"...still resist..."

"...won't..."

"...defeat... "

...

"...ortal, your...no longer exists."

"...I will..."

"...no more..."

- LYNDA! -

"GAAH!" Lynda abruptly rose up from the ground. The surroundings were once again dark, although she could see a dim light illuminating a pathway ahead in the distance. She coughed, still hurt from the previous battle.

'Was that a dream...?'

Groggy, the Mawile forced herself up and over to the light, noticing it flicker. Heat seem to flow in from the path, though it twists down to where she can't see the source of the light. As she got closer, she reached into her still-stolen bag, eating one of the few remaining Oran berries left inside.

The warm glow felt oddly familiar to Lynda, getting to where even her steel typing was making her feel vulnerable. When she turned the corner, facing an expansive open room, her speculation is confirmed: lava. A room spattered with pools of lava and rock formations, with no exit further down in sight. Lynda walked along the widest path in the room, not sure what to expect. No wild Pokemon seem to be living this far down, at least. She hadn't seen a Zubat since fighting...

A rumble shook the room, and Lynda fell to a knee. Bubbles in the lava popped, and from the largest pool of lava in the back, a bump formed. And grew. From it, a figure began to form, the hot liquid pouring down its large red scale-like armor.

"IS IT YOU...THAT HAS BATTLED THE GUARDIAN?" It spoke with a loud, deep voice, the room filling with its echos. Despite a good portion of its body appearing above the pool, the parts of its body that weren't red were blackened, even against the light of the lava.

"Guardian? You mean that...beast?"

"YES...IT IS GOOD THAT YOU APPEAR MOSTLY UNHARMED." Its mouth didn't seem to move much, despite it talking. Lynda gets the feeling that it's not actually talking out loud, despite clearly hearing it.

"Mostly? What's that supposed to mean? Guardian of what, exactly, and why'd it need to fight me in the first place?"

"HOLD. HOW MUCH...DO YOU KNOW OF THIS PLACE?"

"Well...not much. All I really know is I'm supposed to look for something called a 'Flame Plate'."

"THE GEM YOU HOLD...I FEEL ITS PRESENCE. IT LED YOU HERE. THAT PLATE IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLACE...AND IT IS MY ROLE TO PROTECT IT. A GEM HOLDER IS A PERSON WORTHY ENOUGH OF ITS POSSESSION."

"Worthy enough? That Guardian of yours wiped the floor with me. I'm not sure how I survived, or else I'd have been its food."

"THE FAULT IS NOT YOURS. THERE IS A DARK POWER AT WORK...SALAMENCE USED TO KEEP INTRUDERS AWAY MORE DILIGENTLY. HE HAS BECOME IRRATIONAL. HE HAS ABDICATED HIS DUTIES TO ATTACK CIVILIANS MORE THAN ONCE. WE FEAR HE WILL FLEE AND HURT MORE INNOCENTS..."

"We? There's more than one of you?" Lynda briefly remembered the two campers she had stolen from...those badges, were they explorers? Were they investigating the attacks?

"YOUR FOOTSTEPS...I HEARD THEM ABOVE. THE BATTLE YOU WERE IN INCLUDED ONE MORE THAN YOU. IT IS THEY...THEY TOO HAVE LIKELY COME FOR THE SAME REASON AS YOU."

"They...you don't mean, that jester girl?"

"INDEED. THIS MOUNTAIN IS SPECIAL AMONG THE PLATE LOCATIONS. TWO ARE HELD HERE. YET, OUR GUARDIAN IS ONLY ONE. IT IS BEYOND MY KNOWLEDGE AS TO WHY. BUT AS IT STANDS, OUR GUARDIAN IS NOT FIT TO SERVE. YOU AND THAT GIRL MUST TAKE YOUR RESPECTIVE PLATES AND DEFEAT HIM WITH YOUR COMBINED POWERS."

"Me? Team up with her? I...ergh..." Lynda choked up. Certainly, if this being knows so much, they also know of her misdeeds.

"WORRY NOT. YOU TWO REQUIRE EACH OTHER. THERE IS A POWER WITHIN YOU THAT HAS YET TO BE UNLOCKED. SHE WILL HELP YOU. TRUST IN HER TO HELP YOU AND YOU WILL GAIN THAT POWER. HOWEVER, KNOW THIS...SEEK NOT THE POWER OF PLATES YOU ARE NOT READY TO HOLD. THAT INCLUDES...HERS."

"Alright...I guess. If these Plates gives as much power as you say, sizzling an overgrown lizard won't be a problem. But how DOES the Plate make me stronger?"

"THE PLATE AND GEM CAN BE MELDED TOGETHER TO FORM A CATALYST FOR YOUR STRENGTH. IN OLD TIMES, BLACKSMITHS WOULD TEMPER SUCH PLATES INTO WEAPONS OF WAR. THESE TWO ITEMS TOGETHER ENHANCE THE POWER OF FIRE. FIRE BRINGS HEAT, ENERGY, AND IS THE SPARK OF LIFE...BUT, FIRE DOES NOT JUST CREATE. IT DESTROYS. CONSUMES. YOU MUST TEMPER IT TO YOUR WILL."

The cave rumbles again. In front of the monstrous creature, a platform rises from the lava, adorned with a small pedestal with a rectangular red piece of metal inserted into it.

"I HAVE SAID ENOUGH. ARCEUS WILL TELL YOU THE REST."

"Arceus..." Still feeling confused, but glad to see that she had accomplished what she had set out to do, she approached the platform, and placed a hand on the Plate. The creature stared down at her, its shadow casting down onto her...

All at once, Lynda felt her mind being ripped from her body and being transported...elsewhere. Her eyes saw both bright white light and the blackest darkness at once, lasting for a few seconds before she felt some sort of stability. She tried looking around, but couldn't see her body. Her sight was filled with only the complex colors making up her surroundings, and the new being in front of her that seemed to reflect the colors, barely recognizable beyond an outline.

"To the Plate's chosen one, you have done well to obtain your destined Plate. With it, you are now a part of the Battle for God's Favor tournament."

Lynda tried to speak, but without a body, it was quite hard. She couldn't even seem to process her own thoughts, as she seemed to be in a place where space and time didn't exist. Yet, she could parse the words of this being just fine.

"You need not do anything further but train yourself for the events to come. When all have gathered their Plates, I will contact you again."

Lynda couldn't move, couldn't speak. There had to be a way to let this...thing, know about her questions.

"Ah, I suppose I should tell you a bit about the rules while I'm at it. The tournament is free-for-all, no holds barred. Total defeat of your opponents is required. And while I do like a good showing, I am not against there being...unfortunate accidents...before the tournament even begins. No-shows or otherwise."

"Each combatant will have their own Plate, as you might have guessed. So long as you have something relating to it on your person, you may enter. If you don't want to use its power to win, you're free to scrape some dust off of it or something and keep it with you when you come."

"And one more things...this is a free-for-all. That means...absolutely NO teams."

Lynda felt her subconscious travel again. As her vision took hold once more, feeling like only seconds had passed if at all, she felt overtaken by a shadowy force.

"YOU WILL SURVIVE...LYNDA..."

She took the Flame Plate into her hands and held it tight. Then the pain took over, and everything became dark once more.