Metamorphosis (Pokémon Watties 2017)

16: Dusk to Dawn

Isa ran a hand through his hair, continuing to look down at Kaden.

I killed him. 

I should have let him take the chance at Valencia. 

I could have taken care of Darkrai, then she wouldn't have gotten a chance to attack him.

He looked at his hands. Red, of course. There were probably traces of red in his hair now. He could hear Ayana struggling, but simply blocked it out.

There was a cold nudge to Isa's side. He looked over to see Sandslash and Houndoom both leaning against him. He forced a smile for a moment before giving it up, turning back and continuing to cry.

He didn't look up again, not until he heard Ayana give an agonized scream. "Ayana?" Isa finally opened his eyes and looked up, seeing Ayana kneeling on the ground. She was a bit hunched over, but her head was turned upwards, Garchomp faithfully defending her. "Are you-?"

"How is it looking?" Ayana quickly asked. Isa didn't respond. "Oh- oh no... Did he?..." The silence from Isa confirmed Ayana's thoughts. "I'll keep you covered while you collect yourself." She gave a nod to Isa, rolling on her feet and catching Valencia off guard again. Her golden sword flew into the air to make an attack.

But it stopped.

The sudden stop caused Isa's head to bolt up, fear on his face.

Valencia, too was frozen in place.

Everything in the room was frozen. No one was moving, except Isa. There was no noise, no anything.

And then the scene grew dark, and leaves only the people and Pokemon in Isa's view.

Isa immediately wonders what's going on. They soon disappear from his sight, along with Kaden who he's still holding on to. The latter causes Isa's arms to fall into nothingness. He lets out a small cry, looking for anyone he knows in this new area.

The new area is dark. Not pitch black, but Isa can't see much past his own hands, which are pictured clearly before him. It stays like this for a small amount of time, before a small light starts appearing in front of him. He looks up, and before him forms Xerneas.

"How are you doing?" It asks, the voice much stronger than Isa remembered. Isa only gives a strangled, upset cry in return.

"You said the blessing could heal anything!" Isa lets his emotions control him, not caring about what he looks like while letting tears openly flow. He can imagine that it's not a pretty sight. "Why did you lie to me?" The last sentence is forced, a silent, cracked whisper. But the void-like area is pitch silent, so it's loud, as if he was clearly yelling.

"There's something I need to show you. Follow me." The deer-like Pokemon turns around, moving away. Isa stands up, stumbling along to follow it. As they continue going, light starts to grow in the area until the black dissolves into a navy blue and deep pink sky, similar to a dusk sky that's just about to turn night. It's dotted with stars, but no ground to be seen. Isa somehow still feels firmly on the ground though, watching as three new Pokemon come into view. Each of the three tower over Isa and even have a size advantage over Xerneas.

The first is a majestic blue creature. Its main body is a sea blue, with silver plates on the back and legs. There's a plaque of sorts on its chest, probably as big as Isa with a blue-gray gem in the middle. It has red eyes, ones that send a chill down Isa's spine.

The second is mostly gray, almost similar in shade to the armor on the first one but a little more dull. The gray skin is traced with pink, having a single pink gem on each of its shoulders. Like the first, it also has red eyes.