Author's Note: Does this seem early for a happiness-evolution? I had a Budew on a recent play-through of Platinum, and he'd evolved by the time I fought Gardenia, so I think it's okay… Anyway, this is a lighter, "for fun" chapter, and several important people show up here.
Chapter Eleven: Vs Burmy!
"Sunlight… finally," Percy sighed.
Stretching, she ducked under the branches of Eterna Forest's last few trees. While a bit blinding at first, the sunlight was quite a relief, as were the breeze and fresh air. Percy shuddered, remembering how much of a contrast "normal" air was to the atmosphere of the Old Chateau.
After a moment's pause, an idea occurred to her, and Percy released Max from his Heal Ball again. The Budew looked around this new segment of Route 205, looking just as relieved as Percy felt. Another small stream ran through the area, and a few trees peppered the otherwise grassy landscape; Max probably appreciated the more calming atmosphere.
"Feeling better?" Percy grinned.
Max nodded, and he quickly followed Percy as she started walking. After the pair crossed the bridge over the stream, Max suddenly had a curious look on his face. He then darted towards a tree a few feet away from them, and Percy frowned as she darted after him.
"Hey, what's up, Max?"
The tree had the same bright yellow-orange leaves as the trees in Floaroma Meadow did, she noted idly. There was an oddly sweet smell in the air, and Max was eagerly waddling up to the tree's trunk. He proceeded to lick the bark, causing Percy to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
Squinting, Percy leaned a bit closer, noting several sticky patches on the bark. She touched it hesitantly and then examined her fingers. Honey, she realized; while Percy hadn't thought Max was such a fan of sweet things, he probably still thought the treat was nice.
Max waddled over to another spot of honey, and when he leaned forward to eat it, he accidentally stumbled and crashed into the tree. He squeaked in surprise as a few of the lower branches rattled. Suddenly, a Burmy was dangling down over him, looking startled.
Percy stepped backwards, raising her other eyebrow as she followed Burmy's cocoon with her eyes. He was hanging right off one of the lower branches that Max had just rattled, yet she hadn't noticed him at all earlier… Sighing, Percy started to turn around and just walk away, but then stopped when Burmy dropped all the way down and crashed into Max.
"Max, use Stun—"
Percy cut herself off when she realized Max was already launching a Stun Spore out of his buds. Burmy tensed as the spores spread over him, allowing Max to hop away from him. He then looked back at Percy eagerly.
"You want to fight him? Okay, use Mega Drain, then!"
Max nodded as a bright green glow began to surround both him and Burmy. After a few moments, Burmy started to droop, and Max was perking up even more than he had been.
Burmy struggled to move forward, likely trying to use Tackle. However, he was moving too slowly, and Max easily managed to get out of the way. It likely wouldn't take too much to defeat him, Percy mused.
"Growth and Mega Drain should do it," she called.
Max's buds swelled, and he was surrounded by another green light. Burmy drooped further, and then finally collapsed to the ground after several seconds.
Percy grinned, reaching for Max's Heal Ball. She paused, though, upon realizing Max was still glowing; it was a different kind of glow than the one from Mega Drain… His buds started sharpening into spikes as roses suddenly bloomed at his sides. His silhouette grew slightly taller, and when the light faded, Percy was standing in front of a Roselia.
"Ro?" Max queried, looking fascinated as he experimentally moved his new arms.
"Great, Max!" Percy's grin widened as she dug through her bag. "Just hang on a sec…"
She pulled out one of the Potions she'd gotten at the Valley Windworks. As she walked over to Burmy, Max continued stretching, and he twirled around excitedly. Burmy had a weak, somewhat confused expression on his face as she knelt down next to him.
"Here," she offered.
The Bug-Type slowly drank the liquid, and he perked up quickly. He gave her a thankful look as he shot back up into the tree, and Percy quickly put the empty bottle into her bag as she watched him. Turning back towards Max, she grabbed his Heal Ball and walked towards him.
"All right, let's take a break, Max, shall we?"
Max nodded, apparently through testing his new limbs already, and he grinned as Percy withdrew him. As she reattached the Heal Ball to her belt, Percy squinted at the path ahead of her. She could make out a whitewashed fence in the distance, perhaps marking the edge of the route; she recalled Cheryl saying Eterna wasn't too much further…
With that in mind, Percy started jogging, and she reached the end of the dirt trail within a few minutes. Sure enough, a paved sidewalk sprung up in front of her, along with a skyline full of old-fashioned buildings.
Fortunately, Percy quickly noticed Eterna City's Pokémon Center, thanks to its trademark bright red roof. The lobby was surprisingly full, and the line at the nurse's counter was fairly long. Percy couldn't help grumbling a bit as she wove through the large groups; why were so many people there?
After handing all three of her Pokéballs to one of the Center's staff, Percy tried to find an open chair. She managed to snag one near a bookshelf and grabbed a magazine to read as she waited. The door opened a few moments later, and Percy idly looked up from the article she'd been reading.
"Well, that was a bit disappointing," a girl grumbled as she walked in, and the boy beside her nodded sympathetically.
"You were close," he offered. "I bet you could beat Gardenia with just a little more training."
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll go check out those statues later to go cheer myself up."
"Oh, right! You were saying something about those earlier…"
Percy mused over the conversation as she watched the trainer hand her Pokéballs over to the nurse. She had heard that Eterna City was known for some old relics… Maybe she'd go check them out after she got her Pokémon back.
Frowning, Percy absently turned a few pages — the article was yet another Johto-based one, this time featuring a gushing review for the dance hall in Ecruteak City. The statues sounded far more interesting, though at least she had something to look forward to…
Percy wove through the sidewalks, heading towards the northern side of the city. Fortunately, the statues were large enough that she could see them from a distance, and they weren't too far from the Pokémon Center.
The statues were set on a large hill that had dirt steps carved into it, giving the area an almost altar-like feel. They sat on a pair of pedestals which came up to Percy's shoulders; this resulted in the statues themselves towering over her.
There was already someone standing there, she noticed. A man was staring up at the statues, looking almost bored, and his pale blue hair looked oddly familiar… Percy thought for a moment before recognition kicked in. She strode up to him and put a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention.
"Hey, we met by Lake Verity, didn't we?"
The man stiffened, shrugged her hand off his shoulder, and turned to look at her. Percy winced, almost regretting saying anything; his eyes were just as creepy as they'd been last time. After a brief pause, the man nodded and then looked back up the statues.
"We did. What do you know about these Pokémon?"
Percy raised an eyebrow. It seemed like an abrupt question, but she humored him anyway.
"That one is Dialga," she said, pointing towards the one on the left, "and the other is Palkia. Apparently, the two of them are supposed to be able to control time and space, but that's only mentioned in really old myths and such."
"They aren't labeled."
Frowning, Percy looked down at the statues' pedestals. Not only were there no engravings, but she also noticed that there were a few screws lying around the ground… It was almost like there had been some kind of plaques at some point, but they'd been recently removed. Furthermore, the man was staring at her now; his eyes were as blank as ever, but she assumed he was curious as to how she knew about Dialga and Palkia.
"And?" Percy shrugged. "I used to go to that old library in Canalave City a lot when I was little. They've got some storybooks in the kid's section that talk about myths and legends, and some of them have pictures of Dialga and Palkia."
For a few moments, the two of them looked back up at the statues in silence. Dialga's statue in particular seemed to be leering down ominously at them, but Percy shook her head. Statues couldn't do anything ominously; maybe she was just still a bit nervous from the Old Chateau.
"It doesn't anger you that the plaques have been removed?"
Percy frowned for a moment before answering. It was actually fairly hard to tell that he was asking her questions at all; his voice barely changed inflection as he spoke. Soon, she shrugged again, though.
"Why should it? I already know what the statues are," Percy replied bluntly. "I mean, maybe it would if I hadn't heard of Dialga and Palkia before, but… There's no point in getting angry if I don't even know why the labels are gone."
"You're very… fascinating."
The man turned to look at her again, and although there was a slight shift in his voice this time, his face remained bizarrely blank. It was hard to tell if that had been a compliment anyway, given its vagueness… And frankly, the man was starting to get a bit unnerving.
"And you're very odd," Percy answered. "What are you even talking about?"
In lieu of an answer, he merely looked up at the statues, gave Percy another unreadable expression, and started walking away. She stared after him for a moment, baffled with the whole encounter. Eventually, she shook her head; perhaps it would be best if she just forgot about it.
Perhaps looking for the gym would make her feel better. Percy grinned and strode away from the statues herself, starting to cheer up already.
"Percy?"
After a pause, Percy stepped backwards and turned around, raising an eyebrow as she heard a familiar voice. She'd been wandering around Eterna City for who-knew-how-long, looking for the gym, and the distraction was a bit welcome.
After a few seconds, her eyes landed on Roark. The Gym Leader was standing in front of a particularly rustic-looking building, and he waved somewhat awkwardly as Percy walked over to him.
"What brings you here?" Percy queried.
"Oh, uh… You know about the Underground, right?"
"The… Underground?" Percy repeated.
It sounded vaguely familiar, like something Leo might have brought up in one of his various ramblings — some totally "safe" activity he'd heard about and just needed to try. Percy couldn't think of anything beyond that, and she shook her head after a moment.
"What does that have to do with Eterna City, anyway?" she added.
"My great-uncle is one of the people who helped build it, and he lives here," Roark explained. "I was just visiting him for a new kit. You should try it out some time… They've been building new entrances all over the place lately."
"Huh. That sounds… interesting, I guess," Percy replied idly. "I've been looking around for the gym, though, so… Do you know where it is?"
"Is this a friend of yours, Roark?"
Before the redhead could answer Percy, a tall, blond woman was suddenly walking towards them. She brushed a piece of her hair to the side as she gave Percy a look over.
"Oh, hi, Cynthia." Roark scratched the back of his neck nervously. "This is Percy. She got a badge from me a few days ago…"
Percy raised an eyebrow again. What did Roark have to be so nervous about?
"So, she's got a bit of potential as a trainer, you think?" Cynthia asked. "I was just on my way to visit those old statues, but I'm glad I ran into you if you're introducing me to someone special!"
"R-right, you've been looking into a lot of old legends lately, haven't you?"
Cynthia nodded in response to Roark's question before turning to Percy. The girl herself was a bit confused; was the fact that she had one badge really all that special? To be honest, Percy had gotten a bit distracted and started fiddling with her Pokédex during the conversation. Surprisingly, Cynthia's eyes lit up upon seeing the device.
"Oh, you must be one of those kids Professor Rowan was telling me about!"
"Professor Rowan has been talking about us?" Percy said flatly. "He's been saying good things, I hope…"
Cynthia laughed. "Don't worry, he certainly hasn't told me anything bad. Anyway, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to get going!"
She waved to the pair of them before walking away. After a few seconds of silence, Percy turned to Roark, wearing a perplexed expression.
"She's a bit… eccentric, isn't she?"
"You could say that…" Roark looked away for a moment before pulling something out of one of his numerous pockets. "Oh! Here's my old Underground Kit if you want it."
He handed her a small wooden box that was surprisingly heavy for its size. After Percy put it in her bag, Roark continued speaking.
"I'll explain more if I ever run into you down there, but that's got some tools you'll need for digging. Oh, and to get to the gym, you'll want to take two left turns up that way and then go straight…"
Percy nodded. "Thanks. I'll be going, then."
"S-see you around!"
Percy waved over her shoulder as she took Roark's directions. Despite the day having been rather odd, things were definitely starting to look up…
Author's Note x2: If I have any readers who are fans of the Ace Attorney series, you might appreciate Max's nickname a bit more now that he has roses for hands. Just throwing that out there.
Also, Cyrus is spectacularly difficult to write. It's very tempting to make him a ham of massive proportions like he is in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! Instead, I tried to go for an Uncanny Valley effect, though I find this is more difficult in text than it is in visuals.
