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Equilibrium	By : jvperric Category: Pokemon > General Views: 12587 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo does. I make no claim towards any of the copyrighted intellectual property contained herein. I am making no money from this story in any way.

Chapter List
- 3
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*****Chapter IV: Fracas*****

It is often advisable to travel in groups. Groups provide safety and a comfortable social circle, both vital elements for any Trainer’s journey. –Sederan Trainer’s Manual, Seventh Ed.

It is often advisable to target groups of Trainers, provided your own group can overwhelm them. Groups carry greater amounts of cash and valuables. –Scion Field Manual

*****

“Ralts,” Poochyena whispered, gently nudging her teammate. “Ralts? Are you awake?”

“Hmm? Poochyena? What is it?” Ralts asked, sitting against Jason’s leg. He mumbled and moved his arm onto Riolu’s head. “It’s really late, we should be asleep.”

“I know, I just wanted to talk to you.”

“We were talking before when the lights were on,” Ralts said. “Why do we have to talk now?”

“I didn’t want anyone else to hear us. Do you remember what you did this morning? Throwing Riolu off the bed?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because he was bothering you,” Ralts said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

“Oh. Is that the…only reason?”

“What do you mean?”

Poochyena crept closer to Ralts and put her head against his arm. “I thought maybe it bothered you.”

“Well, it did make me upset. He shouldn’t mess up the team like that. And when he hugged you my head hurt so bad that I had to do something.”

“Do you like me?” Poochyena asked, dropping her voice and making it as husky as she could. She rubbed the side of her head on his arm.

“I—what?” Ralts shivered as her cold fur brushed on his side. “Poochyena, I’m…you’re…this doesn’t happen!”

“Keep your voice down,” she said, pawing at his leg. “So what if it doesn’t happen in nature? We wouldn’t be working together in the wild either, but we won that Badge today.”

“We’re not the same type, we can’t even make an egg,” Ralts said, trying to move away. He found himself stuck to his teammate.

“Who said anything about eggs?” Poochyena asked, pushing him on his back. “There’s the other way of doing things…and we’re not evolved, we can’t have children anyway. But I like you. I like the way I feel when I’m around you. I just wanted to know if you felt the same way.”

She backed off and sat demurely on the bed. Ralts sat up and closed his eyes, where he could see Jason and Riolu’s energy on the bed. Rufflet’s energy rested on the perch in the corner of the room. Poochyena was a silhouette.

“I like you, Poochyena, I never thought I would work with a Dark-type before I met you, but I was just trying to be a good teammate. Are you sure you want this?”

“Let me show you.”

Poochyena got up and circled Ralts closely, letting her fur run on his skin and draw up goosebumps. He shuddered, and almost yelped when he felt her tongue on the back of his neck. She silenced him by whipping around to his front and pressing her nose to his mouth.

Ralts felt weak in his knees, and sat down. Poochyena ruffled his hair with her snout and gently licked the crest on the front of his head. Ralts writhed at the hot-and-cold feeling of having a Dark-type stimulate him, and fell to his back. He grabbed at her underbelly as she moved over him, licking the sides of his crest and sliding her tongue along the edge.

“Don’t stop,” Ralts gasped, as she lit up every nerve in his head.

She had no intentions of stopping, and planted herself so that she was flush with Ralts’ body. Ralts’ sweat matted the fur on her underside, and she reveled in it while eagerly licking at his crest. Ralts moaned something resembling speech, and whenever he became too loud Poochyena would press her breast to his face to quiet him.

“Mmm…” Poochyena withdrew her head slightly when she heard Ralts panting. He went limp and lay still while Poochyena licked him clean. “Oh, this isn’t sweat, is it?”

Ralts brought his head up with no small effort and saw she was licking between his legs. “Ah—I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Poochyena said when she was done cleaning. “That’s what I wanted. I guess I did it a little too well.”

“That felt so good,” Ralts said, getting his wits back. “Can we do it again?”

“Oh, you’re a male, all right. Maybe tomorrow, after everyone’s gone to bed. And once I evolve you can take care of me, too.”

Ralts nodded weakly and fell back to sleep. Poochyena wanted to laugh. “Typical boy,” she said, and curled up with a contented look on her face.

*****

The low summit of Greenpeak Mountain was lit by two pairs of headlights on trucks near the path that led down to the forest below. Several people worked diligently, moving boulders with their Pokémon to the edges of the flat area.

Xavier stood beside one of the trucks, holding a radio connected to the truck’s dashboard. “We’re finishing prep now. There’s just the one path leading to the summit, we have two choke points set up and another squad ready to come up from the forest. Everything will be set within the hour. You could come out and see for yourself.”

“I have a project here that requires my direct supervision,” Richard said, his voice crackling over the radio. “Did you get a final head count?”

“We flooded the news stations, but Arceus knows how many will bite. Our feeler in the Pokémon Center heard some talk, but it might just be talk. Is this really worth the risk? We’ll have maybe an hour before the National Guard comes down hard on us.”

“I don’t plan to gain much there. What we need is a convincing distraction. This project is going to spike every available energy grid in the country. It won’t take more than thirty minutes, but the power bloom would raise eyebrows, unless those monitoring the energy systems are busy watching something else.”

Xavier signaled for a team of Machoke to move another boulder to the edge of the summit. “I’d feel better about being in the NG’s crosshairs if I knew what we were doing this for.”

“You’ll know along with everyone else when the time is right,” Richard said shortly. “Don’t worry; you’ll play an integral part in its execution. Is there anything else to report?”

“No, I’ll contact you when we’re in full swing.”

The radio died, and Xavier noticed one of his men leaning against a boulder, winded. He saw Xavier coming over to him and straightened up.

“Tired?” he asked.

“No, sir, I’ll get back to work. Sorry, sir.”

“Don’t draw on strength that isn’t there.” Xavier moved to get a better look at the man. He was young, maybe twenty-three. “We don’t need anyone wearing out. When did you join up?”

“About two months ago, sir.”

“What are you here for?”

“I agreed with the SLA during the war, and I still think the government’s not legitimate,” he said. “They sent my father to jail ten years ago, I haven’t heard from him since. Scion’s the only group really trying to take down the government, not pussyfooting around it with this reform garbage.”

Xavier nodded. “All right. Are the flashbangs prepped?”

“I have them right here, sir,” he said, tapping the cylinders hanging from his bandolier. “John has the bracers to set them in the ground, we were just about to set them up and take the trucks back.”

“Do that and then have everyone that’s not part of the ambush pull out.”

“Yes, sir!” He went towards the head of the path.

Erica leaned her head out of the cab of the other truck. “Our man at the Pokémon Center just called in. We have a whole crowd coming up later.”

“Great,” Xavier said.

*****

“People don’t usually get up this early, do they?” Ralts asked through a yawn.

The lobby of the Pokémon Center was teeming with the bustling bodies of Trainers. No doubt praying for the end of her shift, the night nurse ran back and forth between the counter and her machine, performing last minute heals. A Chansey burst out of one of the private rooms, holding a crying Pichu and shrieking at the crowd.

“All the young ones are up now!” Jason heard her yell.

“Is everyone here heading up to Greenpeak Mountain?” Jason asked a Trainer standing by the coffee machine.

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s the best chance any of us have to catch a Grass-type. Some guy got everyone organized and we’re going as a group. Strength in numbers, right?”

Jason nodded, and soon the crowd began to disperse. Trainers filed out one by one until the lobby was empty, save for an exhausted nurse, the Chansey—now gently singing the Pichu back to sleep—and Mira, planted in an armchair with a large jacket that stretched all the way past her skirt. She was kicking the air and drumming her hands on her lap.

“Hi,” Jason said.

“I thought you were part of that mob,” Mira said, turning her eyes up but not moving her head.

“No, I asked you to go with me, not every Trainer in the city. Are you ready?”

“Yep!” Mira jumped out of the chair and took Jason’s arm, shrugging off her jacket in the process. “Let’s go catch some Pokémon.”

“Did you take one of Swath’s?” Jason asked.

She sighed and took a Pokéball from inside her jacket. It opened and a Starly popped out, hovering happily for a few seconds before Mira recalled it. “He made me bring him. Oh, your Ralts is so cute up close!”

Ralts found himself lifted from the comfort of Jason’s shoulder and pressed against Mira’s chest. He might have suffocated if he hadn’t managed to turn himself around, but then he found himself stuck in her cleavage. Jason would have laughed if Mira wasn’t holding his Pokémon.

“Careful, he’s still young,” he said.

Ralts struggled to free himself. “Get me out of here!”

Mira giggled. “His voice is so cute, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Shall we go? Don’t want to let them get all the Grass-types.”

“Okay.”

They left the Pokémon Center with Ralts safely back on Jason’s shoulder, clinging for dear life to Jason’s jacket. As they walked Mira would reach over and ruffle Ralts’ hair, and Jason felt his little claws dig into his skin.

“She’s going to grab me again!”

“Don’t complain,” Jason said.

“What?”

He looked at Mira. “Oh, I…told Ralts that I hope it doesn’t rain.”

“It’s supposed to be nice today, that’s why I didn’t wear very much,” Mira said, packing her jacket away in her bag. “You’re going to be hot in those jeans.”

“Well, it was either these, or…my other pair of jeans. I didn’t pack a lot of clothes.”

“What if you rip them up?”

“I’ll just pick up another pair in the next city. Medicine and food takes up most of the space in my pack.”

“You don’t have a bag now,” Mira said.

“I packed light today.” Jason tapped his jacket. “I’ve got a few potions, some antivenom, and a receptor antagonist for paralysis. You’ve probably got more than me in that backpack, though.”

“There’re some potions in there,” she said. “I went right to the Pokémon Center this morning.”

“Oh. Don’t worry, I’ve got more than enough for both of us. Hey, there’s everyone that left before. Guess something’s holding them up.”

“Come on, let’s beat them to the summit!”

Mira took off down the sidewalk, and Jason scooped Ralts into his arms and ran after her. Ralts cheered and let his hair fly back against the wind.

They crossed the city limits, and once the road gave way to a small field on the edge of Greenpeak Forest Mira drew on some unseen energy and disappeared into the trees. Jason watched in disbelief and felt his chest start to burn.

“She’s really fast!” Ralts said.

“Maybe she ran track.” Jason slowed to a jog and followed her into the forest.

They found the main path soon enough, with a sign directing them to the summit. Jason released Poochyena, Riolu and Rufflet and they started down the path. Ralts slid down Jason’s shirt and walked with his legged teammates while Rufflet touched down on Jason’s other shoulder.

“I didn’t get to talk to you last night, Rufflet,” Jason said, reaching up and scratching his head. “Welcome to the team.”

“Thank you,” Rufflet said. His voice had a chirp to it, and it was at least an octave higher than Ralts’ or Riolu’s. “I’m looking forward to traveling with you.”

“Good. Oh, I never got to check your level, either.” Jason took out his Pokédex, scanned over Rufflet’s stats, and almost tripped on a root. “Thirty? You’re level thirty? You’re nine levels above Ralts and thirteen above Riolu. How many battles did Swath have you in?”

“He didn’t use me at all. Sometimes I would play with the other Pokémon at the Gym, but I haven’t battled since Miss Skyla sent me to Swath.”

“I guess the others have some catching up to do,” Jason said.

“No,” Poochyena said, motioning for Ralts to climb on her back. “You do!”

She bounded forward with Ralts holding on and Riolu followed, burning down the path and out of sight. Jason jogged after them and Rufflet followed from the air, soaring through the leaves above them that closed the path off from the sky.

“It’s too early for this,” he said.

He caught up with his Pokémon around the next bend, where they watched Mira creeping up on a Zangoose that sat sleeping against a tree in the misty pre-dawn light. Jason crouched down next to Ralts and the others and Rufflet perched himself on a branch nearby.

Mira took Starly’s Pokéball from her belt and slowly pulled on the release catch. Starly appeared without any fanfare or light, and hovered over Mira. She pointed to the Zangoose and Starly swept down, landing a blow on Zangoose’s arm. It woke up and swung blindly at empty air until it saw there were several figures in front of it.

Zangoose got on all fours and hissed at them before Starly made another pass and struck it in the back of the head. It swiped at Starly, but he was already out of reach, hovering by another tree.

“Why did you do that?” Zangoose asked.

“She told me to,” Starly said, cocking his head at Mira.

Eager to end his morning disturbance, Zangoose charged at Mira, who still held Starly’s Pokéball.

“Move, Mira!” Jason yelled.

She stood still, paralyzed by the sight of the Pokémon, until a Pokéball flew out of Jason’s hand and hit it on the side of the head. Zangoose disappeared and Starly swept down on the Pokéball, trying to hold it shut. Mira collected herself just as Zangoose burst from the Pokéball and she had one of her own ready.

Zangoose was rubbing its head when Mira’s Pokéball connected with its torso. Zangoose vanished again, and the disorientation of a second attempt did the trick. The Pokéball wavered, but finally came to rest. Starly picked it up in his claws and dropped it in Mira’s hands. He also grabbed Jason’s overwhelmed Pokéball and brought it to him. The release catch was broken and it wouldn’t close.

“I’ll bring this back to the Pokémart, they can recycle it,” he said, dropping it into his pocket. “Congratulations, Mira.”

“Thanks for your help,” she said, minimizing Zangoose’s Pokéball. “Were you trying to catch it?”

“No, just disorient it. I didn’t even expect it to hit the band in the middle to open it up.”

“Well, thank you.” Mira hugged Jason and he patted her on the back. “Come on, let’s get to the top of the mountain!”

“Sounds good.” Jason turned to his Pokémon. “Just so you don’t run off again…”

He recalled Ralts, Poochyena and Riolu, and Rufflet joined them out of solidarity. Mira recalled Starly and they continued along the path, well ahead of the crowd of Trainers no doubt still stuck in Presida City.

The dirt road leading up to the summit was gradual and sloping, turning back on itself several times and creating several hairpin turns. They negotiated it easily, and along the way they noticed several low-level Grass-type hybrids scurrying into their little hidey-holes dug into the mountain walls.

“Looks like the reports were right,” Mira said.

“Maybe there’ll be stronger Pokémon at the top.”

After walking up the side of the mountain for the better part of a half hour, the path leveled out, and Jason and Mira found themselves on a flat, empty mountaintop. Some Geodude were rolling about near the rocks, but there were no Grass-type Pokémon in plain sight.

“There aren’t any Grass-types up here,” Mira said. “There’s not even any grass!”

Jason noticed a small outcropping of rocks that formed a crude passage. “Maybe there’s some down there. The sun’s starting to rise; they might have gone back inside.”

“I guess. Do you want to check it out?”

He nodded. “Yeah, might as well.”

They made for the caves, and were out of sight in moments.

The throng of Trainers also set on reaching the summit finally got out of Presida City and found the forest path, which led to the gentle sloping road ending at the mountaintop. The sensors buried in the path detected a large mass of people headed upwards, and at the summit they were quickly overwhelmed. Scion detonated their concussive grenades and lined up everyone in neat rows, making sure at least one person got off an emergency call beforehand.

Xavier walked between the Trainers while police sirens wailed in the distance and news helicopters circled overhead. He raised his brother on his radio: “Do it.”

Jason and Mira walked through the caves by flashlight, hoping to find a Snivy or a Nuzleaf around the next corner. Nothing ever appeared, except for the occasional Spinarak and Zubat.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything,” Mira said, waving her flashlight around the tunnel.

“No, I guess not.” Jason leaned against a wall. “These tunnels are interesting, though. They seem too smooth to be natural.”

“I’m going back to the summit to tell the others there’s nothing here.”

“Think they’ll believe you?” Jason asked.

“Probably not. But I don’t want to spend any more time down here. This place gives me the creeps.”

“All right, I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Mira turned back, heading for the mountaintop while Jason continued downward. He released Ralts and placed him on his shoulder.

“Where are we?”

“In some tunnels underneath Greenpeak Mountain. Can you give me some light? My flashlight’s not cutting it.”

Ralts focused, and the crest on the front of his head glowed purple, lighting the way. Jason put his flashlight in his pocket and they pressed on, brushing off an odd unease as they descended.

“Are there Grass-types here?” Ralts asked.

“No,” Jason said. “The report was wrong. Now I’m more interested in these tunnels. They have to be man-made. There’s no branching, no parts too low to walk through…something’s weird. I wonder how deep—”

Jason stepped on a patch of moss, lost his footing, and slid down the shaft.

*****

“Ugh…how far did I fall?”

Ralts crawled over to Jason, his crest still providing light. “You tumbled,” he said. “I followed you for a long time and we stopped here. What’s this?”

Jason waited for his eyes to focus and adjust to the weak purple light and held out his hand for whatever it was Ralts was offering to him. It was light and smooth, long and flared out at both ends—

“Ah!” Jason dropped it and furiously wiped his hands on his jacket. “Ralts, you gave me a bone!”

“What’s a bone?” Ralts asked innocently.

“The—they’re the hard things under your skin,” Jason said, sitting up. “Are there more around here?”

“There are lots of them over there. Most of them are different shapes,” Ralts said, brightening his light.

Jason turned and saw a loose pile of skeletons nearby. He retched, and was glad he hadn’t had breakfast earlier. When he looked past the bones, he saw they were in a small chamber with smooth walls and a rounded ceiling.

“No way this is natural…what is that?”

He stood up, putting Ralts back on his shoulder. On one of the walls was an inset, a stone tablet with the faintest of lights at the edges. Jason went up and examined it more closely.

“It’s the same one from the museum,” he said, tracing the ancient letters of the Arceus legend. He shifted his weight and felt a shooting pain in his hip, causing him to lurch forward. The tablet gave, sliding back several feet before Jason steadied himself. Ralts cried out and clung to Jason’s collar.

“Sorry, buddy. What’s back here? There shouldn’t be any light down here.” Jason crept into the lit chamber and stepped past the tablet. “Holy shit.”

Behind the tablet was a long, high-ceilinged hall, lit by rows of Charmander-shaped torches on either side of the huge room. The ceiling was vaulted, like an Arcean temple, and the chamber stretched so far back that they couldn’t see the far end. In the middle of the room stood a simple stone dais, on which rested a small, lustrous emerald. The bright points of the torches hurt his eyes slightly.

“An emerald…buried under the earth of Sedera…”

“What is that?” Ralts asked.

“If I was superstitious, I’d say it was the Earth Gem from the sealing legend,” Jason said, walking slowly into the chamber. “But it can’t be. Still…look at this place. This is way too elaborate to be a practical joke.”

“Maybe it is the Earth Gem,” Ralts said.

“That’s just an allegory, it’s not what really happened. There were no monks, no Lords or anything. It’s a stupid story the Arceans use to explain away evil in the world.”

They drew closer and closer to the dais, and as they did Ralts began to hum softly. Jason listened to him and waited for an explanation, but Ralts didn’t seem to be aware of doing it. Soon they stood at the plinth, and Jason couldn’t believe Ralts didn’t know he was humming.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“You’re humming.”

“I am?” Ralts asked, still making the noise. It got louder when he leaned over the emerald.

“You’re still doing it. Cut it out, it’s distracting.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ralts said, concerned.

Jason knelt down and he and Ralts got even closer to the gem. The humming blocked out the crackle of the torches.

“Ralts, shut up!”

“I’m not doing anything!” Ralts said, starting to cry. “Why are you yelling at me?”

He pressed his hands to his temples, trying to shake out the sound. His head pounded. Strange shapes danced in the shadows around the room. The humming grew louder and sharpened into a high-pitched whine, boring through his skull and rattling his brain—

The earth shook.

Jason stumbled back from the dais and the humming quieted. Ralts was still crying. Everything shook again. Dust and rocks fell from the ceiling. The flames on the walls trembled.

“Is that an earthquake?” Jason asked.

“Why are you being so mean? I wasn’t humming!” Ralts said, sobbing.

“Ralts, I think we should get out of here.”

The floor rocked again, and a huge foot appeared from the shadows. Jason had no intention of waiting to see what was attached to the foot; he ran to the exit.

Jason sacrificed an instant of time to look back, and saw a huge Torterra charging out of the shadows before he jumped behind the tablet and made for the upward slope. The moss on the floor of the tunnel was moist and slippery, and Jason had to dig his fingers into it to get a handhold. He recalled Ralts before he started climbing, and he slowly clawed his way back up in darkness while the Torterra raised all hell in its chamber below.

After what seemed like hours, the ground beneath Jason’s hands and legs leveled out, and he got to his feet with his flashlight in his hand. He took off towards the surface, and he was surprised by how fleet of foot he was over the uneven floor.

The morning light appeared around a corner, and Jason had never seen a more welcome sight. He slowed to a jog and burst out of the caves.

“What in the hell?”

He saw the helicopters and the rows of hostages, the masked figures and the guns they were holding. Most of them were too surprised at his appearance to react immediately, but Jason’s adrenaline was still coursing through his body. He found the nearest edge with his eyes, and ran.

Xavier saw the boy emerge from the caverns. At first he saw sure it was an illusion, but then he noticed his men looking that way too. Another Trainer from the caves, he thought.

His hand hovered over his pistol in its holster, but he didn’t think of drawing it. A profound sense of familiarity came over him, and he was reduced to watching as Jason ran to the edge of the mountaintop and jumped.

Jason landed on his side and slid on the dirt for a good thirty feet, but caught his shoe on a loose tree root and flipped forward. His hands broke his fall, but he began tumbling headfirst, all the way down.

*****

“Damn it!” Erica pointed to a group of four men standing by the hostages. “Come with me. We’re going to find anyone else that’s down there.”

“Is it worth the time or effort?” Xavier asked. “You’ll all get turned around down there. You can’t see a damn thing.”

Erica took a Pokéball from her belt and released a Charmeleon. “We’ll be fine. Can you stay topside?”

“Fine,” Xavier said, drumming his fingers against his belt. “But hurry back up. We’re getting ready to bug out.”

She nodded and her squad followed her down into the caves. Xavier grabbed at his radio. “Richard, are you set yet?”

“We’ve been delayed. The project is drawing more power than we anticipated. Hold out there a little longer.”

He heard the roar of jet engines over the helicopter blades in the sky. “We’ve had them up here for close to three hours now. The government’s going to do something.”

“Like what? They’re going to see you all and your guns right next to three dozen hostages. Anyone that authorizes any action might as well resign.”

“You know, you never told me the exit strategy here.”

“We have a perfect plan to get you out of there,” Richard said. “Just so long as you and your men follow my orders to the letter.”

*****

The Pidgey and Spearow flocked out of the trees when Jason landed at the base of the mountain and lay still. He came to rest facedown, his hip pressing down on one of his Pokéballs. It slipped under his weight and the release catch got snagged against the ground. Ralts popped out, forcing the Pokéball’s hemispheres apart and eventually snapping it in half.

Ralts’ sensory perception had been on, and he had watched fearfully as Jason fell down the side of the mountain. He began to panic when he saw Jason wasn’t moving, but then he remembered the way Jason had yelled at him in the cave. It upset him to think his own Trainer could be so mean to him, but he had more important things worry about.

Ralts began trying to revive Jason. He poked at his Trainer, but he was unresponsive. His breathing was ragged and shallow, and blood was slowly trickling from a gash on the side of his head.

“Oh…what do I do?” Ralts flailed his arms uselessly. “Maybe the others will have an idea.”

He took the other Pokéballs from Jason’s belt and pulled back the release catches will no small effort. His teammates appeared and stood around Jason, pondering what to do.

“Doesn’t he have medicine?” Riolu asked.

“Just for us,” Poochyena said. “Remember when he was packing in the room at the Pokémon Center?”

“The Pokémon Center!”

The other three looked at Ralts. “What about it?” Rufflet asked.

“Someone at the Pokémon Center will help Jason if we get him there,” Ralts said.

Poochyena scratched at her ear. “How are we going to get him there? He’s hurt and I don’t think we should move him too much. Unless you could Teleport him all the way back there.”

He shook his head. “I’m not that strong. Maybe we could roll him on his back and drag him to the path. Someone will come along and help us.”

“Are you sure?” Riolu asked.

“Do you have any better ideas?”

Riolu looked at Jason. “All right, let’s flip him over.”

The four of them moved to what they thought was Jason’s least damaged side, dug as far under him as they could, and pushed upward. Jason rolled over like a ragdoll, revealing more cuts and gashes on his torso. They cringed, but he didn’t seem to be losing any more blood.

“Okay, let’s grab his shoulders and pull him towards the path,” Ralts said.

Riolu looked around the forest. “Where’s the path?”

“Didn’t you live in this forest?”

“I never worried about paths, I just walked around all the time,” he said defensively. “Ralts, you’re psychic, can’t you figure it out?”

“I guess I can try.” Ralts closed his eyes and saw the residual life energy of the forest. The trees only interfered slightly, but the Pokémon in the area made it too difficult to see very far. “I can’t find the path, there’s too much blocking my senses. Unless Rufflet could bring me up a bit higher.”

“How high do you need?” he asked, flapping his wings.

“I think I could tell from the top of this tree,” Ralts said, running over to a thick oak.

“All right, just don’t move too much.”

Rufflet hovered over Ralts, who extended his arms. Rufflet fastened his talons around Ralts’ arms and floated upward, leaving Riolu and Poochyena on the ground. They slowly passed the shorter trees and broke the skyline; Rufflet didn’t seem to mind, but Ralts quickly learned what acrophobia was, even if he didn’t have a word for it.

“Okay, that’s high enough,” he said, trying not to look down.

“Are you sure?”

“Put me down!”

Rufflet hovered over one of the oak tree’s highest branches and gently placed Ralts next to the trunk, and he promptly clung to it for dear life. Rufflet perched next to him. “Just focus on finding the path, I promise I’ll catch you if you fall.”

“I’ll try.” Ralts closed his eyes again and let his perception bloom out, radiating weakly through the forest. He sensed the people still on the mountaintop and traced their energy back through time, calling on powers his parents had only ever mentioned in passing. His mental clock wound slowly back, and the throng of life force moved slowly down from the summit of the mountain, winding back and forth along the narrow vertical path before leveling out at the bottom, not far from where Jason lay.

“It’s there,” he said, pointing to the left of the mountain. “Let’s go tell the others.”

Rufflet carefully floated a terrified Ralts back to the ground, and he pointed the way for Riolu and Poochyena. They looked at Jason. “We’ll have to…turn him a little,” Poochyena said.

They all grabbed Jason’s jacket and rotated him clockwise, and then slowly began pulling him over the uneven ground. Occasionally one of them would run ahead and push aside any rocks in the way, and every few minutes they would stop and Ralts would make sure they still had the right heading.

“How much farther?” Riolu asked, adjusting his grip on Jason’s collar.

“It should be nearby,” Ralts said, standing on his toes and looking through the trees. “Right there!”

They pulled their Trainer enthusiastically—slightly wounding his collarbone further in the process—and emerged on the forest path. They breathed a collective sigh of relief and heard crunching branches.

*****

Erica’s Charmeleon stood warily by the collapsed Torterra, watching the fires on its back burn. While the soldiers secured the chamber, Erica went to the dais and took the perfect emerald sitting in an indentation in the plinth. She pulled out her radio, but all she could hear was static.

“Hello? Anyone on this channel?”

“We’re too deep underground, ma’am,” one of the soldiers said.

“Then we’ll have to go back up. Take the Fire-types and have them burn out the rest of that moss on the floor.”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll have to move quickly once it starts burning, it doesn’t look like there’s any way to vent the smoke.”

“Understood.” She turned to the other three men. “Move out!”

Their Pokémon began torching the ancient moss, and without the slick undergrowth they were able to walk back up to the surface with ease. Erica noticed that the news helicopters had pulled back and the sky had crisscrosses of jet vapor trails among the clouds.

“Anything?” Xavier asked.

Erica ran up to him and produced the emerald after recalling her Charmeleon. “We found this in an underground chamber with a huge Torterra guarding it.”

Mira, who had been placed closer to the caves than the other hostages, snuck a peek at their conversation and saw the emerald.

“Underground chamber…?” she said through her gag.

Xavier was less enthused. “So what? You found a pretty rock that someone dropped.”

“No one left this as some practical joke, that place must’ve taken years to carve out, and that Torterra…they just don’t grow that large naturally. I’m telling you there’s something to it. It’s just like in the Gem legend. I’m taking this to Richard.”

“If you want to waste his time with this, be my guest, but he’s going to tell you the same thing. The Gems aren’t real. Some religious nut with too much time and money probably built it so that they would be in the right if anyone ever found it.”

“How does Richard plan to get us out of here, anyway?”

As if on cue, every single radio buzzed to life. “All call signs, this is Baseplate with a direct order from Overlord: stand down. I repeat, stand down.”

Xavier looked at his radio in disbelief. His brother the martyr, ordering surrender? “Baseplate, Predator. What the hell is going on?”

“Stand down, Predator. You’ve got two helicopters loaded for bear coming right at you. Lay down your weapons.”

All of the soldiers looked to their acting commander. Xavier tossed his radio away in frustration, unstrapped his pistol holster, and got on his knees with his hands behind his head. The others slowly followed suit, even Erica after she had hidden the emerald.

Soon enough, two twin-rotor helicopters with military markings appeared and hovered over the mountaintop, dropping Army shock troops from several ropes. Everyone on the summit that wasn’t already bound and gagged was restrained and loaded onto the helicopters. The Trainers watched as each Scion had their hands zip-tied and their weapons confiscated. When all of the prisoners were on the helicopters, the rear hatches closed and they lifted off, flying northeast.

All the hostages waited until the helicopters disappeared, and then frantically began trying to remove the zip ties around their own hands. Mira struggled against the material, but it was wrapped too tightly around her wrists. She felt around on the ground behind her, groping for anything that could help her. She wished she had worn something with pockets deep enough to hold the pocketknife sitting at the bottom of her backpack, in a pile with the others on the other side of the summit.

Finding nothing, she resorted to clawing at the plastic with her fingers, ripping the ends of her fingernails and drawing blood from her wrists. Someone that had managed to conceal a knife eventually came over and freed her, but by that time her hands were a bloody mess. She sat down and tried to wipe her hands clean on her shirt when another detachment of soldiers came up the path and began escorting them to the waiting ambulances below.

Onboard one of the helicopters, Xavier was cursing his brother when one of the Army soldiers moved behind him and cut his restraints. He looked around; all their restraints were being cut. The soldier that had done his went around to his front and removed his balaclava. It was the young man he had spoken to early that morning, smiling proudly.

“Some exit,” he said.

Another Scion handed Xavier a radio. “Overlord’s on the line, sir.”

Xavier took it. “This was your perfect plan? You didn’t think we should’ve known you were going to fake an abduction?”

“We spent a lot of resources convincing the Army that the Fifth Airborne was capturing you,” Richard said. “And it worked. No one is pursuing you; they all think you’re headed to Dragon’s Egg for detainment. You’ll ditch the helicopters at a recovery site and take land transport back to base. You pulled this off with surgical precision, Xavier, I’m proud. You and Erica will do the debrief?”

“Fine.”

Xavier returned the radio and rested his head against the fuselage, reflecting on Erica’s theories and the boy that had jumped off the mountain.

*****

Everything was warm and painless. The dark but comforting void that surrounded him held nothing in secret shadows or far-off corners. Jason relaxed and felt a wave of warmth come over him. If time passed in the place, he did not know it; if space extended around him, he did not see it. He gave himself over to his thoughts while he floated.

Am I dead? He wondered. Am I dreaming? Where are Ralts and the others? I must be dead. I fell down the mountain and must have broken my neck. I hope someone finds my body and takes care of them. And Mira. She looked like she was in trouble.

The nothingness of the ether began fading. Noises besides his own voice invaded. Bright spots of light poked through the black curtain of reality around him. He slowly became aware of his body again and the soft material around it. Leaving the dreamless sleep behind, Jason opened his eyes.

A clean white light shone from the ceiling. Machines around him emitted pulses, chirps and clicks at regular intervals. He looked down and saw he was on a bed with guardrails on either side to keep him from falling out. A sharp pain shot out from his shoulder when he tried to turn his head too far, and with his opposite hand, he could feel bandages on his torso and forehead.

“Hospital,” he said.

Something moved at the edge of his vision. He turned his eyes as far as they would go and moved his head a few degrees to the left. A Kirlia sat beside his bed, beaming widely at him.

“Jason! You’re awake!”

“Ralts?” he asked.

“Well, not anymore,” he said, standing up and going to the foot of the bed where Jason could see him more easily. Kirlia did a pirouette for him and Jason smiled. “Very good,” he said. “When did you evolve?”

“It was when…um…” Kirlia narrowed his eyes, searching his memory. “After you fell, but…before we got here. I don’t remember. I know we dragged you to the path in the forest, but then we were here, and I was like this.”

“Where are the others?”

“I woke up next to Riolu and Rufflet in here, but they went back in their Pokéballs. I checked and Poochyena was already in her Pokéball.”

More and more of the day was coming back to him. The summit. The caves. The fall. “How did I get here?”

“I don’t know,” Kirlia said, sitting back down. “When you landed it broke my Pokéball and I came out, and you weren’t moving, so I let the others out and we dragged you back to the path. The next thing I knew, we were downstairs, and I was like this.”

“Maybe the stress made you evolve so you could Teleport me?”

“I guess it could happen.” Kirlia pointed to the three Pokéballs on the nightstand. “I think everyone else would like to see you.”

“No one else evolved, did they?” Jason asked, reaching with his good arm and pulling the release catches.

Rufflet, Poochyena and Riolu appeared, eager to check on their Trainer, but Kirlia held them back. “Jason’s hurt, you can’t jump on him and lick him.” Kirlia gently placed Poochyena and Riolu on the side of the bed and Rufflet perched on one of the guardrails.

“I think some thanks are in order,” Jason said, reaching out to pet them one at a time. “I probably wouldn’t have lasted too long out there without you guys. You saved my life.”

They each nuzzled the side of his leg.

“But I wonder, do any of you remember how we got here? Did Ralts—Kirlia, I mean—Teleport us?”

“I woke up here,” Riolu said. Rufflet repeated him.

“I remember what happened,” Poochyena said. They all turned to her. “We got you to the path and some human and two Pokémon walked up. One of the Pokémon kind of looked like Ralts, but taller, even taller than he is now, and the other one was white and walked on all four legs, like me. We asked them for help, and the human asked for my Pokéball. He put me back in it and gave it to Riolu, but I could still see what was happening. They stood back and the tall Pokémon did something that put a bubble around us. Ralts, Riolu and Rufflet fainted, and Ralts turned white and changed. Then we were all here and the human and his Pokémon were gone. Another human came up to us, put you on a bed, and brought you up here. They put Riolu and Rufflet away, but they couldn’t find Kirlia’s Pokéball.”

“It’s broken,” Kirlia repeated. “I need a new one.”

“A tall Pokémon like Ralts and a white quadruped,” Jason said. “The first one had to be a Psychic-type, either a Gardevoir or a Gallade. The other one…maybe a Shelgon? I don’t know many white Pokémon that walk on all fours.”

“Why don’t we remember any of this?” Kirlia asked.

“Maybe because you evolved and we both fainted,” Riolu offered.

“Could the energy from the Teleport have caused you to evolve?” Jason asked. “It must have been a pretty strong Psychic-type to move us all over such a long distance.”

“It’s possible, but I thought I was supposed to evolve when I fight or as I get older.” Kirlia looked over his new body. “This feels weird.”

“Oh, Mr. Sato, you’re awake,” someone said, walking in. He turned and saw it was a doctor. “I see your Pokémon have given you a warm welcome.”

“Yeah…do you know how I got here?”

“Not with the other hostages from Greenpeak Mountain, I can tell you that,” he said, adjusting Jason’s morphine drip. The dull aches in his chest, shoulder and foot sharpened ever so slightly. “You were Teleported into the lobby with your team. I suppose you have your Kirlia to thank for that.”

“We’re working on figuring that out. Did you say hostages?”

The doctor looked quizzically at him. “We thought you were one of the Trainers that Scion trapped and you had…escaped. They had about forty Trainers up there for almost four hours. They’ve only just been brought in.”

“That’s what was going on,” Jason said, making sense of his memories. “I remember seeing people with guns when I came out of the caves. I just ran and jumped down the mountainside.”

“If your body could have chosen, you would’ve been up there with the others. All they’ve got are cuts and bruises.”

“And me?”

“Your right clavicle is broken in two places and your seventh left rib and left first metatarsus have hairline fractures,” he said. “You’ve noticed that it’s painful to breathe too deeply or turn your head too far, I’m sure. Running may also be painful. We have you on a low-level morphine drip, but we’ll wean you off it over the next few days. You’ll also have a scar on the right side of your head, from the bottom of the temple to the jaw line.”

“How long am I going to be here?”

“Well, you’re stable, you didn’t get any infections from the forest, and the Chansey stem cells are working on your bones. Unless your Kirlia hugs you too hard, we’ll have you discharged in about six days, on Wednesday. I still couldn’t recommend traveling in your condition, though. Even if you’re mobile, too much strain could break the bones again. You should have full mobility in a month or so.”

“Thanks, doctor. Does my Trainer insurance cover this?”

“Yes, it’s taken care of. You should get some rest now.”

He left, and his Pokémon curled up beside him while Jason reflected on the day. He remembered the caves, the emerald, the monstrous Torterra chasing him away.

“Hey guys, would you mind giving me and Kirlia a minute? I have to talk to him.”

They retreated into their Pokéballs and Kirlia cocked his head in curiosity. “Listen, about what happened in the caves, with the yelling…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kirlia said, playing with his hands. “I shouldn’t have been bothering you. Maybe I was humming.”

“No, no, I should’ve believed you when you said you weren’t humming. It just got so loud I needed it to stop. I thought it was coming from you, but maybe it was that place. Or that emerald, I don’t know. I don’t know what to think now, seeing all that stuff down there. Nothing about that place was right.”

“Do you think there are other Gems?”

“Must be. One in the Sepris Gulf, one in Firestone Desert, and one in Icecliff Glacier. This is really unbelievable.”

“Am I interrupting?”

They looked over to the door, where Mira was standing just as she was when Jason had last saw her, with the addition of bandages on her wrists. “You really look like crap.”

“You hostages got the better end of this, it looks like.” Jason looked past her and made sure no one was listening. “Mira, come in here for a minute. And shut the door.”

She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. “What is it?”

“We found something in the caves,” he said, growing excited. “There was this huge chamber at the bottom of a long shaft and inside it was—”

“An emerald?”

“Yeah…how’d you know?”

“Because Scion has it,” Mira said. “One of their officers went down looking for more Trainers and came back up with it just before they were all arrested. She thought it was the Earth Gem from the legend.”

“I’ve seen the place where that emerald was, and if the legend is true, that is the Earth Gem,” Jason said. “But at least they all got arrested.”

“I’m not so sure.” Mira took the television remote from the nightstand and flicked over to the news channel. They sat through the weather report and a recount of the crisis on the mountain before they showed the picture Mira wanted Jason to see.

“They found the two helicopters that took them away. No prisoners, no crew, no soldiers. They got away. Scion has the Earth Gem.”
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Equilibrium