Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! Thank you for your continued support of the story!
Just like the last town, Hydrargyrum City is based off a real place: Yalta, Ukraine. I even included some of Yalta's most famous sights and tourist attractions in this arc, so I'll be curious to see if any of you recognize them when they show up.
The pacing of this arc will be a bit slower and more in-depth than the Plumbum and Kalium arcs were. I received a review stating that the Kalium arc was a bit on the slow side compared to the Plumbum arc, but I promise there is a reason for the pacing!
The vast majority of Part 3 takes place at an academic conference. Cynthia and Cyrus will be sitting in on some panels; many of which will touch on some meta-questions about the Pokémon universe. Since most of the panelists are big names in Pokémon academia, there will be a lot of cameos. You're welcome to skip or gloss over those panel chapters if they aren't really your thing.
I wanted to do a conference arc for a handful of reasons:
1 – I love world-building! It's one of my favorite things about fictional universes, but I realize this won't hold true for everyone. You won't hurt my feelings if you speed run the panel chapters.
2 – This will provide us a chance to explore a very important character who hasn't been in the spotlight too much: Professor Myrtle. Not only will we get her backstory in this arc; but we'll see how she's perceived by her peers and colleagues. I don't want to spoil this prematurely, but I've been eager to get to this material for over a year!
3 – This arc is when the political plot starts to kick off! It builds momentum in later arcs, and that added exposition needs to be thrown in so it doesn't come completely out of left field.
That said, I want to mention to people who enjoy the story more for the character development, the relationships, the battles, or the Pokémon shenanigans: all of that still takes place in Part 3. Just think of the panel material as an added bonus: a little something extra on top of what you'd be getting by default anyway.
Welcome to Hydrargyrum City!
…
As traumatic an experience as entering Kalium City had been; leaving it was even worse. Even though their seats were close to the center of the boat and nowhere near the railings, Cynthia didn't feel safe. Until the ferry safely docked in Hydrargyrum City, she'd remain restless.
At least Cyrus promised to stay by her side, no matter what. The two teenagers spent the first ten minutes of the boat ride looking at their travel guides and figuring out which sights they could visit in their spare time. They'd be shadowing Ghetsis at the conference all week; so there wasn't much time for adventure. Every bit of free time they had needed to count.
According to the travel guide, Hydrargyrum City was a resort city best known for its beaches, old mansions, arcades, water park, and Mulciber Caldera Lake. That was all well and good; but Sinnoh had three lakes and Cyrus's hometown was known for its beaches. The only two things that really called out to Cynthia were Dacha Street and the lake.
There were more Argenti ruins near Mulciber Caldera Lake, but they were privately owned by the Premier's family. Unless she somehow managed to cozy up to the Premier of the Socialist Republic of Kinzo; Cynthia's chances of exploring ancient Mulciberia were slim to none. At least an excursion to Dacha Street was doable. It was one of the most iconic streets in all of Kinzo: often appearing in movies and historic dramas. She'd definitely seen pictures of it, but that wasn't the same as going there in person.
Not only could she take plenty of good pictures for her scrapbook there, but that road boasted almost thirty perfectly preserved and maintained imperial era dachas: luxurious vacation homes formerly owned by the Kinzonian imperial family and other nobles. These days, the dachas were used as consulates and embassies: places where foreign visitors could go to extend their visas, update their travel status, and seek legal counsel as needed.
If Professor Myrtle decided to pull the plug on their expedition, they'd need to visit Dacha Street anyway. It wouldn't hurt to look around and make a memory or two in the process.
According to the brochure, the street was closed to cars. People could either walk there or take a carriage tour. Cynthia was tempted to do the latter, but probably not with Cyrus. The moment the boat started to rock, his face turned green from motion sickness. When a member of the ferry crew passed by and offered bags to seasick passengers; Cyrus hurriedly grabbed one. They'd been on the boat for an hour and he only let go of that bag to swap it for a new one.
"Let me guess," Cynthia whispered, trying to lighten the mood. "You get car-sick easily, too. Don't you?" Instead of a coherent response, Cyrus just dry-heaved. Nothing came out, but that was only because he was already on bag #3. "Yikes. Just watching you is making me feel sick. I'll buy some Dramamine once we're off the boat."
"Why?" Cyrus wheezed. He was trying his best to focus on something that wouldn't move around with the waves. "Every city after this one is land-locked. We won't need to ride a boat again."
"Oh yeah. You're right!" She'd completely blanked on that. "Come to think of it, the next gym after this one is Ferrum Town, isn't it? That's all the way in north Kinzo!" Ferrum Town was also Avdantil's hometown. And if he was any indication of what the locals were like, then Cynthia wasn't in any rush to go there.
It didn't make any sense to her why the Kinzo League would place the next gym so far out of the way. Then again, nothing about that map made sense.
The progression from Natrium Town to Plumbum City was logical: only a narrow channel of water separated the two locations. But instead of going to Hydrargyrum City—which was half the distance between Kalium and Plumbum—the map insisted trainers should go all the way across the harbor to Kalium and then backtrack to Hydrargyrum. Maybe Kai ran a more difficult gym than Jet did, but that was just a guess.
After Hydrargyrum City, the Metro map pointed all the way north to Ferrum Town: less than 50 km from a huge body of water called Anthousa Sea. But even though there were three other northern gyms in Stibium City, Argentum City, and Aurum City; the train then went to the deep southeast to Cuprum City.
Cynthia kind of wished one of her Kinzonian friends was here. Maybe they'd be able to explain why the Kinzo League's gyms were ordered in such a crazy, random way. She somehow doubted the government wanted to encourage trainers to take a scenic route. Most of the trains were underground and underwater!
And speaking of water; she really, really needed to pee. Ever since she told Cyrus not to let her get up for any reason, he'd held her to that. If the boat ride was only an hour or less, she could have waited; but their estimated docking time was noon. That was way too long to hold it in!
In retrospect, she probably should have gone at the Trainers Lodge or at least before they boarded the ferry. Now there was nothing but choppy water as far as her eyes could see. That—plus the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat—were only making her condition that much harder to ignore. She crossed her legs, wiggled around, and tried to readjust herself to a more comfortable position; but she could only postpone nature's call for so long.
She continued to browse the guide: hoping to find something that would pique Cyrus's interest as much as Dacha Street had piqued hers. If he wanted to do something together, she'd happily go with him. He'd been a good friend these past few days, but he was her hero last night. The least she could do was humor him if he wanted to see something together.
By the time she read up on the city's water park, she couldn't take it anymore. Her bladder felt like it was going to burst. "So, um…please don't think I'm being a flake; but—"
"You have to use the bathroom." Cyrus didn't have to be a mind reader to figure that one out. Cynthia could barely sit still! "I know you don't want to get up, but I'd rather you didn't wet your pants."
Cynthia could have done without that mental image, but Cyrus had a point. "Can you walk with me? I know you can't go in there, but can you wait outside? Please?"
An awkward and slightly wet cough left Cyrus's mouth as he staggered to his feet. "Sure." The next time he coughed, Cynthia looked up at him. The dark circles under his eyes were so bad that she had no trouble imagining what his skull probably looked like. There was no boyish softness left to him whatsoever. "Where is it?"
"I think it's this way. I wasn't paying attention." Perhaps she should have, but she'd focused her attention on the people sitting near them. If someone tried anything, she'd describe them to the police after they docked. Maybe that was a bit paranoid on her part, but most of her anxiety would dissipate once they were back on land.
Cynthia knew she was being difficult, but Cyrus was a patient soul. He never told her to relax or ease up on her tensions. If anything, he'd tried his best to keep a wary eye out for suspicious activity, too. They were in this together.
Once they found the bathroom, Cynthia nearly knocked over another woman to get to the first open stall. The toilet was grungy and smelled bad, but she didn't even care. After she'd taken care of her business, she quickly washed her hands and shoved them deep into her coat pockets. She didn't want the cold harbor air to freeze them.
While she was in there, Cyrus had only turned greener. Every time a bathroom door opened, more stinky air wafted out and Cyrus's face continued to change shades. "Let me walk you back," he grunted, clearly straining to speak between nauseous heaves. "Will you feel safe if I leave you with Mr. Gropius? I think…urgh…I should probably stay in a stall until we land…"
Realizing that she'd probably overtaxed her nauseous friend; Cynthia swallowed a thick ball of spit and slowly nodded her head. She'd feel safer with Cyrus around; but she still had Eevee and Spiritomb. Ghetsis seemed nice enough and she doubted he'd do anything; but Jet had also been friendly at first. "That's fine." To better sell the lie, she gave Cyrus a tiny smile. "Feel better soon."
With his friend's permission, the boy staggered into the men's room and promptly threw up.
Just to ere on the side of caution, Cynthia took slow steps back to her seat and made sure not to go anywhere near the railing. The more rows of seats there were between her and the water, the better.
It didn't take long to find Ghetsis again. A tall man with light green hair and a tailored suit kind of stood out from the crowd. "Your friend is having second thoughts about taking the boat, isn't he?"
Very slowly, Cynthia nodded and took a seat beside him. "I feel bad. If I hadn't insisted on sticking together, Cyrus could have just taken the Metro and met me in town. I don't think Jet was after him. But, um…what's the plan when we arrive? Should we check in at the Trainers Lodge, then come back to the hotel to shadow you?"
Ghetsis yawned. Cynthia was a bit taken aback by just how sharp his canine teeth looked. "You won't be staying at the Lodge. You'll be staying at Villa Ermengarde in the suite adjacent to mine."
Villa Ermengarde was also listed in the travel guide as a "must see" for the city. A long time ago, the villa had been the summer retreat of Ermengarde the Mad: one of Kinzo's most notorious tsarinas. In the early 1960s, the villa was renovated and transformed into a luxury hotel. The architect behind the renovation stated that his goal was to preserve the aura of decadence that Ermengarde would have enjoyed in her lifetime.
Cynthia had stayed in hotels before, but never a five star resort. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much that suite must have cost! "Are you sure? There's no way either one of us can pay you back for—"
"I booked that suite for my shadows before I even met you," the man grunted impatiently. "It was either going to go to you or some other trainer. And just in case you were wondering, I didn't factor that into our little arrangement. So far as you and Cyrus are concerned, the room's free."
"What did you factor in, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, the cost of the private room you two crashed last night was a starting point. I factored in that, your ferry tickets, and one other thing I'll tell you about when your friend comes back."
Cynthia doubted Cyrus would be back any time soon. His face was as green as a Politoed's! "What all do you need us to do?" They had plenty of time to kill on the boat and she'd rather gather information than sit there in silence.
"It's pretty basic work. You'll follow me to my panels and make sure no one gets too close to me. No handshakes, no hugs, no anything. The only thing I'll permit is an exchange of business cards. Unless I instigate contact, your job is to keep people away. Understood?"
"Loud and clear." It just seemed a bit odd to her. Ghetsis was the chairman of a Pokémon rescue charity. He was literally finding new homes for abandoned and orphaned Pokémon. Who on earth would want to start trouble with somebody like that? "We can do that."
"Good." He was all smiles. "And I should probably clarify something: I'll only need one of you to guard me at a time. I figured you could split up the schedule and use your spare time to do whatever strikes your fancy. So long as I have a shadow when I need one, I don't care how you divide the work."
That was good news! Cynthia was eager to explore Hydrargyrum City, but she also recognized that she owed this man a huge favor. This gave her and Cyrus some flexibility, but it also meant they'd have to explore the city separately until the conference was over. Oh well. It wasn't the end of the world. "When the ferry docks, are we going straight to the hotel?"
"Yes." There wasn't even an ounce of hesitation in his voice. "I'll check in, get our keys, and we can unpack our things. The conference doesn't start until sundown, so you're free to do as you please until about 6:00. However, before you wander off, I want both of you to stop by my room. We need to talk about that thing I mentioned."
"Of course, sir! We'll do whatever you need us to do."
Finding out that she and Cyrus could alternate shifts did wonders for her mood. Once Cyrus came back, they could discuss how to split up their duties. She'd prefer to alternate between mornings and afternoons, but maybe he'd want to do full days.
Battling Kai for a Mercury Badge was Cynthia's top priority. After that would be Dacha Street. While there were about a dozen other things that looked interesting, she wanted to keep her schedule flexible. If Professor Myrtle, Professor Rowan, or anyone else she knew had a panel; she wanted to support them.
"Do you know who all is attending this conference, Mr. Gropius?"
"Not yet. And you don't have to be so formal with me. While I'd like for you to call me Mr. Gropius or sir at the conference; just Ghetsis will do when you're off the clock. You can tell Cyrus that, too."
Cynthia tried her best to pronounce that, but the closest she could get with her Sinnohan accent was "Geechisu." Her face turned pink with embarrassment because she knew she'd badly butchered that. She expected Ghetsis to scold her or chide her for having such a thick accent, but it never came.
He just laughed. "Forget it. Mr. Gropius is fine."
…
After what felt like an hour, Cyrus returned from the men's room on wobbly noodle legs. Cynthia helped him sit down and offered what was left in her water bottle. Instead of saying something, Cyrus just slowly shook his head and closed his eyes. "You're in really bad shape. Is there anything I can do?"
Cyrus mumbled something, but it was too loud on the boat to make out what he said.
"Sorry. I didn't catch that."
"If you're comfortable with doing it, rub my back. My mom used to do that when I got sick in the car." A healthy, happy Cyrus would have told Cynthia to keep her hands to herself. Now that he felt more nauseous than nervous, a little physical contact was not only welcomed but encouraged.
'Oh? Is that all you want?' Cynthia tried her best not to giggle, but the request was kind of cute in an awkward sort of way. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and began rubbing a spot just below Cyrus's shoulders. "Like this? Am I doing it right?"
"Mmhmm." Instead of another dry heave or muffled cough, Cyrus sighed with tired, mild contentment. "And promise me you won't drag me on another boat. Ever."
"Are you kidding? After seeing what this ride did to you? There's no way I'd do that to you! I like you too much! We'll take nothing but cars and trains from here on out." And maybe a sleigh ride on Dacha Street, if he was up for it. "Truth be told, I'm starting to feel a little queasy, too."
In a gesture of courtesy, Cyrus offered his last empty bag. Cynthia was just about to tell him that he probably needed it more, but something caught her attention. The day was overcast with hazy gray skies and lots of fog, but she could clearly make out city lights within the mist.
"Oooooh! We're arriving!" She still had enough sense to keep her distance from the railing, but she could barely contain her excitement. This was her first glimpse of Hydrargyrum City! Instead of getting closer, she stood on top of her seat and held onto the edge of a nearby staircase.
Even with the clouds limiting her visibility, the view was still pretty. She could only imagine how lovely the harbor must have looked on a clear, sunny day! The sky, sandy beaches, and towering stone cliffs were nothing but silver, slate, platinum, and pewter. The varying shades of gray created an optical illusion. It almost felt like the ferry was transporting her into an entirely black and white world.
The only splash of color was a neon sign that flickered between bright pink and baby blue. Then, without warning, a loud Kinzonian anthem and a cluster of bright pink fireworks blasted out of the building and into the harbor. The neon sign turned pink and announced something: ПОЗДРАВЛЯЕМ, КАЙ! ПОТЕРИ: 2, ПОБЕД: 58! The letters then flipped over to spell the same message out in the international language: CONGRATULATIONS, KAI! LOSSES: 2, VICTORIES 58!
In an attempt to reduce the severity of his nausea, Cyrus kept his eyes closed and took slow breaths. "What was that?"
"The Hydrargyrum Gym, I think? They're advertising Kai's success rate." Those statistics had Cynthia a bit worried. She didn't know if that was a weekly count or a daily count, but it didn't really matter. Either way, Kai had an alarmingly high 97% success rate. "I hate to say it, but we'll probably need more Pokémon before we challenge her. That sign says she won fifty-eight out of sixty fights."
A faint hiss came from her friend. She didn't know if it was because of what she'd said or the motion sickness.
The next building to catch Cynthia's attention resembled two toppled over Ferris wheels stacked on top of a giant concrete golf tee. Beneath it were gray cobblestone walls with semicircle arcs and more dust-colored beaches. Even the large towels and umbrellas were a shale-like hue. The whole city was actively participating in the artificial monochrome! Pale white lights flickered from the windows of the wheel-shaped part of the building, but none of this gave any indication as to what that thing was supposed to be.
For another couple of minutes; all Cynthia could see were the silhouettes of cars, their headlights, and streetlights. After the weird UFO building, every apartment complex and warehouse simply looked dull and boring. Thinking that she'd seen the last of the interesting sights, she started to sit down—but changed her mind when something extraordinary caught her eye.
On the farthest outskirts of the city, a tiny sandstone castle sat atop a steep precipice and overlooked the silvery sea. Cynthia could only imagine what the view would be like from its balcony. Up there, it must have felt like she'd be viewing the edge of the world. It wasn't going to be a good picture, but she snapped one with her camera anyway.
"Attention, passengers," the captain announced over the intercom. "We have arrived in Hydrargyrum City. The local time is 13:04 Kinzo Standard Time. Please take a moment to grab and secure your belongings." Shortly after that, Cynthia heard and felt the heavy thud of the ferry's platforms connecting to the pier. "It is now safe to disembark. Thank you for choosing to ride with us today and we hope you enjoy your stay."
Sick, weak, and tired as he was; Cyrus could move ridiculously fast. He grabbed his bag, reached for Cynthia's wrist, and began pulling her toward the pier. The sooner he got off that boat, the better.
"Wait!" Cynthia yelped. "We still need to wait on Mr. Gropius!" They may have only had their backpacks, but Ghetsis had a lot more luggage on hand.
Cynthia ended up going back on the boat just long enough to grab some of Ghetsis's lighter bags, but returned with a skip in her step. After what had certainly been the most terrifying twenty-four hours of her life, she was starting to feel safe again.
Kalium City and Jet were on the opposite side of that harbor and no one had bothered her on the boat. Hydrargyrum City had the potential to be a new beginning: one where her toughest struggles would be battling Kai and having to balance her shadowing duties with what was bound to be a wonderful conference. It almost felt like a vacation!
And yet, despite that; she couldn't shake the feeling that this was just another calm right before another storm.