The translation being done with my knowledge,
thank you to tell me if you don't understand, or to correct my errors.
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Chapter 3 : A strange young woman
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A bit later, before separating for the night, everyone agreed to meet the next morning in front of the castle. Kidd had a yellow 4x4 big enough to carry everyone, the tree being several days' journey, with the Lucario as guides.
The young woman with brown hair then went on her way to her room in the castle, the Queen having been kind enough to accept to lodge them all for the night in a wing of the castle for the guests, and was imitated by the children and Shyn who disappeared quickly.
On the other hand, the Lucario quickly disappointed a few minutes later when he realized that Shyn had already disappeared.
The young woman intrigued him very much, especially the strange energy of her crystal pendant, and he would have liked to talk alone with her. But obviously, Shyn didn't share this envy.
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A few minutes later in the night, the Lucario returned to the ballroom, now dark and calm, and went to look silently at the portrait of Aaron. The Pokémon was not sleepy and seemed pensive, even a bit annoyed as he stared at the picture of his late master.
But a sound of footsteps behind him quickly pulled him from his thoughts and attracted his attention. On his guard, the Lucario made a powerful leap backwards, taking the height and supported himself in the shadow of the ceiling, before jumping on the intruder who had just entered to prevent him from acting.
"Haaaaaaa!" shouted a male voice, stuck by the Pokémon holding it to the ground, blocking his neck.
But the Lucario quickly realized that it was only Ash and released him with an air of equal air.
"Why do you do that?" the boy snarled as he straightened up.
He seemed a little angry about the reaction of the Pokémon who had almost strangled him. The Lucario watched him for a second before answering, his cold eyes and impassive expression:
"Mmhhh, you're snooping behind my back! It is a mistake that is paid every time!" retorted the Pokémon in a grave voice, turning his back with a haughty and disagreeable air.
He had not, obviously, not liked being disturbed.
"Hey, Lucario! I am very touched that you chose to come with us to help us find Pikachu!" Ash said in a more joyful voice as he stood up, his eyes focused on the back of the Pokémon.
The boy didn't seem to be touched by the Lucario's tone, which always had a closed expression.
"Who are you for this Pikachu? Are you his master?" questioned the Blue Pokémon, half-turning toward the boy, the gaze suspicious.
"His master ? Hahaha! You want to laugh ? Nannn. Pikachu is my best friend, and that for a long time!" Ash replied happily as he picked up his cap he had lost when Lucario had jumped on it.
"Your friend ?" repeated the Pokémon with a slightly perplexed air.
"If one of your friends disappears like that at once, you'd like to find him!"said the boy, as if it was an obvious one, a big smile on his face.
But the joyous expression of Ash didn't touch the Lucario, on the contrary, which gave a hoarse breath and seemed to harden slightly.
"I have neither friends, and I don't want either!" spat the Pokémon in a dark voice, and then left the room, again turning his back to the boy.
"Great as attitude…," grumbled Sasha all alone watching the Lucario walk away under the starry sky, the face scowling.
Finally, it was the ill-humor of the Lucario who eventually infected the young boy.
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Outside, the Pokémon took a few steps grumbling, rethinking the words of Ash. But farther on, he stopped suddenly, looking at the fountain a little lower.
Someone was sitting on the stone edge and looking at the water, turning his back. The Lucario instantly recognized Shyn's blue cap and jacket and opened his mouth in surprise, before undertaking to quickly join her, hoping that she doesn't disappear yet, the time he joined her.
But she apparently didn't intend to leave, playing with the eddies of the water with her fingertips by displaying a vague air, seeming lost in her thoughts. Her Umbreon and her Espeon were also there, sitting at her feet, next to a strange blue flower in the shape of a cocoon that gave the impression of being made of crystal.
The Pokémon Dark seemed to be the first to spot the Lucario coming towards them and glanced at him indifferently, quickly followed by the Espeon who didn't move either.
The Lucario then stopped a few steps from the young woman and watched her without saying anything, staring at her pendant swaying over the water, frowning. He felt a strange energy emanating from the jewel, an energy he knew well, for it was that of the aura.
Seeing that Shyn was not looking at him, he hesitated for a few moments before finally deciding to show his presence:
"Ex... Excuse me…," he murmured in a somewhat uncomfortable voice, trying to attract the attention of the young woman who didn't seem to have noticed it.
Shyn slowly turned to him as he heard her, displaying a very relaxed expression.
"Yes?"
The Lucario stared at her for a few seconds, a little confused to see that she did not seem surprised to see him, as if waiting for her, and now watched him with a gentle and brilliant gaze, water reflected slightly in his clear eyes.
Lady Ilene said the stick reacted only to a strong aura. And it's true, I've already seen him shine when Sir Aaron held him…, but never this way...," the Pokémon began, recovering his courage. "This means that you too must have the power to control the aura," continued the Lucario in an affirmation.
Shyn said nothing and looked at him quietly without saying anything, seeming to wait for the rest.
"But I have the feeling…, and the stone of energy you bear to confirm me…, that you possess an aura much greater than what you are trying to make believe… Am I wrong ?" he asked, fixing her intensely.
He had had a doubt after feeling the strange energy of her pendant and had quickly looked at the aura of the young woman on the balcony to check his doubts. But Shyn's aura remained strangely simple, which intrigued him even more, for it did not stick at all with the reaction of Aaron's staff when she touched it, let alone the energy that emanated from her pendant.
The young woman looked at him for a few seconds indescribably, seemingly reflecting on her answer as the Pokémon stared at her, the expression a little tense.
"How did you know that it was a stone of energy?" Shyn asked finally with a detached air, glancing at her blue crystal pendant.
"I felt it… And I also feel that your aura is related to it," replied the Pokémon in a white voice. "But what I don't understand… is why… you have an aura… also… normal…," he continued with a puzzled air, his eyes narrowing.
It seemed to make him think a lot, and Shyn showed a slight smile half-concealed by the darkness of the night.
"Sir Aaron, or even Ash, has a particular aura, that I felt at once. But you, you carry a stone of energy that is in connection with the aura, and the staff of Sir Aaron reacted when you held it. So your aura is more powerful than normal. Yet, I don't feel anything special…," continued the Lucario, in a heavy voice.
The young woman's smile widened as she glanced at the fountain, looking rather amused.
"Unless …," resumed the Pokémon in her back, "that you have concealed it…"
Shyn turned back to him, still smiling.
"Lord Aaron once told me that a person who reached a certain degree of control of the aura could conceal his own… Which would explain why your aura is normal, but then I feel such energy coming from the stone around your neck…," explained the Lucario, looking suspiciously at Shyn.
The Pokémon paused to see if the young woman expected to answer, but she always only smiled amusedly.
"Are you able to do that?" asked the Lucario, advancing a step, seeming to be particularly interested.
Shyn stared at him with a shining glance, her smile widened and her face assumed a gentle and malicious air.
"You appreciate your master very much, don't you?" she asked in a very calm and empathic voice.
The Lucario then looked very surprised. Apparently, he didn't expect that.
"Um… I…," he stammered, uncomfortable, opening wide perplexed eyes.
The young woman readjusted her smile before getting up.
"I do not know what happened during this famous battle. But I hope that this little trip to the tree will give us all the answers," shouted Shyn softly, looking up at the sky.
The Pokémon said nothing, he still seemed disturbed by what the young woman had just said.
"But personally, I do not believe that Sir Aaron betrayed anybody," Shyn resumed, turning her back on the Lucario.
"How can you be sure?" asked the Pokémon in a voice that was both intrigued and slightly surly.
The young woman turned to him.
"I refuse to believe that someone in whom we placed so much value and hope could have betrayed a Pokémon as faithful and touching as you!" replied Shyn, in a serious voice.
The Lucario stared at her with an air of astonishment, his eyes bulging and his mouth half open, not knowing what to say.
Shyn smiled quietly again and greeted her in silence before heading for the road from which she had come, followed by the two Eeveelutions.
The Pokémon then resumed his spirits as she saw the young woman go away and called out to her:
"Wait! You have not answered my question!" he said, taking a few steps towards her.
Shyn stopped and answered without looking back:
"You will have your answer... in due course... "
Then she disappeared in the shadow of the foliage of the path, leaving the Lucario perplexed with emotion.
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But a little further, the young woman stopped and clasped her pendant in her trembling hand. Her Umbreon saw him and addressed his in Pokémon language:
"Are you OK ? You're shaking."
"Yes, I am fine. This Pokémon just reminds me... old memories," Shyn murmured, trying to calm her trembling.
But her face now expressed a terrible sadness. The Lucario had sat on the edge of the fountain and turned his back to the water that flowed in a sweet melody.
He did not know what to think of the strange behavior of the young woman and did not understand why she had not answered him. He had the impression that she was hiding something, and hoped to discover what.
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The next morning, everyone joined Kidd in front of the castle where the young woman was waiting with her 4x4.
The children had put on their usual outfits, abandoning their period costumes for more traditional clothes, based on pants, shorts, jackets, backpacks and a cap for Ash. Shyn was always dressed the same, and seemed still a little sleepy, surely because of the early hour.
In the car, Kidd was driving, Brock had taken the middle passenger seat in front of her, and Shyn had taken the other passenger seat with her Espeon on her lap, her bag and her Umbreon at her feet. Ash, May and Max, were distributed out on the back seats.
Since the start, Shyn was very silent and kept glancing at the scrolling landscape before her eyes, and fixing the back of the Lucario in front of them running along the way to guide them to the tree.
"By the way, how did you come here?" Kidd suddenly asked after a few minutes of travel, avoiding a hole in the road.
"On foot, we go around the extreme Arenas of Kanto. And when we heard about the festival being held here, we wanted to participate!" Ash replied happily.
"Oh I see. You are walkers. What about you, Shyn?" asked the young woman again, glancing at Shyn, who had her eyes turned towards the road.
"By bike…," replied the woman with an empty air, staring at the Lucario in front of them, who had just skirted a large rock.
"Ah, the bike, I like that too. But then, you have to get your Pokémon back into their Poké Balls," Kidd continued quietly to make the conversation.
"No," said the other young woman in a white voice, without looking at her.
"You don't return your Pokémon back in their Poké Ball?" May asked intriguedly, straightening up on the back seat.
"I don't have a Pokéball," Shyn replied dryly.
One could very clearly feel a touch of annoyance in her tone.
"And I have baskets on my bike," the young woman added in an equal voice, casting a glance through her passing glass.
May and Ash looked at each other with an air of surprise, but did not dare ask her why she had no Poké Balls. Shyn, obviously, didn't want to continue the conversation and now stroked the head of her Espeon who was sleeping on her knees.
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It had been some time now that they were rolling, and the fog was getting thicker outside as they moved along the rocky roads.
"Oh damn, the fog thickens!" Kidd grinned as he stared at the road.
"But how does Lucario guide us?" May asked as she passed her head between the front seats.
In front of them, the Blue Pokémon continued to advance in the light of the headlights of the car that Kidd had just lit.
"He sees grace to the power of the aura," replied the young brunette, concentrating on the road.
"The aura?" repeated May with a perplexed air. "Oh, Ash, do you remember that Lucario said that your aura was like that of Lord Aaron?" the girl asked, turning to the boy.
Shyn suddenly seemed interested and turned her head slightly to see the children in the interior rear-view mirror.
"Very well, yes. And Lady Ilene also said that Shyn must have a strong aura so that the stick began to shine," replied Ash as she approached to look at the young woman between the seats.
Shyn then turned to the side to cast a puzzled gaze at her.
You do not know what it is? Asked the woman at the beanie wearily, as if she didn't want to explain.
"No, what is it ?" said the boy, looking at her intrigued.
Kidd smiled.
"It is the very essence that each living being concealed in the depths of it," replied the young brunette wisely, without turning her eyes on the road.
"Basically, it's your vital energy," Shyn added, taking her place back to the contemplation of her window.
"And what does it look like an aura? Eh, you know?" Max asked as he approached to look at Shyn, then Kidd.
"Nothing, Max, is supposed to be invisible to most people," Brock answered vaguely as Shyn turned her head toward the Pokémon on the road.
"Except Lucario, he is the only one to be able to see it," added May right after in a voice slightly amused.
"That's right. In the old days, some humans could, too, they mastered this power. Like Sir Aaron for example. Apparently, he would have handed this talent over to Lucario," Kidd said, seeming to have learned the story of the Aura Guardian's legend.
Shyn gave him a strange look, then closed her eyes, looking a little annoyed. At her feet, her Umbreon saw her expression and addressed herself discreetly:
"Why don't you tell them you have that power too?"
The young woman opened her eyes very lightly and glanced at the Pokémon's dark before negatively shake the head and closing her eyes.
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Outside, Lucario continued to guide them despite the fog around them.
But the area became quite dangerous with so little visibility, and he finally closed his eyes before shaking his antennae to concentrate on the energy of the rocks and allow the 4x4 to find the best way in the fog. His aura then allowed him to detect a large rock on the road, which he rapidly bypassed, imitated by Kidd a few meters behind him who had seen his gap.
"But, if Lucario has confused your auras, it means perhaps that ...," May said in the car, a very intrigued look in her face as she turned to Ash.
"That Ash can control the aura too!" Max finished looking at the boy as well, who suddenly seemed a little embarrassed.
"Yes, you're right !" Ash cheerfully agreed a second later, forgetting his embarrassment to display sure air of him.
But a strong shake of the car caused everyone to move; May and Max swung forward and Ash jumped on the spot, bumping her head to the ceiling of the car.
"Aiiiieuu !" the young boy whined, holding his head.
"Or maybe not!" the girl laughed mockingly as she watched the boy whine because of the blow.
"Yeah!" Max agreed in the same tone as his sister laughing.
Front of them, Shyn, who had knocked against the window at the jolt, rubbed her head and watched Ash in the rear-view mirror.
"What about you, Shyn? Do you control the aura?" May asked intriguedly, turning her attention to the young woman.
But she did not seem pleased with the question and let out an unwanted sigh without turning around.
"If Sir Aaron's stick has reacted to your aura, then it may be that you have the power," Kidd continued, glancing at the side, as if to encourage Shyn to speak.
"The aura is something very cloudy. To believe that one can really control everything just with this power is a fiction…," finally replied the young woman at the beanie in a quiet voice, as if reciting a poem, before turning again towards the window.
May and Ash looked at each other intriguingly, somewhat perplexed by Shyn's words, which again seemed unwilling to continue the discussion.
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But while in the car everyone was discussing, the trunk of 4X4 abruptly opened under another shock and allowed a glimpse of a funny vision.
The two teammates of the Team Rocket had hidden themselves in it, and failed to be ejected from the car because of the shock. But they narrowly caught up, and managed to re-enter the trunk and closed it again without being noticed by the driver who was still staring at the road.
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