Sure enough, right outside town in a nearby river, we found our robot shark. Or, to be more precise, a half-Sharpedo half-robot cyborg of sorts. Still freaky. Anyway, as we approached the water’s edge, it called out to us. The voice wasn’t quite human, but… Oh whatever, it spoke English, and that’s the convenient part that matters.
“Hey, I know you!” It called out to us. “You, redhead, you’re Eagun’s Torchic, aren’t you?”
It stared at us with blank eyes. “Er, I mean, granddaughter! Anyway, you want to know about Celebi, don’tcha?” It started to swim happily in circles. “Bet he thought I’d forgotten… But nothing gets out of this robot’s head!”
“Listen buddy, we’re not here for your life story-”
“I mean, when Cipher created me, they made SURE to secure my memory, am I right? Not to mention these eyes, they see EVERYTHING-”
“Well unless you’ve seen Celebi, I can’t say that that helps us any.”
It stopped swimming long enough to pay attention again. “Ohohoh! I’ve seen Celebi! It passed by not too long ago…”
“Which way?”
“It went um… This way! It went this way, follow me!” The shark dove underwater.
I sighed, crossed my arms, and looked impatiently down at the water. “That was far too Nemo-esque for my taste. Let’s go Rayne, he can’t help us.”
As I turned to leave though, the head popped back up, “Of course, you could always see the relic instead. According to ancient lore, the relic is said to hold the power of time travel for Celebi.”
I pat the monstrosity on the head, “Good little robot, anything else?”
“Just a bunch of wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey stuff. But the mystic power in the stone is also said to revive the most pleasant memories of those that touch it.”
“This is great news Keeper!” Rayne clapped her hands. “Maybe we can use the relic to help the Shadow Pokemon!”
“Yup. Let’s us a rock to open sealed hearts of make-believe creatures. That doesn’t sound crazy at all.”
“That’s the spirit!”
---Back at Eagun’s house---
Eagun smiled as we entered the lviing room where he and Beluh were sitting. “This small tablet has been passed down through our family for many generations. Please, examine it. It is written in a language that has been lost to time - Unown. Now, if you would like the translation, i’d be more than happy to-”
“‘In Agate’s mystic relic, Celebi’s power shelters.’”
“Er, that’s right, but the rest of it-”
“‘A heart imprisoned by shadows Its last door shall be opened by the power within.’ Basically, it’s what we learned from your cyborg shark buddy, in poem form.”
“Let’s go Keeper!” Rayne ran for the door, “We have to heal the shadow Pokemon… What are you doing?”
“Checking my email. Sometimes you gotta take time out of an adventure for the little things.”
“...”
I shamelessly scrolled through my P*DA, “Here, see? Duking sent a message, titled “EMERGENCY!!!” Maybe it’s important. Maybe he needs to know how his Plusle is doing.”
“What’s it say?”
“Something about Scorched Feather’s group attacking Mt. Battle. Anyway, time to rock, right? Or at least, go visit one?”
“Keeper! Be serious! If Mt. Battle is under attack… Where is Mt. Battle anyway?”
Eagun chimed in, “It’s located right next to-”
“I’m sure we’ll find it. Gotta run!”
Suddenly impatient, we ran out of the house, down the hill, and into the cave where the giant relic sat.
“Oh mighty Rock of Purification, I offer to ye my first born son, should you only find it within your power to remove the shadows from the hearts of my Pokemon.”
Rayne gave me a weird look. I don’t blame her. Think I took this “I seriously can’t take this seriously” thing a bit too far.
“Too much?”
“Maybe a bit. Try bringing out your Pokemon.”
Once I had, the stone glowed green. My previously dark-hearted Pokemon were noticeably changed, less aggressive for sure, and a dark aura could be seen leaving them. Some even evolved! Shows that a dark heart really CAN hold you back. I guess. Maybe.
“I… Think it worked?”
“You know what they need now?” Rayne asked.
“...?”
“RIBBONS! Oh, AND NICKNAMES!”
“But I never-”
“OOOH but we can’t leave wittle Umbreon out, can we? He needs a name too."
“But-”
Nightlight♂ 36
Flicker♀ 32
---
Pettigrew♂ 34
Wendy♀ 34
---
Mudd♂ 32
Mistress♀ 33
“Oh, sure, great names.” I rolled my eyes.
“They’re, like, 20% more adorable now!”
“Ok, we’re purified, we’re leveled, we’re even EVOLVED. Guess we’re off to Mt. Battle.”
“Do you know how to get there?”
“Er…”
--Several Hours Later---
"Found it." We were up north, in the mountains. In retrospect, MOUNT Battle should have been a good indicator, but hey.
"Let's go! SF could still be here!"
We ran inside the building, right up to the lady at the counter, demanding to be let through the other side. Now, I had never been here before, but instinct told me I needed to be on the other side of this building. Either that or the giant door right behind the counter had me really intrigued.
"I'm sorry, we can't let you through right now- We're waiting for Duking to send help with a problem we've been having..."
"Oh? That's me. Let me through!"
"Oh! I didn't think you'd be here so early!"
Suddenly Rayne did something extremely uncharacteristic. She was sarcastic. "Because taking half the day to get here is reeeal early."
"Just be careful, the power of their Pokemon is beyond normal."
"Not a problem. Let's go!"
