Here's a double feature
Chapter 11
While Diego continued his exploration in the cave, the others ran into trouble of their own. As they walked up the side of Mt. Ember, they came across two more Rocket grunts; these grunts were women, unlike the Loco Bros. They were both wearing long sleeve shirts with a red R on them, white elbow gloves, black miniskirts, a white belt, long thigh high boots, and the same black berets. Needless to say they were quite attractive, as Ace noticed.
“Helloooo ladies!” yelled Ace, as he flirted, “I couldn’t help but notice you two were looking for something,” a glare came off of Ace’s still broken glasses as he adjusted them, “Do you need an extra set of hands? Cuz I’m extremely good with mine,” the two turned around looking at him with surprise, but not before Aipom knocked his lights out with a Focus Punch,
“Aaaahhh!!!” yelled the flying monkey, as the glowing fist on his tail connected with Ac’s face, sending him into a wall.
“Ya know what? I just remembered that my hands are sprained,” muttered Ace, while staring at their shirts. He then jumped up, still wearing his black eye, and pointed, “HEY!! YOU’RE WITH TEAM ROCKET!!!” the others jumped at this, as the two women stood up. The woman with curly, brown hair and amber eyes spoke up,
“Yeah? So what if we are?” the other woman with short, wavy, black hair and emerald eyes then inserted,
“What do you people care?” the two Eevees began to Growl at the two, which wooed the woman with brown hair,
“Oh my! They are just,” the woman began to speak baby talk, “so cute, I could eat you up!” and while she wiggled her fingers at them, Toby’s
Haunter finally decided he wanted attention, so he spooked her by flying through the ground right in her face and licked her, “GAH!!!” she shook for a minute, then fell down,
“Haunt Haunt Haunt! Haunt Haunt *snort*” laughed the insane Ghost Pokémon, as he held his stomach. The woman with black hair then yelled at her partner,
“Ugh. When are you going to realize, nobody, except other Rockets, like us?” the amber eyed woman looked back up at her emerald eyed partner with a puffed up face,
“I can’t help it! You know I love cute Pokémon!” Ollette got tired of the babbling, and then stepped forth,
“What are you Rockets doing here anyway?” asked Ollette, with an angered look on her face. Gerald just stood there, holding Azurill in his hands, with an angered look in his eyes, as he remembered when he was a child and his Growlithe had to ward off their Golbats. Diana then stepped forth,
“Honestly isn’t one region enough for you idiots to terrorize?” asked the blonde girl, with an annoyed look on her face, while Drake stepped forth. He crossed his arms and looked at them with the same stern look that terrorized many; all while his Dratini was around his neck.
“If I were you, I would drop out of Team Rocket immediately.” The two Rockets huddled up together out of fear, which for some reason made the black haired woman blush,
“I know now’s an inappropriate time, but by any chance, are you single?” the others looked at her with a sweat drop on her face, while her partner yelled back,
“Oh, I can’t look at cute Pokémon but you can go gaga over bad-asses?” they then began their senseless arguing, which made the others embarrassed. Toby got irritated,
“SHUT UUUUPPP!!!!!” yelled Toby with his arms crossed and a vein bulging from his head. The others looked at him with surprise, as he walked over to grab the emerald eyed woman’s shoulders, “Name!” the woman blushed, but remembered that she was twenty-two,
“Uh, Shara.” She nervously said; then Toby grabbed the amber eyed woman’s arms, looking at her with his dark, blue eyes,
“Lira,” said the other woman. Toby then let go and walked back to where he was, with everyone looking at him.
“Keel much?” asked Ace, which made the others laugh, while Toby acted surprised, as he flashed back at what Keel put his Houndoom through at
the beach, then frowned. The two women smirked, then as they stood up, they released a Pokémon each. Lira released a midsized cat, purple cat-like Pokémon with a fork in its tail. The purple Pokémon looked up, and cried its name,
“Espeon!” as it prepared for attack, while Shara released a midsized black Pokémon with red eyes and yellow rings on its body,
“Umbreon”, cried the defensive Pokémon. The two women sneered at the gang, which only riled them up,
“Ponyta, take care of these Rockets!” yelled Ace, as he released a Heal Ball. The ball opened and released a small horse like Pokémon with a flaming mane and tail. The Pokémon then neighed at her opponents,
“Taaaaa!” cried the Pokémon, as it ran back over to her master, rubbing her head against his side. The flames didn’t even bother him as they touched his arms. “Pony….taaa.” purred the tiny horse,
“Yeah, yeah I know, I love you too. Now can you do me a favor girl?” asked Ace as he looked his only female Pokémon in the eyes, “See those Rockets? They’re up to no good as usual. Can you get em?” the horse neighed in delight as she turned around in an attack stance. Toby simply grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it in the air. As the wind blew the orb of light in the air, a brown bird fluttered down, tucking in its wings.
“Staravia!” cried the bird as it landed. When the two women and their ‘eons saw the opponents, they sneered, then ran away.
“Get back here you cowards!” yelled Toby as he, Ace, Ollette, Diana, Aipom, and the two Eevees gave chase, leaving Gerald, Drake, and Azurill behind.
Meanwhile, back in the cave, Diego, Quilava, and Croconaw climbed down into another dark room. Diego shivered at the darkness, as he was afraid of the dark.
“H-h-hey, Quilava? Do a buddy a favor and light the place up,” commanded Diego, holding his shoulders. Quilava then flared his two flame sources: one on his head, which looked like a Mohawk; and one on his would-be tail. “Ah! Much better buddy!” cheered Diego. As he looked along the walls, he noticed that they were covered in red crystals, which shocked him.
“Croc!” yelled Croconaw in agreement. Quilava couldn’t help but touch one, which then started glowing.
“Aaah! Quilava what’ve you done!” yelled Diego as he huddled together with his two Pokémon in fear. However, the light began to fade when five seconds had passed. Diego, surprised, stood up and touched another crystal, and watch as the whole wall lit up for five seconds before fading. “Whoah, too cool!” said the smiling boy, as his two Pokémon engaged in the same delight on the other side.
“Quiiil..”
“Crooc..” said the amazed Pokémon. Diego flipped open his Pokegear again and took more pictures. He then noticed that the crystals lit up a dark path, so Diego followed the red lights, with one hand on the wall, down the dark path. They walked and walked, noticing that they were walking upwards, until they reached a dead end, were there was a room with nothing but a wall with more Braille on it.
“What? More Braille?” asked Diego, as he took another picture, using only the red light as a light source. He looked up, noticing that it apparently formed some sort of sentence. Quilava and Croconaw studied the walls, until they both had an idea.
“Croc, croc!”
“Quil!” yelled the excited Pokémon, as they pointed at the orange and black trimmed Pokegear in Diego’s hand.
“Oh! That’s right! We took a bunch of pictures at that Braille alphabet wall!” Diego then opened his Pokegear and began searching for letters, also with a pen and paper.
Ten minutes had passed, and Diego and his two partners seemed to have cracked it.
“Well, if we did this right, it should say,” Diego paused for a moment, as he felt touched by its meaning. Croconaw and Quilava, who couldn’t read, pulled his pants leg to get him to read more. “Oh, right!” Diego gathered his breath, and began reading, “Everything has meaning, existence has meaning, being alive has meaning. Have dreams, use power.” As Diego read this, the walls lit up with each dot. However, Diego remembered back to when he was a boy, and remembered that his father told him and his brother, Joey, the same thing.
*Everything has meaning,* said Joel, as he and his seven year old son, Diego, and his four year old brother, Joey, all stared at a sunset together on a grassy hill, *existence has meaning, being alive has meaning. Have dreams, use power. I don’t ever want you two to forget that, understood?* asked the older man, with a beard and brown spiky hair,
*Yeah! We promise!* said the two cheerful boys, smiling at their father with their big, bright teeth.
As Diego remembered this, he almost cried, as this brought back the painful memories of his dad leaving on his tenth birthday. Suddenly, the wall began to move, which made the cave vibrate,
“Waah!” yelled Diego as he, Quilava and Croconaw fell on their hind ends. The wall began separating, as the two ends slowly retracted into the walls of the cave. Finally, the vibrations stopped, and as Quilava ran back over to the wall to light it up, the other two stood back up, staring into a pitch black room with a glowing ruby inside. “Whoah, look at the size of that thing!” said Diego, eyes widened, at the sheer size of this thing, which
was almost as big as a football. Croconaw and Quilava both gazed at it, with their eyes twinkling red.
“Well, thanks for helping us find it, kid!” yelled a voice from beyond the cave,
“We could never solve that puzzle, but you did in only ten minutes! We’ll be taking that Ruby now!” yelled another voice, as the Loco bros, Pyra and Aquo, along with Houndour with Qwilfish on his back, walked forward. Diego and his two Pokémon stared at the duo; who then flipped a switch, lighting the cave with artificial light. Diego looked at them, then back at the Ruby, then at Quilava, hatching an idea.
“Quilava, use Swift!” yelled Diego, pointing at the lights. Quilava stood on all fours and looked at the ceiling, as he then projected glowing blue, glimmering stars from his mouth, shattering the lights as they hit,
“What!” yelled Pyra,
“Dammit! They broke the lights!” yelled Aquo, as his hand reached for the wall. He then noticed that the Ruby was gone, along with a hole in the ground,
“No! He’s got the Ruby!” yelled Pyra, as they turned around and climbed out of the crystal section of the cave. Diego, still in the hole, smirked, as they made their escape,
“Okay guys! Let’s Dig our way up to the surface!” yelled Diego, as he kicked the top shut. He then bent over to help his Pokémon claw their way through the ground, as they moved inch by inch.
Back on the surface, Shara and Lira were caught in a dead end, as they and their Pokémon were pinned by Ace’s Ponyta and Toby’s Staravia, who were then followed by their masters,
“End of the line Rockets!” yelled Ace, as he, Toby, and the others caught up.
“You’ve got nowhere left to run!” yelled Toby. Shara, Umbreon, Lira, and Espeon all smirked, as they then performed their entrance,
“Hah! There’s no way you can pin us!” yelled Lira, followed by Espeon shooting a Signal Beam in the air,
“How do you think we keep getting out of jail?” questioned Shara, holding an odd, green rose as Umbreon shot his own Signal Beam into the air.
“We’re the Escapade duo! Not sisters, but closer than family!” yelled both women, standing in mirrored stances, as their Pokémon reared in front of them,
“Esp!”
“Umb!” yelled the two eons, as a horn blew in celebration of the duo. The others sweated in embarrassment, as they stood in their stance for ten seconds before finally commanding their Pokémon,
“Umbreon, Espeon, use Shadow ball!” yelled the duo, pointing their fingers forth. Umbreon’s forehead ring and Espeon’s forehead jewel began glowing a dark purple, as they shot balls of pure shadow energy from their mouths.
“Ponyta, Bounce!” yelled Ace. Ponyta then jumped high in the air,
“Staravia, Sky Attack!” yelled Toby. Staravia flew high in the sky. Ponyta’s hooves blazed with fire, along with Staravia’s wings glowing a bright blue, as they both dropped down to attack the ‘eons.
“Dodge and use Psychic!” yelled the duo, as their Pokémon jumped out of the way. Umbreon’s rings and eyes began glowing a bright blue, while Espeon’s tail began flaring with energy while his eyes glowed a bright purple. As Ponyta and Staravia fell, the psychic energy caught them in mid air. Ace and Toby glared at their helpless Pokémon, who was suddenly attacked by fire and water balls.
“Taaaa!!”
“Via!!!!!” yelled the two Pokémon, as the others looked up, looking at two men, one with red eyes and blue hair, and the other with blue eyes and red hair, dressed in the same fashion as the two women.
“Well well,” said Pyra sarcastically,
“Seems like these kids are just crawling everywhere, eh?” said Aquo. Shara looked up at the two men and smirked,
“So, what happened to the Ruby?” asked Shara, this made the Loco Bros. sweat with nervous looks on their faces, which just aggravated Ollette,
“What’d you mean by ‘crawling’?” yelled Ollette, “Did you do something to a spiky haired kid and two other Pokémon?” she questioned.
“Nope, he snuck away,” said Pyra,
“Idiot got away from us, and he has the Ruby.” Diana’s eyes widened,
“R-r-ruby? How big is it?” asked the curious girl, who was interrupted by Lira,
“What!?! You let some kid make off with the Ruby!?!” yelled the amber eyed woman.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Pyra, as he walked in-between the duo,
“Yeah, he couldn’t have gotten far,” assured Aquo, as the conjoined Houndour and Qwilfish greeted the two female ‘eons. Suddenly, a small vibration could be felt from under their feet, and suddenly they were thrown backwards. As the dust lingered, the others saw three silhouettes pop up from the ground,
“AAAAHH!” screamed Diana, as she grabbed Toby’s arm. Suddenly, the dust cleared, and then one of them answered,
“GRRRR!!!!” playfully said Diego, who had scared Diana, Toby laughed,
“Hah, it’s a mutated Dugtrio.” Sarcastically said Toby, as the others looked at Diego, Croconaw, and Quilava in the hole. Ollette went over to help Diego out of the hole,
“Oh ha ha Diego. How did you get in that hole in the first place?” asked Ollette as she helped Diego to his feet.
“That can wait,” said Ace, “right now we need to worry about these guys.” Diego looked at the other two, and was surprised that Ace wasn’t trying to help them. Suddenly, the Loco bros jumped forth and pointed at him,
“There he is! That’s the punk who took the Ruby!!!” yelled the brothers, which was followed by Houndour and Qwilfish moving into position of duo fire. Croconaw and Quilava growled at their opponents, as they leered them in the eyes. Diego dug in his bag and got out the football sized Ruby, which glistened in the sun.
“It’s beautiful!” said Ollette, who was then pushed aside by Diana,
“Oh my gosh! It’s so big!” cried Diana, amazed at the hunk of red crystal in Diego’s hand. The Rockets stepped forward, and all at once, threatened the five teenagers,
“Hand over the Ruby or face our wrath!” suddenly, Espeon and Umbreon gathered energy in their mouths, preparing an onslaught of Shadow Balls, while Qwilfish gathered a blue orb of energy in his, followed by a red orb in Houndour’s. Diego knelt down on one knee, and Croconaw and Quilava ran over to him,
“I don’t know why this Ruby is so important to you Rockets,” said Diego, as Croconaw and Quilava touched the Ruby, looking at the Rockets with determination, “But I’ll be damned if I let you guys get this thing!” yelled Diego. Suddenly, the Ruby began to glow with a white energy, which caused Quilava to be enveloped with flames and Croconaw to be enveloped with water. As the two forces grew, they grew taller, and the silhouettes opened their red eyes. The fire and water cleared, revealing a tall, black backed and yellow bellied Pokémon, with a neck flaring with fire; and a taller, blue, crocodilian, red spined, yellow bellied and mouthed Pokémon. The black and yellow Pokémon blew fire in the air, roaring its name, followed by the blue Pokémon blowing water in the air, shouting its name,
“TYYYPHLOOOOOSSSIIOOOONN!!!!!!!” roared the fire Pokémon, making an entrance for the ages,
“FERALIGAAAAAATRRRRR!!!!!!” roared the water Pokémon, keeping his cool. The sudden evolution shocked everyone except Diego and Toby, who just smirked while everyone else, looked in awe,
“Quilava and Croconaw evolved at the same time again!” pointed out Diana, while Ace dug out his green Pokedex with the black trim, which was the same Johto style ‘Dex that Diego had, meanwhile, Toby dug out his dark blue Pokedex, also the same kind as Diego’s, with the orange trim. Ace looked up Feraligatr while Toby looked up Typhlosion. Ace’s Pokedex began to speak in a French accent, while still retaining the cybernetic female voice:
#160 Feraligatr
The Big Jaw Pokémon
Type: Water
Ht: 7’07”
Wt: 195.8 lbs.
It is hard for it to support its weight outside of water, so it sometimes gets down on all fours. But it moves fast.
Which was then followed by Toby’s blue and orange trimmed Pokedex, which began to speak in a Spanish accent, still retaining its cybernetic, female accent:
# 157 Typhlosion
The Volcano Pokémon
Type: Fire
Ht: 5’07”
Wt: 175.3 lbs.
It has a secret, devastating move. It rubs its blazing fur together to cause huge explosions.
Ace looked over to Toby’s Pokedex, and began to ask for a copy of the accent, but remembered that there was a fight.
“Ace, recall your Ponyta,” said Toby, as he brought back Staravia to its ball, “Typhlosion and Feraligatr got this.” Ace did as told, returning Ponyta to its ball. Diego stood in the middle of his two red eyed Pokémon, as they stared the enemy in the eyes. Suddenly, the Loco bros and the Mysterious Duo all shouted,
“FIRE!” suddenly, a barrage of Water, Dark, Ghost, Fire, Psychic, and Poison type attacks fired from the four enemy Pokémon. Diego grinned, followed by the newly evolved dynamic duo, and then Diego pointed,
“Typhlosion, you use Heat Wave, Feraligatr, you use Hydro Pump.” Said Diego, which shocked Ollette,
“But Diego, I thought they always turned into Ember and Water Gun,” said Ollette, remembering that even when they were in their previous forms, that the two attacks turned into less powerful attacks.
“Don’t worry,” said Diego, looking back with his red eyes, which was surprisingly comforting, “it’s like the old saying.” Diego looked forward again, quoting the stone wall and his father, “Have dreams. Use Power.” Ollette looked at Diego, thinking that he was wise, until Diego followed with, “Or something like that!” and started laughing, which made everyone except the trio fall backwards while he laughed. The duo the recharged their attacks, starting with Typhlosion firing a white hot flame from his mouth, aimed for half of Houndour, Qwilfish, and Umbreon, while Feraligatr aimed for the other half, along with Espeon, with a mouth gushing with water at extreme pressure. As they connected, the Pokémon tried firing attacks, but they were blown back at them, forcing them to fall back on their masters, sending them flying through the stone wall, falling into the ocean,
“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!” screamed the Loco bros. and the Mysterious Duo as they fell, which was followed by the four Pokémon’s screams as they fell.
Back at the top, Diego patted his new Pokémon on the backs,
“Nice going guys! We nailed it!” cheered Diego. Typhlosion flexed his muscles while flaring his fire.
“TYYYYYYY!!!!!!!” roared Typhlosion, sending fire in the air, making his presence known, while Feraligatr crossed his arms and grinned,
“Fer…” quietly spoke Feraligatr. Diego was confused, as when Typhlosion was a Quilava, he was always quiet, and while Feraligatr was a Croconaw, he was always excited. Typhlosion had turned into an outgoing, and cheerful Pokémon, while Feraligatr turned serious.
“Oh well, I still love you guys!” said Diego, as he brought his matured Pokémon in for a group hug. Suddenly, a blue dragon and a green Dragonfly-like dragon flew up and landed in the opening of the stone wall. On Salamence, the blue dragon, were Drake and Dratini, and on Flygon, the green dragon, were Gerald and Azurill, who hopped down and jumped into Diana’s arms.
“Oh Azurill! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know I left you behind!” said Diana, hugging her Azurill,
“Azurill azu!!” cried the baby water mouse. Drake and Gerald looked at the two new Pokémon with smiles,
“So, you did it. I was starting to doubt that you could pull it off with two Pokémon at once, but it seems I was right for telling you to do it,” said Drake, patting them on their faces. Gerald looked at the huge Ruby in Diego’s hand, which glistened in the sun.
“May I see that?” asked Drake, looking at the gem,
“Uh, sure!” cheerfully said Diego, as he handed the football sized gem to Gerald. Gerald looked at it, then looked back at Drake,
“You must’ve found this in the cave, right?” asked Drake, looking at Diego,
“Yeah! I’ve got a bunch of pictures I want to show you guys,” said Diego, digging for his Pokegear,
“That’ll have to wait, cutie,” said an unknown voice, as Jack, Sarah, and Charles walked up the path behind the others, “We have other matters to attend to,” said Sarah. Gerald smiled at his friends for remembering the occasion.
It was sunset, and the gang stood at the top of Mt. Ember, looking at a tombstone with a picture of Gerald and Arcanine. Gerald sat down in front of the tombstone, and talked to it like it was any other person.
“What’s he doing?” whispered Diana, as even though they were briefed on what happened, she didn’t understand why Gerald was talking to the grave.
“Gerald always talks to his Arcanine to tell him what’s happened since he came last,” answered Jack, “We come by once every year, so he has a lot of adventures to tell him.” Jack grinned, holding his flowers,
“It’s been a tradition for ten years,” inserted Charles, “I swear he talks to Arcanine more than anyone else in the entire year.” Charles laughed a little.
“It still seems odd coming here,” inserted Sarah, “Honestly, it still feels like Arcanine was a Growlithe just yesterday.” Sarah crossed her arms and smiled, remembering how the little puppy used to lick her face. Ace was tempted to say something out of line, but decided not to. Diego and Ollette stood there, with their Eevee’s on their shoulders, smiling at Gerald.
“I’d like you to meet some new friends I made,” said Gerald. Drake put his hands on Diego’s shoulder,
“Go, all five of you,” said Drake, “Introduce yourself.” Toby and Haunter stepped forth first; Gerald smiled, as Toby knelt down on one knee,
“Toby, don’t be so formal!” said a cheery Gerald, “Act like yourself. Arcanine may not be here in body, but he is in spirit!” Toby was surprised, as until then, Gerald hadn’t even spoken two words to him, but he did as he said and stood back up, and as he did, he could’ve sworn he saw a spirit of a large, orange, black striped dog Pokémon with a mane and tail so furry.
“Uh…” Toby was nervous, as Haunter went before him,
“Haunter haunt haunt!” spoke the cheerful Haunter, as he danced around the illusion with a smile. Toby could’ve sworn he saw the Arcanine illusion smile, but decided that it must be the aura from the grave.
“I’m Toby…. Toby Cray,” said the nervous boy, “I’m glad to meet you, Arcanine.” Toby started telling about himself, and showed his Pokémon to the illusion.
“Munch!”
“Star!!”
“Dua!!”
“Bonsly…”
“Wal!!”
“Haunter Haunt!” greeted the Pokémon, all, except Bonsly, happy to meet him.
“Well, don’t wanna keep you waiting. It was very nice to meet you Arcanine,” spoke Toby, as the Illusion seemed to smile with his mouth open. Toby returned his Pokémon, except Haunter, to their rightful balls and walked back, patting Ace to go forth. “Well, your turn,” urged Toby, wearing a smile, “Now, don’t be too formal.” Ace cringed, but walked forth with Aipom, smiling at the illusion, sitting on his head.
“Uh….” Ace looked down at Gerald, who was still smiling, “I…I’m Ace.” Ace confidently put his hands on his sides, “Austen ‘Ace’ Shikago!” Aipom jumped from his shoulder and danced around Arcanine’s spirit.
“Ah uah uah uah!” cheerfully screeched the little monkey, trying to jump on Arcanine’s back, but falling through his non-existent body. Ace brought out his Pokémon to introduce them,
“Aerodactyl!”
“Wailmer.”
“Spinarak!”
“Porygon……2…”
“Ponyta!”
“Ahu uahu!” cheered the dysfunctional family of Pokémon. Ace returned all the Pokémon, minus Aipom, to their respective balls. He then walked over to Diana,
“Your turn,” said Ace, crossing his arms in satisfaction. Diana, cheerfully smiling, walked forth with her Pokémon already released.
“Hi! My name is Diana Rigardo! And these are my cute Pokémon!” said Diana, cheerfully smiling at the illusion.
“Azurill!”
“Hapinny!”
“Dit…..tooooo,” there was a hint of evil in his voice, but it didn’t bother Arcanine,
“Teddiursa!”
Diana continued talking about herself, then returned the three of her Pokémon to their balls. Ollette then walked to the grave, still noticing the smile on Diana’s face. Ollette released all her Pokémon from her balls, and nervously told about herself.
“I’m Ollette, Ollette Iritaa,” began the girl, as she told about herself to the illusion, who remained silent, but stared contently into her eyes as if she was the most important person in the world for a moment. “I have to say, you found yourself a nice master. He saved my life you know.” Arcanine’s spirit tilted its head in a cute manner that made Ollette giggle. She then Introduced her Pokémon.
“Laaaapprraaass!!!”
“Tyrouge!”
“Bunneary!”
“Swablu!”
“Uivay!”
As Ollette returned all but her Eevee to their balls, she turned back and smiled,
“Rest in peace, Arcanine,” said Ollette, smiling, which made Arcanine smile in delight. Drake looked at Diego, waiting for him to go forth. Diego released all five of his Pokémon to meet Arcanine. Gerald looked at Diego with a smile,
“He’s wanted to meet you, especially,” said Gerald, sitting next to Arcanine as if he was still present.
“Can you see him?” asked Diego, curiously. Arcanine tilted his head, as if he didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Diego, Arcanine has always been my loyal friend. He may not be here in body, but he’s here in spirit,” answered Gerald, hearing Arcanine bark with a spiritual voice, “I’m sorry Arcanine,” said Gerald, looking at the dog’s spirit with a smile, “Please, go on Diego,” commanded Gerald. Diego looked at the illusion; then finally spoke,
“Okay, my name is Diego, Diego Argos, and these are my friends! Torterra,” Diego waved his hand over to his grass type.
“Tor!!!” roared the giant turtle, as he smiled,
“Metang,” as he pointed to his steel type,
“Meta Meta!” cheerfully spoke the metallic Pokémon,
“Gabite,” said Diego, pointing to the dragon of his team,
“Gabiiiiteee!!!” yelled Gabite, happily smiling,
“my newly evolved Typhlosion and Feraligatr,” said Diego, pointing at the duo,
“Typhlosion!!!” roared the fire type, flaring up his fire,
“Fer.” Simply noted Feraligatr, with his arms crossed,
“And my best friend, Eevee!” cheerfully spoke Diego, pointing to his shoulder, where the Pokémon cheerfully smiled,
“Uivee!” greeted the Pokémon. Arcanine smiled, as Eevee and Diego reminded him of when he was a Growlithe and was being brushed by Gerald. Arcanine lifted his head and howled,
“Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr,” which made Gerald smile.
“It was very nice to meet you, buddy.” Diego reached down to pet him, and actually felt his soft, luscious fur, “Hey, nice fur,” complemented Diego. Gerald was surprised; as Arcanine rarely let anyone, except a trainer of pure heart, touch him. Arcanine then barked, licking Diego in the face, “Hey! Hey! Watch it man! Ahaha!” laughed Diego as Arcanine tickled him. Arcanine calmed down and let Diego go. Diego returned his Pokémon, except Eevee, to their respective balls. Diego looked at him, then grinned, “Hey, get some sleep buddy. I’ll see you again one day,” said Diego, while Arcanine grinned. Diego walked away, as Drake, Sarah, Charles, and Jack all walked over to put food and flowers down. They all spoke to the spirit, giving their good and bad news, while Diego walked back to his gang.
“It felt so real, didn’t it?” asked Ollette.
“What’re you talking about Ollette,” said Diana, “Just because his body isn’t here doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
“Yeah, felt as real as any Arcanine,” said Ace, while Aipom smiled like an idiot.
“Yeah, guess you’re right,” agreed Ollette.
“Though it make you wonder,” said Toby, while the others looked at him, “An old legend says that if you’re lucky enough to see its spirit, you’ll be blessed with a good life.” The others looked at the crew, still speaking to the spirit. Diego looked forward at the settling sun; then smiled as his clothes waved in the wind.
“Well then, since Gerald’s practically owned him, I’ll say we’ll have very good lives.” Everyone nodded in agreement, as the moment was just perfect, until..
“As long as that ‘good life’ ain’t with you guys, I’m good,” said Toby, which made everyone laugh. As Drake and his crew came back, the smiles remained on their faces, especially Gerald’s, whose face was lit with a cheesy grin.
“Okay crew, time to head back,” said Jack, “by the way, Diego, the captain came to his senses. I’m the new first mate!” Diego’s mouth dropped in astonishment.
“What?! But…but….” Everyone laughed as he acted surprised. As everyone walked down the trail, Diego turned back, still seeing the Arcanine, who smiled as he waved his paw at him, saying goodbye, as he faded away. Diego and Eevee had a smile on their faces, as they turned back and followed the others.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 12
The gang was back at the One Island Pokémon Center, healing their comrades before setting sail to Two Island. While waiting, Diego
took time to show his findings to his friends, who were awing at the pictures in his Pokegear.
“Wow! You took a picture of the entire Braille alphabet? That must’ve taken some time man,” applauded Ace, as he looked at the dots covering the tablets.
“How’d you figure out that it was an alphabet anyway?” asked Diana, curiously.
“Well, there’s twenty-six letters in the alphabet, right? Well, there were twenty-six sets of dots on those tablets,” replied Diego, “plus, I still remember a lesson from middle school, so I could relate something to it!”
“Well, that’s impressive, but what about here?” asked Ollette, pointing at the picture of the ruby lit cave, “What’s happening here?”
“Oh, Quilava, er, Typhlosion figured that out,” continued Diego, “He touched the crystal and it lit up, but it only stayed for a short while.”
“Guess that means you had your hand on the wall at all times,” replied Toby, who was sitting at a Pokeball-shaped desk in the yellow room. Diego snarled, but remembered not to lose his cool.
“Yeah yeah that’s interesting and all, but what about the treasure?!” asked Sarah, who was getting impatient. Diego dug in his brown, leather backpack to pull out the large Ruby. As he held it, everyone crowded around.
“Whoah, nice find kid,” complemented Charles,
“A regular Indiana Jones!” replied Jack. Sarah and Diana’s eyes never left the jewel,
“So, cutie,” began Sarah, bending down a little to look Diego straight in his red eyes, “What’re you going to do with it?” Sarah winked as she asked this, which made Ollette flare up inside,
“He’s going to give it to someone,” replied Diana, wrapping her arms around Diego’s right arm, “Right, Dee Dee?” asked Dian, using Diego’s pet name for when she wants something,
“No way man!” spoke Ace, “He’s going to sell it to the highest bidder, and put some cash in our wallet!” said Ace, bumping Diego’s left arm with his elbow, “I mean, with that kind of money, we can afford to get our own ‘separate’ wallets,” commented Ace, holding a damaged, camouflage wallet with dust in it.
“Or he could help pay the captain by using it to pay for damages aboard the ship,” commented Jack,
“You know the captain doesn’t accept charity!” commented Charles, “However, I do.”
“It’s mine!”
“Mine!”
“Mine!”
Everyone began pulling on Diego’s shirt, fighting over their own selfish wishes, until Ollette resolved it by pulling Diego out of the crowd,
“HEY!” yelled the brunette girl, “Calm down!” Diego looked at Ollette with a smile,
“Thanks, you saved me!” applauded Diego, as everyone’s eyes were fixated on on the giant Ruby in his hand.
“Hey! Up here!” yelled Ollette, stomping her foot on the black and white tiled floor, which brought everyone’s attention to her, “Thank you. Now, don’t you guys think that since Diego solved the puzzle, and since Diego found and kept the Ruby, that maybe he should decide what to do with it himself?” asked Ollette, raising an eyebrow at the crowd. The others were silent, waiting on Diego’s decision,
“Well,” spoke Diego, “I’m not sure yet,” this shocked everyone, as he was holding a fortune in his hand, yet didn’t know what to do with it. Drake walked up to him and looked at the Ruby,
“May I make a suggestion?” asked the captain, which sparked everyone’s attention, “I have a friend here named Celio, and he’s been looking for that Ruby for a special project of his,” suddenly, mid-sentence, a man dressed in dress pants, a white button up shirt, brown shoes, brown hair, glasses, and a black tie walked inside,
“Sorry I’m late Drake, I’ll finish,” said the mysterious “geek”, “Allow me to introduce myself,” the man straightened his tie; then continued, “My name Celio. I run the Global Connection Project around here,” continued the man, as everyone looked at him, “I’ll cut to the chase. The Sevii Islands are kinda cut off from the rest of the world, and for years I’ve been working on a central routing system that will help link us to PC’s in other regions. I’ve almost got it complete, however,” the man went on, walking over to the giant computer in the room, “I lack a proper power source, and as you can imagine, this kind of PC needs an incredible amount of power,” the others stared in confusion, not exactly following him, “and it just so happens that two great energy sources are hidden away in these islands.”
“Two?” asked Diego, trying to follow,
“Yes,” answered Celio, “One is a Sapphire, hidden away somewhere towards Six Island,” the others still followed, “but another is that Ruby, right there in your hand.” Everyone jumped at the suggestion he was making, and jumped on top of Diego.
“No way man! We’re getting filthy rich off this thing!” yelled Ace, as the others fought over it. Diego couldn’t take it anymore, as he pushed them off of him.
“Enough! I found the Ruby, and I think we should help,” said Diego, which made Drake’s and Ollette’s faces smile, while the others wept at the loss of their dreams. “Besides, it’s helping someone else, so what harm could come from it?” asked Diego, as he handed the gem over to Celio,
“Thank you very much Diego,” complemented Celio, moving the Ruby to a slot in the machine, “The islands are in dept to you,” as the Ruby clicked in the slot, it began glowing a bright red, which was followed by the lighting of the wiring on the left side of the giant computer. As the machine revved up, the screen came on, showing wireless signals to several other regions. “Excellent! Excellent! We’re now connected to the regions of Hoenn, Darco, and Oblivia!” Diego and Ollette looked at the screen as beacons began shining one by one.
“Excellent, now we won’t have to mail things by ship anymore,” said Drake, still smiling. Gerald came out of the back room, helping the two nurses with the trays of Pokeballs, each carrying two trays.
“Thank you sir, but you really didn’t have to help,” said the blue haired aide, as she carried Diana and Ollette’s Pokeballs.
“We really appreciate it,” said the pink haired Nurse Joy, who was common in Pokémon Centers, as she carried Toby and Ace’s Pokeballs. Gerald simply smiled, as he carried Sarah and Diego’s Pokeballs. They sat down the balls, and saw the computer screen, “Oh my goodness Celio! You did it!” cheered Nurse Joy. Celio blushed at the praise, while the others got their Pokeballs. Diego released his Eevee and put him on his shoulder,
“There we go buddy! My shoulder was getting cold without you,” said Diego to his trusted partner,
“Ui ui!” replied Eevee, as he wore a smile on his face. The others released their small Pokémon and held them, while Toby released his Haunter, who was happy to see him,
“Haunter Haunter!” greeted the happy Pokémon, who got Sarah’s attention,
“Why do you let that Pokémon out of its ball? It’s not small like the others,” asked Sarah, putting her Pokeballs on her belt wrapped around her curved hips. Toby seemed surprised,
“Well, even if I didn’t, he’s still get out somehow. He is a ghost after all,” answered Toby, while Haunter laughed. Sarah thought about it for a moment; then pulled out a Pokeball, releasing a raggedy; ghost Pokémon with a hat like head. Its eyes were yellow, and its body looked hollow. As soon as Haunter laid eyes on it, his tongue flew out of his head, as he made a wolf whistle at it.
“Haunter haunter!” yelled the ghost, as he looked at Sarah’s ghostly companion, Mismagius.
“What’s wrong with your friend there?” asked Sarah, as her Mismagius floated over to greet the Pokémon.
“Mis mis,” spoke Mismagius in a light voice. Haunter pulled his tongue, making it retract back into his mouth like curtain blinds.
“Haunter, Haaaaauuuuntt….” Slowly spoke the infatuated Gas Pokémon. Diego was confused,
“Why did you let your Mismagius out?” asked Diego. Sarah seemed offended,
“What? Little kids can show off their prized Pokémon but I can’t?” Mismagius seemed to agree.
“You can show off anything you want!” said Ace, as he complemented Sarah, however Aipom asserted his discipline with a focus punch, sending him through the wall, landing into a large spa behind the center. “What, it feels so niiiiiceee!!!” said Ace, as he relaxed in the hot water. Diego and the others looked in the hole in the wall and thought about what happened to the Mt. Ember Spa, then Drake spoke up,
“You know, back in Hoenn, a town known as Lavaridge has its own spa too, and it’s conveniently located just outside the Pokémon Center,” said Drake, looking at Nurse Joy and Celio.
“Well,” said Nurse Joy, “I don’t see any reason not to…”
Five minutes later, everyone was in their bathing suits, relaxing in the hot water.
“Yep,” said Diana, “Nothing to worry about here.” Everyone relaxed in the pool, while Aipom held up a fist to prevent Ace’s eyes from averting to
Sarah’s black tie-up bikini or Nurse Joy’s blue one-piece.
Morning came, and everyone boarded the ship, but before Diego and Drake could board, Celio came running,
“Waaaiit!!!” yelled Celio. Diego and Drake halted, waiting for Celio to catch up. “Diego, I need to ask you a favor,” said Celio, Drake reached out for Eevee, but Eevee didn’t want to, which made him grin, as he walked up the board back into the ship.
“What’s up?” asked Diego, waiting for Celio to catch more breath. Celio brought out an inhaler and pressed the button, allowing him to breath,
“You remember that Sapphire I mentioned? The one around Six Island?” mentioned Celio, now calm, “I was wondering if you could look for it, and maybe bring it back to One Island for the computer. So, will you?” asked Celio,
“Sure! I could always go for another adventure!” agreed Diego, smiling at the task before him.
“Thank you!” cheered Celio. He then dug in his pocket, and handed over a special, white and blue device, and pinned it to Diego’s brown, leather backpack, “Drake mentioned that he was training you, so this Vs Seeker will help you find trainers within the area who want to battle.” Diego looked at it, then made a weird face,
“Eh, I guess I could paint it, then it’d be really cool!” Diego then grinned, as he shook Celio’s hand, “So, it’s a deal. I’ll bring you the Sapphire.” Celio shook, and waved goodbye as Diego boarded the ship.
It was a bright morning. The sun was shining, and and the clouds shaped into all kinds of shapes, ranging from flowers to to dogs and kittens. The waves fluttered against the ship, as the horn blew and the ship took off. Diego and Eevee walked to the deck to wave Celio and the nurses goodbye, as Ollette, Ace, and Diana came up with Aipom, Azurill, and Ollette’s Eevee walked up to wave as well. Jack then walked up and grabbed Diego by the shoulders,
“Okay buddy, time to train,” said Jack, as he smiled. Diego was surprised,
“But we already left land,” said Diego, while Jack laughed,
“Good thing we’ve got the entire ship, now isn’t it!” Jack laughed, while Diego pouted, as he knew that the real training was about to begin. The adventures on Knot Island were over for now, but a whole new adventure awaited his team tomorrow.
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And that's it for today. I guess technically we'd call chapter twelve a filler, but some of it will be canon to my story.
And since this is the begining of my next Island chapter, no preview. Like in anime when a peaceful time comes.
I did not make this, nor do I claim any right to Soul Eater
(ps., do you like the enthusiasm for the preview? Don't? Lemme know.)