MARIAH?S POKEMON: Treecko
MARIAH?S ITEMS: Mirror Wand (allows Mariah to use Pokemon attacks)
Rainbow Balls [x5] (???)
MIRROR MARIAH?S POKEMON: Mudkip
MIRROR MARIAH?S ITEMS: Diamond Wand (an advanced version of the Mirror Wand)
CHAPTER 5: Clues
Mirror Mariah had not been able to take her eyes off the black feather ever since it had appeared. While Mariah, Treecko, and Lemonade wondered what the big deal was, Mirror Mariah saw this reoccurrence as a major clue to what she and all of Hoenn could be up against. However, why were these feathers appearing? Was this a ploy of the enemy?
?So, do you know anything about this?? Mariah asked.
?Some other dark feathers appeared at Ever Grande Cathedral this morning,? Mirror Mariah said. ?The Mirror Masters and I had our hands full with really strong Pokemon. It was a tough battle, but thankfully, Lord Steven came and gave us a hand. When we beat them, however, the feathers appeared?? She looked at the feather again. ?And they looked exactly like this one.?
Just then, the feather emitted a strange, purple glow. Everyone wondered what was going to happen. The feather, to their surprise, suddenly transformed into a dark, glittery mist that drifted around Mariah.
?What the??? Lemonade said as he walked up to Mariah. Treecko and Mirror Mariah followed.
?Mariah??? Mirror Mariah asked, noticing her double?s suddenly disconsolate expression.
?I want to go home?? Mariah sobbed. ?I wish Mom was still alive? I wish I could go back to two weeks ago so I could stop that car accident??
Mirror Mariah paused for a moment. She had a feeling that this tactic was a last resort of the opposition, so she made her Diamond Wand appear in a flash of light and aimed it at Mariah. The Hoenn Mirror Girl shuddered and moaned as she slowly turned to Mirror Mariah with a blank expression. Suddenly, a blast of sparkling water was shot out of one of the diamonds and splashed all over Mariah. She let out a brief cry before she came to her senses.
?Are you okay, Mariah?? Treecko asked, concerned about his trainer. ?You seemed to just black out when that weird wind was around you.?
Mariah said nothing. She knew that her mother was gone, and nothing?not even her powers?could undo what had happened. The pain was still strong, and there was someone who had the ability to make it worse. However, she also knew that, in a serious time like this, she had to stay strong.
?Mirror Mariah,? Mariah said with a serious look on her face, ?let?s get going.?
Mirror Mariah, a bit surprised but glad to see that Mariah had returned to herself, nodded and went ahead with her double close behind. Treecko and Lemonade looked at each other and shrugged before they left with the girls.
Meanwhile, a bat-winged girl who was watching the group jumped from one of the lavender rose trees. Facing the direction of Moonlight City, she got out a wand with a gray and black Pokeball with bat wings. She pointed it ahead of her, and the crimson gems on the top gray part of the Pokeball emitted a faint glow.
?It?s there?? the demonic girl said to herself.
***
In a clearing near a mountainous area, a white, monkey-like Pokemon made a claws-forward lunge toward a giraffe Pokemon and scratched it on the side. The giraffe, not in any serious pain, retaliated by firing a bright, colorful beam from its horns. The hustling Vigoroth evaded the attack, but a second beam caught him by surprise and hit him in the chest and knocked him on his back. The Girafarig, confident now that it was on the offensive, charged toward the fallen monkey.
?Vigoroth, Crush Claw!? a man yelled.
With the command in mind, the Vigoroth jumped on his feet. He raised his suddenly glowing claw and ran toward the Girafarig again. The giraffe began to ram its head into Vigoroth, but the wild monkey blocked the Girafarig?s Take Down with one claw and slashed his opponent?s face with the other. Girafarig was sent flying into the air and was about to crash into some rocks, but it glowed a pale blue and floated down to the ground without injury.
A man who was wearing a brown jacket, and Vigoroth were shocked at the Girafarig?s creative use of its Psychic attack. However, the man saw that something was wrong. Wild Girafarig did not learn Psychic naturally, and the long neck Pokemon did not belong to any Trainer.
?Vigoroth, be careful,? said the man, noticing that his Vigoroth was exhausted.
?Don?t worry,? the Vigoroth huffed. ?I can take this creep??
Vigoroth saw that the Girafarig was galloping toward him at a high speed. He took a few steps forward but did nothing after that. The long neck Pokemon rammed its opponent, who was unusually still. However, both Pokemon were blown back when the Take Down landed. Vigoroth landed on his backside; Girafarig landed on its side.
The Vigoroth?s trainer was surprised by what had just happened, but then he smirked. He figured out that his Vigoroth had used Counter to double the damage done by Take Down. Proud of his Pokemon and feeling that he needed a rest, he got out his Pokeball and aimed it at the Vigoroth. A red beam was fired at the white sloth, sucking him into the ball almost immediately after making contact with him.
The trainer looked at the fallen Girafarig and noticed something strange: a black haze surrounded the Pokemon for a few seconds before it formed into a black feather. As the trainer walked up to it, it emitted an eerie glow.
?Another one?? he said to himself.
***
Moonlight City was like any other city? if one could ignore the fact that almost the entire city was white. Everything from the ground to the buildings was as bright as its namesake. Mariah and Treecko occasionally rubbed their eyes due to the brightness of the area. Luckily, the citizens were more colorful than the city, although their fancy attire would suggest to Mariah that they were either rich or famous celebrities. It was hard for Mariah to believe that Moonlight City was to Mirror Mariah and Lemonade as what Petalburg City was to Treecko and her.
Mirror Mariah slowly waved her hands in a circular motion before a glow appeared in front of her. The glow formed into her heart-shaped bag. She checked through her main compartment at the top of the heart area and the star-shaped compartment at the front of the bag.
?Oh, no,? Mirror Mariah moaned. ?All I have are a green and a yellow Maxim Berry. Looks like I have to stock up on supplies here.?
?Can?t you just heal your Pokemon yourself?? Lemonade wondered.
?Unfortunately, I?ve lost the majority of my powers,? Mirror Mariah said. ?I still have the Diamond Wand, but with what we could be facing, I don?t think it?ll be enough.?
Mirror Mariah turned her attention to Mariah. She still could not believe that, despite the fact that she did not know much about the Mirror Wand or the world she was currently in, Mariah had managed to defeat the likes of a Magma Magician. It appeared to be dumb luck at first. However, another possibility came to her: could she rely on Mariah to help her find the cause of the recent events?
?Mirror Mariah? Is there something wrong?? Mariah asked, noticing the blank expression of her double?s face.
The Guardian snapped out of her thoughts. ?Oh, nothing? nothing at all.? She laughed embarrassedly. ?Anyway, let?s go to the PokeShop.?
Mariah was about to say something when Mirror Mariah grabbed her arm and ran off with Lemonade close behind. Treecko wondered if Mirror Mariah was always like that and was about to follow the girls and the Raichu when something caught his eye?an orange, rabbit-like Pokemon was sleeping under a windowsill of a fancy-looking apartment. The wood gecko, curious about this Pokemon that he had never seen before, went to it.
The Pokemon?s large ears perked a few times, and its fur appeared to be shiny; it was almost like glass. Its cheeks were the same color as its slowly wagging tail, which was shaped a little like an upside-down diamond. The rabbit then turned over on its back, revealing paws that were white at the tip. Treecko wanted to know more about the Pokemon, but he did not want to wake it up. Still, he could not help but just look at the rabbit Pokemon.
?Treecko!? Lemonade called. ?What are you doing over there??
Treecko turned to see that the Raichu had came back for him. ?Well, uh? I was just wondering what this Pokemon ?? The lizard turned and noticed that the rabbit had woken up and left. ?But? it was?? Treecko, wondering how the rabbit had just gone off, had a puzzled look on his face.
?Hey!? Lemonade knocked Treecko off his feet and made him land on the Raichu?s back. ?Let?s go, already! The girls are waiting for us!?
?You don?t always have to give me a piggyback ride,? Treecko said, rather annoyed.
***
Unlike the other buildings, the PokeShop was not as fancy; it was merely a gray, concrete building with a whitish-blue roof that had a model of a giant Pokeball on it. Mariah and Mirror Mariah had already gone inside by the time Lemonade and Treecko arrived. The two Pokemon went inside and saw Mirror Mariah gathering blue and red bags and a small, pink box while Mariah was looking at the merchandise.
While Mariah recognized the familiar Pokeballs and Repels on the some of the shelves scattered throughout the store, she was surprised that there were no Potions and other healing items. What she did notice was that the shelves on the wall had pink boxes of cupcakes, blue bags of peanuts, and red bags of peppers. On the shelves next to them were clear door refrigerators that had several rows of various flavors of pudding, and on the other side of the store were colorful ribbons.
?What kind of store is this?? a confused Mariah asked.
?It?s a PokeShop,? Mirror Mariah said. ?Trainers usually have to come here when they want to stock up on supplies. Since you?re going to be here for a while, I suggest you do the same.?
Mariah sighed and checked out the shelf in front of her. She saw what appeared to be tiny containers with ?P-UP?, ?S-UP?, and ?D-UP? written on them. Just then, she noticed that there was a price tag stuck on the bottom of the P-UP bottle which read ?POWER UP. 50 MIRRALS? backwards. Unfortunately, Mariah did not have any money? at least, none that would be accepted in Mirror Hoenn. Also, she did not know what these items would do to her or her Pokemon.
?Just wondering,? Mariah asked Lemonade, hoping he would have some answers, ?what?s this ?Power Up? exactly??
Lemonade paused in confusion for a moment. He felt that Mariah, since she appeared to be related to Mirror Mariah, should know what the items do like the back of her hand. Nevertheless, he sighed and looked up at her.
?Power Ups increases a Pokemon?s attack power in battle,? Lemonade said. ?You usually have to give it to your Pokemon before the battle actually starts, and the effects wear off after the battle since the Pokemon uses up more energy than usual. A lot of trainers don?t use them much because of that. That?s basically what I?ve been told from my old Trainer when she gave me some Speed Ups, which do the same thing with a Pokemon?s speed.?
From Lemonade?s description, it was clear to Mariah that the Power Ups, Defense Ups, and Speed Ups were like the X Attack, X Defense, and X Speed items back in her Hoenn. Some of the other items here would have similarities to the ones in her world, but she needed Mirrals to buy them. She went over to Mirror Mariah, who was gathering pudding.
?Uh, Mirror Mariah??? Mariah began with a sheepish laugh. ?I?m just wondering if? I could? uh? would you mind if? well???
?Do you want some Mirrals?? Mirror Mariah asked.
Mariah blushed. ?Yeah??
To the Hoenn Mirror Girl?s surprise, Mirror Mariah handed her a handful of golden hearts, which had the number five written on them, and bronze stars, which had the number one on them. Mariah started to speak, but Mirror Mariah shook her head.
?That?s three hundred Mirrals,? Mirror Mariah said. ?However, if you want more, you have to get them yourself. In any case, I?ve got everything I need. Lemonade and I will be going to Petalburg Mansion. You and your Treecko can meet us there when you?re finished shopping.?
After Mirror Mariah paid for the items at the counter, she left the store with Lemonade following. Mariah took one look at her newly acquired Mirrals for a moment before she started to head to the pudding.
***
?I?m beginning to wonder about that other you,? Lemonade said to Mirror Mariah. ?I?d thought that she would at least know how Power Ups work. It makes me think that she?s from another world or something.?
Mirror Mariah could not tell Lemonade how right he was about Mariah. Surely, the Raichu would find it rather unbelievable if Mariah, according the Lord Steven?s theory, was from another portion of the Light Universe. A noticeable thing was that Mariah was surprised by her recent powers ever since the battle with the possessed Magma Magician. The Guardian could not get her mind off of how someone like Mariah managed to win and that there was something special about her. Despite that, she could not help but feel some jealously along with concern every time she thought about that.
?We?ll worry about teaching that other Mariah the ropes later,? Mirror Mariah finally said, putting her thoughts aside as she spotted a large, whitish-yellow mansion. ?We?re here.?
Mirror Mariah knocked on the door a few times, but there was no answer. Again, she knocked, but still no response. She was about to leave when Lemonade made the door open by jiggling the handle.
?Lemonade!? Mirror Mariah said in surprise.
?You?re the one who wanted to come here.? Lemonade ran ahead, and Mirror Mariah was not too far behind.
***
It was not every day that one met a cashier with the ability to condense items into little pearls, but Mariah realized that almost anything could happen in Mirror Hoenn when she saw that the items she bought could be compressed that way at a PokeShop. Also, the pearls and her leftover Mirrals were pulled into the Pokeball on the bow of her shirt in the same fashion a trainer recalls a Pokemon; it was bizarre and unexpected yet convenient.
?I?m starting to wonder whether or not Sailor Moon went through stuff like this,? Mariah said, rubbing her eyes due to the city?s bright white color as she left the PokeShop.
Treecko, on the other hand, had his mind on the rabbit Pokemon he saw earlier. What kind of Pokemon was it? Would it be a helpful ally to him and Mariah? Hopefully, it would not be anything like the hasty and impatient Lemonade.
?Mariah,? Treecko said, ?are there any rabbit Pokemon back in our Hoenn??
Mariah thought about the question for a while. ?Well, there?s Azumarill. I remember seeing some at a Pokemon petting zoo when I was younger. Why??
?Was it small and orange?? Treecko asked. ?Did it also have a weird tail??
?Well, I don?t know about small and orange,? Mariah said. ?It did have a tail with a round, blue ball at the end, though.?
Treecko shook his head. ?It had a yellow, diamond-shaped tail. The ears were shaped like that too. It also had really glossy fur, and--?
?I?m sorry, Treecko,? Mariah said with a shrug. ?I never saw a Pokemon like that before.?
Treecko sighed and decided to drop the subject for the time being. However, Mariah thought about what Treecko just said. Could there be Pokemon that were only found in Mirror Hoenn? If there was, they would surely help Mariah while she was here in this strange world. Pokemon were rather intelligent creatures, after all.
Mariah suddenly stopped when she noticed a man in a brown jacket heading in the direction of a whitish-yellow mansion. He appeared familiar to her, but after it finally came to her, she ran up to him with a surprised Treecko right behind her.
?Excuse me,? Mariah said.
The man turned to Mariah after hearing her. ?Hello. May I help you??
***
After Mariah and Treecko had met up with Mirror Mariah and Lemonade in the mansion, they explained to the man, who introduced himself as Norman, what had happened.
?I never thought that the Sovereign?s premonition would actually happen,? Norman said after a long pause. ?The fact that there?s another Hoenn under possible affect from what?s been happening doesn?t make things any better.?
?So, do you know what?s going on?? Mirror Mariah asked, wanting to get more details out of the situation.
Norman folded his arms. ?If I remember correctly, everything that has happened involving these strange birds and dark Pokemon is the work of one of the spirits that used to work for the Sovereign. Usually, a spirit has to keep a watchful eye over an area they have been assigned to.? He then lowered his head. ?Unfortunately, there are times where some of the spirits tend to turn their backs on the Sovereign for their own selfish reasons. I?m willing to bet that this particular spirit did so in order to get something, but I have no idea what it is.?
Norman faced Mirror Mariah, who became a little uncomfortable upon his sudden eye contact. ?I?m surprised that you lost against it? and you?re the Guardian of Hoenn,? he said with a bit of scorn. ?I don?t think that the Overlord would approve of that.?
?But?? Mirror Mariah suddenly stopped when she noticed that Norman was still looking at her, knowing that she was in no position to say anything.
?However,? Norman began, ?you managed to do another important job when you found this girl? even if it was a bit late.?
Norman got up and left the room, much to the confusion of the two Mariahs.
***
Later that night, Mariah lay in bed wide awake. The recent events replayed in her mind before she mentally heard Norman?s words being spoken once more. While she realized that she had some importance to what was happening, it was not easy to accept it.
Mariah sighed and tried to go back to sleep when she heard a noise. Without wasting a second, she hurried to the window and saw a gray flash of light. When it died down, she saw something that she would never expect to see: the dark Torchic. Mariah, seeing that it was back for revenge, hurried to Lemonade who was sleeping at the side of the bed.
?Lemonde!? Mariah shook the Raichu awake but stopped and removed her hand when she felt a prick of static electricity.
?What is it?? Lemonade asked with a yawn.
Mariah headed back to the window. ?Hurry and get Mirror Mariah! The dark Torchic?s back!?
Lemonade, now fully awake, nodded and left the room. Meanwhile, Mariah opened the window. Her wings fluttered fast enough to allow her to float down to where the Torchic was. The gray chick turned around as the Mirror Wand formed in Mariah?s hand.
?Green! Release!? The green gem on the Mirror Wand glowed and shot out a light of the same color. When the light hit the ground, it formed into Mariah?s Treecko.
The Torchic wasted no time attacking by firing its embers at Treecko. However, the Wood Gecko dashed to the side to elude the attack before zooming toward the Torchic. Before the fire chick knew what happened, it was thrown off its feet when Treecko hit it with his thick tail. In spite of this, Torchic quickly got up and fired more embers at Treecko. Again, Treecko dodged, but one of the embers hit him on the side. He moaned in pain as he held his side.
?Treecko, are you okay?? a concerned Mariah asked.
?Aside from almost being fried, I?m fine,? Treecko said.
The Torchic saw an opportunity to attack and ran towards Treecko. When it was less than a foot away from him, it jumped up and, in a kicking motion, scratched Treecko in the face with its talons. The Wood Gecko took a few steps back to catch his breath when he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Mariah noticed that the Torchic?s Scratch attack have made a slight cut. While Treecko appeared to be on the verge of fainting, Torchic almost looked like it was unscathed.
?Recall Green!? A light shot from the Mirror Wand?s green gem. Once it made contact with Treecko, it transformed him into a green light before pulling him into the Wand. All Mariah could do now was hold the Torchic off before help came.
?You?re pathetic.?
The Torchic focused it energy before releasing it in the form of a stream of fire. However, Mariah aimed the Mirror Wand at the fire and hoped something would happen. Sure enough, when the fire reached her, the Pokeball on the wand opened up and absorbed the flames. Both Mariah and the Torchic were surprised at this, but Mariah was even more surprised when the Mirror Wand?s wings shone with a bright light before they fired energy in the form of a small, star-shaped comet right at the Torchic. To Mariah?s dismay, however, the Torchic avoided the attack by burrowing into the ground. Before Mariah could figure out what would happen, the Torchic appeared from the ground and scratched her in the face with its talons. The surprised Mariah let out a short yelp of pain as the Torchic prepared to move in towards her.
?Oh, no, you don?t!? Lemonade appeared between Mariah and Torchic before his cheeks flared up with electricity.
The Torchic was not very intimidated by Lemonade, but then Mirror Mariah?s Mudkip and a brown sloth Pokemon joined him. Mudkip was taking a deep breath to attack when he was stopped by a flurry of fire-tipped arrows. Everyone was surprised at this sudden assault, but Norman was not too sure if the chick Pokemon was behind this.
?Slakoth, Sunny Day,? Norman said.
The brown sloth closed his eyes and began to exude a faint orange glow that gradually became brighter. The sky changed from a starless night sky to a bright blue as the sun became visible. The sunlight revealed a bat-winged girl with a bow and arrow. Mariah suddenly became surprised when she saw her. Like Mirror Mariah, the girl in the tree resembled her greatly, but she appeared to be a dark side of her. The devil Mariah jumped down from the tree and held out her hand. A black whirlwind appeared briefly before a dark version of the Mirror Wand appeared in its place.
?Crimson Wand, recall Torchic!? The crimson gems on the devil Mariah?s wand started to glow brightly before shooting a dark red beam. Once the beam made contact with the Torchic, it turned into a light that was reeled into the Wand. The shadowy Mariah looked disapprovingly at Mariah and Mirror Mariah.
?
This is supposed to be one of the girls the Sovereign chose??
Mirror Mariah got upset at the comment. ?Deviri, I know she isn?t close to my level, but if we give her a chance, I?m sure she?ll??
?Angeri?? Deviri shook her head. ?You, as the Guardian of Hoenn?s Light Universe, should take this situation a lot more seriously than you are now. It was rather disappointing for me to find out that the ones that the Sovereign chose to represent the Shadow Universe no longer exist. I was hoping you would do your share to find the ones that represent the Light Universe? but from what I?ve seen, that has ended in failure as well.?
?You can?t expect me to know everything about my powers as soon as I get them!? Mariah retorted, trying to defend Mirror Mariah.
?Angeri, or ?Mirror Mariah? as you call her, isn?t the best Guardian I?ve ever seen,? Deviri began. ?She tends to let her emotions and na?ve thoughts about everlasting peace come in the way of her business.?
?I don?t know about you,? Angeri said, ?but I?ve been taking care of this since Ever Grande Cathedral was attacked! It?s not like you never had to go through this since you?re the Guardian of Shadow Hoenn!?
Upon hearing what Angeri said, Deviri gritted her teeth and balled her fist for a few moments. Her Crimson Wand vanished in a puff of dark red smoke, and she rose into the air.
?By the way, I heard about the Golden Gateway,? Deviri said. ?If you want to find the shards, I suggest starting in Rustboro Ruins.?
?Well, since you know where the shard is, would you mind helping us?? Angeri asked.
?Sorry,? Deviri said. ?I have some things to take care of.? And with that, Deviri vanished.
It was obvious things would get harder from this point.
End of Chapter 5
