On the outskirts of Snowbelle City, far away from the main attractions, a portal was opened and a small orange Chimp-like creature stepped through it. There was snow everywhere, contrasting against the lit flame on it's rear end. It was carrying a decent sized purple Treasure Box made out of a crystalline substance, an odd sight to see. The Chimchar's ears flickered at the sudden change in temperature as his blue eyes darted around, searching for any sign of humans or Pokemon that could be watching him. There was no one around.
Good...Crimson thought as he turned and walked into the forest. Naturally, this forest, dubbed the Winding Woods, was a good hiding spot for Pokemon because of it's twisty and winding trees. Most humans got lost through here and only the ones with a pure heart could navigate through it. Or so the rumors said. Of course he knew about the Psychic tricks that were played here and how it deterred the humans from finding the Pokemon Village within.
Already Crimson was strategizing how useful it would be in this situation. From what he could gather, Melaine knew about his organization and where they were roughly situated. It was no coincidence that she had dropped him off outside of the Pokemon Village. Still, he had to take the risk of playing it out like Melaine's goons didn't know where their Headquarters was. Worst case scenario, they'd have a lot more trouble finding the HQ than they'd think.
But all of this was in the back of his mind, as it was the contents of this chest that stood at the forefront. After a distance of travelling, he stopped and nestled himself behind a tree. He looked around once more, making sure he wasn't followed or being watched, before setting the chest down. He sighed with a smooth exhale, closing hid eyes, preparing himself physically and mentally. He wouldn't be surprised of there was some kind of trick associated with opening the box. He knew this Shadow-Type was more like an infection or possession than it was a willing choice to adopt. If this was a conversion attempt, he would be the only one possibly affected. And since he likely held the best chance of not being converted, given his possible immunity.
Still, that didn't stop him from sucking in his breath as he opened the box and peered at the contents within.
Nothing exploded out towards his face, so that was a start. But he took quick notice of the items inside and inspected each one, ensuring they weren't booby trapped. He started with the unique items, a large brown hat with a long, flimsy bill that circled it and an emblem stitched to the front...that of a red flame. He didn't know what it was other than that it was likely gifted to him, so he set it aside. The next item was a smooth sphere, dark purple in color and the same texture as the container it was in. This item concerned him more than the cap did, so he set it down carefully. There was a tray full of colorful cubes, pastries, and heart-shaped beans, all of which he didn't recognize. And finally, there were several small boxes that looked identical to one another. When he opened one, he spotted a meal inside, ready to be eaten. The meal had a main dish, a side dish, and a dessert. And it was safe to say that all boxes were going to be of similar ilk. His anxiousness within started to ebb as he set the items back in the box and closed the lid.
He already knew that he wasn't going to start handing stuff out just yet. His sense for danger was strong, but he could be deceived easily. He already knew what Shadow infected people and Pokemon looked like, but he couldn't detect the power. For all he knew, this stuff could be radiated with the substance who looked to wear the hat or eat some of the food. He was going to get this checked out first.
But before that, he had to catch up with the Guild and everything that was happening around the region. And he had to make sure Radegast got back safe and sound.
With intensity, he turned and started gunning his way towards the direction he knew the Crimson Guild HQ was in.
(collaboration by NeverEndingFlip and LookingAtPerks)
Altian smiled at his friend as he glanced among the crowd, his gaze resting on the judging booth, "Well...there's no rule saying we can't work together yet. I'm all ears! What'cha got?"
"Alright!" Emry shouted, and then began to think. Which in retrospect, while it wasn't like he was dumb, what tended to happen in cases like this... "Okay! I think we should go with a big wazoo! And then crackle crackle with some pshiii, followed by fwooosh and bams and krataw! Oh, and then some buuble buuble for good measure, followed by more crackle in a big swirl overhead, with some kachink and sploosh!"
That is what happened. Emerin's mind was....unique.
But Altian, having been around the blue-haired wonder for a while, knew that while he couldn't understand what he was saying, he definitely had an awesome plan in mind involving some sky stuff, "Then let's do it! I'll follow your lead."
That was how they worked. Emerin enjoyed creating the huge shows, casting the powerful spells and conjuring the most brilliantly awe-inspiring stuff few could think of. Altian refined the edges, making things smoother and more practical, and bringing Emerin's imagination to life.
The moment he agreed to it, Emerin immediately started working on what had to be largest collection of mana ever conceived. Not as in mana capacity, nor the amount of mana a wizard could gather inside him. What he was doing was gathering the mana into a gigantic ball in his hands, a relatively pointless and almost moronic activity normally. However, what Emerin did next caused everyone to change their minds.
He smashed his hands together while holding that massive chunk of mana, and this caused it to burst out into the sky in a form of a vortex, creating a sort of
waaa noise around it while a zoo noise rhythmically went down the center, meshing into an unusual but appealing melody. And then, he added a large amount of lightning into the vortex, following the trails of mana he created, and formed a vortex of lightning and colorful transparent hue with a huge beam down the center.
And this was followed by wind magic, zipping around and around and causing the vortex to shift and shape, making it a fluid ever-changing structure instead of something static. And it caused some reactions, making the mana light up in all sorts of colors. From all sides, the light show flowed and twirled with a pattern that made a spectacle.
Of course, if one was not careful, it would probably run totally out of control and maybe explode.
But that was why Altian was there. As quickly as the vortex could become unstable, he would spot the uneven ebbs and flows of pure mana around them and correct it. Sometimes it meant throwing a bit of wind magic in one spot to push it along, sometimes it meant actively manipulating the mana in the air to keep the swirl smooth and non-clustered. The melody set a cool and relaxing tone, Altian realized, recognizing the potential to do some cool stuff.
He took some liberties and started shifting the raw magic power around them with his dominant hand, using some more wind magic to spawn miniature twisters from the vortex. A total of six touched down and began circling the duo, drawing the audience's attention back to them. With his non-dominant hand, he continued to keep the vortex under control within the new facets of spawning several wind towers created out of pure mana. The six twisters split apart, creating twelve, then twenty-four, growing smaller after each split. The cords of wind themselves would appear synchronized as they moved, twirling around Emry and Alt and bending in several interesting and chaotic ways...but it never felt too out of control.
"Emry! We can use the mana in the air!" he called delightedly as the twisters around them started to converge into two funnels, making it look like they were inside a massive, shimmering candy cane as it spun, "We can turn it into stuff!"
As Altian said that, some playful ideas formed in Emerin's head. As the funnels began to shrink and dissipate, he began to twist and shape the mana in new ways, deliberately this time, and began to create a stage with the two of them at the center. Compared to before, he shifted it in a purposeful way to make sure that all the eyes would see them at the center of the magic, and created decorations of simple design around them. Funnels, loops, and all sorts of other things, while maintaining the base core of it. The lightning sparked and cracked around them, the wind swept and sung, and now fire of various colors was added to the mix to bring a brilliant flare. It added more effort and work to maintain, but it began to form into the start of a brilliant display.
"Then let's really spice it up!" Emerin replied, with a full on grin.
"I'm glad you said that," Altian winked as he rubbed his fingers, a few sparks emanating and falling to the stage beneath them.
His attention turned towards one of the loop-de-loops. Pulling out the pen resting on top of his ear, he clicked it, letting it morph into the shape he desired: a short, smooth stick with a hilt on the end he was holding (A.K.A. a wand). He muttered an incantation and flicked his wrist, pointing the tip at the loop he was focused on. As if a metamorphosis had occurred, the loop suddenly gave way, falling away into a sort of magical dust. In it's place was a mid-sized, elegantly slender rainbow dragon. It's beard was white and magnificently long and it's body closely resembled something like a snake or a leviathan. It's scales were rainbow-colored and seemed to shimmer magical dust like a fairy. There would be no classification of species for this particular dragon as one didn't exist of it's kind. It was completely made up by the imagination of a twelve year old boy, after all.
With a flick of the wrist and a wave of the hand, the dragon started flying through the air, doing loops and corkscrews and all kind of crazy tricks. It even flew by the audience...so close that the spectators could touch the raw energy that passed them. Eventually, it barreled over to where Alt and Emry were standing. But Altian had control and he had a plan in mind.
"Hop on!" he cried gleefully as he took Emerin's hand and jumped onto the dragon.
Immediately they were airborne. The Dragon was undeterred by the new presence on it's back and continued it's routine. But for the two boys, it was like a roller-coaster ride, zigging and zagging all over the place. Once more, they passed over the audience, only this time it would be Altian and Emerin reach out to slap fives with the spectators, immersing them in the experience. It was pure controlled chaos.
Altian glanced up at the sky and noticed the massive mana pool was suddenly severely depleted, having been used to fuel their wonderfully thrilling creation. It was still huge, but not nearly as big as before and it seemed to be shrinking fast!
"Emry-Shu!" he pointed as they rode, "We need a big finale! Something that can use up all that mana!"
Seeing an opportunity in mind, Emerin quickly grabbed Altian's hand and smiled at his idea. "Just hold on tight, and make sure to keep us balanced!"
What he said might have been odd at first, but then what he did next explained it all. Emerin went for the grand finale of the performance, with the dragon taking them down and then up, the mana forming an even stronger vortex that they went up through the center of. The dragon stopped after it reached the top of the vortex of lightning and mana and wind and fire around them, extending its head which now carried Emerin and Altian on, as it breathed out an array of breath that turned into sparkling glitter like particles around them, causing the vortex to burst out into this as well. Like a vacuum, the cloud of colorful mana above them absorbed itself into the dragon and out the mouth, fueling the beast's breath.
And in the center, Emerin and Altian were in a rather meaningful and heartwarming position. The two had their feet planted on opposite sides of the dragon, and both were at an angle where they would fall off, if they were not holding each other's hands. Of course, because each human being was different in some way, Emerin and Altian had to use some magic to keep up the actual balance, but from the perspective of the audience, it looked like they were keeping each other perfectly balanced through will and teamwork alone and the light show floated down around them.
They kept up this position for a bit, until it was finally time to lower themselves down and let someone else use that part of the stage. The dragon slowly disappeared into a blend of sparkles and glitters that rained down with all the others. Despite this, the two boys seemed to gently float down like a feather until their feet hit solid earth.
"Well I think that went really well!" he said, probably unaware the sheer amount of time Altian stopped the entire thing from exploding...
Altian was breathless after the excitement, effort, and overall mana strain on his body, "Yeah...ooo, we should've brought the staff you got at the underground library! I bet we could've done some REALLY cool stuff!"
"Oh yeah! Wait, maybe I could get it to come now!" Emerin said, raising his hand into the air. The staff was supposed to have an automatic recall if he called for it but... "Oh, it might be out of range. Oh well".
...and on that note, Allo was also glad to see them done, having recieved various visions and what not about the potential chaos that could have been caused each time before Altian dealt with it.
Winter sat in the Champion's chamber, more befuddled than ever before.
His brow was furrowed as he thought, trying to call upon all the wisdom he had gained in his lifetime. He was sixteen, but he certainly had been through a lot. Having started his Pokemon journey six years ago, his run-ins with baddies had seemed countless. A few Team Rocket associates, like everyone else, but also the usual challenges from other trainers, the bullies that he ran into for the first couple years until the gap between him and them was overwhelmingly vast, the folks in that lab. Even his modern day adventures since donning the title had been numerous and impressive: a challenge by the strange dark-type user, the fight against that shady gang of Pokemon outside Lavender Town, and his greatest accomplishment yet, dealing with the same foe that had struck down Titania so many years ago and coming to a peaceful resolution. In his two year tenure as Champion, he had long lived up to...maybe even surpassed his predecessor.
But this was something different entirely.
"Squir squir?" his greatest companion, Lucky, tugged on his leg. Maybe take a break? his eyes seemed to say.
Winter sighed as he lowered the note in his hand slightly, "I know buddy. But I've got to try and figure this out. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be rough and I need to be as prepared as I can be."
He patted the Squirtle on the head as he waddled off. He smiled at his friend before he glanced back towards the note...the note sent to him in secret. And when he'd discovered it sitting in his chair, he knew immediately who it belonged to, given that he was the only one who wrote notes.
Winter Sakkio,
I'm afraid things may be falling into disarray as I am writing you this letter. Given the circumstances, I want to think that things will be alright. But with each passing moment, it is looking less and less like that outcome will be ours. At least for the time being.
If the news hasn't reach you by now, then be warned. A powerful adversary has taken the throne and is now assumed the title of Grand Champion. As a single Pokemon, she has enough power to wipe our Unovan Champion's entire team with apparent ease. She is ruthless, cruel, and will stop at nothing to obtain absolute control over anything and everything. She has already dealt with her trainer in bloody fashion and I fear her rampage is merely beginning.
Winter, you must resist her advances at every turn you get. Do not trust her words or her intentions. She only wants the world in her control. Find The Iron Maiden and gather your Elite Four together as well as the strongest trainers you can find and prepare for an assault. You must do this without raising the suspicions of the queen and the assets she controls. Trust that other regions will be doing the same. You will know when it is time for us all to meet.
Do not reply to this letter. Do not try to reach out to me. Making contact would being unwanted attention to me and my plans. We are possibly the last spark the planet has. I hope you will help us save it.
Sincerely,
--Burgh--
P.S. : Do shred this letter.
The Indigo Champion sighed as he finally started ripping apart the note, tearing it into bits. Of course the news had already reached him, like it had to everyone. He had just gotten done watching Queen Melaine's speech and had the fight playing in the background. Every time he turned to look, he tried to analyze what she was doing, trying to spot some hole in her armor...some weakness to exploit. But so far, all he saw were advantages. He knew Status-effects were almost worthless, given the Magic Bounce he'd spotted earlier. But apart from the instant KO strikes, he didn't have an answer...yet.
He'd keep trying.
In the meantime, his instructions had already been passed out. The Elite Four were out, gathering the strongest trainers they'd fought against. The only one he had yet to make contact with was Titania. In his mind, he was debating her usability in this conflict. While he had trust the Iron Maiden was more than capable in this fight, there was still that question of her being mentally compromised by her shortcomings. The feeling hadn't been there initially during his starstruck moments with the former Champion, but it had built over time. And so remained the lingering thought pestering the back of his head...
If he called her, which Titania was he going to get?
Standing up, he walked the paper shreds over to the wastebasket by his desk and dumped them all in. Then, he glanced at his PokeDex and started scrolling through the contacts list, trying to find another person he could potentially get in touch with. Regardless of his thoughts or concerns, he may have to get her involved, he thought. This threat may be bigger than any concerns he may have over the health and well being of Titania Brightsmith.
RPG
