Chapter 2: The start of a new Adventure
Edited by” Samellan, fistfire
“Yes, I win!” Nava announced happily, raising his arms in a victory pose.
I, on the other hand, just grumbled. “Well, no surprise. First, your legs are a lot longer than mine, and second…” I patted the bag next to me. ”I am the one who is carrying all of our stuff, not you,” I huffed, trying to catch my breath.
It took me a bit of time to completely regain my composure before I could look up once more to see exactly where we managed to end up. I was so focused on beating Nava in a full-on sprint that I managed to completely forget the actual reason why the two of us were out here in the first place. Well, I do remember now after realizing that we were standing right in front of the marketplace gates.
It was bustling and alive as any market, no matter how big or small the settlement is.
The entire market was filled with nothing but Roselias and Roserades, all casually walking around and talking to one another in front of market stalls, benches or even the large water fountain at the center of the Plaza, with a couple of Budews running around in between them for added diversity.
I will have to say, walking around in a marketplace dominated by nothing but one Pokémon type alone is kinda strange. Especially when you are getting nothing but curious stares from those around you, as if we were total outsiders or strangers to them.
Well, to be honest, we kind of were. Both literally and physically in terms of types and looks. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb.
I coughed into my hand awkwardly after regaining my full composure. “Anyway, let’s go and look for Victini then. I bet he’s still around here,” I stated, which Nava acknowledged once again with a simple nod.
Many markets are bustling with life during the day, but it was even more true for this one because just how many of these Roserades and Roselias are actually calling this Isle their home.
No, really, the amount of citizens living here is quite staggering, to say the least. Even the overall ground coverage that this entire fortress-like complex has is even bigger compared to Lively town’s size. Like, a lot bigger. Which is crazy, but also quite awe-inspiring just how beautiful this place truly is. With its white themed architecture, the many artistically chiseled and decorated columns and walls on almost every building, and not to mention the seemingly never-ending sea of flowers on every patch of grass or pot around here. Like, really, this place has the most number of different colored flowers, species, shapes, and sizes than anywhere else, a lot of these are flowers I have personally never seen before. Not to mention how a large portion of these walls and buildings around here are either covered in hanging green or entwined plants respectively. Again, all sporting flowers of their own and the same with the few massive trees dominating the skyline with their massive crowns.
Even the many statues depicting both Roselias and Roserades have entwined plants growing up their base.
Overall, truly the greenest looking place I have ever seen so far.
“Hey, do you still remember where exactly we have seen Victini when we first came here today?” Nava asked as he was hopping alongside me.
I tapped my chin in thought. “I think I saw him at one of the stalls close to the front gate. I say we should just start there and hope that we can find him quickly.” I responded, again receiving a nod of confirmation from my partner.
A few paces later and we eventually found ourselves facing the aforementioned front entrance of this place. Which is actually a very tall archway with two Roselia statues flanking it from both sides, in case some of you might be wondering.
Seriously, what is it with this place and a need for everything to be so over the top tall or huge? But then again, a lot of these ancient Pokémon ruins and structures around the world all share the same features in terms of scope and size. Perfectly proving the actual fact that this Citadel shares its roots from that specific time period of ancient Pokémon history.
Pun intended, by the way. :3
Either way, besides staring off at huge statues of Pokémon, me and Nava quickly started to look around in hope of finding the one Pokémon we were actually looking for.
Naturally, it shouldn’t really be too hard to spot Victini in this never-ending sea of green and more green. But given our size, and the equally silly heights of these market stalls, it was rather difficult to peek over them. I guess the only reason why we were able to spot him in the first place was that one of his really long ears was actually poking out and over one of these market stalls which was rather easy to see at first glance.
But now, now we weren’t even sure where exactly we saw him.
“Ugh, this is ridiculous,” I muttered, crossing my arms with a frown.
“How about we just ask around then? Maybe some of these Roserades or Roselias know where he is or they have seen him. Couldn’t obviously hurt to try, now can it?” Nava suggested after he too gave up just looking for him in the old fashion way.
“Sure,” I responded with a nod before just walking up to the closet market vendor to my left who seemed to be selling something that kinda looked like potions or something else that requires bottles or flasks to store liquids in.
I was about to ask the kind looking vendor in front of me when a sudden presence of someone snoring nearby entered my ears.
“Uh… am I the only one hearing this? Or I am…” I was about to say, before the vendor, or should I say, mister, gave me the answer which I sought before I was even able to finish my question properly.
“Actually, no, you are not the only one hearing this. I have been listening to these snores for some time now. Right above my stall, if you want to know.” The vendor kindly answered which was kind of strange given how casual he seemed to be.
I am sure that a lot of other Pokémon would have eventually started to get really annoyed at this constant snoring nearby. But then again, everybody is different, and if he didn’t feel bothered by this noise in the slightest, then who am I to judge him for it?
“Well, at least this means that we finally found Victini by the sounds of it,” Nava commented behind me.
I nodded. “Seems so,” I responded before looking back at the vendor. “Is it okay if we climb up there and see if it is truly him?” I asked him.
He nodded. “No problem, go right ahead,” He answered which earned him a thankful smile from me.
“Thanks!” I beamed at him before looking back to Nava. “Come on, let’s see if it is truly him up there.”
Nava, again, just nodded before the two of us pulled up a nearby ladder up against the roof of the stall and climbed up it's steps. Nava, of course, has no need for such tools as he could just casually jump up on top of it with one good hop. I could have easily done so myself, but the idea of getting the ladder was not to cause too much of a scene as we already are did by our mere presence alone.
These Pokémon really don’t see or interact with many other Pokémon’s, do they?
“Yup, it’s him.” Nava quietly announced before I managed to get myself up on top as well.
I smiled almost immediately the moment my head peeked over the edge to see a fully knocked out and sprawled out Victini laying on the roof of the stall. He was on his back and quite loudly sawing away now that I was practically right next to him. But still somewhat adorable, given his position.
“Alright, let's go and wake him…”
“HEY!” Someone shouted from below us.
I looked down only to be somewhat surprised to see a wild gang of three budews standing right underneath the ladder I was perched on.
“We know of a great way to swiftly wake up mister Victini up there. Totally foolproof and easy.” The same budew of these three stated.
The other two just nodded to that, before all of them simply smiled at me expectantly.
I gave this strange trio a curious look. “What do you mean you three know a great way of waking up Victini?” I asked back.
“Simple…” The lead budew began before pulling something out of its satchel with its mouth and presenting it up towards me.
“This is one of his wake-up potions. Just give him a few drops and he will be up and about quicker than trying to shake him awake the old fashion way. Mister Victini is actually a very heavy sleeper, so hardly anything can truly wake him up beside literally throwing him off the bed or attacking him.” One of the other two Budews stated before stepping up to the ladder.
“Here, take it.” She added by gesturing towards the tiny flask in her friend's mouth.
I was obviously a bit skeptic about this, especially given the timing. I looked back to my partner for any input and only got an unsure shrug as a response after he tired shaking Victini’s prone form with very little success.
He was still happily snoring away like nothing had happened.
Geez, who would have thought that finding, waking up, and getting Victini would end up to be so… complex?
But hey, so is adventuring as a whole. Nothing ever goes according to plan once you are there and that is just one of the things why exploration and world mapping is so much fun.
I am just distracting myself, aren’t I? Anyway, back to reality and the task at hand.
“Well, I guess we can give the budews’ suggestion a try. I mean, what is the worst that can happen?” I told myself with a shrug before climbing back down.
Famous last words right there, Glade, famous last words. Why I keep saying them in the most convenient or most suspicious of times I will never know. But hey, one of the fun surprises of being an explorer, right? I mean, not everything can go a 100 percent peachy, now that would be boring.
“Here you go.” The lead budew stated after she dropped the tiny flask onto my hand.
“Uh… okay… thanks,” I awkwardly answered before climbing back up the ladder where Nava was still patiently sitting right next Victini’s body.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Nava worriedly asked me.
“Well, what the heck are we supposed to do? I doubt literally throwing him off the roof of this stall is going to give us any favors with him. Plus…” I presented the small flask to him. ”…what can a few drops of some wake-up potion really do to someone? It is at least worth a try. Plus, these little budews down there seem to be way too young to be even remotely mischievous.” I confidently answered with a smile, before pulling the cork out of the flask and angling it above Victini’s snoring mouth.
“Huh… look who is talking.” Nava casually added as he simply watched me pour down the contents of the flask into Victini’s mouth.
Once done the two of us shuffled a bit to see what would happen.
At first, there was nothing before a very quiet moan escaped his mouth, which almost made me smile.
“See, it’s working. Told you that this was going to be…” I stopped before I realized that he was starting to twitch a bit in his sleep, and not in a good way. His moans were also getting louder and louder, with smoke coming out the corner of his mouth which was obviously not a good sign.
Both me and Nava were about to jump in or say something before Victini’s eyes suddenly snapped open which made us flinch.
That flinch quickly turned into an actual yelp of surprise when Victini suddenly jumped up into the air, flailing his arms like crazy and screaming like a madman with his mouth literally on fire.
No, really, I doubt that this is even one of his fire moves or anything. His mouth was literally burning by the looks of it and judging by his screams I guess I was right with my assumption.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOOOOOOOOT, WHO THE HECK JUST FED ME GHOST CHILI SAUCE??!! I AM ALLERGIC TO CHILI!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” Was all he managed to scream out as he started to crazily fly around in circles in hopes of extinguishing the flames that way. Even though a water fountain was not that far off from where we stood.
In the meantime, three budews could be clearly heard laughing their butts off as this spectacle was taking place, making it very clear to me that we were tricked and that we are most likely going to get blamed for this.
Talk about not trying to cause a scene, because now we basically had the attention of the entire market
Those famous last words, Glade, those famous last words.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Uh… Victini, what has happened to you? Why do you look so drenched?” Rosette asked in shock, after me, Nava, and a very understandingly pissed off Victini had returned to the Void Water room… or whatever it was called again.
Both me and Nava were, of course, keeping our distance from him this entire time as we made our way back. The amount of scolding he gave us after the shopkeeper was able to grab him with his vine and throw him into the plaza's fountain to cool him off, was quite… painful. My ears were still ringing from that verbal onslaught he has given us, alongside with words I have never heard before.
Some of the onlookers were saying that these words were frequently used in the human world, but I obviously have no references to confirm this fact.
Oh, and of course the three little snitches who gave us the hot sauce in the first place were nowhere to be seen afterwards, making us the prime target of Victini’s wrath once he was well enough to start scolding.
Man, this fetch quest has really turned into a disaster really fast. But at least the rest of the gang was now here as well, alongside the so-called members of “Rose guard” — Roserades which had light pink colored cotton on their heads, much longer leaf caps dragging behind them, and thick looking leaf shoulder pads on their… well, shoulders.
They are even seen to sometimes carry around some form of vine made spear with a rose-colored crystal as its tip. But as of now, neither of them were carrying their so-called “badge of office” with them.
Still, not really sure what these spears are really used for and what they could possibly do. Pokémon themselves can perform moves and attacks whenever they want. So why have them if that is the case?
Either way, Victini gave us a sideways glare which we both naturally backed off from. Victini is known to be normally pretty chill, but I guess giving him ghost chili sauce was a line which should not be crossed.
Something both me and Nava have noted.
I swear, if I see those three little devils ever again…
“These two have poured ghost chili sauce into my mouth while I was asleep. The aftermath which followed is not hard to imagine.” He answered before floating himself into the room.
Rosette just nodded to that before focusing back at the roserades surrounding her who were telling her something which we were a bit too far away to clearly overhear, as the two of us were still trying to keep our distance from this fire and psychic combo of the Pokémon.
Psychic is the absolute worst to deal with unless you have either ghost, bug or dark based attacks in your arsenal.
We eventually joined both Jirachi and the chief after Victini placed himself into the center of the room, both of them looking rather perplexed towards us for what we did. But thankfully said nothing as Victini’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Hey, what’s wrong with the Chief here?” He suddenly called out.
Oh, yeah, forgot that Pericles was pretty crushed by the fact that his favorite snack was quickly running out. Granted, he was no longer frozen at this point in time, but he seemed to be still rather depressed while just sitting there.
“Oh, him? I just told him that we were running out of carrots around here. Something he didn’t take so well… as he never does,” Rosette casually answered, seeming to be quite uncaring to the fact that her boss was feeling down in the dumps.
She kind of reminds me of Espurr sometimes. Especially with that smile of hers.
Victini just nodded before turning his attention back to his boss and snapping his fingers to get Pericles’s attention. “Hey, I think I still have some carrots back it my room if you want, chief? I am not so big into carrots myself anyway, besides using them in some salads once in a while,” He kindly offered which comically got Pericles’s attention almost instantaneously as his head snapped back up.
Victini teleported himself away, to the surprise of me and Nava, before reappearing again with a carrot perfectly resting in his hands.
Pericles grinned before wasting no time to snatch the vegetable away and chew on it. Once the thing was gone… like, really gone, he immediately rose up from his position with his confidence back in full force.
Really, he sometimes does remind me a lot of Swirlix with his over-obsession for some fruits or veggies. These two could naturally get along just fine if it wasn’t for the fact that one is pro-apple and the other is pro-carrot.
Simple disagreements to some are really big disagreements to others.
“Alright, now that my midlife crisis is over, let’s get this show on the road so that I can leave this island myself to go shop for more carrots. I need my bloody CARROTS!” He began, going momentarily insane at the end of that.
He immediately turned his attention towards Victini. “Vic, if you will?” He politely gestured towards him.
“Ay, ay, chief,” He responded with a salute before flying right under the large glowing orb of void water.
“Ooh, this should be interesting!” Jirachi commented excitedly.
“Yes, indeed it would. We are personally going to see something outsiders rarely get to see,” The chief added, also sounding quite into the idea.
Both me and Nava were, of course, on board as well as we also gazed up with great anticipation and excitement to what was to come.
“Alright, you all know what needs to be done. Spread out evenly around the chamber and do your part. Victini will do the rest afterwards.” Rosette ordered, which made the band of eight Rose guards nod at her request.
They all did as they were asked, spreading out around the room and forming a circle right under Victini and the mysterious glowing orb of void water above him.
The collection of roserades then started to simultaneously perform the “Magical Leaves” move as a huge amount of radiant leaves suddenly flew out of their upward extended arms. Though what was immediately noticeable about these particular leaves was that they all had this ethereal blue glow around them instead of the merits of colors “Magical Leaves” is known for.
What was even more perplexing though was that the light surrounding the leaves suddenly increased with another field of purple around them, completely in sync with Victini’s own body above, who had his arms extended off his sides and seemed to be in a world of utmost concentration. Our eyes were fully fixed on this never before seen spectacle, especially when the leaves suddenly started to move upwards towards Victini and rotating around him with ever-increasing speed, giving us a mesmerizing vortex of ethereal lights and even brighter shining orb above us, bathing Victini in an aura of light which just looked out of this world.
To say that we were in awe by this would have been an understatement, even Jirachi and the chief were glued in place.
The orb above us suddenly began to shine with its own ethereal blue as the speed of Victini's vortex intensified. Jirachi was especially entranced by this.
“The psychic energy… the psychic energy of the void… I… I can feel it,” We heard Jirachi mutter next to us as the spectacle was quickly drawing to its grand finale by the looks of it.
Suddenly, Victini flung his extended hands towards the orb. The vortex followed its master’s gesture before literally disappearing into the ball of void water above, causing it to suddenly explode in a flash of light and forcing us all to shield our eyes and look away.
Once the glare subsided, it was very clear that something has changed, or rather something WAS changing around the room the moment we reopened our eyes. We were all astounded to see that the entire room suddenly shared the same ethereal glow as the orb and leaves did. Most strong and notable of those that were suddenly appearing swivels and swirls of bright white light inside the void water which were swiftly extending outward from the orb, slowly snaking their way towards one side of the room where something similar to a gateway was slowly forming on the void water’s surface.
We were again all completely entranced by this spectacle before us, as the swirling lines made contact with the forming gate before lighting its silhouette, forming a fully void water made archway and an ethereal glowing passageway in its center.
The gateway was activated and ready to be passed through by anyone bold enough to do so, or so it seemed at the moment. Still have to actually wait for the confirmation of either Victini, Rosette or Pericles that the procedure was a success.
“Is… is that it?” Ampharos asked as he looked at the gateway with wide eyes.
Victini nodded as he came floating down. “Yes, this is it. The gateway is now open and fully stable. Whoever wishes to be bold enough to step through first, may do so under their own risk of course. As we have no idea what might actually be waiting on the other side once you pass through the threshold,” he confirmed.
This was practically all the confirmation I needed to know to give this portal an immediate shot. Nava, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit more reluctant in comparison, but then again he always been the more careful one.
He had always been the louder voice of reason between the two of us, while I was the more overzealous and overconfident of us two.
Yes, I am calling myself overconfident, because these scrapes and bruises on my body don’t lie, and are rather hard to hide… unless they eventually heal away, then they are gone, and I can go back to being little miss Braggy McBrag. ;)
“Well, well, well. I guess it would be up to us then to take a look as to where this portal might lead us to, though you previously said that this portal only works for places which have already been visited by the Isle in the past. Isn’t that correct?” The chief curiously asked looking over at Rosette for confirmation.
Rosette nodded. ”Well, yes, but the thing about this particular world we chose is that its only been visited by the past inhabitants of the Isle for only a couple of hours before eventually disappearing again into our world. So it’s basically completely unexplored and untouched by any Pokémon related influences. Which is good, because that means that you, expert explorers, can fully do your work which mine ancestors neglected to do,” Rosette practically beamed, which in turn made Ampharos smile while rubbing the back of his head.
“Well, yeah, that is what the Expedition Society is famed for. To boldly go where no Pokémon has gone before!” He openly stated, striking one of his signature poses with added flashes of lightning.
Again, I was never really sure where exactly these flashes were coming from, but then again, at this point, I could hardly care less about them either. You just tend to get used to it around the chief if you have been living and working with the Expedition Society as long as we have.
“Well, whatever the chief likes makes me want to jump on board as well. I, too, would love to see this new world myself and see if its stars match our own or not,” Jirachi stated as well, also smiling at the concept of a new possible adventure.
“Yeah, we are ready to do our part as well. To help write history for Poke-kind and to be ones of the first to set foot on the new world!” I called out with much vigor, which Nava confirmed with a simple nod as usual.
Rosette smiled at this. “Well, alright then, the gate will now forever stay open unless something interrupts its flow or is being tampered with, and even if it ever does, Victini and the Rose Guard here can just re-open it for you in case of an emergency. So overall, there is really no real risk of getting yourself stranded over there. Safety first, after all. Even for experts such as your teams,” Rosette happily explained, which was rather good to hear.
Because no matter how exciting this opportunity might be, getting yourself stranded in an unknown world with no easy way of going back is never a very nice thought to have. Especially with the places we got dragged through in the past… unwillingly, of course.
“Well, go ahead and prepare yourself if you are truly decided to pass through the portal. Again, as Victini has stated, who knows what might actually be on the other side once you pass through the threshold. So you better prepare while you still can,” Rosette added, before Victini decided to butt in.
“Actually, I think I would love to go with them as well. Certainly wouldn’t hurt, now would it?” He announced, getting everyone’s attention.
“Wait, really?” Rosette asked.
Victini just nodded. “Yeah, why not. I personally have never gotten out of the Isle whenever we did warp ourselves somewhere else that isn’t the Pokémon world. So this, and the fact that is it practically unexplored territory, would just be perfect opportunity to stretch my arms a bit so to speak,” He responded with a smile.
“Well, let’s just ask Pericles first if he is okay with it?” Rosette suggested before switching her gaze to the aforementioned Roserade.
Pericles also just nodded. “I don’t see why not. As long as he’ll give me the rest of his carrot stash back at his room, I am totally fine with him ditching this place to go have fun in another world,” He casually responded, making us almost laugh at the fact that he could sometimes only think about his carrots in the most inconvenient ways.
Well, both me and Nava found this attitude kind of funny at least.
“Well, in that case, I personally don’t see any problems, either. But you are momentarily abandoning your decades old job in basically being Pericles's partner and companion. Are you sure about this?” Rosette asked again, though this time with a more worried tone.
“Ah, it will be fine, plus I am sure a band of two kids will have more use of my skills than a guy who could casually punch massive holes through walls and not even care if said wall was even an ancient relic or not. We both have completely outgrown ourselves, especially in strength,” He answered with confidence before floating over towards us.
It immediately got my attention. “Wait… partner? Companion? What does he mean by that?” I questioned myself.
Seriously, this little tidbit of news was certainly new to me. Never before… or rather ever since we knew these Pokémon personally during a couple of times we bumped into each other at either the towns, the HQ, or even out in a ruin or two, it was never really implied that these two actually had a history of being legit partners.
Granted, there had been the vague sense that these two worked together. But actual partners of companions? That is certainly new. But still, this certainly raises a lot more questions about these two than ever before. First, the random comments or curious looks Pericles sometimes sends our way whenever we mention our achievements to him, and now he also added history of these two possibly having a more in-depth past than they like to let on, or rather act out in public whenever these two are together.
I don’t want to start jumping into conclusions here, but this could potentially garner some good old questioning whenever the opportunity to do so shows itself.
Obviously not right now, as we are in the middle of an active decision on who gets to go into the portal first and who does not. Well, it’s certainly going to be me and Nava, because this is exactly what we have been hoping for this whole entire time.
This is our chance to help write history and I am NOT going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers so freaking easily. No matter how small my arms really are or my aforementioned fingers. If there are bad guys waiting for us on the other side, then so be it. We have managed to defeat legendaries and neutralize Dark Matter itself all in the same run. Granted, we were in our evolved stages at the time thanks to my old scarves, but I would say, and with extremely high confidence, that we are ready for whatever challenges this new world is going to…
“Glade… uhm, Glade, hello?” The voice of Ampharos suddenly pierced my ears which immediately brought me out of my thoughts and back into reality.
Well, that, and the ominous waving of a yellow arm right in front of my face was doing a pretty damn good job as well.
“Well… maybe she isn’t as ready with this as I originally thought she would...” The chief was about to say before I swiftly sprang back up to action while giving him a very sheepish smile.
“Wha-what… no, no, I am ready and fine. I mean… uh… I am totally fine and ready to be one of the first to pass through the portal. I was just… spaced out back there with all the possible things and expectations that might be waiting for us over there. So, yeah…” I responded, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.
Ampharos just gave me a strange, but also slightly worried look before physically shrugging and going back to his usual cheerful self.
I sighed at that. “Dodged a bullet there, he might have actually placed us on the backburner first, not allowing us to go until the rest of the team got in first,” I again thought to myself.
“Well, in that case, I guess, it will still be up to the two of you to be the first to enter the portal and see what may actually lay beyond its borders,” Ampharos stated making me smile, same for Nava, though more controlled than mine of course.
“But what about you, Ampharos? Aren’t you going to come with us?” I asked, giving him a curious look.
To my surprise, he shook his head. “Sorry, but no can do,” He stated before looking back down at us. “I mean, we aren’t even exactly sure if the exit point is even safe or not. If the two of you could go there first and confirm that it is safe indeed, then I would be certainly very thankful, and most likely the rest of our members as well,” He beamed, which in turn caused both Nava and I to just look up at him with awkward smiles.
“Did… did he really just openly state that he is using us as guinea pigs before stepping through the portal himself?” I thought to myself.
But alas, I guess someone really has to take the lead first, making sure that everything is truly safe for the others to step through. I mean, this is just part of being an explorer anyway. Being ready to take the bullet for the others when said others don’t want to.
I turned my attention to Jirachi next. “But what about you then, Jirachi, are you not going to come with us as well?” I asked once more.
Again, to my slight surprise and even bigger disappointment, Jirachi shook his head. “Nope, sorry, or at least not now anyway as I still need to personally fly back to HQ and inform everyone about our status and the once in a lifetime opportunity that has been offered to us. Wouldn’t be fair to leave the rest of the gang hanging, now would it?” He responded.
“Wait, can’t you just also do it with the expedition gadgets? Like, contact Dedenne and let her pass along the news to the rest?” I questioned, feeling generally confused by this as to how someone as smart as him can overlook that.
“Well…” He began, “The thing is… both me and the chief actually managed to forget both of our gadgets back at HQ while we were in a great hurry to get here,” He sheepishly smiled while also rubbing the back of his head.
Ampharos casually nodded to that, which in turn made both of us flinch in shock.
“Seriously?” I replied before remembering something. “Wait, we have our own Expedition gadget with us. We can just use ours to contact Dedenne so that you don’t have to…” I immediately stopped myself from peering into my bag and seeing that it had basically everything BUT the expedition gadget inside it.
I was starting to panic. “Uh… Nava, can you maybe check if the Expedition Gadget is inside you back bag instead? I… I obviously don’t have it here besides for a bunch of Ethers, Oran Berries and the likes,” I asked to which Nava quickly nods before removing his back bag and peering inside.
“Uh… nope, just a couple of sleep and petrifying orbs and a couple of revive seeds. No Expedition gadget here,” He responded with great worry, which in turn made my sense of panic go sky high.
“What the… how could we possibly…” I was about to shout before a tap on my shoulder stopped me from fully doing so.
“Actually, I might have something to do with that.” Jirachi suddenly stated.
“Huh? What exactly do you…” I was about to ask before the realization hit me.
Jirachi simply nodded to that while I frowned. “Right… we actually forgot to go pick it up from your shop, after you offered to upgrade everyone’s Expedition gadget with the latest software and newly added functions.” I sighed before turning back to Nava.
“Well… seems like we have to go on without our gadget then. Man, today almost feels like a complete mess, doesn’t it?” I sighed once more which Nava agreed on.
“Well, if you are all finally done in making up your minds, then I would suggest that we finally get this show rolling. Let’s go out there and see where this portal truly leads us!” Victini suddenly announced, causing all to flinch at the sheer enthusiasm and zeal of his call.
Someone is ready to explore, it seems.
“Yeah, I think I am with Victini on this one. Let’s just finally go and see where this adventure is going to take us this time. It’s not the first time that we had to go through portals, after all, so it shouldn’t be too bad,” Nava suddenly butted in, smiling as well.
I nodded to that. “Well, yeah, I guess you’re right,” I responded, before suddenly dashing off towards the portal without warning. “The last one to reach the other side is going to be tasked with the job of collecting all the necessary firewood for tonight’s camp!” I shouted back, being only a couple of meters away from the portal.
“Hey, wait up, Glade!” I heard Nava call out behind me as I continued my mad and brave dash.
Well, I would have, if a certain someone didn’t just teleport himself right in front of me, forcing me to skit to a halt to prevent a collision.
“Well, it certainly won’t be me then,” Victini happily announced before flying straight into the portal and disappearing.
I was flabbergasted at first, but quickly regained my vigor and competitive nature, jumping into the portal as well.
“Not on me, you won’t!” I called out before disappearing into the portal.
And let me tell you, traveling through a portal is always weird. I think the forces of time and space are always pulling on my tail. Which is obviously very uncomfortable.
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“YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! OOF!”
“Ugh, I hate traveling through a portal. Have I ever told this to anyone?” I mumbled, while my face was busy kissing the ground.
I was about to pick myself up when the second set of screams suddenly entered my ears which caused me to flinch. Soon enough though, that flinch was quickly upgraded with a yelp and a thud, as I swiftly found myself face hugging the ground once more, alongside with the sensation of something heavy crashing right into my back.
So this is how my first ever trip to a brand new world is going to start, huh? A face full of mud and grime, and possibly a broken back too.
Yup, this is already shaping up to be a great start, and I haven’t even begun to do something stupid or reckless yet.
“Well, this was certainly the most intense trip I ever have gone through,” I heard Nava mumble above me.
“Mmmpf, uhmpg hmmmupmf!”
“Huh, what?”
“Can you please get off of me?” I finally screamed after I pulled my head out of the dirt for a second time.
“Sorry for that, Glade,” Nava apologized before giving me the respite I needed by getting off my sore back.
I immediately pushed myself back up and started to dust myself off, arching my back with a painful and satisfying crack.
I shook my head at him after the somewhat painful deed was done. ”Nah, its fine, nothing compared to the stuff I seem to always drag you through. I guess some things will never change from the day we first meant. Going to stay reckless and super hyped for almost every new adventure we get ourselves in.” I casually responded, giving him a small smile to show him that everything was fine.
He just tilted his head knowingly before smiling.
“So, uhm… where are we, did it really work?” I eventually said after a while as I started to look around.
“Most certainly,” Victini suddenly stated as he came floating down next to us, before fixing his gaze at something which was behind us. “But still… this is certainly very peculiar,” He added, raising an eyebrow, even though he didn’t have any.
Both Nava and I followed his gaze, only to find ourselves immediately intrigued by what we saw was behind us. Besides the portal itself, there was also something very recognizable surrounding the portal. It was an arch, though not just any arch, but the same arch you can find decorating the front entrance of the Citadel back through the portal, alongside with very distinguishable statues of very well known Pokémon.
Only everything on a much smaller scale, and a lot less… maintained.
“Wait, I thought you just said that we are indeed in a brand new world? So what are two very obvious statues of roselias doing here in front of the portal?” I confusingly asked, gazing up at the weathered forms of two very distinct statues of said Pokémon in front of us.
“Don’t know, but what I do know for a fact is that THIS reality we are in is more or less new and completely untouched by Poke-kind, as far as I know.” Victini stated while eyeing the statues with a critical eye.
Both me and Nava, on the other hand, were just confused by this. Again, if Victini’s claims were true, then we are obviously standing right in a brand new world with no other Pokémon in sight. But if that is the case, then what are two obviously old looking statues of true roselias doing here, in the middle of the dense looking forest.
“Wait… is it even night or day now?” I questioned, before looking up at the sky and seeing… well… nothing. Just a sky filled with branches and leaves, and a lot of vines, too.
“Great, can’t even properly tell if it is a day or not,” I muttered, frowning at the overgrown canopy above us.
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“I wonder what that blink of light was?” The little filly asked herself as she gazed out her room's window and off into the direction where the mystery was.
Granted, she didn’t really see much thanks to the hill standing in-between the village and the forest. But she still could see a sudden beam of light shooting upwards into the heavens before disappearing just as quickly as it came.
She didn’t know what the heck that light was, but she could tell that it must have came from the illusive looking forest that she and her brother visited not too long ago.
“Lucky Clover, lights out, we don’t have that much lamp oil as it is!” Her mother suddenly shouted from the other room, which almost shocked her.
She swiftly extinguished the little oil lamp she had in front of her window before crawling back into her bed. She gave one last glance at her already sleeping brother before turning her head back to the window, thinking about the beam of light she saw on the horizon before finally burying herself within her blanket and calling it a night.
Even in her sleep, she still wonders what may actually be out there.