Category: OT

"Raven! I need to talk to you!" said Professor Oak "this is really important!"

"Well, I’m here!" I said and sat down on Nurse Joy’s green chair. "First, look at this!" said Professor Oak, bending down to reach for what looked like a stone slab. It was ANCIENT. It had faint markings on it, in the familiar but eerie language of the Unowns. "See that?? This was found in the pokemon center at Ecruteak about a year before. Some trainer’s Snorlax got angry and punched a hole in the ground. This was discovered in the hole" said Professor Oak "It looks like the unown writing, but its not. Unown writings are more curved and are made up of mostly circles, but this is more angular and is mostly made up of triangles. It might be an ancient language, like hieroglyphics. Translated to English, it reads:

‘Take a tour to where the Gods reign,

Much of knowledge you will gain

Like where the dark and the light lie,

Superior secrets you will attain.

To help you more, take these clues four:

Find a open mouth, walk in to the core.

Then look sky-high, pick up the stone,

After that, feel around for a bone.

Here comes clue number two,

Go where the legends once flew.

Align the sun, with the moon,

Darkness will approach you soon.

Take what the darkness gives,

and set the whole thing free,

This is crucial as the instructions above,

Is the clue number three.

Finally, if you’ve managed to get that far,

Here is the final clue:

Put the gift of darkness in the notch,

Dive into the red pool.

Where is the pool you may ask,

But look closer than what meets the eye.

And when you finally figure it out,

Be prepared for a rough ride.

As tiresome as it may seem,

do not give up.

As persistence is the key,

To win the golden cup.’

There wasn’t much hub-dub over it because the scientists thought it was graffiti because of the modern language, but I think that it is a genuine artifact because it strangely, let’s say ‘fits itself snug’ with the events happening around the world."

"What do you mean professor?" I asked.

"Look" he said, reaching down again, this time he was holding in his hand, some pictures and a newspaper article. There was the noise of a door opening behind me and Dan entered the room. "What’s taking you so long? I wanna have a battle! Now!" said Dan. "Shhh!" I said and turned my attention back to the professor.

"Look at theses pictures Raven." Said Professor Oak, thrusting the pictures at the screen. Dan took a seat beside me and his jaw fell to the floor. In the picture, were three islands, but that was not the thing that surprised us. Hundreds and thousands of dead fish were littering the sea. Gyrados, Magikarp, Corsolas, Bubblas, Marrils, Goldeens, Seakings. "And if you think THAT’S surprising, look at this!" said Professor Oak. This time, it was in Mt. Silver. It was the usual Mt. Silver pictured on postcards: Snow-capped, pokemon roaming at the foot of the hills, lush blue waterfalls all in the backdrop of a clear sunny day. "I don’t see anything Professor. Is this a hoax?" asked Dan. "Look closer!" said Professor Oak. I moved my head closer and squinted. Then I saw it. On the top of the mountain, in one of the cliffs, perched a bird. It was too regal to be the common ones like Dodrio and Fearows. AND it had a sharp beak and it was jet black. There was something glinting atop its head. This was the bird in my dreams! My eyes flew wide open. "But… That… Bbut.. Is that?" I sputtered. "Is that what??" asked Dan impatiently. "I knew you’d be interested! As soon as Bill gave me the picture, I recognized it!" said the Professor, ignoring Dan. Ding-Dong! It was the bell in Prof. Oak’s house. "I’ll be back!" he said and rushed to the door. ‘What’s up with the bird?" Dan asked. I filled him up with all the details. "Why the hell didn’t you tell me before?" demanded Dan. "Would you have believed me?" I inquired him with an icy stare. "I guess not…" said Dan he started to speak again, but was cut short because Prof. Oak was back. "I don’t believe this. This CANNOT be happening! Impossible! Absurd! Deplorable!" he said. "What happened?" I asked. He started to reply, but his power went out. I had a feeling what was happening in Pallet.

I walked out the Nurse Joy’s office with Dan following me. "How was your call hunny??" she asked with her usual smile. "Fine." I snapped and went to the main area. I could hear Joy muttering "Some people. What rude behavior!" she was saying to Chansey. My ‘Gang’ was the only people in the main area now. The other trainers had probably gone to bed after a long and tiring day of pokemon training.

"Guys! Come here AT ONCE!" I said to them. They all assembled one by one in front of me. "Yes Sir!" said Brad grinning, obviously thinking that I had forgot about our fight AND forgave him. I gave him a steely stare and his grin subsided. I told them all about the dream, the birds, the supposedly ‘dejavou’, the pictures. "Now here is the dilemma. I HAVE to go back to Pallet. I know that I chose to take the gym-leader challenge but this seems more important. I know this sounds stupid but I feel a strange magnetism towards the incidents." I continued "So I just wanted to say goodbye because I am packing today." There was an awkward silence. "YOU are not going on any adventure without ME buddy!" said Dan "I am coming with you AND the discussion IS CLOSED." I knew there was no point in arguing. "We are coming too. I know you HATE us, but I wanna find more about your bird" said Brad. I threw him a stare that could have competed with an Articuno’s ice-beam, but didn’t stay anything. " Well, Rainer and I have decided to continue our journey." Said Matt. "Yeah. Sorry." Added Rainer "We’ll help you pack though!"

"Y’all just don get it!" said Charon in its high voice "Us Dark types are the single darn most powerful types in the world!" "Yeah right!" said Artemis "You cannot even COMPETE with dragons!" While Charon and Artemis were arguing, Europa and Poseidon were gossiping. "Yeah! I heard this Horsea that only knew splash and couldn’t learn any other attack and it ACTUALLY evolved!" Poseidon was saying. "That IS weird!" said Europa "Us Lapras strongly object to pokemon like Gyrados. They are SO atrocious. Even our trainer hates them! They do NOT have any style or flair or originality…"

We were in our room at the pokemon center and I had let my pokemon out for a little exercise. The room was like a house during Christmas: Crowded, noisy but cozy. We had finished packing for Pallet and were just talking. Matt and Rainer had gotten to be close friends. Brad and Karen were flirting as usual. I eyed them with the utmost loathe and disgust. Karen saw me and smiled nervously but I just turned around and walked to the balcony and stared out at the never-ending blanket of black. It was almost one’o’clock. Dan and I had decided to leave the next day. It seemed that the inky sky just never ended. Continuos like an everlasting blanket. It stretched out even beyond Earth. Definitely beyond Earth. There was so much in this world we don’t know about. May be there is another person out there, staring out like I am, thinking the same thing. After all, I am just one person in the world of millions. No, not millions! Trillions! Zillions! Each person with their own fate. Their own destiny to fulfill. The door opened behind me, but I paid no attention to the noise. It was Charon with the others. "It’s Beeeutiful ain’t it?" said Charon. "Yup!" I replied and took a seat in the chair. "So we will be in Pallet tomorrow?" asked Europa as she waddled and took a seat beside me. "Yup." I said again. Artemis and Poseidon leaped up into my lap and Charon sat beside me on the other side. I fell asleep.

"Oh my God! Is this a dream?"

"This CANNOT be true. Can it Raven?"

"I do NOT believe this!"

"Y’all, this ain’t so normal!"

We were staring at the town of Pallet that stretched out before us. It was in chaos. There was smoke everywhere, people and pokemon were running around like crazy. I recalled Charon and we started running faster and faster until we reached the lab. I knocked the door. "It’s open!" came Prof. Oak’s voice from inside. I tuned the door knob and proceeded in. "’ Choose a starting pokemon from the table there Gary. Is Ash here?" the professor said distractedly.

"Ummm… Professor, it’s me." He turned around and a look of surprise spread over his face. "Raven! You? I thought you were in that Pokemon Center! What are you doing in Pallet?"

"I don’t know Professor, but I feel I have to be here. Oh! This is my friend Dan."

"Hey Prof.! How ya’ doin’?" asked Dan.

"Very well thank you." Said the professor "Hello Brad and Karen! How are you?" he added and looked at them curiously. I think the professor knew about the fight.

"Professor, what happened to Pallet?" I asked, even though I knew the answer already.

"Well, where do I start…" he said and we all went inside the lab and sat down to hear his story.

"Suddenly the power went out and there was a deafening screech. We all went outside to see a black orb flying north."

"That’s exactly what happened in the forest we were in, but it was a golden orb!" said Dan and Brad together.

"Professor, do you mind if I take a look at the slab? I have like this thing for puzzles" I said.

"Sure! It’s right here." He went back into a room and came back with the slab. "Here is the translation." He said, handing me a piece of paper.

"I helped myself to the puzzle while the others were outside calming the people down. "Lets see… A place where the ‘Gods reign’…" I said to myself "Heaven?? Is there a city called Heaven?? I don’t think so…"

Two hours passed. Now the lab was filled with the sound of arguments. "No! Y’all ‘re wrong. There ain’t no place where God reigns BUT heaven!" Charon was saying. "Yeah right Sneasy-Weasel! Like you’re always right!" shot back Artemis. Europa and Poseidon on the other hand were just staring at the poem, trying to unlock the riddle. " Do you think the place is in this world at all?" Europa asked me. "Yeah." Added Poseidon "The only place I can think of is heaven too."
"That’s it. CHARON RETURN! ARTEMIS RETURN!" They both grumbled and returned into their pokeballs, with a mild look of surprise on their faces as they had never seen me shout. Artemis dematerialized after calling Charon a ‘darn scruffy’ and Charon after calling Artemis a ‘Texas rotten pot-roast’.

"Dan, what’s a place where the Gods reside?" I asked Dan, who was patting his Gyrados on its head because it bit the head of a Metapod.

"Heaven?" he guessed absent-mindedly and continued patting gyrados. We were in one of the guest-rooms in the Professor’s house and I was still trying to solve the puzzle. After an hour, I dozed off.

"THAT’S IT!" I woke up suddenly from my sleep. "I GOT IT!!!!!" I turned on the lights and woke Dan up. "Raven! Its three in the morning!" he said grumpily "I’m gonna let my gyrados on you if this ain’t somethin’ important!"

"The place where Gods reside! The ancient Greeks believed that the Gods lived on Mt. Olympus!!"

"Why didn’t I think of that??" wondered Dan out loud.

" I have to tell Professor Oak." I walked out the door.

"Astounding!" said Professor Oak, the next day. Mt. Olympus!

"Do we have to go all the way to Greece then??" I asked, the essence of adventure gleaming and dancing in my eyes.

"I don’t suppose so. There is a Mt. Olympus north of Mount Silver. If the puzzle is real, then you have to go there."

"Everything packed?" Asked Professor Oak "Did you take your pokedex? The poem?Your pokemon?"

"Yeah." I said, thinking about the journey that lie ahead.

"I’ve got a gift for you." Said Prof. Oak, handing me a brilliant-blue pokeball. "It has a pokemon inside. Open it."

I was delighted. "Thanks professor!" I said and released the pokemon inside the ball. I gasped. It was-There was no other word to describe it- Beautiful. About 2 feet tall, with four magnificent blue crystal paws and red eyes. It was rather dog-like. On its forehead, was a hard exoskeleton shaped like a diamond. From the diamond, there were ribbon-like stuff literally flowing to the end of its body. It was a Suicune.

"A Suicune?? But how did you catch it?"

"I have my sources Julius. I thought you’d like it. Rumour has it that it can tell the future." Said Prof. Oak

I walked up to it and started to pet it. It nuzzled my ears and licked me.

"I guess it has taken a liking to me…" I said "Shall I call you Hermes?"

It nodded its magnificent head and returned to its blue ball.

"Th… Thanks P-P-Professor." I stammered, at the prospect of owning a legendary Dog.

"Don’t mention it. Now Its almost time to leave. I’ll contact you if anything new happens…"

I couldn’t stop thinking abut Hermes. I hadn’t told Dan. I wanted it to be a surprise. Every midnight for about two weeks when everyone was asleep, I let it out of its pokeball and took it for a walk and fed it. It turned out that it knew Ice-beam, Bubble-beam and roar. I thought it Surf from the HM I got from the boy who abandoned Charon. Hermes rarely talked but when it did, its voice was deep and regal. It did not have any accent and spoke fluently with rich use of vocabulary. It talked about intelligent stuff like Philosophy and Science and Genetics and Pokemon. I was surprised that a pokemon knew so much about the outside world. "Raven, I think that we should go o this journey alone." Hermes said one day. Or rather night. "What do you mean??" I asked.

"Its not safe for your friends. I sense dangerous things in the future. We should leave alone as soon as possible."

"Do we just leave them here?"

" Leave them a note. I know its hard, but that’s life. You can’t hang on to things you love or like forever."

"You’re right… We’ll leave today… Tonight. I’ll write them a note."

"Tonight?? Isn’t that a little too early??"

I chose to ignore Hermes, but he understood. He went back into his pokeball. I wrote Dan a note and left him a pokemon my mom had caught when she was a young girl. I had retrieved it from Professor Oak the day before. After about half an hour, I took one last look at my surroundings and continued on the long and seemingly everlasting road to Mount Silver. I knew that this was my fate, if there was such a thing. Destiny.