chosen_one386
Angel of Chaos
Hope those of you in American are enjoying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! 
To celebrate, you're welcome to read my own Harry Potter fanfic, For the Sake of the World (link in sig)! Some of your favorite characters like Cyrus and Rowan are in it as well!
Commence chapter that contains sucky contest appeals and battles (I'm sorry, but as the end draws near, my mind is on something else)
Chapter Thirty-Three
“We’re going around the Sinnoh region to clean up the fragments of Neo-Team Galactic and to officially disband the organization once and for all,” Colin explained. He turned back to the warehouse, where Pluto was yelling at him to get back to work. “Okay, sir! I’ll be right in there!” He yelled back before laughing. “Pluto’s going to run me ragged before too long. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it to the Platinum Conference to see you battle…” He cast his eyes down at the ground. “Take care of yourself…if what they say is true…that you’re a Heavenly Warrior…” He lifted his violet gaze from the dust below his feet, fixing Katie with a meaningful look. “You’ll attract trouble as strongly as Kris and Scarlet did. I don’t think Aphrodite was the last of the people you’ll have to face in terms of fighting for your life.”
“Don’t worry!” She smiled cheerfully, her Aquapolian crystal blue eyes glowing mischievously. “I’ll be on the lookout for anyone who wants to take a piece of me!” She turned back down the hill where her friends were waiting patiently for her to return. “Be safe, Colin!” She called before descending down the hill. Rocks crumbled underneath her feet, scattering clouds of dust around her and up into the air. Her mind was going a mile a minute, and, for some reason, she didn’t want to leave Colin’s side. She glanced back, catching his eyes for just a second before he turned back into the warehouse.
A chilling thought crossed her mind. According to her father, Kris’ death had come unexpectedly. Kirio hadn’t expected for her to die in his arms weeks after the Great War ended. Even the mighty Chosen One could be whisked away in a heartbeat…So, what about Colin? She turned around, catching a quick glimpse of the setting sun before dashing back up the hill and into the front hall of the warehouse, kicking up huge clumps of dust as she bolted toward Colin, who had his back turned to her.
“Colin!” He swung around at the sound of his name, his violet eyes wide. He hadn’t expected her to double back. Neither did he expect her to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. They stood for a while together in each others’ arms, finally cherishing the fact that they could be together without any boundaries. Neo-Team Galactic no longer served as a barrier to hold the two apart.
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So much dust and dirt filled the old cardboard boxes that held the contents of my past life, I nearly coughed up a lung trying to dig through the articles of clothing and books to see what I had left behind. My desperate attempt to breathe apparently garnered Cyrus’ attention from all the way on the other side of the house, because, in a matter of milliseconds, he was standing beside me. His sudden appearance made me shriek and jump backwards, crashing into another pile of boxes and making a mess of the empty spare bedroom.
I struggled to my feet, glaring at him. “Would you stop doing that?” I snapped. On Earth, he had the power to move through dimensions so quickly, it seemed as if he basically appeared in seconds anywhere he wished. Teleportation on a regular basis wasn’t as fast or as simple as his stepping from one place to the other miles apart. There were subtle shifts in the dimension when he did this that I could sense, but I never paid attention until he was either right in front of me or until he spoke so suddenly, I was convinced I was hearing things. I dragged the boxes into a sloppy pile before turning to address him.
“If the coughing hadn’t killed me, your scaring me to death would have!” I shouted, still shaking from his sudden appearance. “As long as we’re on Earth, we really don’t have to use our legendary powers unless we really needs to.” I laid a hand on the top box of the pile, kicking up a small cloud of dust that made me cough once again.
“You may be able to rest whenever there is no immediate threat to the Earth, but remember, as one of the six powers, I must always be at work making sure space doesn’t get out of control,” he explained, leaning against the doorframe. I rolled my eyes and put the boxes in a neater stack. “Are you sure that it’s wise to travel to Sunyshore at this time?”
I glared at him. “We could always teleport there instantly. We don’t have to actually walk there.”
“I meant, is it wise to appear in public in Sunyshore?”
“The gym isn’t exactly public.”
“You know what I mean.”
“It will be fine. Besides, the real issue is going to the Platinum Conference…”
“Which you can watch on the television from here.”
I scowled at him. “I’m going to the conference, even if I have to drag you along with me so that you can make sure I stay out of trouble.”
He didn’t say a word before stepping out of the room. I sighed and continued rifling through the boxes until I was bored. I made my way back down the hall to the trophy room that Kirio had set up for all of the family’s achievements. My, Kirio’s, and Katie’s trophies, badges, and Frontier Symbols were displayed as well as pictures depicting our conference teams. My main team’s Poke Balls were also laid out for all to see. I picked all of them up and stepped outside with Umbreon at my heels.
“Come on out everyone!” I shouted, releasing all five Pokemon. Blaziken, Swampert, Staraptor, Espeon, and Luxray all rushed up to greet me, happy to see me back on Earth once again. They talked in a flurry of Pokemon and English, desperate to tell me how they had missed me over the years. I hugged each and every one of them in turn listening to what they had been up to during my absence quietly. My heart was heavy as I looked at their keen faces. They were ready to jump back into the conference circuit as soon as I said the word.
Looking down at the snow that had engulfed by feet, I apologized to them. “I’m sorry guys, but…we can’t compete in conferences anymore…” They looked disappointed, but no one spoke. Understanding looks crossed their faces as they each stepped forward to gather around me. “However…” I looked from one to the other, smiling. “We can still be together for a good time yet. I’ll be staying on Earth for, hopefully, a few months.” They cried out in glee, stampeding to hug me and bury me under a mountain of happy Pokemon. Umbreon nuzzled against my face, and Swampert raised me up on his back, jumping up and down like a Tauros in glee. I laughed and tried to hang on until Staraptor grabbed the back of my shirt and hoisted me into the air, placing me gently on the snow-covered ground and flying to sit in a nearby tree.
“They can have the run of the place if you’d like.”
Kirio’s voice lifted my spirits even more, and I swung around to see him standing in the doorway, his Umbreon sprinting into the snow to touch noses with mine. He had changed from the suit and tie he had been dressed in for the past few days into a simple black shirt, jacket, and blue jeans. He looked exactly the same as he had on the conference circuit decades ago. It was as if time had stopped twenty years beforehand and had stayed the same forever.
“Thank you so much!” I exclaimed, dashing through the snow as best I could and throwing my arms around Kirio’s neck. It was freezing cold outside, but, with my face pressed against his chest, I felt like I was next to the warmest fire in the world. We stayed wrapped in each others’ arms for a long time, savoring the time we had together while it lasted. The moment we had waited for for decades in which we could truly stay in each others’ arms without worry or obstacle.
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“This is our last contest before the Grand Festival, and I want something amazing to wear!!!” Ashley shrieked at the breakfast table the morning after they had arrived in Hearthome. Chichiri stared at her, his ice blue eyes wide and frightful. He had never seen her pitch a fit before, and it was truly a sight to behold. Samantha sighed, not saying a word about her rival’s childishness while Michael simply glared at the coordinator as if to say that she was a spoiled brat.
Katie sighed. “It’s too far to walk to Veilstone, and its best if we stick to staying in Hearthome for the time being. Neo-Team Galactic may be disbanded, but there could still be dangerous agents walking around out there, and we can’t risk splitting up right now, right Kristine?”
Kristine was surprised that Katie had looked to her to answer the question. The shy former Galactic leader nodded. “Yes…why don’t you try the shops here in Hearthome? Don’t most of them cater to coordinators?”
“That’s just the thing! Most of the coordinators at this contest will be dressed in styles from Hearthome! I want to look different!”
“Then find something unique or change it up or something!” Katie snapped. “The contest starts tomorrow, anyway. It would take you too long to go to Veilstone and back.”
Ashley crossed her arms and glared at her. “Fine.” She jumped out of her seat and grabbed her bag. “I’ll be off until tonight, so don’t worry about me.” She stormed out of the Pokemon Center with her Glaceon at her heels. Katie sighed and turned to the others.
“Anyone up for some sightseeing?” She asked.
“I’d love to go to the Hearthome Cathedral,” Chichiri said.
“Michael and I are going to hit the shops,” Samantha said. Michael nodded.
“I guess I’d like to go to the Cathedral as well,” Kristine added.
“Great! We’ll all meet up back here for supper at six…and Ashley can meet us whenever…”
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“It’s so huge…” Kristine said, gazing up at the Hearthome Cathedral.
“Yeah, you know…” Katie said as they stepped inside. “I met Uncle Cyrus here several times before I knew who he was.”
“Uncle Cyrus?” Kristine asked, laughing shyly.
“What?”
“Well, not even Kris calls him uncle, and he’s her direct uncle…Plus, he doesn’t really seem like the guy who you call uncle, you know?” Chichiri explained.
Katie laughed. “Yeah, but still…he helped me out a lot to perfect my light powers…” She looked down at her hands. “I haven’t even transformed into Umbreon for a long time since we met…”
“It seems as if he cares a lot for Kris,” Kristine pointed out. “I can understand why he gave up his dream of using Giratina to destroy the universe to save her.”
“Kristine…” Katie hesitated.
“Yes?”
“Just curious, but…who would you have given up destroying the universe for if you hadn’t been Shadowficated?” Kristine blushed at the question. “N…Never mind, you don’t have to answer that…”
“Kevin…” She answered, lowering her eyes to the floor.
“Really?”
She nodded. “But, now that I’m no longer trying to reach that goal…I think he’s mad at me.”
“Judging by the way he acted when we left the Dimensional World, he cares a lot about you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Kristine’s smile grew wider as they reached the front of the cathedral, gazing up at the stained glass windows.
“You think we could ever convinve Cyrus to replace Palkia’s image with his own, you know?” Chichiri asked, laughing, as he looked at the pearl window with Palkia’s form carved into it.
Katie laughed. “I don’t think so. Besides, pretty much the entire world still thinks Palkia is still alive, so…I don’t think anyone will be told any different anytime soon.”
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“And now, put your hands together for the last Hearthome Contest before the Sinnoh Grand Festival!”
The crowd roared at Lillian’s announcement. The coordinators in the waiting room patiently waited for the first coordinator’s name to be called. Samantha was dressed in a black satin, short sleeved dress, while Ashley had chosen a short white halter dress with bright green trimming.
“The first coordinator on stage will be Greg Kakisu from Lavaridge City, Hoenn!”
A guy with white and grey hair stepped onto the stage, his blue eyes shining as he spun a Poke Ball into the air. “Go, Alakazam!” The psychic-type appeared on stage. “Ice Beam into Psychic!”
Alakazam shot a freezing cold beam of frozen air into the sky, twisting and turning it like a ribbon with its Psychic attack.
“Shadow Ball!”
The ribbon exploded, sending thousands of dark, glittery ice fragments into the air around them.
“Our next contestant will be Samantha from Slateport City, Hoenn!”
Samantha stepped onto the stage, smiling large at the crowd before spinning her Poke Ball into the air. “Go, Mawile!” The steel-type spun around on the stage, smiling at the crowd. “Shadow Ball into Metal Claw!”
Large balls of shadowy energy filled the air as Mawile danced around the stage, shattering each one into tiny fragments with its Metal Claw. Dark lights filled the arena, causing purple-shimmered glitter to rain down on the coordinator and her Mawile.
“The next coordinator on stage is Ashley from Veilstone City, Sinnoh!”
Ashley sauntered onto the stage, releasing her Ninetales in a shower of glitter. The fire-type poised beautifully on the stage, waiting for her first order. “Flame Wheel into Swift!”
Ninetales spun around, creating a fire tornado that was quickly surrounding by star-shaped energy balls. The stars spun around the tornado, glowing gold as they absorbed the heat.
“Shadow Ball!”
The ghost attack blew out the stars as the tornado faded. Ninetales and Ashley bowed to the crowd.
“Our next contestant is Paul from Ever Grande!”
A guy with bright yellow hair and dark brown eyes stepped onto the stage a few seconds after Jillian called out his name. He was decked out in a white suit with bright blue lining inside the jacket and walked as if he owned the place. Katie rolled her eyes as he pandered to the women in the crowd, who were screaming his name. She was sitting in the front row, unfortunately, and he walked right up to her, smiling slyly.
“Hello, baby,” he said, taking her hand and leaning forward. Several girls around Katie started to swoon at the close up sight of the handsome coordinator. “Want to go out sometime after this contest? I know a nice café down near Pastoria…”
“Not a chance,” she said, snatching her hand out of his and rolling her eyes.
He looked at her, offended. “What? You have a boyfriend?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, crossing her arms. Kristine giggled at the hurt look on Paul’s face as he sauntered back onto the stage, glaring at Katie before throwing a Poke Ball into the air.
“Go, Rapidash!” He shouted, releasing the fire-type Pokemon. “Bounce into Fire Spin!”
The Rapidash tensed up, then sprang into the air as a circle of fire appeared around it. The warm air from the circle buoyed the Pokemon even further up as several more circles surround the Rapidash like orbital rings. The Pokemon lowered itself to the ground at the sound of the audience’s applause. Before Paul left the stage, he shot one more glare at Katie before striding away.
She rolled her eyes again. “Guys…”
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“We’re sure to be in the top four,” Ashley muttered as the coordinators awaited the judges’ decisions.
“Isn’t it strange that May and Dawn aren’t judging this contest?” Samantha asked.
“They’re still being kept in the dark about Kris being back on Earth, too. I wonder what’s going on with the Legendary Team these days?” she shrugged. “They’re probably just taking a break.”
“All right everyone!” Jillian’s voice broke the silence. “Now to announce the top four coordinators who will advance to the next round! Ashley from Veilstone City, Samantha from Slateport City, Paul from Ever Grande, and Marina from Japan!”
Samantha’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know they let international coordinators compete in the final contests.”
“They don’t bar international trainers or coordinators from any rounds,” Ashley explained. “I’ve only seen a few in my day, but the ones from Japan are even more competition than the Aquapolian ones.”
“Now to see our matchups!” Jillian continued, turning to the board. “It will be Ashley vs. Marina and Samantha vs. Paul!”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Floor that guy for us, okay Samantha?”
Samantha smiled. “With pleasure.”
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“Our first semifinal match will be between Samantha from Slateport City, Hoenn and Paul from Ever Grande! Let the match begin!”
“Go, Raichu!” Paul shouted, releasing his electric-type.
“Go, Leafeon!” Samantha shouted, releasing her grass-type.
“Quick Attack!”
“Shadow Ball!”
Raichu rushed at Leafeon, but proved to be too slow. A ball of shadowy energy slammed into it, knocking it across the floor. Paul frowned in frustration.
“Slam!”
This time, Raichu jumped into the air, crashing down on top of Leafeon with amazing speed aided by gravity.
“Razor Leaf!” Samantha shouted as Raichu got ready to slam into Leafeon again.
Razor-sharp leaves slammed into the electric-type, sending it flying into the wall behind Paul.
“Raichu is unable to battle! Samantha and Leafeon win!” Jillian announced. Paul angrily recalled his Raichu and glared across the stage at Samantha before storming off. She crossed her arms and smiled in his direction, felling grand at her victory.
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“And now, our match between Ashley of Veilstone City and Marina of Japan! Let the match begin!”
“Go, Umbreon!” Marina shouted, releasing her dark-type.
“Go, Glaceon!” Ashley shouted, releasing her ice-type.
“Dark Pulse!’ Marina was the first to call an attack, her Umbreon rushing forward split seconds after its trainer’s orders. Ashley concentrated on its movements, her mind flipping through all of Katie’s gym battles she had watched during their travels through Sinnoh.
“Ice Beam!”
As the Dark Pulse rushed through the air at Glaceon, the ice-type jumped straight up into the air, spinning around several times before firing a beam of ice energy at Umbreon. The dark-type was too slow to dodge the attack, resulting in one of its paws freezing over immediately.
“Looks like your Umbreon is a little too slow! Glaceon, Quick Attack!”
Glaceon slammed into Umbreon, knocking the dark-type off of its frozen feet and slamming it into the far wall.
“Umbreon is unable to battle! Ashley and Glaceon win!” Ashley smiled as Jillian announced her victory and nodded into the audience at Katie, who gave her a thumbs up and a smile.
“No Umbreon is ever going to top hers in speed, I guess,” Ashley muttered to herself, smiling as she stepped off the stage.
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“So, you guys are facing each other in the final round again, you know?” Chichiri exclaimed over dinner. “This is going to decide which of you makes it into the Grand Festival, right?”
Ashley nodded. “I would have rather faced Samanthat on the Grand Festival’s final stage, to tell the truth.” Samantha was startled by her rival’s statement, amazed that the blue-haired coordinator thought that much of her as to want to battle her in such a high-level match.
“Well, I guess things like this happen when coordinators travel together,” Samantha said, putting down her chopsticks. “You trainers are lucky that you don’t have to face up against each other until the conference.”
“I guess so, but then we don’t learn each others’ tactics quite as fast,” Katie pointed out. Chichiri nodded in agreement.
“So I heard you two made it into the last round of the Hearthome contest!”
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The group turned at the sound of my voice, startled looks crossing their faces when they realized who was addressing them. I smiled, sliding into a seat next to Kristine.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be in public?” Ashley asked, her blue eyes wide.
“No one will recognize me, anyway. You can even call me Kris as long as you don’t say my last name around anyone,” I said, motioning to the waitor.
“Wait…How are you going to pay for your meal?” Katie asked suspiciously.
“My bank account was frozen when I died, so Kirio took it over and just opened it again so that I can use it whenever I want. Let me tell you, being Vice-Champion had its perks!” I turned as the waitor approached. He had messy light brown hair and grey-blue eyes that widened as he stepped closer. For a second, I was afraid that he recognized me, but it turned out that he was simply taken in by my looks. I sighed. Being an angel had its downside when you were in love with one guy and one guy only. Every other guy in the universe your age automatically felt a little uneasy around you. “Can I have the spiced lamb, please?” I asked. He nodded, mumbled awkwardly, and dashed away.
Ashley laughed. “Lucky you! He’s really cute, why don’t you ask him out?” When I blushed at her comment, she laughed again. “Come on, now! Why don’t you take advantage of the whole “angel-come-to-Earth” thing?”
Katie cleared her throat and I laughed at the embarrassed look that crossed Ashley’s face when she realized her faux pau. “I’m already with the guy of my dreams, Ashley. Katie’s the proof of that…” At Katie’s turn to blush, I threw up my hands to change the subject. “So, what Pokemon are you using for the final round of the contest?” I asked.
“I’m using Leafeon, and Ashley is using her Glaceon,” Samantha explained.
I nodded, then blanched. Everyone followed my gaze to the window I was sitting right in front of. Across the street from the restaurant stood Cyrus. And he was not happy.
“Um…you DID tell Uncle Cyrus where you were going, weren’t you?” Katie asked.
I burst into nervous laughing, “Uncle Cyrus?”
“What?”
“You HAVE to call him that the next time you see him. I’d love to see the look on his face, but, unfortunately…”
“What are you doing here?”
Several shocked shrieks and yells of surprise erupted from the teenagers at the table at Cyrus’ sudden appearance inside the restaurant. Chichiri nearly fell off backwards in his chair, and Ashley tried to scowl fiercely at the former Galactic leader, then decided against it and simply tried to regain her composure. I glanced wildly around the restaurant. Not many people had noticed the uproar at our table, and those who had were no longer interested in the doings of a group of teenage trainers and coordinators having dinner together.
While the rest of the group were pulling themselves together from the brink of nearly having a heart attack, I turned to Cyrus, noticing the storm clouds in his eyes and wincing. He was definitely angry at my sneaking away to Hearthome. I gathered my thoughts and tried to speak, but he beat me to it, scowling the entire time. “I thought we agreed that you were only to observe the Sunyshore gym battle and nothing else? What are you doing in Hearthome?”
Skipping over the vast expanse of intelligence that I had inherited from my uncle, I blurted out, “What are YOU doing in Hearthome, hm?” I raised one eyebrow, hoping that I could at least change his angry look to an exasperated one. No such luck. His frown only deepened. I sighed, giving up as I told him the truth. “I’m getting tired of being cooped up in Snowpoint. I mean, the Karasuma home is big, but…” I nudged my glass of tea a few inches, concentrating on the condensation that spread across the wooden countertop. I tried to focus on anything but Cyrus’ angry look. “I miss traveling around, and…”
“Those days are over.” His sudden interruption and sharp voice startled me completely. A cold feeling washed over me as I recognized the tone of his voice from before I defeated him in the battle over Giratina. It was cold, emotionless, and calculating. I wondered if a part of his past would always stick to him, even in his mannerisms. Then, the full feeling of his words hit me. I would never be able to compete in tournaments again. Never be able to train and battle gym leaders. My days as a trainer on the conference circuit were over.
My sudden sadness and downcast face were instantly picked up by the rest of the group. Katie scowled at Cyrus, returning her great-uncle’s angry gaze for making me feel worse about my own situation than I should. I couldn’t stand the looks the others shot me, looks of pity and sadness that I couldn’t look at…and wouldn’t look at for much longer.
My chair clattered against the wooden floor so loudly, patrons at the other side of the restaurant turned to see what the cause of the sudden noise was. Rushing from the restaurant, I was followed by Cyrus into the street.
“Kristal!” I could hear him calling my name as I stepped across the street, fighting back the tears that stung my eyes. Despite the fact that I knew he cared so much about me to never purposefully hurt me, Cyrus’ words could be insensitive at times. I pushed past the people crowding the busy Hearthome streets, wiping my eyes and swearing to myself I wouldn’t cry this time.
“Kristal, I’m sorry.”
I spun around to see that he was only a few feet behind me. His pearl eyes were dark with worry and a sad expression crossed his features. I turned away from him to glare down at the pavement beneath my feet, staring at my shiny black boots for a few minutes as I fought the thousands of things I wanted to say to him aloud…but I wouldn’t. I tried to take several deep breaths, but they came out as sobs.
I struggled to speak as he drew closer. “Let’s…let’s just go back to Snowpoint…” I managed to gasp out as he put a hand on my shoulder, trying to steady my emotions through his touch. My vision swam with tears as Hearthome faded from sight.
To celebrate, you're welcome to read my own Harry Potter fanfic, For the Sake of the World (link in sig)! Some of your favorite characters like Cyrus and Rowan are in it as well!Commence chapter that contains sucky contest appeals and battles (I'm sorry, but as the end draws near, my mind is on something else)
Chapter Thirty-Three
“We’re going around the Sinnoh region to clean up the fragments of Neo-Team Galactic and to officially disband the organization once and for all,” Colin explained. He turned back to the warehouse, where Pluto was yelling at him to get back to work. “Okay, sir! I’ll be right in there!” He yelled back before laughing. “Pluto’s going to run me ragged before too long. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it to the Platinum Conference to see you battle…” He cast his eyes down at the ground. “Take care of yourself…if what they say is true…that you’re a Heavenly Warrior…” He lifted his violet gaze from the dust below his feet, fixing Katie with a meaningful look. “You’ll attract trouble as strongly as Kris and Scarlet did. I don’t think Aphrodite was the last of the people you’ll have to face in terms of fighting for your life.”
“Don’t worry!” She smiled cheerfully, her Aquapolian crystal blue eyes glowing mischievously. “I’ll be on the lookout for anyone who wants to take a piece of me!” She turned back down the hill where her friends were waiting patiently for her to return. “Be safe, Colin!” She called before descending down the hill. Rocks crumbled underneath her feet, scattering clouds of dust around her and up into the air. Her mind was going a mile a minute, and, for some reason, she didn’t want to leave Colin’s side. She glanced back, catching his eyes for just a second before he turned back into the warehouse.
A chilling thought crossed her mind. According to her father, Kris’ death had come unexpectedly. Kirio hadn’t expected for her to die in his arms weeks after the Great War ended. Even the mighty Chosen One could be whisked away in a heartbeat…So, what about Colin? She turned around, catching a quick glimpse of the setting sun before dashing back up the hill and into the front hall of the warehouse, kicking up huge clumps of dust as she bolted toward Colin, who had his back turned to her.
“Colin!” He swung around at the sound of his name, his violet eyes wide. He hadn’t expected her to double back. Neither did he expect her to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. They stood for a while together in each others’ arms, finally cherishing the fact that they could be together without any boundaries. Neo-Team Galactic no longer served as a barrier to hold the two apart.
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So much dust and dirt filled the old cardboard boxes that held the contents of my past life, I nearly coughed up a lung trying to dig through the articles of clothing and books to see what I had left behind. My desperate attempt to breathe apparently garnered Cyrus’ attention from all the way on the other side of the house, because, in a matter of milliseconds, he was standing beside me. His sudden appearance made me shriek and jump backwards, crashing into another pile of boxes and making a mess of the empty spare bedroom.
I struggled to my feet, glaring at him. “Would you stop doing that?” I snapped. On Earth, he had the power to move through dimensions so quickly, it seemed as if he basically appeared in seconds anywhere he wished. Teleportation on a regular basis wasn’t as fast or as simple as his stepping from one place to the other miles apart. There were subtle shifts in the dimension when he did this that I could sense, but I never paid attention until he was either right in front of me or until he spoke so suddenly, I was convinced I was hearing things. I dragged the boxes into a sloppy pile before turning to address him.
“If the coughing hadn’t killed me, your scaring me to death would have!” I shouted, still shaking from his sudden appearance. “As long as we’re on Earth, we really don’t have to use our legendary powers unless we really needs to.” I laid a hand on the top box of the pile, kicking up a small cloud of dust that made me cough once again.
“You may be able to rest whenever there is no immediate threat to the Earth, but remember, as one of the six powers, I must always be at work making sure space doesn’t get out of control,” he explained, leaning against the doorframe. I rolled my eyes and put the boxes in a neater stack. “Are you sure that it’s wise to travel to Sunyshore at this time?”
I glared at him. “We could always teleport there instantly. We don’t have to actually walk there.”
“I meant, is it wise to appear in public in Sunyshore?”
“The gym isn’t exactly public.”
“You know what I mean.”
“It will be fine. Besides, the real issue is going to the Platinum Conference…”
“Which you can watch on the television from here.”
I scowled at him. “I’m going to the conference, even if I have to drag you along with me so that you can make sure I stay out of trouble.”
He didn’t say a word before stepping out of the room. I sighed and continued rifling through the boxes until I was bored. I made my way back down the hall to the trophy room that Kirio had set up for all of the family’s achievements. My, Kirio’s, and Katie’s trophies, badges, and Frontier Symbols were displayed as well as pictures depicting our conference teams. My main team’s Poke Balls were also laid out for all to see. I picked all of them up and stepped outside with Umbreon at my heels.
“Come on out everyone!” I shouted, releasing all five Pokemon. Blaziken, Swampert, Staraptor, Espeon, and Luxray all rushed up to greet me, happy to see me back on Earth once again. They talked in a flurry of Pokemon and English, desperate to tell me how they had missed me over the years. I hugged each and every one of them in turn listening to what they had been up to during my absence quietly. My heart was heavy as I looked at their keen faces. They were ready to jump back into the conference circuit as soon as I said the word.
Looking down at the snow that had engulfed by feet, I apologized to them. “I’m sorry guys, but…we can’t compete in conferences anymore…” They looked disappointed, but no one spoke. Understanding looks crossed their faces as they each stepped forward to gather around me. “However…” I looked from one to the other, smiling. “We can still be together for a good time yet. I’ll be staying on Earth for, hopefully, a few months.” They cried out in glee, stampeding to hug me and bury me under a mountain of happy Pokemon. Umbreon nuzzled against my face, and Swampert raised me up on his back, jumping up and down like a Tauros in glee. I laughed and tried to hang on until Staraptor grabbed the back of my shirt and hoisted me into the air, placing me gently on the snow-covered ground and flying to sit in a nearby tree.
“They can have the run of the place if you’d like.”
Kirio’s voice lifted my spirits even more, and I swung around to see him standing in the doorway, his Umbreon sprinting into the snow to touch noses with mine. He had changed from the suit and tie he had been dressed in for the past few days into a simple black shirt, jacket, and blue jeans. He looked exactly the same as he had on the conference circuit decades ago. It was as if time had stopped twenty years beforehand and had stayed the same forever.
“Thank you so much!” I exclaimed, dashing through the snow as best I could and throwing my arms around Kirio’s neck. It was freezing cold outside, but, with my face pressed against his chest, I felt like I was next to the warmest fire in the world. We stayed wrapped in each others’ arms for a long time, savoring the time we had together while it lasted. The moment we had waited for for decades in which we could truly stay in each others’ arms without worry or obstacle.
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“This is our last contest before the Grand Festival, and I want something amazing to wear!!!” Ashley shrieked at the breakfast table the morning after they had arrived in Hearthome. Chichiri stared at her, his ice blue eyes wide and frightful. He had never seen her pitch a fit before, and it was truly a sight to behold. Samantha sighed, not saying a word about her rival’s childishness while Michael simply glared at the coordinator as if to say that she was a spoiled brat.
Katie sighed. “It’s too far to walk to Veilstone, and its best if we stick to staying in Hearthome for the time being. Neo-Team Galactic may be disbanded, but there could still be dangerous agents walking around out there, and we can’t risk splitting up right now, right Kristine?”
Kristine was surprised that Katie had looked to her to answer the question. The shy former Galactic leader nodded. “Yes…why don’t you try the shops here in Hearthome? Don’t most of them cater to coordinators?”
“That’s just the thing! Most of the coordinators at this contest will be dressed in styles from Hearthome! I want to look different!”
“Then find something unique or change it up or something!” Katie snapped. “The contest starts tomorrow, anyway. It would take you too long to go to Veilstone and back.”
Ashley crossed her arms and glared at her. “Fine.” She jumped out of her seat and grabbed her bag. “I’ll be off until tonight, so don’t worry about me.” She stormed out of the Pokemon Center with her Glaceon at her heels. Katie sighed and turned to the others.
“Anyone up for some sightseeing?” She asked.
“I’d love to go to the Hearthome Cathedral,” Chichiri said.
“Michael and I are going to hit the shops,” Samantha said. Michael nodded.
“I guess I’d like to go to the Cathedral as well,” Kristine added.
“Great! We’ll all meet up back here for supper at six…and Ashley can meet us whenever…”
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“It’s so huge…” Kristine said, gazing up at the Hearthome Cathedral.
“Yeah, you know…” Katie said as they stepped inside. “I met Uncle Cyrus here several times before I knew who he was.”
“Uncle Cyrus?” Kristine asked, laughing shyly.
“What?”
“Well, not even Kris calls him uncle, and he’s her direct uncle…Plus, he doesn’t really seem like the guy who you call uncle, you know?” Chichiri explained.
Katie laughed. “Yeah, but still…he helped me out a lot to perfect my light powers…” She looked down at her hands. “I haven’t even transformed into Umbreon for a long time since we met…”
“It seems as if he cares a lot for Kris,” Kristine pointed out. “I can understand why he gave up his dream of using Giratina to destroy the universe to save her.”
“Kristine…” Katie hesitated.
“Yes?”
“Just curious, but…who would you have given up destroying the universe for if you hadn’t been Shadowficated?” Kristine blushed at the question. “N…Never mind, you don’t have to answer that…”
“Kevin…” She answered, lowering her eyes to the floor.
“Really?”
She nodded. “But, now that I’m no longer trying to reach that goal…I think he’s mad at me.”
“Judging by the way he acted when we left the Dimensional World, he cares a lot about you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Kristine’s smile grew wider as they reached the front of the cathedral, gazing up at the stained glass windows.
“You think we could ever convinve Cyrus to replace Palkia’s image with his own, you know?” Chichiri asked, laughing, as he looked at the pearl window with Palkia’s form carved into it.
Katie laughed. “I don’t think so. Besides, pretty much the entire world still thinks Palkia is still alive, so…I don’t think anyone will be told any different anytime soon.”
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“And now, put your hands together for the last Hearthome Contest before the Sinnoh Grand Festival!”
The crowd roared at Lillian’s announcement. The coordinators in the waiting room patiently waited for the first coordinator’s name to be called. Samantha was dressed in a black satin, short sleeved dress, while Ashley had chosen a short white halter dress with bright green trimming.
“The first coordinator on stage will be Greg Kakisu from Lavaridge City, Hoenn!”
A guy with white and grey hair stepped onto the stage, his blue eyes shining as he spun a Poke Ball into the air. “Go, Alakazam!” The psychic-type appeared on stage. “Ice Beam into Psychic!”
Alakazam shot a freezing cold beam of frozen air into the sky, twisting and turning it like a ribbon with its Psychic attack.
“Shadow Ball!”
The ribbon exploded, sending thousands of dark, glittery ice fragments into the air around them.
“Our next contestant will be Samantha from Slateport City, Hoenn!”
Samantha stepped onto the stage, smiling large at the crowd before spinning her Poke Ball into the air. “Go, Mawile!” The steel-type spun around on the stage, smiling at the crowd. “Shadow Ball into Metal Claw!”
Large balls of shadowy energy filled the air as Mawile danced around the stage, shattering each one into tiny fragments with its Metal Claw. Dark lights filled the arena, causing purple-shimmered glitter to rain down on the coordinator and her Mawile.
“The next coordinator on stage is Ashley from Veilstone City, Sinnoh!”
Ashley sauntered onto the stage, releasing her Ninetales in a shower of glitter. The fire-type poised beautifully on the stage, waiting for her first order. “Flame Wheel into Swift!”
Ninetales spun around, creating a fire tornado that was quickly surrounding by star-shaped energy balls. The stars spun around the tornado, glowing gold as they absorbed the heat.
“Shadow Ball!”
The ghost attack blew out the stars as the tornado faded. Ninetales and Ashley bowed to the crowd.
“Our next contestant is Paul from Ever Grande!”
A guy with bright yellow hair and dark brown eyes stepped onto the stage a few seconds after Jillian called out his name. He was decked out in a white suit with bright blue lining inside the jacket and walked as if he owned the place. Katie rolled her eyes as he pandered to the women in the crowd, who were screaming his name. She was sitting in the front row, unfortunately, and he walked right up to her, smiling slyly.
“Hello, baby,” he said, taking her hand and leaning forward. Several girls around Katie started to swoon at the close up sight of the handsome coordinator. “Want to go out sometime after this contest? I know a nice café down near Pastoria…”
“Not a chance,” she said, snatching her hand out of his and rolling her eyes.
He looked at her, offended. “What? You have a boyfriend?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, crossing her arms. Kristine giggled at the hurt look on Paul’s face as he sauntered back onto the stage, glaring at Katie before throwing a Poke Ball into the air.
“Go, Rapidash!” He shouted, releasing the fire-type Pokemon. “Bounce into Fire Spin!”
The Rapidash tensed up, then sprang into the air as a circle of fire appeared around it. The warm air from the circle buoyed the Pokemon even further up as several more circles surround the Rapidash like orbital rings. The Pokemon lowered itself to the ground at the sound of the audience’s applause. Before Paul left the stage, he shot one more glare at Katie before striding away.
She rolled her eyes again. “Guys…”
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“We’re sure to be in the top four,” Ashley muttered as the coordinators awaited the judges’ decisions.
“Isn’t it strange that May and Dawn aren’t judging this contest?” Samantha asked.
“They’re still being kept in the dark about Kris being back on Earth, too. I wonder what’s going on with the Legendary Team these days?” she shrugged. “They’re probably just taking a break.”
“All right everyone!” Jillian’s voice broke the silence. “Now to announce the top four coordinators who will advance to the next round! Ashley from Veilstone City, Samantha from Slateport City, Paul from Ever Grande, and Marina from Japan!”
Samantha’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know they let international coordinators compete in the final contests.”
“They don’t bar international trainers or coordinators from any rounds,” Ashley explained. “I’ve only seen a few in my day, but the ones from Japan are even more competition than the Aquapolian ones.”
“Now to see our matchups!” Jillian continued, turning to the board. “It will be Ashley vs. Marina and Samantha vs. Paul!”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Floor that guy for us, okay Samantha?”
Samantha smiled. “With pleasure.”
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“Our first semifinal match will be between Samantha from Slateport City, Hoenn and Paul from Ever Grande! Let the match begin!”
“Go, Raichu!” Paul shouted, releasing his electric-type.
“Go, Leafeon!” Samantha shouted, releasing her grass-type.
“Quick Attack!”
“Shadow Ball!”
Raichu rushed at Leafeon, but proved to be too slow. A ball of shadowy energy slammed into it, knocking it across the floor. Paul frowned in frustration.
“Slam!”
This time, Raichu jumped into the air, crashing down on top of Leafeon with amazing speed aided by gravity.
“Razor Leaf!” Samantha shouted as Raichu got ready to slam into Leafeon again.
Razor-sharp leaves slammed into the electric-type, sending it flying into the wall behind Paul.
“Raichu is unable to battle! Samantha and Leafeon win!” Jillian announced. Paul angrily recalled his Raichu and glared across the stage at Samantha before storming off. She crossed her arms and smiled in his direction, felling grand at her victory.
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“And now, our match between Ashley of Veilstone City and Marina of Japan! Let the match begin!”
“Go, Umbreon!” Marina shouted, releasing her dark-type.
“Go, Glaceon!” Ashley shouted, releasing her ice-type.
“Dark Pulse!’ Marina was the first to call an attack, her Umbreon rushing forward split seconds after its trainer’s orders. Ashley concentrated on its movements, her mind flipping through all of Katie’s gym battles she had watched during their travels through Sinnoh.
“Ice Beam!”
As the Dark Pulse rushed through the air at Glaceon, the ice-type jumped straight up into the air, spinning around several times before firing a beam of ice energy at Umbreon. The dark-type was too slow to dodge the attack, resulting in one of its paws freezing over immediately.
“Looks like your Umbreon is a little too slow! Glaceon, Quick Attack!”
Glaceon slammed into Umbreon, knocking the dark-type off of its frozen feet and slamming it into the far wall.
“Umbreon is unable to battle! Ashley and Glaceon win!” Ashley smiled as Jillian announced her victory and nodded into the audience at Katie, who gave her a thumbs up and a smile.
“No Umbreon is ever going to top hers in speed, I guess,” Ashley muttered to herself, smiling as she stepped off the stage.
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“So, you guys are facing each other in the final round again, you know?” Chichiri exclaimed over dinner. “This is going to decide which of you makes it into the Grand Festival, right?”
Ashley nodded. “I would have rather faced Samanthat on the Grand Festival’s final stage, to tell the truth.” Samantha was startled by her rival’s statement, amazed that the blue-haired coordinator thought that much of her as to want to battle her in such a high-level match.
“Well, I guess things like this happen when coordinators travel together,” Samantha said, putting down her chopsticks. “You trainers are lucky that you don’t have to face up against each other until the conference.”
“I guess so, but then we don’t learn each others’ tactics quite as fast,” Katie pointed out. Chichiri nodded in agreement.
“So I heard you two made it into the last round of the Hearthome contest!”
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The group turned at the sound of my voice, startled looks crossing their faces when they realized who was addressing them. I smiled, sliding into a seat next to Kristine.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be in public?” Ashley asked, her blue eyes wide.
“No one will recognize me, anyway. You can even call me Kris as long as you don’t say my last name around anyone,” I said, motioning to the waitor.
“Wait…How are you going to pay for your meal?” Katie asked suspiciously.
“My bank account was frozen when I died, so Kirio took it over and just opened it again so that I can use it whenever I want. Let me tell you, being Vice-Champion had its perks!” I turned as the waitor approached. He had messy light brown hair and grey-blue eyes that widened as he stepped closer. For a second, I was afraid that he recognized me, but it turned out that he was simply taken in by my looks. I sighed. Being an angel had its downside when you were in love with one guy and one guy only. Every other guy in the universe your age automatically felt a little uneasy around you. “Can I have the spiced lamb, please?” I asked. He nodded, mumbled awkwardly, and dashed away.
Ashley laughed. “Lucky you! He’s really cute, why don’t you ask him out?” When I blushed at her comment, she laughed again. “Come on, now! Why don’t you take advantage of the whole “angel-come-to-Earth” thing?”
Katie cleared her throat and I laughed at the embarrassed look that crossed Ashley’s face when she realized her faux pau. “I’m already with the guy of my dreams, Ashley. Katie’s the proof of that…” At Katie’s turn to blush, I threw up my hands to change the subject. “So, what Pokemon are you using for the final round of the contest?” I asked.
“I’m using Leafeon, and Ashley is using her Glaceon,” Samantha explained.
I nodded, then blanched. Everyone followed my gaze to the window I was sitting right in front of. Across the street from the restaurant stood Cyrus. And he was not happy.
“Um…you DID tell Uncle Cyrus where you were going, weren’t you?” Katie asked.
I burst into nervous laughing, “Uncle Cyrus?”
“What?”
“You HAVE to call him that the next time you see him. I’d love to see the look on his face, but, unfortunately…”
“What are you doing here?”
Several shocked shrieks and yells of surprise erupted from the teenagers at the table at Cyrus’ sudden appearance inside the restaurant. Chichiri nearly fell off backwards in his chair, and Ashley tried to scowl fiercely at the former Galactic leader, then decided against it and simply tried to regain her composure. I glanced wildly around the restaurant. Not many people had noticed the uproar at our table, and those who had were no longer interested in the doings of a group of teenage trainers and coordinators having dinner together.
While the rest of the group were pulling themselves together from the brink of nearly having a heart attack, I turned to Cyrus, noticing the storm clouds in his eyes and wincing. He was definitely angry at my sneaking away to Hearthome. I gathered my thoughts and tried to speak, but he beat me to it, scowling the entire time. “I thought we agreed that you were only to observe the Sunyshore gym battle and nothing else? What are you doing in Hearthome?”
Skipping over the vast expanse of intelligence that I had inherited from my uncle, I blurted out, “What are YOU doing in Hearthome, hm?” I raised one eyebrow, hoping that I could at least change his angry look to an exasperated one. No such luck. His frown only deepened. I sighed, giving up as I told him the truth. “I’m getting tired of being cooped up in Snowpoint. I mean, the Karasuma home is big, but…” I nudged my glass of tea a few inches, concentrating on the condensation that spread across the wooden countertop. I tried to focus on anything but Cyrus’ angry look. “I miss traveling around, and…”
“Those days are over.” His sudden interruption and sharp voice startled me completely. A cold feeling washed over me as I recognized the tone of his voice from before I defeated him in the battle over Giratina. It was cold, emotionless, and calculating. I wondered if a part of his past would always stick to him, even in his mannerisms. Then, the full feeling of his words hit me. I would never be able to compete in tournaments again. Never be able to train and battle gym leaders. My days as a trainer on the conference circuit were over.
My sudden sadness and downcast face were instantly picked up by the rest of the group. Katie scowled at Cyrus, returning her great-uncle’s angry gaze for making me feel worse about my own situation than I should. I couldn’t stand the looks the others shot me, looks of pity and sadness that I couldn’t look at…and wouldn’t look at for much longer.
My chair clattered against the wooden floor so loudly, patrons at the other side of the restaurant turned to see what the cause of the sudden noise was. Rushing from the restaurant, I was followed by Cyrus into the street.
“Kristal!” I could hear him calling my name as I stepped across the street, fighting back the tears that stung my eyes. Despite the fact that I knew he cared so much about me to never purposefully hurt me, Cyrus’ words could be insensitive at times. I pushed past the people crowding the busy Hearthome streets, wiping my eyes and swearing to myself I wouldn’t cry this time.
“Kristal, I’m sorry.”
I spun around to see that he was only a few feet behind me. His pearl eyes were dark with worry and a sad expression crossed his features. I turned away from him to glare down at the pavement beneath my feet, staring at my shiny black boots for a few minutes as I fought the thousands of things I wanted to say to him aloud…but I wouldn’t. I tried to take several deep breaths, but they came out as sobs.
I struggled to speak as he drew closer. “Let’s…let’s just go back to Snowpoint…” I managed to gasp out as he put a hand on my shoulder, trying to steady my emotions through his touch. My vision swam with tears as Hearthome faded from sight.