Chapter no.349 Dreamscape part 4

[ Austin's POV ]
I woke up in a dank alleyway, surrounded by towering brick walls and the overpowering stench of garbage. The ground was littered with broken glass, discarded food wrappers and other debris. I looked down at my tiny form, adorned in a brown cloak, and couldn't believe how small I was. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw the outlines of various objects in the alley, including a large dumpster against one wall.
Suddenly, I heard something rustling in the trash and cautiously approached it. The sound of shuffling and crunching grew louder as I drew near. To my surprise, I saw a Charmander, weak and malnourished, eating scraps of food. It was a pitiful sight to see this once majestic creature reduced to scavenging in an alleyway. I tried to get its attention, but it was too focused on its meal.
Just then, I heard a voice from behind me, "Hey, little guy. What are you doing here?" I turned and saw Damian, holding a loaf of bread.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out an aura feather. As I gazed at it, I realized that this was all a dream. The feather suddenly lit up, forming a string that led to a Raticate's hole. I heard a faint buzzing sound coming from the feather and the string seemed to pull me towards the hole. I followed the trail, running as fast as my tiny legs would carry me as I ran into the hole.
As I stumbled out of the Raticate's hole, I found myself in a lush green plain, surrounded by towering glass walls that reached towards the sky. The sun was shining, casting a warm glow over the fields, and a gentle breeze was blowing, rustling the tall grass.
As I looked up I saw that the sun wasn't actually the Sun rather they were a bunch of full spectrum bulbs.
The ground started to rumble and I turned to see a horde of massive Charmanders barreling towards me. Their fiery tails blazed behind them, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake. I took off, running as fast as I could, but they were faster, their powerful legs pounding the ground with each stride. I could hear their roars echoing across the fields, and I knew I had to act fast.
I reached for the aura feather, my heart racing as I held it tightly. The feather glowed, pointing towards a small Charmander sitting on a rock in the distance. The little creature was struggling to light a fire, its tiny paws trying to ignite the twigs it had gathered. I felt a smile spread across my face as I ran towards the Charmander.
But as I reached for the creature, I stumbled and fell to the ground. My body phased right through the Charmander, leaving it unharmed. I was momentarily disoriented, trying to understand what was happening.
' Oh, this is also a memory. Huh, I guess this must be the containment unit for project X."
And then I remembered the aura feather, still glowing in my hand. I looked up to see that it was now pointing towards a door etched into the rock.
"Stay strong," I called out to the small Charmander. "It will get better, I promise." And with that, I turned and ran towards the door, the aura feather leading the way.
As I pushed open the heavy stone door, I was enveloped in complete darkness. My heart raced as I stepped inside, unsure of what I would find. But then, the aura feather in my hand burned brighter, illuminating the room with its warm, golden light.
I found myself in a large laboratory, filled with strange and mysterious machines and devices. The walls were made of cold, hard stone and the air was heavy with the scent of rust and dust. I gazed around in awe, taking in the sight before me.
In the center of the room was a large, glass incubation chamber. And within it, a single, small egg. I approached it slowly, my hand outstretched, wondering if I would be able to touch it. To my surprise, my hand passed through the glass, and I was able to place my fingertips against the smooth, cool surface of the egg.
As I stood there, admiring the egg, I suddenly heard a voice calling to me. It was a strange, otherworldly voice, like nothing I had ever heard before. "You have 5 minutes to save Charmeleon," it said, the voice mimicking a hypnotic, critical tone.
I spun around, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was no one there. I was alone in the room, surrounded by shadows and silence. But then, the aura feather in my hand began to glow even brighter, pointing towards a door at the far end of the laboratory.
With a sense of urgency, I tried to yank the egg away but it wouldn't budge.
" Need a little help there?"
" Abra, is that you ?"
" No."
" Abra !"
" Fine, it's me. Hurry up and get Charmeleon out."
" The egg isn't budging."
" Some much for your inhuman strength."
" Abra, help me."
" Can't."
" Why not ?"
" My dude, you are the trainer. Why would Charmeleon listen to me and leave the one place that Charmeleon feels safe ? So, get your emotional pants on, my dude."
" Thanks ?"
Austin answered back unsure as he gazed upon the egg.
" Charmeleon?"
No reply.
"I'm standing right here, you know." Austin continued with a sigh as he felt like the time was ticking closer and closer."Look, whatever might be the problem, why don't we just talk and sort it out?" He looked frustrated. "Why are you giving me this silent treatment?"
No reply.
Austin sighed again, before turning back to walk away, before stopping on his tracks. "You know… after Raticate died, I was of the opinion that I felt that I had betrayed you all, it's my job as a trainer to care after you but now one was gone. We all promised that we will avenge Raticate didn't we ?!"
He paused for a moment. "Now I know that I was wrong. I was wrong to put my trust in a coward. Is it fun to sleep in that place while we all worry in the outside place ?! Charmeleon, answer me ! answer me ! please just answer me, you, aren't this coward. I know you aren't, you are the Pokémon that Pickachu," Austin had tears rolling down his eyes as he exclaimed," Pikachu needs when he needs to fry his chips ( ~Sob~ ), you are Fearow's chess buddy, you help Ivysaure control the chaos duo, help Pidgeot fix her feathers, I know Clefable and Butterfree always like you're presence in the sky with them. You are like the big brother to Musharna, rival to Dragonair and victim of Haunter's pranks."
Austin was on his knees as he hugged Charmeleon.
" Please buddy, I need you. We all need you. I am not strong enough to walk this world. I need your strength, your courage ... I need you !"
The egg suddenly, started to shake and emit a soft glow. The blue flames erupted from the egg, enveloping it in a bright light. Austin watched in amazement as a small creature appeared from the egg's remnants. It was Charmeleon, its eyes downcast in shame. Austin approached the Charmeleon, his heart overflowing with emotion. He wrapped his arms around the Pokémon and hugged it tightly, tears streaming down his face. "You gave us quite the scare buddy, I know it was scary finding all of that about yourself but next time come talk to me, ok," Austin whispered, his voice cracking. Charmeleon looked up at Austin, its eyes meeting his, and it snuggled closer, letting out a contented sigh.
" Char!"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
[ Omake Paragraph ]
Although the city of Alph has had its share of kings and emperors, it was long said that the power behind the throne was the royal line of Xatu Oracles. Xatu have long been said to be able to see the future, but this was a sad and lonesome fate, for they were unable to change it. In Alph, however, they were given enough Unown to spell out a full sentence, treated as full members of the royal court, and always consulted in times of great crisis. Such is the way that Alph grew into a great empire.
The Xatu prophecies were not perfect. The simple act of observing the future and communicating it to others can be enough to alter the flow of time. Some Xatu had poorer future sight than others, and often communicated in cryptic prophecies, and even the wisest, because of the vast energy involved in commanding so many Unown to make words, had to resort to this method on occasion. And yet despite this weakness, it worked for hundreds of years, as long as the kings listened to their Xatu and the Xatu loyally gave advice.
But Xatu can be a temperamental pokemon, and kings too proud to listen to their advisors. The sources differ on whether the Xatu or the last king was to blame. Where they agree was that he did not consult the Xatu Oracle, built Alph to its greatest height of glory, and through his megalomania gave rise to a great coalition against him of kings who feared for their own thrones. When Alph was besieged by forces ten times the size of his remaining army, humbled by desperation, the king at last asked what he should do. The Xatu is said to have wept as he answered.
"RUN"