Darkrai, Ruler of Darkness Pt1

It's the next day.

I woke up early and left a note that I'm training at the local park. The tour I got scammed into paying for starts at 12.

The other trainers in our hostel are starting to file into the park, including my friends. It's now filled to the brim with training pokemon.

Dawn is glaring daggers at Zoey. Probably thinking how her Burmy is better than Zoey's. Mawile and Prinplup are actively sparring with each other while Burmy is just doing the flashiest moves she has in her repertoire. But her Burmy has the same move-set as Zoey's Burmy, so there really isn't a way to brag.

Brock is doing a checkup on Croagunk and Sudowoodo. If I remember correctly, he plans to become a doctor for pokemon?.

Ash and Barry have brought a literal horde of pokemon with them.

Barry's Turtwig evolved into Grotle to win their gym battle. His Starly also evolved to Staravia. His Buizel seems to have gotten stronger. And he caught a fairly intimidating looking Heracross.

In an all-out-battle, it would be 4 of his pokemon against 2 of mine, plus a hatchling. Unbelievable. I might actually lose against him.

And then there is Ash. With even more pokemon. Pikachu, Aipom, Turtwig, Staravia... and... Lucas' Buizel and Chimchar.

I notice them glaring at me every once in a while. At Dawn, Barry but me mostly.

They blame us for Lucas, their trainer and our best friend, abandoning them for no reason. Within a single moment he was just gone from their lives.

I can't stomach looking in their direction. The world is just too cruel.

Professor Rowan needs to give me a higher wage asap. I can't believe Ash can actually feed that many pokemon. Stupid Kanto people... Starting at 10... Ashhole.

Then there are Zoey's pokemon. Glameow and Misdreavus: Misdreavus has started playing pranks on other pokemon and Zoey tries her best but ultimately fails to convince Glameow to move her paws for training.

The lazy cat-like pokemon just prefers to sit in the sun and do nothing.

Zoey's Burmy shows off his best moves against Dawn's Burmy. Did he fall in love with her? Cute.

But all it does is fuel Dawn's jealousy and she pushes her Burmy to do more extravagant tricks. Zoey's Burmy simply views that as a mating ritual and he copies what she does, trying to one-up her every time.

Dawn doesn't realize that she's training her rival's pokemon at the same time.

My own physical and aura training is already done and my pokemon are currently just doing their moves on repeat to get them out faster, which means I am free to move around a little and talk to someone.

It has to be Zoey. My little prank yesterday managed to break the ice a little but I'm still too nervous around her. We haven't even kissed at all!

Maybe I should try another prank?

She's too busy arguing with Glameow and doesn't see me coming.

Years of practice - a few weeks of sneaking through the wilderness - have turned me into a vicious stalker. Not a single sound from me.

Guess who? Or another boob grab? She didn't like yesterday's boob grab too much...

I need to decide. I'm just standing directly behind her like a creep.

Glameow notices that even more sunlight has been blocked off and tries to see what's behind her trainer.

It's catching Zoey's attention and her head begins to turn.

I wrap my arms around her stomach from behind. Her muscles tense up but her face is already turned enough to see me. A smile graces her lips and I pull her body flush against mine.

"Oh! Ah didn't hear ya coming!" She looks around nervously but relaxes when she sees that nobody is paying any attention to us. "Wacha' doin'? Yer ain't planning to poke me, right?"

"What?"

"Good." With her face so close to mine, it doesn't take her too much effort to plant a quick kiss on my cheek. "Arceus, A really missed ya."

I kiss her back. "Me too. Only Akari and Lucas are missing and we would have the whole crew back together."

"Is he really-- Never mind... Uhm, did ya get any news from Akari? She wrote she'd be in the wilderness for a while but that has already been a while ago."

"No... It's starting to worry me too but my dad is with her. They are going to be fine. I'm sure her mission is just taking a long time. I mean, they are trying to conquer an entire route. It's not an easy endeavour."

"That's true, I guess... So you don't think she's ignoring me?"

I steal a glance at Dawn and she quickly looks away from us.

"Akari wouldn't do that."

Good grief. Of course my dream of a harem doesn't just simply work. I don't even know how to begin fixing Dawn's jealousy.

Does she just need more attention?

I kiss Zoey on her cheek again and just hold her for a moment longer.

"How are ya holding up?" She asks.

"... I could use a break, I guess." 

Last time I tried, Dawn got poisoned.

"Take one."

"I can't. I won't beat Cynthia the way I am now. I need to improve."

She turns around within my hug. Her slender but muscular waist slides along my fingers until her stomach is pressed against mine.

... She's flat.

But her ruby red eyes and hair make up for it. She just looks so pretty and staring at her fills me with energy.

I kiss her again, this time on her mouth. Her lips feel firmer than Dawn's but there is something else... Passion? Maybe it's just from my aura but her kiss, even this short one, feels so passionate.

As if I can feel the drive that keeps her moving.

It's beautiful.

She kisses me back and I feel her tongue pressing against my lips. I open my mouth to grant her access and she moves in immediately to explore my mouth once more.

But just as I try to reciprocate, she ends the kiss and pushes herself slightly away from me.

A sly grin on her face. "I thought ya weren't going to poke me?"

... 

Oh! That's what she means! Oh shit!

"Haha! Easy there, stud... Are you willing to take a short break? For me?"

I can only nod. My face feels so warm, I don't even know where my body can find the blood to get my face to blush.

"Be right back, honey." She says and turns around. Her ass sways seductively as she makes her way over to Dawn.

They talk. Zoey points at me and waves when she sees me looking back at them. Dawn blushes and they talk some more. 

"I promise! Guys love that! All 5 of my sisters say so!" Is the only piece I can hear from their conversation.

Dawn's face is beet red as she comes closer to me. Alone. Zoey remains there and swapped places with Dawn. Now she's helping both of their Burmys to train.

Her walking is unsure and weak. The polar opposite of what Zoey just did. Her face looks so cute and bully-able. It makes me want to tease her all day long.

When she arrives next to me, she just sits down on the soft, sandy ground and pats her lap.

I stare and wait for her to explain herself.

Her lip quivers slightly. "Come." She says but I can hear how hard she struggles to say this out loud. "Lie down on my lap."

Zoey gives a thumbs up.

"And tell your pokemon to join you. You're supposed to be taking a break today."

It's too cute. "Are--"

"Now." Still cute.

But I do it.

My pokemon were already watching what I was doing and returned to me without needing to give them an order.

I lie down on the sand and put my head on her lap.

Oh. Oh wow. Sweet baby Mew, that's so soft and warm.

She's wearing a skirt... So if I turned around...

"D-don't turn around. Just go to sleep."

Her hand gently strokes through my hair and the other hand rests on my shoulder.

My pokemon all cuddle with me.

This. Is. Heaven.

But my training... Doesn't matter right now.

It's so nice. I could... Almost... Fall... Asleep.

---

12 strikes of a bell startle me awake but a pair of hands stops me from sitting upright. It's noon. The tour is supposed to start.

Dawn's hands press me into her soft, supple, pillowy thighs. She still has barely any muscles but at this moment, I can't find myself to care about it.

The bell-strikes change their tune. From an even, loud, simple gong, it changes to a beautiful melody. It's the music that played yesterday.

"The tour with Alice starts soon." We need to get going.

But Dawn just moves her hand through my hair instead. "We called her earlier. She will meet us here in the park and then we start from here."

"... You have her number?"

"Don't even think about it, Casanova."

"What? I wasn't..."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I swear. I just didn't notice that she gave you her number. I remember she never gave it to us..."

"Alright. I'll believe you. I got it from Zoey. She had her number... Oh! So she thought about it!"

"What?"

"Doesn't matter. Just keep resting." She says and moves her hand over my hair again.

"... I'm not a baby, you know?" I say as I rub the sleep-sand out of the corners of my eyes.

"You don't like this?"

"... No. I like it."

"In that case, shut up and enjoy it."

"Yes, honey."

"Snort" I feel the suppressed laughter through her lap. 

Gotta think of more cute pet-names for her.

"What is it? What do you find so funny, my little daisy?"

"Haha!"

"My morning blossom."

"Oh stop it, you're just saying that stuff to every woman."

"Nuh uh. You're special."

Her breath hitches. "Holy shit, you're good. Almost made me believe that."

I roll over to look at her face. Her boobs are still in the way but it's the thought that counts.

"I mean it. You are special."

She doesn't reply and just continues to stroke my hair.

Eventually Alice arrived at the park and I needed to get up. My pokemon took up their usual spots and then I stopped Dawn from walking ahead to Alice.

She still owes me a kiss that I take for myself. "I really do mean it."

A tiny smile appears.

After that, I walk ahead to join the rest of the group. Most of their pokemon have already been returned to their pokeballs. 

Only the usual suspects kept theirs out. Like Zoey and her Misdreavus, Dawn and all of her pokemon, Ash and his Pikachu and of course all of mine are left free to roam around. Even though my pokemon almost never move a single muscle to move by themselves.

All the freedom to roam and have fun and they decide to just ride me instead.

Anyway, Alice greets us all with her usual bubbly and cheerful facade of a personality. I understand exactly what she wants from us. Money.

Deep under that pretty and friendly disguise could be another Team Rocket member for all we know... Wait. Blonde, twin-drill hair, kind of. Wrong eye color though. Hers are blue.

And she doesn't have a limp or a scar on her leg. I'd hope that the stab in her thigh still hurts at least a little. But there is nothing. Just long, bare legs, barely hidden by a white and pink sundress.

"Where are you looking?" Dawn asks.

"Her legs."

"What's wrong with my legs?"

"Huh? What?" I think I spaced out. Who said anything about her legs? "Your legs are cute. Why do you ask? Don't you think Alice looks a little similar to Maria the masseuse from the M.S. Anne?"

"Hmmm... Nope. Not at all. Maria had much more pronounced musculature, her cheek bones were sharper and her eyes looked kinda evil."

Did Domino's eyes look evil? I can't really remember. I know they were purple - or 'violet' - but I was too focused on other places.

On that note, Domino's chest and butt were both bigger than Alice's.

Now I'm sure that they aren't the same person.

The tour leads us through the older parts of the town - all parts are old - and she keeps droning on about the buildings. Town hall, brewery, barracks... Every town is the same if you ignore the slight differences.

However, there is a big, massive difference that she keeps teasing to talk about but her tour constantly leads us away from the Space-Time Towers.

We're actually at the very edge of the town now and Barry asked when we were going to look at the towers. She said that her route would lead us through the busy markets back to the towers. 

There is a minor festival going on and she didn't want us to become distracted by it. Her enthusiasm is the only reason why I'm on the fence on the scam-thing.

She honestly seems to care about the town.

"And here we have my absolute favorite place!" 

She talks about some kind of public garden.

It is surrounded by massive, well-cared-for hedge walls. The entry gate is open and made out of elaborately forged bronze. Or casted bronze. I'm not enough of a steel-type trainer to know the difference.

"Dawn, is that forged or casted bronze?"

"It's called 'cast' bronze."

The moment we step into the public garden is as if we stepped into a different dimension.

"These are the public gardens of Alamos Town! The most beautiful place in the town!"

It's filled to the brim with pokemon. A small swarm of Yanma and Yanmega fly up from a nearby set of bushes and hover in front of us as if in a greeting before flying off, over a nearby pond.

"You are so right, Alice!" Brock looks like a fanatic. His tourist brochure is his holy book and Alice his priestess. "It's such a pretty spot but any place would be beautiful with you nearby!"

I need to remember that one.

"It says in the brochure, the designed theme of architect Godey for the 'Brilliant Garden', is the harmony between humans and pokemon."

Godey must have lived a sheltered life. He was born 150 years after the founding of the town and he somehow never experienced the dangers of the wilderness back then.

Then he blew his family's fortune on a pair of towers. Because he had a nightmare.

He might have been stupid and eccentric but his aesthetics were incredible.

We walk along the pond and it feeds into channels that criss-cross all over the garden. Countless Finneon swam alongside us, even a couple of Lumineon mixed in.

More pokemon join us. Beautifly and Combee group up with the Yanma swarm and collect nectar from the many flowers.

Shinx, Luxio and a whole family of Azurill, Marill and Azumarill sneak up on us from the bushes of a hedge-maze.

The feeling of tranquility and calm, the same as back home in Twinleaf Town, doesn't just capture me. The others, swept away by the experience, release their pokemon and let them play around in the garden; To play and have fun with the friendly but weak park-pokemon.

A few remain diligently by their trainers. Like Glameow-- never mind. She's just too lazy. 

Only my pokemon stay with me for some reason. "You guys can play with the others, you know?"

They look back at me in... disgust?

~"I'm too young to take responsibility for them." Buneary says. ~"Mawile can handle it."

~"Perhapss Riolu wantss to play with the other hatchlingss."

~"Don't call me a hatchling. I'm more mature than you! And I just want to stay with you, daddy."

Seriously? Mawile of all pokemon is supposed to take care of that horde? 

"Uh, guys? Is it smart to let all the pokemon run off without supervision?"

Alice tries to reassure me. "I've been playing in this garden ever since I was a little girl. So everyone here is my friend. Your pokemon won't be in any danger at all, I promise that!"

"I'm not worried about them. I'm worried that they are going to cause damage."

"You don't have any trust in our pokemon?" Zoey asks, she's holding Glameow directly underneath her forelegs and the rest of her body stretches down.

Some wild Bulbasaur is being harassed for his nectar by Heracross. Misdreavus pops in and out of shadows where she causes trouble on purpose and Turtwig and Grotle are eating the hedges.

"... I fully trust you guys and your pokemon. Let's find a nice, open, vegetation-free place to relax?"

Hopefully there is an area in the garden that doesn't look as expensive to maintain as this unbelievably gorgeous spot. Hedge mazes, ponds, channels, fancy bridges... All stuff that a horde of unruly pokemon could easily destroy.

"Oh! I know just the place!" Alice announces. "Come! Follow me!"

---

Alice leads us deeper into the garden, it goes on and on. Stretching from the edge of town all the way down the mountain. The channels transform into stunning waterfalls, where playful Magikarp leap up and down, enjoying the cascading water.

On the way down, Chimchar was trying to start a fight with Buneary. She looked ready to lash out but stopped at my request. We will get to have our battle later.

I understand why Chimchar and Buizel are hostile toward us. Lucas disappeared without a trace, and we are the only ones left to blame. They are still young and their instincts can't handle abandonment well. If anger helps them cope, then so be it. At least they aren't attacking randomly in all directions.

Still, the tension is palpable. How does Barry manage it? Don't they react the same way towards him?

After what feels like an eternity of descending the long, winding stairs, our destination finally comes into view: A quaint playground. Reminiscent of the one in Canalave City. Only one woman is there, engrossed in something on a laptop while keeping an eye on two small children.

Our pokemon, too excited to contain themselves, rush ahead to explore and play with the unused playground equipment. The woman, noticing the noisy gaggle of pokemon, quickly gathers her children and leaves, muttering something about needing a babysitter.

The playground is nestled on a little peninsula that reaches into the lake that surrounds Alamos Town. Tall mountains frame the horizon, the vast lake mirrors the blue sky, and together they create a breathtaking view.

None of my pokemon show any interest in playing with the others, so I pull out some snacks for them instead. Buneary eagerly accepts the leftovers of Barry's berry compote; Nobody complained about me packing it up for her since she was the only one who could stomach it.

We made Barry swear to never touch a Tamato Berry again. It's like he never managed to learn from Lucas' culinary experiments.

As I dig around my bag for more stuff, I find... Acid? What's that doing in my bag-- Oh, right! Salandit's acid bath! I make a mental note to take care of that soon. Can hydrochloric acid go stale?

But What I was really searching for was a thermos of coffee. She loves that stuff.

Finally, with my pokemon content and snacking happily, I lean back on a bench, feeling the tension ease from my shoulders. I close my eyes for a moment, letting the sounds of the playground and the gentle breeze lull me into a state of relaxation.

"Psst!"

And I look around. Zoey tried to get my attention from a nearby playground building.

"Psst. Come here." She whispers loudly. "I need to show you something."

She looks like a creep right now. In a playground. Underneath a shady, cramped, wooden building where she looks out of a tiny window.

I get closer. "What do you want to show me?"

"Closer." Zoey whispers quietly. I could barely hear her.

I inch even closer and her ruby red eyes shine brilliantly. Luring me in to come very close.

All of a sudden, I feel something through my aura that causes me to freeze up in my approach.

A cold shudder runs down my back and a terrifying feeling takes hold of my body. As if a hand of ice grabbed my heart and started to squeeze.

My vision darkens, light leaves the world. A power I have never felt before. A threat. A warning.

STAY AWAY!

A pair of hands juts out of the shadows and snatches my face!

Dark red eyes shine forth from the all encompassing darkness and they are all I can see!

"Z-Zoey?"

Her lips slam into mine. A source of warmth in this cold world of gloom.

I take the lifeline into my arms and don't let go.

Her kiss intensifies and her tongue prods at my lips for entrance... But I cannot move. My jaw is locked too tightly and my muscles feel cold and stiff.

After a few more prods she stops.

"Haha.. ha? Come on Swole, I lured ya here for some kissin'-- Swole? A-are you alright?"

I hold her tighter. Won't let the warmth escape.

"S-Swole? What's going on? Ya look like you've seen a ghost."

Did I?

Through clenched teeth I manage to squeeze out, "D-d-did you hear that?"

"Y-you're scaring me. What are you talking about?"

Where is Buneary? Can't feel her with my aura. Need to concentrate. Behind me?

Yes. She's observing the other pokemon.

Deep breath.

Salandit is talking to Riolu.

Another deep breath.

"Someone-- Something just ordered us to... stay away. You didn't hear anything?"

"N-no, nothing." She climbs through the window to get even closer to me. "Are you sure you heard something?"

"Stay away." Just remembering the words sends a shudder through me. "I heard it clearly. No doubt."

"Let's--"

"G-guys!" Dawn shouts as she trudges closer to us. One weary step after another. We meet her halfway and her arms wrap around my body to catch herself from a stumble.

Her body is freezing cold and she's shaking like a leaf. "Dawn? Are you alright?"

"N-no. It felt like something was... I dunno. I got scared for no reason... Sorry."

"You too?" Zoey asks and Dawn looks up in surprise. "Ah, not me but Swole."

Only Dawn and I are affected.

"Riolu!" I call her and without hesitation, she interrupts her talk with Salandit and they both come closer.

"Riolu, did you feel something with your aura just now?"

~"Hm. We need to leave. We're in danger."

"You heard it as well?"

~"Heard? No, I felt it."

"What's the meaning of this?" Zoey's eyes are filled with worry but also with fear.

"Someone tried to tell us to leave with aura."

"Aura?"

"Basically magic. I can explain it later. Dawn and Riolu both felt it. I even heard it. Whoever it is that wants us gone... It-- no he sounded really, really angry. Let's--"

Chimchar has attacked Buneary just now! "Hey! What the hell is going on over there!"

Buneary kicks him away with a Jump Kick and a cacophony of pokemon noises assaults my ears. I can't understand anything!

What the hell happened here?! Almost all the pokemon are quarreling. Only some, like Pikachu and Mawile are trying to reign the groups back in before they use any more attacks.

Buneary returns to me and assumes a battle ready position. Ash, Brock and Barry are all trying to calm their pokemon back down.

Was it the aura attack? Did it cause them to flip out?

Chimchar gets back up from Buneary's hit and squares up for a fight.

~"Ungrateful brat! I shouldn't have saved a coward like you from Ariados!"

Buneary's verbal attack was super effective and Chimchar flinches back.

"Buneary. What's going on?"

~"Master. A petty fight started and Chimchar attacked me when I went in to break it up." Her tiny arm points over at Prinplup who stopped looking so stoic and instead looks down at the ground in shame.

"Tell me more about it later. Let's continue this fight for now."

"Pika! Pika-Pikachu!"

"Turtwig!"

"Star!"

Ash's other pokemon are getting in the way. They are trying to stop the fight but if Chimchar wants a fight, he can get one!

"Stop this!" But Ash's shout rings uselessly in my ears.

I won't resume the battle, but only because I'm not an asshole. If Chimchar wants to give up after having a taste of real power, then I won't pursue him any further. Who knows, maybe a fight would get the animosity out of his system.

A red beam shoots out. "Chimchar, return!" But it dissipates as soon as it makes contact with him.

Chimchar resists his trainer.

On one side of the impromptu arena are all of Ash's pokemon, trying to calm Chimchar down. On our side are Buneary in front and Salandit and Riolu behind her, backing her up in case of a fight.

All around us, the pokemon are involved in other quarrels and arguments. Pure mayhem has erupted.

~"You disgust me!" Buneary shouts out. ~"You talk about betrayal, when it was you who left your trainer alone!"

Once again Chimchar reels back from the verbal lashing but he only bounces back with more aggression and tries to break through Buizel's hold on him to attack.

Music begins to play.

A melody on a flute enters my ears and I look around for the source.

It's an indescribable melody. It is as if each note was chosen specifically to chip away at my anger and fear.

Alice. She holds a leaf in front of her mouth. This is where the music comes from. Her eyes are closed in concentration and her chest swells in deep breaths between long, drawn out notes.

This... This is aura! How!? ... How?

Wait, why do I care?

The harmonic melody plays beautifully and I can feel my soul resonating with it.

Each note brings my raging soul closer to a shared harmony.

Incredible.

---

The next moment I find myself seated on the ground. In front of me is Alice who whistles a beautiful melody on a leaf-flute. She missed a note but that isn't surprising considering her chosen instrument is just a leaf.

Everyone else sits around me as well, listening attentively to her music.

It's as if all the worries in the world are gone. Today is simply a beautiful day. The flying pokemon are chirping, the swimming pokemon are splashing.

... But I feel like I forgot something very important.

Meh. Can't have been 'life or death'-important if it slipped my mind just like that.

"Alice!" Brock is first to return to life after listening to that alluring music. "What was this melody that you played so skillfully? I have never heard such incredible notes, but it really was to be expected from such an equally incredible woman!"

"Thank you Brock." Alice replies and chuckles at the compliment. "But it's not my original work. This piece is called Oración. When played right, it can move hearts and souls alike... My grandmother taught it to me and her grandmother taught it to her. And this is why I want to dedicate my life to the study of music!"

Music? Not aura? What a waste.

"You study music? Incredible!" Brock says. "I was always so interested in music! Please tell me more!"

She begins talking about her studies and it's obvious that Brock doesn't listen to her at all, even though he hangs on to her every single word.

"If you like music so much, why don't you have a Jigglypuff or Laudred in your team?" I wonder out loud. All she has shown so far is a bunch of Drifloon and a Drifblim.

"Jigglypuff?"

"Or any other pokemon that learns Sing on their own. I'm sure they have a much better understanding of music than we humans do."

"That's... A good point! Thanks! I will try to get one somehow! ... Maybe Tonio could help me with that." She mumbles the last part to herself.

"Will you share your findings with me?" I ask and her face changes to a rather cute, questioning stare. "If you find out how Oración works. I believe it might have something to do with aura."

"Aura? What is that? But sure, I can notify you if I find anything out. But I don't have your phone number yet! Tehe." She does a cute gesture where she knocks herself on her head to distract from the fact that she tried to take our money and leave us with no way to communicate with her.

"Right. Here you go." 

Two seething glares attack me from opposite sides as Alice puts my number into her phone.

Jealousy and envy by Dawn and Brock respectively.

Only one of which is fixable by assuring Dawn that I want a pure business relationship with her. She still recoiled in pain when I used the word 'relationship'.

But those two are the only people around who aren't happy and content.

Even the pokemon are still captivated by Oración's effects as it has not only cooled their temperaments but also curbed their excitement. They aren't playing around as roughly anymore and even Chimchar went back to ignoring us--

Went back to ignoring us? Why do I suddenly care about what Chimchar does?

Sure, he is my former best friend's starter pokemon but why am I thinking about it now?

Did Oración do something to me as well?

It must have. Why else would I think it has something to do with aura? That is so weird. It's like I'm missing memories...

"So!" Alice catches everyone's attention after a while of loitering some more. "We've spent a lot of time here and I'm sure you are all starting to get hungry. Let's take the scenic route back up to the town and then we can enjoy some tasty treats at the town's festival! And finally, we can watch the sunset from the top of the Space-Time Towers! Doesn't that sound amazing?!"

The way down was already scenic. But more importantly, the sunset from the top of the towers must be amazing!

Amazingly romantic. Hehehe.

---

"What are you grinning about?"

About how to best seduce you and Zoey at the towers. "Nothing."

"Stop thinking about 'nothing'. It makes you look creepy."

We're at the end of our procession of people. Currently going up a different set of stairs and walking along more winding tracks to get up the mountain.

With nobody behind us to see, I decide it's best to pinch her butt again.

"Hii!" Barry, Ash and Zoey look back at us, wondering what made Dawn squeal like that. "It's nothing... I just saw a bee."

She pinches back but I don't show a reaction. "You ass."

"*Your."

"No. I meant it."

"Haha." I give her a kiss on the cheek.

"So, what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Humph." She makes a sound before kissing me on my cheek. "You may keep your secrets. For now."

"Speaking of secrets." Zoey joins us at the back of the line. "You wanted to explain aura to me?"

"I did?"

"Yeah. You said it when-... When... Well, after we were done smooching. I can't remember the reason, but you wanted to explain it to me."

Dawn makes another annoyed sound but doesn't say anything.

"Well aura is life-energy. But not only that, it is the souls of people and pokemon. Even plants have some of it."

Zoey nods along. The basic concept should be easy enough to grasp, even if it's a little weird to accept that a tangible soul actually does exist on some level.

"Once you know it exists and you know how to sense it, training it becomes possible. With stronger aura, your soul becomes stronger and I believe this is what leads to an increase in physical strength as well. Your life-energy literally increases and this must have an effect on the physical plane too."

This sends Zoey, Dawn and Riolu all into a moment of consideration. I leave them to think about it because these are my own conclusions and if they can't follow my logic, then I made a mistake somewhere.

But after a short while, all of them nod in confirmation.

"But how do I learn how to sense it?" Zoey asks.

"It involves a... process. I can do it to you later." My face heats up at the thought of it. "It's fairly intrusive and we shouldn't be doing it in public."

"Don't worry Zoey. I already went through it and it felt rather pleasant." Dawn explains. "It was a weird feeling at first, but I have never felt closer to anyone as I did back then. Lucario was really gentle to me."

"W-w-what? What the hell is the process? I'm not ready for that yet!"

"Well, it involves a lot of skin contact."

"A-and you already did it with Dawn!? I- I'm sorry. But I'm just not ready for sex yet."

"What?"

"Huh!?" Dawn's surprised voice echoes through the garden.

We just took the final step up the mountain and are back in the garden-area of Brilliant Garden. But now we are more at the edge of the thing. To our right is what appears to be a section of untamed forests. Probably used by pokemon to build their nests in better hidden locations.

"Yer not talking about sex, aren't you." She asks with a statement.

"Nope."

"No."

"... Just put me in a dang grave already..."

We laugh but I stop because something bothers me. 

My paranoia is acting up because something isn't the way it should be. I take another look around.

There is a pool that contains no water. It's dry. "When was the last rain?" 

But more importantly, what the fuck happened to these decorative pillars?

The solid stone pillars are twisted and pulled at their base. They look as if someone stretched them too far, like a piece of bubblegum. Some are still upright but others have fallen over and dug themselves into the ground at an angle.

And then this one pillar. It fell inside another pillar. It reminds me of the... the ferry. When it was stuck inside the cave wall.

They have perfectly fused together and there is no seam at all where the two pillars touch each other. As if they have always been one and the same object.

Looking at it gives me a weird feeling. I'm starting to see tiny black dots in my vision and the slightest headache right behind my forehead. A desire to look away. The longer I stare at the weird parts, the more pronounced the feeling becomes.

So I avert my eyes from this unnatural phenomenon and see Alice and the rest of the group returning to us.

Alice must have noticed a part of the group was lagging behind and checked up on what we are doing. 

"This is terrible... Who could have done this?" She says. "Vandalism? In our town?!"

"It was Darkrai!"

Who said that!?

Buneary and I immediately get ready to fight as a man steps out from behind a large hedge.

He wears an equestrian uniform with clean, pristine, white pants and boots, his jacket is red and it has golden accents. A detailed brooch on his chest marks him as a genuine member of royalty.

"Baron Alberto?" Alice knows him. "What are you doing here?"

"My dear Alice, what are you doing here?" He says in a pompous, almost condescending voice. "It isn't safe in these parts. And I am looking for Darkrai. Recent sightings in town claim it might live here!"

His offensively pink hair and flamboyant behavior just doesn't fit with his chauvinistic attitude with Alice.

"Darkrai?"

Ash asks and Barry answers.

"Have you never heard about it? It's a made-up pokemon like Arceus and supposedly it controls the nightmares of everybody."

The only pictures of Darkrai are all grainy, low quality images that could just as easily be fakes.

"Actually," Alice says. "It is said that Darkrai lives in this very garden. My own grandmother has seen him."

"Exactly my dear. Darkrai is the pokemon who wreaked this havoc and I am going to capture it!"

Alice rolls her eyes and I get back to inspecting the pool.

The nearby plants are all shriveled, dry and most definitely dead. It looks like they haven't seen water in years. The concrete is a little more cracked around here than the rest of the garden too.

But it isn't as if the water has simply been removed. The place is also overgrown with plants. Everywhere around us, the hedges are neat and well cared for but in this small area, everything was left to grow unimpeded before it all dried up.

So strange. Bizarre even. 

Could it have been the attack of an enemy $%#@? 

... Haha. Joking.

But what if...?