Chapter 33: Poketalk in Reversal Mountain

June 27

Lentimas

There really wasn't any place to spend the night in Lentimas. Last night, they had managed to get rooms with various residents in exchange for their stories of why they were here and what they'd been doing. N hadn't felt much like talking, but between Hilbert, Rosa, and Nate, the group had satisfied the town's curiosity and earned some places to stay. But tonight, it would be better to be move on somewhere else, in camping or flying back to other towns.

"What're you thinking about this morning, N?" Hilbert asked, after they met up in the street.

He rubbed his head. "It's more like what I've been thinking all night. At first, I was worried about hearing that Hilda was in a whole different world, the one that the other N I met came from. But then I realized, it could be a lot worse than that. She felt confident enough in her plans that she sent Nate back the first way they found. I think she'll come back when she's done, then tease us for being worried."

"That does sound like what she'd do," Hilbert said.

N nodded. "So we should focus on finding Kyurem now, as well as the people claiming to be Team Plasma. Finding one should lead to the other. Are there any clues about where they're hiding?"

"We came across one spot, in the tunnels connected to Castelia's sewers," Rosa said.

"I don't think that will help much, unless they're deeper in the side tunnels," Nate said. "They've been traveling around in small groups, it seems, meeting up in out of the way spots like those sewers. And Hugh suspected they had another meeting spot on the northeastern coast. Where their main base is hasn't been discovered."

"I also thought about checking with a weather research group," N said. "Kyurem tends to make places he's at cooler than normal, right? Well we can discount Lacunosa. it would be obvious if he was there; Hilda showed me pictures of the frost that crops up there when he's around, even on warm days. So like how they can track Tornadus and Thundurus by unusual storm activity, they might be able to pick out odd patterns of cold temperatures to figure out where he is."

"It's more pronounced when he's a dragon, but that might help," Reshiram said. In contrast, Zekrom hadn't really spoken since they found Kyurem's broken mask.

"Well, we wanted to go looking for Cresselia," Rosa said. "It's probably not connected, but when we went back to the house yesterday, we found Darkrai and got him to lift his half of the curse."

"There's that, but we should also look into talking to Professor Juniper and her father," Nate said. "They'd know more about that Splicer from Plasma's notes."

"The Splicer?" Reshiram asked, immediately concerned. Zekrom even looked up to stare at Nate for mentioning that. "What about it?"

Prepared for that reaction, Nate brought out a slip of paper and handed it to Reshiram. "This was in the basement library of that house, marking a story about the Splicer's creation. It seems that Plasma knows it exists and the Junipers know where it might be." Then he gave an explanation for N and Hilbert, that this artifact could forcibly fuse either of the dragons here with Kyurem. "I thought we could pass through Reversal Mountain to Undella, and take the subway there to Nuvema. If they haven't made any moves to capture either of these two yet, we might have time."

"Yeah, and we haven't met Professor Juniper yet, even though we're helping her with Pokedex research when we have time," Rosa said.

"We might have time, but we'll have to be careful," Reshiram said. "The four of us can look into the weather and tracking down Kyurem. I have a feeling it would do the three of you better to follow that plan to get to Nuvema."

"Are you sure you don't want to go find the Splicer?" N asked. "It sounds like a dangerous artifact to not know where it is."

Reshiram nodded. "We'll call attention to it if we go looking, while it will seem reasonable for us to be searching for our brother. I have a good idea of where it is, or rather, who would have it. He'll need to be warned, yes, but I have confidence in him."

They all agreed to the plans, so the two groups split up once again.

Bard ran through the grasses ahead of everyone else. It made an extra rustling going through this dry grass and the Dewott knew how to make the most noise. If Rosa needed him, he'd be able to get back quick. He stopped when he came to the split in the road. The south path led to that weird house, while the north path led into a cave. Either way, he felt there could be fun waiting. Either spookiness or unknown adventure. He looked back at the group "Hey, where're we going?" he called.

Rosa pointed north. "That way, Bard! Don't get too far ahead."

Standing up on his hind legs, he called back,"Yay, can you understand us again?"

Apparently not, as she went back to talking with Curtis and Nate. Bard ran to the cave entrance, making sure to kick a large pebble into the bushes to make even more noise. He stopped right at the division between inside and outside to peek around inside. There was a short path before it headed off to the right. Further in, he could hear voices talking. He waited for the others to catch up.

"Aw, why do you keep running ahead today?" Medusa said. The Frillish waved a tentacle at him. "You're not playing with us."

"I'm being a scout today!" Bard said. "I'm seeing what's ahead."

"You're being rather too noisy to be a proper scout," River said. "But if it amuses you, go for it."

Bard smiled; it used to be that she wouldn't add the later part to her criticisms. But she was getting nicer. "Of course!" he said. "I'll find something interesting!" Then he rushed into the tunnel to scout it out. Past the turn, he came across a small chamber where a familiar young woman was talking with a Samurott. They were here, of all places? Bard rushed towards them. "Mom! I found you!"

Suzy accepted his hug with a bump on his head. "Hello, yes you did. You were going by Bard now, right?"

"Right!"

Bianca giggled. "Oh, is that you, Bard? What are you doing here on your own?"

"Bianca?" Rosa called. "Hey, didn't expect to find you here."

"Ah, that's why he's here," Bianca said with a smile. "I could say the same for the two of you. Seems a little early for you to be around this place."

"We're doing several things around here," Nate said. He then introduced Bianca and Curtis to each other, then gave a review of what had happened recently.

The Pokemon listened as well. "Yeah, we've seen lots of awesome things," Bard said. "And I'm going to be an awesome singer, cause I'm going to listen to Curtis here and imitate him."

"That sounds like a good plan," Suzy said.

"Wow, you two have gotten into excitement," Bianca said to Nate's story. "But yeah, I think Hilda's going to be okay. It's good to know where she is, at least."

"Then what are you doing here?" Nate asked.

"I'm doing some research on my own." She turned and pointed to the entrance to the next part of the caverns. "Reversal Mountain is an odd place. Sometimes it's full of lava, and other times it's damp and full of water. I found out when I read some old books. While they weren't sure what made it do so, I think it might be due to a legendary Pokemon. I've been here for a few days gathering evidence. It was cold and swampy when I arrived, stayed that way to yesterday, but this morning it became full of lava. If I wait enough time, it should cool back off, but I believe I can find the source of it all now."

"That's quite a change for that short of a time," Curtis said.

Bianca nodded. "Yes, if it's true. It's just my theory right now. So, you're all heading to Undella? The path through here will take you there, but the Pokemon in here are really strong and there's multiple paths with dead ends. Would you like me to show you the right path through?"

"It might be a good place to train, but it would help to get to Nuvema quickly," Nate said. "Thanks."

"No problem... oh!" She snapped her fingers. "You were planning on taking the subway? Well there isn't a stop in Nuvema. You'll need to take the train to Accumula. It's a short walk south from there. Come on."

"Hey." Someone nudged Bard and he turned to see another Samurott there, one he didn't recognize. "Hey, is this what you're going to look like? Be big and strong!"

"I don't think so," Bard said, starting off after the teens. "I like running and being fast! It's got to be hard to walk on land like that, isn't it mom?"

"Yes, but you'd become much much faster in the water," Suzy said. And despite Bard's thought, she kept up with them easily.

"And it'd be hard to dance," Bard added. "I'd have to focus on singing."

"But this fellow seems to be rather fast," she said, causing the other Samurott to laugh.

"That's because he's not a Samurott," River said. "What are you doing here?"

On being revealed, the Samurott turned into a Zorua. He wagged his tail enthusiastically "Haha, I followed you guys! It was tough cause you flew off with the dragons, but I'm real clever. You're on an adventure, and I wanna come too!"

"Who are you again?" Bard asked, not sure if he'd met this Pokemon before or not.

"It's Felix, the Zorua who was with the people in Driftviel," River explained. "I thought you were supposed to be guarding them."

He nodded. "I was, but that was cause I was the most capable Pokemon there for a long time. It's true! But as the others have made a good recovery, they're able to guard everyone instead. So I'm off to find my fortune once again. Hah, last time I did, I traveled all the way across White Forest all on my own, and ended up at Dragonspiral Tower where I met my father! I can't wait to see what happens this time!"

As he was excitedly yipping by this point, he got the attention of the humans there. "Hey, is that the Zorua that was in Driftviel?" Curtis asked. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"It's me, it's me!" Felix said. He flipped his head around and somehow, a small Pokeball appeared in his mouth. He tossed it at Nate, who caught it at full size. "I came prepared!"

Nate looked at it, then nodded. "Yes, this is him. You really are an adventurous one, Felix."

"But I'm cute, and that makes up for any trouble, right?" the Zorua asked, head cocked.

"Good grief," River muttered, not too happy with that.

"Well you can travel with us for a little while, until I can transfer you back to Rood," Nate said, taking out a tissue to wipe off the ball before placing it in the last slot of his Pokeball holder.

"I'm gonna convince you otherwise before then," Felix said in confidence.

They were inside of a large cavern. Bright flows of glowing lava ran along the sides of the halls, making the air hot, dry, and stinky. Not wanting to touch the hot ground with his feet, Grim flew close to the group, in particular Ruby and Spectra. "I'm sure you could survive a dip in those lava streams," Spectra said. "But it would give them such a delightful fright, a break in tedium of all this walking."

"I'm not going to scare Nate, or his friends," Ruby said.

The Spiritomb made a face. "But scaring and being scared are the best. You feel your life force pulsing so strongly, then the smiles when the joke is realized. It's how you really know you're alive."

She shrugged. "Maybe to you. I feel my lifeforce best when in battle or playing games with the team, if you mean by when your heart beats strong and you feel really happy. Since I don't want to risk making a friend mad at me for scaring them, I won't do go jumping in the lava."

"Bah, does no one want to play a good prank?" Spectra asked in annoyance. She looked up at him. "What about you, Grim? You have the name of a reaper." She giggled.

"I know," Grim said. "My first Trainer named me that because he wanted me to be big and scary. Then he found out that I was a Ducklett. I don't remember anything about him other than that."

"I don't like Trainers like that," Patience said quietly, having slipped around to Ruby's side (with the Pignite between her and Spectra).

"Can't say if I like him or not, cause I hardly knew him," Grim said. "Rosa doesn't mind if I wander off a little ways, so I like her."

"Well that gives you a good chance to spook someone," Spectra said, her mind working at another plan. "You can fly off, they won't immediately notice, then go right up behind them and yell 'Booga booga!'. I used to do that to Curtis, but then he started expecting it."

"You can't fly," Grim pointed out.

"I can poke through walls, so that's about the same effect," she said. "So? Go scare 'em!"

"I don't want to do that."

When Spectra groaned melodramatically, some of the others laughed. "What do you want to do, Grim?" Ruby asked, smiling. "Maybe not just now, but overall. I'm curious."

"Haven't really thought of it," the Ducklett said. "You've stuck with your original Trainer, so maybe you don't know how it is: just drifting through life, spending time in the Pokeball's dreamworld and battling so much that it doesn't really mean anything anymore. Although, there was that one thing Rosa told me."

"What thing?" Patience asked, twisting her ear his way.

He slowed a bit as the group was pausing; Bianca was telling them of a tunnel that led downward where some special Pokemon lived. Ignoring that conversation in favor of talking with the other Pokemon, Grim explained, "She told me about some of her dreams the other morning, about running on top of the water and jumping around in rocky waterfalls. That sounds like fun. I started thinking, you know, I'm not in the water as much as I was when I was still wild. I end up flying more often than not, but it's kinda awkward with these wings. After hearing of her dreams, I started wondering how it was to move in the air and water equally well. It'd be great fun to soar into the sky like I can dive into the water. So, I'm gonna work on my flying; that's my dream now."

"That's a good goal," Ruby said, nodding in approval.

"I think it's kinda weak," Spectra said. "Don't you evolve? That's probably all you need."

Grim didn't mind. "I'm a simple 'mon; doesn't take much to make me happy." He noticed that Patience nearly said something, but didn't. "What do you want to evolve into, Patience?"

"Huh, me?" she asked, startled. "Um... I'm not sure. There's lots of ways I could evolve."

"You should die and be a ghost like me!" Spectra said, then giggled.

The Eevee lowered her ears. "I don't think so. But, um... my first Trainer said that I was fine as an Eevee, but if a sign came up, then I'd know what I was going to be. I don't know if I've seen the sign yet, though. I'm not sure what I'm looking for in it."

"Like it'd be written in human language somewhere on a board what you'd turn into?" Grim asked, puzzled. "That's amazing."

"It's not a board sign. It's just... a sign that I'll know when I see it. At least, I should know it."

"You guys are so boring," Spectra said, rolling her eyes. "The only Pokemon I know that's more boring is Lorax, because he sleeps all the time."

"I don't think it's boring to have small dreams," Ruby said. "A small dream can mean a lot to the Pokemon that holds it."

"That's how I feel about mine," Grim said.

"Hey Grim, Chuchu!" Rosa called. "It's our turn to battle!"

Grim put on a quick burst of speed to get in front of Rosa. "Right here."

The Chinchou joined him in battling a Darmanitan and a Boldore, which wasn't that hard. They were certainly getting interrupted a lot, but the four humans were taking turns with their teams to battle the wild Pokemon. Maybe they'd even mix the teams up again, like when Nate sometimes borrowed Pokemon from Rosa or Curtis for a single battle to help out. Although, they might not work as smoothly with Bianca's Pokemon, who they hardly knew. Grim was getting to know his teammates and traveling companions well.

It wasn't time for him to evolve yet. He hadn't had a sign, like Patience had put it. However, it seemed the time was right for Chuchu to evolve, as she grew into being a Lanturn after that battle.

Chuchu was excited. Here, she got to swim in the air alongside her favorite person, be with lots of Pokemon friends, put out fires and never run out of them (although she could only make the lava hiss), and now she was a Lanturn! She had waited for years for Rosa to come back, having faith that she would come looking. After all, even though she had let Chuchu go, she had been sad to do so. And that faith had paid off; she'd never have to be lonely again.

That didn't mean her worries were over. There were still things that didn't seem right, or might go wrong. But she was back with Rosa, so she could help keep her safe if things went wrong. Although, one of the things she worried about now was about Rosa, and really hard to decide on. Was it good or bad?

Nearby, she noticed that Nate's Golett Signet had a passenger: Cathy the Petlil was riding on his shoulder, bopping her top leaves about. Chuchu swam over to them. "I hope you're not troubling him," she said.

"Oh, no no, he offered to carry me," the Petlil said, grinning.

"I was starting to smell her leaves," Signet said.

Cathy nodded. "Yeah, the floor is sooooo hot that I might've turned into ahses! I tried to avoid the lava, but even the middle of the paths is hot hot red hot."

"You could have just gone back to your Pokeball," Chuchu said.

"No way! Why would I want to miss out on walking with everybody? And I can fight too! Didja see me earlier? I smacked that big ol' rock around, whack!"

"As long as you don't try to fight the fire," Signet said.

Chuchu made her antennae sparkle. "Yeah, leave them to me! I'll put 'em out."

"Okay, you do that." Cathy started bopping again. "So, so, you're really lucky! You get to be one of Rosa's Pokemon! I wish I could've gone with her. Nate's cool, and smart, but I liked Rosa the moment I saw her. She saved my life! I hope I can repay her someday. But she gets all nervous around me. I don't know why. I'm nice, I really am! I wanna dance with her."

"She's always been scared of Grass Pokemon, at least as long as I've known her," Chuchu said. "When she was little, she cried if one surprised her. She's trying to be nice to you, but she's still nervous."

"I won't hurt her. And, you knew her a long time? That's great! Did you know that she was Keldeo? That was amazing! I thought I'd never see a legendary Pokemon, much less one that looks like a human, but now I've seen three! I heard Kyurem passed by my home area, but I never came across him."

"I didn't know she was Keldeo before," Chuchu said, having to interrupt or Cathy would have kept talking. "But I did feel like there was something different about her even early on. She just felt closer to me than to humans, although I couldn't really explain to myself why. Now, I think it's because she has the power of Water and we can feel it even though she doesn't use it."

"Yeah. I wonder if she can use it. She can use the power of Fighting with her sword. How can we make her use the power of Water? Maybe you all should take her out swimming in the ocean! And see if she can still run on it!"

"That would be an interesting sight," Signet said.

Cathy nodded and started talking again, her ideas rambling as if she spoke every new thought. At least Signet doesn't seem to mind listening to her, Chuchu thought. Talking wasn't much good if no one listened.

At the other end of the winding paths, they left the mountain and ended up at a construction site. Behind a fence, a group of workers were putting together a new building. The road at their feet was half-finished, waiting for paving. There was a cool mist in the air, smelling lightly of ocean salt; the ocean itself could be heard faintly over the equipment running. "Well here you are in Undella," Bianca said. "I'll keep an eye out for those new Plasma people, although I really can't think of any like you described. But my research and what I help the professor with take me all over the wilderness, so we might see something most wouldn't."

"Be careful then," Rosa said.

She nodded. "You too." They thanked her again and said goodbye as Bianca headed back into the mountain caves.

After walking around the construction site, they came right to the famed sandy beaches of Undella. Many people were there: swimming, sunbathing, playing with frisbees, battling. To the south, there were many wooded cliffs, hard to see with the mist hanging around. Most of Undella's buildings seemed to be to the north, a cluster of wealthy homes and businesses. The ocean lay to the east, coming in gentle waves. And out in the misty distance, there was a familiar shadow.

Rosa noted it immediately. "Hey, isn't that the cool old ship out there? I wonder what it's doing here."

"I wonder what it's doing period," Nate said. "It seems too big for a fishing vessel, but not the right size or shape for shipping. Maybe if it was a tourist thing, but it's obviously private as they don't seem to let anyone on or off.

Curtis shrugged. "I can't see it well, but it sounds like it could be someone's hobby to me. I know a number of upper class families who love boating. Although, not with an antique-styled sailing ship."

"A frigate," Rosa said. "And it is kinda weird. I still hope I can go on it some time." She turned to Curtis. "I guess you've been here a lot, huh? Got any place cool we can visit?"

He rubbed his head nervously. "Well... there are plenty of places that'd be fun to visit. But, I don't think we should hang around long. I'm not sure about it, but last I knew, my parents were here. I don't want to run into them yet."

"Oh yeah, we can't do that," she said.

"Let me call Professor Juniper and let her know we'll be by then," Nate said, flipping open his Xtransceiver. "We might be able to find a place to stay the night in Nuvema."

A bit about the regular Pokemon characters. I try to involve them more, but this story has been tricky to work them in at points.