Pokemon: Dreams Come True

Chapter 56: Before the Third Task

Vali's POV

My eyes fluttered open, my head groggy from the forced slumber. I groaned, unable to recollect what had happened. All I could remember was us speaking to Keenan and the three stooges, but after that... I seemed to have blacked out.

Who was the one who knocked us out?

I saw Gabriel and Trinity slowly wake up, rubbing their eyes in evident confusion, wondering what had happened. Their Pokemon also broke free of their slumber, looking around in bewilderment.

Oshawott jumped on my shoulder, frowning. "Osha?"

"Yeah, I have no clue," I admitted. "Your dad went with Kalakaua and the others, I think."

"Wott," Oshawott nodded, beginning to smirk. "Oshawott!"

"You want to train already?" I asked, amused. "Damn, you're persistent. But the more training, the better, I guess."

"Ugh, my head," Trinity complained. "What happened?"

"We were put to sleep, I think?" Gabriel questioned, rubbing his forehead. "But why?"

"Hell if I'd know," I said, shrugging. "The three stooges are gone. Did they put us to sleep? That doesn't make sense, though."

"We'll probably never find an answer," Trinity admitted wryly. "It'd be pointless to keep asking questions."

"True," Gabriel sighed.

The forest was completely fixed, as if nothing had occurred. The battle seemed to be a false memory, like I'd imagined it. It did not feel grounded to reality. But I knew it was very real, the Pokemon we'd gotten from them a testament to that.

"We should probably go back to the lab," I suggested. "Professor Cerise will most likely be wondering what the ruckus was."

"Shit, you're right," Trinity swore. "Let's go."

"For the best," Gabriel agreed, returning his Cyndaquil. Trinity and I followed suit, returning Rowlet and Oshawott, respectively.

I led the way back to the lab, feeling unnerved by the obvious lack of destruction. The Earth Orb was that powerful, huh? I wondered if my Earth Plate could do that if the right hands wielded it.

I still hated the fact that I could not use the Plates at all. I've tried to practice, testing if that eased the pain, but no matter what, it felt like I'd die if I used it. What was the point of collecting the only weapons capable of fending off our enemy if I could not use it? Where was the Chosen One of Arceus? I had to fix their damn mess.

What were the benefits of being Giratina's Chosen? Were there any?

Well, I guess complaining won't change the hand dealt to me. If I had to do this shit on hardcore mode, then so be it. I was not going to back down because this would be a harder endeavor than others.

During the walk, a glint caught my attention. Something shiny was trapped in between an interlocked system of roots. Curious, I strode over to it. I grabbed onto the object, yanking it as hard as I could. The roots were ripped out of the ground like rotten wood, splintering under the force.

The glinting stopped as my shadow loomed over it. It turned out to be a scale—a very large scale, bigger than my torso. It mostly gold, with streaks of hot pink here and there. The sun's radiance reflected off it, turning into iridescent shades of gold and pink, coruscating gorgeously.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself.

"What is that?" Trinity inquired, glancing at the scale.

"No clue..."