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The Legend's End

Scaldaver

Limitless
Hey, thanks for all the reviewing, Dragonfree. I've already altered the chapter to explain some more, and I will address the other points in other chapters. I also corrected the 'Knight speech' thing (I forgot that that Mudkip was a Pokemon momentarily. Oops...).

What Bayleef says about the Pokeballs is in fact true, but I will mention it in a later chapter...

(And yes, I did include the 'somethings'. I thought it would be a nice touch.)
 

legoslayer10

Legendary Master
This is astounding, the plot all comes together, with no backdraft of pointless flashbacks or any meaningless swap of words in any point. A fantastic story in every view!
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
This is astounding, the plot all comes together, with no backdraft of pointless flashbacks or any meaningless swap of words in any point. A fantastic story in every view!

So... you wanna be on the PM list?

Thanks for the shining comments, they're what I write for!
 

The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
I just read the entire story thus far from beginning to end, and I must say, I am pretty impressed.

While the beginning was a bit weak, relying on some typical trainer fic clichés while it was still unclear what the meaning of the Groudon portion was, you rapidly developed the story into something much more engaging than that. You've done well in later chapters at setting this apart from typical trainer fic fare, in fact, I daresay I've learned a couple of things myself.

On another note, I actually understood and liked what you did with the Rocky Gym battle - it was kind of a clever nod to how typically dull the first Gym in any of the games is. It raised some questions in my head, too - is it right to assume Rocky os from Unova, because he has Archen and Roggenrola? And what of Roxanne, where has she gone?

It's pretty clear you're planning out your narrative, because it's a considerable strength. I am very interested in the developing fight to stop Groudon's enigmatic assassin, and this "Shift" you've alluded to, which appears to be some kind of massive (un?)natural event that caused mass migrations, is also extremely intriguing.

You have had some struggles with spelling and grammar, but other reviewers have already thoroughly covered that, and you can further refer to the PM I'm going to send you.
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
Thanks for the proofreading of Dragonfree and The Great Butler, who between the two of them probably cover every mistake I make (of which there are many). So, anyway, enjoy!



Chapter Eight

Lost memories, Part 1


The battle was over. The lord of the seas was dead and the emperor of the sky was fleeing. The intruder cast an eye over to the mutilated corpse of what was once a worshipped god. After a lasting look of pity, it flew in pursuit of the dragon.

Slowly but steadily the corpse rose, belly-up, and gracefully floated up the chasm.


***

Edward's eyes suddenly flew open and he found himself staring wide-eyed at the overcast sky. He felt pressure in his chest, then he was coughing up sea water, all over his chest and the rock around him.

Hang on. Rock?

Edward's palm swept against the rough granite, but before he could consider this, he felt a stinging sensation on his face as a force knocked his head to the side.

“You idiot!” he heard the furious yell of Nuria, perhaps inches from his ear. “What the hell is your problem?” He felt another slap on his face, harder than the first. His cheek rung from the impacts, and he braced before hearing another voice:

“Stop it, you crazy-head! It's a miracle as it is; be thankful he's alive.” The voice sounded old and weary. Edward cracked his eyes open and craned his neck up to see who had the audacity to talk to Nuria in such a way. This man needed a medal.

A small semi-circle of children surrounded him, as well as an old man Edward recognised to be the boat driver. He looked to his right and saw Nuria, shaking with rage. The old man stepped forward, hand outstretched. Edward took it and shakily got to his feet. He nearly slipped, but the old man held fast. Then Edward noticed that his own clothes were completely sopping wet.

“What?” he groaned, his eyes hurting, unaccustomed to the sudden light.

“You were drowning,” the old man rasped bluntly. “You would've died if your friend hadn't dived down in after you.” Edward's face turned to Nuria, and noticed for the first time she was wet too. Edward gaped helplessly at her while she raised an eyebrow at his confusion.

“What? You're not surprised, are you?” she asked, still trembling with rage. Edward couldn't even mumble a reply. Nuria, save his life? Was it possible? Then Edward shivered as the truth dawned on him. He owed Nuria Heliol his life. Dear God...

Edward looked around him, over the heads of the curious children. They all appeared to be on a small brown rock island, surrounded for miles and miles by the still sea. Edward turned around, and saw a mound of rock, similar to a mountain, though not nearly as big but big enough to obscure his vision of the opposite end of the island. The boat was docked just a few metres away. The island could be one-hundred squared metres, Edward guessed, based on the size of this side.

“Where is this?” Edward croaked. For a drowned boy, his throat was awfully parched. He noticed some of the children, placated in the knowledge that Edward had lived, start to walk off around the tall mound of rock. The old man released his hand, content that Edward could stand.

“Dewford,” he said. “Or what's left of it.” Edward looked around again, sure the man had made a mistake. After all, he'd seen the holiday cards of Dewford, those golden beaches and crystal clear sea. But there was no sand in sight, and the sea was murky and motionless. The old man nodded at Edward's confusion and explained,

“The rain flooded the entire island, with the exception of Granite Cave. The Pokemon inside- what's wrong?” he asked as Edward's knees suddenly buckled again. Nuria, as quick as a Ninjask, shot up to catch him before he fell.

“Edward?” she asked, desperation, not anger, in her voice.

Edward's heart was beating wildly, his mind screaming something of such massive importance that he could feel himself sweating in the cool air.

Granite Cave.

The name sent shivers down his spine. Of what? Fear? Anticipation? Edward didn't know. It was as though the world's most precious memory was just on the tip of his tongue, out of reach. Edward's frustration rose as Nuria continued.

“We need a doctor. He's been dizzy almost all day and has fainted. Is there one nearby?” Nuria pleaded to anyone who would listen. Edward concentrated for a moment and stood carefully, shooting one half-hearted glare at Nuria.

“Now who's babying who?” he demanded. She displayed a slight crooked grin, then punched Edward full force in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath, holding the place of his stomach where a Hitmonchan could've given him a Mach Punch. When he felt comfortable enough to rise (after a few minutes), he noticed all the young trainers, including Nuria, had gone, leaving only the old man.

“Yep, she's crazy all right,” he muttered, then pointed over to the mound of rock. “The doctor will be past that, helping out the Gym Leader.” Without any further comment, he turned back to his boat and climbed aboard.

***

Edward found Nuria cross-legged on the rock, watching the battle with unblinking eyes. An elderly man stood at one end, not quite as decrepit as the boat driver, but still wrinkled around the eyes. But they looked more like laughter lines than anything else. He wore a red t-shirt and casual blue jeans, with two sandals to protect his feet from the rough ground. He had strong, ripped arms, and instead of being hunched over like the boat driver, stood tall and proud with a sharp eye on the battle. His blond hair was long enough to dangle down to his neck.

The battle seemed interesting enough. A Machop stood panting, holding its side to stem the flow of blood seeping through its fingers. Its feet were tangled hopelessly in roots which extended over to the other combatant. A Shroomish stood some feet away from it, frowning at the humanoid from its undefined face. It was bruised and cut, bleeding brown blood, but the wounds appeared to heal as Machop's breathing became more laboured. Then Edward noticed that, standing opposite to who could only have been the Gym Leader, was James. His eyes were furrowed in concentration, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.

“Looks intense,” Edward commented. Nuria nodded and patted the rock next to her. Edward sat. “Looks harder to beat than Rocky, in any case.” To this, Nuria just rolled her eyes.

“Have you forgotten that Rocky's been Gym Leader for only two weeks? Or that he never trained Pokemon until his Mum got a heart attack last month?” She raised an eyebrow at Edward's confusion (for the second time that day). “You seriously thought that was the full-time Gym Leader? As though your underdeveloped Nincada could have even scratched the last Leader's Pokemon. Don't you watch the news? Or listen in school?” The last comment was more of a joke, as it was constantly used by Edward against Nuria. Still, as Nuria mentioned it, it did seem pretty similar to Edward. Suddenly the badge in his bag didn't feel so important.

Of course, Edward knew he had a half-excuse for not knowing. Edward had always wanted more adventure in his life, so if a Pokemon related news broadcast blared on the television, Edward would turn it off or leave the room. The fact was that Edward wanted to make his own adventure, and simply didn't care about what others had done. Nuria's Mum had banned her from watching anything to do with Pokemon, so turned on the Pokemon-related news whenever she was out. Of course, Edward knew he knew far more about Pokemon themselves than Nuria. To prove this point:

“What're the roots doing?” Nuria asked. Edward grinned self assuredly.

“Leech Seed. You know, the seeds germinate on the opponent and drains its energy, bringing it back to the one who released the seeds.” Edward couldn't help it, but the comment sounded patronising. Nuria grunted in reply.

The tense stand-off became too much for James, and he ordered Shroomish to use Stun Spore. The mushroom concentrated for a second, then expelled a golden cloud of small particles from the hole at the top of its head. Slowly it wafted over to the Machop, but its trainer made no attempt to issue a command. Instead, the second the humanoid inhaled within the cloud, he called:

“Facade!”, and instantly the Machop jumped over to the Shroomish, feet tied together by the roots, where it fell to the floor at the mushroom's feet. It struggled to get up, baring its teeth while pushing on the ground. Edward could see it shuddering, parts of its body occasionally freezing up. The display looked so completely pitiful that he was about to demand the match to stop when suddenly it jumped up, taking the Shroomish by surprise, and punched it upwards with such force that the mushroom flew high into the air. It landed a second later with a dull thud, like the noise made if you dropped a pillow. It didn't get up again, and must have been James' last Pokemon because when it was withdrawn he walked away bitterly, allowing one of the spectators to stand up and take his place.

“Wow,” was all Edward could say. A weakened, seeded, paralysed Machop taking out a Shroomish in one blow. Suddenly Edward remembered how under-levelled his Pokemon were. He'd have to find somewhere to train. Fast.

Nuria must have come to the same conclusion, because she jumped up, making her way over to the mound of rocks. Edward followed.

“Where're we going?” he asked as they started to climb.

“I saw someone come out the top here just before you arrived. Probably an entrance to Granite Cave.” Once again, confusion swept over Edward as he tried to work out the mystery in his mind. What was so important about Granite Cave?

They reached the top in seconds, and Edward saw that a hole had been drilled in the top, leading into a dark, hollow tunnel. Edward's heart began to race again. He knew he was close to... to something of immense importance. Something crucial. Involuntarily he took a dazed step forward, and would have fallen in altogether if Nuria hadn't held out an arm. She then leaned in closer to the hole.

“It's dark down there, all right,” she confirmed to Edward.

“Zubat can guide us, right?” Edward asked, a subtle note of anxiety in his voice. Nuria narrowed her eyes at him.

“Yes. Why are you so desperate?” she asked, blatantly suspicious.

“It's all connected!” Edward blurted out, louder than he meant. “Something's in there, I know it is.” Nuria crossed her arms.

“Have you seen a doctor yet? Because all that's down there is rock and wild Pokemon. I'm going to train Ralts for a while. I'll follow you a bit, but when the Pokemon stop, so do I.” She then took off her backpack and rifled through it, producing a torch. Edward remembered he too had one, and soon produced his own. He also sent forth his Zubat. It materialized in a glow of white and began to circle the air, free of the restraints the forest had placed.

“Oh, noblest of masters, I thank thee sir for permitting me this freedom which-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nuria interrupted. “Can you guide us in the cave?” Zubat looked affronted by the bluntness of Nuria's request, but replied to Edward:

“Of course, thy wish is my command!” And before Edward could thank him, Zubat swerved in the air and darted into the crevice. Edward and Nuria exchanged nervous glances, but Nuria was the first to lower herself into the hole. When her head had disappeared, Edward leant down too. The hole had metal pipes which acted as a ladder, but they were wet and slippery, so he had to hold on, rung and torch in hand, as he descended.

The floor wasn't as far down as Edward expected, though by the time he had got there and switched on his torch, Nuria had already sent out Ralts, who stood straight and unwavering looking up to Nuria. Edward could see her shaking slightly, but not as much as before. For all he knew, it was just the feeling of being under several tonnes of rock. Edward shivered. Why did he have to think that?

Listless, Edward pointed his torch at random around the cavern, illuminating crevices with yellow light. It was a large room with plenty of rocks strewn across the floor. At the other end of the chamber was a hole, darker and more ominous than the rest of the area. He noticed the floor was wet a few metres to his right, right up against the wall. The wall looked different from the other walls, less smooth, more like it was bricked up. Then Edward realized; it must have been the old entrance before the flood. Knowing that only a wall prevented him from drowning sent another shiver down his spine.

Edward knew it was close, whatever it was. Each and every glance was like deja vu, old memories failing to slot into place like a broken jigsaw puzzle. He felt himself sweating. Why?

Suddenly Zubat appeared out of nowhere and made Edward scream. Deep and manly? Not a chance. He let forth a high-pitch squeal, which made Nuria snort somewhere in the darkness.

“What is it?” Edward hissed at the bat.

“Master, I am tremendously sorry if I gave you a fright. Even the bravest of men-”

“Anything else?” Edward demanded. Suddenly he felt bad. “Sorry. I shouldn't be so angry; it was only a mistake. Is there anything else, Zubat?” he said in a softer tone.

“I scouted into the darkest levels. Most of the Pokemon have been evacuated,” he said, just loud enough for Nuria to hear, “the exceptions being members of mine noble race and some curious chaps with shiny eyes.” Edward racked his brain. Shiny eyes? Of course, he realized, Sableye, the darkness Pokemon. Zubats could be dealt by Ralts, but what were Sableye's weaknesses again? Oh yeah, he remembered. They didn't have one.

Nuria marched over to Edward, Ralts following. Edward noticed a rounded grey rock being levitated just above Ralts' head. Edward raised an eyebrow.

“It was Ralts' idea,” Nuria explained. “When she's not battling, she'll still be training.” Edward looked over at the feeling pokemon and saw that, although the rock was directly in front of her, she had positioned her head in Nuria's direction.

“Speaking of training, what about Bayleef?” Edward asked. Nuria shrugged.

“I'll talk to her later. She can't train here anyway, though I'm sure I spotted a Geodude or two out there somewhere.” She thought for a moment, then realised that Edward was still there. “So, anyway, I'll follow you on your journey for the Holy Grail or whatever and battle what we bump into. Okay?” she asked. Edward nodded and walked over to the hole, legs quaking. Whatever he suspected was there was buried deep below the surface of the land, waiting for him.

***

There were many, many floors to Granite Cave, more than Edward thought possible. It seemed as though the earth just added new levels for the humans to stumble through. Even with the torches, Zubat was indispensable. He helped prevent both Nuria and Edward tripping on many occasions, stopped them from falling into chasms and even told Nuria she'd stumbled into a sleeping Graveler minefield, and had to carefully navigate her out (although Edward suspected that this was just revenge for Nuria cutting him off so rudely earlier), as she had no intention of battling something that strong. Ralts just followed behind Nuria at a set distance, never more then two metres away.

With each level the anticipation in Edward's chest grew greater and greater. The occasional rock or crevice seemed so familiar that he'd sworn he'd been in that exact spot before.

The few trainers they encountered by torchlight gave them wide berth. After all, Edward reasoned, they were probably after a wild Pokemon battle to train for the Gym Leader; not to have a battle between powerful Pokemon which could cause the place to cave in.

Nuria hadn't been able to battle once, which may have been smart considering she couldn't see most of what was going on. Edward didn't actually know why she still followed. There hadn't been any Pokemon sightings recently, so why was she still tagging along? Edward nearly pursued this thought when he saw the hole in the floor by his feet.

Here.

He'd reached his destination. His humming heart confirmed it. The light in the cavern flickered as his hand trembled. Sweat dripped in beads down his forehead. In a hole no larger than a metre in diameter was the end of his search.

“Nuria-” he croaked, then felt her hand clamp around his mouth. He panicked for a second, then Nuria pointed with her other hand into the darkness where Edward wasn't shining his torch. Two luminescent bluey-white gems that seemed to-

Edward's heart suddenly stopped. They weren't jewels. They were eyes.

Edward nodded slightly and Nuria released her hand. Where the hell is Zubat? Edward cursed, taking a tentative step backwards towards the ladder to the chamber above. Edward hoped madly that it hadn't seen them. Because then they'd have no choice but to jump into the hole, and now Edward wasn't so sure if he wanted to go in. Was it fear which trembled his hand? As he thought this his foot caught on a pebble and he fell crashing to the floor. Pain shot up his hands which he used to cushion himself, and knew instantly he'd started to bleed.

That's when the Sableye attacked.

Edward felt a slash on his leg and screamed in pain. Nuria started to shout when it was suddenly cut off. Edward's anticipation he felt mere seconds before was now replaced by sheer terror.

Edward could hear more tiny feet approaching, a cruel inhuman chuckle from all around. He curled up into a ball, tucking his bleeding legs into his stomach. Another slash. Then another. Each time he screamed in agony, tears rolling down his cheeks and blood wetting his clothes. He lifted the torch with his one good arm and looked around, the view distorted behind the tears. Bejewelled, menacing creatures of the shadows surrounded him completely in in rows upon rows, sharp teeth bared in psychotic grins. One from the back jumped into the air and came flying towards him. With what he thought to be his final effort, Edward rolled up, brought his torch fist back, and sent a desperate punch with all his remaining energy towards the gremlin. It made no contact; the Sableye just dissolved into shadow. His momentum carried him forward; Edward was sure he'd break his nose on the fall. But instead of colliding with ground, Edward just kept on falling past the floor, through the hole into the chamber below.

***


 
Last edited:

overlordmewtwo

Supreme Overlord
Oh, boy. That hole seems to be pretty deep. Maybe he'll go into Wonderland! (JK)

A Sableye attack. I never liked those guys, and them attacking just made things worse. Wonder why Edward was feeling anticipation as they moved deeper into the cave.

And Kyogre is dead, too?!? Damn. Whatever is after those guys is very strong. Rayquaza, I'm sure, was lucky to get out alive.
 

Sidewinder

Ours is the Fury
the impacts, and braced before he heard another voice:

Felt as if a 'HE' would make the sentence better if it was inserted between and, and braced.

Edward recognised to be the boat driver

Spelling error. Should be 'recognized'

Nuria, as quick as a Ninjask, shot up to catch him before he fell.

I liked that comparison alot.

The name sent shivers down his spine. Of what? Fear? Anticipation? Edward didn't know. It was as though the world's most precious memory was just on the tip of his tongue, out of reach. Edward's frustration rose as Nuria continued.

I think you did a great job describing that situation.

seemed bruised and cut, bleeding brown blood,

It seemed? I felt like that would be better if you had written that it was. Seemed means that it might not be, but if its seeping blood, then it is. Make sense?

Nuria must have come to the same conclusion, as she jumped up, making her way over to the mound of rocks.

Felt like that would have read better if you had put, "Nuria must have come to the same conclusion, because she jumped up, making her way over to the mound of rocks.

“Master, I am tremendously sorry if I gave you a fright. Even the bravest of men-”

I liked how Zubat reassured Edward. Reminded me of C3PO for some reason lol

Nicely done. I liked the chapter a great deal. I'm still wondering why Edward has so much involved in the fate of the legendary's that have died. It almost seems like he has some sort of precognitive power. It bothered me a little bit that the two of them went so far into Granite cave. I just can't think of a reason why they would venture so far down. Just made me stumble on the reading slightly.

The last bit with Sableye was really good. Only some fics have Pokemon attacking and inflicting actual injury on humans, which I've always thought to be realistic; I'm glad I can count your fic as one of them. It's so real, so deserving, if that makes sense. I also think you're doing a good job improving the characters and making them grow. Nuria is surprisingly violent (Which I like, for some reason.) I see now why you had to split this up into two chapters, and I eagerly await to see what happens to Nuria and Edward. Good job!
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
Hey, because of the two similar chapters, the next is now up! Keep in mind (Sidewinder) that, being English, I spell some words differently (like 'organised' instead of 'organized'). I hope everyone can overcome these international differences and get along well. Enjoy!


Chapter Nine

Lost Memories, Part 2


***

The killer resurfaced, finally free of the restraints the water had imposed. It stretched out slightly and looked out upon the flat sea in satisfaction. It then gazed up into the clouded sky. It took less than a second to consider its next course of action, then took off into the sky in pursuit.

***

Edward was sure he was dead. He felt no pain from his lacerations. His head didn't hurt either, though he felt sure he'd bashed against the rock floor. Groaning, he prised open his eyelids and saw a red circle in the middle of his view. Oh great, he thought, a concussion down here. If only Nuria was-

Edward bolted up as he remembered the fight. The half-shriek that Nuria had produced. The Sableye must have her! Edward thought, panic-stricken, I have to-

“Don't worry,” said a voice from behind him. It sounded small and high-pitched, like a little girl's. Edward whipped his head around and of course saw nothing in the darkness. As his head moved the red ball disappeared to overhead.

Edward's heart appeared to hum for a moment. That voice. He knew that voice. He knew those words. But he didn't know where from.

“The Sableye weren't real,” the voice continued happily. “They were just images to scare your friend off. Her Ralts Teleported her away. I'm also holding your Zubat asleep for a while. I need to talk to you, and you alone.” Edward swallowed. What had happened to Zubat? What was going on?

“Why are you scared? Don't be scared. You're my friend, remember? My brother's friend is my friend. We had a nice old chat in your dreams, didn't we? Can't you remember?”

Edward furrowed his brow. He did remember, but how? He certainly couldn't remember talking to the voice before, but it sounded so familiar. And what did it mean, in his dreams?

Suddenly it all fell into place. The memories started to reassert themselves, crystal clear in his mind. He stood up, more confident, but the fear still remained. Because now he knew why he was here.

“You do remember!” the voice chirped happily. “So, have you thought about it much? Do you say yes?” Of course I haven't thought about it, Edward thought, I just remembered now. But he nodded anyway, grimacing as he did so. He knew he could only say yes, because of what it would mean if he said no.

“Oh good! Hey, wait, can you see? Oh sorry! I forget that you humans need light to see. Here you go!” Instantly the chamber exploded into bright light, causing Edward to shield his eyes.

When he was able to squint, he made out the dark brown walls, the sharp points of the stalactites and stalagmites and, most notably, the figure dead in the centre of the circular chamber. As Edward's eyes adjusted, he made out the sharp, long, red wings; the red body, small arms and tail feathers; the long white neck capped with a sharp, feline head with a red triangular band in its nose. As she shifted, Edward made out the hollow blue triangle on her chest.

Edward knew he was looking at a real live legendary Pokemon. A Pokemon of such power that it could atomize him with just intense concentration.

A Pokemon that he knew couldn't survive without him.

Unconsciously, Edward brought an empty Pokeball from his deep pockets and threw it at the Pokemon. She smiled as her form became redder and redder, and as she lost her shape she whispered, with a voice so soft it could have been a breeze, “Thank-you.”

And the Pokeball closed, clicking to confirm successful capture. The light began to fade so Edward had to train his torchlight beam on the ball. Edward's mind both raced and cemented. His new memories and old slotted together now, showing him the lies he'd been under the influence of his entire life. But he knew he could be certain of at least one thing.

He'd just caught Latias.

***

Eight Hours Previously, Petalburg Forest

The space was so cramped that the two couldn't even get inside their sleeping bags, so they resignedly slept under them, head to toe. Unfortunately for Edward, Nuria was a fidget. Barely a moment passed when she didn't shift her position, keeping Edward wide-eyed in the orangey glow of the tent. At one point, Edward noticed something kicked over from Nuria's feet, a little purple waist bag Edward hadn't ever noticed before. Nuria kicked it again in her sleep, and the contents spilled out. Edward's face turned white, then, with shaking fingers, gently, cautiously, picked up the offending item.

“Nuria,” he half whispered, half choked, “what the hell is this?” Nuria rolled over, eyes half closed, and caught sight of what he was holding. Her eyes didn't even widen.

“Defence. What do you think?” She rolled over again.

Edward, arms shaking, opened the waist bag, tentatively placed the gun in, and pushed it as far away from him as possible.



The dream started off nightmarish and confusing; Nuria had been chasing him around a storm-ridden Petalburg with a gun shaped like a Bayleef. No matter which way he had run, she'd always turn up and point it at him, laughing maniacally at his horror. He turned again to run, but suddenly came face to face with a glowing image of a bird-like Pokemon. Of course, it was much bigger than the average Swellow, had a much longer neck and was more white than blue. Edward realised it looked nothing like a bird; more like a dragon really. Something tripped on the tip of Edward's mind. He'd seen pictures of this Pokemon. What was it called again? The unconscious part of his mind noted that the wind and rain had calmed down. All was eerily quiet and still.

All fear had nearly evaporated and Edward could tell this wasn't a regular dream. He felt conscious he even though he knew he was sleeping. He frowned. It didn't make sense.

“Don't worry,” the dragon said in a playful young girl's voice. Its mouth didn't move, but Edward heard the words crystal clear in his head. The words acted as sedation; almost immediately Edward's mind was cleared of all suspicion and confusion. Everything seemed clear now.

“You must listen to what I say, for it is the most important thing you will ever hear.” The voice didn't sound playful any more, but cold and serious. Edward didn't even consider protesting in his state of complete calmness. “There is a creature out there systematically attempting to wipe out every living creature in the universe for reasons unknown. Since the dawn of time this being has obliterated countless planets, reaped infinite souls. It did this by impersonating itself as an Ancient, a being you term as 'Legendary', and killing the Ancients one at a time in order to cause instability in the world. You have seen what happened when it killed Groudon, just imagine what catastrophes would take place when all of us are gone forever.

“My brother has chosen you to be our saviour; I can detect his presence on you. He did this for reasons I cannot fathom. Perhaps he expected it to expect us to be with the 'elite' trainers, and thought you a good counter to this. You appear to be too ill-experienced in the ways of Pokemon training to be considered a target, but I don't know what his objectives were: connecting ourselves ina psychic fielf would alert the murderer to our presence. Anyway, we must request – no, beg you to capture us, to help make our presence unknown to it.

“So,” she said, optimism now ripe in her voice, “any questions?”

Even in his doped-up state Edward's head had buzzed with questions.

“Who is the killer?” Edward mumbled. The dragon giggled a little, high-pitched laugh.

“We don't know, silly!” the dragon said. “If we did, we'd do something, wouldn't we?”

Edward focused his already razor-sharp mind. So, he was being asked to protect a dragon and her brother from a mystery genocidalist? How is that fair?

“It's not,” the dragon said bluntly, still unnervingly optimistic. “But you have to, don't you? The ramifications of our deaths will still impact the world, though maybe not as much as Groudon and Kyogre's. For example, after Kyogre's death the seas will become still and all rainfall will stop. When Rayquaza itself is ready to flee, it may all be too - ” The voice broke of suddenly, as though not bearing to continue the train of thought. “Well, it would be disastrous for all life on land as well as the ocean and sky. Our deaths will be similar; we have a specific balance in nature, and disrupting it will be apocalyptic.”

Edward was silent, processing the information. The order had rendered him unable to panic, but he could still understand the implications of saying no.

“So, you chose me... just because I'm weak?” he asked, feeling just a bit sad. Talk about rubbing it in...

“Well,” the dragon said, trepidation in its voice, “there may have been another reason my brother chose you. I can detect the presence of another Ancient on you; a presence I cannot identify. The scent is weak on you, but still there all the same. You must have encountered another Legendary before, therefore another Legendary trusts you. This makes you more reliable than any other-”

Suddenly the city blinked out of existence to be replaced by unending darkness. After less than a second the desolate landscape returned.

“You begin to wake,” the dragon said sadly. “I fear you may not recall this encounter. I have developed a psychic connection between us so we may communicate again. Just remember: you may be the only hope for my brother and me. Seek me out in Granite Cave on Dewford Island.”

“Wait,” Edward muttered, feeling light-headed and confused. “What is your name, again?” The dragon giggled again.

“Latias. And remember, meet me at Granite-”

The dream ended.

***

Two Hours Previously, Route 105

The water started to boil, just under the spot, hundreds of metres away, maybe a kilometre away. The water tossed and turned, first gently but then more violently, when suddenly the ocean exploded. A massive green serpent shot out, and disappeared, spiralling high into the sky, through the hole in the clouds. As the tip of its tail disappeared, the clouds closed up, no evidence of the serpent remaining.

Edward expected to hear as much panic as he was feeling. Because if that was... If it was really...

Suddenly Edward noticed himself weakening, his consciousness
seeping away. His vision wasn't blurring, his mind wasn't sluggish, but everything seemed to move further away, as though his mind was being drained away. He tried to fight to feeling, but he felt his legs buckling, his body lurching forward. He flipped over the rail, and fell. He never felt the impact. By then, he was too far gone.



Latias hovered above the ground some five metres away, smiling happily at Edward in the dark city. Shock flowed through him as he recalled the last dream. The dragon seemed to notice this.

“Don't worr-”

“Stop!” Edward roared, throwing up his arms in protest. “Worry is good! Worry gives you rationality! Don't take it away from me!” Latias nodded and rose slightly higher into the air.

“Okay then. We must move on to other matters.” The playful voice was gone once more. “You seem to be able to recall slight details of the dream, which is probably why you reacted in the way you did to Kyogre's death. As you have seen, Rayquaza is on the run and is soon to be killed. There is nothing we can do to prevent this. But you can still aid my brother and me, for the time being at any rate. Optimistically, we could just outlive you-”

“Gee, thanks,” Edward muttered.

“-or, realistically speaking, the killer will still detect and kill us after a while.”

“And me?” Edward asked. The dragon tilted her head slightly.

“It'll probably leave you alone,” the dragon said, and moved on to another comment before Edward could interject again. “But the point is that we don't have long to live... alone. My brother and I have formulated a new plan since I had last contacted you. We think that we could get some help to fight this creature from other Ancients, but only with your help.”

“That's nonsensical,” Edward snorted. “Why can't you just get them to help by yourselves?” he asked. Latias shook her head.

“Ancients are, as their names imply, ancient and stuck in their ways. They are extremely territorial and not very trusting, which is the main reason for why they constantly fight. If my brother or I were to ask, it would appear as though we are encroaching on their territory. But if you talk to them...” her voice trailed off.

“So you want me to catch-”

“Oh, no,” Latias said hurriedly, “catching them all would just lead the murderer to you quicker. You just need to convince them to help, to join our side when the time to retaliate arises.”

“Okay, so you want me to sweet-talk a bunch of paranoid elites into helping you out? Oddly enough, I don't think it'll work.” Edward felt surprised he'd said that, although he was too angry to care. How could he be asked to do all this when there are thousands out there better qualified than he?

“The Ancients understand one thing only; power." Latias went on, ignoring Edward's tone. "Please them in battle and they will heed your warning. After all, Ancients can be caught, as proven by your champion, correct?” Edward nodded. He recalled somewhere in the back of his mind that the Hoenn champion had Moltres in his team. “And you are truly the only one that can help. A psychic link like this requires much time and power and can never go away. If I tried to make such a connection with another my power would be so limited I couldn't even run when the killer turns its eye on me.”

“What about your brother?” Edward asked desperately. Latias shook her head sadly.

“He is too weak already and far too busy checking to see which Ancients are still with us. Who knows, an Ancient or two may have been felled when the world was fixated on Groudon's death.”

Edward gritted his teeth. Why couldn't they have come up with this suicidal plan before he was chosen? Why wasn't there some sort of plan B? Why hadn't something been done sooner? He felt more livid than he had ever felt before, and he thought he was about to scream when the wording of the first part of the speech struck him.

“What do you mean please them in battle? And I thought you said you chose me because I was weak, so why ask me to fight Legendaries?” Edward asked, voice tainted with outrage.

“There is not a chance that you could possibly hope to defeat an Ancient. They don't have the limitations of regular Pokemon – you cannot damage them, only outmanoeuvre them for a small amount of time then be punished.” Edward's face turned white, anger dissipating. “We formulated this plan because you are weak but smart. That is why you are the perfect choice. You can travel the land, unafraid, but still recruit the Ancients by using your intellect, not brawn in battle. Intelligence is just as powerful as physical strength.”

Edward's body felt paralysed with the enormity of the task he was being given. Latias sagged her head.

“I feared you would react like this. But you must see that you must do this. If you do not, all that you care about shall be obliterated as though they never existed.”

Edward felt hollow, like the smallest of breezes could send him flying. Fight a Legendary? With what, a Mudkip, Nincada and Zubat? All that you care about shall be obliterated as though they never existed. The words rebounded in his skull for what seemed like forever. Finally, they hit a nerve - the only tiny, irrational nerve that bolstered his resolution. After all, he reasoned, what am I living for anyway?

“You can train them, of course,” Latias interjected, reading his mind. Edward nearly replied when he felt a tugging sensation on his stomach followed by instant light-headedness. He stumbled and fell to the wet, cold ground.

“You are being rescued," Latias moaned. "When you awake you may forget again, but try to remember in the crevices of your mind to MEET ME IN GRANITE CAVE!” The last words were blasted at him with such force that his ears rung with those words until the world went black.


 
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overlordmewtwo

Supreme Overlord
I now have another guess as to who the killer might be. One phrase gave me a major clue:

Since the dawn of time this being has obliterated countless planets, reaped infinite souls. It did this by impersonating itself as an Ancient, a being you term as 'Legendary', and killing the Ancients one at a time in order to cause instability in the world

This sounds very similar to a part of Giratina's Platinum Pokedex entry: It was banished for its violence.

Giratina, the being of antimatter, was violent when Arceus first created it; I'm sure it was feared for wiping out entire cities and civilizations with its power. I think some of the reason it did this was because it questioned the authority of Arceus. Arceus, to counteract Giratina's violent behavior, removed some of Giratina's power, created the Griseous Orb, and weakened its attacking strength, thus making it less a threat to civilization. At the same time, Giratina was given its own world where it was the undisputed master.

Then comes the second part of the Pokedex entry: It silently gazed upon the old world from the Distortion World.

I'm sure Giratina is still very angry about Arceus taking away some of its power, so to get revenge on it, it's killing legendaries, causing disorder in the world, and evening out the odds of it winning.

Of course, I could be completely wrong. Either way, I look forward to the moment when the killer's identity is revealed. Cool that Edward caught Latias, and good job referring back to everything. Now his fainting when Rayquaza shot out of the water makes a lot more sense.

Keep up the good work!
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
Hey, as it is 12 O'clock on April 1st it is time to reveal that this is an April Fool chapter. It is based on a Pokemon created by Dragonfree, so to understand the chapter fully it would be good to read the best piece of writing ever before or after reading this.

This chapter is not a real chapter with no continuation or any reference in the future. Believing this chapter will earn you the name Silly-Billy, and will be hounded to the end of time by your own guilt.

Obviously I'd never end it at only 10 chapters, or end it in such an offhand way. Enjoy!

April Fool's!


The murderer rose into the air, finally free of the restraints the salt-water had presented. It looked towards the sky in search of that elusive serpent. It saw nothing.

The murderer found its thoughts wandering to the day it all began. The day it was born in the maelstrom of fire, ice, thunder and psychic energy...

Mew, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno had been playing at Articuno's place in the Seafoam Islands. It was in a particularly exciting game of tag that that they came across the elusive Mist Stone (which had materialised due to a glitchy, washed up itemfinder turning on and off one-hundred times). After attacking it in apparent 'self defence', some of the attributes of each of the Legendaries had been embedded themselves within a single being.

The murderer was that being.

It had power unlike any other. And it knew it too. It knew it could do as it liked, kill who it liked. It could erase the memories of everyone the trainer knew, even the trainer's parents, so for aeons it remained undetected. Then the scientists came. It knew its well-being was at stake. Then it realised – the only way to ensure personal safety would be to eradicate all threats. All beings.

And so it started its mission, to kill everything everywhere.

The killer sensed something behind it. Turning, it made out a small island a mile away. It took a deep breath. All this Legendary murdering was hard work.

Time for some senseless small-scale killing.


***

The world seemed dazzling when Edward exited the cave. Then his vision became clearer, and he felt like diving back into the hole.

From his perch at the top of the island, Edward saw that the small, rocky landscape was more more of a wasteland than it had been previously. Ahead of him crater-holes littered the ground and the air smelled of ozone and burning. Then he noticed that the surrounding sea was glimmering with the sheen of a crystal... with a start he realised it was frozen solid.

An earth-shattering screech filled the air, causing dread to pour into Edward's every fibre. He whipped his head around in search of the noise, when he saw it behind him.

Towering high in the air was a creature that exuded more power than Edward could have felt possible for any living being. Edward found himself glued to the floor.

It was a great bird, predominately lightning-yellow in colour, with a long, orange beak and quite a few odd features. First of all, its powerful looking wings were tipped with a frosty blue, matching the solidified ocean in colour. It had a similarly coloured six-foot long elegant ribbon that wafted in the wind behind it – a tail, as it appeared. At odds with this, it had a flowing fire streaming forcefully from its forehead – Edward could feel the heat from where he was standing. It also had two stumpy, black legs which ended with large, orange, three-toed bird feet, each toe connecting to a razor-sharp claw the size of Edward's head.

Then Edward saw what it was doing. Its eyes were shining a luminescent pink, and before it many human figures hovered, each coated in a pink veil. None of them moved, each (metaphorically) frozen completely, when the bird blinked its eyes and the humans fell ten feet to the floor. None of them moved.

Edward stared in horror at the freshly-made corpses on the floor. What had the creature done to them? Edward scanned the group for Nuria, hoping desperately that she wasn't there, that she had escaped.

She hadn't. She looked wide-eyed at the sky, unseeing.

Anger, rage, then outrage rushed through him. He gritted his teeth; clenched his fist; breathed raggedly. He faced the bird, and roared:

“YOU MURDERER! EDWARD WILL KILL YOU TO DEATH!!!!!!” And he threw his Pokeball high into the air, where Latias appeared. In the time it took to form, Edward had whipped out his Pokedex and pointed it at the monster. It spoke in its soft, feminine voice:

“Molzapart, otherwise known as Unodostres, species unknown. This is a mysterious Pokémon that is fire/electric/ice/flying/psychic-type and can know five attacks at a time. No data avaiable.” Edward was about to put it back in his pocket when it started to speak again,

“If some trainer thinks he can capture it, nothing can stop it from killing the trainer and his Pokémon and use its psychic powers to make everyone forget the trainer, even his parents.”

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, and briefly considered whether 'avaiable' meant something along the lines of 'available except for this next tit-bit of information as well as the previous information.' Then he remembered his anger and roared:

“LATIAS, EDWARD SAYS USE-” but when he looked up he saw that Latias wasn't there, but several metres below on the floor surrounded by a coat of ice. His heart stopped and he saw Molzapart glaring at him menacingly. His anger left and was immediately replaced by dread. He turned to run but, being on top of a small mountain of loose rock, tripped over and skidded to the other side of the island. Cut, bruised and bleary-eyed, Edward staggered to his feet, picking up a rock as he did so, and started to stumble away, towards the ice.

Suddenly Edward's feet couldn't feel the floor, and he noticed the world had gone pink and the sky was rushing to meet him. He turned slowly in the air, and found Molzapart mere metres away. Edward screamed as the great bird opened its beak to screech, and lobbed the rock - neigh – pebble at the monster. Edward could feel nothing but dread. He knew he was about to die, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He saw his pebble sail pathetically towards the behemoth. He nearly chuckled. As though something so small could-

It made contact.

The explosion was gargantuan – fire blossomed everywhere for miles around, created a hellish dome of fire. The sound itself produced more force than a gigantic car crash. Edward felt himself falling, then nothing.

***
Epilogue

Edward awoke later, surrounded by anxious trainers. The second they sat up they started praising him and clapping him on the back. They said that after he had killed the Molzapart everybody had awakened as though nothing had happened, which everybody put down to the fact that Nuria was too essential to the plot to die in the ninth chapter, and that the G rating for this chapter couldn't possibly allow for all this death.

Suddenly Latias was there too and said that Molzapart had been the killer all along, and now it was dead everything would turn honky-dory again. She gave Edward her Pokenav number, said goodbye and sped off into the horizon to reunite with her brother.

The he saw Nuria. He felt so happy in that one second of seeing her he got on one knee and proposed immediately; she said yes and they abandoned their Pokemon journeys to got married there and then at the tender age of thirteen. The ring-bearer was Bayleef, who had forgiven Nuria for all her misdeeds and apologised herself. All the other Pokemon were released and went on to live happy lives of joy and happinessness. Then they went home.

Finally, the weather patterns all over the world were cleared up because of the skilled ocarina-playing of a small girl somewhere near Johto.

The End...


 
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The Great Butler

Hush, keep it down
Hahahahahaahaha oh WOW. You greased us all up for this super-epic adventure and then pulled the rug out from under us brilliantly in this last chapter. I'm enjoying a great laugh at all of this.

Excellent job, you little sneak, you got us good. Excellent job.

The killer's identity was a nice surprise, and when it looked like Nuria died, I actually was pretty horrified. I have to admit though, it's hard to focus on much other than the hilarious surprise.
 

overlordmewtwo

Supreme Overlord
Honestly, the ending disappointed me. The fictional Pokemon (Molzapart) in itself was all right, but other than that, everything in this chapter IMO was just... off. The story didn't seem to have any closure, and the ending abrupt. Latias with a Pokenav number? That's strange. Other than Edward, I thought Latias were timid around humans. And what about Latios? Why did he choose Edward? And where was he in all this? Both questions were never answered.

Admittedly, I may be thinking this just because I am a logical person and prefer stories/movies intended to be written as an epic adventure having a satisfying ending, but still, I feel that there should have been more.

The breaking of the fourth wall was kind of funny, though.
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
April Fool's Day, everyone! Check the last chapter to get an update!
 

Sidewinder

Ours is the Fury
Groaning, he prised open his eyelids and saw a red circle in the middle of his view.

Spelling error I believe. Should be 'Pried'

A Pokemon of such power that it could atomize him with just intense concentration.

Hah, I liked that

“Defence. What do you think?” She rolled over again.

Spelling error...'Defense'

Outmanoeuvre

Spelling...'Outmaneuver'

Ah, English, well in that case. If the spelling errors I mentioned in this post or the previous are out of touch, it's only because I'm not familiar with what you were referring to when you said that you were English. I mean, I get what you were saying, but I don't know enough about how you spell your words to know the difference between those, and common spelling errors. Please be paitent with me and I will try and learn the difference.

As for the chapter, nicely done. The illusion created by Latias was a nice touch, and I'm glad you added it. Although some part of me wanted the Sableye to be attacking the group, it probably does work out better that they were not haha. The plot is strting to thicken in an appealing way, although the explanation of the killer seemed somewhat rushed. Maybe it's just me, but I like to find out about something as eluive as this assassin over time, instead of having alot of info dumped on me at one time. Although, since Latias and her brother need Edward to understand what's going on so that he'll follow their plan, it makes sense. And btw, nice job on the explanation of the killer.

“There is not a chance that you could possibly hope to defeat an Ancient. They don't have the limitations of regular Pokemon – you cannot damage them, only outmanoeuvre them for a small amount of time then be punished.”

I liked that part quite a bit. As I was reading was written right before it, I could picture Edward about to psyche himself up to the challenge of capturing the Ancients. Literally standing taller and puffing up his chest. Just to have Latias be like, "No, moron. You don't have a chance at capturing them at all. You only captured me because I let you. You suck, now listen when I'm talking to you."

Classic. Nicely done.

I liked the chapter alot. Revealed some more plot, added some new characters, and established some clear goals for the future. I'm eager to see how Edward can bumble through trying to get the ancients on his side. The addition of Latias I'm still up in the air about. This can go several different ways, and I hope you make the best of it. She was well written, and I felt like I could connect with her. Just be sure to keep her grounded in a way readers can relate to, which is something I'm sure you can do.

Great job!

And XD on the April Fool's chapter. I glanced at it before you posted that it was a joke and was severely disappointed. I'm glad you decided to not end it there, as it would have ruined everything for me, especially when your fic has obvious promise. Nicely done, you fooled me for a few hours lol
 

overlordmewtwo

Supreme Overlord
Thank goodness. You got me there. The only thing that was funny about all this was the breaking of the fourth wall.
 

Scaldaver

Limitless
Pried - past participle of pry.

Defence - English

Outmanoeuvre is another spelling.

I thought about drawing out info about the killer, but I realised that a) dreams don't last very long and b) too long an explanation and Edward could have died drowning. I have withdrawn plenty of information, but I think I've just given enough info present a quest and a good reason for it.

I'm glad a few people got the joke, as, due to some of your feedback from it, I was afraid I'd lost some of you forever. Thankyou for your continued devotion!

P.S and it is funnier if you read the Molzapart thing that Dragonfree wrote (at the top of the chapter). Yes, I'm a Dragonfree fan.
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
Ignoring the April Fool's chapter (which I figured would've been a joke even if you hadn't updated it was because of how sloppily written it was, no offense xD), here's my review like I promised. I'll pass off on mentioning the grammar errors and some of the spelling errors because others have mentioned it before, and you do have a beta-reader (I believe, you mentioned it a couple of times). Especially since you have Dragonfree and Great Butler looking at this, so it'd be repetitive for me to point them out. And you have noticeable improvement (you aren't using beige prose as much like you have been in earlier chapters, that's a plus), so that helps a lot.

I must say, you are full of surprises, yet are a quick learner. The first few chapters are "meh", honestly. We expect it to be a bit of a normal journey fic with the mention of some Legendaries fighting, and one killing the other. No biggie, right? Well, remembering the theory (canon or not, I can't exactly recall where this theory came from) about Legendaries keeping the world at bay, that was getting my hopes up for this being a really cool story. It's about Legendaries being hunted down during a journey fic, there has to be something epic going on here.

Well, after about eight chapters, we learn Edward has been chosen to help the Legendaries. Now why? Latias didn't really explain why he was chosen, which is a risky move to take writing this. Without an explanation, we would be tempted to call Edward a Gary Stu (and a dull one at that). However, you established early on he and Nuria are rookies, and that they will be rookies for a long time. Their struggles do feel a little forced, but this has saved them from being called Mary Sues. The communications with their Pokémon, while normally a trait of a Mary Sue, is explained because they have taken classes to understand the language. This isn't new, actually, I do recall one other story where it was mentioned there were classes dedicated to learning the Pokémon speech. And you did mention this is an alternative universe, which does help pass it off as normal. And as time went on, the characters have been getting more and more fleshed out, so they are showing signs of likability. There is still room for improvement and addition, don't worry. These two have this charm to them I can't exactly describe, but it grows with each new chapter.

I'm gonna go ahead and point out the usage of levels here. Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with it. It's just taking me a bit to get adjusted to it. Personally, it feels a little weird for people to care about Pokémon reaching certain levels when we normally just watch them grow stronger and learn new techniques as time goes on. But since the PokéDexes are being used to keep track of it, I can't exactly complain. Just letting you know how I'm feeling about it.

Now I like how you are keeping the killer's identity a secret. You have of yet to give clues as to what it looks like except that it is passing itself off as a Legendary. Now, I suspect Mewtwo to be the culprit (which would make sense), but the killer going down into the deepest trench was what strangled that suspicion of mine (that, and it's an alternative universe, Mewtwo might not have been created here). So it has to be something even stronger, though I'll back up overlordmewtwo's guess of it being Giratina. But even then, Giratina keeps track of the antimatter (which is important to the universe in itself) and does guide spirits to the other side. So even if Giratina's rage got a hold of it, it would know of its duties and not go out-of-control like that. But it has to be a canonized Pokémon, I would honestly be a little upset if it was a made-up Pokémon just for the story. Still, your story-telling would ease me down some, as it is entertaining and interesting.

Oh yeah, the Pokémon are great, by the way, they each have their own little personality that tells them apart from one another. Zubat will have to be my favorite, there was something charming about his poor speech xD. And I giggled a lot when the three Nincada mentioned their secret alter. That is adorable.

Overall, your first story isn't a disappointment in the least, and I'd like to see more. It's not the best I've seen, but the potential for greatness is there. I expect a mind-blowing climax when we reach it, you are getting better at writing and story-telling, it'd be a shame to see it falter.
 
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