The Destined

Chapter Eight

"Go, Turtwig! Use Razor Leaf!" Gardenia started. "Alright Monferno, Ember!" I called. "I'll make this quick and painless," I bragged. "One more Ember." One down, two to go. "Turtwig return," Gardenia panicked.  "Thank you, you can take a rest now.  Go, Cherubi!"  "Monferno, return."  I wanted to give my other newly evolved Pokémon a shot.

"Go, Staravia!  Wing Attack!" I called.  "Cherubi, Tackle!" "Staravia, dodge and use one more Wing Attack," I ordered. The Cherubi had fainted. The last Pokémon surely wouldn't be too much trouble. "Roselia, Poison Sting!" Gardenia called as she sent out her final Pokémon. "No, Staravia!" It had been poisoned. Now it was on a timer and I had to finish Roselia off quickly.

"Heh. You got me there, but I'm afraid no poison's gonna be strong enough to take out Staravia. Hang in there and use Wing Attack!" I couldn't afford to use any other moves before Staravia faints. "Roselia, Magical Leaf," called Gardenia.

"The final Wing Attack please, Staravia," I asked. And just like that, I had defeated Gardenia with ease, just like I thought I would.

"Good battle. You now earned yourself the Forest Badge," Gardenia awarded me. "As you already knew from Roark, stronger Pokémon will now listen to your every command." "Thank you," I replied. "I hope we meet again someday."

* * *

"What?!"

I was on a call with Professor Rowan, the gym leader of Veilstone City, Maylene, and Champion Mikey at the Pokémon Center that night.  The Professor just said that some of the same grunts that I saw earlier today had ransacked Veilstone City and no one knew why.

"It's true," he said. "These grunts have been more and more active as of late and it won't take long before they become uncontrollable."

"But what does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"I was just about to get to that," interrupted Mikey. "We need you and Felix to help take out as many of these grunts as possible to keep them under control. At the moment, I am on a confidential mission and am unable to help. But since you and Felix are training to get stronger, we figured we could rely on you two to help us out. We have already contacted him and he agreed to aid us in this task."

"It would also assist you in your training," added Maylene. "Since you are going around challenging the gym leaders and honing your skills, this would be a good stepping stone before facing the tougher gym leaders."

"It seems I don't have much of a choice then," I gave in. "Not that I wouldn't be unwilling to help, but it sounds like you won't take no for an answer. I'm in. What's my first assignment?" I asked.

"We need you to be on the lookout for more of these grunts and beat them," Professor Rowan explained. "Try your best to find some clues on who they're working for and what they want."

"Got it. Thank you, sir," I answered.

"Alright is everything settled?" Asked Mikey. "I need to get back to my mission... It's getting pretty busy at the moment." "Yes, you are all free to go," he answered. "Good luck everyone."

After Maylene and Mikey left the call and I checked that no one was paying attention, I decided to hang back and tell Professor Rowan about my dream. I thought that if he should trust me enough to tell what's going on, I should be able to trust him.

"Professor? Can I tell you something private?" I asked. "You can tell me anything you need to," he answered. I told him quietly "Well, this happened the same night of the rampage of Jubilife City..."

And told him about the dream.

"...and now I have this." I showed him the box with the thirteen plates that Arceus materialized in my room the morning after, making sure no one else was watching.

"This... this is extraordinary," the Professor exclaimed. "Shhh! I'm currently calling from the Pokémon Center in Eterna! I don't want anyone else hearing!" I whispered loudly. "Apologies. This is revolutionary, though! No one, and I mean no one has collected all thirteen plates at the same time! I wonder what Arceus wants of you."

"I'm still wondering about that myself. However, one thing worries me: who were those two figures that fled when Arceus appeared?" I asked. "I'm not sure," Professor Rowan answered. "Should I tell Mikey about this?"

"Let's wait a little longer to see if this problem escalates," I replied. "I don't want to give him extra things to worry about besides his own mission." "That sounds reasonable," he agreed. "I assume you haven't told anyone else about this?"

"I haven't. You may tell my dad, though." I suggested.

"That sounds like a plan. I'll see you soon, then?" He asked. "Yes sir," I answered. "Good night."