Hoenn Nuzlocke

[Blacksheep]

I found a really cool cave set out in the middle of the lake. I was able to surf out to it with Fathom to check it out. It was mostly filled with zubat and golbat. It felt like I had found a place full of secrets though, and it was fun to poke around in it. There were places inside the cave that had really deep water. I don't know if it was a lake of its own or if it connected to the outside. It was cool to try and peer down in.

Funnily enough shortly after that I ran into Steven heading up to Fortree. He had a delivery of Devon Scopes he was bringing up to help with the problem of the kecleons in Fortree. It was perfect timing, I was able to head back to Fortree with him so I could challenge the gym. Even cooler, Steven had gotten a mega stone Bi De could use! He is such a cool guy, I'm glad he's my friend. I helped clear out the kecleons using a devon scope myself. It just seemed right to help out.

Then it was into the gym, built into the biggest tree in Fortree. They had formed a maze through the spiral path heading upwards that you had to push through the correct way to open it up. It was the easiest and funnest place in Fortree to travel really, getting to walk up a slope instead of a ladder and solve the maze. Right up at the top they had great roosts for the bird pokemon Winona used, and open platforms leading out for riders to fly out on. Winona looked like she was born to have wings standing up there at the top. It seemed almost like it had to be an illusion that she was just ground bound as any other human.

I started with Bi De, mega evolving him right off the bat. I couldn't help myself from doing it, I was so excited to show off our bond and see what we could really do. Winona sent out her swellow, and Bi De completely smoked it. Winona sent out her altaria next, and I knew that Echo would be a perfect match. Altarias are known for their singing, but Echo brought the house down with his screams. I would have been better off reserving Bi De for when Winona sent out her skarmory. It was a large specimen and its sharp edges glinted. I wasn't going to let my mistake stop me though, and sent out the next best thing: Fathom. He was a complete tank, and more than ready to match the skarmory with sheer power.

Winona released her final pokemon, a pelipper. I could taste victory on my tongue. It was a risky move, especially in this gym against an expert, but I let Icarus out. I would show everyone how far my swellow had come, and claim the skies as his right. The pair clashed through the air. Icarus was fast, but the pelipper could take a lot, and was good at blocking the attacks on top of that. I feared I had gambled too much and Icarus would fall from the sky, but I knew if I didn't believe him we were doomed to lose. I had to believe in him and his strength. And Icarus came through! It left Icarus ragged and tired, but he pulled the pelipper down. We had done it! I received the feather badge, and Winona congratulated me on raising such a splendid swellow. I could have exploded with pride.

I took a good look at Icarus after this. I think it's the first good look I'd given him in a while, as I realized that he was finally large enough to carry me. We could fly together. It wouldn't be anything like the great bird pokemon, but short quick flights through the air could definitely be done together. As soon as I managed to get that across to Icarus we started trying. The first flight was a mess of feathers and leaves. The second flight wasn't much better. But we figured out how to start flying together. It was a far cry from flying with Latios, but sharing it with Icarus and everything we'd been through made it perfect.

I started traveling onwards towards Lilycove. I met a trainer that had a milotic. The milotic was absolutely beautiful, and the trainer entered it in contests. They were actually out there training for a performance. The amount of control and coordination on display was absolutely stunning. The milotic looked straight out of some kind of dream with the way they played with water and reflected it around them. I really have to step up my game with Rowan! I'm no professional of course, but it's hard to not be inspired when seeing something so amazing.

I ran into what looked like a pretty scary guy down along the route. I thought it was going to be another mugging attempt, but the guy just wanted a battle. I almost exploded when he released his cacturne out to battle. It was clearly newly evolved, and so happy looking. It was more playing than an actual fight. I learned that he'd raised the cacturne from an egg. He tended to intimidate most pokemon, and had found that caring for baby pokemon made handling them a lot easier, and he really appreciated the companionship they gave him. It was just the sweetest thing. I had to stay after and meet his latest pokemon, a newly hatched tropius. If you have never seen a little tropius tripping over its own little legs before you are sorely missing out.

It wasn't much farther down the path when I found an archeologist dig. Or at least, an old archeologist attempting to start one. He insisted that there was ancient ruins around the area that just needed the right key to be revealed. He could be right, there's plenty of possibilities for hiding things away like that. Or he could just be old. I have no idea. I looked to see if I could stumble across ruins myself, but I didn't find anything. If there is ruins there, they required something more than what I had.

I could tell I was getting closer to Mt Pyre. The Safari was close, and I had run into a shuppet. I immediately had dug out one of my plushies for the shuppet to have. I didn't have room on my team, not with the egg still waiting to hatch, but I couldn't resist giving the shuppet a home. I named him Plush. Maybe I'll enter him in contests besides Rowan. Who can resist the charm of such an adorable little ghost pokemon?

I visited the Safari. Its history is actually quite ironic. It was originally opened as a very expensive ranch for a rich man's collection of rare pokemon to be shown off to the public. While the Safari was exceedingly well designed and the pokemon had fantastic lives, the man ended up having problems funding the place. Eventually he was forced to declare bankruptcy. A pokemon charity that specializes in protecting and caring for endangered species took over the Safari as it was a perfect habitat, and it now runs entirely on donations and volunteers. It's free to visit and look at the pokemon, though you need permission if you want to catch any of the pokemon from the Safari for your team. There's a ton of pikachus in there, considering their popularity has damaged their numbers in the wilds. They're so adorable, and friendly! Well, eager to greet people at least. There was a lot more demanding of treats than I was expecting. It was a good thing I had built up a resistance to such a thing with my team or I would have been absolutely slaughtered by their adorableness!

>>>

I reached Mt Pyre. They say that if you come at night, and say the right things, the dead return to speak with you. I didn't arrive at the right time. It was day when I came. I still hope that my words reached Evo and Aimie in their rest. I miss Dream too. She at least is in a better home than the one I could offer. I fell too short with Evo and Aimie. It hurts being here and knowing that. I played my flute for Aimie. I'm never going to let her joy in music fade from my life.

Team Aqua of course decided to ruin things. I had known they were headed for Mt Pyre, but I had assumed they had gotten here ahead of me. They had had a harder time making it to Mt Pyre with the police trying to catch them than expected though, and the group that arrived with Archie leading the way were in rough shape. I had never hated them as much as I did then. They dared to come in here, and wreck a place meant to remember loved ones with their crap?

Of course I tore after them. They were heading for the top of Mt Pyre where the first shrine is. The grunts slowed me down, but I still made it in time to see Archie knock down the old couple who tended the shrine and steal something from within. He glanced at me and had his admin Matt delay me. Matt was more than happy to buy time. I was shaking with rage as I took down his sharpedo with Echo. They should have never come here!

The old couple were devastated. The orbs had been there since the shrine first was built. It was said they should never be parted. I decided I was done. No more being passive. I was going to hunt Team Aqua down, and get that orb back. I promised the old couple that. They thanked me, and gave me the red orb, asking me to reunite it with the blue orb as soon as possible. It's funny, I felt something holding the orb. Some kind of warmth, and steadiness. I don't know how to describe it exactly. But I felt a little bit stronger, and more ready, as I headed back down.

Team Aqua would pay.

 

[radioxaxa]

Real progress, already passed the 6th Gym and few losses in between.

Lets hope we can say the same for 7

 

[Mount. Elements]

Shuppet! I just read The Friendly Necromancer so I now have a soft spot for shuppets. I like how all of the side characters feel like more than just NPCs. That poor old couple! And the scary looking guy with his baby pokemon!

 

[Blacksheep]

Hunting Team Aqua wasn't easy. I knew that they were going for Mr Stern's submarine, but I was still behind them. Icarus wasn't a distance flyer. I had to race them over the ground. It felt like I was ridiculously far behind trying to keep up. I barely noticed passing through Mauville back down to Slateport. I arrived in time to see Mr Stern announcing plans for an underwater expedition, just to be interrupted by the wave of Aqua grunts.

I thought I could stop them, but all it took was a single battle to buy enough time for them to disembark. Thankfully Mr Stern had a boat, and we could follow them on it. They headed up to Lilycove-and vanished.

Lilycove is a resort town. It's casual and fun and heavy with tourists. There's plenty of attractions and everything is designed for maximum comfort. That wasn't the Lilycove I walked up to. This one was almost barren on the streets. It felt like something had happened here. Asking around I found out that this was in fact where Team Aqua had their base. No one knew where the actual hideout was, but Team Aqua had taken over the resort town and kept them from calling for help. The people here had been trapped under the gang's control for months. I felt sick thinking about it. How had no one noticed Lilycove had dropped off the map?

I ran into Brendan here, he'd just been shopping at the department store. Somehow he had completely missed the tense atmosphere. I could tell that something was on his mind. He challenged me to a battle, but it didn't feel like even half of what our usual battles felt like. When it finished he told me he was going home. That he felt like he needed to do some thinking, and he might as well help his dad out with his research while he did. He left just like that, leaving me wondering what could have possibly happened.

I might have found out how Team Aqua was getting away with this though. They were just keeping the locals quiet, strong enough trainers could come and go. If they weren't paying enough attention it'd be easy to miss the tension in the air as they passed through. I wasn't going to just leave it like this though. I would find Team Aqua's hideout, get back the orb and the stolen submarine, and stop them.

Icarus and Fathom helped me search. Fathom proved to be more helpful, discovering an entrance to a cave out in the water. I silently rode him back there and stared up in awe. The hideout I found wasn't just something thrown together for a gang to laze around in. No, there was actual serious tech here. I slipped around the base looking for where Archie and his gang could be. There was a bunk room, a fancier kitchen than I expected, a lounge room, and an entire room dedicated to computer servers. Warp pads were the only way to get between rooms, and I had to be careful to be quiet landing to not draw unwanted attention to myself.

I kept going deeper into the hideout. Eventually I managed to find my way to what looked like some rather serious research labs. They were studying deep sea exploration in one room. I couldn't make out what was going on in the other. Everyone seemed excited, like they were getting close to the end. How close was the gang to gaining their victory? How much time did I have left?

I had to stop and pull into one of the storage rooms when I heard the egg cracking. What a time for it to decide to hatch! I finally got to find out what the pokemon was though, a wynaut! She was utterly adorable, and sweet in her innocence as she looked around. I wished this could have happened elsewhere. I wanted nothing more than to spend time pampering her. I just couldn't at the moment. Not in Team Aqua's base while they were in the middle of launching their plan.

I did my best to give some attention to little Baba before catching her in a pokeball. I was likely the worst caregiver for this, but I still wasn't stopping. I finally found where they were working on the submarine and launched myself out. Archie just laughed at me and told Matt to buy time as he started up the submarine for launch. Again I battled Matt, and again it didn't matter that I won. Matt had done what he needed to do: he'd bought the time for Archie to head out for his final plan.

Whatever it was, it was deep in the sea, and I couldn't reach him.

Bitterness flavored my actions as I left Lilycove back to Slateport. I had to tell the police about Team Aqua and their hideout. I could do that at minimum. And I could spend some proper time bonding with Baba. But Archie was down in the sea where I couldn't touch him. I had been too slow. Whatever his plan, he'd succeed.

What was I going to do now?

 

[Mount. Elements]

Those poor people in Lilycove. And the egg hatching during a stealth mission. Sure hope there's another submarine somewhere. The PC probably should have dropped a tip with the police before going on the stealth mission, but I get that was game mechanics.

 

[Blacksheep]

Yup! I can twist a fair amount of things for the sake of the story, but unfortunately there is a beaten path I must follow

 

[Blacksheep]

Baba is sweet. She's fun to cuddle with and play games. All she wants is to run around and share what she finds with everyone. Everything is new and worthy of investigation. I switched Dandy, my gloom, into the team to help out as a babysitter for Baba. I was giving her as much attention as I could, but more eyes was always a good thing!

Cuddles with a baby pokemon was exactly what the doctor had ordered. I felt better and ready to travel again. I decided to head down to Mossdeep to try for my next badge. Mossdeep was supposed to be a really cool island city, with the space center located there and the local gym leaders being psychics. Just thinking about it had my spirits buoyed up once more. There was a lot to explore, and I refused to let Team Aqua ruin my pokemon journey with their stupidity!

It turned out there was actually a deep sea treasure hunter that's set up shop out along the ocean there. He told me that there's evidence there used to be an old civilization out here before the islands shifted and sent it to the bottom of the ocean. There's a lot of cool finds there, and he even has classes for people who wanted to learn how to safely dive for their own finds. Not every find is worth something, but all of it holds a piece of the ancient past.

I was quick to pay and start learning how to dive with Fathom. It wasn't easy figuring out the right rhythm. I could have gear to help me stay down longer, but we still needed to be able to tell when to surface so I could breath again. Fathom seems so proud of being able to safely carry me and share the ocean. It's beautiful down below.

I reached Mossdeep. It really is a beautiful city. They have really worked on bringing in the beauty of exploration into the city, with swirls and loops throughout their architecture designed to make people look out at the ocean or up to the sky. I spotted a couple wingulls with letters that they were carrying to deliver. There's something so much more romantic about a pokemon carrying mail over a human deliverer. Perhaps it's cause you know the pokemon is doing it out of love.

I got to visit the space center. They have the launch platform for spaceships set off on an island a ways away, but they have live feed of it in the space center for people to be able to watch launches from. Sadly they didn't have anything going up at the moment. There's not many rockets that have been launched to space. It's an expensive endeavor, and powerful pokemon that are able to reach that high don't take kindly to unexpected intrusions. Maybe I'll come back another time to try and see a launch, but just seeing the meteors and star charts and what they've seen up there was enough for today. There's so much out there to explore sometimes I feel like I'll burst from trying to see it all.

I found a place selling evolution stones, and Dandy demanded that I get him a sun stone. I didn't know he felt so strongly about it, but he was very eager to become a bellossom. He seems to have ideas about what kind of battler he wants to be, I'm curious what he'll end up developing as on the team. I brought him as a babysitter, but he has his own plans and isn't afraid to make sure I see them.

>>>

I headed to the gym next to face down Lisa and Tate. The gym is very cool, it looks almost empty, but the walls are decorated to look like space, and everyone stands on platforms that floats out in the air. There's no way to reach Lisa and Tate. They used their psychic power to pick me up and bring me to the arena. It was so cool, if a little scary to not have any control. It's hard to believe that they're gym leaders when they're so young. They must be incredibly powerful, especially as one of the last gyms on the traditional circuit!

Lisa and Tate sent out their solrock and lunatone, and I answered with Bi De and Echo. Bi De was primarily the distraction with his speed, keeping them focused on him, while Echo brought in the heavy blows. Any time it looked like they'd turn to focus on Echo, Bi De would step in. He couldn't deliver the hard hits he normally could, not with their rock/psychic typing, but he's a good team player and wasn't going to let that stop him from helping.

I was practically glowing with pride as I accepted the badge. This called for a big celebration! There was just one more badge to collect.

That was when the world exploded. Or at least, that's what it felt like. Everything shook and there was a loud roar of something breaking, like a lightning strike or an explosion. I barely managed to keep myself from falling over. I looked up to see a great pillar of light and water shooting up out of the depths of the ocean. That was really not good. Team Aqua had found what they had been looking for.

Steven came out of nowhere racing up behind me. When I asked him it turned out he lived there in Mossdeep. He was glad to see me, but he had to go and get his gear for fighting Team Aqua. He actually paused at that and asked if I'd be willing to buy him some time to get there. He knew I'd faced them before and believed I could handle it. I felt sick at the thought, but Steven's my friend. I couldn't even think of saying no when he was asking for my help.

It was good that I'd had that practice diving with Fathom. I was terrified the current calm front the ocean held was going to shatter at any moment. I released Fathom into the ocean and directed him towards where the great pillar had erupted. It was gone now, but I still had a decent idea of where it had been, and I was sure that finding out where the ocean had been so greatly disturbed wouldn't be difficult.

Sure enough, I found that a floating island had broken apart into pieces that were starting to sink. We dove below, and I spotted an underwater cavern. I directed Fathom into it, and we dove deeper and deeper. It was dark and cold, and I thought I'd run out of air, but we found a pocket. More than a pocket. It looked like this underwater cave had trapped air beneath it. There were ancient murals on the wall, remnants of the city that had once been here. What was this place that Team Aqua had raided? What had they found?

I went deeper and deeper. The entire place was a maze. Heavy stone doors that were broken open marked where Team Aqua had come through. Whatever was down here, it was not meant to be released. And Team Aqua had done just that. The last set of stairs down to the bottom filled me with a deep sense of dread. The air tasted of the ocean depths, life that lived and died without ever breaching the surface. Everything was damp. And down there, I saw a final seal broken open.

Team Magma had made it here first. Maxie had already fought Archie, and was having a breakdown. He kept muttering calculations. I couldn't make heads or tails out of what he was so freaked out over. Archie looked at me and laughed. "So, you followed me even here! Well then, a final fight to prove myself to Kyogre before I awake the god and reset the world to what it had once been!" What? He was waking up Kyogre? But that pokemon had been put to sleep for a reason! Kyogre would destroy everything!

I just had to buy enough time for Steven to arrive. I had to keep that in mind. I wasn't alone, help was coming. I steadied myself and sent Fathom out. Archie responded with his mightyena. The blasted beast was quick and sturdy, and far better at moving around in an aquatic environment than it had any right to be. Fathom had to wrap it and crush it in his weight to take it out.

Archie sent out a muk next and I countered with Bi De to burn it away. Bi De was quick, the muk had no chance to poison anything. A crobat came out next, of all things. I wasn't going to let it claim the skies, Icarus was freed to match it. The crobat was acrobatic and in its element, but Icarus had come a long way from when I'd first claimed him, and he wasn't going to stop here at the bottom of the ocean.

Finally Archie let out his sharpedo-and mega evolved it. Bi De was already tired, he wouldn't be able to match it. Icarus couldn't enter the water to fight it, and I needed Fathom rested enough to take me back to the surface. Dandy isn't trained enough to face such a battle, and as much as I love Briar Rose she's unreliable. That left Echo. I released the exploud, and he screamed his determination. The cave shook, but thankfully didn't cave in. Echo stomped forwards, and went head to head with the mega evolved pokemon. I poured my heart out to Echo, and he answered. He took blow after blow, and kept standing up. He yelled and stomped and bit until finally the mega evolution broke and sharpedo passed out.

I'd done it. I'd held out. I was trembling all over, but I had done it. Then Admin Shelly arrived, and I flinched. I couldn't face more of Team Aqua, not now. Archie laughed and invited Shelly to join in his triumph, but Shelly told him no. It turned out that time back at the weather institute had really gotten to her. She told Archie that Kyogre would destroy them, not grant Archie's dream.

Archie pulled back angrily, and pulled out the blue orb. I started forward, that was what I had promised to reclaim! He dropped it into the water-and something rippled out.

I crashed to the ground as heavy pressure washed over everything in the room. I don't think it was even intentional. Just pure power pulsing through the room leaving all of us shaking. Archie was still grinning, but even he was on his knees and unable to respond. Something enormous, something beyond any of us in that room, had awakened. A deep call echoed out shaking all of us. I caught a glimpse of an enormous eye, and then-it was gone.

Kyogre was awake. The great primal water god once more entered the world to remake it in her image.

Finally it seemed to hit Archie what he'd done. He looked at his group. "I...that wasn't..."

"Let's just go," Shelly said softly. The team got up and left.

Steven arrived then, panting, with a metagross behind him. He grimaced as he arrived. "Too late."

"I tried," I offered.

"I know. It's my fault." Steven pushed his hair out of his face. "I should have been faster." He frowned at what had once been the seal over Kyogre's resting place. "There's still hope. Kyogre's only just awoken."

"What can we do?"

"Sootopolis. The Sky Pillar there is meant to allow the draconid tribe and those worthy to call for Rayquaza. We just need to go there."

I nodded. We both headed up and out. It wasn't any easier leaving the place than it had been getting in. At least we were heading up instead of deeper down. The water outside of the cavern was turbulent. Just reaching the surface revealed torrential rains that threatened to drown us. I clung tightly to Fathom, my loyal gyarados working hard to keep me safe on his back. "Come on!" Steven shouted. Together we headed to Sootopolis.

If we didn't make it, this might just be the end.

 

[Mount. Elements]

There's something so much more romantic about a pokemon carrying mail over a human deliverer. Perhaps it's cause you know the pokemon is doing it out of love.

Click to shrink...

Wow/Ouch!

He actually paused at that and asked if I'd be willing to buy him some time to get there. He knew I'd faced them before and believed I could handle it. I felt sick at the thought, but Steven's my friend. I couldn't even think of saying no when he was asking for my help.

Click to shrink...

The mental disconnect when I remembered that the PC is most likely a 10-year-old... I know that I'm not supposed to take the idea of child protagonists fighting high-level battles too seriously, but it's just hard to get past that sometimes. Credit to Blacksheep for making me feel along with the PC here.

 

[Blacksheep]

The rain came down in sheets overhead, clouds gathering and spreading faster than I had ever seen. The wind was cold, and I was completely soaked through. Fathom was an incredible trooper carrying me through the ocean and diving down to bring me into Sootopolis. If he hadn't worked so hard to keep me safe and secured to him I would have easily been lost in the storm. There was a heavy pressure everywhere, just pressing down with the weight of the rising water.

I had to cling to Steven as we reached Sootopolis and started moving through it. If I let go I'd lose track of him too easily. The city had shut down from the storm, I could barely make anything out about the place as we climbed steps and walked through streets that were already starting to stream over with water.

"Wallace!" Steven shouted.

A man turned around and squinted at us. "Steven! Should have known you'd come." He reached out and clasped Steven's hand. "Who is this?"

"This is Bria, she's a trainer that's been helping me out with this."

Wallace reached forward to shake my hand before his eyes were drawn to my bag. "What's in your bag?"

It took me a moment to realize there was only one thing that could have caught his attention. I dug out the red orb and held it up.

Wallace gave a grim smile. "Perfect. That means we can access the cave and try to calm Kyogre down." He lead us down and through Sootopolis to what looked like an ancient site. It was weathered, yet there was a thrum of undeniable power coming off of it. Archie stood there with Maxie, and they turned at our arrival.

"I thought you'd come here," Maxie stated.

Archie dropped to his knees. "Forgive me. This isn't what I'd wanted at all! We came here to try and fix things, but it wouldn't let us in!"

"Of course not," Wallace scoffed. "Only the worthy can enter."

"Then I will have my people work to help those caught in the storm," Maxie decided firmly.

"I do still have something!" Archie stood up and brought out a suit. "Behold! The result of Team Aqua's research! A suit to withstand Kyogre's presence!" He tossed it at me. "You've beaten me at all of this, so go all the way!"

"Bria, wait!" I turned around in shock to see Brandon panting as he came slipping down the bridge. "I-I saw you on the news. We gotta get to safety!"

I shook my head. "Brandon, I have to go."

"She's right. With Kyogre awake it's too dangerous to enter the cave without an orb," Wallace agreed. "And she's been entrusted as the red orb's holder."

"She's my best friend! I can't let her go alone!" Brandon argued. Oh, I hadn't known he'd felt that way. He'd been so awkward. I felt bad for only thinking of him as an acquaintance now. I'd have to try harder to be a good friend in the future.

"I would prefer if myself or Wallace went, but we can't," Steven said regretfully.

"It's alright Brandon. I'll come back, and we can compare our dex notes then," I promised.

Brandon gritted his jaw and nodded. "Fine! And I'll do my best to help from here!"

I took a moment to pull on the suit that was supposed to help me withstand being near Kyogre before walking forward. The cave pulsed as I approached, once, twice, and then I was in without having ever passed the entrance. I knew if I looked back I would see a sealed door. I took a deep breath and proceeded deeper in.

I could feel the waves of power crashing over me. It was still building, not yet at its epicenter. Every wave brought a sense of salt and water tanged with the deep dark. I pushed forward against it glad for the suit's protection. In my bag the red orb began to pulse as well. It was grounding, pushing back the threatening sensation of drowning and keeping me focused on the earth beneath my feet.

Reaching the center felt strange, like I was falling through reality. Things tilted around me, and I swear that Kyogre helped me make it to where she rested under a great shining pillar of pure celestial power that was pouring into her. She sang out as I approached and power pulsed over her. The great ocean god twisted as power surged and new lines of power began to run through her.

I only had one chance to interrupt her and put her back to sleep, and this was it.

I released my team and sent them out. Kyogre screamed in rage as we battled. We should have all been knocked out instantly, but the red orb was somehow helping us stay standing. Fathom let out a roar of his own back. My gyarados, my wonderful sea dragon, was facing down one of his gods for me. It didn't matter to a single one of my pokemon, from Rowen who didn't know a single offensive mood to Bi De who lead from the front, that this was meant to be an impossible battle. They flung themselves forward anyways.

My heart sung with them. I called on everything I had to bolster them, and sought the blue orb. Icarus blocked a blow from Kyogre just as my hand locked around the blue orb and wrenched it away.

Just like that, the funnel of power cut off. Kyogre screamed again, but I could see the power starting to fade. I brought the red orb forward letting it fall into harmony with its partner. "Your time is over, Kyogre! Sleep!"

A pulse blasted out-and when it cleared, the cavern was empty. Kyogre was gone. Had she merely sunk to the bottom of the cave here? Been transported elsewhere? I didn't know.

But the air was clear. I stumbled my way back out of the cave falling out of it into Brandon's arms. Wallace and Steven were quick to step in and check me over. Above me was a perfectly clear night sky, with what looked like glittering stars falling through the air as the last of the rain and power dispersed.

>>>

Archie and Maxie came to see me the next day. While working to protect the city they'd come to an agreement to work together to help protect Hoenn's environment, and keep each other from going overboard. Archie thanked me for helping to fix his mistake. They looked good together as allies.

Brandon of course had to talk my ear off about his latest research. I couldn't have been happier to listen to him talk about the importance of balance in an ecosystem. I may not have understood a good portion of it, but it was good to just sit back and not have to talk myself.

Steven thanked me again for his assistance, and said he hoped to see me again. I have the feeling he has something planned for when we meet again, but I don't know what yet.

Wallace's reward? I got to face him in a gym battle without having to wait. It turned out he was the gym leader here, and I was getting to skip the line.

It turned out facing Wallace in battle was going to be far cooler than I had even begun to hope. The arena was a stage, with waterfalls and pools, and Wallace was a master. He was grace, he was beauty, he was everything I could want to be. He released his luvdisc and I matched it with Fathom. There's no underestimating his pokemon. The luvdisc was stunningly beautiful and acrobatic in its attacks, and while Fathom overpowered it in the end he looked like a brute in comparison.

The milotic that Wallace sent dancing out next was enough to almost bring me to tears with its beauty. I sent Bi De out, hoping he could stand up to it. The milotic was almost hypnotic as it danced and delivered precise attacks on Bi De. If it hadn't been for Bi De's speed and skill with strikes I doubt I would have passed.

A whishcash was next for Briar Rose to face. She didn't take kindly to the whishcash showing off in front of her and was quick to thrash it. It was possibly the fastest I'd seen her move since evolving. Wallace's sealeo was another thing entirely. It created the most beautiful aurora beams. It was only Icarus' own training and grace that gave him an edge. Even the loss in the end seemed graceful.

The battle ended with a beautiful powerful seaking being screamed into submission with Echo. Wallace pranced down to reward me with the badge like an angel. I thanked him for the battle, and he lingered to give me tips on training and advice on how to help polish up my pokemon. He even had some contest advice I could use for Plush and Rowen!

I felt like I was walking on cloud nine as I left. I'd done it, I'd collected all eight badges. The only question left, was now what?

 

[Mount. Elements]

Brandon thinks of the PC as his best friend?! That was unexpected. And Bria now has all 8 badges! Kyogre has been defeated so I guess that only the Elite 4 and the Champion are left?

 

[Blacksheep]

I was very surprised when that came out. The kid's so awkward!

I have a couple places I want to visit first, the desert and Sea Mauville, but I think then it is just the Elite 4 and Champion!

 

[Blacksheep]

I wasn't finished with my journey yet. There was still too much to go out and see! Places that I had passed up visiting before, like Meteor Falls, because I had been otherwise occupied. So I set off to see those places.

I started with the desert. It's a hot place, and difficult to travel over with the dunes, but I really wanted to experience it for myself. So I headed out and pressed into the sands. The cacnea that dotted the desert were fun to watch rolling around, and I even spotted a cacturne once in the distance. There was so much more life in the desert than I had thought there would be. Yes it was dotted out and the landscape was haggard, but if I looked closely under rocks and really looked, I could find plants and bugs and even pokemon that were thriving out here.

I was super lucky, I ran into a dig site. The paleontologists working there were apparently using this as a training site, and were more than happy to welcome people passing through to help on the dig and teach about safe fossil retrieval. The desert is plentiful in its fossils, if you know what you're doing. I had a lot of fun excavating, even if I had to be rescued from falling into a sand hole. Apparently the desert lies on top of something that used to be built there, and if you're not careful you can fall through patches where the sand has shifted and end up swallowed by the sands. That was scary to think! I got to keep the anorith fossil I retrieved. The pattern in the fossil is really cool.

One of the sailors in Slateport recommended that if I wanted a real adventure I'd check out Sea Mauville. The old sea platform has long been reestablished as a pokemon habitat these days. The thought of visiting an abandoned human wreck that's overtaken by pokemon is utterly enchanting, and I don't even try to resist the pull to go and see it. The platform is half sunk into the sea, and approaching it feels exactly like I'm making a new discovery and uncovering an old tale lost to time.

There's a tour guide there to welcome people to Sea Mauville. She reminded me that the place is now a pokemon reserve and artificial reef, and that while open to the public it is a sunken sea platform and may be unstable in certain areas. Which really is part of the fun! Yes it's dangerous, but there being actual risk only enhances how cool it is to get to wander around here.

I wasn't the only one that came to Sea Mauville from Slateport. There's one of the workers from Stern's ship building company here as well. He isn't here to take in the views though, but to seek out a scanner that Captain Stern lost when he came to Sea Mauville previously. It's hard to picture the sea captain who has pioneered so much of ocean exploration as coming out here to explore Sea Mauville like I am. It's hard to picture him away from his ships at all actually. I decided I'll keep an eye out for the scanner, just in case. No reason to not help out!

I climbed up the platform first, scrambling against the slope and up to the edge. It felt like standing on the top of a cliff. The wind was sharp and cold at the edge, and I felt like I was at the top of the world. It felt like a real accomplishment, matching up just as much to making it to the top of Mt Pyre, and untainted by Team Aqua. I took a breath and turned to half skid and half run back down to reach the doors leading into the actual depths of the platform. I would get to see what was down in the depths!

There were more tourists exploring Sea Mauville than I'd expected. I guess it had been foolish to think I would have this place to myself. After all, it was a very cool place, and openly advertised. I wouldn't get the experience of pretending I was the first to break way here. I would just have to satisfy myself at sharing poking around with the others. It was really cool to look into a room that had once had computers and drive towers now broken with plants growing through them. It didn't matter that this place hadn't been meant for plants, once we had left it behind they had found a way through here anyways, choking out what was left of the dead machinery and bringing out green life. The clash of the machine with the plants was fun to look at, really tugging on my imagination for what could be.

The deeper I went into Sea Mauville the more there were puddles and leaks to wade through. Eventually I hit where the platform had submerged into water entirely. I didn't let that stop me. Fathom helped me dive even deeper down. It felt so crazy being down in the bottom. And below the water was machinery that looked like something in a science fiction novel from the twenties. It was all big and built with metal and piping and no clear purpose that I could discern. Was this the center of the platform that powered the place? Or did it have some other purpose?

We came up into an area that had been sealed off from the water and was still dry. There were a couple other people poking around here, including a guy that claimed there was some sort of treasure that was supposed to be lost on the platform. I didn't think that was very likely, people had been exploring this place for a while now. Surely most of its secrets had been found already, even if it was fun to pretend they weren't.

There was an office set up here with letters from a child to their dad while he was out working on the platform. It felt like a glimpse into another life reading those letters. The child loved the stars, the telescope gifted to his father featuring prominently as a touch stone in all the letters. I was shocked to reach the end and realize it was in fact Professor Cozmo, the one I helped rescue, who was the child in the letters. Did he know these were down here in Sea Mauville? I stuffed them back in a drawer to hide them away. It was fitting to think of the professor who would one day lead research on meteors as a child looking up at the stars, but it also felt like a glimpse that I shouldn't have had.

I moved onto the next room, and was back out far more quickly. Turned out I wasn't the only one down here, and a couple girls had decided this was a great date spot. Or makeout corner. One of the two, and I certainly wasn't going back to ask! No, the papers in the next room about Sea Mauville back when it was a running business were much more interesting and worth investigating. Who isn't into old defunct businesses?

Wait. I reread the last paper. Sea Mauville's closure as a research platform had apparently had more going on than I'd been aware of. These were emails about a whistle blower causing the place to come down, and how people were reacting to the place shutting down. This wasn't a company going bankrupt, or simply moving on to new projects. They had done something that had been reported causing the place to be closed. Just what had they been doing here? I resolved to look up if there was anything about why Sea Mauville shut down after I left the place.

I got really lucky shortly after. I found a storage room that no one had explored yet, likely because no one had found the key. I asked Fathom to help me search down in the depths. We found the scanner that Captain Stern had been looking for down there, along with a couple other trinkets. I was half tempted to break the door down, but that rather felt like it would ruin the spirit of things. It had been sealed for so long. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be opened, or someone else would be the one to find a way in.

Just when I was preparing to start back up I spotted the key. It fit into the storage room! I opened it up, and had to stare in shock at what was inside. Treasure, real actual treasure! This was just like a story! It only added to my questions of what had happened with Sea Mauville, but this was super cool! I rushed back to where others were to report my find of the treasure so I could properly claim it. I was gonna be rich!

Fathom breached the surface in the wrong portion of Sea Mauville. It was another undiscovered pocket of rooms that were hidden away. I decided it wouldn't hurt to take a few more minutes to explore a bit more before claiming my treasure. It had lasted this long after all.

It felt strange entering the next office room I found. There was an almost heavy feeling in the room. I found a note someone had written up, about a keystone being lost.

Dandy let out a warning cry, and I turned around just in time to see my bellossom, my lovely little plant pokemon who took such good care of Baba, be shredded by a blast of dark energy.

I didn't waste any time releasing Echo. He stormed forward and found what looked like the keystone that had been in the note. It wobbled, and then broke forth with a screaming swirl of multiple spirits, revealing the truth: it was a spiritomb. Someone had created or brought a spiritomb in Sea Mauville, and Dandy had paid the price for it. They screamed their pain through the air as they lashed out. Echo moved rapidly to shield me before charging in to take them down. Just like I'd trained him to.

I threw a pokeball and caught the spiritomb. I can't even really say why I did it, not after they killed Dandy. Perhaps it was the sheer loneliness I had felt, or how sad it was. Perhaps it was because I didn't want to leave them there for anyone else to come across. But I had them now.

The trip back to Slateport was sadder than it should have been. I missed Dandy's warmth on my team. He had been so caring. Captain Stern watched me as I approached with the scanner to hand over. "Thank you young lady, this will be very valuable to our work here," he said. He paused for a moment studying me before digging into his pocket and bringing out a small old bell. It was pretty, and had tiny engravings on it. "Here, I think you could use this more than me. It's said to bring luck and fortune to those who travel on the seas, and ringing it will bring you aid."

"Thank you." I tucked it close to myself as I headed to the pokemon center. I needed to figure out what I was doing next. Perhaps...perhaps I should end my journey now.

 

[Mount. Elements]

Oh, wow. I was hopeful that no one else would die.

On a side note, this chapter really brought into focus how illogical the pokemon games can be. How did those papers about the professor survive out in the open like that for so long? If this is a pokemon reserve, then where are the pokemon? Why can't I turn off my brain?!

 

[Blacksheep]

I headed to Mt Pyre. Perhaps I should have come back earlier. I had completed the quest of seeking out the orbs after all. Grudge, the spiritomb I found, felt like a weight on my back as I headed there. There was no ignoring what they were. Pain incarnated into power. Neither of these were the reason I was coming back however. They were excuses, but it was the weight of grief that carried me. I resonated with Grudge. I understood them well, and it hurt that they were why I grieved.

I climbed Mt Pyre to the top, and bowed to the old couple that had guarded the orbs. They looked at peace as they greeted me. "Have you reunited the orbs?" the old woman asked kindly.

"I have." I dug into my backpack and pulled them out holding them towards them.

The old woman smiled and shook her head. "You have done well, but it is not time yet for them to return here to rest."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you listen to our tale?" the old man asked. Hesitantly I nodded and took a seat with them.

"When the world was new, Kyogre and Groudon created sea and land. From them came the continents, the oceans, the lakes and mountains. Theirs was the basis all was built on," the old man started.

"But they did not work in harmony for long. As they built they found themselves locked in conflict. For Groudon created land where Kyogre spread her waters, and Kyogre rose the sea where Groudon rose his mountains," the old woman continued.

"They began to battle each other over who had the right, and who was superior. It was a terrible battle, and while it raged no life could flourish."

"Life could not continue with Kyogre and Groudon locked in battle. In this great need was Rayquaza born, to quell the primal gods and let life grow."

"Rayquaza could drive Kyogre and Groudon down into the depths, but they could not rest. Not with the great drive in them to create, not how they were."

"And so the orbs were created, to hold their power, and drive, to let them rest. The orbs were taken to rest here at Mt Pyre, and let them dream in peace. Side by side Kyogre and Groudon could sense each other, and find peace from the conflict as they rested."

"I thought with them enemies they wouldn't want to be together?" I asked.

The old man shook his head. "They were never meant to be enemies. They are opposed, yes, but they cannot exist without each other. The orbs allow them to feel each other's presence and rest easy."

"So why can't you care for the orbs again?" I asked.

"They chose to travel with you when the blue one was stolen away," the old woman answered. "Perhaps this way the primal gods can dream of this world. Perhaps they simply don't feel secure at the moment."

"But when the time is right, you will know," the old man promised.

I nodded solemnly and tucked the orbs back away, silently promising myself to keep them safe. "I...did not just come here because of the orbs," I admitted.

"You have a spiritomb with you," the old woman observed.

"Yes. They killed...my bellossom died defending me from them."

"We are sorry for your loss."

I bowed my head in thanks for their condolences. "I don't know what to do. Part of me thinks it's my fault, since I hadn't wanted to end my journey yet. I also blame them. But I know what it means that they're a spiritomb. I could feel their pain and loneliness. I don't want to just leave them that way."

The old woman smiled. "Your compassion suits you well." She reached out and clasped one of my hands. "It seems there are two options sitting here before you. The first, is to release the spiritomb into our care. We would treat them well, and eventually we would find peace. Or you could continue on the path you have already began, rebuilding them with kindness and the bond formed through shared pain. It is the harder path, but you may find a friend in what was once an enemy."

"Take your time to think on it," she advised. "There is no rush."

>>>

Grudge was with me when I made my way to Meteor Falls. I wanted to forgive them for Dandy, and I wanted to be part of giving them more life than what they had experienced so far. Going back to a place I had wanted to visit before, but hadn't been able to, seemed to be a good start to that. Meteor Falls was such a beautiful place, marked as it was by craters. Inside the waterfalls and lakes left it with a feeling of wonder and mystery.

Going out from the side I can actually see the sea. I was really lucky and got to watch a pod of wailmers playing out in the water. They're so adorable, the way they bounce around. They lose that bounciness when they evolve. It's fun watching them play with each other. For something so large they're far more agile than one would think.

I wandered through the caverns simply delighting in it. There were plenty of zubats of course, and the occasional golbat, but nothing that bothered me. Bi De could easily keep them at a distance and from being pests. He easily kept near me as I bounced around, chasing after the glitter of wet rocks that I thought might be more and staring up at the waterfalls. I was shocked half to death when I found a lunatone gently orbiting a cave. It was singing as it went. I crept in closer and found there were moonstones in the room with it. Was it making the moon stones, or was it there because the moon stones were?

I was quick to slip back out before the lunatone could turn its attention to me. I didn't want to fight it. Its singing and the way it floated through the room was too peaceful for me to want to disrupt.

The caverns in Meteor Falls are large, perfect for wandering through. Most people stay near the entrances, but I was confident with my team that I wouldn't have a problem. That's how I found a hidden door. I wasn't expecting anything, just playing at swimming up the waterfalls with Fathom and cheering in delight each time we crested it. This time though, Fathom plunged through the waterfall to a hidden passage. There were markings on the wall, alerting me to the fact that people had been here before. I was instantly eaten up by curiosity and pressed my way further in. I had to know what was down here! Something beautiful? Perhaps a secret picnic spot?

What I found was beyond my wildest dreams. I found a dragons nest. Tens of salamances soared through the air. Below fierce trainers commanded their altarias into battle. A few had gyaradoses.

One spotted me and immediately strode forward. "Halt! Only those worthy may enter the halls of the Salamance Halls!"

I trembled with excitement. I was no dragon tamer, no member of these halls. I shouldn't be here at all. But there was no way I was turning around, not when I had found a dragons nest. I had to see more! And I had confidence that my team could carry me forward.

I unleashed Grudge against the dragon tamer's altaria. It shrieked a challenge and began to dance. Grudge laughed and raged and lashed out. The pair clashed. I called out to Grudge with all my heart doing my best to guide them to victory. And they did it! They pulled through! We defeated the altaria!

The dragon tamer bowed in acceptance of my worthiness for the halls, and I marched forward head held high. I stared in delight at the shellgon awkwardly waddling about and slamming itself occasionally into things. I knew there had to be bagons back here as well, but these were wild dragons, not tame. These dragon tamers may be masters of this space and walk amongs them, but it was built on tradition, respect, and understanding. I was merely a visitor in this great place, and I did not particularly feel like getting eaten because I accidentally upset a nesting salamance.

It was still one of the greatest sights. More dragon tamers challenged me, testing their own skills as much as my own as we battled. They seemed somewhat confused that my only "dragon" was Fathom, but I was holding my ground here and could battle them as equals. I was exhausted when I finally left, the thrill of being so close to the wild dragons still running through me as I left Meteor Falls to make camp. I dreamed of the salamances all night, their roars accompanying me in my dreams.

I traveled east to Shoal's Cave next. It's one of the most well spoken of areas in Hoenn, if not well visited due to its icy depths. The place was cold, but it was also home to several pods of sealeos. Which meant if I timed it right, I could get to watch fat baby spheals rolling around as they figured out how to slide over ice and swim in the sea. My timing was great, coming in just in the low tide to pick shells for fun, and racing back out of the cave to find a perch out of the way as hide tide came back out. I thought it would move slower than that, but it just snuck up on me!

I found a way all the way down to the depths of the cave and went sliding around on the ice. It turns out that there weren't just sealeos and their little adorable spheals sliding around down there, but snorunts too! I was super excited to look for froslasses and glalies, but I wasn't that lucky. Seeing the snorunts was super cool, even if I came back out of the cave in desperate need of a hot chocolate.

I found an old man that likes to visit and crafts things out of the shells in the cave. He had a shell bell he'd carved, and I was more than happy to purchase it as a trinket for my travels. I love how bells chime and sing, it's fun to shake and listen to them. Hanging it on my backpack was perfect.

I was planning out where to head next, when I received a letter from Steven.

It was an invitation to the Ever Grande League.

 

[Mount. Elements]

Your PC is a better person than me. I would have left Grudge with the old couple and captured that Lunatone. I was also amazed at the lack of fear for facing those dragons, though it makes a lot of sense now that I think more about it. Your rules have it so that regular trainers stop after defeating your pokemon instead of killing them off.

 

[Blacksheep]

Your PC is a better person than me. I would have left Grudge with the old couple and captured that Lunatone. I was also amazed at the lack of fear for facing those dragons, though it makes a lot of sense now that I think more about it. Your rules have it so that regular trainers stop after defeating your pokemon instead of killing them off.

Click to shrink...

I am also overleveled for facing people in Meteor Falls. My pokemon are between level 51 and 60. The dragon tamers' most powerful pokemon was level 45 XD

 

[Blacksheep]

My next post is the Elite Four! I do have a couple questions I want to ask before I do that however.

Icarus...fell. He lived up to his name, soaring higher than he should have, and falling fast. Should he merely be crippled, as Dream was, or a true death?

Second, would a continuation into the Extra Content be of interest, or should the series end here?

 

[Mount. Elements]

My next post is the Elite Four! I do have a couple questions I want to ask before I do that however.

Icarus...fell. He lived up to his name, soaring higher than he should have, and falling fast. Should he merely be crippled, as Dream was, or a true death?

Second, would a continuation into the Extra Content be of interest, or should the series end here?

Click to shrink...

Icarus... As for whether he lived died or was crippled, I would go with what feels like it best matches the fight scene. Was he completely overwhelmed by a powerful attack, or was his health chipped down over time so that he fell shortly before his opponent did?

I have no idea what the extra content is. I guess I'd have to ask what the PC's motivations would be for continuing. She's been questioning whether she should stay in safety after each pokemon death. Is Icarus the death that makes her stay home forever, or does she have a reason to keep going despite the danger to her pokemon?

 

[Blacksheep]

I spent some time just hanging with Rowen and Plush before I decided to head towards Ever Grande. It was big and grand, and their presence was peaceful and soft. It was good to take a break from my journey and just breath while holding them. Rowen had been a light through this entire journey, my zigzagoon who would not fight and chose to charm instead. His sweetness had really lifted me up so many times through my journey.

It's tradition to enter Ever Grande by going up the waterfall. You can fly there, but if you're a first time visitor you're encouraged to go by water. I welcomed the challenge with Fathom. The waterfall below the city was enormous, and it was thrilling to cling to Fathom's back as he swam up. The view of the city as we crested over the top was breathtaking. Hills covered in flowers, with trees planted along the rocky path through the mountain that lead to where the League rested. Trainers that were the top of their class gathered here. I would have thought it would have been harsher with it's position as a center for battle, but instead there was a beauty to it that stole my breath.

It felt strange to head towards Victory Road. I was not a battler, I would never claim that title. But my pokemon were powerful. I had faced all eight gyms, and fought against the calamity of Kyogre's awakening with them. Somehow I had earned the right to walk this route. There were trainers here, testing each other at the last minute, and sharpening their skills. I wasn't here for the official league, so I could walk by in peace. Above where the trainers walked streams of water lined by trees marked the route.

"Bria." I turned and found Wallace standing there. He looked more than he had before. How, I couldn't put my finger on. He was relaxed, sky eyes sparkling as he stared at me. "I had hoped to see you here."

"Ah, I'm not competing in the league," I told him.

"Neither am I." Wally stepped forward. "But you were there on my journey. It seemed only fitting to meet you at the end of yours. A final battle between us, as thanks for what you gave."

"Did I? You seemed to find your way fine on your own."

Wally smiled. "You gave me plenty. So please, one more battle."

I nodded. We walked over to where an arena was set aside. I want to think it was luck that it was clear for us to use, but with Wally I suspected it was more than coincidence. We crossed to opposite sides. We locked eyes, and I knew it was time. At the same moment we tossed our pokeballs forward releasing our first. "Grudge!" I cried. The spiritomb spilled out facing the glorious altaria that Wally unleashed. The dragon bird let out a beautiful wailing sound, and I knew that if I wasn't fast the song would cause Grudge to fall. I gestured forward, and Grudge hit hard and fast.

The altaria's song continued through the entire assault, but at the last Grudge pulled through. Wally nodded his head in acknowledgement as we both withdrew our pokemon and switched to our next. Bi De came out to face Wally's roselia. It should have been easy, but we were far beyond type being enough to bring a win. The roselia poisoned Bi De, and looked beautiful even as it fell. I returned Bi De to rest in case I would need him again later, and watched as Wally released a magneton. Bi De would have been perfect to fight it, but not when poisoned. I sent Fathom out next. I knew it was a mistake as soon as I did, but there was no turning back.

The magneton was not trained as I'd expected. The moves were elegant, but more to the mark of being useful outside of battle. It gave Fathom what he needed to crush the magneton. It was a relief. Wally's delcatty leaped out elegantly next, with everything only a feline could bring to an event. It seemed simple to send Icarus out to face her, only for the delcatty to utterly charm Icarus with her beauty. Icarus wanted to woo the delcatty instead of battle. It was hard to reach out through our bond and force him forwards. Somehow we prevailed, the delcatty's femme fatale act falling before us.

Wally smiled. "Well done. There's just one left for me. My knight, take the field." He gestured. I didn't see him throw the pokeball. I didn't see it teleport in. The gallade was simply there on the field, ready. I took a deep breath. If I needed to, I knew I could call on some of my others. But I could feel who would be right here: Echo. I released the exploud. He let out a scream and faced the gallade eagerly.

The gallade braced itself and rushed forward. I ordered Echo to release everything he had, and he did. He screamed with the same power that had let him stand by me against Kyogre. They clashed, the gallade playing the role of the knight and choosing to fight with its bladed arms over its other powers. Echo did his best to keep it at range with his power, and sent tremors through the ground each time he was forced to leap back. They fought, and fought-and then the gallade was gone once more.

I thought it was a trick, we were both tensed to continue. Then Wally clapped. He smiled at me, an odd too knowing smile. "Thank you." That-that was it? I won? I watched as Wally turned and left, to wherever he would go now. It's funny to realize he actually liked me. I don't know why. I wasn't exactly open to him. He was closer to his pokemon than any human.

But, it felt good to be acknowledged by him.

I found my way to the entrance, and security halted me. "The league has not yet opened," the security guard told me.

"Ah, I'm not here for the league. I was invited to come." I dug out Steven's invitation and held it out. The guard looked at it, checked my ID, and nodded. He stepped aside and let me in. At the reception desk I was given a visitor's ID. I felt so nervous being here. This was the Ever Grande League! The center for Hoenn! Where you proved yourself against the best Hoenn had to offer. What was I doing here?

"You made it." I looked up at Steven's welcome voice. He smiled warmly at me, and my nerves melted away.

"I couldn't turn down a chance to meet the Elite Four," I told him happily.

"They're looking forward to meeting the savior of Hoenn as well," he told me.

"W-what? That's not me!"

Steven laughed and ruffled my hair. "You are, whether you want to think so or not. What you did with Kyogre was incredible. You may not be a professional battler, but you have the true heart of a pokemon champion."

"Thanks." I followed after Steven warmed by his words. We entered a comfortable parlor room set with snacks. The Elite Four sat on seats in the room.

"They're here!" Phoebe beamed at our arrival. "I'm so glad to meet you. It takes great spiritual strength to face Kyogre."

"Thanks! It's really awesome to meet you!"

"Like we'd miss out on meeting a fan like you," Sidney replied with a smirk. I took a seat in a chair and stared at them in awe.

"So, what are your pokemon like? Do you have a preference for your team?" Glacia asked. She ate her own treats with a dignity that looked royal.

"Ah, just for them to have a heart to match my own," I told her. "I'm not drawn to any one type in particular, there's so many pokemon out there that are so wonderful. So my team's built around those who matched where I was when I met them."

"An interesting way to build a team," Glacia mused.

"Fitting for someone who isn't a battler," Sidney said.

"So you might think. But I think we could learn more if we let our pokemon out to play." Drake the dragon master grinned and my stomach swooped. "What do you say to some friendly pokemon battles girl? Nothing league level, we'll keep it friendly, but it'd let us really show off."

"I'd love that!" I'd get to see all their pokemon in action right here! In person!

"Then let's go!" Drake exclaimed. We got up and headed down to a very nice looking arena. I was surprised there wasn't stadium seating in the area, and Steven quietly explained that it was a private training area. We were here to avoid the appearance of any of this being official, and keep it friendly.

"So, traditional order?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, let me start!" Sidney said eagerly. I grinned and we split paths to face each other. Sidney started with his mightyena, an elegant beast that looked fit to disappear into shadows. I released Fathom, and Sidney's grin sharpened as he looked at my gyarados. "Heh, let's see about taking down your monster! Go!" He gestured and the mightyena leaped forward. But I had plenty of practice fighting the mightyena line thanks to Team Aqua, and Fathom was more than prepared. Even with Sidney's skill Fathom was able to pin the mightyena in his coils and wash it away.

Sidney sent out a shiftry next, and the crafty pokemon vanished from view. I knew I would have to match it with something just as speedy and skilled, and sent out Bi De. The pair clashed in a match of martial arts that could have epics written about it. Each blow their essences flared, darkness versus fire. In the end the fire won, burning the shadows away and causing the shiftry to fall.

Sidney seemed to only be getting more excited as he sent out his absol next. I matched it with Grudge, knowing the spiritomb's painful presence would overwhelm the absol's danger sense. It kept the absol from being able to fully play at its best, and Spiritomb brought another victory. The sharpedo Sidney sent out was another I was familiar with, and sent Icarus out to score. The sharpedo proved to be a different kind of battler than Archie's, relying more speed and surprise than the tanking that Archie's had. Icarus struggled, and we almost fell to a draw before Icarus finally brought in the victory he had carried in his wings since I had caught him. The cacturne against Echo match went by fast enough it felt like I barely had time to blink.

The pokemon were healed and I was congratulated. Sidney asked where I'd learned to fight mightyenas so well, and I told him about how I'd fought with Team Aqua. Phoebe joked it was good that there wasn't a water specialist in the group or they wouldn't even have a chance. With the pokemon recovered it was time to face Phoebe.

There was a strange solemn tranquility around Phoebe as she faced me to battle. The cheerful lady I'd just been chatting with had vanished behind someone more mysterious. She sent out her dusclops, and I started again with Fathom. He relied on his power over water to carry forward a victory. Phoebe smiled as her dusclops washed away and sent out her dusknoir in response. I could feel the chill of death all the way across the field. I sent Bi De out to light the way and bring back some warmth. This was a harsh battle. I could tell that Phoebe was going easier on me than she normally would, or Bi De wouldn't have won. The dusknoir was too powerful.

I switched Bi De out for Grudge, and Phoebe smiled broadly at them. "A beautiful pokemon." She released her banette, and the pair clashed. Phoebe seemed more invested in watching this battle than winning, and Grudge came out on top. I cheered them on and returned them, switching for Echo. Phoebe sent out a sableye in response and the pair clashed. The sableye was a lot tougher than I'd expected, easily able to dodge in and out of shadows and come out of unexpected corners. For the most physical ghost pokemon it certainly didn't act like it! Echo was almost shredded before he finally managed to force the sableye to give. He deserved a big treat for taking it on. Last Icarus faced a final banette. His speed and grace in the air served well in this battle, letting us take the banette out without any curses landing.

"That was an amazing battle!" Phoebe congratulated.

I grinned. "Thanks! That was a ton of fun!" We both crossed over to the side to hand our pokemons over rest and recovery.

"Your spiritomb is quite something. How long have you had them?"

"Ah, only a couple months. Do you have advice for me?"

Phoebe smiled. "Amazing. Spiritombs are difficult pokemon. The pain they feel is clear. But your bond with them shines clear, a bright colored thread in the darkness. You've given them hope. It will take time, but as they recover I believe you'll reach even greater heights." I flushed under the praise. It felt so good to hear I was doing the right thing. Working with Grudge was hard. Sharing my grief with them helped, and it was helping them in turn as they followed my lead. No one else would suffer from what happened to them.

"Your exploud is impressive," Sidney complimented.

"Thanks! He's come so far from being a tiny whismur." I beamed widely.

"I am looking forward to our match. It's not often I battle with trainers that are any challenge," Glacia stated calmly.

"Ah, I hope I can live up to that!"

It feels almost like I'm back in a contest hall facing Glacia. We're battling, but she moves with a grace and elegance that would fit right in there. Her smile is pretty, and I'm jolted back to reality when she releases her first pokemon. I release Fathom to face her glalie, and it immediately starts up a hail storm. I have to try and act fast, and hope I don't wear my pokemon out too much with the hail. Thankfully as always Fathom comes in heavy. When she sent out a froslass I sent out Grudge to match. The froslass was charming, and struck with poison. Grudge's rage and pain was enough to carry out a victory however, and I cheered as I sent out Icarus to face Glacia's second froslass.

Icarus soared high, my heart going with him carrying all my pride and love for him as always. A moment later he was down, frozen. I blinked in shock. That couldn't have happened! He couldn't be out so easily! Icarus always rose!

He would rise this time, right?

"Icarus?"

"Your pokemon's down girl, you need to recall him," Glacia told me.

"But..."

"He's fine, I promise," Glacia told me. "He just needs to thaw out. Not used to such high level stakes, hm?"

"Not ones that don't kill," I mumbled.

Glacia paused awkwardly at that as I returned Icarus and hurried over to the healing machine. "I-I see. I promise your swellow is fine though. He just needs to rest." I checked the status on the machine and nodded. Yeah. Yeah, he was healing.

I returned to the match, and we resumed. Perhaps I was a bit harsher than I normally would be in battle after that. I unleashed Briar Rose, a mistake, and had to quickly swap back for Fathom. It really was good this was a friendly match, I was too scattered. The final fight was walrein versus Bi De. The pair clashed and clashed, the walrein just refusing to go down. When the match finally finished I rushed back to the machine, tucking my other pokemon in and checking on Icarus again. He was sleeping, but he was okay.

"We haven't had a death in League matches in decades," Steven told me calmly. "We have the best medical staff possible."

"Thanks. Sorry for worrying."

"It's understandable. You've faced life and death situations, and Glacia is...intense."

"She's very pretty," I offered.

Steven chuckled softly. "That she is."

"Do you still wish to continue our matches?" Drake asked gruffly.

I thought about it for a long moment before nodding. "Yeah. Icarus will have to sit them out, but I'm here seeing the Elite Four. Battling them! I can't just turn that down!"

"Spoken like a true trainer!" Drake grinned at me. How did he make his teeth look so sharp? I was pretty sure they were normal teeth. He didn't feel like Wally at least.

I shifted to face him across the arena, feeling better now that I was positive Icarus would be fine and excited about the fight up ahead. I had fought plenty of dragon tamers in Meteor Falls, but this was a dragon master. It would be so awesome!

Drake started with an altaria against my gyarados. Drake used the altaria in a completely different style from how Wally had, focusing on building power and using dragon pulse to overwhelm with sheer might. Fathom flooded the arena to let himself gain speed and launched himself up to pull the altaria down. The altaria just refused to stay down, and kept pummeling into Fathom. If he wasn't such a beast himself he would have fallen three times over by this point. Finally the altaria gave in, soaked and no longer able to fly.

Drake sent out his salamance, the ace of his team, next. I knew I had to match it with my own, and sent Bi De out. I immediately mega evolved him. It almost wasn't enough. Even with our hearts moving in sync, the salamance had power and a toughness that was almost impossible to penetrate. It felt almost like throwing ourselves at a wall, only I'm sure a wall would have broken well before that salamance did.

I felt a little woozy from holding the mega evolution so long when I sent out Grudge against his flygon. Thankfully while the flygon was fast it didn't have the raw power the altaria or salamance had held, letting me take a win. Drake sent out a kingdra, and I took a moment to really admire the rare dragon pokemon. It was beautiful. I sent out Echo, and the pair clashed quickly. Shockingly I found that Echo held ground with the kingdra with ease. I had known he was powerful, but enough to equal one of the dragons that Drake the dragon master sent out? Incredible! The final match with Briar Rose against another flygon felt almost anticlimatic after that.

"Your pokemon have incredible heart! Your blaziken was something to see against my partner," Drake congratulated me jovially.

"Ah, thanks! Your salamance is the most amazing dragon I've ever seen. And the kingdra! I've never seen one before."

"Perks of being one of the best! I can spend all my time with my team." He grinned ferally. Yes, the joy of all that time with one's team, I could understand that easily. What else was there?

Steven crossed over and clapped me on the shoulder. "Enjoy yourself?"

"Yes!"

He grinned. "Room for one final match? I'd love to battle you, see how far you've come."

I hadn't battled Steven before. Beside yes, but not against. I grinned. "Yes! Let's go!"

Steven released a skarmory, and I realized the challenge I faced. Steel pokemon were tough, it would take all my skill to battle. I grinned and released Fathom once more into the arena. Fathom was completely unfazed at facing the skarmory, raising himself up to the challenge and half drowning it into submission. It left Fathom battered and poisoned, but it was a victory. I swapped over to Briar Rose against the aggron. She held her ground well against it bringing in another victory.

Steven's claydol impressed me. Unfortunately Grudge was the perfect counter to it. Perhaps if it had slightly different training it would have made more of an impact against the feral spiritomb that was on my team. I did let out a small squeal when Steven released his armaldo. Fossil pokemon are just so cool. Echo had already faced a salamance that was at the peak of its kind however, and the armaldo just didn't measure up to that. He had the energy to spare in taking the cradily out as well.

Then it was Bi De versus metagross. Both of us mega evolved our pokemon. It was two on two. My respect and admiration for Steven bled through as I clashed against the metagross and its powerful blows. Steven's own delight and pride in my progress poured back in response. I had never had a fight quite like this, and it was every bit as incredible in its own way as standing before Latias. It felt incredible as I pulled out a win.

I basically collapsed after that. Steven set me up in a drawing room with a very comfortable couch he admitted he and the other Elite Four used at times to nap on. When I woke up again we had more snacks, and Steven congratulated me on doing so well battling. He offered to make me an honorary champion in the Hall of Fame for my deeds. It was exciting to think about, but I turned him down. I was happy with just this.

>>>

I left the League with cheer in my heart. It was actually quite a surprise when I stepped out and saw Brendan. "Brendan? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I'm late, aren't I?" Brendan scratched his head awkwardly. "I knew you'd make it to face the League. I wanted to be there to cheer for you in your fights." He didn't know it had just been an informal meet up. The thought was very sweet. I smiled warmly at him.

"Yeah, you missed it. Thanks for coming all this way though."

"I can walk you back home at least, right?" Brendan joked.

Warmth bloomed inside me at the thought. Home. It'd been months since I'd headed out on this journey. Months that I'd spent traveling and seeing wonderful things that I would have never seen there. And now, well. Now I was ready to head home. I wanted my mom to meet my team. I wanted them to see where I lived. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go home."

We talked on the way back about our journeys. Brendan told me of the pokemon he had studied, and I told him about the places I'd visited. It felt strange to realize this was an end. When we finally got to Littleroot it was on a night with shooting stars. They seemed to be welcoming us home. I smiled as I headed to the house and opened the door.

"Mom? I'm home."

"Bria!" She rushed forwards and pulled me into a hug. "Welcome home."

My journey was over.

 

[Mount. Elements]

Yay! Icarus was fine after all! Makes sense. You had the matches be informal so that would imply that they're a lot safer than the regular matches.

Thanks for finishing this story!