“Toya? Toya, can you hear me?” Landon dashed across the corridor of the ship, and checked them all. “Where could she be? I can’t hear the bell around her neck.” “Hey, Landon, wait up!” Zeru came bursting out of the room like a mad man. He stammered as he dashed down the corridor, kicking up water behind him. Landon’s eyes shrank when he gazed at the floating entity following behind his best friend. “Whaaaaa! Keep it away from me!” He turned-tail and zoomed along with Zeru. “Why did you lead her to me?!” “Because you’re the one with the sword!” “Are you crazy? I can’t cut that!” The end of the corridor came rushing up to them, revealing a door to them. Landon felt a slight pang of relief flow through him—they could get rid of the ghost if they got in there. “Zeru, let’s go in there!” He shouted back. “Right,” Zeru nodded. The ghost of the little girl was right on their heels. “Whaaaaa…” It wailed loudly. Suddenly, Zeru’s foot ran into a loose floorboard just barely visible above the water. The world around him went rushing and he splashed to the ground. “Zeru!” Landon slid to a halt. Ghost or no ghost, he wasn’t going to leave his best friend lying there. “Landon, go on and save yourself.” Zeru said in a shivering voice. Landon sprinted over and helped him up. “Oh, shut up; this isn’t a movie!” He said. “No, but it seemed right at the time.” Zeru gave a wide grin. Landon sweated anime style, “Well, you must not be that scared if you can pull off jokes.” He said. He was about to walk away when a sudden thought struck him. He looked around curiously and carefully. “…hey, wasn’t there a ghost following us?” “Yeah; where’d it go?” Zeru asked. A sudden chill blew in front of them and they froze up a bit. It was like something from a horror movie; first, her head emerged from the ground, followed by the rest of her body. This was just perfect; his Poke’mon was lost, he was lost, and they were about to face off with a legion of the undead. His sword was utterly useless against a transparent body, and Poke’mon attacks would have just about the same luck. The ghost drifted towards Landon and Zeru slowly and eerily; its hand reached out to try and grab him. Landon took a step back, clenching his teeth. “Grrr….?? Huh?” Strangely, Landon’s Crystal Bell started to glow dimly. His eyes flashed their sapphire color once and he grinned. Just by the look on his face, the fear that once raced through him evaporated into the air. Landon stepped forward and pointed at the ghost, “Look, I have to save my Poke’mon, so you have two options.” He said sternly. Zeru gave him a skeptical and astonished look. “I can either go around you or through you. Pick your choice, Gastly!” “What?!” Zeru blinked. “That’s right; this is no ghost, but a Gastly in disguise.” Landon said. “How do you know that?” Zeru asked. “Because I can sense it.” Landon’s Crystal Bell flashed once. The ghost just stared at him for a moment with a blank expression. Slowly, it started to fade away its human form, revealing itself as the gaseous ghost Poke’mon. “Gha-gha-gha-gha!” It cackled. Landon pulled a Poke’ball from his belt and frowned. “I’ll take you on, then.” “No, I’ll take it. You go find Toya.” Zeru stepped up. He grabbed a green Poke’ball from his belt and tossed it to the ground. “Treecko, it’s time to rumble!” It burst open to reveal his grass Poke’mon. “Treecko-ko!” Treecko exclaimed. “It’s payback time for scaring me.” Zeru stated.
Landon blew past them and wrenched open the door at the end of the corridor; he ran inside and slammed the door behind him. Unlike the other rooms, this once was a lit with a few blue candles. The room was much more vast and emptier than the ship. As a matter of face, the only detail in it besides the candles was a small balcony on the north wall. “Toya? Are you in here? You don’t have to be afraid.” “Ah, but she should be.” Landon jumped a bit at the sudden voice. He averted his gaze to the balcony above and let out a gasp. He hadn’t seen him ever since he left Littleroot Town, but there was no mistake on who he was. That wild blonde hair and penetrating purple eyes gave his identity away. In his hand, he was grasping Toya by the scruff of her neck. “Miru Masaya!” Landon growled. “Mudkip! Mudkip!” Toya let out a yelp. “Very good, Landon,” Miru grinned. “I can see why that fool entrusted you to be an Origin Waker.” “What?! And just how do you know about my bell?” Landon demanded. “I know all about you, and Syorin, and all of the other Origin Wakers around the world.” Miru gave a sinister grin. “But if you need more compensation on my knowing, perhaps this will suffice.” Using his free hand, he pulled something from inside his pocket. Dangling from a string, a bell nearly identical to Landon’s swayed slightly. It’s color was a deep blackish violet and radiated with a strange aura. “A bell? But….but that would mean that you’re—” “—An Origin Waker? You’re catching on, little Lan.” Miru jumped down to the ground, landing effortlessly and softly. Landon let out a low growl and clenched his fists. “Oh stop looking so dangerous; I have no interest in this little squirt.” Miru nodded his head to Toya, “I just used her as bait to get you here. What I really want is one-on-one Poke’mon battle.” “Challenge accepted!” Landon answered all too quickly. He pulled a Poke’ball from his belt and tossed it to the ground. “I choose you, Chikorita!” It burst open in a flash of light to reveal Chikorita. “Chikori!” She gave a smile and crashed into her trainer’s stomach, nipping his arm. “Ooof!” Landon gasped, catching her in his arms. “Chikorita, I’m no punching bag.” He set her on the ground and pushed her forward. She waved her head leaf at him, smiling a little. “Go, Sneasle,” Miru tossed a Poke’ball and it flashed open. The Poke’mon inside looked kind of like a weasel with midnight green fur and red eyes. Its claws were pearly white and its tail and its left ear were like pink feathers. “Sneasle!” It clanged its claws together. “Oh, no; it’s a Sneasle!” Landon gasped, for he knew how wickedly fast Sneasle were.
“Sneasle, use your Quick Attack!” Miru opened out. “Snea!” Almost at lightning speed, Sneasle darted towards Landon’s Poke’mon with a trail of light behind it. “We’ll defend with Reflect!” “Chika!” It was hard to see, but a transparent wall grew up in front of Chikorita; Sneasle drove head-first into her wall, trying to break through. Chikorita clenched her teeth as she tried to hold her enemy off using the wall in front of her. Sneasle, on the other hand, didn’t even make an effort in its attempt. The barrier around Chikorita shattered and she was forced to slide back. “Ah!” Landon took a shocked step back. “What Power! He made Chikorita’s reflect look powerless!” “Sneasle, use your Fury Swipes!” Miru ordered. “Snea-snea-snea-snea!” Sneasle moved in close to its opponent and wildly swung its claws at her. Chikorita started to sweat as she danced away backwards. Occasionally, Sneasle would graze her cheeks, but she managed to jumped away from most of the swipes. Landon watched them get closer and closer; each second reigned with more precision and accuracy. He had to find a counter measure and fast! “Razor Leaf attack!” “Chika!” Chikorita spun her head leaf to deliver a close-range Razor Leaf flourish. Sneasle used its claws to swat the sharp greens away, tearing them to shreds in the process. “That was a nice trick, Little Lan, but no different from the last time we battled.” Miru stated. “I’m just getting started, that I am!” Landon shouted. He wasn’t going to be shown up by the leader of a bunch of pirates. “Chikorita, we’ll fight back with Vine Whip!” “Chikori!” Two vines sprouted from Chikorita’s bud necklace like long, green whips; they streaked through the air towards Sneasle. “Pa—the—tic!” Miru grinned. Sneasle just stood there and waited calmly. This made Landon a bit unsure of his previous order. “….Snea!” WHACK! “Dah!” He gasped. Sneasle grasped the vine whips deftly, grinning. Chikorita tried to pull back, but she wasn’t strong enough to even sake her opponent’s grip in the least. “Do it now, Sneasle!” “Snea-sle!” Sneasle yanked on the vines and drug her to the ground harshly. It reeled her in slowly despite her struggles and fights. When she was pulled close, it raised its fist; Sneasle started to encase its punch in a sparkling blue mist. The air started to chill and Landon recognized the attack immediately. “Chikorita, nooooo!” SMACK! Chikorita was sent sprawling to the ground from the icy punch. “Chikorii….” She struggled to get to her feet. Landon’s body started to ache all over. He dropped to one knee and started to breath nearly as heavy as Chikorita. “I can feel her pain…” He thought to himself. “Quick Attack!” Miru exclaimed. “Sneaaa!” Sneasle swished through the air swiftly and crashed into Chikorita harshly. “Chikaaa!!” Chikorita went soaring into the air; In the same instant second, Sneasle jumped into the air and struck her down to the watery ground. “Ah!” Landon felt the pain shoot through his stomach. His Crystal Bell was vibrating and glowing more visibly with each hit dealt. “Finish this with your Headbutt attack!” “Sneasle! Sneasle!” Lowering its head, Sneasle charged towards its opponent with great force. “Use your Headbutt to counter!” Landon said desperately. Chikorita pushed to her feet and summoned all of her strength to throw her body forward. BANNNG! A mild shockwave shook the ship a bit. Landon grasped his head and fell to both knees. “Sneasle,” Sneasle gave a triumphant smile.
“It’s over, Landon. I thought that by now, you’d be a lot stronger than last time.” Miru said, sounding quite disappointed. He folded his arms and frowned. “Grrrrr…” Chikorita struggled to get back up. The battle had really wiped her out and she could barely stand up. “Chikorita…..” Landon hid his eyes underneath his bangs. He let his arms hang at his sides, “Please….this battle is over…Return now—” “I won’t!” Chikorita spoke up. Landon gave a shocked look as his bell started to vibrated even more wildly. “Why not?” “Because I wanna’ win. I saw how you and Toya were able to fight together and I want that too.” Chikorita forced herself to stand firmly, “Let’s fight together!” She exclaimed. Landon gave a smile and stood up too. “Yeah; Let’s,” Suddenly, the whole of Chikorita’s being started to glow with a shining white light. Landon’s eyes started to sparkle, but Miru just frowned calmly. Chikorita’s body grew twice its normal size and her leaf became a little thinner. The shining light wore off to reveal an entirely different Poke’mon all together. Her neck was longer and the bud necklace was now a leaf necklace. Her body was now a marigold color and a beautiful smell drifted from the plants on her body. “Bay!” Bayleef smiled, her short tail wagging. “Oh, wow! She evolved into a Bayleef!” Landon said excitedly. “I’d have to say that’s an impressive trick, Landon. Let’s see how you handle her, now.” Miru folded his arms, “Sneasle, use your Quick Attack!” “Sneasle!” Sneasle launched towards Bayleef in a quick streak of light. “Oh, yeah! Bayleef, it’s time to snatch it up with Vine Whip!” “Bay—ee!” Two vines shot from underneath Bayleef’s leaf necklace and wrapped around Sneasle’s claws. “Snea?!” It gasped in disbelief. “Now, pin it to the ground and Body Slam it!” Landon said. Bayleef slammed Sneasle down to the ground and pinned it there. Her new-found strength kept it from getting up at all; Bayleef jumped up high into the air and brought her weight down onto her weight on it. WHAAAAM! “Sneaaaa!” Sneasle shrieked. “Not bad….”Miru nodded. Bayleef stepped off of her opponent and gave a triumphant grin. Sneasle’s eyes spun in dizzy circles from the loss. “Sneasle, return,” Miru returned Sneasle to its poke’ball. “You did it, Bayleef—and we fought as a team!” Landon and Bayleef threw their arms around each other in a hug. Miru set Toya down on the ground gently (quite unusual for a bad guy). “Mudkip!” She scampered towards her trainer. Landon held out another arm and embraced both his Poke’mon in a group hug. “This isn’t over, Himura.” Miru said, “Consider this round one.” He held up the Shadow bell and it started to ring in his hands. A purple aura surrounded his body before he vanished into thin air. “Huh?” Landon blinked. “Is this some kind of trick? How did he do that?” Something weird was going on and he had a feeling that the farther he went on his quest, the weirder it would get. “Bay-ee!” Bayleef rubbed her cheek against her trainer’s affectionately. “You did a great job, Bayleef. Do you feel like returning to your poke’ball for a little bit?” “Bay,” She smiled. Landon returned her to her Poke’ball and smiled. “Thanks,” CLICK—Whoosh! The door to the room swung open and Zeru came walking in. “Hey, Lan, I see you found Toya.” He said. “What took you so long?” Landon asked. “It seemed that Gastly and I had a lot more in common than I thought.” Zeru held out a Poke’ball in his hand. Landon flashed him a thumbs-up.
The S.S. Peeko was back in the water, up, and running. Mr. Briney was on deck, but May was still on the back, scanning the area. “Ooooh, I can’t believe those boys.” She growled, “First they skip off on us without helping; now, they decide to hide out somewhere.” Slowly, Zeru and Landon were seen coming across the hill. The frown on her face lightened up a little bit, but she was still pretty ticked off. She waited till they got close before hounding on them. “There you are!” She shouted and they stopped in their tracks. “I’m gonna’ give you two a piece of my mind!” She dashed down the steps of the side of the ship and towards them. “Oh no—” “—Run!” Landon and Zeru didn’t hesitate to turn-tail and run away. A swirling dust cloud spiraled behind them as they tried to keep their friend from catching them. (And as our heroes run for their lives from our heroin, the thrill for adventure thrives even stronger within them. What surprises are in store for them? And what is the deal with that red Poke’mon? Find out on the next episode of “Poke’mon X”!)
Fast Fact answer: The mysterious red Poke’mon in Landon’s dreams is none other than the luminous Latias. What role will she play in Landon’s life? Stay tuned for more Fast facts.
“Shine the Sky” (Ending Theme)
Shine the sky!
Crystal power hit the high—
Flying current to my victory
Try and Try!
Never give the fight away
I’ll take every challenge that I can get in my hands
Des—tiny!
Prophecy I can’t ignore
Know what surprises that it has in store
Shine the sky!
A new adventure I will face
Another chance at victory with Poke’mon!
This is the end of Episode 17. See ya' later in episode 18. Jaamataa!