Chapter 3: Getting things into motion
Edited by Samallan
“And… what do you see up there?” I called out while trying to see past the overgrown canopy Nava has jumped up to.
His head suddenly popped out from beyond the wall of leaves and branches.
“Well, we are certainly in a forest, a medium size one if I had to guess. With large mountains flanking us from the west, and large open hills and meadows bordering us from the east. Overall nothing special or difficult to traverse once I make it outside the forest. Minus the mountain range, of course,” Nava shouted back before he started his slow and careful descent back down.
“You know… I could have easily just flown up there myself without the added hassle,” Victini commented as he came floating right next to me.
I scratched my head. “Yeah… I guess you could have,” I mumbled after realizing this myself. But then again, Victini actually volunteered to be on campfire duty when Nava and I decided to check out our surroundings and pulled sticks on who has the pleasure of climbing up the thick canopy above to do just that...
Granted, this idea doesn’t really do much when you take into consideration that we are in a completely different world without any point of reference or recognizable landmarks anywhere. But hey, it’s still better than going completely blind in this, so we might as well.
“By the way, how is the campfire doing, Victini?” I asked after Nava returned from his vantage point.
Victini just crossed his arms and beamed. “Long taken care of. I am a part fire type, after all, so making campfires is really no issue for me,” He answered, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to the aforementioned campfire he made, which was roaring… alongside with a bush… and a tree right next to it.
Both me and Nava were staring at the quickly developing inferno completely dumbfounded, while Victini was simply oblivious to what was happening behind him. Or he actually did knew and just wanted to burn down the forest for… some reason.
“Uh… Victini, you’re… uhh…” I tried to point out before the flames managed to engulf yet another tree.
Not sure what type of fire this is, but it certainly does seem to spread itself a lot faster than regular fire normally does. Even the aforementioned campfire has just stopped burning on its own, thanks to the fact that it was nothing but ash at this point.
Though, thankfully, I didn’t have to say more as the flames have eventually grown to such a size, that the previously dark looking forest was suddenly very well illuminated, alongside with the air temperature being a bit higher as well.
Not to mention the noticeable long shadows that just appeared.
“Uhm… why is it suddenly so…” Victini tried to say before he finally made the effort to turn around and immediately saw the issue.
I could tell that his eyes were going wide, even though I couldn’t see them at the moment.
“AHHH! WHAT THE!? HOW THE HECK DID THIS HAPPENED?!” I screamed, grabbing his head in the added panic which we immediately contracted.
“AHHH! WE GOT TO SNUFF THEM OUT BEFORE THE ENTIRE FOREST STARTS TO BURN DOWN AROUND US!” I also screamed before turning my attention to Nava.
“Quick, you are a water type, use your water base moves before it becomes even worse!” I shouted, pointing at the ever-expanding inferno with a shaky finger.
To my surprise and added sense of panic and even slight confusion, Nava simply shook his head. “I can’t! All I know is either Bubble gun or Water pulse. No Water gun or Hydro pump which would obviously do a much better job than these two!” He shouted back.
“WHAT!? But… but you did use the hydro pump when you were…” I tried to say before Nava swiftly interrupted me.
“That was only when the two of us were in our evolved stages! I obviously don’t know how to do it now!” He shouted back.
“Would you two stop your whining and just do something already!” Victini suddenly butted in which forced the two of us to look at him.
He quickly looked at Nava. “You, Bubble gun and Water pulse are good enough. A Water move is a water water, so go there and use them!” He strictly ordered, forcing Nava to instinctively salute before dashing off to do his part.
He then turned to me. “You, use your Leaf tornado to snuff out the fire around the edges and keep your distance,” He instructed me which also caused me to salute out of pure instinct.
“But what about you?” I just had to ask.
“Simple,” He stated with a frown before he eyes and hands started to glow. “I am going to use sand and dirt to bury the flames!” He boldly stated before a large lump of dirt and sand suddenly began to rise behind him as he said so.
I was, of course, momentarily mesmerized by this before quickly returning to my senses. I shook my head and sported a look of determination before running towards Nave to help him.
Again, what an amazing start to this adventures of ours. If this has any possibility to get any worse, then I obviously have no idea what else could possibly happen to seriously make this worse.
But even so, one thing was certain.
BRING IT ON, UNIVERSE! BRING.IT.ON!
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“So, the portal is really working then?” Dedenne asked in both interest and excitement.
Jirachi nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. We have now been given the permission by the leaders of the Isles to use the portal whenever we want and to explore the mysteries and secrets which may exist beyond its threshold. Pretty neat and exciting stuff if I have to say so myself!” Jirachi beamed.
“I say…” Swirlix stated. “I can’t wait to see and taste all the new and exotic delicacies that this new world might offer. The thought alone is enough to make me hungry,” She licked her lips.
“You are always hungry, Swirlix,” Buizel pointed out, which in turn made Swirlix just smile before her tummy started to rumble.
“Oh, talking about food makes me so very hungry, too. Excuse me for a moment,” She announced before dashing off to the kitchen.
The collective gang just sighed before returning their attention back to Jirachi.
Archen was the next to step up. “So, as you pointed out before, we have now full permission to enter the Rose Isles whenever we want? Previously, access for outsiders was heavily restricted with only a select few so far. Those ones of these selected few being both Nava and Glade, and, of course, you and the chief as well,” He wondered, getting nods and hums of agreement from the collective members.
Jirachi nodded. “Well, I would believe so,” He began before looking somewhat unsure. ”It was only stated that the portal is now free for use, but it was never fully stated that the rest of the gang was free to visit the Isles themselves if I had to be honest. I guess I should have asked Rosette about the details first before coming here,” He added, scratching his head.
“Well, you made it back here in record time anyway. Why not just fly back and make sure that what she said is exactly what you think it means?” Dedenne suggested.
“Hmm, maybe...” Jirachi began before quickly realizing something. “Oh, yeah, of course, the Expedition gadgets!” He perked up with a snap of his fingers.
“What about them?” Dedenne questioned, tilting her head.
“Oh, nothing much, just that both I and the chief have forgotten to bring them along when we were invited to come to the Isles this morning,” He responded, getting awkward silence from the crew in return.
Well, minus Dedenne, of course. “So that is why I was unable to reach you two or the two rookies when I was trying to.” She complained.
“Well… mistakes happen, even for a genius like myself,” Jirachi stated with a sheepish laugh.
“Anyway, let me just go get them then so that I can be off,” He announced before flying up the stairs and leaving assembly of expedition members alone at the entrance hall of the HQ.
He reached his observatory rather quickly, which has also been converted into his personal workshop after old Pokémon and potential human-made tech was starting to pour into the storage rooms and archives after the onslaught of expedition contracts and new discoveries that followed after the Dark Matter crises.
The life of a genius is never an easy one. But still very much rewarding if it means extending their understanding and overall knowledge of their world and the universe as a whole.
“Oh, hey there, Mr. Jirachi, didn’t realize that you came back so soon,” Espurr greeted after she suddenly came around the large Telescope in the room with large stacks of papers floating behind her.
Jirachi smiled. “Well, greetings to you too, Espurr, and yes, I had to personally fly back here to both relay some critical news to the team while also getting something from my shop,” He stated, before floating over to his workbench.
He was momentary confused. “Uh… where are the…” He was about to say before the items he was looking for came floating over to him.
“Did you mean the Expedition Badges? I actually took the time to re-assemble some of the outside parts back together while you were gone. Should be good to go now as they are,” Espurr explained.
Jirachi took them within his own telekinesis and smiled. “Thanks, ever since I have allowed you to be both my assistant and apprentice, you have been nothing but helpful and super-fast with your learning process. You really might have the brains of a genius yourself if I had to guess,” He praised, which in turn made the Espurr beam.
“Thanks, I am trying my best as usual,” She responded.
Jirachi simple continued to smile at that before levitating a bag from a nearby shelf and swinging it over his shoulder. He then placed the gadgets into its empty space before making for the door.
Well, almost. “What about Nava and Glade? Are they still there as well?” Espurr suddenly asked, forcing Jirachi to stop.
He turned around. “Well, no, they are actually exploring a brand new world as we speak,” He answered. Unbeknownst to him, they were actually trying to prevent a major catastrophe, made by none other than Victini with his own recklessness and overall rusty experience when it comes to adventuring.
Espurr was honestly not surprised by that. “Well, knowing them, I am honestly not surprised that they did go in first. Quite typical of these two,” She comment to which Jirachi nodded.
“Yeah. Well, anyway. I am off, you can just take a break if you want to, Espurr. There really doesn’t seem to be anything else you could possibly do here,” He stated before taking his leave a second time.
“Let’s see if I can beat Celebi’s time score this time. Just got to go faster, while at the same time not losing my bag along the way. Shouldn’t be too hard, or so I think,” Jirachi muttered to himself after he exited through the main entrance of the HQ, immediately taking off.
Unbeknownst to him, he was watched from behind the shadows as he flew.
“Perfect, Gallade would be happy to hear this,” The mysterious looking figure stated before quickly disappearing in a puff of shadows.
Nobody noticed, which is just what it wanted.
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I and Nava were gasping like crazy after the last pinch of a fire was finally put out. Which was kinda bad as we were basically gasping out smoke as well.
Our gasps quickly turned into coughs.
“Well, this was certainly a disaster what almost happened,” Victini gasped as well, which in turn made both of us glare at him as this was basically his fault, to begin with.
He knew that which is why he just awkwardly smiled.
“Hey, at least we did a fine good job in preventing a natural catastrophe. A… natural catastrophe caused by me… because I… completely forgot just how hot my flames can truly be...” He mumbled that last part out, which in turn just made the two of us look at him with a bit of a sympathy.
I know that he didn’t do it on purpose, but still, mistakes do tend to happen regardless.
I chuckled a bit. “Well… at least we now have a nice big dirt wall to lean against on for the night, or perhaps we could also use the newly formed ditch over there to give ourselves some more cover than just sleeping out in the open,” I commented, pointing a finger at the aforementioned ditch.
Seriously, Victini has managed to dig a pretty sizable hole with his telekinesis, while also creating a big wall of dirt, sand and burned wood as a result.
This guy would be a champ at a sand castle building contest, even having a winning chance against the ground type Pokémon if he wanted to.
But alas, it is at least good to know that we have managed to stop a forest fire before it could become an even bigger forest fire. So, overall, still good and still manageable for a start.
“Damn… I don’t think I will be able to perform another Bubble gun or Water pulse anytime soon. I am totally beat...” Nava commented before he leaned against the aforementioned dirt wall to rest his ash-covered body.
I quickly followed his example after I realized just how beaten I was too. Spamming Leaf tornado over and over again tends to do that. This seriously has been one heck of a start without having gotten anything meaningful done besides knowing the general layout of the land.
That actually makes me think. “So… where are we going to go from here once morning finally arrives?” I asked out loud, tapping my snout. “I would personally love to check out the mountains first, not just for the added challenge but also for the fact that it would give us a nearly perfect view of the entire land around us once we reach its peaks,” I suggested.
Nava just sighed, probably out of tiredness, while Victini just hummed to himself in thought. “Well, again, I can just easily take to the skies and do this job myself without having the two of you waste your energies in scaling up a mountain,” He commented before crossing his arms and giving me a curious look. “Not a big fan of thinking outside the box, are you?” He added, which I took as a bit of offense, as he was basically saying that I was dumb.
It may be true to some extent, but that still doesn’t mean it needs to be pointed out.
“Hey, at least I didn’t cause a forest fire while trying to make a simple campfire. I mean… what was up with that?” I retorted back, crossing my arms.
Victini flinched at that remark before looking off to the side.
“Well…” He began. ”It’s just that I have been a little bit rusty when it comes to surviving out in the wild. I have been spending way too much time just hanging out on the Isles that I have somewhat forgotten how to do things outside of it. That, and I also haven’t gotten a lot of chances to, quote-unquote, flex my muscles a bit. I really have gotten stale over the many years, haven’t I?” He explained, giving off a sad sigh before floating on top of a fallen tree trunk and sitting down on it.
This actually made me remember something. A little tidbit of information that has been given not too long ago.
I turned my attention back to Victini with a question in mind.
“Hey, Victini?” I called out to get his attention, which I got. “Rosette mentioned something about you and Pericles being partners before, right? Was it similar to what I and Nava have now, or was it something different back in the day? Sorry if I am suddenly asking this out of the blue, but… I am just really curious is all,” I asked, nervously twiddling my fingers.
Victini, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit surprised by this as he just silently sat there on his stump, looking down onto the ground.
He eventually seemed to have come to a mental conclusion judging by his change of expression before finally looking back up at us with another sigh.
“You know what… why not. Especially since we here,” He began before looking back up. ”I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell two kids a bit of my backstory, does it?” He sighed again before looking straight at us.
“Before you ask, yes, I and Pericles used to be partners, or rather even companions and friends for a super long time if you want to get a little bit more specific. Kinda… like the two of you right now as an example,” He announced, getting shocked gasp and wide eye expression from both of us from this flat and pretty much direct revelation.
“These two used to be just like us? Maybe even adventurers too?” I thought to myself before quickly regaining my composure.
Well, some of it at least.
“Wait… you’re two really used to be just like Nava and I? Companions and partners through thick and thin?” I again asked, which in turn awarded me a simple and straightforward nod from the Pokémon in front of me which was just crazy.
I always knew that these two might have more going on in between themselves during a couple of times we have seen them around town. Always being traveling together, sometimes even with Rosette.
But never would I have imagined that their backstory could really go so far and so deep. The fact that they once used to be just like us is just surprising on its own.
Though, this makes me wonder…
“Then, what happened?” I suddenly asked out loud instead of keeping it inside my head like how I first wanted.
“Huh… what do you mean?” Victini quickly responded, looking and sounding quite confused.
I swiftly recomposed myself after the mistake and simply decided to press on. More for curiosity’s sake than anything else.
“I mean, what happened to the two of you then? You said that the two of you USED to be partners. So, my question was, what happened? What made the two of you lose your long time partnership?” I clarified, going back to twiddling my thumbs, more out of habit, really.
Victini simply hummed to himself before shrugging. “Nothing really, times just changed, that’s all. Pericles eventually became the new Argentum Resurrexit of the Isles, while I became the new gatekeeper in comparison. So, I guess… the two of us just eventually grew up, and focused more on our new positions rather than adventuring like how we used to,” He casually explained, getting a bit of a distant look before shaking his head and rubbing it.
“Well, that was a bit strange,” I thought to myself.
“Wait…” Nava suddenly perked up. “What does this… Argentimu… arge… uhm.”
“Argentum Resurrexit,” Victini corrected for him.
Nava nodded. “Yes, what does it mean?” He asked, which I guess I can follow along.
Victini smiled. ” Well, it simply translates to Silver Rose. It’s just a more fancy way of naming it,” He answered which made Nava nod.
“Okay… but there is something else…” Nava continued. ”You guys always used the word decades, as if the two of you are really decades old. How exactly is that possible and is it even true that the two of you are that old?” Nava asked, which in turn made Victini cross his arms while looking off to the side.
“Well, yes and no,” He answered, sounding a bit unsure.
“Huh… what is that supposed to mean?” I ask this time, which made Victini sigh.
“It simply means that both answers are kinda correct,” He answered before rubbing his head. “Sorry, but… I am one of the last persons you should ask when it comes to time-related questions,” He added before looking back up at us. “The point is that the flow of time kinda works… a lot differently on the Isle then it does anywhere else, thanks to time dilation and displacement with the Isles constant shifts and changes from place to place or world to world. And to top it all, the natural passage of time in between worlds can be totally different as well. So overall, you can say that we both are and aren’t decades old, thanks to the fact that the Isles aren’t really affected by time normally like how most places are. We do still age there, but… thanks to the confusing nature of time on it, we simply age really, really slow. That’s… that all I can personally tell on that question… sorry,” He finished before again rubbing his head.
I, too, was rubbing mine at this point, though more out of confusion rather than physical pain like what he was feeling judging by his expression. I guess I should remember to ask Celebi about this when I get the chance. I am sure she could do a much better job in explaining this whole… time mess than he could.
Either way, this buttload of information was certainly going to take some time to process. My own head already starts to hurt from just trying to think about making sense with this whole “decade-old” thing.
But still, this certainly opens up a lot more cans about these two. To really realize that these two used to be just like Nava and me with an almost childish knack for adventures themselves is just… really interesting, to say the least.
Victini suddenly coughed. “Well… uhm, anyway. You two better hit the hay. We do have a very long day ahead of us if you two are still in the mood for exploration and what not,” He stated.
“Heck yeah we are, I mean this is just…” I tried to say before a yawn quickly cut that off.
“Man, I really am tired, aren’t I? Then again, this whole disastrous start has been nothing but exhausting. Better take the hint and just sleep it off as Victini offered,” I thought to myself before leaning myself right against the dirt wall behind me to doze off.
Nava did the same, giving off a quick yawn of his own before resting his back. But not without removing his backpack first.
I quickly did the same thing with mine, removing the sling from my shoulder and just placing it next to Nava’s. This actually gave me another idea as I quickly changed my position and carefully laid my head against my bag
Who knew that Oran Berries can make good pillows?
“What about you, Victini? Aren’t you going to sleep as well?” I questioned.
Victini shook his head. “Nah, I am really not that tired. Plus…” He began to look around himself. ”Someone does have to keep an eye on our surroundings in case something or someone wants to jump us at the night. Again, a new world equals new possibilities in terms of never before seen dangers. Better to be safe than sorry,” He answered which in turn made me scuff a bit.
“Oh, come on, so far the trees and bushes around us look pretty similar to the ones we have back in our world. I doubt that there could be too much of a difference out here,” I added, making him cross his arms.
“Uh… I wouldn’t really be so sure about that. You should keep in mind that the Isles have been to many exotic looking places before, even places that look a lot like our world in terms of flora and fauna, but completely different in terms of creatures. So don’t let the trees and bushes fool you,” He responded with a level look.
“Yeah… I guess you're right about that,” I added, before giving off another yawn.
I was about to close my eyes when the portal in front of us suddenly began to flicker. I was about to say something to that when a sudden scream started to come from the very vortex of the portal before a large yellow blob came flying out of it.
Right towards me, with breakneck speed.
“AHHHHHHHH, WATCH OUT!!!” Was all I was able to hear before the world swiftly went dark for me.
Yup… definitely the worst start I ever had with new adventures.