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Return From Hisui - 003 Legends
🕑 Added 2023-03-06 17:57:22 +0000 UTCAuthor's note:
Hey everyone! I'm back!
Sort of... My final exam of the semester was today (finished about 6 hours ago). I got some good rest since then. Here's a little Pokémon to hold you out until the next Owl chapter (there will also be a small recap). I'm shooting for tomorrow. Gonna celebrate being done with the exams a little more :)
Enjoy!
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Cynthia is quiet as we keep moving through the caves. We are following Ryu who occasionally stops to chase away some other Pokémon. Mostly Bronzong and Graveler with the occasional Machoke or Golbat. I hear a Chimeco ring in a breeze and at one point a Medicham poses in front of us. Ryu quickly deals with it.
All the while, Cynthia keeps glancing at me. I try giving her encouraging smiles whenever it happens but she takes almost half an hour to finally speak up.
“Hey, Zoe,” she starts.
“Mhm?” I make.
“What you did back there… are you a Pokémon?”
I shrug my shoulders.
“Not really, no. In a sense, maybe? I don’t think Poké Balls would work on me so I’m still more human then not.”
“I see. But you can use moves. That was a Dragon Rush and a Play Rough earlier, right?”
I nod.
“Some of the standard stuff I use when sparring with Gary. Used.”
She fidgets with something in her pocket for a moment before meeting my eyes with a resolute gaze.
“Can I try using a Poké Ball on you?” she asks.
“Huh?” I freeze and almost fall over. I catch myself on my hands, unconsciously pushing some Rock Type Energy to my palms. When I sit up, there are two small indents where the balls of my thumbs met the ground.
Ryu growls a question.
“Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t keep you in there even if it worked but I think it would be important to know.”
I tilt my head.
“Honestly, go for it. Just let me put this down for a moment.”
I loosen the strap holding my satchel and place it on the ground. Then I stand up and face Cynthia. Ryu walks in between us, moving into a combat stance.
“We’re not gonna fight, okay?” I say “Otherwise I’m gonna let Lulu out to play.”
“No fighting yet,” Cynthia says “Keep an eye on our surroundings, Ryu.”
The Dragon hesitates and steps to the side.
Cynthia doesn’t wait long and pulls a shrunken Poké Ball from her pocket. She presses the button that enlarges it and meets my eyes. I give her a grin and a clap my hands. A few Stealth Rocks drop to the ground, using up my remaining Rock TE. She nods and throws the ball without much ceremony. It bounces off my chest without reacting at all.
I smirk.
“What was all that about.”
Relief runs over her face.
“I thought you were some shapeshifting or illusion Pokémon. I’m glad that’s not the case. Still, how are you using moves?”
“Arceus taught me.”
That seems to shut her up.
She didn’t look fully convinced so I reached for my satchel. I dug in it for a moment before getting Lili’s Poké Ball.
“Is that handmade?” Cynthia asks.
“Yep.”
“You know those will break down after a few months?”
“This one is 20 years old. Hasn’t failed me yet.”
“That… wait, Laventon. His notes talk about making Poké Balls by hand that last for decades. I always thought that was a myth.”
“Yeah, he didn’t really make them. Akari was the best at that. I’d like to believe I’m close to her skill.”
I throw the ball and with a beam of red and white, my partner stands before me. Lili chirps a greeting before looking around. Ryu growls and steps a little closer but the Grass Type just waves at her.
“Hey, Lili,” I say “That’s Ryu. She’s Cynthia’s Pokémon, the woman standing over there. She’s also Gary’s granddaughter.”
The ballerina bows to both of them before starting to chirp at Ryu. The Dragon quickly realizes she’s in trouble and starts to walk backwards but Lili simply follows her.
“That almost looks like a Liligant,” Cynthia says “but the proportions are all wrong.”
“She’s a Liligant, alright. A regional form is what you’d say though nowadays it’s more of an ancient form. At least I never heard of one like her before. I didn’t do too much research, admittedly.”
“Does she have different typing?”
“Grass Fighting.”
“That’s just asking to get Brave Birded.”
“I recommend Aerial Ace. She’s really fast. Especially my Lili here. She’s the strongest fighter in my team, by record.”
Cynthia blinks. Ryu whines.
“Stronger than your Garchomp?”
“Gary had a lot of trouble with her. She’s just too agile once she gets going.”
“A flamethrower should do it, no?”
As answer, Lili flexes with one of her arm-leaves. A tiny shard of ice forms at the tip.
“Ice Punch?”
“Sort of. She can use it much better with a sort of spinning move on both arms. We started calling it Ice Spinner.”
“That’s a powerful move.”
“Wait, we made that up ourselves. It’s common now?”
Cynthia nods.
“Guess I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” I grin.
The champion smiles.
“Fine. I’ll let you off, for now. I would still like to do a DNA test to see how much human you are.”
“That’s fair,” I say “Let’s keep going, then?”
We keep moving through the caves of Mount Coronet, this time with two Pokémon. Ryu wants to let Lili take the lead but my Pokémon just points her forwards. I enjoy the sights that I haven’t spent much time with before. I didn’t know just how extensive these caverns were. I only ever scratched the surface. I’ll have to spend some time researching the cultures of cave-dwelling Pokémon.
It takes until we arrive at the lower levels before Cynthia speaks again.
“We should probably take a break soon. You got some food with you?”
I nod.
“All in here.”
She eyes my satchel with suspicion.
“Is that a spatial bag?”
“Yup.”
“Did you also make that yourself?”
“No, not at all. The normal bag is standard issue for the Survey Corps. I just had Palkia and Dialga… improve it.”
“You made the gods of space and time make a bag for you?”
“You know them, then?”
“I do. A few years ago Team Galactic tried to bind them with the red chain so they would destroy the world and make a new one. Giratina ended up taking down their leader before it could come to that.”
“Seriously? That sounds incredibly familiar.”
“Did they exist back then, as well?”
“I mean…,” I point at the emblem on my shoulder “The Galaxy Expedition Team founded Jubilife. Back then, they helped me stop a guy called Volo from doing the same by using Giratina’s envy.”
“… we have a lot to talk about in a more comfortable setting,” Cynthia says.
“Seems like it,” I sigh.
We take a break in sight of the exit leading onto Route 207 to Oreburgh. I mostly have berries in my satchel but also a few cookies and ration bars. Cynthia has her own spatial bag, this one made by the Devon Corporation. Apparently a gift from Steven Stone. I wasn’t aware the champions of different regions were communicating. Her rations are much tastier so I quickly put my stuff away when she offers me some.
We don’t really talk about much because other trainers occasionally walk by. They stare a lot at Cynthia and even more at me. Is it so strange for me to be here? Or is it my clothes? It’s my clothes, isn’t it? Stop staring, they’re really sturdy!
Eventually, we set off again. Cynthia recalls her Garchomp since 207 is much calmer than the caves leading to the Sinnoh Temple. Spear Pillar, I mean. The champion seems to have some obsession with ancient buildings and history and I try to answer her questions as well as I can but most of the things she wants to know about were ruins 200 years ago as well. Though they repurposed the old Galaxy Expedition Headquarters to be the Trainer School, so I tell her a little bit about the history of that building. I spent a lot of time in there, after all.
We make quick time with Lili chasing away any wild Pokémon that want to make trouble. It’s early afternoon when we step onto the ledge looking down on the city. I sigh deeply as I look at the familiar buildings. The Mining Museum stands right next to the north entrance. It’s one of the larger buildings in town. Right behind it I can see the red roof of the Pokémon Center. Beyond that are a few apartment buildings before the Mine’s load-off zone begins. Even from here, I can see the cloud produced by all the rocks moving along the conveyor belts.
Further west, to the right from my viewpoint, a bunch of smaller houses stand. Some of them still look mostly like they did 200 years ago when we set up the mine. Others have been clearly renovated or even straight up rebuilt. There are a few apartment complexes as well, though the place where my parents… where I live, is hidden behind another mountainside.
The only other building of note is the Oreburgh Gym. The only one I ever beat. I hug myself and shudder a little at the reminder of my little Geodude. Lili puts her arm-leaf around me and chirps reassuringly. I lean into her touch. I’m almost… home. I will see him soon.
“You good?” Cynthia asks.
I nod.
“Let’s go… Um. Do you want to come all the way to my home?”
She smiles.
“I would like to. If you don’t want me there, at least give me your number.”
I smirk.
“We’ve known each other for less than a day and you’re already so forward?”
“A… You’re way too young for me.”
I shrug.
“I’m just messing with you. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m older than you. I just look like this because Arceus.”
“That’s a very convenient excuse.”
I laugh which prompts Lili to twirl in happiness.
“To get back on topic, you can accompany me. I mean, come with me. I’ll also give you my number, of course.”
The champion smiles.
“That’s great. Let’s go, then!”
Getting into town is no issue. There’s a small ranger station right before the entrance. They keep out the wild Pokémon from the city and respond to emergency calls from any trainers on the nearby routes. One look at Cynthia is enough for them to wave us through.
Lili chirps excitedly at the new impressions. She has a lot of questions about the buildings, especially the museum that has one wing built pretty much only from glass and steel, like a gigantic greenhouse. I make sure to answer everything as best I can, which draws a few looks from Cynthia. And some onlookers but I ignore them.
When the first car drives past, Lili jumps into my arms. I laugh at her scare and gently pat her back. Soon she calms down and we turn onto the road leading home. There’s a Pokémart right in front of us and a few smaller houses right next to it. Then the apartment buildings start. Something clamps in my stomach and my throat is dry. I stop to take a breather and a few sips of water. With a deep sigh, I turn to walk back home only to get distracted by the sliding doors of the mart opening.
I freeze like a Stantler caught in headlights. A very familiar face is locked onto mine. The same grey eyes, tiny nose and slightly pointy chin as my own. The same platinum blonde hair that sits on my head. Bone-deep exhaustion distorts her features. My mother. Mum.
I barely notice the Normal TE pushing me into a Quick Attack as I impact her. My arms close around the ultramarine dress cloak in a strong hug. I hear Lili exclaim behind me. I feel tears well up from my eyes. A hand reaches around my back, strongly returning the hug. When the other one lands on the back of my head, my tears start to flow.
A few moments later, that might as well be years, a third person joins the hug. I feel the soft touch of Lili’s leaf reach around me and her quiet chirps in my ear. Mum is crying as well, now, I distantly notice. Her gentle fingers caress my hair, undoing some of the careful braiding but I can’t bring myself to care.
I’m home.
Someone clearing his throat breaks us up.
“Excuse me, could you let me through?” a man says.
“O-of course,” Mum says “Sorry.”
I let go with one arm and pull her to the side. Meanwhile, Lili angrily chirps and waves at the man leaving the Pokémart. He snarls something which makes my friend slap his head but I barely pay attention.
“M-mum!” I manage between sniffles “I… I’m back.”
She once again grips me tight.
“Oh, sweetie! I’m so glad!”
I look up at her face, seeing the smile I dreamt of almost every night. The soft curve of her full lips, the only thing I didn’t get from her, makes my heart race with happiness. I grin back at her.
“Me too!” I say.
We stay like this for another minute, dumbly revelling in our happiness, before Cynthia clears her throat.
“Excuse me,” she says “but maybe we should move on?”
I look around and scoff at the onlookers. A few people seem to be taking pictures with their phones.
“Yeah, let’s,” I say before I can get any dumb ideas.
I drop the hug with mum and take her hand to drag her along. Lili chirps and takes her other hand, just barely taking the time to relieve mum of the bag of groceries.
Together, we make quick time and are almost half-way down the street before mum gets her thoughts together.
“Wait, was that the Champ?” she asks.
“That’s me,” Cynthia says from behind us.
“Wha!” mum turns her head.
“Come on, Mum!” I grin “We can talk at home!”
“Oh… alright.”
She spares a glance at Lili who chirps happily before shaking her head. I hear her mumbling something about a fever dream but I don’t care.
When we reach the building our home is in, I stop. My hand reflexively goes to my hip before realizing I didn’t have my key. It had stayed behind when Arceus took me away. I let go of mum’s hand and look at her. She ruffles my hair, which I enjoy with closed eyes, before slowly taking out her key and opening the door. I only barely stop myself from rushing her along but Lili chirps a few calming words at me.
Two minutes later, we stand in front of our apartment door. Mum is holding the key a few centimetres from the door and staring at Cynthia still behind us.
“Um, I don’t want to be rude but… May I ask what you are doing here?”
Cynthia shrugs.
“I found her on the top of Mount Coronet. She invited me to come visit.”
“Mount… What?”
Mum looks at me.
“Let’s go inside?” I practically beg “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But I want everyone to be there.”
She sighs deeply.
“Fine. Let me call your dad. I think he’ll be able to quit early with all the overtime he pulled the last weeks.”
“Is Rob home?”
“Yes.”
“Then open up!” I say.
Mum smiles softly. It takes a full five seconds before she blinks and finally opens the door. I dash inside, whooping with my arms raised.
“I’m hoooome!”
Then I’m around the corner to the living room and see my little bro dumbly staring up from a card game he was playing with Geodude. The remainder of my Normal TE turns into another quick attack that I use to pick both of them up in one arm.
“HEY!” Rob shouts, before dumbly staring down at me. He’s only one head shorter than I am and yet I’m holding him up without strain. Geodude is just dumbly staring at me.
“Hey, little bro! Hey, Geodude!” I say, looking between them.
“Duude!” the little rock shouts before clamping his hands around my neck. I steel my muscles, literally, with some TE and nuzzle his face. The Rob bends over, hugging both of us from above.
Of course, that unbalances me enough to make us fall into a pile. I laugh as I pet the back of Geodude while my little brother rolls off my body only to clamp right back onto me.
Suddenly, Geodude flinches back, his hands nearly ripping out some of my hair. My vision frees up to show Lili bending down to look at us, one of her arms extended to where Geodude just was. I grin at the little rock.
“No worries, she won’t hurt you,” I say and his shivering stops.
Lili chirps happily as he makes his way over while Rob only stares at her.
Soft steps announce the arrival of mum and Cynthia in our living room. I look at the doorway only to be faced by a scowl on mum’s face. She points at the floor, then at me.
“Shoes off!” she says.
I gulp.
“Whoops? Sorry!”
I push of my little brother and stand up, carefully walking back to the hallway as the other two make their way to the couch. Geodude perks up and follows me, levitating the dirt into his hands. I smile at him.
“Thanks, buddy!”
“Geo!” he says, earning a pat on his head.
When I come back into the living room, I see my little bro staring at Cynthia. Lili has made herself comfortable on the rug while mum is busy in the kitchen, probably making tea judging by the sound of boiling water. I wave at the champion and walk to the kitchen.
“Can I help with anything?” I ask, peeking around the doorway.
Mum smiles and pulls me into another hug.
“You just make yourself comfortable, okay?”
I chuckle.
“Alright, Mum. When’s dad coming?”
“He said 20 minutes. He was just taking his break.”
“Great!”
It ended up taking him thirty minutes which I spent giggling at my little bro’s worship of Cynthia. Him and Geodude were sitting/floating in front of the couch and asking questions about training and battling as I cuddled with mum and Lili.
When the key finally rattled in the door, I jumped up and ran into the hallway. The door had just opened when I rammed into dad. His clothes were still dirty from the mine but I didn’t care. Mine were a little dirty as well from the battling I had done and then the journey down Mount Coronet.
Dad froze at my impact but soon caught himself and lifted me. Only a few centimetres, I was too tall for him to carry as he once used to do.
“Hey, Dad. I’m back,” I said.
His answer is mumbled into the top of my head. Then he carries me inside and pushes the door closed before putting me down again.
“You really are, my little Ralts.”
I pout.
“I’ll show you little Ralts! I’m at least a Kirlia, by now!”
A bit of Psychic TE rushes through my head and with a soft puff of air, all the dirt falls off our clothes. I make sure to levitate it into the flower pot standing close to the entrance.
Dad stares.
“Did you just…?”
I grin.
“I’ll explain everything. Come on! And take your shoes off!”
I’m already back in the living room when I hear him chuckle.
A few minutes later, I’m ready to start my tale. There’s just one more thing I want to do first.
“Little bro, come here,” I say and pat the couch next to me. Lili is talking to Geodude on the ground next to us while Cynthia sits around the corner. Mum and dad are cuddling next to me.
Rob obliges and I sit up from leaning on mum’s side, reaching for the back of my pack. I take out the handmade Hyper Ball and bring it before me.
“It’s a small room, Lulu,” I whisper “so make yourself small.”
Cynthia blinks as I throw the ball. When the pop and hiss turns into a cloud of red and white almost as tall and wide as the room, her eyes bulge. Her hand reaches into a pocket, most likely for some kind of Poké Ball. Mum yelps in surprise as the black and blue electric lioness materializes. Lulu’s mane touches the ceiling for a moment before she lies down. Her yellow-and-red eyes slowly look around the room while her tail lazily swishes back and forth.
I get up and rub her forehead, which elicits a purr from my big and lazy Luxray. Then I turn around, arms spread wide.
“Let me introduce you to Lulu. Her and Lili were the only two I was able to bring along.”
Lulu growls softly and presses her head into my back. I chuckle as I reach back for more pets, a few sparks flying between my fingers.
“That is a huge Luxray,” Cynthia remarks. Then she nods at Lulu “Nice to meet you.”
“Lulu,” I say “These are my family. And Cynthia, I guess.”
Rob snorts.
“Mrawwr!” Lulu greets.
My little bro waves. Dad is a little more reserved with his nod. Mum still seems a little scared but manages a greeting as well. The only trouble maker is Geodude. He poses in front of the giant lioness and flexes his arms. Lulu chomps his hand when he throws a slow punch her way. I laugh as the little rock desperately tries to free his limb while Lulu looks over at a giggling Lili.
“I guess, I’ll let him out as well, then,” dad says and throws his partner’s Poké Ball. A much smaller beam of light quickly turns into a Machop. The steel-blue skin of the humanoid is rippling with muscles as it flexes in a greeting. The three hair-like plates running down his back gleam slightly from the protective oil dad rubs into them for work.
First, he spots Lulu playing with Geodude. He tilts his head, then laughs. Lulu snorts and lets go of the little rock. Geodude rubs his fingers while complaining. Then, Machop turns around. His eyes widen a little at Cynthia, more at seeing me, and then he freezes when he spots Lili. My friend chirps a question and Machop shakes his head. Then he flexes again, this time in a full-body pose.
“Choop!” he shouts, then changes his position “Ma – Chooopp!”
Lili giggles, a hand covering the lower part of her face where a mouth would be on a human.
I walk over and pat his head. He blinks at me.
“Nice to see you again,” I say.
He nods curtly, then holds out a fist. I bump it with my own before sitting down against Lulu’s side. Her fur makes my hair rustle with sparks as I lean back.
“So,” I say “It’s time for my story.”
I look around, seeing expectant faces all around. Even Cynthia is leaning forward a bit.
“I would like to know how long I was gone.”
Mum and dad share a look.
“A month,” mum says “34 days, to be exact.”
I nod.
“I’m sorry. It’s been 20 years for me.”
Rob snorts.
“You don’t look like you’re 40.”
“I’m 35,” I complain “And things happened that stopped me from ageing.”
“What things?” mum asks.
“Arceus things.”
That shuts everyone up. Only my Pokémon aren’t disturbed and Cynthia only flinches at my casual use of the creator’s name.
I sigh, then start my tale.
“First of all, no interruptions. This is gonna take long enough. You can ask questions after. Okay?”
Everyone nods, though I can see Cynthia is a little hesitant.
“I was plucked from my bed when I was sleeping by none other than Arceus. They had a task for me. To save the world. Cynthia told me something similar happened here a few years ago with some kind of ‘Team Galactic’ but basically, some mad man wanted to destroy the world to make a new one that was ‘fair and just’ or something.”
My parents share a look.
“That was the Red Night,” Cynthia says.
I give her a look.
“Yes. We covered it up. Couldn’t have everyone panic.”
“Right. Anyway, I didn’t find out about all that until a while later. After Arceus told me to ‘seek out all Pokémon’ they dropped me out of a space-time distortion right onto SandgemBeach. That’s where the town is now. ‘Coincidentally’, someone going by the name of Professor Laventon was right where I fell along with three young Pokémon that had escaped his laboratory.
“He picked me up and brought me to Jubilife village after I caught the three runaways. Yes, village. The place had just been founded a few years earlier by the Galaxy ExpeditionTeam.”
I pat the insignia on my sleeve.
“This is their symbol. I wouldn’t be surprised if their remains turned into the same ‘Team Galactic’ that made trouble here but back then they were pretty nice people, if a little uptight. By the way, these clothes are the uniform of the Survey Corps. The part of the Galaxy Exploration TeamI joined after Laventon took me to the village.”
“They look kinda run down,” Rob interjects.
“Well, yeah. I’ve gone through a few sets over the years. Exploring the wilderness and doing live research on wild Pokémon isn’t easy on your clothes.”
“Let alone battling,” Cynthia adds.
I nod before continuing.
“So, after joining the Survey Corps, I spent the next few months exploring the Hisui region, which was the name of Sinnoh back then, and catching and researching all kinds of Pokémon. All the while, there was a huge space-time rift hanging over the peak of Mount Coronet. I think it was three months in when some huge lightning strikes shot out of the rift and hit a few very specific Pokémon.
“You see, back then there were the so-called ‘Noble Pokémon’ guarding specific parts of the Hisui region. The Diamond- and Pearl-Clan had wardens taking care of them and in return were protected from the more dangerous wild Pokémon. There were a total of ten Nobles, five of them with a fixed den, five roaming their respective territory. The ones with a fixed den were hit by the lightning and turned into a frenzy.
“I was the one with the most experience catching and working with wild Pokémon so together with Laventon and my friend Akari, we worked out a way to calm them down. The wardens helped as well, I might add. But calming them down wasn’t even the big issue. That came after the fact.
“When we had all the Nobles calmed down, something broke with the space-time rift above Mount Coronet. The sky was turned into some disturbing colours forming a sort of pattern. The scouts had seen an unknownPokémon on the other side before retreating. Because I was the only real ‘outsider’, the Commander of the Galaxy ExpeditionTeam threw me out of the village until I could prove it wasn’t my fault. As I said, a bit of an uptight idiot.”
I can see mum wanting to interject something, probably a complaint about my harsh language, but I simply continue my story.
“It took some more outside help. A merchant called Volo,” Cynthia flinched “brought me to a woman going by Cogita,” this time, she gasped “who knew remembered something about a ‘Red Chain’ that could seal the power of the Legendary Pokémon. The one on the other side of the rift.
“Itended up being a lot of work to get the Red Chain but once I had it, I climbed Mount Coronet where Kamado, the Commander, was trying to fight off the Legendary together with the Security Corps. I ended up taking charge of that action and fought off the first Pokémon that made it through. It was Palkia, creator of space. I caught them after weakening them with the Red Chain.
“After that, their other half, Dialga, came through. Kamado called a retreat because Palkia had broken the Red Chain. Laventon then devised the Origin Ball which Akari made with his guidance. Together with Palkia, I then faced Dialga and ended up catching them as well. In the process of that battle, the Temple of Sinnoh was destroyed. The remains are what you know as Spear Pillar.”
“Really?” mum asks“You were there when it was destroyed?”
I reminisce in the grin on her face. The look she always had when I came up with a particularly outlandish excuse for why I hadn’t done my housework. Lulu shifts behind my back and I scratch behind her ear. That quickly wipes the look off mum’s face.
“Yeah, I was,” I say “Things looked pretty good for a while after that. The sky had returned to normal, the space-time rift had closed and everybody was alive. But it wasn’t quite over. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out who the original culprit was. After all, Volo was pushing for me to find all 18 Plates. Capital-P Plates, that is. Objects that I later learned were remains of Arceus.
“Volo had used Giratina’s envy of Arceus’ power and the worship brought forth to them to push Giratina for a battle with Arceus. I had to face his Pokémon and Giratina in a battle to fend him off and finally get peace. But I couldn’t go home, yet. I figured it would’ve been easy but it turned out to be nearly impossible.
“For one, I couldn’t get to Arceus. That was the easy way back. I hadbefriended the avatars of Dialga and Palkia by that point but… they were shifty about the whole thing. I went ahead and found Giratina as well who caused the space-time rift Arceus used to bring me back in time but even they couldn’t help me.
“So I went back to square one and remembered what Arceus asked me to do. To ‘seek out all Pokémon’. That took a little over a year, for the Pokémon of Hisui, which was what led me to Arceus. But the real problem, and the reason they couldn’t send me back, was that I got injured during the first time-travelling journey. My soul would shatter on the way back. Arceus had given me the task to ‘seek out all Pokémon’ so I wouldn’t meet them again. Since apparently, that was supposed to be impossible, or something.”
Cynthia snorts, which prompts a bout of uneasy giggles from the others.
“Anyway, with my conviction proven, Arceus gave me the Legend Plate, an item that holds Type Energy of all 18 types. They taught me how to access the energy, and then, it was training time.
“I spent probably a month figuring out how to use some basic moves. Using the Legend Plate was slowly reinforcing my soul, so anything I did with it was good enough. And Arceus gave me another task. I had to beat their avatar in a battle. Just me versus them, one on one. Every type could only be used once per fight and if I managed to get them to about half their stamina, it’s my win and I can go back home.
“It took 20 years to get there… And now,” I wipe budding tears from my eyes “I’m back.”
Lulu huffs gently and leans over to nuzzle my hair. I lean into her touch and enjoy the little sparks flying between her fur and my skin.
“Wait!” Rob shouts suddenly “You can use moves? Like… Pokémon moves? Does that mean you’re a Pokémon?”
Mum blinks and dad shifts uncomfortably but Cynthia gives my little brother a withering look.
“She is not,” the Sinnoh-champ says coldly “Please don’t suggest it. It’s a serious accusation for a Pokémon to be imitating a human. Even more so if said human has gone missing.”
Rob tilts his head and thinks for a moment. Then his eyes widen in horror.
“Oh, shit! I’m sorry!”
Mum looks uncomfortably between Cynthia and me but I just smile.
“The question is appropriate. I’ve dealt with Zoroark before. The… what was it called? Pokémon Social Integration Law? We set that up for some of the particularly persistent ones.”
Now mum’s eyes are the ones to light up. Not in horror but excitement.
“You worked on that, too? Oh, wow! It’s an ancient piece of Sinnoh history that’s basically never used anymore! I…”
She shrinks back to the chuckles of our family.
“Yeah, no, I didn’t work on that. I suggested something like it and the smart people worked it out.”
Cynthia speaks up again.
“To get back on topic, I tried using a Poké Ball on Zoe, with her consent.It didn’t work. I want to do a DNA test as well, just to make sure.”
I give her a nod at which she smiles.
“There’s still the fact that you can use Pokémon moves. That puts you somewhere in between human and Pokémon. Which is not really something the law accounts for. We might have to give you a PSIL-ID so you don’t get in trouble for using moves in public.”
I consider it for a moment before agreeing.
“That sounds like a good idea. There are a few moves I use somewhat instinctively, like Quick Attack for movement. Or even Teleport. If I can still get that to work…”
“You can Teleport?” Dad asks.
“I wasable to. Coming back to the future strained my soul again which means I can’t draw as much energy as I’m used to. Thinking about it, that Play Rough earlier today felt really weak but it worked. It might just take a lot of time to channel the energy for a proper Teleport.”
Everyone stares as I shrug.
“I’ll have to test my new limits. It’s a smart idea anyway before setting off again.”
At that, mum frowns.
“You want to leave again after you just came back?”
“Well…I like travelling the wild. I don’t think I could sit still in school again, or take an office job.”
Lulu snorts. Little sparks fly from her nose.
“I’ll have to figure out if Professor Rowan can make use of a wilderness researcher… or maybe I’ll join the Rangers? It’s gonna take a while, no matter what. I’ll stay here for the time being, Mum.”
At that she bristles.
“You are going to finish your education, young lady, do you hear me?”
Cynthia butts in.
“Before anything of that is set in stone… Do you want to battle?”
I blink.
“Against you?”
“Well, I’m interested in seeing how we match up. Seeing as you only have two Pokémon on that level,” her hand indicates Lulu “we could only go for a friendly match right now… But if you make it through the League Circuit, which I expect you to be capable of, you might even de-throne me.”
I snort.
“No. With all due respect, I’m not gonna run from city to city for some shiny badges. Not this circuit, likely not the next, or ever.”
“Why not?” Rob asks “If you can be Champ, you go for it, right?”
“Too much work,” I say “I’d rather relax.”
“But…” dad begins.
Lili’s chirp interrupts him. She stands up and steps between us. I look to my last ally, mum. She seems to be confused. Not at the question if I want to become champion but at my answer. Despite her never even trying for a single badge.She doesn’t even have a Pokémon for crying out loud!
“Do I have no allies here besides my own Pokémon?”
“Dude!” Geodude says.
“Thanks, but you’re technically still my Pokémon,” I say.
Machop shakes his head while everyone else gives me weird looks.
“I won’t push you,” Cynthia forces herself to say “But think about it.”
I sigh.
“If you want a friendly match, I’m up for it. Just remember that I don’t have much experience with normal Pokémon battles. I mostly fight hand-to-hand.”
“We can make it a three-on-three,” the champ grins.
I roll my eyes.
“Fine. But give me some time, first.”
That acquiescence is at least enough to settle my family. We soon continue onto supper, with Lulu and Lili joining Geodude and Machop at their bowls of Pokéchow. They don’t dislike it but prefer fresh food. Cynthia excuses herself and tells me she’ll call me for both the DNA test and the match. My family is excited and the topic keeps coming back to it. I give short, non-committal answers to their questions about strategy and move-sets. Is battling really all there is to Sinnoh’s culture? Shouldn’t there be… more?
