For me, I immensely enjoy weaving together canon and my own things together, creating either a paralogue or after story to go along with things. It's much more enjoyable to me than simply redoing canon with minor tweaks.
It was nice being in the spotlight again. To the crowd, having not made podium, he was just one person among many, but it felt nice all the same. "Good work on Top Five." Alex flicked another piece of a poffin towards Morgan, the vaporeon leaping out of the water to catch it. "I know it's a little frustrating to hold yourself back so much, but I had fun today." The water type trilled happily, diving back under in search of something.
While it was a bit annoying not letting themselves go for top three, Alex knew in his heart that if they went all out top three would have been far too easy a goal. First place was the most realistic result, but things could always happen, especially considering Attacks were allowed during the race.
For the first time in several months, Alex had absolutely nothing to do for the week. All stations that weren't set up yet were currently being worked on by GO members, and all the active ones were happily sending data over to Opal City. Even his work for Passerby Analytics didn't require anything else other than updating questionnaires, and he'd handled those the day before.
A shame battling wasn't an option, even despite the summer heat. With Alto Mare being such a far away place, people that came here tended to view it as a tourist destination. Official battling centers hadn't been set up at all over the years because of local voting, but there were still a few spots meant for the cause. Not that Alex wanted any part of it.
That is, Alex wanted nothing to do with the boat loads of novice trainers and by the sounds of it, neither did his team. He'd let all his pokémon loose for the week, keeping only one with him at all times in case of emergency. From what he'd gathered the night before, Caitlyn and Celèste were travelling all across the town location scouting; Emerl had taken residence in the local Museum and was doing something or other; and Umbral and Deus had travelled out of the town and into the island's wilderness. Something about a lost treasure, but Alex wasn't too sure about the legitimacy of the story.
Perhaps he would make a visit to the Museum himself. The place was a healthy jaunt away and reading up on local history was always an enjoyable time. Alex let out a short whistle before standing, shaking the water off his bare feet. By the time he'd gotten his socks and shoes back on, Morgan had rejoined him on the cobblestone pier.
Places such as Alto Mare held a unique charm. While there were certainly places that were undeniably urban, the vast majority of the town still felt rural enough that Alex felt confident in saying he could live there. A bit like the outskirts of Fula city, really. Zeraora's forest was off limits for safety reasons, but the rest of the Fula Mountains were fair game for camping and training. The constant breeze was nice too.
The trip went uninterrupted until they arrived at the plaza, a brunette girl no older than fifteen spinning around in awe of everything nearly crashing into him. "Welcome to Alto Mare," he said dryly, letting go of her shoulders once she regained her balance. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but maybe keep track of your surroundings a little."
The girl laughed embarrassedly. "Ah, thank you mister. And I'll keep that in mind. C'mon, Giri!" A taillow flying overhead chirped and swooped down to land on her shoulder, the two of them running off to who knew where.
Just as she left, Morgan crawled up his body and settled across his shoulders. Alex adjusted himself to accommodate for the weight. To his questioning warble, "If somebody else was with me I'd let you follow her but you're the only one I got today."
Morgan trilled his understanding.
For a moment Alex almost thought the ticket master was going to tell him to return Morgan to his pokéball, but apparently him acting as a scarf made him think otherwise. It was rather amusing how often that one act let Morgan into places pokémon normally weren't allowed.
The Alto Mare History Museum was rather reminiscent of a few Kalosian churches. Domed ceilings and grand halls leading off to each wing, with the material painted to look like limestone (if it wasn't in actuality). As Alex wandered through the building- devoid of Emerl, who had apparently left an hour or so ago- he found that his earlier guess was quite correct.
According to history that had been discovered since the last time he was here, well over sixteen years ago, the early people of Alto Mare had originally come from Kalos. By his spotty recollection, it seemed to be a group of people who had survived the Great War that had fled the land to spend the remainder of their lives in peace, unbothered by the physical scars of the kingdom. Over the years, they'd hopped from place to place, as evidenced by several designs in ancient ruins and other coastal towns with surviving historical texts, before they eventually arrived here alongside Hoennian and Johtoan travellers. Unlike most other historical groups that had banded together, the three groups were able to successfully live in harmony with one another and managed to create the village turned town.
How the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare fit into the equation, Alex couldn't tell. From what he could see the system seemed to be powered by an external source, but the way everything operated was impossible to tell. By the time Alex left he had more questions than answers, but that was perfectly alright. Part of why he enjoyed spending time in museums was to connect the dots of history. The ancient world was so much more prolific than modern day would suggest. Even the migration of pokémon from region to region led to that field of study.
One example was the origin of exeggutor. For much of the modern century, it was believed that they'd originated in Kanto, yet once Alola had become more publicly travelled, information started spreading and studies revealed that they had instead originated from the island region. Riolu were much the same, with records dating their existence in Kalos long before any evidence of their appearance in Sinnoh or Unova. Snorlax too; despite being found all over the world in this day and age, the oldest remains of them were found in Sinnoh.
For not the last time, Alex found himself wondering how life as an archaeologist would have played out. Travelling the world over to find links between ancient civilizations, fervently trying to get grants for said trips, and hoping that his sponsors and patrons would enjoy his work enough so that he could continue his studies. As always, Alex ended that scenario with the thought that it was a life for another person. Perhaps if he hadn't spent so much time battling that was how he would have proceeded, but alas.
After dinner that evening, Alex waited down in the lobby of the hotel for all his pokémon to arrive. Emerl was the first to do so, and had requested resting in his pokéball immediately. Half an hour later, with some refreshments offered by the staff, Caitlyn and Celèste had arrived; tired, but happy. He had no shame admitting that he was among those who had stared at the duo as they walked in. Even after all these years, seeing them wear clothing was still a little strange. A result of how long they'd planned on being out that day, the two had dressed in preparation. A long brimmed mauve flat cap for Caitlyn, a white hemmed black visor for Celèste, and for the chill of the evening both donned a light cardigan (light grey and black respectively).
Celèste also had the distinction of wearing a small messenger bag. Alongside a spatial liner for some of their cameras and video recorders, it contained a wallet of her own that was linked to his various accounts (and one that was personally her own), as well as business cards related to the duo's hobbies. It wasn't often that she needed it, but Celèste enjoyed being able to go out and about on her own. She occasionally had a bit of a hard time dealing with confused cashiers and workers, but a patient game of charades always cleared the issue.
After removing their garments and folding them up for him to put away, the two returned to their pokéballs as tiredly as Emerl. When another hour passed with no sign of Umbral or Deus, Alex decided to operate on the assumption that they were sleeping out in the wilds tonight, far too invested in their search of 'treasure' to return home.
When he'd finally returned to his room, a minor- well, moderate- panic attack had made itself known. His X-gear, more expensive than he ever expected to earn in his lifetime, had been left on its side as opposed to flat on its back. His bag, normally tucked into an empty space in the bedside table, was laying upright on his bed with the zippers open. What really irritated him though was the disappearance of his jacket and several shirts he'd been planning on having washed the next day.
A thorough search of his room revealed a handful of lum berries tucked around the place, hidden behind things that required quite a bit of effort to locate. He could have left the issue for tomorrow, but if he did that who knew what the thief would have done with his belongings. Donning one of his spare jackets, a bit warmer than he would have liked, even with the zipper down, Alex resigned himself to a night of treasure hunting.
It must have been quite the scene, seeing a grown man wander the streets of Alto Mare late at night, occasionally deviating off his lazy walk to pick things up. If anybody bothered to scout ahead, they would discover that what he was collecting was lum berries.
It was at a dead end that Alex stared hard at the final berry. The top part was carefully pointed towards the brick wall, and as the previous berries did, requested he pressed forward. With only the briefest amount of irritation, the disgruntled man stepped forward, trusting that this wasn't an elaborate set up for a cheap laugh.
The illusion parted around him as he stepped forward into the darkness. Up ahead, a bit of the moon's light peeked through. When Alex reached the other side, his frown slowly morphed into a small smile.
It was a little hard to appreciate it at night, but the park he'd stumbled across was the largest he'd ever seen within Alto Mare's limits. The trees here were large and old, and the flora was well maintained. If he closed his eyes, he could hear the bubbling of water. Enjoying the park could come later though. First he needed to locate the next clue.
His progress was slow moving compared to before. In an effort to let the pokémon here sleep undisturbed, he'd had to modify his footfalls to be more silent. The path was bereft of any debris which meant he didn't have to worry too much, but he'd really rather not have the flock of butterfree, pidgey, or wingull attack him out of irritation.
Without stepping away from the paved road, Alex eventually found himself at a patch of grass containing a single, massive tree. Beside the wooden swing tied to one of the branches, a pile of lum berries rested. No thief was in sight. Putting the berries away in his C-gear's storage, Alex called out Morgan, apologizing for waking him back up before informing him about the situation.
The vaporeon nodded tiredly before clambering up the tree. If need be, the rest of his pokémon could be woken, but for now he would let them rest. It was a bit odd going to sleep in the outdoors without a view of the stars, but Alex did his best all the same, lulled to sleep by the soft bubbling of water and the comforting smell of nature surrounding him.
/ - /
The roar of a Dragon Pulse sent Alex rolling to his feet. Not more than ten feet in front of him, a wide, angry furrow had been carved into the ground from the attack. The moment an aggressive trill sounded, Alex held his arm out, strengthening his stance to catch Morgan as he morphed into water and crawled down his body.
"What have we got?" A loose Water Gun shot out from his chest in three quick spurts, the resulting mist revealing an invisible pokémon aborting its charge. Numerous plans were half formed and dismissed in the span of seconds.
"Invisible assailant," he shouted, throwing out a ball. "Don't leave a scene!" Aura quickly formed from Celèste's paw, the energy gaining a sparkling twinkle as it morphed into a broadsword not unlike that of a knight's.
Morgan trilled out another warning, jetting himself off his body and into position with a whirl of water. The same water gathered at his tail, the reinforced appendage slamming against the head of their invisible attacker. Celèste appeared by the vaporeon's side an instant later, her enhanced aura weapon passing neatly through the pokémon. A pained coo echoed around the garden, its owner dropping its concealment and revealing a predominantly blue form.
"Latios," Alex breathed. "Hey, we're not your enemy. I was led here by a trail of berries!" As the words left his mouth, Alex did his best not to think about the absurdity of that.
A flare of energy was his response, the twisting motes of vibrant blue- not unlike Celèste's divine infused aura- giving away the use of Dragon Dance.
"Guess we're doing this the hard way," he grumbled. "Pull your punches! He's not getting the point!"
Celèste's weapon lost its twinkle at the command. At the same time, the coating of water surrounding Morgan's tail spiraled across his entire body, periodically pulsing in his personal variant of Aqua Ring.
Two on one, the battle against the Legendary was easy. Even after the Latios repeatedly used Dragon Dance, Celèste alone had more than enough options to deal with the threat. In the rare cases where she failed- a result of Zen Headbutts imparting excess energy into her body and preventing her from moving- Morgan was there with a jet of water and a retaliation Water Tail- and later, Iron Tail. Were it not for the Latios' usage of Recover, the battle would have been over much quicker. As it was, they were well into the twentieth minute before somebody interrupted.
"Latios, Luster Purge!"
"Celèste!"
Dirt exploded into the air with every step. Just as the energy gathered at the Latios' mouth reached a peak, Celèste leapt into the air and let out a directed pulse of negativity, the energy causing the legendary to recoil and lose control of the attack.
"We're not your enemy!" Alex shouted through the smoke. A flare of aura let him know Celèste was once again in front of him, ready for another command. "I was invited here! A pink rascal with a penchant for berries led the way!"
When the smoke cleared, Alex was able to take a look at the woman who'd appeared. Wearing a full body, light green negligee that reminded him of Celebi, the woman seemed unsure of his words.
"Look, seriously." From his X-gear he produced a handful of lum berries, moving so that the collection was in the light of the moon.
After a moment the woman sighed and called the latios over. A hushed conversation later, the injured pokémon floated off. "Follow me," she said tiredly. "And don't think about acting up. Your little fight woke up all the pokémon here, and they're keeping an eye on you."
A few minutes later, they arrived at a wooden shed built into the wall surrounding the garden. Inside, gathered at a simple table made of carved stone, what had to be the woman's twin sister was playing cards with a small pink creature. Before each of them were small piles of various berries, and in the center of the table a larger gathering lay.
"Mew, you have a visitor."
"Celèste, brace-" the words barely left his mouth before the pokémon impacted his face, her tail wrapping loosely around his neck. Alex stood there patiently as the psychic Legendary flitted about his body, chirping at a rapid pace. The telepathic words making themselves known to him were barely understood, coming forth as a deluge. It was only when she peeked down from atop his head that he was finally able to understand something.
"So did you bring my berries?"
Alex let out a deep sigh and stepped towards the table, depositing the collection of berries large enough to have fit into a basket.
"Yes! Latias, here, take some. Now we can make the game more exciting with bigger bets!"
Alex moved to stand beside the woman. "I didn't teach her this. Any of this."
"I'd have to do something to you if you did," she responded, still dressed in her nightwear.
"So long as we're on the same page." Alex suppressed a groan as both Celèste and Morgan moved to the table, Mew off-handedly dealing them a hand with her psychic powers, even as she continued explaining the winning hand she just had against the apparently camouflaged Eon pokémon. "Bianca, right?" He turned to face her completely, offering a hand. "Owner of the Museum? The staff spoke highly of you."
"Good to know they still like me." She returned his handshake with a grin, one that turned not-quite-feral as she did her best to crush his hand. "By the way, we're going to have to set some ground rules about this place."
Alex winced as Mew let out an indignant 'cry', dramatically bemoaning Celèste's luck and how she'd managed to get the best hand on her first round. "Any chance we could continue this elsewhere? Mew'll only get worse from here."
"You say worse, I say more entertaining!"
"Only when I'm part of the game, Mew! And no, that's not me asking to be dealt in."
Bianca shaked with silent laughter. It made for an interesting look, combined with her attempt to be intimidating. "Yeah. Follow me." The woman directed him to stay put in the kitchen, quickly making her way up the stairs.
Alex tried to ignore the dual telepathic messages arriving at the same time, but with one of them laced with a weak attack, he couldn't stop the wince and flare of pain. "Message received," he muttered, doing his best to focus on the artwork posted around the house instead of Bianca's shapely rear as it bounced along.
"So what do you think?"
A dark blue robe thrown over her body with a fluffy white collar, Alex could barely see a hint of her negligee. All the more alluring, he thought. "About the art?" A silent, questioning 'or' hung in the air as he jabbed a thumb towards the room they'd just come from, Mew's laughter once again resounding through. When she'd simply nodded, "I feel like this place is an extension of the museum. I haven't explored beyond the town, but I'm sure that if I tried I could find every spot the pieces were drawn from."
"I'm going to do you a favor and call that a compliment." Bianca tightened her robe a little before pouring herself a glass of water, and, as an afterthought, one for him. "First rule. You're not allowed to tell anyone about the Garden. Considering you seem to be in a close relationship with a Legendary yourself, I'm sure I don't need to tell you why."
Alex took a sip before answering, grateful to wet his throat after the short but intense battle. "Poachers, over eager trainers, yada yada. And that's not counting the wild pokémon that call this place their home, nor the plant life here."
"Huh. Guess you're a better person than I judged you for." Bianca stared at him with half lidded eyes. "Still keeping an eye on you though."
"As apparently the guardian of Legends, I wouldn't expect anything less."
"Second rule." Bianca took another sip, waiting for a peal of Mew's laughter to die down before speaking again. "You're not allowed to return here unless you're led by a pokémon or myself. This is Latias and Latios' nest after all. I'm sure you wouldn't like people wandering into you home whenever they pleased."
"Got-" Alex let out an involuntary yawn, muttering an apology afterwards. "Got it. Don't endanger their lives, yadda yadda, Legends are protected beings, don't risk or bring harm to them." Another telepathic message made him rub the bridge of his nose, Mew far too excited for him. "Sorry, with as often as Mew interacts with me I've been given this speech before. I'm not trying to insult you or anything, it's just-" Another excited message. This one whining about how Morgan had apparently stolen a bundle of aguav berries and was now running about the Garden.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mew's just not really paying attention to how much energy she's using in her messages. Always takes her a little bit to remember I can't handle as much as others." When Bianca made a concerned face, he further explained. "I drew the short stick when it comes to communicating with pokémon. Where others can hear words or intent, I just hear chirps or growls. It's only pokémon that learned to speak human or those that have telepathic abilities that I can communicate with normally, and for the latter if they're not careful I end up getting migraines. Otherwise I have to play charades or work out the intent."
"So how'd you become a trainer? With a condition like that, it must have been a really difficult time."
"The communication issue's just a one way street." He glanced to the side. "Mostly. I've been with my current team for around a decade now, so we've learned to connect certain words or actions with various instructions. That I've got two psychics capable of telepathy- even if it's just transmitting on a base, emotional or intent level- helps out with that."
"Alex!"
He winced once again, shading his eyes from the light. "Hey, are we done here? Mew's getting into a tizzy and if I don't stop her now she's going to get worse."
"Yeah, go ahead and do what you need." She gave him a worried look. "I'll have Latios teleport you out. You are fine with Teleport, right?"
"Yeah, moves are totally-" Alex hissed, trying not to get upset with Mew when she was clearly just trying to have fun. "Fine. Moves are fine."
/ - /
Morning came and went as easily as any. Umbral and Deus were still missing, but a moment's concentration from Celèste and Caitlyn informed him that they were still on the island and in good health. Interestingly there seemed to be another human and pokémon with them, but this far away their readings weren't able to get more information other than 'non-hostile'.
Once breakfast had been sorted out, Alex left his lucario and gardevoir to their own devices once again. This time they'd gone with mirrored black and white variants of their previous outfits. While at first it didn't quite suit their natural colorations, over time he'd grown used to the look. Considering how close the two had grown over the years, it was quite fitting.
Alex himself had spent most of the day wandering around, letting Morgan direct him about and later, Emerl. The beheeyem had picked up quite a bit of information from the museum, and had taken a large amount of what passed as pride in directing him to all the landmarks, explaining away what tidbits of information he'd gathered in the special light based communication that his line spoke in.
Once every tower, statue, and plaza this side of the main canal had been visited, Alex had made the executive decision to stop by the museum. He still had clothes to pick up after all; after stopping Mew and Morgan from disturbing the locals more, the former had teleported them to a random place in the town in pseudo-irritation without a word, Celèste confusedly joining them a moment later.
The ticket master hadn't recognized him from yesterday, a fact he took as a minor blessing. Less a blessing was the few people inside who remembered him from the race. Their pleas for him to bring out Morgan were waved away with the excuse of larger pokémon not exactly being allowed while inside. For the remainder of the hour, Alex looked over the various pieces again. Now trying to keep himself busy until Bianca eventually noticed him (if she was even working today), he'd realized that for some of the portraits depicting places around Alto Mare, there were several key features in the brushstrokes he'd recognized. The way trees were formed; how the ocean horizon was decorated in a subtly enhanced way rather than a true depiction; how, except for a few night pieces, the shadows were drawn with the sun at its zenith. The pictures were the same as Bianca's, and Alex couldn't help but smile at the idea of her sneaking in her artwork somewhere.
"Did you have any questions, sir?" A pointed voice asked.
"Yeah, who made all these pieces?" He asked quietly, failing to keep the amusement off his face.
"An anonymous benefactor," Bianca answered. "A few years back we put up a poll asking if visitors felt we should replace the previous pictures with modern ones. There was a unanimous support for it, and over time, we've continued to update the pieces. We've kept some of them the same though; they were originally made when Alto Mare was in its infancy, and we as a community felt that removing our heritage like that would be unfitting."
"I see. Whoever they are, they know exactly what style they're going for." Alex pantomimed drawing a brush over certain parts of the current piece; it was one overlooking almost the entirety of Alto Mare, drawn from a tower in the eastern part of the town. "Detailed enough that you can see the subject matters individually, and upon closer inspection you can even see more intricate details such as brickwork or the eaves of the roofs. Whoever drew this must have spent quite a lot of time on these pieces."
Bianca straightened her posture in pride. "Well, I cannot speak on the artist's behalf, but we here at the museum take great pleasure in showcasing their artwork. The community overwhelmingly agrees to showcase their pieces, and what pieces we do not accept are brought to the other tourist buildings or even some of our art galleries."
"The artist must be greatly appreciated then." Alex glanced out of the corner of his eye, minutely raising a brow when pride briefly gave way to disappointment. "By the way, would you happen to know where the lost and found is? I believe I left some spare clothes here the other day. One of my pokémon got rather excited and I had to chase them down."
Bianca cleared her throat. "We have a lost and found up front, though as we're expecting a tour group soon it might be better for you to try later. Might I suggest waiting in one of the parks around the town?" She met his gaze directly and cleared her throat once again. "Alto Mare's known for its wonderful weather, among other things. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. The temperature right after nightfall in particular is rather amazing."
"I'll keep that in mind." He smirked. "Thank you, miss."
/ - /
Tracking down Celèste and Caitlyn had been a simple matter of asking around. While concerned about him being in the presence of Latios again, the two had accepted his offer for them to enjoy themselves. And so it was that Alex found himself in the secret garden once again, Morgan wandering about close by. At first the pokémon had avoided him, but as minutes turned to hours they slowly began behaving normally- if a little on edge. It was shortly after the sky had started fully turning black that Bianca had arrived.
"Don't you think you're a little old for swings?"
"Don't you think you're a little young to tell an old man like me what to do?" he countered, tapping his feet on the ground to slow down his momentum.
Bianca hummed in response, waiting for him to stop moving before waving him over. "C'mon. I put your clothes away after Mew left. You know she built a nest out of them?"
"Normal behavior. Just tell me she didn't get berry stains on them?"
She turned around and faced him, a wide grin on her face. "After eating through a handful of everything she used your clothes like a napkin."
"Ah, dammit, Mew!"
Walking into the shed, Alex would've been a liar if he tried to deny the anticipation of getting tackled by something. It was unfortunate that Bianca managed to pick up on that unease, the woman taking great pleasure in teasing him over it.
"I'll bring it down in a sec. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, alright? There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." A few minutes later, Bianca returned with his stolen clothes, all of them neatly folded. From here he could see exactly what parts of them had been stained. A day later they probably wouldn't be a write off, but undoubtedly some- if not all- would need personal attention.
"You mentioned wanting to talk about something?" He asked once his clothes had been deposited into the storage space of his X-gear.
Bianca pulled a seat out at the kitchen table, motioning for him to join her. "I assume you know about Latias and Latios and their connection to Alto Mare?"
"They're the literal guardians of the town," he responded. "Hundreds of years ago, back when wars and raiding parties scoured the world, a wing of Latias and Latios made their home on this island, some time after the original voyagers arrived. After a particularly violent encounter, the engineers of the Kalosian faction set to work in designing a defense mechanism, one that utilized the rivers of the region among other things. Without access to the tools of their native land though, powering the system would be impossible." Alex canted his head to the side slightly. "And then at some point, one of the Eon pokémon presented a 'Soul Dew'. Considering traditional Kalosian tech, I can only assume it was the essence of one of their kin."
Bianca gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing several times without a word. "How did you…?"
"You'd be surprised what you can find by simply talking to people. A town as old as this one, stories get passed down for quite a long time, whether orally or in journals. Information gets distorted of course, but when you see the same information repeated numerous times you can start distilling the truth."
She leaned forward and simply stared. After a moment she nodded to herself. "As I was trying to say, Latias and Latios are the guardians of Alto Mare. Latios specifically. If something violent goes on, he's the one that handles it, while Latias takes care of bringing lost kids or pokémon back to their families. Your battle yesterday really impressed him. If you're staying here longer, would you be okay with battling with him more? An island as small and far out as this, we don't really get pokémon or trainers capable of battling on his level, so him having a challenging sparring partner's important."
"I'll have to ask my team, but I think they'll be okay with it." Alex mentally prepared himself for the expected follow up question, shaking his head slightly when it didn't come.
"How did you end up meeting Mew?"
For certain pokémon, Legendaries especially, the capitalization was something that could be heard or felt. It was a stand in for 'The'. While there was only ever one of certain types of legendaries- the Hoenn Trio, the Justice Tio, and the Tao Trio to name a few- certain other kinds had multiple spread across the world. The Legendary Birds of Kanto, the Beasts of Johto, and the Regi Trio existed in every single region slash continent; all of them though, had a specific member that was always referred to as The 'Pokémon'. For the mew that Alex interacted with, she was The Mew.
"Long story short, I saved her from some poachers a couple years back. She was screwing around with Celebi and they got into a habit of appearing in a certain place over the years. History caught up to them and I was unfortunate enough to be in the area at the time when they were fleeing. She considers the act a great favor to her and no matter what I do, she considers it unpaid."
"What you do?"
"I tried begging her to leave me alone at first, but she doesn't know how to take no for an answer. Every couple of months she'll pop out of nowhere and eat my food, steal my bed, take my clothes for nesting." He sighed. "Even if I think I'm safe she'll just worm her way in. Turn around for five second? Bam! Half my plate's gone and Mew's busy talking with whoever I have out at the time. Fell asleep before sunset? Come sunrise, she'll be cuddled up against my chest or sleeping on my face. Do you know how much stress she gives me when she does that? She's so small compared to me, and I move around in my sleep! Imagine what the other Legends would do if they found out I suffocated Mew!"
An adorable squeak of a laugh escaped her lips. "I think Mew would be able to just move you if that happened."
"Mistakes happen, Bianca. And a millennia old pokémon like her, you don't think her subconscious would forget to do certain things in the presence of me? Somebody she apparently trusts enough to use their clothes as bedding?"
She brought a hand to her lips, doing her best to hold back the laughter.
"Anyway, what about you? What's your story?"
"Well, my parents died back when I was young. Like, just a toddler young. My grandfather was the only relative they kept in regular contact with, so he took me in." She smiled fondly, staring at a picture behind him.
It was different from the rest of the portraits around the room. Drawn in colored pencil rather than an oil based paint, the piece depicted a rather rotund man with a white full beard and mustache working away at an unpainted gondola. The work was rather simplistic compared to the grandiose landscapes, but with it looking over the entirety of the room from its position, Alex could feel its importance all the same.
"A year or so later, he brought me to the garden. There, I met Latias and her brother Latios. Ah, the Latios currently here isn't her brother though. He..." She trailed off, a sad expression on her face. "An… incident happened a few years back. He ended up giving his life to protect the town." Bianca stared down at the table in thought. "A few years later, a new Latios showed up. Apparently it's important that a Latios and Latias are always protecting the town, and he showed up on the orders of another Legendary."
"Huh. That sounds like an interesting story that I'll never hear."
"What is?"
"The importance of why this town is always protected. The DMCA and the Soul Dew are things that were made significant here; both can exist without the other, and the island itself stood safely before people arrived- before the Eon wing arrived." Alex crossed his arms. "I know that humans and pokémon are mostly meant to co-exist together, so why something like this has been forced just makes me curious. It could be that the reason is something relevant to today's day and age, but in the timelines of Legends, it could also be that the reason won't be necessary until centuries or millennia from now."
Bianca stared at him. "That's a little terrifying, thinking that the Legends might be planning stuff for beyond our great grandkids."
"Is it?" Alex laughed. "Sorry. I travel a lot and so I have a lot of free time to just think about things."
For Alex, the ensuing silence felt natural, comfortable. Taking in the art pieces that Bianca so proudly displayed around her home, he felt a sense of shared pride. Among his friends and associates around the world that partook in art such as this, it was rare that so many of their creations were displayed so prominently. For many of them, they were tucked away in a corner of their room, hidden beneath a sheet of material or stored in digital memory, only rarely looked back upon.
"How come I never heard of you?"
He turned around to look at her, wondering how exactly to approach the question.
Bianca repeated herself once again. "I asked some of my staff and none of them said they knew who you were." She leaned forward, arms resting on the table. "How is it that somebody whose team can fight off a Legendary goes completely unnoticed?"
An amused grin found its way on his face. "You were asking in the wrong circles." He leaned forward as well, matching her angle. "The kind of circles that I'm known in, you'd have to be invited to."
"The more I speak to you, the more scared I get," she muttered.
The grin grew wider. "One doesn't befriend a Legendary without earning the right to cause fear."
Bianca narrowed her eyes slightly. "And apparently a lack of humility."
"Humility's for people who haven't trained a team of pokémon capable of taking down Legends. And those who have trouble free diving," he admitted quietly. When she continued to stare at him unimpressed, Alex added, "Some of my work requires passing through underwater tunnels to reach caves and the like. It happens more often than I'd like to admit, and my claustrophobia doesn't help."
"So how do you deal with it?"
"One tunnel at a time. I've got a psychic that keeps an eye on my mental state. If I ever end up panicking-" he made a popping sound with his lips, "she just teleports me out. If I make it through, then she'll teleport to me. She's only had to teleport me out a few times; mostly where sinkholes gave way to underground reservoirs."
Bianca continued to stare, a mix of incredulity and uncomprehension on her face.
"There's the rock spires of Forina over in Hoenn for example. The entire place has rivers and pools of water underground. Got lost under there for a few days once, back when I was teen. The forests northeast of Humilau City over in Unova have a few places like that as well. That region has some ancient places untouched by humanity. More than a few times I'd rappel my way down a ravine and just explore the place." He nodded towards one of the paintings; displaying one of the mountains in a way that made it seem significantly taller than it really was. "Still wish I knew how to work a camera, or even had something to record video. Would've made for some great shots."
Over the next few hours, Alex continued to regale various stories of his travels. From the farmlands of Kalos, to the sun kissed islands of the Orange Islands. With her blessing, he even changed up dinner that night to a dish from the floating town of Pacifidlog. Before he left that night, Bianca managed to get a promise from him to make a Unovan dish.
/ - /
Alex sighed for the fifteenth time. "Yes, there is merit to focusing on four moves, but as we just showed you, the ability to use more moves than that, even if they're of substandard quality, is important." With a wave of his hand, Celèste entered a combat stance, one paw hissing with the power of Ice while the other groaned with restrained Dark. "Celèste majors in her aura weapons, alongside Counter, Detect, and Swords Dance, but that doesn't stop her from using elemental attacks, healing her allies, or a handful of projectile based attacks."
He jabbed the top of his pen at the notepad in his other hand. "Seriously! Do a single Zen Headbutt and focus on transferring the energy build up into your target! The disorientation from the sudden burst of energy will give you more than enough time for a Dragon Pulse! Hell, set up a column of Luster Purge and then go for a Body Slam that'll launch your target into it! Make a stationary Shadow Ball and go for an Aerial Ace!" Alex took a step forward, a pleading tone entering his voice. "You have all these moves available to you but you just refuse to use them!"
Pride. Arrogance. Above all, disdain.
"I don't care that you knocked Celèste back an entire field, SHE GOT RIGHT BACK IN YOUR FACE AND UPPERCUTTED YOU INTO THE TREES!"
"Is everything okay?" A hesitant voice asked.
Alex took a moment to compose himself before turning to face Bianca and her concerned doppelganger. "Just butting heads with somebody over whether focusing on multiple moves is better or if you should only use a set of four. It's not even a matter of strategy or ensuring things are fair since someone is a Mew-cursed Legendary and not a trained 'mon in a competition." He glared at Latios, the psychic-dragon glaring back with equal intensity.
Placating concern; A desire for peace. Underlying fear.
He took another breath, holding it in and performing the basics of a Calm Mind. Energy gathered around you, growing closer and closer, entering your very being and centering around the core of your soul. With the exhalation of air, Alex opened his eyes. The irritation of the conversation was there- it always would be so long the IPA format existed, but he could at least start focusing on not scaring Latias.
"Latios, Celèste, take five. Or fifteen." The two wandered off to a quiet place somewhere within the garden, leaving Alex alone with the sisters. "Sorry about that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "When most things essentially tickle you, it's hard to accept a differing opinion."
"Speaking from experience?" Bianca asked dryly.
"I've had to have been reminded of my mortality before, yes." Alex accepted the towel and bottle from Latias- Kanon, as he was told earlier. "It's not an entirely pleasant experience, but doing so on the regular keeps me in check." Dried sweat was rubbed away, the lingering drops slowly evaporating in the heat of the afternoon sun. "Because my team goes up against wild 'mon all the time, we forget what proper Trainer Battles are like. Having to play with the 4 move limit as well as not being able to use multiple moves at the same time means we have to be more creative about stuff, especially in a tournament setting. It's annoying, but the reality check keeps all of us from getting too arrogant."
"Oh, yes, just a little bit arrogant though," Bianca repeated. Kanon, for her part, silently giggled. In his head he could feel the tinkling laughter, soft and carefully measured to prevent him from getting a headache. The ribbing smile changed to a serious look. "You think the lessons will stick?"
"If not from me, then from her." He thrust his chin towards Kanon. "Lil' spitfire has one hell of a Mist Ball, and that's not even talking about the control over Draco Meteor." He narrowed his eyes. "If I ever find the person that taught you how to use that, I'm going to have words with them." When she grinned impishly, Alex smirked.
"Good words, I hope?"
"The best of words," he answered, still smiling.
"You're a little terrifying sometimes, you know that?"
"Bianca, I've trained my pokémon to be able to fight a Legendary to a standstill. And I have six of them." Alex made sure not to look at Kanon as he spoke. Adverse to fighting as she was, she was most definitely capable of dealing with threats as a last resort. "Comes with the territory," he added simply.
When a minute passed in silence, Alex sat down in the grass. Towards the gazebo that housed the Soul Dew, he could feel Latios' aura flare in spurts of anger, the unmistakable touch of a Psychic blowing up harmlessly in the air. In the other direction, Celèste's aura reached back questioningly, returning to its meditative state when he answered in the negative.
"Alex, did you want me to get anything started while you guys were training?"
"If there's any side dishes you think will pair well with meat, go ahead. I picked up everything I'll need this morning, and I can get it prepped all together."
"Oh, okay- wait, meat? Like meat and not fish meat? But that's-"
He twisted his body to look at her. Behind her, Kanon wore an oddly pleased smile. "You said Unovan dish, right? Nothing's more Unovan than a steak with seasonings from our fields. Sure, Johto might be able to make a few things, and Kanto burgers are definitely their own specialty, but there's no beating a Unovan in the grilling department. And yes, Kanon, I'll make sure to leave some for you two."
The latias giggled silently, tugging on Bianca's arm before waving goodbye.
/ - /
Alex hummed quietly to himself. It was a painful rendition of an Ecruteak folksong, but the memories of its performance at the dance theater helped him ignore the sour notes. All the while, he cut an apple into eight slices, arranging them neatly around the container of freshly made caramel. The plain bowl and plate weren't exactly what he was used to in terms of presentation, but it was what he had to work with.
The door to the storage shed clicked close. A moment later, Bianca sat back down in her seat, marveling at the presentation of fruits. "You got all this from the markets?" She asked again, debating whether or not to take another sip of wine from her glass.
"Alto Mare may be a small town, but it's still a decent place for imports. Between the restaurants, travellers, and sweet shops, you just need to know where to go to get things."
She glanced up at him for naught but a moment, tentatively reaching out to grab a strawberry.
Alex smiled and gestured for her to go ahead. "So how was everybody?" In quick movements he cleansed the knife of all of its debris, the water from the faucet still hot from the earlier dishes. "Oh, I don't suggest drinking the wine with the dessert by the way. It's too dry."
She nodded gratefully. "Latios still has some hard feelings against Celèste, but it seems like they're starting to get along. Kanon and Caitlyn were talking about something telepathically. They were going too fast for me to understand them and when I tried to get closer I ended up getting a small headache." She looked up and stared at him, chewing carefully. "Is that what you meant by being sensitive to psychics?"
"Something like that." He dipped an apple slice into the caramel, deftly twisting the piece to end the trail. Slightly more salty than sweet, the sugary mixture was something he'd fine tuned while staying with June back in Lumiose. It was a bit of an acquired taste, but it let the sweetness of the fruits shine through. "Basically they have to talk to me just above the equivalent of a whisper. More than that and it starts to hurt."
"I see."
As they slowly cleared away their dessert, the two talked about various things. From Alex, he'd asked about past winners of the Tour De Alto Mare. The pokémon that came through, the trainers and how often non-water specialists won. Bianca herself asked more about his adventures; the sights he'd seen, the people he'd come across, how he'd learned to cook when he was so clearly a traveller.
"Some of my friends would let me stay with them, so long as I took care of chores and whatnot. Spend six months or so in a city when you're used to the outdoors, you get a little stir-crazy. After two months the first time, I visited a library and picked up some recipe books." He pointed at his X-gear, resting on a table in the living room. "I learn better with something physical rather than digital. A tactile thing, or something like that. I don't really remember all the information properly. Visual, Audial, and Tactile; just knowing those three things is enough for me." When the last strawberry remained untouched for several more questions, Alex gestured for her to go ahead, internally delighting at the way her face lit up at its coated taste. "You mind if I ask a personal question?"
She swallowed- heavier than simply swallowing her food. "S-sure. Go ahead."
"Are you happy here?"
Bianca blinked. Once. Twice. Three times, in rapid succession. "Am I happy here?" She repeated. With a laugh, "What kind of question is that?"
"A small town girl who sees as many faces in a day as there are petals on a flower, I dunno." He stared at a picture of a setting sun, framed between the masts of docked boats. "Every person has a crazy dream of someplace far away at some point in their life, don't they? Making it big in the city, settling down on a farm in the countryside, living aboard a fishing ship out at sea." He looked back at her, idly wondering if he was offending her in some manner. "Is being the caretaker of two legendaries and being the curator and manager of a museum what you really want in life? Is that what makes Bianca Orikasa happy?"
"Give me a moment?" Biana suddenly stood up, her chair scraping along the floor. With hurried steps, she marched up the stairs to the second floor. The sounds of things being shoved aside, alongside mutterings, made their way down. A moment later, she returned with her arms full of canvases. "Here. What do you think about this?" The first picture she displayed was of the Soul Dew's gazebo, painted in the light of the morn. Sunbeams trickled through the branches of the ancient trees, and if he focused at the right spot, he could see the invisible forms of a latias and latios.
"When I see this piece, it makes me want to find where it was painted from. It's obviously of some importance to whoever drew it; the framing of the sunbeams drawing attention to it, the way it dances on the water's surface of the pools below it." He nodded meaningfully towards the upper left-hand corner. "Given a closer inspection, you can see what lies hidden. It's not easy to hide details like that, especially given how much detail is in the trees already." He glanced at the other paintings around the room. "This was made within the past year, wasn't it? But the scene; with how close the two subjects are..." He looked at her face. "This was before the incident, wasn't it? Back when Kanon's brother was still around?"
Without giving him a response, she moved on to the next one. "What about this one?" It was the entirety of Alto Mare, painted from somewhere high above, out at sea.
Alex leaned in closer, brow furrowing at the realization that the details of the houses were the same as the one from the museum. "How long did this one take?"
She shook her head. "Nevermind that. What do you think about it?"
"...you love it here," he answered.
"Every single house," she said resolutely. She showed one more picture. A black haired boy with zig zagged scars under his eyes stood atop a white and red water chariot. Hooked up to it was a jubilant totodile, and on his shoulder was a pikachu. Hiding just behind the boy, unnoticed by any of them, was a faintly drawn latias.
"This was- is- somebody important."
"He was the one who helped protect Alto Mare." Bianca bit her lip. "Alex, do you believe in love at first sight?"
"No." He took a sip from his glass. A little warm after sitting for so long, but he didn't mind. That didn't stop his mouth from twitching at the way it mixed with the aftertaste of the fruits. "I believe in an attraction and a heavy desire to know someone, but love at first sight like movies and tv portrays it? That doesn't exist. For a relationship to work, you have to put effort into it. Ignoring the things that bother you or that you don't agree with just leads to hardships and regret."
Bianca sat back down, gently setting the paintings on the floor. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?" She asked quietly.
"First ship out of here the morning after Morgan and Deus come back," he answered.
She muttered something unintelligible.
"Hm?"
"Stay with me tonight," she repeated quietly.
He took another sip, letting it rest in his mouth. As used to Kalosian makes as he was, the signature dry standards of Johto were starting to grow on him. It was only after arriving to that conclusion that he spoke. "Say that again?"
"I want you to stay here with me tonight." She looked up, staring directly at him. Her face was set in a determined look. Beside her, her glass- only the second of the night- was still halfway unfinished.
"Bianca, am I interpreting that correctly?" He gave her a pointed stare.
"Yes, yes you are." In three swallows she downed the rest of her glass, placing it none-too gently on the table. "Do you know what you are, Alex?"
"A man from Unova that travels the world?"
"A man from Unova that travels the world, and is involved with a Legendary." She leaned forward, a pleading tone in her voice. "Do you know how many people I've told this secret to? None. Absolutely no one since my grandfather passed away. For five years I've had to live a double life. And for once, in so long, I finally have somebody that can share in that secret with me!" Her face fell. "Not even a week ago I thought I was going to die all alone, but then you showed up and I-"
Alex shook his head minutely. "Bianca, you know I can't give you what you're asking."
"Then please! Give me a dream! A memory! Something I can hold onto!"
"I don't think that's a wise choice," he said softly.
"I don't care!" Her eyes began watering. "Alto Mare's a small place, you said it yourself! I couldn't enter a relationship with anybody here and not have to stress about them finding out about the garden! How long would it take me to trust them with that?! At least with you, even if you're leaving the day after- or even tomorrow!- I can trust that you won't expose my secret."
It was wrong. It was wrong in so many ways. But there was something in Bianca's eyes that worried him. Maybe it would help. Maybe it would make things worse. But she needed this. "I'm going to go get my pokémon," he said slowly. "When I come back, you can ask me again, and then I'll give my answer. Is that okay?"
Regret briefly flashed over her face, but she nodded all the same.
Soft fur, smelling slightly of strawberries, brushed back against his fingers with every stroke. Behind him, the quiet breaths of Caitlyn and Celèste reached his ears. "Do you think I made a mistake?" He whispered.
Gentle affirmations hushed away his fears.
"I know, but still." He let his head rest on hers, his chin tickling at the sensation of the psychic energy Mew used to support the two of them. As his breathing slowed, images began filtering through his head. Alex took in each of them with a dream-like quality, the real life images slowly gaining an acrylic effect. The final image should have terrified him in its vastness, but the image of the planet slowly spinning through the cosmos, with a backdrop of infinite stars, only brought amusement and safety.
Where to next?
"Goldenrod," he answered to her quiet question. "It's in the center of Johto, so I'll be able to get to wherever I'm needed easily."
The city in the various times of day flashed through his mind.
"Be careful on your way over there." Paws, so small yet so powerful, nudged his arms away. "Take care." As the psychic floated off into the night, Alex was left wondering how grateful he should be about his place in life.