Chapter Fourteen:

Red did not know how to tell the others what he had seen when Banette had vanished. There had been a cold, blue eye that had stared through the rip in space and it had looked at him, looked into him, and had seen his soul. But it was not Bannette. It was something darker, eviler. The laughter had broken out inside his mind at that point, which was when he had fainted. Red knew what it was. It was the darkness within him that Banette had written on the walls. Was it a warning to others, or intimidation from whatever darkness shared Red’s body? All he knew was that the blue eye had belonged to whatever was in him. He decided he would not tell his friends; there was no need. Or at least, there was none at this present moment…

“Of course, I see exactly what happened now,” Eusine’s voice broke into Red’s mind. He was addressing Bernard. “When I looked into your daughter’s mind I saw the dislike she had felt for Marion, and that had allowed the smallest of holes to open between our two worlds. She cast the doll into the well, forcing the hole to open even wider, and Banette was able to control the doll freely, invoking fear into all that it met, subsequently increasing its psychic hold over the doll and widening the hole even further.”

Bernard’s voice cut in. “But, if it had managed to force itself into our world, why did it continue to frighten people? Fear makes the hole wider, yes? If that’s the case, why did it want to widen the hole?”

“I’m not sure,” Eusine said, “But I would imagine that it was trying to increase its own power in this world, or maybe to bring something larger through…?”

“Hmm…” Red heard Bernard murmur.

“Regardless,” Eusine continued, “Banette was still tied to The Other World, it still had some connection. It was attached to the doll which, in turn, was attached to The Other World. When Xavier destroyed the doll, the “spiritual string” that was tied to Banette was pulled taut, and dragged the Ghost Pokemon back to The Other World, much like an elastic band.”

“But still,” Bernard pressed, “Why was it still making the hole wider, if not to try and force something bigger through?”

Red heard the two of them walk away, and he opened his eyes. He was lying in the bedroom where Xavier had been attacked by the doll the other night, and could see the light streaming in through the window.

He checked his bedside table and saw four Poke Balls, containing Alakazam, Venusaur, Arcanine and Nidoking. His watch told him that it was a little after twelve, and realised that he had slept through the night and the following morning.

Red lay back down on his pillow and sighed a deep sigh. He did not want to admit it to himself but he knew that the thing that had stared at him through the rip between our world and The Other World had been the darkness that within him. Red suddenly felt cold and pulled the covers about him closer.

There was a faint knock at the door and Scarlet came in. “Red?” she whispered, judging that if he didn’t reply he was asleep.

“Yes?” Red replied, turning over. She sat down on the bed.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “You had us all so worried after you fell down upstairs…”

Red smiled. “I’m fine, what happened upstairs just threw me, that was all.” He smiled again, feeling that he hadn’t convinced her.

“If you’re sure…” she muttered. “Anyway, Bernard says that he’d readily battle you today, if you are up for it.”

Red sat up in his bed. “Too right!” he exclaimed. “Give me a few minutes to get changed and I’ll be ready for a battle!”

Scarlet smiled a genuine one, a feat Red had been unable to accomplish. “I’ll go and tell him now.”

********************


“Well Red, we’ll use two Pokemon each in a double battle, agreed?” Bernard called.

Red nodded. “You’re the Gym Leader, your rules.” The group stood outside in an expanse of grass, a leafy glade forming a canopy over the ‘gym.’ Xavier, Scarlet and Eusine stood on one side of the arena, whilst Harriet, Bugsy and Juliet cheered for Bernard on the other.

“I’ll use…Ariados and Scyther! Go!” A vividly coloured spider appeared, followed by a mantis-type Pokemon, with wicked claws.

“Nidoking, Alakazam, go!” Red’s choice was a mixture between his new, powerful Pokemon and his more experienced psychic type.

“Let’s begin!” Bernard called. “Ariados, Spider Web! Scyther, Double Team!” Ariados turned and fired a fine web on the ground in front of Red’s two Pokemon. Scyther’s image split into multiple versions of itself.

“Nidoking, Take Down attack, Alakazam, use Future Sight!” The psychic Pokemon hovered in the air, eyes closed, preparing. Nidoking charged forward, but its foot got caught on the web that had just been spun, and it fell. It struggled, but its body was now stuck too. Panic took over, and it squirmed violently. “Nidoking!”

Bernard smirked. “Good work Ariados. Keep it up with Night Shade!” Ariados scuttled forward, and Red felt Scarlet shiver next to him; she clearly didn’t like spiders…

“Not so fast!” Red yelled. “Now Alakazam!” Ariados was thrown backwards as Alakazam predicted the attack.


“I still have Scyther!” Bernard yelled. “Go with Slash!” Unprepared for the attack, and not knowing from which copy it would come from, Alakazam had no way of protecting itself as a green blur flew towards it. Alakazam collapsed, a fresh line of red appearing along its chest.

“Ariados! Use Toxic!” Bernard pointed toward Alakazam, and Ariados fired a purple blob that splattered all over the psychic type. Alakazam groaned as the poison seeped into his wound.

“Nidoking, use –“ Red didn’t need to finish the order. Nidoking, so enraged that its partner was injured, swung its leg and kicked Ariados back. Then it powered up energy from its mouth and blasted a Hyper Beam at the spider, knocking it out.

Bernard looked shocked. “Damn, beaten by a rogue Pokemon, not ordered by the trainer himself...”

“We’re not finished!” Red yelled. “Alakazam, Recover!”

”Quick Attack!” Bernard yelled. Before Alakazam could regenerate, a whirr of green shapes swiped as they sped past Alakazam, each Scyther copy inflicting major damage to the psychic type.

It fell to the ground, and Red recalled it. “It’s now my Nidoking against your Scyther,” he stated. “Let’s get rid of that Double Team! Use Thrash!” Nidoking charged at one of the copies, but fell through it; a fake. He span round, punching another copy, destroying it.

“Stop him Scyther! Night Slash!” Each of the copies’ scythes burned purple, and they started swiping at Nidoking.

He’ll meet the same end as Alakazam, Red thought, unless I do something…

“Earthquake!” Red suddenly yelled. Drawing power from its pain, Nidoking sent out a shockwave of raw strength that dissolved the many copies of Scyther, leaving only one. It looked about, unsure of where its copies had gone.

“Amazing!” Eusine cried from the sidelines. “A powerful attack that removes all of the opponent’s defences! Truly talented!”

“Scyther! Fury Attack!” Bernard called. Red could hear the panic in his voice.

“Counter!” Red ordered. Scyther swept at Nidoking, but the Poison Pokemon jumped back, flicked its tail to gain balance, and launched forward, striking Scyther in the jaw. It was knocked backwards, and Red ordered his final attack; “Iron Tail!” The move crushed Scyther and Bernard recalled his fallen Pokemon.

“Good game,” Bernard said, smiling. “It’s nice to be able to battle again, with the weight of ghosts off my mind. Here.” He handed Red the light green badge. “You did well, I haven’t had such a good battle in a long time…”

“Thanks very much!” Red replied. “It was a really enjoyable match!” Bugsy came running over, grinning.

“I can’t wait to take over from you!” he yelled, excitedly. “I’m going to train a really big Beedrill, and a Scyther, and a…” he continued listing his super-team of Pokemon.

”Congratulations,” Scarlet said, warmly. Xavier patted his friend on the back.

”I suppose we had better be off, then,” Red said. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Bernard shook his head. “No, thank you for helping get rid of Banette.”

Eusine cleared his throat. “I do believe it was I who thought up how to stop its toxic existence from further poisoning our lives?”

Bernard laughed. “Of course, sorry Eusine.”

“I too must be going,” Eusine said. “I have a need to travel to Violet City, and as that is through the Union Cave, I will probably have to leave my Ponyta and cart here.”

Bernard nodded. “Of course, that’s fine.”

“You can travel with us,” Xavier voiced. “We need to get back to Ecruteak City, and the Union Cave certainly seems like the best route.”

“It’s decided then,” Red said. “Eusine will be joining us on our quest. Thank you Bernard, and you too Harriet.”

Red turned and began walking with his friends down the lane. Suddenly, he felt something cling round his middle, and he saw Juliet looking up at him with round eyes. “Thanks,” was all she said, before running back to her mother.
The group waved, before heading east toward Union Cave.

Chapter Fifteen: The Winds of Heaven

Dear Mother,

Well, I’m sorry I haven’t written to you for so long, things have been rather hectic these past few weeks. The last time I remember writing to you was when I was waiting for the ship in Vermillion. A lot has happened to me since then.
I dreamt of that story you would tell me, the story of my birth. How, when you were giving birth, Grand Mama had watched Moltres, the Legendary Bird of Fire, come and perch atop Mt. Pyre, where we live. I dreamt of when Grand Mama told me that I was “The Guardian of Fire,” and that I had been chosen to guard Moltres, the Titan of Fire. I always wondered if it was fate that caused us to be special. Grand Mama, the Lady of Mt. Pyre. You, my Mother, Phoebe of the Elite Four and me, Scarlet, Guardian of Fire.
You were right, by the way. Red did have Moltres. After you told me, and sent me to Kanto to find him, I had little luck to begin with. I searched around the cities of Kanto, hearing rumours of Red, the strongest trainer that had ever set foot in their gyms, and of how he had been heading to the Pokemon League. It was when I had stopped in Vermillion City that I saw him, boarding a boat. I followed him, invented a story of how I was traveling back to Hoenn. Of course, I soon changed that when he told me he was traveling to Johto.
I thought he had defeated the Champion, Lance, and was now intending on furthering his training in Jhoto. But a conversation I had with him when we first got to Johto revealed to me that he had lost and, in doing so, lost Moltres. He’s odd, Mother, I can’t work him out. He talks of their being “something” in his head, something dark, evil, but I know not what it is and I don’t think I want to.
I decided, that day when he told me that he no longer had Moltres with him, that I would wait in the hopes that Moltres might one day return to its trainer. I have been traveling with him for three months now, and there hasn’t been a whisper of the Titan of Fire.
Of course, I haven’t told Red any of this. He believes that I am just a traveler, training my Pokemon. If he knew the truth, that I was searching for Moltres so that I may protect it, he might not allow me to travel with him anymore.
In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if continuing this quest with him is worth it. What do you think Mother? According to a woman we met while traveling, Lorelei, Red has upset Moltres to the extent that it has ruined the climate of all of the regions in the world. How can I travel with him? If what this woman says, is true, then will Moltres really come back to him? Would Moltres want to rejoin a trainer who caused it so much suffering?
In my heart, I know that I should have left a long time ago, that I should, and would have, traveled around the regions, searching for the Titan of Fire in an effort to calm it, perhaps even capture it and then release it, so that it may right this imbalance of nature. But there is one thing that stops me:
Xavier.
I think I love him, Mother. He took me from the sea and he helped me (and Red, a little bit) and I have fallen in love with him. He’s so kind, and gentle. I sometimes wonder if my destiny is not to protect Moltres, but to spend my life with him, to travel with him, follow him around the world. I would not have the winds of Heaven blow too harshly on his face, I love him so.
What do I do? I know that if I leave Red, then I might find Moltres and save it. But if I do, I will leave Xavier and I know that my heart could not bear it.
I remember the day when I met him. He had brought me out of the jaws of the sea and cared for me, and now travels with Red and I. I know little about him considering we have traveled together for so long; he had his own house and ran his own farm because his Father isn’t around anymore. He told me how his mother died in childbirth, and that his Father blamed him. Other than that, I know nothing.
It was after he cared for Red and I that he agreed to come with us. I sometimes list the reasons as to why he made that decision, and the most likely on the long list of scenarios always ends up being the fact that he cares for me too.
I love him Mother. But I know I must leave. Finding Moltres must come first and if it means sacrificing my love for the sake of the rest of the world, then so be it. I will leave Red within the week. I wish I didn’t have to Mother, but it must be so.

Your caring daughter,

Scarlet

xxx

Scarlet scanned the letter with a critical eye. The moon gave out little light and the camp fire that the four of them were around was the only thing that she could read her letter by. Red snored quietly, while Eusine tossed and turned, fighting off the beasts of his imagination. Xavier, however, was deadly still. She looked at him, his shock of hair the only thing visible, covered by his sleeping bag.
Scarlet took the corner of her letter between finger and thumb and held it close to the fire. She cried silently as her thoughts burned and rose as ashes into the night sky.

Red woke up in the chilly air of the morning, and pulled himself up from the cold floor. Xavier sat cross legged on the floor, stirring a creamy liquid in the black pot that he had bought as they passed through the market of Azalea. Scarlet still lay in her sleeping bag, lost to the world.

An outburst drew Red’s attention to Eusine, who had just sneezed. “It seems,” he said, wiping his nose with a handkerchief, “that I have been struck down by a wintry ailment, one that conspires with the cold weather to induce these sudden fits upon me!” he announced, before sneezing again.

“You have a cold, Eusine,” Xavier said impatiently. “I reckon we’ll all have one soon, seeing as you’ve got one. Morning Red,” he added with a smirk on his face.

“What are you making?” Red asked, indicating to the pot.

“Just some soup,” replied Xavier. “It’ll keep Eusine’s cold away from us for a little longer. I’m hoping we can get to Violet City before we get it…” He spooned the steaming soup into mugs and handed them out. He bent down and gently woke Scarlet, who grinned sleepily at waking up to Xavier’s face over her. She blushed as she took the soup.

“I say we go through Union Cave,” Eusine decided.

”I don’t know if we should,” Xavier replied. “You’ve heard the stories people come out with after going in there…”

“All untrue, I’m sure,” Eusine chuckled.

“Would you brush them off as ghost stories?” Scarlet said. “We all know that we can’t just decide something can’t exist, or isn’t true, because the incident in Azalea proved us wrong. We need to keep our goals in sight, and cut down anything that stands in our path.”

Red couldn’t really see where she was going with her argument, and broke in before she could dig herself into a rather awkward hole. “Let’s take a vote. All those who vote against going inside the cave, raise your hand.” He and Xavier put their hands up. “Scarlet?” he asked, bewildered. He had thought she would side with her friends.

“We need to get to Violet City as soon as possible, I think,” she said quietly, not looking at any of them, but staring intently at the floor.

“All those in favour,” Eusine added, knowing what the result was, but enjoying his half-victory. “It seems that the two of you will be going the long way round,” he announced as Scarlet put her hand in the air with his. “While Miss Scarlet and I get there twice as fast.”

A third hand joined them.

“Xavier?!” Red exclaimed.

”I’m sorry Red, I’m not splitting the group up. We’ll all go through the cave.” He glanced at Scarlet, and then back at Red. “Sorry,” he said again.

********************

Red’s mood was accompanied by a downpour as they walked. Eusine had a spring in his step as he chirped happily on about the rain being “that which all of us need and so little appreciate.” A light wind caused the heavy rain to soak them through, and add to the chilly atmosphere.

”At least we’ll be dry in the cave,” Xavier said, smiling weakly. Red shot him a dark look.

As they had been walking, the bank, which had been knee high where they had camped the night before, had risen steadily upwards, as if the path had been cut through the hill. Before long, the bank rose high above their heads and instead of grass, there was a rocky slope lining each side of the path. They rounded a corner and came to the entrance of a black cave.

“Why don’t we just climb the bank and go over?” Red muttered, knowing the answer, but trying nevertheless.

“There’s a mountain of rock from which this cave was dug,” Eusine said with a sigh, “so no, we cannot go round, or over, we can only go through. Think of it like a train, our lives are on the tracks of this train and we cannot get off the rails. We go only where the rails allow us, and these rails do not go over mountains.” With that, he strode toward the mouth of the cave.

The three of them followed Eusine, and edged into the darkness. There was a little light in the mouth of the cave, enough to see that what appeared to be a random slab of granite placed in the ground was actually a sign, with markings on it.

”What does this say, I wonder?” Eusine murmured, and brushed the leaves out of the way that had grown around the stone.

“Union Cave

Things unknown lurk in this cave
They see you in the black
Read their words and leave this place
Or you won’t be coming back.”

The letters were odd, with strange markings on them, dots in the middle of the characters. If Red let his eyes fall out of focus, he was sure he was able to see those dots moving, as if they were eyes…

“Well, that’s clear,” Xavier announced. “We will be going over the top.”

”Why?!” demanded Eusine.

“Look at the tablet!” Xavier cried, pointing at the stone. “Read their words and leave this place.” It couldn’t be more clear! We’re to read these words, and go now, before something bad happens!”

Eusine shook his head. “Then you must be misunderstanding the tablet, because I need to get through this cave!” He turned to Scarlet, and looked into her eyes, a wicked smile on his face. “Isn’t that right Scarlet, we must go through the cave!”

Scarlet bit the inside of her cheek, before nodding. “I’m sorry Red, Xavier, but I need to get to Violet City. If it means chancing whatever’s in here, then that’s how it goes.”

Red sighed, and Xavier tutted. “Well then,” he said. “We’d best get going.”

Scarlet nodded and released Ninetales, who lit the way with a burst of fire.

****************

The first hour in the cave flew by. Eusine told stories of the things that he had done, and where he had traveled, and it was rather interesting at first. After the fourth hearing of how he had battled a Wobbuffet made out of steel, however, it started to get boring. The second, third and fourth hours in the cave dragged. And it wasn’t just Eusine’s tales that became infuriating; the chill of the cave was accompanied by sharp winds, that even Eusine couldn’t explain.

“For god’s sake, how long is this damn cave?!” Xavier suddenly cried out, cutting across Eusine’s description of the legendary Pokemon he had fought with nothing but a tambourine and a yo-yo. “We’ve been wandering for ages, taking paths deeper and deeper into this godforsaken cave without any idea whether it’s the right one!!”

“Impatience leads to a quickening of the step, Xavier,” Eusine declared, “and more often than not, we tend to see less as we travel faster, and will therefore fall into traps.”

Xavier walked towards Eusine, rage flowing through him. His face was intimidating in the dark, shadows thrown wide by the little fire of Ninetales. “I. Don’t. Care.” He whispered, pouring hate into every word. Then he turned and walked back the way he had come.

“Xavier, wait!” Scarlet called after him, and began to run, but suddenly stopped. Something was coming toward the group, and even Xavier had taken steps backwards.

Through the tunnel they had just walked down came a black haze, but it did not drift, it moved with intent, and slowed as it approached the group. When it got within a meter of them, the stream of darkness stopped, and bunched up together. Then a voice spoke from within it.

“Read our words…you shall not escape if you ignore them…”

“Flaafy! Thunderbolt!” Xavier threw his Pokemon out, and the electric blast powered towards the smoke. The smoke, however, turned inward and resulted in there being a neat hole through which the attack passed, doing no damage.

“You have chosen to ignore our words...you will not get back…”

A portion of the smoke broke off from the rest of the entity and sank to the ground. It began solidifying, taking on a form, a large, bipedal animal with wicked scythes.

“A Kabutops!” Eusine cried. “But wait! This one….it has odd markings…”

The black smoke vanished, leaving the spawned Pokemon to glare at the group. Eusine was right, the Kabutops, rather than being brown, was black, with white shapes, in a similar form to the letters that decorated the tablet at the mouth of the cave.

It suddenly leapt forward and took a swipe at Flaafy. The electric Pokemon cried out as a chunk of its white wool was sheared off.

“Flaafy return!” Xavier cried, his anger replaced by fear and panic. Red caught hold of his arm.

”Come on! RUN!” The group charged through the tunnels, the click-clack of Kabutops’ skeletal feet rattling after them, scraping its scythes along the stone walls as it ran.

Red glanced behind him and saw that the Pokemon was catching up. He yelled as much to the rest of the group, and Eusine suddenly stopped and hurled a Poke Ball toward the beast. Kabutops stopped and watched as Eusine’s Mr. Mime materialized in front of it. “Barrier!” Eusine called as Kabutops raised its scythe for attack. It glanced off, and Kabutops glared at the trainers. It stood there for a moment, then turned and walked back up the cave.

****

The group decided to sleep in the cave that night. To walk all the way back through the maze of tunnels and outside again would be a waste of time, and to continue on would be pointless given their tired state, so they put the sleeping bags on the floor, and crawled inside them.

It was a long time before Red finally got to sleep. The air was so still, so cold, that he could almost imagine it seeping into his body if he kept still for too long. The threat of the Kabutops was there as well, and each time he felt himself drifting off to sleep, he was woken by the sound, or the thought of the sound of the clicking of its feet as it ran down the tunnels of the cave.

Red must have fallen asleep eventually because he was woken by hands shaking him.

”Come on Red, we have to go,” he heard Xavier saying.

Red rubbed his eyes. “But it isn’t morning yet…” he said sleepily.

“You expect the sun to rise in a cave?” Eusine smirked.

The four of them were soon off and walking once again through the cave, looking desperately for tunnels that they had not explored, listening out for any sounds that might indicate danger.

“Scarlet…” Red had fallen back, allowing Xavier to listen to Eusine’s fantastical stories. “What’s the matter with you, you’re acting really…odd…”

Scarlet’s eyes were focused on the ground. “I can’t tell you…” she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

“Yes you can,” Red gently corrected. “We’re friends, all of us.”

Scarlet looked up, and Red saw that her eyes were framed with tears. “I don’t know if I can stay with you guys, I might have to leave and– “

Red barely had time for the words to sink into his mind before she was cut off, an inhuman sound bouncing off the rocky walls. Eusine and Xavier turned, looking at Red and Scarlet with wide eyes. The gloom of the cave absorbed the sound, and all was silent.

Suddenly, the mist from the night before appeared, glowing an intense pink. It spun around the group, eerie voices spilling out of it, crying Read our words and LEAVE!

A great blast of wind filled the cavern, and from the smoke came black shapes, flying out like a swarm of insects. Each shape had a white middle and a roaming pupil that skittered around the shape as it darted about the cave’s tunnel. Scarlet screamed, and Xavier ran over to her, gripping her in a tight embrace.

Read our words!, the voice came again and the shapes began lining up against the wall, shuddering with energy.

“Flaafy! Go!” cried Xavier and his Pokemon appeared once again. “Attack with-“

”No!” cried Eusine, causing Flaafy to start and look up. “I think I understand! These shapes, they’re letters! We have to do as they say! We don’t read the warning at the mouth of the cave, we read them!”

As if acknowledging the fact that he was right, the wind became stronger, and the black letter shapes vibrated harder.

“What are the letters?! What do they say?” Red called over the rushing sound.

“Ung…Unow…” Eusine struggled, holding onto his clothes that blew in the powerful wind, and squinting. “Unown!” he finally cried, and the wind faded. The shapes became suddenly calm, and they floated from the wall, as astronauts do in the infinite space above the earth.

They moved through the air silently, and formed new words;

Xavier

The boy started as his name was spelt out by the shapes on the wall. “Uh…yes?” he stammered. The letters moved again.

That which you seek will be found. But not yet. You must overcome great obstacles to get it, and the consequences of the gold that you seek will have to be accepted if you wish to keep that gold.

Xavier frowned, but his face and the expression on it showed that he understood.

Scarlet

She moved forward, fearing what the words would spell out for her.

Love is like a raging fire; it must be stoked for the flames of passion to rise. If you leave the fire, you lose warmth and with it, love. Stay, and more than love will find you.

An uncontrollable smile spread across her face, to the confusion of the others. She ran over to Xavier and threw her arms back round him before turning to see who the words would address next.

Red

Feeling a tightening feeling in his stomach, the young trainer looked up at the words.

The Other World is the home to many a mystical being, and its King finds affinity with you. There is Darkness within you, but you can fight it. Soon, you will face the Lord of all Darkness, the Chaos that exists in all. You will not be able to fight alone, you must call upon the two things that one cannot be without: Friendship and the Elements. When the time comes, you will remember this, and you will know.

Red felt cheated. More cryptic clues that, rather than shedding light on the darkness within him, threw shadows over things he could barely see.

Eusine

“My name!” he cried, and bounded forward.

The Other World that you have searched for, for so long, recognizes your determination. As such, we have rewarded your friends with knowledge that they would not have otherwise received. For you, we give a different gift.

The letters suddenly formed a small whirlwind, and a white light filled the tunnels. The group was blinded, and each one of them felt their feet leave the ground. That same rushing noise was back again, and suddenly, they were landing on soft grass in the light of an early sun.

“What..?” muttered Xavier, rubbing his eyes and standing up.

“I think I understand,” Scarlet said, nodding. “The slab at the opening of the cave. It wasn’t warding us off, it was telling us how to get through the cave.”

”What do you mean?” Red asked, trying to ignore Eusine, frantically searching his pockets for the Unown’s gift.

“Well, it meant that we had to read its words to leave the place, not to read the words and go back out.”

”The past is a thing not to dwell upon,” Eusine said hurriedly, struggling to keep his voice calm, “and this has never been truer. We must focus on the present which, at this time, is to find the Unown’s gift!” He grabbed his head suddenly and yelled aloud.

“It might not be a physical thing, Eusine,” Red suggested. Eusine nodded, eyes wide.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Much like the Gengar and Misdreavus you will face later on during your journey.”

Red frowned. “Uh, what?”

Eusine shook his head. “I’m not quite sure what possessed me, I just….said it.”

Xavier dismissed the peculiar behavior of Eusine (as such behaviour was not out of the ordinary for him) and turned his attention to Red. “Are we off then? I think each of us have learned some valuable things,” he looked amusedly at Scarlet.

Red nodded. Each of them really had learnt something precious, and they all had renewed purpose in their journey. True, his journey would be difficult, but the Unown had told him that with “The Elements and friendship,” he would overcome the Darkness within him.

Xavier looped an arm round Scarlet’s shoulder. The Unown’s words could be interpreted in only one way; he was going to find his father. He dismissed the last part about consequences, knowing that whatever state he found his father in, he would be pleased enough to have found him.

Scarlet was pulled close to Xavier, and she held onto his waist. Stay, and more than love will find you. It was confirmed; love was one thing that she’d be getting by staying with the group, and something else, waiting round the corner.

Eusine, on the other hand, was absorbed in his thoughts, but these were of a more troubled nature. The Unown had said that he would receive a different gift, but so far, he had not been given it. As Red had said, perhaps it was not physical. If it was knowledge they had bestowed upon him, then it was a waste, for he was already ‘immensely intelligent,’ as he described himself, and if it was something as cliché as the gift of love, then he was better off without it, thank you.

The four of them walked towards their next destination, Violet City, the early morning sun throwing their shadows long over the fields beside them.

Chapter Seventeen

The route to Violet City was short, and their journey made quick by the company being deep in their own thoughts. Xavier had informed Red that the Gym Leader of Violet City was an avid lover of Bird Pokemon, and that his newest Pokemon, Nidoking, would probably not do well against it with his ground type attacks.

They reached Violet City in the afternoon, and were pleased to see a small, but bustling town. Scarlet suggested that they go to the Pokemon Center, but Red insisted that they proceed straight to the Gym.

“At least this way, you’ll appreciate the rest at the Center even more,” he said with a wink.

They arrived outside and Red was disheartened at how plain the Gym looked. It was tall, and was by no means a thin building, but other than that, it was indefinable from the other white, boring buildings either side of it.

“This battle’s going to be exciting,” Eusine commented, dryly, as they walked through the doors of the Gym.

The inside was as plain as the outside, and all that marked its difference was a boy, around thirteen years of age, standing at the other end of the hall.

“Welcome to my Gym,” he stated, upon seeing the new arrivals. “Here, I train my Father’s bird Pokemon in the hopes that we can grow stronger together. My name is Falkner.”

He walked towards the group, and Red saw that he had jet black hair that was smoothed down over one eye. “So…what makes your Gym different to everyone else’s?” Red asked, failing to disguise his “why is your Gym so boring” comment effectively.

Falkner sighed impatiently. “My Gym is ‘different,’ as you put it, because it does not have the pointless distractions that other Gym’s have that their leaders’ permit because they need to hide their lack of skill.”

”Oh.” Red blushed. “Well, it’s very nice,” he replied awkwardly.

“Did you come here to battle, or to complement me on my Gym?” Falkner said, testily.

Red started, “Yes, sorry, erm, I challenge you, Falker, for the…”

”Zephyr,” Falkner interjected, a bored expression on his face.

“For the Zephyr Badge,” Red finished.

“I acc-“

The doors to the Gym burst suddenly open, and the group turned to see a boy, no older than ten years of age, walk confidently into the Gym. “I challenge you to a battle for a badge!” the boy cried.

Red stepped towards the new comer. “You may not have realised,” Red said, “but I’ve already challenged the Gym Leader to a battle.”

The other boy, who wore a cap the wrong way round and shorts, despite the closing of the year, looked about the Gym in mock confusion. “Well, I see no Pokemon out, so you clearly aren’t battling.” He smirked, before striding over to Falkner, leaving Red to tense up.

“You’re Falkner, right?” the boy asked, pushing past Xavier, Scarlet and Eusine. “Are we going to battle, or what?”

Falkner did not reply. He looked at the boy with an amused expression on his face. “You’re Gold aren’t you?” he said suddenly. “I was warned about an outgoing child by Mr. Pokemon this morning.”

Gold rolled his eyes, “never mind about him, I need to battle!”

Red returned to the group. “Well you can’t, because I’ve already issued my challenge.”

“Yeah, well – “

Falkner held up his hand. “You can both battle me. I will use two Pokemon, you will each use one.”

Red and Gold looked at one another, the heat of their clashing personalities firing up the room.

“Agreed,” Red stated, and Gold nodded his acceptance.

Falkner turned and took his position on the arena. “It’s settled then. Let us battle!” He threw two Poke Balls into the air, and released two large bird Pokemon, a Noctowl and a Pidgeotto.

“Go! Cyndaquil!” cried Gold. A little dark blue and cream Pokemon appeared, and cried, flames shooting out its back.

“Heh, amateur,” Red laughed, as he threw his Venusaur into the battle. The large Pokemon stomped up next to Cyndaquil, the smaller Pokemon putting distance between the grass Pokemon and itself.

“We shall begin!” cried Falkner. “Pidgeotto, Tail Wind, Noctowl, Take Down!” The two birds flapped their wings and took to the air. Pidgeotto flew in front of its partner, and Noctowl dropped behind. The slipstream created allowed Notcowl to fly faster, and it crashed into Cyndaquil with added force.

“Woah!” cried Gold. “Get up and use Ember!”

Red smirked at the simple attack. “Venusaur, use Solar Beam!”

Wisps of fire fluttered lazily across the arena toward the bird Pokemon. A sudden blast of light eliminated them, and the bird Pokemon frantically flapped to avoid the faster attack.

“Oh yeah, nice one Red,” Gold said sarcastically.

”Your attack was weaker than mine,” Red countered.

“Grass type against a bird type?” Gold pointed out, eyebrows high.

Red said nothing, for the bird Pokemon had suddenly regrouped, and were tearing towards their Pokemon once again.

“Noctowl, Hypnosis!” Falkner ordered. This time, Noctowl was leading, and its eyes stared straight into Venusaur’s…

The grass Pokemon fell asleep, and its legs buckled, allowing its bulk to fall onto the floor. Red started forward, and Gold smirked at his ally’s failure.

“Now, Pidgeotto, use Gust on Cyndaquil!” Falkner’s other bird Pokemon flapped its wings and a powerful wind threw the little fire type back into its trainers arms. Between them, they had lost.

“It appears I’ve won,” Falkner said, the hint of a smile on his face. “Come back when you can battle properly and not just flounder on the battle arena.

*******

Red slouched in his chair, feet on the back of another, his arms folded over his chest. He peered out angrily from under his cap at Gold, who was showing Xavier his Cyndaquil.

It was because of him that he had lost. If Gold hadn’t come in, Red might already have the Zephyr Badge and be on his way to get his next badges, and from there, Mt. Silver…

Red’s stomach somersaulted. He could remember that day as vividly as if it was yesterday. It had been raining, and he gone into the Saffron Gym, where Sabrina had cowered before him, fearing the evil that was in his mind, the evil she could not name.

“All I can do is tell you where you may find your answers. Mount Silver, just west of the Indigo Plateau.”

Her words fluttered through his mind, and he shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. Why Mount Silver? What was there that could help him rid the evil from his mind? Moreover, what could it be within his mind that was so terrible that not even the great Sabrina would name.

“…definitely, had it not been for Red mucking it all up at the end.” Red heard Gold’s loud voice carry over the Pokemon Center as he boasted of how he’d have won the match if he’d been alone and not in some tag battle.

Red got up and strode over. “If you remember rightly,” he said heatedly, “I had already challenged the Gym Leader before you came in with your loud mouth!”

Gold arched an eyebrow c0ckily before replying. “If it wasn’t for me teaming up with you, you’d have been wasted in seconds! Be grateful that I don’t hold it against you for pulling me down!”

He went to walk off, but Red grabbed his arm. “Battle me,” he whispered, teeth grinding. “Now.”

For a moment, Gold looked into Red’s eyes. Then his face broke into a smile as he shrugged Red off. “I wouldn’t want to waste my time on you,” he began, “and I’d only destroy you on the battle field anyway.”

Gold walked off, laughing, as he went over to the sitting area with his Cyndaquil.

“He is a child of most peculiar arrogance and of overwhelming confidence,” Eusine noted. “A most powerful enemy he would make, and an even more powerful ally.” He shot a sideways glance at Red, but the older trainer looked steadily ahead.

“Eusine has a point,” Scarlet voiced. “You won’t be able to beat Falkner if the both of you continue like this. You need to work as a team.”

Eusine nodded. “Indeed, else the bird will surely strike from above with power unrivalled.” This earned him a few bewildered looks, but Xavier brought the attention back to himself.

“I suggest you go and make it up with Gold. If the two of you can’t get on in a Pokemon Center, then you won’t do well on the battlefield.”

Red sighed heavily, and nodded, before walking over to a seated Gold. He took a seat opposite him.

“So…” he began awkwardly. “How long have you been a trainer?”

“Three weeks,” Gold replied, without looking up.

”You’re pretty good for being such an...” he trailed off. He was about to say ‘amateur,’ but then corrected himself. “…for being such a young trainer.”

Gold looked up at him, the shadow of a smile on his face. “Cheers. What about you? How long have you been battling?”

Glad that a conversation had finally fired up, Red replied, “about a year and four or so months.”

“Woah…” Gold looked at Red with happy amazement. “No wonder you’re Venusaur’s so strong,” he added, nodding towards Red’s belt.

“That’s just one of my Pokemon, you should see the rest!” Red boasted. Realizing that he sounded arrogant, he added, “what about you, what other Pokemon have you got besides Cyndaquil?”

Gold blushed. “Just a Poliwag.” He looked up at Red and smiled sheepishly.

”Don’t worry, I used to have one back when I was traveling around Kanto, and it was one of the best on my team as a Poliwrath.”

Gold’s face lit up. “Wow, can I see it?!”

Red shook his head. “I left it with a friend, you might encounter it one day if you’re challenging the gyms.”

Gold nodded. “I’m hoping to evolve mine into a Politoed, I think they look much cooler.”

Red laughed, and shook his head. “Cooler, but Poliwrath is stronger!”

The two joked and laughed like this for the next hour, and it was only when Scarlet came over that they realised how late in the day it was getting.

“We really should go and challenge Falkner,” Gold suddenly said as Scarlet approached.

Red nodded enthusiastically, as a smirking Scarlet shook her head. “You two are unfathomable,” she said, hopelessly.


**************

The Violet City Gym doors were thrown open, and Red and Gold strode in, flanked by Scarlet, Xavier and Eusine.

“Falkner, we have come to battle you again for the Zephyr Badge,” Red announced as Falkner appeared on the arena.

“And I suppose you intend on losing? Again?” he added, smirking.

“We’ve got a plan, actually,” Gold said forcefully, taking out his Poke Ball.

“Then show me your master plan,” Falkner replied as he released those same two birds, Pidgeotto and Noctowl.

“Venusaur!”

”Cyndaquil!”

Red and Gold released their Pokemon, much to Falkner’s amusement.

“You intend on using the same Pokemon as last time?!” he asked incredulously.

Red nodded. “You’ll see why. Venusaur, go for a Take Down attack!” Red’s speedy command shocked Falkner, and his birds frantically avoided the charging beast.

“Take them down! Ember!” called Gold. His little fire type spewed flames around the arena, aiming at the winged targets.

“Tailwind, Pidgeotto! Noctowl, Take Down attack!” Falker called.

“We were ready for this!” cried Red. “Venusaur! Take the hit!”

Gold stepped forward, “Cyndaquil, go for Sunny Day!!” The bulkier Pokemon stood in front of the small fire type and took that attack, flinching, but shrugging the attack off. Behind Venusaur, Cyndaquil strained to bring light into the arena. With a burst of energy, a flash appeared, and a bright ball of energy appeared on the ceiling.

“Yes!” cried Red. “Venusaur, Synthesis!”

“Ember again!” called Gold.

Venusaur absorbed the sunlight and its wounds started to heal. A powerful fire attack blasted through the air, catching the tip of Noctowl’s wing.

“Pidgeotto, Fly out of the way, to the ceiling! Noctowl, use Fury Attack!”

Red watched the bird Pokemon flap high, but his attention was pulled back to the ground as Noctowl started to flap towards the two Pokemon.

Noctowl clawed and pecked at Venusaur and Cyndaquil, and the two trainers did their best to fight off the attack.

”Cyndaquil, use Tackle!” Gold yelled. The little Pokemon jumped up, but Noctowl flared its wings, and raked the fire type with its talons.

“Venusaur, counter with Solar Beam!” It was at that moment as Red shouted his command, he remembered Eusine’s words: Indeed, else the bird will surely strike from above with power unrivalled…

Red looked up at the roof to see Pidgeotto, energy forming at its beak. It was a Hyper Beam! Falkner had used Noctowl as a distraction, keeping their attention on the ground, so that they couldn’t counter the attack from above!

Unable to contemplate how on earth Eusine had delivered this subtle hint beforehand, Red called to his Pokemon. “Aim it upwards!”

If it hadn’t been for his Pokemon’s undeniable loyalty, the battle might have been lost. Without questioning his trainer, Venusaur powered the blast into the sky, just as Pidgeotto fired its beam downwards, stretching out its wings as it did. The beams of energy caused shockwaves that distorted the air around where the two attacks met. The sound was a rapid pulsing noise that the group could actually feel.

“Go on Venusaur!” Red called, and the Pokemon tensed up, before blasting another Solar Beam with a wider radius around the one that it was already firing. The attack blasted the bird Pokemon through the roof, and it was a few seconds before its charred body fell back through the hole and landed on the Gym floor with a thump.

“What?!” Falkner cried. “Pidgeotto!”

Taking advantage of his shock, Gold ordered his Cyndaquil’s next attack. “Flame Wheel!” The fire type curled up and threw itself at the bird Pokemon, a ring of flames surrounding it. It brought the Pokemon to the floor, and the two birds smoked on the ground.

“Looks like we win!” Red cried, a c0cky smile on his face.

“Yeah!” cried Gold, holding out his hand to Red. They shook, beaming at one another.

“My Dad is going to be so mad…” Falkner muttered, before walking over to the two victors. “Here, take these badges. Remember this battle, and remember that cooperation is much better than trying to outdo your own ally.” He smiled coyly at the two new friends as they grinned in elated happiness at winning a badge together.

**********

Two figures stood at the crossroads of Violet City, made into one silhouette by the shaking of their hands.

”I’m off to Azalea through the Union Cave,” Gold told Red, as he let go of his hand.

“Seriously, actually read the words of those weird shape things, okay?” Red said, with a knowing smile.

Gold laughed. “Whatever Red, I’m sure you know what you’re on about. What about you though?”

Red looked behind him at his three companions, waiting to go. “We’re off to Ecruteak, where I intend on getting my newest badge.”

Gold nodded. “Cool…”

The two friends looked at each other, before embracing in a short hug. “I’ll see you around, yeah?” Gold said, taking a few steps down the route.

Red nodded. “Count on it, I’ll see you at the Pokemon League!”

The silhouette split and the two figures moved apart, different destinations awaiting both, but sharing a common goal. Red sighed, content. He was on his journey again, closer than ever to Mount Silver. And just a call away, an ally, ready to help in a battle that only he and his mind could fight.

'Ambiguity' has a B in it. And why did you spell '****' with a zero?
Spelling mistakes aside, this is still great; keep going.
- DNA

Scarlet kicked the fallen autumnal leaves, enjoying the child like happiness that it brought. The year was at its most beautiful, in her opinion, where the decorations of trees were burnt powerful oranges and loud shades of red. She loved this season, and especially this part of the season, where there was an equal amount of leaves on the ground as there were on the trees. She turned to look at Xavier, grinning, and he shook his head, an exasperated but amused smile appearing on his face.

“This route is long,” Red stated plainly.

Scarlet looked up from the hug that Xavier had pulled her into. “Oh, I don’t mind it,” she chirped happily.

Red looked at the two of them. “Yes, well that’s because you have two things to keep you amused, one of them being the leaves.”

Scarlet’s eyebrows shot up. “And the second thing?” she demanded.

Red looked from Scarlet to Xavier and smirked. Scarlet gasped in mock shock, and cried, “Red, how could you accuse us?!” before poking her tongue out at the boy.

Xavier laughed. “Is it that obvious?’ he said, more to himself, but Red answered.

“Well, when I’m barely ten paces away, the two of you start whispering together, and I’m not always far away enough to turn a deaf ear to you comments of love.” He winked at Scarlet, before running a little way up the path, avoiding her playful swipe at his impudence.

“Ah, love…” Eusine muttered to himself. “The very gift of nature that, so far, has avoided me…but it is far nicer to bathe in someone else’s love than to have to endure one’s own.”

“Woah!” Red had jumped back from an attack from Scarlet, but in doing so, had nearly trod on a pile of rotten cloths, or some kind of filthy material. He pivoted on his other foot to avoid standing on it, and lost his balance, falling on a carpet of leaves. His head landed inches away from the mess.

“Guys…” he jumped up quickly, and his two friends ran over. “That’s a Pokemon.”

Xavier bent down and rolled it over. It was, indeed, a Pokemon. “It’s a Poochyena,” he announced. “And it’s seriously hurt.”

Xavier was right. Red could see the Pokemon’s grey fur, matted with blood and soil. Its eyes were closed and it was clearly unconscious. “Is it…dead?” Red asked, fearfully.

“No,” Xavier said, shaking his head. “It’s still alive, but barely.” Xavier lifted the little body up gently, discovering the wound that had caused all the blood; two holes, possibly punctured by fangs. “If this Poochyena is to survive, we’ll need to take it down to the Pokemon Center at Ecruteak.” He took out a blanket from his bag and wrapped the small Pokemon up in it.

“I have heard of such things before!” Eusine exclaimed. “When the sun is setting in the west, the darkness comes and manifests into something of untold fear and devours all that crosses it…”

Xavier rolled his eyes. “Or, it was attacked by a wild Pokemon,” he said, in a final tone.

”It’s getting dark…” Scarlet noted. “We probably won’t get there before the morning.”

”Regardless, we should make our way there now,” Red suggested, and they all nodded their agreement.

***

The sun was sinking fast, and the tall trees that lined the path threw long, spiky shadows over them. They did not run, but walked briskly, and once or twice, Scarlet thought she had heard a sound from behind her, on in the gloom of a thicket of branches.

She thought back to that night before she entered the Union Cave. Her aim was to find Moltres. It was ‘her destiny,’ as her mother had frequently put it. But the conflict she had felt that night was now gone. That evening, she had been torn whether to leave the group in an effort to find Moltres, and so lose Xavier, or to stay with he whom she loved, but earn her mother and grandmother’s disapproval.

Surely it was she who should decide whether to follow her destiny, or her heart?

But the events in Union Cave had created just that; a union, a loving relationship between herself and Xavier. She had been thrilled that when she had thrown herself into his arms, he had not tensed, nor pushed away, but embraced her, and held her. He loved her too.

Still, there was the matter of Moltres. She may have gained the love of Xavier, she had sacrificed her first mission, her mission to find Moltres and to protect it from harm. How could she have made this decision?

“A most troubling and unwelcome choice we seem to be faced with,” came Eusine’s voice, and she wondered, for a moment, whether or not he was talking to her. Then Scarlet saw what he was puzzling over; the road split. One path led north, the other south.

“I say we go North,” Xavier said.

”You have a map with which to justify this choice?” Eusine demanded.

Xavier shook his head. “No, just gut instinct.”

“Then we shall stay here,” Eusine decided.

“But what about the Poochy-“ Red started.

”It will have to wait,” Eusine interjected. “With no map, and no way of knowing which way to go, we will have to make camp here.” Eusine sat down on the ground and began taking things out of his bag.

****

Before long, a fire was burning smoothly in the center of the group. Xavier and Scarlet sat next to one another, the Poochyena wrapped up between them, huddled close for added warmth. Red glared over the fire at Eusine, who was attempting to read a book by the poor light.

The company had tried to sleep, but there was a feeling of unease about them all. It had occurred a number of times now, a low noise coming from the trees. A growl, or the soft tread of someone or something trying to be discreet. The group had decided that they wouldn’t sleep and instead stay awake throughout the night to keep watch.

“So Eusine,” Red suddenly said, lifting his head from his hands. “What do you think will come of waiting until the morning?” he asked.

Eusine answered, but did not take his eyes from his book. “It came to me like a spark from two metal objects being struck, young Red. Gut instinct, I suppose you would call it,” he said, looking up at Xavier. He and Scarlet sat close to the fire, hands entwined.

Scarlet opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden noise stopped her, and she span around. A haunting note filled the night sky and it hung in the air, echoing eerily.

”That’s the cry of -!” Eusine did not finish his sentence, for a dark shape hurtled out of the darkness and barreled into Xavier, the appearance shocking Eusine into silence. He cried, and Scarlet leapt up, shrieking as the beast and Xavier fought.

“Nidoking, go!” Red threw the Poke Ball into the air and his purple Pokemon appeared, roaring. “Use Take Down!” Nidoking charged towards the grey blur and thrust its horn forward. It caught the beast on its side, and threw it across the leaves. Red ran forward and helped Eusine up. “Are you okay?” he asked. Xavier shook his head, breathing heavily.

“It got me, I think it bit my arm…” Scarlet rushed to Xavier’s side as Red inspected the wound. The gash in his flesh was not deep, but the skin around the hole was a deep purple colour.

“Poison Fang,” Eusine muttered, shocking the friends. “He has been poisoned by an attack that not only inflicts damage, but ensures that the pain is permanent.”

Scarlet squeezed his hand tightly, before taking the small bundle that was Poochyena out of his jacket. The beast had picked itself up and had now vanished, into the darkness that the small fire could not penetrate.

“Xavier…” Scarlet whispered, not knowing, or caring whether he could hear or not, “I’ve never been this scared in my life.”

He attempted a smile, but his face contorted with pain, and he nearly crushed her hand as his whole body tensed.

More howls could be heard around them, and snarls, and growls and the snapping of teeth.

“They are Mightyena,” Eusine announced. “They must have come for the little one!” He threw a Poke Ball and his Mr. Mime appeared. “Create a barrier!” The psychic Pokemon did so, and a glittering wall surrounded the company.

Scarlet looked around frantically and could see shapes moving in the darkness, prowling around the edges of the invisible shield. From one of the shapes came another howl, this time filled with rage. Against the blanket, she felt a kick; the baby had woken up, and it started to whimper with the pain of its wounds.

At the sound of its pitiable crying, the Mightyena on the outside threw themselves at the barrier, the soft light of the fire throwing their shadows so far back that they looked impossibly large. Scarlet screamed, and the baby yelped with her.

“Quiet!” hissed Eusine. “You must not enrage them further! Mime cannot hold them back for the whole night!”

Xavier’s voice was edged with hard fury and pain. “Then we must deter them in some other way.” Xavier pulled himself up and opened a Poke Ball with his good arm, revealing Larvitar. The Pokemon mirrored its trainers rage as it executed its master’s order. “Use your strongest attack to repel them, Larvitar.” The glow that emanated from Larvitar’s body was far brighter than the fire, and the Mightyena were illuminated in the green glow. From Larvitar’s mouth came an intense blast, almost laser like in its radius and precision. Where it touched, the ground burst into emerald flames and the Mightyena whimpered, scampering further back into the darkness.

“Quick, come on!” cried Red. Scarlet supported Xavier as they ran in the darkness, choosing the north path as they escaped the Mightyena.

”It will take much time for the wolves of night to regroup and recover the courage lost from that attack,” Eusine explained between gasps of breath. He recalled his Mr. Mime, which had been running alongside them, and Larvitar rode on Scarlet’s shoulder, shooting the occaisional green beam back at the still-burning fire where they had been resting.

“Sorry I’m so slow,” Xavier gasped, the poison taking effect.

Scarlet’s reply was swift and sure; “I’m here for you.”

****

Their pace died down as the morning came. The sun’s rays burned away their fears as they became stronger as the sun rose. They had been running for at least an hour, stopping and starting for both the pain of Xavier’s wound and the general tire they all felt. The Poochyena had fallen asleep to the rhythm of Scarlet’s running, but she had checked to make sure it was still breathing.

“I do believe we have outrun them,” Eusine noted, looking behind him.

Red nodded, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. “I’ve never done that much excersise before,” he said, jokingly.

“Xavier’s not well…” Scarlet said, a note of panic in her voice. While they had been running, she had noted how he had been leaning more and more heavily on her, and now she was practically dragging him, a steady disturbance in the leaves from as far back as she could see where his feet had not lifted from the ground.

“It is the most foul poison from the fangs of that Mightyena…” Eusine said. “It will need the healing power of a nurse, trained by the Pokemon Center University, none other will suffice.”

Red looked darkly at Eusine. “Good going reassuring Scarlet, Eusine.” He rolled his eyes.

“Look, there, it’s the tower!” Scarlet yelled excitedly. The intact tower of Ecruteak stood as a beacon of hope, and she rushed forward, Xavier leaning heavily on her shoulder.

She screamed suddenly as four Mightyena burst out of the bushes. They snarled as Red and Eusine ran forward and pulled her back. Growling, they advanced slowly.

“We can’t give you back your baby,” Scarlet stammered, hoping the Pokemon would understand. “We need to heal it. Then you can look after it.” She inched forward, hoping that the lack of distance would instill trust in the wolf.

The lead Mightyena, definable by the great white strip down its back, crept closer, lips curled, revealing the sharp teeth, stained with blood.

Xavier’s blood.

She screamed as the wolf leapt forwards, jaws wide. She pulled up her arms and crouched down, just as a screech filled the morning air, and a plume of fire descended from the sky. The white hot blast forced the air-borne wolf back, and the pack ran from the danger, whimpering.

Scarlet whirled about to see the source of the fire and gasped. Flying down from the sky came a winged bird, wings ablaze and a head crowned with fire. It was the Legendary Bird of Fire! Moltres!

Red yelled loudly and pushed past Scarlet, running towards his former Pokemon. Moltres landed on the ground and opened up its fiery wings. Scarlet mistook it for a pose of intimidation, but it wrapped its burning win around Red as the young trainer clutched onto its golden body.

“Most impossible…” Eusine stammered. “This child is not only gifted with such a sight, but can get close enough to…touch?”

Scarlet’s face was shiny with tears as she turned to Eusine. “Moltres used to be Red’s Pokemon. And now it’s come back.” Her elated heart thumped within her chest, and all she could hear in her mind were the Unown’s unspoken words:

Stay, and more than love will find you.

Anyway, I´m definitely falling this story whole, can´t wait for next chapter!! watch for the typos, tho <.<;

Keep it up! it's really thrilliling and i check like every 5 minutes for an update. I read a lot, and this is really worth reading. (=]

Xavier’s eyes flew open. He was lying on his back, looking up into the sky, framed by leafy branches. He pushed himself up and looked about him, a frown appearing on his forehead.

“Is this a dream?” he wondered aloud. His surroundings were peculiar. He seemed to be in some kind of forest, but the trees did not retain their usual colour. Instead, they had sparkling silver trunks and branches, ornamented with golden leaves. The air shimmered as the light was refracted by air-born seeds, drifting on the air. The only noise was the breeze as it whispered through the shining leaves overhead.

He stood up and walked a little way, following a natural path that wound round the silver trees. Xavier scratched his forearm, and he realised that there was a dull pain there, but no wound. It was as if he was feeling the pain for it, but far away…

Xavier put a hand to his head, the memory of the previous night all a blur. He could remember a large bird, or he thought he could, and dark beasts charging from the night…

There was a sudden movement that pulled Xavier from his thoughts, and he jogged towards where he thought he had observed something. Through the parting branches of the trees, he could see the back of a tall woman, dressed in white. Her right arm worked furiously, and as Xavier moved round to the front of her, he realised that she was painting a portrait, paints balanced in her left hand and pots and containers of all shapes scattered around the easel.

Splashes of red spilt on her dress, though Xavier could not see any paint pot or colour on her pallet that matched the hue. The woman did not turn to look at him, nor did she acknowledge his existence. It was as if he was not there. It was then that he looked closely at her face, and he gasped aloud.

It was his Mother.

He went to rush forward, but a pained expression on her face stopped him, caught his breath. She crumpled to the floor, a mass of mostly red and a little white, and Xavier ran to his fallen mother. Her eyes were closed, and he touched her face, withdrawing his hand quickly at the feel of her cold flesh. He looked up at the picture she had drawn, and choked, holding back the tears.

The portrait was of himself. It was how he looked now, a shock of white-blonde hair, and a fair face, so like his mother’s. A voice caused him to spin round and stand.

”How could I celebrate this day, every year, loving the anniversary of your birth and the anniversary of her death.” The voice came from a figure under a tree, his face shadowed by the branches.

Xavier knew who it was by the voice alone; he needed no visual conformation. “How was I to do anything!?” Xavier cried. “How can I stop myself from being born!?”

The silhouette shook its head. “You can search for me, Xavier, and if you find me, know that nothing will have changed. You will never be my son, but always my wife’s murderer.”

At these words, the golden leaves fell from the trees. They did not flutter, but instead dropped like stones hurled into the sea, thudding on the ground. The grey trees were left bare, and in the sudden movement, the figure had gone. An icy wind blew through the naked forest, and Xavier fell too, into darkness…

***

Xavier slowly opened his eyes, fearing what he would see. What he saw was not a danger, but was still as terrifying; a wide eyed Eusine, inches from his face.

“He is awake!” he proclaimed.

“Yes, we can see, thank you Eusine,” Red said sarcastically, but fondly.

Xavier felt someone take his hand. It was Scarlet. “Xavier, are you okay?” she asked.

Finding it difficult to answer, he nodded, and pulled himself up. He was in a Pokemon Center, presumably Ecruteak. “How long have I been out for,” he finally said.

“Two days,” they all said unison.

He put a hand to his head and sighed. “I had the craziest of dreams…” he muttered.

“Well, yes, you would have done,” Eusine said. “I looked into your mind with the help of my psychic Pokemon.”

Xavier felt the chill return from the cold forest. “Then…you know –“

“It need not be discussed,” Eusine said firmly, looking at Xavier.

Eusine stood up and walked over to the nurse, enquiring as to the health of Poochyena. “It’s fine, we released it last night as it was back to full health. It prefers the night, and we heard the howls of the other Mightyena, so we knew that it had returned to its family.”

“Xavier, you don’t know how worried I was about you…” Scarlet closed her eyes and gripped his hand.

Xavier managed a weak smile. “I think I can imagine.”

“OH! Most gracious it is of you to grace us with your fine presence,” came Eusine’s voice, and Xavier sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. A familiar face advanced, hair tied back with a bandana.

“How are you Xavier?” Morty asked, hands rested gently on his hips. “It’s been a while since we’ve all seen one another, racing down a burning tower.” He winked at the company.

“I’m alright, thanks Morty,” Xavier replied. “Your local Pokemon didn’t take too kindly to us trying to help them, though,” he added, pulling back his sleeve and showing the bandage that covered his wound.

Morty’s eyes betrayed the slightest of squeamishness, and he turned quickly to Red. “I promised you a battle, did I not?”

Red nodded. “You did, I’ve looked forward to it.”

Morty nodded, “as have I. I’ll meet you in my Gym later. Come whenever you’re ready.”

Red nodded, and the Gym Leader stepped out of the center. “This will be my sixth badge…” Red stated, breathing heavily, clearly excited. “From here, we go to…Mahogany, is it?” he asked Xavier, and the teenager nodded. “And Morty uses Ghost type Pokemon…” he trailed off, a look of realization on his face. “Ghost types…”

He stood up and ran from the building. “I’ll meet you guys in the Gym, I have to battle Morty now!”

“Such an eager child…” Eusine said fondly, before jogging after him. He stopped at the door and turned to the remaining two. “I presume the two of you will amble over in your own time?” he winked, before vanishing after Red.

Xavier looked sheepishly at Scarlet, but was met with a stern look. “What?” was his reaction.

“There’s something going on between you and Eusine,” she stated. Suddenly realizing the connotations of the accusation, she hurriedly reworded her statement. “I mean, he knows something, something that you haven’t told us. Me,” she emphasized.

Xavier nodded, defeated. “It’s embarrassing…and shameful,” he said truthfully, looking into her fiery eyes.

“Xavier, I’m here for you. You heard what the Unown said, you and I were meant for one another. And to be together, we have to share everything, including our inner-most thoughts.” It was her turn to look away, her cheeks turning a pink hue.

“Oh!” exclaimed Xavier. “It seems that it’s not just me who hides a secret! I’ll tell if you will,” he joked. Scarlet nodded, but there was no light tone with her.

“At the time of my birth, a great bird of fire came to Mt. Pyre, where my mother was in labour, and sat upon its peak. As the sun rose, the bird was framed with sunlight and it was then that I came into this world.” She looked down all throughout her speech, but Xavier tilted his head to see her face.

”Moltres?” he enquired. Scarlet nodded. “How’s that bad?” he asked.

Scarlet looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. “It means that I am the Guardian of Fire, entrusted with the job of securing the safety of Moltres. It was my destiny to follow Moltres in its fiery wake and make sure that no harm came to it. I heard about this trainer called Red, and how he had captured and tamed it. I had orders from my Mother to find him and take Moltres from him and release it back into the wild. But it had already left Red, apparently when he lost an important battle.”

Xavier shook his head, confused. “But why is this a bad thing?”

“Because I was going to leave the group, leave you, Xavier!” she suddenly yelled. “I was going to go and find Moltres on my own. I had long held the belief that we might all stumble across Moltres’ nest or something and that we could all protect it together, but during the months I stayed with you, we did not find it.”

Xavier actually laughed. “But Moltres has returned to Red, you can guard it and stay with me! I don’t understand how that’s a-“ he was cut short by Scarlet’s fiery glare.

“It’s a problem because I actually considered choosing Moltres over you!” There was a moment of silence in the air, before she realised what she had said and collapsed into his arms, crying.

After a moment of awkwardness, Xavier put his head lower to her ear and whispered, “but you didn’t. You stayed. And it’s all in the past now.” She looked up, eyes shining. “Let’s live in the present,” he said with a laugh.

Scarlet laughed too, shakily. “Come on, it’s your turn. What have you and Eusine got ‘going on,’” she laughed.

It was Xavier’s turn to be serious. He tensed up a little, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Scarlet. “At the time of my birth, as you know, my Mother died.”

Scarlet nodded solemnly. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Xavier dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. “Don’t be. My Father blamed me for it, saying that if I hadn’t been born, then she’d still be here. He turned into a monster, living only for drink and not much else. The weight of the farm fell to me, and I struggled at first, but soon managed.” He stopped and looked into Scarlet’s eyes. “I joined you and Red so that I could find him, Scarlet.”

She frowned. “You want to find him? After all he did and said to you?!” She shook her head disbelievingly.

“I want to find him, Scarlet, because I think he might have changed,” Xavier wished he had not said them; such words were futile.

“Oh, Xavier,” she said softly. “It’s what you want to believe, not what you think might have happened.”

Xavier became defensive. “I could be right, though. He could be a changed man, and I could be sitting at home, tending the animals of a man I’ve condemned to loneliness because no one will give him a second chance.”

A suspicious look came over Scarlet’s face. “Wait, does this have anything to do with the Unown?” Xavier’s silence was conformation enough. “Do you not remember the last part, the part that said – “

“The consequences have to be accepted,’ yes, I know,” interrupted Xavier. “But it might not be a bad consequence.” He looked pleadingly at Scarlet, seeing the desperation in her eyes, wanting to see things from his point of view.

She smiled, genuine, but weary, and said “You’re clutching at straws, Xavier, but you could be right.”

Xavier smiled too. “We really should go and watch Red’s battle,” he said.

Scarlet nodded. “We should. We’ll use the excuse that you were having trouble walking.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and he pulled himself up.

”It was my arm that was bitten, I’m not a cripple, you know!” he chased her out of the center, cradling his arm as he ran.

***

“Dodge that and use Sludge Bomb, Nidoking!”

“Misdreavus, counter with Shadow Ball!”

Scarlet and Xavier crawled round the arena as Morty and Red dueled. Nidoking dived out of the way of a dark blast and hurled a blob of purple matter at the ghost. Misdreavus retaliated with another explosion of darkness.

“How’s Red doing?” Xavier enquired, taking a seat next to Eusine.

”Marvellously!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

“So he’s winning?” Scarlet added, enthusiastically.

Eusine frowned. “No, not yet, they’re still on their first Pokemon. Two Pokemon each, and these are the first.”

Xavier dismissed Eusine and looked at the arena as Morty’s Misdreavus powered another Shadow Ball towards Nidoking.

“Let’s try something new!” cried Red. “Nidoking, Ice Beam attack!” Nidoking took a deep breath, and a small light appeared in its mouth. The thinnest of beams came out, suddenly obliterated by the oncoming Shadow Ball. The ball exploded as it hit Nidoking, and the Pokemon fell back.

“A gamble,” Morty said, grimacing as if it was his own Pokemon that had fallen. “Unlucky, Red.”

The boy shook his head. “It’s a worthy sacrifice,” he said, recalling his Pokemon.

“Such a disadvantage doesn’t seem to have fazed him,” Eusine noted, and the friends nodded.

“Go! Alakazam!” Red cried and his Pokemon materialized onto the arena.

”What?!” cried Xavier aloud. “Why choose that Pokemon? It’s weak against Ghost types, and that’s what Morty specializes in!”

Red only smirked. “Come on then Morty, show me how you battle!”

Morty knew that Red had something up his sleeve. “Misdreavus, Perish Song!”

Eusine gasped. “That’s a cruel and most inescapable tactic!” As he said the words, Misdreavus opened its mouth and a warbling noise filled the stadium. Musical notes spilled out of Misdreavus, climbing high above the arena, and forming a shape.

“It’s a clock!” cried Scarlet.

Eusine nodded. “Perish Song ensures that both Pokemon faint when the clock hits one o clock!” The musical notes formed the numbers, but instead of ‘one,’ the number thirteen appeared after twelve. They arranged hands and the longest one began moving slowly round.

“Alakazam! Future Sight! Combine it with Psychic!” Alakazam aimed its spoon at Misdreavus and an invisible blast forced the Pokemon back. Then Alakazam swiped its other spoon upwards, delivering a long distance uppercut to the ghost. Morty recalled his fallen Pokemon.

“Good, Red. But your Alakazam still has only…” he looked up at the ghostly clock – “forty five seconds until its demise. Go Gengar!”

A new ghost Pokemon appeared, and a triumphant smile spread across Red’s face.

“Shadow Ball!” cried Morty, and the purple attack raced towards Alakazam.

”Teleport, then Psybeam!” Alakazam vanished, avoiding the attack, before reappearing above Gengar. As it fired the beam, a shadowy form of Alakazam appeared where it had been standing earlier, and fired its own beam. The two attacks collided into Gengar, and the Pokemon was thrown backwards.

At Morty’s defeat, the shadowy clock vanished with discordant groans as the notes puffed out of existence.

“Interesting,” was all Morty could say. Xavier found nothing interesting about the battle, it was all confusing to him!

“I see what you did Red. You used Future Sight to pre-empt this attack and so defeat Gengar before the time ran out. But what does bewilder me is how you managed to defeat me with Alakazam when I should have had the type advantage?”

Red grinned, more than willing to share his secret. “It actually came about after we left the Union Cave,” he said, turning to Xavier and the others on the arena seats. “Eusine, you said an odd comment, regarding a Misdreavus and a Gengar. This was directly after we had received our gifts from the Unown.”

Realisation dawned on the man’s face.

”And then in Violet City, you said something about birds striking from above. At first, I just assumed it was a lucky guess, or the coincidence of a rambling madman-“ at these words, Eusine frowned, and looked quizzically at his friend – “but then I realised it was the Unown’s gift; you’ve been given the gift of being able to see into the future!”

”It’s actually called precognition,” Eusine interjected. “And I see now. The comment about Misdreavus and Gengar allowed you to choose a Pokemon according to Morty’s weakness.”

Red nodded. “After Nidoking fainted at the hands of Misdreavus, I knew, thanks to your clue, that Gengar would follow afterwards. It would need to be a Pokemon that would have a type advantage against Gengar, and at first, I noted that none of my Pokemon had a Ghost type attack of Dark type one. Then I remembered Gengar’s secondary type of Poison. What better counter is there to that of a Poison type?”

”Psychic,” Xavier breathed, marveling at Red’s genius. “Red, that’s excellent!”

Red nodded enthusiastically. “I know! And that means, Morty, that you owe me a badge!”

Morty chuckled, and took out the badge from his pocket. “You did well to earn it Red, though it wasn’t without help that you obtained it.” Red agreed, winking at Eusine in the stands.

***

Outside, the company of friends prepared to make their way to Mahogany. They had visited the local shop and restocked on items for their Pokemon and food for the journey. They stood at the edge of Ecruteak in the light of the setting sun.

“Once again, thank you for the battle,” Morty told Red, patting him on the shoulder.

“Thanks for the badge,” Red said with a wink. “We’re going to get the next badge, which is in Mahogany, I think.”

Morty nodded. “There, you will battle a powerful Ice type trainer for the Glacier Badge.”

Red shivered at the mention of the type. He hadn’t told his friends, but that leafy path on which they had escaped the Mightyena, he had witnessed this death of his Vileplume at the hands of an Ice Type Trainer…

“Company, it imposes upon me deep sadness to announce to you that which I am about to announce,” came the loud voice of Eusine. “I, after much deliberation, thought, and above all…” he paused, searching for a third word, before deciding on “more deliberation, have decided that I will stay with Morty.”

Morty looked quizzically at the eccentric man. “How did you arrive to such a decision?” he asked.

Eusine looked into the sky, before dramatically sweeping his hand through the air. “It was last night, as the sun was setting and my dear friends tended to the poisoned Xavier, that I was struck with a vision of legendary proportions…at the time, the blue beast that appeared in my vision contained no meaning within its visual apparition, and yet, Red’s explanation of my precognition has revealed to me that I will one day encounter that beast if I stay here with the Gym Leader.”

“Well, we’ll miss you Eusine,” Scarlet said, with Xavier whispering, “but not enough that we’ll beg him to stay.”

Eusine smiled at Scarlet, bowing his head a little. “And I thank you all for escorting me thus far on my journey to greatness.” He moved over to Morty, before raising both of his hands in the air. “I wish luck to you, Master Red. My precognition tells me you’ll need it.”

”I bet it doesn’t,” Xavier interjected quietly, “I bet he just made that up.” Scarlet stifled a giggle.

“Thank you Eusine, I hope we meet again in the future!” Red said, as the company turned and moved down the route, on their way to Mahogany Town.

Eusine waved his old friends goodbye, before turning to Morty. “There is darkness within that child,” he said, suddenly serious. “Was I right not to tell him of the impending doom that faces him soon?”

Morty looked thoughtful. “Yes, I think so. When one tries to alter their destiny with the knowledge that it is not a good destiny, one ends up making it worse, somewhat…”

Eusine nodded, apparently understanding. “But to warn someone of their premature death…was I wrong in keeping that from him?”

Morty slowly looked round at Eusine, a shocked expression on his face, speechless.

OMGsh Hi Enigma! Er... Obsidian?

I'm reading through, you have great writing skills! I started a fic, but never saw the end

Anyway, can't wait for more of your writing ^_^;;

I see a great future for you if you decide to become an author! Again, I CANNOT wait for another installment to this thrilling tale!

Chapter Twenty

Red walked along the dusty road, a grin on his face. The weather seemed to reflect his happy mood as light clouds lay dormant in the blue sky. To the right of the travelers was a forest, the outer edges having been cut back to form a road, and on the left was a high cliff, a wall of rock.

”Why are you so happy, Red?” Xavier enquired as Red jauntily kicked a pile of leaves.

“Why do you say it so begrudgingly?” Scarlet joked. Xavier arched an eyebrow, pointing at his arm in its sling. “Attention seeker,” she added, grinning mischievously.

“Because, my dear friends,” Red answered, beaming, “I have only two more badges until I can enter the Johto League!”

Xavier’s frown deepened. “Firstly, why are you speaking like Eusine? We abandoned him, we don’t need a reminder of him…but I thought your purpose for traveling around and getting the badges was to gain access to Mt. Silver?”

Red nodded. “Yes, but I’m not going to put them to waste. As soon as I’ve sorted out the business at the peak of Mt. Silver, I’m entering the Johto League, and I’m going to win it!”

Scarlet shook her head. “’Once you’ve sorted out the business?’” She repeated, a disbelieving tone in her voice.

“Yeah, why?” Red asked.

Scarlet shrugged. “I don’t know, I just expected something a little more…dramatic?”

“Drama queen,” Xavier muttered, but loud enough for Scarlet to hear.

“What’s this?” Red was crouching near a small river that ran out from a hole in the cliff face. His friends came closer, and as they looked in the clear water, they could see a number of red fish, swimming powerfully up river. They followed the Pokemon’s trail, and to their shock, the Pokemon were leaping up the stream and into the crack in the cliff.

“That’s got to be about a meter from the ground,” Xavier exclaimed, as another fish leapt out of the water, vanishing.

”They’re Magikarp…” Red muttered.

“Oh!” cried Scarlet. “I remember the old story about them! It was one of those stories with a moral in it…what was it…” She looked into the blue of the water. “That’s it!” she cried. “It was said that the Magikarp would swim from their homes, going against the flow of the water. Then they would find a place of ‘magic and light’ and there they would turn into dragons!”

Xavier frowned. “Doesn’t sound like there’s much of a moral in that, if you ask me.”

Scarlet waved her hand to dismiss the comment, “that’s not the point, my point is that these Magikarp are going upstream to evolve. It’s what Magikarp do at this season.”

Red shrugged. “Well, let’s not disturb them. I say we jump over this river, and – XAVIER!”

There had been a glint of gold among the red of the stream. Red pointed excitedly into the murk of the water, and Xavier looked closely in.

”Woah!” Xavier cried, eyes wide. “Red, that’s…that’s a golden Magikarp!!!”

As he said the words, a shining fish, similar in anatomy to all the others, but strikingly different in colour, leapt from the water, sending sparkling droplets of water flying in all directions.

“So?” Scarlet said, shrugging. “What’s so amazing about that?”

Red and Xavier turned on her, wide eyed. “Scarlet, do you know how rare a shiny Pokemon is?!” Red yelled.

”Yeah!” Xavier agreed, “to capture a shining Pokemon is just amazing, it’s like being the champion of all the region’s leagues!”

Scarlet arched an eyebrow. “Well, if it’s that exciting, why don’t you capture it?”

The two boys turned, both realizing at the same time that their momentary lapse in observation had cost them the encounter.

”There!” cried Xavier, pointing. Red looked up, just in time to see a flash of golden scales vanish into the hole in the cliff.

“We’re going in there,” Red said defiantly. He took his Poke Balls from his belt and put them in his bag, zipping it up tightly.

“If you think I’m getting in that river with all those fish, then you’re a fool,” she stated bluntly.

Xavier took her by the hand, saying, “You don’t really have a choice,” before leaping into the river, dragging her with him. She screamed as she plunged into the water, and Red laughed at the two, as they floundered in the waist-deep water.

She lunged for the bank and grabbed Red’s ankle, before yanking it with great force. He lost his balance, and slipped in with them, the three of them laughing and splashing amidst the Magikarp.

***

Having gone through the crag, the company were beginning to wonder why they had gone on this shiny hunt. For a moment, the three of them had been immersed entirely in water, struggling against the force of the rushing stream as it flowed mercilessly through the rocky tunnel.

Red had been the first to break the barrier between water and air, and he fumbled about in intense darkness, treading water, arms flailing, searching for a rocky platform.

Xavier appeared beside him, followed by Scarlet. All around them, they could feel the rubbery scales of the swarming Magikarp.

”Xavier!” Scarlet cried, and Red felt utterly isolated as Xavier left him to grab onto Scarlet. The pressing and total darkness conspired with the rushing sound of the water to bring about intense claustrophobia.

Suddenly, his hand hit a rock, and he kicked towards it. Placing both arms on the rocks, he felt that it rose a little out of the water, and he hoisted himself up and out of the rushing stream. There was little room, but he was able to sit back enough with his legs outstretched. Presently, he felt a hand on his leg as Xavier pulled himself up, followed by Scarlet.

“We need a little light!” Red yelled over the roar of the stream.

A bleating noise told Red that Xavier had released Flaafy, and an eerie orb appeared, hovering in mid air as Flaafy’s tail lit up the cavern.

The cave was not large, and at one end was a depression in the water, clearly where the water was emptying out through the hole they had just swam through. At the other end was a slight shift in the way the water moved, almost like a whirlpool. He turned his attention to seeking the shiny Magikarp.

The water was impossible to see through. All the company could see were sudden flashes of red as Magikarp leapt out of the water, before vanishing again. Nowhere could a golden scale be found.

“We could electrocute the water and faint the lot of them, then look for it that way,” Red suggested, earning him a disgusted look from Scarlet. “What?” he asked. “I was only kidding…”

“Over there,” Xavier said, pointing. “The water seems to come from that high point there. If we wade over to the other side, we should be able to climb up, fight against the water pressure, and then swim up from there into the next cavern.”

Scarlet looked at Xavier in disbelief. “Don’t you think that’s a little drastic?!” she exclaimed.

Seriously, Xavier answered her; “You clearly don’t know the value of a shiny Pokemon.”

Shortly, the three of them were back in darkness, Xavier having recalled his Flaafy. They were treading water, guessing that the direction they were heading in was the direction where the water pumped out of the higher cavern.

”Guys!” Red called, being at the front of the small line, “I can actually stand, here!”

He felt Xavier swim into him, and then heard a yell, “Yeah, we can too!”

Red walked a little further, his movements greatly exaggerated by the powerful stream of water. He was put in mind of spacemen, dressed up in bulky clothing and moving slowly in the different gravity of the moon.

His thoughts were suddenly dispelled, as his foot slipped. He cried aloud, but his yell was cut short as his head dipped beneath the water. His leg carried on falling, and he realised with a jolt of panic, that this was the cause for the whirlpool he had seen earlier; another exit point for the water, and this would be a new path for the water to take.

Red gasped suddenly as his other leg followed the rest of his body, and the awkward position sent a jolt of pain through him. As he gasped, water was sucked into his mouth and he choked, pulling in more water. The water pushed him further down, and Red could feel the close proximity of the tunnel that the water flowed through. He rushed down, clothes torn by the rocks and flesh ripped open. He struggled for breath, but this just made the pain worse as his body was caught on jutting rocks.

Red realised with a pang of utter dismay that water goes wherever gravity goes, and gravity has a habit of going down…

Suddenly, he felt, rather than saw, for the darkness was complete, a great expanse around him. He fell through open space for a moment, before crashing with full force into the water below. The impact knocked the breath out of him, and for a moment, he couldn’t move, overcome by the pain of the landing and the journey. Then the lack of air in his lungs suddenly registered, and he struggled, fighting to swim up.

He broke the surface, breathing deeply, gasping for the air that he had been robbed of as he had fallen. Once again he was in water, splashing around in darkness.

“Red!” came a yell, and a hand grabbed onto him.

“Xavier?!” Red exclaimed, still choking from the water.

“Yeah, it’s me. What the hell happened?!” He yelled.

“I think we fell down a tunnel or something,” Scarlet called over the pounding rush of where the water was emptying into the lake.

“Well it doesn’t matter now,” Red yelled, “We just need some light. Xavier!” Once again, Flaafy’s light appeared and Red realised the vastness of the cave they had fallen into. The light from Flaafy’s tail reached a long way, but even the furthest walls of the cavern were barely illuminated. Red could see the stream of water that poured from the hole in the top of the cavern, and could see that the water was red…

“Not red,” he breathed, “but Magikarp! Guys, I think the Magikarp are all stuck down here too!” He turned excitedly around to his friends, but something had them looking the other way.

“Not stuck, by any means,” came a voice, and Red span round as best he could in the water. The little light that Xavier’s Flaafy gave out revealed a great column of rock rising out of the water. Atop it was a short man and Red, despite the dim light, could see the sharp glare of his eyes. In his left hand he held a cane on which he leaned heavily. “The air is rich with the magic and energy of evolution,” he stated, indicating with his stick to the water that they paddled in.

Red looked away, and to his surprise, something else began shining. Out of the water came a shining object, growing and growing in both length and height.

Xavier swore loudly. “It’s a Gyarados!” he cried.

“Not just one!” cried Scarlet, as a multitude of other lights appeared in the water. Red felt his neck tingle as the three of them swam toward the column of rock, clambering up and standing near the peculiar old man. He was right; there was an odd feeling in the air, as if Red could reach out and scoop it out of the space in front of him. He got a better look at the man, his white tufts of hair revealing his old age.

“This place…” he said, his voice not loud, but firm enough to be heard over the roars of the newly evolved Gyarados. “It is filled with such a power that the Magikarp come here to evolve. Every year I come here and wait for this day, when the Gyarados appear. And from this day, I gain inspiration in my battles…” He closed his eyes, as if absorbing the pure power and rage that the Gyarados exuded.

“That’s all very well and good, being powerful and all,” Scarlet interjected, jerking the man from his thoughts, “but we’re stuck down here in this dingy cavern, surrounded by the most ferocious of all Pokemon.” She gestured to the water, now teeming with massive sea serpents, squirming around one another, biting and roaring at the lack of space.

“Tell me, little girl,” the man said, smirking slightly at Scarlet’s tension at being addressed as such, “why is it that Gyarados seem to have a temperament of fiery rage?”

Scarlet shook her head. “You tell me, you sit down here with them.” Red stifled a laugh, earning himself a swift and disapproving look from the man. He became serious, remembering that this man was his way out.

“You will see,” the man said, again indicating with his cane. “Observe.”

As he pointed, the Gyarados started squirming harder, their bodies’ pushing and shoving against one another, the water being whipped up in a frenzy, black water with grey foam. A sudden glow appeared in the water, and an orange blast suddenly shot out at a low angle, blasting into the cavern wall. At the explosion, Scarlet screamed, and Xavier held her. The scream sparked off more of these blasts, and Red realised with horror that this was the Gyarados’ attacks.

”Dragon Rage,” the man said, as if reading Red’s mind. “The very embodiment of a Dragon’s Rage, somewhat aptly.” More and more orange glows appeared from the Gyarados’ mouths, before the beams were fired, intersecting with one another, glancing off, ricocheting from the walls and ceiling. The very cavern shook, and Red looked searchingly at the man.

“What do we do?!” he cried. “We can’t stay here!”

“True,” said the man. “When the time is right, we will have to act quickly. I will tell you when.”

The sweat formed on Red’s brow, the cavern now hot with the many bodies of Gyarados and their fiery attacks. Blast after blast hit the cavern, but Red noticed that they seemed to be concentrated at the far end of the wall, and that they were making progress…

“They’re tunneling out!” cried Xavier suddenly. The water had certainly dropped a little, and Red could see the old man take out a Poke Ball.

“Now is probably the best time.” Out of his Poke Ball came a large, sleek Pokemon. It frolicked about in the water, avoiding the Gyarados almost playfully; it was a Dewgong. “Now!” cried the man, a sudden harshness in his voice. He leapt, and the others followed, just as a rogue beam sliced through the rock, causing it to tumble into the already-choppy and violent cavern lake. Red leapt, pulling Xavier and Scarlet with him. Dewgong leapt out of the water, catching its master and the three friends on its back. “Follow the Gyarados!” cried the man, and the Dewgong powered through the water after the serpents.

Following them through the tunnel was less painful than Red and his friends' descent, but all the more worrying, knowing that in front of them were hundreds of angry Gyarados that could turn their fiery attacks back at them if they hit hard rock.

Scarlet voiced Red’s fears. “What if we hit a dead end?” she called to the old man.

“We will not. I’ve been on this journey many times, and the Gyarados always lead to the same place.”

He said nothing more on the matter, and Red actually managed to resign himself to the oscillating of Dewgong’s body as it powered through the wake of the Gyarados. He wondered where the Gyarados would appear, and if it would be anywhere near his next destination. Then he suddenly realised the situation he was in; he was on the back of a man’s Dewgong, a man that he had met in a seemingly sealed cave, accessible only through a hole in the cavern. Panic swept over him, and the jittery movements of Flaafy as the Pokemon was tossed about on the back of Dewgong heightened his anxiety as the light was thrown all about the new tunnel, throwing shadow and light everywhere like some old fashioned reel and projector, erratic and out of control.

Suddenly, a loud explosion could be heard somewhere in front, where the Gyarados powered forward.

”It would do well to hold on!” the man yelled over his shoulder, and Red obeyed. He tried to grab onto the Pokemon’s sleek body, but the fur was wet and difficult to grip. Suddenly, he saw why the man had issued the command. A powerful blast of water was shooting the other way, and the force had even slowed down the Gyarados. The water washed over Dewgong, and Red was thrown from its back. He was swirled about, all direction and sense of being lost in the violent shaking of the opposite current. He instinctively reached for Poliwrath’s Poke Ball and opened it without thinking, before dully remembering that he had left it with Chuck. Instead, Nidoking appeared and, to the trainer’s utter surprise, grabbed Red and tucked him under his arm, before powering against the current, kicking with both legs, and striking out with his free arm. Light appeared from ‘above,’ that Red had mistaken for below, and he was suddenly made to feel immensely dizzy. Nidoking broke the water, and placed Red on his back, before swimming to the shore of this new place they were at.

Rubbing his eyes, Red could see that they were in some kind of a lake, surrounded by trees. The Gyarados had much more space, and were swimming across the surface of the lake, a few even basking in the afternoon sun on the sandy shore.

”Red!!” came a cry. Just on the bank, Red could see Xavier and Scarlet, standing with the man who was tending to his Dewgong.

He clambered on to the grass, exclaiming, “where the hell are we?”

”This is the Lake of Rage,” the old man said. “And it is here, Red, that we shall battle for my Glacier Badge.”

Red held up his hands, his eyes still not accustomed to the light of the open world. “Your badge?! That means…”

“Yes,” the man said. “I am Pryce, the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town.” He gestured to the lake, before adding, “This is my arena, and we will battle now.”

Red looked at Xavier and Scarlet, unable to comprehend the man’s words. He wanted to battle? After being washed through the cave system of Johto, finally coming out at some random lake, and being amidst a group of Gyarados?

As he looked, he realised that the number of Gyarados had decreased. A great deal of them had vanished beneath the surface of the lake, and others and actually come out of the lake and were vanishing into the woods, looking for other lakes to inhabit.

This battle would be for his seventh badge. From here, he could go onto Blackthorn City, obtain the next badge, and then unravel the secrets of his mind atop Mt. Silver…

He looked back at Pryce. “I accept your challenge.”

I know exactly what you mean Obs. I always have trouble visualizing dark and dank places within caves, so to me it just feels like words.
I wonder when Xavier (who I always, for some odd reason, envision as looking like the Palace Maven, which he isn't) is going to catch his gold Magikarp/red Gyarados. You do keep spelling Flaaffy with only two Fs instead of three though.

My only real regret is not being able to get onto Psypoke after Tuesday.
- DNA

Should have a chapter up before then, one that will end on a cliffhanger for the sake of making you all wait a week before the next one.