Castelia City: The Sprawling Metropolis, a beacon of hope and freedom, The Big City. One of the largest in the entire world, massive skyscrapers defined the cityscape dwarfing the swarms of people that bustled about. They said that the city never slept; from dawn to dusk, the streets swarmed with people going about their work, rushing one place to the next effortlessly weaving in and out to avoid collisions with one another. The constant honking of horns, happy greetings, frustrated curses, phone conversations, and street performers was a music of its own right. And the smells… the aroma of fresh baked bread wafting from a nearby cafe, a cigarette smoked on a street corner, fresh fruit at the market, a salty ocean breeze, the smell of people and pokemon and life permeated the air. Castelia City was many things; boring was not one of them.

It could be overwhelming at times. People jostling into one another, streets packed with cars, pickpockets if you ventured just a little too far from security cameras, street vendors hocking their wares aggressively enough to almost be considered assault at times. But it was the hub of human ingenuity, driving people further and further into the technological age. The most cutting edge labs, firms, and universities from around the world looked to Castelia as the proverbial shining City on the Hill. And with the dazzling glow of the streetlights, billboards, and cars, and the skyscrapers lit top to bottom with offices and appartments, metal glittering in the sun, it very nearly was.

Po leaned against the wall of the elevator she rode in. It was glass. Everything was glass. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, the door. Everything open to see out of; the glittering ocean nearly blinding out beyond the harbor. That's how you knew someplace was important. Oceanside property and glass walls.

The lobby approached below, people checking in with the reception desk, waiting in line, admiring the impressive array of awards on display. She slipped out relatively unnoticed, and glanced around with a sigh. This would be the last time she set foot in here for a long while wouldn't it? This bi-weekly tradition of lunch over contract negotiations, press briefings, and contractual obligations had come to an end hadn't it.

Po adjusted her sunglasses. Sometimes it was easy to fit into the crowd if you slumped your shoulders and wore plain, baggy outfits. People wouldn't pay you much notice. And if someone did happen to recognize you, they were quick to write it off as their imagination running wild. A child's eyes were uninhibited though, widening with recognition, pulling on their mother's coat and pointing at the Unova League Champion. She flashed them a quick smile and salute, but slunk out the door before the woman had a chance to turn around.

She supposed that having relatively average features helped; Alder had a wild mane of fiery hair and the build of a beartic. Her most identifying features hadn't hit the public eye, and they probably never would. Tall, brown hair, and blue eyes? That was half of Unova.

She continued down the sidewalk, slipping through the crowd with practiced ease. The last thing she wanted now was to cause a scene. The Hero of Ideals. Eleven goddamn years and it seemed that they would never get over the hype. Eleven goddamn years of everything going right; Cameos in movies, endorsement deals, charity work, undefeated as the champion, and apparently loved by nearly all of Unova. Hell, she was fucking loaded. Everything was Right.

… But nothing felt Right.

Those who were close to her were quick to write it off as a rut or a slump. And Po knew Bianca would never say it out loud, but the blond still blamed it on N. Eleven goddamn years without so much as a letter.

Her teeth clench involuntarily at the thought of him.

Eleven goddamn years and she was still searching. Still probing the International Police every few months to see if Looker had found any new leads. Still scouring any news outlet for some tip…. Anything.

Nothing.

The Hero passed an advertisement with her face on it. Take the Pokemon League Challenge! She never remembered seeing Alder's face on anything, but she supposed being chosen by a legendary pokemon thought to be mere myth fueled the fire.

Po had traveled all over Unova, and never once had she seen any advertisements with Alder's face. There hadn't been any pictures of him with a happy, smiling pokemon. Perhaps he'd just turned down the offers. But he didn't have two very hungry hydreigons to feed….

She knew she should be grateful for everything going the way it had gone, and she was. But nothing felt… Right anymore.

And that was why she was here in Castelia City. Tying up loose ends. She had spent the last two days in the city cooped up in meetings, calmly explaining to everyone just what she intended to do.

The only one left though now, it seemed was a long ways away. Far beyond the limits of the city, out past route eight. One final string to sew up the only hole left in the tapestry.

The desert winds whipped up the sand. Out here the dunes sang. Deep, sonorous tones that filled the air with their eerie melody while the wind howled and the sand skittered. With each step came a soft, high hum. There was a reason people avoided the desert… said it was cursed. That spirits of the long departed would draw you in with their music and sweep you away to the spirit world forever trapping you. And though Unova was a relatively secular region,superstitions and legends lingered. Heeded now more than ever with the return of the legendary dragons.

Po had been walking for days. Flying would have been much faster, but something about this trip felt… special. This deep in the desert was hallowed ground few would touch. As much as she hated the feeling of sand grating along her skin as it found its way beneath her clothes, as much as she hated the sting of her skin frying in the sun, this was something she could not skip. She wiped the sweat from her brow, took a swig from her water bottle, and pressed onward.

Ancient spiral columns rose from the sands, the remnants of ancient walls peaking out of the dunes in places, faces scoured from millennia of sandblasting. It was here the sigilyph roamed the skies, tracing ancient pathways from eras long past, guarding a city long since buried. If the weather didn't end you, the sigilyph would try their damndest to rectify that should you trespassed on the sacred grounds.

"Come on out, Tobi." Po murmured as she released her krookodile from it's pokeball. It was best to have insurance should she make a wrong move. The reptile made a clicking sound in the back of her throat in approval, diving underneath the sand until only her eyes and nostrils were visible. Po had caught her here in this very desert twelve years ago, it seemed fitting she would accompany the hero. Tobi blinked, secondary eyelids protecting her eyes from the sand.

The ruins of the tower weren't far now. Only about nine or ten miles. Nothing compared to the fifty or so that she had spent the past few days traversing. She'd camped out last night in the lee of one of the stone plateaus that dotted the landscape back a ways. They were barely dots on the horizon now.

As much as she hated the sand, Po had to admit that the desert resort was one of the most beautiful places she had ever been to. The glistening sand, the colorful wind blasted rock structures, the faint remnants of ancient civilizations, and the sporadic thrumming of the dunes melded together to make the most ethereal atmosphere she had experienced in her travels. Not her favorite, she mused, but certainly the most otherworldly and sacred place she had visited.

Po took another swig from her water bottle, offering some to Tobi who promptly refused. She had been careful to ration out her supplies. It was a three day trip to the ruined tower, and a three day trip back. Perhaps one of the many reasons that few ventured this far in. Fortunately there was a well deep within the bowels of relic castle where she would be able to refill her water bottles and wash away some of the sand. Not all of it. Never all of it. It would take weeks perhaps even months for all of the sand to fully wash out of her thick hair.

This would be her third time making the trek relic castle. The first when she had begun her journey twelve years ago. To save Unova from the impending rule of Team Plasma…. To fight N. To become the hero he wanted her to be. To find the deep black stone that heralded the coming of the legendary dragon. The second had been six years after that. To realign. To become whole again. To find the courage to keep fighting. And now once more she seek the guidance of her old friend, a man who stood the test of time. To find… something.

The desert was a place for the lost. It scoured you. Tested you until only your raw core lay exposed to the scorching sun. Until you knew who you were… or died. Once his grandson had moved out of Floccesy town, Alder had taken to the ruins, spending months out in the harsh desert at a time. Po had to commend him. Surviving that long in such an unforgiving climate was an impressive feat. She wondered what Alder was looking for. She hoped he found it.

The shadows cast by the dunes and scattered remnants of civilization grew longer. Stretching out along her path as the sun began its descent. The melody in the air fell silent, only the soft notes played by the krookodile's movements under the sand remained. Night within the boundaries of the ancient city was perhaps the most dangerous portion of the trek. The superstitions passed down about ghosts haunting the ruins weren't baseless. Yamask roamed wild remembering their past lives as humans; Some luring people deeper and deeper with their golden masks until they succumbed to the frigid chill of the night or were swallowed up by the sands. The souls of the departed were trapped within the desert, becoming yamask themselves to continue the cycle. Cofagrigus lurked below the surface waiting for its prey to wander too close, latching its many ghostly fingers onto potential robbers, swallowing them up within its body... trapping them forever. Scrafty roamed around in packs, brutalizing anything that dared to cross their path. And sandiles, krokoroks, and krookodiles swam beneath the sand, their beady eyes scanning the desert for prey.

Po unclipped another pokeball from her belt, "Melody, you're up."

Her hydreigon emerged with a shriek, three sets of eyes sharp red eyes focused on her. Melody's middle head snuffled Po's face before she nuzzled up to her trainer affectionately. One of her heads bumped up against Po's hand, waiting for a treat.

Po laughed, and pushed her away. "We can eat when we get to Relic Castle."

The hydra scoffed, flying off and circling around her.

The sound of bursting sand and a sickening crunch disturbed the now quieting night. Startled, Po backpedaled, hoping to high heaven that it wasn't a cofagrigus. Not that her pokemon couldn't handle it, but the ghosts were terrifying creatures. She rather liked not being mummified.

But Tobi greeted her instead, something trapped between its massive teeth. The krookodile gave Po a satisfied grin, throwing back her head and crunching once more on what looked to be a now mangled dwebble before swallowing it whole. Po grimaced, giving her pokemon a thumbs up and silently praying that that dwebble hadn't been someone's pet. Not that there was a high likelihood of that given their surroundings…. Tobi licked her chops before diving under the sand once more.

Melody gave an indignant huff. "C'mon, baby girl. There's no need to be jealous, we can eat in a bit."

Po picked up the pace, the castle was close now. She could see the darmanitan guards, half buried and nearly forgotten with time. They were still alive; Bianca had travelled out here with Professor Juniper to study them on a few occasions. They were sleeping statues that could awaken at any time. Po hoped that that time wasn't now.

Thankfully the darmanitans remained inert when she passed between them. Ahead stood the stone arches of the entrance, pockmarked by sand and bleached by sun. She carefully climbed over a fallen pillar, her steps slow as she entered the inky black interior of the ruin. Tobi scrambled after her hurriedly, taking point as they made their way further in. Behind her, the soft ruffle of feathers that signified Melody's presence soothed her thoughts.

The stone walls were unnaturally cool against Po's hand. Her eyes strained to see anything ahead, but the darkness cloaked everything. So this was how a deino felt, she mused. The wall came to an end, and she stopped.

"Alright," The champion pressed the release on one of the pokeballs on her belt. "Come on out, P."

The chamber was momentarily illuminated by the shower of light that released her pokemon. Her emboar snorted, his fiery beard shedding soft, warm light on the stone walls. Po rubbed the top of his head, ruffling the fur. One of Melody's faces nudged up against her back. "We'll eat soon, baby girl. Don't worry."

Dust swirled in the stale air around their feet as they descended deeper into the bowels of the desert. At times Po swore she could see the shadows of black, long-fingered hands retreating from the light, and eerie luminescent eyes peering out at her from the cracks between the stone hewn walls. She'd felt a cold, clammy hand wrap around her ankle once, but Melody's menacing shriek and snapping jaws sent the ghostly appendage retreating back through the sandy floor.

The floor itself was treacherous, the sand pooling through the holes in the stone floor ready to pull in someone foolish enough to disturb it. One could never be sure which sand coated the floor, and what sand would swallow up trespassers and suck them deeper into the ruins. If it hadn't been for the guidance of the Shadow Triad twelve years ago, Po would have gotten lost in the labyrinth.

But N had wanted to see her…. Just like in Chargestone cave. Hopelessly lost in that eerie blue glow. Hair on end, skin tingling from the static charge….

That felt like a lifetime ago.

Po's reverie abruptly halted as she tripped over some stone debris landing face first into coarse sand. Panic set in as she realized that the sand had begun to envelop her. She was sinking. But, before she was even able to issue an order to her pokemon, Melody grabbed her by the back of her coat, hauling her up onto firmer ground. Her three heads nuzzled Po worriedly. Her emboar and krookodile checked her for injuries as well, and Po chuckled, gently pushing them all away.

"C'mon. We're almost there." Probably.

In truth, Po wasn't exactly sure where they were going or where Alder was. She was mostly hoping that she would see some sign of the former champion. Almost as if on cue, the wall opened up to a stairwell, faint light flickering at the bottom of it.

"Alder," Po called out, taking the stairs carefully.

"To who do I owe the pleasure?" Came a leisurely reply. Po breathed a sigh of relief, quickening her pace.

"It's Po," She said as she reached the end, turning the corner to meet her old friend.

Alder grinned, "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

The beartic of a man rose to his full height, lumbering over and giving her a bone crushing hug which she reciprocated. "It's good to see you again, my friend."

"It's good to see you too, Alder."

They pulled apart and he took to greeting her pokemon, a rub on the snout, a pat on the belly, a scratch under the chin. Po took the time to get a good look at him; His once fiery mane was beginning to grey at the temples. Eyes had more lines. What had once been stubble had grown into a full beard. His tattered robes hung more loosely over his body that she remembered though given he had been living in the desert for a while, it wasn't surprising that he had grown leaner.

Chittering distracted her from her observations, and she looked at Alder's volcarona, eyeing her from its perch on a fallen pillar. Po wandered over and rubbed its head, admiring the warm glow its wings gave off. The giant moth hummed in content.

"How goes it, Po?" Alder asked, taking a seat next to his pokemon.

"Everything goes well. The league's in top form as always. I'm still undefeated. All of the usual things." Melody whined and nudged Po's back. "How are you?" She asked, finally opening up her pack and taking out a tablet. After a few seconds of swiping, a small capsule materialized in her open palm. She opened it, and much like a pokemon being released from a pokeball, a large pile of pokéchow appeared on the floor in a burst of light. Melody screeched in delight, wasting no time in filling her perpetually hungry belly.

"I have been well," Alder replied as she fed her pokemon. "These ruins are a good place to connect with your pokemon." He looked lovingly at his volcarona.

Po pulled out two energy bars, tossing one to the older man. "Yeah…. Somehow I managed to get through to Harmony here, so I can fully back that."

"How is he behaving? Last we spoke you were still fearful of using him in battles."

She took a bite of her bar, mulling over the words in her head. "He's a good pokemon, but I don't think he'll ever be ready for battling. There are too many variables… it's too dangerous. You saw what happened when I left Melody with Bianca for a few days, and she's the docile one."

"I suppose that's understandable."

They talked amiably about the League while they ate, swapping stories of some of their more memorable battles and reminiscing; Old rivalries, Cheren, Team Plasma. At that one Po had drifted, taking a swig from her water bottle to avoid much speaking.

"Now, what really brings you out here, Po?" Alder finally said. "As glad as I am too see you, we both know you wouldn't venture all the way out here just to chat."

She put down her water bottle and sighed. She had spent the better part of three days thinking about just what she wanted… "I need a break."

Alder nodded thoughtfully. "You wouldn't hike all the way out here if you were taking a few weeks off." When Po shook her head, he leaned back and eyed her intensely. "How long do you plan on being gone then?"

"I honestly don't know…." She shrugged, idly smoothing down the thick, black feathers on Melody's neck. "But I do know that I can't throw a match, and I can't just wait it out for someone to come along and relieve me of my title because what if that never happens...? That's why I'm here." She looked up at him, blue eyes searching him for an answer.

Alder smiled, crows feet crinkling his eyes. "Are you asking me to reclaim the title?"

"I know you came out here for solitude… I don't want to impose." Po said. "But Iris brushed me off when I'd mentioned perhaps passing the title back on to her, said she was happy where she was."

"Friend," Alder began, rising to his feet and extended a corded arm out to heavily pat her shoulder, "You have given me a good retirement. Let me return the favor."

A sigh of relief escaped the Po's lips. And for the first time in a very long time, she felt free.