RE: Mysteries of the Mind - A Trainer's Vision
OK... Chapter 9 is done! However... this one is far darker than before. I won't say exactly how, but if you don't like things that are a little more mature in nature, this is where you need to stop reading. Although not EVERYTHING will be of this nature, there'll be more like this as I go. After all, if you've read carefully so far, you'd know that the pendant has a dark side... watch as it unfolds now!
Chapter 9 – An Ever-Evolving Tragedy…
Isn’t the process of evolution fascinating? The thought that a species will adapt to new environments, to allow them to survive in places that they never thought to be possible… for a species to spread, this adaptation is vital. This changeability is sometimes negative though. One can often forget who they WERE before they were forced to adapt… forgetting ones roots leads to corruption; this is bad for those around the changed species. Man’s technological advancements have now been so great, could we have lost our roots? If so, the world could be in grave danger…
“Come on Trapinch, hurry up! Show them your Crunch attack!”
Trapinch finally emerged from underneath the ground. It shot up where Staravia was resting after using Whirlwind! Clamping the bird with its powerful jaws, it savagely crunched Staravia’s torso, causing him to cry in agony as it was swiftly knocked out. All Ryan and Eevee could do was stare, wide-eyed and fearful, at the horrific event that took place.
“Staravia… I’m sorry,” Ryan whispered as he called his pokemon back, with tears in his eyes at the condition of his pokemon as he did so. This quickly turned to rage as he looked at Calum, then at Eevee. “Eevee, you’ve got to avenge Staravia! DESTROY that evil hole-digger!”
Eevee looked nervously at Ryan, as afraid of his anger as he was of the opposition. Looking for support, he turned to Calum, who smiled mischievously and winked at him. He clearly had an idea. Eevee, pleased to have the support of his trainer, turned his attention back to the battle.
Lewis laughed at Ryan. “Like that pathetic puppy can take on MY Trapinch! Trapinch, start digging again!”
Trapinch literally flew underground; the pace at which it dug down was phenomenal. Not wanting to end up like Staravia, Eevee once again turned to Calum, who calmly issued his commands.
“Eevee, don’t get too worried yet! Dig underground yourself and try to disrupt it whilst it digs!”
Raising an eyebrow at the command, but trusting in his trainer, Eevee started to make its way underground, albeit at a much slower pace than the little ant lion. What he found under the ground was a major surprise; it appeared that Trapinch had dug several separate tunnels as it waited for commands from Lewis! These were all linked in some way, but the links were usually pretty far apart. Seeing the chance to cause some confusion, Eevee dug new links between the tunnels. As it was finishing, Trapinch burst its way through the dirt and found the dog staring it in the face! Seeing what had become of its tunnels, it grew angry. It started chasing Eevee, crying loudly as it did so. Lewis chuckled once again.
“Ha, it sounds like your Eevee has been spotted making a mess of Trapinch’s underground complex, and he sure is mad. Trapinch, use Faint Attack and wrap this up!”
Trapinch was finding it hard to catch the faster Eevee in a direct chase. However, the fact that the underground had turned into a large maze came to its rescue. Cloaking itself in a strange black aura, it waited in a darkened corner for the prey to draw near. Confused as to why Trapinch wasn’t still chasing it, Eevee looked around, uncertainty showing on its face (not that the trainers could see this). Unknowingly passing the silent Trapinch, it made its way back towards the surface to get another command from Calum. Seizing the moment to attack, Trapinch lunged at Eevee!
The collision sent both back up to the surface at high speed, with Eevee clearly worse off. He landed heavily on the floor, the black aura that surrounded Trapinch before the attack now encircling him instead. Trapinch landed on its head on the floor. It had managed to get its teeth stuck in the ground, and was unable to chomp through the soil to break free! Its legs flailed helplessly as it struggled to break free from its predicament. Calum ran up to Eevee, heart in his mouth. Eevee looked really hurt… what had he done by letting it go underground like that?
“Eevee…” he whispered. “Are you alright? Say something…”
As he said this, the black aura around Eevee intensified. It then focused itself in front of the Void Pendant, causing Eevee to get up on its feet. It was almost as if it was lead by the darkness… when he opened his eyes, they were jet black! Something had caused Eevee to become possessed by the Void Pendant, and it had a look that struck fear into all around it.
The focused aura in front of the pendant manifested itself into a sphere of pure blackness. A lunging paw of Eevee’s then stuck this shadowy sphere, causing it to career towards the hapless Trapinch. The impact was so great that it appeared to cut the very soul of the pokemon, leaving it lifeless in the ground. Lewis raced over to it to see if it was ok… Eevee, coming out of its trance, collapsed to the ground as well. Calum called it back immediately, not wanting to risk anything else happening to him. Lewis looked up at Calum, with tears running down his face.
“You… what have you done!? My Trapinch is… is…” The pain was too much for him to finish his sentence. Calum knew exactly what he meant, however. He looked at Lewis, stunned by the information.
“No! It can’t be! My Eevee doesn’t have the power to… how is this possible!?”
“It looks like the power of The Void is coming out sooner than we had anticipated…”
An old woman was standing on the bride that Paul and Lewis had been guarding. She looked exactly the same as Azalea, but unlike her, she had short pink hair. Azalea had blue hair… not something that caught Calum and Ryan’s attention much before, but compared to the brightness of this woman’s hair, it was clearly noticeable.
“Power of The Void…” Calum whispered. “Could it be? Eevee was hit by a dark aura… could that have triggered something?”
Tears still stinging his face, Lewis screamed at Calum. “Hey, I don’t know what your pokemon just did, but you… you… YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT IT DID! You took out my pokemon… my PARTNER… now I take YOU out!” He made a run towards Calum with outstretched arms, with a look that could kill even the toughest of men. An invisible field of energy stopped him, however. Spinning round to see what caused the field, he saw the old woman, with an Alakazam quietly focused in front of her.
“Don’t even think about it… don’t you see? You’ve lost your pokemon due to your dark intentions! You aimed to steal an unstoppable power, whether you meant to or not. As a result, it’s cost you… now leave! Before you lose any more!”
Hearing this, Lewis grabbed Paul and took off into the forest, howling in anguish at the events that had taken place. With the thugs out of the way, the woman returned her pokemon and approached Calum and Ryan.
“You’re Calum and Ryan, aren’t you? I’m Melissa, one of the three guardians that protect the legend of the Void Pendant. Sister Azalea told me you were coming. But I never thought I’d have to witness an event like THAT… it appears that your Eevee is losing its grip as the protector of the pendant. When it was hit by the darkness of Faint Attack, it lost it for a moment. You need to know more of the legend, and fast. Come with me.”
The pair followed Melissa into Evergreen City, cautiously looking at one another as they travelled. The trip was made in silence; the mood was still sombre after the fateful battle on the bridge. Evergreen City itself was very beautiful, however – conifer trees intertwined with the buildings and streets to create a wonderful mix of urban and natural scenery. In the background, two tall buildings stood. One looked like a gigantic department store, and the other looked like a haunted house of sorts. The house seemed out of place when compared to the rest of the town… perhaps that was its intention.
Melissa led the pair to her house, which was on the edge of the city. The house itself was in a state of disrepair, with tiles missing from the roof and several cracked windows. However, this gave it the impression of a mysterious place where legends were kept. Once inside, Melissa sent out her Lopunny, who used Healing Wish to fully restore the status of Ryan and Calum’s pokemon. This triggered a reaction from Eevee’s poke ball – the brown dog burst out without provocation!
“Sorry about that, I guess it senses that something important is about to be told,” said Calum sheepishly, slightly embarrassed that Eevee had let itself out like that. “There’s one question that’s burning away in my mind right now, and I’m sure you know what it is. Just WHAT happened in that battle? Eevee looked like it was consumed by evil… and it actually caused a death! How could that happen!?”
“That was just a glimpse into the power of the Void, young trainer,” spoke Melissa, in a soft and apprehensive tone. “Your Eevee has protected that pendant, and the power it keeps, since it was very young. It is beginning to lose its grip on the power it keeps… and when it was hit by the shadowy aura of that Trapinch’s attack, it temporarily lost control altogether. The corruptive nature of the pendant is causing that Eevee to become more irregular than normal… and as a result, the events of today happened. Magnified by the power of the Void Pendant, the Shadow Ball that was launched today had the power to drain life from its target… and that’s exactly what it did.”
Calum merely looked on, the shock of it all proving too much for him. Seeing him speechless, Ryan decided to speak.
“But that won’t happen every time Eevee uses that move, will it? I’m sure Eevee will be able to use a Shadow Ball attack after learning it there… will it always drain the life of its target?”
“Thankfully, it won’t,” Melissa said reassuringly, “but it will possibly remove the target’s life if Eevee becomes corrupted by the darkness once again. Be VERY careful of dark attacks like Faint Attack and Dark Pulse,” she warned. “They may trigger the negative side of the pendant, causing more tragedies like we saw today.”
Calum slowly looked up towards Melissa, who merely stared back. The fear in both their eyes was evident, but Calum’s was stronger. He still didn’t know much about the pendant, or how to stop it. Today merely highlighted the seriousness of his situation – he HAD to find some way of getting the pendant from Eevee!
Speaking for the first time in ages, he asked Melissa that question. “Please… tell me you know how to remove this thing… or at least where we should be going. This thing has to be stopped!”
Melissa looked at the ground with pain in her eyes. “I’m sorry… I don’t know how to remove the pendant, but I can tell you where to go to perform the task. To the west of Foretta lies an island where only pokemon live. This island is home to the legendary power of the Void Pendant, as I’m sure you are already aware. The legendary pokemon created a barrier long ago to prevent anything, be it pokemon or human, from getting onto the island. When the Void Pendant was on the island, all was well. But some of the pokemon on the island grew restless. Tired of their appointed roles as guardians, the Dark-Type pokemon of the island sought to use the power of the pendant to take over the universe. Fearing that everything could soon be destroyed, one family of pokemon took up the role of protecting the pendant. Unfortunately for this little Eevee, it was the one who had to carry the pendant off of the island As a result; well… the balance of power has shifted somewhat. You need to get to Pokemon Island in order to remove the pendant from Eevee. But… someone else is going to have to wear it, or else something terrible will happen with it!”
“The final sister, Ulea, lives in the next town from here. The town of Rowan is north of here; you can’t miss it. The northwest corner of the island is a dangerous place, however… supposedly Team Leafre has a base up there.” Calum looked at Eevee, anger in his eyes. Not for the brown dog, but for Team Leafre, who threatened time and time again to steal him. “I can see the rage in your eyes… Team Leafre is after the Void Pendant as well; you MUST be careful up there. Ulea will be able to tell you exactly what to do with the pendant when you get to the island.”
“Man… this pendant is REALLY dangerous, don’t you think?”
Calum and Ryan were walking towards the department store after getting more information about the Void Pendant, and how Eevee managed to take the life of a pokemon with it. Calum was still a little depressed at the whole ordeal, and Ryan’s stupidly obvious comment sent him over the edge.
“No duh! That thing KILLED a pokemon! And it threatens to destroy the whole world! And YOU think it’s dangerous… whatever gave you that idea then?!”
Ryan was stunned into silence. Recovering his senses, Calum was quick to apologize.
“Look, I’m sorry. I never meant to fly off the handle like that… but I’m really worried now. I thought it might have been a joke at first, when Azalea told us that the world was in danger. But… seeing the pure evil in Eevee’s eyes… this thing is a real danger. The seriousness has just caught up to me, and your comment just sent me into a rage. Can you forgive me?”
A small smile appeared on Ryan’s face. Facing Calum again, he spoke in his usual joyous tone. “Of COURSE I can mate! I understand completely; it was stupid of me to say that. I guess the world really is in our hands though… but let’s get some light relief yeah? We can see what the department store has to offer now, so let’s go!”
Racing into the automatic entrance to the huge building, Ryan was quick to see what was on offer in the place. This store had something for everyone; from general adventuring equipment to high-tech poke balls, from ability-increasing drugs for pokemon to TM’s to teach them new moves. There were also decorations for around the house, as well as the counter Ryan was TRULY interested in – the evolutionary stone counter. Being unable to find his friend (and sighing again because of it), Calum decided he would get a few new moves for his pokemon. His Growlithe learned Overheat and Endure, his Kirlia gained Safeguard and Thunder Wave. His Eevee was taught to use Iron Tail, and his Feebas acquired Water Pulse and Rain Dance.
When Calum finally caught up with Ryan, he was looking jubilant. In his hands were two Fire Stones and two Thunder Stones. Looking excited he brought out Pikachu, who looked at the stones in his hand with a curious look in her eyes. Eevee was also let out, on Ryan’s request.
“Calum… I got thinking just now. Perhaps Eevee could control the power of the Void Pendant more easily if he evolved? I have a Thunder Stone here for you, so let’s get Eevee into Jolteon and allow it to keep the pendant under check more easily!”
Ryan seemed pretty adamant that the evolution would solve the problem of power control. It made sense to Calum too, somehow. Calum got thinking, and decided that the power gain upon evolution would help prevent another tragic occurrence like before.
“OK, give Eevee the stone Ryan.”
Ryan placed the stone in Eevee’s paw. For around ten seconds, nothing happened. Then, Eevee began to glow, but not the usual white colour. Everyone gasped in awe as the little dog glowed a dark yellow, before the Void Pendant pierced this glow with a brilliant flash of light! The Thunder Stone was sent flying out of Eevee’s paws, causing it to stop glowing. Nobody quite knew where the stone had landed however. Nobody except Pikachu that is… swallowing painfully a couple of seconds later, everyone turned round to face it in shock. Pikachu had swallowed the rebounded Thunder Stone! Clutching its stomach in discomfort, it glanced up at Ryan and Calum, and then glowed the bright white that Eevee was supposed to glow! Before anyone could react, Pikachu had evolved.
The resulting pokemon was a slightly larger, bright orange mouse. Her ears were brown on the outside and yellow on the inside, and her cheeks had turned bright yellow. Her tail had massively grown in size, becoming a large black coil with a lightning bolt at the tip. The tail was missing the very end of the bolt, looking as if it had been shorted out. She let out a small cry of embarrassment at the way in which the evolution was carried out.
Ryan looked in surprise as well. “No way… how did THAT happen? And Pikachu… you’ve evolved before I was going to get you to… well, I guess I have a Raichu now after all! How do you feel buddy?”
Raichu looked sheepish for a brief moment, then nodded towards Ryan. It was in good health, but it was a little embarrassed at the manner of the evolution. It then turned its attention towards Eevee, looking concerned for his well-being.
Eevee looked around the room in astonishment. Tears welled up in his eyes… not being able to understand what was happening to him and why he couldn’t evolve, he ran up to Calum and started crying. All Calum could do to comfort him was to hold him. Ryan, trying to stay cheerful himself, went over to Eevee to try and calm him down.
“Please Eevee, cheer up! We’re finding out more about this stupid pendant as we go along… we’re doing our best to help you! You’ll be ok, I promise. Now… how about we head over to the gym? I’m sure you can help Calum get his third badge and feel better because of it!”
Looking up at Ryan, Eevee nodded briefly, before burying itself in Calum’s jacket once again. Calum sighed. “Come on, let’s go get that badge. I wonder who the leader is here…”
Well... there you have it. The dark side is revealed... what do you think?
I have an important question with regards to my last couple of chapters. What did you think of the maze idea in the gym? The first gym was basic, but of course the gyms in the game are anything but. I decided I wanted to try and make puzzles and things for at least most of the gyms to come. But my question is, was my first attempt at such a puzzle good for you guys to read, or did it come across as simple filler that shouldn't be bothered with?
Also, anything so far that you've particularly like? I'd like to know any favourite quotes etc that you, the readers, have. I'm quite partial to a few, but I'm not the best judge of my own story
. So I want your favourite bits if you don't mind
