3

Cynthia's ship continued cutting through the violent current of the Rigurea River, now with a harpoon and a chain struck to its bow. Ash went to the front deck to look at it. That piercing piece of metal was a dire warning. Functionally speaking the harpoon didn't affect the ship at all; of course it would have to be fixed, but it was at least a cool battle scar for the time being. Nevertheless it made him afraid, and Ash thought the fear would overwhelm him to the point of no return if he didn't do anything. Many a time the fear of losing a match had motivated him to push himself and his team through their limits and ultimately come out victorious. But that was the good kind of fear, the inspiring kind. At the moment he was suffering from the bad kind of fear, the paralyzing one. He tried to psych himself up, there was much to be done, and many more dangers would be encountered. If he had to go through yet another dangerous adventure on uncharted territory, then he would finish it off as quickly as he could so as to avoid as many problems as possible. Right then Ash resolved to hurry up and get out of there; because, deep down, and perhaps this was the reason he was so afraid, none of that mattered to him, not really.

Ash was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the bifurcation up ahead. The river separated into two branches, the main one which was the largest and most violent one, and the small one through which the ship barely fit, which was the one they went through, with ease, thanks to the ship's powerful engine. Not long after leaving the main branch of the river the ship went into a large cave hidden within a rather dense part of the forest. The remaining light from the outside was soon left behind, but it never became dark inside the cave, as the rocky roof and walls were filled with many luminous spots of different colors, mostly pink and green. Cynthia explained to the amazed group that all of those spots were some sort of special fungus which grew on that region, and so there was plenty of light on the cave, and a rather beautiful sight at that. That branch of the river reached its end, and opened into a sort of lake where the water was still. Cynthia explained that that peaceful body of water was the perfect bay for her ships, some of which were anchored there; some were smaller, one or two were bigger; most of them had weapons installed on them.

After a soothing moment standing still on that subterranean water, Cynthia anchored the ship and the group continued their way through the cave on foot. Ash was able to take a closer look at the luminous mushrooms found all over the cave, which were smooth and springy to the touch and seemed to shine brighter for a few seconds after contact. The walk gave Ash a quiet moment in which to rest for a minute. He lagged behind his talkative friends, including Pikachu, and the momentary silence reminded him of that blissful time laying down under the tree back on Pallet Town. He couldn't help but wish to be back there again, but at the same time that nice, psychedelic walk was blissful enough on its own. Sadly for Ash they reached the exit rather quickly, and after coming out into the light once more they all found themselves on one side of a giant ravine. Right beneath them was what used to be yet another body of water, a confluence of streams which was no more, and in its demise had left a vast emptiness as well as a long fall into sharp rocks at the bottom. In front of them stood the other side, a giant rock wall that stretched to both sides as far as they could see, so not only was the ravine very deep, but very long as well.

The path ended in a firm cliff which protruded past the rock wall on their side, so everyone could see the giant rock on which they were standing, the one from their side which was just as large and imposing as the rock wall opposite to them. However it was hard for them to focus on admiring the scenery, and all they could really think right about then was that there was no road left to continue.

"Now what?" Paul said with an acutely obnoxious tone.

Instead of answering him, Cynthia took out a flashlight and directed it at the other side of the ravine, then she turned it on and off three times. Truthfully, Cynthia didn't like Paul very much, truthfully, he was easy to hate, and he knew it. In some weird way Paul enjoyed annoying other people, and during this adventure he was particularly angry, mostly because of the pokemon features that he had gained as a result of eating one of Oak and Serena's cakes, so his irritating nature was at its most strident stage.

So Cynthia was rather keen on shutting Paul up. She succeeded once her signal was received and from the other side was fired yet another harpoon, which struck right above the group, scaring all of them but Cynthia, who smiled knowingly. A second harpoon was then shot, and that one landed right below them. This time those harpoons were tied to regular rope, which was still very resistant; they had hit in such a calculated way that the two ropes ran exactly parallel to each other, one going right below the other, effectively granting them a safe, if a little demanding way to cross the ravine.

One by one the explorers tied themselves from the hip to the upper rope with some more rope and a harness that Cynthia proportioned for each of them. And then they started crossing the ravine, balancing their feet on the lower rope and holding very firmly on to the upper one with their hands, tending to always have one hand on the upper rope and both feet on the lower one, while also tending not to look below them, into the hazy crevasse. Cynthia waited until everyone else had crossed to do so herself, and from the rest Serena was the last one to get on the rope. She was very nervous and didn't want to do it. And what made things worse for her, was that Ash hadn't told her anything, hadn't given her a single word of encouragement like he used to do whenever they were together and she happened to feel scared or anxious. He seemed to have completely forgotten about her, and in that moment Ash looked like an empty shell of himself, even as he crossed the bridge without an issue. Luckily for Serena, Herdier Oak was there standing eagerly right in front of her, looking at her and waving his tail while doing so.

"You can do this Serena, I have faith in you," he said soberly, and his words were exactly what Serena needed. She put on a special backpack that she had taken with her on that trip. She put it on her chest instead of on her back and then placed Herdier Oak safely on it. Then she went for it. As she pushed forward, she focused on the rope so intensely that the rest of the world disappeared around her. She was basically suspended in the air, there was nothing below or above her, nothing to either side of her except that rope. Neither the future nor the past existed, just that rope, her arms and legs and Herdier Oak. That's all she cared for, all her eyes could look at, as such, she felt weirdly safe, and it was actually quite easy for her to cross as a result.

Serena landed safely on the other side of the ravine, she took a deep breath to relieve all of the stress and anxiety, Ash gave her a soft smile and thumbs up, and she remembered that she was crazy about him.

Aaron, bug-type specialist, member of the Sinnoh Elite 4 and therefore Cynthia's underling, and a loyal one at that, met them on the other side. He was the one who had proportioned the bridge for them to cross. Usually he was an upbeat and easygoing guy, but this time for some reason he seemed morose and rather serious, and so he didn't say much as they continued through another underground cave on their way to Meripa.

After getting out of the second cave they found themselves deep within the jungle once more. On that side there were plenty of luminous mushrooms like the ones found earlier, which also seemed to shine brighter when the guys touched them. Ash once more lagged behind, while the rest walked and talked full of energy and Cynthia advised them not to stray from the delineated path, as the ground was full of gravely poisonous plants. There was something special about that place, Ash could feel it. It seemed to be distinctly alive in a way he had never felt before, or perhaps, it was just that the silence he was experiencing allowed him to feel its life in a more sincere way. Regardless of what it was, just after a few seconds of contemplation Ash lost sight of his group, although he didn't feel lost, and he could still hear them near; besides the path was well delineated for him. As such, he didn't think it particularly urgent to run after them, so he continued his tranquil walk in silence.

As he went, with the faint trace of a smile on his face, Ash found a very big mushroom which gave off a brilliant red light. He stopped by and gave it a touch, making the mushroom shine brighter, revealing a small, shadowy figure standing on top of it. Ash's eyes were instantly directed at the shadow, he was quite startled. Beforehand he was so deep in thought, and so calm, and so distracted, that the sudden shock pretty much disconnected him from everything around him for a few seconds, and then, he was able to see the person standing on top of the mushroom clearly. It was definitely a person, and that person was half his height, and it must be added that Ash wasn't tall by any means. Whoever it was, this short person was wearing a large conical hat, from which fell a very dense net that covered its whole head, so the face wasn't visible at all. The dense net was colored white with a hint of yellow, and reached its chest at the front, and its shoulders on the sides. This person covered the rest of its body in deep greenish mossy drapes, but on his abdomen, right where its belly button should be, there was a hard-looking green hide, like a shell that should've been on the back of a pokemon instead. And that type of rugged texture also covered its hands which were also of a deep green. Whoever it was, was holding a stick which was a little bit taller than the shadowy figure itself on its right hand; the stick ended in sort of a crooked spiral and seemed to be made out of the branch of a tree.

"Do you really think you can solve anything?" the figure suddenly spoke, with a deep, gravelly voice that sounded like a gritty whisper, which felt jarring coming out of that small body. "There is nothing you can do, all of your efforts are futile while you are asleep."

Ash didn't know what to say, he couldn't think of how to react. He was so out of it, and yet he knew better than to make a rash decision, so he remained silent and confused.

"Your eyes are closed, Ash," the shadowy man on top of the mushroom said.

"Who are you?" Ash finally asked, desperate for an answer. "And who told you my name?"

"If you wish to wake up, if you wish to know the truth, you need to die."

"Why are you saying this to me?"

"Keep vigil," the shadowy man said. And then the mushroom lost its light. Ash hurried to touch it again and the brilliant red light returned but the small man wasn't there anymore. Frustrated, deeply confused and suddenly hungry for answers, Ash meant to go into the shadows, but right as he was about to dive in all by himself he was called by both Pikachu and Cynthia, and then he was found, and scolded for even trying to take a step outside of the path.

"I told you Ash, most of the plants here will harm you!" Cynthia said as a reprimand.

"There was someone here," Ash replied.

"That's impossible, we scout the surroundings constantly. Besides, it's very difficult for anyone else to reach Meripa on their own."

"But there was someone, a strange little man wearing a net over his face."

"Well, regardless, it's not a good idea to look for him like that. If he really is there, walking around like that, he's not very smart and won't get far. I'll tell my people to look for him later. Now come along and don't lag behind."

Ash looked back at the mushroom right when it lost some of its light, then he gave up and went back to the group unceremoniously. However, he couldn't stop thinking about the man and what he had said.

Next on their trip the group encountered a very tall wall that was invaded by vines, with flowers of many different colors which had grown from the ground all the way to the top. That wall was actually a very old relic from Meripa, and there was a time when it genuinely served as protection, but now, as it was one of the last remnants that still stood, and as the rest around it had fallen, it didn't serve as anything other than scenery.

"We're finally here," Cynthia said.

"Great," May said. "So how do we go in? Is there like a secret door or something?"

"No," Cynthia replied. "We simply go around it. Think of this as a big decoration. We don't really need defenses past this point. It is remarkably difficult to get all the way here, and practically impossible now with us controlling the place."

After getting past the wall they stumbled upon a much, much smaller river, barely a creek, which they were able to cross on foot with ease. Nevertheless that creek was quite important, because simply by going from one side to the other allowed them to finally catch sight of Meripa in all of its splendor. The small city looked like a green fortress, the walls of which were made of tall hedges, like those of a grass labyrinth but much taller and irregular. And the towers on the four corners were instead four giant trees, all of them centuries old, which covered the whole place in shade with their leafy tops. Inside, the city was divided in layers delineated by tall hedges laid in circles, from the outer layer in the periphery, to the innermost nucleus where there was a giant tree, the tallest one of them all. Many tall trees were also dispersed around all the layers, giving the city a very intimate atmosphere with all of the resultant shade. As Cynthia took them into the nucleus of the city the guys caught a very delicious scent in the air, which made them take notice of their empty stomachs and even made Paul's roar.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of food here," Cynthia said, "though you may have guessed that already. We're almost there anyway."

On their way, the guys encountered many growlithe and electrike roaming around in circles through every layer, either on their own or walking along with some jolly folks, citizens of Sicaum (that region), who nodded with a shy smile on their faces, without saying anything. Both people and pokemon paced around the streets very diligently. The guys found no other species of pokemon around until they reached the innermost layer at the center of the city, where many lotad appeared walking in a line, all of them carrying water on top of them.

"Did you bring all of these pokemon with you?" Misty asked.

"No. None of them," Cynthia replied. "All of the pokemon you have encountered so far were the actual occupants of this city when we found it, believe it or not. Pokemon need order too. We all need order. And they are very smart, they sensed our intentions from the get go. They realized we could help each other, there was no need for us to storm in and battle them and so we didn't have to take Meripa by force. Not that we would've anyway. Once we established ourselves here, and the pokemon realized we didn't want to cause trouble, they allowed the people from nearby villages to come so we could all protect each other. It's a beautiful testament of our shared wisdom, understanding and, honestly, our well-meaning nature. It's easy to forget that when all the power-hungry champions come to wreck havoc in search of the Golden City, and beat down on anyone who gets in their way. The people and pokemon of Sicaum are the ones paying the price. That's why this nonsense needs to stop."

"Where is Steven Stone?" May asked.

"I have no idea. That man comes and goes whenever he pleases. But don't worry about him. Let's go and see what Bertha's making."

Cynthia took everyone to a small open space near the tallest tree in the middle of the city. There was a large cauldron placed over a very much alive open fire. The cauldron was full and its contents were already boiling; it was clearly the source of the alluring scent. The plentiful dish inside was being overseen by Bertha, another member of the Sinnoh Elite 4 and Cynthia's underling. Even though Bertha was Cynthia's senior, by a rather wide margin, the difference in power was still clear. And even if that hadn't been the case—if Bertha had been stronger than her champion—she still would've chosen to serve under Cynthia, as she judged the Sinnoh Champion to be a natural leader as well as a righteous person whom Bertha clearly respected. Furthermore, Bertha knew her strengths, and was aware of where she'd be the most useful.

"Welcome everyone, dinner is ready," she said warmly.

"Dinner?" Ash replied.

"Yes, it may not be noticeable here, with all of the sequestering trees covering us from the sun, but it's getting late already. It seems the day has passed by without you noticing."

"I guess so."

"You seem awfully tired Ash, why don't you sit down? I'll serve you in a minute."

"You remember me?"

"Of course, we met back in Sinnoh a few years ago, while you were participating in the local league. Why wouldn't I remember you?" Bertha asked him with a playful tone.

"No, I'm just saying, you're a very busy person. I'm sure a lot of people come up to you and ask you to have a match with them, as I'm sure I most likely did," Ash replied with palpable embarrassment.

"Of course, that's why. It's not because you think I'm a forgetful old woman."

"No way."

"I see. Well, enough of that, as I said sit down, all of you."

No one else dared to say anything, they went to sit on the many trunk stools that were neatly arranged in a circle around the cauldron. Bertha then began to serve her delicious soup. For this she used the diligent lotad which utilized the flat surfaces on their backs to take the plates and spoons to everyone gathered, one by one. And they all began to eat, openly delighting with the exquisite flavor. As they were eating, Bertha also went around putting blankets over each of them, and for this everyone was very thankful and a bit embarrassed.

"It gets very cold at night," Bertha said, "you need to cover yourselves children."

"Thank you so much for the hospitality," May said. "I'm not sure if we count as children anymore though. I don't think this is a place for children."

"On the contrary," Bertha said, "we're all children here."

Aaron arrived looking sort of gloomy and morose and grabbed his plate. Bertha tried to put her hand on his shoulder but he shied away without looking at her. She then said his name, softly, but he didn't reply and promptly walked off alone.

"Is he okay?" Misty asked.

And then there was silence. Bertha looked at Cynthia, who sat down on the stool next to Ash and Pikachu and said nothing. It was obvious she intended to remain silent. So Bertha spoke.

"It's a sad moment for us," she said. "A few weeks ago Lucian (yet another Elite 4 member from Sinnoh) was captured by Lance while we were on an expedition. Aaron thinks we should go and save him. Of course that's what we wish to do, but, Lance's forces greatly exceed ours. Saving him just isn't possible right now."

Somewhere nearby there was a grunt. It had come from Flint, who was resting his back on a tree, with his hands on his pockets, his eyes closed, his vividly red hair puffy and alive. He was the remaining member of the Sinnoh Elite 4.

"Flint, come here and eat please," Bertha said to him.

"I'm not hungry," Flint replied adamantly.

"You need to eat," Bertha pressed. "What use are you to us weak and malnourished?"

A silent moment passed, it was a bit tense. But that last sentence from Bertha was enough to make Flint go sit on a stool, and then a lotad went and gave him a plate.

"So where is Lance anyway?" Paul asked.

"He has complete control over the city of Uquegai, which is north of the Equfune River," Bertha Said. "Uquegai is the biggest and most important city of the region of Sicaum. He and his so-called Dragon Clan had no trouble seizing it. Obviously they are after the Golden City, for whatever excuse they choose to go with, but in reality they just want riches and power. Everyone can see it. The Ghilera river, which runs right above Uquegai, is the most dangerous river of the region. It is said that The Golden City is located somewhere north of that awful river. Of course we don't know for sure, but everyone thinks so because it's the only place left to search, because of how dangerous it is to reach up there."

"I'm sure we'll have no trouble crossing it," May said with a rather light tone.

"That's the spirit," Flint replied, sarcastically.

"Lance has a whole army on his side, and even he hasn't tried it," Cynthia added.

"But we have something that no one else has," May continued, "a team, a real team. Just today we were able to defeat four Elite 4 trainers. Do you know why we were able to do that? It's because we worked like a team. They were on the same team, sure, but they didn't even speak with one another, they didn't work as a cohesive unit, and so we came out victorious."

"What you say is true, and it is very important," Bertha said. "But you got to Sicaum just today. It's better not to rush into anything with that kind of optimism if you want to last in one piece for more than a day, especially if you don't have any experience with the land."

"Also, if you're looking for Professor Copal, you won't find him anywhere near Uquegai," Cynthia said. "At least as far as I know, it was Wallace, and Diantha, who had gotten a hold of him. And they are in Cataeus, located southwest from here. Remember, Meripa is East, and is separated from Cataeus, which is West, by the Rigurea River. Both Cataeus and Meripa are separated from Uquegai by the Equfune River, located North from here. And Uquegai is separated from the zone where the Golden City is supposed to be by the Ghilera River. Basically, if you want to search for Professor Copal, you have to start by heading south. If you want to search for the Golden City, you have to start by heading north."

"Oh, I see," May said, a little bit disheartened. "But, didn't you say that Wallace and Diantha are after the Golden City too? If that's the case, then they are planning to head to the Ghilera River too."

"That's right. They are most certainly planning to do that. And as Copal is the premier regional investigator, they will most likely use him as a guide. And yet, Cataeus is so far your safest choice if you want to find him. Needless to say, I can't accompany you to either of those places."

"Why not?" Paul asked.

"It's a distraction that I don't need. Both The Dragon Clan and The Pacifists are ready for war. And then there are the natives, and by that I don't mean people. I'm talking about pokemon. Everyone is dangerous. We are by far the least numerous faction, and right now one of my men is currently captured. I'm sorry, you'll have to search for the professor on your own."

"…I'll accompany you," Flint said out of nowhere.

"We need you here," Bertha added quickly with a very earnest tone, which had lost some of her earlier warmth.

"I won't stop you," Cynthia said. Bertha looked at her somberly, but Cynthia ignored her and continued. "But you can't take anyone else with you, and you'll have to come back in less than four days. Perhaps you being so eager to go with them isn't that bad. I was the one who asked Ash to come here after all, so I am at least partially responsible for what happens to all of you here."

"Sounds good to me," Flint said in a cool way. "You clearly need me. You have less than a day here and you can't wait to venture out by yourselves. It doesn't matter how tight your team is, you'll get destroyed. Even with me your chances of survival aren't comforting. But let's focus on the most important issue right now, where the hell are you heading, North or South?"

After a brief silent pause, and plenty of inquisitive stares into each other's eyes, they all looked at Ash.

"I don't know," he said softly. "The region is big and dangerous, the professor could be anywhere and it'll be hard for us to travel. I don't know if there is a way to solve this, maybe we should just leave, and try to find another way to revert the people back to normal."

"That's not what Ash would say," Serena said. Suddenly she seemed deeply offended. "You heard me, the Ash I know wouldn't say that. He'd be very encouraging, he'd want to go out there exploring every corner of this land right now, in the middle of the night. He'd want to go searching both North and South."

"Yeah, well I said what I said, and the Ash you know, is me. And as far as I'm aware you only know one Ash. Regardless of what I say I'm still Ash, and I don't think it's a very good idea to go out there. We'd only put ourselves in danger, there's no point to it."

Serena gasped, she wanted to cry. Everyone else was equally astonished but they were more quiet about it. Meanwhile Paul had a wide smile on his hairy face. And Pikachu was the angriest of them all, the rage overwhelmed him all of the sudden. He got in front of his trainer, raised his little fist, and started shouting at Ash.

"Oh, you too?" Ash exclaimed louder. "Guess what, the world will still be out there even if you don't go out. You can't eat the world Pikachu. You can't do it. It doesn't matter how hard you try, there will always be something left, something you missed. You can try to see it all, you can take pictures of all the places you've ever been, you can treasure them, keep them close to yourself, if you want. But then, a blink later and all of those places look nothing like your pictures, they are completely different places all of the sudden, and your pictures then fade away. So why keep pictures? And memory fades too, so the only thing that matters is the present. Sure, maybe. It's important to be present, to make connections with those you care about, everlasting bonds. Except they aren't everlasting, not by a second, but nevertheless those fleeting bonds are important, I know they are. But then again, a blink later, and what is left? Please, somebody tell me what is left. After all those battles, all those victories, all those trophies that will slowly lose their shine and waste away, what is left? You know, maybe I really am asleep. Maybe I do need to…"

Ash became aware of his surroundings once more. He slowly lifted his gaze and met the eyes of everyone there, one by one. They were all staring at him with a worried expression on their faces, even Paul, who hated him.

"Um, he he. I'm sorry. Hey, it's obvious that we should go south. I mean Cynthia said it herself, and she's been here for far longer than us, I mean we've only been here a day or so. We should listen to her. Seriously, if we head north we wouldn't even know where to start, I mean who knows if the Golden City even exists, my guess is no. That said, if May wants to search for the Golden City, why shouldn't she do it? It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like she said, and honestly, why shouldn't she do what she really wants to do? Although, then that would go against what she said about us being a team. At the same time I don't think it contradicts what she said, because we would be with each other in spirit, even if we separate and pursue different goals, that's the true power of friendship, it transcends all distances, even if it doesn't last forever."

"It's okay Ash, um," May said with an awkward smile on her face. "You're right, Cataeus is our safest choice. We can search for the Golden City later."

"I think we should forget about the Golden City altogether," Dawn said earnestly. "Some of us didn't come here for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Some of us came because we needed to."

"Yes, but the important thing is that we are a team, and that we understand each other," Misty said.

"You're right," Dawn said. "I'm sorry May, I'm just tired, it's been a strange day."

"Of course, I understand," May replied. "After dinner we should get some good sleep. Tomorrow we head to Cataeus, right Ash?"

"What's that?" Ash was distracted, he barely reacted. "Um, yes, yes of course. Tomorrow…"