Lore, Chapter XII
The warmth of my bed was difficult to escape, but I ended up doing so before long. I wanted to be on my way, since Mt. Coronet stood between me and the next stop on my journey. Mom was torn on my second departure, but she said good-bye in the way she knew best: with food! When I went downstairs that morning, a stack of pancakes awaited me.
"It's really lonely without you," she said at the table as I worked on my second helping of the sweet food.
"Yeah? It's kinda lonely without you when I'm out there." I admitted. Many were the times when I wished I had someone to talk to between visits to cities or towns.
"For the longest time I always had one of you with me here. I knew after Lucas left that my time was short." She sighed, looking sadder than ever before.
"It's okay, Mom. You make it sound like you're about to die or something!" I laughed, hoping it would lighten the mood.
"If I told you I was dying...?" Mom said in a hushed tone.
"Mom, that's not funny..."
She maintained her composure and expression for a few moments, before a smile broke it up. "Had you going there, didn't I?"
"No!" I yelled, feeling more moisture in my eyes than I wanted to admit.
"It's all part of the adventure. I went on one as well, you know."
"I know. But you never talk about it," I said, finishing up my third pancake.
"Things were a lot different when I was your age. For one, Pokeballs weren't such useful little devices!" She stood up and moved to the kitchen. Reaching up over the refrigerator, she fished out a small box that looked older than even Ruby! It was super dusty, too, so Mom made sure to open it carefully as to not spread the dust all around the table.
"What is it?"
"This..." She said, reaching into the box and pulling out a spherical object equally covered in dust, "is a Pokeball."
Dropping my fork, I took it from her hands. "Wow! It's so big!"
Compared to the modern Pokeball, which was capable of shrinking to less than half its size for better storage, the one Mom handed me was permanently set to its full size. Not only that, it was larger than Pokeballs of today, but seemed to have all the same features. Even the red and white coloring was the same, though faded quite a bit. It even felt heavier than one of mine with a Pokemon in it!
"Is there a Pokemon here?" I asked.
Mom took the Pokeball back from me and pressed the button on the front of the device. It popped open, but there was nothing inside. "I released all my Pokemon a long time ago. Before Ruby was born."
"What kinds of Pokemon did you have?" I asked, eager to hear all about this secret part of Mom's life.
"Not as many as you'd think. I wasn't a great Trainer." She chuckled, before putting it back in the box and sealing it. "Your father, on the other hand..."
"Does he have any Pokemon left?" This was a question all of my siblings, myself included, had asked him directly. He would always dodge the question, or answer in some mysterious way that didn't really tell us much.
"I think he does, but he keeps that a secret even from me." Mom smiled, putting the box back on top of the fridge.
"I thought married couples didn't keep secrets from each other?"
"You're right." She said, sitting back down.
"So does he?"
"That's between me and him." Mom stuck her tongue out at me. Sometimes, I wondered how cool she must've been when she was a kid like me. I kinda wished it were possible to have met her at that time.
Dad worked in Veilstone City on the other side of the region, but he visited every other week or so. Mom was originally against the idea when he was given the transfer from the offices here in Eterna City, but the money was much better over there. I had hoped to see him during this visit, but Mom said he'd visited just last week. Since Veilstone also had a gym, I'd probably get a chance to see him at work when I passed through there. I'd definitely ask him to show me his Pokemon!
After finishing up with breakfast, I gave Mom a hug and left. I didn't want to drag it out, and apparently neither did she. Plus, it wasn't like she'd be alone again for a long time. As it turned out, Iris would be arriving soon from her latest adventure. I almost wanted to stick around until then, but if Lucas caught up to me there and saw me slacking off, I'd never hear the end of it. Plus, I wanted to get even better at battling so I could challenge him again some day and beat him fair and square!
So after departing from Eterna City's eastern gate, I found myself on Route 211. This road was a short one, leading directly out of Eterna City and connecting to a large wooden bridge that crossed over a deep canyon with a river at the bottom. A tumble down there would likely end anyone's life, but fortunately the bridge was wide and sturdy, despite being old. I believe one of my old teachers claimed it was old when she was kid!
Past that bridge was a small ledge on the side of Mt. Coronet, with a cave entrance and nothing else noteworthy. My journey was bound to take me through these caves eventually, so I was happy to get it out of the way now. Within the hour I was across the bridge and inside the mountain proper.
There wasn't much to the tunnel connecting both ends of Route 211; being one of the more traveled paths it was a straightforward trek through one of Mt. Coronet's more narrow sections. The entire trip would take less than an hour even on foot, so long as no trainers or wild Pokemon got in your way. The path was even partially illuminated by lanterns, regularly maintained thanks to the Pokemon League. Of course, I wouldn't have any such luck. In fact, my luck demanded I run into someone I never thought I'd see again. Someone whose name I didn't even know.
Standing off to a side of the cave, messing with her Poketch and clad in some kind of pale jumpsuit, the woman almost didn't realize I was walking by. But just as I passed by her, she looked up from her Poketch and our eyes locked onto each other. I honestly didn't recognize her, though I would attribute that to her being out of her uniform. However, she recognized me on the spot.
"It's YOU!" She screamed, pointing a finger right at me.
"Huh?" I said, stopping.
"The brat from the lake! You're going to pay!" She took a step towards me, coming into the light and with a Pokeball in her hand. It took me a moment, but my mind finally connected the dots: it was the Team Galactic grunt I battled just outside Verity Lake!
"Listen, I don't want any trouble," I said, hoping to worm my way out of a battle. Not that I was afraid to fight her, but because the last time I did, she resorted to ordering her Pokemon to attack me directly.
"Too late! I got chewed out for failing to stop you at the lake! Now you're going to see what happens when you mess with my promotion chances! Go, Beautifly!"
She slammed the Pokeball on the ground before her, releasing the familiar Bug Pokemon. The cave was narrow, so a battle here wouldn't be easy to manage. Ignoring the advantage Ponyta would have, I went with Dustox to keep things even.
"Your Wurmple evolved!" The grunt pointed out.
"So did your Silcoon." I shot back.
"So let's do this! Beautifly, Stun Spore!"
"Dustox, counter with Poison Powder!"
Both flying Pokemon darted towards each other, each one's wings filling the air with a different colored dust. The combination of yellow sparkles and purple wisps remained airborne even after our Pokemon returned to our sides. Dustox had been successfully paralyzed, but her Beautifly had been poisoned as well.
"Beautifly, Air Cutter!"
"Hit him with Gust!"
Because of Dustox's paralysis, Beautifly got her attack in first, hurling a sharp blade of compressed air directly at my Pokemon. Dustox was forced to the ground, the attack being super-effective on his slowed body.
"Finish him off with another Air Cutter!"
"Dustox, Confusion!"
Beautifly moved into position for her attack, but Dustox managed to move first this time. Locking eyes with his opponent, a wave of psychic energy cut through the air, disorienting Beautifly to the point it was having trouble remaining airborne. The Pokemon tried to focus on Dustox, but instead crashed into the cavern wall nearby.
"You stupid Pokemon! He's down there!" The grunt angrily berated her Pokemon.
"Dustox, now's your chance! Use Venoshock!"
Dustox flapped his wings hard, bringing himself back into the air. Once on the same level as Beautifly, my Pokemon blasted his opponent with a thick, purple goo. The substance seemed to burn Beautifly deeply, causing it to crash onto the ground. Within seconds she was completely knocked out. The grunt immediately put the Pokemon away.
"Why don't you just run off? There's no need to keep fighting." I told her, but the grunt was already in the process of pulling out a second Pokeball.
"I'd rather let my Pokemon DIE before I run away from you!" She sneered, releasing her Golbat next. It was this Pokemon that she loosed on me the last time we fought. Dustox was looking pretty worn down, so I recalled him and prepared Mareep for battle. Once my Pokemon was out, the battle continued.
"Golbat, use Bite!"
"Mareep, hit him with Thundershock!"
The large bat Pokemon dove in on Mareep, but before it could get close enough my sheep had already charged her electric attack. The bolt shot forth from her two horns, striking Golbat directly and forcing it back.
"I said use Bite!" The grunt screamed louder, her voice echoing in the tunnel.
Again Golbat closed the distance, and again Mareep managed to repel the Pokemon with another Thundershock. This time, Golbat was looking pretty singed from the repeated shocks, almost unable to remain airborne. Again the grunt demanded an attack (this time Leech Life), but for a third time Mareep pushed the Golbat back with Thundershock. This time, the bat dropped from the air, completely spent. I steeled myself for her next Pokemon, but after she called back Golbat, she took a few steps back.
"You'll pay for this. Mark my words, brat!"
"I don't think you'll ever beat me. Why do you even bother?" I taunted, which even I felt was a bit out of character for me. The last thing I wanted was this crazy woman to start stalking me throughout the region in her search for revenge.
"Gloat all you want. Next time, you'll see. I'll leave you begging for mercy!" With that, she turned tail and darted off down the tunnel back in the direction of Eterna City. She ran surprisingly fast, and was out of sight within seconds.
"What a crazy... Hope I never run into her again." I said to myself. Mareep let out a soft baahh, as if telling me that was unlikely. Even if I did my best never to stick my nose into Team Galactic's business in the future, this one would probably track me down on her own. Plus, I totally planned to do my part to stop Team Galactic's plans, whatever they might be.
With that crazy battle out of the way, I put Mareep back in her Pokeball before continuing on through the tunnel. Before long, I'd emerge on the other side of Mt. Coronet, and on the eastern half of Route 211.
From Rachael:
How are you, Mia? It's been weeks since we first met and I never sent you a message. I can tell you're now in Eastern Sinnoh, since I can feel your presence. I hope we see each other again soon.
A short while after emerging from the tunnel, I received that message from Rachael, the first person I ever shared my Poketch number with. Although I was doubtful of her psychic powers when we first met, the fact that the message arrived when it did gave me pause. There was no way she could have guessed I'd be on the other side of Mt. Coronet, not unless she was somehow watching me.
From my spot under a large honey tree, I quickly surveyed the nearby area. There was a lot of tall grass on this road, and more than a few Pokemon bothered me before I found this spot. Even sitting under this tree was a danger, since certain Bug Pokemon would love to attack me with my guard down. But the shade it provided was perfect for a picnic, so I couldn't resist. North of me was a rocky path leading a short ways up the mountainside. I could hear various trainers battling up there, so I didn't want to go poking my nose just yet if at all. If I continued on the road east, I'd arrive in Celestic Town before sundown. The small hamlet didn't have a Pokemon Gym, so I'd most likely pass through quickly towards my next destination.
My picnic consisted of a sandwich Mom had prepared for me before leaving, and a bottle of water. Mom had given me a minor scolding about eating and drinking mostly junk food the past few weeks, so she packed me a few bottles of fresh spring water. I enjoyed a cold drink as much as the next thirsty person in the middle of Summer, but I won't lie when I say I'd prefer a can of lemonade or soda pop over this. Still, I downed the bottle and looked up at the tree above me.
Being a honey tree, I could make out more than a few wild Combee scurrying about amongst the leaves. Once in a while, back in Eterna Forest, Combee would migrate to the area and turn some of the larger trees into honey trees. For the most part, the Pokemon were docile, compared to the likes of Dustox and Beedrill. I always used to think Beedrill and Vespiquen- the evolved form of Combee- made the perfect match. It was quite a shock to learn that Combee were native to Sinnoh, and rarely if ever appeared south of the region. That tidbit of knowledge in mind, I considered shaking the tree above me to see if I couldn't catch a Combee of my own.
Of course, the trick would be to catch a female Combee, so that it could one day evolve into a Vespiquen. The fact that male Combee never evolved was another strange thing, to the point I wrote a report once for school arguing that male Combee should be allowed to evolve into Beedrill. This was before I learned more about how Pokemon evolution works.
This new goal in mind, I packed up the remains of my picnic lunch and grabbed a couple Pokeballs from my bag. Releasing Shellos from her Pokeball, and holding onto a spare, I looked up into the branches to spot the largest concentration of Combee. I dug out my Pokedex as well, since I'd have to use it to identify a female once I upset the whole flock.
"Alright Shellos, when I tell you, use Water Gun. Got it?"
My Pokemon nodded, ready to move on my command. After picking out a gathering, I gave the order, and Shellos launched a small torrent of water up into the tree. Within seconds the Combee began to disperse, several taking to the sky away from the tree and a few coming down to our level to face us. I aimed my Pokedex at the group, moving quickly from one Combee to the next until I found a female. All the same the device took its time to voice the entry on the Pokemon.
"Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokemon. The trio is together from birth. It constantly gathers honey from flowers to please Vespiquen."
"Huh? Vespiquen?" I said aloud.
Sure enough, among the gathering of Combee another, much larger Pokemon emerged from the honey tree. It was a Vespiquen, its body far larger and expression clearly angered that I'd disturbed their afternoon. My hand moved to aim the Pokedex at her unconsciously.
"Vespiquen, the Beehive Pokemon. It releases various pheromones to make the grubs in its body do its bidding while fighting foes."
With a buzzing sound so low it made the air around us rumble, the Vespiquen seemed to issue an order to all the Combee in the area. Aside from the dozen or so that had descended from the tree to fight me, several dozen more began to fly out of the tree and towards Vespiquen. Even if I used all my Pokemon, chances were the sheer number of Combee under the direct command of their queen would overwhelm us. I slowly put away the Pokeball in my bag, and fished out Ponyta's next. Taking this as an act of aggression, the Vespiquen let out another low buzzing sound.
The swarm of Combee began to fly further into the sky, rearranging themselves into a column formation before charging down at me. I dove out of the way, grabbing Shellos in the process. I darted into the tall grass, using the cover to put Shellos back in her Pokeball and releasing Ponyta. The swarm only lost track of us for a moment, before descending again upon us. Without even thinking about it, I hopped onto Ponyta's back and my gallant Pokemon took off. As quickly as the Combee could fly or their Vespiquen could command them, they could not catch up to Ponyta, even when I was slowing her down.
After a short sprint, Ponyta slowed down and tried to shake me off. I jumped off her back before she could accomplish that.
"Sorry. I weigh too much for you, huh?" I asked. A small neigh was my answer, which I took as a yes.
"Guess I'll just have to wait until you evolve before you can carry me places." I smiled, giving her a pat on her head. "Thanks, though."
Ponyta neighed again, before rubbing her head against my chest. It was good to know I could rely on her in a pinch to get me out. What's more, I was lucky to have ended up closer to Celestic town after that little episode. Looking back the way we came, I could see the swarm of Combee, but they had given up chasing us. Though I was sad about not catching one, I told myself there'd be more chances in the future. I put Ponyta back in her Pokeball and continued on my way to Celestic Town.
There was a stillness in the air I couldn't quite describe. So far, any town I'd visited had been lively to some degree, even if it was the middle of the night. After all, people and trainers alike would constantly be coming and going places. But when I entered Celestic Town that afternoon, it was as if time had stopped in the valley.
Celestic Town was situated in the center of a small valley, just a short ways from Mt. Coronet's base and surrounded by dense forests. One of the many fun facts they teach you in school is how Celestic Town is the oldest location in Sinnoh, a national treasure of sorts. At first glance it was easy to tell; in the very center of town was a small shrine that looked older than anything I'd ever seen before. And near that a cave, with murals that looked like cavemen drew them centuries, maybe millennia ago. While my original plan had been to just spend the night and then press on, seeing the murals for myself convinced me that it would be worth listening to some lore from the locals before I left.
But all this came after I found the source of the stillness. Standing near the entrance to the cave in the center of town, gazing longingly at the murals on either side was a person I recognized immediately. Clad in the same silver and black garb I saw him in back at Verity Lake was the man called Cyrus, self-proclaimed leader of Team Galactic. And before I could even give it a second thought, I found myself standing next to him down in the center of town.
"Can I help you, child?" He asked without even glancing in my direction.
"You're Cyrus. We met at Verity Lake." I announced, preparing for a Pokemon match.
Cyrus stopped examining the mural and looked over at me. Or should I say, looked down at me, since he was considerably taller. Intimidating though it was, his response overshadowed that. "I don't recall."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm here to stop you!" I pulled out Gible's Pokeball, ready to kick his butt and call the police once I had.
"And what are you going to stop me from doing?" He asked, remaining perfectly calm.
I opened my mouth to speak, only to realize I didn't even know what his plan even was. The only thing I'd heard was the report Michael had brought up, and all it had said was a general warning for people to avoid Team Galactic in general. In fact, I don't think anyone had any idea what they were up to. The most I had come up with was a theory that they were after the legendary Pokemon Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit in order to enter the Distortion World to capture Giratina. But what his goal was with Giratina was still a complete mystery.
"From catching Giratina!"
I don't know why I revealed that. It was in my best interest to let him think I wasn't onto his plan, if Giratina was it. But once the words had escaped my lips, his calm expression turned dark for a moment. But just as quickly as it turned it warped back to his blank stare, followed by a fiendish smile.
"You're more clever than I thought. To think you would figure it out before Cynthia."
"Either way! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! You can't turn me away!" I released Gible, my Dragon Pokemon ready for action. Still Cyrus remained unfazed or even appeared remotely interested in my challenge.
"You don't seriously expect to beat me with that?" He said in an obvious mocking tone. Even Gible picked up on it, and looked more furious than usual.
"Big talk from someone who hasn't even picked a Pokemon yet! Come on!" I yelled.
Cyrus appeared to have no Pokeballs on his person. He had no bag of any kind, and even his strange gray suit didn't look to have pockets to hide critters in. As I pondered whether he was traveling without Pokemon of his own, a third voice cut into our discussion. It came from the entrance to the cave nearby, and one look at the person was all I needed to identify her. Clad in all black, her blond hair almost glowing in the sun; it was none other than Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion.
"Who are you?" She asked me, looking somewhat peeved.
"My name is Mia. I'm a Pokemon Trainer." I said, before pointing a finger at Cyrus. "I just challenged this guy to a battle!"
Cynthia looked at Cyrus, who returned the glance with a shrug of his shoulders. "The child is right. Should I battle her? Or will you let me proceed on my way?"
Confused by his statement, I turned back to Cynthia. She clearly looked conflicted by the choices, but didn't even give me another glance before answering, "You may go."
With that, Cyrus turned around and started off in the direction of Route 210.
"Wh-What?! Hey! I challenged you!" I called out to him.
"Silence!" Cynthia commanded, causing my heart to skip a beat. "The last thing I expected was a trainer to show up and interfere."
"I'm sorry...?" I said, lost on this whole matter. "But that man! Don't you know who he was?"
"Of course I know," she replied with a heavy sigh. "I was hoping to trade information with him. Until you came along."
Cynthia's glare was ice cold, and being on the receiving end of it was painful to say the least. I wanted to apologize, but since I had no clue what she was trying to accomplish, or even how badly I screwed things up for her, I chose to keep my mouth shut. I could have left the scene even, but found myself just standing there silently until she spoke again.
"What are you still doing here?" She asked me.
"I'm sorry. About all this. I didn't know-"
"You're right. You didn't." She snapped. "Are you registered with the League?"
I nodded.
"And how many badges do you have? Total, all regions."
"Two. From here."
Another heavy sigh. "Then I guess it's a good thing I stopped you."
"Huh?"
"That man is dangerous. A trainer of your skill wouldn't have stood a chance."
I lowered my head, looking at Gible standing close by. It's true I wasn't an expert by any means, but I had confidence in my skills. Still, I tried to see things from Cynthia's point of view. If she claimed Cyrus to be a dangerous opponent, maybe I wouldn't have stood a chance. In the heat of the moment I didn't stop to think that this guy, being the head of an entire group of crazy bad Pokemon Trainers was probably a pretty tough Trainer himself. All this partly sorted in my head, I put Gible back in his Pokeball, feeling a bit ashamed of the entire ordeal now.
"You asked me if I knew who he was. Do you?" Cynthia asked me.
"Yeah. His name is Cyrus, he's the leader of Team Galactic, isn't he?"
Cynthia nodded. "That's correct. But how do you know him?"
I gave Cynthia a quick recap of my first encounter with him at Verity Lake. To top it off, I even added the bit about his catching Mesprit at the lake, and the small bit of research I did back in Canalave City. After hearing my tale, Cynthia's expression went from annoyed to intrigued.
"Mia, correct?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Mia Caelum."
"And you're sure he caught the Pokemon at Verity Lake?"
I nodded one more time. "I went into the cave, but there wasn't anything there. I mean, if there was a rare Pokemon there, wouldn't it just show up? Unless it was hidden?"
As the words came out of my mouth, I realized how little I knew. It hadn't occurred to me that Mesprit had probably just been in hiding. A rare- even legendary Pokemon- wouldn't just be sitting in the middle of a featureless cave waiting to be caught by anyone. If that were the case, it would have been caught by someone decades, even centuries before.
But Cynthia didn't budge. From what I could tell, she also thought Cyrus and Team Galactic had caught Mesprit. It was plain as day on her face. That same face that turned to me after staring off in the direction Cyrus had left.
"Cyrus believes I don't know what he's after."
"You do, right? About the three Pokemon to open the gate to the Distortion World?"
Cynthia nodded. "I didn't need to wait for him to capture one of the Lake Guardians to figure it out. Dialga and Palkia are beyond his grasp. There's only one other Pokemon that he could try to catch."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," she snapped again, causing my entire body to go stiff.
"Sorry..."
"Because of you I lost my one opportunity to get information out of Cyrus. But I suppose laying the blame on you won't undo the damage. I'll have to find some other way to get it now."
"Umm..." Upon my attempt to get her attention, she turned to me again with that cold glare.
"What?"
"You're the region Champion, right? Why didn't you just stop him? You're the strongest trainer in all Sinnoh, aren't you?"
Her glare turned to a smirk. Which was somehow scarier than her glare.
"That means nothing when a friend's life is on the line."
It was vague, but not vague enough for anyone following the news. Cynthia was referring to Lance, the Kanto Champion that had been missing for months. Cyrus probably knew something about where he was, and Cynthia wanted to get that information in exchange for something. And I had screwed it up.
"Can I help?" I said without sharing what I had pieced together.
"You've done enough. You will speak of this to no one, understand? And you will avoid Team Galactic and especially Cyrus from now on. Disobey me, and I'll have your Trainer ID revoked. Or worse, Cyrus will get to you before I do."
I felt a chill run down my spine. With that, Cynthia left, not saying another word to me or even looking at me as she did.
When Cyrus had left, the stillness remained in Celestic Town. But when Cynthia left, life seemed to return to the world around me. Almost as if time had been stopped while she was in town. I even began to feel a breeze blow through the town. I looked in the direction Cynthia had gone, but she had long since vanished into the darkness of the evening.
Dialga and Palkia are beyond his grasp, she'd said. I felt my pulse quicken when a thought hit me. A thought I couldn't help but voice aloud:
"Did Cynthia catch Dialga and Palkia?"
