Story Notes:
This is a story I've had on my mind for a while and couldn't skip over so, here it is. As of Chapter 3, this story is being Co-written by Catsithx.
Chapter 7
Watcher of Arceus
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'Character Thought'
(Pokemon speech)
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.
Co-author: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 7
The trip ended late in the afternoon as the ship docked in Vermilion City. Deciding that since it was already so late in the day, Sarah thought that they should spend the night in local Pokemon center.
Thomas quickly agreed deciding that Rebecca would probably do best with a full check up to see how bad the damage was on her body. Although Rebecca didn't take too well to having a checkup at first, she did agree to it as long as Thomas was with her. Given what had happened though, everyone was thankful to hear that the damage could have been much greater and aside from losing her virginity in such a rough way and the damage on her mind, her body was still in very good condition.
After spending a night at the Pokemon Center, the group was once again ready to leave. Rebecca seemed rather eager to leave the port city of Vermilion herself, but still clung to Thomas's side.
Not to long after having Rebecca looked at, Sarah a received a phone call from one of her many friends. After a long talk on the phone during which time, Thomas had decided to go grab a bite to eat, Sarah informed Thomas about what the call was about.
"Hey Thomas, that was a good friend of mine in Pewter City. Apparently, there is this big party of some sort taking place by Mount Moon in a few days." Sarah exclaimed.
Thomas looked up a bit confused. He had just been called with the intention of heading to Mount Moon. Was there a connection between this party and why he was being called? Even if there wasn't a real connection, the fact that there were going to be so many trainers knowing very well who some of Sarah's friends were and the fact that he was being called could spell serious trouble.
"They were wondering where I was at wanting to know if I could make it. What do you say we take a bus up to Pewter City? We're already headed to Mount Moon anyway; why not try to make it this party then?" Sarah stated.
"Why not?" Thomas shrugged his shoulders making it look like he just didn't care. Sarah knew that he may not have been big on parties, but seeing that Thomas didn't object and actually accepted the idea was another good sign for her. Of course, Radara knew that there was more to it then just accepting the idea and her own thoughts were similar to Thomas's in thinking that the party may somehow play a part in their being needed.
--
It wasn't long before the group was on a bus over to Pewter City where they could then make their way up to Mount Moon. Once again Sarah tried to make conversation with Thomas which of course meant the only response she got were grunts nods or a simply yes, no, or I guess response from him. This didn't make the bus ride to Mount Moon more enjoyable for Sarah. Rebecca was asleep still holding onto Tomas arm. Radara was also asleep on Tomas's lap. Thomas was gently stroking her fur. As he watched the cars past the bus in both directions and seeing the some Pigey and Pidgeotto fly by. He thinks about the last few days on the boat, but is brought back from his distant thoughts as Sarah keeps calling his name.
"Jeez do you have to space out like that every time I talk to you Thomas." As she sits up in her seat in front of Thomas then flicks his forehead. Thomas simply sits there looking at her.
"If you have something new to add then I will say something." She makes a pouting face at him then sits facing back towards the front of the bus as others around them are commenting about a 'lovers spat'.
He sighs at this as Radara vice once more fills his head. 'You should be nicer to her since she will be with us for a bit longer. She did get Rebecca back that night remember.' He doesn't say anything as he looks at Rebecca as she still holds him tightly even though she is asleep. He smiles as he sees her sleeping there.
He remembers back when he first took her in after her parents died. She was scared of him at first. Come to think about even after he tried to save her mother, she was sort of distant. Radara had to make her feel more welcome when Nurse Joy had asked him to take care of her. He wasn't planning on adding anyone to his team so early into his adventure, but given what had happened, he couldn't leave her there. He didn't want to force her to do anything; his first thought was to leave her with his foster parents. After a while she seemed to escape from her Pokeball and he would wake up the next day with her sleeping next to him or in his sleeping bag. He had made her aware of the possibility of staying with his foster parents, but she either just ignored it or didn't care.
At first he thought Rebecca was a more of Ninja then a Pokemon because it seemed that she would just appear out of no where half the time. Radara would enjoy this because no matter how much they tried to keep Rebecca under control, she would always try to do as she wanted. She was a like child in a sense, always trying to do things her own way. That was until one summer when she wanted to go exploring with out telling Thomas or Radara. She ran into a pack of wild Pokemon who saw her as lunch. She took off as fast as she could. Lucky for her Thomas and Radara were looking for her. Just in time Radara made short work of the wild Pokemon. Rebecca held onto Thomas for dear life, scared out her fur thinking how close she was to being eaten. Thomas tried to clam her down as she broke down and cried after that. Since then she would rarely leave his side out fear. Rebecca would later get stronger under Thomas's care and eventually evolved into a Lucario.
Thomas notices the bus slowing down as they arrived at their location. "Finally we're here!" Sarah smiled.
Thomas wakes Rebecca with a soft nudge. "Come on sleepy head we're here. You too Radara, I am not going to carry you."
Thomas hears Radara reply, slightly annoyed by his previous comment. 'Why not?' She jumps down from Thomas's lap as she waits for Thomas and Rebecca to follow. They make there way out of the bus as Sarah waits for them outside waving them over.
"We're in luck my parents paid for our room." She notices Thomas was about to say to something. "Don't worry my parents are old fashion, we have separate rooms. Sometimes I wonder about you if you really like me Thomas."
His response quickly forms in his head, easily picked up by Radara. 'Clam down she is only trying to be nice Thomas.'
"I just like my privacy is all. Sarah you know that after all these years. Come on lets get our room keys. You said there is some festival you were invited to?" She smiles at him taking his other arm and pulling him and Rebecca who is attached to his other arm along.
"Yep it's to celebrate the Full Blue moon. It happens only every 10 years. Also it last for 5 days, they say it's so romantic." As she holds close to Thomas. Rebecca starts to growl a bit seeing how close Sarah is being to Thomas. Thomas looks at with a pleading look that's trying to clam her down. Sarah notices this "Sorry Rebecca I know I said I would go slow." She pulls away a bit from Thomas as they continue to walk toward the Lodge.
Thomas notices the Lodge is a band new addition to the area since he was here during his last incarnation. The lodge itself looks fairly large, as it seems to have 3 floors to it. As they enter he notices that it has a nice laid back feel to it all He notices in the main lobby larger than most places he has been to. It has a few mini shops selling basic needs to trainers and souvenirs. There is even a small Pokemon Center set up on the side, meant to deal with basic injuries and general health rather then the full service centers found in the cities and towns.
As he looks around, Thomas sees many trainers Pokemon and others who seem to be here for the festival.
'With all these trainers, it's no wonder I was called out here. She may be strong, but she has yet to truly recover from the War of Legend.' Thomas looks down at Radara.
'None of them appear to have any sense of knowing about her presence. If anything happens, I think it will happen by accident. Most of these trainers here don't appear to be experts. They appear to be beginners with the exception of that group over there.' Radara uses her tail to point towards the back end of the lobby towards a group of about 8 trainers, all looking to be in their late teens. Sarah was already making her way over there no doubt looking for her friend.
'Well, something is going to happen. Either way, we've been called upon. All we can do now is wait to see why.' Thomas informs Radara.
'True.' Radara replies as Sarah waves for Thomas to come over. Going along with it, Thomas makes his way over to meet a few of Sarah's friends.
Along side Sarah stood three other trainers all enjoying meeting back up with each other once again. "Thomas, these are some my friends I've made since we last met." Sarah pointed to a girl her own age, but just a bit shorter. Her blue sweat pants and t-shirt matched her blue hair.
"Hey, I'm Joan, master breeder. My dad owns the ranch to south of the city." Joan stated offering her hand to Thomas who shook it gently.
The next to offer there was a boy, who stood up taller then most of the group. Between his wild red hair and rough choice of clothing consisting of torn jeans and a stained T-shirt told Thomas that he been traveling for quite a while. "The name's Eric. I mostly just do a lot traveling."
Finally, the last member of the group to speak up was another girl, this one appearing to be in her mid teens. Like "I'm Alexia, Joan's sister." The girl stated adjusting her pack. Like Joan herself, she was also dressed up in blue, but had blond hair unlike her sister.
"I'm Thomas, this is Radara." Thomas nodded his head down to Radara. "And this is Rebecca." Thomas nodded his head towards where Rebecca was standing still holding his arm.
"Wow, an Espeon and a Lucario. Both rare finds here in Kanto." Joan stated.
"Listen, it's starting to get late, I think I'm going to head to my room for the night. I'd like to get an early start up to Mount Moon in the morning." Thomas stated.
"Sounds like a good idea. We can all head up their in the morning. The festival won't start for another four days, and it will take two days to get up there. That will leave plenty of time for us to set up our camp before the majority of the others start showing up." Eric stated.
"Alright then, I'll see you guys in the morning then." Alexia stated.
"It's settled then. We'll leave in the morning." Sarah smiled glad to be traveling with a number of her best friends once again.
--
Thomas headed to his room pleased to find two large beds waiting for him. The room had its own small bathroom as well, but being a small lodge as it was, there wasn't much else. Then again, the place usually just tailored to trainers who were looking for a place to spend the night other then outside under the stars. Thomas released the rest of his Pokemon who stretched out a bit before climbing onto the second bed leaving Thomas, Radara, and Rebecca the first one. "So, with all those trainers, how bad do think this can get. It will only take just one to spread the word about her to catch everyone's interest." Thomas stated.
'What's going on?' Thomas heard Juno's voice in his knowing that Radara was translating for him. Looking over he saw her watching their conversation.
"We've been called upon, that much you know. What I've just found out is that there is a festival at Mount Moon and there is large crowd of trainers who are all planning on attending this event." Thomas explained.
'I see. With any luck, the events will keep most of them busy while we deal with whatever is threatening Arceus.' Juno stated.
'I didn't sense that any of them knew of her presence. If any of them did, then they plainly did not care and that in itself is highly unlikely.' Radara added. 'I'm thinking that this festival is either just a coincidence or someone is planning on using it as cover. Don't forget that this appears to be a common event around these parts and there are other towns where more trainers have no doubt collected waiting to attend.'
"This is true. For all we know, there could be a hundreds attending this festival. As large as the summit of Mount Moon is, I would have to guess that it could easily hold a few hundred people." Thomas stated. Looking over, Thomas could see Razor and Aqua curling up with each other getting ready to bed themselves.
'It wouldn't surprise me if this celebration was just a cover. Any group could send a few people in to explore the caves at a time like. With this party going on though, I don't many would be in the caves anyway. Most would no don't avoid the mountain all together would they would join in the celebration. As long as the word doesn't get out that Arceus is there, then things shouldn't get out of hand.' Juno added.
"I'm hoping that whoever knows about her will do their best to keep it secret. Surely they would hate it as much as I would if a mass of trainers all rushed down to try and capture her." Thomas added.
'Let's get some sleep now. We'll find out what we are dealing with when we get there.' Radara stated. With that final comment, everyone agreed that it was time to get some sleep. Without any real information at this point, there was much more to be said.
xXx
Just like the group had planned, everyone was up early as the sun started rising. With their gear gathered, everyone was ready and after a quick breakfast, the group of now five humans and their Pokemon set off on their trip up to Mount Moon. Aside from Radara and Rebecca who was still holding onto to Thomas, just not as tight as before, Alexia and Eric had also let out one of their Pokemon as well. For Alexia, it was her starter, a Wartortle who walked next to the group while Eric had let out his Noctowl who took a place on his shoulder. Together, the group made good time traveling towards Mount Moon. With his mind now focused on the mountain ahead and reason he was going there in the first place, Thomas remained quiet for the most part, only adding minor comments here there letting Sarah catch up with her friends.
As they walked Radara keep constant contact with Thomas on weather they would hear anything from Arceus during this time. 'Look Thomas I'll tell you if I hear anything you don't want these people to think you don't care.'
Thomas sighs. 'That's just it I don't care. I just want to see what Arceus needs and that she is alright.'
Radara scowls at him 'You know full well if one these children see Arceus they will try and capture her or even worse "they" will know.' Thomas knew full well who 'they' were, the ones who served the darkness who was in conflict with Arceus.
'You sure you don't mean the other group to Radara. The ones who think we serve Darkrai. I am so sick of running into the religious fanatics who think they serve Arceus.' Thomas asked as they continued to walk. 'It's hard to believe that religious group is the sole reason for my being the last of the watchers. Yea, one of us betrayed the others, and the rest of us dealt with her, but to have that group start putting bounties on our heads for her mistake.'
"Dude are you ok." Eric walked over towards them. Thomas is partially surprised for letting himself relax so much that he failed to notice his visitor before he was right there next to him. "Your Lucario seems to be attached to you." Nodding to where Rebecca has her vice grip on Thomas's arm. "I have heard that Lucarios are protective of those they bound with. In a sense they became something like a brother or in this case sister to the one they bond with. So what's her name?"
"Her name is Rebecca. I have raised her ever since her parents died when she was a little Riolu. So she has been a constant traveling companion as has Radara." Thomas informs Eric as Radara gives a simple nod.
Eric smiles at Radara then looks back to Thomas with a serious face. "What is your relationship with Sarah?" The question puzzles Thomas and he stops giving Eric an odd stare because he didn't expect the question. "Look I hear how she talks about you. How calm and cool you are. Also that your a great pokemon battler and trainer. That's all she talked about was you. Are you her lover or something because she's mine I tell you mine!" Rebecca looks back and forth between them confused by this while Radara falls over laughing over the sudden topic at hand.
"Look what ever you think is going on between me and Sarah it's not happening, were just friends nothing more. I have known her and her family for most of my life." With that statement Rebecca nods her head to justify that, but Radara sends a thought of her own to Thomas.
'Oh but Thomas she is so close to you know. Just tell the world of your true love.' With that, Radara starts laughing even harder.
As the thoughts start to form in his head Radara simply says 'Don't form those thoughts I already know what they are and I don't want to hear them.'
Thomas continued to talk with Eric doing his best to convince him that he was just friends with Sarah, nothing more. By the end of the first day of traveling, Sarah had gotten reacquainted with her friends rather well, having learned what all everyone had been doing since their last meeting. With all of them on the same page now, Sarah had asked Thomas to join them. Checking his PokeNav to see how far they had traveled, Thomas was pleased to see that it would only take another half day of traveling to reach Mount Moon. Once that fact had been noted, he then suggested that the group start setting up camp. With the sky starting to grow dark, there was little argument from anyone and the lot of them walked a short distance off the main path to small clearing to set up the camp.
"So Thomas, you've been quiet the whole trip out here." Alexia stated as the group settled around a small campfire they had built up.
"I don't have much to say actually." Thomas explained. "I've always been the quiet one."
"If you're the quiet one, then why head out to a celebration like this?" Joan asked.
"This blue moon idea sort of caught my attention. I guess it's just something that I'd like to see once." Thomas informed them.
"Yea, no one can figure out why the moon does this, but once every ten years, it goes blue like that. Every time it has happened before, they say that the entire world enjoys a day of calm weather or something like that." Eric stated.
"They also say that it's one of the most beautiful sights there is and many couples are often blessed with long happy relationship if they admit their love under it." Sarah added smiling towards Thomas.
The group continued to talk, this time the subject being the various myths all concerning the blue moon and what it represented. At last the sun had completely set and everyone had gathered into their tents. Thomas just smiled having heard all the various myths about the moon, when in truth he knew exactly what the blue moon served as. "You know, I think we may want to head over to the Orange Islands once we get done here." Thomas whispered to Radara as they entered the Thomas's tent. Rebecca had already taken a spot on the sleeping bag, having already fallen asleep waiting for Thomas to join her while he collected a few buckets of water for use in the morning from a nearby creek.
'It's an idea. Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres will all be reincarnating soon enough.' Radara nodded her head debating the issue herself.
"It's lucky for them that they live an extra few years after once again becoming mortal to help raise next incarnations unlike the two of us." Thomas whispered again lying down before Radara took a spot on his stomach.
'When was the last time we saw them anyway?' Radara asked.
"I think it was roughly at the beginning of your last incarnation." Thomas stated. "Yea, it was. That group of hunters chased us to Lighting Island where you reincarnated under Zapdos's protection while I lured them off. I can't recall exactly what happened, but now that I think about it, I feel as though something rather funny happened while I was leading them off."
'Yes, I can't recall what either, but I do think that you had quiet the hilarious story to tell when you got back.' Radara added.
"Come on, let's just get some sleep." Thomas said with a slight laugh. "I'm sure we'll have a good laugh when Zapdos tells us what happened again."
As Thomas fell off to sleep with Radara, neither of them noticed the fact that Thomas's half of the conversation had been heard by another.
"Incarnation? Becoming Mortal?" Eric asked himself utterly confused by what he had heard. "And just who was he talking to anyway? I don't know what Sarah sees in him, but he's crazy to talk like that."
--
The final part of the trip up Mount Moon was roughly the same as the first day, only this time Thomas has something to say as the discussion of the blue moon meant continued.
With Thomas actually part of the conversation, time seemed to move faster and it wasn't long before the group had reached Mount Moon.
With the destination standing in front of them, they began the last stretch of the journey up to summit where the celebration would take place. Thomas lead the way this time having already traveled the mountain several times during his previous incarnations, he knew the quickest and safest route up the summit. By the time that they finally reached the summit, the sun was once again starting to set, but the summit showed no signs of darkness. Several large mobile light posts had been scattered around the summit with large heavy iron fences lined the more dangerous parts of the summit while all sorts of stands had been placed around the edges. All sorts of crews had been busy setting up other stands, some for food, other for drinks, but most were for various games and contests.
"Wow, they really got all sorts of things set up here." Alexia stated as one of the workers came up to greet them.
"Hey, we're still setting up, but if you earn some free tokens, talk to Dexter over there by the main stand. We're offering tokens to all the trainers who show up early for their help since we're a bit behind on the set up." The man informed them. "Other then that, just watch yourself up here."
"Some free tokens sound nice." Sarah smiled.
"It's only a little after nine, we got some time to spend." Eric stated. "It looks like they got a small area set up for tents over there as well."
"Why don't you guys go earn some tokens and I'll set up the tents then." Thomas suggested.
"Sounds good." Joan took off her travel pack and handing it to Thomas. Alexia and Sarah followed her idea. Eric was the last to hand his bag over and since Thomas had his hands full, Rebecca took his bag and then helped Thomas set up the tents. It took him a while, but at last, all five tents had been set up and Thomas had Radara and Juno watch over the tents while he went over to help the others.
The group had only helped out for a few hours before the lights started to shut down and everyone went to sleep.
Thomas woke up early the next morning to find that for once, he had not been the up the earliest. Several of the other workers had been already started setting up the last of the stands and started to organize the different games and foodstuffs. One group was even working on setting up a pair of small battle rings as a large flock of bird Pokemon began to arrive carrying the last day's worth of supplies. Thomas kept his mind open as the day began. Now that was at his destination, he could be needed at anytime. One thing that he had learned, despite his habits to try and get things done quickly, no matter how much he tried to push the matter, he would always show up, just in time, no sooner, no later then the exact moment he was needed.
Deciding that he had no choice to wait, he spent the day once again helping out the people in charge of setting up the festival with all the other trainers who had shown up early and earned himself a fair deal of tokens. By the end of the day helping out, everyone had earned enough tokens that they wouldn't have to buy any for the entire length of the festival. With the festival now ready and with all the various stands set up, everyone looked on at the summit. Now only one thing was missing, and that one thing wouldn't really show up until mid afternoon the tomorrow.
Once again, everyone went to sleep tired that night.
--
The morning of the next passed was quiet and easy. Everyone had decided to help out preparing the first patches of food and finalizing the small details with the games and other stands. The first large group of about forty people all showed up around noon and from that point on, others began to show up in steady groups of ten to twenty at a time. Everyone was having a good time and several trainers had even let their pokemon out to have fun themselves. Sarah took the lead guiding her friends and Thomas along with their pokemon who they had let out through the still growing masses. There were various games like a mini bowling game with little pokemon pins rather then traditional ones and even a basketball booth. Some stands had people test their knowledge about odd and unusual pokemon facts while others where painting faces to look like their pokemon partners. Just like Thomas had predicted, the two small battle arenas that had been set were going to be full until the sun had set with various trainers all trying to prove that they were the best. As they were walking though, a single booth caught Sarah's eyes and she quickly pointed it out to Thomas while Alexia, Joan, and Eric were all busy with another booth.
"Hey, look a fortune teller." Sarah pointed over to the fully enclosed booth with a large eyeball hanging the sheet that covered the doorway inside. Rather then argue, Thomas walked with Sarah over to the booth knowing that she'd most likely drag him along anyway.
"Oh, welcome." An old lady dressed in a large purple dress with a matching witch's hat greeted them as they entered. Thomas could already tell that the crystal ball in the middle had a sort of power source to it that kept it lit up. Although it was hidden rather well in the dim lights, Thomas could just barely see the power cord where the carpet had been shifted a small bit.
"I'd like my fortune told please." Sarah informed the old lady. She already had a small number of tokens in her hand as she took her seat handing them over.
"Very well. Let's see what the future brings for you." The lady placed both of her hands on the crystal ball as it began to glow a bit brighter. Rebecca just looked on confused as this happened while Radara smiled finding that she was focused on such an old trick. "Hmm, I see a long road ahead, a difficult path, but well worth the journey. You will see many wonders and make many friends along this road."
As the lady went on, Thomas just began to ignore her while Sarah's focus was completely focused on the words she was being told. Just as Thomas had finally separate his mind from the world around him through trying to gain any clue he could about why he had been called up, Radara alerted him to an odd fact. 'Thomas, she's giving off very high psychic readings.'
Thomas was quickly brought back to find that lady staring strangely into the crystal ball. "Well now, this is very odd."
"What's odd?" Sarah asked.
"I...I see great danger in your future." The lady looked up.
"Great danger? In my future?" Sarah was very confused.
"No." The lady shook her head. "Yours." She pointed to Thomas. Thomas simply looked down at Radara while Rebecca looked a bit scared.
'Thomas that was no false reading. Her mind was far too active.' Radara explained.
"What kind of danger?" Thomas questioned the lady.
"I don't know, but be careful." The lady warned Thomas. He looked down at Radara once more, a serious look on his face.
'I expect that we won't be protecting Arceus from trainers this time. That was very much a true psychic reading, but she is inexperienced.' Radara informed Thomas.
"I'll be sure to watch my back." Thomas said as he left with a worried Rebecca and Sarah following him.
The rest of the day passed quickly. As the sun started to set, the whole reason for the celebration had at last made itself known. The blue moon began to shine brightly bathing the area with its tinted light. With the so called guest of honor as the person in charge of festival had called the blue moon, a new set of events started to place. Rather then deal with the seemingly overactive crowd, Thomas had moved over to the group they had their tents set up away from the action. He wasn't surprised to find Juno resting out by the tents as if waiting for him to come back.
It wasn't too long after Thomas left before Sarah noticed he had left and went looking for him only to find him sitting around a small fire with his pokemon.
"Thomas, you're missing everything." Sarah stated.
"It got a little too crowded for my liking. Besides, I've got a nice quiet view of the moon from here." Thomas pointed up to the view he had. The full blue moon was surrounded by stars in the cloudless night sky. Although Sarah tried to get Thomas to come back to the festival, she soon gave up seeing that Thomas wasn't going to move, she decided to join him. It wasn't long afterwards that they went into their tents and fell asleep just as the festival was dying down.
xXx
The next day, things started much earlier since so many of the people attending had set up camps all over the mountain to stay within easy reach of the festival. After everyone had had breakfast, Thomas decided that it was time to explore the caves in the mountain. With the fortune teller's warning still fresh in his head, Thomas had asked Rebecca to spend some time wandering with Sarah and have some fun while he was exploring with Radara. She was a bit hesitant to leave Thomas, but she was beginning to return to her natural self.
Before heading into the caves though, he made a stop back by the fortune teller's stand only to find it empty. Rather then wait; he proceeded down the mountain to a large cave system.
"Well, I got a strange feeling about this." Thomas stated as he pulled out his flashlight and started into the cave.
'I know what you mean.' Radara explained as they started their way in. With the festival in full swing, most of the wild pokemon that normally resided on Mount Moon had worked their way deeper into the caves to avoid the noise and unwanted contact. As the two of them traveled deeper into the mountain, Thomas's head began to hurt as he recalled the routes he had taken through the mountain in previous incarnations. Traveling along at a steady pace, the cave grew darker and darker and Thomas put a unique collar on Radara, one that had a small LED light on it to provide some light for herself as well as mark her location for Thomas.
Having doubled back after checking one of the large chambers in the cave, but coming up empty along that route, Thomas was now taking a break as she shook his head a bit. "I forgot just how big this mountain was, and just how many memories went with it."
'How are you holding up?' Radara asked.
"Well, aside from the usual, I'm glad to say that the memories are coming up slowly as we travel rather then all at once. That helps me sort things out much easier and makes this headache a lot less painful." Thomas explained.
'I know.' Radara began looking around.
"Well, if I got these memories down right, we're nearing the center of this cave." Thomas placed a hand on his head for a second before pointing down one of the passages. "If we head down this passage, take a left at spilt, and then just keep following that passage, we should enter the main chamber."
'I hope so. We've been down here for a while now.' Radara took a look at Thomas's PokeNav noticing that it was already noon meaning that they had been down here for a few hours already.
Having spent enough rubbing his head, Thomas got back up and started down the passage again with Radara once again by his side. As they walked, several pokemon scurried out of their way not wanting to deal with a human. As Thomas and Radara continued, quiet echoes caught the attention of their ears. At first, nothing was distinguishable, but as they traveled down further, the echoes became clear.
"This way." A loud, deep voice shouted bringing a worried look to Thomas's face.
"I found it. Over here." A second voice quickly followed. Thomas and Radara broke into a small jog as they heard more and more.
"Machamp, use Mega Punch." Another voice called as they drew even closer. Rounding a corner, they saw a small light down the passage.
"Charizard, Fire Blast." This time, the voice was followed a bright flash of light and a small blast. Several smaller pokemon ran past Thomas and Radara as they ran closer to the action.
"Boss, we got company." The first voice shouted again.
"Glaceon, use Ice Beam." A sudden blast at the end of the passage resulted in a frozen wall serving a blockade.
"Radara." Thomas shouted breaking into a run.
Using her psychic abilities, she picked up a small stone and shot it straight into the center of the ice wall cracking it severely. Now it was Thomas's turn and as he sped up. Electricity gathered on his hands and feet before gathering into his shoulder. With a mighty slam, Thomas broke through the barrier.
As Thomas stormed through the barrier with Radara right behind him, he now understood the reason behind his summons. Three large men, all dawning the black suits with their red R's upon them and six pokemon had managed to corner Arcues. The three larger ones, a Machamp, a Charizard, and a Mamoswine had managed to corner Arceus against the far wall of the chamber while the three ones, a Glaceon, a Raichu, and a Cacturne were on her flanks preventing any escape.
"Arceus, grant us Dominion!" Thomas shouted. All three of the men all looked to Arcues who gave off a massive golden glow. Looking back over to Thomas and Radara, all three of the men were confused by the similar glow that had gathered around Thomas and Radara. Both of them have taken a very relaxed stance. Radara had taken a seat her tail lying on the cave floor while Thomas was still standing. Both of them had their eyes closed and their heads hung down just a bit.
"Get them. We don't need interference." The leader of the three Rocket members shouted. "Charizard, use Fire Blast."
Radara was the first to response, her eyes opened up giving off their own bright blue glow as a massive green barrier appeared before Thomas and Radara stopping the fiery star from hitting them. Thomas was the next to move, electricity surged all over his body. As the barrier faded way, Thomas charged forward, his face showing a blank stare more then anything. Before the Charizard had a chance to move, Thomas placed an open palm on its stomach. The electricity that had once surged through his body now danced all over the Charizard. Thomas left his hand resting on the Charizard for a few seconds before it finally passed out.
--
"You're sure they went this way?" Sarah asked as she held her flashlight up walking through the caves.
'Yea, his scent if fresh, so he must of just passed through here.' Rebecca stated. 'I wonder why he wandered off like that though?'
"I guess he felt crowded." Sarah replied as they walked down the stone passage.
"Cacturne, use Pin Missile. I want that kid gone." A voice shouted causing Rebecca and Sarah to just look at each worried about what was happening.
--
Thomas had easily down the Charizard and Radara had focused her attention on the Machamp while Thomas sidestepped the Pin Missile attack that had been sent his way. Radara gathered up a massive amount of psychic energy before releasing the blast in the form of a partially transparent sphere. The small orb hit the Machamp head on sending him flying back crashing roughly into the wall behind it.
As Thomas continued to move closer to his next target. The Cacturne wasn't going to give up easily though and continued its ranged assault. Thomas was too fast however and moved into melee range starting off with a low kick knocking the pokemon off balance. With its footing gone, it started to fall back as Thomas slammed a fist into its head sending it down hard onto the cave floor. Another massive burst of electricity danced over his new target and although it took longer to knock out his foe since it was a grass type, the attack still worked. As the attack continued though and electricity continued to pour though Thomas's body, it also began to affect him as well. Small scorch marks began to appear on his fingers and palms, the focus points where he had been discharging his electrical attacks.
With both Radara and Thomas having taken down half of the Rocket's pokemon so quickly, the Rocket members began to worry. In their attempts to weaken Arceus for capture, they had already lost twelve of their pokemon total and now these two had just taken out half of their remaining crew. To make matters worse, one of them was a human that didn't appear to be so human.
"I want them gone! KILL THEM!" The Rocket leader shouted.
All three of the remaining pokemon now turned their attention to Thomas and Radara, both of which were already preparing their next moves. Radara was once again gathering psychic energy. Thomas was also gathering up energy himself, although it was of his element. Electricity gathered in his hands before him, the occasional bolt flying out of the sphere hitting him singeing the skin where it hit.
As the Glaceon, Raichu, and Mamoswine all charged forward, Thomas and Radara both released their attacks. Radara had targeted the Raichu sending it flying much like she had done with the Machamp while the orb of electricity that Thomas had gathered turned into a storm of lighting. Used in such a confined area however resulted in a case in friendly fire as both Thomas and Radara had been hit by a few stray bolts from the attack that Thomas had fired. Seeing all of their pokemon had been downed, the Rockets had no choice but to call back their pokemon. In a final act to try and get revenge for ruining their plans, the Rocket leader pulled out a pistol and fired upon Thomas.
--
As Sarah and Rebecca ran down the passage, a gunshot rang out through the passage. Fearing the worst, both of them began to run even faster.
--
Thomas stood still, looking at the bullet that had been caught inside the light green wall that Radara had put up. The Rocket leader fired another few shots, but unlike the first one that had been caught inside the defensive move, all of the other bullets had been stopped by the attack.
"Thomas?" Sarah shouted as she entered the chamber with Rebecca. With unexpected event drew the attention of both Thomas and Radara who looked over to see who had called out the name. Seeing his chance, the Rocket leader fired one last shot. Thomas's head turned just in time to see the bullet before it flew through his chest. It passed cleanly through his chest as Thomas looked down at the small hole.
'Thomas?!' Rebecca shouted as Thomas fell to his knees.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'Character Thought'
(Pokemon speech)
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.
Co-author: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 7
The trip ended late in the afternoon as the ship docked in Vermilion City. Deciding that since it was already so late in the day, Sarah thought that they should spend the night in local Pokemon center.
Thomas quickly agreed deciding that Rebecca would probably do best with a full check up to see how bad the damage was on her body. Although Rebecca didn't take too well to having a checkup at first, she did agree to it as long as Thomas was with her. Given what had happened though, everyone was thankful to hear that the damage could have been much greater and aside from losing her virginity in such a rough way and the damage on her mind, her body was still in very good condition.
After spending a night at the Pokemon Center, the group was once again ready to leave. Rebecca seemed rather eager to leave the port city of Vermilion herself, but still clung to Thomas's side.
Not to long after having Rebecca looked at, Sarah a received a phone call from one of her many friends. After a long talk on the phone during which time, Thomas had decided to go grab a bite to eat, Sarah informed Thomas about what the call was about.
"Hey Thomas, that was a good friend of mine in Pewter City. Apparently, there is this big party of some sort taking place by Mount Moon in a few days." Sarah exclaimed.
Thomas looked up a bit confused. He had just been called with the intention of heading to Mount Moon. Was there a connection between this party and why he was being called? Even if there wasn't a real connection, the fact that there were going to be so many trainers knowing very well who some of Sarah's friends were and the fact that he was being called could spell serious trouble.
"They were wondering where I was at wanting to know if I could make it. What do you say we take a bus up to Pewter City? We're already headed to Mount Moon anyway; why not try to make it this party then?" Sarah stated.
"Why not?" Thomas shrugged his shoulders making it look like he just didn't care. Sarah knew that he may not have been big on parties, but seeing that Thomas didn't object and actually accepted the idea was another good sign for her. Of course, Radara knew that there was more to it then just accepting the idea and her own thoughts were similar to Thomas's in thinking that the party may somehow play a part in their being needed.
--
It wasn't long before the group was on a bus over to Pewter City where they could then make their way up to Mount Moon. Once again Sarah tried to make conversation with Thomas which of course meant the only response she got were grunts nods or a simply yes, no, or I guess response from him. This didn't make the bus ride to Mount Moon more enjoyable for Sarah. Rebecca was asleep still holding onto Tomas arm. Radara was also asleep on Tomas's lap. Thomas was gently stroking her fur. As he watched the cars past the bus in both directions and seeing the some Pigey and Pidgeotto fly by. He thinks about the last few days on the boat, but is brought back from his distant thoughts as Sarah keeps calling his name.
"Jeez do you have to space out like that every time I talk to you Thomas." As she sits up in her seat in front of Thomas then flicks his forehead. Thomas simply sits there looking at her.
"If you have something new to add then I will say something." She makes a pouting face at him then sits facing back towards the front of the bus as others around them are commenting about a 'lovers spat'.
He sighs at this as Radara vice once more fills his head. 'You should be nicer to her since she will be with us for a bit longer. She did get Rebecca back that night remember.' He doesn't say anything as he looks at Rebecca as she still holds him tightly even though she is asleep. He smiles as he sees her sleeping there.
He remembers back when he first took her in after her parents died. She was scared of him at first. Come to think about even after he tried to save her mother, she was sort of distant. Radara had to make her feel more welcome when Nurse Joy had asked him to take care of her. He wasn't planning on adding anyone to his team so early into his adventure, but given what had happened, he couldn't leave her there. He didn't want to force her to do anything; his first thought was to leave her with his foster parents. After a while she seemed to escape from her Pokeball and he would wake up the next day with her sleeping next to him or in his sleeping bag. He had made her aware of the possibility of staying with his foster parents, but she either just ignored it or didn't care.
At first he thought Rebecca was a more of Ninja then a Pokemon because it seemed that she would just appear out of no where half the time. Radara would enjoy this because no matter how much they tried to keep Rebecca under control, she would always try to do as she wanted. She was a like child in a sense, always trying to do things her own way. That was until one summer when she wanted to go exploring with out telling Thomas or Radara. She ran into a pack of wild Pokemon who saw her as lunch. She took off as fast as she could. Lucky for her Thomas and Radara were looking for her. Just in time Radara made short work of the wild Pokemon. Rebecca held onto Thomas for dear life, scared out her fur thinking how close she was to being eaten. Thomas tried to clam her down as she broke down and cried after that. Since then she would rarely leave his side out fear. Rebecca would later get stronger under Thomas's care and eventually evolved into a Lucario.
Thomas notices the bus slowing down as they arrived at their location. "Finally we're here!" Sarah smiled.
Thomas wakes Rebecca with a soft nudge. "Come on sleepy head we're here. You too Radara, I am not going to carry you."
Thomas hears Radara reply, slightly annoyed by his previous comment. 'Why not?' She jumps down from Thomas's lap as she waits for Thomas and Rebecca to follow. They make there way out of the bus as Sarah waits for them outside waving them over.
"We're in luck my parents paid for our room." She notices Thomas was about to say to something. "Don't worry my parents are old fashion, we have separate rooms. Sometimes I wonder about you if you really like me Thomas."
His response quickly forms in his head, easily picked up by Radara. 'Clam down she is only trying to be nice Thomas.'
"I just like my privacy is all. Sarah you know that after all these years. Come on lets get our room keys. You said there is some festival you were invited to?" She smiles at him taking his other arm and pulling him and Rebecca who is attached to his other arm along.
"Yep it's to celebrate the Full Blue moon. It happens only every 10 years. Also it last for 5 days, they say it's so romantic." As she holds close to Thomas. Rebecca starts to growl a bit seeing how close Sarah is being to Thomas. Thomas looks at with a pleading look that's trying to clam her down. Sarah notices this "Sorry Rebecca I know I said I would go slow." She pulls away a bit from Thomas as they continue to walk toward the Lodge.
Thomas notices the Lodge is a band new addition to the area since he was here during his last incarnation. The lodge itself looks fairly large, as it seems to have 3 floors to it. As they enter he notices that it has a nice laid back feel to it all He notices in the main lobby larger than most places he has been to. It has a few mini shops selling basic needs to trainers and souvenirs. There is even a small Pokemon Center set up on the side, meant to deal with basic injuries and general health rather then the full service centers found in the cities and towns.
As he looks around, Thomas sees many trainers Pokemon and others who seem to be here for the festival.
'With all these trainers, it's no wonder I was called out here. She may be strong, but she has yet to truly recover from the War of Legend.' Thomas looks down at Radara.
'None of them appear to have any sense of knowing about her presence. If anything happens, I think it will happen by accident. Most of these trainers here don't appear to be experts. They appear to be beginners with the exception of that group over there.' Radara uses her tail to point towards the back end of the lobby towards a group of about 8 trainers, all looking to be in their late teens. Sarah was already making her way over there no doubt looking for her friend.
'Well, something is going to happen. Either way, we've been called upon. All we can do now is wait to see why.' Thomas informs Radara.
'True.' Radara replies as Sarah waves for Thomas to come over. Going along with it, Thomas makes his way over to meet a few of Sarah's friends.
Along side Sarah stood three other trainers all enjoying meeting back up with each other once again. "Thomas, these are some my friends I've made since we last met." Sarah pointed to a girl her own age, but just a bit shorter. Her blue sweat pants and t-shirt matched her blue hair.
"Hey, I'm Joan, master breeder. My dad owns the ranch to south of the city." Joan stated offering her hand to Thomas who shook it gently.
The next to offer there was a boy, who stood up taller then most of the group. Between his wild red hair and rough choice of clothing consisting of torn jeans and a stained T-shirt told Thomas that he been traveling for quite a while. "The name's Eric. I mostly just do a lot traveling."
Finally, the last member of the group to speak up was another girl, this one appearing to be in her mid teens. Like "I'm Alexia, Joan's sister." The girl stated adjusting her pack. Like Joan herself, she was also dressed up in blue, but had blond hair unlike her sister.
"I'm Thomas, this is Radara." Thomas nodded his head down to Radara. "And this is Rebecca." Thomas nodded his head towards where Rebecca was standing still holding his arm.
"Wow, an Espeon and a Lucario. Both rare finds here in Kanto." Joan stated.
"Listen, it's starting to get late, I think I'm going to head to my room for the night. I'd like to get an early start up to Mount Moon in the morning." Thomas stated.
"Sounds like a good idea. We can all head up their in the morning. The festival won't start for another four days, and it will take two days to get up there. That will leave plenty of time for us to set up our camp before the majority of the others start showing up." Eric stated.
"Alright then, I'll see you guys in the morning then." Alexia stated.
"It's settled then. We'll leave in the morning." Sarah smiled glad to be traveling with a number of her best friends once again.
--
Thomas headed to his room pleased to find two large beds waiting for him. The room had its own small bathroom as well, but being a small lodge as it was, there wasn't much else. Then again, the place usually just tailored to trainers who were looking for a place to spend the night other then outside under the stars. Thomas released the rest of his Pokemon who stretched out a bit before climbing onto the second bed leaving Thomas, Radara, and Rebecca the first one. "So, with all those trainers, how bad do think this can get. It will only take just one to spread the word about her to catch everyone's interest." Thomas stated.
'What's going on?' Thomas heard Juno's voice in his knowing that Radara was translating for him. Looking over he saw her watching their conversation.
"We've been called upon, that much you know. What I've just found out is that there is a festival at Mount Moon and there is large crowd of trainers who are all planning on attending this event." Thomas explained.
'I see. With any luck, the events will keep most of them busy while we deal with whatever is threatening Arceus.' Juno stated.
'I didn't sense that any of them knew of her presence. If any of them did, then they plainly did not care and that in itself is highly unlikely.' Radara added. 'I'm thinking that this festival is either just a coincidence or someone is planning on using it as cover. Don't forget that this appears to be a common event around these parts and there are other towns where more trainers have no doubt collected waiting to attend.'
"This is true. For all we know, there could be a hundreds attending this festival. As large as the summit of Mount Moon is, I would have to guess that it could easily hold a few hundred people." Thomas stated. Looking over, Thomas could see Razor and Aqua curling up with each other getting ready to bed themselves.
'It wouldn't surprise me if this celebration was just a cover. Any group could send a few people in to explore the caves at a time like. With this party going on though, I don't many would be in the caves anyway. Most would no don't avoid the mountain all together would they would join in the celebration. As long as the word doesn't get out that Arceus is there, then things shouldn't get out of hand.' Juno added.
"I'm hoping that whoever knows about her will do their best to keep it secret. Surely they would hate it as much as I would if a mass of trainers all rushed down to try and capture her." Thomas added.
'Let's get some sleep now. We'll find out what we are dealing with when we get there.' Radara stated. With that final comment, everyone agreed that it was time to get some sleep. Without any real information at this point, there was much more to be said.
xXx
Just like the group had planned, everyone was up early as the sun started rising. With their gear gathered, everyone was ready and after a quick breakfast, the group of now five humans and their Pokemon set off on their trip up to Mount Moon. Aside from Radara and Rebecca who was still holding onto to Thomas, just not as tight as before, Alexia and Eric had also let out one of their Pokemon as well. For Alexia, it was her starter, a Wartortle who walked next to the group while Eric had let out his Noctowl who took a place on his shoulder. Together, the group made good time traveling towards Mount Moon. With his mind now focused on the mountain ahead and reason he was going there in the first place, Thomas remained quiet for the most part, only adding minor comments here there letting Sarah catch up with her friends.
As they walked Radara keep constant contact with Thomas on weather they would hear anything from Arceus during this time. 'Look Thomas I'll tell you if I hear anything you don't want these people to think you don't care.'
Thomas sighs. 'That's just it I don't care. I just want to see what Arceus needs and that she is alright.'
Radara scowls at him 'You know full well if one these children see Arceus they will try and capture her or even worse "they" will know.' Thomas knew full well who 'they' were, the ones who served the darkness who was in conflict with Arceus.
'You sure you don't mean the other group to Radara. The ones who think we serve Darkrai. I am so sick of running into the religious fanatics who think they serve Arceus.' Thomas asked as they continued to walk. 'It's hard to believe that religious group is the sole reason for my being the last of the watchers. Yea, one of us betrayed the others, and the rest of us dealt with her, but to have that group start putting bounties on our heads for her mistake.'
"Dude are you ok." Eric walked over towards them. Thomas is partially surprised for letting himself relax so much that he failed to notice his visitor before he was right there next to him. "Your Lucario seems to be attached to you." Nodding to where Rebecca has her vice grip on Thomas's arm. "I have heard that Lucarios are protective of those they bound with. In a sense they became something like a brother or in this case sister to the one they bond with. So what's her name?"
"Her name is Rebecca. I have raised her ever since her parents died when she was a little Riolu. So she has been a constant traveling companion as has Radara." Thomas informs Eric as Radara gives a simple nod.
Eric smiles at Radara then looks back to Thomas with a serious face. "What is your relationship with Sarah?" The question puzzles Thomas and he stops giving Eric an odd stare because he didn't expect the question. "Look I hear how she talks about you. How calm and cool you are. Also that your a great pokemon battler and trainer. That's all she talked about was you. Are you her lover or something because she's mine I tell you mine!" Rebecca looks back and forth between them confused by this while Radara falls over laughing over the sudden topic at hand.
"Look what ever you think is going on between me and Sarah it's not happening, were just friends nothing more. I have known her and her family for most of my life." With that statement Rebecca nods her head to justify that, but Radara sends a thought of her own to Thomas.
'Oh but Thomas she is so close to you know. Just tell the world of your true love.' With that, Radara starts laughing even harder.
As the thoughts start to form in his head Radara simply says 'Don't form those thoughts I already know what they are and I don't want to hear them.'
Thomas continued to talk with Eric doing his best to convince him that he was just friends with Sarah, nothing more. By the end of the first day of traveling, Sarah had gotten reacquainted with her friends rather well, having learned what all everyone had been doing since their last meeting. With all of them on the same page now, Sarah had asked Thomas to join them. Checking his PokeNav to see how far they had traveled, Thomas was pleased to see that it would only take another half day of traveling to reach Mount Moon. Once that fact had been noted, he then suggested that the group start setting up camp. With the sky starting to grow dark, there was little argument from anyone and the lot of them walked a short distance off the main path to small clearing to set up the camp.
"So Thomas, you've been quiet the whole trip out here." Alexia stated as the group settled around a small campfire they had built up.
"I don't have much to say actually." Thomas explained. "I've always been the quiet one."
"If you're the quiet one, then why head out to a celebration like this?" Joan asked.
"This blue moon idea sort of caught my attention. I guess it's just something that I'd like to see once." Thomas informed them.
"Yea, no one can figure out why the moon does this, but once every ten years, it goes blue like that. Every time it has happened before, they say that the entire world enjoys a day of calm weather or something like that." Eric stated.
"They also say that it's one of the most beautiful sights there is and many couples are often blessed with long happy relationship if they admit their love under it." Sarah added smiling towards Thomas.
The group continued to talk, this time the subject being the various myths all concerning the blue moon and what it represented. At last the sun had completely set and everyone had gathered into their tents. Thomas just smiled having heard all the various myths about the moon, when in truth he knew exactly what the blue moon served as. "You know, I think we may want to head over to the Orange Islands once we get done here." Thomas whispered to Radara as they entered the Thomas's tent. Rebecca had already taken a spot on the sleeping bag, having already fallen asleep waiting for Thomas to join her while he collected a few buckets of water for use in the morning from a nearby creek.
'It's an idea. Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres will all be reincarnating soon enough.' Radara nodded her head debating the issue herself.
"It's lucky for them that they live an extra few years after once again becoming mortal to help raise next incarnations unlike the two of us." Thomas whispered again lying down before Radara took a spot on his stomach.
'When was the last time we saw them anyway?' Radara asked.
"I think it was roughly at the beginning of your last incarnation." Thomas stated. "Yea, it was. That group of hunters chased us to Lighting Island where you reincarnated under Zapdos's protection while I lured them off. I can't recall exactly what happened, but now that I think about it, I feel as though something rather funny happened while I was leading them off."
'Yes, I can't recall what either, but I do think that you had quiet the hilarious story to tell when you got back.' Radara added.
"Come on, let's just get some sleep." Thomas said with a slight laugh. "I'm sure we'll have a good laugh when Zapdos tells us what happened again."
As Thomas fell off to sleep with Radara, neither of them noticed the fact that Thomas's half of the conversation had been heard by another.
"Incarnation? Becoming Mortal?" Eric asked himself utterly confused by what he had heard. "And just who was he talking to anyway? I don't know what Sarah sees in him, but he's crazy to talk like that."
--
The final part of the trip up Mount Moon was roughly the same as the first day, only this time Thomas has something to say as the discussion of the blue moon meant continued.
With Thomas actually part of the conversation, time seemed to move faster and it wasn't long before the group had reached Mount Moon.
With the destination standing in front of them, they began the last stretch of the journey up to summit where the celebration would take place. Thomas lead the way this time having already traveled the mountain several times during his previous incarnations, he knew the quickest and safest route up the summit. By the time that they finally reached the summit, the sun was once again starting to set, but the summit showed no signs of darkness. Several large mobile light posts had been scattered around the summit with large heavy iron fences lined the more dangerous parts of the summit while all sorts of stands had been placed around the edges. All sorts of crews had been busy setting up other stands, some for food, other for drinks, but most were for various games and contests.
"Wow, they really got all sorts of things set up here." Alexia stated as one of the workers came up to greet them.
"Hey, we're still setting up, but if you earn some free tokens, talk to Dexter over there by the main stand. We're offering tokens to all the trainers who show up early for their help since we're a bit behind on the set up." The man informed them. "Other then that, just watch yourself up here."
"Some free tokens sound nice." Sarah smiled.
"It's only a little after nine, we got some time to spend." Eric stated. "It looks like they got a small area set up for tents over there as well."
"Why don't you guys go earn some tokens and I'll set up the tents then." Thomas suggested.
"Sounds good." Joan took off her travel pack and handing it to Thomas. Alexia and Sarah followed her idea. Eric was the last to hand his bag over and since Thomas had his hands full, Rebecca took his bag and then helped Thomas set up the tents. It took him a while, but at last, all five tents had been set up and Thomas had Radara and Juno watch over the tents while he went over to help the others.
The group had only helped out for a few hours before the lights started to shut down and everyone went to sleep.
Thomas woke up early the next morning to find that for once, he had not been the up the earliest. Several of the other workers had been already started setting up the last of the stands and started to organize the different games and foodstuffs. One group was even working on setting up a pair of small battle rings as a large flock of bird Pokemon began to arrive carrying the last day's worth of supplies. Thomas kept his mind open as the day began. Now that was at his destination, he could be needed at anytime. One thing that he had learned, despite his habits to try and get things done quickly, no matter how much he tried to push the matter, he would always show up, just in time, no sooner, no later then the exact moment he was needed.
Deciding that he had no choice to wait, he spent the day once again helping out the people in charge of setting up the festival with all the other trainers who had shown up early and earned himself a fair deal of tokens. By the end of the day helping out, everyone had earned enough tokens that they wouldn't have to buy any for the entire length of the festival. With the festival now ready and with all the various stands set up, everyone looked on at the summit. Now only one thing was missing, and that one thing wouldn't really show up until mid afternoon the tomorrow.
Once again, everyone went to sleep tired that night.
--
The morning of the next passed was quiet and easy. Everyone had decided to help out preparing the first patches of food and finalizing the small details with the games and other stands. The first large group of about forty people all showed up around noon and from that point on, others began to show up in steady groups of ten to twenty at a time. Everyone was having a good time and several trainers had even let their pokemon out to have fun themselves. Sarah took the lead guiding her friends and Thomas along with their pokemon who they had let out through the still growing masses. There were various games like a mini bowling game with little pokemon pins rather then traditional ones and even a basketball booth. Some stands had people test their knowledge about odd and unusual pokemon facts while others where painting faces to look like their pokemon partners. Just like Thomas had predicted, the two small battle arenas that had been set were going to be full until the sun had set with various trainers all trying to prove that they were the best. As they were walking though, a single booth caught Sarah's eyes and she quickly pointed it out to Thomas while Alexia, Joan, and Eric were all busy with another booth.
"Hey, look a fortune teller." Sarah pointed over to the fully enclosed booth with a large eyeball hanging the sheet that covered the doorway inside. Rather then argue, Thomas walked with Sarah over to the booth knowing that she'd most likely drag him along anyway.
"Oh, welcome." An old lady dressed in a large purple dress with a matching witch's hat greeted them as they entered. Thomas could already tell that the crystal ball in the middle had a sort of power source to it that kept it lit up. Although it was hidden rather well in the dim lights, Thomas could just barely see the power cord where the carpet had been shifted a small bit.
"I'd like my fortune told please." Sarah informed the old lady. She already had a small number of tokens in her hand as she took her seat handing them over.
"Very well. Let's see what the future brings for you." The lady placed both of her hands on the crystal ball as it began to glow a bit brighter. Rebecca just looked on confused as this happened while Radara smiled finding that she was focused on such an old trick. "Hmm, I see a long road ahead, a difficult path, but well worth the journey. You will see many wonders and make many friends along this road."
As the lady went on, Thomas just began to ignore her while Sarah's focus was completely focused on the words she was being told. Just as Thomas had finally separate his mind from the world around him through trying to gain any clue he could about why he had been called up, Radara alerted him to an odd fact. 'Thomas, she's giving off very high psychic readings.'
Thomas was quickly brought back to find that lady staring strangely into the crystal ball. "Well now, this is very odd."
"What's odd?" Sarah asked.
"I...I see great danger in your future." The lady looked up.
"Great danger? In my future?" Sarah was very confused.
"No." The lady shook her head. "Yours." She pointed to Thomas. Thomas simply looked down at Radara while Rebecca looked a bit scared.
'Thomas that was no false reading. Her mind was far too active.' Radara explained.
"What kind of danger?" Thomas questioned the lady.
"I don't know, but be careful." The lady warned Thomas. He looked down at Radara once more, a serious look on his face.
'I expect that we won't be protecting Arceus from trainers this time. That was very much a true psychic reading, but she is inexperienced.' Radara informed Thomas.
"I'll be sure to watch my back." Thomas said as he left with a worried Rebecca and Sarah following him.
The rest of the day passed quickly. As the sun started to set, the whole reason for the celebration had at last made itself known. The blue moon began to shine brightly bathing the area with its tinted light. With the so called guest of honor as the person in charge of festival had called the blue moon, a new set of events started to place. Rather then deal with the seemingly overactive crowd, Thomas had moved over to the group they had their tents set up away from the action. He wasn't surprised to find Juno resting out by the tents as if waiting for him to come back.
It wasn't too long after Thomas left before Sarah noticed he had left and went looking for him only to find him sitting around a small fire with his pokemon.
"Thomas, you're missing everything." Sarah stated.
"It got a little too crowded for my liking. Besides, I've got a nice quiet view of the moon from here." Thomas pointed up to the view he had. The full blue moon was surrounded by stars in the cloudless night sky. Although Sarah tried to get Thomas to come back to the festival, she soon gave up seeing that Thomas wasn't going to move, she decided to join him. It wasn't long afterwards that they went into their tents and fell asleep just as the festival was dying down.
xXx
The next day, things started much earlier since so many of the people attending had set up camps all over the mountain to stay within easy reach of the festival. After everyone had had breakfast, Thomas decided that it was time to explore the caves in the mountain. With the fortune teller's warning still fresh in his head, Thomas had asked Rebecca to spend some time wandering with Sarah and have some fun while he was exploring with Radara. She was a bit hesitant to leave Thomas, but she was beginning to return to her natural self.
Before heading into the caves though, he made a stop back by the fortune teller's stand only to find it empty. Rather then wait; he proceeded down the mountain to a large cave system.
"Well, I got a strange feeling about this." Thomas stated as he pulled out his flashlight and started into the cave.
'I know what you mean.' Radara explained as they started their way in. With the festival in full swing, most of the wild pokemon that normally resided on Mount Moon had worked their way deeper into the caves to avoid the noise and unwanted contact. As the two of them traveled deeper into the mountain, Thomas's head began to hurt as he recalled the routes he had taken through the mountain in previous incarnations. Traveling along at a steady pace, the cave grew darker and darker and Thomas put a unique collar on Radara, one that had a small LED light on it to provide some light for herself as well as mark her location for Thomas.
Having doubled back after checking one of the large chambers in the cave, but coming up empty along that route, Thomas was now taking a break as she shook his head a bit. "I forgot just how big this mountain was, and just how many memories went with it."
'How are you holding up?' Radara asked.
"Well, aside from the usual, I'm glad to say that the memories are coming up slowly as we travel rather then all at once. That helps me sort things out much easier and makes this headache a lot less painful." Thomas explained.
'I know.' Radara began looking around.
"Well, if I got these memories down right, we're nearing the center of this cave." Thomas placed a hand on his head for a second before pointing down one of the passages. "If we head down this passage, take a left at spilt, and then just keep following that passage, we should enter the main chamber."
'I hope so. We've been down here for a while now.' Radara took a look at Thomas's PokeNav noticing that it was already noon meaning that they had been down here for a few hours already.
Having spent enough rubbing his head, Thomas got back up and started down the passage again with Radara once again by his side. As they walked, several pokemon scurried out of their way not wanting to deal with a human. As Thomas and Radara continued, quiet echoes caught the attention of their ears. At first, nothing was distinguishable, but as they traveled down further, the echoes became clear.
"This way." A loud, deep voice shouted bringing a worried look to Thomas's face.
"I found it. Over here." A second voice quickly followed. Thomas and Radara broke into a small jog as they heard more and more.
"Machamp, use Mega Punch." Another voice called as they drew even closer. Rounding a corner, they saw a small light down the passage.
"Charizard, Fire Blast." This time, the voice was followed a bright flash of light and a small blast. Several smaller pokemon ran past Thomas and Radara as they ran closer to the action.
"Boss, we got company." The first voice shouted again.
"Glaceon, use Ice Beam." A sudden blast at the end of the passage resulted in a frozen wall serving a blockade.
"Radara." Thomas shouted breaking into a run.
Using her psychic abilities, she picked up a small stone and shot it straight into the center of the ice wall cracking it severely. Now it was Thomas's turn and as he sped up. Electricity gathered on his hands and feet before gathering into his shoulder. With a mighty slam, Thomas broke through the barrier.
As Thomas stormed through the barrier with Radara right behind him, he now understood the reason behind his summons. Three large men, all dawning the black suits with their red R's upon them and six pokemon had managed to corner Arcues. The three larger ones, a Machamp, a Charizard, and a Mamoswine had managed to corner Arceus against the far wall of the chamber while the three ones, a Glaceon, a Raichu, and a Cacturne were on her flanks preventing any escape.
"Arceus, grant us Dominion!" Thomas shouted. All three of the men all looked to Arcues who gave off a massive golden glow. Looking back over to Thomas and Radara, all three of the men were confused by the similar glow that had gathered around Thomas and Radara. Both of them have taken a very relaxed stance. Radara had taken a seat her tail lying on the cave floor while Thomas was still standing. Both of them had their eyes closed and their heads hung down just a bit.
"Get them. We don't need interference." The leader of the three Rocket members shouted. "Charizard, use Fire Blast."
Radara was the first to response, her eyes opened up giving off their own bright blue glow as a massive green barrier appeared before Thomas and Radara stopping the fiery star from hitting them. Thomas was the next to move, electricity surged all over his body. As the barrier faded way, Thomas charged forward, his face showing a blank stare more then anything. Before the Charizard had a chance to move, Thomas placed an open palm on its stomach. The electricity that had once surged through his body now danced all over the Charizard. Thomas left his hand resting on the Charizard for a few seconds before it finally passed out.
--
"You're sure they went this way?" Sarah asked as she held her flashlight up walking through the caves.
'Yea, his scent if fresh, so he must of just passed through here.' Rebecca stated. 'I wonder why he wandered off like that though?'
"I guess he felt crowded." Sarah replied as they walked down the stone passage.
"Cacturne, use Pin Missile. I want that kid gone." A voice shouted causing Rebecca and Sarah to just look at each worried about what was happening.
--
Thomas had easily down the Charizard and Radara had focused her attention on the Machamp while Thomas sidestepped the Pin Missile attack that had been sent his way. Radara gathered up a massive amount of psychic energy before releasing the blast in the form of a partially transparent sphere. The small orb hit the Machamp head on sending him flying back crashing roughly into the wall behind it.
As Thomas continued to move closer to his next target. The Cacturne wasn't going to give up easily though and continued its ranged assault. Thomas was too fast however and moved into melee range starting off with a low kick knocking the pokemon off balance. With its footing gone, it started to fall back as Thomas slammed a fist into its head sending it down hard onto the cave floor. Another massive burst of electricity danced over his new target and although it took longer to knock out his foe since it was a grass type, the attack still worked. As the attack continued though and electricity continued to pour though Thomas's body, it also began to affect him as well. Small scorch marks began to appear on his fingers and palms, the focus points where he had been discharging his electrical attacks.
With both Radara and Thomas having taken down half of the Rocket's pokemon so quickly, the Rocket members began to worry. In their attempts to weaken Arceus for capture, they had already lost twelve of their pokemon total and now these two had just taken out half of their remaining crew. To make matters worse, one of them was a human that didn't appear to be so human.
"I want them gone! KILL THEM!" The Rocket leader shouted.
All three of the remaining pokemon now turned their attention to Thomas and Radara, both of which were already preparing their next moves. Radara was once again gathering psychic energy. Thomas was also gathering up energy himself, although it was of his element. Electricity gathered in his hands before him, the occasional bolt flying out of the sphere hitting him singeing the skin where it hit.
As the Glaceon, Raichu, and Mamoswine all charged forward, Thomas and Radara both released their attacks. Radara had targeted the Raichu sending it flying much like she had done with the Machamp while the orb of electricity that Thomas had gathered turned into a storm of lighting. Used in such a confined area however resulted in a case in friendly fire as both Thomas and Radara had been hit by a few stray bolts from the attack that Thomas had fired. Seeing all of their pokemon had been downed, the Rockets had no choice but to call back their pokemon. In a final act to try and get revenge for ruining their plans, the Rocket leader pulled out a pistol and fired upon Thomas.
--
As Sarah and Rebecca ran down the passage, a gunshot rang out through the passage. Fearing the worst, both of them began to run even faster.
--
Thomas stood still, looking at the bullet that had been caught inside the light green wall that Radara had put up. The Rocket leader fired another few shots, but unlike the first one that had been caught inside the defensive move, all of the other bullets had been stopped by the attack.
"Thomas?" Sarah shouted as she entered the chamber with Rebecca. With unexpected event drew the attention of both Thomas and Radara who looked over to see who had called out the name. Seeing his chance, the Rocket leader fired one last shot. Thomas's head turned just in time to see the bullet before it flew through his chest. It passed cleanly through his chest as Thomas looked down at the small hole.
'Thomas?!' Rebecca shouted as Thomas fell to his knees.