Badges: 1
Deaths: 1
"Conqueror of Babylon! Do you need help getting back to Sirajs?" asked Sailor Briney. He had just offered to provide transportation in his boat down the Tigris River.
"Yes, I have been ordered to give a letter to Cyrus. He's investigating a cave near Chogha Zanbil, and General Norman needs to inform Cyrus of something urgently," replied Random.
"Alright then, let's hop on my boat! Let's go, Peeko!" said Briney.
~
Random was starting to get extremely bored on Briney's very slow boat, and he was looking for something to do. Briney suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Have you heard about the recent invasion of India? General Winona led several raids in the south, and General Juan had led the main army attacking Dilli. In fact, just yesterday, I heard that Dilli had fallen and Juan was marching onto Pataliputra," said Briney, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Of course! Norman told me last night that a messenger Wingull had sent news that Pataliputra has fallen!" responded Random.
"It seems that Cyrus really has lived up to his promise of creating a new
world empire with
Dialga and Palkia the power of his ambition and the Persian military," boasted Briney.
"Indeed!" exclaimed Random as he walked back to his room.
Random was now extremely curious to see what the letter was. His father had never explicitly told him not to open it, so...
Random carefully opened the letter, breaking the seal extremely finely so Omnibian could reseal it. His jaw immediately gaped when he read the letter.
Great Cyrus,
Hannibal has accepted our deal to teach us better farming techniques in exchange for spreading the word about the philosophy of only worshiping Arceus. However, the Phoenician city of Sur, long chafing from not being the capital of Hannibal's large mercantile empire, has declared independence from Carthage's influence, declaring hostility towards the idea of only worshiping Arceus instead of worshiping all of the varied Legendary Pokemon of Water. As you are the Emperor, I am unsure of whether to try to capitalize on this declaration of independence by invasion. What is your order on this?
Secondly, another civilization, Greece, has beaten us to the construction of an Oracle to foretell future technology. We were only able to sell the materials for extra money, and we have now began construction of a grand gate to commemorate the conquering of Babylon to cow our enemies into submission. I am pleased to announce that we have finished with that construction, and it should greatly aid in our efforts to subdue India.
Thirdly, a Great General by the name of Brawly has risen to commanding a unit of Chariots. In addition to being the new Gym Leader of Chogha Zanbil, which you probably know already, he also is extraordinarily great at hit-and-run attacks, being able to retreat 80% of even the most difficult battles.
Additionally, our work force has been largely successful in constructing a road from Sirajis to Dilli. They have finished the section of the road in Persia and are now about to begin construction in India. This will greatly facilitate the movement of troops east to India.
Lastly, beliefs that Greece constructed the Oracle were made nearly certain when Pericles, their leader, received our delegation to negotiate technology trades. We managed to gain knowledge of Metal Casting (which the Oracle probably showed them), and we will begin construction of a great statue soon.
Glory to Arceus,
Norman, General of the Immortals and Normal-Type Specialist
Those were some interesting developments in foreign relations that Random had not anticipated. As Omnibian resealed the letter shut, Random heard knocking on his door.
"We've arrived in Chogha Zanbil. Let me know when you want to continue to Sirajis," said Briney. Random, hearing this, burst out the door and kissed the ground.
"Finally, land! No more seasickness for the near future!" he yelled as he walked towards the large cave looming nearby.
~
Thallid was quite intimidated by the cave. He was only used to the openness of the forest and the grassy routes. The dark, closed crowdedness of the cave scared him. He felt that out of the shadows, some monster could jump out and he would be trapped. Thallid's fear of dark, crowded spaces were confirmed by the Makuhita standing over him.
"Help!" screamed Thallid as the rest of Random's team rushed to help him.
"Whoah! I'm not here to beat you up! It's clear that you're looking for something. I also need protection from the increasing amount of Zubats here. Being a Fighting type, I don't exactly get along well with either Flying or Poison types..."
"Hello. I'm Omnibian, and our trainer is looking for somebody. Did you happen to see any humans passing through this cave recently?" asked Omnibian.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, he was here just a few hours ago! I could even lead you to where he is. My name is Kamahl, by the way. Pleased to meet you," answered Kamahl.
After a long trek, Random and his team finally made it to the deepest part of the cave.
"This is where the man went to. Happy to have helped you," said Kamahl as he started to wander off.
"Wait! Don't leave! You could travel with us as part of our team! It would be great!" exclaimed Thallid. Kamahl paused.
"That doesn't sound half bad, given how the quality of life is going down here," answered Kamahl, "I will join your team."
"Great, that makes a full six!" said Omnibian happily.
"Alright team, let's go deliver the letter to Cyrus," ordered Random as he walked into the deepest chamber.
"Random! Great to see you! I see that you have the letter for me. Is that right?" asked Cyrus.
"Yes, here it is," answered Random as he handed the letter over. Cyrus read the letter quickly, clearly seeming pleased by the news. He hastily scribbled a reply, then shook his head.
"Thank you very much for delivering this to me in person. Normally, Norman would use a Wingull, but they are bad with caves, and I needed to investigate things in here for a while. However, I think I'm done now and I can use a Wingull to deliver the return message," said Cyrus, "take this TM as your reward. Also, I'd recommend you challenge the local gym. Brawly, the brilliant general, is the Gym Leader, and he specializes in Fighting-type Pokemon. I'll leave the cave with you."
Random looked at the TM. It was for Steel Wing, which was unfortunately useless at the time. He then walked out the chamber behind Steven.
"Oh yes, one more thing. You should probably hear some recent news. Pataliputra, the last Indian city, has fallen, though not without casualties, and the Maurya Empire has fallen! We have also come into contact with their neighbor, the Chinese. Lastly, I better show you this new system of writing that Carthage taught us..."
~
"You have fought well. Though it is worth saying that I can't do much against a Dustox," said Brawly, "still, you are deserving of this Gym Badge. Here, take the Wave Badge!'"
Random smiled as he thanked Brawly. The Gym had been a piece of cake, as his Dustox demolished Brawly's Fighting-Type team.
Badges: 2
Deaths: 1
