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Dear Diary: A Pokemon Black Storylocke, Part 43

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When we arrived at far end of the forest, everything changed. I slowly became aware of a distant, almost oppressive presence thrumming through the green. It felt as though raw, angry eyes were watching us from afar—like we were being led down a dark path.

I was not the only one who felt discomfited. Every other member of the team shifted warily. The only outliers were Dreamtide, who looked grimly determined, and Blair himself—almost palpably excited.

We eventually reached a dark, shrouded pool, ringed by thick brambles that devoured the greenery along the sides. Further back were enormous trees which speared the air; they were several dozen feet high, and their thick, overhanging boughs and immense greenery made it difficult to tell what, if anything, lurked up there. I sniffed the air but caught no trace of forest pokemon, neither in the brush nor the pool.

Somehow I knew this was where we would find the knightly pokemon who was to be our foe. We weren’t there long before a voice split the air: “—so you’ve come after all, brother-killer.”

I was immediately on battle-guard, both blades drawn. The other pokemon prepared themselves as well, edging into battle stances or, in the case of Dreamtide and Lillil, glowing with energy. We waited but our foe did not show himself.

Blair made a tsking noise, his eyes narrowing. “I thought the knights were supposed to be brave. Yet you ran from us the whole length of the forest, and now you’re hiding.”

The voice rang out again—it was impossible to discern where it came from. The forest itself seemed to distort it, making it difficult to track. “Don’t talk of bravery. Or is six-on-one considered valorous for this age? Pick a champion, withdraw the others, and I will cut them down and you after.”

The voice of the pokemon had that timorous quality of a youth on the cusp of adulthood. It was strong and self-assured, and when it addressed us, the voice dripped with hate and venom. Like Cobalion, the voice spoke the human tongue. Blair did not respond to the taunt; he only narrowed his eyes.

A dark chuckle filled the glen. “I see. Then who is the coward now?”

A flurry of leaves launched themselves from the nearby trees. They stormed towards us, razor-sharp. I cried out in fear and Laguna shied away, but Dusk curtained the sky with fire, burning most away. A few still pushed through, slashing at us.

Before we had a chance to react, a plume of energy lanced at us from the bough of a tree halfway around the pool. As its light filled the glade, I could barely make out a bipedal shadow behind it. The attack punched the ground near Blair and burst, scattering all of us. My head felt woozy from knocking against the ground; before I knew what was happening, a tangle of roots erupted from the earth. Some wound themselves around me, while others lashed me again and again, like whips. I gritted my teeth against the sting and worked my blades. Soon the roots fell to the ground, writhing like snakes. Nearby, my companions broke from similar attacks. I turned to blast an attack at the shape I’d seen, but it was already gone.

Blair staggered shakily to a standing position. “Sneak attacks? Fleeing through the woods? Is this all the honor the famed Virizion has?”

“You thought I was fleeing you? Boy, I was merely baiting you to an arena of my choosing. My brother mastered steel, but my domain is the winding wood. See how it benefits me?”

As if on cue a massive clump of brambles unfurled themselves, looming over Blair as though to crush him. As they swung down, Cenn darted in, bearing the attack. He hissed as thick brambles pierced his shell, little rivulets of what passes for blood among bugs trailing down his hide. Within a few moments Dreamtide was there. They glowed a ferocious, bloody red and blasted the brambles away.

“Some might call it dishonorable to lure you here,” Virizion continued, “but I find it an equalizer to the numbers game you so-called ‘trainers’ are so keen to play. Let’s speak of honor for a moment, if you’re so eager to doubt mine.”

More leaves erupted from the trees, knifing at us. As we prepared ourselves, the brambles sprang to life behind. Laguna and I circled around Blair, shielding him, while the other members of the team—not so vulnerable to Grass-type attacks—surrounded us, bearing the brunt of the attack. As they fought it off, I had just enough time to see the shadow dart into the tree right over us.

Suddenly, the brilliance of the Sacred Sword attack filled the sky as Virizion summoned it. I flinched instinctively at it, and Cenn trembled as well—I don’t think either of us will forget just how badly Cobalion’s attack hurt us.

The brilliance of the attack was such that we could barely make out Virizion. He leapt from the branch with a scream, swinging his blade down. Dreamtide soared up, summoning a psychic shield. The attacks clashed, the wall of psychic energy flashing as Dreamtide fought to hold Virizion back. Perhaps Virizion could have broken through given enough time, but Dusk launched a flash of fire at him. Laguna followed shortly behind with a spray of bubbles.

The sword vanished like a breath and Virizion kicked off Dreamtide’s shield, springing into the trees. The thick, overhanging leaves quickly hid him. The two attacks soared harmlessly past.

The forest churned to life around us before we hand a chance to breathe. Leaves spiraled at us, and roots and brambles thrashed and gnashed. We fought them off.

“So. Honor.” Virizion’s voice continued as if nothing had happened, lecturing us off as we fought off his attacks. “My brother was honorable. He fought your pokemon one-on-one, and only sought you, the trainer. He used his dying words to warn you. Yes, I know—just as I knew the exact moment he died and screamed in agony. Ever since the curse, we three have shared a special bond; a link, almost.

“My brother was honorable and he died. Miserably. But that was how it was to be. Honor is a virtue for knights and swords and chivalry and times long past. It has no place in today’s world, a world of smog and gunfire and moneychanging. Here, pragmatism rules. Fighting my brother six on one was not honorable, but it was effective. Interrupting him with a lethal sneak attack before he could finish off the Samurott was not honorable. But it worked.

“And ignoring all of this, if I have to cast my honor to the four winds to kill my brother’s murderers, I will happily do so.”

Another energy attack launched at us from the far side of the pool. We scattered to avoid it, but as we did so, a second attack launched from a little closer. Another flurry of razor-edged leaves followed.

More than a few leaves bit my side and I hissed in pain; Cenn and Lillil were separated by one of the blasts. The resulting explosion sent Dusk tumbling over the ground. She looked disoriented from the shock.

“And now I address the pokemon.” Virizion’s voice like a snarl. “Our whole lives, my brothers and I have fought for you and your kind. My eldest brother was an old soldier, long past his prime. He was of no threat to anyone. And on his final day, Cobalion did his best to spare you until you gave him no other choice. And you repaid him by murdering him. Perhaps if he were in my place, he might be inspired to forgive and forget. But not me. It’s not just your trainer—all your lives are forfeit.”

A sudden flash was all the warning we had before Virizion burst from the foliage near us. The Sacred Sword was aloft; his mouth opened in a war cry. He was charging straight at me. I beat down my panic and readied my blades, preparing to jump out of the way, but found myself strapped to the ground by a tangle of roots erupting from the earth.

Virizion smiled at my panic and raised his sword, but an earthquake ripped the battlefield. I sprawled to the floor, but Virizion had the worst of it—he lost his footing mid-charge and scraped viciously against the earth.

A familiar blue shape emerged from the pool’s water—Laguna smiled at me and launched a water attack at Virizion. The water barely inconvenienced him, but he turned to her with a snarl, summoning energy for another Sacred Sword attack.

I desperately cut away at the roots binding me with my blade, and that’s when Dreamtide and Dusk launched their attack.

It was a two-pronged plume of fire and psychic energy, the two wrapping around each other to form a dazzling spiral. Virizion’s eyes widened and he darted back fearfully, barely avoiding the attack.

Sadly for him, by that time I’d gotten myself cut free.

As he darted away I rushed him, laying into him with my blades. He gasped as the attacks lanced his side. Satisfaction welled inside me, but suddenly he roared. His body became suffused with a greenish light—the same I usually saw on Lillil when she did her thing. The light expanded in a semisphere, its energy burning my body and throwing me several feet. By the time my vision had finished swimming, Virizion was gone again.

“Why are you doing this, trainer?” Virizion asked. The forest still distorted his voice, making it impossible to get a bead on him. A rustle of leaves out of the corner of my eye made me spin, but it was not him lurking behind the foliage. Only the wind.

“Do you hunt my family for the sake of Reshiram? A capricious god who was sealed away by its own folly a millennium ago? A creature so fearful of old soldiers that it sends its human pawns to fight, rather than come after them itself?”

Dreamtide’s glow burned an angry orange-red. “Do-not-speak. Speak-of-lord.”

“Hmph. The servant speaks. You things always did have a skewed view. I was there too, you know. I saw the destruction and devastation the two dragons wrought. You’re insane to try and bring them back.”

“We’re trying to stop Zekrom’s champion!” Cenn called out in anger. He was cradling Lillil, who looked to have fallen unconscious from being thrown by the earlier explosion. My heart skipped when I saw her, but it seemed like she was alive. I desperately hoped she was alive.

“Oh, what a prime idea,” Virizion answered drolly. “Bring back Reshiram to fight Zekrom. I mean, the last time they fought, all that happened was a death toll in the hundreds of thousands and the literal end of Unovan civilization. Only a fool sticks his hand in a fire twice and doesn’t expect to get burned the second time.”

As he spoke, my eyes scanned the treeline for any sign of him. By chance I happened to meet Dreamtide’s gaze—the Sigilyph twitched, almost imperceptibly, in the direction of a tall, particularly knotted tree a few dozen feet away. I scanned the tree, not sure what I wound find—and there he was. He stood enshrouded on a bough about twenty feet up, the dappled green-on-green of light falling through the leaves almost completely camouflaging his coat. I never would have discovered him if I hadn’t known exactly what I was looking for.

I did not stare but kept my eyes moving, so that he wouldn’t notice I’d found him. I met Cenn’s gaze and he nodded slightly. So he knew as well.

What to do? Play our cards now, or wait? Virizion could attack from a distance or move the forest itself to hurt us, in which case he could easily escape while we weren’t looking.

Ultimately, Dreamtide made our decision for us. They turned and launched an enormous burst of psionic energy at Virizion. Virizon, startled, leapt down, but Cenn was already moving. His horn glanced Virizion’s hide, and the legend screamed as purple venom stained the wound. He summoned the Sacred Sword and swung wildly, but Cenn was already darting back. He and I circled Virizion, cutting him off from any escape; Dreamtide hovered overhead, glowing with power. Laguna waited within the pool, shielded by water. Dusk had gathered Lillil and Blair and hovered over the two of them, her fire burning in warning.

Virizion looked around desperately, and I saw fear in his eyes. “I’m sorry, big brother,” he whispered, more to himself than to any of us. “I couldn’t stop him after all. I couldn’t avenge you.” He hissed and dropped to his knees. The telltale purple of Cenn’s poison was spreading across his body, seeping out of the wound.

“But… if I can kill at least one of them before I go… Just one!” He roared and the same semisphere of emerald light surrounded it. It exploded out from him like a bomb. The light was far brighter and more powerful than I had seen before; it was almost blinding. It threw me back, my blades both knocked free of my hands.

As the light faded, I saw that Virizion had summoned his sword—and he was running straight towards me with breakneck speed. “Just one, brother! Just one, and I will die proud! I’ll kill her for you!”

I was weary. Water did little to him. I didn’t have my blades. He leapt at me raising the sword in a killing blow, and I sighed, ready to see Prima again…

A psychic cage surrounded me, absorbed the blow. Frustration and shock played across Virizon’s face. A tableau of light spilled from behind me. I turned; Dreamtide hovered protectively over my shoulder. “Not-hurt-Jewel. Jewel-is-friend. Not-hurt-Jewel.”

The psychic shield flashed, sending Virizion flying back with a wail. The sword vanished. Dreamtide watched him with contempt and glowed as they gathered power. At the apex of Virizion’s knockback, they unleashed a focused beam of energy. It punched through Virizion, leaving a hole the size of an apple.

Virzion hit the ground and didn’t even try to get up. He didn’t struggle. He faced me and Dreamtide but his eyes did not see us. They were glossy and half-lidded. His mouth moved, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“I’m sorry, older brother. In the end, I always was the weakest of us… I tried… I tried…”

He shuddered and exhaled, the sound halfway between a sigh and a pained hiss. His mouth moved again: “Terrakion… the fight is yours…”

And he died.

The forest itself seemed to sigh around us. The air imperceptibly changed. And, similar to how it was before, a scream ripped the air.

It was immense, deep like two boulders grinding against each other. It was a voice with the weight of earthquakes and mountains behind it. The scream was agonized, a mix of sorrow and fury, and it split our ears.

And when it vanished, a voice spoke to us from afar.

“TRAITORS. YOU HAVE BETRAYED THE HEROES OF YOUR RACE. YOU HAVE KILLED THE BROTHERS OF MY BLOOD. TERRAKION, KNIGHT OF STONE AND CHAMPION OF THE WEAK, SWEARS A BLOOD OATH—I WILL DESTROY YOU, AND YOUR TRAINER, AND ALL YOU HOLD DEAR. I DO NOT CARE WHAT I HAVE TO DO—WHO I HAVE TO HURT—BUT I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE.”

And then the voice was gone. Not even an echo remained.

Blair was ecstatic over our victory, of course. I didn’t care. Because I’ve thought through what I talked with about Dreamtide, and I’m not fighting for him. I’m fighting for Juniper, and for my friends—and I’m fighting to stop N and Zekrom from ripping this region apart. That means siding with Blair—helping a human I find repugnant.

But I’m not doing it for him, whatever he thinks.

As we gathered ourselves together and prepared to leave the glade, Dreamtide hovered over to Virizion’s corpse. I approached him.

“Thank you for saving me,” I said.

“Dream-could-not. Could-not-let. Let-Jewel-die.” They fell silent for a moment, surveying Virizion with their lone, ancient eye. “Dream-is-sad. Sad-for-knight. Dream-had-to. But. Dream-is sad.”

“I understand,” I said. “You wish it could have been another way.”

“…yes. Dream-does-wish.”

Dreamtide is my friend. They saved me today, and they’ve saved me before, and they’ve offered kindness to me—and to Prima, as well. I still don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look past the fact that they hid Reshiram influencing Blair from us—but they told us that Reshiram had already wormed its way inside by the time they awoke, and I see no reason to doubt them. Blair had already begun acting strange before we ever reached the Desert Resort. Would that knowledge have changed anything?

They serve Reshiram, which frightens me—but I myself am siding with Reshiram, aren’t I? Otherwise, I must surrender the whole region to N and Ghetsis and their army of zealots. But even if Dreamtide’s connection to Reshiram frightens me… they’re still my friend.

I didn’t say that to Dreamtide, and I didn’t have to. We both understood, standing there and gazing with pity down at body of an ancient hero. We both knew.
It sure was hard to sit down and write this when I really wanted to waste more time with Pokemon Sun and Moon, but I trucked on through and did everything for you all. Ain't you proud o' me? :'p

I know that Virizion is often protrayed as female in the anime and games like Gates to Infinity, but I went with a male interpretation of the character based on the fact that the original Three Musketeers were all guys. Hope you don't mind.

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songwithnosoul's avatar

It felt as though raw, angry eyes were watching us from afar—like we were being led down a dark path. Ooh, good start. The voice of the pokemon had that timorous quality of a youth on the cusp of adulthood. It was strong and self-assured, and when it addressed us, the voice dripped with hate and venom. I quite like this description, too. I like the contrast.



I like how different Virizion is, if no less intimidating. Luring them to his arena, tangling them up in vines and launching shadowy sniper attacks, the more acrobatic and hit-and-run style of fighting... I like your take on Sacred Sword. The sword vanished like a breath. I may have praised how different it was that Cobalion fought with such strict honour and only targeted Blair until the end, but I can't blame Virizion for being pragmatic at all. And it shakes things up, which is always good.



"Do you hunt my family for the sake of Reshiram?" Hunt my family Ouch. Yeah. That's a way of putting it that... really sums up how unfair it is on their end.



I like how the secret turns out to have been camouflage rather than hiding per se. Makes sense, especially considering Virizion picked the arena. Another way it's tailor-made for him.



I didn't dread Virizion's death as I did Cobalions, but you made up for it by making his death extremely sad. His guilt over having failed, how he just lies down and lets death take him and blames himself for being weak... I felt bad for him even as he was trying to kill Opal.




And Terrakion's response makes it clear that we're going to continue to escalate. Now everybody they hold dear is on the line, too? Looks like Terrakion's fallen off the precipice into extremism too. Gee, I think this might be a recurring theme! Also, this: It was immense, deep like two boulders grinding against each other. It was a voice with the weight of earthquakes and mountains behind it. The scream was agonized, a mix of sorrow and fury, and it split our ears. is a really cool description.



Because I’ve thought through what I talked with about Dreamtide, and I’m not fighting for him. I’m fighting for Juniper, and for my friends—and I’m fighting to stop N and Zekrom from ripping this region apart. That means siding with Blair—helping a human I find repugnant. So, she's basically still where she was before confronting Dreamtide. But at least she's taken the time to think it through, rather than just having visions of the Professor crying over a grave whenever she hesitates. Reasonable.