MARIAH?S CURRENT POKEMON: Treecko
CHAPTER 3: The Magical Hoenn Mirror Girl
With a potentially tough battle ready to start on a small grass route, Mariah?s Treecko and the angel?s Mudkip were determined to win. Their foes showed indifference toward them as they took a step forward.
?Mudkip, use Water Gun on Zigzagoon now!? the angel commanded.
The mud fish let out a cry. He inhaled deeply and shot a small but powerful blast of water at the prickly raccoon. Zigzagoon, however, went into a sprinting position and leaped up almost immediately once the attack was just a foot away. Seeing the water splattering on the spot the Zigzagoon was, Mudkip stopped his attack.
?Treecko, use your Pound attack on Poochyena!? Mariah ordered.
Treecko nodded and jumped toward the gray hyena Pokemon. He quickly spun around to hit the Poochyena with his thick tail, but Poochyena retaliated by opening his mouth and clamping on Treecko?s tail with purple fangs. The Wood Gecko cried out in pain from the Poison Fang attack. After Poochyena let go of Treecko?s tail, Zigzagoon tackled the grass-type lizard, sending him skidding across the ground. Mudkip managed to help Treecko by getting into his path, catching him with his forepaws, and slowing him to a stop.
?You okay?? the Mudkip asked.
Treecko shook his head hard, but paused for a moment. He was surprised that he was still able to battle, whereas Brendan?s Mudkip was knocked out in one hit. He thought that it was luck at first, but then he recalled briefly feeling a strange, warm feeling a while ago. Still, he had to focus on the battle as the Zigzagoon and Poochyena, surrounded by strange dark auras, charged toward him and Mudkip. Fortunately, they evaded their opponents? assaults by jumping out of the way and landing behind them.
?Angel Mariah? knew that normal tactics would not work, so she turned to Mariah and whispered a plan in her ear. Mariah felt that the plan was risky but was willing to try anything since the battle was not in her favor.
?Okay, Mudkip,? said the angel, ?use Ice Ball on Poochyena now!?
?Got it!? Mudkip curled into a ball and rolled toward the furry hyena as a bluish-white glow surrounded his body. Seeing that his partner was the mud fish?s objective, Zigzagoon jumped into Mudkip?s path. He swatted his opponent back with his tail, and the force made Mudkip fly towards Treecko.
However, Mariah saw this as an opportunity to strike back. ?Treecko! Use Pound to send Mudkip back at Poochyena!?
Beginning to see the strategy, Treecko jumped up and hit Mudkip with his tail. Mudkip, still in ball form, zoomed straight toward Zigzagoon. The spiky raccoon could not counterattack, leaving him open for the Ice Ball attack to connect to his stomach. Mudkip bounced off, and Poochyena gaped as his partner, rendered unable to battle, landed next to him.
The gray hyena glared at his opponents. ?You?ll pay for this!?
The enraged Poochyena raced toward Mudkip with glowing purple fangs. Attempting to dodge, Mudkip hopped to the side, but Poochyena bit the unsuspecting Mudkip?s tail. Aside from wincing and moaning in pain, the Mudkip shivered violently from suddenly being poisoned.
?Mudkip, try a Water Gun!? the angel Mariah ordered.
?Treecko! Use Absorb to help out Mudkip!? Mariah said, seeing that Mudkip was in trouble.
The exhausted and poisoned Mudkip turned his head to face Poochyena, who was still clamped on his tail. He fired another stream of water from his mouth, but the Bite Pokemon let go of his tail and jumped out of the way from the attack.
Suddenly, Poochyena glowed a bright green and plunked to the ground. He wondered what was going on, for he could not be affected by Psychic-type attacks. He looked over to Treecko, who appeared to be inhaling through a large olive sphere in his mouth. The Bite Pokemon continued to grow weaker and weaker until he was unable to get back up.
Before Mariah and her angel twin could feel content with their win, a black vapor rose from the Pokemon and into the air. The vapor split apart and formed into bird-like creatures about the size of Mudkip. Almost immediately after forming, the ?birds? flew off into the distance.
?What? was? that??? Mariah asked in a shaky voice.
?Must be one of those warning signs,? the angel Mariah told her. She looked ahead in the direction the ?birds? were going as a red heart-shaped bag appeared in her hand. She then unzipped a star-shaped compartment of her bag and got out something similar to the Maxim Berries that Mariah had received. Without wasting another second, she kneeled down to her injured Pokemon and fed him the pink Maxim Berry. The mud fish, fully recovered, perked up.
The bag vanished, and a blue crystal Pokeball appeared in its place. ?You need a rest after that battle, Mudkip,? the angel said. ?We need to be at full strength in case we find another possessed Pokemon.? A shining beam shot out of the Pokeball?s button and made contact with Mudkip. The Pokemon transformed into a sparkling silhouette of light before it was reeled into the ball.
?So, uh?? Mariah began, evidently full of questions.
?My name?s Mariah, but I don?t have time to talk,? the angel said after clipping the marble-sized Pokeball onto her necklace. ?Those weird looking birds are heading toward the Oldale Shrine. If I?m lucky, I might find out who?s behind this.?
Mariah held out her hand and started to call for her, but the angel flew off before she could have a chance to say anything. Unfortunately, it was bad timing because she had a lot of questions to ask, mainly about the possessed Pokemon. Who actually possessed them, and how many of them have fallen victim to the mind control? How did being possessed by this individual give extra power to normally weak attacks like Tackle and Bite? What was the purpose of the vapor that transformed into a flock of birds?
The angelic look alike also came to Mariah?s mind. She looked a lot like Mariah and even shared the same name. This ?other Mariah? appeared to have heard of her before, yet Mariah did not know about her existence until recently. She appeared to be a strong Pokemon trainer as well compared to Mariah, who was just a beginner. Perhaps ?other Mariah? knew a lot, if not everything, about this ?Hoenn? since she was its Guardian.
Mariah?s mind was made up. In order to get the answers she needed, she must head to the Oldale Shrine.
As Mariah left with Treecko following, Brendan looked the direction they were headed and back at his father, who shook his head. In Brendan?s eyes, on the other hand, the birds appeared familiar?
***
Mirror Mariah landed in front of a large dome-roofed shrine. None of the birds were in sight, much to her surprise and relief. She took a look around for anything suspicious before she entered the temple known as the Oldale Shrine.
The first thing Mirror Mariah saw upon entering was the outdoor light being reflected at her. After shielding her eyes and finding out what it was that was reflecting the light back at her, she followed the light with her steps echoing through the building as each foot landed on the marble floor.
She arrived in front of a mirror box on top of a platform. Opening the box revealed a golden wand with a winged Pokeball had six gems on the top red part on it, and with it were six marble-sized Pokeballs that were in different colors. She took the wand out of its box and looked at it sorrowfully until she suddenly heard soft, dark laughter. She quickly turned around.
?Who?s there?! Show yourself!?
A man, whose identity was partially concealed by the darkness, stood at the entrance. He and Mirror Mariah walked over to each other in the center of the building.
A ball of fire appeared in the man?s open palm upon seeing the Guardian, and its light revealed him to be wearing a red robe. Upon seeing a symbol of three mountains together making an ?M? on the robe, Mirror Mariah put the wand back into its box, and another wand with six clear diamonds dotted the top of a white, angel-winged Pokeball formed in her hand.
?What?s someone like you doing here?!? Mirror Mariah asked, ready to attack at any moment.
The man did not respond, but instead jumped back and threw the fireball right at his target. Mirror Mariah flew out of the way, but the fireball narrowly hit the feathery tip of her white, angel-like wings. She winced at the slight burn and saw that another fireball was heading toward her. She dodged again and fought back by shooting a bright beam from the wand?s diamonds. Unfortunately, the attack was negated when it made contact with a fiery dome-shaped shield. It dissolved when Mirror Mariah?s attack ended, revealing that it was the robed man who created the barrier.
?Do you think that weak little thing will be enough to stop me?? the man asked his airborne opponent. He shot a fireball at Mirror Mariah?s wand, and the flames covered it to the point where Mirror Mariah had to let it go. With her main weapon damaged, Mirror Mariah had to leave it for the time being and resort to using the other wand.
?I don?t have a clue why the Magma Magicians would want to destroy the Mirror Wand,? the Guardian said. ?Especially since it?s already in bad enough shape as it is after one of you stole it!?
The Magma Magician, ignoring Mirror Mariah, looked behind the Guardian to focus his attention on a large golden-framed mirror with wings. ?Yes? the ultimate goal for revenge against the Sovereign??
Upon hearing ?revenge? and ?sovereign?, the Guardian aimed the Mirror Wand right in the Magma Magician?s face. A blast of rainbow light erupted from the wand?s gems, and the crimson-robed magician yelled as he shut his eyes from the brightness. However, Mirror Mariah appeared to be unable to control the attack very well as it appeared that the rainbow light went in several different directions.
The Magma Magician, however, had something else in mind. He broke free from the rainbow attack and raised up his arm with the bare palm of his hand facing Mirror Mariah. At first, Mirror Mariah raised an eyebrow, wondering what her opponent was doing. Just then, all of the rainbow lights vanished. Mirror Mariah collapsed on the floor, pulled by a powerful force. Each time she tried to resist it, the force pulled her harder. She looked up to the Magma Magician only to have her head forcefully pulled on the ground.
Mirror Mariah felt a brief chill before a flash of light surrounded her. Her Pokeball barrettes and peach-colored ribbon vanished along with her angel wings. The white ribbon with a Pokeball in the middle faded away, and the pale rose sleeveless shirt and white skirt turned into a yellow shirt with a matching medium-length skirt. In place of white high-heeled shoes were plain butter-colored sandals. The light faded, and Mirror Mariah fell unconscious.
?The Guardian of Hoenn is a mere young girl without her powers,? said the Magma Magician with a sinister laugh, believing he had won. ?The first phase is complete.?
***
Mariah and Treecko finally arrived at the Oldale Shrine, ever closer to finding the Guardian and the answers to their many questions about the bizarre world. After getting inside, however, Mariah and Treecko had to shield their eyes from a bright light. They quickly moved to the other side of the strange, dimly lit shrine and hid behind a marble pillar. Looking ahead, Mariah and Treecko saw an open mirror box on a platform. Mariah whispered to Treecko that she had never seen anything like a shrine in the middle of nowhere. The Wood Gecko felt the same, but then he pointed out something to Mariah.
The mirror Mariah, no longer in her angel form, lay on the ground with a burning wand beside her and another one in her hand. An eerie man in a red robe was approaching her. What happened to the mirror Mariah, and what did that man want from her? It could be possible that he would be after the Pokeball wand or maybe even the former angel Mariah herself, but why? Whatever the case, Mariah did not want the strange man to get either.
?Treecko,? Mariah whispered. ?Try to get that wand in that mirror Mariah?s hand, and try to put out that fire on the other one.?
The Wood Gecko nodded and jumped toward a wall. He crawled quickly and quietly past the scarlet-robed man and ended up next to the other Mariah. As the man took the wand out of former angel?s hand, he let out a soft, dark laugh.
?The legendary Mirror Wand?? the man said to himself. ?One of the special items the Sovereign made to keep peace in the Light Universe. Once it is destroyed along with the Golden Gateway, the darkness will--?
The man was suddenly interrupted by a blow in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground and drop the wand. He dazedly searched for his attacker when he saw Treecko land in front of him.
?What??!? the man said. He remembered that he let go of the Mirror Wand, which was caught by Mariah. ?Hand over that wand!?
Mariah said nothing for a few moments. Whatever the reason the man had for the wand, she refused to surrender it to him. She saw the unconscious Guardian again and thought that the red robed man had something to do with this. Not only that she could not have any of her questions answered, but now new ones came to her mind. Who was the man, and why was he after the wand Mariah had in her hand? How did the other Mariah lose her angelic form? What was the Golden Gateway he mentioned earlier?
?Give me the Mirror Wand!? the man demanded again.
The six gems on the Mirror Wand glow, and a burst of light filled the room before dimming down a few seconds. When the man?s sight returned, he noticed that not only Mirror Mariah?s wand was no longer burning, but also that Mariah had left the shrine.
***
After a long while of running, Mariah?s and Treecko?s legs became sore, and her breathing grew short and labored. Fortunately, she went into a small forest area and saw a large bush. She went into the bush to rest and catch her breath. She got out Treecko?s Pokeball, and the orb shot a red beam at Treecko that transformed him into a red light before pulling him into the ball.
Nothing was going right for Mariah. She did not mind going on a Pokemon journey but ending up in another world was another story altogether, especially if the world was a lot like hers. Despite that, there were a lot of things that she was not sure of at all. She thought that the Guardian, which looked a lot like her, would help her out. She began to cry a little.
If there was one thing Mariah wanted, it was a way to stop this whole mess from happening, or at least a way back to her world.
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion and heat creeping up behind her interrupted Mariah?s thoughts. She quickly got out of the bush and saw a burning tree branch fall on the ground.
?Did you think you could get away from me THAT easily??
Mariah looked up and saw the robed man slowly descending from the ground. She shrunk back against a tree stump. ?What are you exactly?? she asked in a shaky voice.
The man laughed. ?You?ll find out soon enough--after not only Hoenn, but also the entire Light Universe ceases to exist. There will be a time where I don?t need this Magma Magician or anyone else in particular.?
The Light Universe?? Could it be that the Hoenn Mariah was in be part of this Light Universe? Why would this man want to destroy it? What did he mean that he ?did not need the Magma Magician?? No one else was around except for Mariah and the creepy red-robed man. However, seeing the mountains made into an ?M? on the robe gave her a clue that, vaguely recalling a team called Team Magma in her Hoenn, he could be the Magma Magician. On the other hand, it would not make sense at all. Why would he consider himself useless to rule this Light Universe?
?You probably will not be around that long,? the crimson robed man said in a sinister tone. ?I know you are involved in this plan of the Guardian?s, but it will fail now!?
The man outstretched his arms, and black fireballs formed in his palms.
?I?m not involved in anything!? Mariah said. ?I don?t even know what?s going--?
A barrage of smaller fireballs was shot at Mariah, who narrowly dodged them by ducking at the last minute.
?Just tell me what is going on!? Mariah said.
?Hand over the Mirror Wand, and I will let you go,? the man told her, disregarding her response.
Mariah, hoping that the man would tell her everything she needed to know and seeing what he could do, nervously held the Wand out to him. The man smiled and walked up toward her. Just when he was able to take it, however, the gems emitted a blast of light. He stumbled back as he rubbed his eyes. Obviously not intending that to happen, Mariah shrunk back against a rock.
Believing that Mariah would not hand over the Mirror Wand, the enraged man raised his hand over his head. The entire area was lit up by a fireball that increased in size and changed from an orange yellow to black. Before Mariah could react, long whip-like streams of fire rose out of the fireball and tried to ensnare her. Mariah made a few narrow dodges, but then she found herself surrounded.
Mariah thought that sending Treecko would not be a good idea since Grass-types were not the best Pokemon to use against Fire attacks. However, she really did not have much of a choice. Yet when she got out Treecko?s Pokeball, the Mirror Wand began to react. Mariah?s eyes briefly glowed a bright green before she jumped into air and landed on a nearby tree.
?W? what happened?? Mariah asked. She noticed that she was holding on to the tree with great ease.
The frustrated man once again had the giant fireball shoot out whip-like fire streams at Mariah, but she was able to dodge by jumping from tree to tree. However, she knew that she could only dodge like that for so long. Even with this sudden power, there was no way for her to beat her opponent.
Suddenly, the wings of the Mirror Wand gave off a faint glow. Perhaps it had something that could help Mariah beat the robed man if not help her get away.
On the other hand, something stopped Mariah. As the glow continued, she felt something within her calling out to her. She thought it was someone talking to her through the wand, so she pointed the wand toward her. However, she felt a strange power going through to her.
?Rain? Rain?? Mariah did not know what was happening to her or why words were coming into her head. She never remembered a time in her life this had happened to her, yet?
?Rainbow Magic, give me power to protect all from danger!?
The Mirror Wand?s gems began glowing one by one, and a flash of light surrounded Mariah once they were all lit up. She suddenly felt like she was floating in midair as her clothes suddenly vanished. Rainbow lights surrounded her body, and in place of the lights was a red shirt. Forming around her waist was a short white skirt, and on her feet appeared black high heels. Pokeball barrettes materialized in her hair, and large, round, white wings emerged from her back. The wand floated down into her hand, and another rainbow light surrounded her as she twirled around. The light homed into her chest and a black ribbon with yellow at the end and a Pokeball in the middle of the bow appeared on the shirt. After Mariah?s transformation finished, she felt solid ground again.
The man saw Mariah and clenched his fist in anger. ?I knew it! The Guardian had tricked me into thinking you were defenseless when all this time you could have transformed!?
Mariah, on the other hand, looked at her new clothes and wings in shock. She never expected to be a magical girl herself despite being a fan of a few series of the genre. To make matters worse, the enraged man believed that Mariah was involved in a trick and was ready to burn her to a crisp. She hoped that this was just a nightmare, but seeing that she had yet to wake up in her bed when the attacks were coming close, it seemed most unlikely.
Mariah did not understand this at all, but for some reason, she felt that she was left with no choice but to fight.
?For the sake of Hoenn, the magical Hoenn Mirror Girl make you pay for what you?ve done!? Mariah said as she aimed the Mirror Wand at the man.
The man laughed. ?Do not think that this ploy will last any longer. If I could easily steal the Guardian?s powers, there is no way that you could defeat me! I will be using this Magma Magician a bit longer than expected, but it will be for the best!?
With that, the Magma Magician made the giant fireball vanish. A much smaller fireball appeared in his hand, and he threw it at Mariah. Mariah evaded the attack by jumping into the air. Another fireball was heading toward Mariah, but she managed to dodge again by flying right. Two more fireballs were shot toward her, but Mariah flew in a zigzag pattern to evade them as well.
?Dodging will not help you forever!? The Magma Magician continued to shoot fireballs at Mariah. The self-proclaimed Hoenn Mirror Girl dodged the fireballs, but they landed on trees and bushes. Seeing more than enough damage being done to the burning plants, Mariah turned to the Magma Magician.
?Can you stop this already?!? Mariah said. ?The whole place will burn to the ground if you keep those attacks up!?
The Magma Magician just looked at her, his eyes having a glow of darkness in them. He did not care about the forest fire that he caused. He only cared about getting rid of Mariah. He shot a barrage of fireballs at Mariah, who attempted flying to dodge again. This time the fireballs followed her and managed to hit one of her wings. Knowing that flying with injured wings would leave her open for a major attack, Mariah was forced to land.
?Surrender the Mirror Wand, and I will get rid of the fire,? the Magma Magician said to her.
The Mirror Wand?s green gem lit up for a brief moment. As if being controlled by the wand, Mariah headed over to the Magma Magician. The unsuspecting crimson robed man was hit in the face with the Pokeball part of the Mirror Wand. Mariah backed off in surprise after she noticed that the Magma Magician almost fell from the force.
?How?? the Magma Magician said to himself. ?That?felt like a Pound attack. Humans able to use Pokemon attacks are rare and use a special kind of magic for that??
Mariah overheard the Magician, and she could not believe it either. Surely, she never had her current powers until the battle, and at this point it was unbelievable. There was no time to think about it, however. Due to the pain caused from her burnt wing, she felt that attacking from a distance would be safer.
?At first, by your resemblance to the Guardian, I thought it was all but a clever ploy,? the Magma Magician told Mariah. ?However, you really do not know what just happened or do not understand my intentions.?
Mariah sighed. ?That?s what I?ve been trying to tell you! I?m not even from this weird mirror Hoenn! I just want to talk to the Guardian about how to get back home!?
The Magma Magician gave Mariah a dark glare along with a laugh. ?My child? you will not have a home to go back to.?
He raised both of his arms, and large rocks rose from the ground. Mariah managed to get out of the way from the rocks but suddenly stopped when she felt two of the rocks holding her wings between them, and the stinging burn hurt more than it was earlier. Feeling that she was down to her last option, she held the Mirror Wand out at the Magma Magician and hoped something would happen. The crimson robed man, however, thought that Mariah was surrendering it to him. That was, until he started glow green and collapsed on the ground.
?WHAT?!? he yelled, feeling his energy slowly leaving him. ?What is? going on??
Mariah wondered what was happening as well. She felt energy slowly coming to her for a brief moment before she was at full strength, but it did not help much since she was unable to move. Still, she had a chance at defeating her opponent, and maybe that would free her from the rocks and stop the fire.
Just then, a black vapor similar to the one that left the Zigzagoon and Poochyena came out of the Magma Magician. Instead of splitting into smaller birds, however, it became one large bird with red eyes.
?Consider this a draw! I will return to get my revenge on you, the Guardian, and the Sovereign!? The bird flew off.
The Mirror Wand?s gems let out a bright rainbow colored light that surrounded the area. Within a matter of minutes, all the plants and trees were the way they were before the fight started. The rocks that were holding back Mariah?s wings also vanished along with the others. Mariah looked at the Mirror Wand and wondered what happened when she saw the Magma Magician waking up.
?W? what happened?? the crimson-robed man asked Mariah. ?I received a message that the team wanted me to meet at the Oldale Shrine. Was anyone else there besides me? And how did I get here??
The Oldale Shrine? that was where the Guardian was! Mariah wanted to ask her what she needed to know about this world, yet she was held up by a battle from the Magma Magician, who appeared to be controlled by something throughout the battle. It probably would not do her much good if she asked him. She ran off, but stopped and turned back to the robed man and explained everything to him. The Magma Magician seemed surprised by what happened but said that he did not intend to hurt the Mariah or the Guardian at all. Then, he left, saying that he had to take care of some business.
?At least I could find out what?s going on,? Mariah said to herself.
***
Back at the Oldale Shrine, Mariah saw that her twin was still unconscious but safe. She woke her up. Mirror Mariah, Mariah?s name for her double, was taken aback from Mariah?s new look, but Mariah told the Guardian what happened between her and the Magma Magician.
?You transformed using the power of the Mirror Wand and managed to use Treecko?s attacks?? Mirror Mariah said after hearing her look-alike?s story.
?Yeah. Now, can you exactly tell me what is going on here?!? Mariah asked her harshly. ?I almost got killed out there!?
Mirror Mariah let out a slight, forced laugh until she realized that Mariah was actually serious and blushed. ?I couldn?t believe it when I found out that Lord Steven?s theory about another portion of the Light Universe being true for myself.?
?Lord Steven?? Mariah asked.
Before another word was said, the glass of the large golden mirror behind the two girls faded to black.
?Do not think that everything is resolved yet,? a dark voice told the two girls. ?Mars was a weakling, and I could not afford to lose to an outsider. However, I have just thought of another way to make my invasion complete??
Red cracks formed in the glass, and before the two girls knew it, there was a loud shattering sound. Following the noise, shards landed all over the floor and turned to stone, and eight of the shards suddenly transformed as they left the shrine and went in several different directions. There was evil laughter that echoed throughout the shrine.
?If I cannot destroy the Wand, I could at least destroy the power source of Hoenn! Even if you do manage to restore the Golden Gateway, it will probably be too late! Still, it will be quite entertaining to see you two fail miserably!?
With that, the Golden Gateway?s frames and wings turned into a dull gray. Mariah felt that her only chance at going home had slipped away, but Mirror Mariah sighed in distraught.
?Why??? she said to herself. ?Why didn?t I see this before??
End of Chapter 3