FlamingRuby
The magic of Pokemon
Episode 16: The Missing Light
[BGM: Out of the Ground, Raze all Greenery in Flame!]
"Come on!" Ash led the charge against the mammoth tree-like monster. "Out of the ground, raze all greenery in flame!--"
"Wait!" Janine called, but sighed as Ash's fireball went flying at the oshidotane. "Monsters like this absorb magic to get stronger."
"NOW you tell me..." Ash gasped as the oshidotane grew slightly larger in response to his attack.
"That also means that I cannot use any offensive jutsu, nor can Karakashu-san sing an offensive spell song." Janine continued.
"But how are we supposed to attack this thing if we can't cast any spells?" Ash asked as he dove out of the way of the oshidotane's fists of grass that leveled a few stalls in the process.
"You HAVE a weapon, Ash! Use that!" Dawn suggested over the whistling of hundreds of shurikens and her arrows.
Ash drew his blade and slashed at the oshidotane's massive stomach, making it shrink a little. I see--it treats any sort of magic like sunlight, growing larger and stronger in the process! he thought as he rolled out of the way of his opponent's fists again. But, even with hundreds of people, it would take hours to cut this monster down to size!
Janine, meanwhile, deftly jumped over the platform and began focusing some green energy in her hands. "Chi Magiiro no jutsu! Earthen Wall!" With that, she slammed her own fist into the ground, creating a large rock wall dotted with vines and flowers between the oshidotane, the crowd, and the rest of the village.
"Janine...would a spellsong inflicting a condition work on this beast at all?" Brock wondered.
"No...it would only turn the condition back on the caster." Janine replied. "You CAN enchant a weapon, since it cannot sense magic when it is hidden in something."
"Play Fire Blade!" Ash suggested as he jumped out of the way of the oshidotane's fist.
"Actually, you guys seem to be doing fine just cutting it down." Brock assured him as the oshidotane continued to shrink. "So I see no reason to play."
"Ha!" Janine heaved a knife at the now relatively small monster, finally slaying it after a long battle.
[Cut BGM]
Ash sheathed his blade. "Hopefully another one won't appear."
"It's all the more reason why we must find the one Megami Anima has chosen." Keiji replied as Brock and Janine faced each other on the miraculously unscathed platform.
"Ready?" Brock replied to Janine.
Janine just gave a confident nod. "Play your best spellsong."
"Okay...Black sea of evil, cover this light! Dark Water!" Brock commanded, summoning the familiar inky black wave from his harp strings.
Janine just gritted her teeth. "Hi Magiiro no jutsu! Dancing Fire Blade!"
The crowd cheered as a flaming sword emerged from the red energy in Janine's hands, neutralizing the Dark Water to harmless steam.
"Very clever..." Ash mused as the fire sword sliced through the inky water, creating steam all the while.
"Pi pika!" Pikachu agreed as Janine stepped down from the platform.
"We've found the chosen!" Keiji announced, making even more cheers go up from the crowd.
Just then, a messenger ran through the steam, tears streaming down his face. "Hokage! Our Hikari has been taken!" The joy in the crowd turned to gasps.
[BGM: Contemplating Answers]
"How could that be?" Ash demanded.
"The oshidotane couldn't have possibly been able to fit inside the shrine of the Hikari..." Keiji began.
"Then maybe the grass monster was a decoy!" Ash announced.
"Ash is right...." Dawn agreed. "While we were all busy fighting the...grass monster..."
"Oshidotane--the king seed." Keiji gently corrected Dawn.
"Okay...while we were all busy with the o-seedo-tain..." Dawn continued, making some laughter drift through the crowd at her terrible pronounciation. "That only served as cover for another smaller being to enter the shrine."
"And I know just what that was!" Janine announced, interrupting Dawn. "Look there, by the shrine!" she asked, gesturing to a trail of odd tracks leading to the shrine.
"Those look the same as the ones you saw by the waterfall, Janine-san." a chunin commented.
"Some days ago, I was training by Suman Falls, which is not far from the village." Janine explained. "As I meditated in the water, I saw a small beast emerge from the woods--what sort of beast, I wasn't able to see--and enter the caves that serve as a secret way into the shrine."
"Furthermore, I checked the shrine of Hikari no Shizen moments ago, and those same tracks are there, leading back into the caves." a black haired man in black ninja garb with purple trim began as he approached the group.
[BGM: The Ninja Legend-Koga's theme]
"Master Koga..." some in the crowd gasped.
"The descendant of Dokusentoki..." some other young ninja agreed.
"What my daughter Janine has told you thus far is true, but I have more information for you if you decide to pursue the thief that took Hikari no Shizen." Koga continued as he embraced Janine.
"We'll need all the info we can get." Ash replied.
"What more do you know?" Dawn asked.
"For an outsider to even enter the shrine, they must brave the caves of the waterfall, and prove themselves worthy to the blue dragon Furuda, the guardian of the caves." Koga explained. "But, the thief has likely left the shrine and returned to the caves, so to travel there would be futile."
"As one of the guardians of the Five Hikaris, Furuda lives for all time--he can be slain again and again, and never die." Janine explained.
"Will you help us retrieve our treasure, great color singer?" Koga asked Brock.
"Please, Karakashu-san?" some children begged.
"You have my word that we will do all we can to save the Hikari." Brock replied, to the crowd's cheers.
To Be Continued...
[BGM: Out of the Ground, Raze all Greenery in Flame!]
"Come on!" Ash led the charge against the mammoth tree-like monster. "Out of the ground, raze all greenery in flame!--"
"Wait!" Janine called, but sighed as Ash's fireball went flying at the oshidotane. "Monsters like this absorb magic to get stronger."
"NOW you tell me..." Ash gasped as the oshidotane grew slightly larger in response to his attack.
"That also means that I cannot use any offensive jutsu, nor can Karakashu-san sing an offensive spell song." Janine continued.
"But how are we supposed to attack this thing if we can't cast any spells?" Ash asked as he dove out of the way of the oshidotane's fists of grass that leveled a few stalls in the process.
"You HAVE a weapon, Ash! Use that!" Dawn suggested over the whistling of hundreds of shurikens and her arrows.
Ash drew his blade and slashed at the oshidotane's massive stomach, making it shrink a little. I see--it treats any sort of magic like sunlight, growing larger and stronger in the process! he thought as he rolled out of the way of his opponent's fists again. But, even with hundreds of people, it would take hours to cut this monster down to size!
Janine, meanwhile, deftly jumped over the platform and began focusing some green energy in her hands. "Chi Magiiro no jutsu! Earthen Wall!" With that, she slammed her own fist into the ground, creating a large rock wall dotted with vines and flowers between the oshidotane, the crowd, and the rest of the village.
"Janine...would a spellsong inflicting a condition work on this beast at all?" Brock wondered.
"No...it would only turn the condition back on the caster." Janine replied. "You CAN enchant a weapon, since it cannot sense magic when it is hidden in something."
"Play Fire Blade!" Ash suggested as he jumped out of the way of the oshidotane's fist.
"Actually, you guys seem to be doing fine just cutting it down." Brock assured him as the oshidotane continued to shrink. "So I see no reason to play."
"Ha!" Janine heaved a knife at the now relatively small monster, finally slaying it after a long battle.
[Cut BGM]
Ash sheathed his blade. "Hopefully another one won't appear."
"It's all the more reason why we must find the one Megami Anima has chosen." Keiji replied as Brock and Janine faced each other on the miraculously unscathed platform.
"Ready?" Brock replied to Janine.
Janine just gave a confident nod. "Play your best spellsong."
"Okay...Black sea of evil, cover this light! Dark Water!" Brock commanded, summoning the familiar inky black wave from his harp strings.
Janine just gritted her teeth. "Hi Magiiro no jutsu! Dancing Fire Blade!"
The crowd cheered as a flaming sword emerged from the red energy in Janine's hands, neutralizing the Dark Water to harmless steam.
"Very clever..." Ash mused as the fire sword sliced through the inky water, creating steam all the while.
"Pi pika!" Pikachu agreed as Janine stepped down from the platform.
"We've found the chosen!" Keiji announced, making even more cheers go up from the crowd.
Just then, a messenger ran through the steam, tears streaming down his face. "Hokage! Our Hikari has been taken!" The joy in the crowd turned to gasps.
[BGM: Contemplating Answers]
"How could that be?" Ash demanded.
"The oshidotane couldn't have possibly been able to fit inside the shrine of the Hikari..." Keiji began.
"Then maybe the grass monster was a decoy!" Ash announced.
"Ash is right...." Dawn agreed. "While we were all busy fighting the...grass monster..."
"Oshidotane--the king seed." Keiji gently corrected Dawn.
"Okay...while we were all busy with the o-seedo-tain..." Dawn continued, making some laughter drift through the crowd at her terrible pronounciation. "That only served as cover for another smaller being to enter the shrine."
"And I know just what that was!" Janine announced, interrupting Dawn. "Look there, by the shrine!" she asked, gesturing to a trail of odd tracks leading to the shrine.
"Those look the same as the ones you saw by the waterfall, Janine-san." a chunin commented.
"Some days ago, I was training by Suman Falls, which is not far from the village." Janine explained. "As I meditated in the water, I saw a small beast emerge from the woods--what sort of beast, I wasn't able to see--and enter the caves that serve as a secret way into the shrine."
"Furthermore, I checked the shrine of Hikari no Shizen moments ago, and those same tracks are there, leading back into the caves." a black haired man in black ninja garb with purple trim began as he approached the group.
[BGM: The Ninja Legend-Koga's theme]
"Master Koga..." some in the crowd gasped.
"The descendant of Dokusentoki..." some other young ninja agreed.
"What my daughter Janine has told you thus far is true, but I have more information for you if you decide to pursue the thief that took Hikari no Shizen." Koga continued as he embraced Janine.
"We'll need all the info we can get." Ash replied.
"What more do you know?" Dawn asked.
"For an outsider to even enter the shrine, they must brave the caves of the waterfall, and prove themselves worthy to the blue dragon Furuda, the guardian of the caves." Koga explained. "But, the thief has likely left the shrine and returned to the caves, so to travel there would be futile."
"As one of the guardians of the Five Hikaris, Furuda lives for all time--he can be slain again and again, and never die." Janine explained.
"Will you help us retrieve our treasure, great color singer?" Koga asked Brock.
"Please, Karakashu-san?" some children begged.
"You have my word that we will do all we can to save the Hikari." Brock replied, to the crowd's cheers.
To Be Continued...