Chapter 4: A Desert Dilemma

Miss me? I know you did, who can not like this wonderful author?

Jokes aside, it's time for another wonderful chapter of Shaking up the World! We're leaving Castelia City and heading into the desert behind the city. Hopefully Blake and Crystal can get through the desert without any trouble. Aside from the irritating sand finding its way into their shoes that is.

Now, without further adieu, on with the show!

(Route 4)

To many people, Route 4 was just another place to find wild and unique Pokémon. It was also a place to observe the unique ruins of a lost civilization. But these were people who have never travelled through the Unova region, they didn't know how Trainers thought of it.

Trainers thought of Route 4 as a place to test their strength and resolve as a Pokémon Trainer. But these were the hardcore ones, the people who work so hard, they think that they're unbeatable. To regular trainers, this place was what one would call an impossible test. Because the previous routes were just woodland, the new Trainers had little to no experience with the desert heat and the hot sand.

But these factors weren't going to stop Blake and Krystal as they walked through the desert. Due to Blake's need to have a Pokémon out at all times, he had Guardian with him due to the fact that Masquerade didn't like sand, and that Slicer and Icicle were Ice Types. Krystal had decided to have her Staryu out and stand on her shoulders while it sprinkled her with a small Water Gun once in a while.

"How long till we reach Nimbasa City?" Krystal asked.

Blake took out his map and told her, "We should reach it tomorrow, Route 4 is too long for a one day walk."

"But where are we going to sleep at night?" Krystal asked.

"Well we either see if we can find the inn that's supposed to be in the middle of the route, or we camp under the stars," Blake said.

"You mean...sleep on the sand?"

"Of course not, I assume you have a large blanket or towel?" Krystal nodded. "Good, we'll lay that under our sleeping bags and sleep on them. We can't set up a tent because the stakes wouldn't hold in the sand."

"You're really smart about these things," Krystal noted.

"I've...done my research," Blake said a little hesitantly. Luckily, Krystal didn't notice and continued walking. Once Guardian was sure that she was a good few feet ahead of them, he turned to Blake.

"You know you can't change the fact that you'll have to tell her one day," Guardian said.

Blake sighed and whispered, "I know, but it's too early for that. Maybe I'll do it in a few days."

"Sounds good," Guardian said as he floated next to his Trainer.

"Hey Blake," Krystal called.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"How did you get all those rare Pokémon? You can't find them in the Unova region?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I'll tell you what I think is the reason. Climate change."

"Climate change?"

"Yeah, because the climate in other regions are changing, Pokémon are migrating all over the world to find a habitat with acceptable atmosphere for them. Now how about you and your Pokémon?"

Krystal sighed and said, "I'm not from Unova, I'm from Hoenn where I got Ralts and found Natu when he was still an egg. Staryu I caught on the cruise ride here, he was hurt by two Carvanha and I decided to help him."

"You're from Hoenn? But you speak Unovan so fluently," Blake said in disbelief.

"Well I DID take some classes on Unovan language before coming here. Did you think that I just learned it overnight?" Krystal asked with a small smile on her face.

Blake chuckled and said, "I guess you're right, you just shocked me because you're a natural at the language."

"I'm a fast learner," Krystal said. Staryu just gave off a few blinks before giving her another light sprinkle. The four of them continued walking for 20 minutes before they came up on a small piece of a ruin.

"What's this?" Blake wondered as he walked up to it.

"Maybe it's a piece of one of the ruins that are in the desert," Krystal suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Blake agreed as he ran his hand over the carved stone. He eventually ran over a small crack in the stone. He looked into the crack and found out that it was hollow inside.

"Hey Guardian," Blake began, "it's hollow inside, so I want you to go and see if there are any valuables in there."

"You got it," Guardian said as he floated inside.

"Are you a grave robber?" Krystal asked.

Blake sent her a look and said, "No, I'm just short on money." Guardian then came flying out of the small ruin with panic in his eye.

"Duskull, Dusk!" he cried.

"What's the matter with you?!" Blake demanded as he tried to calm down his Pokémon.

"There's a horrible beast in there! It's the Devil reborn!" Guardian cried. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble as something a small part of the sand began to shake.

"It's gonna eat us all! I'm too young to be eaten again!" Guardian wailed.

From out of the ground came a small, blue Pokémon that knocked Krystal to the ground with the way it shot out. It had a large mouth that was filled with sharp teeth, no neck, and small arms. It had a red underbelly and a big fin on the top of its body. Next to the fin were two small jet-like extensions that had a light blue stripe running around them.

Blake pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the new Pokémon.

"Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon. It attacks using its huge mouth. While its attacks are powerful, it hurts itself out of clumsiness, too."

"A Dragon Pokémon!" Blake exclaimed with glee. Then he turned to Guardian and asked, "You were afraid of something smaller than you?"

"He bit my butt!" Guardian argued, rubbing the offended area.

"You're a GHOST," Blake pointed out.

"He knows BITE," Guardian protested. Blake nodded in understanding.

"Let's try to catch it!" Blake exclaimed as he stared at the Dragon Pokémon.

"Gib?" Gible tilted his head to the side in confusion, unknowingly bringing out something fearsome.

"KAWAII!" Krystal exclaimed as she went to try and smother the Gible. The Dragon Type realized the danger he was in and immediately used Dig to escape from the female human.

"He...he got away..." Blake moaned as he sunk to his knees, a cloud of depression raining on him. Guardian patted his back reassuringly while trying to cheer him up.

"Uh, sorry," Krystal apologized, "I just can't help it when I see something cute.

"I thought we got rid of that problem," Blake heard Staryu mumble as he got out of his little depression.

"There's no need to worry, I'll find that little Dragon before we leave the desert!" Blake declared with a renewed spirit.

(In another dimension)

"Lee, someone has just awakened their Flames of Youth!" a tall man in green spandex shouted.

"YOSH! I shall seek out this person and assist them in brightening their flames!" a smaller version of the man exclaimed.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" a young girl with her hair in two buns raged as she smashed her mace into the two males. Anoter male with white eyes sighed at the group he was stuck with, cursing fate for his torment.

(Route 4)

Blake shivered as he finished declaring his new goal. 'Why do I have the feeling that I've condemed myself to a horrible fate in the future?'

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he felt Guardian tap his shoulder. He turned to see Krystal walking down the path, without him.

"Wait up!" Blake cried as he ran after his travelling partner. He caught up with her a moment later and they continued walking through the desert, only this time, Blake was keeping an eye out for a certain Land Shark Pokémon.

Eventually, they reached a small rest stop that was selling ice cold water, something that Blake was dying for. Especially since Krystal didn't want to share Staryu's water.

"Ahh, refreshing," Blake sighed as he downed a bottle.

"Can I have some?" Krystal asked.

Blake looked at her incredulously and said, "You already have your own personal water tank. WHY would you want to take away the only drink I've had in a couple miles?"

Krystal just stared at him for a minute before she began giggling uncontrollably. Eventually she was holding her sides in laughter.

"Y-you should have s-s-seen your face!" Krystal gasped as she laughed. Blake started at her for a moment before a small smile tugged at his lips.

'It's strange that I'm not bothered with her presence,' Blake thought. 'Maybe I'm finally getting used to being around humans. My little circle is growing bigger.'

"Alright, enough with laughing at me," Blake said as he chucked the empty bottle into the trash.

"Sorry," Krystal said, "but you're too easy to trick."

"I'm not that gullible," Blake said before turning to Guardian, "Am I?"

Guardian put his hands in a thinking pose as he thought of the journey he's had since Blake caught him.

(Flashback 3 Months Ago)

"What's this?" Blake asked as he held up what appeared to be a mirror. It was a hand mirror, but the mirror itself was completely white. He and his team were staying in Stration City while they recovered from their victorious Gym Battle.

"It's a special mirror," Slicer said, "It's supposed to let you see the inside of your soul."

"Really?" Blake questioned with suspicion. He looked at the 'mirror' with skepticism, thinking that it was just a broken mirror.

"You have to stare at it for a little while before you can see your soul," Guardian said as he examined one of his figurines.

Blake sighed before he stared at the mirror intently, not noticing Slicer and Guardian just barely holding in their laughter.

Two minutes later, Blake started to see a little blur on the blank mirror, he moved his face closer to it to try and get a better look. The blur got bigger and bigger before it filled up most of the mirror. Suddenly, Masquerade shot through the 'mirror', scaring Blake.

"BOO!" Masquerade shouted.

"GAAH!" Blake cried as he launched himself backwards in shock, sending his chair to the floor. All of his Pokémon were rolling around in laughter at their Trainer.

(Route 4)

"No, of course not," Guardian said as he shook his head. The young Trainer stared at his Pokémon for a moment before turning back to his female companion.

"So what are we doing now?" Krystal asked.

"Since the Desert Ruins are nearby, I was thinking that we could go and see it," Blake said.

"Sound like a good idea, let's go!" Krystal shouted as she ran off to where the ruins are.

"Stop leaving me!" Blake yelled as he ran after her. Guardian just chuckled as he floated after them, thinking about how strange humans can be sometimes. Blake was able to catch up to Krystal as she was standing in front of what appeared to be a staircase to an underground ruin. Around the stairs were four statues of monkeys.

"Why monkeys?" Krystal asked.

"There were crazy people living in the past," Blake said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they worshiped Sewaddle because they were green."

"Really? Why would they do that?" Krystal asked.

"People go crazy if they live in the desert for to long," Blake explained to her as he started to walk in. Krystal started to follow behind him as he walked underground. Blake reached into his pocket and pulled out his flashlight. He turned it on and aimed it at the wall, illuminating the hieroglyphics that were inscribed on the wall.

"Wow, these are amazing," Krystal said as she observed the ancient writings. Staryu blinking in agreement.

"Even though they may have been a bunch of whackos, the ancients were amazing builders," Blake commented as he traced his hand along the carving of an Exadrill. Guardian just silently floated next to him as his eye glowed, making the area a little brighter.

Krystal then walked past a small doorway and looked inside. "Come look at this!" she called out.

"What is it?" Blake asked as he and Guardian came over.

"There's some treasure in here," Krystal said as she pointed inside the room. Sure enough, there was a golden mask on a small pedestal with several jewels and gold coins on the floor.

Guardian narrowed his eye slightly as he gazed at the mask. There was a tingling in the back of his head that was bothering him, but he didn'tknow what it was telling him. Next to him, Blake scrunched his face in concentration as he looked at the mask.

'Where have I seen that before?' Blake thought as he tried to remember.

Maybe we can get a lot of money if we sell it to some archeologists," Krystal said as she reached for the mask.

"Don't touch it!" Blake yelled, startling Krystal as she yanked her arm away from the mask.

"W-what's wrong?" Krystal asked as she slowly backed away.

Blake narrowed his eyes and slowly walked forward until he was between Krystal and the mask. "That's not a mask, That's a Yamask."

"The Ghost Pokémon?" Krystal asked, Blake nodded his head as he beckoned Guardian to come forward.

"Yeah, if you touched the mask it would have used its Mummy ability to wrap you up before possessing your body and using it to do whatever it wanted," Blake said as he kept his eye on the mask.

Krystal looked at her partner in amazement. "How do you know all this stuff?"

"I did my research on all of my favorite types," Blake said. "I wanted to find the ones that would be good for my team."

"You really wanted to prepare for that tournament," Krystal noted.

"I just hate being unprepared," Blake stated as he ushered Krystal out of the room.

"What do we do about the Yamask?" Guardian asked.

"We do nothing right now, he hasn't done anything yet so there's no reason to do anything either," Blake told him. Guardian nodded as he floated out of the room, still keeping his eye on the mask.

"That was scary," Krystal said as she let out a sigh of relief.

Blake fought down a grin as he said, "Let's be grateful that it wasn't a Cofagrigus."

"Why?"

"Because you would have been turned into a mummy."

"KYAAAAA!" Krystal screamed at the thought.

"Oooohh, my intangible ears..." Guardian moaned as he rubbed the sides of his head. Blake was wiggling his fingers in his ears to get his hearing back.

"I believe that we are ill equipped to continue exploring this place," Blake said as the ringing in his ears stopped. Krystal gave him a confused look, so Blake just pointed at the passageway that was blocked by rubble.

"You're right, well, let's get back into the sun," Krystal said as she began walking back to the entrance.

'Great, I get to melt some more,' Blake whined in his head. He then took a glance at Krystal and thought, 'Well, might as well have get some more humor out of this before I start suffering silently again.'

"Look out there's a Cofagrigus behind you!" Blake yelled.

"KYAAAAA!" Krystal screamed as she whirled around and threw a right hook at the air, where there was no Cofagrigus, just a snickering Blake outside of her arms reach.

"Don't do that!" Krystal yelled as she slammed her hand against a rock, turning it into rubble, leaving Blake and Guardian speechless. (This is Fanfiction, anything can happen. If Ash can survive Charizard's Flamethrower, then Krystal can break a boulder.)

Staryu then walked up to them and said, "I know you can understand Pokémon, so I'll say this, if she's mad enough, Krystal could beat Regigigas in an armwrestling match."

"D-duly n-n-noted," Blake stammered as he walked out of the ruins mechanically, still trying to process what happened. Krystal glanced over her shoulder and saw Blake's shocked face, causing her to stifle a giggle. (Hey that rhymed!)

"So what do we do now?" Krystal asked, bringing Blake back to reality.

"I say we go to the rest stop that's at the halfway point, it's close by anyway," Blake told her.

Krystal nodded her head before asking, "How about we have a battle when we get there?"

"What brought this on?" Blake asked.

"Well, I wanted to see how tough my Pokémon were against yours, but I want it to be a one-on-one battle," Krystal told him.

"Sounds like a good idea, we don't want to tire out all our Pokémon before tomorrow," Blake said as he lead the way to the rest stop.

After another half-hour of walking through the sun, and Blake silently suffering in the heat, both teens reached a medium sized house that was underneath a highway. There were construction tools aound the support pillars, but the road was still being used by the cars that were driving over it.

"They're built a highway?" Blake asked nobody in particular.

"You didn't know about this?" Krystal asked him.

Blake shook his head and said, "First time I've seen this, must have missed it in the newspaper."

Krystal nodded in understanding before asking him, "Can you take my Pokémon to the Pokémon Center? I'm gonna go and rent some rooms for the night." Blake nodded and took Krystal's Pokémon while she went inside to the front desk. Blake went to the side building where the Center was and walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Can you check me and my friends Pokémon? We just got here and she went to get a couple of rooms," Blake asked.

"Certainly, just place the Pokéballs on the platform here," Nurse Joy told him. Blake nodded and placed Krystal's Pokémon there before taking out his own and recalling Guardian while he put his team on it.

"This is a new device that allows Pokémon Centers to assess a Pokémon's condition without having to take them back for a complete checkup," Nurse Joy explained as the Pokéballs began to glow a soft green.

Blake whistled in amazement and said, "The guy who came up with this must be pretty smart."

"It was developed in Lysandre Labs in the Kalos Region," Joy told him.

"Lysandre? Isn't that the company that created the Holo-Caster? The device that is, unfortunately, only available in Kalos?" Blake asked with a small grumble at not being able to get a Holo-Caster.

Nurse Joy softly giggled at Blake's frustrations and said, "You're right, they Lydandre wanted to create something that would help Pokémon and Trainers alike, so he helped develop the scanner while it was being developed."

"I do have to wonder though, how do these people come up with these ideas?" Blake asked himself.

"The Pokémon are all okay, each one of them is in perfect shape!" Nurse Joy said. "Though, your Cubchoo seems to be a little colder than she should be."

"I think I put too much ice with her, I thought that the desert heat would get inside the Pokéball," Blake explained.

Nurse Joy shook her head and said, "No, Pokéballs are made to withstand any form of the weather, they even keep water outside of the ball if you drop it in a body of water."

"You learn something new everyday, thank you for checking them," Blake said as he collected the Pokéballs and walked towards one of the indoor training areas.

"You're welcome!" Nurse Joy said as Blake walked away. Blake walked into the arena and threw the Pokéballs in the air where both his and Krystal's Pokémon came out.

"Are we finally out of the desert?" Masquerade asked.

"Nope, we're halfway there, we should be out tomorrow," Blake told him.

"Where's Krystal?" Ralts asked as she looked around.

"She went to get us some rooms for the night and asked me to have you all checked up in the Pokémon Center," Blake explained.

"Papa, why are there teeth on Uncle's butt?" Icicle asked as she pointed at Guardian's backside.

Slicer looked at where she was pointing before bursting out in laughter, causing everyone to look at him. Then they saw what he was looking at before they burst in their own laughter.

"I'm gonna give that Gible nightmares for life," Guardian promised with a dark aura surrounding him.

"Decided to get a tramp stamp Guardian?" Masquerade asked as he snickered.

"That's it! Come here so I can strangle you!" Guardian roared as he began to chase the Zorua around the room. Blake eventually got control of his laughter and picked up Masquerade in order to save him from Guardian.

"Alright, we've had our fun, but now I think that it's time we formally introduced ourselves," Blake said. He put Masquerade down while keeping an eye on Guardian, who was slowly calming down.

"I'll start. My name's Blake and Krystal decided to travel with me and my team around Unova."

"I'm Masquerade the Zorua, I'm Blake's very first Pokémon! Pleased to meet ya!"

"The name's Slicer the Sneasel, Icicle's adoptive father."

"My name is Guardian the Duskull, I look forward to battling alongside you."

"Hi! My name's Icicle, and I'm a Cubchoo!"

Krystal's team looked at one another before Ralts walked forward and bowed before Blake and his team.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have names like you. We just have our species names to go by," Ralts said.

"It's fine, not every Trainer gives their Pokémon names. Just introduce yourselves as you are," Blake said.

"Okay, I'm Ralts, nice to meet you."

"Hello, I'm Staryu."

"..."

"Uhh, can he speak?" Blake asked as he stared at Natu, which was staring back at him.

"He can, but I think he's zoning out again. Let me fix him," Staryu said before he used Water Gun on Natu, knocking him out of his stupor.

"Huh? What? What are you doing?" Natu asked as he looked at Staryu.

"You were spacing out again," Ralts said.

"I had a vision of the future," Natu huffed as he turned his head away.

"What did you see?" Blake asked.

"I can't remember, SOMEONE interrupted me before the vision was complete," Natu said as he gave a glare to Staryu.

"Hi everyone!" Krystal said as she walked in. Her Pokémon ran over to her and began to practically hug her to death.

"Were they any trouble?" she asked.

"Nope, they were fine. So who do you want to battle with?" Blake asked as he adjusted the goggles on his head.

"Um...I think...I'll use Staryu," Krystal said.

"I'll go with Icicle, she's in need of some more battle experience," Blake said.

Meanwhile with Blake's Pokémon, all of them were giving some words of encouragement to the young Cubchoo.

"You'll do great," Masquerade said.

"You're gonna knock him into next week," Slicer said.

"Do you really think so?" Icicle asked as she took several deep breaths to calm herself.

"Don't worry, even if you lose, you'll still make me proud," Slicer said as he patted her on the head.

"You ready Icicle?" Blake asked as he walked over to his side of the arena. The Cubchoo nodded her head and walked out till she was in front of Blake and staring at Staryu's red gem.

"Ladies first," Blake said.

"Thank you. Staryu, let's start this off with Water Gun!" Krystal shouted.

Staryu blinked in response before a jetstream of water shot out of its gem towards Icicle.

"Dodge and use Icy Wind!" Blake commanded. Icicle jumpedout of the way and quickly stood up before taking a deep breath and blowing out a cold wind that struck Staryu and left a little frost on its body.

"Shake it off and use Rapid Spin!" Krystal said. Staryu jumped into the air before it started to spin like a UFO and darted towards Icicle.

"Dodge it quickly!" Blake yelled as he watched Staryu race towards his Pokémon. Icicle tried to move out of the way, but Staryu still knocked her away to the side.

"Icicle! Are you okay?" Blake asked. He was extra protective of the small Cubchoo since she was the youngest of his Pokémon. But as much as he hated to admit it, tough battles were needed if she was going to grow stronger.

"Choo..." Icicle said as she got to her feet, a small bruise forming on her left side.

"Use Powder Snow to cover the ground," Blake said.

"Cubchoo!" Icicle cried as she exhaled a large amount of snow that covered the arena floor. Krystal raised and eyebrow at this action, but didn't say anything because she was interested in seeing what was going to happen next.

"Now use Icy Wind on the snow!" Blake shouted. Icicle took in another deep breath and let out the freezing wind that instantly froze the snow in a tomb of ice.

"What are you planning?" Krystal asked, more to herself than Blake.

"All set. Slide on the ice to get close and use Fury Swipes!" Blake commanded.

"Cub, Choo!" Icicle cried as she lept forward and used her belly to slide on the ice, her claws extended and ready to slice and dice.

"Staryu, use Bubble to throw her off course!" Krystal yelled. Staryu blew out bubbles from its gem and had them spread out to make a minefield for Icicle. The small Cubchoo was able to slide through the minefield and get close to Staryu and use Fury Swipes on the Pokémon.

"Staryu!" Krystal cried. Her Pokémon jumped back in pain and wobbled around a little before standing straight.

"Let's use another Water Gun!" Krystal suggested. Staryu fired another blast of water at Icicle.

"Hit it head on with Icy Wind!" Blake cried.

"Cub...CHOO!" Icicle cried as she blew out another freezing wind. The Icy Wind met the Water Gun and instantly began to freeze it.

"Staryu, stop the Water Gun!" Krystal yelled. But it was too late, before Staryu could act, he became a ice sculpture along with the water he was firing.

"I guess we're done here," Blake said as he walked towards the forzen Staryu. He began to spray it with an Ice Heal he had taken out. The ice began to melt and in a few minutes, an unconscious Staryu fell to the floor.

"I guess I'm just not a good battler," Krystal sighed.

"Actually, you did better than me when I started out," Blake said.

"Really?" Krystal asked, amazed that she had done better than her strong friend.

Blake rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah, when it was still me and Masquerade, we were so excited about starting our journey that we lost to a Patrat on Route 1." Behind him, Masquerade hung his head in shame while Guardian gave him a comforting pat on the back.

Blake looked at his watch and said, "It's getting late, we might want to turn in for the night. If we want to get out of the desert as quickly as possible, we should get a early start in the morning."

"Good idea," Krystal agreed. With that, both teens and their Pokémon left for their rooms and went to bed for the night.

Please forgive me! I am so sorry for being late again! With Finals coming around my schedule is getting shot to Hell!

Now that part one of Route 4 is done, part two should be better to write. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, because I had some writers block for a little while. Now that I got over it, I should be posting chapters at a faster rate.

Please Review! Ciao!