SOLOMON

            “Child of Nature, Bringer of Justice. Find me. Open your eyes. I’m here.”

            Solomon awoke with a start. Campfire light trickled through his canvas tent in the dark of night. He turned to his right and saw Sceptile. His Spirit Pokémon was awake as well. They had had the same dream again: the dream of the Steel Giant.

            The Prince of Foretree splashed water on his face from a basin to help wake himself and stepped outside. All around him, campfires burned in the early morning. There must have been thousands of them. Almost the entire military might of the Foretree kingdom had amassed here, an ancient clearing to the south and east of the tree-top city itself.

            His cousin who was Chief of the Central Highlands had brought twenty thousand men, and a few hundred Pokémon. As Solomon walked through the makeshift streets with Sceptile between the rows and rows of tents, he could hear the Tropius groaning in the night. The famous brigade of Flying Pokémon had arrived sometime last week.

            “Sceptile,” said his Pokémon quietly.

            “I know,” Solomon responded. “If all goes according to plan, Starfall won’t know what hit him.” He held up his hand and stopped. There was a sound, a whisper on the wind that called to him.

            “Closer,” the breeze said to him.

            “Did you hear that, boy?” he asked Sceptile. The large green lizard Pokémon nodded its head solemnly and began to crawl on all fours, sniffing at the very air.

            The valley itself was old, some of the troops were apt to tell stories of how the first King Forrest had found a hidden treasure somewhere near it. It was said that with this treasure, he established the Kingdom of Foretree. Some say the treasure was gold, piles upon piles of gold, reminiscent of an ancient civilization, long lost. Others said he found a Pokémon that could grant him anything, and so he wished to become a King. Whichever was or wasn’t true, Solomon began to feel the valley calling to him.

            There was, indeed, an ancient energy here. Solomon knew it. He felt it when he first established camp, and every night his dreams of the Steel Giant had been more vivid than the last. Now he found himself following Sceptile through the brush. Time had passed him by, and the comforting warmth of the campfires had disappeared behind him. He knew that if he kept going, in a few hours his officers would find his tent empty, and send out search parties for him.

            I don’t care. Solomon Forrest was in a trance. The voice on the wind got louder and louder the deeper he walked into the jungle. It was then that he realized he had forgotten his sword. He anxiously checked his trousers, there wasn’t even a knife on his person. What if he needed it should a wild Pokémon were to attack him?

            He stopped, and Sceptile did also in front of him. Clouds departed from the moon as its light penetrated the canopy. The eyes of countless Pokémon stared down at him. 

            Are they watching me? He locked eyes with a Linoone and its family of young Zigzagoon. Up in the trees, a Swellow and a Ninjask peered down at him from the same branch.

            Sceptile stepped back towards Solomon in the moonlight. The rays of light cast an eerie green glow on his Spirit Pokémon, and the spot of dried blood on its palm shone like a ruby. That was when Solomon heard the voice speak to him again.

            “Child of Nature, bringer of Justice. Come to me.”

            Solomon squinted, and for a split second, the light from the moon illuminated what looked like to be an opening in a rocky cliff, overgrown with tangled vines. “There,” he told Sceptile. They slowly walked side by side. Solomon looked at the Linoone and Zigzagoon as they passed. This time, they did not meet his gaze. Instead, they seemed to be bowing, along with all the other Pokémon they happened to see.

            Finally, they approached the opening in the rock. Solomon nodded at his Spirit Pokémon as he used the sharp leaves on its arms to slice away the vines. Human and Pokémon entered the cave together.

            It was as if Solomon was back in his dreams. He had been here half a hundred times before. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the darkness, the walls came alive with a green light. He had heard about cave paintings, but none such with glowing paint. Most of the figures were arrows, guiding him through the twists and turns, but Solomon didn’t need them. He knew every corner, and every fork in the path. He had been here in his dreams before, after all.

            Finally, he came to the round chamber where he knew the Steel Giant slept. This time, however, there were three figures drawn on the wall. The one in the center was painted with the same, eerie green paint. It looked like Sceptile, only its eyes were fiercer, and it seemed to have stripes. The other two figures were too dark to see, as the paint didn’t glow.

            “Child of Nature, light the altar, and let you and your Pokémon become one.” The voice seemed to echo in his mind. It was the Steel Giant. It had to be, but where was it coming from?

            As he approached the luminescent cave painting, he found a metal basin on a stone podium resting in front of it. “How?” Solomon wondered out loud. He had no flint, no coal, and no way to make fire.

            He turned back towards Sceptile, who was gazing upwards. Solomon craned his neck to see what his Spirit Pokémon was looking at. At the roof of the cavern, a white light shone. Solomon knew it was the moon. It must have passed between clouds again, because its shine cast a spotlight on the floor of the cave.

            Sceptile began to glow again, and Solomon’s eye was drawn to the red spot on its palm again. Shining crimson like fresh blood.

            He quickly took a double take at the metal basin, and now he saw that there was a sharp point protruding from it. Then, he understood.

            “Sceptile, come,” the Pokémon crawled on all fours swiftly to meet him as they overlooked the metal basin together. “Grab it.” Solomon showed the Pokémon. His fist closed around the cold steel. Its edges were sharper than any sword. Sceptile followed suit. “Argh!” Solomon felt his palm get sliced, but his Pokémon made no sound as they cut their palms together.

            He watched as the blood trickled down the spike and into the basin. Then, it seemed to swirl together. At once, Solomon and Sceptile had to retreat back as the basin erupted into a raging green fire.  Bigger and bigger the flames got, yet they emitted no heat.

            There was a mighty clang as something big emerged from the fire. It had a round body, and stood on two legs. It had two long arms that reflected green in the light of the strange fire. It had seven dots that glowed red on its upper torso, six of them surrounding the seventh.

            “Solomon Forrest,” it had no mouth to speak with, but the voice rang clear in his ears, shrill and metallic. “I called to you and you answered.”

            “Yes,” Solomon said quietly. “I’m here now.” Sceptile growled in agreement.

            “You come late. You must hurry if you wish to save Foretree and all of Hoenn from what I’ve shown you in your dreams.”

            “I-I came as soon as I could,” Solomon pleaded. “You spoke in riddles. How was I supposed to know where you were? You never even told me your name. How was I supposed to find you?”

            “I am Registeel, and I have been here for a thousand thousand years, and I will be here for a thousand thousand more. I am here at the same place that I have always been since you were here before. It was up to you to remember.”

            “What?” Solomon locked eyes with Sceptile, confused. “I’ve never been here.”

            “You have,” answered Registeel, the Steel Giant, “in a past life. A soul may be born again, go through life with new experiences, but all the same, a soul remembers. How else could you have found me, Child of Nature?”

            Silence ensued. Solomon looked at the huge metal being in front of him. Was it a Pokémon? Was it something else? The green fire still roared behind it. Had it come from the fire? Was it a door into another world?

            “I’m here,” Solomon said finally. “You promised me the tools to save my people and all of Hoenn. Now tell me how to do this.”

            The dots on Registeel’s face lit up. “You’ve come to me. Now follow me into the light, and learn all you need to know.” The Steel Giant beckoned to the tower of green flame.

            For a second, Solomon was scared of the flames. What if it killed him? Somehow, he knew that it wouldn’t.

            “Scep,” his Spirit Pokémon said. He turned to the green lizard, and it nodded its head. The Pokémon offered the blood-marked palm, and Solomon took it in his own, the very hand that he had sliced open to bring forth the mystical fire.

            Registeel turned, and then leapt into the fire, which engulfed him in a whoosh. Following the Steel Giant’s lead, Solomon and Sceptile ran hand in hand, and leapt into the green fire.

            A hundred years, a thousand years, time itself passed through Solomon. He watched as a man and a Sceptile raised a Kingdom. He observed as the Steel Giant led him through the life of the first King Forrest. He watched him play as a child, watched him grow into a strong young man, and watched him come to Registeel’s same mysterious cavern.

            Then he saw the storm. A terrible tidal wave came in from the east, and in the west, Mt. Chimney erupted in a terrible smoke. Solomon peered down as the salty water met the lava. Destruction reigned wherever he looked

Solomon saw the first King Forrest appear, only this time, he was a Sceptile. No, it’s not the same. This Sceptile resembled the glowing painting more than his own Spirit Pokémon. In a flash, two more Pokémon appeared, one resembled a Blaziken- tall, lean, and fierce. The other seemed to almost be a Swampert, but thicker, brimming with power.

Out of the destruction below towered two gargantuan Pokémon. He’s seen this before, in a dream. Registeel had shown him this a long time ago…

And then the vision disappeared. Solomon, Sceptile, and Registeel were alone in a dark void, with nothing but twinkling lights that reminded Solomon of stars surrounding them.

“Solomon Forrest,” said Registeel. “Child of Nature, Bringer of Justice. First of the Three Heroes. This is my gift to you: become one with your Pokémon, and save the world.”

Solomon felt his heart beating fast and he looked down. His left arm was covered in steel plate armor, and where his heart should be, a jewel that glowed like the rainbow shone brighter than any twinkling light in the void.

He looked at Sceptile. The Pokémon had a matching sleeve of armor on its right arm. At its breast, glowed another jewel. This one was as green as the trees and plants of the jungle.

“Now go,” rang Registeel’s voice for the last time.

Solomon woke up with a gasp. He was back in his tent. It had all been a dream. Sunlight brightened the day, and Solomon could see figures preparing the day’s drills outside. He stood up and moved over towards his wooden basin of water to wash his face to wake him.

When he put his left hand down to scoop water, he smiled as he noticed the sleeve of shining armor still on his arm. He turned and Sceptile was already awake, with a matching metal sleeve all its own.

Together, Pokémon and Human walked into the light of day.

“General!” Solomon called to his first commander. The middle-aged man saluted and bowed his head. “Tell the men to move out, and let our friends in the Mirage Desert know we’re on our way. We’ve waited long enough.”

“My lord,” said the general. “The invasion wasn’t planned until the next new moon.”

Solomon traced the rainbow jewel on his breast plate. “Move out. I mean to start this war on my terms.”