Chaser and the Faraway Island

Chaser and the True Trial

Once he had stepped a bit further down the stairs, the torches once more came to life. And as he descended the staircase with Chloe and the others behind him, Goh could see the symbols that he understood to mean 'Water' appear in the text surrounding him, but he kept his gaze focused forward. The door had imagery of waves and bubbles as well as the great carving, and though the doors looked heavy, Goh threw them open with ease, causing Chloe and Ash to gasp behind him.

"Geez, Goh, calm down!" she warned.

But Goh was completely calm. The only thing that had changed was that he now knew what this place was and why its strange properties seemed to defy logic.

"It's alright," he said. "I understand this place now."

"You what...?"

Ash nodded. "I don't understand it myself, but I trust in Goh," he said, giving Chloe a smile. "You trust him too, right?"

"O-Of course I do!" she replied, pouting.

Goh cracked a grin. "Then let me handle this."

Quillon said nothing, only keeping his gaze forward, while Danika looked like she wanted to say something, but held herself back.

Goh stepped into the next chamber, and within was a pool of cool, crystal clear water. Set up along the sides of the water were large, glass lenses that seemed to have shapes cut out of them, but Goh put aside his curiosity to solve this puzzle.

"We can stop playing these games!" he shouted. "I've figured out what this place is, and more importantly, what it isn't."

The room said nothing back, but Goh could feel that an extra set of eyes were upon him, so he continued to speak.

"You tried to set up a good illusion and a series of trials that would help protect what was left to you, and you did an amazing job. In fact, if it weren't for Team Rocket showing up how they did, I might not have realized it!"

"Realized what?" Chloe asked. For someone so sharp, Goh couldn't help but laugh to himself that she hadn't realized it yet. But it was Quillon who broke the news.

"None of this is real."

Chloe balked, turning to Quillon. "What? What do you mean it isn't real?"

"You mean.. It's an illusion?" Ash asked.

There was only one Pokémon who could possibly be on this island and create such an illusion. One that Goh was very familiar with. The reason the darkness and the shadows seemed familiar and comforting to him.

"Zoroark! I know you're here! Let's stop these games and talk about this!"

For a moment, the room is entirely calm.

But then, the pool of water began to fade away, and walls, floor, and ceiling began to change shape and warp. The Water Chamber simply ceased to be, and the stairs behind them vanished as well.

Soon, the room shifted into a shape Goh was familiar with. It was as though they were transported back to Stone Town, with the mural around them. The room was circular in shape, and along the walls it told the story that Goh now understood as the instructions for using the Mewnium-Z without a Z-Ring. The swirling elements of fire, electricity, and water embodied the power of nature itself, and when transmitted to Mew, would imbue them with the power befitting one with the title of God.

Standing directly under the image of Mew was a bipedal Pokémon covered in white fur. The large, white mane was wild and frayed, with the tips of each fray dyed red as though they were dipped into blood. All over the Pokémon's body were red lesions, and from behind his wild mane, Goh could see the yellow eyes he felt staring at him through the darkness.