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JIRACHI - "Arceus, He's unstoppable!"
ARCEUS - "It can't be. Jirachi, can't you do anything to stop Him either?"
The wind blew stronger every second, coming from the shattered ceiling and walls of the temple's chamber.
Arceus and Jirachi held on to whatever jutting rubble they could to keep themselves from being pulled into the ominous dark portal that sat open just outside the large shattered stained glass windows.
JIRACHI - "I... aah! I can usually grant any wish, but He is too strong, and drains me of my power!"
The mythical Pokémon struggled to keep its hold on a stone pillar as it spoke.
JIRACHI - "It's as if the entire fabric or reality were slowly bending. If only He weren't so much like you!"
ARCEUS - "(Jirachi is right. My greatest mistake yet was having allowed Him to come here.)"
ARCEUS - "(Of course, as soon as he got what he wanted, he betrayed me.)"
JIRACHI - "No legendary Pokémon can simply wish Arceus away, and no mythical Pokémon can either, let alone a normal Pokémon!"
JIRACHI - "And since He is now nearly identical to you in power, nothing I throw at Him can have any effect. If nothing is not to stop Him--"
ARCEUS - "He will corrupt everything, and this world will be doomed if we don't destroy the source of His power. There must be a way to reach it."
JIRACHI - "But we can't possibly do that now! I am sorry Arceus. I've failed you!"
ARCEUS - "Unless... perhaps we have not lost yet, Jirachi!"
The legendary Pokémon had a moment of realization. He dug his feet into the ground to try to keep himself steady, but at this point, even he had begun to shift.
Both him and Jirachi would soon be engulfed by the darkness awaiting them at the end of the room, sucking them into the portal no matter how hard they fought back.
ARCEUS - "He may be practically unaffected by our power. And perhaps no Pokémon in this world can hurt Him at all. However, there is something else."
ARCEUS - "Completely unknown to Him. Something whose origins don't apply to anything I've taught Him. Perhaps we can use that."
JIRACHI - "You don't mean...?"
ARCEUS - "Yes, Jirachi. I shall make another wish, and this time it will be worth it."
ARCEUS - "Do it now! Bring him to me!"
JIRACHI - "As you wish, Arceus!"
Finally, Jirachi let go of the pillar. Concentrating all its energy into a glowing orb, it launched it into the air just in time,
Before disappearing into the darkness...
JIRACHI (fading) - "May your wish be granteeeeed...!"
ARCEUS - "Jirachi..." Arceus felt dark limbs enveloping his own.
ARCEUS - "Indeed. May it be granted, indeed."
And then, just like that... everything went dark.
Until a little spark of hope lit up, far away.
Are you ready, Kyle?
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Arceus' wish - Chapter One:
Kyle.
KYLE - "The room is so cold."
KYLE - "Is my window open?"
KYLE - "Whoa!"
In trying to stand up, Kyle fell flat on the floor. His legs felt different, as did his arms.
His head felt heavier than usual, and his thumbs felt numb to the point where he could no longer feel them.
KYLE - "What's happening?"
He finally decided to open his eyes. In one decisive motion, he pulled them open and took in... nothing.
All around him was a deep black void, so pure and so solid that Kyle felt his eyes hurt as the dark pressed itself on them.
KYLE - "I can't see a thing. (falls) ugh!"
"I assume now we'll have to crawl."
Kyle pushed himself up onto all fours, realizing his feet were flat on the floor, however, and that his knees were not bent.
He couldn't help but cringe at the strange sensation.
KYLE - "All right, so all I gotta do is bend my knees and crawl, right?"
KYLE - "Oh no!" (falls)
KYLE - "Ah...! Grrrr."
Kyle stared dead ahead and saw a small blue glow. He reached for it, but its source was too far to touch.
KYLE - "Is that coming from my computer?"
Frowning, Kyle decided to move towards the light. He straightened yet again, this time in the same crawling position as before,
and allowed his limbs to move as they pleased to push him forward, making the task of walking little more than involuntary.
A couple more wobbles came and went, but Kyle felt better.
Somehow, this had begun to feel like instinct, almost like a memory.
The glow grew ever brighter and larger as he approached it, until it was too much light for his eyes to absorb.
Kyle instinctively raised his arm up to shield his face, and for the first time actually saw it.
Not only could he not feel his thumbs, but they weren't there at all.
Instead, fuzzy stubs grew from his palms, where his fingers were supposed to be.
KYLE - "I have... paws?!"
Astonishment and fear washed over him, and he for the first time realized his tongue, teeth, and lips were not the same either.
Longer, sharper, thinner.
KYLE - "What am I? Am I dreaming?"
Suddenly, the cold dulled and intensified. The sound of rushing wind and crashing waves grew louder,
although Kyle could feel neither one; only the chill which etched itself through to his bones.
ARCEUS (disembodied) - "Walk into the light."
KYLE - "What? Why? Who are you? What?"
ARCEUS - "In time, you will know, but we have not much of it at this moment."
KYLE - "Who... ARE you?"
Kyle could see his breath swirling into mist before him, and he felt himself being pulled, then dragged into the source of the intense light.
KYLE - "Stop! Please! Wherever you are, I..."
ARCEUS - "Do not attempt to battle your fate. I am certain you will pull through whatever He sends your way."
KYLE - "He?"
ARCEUS - "You must find your own way in the world from this point onward, but do not worry. Your instincts will soon come to you, Kyle."
Before either could say any more, the intense cold snapped into excruciating heat.
KYLE - "Whoa! It's so hot all of a sudden! What is this? What's happening?" (woosh)
KYLE - "Aaaaaah!"
KYLE - "Oh, help! Whoa..."
Beating his strange new limbs was all Kyle could do. He had never learnt to swim before and figured that plunging from the sky into the ocean was not the best way to learn.
The fall hadn't been the worst part. He had been unconscious for most of it, but now his eyes scanned for land.
Just a little far off in the distance, he could see a beach, a single lone cabin perched on it.
He tried his hardest not to gasp in any water each time his head went under.
KYLE - "Help! Somebody help me! I can't swim! Hey!"
"What? Something's... holding onto me! It's pulling me under!"
Kyle fought against whatever it was that had just grabbed a hold of him.
He beat his limbs, managed to break the surface one more time, but eventually his sore body could no longer sustain the exertion.
Kyle took the deepest breath of his life, hoping it would not be his last, before disappearing under the waves.
[Underwater sounds]
Kyle opened his eyes so wide they hurt. He coughed out seawater and gasped desperately for air.
??? - "Thank goodness! Oh, you're lucky I've got lifeguard training!"
Kyle weakly glanced up to see a Pokémon sitting before him, and espeon, swishing its tail.
KYLE - "Ow... When did I get here?"
??? - "You were drowning. A strangely violent tentacle tried to get a hold of you, but I pulled you out and cleared the water from your lungs. Just in time too it seems."
KYLE - "You can... talk? Am I still dreaming?"
??? - "Uh, you must be confused."
"Of course I can. How else would I have responded?"
KYLE - "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to say thank you. For... uh... saving me."
NILA - "Don't mention it. It was the right thing to do. My name is Nila. What's yours?"
KYLE - "Oh, I'm... Kyle. (Yes, I must still be asleep in bed.)"
NILA - "I didn't expect to see an Umbreon around here. Not even Pleada Town sees many eeveelution visitors. I'm not from here myself."
KYLE - "(Umbreon? So that's what I am, huh?)"
NILA - "Alright, let me help you up."
"So, how did you get so far from shore?"
"The town is some 10 minutes south of here, and you couldn't have gotten that far into the ocean on your own, not knowing how to swim."
KYLE - "This is going to sound crazy, but I woke up in a black void and was turned into this. I got dragged into a light and fell from the sky."
"So, here I am."
Nila shook her head, trying to focus on what parts of his statements she could make any sense of.
NIL - "You weren't always an Umbeon. Does that mean you woke up suddenly evolved?"
KYLE - "I wasn't always a Pokémon, actually."
NILA - "I can tell you must've hurt your head somehow. Come with me. I think I can help you."
Nila turned tail and walked towards a little neat wooden cabin, sitting atop some rocks not too far away from the shore.
NILA - "So, for now, you can sleep here. If it's okay with you, that is."
KYLE - "(That's a bed? Kinda looks like a big nest, with blankets on top.)"
The bed was round, though it fit quite nicely in the corner of the room, across from a second nest in the other corner, presumably meant for Nila herself.
KYLE "(Oh well, seems comfy enough. Maybe sleeping in my dream can wake me up in real life.)" "It's fine. It's fine by me."
NILA "Don't worry, it's only until we get you someplace to live."
Kyle shook his head.
KYLE "But I already have a home. I'm lost from it, but I have one. I had a human body, too, but I lost that as well."
"I really just want to go back."
Part of him placed his experience as a dream, and yet, part of him felt like it was a familiar state of being, and it gave him a sense of homesickness he was looking forward to getting rid of.
NILA "I'm really sorry, Kyle, but I don't know where you used to live, or even what you say you used to be."
"Although I do think I know someone who might. I'll take you to him tomorrow, but you need to rest now."
KYLE "Sure. Thanks."
Still unsure about anything and everything around him, Kyle did his best to settle down and sleep. He was exhausted, and out in a minute.
[Music]
Slowly, Kyle's eyes fluttered open. By scent, he recognized the place he was in before anxiety got the better of him.
KYLE "(How do I remember the smell of everything? Is it because I'm...)"
Kyle glanced at the floor and noticed a beam of sunlight split into diamonds. He turned around to face the wall behind him and saw a small window, the sun shining steadily brighter behind it.
He heaved himself along with his new body to look through it.
The warming lavender of sunrise greeted him, along with the fading image of a Pokémon's face: Inky black fur, ears shaped like thin footballs, each wrapped in a golden ring, one of which also sat right between the glowing red eyes.
Not too far above a pointed black nose. The sudden appearance of the Pokemon startled Kyle. It was, to him, a complete stranger. Yet he knew it was only his own reflection.
"(This isn't dream, then...)"
He wasn't sure what to think or how to feel anymore.
NILA "Morning. Feeling any better?"
KYLE "I'm great. Thank you. At least physically."
Kyle managed to smile as he lied, not knowing what else to say. He didn't know why, but he felt Nila was someone he could trust.
"(Maybe by a weird... Pokémon instinct?)"
ARCEUS (flashback) "Your instincts will soon come to you, Kyle."
NILA "Are... you hungry?"
KYLE "Huh? What? Yeah, I... I guess so."
NILA "Good. We're going to Pleada Town Market. It'll give me a chance to show you the person I said I would too."
KYLE "Alright. Sounds good."
NILA "Are you sure you're alright?"
Kyle merely nodded. He waited for her to leave the room and beckon him to follow before moving after her.
KYLE "So we're on an island, right?"
"And on this island, Pokémon eat bread and drink coffee and cook, build houses and a bunch of stuff that humans do?"
NILA "Haha... I still don't know what you mean. Pokémon do that everywhere."
KYLE "You know, they stand on two legs, have two arms, usually no pointy ears or long noses or sharp teeth or..."
NILA "I'm sorry, but even in my travels, I don't think I've ever heard of a Pokémon called Human."
KYLE "But we're not..."
"So clearly, wherever we are, humans don't seem to exist at all. (How did I get here?)"
NILA "So, how do you like our town?"
KYLE "Well, it's not as fancy as I'm used to, I guess, but everything seems to work nice and peacefully."
"How come you live so far from it? There's a park or two, some pretty cute stores, a bird-run mail service?"
NILA "Well, I... I don't know. I just like the beach and wanted to be close to it, I guess.
"Anyways, We've reached our destination."
They'd made their way through town and finally reached a marketplace of sorts.
Pokémon of all different kinds walking in every direction to purchase goods from the many different stands set up around the circular parlor.
In front of them was a small wooden fish stand, and on top of it, sitting beside the merchandise was an Oshawott wearing a sailor's hat, soundly asleep.
NILA "Afternoon, Josh!"
JOSH "AAAAAAH! How can I help you...? Oh."
"Hi, Nila. Who's this?"
KYLE "Hey, I'm Kyle."
NILA "I found him nearly drowning on the beach this morning. He claims to have been transformed into an Umbreon but used to be a human, and well I figured you'd know what that is."
JOSH "HUMAN?!" Josh leaned over the fish stand to hold Kyle's cheeks with his small paws.
He wobbled, staring intensely into his eyes.
JOSH "Come with me! Now!"
He half-dragged the umbreon to the back of the stand.
JOSH "Who are you? How'd you get here?"
KYLE "I'm Kyle, and I don't know."
JOSH "Well, so tell me, Kale--" KYLE "Kyle."
JOSH "Right! Right. Well, tell me what happened before you got here."
KYLE "Well, I went to sleep back home, and when I woke up... poof, turned into a umbreon. If you need more detail, I fell from the sky as well, but that's all I can tell you."
JOSH "This is gonna sound weird, but I've heard my dad talk about humans before."
KYLE "Really? Was your dad a human?"
JOSH "Look, I don't-- I don't know if he's met people from a different world or if he is one, but he never said anything about that before."
KYLE "Right. But do you have any idea of how I can go back home?"
JOSH "No idea. If our dad was a human, he never seemed to worry about having someplace to go back to."
"This was his home, as far as he was concerned. He was one of the founders of our town."
KYLE "And you work at a fish stand?"
JOSH "It's a family business!"
"Besides,"
"He's not even in town right now."
"A little while ago, he left on some sort of trip."
"It's just been my brother and I, really, so it's not like I could ask him about any of this."
KYLE "(I don't know if I should tell him about the voice I heard... He'd probably not have any answers.)"
"(Or just get freaked out.)"
JOSH "But I'm certain you'll find your way. You seem like a tough guy."
KYLE "Heh, thanks, I suppose."
??? "Well, I'm sure glad I found my way to whatever this is."
Kyle and Josh turned, surprised to see a Fennekin sitting atop the stand.
??? "Hello, is anyone going to shopkeep around here?"
"Oh, hello there! Are you new in town?"
KYLE "Oh, hello, who might you be?"
FIONA "My name is Fiona, and I'm guessing yours is Kyle?"
KYLE "For how long are you watching?"
FIONA "Well, see, I was going to buy a fish, but service here is usually better than this on Tuesdays."
JOSH "I'm not even usually here on Tuesday. It's my brother who..."
"Hey! Dewey couldn't work today, so you got me!"
"You only came here after him anyway. Don't think I didn't know. You were never one for eating fish."
FIONA "What are you talking about? I eat fish all the time."
JOSH "Either way, he's busy. So there's no need for you to be here if you're not going to buy anything."
FIONA "Well, how rude of you! Hehe..."
NILA "Hey, I've been waiting on the other side for a while. What's going on?"
JOSH "Fiona's being annoying."
FIONA "Well, Josh here is refusing service."
JOSH "Shut up! I was busy, that's all!"
FIONA "I can't exactly put my paw on what relationship you two have."
JOSH "It's only because she only ever comes here because of my brother, Dewey! He evolved a little while ago and now she won't leave him alone!"
KYLE "You sure seem to care a lot..."
Josh immediately flushed.
JOSH "Eggghh!"
He removed the sea shell from his stomach and tossed it onto the ground in frustration.
JOSH "Ungh!"
"Oh dear!"
Regalizing what he'd done, he frantically picked it up and gently placed it back on his belly.
Becoming aware of Kyle's presence once more, his expression closed and he stormed away.
KYLE "Oh, did I say something wrong?"
FIONA "Don't worry about it, that one's just a real character."
NILA "Well, I still would like to get my fish so I should go after him and..."
??? "Augh! Augh! Aaaauuuugh--!"
[BONE SNAPPING] [CHOKING, GURGLING]
[THUD]
KYLE "What was that?"
All the Pokémon citizens turned around to face where the sound had come from.
"What's going on?"
"Oh no!"
And, to Kyle's surprise, began stampeding in the opposite direction.
CROWD "Augh! This can't be happening!"
NILA "What's happening?"
CROWD "Come on! Let's get out of here!"
As soon as the crowd had cleared the parlor and the dust settled, Nila, Kyle and Fiona slowly crept up from behind the fish stand.
They caught sight of Josh not too far away, just as a large shadow slid across the ground and settled on them.
They looked up to see the looming shape of a gengar, teeth bared in a menacing smile.
A tentacool floated beside it, its tentacles poised in the air, a pale purple aura-like glow surrounded them both.
And the lifeless body of a pidgeot sat at their feet.
JOSH "Nobody... move..."
The horrifying gengar's mouth remained static, yet the word came out loud and clear.
GENGAR "Hi."
JOSH "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Terrified, Josh took off running. The tentacool advanced towards him and whipped a tentacle at his feet, causing him to trip and roll on the ground until Nila caught him.
NILA "Let's get out of-!"
But the tentacool hadn't stopped: it circled to stand behind them and spread its tentacles menacingly.
KYLE "We... we're officially surrounded."
FIONA "What do you want with us? Leave us alone!"
GENGAR "We want him!"
The gengar was pointing right at Kyle.
NILA "Is that the same tentacool I rescued you from? Kyle, are you in trouble with some sort of Pokémon gang?" KYLE "What? No! I don't even know these guys! I just want to go home!"
GENGAR "Enough. Die!"
The gengar launched a shadow ball at them.
NILA "Get away!"
She cast Protect to stop it in its tracks.
Concentrating, she attacked it with psychic, but it wasn't very effective.
The gengar barrelled through her attack and was upon them before she was able to move away.
KYLE "Nila, look out!"
She narrowly dodged another attack from Gengar and turned to attack the tentacool with psychic.
It collapsed to the ground, giving them a window of opportunity.
NILA "Run! Everyone go!"
They all began to run out of the parlor and into town, Kyle doing so as fast as his new limbs could take him without tripping.
The gengar gave chase.
JOSH "You don't have anything to do with these guys, right?" KYLE "What? I told you, I don't even know who they are!"
FIONA "Well, let's not stop to ask them now! They're catching up!"
The faster gengar went, the less Kyle could.
He was beginning to lose to his old friend exhaustion, so Josh stepped in.
JOSH "Take this, you big fat walking head!"
He launched water gun as hard as he could, hitting it home.
GENGAR "Gahh!"
It was enough to grab Gengar's attention.
GENGAR "You... little!"
The gengar seemed to have forgotten about the others in its anger, and placed its focus on Josh, pacing towards him.
JOSH "Hey, uh! N-no hard feelings, right!"
The tentacool turned to see what had happened, just as another jet of water struck it out of the air.
As it fell, a blur of blue crashed into it, sending it tumbling to the ground.
The blur landed and Josh recognized who it had been.
JOSH "Dewey?!"
DEWEY "Little bro, what's going on?"
Giving no time to explain. Gengar attacked, Dewey, forcing him to back away.
It used the chance to leap at Josh and pin him down to the ground.
DEWEY "LITTLE BRO!" KYLE "Hey!"
Kyle was dazed by the situation and did not know what he was doing or why he was doing it.
But he'd gotten the gengar's attention back. It turned around.
KYLE "It... Is it not me that you want?"
The ghost's eyes slightly widened, as if it had suddenly realized something important.
GENGAR "That's right... it IS you... that we want."
JOSH "Kyle, what are you doi-?"
Before Kyle could react, Shadowball had been launched, hitting him precisely on his flank.
KYLE "Ack!" JOSH "Kyleeeee!"
Kyle tumbled over and over, and realized as soon as he stopped that he could no longer feel his hind feet.
Then his hind legs and his torso.
Soon, his forepaws. He felt the blood rise to his head, burst out through his eyes and flow freely down his cheeks.
The pain was so immense he could only wish he were dead. KYLE [Screams]
Then, a familiar darkness surrounded him.
Written and directed by Deppy Gomes, narrated by AxelGear.