Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon
Time Well Spent
Deep in the heart of Altomare all of Drake's Pokemon other then Stratos all relax and go about their own separate business as Latias stands in front of Latios talking with him,
"So you're saying that you know how to contact the spirit world?" Latios nods,
"Yeah. It's a pretty simple thing to do really but only one person can do it at a time." Latias looks at him with a happy smile and small tears in her eyes,
"R-really?! I can see him again?!" Latios smiles and pats his sister on the shoulder,
"I'm guessing you'd like to do it now?" Latias nods and takes a few breaths as she calms herself,
"Yes, I'd like to contact the spirit world now." Latios nods and guides his sister over to the soul dew,
"Place your hands on it." Latias does as instructed and looks over to her brother after placing her hands on the brilliant gem,
"Now what?"
"Close your eyes and focus on the one you want to speak to. Envision their body, clothing, personality... everything about them. If they do not appear then they are still alive." Latias nods and closes her eyes. Latios walks away from her and over to the tree with the swing on it and sits on the grass next to Shaymin as the swing hangs to their left, "So, you're the new guardian of this place?" Shaymin looks up at Latios with a nod and a happy smile,
"Well, since you're back it doesn't look like I need to stay here anymore. But I like this place so much that I just can't bring myself to leave so would it be okay if I stay here?" Latios smiles as he pets the hedgehog on the head running his hand through the soft, flowery hairs,
"You can stay here as long as you want. As far as I can see you've been a good guardian so far and nothing bad has happened to the garden or the soul dew... well, I got resurrected from it and a copy was made but that's beside the point. It's nice to finally be able to relax here like the good-old-days." Shaymin lets out a light yawn as she closes her eyes and falls asleep on the soft grass,
"Thanks Latios..." Latios looks around at the garden and to the fountain where he sees Azura swimming on his back kicking his feet as he slowly propels himself around in the small pool of water and Roze reclining on the stone railing near him. Swampert is in the larger pool just laying there on her back sunbathing in the clear water. Ren is walking around the outside of the garden just taking in the view and Arcanine is curled up on the other side of the tree in the sun behind Latios,
"This place is truly paradise..." His gaze returns to his sister and he watches her stand completely still with her hands on the soul dew, "I hope she gets what she wants." He then watches as she walks over to him and sits on the swing and drifts back and forth smiling, "Done already?" Latias smiles at him,
"Yep. We caught up, I told him how Stratos has been progressing and about everything that's happened." Latios raises an eyebrow,
"In five minutes?" Latias shrugs,
"Well I'm going to. We're here for a while so it's not like I can't ever talk to him again." Latios smiles as he looks up at the bright sun hanging in the sky above the peaceful garden,
"True."
Kazamaru and Scarlet step off of the stairs onto the cold pavement of Canalave city and Kaza looks back to the ship behind them before he looks around,
"Well here we are... he'd better have a good reason for stopping our training and bring me back here..." Scarlet agrees and the two head over to the gym. Upon entering Kazamaru is shocked by his father when he rushes towards him and gives him a powerful embrace,
"You were right my son!! I was a terrible father and I apologize wholeheartedly and I swear that from now on I'll treat you like a true son with the respect you deserve!!" As the embrace ends Kazamaru narrows his eyes at his father,
"Did you get hit in the head or something? You expect me to trust you just because you've suddenly found this respect for me? I think it knocked some sense into your head when Aggron and everyone else beat the crap out of your prized Pokemon. I think you only respect me now because I'm stronger then you!" Byron takes a step back and nods going into a low bow dropping to one knee like a knight,
"That's true... I now realize that all I ever did was hold you back as you said and I want to make it up to you." Kazamaru looks at him suspiciously,
"How do you expect to do that after everything you put me through...?"
"I'm taking you with me to train until the Pokemon league." Kazamaru looks at his father in amazement,
"You want me to come and train with you?! Scarlet and I have already made plans to train together." Byron looks up with a sneaky smirk on his face,
"I know and I have made arrangements for your girlfriend to have one of the best psychic trainers train her and her Pokemon with us at the same time." Scarlet tilts her head,
"My family includes the strongest of all psychic trainers... who did you get?" They both turn around when the gym doors slide open and they hear a female voice,
"Hello Scarlet." Scarlet blinks as she faces the Saffron city Gym leader, Sabrina, and smiles warmly,
"Hello mom. Long time no see." She then blinks and looks back to Byron, "Wait a minute... NO WAY!!!" Byron nods with the same smile on his face,
"Yes, Sabrina will be accompanying me and Kazamaru for our training. What do you say?" Kazamaru looks back to his father distrustingly,
"I'm already strong enough to defeat you why do I need more training?" Byron simply smiles,
"That's true. You are indeed more powerful then me BUT are you strong enough to be victorious at the Pokemon league?" Kazamaru tilts his head,
"I have to go into lightweight again so the only person I should have to worry about is Vecransyh..."
"Wrong. The Pokemon league of Sinnoh works differently then the other regions. It is a free-for-all tournament and anyone between one set of badges or three Ultima badges qualifies to enter so if there's anyone in your group that you wouldn't want to face, tough luck because you could be pit against them in battle." Kazamaru looks down,
(Stratos, Vecransyh, David, Ash... All of them have a good chance at crushing me...) Kazamaru looks back up and nods, "Okay. I'll train with you but only if Scarlet wants to as well." He looks back at his girlfriend, "What do ya say?" As Kazamaru looks at his girlfriend he sees her eyes are practically begging him to do it as Sabrina stands behind her,
"I think she wants to." Scarlet nods happily,
"I'm sure we'll learn a lot." Kazamaru looks back to his father,
"Alright dad. We're in."
Stratos takes a punch to the face followed by a powerful kick to his gut and is sent flying across the arena he's on and slams into a nearby tree making a large dent. Blizzard and the other three Lucarios cheer as Luna retracts her foot from the air and looks across the field at Stratos,
"Give up yet?" Stratos, now the age of ten, pries himself from the tree he was smashed into and rushes back onto the field at an extremely high speed,
"Not on your life!!" Neo walks out the back door of a large mansion and watches as Stratos is kicked hard in the gut and whistles lowering his tone as Stratos becomes closer to the tree and makes a cracking sound as he hits it. He stirs a glass of lemonade in his hand as he looks over at Luna,
"It's been a few months. How much has he progressed?" Luna shrugs looking over to her father,
"I'll admit he's gotten more skilled but he's still got to learn when he's beat." Neo chuckles,
"Has he landed a hit yet?" Luna shakes her head,
"Not against me. Against all the others yes. When are you going to let him fight you?" Neo takes a sip of his drink and sits in a chair near the battlefield,
"Once he's at my level. He's gonna have to beat you, Aqua, Terra and Drako first though so it might be a while. Heads up!" Luna looks back towards her opponent and catches an Aura Sphere in her hand before she throws it back at Stratos making it explode on impact with the surprised Lucario,
"Excuse me! I was having a conversation with my father!" As the smoke clears Stratos emerges sweating heavily and his breathing isn't much better. He smiles as he looks at her and stands up straight now almost fully grown,
"Well how was I supposed to know? I'm having trouble even staying awake after all the punches and kicks I've had to endure!" Luna puts her face to her palm,
"It's called a break. Take a few days to just relax or something." Stratos shakes his head,
"I'm just getting warmed up though! Plus I have Recover." He runs at Luna and dodges her punch only to be kicked in the gut again and he collapses to his knees holding himself up on one paw, "Okay... maybe a short break wouldn't hurt..." Stratos then collapses fully onto the arena and Luna walks over to her father sitting by him. Neo looks down at her,
"How come he hasn't been using Aeroblast or Sacred Fire?" Luna blinks slowly as she looks at the fallen Lucario,
"Because we're working on his physical strength for close-range fighting... his battle strategy is too predictable so I end up either punching him in the face or kicking him in the stomach each time. He dodged my punch on that last one which is new but he forgot about my foot... maybe he's just not ready to fight me yet." Neo looks over to Stratos and smiles lightly,
"Well he looks like he's having fun fighting you even if he always loses..." Luna smiles,
"I think it's kinda cute how he never gives up no matter how many times I smash my fist into his face. I finally got him to take a break so he should be out for a day or so." Neo looks back over to his daughter,
"So I thought I heard something about a bet from Bliz. Is that why Stratos is trying so hard to beat you?" Luna looks up at him with a sneaky smile,
"That's a secret between him and me. Remind me to punch Blizzard later for eavesdropping."
Vecransyh wakes up with a snort and he looks sleepily over his bed to his right into the human face of an anxious-looking Xylina,
"W-what is it...?" Xylina lets out a quick breath,
"I-it's time!" Vecransyh's eyes shoot open as he looks at the ghost,
"A-are you sure?!" Xylina gives him a serious look,
"No, I'm joking. I'm just having contractions because I feel like it." Vecransyh looks around quickly,
"What do I do?!" Xylina puts her face to her palm,
"Gee, I don't know!!! Why don't you ask the people at the Pokemon center how to deliver a baby?!" Vecransyh jumps at the tone and quickly puts on his shirt and puts Xylina into her ball. Vecransyh bursts out of his room and runs down the hallway past a surprised Yakira who had gotten out of bed for a glass of water,
"Vecransyh what's wrong?!" Vecransyh turns his head back to her quickly,
"Xylina's having her baby!!" He then makes a jump at the top of the stairs and clears all 28 of them in a single bound and hits the ground before rushing to the door and running out of it. Yakira enters Vecransyh's mother's room and shakes her lightly prompting her to stir,
"I don't mean to disturb you too late at night but Xylina is having her baby." The woman sleepily closes her eyes grunting and Yakira floats in front of her counting on her fingers, "Three, two, one..." Fantina's eyes shoot open and she quickly sits up in bed looking over to the ghost with a shocked look,
"Say what?!" Yakira nods,
"Yep, they're at the Pokemon center right now."
An hour passes and Vecransyh nervously taps his foot and twiddles his fingers as he sits in the waiting room next to Yakira, Victoria and his mother. The four sit in silence for a few moments before Vecransyh stands up,
"I can't wait any longer I have to see how she's doing!" Yakira takes his hand and brings him back into his seat,
"Come on Vecy, the nurse said we're not allowed into the room while she gives birth. You just have to be patient a little while longer." Vecransyh lets out a long sigh and looks over towards her,
"Yeah, I guess you're right... I just want to be with her so bad right now... how long until you go through this?" Yakira runs her hand over her swollen stomach with a smile,
"Should be around two more months; around the start of the Pokemon league." Vecransyh smiles as he kisses her cheek,
"That's great. Did you find out the gender yet?" Yakira nods,
"Yeah. It's going to be a girl." Vecransyh chuckles,
"Good, Glalie are harder to manage then Froslass." Yakira giggles,
"Oh come on, she'd be a big ball of fun." Victoria flicks one of the hairs in front of her head,
"So... Xylina's kid is gonna be a boy right?" Vecransyh nods with a smile,
"Right." Victoria looks over at him,
"Don't Misdreavus look incredibly feminine?" Vecransyh nods,
"Yeah but me and Xylina talked about it and we're going to let him choose when he wants to evolve." Vecransyh digs into his pocket and pulls out a dusk stone, "I've already got the stone for when he wants to." Victoria giggles,
"Looks like you've got it all planned out." Vecransyh looks out the window at the full moon,
"I wonder if he'll have the same ability as Xylina..." The doors to the emergency room open and a nurse walks over to them with a smile,
"Everything went fine. Would you like to see your son?" Vecransyh stands up and smiles as a tear runs down his face out of pure joy,
"Yes... please..."
Vecransyh opens the door to Xylina's room slowly as he's trailed by his mother and the two legends and he smiles as his lover comes into view. In her arms in a white blanket is a newborn Misdreavus in human form asleep against his mother's chest. Vecransyh sheds a tear as he walks over to the bed sitting next to Xylina putting his arms around her and the two move together into a passionate kiss. Yakira walks over to them and gazes into the blanket at the baby,
"Well, I've gotta say that's one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. From the look of it he's got the power of the dusk stone in him too." Xylina smiles as she looks at Vecransyh,
"Well, Daddy? Did you think of a name for him yet?" Vecransyh looks down to his son and runs his hand through the newborns long purple hair,
"Aticus." As the days pass Vecransyh and Xylina learn that Aticus has an advanced version of Xylina's ability to change into human form allowing him to change form whenever he wants to but being so young the change is random and occasional.
"So you're saying that you know how to contact the spirit world?" Latios nods,
"Yeah. It's a pretty simple thing to do really but only one person can do it at a time." Latias looks at him with a happy smile and small tears in her eyes,
"R-really?! I can see him again?!" Latios smiles and pats his sister on the shoulder,
"I'm guessing you'd like to do it now?" Latias nods and takes a few breaths as she calms herself,
"Yes, I'd like to contact the spirit world now." Latios nods and guides his sister over to the soul dew,
"Place your hands on it." Latias does as instructed and looks over to her brother after placing her hands on the brilliant gem,
"Now what?"
"Close your eyes and focus on the one you want to speak to. Envision their body, clothing, personality... everything about them. If they do not appear then they are still alive." Latias nods and closes her eyes. Latios walks away from her and over to the tree with the swing on it and sits on the grass next to Shaymin as the swing hangs to their left, "So, you're the new guardian of this place?" Shaymin looks up at Latios with a nod and a happy smile,
"Well, since you're back it doesn't look like I need to stay here anymore. But I like this place so much that I just can't bring myself to leave so would it be okay if I stay here?" Latios smiles as he pets the hedgehog on the head running his hand through the soft, flowery hairs,
"You can stay here as long as you want. As far as I can see you've been a good guardian so far and nothing bad has happened to the garden or the soul dew... well, I got resurrected from it and a copy was made but that's beside the point. It's nice to finally be able to relax here like the good-old-days." Shaymin lets out a light yawn as she closes her eyes and falls asleep on the soft grass,
"Thanks Latios..." Latios looks around at the garden and to the fountain where he sees Azura swimming on his back kicking his feet as he slowly propels himself around in the small pool of water and Roze reclining on the stone railing near him. Swampert is in the larger pool just laying there on her back sunbathing in the clear water. Ren is walking around the outside of the garden just taking in the view and Arcanine is curled up on the other side of the tree in the sun behind Latios,
"This place is truly paradise..." His gaze returns to his sister and he watches her stand completely still with her hands on the soul dew, "I hope she gets what she wants." He then watches as she walks over to him and sits on the swing and drifts back and forth smiling, "Done already?" Latias smiles at him,
"Yep. We caught up, I told him how Stratos has been progressing and about everything that's happened." Latios raises an eyebrow,
"In five minutes?" Latias shrugs,
"Well I'm going to. We're here for a while so it's not like I can't ever talk to him again." Latios smiles as he looks up at the bright sun hanging in the sky above the peaceful garden,
"True."
Kazamaru and Scarlet step off of the stairs onto the cold pavement of Canalave city and Kaza looks back to the ship behind them before he looks around,
"Well here we are... he'd better have a good reason for stopping our training and bring me back here..." Scarlet agrees and the two head over to the gym. Upon entering Kazamaru is shocked by his father when he rushes towards him and gives him a powerful embrace,
"You were right my son!! I was a terrible father and I apologize wholeheartedly and I swear that from now on I'll treat you like a true son with the respect you deserve!!" As the embrace ends Kazamaru narrows his eyes at his father,
"Did you get hit in the head or something? You expect me to trust you just because you've suddenly found this respect for me? I think it knocked some sense into your head when Aggron and everyone else beat the crap out of your prized Pokemon. I think you only respect me now because I'm stronger then you!" Byron takes a step back and nods going into a low bow dropping to one knee like a knight,
"That's true... I now realize that all I ever did was hold you back as you said and I want to make it up to you." Kazamaru looks at him suspiciously,
"How do you expect to do that after everything you put me through...?"
"I'm taking you with me to train until the Pokemon league." Kazamaru looks at his father in amazement,
"You want me to come and train with you?! Scarlet and I have already made plans to train together." Byron looks up with a sneaky smirk on his face,
"I know and I have made arrangements for your girlfriend to have one of the best psychic trainers train her and her Pokemon with us at the same time." Scarlet tilts her head,
"My family includes the strongest of all psychic trainers... who did you get?" They both turn around when the gym doors slide open and they hear a female voice,
"Hello Scarlet." Scarlet blinks as she faces the Saffron city Gym leader, Sabrina, and smiles warmly,
"Hello mom. Long time no see." She then blinks and looks back to Byron, "Wait a minute... NO WAY!!!" Byron nods with the same smile on his face,
"Yes, Sabrina will be accompanying me and Kazamaru for our training. What do you say?" Kazamaru looks back to his father distrustingly,
"I'm already strong enough to defeat you why do I need more training?" Byron simply smiles,
"That's true. You are indeed more powerful then me BUT are you strong enough to be victorious at the Pokemon league?" Kazamaru tilts his head,
"I have to go into lightweight again so the only person I should have to worry about is Vecransyh..."
"Wrong. The Pokemon league of Sinnoh works differently then the other regions. It is a free-for-all tournament and anyone between one set of badges or three Ultima badges qualifies to enter so if there's anyone in your group that you wouldn't want to face, tough luck because you could be pit against them in battle." Kazamaru looks down,
(Stratos, Vecransyh, David, Ash... All of them have a good chance at crushing me...) Kazamaru looks back up and nods, "Okay. I'll train with you but only if Scarlet wants to as well." He looks back at his girlfriend, "What do ya say?" As Kazamaru looks at his girlfriend he sees her eyes are practically begging him to do it as Sabrina stands behind her,
"I think she wants to." Scarlet nods happily,
"I'm sure we'll learn a lot." Kazamaru looks back to his father,
"Alright dad. We're in."
Stratos takes a punch to the face followed by a powerful kick to his gut and is sent flying across the arena he's on and slams into a nearby tree making a large dent. Blizzard and the other three Lucarios cheer as Luna retracts her foot from the air and looks across the field at Stratos,
"Give up yet?" Stratos, now the age of ten, pries himself from the tree he was smashed into and rushes back onto the field at an extremely high speed,
"Not on your life!!" Neo walks out the back door of a large mansion and watches as Stratos is kicked hard in the gut and whistles lowering his tone as Stratos becomes closer to the tree and makes a cracking sound as he hits it. He stirs a glass of lemonade in his hand as he looks over at Luna,
"It's been a few months. How much has he progressed?" Luna shrugs looking over to her father,
"I'll admit he's gotten more skilled but he's still got to learn when he's beat." Neo chuckles,
"Has he landed a hit yet?" Luna shakes her head,
"Not against me. Against all the others yes. When are you going to let him fight you?" Neo takes a sip of his drink and sits in a chair near the battlefield,
"Once he's at my level. He's gonna have to beat you, Aqua, Terra and Drako first though so it might be a while. Heads up!" Luna looks back towards her opponent and catches an Aura Sphere in her hand before she throws it back at Stratos making it explode on impact with the surprised Lucario,
"Excuse me! I was having a conversation with my father!" As the smoke clears Stratos emerges sweating heavily and his breathing isn't much better. He smiles as he looks at her and stands up straight now almost fully grown,
"Well how was I supposed to know? I'm having trouble even staying awake after all the punches and kicks I've had to endure!" Luna puts her face to her palm,
"It's called a break. Take a few days to just relax or something." Stratos shakes his head,
"I'm just getting warmed up though! Plus I have Recover." He runs at Luna and dodges her punch only to be kicked in the gut again and he collapses to his knees holding himself up on one paw, "Okay... maybe a short break wouldn't hurt..." Stratos then collapses fully onto the arena and Luna walks over to her father sitting by him. Neo looks down at her,
"How come he hasn't been using Aeroblast or Sacred Fire?" Luna blinks slowly as she looks at the fallen Lucario,
"Because we're working on his physical strength for close-range fighting... his battle strategy is too predictable so I end up either punching him in the face or kicking him in the stomach each time. He dodged my punch on that last one which is new but he forgot about my foot... maybe he's just not ready to fight me yet." Neo looks over to Stratos and smiles lightly,
"Well he looks like he's having fun fighting you even if he always loses..." Luna smiles,
"I think it's kinda cute how he never gives up no matter how many times I smash my fist into his face. I finally got him to take a break so he should be out for a day or so." Neo looks back over to his daughter,
"So I thought I heard something about a bet from Bliz. Is that why Stratos is trying so hard to beat you?" Luna looks up at him with a sneaky smile,
"That's a secret between him and me. Remind me to punch Blizzard later for eavesdropping."
Vecransyh wakes up with a snort and he looks sleepily over his bed to his right into the human face of an anxious-looking Xylina,
"W-what is it...?" Xylina lets out a quick breath,
"I-it's time!" Vecransyh's eyes shoot open as he looks at the ghost,
"A-are you sure?!" Xylina gives him a serious look,
"No, I'm joking. I'm just having contractions because I feel like it." Vecransyh looks around quickly,
"What do I do?!" Xylina puts her face to her palm,
"Gee, I don't know!!! Why don't you ask the people at the Pokemon center how to deliver a baby?!" Vecransyh jumps at the tone and quickly puts on his shirt and puts Xylina into her ball. Vecransyh bursts out of his room and runs down the hallway past a surprised Yakira who had gotten out of bed for a glass of water,
"Vecransyh what's wrong?!" Vecransyh turns his head back to her quickly,
"Xylina's having her baby!!" He then makes a jump at the top of the stairs and clears all 28 of them in a single bound and hits the ground before rushing to the door and running out of it. Yakira enters Vecransyh's mother's room and shakes her lightly prompting her to stir,
"I don't mean to disturb you too late at night but Xylina is having her baby." The woman sleepily closes her eyes grunting and Yakira floats in front of her counting on her fingers, "Three, two, one..." Fantina's eyes shoot open and she quickly sits up in bed looking over to the ghost with a shocked look,
"Say what?!" Yakira nods,
"Yep, they're at the Pokemon center right now."
An hour passes and Vecransyh nervously taps his foot and twiddles his fingers as he sits in the waiting room next to Yakira, Victoria and his mother. The four sit in silence for a few moments before Vecransyh stands up,
"I can't wait any longer I have to see how she's doing!" Yakira takes his hand and brings him back into his seat,
"Come on Vecy, the nurse said we're not allowed into the room while she gives birth. You just have to be patient a little while longer." Vecransyh lets out a long sigh and looks over towards her,
"Yeah, I guess you're right... I just want to be with her so bad right now... how long until you go through this?" Yakira runs her hand over her swollen stomach with a smile,
"Should be around two more months; around the start of the Pokemon league." Vecransyh smiles as he kisses her cheek,
"That's great. Did you find out the gender yet?" Yakira nods,
"Yeah. It's going to be a girl." Vecransyh chuckles,
"Good, Glalie are harder to manage then Froslass." Yakira giggles,
"Oh come on, she'd be a big ball of fun." Victoria flicks one of the hairs in front of her head,
"So... Xylina's kid is gonna be a boy right?" Vecransyh nods with a smile,
"Right." Victoria looks over at him,
"Don't Misdreavus look incredibly feminine?" Vecransyh nods,
"Yeah but me and Xylina talked about it and we're going to let him choose when he wants to evolve." Vecransyh digs into his pocket and pulls out a dusk stone, "I've already got the stone for when he wants to." Victoria giggles,
"Looks like you've got it all planned out." Vecransyh looks out the window at the full moon,
"I wonder if he'll have the same ability as Xylina..." The doors to the emergency room open and a nurse walks over to them with a smile,
"Everything went fine. Would you like to see your son?" Vecransyh stands up and smiles as a tear runs down his face out of pure joy,
"Yes... please..."
Vecransyh opens the door to Xylina's room slowly as he's trailed by his mother and the two legends and he smiles as his lover comes into view. In her arms in a white blanket is a newborn Misdreavus in human form asleep against his mother's chest. Vecransyh sheds a tear as he walks over to the bed sitting next to Xylina putting his arms around her and the two move together into a passionate kiss. Yakira walks over to them and gazes into the blanket at the baby,
"Well, I've gotta say that's one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. From the look of it he's got the power of the dusk stone in him too." Xylina smiles as she looks at Vecransyh,
"Well, Daddy? Did you think of a name for him yet?" Vecransyh looks down to his son and runs his hand through the newborns long purple hair,
"Aticus." As the days pass Vecransyh and Xylina learn that Aticus has an advanced version of Xylina's ability to change into human form allowing him to change form whenever he wants to but being so young the change is random and occasional.