Story Notes:
My ferst storeh! WEEWT!Hey everybody. Rath here. This is my first story, so PLEASE go easy on the commenting...The basic plot of the story is about Devan, my protagonist, who has to free Arceus before an ancient otherworldly enemy, the Viriati, get to him first. However, he isn't to happy with this new burden put upon his shoulders. But Arceus makes a special partner for Devan who will eventually become special to him...in more than one way.Good news, everyone! I have asked Matt to make a "sequel" of Machinations of a Trainer, and I have converted this story into just that! Tell me what you think of it.Special thanks to Matt for letting me use his characters and his wisdom of story writing.
Chapter 1: Visions of the Beautiful Being
Chapter 1: Visions of the Beautiful Being
Devan woke up drenched in sweat. He was outside, and was lying on what seemed like a pile of leaves and dirt. He got up to his feet, and began to brush off the remnants that stuck to his baggy jeans. From what he could tell, he was somewhere in the Sinnoh region; he just couldn't remember where. The only thing he could remember before he fell asleep was running into a strange Pokemon, and then seeing a bright flash and passing out. Then there was the dream he had. He didn't believe in myths, much less the one of the creation of Pokemon. He didn't even like Pokemon. But something bugged him about the dream; he normally had dreams of his old girlfriend, and the moments they shared together before she was killed by the Syndicate of Nicea.
Those bastards, he thought to himself. Those bastards don't deserve to live. I should have killed Rath when I had the chance two days ago...but there's something about him that I just can't set my finger on. He doesn't seem to agree with the Elder Council of Nicea, but I don't think he's about to disobey them. At least, not yet, anyways.
He then noticed he was clenching something in his right hand, which looked like a long, silvery-white flute. However, he also noticed that it had a strange gleam to it. Where the hell did this come from? he wondered. Although he was against taking random, suspicious items, something told him he should hold onto this strange artifact. He carefully stashed it into his bag, in between his clothes and his map, which he regretfully never used. I guess it would explain why I find myself lost all the time, he thought to himself, as he zipped up his bag. He then slung the bag over his shoulder and decided to head towards the nearby town. He decided he would ask around to see if anyone saw anything suspicious last night. He felt nervous just standing around in the forest, like something was watching him from a distance.
Something was watching him from a distance. It licked its lips hungrily, knowing that it would finally have a meal after several days of a lack of humans passing by. It swooped down to charge at its next tasty meal, and then...
Devan flipped and landed on top of his predator. He pulled out his rune knife, and stuck it into the back of the Pokemon that had decided to make him its dinner. His strike was successful, and hit directly in his pursuer's heart, in between the ribs of the rib cage. The Pokemon howled, and lost its balance. It began to fall, and Devan decided he shouldn't stay on its back. He jumped off with plenty of time to spare. The Pokemon hit the ground with a sickening thud, landing head first. Devan landed gracefully nearby. He then took a look at the bloodthirsty beast. It was a Gliscor, but something was wrong with it. For one, Gliscors don't hunt for humans, and were not very territorial. For one to attack a human like this was completely unheard of. The other thing Devan noticed was the strange coloring of the dead Pokemon. Its normal shade of purple was incredibly dull, and strange black lines ran across its normally gleaming body, which in comparison looked like cracks in a sidewalk. Its eyes were a deep red instead of its usual yellow, and its fangs were a lot longer than the normal Gliscor's. Its tail was drenched in acid, which was very unusual, because Gliscors' stingers are usually poisonous, not acidic. He decided that letting its body lay around for the next Pokemon or human to get infected with whatever disease or virus it had caught was a bad idea.
Devan took out a lighter. He stacked a few twigs and leaves around the dead Pokemon, and lit the tinder, creamating the dead body of the strange Gliscor.
Then something strange happened. The dead Gliscor began to howl, and its body began to writhe and twitch uncontrollably. Suddenly, a strange black goop flew out of the Gliscor's mouth. It landed next to Devan with a splat, and jiggled for a few seconds. It then began to reconstitute itself. Devan acted fast. He reached for a branch, caught it on fire from the Gliscor (or, rather, what was left of it), and stabbed the gelatinous blob with it. The blob shivered for a second, and then began to consume the branch, fire and all. Ohhh, shit, that's not good... Devan thought to himself. The blob then made a screeching noise, and made a leap for him. It fell onto his face, and began to make its way down his throat. Is this it... he thought to himself. Is this how I am to die, by a miscellaneous blob of unknown origin?
Devan started to lose consciousness. His vision started to blur, and he was feeling very weak. His body couldn't support him anymore, and he crumpled to the ground, landing on a dead tree stump. Shit... he thought to himself. This is what I get for fooling around with a strange Pokemon. I guess I should've paid more attention to why that Gliscor was acting so strangely...
He then began to gag, and started to throw up. The blob which had forced him to consume itself had come out liquidized, and was now bubbling like a puddle of acid on the ground. It began to dissipate, and was eventually no more. This confused Devan greatly. Why would that...thing...attack him and then get itself killed?
Devan noticed he was back to normal, and decided it would probably be a good idea to go get a checkup at a nearby hospital. He once again picked himself up, and continued on his way.
Devan finally reached a nearby villiage. He saw that some sort of festival was going on nearby, and spat on the ground. "I hate festivals..." he muttered to himself, and began to walk into town. He was focusing on the festival, and noticed people dressed up in ancient garbs and clothes that he had never seen before.
THUD!! Devan fell over. Apparently, he had ran into a young girl, about his age, headed towards the festival. "Ow, watch where you're going!" she yelled. "I don't like running into people, much less when I'm holding things! You could've made me drop something important."
"Erm, sorry..." Devan replied, still not sure of what exactly had just happened. He got up, and offered a hand to the girl, who was still on the ground. She blushed, and grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. She was carrying what looked like gourds and a small pumpkin, and was looking rather flustered after being knocked over so suddenly.
"Yeah, it's okay. You're not from around here, are you?" she asked him.
"No," Devan replied. "I'm from a country called Pian. I'm not used to the culture on this continent, and I'm traveling to meet an old friend of mine who moved to Canalave City this past year."
"Pian? Never heard of it," the girl replied. "But you're far away from Canalave. This is Mavo Villiage, a small community just north of Valor Lakefront. We came here to live a simpler life with our Pokemon and our ancestors. It's going to be a long trip for you before you reach Canalave." She then studied him, and a confused look crossed her face. "Say, why don't you have any Pokemon? Aren't you old enough to be a Trainer?"
Devan glared at the girl. She didn't know how rude she was being, but he wasn't about to let her off the hook just because she was being completely ignorant. "Look, I don't travel with Pokemon because they would just slow me down. I can't spend extra time looking after them, just to have them not look after me. Plus, I don't trust those little demons, anyway. They're too unreliable."
The girl then returned the glare Devan had started giving her, looking utterly abhorred at what had just come out of his mouth. "Well, SOR-RY! I just assumed that because you were traveling by yourself, you would at least have a Pokemon or two to help you out! I don't understand why people would want to walk alone in a continent filled with wilderness and wild Pokemon. It's just plain stupid."
Devan sighed. This girl didn't even know what he was. He then felt a tinge of guilt because she wouldn't have been so "ignorant" if she had known. He then felt even worse when he remembered that his "job" was specific to Pian, and hadn't been very well known outside of his home.
"I'm sorry; you don't know what I am," Devan apologized. "I'm an Avokii. I don't need to have Pokemon with me to defend myself. I would only put them at risk."
Now the girl was confused even more. "Huh? I don't understand..."
"You probably wouldn't," Devan replied. "It's a little confusing, and even I haven't figured everything out yet. All I can tell you is that I went through special training, and don't need a Pokemon to bail me out of a difficult situation."
The girl now had an emphatic look on her face. "Aren't you ever lonely, when you're all alone out in the wild with no one to keep you company?"
Yeah, I do, and much too often, Devan thought to himself. He was now looking at the ground, and was clutching his knife's handle with his left hand. It wasn't that he was worried that someone was going to come after him...he just clutched his knife whenever he felt upset. It seemed to make him feel a little better when he did this. However, he didn't want to let her know this. Men aren't supposed to show there's something wrong. It made them look weak. Or so his parents had taught him...
Devan suddenly began to cough, and blood splattered out of his mouth. He was loosing his vision again, and was beginning to feel very nauseous. He was about to fall over when he felt an arm grab a hold of his torso.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?! Hang on, I'll take you to the Pokemon Center! You're going to be alright!"
Devan stopped coughing long enough to ask her a question that made him feel nervous. "Wait...there's no hospital here?"
"No," she replied. "There's a hospital up north in Veilstone, but we don't have the time to run up there and get some help. You need treatment right away."
Devan was about to ask her another question, but began to cough up more blood and mucous liquids. He knew he shouldn't have stopped to talk to the girl, but he was glad he did, otherwise he might not have made it over to the Center, much less find it.
They walked into the center, Devan supported by the village girl. There were a few trainers and Pokemon who watched the strange boy walk in, but tried not to attract his attention. Nurse Joy was at the counter talking to her Chansey when she noticed the boy with blood dribbled down his neck and chest. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "What happened to you? Chansey, go get a stretcher! We need to get him into emergency care right away!"
"Chansey!" the Chansey replied, waddling off to fetch the stretcher. Joy then walked hastily around the counter, and lay the boy down on the floor. She then started to clean him up when he began to cough.
"Help me turn him on his side," she said to the girl who brought him in. "He could either choke or drown in his own blood, but he can get some drainage when he's not on his back."
"O-okay..." the girl stuttered.
"Do you know what happened to this young man to make him start choking up blood like this?" Joy asked the girl.
"N-no. I wasn't even aware that he was sick when he ran into me. He seemed fine, and all of the sudden, right after I asked him a question, he started choking up blood like this. It didn't seem like anything was wrong with him beforehand..."
"Alright, that's fine, then," Joy replied to the girl. "May I ask your name?"
"Lacy. Lacy Ashino," the girl replied. "I'm not sure what his name is, but I'm pretty certain he has one."
"Well, I am too, but I don't think this is the right time to ask him, do you?" Joy asked her. "He can hardly speak with all that blood he's coughing up. I'm worried that he may loose too much blood before we get a chance to help him out."
Chansey finally made it back with the stretcher. She and Nurse joy then picked up Devan, and carefully set him onto the stretcher. Chansey then began to roll the stretcher into the back hallway, where she and Nurse Joy headed toward emergency care. As she left, Lacy put a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe this was happening...not today. Today was special; he should've been watching over everybody, preventing things like this from happening...
Devan was lying in an empty white void. He could hear distant memories; voices that had haunted him from his childhood, sounds that chilled him to the very bone, and even short flashes of images from moments in his life he had wished he didn't ever want to see again. All of this still scared him. He wished he could just make it all away, just make it so he could forget...
"Do you really want to forget those memories, Devan?" a familiar voice asked him. "They're important. They've made you into who you are today. And those memories are going to be very important soon enough..."
The images and sounds stopped at the moment the voice started speaking, which scared Devan more than he already was. He leapt up to his feet, but for some odd reason, he wasn't standing on anything. "Who...who are you?"
A chair materialized right before him. "Sit," the voice commanded. Devan wasn't in a position to either argue or bargain with the voice, so he decided sitting may be the only option.
He sat, and once again asked, "Who are you?"
A figure appeared before him...a bright, silver, godly figure with golden feet and red eyes. Green circles accentuated his face around his eyes and cheeks. His very presence made Devan feel at peace, and an urge to cry out due to the beauty of the shining creature began to build up inside his chest.
"A...Arceus..." he stammered.
"In the flesh and fur," Arceus stated. "Well...maybe not 'in the flesh and fur,' more of 'in the spirit' since I'm not actually here. I'm speaking to you through long-range telepathy and image transfer. Through this I can communicate efficiently and allow you to understand my feelings."
"Why...why are you here? And better yet, where are we?" Devan asked him.
Arceus thought for a moment, then answered him back with another question. "What do you remember before you came here?" he asked, hoping Devan would at least get the hint.
Devan was completely lost, and his mind went blank. He couldn't think straight, but all of a sudden, everything came back to him. "I passed out, didn't I?"
"Not exactly," Arceus responded. "You were put under something you humans call 'Anes...Aneas...Anuss...'"
"Anesthesia?"
"Yes! That. Anesthesia. I apologize, I'm feeling a little under the weather. As you can tell, I'm..."
Devan interrupted him. "Wait, you're really real? How do I know I'm not tripped out on some drug the Syndicate gave me that makes me have strange hallucinations?"
Arceus couldn't say anything. It's not that he lost his train of thought, or he forgot what to say, he just couldn't. The human's question had shocked him, and he was once again reminded how the human race had almost completely forgotten about him and his children. If it wasn't for the people of Mavo Village, the whole world would have completely forgotten who or where he was. He had only hoped that Devan would forgive him for what he was about to do...
"Devan, I really need your help. I'm in a dimensional pocket outside of your space, up on top of the Spear Pillar in Mount Coronet."
"Wait," Devan interrupted. "The Spear Pillar doesn't exist. There's no way it could. I thought it was only a legend..."
Arceus sighed. "Devan, you have to understand...The people of the Sinnoh region don't want tourists flocking in from everywhere to take a look at the Spear Pillar. That's how people get hurt. And worst of all, that's how the greed that has entered into some of your people's hearts take control of some of the most powerful Pokemon on the planet."
"Like what Team Galactic tried to do with Dialga and Palkia?" Devan asked.
"...Somewhat," Arceus explained. "The ones that I am worried about do not only want us, they want our power and strength. When they steal our powers, they will find a way to be rid of us and return to their home, where they will prepare for galactic domination."
"...Say what now?" Devan asked. He seemed utterly confused, and Arceus was worried that this would happen. He had hoped that Devan could at least comprehend what was going on, but he guessed that it was too much to ask of him. He only hoped that Devan believed him after he explained all of this to him.
"Devan, as you can tell, I am not originally from your planet. I came here seeking refuge from a world where my kind was hunted for our incredible reality-bending prowess. We all escaped, and most of us went off into different directions. Because of specific abilities I have gained through some of the stops I made on my way to Earth, I have learned the secret to immortality and the secrets to creating intelligent life. I also learned how to transfer some of my power and abilities to those that I have given life to."
"So you're saying you're pretty much the father of all Pokemon?" Devan asked. He found it rather hard to believe. Then again, he had heard of many more far fetched stories of where Pokemon originally came from. Although, now the crazy scientists who tried to prove that Pokemon came from space didn't seem so crazy anymore.
"Pretty much," Arceus responded. "Although there were a few problems I hadn't thought about beforehand...I jumped into my plans too quickly. I made my children, the Pokemon, without thinking too hard as to what it would not only do to my body, but to this whole planet as well. I had bound my children not only to me, but to the elements and positions that I had given them when I first created them, over three-thousand years ago. Not only that, I bound them to your people without noticing how corrupted they can become. Because of my carelessness, I did a number on my body, and now I need someone to help me not only regain my former strength, but to ready my children for the upcoming disaster I failed to prevent..."
Devan was beyond confused. He got up out of his chair, which disappeared after he walked a few steps away from it. "Disaster? I don't understand, Arceus. Other than a few minor skirmishes between certain groups and crime syndicates, there's no war or natural disasters. There hasn't been for the last two-hundred years! I don't think there's anything we need to worry about."
Again, Arceus sighed. He wished he didn't have to explain this to Devan, but they weren't ready to be bound to each other just yet. Devan still had to start what Arceus failed to finish properly. The only problem was that he didn't know how much time the planet had left, and the clock was still ticking.
Then Arceus noticed something. He couldn't believe it, but he caught it out of the corner of his eye: a tracing spell. "We're being watched, Devan. I need to go. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come find me. I can't afford to let them know where I am."
Arceus turned around. He looked like he was about to start crying, but Devan noticed that Arceus also looked like he had faith in him. With one final bound, he disappeared into the void of nothingness. His smooth voice rang through Devan's head, ending their meeting together. "The gift is the key to open the door to your answers. Now all you need is to find the doorway."
Then everything went black.
Devan woke up drenched in sweat. He was outside, and was lying on what seemed like a pile of leaves and dirt. He got up to his feet, and began to brush off the remnants that stuck to his baggy jeans. From what he could tell, he was somewhere in the Sinnoh region; he just couldn't remember where. The only thing he could remember before he fell asleep was running into a strange Pokemon, and then seeing a bright flash and passing out. Then there was the dream he had. He didn't believe in myths, much less the one of the creation of Pokemon. He didn't even like Pokemon. But something bugged him about the dream; he normally had dreams of his old girlfriend, and the moments they shared together before she was killed by the Syndicate of Nicea.
Those bastards, he thought to himself. Those bastards don't deserve to live. I should have killed Rath when I had the chance two days ago...but there's something about him that I just can't set my finger on. He doesn't seem to agree with the Elder Council of Nicea, but I don't think he's about to disobey them. At least, not yet, anyways.
He then noticed he was clenching something in his right hand, which looked like a long, silvery-white flute. However, he also noticed that it had a strange gleam to it. Where the hell did this come from? he wondered. Although he was against taking random, suspicious items, something told him he should hold onto this strange artifact. He carefully stashed it into his bag, in between his clothes and his map, which he regretfully never used. I guess it would explain why I find myself lost all the time, he thought to himself, as he zipped up his bag. He then slung the bag over his shoulder and decided to head towards the nearby town. He decided he would ask around to see if anyone saw anything suspicious last night. He felt nervous just standing around in the forest, like something was watching him from a distance.
Something was watching him from a distance. It licked its lips hungrily, knowing that it would finally have a meal after several days of a lack of humans passing by. It swooped down to charge at its next tasty meal, and then...
Devan flipped and landed on top of his predator. He pulled out his rune knife, and stuck it into the back of the Pokemon that had decided to make him its dinner. His strike was successful, and hit directly in his pursuer's heart, in between the ribs of the rib cage. The Pokemon howled, and lost its balance. It began to fall, and Devan decided he shouldn't stay on its back. He jumped off with plenty of time to spare. The Pokemon hit the ground with a sickening thud, landing head first. Devan landed gracefully nearby. He then took a look at the bloodthirsty beast. It was a Gliscor, but something was wrong with it. For one, Gliscors don't hunt for humans, and were not very territorial. For one to attack a human like this was completely unheard of. The other thing Devan noticed was the strange coloring of the dead Pokemon. Its normal shade of purple was incredibly dull, and strange black lines ran across its normally gleaming body, which in comparison looked like cracks in a sidewalk. Its eyes were a deep red instead of its usual yellow, and its fangs were a lot longer than the normal Gliscor's. Its tail was drenched in acid, which was very unusual, because Gliscors' stingers are usually poisonous, not acidic. He decided that letting its body lay around for the next Pokemon or human to get infected with whatever disease or virus it had caught was a bad idea.
Devan took out a lighter. He stacked a few twigs and leaves around the dead Pokemon, and lit the tinder, creamating the dead body of the strange Gliscor.
Then something strange happened. The dead Gliscor began to howl, and its body began to writhe and twitch uncontrollably. Suddenly, a strange black goop flew out of the Gliscor's mouth. It landed next to Devan with a splat, and jiggled for a few seconds. It then began to reconstitute itself. Devan acted fast. He reached for a branch, caught it on fire from the Gliscor (or, rather, what was left of it), and stabbed the gelatinous blob with it. The blob shivered for a second, and then began to consume the branch, fire and all. Ohhh, shit, that's not good... Devan thought to himself. The blob then made a screeching noise, and made a leap for him. It fell onto his face, and began to make its way down his throat. Is this it... he thought to himself. Is this how I am to die, by a miscellaneous blob of unknown origin?
Devan started to lose consciousness. His vision started to blur, and he was feeling very weak. His body couldn't support him anymore, and he crumpled to the ground, landing on a dead tree stump. Shit... he thought to himself. This is what I get for fooling around with a strange Pokemon. I guess I should've paid more attention to why that Gliscor was acting so strangely...
He then began to gag, and started to throw up. The blob which had forced him to consume itself had come out liquidized, and was now bubbling like a puddle of acid on the ground. It began to dissipate, and was eventually no more. This confused Devan greatly. Why would that...thing...attack him and then get itself killed?
Devan noticed he was back to normal, and decided it would probably be a good idea to go get a checkup at a nearby hospital. He once again picked himself up, and continued on his way.
Devan finally reached a nearby villiage. He saw that some sort of festival was going on nearby, and spat on the ground. "I hate festivals..." he muttered to himself, and began to walk into town. He was focusing on the festival, and noticed people dressed up in ancient garbs and clothes that he had never seen before.
THUD!! Devan fell over. Apparently, he had ran into a young girl, about his age, headed towards the festival. "Ow, watch where you're going!" she yelled. "I don't like running into people, much less when I'm holding things! You could've made me drop something important."
"Erm, sorry..." Devan replied, still not sure of what exactly had just happened. He got up, and offered a hand to the girl, who was still on the ground. She blushed, and grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. She was carrying what looked like gourds and a small pumpkin, and was looking rather flustered after being knocked over so suddenly.
"Yeah, it's okay. You're not from around here, are you?" she asked him.
"No," Devan replied. "I'm from a country called Pian. I'm not used to the culture on this continent, and I'm traveling to meet an old friend of mine who moved to Canalave City this past year."
"Pian? Never heard of it," the girl replied. "But you're far away from Canalave. This is Mavo Villiage, a small community just north of Valor Lakefront. We came here to live a simpler life with our Pokemon and our ancestors. It's going to be a long trip for you before you reach Canalave." She then studied him, and a confused look crossed her face. "Say, why don't you have any Pokemon? Aren't you old enough to be a Trainer?"
Devan glared at the girl. She didn't know how rude she was being, but he wasn't about to let her off the hook just because she was being completely ignorant. "Look, I don't travel with Pokemon because they would just slow me down. I can't spend extra time looking after them, just to have them not look after me. Plus, I don't trust those little demons, anyway. They're too unreliable."
The girl then returned the glare Devan had started giving her, looking utterly abhorred at what had just come out of his mouth. "Well, SOR-RY! I just assumed that because you were traveling by yourself, you would at least have a Pokemon or two to help you out! I don't understand why people would want to walk alone in a continent filled with wilderness and wild Pokemon. It's just plain stupid."
Devan sighed. This girl didn't even know what he was. He then felt a tinge of guilt because she wouldn't have been so "ignorant" if she had known. He then felt even worse when he remembered that his "job" was specific to Pian, and hadn't been very well known outside of his home.
"I'm sorry; you don't know what I am," Devan apologized. "I'm an Avokii. I don't need to have Pokemon with me to defend myself. I would only put them at risk."
Now the girl was confused even more. "Huh? I don't understand..."
"You probably wouldn't," Devan replied. "It's a little confusing, and even I haven't figured everything out yet. All I can tell you is that I went through special training, and don't need a Pokemon to bail me out of a difficult situation."
The girl now had an emphatic look on her face. "Aren't you ever lonely, when you're all alone out in the wild with no one to keep you company?"
Yeah, I do, and much too often, Devan thought to himself. He was now looking at the ground, and was clutching his knife's handle with his left hand. It wasn't that he was worried that someone was going to come after him...he just clutched his knife whenever he felt upset. It seemed to make him feel a little better when he did this. However, he didn't want to let her know this. Men aren't supposed to show there's something wrong. It made them look weak. Or so his parents had taught him...
Devan suddenly began to cough, and blood splattered out of his mouth. He was loosing his vision again, and was beginning to feel very nauseous. He was about to fall over when he felt an arm grab a hold of his torso.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?! Hang on, I'll take you to the Pokemon Center! You're going to be alright!"
Devan stopped coughing long enough to ask her a question that made him feel nervous. "Wait...there's no hospital here?"
"No," she replied. "There's a hospital up north in Veilstone, but we don't have the time to run up there and get some help. You need treatment right away."
Devan was about to ask her another question, but began to cough up more blood and mucous liquids. He knew he shouldn't have stopped to talk to the girl, but he was glad he did, otherwise he might not have made it over to the Center, much less find it.
They walked into the center, Devan supported by the village girl. There were a few trainers and Pokemon who watched the strange boy walk in, but tried not to attract his attention. Nurse Joy was at the counter talking to her Chansey when she noticed the boy with blood dribbled down his neck and chest. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "What happened to you? Chansey, go get a stretcher! We need to get him into emergency care right away!"
"Chansey!" the Chansey replied, waddling off to fetch the stretcher. Joy then walked hastily around the counter, and lay the boy down on the floor. She then started to clean him up when he began to cough.
"Help me turn him on his side," she said to the girl who brought him in. "He could either choke or drown in his own blood, but he can get some drainage when he's not on his back."
"O-okay..." the girl stuttered.
"Do you know what happened to this young man to make him start choking up blood like this?" Joy asked the girl.
"N-no. I wasn't even aware that he was sick when he ran into me. He seemed fine, and all of the sudden, right after I asked him a question, he started choking up blood like this. It didn't seem like anything was wrong with him beforehand..."
"Alright, that's fine, then," Joy replied to the girl. "May I ask your name?"
"Lacy. Lacy Ashino," the girl replied. "I'm not sure what his name is, but I'm pretty certain he has one."
"Well, I am too, but I don't think this is the right time to ask him, do you?" Joy asked her. "He can hardly speak with all that blood he's coughing up. I'm worried that he may loose too much blood before we get a chance to help him out."
Chansey finally made it back with the stretcher. She and Nurse joy then picked up Devan, and carefully set him onto the stretcher. Chansey then began to roll the stretcher into the back hallway, where she and Nurse Joy headed toward emergency care. As she left, Lacy put a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe this was happening...not today. Today was special; he should've been watching over everybody, preventing things like this from happening...
Devan was lying in an empty white void. He could hear distant memories; voices that had haunted him from his childhood, sounds that chilled him to the very bone, and even short flashes of images from moments in his life he had wished he didn't ever want to see again. All of this still scared him. He wished he could just make it all away, just make it so he could forget...
"Do you really want to forget those memories, Devan?" a familiar voice asked him. "They're important. They've made you into who you are today. And those memories are going to be very important soon enough..."
The images and sounds stopped at the moment the voice started speaking, which scared Devan more than he already was. He leapt up to his feet, but for some odd reason, he wasn't standing on anything. "Who...who are you?"
A chair materialized right before him. "Sit," the voice commanded. Devan wasn't in a position to either argue or bargain with the voice, so he decided sitting may be the only option.
He sat, and once again asked, "Who are you?"
A figure appeared before him...a bright, silver, godly figure with golden feet and red eyes. Green circles accentuated his face around his eyes and cheeks. His very presence made Devan feel at peace, and an urge to cry out due to the beauty of the shining creature began to build up inside his chest.
"A...Arceus..." he stammered.
"In the flesh and fur," Arceus stated. "Well...maybe not 'in the flesh and fur,' more of 'in the spirit' since I'm not actually here. I'm speaking to you through long-range telepathy and image transfer. Through this I can communicate efficiently and allow you to understand my feelings."
"Why...why are you here? And better yet, where are we?" Devan asked him.
Arceus thought for a moment, then answered him back with another question. "What do you remember before you came here?" he asked, hoping Devan would at least get the hint.
Devan was completely lost, and his mind went blank. He couldn't think straight, but all of a sudden, everything came back to him. "I passed out, didn't I?"
"Not exactly," Arceus responded. "You were put under something you humans call 'Anes...Aneas...Anuss...'"
"Anesthesia?"
"Yes! That. Anesthesia. I apologize, I'm feeling a little under the weather. As you can tell, I'm..."
Devan interrupted him. "Wait, you're really real? How do I know I'm not tripped out on some drug the Syndicate gave me that makes me have strange hallucinations?"
Arceus couldn't say anything. It's not that he lost his train of thought, or he forgot what to say, he just couldn't. The human's question had shocked him, and he was once again reminded how the human race had almost completely forgotten about him and his children. If it wasn't for the people of Mavo Village, the whole world would have completely forgotten who or where he was. He had only hoped that Devan would forgive him for what he was about to do...
"Devan, I really need your help. I'm in a dimensional pocket outside of your space, up on top of the Spear Pillar in Mount Coronet."
"Wait," Devan interrupted. "The Spear Pillar doesn't exist. There's no way it could. I thought it was only a legend..."
Arceus sighed. "Devan, you have to understand...The people of the Sinnoh region don't want tourists flocking in from everywhere to take a look at the Spear Pillar. That's how people get hurt. And worst of all, that's how the greed that has entered into some of your people's hearts take control of some of the most powerful Pokemon on the planet."
"Like what Team Galactic tried to do with Dialga and Palkia?" Devan asked.
"...Somewhat," Arceus explained. "The ones that I am worried about do not only want us, they want our power and strength. When they steal our powers, they will find a way to be rid of us and return to their home, where they will prepare for galactic domination."
"...Say what now?" Devan asked. He seemed utterly confused, and Arceus was worried that this would happen. He had hoped that Devan could at least comprehend what was going on, but he guessed that it was too much to ask of him. He only hoped that Devan believed him after he explained all of this to him.
"Devan, as you can tell, I am not originally from your planet. I came here seeking refuge from a world where my kind was hunted for our incredible reality-bending prowess. We all escaped, and most of us went off into different directions. Because of specific abilities I have gained through some of the stops I made on my way to Earth, I have learned the secret to immortality and the secrets to creating intelligent life. I also learned how to transfer some of my power and abilities to those that I have given life to."
"So you're saying you're pretty much the father of all Pokemon?" Devan asked. He found it rather hard to believe. Then again, he had heard of many more far fetched stories of where Pokemon originally came from. Although, now the crazy scientists who tried to prove that Pokemon came from space didn't seem so crazy anymore.
"Pretty much," Arceus responded. "Although there were a few problems I hadn't thought about beforehand...I jumped into my plans too quickly. I made my children, the Pokemon, without thinking too hard as to what it would not only do to my body, but to this whole planet as well. I had bound my children not only to me, but to the elements and positions that I had given them when I first created them, over three-thousand years ago. Not only that, I bound them to your people without noticing how corrupted they can become. Because of my carelessness, I did a number on my body, and now I need someone to help me not only regain my former strength, but to ready my children for the upcoming disaster I failed to prevent..."
Devan was beyond confused. He got up out of his chair, which disappeared after he walked a few steps away from it. "Disaster? I don't understand, Arceus. Other than a few minor skirmishes between certain groups and crime syndicates, there's no war or natural disasters. There hasn't been for the last two-hundred years! I don't think there's anything we need to worry about."
Again, Arceus sighed. He wished he didn't have to explain this to Devan, but they weren't ready to be bound to each other just yet. Devan still had to start what Arceus failed to finish properly. The only problem was that he didn't know how much time the planet had left, and the clock was still ticking.
Then Arceus noticed something. He couldn't believe it, but he caught it out of the corner of his eye: a tracing spell. "We're being watched, Devan. I need to go. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come find me. I can't afford to let them know where I am."
Arceus turned around. He looked like he was about to start crying, but Devan noticed that Arceus also looked like he had faith in him. With one final bound, he disappeared into the void of nothingness. His smooth voice rang through Devan's head, ending their meeting together. "The gift is the key to open the door to your answers. Now all you need is to find the doorway."
Then everything went black.