6 Not So Safe and Sound

'I wish for Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza to be prohibited from acquiring more energy of any type than they already possess.' As soon as he thought his wish clearly in his mind, the seemingly black rock the size of a refrigerator in front of him began to shimmer with a blueish energy. That energy began fluctuating violently, before dispersing out evenly in a single pulse that traveled outwards from the meteor covering the entire room, the entire cave, the entire mountain, the entire region, and eventually spreading out over the whole planet and into the atmosphere. 

     Asmond knew that Rayquaza was the one originally responsible for stopping the other two's rampage but he couldn't be certain that absorbing some of that natural energy for himself wasn't part of the process. He also couldn't be certain that the meteor would recognize a vague phrase like "all legendary and mythical Pokemon." 

     Likewise, he couldn't be certain that making a wish that was unacceptable, assuming there was such a thing, wouldn't have some unforeseen consequences. Thus leaving him with only one safe wish that would actually accomplish most of what he wanted and hopefully not risk being rejected or some other disastrous outcome.

     Although he still didn't know if there were any such restrictions on the wishes, a massive weight was lifted off of his shoulders the moment that blueish light washed over him, because he knew that he had chosen correctly and his wish had been granted.

     His burdenless state, however, was short lived, because the moment he activated the meteor's power he was almost immediately surrounded by the guards and their Pokemon that had been guarding the door.

     "You, you, stupid little brat! What have you done! How did you get in here? Do you have any idea what you've just done? Flygon, apprehend his Espeon. Norid, we have to inform the elders at once!" Exclaimed one of the guards, rhetorically. 

     Norid, the other guard, immediately complied and rushed out of the room, with his own Flygon at his side.

     "You, stay right there! Don't move a muscle! I'm apprehending you and taking you to see the elders!" His captor ordered, as he placed Asmond's hands behind his back secured them with rope.

     Asmond suspected something like this would happen so he just went along with it, knowing that it would be pointless to resist. The guard and his Flygon escorted Asmond and Espiria to the elders council room. As they entered, they could see some of the elders still arriving and none of them were taking their seats. They were all outraged at what Norid had told them and demanded to confront the culprit.

     His captor quickly spoke up, not waiting for any latecomers. "Elders, please, listen? This boy here was caught inside the meteor's chamber, with his hands on the meteor itself. As soon as we noticed the blueish light that I'm sure all of you noticed, we turned around and he was just there. We have no idea how he entered. He never went past us, we would have seen him if he did."

     One of the elders approached him and began shaking his finger in his face, while yelling at him. "Listen to me boy! You had better start talking! Tell us how you got into the chamber!"

     "I had my Espeon Teleport me inside." Asmond answered simply.

     "I see! Well that certainly makes sense of things but this might be the most disgraceful day in the entire history of our clan and it's entirely your fault! Do you have any idea what you've just done? Tell us now what was the wish you made?"

     "I wished for Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza to be forever blocked off from becoming stronger than they already are." He decided not to lie and simply reword the truth a bit. He was certain that mentioning natural energy would only make his predicament even worse. 

     At this answer, the whole room went silent. They all looked at this boy hardly over five years old and just stared for several seconds. Finally, another elder spoke up.

     A second elder addressed him. "Tell me boy. Are you not Asmond, son of Gunder and Mira? Did they put you up to this? What did they tell you about those three?"

     "Yes, Elder. I'm Asmond. However, my parents didn't put me up to anything. This I did entirely by my own will. They had no part in it. I even had to sneak out of our residence to ensure they wouldn't stop me."

     Yet another elder spoke up. "This is consistent with what Gunder said to me earlier. Just before Norid alerted us to this calamity I witnessed Gunder and Maria frantically asking our clansmen if they had seen their son. Then I came to this meeting only to find Asmond here."

     "Derek, take this boy and his Espeon to a holding cell and bring Gunder and Mira here, at once." Ordered the second elder.

     Derek, his captor, then shoved Asmond forward leading him towards the holding cells. Asmond wasn't sure what they were going to do to him but he hoped they would at least not punish his parents. He regretted not thinking about this possibility earlier. But then, he had been quite hurried and preoccupied at the time. 

     A few hours later someone brought him a plate of food and then immediately left again. He waited for several more hours, until he began getting very tired. It didn't seem like anyone else would be coming today and so the two went to sleep there on the rocky ground of the holding cell. Thirty six hours after they had locked him up, Derek returned, dragged him out of the cell, and began walking him back towards the Elder Council Room.

     Upon entering the room, he could see that all of the elders were present and his Mother and Father were also here in one corner of the room. His Mother was weeping uncontrollably and his Father had his arms wrapped around her with a distraught look upon his face.

     At this point, Asmond truly started to worry. He knew that the consequences of his actions would be severe but didn't expect that it would be something that would put his parents in that kind of state. 'Fuck! What are they going to do to me?' He thought, as his anxiety continued to build.

     Derek led him to a space where everyone present could see him and told him to stand there and face his punishment.

     "Asmond," One of the elders began. "you've been brought before us today, because you've been convicted of having committed the most serious crime that someone of our clan can commit. What you've done, while seemingly noble, may very well have doomed our entire clan. Even worse than that, the fate of humanity itself may very well have been jeopardized by your actions.

     "We Draconids are the protectors of the sacred meteor and are tasked with using its power only when the safety of the world is threatened, by those Legendary existences that you seem to already be familiar with. Now that the meteor's power has been used, the clan and the rest of world may very well be helpless should those two awaken.

     "Now, there has been much talk of your age and your parent's high standing within the clan. It is in consideration of these facts that your punishment will not be certain death but only probable death." At these words, Asmond's Mother, who hadn't stopped crying the entire time, collapsed onto the floor wailing. "Make no mistake, Asmond! If any adult from our clan had done what you did, it's unlikely you'd have even lived to see the inside of that cell. If, however, they did there would be absolutely no escaping an immediate sentencing to death."

     Asmond, at this point, was perspiring heavily. His anxiety about what was going to happen hit an all time high. 'Holy Fuck! You've gotta be shitting me? I knew I would be in trouble but this...this is just crazy! I'm only five years old and there going to kill me or probably kill me? What does that even mean?'

     "As it stands, the council's assessment of you is this. You are clearly a genius. This is beyond question when we consider everything you know and have done so far. However, you're also insurmountably foolish and it is this foolishness that has caused this situation. It may even be the case that your foolishness surpasses your genius, as you seem to be even more foolish than your even younger peers.

     "With all of this being said, we have spent quite some time deliberating on how exactly to deal with you and we have reached a verdict that is final and will not be disputed. In consideration for not only your age but also your parents considerable contributions to our clan, Asmond, you are hereby banished from this village and the entire Meteor Falls area. You are free to take anything you own with you and you will have one hour to collect your things, say goodbye to your family, and leave this mountain. 

     "Once that hour is expired, you will be considered a wanted criminal should you be seen here again. Anyone who spots you within our territory, is under orders to kill you on site. This verdict is final, has been  passed, and your hour of preparation begins now."

     Asmond barely heard the rest of what the elder had said, once he heard the word "banished." 'Banished? Is that it? I mean I suppose, from my parents perspective and even the elders, it might seem to be nearly good as a death sentence, since what five year old could hope to survive on his own in the wild? Common knowledge would suggest that very few five year olds, if any, could survive such circumstances.

     'The more I think about it, however, the more I'm thinking this might be just what the doctor ordered. It will no doubt be incredibly dangerous and I'll have to keep my wits about me at all times but, honestly, being in this cave has kind of been holding me back. I know that this world can be incredibly dangerous but if I'm smart then I should be able to stay out of trouble long enough for me and my Pokemon to get strong enough to succeed in the wilderness and not just survive. 

     'At the very least, this is an infinitely more attractive option than dealing with those freaking legendary lunatics. Sure I might miss my parents a bit but I wasn't really that close to them, what with already having parents in my past life. No, it certainly won't be easy but I'm certain that it will be much more adventurous and rewarding than staying cooped up in this damnable cave.'

     Just as soon as the elder finished his speech he noticed the people around him making way and looking at him with a mix of sympathy and disdain. He immediately made his way over to his parents, while keeping a calm expression, and they began walking with him towards the trainers transport cave. His Father placed him and his Mother onto Salamence's back and she continued to cry and hold him as tightly as she could. 

     After seeing that he always collected rocks to help Espiria train, his Mother had made him a pouch to carry all of those in and he had kept that pouch with him all times. Having his rocks and a few other goodies in his pouch, there was no need to go back to their residence. His parents clearly knew of his sentence in advance and had prepared an appropriately sized backpack to keep him supplied for a short while.

     Of course, the hour that was given for him to leave left very little time for packing and such things, since it would take the better part of an hour just to get outside not to mention completely away from the mountain. As such, whatever goodbyes and well wishes they wanted to say would have to be done on the way out.

     As soon as they exited the caves, Espiria jumped off of Asmond's shoulder and ran off to inform the Overhang Gang of the situation. Seeing this, his parents immediately began to worry, thinking that the only friend and protector he would have out here had just up and deserted him. Asmond assured them that she would track their flight and meet up with them, before they left. With these words they relaxed a bit and Salamence and Charizard took off into the air and began making their way rapidly towards the clan territory boundary.

     The two Dragon Pokemon landed safely outside of the clan's territory and set them down on the forest floor.

     "Asmond, Son, there are so many things that I want to say to you and to ask you but, even though we're outside the clan's territory, our time is still limited. The elders said that not only could we not leave with you but we also couldn't give you any Pokemon. Basically anything we do to try and lessen the severity of your sentence will result in all of us being hunted down. I could probably hold my own against a few of them but if they send their top experts after us I would soon be overwhelmed and we would all be killed for certain.

     "I absolutely hate this corner that they've backed us into but I just want to know one thing, before we head back. Do you really think the wish you made will help humanity in any way?"

     Asmond had tried to keep the saddest face he could during this trip. He didn't want his parents to think he was completely cold towards them and truthfully he wasn't. He just wasn't anywhere near as attached to them as he had been to his first life family. With tears I'm his eyes, Asmond responded with what he hoped looked like a forced smile. "I am Father. In fact I'm certain that the wish that I made will prevent those two from ever terrorizing this world again." He wasn't absolutely certain about this at all actually but his Father didn't need to know that.

     "I see." Gunder said, with a slight smile on his face.

     Asmond looked at his hysterical Mother and said, "I love you, moma. I'll be alright. I promise so don't worry, ok."

     "My baby. I love you too, sweetie. I love you too. Please don't die baby? Please don't die? Please don't die? Please don't die?..." Mira kept repeating that line over and over, while an ocean spilled from her eyes. 

     'Uhoh, she really isn't in a good way. Is she going to be alright? At this point, I'm more concerned about her condition than mine.' Asmond thought, as he looked at his Father. 

     "Take care of mom for me, alright dad?"

     "Hahaha, don't worry son she'll be fine after a while. I have no idea how a child your age can stand there so confident and be more worried about his Mother but the more I look at you the more I suspect that you have what it takes to make it out here." Gunder walked over and placed his hand on his son's shoulder, after witnessing Espiria return to his other shoulder. "Be strong son. I believe in you and I know you can make it through this, if you use that genius of yours correctly." 

     With those words, Gunder placed Mira onto Salamence's back and they took off back to Meteor Falls. Standing alone in the Forina forest, Asmond looked around and took in a deep breath of fresh air. 

     *So, Espiria, are the gang ready to go?*

     *Yep, everyone's waiting just past that cluster of trees, over there.*

     *Nice, Let's go cook up some good ol' Pokeschemes.*