Crystal Clear Legends


Chapter 22: Celebi III – Battle for the Dawn

“Who is Tia?”

Aidan looked up and glanced toward Midori, who was scribbling a series of calculations on a piece of paper. A growing pile of newly-crafted Moon Balls was sprawled on the ground next to her.

“Uh…”

“You said before that she was someone important to you,” Midori added, picking up a Moon Ball from the pile and examining it. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Um…” Aidan slowly turned red with embarrassment. “Yes.”

More like my lifelong partner, my soulmate, the other half of myself...

Midori raised her eyebrows. “Ah, okay. What’s she like?”

Aidan watched as Midori set the Moon Ball back onto the pile and returned to her calculations. “She’s… a lot like you, actually.”

“Uh, huh…”

“She’s a Pokemon Professor and a Poke Ball specialist,” Aidan continued, “and she works on developing new kinds of Poke Balls.”

“Oh… What kinds of Poke Balls?” Midori’s eyes danced with excitement.

“Um…” Aidan scratched the back of his head. “That’s classified. Future information and all.”

“Aww!” Midori stared back at him indignantly.

“Hey, I don’t want to cause a paradox or a timeline shift!” Aidan retorted, “When I go back home, I want the future to be just the same as it was when I left!”

Midori let out a huff. “Fair enough.” She made one final calculation, then smiled. “All right. So out of a sample size of 50, the Moon Ball’s capture rate is just about 4 times the typical rate when used to catch Pokemon that evolve with Moon Stones or moonlight-enhanced items.”

Aidan nodded. “Sounds good.”

“I wish it could be better, but there isn’t enough time to expand the sample size,” Midori said, “Plus, I’m limited to catching Nidorans. So this is as far as I can take it.”

“It’s the best you can do, under the circumstances,” Aidan replied.

Midori nodded. “I just hope it’ll be enough to catch Ursaluna.”

“We’ll see, once it shows up again,” Aidan said.

It would be another day or two before they finally had their chance.

It was on an exceptionally cold, snowy night when the Ursaluna appeared again. The camp was filled with shouts as the alarm was sounded, and everyone either scrambled inside their tents or remained outside on standby with their Pokemon.

Dressed in his usual clothes, Aidan strode over to the edge of the forest, waiting for Ursaluna to emerge. The camp was deathly quiet, as everyone waited with bated breath.

Suddenly, there was a crash in the underbrush, followed by a guttural roar. Then, the Ursaluna emerged from the forest, its glowing red eyes shining menacingly.

Aidan took a step forward, pulling out a Poke Ball. He narrowed his eyes and tossed the Poke Ball into the air.

“Tatra!”

His Tyranitar emerged, letting out an intimidating roar. Tatra eyed the Ursaluna cautiously, while the Ursaluna took the opportunity to attack. It barreled headfirst toward Tatra, baring its fangs.

“Use Hyper Beam!” Aidan called out.

A bright, powerful beam of light shot out of Tatra’s mouth, straight toward the approaching Ursaluna. The beam hit the Ursaluna head on, causing it to slow down to a crawl. Yet it still came closer.

It was a risky move, having Tatra use Hyper Beam immediately, since it rendered him immobile right after using it. But Aidan had a plan. As the Ursaluna came closer to Tatra, who was currently unable to move, Aidan threw another Poke Ball.

“Tigerblade!”

His Sharpedo appeared with a flash of red light.

“Hydro Pump!”

Gallons of water shot toward the Ursaluna, slamming directly into it. It was like a mound of dirt being hit with a fire hose, as the Ursaluna’s Ground-based strength dribbled away into mud. It staggered, yet still managed to remain standing. It eyed Aidan angrily and roared, lifting a massive paw and slamming it on the ground.

The ground shook, and shock waves flowed from the Ursaluna to Tatra, who was still recovering from the Hyper Beam. The ground exploded under Tatra, launching him into the air and back down with a crash.

“Tatra, return!” Tatra disappeared into the Poke Ball with a flash of light, and Aidan turned to Tigerblade. “Hit it with another Hydro Pump!”

Tigerblade fired at the Ursaluna and missed, only to be slammed into the ground under the Ursaluna’s giant paws.

“Return!” Aidan called out, recalling Tigerblade back to his Poke Ball. Aidan stared at the Ursaluna in momentary panic, then threw out another Poke Ball.

“Blaze!”

His shiny black Charizard emerged, flapping his wings and gliding around the Ursaluna. The Ursaluna growled, following Blaze with its eyes.

“Metal Claw!”

Blaze swooped down toward the Ursaluna, raking his claws across the Ursaluna’s face and neck. The Ursaluna howled in anger, staring back at the airborne Charizard with one eye swollen shut. It swiped at Blaze with a massive paw, but missed. It sat on the ground, watching Blaze fly around, then it got up, turned around and took several steps back.

Is it giving up? Aidan thought. He pulled one of Midori’s Moon Balls from his pocket, thinking he would try to catch it before it retreated.

But the Ursaluna turned back around and broke into a run. As it approached Blaze, it made a giant flying leap, slamming into Blaze and pinning him down to the ground.

“Blaze!” Aidan shouted, “Earthquake!”

Pinned underneath the Ursaluna’s limbs, Blaze was unable to move anything except his tail. He raised it, then with a sweeping motion, thumped it against the ground, causing it to shake. The bone-jolting quake caused the Ursaluna to stagger, freeing Blaze enough to blast it away with a Flamethrower.

The Ursaluna staggered back a few feet, shaking off the Flamethrower. It was breathing heavily, and its limbs were shaking. Aidan figured it was close to fainting.

“Okay, Blaze, just a little more! Dragonbreath!”

Blaze fired a stream of concentrated energy toward the Ursaluna, hitting it square in the chest. The Ursaluna roared and landed on its side, unable to move. The Dragonbreath attack seemed to have paralyzed it.

Now’s my chance!

Aidan gripped the Moon Ball in his hand and threw it toward the Ursaluna with all his might. The Ball bounced off of the Ursaluna’s head and it quickly disappeared inside. The Ball dropped to the ground, wobbling violently and blowing spurts of steam.

Aidan stared at the wobbling Moon Ball, willing the Ursaluna to stay inside. It shook once, twice, a third time… then a spark erupted from the top as the Ball clicked shut.

Aidan breathed a sigh of relief. He returned Blaze to his Poke Ball, then walked over to the Moon Ball, picking it up with shaking hands. It was warm to the touch and slowly cooling down. He turned to the people watching and lifted the Ball high above his head. There was a deafening roar as everyone cheered and crowded around Aidan, giving their thanks and congratulations. 

Professor Wisteria thumped him on the back. “Well done, my boy, well done!”

“That was a battle for the ages!” Midori said, starry eyed. “The stories people will tell!”

Aidan smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” he said, “It’s thanks to your hard work that the Moon Ball worked without fail!”

Midori blushed and shook her head in wonder. 

Aidan looked down at the Moon Ball and thought of the Ursaluna inside. Then, he turned to Professor Wisteria and placed it in his hands. “This ought to go to you,” he said. “Train him well, and he’ll be the protector Camp Azalea needs.”

The professor nodded. “Will do.”

There was a sudden flash of light that got everyone’s attention. They looked up to see what looked like the heavens opening up. There was the chiming of bells, and a small, green form emerging from the sky.

Aidan’s eyes widened. “Celebi?”

The crowd of people quickly backed away as Celebi lowered itself to Aidan’s level, shining with a brilliant green light. Professor Wisteria, Midori and several others stared at Celebi in awe.

Celebi smiled at Aidan, and let out a soft, calming cry like the chime of a bell. Aidan stared back at Celebi, then looked around at the people surrounding him.

“I guess this is goodbye,” he said.

“Just one more thing,” Midori said softly. She reached up and gave Aidan a quick kiss on the cheek.

Aidan turned red. “Midori…”

“She’s a lucky girl, your Tia,” Midori said wistfully. “I hope she sees what I see in you.” She took a few steps back, away from Celebi’s light.

Celebi then let out a loud, ethereal cry that echoed through the forest like a bell. There was a blast of light, and a familiar warm, cocoon-like energy wrapped around Aidan. Bells continued to ring, and Aidan closed his eyes as the world around him faded away.

After what felt like an eternity, Aidan opened his eyes again to find himself standing in front of the Ilex Forest shrine. It was dark, perhaps sometime in the late evening, and the wind whipped through the trees. Aidan peered inside the shrine and saw the open GS Ball sitting inside it.

Am I… home?

A soft, bell-like cry caught Aidan’s attention, and he looked up to see Celebi floating in front of him, surrounded by a light green glow.

“Celebi…?” Aidan murmured.

Celebi cooed and suddenly dropped a small object into his hands. He looked down and saw that it was a Legend Ball. He looked up at Celebi again, staring at it as it continued to hover in front of him.

“Was this… a test?” Aidan asked softly. 

Celebi smiled and tilted its head.

“And I passed?”

Celebi nudged the Legend Ball with its head.

Aidan stared at the Legend Ball, then back at Celebi. “You’re sure about this? You want to come with me?”

Celebi cooed and did a little somersault in midair.

Aidan stared at Celebi in wonder, then expanded the Legend Ball and threw it lightly toward Celebi. Celebi disappeared inside with a flash of red light and a final bell-like cry. The Legend Ball dropped back into his hands, warm to the touch, then slowly cooled.

A loud shout echoed through the trees, and Aidan looked up to see the nearby bushes rustling. Moments later, Tia crashed through them looking around wildly. She spied Aidan standing next to the shrine and her fearful expression turned into one of relief.

Aidan!”

She sprinted toward him, practically crashing into his arms.

“Hey, whoa!” Aidan blurted out, his hands lightly wrapping around her.

There were other shouts, and then Kurt appeared, followed by Maizie and Cameron.

“Aidan!” Kurt shouted, “You’re back!”

“Aidan…” Tia murmured in his arms, and began to cry. “Where did you go?” she demanded, “Where have you been? I was so worried…”

Aidan was at a loss for words for a moment, then spoke up. “Someplace… unbelievable.”

“Don’t ever do this again,” Tia wailed, “Or if you do, at least take me with you! I can’t take it, being left behind and not knowing what’s happened to you! I can’t!”

“How long was I gone?” Aidan asked faintly.

“Five days,” Kurt said.

Five… days?!

“Tia was a wreck the entire time,” Maizie added, “She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep… She spent the whole time camped out near the shrine, waiting for you to come back!”

Aidan’s eyes widened, and he hugged Tia tightly. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, burying his face into her hair.

“You’re back now,” Tia whispered, “That’s all that matters.”

The next day, when both Tia and Aidan had rested and eaten, Aidan recounted his story, from waking up in Camp Azalea to catching Celebi at the shrine. He left out Midori kissing him – he didn’t want to upset Tia more than she already was.

Kurt nodded seriously. “So Celebi brought you to the past…”

“And you got to battle an Ursaluna?” Maizie said excitedly.

Tia smiled gingerly. “It’s fascinating that there were Poke Ball specialists in the past as well. I’d like to have learned something from Midori!”

Aidan smiled, knowing just how similar the two of them were.

“Come to think of it,” Cameron spoke up, “I did hear a story once, years ago, about Azalea being terrorized by an Ursaluna sometime in the distant past. I don’t remember how it ended, though.”

“I heard the same story,” Kurt added, “It said that a mysterious Trainer appeared one winter night and battled the Ursaluna all night long. When the sun finally rose, the Trainer caught the Ursaluna and gave it to the town. The Ursaluna went on to protect the town for the next twenty years.”

“The story of Ursus the Great!” Maizie said. “I learned that in school!”

“How come I never heard of it?” Aidan asked, bewildered.

“Maybe because the mysterious Trainer was you,” Tia said, giggling. “You’ve made it into the history books!”

“It feels so unreal,” Aidan said, “to actually be the subject of a legend, instead of only reading about them.” He blinked, as if remembering something. “Oh. One more thing.” His hand went to his pocket, and he pulled out Celebi’s Legend Ball.

Tia’s eyes widened. “Is that…?”

Aidan nodded. “The last Legendary. Celebi.” He placed the Legend Ball into Tia’s hand. “We got it!”

Tia turned the Ball around in her hands, a ghost of a smile on her face.

“Go on,” Aidan said softly, “Plug it in!”

Tia walked over to her laptop, sitting open on a work table, and plugged a cable into Celebi’s Legend Ball.

Celebi
Level 80
Element Type: Grass/Psychic
Total Kinetic Energy (Temporal): 3 MW
Capture Rate: 8.0

Celebi’s capture data was very similar to Mew’s, under similar conditions – no battle had taken place. Looking at how powerful Celebi was, Tia was glad for Aidan’s sake that the capture had occurred without difficulty.

Tia handed Celebi’s Legend Ball back to Aidan, placing it in his hands almost reverently. “It seems like…” Tia said slowly, “Celebi wanted the same thing as Mew. To travel and grow with a Trainer.”

Aidan stared at Celebi’s Legend Ball, turning it over in his hands. “I guess so. I hope we both measure up to their expectations.”

They both looked at each other, nodding seriously. It was time to return to Professor Oak.