Authors notes: Yay, new chappy! I hurried up and tried to finish a new one very fast, so here it is. Who needs exams and good marks anyway? ^_^
Yay, I also received quiet a few emails *proud* of how nice it is that I can write again. Thanks to everyone for still supporting me after my absence! Now here is the longest chapter I ever wrote!
Also, many people want more chapters with Lance, I got about twenty emails and a few reviews with this wish. And I promise: There will be more. However, you have to wait until Saga 3. The whole fic is divided into three parts, the first one being the 'Team Rocket Saga' (chapter 1-7) and currently this is the 'Legendary badges Saga' (chapter 8-???). Honestly, after Saga 2 ends there will be a third one with lotsa Lance in it. I promise, but every detail is still top secret. Just wait and see. I�m May I finish school and have 5 months freedom then. So if my comp works, I have lotsa time to work soon. But I try to update at least all two weeks or something now, it's just that I have all the exams now and a surgery soon >.<
And, very important: In my fanfic, Lugia is female. I know that at least in the German movie, Lugia is male. However, I always thought about Lugia as a female and it fits better because in my fic Lugia and Ho-oh are the guardians who are responsible for the balance of the world. A male and a female Pok�mon seem to be more balanced than two males, right?
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>Yes, I am Lugia, the ancient guardian<, the Pok�mon said with telepathy.
"Wow", Sephia whispered, amazed. Her Pok�mon remained silent. Slowly, Lugia flew a few meters forwards and landed in front of the seven friends.
>So you are here to challenge me for the Mystery badge. Very well. You are the first one who made is this far. But since you are all legendary Pok�mon, I shouldn't be surprised. However, this battle will be different than the ones you fought in your gyms.< Lugias voice sounded calm and soft.
Sephia and her friends looked at each other. Well, they hadn't really expect a normal fight, but what was about to come?
>You will fight in teams of two. As long as one of the two Pok�mon of each team is still able to fight, the other might recover and rejoin. If I beat both, the team is out. If I beat all three teams, I win. If any of the teams beat me, I lose.<
Sephia started to get nervous. She never had trained to fight with more than one Pok�mon at a time. But rule was rule and she had to follow. This wasn't going to be easy.
"May we decide about who will be in one team?", Suicune asked shyly.
>Of course<, Lugia answered. >It's your free choice. I will also tell you something: I am not a water Pok�mon.<
"What?" 'Huh?' 'Not a water Pok�mon?' 'Lucky me, I hate water!' 'I don't get it.' "How surprising."
"Hey, hey, calm down!" Sephia tried to calm her friends down. She turned to Lugia. "So, what are you then? A flying type, I guess?"
>Yes, I am a flying Pok�mon. But I am psychic, too.<
Everyone went silent. This was going to be much harder than they thought.
>I will tell you more: I am, however, living in water. I know some water attacks, too. And I am not limited to four attacks, I know some more. I won't tell you about, them, however. I helped you enough. Now take your time and decide. I waited thousands of years, I can wait some more minutes.<
Ok. This was going to be very very hard.
Sephia and her Pok�mon walked a few steps away.
"Ok, any suggestions or wishes?", Sephia asked.
"We have to decide carefully", Suicune started. "I think we need to balance our teams. However, if there is a Pok�mon with a weakness and one with an advantage against Lugia in every team, we might not be able to hit hard and fast enough."
'Well said', commented Articuno. 'So, let's face it: Lugia is weak to electric, rock and ice due to the flying. She is weak against bug and ghost because of psychic. She won't have any real advantage besides the water attacks against Moltres.'
"Think twice. If she isn't water and knows water attacks, she might know other attacks of different types, too.", Mewtwo said. Everyone nodded. Sephia took out her Pok�dex, holding it in Lugias direction who watched with seemingly little interest.
'Unknown Pok�mon. No information', it beeped. Sephia sighed. That was what she had expected. She pushed another button. 'Unable to identify correct status. Statistic guess of the level: 90-100.'
"Oh no...100! That's impossible!", Sephia groaned.
'Maybe she isn't affected by water, psychic and flying attacks very much', Zapdos added.
"Okay", Sephia sighed. "Ideas?"
'You are the trainer. Suggest something, we'll tell you our opinion', Moltres said.
"Alright. My suggestion is: Articuno and Suicune, Moltres and Zapdos, Mew and Mewtwo. Lugia may be strong against water, but Suicune is fast, she can distract her while Articuno uses Ice attacks. Moltres might have a weakness but if Zapdos can shock Lugia first he can hit quite hard. Mew and Mewtwo might have problems because Lugia is psychic, too, but together, they should be strong enough to do serious damage. Besides that, they are able to recover and if they fight as the last team, Lugia may be already tired."
"Wow, Sephia. That's really good", Suicune admitted. The others agreed.
'So can we fight now? I want my cookie!', Mew asked.
'How can you think of cookies now?!' Articuno shook his head.
'I just want one', Mew squeaked.
"Alright then, Mew. If we win, I'll give you a whole package, ok?", Sephia claimed. Mew nodded happily and nuzzled her friend.
"Then let's go", Mewtwo finally said. The others nodded and they walked back to Lugia.
"We have decided", Sephia announced.
>Very well. Shall we start then? The Pok�mon who aren't fighting can watch if they want, but at own risk.<
'Yes, I want to watch', Moltres said. The other three agreed and they walked a few steps away so they wouldn't get hit, together with Sephia. Suicune and Articuno remained in front of Lugia.
>I see. So you are my first opponents. Let's start.< Lugia rose up, Articuno did the same.
>START!<
Lugia immediately attacked and dived down.
"A Fly attack! Articuno, evade! Suicune, Water gun! Arti, attack from above with Ice Beam!", Sephia shouted. Suicune shot and Articuno evaded and flew above her, but Lugia turned around and flapped her wings. A whirlwind appeared. The Water gun hit Lugia, but she rose through the storm into the air.
"That's Gust! Arti!" Sephia yelled. How she hated that everyone knew what she was planning if she was telling her Pok�mon what to do!
Articuno had problems to evade the strong winds since he was much smaller than Lugia.
"Arti! Blizzard into the storm!", Sephia ordered. Articuno released a mighty blizzard and Suicune ran back because of the cold. However, Lugia was hovering above the storm and the wind carried the ice up to her. Surprised, she screamed and evaded the sharp ice crystals.
>Not bad! But not enough!< Lugia used Swift. The Ice broke and Articuno, who had just recovered from the wind, was hit from above.
"Arti!", Sephia shouted when the icebird fell down. Suicune quickly used a Hydro Pump to prevent him from smashing into the ground, but this gave Lugia the time to start a new attack.
>So, one down, one to go. I will show you one of my special attacks!< Lugias eyes started to glow.
"Careful, I bet this is a Psychic attack! Suicune, try to get her away from Arti! Arti, can you hear me? Are you ok?", Sephia asked concerned while eyeing Lugia.
'Yeah...just taking a rest', Articuno mumbled and tried to stand up.
Suicune ran. Lugia roared. Suddenly, she shot a beam of energy right at Suicune. At the same second, a terrible wind began to blow through the whole cave. Sephia and the others were clinging to a rock, trying not to get blown away. The still semi- unconsciousness Articuno was blown towards the others and Mewtwo caught the bird. Suicune was hit by the wind with full force and unable to block the beam.
"Suicune!", Sephia yelled. The water Pok�mon screamed and then everything exploded in a blinding light.
When Sephia could finally see again, Suicune was lying at the ground. Her hind legs were bleeding.
"Suicune!", she shouted.
'Suicune! Are you alright?', Zapdos asked.
"Yeah...I'm...fine. That was an attack...wow....", Suicune coughed.
>This was my special Aeroblast attack. Do you give up?<, Lugia asked.
'No!' Articuno stumbled to Suicune. 'We are not beaten yet! Suicune, try to climb on my back!' Suicune tried and managed it after a few tries. Lugia let them be.
>As you wish. It is not my fault if you get badly injured.< She rose up again. With some difficulties, Articuno followed.
"Suicune! Articuno! Don't overdo it!", Sephia shouted.
"No...we won't...but it is time...that I get my shot at Lugia", Suicune panted. And then, with all the strength she had left she released a Hydro Pump. An unbelievable amount of water was shot from Lugia, even from the pool under her.
>I am living in the water! You won't hurt me!<
"We will see! Articuno! Ice Beam!", Sephia ordered. Articuno released the attack. The water was frozen solid in seconds and Lugia screamed when the sharp icicles pierced her and nailed her to the wall. But Articuno and Suicune were hit by the ice, too. Now truly at the end of his strength, Articuno managed a crash landing. Sephia had truly seen enough. She ran to her defeated friends.
"Arti! Suicune! Enough now. You did great. Let us handle the rest. We will do it for you!", she whispered while stroking her Pok�mon. Then, she called both back into their Pok�balls.
Meanwhile, Lugia freed herself with a roar. She was bleeding from several wounds.
>Not bad. Really. You are worthy opponents. But I am not beaten yet.< To the dismay of Sephia and the others, she used Recover. Most of her wounds healed.
>Now, on to the next team.<
Zapdos and Moltres stepped forward.
'Don't worry, we will end this', Zapdos claimed. Moltres nodded and they flew up.
>We will see if you are right.< Lugia started to fly again, too and immediately used Rain Dance. It started to rain much more than with a Rain Dance from a normal Pok�mon.
'Nice try. But you are just hurting yourself', Moltres smiled. His greatest success in his training was that he was really able to deal with an amount of water as long as it wasn't a Hydro Pump or something similar. The raindrops were no danger for him - at least not until he got weakened. They just evaporated in the air.
'Yeah. Nice that you help me!' Zapdos smiled. Lugia didn't answer.
"Zapdos, you know what to do!", Sephia said. The bird nodded and used Thunder. The other Pok�mon shielded their eyes. Zapdos' Thunder was an attack they really didn't want to feel and the rain was conducting the electricity. Lugia was hit and tottered through the air. Moltres avoided the attack and tried a Fire Blast. Lugia managed to evade the attack, but her tail got burned. She screamed.
"Don't let her recover again! Nail her!", Mewtwo shouted.
"Zapdos, Thunderbolt, Moltres, Sky Attack!", Sephia added. The two birds followed the order immediately. But now, Lugia ended the rain and managed to evade Zapdos' attack. In this moment, Moltres dived down from above like a giant fireball and hit Lugia, smashing her downwards and burning her. Zapdos had trouble but escaped in the last second before Lugia nearly buried him under her.
"Zapdos! Drill Peck!"
Sephias order came too late. Lugia was already recovering and hit the diving Moltres with her tail who smashed against Zapdos.
"Zapdos! Moltres!" Sephia was nearly running to her friends, but Mewtwo held her back. Luckily, none of the birds was injured badly and Zapdos tried to follow Sephias last order.
>Oh no! I have had enough of you two!<, Lugia snarled while she evaded. And then, the world drowned in the mightiest Hydro Pump the world had ever seen. With the help of a psychic shield, Mewtwo rescued Sephia and Mew into a saving bubble, but the fighting birds were swimming in the water. The whole cave was underwater and due to the size of it the water disappeared just slowly. Sephia had to watch in horror how Moltres' fire nearly went out immediately and she had no choice but to call the unconscious Pok�mon back into his Pok�ball. Zapdos was fighting with the water bravely but was nearly suffocated by the water.
"Zapdos! NOW!", Sephia shouted. Zapdos spread his wings and suddenly the whole island was buzzing with electricity. Sephia was blind and just Mewtwos shield prevented her and her other Pok�mon from getting roasted.
After a minute, she dared to open her eyes. The water was gone, Zapdos and Lugia were lying on the ground. Lugia was very badly injured, but was already trying to stand up again. Zapdos, however, was out cold. Even an electric Pok�mon like he was couldn't stand this high voltage for such a long time. Sephia called him back immediately.
>Huh...I thought it was over<, Lugia coughed, flapping her wings.
"It will be over soon!", Sephia decided. "We will show you who is the best here!"
>How interesting< Lugia started to recover.
"Oh no! You won't!" Mewtwo jumped into the air and threw a psychic ball of energy at the legendary guardian. Lugia evaded in the last second before the explosion took place.
"Mew! Mew!", Sephia shouted meanwhile. The little Pok�mon was nowhere in sight. Finally, Sephia spotted her in her backpack. The little pink Pok�mon looked up.
'I am afraid', Mew admitted.
Sephia smiled. "That's ok. I am afraid, too."
'Do I have to fight? I know that it's not fair because the others were fighting so bravely, but...'
"No, Mew, you don't have to. You know that I will never force you to do something. But please come out. Cheer for Mewtwo, will you?" Sephia pet her friend. The small Pok�mon nodded and flew to Sephia, sitting down at her shoulder.
"Mewtwo! Mew won't fight. Can you do it alone?", Sephia asked.
'I am sorry, Mewtwo!', Mew squeaked.
Mewtwo smiled. While Sephia had spoken with Mew, he had received a wound at the shoulder and was clutching his right arm. "Of course I can. I am Mewtwo, right?"
Sephia smiled. "Right! Do your best! Recover, then Psychic!"
Mewtwo did as she said, recovering and attacking. Lugia started to glow from Mewtwos attack, but when he tried to smash her into the wall with Psychic, she freed herself and dived down at him with full speed. She roared.
"Not again! Mewtwo! That's this Aeroblast again!", Sephia yelled.
"I know, I know. Just relax. She may be at level 100, but 85 is not bad, either." Mewtwo grinned. He would show Lugia the results of his training.
Lugia released the attack. Mewtwo used reflect. He was unaffected by the wind but the beam was crashing at his psychic shield.
>Very good. But how long will you be able to keep it up?<
"Long enough to beat you!" Mewtwo slowly started to walk forward, driving Lugia back.
Sephia and Mew watched in awe. Both knew that shouting or giving orders would just distract Mewtwo. Soon they could see that Lugia was nearly at the wall now, but Mewtwo was panting and sweating.
"I...will..beat...you...now!", he coughed.
>No you won't! Here is my strongest attack!!! Ancientpower!<
Suddenly, Lugia started to glow blue, the wind blew even harder and the beam grew in size. Mewtwo screamed when his Reflect broke and he was flung against the wall.
"Mewtwo!", Sephia screamed. Mew was hiding her face in Sephias cape, whimpering.
"I am ok", Mewtwo said, but failed when he tried to stand up. Lugia slowly stepped to him.
>I never thought that you could be so strong. I don't even have the power to recover right now. But Ancientpower is too strong for you. It raises my level, you know. Bad luck. Do you give up?<
"Never!", Mewtwo hissed.
"Mewtwo, no! You can't fight anymore! Let's give up!", Sephia shouted. But Mewtwo shook his head.
"I will never give up. Please, Sephia. For me giving up is far worse than losing.", he explained. "...Please..."
"Mewtwo..." Sephia was crying by now.
>You won't give up? Well, then I have to crush you, stubborn Pok�mon!<
"A Swift! Mewtwo! Careful!", Sephia yelled.
"I can't move!", Mewtwo shouted back in despair.
>It's your own fault! You are strong, but this is not the way how you can beat me<, Lugia said and unleashed the attack.
Sephia screamed.
Mewtwo closed his eyes.
'MEWTWO, NO!'
Suddenly, Mew was standing in front of Mewtwo, using Reflect. The Swift was blocked.
"Mew!" Mewtwo and Sephia looked at the little Pok�mon with surprise.
>So you finally decided to fight? Very well. Another Aeroblast will be enough.<
'Please, don't hurt my friend!', Mew said and built up another Reflect.
"Mew, no! You are not strong enough to stop it!", Mewtwo gasped.
'But I won't let her hurt you!', Mew squeaked.
"Mew, Mewtwo let's give up! We don't need the badge. There is more we can do. We are friends, right? It was a dream. But there are other dreams, too! We can be happy without this stupid thing!", Sephia begged.
Mewtwo looked at her, then at Mew. Finally, he nodded.
>Too late.<
The wind began to blow.
"Mew!", Mewtwo whimpered and tried to reach her, but with no success.
Lugia collected the energy.
"MEW!!!" Sephia started to run. She would protect me with her life if necessary.
Lugia shot the beam.
"NO!"
When Mewtwo finally opened his eyes, he saw Mew burning in pink energy, flying high in the air. Sephia stood a few steps behind her, glowing slightly in the same colour.
Lugia stepped backwards. >....Alliance....<, she hissed. >So they can do it.<
"This is Alliance?", Mewtwo whispered. He could feel the energy, the connection between Mew and Sephia. It was pure power.
Slowly, Sephia raised her hand, her eyes closed.
Mew summoned an energy ball made of this pure force.
>No! Never! Ancientpower!<
Then, Sephia pointed forward. And the world exploded in pink light.
In Olivine City, Jasmine and Prof. Oak were standing at the harbour, waiting. It was already evening and Sephia hadn't returned yet.
"She will be alright, Jasmine", Prof. Oak said more to himself than to the gym leader.
"I ho-", Jasmine started, but suddenly, a pillar of pink light appeared far in the distance and rose high up through the clouds.
The professor, the girl and the people who were still outside at the late hour watched in awe how the light bathed the sky and the sea in pink-violet colours. A few seconds later, it was over. The pillar disappeared. And Jasmine decided to wait - and if it would take the whole night, it didn't matter.
Mewtwo was finally able to do something besides staring at the small Pok�mon who was sitting next to him, looking dizzy and exhausted and his trainer, who was still standing, staring at her hands. Lugia was unconscious. They had won.
Slowly, he stood up and picked up his little friend.
"Mew? Mew?", he asked concerned.
'Hm?' Mew looked up. 'I have won?'
Mewtwo smiled. "Yeah. You were the best!"
Mew returned the smile weakly. 'Now I get a lot of cookies.'
"Yes, right." Sephia was walking to them, barely able to step forward. "We have done it." Finally, she nearly fell down, but Mewtwo caught her. Thankful she smiled at him and tried to stand again.
>Huh. I guess you win.<
The three friends turned to Lugia.
"Hey Lugia, are you alright?", Sephia asked. The guardian looked at her.
>You are worried about me? What a nice human you are. Really, you surprise me again and again. Who would have thought this....Alliance....I admit, you were better than me. The badge is yours.<
A light started glowing in front of Sephia. Finally, a small badge fell into her hand. It looked like her Volcano badge, but it was white and blue.
>This is the Mystery badge. You really deserve it. But let me tell you something: If you want to battle Ho-oh, you should get stronger. This is not enough yet. Not for him. I am truly sorry that I can't give you more than this advise and my best wishes for the future. But if we will see each other again, one day, for the ultimate battle, I may have something more for you if you win. Good luck, Sephia, Mewtwo and Mew.<
And before they could say another word, their sight got blurry. Suddenly, they were standing at the harbour of Olivine City. Luckily, it was night and nobody was around. Without thinking about it too much, they decided that going to the Pok�mon Centre was the best they could do now. Mewtwo and Mew returned into their Pok�balls after Sephia had assured them that she was fine. But when she stumbled down the street, she wasn't so sure about it.
"Sephia!!!" Suddenly, Jasmine and Prof. Oak were running towards her. She smiled before she finally fell asleep. The professor caught her and decided to take her to the Pok�mon Centre. Jasmine noticed that she was clutching something. When she took a closer look, she found a beautiful badge in Sephias hand.
To be continued....
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Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease review! Thanks!!!!
~Faria ([email protected])