Untraveled Roads - Key Moments

The Piercing Emerald Light In A Storm Of Darkness

The situation is dire. Hoenn will be decimated, whether it be washed under Kyogre's waves or crushed beneath Groudon's new landmass if the two legendary Pokemon do not stop fighting in the next 24 hours. Emerald knows this, and is hurrying up the Sky Pillar on her Mach Bike as fast as she possibly can. Cycling over the broken floors, she pedals faster than she ever has before. Emerald doesn't have the time to fall down the tower and race her way back up, she only has one chance to climb this tower and awaken whatever Pokemon is sleeping up there.

Emerald has no idea what awaits her at the top of the tower, though. She isn't all too familiar with the legend of Hoenn's creation, all she knows is that this place harbors a Pokemon from the legend that can calm Groudon and Kyogre. She knows she probably should have asked Wallace what Pokemon she was even going to encounter, but she was so quick to enter the tower Wallace couldn't even wish her good luck. Not that luck would matter, though. Emerald has to face this Pokemon, no matter what it is, no matter what it may do to her, no matter what it may do to the two titanic Pokemon fighting in Sootopolis.

 After a solid five minutes of furious pedaling, Emerald finally makes it to the top of the Sky Pillar. Her legs feel like they are burning, her hands feel numb due to her unbreakable grip on the handlebar, she almost falls off of her bike after reaching the top of the pillar due to her exhaustion, yet she doesn't give in to her exhaustion and properly dismounts her Mach Bike, regaining her balance as she moves her body through the path in front of her. As she sees what she knows will be the final turn on the tower, she braces herself for whatever Pokemon she'll see when she rounds that corner.

And yet, Emerald could have never prepared for the sight in front of her. She freezes in place, just to behold the massive Pokemon in front of her. It's extremely long, coiled up in a resting position as it sleeps. It's colored a beautiful emerald green, with a yellow pattern flowing across it's body, frequently broken up by what could only be described as a different segment of its body, having a red outline across that segment, before resuming the yellow pattern consistent across the rest of it's body. Its head is draconic, its sleeping form concealing it's red teeth. The Pokemon's appearance is nothing short of amazing and terrifying.

"...Rayquaza."

Emerald knows what this Pokemon is. She doesn't know how she knows this Pokemon's identity, she just knows. It's like an instinctive feeling, something only she could have in this case. Emerald knows the name is correct, and yet how? She's never seen or heard of this Pokemon before, how does she know its name? She doesn't have the answers she wants, but she doesn't need these answers right now. All that matters is convincing this Pokemon to help her. Emerald suppresses her thoughts, and approaches Rayquaza.

Emerald's mere presence in Rayquaza's immediate vicinity is enough to wake the massive Pokemon out of its slumber. Uncoiling most of its body, it rises into the air, looking down on Emerald. To Emerald's surprise, its look isn't one of anger or disdain, but rather one of obedience. Rayquaza looks at Emerald as if it's awaiting an order, seemingly recognizing this woman as its trainer, despite the two never having seen each other. Emerald recognizes this, and in spite of her fear and her racing mind, she gives Rayquaza two simple commands.

"Rayquaza. Go to Sootopolis, and calm down Kyogre and Groudon."

And so, as if acknowledging Emerald's commands, Rayquaza darts off into the sky, seemingly on its way to the city of Sootopolis to fulfill its orders. Emerald, having finished her business at the Sky Pillar, gets ready to head off to Sootopolis herself. She grabs and folds up her Mach Bike and puts it in her bag, and then grabs a Pokeball from her belt. She tosses the Pokeball onto the floor, releasing her Alolan Sandslash. Emerald's Altaria is unable to fly her back to Sootopolis due to being injured by the storm on her way to Sky Pillar, so Emerald had to improvise. She plans on grabbing on to one of her Sandslash's ice spikes and having him dig his claws into the pillar stone and sliding down the side of the pillar so she can get back onto the ground, and then using her Swampert to Surf the rest of the way to Sootopolis. It's a dangerous plan, considering Emerald could reflexively let go due to how cold Alolan Sandslash's ice spikes are, along with how dangerous Surfing is with the storm Kyogre created, but Emerald has gotten through more dangerous situations, so she's confident she'll be fine. She explains the plan to her Sandslash, and they get ready to leave.

Emerald has her Sandslash go first, digging his claws into the pillar and immediately starting to slide. Only then does Emerald realize the mistake she had just made, having not grabbed onto her Sandslash before it went down the pillar. Oddly enough, this is actually a non-issue for her, so to catch up with her Sandslash she jumps off of Sky Pillar, catching one of her Sandslash's ice spikes on her way down and holding onto it. It's way colder than she thought it was, and she almost lets go due to the shock she felt from the cold, though Emerald fortunately continues to hold on to the freezing spike. Aside from that, they slide down Sky Pillar with surprisingly little issue, and Emerald then proceeds to the next part of her plan. She puts her Alolan Sandslash back into its Pokeball, and grabs a different Pokeball from her belt. Emerald throws it into the sea, releasing her Swampert. She quickly mounts the Swampert's back and issues a command.

"Sapphire, use Surf! Take us back to Sootopolis!"

Responding to the command, the Swampert starts swimming as fast as she can. The two swiftly cross the sea, Surfing through the dangerous storm brought about by Kyogre to oppose Groudon's intense drought. There are multiple times where Emerald almost falls off of her Swampert, but she continues to stay mounted on her Pokemon during the entire ride to Sootopolis. Once the two reach a particularly dark patch in the water, Emerald issues another command. 

"Sapphire, use Dive!"

Her Swampert does so, diving into the deep blue waters so they can reach the entrance to the city built in a crater. After navigating through the seaweed and ignoring multiple Clamperl, they finally find a hole in the side of the crater. The Swampert swims through the hole, into an empty crevice. The Swampert, having been here before, knows to just swim up out of the deep water to reach the entrance of the city. As the person and Pokemon duo emerge from the seafloor, they see a fascinating sight. Groudon and Kyogre have temporarily halted their battle, both staring at the dark stormy sky. Emerald isn't sure how she knows, but she knows exactly what this means. Both Groudon and Kyogre sense an inactive Rayquaza. Rayquaza is waiting for something. Rayquaza is waiting for an order, a specific phrase. Emerald doesn't know what this phrase is, and is left there, confused as to what the legendary Pokemon is waiting to hear.

That's when pain assails her mind. Emerald collapses, desperately holding on to her Swampert so she doesn't fall into the warm water. Emerald knows the source of her pain, it's a phrase that has intruded into her head. Three words are filling her every thought, and Emerald is unable to bear their invasive presence. But Emerald knows that those three words have always been there, they aren't invading from anywhere, they've just been waiting in Emeralds brain, waiting for the right time for them to be used. Once Emerald recognizes this, the pain finally goes away. Emerald knows exactly what she has to do now. She begins to stand up, using the back of her Swampert as a support to stand straight. Her Swampert begins to swim forward, closer to the area the two legendary Pokemon were fighting at. She stops right before the two behemoth sized Pokemon, knowing she's in the perfect position for her trainer. Emerald, standing on the back of her Swampert, gives a command that would be confusing for most, but is clear and concise for her and Rayquaza.

"Light the sky!"

As the words leave her mouth, Emerald's left eye begins glowing emerald green, showing Rayquaza that her Battle Bond has activated. In response, a bright emerald light pierces the clouds, shining directly onto Emerald, her Swampert, and Kyogre and Groudon. Rayquaza begins its descent from the clouds, through the emerald light it had just made. Rayquaza's right eye is glowing emerald green, showing Emerald that it is linked to her and her alone. Once the green serpentine dragon Pokemon reaches Groudon and Kyogre, it lets out a mighty roar, shaking both Groudon and Kyogre in their spots. After a few seconds, the red and blue legendary Pokemon begin to retreat from the battle, Kyogre vanishing into the waves and Groudon climbing the crater around Sootopolis. As soon as the quarreling legendary Pokemon are gone, Emerald's left eye stops glowing, and so does Rayquaza's right eye. Its orders fulfilled, Rayquaza flies back into the sky, likely going back to rest at Sky Pillar. Emerald stares at the leaving Rayquaza, wondering when she'll be able to catch the green legendary and solidify their link.

For now, though, the Hoenn region has avoided its certain destruction, and is able to prosper for centuries to come.