Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, the wait is finally over! A new chapter of Reflecting Balance is finally ready!

After the reveal at the end of the previous chapter, I'm sure you're all curious about what will happen next? Well, let's find out!

This chapter also features the appearance of characters introduced in Sirena's special episode.

I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any thoughts!


Chapter 61: I think I know what's going on.


Stella and Bow watched the night sky as it got later into the night, seeking guidance from the stars about the future. After a while, Stella suddenly sensed something nearby.

"Ah, they're here," Stella said, looking over at Bow. "I'll go greet our guests; you can keep watching the stars."

"Mm-hm," Bow responded, absent-mindedly nodding her head.

Stella got up and headed down to the first floor. She walked over to the front door and looked outside, to see Samara and Malefica at the entrance.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," Samara said, smiling at Stella.

"Don't worry about it," Stella responded, shaking her head. "Come on in."

The two ghost-type Pokémon floated into the house, with Malefica quickly heading for the second floor.

"Is Bow up there?" Samara asked.

"Yes," Stella replied, nodding her head. "She should still be watching the stars."

"I hope Malefica does not disturb her," Samara said, sighing. "She can be a difficult one, at times."

Samara floated upstairs to check on her apprentice, and to her surprise found that the Misdreavus was just patiently floating next to Bow, watching her with a curious expression.

"You see anything yet?" Malefica whispered to Bow.

"Hmm…" Bow responded, still keeping her gaze fixed on the stars.

"I guess Malefica has taken a liking to her," Stella commented, looking at the two.

"Yes, it seems that way," Samara responded.

"How nice," Stella said, smiling. "It's probably fine to leave them be for now. Shall we begin our strategy meeting?"

"Sure," Samara responded, nodding her head. "Also, I've made the arrangements to ensure that Erebos does not return again once we've sealed him away once more."

"Oh, is that so?" Stella replied.

"Yes," Samara responded, taking out the magic box. "Once we've captured Erebos, I only need to bring this to him."

"I see," Stella replied, examining the box. "I can feel the power emanating from it. You've done a great job."

"Thank you," Samara responded, putting the box away. "It took a while, but I was finally able to complete it."

"Hmm… Thinking about what's to come, I almost feel a little excited," Stella said, chuckling a little.

"Well, we are faced with a rare challenge," Samara responded, smirking. "Everyone is counting on us, so we'd better come up with a good plan."

Stella and Samara began their discussion of what to do, while Bow continued watching the stars with Malefica by her side.


Chiaki was lying in his bed, trying to get to sleep. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't get the conversation he'd had with Elina earlier that night out of his mind.

"The last Axis Tower crystal… it's you."

Elina had finally told Chiaki the truth of who, or rather, what he was. Part of him found it difficult to believe, but he didn't think Elina was lying. She seemed so serious about it.

"Maybe… it was a misunderstanding?" Chiaki thought to himself. "She was being chased by Erebos, so maybe she misremembered what she saw because of the stressful situation…"

As Chiaki continued to think about it, he gradually realized that it was unlikely that Elina had made a mistake. Looking back on everything that had happened since meeting Blitz and Sera, Chiaki realized that some of the things he had experienced made sense if he really was the Axis Tower crystal.

"Back in Nightmirror Forest…" Chiaki thought. "What was it that the illusion of me said again?"

Chiaki couldn't remember the entire conversation at the moment, but he did manage to recall a few words that had stood out to him.

"Deep down, you know that there's somewhere else you should be, don't you?"

"Part of you already knows the truth, but doesn't want to accept it!"

Chiaki opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

"The truth… is that what they meant?" Chiaki thought to himself, sighing. "Although, the one who made the illusion couldn't have known that, since I didn't know the truth at that point…"

Chiaki sighed.

"Still, for them to be able to figure that much out, maybe a part of me really did know all this time…" Chiaki thought.

Chiaki remembered the time they retrieved the first Axis Tower crystal from Harmony Forest, and that strange feeling he got when he touched it. Did the Axis Tower crystals recognize each other, somehow? And then there was that dream he had after he got knocked out during the mission on Mt. Frostbite, in which he saw the crystal that had been frozen, and got the feeling it was calling out to him…

"It must be true…" Chiaki thought to himself. "I'm… an Axis Tower crystal…"

Chiaki glanced over at Blitz, who was asleep.

"How do I explain this to the others?" Chiaki thought, closing his eyes.

When Chiaki had returned home after his conversation with Elina, Blitz had been curious about what they had been talking about. Chiaki had managed to avoid the question by saying he'd tell everyone about it later, but he wasn't sure how to tell them. Telling them he was one of the Axis Tower crystals that had accidentally been transformed into a Pokémon… how would they even react to that?

"Hmm… I'll figure it out tomorrow…" Chiaki thought, trying to clear his mind once more so he could get some sleep.


Chiaki wasn't entirely sure when he had finally fallen asleep. When he woke up the next day, he found that Blitz was already awake.

"Oh, you're awake," Blitz said, looking over at Chiaki. "Good morning."

"Good morning…" Chiaki responded, yawning. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure," Blitz replied, shaking his head. "When I last checked the position of the sun, it seemed like it was getting close to noon…"

"Huh? Why didn't you wake me up earlier, then?" Chiaki asked, looking surprised.

"I tried, but you seemed kind of tired," Blitz responded. "So, I decided to wait for you."

"Oh… Thanks," Chiaki replied, blinking a few times.

"So… Should we head out, then?" Blitz suggested. "The others are probably waiting for us."

"Yeah… Let's go," Chiaki responded, nodding his head.

As the two began their walk into town together, Chiaki couldn't help but wonder why Blitz didn't ask him about last night. Was he going to wait until the whole team was gathered?

"I have to tell them…" Chiaki thought to himself, clenching his fist. "I should just… tell them that I'm an Axis Tower crystal…"

"Blitz! Chiaki!" Sera called out, interrupting Chiaki's train of thought.

Sera had been waiting for them in the town plaza, along with Azure and Frederick.

"Hey guys," Blitz said, as he and Chiaki walked over to them.

"What took you guys so long?" Azure asked, looking a little annoyed. "Don't you realize that we have to get to the HQ early if we want any missions these days?"

"Calm down, Azure," Sera said, looking over at the Marill.

Chiaki took a deep breath, figuring it was time to explain the situation to the others, but as he tried to speak, he suddenly felt as if the words were stuck in his throat. He tried again to find the right words to explain himself, but the words just wouldn't come to him. The thought of telling the others the truth had left him unable to say anything.

"What's going on?" Chiaki thought, staring down at his paws. "My paws are trembling…"

Chiaki quickly hid his paws behind his back so that the others would not notice.

"I'm sorry," Azure said, sighing. "I guess I'm just feeling a little stressed out by everything going on… I need to fight something."

"Well, no one can blame you for that," Sera responded. "The situation has left a lot of Pokémon feeling on edge."

"It'll be okay," Frederick said, nuzzling up against Azure. "I heard that Stella is working on a plan to capture Erebos."

"She is?" Chiaki asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I heard it too," Azure responded. "Apparently she and that Mismagius from Silver Woods are working on it."

"I see," Blitz replied. "So, we just have to wait, then."

"Yeah…" Chiaki responded, nodding slightly.

"In the meantime, why don't we head over to the dojo?" Blitz suggested, smiling. "Doing some training there might be a good way to relieve some of that stress."

Chiaki couldn't help but notice the knowing look Blitz sent in his direction as he said that.

"Sounds good to me," Azure responded, perking up. "Tell Hercules to find me some opponents that can take a hit!"

"Guess I'm up for some training," Sera said, stretching.

"Yeah, sure," Frederick said, nodding his head.

"He's not going to bring it up?" Chiaki thought, tilting his head slightly.

"All right, should we get going, then?" Blitz asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, let's go," Chiaki responded, nodding his head.

As they were walking to the dojo, Chiaki couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Blitz hadn't asked any questions about last night. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why he didn't bring it up.

"I have to tell them…" Chiaki thought to himself. "But… I guess I don't have to tell them right away?"

Chiaki sighed, and decided to let it go for now. Perhaps Blitz was right. Maybe some training at the dojo would help him clear his mind. He could try to figure out how to explain things to the others later.


At the rescue team HQ, Kala was mumbling in her sleep and hugging her pillow as she felt someone touch her shoulder. Kala slowly opened her eyes and looked over to see Elina standing next to her.

"Oh, hello there," Kala said, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Hey," Elina responded via telepathy, staring down at the floor.

Kala sat up and looked at Elina.

"So, I'm guessing you told Chiaki the truth?" Kala asked.

"Yes, I did…" Elina responded, nodding slightly.

"I see…" Kala replied, letting Elina sit down next to her.

"Everything will be over soon," Elina said telepathically. "I guess we just need to wait for Erebos to be captured…"

"Mm-hm…" Kala responded, looking at Elina thoughtfully. "You okay?"

"Not really…" Elina replied, shaking her head. "But… even if I feel bad for Chiaki, there's no other way things can end."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," Kala responded, sighing. "I wonder if Chiaki will really be able to accept this?"

"Well, if he truly has some recollection of being the Axis Tower crystal…" Elina replied. "… and he wishes to protect his friends, then surely he will…"

"Hmm, even so… It's got to be tough to accept," Kala responded, crossing her arms.

"I know…" Elina replied, nodding her head solemnly. "I feel conflicted too… Perhaps if I had just stuck to my original plan of observing Chiaki from afar and not gotten too close, then maybe this would've been a little easier."

"… I could see that leading to different problems," Kala said, looking over at Elina. "I mean, if a strange Pokémon kept following you like that, wouldn't you eventually ask one of the other rescue teams to scare them off?"

"Ah, well… When you put it like that…" Elina responded, looking a little embarrassed.

"Anyways, it doesn't really matter at this point, does it?" Kala said. "What has happened has happened, there's no changing it."

"Yeah, you're right…" Elina responded. "The situation isn't going to change, so… Chiaki and I… we both have to accept it."

The two stayed in the room for a while, Kala trying her best to comfort Elina. While Elina was mature for her age, Kala knew that this whole situation must've been hard for the young Elgyem to deal with. Kala hoped she could help Elina at least a little bit, even if only by supporting her throughout the rest of it.


At the dojo, Blitz was watching his teammates do some training. Sera was working on improving her reflexes and reaction time, jumping out of the way to dodge incoming attacks. Azure was fighting against two Pokémon at once, smacking one of them into the other with her tail. Frederick was trying to improve the strength of his attacks.

Blitz was keeping an extra close eye on Chiaki, who was currently sparring with Lotus. He frowned as he observed their battle, before noticing Hercules walking up to join him in observing the others.

"… You see it too, right?" Blitz asked, looking over at Hercules.

Lotus kept dodging Chiaki's attacks without much effort, but that wasn't the strange part. Chiaki's face was almost expressionless as he kept trying to land a hit on Lotus.

"Something does seem off about his movements," Hercules responded, nodding slightly. "He usually seems to be having fun when training here, but right now…"

"I wish I knew what was bothering him," Blitz said, rubbing his forelegs together. "But I know that if I ask, he won't tell me."

"I see…" Hercules responded, looking over at Blitz. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure," Blitz replied, shaking his head. "I suppose I'll have to wait until he's ready to tell me, but who knows how long that will take? It took me a really long time to open up to the others… and even then, it wasn't until they had already learned the truth from you."

"… I'm really sorry about that," Hercules responded, looking away sheepishly.

"I already forgave you, you know," Blitz replied, looking over at Hercules. "Besides, things have gotten better since then."

"I can tell," Hercules responded, smiling at Blitz. "You seem more confident than before."

"Yeah, I guess I am," Blitz replied with a thoughtful expression. "Being with the others makes me feel stronger, somehow."

"Well, that's what having good friends is all about," Hercules responded. "They can help you grow and broaden your perspective, helping you discover things you might not have discovered on your own."

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Blitz replied, nodding slightly as he glanced over at Sera. "I feel like Sera has changed a lot too."

"She has certainly matured quite a bit these past few weeks," Hercules commented. "I'm pretty sure it's because you in some way inspired her."

"Really?" Blitz asked, looking up at Hercules.

"Like I said, that's what friends do," Hercules responded, grinning. "You inspired her, and then she inspired you."

"Hmm, I guess you're right…" Blitz replied, looking over at Chiaki again with a thoughtful expression. "So… Maybe there's a way I can help Chiaki find the strength to speak up about what is troubling him?"

"I'm sure you can," Hercules responded, petting Blitz's head. "Just keep looking out for your friends, and follow your instincts."

"All right," Blitz replied, nodding his head.

Blitz kept watching Chiaki, who seemed almost desperate as he kept trying to land a hit on Lotus.

"I don't really know what to do…" Blitz thought to himself, his expression becoming more determined. "But I'll think of something."


Sirena was reading through a book she hadn't read in a while, about a group of friends living on an island and going on adventures together. Flare and Volt were also in the room, playing a board game, while Yoru was taking a nap. As Sirena was reading through a part where one of the heroines, a Kirlia, had to take part in a dancing contest hosted by a Honchcrow in order to obtain an important item, she suddenly heard a noise coming from outside. Shortly afterwards, Amethyst stepped into the room.

"Sirena? We have visitors," Amethyst said. "I think they're friends of yours."

Curious, Sirena headed to the front door, and was surprised to see a familiar face outside.

"Svanhild!" Sirena exclaimed, as she spotted the Swanna.

"It's nice to see you, darling," Svanhild responded, looking at Sirena fondly.

Sirena quickly noticed that Svanhild wasn't the only one standing there. There were two other Swanna standing to the left and right of Svanhild, looking at her curiously. Sirena hadn't met either of them before, but it was easy to guess who they were from previous conversations with Svanhild.

"I'm guessing you two must be Svanhild's sisters?" Sirena asked, as Flare and Volt curiously approached to get a look at the visitors.

"That's right," the Swanna on the right said, nodding her head. "I'm Sigrid."

"And I'm Bianca," the Swanna on the left said. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you too," Sirena responded. "So, um… What brings you all here?"

"Well, distortions have been getting worse lately," Svanhild explained. "It's started affecting our home, and since it is likely going to get keep spreading, we figured we might as well fly on over to Fenix Town since we've heard distortions haven't affected it yet."

"Oh, I see," Sirena responded, glancing over in the direction of the town plaza. "It seems quite a few Pokémon from other places are doing that lately…"

"We also happened to come across Irvin on the way here," Svanhild continued, briefly looking behind her. "I believe he should be catching up to us soon enough."

"Irvin too, huh?" Sirena replied, sighing. "The situation has really gotten bad…"

"Ah, but there is also a bright side to this," Svanhild said, chuckling a bit. "We finally have an opportunity to meet each other's families, and we'll get to spend more time together!"

"Oh! You have a point there," Sirena responded, blushing slightly. "Spending time with you… I like that a lot…"

Flare and Volt seemed unsure what to make of this interaction between Sirena and Svanhild, while Sigrid and Bianca exchanged knowing glances. Amethyst just smiled and took a step forward.

"I look forward to getting to know you all better," Amethyst said.

"Same here," Svanhild responded, nodding her head. "By the way, where is the rest of the family? Not home?"

"Well, Yoru is here," Sirena replied, glancing towards their room. "I guess he's still napping."

"Should I go get him?" Volt asked.

"It's fine, no need to rush," Svanhild responded, shaking her head.

"Our parents are out shopping, they should be back soon," Sirena explained. "And Sera is hanging out with her friends somewhere. She'll be back in a few hours."

"Ah, I see," Svanhild responded.

"Whew… I finally caught up…" another voice said, and the group looked over to see that Irvin the Feraligatr had shown up.

"There you are," Svanhild said.

"Yeah…" Irvin responded, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Hey, Sirena."

"Hi, Irvin," Sirena replied, smiling.

"Ah, so that's the other friend you told me about," Amethyst said, looking over at Irvin.

"Whoa, he's huge," Volt commented as he looked at Irvin. "Is he really the same age as Sirena?"

"He's a year older than us," Svanhild explained.

While Svanhild continued to talk to Sirena and her siblings, her sisters moved closer to Irvin.

"You know, I don't really understand Svanhild's tastes," Bianca whispered, briefly glancing over in the direction of Sirena. "I think Pokémon with feathers are much more appealing."

"Oh, don't be like that, Bianca," Sigrid responded, shaking her head. "I think it's nice that Svanhild has found someone like Sirena. And it seems Sirena returns her affections as well."

"She definitely does," Irvin whispered, nodding his head. "Having spent plenty of time around those two, it is pretty obvious that Sirena's got a crush on Svanhild. Although Sirena herself hasn't quite figured that out yet, so don't mention it around her."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Sigrid said, chuckling a little. "Mm-hm-hm… Don't worry, we won't say anything."

"Yeah, it'll be more interesting to wait and see how long it takes her to figure it out," Bianca added.

"Glad we're all on the same wavelength, then," Irvin responded, grinning.

"What are the three of you whispering about over there?" Svanhild asked, looking over at them.

"Oh, nothing," Sigrid responded, shaking her head.

"Hmm… Fine," Svanhild replied. "Anyways, I suppose we should be heading over to see if we can figure out where exactly we'll be staying for now. Apparently, the rescue team HQ should be able to help us out."

"All right," Irvin responded, nodding his head. "How do we get there?"

"Amethyst told me how to get there," Svanhild replied.

"Excellent," Sigrid responded. "Show us the way."

Svanhild told Sirena she would be back to see her soon, and that she looked forward to getting to know Sirena's family better while spending these next few days together. Sirena smiled and blushed as she returned the sentiment. Svanhild, her sisters and Irvin then began making their way towards the town plaza so they could get to the rescue team HQ.


At the dojo, Hercules and Lotus were watching as Blitz and his teammates fought against another one of the dojo's Pokémon. A mole-like Pokémon with brown fur and claws covered in steel was giving the five of them quite the challenge, even with both Azure and Chiaki having a type advantage against the Excadrill. The Excadrill kept making use of his claws to drill into the dirt floor of the area, leaving his opponents to try and predict where he might pop up next.

"Do you hear him?" Frederick asked as he moved closer to Azure.

"I'm trying," Azure responded, her ears twitching as she tried to track the Excadrill's movements.

"If he tries to go for me, I might be able to blind him with a flash of light," Blitz said, glancing around.

"Are you can pull that off in time?" Sera asked. "Ground-type attacks are super effective against you, so if he lands that attack…"

"Don't worry," Blitz responded, shaking his head. "I've got this."

"But what do we do if he doesn't attack you?" Frederick asked.

"Guys, I hear something!" Azure shouted, her ears twitching. "Prepare yourselves!"

Looking around, the ground saw the Excadrill emerge from the ground, popping up near Sera and Chiaki.

"I've got this!" Chiaki exclaimed, dashing towards the Excadrill.

Chiaki attempted to punch the Excadrill, only for the Excadrill to raise his arms to block the attack with his steel claws. Chiaki let out a pained yelp as he accidentally scraped his right arm against the steel claws.

"Whoa, you okay?" the Excadrill asked.

"Ah… Just a scratch…" Chiaki responded, wincing in pain.

"Should I go get the first-aid kit?" Lotus asked Hercules.

"Yeah, you do that," Hercules responded, before waving to Chiaki. "Hey, come over here."

Chiaki told the others to continue training while he walked over to Hercules. Hercules examined the scrape on Chiaki's arm as Lotus returned with the first-aid kit.

"It's nothing serious," Hercules said. "Let's just make sure it doesn't get infected."

"I'll handle it," Lotus said, calmly placing the first-aid kit down and opening it. "This might sting a little."

Chiaki winced as Lotus began to clean the wound.

"Relax, this will not take long," Lotus said, not looking up from her task.

"Mm-hm…" Chiaki responded, looking away.

"Don't feel bad," Hercules said, looking at Chiaki. "We all have bad days once in a while. It can really throw you off."

Chiaki didn't respond.

"… There, this should do," Lotus said, as she finished cleaning the wound and prepared to bandage it.

Chiaki nodded his head slightly, staying still while Lotus bandaged the wound.

"Thanks," Chiaki said, looking at his now bandaged right arm.

"No problem," Lotus responded, closing the first-aid kit. "It should only take a few days for it to heal."

Chiaki nodded, and looked back over at his teammates. It seemed like Azure had managed to hit the Excadrill in the face with her Bubble Beam attack as he emerged from the ground, and Sera and Frederick were using the opportunity to get their own attacks in.

"Seems they've got it under control," Hercules commented.

"Mm-hm…" Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly.

Chiaki looked over at Blitz, who seemed to be instructing his teammates on what to do.

"Why didn't he ask…" Chiaki muttered, realizing a second later that he had said that out loud.

Chiaki glanced over at Lotus and Hercules, who had both heard what he said.

"If it's bothering you, then you should ask him," Lotus said, shrugging slightly. "He won't know what you're thinking unless you say something, and vice versa. Neither of you can read minds, after all."

"… Right," Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly. "I'll do that…"


As they were leaving the dojo after finishing the training, Chiaki tried once again to think of a way to explain things to his teammates. However, when he tried to open his mouth to say something, he couldn't get the words out.

"Not again," Chiaki thought, shuddering a bit. "Why do I feel so strange? What's happening to me? I don't understand…"

"Chiaki, are you okay?" Sera asked.

"Huh?" Chiaki responded, looking over at his concerned teammate as his train of thought was interrupted.

"Your breathing got all weird for a moment there," Azure commented, giving Chiaki a stern look.

"Ah… It did?" Chiaki responded, blinking a few times.

"It did," Azure replied.

"I heard it too," Frederick said, tilting his head. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh…" Chiaki responded, taking a step backwards. "I… I didn't mean to worry you guys…"

"Wait…" Sera said, as she realized something. "Is this about whatever Elina wanted to talk about last night? You didn't tell us how that went."

Chiaki tried to say something, but couldn't. The words felt like they were stuck in his throat.

"That's enough, everyone," Blitz said, stepping in. "This isn't the time for this."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Azure asked.

"Chiaki will tell us everything when he's ready, isn't that right, Chiaki?" Blitz said, glancing over at Chiaki.

Chiaki stared at Blitz for a moment, before nodding his head slightly in response.

"Good," Blitz said, smiling. "So, let's drop the subject for now, okay?"

"Blitz…" Sera responded, seeing the look in Blitz's eyes. "… All right."

"I don't really get it," Azure commented, before shrugging slightly. "But okay. I'll let it go."

"Sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable," Frederick said. "We were just concerned."

"Yeah," Sera responded, her ears drooping down slightly. "I'm worried, but… if you can't tell us, then I guess there's not much we can do about that…"

The group talked for a bit more, before they decided to head home for the night. While walking home, Blitz looked over at Chiaki walking next to him.

"Is your arm okay?" Blitz asked, looking over Chiaki's right arm.

"Mm-hm…" Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly.

The two continued to walk in silence for a bit, before Chiaki spoke up.

"Thanks…" Chiaki said, looking over at Blitz. "Back there, I…"

"Don't worry about it," Blitz responded, shaking his head. "I think I know what's going on."

"… You do?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "Having something you can't tell anyone, because you're afraid of what will happen once you do. Feeling like once everyone knows, then everything will change."

"Everything… will change…" Chiaki repeated, looking down thoughtfully.

"Everyone might see you differently, and you don't want that," Blitz continued. "Because you like things as they are, and you want them to stay that way. You want to hold on to the things that have become important to you."

Chiaki's eyes widened as he realized something.

"That's… how you felt back then?" Chiaki asked, looking over at Blitz. "That's why you didn't want Sera or anyone else besides Hercules to know about your past?"

"Yes," Blitz replied with a wistful smile. "Even if it couldn't last forever, I just wanted to hold on to those moments for as long as I could. To not be bound by my destiny, and just be a regular Shinx for a bit."

"… I see," Chiaki responded, staring wide-eyed at Blitz. "Back then, I didn't really understand what you were going through, but… if these are the same feelings, then…"

Blitz smiled at Chiaki.

"Guess I got it right, huh?" Blitz said.

"… Mm-hm," Chiaki responded, nodding his head. "I think I understand now…"

"… You know, I had a conversation with Bow shortly after my secret got out," Blitz said, looking up thoughtfully. "She told me that she also had concerns about her future, and while our situations aren't the same, knowing I wasn't the only one to feel that way…"

"Uh-huh…" Chiaki responded, listening to Blitz.

"So, um… I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Blitz said, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "Just take your time, okay?"

"… Okay," Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly.

As the two returned to their house and stepped inside, Chiaki thought over his conversation with Blitz.

"The fear of what will happen once everyone knows the truth…" Chiaki thought to himself. "So… That's what this feeling is."

Chiaki wasn't sure exactly how his teammates would react to learning the truth, but he did have an idea of what was going to happen afterwards. After all, if he was an Axis Tower crystal, that meant he would eventually have to return to Axis Tower with the other crystals, which meant he wouldn't be able to be with Blitz, Sera and the others anymore. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he might not even be himself anymore if they found a way to restore him to his original form.

"I… I don't want this…" Chiaki thought to himself. "I want to stay with everyone here! I want to keep going on missions, exploring new places, meeting other Pokémon I haven't met yet…"

Chiaki sighed as he lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"But the Axis Tower crystals need to be returned to Axis Tower, or else the distortions will keep getting worse," Chiaki thought. "And that will create more problems for everyone…"

After thinking it over for a while, Chiaki tried to clear his mind and get some sleep. At the moment, he just wanted to stay with his friends as a Mienfoo. For things to stay as they were for just a little longer. Elina had told him to use what time he had until Erebos was caught wisely, so maybe he could just spend that time with his friends like nothing had changed.

Unfortunately for Chiaki, things were not going to be that simple.


End of Chapter 61