landed on the ground in front of Luca. The plan seemed to work, and the Onix was going after Luca. Luca then turned around, signaled me, and that was my cue to hit the stalagmite. I used Aura Sphere on the stalagmite, and it started to crumble, and it fell.

"Luca watch out!" I shouted, trying to run up to Luca.

Luckily, Luca managed to jump away in time, and he was not injured by the stalagmite. However, the Onix was unaware and was hit in the head by it, and it collapsed on the ground.

"Good job Riolu!" Luca said, trying to catch his breath.

We looked at the now defeated Onix, and as we did, I wondered why this room had no fog in it. So I looked around and saw that there were actually vents with fans that were ventilating the room on the ceiling. The Onix then got up, and I went in front of Luca.

"Stay back Luca!" I shouted as I watched Onix get up.

"My head... What have I been doing that made my head hurt so much?" The Onix said to itself.

"Wait... You're not trying to chase after us or hurt us?" Luca asked.

"Chase after you or hurt you? Why would I ever want to do that?" The Onix said.

"Well, you were chasing after us only a few minutes ago..." I replied.

"My apologies. I do not know what was I was doing, my memory is foggy at the moment. May I ask, what a human and their pokemon is doing in this tunnel? Are you here to help with the mining?" Onix asked.

"No, we are not here for that. We are here to investigate the strange fog that has been emitting from this mine, and we heard reports of strange activity going on here." Luca answered.

"I'm sorry, I cannot help you right now. I don't even know where I am or how I got here. But if you are going to go deeper into the cave, I can guide you because I know these caves well." Onix said.

"That would be of great help to us. Thanks." Luca replied.

Onix walked forward and went down the slope into another corridor.

"Come on now, let's not waste any time. I don't feel like staying here forever!" Onix shouted.

We followed behind him, and I heard Luca speaking to me.

"This is getting strange. Keep your guard up Riolu. I remember his eyes were red, but he seems normal now. Maybe he was possessed, I don't know." Luca telepathically said to me.

The deeper we got into the cave, the thicker the fog got, so we knew we headed in the right direction.

Luca and I followed Onix deeper into the cave, and as we were walking, the cave started to shake.

"Is something after us again? Why is the cave shaking?" Luca shouted.

"The guardian of this cave is aware of our presence, and is merely trying to scare us away. Do not worry, we will continue forward." Onix said.

"Guardian? What are you talking about?" Luca asked.

"You mean you have not heard of the legendary tale of this cave? Well, allow me to explain, but please stay close, this fog is thick now and I don't want anyone getting lost. Anyways, there was a tale of a legendary Pokemon that used to guard this town, and all of it's inhabitants. In order for the town to be protected, the villagers had to offer food and other valuables to the shrine to please the guardian, and every week there would be a ceremony in the town to worship the legendary Pokemon and offer goods. Well, one day the village was threatened, and needed assistance from their town's guardian, so on the day of the ceremony, they offered all of the best goods the town had, but the guardian never appeared. Then the next day, the village was attacked and burned down, and all that was left, was the remains of the cave, that was destroyed during the invasion. Many years later, a entrepreneur stumbled upon the destroyed town and decided to rebuild it, thus turning it into the town it is now, Regi Town." Onix answered.

"Why is it called Regi town?" Luca asked again.

"It was because the guardian was one of the legendary Regi pokemon, Regirock. Still to this day, no one knows exactly why it disappeared, but the legendary Pokemon in this cave is not Regirock, if you are wondering." Onix answered.

"Then who is it?" I asked.

"That, I cannot answer for you. I have not seen the guardian before, but I have felt it's presence whenever I entered the cave. You see, I used to be an assistant in carrying out ore and other materials, but every time I entered the cave, I sensed a powerful Pokemon dwelling deep within the ground." Onix answered.

We continued forward and entered an area that looked like an abandoned mine.

"I am sorry, but I cannot go any farther, you will have to go on your own from here. My head still hurts, and I had enough trouble trying to walk forward..." Onix said.

"Don't worry, we understand. Thanks for the help earlier, we would have gotten lost if you didn't guide us. The fog is still around, but it is not as thick, so we can see clearly enough." Reki answered.

"Be careful, the guardian of this cave does not like trespassers, and good luck to the both of you, I will meet you outside the cave when you are done." Onix said, turning around and slowly going to the exit of the cave.

"I guess it's just us now again. Come on let's continue forward." Luca said

I followed behind Luca, and we walked forward until we saw the ground end into the abyss, with only the railings of the mine carts extending forward into the mist.

"Great... It's too far to jump, and walking on the railings is too dangerous. There has to be some other way we can get across!" Luca said, looking around for a way to get through.

I stopped to examine our surroundings again, and I found a room with mine carts that were activated by a switch.

"Luca! There is a room behind us that has some mine carts in it. I think there is a switch that activates them too, and we can use that to get across!" I replied.

"Okay, that sounds like it will work." Luca said.

We ran to the back room, where we saw lots of dusty mine carts on what appeared to be rotating platforms, and near them was a switch that appeared to operate them.

Luca ran up to the switch and tried to use it, but there was no power supplied to it.

"How are we supposed to use this if there is no power? Can you check to see if there is a power switch laying around anywhere?" Luca asked as I checked the cave to see if there was any power switch nearby.

I saw a small room on the upper floor that had a power switch, but the stairs used to get there was broken, and my only option was to jump on the platforms to the second floor to turn on the power.

"Luca. I found the power switch on the second floor but there is one problem... The stairs used to get there is broken, and my only way to the switch is if I jump on the platforms to the top." I said.

"I guess that's our only option right now isn't it? Okay, go for it, just be careful all right?" Luca said.

I proceeded to jump on the first platform, making sure I did not look down into the dark pit below me, I then jumped on the next platform, going on top of the mining cart to get a better jump, then I jumped on the next one. As I jumped on the last platform, I almost slipped and fell, but I managed to prevent myself from slipping.

"Careful! Take it easy Riolu there is no need to rush! I don't want you to get hurt!" Luca shouted.

I then jumped onto the metal railings, and then through the broken window and walked towards the power outlet. I opened the box and flipped the switch, and I saw the room light up, and I heard the platforms starting to move.

"Hey! It's working! Try to come down here now!" Luca shouted.

I jumped out the window and landed on the metal railing on the side, and I saw the platforms moving in a circular motion, occasionally stopping to load or unload a cart or materials. I tried to go down using the staircase, but it was broken, and there was no way I would be able to use it without falling down. That left me with one option, to jump on the platforms and carefully navigate to the bottom without getting hit by anything, whether it's the carts or the materials being loaded onto the cart.

I saw a platform move and stand still, and that was my cue to jump, so I did, and landed safely inside the mining cart full of ore. I jumped out, and jumped on the second platform that did not have a cart. I looked down and jumped inside the next platform with a cart, and just as I was about to get out, I heard something and when I looked up, I saw a conveyor belt dropping ore on me. I tried to get out, but the ore piled down against me and I was almost trapped on the bottom of the mining cart.

"Riolu!" Luca said as he jumped on a platform.

I managed to get out, but by the time I tried to move again, the cart tipped over, and I fell out of it. Luca jumped on the platform below me, and managed to catch me just in time before I fell. Then he jumped on the ground and looked at me.

"Please don't scare me like that. I didn't want you getting hurt remember?" Luca said, hugging me as I did the same.

"I'm sorry. I tried to get down but I kind of got stuck. I'll be more careful next time." I replied.

"It's not your fault, it this stupid mineshaft that did it, don't worry. Now, let's get a cart moving so we can get to the other side to where that guardian Pokemon is probably at." Luca said, pressing a switch and placing me on the floor.

I saw a mine cart come down from a smaller platform, and it was empty. Luca then pressed another button, and the cart moved to where we were and stood in place.

"It looks like this cart will only move if we press this green button. Let's get in the cart, and i'll press it, but make sure you hold on to the sides of the cart okay?" Luca said as we both got into the mining cart and he pressed the green button.

The cart started to move forward, and slowly started picking up speed. We eventually went over the hole in the ground that we were at earlier without any problems, but then as we got to the other side, the cart started picking up speed, and we found ourselves literally in for a roller coaster ride. The cart twisted and turned and went in all sorts of directions, going deeper inside the cave. We both held on to the cart, and eventually we entered a giant room with waterfalls, but the railing in front of us was cut off, and we were suspended a good few feet in the air. The room had no fog in it, and everything was clear, the main sound you heard was the waterfalls, and it was surprising how all of this was inside a cave, a mining cave! Down below was a lake that seemed to sparkle and glisten in the dark, but there was a hole in the ceiling, that illuminated the area and shined brightly on the small ground below us that seemed to have a spring surrounded by water, and a giant door in front of it. The place seemed to have a sort of magical feeling to it.

"This isn't going to end well... Hey! There is a lake below us! Hold on to the cart Riolu!" Luca shouted as the cart fell off the railings. We both tried to hold on to the cart, but we couldn't and we both fell into the lake below.

Chapter 4
Air whooshed past us in the indomitable rush of freefall. Squeezing my eyes shut, I gripped the sides of the cart with all I had, gritting my teeth as my paws began to ache. Luca's tense form beside me was shaking.

"We're going to be all right..."

"How do you know?! We're falling!" He screamed at me.

"I have an idea." Saying those words even before I could think of anything, I was starting to get panicked. It hadn't really hit me before that we were falling. We were going to... to... "I have an idea!" Shouting to myself as well as to Luca, and grimacing at what I was going to have to do, I carefully went over the plan that had flashed to me at just the right moment. Opening my eyes, I saw the lake far below, churning and boiling like a massive pool of black. It didn't look so magical now, but that would definitely depend on the viewpoint. The gravity heaving me down was pulling at my stomach, and I swallowed a dizzying wave of nausea back.

"Ehh..."

Looking at him, I realized that Luca was shaking, badly. His fingers clenched the sides of the cart so hard I feared they would fall off, and his eyes were closed so tightly I doubted he could see anything but stars.

"Luca... I can save us!"

Without opening his eyes, still, Luca turned to me. His mouth moved silently, then he managed to croak out a simple, "Please."

Unsettled by the obvious fear of my master—no, friend—I stared determinedly at the edge of the cart. Falling to one's doom could reduce even the strongest to a quivering wreck of fear... But I couldn't let it get to me. I had to be certain, had to convince myself, that this would work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the fortitude to go on. And that would be the only failure.

Not even a simple 'Luca, you're my best friend' could do. Saying something like that would be accepting the possibility that all would not go well. Not at all.

Clenching the rim even harder with my paws, I found focus in the pain. Somewhere deep inside of me, I called up an ancient power, one that ran loose in the back of my mind, but still held behind walls. If that was not so, these psychic powers would have invaded and controlled my entire being a long time ago.

Flashing my eyes open once more, not having realized that I had closed them, I saw the lake much closer than I liked. This sudden shock jolted through me and made the powers surge. Excruciating... To shape this amount mental power into one massive blob of energy took so much will... So... much...

But... I couldn't give up! Ever... Letting out a short, high pitched yelp that I didn't even have the strength to feel embarrassed for, I directed my psychic powers around the cart. What looked like a pink cloud from what I could see in my mind wrapped itself around the object, testing it, feeling it.

"I don't have time for this!" I growled. Even though I wasn't a psychic, I still had some psychic powers; all Riolu and Lucario did. It was what enabled me to talk to Luca.

Heaving my head upwards for emphasis, and to help, or something—it didn't matter, nothing did now except for...

Forces far beyond my comprehension yanked the cart upwards, and I flew out. Managing to snap my jaws onto the side of the cart, I slowly opened my eyes, panting fiercely. Yes. A dark pink cloud hovered around the cart, holding it up. I thought it had yanked it upwards, because the cart had stopped so suddenly. I was... holding it aloft. With my mind.

The sheer awesomeness of it astounded me. Feeling a heavy thump beside me, I snapped my head around to look, but had to spend extra effort to do so. My entire body was extremely heavy, and I strained to move.

Luca was slumped beside me; he instantaneously shot up once he had landed back in the cart (he had also flew out, due to the sudden stop), scanned around rapidly, and exclaimed, "What... what... happened?" His voice was dry, as if it had been rasped over rocks.

Grinning wearily, I merely stared at him, not even having the power to say to him what was going on.

For a few minutes, the sound of my panting resonated through the air. Finally, I wheezed, "I can't... keep this up... much lo... nger..." Surprised at the unusual deepness of my voice, I merely slumped down, only paying attention to the pink cloud. That was all I could focus on.

"R... Riolu! No... Lucario!"

Eyes widening, I managed to gasp out, "Lucario..."

I had evolved.

"I'm so proud of you... We've come all this way... And now you've saved our life!" A truly heartfelt grin broke across Luca's face, and I smiled back weakly in return.

"Thank... you. But... can't hold on... much longer."

"Oh." Luca looked like he thought himself an idiot. "I'm so sorry!" He almost squeaked. Frantically looking around, he grasped the sides of the cart, as if he could lift it up himself. Then, he peered over the edge. "We're inches from the water," he informed me. The only land was the high cliff walls on either side, and I did not have enough strength to lift us up that far. "No... We've come all this way..."

I was so tired; every limb felt dead, even my brain felt sleepy; I couldn't comprehend what that meant, and I didn't try to.

A warm, calm feeling enveloped me, and I could feel the weight of the massive strain gently being eased off of me. Letting out a content sigh, I was about to close my eyes and lose myself to the blackness when a voice of immediate, unbowing power boomed out.

"Welcome."

Snapping up, I sat up straight, lifting my chin in a gesture of respect. It was what this voice commanded, and its assuring tone showed that all was good.

Hearing an astonished gasp from my side, I glanced to Luca to see him staring, openmouthed, at... something. His eyes seemed to grow round, then he quickly snapped his jaw shut, bowing his head. Following where he had been looking, my jaw almost dropped open as well.

There, floating before me, and with a great aura of simple authority, hovered a massive, white creature. Its graceful wings spread out to either side, but they were not flapping; it was holding itself up through psychic powers, which also displayed their worth by enveloping the cart, as I now noticed. This was a real psychic. Its tail was poised in precise curls behind it. Deep, rich blue colored its stomach, and I saw a pair of huge legs. Its neck arched elegantly into a a sharp head. This creature, complete with a calm smile and watching with serene eyes, was a—the—

"I am Lugia, Guardian of this place. I grant you passage."

Luca couldn't believe what he was seeing. Right in front of him, was Lugia, a legendary pokemon, the guardian of this cave. I would have ever thought that a creature like this would be the guardian of this cave, but somehow I sensed it's presence. Even though I was not aware that the actual guardian was Lugia, I knew that there was some kind of legendary pokemon guarding these caves.

"Lugia. What are you doing guarding a mining cave like this?" Luca asked.

"As you know, I am the guardian of this cave. This was, however, not originally a mining cave. Just a few months ago, some researchers and miners started digging this place up, and started mining all of the materials from this sacred cave." Lugia answered.

"Sacred cave? What do you mean?" Luca asked.

"Ahh... Allow me to explain to you then. As you have heard from Onix, this place was once destroyed during a terrible incident many years ago. The town's guardian never appeared, and was not there to defend the town from it's invasion. I was not the original guardian, and I do know not know who it was. After the town was destroyed, this cave was sealed by me, and I blocked the entrance from the town into here to prevent any trespassers. However, just recently as I have said, miners and researchers dug up the place and started digging up sacred artifacts and crystals from this cave, as well as ore and other minerals. I did not try to stop them, because they were not able to reach the inner part of the cave where this gate lies. Do you remember the giant hole you saw before you came here? The one blocking your path earlier which caused you to use a mining cart? I created that as well as destroying the railings that led to the other side. But on your arrival, I repaired the railings but did not repair the ground as a small 'test'. You were able to successfully pass it." Lugia replied.

"So why are you guarding this entrance in this particular part of the cave?" I asked, looking at the waterfalls above me.

"It is because I am the guardian of this lake, and of the river, and the seas." Lugia answered.

"Lake? What lake? Aren't we inside a cave?" Luca asked.

"What you were in before was merely created by the humans of this town and their machines. The original entrance to this area is behind you, but it is gone, for I have sealed it. But the humans created an alternative route here, which is why I had to seal that off too, and I created a heavy fog to drive the humans out, and protect the cave. Do you see the waterfalls above you? That is created by a natural spring that brings the water here. The water then goes out and follows a long river outside and from there goes to the sea. Behind me is the entrance to Aurora Lake, which is not your ordinary lake, but an entrance to the Sky Realm." Lugia said.

"Well, couldn't you have just blocked off the cave from the outside then? Why did the miners and researchers want to go this far into the cave, and what is the Sky Realm? All of this is kind of confusing." Luca replied.

"The miners and researchers are after an ancient artifact called the Heaven Stone. It possesses supernatural powers that surpass even mine, and is guarded by Ho-Oh, the guardian of the Skies. The Sky Realm is a place where the temple of the skies is located. It is also a place where pokemon and humans dwell in peace, you can think of it as a continent floating in the air. I could have easily blocked the cave, but I did not, because I did not think they would ever want to go this far in, but they did. So I had no choice but to seal it anyways. I do not think you are aware, but the head researcher is a man who seeks power. He will probably stop at nothing to get his hands on the Heaven Stone, no matter what the cost is, even if it means destroying this cave as a whole." Lugia answered.

"I knew there was something weird about him, he seemed suspicious from the start." Luca said.

"Do not worry, the cave is safe for now. But may I ask, why did you come here?" Lugia asked.

"Well, Lucario and I were trying to investigate the mysterious fog that came out of the cave, and we found our answer, but it was much different than we expected. Oh, and also, the Onix we met a while ago was possessed by something... We don't know what, but he snapped out of it when we got him with a trap." Luca answered.

"So it seems, the old legends are starting to come true, pokemon are slowly becoming tainted, and eventually the world will be shrouded in darkness and eaten up in an abyss where only shadow pokemon dwell..." Lugia whispered.

"What? I don't remember hearing that..." Luca said as he was interrupted by an earthquake.

The cave started to rumble slightly and then it stopped.

"What was that!?" Luca shouted.

"It appears that Irving has started his attack on the town..." Lugia replied.

"Irving? The town's under attack?" Luca asked, looking upwards towards the ceiling where some small rocks fell from.

"Irving is the name of the head researcher who is in charge of the mining operation. The researchers here are merely doing his work for him, and the mayor of this town is under his watch. He has been demanding that the mayor find and hand over the Heaven Stone, and obviously he doesn't know what Irving is talking about. If he refused, or did not find the stone for him in time, the whole town would be under attack. He was given exactly three months to find the stone, and Irving took all of the town's money too. Then the mining operation started and from there on was the town's only way of gaining money, even so, Irving took more than 70% of the profits, making the town suffer from poverty." Lugia replied.

"I thought I ran into him a while ago? And the town seemed so peaceful when we entered..." Luca said.

"You ran into the head researcher of the museum. That was not Irving, but merely his subordinate..." Lugia said as a violent earthquake started.

"Quickly, i'll open the gate, it is not safe here." Lugia shouted as the giant gate in front of them opened and they ran inside.

Lugia closed the gate and sealed it afterwards, and they found themselves in a small, gentle, lively forest with a giant lake in the middle.

"Hopefully in here we won't have to worry about those earthquakes." Luca said.

"The earthquakes can not affect this sacred land, only I can. So do not worry." Lugia said.

Luca and I walked towards the lake. The scenery was magical. There were wild pokemon roaming about, and there in front of us was Aurora Lake. It reflected the sky so perfectly, that it looked like there were two skies instead of one. If you looked carefully, you could see some pokemon living inside of it as well.

"So this is the entrance to the Sky Realm?" I asked

"You are correct. You are only able to go there with my passage and permission." Lugia answered.

"I guess we might as well visit the Sky Realm then, what do you think Lucario?" Luca asked me.

"I don't mind." I replied as we heard a loud explosion, followed by constant banging sounds.

"He is here. Go now, and do not worry about me, I will try to hold him off!" Lugia shouted as the seal was broken, and the entrance was destroyed and opened.

There was lots of dust everywhere in front of us, and there was still lots of smoke near the entrance.

"Well, look at what we have here. Thought you could cover up with that little fog of yours now and that hole you created, as well as those cave ins and blockades?" Irving said, clapping his hands slowly as he walked forward a bit.

"How did you break the seal and destroy the gate? It can not be broken or damaged by human or normal pokemon..." Lugia shouted.

As the smoke started to clear up, a giant figure of a pokemon emerged. It was a Groudon, but something was different about it... No, it was a shadow Groudon! It's body glowed in a dark aura, and it's eyes were crimson red. It roared, and the trees in the forest slowly began to lose their color, turn pale and wither away, the whole area seemed almost lifeless now except for the lake.

"Go now! I will open the portal! Do not turn back, and hurry to Heaven Temple! You must inform Ho-Oh of what is happening!" Lugia said as it was attacked by the Shadow Groudon. It then turned around, flapped its wings and created a portal that sucked Luca and I into it, and it soon closed.

"Please be safe, I will try to defend you both to the best of my abilities, Guardians of Aura and the saviors of the world, Takashi and Hideyoshi..." Lugia whispered as it prepared itself to fight the Shadow Groudon.

Luca and I were engulfed in a bright light, and we soon found ourselves in the Sky Realm, but what happened to Lugia? I hope he is all right.

Chapter 5
I could not believe my eyes. I was flooded with peace and calmness as soon as I entered. It was all so soothing. There were people and Pokemon everywhere, all working together. No battles or fights took place.
The Sky Realm itself was filled with green grass and small flowers everywhere. As I looked around I began to notice that we were on an island in the sky. How else could we be above the clouds?
“Wow,” Luca said, looking around the place. “This is amazing.”
I had to agree with him. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong here. It was as I thought this that the sky went dark. There was something blocking out the sun.
“Look,” Luca pointed at the sky. “It’s a Pokemon.”
The Pokemon was green and had numerous marks on its long body. As it descended towards us, everyone began to flee into the nearby forest.
“We should leave,” I told Luca. “Its aura is unclean.”
"Too late," Luca replied.
The Pokemon let out a mighty screech and then swooped towards us.
“Behold, I am Rayquaza, the might ruler of the sky!” The Pokemon let out another screech. “I have been sent to destroy you by the almighty Arceus!"
"Why does Arceus seek to destroy us?" I asked. "What did we do?"
"Never mind that. I shall destroy you on his behalf!"
We had no choice. We were going to fight. Rayquaza screeched again, and then fired a Hyper Beam at us. Luca rolled out of the way, and I jumped up.
"Lucario, use Dragon Pulse!" Luca told me. I formed a ball of energy in my mouth and then fired it at Rayquaza. He swiftly dodged and then picked me up and carried me up and the air. Once he felt he was high enough, Rayquaza let gravity pull him down and slammed me into the island in the sky. The pain flooded through me like a river. The last thing I saw was Luca running towards me before I blacked out.
I drifted off into dreams. There was nothing but white at first, but then a small, playful voice giggled and the whole scene came to life. There was a small shrine at the heart of a rocky island in the sea. This shrine had a few small steps. At the top of these was a circular rock with a small, spherical indent in the middle. I was pondering what I had seen when I heard a voice.
"Lucario! Wake up! Lucario!" Luca called. I re-opened my eyes.
"Wha-What happened?" I questioned. "Where's Rayquaza? How long have I been out?"
"About an hour," Luca told me. "You were beat up."
"Tell me about it," I joked. "Where are we?"
"We're in the Heaven Temple." Luca explained. "Just after you got knocked out, a sudden beam of ice hit Rayquaza. Surprised, he began to look around for the sender of the beam. It was after this that he got hit by a scorching wave of heat. He fell to the ground only to be battered with a thunderbolt. It turns out he was just possessed by Arceus. The same thing is happening to Groudon."
"Okay," I said, taking it in. " But Who were those Pokemon who took down Rayquaza?"
Luca smiled. "Lucario, meet Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos. They brought us here."
"Hello there," Articuno said.
"Welcome to the Heaven Temple," Zapdos greeted.
"Nice to meet you," Moltres said.
"Hello. Thank you for saving me," I responded.
"No problem. We are the guardians of the sky, you know." Zapdos said.
"We are Ho-Oh's messengers," Articuno said. "It's whats expected of us."
"That reminds me, we need to talk to Ho-Oh. The world is in chaos. Is there anything you three and Ho-Oh can do to help?" I told them.
"Sadly, we can not do anything at the moment. But we can give you some advice." Moltres said. "Come meet Ho-Oh."
Luca and I walked with the birds into the chamber where Ho-Oh was. Ho-Oh explained that even he was too weak to fight Arceus. He explained that when the time came he would fight, but right now there only hope was Mew.
"Mew?" Luca questioned. "Who's she?"
"Mew is the creator of all Pokemon. She posesses the power to beat Arceus. However, Mew has gone into a deep sleep. Legend has it that she must choose a hero to awaken her. That hero must go to Origin Island and place this stone inside a shrine there." Ho-Oh held up a pink sphere.
It all makes sense now! I thought. Mew has chosen me! My dream!
"I'm the chosen hero. I saw the island and the shrine while I was passed out. I heard Mew giggling."
Everyone was shocked. "Then there's not a moment to lose!" Luca said, retrieving the stone from Ho-Oh. "We must hurry! Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, can you take us there?"
"Yes," Articuno said.
"We must go then! Thank you Ho-Oh!" Luca said.
"My pleasure! I will fight alongside you when the time comes! Good luck!" Ho-Oh said.
We left the chamber and swooped into the sky, heading towards Origin Island.

Adjusting my grip on the icy cold feathers around Articuno's neck, I gulped and stared straight ahead, trying not to let my gaze drift downward.

"Woohoo! Look at how fast we're going!"

Luca was not helping. Being part fighting type, I was naturally afraid of heights, and being some four hundred feet above the ground was proving to be a... new experience.

Flicking a glance over to the ecstatic Luca, I smiled, happy that at least he was enjoying this. He was clutching Zapdos's spiky feathers, shaking his fist in the air every few seconds and quickly grabbing back on before he fell off.

"Excited?" I asked drily.

"You bet!"

"Why, exactly? You know we're going to go through some pretty big fights..."

Turning his head to me, he brushed back a strand of blond hair. "That's the fun of it! I mean, fights are, well, hard, but they're still fun! Besides, it's a big adventure. Haven't had one of those since a long time. And—ugh, can't get these stupid bangs out of my eyes..." Holding back his hair frantically, he finished with, "So yeah, it's gonna be awesome!"

"...You need to cut your hair."

Seeming somewhat disappointed at this response, he shrugged. "I like it the way it is. Shoulder length."

"Not exactly."

Twisting around, he fingered the ends of his hair. "True, it's more like... to the collar of my shirt."

Suddenly Articuno dipped a little, and I clutched on tightly, barely holding back a yelp.

"What was that?"

"Turbulence."

Not liking the hard feeling in my stomach at this word, I stared worriedly at Luca, on Zapdos, and Moltres, who was flying ahead, leading the way.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Luca asked.

Zapdos raised his head and observed the air. "Storm." He grinned wickedly. "I like me a good storm."

"Good?" Gulping, I took several deep breaths, trying to assure myself that the bird trio were strong enough to pull us through this storm. They were legendaries, after all. Hearing the low rumble of thunder only dissuaded me more from my plan of self encouragement.

As we flew on, the air grew darker, so gradually that it was only after an hour that I looked around myself in a panic. It was certainly unexpected. What was even more unexpected, however, was the crack, BOOM that flashed through the air, lighting up everything with a blinding flash. My eyes shut instinctively, and I held tightly onto Articuno as I could feel the wind starting to howl around us.

Opening one eye to check on Luca, I noticed that he seemed fine, other than the top of his head appearing slightly burnt. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm feeling just fine, thank you. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"What?"

Even over the wind, which had now picked up considerably, and the rolling of thunder all around us, I could hear him chuckle.

"Never mind. 'S just that you sounded so formal with your 'how are you'."

Sighing, I said, "You okay?"

"Yep. That's better."

"Heh."

"But seriously, that lightning, it like tingles through your skin! It's so epic!"

"Not really for me..."

Taking a moment to think, Luca straightened up as he got it. "Oh, yeah, right! Steel conducts electricity."

I grimaced. This weather was not liking my typing.

So quickly I didn't have time to react, a mumbling rumble sounded, the forgoer to an earsplitting crack. Squeezing my eyes together tightly again, I shook my head vigorously to try to get rid of the red and white spots still dancing in front of my eyes.

"We need to get out of here!" I yelled at Articuno. He heard me, for he lowered his head and started angling downwards slowly.

I could hear an, "Aww, seriously?" from Zapdos as we descended.

"Listen, I know you're in your element there, but these guys..." Moltres drew up beside us. "Aren't."

"I gathered that much," Zapdos grumbled.

Faintly seeing the outline of the ground below, I was about to start being hopeful again when a pattering sounded. Curious, my ears perked up, and I studied the sky carefully, scrutinizing for signs of what had caused it.

A thunderous sheet of rain threw itself down upon us. It was even more sudden and quick than the lightning, and I was drenched in less than half a minute. All around us the grey streaks of rain shot down, and darkness pervaded.

Struggling to keep up, Moltres shouted, "I can't do well in this!"

"I know!" Zapdos yelled back, evidently still angry about not being able to stay in the storm. "You're fire type, we get it, make special amends for you..."

Unclenching my aching paws from the hold they had on Articuno's feathers, I flexed them several times before grabbing on again. This time I was surprised at how much heavier the feathers felt, and realized that the rain was weighing down Articuno. When I looked over to Luca and Zapdos I saw a faint yellow glow surrounding them, and, in observing Luca, I could see that he was on edge.

Rain, Zapdos... Luca... rain... water... Zapdos... electricity. Zapdos's natural electricity, the extra energy stored in his feathers, was zapping the rain around him, and therefore also shocking Luca!

"We need to land! Now!" I shouted over at them, feeling as if my words were being whisked away by the rain. They probably were. Zapdos caught enough snatches of them to figure it out, however, as he scanned the air around him before glancing at Luca. Slowly he began to dive, and I felt Articuno's wing muscles tense as he pulled into a spiraling descent.

That's when the thunder hit us. Even before it came I could feel the white hot heat, almost like anger, approaching. Then the electricity jarred into me, and I fell backwards.

----

"Hey. Hey, wake up!" Disturbance stirred the blackness into motion, and I felt sick. Something prodded my side, none too gently, and I reached out a paw to lazily try to swat it away. Of course, I missed.

"Go'way leveme alowne..."

"Speak coherently."

"Wha... Who's this...?"

Finally deciding the repeated pokes were enough, I slowly rubbed my eyes and opened them to a tired sky.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I thought I was going to have to shock you."

Frowning at this, my head lolled over, and I took in a large shape, so yellow and bright it hurt my eyes.

"Oww..."

"Yeah, ow. You got hit by one nasty thunderbolt."

"Wuzza... a thunder?"

Pushing myself up unwillingly, I peered around, observing the place where we were. Luca and Articuno were huddled in a corner, speaking, while Moltres still lay unconscious on a rock.

What I had now identified as Zapdos followed my gaze. "Ah yes, that one. Tried to wake her up, couldn't."

"Her?"

"Y... eah. Her."

"M'kay..." Yawning widely, I got up and dragged myself over to Luca and Articuno. The cool grass felt soothing under my burning feet, and I gladly sat down next to them.

"Lucario! You're okay!"

Grinning at him, I answered, "Of course. I couldn't let myself get hurt, huh? A new evolution and no skill to come with it."

"So, where are we?" Articuno cut in. "I don't recognize this place."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Thunderbolt, shocked you all—not me, of course—collapsed, I managed to carry you all here." Strutting in beside us, Zapdos settled with a contented smirk.

"Wait, you carried all of us by yourself?"

"Well, I sort of pushed your fall towards this island..." Poking the dirt with a talon, Zapdos adopted a modest look in answer to my incredulity. "Still, something that took quite a lot of effort, so, eh..."

"Thank you," I answered quietly. This seemed to satisfy him, and he went silent.

"Do any of you recognize here?" Articuno asked, passing a gaze over each of us. Shaking my head, I watched Luca and Zapdos do the same.

"So—"

"Wait a moment." Moltres came stumbling over unsteadily to us, and she sat down heavily. "This looks... familiar."

"How? I don't think we've ever been here before..." Frowning, Articuno tilted his head. "Unless you're not telling us something."

Observing the island again, I saw the dismal gray that seemed to spread all throughout the relatively small place. There were only a few shriveled plants, and most of the place was solid, hard rock. There was nothing but cold sand until about fifteen feet in, and then, suddenly, a shock of thick wood. It echoed uninvitingly with strange whispers. The sad clouds above threatened to dump more rain, and the whole down, unsettling feeling gave the impression that the sun, or even any (normal) living creature, had not been here for quite a while.

"No, no." Moltres shook her head. "I recognize this place. This... is Mew's island."

Chapter 6

"T... This is Mew's Island? I thought this was Origin Island!" Luca turned around and blinked twice at what seemed like an enormous mountain in the distance.

"Well, yes. Origin Island and Mew's Island are the same name. It is Mew's Island because this is where she lives. It is also called Origin Island because it is the birthplace of creation, of the first being to help manage the order of all Pokemon's creation." Zaptos replied.

"That means we should be able to find Mew here! Ugh!"

I fell to the ground, trying to ignore my injury from the flight.

"Hey now! Take it easy, you got shocked pretty badly back there!"

"Moltres is right, you shouldn't stress yourself." Articuno looked at Luca and noticed a spray sticking out of his backpack.

"That spray... You should use it on Lucario's wound. It might help him out a bit."

"Huh? Oh that's right, I was given some supplies before I left home with Lucario! I have plenty, so using one wouldn't be that bad, besides he's hurt!"

Luca took out the spray from his backpack and sprayed Lucario's wound with it.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right, you don't have to worry about..."

"But I do worry about you. You're my partner. I can't turn my back on you, not now, not ever."

"Yes, you're right."

Lucario got up and looked at the mountain.

"Is that where we are headed?" Luca asked.

"Yes, Mew's shrine is on the top of that mountain." Articuno answered.

"It looks like the storm hasn't calmed down yet. It makes this whole place seem so... gloomy."

There was an earthquake, and a tree besides Moltres fell down, almost hitting Zaptos.

"I think it's better if I just stay in the air..." Zaptos said.

"Oh well. Do what you want then. As long as we get to our destination safely, it wouldn't matter much anyways." Moltres replied.

The group started their walk up the steps, slowly proceeding with caution.

As they were halfway to the shrine, climbing up the almost endless square shaped staircase, they felt another earthquake, and the stairs began to give in and crumble. The stairs beneath Luca crumbled, and he fell. I rushed over quickly to grab him.

"T... Thanks."

I pulled him up and we took a look at the now broken staircase behind us.

"It looks like we won't be going back down by taking these anytime soon!" Articuno said as the group started their advance towards Mew's shrine.

When they finally arrived at the peak of the mountain, they saw many pillars, each with strange writings and decorations on them. There was a shrine in front of us, and what seemed like a giant crystal in the center of it.

I heard noises, but I didn't hear it clearly. I stood still, trying to listen closely, and I started hearing it more clearly. "Come and awaken me, chosen ones!" it said. I recognized it as Mew, and at that moment, I quickly turned to Luca.

"We have to go awaken Mew Luca, come on!"

We both started running towards the shrine when Rayquaza appeared.

"Did you really think you could escape me?" It said.

Luca and I both stopped in our tracks, staring at the Rayquaza. It's scales were pitch black, and it had a red pattern on them along with a dark, heavy, purple aura around its entire body. It looked nothing like a Rayquaza I had ever seen, but something was different from our previous encounter... no. Before I remember it was normal colored, but now it looks similar to the tainted Onyx that we fought back in the mining caves!

"Stay back, you can't handle this by yourselves!" Moltres shouted.

"Fools. You cannot oppose my strength, let alone my great master Arceus' strength! Are you trying to defy his divine judgement?"

"What kind of divine judgement punishes innocent people and Pokemon?" Luca shouted.

"My master's rule is absolute. No one shall ever oppose him or defy his orders. He strikes judgement upon those who have sinned and must be punished. The world has sinned, and therefore must be punished."

"You're wrong! What has the world possibly done wrong? No one deserves this at all!"

"Of course a mere human would not understand. For centuries, human and Pokemon have lived in what seemed like harmony, but now humans are battling each other in an endless war for power. It's a struggle for humanity itself, and Pokemon that were loyal to their trainers are now used as instruments of war."

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course. You would not know. A boy like you along with your partner who have lost their memory would not know of the events going on in this world."

"I never lost my memory... Enough with you lies?"

"Fool. You are still unaware of the truth, you still do not even realize what your destiny is, or why you even exist in this world. I shall keep this simple, you are not from this world, and neither is your partner."

"I was born and raised here in my house with my parents, and my grandfather and..."

"You were taken care of by your foster grandfather because your parents could not take care of you. You are both from the future, in a world ruled by the almighty dark lord. Your parents were part of the resistance that fought against the dark lord's rule and rebelled against him. But, during that battle, they sealed away his power in a stone, which was locked up and kept safe in their mansion. They vowed to keep it safe, and in their time of peace, they had you as their child, named Takashi. Your partner, Hideyoshi was actually your father's Pokemon. During the time, he was a Lucario, and both him and your father were legendary heroes who vanquished the dark lord. But after some time, a new group threatened mankind and wanted to revive the dark lord to gain eternal power to rule the world. They went after their first objective, the key to resurrecting him, which was the stone that your parents sealed his power away in and was kept inside their mansion in a secret place. One day, the mansion was raided and attacked, and your parents had to defend the stone. They did not want you to be injured, so they sent you back in time so that you would never have to worry about running, about living your life in fear. Your father decided to have his loyal Pokemon watch over you as your guardian, and when they sent you back in time, there was a disturbance within the spatial rift, and you along with your partner lost your memory. Your partner ended up evolving back into a Riolu, losing all of his previous powers and abilities, and you were unaware of it. Then your grandfather, who found you in the middle of the forest with your Riolu decided to take you in, and raise you for your parents. He had a strong connection between your parents, just like you, which is why they chose him to help take care of you. Do you now understand your fate?"

"I... I can't believe it. Lucario, do you really... know what he's talking about?"

"I'm sorry... but I don't. But one thing is certain, we still have to awaken Mew!"

"You cannot awaken Mew. It is too late, this shrine will be destroyed along with yourselves! Face the wrath of my power!"

Rayquaza began to attack, and Moltres, Articuno, and Zaptos rushed in to fight against Rayquaza.

"We will distract him while you try to awaken Mew okay?" Moltres shouted as she attacked Rayquaza.

"You cannot stop me from destroying the shrine and carrying out my master's judgement!"

Rayquaza was attacked by both Articuno and Zaptos.

"Hurry! We don't have much time!" Articuno shouted.

"I... I don't even know what's real and what's not anymore."

"Takashi... Now isn't the time for this. Whether Rayquaza is telling the truth or not doesn't matter, we have to awaken Mew now!"

"You're right... I just... All right then. We have a job to do."

They both ran up to the shrine and saw the giant crystal in front of them, shining brightly.

"What are we supposed to do? How do we awaken Mew?" Takashi asked.

"Your aura will awaken me." They both heard Mew say to us.

I focused my aura on the crystal and it began to glow even more, then it started shining so brightly, that the whole area seemed to light up in response.

Mew appeared in front of them, smiling, looking at both of them.

"It's Mew! We did it! We awakened Mew!"

"Watch out!" Mew said, using a defensive barrier to protect themselves from being attacked.

"So, the legendary Mew has awakened. Your subtle powers are not enough to stop the reign of my master." Rayquaza laughed

"Mew, I have a question to ask of you. Please, answer it truthfully. I know you heard our conversation with Rayquaza, is what he has been telling us true? About my past? About how my real name is Takashi and Lucario's name is Hideyoshi?"

"Yes. Although it might be too much to bear right now, it is true. But we cannot defeat Rayquaza or even Arceus now. We lack the required strength to fully retaliate. You are both the chosen ones, destined to save the world from extinction. Lugia knew when he first saw the both of you, the same thing with Ho-Oh. Moltres, Zaptos, and Articuno also knew, but they were told to keep it a secret, for the sake of you two. In order for us to defeat Arceus, we need materials that are not from this dimension, and I have just enough power to send you to another dimension to retrieve those artifacts, but be warned, what you will face ahead of you will be challenging, and although you may be able to overcome it, you must note that you are the only ones who can save the world from extinction."

"Then we will go there. I won't allow Arceus to do as he pleases." Luca replied.

"Be prepared..." Mew summoned a portal in front of them and as both Takashi and I stepped forward, Rayquaza tried to attack us.

"You will not escape from me!"

Mew used another barrier to shield us from being attacked, Rayquaza then recoiled backwards and then Mew turned around and looked into the portal.

"Hurry and go! Don't worry about us, we will be fine..."

As the portal started to close, we saw a giant figure behind Rayquaza appear. We couldn't figure out who it was, because the figure was dark, and blended into the darkness around it. Then we heard Rayquaza saying, "You have angered my master, and will receive a punishment accordingly!"

As the portal closed, we were both engulfed in a bright light, and we heard the faint sound of Mew's voice.

"Go now, chosen ones, Takashi and Hideyoshi. You must save the world by preventing Arceus from ruling it!"

Chapter 7

I started regaining my consciousness. I was on the floor, and it felt as if I had been in a deep sleep. I got up, looked around and saw the environment around me. It was peaceful, there was trees all around me, and it seemed that I was in a forest. Wild Pokemon passed by, and I could hear the graceful wind blowing through the trees. As I looked forward, I noticed Takashi on the ground, I ran up to him and he woke up.

"Where... are we?" He said, trying to get up.

I helped him up and he took a quick look around.

"We are in a really peaceful forest... Wait! What about Mew? A... And Moltres and the others? Agh! My head!" Takashi fell to the ground and I knelt down.

"Hey! Are you all right? I think you need to rest."

"Y... Yeah. I think so too. We should find a town and rest up before we figure out where we are and what we should do."

Takashi got up, and we proceeded to walk down the forest trail. Where were we really at? Why did Mew send up through a portal? How did Rayquaza find us at Origin Island? So many unanswered questions were left spinning in my mind... But all this, was where the real adventure begins.

"So... I wonder if this dimension is very different..."

"Doesn't look like it," Luca—no, Takashi—replied.

"The Pokemon, the plants, the sky... they all look normal."

"Yeah."

We walked on in silence for a bit. Around us, the bird Pokemon twittered brightly, and I could feel the heat of the sun on my back. It had been quite cold on Mew's island. In fact, it had been freezing. I wondered why it had looked so barren and abandoned. It might have been because Mew was sleeping; the island would have withered without his care.

Mew... Rayquaza. How did Rayquaza get there? And what happened to him? Pokemon with powerful roles in the shaping of the world were appearing everywhere, and somehow it all came back to Takashi and me. What Rayquaza had told us was shocking, yet it did not rouse any memories. I couldn't remember a single thing.

"Hide—Hideyoshi?" Takashi asked, stumbling over the name.

"So you believe Rayquaza?"

"I believe Mew."

"Ah."

Briefly I wondered what his question was, but decided not to ask him about it. He could tell me later, when he wished to. At the moment I merely observed the surroundings.

Grass tickled my feet, and I looked down every once in a while, still surprised at how natural it looked. The grass was so green and healthy it almost made my eyes hurt. In my dimension there were factories and machines everywhere, which poisoned the grass and air. I had heard Johto was better, but... Many humans did not take good care of the environment. I glanced surreptitiously at Takashi, glad that he wasn't one of those people.

"It's nice out, isn't it?" Takashi said, looking up at the sky with a smile on his face.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"Why the glum look?"

"I don't know." I tried to smile, but it felt fake, so I stopped. Though I had to admit, it was nice out. Quite a bit nicer than I expected. It had been a long time since I was someplace where everything felt so fresh. The air was pleasant to breathe, and I inhaled deeply. The path we were walking on was not a path so much as a trail of slightly flattened grass. Trees were spread out to either side of us, creating a border to the large clearing, and I peered at them, strangely unsettled. I was not able to discern what worried me, however. It was not that they were suspicious or that anything dangerous could be hiding in the woods, for the trunks were so widely spaced it could hardly be called a forest. The Pokemon hanging and swinging from branches were innocent enough, looking at us with cute, beady eyes.

Suppressing a sigh, I gazed into the distance, trying to see if there was a village ahead of us. I thought I could pick out the faint outline of one in the hazy, far off blue, but I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure of anything.

Did Takashi and I really come from the future? Hideyoshi... I was used to being called Lucario all my life. I hadn't been here all my life, though. I was a hero. A legend. Somehow, sometime. A long time ago. A sudden urge to remember rushed through me, and I closed my eyes briefly, reaching far into my mind and concentrating so hard I felt weightless for a second. ...Nothing. I had nothing. Sighing, I resolved to find out the mystery of my, and Takashi's, past.

Forcing myself to relax (although it didn't really work), I continued on, slowing my pace a little when I noticed that I was in front of Takashi. We walked on in silence for a while. The sun had drifted nearer to the horizon without my noticing, and I realized we had been walking for a few hours. The village I had thought I had seen was nowhere to be found now.

"What's wrong?" Takashi asked, adding, "Hideyoshi?" after a slight pause. All of a sudden I became aware that I was panting heavily, breath coming in short gasps.

"I don't—...know..." Putting a paw to my head, I tried to block out the unexpected barrage of thoughts and emotions that clamored for attention. Overwhelmed, I stopped and sank to my knees.

"Lucario!" Takashi hurried over and put a hand on my shoulder. I barely noticed that he had momentarily forgotten to call me by my real name in his worry.

"No, it's... I'm fine." I held out a paw to stop him, trying to keep the rasp out of my voice. "Just a little tired, is all."

"You're not just a little tired. I know," he said, crouching down next to me, "that it's hard. I respect that, it's hard for you. But we gotta keep going, you know? We..." Shaking his head, he facepalmed and sighed. "Saying all the wrong things here... Look, I'm confused too. You need to tell me what's wrong, and we can work it out together, okay?"

Opening one eye, I inspected him for a moment. "Okay," I said gruffly. "But let's keep walking."

"Alright." Takashi stood up, absently brushed some dirt from his pants, and started walking slowly, looking back over his shoulder at me. I stood up as well and unsteadily went over to him.

"I just... want to know if all this is true or not. I... was a legend? A hero? I can't defeat any dark lord, never have, never will. I just can't believe it."

"I know. It's incredible, isn't it?"

"In the bad way."

His smile of eagerness faded. "Oh."

"Well—"

"Shh!" he hissed suddenly, and I blinked, startled at his sudden change in tone. "I think I heard something," he whispered. "I..."

"What is it?" Curious as to why he had trailed off, I turned to look in the direction Takashi was facing: the trees at the right edge of the clearing.

Countless yellow eyes gleamed from the darkness, and, as I stared, uncomprehending from the shock, growls layered over the stillness, intimidating yet awe-inspiring. A sudden bright light flashed from the trees, and though I could see almost nothing, I could faintly detect a torrent of massive, powerful shapes bounding through the clearing, surrounding us, growling, roaring, ready to spring. I lowered myself into a ready fighting position, face set in a grimace, paws up in defence.

I shouted over the noise. "Takashi, you—"

Then they were gone. The clearing was suddenly empty as I stood, eyes wide. There was a faint smell of singed cloth in the air, but that was the only sign that anything out of the ordinary had just happened. Except for, of course, the fact that I had just seen something incredibly weird.

Turning around, I was about to ask what in the world just happened. I turned around some more, finding that Takashi wasn't behind me. I turned again, but he wasn't to my side either. Turning once more, I found that I had done a complete rotation. Takashi wasn't anywhere to be found.

Those Pokemon—they took him!

I could not realize what just happened. All of these event went by so quickly, meeting Lugia only seemed minutes ago, and then there was the legendary trio, Moltres, Articuno, Zaptos, and Ho-Oh. Then there was Mew and then Rayquaza, and now Takashi vanished. Rayquaza must have sent his minions after us! But how did they find us so quickly? Could it have been Mew? No, I must not jump to such conclusions. My only and main priority is to find Takashi... But where did they take him? I must search for him immediately!

I took a step forward, and before I knew it, everything around me went dark. Then I went unconscious.

I woke up, looking at my surroundings to find myself next to a lake. It was night, and there were fireflies lighting up the forest. I got up and looked around to see Takashi with a familiar Pokemon.

"Takashi! You're all right!" I ran up to him.

"Hideyoshi! I'm sorry I had you worried."

"No, don't worry about it. Who's this?"

"This is Celebi."

"Hello Hideyoshi, I am Celebi, the Guardian of this lake, and this forest." Celebi took a quick bow.

"Did you bring us both here?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Yes, I am sorry, the forest protectors get paranoid sometimes about outsiders, and they try to keep them out. They usually bring humans here to this lake along with their partner pokemon, just to make sure they did not arrive with any evil intentions. Lately, the lord of shadow has started attacking everywhere, innocent pokemon and humans alike are becoming it's victims. I'm sure you probably met one of it's servants, Rayquaza. I know who you are and where you came from, Mew told me everything." Celebi answered.

"Wait, Mew told you? What happened to Mew? Where are we?"

"Please allow me to explain everything, i'll try to make it as simple as possible to understand. Right now, you are in Azure Forest. Outside of the forest is Windrock City, which is part of the Sky Realm. You were both transported here by Mew to search for the artifacts to help stop the Shadow Lord's reign. This is a parallel universe to yours, it exists in a different time rift."

Azure Forest? Somehow the name sounds familiar... but I just can't remember where I heard that name from. A different time rift? Does that mean we are in the past or the future? My mind is spinning with all of these crazy thoughts, where am I exactly, and how did I end up here from living a peaceful life with Takashi only moments ago?

"Wait, so does that mean we are in the past? Or are we in the future? You said we are in a different time zone."

"The time didn't actually change. What I meant to say was you are in another world, which is parallel to yours."

"I get it now. So, how are we going to get back to our own world and retrieve the items?"

"Getting the artifacts are no easy task. Right now, this world is split up into seven zones, Fire, Ice, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Dark and the last zone being the home of the Shadow Lord."

"I have a question, who is the Shadow Lord? Don't they have a name?"

"I do not know their real name, or whether they are a human or a Pokemon, but I do know that they have absolute power and must be stopped. If they get the Aura Crystal, then all is lost, your world and this one will be swallowed by the darkness."

"Aura Crystal? What is that?"

"It is an ancient treasure holding sacred Aura powers. Only those worthy can possess it, but if the Shadow Lord finds it, they will destroy it. You see, it is the key to maintaining the stability of both worlds, if it is destroyed, then all time and space will distort."

"We can't waste any time then. Where can we find the artifact for this zone?"

"The artifact for this zone is in a temple high up in the Shrine of the Skies, but it is guarded by one of the Shadow's Guardians, so obtaining it won't be easy. First, you will have to find the Regi trio of these lands. They are in a cave not too far from Windrock City. You must go inside the cave and overcome the trials to be able to meet them. You have a long journey ahead of you, be prepared."

"Can't you come with us?"

"I'm sorry, but I am the guardian of this forest. I must stay here and protect it, even if it means with my own life."

"I understand. Well, sorry if we caused you any trouble when we first arrived, but anyways, we need to get going."

"Don't worry about it. The other forest guardians were just paraniod. I'll make sure they know who you are next time. Don't worry, I can help guide you out of the forest to the city. Follow me!"

Chapter 8

When we arrived at Windrock City's entrance, Celebi turned around to bid us farewell.

"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can go. I am not permitted to enter the town, so you must go by yourselves to meet the elder."

"Elder? We will look for them, and why can't you enter? Would you mind explaining that to us?" I asked

"I'm sorry but I can't. I must leave now, take care and good luck!" Celebi quickly replied.

She then turned around and flew down the mountain path, back towards Azure Forest.

"Well that was kind of abrupt..." Takashi said.

"Besides that, i'm kind of hungry. We haven't eaten in a while anyways, so let's find something to eat in town before we find the elder. We have plenty of time anyways."

"All right then, but I have no clue where the nearest food shop or restaurant is."

"That's why we go look for it. There is bound to be a town directory somewhere around here. I can't think of any town that doesn't have one since new people who enter end up getting lost at some point anyways."

"New people like us?"

"Yes, like us."

We both laughed and entered the city, where we were quickly stopped by a nearby guard.

"Halt outsider." A guard said as he approached us.

"What are you doing? They aren't the ones, stop being so paranoid." A boy said, quickly rushing up to us.

"You're right. My apologies. Carry on, and don't do anything suspicious. We keep our eyes on outsiders like you." The guard said in a low tone.

"You should consider being nicer to the new folk. Besides, this is exactly how you end up scaring away outsiders." The boy replied.

"You never know when that thief will strike again, and you can never be to careless." The guard said, walking back to his post.

"I am so sorry. His name is Stephen. He takes his job way too seriously. My name is Drake, nice to meet you both. Are you both new? I haven't seen your faces around here before."

"Yes, we wanted to talk to the elder of this city." Takashi said.

"Oh, you mean my grandpa? He is very busy right now, but he should be available tomorrow. By the way, where are you two from? You don't look like you come from any town or city close by us. Do you live far away?"

"Uh... yeah we live quite far away from here."

"Oh cool. From what city?"

"Uh about that..."

"Sorry, i'm being too rude. Anyways, i'll escort both of you to my grandfather's palace, you can both stay there for the time being and look around the town if you want."

"Thank you... Wait, your grandfather owns a palace?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah. I come from a wealthy, respected family, which is why my grandfather is the elder of the city." Drake answered.

"Oh that explains it..." I said.

My stomach growled, then Takashi's soon after.

"It sounds like the both of you are hungry. Don't worry, i'll get you a nice banquet in the palace so you won't have to buy any food in the town. Besides, our meals are cooked by the finest chefs in our city, so you will not be disappointed."

"Thanks for being so kind but, why are you offering us so much? We are merely strangers to you aren't we?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but just because your a stranger, it doesn't mean I won't show respect. Let's hurry before we all end up starving because i'm starting to get hungry too." Drake quickly replied.

Drake turned around and urged us to follow him, so we did.

On our way there, Drake occasionally stopped for a brief moment to show us where some of the buildings and other places within the city were.

"I'll just give you both a quick tour before we head up to the palace. See that road over there? If you follow it, it takes you directly into the town square. There are plenty of shops surrounding it, and if you go to the side, you will find an area full of stores where you can buy things, or eat food. Over here, is a small park. It's nothing special, but this was here even before the town was built. So I guess you could say it's ancient. We don't have time for a complete tour, but i'll show you the rest later. How are you both holding up? Are you both still hungry?" Drake asked.

"I am. I can wait a little longer however, so do not worry about me." Hideyoshi said.

"I'm hungry. How are you not starving by now?" Takashi looked at me surprised.

"I don't know. Being a Pokemon has it's advantages I guess."

We all laughed, then Drake took a candy bar out of his pocket and handed it over to Takashi.

"Here. You can eat this on our way up if you are that hungry. Oh that reminds me, I haven't asked for your names yet."

"I'm Hideyoshi, and this is my partner, Takashi." I said in reply.

"Japanese names? That's interesting. I have a Pokemon partner too, but he isn't with me right now. He is at the palace resting. We just finished practicing for the big Pokemon tournament held at Blacklight City."

"A Pokemon tournament? And where is Blacklight City?" Takashi asked.

"Oh. It's to the north of here. You should be able to spot it from the entrance. It's a giant city, and it's always lit up at night. I guess you could say, it's the main place of commerce around here since there are dozens of people who go there every day. The Pokemon tournament is a one versus one battle between trainers to see who is the best, and the winner gets a mysterious grand prize. It's probably not going to be announced until the tournament starts, unless they plan on keeping it a secret from everyone but the winner. But I want to win that tournament! I have participated in it before, but lost because of an accident. I won't explain fully what happened, but it left me and my partner unable to participate in anything completely active. But now that we are fully recovered, we want to participate again." Drake replied.

"That sounds awesome! I wish we could participate too!" Takashi said enviously.

"You could. Anyone can. All you have to do is get a sign-up forum and deliver it to the tourament center down at Blacklight City, and you are all set. Of course, the only requirement is that you have a Pokemon, but you meet that requirement already. I already signed up a few days ago."

"Well in any case, let's continue forward than. I really want to see the palace!"

"It's not all too fancy. It's just like any other house, really."

After 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at Drake's palace.

"Wow! This is really cool! You said it was a palace, but it's a mansion. But it's still cool!" Takashi said in amusement.

I surprised too. The mansion was huge. I could only imagine how nice it looked inside! There was a fountain outside, with two small gardens on both ends. Every room in the mansion was lit, and we could see butlers outside who seemed ready to welcome us at any moment.

"Oh, sorry that's just what my grandpa keeps calling it. I guess I got used to it."

As we approached the entrance, we were stopped by the butler next to the entrance.

"These are my new friends. They are permitted to enter."

"As you wish sir." The butler bowed and allowed us to come in.

As we walked inside the mansion, we were amazed by the beauty of the entire place. Not only was the outside nice, but the inside looked completely luxurious! Drake said this was like an ordinary home, but it's not even close to the kind of environment Takashi and I are used to!

We stood still for a few moments, only to realize that Drake was calling out our names.

"Hey! Are you going to stand there all day? Let's eat! Come over to the dining room! There is food prepared for all of us!"

"That quickly? That is some fast food service he has here." Takashi said as he walked into the dining room.

I followed soon after, and when we went inside, we took our seats to start eating.

"Wow! There is so much food out! You didn't have to prepare this much food for us!"

"Don't worry about it! Besides, there is plenty for everyone and we are friends now, so you can thank me later."

A butler walked over to us and placed a plate with seasoned chicken on the table, followed by another plate of barbeque.

"Please enjoy your meals, and if you would like more food, or any other food to be cooked, just ask us at any time."

"Oh it's all right, we are fine with these, thanks!" Takashi replied.

We quickly ate until we were completely full. Then, Drake got up and asked one of the butlers over.

"Do you two have a place to stay at for the night?"

"Not really. We were probably going to rent a room in a hotel or something in the city."

"It's fine, I have two guest rooms for the two of you. You can have them and stay as long as you want."

"Are you sure it's okay with your parents and your grandfather?"

"Yes. I already had someone tell them of your presence and they are completely fine with it and don't worry. If you still wanted to talk to my grandfather, you can tomorrow. Anyways, i'll show you both to your rooms, follow me!"

Drake went out the door and we followed behind him. We went upstairs and down a few hallways, and then he stopped and pointed a a door.

"Here is your room. There is a bathroom, a TV, and just about everything else you need there. Well, i'm off to sleep now because i'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow, and i'll even introduce you to my partner Pokemon. Good night!"

Drake waved as he walked off towards the distance.

"Well, it's been a crazy day hasn't it? Don't forget, we still have an important job to do. Mew, and everyone else is still counting on us."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten about that."

I opened the door and went inside.

When I went inside, I turned on the light switch to realize that this was no ordinary room. It was a giant room with a giant glass window to look outside into the distance, a giant TV downstairs along with a kitchen, a few tables, a comfortable sofa, a large bookshelf with a collection of books and novels, a staircase that took you to the second floor where there were four rooms, an office, two bedrooms, and a bathroom complete with a giant tub.

"You know. This really does not seem like you average mansion. How rich is Drake anyways?" Takashi said, slowly entering the room.

"I really don't know. At least he is being very kind to us." I replied, closing the door behind him.

"Well, i'm tired, so i'm going to get some sleep now. Good night!"

Takashi went upstairs and into his room, while I sat down on the couch to relax. I was planning on staying up a while longer, but I too was tired, and my mind slowly began to drift off as I began to fall asleep.

Chapter 9

The room was silent, and the only noises came from a clock, slowly ticking away at each second. It was morning. I had woken up abruptly after rolling off the sofa I was sleeping on, and after I did, the first thing that came to mind was why I choose to sleep on the sofa instead of the bed in the other room. Then I remembered that I completely passed out last night. It had been a long journey to get here, and it's only the beginning of our little adventure. Sometimes I get the slight feeling of being homesick... and still i'm not used to this new form. It seemed like only moments ago, I was still a Riolu, being playful and relaxing in the forests with Takashi. I wonder if his grandpa is all right? I wouldn't be surprised if he was worried about us right about now. We have been gone for a while, and we gave him no word of our trip so far, but then again we can't from where we are at now.

I got up off the floor and placed the pillow that had fallen down back on the sofa. I looked out the window, staring off towards the beautiful scenery that was before me. It was full of rich, green trees, and the ocean clearly reflected the clear skies. I could see Wingulls gracefully soaring through the skies. Everything seemed so peaceful, it reminded me of home. I then remembered that we both have a meeting with Drake's grandfather about the cave here in Windrock city. We still need to figure out how exactly we are going to retrieve the Wind Stone.

I stood up, turned around, and went upstairs. But I noticed Takashi's door was open, so I walked up to the door and saw a note attached on the other side. It read:

"I left early to speak with Drake's grandfather about the cave. Meet me there as soon as you wake up. If you need any food or anything, I laid out some snacks on the counter. ~Takashi"

I was surprised he left on his own without even telling me, or even waking me up.

I took the note off the door and threw it in the trash. I then proceeded downstairs where I quickly ate some food, and then went outside into the hallway. I then remembered that I was in a grand mansion.

As I stepped outside the room, I saw some butlers and maids wandering through the hall. The light shone brightly through the window and lit up the entire area. The ceilings were decorated with artistic motifs and the floor had a long red rug that stretched from one end to the other. Our room was in the middle, and there were a few other doors I saw on both sides, that were also private rooms. Either Drake has a giant family, or he has lots of people living here, because I can't ever imagine just a few people living in this giant mansion.

I walked down the hallway to my right where the staircase to the first floor is, and I saw Drake standing in the corner with his partner pokemon, Grovyle.

"Hey! Hideyoshi! You got the note right? Takashi is talking with my Grandpa now. You can meet with him downstairs. Just go through the dining room and go to the garden. Oh, I haven't introduced you to my partner yet have I? This is Grovyle. Come on, don't be shy, you can wave to him, he's a friend of mine."

Grovyle looked at me and gave a quick wave.

I waved back, and after I walked past them, I headed downstairs and through the dining room. The doors to the garden were open, so I walked outside to immediately spot Takashi in the distance, talking to Drake's Grandpa. I decided to close the doors behind me, and as I walked up to them, Takashi greeted me.

"Hey sleepyhead! I thought you were going to get lost while trying to get here."

"No, Drake told me the directions, and even if he didn't, I doubt it would have been too difficult to find both of you anyways."

"Well, anyways, this is Ken, Drake's Grandpa."

Ken, who was looking off to the distance turned around and greeted me with a smile.

"Ah, if it isn't your Lucario partner, Hideyoshi. He has told me much about you."

"I was just asking him about the cave, and then you arrived. You came just in time."

"Now, about the Azure Cave, it has a very long history with this town, one you may even be familiar with that tells the story of a young boy and his pokemon, who was able to help protect the town from a terrible disaster. But anyways, I don't want to bore you with my talking, so i'll just tell you about how you may speak with the Regi trio who reside inside that cave. You must first solve three puzzles that will lead you to the main chamber. Then you must prove your strength to the shrine's guardian. Only then will you gain the rights to speak with the legendary Regi trio."

"How are we going to solve those puzzles?" I asked.

"Drake, my grandson will accompany you. He will help you gain the entrance to the shrine, for he is very knowledgeable with puzzle solving."

I turned around and saw Drake standing by the now opened doors alongside his partner.

"Don't worry, leave the puzzle solving to us." Drake walked towards us, with Grovyle following behind him.

"Drake you need to remember, the cave is dangerous, and I can't have you getting hurt like last time. Though, I am sure you will be safe with the help of your friend."

"I have a quick question, why are you allowing us to go in the cave so easily, and why are you helping us?" I asked.

"Celebi, the Azure Forest guardian has told me everything I needed to know." Ken replied.

"Wait... Celebi?" Takashi shouted.

"Yes. Celebi helps watch over this town. It is mainly the duty of the Regi trio, but Celebi watches over us more than they do. So we tend to rely on her instead of the Regi trio."

"We should leave now. We can't waste any time." I said to Takashi who nodded in reply.

"Thank you for your help. We are going to leave now."

"You are welcome. If you need anything, feel free to come back here. Drake will show you the way to the cave."

Drake turned around and we both followed him outside.

We walked for almost 15 minutes when we arrived at a dirt road that spiraled up the mountain.

"Why did they build this town on a mountain anyways?" Takashi asked.

"Well, that's a long story. I'll tell you later. Right now, we have to get to the middle of that mountain." Drake replied.

"How long is that going to take exactly?"

"Only about ten minutes."

"Great... more walking." Takashi complained, looking up the giant mountain.

As we walked upwards, we eventually reached a small area that was flat, and the entrance to the cave was visible.

"The last time I came here was three years ago." Drake said.

"Why? Isn't it dangerous inside this cave?" Takashi replied.

"I came here to try and conquer my fear of this cave. When I was little, I always heard stories about monster eating up people, and living inside this cave. I wanted to see if it was true or not, so I went here with my partner, and then I can't remember anything else besides waking up badly injured at home."

"That is kind of scary..."

"Well, we came this far already, we might as well go inside, am I right? Let's go, and be careful."

We stepped forward into the cave. There were lamps hanging from the ceiling, so we were able to see where we were going.

After walking in deeper inside the cave, we came across two paths leading to unknown places.

"Which way should we go?" Takashi asked, looking at both roads.

"How about this, i'll take the right, and you take the left. We will split up and hopefully meet up with each other."

"We don't even know where it will take us!"

Then, the ground shook violently, and the cave started to give in. Debris of rock and dirt fell, separating all of us. I was on the left side with Grovyle, and Takashi was on the right with Drake.

I used Aura to figure out where Takashi was, and when I found him I saw that he was not injured.

"Takashi! We will meet up with you, just keep moving forward! It's dangerous without us there to help you both! We can't clear the debris without collapsing the entire cave."

Takashi and Drake moved forward, and I was stuck with Grovyle who was quiet.

We cautiously moved forward into the cave, hoping to meet up with our partners again.

As we advanced deeper into the dark corridors of the cave, it started to shake again, but this time it was not as violent as before, and only small rocks fell from the ceiling. One almost hit my head as we were walking. To my surprise, Grovyle did not seem afraid at all. Even during the small earthquake, he advanced forward like nothing happened. He seemed focused at one task only, regrouping with Drake. Of course, I was not too afraid either, but I was worried about Takashi's safety. I guess Grovyle is used to it... Besides that he never told me his name. I don't think he would mind if I asked him.

"So, Grovyle is it? What is your name? Drake never told me or Takashi what your real name is."

But there was no response. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk.

"Well then, sorry I asked..."

Grovyle stopped walking and turned around.

"It's just Grovyle. I don't have a real name. Now if you don't mind, we have an important task of meeting up with our partners. They could be in danger, and now is not the time to be chatting."

I suppose he was right. It's not a good time to start talking and relaxing. We are trapped in this cave, high above in the mountains after all.

Grovyle turned around and continued forward, and I followed behind him.

As we were walking, we began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. We quickly ran forward and ended up outside in the broad daylight, suspended high above the mountains with a beautiful view below us.

I stopped to look at the scenery. I am not sure if Takashi has seen this or not, or if he even made it out of that cave... But the entire area looks like a network of bridges, caves, and mountains. The shrine has to be around here somewhere, but where? It probably will be difficult to find, but i'm sure we will be able to find it.

Grovyle started walking down the path next to us.

"So are you going to sit there and admire the scenery? We don't have all day, come on!"

I followed him down the path to a small flat area when we were attacked by a group of wild Donphan.

"Let's deal with these first, we don't want them chasing inside and trapping us within." Grovyle shouted as the Donphan approached us slowly.

I stopped to quickly examine my surroundings with aura. I then realized that the ground below us was unstable, and it would likely give in if enough force were to hit it.

"We should try fighting them on higher ground. This floor won't last very long."

"What are you talking about? There are two behind us, and in front of us. They are blocking off our means of escape. We have no choice but to fight."

"No, you don't understand, we will..."

My words were stopped by the Donphan charging at us. Grovyle tried to attack one of them and the floor started to crack even more. Soon the ground collapsed and all of the Donphan fell within the dark abyss. I grabbed on to a branch that was sticking out of the corner of the collapsed floor and quickly grabbed Grovyle, who almost fell. I helped him climb up, and soon we were safe. I was surprised that branch was sturdy enough to support both of us. I thought it was going to break...

"Next time, try not to be so careless. It just might save your own life you know." I said.

"Just shut up. I had everything under control."

"You almost got the both of us killed. You call that having things under control?"

We felt an earthquake again, and this time we watched as the side of a mountain crumbled and fell to the depths below.

Grovyle was silent, and continued to walk forward along the side of the mountain. I followed him, and after a few minutes of walking, we came across a wooden bridge with ropes suspending it, leading from one side of the mountain to the other.

We decided to walk across the bridge, and as we were halfway there, the bridge started to sway, and then the ropes behind us started to detach.

We both turned around and saw the bridge starting to fall.

"Don't just stand there, run!" Grovyle shouted as we ran towards the other side. I was behind Grovyle, and it was a small bridge, so it was difficult to get ahead of him.

Then suddenly, one of the wooden planks broke and I lost my balance, falling and hanging on to one of the broken ropes. Grovyle made it safely to the other side, but he turned around and saw me hanging on the rope.

He ran towards the bridge and tried to pull the rope in, but another earthquake kicked in, and the cliffside holding the other side of the bridge crumbled, and I fell into the valley below.

I could faintly hear Grovyle's voice as I was falling, saying, "I'll try to look for you and the others, don't die on me now!"

As I crashed through a few trees sticking out of the mountain, I eventually hit the water. My head ached, and I started to lose focus...

I tried to swim up, but the impact made me lose my strength, and it felt like something was pulling me under... I couldn't fight it.

Then, silence was the only thing that filled my mind.

Chapter 10

I found myself surrounded in a vast white room. It felt so... empty. I looked around to see if anyone was there, and to my surprise, I saw a figure in the distance.

"Hello? Who's there?" I shouted, cautiously approaching the distorted figure.

As I drew closer, the figure started shining brilliantly, and I had to shut my eyes to prevent myself from being blinded by light.

I started to open my eyes a little, and the figure became more clear to me as the light faded.

"Mew? Is that you?" I was surprised to see Mew, but as I took a step closer, Mew fell to the ground and shattered into many small glass pieces.

"W... What's going on?"

I tried to back away, but I felt something behind me, and as I turned around, a Rayquaza, which had an evil aura surrounding it attacked me. As I fled, stairs started to appear in front of me, along with a bridge leading to an island of some sort. I ran as fast as I could, trying to prevent myself from being killed, and as I crossed the bridge and approached the island, I once again saw Mew in front of me, who turned around and disappeared, along with the solid land below me. I then ended up falling in a violent river that I could not swim against, nor save myself due to the lack of land, branches, or anything else that could save me at that very moment. Then, I could hear a loud sound of a waterfall in front of me, and before I knew it, I flew off the river, straight down the waterfall into the lake below. I felt that same familiar feeling as before... I kept trying to swim upwards, but I couldn't. It's almost as if something was holding me back, or chaining me to the depths of the lake. I turned around to see what was restraining me, but nothing was there, and as I tried swimming upwards, I only sank deeper...

"Silly. You're drowning, don't you know that?" I heard Mew's voice again, and before I could respond, I abruptly woke up from my strange dream on the side of the river, cold and bruised from the fall.

I glanced at my surroundings to see a waterfall behind me and a lake with aquatic Pokemon dwelling in it. I could hear the natural Pokemon wildlife around me, and as I looked upwards, I could see the mountains and the destroyed bridge overhead. That's when I remembered what previously happened, I fell from the bridge and somehow ended up on the side of the river. I don't recall ever swimming back up when I hit the water... That's right! I lost consciousness when I did, and at that same moment, that strange dream started... But what does it mean? I can't be thinking about that now, I have to find everyone!

I tried walking, but my legs felt numb, and I was tired. I wanted to rest, but I knew my main priority was to regroup with the others. I slowly walked towards a path that led back up to the mountains, and as I did, I saw Grovyle on the side of the road. I quickly ran up to him, despite my legs being so numb, and I realized that he was badly injured.

"Grovyle! Wake up! What's wrong? What happened to you?"

Grovyle opened his eyes and slowly stood up, but from his injuries, it was obvious that he would not be able to move for a while.

"I... was ambushed."

"By who? Did you find Takashi and Drake?"

"I found them, they are in the cave on the other side of the river. I tried following them, but a group of Pokemon attacked me. Before I tried to fight back, but there was too many of them, and I was knocked out in the end."

"At least you're not dead."

"The same goes for you, falling off a bridge like that and into a small lake..."

"Just stay here and rest for now, i'll go find them."

"No, I can't stay here. I must go with you. Their lives might be in danger, and just because i'm like this, it doesn't mean I can't fight. It's just a little scratch..."

Grovyle regained his balance and took out a small spray from a pouch he carried around. He then sprayed his wounds and placed the bottle back in his bag.

"What was that?"

"It's called a potion. It can heal your wounds, and can save your life if you are ever in danger. It's the only one I have."

"Will you be able to move?"

"Yes, but it takes a few minutes for me to recover my strength."

"In that case we can wait a few minutes. Anyways, what happened after I fell?"

"After you fell, I tried finding a route to get down the mountain to try and find you, and I eventually saw Takashi and Drake in the distance, who I followed down the mountain path. They were far ahead of me, even as I was running, but before I could catch up to them in the cave, I was attacked. I think it might be a trap, so we should be cautious."

"I suppose so..."

"By the way, what about you? You seemed to have a tough time too surviving a fall like that..."

"I really don't know. The moment I hit the water I blanked out and had this strange dream... It's really hard to explain, so don't bother asking me about it."

"I'll just save that for later then when we aren't in a place like this."

"Yeah, that's a better idea."

Grovyle seemed better now, and I started to feel my legs again. So we ran across the river towards the entrance of the cave.

"Remember, be cautious. We don't know what's in there, and we have to make sure Takashi and Drake are safe."

We entered the cave, being as alert as possible, searching for anything suspicious and looking for our lost partners.

It seemed as if I had been traveling for days. I never walked for this long before and my legs were starting to feel stiff, but I had to endure it longer. All these caves i've been wandering through started to annoy me. Is all of this really necessary?

"Stop moving! Do you hear that?" Grovyle whispered as we both stopped in place inside the cave.

I listened closely, but could not hear anything. Then suddenly we saw a shadowy figure before us. As it slowly stepped forward, I noticed something strange. It's outline resembled Grovyle though, I might just be hallucinating...

Emerging from the darkness, was Grovyle! I looked beside me, and saw the other Grovyle with a surprised look.

"What? Who are you?" I asked.

"Can't you recognize me? It's Grovyle! That one besides you is just a doppelganger!" He replied, pointing furiously toward the Grovyle next to me.

"W... What? What are you talking about? Fine, then if you really are me, then who is it that you're looking for? What is the name of your partner?" Grovyle shouted beside me.

"It's Drake. I would obviously know that since i'm the one searching for him. You helped a fake Grovyle and you didn't notice it? I thought you would have known better Hideyoshi..."

I was confused at who the real one was. They both had the same aura pattern and act exactly the same.

"You're nothing but a liar. Move aside, I don't have time for your games!" The Grovyle next to me charged forward and attacked the other one, but they quickly dodged the attack.

"See? It's clearly him who is the fake! He's trying to attack me, help me out here will you?" The other Grovyle shouted.

I was stunned. I did not know what to do. One of them was obviously the real one. Before I could make my move, I heard footsteps behind me. As I turned around, I saw a figure of myself in front of me.

"What's going on here? Now there is two of you?" One Grovyle said in surprise.

"This is just ridiculous. Now which one of you is the real one?" the other Grovyle shouted, preparing to attack.

"Takashi and Drake need our help! Let's finish this quickly and leave Grovyle, we need to hurry!" My clone shouted.

"Wait, i'm the real..." Before I could finish my sentence, one of the Grovyles attacked me, and I could feel the blood running down my shoulder.

I chose not to fight, and although I was injured, I decided to run past them and out of the cave. This nonsense had to stop! I didn't look back, and I continued forward as I heard them chasing after me. As I went outside, I ran through the small forest and saw another Grovyle! I quickly ran past him, running through many bushes covered in thorns. My legs hurt more than ever now, and while I slowed down, my vision started to blur as the wound from Grovyle's attack was deep. I tried to continue forward, but I had to cross the river to be safe. Before I could I was attacked again, stopped right in my track, like prey hunted by it's predator. I collapsed, looking towards the river. I could see two faint silhouettes on the other side, which resembled Takashi and Drake. I tried reaching out for them with my left arm, with my vision now obscured. I saw my left arm covered in scratches and blood, and I felt pain all over my body as if I was poisoned and paralyzed. Then, I blacked out.

Chapter 11

Upon waking up, I found my body to be extremely sore. Go figure. Getting beaten up by a bunch of doppelgangers would do that to someone.
I looked around at my surroundings. The only thing I remembered was blacking out falling into the river, so I figured I must have washed up wherever I was now, but there was only one problem with that theory. I saw that I was in a forest grove, with enough trees that I couldn’t the sky. The same was true when I tried to look out of the small clearing. Where on earth was I? I did a quick aura search to see if there was anyone in the area. There was something, though very faint. I went towards the area where the aura was being emitted. I looked around. There was nothing there. I thought that someone or something had been here before, but I had no idea anymore.
I sat down, and sighed. This was awful. Takashi was being, most likely, tricked by my doppelganger. Where had those come from, anyway? It didn’t make any sense. As I started to think, I noticed something rustling in the bushes. I stood up and took a fighting stance.
“Who’s there?” I said. Scanning with my aura, I saw what looked like the shape of a…deer? I wasn’t sure.
“Leave now, for the sake of the safety of the forest!”
“I mean no harm! Just…I’m lost, and I have no idea where I am. Please, I don’t want to fight.” I pleaded.
“Liar! Prepare to die!” Within a matter of seconds, the Pokemon had leaped out from the bushes, pinned me down on the ground and was preparing to slice me up.
I could see now that the Pokemon was a shade of light green, with large horns and hooves.
“I hope you enjoy prison, trespasser!” The Pokemon was about to use her—or at least I assumed it was a her—horns to get rid of me for good, when all of a sudden she stopped.
“Hideyoshi?” she said. She let me up so she could inspect me. Once she did, she said joy, “It is you!”
“Um, who are you?” I asked. The smile drained off of her face.
“You mean you don’t remember me?” She seemed sad. “After all that we went through, you don’t remember me…”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t. Uh, who did you say you were again?” I was very confused, but what else was new?
“I’m Virizion, but you can call me Vivi. I’m one of your… friends, I guess. That is, until you disappeared,” Virizion said shakedly. “…I… I just can’t believe that you don’t remember me. I mean, we were together for a long time.”
“What do you mean by ‘together?’” I asked.
“Um, nothing! Nothing at all!” Vivi seemed cheerier now, and blushed. “Just know that I’m a friend. I protect the Pokemon in this part of the forest, which is why I needed to make sure you weren’t a, you know, bad Pokemon.”
“Alright, if you’re a friend, then I need you to help me with something.” I explained my situation to her. “Can you help me get back to Takashi?”
“Sure! First things first, let’s take out a map. I think I have one…Aha! Here it is!” She pulled out the map and laid it out on the forest floor. “Let’s see, right now we’re in Overgrown Woods, and it looks like from what you’re describing, you were somewhere over here,” she pointed to someplace on the map. I studied it, but something didn’t seem quite right.
“This doesn’t seem right, I’m not sure why,” I said. Suddenly, it hit me. “Wait a minute, do you know what year this is?”
“Yeah, it’s 613, the year after the big war. Why?”
“That’s it! Takashi is in the past, near Azure Forest!” I exclaimed. “This must be Celebi’s doing. I’m not quite sure how, but she’s the only I know who can bend time.” I felt better now that had some idea of where Takashi was. Virizion must have known the Hideyoshi who lived with young Takashi. It all made sense now.
“But how are we going to get back to the past?” Vivi asked. “It’s not like we can just flash back there, right?”
“Or can we?” I pulled out Mew’s crystal, which I still had from the island. If Mew was really as powerful as he was supposed to be, then maybe his crystal could send us back in time.
“What’s that?” Vivi asked.
“You’ll see. Just stay close to me.” Vivi moved closer to me. I wrapped my free arm around her, making sure that she’d come too, and focused my aura on the crystal, which caused it to glow. I focused on where I wanted to go, and the crystal’s radiance increased. “Here we go,” I said, excited. The crystal flashed, and we were transported back in time. I was going to see Takashi again.
After a flash of radiant light before me, I came to my senses as I examined my surroundings. I saw Virizion with a puzzled look.
"Did you just time travel?
"I guess I did."
"Are you time traveling or something?"
"No... It's a long story. I'll explain later. Right now we have to focus on finding Takashi."
"He is your partner right?"
"Yeah."
We quickly advanced through the Overgrown Woods and came across a clearing where we saw four other Virizions fighting Grovyle. I saw a cage created out of vines that seemed to have two people imprisioned inside it.
"Is that Drake and Takashi!?" I shouted
"Don't just stand there and give me that stupid look of yours and help me out!" Grovyle was trying to fight with all of his strength, but he appeared too weak to battle.
"Can you tell me what's going on here Vivi?"
"I really don't know, but your friends are in trouble and I can't help you. I can't fight, but I can give you this piece of advice. You can easily identify which one is holding your friends captive with your aura powers."
I focused to the best of my ability and was soon able to identify the right clone to attack. I then used Aura Sphere to attack it. Then the four clones disappeared and the cage imprisoning Drake and Takashi disappeared.
"Hideyoshi!"
I ran over to him and Drake.
"Are you two all right?"
"We are, don't worry about us but... what about Grovyle?"
"Stop worrying about me. It's just..."
Grovyle fainted and I could tell he suffered severe injuries from the battle.
"I don't have anything to heal him with!" Drake shouted, searching through his backpack.
"Don't worry, although I can't fight I do have healing powers." Vivi replied, healing Grovyle's wounds.
"Since we are all here. Let's just travel back. We still have a task at hand, and that's to find that shrine remember?" I said, holding out Mew's stone. I focused my aura into it as it shined brilliantly. Then in an instant, we were back in the forest on a dirt path. I noticed a cliff in front of us, so I curiously apprached it and saw a magnificent shrine below.
"We found the shrine!" I shouted
"Really? Finally, I thought this would go on forever!" Takashi said.
"I can't follow everyone. I'm really sorry. My job is to protect these woods." Vivi replied.
"Thanks for healing Grovyle for us but who are you?" Drake asked.
"Well, i'm Virizion, but you can call me Vivi! I'm friends with Hideyoshi!"
"Thanks again Vivi! Well, we have to leave now to that shrine. It's really important."
We waved and departed down the steep path towards the shrine.