//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Reunion // Story: A New World, a New Way: The Rogue Legendary // by Dolphy Blue Drake //------------------------------// Upon waking in the morning, Jason yawned and stretched, placed his hat back on his head, then stood up. Noticing Eternia half-asleep, still in her protective stance, Jason smiled and scratched her behind the ears, causing her to wag her tail again and sigh happily. “Thanks again for looking out for me, Eternia,” Jason said, crouching down to meet the Ghost-type at eye-level and hugging her.  “You did great last night.” Eternia yawned and nodded, her eyes half-shut.  “No problem, Jason.  As I said, I’ll protect you for all of time.  Even after you die, I’ll still protect you.  And if that means having to fight Arceus, I’ll do it.” “You guys are too good to me,” Jason chuckled, scratching her behind the ears again.  “So, you wanna stay out here, or would you rather get some shuteye inside your Ball?  Your choice.” Eternia thought for a moment, then her body decided for her by forcing her to yawn again. “Put me back in the Ball,” she muttered.  “I can’t really sleep while we’re on the move unless I’m in there, anyway.  Not unless you can carry me on your shoulders.” “Uh, no thanks,” Jason said with a nervous shake of his head.  “You move your tail around a lot in your sleep, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of your blade.” “Then ‘Eternia Manor’ it is, then,” the Ghost-type chuckled before using her tail to push the button on her own Pokéball, letting it suck her inside so she could curl up on her favorite four poster bed. Jason started to walk in silence towards the entrance to the forest, but froze in his tracks when he heard voices. “Are you sure you sensed her?” one asked as a glowing light approached. “I’m certain of it, brother,” a second voice replied.  “Our sister took the portal.” “That makes no sense,” the first voice shot back.  “Why would she take it, but not come to the Hall of Legends?” “She’s still rebelling, of course,” the second voice grunted as two massive serpentine Pokémon slithered into view, startling Jason, who immediately dove behind a bush to avoid them.  The second voice belonged to the first to come into view:  Cosmaraid, while the first belonged to the second to come into view:  a multicolored glowing comet Pokémon with pure white eyes and a tail that split in three directions.  It had to be Donalyra, the Space/Ice Legendary who completed the guardian trio. “But why?” Donalyra asked.  “She promised to not cause any trouble if she used the portal!” “I’ll have to correct you, brother,” Cosmaraid sighed.  “She promised to ‘try’.  Of course, she’s trying to rebel without causing trouble.  She played you for a fool.  We should’ve disowned her instead of trying to get her to come around.” “If only she’d have come to the meeting,” Donalyra groaned.  “She could’ve spoken on the humans’ behalf!  We wouldn’t even be in this mess if she’d just let Lord Arceus sever her ties with her precious Trainer and attended the meeting!  Why, she could’ve reminded him that some Pokémon absolutely rely on humans and their creations for survival!” “Do you really think Lord Arceus would’ve listened to any of her arguments?” Cosmaraid shot back.  “The entire Council would be against her!  And if we stood up for her, it’d still be many against three!  Not even the other Salintra Legendaries would’ve stood by us!  And you know why?”  Donalyra shook his head.  “It’s because she fully approves of the use of Pokéballs!  We both know how Lord Arceus feels about those things!  That alone would count as multiple strikes against her!  It doesn’t matter how much logic she would’ve used!  The fact that Lord Arceus would be biased against her views from the very start would make none of it matter!” “So what do we do?” Donalyra asked nervously.  “Do we let Lord Arceus and the entire Council know that she’s here?” “No!” Cosmaraid snapped.  “Do you realize what Lord Arceus would do to her?  Especially if she’s found a way to bring her Trainer and teammates along?  He’d either blink all of them out of existence, or strip her of her powers and toss her into the Distortion World until the end of time!  She’s still our sister!  As such, this is our mess, and ours alone!  At most, we can involve the other Salintran Legendaries.  They can at least keep a secret if we tell them to.  We’re going to find her ourselves, and confront her about this, all without Lord Arceus knowing!” “Lord Cosmaraid?” a third voice called from behind the duo. “What is it, little one?” Cosmaraid said gently as he and his brother turned around. Jason didn’t even bother to pay attention to the rest of the conversation.  It was his chance to flee, and he wasn’t going to waste it.  He had to get Glitterwings away from her brothers. Dashing out of the forest, he threw Burst’s Ultra Ball, revealing the Nukrenst, who bore a very confused expression. Jason hopped on the nuclear dragon’s back and said, “Burst, we gotta get outta here!” “Isn’t flying us around usually Glitterwings’ job?” Burst asked as he started to flap his wings. “Yes, but there are Legendaries nearby!” Jason hissed as Burst’s feet left the ground.  “We can’t let them see her!” “Good point,” Burst noted as he took flight and started to fly towards what looked like a desert in the far distance. “Burst, what are you…?” Jason tried to ask, but Burst shook his head. “I don’t know, but there’s something about that desert,” Burst replied.  “I feel we’ll find something there.  Of course, you’re the Trainer, so you have the power to veto me.  So?” “I trust your gut feeling,” Jason replied.  “Keep heading that way.” Burst nodded, and they continued in silence until they passed by a city that was somehow built entirely out of clouds. Screams could be heard coming from the city, and armored winged ponies started to pursue them. “Crap,” Jason grumbled.  “Burst, can you handle one more passenger?” “Sure can,” the Atomic/Dragon-type said with a nod.  “It’ll be a tight fit, though, so they’ll have to be able to ride on your back, since you take up most of mine.” “Fine with me,” Jason replied as he opened a Pokéball on his belt, releasing his very first Pokémon and most trusted partner:  Wanda. “Whoa!” Wanda gasped before throwing her arms around Jason’s stomach to keep from falling.  “Jason!  Why aren’t we on Glitterwings?” “We had to sneak away from her brothers without them noticing us!” Jason replied.  “And now we’re being chased!  Think you can do something about those flying ponies?” “My Poképack’s got my Floodrinite and a Shell Bell!” Wanda replied.  “Can you reach your Mega Band?” “Can do!” Jason said with a nod before touching the stone on his bracelet and shouting, “Mega Band, activate!” “Yes!” Wanda cheered as her body was enveloped in pink energy which exploded outwards, revealing her ultimate form:  a shining white jeweled crown-like structure was now attached to her head, shimmering blue spikes sprouted from her wrists and ankles, and her body was sturdier and sleeker.  She was now a Mega Floodrine! “I love doing this!” Wanda laughed excitedly.  “You focus on looking out for more enemies, Jason.  I can take these losers out by myself!” “Go get ‘em, Wanda!” Jason chuckled before turning to face forward. “No sweat!” she giggled before setting her sights on the nearest armored flier and picking the best move to get him out of the picture instantly.  “Take this!  Polar Wave!” A non-damaging wave of super cold air flew from Wanda’s mouth and engulfed the winged pony, who didn’t have time to react before he was suddenly trapped in a giant block of ice, which plummeted to the ground below, shattering upon impact, freeing the pony, but leaving him shivering so hard that he couldn’t move. “Alright!  Who’s next?” Wanda shouted, making a “come at me” gesture with her paw since the ponies couldn’t understand her. Another flier lunged for her, and before she could attack, he struck her with an electric lance, causing her to shriek in surprise and pain. “You’ll pay for that!” Wanda growled.  “Hydro Cannon!” After taking in a deep breath, Wanda expelled super pressurized water at the pony who zapped her, hitting him with the force of hundreds of gallons per second, shattering his armor and throwing him back several miles. Now only three ponies remained, and they looked reluctant to attack after seeing two of their number fall so easily to Wanda’s power.  In fact, they stuck to simply tailing them for a long enough period of time for Wanda to recharge after using that much power. “Now for some real fun!” Wanda cheered, overcome by the euphoria that she got from battling.  “Our secret weapon!  Memory Spiral!” The same copper energy field that Eternia had summoned the night before covered Wanda, and she immediately picked a move to add back to her arsenal. One of their pursuers finally worked up the courage to try to attack, but Wanda immediately employed her regained move.  “I don’t think so, bub!  Protect!” A field of impenetrable energy blocked the pony’s spear, startling him. “Now, for what makes me the star of the team!” Wanda crowed.  “My ProtectSpiral combo!  Memory Spiral!” Grabbing another move, Wanda immediately added it to her temporary expanded arsenal and waited for the fliers to try to attack again. One did, but his attack was slowed by a copper echo of Protect, which didn’t actually stop the attack, but reduced all the damage Wanda took by half. “Having fun yet?” Wanda giggled.  “Because I already am!  Aqua Ring!” The second move Wanda restored to her memory took effect, granting her continual regeneration from a ring of healing water surrounding her. The ponies attacked again, this time delivering a full impact, causing Wanda to grunt.  She was starting to get weak, but though she could always add more moves just for the heck of it, she already had all she needed. “Prismatic Blast!” Wanda shouted, firing a multicolored laser beam at one of the pursuers, knocking him out of the sky and forcing his other two comrades to dive after him to catch him. With the battle won, the knowledge of Protect and Aqua Ring faded, and Wanda reverted back into a normal Floodrine. “What a rush!” Wanda whooped, pumping a fist into the air.  “I love how strong I’ve grown to be!  I gotta cool off, though.  Get me back in the Ball, Jason.” Jason nodded and pushed the button on Wanda’s Pokéball, returning her to her virtual habitat. “Okay, that’s all of them,” Jason announced.  “We can continue to the desert unopposed now.” “Great,” Burst sighed in relief.  “Because I think I see an abandoned town, kind of like Tumbleweed Town, the ghost town back in our home region.” “Well, that’ll give us some place to hide, at the very least,” Jason replied.  “And boy, do we need a place to—” “Burst?  Is that you?” a voice called from below as an Unfezant flew up to meet them.  “And oh my!  How is Jason still human?  Did he get turned into a Ditto or something?” “Hey there, Unfezant,” Jason sighed.  “You are my little sister’s Unfezant, right?” “But of course!” the bird replied as she lead them to the ground.  “And Audrey’s here, too!  Nancy, too!  In fact, everyone from Scarletstone wound up in this desert, and we all met up here!” “Oh, thank goodness,” Jason sighed as they touched down.  “I was worried about everyone.” “Well, the whole town’s here, and the lone pony family who still lives here have welcomed us to stay here,” Unfezant explained before shouting, “Audrey!  You won’t believe who I just ran into!” A mostly black Charizard tromped out of a house that looked like it was in the middle of being repaired, a red raptor-like Pokémon with flames on his elbows, knees, hips and shoulders following her.  The Charizard opened her mouth to say something, but upon seeing Jason, the words died in her throat, causing her to choke and gasp, starting to hyperventilate. “Audrey!” the fiery raptor gasped, grabbing the Charizard in his arms and using Psychic energy to try to calm her down.  “C’mon missy!  Wut’s wrong?  Yah look like ya’ve seen a ghost!  An’ Ah mean a dead ghost!” “B-Bontor,” the Charizard gasped.  “I’m seeing things!” “Huh?” the Bontor looked in Jason’s direction and also started to gag.  “That-that ain’t possible!” “Sis?” Jason asked carefully.  “Is that really you?” ‘I wish that really was you, Jason,” Audrey choked out, “But it’s impossible for a human to be here and still be human!” “Let’s just say, I have my ways,” Jason chuckled before releasing Glitterwings, resulting in Audrey turning white as chalk. “But, she’s a Legendary!”  Audrey gasped.  “How is she still with you? And what do you mean by, 'you have your ways'?” “Simple, Audrey Turner:” Glitterwings replied.  “I defied Arceus.  I’m pretty much an exile from the Legendary Council, now.  Jason and I were actually left behind, but my brothers left me an echo of the power Arceus used to transfer all of you, and I used it to get here.” “But why is Jason still human?” Audrey asked the Legendary. “Because I shielded him from the forces that would’ve transformed him,” Glitterwings explained.  “I’m not the guardian of humanity for nothing, you know.” "But, I thought only Arceus had that kind of power!" Audrey shot back, still trying to wrap her head around the concept of her brother still being human when every other human had turned into a Pokémon. "Well, I've been asleep for centuries and only woke up a few weeks ago," Glitterwings replied gently. "Humans had forgotten the full extent of my powers, so my ability to transform life had been long forgotten. What kind of guardian would i be if I couldn't preserve the form of a being I'm tasked to protect?" "Okay, Glitterwings, I believe you," Audrey said after thinking for a few seconds. "I mean, what would you have to gain from lying?" “What’s goin’ on here?” an elderly voice demanded as an orange unicorn stallion with a white mane and beard stepped out of the only house in good condition.  “What’s all the ruckus fer?” “Dusty Dune, my brother’s here!” Audrey announced before grabbing her big brother who was now shorter than her and hugging him tight.  “Everyone!” she shouted to be heard by the whole town.  “Jason’s here!  And you won’t believe what he is!” Pokemon of all sorts, including a Sceptile with a green bear covered in dark flowers beside her dashed out of the houses, but stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Jason’s form. “How is he still human?” “Did he turn into a Ditto?” “Wait, isn’t that the Legendary he captured?” “Why is Giganoth still with him?” “Everyone!  One at a time!” Jason shouted.  “But before I answer any questions, I’d like some time with my friends and family.  Mom?  Dad?  Nancy?  Professor Maple?  Could you all please join us over here?” A Nidoking, a Nidoqueen, the Sceptile, and a Zeim—a vaguely mummy-like yellowish-brown Time/Psychic type—approached him, with the green bear covered in flowers tailing the Sceptile. The Nidoking spoke first. “Jason, it’s me, your father,” he said.  “How did you manage this?” “Well, Dad, Glitterwings helped,” Jason said after Audrey released him and they all sat down on the ground.  “She defied Arceus.” The whole group gasped, shocked that anything, Pokémon or human, would dare stand up to Arceus, also still having trouble believing that she had such incredible power to prevent Jason from being transformed. “Actually,” Jason looked over his shoulder to where Glitterwings was conversing with Burst and Audrey’s Unfezant, “Glitterwings?  Could you explain how we managed to do what we did?” As soon as Glitterwings joined the group, the bear next to the Sceptile spoke up. “Lady Giganoth, what compelled you to defy Lord Arceus?” he asked. “No need to call me that, Seqursine,” Glitterwings insisted with a shake of her head, startling the Grass/Dark-type.  “I’m an exile from the Legendary Council, so please don’t call me ‘Lady’.  Also, don’t call me ‘Giganoth’.  I’m Glitterwings.  Jason nicknamed me that, after all. “Now, as for why I defied that senile, backwards fool…” Glitterwings paused to let that statement of her opinion of Arceus sink in before continuing.  “Back when he still cared for humans, he tasked Mew and the Continuum Pokémon, Voiral with creating three guardians.  Of course, I was one of the three.  But Arceus himself gave me my powers and told me to keep humans safe forever.  I can’t very well fulfil that duty without humans to protect, now, can I?  So, I refused to be separated from Jason.  Arceus was furious and left me behind, as well as Jason and the whole team.  But my brothers left me an echo of the transferring power in the form of a portal in Mt. Maiden, so I took it, using my own powers to protect Jason from being turned into a Pokémon.  We seek to undo what Arceus has done to the humans.  If any former human would rather remain a Pokémon, I’ll gladly allow them to do so, but as for any former human who doesn’t want to be a Pokémon, I can turn them back into a human.” “Wait, you can turn us back?” the Sceptile asked hopefully, the voice giving away that the Grass-type was actually Nancy. “Yes, Nancy Baker, I can,” Glitterwings replied.  "Just like how I was able to preserve jason's form, which I can tell you're still having your doubts about even though he's standing right here as bonafide proof. But with only one human in this realm and the only human creations being what he has on him, I don’t have much power, and will have to recharge my Legendary powers after reverting one of you, so I can only revert one.” “Please, Glitterwings!  Restore my husband, first!” the Nidoqueen pleaded, her voice clearly identifying her as Jason and Audrey’s mother. “No, restore her first!” Mr. Turner pleaded. “Professor Maple, you’ve been oddly quiet,” Glitterwings noted as she addressed the Zeim, who jumped at suddenly being addressed. “Well, you see, I don’t know what to make of this,” the Professor sighed.  “Of course I want to be human again, but I don’t want you to weaken yourself so much for me. Besides, this feels even more like a dream than when I first got dumped here.” "Everyone, I assure you that this is no dream," Glitterwings announced. "This is very real. Jason is here, and he's still human. I mean, I'm the guardian of humanity! Why would I give up on humans just like that?" "You actually make a very good point," Professor Maple said, provoking nods from all the transformed humans able to hear the discussion. "But I still don't want you weakening yourself for me." “So, you’d rather wait, then?” Glitterwings guessed. “Yes,” Professor Maple said with a nod.  “I think I’ll leave you all so you can discuss this while I let the others and our hosts know what’s going on. That way, you won't have to answer the same questions over and over.”  Turning to Jason, she added, “We’ll do our best to hide you and Glitterwings as long as possible, Jason.  It’ll eventually become impossible to hide the fact that there’s a location where humans are being restored, but I’ll be darned if we don’t give it our all!” After the Professor left to speak with the new residents of the town and the ponies playing host to them, Glitterwings looked at each transformed human very carefully. “Arthur and Bethany Turner, I see that each of you wishes that your spouse be restored before you are restored, so I cannot restore either of you at this point, for the one I restore will become upset.  As such, I have two options:  Nancy Baker, Jason’s rival and best friend, or Audrey Turner, Jason’s younger sister and the former Salintra League Champion.  I’ll let you two girls discuss this among yourselves.” Audrey and Nancy blinked, then quickly leaned their heads together and started whispering.  Jason couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Glitterwings already knew what they were discussing:  both were trying to convince the other to be the first to be restored. After several minutes, the two nodded, and Audrey stood up straight, fumbling with her Charizard claws nervously.  “I…” Audrey looked to Nancy, who nodded, then swallowed a lump in her throat.  “I’m presenting myself to be the first.” “Very well,” Glitterwings said with a gentle smile.  “Now, relax and let me do all the work, Sweetheart.  This won’t hurt a bit.” Audrey took calming breaths and squeezed her eyes shut. Shaking her head, Glitterwings flew up into the air and used her antennae to send waves of rainbow energy over Audrey and started muttering. “Boy, that old coot really did a number on you, you poor thing.  There’s no human DNA anywhere!”  Growing more determined, Glitterwings increased the intensity of the waves of energy,  “If I can’t use your physical essence, maybe I can use something else.  I could easily transform you into a human, but I want a blueprint so I get the original you just right.  This isn’t like the time I turned a pair of Beheeyem into humans for a few days to teach them to stop abducting people, this is actual restoration!  Let’s see… memories are a good start.  Okay, your memories have a very good depiction of yourself in them.  That’s good.  Now, to get some more information so I don’t botch the process at all.  Ah!  Your aura!  Of course!  Oh, dear…” Jason noticed the worry in Glitterwings’ voice, and unfortunately, Audrey did, too. “Glitterwings?  Is something wrong?” Audrey asked, her voice shaky. “Um, I’m sure it’s something I can fix, Dearie, don’t worry!” the Legendary said, trying to keep the eight-year-old former human calm.  “Your aura’s somewhat altered.  It’s still mostly human, but there’s a bit of that of a Charizard in there.  It’s only a minor setback, though, I promise! “Okay, if her Charizard aura pieces are like that, and her human aura pieces form that aura structure, then logically, the Charizard parts would have to be like this to match…  No, that’s not right.  That doesn’t match after all.  Hmm… looks like the use of ‘A is to B as C is to D’ doesn’t apply here.”  Glitterwings crossed her eyes in concentration, trying to look at things from a different angle.  “Wait…  Just maybe…  It seems crazy…  But it just might be the key!  Well, it’s worth a shot!” More rainbow energy washed over Audrey, and Glitterwings smiled triumphantly. “Yes!  That’s it!  That’s the answer!” Glitterwings cheered.  “He may be senile and backwards thinking, but boy, that old codger can be really tricky when he wants to be.  It’s almost as if he anticipated someone trying this!  For lack of a better term, the old coot ‘encrypted’ your aura!  Now, Audrey dear, I’m done scanning.  I have all the details I need.  You’ll be back to how you were before Arceus transformed you, from your hairstyle down to your shoes!  Now, this won’t hurt.  In fact, it’ll feel wonderful!” The huge rainbow moth flapped her wings, and rainbow dust started to fall on Audrey, coating her form entirely with the sparkling substance.  Before their eyes, her form glowed pure white, just like an evolving Pokémon, and started to shrink and change shape.  The wings were sucked into her form and vanished, her head changed to be just like a human’s, her hairstyle of pigtails grew out of her head, the lizard-like legs shifted to be straight, the feet changed to that of a human’s, the tail vanished, and while her body still glowed, the form of a dress appeared over her body, as well as knee-high stockings and sneakers.  A shoulder bag appeared slung over her right shoulder and resting on her left hip, and the form of a belt with six spheres appeared over the dress.  Finally, the light faded, and Jason ran for his little sister, human once more, complete with her belt for the portable homes for her team. “You can open your eyes now, Audrey,” Jason whispered as he hugged her tight, tears streaming down his cheeks. His sister did so, and immediately checked her hands, which were human once again.  Feeling all over her body, she grew more and more emotional at every familiar part of her original form, which was hers once more. Then she felt the belt at her waist, and the six Pokéballs on it, and burst into tears before looking up at Glitterwings. “Thank you Glitterwings!” she cried happily, hugging Jason back. “You are most welcome, little one,” Glitterwings replied warmly before she suddenly started to pant for breath and fell to the ground. “Glitterwings!” Jason gasped before running to the fallen Legendary’s side.  “Are you okay?” “I’m fine, Jason,” she replied, but Jason noticed her wings had turned gray. “If you’re fine, why are your wings a bunch of dull grays?” Jason demanded. “Please don’t worry about that, Jason,” Glitterwings said softly.  “I just used up my entire pool of Legendary power.  I just need to recharge, that’s all.  And now that there are two humans, I should be good to go in about a day’s time.  Please, return me to my Net Ball for now.” Jason nodded and did just that, and immediately after he did so, everyone in the town heard an ancient voice in their heads.  One that Jason had heard speak to him very recently.  But this time, the voice wasn’t angry. Greetings citizens of Equus, both old and new, the voice began.  I am Lord Arceus, creator of the creatures that you have seen over the past few days.  You have no reason to fear me for I come in peace. I am the one who brought the creatures you see to this world, the voice continued.  They are known as Pokémon.  I have my reasons for bringing them here, I will be holding a summit with the world's leaders so that they can help inform their citizens the best.  For now I issue a warning;  Even if some do not appear as such, the Pokémon are just as intelligent as any other creature that calls this world home. Since they are MY subjects I will not tolerate their mistreatment or abuse.  Treat them as you would your own neighbor. Pokémon who have awoken in this new world, do not seek to harm the natives of this world, the voice added after a short pause.  To the Pokémon that experienced certain... Changes... when you arrived; You are the ones who proved that not all of your kind deserved vengeful retribution, consider this your reward. To live new lives, free of the burdens of the old world, a chance to start anew.  As sentient beings of varying intelligence, the laws of the respective countries you now reside in apply to you, and only those laws. That is all for now, the voice said, drawing to a close.  The Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite.  If you have any qualms with what I have done, I reside in a temple located within the Everfree forest and welcome all who would like to speak, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum, so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by. Goodbye for now, the voice said in closing.  Though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all. Several of the former humans in the town turned pale, some even fainting.  Arceus himself really had torn them from their homes and not even let them keep their bodies! “How is that any kind of ‘reward’?” A man who had been turned into an Aynshunt—a Ground/Time Pseudo-Legendary that resembled a large statue placed at the entrance of tombs—demanded, brandishing the massive blade that was in his fist.  “I don’t want to be an Aynshunt!  I preferred being human!” “And I hate being an Electrode!” a former human woman whined.  “I miss my arms and legs!” “Ev’ryone, jus’ calm down!” an elderly gold-coated pegasus with a blue mane and tail snapped as she joined the stallion who was obviously her husband.  “Ye saw wut that moth can do, right?  Jus give ‘er time!  Ah’m sure she kin turn y’all back t’ normal!” “But Miss Sunny Skies—” a boy who had been turned into a Scardun—a serpentine Normal/Dragon-type that was the evolved form of Dunsparce—began before Dusty Dune cut in, speaking over the boy. “Don’cha remember that only the Professor an’ the girl’s raptor are allowing us t’ understand ya’ll?” the elderly unicorn snapped.  “Yer makin’ this hard fer ‘em!” “Yes, can’t we all discuss this later?” Jason asked, drawing attention back to himself.  “After Glitterwings has finished charging, she can put up her translation field!  She recently demonstrated it to me, and it didn’t seem to use much of her power at all!” The crowd sighed, but nodded.  After they all dispersed, Jason was about to join his family when the two elderly ponies trotted up to him. “So, yeh kin’ understand Pokémon on yer own?” Dusty Dune inquired. “Yes, sir,” Jason replied.  “I don’t know how I got the gift, but I’ve heard it’s very rare.” “Well, that makes yeh special in a good way!” Sunny Skies said with a smile.  “Ah’d like ta introduce ya t’ my family, but ya should really check on yers first.  We’ll be waitin’!” “Kay, seeya in a bit!” Jason called as he walked towards the rundown building his family had gathered at. After arriving at the building his family was apparently fixing up, Jason watched as Audrey hugged each of her team members, who were all crying tears of joy that she was their Trainer once more, eagerly letting her return them to the portable homes they thought they’d never see again. “So Jason,” his father said as they all sat on crates.  “Do you think you could tell us what happened since you arrived?” “Sure thing, Dad!” Jason replied before diving right into recounting everything that had happened in such a short time. About fifteen minutes ago, in the Everfree Forest… Donalyra and Cosmaraid stopped dead in their tracks when they felt an immense release of power from very far away.  They only noticed it because they recognized the source instantly. “It’s her,” Cosmaraid sighed as Donalyra gaped in shock. “What’s our sister doing?” the Protection Comet Pokémon whispered. “Remember when she punished that pair of Beheeyem by turning them human for a few days?” Cosmaraid huffed. “Yes, what about it?” Donalyra asked in confusion.  For being the oldest and supposedly wisest of the three guardians, he was acting incredibly naïve lately.  The change in guardianship roles was the most likely cause.  He was now tasked with protecting this new planet, and he was still getting in tune with all of its forces so he could read potential danger as well as he had while protecting Earth.  The new ‘magic’ was really throwing him off. “That felt very similar to the release of power she gave off back then,” Cosmaraid explained with a roll of his eyes.  “She’s restored a human!” Donalyra gasped and started muttering, “Lord Arceus isn’t going to like this…” “That’s why we can’t let him find out!” Cosmaraid snapped.  “We have to trace the energy back to its source, and make sure no Legendaries from a region other than Salintra knows what we’re doing.  Even Dad will keep it a secret!  You know we can trust him!” “Then let’s get back to the Hall of Legends,” Donalyra said, turning around.  “We have to get on this right away!  “Come on, brother!  If I can just figure out the force of magic, I can properly tap into this world’s essence, and then locating her will be a cinch!” “Fine, lead on,” Cosmaraid grunted.  “And let’s hurry.”