Chapter Text
Legends tell of a great disaster that nearly returned the world to the void…and two young Pokémon who defied all odds to banish the darkness and restore life to the world…
Since then, those two Pokémon have been revered as the Heroes of Life, and their achievements have been widespread across all the continents, like the others who came long before them…
But, as the old saying goes, actions have consequences…and the consequences of defeating that malevolent entity have just started to bloom on a series of islands, isolated from the other five continents…a landmass known only as the Raidon Archipelago…
Thus, the story begins anew…
The rustling of leaves filled the night air as an Arboliva shook his arms, feeling the soft breeze blow by as he did. His pointed feet carried him across the wastelands as he led his companions through it, his eyes scanning the area around him.
So far, he and his team hadn't detected any feral Pokémon, which was good news. The bad news was that instead, they were surrounded by small clusters of glowing pink crystals. While these crystals were the sole light source in this dark and dreary land, they also brought about a sense of unease.
The Arboliva sighed as he turned back to the three other Pokémon accompanying him: a Talonflame with a scarred left eye and a missing talon on his right foot; a Heliolisk who appeared to be more fascinated than nervous with these crystals, her blue eyes glittering with wonder; and finally, a Shiny Starmie, their core flashing as they hopped about.
"Is everyone alright so far?" he asked.
"I'm fine," the Talonflame huffed. "These Awakening Crystals are giving me the creeps, though."
"Speak for yourself, Cliff," the Heliolisk retorted. "I think it's fascinating that these crystals can even exist in the Tera Wastelands. And even more fascinating that the Quaking Earth Titan Duo aren't even remotely affected by them."
The Shiny Starmie remained silent.
The Arboliva chuckled to himself before trudging onward. Never change, Ida, he thought. Never change.
"Still, though," Ida went on, "why the Tera Wastelands, of all places? Especially what happened long ago, after the Great Continental War?" She turned to the Arboliva. "Do you have any ideas why that might be, Martin?"
The Arboliva shook his head. "I don't, sorry," he replied.
Ida was disappointed, but shrugged her shoulders nonetheless. "Well, it was worth asking," she said.
It wasn't long before the quartet suddenly came to a stop. Ahead of them, they noticed that the clusters of Awakening Crystals had now increased in size, the energy radiating off of them intensifying with their ominous pink glow. Some of these crystals even fused together to form a sort of labyrinth, its entrance marked by a crudely-made archway of more crystal clusters.
Martin took a deep breath. "Alright, team," he addressed the others. "It looks like we'll have to navigate this maze if we want to find out the source of these crystals."
"Pardon," the Shiny Starmie spoke up, their tone robotic in nature, "but it would be unwise for me to continue on. I am detecting higher concentrations of Awakening Crystals, and I fear that if I were to get any closer, I could end up Rogue Mega Evolving against my will."
Martin winced. "Right," he said with a shudder. He remember all too well of the incident where a Drampa went berserk from Rogue Mega Evolving and began attacking their fellow teammates due to prolonged exposure from these Awakening Crystals. It took the combined efforts of those teammates to bring them down…but it also left everyone on edge. What if someone else underwent Rogue Mega Evolution in the middle of exploring a Mystery Dungeon? Then what?
He took a deep breath. "Alright then, Gemma," he said. "You shall remain here until we return. I promise we won't be long. But if anything happens to us, you know what to do."
Gemma nodded (well as best as a Starmie could, anyway). "Thank you, Martin. And good luck to you three."
Martin turned to the other two companions. "Cliff, Ida, you ready?" He parted the leaves on one arm to reveal some kind of bracelet, pure platinum in colour with a similarly-coloured crystal at the front. Cliff and Ida did the same, revealing the same bracelets on their leg and tail, respectively.
With silent nods, the trio tapped on the crystals at the front of the bracelets. Almost instantly, the bracelets began to glow, shrouding the three Pokémon in crystalline veils before they were suddenly enveloped in coccoons of crystals. The crystals then broke away, revealing the trio to be wearing three different crowns atop their heads: a violet crystalline eye for Martin; a silver axe for Cliff; and a cluster of colourful balloons for Ida.
"The Terastal energy from our Tera Looplets should keep the Awakening Power at bay for a while," Martin told the other two. "Like it has always done before."
"And once we're done, we destroy the crystals, right?" Ida asked. "I just want Gemma to be OK."
"They will, don't worry," Martin assured her. "Gemma's a strong Pokémon, on top of being smart."
With that, the trio began to proceed into the crystal labyrinth, quickly finding themselves surrounded in a world of glittering pink. As they proceeded further, they realized how lucky they were to have not run into any ferals at all…but none of them knew how long that luck would hold out.
Eventually, the crystals parted, and they found themselves inside a spacious, empty room. As if on instinct, they did a thorough check of the perimeter to make sure there weren't any ferals.
Just as they thought they were in the clear, Ida gasped and pointed ahead. "Martin, Cliff, look!"
The two males looked ahead to where Ida was pointing, their eyes widening with surprise. In the middle of the room, lying on their side, was a small pale grey fox-like Pokémon. Its wispy white fur, tipped with red, flowed gently, as if by a breeze.
"Is…is that a Zorua?" Cliff asked. "What's it doing here?"
Martin said nothing as he silently approached the Zorua. He gently reached out with one of his arms, lightly brushing his leaves against its backside. The Zorua stirred in response before it flopped over on its other side, its eyes opening to reveal yellow-green irises. It looked up, its eyes widening upon noticing the Arboliva towering over it.
Martin gave the Zorua a slow blink and put his arms in front of him. "Hello, little one," he said. "What are you doing out here?"
The Zorua looked down, taking note of their dark indigo paws.
Martin chuckled softly. "A quiet one, aren't you?"
The Zorua slowly stood up, being careful not to fall over as they took a look at themselves. After taking a moment to examine themselves, they then look up at Martin again. "Where am I?" they asked.
"You're in the Tera Wastelands," Martin answered. "A Mystery Dungeon…and one of a select few that is currently contaminated with the radiation of Awakening Power." He straightened himself up and gestured with a leafy arm to the Zorua. "These crystals surrounding us are Awakening Crystals, a solidified version of that Awakening Power." He then looked back down at the Zorua. "You're very lucky we found you when we did."
"I'm…lucky?" The Zorua looked down at their forepaws.
Ida walked up to the Zorua. "Where's your family?" she asked.
The Zorua tilted their head. "Family?" they echoed. "What's that?"
Martin, Cliff, and Ida exchanged glances. A child who didn't know what a family was? Were they suffering from some kind of amnesia, perhaps?
Martin noticed that the light from his Tera Looplet was beginning to dim. Time was running out. "Looks like the questioning will have to wait until we're out of here," he remarked. "Ida, Cliff, take the child with you. I'll destroy what I can of this labyrinth."
Ida and Cliff nodded before coming over to the Zorua. As Cliff picked up the Zorua in his talons, Ida reached into her bag and pulled out a black orb with a single glowing ball of light in the center — an ever-reliable Escape Orb. Without hesitation, Ida tapped the top of the Escape Orb, and the three of them were enveloped in a brilliant pillar of light that brought them out of the labyrinth.
Now that his teammates were safe, Martin turned to the crystalline walls surrounding him. Spreading his arms out, he closed his eyes and focused all his power into one attack. The leaves on his arms began to glow green as several leaves surrounded him.
"Petal Blizzard!" he roared, raising his arms to send out a flurry of leaves to every corner of the room. The leaves cut through every last Awakening Crystal, demolishing the walls and corridors as they shattered. As the attack ended, all that remained of the labyrinth were wisps of pink mist that eventually dissolved into the night air, as well as a few small clusters where the Petal Blizzard couldn't reach.
Martin let out a sigh as the Terastallization that safeguarded him from the Awakening Power wore off, the Psychic Tera Jewel atop his head dissolving. He glanced down at the Tera Looplet on his wrist, which had now gone dark. But he knew that with time, it would eventually recharge back to its full power again.
For now, however, there was the matter at hand with that mysterious Zorua, and why they had appeared in the Tera Wastelands. He knew that this was going to be a long, long night as he began to head back to his teammates.
What Martin didn't realize was that he was being watched the whole time. Hidden amongst a cluster of shattered Awakening Crystals sat a small serpentine Pokémon, green in colour, its eyes unblinking as it carefully monitored the Arboliva.
Then, it slithered away, to a place unknown and unseen…