A Journey's Link

Chapter 19 - Reflections

Paul's eyes shot wide open; his slumber had been cut short. The loud sound that was produced from a Pokemon attack echoed outside of the Pokemon Center, waking him up almost instantly. What was that? He sleepily asked himself as he stared through the pitch-black darkness of his room.

Moving the bedsheets off of his body, he made his way over to the window that overlooked the lake. He set his hands on the sill, forcing the weight of his whole body on his arms as he peered into the calm waters. In the still night, only moonlight reflected off of the surface, leaving no room for any hints of the sun.

He knew the move came from near the lake but wasn't sure where it was. After all, a good portion of the shore seemed to be covered by trees, so it's not like he could easily identify who caused it. However, as he stared into the waters, he noticed a small, shining object gliding through the air, eventually landing and breaking the surface's smooth appearance.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to the glass, trying to get a better look at whatever had just landed. That thing was just shining, he noted. After a few seconds of the ripples dying down from the impact, Paul noticed that something was making its way towards the surface, once again breaking the peaceful impression.

His eyes widened as he instantly recognized the three figures shooting out of the way, darting their way towards the shore that Paul failed to see. As they disappeared behind the forest's branches, he managed to get a final glimpse at the sight of them, confirming his thoughts.

Those were the Lake Trio! He told himself; straightening his posture, he rushed over to his bag and dug through it, desperately trying to find his phone. He needed to report that a sighting had happened; he assumed that if they were here in Kanto, then something surely must be wrong regarding the lakes in Sinnoh.

Quickly turning on his phone and making his way to a website that allowed users to submit verified reports of Pokemon sightings, Paul quickly explained the situation and that Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit were all at the lake near Vermilion City. As he submitted, he quickly grabbed his bag and rushed towards the door. His Pokemon were still healing up for the night, but it didn't matter to him; he needed to find those three Pokemon and try to catch them.

Once he exited the Pokemon Center, he made his way through the bushes while also trying to grab a few Pokeballs. Despite the many cuts and bruises he most likely sustained from running through the sharp branches, Paul was determined to reach the lake as soon as possible.

After a few minutes, he appeared on the shore that was invisible to his eye of sight. He quickly scanned the area and saw not a single living being, just the gentle breeze sending small waves to the sandbar. "Ugh!" He grunted, throwing a Pokeball into the water aimlessly. He was too late; unbeknownst to him, Ash and Goh had just left the Lake Trio moments prior, heading back to Cerise Laboratories.

Shaking his head, Paul retraced his steps and reluctantly entered the Pokemon Center once again, making his way to his room. He walked in and grabbed his phone, noticing that his post had managed to gain a lot of traction. He sighed and turned out the lights, once again attempting to sleep after the unfortunate failed encounter.

[-]

Serena stared at her bag which kept the crystal inside and prayed to Arceus that it wouldn't do anything crazy. May grabbed her arm and whispered, "Is it going to explode or something?" Serena thought this was cynically humorous; she was convinced it had done worse things than cause explosions.

"I'm not quite sure what it's doing," Serena said. This wasn't a lie; this thing was too mysterious for her to wrap her head around. She kept on staring at the bag as if it was going to arbitrarily combust. The last time it changed color there was a lot of damage, she reminded herself. So who knows what'll happen now?