It's an improvement, really.
Watching Celeste interact with her Tyrunt was very satisfying. It wasn't too long ago that she thought about exchanging her Jaw Fossil for a Shiny Stone to evolve her Floette, and as soon as I saw the Tyrunt I thought she might go for the obviously-prettier Amaura despite Tyrunt being shiny. Yet here she was, doting on Tyrunt like it was her baby. I kept looking over at Amaura worriedly, concerned it wasn't cool enough, but my fossil was just fine as it sat down patiently in front of me, trying to reassure me.
"Such a pretty blue pokemon, yes you are. Say little guy, wanna be called Cobalt?" Celeste asked. I turned to look back at her and smiled as Tyrunt raised his head, chirping in delight as Celeste reached out to pat his nose.
"How do you know it's male? As far as I can see there's no easy way to tell." I said, looking between Cobalt and Amaura and not seeing anything to help me identify them.
"It's a cloacal pokemon. Like in bird and normal reptile pokemon, everything happens in one place and all the equipment is kept inside. The easiest way is if you know which way the cloaca is facing. When I was holding Cobalt, I noticed his was facing his head. If it was facing his tail, it would have meant he was female. There are other ways to tell, but that one is easiest for me." She said. I blinked and turned to Amaura, whose frills flashed wildly in yellows and oranges, but obliged my curiosity and stood up, turning around and raising its tail.
"So, if Celeste is right, you're female?" I asked. Amaura turned back around and nodded, sitting back down. I turned back and looked at Celeste suspiciously as she rubbed Cobalt's snout.
"I know you wanna ask. Remember I had an Empoleon and a Staraptor." She said. I narrowed my eyes at her, but sighed and let it go, turning to Amaura. Now that I knew her gender, it made it easier for me to name her, but not by much. I thought about what the pokedex said about Amaura, and about her disposition. I hummed and leaned back in my chair, reaching down to pet Amaura when she laid her head in my lap.
"I feel lazy, but I can't think of much else. Are you okay being called Tundra?" I asked. Amaura smiled and hummed, her frills speeding up the color shift as various shades of pink and purple flitted across them. She didn't seem to mind the name, so Tundra it was. Thanks pokedex. I grabbed a pokeball from my belt and held it up to my face, tilting my head at it. I shifted it in my hand until my thumb was on the button, giving it a press to release my Skrelp. I dropped the pokeball in my lap as I quickly reached out with both hands to catch Skrelp, holding her in front of me while Tundra pulled her head away.
"Ooo how neat! What is that and when did you get it?" Celeste asked. I smiled and pulled Skrelp in close, gently laying her in my lap as she looked around the pokemon center.
"It's a Skrelp. When Boomer and Sasha came up to us I followed Boomer to where this Skrelp was waiting. I had to clean up her colony's den because it was so full of trash the matriarch was tangled, and as thanks she gave me this Skrelp. Now, are you male or female, little one?" I asked. Skrelp looked at me and blinked, unsure of how to answer me, and Tundra came to my rescue. She called to Skrelp and got its attention. The two pokemon talked for a moment before turning to me. Tundra turned her head and focused on her tail. I nodded in understanding and stroked Skrelp.
"Want me to look?" Celeste asked. I shook my head and hummed for a moment as I thought about names, settling on one that made me feel closer to my Kalosian roots.
"If I'm reading Tundra right, then you are female, so I'll call you Cammie. That okay?" I asked. Skrelp nodded and relaxed in my arms, laying her head against my chest. Since she didn't seem to be in any obvious discomfort despite not being in water, I decided to let Cammie stay out and I closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness of my pokemon. I heard the chime of the pokemon center announcements, and craned my neck to look at the counter behind us.
"Aldith and Celeste, your pokemon are all better." Nurse Joy said as she set down a tray that held our pokeballs. Celeste stood up and walked over to the counter, grabbing all of the pokeballs and bringing them back, handing me Genny and Sabrina's pokeballs while she replaced her own on her belt. I yawned and rotated my shoulders, hugging Cammie as I raised her pokeball.
"I'll see you later, Cammie." I murmured to her as she was pulled inside, and I stood up as I replaced all my pokeballs on my belt. I looked at Tundra for a moment, humming quietly.
"What's the matter?" Celeste asked.
"It's time for me to return Genny." I said, making my way over to the phones, Celeste made a sound like she was unhappy with my words, but I did promise Colress I'd return her after we got to the next town. It helped that I was also at seven pokemon now, and I really didn't want to box any of them at the moment. I sat down and dialed the number as Celeste, Cobalt, and Tundra gathered behind me, watching the screen as a familiar face appeared on the screen.
"Aldith you're okay!" Vixen said as relief spread on her face. I felt warm at seeing her, and couldn't help but letting a smile creep across my face.
"And you're home safe and sound. I take it you know why I'm calling then?" I asked. I could see Colress in the background, focusing intensely on a screen behind Vixen and not paying any attention to us.
"I think so. Are you sure you want to give Genny back though? I don't think she'd mind letting you keep her." Vixen said. Colress' head bobbed, but he said nothing as I sighed and set Genny's pokeball down in the transfer slot.
"Yeah, I have a full team now. Wanna see one of my newest pokemon? I have a fossil of my own now!" I said, leaning back and wrapping my arm around Tundra's head, pulling her face in close so Vixen could see her. Her frill added some yellow among its swirling colors, and I saw Vixen beam at us.
"That's so pretty! And it looks strong! What is it?" Vixen said as Colress turned his attention to us finally. He quickly walked across the room and pulled Vixen away, sitting down in the seat she had been occupying.
"I don't believe I've ever seen this one. I'd love to be able to study it" He said as Vixen pulled the chair around, plopping herself into Colress' lap as he turned the chair back to the screen. I laughed as I let Tundra go, sitting up.
"Now now you two, settle down. She is an Amaura, and her name is Tundra. Celeste has a fossil too, a Tyrunt, and I think he's shiny. Colress, what are the odds of a fossil pokemon being shiny?" I asked. Colress hummed as he held Vixen close.
"I want to say they are the same as any other pokemon, but that wouldn't be accurate due to how easy it is to customize them during the revival process. How was it revived? Was it cloned or rebuilt?" He asked.
"They were rebuilt. The guy who revived them was Doctor Sile, and he did do some genetic manipulation to give them a stronger than normal attack set. He says that's all he did though." I said. Colress nodded and made a thoughtful sound.
"Then I'd believe him and say you got very lucky. When we were making Genny we looked at a lot of his published research notes on the stabilization process for making fossils, and he is known as a bit of a bleeding heart in the scientific community as far as fossils go. We're all set to receive Genny if you want to go ahead and send her back." He said. I nodded as I reached to press the button to send her back, when I remembered something. I pulled my bag up and began to dig around, making Vixen and Colress confused.
"What's the matter?" Vixen asked. I hummed as I pulled the Absolite out of my bag, reaching out to grab Genny's pokeball.
"I have something for you. Sorry Genny, I need you for a moment." I said, holding the pokeball out. Genny appeared in a flash of light. She recoiled slightly as people gathered around us and stared, and I turned to glare at them.
"I got this, Aldith. Cover your ears, Cobalt, make them go away please." Celeste said. Cobalt whimpered as he sat down, lifting his head up, and I quickly muted my call and covered my ears as he began to bawl, the sound loud and painful. Through my hands I could hear Genny and Tundra screech, but thankfully the crying stopped after a few seconds when everyone scattered to get away, leaving only us in the room. I pulled my hands away and unmuted my call, frowning a bit.
"I mean, I can be an asshole too. Anyway, Genny do you mind taking this mega stone to Vixen?" I asked, holding the Absolite out to her. Genny looked at the screen and saw a very confused Colress and Vixen, turning back to me and nodding. She bent down in front of me, allowing me to put the mega stone in her cannon, and she grabbed me in her claws, pulling me into a hug. I smiled and hugged the cyborg back as tightly as I could, pulling away reluctantly to recall her into her pokeball. I set it back down in the transfer and pressed the button, and just like that she was gone. She reappeared in the screen as soon as she made it, and I heard a phone ringing in the background. Vixen raised her arm with her X-Transceiver on it, answering the call and holding it closer to the phone.
"I wish I could stay with you. I feel as though I didn't do as much to help you as I could have." She said as she tilted forward, dropping the Absolite into Vixen's lap.
"It's okay, Genny. I mainly wanted you for moral support. We definitely felt safer having a pokemon that could hold its own against a legendary around, but we're in a more populated part of Kalos. And we're getting close to where Xerneas is being guarded. We're safe." I said, though Genny didn't look like she believed me any more than I did. Regardless, Vixen hung up Genny's call as the pokemon walked out of frame, opting to look at the gray marble I gave her through Genny.
"So what pokemon is this for? I feel like you should keep this." Vixen said, turning the mega stone over in her fingers. I smiled and rested my arms on the desk in front of the keyboard.
"It's for an Absol, and even if I planned to use a Mega Absol, I don't feel like antagonizing Diantha. She wanted me to give you that as an apology for making you uncomfortable when you were here." I said. Colress' brow furrowed as he looked down at Vixen.
"Excuse me? Who is Diantha and what did she do to you?" He asked apprehensively. I chuckled as Vixen rolled her eye, and she leaned against him.
"Down boy, it's okay. She didn't mean to trigger my memories, it was an accident. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about than a goofy champion who's not taking her job seriously." Colress frowned and hugged Vixen tighter, looking up at me. I sighed and nodded, clearing my throat to get Vixen's attention.
"Honey, we hate to tell you this, but this is more similar to what happened in Unova than you realize. Alder didn't retire from being Unova's champion, he was dishonorably discharged by Carina's order." I told her. Vixen and Celeste gasped as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
"But, Carina is so easygoing and forgiving! I mean, she pardoned you and most everyone else from Team Plasma, and Alder gave me Sorrel!" Vixen said. I scratched the back of my head as Tundra laid her head in my lap, various shades of purple racing across her frills.
"She's still a Hero of Unova. She takes her responsibilities as the wielder of Reshiram very seriously, and Alder failed Unova. He could have stopped Team Plasma long before Reshiram needed to, but he didn't. The main job of a Regional Champion is to know what's happening in their region and put down any threats. He failed to protect Unova from Team Plasma." I told her. Colress' arms tightened around Vixen.
"He failed to protect you." He said through gritted teeth. Vixen looked down and clenched her hand around the Absolite.
"I, always thought being Champion in Unova just meant being a tiebreaker for the Elite Four." She said quietly. Celeste leaned down and rested her chin on my shoulder.
"No, sweetie. No matter what region you are in, being Champion is not just a fancy title. It means you are a Champion for your people. The region looks to you for guidance and protection. It doesn't matter how the politics work you are still the leader of your nation." Celeste said. Vixen breathed in deeply and rested a hand on Colress' arm, gripping it tightly.
"No wonder Iris felt so bad when I challenged her. It must have been tough for her to sit out the final battle. I'll ask my dad about it later. Aldith, Celeste, promise me something okay?" Vixen asked, looking up.
"Anything." We said in unison.
"Please, if anything happens in Kalos, I beg you, call me for help. I know Siebold said he would, but I want someone I know I can trust to call me. As soon as we're done here, I'm going to release the DNA Splicer from my hiding place." She said, making me and Colress gasp, though his was quieter. I could see she was very much serious about her words, and I was conflicted.
"Vixen, this isn't your fight though. I can't let you do this again, baby girl." I told her. Vixen lifted her hair away from her face, her artificial eye staring hard at me.
"I didn't get a choice when it was Ghetsis and Team Plasma. I am choosing now, and this time I will not be holding back. No one is going to die protecting me this time, and Kyurem is willing to fuse with his siblings under my control. Diantha's mishandling of Kalos is putting it in danger, not just from Yveltal but from this cult my mother told me you are fighting. I don't trust that Lysander guy either. Please Aldith, promise me you will ask me to nuke your region's idiot leaders." She said. I sighed and looked at Celeste, though I felt something else reach out to me.
'I know you want to keep her safe, but she is in a far better position to protect you than you are to protect her. If Kyurem is truly under her command, I trust him to keep you both alive. I graciously accept the young Hero's offer. I urge you to do the same.' The voice said, warmth and gratitude filling me. As much as I hated to admit it, everyone was right.
"Okay. I promise I will call you as soon as I see things getting too bad. I swear by the flame of Reshiram. Not all of Kalos' leaders are morons, though. The strongest Gym Leader in Kalos is already working on dealing with The Reapers, and I do trust Siebold to let you know if he sees something I don't." I told her. Vixen and Colress smiled at me as they relaxed.
"I will make my own preparations then. What sort of man would I be if I stayed put while the love of my life and one of my best friends put their lives on the line?" Colress said, leaning his face into Vixen's neck. She smiled as her eyes half closed, and I cleared my throat.
"Well, we need to get on the road, and you two look like something important has come up. Thanks again for letting us borrow Genny. She was a lot more helpful than she thinks." I said. Colress hummed as Vixen waved at me, and the call was over. I sighed and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling while I gently rubbed one of Tundra's frills between my fingers.
"That looked like it was getting hot. Poor Genny." Celeste said, making me chuckle.
"They are very active, but they are classy about it. They'll move somewhere more discreet if it gets the better of them." I said with a slight blush. Celeste giggled as I pulled out an empty pokeball, tapping it gently against Tundra.
"So, what's this DNA Splicer thing? You guys all turned white when Vixen mentioned it." Celeste asked as Tundra was pulled inside her pokeball. I sighed as the ball shook in my hand.
"It's an artifact that was created when the Great Dragon of Unova split into Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyurem. When used, it binds with Kyurem to allow him to absorb Reshiram and Zekrom so he can use their powers as well as his own." I explained.
"So, basically it makes them back into the original legendary of Unova?" Celeste asked. The pokeball pinged a successful capture and I shook my head.
"No, it's not a perfect fusion because they all still maintain their own thoughts. I didn't see it when Ghetsis used the splicer, but Yuyu described it to me as a madness. The three of them struggled in the fusion and wanted so badly to be free. They didn't get that freedom until Vixen pulled the Splicer out from Kyurem. I never imagined Vixen would be willing to put Kyurem through that again..." I said, my voice trailing off as I let Tundra back out. The Amaura looked at me in concern, her frills swirling in a mixture of light and dark blue.
"I mean, she did keep it. Of course she would want to use it in an emergency." Celeste said. I sighed again and put my hand on Tundra's head, walking towards the door.
"She kept it because she didn't have a choice. We can't destroy the DNA Splicer, it's part of the dragons. Kyurem gave it to her for safekeeping because he knew that she would not let him go through that without a damn good reason. I can't say she doesn't have one with Death itself literally on the horizon. If Yveltal wakes up before Xerneas, Black and White Kyurem is our only hope against it short of Arceus itself. God this sucks." I said as I stepped outside. Celeste grabbed my shoulder and gently squeezed it, stepping beside me as Cobalt and Tundra followed us.
"It'll be okay, Aldith. We'll just have to keep it from getting to that point, won't we? We won't be doing that here though. Let's head on out, we have another badge to win! And if we're lucky, we might be able to sneak past all the guards and go visit Xerneas! Okay I'm excited now, let's go!" Celeste said, riling herself up as she and Cobalt sprinted away.
She made it sound easy, like we could just throw a pokeball and poof, we'd fix Kalos. I knew she was just trying to help when she mentioned going to visit Xerneas, but it was so preposterous and overwhelming to think about our odds. Yet, I believed in Celeste, because I know it can be done. I read Vixen's book and knew she walked this same path, and had these same thoughts. She had much of the same resources we had too, if a bit more. She beat the odds and saved her home, and she didn't do it alone. Not only did we have support from at least two of the Elite Four and Wulfric, but Celeste and I had something else that made us strong. It was cliché to say, but it was stronger than both Yveltal AND the Reapers, I just knew it.
We had each other.
TBC
Why do I like talking about politics in pokemon so much? I mean, I guess since it isn't really touched on in any of the mediums it's fun to think about. But still, I feel like I'm turning into Dad with how often I get into it. Also Cammie's name comes from the French word for seahorse, hippocampe.
I missed this. I missed being in such a frenzy that the chapters wrote themselves. I don't even feel like splitting this one, there was so much to it. I was just as surprised as you guys when Vixen popped in, but I was like "You know what? Fuck it let's have her on the Plasma Frigate. Nothing would give Aldith more confidence than talking to Vixen again." I also feel obligated to get into the politics again because I don't know if I'll get an opportunity to discuss Unova politics in-story. If you don't really care then you can just skip this tidbit.
See you in 40!
So let's talk about what happened with Alder and Iris in the world of Lola;
So, canonically Alder voluntarily stepped down from being Champion because he felt he was inadequate as Champion. He had lost his starter pokemon to illness and the grief consumed him. Ghetsis suggested that he didn't even want to be Champion but was asked by the Elite Four to step in. When Alder stepped down, Drayden prepared Iris to be the new Champion and she battled Alder to officially claim the title.
It's a bit different in my canon;
In the world of Lola, we took a similar path. Unova operates as a Republic, in which issues and policies are instituted by officials who represent the general public, in this case Gym Leaders and the Pokemon League. In Unova, if there is no active Champion to challenge for any reason, the Elite Four have to appoint one by a unanimous vote. Being the Champion in Unova is sort of like being the President of America; they don't have total control over the region but they can suggest policies and command the region in times of emergency.
Our Elite Four selected Alder out of respect for his wisdom, believing that leading Unova would give him new purpose in life. It backfired because since day to day operations of Unova falls on the Elite Four, Alder was allowed to continue to wallow in his grief and he kept traveling the region, abandoning his post as Champion and ignoring Team Plasma. By the time he realized the damage that was being done it was well out of his hands because there was a lot of support for Team Plasma and N had Zekrom. He tried to fight N, but Zekrom was just too much.
After Carina won, she was rather cross with Alder. The Elite Four could have dismissed him from his position, and I'd like to think they would have, but Carina beat them to it because the Heroes of Truth, Ideals, and now Balance override all policies in Unova. Their word is law. She kicked Alder out of the Pokemon League because his grief almost led Unova to the point of no return. Iris was appointed by Carina herself because despite being co-gym leader of Opelucid, she was very involved in Unova, traveling the region in a similar vein to Alder but for the purpose of dealing with the Team Plasma issues. Reshiram believed Unova would be safe with Iris, and Carina obeyed her.
Now, the reason Iris wasn't at the battle in Lola: An Underdog Story is because during the first fight against Team Plasma, Ghetsis was more clever and he divided his forces across Unova. In Lola, Iris was made to stay behind to protect the people who live at the Pokemon League and because it's at one of the highest points of Unova, Iris can command the region better from there. Had Vixen failed in her mission and Kyurem got loose, Iris was the next best defense to protect Unova. She WANTED to be at the final battle but strategically speaking, she had the advantage at the League.
