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Pocket Monsters: The Seijin Stones

Te-em

I want to rp!
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This is fanfic I wrote a long time ago. I think I also posted it here, but that thread must be dead and gone by now. Not wanting the story to get wasted, I decided to post it here again. The previous version had lots of bad grammar I've tried to fix, and I've also done other changes to improve the fanfic. This time, I hopefully won't be disappointed in the fic, and instead complete it.

This story I wanted to make different from the games and give a new theme of Pokemon, yet I have chosen to make references to the games. You will see there is a character called Satoshi, just like in the Pocket Monsters anime. This is not the same Satoshi, but you can think him more like a Link in another Zelda game, since this takes place in another era.


I. A New Friend. A New Adventure
II. The Mystery of Aoiro Town
III. An Unpleasant Surprise


In the great city of Gintokai, at the centre of Regendaia, the eight sages gathered in the Great Hall for their last council.

One of them was Fushigi, the Sage of the Grass element, with his emerald on his wooden staff. Another was Hi, the Sage of Fire, with his ruby ring, and there was also Kame, the Sage of Water, who carried his small turtle sculpture possessing a gleaming sapphire.

Rai, was the Sage of Lightning, in possess of the lightning pearl, and Kuro, was the Sage of Darkness, in possess of the diamond.

Amongst these were also Keishii, the Sage of the Espers, who carried the crystal, Ishiriki, the Sage of Earth, who bore the silver stone, and Haga, the Sage of Steel, who had the gold.

They were called the Seijin and their stones were the Seijin Stones, the source of all these eight elements. The sages had all gathered here, for Gintokai, and maybe even Regendaia, was in danger.

"An enemy is upon us," related Kame to the others. "And he has the Meteorite in his possession. Our powers are not enough."

"We cannot let the fate of our people fall into the hands of the enemy and never will we let go of the stones!" Hi exclaimed with fiery resolution.

"But we cannot defend Gintokai any longer," Keishii, the Sage of the Espers, said sadly.

"But that does not mean we will hand over the source of the elements!" said Hi, his anger of the situation rising.

"What are we to do then?" Fushigi asked camly, but Hi found no answer.

"There is only one way . . ." Rai began looking from one Seijin to another, whereupon they looked curiously his way. "We have to send away all the stones, far away where the enemy cannot find them, and far apart, in case he would come upon any of the stones."

"Even if this will work for some time, that time will surely come to an end," said Kuro. "Only if all the nine elements unite can we defeat our enemy."

"But the ninth element is gone," Fushigi reminded them. "During the War of the Elements, the ninth Seijin Stone was lost!"

"Still, let us scatter the stones across the world, and let there be a long time ere they are all united again!" said Kame, and they all took their respective precious item and raised it into the centre of the one circle they had made.

And as Regendaia was lost to the enemy, the stones were sent away to lands unknown . . .


I
A New Friend. A New Adventure


It was a late evening, with a starlit sky and a cool breeze, when Satoshi saw Mei calling for her Pocket Monster Kinogassa. The green kangaroo-like creature with the mushroom covering its head leapt through the high grass toward its friend, and thereafter they both walked into the village to rest. Satoshi did not feel much tired, so he stood on a hill, lookig at the fields and forests covering their land. He saw no wild Pocket Monsters, but they must surely be hiding in the shadows of trees and bushes. Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon for short, were creatures that lived everywhere over the world, and if you caught one it could be your friend. Some tamed Pokemon ran about in the village and Satoshi used to play with them. When had had been little, he had used to chase the Eevees around, the small fox-like Pokemon that came to the village for food. Now, Satoshi was fourteen years old and had grown a more calm personality.

"What do you see, Satoshi?" said a voice from behind. An old bearded man walked slowly up the hill; this was Ran, the boy's grandfather.

"Nothing special," explained Satoshi. "All the living creatures have gone hiding and the forest looks like it has always done."

"You'd ever tried to capture a Pocket Monster, Satoshi?"

That he had done, some time ago, but he had let it go off into the wild again. He had never had a Pokemon as his own. Since he did not travel far, he had no need for a Pokemon to protect him in the wilderness. To be a friend of the village's Pokemon was enough for Satoshi, but sometimes came that thought, of how fun it would be to go on adventrues to find different Pocket Monsters. The dreams of seeing how many different kinds there were, and where they lived. Yet, he stayed at home in Orchid Village, to help his friends and old Ran. They would all miss him if he went away, and where would he go anyway?

"Look," Ran said and pointed toward the sky. "Do you see that star up there?"

There was a glowing, lilac dot that was different from the other stars. Satoshi had never seen a such before.

"It's growing bigger, isn't it?" Ran said.

Yes, so it did . . . or no . . . it was coming toward them. The star fell into the forest and the glow slowly left their sight.

"What was it, Granfather Ran?" Satoshi asked curiously.

"I don't know, but it was no ordinary star, I'm sure. Why not go and look?"

Satoshi felt excited. He wanted to see waht it was and beckoned Ran to come with him.

"I do not know if I have enough strength to go." I'm tired . . . and growing old. But you can take Zigzaguma with you would any wild Pokemon appear." He called for his Pokemon, and a little, furry badger-like animal with brown zig-zag stripes ran happily toward them. It looked gladly up at Satoshi, whom it knew very well, and then followed him down the hill towards the forest without any hesitation.


The leaves rustled in the wind as Satoshi and Zigzaguma entered the forest. The little Pokemon smelled on rocks, bushes and trees, maybe scenting what other kinds of Pokemon had been there before. Satoshi looked round; it was dark in the forest, but soon he spotted a faint glow behind the trees.

"Come on, Zigzaguma."

As they drew near the shining object, the glow seemed a little stronger. The flap of a bird's wings was heard somewhere, and the leaves rustled in the trees again. The wind was getting stronger and the air a little colder, but soon the boy and the Pokemon came upon a crater surrounded by trees. The crater was not very large, but big compared to the glowing rock laying in its centre. Becoming very curious, Satoshi could not stop himself from going down inside the crater to see what the stone was, whereafter he picked it up and held it in both his hands. It was about the size of his head, and looked like many similar crystals fused together.

"Look!" said the boy happily and looked up at Zigzaguma where the Pokemon sat at the edge of the crater, which was, after all, a bit deep. Then, he climbed up to his little friend. "Wait till Grandfather Ran sees this one!"

They were on their way back when they encountered Pachirisu, "the bright squirrel", a white squirrel with a blue stripe all the way from its head and over its fluffy tail. There was a yellow dot on each of its cheeks where it could generate electricity. Seeing Satoshi and Zigzaguma, the Pachirisu hurried up a tree, where it lived with its friends. Satoshi saw no other wild Pokemon on his way home, but he knew that most of them were shy. That a Pokemon came to attack was very rare, and therefore this forest was very peaceful.


In a hurry home, Satoshi found Ran waiting there for him. Zigzaguma playfully jumped round inside the little, wooden house.

"Look what I've found!" the boy said exclaimed eagerly as he reached out his hands holding the purple stone, whose glow was weak now.

Ran, looking very surprised and curious, let his grandson hand it over to him and then he examined it through his glasses.

"What is it?" Satoshi said calmly, since his excitement was wearing off. He was none the less curious, though.

"I have no idea, but why not ask Elder Haku?"

The elder lived in a house on a little hill in the village. Satoshi took the crystal stone with him as he went out, while Ziguzaguma went to sleep in a couch.

It was blowing outside and Satoshi's black hair fluttered. He followed a path up the hill and knocked at the elder's door, whereupon another boy his age opened. Satoshi knew him well. This was Shigeru.

"Grandfather! Satoshi has come for a visit!" Shigeru was responded by a distant voice from inside the house, telling him to let the guest in.

As Satoshi entered the house, he came into a big hall, and there the other boy told him to sit and wait for Haku. There was a sofa and a round table in the hall, and as he sat down Shigeru left him there. On the table lay a magazine, but it was nothing that interested him. It was quite dark in the hall, only lit up by an orange light in the ceiling, but Satoshi could see that there were many booshelves crammed with books. Most of them were about Pocket Monsters, since the elder was a Pokemon professor. Haku was very old, though, older than Satoshi's own grandfather, and soon Shigeru had to take his place. The other boy had been a friend of Satoshi since they were babies; but friend is perhaps not the right word since they never got on very well with each other. Shigeru was more a rival than a friend.

Soon Haku appeared in the hall. The old man had a long, white beard and a woooden staff to support him.

"I was just trying to find out where . . . oh, never mind. I better go off to sleep soon, but first my little friend here wanted to ask me something. If it is about Pokemon, I'm sure I can be of some help to you."

"Not really about Pokemon," Satoshi began. "You see this stone here . . .?"

Elder Haku looked at it, trying to see if he recognised it. "What is it? My sight is not what it used to be and I'm tired, but if you leave it here I will proably have solved your problem to-morrow."

Satoshi put the stone down onto the table. "Thank you, Elder Haku."


On his way home he was starting to get sleepy, so when he got there he went to bed. He slept in a little room of his own, whilst his grandfather slept in the larger room of the house. They were alone, since Satoshi's mother had become ill and died when he was young, and his father had left the same year and never come back.

Zigzaguma had woken at the boy's approach, and now went to sleep by his feet, as he so often did.


The boy woke up late the next morning and the furry Pokemon woke with him; this was the usual morning for Satoshi. On the left side of the bed was a window, and through it he could see children playing with their Pocket Monsters. The sight made him a little more alert, so he went to have some breakfast. He found bread in a cupboard, out in the common room, and also some food for Zigzaguma. As they ate, Ran appeared through the front door, and it looked like he had been off shopping at the market.

Satoshi suddenly remembered the stone he had found yesterday, and took his bread with him as he headed outside, chewing on the way to the elder's house.

"Wait, Satoshi," said Ran, who tried to keep up with his grandson.

The boy waited for him at the small hill, so that they could visit Haku together.


"I know what the stone is now," Haku said in his laboratory, as Satoshi and Ran listened carefully and Shigeru listened interestingly. "I have done some research," the wise man continued. "This is a Seijin Stone."

"I don't understand," said Satoshi.

"You have not read about them, have you? I do not think Shigeru knows about them either. The Seijin Stones are guarded by the Seijin, nine great sages. Each stone possesses its own element; Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Darkness, Esper, Earth and Steel."

"But they are eight elements, Grandfather," Shigeru stated.

"Yes . . . the ninth element was lost during the War of the Elements, thousands of years ago," Haku explained.

"So this is a Seijin Stone," his grandson said amazed to himself.

"What is it doing here?" Satoshi wondered. "Where's the Seijin?"

"They live very far from here, Satoshi," explained Haku. "In the land of Regendaia they live. What the stone is doing here . . . I don't know. Where did you find it?"

"It fell from the sky," Ran told him.

"They must have lost it, because the Seijin would never give up their stones."

"Can we hand it back to them?" Satoshi asked. "They may be looking for it."

"You mean take it to Regendaia? Yes, but it is very, very far."

"We'll do it, right, Satoshi?" Shigeru said, thinking he could manage anything.

The other boy was unsure, but did not want to be taken for a coward in front of his rival. "Yes, we can do it," he said hesitantly.

"You're sure you will be all right, Satoshi?" his grandfather asked.

"Of course . . . I'm not a little boy any more. You can trust me."

"That's the sound of it, Satoshi!" Shigeru said, glad that the other boy had agreed to go with him.

"You know there are many dangers out there . . ." Haku began, " . . . but together I think you can make it, as long as you each bring another friend with you." Slowly, he went over to a shelf and searched for something, whereafter he returned with a white and red ball, which fitted nicely in his wrinkled hand. "This is a Monster Ball, and if you did not know, you may store a Pokemon in it. I'm not sure what magic or technology makes it function, for these balls were made a long time ago. This particular ball, however, holds a Pokemon. Here, Satoshi." He held it out for him.

Shigeru took it eagerly from his grandfather's hand.

"No, not you, Shigeru."

"But I wanted one, Grandfather Haku. You know I've always wanted an own Pocket Monster."

"Yes, yes . . . But I was going to give you one any way." He looked at Satoshi again. "I will have to give you this one then." Putting his hand in the pocket of his long robe, he soon held out another ball, identical to the one Shigeru had snatched.

Satoshi took it and looked curiously at the orb in his hand. It was very smooth, made of a very light metal.

"Open it," Haku said.

The boy felt a little stupid as he felt Shigeru's impatient eyes on him. Why, shouldn't he be more curious about his own Monster Ball!

There was a button on the ball, but as he turned the orb round in his hands, its shiny surface made it slip from his grip and fall to the floor. Satoshi's heart jumped in fear that he might have broken the ball and hurt the Pokemon, but right then he got startled by a bright flash and he cursed himself for not being more careful. When the light died down and his eyes adjusted, he could see that the Monster Ball had opened and released a Pokemon . . .

"Oh, a Pachirisu!"

This was perhaps not the strongest of Pokemon, but that was not what mattered. What mattered was that he had a new friend.

Shigeru, not at all amazed by the white and blue squirrel, paid attention to his own Pokemon, and let his ball fall from his hand to open and release it. Out came a little brown monkey with a tiny tail of flames. "What's this s'posed to mean?" he said, looking at the weak-looking creature.

"Do not underestimate your Pokemon, Shigeru," Haku adviced him. " . . . Or any other Pokemon for that matter. The Pokemon, Hikozaru, can be a strong one if trained properly."

"Stronger than Satoshi's?" The squirrel did not look any stronger than his own monkey Pokemon, and as long as his rival had no stronger Pokemon than himself, he was satisfied.

Satoshi thanked Elder Haku and petted Pachirisu, who seemed happy. It climbed up and sat on the boy's shoulder, playing with his red and whtie cap that had belonged to his grandfather when he was a young adventurer.

"Pokemon are creatures who bear many secrets," explained Haku. "You will discover these secrets on your travels. Humans have been living alongside Pokemon for thousands of years, but have still not found all the secrets there is about Pocket Monsters."

Picking up Pachirisu's Monster Ball from the floor and putting it in his pocket, Satoshi just realised where the name Pocket Monster came from.

"Then, let's get ready," Shigeru said eagerly and ran to his room.

Thereafter, Satoshi followed Ran home to pack everything needed for the journey.


An hour or two later, the two boys had said good-bye to their friends and families, and met at the edge of Orchid Village.

"So, you have not backed out, Satoshi," Shigeru said.

"Of course not." The other boy tried to sound a little tougher than he really was.

"Then, let's go, but you have to keep up with me." He walked quickly toward the forest and Satoshi followed. "By the way, did you bring the stone?"

"Yes, I have it in my backpack. Did you bring your Pokemon?"

Shigeru did not have to reply, since Hikozaru's head popped out of his backpack. Pachirisu looked happily at the monkey from Satoshi's shoulder, but the other Pokemon disappeared again.

They reached Hanana Forest which surrounded the village from every way, and there they continued to walk in amongst the trees. Sounds of birds and other wild creatures could be heard distantly, as the two companions followed a narrow path that led them past the crater. Satoshi told Shigeru that the stone had fallen down there. His rival looked around.

"Look there, Satoshi."

The friendlier boy turned round and saw something moving in the vegetation. "What is it?"

"A wild Pokemon of course," his rival said in a way that made the other boy feel stupid.

Of course he knew that it was a wild Pokemon, but that was all Satoshi knew. Carefully, he stepped forward to have a better look, and managed to spot a pale-brown, furry Pokemon with a long body and a long, furry tail.

"Why not get it?" Shigeru suggested, and before his companion and rival could respond, he added; "We were given these by my grandpa." He handed the other boy five Monster Balls.

Satoshi turned toward the Pokemon with the brown rings round its furry body. It was time to get some Pokemon!

Even though its legs were short, the wild Pocket Monster quickly moved away to escape.

"Hey!" The excited boy followed the Pokemon, which swiftly went under a tree root and was about to vanish out of sight. He threw one of the Monster Balls, and it hit the Pokemon, which was absorbed inside. "Yes, I got it!" Such an amazing sight!

But suddenly, the ball opened and the Pokemon went free. Satoshi did nothing as it fled into the forest.

"Pachichi . . ." said his own Pokemon, unhappy of her friend's failure.

"Ha-ha-ha!" The rival laughed and Satoshi felt embarrassed. "You get no Pokemon that way. You have to let your own Pokemon weaken it and prove you're worthy as a Trainer. Then, you might get the wild monster. Let me show you how it's done." He looked round to see if there were any wild Pokemon about.

Satoshi was aware of that his rival knew more about Pokemon than himself; after all, Shigeru's grandfather was a professor in Pokemon. But he often tried to do his best by himself, without his rival's advice. Still, he watched as Shigeru found a weak, green caterpillar, let Hikozaru attack it and then he threw the ball. Shigeru had gotten his first Pokemon.

Whatever the two boys were doing, Shigeru would always be a step before Satoshi.

Trying to forgive himself for being so naive, Satoshi continued with his companion through the woods. Soon, the air got colder and the sky turned darker.

"I'm tired, Shigeru."

"Let's just go on a little more, then we'll rest."

After a while, they were going to stop, and Satoshi realised he felt hungry too, and could not stop thinking about the sandwiches he had brought with him. Unfortunately, his rival spotted a wild Pokemon he wanted; it was a white bug, flapping eye-patterned wings as it travelled away between the trees.

"Get it, Hikozaru!" Both boy and monkey went off the way the bug had gone.

Satoshi was not prepared for that. "Wait, Shigeru!" Despite running as fast as he could after his rival, he lost sight of him eventually, but he could still hear his loud voice throughout the forest.

"Fire sparks, Hikozaru! Fire sparks! Get it!"

He followed the sounds, but they faded away more and more. "Shigeru, where are you?!"

"Hikozaru!" was heard distantly, and then no more.

Satoshi had to slow down and breathe, knowing he would not catch up with his rival anyway.

"Pachii," said his Pokemon as he sat down to rest, reminding him that at least he was not alone. Pachirisu sat in his lap as he leant against a large tree. The forest was full of sounds, but it was too dark to see any wild Pokemon now.


He woke up suddenly, realising that he had fallen asleep. Still a little drowsy, he could see that the forest was brighter. The sunrays lit up the leaves and made them shine with a green light. Sounds of wild creatures were heard clearly and wild Pokemon showed themselves. A Subamé, a tiny, blue swallow, sat chirping on a branch above Satoshi before it joined its friends in a flight among the great trees. A Zigzaguma, the badger- or racoon-like Pokemon, watched the boy from a safe distance, whilst some flying butterflies flew past into the sunlight.

"Furiiiiii!" they cried out happily, their cute voices full of kindness.

Satoshi watched the Butterfrees play with each other and flapping their transparent, black-patterned wings, big compared to their small, purple, round bodies. Suddenly, he realised he was hungry, so he took his sandwiches he had longed for. He also had a little box full of tasty berries, some of which he gave to Pachirisu.

Then they started to walk again, the little squirrel running some paces before Satoshi as they passed the sunlit area where the Butterfrees had just been. Even though he had been left in the deep forest by Shigeru, Satoshi did not feel afraid or alone. The Pokemon here had kindly and curious looks upon him, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Since his rival had the map of Hanana and maybe of what lay beyond the trees, he did not know in which way to go, but he followed Pachirisu as she ran playing with the wild Pokemon. The forest creatures were shy and hid as the boy approached, but peeked curiously when he petted his happy friend. When he let the wild ones eat of his berries, they seemed to like him, yet they were cautious.

Wandering with Pachirisu through the woods, he wondered if he should have tried to find his way back to the village, but decided not to. Having gotten this far, he would only be more lost by heading back. Instead, he went on with his friend until evening once again closed in on them, and as his feet began to hurt, he spotted a light further ahead. The forest was very dark now and the light very bright, but quite small. Pachirisu looked interestingly from his shoulder as he carefully approached.

The light was a fire made by a man, resting against a tree, the brim of his hat hiding his face. Looking at him from a distance, Satoshi wondered if he should approach any further and talk to the stranger, but suddenly Pachirisu was gone.

It appeared that the little Pokemon had quietly sneaked to the man's backpack, scenting a good smell. The boy tried to call her back as quietly as possible, in fear of waking the person by the tree.

Still, the man began to move in his sleep, and Pachirisu, fast as lightning, hid behind the young boy.

"Who's there?" the man said, pulling the hat up from his face and looking around. When he noticed Satoshi, he looked even more surprised. "Not often I see anyone else out here. Only wild Pokemon." Another squirrel, brown and unlike Pachirisu, jumped down onto his hat and thus brought it down over his face again, whereafter the wild Pokemon went off, back among the bushes.

As the man pulled up his hat again, Satoshi wondered what he would say to him. "I am Satoshi," he said at last. "I come from a little village two days from here."

"I'm Junichi. I come from afar. Are you travelling alone?"

"No . . . or yes. Have you seen another boy my age pass here?"

"I'm afraid I haven't. Lost your friend?"

"Yeah . . . we lost each other. I have to find him . . . Shigeru . . . Well, I'm quite lost." He let out a sigh, but the soft, warm fur of his little friend against his cheek comforted him, for Pachirisu had again seated herself on his shoulder.

The boy sat down and talked with Junichi, eager to hear about his travels, but the man did not reveal much of his own history. He had a Pokemon with him on his journeys, but he kept it in the Monster Ball and said that it was very large and that it was unnecessary to summon it here.

"Lizardon fits better inside his orb," said Junichi, holding the ball in his hands. "But maybe I will show him to you one day."

"I'm on a quest," said Satoshi a little proudly. "This is the first time I leave home with a Pokemon."

"Really?"

The boy wished Junichi would talk a little more about himself, or perhaps give him a little traveller advice. You did not often meet people who were not from Orchid Village in this area. Considering the look on Junichi's badly shaved face and his worn clothes, he had probably travelled a lot and not been home for a while. There was so much Satoshi wished to ask him, things like if he ever missed his home and old friends on his journies, and if he travelled to look for Pokemon or for some other reason.

"There used to be a time," Junichi began, "when boys and girls a little younger than you each took a Pokemon with them to go on travels and see the world. I know that some towns and villages still keep this as a tradition. They want to see their children grow up that way, to be able to take care of themselves and their Pokemon friends."

"That sounds very fun. Is that how you got started?"

"Well . . . you could say I did." He looked down at the Monster Ball he slowly rolled from hand to hand. "I've been to many of these villages. I remember a town where they tried to find a way to reconstruct the Monster Ball. You know, there is no one who can remember how to produce them any more. Fortunately, these orbs were made in such great number, that even to-day, plenty of them still exist."

"Yes, Elder Haku has a whole room filled with Monster Balls."

"But they are going to run out sooner or later. That is why in some places, they teach young Pokemon Trainers how to befriend Pokemon without the Monster Ball. The Monster Ball has, after all, not always existed to help a Trainer."

"How do you get a Pokemon without them?" Satoshi asked curiously.

"There are two important matters to take into account when you wish a Pokemon to join you. Depending on what sort of Pokemon you encounter, one of these matters will prove a little more important than the other.

"One," Junichi went on, "is to prove your strength to the Pokemon. This is often done by initiating a battle between the wild Pokemon and one of your own. You see, wild monsters are clever, and do not wish to join a Trainer who is weak. But if you ever fail to impress a wild monster, do not despair; it will surely be there again when you are stronger and ready for it.

"The other important thing is, that you are empathetic toward your Pokemon, and see them as your friends, and not your tools. For some species, this can prove much more effective than proving your power to them. If you can master both these skills, to fight and to befriend a Pokemon, then you don't need Monster Balls any more. The Monster Balls have made it far too easy for humans to get Pokemon, thus it has led to that people not yet worthy of certain Pokemon get power over them, and thus in some way abuse them. When a Pokemon disobeyed the Trainer, people blamed the Monster Ball and not the Trainer for his incompetence, and started to produce even stronger Monster Balls to solve the problem. I do not say that Monster Balls are totally useless, however, for they are very effective in means of transportation. It would, for instance, be rather risky to send out my Lizardon in this forest."

Satoshi nodded, amazed at all this information. Not even Shigeru culd have thought of this. That you needed to be a good friend to the Pokemon, was already clear to Satoshi. His rival, however, seemed more like the battle-type Trainer. But Satoshi needed to learn how to battle too, for both parts were important. There was so much he and Shigeru could learn from each other, if they hadn't been in such competition with one another.

"It is already very late," Junichi mentioned. "You can have some of the supper that is left over if you like."

Satoshi's own food had ran out, so he gladly accepted the offer. Pachirisu munched on a pile of berries that Junichi had collected. Then, the boy went to sleep beside his friend during the cool night, whilst the nice, but mysterious, Junichi lay some paces away, with his backpack as a pillow.

And there the boy dreamed of his future adventures, but as with many adventurers in the world of Pokemon, his journey would never be what he expected of it. The journey of this particular youth, however, would later come to be a decisive part in the future of many people and many Pokemon. But for now, the boy slept peacefully, close to his best friend, unaware of any peril that would ever threaten him and the ones he loved.


To be continued . . .
 
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Awesome start! I must have missed it when you posted it last time.

Anyways, I love the mysterious aura surrounding the elemental sages and how you described the jewels they possess. I really enjoy that aspect of combining elemental sages with the elements of Pokemon. I also think you are very skilled in the area of description and flow.

Satoshi's name is a little distracting in that he is not supposed to be "that" Satoshi, but I have a heard time envisioning anyone else when I read the name. Not your fault though.

Overall, really good. Keep up the excellent work!
 
Awesome start! I must have missed it when you posted it last time.

Anyways, I love the mysterious aura surrounding the elemental sages and how you described the jewels they possess. I really enjoy that aspect of combining elemental sages with the elements of Pokemon. I also think you are very skilled in the area of description and flow.

Satoshi's name is a little distracting in that he is not supposed to be "that" Satoshi, but I have a heard time envisioning anyone else when I read the name. Not your fault though.

Overall, really good. Keep up the excellent work!

Thanks! I hadn't expected anyone to like it this much. I'll be sure to continue on the other chapters. About Satoshi, it's like I said at the top of the first post; he is like a Link in Legend of Zelda. So, he looks more or less like Satoshi, but he is a Satoshi of another time. I'll try to remember to make some reference to the original Satoshi to provide an explanation for the similarities between these two characters, but that won't come until much later.

I actually had thoughts about not using names from the games and anime, but since the story otherwise is quite different, I decided to keep them.
 
II
The Mystery of Aoiro Town


Upon the next day, Junichi led Satoshi through the forest toward the Hiroinohara, a vast field that lay yonder. On the way they saw many wild Pocket Monsters, and Junichi seemed to know all about them. A strange, uncommon Pokemon sat sleeping by a tree, and the boy and the squirrel watched curiously this odd being with pointy ears and nose. Its face may look like that of a fox, but the rest of its body was almost humanoid, although smaller than Satoshi himself.

"It's an Esper," said Junichi.

"Esper . . .?"

"Esper is a type of Pokemon, which usually possesses some sort of psychic powers," Junichi explained to the boy. "There are seventeen known Types, although it is possible there are more. Your Pachirisu, for instance, is an Electric Type Pokemon."

"Oh, so it is?"

It was true that Pokemon possessed different elemental abilities, which they had developed to survive in their respective habitat. Satoshi learned so much from his new companion, but still he understood that Shigeru would always know something he didn't, no matter how much he was taught.

As they went on, they came at last to the Hiroinohara plains where no edges were visible but the woods behind them. The trees that grew on the field, at the end of the forest, were cherry trees in blossom, but they did not get Satoshi's attention; he hurried on through the tall grass and looked round from atop the hill that was the border between the forest and the field. There was no end to the wide landscape before him! Never had he beheld anything so vast as the Hiroinohara field.

Junichi let the boy run, watching as Pachirisu tried to keep up with her human friend. In the cherry trees the Cherrym came to life, the flower Pokemon absorbing the bright sunlight.

Birds scattered where Satoshi and Pachirisu ran, and the boy realised how happy he was with his friend, and that it was more joyful than he had expected to have a Pokemon of his own. Pachirisu seemed to like it too, to be his friend. As they ran on, Junichi following them some steps behind, they came upon a travelling party in the distance. The small group waved at the boy and the man, so Satoshi ran over to them.

"Got some Pokemon, have you?" asked a young man in the group, where amongst were four other young men, but no visible Pocket Monsters.

Pachirisu climbed up to Satoshi's shoulder as the boy said; "Not yet, heh, heh." It was a happy laugh, but he still sounded a little embarrassed. "But I've just become a Pokemon Trainer," he explained as an excuse.

"We're also Trainers," the young man said and looked up a little as he saw Satoshi's companion approach them.

Aware of his curious look, Satoshi said; "This is Junichi. I'm Satoshi and this," looking at his little friend, "is Pachirisu."

"I'm Matsu. Thhis is Max, Rinda, Koji and Sami."

Not until now did Satoshi notice that one of the five youths was a girl, but she was very much alike the one Matsu referred to as Max; maybe they were related.

"So . . . are you off finding some new wild monsters?" asked Matsu.

"I'm on a quest. But there is nothing bad in trying to get new Pokemon on your way, eh?"

The others agreed with Satoshi.

"No bad in finding some new friends either," he went on, referring to human friends.

"Pachirisu!" the electric squirrel agreed happily.

"Did you come out from the forest?" asked Max, the boy with brown, short hair. "Live anywhere near here?"

"There is a village in the forest," Satoshi explained.

"Oh, so that's so?" Matsu said curiously. "How come I've never heard of that village?"

"Not usually any of us come out here and if we do, we come to trade."

"Yeah, Aoiro Town has a fine market. Come with us and we'll show you."

They travelled together across Hiroinohara - which Matsu just called the Hara - on their way toward Aoiro. Satoshi was happy he had already come upon some new friends, but noticed that Junichi was keeping mostly to himself, walking behind the others. Matsu walked first, talking about his hometown and what they could do when they got there. On his head he wore a hat with a very wide brim, protecting his face from the strong sunlight. Koji was probably the oldest in the group, or at least he was very tall, but he did not speak much. Sami, the boy with black hair and a round face, could talk your ears off, however.

Listening to them, Satoshi got a picture of how Aoiro must look like, and thought that there must be very cheerful people living there. Obviously, the town was larger than Orchid Village, and must be much more lively.

The great field seemed just as vast when they reached the beautiful town ahead. Aorio was surrounded by a wooden wall, perhaps to have protected the town during some darker time, but the high roof tops could still be seen in clear blue.

It looked very peaceful and welcoming from afar, but Satoshi still got a feeling of that something was wrong. His Pokemon did not notice anything out of the ordinary, just being happy as usual, so he guessed he must be unnecessarily anxious. To keep his mind on the happy things, he joined the talk of his new companions. Junichi was still silent; instead he listened interested to the prattle of the young Trainers.

"I got a Pikachuu the other day," Rinda told them.

"But it got beaten by my Sando," Max said, whereafter Rinda began to counter in a friendly way.

"Yeah, keep on boasting you two," said Sami. "You cannot defeat me in a Pokemon battle anyway." He laughed to tease them, hoping for a reaction.

"Do you often compete with Pokemon?" Satoshi asked them.

"Yes, it's very fun," Matsu told him. "It's also good to keep our Pokemon fit, even if they are not in the wild. Did you know, that if you train a Pokemon properly, it will get stronger than the wild ones."

"I see."

He should try a battle some time, he thought. When they closed in on the town, however, he got that uncomfortable feeling again.

"Pachi?" Pachirisu sounded anxious too, but if it was that she was aware of her Trainer's feelings or something else, Satoshi could not tell.

"So quiet here is," said Sami, the youngest in the group, expecting the town to be full of life.

As they walked through the open gates, no people could be heard or seen.

"They've probably just gathered at the square, having a good time." Matsu walked on between the wooden houses.

As they all went together along the street of small cobble-stones toward the centre of the town, they spotted no living being at all. Satoshi looked up into the sky and it was getting cloudy, then he hurried after the others, his footsteps echoing strangely around.

At the square was a large house with a red, pointy and tall roof, the curved text "Pockemon Centre" painted cheerfully above the double doors, but there was no life, only silence. Satoshi wanted to ask what was that house, but he knew there were much more serious matters going on, so he did not bother the others with the question.

"Search for the people, Spear!" Matsu released a giant bee from its Monster Ball. The loudest sound around was the buzzing of the one metre sized insect as it searched amongst the houses.

Rinda sat down on her heels on the smooth cobble and looked very uncomfortable.

"Are you all right?" asked Max, who crouched down beside her.

"I'm feeling sorta . . . sick."

"Uh?" Max sounded worried.

"It's like I'm gonnae throw up any time. It's this place. Something about this place."

"But we're home. This is Aoiro."

"This is not my home," the skinny girl denied. "My home is full of cheerful people laughing and playing."

"Yeah, let's get out of here," agreed Matsu.

A sparrow Pokemon landed within the square, looking for something to eat. Satoshi watched it, wondering to himself; "What if Shigeru's been through here . . .?"

"Who's Shigeru?" Apparently, Matsu had overheard.

"A rival of mine. I lost sight of him in the forest. He has spiky hair and he always looks confident, would you see him anywhere."

"He had a Hikozaru?"

"Yeah." Satoshi looked up in surprise.

"He defeated me in a Pokemon battle while on our way from town. He then headed this way . . ."

Satoshi was eager now. "We have to find him. Maybe he saw what happened here. Maybe he can help us."

Everyone turned their looks toward him, having been listening to what he'd said. Maybe there was some hope in solving this mystery.

Suddenly, Max let out a cry, and he got everyone's attention. Satoshi and Matsu ran over to where he sat next to Rinda, who appeared to be unconscious.

"What happened to her?" asked the boy with the wide hat, but Max did not know what to say.

"Why don't we just leave this forsaken town?" suggested Sami, afraid of what might happen if they lingered for too long.

The group agreed with him. Matsu recalled Spear and they left for the Hara field, Koji helping Max to carry their unconscious friend.

"Pachichi?"

"What is it, Pachirisu?" Satoshi asked. "Don't worry. We'll soon on Hara again."

"Chi."


They had found a place to rest beneath some trees. A strong wind had showed up and the air was a little chilly. Pachirisu slept safely in Satoshi's jacket, and there was a little fire burning while Koji prepared some food. Rinda was still not awake and her worried brother let her lie in his lap. No one knew what to do, and they were all tired, so they stayed where they were till evening came and then they fell asleep.

Satoshi woke and found it hard to rest. Picking up the crystal stone from his backpack, he examined it some more. Pachirisu lay in the grass, still sleeping. It was quiet all around and the new Trainer was the only person awake, looking at Junichi who was sleeping also. Soon, Satoshi began to feel more tired and at last he too, was able to rest.


Sa-to-shi . . .


He woke up the following day, when everyone save Junichi was still sleeping. The man had made some breakfast and as Satoshi got up they ate together.

"Strange about the town, eh?" the boy asked to break the silence.

"Very strange, it is," agreed Junichi, looking at his soup. "How could people of a whole town just vanish like that . . .?"

"Yeah . . ."

"They must have left in a hurry. I saw their belongings scattered on the ground, as if they had suddenly run away for their lives."

Satoshi had not been that observant, but now when his friend mentioned it, he could remember the overturned chairs outside the tea-shops and a couple of bags lying on the street. The whole thing was very scary.

"Hopefully Shigeru is okey," the young Trainer said. "We have to find him. If he has seen something, he can help Matsu and the others in finding the lost people. If I know Shigeru right, he usually gets himself out of trouble."

As if having heard his name mentioned in the conversation, Matsu began to wake. Stretching his arms, he then crawled over to Junichi and Satoshi to have some breakfast.

"You're early," he said as he looked for his breakfast bowl.

"We should head to Hari," Junichi suggested. "It's another town on Hara."

"Hari . . ." Matsu mumbled drowsily, filling his bowl with soup. "But it's far from here."

"It is the closest town from here."

The others soon woke up, ate and then prepared to travel on. Max was happy to see that Rinda was finally awake, but she was still feeling very sick.

"Are you two all right?" asked Satoshi before they all started to walk.

"I hope she'll get better soon," Max said, helping his sister to get up from the grass. "At least we can talk to each other."


They crossed the Hiroinohara toward the north, and as the air got misty they rested not far from a lake.

"The mist comes from the Kiri Mountains," Junichi explained to Satoshi. "Many strong Pokemon dwell there, so it's not a place for weak Trainers. A good place for becoming strong, though.

"Have you trained there?" the boy asked.

"Yes."

"I had a strange dream last night," Satoshi mentioned suddenly.

"Will you tell me about it?"

"I got some fish from the lake." Matsu appeared from the mist, holding a large red fish in his hands. "It should be enough for all of us. I've got some bread, too."

Pachirisu was also hungry, so Satoshi gave her the last berries. If the mist cleared, they could go out and find some new berries, since the trees must be full of them.

When the meal was ready, they ate and then they rested for a while. Satoshi happened to fall asleep, for he was not used to travelling as the others were. His Pokemon slept beside him.


Sa-to-shi . .


Huh? Who's saying my name? Hello . . .



"She's gone!"

Waking from his dream by the sound, Satoshi spun round, afraid they had been attacked, but soon he realised that it was only Max who was shouting. Everyone stood up, staring at the brown-haired boy. Rinda was no where to be seen.

"Where is she?" Max said in a panicked voice, running about, looking, then calling her name.

"You will not find her in the mist," Junishi warned. "We have to stay together."

At last, Max sat down with his face behind his knees, and did not look up until he could feel something gently licking his hand. Looking up, he found a little red-brown fox with six tails standing next to him.

"Who may you be?" he asked as he stroked its soft fur. The Pokemon seemed to like him.

"You've found a friend, Max?" Matsu said, glad to see him a little happier.

"Yes, I think so."

"That's good. Don't worry; we'll find Rinda soon. Maybe she just wandered off to pee somewhere."

"Get away!" It was Sami's voice, and the young boy waved his arms frantically, as a black bird had come to steal his food. "Be off, bad luck!"

Satoshi looked after the bird as it finally took wing; he had never seen that Pokemon before. It looked like a crow, with a feather-crest shaped like a witch's hat and tail feathers like the end of a broom. Anyway, it was gone now, and would probably not disturb them again.

Max was petting the Rokon, the fox Pokemon, while giving it some Pokemon food. Everyone was trying to calm down. The shock since Aoiro was still making everyone restless.

To clear his head a bit, Satoshi walked away from the others to look around, perhaps in hope of seeing Rinda. There was grass, mist, the lake and some trees and bushes, but no girl and no wild Pokemon either. He went a little further, the electric squirrel following him in the grass.

Suddenly, he came to realise he could not longer see the others, and they could probably not see him either, so he decided to head back before getting lost. However, there was something by the lake in the mist that caught his eye.

"What do you think it is, Pachirisu?"

"Chiri."

"Me neither. Should we take a look?" Hoping the others would not get worried when they realised he was gone, he approached the large shape in the fog.

It was a house, but a very strange one, built on a little cliff close to the water. Its dark roof stretched high like a pointed hat. There was suddenly something in the corner of his eye, and he turned round, but all he could see were some rings on the lake. It must have been a fish, he thought.

"Come on, Pachirisu," he said and they went on.

As they came to the house on the cliff, Satoshi approached the door, which was made of old, damp wood. "Maybe Rinda went in here," he guessed, and started knocking, waiting for a reply. None came, and he looked at his little friend who looked puzzled up at him. When he grabbed the doorknob, he found that the door was unlocked. The creaky sound it made was very clear in this quiet place, yet no one seeemed to hear him.

"I hope we do not bother any one," he said as he walked in.

There was inside the house a big room, only lit up by the sunlight through an arched window. There were many strange items here; very few of them did Satoshi understand. The room reminded him of the little laboratory Elder Haku had in his home, with bottles filled with alien liquids and strange tubes and other paraphernalia. It was only that this looked even more strange and bizarre.

"Hello." Although his voice seemed to echo faintly within the house, no one revealed any sign of hearing him. At last he decided to leave, not wanting to be in a stranger's house when the person himself was not there, but then Pachirisu got his attention.

"Pachichi?"

Turning his head toward where the squirrel pointed, he saw the black crow sitting in the window, staring at them. Its gaze was uncomfortable.

"I think we better get out of here, Pachirisu. We should not walk into someone else's house like this. I do not like this place anyway."

"Chi."

As the boy turned toward the door to open it, he realised he could not budge it.

"It's got stuck," he complained as he tried to push it again, then pull it, but it did not move. The croaking of the black bird annoyed him. "Let's find another way out, Pachirisu."

There were stairs leading up and stairs leading down. In hope of finding an exit in the basement, they started to walk down the staircase to the right. It was very dark down there, but a faint glow came from his Pokemon. Finding another door, Satoshi got it open as he pushed it inward, whereafter they stumbled upon a room lit up by a small lamp in the ceiling. It was possible to see that the room was filled with cages containing various Pocket Monsters.

"Poor Pokemon! Who's keeping them here?"

A growling sound welcomed him, but he had no idea wherefrom it came.

"Be careful, Pachirisu . . ."

"Chii!"

Suddenly his friend was attacked by a black hyena that appeared from the shadows, clutching her in its mouth and shaking her violently, trying to make the little squirrel unconscious. It immediately let go of its victim, however, when it was struck by an electric shock from the frightened Pokemon. Pachirisu was thrown into a wall and almost fainted.

"Pachirisu!" Satoshi said, afraid for the health of his friend.

His Pokemon got up and charged electric energy to release another shock before the enemy was too close to attack. The hyena howled in pain when the lightning sparks came, but rushed at Pachirisu all the same and struck her with its paw. The squirrel landed on the floor, and did not move.

Satoshi did not know what to do. He was angry and afraid, believing that his friend had been killed. The large, black hyena suddenly came for him, and he ran for the door, finding no way to get to Pachirisu. The hostile Pokemon attacked him from behind, stopping him from getting out, and thus he fell to the floor. His head collided with something, filling it with pain, but only for a short moment before he fainted. The last thing he heard before he passed out was a terrible, old laugh, like the croaking of a crow.


To be continued . . .
 
III
An Unpleasant Surprise


He woke with a pain in his head, realising that his backpack was gone as well as the mysterious stone he always kept in it. Then, he started to ask himself where he was himself, for this was not the place where he and his friends had camped. Round him it was dark and damp. Where was he? Suddenly, Satoshi began to remember . . . the strange house, the black crow, the attack of the hyena . . . his friend dying!

"Pachirisuu!"

"No need to cry out like that, Pikachuu."

Who was that? The headache made his vision blurry, so he could not make out who was there, who called him Pikachuu. Neither could he understand why someone called him by that name.

"Pikachuu is a Pokemon . . ." he mumbled as the remembered the name. "A yellow mouse with a tail shaped as a lightning. It has red dots on its cheeks where it generates electricity. Ran told me that . . ." Explaining what he could remember of the electric mouse Pokemon, he realised how similar it was to Pachiriu, the electric squirrel. The thoughts of his friend brought tears to his eyes.

"Where am I?" he said at last.

"You're in a cage, can't you see that?" said the voice.

Yes, he was actually sitting in a cage, and outside there were other cages, with Pokemon in them. Where had the voice come from?

"Where are you? I can't see you?"

"I'm right here, Pika. The cage right to the one in front of yours."

Looking that way, Satoshi saw an old, little rat sitting behind the bars. Its tail was curled at the end, covered with purple fur as was most of this Pokemon's body.

"A Koratta . . ." Satoshi said, familiar with the common Pokemon that lived almost everywhere.

"Yes, that's right, that's me."

"But then you're a Pokemon. Why can you talk?"

"I do not think he has realised his situation," said another, more female, voice, coming from a Pokemon almost identical to the one he had failed to catch when in the forest with Shigeru; it had a long, striped body.

Satoshi was confused. What was happening around him? Was he dreaming? O, he felt so strange!

"You are a Pokemon, haven't you seen that yet?" asked the Koratta calmly.

"I am not a Pokemon!" a loud and furious voice came from a cage containing a Pokemon similar to Shigeru's Hikozaru. This one was larger and had a purple forehead, whilst the rest of its body was pink, not brown like the other fire monkey. "I'm not a Pokemon!" it went on, the fire on its tail blazing.

"Oh, he's worse than an Okorizaru . . ." someone sighed.

Satoshi ignored the mad monkey and looked toward the Koratta. "What do you mean?"

"You are a Pikachuu. Take a look at yourself."

Not only did the confusion all around him make his mind feel strange; his body felt strange also. Looking at himself, he noticed his altered appearance. He felt fur on his chest, his face felt different and he discovered two pointy, black-tipped ears that gave him a much better sense of hearing.

"What's happened to me?!"

"The old witch transformed you into a Pokemon, that's what happened," explained the Koratta. "She's made us all into Pokemon!"

"Don't listen to them!" the monkey yelled. "They are only evil Pocket Monsters trying to brainwash you!"

"Some do not take this situation very lightly . . ." the Koratta went on concerning the fire monkey.

"I am Zidane! I'm a tough guy in black leather clothes! I have a driving-machine from the other continent!"

"Why don't you ever shut up?" the female Pokemon complained. "Don't look that sad." She looked toward Satoshi. "We'll find a way out of this mess."

"It's not just that . . ." he began. "My friend . . . I lost my friend here."

"Was it a Pachirisu?"

He looked up.

"It's sleeping in the cage below yours. The poor Pokemon is hurt, but still alive."

Satoshi tried to look down, excited, happy and relieved, but he could not see his friend from this position. "Pachirisu?" he said, hoping she would hear him.

"She's sleeping," the Koratta said. "She looks very cute from here. I think she'll be okey. Don't worry. She's a real Pokemon, isn't she, or is she another transformed human?"

"She's a real Pokemon." Satoshi wished he could see her himself, but there was no way he could get out. "What's your name, Koratta?"

"Ren."

"I'm Chou," said the Pokemon with the long, furry body.

"I'm Masato," said a blue, fat, little Pokemon with pointy ears. "It's very hungry to be a Gonbe. This Pokemon's always hungry. You got some cookies with you . . . eh . . .?"

"Satoshi. My name's Satoshi."

"So, Satoshi . . . know any way out of here?" asked a pidgeon Pokemon. "Or am I to remain a Poppo? . . . Yeah, I thought so . . . I will rot in here."

"Wii!" uttered a little, blue ball with two short legs. It sounded happy, and waved the great leaves on its head back and forth.

"Who's that?" Satoshi wondered, looking at the plant Pokemon.

"Don't know," Ren replied. "The only thing she says is 'wii'."

"At least not everyone here has a bad day," Masato, the Gonbe, remarked.

"There must be a way out of here," said Satoshi, clutching the bars of his cage.

"The key is the way out," Chou said, pointing toward a dark corner of the room.

Over there lay a black form on the floor. Satoshi could make it out as being the hyena that had attacked him and his friend before. A key hang round the neck of the sleeping Pokemon.

"I cannot reach it from here," he said in disappointment.

"None of us can," explained Ren. "We may be trapped here as Pokemon for ever."

"I'm not a Pokemon!" shouted Zidane, acting like a mad monkey in a cage, but everyone ignored him.

"What is the witch going to do to us?" said another, very young, Koratta anxiously.

"Don't worry, Mia," said Chou in the next cage calmly. "We will find a way out."

"If there only was a way to reach the keys . . . and without the enemy awaking," Satoshi said slowly, thinking of a plan. "No one here can be of any help? Any Pokemon with long vines or anything?"

There was a short murmur of "no" amongst the others.

"I have already asked everyone," Ren said. "Except him there." He pointed toward a cage on the floor, where sat behind the bars a Pokemon much like the Esper Satoshi had seen in the forest with Junichi. It's narrow eyes were closed. "But he's sleeping all the time. No one has gotten a chance to talk to him."

"Maybe we can wake him up," Satoshi said.

"Yeah, try that," another transformed human said. "That Pokemon sleeps eighteen hours a day."

"But we have to try . . . You, Zidane, why not try to breathe fire at him. That would wake him."

"What, d'ye think I look like a flamethrower or somethin'?"

"It'll be too risky anyway," Ren warned. "That Pokemon is a Cayce and they teleport away at any sign of danger. We don't want him to leave us behind, do we?"

"No . . ." Satoshi sighed.

They sat in their cages for some time, thinking of a way to get out. The Cayce never seemed to wake, and everyone else wanted out of the place as soon as was possible. No one knew what that witch had in plan for them. Once, the hyena woke up, but it quickly returned to sleep.


Matsu had started looking round for their missing companion. First Rinda, now Satoshi. What was happening? The mist began to clear, but the boy with the hat could still see no trace of them. Walking back to the others, he heard Koji talking about his lack of interest in Pokemon battles, and he could see Max still holding the red, little fox.

"Where's Satoshi?" he asked, interrupting them.

"He has been gone a long time, hasn't he?" Sami said and looked toward each of his friends.

"I'm worried he's lost."

"I think we should look for him and Rinda," Max said. "Rokon can be of help."

Thereafter, they packed their things and went on along the western side of the lake, toward the north. Tracing steps in the high grass, Junichi walked close to the water, the movements of his head revealing he was very observant.

"Look," said Sami after a while.

By the lake there was a house, standing on a cliff onto which rocky steps had been placed to form a staircase, leading up to the old, wooden door. It might be interesting to notice that no kind of grass grew on the cliff, which was covered in damp soil.

"Let's ask if they know anything," Matsu suggested.

"No, wait," began Junichi, looking toward the house with the crooked, pointed roof, as if sensing that something was not right. He added, however; "We do not know who lives in there, but . . . let's be careful."

"But-"

"I saw something!"

"What, Max?" asked Matsu curiously, having been interrupted by his friend's call.

"In the water," the younger boy replied.

"Kon," said Rokon and looked into the still lake.

"Okey, let's see what we'll find in that strange house instead." Matsu said finally and continued carefully toward the cliff, his hand clutching a Monster Ball in his deep pocket.

As they knocked on the door, no one came to open.

"Then, let's go on," said Sami, with no wish to enter.

A crow croaked somewhere. Then silence. The five Trainers listened for it to sound again, and as the croaking resumed a black shape moved swiftly toward them.

"Go, Spear!"

A battle broke out between Matsu's monster bee and the black crow that had come to attack. Soon, the crow realised that it was no match for the well-trained Pocket Monster and it had to flee. Snatching Matsu's hat, it flew toward the house, and as Matsu cursed after the bird, it disappeared through an open window out of their sight.

"No, Spear," he said as his bug friend was going to follow. "You can return to your ball." Turning to his human friends, he added in a determined tone; "Let's walk in."

The door was unlocked and inside the house they were welcomed by a foul smell. Matsu found his hat and grabbed the soft cloth, looking round for the crow before putting the hat back on his head again. The bird was nowhere to be seen.

"What is this place?" asked Sami curiously.

"I don't know, but don't touch anything," Matsu adviced him, looking at all the bottles with colourful liquids and pouches containing strange powders. There was no one to be seen in the room, but there was, at the other end of it, a staircase leading up. The upper floor, when being inspected, did not reveal any sign of life either however. Not even the crow could be seen any more.

"Rokon found this," said Max, holding a round object in his hand.

"It's a Monster Ball," Sami remarked.

"Look, there is a door here." Koji was standing at the end of the large room on the ground floor, where everyone had assembled after a quick search around. As he opened the door, the others approached to find another flight of stairs on the other side. They were leading down.

"Shall we go in there?" Sami asked his friends, hoping they would have something else on their minds.

"I think there is a Pokemon inside."

Everyone turned to Max as he spoke, and could see that he was examining the red and white sphere in his hand. And so, they watched patiently as he opened the ball to release whatever creature was trapped within.


It was without effect to attempt waking the Cayce; not even Zidane's shouting stirred the mysterious sleeper. The psychic Pokemon appeared to be totally oblivious of anything they did.

"I got some yummy candy here in my pocket," Masato said to lure him awake. "And I got some for you!"

"It's not working," said Chou. "Try something else."

"Get me out of here!" yelled Zidane, hopping up and down, causing his cage, which hang from the ceiling by a rope, to shake violently.

"Be still, or you'll make the whole place crumble apart on us," Ren complained.

The monkey did not listen, but shouted louder and swung the cage back and forth. "I'm not listening to you, Pokemon! I am a human! I don't understand you!"

"Stop shouting; you'll wake the black dog," said Ren, not wanting the nasty canine to go growling about, hitting the cages with its claws.

"I'm not listening!" The cage shook and swayed even more violently, and the black canine growled in its sleep. "I've just smoked too much; this is not real! I am dreaming!" Suddenly, the cage hit another, which fell off the cage it had been standing on, to actually land right in front of Cayce. In this box of bars lay the young and frightened Koratta, whom the others called Mia, and she had barely noticed that her door had swung open and that she could look straight ahead between the other prisoners, all the way toward the large, wooden door at the other end of the room. Next to the door lay the great hyena, moving when disturbed by the noice, but going quickly back to sleep.

"This' your chance," said Masato. "Go get the keys."

The young Pokemon was afraid, but she knew she had to help the others, and therefore carefully began to approach the black, sleeping monster. As a rat she moved very quietly and no one could hear her soft steps on the old floor.

"Now, take the keys," Masato said as the hesitating Koratta was in reach of them.

Everyone became quiet - not even the pink monkey made a sound - as the purple rat reached for the golden key with her white paws.

Suddenly, a red eye opened and stared directly at her. Stunned by fear, she never reached the keys, but she regained her ability to move when the hyena got up to attack her. There was a lot of shouting round the room as the canine hunted the little rat bewteen the cages. The chase went quickly. Then Mia had managed to get back inside her cage and close the door, safe from harm. Her enemy growled at her and she hid her face in her paws, but soon the black, furry creature had gone away to sleep again.

"Don't try that again," Ren adviced. "No knowing when that vicious dog's asleep or when it's awake. It's too risky."

"Mean dog," said the smaller rat. Turning, looking about herself, she could see the sleeping psychic sitting in his cage close to her. Through the bars, she could reach him and touch one of his two toes. She prayed he would not teleport away.

He did not. Instead, his eyes opened and there was a red glow within them.

Afraid, Mia backed away. She could see the Cayce's eyes stop glowing and turning darker, but still looking right into her own.

"He's awake," said Chou hopefully.

"Can you help us?" asked Satoshi.

"Where are we?" the Cayce wondered, looking round.

"We're trapped and have been turned into Pokemon," Ren explained and ignored Zidane's loud protest that followed.

"Yeah? . . . A Pokemon?" He appeared very composed, yet rather confused. "Who are you, transformed people? I am Cayce."

"Yes, we see that you're a Cayce . . ."

"No, my name's Cayce."

"Oh, so that's so . . but you are a Cayce also."

"Oh . . . yes, now I see, heh-heh. How do we get out of here?" He did not show any signs of being upset about his transformation, but nevertheless clearly focused on solving the problem.

"The keys . . ." Ren pointed toward the great hyena.

"Oh . . . that should not be too hard . . . since I'm a Cayce I mean. I just have to use my telekinetic powers."

"Yes, and hurry up," said Masato. "I'm sick of being stuck in here."

"Patience . . . " said Cayce as he got up and made himself ready, concentrating on the keys, but did not seem able to move them.

The monkey started complaining again, but Chou hushed him.

Suddenly, the keys began to move slightly. Satoshi was fascinated. Cayce carefully made them leave the sleeping Pokemon's neck and had them hovering in the air. But then, he lost his concentration and they fell to the floor. The hyena woke at the sound and growled around at everyone.

After a while, it went to rest again, oblivious of the keys.

"I just have to try again," Cayce said.

"Be more careful this time," Chou whispered.

This time, he made the keys soar all the way over to him, whereafter he opened his cage and went to release the others. After their release, most Pokemon fled through holes and tunnels in the walls.

Satoshi stayed close to his friend to see if she was all right. Pachirisu was awake and seemed happy to be with her Trainer again.

"You're not forgetting me, are you?" the monkey said anxiously.

"But we're evil Pocket Monsters, arn't we?" said Chou, irritated.

"I was just joking with you! Did you take that seriously? It was a joke! Help me!"

"Come on, before the enemy wakes up," Chou said." There is a way big enough for us."

"Should we just leave him like that?" Satoshi wondered. "I mean even if he-"

"All right, go and save the pink monkey."

Cayce handed over the keys to the Pikachuu, who hurried over to set the monkey free. Satoshi was surprised that Zidane had not argued when being called "pink monkey", but concluded that the fire Pokemon did not want to throw away his chance of escape by angering the others. There was as expected no "thank you" when Satoshi let the monkey out, but there was no point in complaining; most important was now that everyone got to safety. One had to forgive Zidane for his behaviour; being transformed to Pokemon and encaged had surely been traumatic for most of them.

Masato, Ren, Cayce, Satoshi and Pachirisu went the way through the hole that Chou had found in the wall. Satoshi helped his confused friend. After them came Zidane, followed by the annoying plant Pokemon, known solely as "Wii". The tunnel was dark and damp, and it was very quite. Luckily, the hyena Pokemon was too large to hunt them there, but what other enemies would they stumble upon?

"Are you afraid, Satoshi?" said a little, cute and kind voice.

The Pikachuu looked toward his Pokemon, who shared his size. "I can understand you?" he said happily. Never had he thought of this, that as a Pokemon he could understand other Pokemon, even those who had always been Pokemon.

"It's very dark in here . . ." said Pachirisu, since the only source of light came from Zidane's fire. However, there was a blue aura round the squirrel, and Satoshi wondered if he had one as well, if he was an electric Pokemon.

"We will be all right," he told Pachirisu. "Soon, we will be out of here."

"I'm hungry," said Masato, rubbing his belly.

"You cannot think of food now," Zidane complained.

"Wii!" the plant exclaimed happily.

"Stop following me!" said the pink monkey harshly, but Wii was still as happy and continued after him in her annoying manner.


The tunnel went on and on, and the fellowship of Pokemon had become worried and felt themselves to be lost. Pachirisu was tired and had to rest, so Satoshi waited for her and the others stayed too.

The two electric rodents sat against a rock wall, leaning on one another, whilst Zidane sat alone, and luckily for him, his fire prevented Wii from coming too near.

"I'm no pink monkey . . . " he mumbled to himself. "What are they thinking . . .?" He looked at himself; his hands, his legs. "I feel different though . . . What has happened to me?" Hugging himself, he felt lonely and far from home, feelings he had never wanted to admit to himself before. He knew what had happened to his friends and wondered how he himself could be alive. Why had he made it if the others hadn't? Sometimes, he wished he had died too. He could not return home anyway and he had no friends on this continent. No people he wanted to befriend, anyway. He was alone and would always be alone . . .


From the Monster Ball popped up a round, brown owl, crying "Hou-hou!" at the humans around it, as if to say hello.

"Is . . . is that a Houhou?" asked Max, looking at the Pokemon.

It watched him thankfully with its round, red eyes, happy of being released.

"Whose is it?" Matsu wondered.

"No idea . . ."

"Hey, look!" Sami had noticed something on the Pokemon. "There is a ribbon on its leg."

"Huh . . .? Yes, that's right." As the owl sat on his arm with one leg, Matsu tried to examine the cloth attached to it.

"But that's Chou's Houhou!"

"Who's Chou, Sami?" asked Max.

"A friend from Aoiro . . ." Sami was reminded of his desolate hometown, where all his other friends had used to live. Would he ever see Chou again?

"We'll find the Aoiro people, if we keep looking," Matsu said optimistically. "Maybe they have vanished the same way as Rinda and Satoshi."

"Houhou may know-"

"Hey!"

Turning at Koji's call, they discovered that a black canine was coming up the stairs from the basement. Matsu had no time to summon his Pokemon, before the Guraena struck him to the floor and tried to bite him. Instad, Sami was the first to send out his Pocket Monsters.

"Moukazaru, Monkey! Help Matsu!"

An orange monkey with blue fur above its eyes and a burning tail appeared, followed by a smaller, rounder monkey whose fur was pale brown and quite shaggy. The two monkeys attacked the Guraena with kicks and punches since they were Fighting-Type Pokemon. With its sharp teeth, the enemy tried to crunch Monkey, and the hairy Pokemon let out a cry of pain.

"Moukazaru, Flame Wheel!"

The big monkey, which was also a Fire-Type, became surrounded in flames and then rushed at the Guraena. There was the smell of burnt fur as the canine took the hit, and then the hostile Pokemon turned tail and disappeared through the front door of the house.

Sami went quickly over to his injured Monkey to check his damage. It did not look serious, but the Pokemon had to stay out of battles until it was healed. Meanwhile, Koji and Max helped Matsu up from the floor, but their friend seemed unhurt.

Houhou, standing on one leg, looked sadly toward the wounded fighter.

"Where is your Trainer, Houhou?" Sami asked wherefrom he sat with his round monkey.

"Houhou," hooted the owl, flapping its tiny wings.

Calling his Pokemon back to their Monster Balls, he and his friends followed the owl as it flew off through the door whence the black canine had come.

There, in the dark, were what looked like cages stacked on top of one another. They all seemed to be empty, but Houhou found holes in the rocky wall.

"They are too small for us to follow, Houhou," said Matsu. "And even if we found a hole big enough, there would surely be a long way to crawl."

"Let's take another way?" suggested Koji.

Everyone agreed, and together they left the house and made for the field.

The mist had cleared and they could see almost the entire lake; Lake Laplace that was. Leaving the strange house to continue north across the vast field, they came upon a flock of horses, their manes and tails made of fire. It was a very beautiful sight to see the animals eat of the grass and race with one another.

"I would like to have one of those," said Max.

"Ko," replied his fox friend deside him.

"I don't know if we have time for that now," Matsu told him. "We have to find our lost friends."

"But if we had a horse, Matsu, we could travel much faster," Koji explained.

"Hmm, you're right. Let's get one each then!"

The fire horses backed away a bit as the humans approached. One stood rather still, however, either because it wasn't afraid or that it wanted to protect the others. This large horse had a horn growing from its forehead, and was unmistakably the leader of the flock.

"I'll distract the big one, while you get the others," Matsu informed his friends and summoned one of his Pokemon, a small monster with a fire blazing from its back. "Fight it, Firestorm!"

The little fire Pokemon was not strong enough to defeat the large horse, but managed to keep it away from the other Trainers' Pokemon, mostly by attacking and dodging.

Rokon watched as Max sent out Sando, a ground dwelling rodent with tough skin the colour of sand. Koji chose his Ralts, a small Pokemon with white body the shape of some sort of dress and with its head and eyes covered by a green helmet through which two red fins came out, one in front and one back. Next, came Sami's Wanrikii, a small but very strong Pokemon with a grey humanoid body and a short tail.

Scared by the appearance of the Pokemon, the horses scattered. Sando followed, but was not fast enough. Wanrikii, however, managed to throw off a low-aimed kick and one of the targets fell to the ground. When it came to Ralts and his Trainer, none had much battle experience, but the little Esper succeeded in hypnotising one of the wild Pocket Monsters, thus putting it to sleep.

The leader horse tried to stomp Matsu's Pokemon, but Firestorm avoided the attack. Meanwhile, the strong and agile Wanrikii, whose body was made of big muscles, had defeated one of the wild Pokemon.

Suddenly, the fire horses seemed to give up the idea of flight and became more aggressive. One of them threw flames at Wanrikii, at the same time as Sami tossed a Monster Ball at the horse that had been defeated before. The Fighting-Type Pokemon struck back at the attacker with a karate chop. The enemy attempted to trample Wanrikii down, but became target of another karate chop and then a Monster Ball.

Koji tossed a ball at the sleeping horse and it went in with a bright flash. Then, he told Matsu they were ready, and the other Trainer let Firestorm attack the big horse with a fire attack before calling him back. Sami tossed a ball to Matsu, whereafter they all sent out their new-caught Pokemon to run away with them.

"Where's Max?" Sami wondered.

Looking round, they could see him further away. Together with Sando and Rokon he was chasing one of the wild Pokemon.

"We got to help him," said Matsu and rode his horse toward his friend, followed closely by the others.

Max's Pokemon managed to land some attacks on the wild horse, and soon the Trainer was close enough to grab it, throwing himself onto its back. However, he was burnt by the flames and fell off into the grass. Whilst his Pokemon waited for him to get up, the fire horse escaped. There was no point in throwing a ball after it; the Pokemon would only break free when it was this healthy. Instead, Max checked the condition of his own monsters, and then noticed the other Trainers coming closer.

"You missed your Pokemon," Sami said.

Max looked toward the distant flock of horses that remained and wondered if he should try another one. The wild Fire-Type Pokemon seemed oblivious of them now and were eating of the grass in peace.

"You can ride with me," Sami offered. "I got a quite strong and big one. Just watch out for the flames."

Koji bent forward and hugged his horse. That he was not burnt by the flames was a sign of that the horse liked and trusted him. They could be good friends.

"So, are we ready to go looking for Satoshi and Rinda?" Matsu asked the others.

"Where is Junichi?" wondered Max.

Matsu looked round, but there was no sign of the man. He had been strange to begin with, hadn't he?

"We got no time to look for him," Matsu said at last. "If he's disappeared the same way as Satoshi and Rinda, we'll find him together with them."


In the light of Zidane's fire they could see that the tunnel split in two different paths of equal size, which was much larger than the narrow hole they had crawled through before.

"Which way?" Chou wondered.

Grabbing Satoshi and staying close to him, Pachirisu felt that she wanted to turn back, but she knew that was too dangerous; the black hyena was back there after all.

"I sense the smell of yummy food this way," Gonbe's voice echoed, whereafter the fat, blue Pokemon sniffed to the left.

"Shall we split up?" Ren asked uncertainly.

"Shall we go Gonbe's way?" Satoshi asked his friend.

Zidane had already begun walking, to the right, followed by Wii.

"We better follow the angry monkey," suggested Pachirisu in her squeaking but soft voice. "It's much brighter where he is."

The two electric rodents went after Wii and Zidane as Gonbe and Cayce turned to the left. Ren and Chou lingered for a while, and then Ren went to the right and Chou to the left. When the Koratta caught up with Zidane's group, they walked together through the underground tunnel toward an unknown place.

"Chii . . ." the squirrel said anxiously after a while.

"What is it, Pachirisu?" whispered Satoshi.

No answer was needed, for suddenly there came the sound of crumbling in the stone wall. Was there anything behind it? Was the tunnel going to fall in, burying them all in there? Everyone hurried on, since Ren was now ahead of them.

They walked for a long while and it was silent. When someone decided they should take a quick rest, the crumbling resumed and they could all hear it very well. It grew louder and louder, as if something was closing in on the spot where they stood. Zidane and Wii began to run, followed by the rest.

"There is light there," Ren said hopefully. "There must be a way out." The little rat found a hole and crept through it.

When Zidane reached the hole, it was too small for him. He pulled stones away to make it larger, whilst the others waited nervously. The happy plant leapt out through the opening, and when the monkey had gotten rid of the rocks he followed. Satoshi climbed after Pachirisu as she hurried up through the hole, and then he was met by bright light.

It was the light of sun and it had never felt this good before.

However, he did not have much time to think before an enormous form the colour of rock appeared through the hole. Everyone scattered when they saw that it was a large rhino-like monster, which came walking on its hind legs, swaying its great tail about. Satoshi had no idea what Pokemon that was, or how dangerous it could be. He thought that it would attack, but instead it charged a mountain with its drill-like horn.

The mountain next to them gleamed silvern and its top was shrouded in white clouds. With the big monster at a safe distance, Satoshi could ask himself about where he was, and wondered how tall the mountain was and if he'd ever heard of it. Its rocky surface was gleaming almost like a mirror in the light of sun.

The others were also watching the amazing sight before them, most of them laying exhausted in the grass. Pachirisu leant toward Satoshi and closed her eyes.

"Look, Pokemon!"

Satoshi turned to the sound of humans, and saw a boy and a girl running toward them. The boy had a strange, grey Monster Ball in his hand. After screwing at the button, he opened the ball and out came his Pokemon.

"Go, Wanrikii, go!"

"Take them, Poppo!"

A short creature with arms and legs full of muscles came to attack, followed by the girl's tiny pigeon Pokemon.

"Looks like we got trouble here," Ren warned.

"Should we fight them?" asked Satoshi, wanting a quick reply; the Trainers' Pokemon were soon upon them.

"Hey!"

"Stop him!" Ren cried out when he saw Zidane rushing toward the attackers, waving his arms.

"Help!" shouted the pink monkey. "Release me from these Pokemon!"

The Trainers didn't understand him of course, and the Wanrikii struck him with a karate chop. Zidane, not prepared, lost his breath and fell backwards.

There was no escaping now, thought Satoshi nervously. They had to fight. He released an electric shock at the Wanrikii, before it could attack Zidane again. At the same time, Poppo was hit by a jolt of electricity from Pachirisu, the attack causing the little bird to faint.

"Attack the Pikachuu!" the Trainer boy called out and his Pokemon spun round to kick at Satoshi.

Pachirisu looked anxiously toward his friend and charged electric power for another attack, hoping to save him. But then Ren used his lightning speed attack to tackle the super-strength Pokemon, which fell back at the blow. The Wanrikii did not let itself be defeated, but struck back with a determined chop, making Ren fall down into the grass.

"No, not the Koratta!" the Trainer yelled. "It's a weak Pokemon! Attack the others!"

However, his Fighting-Type Pokemon had no time to attack, before both Satoshi and Pachirisu released their electric energy to shock it.

"No!" the boy exclaimed, calling back his fainted Wanrikii to protect it from further harm.

"Let's run!" said Satoshi between his breaths, not wishing to fight the Trainers. "Help Ren, Zidane."

"What? Me?"

"You're the strongest Po . . . you're the strongest of us."

The fire monkey picked the rat up and followed the two rodents towards a safe place.

Meanwhile, the Trainer girl held her hurt Poppo friend in her arms and said she wanted to leave, but the boy was stubborn.

"I have one more Pokemon!" he said. "Go, Lizardo!"

"But it never listens to you," said the girl, worried.

"This time he'll do! Attack the shiny Pokemon!" He pointed at Zidane and followed as his red lizard went after the fleeing Pokemon.

The Lizardo spread its sharp claws to attack. However, instead of following its Trainer's orders, it went to assault the great rhino where this Pokemon stood drilling by the mountain.

"What's that Pokemon?" The boy looked a bit afraid at the big monster. "Lizardo, leave it alone!"

The lizard did not seem to care that it was attacking an opponent much larger than himself. Ignoring its Trainer, the Lizardo started to breathe fire at the raging monster-rhino. The enemy swung its great tail, but missed.

The boy was worried. He did not want his Pokemon to get hurt. "Back to your ball, Lizardo!"

"Let's go," the girl said, pulling his arm.

Once again, Lizardo attacked with its fire breathing, but the flames seemed to have little effect upon the opponent's rock-like hide. The wild Pocket Monster swung its front paws, striking the lizard.

"Lizardo!"

The boy's Pokemon quickly recovered from the mighty blow, still willing to fight; its claws were shining and the fire on its tail was blazing fiercily. Going to attack, the lizard slashed with its razor-like claws, trying to pierce the enemy's skin. The wild monster struck back with its large tail, striking Lizardo down.

As it tried to rise, the fire lizard did not recover so fast this time. The Trainer boy did not know what to do as the large rock creature approached his friend. He had no more Pokemon to send out.

Meanwhile, not far away, Satoshi was trying to see if Ren was all right. The older Pokemon had been uncounscious for a moment, but needed only to rest now. It was hard to know if a human transformed into a Pokemon was as strong as a regular Pokemon, and this worried Satoshi. Ren was old and fragile. Even if he actually had the strength of a Pokemon, he should not be fighting.

Hearing the commotion behind them, Pachirisu looked back and grabbed the Pikachuu's fur gently.

"Should we help them, Satoshi?"

He was unsure, but it was very likely that the boy and the girl were in great danger. They had been attacked by the same monster which had been chasing them through the tunnel and the boy's Pokemon did not seem to be doing all right.

"Stay here with Ren, Pachirisu. Come on, Zidane! I need your help."

Not sure what he could do to help, Zidane did as he was told, while Wii buried herself in the ground to be protected from the strong sunlight.

The Lizardo was unable to move as the enemy approached. None of the Trainers had any other Pokemon. The boy could not stand seeing his Lizardo get hurt, even if it did not like him.

"Move, Lizardo!" he called. "Get away from there!"

But his Pokemon had not strength enough. It tried to rise, but apparently its leg was injured, so it fell back into the grass.

"No!"

The Trainer knew no other way to save his friend, so he ran to the defeated fire Pokemon, trying to protect it himself.

"No, Jon!" called the girl, but he ignored her.

The boy hoped that the attacking monster would be satisfied with their defeat and leave them alone, but the furious Pokemon came faster at them now, its drill horn spinning.

Seeing that there was little time, Satoshi did an electric shock, hoping that at least the enemy would turn his way, but the attack had no effect at all.

"You have to take it, Zidane, he told his companion. "Fire attacks are better than nothing."

"What do you want me to do?" Zidane sounded nervous, clearly worried about the Trainer and his Pokemon.

"Breathe fire at it!"

"What?! You still think I'm a flamethrower?!"

"You have to, or else they will get hurt and maybe even die!"

Looking toward the battle, where the rock monster charged the lizard and the boy, Zidane understood it depended on him now, and he had to act fast; it was the matter of a second . . .


To be continued . . .
 
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