I groaned as sand blasted against my face in this familiar land.
"Hello, trainers I've already beaten..."
I approached the blue statues sitting outside the Relic Castle's entrance.
"What are you...?
I poked one, and it tipped over.
"Oops."
I set it back upright, and entered the castle.
I eyed the sand pit in the middle of the room warily, remembering my past experience with it. As soon as I reached the stairs on the other side, a worker stepped out.
Worker: "There! The sand is finally cleared away, so now you can proceed!"
He then collapsed of dehydration and exhaustion, considering he had been working at it since I was last here nonstop. I proceeded down. The moment I reached the bottom step, my vision was completely taken up by an old man leaning in too close.
"AAH!"
Ryoku: "Aren't you green with envy over our master N's new legendary Pokemon?"
"Not really, and the next time you make a green-related pun I'm throwing sand in your eyes."
Ryoku: "...Anyway, lord Dennis has commanded us to test your strength. Go onward, and fall through the sand pits! I don't like it here. There isn't much gre... plant life."
"Why do you even do this?"
Ryoku: "It pays well. Really rakes in the green."
I scooped up sand and threw it at him, then proceeded down one of the sand pits. Alder was waiting for me down there.
Alder: "There are many Plasmorons up ahead. I'm not helping you because I want you to suffer I want to see your strength. If you should have trouble, I will gladly step in to assist."
"Thank you, sir champion, but I don't think I'll need that.
Alder: "Very good. Let us proceed onward!"
The Plasmoron up ahead sent out Scraggy. It hoped to use Jump Kick on Mamoswine, but Mamoswine dug underground first, causing it to keep going and crash.
Plasmoron: "Aww, that's unfair..."
Alder and I proceeded onward, where a grunt sent out a lone Garbodor. It tried to fight, but kept getting sand in its amorphous body and eventually couldn't move.
Plasmoron: "Come back here and fight! It isn't finished yet!"
Up ahead I found a Shadow Ball TM.
"Sweet!"
I then remembered that Lucario already knew Dark Pulse, and as such I had little use for the TM.
"Oh, well..."
I moved to sink down the next sand pit, but Alder stopped me.
Alder: "This should make it easier."
He raised his arms, and the sand began to part and move, forming a convenient staircase down to the next floor. We proceeded down it, and found four separate sand pits.
"Which one is the correct path...?"
Alder pointed at the one on the end of the hall, which was guarded by Plasmorons. I got sick of the constant Krokorok attacks, so I sprayed some Repel on myself and proceeded. These Plasmorons were easy to defeat. We went down the correct sand pit.
On this floor, there was only one short path, and two Plasmorons. The first one looked familiar.
Plasmoron: "Ha! It's you! Not only does my Watchog still have Super Fang, but I've finally gotten a second Pokemon!"
"Not you again..."
His Watchog was defeated easily, and he then sent out a Scraggy.
Plasmoron: "It's my new weapon!"
Honchkrow easily took it out with Aerial Ace.
Plasmoron: "Hey, you didn't even let it attack once! How unsporting!"
Alder and I proceeded down the pit, and reached a wide open sandy area. Cheren then fell down and landed on top of me.
"Oof!"
Cheren: "Oh, thanks for the soft landing!"
"Get off!"
Cheren: "Yeah, sure, hold on."
Dennis: "Ahem..."
"We'll be right there, Dennis, cool it."
Alder: "I fear we are too late."
Cheren finally got off, and the three of us approached Dennis.
Dennis: "You're all working hard to resurrect Reshiram, aren't you? But it seems the Light Stone is gone, you foolish simpletons."
Cheren: "I must say, he has a way with words. No wonder he's N's top advisor."
Alder: "You see, we-"
Dennis: "Alder, your Pokemon died and so will you some day!"
Alder: "What did I say to provoke that?"
Dennis: "I love watching people lose all hope. It's so beautiful."
Cheren: "At least this guy is pretty nice and doesn't have any sort of sick depravity in watching people suffer or anything."
Dennis shoved me out of the way and exited.
Cheren: "Shame he's on their side..."
We left, returning to the Desert Resort. Specifically, Alder flew us out.
Alder: "I should return to the league. If N wishes to battle me, I will meet him in battle."
At that moment, my Xtransceiver rang. I answered it.
Juniper: "YOU MUST ENTER NACRENE MUSEUM RIGHT NOW!! OR I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE WITH YOUR OWN TEETH!"
She hung up.
Cheren: "What could she want?"
Alder: "This is more important than N. I can sense it. To Nacrene!"
He flew me to Nacrene City, leaving Cheren to play in the sand. At the museum entrance, Juniper, her father, and Bianca were waiting.
Bianca: "Ready to battle, Anthony?"
Alder: "Now isn't the time."
Bianca: "But-"
Alder glared at her.
Lenora: "THE WHITE STONE IS THIS."
She was holding the very stone we had been seeking.
Bianca: "Hey, a snowball!"
Juniper 2: "No, it's Reshiram!"
Juniper: "Looks too small and spherical to be Reshiram! THROW THE SNOWBALL AT ANTHONY."
Lenora: "WHITE STONE WAS DESERT RESORT."
"I think she means she found it in the Desert Resort."
Lenora: "YOU REQUIRE MORE WHITE STONE."
She handed it to me.
-Anthony obtained the Light Stone!-
Juniper 2: "...How do we awaken this Pokemon?"
Bianca: "Oh, I know!"
She snatched the stone from me and began hitting it against the ground. When that failed, she tried gnawing on it.
Bianca: "It won't open!"
Lenora snatched it back from Bianca and returned it to me.
Alder: "You should bring this stone to Drayden and Iris of Opelucid. They may know what to do!"
I nodded, and flew back to Icirrus to prepare for my trip to Opelucid.
Accordion Player: "I just saw her. She returned to Nacrene and retrieved the Light Stone."
???: "Just as planned..."
???: "I can confirm that Kyurem remains active. No one else has become aware of its continued existence at this moment. Only folk tales in Lacunosa of a monster exist, and it is not a tale anyone except us has investigated."
???: "Excellent. All three dragons are now to be tracked and watched."
Geoff: "So you're sure this will work?"
Move Deleter: "Don't be questioning our boss! Wait, what will work?"
???: "She is the one. She shall awaken Reshiram from its slumber. Then the two dragons who ravaged Unova will clash once more. And from there..."
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