Chapter 84:

Watch your language

With Stark Mountain as our next stop, me and Barry decided to start heading north east this morning.

Route 226 was our location now though. It was comprised of rocky cliffs and a water portion. Rock Climb and Surf would be needed. I was a bit concerned that Barry didn't have Rock Climb. I knew he had Surf, but did any of his main friends have cliff scaling capabilities? Thankfully, he did.

"Go Rhydon!" Barry shouted, sending out the large grey Ground Type. I sent out Mamoswine and we started ragged cliffs.

At the top, we got a grand view of the Battle Zone. The Battle Frontier could be seen to the south. To the north west was Stark Mountain's smoky summit. And from the west, in the distance, we could see Mt. Coronet very faintly in the distance. Even from another island, its size amazed me.

We could also see the water section of Route 226. In the middle of the water was an island. On that island was a house which had a structure very similar to that of the Survival Area; white marble and flat roof.

"Maybe the residents knows a thing or two about Stark Mountain" I told Barry.

Barry nodded as we scaled the cliff down again to the water surface.


Before we knew it, we were on the waves again. Me on Empoleon and Barry on Floatzel. As we bobbed along the waves, I noticed Barry looked down again.

"Barry, what's wrong?"

"Oh, just a lot going on" he replied quickly. "No, wait. I'll tell you more when we reach that island."

We did that shortly afterward. We recalled our Pokémon and knocked on the door of the house. Both of us stepped back as the door slowly opened to reveal a Hiker in brown clothes with a backpack. It had stickers of different regions on it.

"Bonjour, Guten Tag, Konnichiwa and so forth!" he said merrily. "Me llamo Meister, or as they call me, Mr. Language!"

His jolly attitude was a lot to take in.

"My name is Lucas, and this is my friend Barry. We are…"

"Yes, Ich kenne!" he replied. "You're the Champion and you are the Tower Tycoon to be! Come in, viens!"


We entered the house, which also had a lot of knick knacks from around the world. From Kanto was a small model of the SS Anne. From Johto was a painting of the Brass Tower. From Hoenn was a Devon poster.

He also had a Pokémon. It was white, had sharp claws and was lounging on the couch.


Slakoth

287

Normal Type

Slacker Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

2'07" (0.8 m)

52.9 lbs (24 kg)

It spends nearly all its time in a day sprawled out. Just seeing it makes one drowsy.


"Bummelz, get out the way!" Meister said, as me and Barry snickered childishly. Meister took Slakoth with both his hands and laid it on the floor. "Sorry about that. So, tell me. What brings you here?"

"We're off to Stark Mountain" I mentioned. "For some training and one last adventure."

"Yeah…" Barry said, as his voiced seemed to fade. "One last adventure."

"As for me" Meister said. "I'm a language teacher. I'm fluent in 5 different tongues and love to share them with others. Which reminds me. My next students should be here right…"

There was a knock on the door. I opened it and 5 woman, all in kimonos and with black curled up hair, entered.

"Konnichiwa!" they all said in unison.

"We were wondering if you would have any foreign language books. We have two daughters on the way and they need to learn a certain language to become the new kimono girls of Ecruteak City."

Me and Barry decided to give them some time to speak. I needed to be straight with Barry; he needed to tell me what was up with him.


Outside, Barry looked into the crystal blue river.

"Lucas, be honest" Barry said. "Is this… really our last adventure?"

That was hard to say. Of course, being Tower Tycoon meant that he couldn't travel anymore. He clearly enjoyed our adventures.

"It's about the journey, not the destination" he said.

"But a destination has to come soon" I told him. "You've enjoyed this journey. It can't go on forever. Yes, you are right. It is about the journey. But those who didn't reach the destination either failed or gave up."

Barry got another good look at the Battle Tower over the trees. "Will I… ever be able to travel again? Dad's always tied up with running the Tower. I have a lot to think about."

All the kimono girls came out, carrying a book each.

"We're finished!" said the one to the far right. They all sent out Pelipper and prepared to use Fly.

"Have fun on your journeys" Barry told them sadly, as one by one they flew off into the distance.

"Well, if this is our last adventure, for a while at least, let's make it count!" I said.

A man from the east came using Surf on his Finneon to us onto the spot of land.

"Hey, yeah. Is this the language man? I had a Trade offer for him. This Finneon."

"That's him" I told him, and that he should follow up that we were leaving, to which he agreed.

"To Stark Mountain!" I told Barry. "This is our last adventure for now! One day, we'll get back to business!"