Kharmaguess
New Member
This is my first of a series of fanfictions which will be labeled under the prefix KhG. Just doing a little world building before I get into anything big. Anyways, reviews are appreciated, so if you have any suggestions for how I can improve, feel free to let me know! Will update every weekend until finished, so keep checking for updates. Enjoy!
i.
Groudon took a seat next to his legendary counterpart. Eyeing the clock that hung by the entrance, he had made it with two minutes to spare. Ambient chatter filled the room as the council awaited Arceus's arrival. His eyes rested on Kyogre who was much of the opposite, and sat in silence with a rather discontent expression on her face. He sat back in his seat mischievously and flicked the back of Kyogre's neck. She whipped around ready to pay back the vexatious move, but stopped as soon as she saw him laughing.
"Oh it's only you, where in the world were you? The meeting's about to start!"
"Well I'm here now. Just finishing up some business back at Mt. Chimney."
Groudon tipped his head up in a relaxed, egocentric manner. He heeded no sign of the glare he received from his counterpart.
"Hm sure, of course. I would never think of you skipping out on a meeting. Especially like today's."
Groudon eyed Kyogre curiously.
"What's that supposed to mean? I usually come to every meeting." Groudon's innocence and perhaps ignorance threw Kyogre off.
"You seriously don't remember. Wow, it figures seeing how this exam pretty much proves you're one of the most narrow-minded individuals on the council." Kyogre mocked, smirking as she saw Groudon's agape reaction.
"You're kidding, it's not today is it?"
Suddenly a hush fell over the council and the two counterparts looked up at the center pillar.
"Hello everybody. It seems everyone has decided... well almost everybody has decided to come to the meeting today."
Groudon's eyes met the empty seat on the other side of his; the seat inhabited, or lack thereof, by Rayquaza. It wasn't much of a surprise if what Kyogre had said was true. That made him worry even more.
"Now as everyone should know by now, I have assigned today's date to be the semi-annual situation survey exam".
Great it was. The council was filled with a mixture of moans and murmurs. The disturbance did not go over to well with Arceus as he turned back to the council members.
"You all should've known this was today. I've been saying it for the past three meetings." Arceus' little comment made Groudon even more embarrassed at his inept forgetfulness.
"Look this is only a small test and you've taken one like it before. This is so I can see if you all have the knowledge of what to do in dire situations. It's only 20 questions so it shouldn't take too long."
"20 questions is more than none." Groudon grumbled.
Luckily Arceus hadn't overheard his remark and his demeanor cheered up a little bit.
"But because we will be taking the exam today, our normal proceedings will be dismissed. Once you are finished you may leave and spend the rest of your week how you please."
The continent pokemon crossed his arms atop the table in front of him. The legendary council was a group dedicated to protecting the safety and wellbeing of pokemon (and sometimes humans) across the land. It was usually laid back, as threats on a level for the council to worry about were rare, but they do happen. However, Arceus still made the group organize every two weeks to discuss happenings across the regions.
But this had to be the worst part about being on the legendary council. Taking Arceus's stupid tests. It was like going to grade school. He was a legendary! He was better off 'saving the planet' rather than writing how he would in a hypothetical situation.
"Groudon come on, you've never passed once. Stop whining. Once you fail, you can leave early."
The familiar voice reminded him why he also hated taking these tests. He was terrible at them. He winced at her comment before turning back to her. "Well you don't do much better Kyogre."
"Tsch. Sure, I guess you're right. But I'm not the lowest scorer in the council..."
"I don't care what Arceus told you! Palkia sure as hell scored lower than me last time."
Palkia glanced up from his seat across the room but was unable to hear Groudon's conversation clearly. It was true that Kyogre wasn't good either at these sorts of things, but she actually tried to do well as compared to Groudon for a passing grade. He took the lazy route; marking down random answers while drawing out the clock to keep Arceus from being suspicious about him neglecting to give an effort. Obviously in the process, he sacrificed any rumor of him being intelligent... which was probably a big mistake because he had Raikou on his ass after failing with a 40% last time. Not only that, but barely any legendaries had any confidence he would act correctly if a disaster situation were to happen. After all, that's what the test highlighted.
He grunted under his breath, wishing this meeting was like every other day; discussing world events and being assigned tasks to go fulfill. At least they were entertaining... at times. But as Arceus placed the leaflet of paper down in front of him, it was painfully obvious that he was going to be suffering through another exam.
"Groudon?" A muggy voice next to him rang in his ears. "Eh oh what?" he answered confused.
"Are you brain-dead Groudon? I asked if you tried to prepare for today's test like I asked."
"Me? Prepare? Look this is just a nonsense exam that doesn't mean anything. No one's gonna die if I fail this test."
Kyogre looked back adversely towards her counterpart. "You're hopeless you know that?"
He pushed the chastising comment aside. "I can fend for myself you know!"
Kyogre just huffed and turned her shoulder, beginning the test. If Groudon had no class at all, he would've laughed at her humorous difficulty turning due to her sea type characteristics. Yet he held it in, for a reason that was to himself.
His eyes fell to the paper in front of him with words in a size too small to see without squinting. The test had already begun so he forced himself to keep his emotions locked up inside of him, unless he wanted to attract the attention of every legend in the hall.
Unable to concentrate, he glanced up at the crowd around him. All the legendaries, now ink pens either in hand or held by psychic powers, were scribbling away at their papers. An occasional creak of a table or scratch of a changed answer was all that reverberated through the room. Palkia broke the silence with a rather defeated fist slam on his table, getting frustrated over the questions in front of him. Arceus gave him a stern look and everything returned to the way it was.
The room was about half and half on who could deal with the test and who couldn't. It was obvious he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Him along with Kyogre, who desperately tried her best, couldn't score much better than a 60. They truly were two of the numbskulls in the room. Palkia was the only other close to their level. In fact, he shared very similar views on the test as Groudon: annoying, unnecessary, and gratuitous. But at least he decided to show up, unlike Rayquaza, who never seems to show up on exam day. In the few instances where he has (most likely by command), he still always manages to sneak out before it starts, no matter what Arceus entreats.
He looked back to Kyogre, who judging by the expression wrought on her face, she wasn't having much luck. The battle between them before the test started probably didn't help things either. The longer he looked at her, the more his heart began to sink.
Counterparts are supposed to get along. That was no secret. It was designed by Arceus that way, but there had obviously been some holes in his logic between him and Kyogre. To him it was simple. They were meant to be separate; like same sided magnets, pushing away from each other at every word. It wasn't like they were too different, but rather they were too similar to one another. Both of them had aggressive attitudes and deride personalities that worked perfectly... if perfect meant keeping them apart.
But in Groudon's heart, he wished for them to be together. He would never admit it out loud, but something about her attitude, and ability to counter against anything he put out was appealing to him. He enjoyed the conversations they had... maybe not all of them, but subliminally they left him liking Kyogre as more than a friend. He felt a deeper connection, one that stretched the boundaries of being close friends. The one that made his heart race and glow radiantly. The only issue with his theory, was that he had no clue if she shared the same fondness towards him as he did. The more he questioned it, the more he felt she didn't connect with him the same way. Kyogre was always one to grab life by the horns and do her best at anything she tried. Unfortunately for him, he found a way to always procrastinate until the very last minute. Maybe he wasn't as bad as Rayquaza, but he certainly had his difficulties.
He cringed. It was a constant thought in his head, and he never found a solution. The conversations between them had only grown more tiresome, with each becoming progressively less appealing, but rather hostile. Perhaps if he told someone, they could offer advice on how to better the situation. But that was another one of his problems. Groudon only wished he could muster up the courage to tell someone about how he really felt towards Kyogre. He considered who would be the best legendary to tell. Someone trustworthy and genuine, unlike Raikou who wouldn't twist his words around comically and make it seem like he was all mushy.
The three legend cats, Raikou, Suicune, and Entei, were all completely different, but neither seemed like good pokemon to talk to. Raikou as previously mentioned would jump on the opportunity to stir up drama within the legendaries. It was just the role he played, and it irked him to death. Suicune somehow found something in the feline legend and they had been together for a long time now. She wasn't like her irritating counterpart, but wouldn't be much of a help to his predicament either. Then there was Entei who seemed like the dad of the council, and asking him felt more demeaning than anything.
Then there was Lugia and Ho-oh, who maybe could offer advice. Celebi didn't seem educated on the matter that much; Rayquaza was rarely ever around and he didn't want to bring the third counterpart into the mix, Mew… just no.
Giritina... Darkrai... Cresellia…
Suddenly a flash of white shot across the room followed in suit by another as both put their papers down on Arceus's platform. Oh Arceus, those two almost made me scream, Groudon thought to himself, startled by their sudden movement.
"HA! I beat you this time!" Latios said in triumph as he celebrated noisily.
"Aw come on you know I let you win the race to the table this time.", "Ah ah ah, I can't hear you. I won fair and square", "Well we'll have to see who got more right than wrong then, won't we?", "Humph, well I assure you, I'll do just as good as you. Just you watch..."
Groudon shared a glare with Arceus looking at the two eon dragons. Their jumbled banter quickly stopped once they realized they commotion they were making, and quietly continued down the hall before they finally exited the building. The golden door behind them closed with a metal click, before their distant voices raised once more. He looked up towards the clock. Not even 3 minutes past the beginning of the test and they were already finished and gone. Latias... Latios. Somehow, those two managed to make him envious beyond belief. If there were legends on the complete opposite side of the scale from him, it would be them. They scored flying colors with each test they turned in, and managed to complete them in record time too. It was something that was unimaginable before they joined the legend council all those years ago. Even Arceus couldn't believe it when they first took the exam.
Groudon once again looked back towards his paper. He hadn't written a single thing and his time was ticking. He could only assume they got their natural intelligence through their incredible psychic ability. Out of all of the legendaries, between each other they shared the most amount of psychic talent out of any other legends on the council; perhaps even surpassing Arceus himself. And they were still considered 'young'. Every time the exam came around, it was a contest between them. Who could finish the fastest with the best solutions to the problems. Latias had been the quicker one for quite some time but apparently Latios had found a way to out-play her. He chuckled under his breath. Despite Latios finishing first, he wagered Latias would win the award for most answered correctly.
But then, in his perception, the image of Latios and Latias flying out the door came back to him. Their fingers entwined. His amused smile turned upside down. Not only were they gifted with raw intelligence for asinine tasks like this, but they were unbreakable lovers. You couldn't separate those two if you built a brick wall between them. They made love seem so easy. Like learning to ride a bike as the human saying goes. To him, it was more like riding a unicycle while pedaling with your hands. If their light hearted whispers to each other during meetings and constant laughing between them wasn't an indication about their feelings, Groudon didn't know what was.
He resisted the urge to ball up his fist and slam it down as Palkia had done. Ugh what did he do to deserve this. He threw a quick look in Kyogre's direction. Luckily she was too focused on her own test that she didn't notice his gaze. What did he need to do to show her he loved her...
But his attention returned to the paper.
...and what did he need to do in order to pass this damn test.
30 more minutes came and went, each minute passing by slower than the last. Groudon still stared at his blank paper. All 20 questions were clean and unmarked. Every legendary aside from the continent and sea basin legendaries had finished and taken off, reminding Groudon each time the door swung back shut. Lucky them, Groudon thought to himself… thinking was all he had done the entire test.
He mentally scoffed himself. What's wrong with me he said stuffing his hands into his face. Just write some random answers like you always do! You're making a fool of yourself.
Even though Kyogre was fully focused on her test, she could easily sense her counterpart's anguish next to her. The sea basin legend grabbed her completed exam and turned to him.
"What's wrong with you Groudon? You haven't been yourself all day. It's just a test, finish it and get out of here okay!"
Groudon was a little taken back by her sudden comment. It was the first sound other than his own thoughts that coursed through his mind in quite awhile. He simply looked up at her and back down to his paper. Since when did she care about him? Internally he groaned, knowing he should just come clean... He was still thinking about her.
Come on Groudon, stop thinking about something that could've been solved a millennia ago. Just finish the test and you can think about that later.
The golden doors closed one last time leaving just Groudon and the big man himself all alone in the legends council. Arceus had been glaring at Groudon for the past few minutes and finally stepped down from his high pedestal and confronted him.
"Groudon. You don't seem to be having much luck with this test."
Dammit, look what you've done to yourself.
"Yeah, this one's pretty hard Arceus. I'm sorry."
Arceus sighed, shaking his head.
"Groudon, that's the same test you took last time. You got a 40 percent on that so you should at least know some of them. But it seems like you haven't answered one."
The continent legendary simply looked back towards his paper. Had he seriously been scanning the same test he took last time? Now he looked like an even bigger moron.
Arceus kept his sympathetic look trained on Groudon. His unwavering stare kept Groudon's eyes focused on a very interesting spot on the floor, not wanting to make eye contact again until he spoke.
For Arceus, words weren't necessary yet as he picked up the paper from under Groudon's downward gaze. He sighed once more and gilded back to his pillar where he put his exam off on a stack of its own. Looking contemplatively at Groudon, he called for his attention.
The continent pokemon focused on the qilin. Ugh, here we go.
"I hope you know in all of your attempts, you've failed to score a passing grade... are you aware too?"
As much as he hated to admit it, he nodded. What was this, guilt for not trying?
You did this to yourself. How about you take Kyogre's advice next time and actually prepare.
He shook the rebellious thought out of his head and looked back up to Arceus.
"I will try harder next time."
Arceus wasn't buying it, and neither was he. How could he get better if all he's been doing is getting worse?
"Groudon. I think I need to give you a little... motivation, so that you are compelled to try next time."
"Motivation?" Groudon hated to think of what this could be but kept his attention.
"Yes. This exam is an important part of being a legendary whether you think so or not. Each question is a possible real life situation in which you would need to react. If you can't come up with a right solution here in the council, what makes you think you will make the right one out in the heat of the moment? Do I need to remind you of the time you and Kyogre almost destroyed all of Hoenn?"
Arceus had a good point. He remembered getting a little hot when Kyogre splashed water in his face. It all tumbled down hill before finally they realized they should stop… but only after a giant storm covered almost all of the region.
"...Groudon, I want you to be the best legendary you can be, for the sake of pokemon and people around the world. So I will have you come in privately three days from now to re-take this same test."
"But we don't even have a council meeting that day!"
"Groudon!" Arceus shouted over his feeble outburst.
"As I was saying, you will return in 3 days to retake the test. I am requiring you to get a passing grade on it, or your admittance on the council may not be needed any longer."
Groudon's face took a plunge downwards as his mouth fell open. The falling motion of his jaw matched the feeling he felt in his gut.
Your admittance on the council may not be needed any longer... he's going to throw me off the council?
Groudon couldn't believe his ears. He was one of the original members of the council and had been with it since it's initiation. How could he just be thrown off because of a stupid test!
"Now if you would like to pass the exam and stay on the council, my suggestion is to try. If you only put a small amount of effort into it, that still should be enough for you to pass."
Arceus turned away and opened the gate to the back room of the council.
"I really hope you do the smart thing. This council is comprised of legendaries who are willing to try and be the best they can."
"Rayquaza hasn't even taken one test! This is unfair!" Groudon finally blurted out, yelling through disbelief and anguish.
"Rayquaza whether you like it or not, has his own way for making up his missed tests. I will see you here in three days time."
The hinged door creaked to a close and silently, Groudon sat in solitude.
Mr. motivation can be a ***** sometimes…
Groudon's proud, slightly arrogant demeanor had been crushed. He sat in a pool of sweat and nervousness. How could Arceus even suggest such a thing... he was just bluffing, yeah he's not really going to kick him off the council.
But whether Groudon wanted to realize it or not, the fact of the matter was that he never tried. Almost everything he's done on the council has been with Kyogre and she usually ended up performing the task more fully than he did. This test only magnified his torpidness.
He fell backwards off of his seat and onto the shining marble floor below. He didn't even wallow in the pain of hitting his head, but instead remained dormant where he lay. Kicked off the legends council because of a test. Gone from a test... a simple test. Arceus's decision ran through his mind, circling over and over and over like there was a wheel rolling in his head. Voices of the rest of the council members laughed in his head, upon hearing his failing grades finally got him deranked. It could either be he cared about his seat on the council, or he hit his head really hard.
Groudon opened his eyes, seeing the world from a reversed perspective. He got distracted for a moment as he looked up at the floor. He noticed how it shined in the light that beamed through the window panes lining the council walls. It's glossy texture and smoothness could rival any floor anywhere on the globe. Arceus does a good job keeping up on it, he smirked, imagining the quilin wearing an apron and cleaning floors. But somehow the image of Arceus faded and Kyogre returned to his mind. It's like no matter what he thought, she always made her way back into his mind. But the thought of her did beg the question: what would Kyogre think when she finds out he's been kicked off the council for not trying hard enough on a test.
She probably wouldn't be all too surprised.
"Rrgh shut up" Groudon muttered to himself under his breath. This was not working. He needed serious help if he was going to muster up the courage to pass this 'important' test.
He was about to get up and drag himself to the golden doors when perhaps by mere coincidence, they instead opened up to greet him. He observed a figure moving into the room before closing the doors behind. Who is that? A robber? Did someone forget something?
He rose to his feet and looked at the serpentine standing in the doorway, cracking his knuckles as he scoured the room in a direction opposite to where he was. "Rayquaza?"
It was a quiet remark, but enough to startle the basilisk to no end, as he threw his hands up in surprise. The items he held in his hand levitated in the air for a moment before crashing back down to the ground with a clash. Liquid poured out of a container and the stick like object he carried spiraled down the center of the hall.
"Oh Arceus. Groudon, what the hell are you doing here?"
He fixed his yellow eyed glare at Groudon, none to impressed with his surprise appearance.
"...oh, I guess I was just leaving. What's your business here?"
Rayquaza was breathing heavily, recuperating from his near scare, but soon his disposition turned into rage as he looked at the mess he made.
"Ugh dammit! That's going to be fun to clean up. No seriously Groudon, why the hell are you here? You all were supposed to be gone an hour ago!"
"Finishing up my test." Groudon said sternly now. He wasn't in the cheeriest of moods, and fighting his supposed-to-be counterpart would be nice to vent his frustration… but his tension slowly decreased as he realized, now probably wasn't the best time to get in an argument. Similarly Rayquaza cooled hearing Groudon's explanation, perplexed by what he had heard.
"You were seriously still taking it? How hard was the damn thing!"
Had it really been that long since Kyogre left? She's probably wondering what's keeping... Oh stop it! Get a hold of yourself.
He shook his head once again, clearing the thought from his mind.
"It doesn't matter, I'm leaving."
He walked past the mumbling serpent and opened the doors, letting the sun's warm rays revitalize him. The feeling was a much needed one for his spirits as he stepped outside the building. He was close to shutting the door behind him when he noticed the emerald dragon picking up his bucket and mop. Groudon's eyes widened as he realized why exactly he was here. He was here to clean the council building.
While Groudon put the image of Rayquaza in an apron this time, he couldn't muster up a smirk. This must be what Arceus was referring to on 'his' way of paying off his missed tests. But it made himself feel even worse.
Rayquaza was actually responsible for something, and yet he still couldn't lift a finger to anything meaningful he put effort into.
The doors clunked shut, finally for him this time. He prepared to leave the council hall, resting atop the clouds. He felt the summer breeze sweep across his chest as he lifted his head to the afternoon sun. It sure did feel nice for the pitiful experience he was going through now. Kyogre probably had made plans by now to go out with some of the other legendaries on the council. He'd be all alone back at the bank of Mt. Chimney.
He reflected on everything that just occurred. The test, his unwavering love, Arceus's threat... those eon dragons.
The realization of what he had just considered hit him. He had two needs right now. He needed someone to tell about Kyogre, but more importantly he needed someone to help him pass the exam in 3 days. Who better than the genius lovebirds themselves? That would be a bit of a problem though. He needed some sort of a connection with them to talk about his... situation.
At this point, he may have talked to either one of them maybe 5 times, mainly Latios. Latios was always someone easy to bring up in conversation during bro talks with some of the other male legendaries but he never really talked face to face with him before. Latias was a whole different story, as he believed the only time he's even said a word to her is a forced hello greeting. He nervously shuffled his feet on the platform as he imagined the scene of him showing up on their front door saying he loves Kyogre.
Will you move past that.
He drowned his sub-conscience for the umpteenth time and re-focused on the more pending problem. He just needed some help on how to pass the exam. There would be nothing awkward about showing up to ask them questions about that.
It was set. But a grumble erupted from his chest. He was hungry.
It wasn't too surprising seeing how he had only eaten breakfast this morning before rushing out to patrol Mt. Chimney before the dreaded council meeting.
"Okay" Groudon spoke to himself defeated. "I'll stay at home for the night and visit them in the morning. By the time I get there it'll be late anyways."
He entered a depression in the clouds, where gradually the white cotton balls faded to pastel browns and grays of a cave wall. The wormhole. In a few moments, his feet were on dry land, just below the council. Thank Palkia for the convenient way for legendaries such as himself who didn't have the ability to levitate or fly, to get to the council hall. Otherwise it'd be a tough challenge making it up alone.
Another struggling legendary proving his worth to the council.
He hung his head and breathed a sigh. It was decided. He would take a trip to quickly ask the eon dragons about their secrets and prepare during the coming days. But Kyogre kept squirming at his mind. No matter how hard he suppressed her, the image never faded, but seemed to grow even more.
If you're reading this, thanks for reading my first full fanfiction. I'm thoroughly impressed with my abilities throughout this write, but if you have any critiques or suggestions for how I should improve my writing, feel free to leave a review, send a pm, or offer a comment below. Otherwise, keep a lookout for some of my stuff in the future. I plan on continuing to post here, but my main upload center will likely be fanfiction.net. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!