PARAGON
Origin Child Arc [9]
Chapter 9 : Encounter
The flight to the Sinnoh mainland was not long at all, and about an hour after takeoff, the private jet touched down at Oreburgh Airport. Its only two passengers, Ash and N, exited the plane, and were immediately assailed by the pungent smell of coal, and a dusty haze that clung to their skin and clothes. Ash tugged on the brim of his cap, and N rested his hand on a satchel slung over his shoulders.
Ash had flipped through the dossier on the flight over, but there wasn't much in it. The Plates of Arceus were among the most sought after artifacts in the world, by museums and miscreants alike. Shards of the Plates were common enough, if one knew where to look, and with large enough shards, one could elicit great power from them. But the
true Plates of Arceus made only rare appearances in ancient records, popping up at seemingly random locations and times, with little detail as to what became of them afterward.
This time was no different.
A limousine awaited them, but they declined the ride, electing to make the trek to Mount Coronet on their own. Despite Ash's celebrity, a limousine driving through the sparse and rocky Route 207 that led to Mount Coronet would certainly draw even more attention. Luckily, it was the middle of the Conference season, and most trainers challenged Oreburgh's gym early in the circuit, so they wouldn't run into too many trainers on the way, theoretically.
Indeed, Oreburgh wasn't nearly as bustling as usual, and they crossed to the north of the city unmolested. However, once they were a ways away from the city limits, they stopped.
Ash pulled out a pokéball and released Garchomp beside the road. The dragon knelt down and allowed both men to climb onto his back, before he growled and shot into the sky.
Although most trainers had dispersed throughout Sinnoh, Mount Coronet saw travelers within its labyrinthine caves year round, so they'd be entering the mountain from one of the secret entrances that the rangers created and used to access certain parts of the mountain quicker.
Mount Coronet loomed before them as Garchomp sliced through the sky. The primeval mountain stuck out among all the fantastical places Ash had visited throughout his travels. As they flew closer and closer, it seemed like it could pitch forward at any moment and devour them, the tiny specks that they were, next to such an imposing beast of rock. "The Spine of Sinnoh," as it was sometimes called, bisected the region almost perfectly, as if nature itself had conspired to make it the most dominating landmark on the continent.
Although with the madness Team Galactic had unleashed on the summit several years ago, and the creatures beyond comprehension they'd managed to summon there, it may have been more fitting to say it was the single most dominating landmark in the entire world.
Just the thought of that ordeal made Ash shudder beneath the warm sun. Legend swirled at the summit like wind, and fell like snow upon the mountain, seeping its magic into the very stone. Perhaps the whole mountain was cursed with miracle.
Luckily, they were headed down, not up, this time. The Plate they were looking for lay in some lower, untraveled vein of the mountain. As described in the dossier, a massive energy spike, unlike the usual anomalies that were customary within Mount Coronet's eldritch confines, had alerted Cynthia to the Plate's appearance. The dossier provided a general location, but it'd be up to them to find it.
Ten minutes later, Garchomp landed on a rocky outcropping, almost like a balcony, that jutted out from the mountain. A yawning entrance lay before them, and after Ash and N dismounted, Ash kept Garchomp out. Even with Pikachu on his shoulder, after he'd started his new training regime two years ago, he never traveled without at least one more partner at his side.
The two men ducked inside without another word. The mountain seemed to snuff out the sounds from outside, and they were plunged into silence almost immediately. Orange bulbs connected by tenuous wires lined the cave walls. Pikachu's ears stood straight up as they walked, and Garchomp's head dragged against the low ceiling, though he didn't seem to care. As they headed deeper and deeper into the cave, the tunnel eventually started to open up, and soon, they found themselves in an open chamber. Wooden tables and crates dotted the cragged floor of the chamber.
"This must be a staging area where the rangers coordinate rescue operations," Ash commented. He walked over to a map smeared with dust that was posted up on a metal frame. "This chamber leads to the north, east, and west entrances to the mountain, as well as a multitude of caverns between them."
N walked up beside him after looking around the place. "We'll want to take the path that leads furthest down. The Plate is supposed to be beneath a large lake at the center of the mountain, but there doesn't seem to be a tunnel that leads there on the map. Eventually, we'll be in uncharted territory. We might even have to dig a new tunnel to get to it, though I'd prefer not to."
"I agree. The Plate is too far down to be at the bottom of the lake, so we'll need to get under it. But if we're too gungho about making a beeline there, we might flood the place by accident."
N smiled in the dim light. "Not the gungho approach this time, huh, Ash?"
"Not this time," Ash grinned.
After charting a path, they selected one of the many hallways branching out from the chamber and continued deeper into the mountain. Now, there were no more lights lining the walls, so Ash released Typhlosion to illuminate the way. As the tunnel began to narrow again, it began sloping downward, until eventually, it was so steep that rough steps had been carved into the stone to allow for easy traversal. Luckily, they didn't run into any wild pokémon, but signs of their presence marked the cave. Shallow depressions where Onix had burrowed, off-white droppings where Zubat had roosted, and unnatural outlines where Bronzor had pressed themselves into the stone to rest. All of those and more colored the otherwise barren trek through the ranger's path.
"So, I've been meaning to ask. How did you join Paragon, Ash?" N asked after they'd been walking for a while. The faint smell of mildew told them they were nearing the mountain's depths.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I never told you." Though they'd chatted here and there over the past two years when they happened to find themselves back at Paragon Island at the same time, they both inevitably had places to be, and couldn't talk for long. Ash had only been able to cultivate cursory friendships with the others before taking off back to his various training spots across the world.
In hindsight, it was a pretty unremarkable tale, but N nodded along with rapt interest as he told it.
"So you abandoned your World Champion title to pursue even greater strength?" He rubbed his chin. "Forgive me, I'm not too familiar with the intricacies of the Pokémon League, but couldn't you have just continued your training while remaining the World Champion? If I recall correctly, the World Championships only happen every five years."
"I guess I could've, but it didn't really feel right to me. It was almost like I was accepting that I already reached the top by calling myself the World Champion. And that whole celebrity scene isn't really my thing to begin with. I prefer how it is now, where some people recognize me out in public, but I can mostly live my life as normal since I'm not making headlines anymore.
N ducked to the side as they passed a thick stalactite poking down from above. "Then it sounds like things haven't changed all that much since you were traveling around Unova."
"My dream hasn't changed," Ash agreed. "I'm just on a different path to get there now."
"Pokémon Master," N mused. "I can't say I understand what that is."
"I'm still trying to figure it out myself. For the longest time, I thought it meant becoming the strongest trainer in the League. Only once I'd achieved that, I couldn't bring myself to
call myself a Pokémon Master. That's when I realized I was still missing
something"
"So now you're on a journey to find that something, eh? Well, if that's the case, then I suppose our goals aren't so different."
"Oh, yeah! How did
you join the Paragon Organization?" Ash asked.
N laughed, though he did not sound entirely amused. "I didn't have much of a choice."
Ash turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"
N rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, the truth is, I'm still a convicted criminal from my time spent in Team Plasma. A few years of prison time is not nearly enough to pay for the atrocities I played a hand in unleashing on Unova. I may be roaming about the world now, but my freedoms are more restricted than they may seem. For instance, even though I work for Paragon, I am only permitted to carry one pokémon at a time."
"But that's…" Ash started. "You didn't do anything yourself. Ghetsis was the man behind everything. He just manipulated you into taking the fall for him!"
N's face darkened as the shadows of Typhlosion's flame flickered over his face. "I told myself the same thing, at first. That none of it was my fault. That I'd only ever had the best intentions, so I didn't deserve anything like a criminal record, much less a prison sentence. But the truth is, I
wanted to believe that Team Plasma was right. I believed all pokémon should be set free from their human captors, and as their king, no one in Team Plasma ever questioned me, much less challenged me. I thought I was above such a human institution. I turned a blind eye to my father's schemes so that I could realize my own ideals. It was only after my actions caused both people and pokémon to get hurt that I realized the error of my ways. I won't run away from that fact, not anymore."
Ash frowned, unsure of what to say. The man Ash had met in Unova seemed like a beacon of light, always warm to those he met. It was sobering to think that same man had spent time in some prison because of crimes he fully admitted to committing.
"But back to your question. Whether it was her authority as a Champion, as the head of Paragon, or something else, I'm not sure. But one day, Cynthia showed up and set me free, on the condition that I work for Paragon. That was several years ago, and I've been in her employ ever since."
"So you're not really a free man, then? You're really more just like a prisoner," Ash said. He shook his head. "It's not right. You don't deserve to be treated like some sort of common crook."
N smiled. He knew Ash was fiercely territorial about his friends. To have Ash on his side warmed him. "On the contrary. I'm grateful to Cynthia for giving me the opportunity to make amends for my deeds. The work I do in Paragon may not overwrite the wrongs committed by Team Plasma, but they can prevent similar disasters from coming to pass. For that, I have you to thank too."
"Me?"
"It was you who showed me how people can live and work in harmony with pokémon. Battling, which I once thought barbaric, is actually a sacred pact between people and pokémon for the betterment of both. You taught me that, Ash."
Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ha ha, I don't know about all that. All I ever wanted to do was reach my own dream with my pokémon."
Pikachu squeaked in agreement on his shoulder, and N smiled.
"Still, I'm surprised they let you have pokémon."
"Just the one," N said, patting his satchel.
They fell back into silence as they continued to stalk through the cave. Once again, the cave started to widen, and before long, it opened into a gigantic cavern. They stood upon a cliff overlooking it. One more step, and they'd fall to their deaths.
Far beneath them, iron torches fluttered in the drafty air beside pitch black pools and minefields of stalagmites. Tunnels twisted to and fro, bending and coiling, unlike the straight and paved ranger caves they were now leaving behind. From above, they could see a group of trainers hiking along the path, small as insects.
Ash recalled Typhlosion and mounted Garchomp again, and N followed. Then Garchomp leapt off the ledge and spread his wings. They soared through the open cavern, the wind whistling in their ears. Garchomp was careful not to disturb a hive of Golbat on the ceiling, or fly too close to a slumbering cadre of Boldore embedded on a ridge. Far below, the trainers hadn't even noticed them.
"Fly down to that pit over there," Ash ordered. "Do you see the shadow behind that rock?" Ash clapped his neck and pointed.
Garchomp grunted and angled himself down, gliding between two roaring waterfalls. A Bronzong dislodged itself from a fissure in the mountain and began floating toward them curiously, but a growl and the glowing beginnings of a Fire Blast in Garchomp's gullet kept it at bay.
They landed beside a large rock overlooking a yawning chasm. Garchomp's clawed feet dug into the ground as he knelt down to unload his passengers. Ash deployed Typhlosion once again and Ash ordered him to shoot several fireballs down into the chasm. The cave moss within caught fire and bathed the area in a somber light. Now that it was lit up, they could see that the chasm wasn't a straight drop down, but it was extremely steep. They'd be able to climb down on foot, but only barely.
Ash rubbed his hands together and started down the pit. N was already a veteran of Paragon and needed no words of caution, and he began his descent with a dexterity Ash hadn't expected from the urbanite. Garchomp scaled the wall with ease, scouting ahead, while Typlosion melted hand and footholds into the rock with his burning paws to make for an easier climb.
Although this passage was technically on the map, it required eight of Sinnoh's badges to access. Even most ace trainers weren't skilled enough to train and then risk using their flying-types to fly through the rock-type infested caves, and the traditional path required a rock climber, a surfer, and a waterfall swimmer.
After just a few minutes down the pit, it became clear that it hadn't been traveled through in quite some time. Cave moss grew in abundance on the ground, and there were no signs it'd been tread upon recently. Eventually, the cave got too narrow, and Ash had to recall Garchomp.
The rangers' map had been detailed, but now they were close to its end. This chasm would lead them down past the bottom of the lake, but they'd still need to find a way to cross under it. According to the map, this tunnel led to a den of Araquanid, but the rangers hadn't explored any further.
As the tunnel started to level out, the hike became easier. Before long, the den stood before them. Milky cobwebs covered the floor and ceiling, and from the void before them, Ash could hear the scritching of a hundred scittering beasts, though none were in sight.
N knelt down and Typhlosion offered some light. He scraped his fingers against the floor and rubbed them together. "It's wet, but not sticky. This moisture is coming from the lake."
"Which means this tunnel should lead beneath it. I'm sure it's no coincidence that water-types like Araquanid decided to make their nest here."
N stood up and wiped his hand on his pants. "So, how shall we proceed?"
"We could defeat them all, but I don't think you'd approve."
"You think too little of me, Ash," N said. "I already told you I've changed. And my penance means nothing if I cannot complete the work assigned to me." He turned to Ash. "If defeating an entire nest of Araquanid is necessary to complete our mission, then so be it."
This truly wasn't the N that Ash had met back in Unova. Whether that was good or bad, Ash didn't know.
"No. We won't need to defeat all of them," Ash said.
"Then what's your plan?"
"Araquanid can live on their own in the wild, but nests like this always have a matriarch. As long as we make it clear we don't mean any harm to their queen, they should let us pass. But I'll need your help. You can speak to pokémon, right?"
N sighed and shook his head. "I haven't heard their voices in years. Not since Team Plasma."
"Then you need to open those ears up again," Ash said. N may have been content with who he was now, but selfishly, Ash missed his old friend. He wanted him back.
"I… I can't."
Ash rested his hand on N's shoulder. "N. Please. This is my first assignment after joining Paragon. Can you imagine what Zinnia will say if we go back empty-handed?"
N cracked a smile. "I suppose I wouldn't want to embarrass you."
"That's the spirit!" Ash smacked his shoulder. "Now, c'mon!"
Before N could respond, Ash started marching further into the tunnel.
For a moment, N didn't move. The skin around his eyes crinkled.
Oh, Ash. You've become such a wonderful man. To think I used to believe I
was the greatest friend of pokémon. But you, with your vast knowledge, figured out another way forward so quickly…
N smiled and followed him down the tunnel.
Typhlosion lit the way as they walked, and as they headed deeper, the wet scuttling got louder and louder. Surely the Araquanid had sensed their presence by now, and were gathering their forces to pounce.
Then, curiously, the sound of movement up ahead seemed to quiet. Ash and N stopped when they realized.
"Get ready. They're coming."
Not a second later, the tunnel exploded. A mass of spearlike legs and bulbous heads of water raced toward them in a maddened froth. N sneered and reached into his satchel, but Ash stood tall, and he thrust a hand forward.
"Typhlosion, use Hyperion!"
Typhlosion snarled and the flames on his neck flared as they turned from red and white. He opened his mouth, and a keening ray of blinding fire shot out in a line. The Araquanid squealed as they were torn off the wall and burned nearly to a crisp. If they weren't water-types, they very well may have been. The attack was ruthless, but all of them would recover.
"I thought we weren't going to defeat them all?" N shouted.
"Not
all. Just the ones in our way," Ash smirked. "Now c'mon! Araquanid dens send all their numbers at intruders at once, so we should have a straight shot to the queen now!"
N nodded and raced after Ash past the mounds of wriggling legs. The smell of sour smoke permeated the air, and N was eager to leave it behind as soon as possible.
The matriarch's chamber was thankfully wider than the claustrophobic tunnel that comprised the entrance to the lair, though it was no less populated. Inside, Araquanid of various size roiled around a much larger specimen covered in soggy silk.
Ash was no arachnophobe, but the sight of so many all in one compact place almost made him shudder, if not for a gentle shock from Pikachu on his shoulder to tighten him up. He wasted no further time, and vaulted over the first few rows of Araquanid.
Though this chamber was certainly infested with them, most were simple drones. The few soldiers quickly made themselves apparent. Fury oozed off of them in waves as they leapt onto the ceiling to make a beeline for the intruders.
"Pikachu, paralyze them."
A network of precise thundershocks zapped out from Pikachu's cheeks and struck the soldiers. They fell to the ground, twitching and seething with rage.
Typhlosion released a ring of fire around Ash, N, and the matriarch, keeping the drones at bay and giving them some space. The Araquanid matriarch screeched and spat out a glob of web, but Typhlosion caught it and incinerated it in his hand.
"Alright, now we just need to kidnap her for a little while and take her with us to the other end of the tunnel!" Ash said, and Typhlosion started nudging the spider toward an opening opposite from the way they'd come in.
The Araquanid hissed, but got to moving. Confrontation was not its forte.
"Please listen, friend! We mean you no harm! We just want passage to the other side of your home!"
The queen hissed even louder, sticky spittle boiling off the water bubble around its head
N grit his teeth. "Please! We're in search of an artifact that lies beyond these grounds. If we could just get to it, we would disturb you no longer!"
"Typhlosion, Hyperion again!" Ash roared as another battalion of soldiers surged toward them. He shielded his eyes as it fired off down the tunnel, and continued wading through the sea of bodies.
"Ash!" N cried. "I hear her! I hear her voice!"
"That's excellent! What is she saying?"
"They know about the Plate. It appeared in their home a little while ago, and they were forced to evacuate that section because of its errant energy."
Ash grinned. They were close.
"Araquanid will take us to the Plate and is begging for us to remove it!"
Eventually, the cobwebs began to thin, and Araquanid screeched, stopping in its tracks. It nodded its head further down the tunnel.
"Thank you, my friend, and I apologize for our intrusion. We will take care of this danger for you, I promise."
Araquanid hissed and scuttled back into its den.
Already, her soldiers were beginning to peel themselves off the ground to escort her back inside. Despite the ease with which they'd broken in and out, these Araquanid were extremely high level, and they could have easily died at any moment. Ash guessed that even Champion-level trainers couldn't have replicated his results with as little damage as he'd done, and as fast as they'd gone.
"The Plate should be ahead," N said. "We're certainly under the lake now."
Water dripped down the cave walls beside them, and the stench of mold assaulted their nostrils. Moss squelched under their feet as they walked, and the cave seemed to undulate, narrowing and widening in rapidly shortening intervals. Eventually, even the ground started to heave and bend, and they were forced to climb over hills of sodden rock.
Nearly half an hour later, Ash pulled himself out of a large depression matted with black lichen. Immediately, he realized they'd arrived.
Across the twisted tunnel, embedded in the ground of a large cavern, was a giant, glowing shard of otherworldly design. Golden embers drifted from its etched and shimmering surface in flurries, and the stones around it were jagged and spiked, like they'd been forced apart. A low hum reverberated through the chamber, loud and oppressive. Somehow, they hadn't heard it until this very moment when the Plate was now in sight.
"That must be it," N breathed, as he pulled himself up beside Ash.
Ash recognized it as a Plate due to his experience with Team Galactic, but its ethereal majesty was plain for anyone to see. But unlike Team Galactic's shoddy recreations, this was a
true Plate; even half buried in a cave, it screamed its effulgent brilliance throughout the cavern. Raw power seemed to throb from its surface, and it seemed to twist everything in the cavern around it, down to the last molecule of air.
The two men walked up to it, and as they got closer, the Plate seemed to fill Ash with warmth. He squinted when they stopped, the brightness poking at his eyes. The inscriptions carved into the Plate's surface were foreign, but they apparently described how
everything came to be.
"Now, how will we remove it?" N said, craning his head up at the top of the Plate. It was already taller than both of them, but there was no telling how much of it was submerged beneath the ground. "And how will we transport it back to Paragon Island?"
Ash didn't respond. He reached his hand out slowly.
"Ash—"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Both men turned toward the sound of another voice, off to their side. In the shadows of the cave sat a man with spiky black hair that hung over his eyes. He wore a black tunic trimmed in gold, and a thick cloak to match.
A stench of rot and death emanated from the man, and Ash wrinkled his nose and scowled.
"I didn't expect to see visitors in a place like this," he said, standing up.
"Who are you?" N said, taking a step toward the man.
"I would ask you the same thing."
"How did you find the Plate?" Ash asked.
The man frowned and rolled his neck to face Ash. "You look familiar. Have we met?"
"I'm the former World Champion, Ash Ketchum."
"Ah, yes, that'll be it. Well, I'd advise against touching the Plate, Ash Ketchum," he said, ignoring the question. "This is what it did to me." He raised his hand. It was black and burned down to his forearm.
"Are you alright?" N asked, scowling. "That wound looks terrible."
"Not to worry." The man grunted and closed his blackened hand. His fist trembled for a moment from the strength of his grip, before suddenly, it became engulfed in blue fire. The flames burned away his decimated flesh, leaving bright and healed skin in its wake. When the flames faded, he wriggled his fingers, then clenched and unclenched his hand. "You see?" he smiled, "Good as new."
Ash's mouth fell open. "You're—"
"I am Zagreus," he thundered. He glanced between them, but realizing they didn't recognize his name, he continued. "I don't know how you found this place, but the Plate is rightfully mine. I
will have it."
Clearly, he'd taken another path to arrive at this chamber. But, Ash and N had taken what they thought was the quickest path. Which meant Zagreus hadn't followed the map. He'd carved his own way through the mountain.
"It seems we're at an impasse then, Zagreus," N said. "You lay claim to the Plate, but it cannot be removed without injury. Let us—"
"You're mistaken, young man," Zagreus said, and all the mirth was gone from his voice now. "I
can remove the Plate, and I will. But there's no telling how long it will remain. Arceus is a fickle being. The Plate may lay down here for years, or it may disappear before we come to an arrangement. So I'm afraid your being here presents a problem." He unclipped a pokéball from his belt.
"Do you mean to attack us?" N said incredulously. "We will use force if necessary to defend ourselves.
Lethal force, if need be."
Zagreus licked his lips and grinned. "Oh, I like the sound of that. I've never had the honor of facing off against a
World Champion! What do I get if I
kill you?"
"Enough. Thunderbolt, Pikachu."
A thunderbolt ripped toward Zagreus faster than the eye could follow, but a screeching clang burst through the chamber, and smoke plumed outward on impact.
The Plate, lodged in the ground, thrummed.
A towering Kingambit stood before Zagreus, its arm outstretched. It'd batted the Thunderbolt aside like it was nothing more than a nuisance. The wall was cracked and burnt where it'd hit.
"Hmm, not very impressive for a World Champion. I'm dismayed."
He thrust his arms forward, and an invisible force slammed against Ash, throwing him back toward the cave wall.
"Agh!"
Typlosion leapt behind him and caught him, and they both crashed into the wall. Typhlosion moaned from the impact.
"Thanks, Typhlosion." Though he'd been spared from the worst, Ash's head rang, and his vision swam.
The entire chamber shuddered, and instantly, the temperature skyrocketed. Billowing white fur emptied into the cavern, brushing against the cragged ceiling.
Reshiram howled, and the Plate spat its energies.
"Only one pokémon, huh?" Ash groaned, but he smiled.
"Ah, now I know you! The young king of, what was it? Team Plasma? Perhaps I'll leave here with the shards of
two legends!" Zagreus said with glee. "Night Slash!"
Kingamit leapt into the air, its three blades all brimming with dark energy, but a column of fire from Reshiram's maw forced it on the defensive.
Ash staggered to his feet, and Pikachu looked at him, worried.. "Thanks, Pikachu, I'm okay. He limped across the ground and turned to Typhlosion. "Help N. When you get a clear shot, use Hyperion on Kingambit."
Typhlosion nodded and dashed ahead, but their scheming did not escape Zagreus' notice.
"Oh no, what happened to sportsmanship, World Champion? I can't let you interfere." He released a Poliwrath at his side. "Echo Punch! Bring this cave down!"
Poliwrath pulled its fist back, and a harsh light enveloped it. Grunting, he launched his fist toward the ceiling. Nothing happened for half a second, then a loud
bang, blasted through the cavern, followed by another, and another. Wind whipped through the cave from the attack, and the ceiling above began to crack apart.
"No!"
As Ash ran forward, rocks began to fall. Pikachu zapped one out of the air before it could hit his trainer, and when one fell upon the Plate, it shattered into a hundred pieces before even touching it. Now, the Plate was beginning to act erratically, as bolts of energy crackled around it, scraping against the ground and destroying everything in its vicinity.
Despite the close quarters, Reshiram refused to let Kingambit take advantage of its smaller size. As it sprinted past Reshiram's tail, Reshiram seized around, and slammed its massive foot on top of it, pinning it. Reshiram glowered down at it, and its gullet burned.
"Tch!" Zagreus snarled. He raised his hand again, and crumpled it. Fissures opened above Reshiram, and through a shower of dust, an avalanche of rocks started falling.
"N!" Ash screamed.
N's eyes met his, but the rain of boulders separated the two soon after. The entire mountain seemed to shake as each boulder crashed against the ground. But the cavern was now split in two, with N trapped on one side. Water began spraying from cracks in the ceiling.
"Now, that's better! Finish them off!" Zagreus roared.
Pikachu and Typhlosion reacted a moment sooner. Pikachu blitzed into Poliwrath with a vicious Volt Tackle, and a blistering Flamethrower from Typhlosion caught Kingambit before it could stand after rolling away from the avalanche.
Ash grit his teeth and moved toward the Plate. Electricity stormed around it, and it seemed to gleam brighter than ever.
As Ash pushed himself forward, he saw Zagreus stumble before the Plate. Blue flames wreathed his hands, and he grabbed the Plate. With his attention focused on the Plate, he didn't notice Ash's approach until he was right beside him.
"Get away!" Zagreus spat, but before he could attack, Ash tackled him, and the two men tumbled away.
A stray energy shock blasted next to Ash and he winced.
"Damn you," Zagreus growled. He'd crawled away, but now, he was clutching his face. Blood streamed between his fingers. When his hand fell, Ash saw a nasty rent carved across his face from eyebrow to jaw, the grisly work of the Plate's bolt.
Bloodlust poured from Zagreus, a dark tempest of hatred like that of a wounded animal, and Ash shivered. He was about to die. That much was certain. He would die, here and now, before he could even reach his belt to release another pokémon.
Zagreus pounced, water from above dampening his hair into streaks across his wrathful face. Blood stained his teeth, and blue fire licked across his hands.
Ash grabbed the Plate. It was right there behind him, just an inch away. He didn't even have to turn around. His hand closed around a jagged corner of the Plate.
The last of the ceiling burst apart and a deluge of water burst down from above. Electricity ignited on its ferocious surface, and a blinding light seared Ash's vision.
A flood of cold engulfed him before the world went white.
Origin Child Arc — [END]
This introductory arc was supposed to be three chapters long.
Nonetheless, I'm excited to get into the story proper! Thank you for reading!
