Chapter 24: Stella, the Metal Sculptor
June 20, year 59
Listra
Changing one's life was a hard thing to do; Polaris knew that well. But that was just centered on one person. There were times when it had to be done, though, and he knew he was better off for setting off in a new direction. Introducing change into a culture that hadn't really changed in a thousand years, he was getting a tough reception for that. This was going to affect thousands of people and some were already bitter towards him. As far as he knew, no decision had yet been made among the Spirit Clan about how to adapt to modern society. But they had to be talking about it.
For the two weeks that he had stayed in Listra, Polaris decided to work on just work on getting the people to accept him as a person, perhaps even as an immigrant now following their religion. He attended their church meetings, but as one of the listeners, not a leader yet. He had a lot of painting work to be completed, but he took breaks by going out and talking to Essen's neighbors. Sometimes he even did chores for them, not asking for anything in return. And he spoke with the Pokemon there too, by using Lethe as an interpreter.
He found out that the woman who made pots was Kelly Kaelen, and she was a follower of Santiperra, not Lunarium. It made sense as she was working with materials of the earth. Still, she was one of the first who accepted him as an acquaintance. Much of the other people around Listra worked with the grapes and olives, either in growing them or developing products from them. The ones who made the wines, olive oils, and other products were interested in being open with other cultures, if only because more direct business dealings would help them.
The church elders who had been advising Essen were not so keen to accept Polaris. A number of them were coming into the church for a meeting this afternoon, which he was attending. Over the morning, he had spent a length of time in prayer, trying to figure out what the Spirit Clan would want him to tell them. He had some ideas, but Polaris still wasn't sure of himself. So he sketched in one of his notebooks while they came in. It was of a Cricarsh and a person. But it was a man, not Irma.
When someone sat beside him, he glanced up and was surprised at who was there. "Blair?" he asked. He hadn't expected to see her today.
Neither had the others, apparently. "What are you doing here?" one of the other women asked sharply. "Your group left the council a long time ago."
She nodded. "We did leave," she replied, not letting the elder's tone get to her. "But I am the leader of the Sun Knights and our purpose has always been to protect the apprentice of the Sky Twins. I also called in the leader of the Moon Sages. Tristan should be here shortly."
Although glad for her support, Polaris noticed the tension this caused. He cleared this throat, then said, "It would be better if you did not immediately take offense to that. Master Desolaire wanted to get away from all the fighting caused by the division in the tribe; I have felt an echo of her grief over that. So please, don't dishonor her by finding arguments to continue. You… we should be working on a way to repair those divisions."
Some in attendance looked offended at that, but others did take that as a rebuke. So when an older man in a dark blue cloak came in, his nervousness was quietly ignored and a seat was brought forward for him.
Essen started the meeting off shortly after; they had decided to do this as he knew the elders better and knew more about how to run things. The first subjects were seemingly normal business. But then the controversial subjects had to be brought up. "We must discuss ways in which to accept new people into the Arkahna religion," Essen stated. "Starting with our new prophet, Polaris."
"You were doing just fine until he turned Zepharia against you," one of the elders said, glowering towards Polaris.
"He did nothing to affect the wind god's words," Essen replied. "He simply called him in to stop us from making a grave mistake. And I don't believe I would have done it if you hadn't encouraged me, Heinlen, you and others."
"Well the demon was never awoken from his seal," Polaris spoke up, although he'd been quiet most of the meeting so far. "So it's a past issue. Besides, I have not yet awakened Desolaire. I would like to join you, but I feel like I should hold off on taking the position of prophet fully until I can speak with her more. Essen and I have spoken quite often the past few days, so I feel that he can be trusted to stay on as your leader until I'm better prepared and informed."
"And so long as I follow the advice of the Spirit Clan. I know that the words passed on by my ancestors were twisted by a desire for power. The words which some of you still follow. If you persist in falling the false ways, you will be taken out of the position as an elder." Essen looked over the group gathered there, serious in his threat of demoting several of the members there.
Which was not taken well by Heinlen and those who agreed with him. "How can you trust the words of an outsider over that of your ancestors?" Heinlen challenged. "That is what has brought us through the dark times while the gods slept."
"Following those words may have kept them asleep," Blair stated.
"And I intend to speak with one of them myself in coming days," Essen added. "I have tried to reach them through prayer from here in Listra all my life. So had my father and my grandfather, but none of us ever heard a response. I will go to one of the shrines myself to get the answers I seek. That is what I should have done all along and I only realized it while I was speaking with and listening to Polaris. If we are to respect the gods, then we will come to them instead of waiting on them to come to us." He bowed his head. "I do not wish to mislead our people any longer, but you seem to want that."
When a harsh silence followed, the Moon Sage Tristan spoke up. "Excuse me, but what is the difficulty with awakening Desolaire? You went to the shrine, didn't you?"
The two of them nodded. "The shrine was empty," Essen stated. "There was no sign of her presence anywhere."
As the others gasped, Polaris opened his notebook back up to where he had kept his thumb. "I did see some things within the shrine, which have been echoed in my dreams. When faced with depression, it is hard to motivate oneself to do things. Apparently this extends even to the gods and goddesses of Pokemon. Desolaire was taken from her shrine by a thief, an Arkahn man who had apprenticed under a Cricarsh, maybe even the rest of the Pratter line. Here, I drew a picture of what I have seen. It was a long time ago, but do any of you know who this is?" He showed his sketch, to the group, then handed it over to one of the elders who reached out for it.
"I doubt any of our people would have the disrespect to kidnap the goddess of the sun," Heinlen said in disgust.
But the one who had taken it looked thoughtful. "What kind of hair does he have, the color of it? This is just a black sketch."
Closing his eyes to review the image, Polaris answered, "He had highlights of green, a medium tone. And he was extremely cocky. He felt, perhaps rightfully so, that he could get away with the kidnapping precisely because it was so audacious that everyone else felt it unthinkable."
When he looked back to the elder, he was nodding slowly. "Then, this would seem to be Taigen Denkrill. He was a man of no morals, one who stole for the thrill of it. He died over seventy years ago, but it's been only five years ago that his stolen goods have been located, near the city of Graystone."
"But that was found by an outsider, wasn't it?" another elder asked, sounding worried. "They didn't report finding anything like the goddess, but then again, that man hasn't released what all that he has found."
"Right, that property is now owned by David Jacobs and he's blocked all our efforts to search Taigen's goods and see if anything important to us is still there."
Polaris felt surprised. "David Jacobs, really? I've done some work for him."
"Could you talk with him then?" Blair asked.
"There's problems with that," he admitted. "My last dealing with them didn't end in their favor, so they're unlikely to listen." Namely, when he had gotten Picasso from Mrs. Jacobs and they had ended up paying the Smeargle's medical bills for having his ear cut off.
"We will have to try harder, if Taigen is the one who kidnapped Desolaire," Essen said.
Later that day, Polaris was with a group of people around his age, along with some teens. They were interested in his computer and the technology it had. "The elders said that we weren't supposed to use the technology of the outsiders," one of the teens said.
"I've been using things like this all my life," Polaris said, operating his computer to store the paintings he had made, then electronically transfer them to the framing shop in St. Rosaline. They already had his request to frame the works and mail them out to their recipients. "I could see how some people might see it as threatening. But I like it because I can keep in contact with people over a long distance. Like my girlfriend who lives in St. Rosaline. I might be traveling all over this region now, but I can talk with her or write every day."
"Like telepathy anyone could use?" one of the young men asked.
'It works over longer distances than telepathy does,' Lethe answered. 'I can still only speak with those in my line of sight or not that far. He can talk with someone over a week's journey away.'
They seemed more willing to listen to him, even though the technology aspect helped convince them to. But the sharing of ideas would become important.
He returned to Essen's home to find him packing. "Do you mean to go out to one of the Shrines, as you said?" Polaris asked.
Essen nodded. "Yes. The Shrine of Love is closest, but I think I'll find the Shrine of Skill and speak with Zepharia again. You said you were done with your commissions, right? What will you do now?"
Nodding about the commissions, Polaris said, "I'm going over to Graystone to help with convincing Mr. Jacobs to allow us to search Taigen's property. I need to be there anyways when permission is granted, to look for and speak with Desolaire."
"Do you have any insights as to how to convince him? Even if you don't get along with him, you have worked with him personally."
He had been considering that. "I think that it's important that we don't let him know that he possibly has a Pokemon goddess on his property. He's not one who respects Pokemon and doesn't believe in the immortal ones as gods. If he learned of her presence, he might try to claim her as a kind of trophy, as terrible as that is. That will make it even harder for us to do anything about him."
"That is something we may have to reeducate the rest of the world about," Essen said.
June 23
Graystone City
Graystone City lay in the northeastern mountains. The old Arkahn town had been destroyed in a rockslide in decades past. In its place, the outsiders to the region built a sturdy city of steel and concrete. It made no attempt to integrate into the culture. This city could have been plucked straight out of Kanto or Johto. Very modern, it promised progress without sacrificing nature, although the promise was shaky. There was greenery to be seen, but in neat contained areas like the City Park or cultured gardens. Technology was predominant.
As such, it was very much a modern city. It was laid out in an efficient grid pattern and filled with closely packed skyscrapers. Below ground, there was a subway system; above ground, there were crowded streets filled with pedestrians. But it was mostly foreign descent people, Polaris noticed. Sometimes he spotted one of the Arkahn, usually a young adult who had already broken from tradition to come into the modern world.
It was almost alien to the rest of the region, Polaris thought as he started down the streets towards a Pokecenter. One of Graystone's centers, actually, out of three. Looking around, he saw electronic boards advertising shops, broadcasting news, and giving numbers to real estate agents, in case one wanted to find an apartment here. Back in Listra, he had been the only one with a computer; they had electricity and a few phones. He was behind on technology here, as he saw people with newer and smaller computers (some like wristwatches), many talking on cell phone links, and others sitting aside to play video games on handheld consoles. He caught himself almost gawking once at an animated hologram display in a shop window. It had been so long since he had been in a place like this.
With him as usual was Picasso, who was doing his best to keep by him and not get lost in the crowd. Feeling a tug at his belt, he looked down to see that the Smeargle was trying to hold onto him now. So he took his paw. "It's supposed to be just another block over. But we'll have to get used to this, as we have business to manage here."
Picasso sighed at that.
As they stepped through the center's glass door, Polaris noticed how much cleaner the air in here smelled. That was a risk of living in a dense city, he thought. But then he heard, "Hey, Polaris!"
He looked over and saw a young man with spiked black hair with yellow tips. But not one of the native people. He smiled. "Oh, good afternoon, Diego. It's been a while since I've heard from you."
Diego chuckled and came over to shake his hand. "Right, it has. I've been out in the wildest parts of the region preparing for November. And you, you seem to have been all over the place. I saw that match of yours in the Poison Gym."
"Really?" he asked, puzzled. "I knew it was taped, but it hasn't been that long ago."
"It aired just this morning. It was pretty gutsy of you to go up against Irma at that stage. I had beaten her early." He chuckled, seeming a bit embarrassed to admit that. "Then are you here for the local Gym?"
He shook his head. "No, I've got some other business to take care of. Maybe after that."
Diego shrugged. "Sure, whenever you're ready. Oh here, take this." He handed over a flyer. "I know you aren't big on crowds, but something good might come out of this if you go. Give it some thought. Well, I'll be seeing you."
He smiled and waved as the teen left. "Right, see you later."
Wondering what Diego had in mind, Polaris read over the flyer. 'Trainers, fans, and all those who love Pokemon, come join us for the joint fifteenth year celebration of the TFC and the PFC branches of Jasper! There will be single Pokemon matches, party contests, door prizes, free refreshments, and much more. The party starts at 7 PM on the 23rd of June, at the Trainer Fan Club building. Bring this flyer for a special offer. We'd love to see you there!'
Polaris spent the afternoon with a lawyer who was working on the Arkahn case against Mr. Jacobs. Apparently, the businessman thought so little of their claims that he rarely attended the court hearings about it. His lawyers took care of things, mostly by finding excuses to delay and stall the proceedings. "If you could find some proof that Desolaire is there," the lawyer said, "then I can get assistance from the SPCP. And if we can get her out, that could be the break we need to reclaim other items that should be in the hands of the Arkahn people."
"All right, that makes sense," he said. The SPCP would offer a big help, as they were well known. They were also especially outspoken about keeping Pokemon as trophies and might stir up a loud fuss if they learned about this missing legendary.
"They do offer tours of the Taigen vaults." He pulled out a brochure and handed it over. "I can only know about what I can see. If you can sense her, that could help. We will have to get you tested for Psychic abilities so you can be legally certified, but that would be acceptable grounds for a police-assisted search."
"What do I need to do to get that certification?"
The lawyer picked up a phone. "I may be able to arrange a session. Do you have any plans for the next week?"
He shook his head. "Nothing in particular. I might have something to do tonight after seven, but if that's when I can be tested soonest, it wouldn't be a big loss."
As it turned out, the soonest slot he could get was actually as six. After leaving the lawyer, Polaris went to do some shopping, then eat dinner. He was getting extra income from his paintings now, but he still kept himself on a tight budget. It was a habit by now, after living as an artist so long. Then he headed over to the police headquarters.
It was a place that looked tightly secure. The doors were heavy metal ones with large locks. After signing in with a receptionist and filling out an initial form, he had to wait on an officer to escort him to the testing room. A male officer came for him and brought him up to the third floor and into a small room. There were mirrored glass panels on three walls. From the hazy texture of them, Polaris guessed that they were one-way windows. In the room, there was a table that had two tall sides coming off the surface, along with a divider between the two sides.
After a minute, a woman came in. "Good evening; thank you for coming in on time. I'm one of the psychic officers, Linda. And you're Polaris Starr, correct?"
He nodded and shook her hand. "Yes, that's me. Good to meet you Linda."
"Please sit down here." On his side, he noticed that they had given him several square scraps of blank paper and a sharp pencil. He picked up the pencil, thinking that he'd be more at ease if he could doodle a bit. "Have you had any formal psychic training in the past ten years?"
"Not in that time, no."
"How about when you were a child?"
"My father was an exorcist and ghost hunter, so I learned some from him. Not a lot though."
"All right. You say here that you have experienced some signs that could be a psychic ability. What in particular have you experienced?"
Polaris took one of the papers and started drawing something. He wasn't sure what, but he felt like it. "I can sense the presence of power, in particular very strong Pokemon. And I've seen images of the past. So far, it's been of particularly emotional moments of powerful individuals, including one legendary Pokemon."
"All right. That's a bit of empathy, then… although that's usually seen in women."
He blushed. "Well it's not limited to women, right?"
Linda chuckled. "Right, it's not. I'll make some additions to some sections, then. The initial portion of the abilities test takes close to an hour, depending on the individual. Just relax and don't worry about how the outcome will turn out. We will review this session here, then contact you in about two or three days with the results. We may require other tests to be performed before we can certify you. Do you have any particular preparations?"
"I don't think so," he said.
"All right, then let's begin."
At seven-thirty, he arrived in the downtown area to find the Trainer Fan Club. It took up the first floor of a three story building, making it the shortest one around. It was still a nice place, though, large and set up something like a coffeeshop. Over at the bar, there were indications that they usually sold drinks and some snacks, possibly a main income source for the club. Such things were free or reduced priced tonight. And on the far wall, there was a giant flat screen TV, which was currently showing a recording of some past Gym battles.
Polaris paused a moment to look down at Picasso. "You are going to behave yourself tonight, right? No marking on things that I don't allow you to."
"Tashe," Picasso said, nodded.
The immediate agreement surprised him some. But maybe he had learned his lesson when he escaped from Megan. They went inside to join the party.
Inside, quite the crowd had come out. It was mostly humans, with a few friendly Pokemon hanging close to their Trainers. There were even Pokemon cosplayers around, like a girl in a Stantler hat and a guy (probably) dressed like a Gallade. Music was playing by the drink bar, several were gathered near the TV, and others were playing board games at tables. Noisy and festive, this usually wasn't the kind of gathering he attended.
At the door, there was a young woman dressed in a blue apron with a Pachirisu on the top, along with a blue and white striped hat. "Hi, welcome to the party! You're not too late; did you bring your flyer?"
"Yeah, I did," he said, handing it over.
"Great, you can take two of the free raffle tickets instead of one then. We'll be revealing the door prizes from them later. Here you go." She offered up a gaudy sparkly top hat that had a few tickets left in it.
How many had they printed up? He could only wonder at that, and take two of the tickets. "Sure. Thanks."
"I hope you have a good time!"
It wasn't his idea of a good time, not fully. He didn't know many people there, although he recognized a handful as Trainers he had met and battled along the road. And Diego. The younger Trainer was spending much of his time chatting with other well-known League challengers, like the representatives of various Pokemon Academies. At a table with them, there were a few members of the two clubs who seemed to be filming for a webshow. Polaris watched them for a little bit, but didn't intend on getting involved.
They got him involved anyhow when Diego noticed him. He grinned and waved to him. "Oh hey there man. Come over here."
Wanting to be polite, Polaris came to the table. Just for a little bit, he told himself. "What is it?" he glanced to Picasso as the Smeargle put his front paws on the table and sniffed at a plate.
"These folks are the ones who run the Jasper League Fan Show, Amy, Dan, and Ichigo," he introduced, pointing out the three young adults at the table. "And I think you three might want to interview this guy. He's Polaris Starr, an artist from St. Rosaline who so far has managed to be an unknown contender for this year's Horizon Island Challenge."
"Oh really?" Amy said. "We don't get many unknowns."
"It's still up in the air," Polaris said, sitting down. He pulled another chair closer so that Picasso could sit by him.
"Maybe, but you're going through the gyms at a wild rate," Diego said. "He only started, what, last November, and you have six badges now, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, there's just the gym here and in Zeitgeist."
"What?" one of the Academy Trainers asked. "I've been at this for three years now."
"You also have school to attend, right?" he pointed out. "I'm traveling around anyhow, so it's easier for me to get badges along the way."
"Did you have to redo any of the Gyms?" Dan asked.
"The Grass Gym," he said. "I only had two Pokemon when I first challenged it, so that didn't work out. But I've gotten good Pokemon my trip; they're a big part of the reason why I'm doing so well. This guy won the first two badges all on his own." He patted Picasso's beret, causing him to make a soft laughing sound.
He went along with the interview, as the three webshow anchors seemed interested in it. And then it had to be brought back up. "Hey, there's something else I've been thinking about," Diego said, grinning in a worrisome way. "I said I'd challenge you when you got up to my level, back when I had five badges. So I'm calling you on it now."
"They're just allowing single Pokemon battles, though," Dan pointed out.
"That's fine," Diego replied. "They're letting the audience pick which Pokemon we'll be using. What do you say?"
Polaris shrugged. "Sure, why not? Although I'd think you're still ahead of me."
"We'll see."
Although they signed up for the match soon after the interview, their turn wasn't called up until half an hour later (even though it had been apparently bumped due to Diego's popularity). The audience would be watching downstairs, while they fought in an indoor arena on the second floor. Amy and Ichigo from the webshow followed them up, though, so they could film the match themselves. At a scanning station, Polaris registered his Pokemon so they were recognized as legal by League standards, and so that the audience downstairs could vote on which one of his they wanted to see. It turned out that they wanted to see Varia the Scyllamone against Kel the Selkyrie.
"Ah, the classic deep sea battle," Diego said in amusement. After taking up one of his Pokeballs, he said, "I'm ready."
Polaris took Varia's ball. "Me too."
"All right then," the female referee said, standing outside the battle ring. "This is a single Pokemon match for both sides, until one Pokemon is knocked out. No items, no breaks. And three… two… one… go!"
"Varia, you get to show off," Polaris said as he released his Pokemon.
The Scyllamone giggled as she appeared on the wooden floor, waving her pink anemone tentacles and waving over at the other side. But then Diego released a real monster of a Pokemon, one that dwarfed Varia. Being sent out on 'dry land', the Selkyrie stretched out like a sea serpent, with a red-tinged white seal tail attached to a seven foot long serpentine body and a tattered looking horse head. It screeched, shaking a red bony crest in intimidation. Varia just sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Seed it and wear it down," Polaris ordered.
On the other side, Diego said, "Curse and then attack strong."
While his strategy was depending on Varia's toughness, Diego went for an aggressive stance, ignoring the Leech Seed and the cut health from using Curse. Kel slithered over and bashed her head into Varia, then snatched her by the tentacles and threw her into a column. The Scyllamone did her best to stay alert, but the Selkyrie turned out to be just too strong. She and Diego won the match.
As they went downstairs, Diego tapped him. "Don't feel too bad. I've got Kel set up to take down opponents with tough defenses."
"It sure looks like that," he replied. Still, when they got back down, a lot of people wanted to talk to Diego, not him. Except for Picasso, who came over and hugged him. The loss of attention was okay by him.
But as he was considering leaving right then, Diego caught him again. "Oh hey, I was thinking: do you have a sponsor?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I hadn't considered that. I get by well enough with my paintings and battle earnings."
"Still, what happens after you get out of the League? My parents bugged me about it all the time, like if I would have a place to live or a job after that. Getting a sponsor is nice for that, as you can get a nice savings started up."
"That would be something parents would be worried about," he said, smiling some. But that was true. He still didn't have a permanent home and if some emergency came up, he might burn through what savings he did have.
"I can introduce you to somebody who's looking for someone to sponsor. That's part of why I thought to invite you. Come over here."
That would be a help, although he would have to consider what the Arkahns would think. He wouldn't want to go with someone who stood for beliefs countering theirs. "All right; thanks for thinking of me." He followed Diego through the crowded party.
At a table near the wall, he spotted none other than Mr. Jacobs. Even at this party, he seemed focused on business, with his laptop on the table and a file folder open nearby. Polaris considered just avoiding him, but it turned out that was who Diego was talking about. "Hey, Mr. Jacobs, I'm still sticking with my old sponsor, but I brought the guy I was talking about. This is Polaris Starr, and this is David Jacobs, the CEO of Ease-Z-Life Incorporated."
"We have met before, briefly," Polaris said, feeling his face get warm. Beside him, Picasso clung to his shirt, watching him warily.
"Yes, you painted our family portrait," Mr. Jacobs said, then looked to the one-eared Smeargle. "And you got him… well, that's the past, nothing to dwell on." He smiled and although it looked sincere, Polaris doubted that it was. "I have heard interesting things about you. Are you looking for a private sponsor? My company works mostly in plastics and chemicals, but we have plenty of excellent products for Pokemon Trainers."
"I've seen some," he replied. Inwardly, he was trying to figure out what to do. He didn't really want to ally with Mr. Jacobs. Even past how he was working against the Arkahna people, Polaris wouldn't forget the fuss he'd raised over Picasso last year.
But right now, he could use Mr. Jacobs' assistance, or at least approval. It could help if Desolaire was still in Taigen's collection. The businessman might listen, or he might not. But would it be worth it to humor him for a while? At least long enough to check things out.
It would be better than to ignore or argue with him, Polaris decided. Having only thought it through a second, he added, "I'm considering getting a sponsor. It'd be good to have more secure finances than I've had." That kind of thinking ought to appeal to him.
And Mr. Jacobs did nod in approval. "One must always be considering security and the future. How have you been doing in the League? Which badges do you have?"
"Good, I suppose," Polaris said. "I have six: Acrobat, Monolith, Zen, Ranch, Grace, and Thorn."
"In seven months," Diego teased him. "He's moving up the ranks fast for someone who never battled before starting. It'd only be more impressive if you had seven in so many months. There is the Steel Gym here, though."
"That would be quite the accomplishment," Mr. Jacobs said.
Polaris spoke with Mr. Jacobs and Diego for a while, but both he and Jacobs weren't ready to settle on an agreement yet. Maybe if he did pick up the badge here this week. He did want to stall for a bit, so that he could get the license from the police as a psychic informant. But he did get Mr. Jacob's business card. Not much, but it was a bit of progress.
After that, he stayed a while longer, mostly to wait on their raffle drawings. Neither of his tickets ended up as a winning number. But waiting did turn out to be a good decision. A woman in a navy blue pinstripe dress came over to him. "Excuse me sir, but is this your Smeargle?"
"Yes, this is Picasso," he said. "I brought him along because he's my friend. I'm Polaris."
"Koh?" the Smeargle asked, looking up from a coloring page he had gotten a hold of. He was using crayons to make a pink Phanphy. That kind of distraction usually kept him out of trouble.
"This lady wanted to meet you, I think," he said.
Picasso smiled and waved at her, then turned back to his coloring. That didn't last long, as she put her hand to his beret to look at him closer. Perhaps wondering if she had any snacks, the Smeargle leaned back and sniffed at her hand before letting her touch him.
"Yes; I'm Tonya, the local Chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club. I always like seeing unique Pokemon. What happened to his ear?"
"That happened just before he officially became mine," Polaris explained. "He was something of a trouble Pokemon, having been passed from Trainer to Trainer. He's actually doing quite well compared to before, better than what the Pokecenter psychologist thought he could do." He scratched Picasso's head, just below his fur beret. The Pokemon grabbed his hand and clasped it. "Still a bit melodramatic at times, but there's never a dull moment with him around."
She chuckled. "I see. He is a very happy Pokemon, and it's quite clear that he adores you. I always find that Pokemon do their best when they're with someone they love. Oh, here." Tracy opened her purse, then brought out a round gold bell ornament on an adjustable red necklace cord. "I make these myself; this is a Soothe Bell. It has a pretty sound that Pokemon like; it calms nervous ones and makes them easier to befriend. You may have this in honor of your friendship with Picasso. It will surely help you make many more Pokemon friends."
"Really? Thank you." Polaris took the accessory, causing it to chime easily. "I think most of mine are happy, but it could help later on."
"Right. And you're welcome to join the Pokemon Fan Club too. We're dedicated to spreading love and respect for Pokemon all over the world, no matter what kind it is. It makes everyone happier."
"That's true." And it gave him an idea. "Tracy, I'm just wondering… do you know of the Arkahna people? Their religion is based on respect of Pokemon. They're not too sure of outsiders; I'm still working on making friends with them. But, I think if they see that others respect Pokemon too, like you, then they would be more willing to open up to the rest of the world."
Tracy put her hand to her chin. "Really? I knew of them, but not a lot. It would be fitting, though, if Pokemon helped ease the tensions here."
He nodded. "Right. Although, I doubt you'll get many here in Graystone. Maybe if you started up a group in, um…" he thought over where he'd been and which place wouldn't seem too invasive. "Mayberry or in that area near the grasslands. That has a good mixed community, I remember."
"I see. I'll have to bring it up at the next meeting. Thanks for the idea; I think this could work out well."
"I hope it does."
June 26th, year 59
Polaris and Picasso entered the Graystone Gym again; for the past two days, he had an open challenge here in order to practice and train against the Gym Trainers. As such, he intentionally challenged the more experienced ones instead of just any, sometimes battling them a second time. A lot of it was for making himself of more interest to Mr. Jacobs as a potential sponsoree.
Once past the entrance, the Gym opened up to a large open room, like a tower. Reaching up seven stories, the roof could be seen through the enormous metal sculpture in the middle of the room. It was supported by a steel column in the middle and a web of steel supports reaching out to the walls. A maze of narrow passages wound itself all the way to the top. Every now and then, there were enormous spherical rooms for battle.
"It's all been very close quarters here," Polaris noted. "Most Steel Pokemon are large and every place for battle here is enclosed. It's clever, since you can't take a long-distance approach against them."
"Feh," Picasso said, then made a mock punch in the air.
"Yeah, you're all doing well so far. Well, we'd better not put this off too much longer. Let's get up there."
They entered the walkway maze. About three feet wide, it had white bars that obscured vision of the other paths. There were occasional colored marks that might relate to some code. The crossings were bewildering, not one of them a straight perpendicular cross. Sometimes, there were five openings to choose from. Other times, there were ladders or staircases. But despite attempts to confuse, Polaris could visualize what the structure looked like. He could see the fake safe paths that seemed to lead away but wound up right at the battle rooms. Although it took a lot of walking, he found a path that stayed away from the Gym Trainers.
At the top of the Tower, he met with the creator of this steel maze. Stella Sterling had long gray hair, but her face was that of a woman in her thirties. She wore a simple outfit of a silvery top, gray-blue jeans, and dark gray boots. And while her jewelry was simple too, she wore a lot of it: about a dozen bracelets on each arm, long spiral earrings, several necklace chains attached to a thick choker, and even a steel-colored hair band. She had taken her favorite type to heart.
She didn't even glance at her computer screen before smiling at him. "Oh, you are young Mr. Starr, right? The painter from St. Rosaline?"
"Yes I am, Ms. Sterling." He shook hands with her and returned the smile. "I'm glad to meet you; your sculptures are always so elegant and light."
"Yes, but your portraits and pictures of Pokemon are so lively, full of character. I had heard you were in the League now, although I didn't expect to meet with you so soon. And at such a high level too; you're rising quite quickly."
"I've got good Pokemon with me."
"We shall see about that. I might admire you as a fellow artist, but this is a time of battle." She went back to her stand, taking her team up. "I hope you're ready."
"We are," Polaris said, followed by a whistle from Picasso.
"Right then." She took a Pokeball and released her first Pokemon. "Skarmory, groundwork."
"Picasso, stay out," Polaris said, waving the Smeargle forward. "Attack with fire."
Dropping down to a battle ready posture, Picasso sketched the sign for fire in the air. On the other side, the large steel bird pulled a wing over its chest, then flung it aside grandly to toss dozens of small metal spikes on the metal floor. It seemed Stella participated in some Contests as well. As the Flamethrower went active, Picasso flicked some of the spikes out of his way.
"Keep at it," Polaris told Picasso. The shrine maidens might have been able to take this one down quicker, but he wanted the Smeargle to feel appreciated and acknowledged. Although it had been months ago, he hadn't forgotten why Picasso was missing his left ear.
It took two more Flamethrowers to take the Skarmory down, after which Picasso was breathing hard at taking two Steel Wings. Polaris recalled the Smeargle, but waited a second to see which Pokemon Stella would call out next. As it turned out to be a three-foot tall rabbit with flames covering its body, he reached for his Scyllamone. An off-type; she was trying to throw off expectations.
"Jacafrare, use your antlers," Stella ordered.
"Varia get rid of those spikes," Polaris said.
"Sheah," she replied, putting her hand to her blank face. As the Jacafrare made his antlers gain a metallic sheen and charged at her, she whipped her tentacles around to clear the area and hit him some. She giggled and took the chin of the attacking Pokemon.
The rabbit Pokemon's eyes melted into affection as he appeared to forget the battle. "Heff?"
"Jacafrare," Stella called firmly, trying to snap him out of the funk.
"Wash him away," Polaris said.
Oddly, Varia sighed and waved a hand, summoning a large wave of water from nowhere to strike and knock out the Jacafrare. Perhaps she was annoyed that he wouldn't let her use the field form of Surf. She then plucked out a spike that had remained on her body and tossed it away.
Next, Stella brought out a Bronzong. As the large steel bell floated off the floor, Polaris swapped out Varia for Lethe. A pair of attacks knocked the Bronzong out, although Lethe took a pretty good hit. Next, there was a Tutalip, a small tulip-like Steel Pokemon that flung a nasty storm of metal fragments at Lethe, but it got knocked out in one hit. Then there was a Mawile that had a nasty Crunch attack with its metal jaws. Once Lethe knocked it out, the Katisp looked quite worn.
Polaris went ahead and recalled her while Stella released her last Pokemon: a Lucario. He released his Garchomp. "Go all out," he told her. If she got knocked out, he was left with two exhausted Pokemon and three not-entirely-suitable ones.
Tesla nodded, then used an Earthquake to trip up the Lucario. It insisted on turning the battle into a brawl then. Tesla persevered and won that match.
"Wonderful job," Stella said as she handed him the reward box. "You have some lovely Pokemon and keep them well-groomed."
He smiled bashfully. "I figure it keeps everybody happy, that's all."
For winning the match, he got eight thousand dollars, the Statue Badge (shaped like a modern metal sculpture, of course), and an Iron Defense TM.
Jasper Region Pokedex
Key search: Selkyrie
Selken - Selkyrie
Type: Ghost/Water
Ability: Pressure
Description: Selkyrie has a seven-foot long bony seal-mermaid body and tail of rusty red. The white torso is skeletal and leathery, often said to be like a zombie, with four long bony arms and a bony fin along its spine. The spine fin is coral pink. Selkyrie's head resembles that of Huntail, except white and red. And a crest, with is made up of red bones with pale pink skin stretched between them.
Notes: Selkyrie is a rather disliked Pokemon, perhaps unjustly so. Many people are disturbed by its appearance and old superstitions say that they are messengers of doom and death. While it is true that they can seem cruel when wild, they can become a good and loyal Pokemon, like any other. Selkyries are fine out of the sea, but make sure that it drinks plenty of water. (A. Hollows)
Key search: Jacafrare
Frare - Frabbit - Jacafrare
Type: Fire/Normal
Ability: Flash Fire
Description: As a three-foot-tall rabbit, its vest fire coat has grown denser and is now bright yellow, while its paw and ear flames are yellowish green (in scientific terms, that means they're burning hotter than red/orange flames). Its fur coat, while still very short, is a bit more brown than orange. It has a pair of curving antelope horns in front of its leaned back ears, cream-tan at the base and moving to cream-orange at the tips.
Notes: Jacafrare is a highly versatile Pokemon, capable of learning a wide range of moves. It still prefers speed-oriented strategies, but if you've raised it from a Frare, it should be more open to focusing on other areas. If not, it can be a stubborn and willful traded Pokemon, not using moves that it does not like. At this stage, you shouldn't have to worry about accidental fires either. (S. Redbird)
Key search: Tutalip
Bultala - Tutalip (requires Dawn, Sun, or Bright Stone)
Type: Steel/Grass
Ability: Sturdy/Grip
Description: Tutalip looks like a cross between a tulip and a fancy stand lamp. Around a foot and a half tall, it has five black metal roots that act as feet, leading to a thick light gray body. Coming out from near the roots are five long leaves with a waxy-polished finish, although they are dark gray. These leaves come out and up, 'cupping' around the main body. Its light gray stem splits into three. While the central stem is taller, it bends over so that its flower points downward. Behind that flower, there is a thick ring that supports its black eyes. The dark blue flower petals disguise a mouth of sharp teeth. The other two stems have dark green flowers that stand upward like normal tulips. As with Bultal, Tutalip is made entirely of metal.
Notes: Tultalip makes for a good pet Pokemon for a child, an elderly person, or anyone who may have trouble with active Pokemon. It is highly resilient, looks unique, and doesn't require much care; simply giving it attention will make for a happy and loving Pokemon. But with some work, Tutalip can also be a reliable battle or show Pokemon. The only real restriction would be finding the stones required to evolve it from Bultal. Then again, the only difference in which stone is used is in what particular extra move Tutalip can learn upon evolving. (S. Sterling)
Jacafrare was once Fire/Steel, not Fire/Normal. But I thought the latter typing fit it better.
Also, this fic could be updated less often, every other week instead of weekly. There's kinks to work out still.