***************

Riding Articuno was unlike riding any Pokemon Gobrianna had ever had the pleasure to sit astride before. With the brisk wind blowing back her long copper hair (she had lost her hat upon takeoff) and the white land below flying by at a breathtaking speed, Gobrianna was content to marvel in the magic of the flight.

It was Articuno who broke the silence first. "Soon we’ll be off the island. I haven’t left in decades. Where will we go?"

"Uh. . . ." She hadn’t thought about this. She hadn’t been planning ahead at all, lately. But then again, what did she expect when running errands for vague beings who called themselves the Eight? "I haven’t thought that far," she admitted. "What’s your plan?"

"What makes you think I have one?"

"Bu-but you’re the one who said we had to go. To bring fantasy back to the world. I mean, don’t you know how?"

A red eye swiveled back to gaze at her. "The only thing I know is that years ago I was believed in a lot more, and all I had to do was fly around a lot and let people see me."

She grinned as the answer presented itself. "Of course! People will believe again if they can see you! And the other legends too! We just have to let people get glimpses of you, to remind them that the unknown still exists."

Articuno nodded. "Makes sense to me, Gobrianna. So, where to?"

"Fuchsia City, then. It’s the closest city to the Seafoam Islands on the mainland."

"Right. Hope it hasn’t moved lately." Chuckling to itself, the bird of ice wheeled until they were heading north. No longer straight ahead, the golden disk just touching the ocean surface now sat to their left.

Gobrianna did a double take. Ocean? Yup. What had taken her hours of painstaking labor Articuno had covered in about twenty minutes. Small dots of gray smoke drifted up from a cluster of houses along the shore they were passing over at the moment. They were too high up for Gobrianna to tell if it was the same small town where she had first come ashore, but it could have been.

As her mind lingered on the commotion that must have been generated by her departure, Articuno flew on unwaveringly. Soon the Island was left behind and green water stretched on as far as the eye could see. Gobrianna was very happy to be flying above the sea and not traveling on it. If she ever went swimming again, it would be too soon.

Articuno’s voice startled her back to reality. "And where to after Fuchsia?" it asked conversationally. She giggled inwardly. No wonder it had continued to answer her questions even through its exasperation. The bird couldn’t keep quiet for ten minutes! She wondered what it had talked to alone on that mountain all this time. Wild Pokemon?

Gobrianna didn’t immediately reply to its question as its words sunk in and an unexpected and unprepared for burst of emotion welled up in her. Images of her mother, old Flareon, Professor Skokie and even Adam and Tammy flashed in her mind. She blinked back tears as one word surged up her throat. "Home," she murmured huskily. "I want to go home."

One of Articuno’s feathery eyebrows quirked. "Home it is," it agreed without comment. There was a moment of silence as the sixteen-year-old gazed downward, watching a Gyarados surge through the waves. It would be so good to be home. She hadn’t seen her mother other than on a phone screen in months, and Professor Skokie would positively swoon when she got to meet the legendary Articuno. It was a Pokemon scientist’s dream-come-true. Maybe Gobrianna would stay a while. Surely her replacement at the Fantasy Gym could keep it up a few more weeks or so—

Without warning the gong Articuno had called out before, to banish the snow, rang once again. This time it was less beautiful and more terrible than the other. Gobrianna clapped her hands to her head in an effort to block out the screeching sound. The Gyarados below dove. She blanched; there wasn’t much in the world that could scare off a wild Gyarados. As Articuno’s echoing cry bounded across the water its rider looked up, not quite able to keep a whimper escaping from her clenched throat.

A mass of something was building on the horizon. It was something that Gobrianna instantly recognized, and it drove a bolt of pure terror straight into her heart. The seething black clouds piled higher and higher, the worst storm ever seen, seeming to consume the rays of the setting sun. The sky darkened.

Gobrianna was frozen. She couldn’t move. Fear filled every inch of her. She saw nothing but the black clouds massing on the horizon. What were they? They couldn’t be the Darkness itself. Sable herself had said it couldn’t come to this world. The Eight had told her the same thing time and again. And yet, her heart told that this was as close to actually being here as the Darkness could get. And if the Darkness could manifest itself like this here, it could only mean that the Eight had been defeated in battle. And that meant that she had failed. No matter what she did, no matter where she went, she couldn’t escape this evil that followed her like a shadow. It wouldn’t let her go. It wouldn’t leave her alone! And now it would take her and. . . . She began to tremble.

It took long moments for the Pokemon trainer to realize that Articuno was yelling at her, screaming in its crystal voice. "Release your Pokemon, Gobrianna!" shrieked the legendary creature in a voice of piercing ice. "Release them all! Now!"

She tried, she really did, but she couldn’t move. Her terror was absolute. Her hands wouldn’t respond. Neither would her throat, when she tried to call to Articuno. Even though she rode on the Pokemon’s back, felt its feathered body under her, in her mind she was completely alone and defenseless.

Articuno seemed to understand what restrained her from acting, and was trying to help her. "Take hold of yourself, Gobrianna! Your fear is its power over you! Don’t give it that control!"

I’m trying! she desperately wanted to tell the Pokemon, but her voice had died away. I-I can’t help it. It’s too strong. I can’t move, I can’t think, I can’t . . . I can’t.

The ice being tried another angle. "Don’t you have faith in your Pokemon?" demanded Articuno loudly. The black clouds were swirling faster, higher. Gobrianna thought she saw vague, horrible shapes form, only to disappear in the churning.

Whatever we find, whatever happens, I just want you to know that I trust you. And that I believe you can all do what needs to be done, we can do it. The words she had spoken as she stood in the back of her Gym, facing her Pokemon, returned. They burned the icy fear back somewhat. She clung to that heat, willing it to spread throughout her body and free her paralysis. With a wordless cry of effort she thrust her hands at her Pokeballs and threw them into the sky.

As the six gleaming spheres plummeted toward the sea Articuno dived right along with them, snapping open its wings to hover just above the surface of the water. The brilliant white light of the balls opening filled the dark air, banishing the terror in her heart a bit more. Soon six pairs of eyes were gazing at the trainer. Charizard hovered on reptilian wings beside Articuno. Dewgong and Lapras bobbed in the green waves. Raichu used its long tail to balance on the former’s smooth white back, while Arbok curled around the knobby shell of the later. Vaporeon paddled between the two larger water Pokemon. All were alert as Gobrianna silently pointed to the horizon. Their eyes followed her finger.

"Char!" bellowed the fire Pokemon. The others echoed its exclamation in their own voices.

Articuno cut in with a sharp, "Cuno!" Gobrianna blinked in amazement as it spoke rapidly in the Pokemon language. The six Pokemon nodded as one. It whirled on Gobrianna next. "If we’re to survive this we’ll need you too, human. Have you snapped out of the hold this Darkness has on you? Or will you leave your Pokemon to be destroyed without putting up a fight?"

Adamant crimson eyes bore into her. The legendary creature’s words touched Gobrianna, but her fear was growing as she saw black tendrils extending from the mass on the horizon, questing fingers searching the empty sky. She tore her gaze away. "What can we do?"

"We can attack!" Articuno shot back at once. "With whatever weapons we have. And we can believe."

A deep rumble cracked across the sky. The dark clouds were creeping forward now. Jagged bolts of back lightning shot through the mass. It was spreading fast. Soon the whole sky would be covered. And then what? Would the Darkness block the sun’s rays, depriving the inhabitants of the planet the daylight they needed to live? But the Darkness didn’t want to kill everyone; it only wanted to control. What was its plan?

We can believe. Almost the same words she spoke to Holly.

And then Gobrianna realized that it didn’t matter what its plan was. She was here, with the legendary bird of ice and her six Pokemon. They were the only ones to stop this from happening. That was all that mattered. She forced her eyes to look upon the hideous thing before her. It was much closer now, moving faster than any ordinary storm could. The wind whipped her copper hair into her eyes. The black lightning bolts struck the surface of the water. The waves thrashed like angry beings. Fear coursed through her again at this sight, but she buried it deep inside her. This was not a time for emotions. "Charizard!" screamed Gobrianna, above the raging wind.

The fire Pokemon swooped down until she could have jumped onto its back. She saw in her Pokemon’s eyes a lost and desperate look, and she realized that perhaps for the first time in its life, Charizard was afraid.

"Fire Spin," she told her oldest friend earnestly. "Fire Spin that thing when I give the signal."

Charizard cast an uneasy glance at the rapidly approaching storm. "Char?" it growled uncertainly.

"I don’t know," she admitted. "But we have to believe it will. That’s the only way we can win. Do you understand, Charizard?"

The winged lizard nodded, hesitantly at first, but as it saw the determination in its trainer’s eyes it soon gathered courage. It still didn’t know if it could defeat this, but it trusted Gobrianna.

Seeing Articuno’s approving nod, the Pokemon trainer turned to the others below. "Lapras!" she shouted down, "Hydro Pump when I say!" The water Pokemon looked confident. "Raichu, Thunder!" Sparks crackled around its yellow cheek pouches. "Dewgong, Ice Beam on my mark!"

"Gong!" affirmed the sea lion Pokemon.

"Acid, Arbok!" A hissing reply reached up above the seething waves. "Vaporeon!" she called lastly.

"Pore?" whimpered the water Pokemon, looking up at its trainer forlornly.

She smiled to show it she wasn’t upset. "Just do your best, Vaporeon."

"Vapore!" was the ready reply.

Gobrianna turned back toward the black mass. "NOW!" she screamed as loud as she could.

"Chaaaaarrrr!" roared Charizard, a gigantic column of flames irrupting from its jaws.

"Chuuuuuuuuuu!" Raichu’s electrical attack was right behind it.

"Char boka!" A blob of thick black Acid flew at the towering cloud.

Lapras’s intense jet of water blasted at the Darkness, and the gleaming white Ice Beam was right behind it. The two torrents shot into the black mass with the others.

"Vap vap, poreon!"

Gobrianna stared down in shock as another powerful blast of water pummeled the cloud. "That’s . . . that’s Hydro Pump! Way to go, Vaporeon!" she crowed. The little water Pokemon was pouring all its heart into its assault. And for the first time in its life it pulled off the most powerful attack of its species.

Gobrianna was so focused on her own Pokemon she didn’t notice the air around her growing colder, until a haze of white flickered on the edge of her vision. "Huh?"

It was then that the girl felt the increased tempo of Articuno’s wing beats. With each clap of its wings, the cloud of vapor now floating around them spread outward. It swirled in the cold air, reaching out just as the Darkness did. It was Articuno’s Mist!

Now Gobrianna turned to the Darkness. She watched the column of red-hot flames, the yellow bolts of electricity, the black globs of Acid, the two blue beams and one white one plunge into the seething black mass. The attacks hit at different places, trying to spread out, trying to stop all of the giant cloud. She strained her eyes for any reaction, heart in throat, hoping, praying. The Darkness hesitated. She held her breath.

And it plunged on as surly as before.

The trainer’s spirits crashed to the ground as the six Chosen Pokemon broke off their attacks, confused and discouraged. Nothing stopped this thing. She stared bleakly as it towered over them all, touching the top of the sky, stretched across the horizon both to the left and right of them. Then one of the black tentacles seemed to sense the eight beings clustered below. It extended toward them like a reaching arm, slowly sprouting thin fingers. A dark shadow fell as it prepared to touch them, to grab them, to smother the life out of them or plunge them into the sea. Gobrianna didn’t know for sure what was about to happen, but it didn’t matter. There wasn’t anything they could do now anyway.

An angry caw erupted from Articuno, and the Pokemon’s ghostly Mist reached out to meet the tentacle of Darkness that was almost upon them. The two insubstantial boundaries mingled, swirling, merging. Suddenly there was a shining light, like a sunbeam, gleaming from the spot where they met. Gobrianna squinted to see. The Mist and the Darkness had solidified somewhat. They were attacking each other savagely, pushing against each other, trying to gain ground like an army fighting for a battlefield.

Her wide turquoise eyes were so fixed on the battle—as were the eyes of the Pokemon in the sea and air—that she failed to pay attention to the rest of the considerable amount of black clouds. No one noticed when another of the dark tendrils loomed out of the main mass close by. It shot across the open space surrounding the little group like a rubber band, curling around Gobrianna and plucking her right off the ice Pokemon’s back!

The girl screamed as the tendril of cloud took hold of her. It didn’t feel cloud-like. It felt cold and slimy, like a Tentacruel.

A bellowing roar answered her outcry, and she saw an orange comet streaking toward her. "Charizard! No!" she cried, instantly terrified for her Pokemon. If the Darkness knocked the fire Pokemon out of the sky it would fall into the ocean. . . .

But the winged lizard’s course didn’t waver. The tendril holding her in its grasp tightened, crushing the air out of her lungs. She gasped, struggling to draw breath. Ignoring the intense pain, she began to squirm. Maybe it was slimy enough for her to slip out.

Charizard zoomed into range swiftly. Suddenly there was fire all around Gobrianna. She flinched, knowing Charizard would never hurt her intentionally but unable to stop the involuntary action. The flames danced and crackled in the air without touching her. She shut her eyes against the heat and light. Her fire Pokemon let loose with another howl that made her teeth clench. She heard so many things in that sound. It spoke of fury, that someone would dare hurt the person it cared about. It spoke of pain, the fear of losing a loved-one. Determination, that nothing would stand in its way. And Gobrianna wasn’t afraid anymore.

The pressure around her chest unexpectedly eased, and she blinked in surprise. Life-giving air filled her lungs and a surge of confidence swelled. The coils slackened more; she writhed in its grasp. It didn’t matter to her that she was suspended high above the ocean’s surface. With her winged Pokemon and the legendary bird of ice in the air she knew she would never hit the water.

Finally she slipped out of the tendril’s grasp. Charizard cut off its flames as she was freed. For a sickening moment she was dropping like a rock, her five Pokemon gazing up from below in shock and horror. Then a brilliant blur swooped down from above and under her. She hit Articuno’s back with a gentle thump, instantly clutching at the cyan feathers.

"Welcome back!" called the bird. "Try to stay on this time."

She grinned. "It’s good to see you too." The Pokemon chortled. Then its avian face sobered. It gave another of its ringing cries, soaring up to reengage the enemy. The white Mist had faded somewhat, because Articuno had to stop its attack to rescue her Gobrianna guessed. The dark tentacle was attempting to thrust itself forward again, but the ice bird wasn’t about to let up now. Its wings beat aggressively, the Mist strengthened, and again that part of the storm cloud was stopped.

"It’s working," whispered the girl to herself. Then louder, "It’s working!" She twisted around on Articuno’s back, searching the sky. A bright flash of orange caught her eye. Charizard was darting and weaving through the air, avoiding the Darkness as it thrust bits of itself at the fire Pokemon. When it got the chance the winged lizard replied with a blast of flame. "This way, Charizard!" she called, waving her arm above her head. The Pokemon veered in her direction, and the Mist kept the Darkness from following.

Charizard fell in beside Articuno. "Zard char?" it rumbled at its trainer.

"Look, Charizard, look." She pointed at the white barrier. "Articuno’s Mist is stopping it. Pokemon attacks do work! We have to try again!"

Charizard didn’t hesitate. "CHAAARRRRR!" it roared, a spiraling funnel of fire exploding from its jaws. Avoiding the spot where the Mist was holding back the Darkness, it instead concentrated its assault to one side, where more tendrils were attempting to creep around the ghostly white cloud.

Now Gobrianna looked to the rest of her Pokemon. They were still bobbing in the thrashing waves, Arbok and Raichu looking a little worse for wear, but each holding their own. She cupped her hands around her mouth to reach them over the sounds of the two battling fliers. "We can’t give up hope yet! You have to try again . . . I believe you can! Remember what we’re fighting for, and go!"

Her Pokemon answered, and it was five cries of resolution that rose to her ears as five attacks streaked up at the looming oppressor. Gobrianna turned to stare at the Darkness with pride burning in her, sensing that this was the final showdown. One side was going to walk away from this fight, and she told herself emphatically that it wasn’t going to be the Darkness.

I’m not going to let you win! she thought with all her heart. We are strong together, because we believe in each other. And ourselves. We won’t back down! We! Won’t! Let! You! Win!

A blast of thunder pealed. Black lightning crackled across the surface of the mass of angry clouds. She stared harder, until her eyes blurred with tears, refusing to blink or look away. And she saw . . . was she just imagining it? Were her eyes playing tricks? No, it was really happening. The Darkness was shrinking!

Gobrianna pumped her fist into the air. "That’s it! Go on! Leave us alone! We don’t need you! You can’t have us! LEAVE!" She didn’t even realize she was yelling these things, a broad smile beaming from her face. Cries and shrieks of triumph echoed in the air around her. Charizard bellowed a deafening roar. Articuno gave its crystal scream, but this was a cry of pure exuberance. Below the other five Pokemon were cheering and celebrating. The eight beings watched as the creature of shadow before them withdrew into itself, becoming smaller and smaller, until eventually it was nothing but a tiny handful of murky haze. With a final screech from the legendary bird of ice, it whirled and constricted, disappearing with a last crackle of lighting, as if it had never been.

The human girl laughed out loud, just for the pure joy of hearing her own voice. She was alive! They were alive! And they had won!

Charizard was grinning. It stretched its dark wings wide, spiraling around her and Articuno, doing a loop-the-loop in the air. Gobrianna whispered something in the bird’s ear and it chuckled, swooping down close to the water. She slid from its back into the cold water, and she didn’t even care. The cold bit sharply through her clothes, but so what? She was alive to feel it! Suddenly the water under her churned, and Lapras rose up out of the depths so that she was astride its great neck. Gobrianna laughed, hugging her Pokemon. "I’m glad you’re okay," she told it sincerely, then turning to the others. "I’m glad you’re all okay. We did it!"

"Boka," hissed an irked voice behind her, and she turned around and giggled. Poor Arbok was soaked and sputtering from the submerging it just got, but it smiled with its fang-filled jaws as she threw her arms around its scaly body.

"My clever little Arbok," she grinned up at it, and the poison snake couldn’t help but hiss with pleasure.

Then Dewgong and Vaporeon were paddling around them, Raichu on the sea lion’s back with paws outstretched as if it were surfing. The Eevee evolution yipped happily, spanking the water with its paws and splashing everyone. Its fish-like tail thrashed, sending a wave of water over Lapras’ back. Arbok glared. Gobrianna laughed.

A trill from above made her head snap up, the laughter still on her face. Articuno was smirking down at them. Charizard hovered above the bird, staying away from the water but for once in its life looking like it wanted to join them. "I share the sentiment, I really do, but don’t you think we had better get going?" the blue avian pointed out.

The Pokemon trainer’s eyes traveled beyond the two flying creatures, and she realized with a start that it was the dead of night. The cloudless sky was bedazzled with billions of points of crystal light, the bright stars shining and the milky way cutting a ribbon of pale white across the night sky. A full moon shone down on them, and adding the glow from Charizard’s tail, there was plenty of light to see by. Gobrianna hadn’t even noticed. Had they really been battling so long? She remembered the setting sun, but after that the Darkness had arisen, and she had stopped paying attention to the time.

"I guess we should," she chuckled, sharing a look with each of her friends. "I take it none of you want to return to your Pokeballs?"

She got an instantaneous response.

"Okay, okay! Then let’s head north, Lapras. We can try to reach Fuchsia City by dawn."

Lapras nodded its large head, setting out with steady strokes of its flippers. Arbok curled its coils tighter around the knobby shell. Vaporeon splashed off to one side of the gentle ferry, while Dewgong plowed through the waves on its other flank. Above, Articuno and Charizard cut across the sky with powerful beats of their wings. The moon shone down, coloring the sea silver, as the band traveled across the shining waves. A bubble of contentment, satisfaction and peace encased them all. It was a great night to be alive.

* * *

Tears sprang to Gobrianna’s eyes, blurring the vision of the eight great shining beings around her. She had almost forgotten how strange they were, how majestic. How they stood still as statues as if the laws of physics were beneath them. "I thought . . . I thought you were dead," she whispered huskily, blinking hard. "I thought the Darkness had . . . had done something—"

"Peace, Chosen," the multi-voice spoke, silencing her. "There was no need to cause yourself such pain. The Darkness is defeated. You have won."

"But why didn’t you call me sooner?" she cried, remembering all the sleepless nights she had experienced since the battle. It had been almost two weeks now. "I was so afraid." Charizard, standing beside her, wrapped one wing around her shoulders, to comfort.

The silver dragon and unicorn before her bowed their heads in unison. "For that we apologize. The Darkness’ attack left us too weak to even defend ourselves, much less contact you. Indeed, if the Darkness had not fled to stop you when it did, it would have soon defeated us. And so you have saved us in more ways than one, our Chosen."

She wiped her face with one hand. "It’s okay. Just . . . frightening. I went through so much. I was afraid it was all for nothing."

Sparkling laughter twinkled around her, something she had never before seen while with the Eight. It was a booming sound, but somehow light and airy as well. It floated around her like fireflies, tiny points of light that flashed and glittered. Gobrianna watched in awe as the Eight managed to speak through their mirth. "For nothing, Chosen? For everything! You have won back your world. You have returned fantasy."

An image flashed in her mind. Seven Pokemon stood on the shore of a swarming beach, just as the sun came up over the land. People gathered all around. Questions shot out rapidly. They stared at the brilliant cerulean bird in their midst, poised serenely. Then a copper-haired girl climbed down from one of the Pokemon. They saw the fire in her eyes and begged her story. And she told them. The memory faded.

"Is it true, then? Is the Darkness gone for good?" she asked hopefully.

"Nothing is truly gone forever," they told her, serious once more. "And the Darkness is as we are. For us to die there must be no beings left on your world who believe in us. As long as there are believers, we exist." Seeing her crestfallen look, they explained further. "Do not misunderstand, Chosen. The Darkness needed to be defeated. It was growing too powerful; it had disrupted the balance that exists between us all. If we had not readied a Chosen one to defend us, we would have lost this conflict."

She smiled at that. It was over. She had won. Two weeks later and it still amazed her. But the smile faded. "There’s something you’re not telling me." She didn’t know how she knew, she just did.

The fire and water eyes of the dragon and the unicorn traveled above her head, conversing with the other great beings. When they returned to her she knew that the Eight had something meaningful to tell her. "We acknowledge that we have contacted you for a reason. And we cannot keep it from you any longer. This is the last time we will appear to you."

The Pokemon trainer shook her head, bewildered, as if she hadn’t heard correctly. "What? I don’t—what do you mean? Why?" Charizard, whom she had almost forgotten about, gave an uneasy snort. She touched its shoulder with one hand, the other gripping the silver necklace around her neck, as she waited for the Eight to respond.

And they did. "It is time, our Chosen. Time for you to stop living the life of one of bares the weight of her world on her shoulders. Time to start being a normal human, with a normal existence. Time for you to forget us."

"No," she objected in a whisper, knowing they meant their words literally. "I could never forget you. I can’t live a normal life now, not after what I’ve seen, what I’ve done." Her voice rose. "Please, don’t make me forget you. You’re . . . too beautiful to forget."

A soundless, motionless sigh reverberated in the darkness of the beings’ realm. It was a sound of relent. "Very well, Chosen. You have aided us too well to deny you this. You may remember. Remember for the rest of your days that once, in your youth, you saved your world from the Darkness. Keep our gift in memory."

The medallion in the shape of a starburst felt warm in her hand, but it didn’t compare to the heat that flushed her face. Gobrianna lowered her eyes from the dragon and the unicorn before her. "I don’t deserve it," she told them frankly as she remembered something else. "I lost the staff. It’s somewhere in the ocean. I’m . . . I’m sorry."

Again humor was present in their voice. "Did you never consider that, perhaps, this was something that was meant to be?"

She looked up, startled. "Meant to be? Do you mean it?"

"Indeed. As we know you have thought of before, the being of ice you brought to light is by no means the only creature that exists in your legends." She nodded. This was another thing she had pondered during her long, sleepless nights. "But it is no longer your destiny to reveal the other legends. You have started the chain, you have brought the first—the most difficult—out of its seclusion. And you have led others to believe again. They will follow now, because of you." As the words echoed in the still air, more images flooded her mind, bubbles of pictures that came and went rapidly.

Bubble: dancing, flickering flames, surrounding a creature that flashed with the light of fire as it flapped its blazing wings. Bubble: yellow streaks of electricity split the air like miniature lightning bolts. Suddenly a long, needle-like beak thrust itself through the sparks. Bubble: a rainbow stretched across the sky. It was far away, but she could make out a flash of pure gold flying over the bands of color. Bubble: a lavender eye opened wide, staring. In that eye was pain and fury so deep she could hardly comprehend it. Bubble: another eye, this one a deep blue, and somehow filled with both innocence and a fathomless wisdom at once. There were others, but the floated up in her mind and burst, leaving her with only fleeting images and impressions. Moved, Gobrianna refocused her turquoise gaze on the shining Eight.

"But what about the staff?" she asked. "What will happen to it now?"

"We believe you mean, what is happening now," they corrected her. "If you wish, we will show you."

The girl hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time that they had done something like this. But finally she swallowed and nodded. She wanted to know.

As had happened once before, years ago, the air between her and Charizard and the dragon and the unicorn wavered, as if the heat of summer was around them. The rippling air flowed toward her, and she braced herself for what was coming. As it hit her so did the recognized feeling of being swamped, filled beyond capacity. She managed to hold back a cry as consciousness faded. Charizard leaped and caught her, rumbling with mixed emotions as she was taken away.

* * *

The sound of the surf breaking against the shore invaded Gobrianna’s awareness. She felt the cool air, salty, against her body. Or to be more specific, the body of whatever Pokemon she inhabited. Her eyes opened, though she didn’t open them of her own accord. A landscape painted in bleached-out whites and grays developed around her. She was at the beach, and the shore was more made up of rocks than sand. To either side of her sharp stones rose high above her, and she realized she was crouched in a tiny crevice. And it was human voices that had woken her up.

"That was a really stupid thing to do!" a sharp female voice cut above the natural sounds of the environment. The scene was slowly revealed sideways as the Pokemon crawled out of its little niche in the rocks. It was hard to make out with the creature’s level of vision, but it seemed to Gobrianna that there were two humans standing over a third, who sat on one of the flatter rocks, holding his or her leg.

"I didn’t mean to!" objected the one sitting down. "I was trying to catch that sleeping Krabby!" With a start she saw he was pointing straight at her. "Well, it’s not asleep any more," he amended.

The standing girl snorted inelegantly. "Then you should have been watching where you were going. These rocks are slippery. Besides, didn’t you already catch a Krabby?"

"I wanted another one," the boy defended himself. He tried to stand, and Gobrianna suddenly wondered if she was going to experience what it was like to be inside a Pokeball, but before he could regain his footing he groaned and sank back to the rock. "I think I twisted it," he muttered.

"Pika pi?" A small something appeared, scampering up to the boy with concern in its voice.

"Aw, I’m okay, Pikachu," he replied, patting the electric Pokemon on the head.

Meanwhile, the second of the standing pair had moved off down the beach, and the Krabby kept one eye on him or her warily. While the girl and the boy continued to argue, the third member of the party neared the crashing waves, bent down amid the rocks, and pulled something free. "Here, you can use this piece of driftwood until we get to the next town," he announced, returning to his friends.

Gobrianna would have recognized that object no matter what body she was in. As the tall boy handed over the six-foot pole, in her mind she could see the staff as it had always appeared to her, topped with a gleaming amethyst and six small opals. Nobody in the entire world saw it for what it really was other than herself. But she knew that even if the possessor of that staff didn’t know what it was, fantasy would follow them.

It would be used a common stick of wood, probably discarded when these people reached their destination, possibly picked up by someone else after that. And so the cycle had begun.

The sitting boy thanked the other, testing the strength of the stick as he levered himself to his feet. When he looked about to go after the Krabby again, both the girl and the tall boy put their hands on his shoulders.

"Let it go," the girl advised, not nearly so snide as before. "You’re in no condition to go chasing after a Krabby all over these wet rocks."

The Pikachu nodded. "Pika pika," it agreed. There was the shrill sound of a laughing baby Pokemon, but she didn’t recognize what species it was.

However, the wild Krabby Gobrianna was seeing through wasn’t taking any chances. It scuttled to the side, disappearing into the rocks that were its home once again.

She heard the boy sigh. "I guess you’re right. Okay, let’s get going." The group of five walked away, and she felt satisfaction well up inside her. The staff would go on. The search for the legends would go on. Fantasy would remain in the world.

* * *

Gobrianna eased open her eyes slowly, focusing on the face of Charizard that was hovering over her. She smiled her appreciation as it gently helped her to stand on her own. The sixteen-year-old looked to the dragon and the unicorn before her.

"I have seen what has happened to the staff, and I thank you for showing me. Are you sure this is . . . as it is suppose to be?"

The silver dragon and unicorn seemed to smile, though they remained motionless. "We are sure," they replied benignly.

The Pokemon trainer bowed her head. "Then I will say my farewells. I can’t express what a joy, what an honor, it has been to do this service for you and for my world. Thank you. Thank you all." When she picked her head up she was surprised to find the two beings before her on their knees, bowing to her in a gesture of homage. It made a queer feeling flutter through her, to know these creatures of immense power were bending to her.

"And we, in return, extend our thanks to you, Chosen one," they boomed reverently. "And to the Chosen of the Pokemon who have supported you throughout your journey. May fantasy lead you through a good life, and always remember that you have our touch upon you."

And as Gobrianna and Charizard stared, the Eight mythical beings began to glow. Always before, at the end of their meetings, the Eight had faded away as if they had not the strength to remain one moment more. But this time, as if proving all that she had accomplished, they continued to grow brighter and brighter. Soon the girl could no longer distinguish the individual creatures in her sight. The dragon, the unicorn, the wyvern, the winged horse, the phoenix, the gryphon, the winged lion and the giant wolf faded away as the blazing silver light filled Gobrianna’s vision, until it was all she could see.

"Good-bye, Gobrianna." The voice was still the multi-voice of the immense beings, but it whispered softly in her ear. "Good-bye."

* * *

There was a loud, annoying voice penetrating the girl’s consciousness, and she moaned and rolled over to get away, pulling the blankets over her head to muffle the sound. It did her no good. She was plucked up out of unconsciousness and the voice sharpened into individual words, jarring against her senses.

"—Phone call, phone call! Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone call! Phone call!"

"Murph," mumbled Gobrianna into her pillow, slowly picking up her head. Her copper hair streamed down around her face, a curtain through which the blaring noise had no trouble penetrating. Brushing aside enough strands to peer through with blurry eyes, she made out the image of a little Rattata, holding a sign with a picture of a telephone receiver, leaping across the screen next to her bed. Muttering darkly, she reached over and hit the phone button.

Blu’s puckish face sprang up on the screen, grinning impishly. "Why good morning, Bri!" she sang out cheerfully.

". . . . Buh. . . ?" she managed, blinking a little. "A-aren’t you up a little early?"

"It’s almost noon!" countered the sapphire-haired girl.

"Uh huh. Whaddya want?"

Blu’s eyebrow rose above her shades. "All right, I’ll cut to the chase. Guess who just attempted to pass your Gym?"

Gobrianna knew she should know what Blu was talking about, but at the moment it escaped her. "Who?"

"None other than Daniel!"

Gobrianna blinked some more. It did nothing to clear the fog that had seemed to settle around her brain. "Uh huh. Did he pass?"

"Nope!" the other girl answered. Her grin took on a wolfish tone. "When I told him where you were he said he was going to try again when you get back. He’s waiting for you. And just so you know, he’s got a Fearow that packs a mighty wallop and a Venusaur that knows Solar Beam. Your Pokemon handled him once, but your temp almost conceded. So heads up when you get back."

Gobrianna absorbed the information stoically. "Uh huh," she said for the third time. "Blu, I’ll see you when I get back. I think I’m heading out in a day or two."

Blu knew when to take a hint. "Sure. See ya than!" And the face disappeared from the screen.

Gobrianna rubbed her eyes as she stumbled out of bed, automatically touching the silver gleam hanging around her neck. She remembered with some irony that six years ago, when she had first started her Pokemon journey, she had never planned on collecting badges. Much less owning a Gym. But destiny had called, and you just don’t ignore something like that.

Taking a look in the carved mirror hanging on the wall, she mumbled one word: "Shower." The girl grabbed up the closest set of clean clothes she could find and headed out of her room.

"Char," greeted her fire Pokemon, nuzzling her affectionately as she stepped out of the room. She patted the silver spot on its nose and it followed her down the hall.

The kitchen was on the way to the bathroom. As she ducked her head in to see if her mother was there, she found both the auburn-haired woman with her old Flareon asleep on the floor and a person with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, who was sitting at the table and sipping coffee. Her mother noticed her first.

"Ah, you’re awake, dear!" she exclaimed with a tender smile. "I see you’re heading for the shower. I’ll have lunch ready by the time you get back."

"Good morning, Gobrianna," the woman at the table spoke up. Gobrianna smiled fuzzily. She wasn’t quite fully awake yet, but she recognized the woman who had been coming over almost every day for the past two weeks.

"Hey Professor Skokie. I’ll be back in a bit."

The sixteen-year-old turned and once again headed toward the bathroom. A true smile lit up her face, chasing away the worry that had been etched there lately. All was right again. She had won. And while she had no clue what she was going to do with the rest of her life now that her destiny was fulfilled, she had no doubt it would be interesting to find out.

It was a very happy girl who entered the bathroom of that little house that day.