Chapter 7 – The Sought-For Matter
Having earned the normal rank beauty ribbon, Solonn's next goal was to obtain the super rank ribbon. The next super rank contest was slated for the fourteenth of November. Solonn lamented the amount of time that separated him from his next trip to the contest hall, but he also recognized its value. He'd have even more time to rehearse than he'd had prior to his last contest, and he was sure he'd need it in order to compete to the higher standard demanded by his higher rank.
Though he'd have more time to prepare for this contest, he'd have less time to train with his coordinator. It was now early September, and a new school year had begun, leaving Morgan with less time to spend at home. Morgan wasn't the only one spending hours at school each day; Eliza was a teacher at one of the local elementary schools.
As such, Solonn was left home alone for several hours on end nearly every day. Even Morgan's other pokémon weren't around to keep him company; most of them preferred to remain in their capture balls at nearly all times, for whatever reason. Sei didn't, but she preferred to go out into the city while the humans were away, doing gods only knew what.
Not that Solonn exactly minded the solitude. He readily made use of the quiet time to meditate upon his connection to his element, which in turn helped him conceive and practice new ice displays. Solonn quickly grew to treasure these hours alone, time that belonged strictly to himself and his element. The only thing he could think of that would make these sessions better was if he could operate Morgan's stereo.
One Tuesday morning, Solonn began another of these sessions, initiating a ritual that now preceded each rehearsal. He was about to enter the meditative state that would allow him to quickly achieve a very strong and deep connection with his element… but then he heard something moving in the grass just beyond the fence. Solonn would've normally dismissed the sound, but the one that followed—a puzzled vocalization of some sort—made it hard to ignore.
He kept listening and caught an odd scrabbling noise—There's something climbing the fence… he knew at once, but couldn't even begin to guess what that something might be.
A second later, the mystery solved itself. Solonn was now staring into the huge, crystalline eyes of a sableye who now sat upon the fence. He cocked his head at Solonn as if puzzled.
"Who're you?" the sableye asked in a perky, slightly rasping voice.
Solonn gave the sableye a bemused look. "I could ask you the same."
The sableye chuckled weirdly, giving no other response to Solonn's retort. He then sprang from the fence and onto the sitrus tree, clinging to the bark with sprawled limbs. He scrabbled up the trunk and sat upon one of its branches, letting his short legs dangle off the side.
Solonn couldn't even begin to figure out what in the world the little creature was up to, but quickly decided he had better things to do than bother with the sableye. He closed his eyes and commenced his meditation, determined to pay no mind to the presence perched above. He might have succeeded in this endeavor if it weren't for the overripe sitrus berry that burst against the top of his head a second later.
Solonn turned a flat, annoyed glare upward. The sableye above him was grinning, showing an incredible number of tiny, pointed teeth. "What do you want, exactly?" Solonn demanded.
The sableye stared down at Solonn for several moments with his brow furrowed, feigning deep thought. "I think I want to throw more fruit at you," he replied finally. With a faint whoosh, the sableye turned to smoke and shadows, then vanished in a feint attack. There was a bit of rustling amidst the branches before the sableye reappeared on the branch above Solonn, both arms laden with more sitrus berries. He started throwing them at Solonn but gave up after the first pair of them collided in vain with the glalie's deep blue protect aura.
"You're no fun," the sableye pouted. He clambered down the tree trunk and sat down next to Solonn, drumming his fingers on the ground for a brief while. Then he began poking Solonn in the side, prodding at the gaps in the glalie's armor.
With an exasperated sigh, Solonn turned to face him. "Could you leave me alone, please?"
The sableye left Solonn alone—for about five seconds. Then he gave an exaggerated groan of boredom. A second later, he climbed back up the tree. He hung upside-down from a branch for a moment, then dropped down right onto the glalie's head.
Solonn tried very hard to ignore the sableye, who was now dancing on top of his head. There is something wrong with that creature's mind. As far as he was aware, people typically didn't just enter someone's personal space and begin pestering them with no explanation.
"Is there any reason why you need to be doing this to me?" Solonn asked, somehow managing to keep most of his impatience out of his tone.
"Hm? No, not really," the sableye answered airily. He continued skittering around on Solonn's head for a few moments, then crawled headfirst down the glalie's forehead and lowered his face between Solonn's eyes, grinning. "Hi."
"Go away, please," Solonn said.
The sableye shook his head solemnly and began staring right into the glalie's eyes—and then recoiled, pulling his head back as though something had just taken a swipe at it. His faceted eyes flashed; he'd have been blinking in surprise if he'd had eyelids.
"Hmmm…" the sableye said as he brought his face even closer to Solonn's.
"What in the name of all gods are you doing now?"
"I'm seeing you in a whole new way…" the sableye said, trying to sound mystical. "Hmmm… very interesting. Very interesting, indeed…"
"Are you quite finished bothering me?" Solonn asked.
The sableye took a moment to consider the question. "Almost," he responded. Then he planted a very juicy kiss right on the diamond-shaped patch of bare hide in the middle of Solonn's forehead. With that, he sprang off of the glalie's head and into the grass, then turned and gave Solonn a Cheshire grin. "Buh-bye!" he said cheerfully, then scampered off across the lawn, scaled the fence, and disappeared over the side.
Supremely baffled by what had just happened, Solonn breathed a sigh of relief now that the sableye had left the scene. Stop trying to make sense of him, Solonn advised himself. You'll only end up giving yourself a headache. Giving the sableye no further thought, Solonn finally, gratefully resumed his session.
- o -
The sableye hurried through the alleyways of Lilycove, anxious to get home as quickly as possible—he'd made quite the discovery while pestering that oversized glalie. The sableye's eyes held an peculiar sort of sight; if he looked hard enough, it showed him more than a person's appearance—it could also show him secrets. Among the glalie's, there was one in particular that was especially remarkable, and the sableye knew he wasn't the only one who'd take interest in it.
In no time at all, he arrived at a modest brick house, a place he'd called home for only the past few days. He hurried up the walkway, pausing at the front door. Initiating a feint attack, he felt a momentary tingling of dark-type energy all throughout him before it swept him into a quick transformation. His body changed into shadowy wisps of black vapor before disappearing altogether. He reappeared inside the house, solidifying on the other side of the door.
Once indoors, the sableye started screeching excitedly to alert another resident of the house of his arrival. Soon, a male human picked his way swiftly but carefully through an adjacent hallway and into the living room, dodging scattered cardboard boxes full of things he still hadn't unpacked. He'd only just emerged from the shower; his slightly long, auburn hair was still sopping wet, and he'd only bothered to throw on a pair of boxers before going to greet his pokémon.
"Hey, Xi," he said. "Back kind of early today, aren't you? Are you feeling all right?"
-I'm okay, Daron!- Xi cheerfully assured the human, employing the telepathic skills he'd inherited from his gastly father. He chuckled effervescently, his multitude of pointed teeth flashing in another of his enormous grins. -I just found something really neat, and I just couldn't wait to tell you about it! Oh, you won't believe it!-
"Heh. Is that right?" Daron said as he crossed the living room to the front door and scooped his pokémon up into his arms. He carried Xi to the sofa and sat down. "So what'd you find, hmm?"
Xi chuckled again. -You might not believe me if I just told you… I have to show you instead…- Xi told Daron, gesticulating dramatically and using the telepathic version of his "mystical" voice.
Daron sighed. "Ah, that's never pleasant… but, if you insist…" He lifted Xi up to eye-level. The sableye beamed at him, then pressed his palms against Daron's temples. Daron braced himself, forcing himself to stare unwaveringly right into Xi's crystalline eyes. Those eyes lit up from within, and a sudden, painful jolt lanced into Daron's head as Xi's most recent memories rushed into his brain.
Almost as soon as the memory transfer had begun, it was finished. Xi let go of his trainer's head, and Daron made a sound halfway between a sigh and a groan as he set the sableye down on the sofa cushion beside him, grateful that the process was quick, at least.
Xi grinned up at his human companion. Daron returned the sableye's gaze with a positively awestruck expression, his eyes wide and staring.
"You did it…" Daron said. "I don't believe it… less than a week on the job, and already you've hit pay dirt!" He laughed in sheer amazement and pride. "Great work, Xi!"
Xi gave a squeal of delight. -I knew you'd like it!- he exclaimed while cheerfully applauding himself for his discovery.
"Oh, I'm not the only one who'll like it," Daron said. "I'm gonna go call him right now," he added. He got up and made his way into the kitchen, retrieving the cell phone that he'd left on the counter and immediately placing a call he'd thought he might never get to make.
"Mr. Saller?" a kindly-sounding, elderly man's voice answered within seconds. "What a pleasant surprise to hear from you, my boy! Have you quite settled in to your new home yet?"
"Getting there," Daron replied. "I've still got a bit of unpacking to do, I'll admit, but I've gotten pretty accustomed to this place already. Xi and Cleo love it here," he added.
"Oh good, good!" the voice on the phone responded. "So, tell me, my boy. What's the occasion for this conversation, hmm?"
Daron smiled. "You might want to make sure you're sitting down, sir." He took a deep breath, then announced, "We've found one."
Not a word issued from the receiver for a long moment. "…You're quite certain?" the old man finally asked.
"One hundred percent," Daron said with confidence. "Xi's eyes don't lie, and he showed me exactly what they showed him."
"Well, he'll need to show me, as well. Can't be certain any other way, after all, and we mustn't move ahead until we are indeed certain," the old man said. "You can transfer him here from the pokémon center."
"Will do, sir," Daron assured him.
"Good, good…" The old man sighed happily. "It's a wondrous thing, my boy, to see our goals coming to fruition so soon…"
"It sure is," Daron concurred, nodding.
"Well, then," the old man said crisply, "once I've had my meeting with Mr. Xi, we'll discuss our further course of action. Be on standby, my boy."
"No problem, sir… And the authorities?"
"A non-issue, as I stated during our first meeting," the voice on the phone assured him. "You need only concern yourself with the task at hand. See to it that everything is carried out without a hitch, and both you and your partners will be handsomely rewarded."
"You can count on us," Daron said coolly, and then the old man hung up.
- o -
Eight days had passed since the sableye's visit. Thankfully, the sableye hadn't returned since, leaving Solonn free to practice his art without any disturbances.
At his summons, twin spires of ice extended toward the heavens, catching the sun's rays with a brilliant sparkle. They began a sinuous dance while their choreographer watched them, smiling serenely.
"That's very pretty," said an unexpected, monotone voice from above.
Surprised, Solonn looked up. A venomoth hovered overhead, scattering a small quantity of fine powder into the air with every flap of her wings.
Another unexpected guest, Solonn thought, looking up at her somewhat warily. He could only hope this visitor wouldn't give him the same sort of company the previous one had. "Er… thank you," he said a bit awkwardly. He moved out from under the venomoth; the powder falling from her wings was beginning to irritate his eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt your performance," the venomoth said, "but I was sent to give you something."
The venomoth gave no further explanation for her next actions. Her wings made a dramatic shift from lavender to baby blue, and with a single, powerful flap, they tossed a cloud of pale blue sleep powder on a swift gust of wind at Solonn.
Taken by surprise, Solonn failed to do anything to avoid the attack and inhaled some of its dust before he could stop himself. He tried to retaliate at once, but his ice beam missed its mark; his eyelids had closed irresistibly just before he could aim it. He dropped to the ground, swallowed up in a profoundly deep sleep.
There was a faint rushing sound, and a mass of black vapors formed out of thin air just outside the back door. Xi now stood in the backyard, clutching a great ball in his hands. His faceted eyes found the sleeping glalie, and he broke into a grin. "You did it, Cleo!" he congratulated the venomoth, happily scampering across the lawn to join her.
Cleo glanced down at the capture ball that Xi held. "Are you sure that's the right one?" she asked.
"Uh-huh. I checked them all. This is the one!" the sableye answered with confidence; he'd scanned each of the capture balls and thereby found the digital signature marking this one as the glalie's.
"And are you sure you know how to use that?"
"Uh, yeah," Xi said a little crossly. With a exaggeratedly demonstrative air, he aimed the capture ball's lens at the sleeping glalie and recalled him into the device. "See? I told you I could do it," the sableye said triumphantly. Cleo just rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay! We got what we came for," Xi said. "Let's go!" With the great ball clutched tightly in his hand, he quickly scampered up and over the fence and departed the scene in gleeful haste, with Cleo winging her way close behind him.
