If you started off this series thinking it's a drama romance flick like SttD, I apologise for misleading you.


Chapter 7: Bengaline

Dawn was back on the road again the next morning. Her original plan, though a few days delayed, was still relatively on track. With half her team back under possession, she could actually start training again before long. That in mind, she figured she should take a break, not by actually resting, but by going to collect a member of her team that was known to give her very little trouble.

Sitting atop togekiss' deceptively limited wingspan, she could see Hearthome beneath her. The city was even bigger than she remembered, asserting itself as the most thriving and biggest hub in the entire region. As Jubilife continued its downward spiral, Hearthome had become undeniable the tourist capital.

Dawn passed straight above the Contest Hall. The giant scarlet top of the dome stood out majestically, drawing in attention from all direction, as if awaiting a worthy challenger. Its solid, intimidating marble column base planted themselves firmly into the ground, revelling in the utter lack of restraint. She could do nothing but sigh, for she knew that there was a very good chance her own mother was within those halls at this very moment. Johanna had always been an agreeable woman to most, but her own daughter had never had the heart to say how much her love of contests was such a divide between them. Who could blame Johanna? After all, she loved what she was doing, and she was very good at it, hence many others love her too.

Dawn was reminded of all those women her mother was always with, who shared the same love. Dawn never cared enough to learn their names, as she didn't share their interests. In fact, she couldn't recall ever seeing Johanna with anyone that didn't enjoy being in the same clique of, at least to Dawn, superfluous people with too much time on their hands. Dawn loved her mother, but that there was no reason to hold back. Everyone partook in this elaborate gatherings of pride, but only to pretend to be courteous when they lost, and then brag with as much subtlety as an articulate cockroach in the off chance they happened to win.

Everyone but Cynthia.

Dawn had never seen Cynthia near any of the contest halls before, despite being told that such a place was where the blonde and Johanna met. Slowly, the teenage girl started to take into account just how contrasting the two older women's personalities and appearances were. Johanna donned the most pompous, eye-catching costume whenever she left the house for social gatherings, but tend to dress very reserved in a private setting. She also talk with a much more elevated, faux classy tone outside, yet to her daughter nothing but tender, upbeat tenor. Cynthia, on the other hand, seemed consistent wherever it was one had a chance of catching her. Her clothing were always very straight-forward and seldom changed, radiating an elegant quality to them. She also spoke with mellow, concise sentences, and rarely ever raised her voice. The two together was a definite clash of styles, and perhaps that was why they never arranged to meet outside of Johanna's house. Still, Dawn never understood how their friendship even came to be.

Toto pulled Dawn out of her train of thought by landing. As her feet were firmly planted on the ground, she realised that she had flew past Hearthome, and an entire stretch of the eastern forest, while she was still lost in thought. She was now on the banks of an isolated lake, completely surround by tall trees. There was very little to see here, except for the gate to the lakefront at the opposite side, and a very peculiar landmass floating in the middle of the water. Toto was called back into the pokeball, but Dawn's empoleon was quickly summon. It walked clumsily into the water, where it laid on its back. She carefully eased forward and sit on those flashing steel wings, as water waves started to form beneath the two. It didn't take long before they carried her into the secluded plot of land, where a cavern sat silently. A small, wooden notice board was erected at the entrance. It read 'Valour Cavern'.

With the first step inside, Dawn noted how much brighter the insides of the cave look. Of course, there wasn't a lot that was inside the case to even look at in the first place. Even then, Dawn experienced a fluttering feeling. There was nothing physical that had shifted about the atmosphere, but rather a wave of compelling introspection that inhabited her mind. It gave her hope, passion, and plans for the future. However, it also made her weary of the risks, the past tragedies, and the reason why she had to come here in the first place.

"Azelf." Dawn narrowed her eyes, and walked toward the centre of the cavern with great caution. "I'm back."

Floating above strange and elaborative diagrams of water puddle was a small pokemon. Its head, pointy at the top and expanding to the sides like shark fins, was coloured cyan, except for a dense, vermillion gem at its forehead. Its arms, slender and grey like the rest of its body, housed a pair of hands with only two small fingers on each. Its narrow, stubby feet stuck straight out under its body, and seemed to point forward while it levitated. Two tails, identical, sprawled from its back and extended into a reverse crown shape, also housing a red gem in each.

Dawn looked at it, but it didn't look at her. In fact, though its eyes were open, she could bet it wasn't even looking at anything at all in particular. Despite her calling earlier, the pokemon stayed perfectly still. She had caught it once before, but refused to name it, for its independence was too great for her to override. Dawn figured that the pokemon probably already sensed her own unease as she was walking in. This was the pokemon of willpower amongst the lake guardian trio, and that was also why it was so eager to join her the last time.

Now, however, her resolve must look only like a shadow of its former self.

Dawn pulled out a vacant pokeball from her belt. It was black and golden, an inverted U could be seen decorated above its hatch. She held it in her hand for a while, before pressing the button in the middle. The device popped its hood, but no bright light that usually accompanied this event could be seen. Azelf, especially, did not move. Dawn sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she didn't expect this kind of resistance either.

"Fine," she said, "have it your way."

Pipi, still yet to be recalled, was elected to step forward. This was when Azelf turned its quizzically shaped head to face what seemed to be its opponent in an imminent pokemon battle. The two stared down each other, letting their gaze do the talking. As both used to belong in Dawn's team, there was very little need for test of actual abilities. They knew each other well enough, despite the brief period that was from Dawn's capture of Azelf until her previous release of the Valour lake guardian. Whatever happened this time, she wasn't going to let go of her team again, but she needed another pokemon to communicate this fact.

Azelf, after much deliberation, decided to land on the ground. Its feet clumsily muddled through the shallow water, and toward the empoleon. They exchanged one last heavy look, before catching each other in a swift embrace. Seeing this, Dawn inadvertently smiled. Pipi retreated into his pokeball not long after, leaving on its trainer and the legendary pokemon in standing.

"Welcome back." Dawn gently rubbed it on the head. Azelf didn't react too favourably, but it didn't protest either. Seeing it as a signal, she tried opening the pokeball once again, and this time it complied with her wishes. In a white flash of light, Dawn was now the only living being within this cavern. To her, this fact wasn't actually that bad of a change. With the way she'd been living for the last few years, it would not be such a problem just living in a success story, if only for a few minutes. She sat down, back to the cold stone walls, and rested her head.

When she awoke, spine aching in retort to the posture she was situated in, the insides of the cave had already become near pitch black. However, since the floor was relatively flat, and there was a visible source of light coming from the entrance, it wasn't much trouble for her to navigate outside. She didn't want to rush her movements, as there was still water patches all over that Dawn would like to keep off of her clothes. It took her a few minutes before she made it out.

The sky had already darkened, but she could still see a heated light source that could be observed from the northwest. Curious, Dawn called out her togekiss, and together they ascended. At this distance, Dawn could hardly make out the details. However, there was one thing very clear to her: Hearthome city submerged under intense flames.