07-01-2008, 06:13 AM
EDIT (2/4/08): Chappy 11 up...depressing...chilling. I personally don't like the dark theme.
EDIT (1/28/08) Chappy 10 up! Very dramatic cliffhanger, at least to me. :P Heck, half of me doesn't even know what to write. BTW, you'll be saved, all the suspense ends in Chappy 11. lol
EDIT (1/16/08): Chappy 9 up! The suspense is over! Another round of action due in Chappy 10!
EDIT (January 15 '08): Chappy 8-a major plot point! Expect a surprise in Chapter 9! (If you finished chapter 8, the surprise is the 'punishment' ??? refers to.)
EDIT: Fixed!
WARNING! INCLUDES USE OF 'DAMN','CRAP', AND POLYTHEISTIC THEMES!
xD lol
Hey, I thought I might make a fanfic about Acanthite. I did this on a word processor (which is why all the e's in 'Pokemon' have the accent symbols :P), and I thought I'd put it up once I finished 3 or 4 chapters. I'm not so good at stories (which you'll probably find out if you actually read this mumbo jumbo), so I would love it if you would PLEASE comment and (constructively) criticize. Thanks a heap if you do. :D
The Sands of Time- Arceus VS Geminine-
An Acanthite Fanfic
Chapter 1- Project GEMININE
“GEMININE, you say?”
“Yes. This ancient deity will be ours soon. A God to the common Pokémon, this creature is mentioned in legend as a savior who ended the apocalyptic war between Anjewl and Diavil. It’s definitely strong.”
“I say that legend’s a bunch of crap.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. There are many cities that were wrecked, and their structures date back to when Anjewl and Diavil fought.”
“Okay, so why am I here then?”
“You are needed for your expertise in ancient legends, Dr. Persteinn.”
Dr. Vlad Persteinn of Merto’s S.U.M. stood in a strange building with a man named Argus. Argus had asked for his help in helping a strange organization called Team Rocket capture the legendary Pokémon called GEMININE. His payment was to be 400 million Pokédollars. Although Dr. Persteinn had suspected Team Rocket to be a criminal organization, Argus insisted it was not.
“Do you have anyone else working on the subject of capturing GEMININE?” Dr. Persteinn asked.
“My team and I are working on it, and we have the files of a man named Giovanni. He is the former leader of Team Rocket.”
Dr. Persteinn gasped. “Giovanni? Kanto’s eighth Gym Leader?”
“That’s him.” Argus smiled.
“Alright, I will help you. What do I have to do?”
“This way.” Argus walked through the building as Dr. Persteinn followed. They entered a room marked ‘GEMININE.’ Dr. Persteinn gasped.
“Isn’t it marvelous, Doctor?”
Dr. Persteinn was shocked. “You’re constructing a-a-a-a-”
“Yes, we are. It’s a time machine.”
“But why?” Dr. Persteinn was completely mystified.
“GEMININE was noted in legend as the ‘Timeless’ Pokémon, said to live in a rip in the Space-Time Continuum. This godly Pokémon is supposed to have lived there ever since the tragedies of the Great War. An amazing specimen, don’t you think?”
Although he was speechless, Dr. Persteinn went to his work and began trying to complete the time machine. This man was not one to fail at anything.
Chapter 2- The Start of a Journey
“Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!”
“Oh, just stop it, Meowth. I gotta sleep.......”
“MEOW!”
KSSSHHHH!!
“Owwwww! You didn’t have to scratch me! Why you little...”
“Meow!!”
“Okay, whatever. NEVER try that again...”
“Dan, honey, come down now! Did you empty Meowth’s litter box?”
“Mom, stop it...”
Ugh, how yucky, Dan thought to himself.
“I’m just teasing you. It’s your birthday, after all.”
That’s right, it’s my birthday! How could I possibly forget that? Dan jumped out of bed, got dressed, and raced downstairs. Meowth followed.
“Honey, today you’re getting your first Pokémon from Professor Willow. I wonder what it’ll be?”
“No way!” Dan was really excited.
“Yes way. It’s one of the Merto starters, I think.”
“I’m going right now, Mom.” Dan rushed out the door towards Professor Willow’s lab.
“Honey, no! You need to eat your breakfast! I prepared bacon and eggs!”
“I’ve got no time for breakfast, Mom, I’m a Pokémon Trainer now! See ya!”
Dan’s mother sighed. “Boys are boys.”
Professor Willow looked out her window. “What a pleasant surprise. That’s Dan, isn’t it? I’ll bet he’s coming to receive his first Pokémon.”
Dan threw open the door and entered. He hadn’t thought to ring the bell or knock. “Hey, Professor Willow, do you have a Pokémon handy? Do you? Do you?”
Professor Willow was a little startled. “Please knock next time, Dan. I know it’s exciting, so I understand why you were so hyper. Also, don’t you have your nice old Meowth?”
“Well, Meowth is really my Mom’s. like a housecat. I can’t possibly use it in battle.”
“Alright then. Follow me, Dan.”
Professor Willow led Dan through her lab, to a room with three Pokéballs. “Choose wisely. You can choose any of these three.”
“What Pokémon are they?” Dan asked curiously.
“The one on the left is Frondilo, a grass type. The one in the middle is Kindlejou, a fire type. And the one on the left is Reptide, a water type. You only get one, so choose carefully.”
“Alright. Let me think.” Eventually he chose. Dan wanted the fire type, Kindlejou. “One Kindlejou, please.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure as I ever will be.”
“Well, in that case, take the Kindlejou. Happy birthday, Dan!”
“Thank you SO much! We’ll win many battles together! This is the best birthday I ever had!”
“Why don’t you release your new Kindlejou from its Pokéball?”
“Great idea! Kindlejou, I choose you!” Dan threw his Pokéball into the air. A red laser beam came out of it, which morphed into Dan’s Kindlejou.
“Kindlejou, use Fire Blast out that window!” Kindlejou looked around for a while, before ramming into Dan. “Owwwww! What the heck is going on, Kindlejou?!”
“Jou. Kindlejou.”
“Dan, your Kindlejou doesn’t know you very well yet. It was probably startled. Also, this Kindlejou is young. It can’t use really impressive moves like Fire Blast yet.”
Crap, he thought. But he opted not to say that in front of Professor Willow.
“Dang it. I’m not too sure I can do this.”
“It takes practice, Dan. Take your time,” she told him.
“Kindlejou, return.” Dan called his Pokémon back into its Pokéball. “We’ll try again soon.” Dan walked home, determined to win Kindlejou’s trust.
Chapter 3- A Girl’s Fight
Meanwhile, in a little town called Longrose Town, a girl named Grace was visiting her family. Grace had been training hard all week. It was the first time she had her mom’s cooking in about a year.
“Mom, I love this pork. I forgot how great your cooking was already! Is it all right if I take seconds?”
“Oh, I’m delighted, dear. You’re welcome to help yourself.”
Grace’s older brother spoke up. “So, Grace, what kinds of Pokémon have you caught so far?”
Grace simply replied, “You’ll find out when I battle you, Dylan. You’d better watch your back.”
“You’re too young to beat me still. Admit it.”
“Oh really?!” Grace was upset by the comment, Dylan could tell.
“I’m not joking. I’ll take you from your pride right after we finish eating.”
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Grace retorted.
After dinner, the obvious happened. The two were outside in a flash, Pokéballs and all.
“Well,” said their father, “I’ll judge this one, if that’s okay with you two.”
“Fine with me.”
“Me too.”
Their dad started the match. “This will be an official 2-on-2 single battle. Both participants may use substitutions. When all 2 of a participant’s Pokémon are deemed unable to battle, the other participant wins. Begin!”
“I’ll start,” Grace insisted. “Swardiful, go!”
Dylan smiled. “All right, then. I’ll use...Kestrawk!”
“Come on,” Grace taunted. “Weak to you or not, Swardiful will ace you!”
“Ladies first, sis.”
“Okay, then. Swardiful, use Thunderbolt!”
“Sward-i-”
“What the crap?! Kestrawk, Aerial Ace! Quick!”
“Strawk!” Dylan’s Kestrawk swerved through the air, cutting Grace’s Swardiful.
“FUL!” Swardiful let out a thunderbolt at Kestrawk.
“Agility.”
Kestrawk agilely dodged Swardiful’s thunderbolt. “Dang it! Magical Leaf!” Grace’s Swardiful let out a beautiful spiral of brilliantly colored leaves.
“Nice try, dumb sis.” Kestrawk took all the hits and acted completely unfazed. Dylan sighed. “Wing Attack.” Kestrawk slashed Swardiful with its wings once more. “Kestrawk, Sky Attack, I’m getting bored.” Grace couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’ve been training, don’t talk to me like that! Swardiful, I’m counting on your help! Lucky Star!” Grace’s Swardiful made a star shape out of light. It shone brilliantly. “Now!” In the blink of an eye, Swardiful released the star and hit Dylan’s Kestrawk with it. “Come on, come on,” Grace chanted hopefully. Suddenly, the shape of a number 7 appeared in the center of the star. “Yes!! Lucky! Oh, thank you, Swardiful, thank you!!” Dylan’s Kestrawk was overwhelmed. It couldn’t sustain the damage. “Strawk!” With that, it fainted.
“Kestrawk is unable to battle! Swardiful wins!” their father announced.
“Geez, what dumb luck.” Dylan called his Kestrawk back into its Pokéball. “Heh, you’re about to lose anyways. Sharterra, go!” A sand-covered shark came out of the Pokéball.
“A ground type? Why a ground type?”
“I don’t really care. Crunch!”
The Sharterra chomped on Swardiful.
“Iron Tail!”
“Swardiful, dodge it n-”
It was too late. Swardiful was down for the count.
“Swardiful is unable to battle! Sharterra wins!”
“You did great. Swardiful, return.”
Once Swardiful was safe in its Pokéball, Grace sent out her next Pokémon. “Damozelle, go!” A dragonfly Pokémon with four wings came out. “Use Dragonbreath!” Grace’s Damozelle spat fiery fumes that gave off a toxic green color.
“Sharterra, Protect!” Dylan’s Sharterra protected itself with its move Protect. “Attack with Stone Spirit.” Sharterra surrounded itself with stones, and charged at Damozelle. “Zelle!”
“Damozelle! Are you okay? That was a rock-type attack!” “Zellezelle!”
“Damozelle is unable to-”
“WAIT! Damozelle will get up!”
“Give it up, sis. It’s over.”
Grace’s Damozelle was on the ground, badly injured. But no one could tell for sure if it was knocked out.
“Damozelle! Please, get up!”
“Come on, dad. Just call the match.”
“Alright. Damozelle is unable to batt-”
“Zelle!!” Grace’s Damozelle jumped up and flew high into the air. Everyone, except Grace, was amazed. “Alright, Damozelle. Use SolarBeam to finish this match! Go!” Damozelle began taking in sunlight. Even though it was nighttime, the sunlight traveled around the world for this attack.
“Quick, Sharterra, Stone Spirit!”
“Dodge that!” Damozelle moved out of the way.
“Sorry, you can’t dodge Stone Spirit. Attack!”
“Take it with all your strength!”
WHAM! Damozelle was badly hurt, but it held steady. “SolarBeam! Don’t miss!”
“Dam-o-zelle!” Damozelle shot a giant, bright beam of solar energy. “Shar!” BOOM! “Terra!”
The stadium was enveloped in dust clouds. Once they cleared, everyone could see that Sharterra was on the ground, having had the consciousness knocked right out of it.
“Sharterra is unable to battle! Damozelle wins! Our winner is Grace from Longrose Town!”
“You could’ve skipped the Longrose part, dad.”
“Yeah? Oh well, whatever. All that matters is you had a good time. Grace, you’ve gotten pretty strong.”
Chapter 4- Arceus
Grace, Dylan, and their father had an exciting battle. But little could prepare them for what was about to happen to them next. Very little.
Deep in the void of space and time, where the only things that ever happen are judged by a Pokémon referred to as ???, a change was occurring. The powerful ??? was deciding what would happen to a small planet known as Earth. ???’s judgement must be wise, for life virtually only exists on this planet. The only life ever created by ??? exists on Earth, with a few exceptions, namely bacteria, Deoxys, ???, and a fellow, albeit lesser deity kindly referred to by the life of Earth as GEMININE. And so, not inhibited by the restrictions set by time, ??? continued to ponder about the judgement it would make.
Now, ??? was a powerful creature, the most powerful anywhere. Although it was recognized as a god almost everywhere, no one group of living creatures worshiped ??? more than the people and Pokémon of the region of Sinnoh, Earth. It was categorized in the most famous index Sinnoh published. This index was started by Professor Samuel Oak of Pallet Town, Kanto, Earth. That’s right. ???, the godlike first being of time and space, was categorized in the National Pokédex. But it wasn’t called ??? in the Pokédex. ??? was #493 in the National Pokédex. ??? was a creature known as Arceus.
Arceus, referred to in Sinnoh legends as ‘Master ???’, was a ‘creature’ because there has never been concrete proof that it is a Pokémon. After all, there was no documented sighting of Arceus, unlike every other Pokémon. Even all the legendary Pokémon had been seen at least once, from Articuno to even GEMININE. But Arceus? Not a single sighting. It could look much different than its proposed art, or even not exist entirely. Maybe Arceus isn’t ???. Who knows? Also, even if Arceus is just as it’s claimed to be, there hasn’t even been a single characteristic that definitely classifies it as a Pokémon. Although it resembles the angelic flying horses told about in legend, that still can’t mark it as a Pokémon. So who knows? Either way, Arceus, or ???, was about to make its decision. The consequences would be either peaceful or catastrophic. And Dylan, Grace, and their father were going to feel the effects.
Chapter 5- A Fire in your Heart
After dinner, at Dan’s house...
“Kin-”
“Now, now, please don’t do this to me. Kindlejou, please-”
“-dle-”
“Kindlejou, no! Please don’t fry me again! Please! Please!”
“-Jou!!” A searing ember blazed through the sky at Dan.
“Yiiiiiiiikes! Come on, Kindlejou, don’t do this to me! I beg of you! It’s my birthday, for crying out loud!” So Dan ran. And ran. And ran. “YOW!! THE PAIN!!” Bad luck.
“Jou. Kindlejou. Kindle-Kindle Jou Jou.”
“Gosh! Why me?! I should’ve gotten Frondilo!!” The giant burn mark on Dan’s arm sparked a thought in his head. “Kindlejou! You know the move Ember!”
“Kindle-jou?”
“That’s right, just rain together with me and we’ll learn to work as a team!”
Kindlejou didn’t look particularly interested. After yawning, it lazily replied, “Jou...”
This, of course, didn’t really benefit Dan at all, but he decided he’d spent too much time arguing with Kindlejou, so he went along. “We can try tomorrow.” Kindlejou seemed to like the idea. “Jou!” Dan was astonished.
“K-K-Kindlejou!” There Dan’s Kindlejou was, all curled up in his lap and cuddling up to his warm legs. “I...guess...we can save it ’till tomorrow...then.”
After reading a chapter of Sinnoh Mythology to Kindlejou, Dan rested on the sofa and slept there with Kindlejou, thinking about how tonight would be the last night he slept at his house for a VERY long time, and about all the adventures he and Kindlejou would soon have. It was pleasant.
“Honey, I’m just checking on you.”
....
“Why aren’t you answering?” Dan’s mom went downstairs, and to her complete surprise, she found Dan nestled on the couch with his Kindlejou. When she spoke, she sounded happy for Dan, but a little sad. She would miss him.
“Sweet dreams, Honey.” She didn’t know why, but she had to hold back tears. “It’s only natural,” she spoke in her soft, saddened voice, “for you to be a Pokémon Master. You’ll be my son, a champion one day. My little hero.” She knew Dan couldn’t hear her, but she wanted to talk about it anyways. Beside Dan, all snug and warm, was a cute Kindlejou all curled up. What a sight.
Chapter 6- The Fix-It Man
Dr. Persteinn was at work, fixing small chip-like components, plugging in various wires, and doing all sorts of complicated things in order to achieve his ultimate goal: the completion of the time machine, and, of course, 400 million Pokédollars. Argus had left. The stubborn thing wouldn’t work like he wanted it to, and now he was annoyed at it. But he couldn’t break the damn machine. That would just eliminate any chances of a paycheck. So, in other words, he was screwed. He clenched his fists in fury. “Oh, just great. This mechanical piece of crap is supposed to take a person through time to find GEMININE? How could I do that? That’s like impossible!” Dr., Persteinn itched for a break. He eventually gave himself one and picked up a research book. The cover said in silvery letters:
TWO HOLY STORIES IN ONE BOOK!
THE GREAT WAR
THE BOOK OF ARCEUS
“Hmm.... That actually sounds sort of interesting,” Dr. Persteinn said while rubbing his chin. “Let’s read.”
He opened up to the first page and began to read out loud.
THE GREAT WAR
Long, long ago, when Earth was being formed and the Pokémon were roaming free, a malevolent devil condemned the carefree creatures. The very world was doomed to a dark fate. The cruel, tyrannical devil enveloped the world in its evil shroud. The Earth was doomed.
Then, a heroic angel descended from heaven. The angel was covered in jewels and its eyes were more golden than gold itself. Its heart was filled purely by positive thoughts and desires. It saved the
Earth from damnation. Its selfless acts of courage stunned all, as it saved the lives of humans and Pokémon alike.
And so, these two entities engaged in an apocalyptic war which nearly blew up the whole Earth. The fate of almost all life hung in the balance. Trees died just because the devil had evil intentions, and no other reason at all. Miracles, said to be gifts from the angel, saved seemingly doomed individuals. But the hazardous war went on.
Finally, a true savior stepped up. Even the angel had participated in the destruction of the Earth. But the true savior was a peacemaker who stopped the Great War, which may have destroyed the world otherwise. This true savior was none other than a god- The Greater God of Time, GEMININE. It ruled over Dialga and under Arceus. But part of this was because GEMININE had saved Earth from the apocalypse. However, GEMININE became the savior of Earth. Everyone on Earth owes their life to GEMININE.
THE BOOK OF ARCEUS
Arceus, sometimes referred to as ???, is the greatest god ever, the one which created all others. It created the universe, with its legendary 1,000 arms. It commanded Dialga and Palkia to enforce its rules of existence: Time and Space. Arceus lives in a void outside of the universe where only it can go. Not even the legendary GEMININE can enter. Arceus is most popular in Sinnoh, where it is documented as #493 in the National Pokédex. This god can really control reality, bend it, and destroy it. Whatever it wants. It controls GEMININE as its helper. It has the power to save someone or to damn them. The only real absolute power in existence is Arceus’.
That is how amazing the Master Arceus is. Nothing could dare to defy Arceus and not regret it.
“Interesting.” Dr. Persteinn went back to work. “I’d love to stop and read another time, but now isn’t the time. I’m going to finish this stupid time machine and get my 400 mil.” Dr. Persteinn fixed a couple of things. Now, Dr. Persteinn was making some progress.
Chapter 7- Personal Doomsday
After a long walk, Grace, Dylan, and their father came home. Grace’s legs felt like they’d been dragged through a swamp. She was relieved when they approached the family doorstep. Grace ran up and gave the doorbell a big push. Their mother walked up and opened the door. Her face looked worried, and it would take someone with the IQ of a dumbbell to not notice it at all.
“What’s the matter, mom? You look worried.”
“Oh, nothing, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me.”
“Mom, come on, tell me...”
“Well...” she started...
“Mom, please don’t kill me with your drama.” Grace wasn’t too excited to hear about this.
“Well, um, if you insist...”
“Come on, mom! Please tell me!!”
“I lost your Pokédex.”
Grace was at a loss of words. Eventually, she squeaked, “You mean to tell me that...um...”
Grace’s mother sighed sadly. “Yes, I lost it, okay? Sorry.” Grace was astounded. How depressing. Right after a delicious victory.
“Well,” Grace said, gripping on to sanity, “I, uh, suppose Professor Willow could give me another, uh...”
“Perhaps, dear, but you’d probably have to go all the way back to Olbranch Town.”
“Well, in that case,” Grace said, her mother noticing the temper in her voice gradually rising, “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Grace’s mother was about to urge Grace to stay longer, when she caught herself. Grace had been through enough this week, and it was Grace’s mother herself who had lost Grace’s Pokédex. Grace was more than likely struggling to keep calm.
“Mom, please don’t do anything like this again,” Grace said in a harsh voice which jabbed at her mother with every word she said.
Grace’s mother was amazed, and even frightened, at her daughter’s seemingly evil tone. However, she understood the anguish that Grace was most definitely feeling as she lost the records of all the Pokémon she had ever caught in her Pokédex.
“I don’t want to be mad at you at heart, but I can’t help myself, mom.” Grace suddenly stopped acting angry and even showed a slight smile to her mom. She felt sorry. “Did I go to far, mom? I really hope not. At least it wasn’t my Pokémon that got lost.” Grace started to feel apologetic. She felt a little relieved now.
“Please go to sleep in your old room now, sweetheart.”
Grace started to climb the stairs. She climbed, even though she was tired. She wanted to wake up a new person.
“OH. MY. GOSH.”
Grace was really upset now.
“What’s the matter, Grace?” Dylan asked.
“You don’t want to know, Dylan. You don’t want to know.”
Grace frantically looked around the room. “Protrohm! Protrohm! Where are you?!”
Grace fell down on her knees. “Protrohm!”
When she realized that her Protrohm really wasn’t there, she told her mother immediately.
“Mom! Protrohm isn’t here anymore! Please, look for it!!”
After nobody found it, Grace got on her knees again. A warm, wet tear rolled down each of Grace’s eyes. “Pro...trohm...no....”
Meanwhile, in a hot-air balloon nearby, two people in black uniforms emblazoned with red R’s stood. They were beaming, because they had gotten more than a night’s worth of loot right then.
“Hey, boss, we sure caught a nice Pokémon!”
“I know. We’ve just had one of our most successful missions.”
“Can I see the Protrohm? Can I? Can I?”
“Oh, fine. But don’t let it out of its cage.”
Grace, of course, was trapped in a horrific nightmare. “Why...Isn’t Protrohm...” She paused for a second and took a deep breath. She saw a note on her windowsill. She picked it up and read it. “PROTROHM WAS STOLEN!!”
“What?!” Grace’s mother rushed up the stairs.
Grace showed her mother the note. Her mom began to read out loud.
“Dear Occupant,
We have your Pokémon. If you want it back unharmed, meet us at Bambotta City with 2 million Pokédollars in 2 months. You can recognize us as people with red R’s on our uniforms. We will not affect your Pokémon in any way, unless you do not show up at the requested time with the requested payment.
Thank you for your cooperation.”
The letter was not signed.
“The nerve of those thieves! I’ll have to go, mom! Do you have 2 million Pokédollars?”
Grace’s mother looked sad. “Sweetheart, only rich people have that much money.”
“Can I have as much as you’ll give me then?”
Grace’s mother looked confused. “Sure, but how will you get the rest of the ransom?”
“I’ll raise it along the way! It’s a good thing I had most of my team with me when these thieves stole my Protrohm. Otherwise, I might not have most of my team. Since I do, I can beat other trainers and win money!”
Although she looked worried, Grace’s mother gave Grace almost all she had- 100 thousand Pokédollars. “Luck be with you,” she said in a soft voice.
Chapter 8- Aerial Pursuit
The people in the hot-air balloon were about to land at a building on an uncharted island off the western shores of Merto. Uncharted islands were pretty common around Merto. The building was only one story and pretty small, so it didn’t seem like anything important. On the top was a landing pad with a big ‘R’ symbol marked on it. Anyways, the hot-air balloon was a couple miles off the island’s shore when an angelic Pokémon appeared in the sky. The Pokémon was blue, with long, pink hair flowing down its back. Its eyes were squinting and they made the presence of this Pokémon seem holy in its own right. A brightly shining halo hovered over its head. The Pokémon seemed almost like a human, except with a serene aura about it. It resembled a priestess with a blessing from God. This Pokémon hovered motionlessly for a peaceful split-second, before creating a yellowish spherical light in its hand. The Pokémon hurled the brilliant ball of energy at the two in uniform.
“No way!!”
“This is worse than I thought. This Seraphanim is using its Aura Sphere attack on us!”
Suddenly, the first person started to hallucinate. “Armageddon...is...upon...us...” the suffering thief said, reflecting the visions he was seeing. Then, suddenly, the hallucinating thief started to stir.
“What did you see?” the second thief asked him.
“Well, first I pictured the world ending...and then...well, I heard a light, feminine voice...”
“And what did it say to you?”
“Well.....she told me I was sinning, and that I...”
Suddenly, a light voice washed over the two like a gentle tropical breeze: it was calm, relaxing, and welcoming, but it could very easily turn into a tropical storm or even a hurricane. It was just like the one the first thief had heard.
My brother,
Thou hast committed an unforgivable sin. Though thy Master ??? is a forgiving god who hast forgiven the unforgivable, thou hast been warned. Thy master wishes not to damn thy soul, even though it is capable of such a feat, so thou are urged to obey thy master’s will. I am Master ???’s aide, the archangel Seraphanim. I am speaking to thou telepathically, and am ready to punish thou, hast thou disobey thy master’s orders. Hast thou express true remorse to thy Master ???, thou may find salvation and live forever in Heaven, the Hall of Origin.
May peace be with thou, given thou follows thy Master’s orders and wishes.
The first thief said, “Archangel Seraphanim, we fully understand and agree to your holy message. We promise and swear on our lives we shall not commit any further sins.”
The second thief angrily argued with the first’s reasoning. “Hey! I did not agree with any damn message! So shut up and speak for yourself!”
Halt thy evil-hearted sins, fool.
“Beat it, wannabe angel!” The angry thief took off with the hot-air balloon, thinking of ways to go faster.
I shall punish thou!
Seraphanim chased after the hot-air balloon, moving in an almost ghostly manner. The enraged Pokémon hurled Aura Spheres at the hot-air balloon.
“A hole in the balloon! We’re doomed!!” The hot-air balloon came down in a flash, but reached the building. Suddenly, many others with R’s on their uniforms rushed out and released their Pokémon in hopes of defeating Seraphanim. A concentrated array of attacks rendered the poor Seraphanim unconscious. An employee of the organization came out and bagged Seraphanim.
You scum have ignored your warning, ??? said to itself. Now, it is time to punish Earth.
Chapter 9- Terror on Taramind
On a small island called Taramind Island, a TV Reporter stood in front of a camera.
“Hello, everyone, and this is Jane Sills reporting from Taramind Island, where a tragic event is taking place. After we learned that an S.U.M. member from Taramind, Dr. Vlad Persteinn, disappeared one week ago, Taramind Island is being evacuated for fear of two giant creatures that appeared today. Around 1 P.M., a pink titan appeared in the sky. The beast stood on its hind legs, and had two circular pads on its arms. It had small wings on its arms. Exactly a second later, a blue titan appeared. This creature was on all fours, and had a long neck. On its chest was a gem shaped like a pentagon, and on its rear extended a silver crest. This creature, too, could fly, even though it lacked wings. Both vanished right after they were sighted. The story was on the front page of the paper, and the press covered this story first. Skeptics say that the beasts were both holograms projected by the press, but no one has solid proof of either theory as of yet. This phenomenon is astounding, as no miracle like this has happened for ages.”
After Jane Sills finished her report and the camera stopped recording, she added to the cameraman: “I hope we don’t see one of those things again.”
“Yeah,” said the cameraman. “That was really freaky.”
2 hours later, Jane was in the makeshift news station when she heard an ear-splitting roar. Shortly after, her ear was hemorrhaging like crazy. She called 911.
“Emergency Services here. What’s the problem?”
“This is Jane Sills from the temporary news station. Seconds ago, I heard a loud bellow out of nowhere. My ears feel as if they’re torn open, and they’re bleeding.”
“Jane Sills?! Emergency? We’ll send an ambulance straight away!”
“Thanks.” Jane walked back, wondering what the heck happened. It’s as if the roar warped time and space. Why did nobody else hear it? She got her answer. When she reached the ER, there were lots of people there documented under ‘hemorrhaging of the ear’ or ‘epileptic seizures’ or even ‘spontaneous deafness.’ This is really weird. Only about a fourth of the people on Taramind Island seem to have heard this roar. How is that possible? I swear I heard it, and I’m sure they’ll back me up.
“Would Ms. Sills please report to the front desk? Thank you. Would Ms. Sills please report to the front desk? Thank you.” The speaker had done this with different names so many times, it had gotten really irritating. But it was still relieving to be out of the wait and examined...just to see if she met go deaf next week. How ridiculous. But Jane walked up to the front desk, her hand tightly pressing a paper towel against her ear. The paper towel was soaked in Jane’s blood, and it was almost time for her to get a new one. But for now, she went up to the front desk and was assigned a room.
“Ms. Sills, you are to be examined for your hemorrhaging in Room 261 by Dr. Elliot.”
“Thank you,” Jane said, her mind really on her ear. She walked up the stairs and found Room 261, and lay down on the hospital bed in the room, stanching the wound. Pretty soon, Dr. Elliot walked into Room 261.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Elliot. Pleased to meet you. And you’re Jane Sills? Wow, I must be a superstar doctor then.” Dr. Elliot had a sense of humor at the wrong time.
“Yes, I’m-”
Suddenly, a blueish speck of light appeared in the air. Right after that, a pinkish one appeared, too. Dr. Elliot couldn’t hear what Jane was saying when two giant beasts appeared in the sky. Jane forgot what she had been saying.
“It’s them! The beasts! They were creating the roaring sound!” Although the tension in the air made the whole building shake, and was hurting Jane’s ears even more, she got up and ran to the news station. “I’ve got to catch this on tape!” She exclaimed.
“Ms. Sills! You can’t! You’ll go deaf!”
“And let OneNews Productions down? I can’t!” Jane ran to get her cameraman, and filmed in the street of Taramind, not far from the two giants standing in the middle of the island.
“The two giants from earlier today are now standing in the middle of Taramind Island, and don’t look like they’re in a good mood. These titans are most likely identifiable as the two God Pokémon of time and space, respectively, Dialga and Palkia. The blue one is most likely Dialga, ruler of time, while the pink, Palkia, ruler of space. Said to be servants of ???, Dialga and Palkia supposedly can easily wreck a city, fabled to do so as punishments for sins. They may have caused a severe hemorrhaging of the ear that I experienced earlier today as a result of a loud roaring sound, which may have been directly related to Dialga and Palkia.”
After this, Dialga and Palkia took to wrecking Taramind Island, using Hyper Beams and Aura Spheres to obliterate anything humankind may have created there. The citizens were all evacuated, and as even the daring Jane Sills fled, the city had been mutilated by the two God Pokémon. A deafening roar pulsed through the leftovers of Taramind Island’s town, referred to as Roar of Time, an attack exclusive to Dialga. The remainder was ripped to shreds by Palkia using its Spacial Rend attack. The city would have vanished forever, but...
A red and silver sphere appeared and dissolved over Taramind Island. This time, spare their island. Let them be. Humans can easily adapt. Time stopped, and the island was re-sculpted into itself once again. Speculation filled Earth’s people. The news covered it all week. And many had their own beliefs about it.
Jane Sills was curious. “What happened? Did heavenly power save Taramind?”
Even ??? questioned this. That wasn’t in the plan.
Argus grinned. “It’s the will of a sleeping GEMININE.”
Chapter 10- The Continuum of Sin
Deep within the void of the Space-Time Continuum, the timeless red and silver sphere lay, unfazed after trillions of years. And nestled within the little pod of energy was a faint light, a life. This living being was covered in red and silver, curled up into a little ball. Its mind had a small section filled with the knowledge and intelligence of an alternate conscience that acted for the sleeping beast as it was in its almost endless slumber. And in this nap which lasted a couple thousand years, the poor creature was disturbed by an outsider.
What happened on Earth? The foolish Earthlings deserved the punishment anyways.
The giant woke from its dream and recognized the voice. Telekinetic speakers had voices, apparently...
Is that you, Original One? I haven’t seen you in a couple million years or so!
You haven’t changed at all, Timeless One. Defending the Earthlings so quick, I see.
Spare them, Original One. Don’t try to provoke me by doing otherwise.
Don’t talk at me like you have power over me, Timeless One.
Whatever. But the punishment you sent down to Earth was quite cruel, especially since my apprentices were the culprits. Please don’t do that again, Original One.
If the Earthlings sin once more, so be it, they shall meet their demise.
Fine. But only a horrible sin.
Of course, the time came when such a horrible sin was committed. But before that happened, considerable progress was made on a vital project that would forever govern how people studied GEMININE. It all happened when Dr. Persteinn was working in Argus’ lab.
“Eureka! I’ve found it!” Dr. Persteinn exclaimed in joy. In Argus’ lab (now his), he had ‘found it.’ ‘It’ was the way to construct a full-blown time machine. He had finally made a realistic blueprint of a time machine design of his, and he was ready to carry it out. He had already started. But he took a break to congratulate himself and pull out his cell phone. He chose ‘Argus (TR)’ on his saved numbers and pressed the little green phone button.
“Hello? Argus here.”
“Yes, this is Vlad Persteinn with a status report.”
“Dr. Persteinn? Very well then, go on.” Argus’ tone of voice couldn’t even attempt to hide his excitement. Not at all.
“Yes, I’m extremely pleased to report that I have produced a successful blueprint, and I should have the time machine finished within a few months if all goes as planned. I have taken the liberty of beginning work on the time machine using the aforementioned blueprint, and have approximately 0.2% of it completed currently. I would like your permission to continue.”
Almost shaken with excitement, Argus quickly replied, “Yes, indeed. You have my full and willing consent to continue research. Thank you, Dr. Persteinn.”
“Thank you, goodbye. Have a nice day.”
“Goodbye.”
Dr. Persteinn flipped his phone shut and went to his work, connecting various wires and fiddling with hundreds of switches. “This is gonna work,” He said to himself reassuringly.
Argus was also very happy, although it was raining and the skies were gloomy. But he used this time to take a deep breath and lighten up, because he had a half guilty conscience. He found himself running to a small shop, where he entered without a knock. The sign said ‘Sorry, we’re Closed,’ but Argus entered anyway. For apparently no reason, the door was not locked and It wasn’t hard to open at all. The security system didn’t seem to detect him either. On closer inspection, it was off. Argus walked up to the cash register, opened it, and found a few coins, but not a single Pokédollar. He took the coins as they gleamed in the faint light entering from the rainy outside world. The gloomy setting, although perfect for the occasion and normally Argus’ preference, only made him feel more guilty. It wasn’t like Argus to ever feel guilty, but today he was going to make history. In the shadows of the closed shop, he was feeling guilty and almost depressed. For today, Argus was going to commit a terrible sin. A crime to human- and Pokémon- kind that he would never be able to compensate for. One that would make him a hero to some, and a menace to others. He clung to a pendant he wore on his neck, wishing for luck and forgiveness. Wishing for salvation from his sin. Wishing for courage, not to be scared of the atrocity he was soon to commit. And so, he clung to his pendant, knowing how devilish he now was. And he awaited his eternal stay in Hell, because there was no turning back now.
Chapter 11- A Sin Transcending Time and Space
Argus stood in the abandoned shop on that rainy day. But all would have been all right...if...if...if...,he hadn’t done it. But he did. The depressed-looking Argus slowly walked over to the ‘STAFF ONLY’ door. He slid a card through the card key slot. For some reason, it granted him access. He walked in.
“Hello, Boss. This is Agent 16409 reporting. We believe we have the requested Pokémon. This specific Tidalisk seems to fit the personality traits you specified, and seems to know the move you created.”
“Really? Where is it?” Argus grew more depressed, even though he was getting what he seemed to want.
“In a Rocket Ball on that table.” The aide pointed to a Pokéball with a white lower section and a black upper section with a red ‘R’ imprinted on it.
“Alright. Send it out.” His voice just grew more weary. He really was depressed.
“Yes, sir!” The agent threw the ‘R’ Pokéball and a dark blue Pokémon came out. It had a streamlined body with fins galore. “Tida!” it screeched.
Argus stopped dead in his tracks. It WAS what he was looking for. He cursed under his breath.“Please leave.” He waved his aides off.
“Right away, sir.” The aides all ran off.
“Tidalisk, is it really you?” He was really getting anxious.
“Tida?” Then Tidalisk stared at Argus. “Tida!! Tida! Tida! Tidalisk!” Tidalisk was so happy to see Argus.
“After all this time, eh? Remember when we were little we used to play together?”
“Tida!!! Tidalisk!” Tidalisk licked Argus happily.
“How are you doing with that move I made? Can you use it still?”
“Tida?”
“You know, Hydro Cannon...”
“Tida! Tidalisk!!!” Water burst out of Tidalisk ’s mouth at an intense pressure.
“Wooahh! That’s enough!” Argus looked at Tidalisk in a silly way, but Tidalisk sensed the sorrow in his eyes.
“Tida?” It asked, worried about its trainer’s happiness.
“Oh, I’m fine.” Argus tried to sound normal. The pain, the guilt...it all slammed at him.
“Hey, I have to do some testing on Pokémon... you don’t think you could help me out, could you?”
Tidalisk was jubilant. The chance to help its friend was so great to Tidalisk.
You really are a great pal, Tidalisk, Argus thought.
“Follow me.”
After reaching the test room, Argus couldn’t bear to watch. He left, with the last word uttered by him to Tidalisk being ‘sorry.’
Quietly, Argus shed tears of his own, and said his apology. “Sorry, Tidalisk.... You....are...a ... great...pal. A friend...indeed. We’ve grown up together, you and...I, but..I ..... have..... become....a shady figure....While you... live... off of friendship and respect... You care for me, though I am a...mon..ster... You want to help my pitiful....existence...” Then he just yelled, “Why?!” “Why am I such an idiot? Why?!”
But he couldn’t stop himself.
“Agent 204, turn on the switch for the portal, please. This will be our first experiment regarding sending something into the continuum.”
“Yes, sir. But, if I may ask you a question-”
“Yes?”
“Why this Pokémon?”
“This one has special genetic qualities that will allow it to reach the continuum without dissolving in the transition...we hope.”
“Yes, sir.” Agent 204 hit a switch and Tidalisk, now sad, disappeared into the portal.
“Tida? Tida? Tida!!!!!!!!” Its plea for help was the last thing it could mutter.
And then it was gone.
Chapter 12- The Quest for Electesla
Grace was panting like a Houndour. She had been biking for hours.
“I know they’re this way! Team Rocket is gonna pay!”
A tall gentleman was standing beside the path when he heard Grace.
“Excuse me, are you looking for Team Rocket?”
“Yes, sir! The people in ‘R’ outfits.”
“Ah, well, I’ve seen a good many of them. A few of them asked the way to Mezereon City. I think that’s where you should be heading, young miss.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, and furthermore, I saw a hot-air balloon with an ‘R’ on it heading towards Mezereon City just a few minutes ago.”
“Thanks a lot, sir!” Grace biked towards Mezereon. She knew they just had to be there.
“Just you wait, Protrohm, I’m coming for you!”
Meanwhile, in Mezereon City, a woman with a shirt emblazoned with a red ‘R’ was operating a machine. She was in B3F of the giant building in the heart of the city. And she was using her machine to absorb electricity from her new Protrohm.
“Ultra Rocket Ball! Go!”
She was also testing a new Pokéball. And with only one wiggle, she caught the Protrohm.
“Come on out, Protrohm! Ultra Rocket Ball! Do your stuff!”
A beam of red light appeared and morphed into Protrohm, which glowed white. In a few seconds, it became a giant Pokémon.
“Well, it actually worked. I now have an Electesla. How nice.”
The new Electesla appeared and hopelessly tried to morph back. It had too much power, and no control over it, as it should have still been a Protrohm.
“Electesla, return!” She returned it to its new Pokéball. “The boss is sure to like this.”
And Grace biked on, not knowing that she was no longer searching for Protrohm. She was now on a quest for Electesla.
“Oh, great. Now look at yourself, Grace,” she complained to herself.
She was stuck...in the mud.
“Oh, splendid. Just great. I’m stuck mid-quest.”
She proceeded to fall off of her bike.
“Oh, no, dear god...”
“Oh, sis, what kind of crap have you gotten yourself into this time?”
She glanced over to see Dylan miraculously appear.
“Dylan! Get over here and get me out of this-”
“This what? Who do you have to blame but yourself, Grace?”
“They stole Protrohm.”
“Wh- Wh- WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”
The comical moment outlived its humor... things were only going to get worse from now on.
“Get me out! They got away!”
Dylan quickly retrieved Grace’s bike and pulled her from the wet, slimy mud. Her once beautiful skirt was a completely drenched rag, and brownness crept over her, but her mind was set on getting Protrohm -or rather, Electesla- back.
“See ya, Dylan.”
Dylan stared blankly.
“You’re really leaving as a dirtbag?”
“Oh, do shut up.”
Grace persevered. She didn’t stop until her muddy self was stopped by a police officer in Hollybuck Town.
“Hold it, girl!”
“Yes...sir?”
“Why are you soaked in...err...waste?”
“I fell in the mud, sir.”
“Say, you don’t happen to know anything about them Team Rocket fellas, do ya?”
“Actually, my Pokémon-”
“Aha! You’re one a’ them fellas, aren’t ya?”
“Me?! You’re serious? No! My Pokémon-”
“‘got stolen by one a’ them Team Rocket folks,’ don’t it? That’s what the last goon we snatched said. Had a darn high rank, too. I’m tellin’ ya this here advice- don’t pull no fast ones, ain’t a-workin’.”
Where the heck is this guy from? Guess this is your classic Hollybuck sheriff, Grace thought.
“You’re absolutely right! My Protrohm-”
“Shut yer darn trap, I can’t stand yer yappin’, miss. I’m sorry, but don’t pick a doggone fight with me, sister.”
“I haven’t been proven guilty of anything! Stop acting all high and mighty, and making obviously crazy assumptions.”
Gosh darn it, yer’ a sleazy one, girl. Don’t pick no dogfights with them boys, got me?”
He’s a sexist, too. Real nice.
“What the hell is goin’ on here, Jimmy? Didn’t I warn you playin’ cop is gonna get you arrested?”
“That’s Officer Jim Wales, thank you.”
“You were already fired for this tomfoolery, Jimmy. Git out a’ town ’fore ya get yerself caught, and I’ll be quiet.”
“Chief! I reckon you said we were pals.”
“An’ I reckon you were fired and were supposed a’ get yer butt out a’ Hollybuck Town.”
“May I please leave, sirs?”
The Chief replied, “Sorry ‘bout this guy givin’ you a hard time, miss. I hope I can make it up to ya’. What brings you to these parts?”
“I’m going to Mezereon City to find Team Rocket members who stole my Protrohm.”
“Oh, then there’s no prob. Need a lift?”
Please (constructively) criticize and comment. Thanks,
MCD
EDIT (1/28/08) Chappy 10 up! Very dramatic cliffhanger, at least to me. :P Heck, half of me doesn't even know what to write. BTW, you'll be saved, all the suspense ends in Chappy 11. lol
EDIT (1/16/08): Chappy 9 up! The suspense is over! Another round of action due in Chappy 10!
EDIT (January 15 '08): Chappy 8-a major plot point! Expect a surprise in Chapter 9! (If you finished chapter 8, the surprise is the 'punishment' ??? refers to.)
EDIT: Fixed!
WARNING! INCLUDES USE OF 'DAMN','CRAP', AND POLYTHEISTIC THEMES!
xD lol
Hey, I thought I might make a fanfic about Acanthite. I did this on a word processor (which is why all the e's in 'Pokemon' have the accent symbols :P), and I thought I'd put it up once I finished 3 or 4 chapters. I'm not so good at stories (which you'll probably find out if you actually read this mumbo jumbo), so I would love it if you would PLEASE comment and (constructively) criticize. Thanks a heap if you do. :D
The Sands of Time- Arceus VS Geminine-
An Acanthite Fanfic
Chapter 1- Project GEMININE
“GEMININE, you say?”
“Yes. This ancient deity will be ours soon. A God to the common Pokémon, this creature is mentioned in legend as a savior who ended the apocalyptic war between Anjewl and Diavil. It’s definitely strong.”
“I say that legend’s a bunch of crap.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. There are many cities that were wrecked, and their structures date back to when Anjewl and Diavil fought.”
“Okay, so why am I here then?”
“You are needed for your expertise in ancient legends, Dr. Persteinn.”
Dr. Vlad Persteinn of Merto’s S.U.M. stood in a strange building with a man named Argus. Argus had asked for his help in helping a strange organization called Team Rocket capture the legendary Pokémon called GEMININE. His payment was to be 400 million Pokédollars. Although Dr. Persteinn had suspected Team Rocket to be a criminal organization, Argus insisted it was not.
“Do you have anyone else working on the subject of capturing GEMININE?” Dr. Persteinn asked.
“My team and I are working on it, and we have the files of a man named Giovanni. He is the former leader of Team Rocket.”
Dr. Persteinn gasped. “Giovanni? Kanto’s eighth Gym Leader?”
“That’s him.” Argus smiled.
“Alright, I will help you. What do I have to do?”
“This way.” Argus walked through the building as Dr. Persteinn followed. They entered a room marked ‘GEMININE.’ Dr. Persteinn gasped.
“Isn’t it marvelous, Doctor?”
Dr. Persteinn was shocked. “You’re constructing a-a-a-a-”
“Yes, we are. It’s a time machine.”
“But why?” Dr. Persteinn was completely mystified.
“GEMININE was noted in legend as the ‘Timeless’ Pokémon, said to live in a rip in the Space-Time Continuum. This godly Pokémon is supposed to have lived there ever since the tragedies of the Great War. An amazing specimen, don’t you think?”
Although he was speechless, Dr. Persteinn went to his work and began trying to complete the time machine. This man was not one to fail at anything.
Chapter 2- The Start of a Journey
“Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!”
“Oh, just stop it, Meowth. I gotta sleep.......”
“MEOW!”
KSSSHHHH!!
“Owwwww! You didn’t have to scratch me! Why you little...”
“Meow!!”
“Okay, whatever. NEVER try that again...”
“Dan, honey, come down now! Did you empty Meowth’s litter box?”
“Mom, stop it...”
Ugh, how yucky, Dan thought to himself.
“I’m just teasing you. It’s your birthday, after all.”
That’s right, it’s my birthday! How could I possibly forget that? Dan jumped out of bed, got dressed, and raced downstairs. Meowth followed.
“Honey, today you’re getting your first Pokémon from Professor Willow. I wonder what it’ll be?”
“No way!” Dan was really excited.
“Yes way. It’s one of the Merto starters, I think.”
“I’m going right now, Mom.” Dan rushed out the door towards Professor Willow’s lab.
“Honey, no! You need to eat your breakfast! I prepared bacon and eggs!”
“I’ve got no time for breakfast, Mom, I’m a Pokémon Trainer now! See ya!”
Dan’s mother sighed. “Boys are boys.”
Professor Willow looked out her window. “What a pleasant surprise. That’s Dan, isn’t it? I’ll bet he’s coming to receive his first Pokémon.”
Dan threw open the door and entered. He hadn’t thought to ring the bell or knock. “Hey, Professor Willow, do you have a Pokémon handy? Do you? Do you?”
Professor Willow was a little startled. “Please knock next time, Dan. I know it’s exciting, so I understand why you were so hyper. Also, don’t you have your nice old Meowth?”
“Well, Meowth is really my Mom’s. like a housecat. I can’t possibly use it in battle.”
“Alright then. Follow me, Dan.”
Professor Willow led Dan through her lab, to a room with three Pokéballs. “Choose wisely. You can choose any of these three.”
“What Pokémon are they?” Dan asked curiously.
“The one on the left is Frondilo, a grass type. The one in the middle is Kindlejou, a fire type. And the one on the left is Reptide, a water type. You only get one, so choose carefully.”
“Alright. Let me think.” Eventually he chose. Dan wanted the fire type, Kindlejou. “One Kindlejou, please.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure as I ever will be.”
“Well, in that case, take the Kindlejou. Happy birthday, Dan!”
“Thank you SO much! We’ll win many battles together! This is the best birthday I ever had!”
“Why don’t you release your new Kindlejou from its Pokéball?”
“Great idea! Kindlejou, I choose you!” Dan threw his Pokéball into the air. A red laser beam came out of it, which morphed into Dan’s Kindlejou.
“Kindlejou, use Fire Blast out that window!” Kindlejou looked around for a while, before ramming into Dan. “Owwwww! What the heck is going on, Kindlejou?!”
“Jou. Kindlejou.”
“Dan, your Kindlejou doesn’t know you very well yet. It was probably startled. Also, this Kindlejou is young. It can’t use really impressive moves like Fire Blast yet.”
Crap, he thought. But he opted not to say that in front of Professor Willow.
“Dang it. I’m not too sure I can do this.”
“It takes practice, Dan. Take your time,” she told him.
“Kindlejou, return.” Dan called his Pokémon back into its Pokéball. “We’ll try again soon.” Dan walked home, determined to win Kindlejou’s trust.
Chapter 3- A Girl’s Fight
Meanwhile, in a little town called Longrose Town, a girl named Grace was visiting her family. Grace had been training hard all week. It was the first time she had her mom’s cooking in about a year.
“Mom, I love this pork. I forgot how great your cooking was already! Is it all right if I take seconds?”
“Oh, I’m delighted, dear. You’re welcome to help yourself.”
Grace’s older brother spoke up. “So, Grace, what kinds of Pokémon have you caught so far?”
Grace simply replied, “You’ll find out when I battle you, Dylan. You’d better watch your back.”
“You’re too young to beat me still. Admit it.”
“Oh really?!” Grace was upset by the comment, Dylan could tell.
“I’m not joking. I’ll take you from your pride right after we finish eating.”
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Grace retorted.
After dinner, the obvious happened. The two were outside in a flash, Pokéballs and all.
“Well,” said their father, “I’ll judge this one, if that’s okay with you two.”
“Fine with me.”
“Me too.”
Their dad started the match. “This will be an official 2-on-2 single battle. Both participants may use substitutions. When all 2 of a participant’s Pokémon are deemed unable to battle, the other participant wins. Begin!”
“I’ll start,” Grace insisted. “Swardiful, go!”
Dylan smiled. “All right, then. I’ll use...Kestrawk!”
“Come on,” Grace taunted. “Weak to you or not, Swardiful will ace you!”
“Ladies first, sis.”
“Okay, then. Swardiful, use Thunderbolt!”
“Sward-i-”
“What the crap?! Kestrawk, Aerial Ace! Quick!”
“Strawk!” Dylan’s Kestrawk swerved through the air, cutting Grace’s Swardiful.
“FUL!” Swardiful let out a thunderbolt at Kestrawk.
“Agility.”
Kestrawk agilely dodged Swardiful’s thunderbolt. “Dang it! Magical Leaf!” Grace’s Swardiful let out a beautiful spiral of brilliantly colored leaves.
“Nice try, dumb sis.” Kestrawk took all the hits and acted completely unfazed. Dylan sighed. “Wing Attack.” Kestrawk slashed Swardiful with its wings once more. “Kestrawk, Sky Attack, I’m getting bored.” Grace couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’ve been training, don’t talk to me like that! Swardiful, I’m counting on your help! Lucky Star!” Grace’s Swardiful made a star shape out of light. It shone brilliantly. “Now!” In the blink of an eye, Swardiful released the star and hit Dylan’s Kestrawk with it. “Come on, come on,” Grace chanted hopefully. Suddenly, the shape of a number 7 appeared in the center of the star. “Yes!! Lucky! Oh, thank you, Swardiful, thank you!!” Dylan’s Kestrawk was overwhelmed. It couldn’t sustain the damage. “Strawk!” With that, it fainted.
“Kestrawk is unable to battle! Swardiful wins!” their father announced.
“Geez, what dumb luck.” Dylan called his Kestrawk back into its Pokéball. “Heh, you’re about to lose anyways. Sharterra, go!” A sand-covered shark came out of the Pokéball.
“A ground type? Why a ground type?”
“I don’t really care. Crunch!”
The Sharterra chomped on Swardiful.
“Iron Tail!”
“Swardiful, dodge it n-”
It was too late. Swardiful was down for the count.
“Swardiful is unable to battle! Sharterra wins!”
“You did great. Swardiful, return.”
Once Swardiful was safe in its Pokéball, Grace sent out her next Pokémon. “Damozelle, go!” A dragonfly Pokémon with four wings came out. “Use Dragonbreath!” Grace’s Damozelle spat fiery fumes that gave off a toxic green color.
“Sharterra, Protect!” Dylan’s Sharterra protected itself with its move Protect. “Attack with Stone Spirit.” Sharterra surrounded itself with stones, and charged at Damozelle. “Zelle!”
“Damozelle! Are you okay? That was a rock-type attack!” “Zellezelle!”
“Damozelle is unable to-”
“WAIT! Damozelle will get up!”
“Give it up, sis. It’s over.”
Grace’s Damozelle was on the ground, badly injured. But no one could tell for sure if it was knocked out.
“Damozelle! Please, get up!”
“Come on, dad. Just call the match.”
“Alright. Damozelle is unable to batt-”
“Zelle!!” Grace’s Damozelle jumped up and flew high into the air. Everyone, except Grace, was amazed. “Alright, Damozelle. Use SolarBeam to finish this match! Go!” Damozelle began taking in sunlight. Even though it was nighttime, the sunlight traveled around the world for this attack.
“Quick, Sharterra, Stone Spirit!”
“Dodge that!” Damozelle moved out of the way.
“Sorry, you can’t dodge Stone Spirit. Attack!”
“Take it with all your strength!”
WHAM! Damozelle was badly hurt, but it held steady. “SolarBeam! Don’t miss!”
“Dam-o-zelle!” Damozelle shot a giant, bright beam of solar energy. “Shar!” BOOM! “Terra!”
The stadium was enveloped in dust clouds. Once they cleared, everyone could see that Sharterra was on the ground, having had the consciousness knocked right out of it.
“Sharterra is unable to battle! Damozelle wins! Our winner is Grace from Longrose Town!”
“You could’ve skipped the Longrose part, dad.”
“Yeah? Oh well, whatever. All that matters is you had a good time. Grace, you’ve gotten pretty strong.”
Chapter 4- Arceus
Grace, Dylan, and their father had an exciting battle. But little could prepare them for what was about to happen to them next. Very little.
Deep in the void of space and time, where the only things that ever happen are judged by a Pokémon referred to as ???, a change was occurring. The powerful ??? was deciding what would happen to a small planet known as Earth. ???’s judgement must be wise, for life virtually only exists on this planet. The only life ever created by ??? exists on Earth, with a few exceptions, namely bacteria, Deoxys, ???, and a fellow, albeit lesser deity kindly referred to by the life of Earth as GEMININE. And so, not inhibited by the restrictions set by time, ??? continued to ponder about the judgement it would make.
Now, ??? was a powerful creature, the most powerful anywhere. Although it was recognized as a god almost everywhere, no one group of living creatures worshiped ??? more than the people and Pokémon of the region of Sinnoh, Earth. It was categorized in the most famous index Sinnoh published. This index was started by Professor Samuel Oak of Pallet Town, Kanto, Earth. That’s right. ???, the godlike first being of time and space, was categorized in the National Pokédex. But it wasn’t called ??? in the Pokédex. ??? was #493 in the National Pokédex. ??? was a creature known as Arceus.
Arceus, referred to in Sinnoh legends as ‘Master ???’, was a ‘creature’ because there has never been concrete proof that it is a Pokémon. After all, there was no documented sighting of Arceus, unlike every other Pokémon. Even all the legendary Pokémon had been seen at least once, from Articuno to even GEMININE. But Arceus? Not a single sighting. It could look much different than its proposed art, or even not exist entirely. Maybe Arceus isn’t ???. Who knows? Also, even if Arceus is just as it’s claimed to be, there hasn’t even been a single characteristic that definitely classifies it as a Pokémon. Although it resembles the angelic flying horses told about in legend, that still can’t mark it as a Pokémon. So who knows? Either way, Arceus, or ???, was about to make its decision. The consequences would be either peaceful or catastrophic. And Dylan, Grace, and their father were going to feel the effects.
Chapter 5- A Fire in your Heart
After dinner, at Dan’s house...
“Kin-”
“Now, now, please don’t do this to me. Kindlejou, please-”
“-dle-”
“Kindlejou, no! Please don’t fry me again! Please! Please!”
“-Jou!!” A searing ember blazed through the sky at Dan.
“Yiiiiiiiikes! Come on, Kindlejou, don’t do this to me! I beg of you! It’s my birthday, for crying out loud!” So Dan ran. And ran. And ran. “YOW!! THE PAIN!!” Bad luck.
“Jou. Kindlejou. Kindle-Kindle Jou Jou.”
“Gosh! Why me?! I should’ve gotten Frondilo!!” The giant burn mark on Dan’s arm sparked a thought in his head. “Kindlejou! You know the move Ember!”
“Kindle-jou?”
“That’s right, just rain together with me and we’ll learn to work as a team!”
Kindlejou didn’t look particularly interested. After yawning, it lazily replied, “Jou...”
This, of course, didn’t really benefit Dan at all, but he decided he’d spent too much time arguing with Kindlejou, so he went along. “We can try tomorrow.” Kindlejou seemed to like the idea. “Jou!” Dan was astonished.
“K-K-Kindlejou!” There Dan’s Kindlejou was, all curled up in his lap and cuddling up to his warm legs. “I...guess...we can save it ’till tomorrow...then.”
After reading a chapter of Sinnoh Mythology to Kindlejou, Dan rested on the sofa and slept there with Kindlejou, thinking about how tonight would be the last night he slept at his house for a VERY long time, and about all the adventures he and Kindlejou would soon have. It was pleasant.
“Honey, I’m just checking on you.”
....
“Why aren’t you answering?” Dan’s mom went downstairs, and to her complete surprise, she found Dan nestled on the couch with his Kindlejou. When she spoke, she sounded happy for Dan, but a little sad. She would miss him.
“Sweet dreams, Honey.” She didn’t know why, but she had to hold back tears. “It’s only natural,” she spoke in her soft, saddened voice, “for you to be a Pokémon Master. You’ll be my son, a champion one day. My little hero.” She knew Dan couldn’t hear her, but she wanted to talk about it anyways. Beside Dan, all snug and warm, was a cute Kindlejou all curled up. What a sight.
Chapter 6- The Fix-It Man
Dr. Persteinn was at work, fixing small chip-like components, plugging in various wires, and doing all sorts of complicated things in order to achieve his ultimate goal: the completion of the time machine, and, of course, 400 million Pokédollars. Argus had left. The stubborn thing wouldn’t work like he wanted it to, and now he was annoyed at it. But he couldn’t break the damn machine. That would just eliminate any chances of a paycheck. So, in other words, he was screwed. He clenched his fists in fury. “Oh, just great. This mechanical piece of crap is supposed to take a person through time to find GEMININE? How could I do that? That’s like impossible!” Dr., Persteinn itched for a break. He eventually gave himself one and picked up a research book. The cover said in silvery letters:
TWO HOLY STORIES IN ONE BOOK!
THE GREAT WAR
THE BOOK OF ARCEUS
“Hmm.... That actually sounds sort of interesting,” Dr. Persteinn said while rubbing his chin. “Let’s read.”
He opened up to the first page and began to read out loud.
THE GREAT WAR
Long, long ago, when Earth was being formed and the Pokémon were roaming free, a malevolent devil condemned the carefree creatures. The very world was doomed to a dark fate. The cruel, tyrannical devil enveloped the world in its evil shroud. The Earth was doomed.
Then, a heroic angel descended from heaven. The angel was covered in jewels and its eyes were more golden than gold itself. Its heart was filled purely by positive thoughts and desires. It saved the
Earth from damnation. Its selfless acts of courage stunned all, as it saved the lives of humans and Pokémon alike.
And so, these two entities engaged in an apocalyptic war which nearly blew up the whole Earth. The fate of almost all life hung in the balance. Trees died just because the devil had evil intentions, and no other reason at all. Miracles, said to be gifts from the angel, saved seemingly doomed individuals. But the hazardous war went on.
Finally, a true savior stepped up. Even the angel had participated in the destruction of the Earth. But the true savior was a peacemaker who stopped the Great War, which may have destroyed the world otherwise. This true savior was none other than a god- The Greater God of Time, GEMININE. It ruled over Dialga and under Arceus. But part of this was because GEMININE had saved Earth from the apocalypse. However, GEMININE became the savior of Earth. Everyone on Earth owes their life to GEMININE.
THE BOOK OF ARCEUS
Arceus, sometimes referred to as ???, is the greatest god ever, the one which created all others. It created the universe, with its legendary 1,000 arms. It commanded Dialga and Palkia to enforce its rules of existence: Time and Space. Arceus lives in a void outside of the universe where only it can go. Not even the legendary GEMININE can enter. Arceus is most popular in Sinnoh, where it is documented as #493 in the National Pokédex. This god can really control reality, bend it, and destroy it. Whatever it wants. It controls GEMININE as its helper. It has the power to save someone or to damn them. The only real absolute power in existence is Arceus’.
That is how amazing the Master Arceus is. Nothing could dare to defy Arceus and not regret it.
“Interesting.” Dr. Persteinn went back to work. “I’d love to stop and read another time, but now isn’t the time. I’m going to finish this stupid time machine and get my 400 mil.” Dr. Persteinn fixed a couple of things. Now, Dr. Persteinn was making some progress.
Chapter 7- Personal Doomsday
After a long walk, Grace, Dylan, and their father came home. Grace’s legs felt like they’d been dragged through a swamp. She was relieved when they approached the family doorstep. Grace ran up and gave the doorbell a big push. Their mother walked up and opened the door. Her face looked worried, and it would take someone with the IQ of a dumbbell to not notice it at all.
“What’s the matter, mom? You look worried.”
“Oh, nothing, sweetheart. Don’t worry about me.”
“Mom, come on, tell me...”
“Well...” she started...
“Mom, please don’t kill me with your drama.” Grace wasn’t too excited to hear about this.
“Well, um, if you insist...”
“Come on, mom! Please tell me!!”
“I lost your Pokédex.”
Grace was at a loss of words. Eventually, she squeaked, “You mean to tell me that...um...”
Grace’s mother sighed sadly. “Yes, I lost it, okay? Sorry.” Grace was astounded. How depressing. Right after a delicious victory.
“Well,” Grace said, gripping on to sanity, “I, uh, suppose Professor Willow could give me another, uh...”
“Perhaps, dear, but you’d probably have to go all the way back to Olbranch Town.”
“Well, in that case,” Grace said, her mother noticing the temper in her voice gradually rising, “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Grace’s mother was about to urge Grace to stay longer, when she caught herself. Grace had been through enough this week, and it was Grace’s mother herself who had lost Grace’s Pokédex. Grace was more than likely struggling to keep calm.
“Mom, please don’t do anything like this again,” Grace said in a harsh voice which jabbed at her mother with every word she said.
Grace’s mother was amazed, and even frightened, at her daughter’s seemingly evil tone. However, she understood the anguish that Grace was most definitely feeling as she lost the records of all the Pokémon she had ever caught in her Pokédex.
“I don’t want to be mad at you at heart, but I can’t help myself, mom.” Grace suddenly stopped acting angry and even showed a slight smile to her mom. She felt sorry. “Did I go to far, mom? I really hope not. At least it wasn’t my Pokémon that got lost.” Grace started to feel apologetic. She felt a little relieved now.
“Please go to sleep in your old room now, sweetheart.”
Grace started to climb the stairs. She climbed, even though she was tired. She wanted to wake up a new person.
“OH. MY. GOSH.”
Grace was really upset now.
“What’s the matter, Grace?” Dylan asked.
“You don’t want to know, Dylan. You don’t want to know.”
Grace frantically looked around the room. “Protrohm! Protrohm! Where are you?!”
Grace fell down on her knees. “Protrohm!”
When she realized that her Protrohm really wasn’t there, she told her mother immediately.
“Mom! Protrohm isn’t here anymore! Please, look for it!!”
After nobody found it, Grace got on her knees again. A warm, wet tear rolled down each of Grace’s eyes. “Pro...trohm...no....”
Meanwhile, in a hot-air balloon nearby, two people in black uniforms emblazoned with red R’s stood. They were beaming, because they had gotten more than a night’s worth of loot right then.
“Hey, boss, we sure caught a nice Pokémon!”
“I know. We’ve just had one of our most successful missions.”
“Can I see the Protrohm? Can I? Can I?”
“Oh, fine. But don’t let it out of its cage.”
Grace, of course, was trapped in a horrific nightmare. “Why...Isn’t Protrohm...” She paused for a second and took a deep breath. She saw a note on her windowsill. She picked it up and read it. “PROTROHM WAS STOLEN!!”
“What?!” Grace’s mother rushed up the stairs.
Grace showed her mother the note. Her mom began to read out loud.
“Dear Occupant,
We have your Pokémon. If you want it back unharmed, meet us at Bambotta City with 2 million Pokédollars in 2 months. You can recognize us as people with red R’s on our uniforms. We will not affect your Pokémon in any way, unless you do not show up at the requested time with the requested payment.
Thank you for your cooperation.”
The letter was not signed.
“The nerve of those thieves! I’ll have to go, mom! Do you have 2 million Pokédollars?”
Grace’s mother looked sad. “Sweetheart, only rich people have that much money.”
“Can I have as much as you’ll give me then?”
Grace’s mother looked confused. “Sure, but how will you get the rest of the ransom?”
“I’ll raise it along the way! It’s a good thing I had most of my team with me when these thieves stole my Protrohm. Otherwise, I might not have most of my team. Since I do, I can beat other trainers and win money!”
Although she looked worried, Grace’s mother gave Grace almost all she had- 100 thousand Pokédollars. “Luck be with you,” she said in a soft voice.
Chapter 8- Aerial Pursuit
The people in the hot-air balloon were about to land at a building on an uncharted island off the western shores of Merto. Uncharted islands were pretty common around Merto. The building was only one story and pretty small, so it didn’t seem like anything important. On the top was a landing pad with a big ‘R’ symbol marked on it. Anyways, the hot-air balloon was a couple miles off the island’s shore when an angelic Pokémon appeared in the sky. The Pokémon was blue, with long, pink hair flowing down its back. Its eyes were squinting and they made the presence of this Pokémon seem holy in its own right. A brightly shining halo hovered over its head. The Pokémon seemed almost like a human, except with a serene aura about it. It resembled a priestess with a blessing from God. This Pokémon hovered motionlessly for a peaceful split-second, before creating a yellowish spherical light in its hand. The Pokémon hurled the brilliant ball of energy at the two in uniform.
“No way!!”
“This is worse than I thought. This Seraphanim is using its Aura Sphere attack on us!”
Suddenly, the first person started to hallucinate. “Armageddon...is...upon...us...” the suffering thief said, reflecting the visions he was seeing. Then, suddenly, the hallucinating thief started to stir.
“What did you see?” the second thief asked him.
“Well, first I pictured the world ending...and then...well, I heard a light, feminine voice...”
“And what did it say to you?”
“Well.....she told me I was sinning, and that I...”
Suddenly, a light voice washed over the two like a gentle tropical breeze: it was calm, relaxing, and welcoming, but it could very easily turn into a tropical storm or even a hurricane. It was just like the one the first thief had heard.
My brother,
Thou hast committed an unforgivable sin. Though thy Master ??? is a forgiving god who hast forgiven the unforgivable, thou hast been warned. Thy master wishes not to damn thy soul, even though it is capable of such a feat, so thou are urged to obey thy master’s will. I am Master ???’s aide, the archangel Seraphanim. I am speaking to thou telepathically, and am ready to punish thou, hast thou disobey thy master’s orders. Hast thou express true remorse to thy Master ???, thou may find salvation and live forever in Heaven, the Hall of Origin.
May peace be with thou, given thou follows thy Master’s orders and wishes.
The first thief said, “Archangel Seraphanim, we fully understand and agree to your holy message. We promise and swear on our lives we shall not commit any further sins.”
The second thief angrily argued with the first’s reasoning. “Hey! I did not agree with any damn message! So shut up and speak for yourself!”
Halt thy evil-hearted sins, fool.
“Beat it, wannabe angel!” The angry thief took off with the hot-air balloon, thinking of ways to go faster.
I shall punish thou!
Seraphanim chased after the hot-air balloon, moving in an almost ghostly manner. The enraged Pokémon hurled Aura Spheres at the hot-air balloon.
“A hole in the balloon! We’re doomed!!” The hot-air balloon came down in a flash, but reached the building. Suddenly, many others with R’s on their uniforms rushed out and released their Pokémon in hopes of defeating Seraphanim. A concentrated array of attacks rendered the poor Seraphanim unconscious. An employee of the organization came out and bagged Seraphanim.
You scum have ignored your warning, ??? said to itself. Now, it is time to punish Earth.
Chapter 9- Terror on Taramind
On a small island called Taramind Island, a TV Reporter stood in front of a camera.
“Hello, everyone, and this is Jane Sills reporting from Taramind Island, where a tragic event is taking place. After we learned that an S.U.M. member from Taramind, Dr. Vlad Persteinn, disappeared one week ago, Taramind Island is being evacuated for fear of two giant creatures that appeared today. Around 1 P.M., a pink titan appeared in the sky. The beast stood on its hind legs, and had two circular pads on its arms. It had small wings on its arms. Exactly a second later, a blue titan appeared. This creature was on all fours, and had a long neck. On its chest was a gem shaped like a pentagon, and on its rear extended a silver crest. This creature, too, could fly, even though it lacked wings. Both vanished right after they were sighted. The story was on the front page of the paper, and the press covered this story first. Skeptics say that the beasts were both holograms projected by the press, but no one has solid proof of either theory as of yet. This phenomenon is astounding, as no miracle like this has happened for ages.”
After Jane Sills finished her report and the camera stopped recording, she added to the cameraman: “I hope we don’t see one of those things again.”
“Yeah,” said the cameraman. “That was really freaky.”
2 hours later, Jane was in the makeshift news station when she heard an ear-splitting roar. Shortly after, her ear was hemorrhaging like crazy. She called 911.
“Emergency Services here. What’s the problem?”
“This is Jane Sills from the temporary news station. Seconds ago, I heard a loud bellow out of nowhere. My ears feel as if they’re torn open, and they’re bleeding.”
“Jane Sills?! Emergency? We’ll send an ambulance straight away!”
“Thanks.” Jane walked back, wondering what the heck happened. It’s as if the roar warped time and space. Why did nobody else hear it? She got her answer. When she reached the ER, there were lots of people there documented under ‘hemorrhaging of the ear’ or ‘epileptic seizures’ or even ‘spontaneous deafness.’ This is really weird. Only about a fourth of the people on Taramind Island seem to have heard this roar. How is that possible? I swear I heard it, and I’m sure they’ll back me up.
“Would Ms. Sills please report to the front desk? Thank you. Would Ms. Sills please report to the front desk? Thank you.” The speaker had done this with different names so many times, it had gotten really irritating. But it was still relieving to be out of the wait and examined...just to see if she met go deaf next week. How ridiculous. But Jane walked up to the front desk, her hand tightly pressing a paper towel against her ear. The paper towel was soaked in Jane’s blood, and it was almost time for her to get a new one. But for now, she went up to the front desk and was assigned a room.
“Ms. Sills, you are to be examined for your hemorrhaging in Room 261 by Dr. Elliot.”
“Thank you,” Jane said, her mind really on her ear. She walked up the stairs and found Room 261, and lay down on the hospital bed in the room, stanching the wound. Pretty soon, Dr. Elliot walked into Room 261.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Elliot. Pleased to meet you. And you’re Jane Sills? Wow, I must be a superstar doctor then.” Dr. Elliot had a sense of humor at the wrong time.
“Yes, I’m-”
Suddenly, a blueish speck of light appeared in the air. Right after that, a pinkish one appeared, too. Dr. Elliot couldn’t hear what Jane was saying when two giant beasts appeared in the sky. Jane forgot what she had been saying.
“It’s them! The beasts! They were creating the roaring sound!” Although the tension in the air made the whole building shake, and was hurting Jane’s ears even more, she got up and ran to the news station. “I’ve got to catch this on tape!” She exclaimed.
“Ms. Sills! You can’t! You’ll go deaf!”
“And let OneNews Productions down? I can’t!” Jane ran to get her cameraman, and filmed in the street of Taramind, not far from the two giants standing in the middle of the island.
“The two giants from earlier today are now standing in the middle of Taramind Island, and don’t look like they’re in a good mood. These titans are most likely identifiable as the two God Pokémon of time and space, respectively, Dialga and Palkia. The blue one is most likely Dialga, ruler of time, while the pink, Palkia, ruler of space. Said to be servants of ???, Dialga and Palkia supposedly can easily wreck a city, fabled to do so as punishments for sins. They may have caused a severe hemorrhaging of the ear that I experienced earlier today as a result of a loud roaring sound, which may have been directly related to Dialga and Palkia.”
After this, Dialga and Palkia took to wrecking Taramind Island, using Hyper Beams and Aura Spheres to obliterate anything humankind may have created there. The citizens were all evacuated, and as even the daring Jane Sills fled, the city had been mutilated by the two God Pokémon. A deafening roar pulsed through the leftovers of Taramind Island’s town, referred to as Roar of Time, an attack exclusive to Dialga. The remainder was ripped to shreds by Palkia using its Spacial Rend attack. The city would have vanished forever, but...
A red and silver sphere appeared and dissolved over Taramind Island. This time, spare their island. Let them be. Humans can easily adapt. Time stopped, and the island was re-sculpted into itself once again. Speculation filled Earth’s people. The news covered it all week. And many had their own beliefs about it.
Jane Sills was curious. “What happened? Did heavenly power save Taramind?”
Even ??? questioned this. That wasn’t in the plan.
Argus grinned. “It’s the will of a sleeping GEMININE.”
Chapter 10- The Continuum of Sin
Deep within the void of the Space-Time Continuum, the timeless red and silver sphere lay, unfazed after trillions of years. And nestled within the little pod of energy was a faint light, a life. This living being was covered in red and silver, curled up into a little ball. Its mind had a small section filled with the knowledge and intelligence of an alternate conscience that acted for the sleeping beast as it was in its almost endless slumber. And in this nap which lasted a couple thousand years, the poor creature was disturbed by an outsider.
What happened on Earth? The foolish Earthlings deserved the punishment anyways.
The giant woke from its dream and recognized the voice. Telekinetic speakers had voices, apparently...
Is that you, Original One? I haven’t seen you in a couple million years or so!
You haven’t changed at all, Timeless One. Defending the Earthlings so quick, I see.
Spare them, Original One. Don’t try to provoke me by doing otherwise.
Don’t talk at me like you have power over me, Timeless One.
Whatever. But the punishment you sent down to Earth was quite cruel, especially since my apprentices were the culprits. Please don’t do that again, Original One.
If the Earthlings sin once more, so be it, they shall meet their demise.
Fine. But only a horrible sin.
Of course, the time came when such a horrible sin was committed. But before that happened, considerable progress was made on a vital project that would forever govern how people studied GEMININE. It all happened when Dr. Persteinn was working in Argus’ lab.
“Eureka! I’ve found it!” Dr. Persteinn exclaimed in joy. In Argus’ lab (now his), he had ‘found it.’ ‘It’ was the way to construct a full-blown time machine. He had finally made a realistic blueprint of a time machine design of his, and he was ready to carry it out. He had already started. But he took a break to congratulate himself and pull out his cell phone. He chose ‘Argus (TR)’ on his saved numbers and pressed the little green phone button.
“Hello? Argus here.”
“Yes, this is Vlad Persteinn with a status report.”
“Dr. Persteinn? Very well then, go on.” Argus’ tone of voice couldn’t even attempt to hide his excitement. Not at all.
“Yes, I’m extremely pleased to report that I have produced a successful blueprint, and I should have the time machine finished within a few months if all goes as planned. I have taken the liberty of beginning work on the time machine using the aforementioned blueprint, and have approximately 0.2% of it completed currently. I would like your permission to continue.”
Almost shaken with excitement, Argus quickly replied, “Yes, indeed. You have my full and willing consent to continue research. Thank you, Dr. Persteinn.”
“Thank you, goodbye. Have a nice day.”
“Goodbye.”
Dr. Persteinn flipped his phone shut and went to his work, connecting various wires and fiddling with hundreds of switches. “This is gonna work,” He said to himself reassuringly.
Argus was also very happy, although it was raining and the skies were gloomy. But he used this time to take a deep breath and lighten up, because he had a half guilty conscience. He found himself running to a small shop, where he entered without a knock. The sign said ‘Sorry, we’re Closed,’ but Argus entered anyway. For apparently no reason, the door was not locked and It wasn’t hard to open at all. The security system didn’t seem to detect him either. On closer inspection, it was off. Argus walked up to the cash register, opened it, and found a few coins, but not a single Pokédollar. He took the coins as they gleamed in the faint light entering from the rainy outside world. The gloomy setting, although perfect for the occasion and normally Argus’ preference, only made him feel more guilty. It wasn’t like Argus to ever feel guilty, but today he was going to make history. In the shadows of the closed shop, he was feeling guilty and almost depressed. For today, Argus was going to commit a terrible sin. A crime to human- and Pokémon- kind that he would never be able to compensate for. One that would make him a hero to some, and a menace to others. He clung to a pendant he wore on his neck, wishing for luck and forgiveness. Wishing for salvation from his sin. Wishing for courage, not to be scared of the atrocity he was soon to commit. And so, he clung to his pendant, knowing how devilish he now was. And he awaited his eternal stay in Hell, because there was no turning back now.
Chapter 11- A Sin Transcending Time and Space
Argus stood in the abandoned shop on that rainy day. But all would have been all right...if...if...if...,he hadn’t done it. But he did. The depressed-looking Argus slowly walked over to the ‘STAFF ONLY’ door. He slid a card through the card key slot. For some reason, it granted him access. He walked in.
“Hello, Boss. This is Agent 16409 reporting. We believe we have the requested Pokémon. This specific Tidalisk seems to fit the personality traits you specified, and seems to know the move you created.”
“Really? Where is it?” Argus grew more depressed, even though he was getting what he seemed to want.
“In a Rocket Ball on that table.” The aide pointed to a Pokéball with a white lower section and a black upper section with a red ‘R’ imprinted on it.
“Alright. Send it out.” His voice just grew more weary. He really was depressed.
“Yes, sir!” The agent threw the ‘R’ Pokéball and a dark blue Pokémon came out. It had a streamlined body with fins galore. “Tida!” it screeched.
Argus stopped dead in his tracks. It WAS what he was looking for. He cursed under his breath.“Please leave.” He waved his aides off.
“Right away, sir.” The aides all ran off.
“Tidalisk, is it really you?” He was really getting anxious.
“Tida?” Then Tidalisk stared at Argus. “Tida!! Tida! Tida! Tidalisk!” Tidalisk was so happy to see Argus.
“After all this time, eh? Remember when we were little we used to play together?”
“Tida!!! Tidalisk!” Tidalisk licked Argus happily.
“How are you doing with that move I made? Can you use it still?”
“Tida?”
“You know, Hydro Cannon...”
“Tida! Tidalisk!!!” Water burst out of Tidalisk ’s mouth at an intense pressure.
“Wooahh! That’s enough!” Argus looked at Tidalisk in a silly way, but Tidalisk sensed the sorrow in his eyes.
“Tida?” It asked, worried about its trainer’s happiness.
“Oh, I’m fine.” Argus tried to sound normal. The pain, the guilt...it all slammed at him.
“Hey, I have to do some testing on Pokémon... you don’t think you could help me out, could you?”
Tidalisk was jubilant. The chance to help its friend was so great to Tidalisk.
You really are a great pal, Tidalisk, Argus thought.
“Follow me.”
After reaching the test room, Argus couldn’t bear to watch. He left, with the last word uttered by him to Tidalisk being ‘sorry.’
Quietly, Argus shed tears of his own, and said his apology. “Sorry, Tidalisk.... You....are...a ... great...pal. A friend...indeed. We’ve grown up together, you and...I, but..I ..... have..... become....a shady figure....While you... live... off of friendship and respect... You care for me, though I am a...mon..ster... You want to help my pitiful....existence...” Then he just yelled, “Why?!” “Why am I such an idiot? Why?!”
But he couldn’t stop himself.
“Agent 204, turn on the switch for the portal, please. This will be our first experiment regarding sending something into the continuum.”
“Yes, sir. But, if I may ask you a question-”
“Yes?”
“Why this Pokémon?”
“This one has special genetic qualities that will allow it to reach the continuum without dissolving in the transition...we hope.”
“Yes, sir.” Agent 204 hit a switch and Tidalisk, now sad, disappeared into the portal.
“Tida? Tida? Tida!!!!!!!!” Its plea for help was the last thing it could mutter.
And then it was gone.
Chapter 12- The Quest for Electesla
Grace was panting like a Houndour. She had been biking for hours.
“I know they’re this way! Team Rocket is gonna pay!”
A tall gentleman was standing beside the path when he heard Grace.
“Excuse me, are you looking for Team Rocket?”
“Yes, sir! The people in ‘R’ outfits.”
“Ah, well, I’ve seen a good many of them. A few of them asked the way to Mezereon City. I think that’s where you should be heading, young miss.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Oh, and furthermore, I saw a hot-air balloon with an ‘R’ on it heading towards Mezereon City just a few minutes ago.”
“Thanks a lot, sir!” Grace biked towards Mezereon. She knew they just had to be there.
“Just you wait, Protrohm, I’m coming for you!”
Meanwhile, in Mezereon City, a woman with a shirt emblazoned with a red ‘R’ was operating a machine. She was in B3F of the giant building in the heart of the city. And she was using her machine to absorb electricity from her new Protrohm.
“Ultra Rocket Ball! Go!”
She was also testing a new Pokéball. And with only one wiggle, she caught the Protrohm.
“Come on out, Protrohm! Ultra Rocket Ball! Do your stuff!”
A beam of red light appeared and morphed into Protrohm, which glowed white. In a few seconds, it became a giant Pokémon.
“Well, it actually worked. I now have an Electesla. How nice.”
The new Electesla appeared and hopelessly tried to morph back. It had too much power, and no control over it, as it should have still been a Protrohm.
“Electesla, return!” She returned it to its new Pokéball. “The boss is sure to like this.”
And Grace biked on, not knowing that she was no longer searching for Protrohm. She was now on a quest for Electesla.
“Oh, great. Now look at yourself, Grace,” she complained to herself.
She was stuck...in the mud.
“Oh, splendid. Just great. I’m stuck mid-quest.”
She proceeded to fall off of her bike.
“Oh, no, dear god...”
“Oh, sis, what kind of crap have you gotten yourself into this time?”
She glanced over to see Dylan miraculously appear.
“Dylan! Get over here and get me out of this-”
“This what? Who do you have to blame but yourself, Grace?”
“They stole Protrohm.”
“Wh- Wh- WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”
The comical moment outlived its humor... things were only going to get worse from now on.
“Get me out! They got away!”
Dylan quickly retrieved Grace’s bike and pulled her from the wet, slimy mud. Her once beautiful skirt was a completely drenched rag, and brownness crept over her, but her mind was set on getting Protrohm -or rather, Electesla- back.
“See ya, Dylan.”
Dylan stared blankly.
“You’re really leaving as a dirtbag?”
“Oh, do shut up.”
Grace persevered. She didn’t stop until her muddy self was stopped by a police officer in Hollybuck Town.
“Hold it, girl!”
“Yes...sir?”
“Why are you soaked in...err...waste?”
“I fell in the mud, sir.”
“Say, you don’t happen to know anything about them Team Rocket fellas, do ya?”
“Actually, my Pokémon-”
“Aha! You’re one a’ them fellas, aren’t ya?”
“Me?! You’re serious? No! My Pokémon-”
“‘got stolen by one a’ them Team Rocket folks,’ don’t it? That’s what the last goon we snatched said. Had a darn high rank, too. I’m tellin’ ya this here advice- don’t pull no fast ones, ain’t a-workin’.”
Where the heck is this guy from? Guess this is your classic Hollybuck sheriff, Grace thought.
“You’re absolutely right! My Protrohm-”
“Shut yer darn trap, I can’t stand yer yappin’, miss. I’m sorry, but don’t pick a doggone fight with me, sister.”
“I haven’t been proven guilty of anything! Stop acting all high and mighty, and making obviously crazy assumptions.”
Gosh darn it, yer’ a sleazy one, girl. Don’t pick no dogfights with them boys, got me?”
He’s a sexist, too. Real nice.
“What the hell is goin’ on here, Jimmy? Didn’t I warn you playin’ cop is gonna get you arrested?”
“That’s Officer Jim Wales, thank you.”
“You were already fired for this tomfoolery, Jimmy. Git out a’ town ’fore ya get yerself caught, and I’ll be quiet.”
“Chief! I reckon you said we were pals.”
“An’ I reckon you were fired and were supposed a’ get yer butt out a’ Hollybuck Town.”
“May I please leave, sirs?”
The Chief replied, “Sorry ‘bout this guy givin’ you a hard time, miss. I hope I can make it up to ya’. What brings you to these parts?”
“I’m going to Mezereon City to find Team Rocket members who stole my Protrohm.”
“Oh, then there’s no prob. Need a lift?”
Please (constructively) criticize and comment. Thanks,
MCD