The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 16

Sunday, October 15th, 12:46 p.m. 2018
Littleroot Beach
Brendan, Wally, Claire, and May were sitting at the beach, waiting for Ash to arrive. Claire and May were down by the shoreline, just a little ways off, building a sand castle, it looked like. Brendan and Wally were flicking their lighters, but Wally eventually just pulled out a cigarette.
"I thought you quit, Wally," Brendan said, surprised.
"I did," he replied. "But today's...... Well, you know what day it is. The day my grandparents passed." When Brendan and May were just starting out on their journeys, they met Wally, who at the time was suffering from pneumonia. His family had been from the countryside, a small town called Verdanturf. There, the air was clear, crisp, and fresh. They'd moved to Petalburg City because his father had been offered a job. Wally couldn't adjust to the poorer air quality of Petalburg, which wasn't much of a shock, considering the town had been dealing with a pollution issue. When he developed pneumonia, the doctors were concerned that it would become chronic. With few choices, his parents sent him to live with his grandparents, back in Verdanturf. Brendan had helped him catch a Ralts, whom Wally had named Annelise, before Wally was sent back to Verdanturf. There, he'd made a full recovery, and even began his own journey, joining the group again, and helping to save the world alongside them. It was late April, and Wally's grandmother had passed away. After that, they'd gone back to Wally's house to rest and recover. It was the second and last time Brendan would meet his grandfather, because of the deaths that occurred in his own life. Two years later, on October 15th, after everything had been sorted out, Wally moved to Littleroot, explaining that his grandfather had passed away. Wally's grandfather, whom he loved and respected, was a smoker, but he quit after he became Wally's guardian. However, on the anniversary of his wife's death, he'd smoke one cigarette. It helped him coped with the pain he felt. Brendan had forgotten that Wally had made that his way of remembering his grandparents.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm just not used to seeing you smoke, is all."
"Don't worry, this is the only day I do. How do you deal with..... y'know?"
"Well, I wish it was a good way of coping," Brendan replied. "But, honestly, drinking. All the bullshit got to me. My mom's side being insufferable is what I'll blame for that. But, yeah. My answer, alcohol. Because I want to forget all of that."
"Yeah, I remember that," Wally said, holding the cigarette in his mouth. "You messed yourself up pretty good back then. But, you got better."
"Only because of the Team, Claire, and May," Brendan sighed. "If it weren't for you guys, I would probably be dead."
"I don't think so, I think you would've snapped out of it before it would be too late."
"Heh," Brendan chuckled, a faint smile on his face. "I think you have too much faith in me." He stared out across the ocean.
"I think you don't have enough faith in yourself, actually."
"Hmm..." Brendan sighed. "Maybe you have a point. By the way, you might want to put that cigarette away or head to the bathroom. It seems that Claire and May are coming over here."
"I'll be right back," he said, racing off.
"Where's Wally going?" May asked as she walked over with Claire.
"He's upholding a tradition he made two years ago. He'll be back shortly." Whispering to May, so Claire couldn't hear. "Long story short, he smokes a cigarette today and then douses himself in deodorant and takes a mint. Does it in remembrance of his grandparents."
"Ah," she whispered back. "Got it."
"Hey, what's taking your friend so long? He doesn't live much farther from the beach than we do."
"He's on his way. He just told me he overslept."
"And the fate of the Order rests on him."
"Oh, have a little faith in your fellow mortal," Groudon replied. "Especially since Aura Knights are ten times stronger than Patrons."
"Well, when will he get here?" Brendan asked.
"He said he'd he here in half an hour," she told him.
"Well, we've got some time then, I guess," Brendan muttered.
"Well, why don't you tell me what Patrons do?" She asked. "Like, what are we, and what exactly is our purpose?"
"Well, that's a loaded question," he began, after a moment of silence. "I think the best way to describe what we are is to explain what a Legendary Pokémon is. Now, everyone knows that Legendary Pokémon are the most powerful Pokémon in the world, but there's much more to that than meets the eye. You see, according to what Groudon told me, all Legendary Pokémon that exist in this world, with the exception of Mewtwo, are all children of Arceus. The Legendaries all hatched from eggs at the Tree of Beginning, which why we believe it to be sacred. From there, they made this entire planet habitable, from the depths of the oceans, to the highest peaks. When humanity appeared in this world, our ancestors viewed the Legendaries as divine, and paid tribute to them, and most Legendaries, but not all, represented a different reason. Kyogre was given sacrifices to appease him, and calm the oceans for fishing. Groudon was appeased to prevent natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, sinkholes, and the like. Regigigas was also given sacrifices for similar reasons. They feared that if they didn't, the world would end. However, as years became decades, and decades became centuries, humanity became more reared towards conquest. The "gotta catch em all" ideology took root soon after, and humanity began to catch Pokémon. Now, nothing is intrinsically wrong with this," Brendan continued, before hastily muttering, and promptly breaking the fourth wall. "Despite what PETA will tell you".
"What's that?"
"I don't know. I just saw something on the Internet. Some random eco terrorists or something. Anyways, nothing is wrong with catching Pokémon, however, it became a problem when humans began targeting the Legendaries. Now, keep in mind, the Legends have near god-like strength. And no human should be trusted with with all of that power. Patrons, like you and me, have only a fraction of that power."
"So our powers are divine in origin?" May looked at her bracelet. "But why would the Legendaries entrust humanity with such power, even if it's just a fraction of it?"
"Well, that's where things get complicated. Now, the best way to explain this is to start with how Patrons came into being. Now, as humanity began hunting the Legendaries for personal gain, which would've been thousands of years ago, the Legends were preparing to wipe out humanity. They convened a meeting, similar to our Seasonal Meetings. But, their meetings are held telepathically, using an inconceivably large amount of Aura from the Tree like a radio frequency. However, an extraordinary human managed to communicate with them during this meeting. It was unheard of. A mortal man had an Aura so strong, that he could communicate with the Legendaries. The Legendaries were in total shock at this interruption, and needless to say, didn't know what to do."
"Who was this man?"
"His name was lost to time, but he was considered the very first Aura Knight. Sir Aaron is believed to have been a direct descendant of his. He pleaded, not with the Legendaries, but, rather, with Arceus herself. He pleaded that humanity be spared, for the race was foolish and prone to folly, just like every other Pokémon. When Arceus asked what they should do instead, he said that the Legendaries could hide away, in locations that few humans would ever reach. But, the Legends needed to preserve a balance of power in the world. Hiding away, they feared, would upset that balance, and Pokémon and humanity would suffer alike. His solution was simple. The Legendaries bestow some of their power to select humans. Humans of extraordinary caliber, and to balance this, they should also create Pokémon who could also help maintain such a balance. Thus, Patrons and Mythical Pokémon were born. However, when this man communicated with the Legendaries, there was one other consequence. The large amount of Aura that Tree of Beginning had suddenly began to leak Aura into the world. Pokémon like Lucario, Greninja, and a few more emerged. And humans began to develop..... interesting bloodlines. Aura Knights became prevalent, and pretty soon, the Coalition of Knights was founded. Shortly thereafter, the Patron Order was formed. It was created with one single purpose: to keep old legends alive. To ensure that no one forgets what happened in the past. We do this by maintaining the balance that the world needs in order to function. At one time, Patrons were open about their powers. We'd use them to end wars, to save the world from destruction, and we'd use them to honor our Patrons.
However, following the death of their Chosen Grandmaster, the Coalition of Knights basically wiped itself out. Pretty soon, without the Knights to guide and control their powers, the Patrons soon became hated and feared. Shortly afterwards, we became hunted.  Nowadays, the smart ones hide their powers, and usually try to stay away from the masses."
"So our purpose is to maintain balance?"
"Yes. Well, it was at one point. But, Steven, April, and our Teams, and many other Patrons hope to restore that purpose. As it stands now, though, some Patrons believe we don't have a purpose. And those Patrons chose to make their own purpose..."
"And what would that be?" She asked
Brendan looked at her.
"To cause chaos, and not care who gets hurt," he laughed weakly. "It's odd, but I can agree with causing chaos. After all, Groudon  is a Legend that causes chaos using natural disasters. Matter of fact, most of the Hoenn Legendaries, especially Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, enjoy causing chaos. Thankfully, despite being Patrons, we can walk our own paths."
"What path do you lean towards?" May asked.
"I try to walk right down the dividing line of Chaos and Order."
"Why?"
"If you value order too much, then you'll just roll with the punches to maintain it, because resisting would lead to chaos. But if you value chaos too much, then you'll become hated by everyone, because you seek to uproot everyday life. Of course, it's not like you'd care if everyone hated you," he sighed again. "Well, well, looks like your friend finally showed up. "Ash!" He called as the raven-haired boy raced over.. "Call out a flying Pokémon! We've got quite a journey ahead of us!" He brought out Skar.
"Skar~," it trilled. Brendan rested his hand on her beak. "Good girl. May, you'll be flying with me, alright?" She nodded. Brendan saw Wally racing over, and he tossed a pokeball, releasing his Altaria, named Phoenix.
"Claire will fly with me, then," Wally replied, out of breath.
"So I'll be flying alone?" Ash asked.
"As I recall, your Staraptor is the fastest Pokémon you have on hand at the moment. And we must make haste. Not to mention, your Staraptor can only support the weight of one person," he paused for a moment, shaking his head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I'm on edge is all. But what I said is true."
"Don't worry, I'm fine with flying alone. But what's got you on edge?"
"Just something isn't right. Something is upsetting the balance of nature."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused. He looked at him.
"That someone just became a Patron in an unnatural way. We need to get going. Now. Fast as we can. And until the Meeting ends, stay together, even though we're going to Mt. Silver, first."
Sunday, October 15th, 1:00 p.m. 2018
Unknown location
"Damn him....." A figure said, punching a wall. "I won't let him get away with it...."
"Oh, quit your whining," Another figure chuckled. "If you want to get anywhere in this world, and especially towards revenge, then you have to be willing to take risks and cut ties."
"Such as? And drop the act. I already know who-"
"Ah ah ah, let's skip names. After all, we both know each other, like you said," he laughed. "And as for cutting ties... Well, here. Take these." He handed him earrings and a band. "They'll give you power."
He looked at the jewelry. The earrings were solid gold, and were adorned with topaz. The yellow gems had ball lightning encased in them. Then he looked at the band. It was an opal ring, lined with iron, and had a polished stone exposed in the center of it.
"These are the Items of Zapdos and Regirock, respectively. And, it's best not to ask how I procured these. But, why don't you put them on? If you do, you'll be able to.... deal with whoever's got you in a bundle. But, you'll have to help me with something. And we'll be partners as well." He thought for a moment.
"Deal."
"Well, let's go. We've got to train you, and then we also have to make it to a meeting...."