Mt. Battle

Inside a small house on top of Agate village.

Eugan "I didn't expect someone outside of Orre will be concerned by Cipher's shenanigans,"

Julian "Well, they are no longer satisfied with just influencing Orre. They want the whole world under their control, and until I am around, I won't let it happen"

Julian says as he looks at his Crystal chasing around the little Pikachu.

Eugan stares at Julian as he wonders how strong Julian really is to make such a bold statement.

"Sorry for the wait dear," an old woman walks in with a tray in her hand. She then hands Julian a cup of tea.

Julian takes the cup with a smile and thanks her. He sips the tea and is presently surprised by how fresh and delicious it tastes.

Julian "This is amazing,"

He praises the sweet granny to which she smiles at him and leaves Julian and Eugan alone.

Julian "I am looking for someone named Vander. Do you know anything about him?" 

Julian asks. Eugan being a wise old man, Julian expects him to know a thing or two that other people might not be aware of.

Eugan "Vander? Yes, I know him. He is a good lad and is fighting a good fight against Cipher. Why are you looking for him?"

Eugan asks.

Julian "I need something from him,"

Julian doesn't say much. He thinks it's better to keep the details to himself, as he doesn't want anything to come back and bite him. He doesn't suspect Eugan, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Eugan is smart and wise enough to know that Julian is not telling him everything, but he doesn't bother forcing it out of Julian. He is an old man, and his only job now is to keep Agate village safe as its head.

As for the whole Orre region, he will have to leave it to the youth of this land because where evil flourishes, heroes always rise to take them down.

________________________

Though Julian didn't learn anything about Vander during his stay, he did uncover a massive piece of information about what happened five years ago.

A trainer named Wes was able to defeat Cipher and also help shadow pokemons recover with the help of Celebi.

Now Julian knows how to deal with this shadow Pokemon situation. He might be able to look for an alternative. But finding this alternative will be extremely difficult as well, an alternative that can control time.

Julian hasn't heard of anything like this before, but this world is magical, so he might stumble up on something. He just needs to look harder. Or he can just look for Celebi if he wants to waste a lifetime.

Julian doesn't stay in Agate village for much longer and continues on the trail towards Mt. Battle. The longer he takes to find Professor Krane, the more the chance of him ending up in a very bad situation.

The drive towards Mt. Battle was not easy as the terrain was not friendly on wheels and it would take too long by foot.

So Julian had no other option but to use Charizard and fly toward the top of Mt. Battle.

Once high up in the sky above Mt. Battle, Julian looks at the town below him. He can't believe people actually live here up on top of a volcanic mountain and it looks like a thriving place.

Julian orders Charizard to land close by so that he doesn't trigger the guards stationed around the town and think of him as a hostile presence. It will be a hassle to deal with.

On foot, he approaches the gate of Mt. Battle and two people in official gear immediately stop him. They are the gate guardians of Mt. Battle. These two are responsible for keeping trouble out of the town.

"Sir, please stop," One of them stops Julian politely. Even though they look rough and burly, they seem to be respectful, which Julian appreciates.

"You don't look like a residence from this town. Please show us your ID or entry pass if you don't have an ID with you," the other guard asks.

Julian then takes out a card that was given to him by Lily. She said that he would need it to enter Mt. Battle.

Julian "Here,"

Julian hands over the pass to one of the guards. The guard takes a scanner and scans the card, causing the device to light green.

"Here you go." He hands the pass back to Julian. "Welcome to Mt. Battle," The other guard says and finally lets Julian enter the town.

Mt. Battle is a special town and has been known for its incredible heritage. Kings of the past lived here and ruled all of Orre. So controlling Mt. Battle is like controlling the whole Orre region.

The person in charge of Mt. Battle is Vander and Lily said that he works as a double agent for them, trying to free Orre of Cipher's control.

Mt. Battle Mountain itself is impressive as it is an active volcano and it looks incredibly grand from the outside, but Julian finds the town no less impressive from the inside as well.

Massive platforms connect forming large bridges that the townfolk use to move around. And since this town is built on top of an active volcano, these platforms have special machinery to keep the surroundings cool.

He feels the temperature here is much more pleasant than outside as he looks down from the edge to see boiling lava.

While looking around, he feels someone watching him. He turns his head to find a tall man with red hair and black glasses looking at him.

Julian is immediately on alert as he feels the man's intention, even though his eyes are hidden behind the glasses.

Julian 'This man wants to kill me. But why? Is he a Cipher member too?'

Seeing that Julian is looking at him, the man approaches Julian with a smile on his face.

"Welcome," he greets Julian with the most friendly smile possible.

Julian 'This bastard... Let's see where this goes.'

Julian thinks and decides to play along.