prismaticbleed | July 3rd, 2010 (Reply)

I fell asleep at 2AM last night and woke up at 8am. God only knows what I dreamt of during that time, but when I fell back asleep until 1PM, epic awesome happened.

The first thing I can clearly recall is being in a small village of sorts, sitting outside a building with Mel and Apollo (my Macbook), writing up this huge e-mail to someone on thoughtquestions.com (not sure who). I had written about 2 entire pages when my Safari window suddenly crashed, and I lost all the work I had done. I began to cry a bit, explaining to Mel that the e-mail had been incredibly important and there was no way I could accurately re-write it now. As I was telling them this, there was suddenly a loud announcement from nearby telling every Pokemon trainer that had 'signed up' for this epic battle to report to a certain floor of the building I was by. I got up and soon found myself on a very high floor (several stories up), facing a crowd of people and Pokemon. The place looked almost like an auditorium in build, except the floor was level and instead of a stage the floor simply disappeared into a sheer cutoff. Past that was a seemingly endless white passage, full of cloud and with no bottom in sight. I walked up to the very edge on the left side (not many people dared to stand at the edge) and met my brother Viral there, who was standing next to a Lucario. Apparently we were readying for a defining battle in the world of Pokemon, and only certain Trainers had been allowed to attend. Even stranger, two Trainers were needed for each battle, as one would summon their monster and the other would call out attacks and the like. I was to be instructing my brother's Lucario. We got ready then, when suddenly the cloud passage lit up with an intense light and this strangely haunting, almost frighteningly minimal 'battle music' began to play. As soon as it did, every sound except the Trainer's voices was muted, and the light surged backwards to reveal Reshiram and Zekrom in the space before us (Reshi on the left, Zek on the right). My brother and I were directly in front of Reshiram. I was pretty darn scared right now, as he was huge (I could only see their shoulders up with how close they were, and they still towered over us), but began quickly calling out attacks for our Lucario. Oddly enough, he had a list of about 10 attacks, and each one was a different type. The first few attacks I called out didn't seem to faze Reshiram, but he didn't fight back. I called out an Electric attack after this and it did 150 damage (final fantasy style), but Reshiram didn't seem affected very much. I panicked a bit and guessed that he must have several thousand HP (also like final fantasy), and remembering his typemix, decided to use a Dragon type attack. Shockingly, it only did 100 damage. I tried a Water one immediately after and it only did 50. I was about to use the Electric attack again when Reshiram's eyes suddenly switched to focus on Zekrom's target (whatever Trainer was facing him), and he shot a bright white energy bolt out of his mouth at them. While Reshi was focused elsewhere, I quickly moved to my brother and tried to work out an attack plan with him. However, we didn't get the chance to do anything concerning it, as both dragons suddenly backed away from the ledge where we could see their entire bodies. As they did so, the light and cloud disappeared to reveal that we were looking over a huge Egyptian-looking chamber, full of pedestals, statues and labyrinthine stairs, with the floor being at level with the ground outside (again, at least 20 floors down). I was now moving (don't know where), but was now farther away from the ledge and on the right side. Zekrom saw me, though, and spoke up directly to me, asking me what I was doing; he had a very deep voice that buzzed loudly with electricity. I froze in fright and looked up to see him staring down from far above me, his eyes burning bright red. I was too scared to muster a reply, so he continued to speak against me (I forget what he said) before moving back into position. As he did so he chased Reshiram off (I don't know where he went), and loudly proclaimed that this site had been a shrine to him in the distant past, as he had been revered as a god. As he said this, all the Trainers around me began falling to their knees as if to worship him. I began to panic. I refused to follow suit-- Zekrom was no god, despite his power-- but I knew that if he saw me resist he would probably kill me on sight. I therefore turned and ran to where the stairs had been, except now there were only openings in the wall, like the arches in the Coliseum. Hiding behind the wall of one (they all opened up into a small chamber that lined the room), I wondered why I had ran instead of basically 'martyring' myself for my belief. I then told myself that, if I had just given myself up to his fatal punishment, then I would not only be unable to see Reshiram again (who I strongly felt was good), but I wouldn't have the opportunity to speak to Zekrom about what he was doing and maybe understand/change his motives. As I thought this, I suddenly heard Zekrom roar in anger that I wasn't in the crowd before him. Almost immediately after, he charged through the wall beside me, glowing with energy, leaving nothing but burning rubble in his wake. He continued through the opposite chamber wall and into a tunnel, where I knew he would turn around and come back towards me. Not wanting to die, I turned back to the main room (which was now strangely empty) and ran down the hall away from the dropoff.
Farther down the hall, I found another dropoff, except this one opened into a stadium and was significantly less steep/large (about the size of a football field). Beside that opening there was a large sort of shelf, which extended to the ground level of the stadium but was still 'inside' the building. On it were hundreds of art cut-outs of Reshiram and Zekrom, and a small crowd of Trainers was standing around it, talking amongst themselves. I understood that this was almost like a 'ticket booth,' as in order to be included in this battle royale, Trainers had to create and submit a piece of artwork showing their respect for the dragons. To my disappointment, I realized that a huge majority of the Trainers had simply created large versions of the official Sugimori artwork (they looked traced, really) and submitted them as their 'respects.' I felt this was cheating, but then began to worry as I didn't see 'my' contribution anywhere. I found my brother in the crowd and called him over, asking him if he had 'handed in' my artwork. He said yes, and to make sure I asked him what it had been. He explained that I had drawn Reshiram from the front, hovering above a large castle, and there were purple energy rings surrounding him and the turrets around him. I was satisfied with his description so I let him go. Almost immediately after I did so, a man standing by the art-shelf began to announce that whoever had handed in their art and received a 'bonus point' or something for it was eligible for a free Pokedoll of their choice. I wondered if they had any Reshiram dolls, but then worried as I didn't remember having received any bonus anything, despite having handed in my artwork. I didn't stay focused on this for long, though, as a cheer rose from the nearby stadium and I realized that the dragons had returned-- and I felt I owed both of them something. I got Apollo out and quickly began writing up an e-mail to each dragon, introducing myself as a friend and also speaking praise of them individually, and also composing an extra piece of art for them both. I had finished writing Zekrom's (as I felt I really needed to make peace with him) and was about to send it when I realized that, if only he received the mail at first, Reshiram might feel cheated. I therefore hurried down the Stadium steps and onto the ground row seating (which was again empty), and simultaneously sent both e-mails to the dragons-- who were standing barely 20 feet away from me. As I did so, a small 'mail' icon appeared in the air by them both, and they seemed surprised, looking down to notice me there. Instead of asking what I was up to, though, Zekrom immediately opened his mail (mentally, I assume), and began reading it to his brother. Upon reaching the introductory paragraphs, he asked me what in the world I was writing about myself for, and I explained that I felt i should introduce myself properly to him, as it was only respectful. He considered this for a moment, then nodded and finished the letter before viewing the artwork I had drawn. It depicted him in the ancient chamber from before, surrounded by his 'subjects.' He seemed very pleased with this and turned to Reshiram. I then realized that I had not finished his, and interrupted to let him know this. Both dragons seemed slightly upset (Zekrom moreso, though) and Reshiram asked me why this was (his voice was much younger than Zekrom's, and it had an echoic quality to it). I honestly told him about Zekrom's treatment of me earlier, and said that I felt I should finish his first so he wouldn't be so negative towards me, plus I had submitted my initial art for Reshiram's sake beforehand. Reshiram seemed to understand but still seemed upset, so I quickly asked him if he could wait one minute for me to finish my letter to him. He agreed (although Zekrom still didn't seem happy at all), and I began typing like mad. As I was completing it, though, I realized that there was no way I could get a complete and presentable art piece done for Reshiram in my limited time. I nevertheless asked the audience if anyone had paper and drawing supplies. To my surprise, Lynne Triplett stood up with both paper and a full set of pencils, saying that she was willing to let me use hers. I had a better idea, though, and took out my wallet, declaring that I would buy a commission of Reshiram from her on the spot. She agreed and got to work, and I sent Reshiram his mail. I didn't get to see if he read it, though, because Trippy suddenly handed me three sketchbooks, saying they were mine and she had 'finished' the work I had asked her to do in them. I therefore began flipping through them, and was surprised to see that she had been drawing several complicated pieces of Flashfire and his gang (some very old-school Jewel Monsters). I was admiring them for a while when suddenly Zekrom came over and asked if they were my work. I said no, but then flipped past them to show him what was. There were a few random sketches, but he said they weren't very good work so I explained that they were just quick doodles. I then turned to show him some very complicated, detailed color works in the back, depicting several Hokthai and a few random furries. Zekrom seemed impressed by those (Reshiram had now joined him) and asked me why I couldn't draw like that all the time. I explained that I would if it wasn't so difficult and took up so much time. Zekrom insisted that I should still draw better, and he seemed very upset that the majority of my work didn't measure up to those few examples.
I then closed the book and turned to him, asking why he was so upset with me, not just now but also from before. He stood up straight and angrily explained that it was because I was dangerous. Shocked, I asked how that was even possible, as I had no intention of harming either of them. Reshiram stepped in and said that it didn't matter; over the past '500 days' several Legendary Pokemon had been swiftly taken out by 'chosen' Trainers, and I was the next one destined to face them. Zekrom then produced a list of strange colored symbols, explaining that they were the Pokemon that had been defeated (apparently brutally) in the past. He said that 'you Trainers have destroyed the spirits of Thunder, Water, Ice, Delusions, Immortality, yourself and yourself!', pointing to three colored squares (yellow, blue and light blue respectively-- assumedly the Legendary Birds, although Moltres was apparently now Water), two large shining strips of color (Lugia and Ho-Oh; his descriptions of them greatly intrigued me) and a large checkerboard square in red and black. I initially assumed that represented Kyogre and Groudon, but it made no sense. It then hit me that those last ones, 'yourself and yourself,' referred to Mew and Celebi... as I identified as a Mew in my childhood, and was now a permanent Celebi. I didn't have time to ponder this, though, as Zekrom was interrupted by a sudden burst of violet energy and Mewtwo appeared behind us. Zekrom and Reshiram seemed shocked at his arrival and asked what he was doing there. Mewtwo instead started agitatedly explaining that he was having an existential crisis, as 'too many clones' of him had been made and he wasn't sure which one was 'real' anymore. Reshiram tried to calm him down, assuring him that there were no clones and he was the only Mewtwo in existence, but Mewtwo wouldn't listen and instead teleported off again. The two dragons were quiet for a moment, and then Zekrom turned to me and asked me if I thought he was evil. I was taken aback and was about to answer when Reshiram said 'what if I'm the evil one?' but he seemed to be putting it on. I spoke up then, saying that neither of them was truly evil or truly good-- we all had both qualities and that's what the two of them represented: universal balance. Reshiram seemed shocked at this but Zekrom demanded, 'how do you know so much about us??' I tried to explain myself but he started firing energy blasts at us, which caused the 'audience' to start bailing. Reshiram took ahold of me and we flew off to a nearby overlooking forest (which I hadn't seen before), where we hid behind a particularly large pine tree. I remember Reshiram was worried that his wings were still visible. Either way, Zekrom was still flipping out in the stadium, even to the point where he quite literally began picking up random Trainers and flinging them out of the arena. He eventually calmed down and Reshiram and I returned, trying to get him to chill out for once.
Unfortunately I woke up right around then.

...I think it's safe to say that I'm definitely getting Pokemon Black.