[Desolate Divine]
11-11-2015, 03:23 AM
Note: In the timeline of GCEA Hoenn, this is based between the end of Gotta Catch Em All Delta Emerald, and the Legends Tournament (GCEA WAR II). Links will be provided for background information.
I lay in my hammock between two trees, and looked up at the sky, as I listened to my computer hum in the background. The only other sound was that of waves crashing on the shoreline. No people or Pokemon lived on Southern Island. It was nearing 3am, and I was feeling the temptation to give in and call it a night. But I couldn’t.
It had been three months since the end of the Shadow Crisis, and the Battle For Hoenn. Those of us who fought and survived were hailed as heroes. Granted, I didn’t feel like a hero.
I returned home, but it wasn’t the same. Something was wrong, and I needed to get away to gather my thoughts. That was two and a half months ago.
I turned onto my side and looked at the laptop. It was linked to eight cameras; all positioned 45 degrees apart, scanning the skies. I had spent all my savings on this equipment a few weeks back, when I began watching the stars. It all ran off a Deep Cycle Battery that had costed an arm and leg. Half of the reason I chose to stay here on Southern Island was for its view of the sky. No cities nearby to pollute it with light.
My obsession with watching the skies was from one thing. Jirachi. When Scope died, I decided that one day I would find it, and make a wish. That was the first death, and after all the others, I became even more desperate.
I had spent the last few months studying the mythology behind it. Occasionally, I would fly to the mainland, and find a library, checking out as many books on the subject as I could find. There wasn’t really much known about it, however one thing that seemed to always pop up was the legend of it appearing with a comet, once every thousand years. It was my only lead.
I almost fell out of the hammock, when I heard the computer beep, and heard a loud crash, as the ground shook beneath me. I made my way over, and it replayed the footage it just took. Camera 4, the one that faced North West.
Within seconds the computer had analysed the camera. The size of the object and how it changed, the angle, and the time it took for the sound to reach us. It gave me a location. Shoal Cave.
I watched the footage. The computer gave me an estimated size of the object that crashed down. It was the size of a small car. Even if it wasn’t Jirachi, I had to find it, and destroy it. Deoxys originated from a mutated alien virus, and was capable of killing thousands. Even if there was a single cell on that object, I had to destroy it, in case it became something worse.
The distance to Shoal Cave from Southern Island was 3000km. My fastest flier was Avacyn the Swellow, and on him it would take three days. I had to call in someone faster.
I opened my bag and pulled out something I don’t use lightly. The Eon Flute. I played a few notes around a B Dorian Mode, purely due to me liking them notes, and waited. After a few minutes, he appeared. I turned around and saw a young man a few years older than me standing behind me.
“I always forget what your human form is Latios.” I said with a smile.
“Well most of the times you have had to use the flute, I have needed to be in my other form.” Latios replied, “Why have you called me?”
“I only called you because I had no choice. I need to get to the other side of Hoenn as soon as possible. Without you it will take half a week.” I explained.
“I didn’t allow you to keep the flute so I could be a glorified taxi.” Latios said, slightly annoyed, “What is so important on the other side of Hoenn?”
“An object from space. A huge one.” I replied.
I felt a presence in my mind. Gwaine had done it that often before that I knew it instantly. You can’t walk around without leaving footprints.
“You’re looking for Jirachi aren’t you?” Latios asked, “You want to try and undo the Shadow Crisis. You think that will bring back Scope, Ginji and the others. You think it will save Colden. Your dad.”
“I…” I began, however couldn’t find words.
“Undoing something massive like that from time would warp reality as we know it. You would never have met Team Emerald, or your family. You would not be as strong as you are today. Things happen Jacob. People die. As much as it hurts, dwelling on it and trying to undo it will cause more harm than good.” Latios said.
“It’s not just that.” I replied quietly.
Latios looked at me, unsure of what I was talking about.
“Deoxys.” I said, “The reason it exists, is because an alien virus mutated into it. If there is any life on this object, it could do the same, into something much worse. The chances of it happening are miniscule, but is has happened before. I can’t let it happen again. I must destroy it.
“I understand.” Latios said. “I will take you, but before I do, I need you to answer me one question.”
I nodded in response.
“Deoxys showed what a single extra-terrestrial cell was capable of turning into.” Latios said, “But what if it were the opposite. What if this object contained a cell capable of turning into a great force for good? For life? Is it still worth destroying because of the risk?”
I thought about it for a second. He raised a good point.
“Right now, I am one of the guardians of Hoenn. Few people have seen what I have, and fewer are as strong as I am. It falls on me to make decisions like this.” I said, “I won’t always be one of the people looking out for Hoenn. I am hoping that eventually someone else will have what it takes to do this, because I won’t be around forever. What I am getting at is that my decision is that it is not worth the risk. If there is something living on whatever just crashed near Mossdeep City, my decision is that it needs to be killed. It is too much of a risk. However eventually someone else will make that decision. And if they choose to give it a chance, then I won’t stop them.”
There was a flash of light, and where the human once stood, a blue and white dragon-like creature levitated. I walked over and climbed onto its back.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” said Latios’ voice in my head. Before I could ask what was going on, Latios shot forward and I felt my most recent meal hit the back of my stomach.
I want to say that after a while I got used to the speed, however I would be lying. Flying at 700kmph is s***-scary. I was held on by Latios’ telekinesis, and was not going to fall, but I lost count of the amount of times I accidentally opened my mouth and swallowed a bug.
It took four hours to travel from Southern Island to Shoal Cave via Latios. When Latios landed, I proceeded to jump off his back, and vomit in the nearest bushes.
“If Deoxys 2.0 is here, I am sure you will have it terrified.” Said Latios. I turned around and saw that he had reverted back to his human form.
“I know you’re a God and all, but you can be a real a**hole, you know that?” I said half jokingly.
“You’re one to talk.” Latios said with a grin, “Now if you are done in the bushes, lets head in.”
Though Latios was originally trying to talk me into not coming here, I think he was glad to be here. He seemed to enjoy my company. Being a Legendary Pokemon, he wouldn’t be able to spend too much time as himself around humans. They would all probably try and hunt and capture him. This was probably a nice change.
We made our way into the cave, and I pulled out my torch. It was unusually quiet. This cave is usually full of Pokemon. I remember visiting my dad’s brother in Mossdeep City, and going on a day trip to this cave. The sun would be rising soon, so Pokemon should be waking up.
We walked into the next chamber. There was the main path, and a pool of icy water. I noticed two Sealo swimming underneath the surface of the water, and a third swimming at the surface. However this one was different. It was purple.
“I think it is shiny.” I said to Latios. I shone my torch at it, and noticed something else. The water was stained red. The two sealo swimming underneath weren’t swimming. They were dead. Suddenly the purple one leapt out of the water towards us. Before I could react, it had landed on me, knocking me on my back.
There was a bang, as Sealo was knocked off me into a wall. I looked over at Latios, who had his hands in front of me. Even in his human form, his psychic abilities were incredible.
“It’s a shadow Pokemon.” Latios said, looking at it, both with pity and disgust.
“No s***.” I said, “I assumed it was shiny because that is what they look like when they are shiny.”
I let Gwaine out of his Pokeball. When he saw Latios, he instantly bowed.
“Show off.” I said to Gwaine, getting his attention. “I need you to do your aura thing.”
Gwaine looked at me confused. I pointed to the unconscious Sealo.
“We just had an encounter with a Shadow Pokemon.” I said, “Either we missed it during the fight, or there is something corrupting them now.”
Gwaine’s eyes flashed for a second. He then looked at me with grave concern.
“What?” I asked. I felt Gwaine get into my head, as he looked again.
I had a vision that I was flying through the different catacombs of the cave. There was a dark purple haze throughout the whole place. Finally we stopped flying, and stopped in front of something. A purple orb. It was in a crater in the cave floor. This is what had hit the earth. It was just like the one that Scope stopped.
“S***.” I muttered. Latios looked at me. “You saw it too?
“Yeah.” Latios said, “This is not going to be easy.”
Suddenly the ground rumbled. We ran back to the entrance of the cave to see the entrance caved in.
“We are stuck here.” I said, “The only way out is through the room where the meteor crashed. Through the roof.”
Before I could say anything, one of the fallen boulders leapt out of the pile. It was a Golem. A dark purple Golem.
“Shadow!” I shouted. It rolled towards us, as Gwaine jumped between. He caught the Golem, and was forced back as it continued to spin. After a few seconds, Golem slowed down and stopped.
“Purify it!” I shouted. Gwaine’s blades glowed bright white, as he slashed at the shadow Pokemon. It fell unconscious and after a few seconds, it turned back to normal.
“How…” Latios asked.
“I am not sure.” I said, “Gwaine picked up that trick about a month ago. The way I see if, light makes Shadows disperse in nature. Why not in Pokemon?”
“Do the others know that?” Latios asked. “I mean the rest of your team? The ones you travelled with.”
“Maybe.” I said, “I haven’t spoken to them much since. We all went our separate ways. They have light Pokemon though. They might be able to figure it out.”
I looked around, waiting for the next Shadow Pokemon to appear.
“Come on, lets get moving.” I said, making my way towards the crash site, “There is only one way out, and I don’t feel like dying in here.”
We made our way through the caves. As we were about to walk through our third cavern, I heard a voice shout in my head.
“Wait!”
I looked at Latios, and realized it wasn’t him.
“Gwaine?”
Gwaine raised his hand, as a thin light mist appeared above us. Within seconds a swarm of black and red Zubats flew down, crashing into the mist, unable to penetrate it. All of them were shadow pokemon.
“This is bad.” Latios said, “If any of them escape the cave, there will be chaos.”
“I know.” I said, “We need to destroy the orb.”
“But how?” Latios asked.
“I don’t know…” I said. “We will figure it out when the time comes.”
We made our way through the cavern, reaching the next one. There was a pool of still water.
“Gwaine, collapse the doorway.” I said, “If they get through, we are in trouble, as is Mossdeep City.”
Gwaine turned to face the doorway, and used Aura Sphere. It hit the doorway, collapsing it, blocking anything from getting in, and us from getting out. The ground rumbled as the rocks hit the ground. However it continued to rumble, even as they stopped.
“Oh s***…” I said, as I faced the pool of water. It was rippling heaps. There was something in it.
There was a loud shriek as a black Gyarados emerged from the pool, roaring at us. I turned to run out of its range, but wasn’t quick enough. It unleashed a hyper beam in front of where I was about to run. The sheer force of it knocked me back, sending be flying into the pool.
The water chilled me to the bone, as I tried to swim up. However within seconds, Gyarados had wrapped itself around me, holding me under. I was going to die here if I didn’t get out.
I looked up towards the surface, and saw a flash of light. Suddenly, I felt Gyarados get knocked back, and saw Latios in his Pokemon form, fly into the water. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled out.
As we emerged from the water, I coughed and spluttered. Latios flew close to the ground, dropping me, before turning to face the Gyarados. The eon Pokemon flew into the shadow type, knocking it back. His eyes began to glow, as an orb of light came into existence before him. The orb grew, before launching into Gyarados, knocking it out. It fell into the pool with a crash, splashing water out of the pool, drenching all of us.
Latios landed, and with a flash of light, reverted to his human form. He walked over to me and extended a hand to help me up.
“I owe you one.” I said as I stood up.
“I’ll remember that.” Latios said, as we made our way to our destination.
Finally we reached it. Gwaine took the lead, doing his light mist thing again. The shadow energy was that concentrated here that we needed it.
“We need to get rid of this thing.” I said, “But I have no idea how.”
I looked at the orb. It glowed a dark purple.
“What if I absorbed it?” I said, “Then Gwaine purified me like he did the Golem before?”
“That won’t work.” Gwaine said to Latios and I via telepathy, “There is too much shadow energy in it. It would kill you. It would kill all of us.”
“Not necessarily.” Latios said quietly, “It wouldn’t kill me.”
“But you would be too strong for Gwaine to stop,” I said, “If you let yourself absorb it and get corrupted, Gwaine wouldn’t be able to purify you. You would be too strong.”
“I know.” Latios said gravely, “That’s why you need to kill me.”
“What the f-“ I began, “No! We will think of something else! Besides, if we can’t purify you, how could we kill you?”
“Shadow energy weakens at first. Then once it stabilises, it causes the corruption.” Latios said, “If I were to absorb it, you would have about half a minute to kill me before it takes over. I will be weakened enough that you could do it. The shadow energy would die with me. And I would be reborn.”
“But it won’t be you.” I shouted, “And besides, that would be more painful than anything I could imagine! We will figure something else out.!”
“There is no other way Jacob, and you know it.” Latios said gravely, “Now stop fighting with me. You can’t be distracted. If we don’t do this right, it will be a disaster.”
“He is right Jacob.” Gwaine said, “You were willing to die before if it were for the greater good. Now he is willing to do the same. Let him.”
“You want him to do this?!” I said to Gwaine.
“No, but we have no other choice.” Gwaine said, “Either he sacrifices himself, or a lot more people are hurt.”
“Jacob, I am doing this whether you like it or not.” Latios said, “Gwaine knows what he has to do.”
I looked Latios in the eyes. Deep down, I knew he was right. I hated him and Gwaine for it, but they were both right.
“Do it.” I said, “I will kill you if that is what needs to be done.”
I let Skipper out of his Pokeball and pressed the button on my Mega Watch. Swampert Mega Evolved, growing into a larger version of himself. Latios extended his hand to shake one last time. I grabbed it and shook it firmly, struggling to keep myself from tearing up.
“Don’t worry. I will be reborn after this.” Latios said, “Even if I am not the same, I will see you again one day. You have the flute, remember.”
“And I wish I never played the damn thing.” I said, trying to laugh.
“Well you have, so deal with it.” Latios said, before turning around, “Now I am stalling. Let’s just get this over with.”
Latios reverted to his Pokemon form, and flew out of the light that Gwaine was generating, moving towards the orb. With his back turned, I watched him grab it with both hands. Suddenly there was an eruption of purple light, as Latios began to absorb it. Within seconds, it was gone. Latios lay on the ground, writhing in pain. The purple haze had left this place, but Latios had absorbed it all.
“Now.” I said quietly, “Skipper, drown him. Before he turns.”
Skipper picked up the Legendary Pokemon, before diving into the pool of water nearby. Being a water type, Skipper was able to hold his breath for long times underwater. Latios however wouldn’t be able to.
After the water settled from the dive, bubble began to erupt from the surface, as Latios was struggling for breath. I wanted to turn away, but couldn’t. I had to know the job was done. That Latios was dead, and not going to turn. After about thirty seconds, the bubbles stopped. The water was still.
Half a minute later, Skipper emerged from the water, carrying the limp body of Latios. He was dead. Skipper laid him on the ground.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the body, which blinded us all. When it disappeared, the body was gone. In its place was a small orb. It was light blue, and looked as it were made of glass. Inside was a small blue light.
“What is it?” I asked Gwaine, who shrugged. He didn’t want to look at it. He respected Latios as a God and a friend. He was in just as much pain as I was.
I picked up the orb. Suddenly it glowed. Gwaine’s head spun around as he stared at it.
“It’s Latios.” Gwaine said, “This is a Soul Dew.”
I remembered the research I had done on Latios before I began my journey. The legend of the Soul Dew was that it contained the soul of a deceased Latios.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It spoke to me.” Gwaine said, “Our Latios might have died, but he lives on in this. And in his place, another Latios will be born somewhere soon. And until he reaches his full power, he will need help, and guidance. Just like Kya did. Just like you did.”
I looked at the orb. This was my friend?
Gwaine’s eyes glowed, as I found myself pulled by him into the consciousness of the Soul Dew.
“Gwaine is right Jacob.” Said Latios’ voice, “I’m still here. And the next Latios will need help. Please, find it. Help it.”
Suddenly the voice stopped.
“He needs to rest.” Gwaine said, “But he is still with us.”
I looked to the roof. I had almost forgotten that this was our exit. The orb had crashed through the roof to land here. Above us, I could see the sky starting to light up with the rising of the sun. It was a new day.
“Let’s get back to Southern Island.” I said, “We have a lot of work to do…”
I lay in my hammock between two trees, and looked up at the sky, as I listened to my computer hum in the background. The only other sound was that of waves crashing on the shoreline. No people or Pokemon lived on Southern Island. It was nearing 3am, and I was feeling the temptation to give in and call it a night. But I couldn’t.
It had been three months since the end of the Shadow Crisis, and the Battle For Hoenn. Those of us who fought and survived were hailed as heroes. Granted, I didn’t feel like a hero.
I returned home, but it wasn’t the same. Something was wrong, and I needed to get away to gather my thoughts. That was two and a half months ago.
I turned onto my side and looked at the laptop. It was linked to eight cameras; all positioned 45 degrees apart, scanning the skies. I had spent all my savings on this equipment a few weeks back, when I began watching the stars. It all ran off a Deep Cycle Battery that had costed an arm and leg. Half of the reason I chose to stay here on Southern Island was for its view of the sky. No cities nearby to pollute it with light.
My obsession with watching the skies was from one thing. Jirachi. When Scope died, I decided that one day I would find it, and make a wish. That was the first death, and after all the others, I became even more desperate.
I had spent the last few months studying the mythology behind it. Occasionally, I would fly to the mainland, and find a library, checking out as many books on the subject as I could find. There wasn’t really much known about it, however one thing that seemed to always pop up was the legend of it appearing with a comet, once every thousand years. It was my only lead.
I almost fell out of the hammock, when I heard the computer beep, and heard a loud crash, as the ground shook beneath me. I made my way over, and it replayed the footage it just took. Camera 4, the one that faced North West.
Within seconds the computer had analysed the camera. The size of the object and how it changed, the angle, and the time it took for the sound to reach us. It gave me a location. Shoal Cave.
I watched the footage. The computer gave me an estimated size of the object that crashed down. It was the size of a small car. Even if it wasn’t Jirachi, I had to find it, and destroy it. Deoxys originated from a mutated alien virus, and was capable of killing thousands. Even if there was a single cell on that object, I had to destroy it, in case it became something worse.
The distance to Shoal Cave from Southern Island was 3000km. My fastest flier was Avacyn the Swellow, and on him it would take three days. I had to call in someone faster.
I opened my bag and pulled out something I don’t use lightly. The Eon Flute. I played a few notes around a B Dorian Mode, purely due to me liking them notes, and waited. After a few minutes, he appeared. I turned around and saw a young man a few years older than me standing behind me.
“I always forget what your human form is Latios.” I said with a smile.
“Well most of the times you have had to use the flute, I have needed to be in my other form.” Latios replied, “Why have you called me?”
“I only called you because I had no choice. I need to get to the other side of Hoenn as soon as possible. Without you it will take half a week.” I explained.
“I didn’t allow you to keep the flute so I could be a glorified taxi.” Latios said, slightly annoyed, “What is so important on the other side of Hoenn?”
“An object from space. A huge one.” I replied.
I felt a presence in my mind. Gwaine had done it that often before that I knew it instantly. You can’t walk around without leaving footprints.
“You’re looking for Jirachi aren’t you?” Latios asked, “You want to try and undo the Shadow Crisis. You think that will bring back Scope, Ginji and the others. You think it will save Colden. Your dad.”
“I…” I began, however couldn’t find words.
“Undoing something massive like that from time would warp reality as we know it. You would never have met Team Emerald, or your family. You would not be as strong as you are today. Things happen Jacob. People die. As much as it hurts, dwelling on it and trying to undo it will cause more harm than good.” Latios said.
“It’s not just that.” I replied quietly.
Latios looked at me, unsure of what I was talking about.
“Deoxys.” I said, “The reason it exists, is because an alien virus mutated into it. If there is any life on this object, it could do the same, into something much worse. The chances of it happening are miniscule, but is has happened before. I can’t let it happen again. I must destroy it.
“I understand.” Latios said. “I will take you, but before I do, I need you to answer me one question.”
I nodded in response.
“Deoxys showed what a single extra-terrestrial cell was capable of turning into.” Latios said, “But what if it were the opposite. What if this object contained a cell capable of turning into a great force for good? For life? Is it still worth destroying because of the risk?”
I thought about it for a second. He raised a good point.
“Right now, I am one of the guardians of Hoenn. Few people have seen what I have, and fewer are as strong as I am. It falls on me to make decisions like this.” I said, “I won’t always be one of the people looking out for Hoenn. I am hoping that eventually someone else will have what it takes to do this, because I won’t be around forever. What I am getting at is that my decision is that it is not worth the risk. If there is something living on whatever just crashed near Mossdeep City, my decision is that it needs to be killed. It is too much of a risk. However eventually someone else will make that decision. And if they choose to give it a chance, then I won’t stop them.”
There was a flash of light, and where the human once stood, a blue and white dragon-like creature levitated. I walked over and climbed onto its back.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” said Latios’ voice in my head. Before I could ask what was going on, Latios shot forward and I felt my most recent meal hit the back of my stomach.
I want to say that after a while I got used to the speed, however I would be lying. Flying at 700kmph is s***-scary. I was held on by Latios’ telekinesis, and was not going to fall, but I lost count of the amount of times I accidentally opened my mouth and swallowed a bug.
It took four hours to travel from Southern Island to Shoal Cave via Latios. When Latios landed, I proceeded to jump off his back, and vomit in the nearest bushes.
“If Deoxys 2.0 is here, I am sure you will have it terrified.” Said Latios. I turned around and saw that he had reverted back to his human form.
“I know you’re a God and all, but you can be a real a**hole, you know that?” I said half jokingly.
“You’re one to talk.” Latios said with a grin, “Now if you are done in the bushes, lets head in.”
Though Latios was originally trying to talk me into not coming here, I think he was glad to be here. He seemed to enjoy my company. Being a Legendary Pokemon, he wouldn’t be able to spend too much time as himself around humans. They would all probably try and hunt and capture him. This was probably a nice change.
We made our way into the cave, and I pulled out my torch. It was unusually quiet. This cave is usually full of Pokemon. I remember visiting my dad’s brother in Mossdeep City, and going on a day trip to this cave. The sun would be rising soon, so Pokemon should be waking up.
We walked into the next chamber. There was the main path, and a pool of icy water. I noticed two Sealo swimming underneath the surface of the water, and a third swimming at the surface. However this one was different. It was purple.
“I think it is shiny.” I said to Latios. I shone my torch at it, and noticed something else. The water was stained red. The two sealo swimming underneath weren’t swimming. They were dead. Suddenly the purple one leapt out of the water towards us. Before I could react, it had landed on me, knocking me on my back.
There was a bang, as Sealo was knocked off me into a wall. I looked over at Latios, who had his hands in front of me. Even in his human form, his psychic abilities were incredible.
“It’s a shadow Pokemon.” Latios said, looking at it, both with pity and disgust.
“No s***.” I said, “I assumed it was shiny because that is what they look like when they are shiny.”
I let Gwaine out of his Pokeball. When he saw Latios, he instantly bowed.
“Show off.” I said to Gwaine, getting his attention. “I need you to do your aura thing.”
Gwaine looked at me confused. I pointed to the unconscious Sealo.
“We just had an encounter with a Shadow Pokemon.” I said, “Either we missed it during the fight, or there is something corrupting them now.”
Gwaine’s eyes flashed for a second. He then looked at me with grave concern.
“What?” I asked. I felt Gwaine get into my head, as he looked again.
I had a vision that I was flying through the different catacombs of the cave. There was a dark purple haze throughout the whole place. Finally we stopped flying, and stopped in front of something. A purple orb. It was in a crater in the cave floor. This is what had hit the earth. It was just like the one that Scope stopped.
“S***.” I muttered. Latios looked at me. “You saw it too?
“Yeah.” Latios said, “This is not going to be easy.”
Suddenly the ground rumbled. We ran back to the entrance of the cave to see the entrance caved in.
“We are stuck here.” I said, “The only way out is through the room where the meteor crashed. Through the roof.”
Before I could say anything, one of the fallen boulders leapt out of the pile. It was a Golem. A dark purple Golem.
“Shadow!” I shouted. It rolled towards us, as Gwaine jumped between. He caught the Golem, and was forced back as it continued to spin. After a few seconds, Golem slowed down and stopped.
“Purify it!” I shouted. Gwaine’s blades glowed bright white, as he slashed at the shadow Pokemon. It fell unconscious and after a few seconds, it turned back to normal.
“How…” Latios asked.
“I am not sure.” I said, “Gwaine picked up that trick about a month ago. The way I see if, light makes Shadows disperse in nature. Why not in Pokemon?”
“Do the others know that?” Latios asked. “I mean the rest of your team? The ones you travelled with.”
“Maybe.” I said, “I haven’t spoken to them much since. We all went our separate ways. They have light Pokemon though. They might be able to figure it out.”
I looked around, waiting for the next Shadow Pokemon to appear.
“Come on, lets get moving.” I said, making my way towards the crash site, “There is only one way out, and I don’t feel like dying in here.”
We made our way through the caves. As we were about to walk through our third cavern, I heard a voice shout in my head.
“Wait!”
I looked at Latios, and realized it wasn’t him.
“Gwaine?”
Gwaine raised his hand, as a thin light mist appeared above us. Within seconds a swarm of black and red Zubats flew down, crashing into the mist, unable to penetrate it. All of them were shadow pokemon.
“This is bad.” Latios said, “If any of them escape the cave, there will be chaos.”
“I know.” I said, “We need to destroy the orb.”
“But how?” Latios asked.
“I don’t know…” I said. “We will figure it out when the time comes.”
We made our way through the cavern, reaching the next one. There was a pool of still water.
“Gwaine, collapse the doorway.” I said, “If they get through, we are in trouble, as is Mossdeep City.”
Gwaine turned to face the doorway, and used Aura Sphere. It hit the doorway, collapsing it, blocking anything from getting in, and us from getting out. The ground rumbled as the rocks hit the ground. However it continued to rumble, even as they stopped.
“Oh s***…” I said, as I faced the pool of water. It was rippling heaps. There was something in it.
There was a loud shriek as a black Gyarados emerged from the pool, roaring at us. I turned to run out of its range, but wasn’t quick enough. It unleashed a hyper beam in front of where I was about to run. The sheer force of it knocked me back, sending be flying into the pool.
The water chilled me to the bone, as I tried to swim up. However within seconds, Gyarados had wrapped itself around me, holding me under. I was going to die here if I didn’t get out.
I looked up towards the surface, and saw a flash of light. Suddenly, I felt Gyarados get knocked back, and saw Latios in his Pokemon form, fly into the water. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled out.
As we emerged from the water, I coughed and spluttered. Latios flew close to the ground, dropping me, before turning to face the Gyarados. The eon Pokemon flew into the shadow type, knocking it back. His eyes began to glow, as an orb of light came into existence before him. The orb grew, before launching into Gyarados, knocking it out. It fell into the pool with a crash, splashing water out of the pool, drenching all of us.
Latios landed, and with a flash of light, reverted to his human form. He walked over to me and extended a hand to help me up.
“I owe you one.” I said as I stood up.
“I’ll remember that.” Latios said, as we made our way to our destination.
Finally we reached it. Gwaine took the lead, doing his light mist thing again. The shadow energy was that concentrated here that we needed it.
“We need to get rid of this thing.” I said, “But I have no idea how.”
I looked at the orb. It glowed a dark purple.
“What if I absorbed it?” I said, “Then Gwaine purified me like he did the Golem before?”
“That won’t work.” Gwaine said to Latios and I via telepathy, “There is too much shadow energy in it. It would kill you. It would kill all of us.”
“Not necessarily.” Latios said quietly, “It wouldn’t kill me.”
“But you would be too strong for Gwaine to stop,” I said, “If you let yourself absorb it and get corrupted, Gwaine wouldn’t be able to purify you. You would be too strong.”
“I know.” Latios said gravely, “That’s why you need to kill me.”
“What the f-“ I began, “No! We will think of something else! Besides, if we can’t purify you, how could we kill you?”
“Shadow energy weakens at first. Then once it stabilises, it causes the corruption.” Latios said, “If I were to absorb it, you would have about half a minute to kill me before it takes over. I will be weakened enough that you could do it. The shadow energy would die with me. And I would be reborn.”
“But it won’t be you.” I shouted, “And besides, that would be more painful than anything I could imagine! We will figure something else out.!”
“There is no other way Jacob, and you know it.” Latios said gravely, “Now stop fighting with me. You can’t be distracted. If we don’t do this right, it will be a disaster.”
“He is right Jacob.” Gwaine said, “You were willing to die before if it were for the greater good. Now he is willing to do the same. Let him.”
“You want him to do this?!” I said to Gwaine.
“No, but we have no other choice.” Gwaine said, “Either he sacrifices himself, or a lot more people are hurt.”
“Jacob, I am doing this whether you like it or not.” Latios said, “Gwaine knows what he has to do.”
I looked Latios in the eyes. Deep down, I knew he was right. I hated him and Gwaine for it, but they were both right.
“Do it.” I said, “I will kill you if that is what needs to be done.”
I let Skipper out of his Pokeball and pressed the button on my Mega Watch. Swampert Mega Evolved, growing into a larger version of himself. Latios extended his hand to shake one last time. I grabbed it and shook it firmly, struggling to keep myself from tearing up.
“Don’t worry. I will be reborn after this.” Latios said, “Even if I am not the same, I will see you again one day. You have the flute, remember.”
“And I wish I never played the damn thing.” I said, trying to laugh.
“Well you have, so deal with it.” Latios said, before turning around, “Now I am stalling. Let’s just get this over with.”
Latios reverted to his Pokemon form, and flew out of the light that Gwaine was generating, moving towards the orb. With his back turned, I watched him grab it with both hands. Suddenly there was an eruption of purple light, as Latios began to absorb it. Within seconds, it was gone. Latios lay on the ground, writhing in pain. The purple haze had left this place, but Latios had absorbed it all.
“Now.” I said quietly, “Skipper, drown him. Before he turns.”
Skipper picked up the Legendary Pokemon, before diving into the pool of water nearby. Being a water type, Skipper was able to hold his breath for long times underwater. Latios however wouldn’t be able to.
After the water settled from the dive, bubble began to erupt from the surface, as Latios was struggling for breath. I wanted to turn away, but couldn’t. I had to know the job was done. That Latios was dead, and not going to turn. After about thirty seconds, the bubbles stopped. The water was still.
Half a minute later, Skipper emerged from the water, carrying the limp body of Latios. He was dead. Skipper laid him on the ground.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the body, which blinded us all. When it disappeared, the body was gone. In its place was a small orb. It was light blue, and looked as it were made of glass. Inside was a small blue light.
“What is it?” I asked Gwaine, who shrugged. He didn’t want to look at it. He respected Latios as a God and a friend. He was in just as much pain as I was.
I picked up the orb. Suddenly it glowed. Gwaine’s head spun around as he stared at it.
“It’s Latios.” Gwaine said, “This is a Soul Dew.”
I remembered the research I had done on Latios before I began my journey. The legend of the Soul Dew was that it contained the soul of a deceased Latios.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It spoke to me.” Gwaine said, “Our Latios might have died, but he lives on in this. And in his place, another Latios will be born somewhere soon. And until he reaches his full power, he will need help, and guidance. Just like Kya did. Just like you did.”
I looked at the orb. This was my friend?
Gwaine’s eyes glowed, as I found myself pulled by him into the consciousness of the Soul Dew.
“Gwaine is right Jacob.” Said Latios’ voice, “I’m still here. And the next Latios will need help. Please, find it. Help it.”
Suddenly the voice stopped.
“He needs to rest.” Gwaine said, “But he is still with us.”
I looked to the roof. I had almost forgotten that this was our exit. The orb had crashed through the roof to land here. Above us, I could see the sky starting to light up with the rising of the sun. It was a new day.
“Let’s get back to Southern Island.” I said, “We have a lot of work to do…”