Here I am again. How are you all? No, seriously. If you review this fic, tell me how life's treating you. No reason in particular, I just have some insane interest in the wellbeing of people I've never met. This section is "only" ten pages long, so it's less of an eyesore than the other two parts so far. Anyway, here it is: Part 3 of Earth, Sea and Sky, dedicated to... uh... Halcyon Entertainment, producers of the worst short film ever. Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Pokemon. Just you wait. One day... one day... Claimer: I own my alternate future of Pokemon's universe, and anything I've made up to put in it. And I also own this rock. But that's beside the point. "I don't know what you're complaining about," said Misty, tossing her red ponytail. "I have to write a letter to my boss and explain to him that we had to kill his grandson, what do you *think* I'm complaining about?" groaned Tracey. "If you don't want to tell Professor Oak, then don't. We all thought Gary died years ago anyway. What he doesn't know won't hurt him." "Argh..." Tracey looked up at the cloudless sky. It had been five days since Gary had been killed, and Tracey still hadn't written to Professor Oak about it. They were definitely closer to Pallet Town than Blackthorn City, so by now it might even be dangerous for Morgan's Abra to try and teleport all the way back. And, having abandoned the path in order to move for Pallet by a more direct route (and avoid highwaymen), it would also be difficult for Abra to find them again upon returning. They were in the Indigo Mountains now, the long mountain range separating Kanto and Johto. Brock spent all his time staring at a map, trying to make out where they were. If all went well, they would reach the Pallet Woods soon, or maybe overshoot somewhat and come to Old Viridian. The Guardian Suicune of the North Wind had been sighted a few times in the area, some suspected that it had chosen Pallet Woods as its new haunt and filled the place with mind-bending illusions. If this was true, it was probably best to come out of the mountains as close as possible to the Pallet lowlands, preferably at Tojho Falls. However navigation was difficult without reference points and all the Indigo Mountains looked the same. "Brock, do you know where we are yet?" asked Misty. "No, not yet... I think we're lost." "Yes, Brock, we're always lost. And by a strange coincidence, you're always the one with the map. I'm seeing a connection here." "Are you implying that -" "Yes, I am. Now give me that." She snatched the map from him. "Yes, I think I see the problem. Brock, this is a map of the Lavender Mountains. They're on the other side of Kanto!" "Oh..." "Give the map to Tracey, he knows what a map is." Brock grudgingly handed over a case of maps, from which Tracey quickly selected the right one and started examining it. Brock, as if he felt he had to do something, ran a short way up the small mountain they were scaling to pick some herbs. Lana was already up there, just about at the crest of the hill. She ran the last few meters, the wind playing havoc with her normally straight brown hair. "Look! We're out!" she shouted when she reached the top. "Out? Out of what?" "The mountains, ma'am. This is the last one!" "Well," said Tracey. "That makes it easier. We must be about here," he tapped the map. At the top of the mountain, Brock and Lana looked down at the plain below. There were no trees on the very top, only grass and rocks, but other than that the forest didn't begin to thin out until the foot of the hill when it began to phase out and be replaced by grass. Directly ahead was a valley, filled with ruined buildings. "That can't be Viridian City," said Lana. "It's too old." "You're right," said Misty, catching up. "It's Pokemopolis. Ancient capital of Pokemonia. Brock and I visited an archaeological dig here with Ash while he was training for his first shot at the Indigo League Championship. It was headed by a young woman named Eve; she disappeared about two years ago, so it's unlikely that anyone will be there now. We should move on; Pallet is further south." "No, we need somewhere to rest," said Brock. "It's getting dark. The valley might be our best bet." He was right, the sun was starting to set, casting fiery trails across the western sky. "You said that there didn't seem to be anything at Pallet Town when you looked originally, so maybe Ash left a clue somewhere else?" reasoned Calvin, peering down at one of the crumbling stone shrines in the valley. "I suppose... he did spend a lot of time in this area in the months before he disappeared. We assumed he was at Pallet, but he could have been anywhere as far north as Viridian." Tracey and Morgan started down the side of the mountain, re-entering the dense pine forest. The others followed. "What do we know about the Pokemonians?" asked Cordelia, straightening her light brown dress. "Not all that much," replied Lana. "Their empire was built on partnership with Pokemon, in fact the word "Pokemon" comes from "Pokemonia". They used an entirely different word - "Donerum" - that meant "Divine Gifts" in their language. From their point of view, it would've been an entirely accurate description." "Yes, but what about the people themselves?" Trust Lana to start talking about linguistics... "We do know that they practiced magic," said Misty, "Which is odd because modern humans have only gotten the trick of it in the last twelve years. Pokemonian magic is different from ours - it relied far more on connection with Pokemon. We need our Pokemon to help make wands, but other than that, our magic is fairly independent. The Pokemonian version was complex and ritual-based - that's what some of the larger temples will be for. Gary's replica was of one of the less important ones; he'd never fit a ritual temple inside that palisade." "So, what happened to the Pokemonians?" "Their civilization was slowly eroded over the millennia. Some of their traditions, like Apricorn Pokeballs, have survived, but when colonists from other parts of the world started arriving most Pokemonian legends, knowledge, and most of all, magic, died out." "A more peaceful end than the people they learnt it all from, though..." mused Lana, winding a lock of hair around her staff. "Who?" Cordelia asked. "The Pokemonians supposedly learnt all their magic, architectural skill, and everything else from studying the remains of an even older civilization. We're not sure what happened to them, but they vanished suddenly about ten thousand years ago. Too suddenly for most archaeologists' liking." "So why might Ash have left clues here?" Cordelia wondered. "Who knows. He probably didn't," replied Misty, "This is a shot in the dark, but if we're going to stop here for the night, we might as well look around. And I certainly don't want to go through Pallet Woods at night..." "You don't believe the rumors that there's a Guardian Suicune in there, do you?" Misty wasn't usually so gullible, if anything she was fiercely skeptical. "Well... no. But..." "She's scared of the Bug Pokemon." "LANA!" Misty hit her student's head. "Ow! What, it's true!" In its time, Pokemopolis had been glorious. It was a city of gold, where priests in elegant feathered robes with a thousand colors would use the hidden power of their Pokemon to invoke huge magics of awesome power. Now, the ancient temples were crumbling into dust, the bright colors had faded and the riches of the city had vanished. Some crumbling buildings here, some abandoned tents and archaeological equipment there, and a long desolate main road through the dead city, were all that Pokemopolis seemed to be on the surface. But history can never disappear completely, and the future can never be escaped... Brock, Cordelia and Mimey were studiously tending to an aluminum travel cauldron, full of bubbling soup, in the middle of what had once been the main road through the city. To the sides of the camp were huge ruined temples, which had once been vast step pyramids topped with exquisitely carved altars. Lana sat nearby, talking to Misty and gesticulating wildly at the ruins of Pokemopolis around them. Quetzelle was with them, but not paying much attention to what Lana was saying and occasionally electrifying Misty. Clefastral was wandering around the clay slopes of the valley, looking at nothing in particular. Tracey, Calvin and Morgan were searching one of the more intact temples nearby. "What do you know about this place, Tracey?" asked Calvin. "Not much," replied Tracey. "The time Misty and Brock came here with Ash was before I knew them, and I never really studied ancient civilizations much while I was working for the Professor." He hauled himself up one of the exaggerated steps of the staircase set into the pyramid's front. He stopped to give Calvin a hand up, and then waited for Morgan, who just teleported himself up the step with a smug look on his face. Morgan took off his glasses and polished them for a second, then returned them to his face. "So, why would Master Ash have left something here?" "Well, Misty and Brock think that he might have deliberately made any clues he left difficult to find. So, maybe the reason that nothing was found at Pallet Town is that there really isn't anything there. And, of course, there probably isn't anything here either." "Why would he not want us to find it?" asked Calvin, peering up at the top of the temple. "Ash doesn't want to be found," replied Tracey, "He left, remember, because he thought humanity has become too complacent. If there is something for us to find, then it's Ash's test for us. If we can find it, then we've proven ourselves." "And if there isn't anything?" "Then we're in trouble." Tracey looked up the stairs. "This is getting tiring. Why are these steps built for giants? Venomoth, go!" An indigo-colored moth almost two meters wide burst from Tracey's Pokeball and wheeled through the air before coming to a stop, hovering in front of him. Tracey pointed a slim finger at the top. "Take us up there, Venomoth." Venomoth responded immediately, picking up Tracey and Calvin and going after Morgan, who shut his eyes and teleported to the summit of the pyramid by himself. The giant moth turned, unflustered by its passenger's sudden disappearance, and carried Calvin and Tracey to the altar on the top of the pyramid, dropping them roughly on the platform, just outside the shrine containing the altar. Tracey picked himself up and recalled Venomoth. Calvin stood as well and brushed some of his white hair out of his eyes before walking around the stone altar to join Morgan, who was looking at the back wall of the shrine. "What's this...?" he said distantly, running his fingers across the glyphs carved into the rock. "A load of cryptic mumbo-jumbo," said Calvin. "Ancient Pokemonian stuff." "Yes... this one..." he touched a pictogram, "is the sigil of the High Priests, so it's probably a prophecy." "Uh huh." Calvin was looking under the altar, which was nowhere near as ornate as most of the temple. "Nothing here." "Hmm... the land... the sea... what does this one mean...?" Morgan absently tapped an x-shaped symbol. "Conflict? Yes, probably something like that." "Morgan? We're going," said Tracey, bringing Venomoth out. "I'll just stay here, I want to translate this. I can get down by myself." "Morgan, we-" "Don't bother," suggested Calvin. "If Morgan wants to study the weird stuff, let him. At least we don't have to." "Fine. Look; don't stay up here all night. We have to leave in the morning if we want to get to Pallet tomorrow." "Sure. Abra, go." The golden-brown fox Pokemon appeared with a flash of white light. "Get Lana up here, will you? She's better with this stuff than I am." "Abra, ab." The Pokemon vanished. Cordelia left Brock in charge of the cooking for a while to look at the sunset. She appreciated things like that; they were one of the things that made the world worth S, so the last orange rays of daylight lit up the whole length of the ruined city with a soft glow. Cordelia honestly couldn't see Ash leaving something here. But it was certainly the best place to stay the night; wild Pokemon tended to avoid Pokemopolis. To be perfectly honest, she didn't expect that anything would be found at all, here or anywhere else. But trying was better than the alternative. She whistled a few notes, and Quetzelle flew to her from it's perch near the campsite to land on her shoulder. The green-winged golden serpent cooed at her softly. She felt the minute psychic vibrations that allow skilled trainers to understand the speech of their Pokemon. Quetzelle wanted to cheer her up. It was always optimistic, and had a lot of faith in Cordelia - and in Ash. Her Quetzelle always made Cordelia happier, because it reminded her of her son. It was an electric-type, like Ash's Pikachu that was his constant companion. And, of course, Ash had given it to her after retrieving it from Team Rocket. Misty didn't like it much, since her memory of Ash's sudden departure from Kanto was still painful. Which brought Cordelia back to the matter at hand: where had he gone? There were so many places around the world where the same sort of things had happened. After Groudon and Kyogre had awakened, legendary Pokemon all around the world had gone wild. Hoenn was worst off, of course, but Ash might've gone anywhere in the hope that he could help. She looked southwards, across Pallet Woods, to her old home. If there was a clue, it would be there. "Prophecy's cause will e'er be served, each will get what he deserved. The past - erm - comes back, does again, and says in reply? The earth and - uh - the sun? the moon? the sea and - er - something. Army of the land and army of the sea, both shall fight for - supremacy, I think. Neither will know that their actions will bring despair - perhaps it's "despair will use their actions to bring itself into existence" - until the sleeping things are released - there's another word here, but I'm not sure what it means." Lana said, leaning on her staff as she hesitantly translated the Pokemonian script on the wall. "Below that part, the symbols are too degraded to read." "What do you suppose it means?" Morgan's grey eyes sparkled as he peered closely at the pictograms. "Well, as you said, it's a prophecy. We can tell that from the first line - Prophecy's cause and so on, because it's a standard opening for a prophecy of any kind; they always begin that way. But the Pokemonians loved talking in riddles. Even if I could translate it properly..." "So, you don't know what it means?" "No," she said flatly. "Is this the only inscription?" "I don't know, I haven't looked." "Well, start." She took a Pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Haunter, go and help Morgan." The floating purple Pokemon floated towards Morgan, its disembodied hands hovering at its sides. "I'll stay here and see if I can translate anything else. "Where should I look? Is there likely to be anything else in this temple?" "Hmm. Well, the things aren't usually solid. There will probably be a chamber inside, but the entrance will be hidden. It shouldn't be a problem for you to find." "Any ideas on where to find it?" "Probably around the back somewhere. Now, shoo; I need to examine this more closely. Maybe I can make out some of the worn out text." Morgan didn't say anything; he just led Haunter down the steps. The back side of the temple was as impressive as the front. It presented a towering wall of weathered stone, with no marks that might indicate an entrance. Morgan looked up at it, resisting the urge to gape. The front had been quite a sight, but the featureless blankness of the back wall was somehow far more stunning. "How am I supposed to get into there?" He experimentally held out a hand and shoved at the wall with a psychic nudge. Nothing happened. "Right. Abra, Gardevoir, go." The golden-brown psychic fox appeared next to Haunter, accompanied by a tall, pale green humanoid Pokemon in a long, obscuring robe with a red half-heart shape sticking out of its chest. "All of you, try and find anything about this wall that seems unusual. Any kind of discrepancy in the stonework." The three Pokemon nodded. Gardevoir glided over to the left side of the temple and began examining the blocks of stone. Haunter floated to the right and started firing very gentle Nightshade attacks at parts of the wall. Abra peered closely at the bricks in front of Morgan, who looked down to the end of the valley at the setting sun to try and judge the time. Curiosity was one thing, but staying up all night to investigate the possibility of a secret passage was quite another. Suddenly, Haunter started hooting excitedly. Morgan turned to look. One of the huge bricks had given way. "Great work! Get back to Lana, tell her we found something." Haunter nodded and flew into the air towards the top of the temple. "Abra, abra?" "Well, yes we're going in," replied Morgan, aiming a telekinetic burst and knocking more bricks out of the way to reveal a passable doorway. He walked in, cautiously, with Abra on his shoulder and Gardevoir close behind. Misty was restless. She'd had her portion of soup from Brock's cauldron, eaten an apple from her own bag of rations, and was now without anything to do. After watching the sunset for a few minutes, she quickly grew tired of it. Why couldn't there have been a stream, or a pond or something? She sighed and, more out of boredom than anything else, decided to see what Lana was doing. Her student's mystical ways bothered Misty, but she couldn't really expect anything else from a channeller. To her credit, Lana was very good at what she did. Speaking with the souls of even the recently dead was usually something reserved for mystics of twice her age. And then there were the old books and tablets she studied. Misty didn't like that stuff much. She had her reasons - Gary Oak's fate being one of them. Things from the past were always causing trouble, particularly Groudon and Kyogre. Misty loved water, but she acknowledged that it had its place in the world. To a Water Master, disrupting the balance the way that Maxie and Archie of Teams Magma and Aqua had tried to thirteen years ago was the height of arrogant evil. Misty sighed as she began to clamber up the stone steps, which couldn't have been meant for ordinary-sized people. Lana would learn, eventually. She reached the platform at the top of the temple. The first thing she noticed was Morgan's absence. "Lana." "Yes, ma'am?" Lana replied without looking away from the tablet she was examining. "Where's Morgan?" Misty asked sternly. "I thought he wanted you to come up here to help him with something." "I asked him to look around the rear wall of the temple." "Lana, none of you are supposed to go off on your own. It's dangerous." Lana stood up and turned around. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I sent Haunter with him, it'll be fine." "Then why is Haunter up here?" "What?" Lana looked over her shoulder and saw the purple ghost Pokemon hovering behind her. "Haunter, why are you back here? I told you to help Morgan." "Haunter, haunt, haunter!" The subconscious meaning of the words rang through Lana's mind. "You found something? Come on, let's go!" Misty groaned. "Togetic, go!" Misty's fairy Pokemon materialized from it's Pokeball and tweeted delightedly. "Togetic, use your levitation abilities to get us down there." The little egg fairy smiled and waved it's tiny stubby arms. Misty and Lana floated into the air and gently down to the base of the temple. "Abra, use Flash. I can't see a thing." In response to the command, Abra conjured a small ball of light between its hands to show the walls of the tunnel. They were covered in mould, but there were no cobwebs - no spiders to weave them. All of a sudden, as Morgan kept walking, the walls turned away from him. He was in a chamber inside the temple. The ceiling was too high to see by the light of Abra's Flash, but the room wasn't particularly large. On the opposite side was a faintly glowing alcove. Lit up by the soft blue light, Morgan could see a tablet like the one Lana was translating. "That wasn't too difficult," he noted, and stepped into the room towards the alcove. As soon as he did, however, the floor directly ahead burst open and something leapt out. The Kabutops landed roughly on the ground and clashed its vicious scythes together. "Uh oh." The deadly fossil Pokemon leapt into the air to perform a Slash attack. "Gardevoir, Psychic!" Gardevoir lifted a robed hand and flung Kabutops back across the room with the power of its mind. The Pokemon collapsed in a corner. Gardevoir glided to the center of the chamber to get a closer look. As soon as it got close, Kabutops vanished. "Look out, Gardevoir!" Kabutops completed its Feint Attack, reappearing behind Morgan's Psychic Pokemon and slashing it three times with a sharp talon. Gardevoir was finished. "Ahhh! Gardevoir, return!" Morgan absorbed his Pokemon back into its Pokeball. "Kabu..." His opponent turned and raised a scythe. "Uh... Abra! Go!" Abra Teleported off Morgan's shoulder and flickered into being in front of Kabutops. The Rock type hesitated; Abra were traditionally able only to teleport, but there was no knowing what attacks this one might've been taught. "Abra, use... uh... Seismic Toss!" Kabutops regained its composure. Seismic Toss? The human was bluffing. Abra, however, knew what to do. It completed several Teleports in quick succession; first flickering onto Kabutops's crescent-shaped head. Then, an instant later, Abra Teleported itself and Kabutops away. Abra reappeared at once, Kabutops did not. Then, a second later, the fossil Pokemon came crashing down from the ceiling, flailing its arms desperately. Abra punched its tiny fist in the air, and began glowing. The Psi Pokemon more than doubled in size in seconds. When the glow faded, its appearance had changed utterly; it now had a lightning bolt pattern on its chest and a large moustache, and was holding a spoon. Morgan took his Pokemon's evolution to Kadabra in his stride, and smiled. His earlier nervousness over using a non-combat Pokemon in battle was gone. "Kadabra, Confusion!" The newly evolved Kadabra held up the silver spoon in its hand. Its eyes glowed bright blue as it flung Kabutops into the wall. Morgan fished around in his pocket and brought out a Pokeball. "Here goes nothing..." he hurled it at the slumped Kabutops, which was absorbed in a burst of light. The Pokeball rocked on the ground for a few seconds, then stopped. "Morgan! What's going on?" Misty ran into the chamber, followed by Lana, Calvin and Tracey. "It's under control, but Gardevoir's hurt. There was a Kabutops in here..." he picked his way around the crater that was created when the fossil Pokemon had hit the floor, and picked up the Pokeball. "You caught it? Good work," said Tracey. "And your Abra evolved too." "What's this?" asked Lana, who was already examining the tablet in the alcove. "I don't know." "I'd like to study it -" "No, Lana, we need to get back to the campsite now," said Misty. "Fine. Does anyone have a camera or anything?" "Will this do?" asked Tracey, producing a sketchbook and pencil. Lana smiled. "Perfect." Cordelia gently touched her hand to Gardevoir's wound and spoke the final word in her incantation, healing the damage from Kabutops's Slash, before turning to her friends. "Don't you EVER do that again! None of us should be wandering off alone, especially not you three!" She glared at Misty's students, causing them to look at their shoes. "That's very true," added Misty, "You should not have -" "Don't you think I'm not mad at you too, young lady! You *let* this happen!" "Yes, mother..." said Misty, suddenly losing her authoritative, bossy tone and glaring furiously at her feet. Cordelia looked around and decided she'd imposed enough motherly anger and advice. "Let's eat, shall we?" The sun rose over Pokemopolis, greeted by the singing of a golden serpent with feathery green wings. One by one, the journeying trainers woke to continue towards Pallet Town. In the old days, the best course would have been to keep heading east for an hour or two, to reach the main road. Of course, the main road was now just as filled with trees as the area around Pokemopolis. So, Misty led her friends directly south through the forest, clambering through the roots of overgrown trees and hacking through enormous plants. "I hate this place. There could be a Bug Pokemon hiding in any one of these plants." Misty never got over her fear of Bug Pokemon. Powerful magic did nothing to help, since no human could actually use it to cause injury or harm. The only way was to use a Pokemon to help in the spell to permanently enchant an object. Which was why Misty was holding her scimitar in one hand, using it to slash through ferns, and tightly gripping a gently glowing blue wand in the other. "There's nothing wrong with the woods, Misty," laughed Tracey. "Or Bug Pokemon. What have Venomoth and Scyther ever done to you?" "Well, they were born, for a start," she grumbled. "Don't worry, ma'am. If the Bug Pokemon come to get you, we'll protect you," teased Lana. "Why, you..." "How long have we been walking?" interrupted Morgan, desperate to stop an all- out war between Misty and Lana. He looked at his watch, which proclaimed it to be four hours since they left Pokemopolis. "Can we rest soon?" "Rest? Sure, where would you like to rest?" Misty gestured at the overgrown forest floor and huge oak trees. "There isn't anywhere." "Well, there is the space by that tree that I'm certain we've passed before," said Calvin. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" Tracey drew his sword to hack through the foliage between him and the tree. "How could I not notice this?" he wondered, examining the bark. "This is the same tree, all right." "We've passed it before..." said Lana. "...so we're going in circles," finished Morgan. "We never turned once, though," protested Misty. "How can we be going in circles if we've kept going straight the whole time?" "An illusion?" speculated Brock. "Anyone have a Pokemon that can use Foresight?" "Of course," said Lana. "I'm a channeller; I might even be able to cast Foresight myself with a bit of work. Sableye, go!" Materializing on the forest floor, Lana's gem-studded Ghost Pokemon was quickly covered in leaves and hurriedly clambered out. "Sableye, use Foresight to show us what's going on here." Sableye's diamond eyes glowed red, projecting twin cones of crimson light into the forest. The ghost Pokemon turned its head, the beams sweeping around like searchlights. When they were struck by the beams, the trees disappeared. "What the -" Suddenly, they were in a perfectly circular clearing. The unruly undergrowth of Pallet Wood stopped short at the edge. In the center was a pool, filled with crystal-clear water. "Uh... where are we?" asked Brock. "An illusion..." said Misty. "Do you see any Stantler? Anything that can change the appearance of a clearing to make it look like a forest?" "That might!" shrieked Lana, pointing at towards the pool. The air above the water had suddenly begun to ripple, like heat haze. A four-legged white Pokemon with long blue fur and a diamond-shaped crest stepped out of the air and stood effortlessly on the water. The Suicune viewed the travelers with obvious contempt in its piercing sapphire eyes. "Who trespasses in my domain?" The creature's resonant psychic voice rang through their minds, as clear as ringing crystal. "We don't want any trouble," said Cordelia. "Just let us pass through." "You lie. Humans always bring trouble. The disruption of the balance is humanity's doing." "We only want to reach Pallet Town. We don't want to fight you." "That area is now a part of my territory. You will not pass." Cordelia sighed and turned from the North Wind Pokemon. "We'll have to find another way. Let's go." "No," interrupted Misty. She stepped around Cordelia and looked Suicune in the eye. It glared imperiously back. "If it was within your power to stop us, you would have already. You're bluffing." "Misty!" Brock warned in a loud whisper. "That's not any Pokemon, that's the Guardian Suicune!" "I know what it is. I know Water Pokemon, and I can tell that this creature is just desperate to get us to leave." Suicune was flustered; they could all see it. It looked like Misty had been right. "Now, why can't we go through?" "I have been asked to guard this region." "By who?" The blue dog Pokemon lowered its head to look at the sun's reflection in the water. "After the guardians of the land and sea attacked this continent, and all the other guardians and their children lost their faith in humans, I tried to convince them that you were worth preserving." It almost spat the words. This clearly brought bad memories. "My brothers and my children turned on me." "You mean Entei and Raikou, and the other Suicune?" asked Misty. "Them. Entei and Raikou turned all of the lesser Suicune against me. My power has waned since then... I was approached, two years ago, by a man who wanted me to protect Pallet Town. He told me to stop people from coming here, if I could, and to conceal the place in illusions. And he gave me a message." "A message?" "He told me not to give it up until the need was dire. I am to deliver a letter to a woman. You." "Me? And - who -?" "A Pokemon Master you know as Ash Ketchum." Suicune's eyes flared blue for an instant, and a damp envelope floated up out of the water and drifted through the air towards Misty. "And now, I have one last thing to say..." it began to rock gently from side to side, beginning to recite a verse in Pokemonian - or, it sounded like Pokemonian, but everyone could understand it as English thanks to Suicune's power. "Prophecy's cause will e'er be served, Each will get what he deserved. History repeats and returns and replies, The earth and the stars, the sea and the skies. Legion of earth and legion of sea, Both shall vie for rule. Neither will know they are tragedy's tools, Until the slumbering again are free. The balance shall shatter and chaos will reign, The keepers of harmony stand by in disdain. Stars in the blackness, uncountable eyes Observe the failure of the skies. Humanity's arrogance be its doom When hope is lost and peace entombed. Eternal conflict of ocean and land, The skies destroy, their task be damned. Greatest champions of land and sea Will battle forever, without reprieve, Until the two unite or fall; Destroy them both or not at all. When the stars bring harmony back, The two shall halt their great attack." Lana excitedly nudged Calvin, who was standing next to her. "That's it! That's the prophecy I was studying!" But there was more. "Cleansing fire with iron's strength, Will of stone to last the length, Essence of life and strength of arms, Power of mind to heal and harm Heart and hand and spirit's soul, Frozen in ice and wintry cold. Thunder's gift and toxic taint, Shadow's cloak lift veil of hate. Hope of the small, from forest and glade, Strength of the mighty, from Dragon's cave, Unite the waters, the earth and sky, Under the stars, the union will fly. Quell the angry, soothe the scorned, And the world will survive 'til coming morn..." Suicune stopped swaying. Its rhyme had finished. "Farewell." It stepped back into the air and blurred out of existence. Lana had for the whole time been comparing Suicune's 'words' with Tracey's diagram of the tablet Morgan had found. "This is it, all right! Suicune just gave us the translation of this tablet!" None of her companions cared much. Even Morgan was more interested to know what was in the envelope Suicune had given to Misty. Misty herself was standing in front of Suicune's pond, staring at the paper sheath as she held it in both hands. It had a stamp on it - the image of a Pokeball covered in intricate swirls - that had been made for Ash, to authenticate official documents, orders and such. Whatever this was, it was real. Misty's hands were trembling. "Go on," said Calvin, brushing his white hair out of his eyes and peering over Misty's shoulder. "Open it." Slowly and deliberately, her hands no longer shaking, Misty slit the envelope open with a fingernail and pulled out a sheet of paper inside. Incredibly it was dry, despite having floated in a pool of water for two years. She unfolded the message and began to read. Misty, I'm sorry for leaving, but it seems like it's the best thing to do now. Max said I should leave something, just in case you need me. So, here it is. I told Suicune not to give you this letter unless you really needed to find me. If you're reading this, it means that Groudon and Kyogre are coming back. I know you must be pretty mad, but so am I, all right? Seven years, Misty. Seven years of no-one believing what I said. And now, weeks after we've fought back the legendary Pokemon, everyone has gone right back to ignoring me. So where am I now? I've gone back to where this all started. I've gone back to Hoenn. I can't help anyone here. Not when no one will listen to me. So, maybe I can do something if I go there. I'm not going alone. By now, you'll have noticed that Max and May are gone. I dunno, maybe you thought they died in a battle, but they're coming with me. Along with most of the old Hoenn gym leaders, and an archaeologist called Eve and her team. Do you remember Eve? We met her at Pokemopolis... so long ago. It must've been eleven years. She thinks that there might be something, in the ruins of the Cave of Origin, or Mount Pyre, to tell us how to stop Groudon and Kyogre. So if you want me, I guess that's where I'll be. I'll always love you, Ash. "Hoenn? HOENN? Ash, what were you THINKING?" Cordelia was distraught. She had to admonish herself for worrying about whether Ash had taken clean underwear. "It's all right, Cordelia. He can take care of himself. Calm down," said Brock. "But how will we get there? We can't just fly across the ocean!" "A ship, we need a ship," said Tracey. "Misty, do you know anyone with a boat that can sail as far as Hoenn?" Misty wasn't listening. She was reading the letter. Again and again. "Misty?" "What? Oh... Vermillion City. We have to go to Vermillion City." "Do you know anyone there?" asked Cordelia. "Anyone with a boat?" "I don't think so..." her eyes had glazed over, and she was very distant. "Misty, please wake up," said Brock. "Oh! Sorry. I just - Ash - this letter - everything -" "Isn't Vermillion City where General Surge's army is based?" asked Calvin. "He doesn't like people from Blackthorn. We'll have to go incognito." "No easier said than done. Vermillion City isn't difficult to hide in. There are criminals and gangsters crawling out of the woodwork. The same goes for Saffron and Celadon," said Tracey. "To Vermillion it is, then. Shall we get going?" Brock tapped Misty on the shoulder. "Misty?" "Yes. Yes, of course. Let's go." ******************************************************************************** A hologram flickered to life on the round table. A map of Kanto and Johto, with Hoenn just visible in the bottom left. A red marker flared to life at Blackthorn City, followed by a trail of red dots down through the Indigo Mountains to Pallet Town. "Computer, show our position." The man with the pale green hair clapped his hands, and a yellow marker appeared above the ruins of Violet City. "Where are they going now?" "Current trajectory suggests Celadon City," replied the resonant metallic voice of the computer. "Why?" "Unknown." They must not be allowed to interfere, thought the man. The girl, the redhead, she was far more trouble than she was worth. The others were little more than annoyances. But annoyances could grow into pests if left unchecked. "Find them. Remove them. Any questions?" he asked of the four assassins standing in front of him in the shadowy room. "Should we... er... kill them, sir?" asked a man with medium length blue hair, who was holding a red rose. "I don't care. If you thing it's best that way, then yes." "Excellent..." a golden-haired woman wearing pink earrings practically giggled with glee. "Hmph," grunted the woman standing next to her. "I don't want any mistakes." He adjusted the golden clasp at his neck, casually. The tone of his voice was anything but casual. "Oak screwed up. He's lucky that he died at their hands." "Gary Oak is dead?" asked the final figure standing in the shadows. His gravelly voice betrayed a hint of surprise, perhaps even fear. Their master shrugged. "They found his weakness. Just like in Pokemon: you find something's weakness, and it doesn't stand a chance. Perhaps if you're lucky, you'll last long enough to find theirs." "Those brats will never beat us! Weakness or no weakness, we'll crush them like the insects they are!" The second woman, a redhead with an extravagant hairstyle, wrung her hands and imagined her enemies' necks in place of the air. "You never managed before," laughed the other woman. "What makes you think it'll be so easy this time?" "Grr... just you wait!" "Enough! Find them and... persuade... them not to continue. They could disrupt my plans to no end. Groudon and Kyogre *will* be mine, and I will not let them get in my way." ******************************************************************************** Hoenn was changed beyond recognition. The two titans of the land and the sea had warped the terrain during the six years they had spent there. Littleroot Town, Oldale Town and Petalburg City had sunk beneath the waves. Dewford Town had become a huge mountain; the remains of the old fishing town perched up on the high cliffs. A long trench ran through the centre of Slateport City and Mauville City, bisecting the island continent. The remains of the western half - Fallarbor, Rustboro and Verdanturf, had risen high into mountain ranges as tall as the himalayas. Ever Grande and Mossdeep had drowned in the ocean. But two places were unchanged by the vast powers of the legendary Pokemon that had raged there: Mount Pyre, near Lillycove, and the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis City. The city had been blasted from existence by fire and ice, but the crater lake itself was still there. As was the Cave of Origin, where the spirits of Pokemon were said to be reborn. For ten years, Sootopolis City had been empty of human life. Some Pokemon still lived there; Magikarp frolicked in the lake under the watchful eyes of powerful Gyarados, Graveller and Golem rolled around the edges of the crater, and even an Exeggutor or two wandered around the meadow that had replaced the city. A few other species lived there as well, but all the humans had left. Then, ten years after the Cataclysm, a ship arrived. A rickety boat, with thirty or so humans aboard. Some had stayed at Sootopolis and started building houses and lookout posts. Then they had begun investigating the Cave of Origin. The rest of the humans sailed towards Mount Pyre, and were only seen a few at a time, twice each month. The Pokemon didn't bother them; these humans seemed to have no interest in fighting and sometimes helped them with magic. So, the Pokemon left them alone and allowed them to try and discover the secrets of the cave where it all began. So, there you have it. Who'd have thought Ash was so interested in archaeology? And no, I'm not saying who Sinister Guy is. Not yet. But I hope you can all guess who his minions are. If not, I pity you. Please review this. I'd like to say that I'll hunt you down if you don't, but if you don't then I won't know if anyone's read it, and then I'm screwed, aren't I? *Sighs* Well, this is the Insane Professor signing off.