DarkerShining
Well-Known Member
Chapter 42: Brought to you by DarkerShining and Santos the Delibird
Sike Saner: Thanks for your reply! Guess you like Azure and Kala, huh? I personally find those two fun to write for as well. What do you think about the story in general? I'd like to hear (well, more like read, but you get the idea) more of your thoughts!
Anyways, it's time for another new chapter!
This chapter took a bit longer than I expected, but at least it didn't take as long as some of the previous chapters that took longer than expected. I've also got a question for you guys:
If you were to pick a name for one of these chapters, what would you name it?
You've all probably noticed that I name my chapters after a line of dialogue from said chapter, which can lead to some odd chapter names. If this wasn't how I was going about it, what do you think would've been good names for some of the previous chapters?
I guess it might be a bit of a strange question, but whatever. If you happen to have any thoughts on it, or you have any other thoughts relating to the chapter/story/characters, feel free to leave a review/comment!
Thanks to everyone has been following the story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Chapter 42: However, I just can’t bring myself to tell him the truth…
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Santos the Delibird was running as fast as his small feet could carry him, carrying his bag-like tail containing letters and today’s newspaper behind him. The sun only just starting to rise, but Santos had already been up and running around for a while. He was on his way to Fenix Town, with an important letter for the town oracle. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and glanced at his tail.
“Those two ladies sure have me going back and forth between Fenix Town and Silver Woods a lot…” Santos muttered, sighing. “It’s quite the distance for someone who can’t teleport, but I have to do my best anyways…”
Santos smiled and nodded his head slightly.
“Yes, that’s right… After all, it is my duty to deliver news and letters for everyone,” Santos said, looking up at the sky. “Keeping the Pokémon informed of what is happening and delivering the letters that bring smiles to their faces… That is what a mailmon does!”
Santos smirked, and confidently struck a pose.
“It is… my destiny!” Santos shouted proudly, before he started moving again.
Santos kept a cocky grin on his face as he kept on running.
“No matter how far away the recipient of the letter is, I will certainly get there! Obstacles in the way won’t stop me; I’ll just find a way past them! And if I run into any wild Pokémon that look interested in eating me for breakfast, I’ll run away from them as fast as I can since I am in no way strong enough to last in a fight against them, and I won’t lose a single letter in the process!”
After a few moments, Santos found himself having to stop to catch his breath once more.
“Probably… shouldn’t yell so much… while running,” Santos muttered, chuckling sheepishly. “Well, just a little further now! Let’s keep going!”
Things were getting brighter as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky, and soon, it would be another busy morning for the Pokémon of Fenix Town.
----
Blitz, Sera, Chiaki, Azure and Frederick were among the rescue teams making their preparations for today’s missions in the town plaza. Since they hadn’t actually done any missions for the past two days, they figured it was time to get some work done. Azure still couldn’t use any of her water attacks, so Frederick would be taking her place for today’s missions.
“Don’t worry, Frederick,” Azure said, patting the young Deino on the back. “You’ll do just fine.”
“I’ll do my best,” Frederick responded, nodding his head slightly. “Although… if I’m filling in for you today, do I have to act like you…?”
“No, that’s not necessary,” Azure replied, chuckling a little. “Just do things your way.”
“Oh, good,” Frederick responded, sighing in relief. “Because I don’t have that same confidence you have when it comes to fighting, exploring and stuff…”
“You just need more experience, buddy,” Azure said, grinning. “Eventually, you’ll be radiating so much confidence that even the meanest, biggest outlaws wouldn’t dare challenge you!”
“Wow… You really think I could pull that off?” Frederick asked, blushing slightly. “In that case… I’ll definitely become more confident and live up to your expectations!”
“Ooh, I like the sound of that!” Azure responded. “You and me, we’d become an unbeatable team!”
“Y-Yeah!” Frederick replied, nodding his head and trying to look more confident.
Sera walked up to Blitz, who was looking over and trying to sort the items that they currently had with them.
“So... Think we got everything we need?” Sera asked, looking at the bag containing their items.
“At least we have a good selection of items for missions in general,” Blitz responded, nodding to Sera. “However, we may need to swap a few things out depending on what type of mission we take…”
“I see,” Sera replied, nodding her head slightly.
“Hey, look!” Chiaki said, pointing to a familiar Gothitelle walking into the town plaza. “It’s Stella!”
“May I have everyone’s attention?” Stella asked.
The Pokémon of the rescue teams present in the town plaza exchanged a few curious glances, before gathering around Stella. They hoped that their town oracle had good news for them.
“I have received a letter from Samara,” Stella said, smiling. “She has prepared some spells that can reverse the effects of the spells Erebos cast on some of the Pokémon living in our town.”
A few of the Pokémon in the crowd could be heard cheering loudly, while others just started excitedly chatting amongst themselves.
“Yes, I’ll be able to use my water attacks again!” Azure said, grinning.
“Hercules is going to be okay now…” Blitz said, sighing in relief.
Stella cleared her throat, motioning to the crowd that she wasn’t finished. The other Pokémon stopped talking and listened to Stella as she continued talking.
“A rescue team needs to head to Silver Woods,” Stella explained. “She believes it might be risky for her to make the journey here herself, so she wishes for a rescue team to bring her here via rescue team badge.”
“I see,” Mirage commented, rubbing her chin. “Unfortunately, Cordyceps is still not in much of a condition for missions, so my team can’t go.”
A few of the rescue teams began discussing amongst themselves whether to accept the mission or not. However, to everyone’s surprise, Blitz suddenly took a step forward.
“My team will accept the mission,” Blitz said, bowing in front of Stella. “Please, let us take this mission.”
Stella seemed surprised at this, but just smiled and nodded her head.
“Very well,” Stella responded. “I’ll leave it to you.”
“Thanks, Stella,” Blitz replied, smiling back at her. “We will leave for Silver Woods once we’ve finished our preparations.”
“Good,” Stella responded, nodding her head. “You may run into some tough bug-type Pokémon in the mystery dungeon, but other than that, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting through it at your current level.”
Stella began walking back to her house, and the other rescue teams went back to what they were doing before Stella showed up. Blitz and his teammates finished up their preparations before heading to the rescue team HQ.
“You really want to help Hercules, don’t you?” Chiaki asked, smiling at Blitz.
“Well… It’s the least I can do for him, really,” Blitz responded, glancing over at Azure. “Of course, I want to help Azure, Mirage and Cordyceps as well.”
“Of course you do,” Azure replied, nodding. “Still, was kind of surprising to see you take charge like that. Not that I’m complaining!”
“I’m kind of worried about those bug Pokémon that Stella mentioned,” Frederick said. “I’m part dark type, so I may not be the best Pokémon for this mission…”
“You’ll do fine,” Azure replied, patting the Deino on the back. “Remember what we talked about earlier?”
“Uh… Confidence…?” Frederick responded, tilting his head slightly.
“Exactly,” Azure replied, grinning. “Show those bug types that you’re not scared of them!”
“Oh, I’m not scared of bug types,” Frederick responded, shaking his head. “I just don’t know how well I can fight them, is all…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Azure replied. “If you’re just confident enough, you can just march on through without a worry because the bug types would flee at the mere sight of you!”
“Huh, is that so?” Frederick responded, thinking for a few moments. “… Would that work on ghost types too?”
“Sure it would!” Azure replied, nodding. “So, get out there with Blitz and the others, and bring Samara here so that I can use my water attacks again!”
“Okay, Azure,” Frederick responded, smiling. “I’ll try my best to be confident for you!”
The five of them entered the room behind the purple curtain, and as usual had to wake up the sleeping Abra inside if they wanted to go anywhere.
“Kala, wake up,” Blitz said, shaking her lightly.
“You can’t fly either…” Kala muttered in her sleep, before opening her eyes slightly. “… Oh, it’s you guys.”
“Kala, please send us to Silver Woods,” Blitz said, as Sera, Chiaki and Frederick gathered around him.
“Silver Woods…?” Kala muttered, before nodding her head slightly. “All right, got it…”
“Good luck, guys!” Azure said, waving good-bye as Blitz, Sera, Chiaki and Frederick were teleported out of the room in a flash of light.
----
At last, Blitz, Sera and Chiaki finally got to see Silver Woods for themselves, after hearing Stella’s descriptions of it in the story about Cassandra. The silver-colored grass, bushes and leaves on the trees were shimmering brightly in the light that made it through the branches of the tallest trees. From the looks of things, the forest hadn’t changed much from the time when Cassandra used to visit it in order to see Pandora.
“Wow… No wonder this place is called “Silver Woods”,” Chiaki commented, staring in awe.
“It really does have a mystical feel to it, doesn’t it?” Sera said, looking over at Blitz.
“Yeah, it does,” Blitz responded, nodding his head. “I wonder what makes the plants like this.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Frederick said, sniffing the air. “Hmm… For some reason, I expected this place to be chillier…”
Blitz looked around, and noticed the entrance to the mystery dungeon. He walked up to it, and his teammates soon followed.
“Samara’s house is just past this mystery dungeon, isn’t it?” Sera asked.
“Yes, I believe it is,” Blitz responded, nodding his head. “Come on, let’s go!”
Blitz and his teammates entered the maze, and found themselves on the first floor. With Blitz leading the way, they began exploring the dungeon. For the first few floors, none of them really said anything. They only exchanged a few words during the occasional fight against a wild Pokémon, or when trying to decide on which direction to go next. Blitz kept his eyes on the path in front of them, focused on getting through the dungeon as soon as possible. After all, the sooner they reached the exit, the sooner they would get to Samara’s house.
As they got to the seventh floor, Chiaki noticed something as he glanced up at the trees.
“Hey… Something is wrong with those leaves,” Chiaki said, pointing at one of the trees.
Blitz and Sera looked up, to see the leaves on one of the lower branches of a tree seemingly flickering in and out of existence.
“So, the distortions have spread to this place too…” Blitz said, staring up at the tree.
“Distortions have been appearing in more places recently,” Sera commented, looking at her teammates. “That’s what it says in the newspapers, according to Amethyst.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it for now,” Blitz said. “Let’s keep moving.”
As they kept exploring, Chiaki found himself wondering just how many areas were affected by the distortions by now. Would it soon become a serious problem? He couldn’t help but worry about it. The distortions would only continue to spread and grow until all eight crystals were found and returned to Axis Tower.
“When the crystals are returned, will they restore the balance instantly, or does it take time for them to do that?” Chiaki quietly wondered.
“Are we there yet?” Frederick asked, following behind the other three Pokémon.
“No, we’re not even halfway yet,” Blitz responded, glancing behind him.
“Oh, okay,” Frederick replied, nodding his head slightly.
----
Meanwhile, back in Fenix Town, Elina was sitting by herself under a tree in a secluded part of the town. Her arms were resting on top of her short legs, and she looked to be rather conflicted. The little green Pokémon suddenly felt a familiar presence nearby, and turned to see a bigger, brown alien-like Pokémon hovering over to her. Elina’s mood lightened as she got up and approached the older Pokémon.
“Father, why are you here again?” Elina asked via telepathy.
“I miss you, and I thought I’d come check to see how you were doing over here,” Eltanin responded, hugging his daughter. “It seems you’ve learned to communicate via telepathy since the last time I was here?”
“Yes,” Elina replied, nodding her head. “I’ve been receiving lessons from one of the psychic types living in this town.”
“That is good to hear,” Eltanin responded. “I am very proud of you, my little girl.”
“Thanks, father,” Elina replied, seeming rather pleased. “I can converse with another Pokémon this way, but I need to keep improving so that I may communicate with multiple Pokémon at once.”
“I know you can do it,” Eltanin responded, nodding his head. “Now that you’ve gotten this far, you shouldn’t have much difficulty with that.”
“I see,” Elina replied, looking away.
“Elina, you seem troubled,” Eltanin said, tilting his head slightly. “Is something bothering you?”
“Chiaki…” Elina thought, still looking away from her father.
“Ah, right,” Eltanin responded, putting a hand on Elina’s shoulder. “That young Mienfoo… he still doesn’t know the truth, does he?”
“Now that I can communicate via telepathy, I am capable of answering his questions regarding his true identity,” Elina explained. “However, I just can’t bring myself to tell him the truth…”
“Well, it might be best to keep the truth from him just a little longer,” Eltanin responded, crossing his arms. “If nothing else, it’ll keep him safe for now.”
“I suppose…” Elina replied, staring down at the ground.
“So, from what I have heard, four of the crystals have been found so far, correct?” Eltanin asked.
“That is correct,” Elina responded, nodding her head slightly.
“Good to hear,” Eltanin replied, seeming pleased with this news. “That means you will be returning home soon, won’t you?”
“Well… I suppose when all crystals are gathered, then yes…” Elina responded, looking up at her father. “But… I just don’t know if I’ll be strong enough… when the time comes…”
“You’ve known all along that that day will have to come,” Eltanin replied, hugging his daughter tightly. “There’s not much more you can do about it, other than what needs to be done.”
“I know…” Elina responded, hugging back. “I… I just… I want to stay friends with Chiaki, for just a little longer…!”
----
Blitz and his teammates continued making their way through the mystery dungeon, fighting off wild Pokémon and collecting items on the ground as they went along. At the fifteenth floor, they decided to take a short break before continuing on. While Frederick was happily eating some apples, Blitz decided to look over their supplies to make sure they still had a good amount of items to help them get through the rest of the mystery dungeon. Chiaki was sitting underneath one of the trees, quietly wondering what Samara was like.
So far, he knew that she was Stella’s pen pal and good with magic. Oh, and that she was really old. Probably much older than most Pokémon he had met.
“Hmm… I wonder how old I am…” Chiaki thought to himself.
Blitz closed the lid on the treasure bag and looked over at his teammates.
“All right, everyone ready to move on?” Blitz asked.
His teammates nodded their heads in agreement and so they began exploring once more. As they made their way through the next few floors, Sera couldn’t help but wonder just how Blitz was feeling right now. Even though he had difficulty accepting his natural leadership skills, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood at all. Then again, it was probably because he was focused on getting Samara over to Fenix Town as soon as possible so she could help Hercules, Azure, Mirage and Cordyceps. That was his main priority at the moment.
“He was like this when we went to rescue Bow as well,” Sera thought to herself. “He’s able to take the lead without hesitation because a friend needs his help.”
Sera couldn’t help but watch Blitz with admiration as he confidently led the group through the floors of the mystery dungeon. However, even if he had pushed those worries aside for now, they were still there, weren’t they?
“I wonder if there’s anything I can do for him that would make him worry less,” Sera thought to herself. “I… want to tell him that… instead of going back to Lightning Plateau and becoming the leader of the Luxray pride, he should stay in Fenix Town with me and the others!”
Sera smiled for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head.
“Nah, it’s not that simple…” Sera thought, her ears drooping down slightly. “He’d just look at me weird…”
Sera glanced at Chiaki and Frederick who were following behind her, wondering whether to ask either of them about it. However, she decided against it, figuring that they wouldn’t know what to do either. Maybe she could ask one of her older siblings for advice? Or maybe she could ask Stella? Or perhaps this was something she had to figure out on her own?
“Are we there yet?” Frederick asked.
“There’s not much longer to go,” Blitz responded, glancing back at his teammates. “Just a few more floors…”
The four of them kept making their way through the remaining floors; however, it seemed that a particularly strong wild Pokémon intended to keep them from reaching the final set of stairs. A big, purple moth-like Pokémon flitted about the room with the stairs, whipping up gusts of wind blowing powdery silver-colored scales at the rescue team as they tried getting close enough to fight back.
“Ugh… Its Silver Wind attack is making it stronger…” Blitz muttered, glancing around at his teammates. “We have to take it down quickly…”
“Do we have any items?” Chiaki asked, using Detect to try to avoid the attacks. “Like, a Sleep Seed or X-Eye Seed to make it stop attacking?”
“… Yes, there’s a Sleep Seed in here,” Blitz said, looking through the items. “However, I can’t hit the Venomoth from this angle…”
“Leave it to me!” Chiaki responded, running over and pulling the seed out from the bag.
“Hurry up…” Frederick groaned. “I’m no good against bug-types, you know… I can’t take too many more attacks like these…”
“Let’s put a stop to the attacks for a bit, then!” Chiaki said, flinging the seed at the Venomoth.
However, the Venomoth was completely unaffected by it.
“No way…” Blitz said, his eyes widening slightly. “Don’t tell me… It has the Nonsleeper IQ skill?”
“Uh… What’s that again?” Chiaki asked, quickly ducking out of the way as the Venomoth swiftly came swooping down and tried to tackle him.
“Do we have any other way of stopping its attacks?” Sera asked, looking over at Blitz while using her Helping Hand move to lend her teammates more attack power.
As Blitz searched through the bag for another item that could hopefully stop the Venomoth in its tracks, Frederick quietly listened as Chiaki and Sera kept the Venomoth distracted.
“Just be confident…” Frederick muttered to himself.
Frederick took a deep breath, before firing a purple fireball from his mouth. Luckily for Frederick, the Venomoth happened to be in just the right position to take a direct hit from the Dragon Breath attack. The Venomoth twitched slightly as it fell to the ground, trying to get back into the air.
“Ah, nicely done, Frederick!” Blitz exclaimed, grinning. “All right, let’s take it down before it can attack again!”
With the combined power of the four, the Venomoth soon went down. Together, the four of them exited the mystery dungeon.
“We made it,” Blitz said, sighing in relief.
“Samara’s house should be around here somewhere, right?” Chiaki asked, looking around.
From behind a tree, Malefica giggled softly as she glanced down at the four Pokémon. The Misdreavus then quietly floated down towards the other Pokémon, trying her best not to laugh as she moved closer to Frederick. Once she had gotten close up to the young dragon, she took a deep breath, and…
“Hey, who’s that?” Chiaki asked, having just turned around and noticed the Misdreavus.
“Aw, you ruined it!” Malefica said, pouting.
“Ah, who was that!?” Frederick exclaimed, turning around. “Whose voice was that!?”
“Oh, look at that!” Malefica said, smiling triumphantly. “I did scare him after all! Yay!”
“Um… Are you perhaps Samara’s apprentice?” Blitz asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked up at the Misdreavus.
“That’s right!” Malefica responded, giggling merrily. “I’m Malefica!”
“Ah, I see,” Blitz replied, nodding his head. “We’re here to see Samara. Can you take us to her?”
“Ooh, yes! No problem!” Malefica responded, hovering past the others. “Follow me!”
It only took a few moments before they finally spotted Samara’s house. As they followed Malefica inside, a Mismagius came to greet them.
“You must be the rescue team they sent,” Samara said, smiling warmly at her guests. “I am Samara. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Blitz responded, bowing politely. “I’m Blitz, and these are my teammates, Sera, Chiaki and Frederick.”
Samara just smiled and nodded her head, before picking up a basket full of various potions and scrolls.
“Let’s not waste any time,” Samara said, hovering over to the rescue team. “I have everything I need here. Take me to Fenix Town.”
“I’m coming along too!” Malefica exclaimed, giggling as she hovered above the heads of the rescue team members. “A town full of Pokémon to play tricks on… Malefica likes the sound of that!”
“Malefica…” Samara said, giving the younger ghost-type Pokémon a stern look. “We already talked about this, remember?”
“Nope!” Malefica responded, sticking her tongue out.
“Malefica!” Samara repeated, raising her voice a little this time.
“Oh, um… I had to promise that I’d behave myself, or something?” Malefica responded, smiling sheepishly.
“That’s right,” Samara replied, sighing. “If you can’t do that, I’m not bringing you along.”
“Well, if you don’t bring me along, then I’d be here by myself, wouldn’t I?” Malefica said, snickering. “I bet I could make this place really messy by the time you get back!”
“… Just promise you’ll behave,” Samara responded with an exasperated expression.
“All right, I promise!” Malefica replied, smiling.
“… I should probably ask Stella to help keep an eye on her, just in case,” Samara thought to herself, before turning back to the rescue team. “Sorry about that. We’re ready to go when you are.”
Blitz smiled and nodded his head, before holding up the rescue team badge. In a flash of golden light, the six of them were teleported out of the house. Upon appearing in Fenix Town, they were greeted by Stella and Bow.
“Samara, it’s been a while,” Stella said, smiling at the Mismagius.
“Yes, indeed,” Samara responded, nodding and smiling back. “It’s nice to see you again, Stella.”
“Hi, miss Samara!” Bow said, waving her hand.
“Oh, you’re Bow, aren’t you?” Samara responded, curiously looking over at the young Gothorita. “Last time I saw you, you were just a hatchling! My, you sure have grown!”
“Yeah, I guess I have!” Bow replied, smiling sweetly.
“And I assume that this is Malefica?” Stella said, pointing to the Misdreavus.
“That’s me!” Malefica responded, grinning. “Ooh, what has Samara told you about me in her letters? Tell me!”
“… Maybe later,” Stella replied, chuckling a little before looking over at Blitz and his teammates. “Blitz, everyone… Thanks for bringing Samara here.”
“No need to thank us,” Blitz responded, smiling and rubbing his forelegs together. “It’s just part of a rescue team’s job, after all.”
“And now Samara can undo Erebos’ spells, can’t she?” Chiaki asked, looking up at Samara.
“Indeed,” Samara responded, nodding her head. “I will also be putting a protective spell on the town to ensure that Erebos can’t come too close to it.”
“Ooh, a protective spell?” Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Yes,” Samara responded, smiling. “But first, I believe there are some Pokémon that require my help.”
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Blitz, Sera, Chiaki and Giselle watched as the faint purple glow around Hercules faded away, as Samara finished removing the curse that Erebos had cast on him. The Heracross soon opened his eyes, and glanced around at his surroundings. He blinked a few times in confusion as he realized where he was, and as he noticed the unfamiliar Mismagius.
“What… happened?” Hercules asked, looking around. “When did we get back here?”
“It worked!” Blitz said, happily jumping onto the bed and hugging Hercules.
“Yes, indeed,” Samara responded, nodding her head. “It seems the curse has been successfully removed.”
“Curse…?” Hercules inquired, petting Blitz. “I guess I’m missing something here.”
“I’m sure your apprentice can fill you in on the details,” Samara said, before looking over at Sera and Chiaki. “Where are the remaining two Pokémon requiring my assistance?”
“Ah, right,” Sera responded, looking over at Chiaki. “Come on, let’s go look for Mirage’s team.”
“Okay!” Chiaki replied, smiling and nodding his head.
Azure and Frederick had been waiting just outside Giselle’s office, the former being thrilled to be able to use her water attacks again and apparently having decided to celebrate by using her Bubble Beam attack to let a stream of bubbles float around the lobby of the rescue team HQ. As Chiaki, Sera and Samara exited Giselle’s office, Azure decided to stop for a moment in order to catch her breath.
“Hey guys,” Azure said, panting. “How’d it go?”
“He’s awake!” Chiaki responded, smiling.
“Great,” Azure replied, grinning. “And I’ve got my water attacks back, so I’m feeling pretty good!”
“I’m glad you’re back to normal, Azure,” Frederick commented, smiling.
“It’s all thanks to you guys and Samara,” Azure responded, winking. “I kind of feel I should repay you somehow!”
“That’s not necessary,” Samara replied, shaking her head. “I don’t need any reward.”
“You sure?” Azure asked. “I could probably get you some free berry juice at the café, or something.”
“No thanks,” Samara responded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more work to do.”
Sera, Chiaki and Samara left to look for Mirage and her teammates. Azure just shrugged and turned to Frederick.
“What about you, Frederick?” Azure said, grinning. “Wanna head over to the café with me?”
“Do I get free desserts…?” Frederick asked, with a hopeful smile.
“Sure, anything you want!” Azure responded, nodding. “I’m sure mom is okay with that, anyways!”
“Ah… Being confident really does pay off,” Frederick said, grinning.
“It certainly does!” Azure replied, chuckling. “Come on, let’s go!”
----
Elina was still sitting in the same place. Her father had been reluctant to return home so soon, but Elina insisted that she was okay on her own. She still felt conflicted, but at least she didn’t have to tell Chiaki the truth just yet. She wasn’t sure what she would say to him the next time the two of them met, though.
“Chiaki… is my friend...” Elina thought to herself, staring off into space. “But… I can’t keep thinking of him that way, can I…?”
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End of chapter 42
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Sike Saner: Thanks for your reply! Guess you like Azure and Kala, huh? I personally find those two fun to write for as well. What do you think about the story in general? I'd like to hear (well, more like read, but you get the idea) more of your thoughts!
Anyways, it's time for another new chapter!
This chapter took a bit longer than I expected, but at least it didn't take as long as some of the previous chapters that took longer than expected. I've also got a question for you guys:
If you were to pick a name for one of these chapters, what would you name it?
You've all probably noticed that I name my chapters after a line of dialogue from said chapter, which can lead to some odd chapter names. If this wasn't how I was going about it, what do you think would've been good names for some of the previous chapters?
I guess it might be a bit of a strange question, but whatever. If you happen to have any thoughts on it, or you have any other thoughts relating to the chapter/story/characters, feel free to leave a review/comment!
Thanks to everyone has been following the story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Chapter 42: However, I just can’t bring myself to tell him the truth…
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Santos the Delibird was running as fast as his small feet could carry him, carrying his bag-like tail containing letters and today’s newspaper behind him. The sun only just starting to rise, but Santos had already been up and running around for a while. He was on his way to Fenix Town, with an important letter for the town oracle. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and glanced at his tail.
“Those two ladies sure have me going back and forth between Fenix Town and Silver Woods a lot…” Santos muttered, sighing. “It’s quite the distance for someone who can’t teleport, but I have to do my best anyways…”
Santos smiled and nodded his head slightly.
“Yes, that’s right… After all, it is my duty to deliver news and letters for everyone,” Santos said, looking up at the sky. “Keeping the Pokémon informed of what is happening and delivering the letters that bring smiles to their faces… That is what a mailmon does!”
Santos smirked, and confidently struck a pose.
“It is… my destiny!” Santos shouted proudly, before he started moving again.
Santos kept a cocky grin on his face as he kept on running.
“No matter how far away the recipient of the letter is, I will certainly get there! Obstacles in the way won’t stop me; I’ll just find a way past them! And if I run into any wild Pokémon that look interested in eating me for breakfast, I’ll run away from them as fast as I can since I am in no way strong enough to last in a fight against them, and I won’t lose a single letter in the process!”
After a few moments, Santos found himself having to stop to catch his breath once more.
“Probably… shouldn’t yell so much… while running,” Santos muttered, chuckling sheepishly. “Well, just a little further now! Let’s keep going!”
Things were getting brighter as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky, and soon, it would be another busy morning for the Pokémon of Fenix Town.
----
Blitz, Sera, Chiaki, Azure and Frederick were among the rescue teams making their preparations for today’s missions in the town plaza. Since they hadn’t actually done any missions for the past two days, they figured it was time to get some work done. Azure still couldn’t use any of her water attacks, so Frederick would be taking her place for today’s missions.
“Don’t worry, Frederick,” Azure said, patting the young Deino on the back. “You’ll do just fine.”
“I’ll do my best,” Frederick responded, nodding his head slightly. “Although… if I’m filling in for you today, do I have to act like you…?”
“No, that’s not necessary,” Azure replied, chuckling a little. “Just do things your way.”
“Oh, good,” Frederick responded, sighing in relief. “Because I don’t have that same confidence you have when it comes to fighting, exploring and stuff…”
“You just need more experience, buddy,” Azure said, grinning. “Eventually, you’ll be radiating so much confidence that even the meanest, biggest outlaws wouldn’t dare challenge you!”
“Wow… You really think I could pull that off?” Frederick asked, blushing slightly. “In that case… I’ll definitely become more confident and live up to your expectations!”
“Ooh, I like the sound of that!” Azure responded. “You and me, we’d become an unbeatable team!”
“Y-Yeah!” Frederick replied, nodding his head and trying to look more confident.
Sera walked up to Blitz, who was looking over and trying to sort the items that they currently had with them.
“So... Think we got everything we need?” Sera asked, looking at the bag containing their items.
“At least we have a good selection of items for missions in general,” Blitz responded, nodding to Sera. “However, we may need to swap a few things out depending on what type of mission we take…”
“I see,” Sera replied, nodding her head slightly.
“Hey, look!” Chiaki said, pointing to a familiar Gothitelle walking into the town plaza. “It’s Stella!”
“May I have everyone’s attention?” Stella asked.
The Pokémon of the rescue teams present in the town plaza exchanged a few curious glances, before gathering around Stella. They hoped that their town oracle had good news for them.
“I have received a letter from Samara,” Stella said, smiling. “She has prepared some spells that can reverse the effects of the spells Erebos cast on some of the Pokémon living in our town.”
A few of the Pokémon in the crowd could be heard cheering loudly, while others just started excitedly chatting amongst themselves.
“Yes, I’ll be able to use my water attacks again!” Azure said, grinning.
“Hercules is going to be okay now…” Blitz said, sighing in relief.
Stella cleared her throat, motioning to the crowd that she wasn’t finished. The other Pokémon stopped talking and listened to Stella as she continued talking.
“A rescue team needs to head to Silver Woods,” Stella explained. “She believes it might be risky for her to make the journey here herself, so she wishes for a rescue team to bring her here via rescue team badge.”
“I see,” Mirage commented, rubbing her chin. “Unfortunately, Cordyceps is still not in much of a condition for missions, so my team can’t go.”
A few of the rescue teams began discussing amongst themselves whether to accept the mission or not. However, to everyone’s surprise, Blitz suddenly took a step forward.
“My team will accept the mission,” Blitz said, bowing in front of Stella. “Please, let us take this mission.”
Stella seemed surprised at this, but just smiled and nodded her head.
“Very well,” Stella responded. “I’ll leave it to you.”
“Thanks, Stella,” Blitz replied, smiling back at her. “We will leave for Silver Woods once we’ve finished our preparations.”
“Good,” Stella responded, nodding her head. “You may run into some tough bug-type Pokémon in the mystery dungeon, but other than that, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting through it at your current level.”
Stella began walking back to her house, and the other rescue teams went back to what they were doing before Stella showed up. Blitz and his teammates finished up their preparations before heading to the rescue team HQ.
“You really want to help Hercules, don’t you?” Chiaki asked, smiling at Blitz.
“Well… It’s the least I can do for him, really,” Blitz responded, glancing over at Azure. “Of course, I want to help Azure, Mirage and Cordyceps as well.”
“Of course you do,” Azure replied, nodding. “Still, was kind of surprising to see you take charge like that. Not that I’m complaining!”
“I’m kind of worried about those bug Pokémon that Stella mentioned,” Frederick said. “I’m part dark type, so I may not be the best Pokémon for this mission…”
“You’ll do fine,” Azure replied, patting the Deino on the back. “Remember what we talked about earlier?”
“Uh… Confidence…?” Frederick responded, tilting his head slightly.
“Exactly,” Azure replied, grinning. “Show those bug types that you’re not scared of them!”
“Oh, I’m not scared of bug types,” Frederick responded, shaking his head. “I just don’t know how well I can fight them, is all…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Azure replied. “If you’re just confident enough, you can just march on through without a worry because the bug types would flee at the mere sight of you!”
“Huh, is that so?” Frederick responded, thinking for a few moments. “… Would that work on ghost types too?”
“Sure it would!” Azure replied, nodding. “So, get out there with Blitz and the others, and bring Samara here so that I can use my water attacks again!”
“Okay, Azure,” Frederick responded, smiling. “I’ll try my best to be confident for you!”
The five of them entered the room behind the purple curtain, and as usual had to wake up the sleeping Abra inside if they wanted to go anywhere.
“Kala, wake up,” Blitz said, shaking her lightly.
“You can’t fly either…” Kala muttered in her sleep, before opening her eyes slightly. “… Oh, it’s you guys.”
“Kala, please send us to Silver Woods,” Blitz said, as Sera, Chiaki and Frederick gathered around him.
“Silver Woods…?” Kala muttered, before nodding her head slightly. “All right, got it…”
“Good luck, guys!” Azure said, waving good-bye as Blitz, Sera, Chiaki and Frederick were teleported out of the room in a flash of light.
----
At last, Blitz, Sera and Chiaki finally got to see Silver Woods for themselves, after hearing Stella’s descriptions of it in the story about Cassandra. The silver-colored grass, bushes and leaves on the trees were shimmering brightly in the light that made it through the branches of the tallest trees. From the looks of things, the forest hadn’t changed much from the time when Cassandra used to visit it in order to see Pandora.
“Wow… No wonder this place is called “Silver Woods”,” Chiaki commented, staring in awe.
“It really does have a mystical feel to it, doesn’t it?” Sera said, looking over at Blitz.
“Yeah, it does,” Blitz responded, nodding his head. “I wonder what makes the plants like this.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Frederick said, sniffing the air. “Hmm… For some reason, I expected this place to be chillier…”
Blitz looked around, and noticed the entrance to the mystery dungeon. He walked up to it, and his teammates soon followed.
“Samara’s house is just past this mystery dungeon, isn’t it?” Sera asked.
“Yes, I believe it is,” Blitz responded, nodding his head. “Come on, let’s go!”
Blitz and his teammates entered the maze, and found themselves on the first floor. With Blitz leading the way, they began exploring the dungeon. For the first few floors, none of them really said anything. They only exchanged a few words during the occasional fight against a wild Pokémon, or when trying to decide on which direction to go next. Blitz kept his eyes on the path in front of them, focused on getting through the dungeon as soon as possible. After all, the sooner they reached the exit, the sooner they would get to Samara’s house.
As they got to the seventh floor, Chiaki noticed something as he glanced up at the trees.
“Hey… Something is wrong with those leaves,” Chiaki said, pointing at one of the trees.
Blitz and Sera looked up, to see the leaves on one of the lower branches of a tree seemingly flickering in and out of existence.
“So, the distortions have spread to this place too…” Blitz said, staring up at the tree.
“Distortions have been appearing in more places recently,” Sera commented, looking at her teammates. “That’s what it says in the newspapers, according to Amethyst.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it for now,” Blitz said. “Let’s keep moving.”
As they kept exploring, Chiaki found himself wondering just how many areas were affected by the distortions by now. Would it soon become a serious problem? He couldn’t help but worry about it. The distortions would only continue to spread and grow until all eight crystals were found and returned to Axis Tower.
“When the crystals are returned, will they restore the balance instantly, or does it take time for them to do that?” Chiaki quietly wondered.
“Are we there yet?” Frederick asked, following behind the other three Pokémon.
“No, we’re not even halfway yet,” Blitz responded, glancing behind him.
“Oh, okay,” Frederick replied, nodding his head slightly.
----
Meanwhile, back in Fenix Town, Elina was sitting by herself under a tree in a secluded part of the town. Her arms were resting on top of her short legs, and she looked to be rather conflicted. The little green Pokémon suddenly felt a familiar presence nearby, and turned to see a bigger, brown alien-like Pokémon hovering over to her. Elina’s mood lightened as she got up and approached the older Pokémon.
“Father, why are you here again?” Elina asked via telepathy.
“I miss you, and I thought I’d come check to see how you were doing over here,” Eltanin responded, hugging his daughter. “It seems you’ve learned to communicate via telepathy since the last time I was here?”
“Yes,” Elina replied, nodding her head. “I’ve been receiving lessons from one of the psychic types living in this town.”
“That is good to hear,” Eltanin responded. “I am very proud of you, my little girl.”
“Thanks, father,” Elina replied, seeming rather pleased. “I can converse with another Pokémon this way, but I need to keep improving so that I may communicate with multiple Pokémon at once.”
“I know you can do it,” Eltanin responded, nodding his head. “Now that you’ve gotten this far, you shouldn’t have much difficulty with that.”
“I see,” Elina replied, looking away.
“Elina, you seem troubled,” Eltanin said, tilting his head slightly. “Is something bothering you?”
“Chiaki…” Elina thought, still looking away from her father.
“Ah, right,” Eltanin responded, putting a hand on Elina’s shoulder. “That young Mienfoo… he still doesn’t know the truth, does he?”
“Now that I can communicate via telepathy, I am capable of answering his questions regarding his true identity,” Elina explained. “However, I just can’t bring myself to tell him the truth…”
“Well, it might be best to keep the truth from him just a little longer,” Eltanin responded, crossing his arms. “If nothing else, it’ll keep him safe for now.”
“I suppose…” Elina replied, staring down at the ground.
“So, from what I have heard, four of the crystals have been found so far, correct?” Eltanin asked.
“That is correct,” Elina responded, nodding her head slightly.
“Good to hear,” Eltanin replied, seeming pleased with this news. “That means you will be returning home soon, won’t you?”
“Well… I suppose when all crystals are gathered, then yes…” Elina responded, looking up at her father. “But… I just don’t know if I’ll be strong enough… when the time comes…”
“You’ve known all along that that day will have to come,” Eltanin replied, hugging his daughter tightly. “There’s not much more you can do about it, other than what needs to be done.”
“I know…” Elina responded, hugging back. “I… I just… I want to stay friends with Chiaki, for just a little longer…!”
----
Blitz and his teammates continued making their way through the mystery dungeon, fighting off wild Pokémon and collecting items on the ground as they went along. At the fifteenth floor, they decided to take a short break before continuing on. While Frederick was happily eating some apples, Blitz decided to look over their supplies to make sure they still had a good amount of items to help them get through the rest of the mystery dungeon. Chiaki was sitting underneath one of the trees, quietly wondering what Samara was like.
So far, he knew that she was Stella’s pen pal and good with magic. Oh, and that she was really old. Probably much older than most Pokémon he had met.
“Hmm… I wonder how old I am…” Chiaki thought to himself.
Blitz closed the lid on the treasure bag and looked over at his teammates.
“All right, everyone ready to move on?” Blitz asked.
His teammates nodded their heads in agreement and so they began exploring once more. As they made their way through the next few floors, Sera couldn’t help but wonder just how Blitz was feeling right now. Even though he had difficulty accepting his natural leadership skills, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood at all. Then again, it was probably because he was focused on getting Samara over to Fenix Town as soon as possible so she could help Hercules, Azure, Mirage and Cordyceps. That was his main priority at the moment.
“He was like this when we went to rescue Bow as well,” Sera thought to herself. “He’s able to take the lead without hesitation because a friend needs his help.”
Sera couldn’t help but watch Blitz with admiration as he confidently led the group through the floors of the mystery dungeon. However, even if he had pushed those worries aside for now, they were still there, weren’t they?
“I wonder if there’s anything I can do for him that would make him worry less,” Sera thought to herself. “I… want to tell him that… instead of going back to Lightning Plateau and becoming the leader of the Luxray pride, he should stay in Fenix Town with me and the others!”
Sera smiled for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head.
“Nah, it’s not that simple…” Sera thought, her ears drooping down slightly. “He’d just look at me weird…”
Sera glanced at Chiaki and Frederick who were following behind her, wondering whether to ask either of them about it. However, she decided against it, figuring that they wouldn’t know what to do either. Maybe she could ask one of her older siblings for advice? Or maybe she could ask Stella? Or perhaps this was something she had to figure out on her own?
“Are we there yet?” Frederick asked.
“There’s not much longer to go,” Blitz responded, glancing back at his teammates. “Just a few more floors…”
The four of them kept making their way through the remaining floors; however, it seemed that a particularly strong wild Pokémon intended to keep them from reaching the final set of stairs. A big, purple moth-like Pokémon flitted about the room with the stairs, whipping up gusts of wind blowing powdery silver-colored scales at the rescue team as they tried getting close enough to fight back.
“Ugh… Its Silver Wind attack is making it stronger…” Blitz muttered, glancing around at his teammates. “We have to take it down quickly…”
“Do we have any items?” Chiaki asked, using Detect to try to avoid the attacks. “Like, a Sleep Seed or X-Eye Seed to make it stop attacking?”
“… Yes, there’s a Sleep Seed in here,” Blitz said, looking through the items. “However, I can’t hit the Venomoth from this angle…”
“Leave it to me!” Chiaki responded, running over and pulling the seed out from the bag.
“Hurry up…” Frederick groaned. “I’m no good against bug-types, you know… I can’t take too many more attacks like these…”
“Let’s put a stop to the attacks for a bit, then!” Chiaki said, flinging the seed at the Venomoth.
However, the Venomoth was completely unaffected by it.
“No way…” Blitz said, his eyes widening slightly. “Don’t tell me… It has the Nonsleeper IQ skill?”
“Uh… What’s that again?” Chiaki asked, quickly ducking out of the way as the Venomoth swiftly came swooping down and tried to tackle him.
“Do we have any other way of stopping its attacks?” Sera asked, looking over at Blitz while using her Helping Hand move to lend her teammates more attack power.
As Blitz searched through the bag for another item that could hopefully stop the Venomoth in its tracks, Frederick quietly listened as Chiaki and Sera kept the Venomoth distracted.
“Just be confident…” Frederick muttered to himself.
Frederick took a deep breath, before firing a purple fireball from his mouth. Luckily for Frederick, the Venomoth happened to be in just the right position to take a direct hit from the Dragon Breath attack. The Venomoth twitched slightly as it fell to the ground, trying to get back into the air.
“Ah, nicely done, Frederick!” Blitz exclaimed, grinning. “All right, let’s take it down before it can attack again!”
With the combined power of the four, the Venomoth soon went down. Together, the four of them exited the mystery dungeon.
“We made it,” Blitz said, sighing in relief.
“Samara’s house should be around here somewhere, right?” Chiaki asked, looking around.
From behind a tree, Malefica giggled softly as she glanced down at the four Pokémon. The Misdreavus then quietly floated down towards the other Pokémon, trying her best not to laugh as she moved closer to Frederick. Once she had gotten close up to the young dragon, she took a deep breath, and…
“Hey, who’s that?” Chiaki asked, having just turned around and noticed the Misdreavus.
“Aw, you ruined it!” Malefica said, pouting.
“Ah, who was that!?” Frederick exclaimed, turning around. “Whose voice was that!?”
“Oh, look at that!” Malefica said, smiling triumphantly. “I did scare him after all! Yay!”
“Um… Are you perhaps Samara’s apprentice?” Blitz asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked up at the Misdreavus.
“That’s right!” Malefica responded, giggling merrily. “I’m Malefica!”
“Ah, I see,” Blitz replied, nodding his head. “We’re here to see Samara. Can you take us to her?”
“Ooh, yes! No problem!” Malefica responded, hovering past the others. “Follow me!”
It only took a few moments before they finally spotted Samara’s house. As they followed Malefica inside, a Mismagius came to greet them.
“You must be the rescue team they sent,” Samara said, smiling warmly at her guests. “I am Samara. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Blitz responded, bowing politely. “I’m Blitz, and these are my teammates, Sera, Chiaki and Frederick.”
Samara just smiled and nodded her head, before picking up a basket full of various potions and scrolls.
“Let’s not waste any time,” Samara said, hovering over to the rescue team. “I have everything I need here. Take me to Fenix Town.”
“I’m coming along too!” Malefica exclaimed, giggling as she hovered above the heads of the rescue team members. “A town full of Pokémon to play tricks on… Malefica likes the sound of that!”
“Malefica…” Samara said, giving the younger ghost-type Pokémon a stern look. “We already talked about this, remember?”
“Nope!” Malefica responded, sticking her tongue out.
“Malefica!” Samara repeated, raising her voice a little this time.
“Oh, um… I had to promise that I’d behave myself, or something?” Malefica responded, smiling sheepishly.
“That’s right,” Samara replied, sighing. “If you can’t do that, I’m not bringing you along.”
“Well, if you don’t bring me along, then I’d be here by myself, wouldn’t I?” Malefica said, snickering. “I bet I could make this place really messy by the time you get back!”
“… Just promise you’ll behave,” Samara responded with an exasperated expression.
“All right, I promise!” Malefica replied, smiling.
“… I should probably ask Stella to help keep an eye on her, just in case,” Samara thought to herself, before turning back to the rescue team. “Sorry about that. We’re ready to go when you are.”
Blitz smiled and nodded his head, before holding up the rescue team badge. In a flash of golden light, the six of them were teleported out of the house. Upon appearing in Fenix Town, they were greeted by Stella and Bow.
“Samara, it’s been a while,” Stella said, smiling at the Mismagius.
“Yes, indeed,” Samara responded, nodding and smiling back. “It’s nice to see you again, Stella.”
“Hi, miss Samara!” Bow said, waving her hand.
“Oh, you’re Bow, aren’t you?” Samara responded, curiously looking over at the young Gothorita. “Last time I saw you, you were just a hatchling! My, you sure have grown!”
“Yeah, I guess I have!” Bow replied, smiling sweetly.
“And I assume that this is Malefica?” Stella said, pointing to the Misdreavus.
“That’s me!” Malefica responded, grinning. “Ooh, what has Samara told you about me in her letters? Tell me!”
“… Maybe later,” Stella replied, chuckling a little before looking over at Blitz and his teammates. “Blitz, everyone… Thanks for bringing Samara here.”
“No need to thank us,” Blitz responded, smiling and rubbing his forelegs together. “It’s just part of a rescue team’s job, after all.”
“And now Samara can undo Erebos’ spells, can’t she?” Chiaki asked, looking up at Samara.
“Indeed,” Samara responded, nodding her head. “I will also be putting a protective spell on the town to ensure that Erebos can’t come too close to it.”
“Ooh, a protective spell?” Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Yes,” Samara responded, smiling. “But first, I believe there are some Pokémon that require my help.”
----
Blitz, Sera, Chiaki and Giselle watched as the faint purple glow around Hercules faded away, as Samara finished removing the curse that Erebos had cast on him. The Heracross soon opened his eyes, and glanced around at his surroundings. He blinked a few times in confusion as he realized where he was, and as he noticed the unfamiliar Mismagius.
“What… happened?” Hercules asked, looking around. “When did we get back here?”
“It worked!” Blitz said, happily jumping onto the bed and hugging Hercules.
“Yes, indeed,” Samara responded, nodding her head. “It seems the curse has been successfully removed.”
“Curse…?” Hercules inquired, petting Blitz. “I guess I’m missing something here.”
“I’m sure your apprentice can fill you in on the details,” Samara said, before looking over at Sera and Chiaki. “Where are the remaining two Pokémon requiring my assistance?”
“Ah, right,” Sera responded, looking over at Chiaki. “Come on, let’s go look for Mirage’s team.”
“Okay!” Chiaki replied, smiling and nodding his head.
Azure and Frederick had been waiting just outside Giselle’s office, the former being thrilled to be able to use her water attacks again and apparently having decided to celebrate by using her Bubble Beam attack to let a stream of bubbles float around the lobby of the rescue team HQ. As Chiaki, Sera and Samara exited Giselle’s office, Azure decided to stop for a moment in order to catch her breath.
“Hey guys,” Azure said, panting. “How’d it go?”
“He’s awake!” Chiaki responded, smiling.
“Great,” Azure replied, grinning. “And I’ve got my water attacks back, so I’m feeling pretty good!”
“I’m glad you’re back to normal, Azure,” Frederick commented, smiling.
“It’s all thanks to you guys and Samara,” Azure responded, winking. “I kind of feel I should repay you somehow!”
“That’s not necessary,” Samara replied, shaking her head. “I don’t need any reward.”
“You sure?” Azure asked. “I could probably get you some free berry juice at the café, or something.”
“No thanks,” Samara responded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more work to do.”
Sera, Chiaki and Samara left to look for Mirage and her teammates. Azure just shrugged and turned to Frederick.
“What about you, Frederick?” Azure said, grinning. “Wanna head over to the café with me?”
“Do I get free desserts…?” Frederick asked, with a hopeful smile.
“Sure, anything you want!” Azure responded, nodding. “I’m sure mom is okay with that, anyways!”
“Ah… Being confident really does pay off,” Frederick said, grinning.
“It certainly does!” Azure replied, chuckling. “Come on, let’s go!”
----
Elina was still sitting in the same place. Her father had been reluctant to return home so soon, but Elina insisted that she was okay on her own. She still felt conflicted, but at least she didn’t have to tell Chiaki the truth just yet. She wasn’t sure what she would say to him the next time the two of them met, though.
“Chiaki… is my friend...” Elina thought to herself, staring off into space. “But… I can’t keep thinking of him that way, can I…?”
----
End of chapter 42
----
