[nospaces]

[newclass=.beckbase]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5d5d5;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckbase]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck1]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck3] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredit]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-nes-nsf/legend-of-zelda-the/7%20-%20Track%207.mp3[/player]


"Perfect, Theo!" Shalin chirped, Levy cooing in excitement. "That'll do nicely!" Subtlety was a four letter word to Shalin; most of her Pokémon were boisterous and made their presence known. How could a saddle-wearing Beedrill, especially a Mega Evolved one, not make its presence known, after all?

She would then turn to Alexei Ivanov . "Shouldn't be needed! Just get on Levy's back behind me! Theo's Tentacruel will keep us out of sight of security. We can't go too fast, or they'll detect our wakes." Provided Alex would agree to the aquatic ride, Shalin would lead the way to Sootopolis, not straying too far from Theo's Tentacruel to keep under the shield of MIRROR COAT preventing their intrusion from being detected. If Rocket at large found out... the disaster could be untold, depending on what was beyond those sealed gates.

The dive bubble surrounding Levy let Shalin speak with the Fortree Leader as they made their way through the winding, white tunnel. "Remember all the way back in the Braviary's Nest, when we found out that Spectacle Rock in Sootopolis is an entrance to death? Well... this is it." Her heart raced already, and they weren't even inside.

The three surfaced in an undersea cave beneath the city as Shalin recalled her Milotic and called on her ever-faithful Pyroar steed. She also sent out Scar, her male Pyroar, who was a relatively new addition to the team. It would provide Alex with a reliable ride, as well as additional light. The temple-like Halls of Origin stood before them. Twelve large stone statues lined its entryway, in six pairs. The statues that faced one another were all pairs of diametrically opposed legendary Pokémon. Lugia and Ho-oh. Groudon and Kyogre. Tornadus and Thundurus. Xerneas and Yveltal. Their footsteps echoes with unnatural volume as Shalin advanced beyond their imposing gazes.

Beyond was a large chamber containing a dais with a yellow, jagged shape resembling the Creator-God's power wheel when in its Normal Forme. At the edges of the dais were eight pedestals, one in each cardinal direction. Shalin vividly recalled the cryptic message present on the shuttered doors:



"Alex, this is it. We're getting to the bottom of this, one way or another." Digging through her fully-packed supply bag, she pulled out the stack of eight Medallions she had procured from the dangerous locales scattered throughout Hoenn, the Gale Medallion on top. Once again, she read aloud the messages in the center of the dais, as well as on the pedestals themselves.

"Ye who seek the forbidden secrets of Hoenn past, locked in these Halls of Origin: show thine power, thine wisdom, and thine courage locked behind the Medallions of Eight. Only then will these ancient Halls open to thee. One atop a remote peak, passed down by avian-blessed warriors..."

She paused, inserting the GALE MEDALLION into the northmost pedestal.

"One in the depths of a wetland snake's belly..."

The NIGHT MEDALLION, clicked into place.

"One buried in an arctic prison..."

The GLACIAL MEDALLION.

"One in an ancient pharaoh's tomb..."

The CHROME MEDALLION.

"One in a mystic palace erected in defiance of reality..."

The MIRAGE MEDALLION.

"One beyond the jaws of a dragon of stone..."

The METEOR MEDALLION.

"One in the shadow of the grandest tombstone..."

The ETHEREAL MEDALLION.

"One in the hottest, fiercest depths of Hoenn's red earth..."

The THERMAL MEDALLION.

Once the eighth Medallion clicked into place, columns of light corresponding with the color of each one shot toward the ceiling, blowing Shalin and her lioness off the platform and back toward Theo and Alex. The cryptic message faded from the doors. With a large dust cloud, the shutters keeping the Halls of Origin sealed opened. Mere seconds later, lighting in the temple dropped a shade as lightning seemed to arc in the air out of nowhere. Shalin could only come to one conclusion.

The entire Halls of Origin were one giant Space-Time Distortion.

---

Alexei Ivanov THEO BECKETT

{WC: 653}
{PC: 2}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
                                  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Shalin          Human             ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara           Pyroar            Good
Scar            Pyroar            Good
Levy            Milotic           Good
Queen Zing      Beedrill**        Good
Treble          Kommo-o           Good
Letheia         Ninetales         Good

[nospaces]

[newclass=.beckbase]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5d5d5;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckbase]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck1]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck3] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredit]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]

"Arceus..." Shalin swore as the entire place dimmed from the temporal anomaly now covering the eight Medallions. Unlike the other distortions Shalin had been inside, this one felt not only stable, but much more oppressive than any of the ones on Hoenn's surface. Something very, very serious was going on within the now-unsealed Halls, and it was Shalin's job to find out what and get to the bottom of the mystery. If there truly was some divine or otherwise fantastic power hidden within, she had to claim it for herself and master it, for the sake of the League.

"Let's...get this show on the road," Shalin deeply sighed. "It's not getting any easier." She got on Kiara's back, Scar following her beyond the north seal. As the two crossed into unknown territory, a strong heat wave, not unlike what she and Julia Davis experienced inside the Mirage Palace, hit Shalin. The sound of bubbling magma echoed from the bottom of two narrow, horizontal channels spanning the width of the room. As long as the travelers were conscious of it, stepping over it would be easy. It was, however, wide enough for one to fall into. And if that happened... it may not be best to dwell on that thought.

Worse yet, in flashes of bright light, a Chandelure, Goodra, and Slurpuff appeared in the room out of nowhere and looked upon the three intruders with murderous intent. Fight or flee north, they better decide fast!

---

Alexei Ivanov THEO BECKETT

{WC: 245}
{PC: 3}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
                                  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Shalin          Human             ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara           Pyroar            Good
Scar            Pyroar            Good
Levy            Milotic           Good
Queen Zing      Beedrill**        Good
Treble          Kommo-o           Good
Letheia         Ninetales         Good

[nospaces]

[newclass=.beckbase]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5d5d5;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckbase]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck1]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck3] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredit]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]

With Theo calling out a familiar Shiny Milotic he had used deep in the basement of the Forbidden Crypt, Shalin knew to take cover. She reined Kiara behind the water-type as its wave of water engulfed the Chandelure. The combination of a sizzle and a splash was all she needed to know the Pokémon's grisly fate. Gabriel's ROCK SLIDE, followed up by a gout of FLAMETHROWER from the explorer's lion steed, downed the Slurpuff.

That left the tall and imposing Goodra, which proceeded to flick its slimy, adhesive tail toward Theo's Milotic with a POWER WHIP that threatened to ensnare the serpent. While its SAFEGUARD would mitigate the blow some, the real threat was being trapped. "We've gotta keep moving! Fight what we must, leave the rest!" The green-ette squeezed her Pyroar's sides, repeatedly pulsing her reins in the urgency of the moment. The duo dashed north...

...only to find an even more dire threat. Six floating Beheeyem patrolled the wide open space, a mural on the north wall depicting the Weather Titans Groudon and Kyogre going at it. One side of the mural showcased raging floodwaters that destroyed coastal human establishments, and the other a wasteland filled with prone humans presumably dead from the heat of an unbearable sun above. She was too busy trying to weave through the many PSYBEAMs headed her way as she reined her Pyroar toward the west door. One hit Shalin in the back, causing her to loudly hiss as she fled into the next room.

On the north wall in the following room were depictions of a different legendary Pokémon, this one a yellow and white, small humanoid Pokémon with a third eye on its chest. She walked toward it to examine it, when three red lights glowed where the mural's eyes were located. Two were the true eyes of an Alpha Mismagius that started stalking her, and the third was the light of its POWER GEM, ready to slice and dice the explorer and her lioness!

---

Alexei Ivanov THEO BECKETT

{WC: 337}
{PC: 4}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
                                  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Shalin          Human             ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara           Pyroar            Good
Scar            Pyroar            Good
Levy            Milotic           Good
Queen Zing      Beedrill**        Good
Treble          Kommo-o           Good
Letheia         Ninetales         Good

[nospaces]

[newclass=.beckbase]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5d5d5;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckbase]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck1]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck3] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredit]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]

The two-pronged attack of FLAMETHROWER and DRAGON TAIL struck the Mismagius' soul gem, the Alpha disappearing in a flash of light that was just as sudden as its entrance. The hollow-sounding impact of Gabriel's thud with the south wall drew Shalin's attention to it. She recalled her trip through the Seviper's Remains, a cave full of weak walls that she used the power of sonic explosions to cross. This would be no different, wouldn't it?

"Treble!" Shalin called out, hurling the Kommo-o's Poké Ball toward the now-cracked south wall. "You know what to do! Everyone else, cover your ears!" Shalin slid her earplugs into place while those who chose to shield their hearing did so. The fighting-type dragon rest his right fist on the wall and began vibrating the scales on his fists. A jackhammer-like sound rumbled through the grey hallways. Even Shalin's mount, Kiara, stumbled as Treble kicked up the power of his CLANGING SCALES, the entire room's floor shaking from the pure power the dragon exhibited. With one final push that may have tripped THEO BECKETT and Alexei Ivanov , the weak wall gave way, shrapnel causing two overgrown Arbok to disappear in white flashes of light. "Whew!" Shalin exhaled, recalling the destructive Pokémon. "I could feel that from the other end of the room!"

With the two snakes dispatched, Shalin circled the room. The position of nine statues, featuring creatures Shalin did not recognize (though Alexei Ivanov and THEO BECKETT may have recognized many of them due to their interactions with Ultra Beasts), reminded her of where she found the AVIAN BOW. Pushing the one depicting a Naganadel out of the way, underneath it was a dark cellar that took them briefly out of the distortion.

[player]http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/LOZ/LOZ_Secret.wav[/player]

"What in the world... were those?" she asked. The Pokémon and explorers would be able to take a brief respite before the tunnel started climbing once more, taking them back into the Distortion.

Shalin emerged in a distant section of the Halls of Origin, the foreign environment shaped like a rising spiral that constrained movement for land Pokémon. She turned a corner to see a group of poison-type Pokémon that bad a bad habit of assimilating valuables, such as Alolan Muk and Swalot. Kiara backed away as one crawled toward her, reaching for one of the Poké Balls on her belt.

---

Alexei Ivanov THEO BECKETT

{WC: 389}
{PC: 5}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS
                                  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Shalin          Human             ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Kiara           Pyroar            Good
Scar            Pyroar            Good
Levy            Milotic           Good
Queen Zing      Beedrill**        Good
Treble          Kommo-o           Good
Letheia         Ninetales         Good

[nospaces]

[newclass=.beckbase]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5d5d5;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckbase]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525;
[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck1]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckimg img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beckpoke img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.circleoutline1]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck2 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass]
[newclass=.beck3] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/zsBjQYG.png), #000; background-blend-mode: screen; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: cover; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.rouxcredit]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]