On Our Own -- Chapter Six

Chapter Six: A blast to the past?!

"So, we're off, huh?" I said, stretching out while breathing in the fresh air. Anne ran towards the waves and started yapping at them. She obviously didn't mind getting wet, and she knew I didn't bring any towel with me to dry her off with.

"We'll have to go to Dolce Island then, get the wood, and return," I continued. "If there aren't any difficult Pokémon on our way, then everything will go just as planned!"

"No difficult Pokémon..?" Nick said a little nervously. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

"Doctor Edward said I shouldn't perform any difficult captures," I said. "Or too many, in general. But Dolce Island's Pokémon aren't tough at all. I should be perfectly fine."

"Okay then," Nick said. "So, is this a real life mission?"

"I'd call it a Quest," I answered. "A Quest is when we Rangers listen to people's problems and try to solve them. Only when we've got the time, of course. If there's something important going on, like an urgent Mission, we'll finish that first, then do the Quest."

"Okay," Nick said, walking towards the pier. "Hey, sir!" He exclaimed. A fisherman in his boat looked up. "Would you mind taking us to Dolce Island?"

"Sure, get in," he said. "All aboard, we'll be leaving right now!" I smiled, almost dragging Anne away from the waves. Her mouth was dripping wet, together with her tummy and paws. She smiled at me.

"You sure have got a pretty odd fire-type over there," the fisherman commented. "I never saw a Pokémon of that type who didn't mind getting wet."

"I don't know where it came from either," I said. "I arrived at Route 40 with her, next to Olivine City, and she just jumped into the waves like it was nothing."

"Awesome," Nick said with a smile.

"She doesn't like it when it's rainy or something, though," I continued. "Then she complains. A lot." Nick chuckled.

"Oh hey, we're almost there!" Nick exclaimed, pointing to Dolce Island. It still was quite the way away from us, but there was no doubt that we were getting closer.

"It's still quite a ways, young man," the fisherman said. "But you're right, we're almost there."

Nick helped rowing the boat, not wanting me to help, and before we knew it, we arrived at Dolce Island.

"We're there," the fisherman said. "Take care, Ranger, young man."

"Thanks a lot for the ride!" I thanked him. Anne cried happily when she saw the boat hitting the pier, and jumped out before I could do anything, jumping into the waves once again. I got out together with Nick.

"I'll be waiting here until you're done with whatever you may be doing," the man said. "In the meantime, I'll be fishing, so take all the time you need, alright?"

"Right, thanks again," I said. "Let's go, Anne!"

"Taleees…" She wailed.

"You can play in the sea all day if you'd like, but after we get back from this Quest," I said. "Work before playing, remember?" Anne only huffed, but did follow me.

"Okay,  so that wood was in a hollow tree trunk, right?" Nick asked. I nodded. "So all we gotta do is find that tree trunk, get the wood and then leave again?" I nodded again, climbing the stairs.

"It's not all that bad," I joked. "Being a Ranger can be tough, but there are some lighter moments like this."

"Yeah, Ralph would be all excited if he were here now," Nick said. I smiled in agreement.

"He really wants to become a Ranger, doesn't he?"

"It's his life dream, he told me so."

"Saring!" The same Ursaring I met yesterday greeted me, a small Oran Berry in his claw. I waved back at him.

"Someone you know?"

"He helped me move the boat yesterday," I replied.

"He..?" Nick asked, somewhat confused.

"He," I answered. "The fur on his shoulders is short, shorter the fur of a female would be, at least. Ursaring have gender differences."

"Oh, I see," Nick said. "How many Pokémon have gender differences then?"

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I only own a handful of Pokémon who have gender differences, but I'm sure there are a lot more."

My eye caught the small Monument that reappeared in my dream. I approached it and knelt down next to it. It didn't look any different at all.

Words in Oblivia's ancient script meaning 'and pierces' are written here. Amun.

"'And pierces'…" I whispered. "But what does it mean..?"

"What's that?" Nick asked, kneeling down next to me.

"Some kind of monument," I said, getting up. "It appeared in that weird dream of mine. I don't think it's really important or something, though." I lied about that last bit, but I didn't want to worry Nick.

"Well, okay then, I guess…"

"Let's go then," I said quickly. Nick jumped up and ran after me.

"You're sure that dream isn't still bothering you?" He asked concernedly.

"Positive," I said, keeping a good pace.

Walking for a good ten minutes, Nick and I finally got to a big hollow tree trunk, and I realized that it was the exact same place I met Booker and Ukulele Pichu.

"Hey, that must be the tree trunk the boss was talking about!" Nick exclaimed. "I'll go and get it. You just wait and watch my back. If there's a horrible trap inside the trunk, and the trap turns out to be some sticky odd fluid-"

"Nick-"

"-and I touch it out of curiosity with my toe despite my gut instinct-"

"Nick," I tried again.

"-and then it turns out to be a monster from outer space or something, and it'll kidnap me..." He turned to me.

"Another daydream, huh?" I said. "You sure you don't want me to go and get it?"

"Oh no no no," Nick said quickly. "I'll just go and get it. I was only thinking negatively again." He faced the tree trunk and positioned himself a few feet away, as if he were going to run a marathon.

"What's required here is not imagination," he said to himself, "but the ability to jump! Here I go!" And with a nice jump, Nick landed in the tree trunk.

"Was my jump nice? I think it was quite something," Nick said cheerfully, his voice echoing in the empty trunk.

"Beautiful jump, Nick," I chuckled. "Just go and get the material, okay?"

"Oh, yeah, right," he said. I could hear some leaves rustling. "Now let's see… Where's that wood..?"

"You want me to help?" I asked.

"I found it! I found it, Alex!" He cheered. But then he fell silent. "Huh?"

"You okay?" I walked towards the trunk.

"What am I feeling around my feet? It's…kind of rough…" Nick murmured. There was a silence.

"…Nick..?"

"Aaarrrrghh!!"

Anne jumped up out of surprise. Nick desperately crawled over the edge of the trunk, completely clamping himself to it. I grabbed his arms and pulled him over, both falling to the ground. Several small Pokémon I recognized as Sunkern shot straight out of the tree trunk, and encircled Nick, Anne and I. Anne growled deeply, her tails pointing up straight once again.

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Nick shouted. "I-I didn't mean to do that!" Suddenly all the Sunkern attacked.

"C-capture on!" I exclaimed, releasing the Capture Disc. I split the group of six Sunkern into smaller groups of four and two to catch them without too much trouble. My arm didn't hurt at all, and the Pokémon were calmed down as well.

"Capture complete," I called the disc back. Nick was a little shaky on his knees, and Anne had calmed down again as well.

"Phew…" Nick sighed in relief. "I'm glad they calmed down."

"Yeah. You okay?" I asked concernedly. "Did you get hurt?"

"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine," the boy replied with a smile. "It seems I stepped on them while they were taking a nap in the tree trunk."

"Tales," Anne said calmly.

"Yeah, I guess that would make me agitated too," I smiled at the group of still somewhat confused Sunkern. "It's okay, you guys." I patted them all on their heads and got lots of smiles back.

"Sunkern," Nick said. "Sorry to disrupt your nap. I didn't mean to do so." Lots of parting cries from the group when they left us, and we waved them goodbye.

"Well… That sure seemed like a life or death adventure for me!" Nick said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I bet it was," I replied.

"I'm glad we've got the material to fix the ukulele," Nick continued, walking back towards the beach. "but if I carry it, it might take up all my attention, and I may not talk much, which could cause tension between you and me… And I'd certainly want to avoid that. So…"

"In other words," I said, "You want me to carry it?"

"Well, yeah." Nick shoved the wood into my hands. I chuckled.

"Sure thing, Nick," I said. "Let's go back to Booker's house then."
"I'm sure we'll see Pichu's happy face as soon as it's fixed!" He said enthusiastically.

"Tales!" Anne cheered, running towards the heights of the island. Running after my Ninetales, it didn't take long at all to get there.

"H-hey, wait a sec!" Nick shouted from behind. I stopped my tracks.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Anne turned around as well and moving around impatiently.

"Did you just see that?" He said, pointing towards Renbow Island. I walked up next to him and looked at the island.

"See what?" I asked. I could hear Anne wail quietly from behind.

"The Wireless Tower over there on Mount Latolato just flashed a couple of times," Nick said. I searched for the tower and found it on the highest point of the island. A few seconds later, it flashed brightly around its antenna.

"There! Did you see that?!" Nick exclaimed. "Were you paying attention?"

"Taleeess…" Anne wailed again.

"Anne," I said as a warning. "And yeah, I saw it. Isn't it just something like a sign it's working?"

"It never flashes," Nick said. "Oh, oh wait…"

"What?" I asked worriedly. "Nick, what?"

"Could it be…" He mumbled. "The boss is angry because I'm still here, and he climbed up the Wireless Tower antenna to give me a scolding with signals using a mirror or something-"

"Or you're just dreaming again," I interrupted him. "I'm positive that Booker's waiting in his house, itching to fix that ukulele."

"Yeah, so let's hurry back and deliver it," Nick snapped out of his daydreaming. "I just hope that he didn't really climb Mount-"

"Nick…" I sighed. "Let's just go, alright?"

"Yeah," he headed off towards the beach, followed closely by Anne, of course eager to jump in the ocean.

I wonder what that flashing was… I thought, looking at the tower. It didn't flash anymore. I'd better go and patrol around that mountain then. Maybe it's something with the Pinchers again… I don't have any leads after all, I might as well go and check that out.

Walking up to that small monument again, I looked at it once more.

What did that boy mean when he said we had the same looks? I wondered. Maybe he'll appear in another dream or something tonight…

Just when I thought that, I saw the monument glow up a faint color of blue. I stepped back, holding my Styler ready. But the glowing disappeared as fast as it appeared. Still alert, I walked backwards and ran down the stairs, to the fisherman's boat, where Anne was splashing Nick wet.

"Hey, you're finally he-" He stopped his sentence. "…Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Er, I'm…I'm okay," I said quickly. "Just a little tired from yesterday, I guess."

"You mean you're feeling dizzy or something?" Nick said concernedly. "I shouldn't have woken you up so early this morning. It was a pretty late night yesterday after all, and you didn't get enough sleep now because of me, and-"

"It's okay, Nick!" I interrupted him. "I'm glad you woke me up at nine, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten up until Arceus may know what time, so please don't feel guilty, okay?"

"Okay then," Nick smiled.

"And Anne," I said sternly, looking down at her. "Remember what happened on Cinnabar?" Anne clearly swallowed and slowly walked back to me, rubbing her head against my knee. I smiled softly, rubbing her head.

"Just don't go and splash people wet again, okay?" Anne nodded.

"We're off to Renbow Island again then?" The fisherman asked.

"Yeah, let's go!"

A quick boat ride passed, where I was allowed to help the fisherman row his boat like it was a canoe, and we were back on Renbow before we knew it.

"We're there," the fisherman announced. "Take care, Ranger."

"I will, thanks for everything," I said.

"Tales!"

"Um, just wondering, Alex," Nick said quietly. "What happened in that Cinnabar place?"

"Cinnabar Island in the Kanto region," I said. "Anne was a little thrilled because we arrived at a volcano, and she happily splashed water on a fisherman. It was an accident of course, but his Wartortle didn't think so, and completely soaked her with Water Gun attack. Anne likes little waves, but not big waves of water coming at her. From then on, she was cautious around people near water, but especially fishers."

"Heh, I bet that was the scariest moment in her life!" Nick laughed.

"Yeah, probably…" I said quietly, smiling a little. I swallowed, knowing the one and only thing that was scary to think back of now.

"Something wrong?"

"Nah, everything's fine," I said, turning to Nick. "Let's get that wood to Booker."

"Right!" Nick dashed into the house after snatching the wood out of my hands. I looked down a little, then slowly walked towards the house.

"Tales?"

"They don't have to know what happened in Sinnoh," I said quietly, looking down to her. "You and the others know, but they don't have to know why we never beat Volkner, okay?"

"Ninetales…" Anne mumbled, trotting into Booker's house. I followed her, seeing a happy Ralph and Ukulele Pichu.

"Oh hey, you're back!" Ralph cheered.

"Thanks a lot, Alex!" Booker said with a smile.

"Quest Clear!" I said to my Styler.

Quest Clear has been registered. Voice Nav. said. Points will be added… A few seconds later another beep was heard. Points have been added. You can normally use the Points to modify your Styler. Unfortunately, Styler Modification is broken, and it is unavailable now.

"I wonder what that Modification is…" I said to myself. "It wasn't there on my previous Styler, but we did get those small power ups if we completed a Quest, so maybe it's about the same…"

"What are you all muttering about?" Ralph asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said. "Just talking to myself."

"I was thinking, though," Ralph said, turning to Booker. "Can't you fix Alex's Styler just like that ukulele?"

"I'm no good with computers and fancy electronic thingamabobs," Booker replied. "You'll have to find someone else for that, Alex."

"No problem," I said. "I still can capture Pokémon. It's okay as long as I can continue capturing."

Though it would be nice to contact Ben…

"Thanks fer your hard work, y'all," Booker said. "Well then, let's fix this ukulele here!" He turned to Nick. "Would you like to give it a try, Nick?" The boy's eyes opened wide.

"Is that okay?!" He said excitedly. "I'd love to do it!"

"It'll take a while to fix that instrument," Booker mused.

"I'll just go and patrol around a little then," I said. "Also a good way for me to get to know Cocona Village a little better."

"I'll come along and show you around a little then," Ralph said excitedly. "I'll go and give you a full tour!"

"Okay then, let's go," I smiled. Ralph ran out ahead with Anne on his heels. For the first time, she didn't dash over to the beach, but stood still and stared at the road that led to the village. I frowned slightly and followed the two of them.

"Oh! A Ranger! Perfect timing!!" A man shouted from the road. "There's something I would like you to see. Could you just come to the plaza to the west of Cocona?" He seemed slightly panicked.

"...Seems like the tour will have to wait a little, Ralph," I said.

"I wonder what's wrong…" He mumbled.

"Let's go," I said, running towards the village. Anne dashed after me, together with Ralph.

"Do we have anything special at this plaza?" I asked, slowing my pace a little.

"Well, we've got the Stone of Time there, where Celebi is said to appear sometimes, but that's about it…" Ralph gasped.

"Celebi, huh?" I said.

So legendary Pokémon may be involved… I thought. What if it's the Pinchers again, changing targets and going after Celebi now…

"Could it be that Pinchers are after Celebi?" Ralph asked.

"Celebi can travel through time," I said calmly. "If they manage to pinch it away, they will be extremely powerful, considering that all Pokémon I've seen so far are under some kind of hypnosis…"

"Are they trying to look into the future or something?" Ralph asked, slightly panicked.

"I don't know, Ralph," I said. "But I'm going after them."

"Right!" He replied. We soon came to the plaza. A small crowd was standing in front of some statue, emitting a green light.

"Now I've seen everything…" I heard a man say, the same who requested me to come. "The Stone of Time is glowing…"

"What is that?!" Ralph exclaimed, and most turned to see. "I've never seen anything like it happening."

"Oh, good! The Ranger's here!" The man exclaimed. "This suddenly started glowing a little while ago."

"Do you have any idea what the cause might be?" I asked. The man shook his head. I slowly approached the stone, reaching my hand out for the small, green glowing light.

As soon as I touched it, I felt like I was being shaken around. I turned dizzy and had a nauseous feeling in my stomach.

The green light turned whiter and whiter, and I ended up on a stone road, face down. I groaned and pushed myself up, noticing a slight painting of some sort of rainbow on the ground.

It's the same wing I saw in the ocean when I fell down! I thought, looking at it. I then looked around and saw the light green bulb fly away from me.

"W-wait!!" I exclaimed, but it didn't stop flying away from me. I attempted a chase, but it suddenly dissolved into thin air. I turned around, looking at a big, brown door.

"What in the world…" I said to myself. "What is all this?" I saw two statues, two monuments next to the door, looking better than before. I swallowed.

What the… Why are they looking better..? I thought. The two monuments were a lot less savaged than earlier, like they had been restored in those seconds I had been gone. There was a lot less green, considering the stones weren't broken anymore, and now replacing the small plucks of grass that were there before.

I heard footsteps and turned around in a flash. The boy from my dreams was standing in front of me with a small smile on his face.

"Y-you!" I exclaimed. "Where the hell am I?! Who are you? Why do you appear in my dreams?!"

"You don't have much time," he said quietly, stepping forward. He was only a year or twelve, thirteen. His hat was made of a blue material, a round, yellow circle around it. He had some kind of feathers on his back, strongly reminding me of the feathers of a Ho-Oh, but a little different. He wore something that looked like a toga with blue stripes on it, the same shade of blue of his hat.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

"Before I tell you this, do not tell anyone we had this conversation, nor about the previous, and if there will be, the following," the boy said. "The consequences of this can and will be catastrophic." I nodded.
"You promise?"

"I promise," I replied.

"My name is Ravio," he said calmly. "You're on Cocona Plaza, just like where you were."

"Where I…was..?"

"Celebi brought you here, no questions," he continued. My eyes widened.

"You mean I travelled through ti-"

"Like I said, do not ask any questions," he interrupted me. "Don't be alarmed, but you and I are one."

"We're…one..?"

"You and I are the same, Hero," Ravio spoke quietly. "We share the same urge to protect Pokémon as much as we can. You must have noticed before you became a Ranger, didn't you?"

"What…what are you talking about?" I said, confused. "How do you know about what happened in Sinnoh..?"

"Like I said, you and I are one," Ravio said once more. "You'll have to find out what that means yourself, and you shall. Make sure to find support before you continue your journey through this region."

"Wha-"

"Promise me you'll find someone to support you," he repeated.

"I… I promise," I said. "But how are you and I related?" Ravio started to fade away.

"I'm sorry, your time is up…"

"W-wait!!" I shouted. "Talk to me!"

"We'll meet again, Hero…" He said, and he completely faded away. A bright flash, and I felt something heavy press on my chest. I couldn't breathe, and the nauseous feeling came back to me. I felt lightheaded and it felt like I was being smacked back on the floor.