path-of-arceus

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 5

Sitting in front of the Cave of Origins, Steven, Wallace and Shenlan. With Wallace's Milotic wrapped around Shenlan who is hugging his egg. It has been 2 weeks since he got here. Life has starting to look up, even in this strange land.

"Peace and Tranquility." Wallace speaks up. "It has never feel so comfortable."

Wallace turns to face Shenlan.

"What do you think, kid?" He asked. "How do you feel so far?"

"This has never feels this better in my life." Shenlan responded, he took a deep breath. "At least, until i got here, things were... awful."

"Ahh... I see, while i don't want to dabble on life problems, if you want to vent all your emotions out, feel free to." Wallace assured him.

Shenlan nods his head. He suddenly feels a movement coming from the egg. This causes him and Milotic to flinch. As he inspected the egg, it moves and shakes again.

"Hey, i think the egg is going to hatch." He told.

Wallace and Steven turn around to face Shenlan and immediately rushes towards him. The egg shakes even stronger as it cracks.

"Oh this is exciting." Milotic speaks.

As the egg began to cracks even more, it started to glow. As the light started to disappear, a curious little creature appear from it. Wallace approaches the boy, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Ahh a Bagon, look how lucky you are." He speaks. "It fits you so well."

"It looks so cute!"

The little Bagon opens its eyes. As soon as it's eyes focused on Shenlan, it begin to jump in excitement.

"Aww, it looks so happy." Wallace comments. "You are the perfect trainer for it."

Shenlan smiles, he tried to pick Bagon up but stopped.

"Oh dear god, you are heavy."

Wallace shakes his head while Steven lets out a chuckle.

"Yeah, It's heavier than it looks." Wallace approaches them. "Glad to see you both happy."

Steven places a hand on Wallace's shoulder.

"Oh right, let's get back and have something to eat."

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 4 (Extra)

Shenlan is sitting on the balcony of Juan's mansion. His silence is broken by a gentle footsteps approaching.

"Hello, my boy." Juan greets him.

"Hello, Juan." Shenlan responded, unable to hold his inner sadness.

"Is... is there something wrong?" Juan asked.

"N... no, everything is fine."

Juan sat down next to the boy.

"If there is something that's bothering you, tell me..."

Shenlan leaned onto his body, before deciding to spill everything.

"I never feel like i belong in this world... I appreciate Wallace and Steven for saving me but i can't help myself feeling i don't belong"

Juan wrapped his hand around the boy's shoulder.

"It's okay, we all feel that way when we tried our journey, we feel so weak, we feel like we are useless, but we all bounce back to our feet and see our success." He responded. "Trainers feels that way too."

"I am not from this universe." Shenlan tells him. "I never be able to feel that i belong in this place if i try."

"You will learn that there is more than meets the eye." Juan responded. "You might find this place to be more than what you see."

Juan pulls Shenlan for a hug.

"Always remember that you are loved, you are cared and you have someone who look after you."

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 4

Shenlan gently holds the egg close, how long does it take for the egg to hatch? He often wonders. He hears the door creeks open, Wallace peeks out of the door with a smile on his face.

"Good news, kid, my old mentor is coming by to this city." He announces. "You will get to meet him!"

Oh, Wallace's old mentor. Whoever he is, this man must be powerful and mighty to train someone as powerful as Wallace.

"When will he arrive?" Shenlan asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Wallace answered. "You better get ready, he is expecting to meet you!"

Shenlan nods his head, he gently placed the egg back to the bed.

Shenlan opens his eyes, feels light as ever. For the first time he isn't having any nightmare about his own upbringing.

"Good morning, kid!" Wallace's voice rings from across the room. "Are you ready for your fun day?"

Shenlan nods, he jumps out of bed to have a shower and be ready. Putting on his favorite new outfit Wallace bought him.

"Alright, Wallace, i'm ready."

"Let's go."

Shenlan steps out of the house. Wallace smiles. He took the boy up the flight of stairs, which ends in a massive mansion up to the top. He has never goes up here by himself, the sight of the mansion impressed him.

"So, do you like this place?" Wallace asked.

"This place is awesome!"

"Ah, there you are, my boy."

A voice rings out from the mansion. An older man with his 2 butler steps out. Shenlan slowly hides behind Wallace.

"Good morning, master Juan." Wallace greets the man. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you again, my boy, look at how far you go."

Juan locks his sight on Shenlan, who is hiding behind Wallace. He smiles and kneels down.

"Ah hello, you must be the child Wallace is talking about." Juan greets Shenlan.

He put his head forward. Shenlan looks up to Wallace, anxious and all. Wallace smiles and nods his head. Shenlan slowly walks out his hiding. He grabs Juan's hand for a handshake.

"Glad you both like each other." Wallace speaks.

Juan smiles, he picks the boy up in his arm. Shenlan is too stunned to even try to fight.

"Uhh, master Juan, are you sure you'll be fine?" Asked Wallace, mostly worried for their safety.

"Oh, i will be fine." Juan responded. "Come on, let's go inside."

Still carrying Shenlan in his arm, Juan guide them inside of the mansion.

"Here we go, kid." Juan said, gently dropping Shenlan down. "Feel free to look around my mansion"

Shenlan smiles and nods, one of Juan's butler kindly accompany the boy around the mansion.

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 3

Shenlan jolts his eye open, no... Not this again. It's been 10 days since his arrival to Sootopolis city.

"What's wrong... Kid?" Wallace asked, obviously still sleepy.

"Nothing... It's alright..." Shenlan relied as he snuggled up to Wallace.

Wallace sleepily patting the boy's back as both of them falls asleep.

Meanwhile in on an early morning in a city called Mossdeep, Steven is seen talking to someone.

"Hey Steven, i heard you encountered a random child that comes our of nowhere, is that true?"

Steven nods his head. The man chuckles as he leans backwards.

"Haha, i can sense that you will be an amazing father, you know that, you have the energy of a good father figure to anyone and everyone."

Steven laughs a bit, as he gently shoves his friend.

"Oh, i need to go now." The man stood up. "Catch you later during drinks friday!"

Steven lowers his head and waves his hands at him. He takes a deep breath before going back to his house.

Shenlan opens his eye wide, hyperventilating. Not one of this nightmare... Again, he thoughts. Well, at least he felt a bit well rested now. He started up at a window, it's morning. He quickly get out of his bed.

"Good morning, kid, good news." Greets Wallace. "You get to go out to Mossdeep city, just to happen to be where Steven live."

Shenlan can feel his excitement rising, well, at least he has something to get his mind off of his nightmares.

"Get yourself ready, we will head out in about 30 minutes, better if we are early." Said Wallace. "I will be waiting for you by the taxi port above."

Shenlan nods, quickly, he goes off to get properly changed. Took him only a total of 10 minutes. He gently grabs his egg and rushes out of the door, walking up the flight of stairs, quickly yet carefully.

"Wallace! I'm here!" Shenlan called. Wallace turns around to face him.

"There you are." Wallace hops onto a compartment of a flying taxi. "Get in!"

Shenlan did as he was told, he carefully hops onto the compartment. He sits right next to Wallace, leaning his head againts his body, with an egg on his arms

"Alright, we are ready!"

With a loud sound of a few giant bird pokemons, the compartment flew up into the air. Wallace stared and smiles as the boy looked out to the view below them.

"Do you like it?" Wallace asked.

Shenlan turns around, he nods. Wallace smiles back at him, sweet as ever. A quite pleasing sight for many. After what must be an hour, they arrive to their destination. Mossdeep is bigger than Shenlan expected, at least, bigger than Bay City and Maybe Sootopolis.

"What do you think of Mossdeep?" Wallace asked. "Is it just as beautiful as Sootopolis?"

"It's hard to say, but they are both equally as beautiful." Shenlan responded.

"Good to hear!" Wallace puts a hand on Shenlan's shoulders. "Now follow me, we need to get to my car to get around."

Shenlan stared up at him in awe, he nods his head. Wow, this man even has a car parked somewhere in this city. As they walked to a nearby garage, Shenlan notices people were eyeing on Wallace, both in admiration and awe.

"Why are people staring at you like that?" Shenlan can't help but ask

Wallace starts to giggle. "Well in truth, i am famous not just in Sootopolis, but also other part of this region." He took a deep breath. "Also i guess some other region too, as i often travels around the world."

Shenlan is amazed by Wallace's achievement, he is one, if not, the greatest people in this world. He has his hopes up of atleast being safe fom the clutches of the dark one. Or maybe a sight of a kid who is not even a trainer carrying an egg is strange.

He notices some people started eyeing him in confusion and bewilderment, which made him anxious. He leans on Wallace's body as much as he could.

"Don't think about them to much." Wallace told him. "Ignore their stares, i will always be here to protect you when something happens."

Shenlan starts to calm down a bit, his anxiety is still bothering him, but atleast he can calm down for a bit. They arrive at an underground parking lot. Wallace approaches a car that catches Shenlan's eye, a blazing red ferrari. This man sure is something of a celebrity in this world, huh?

"Get in!" Wallace called. "Don't be worry."

Shenlan nods, as he hesitantly get into the car. He opens the side door of the passanger seat. He makes himself comfortable for a moment.

"Alright, we are going now!"

Shenlan felt, quite overwhelmed. It's the first time, ever, he ride on a fancy car. Compared to what he sees in Bay City. Although cars in Bay City floats off the ground, they are much more plain.

"How are you feeling, kid?" Asked Wallace. "First time riding a car?"

"Not exactly, although it's my first time riding on a fancier side car." Shenlan responded.

"Good to hear, hope you get yourself comfortable in this kind of lifestyle."

Shenlan tried, it's not like he lived lavishly like this in Bay City, he is a highschool student lived with his teacher Mr.J after all. But this is certainly a new experience. Shenlan took the time to look around to get a nice view of the city. Wallace side eye-ing him, he let out a smile. After about 30 minutes of driving, they arrive at Steven's house. His house is moderately sized, not BIG big, but enough for someone like him to live comfortably.

"You might be impressed now, but this is not most of it."

Wallace rings the door bell, a meek, weak hum was Steven's only response. Shenlan started to notice how tired Steven is. He looks like he hasn't slept in days. Shenlan felt, concerned, yet is too scared to ask. Wallace goes inside the house, Shenlan in tow. Shenlan looks around in amusement of the amount of pretty stones he has in his collection.

"You make yourself comfortable here first." Wallace said. "The vibe of this place should differ from what you are used to before."

He is right, this felt different. While it's not as much of a difference as the vibe in Sootopolis, this is certainly something from Bay City. A small Pokemon walked up to Shenlan, it looks like it's made off metal and rocks.

"It looks like one of Steven's Aron is interested in you." Wallace giggles.

"It looks more curious in me than anything, let me see if i can hear what it said." Responds Shenlan.

It starts to rub it's head on Shenlan's leg, he can felt the weight of this creature. It begin to speak.

"A new individual, who are you?" It asked. "I have never seen you before."

"Hello!" Shenlan said. "Yeah, i am pretty new to this place."

This Aron must have seen a lot of people coming and going if it recognizes many people.

"I see you have made yourself comfortable with Steven's little friends at home, eh, hehehe." Wallace said, as he chuckled. "Now what do you want to eat?"

The moment a food is mentioned, the little Aron perks up and run over to Wallace, Shenlan chuckles.

"Whatever you guys want i guess." Shenlan responded. "I am not that picky of an eater, like usual."

"Get yourself some rest, kid." Wallace suggests. "Oh yeah, put the egg down on one of those cushion."

Shenlan nods as he gently places the egg down in one of the little cushion Steven has in his house.

"Actually, we are going to just eat out tonight, Steven is going to meet his friends, i figure it would be fun."

Meeting Steven's friends? Huh, it should be fun. Shenlan nods as he slinks into the bed. Steven let's out a small chuckle.

"What did you say, kid?" Asked Wallace

"Sure!"

Shenlan getting himself ready, the suit that he has on since day one in Hoenn region was his only best, formal clothing, he doesn't have many option.

"Shenlan, are you ready?"

"I'm coming!"

Making a fast paced walk, Shenlan make his way to the front door. Per Wallace's suggestion, he left his egg behind. They walk towards Wallace's car. Shenlan getting into the car, sitting on the back seat with Steven. Wallace turns around, facing them with a soft smile.

Wallace starting up his car. Shenlan leans onto Steven's body. Steven smiles and wrapped his arm around the boy. Seeing Steven up close and seeing how tired he is makes Shenlan feels awful.

The drive isn't that long, as they pull up to a fancy restaurant.

"I will reserve a spot for us, Steven your friend should be waiting for you at your favorite bar."

Steven nods his head. Said bar is locared next to the restaurant, with a door connecting both places. As Wallace makes his way to the front, placing their order. Shenlan decided to wander off to the bar area. Wallace turns his head as the boy walks away, he smiles, knowing where the boy was heading

As he peeks through the door, he sees Steven chatting with what Shenlan assumes is his friend. Steven notices Shenlan peeking from the door. He smiles and invites the boy over. Shenlan hesitates, but Steven reassures him with a nod.

"Ah, you must be the child everyone talks about."

"What... do you mean?" Shenlan asked.

"Well, the news of your arrival have spread all across the region, and every Gym Leader, Elite four and the Frontier Brains are actively sharing information with each other to ensure Hoenn is safe."

Shenlan nods, people with some form of fame in this world are connected with one another.

"Oh by the way, my name is Sidney!" The man introduced himself.

He reaches his hand forward towards the boy. Shenlan smiles, pulling his hand for a handshake.

"Hey guys." Wallace called, peeking out of the door. "The food is ready!"

"Thanks for the chat, Steven, have a nice day!"

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 2 (Extra)

Shenlan gently placed the egg down in a pillow basket Wallace puts down. He can still feel the egg's excited heartbeat

"So... what now?" Shenlan asked curiously.

"Well, we just need to wait for it to hatch." Wallace responds. "It might take a lot of time, but all you need to do now is wait."

Shenlan smiles and nods his head.

"Should we head back down?" He asked. "I don't want to make Steven wait for us."

Steven is still waiting for them down the steps, sitting by his trusted partner.

"Hey Steven, we're back!" Shenlan greets him.

Steven chuckles, before ruffling up the boy's hair. Wallace lets out a low laugh, mostly impressed on how enthusiastic the boy turns out to be.

"You're way too excited, don't you?" Asked Wallace, his tone is teasing and playful.

They all making such a spectacle of themself that the metalic bird next to Steven, Skarmory, starter to laugh on it's own.

Shenlan noticed that the voices he heard before, was coming from Skarmory. For some reason, to even he can't explain, he hears everything Skarmory said in an intelligible language.

"What's wrong, kid?"

Shenlan squint his eyes towards Skarmory, this starts to make Skarmory feels weird as it steps back for a bit.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" It asked.

"Did you just talk?" Shenlan asked.

Skarmory shook it's head in confusion. Steven and Wallace stare at each other, in equal confusion.

"What... what do you mean by Skarmory talking?" Asked Wallace.

Wallace walks over to where Skarmory is standing.

"We all know Pokemon communicates with their own language, but what do you mean they talk?"

"I... i can hear them actually speaking... like us." Shenlan responds.

"What... do you mean?" Wallace asked again, just to make sure of what Shenlan was talking about. "Do you mean you can understand them?"

"I... Kind of..." Shenlan respond. "It's just the best way i can explain it."

Wallace stares back to Steven, before pulling out a mysterious, red and white ball.

"Should we test this with the rest of my own Pokemon?" Wallace asked.

Steven nods. Wallace tosses the ball away. Out come a giant... long... snake-like fish.

"Let's see if you can understand what Milotic is saying."

"Wait he can understand me?" Asked Milotic.

"Yes... i can."

Milotic approached the boy, getting really close to him. Shenlan flinched backwards in surprise

"Hey hey, calm down." Wallace ordered, as he gently pulled Milotic back.

"Hello, little one."

Shenlan smiles, he reaches out his hand before pulling it back in hesitation.

"You can touch her, it's okay!"

Milotic gently shoves her head forward to Shenlan's hands. Letting herself being rubbed by the boy's hand. Wallace wrapped his hand around Steven's shoulder. Suddenly, something popped out of one of Steven's pocket. A white metalic robot thing comes out of it.

"Metagross, what are you doing?" Asked Wallace.

Metagross gently approaches Shenlan.

"Oh, hey, Metagross." Milotic greets it.

Metagross replies with a friendly head nod. It pulls out one of its hand forward toward Shenlan.

"Hello, little boy!" It greets. "I see Master Steven is fond of you!"

"Hello... Metagross, i guess so, not sure how much Steven likes me but i trust your judgement."

Wallace chuckes as he gently taps on Steven shoulder, Steven smiles and leaning his head to Wallace's body. They are having a fun time.

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 2

7 day has passed, Shenlan walked out of Wallace's house. For the first time since the incident which he needs to recover from. The world outside looks so serene and pretty, it's like a dream, a paradise for him.

"So..." Wallace's voice breaks his silence. "What do you think about this place, the Sootopolis City?"

"This place looks... amazing!"

"Oh, don't get excited yet, kid." Wallace chuckles. "You barely seen anything yet!"

Wallace reaches out his hand forward, this taken Shenlan by surprise as the boy flinched backwards slightly.

"Come, there are still a lot of places that you need to see."

Shenlan hesitates, Wallace nods his head, reassuring the boy. Shenlan lets out a smile and grabs Wallace's hand, they started to descend the many stairs of the city. The air feels cold, at least, it's not what he is used to from living in Bay City for 13 years.

He gazes at the beautiful lake, the same lake that nearly took my life, he thoughts, sadly, trying to not get his thoughts wrapped in what happened a week ago. He tilts his head as notices a certain building, build on a small island a but far from the main land.

"Is that building... meant to be there?" Shenlan asked curiously, marveled by the wonders of this world more than anything else.

Wallace starts to chuckle. "Oh, that is the Sootopolis Gym, a place where other young trainers can try earning a badge to earn the right to fight the Champion of Hoenn."

"If it was meant to be a place where young trainers get to show off their skill... why is it placed in the middle of this lake?"

"That is the point." Wallace responds eagerly. "Some trainers are not allowed to surf across waters until they are skilled enough to do so."

Shenlan nods his head, beginning to understand the basic concept of this world. While he certainly doesn't know what any of that mean, he is very interested in this world.

"This world is massive and there will be time where people were let out into the world to explore the wonders."

Wallace pats the boy on the head, as he gently smiles at him.

"Come, there are still more things i need to show you."

Wrapping his arm on the boy's shoulder, they went towards a lovely scenery, a serene and beautiful bridge towards a small island with giant tree looming over them.

"This tree is so... Massive..." Shenlan commented. "Probably the first time i have ever seen a tree in this size in my life..."

"Ahh..." Wallace turns around. "This tree was given to us by a rather mysterious man, who is as old as time and as big as this tree he gave to us."

Shenlan nods his head, he is impressed at what the world has to offer. More than his own world.

"But that's not what i'm here to show you." Wallace speaks, he turns around towards a beautiful cave entrance. "This is what i wanted to show you."

"This place looks awesome!"

"Glad to see you like this place." Wallace responds. "This is the Cave of Origins, the crown jewel of this city, it's what this place is known for."

Wallace takes a deep breath.

"As the protector of the Cave of Origin, i have a sense of duty to this place, you see." Wallace continues. "It's not a title you can just receive."

In the distance, a metallic wing flaps can be heard heading towards their direction. Wallace turns his head around and smiles.

"Ah." He eagerly exclaimed. "There is Steven."

A giant metalic bird landed softly near where they stand. Steven hops down, with a mysterious egg on his hand.

"Hello Steven." Wallace greets him enthusiastically. "... What is that?"

Steven smiles, he turns around to face Shenlan. He reaches out his hand, giving the egg to the boy.

"You want me to... Have it?" Asked Shenlan, hesitates.

Steven nods his head.

"Alright then, if you say so."

Shenlan steps forward, gently taking the egg from Steven's hand. Wallace walks over to Steven, he smiles as he gently kisses Steven's forehead. Steven smiles back in return as he leans closer to Wallace.

"Thank you, Steven!"

Steven smiles and nods his head. Wallace walks back over to Shenlan.

"Now take care of the egg." He said. "It will be your forever companion in your journey."

Shenlan nods, he hugs the egg closer to him. He can feel an enthusiastic heartbeat coming from the egg.

"Let's get the egg safely back home." Wallace suggests. "To make sure it's safe before i show you around."

As they began to walk back up the steps, Shenlan heard voices of someone speaking behind him. It couldn't possibly be Steven, he had heard his voice before. This voice sounds and feels different

"What's wrong, kid?"

The sudden voice startle the boy, he lets out a chuckle before following behind Wallace.

[path-of-arceus]

Path of Arceus: Chapter 1

"A Violent crackles opens a rift high above in the sky, to everyone's shock and horror, a boy fell down from the other side of the time rift, what does it mean?"

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 1 (Extra)

"Everyone, hang in there!" Words from a giant mecha robot echoes

"Chiyan!!" Another scream is heard. "We... We don't have much time, our energies are depleting!"

"Dragon Force, we can do this, i believe in all of you"

War with a forces beyond their reach strengthen, they don't have much energy to fight back.

"Hang in there, everyone, we-"

Chiyan doesn't even able to finish his sentence before the Dragon Force gets blown away by a mysterious energy. The dark power, it revers himself as, is a powerful and terrifying threat

Their armor has fully ran out of energy, they are no longer be able to use their full power to fight. But Chiyan would not give up the earth they live in. He stands up strong and ready to fight.

"It's funny how you puny children even think of trying to fight me, just give up and let this world be mine" said the dark power, in a rumble, menacing voice.

"No..." Replied Chiyan. "We have fought equally as tough challenges in the past, we will not give up"

"Chiyan... I'm scared"

"It's alright, Xiaoxing, we can still win this"

"But... But how?"

The dark power roars in laughter, their attempt didn't seem to scare it one bit. Oh, not even close.

"You children are no match for me, my powers surpasses those aliens you've beaten in the past, actually i will take it back, killing all of you would be a waste of power." Said the dark power, taunting.

Chiyan puffed up his chest, clenched his fists and walks a step closer.

"What are you trying to do to us?" Asked him. "What do you want from us"

"You'll see, kids"

The dark power let out a wave of sinister, evil wind. Making them feel weird. As if something is trying to pull strings in the back of their head. One by one, they all fall into darkness. But one withstand the power and breaks free from the darkness' control.

"You... Shenlan, how are you able to fight my control?"

His fight with the darkness drains most of Shenlan's energy. He can't afford even to stand up. But his voice is clear and strong.

"I might seems weak, but my determination is strong, strong enough to let me fight your control." Said Shenlan.

"Bold of you to even say that, well enough said, killing a kid like you outright would not be a good sight to see in this pleasant world, doesn't it... Hmm?"

A mysterious portal opens up right behind him. Shenlan whips his head and turns around with fear in his eyes. He can't afford to even fight the dark power nor his, now possessed friends. Let alone, dealing with what happen in the other side of his world.

"Any last word, you cute little child?"

Shenlan unable to answer, it's the first time he ever felt a genuine, realistic fear in his life.

"Very well..." Said the dark power. "Tiequan, throw him in."

"Yes... Master"

As Tiequan starts approaching him, Shenlan tried to make a last ditch effort to fight. But, his strength is unmatched.

"Stop... Resisting"

"No, Tiequan, i refuse to give up"

"Give up to your fate, child, you are not perfect for my realm." Shout the voice. "The world you will be sent to might not be as welcoming, enjoy your new life, remember, my grasp on this world is powerful."

Tiequan grabs him by his chest, and violently throws him into the wormhole behind him.

"I am sorry, everyone, i have failed you..."

Shenlan's eyes shot wide, he was just about to scream... but he stopped himself short. Knowing Wallace was sleeping next to him. He didn't want to wake him up, not because of a stupid nightmare...

He stared out of the window, it's only 3 days since he got here, he needs time to relax, to forget all of the bad memories. He will be strong... he has to be...

[path-of-arceus]

Chapter 1

Gentle footsteps can be heard in a peaceful, city. Wallace makes a peaceful walk by the side of the island, it has been 3 weeks since he has gotten a challenger. What can he say, Tate and Liza has trained their pokemon hard to the point that none of the current challenger were able to get pass them. Suddenly, a sharp flap ofetalic wings can be heard from a distance.

"Hello there, Steven, my good friend." Reply Wallace with an air of politeness in his voice. "What brings you to this city?"

Steven gets off his Skarmory and seal it in it's pokeball. He walks forward towards Wallace, he gently puts a hand on Wallace's shoulders. Wallace nods at him and smiles.

"Very well, thank you my friend." Respond Wallace. "If i'm being honest with you, i felt, lonelier than you thought, the only time i felt entertained is watching Lisia's performance."

Steven nods his head, understanding of his loneliness. Wallace takes Steven for a little stroll on the the small platform they are on. The air and the weather reminds Steven of a Sun stone or maybe a beautiful sparkle of diamond, he smiles. Seeing him smile made Wallace's day a little.

"So, how is your day so far?" Asked Wallace.

Steven turns around to face him, he smiles and tilts his head.

"I see, i am glad to hear that, my friend, i'm so happy you're here."

Suddenly a loud roar can be heard from the sky. Citizens of Sootopolis all gather up to see what the sound is all about.

"Oh Arceus, what in the world was that?"

From the distance, they saw a child falls from the portal that formed up above the cloud. He falls into the fresh water below with a violent crashing sound. The little body rises up, seems to be struggling to stay afloat. Wallace, without even thinking, immedietly jumps into the water and swims over to the struggling child, holding the small body on his arms. Shenlan looked up to whoever is saving him.

"It's okay, you're safe now..." Said Wallace.

Wallace brings the child back onto land, gently placing him onto soft grass. Shenlan curls up his body, he is shaking, he felt the cold and fear overwhelmed his little body.

"Steven, come with me at my home, we will get him settled down" said Wallace

"Mhhm." The only thing Steven said as he rushed by his side.

Wallace puts his hand on the child, gently patting his back before picking him up and carrying him back to his house. Shenlan closes his eyes gently, his fear and pain overwhelmed him. He is scared, but he doesn't know if he should trust whoever is saving him from the deep water.

Wallace opens up the door to his house, where Steven has prepared a quick bed for him infront of the fireplace. Shenlan curls up, he felt his strength depleting. His fears caught up to him, he started to cry, uncontrollably.

Steven gently places a hand on the boy's back. Shenlan a sense of comfort. He started to feel his body beginning to warm up. He slowly opens his eyes, as he tries to get up and sit.

Steven smiles, as he moves his hand to the child's head, gently rubbing it. Shenlan looked up at him, their gazes met each other, Steven smiles. He puts his hand to the childs hand. Shenlan looked up, his eyes filled with wonder, but it's obvious he cried.

"It's alright... little one." Said Steven, as he wipes the tear from his eyes.

Wallace turns his head around to face Steven, it's the first time he had heard him speak in what must felt like ages. He tried his best not to show it, but he cries a bit in the inside.

Shenlan feels the ball of fear and anxiety inside him melts away. He felt... Calm, even when he only just met these people.

"T-thank you..." Shenlan said, softly.

His throat is so sore, he can barely talk. He is too scared to talk.

"Now now, are you feeling better?" Wallace asked

Shenlan nods. He leans closer to Steven.

"Also kid, what's your name... And where did you come from?"

Shenlan takes a deep breath before answering.

"M-my name i-is Shenlan, and i..."

Shenlan stops, he is not ready to reveal the reason why he is here, or where did he come from.

"... I am from... U-uhhh, somewhere, that place is scary... N-now... H-however..."

"Oh... What's happen..."

"Sorry, i... I-i can't t-tell you about it... N-now..."

Steven nods his head, he pulls the child closer to him. Wrapping his arms along his shoulders. He notices the boy started getting sleepy. He stood up and lift the small child into a bed, Wallace's bed. The only bed in his house.

"W-will you be ok... W-with me... Sleeping h-here?" Asked Shenlan, nervous rises up his throat.

"Don't worry, kid, it's fine, feel free to get some sleep." Said Wallace. "Now now, rest your head and sleep."

Wallace puts the blanked on Shenlan, the boy hesitates. But after thinking about it, he knows that he needs to learn to trust these men. His fatigue starts to take over him as he falls asleep.

As the sunlight shines on his eyes, Shenlan opens his eyes. It was a very good sleep, a pretty long one at that.

"Good morning, kid!" Greets Wallace. "You must be very tired yesterday."

"... Yes... I did." Shenlan smiled nervously. "Thank you, sir"

Wallace sits down next to him.

"I am glad to hear that, although, no need to be so formal with me." He said. "Just call me by my name!"

Shenlan smiles as he nods his head, Wallace realizes something.

"Oh wait, i haven't introduced myself yet haha."

A knock can be heard from the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened gently, Steven walks inside the house. He stared at the boy and waved his hand.

"You came at a perfect time!" Wallace stood up, he walks over to Steven. "My name is Wallace, and this is my best friend, Steven."

Steven bows his head, in reflect, Shenlan lowers his head in response.

"Now then, we need to figure out what we should do with you..."

[path-of-arceus]

Path of Arceus: Introduction

"Hopeless and confused, a young boy was sent out to a different world than his own, leaving behind a world in chaos and destruction, on the other side, he was taken care of by the hands of 2 kind individual, who held a position of power, the boy's only option is to trust everyone he meets and talks to the god of this realm"