Condemned

It had taken years, but Forrest had finally found them all. The Time Gears, he knew where they were, he knew how to save the world and prevent all this from happening. He was so close, but a monumental task stood before him.

Under a grey sky, the walked through a sparse forest, a clearing in the near distance.

‘The Passage of Time is just ahead.’

Forrest’s eyes flicked to the pink Pokemon floating before him, and he couldn’t help but smile. ‘Thank you, Celebi.’

Celebi giggled. ‘My pleasure! I would give my life again and again to see the sunrise.’

Grovyle nodded solemnly and spoke in a surprisingly deep voice. ‘We’ll set things right.’

Forrest laid his hand upon Grovyle’s shoulder, looking fondly on his friend, and reminiscing. ‘Are you ready? If we do this, we’ll disappear.’

Grovyle smiled. ‘A small sacrifice. At least wherever I go, you two will be with me.’

‘There it is!’ Cried Celebi.

Turning his eyes forward, Forrest saw the Passage of Time, a swirling blue and black vortex, tucked amongst lifeless trees.

With nothing more than a shared look, and a nod, Forrest and Grovyle moved towards the passage, but a voice stopped them in their tracks.

‘Hoo hoo hahaha! You didn’t think you’d get away, did you?’

Forrest whipped around, unsurprised to see a Dusknoir sauntering closer, flanked by three Sableye on either side.

‘I won’t let you change the future!’ Crowed Dusknoir.

Raising his hands slowly, Forrest knelt and pressed his forehead to the ground. From there, he called, ‘I’m sorry, Dusknoir!’

‘Sorry?’ Scoffed Dusknoir. ‘Well, apology accepted. Let’s head to Temporal Tower and join Master Dialga for some afternoon tea,’ he drawled.

‘I think it’s morning, actually,’ muttered Grovyle.

‘You’re condemning us all!’ Dusknoir’s gestures grew wild and his voice continued to raise as he drew nearer. ‘Every Pokemon here would die, because you want to see the sun?!’

Standing, Forrest dusted himself off. ‘Plenty of Pokemon died because of this. Either way, people get hurt.’

‘But that doesn’t have to be us!’ Dusknoir released a mighty sigh and his clenched fists loosened. ‘Please, don’t do this.’

‘We have to,’ said Forrest.

‘I don’t want to die! Is that so wrong?’ Dusknoir clutched at his chest and the face on his belly twisted in agony.

Feeling warm tears streak down his face, Forrest shook his head. ‘No, no it’s not. I, I’m sorry.’

Taking Grovyle’s hand, Forrest dashed towards the Passage of Time, Dusknoir hot on their heels. Celebi zipped away from the charging behemoth and watched as Forrest and Grovyle leapt into the Passage of Time, Dusknoir and the Sableye diving in behind them.

The Passage of Time roared and fluctuated for a moment, before growing silent, and disappearing. Celebi watched them go and felt her heart sink once more.

Behind her, Darkrai emerged from shadows. Smiling to himself, he crossed his arms and watched the sky. It was perfectly still.

Sighing, Celebi floated nearer, the smile falling from her face. ‘This won’t work.’

Turning his gaze to her, Darkrai laughed, long and wicked. ‘You all did exactly what I wanted. It’s only a matter of time.’

‘We’ve been here before.’

Plucking a shadow from his body, Darkrai examined it, and tossed it aside. ‘I don’t recognize this place,’ he said with a snort.

Celebi’s gaze turned pitiful. ‘Flip, we have had this conversation before.’

Darkrai’s mind reeled and for a moment the shadows covering his face flickered. Thoughts bubbled to the surface, tumbling over one another. ‘How many times?’

‘I stopped counting.’ Celebi floated near, gently patting his head. ‘It never works. No matter what you try, he doesn’t come back.’

Rage surging through him, Darkrai leapt for the nearest tree and tore it from the ground. Wheeling about, he tossed it acrossed the clearing, where it shattered upon colliding with several other trees.

‘What is it?’ Yelled Darkrai. ‘Why doesn’t it work?’

‘A soul can’t exist twice in one timeline. Eventually, the original will overwrite the other.’

Darkrai’s mind raced. ‘Vine.’

Celebi nodded. ‘Vine is alive when you meet Forrest on the beach. The whole time Forrest was with you, he was slowly being erased. If he’d stayed in the Dark Future, he would’ve been fine, even if you changed the past and restored the Time Gears.’

‘It wasn’t my fault? Then, then I just need Forrest to remain in the future!’ Cried Darkrai, his body billowing despite the lack of wind.

Celebi shook her head. ‘You tried that, and it didn’t work. You failed to restore the Time Gears, things turned bad, and you became Darkrai.’

‘What do you mean?’

Celebi sat, looking pitifully upon Darkrai. ‘Flip, you’re stuck in a time loop of you’re own making. In each and every timeline, Forrest dies and you become Darkrai. You put in motion the Dark Future.’

‘Impossible!’ Snapped Darkrai. ‘That can’t be true. Otherwise, how did I meet Forrest in the first timeline?’

‘You didn’t. The night you first got mugged by Koffing and Zubat, when they took your relic treasure? You went in to get it back, and you got hurt, really bad. An exploration team saved you.’

Darkrai listened with rapt attention, but his stomach coiled and writhed in pain.

‘Wigglytuff’s guild treated you,’ continued Celebi, ‘and you begged them to let you join. They agreed, but you kept getting into trouble. You failed to retrieve the pearl of a Spoink. An Azurill was kidnapped, and you tried to help, but got hurt again while searching in the wrong place.’

‘Stop, that’s enough,’ muttered Darkrai.

‘You were sent to explore a waterfall, and turned up nothing. When the time came for the expedition to Fogbound Lake, you went along. You made it there alright, with some help, but you were ambushed by Skuntank, Koffing and Zubat. You almost died.

‘The expedition was cut short, and when you recovered, you were told to leave the guild. That you weren’t cut out for exploring. You were alone after that. Eventually, you became this, brought about the Dark Future, and began the first instance of the time loop. I turned Forrest back into a human, and you gave him the Dimensional Scream ability, hoping things might turn out different. Flip, you never wanted this.’

Clutching at his shoulders, Darkrai drifted downwards, until he hit the ground. There, he curled into a boulder and began to shake. ‘Why? Why am I doomed to be alone?’

Celebi cleared her throat. ‘Go to the past and find Vine. Then, bring him here. You’ll be together. Grovyle will come home.’

‘I can’t,’ whimpered Darkrai. ‘How can I face him, after all that I’ve done? I don’t want this anymore. Make it stop.’

Celebi’s vision turned blurry as her eyes started to water. ‘I’ve heard you say that many times, and because of you, I have sent my friends to their death countless times. Please, let it end.’

Clawing at the dirt, Darkrai sat upright, his blue eye wavering. ‘I can’t do it.’

Clutching at his shoulders, Celebi begged, ‘this has to end. Darkrai, I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep waiting for you to make the right choice.’

‘What is the right choice?!’ Screamed Darkrai, swatting her away.

‘Accept that he’s gone and be done with it!’ Celebi yelled back.

‘I can’t!’ Clutching at his chest, Darkrai stumbled to his feet. ‘I am strong because of Forrest. You said it yourself, the original timeline, without him I’m a failure! Without Forrest, I have no value.’

Celebi floated closer slowly, and hugged Darkrai. ‘You just need to find the right place to grow: the right soil.’