"Lesions... pulmonary... here it is, musculoskeletal." Ash pulled the very thick tome off the shelf, holding back a sneeze by sheer force of will. The library available to the Aura Guardians was massive, and unfortunately the less-read materials were often forgotten and left covered in dust, because apparently the castle's cleaning staff literally could not enter the room-none of them could use their aura, so they couldn't get past the doors. That left cleaning up to the Guardians, but it would seem that it wasn't exactly a high priority.

At the moment all her team except for Oberon was out in one of the courtyards, training with Neal's Pokemon, listening to a lecture of some sort or another. Dragonite had traveled a lot with his trainer and had learned much in the process-lessons he was now sharing with his trainer's student's Pokemon.

Mostly Ash was just grateful that Coach had taken such a shine to the big dragon, and as such was not around to hear her bitterly moaning about how little information there was on actually healing Pokemon. There was plenty of anatomy and physiology resources, and a very very general healing approach-once she'd actually translated it into modern Kantonian-but it looked like she would be digging through journals for a while yet. She'd made some progress, thankfully, she could heal bruises and scrapes without draining herself for the entire day, but it wasn't enough.

There was a lot of metaphorical instruction, and very little concrete. Some of it she just got, but the rest... She refused to accept that she might not have 'the knack' to master aura healing. Zapdos had said she should look into it, surely she would be able to learn enough to help Coach? Her Charmander deserved more options than he had right now. And...

She shook her head, clearing it of the echoes of blood splatter and Giovanni's cold orders to kill her precious friends.

Never again.

'Maybe you need some hands on experience?' Oberon levitated another small stack of books over to the desk she'd claimed. Neal had said he'd meet them here later, after his meeting with Queen Illene, but for now this was their free time that she could spend as she liked. The Espeon flipped open one of the less fragile texts. 'You do need to learn the structure and elements of living beings, but you might just need to be able to sense it with your aura before you get the hang of manipulating it to heal.'

"Maybe," she admitted. She'd never been bad at book work or research, she knew she was smart, but it she were being honest getting out and doing was what she excelled in. She'd just usually been able to hammer out a detailed plan before doing things to maximize her learning curve. But her long-time friend had a point. "I'll ask Neal, he might be able to arrange something with the Pokemon Center or the castle infirmary. I just... I'm so close to something! It's frustrating..."

'I know. But Coach will love you whether you succeed or not, and so will the rest of us. For now...' Oberon leveled her with a piercing stare. 'You know better than to ignore your instincts. My Queen might be able to keep the others off your back about it, but we can't help you if you won't tell us what you're avoiding.'

Making a face, Ash slunk back over to her desk and sat down. "... It's the tree of life, out on the border. There's... I'm supposed to go there. Feels like I've been there before. But I already know that whatever I'm supposed to find is going to hurt even worse than learning about D... about Dad."

Oberon's mental presence softened, almost cradling her mind like he would his own kits. 'It also involves Lucario, doesn't it?'

Grimacing, Ash nodded. She'd been avoiding him ever since the reveal, though she couldn't... She couldn't stop thinking about the Pokemon. Her father's partner, apparently. She couldn't remember him being around when she was a kid, and assumed he hadn't time traveled at all-why did something deep within just laugh hysterically?-but she just... There was a draw to Lucario, so strong it hurt, and right now she just couldn't separate Lucario from Aaron. She may have started to mentally sort things out, but it was too much still.

"I don't know why or how, only that I really should go before we leave. There's... I'll find answers there. To what, I've got no idea, but... Well, I think it'll be better than nothing, not counting whatever side-effects will pop up."

'You should talk to Neal about it, he might have more information.'

"Yeah, I will. Studying first, though."

XxXxX

Serena watched breathlessly as Kofurai started to glow, her white fluff almost appearing to liquify. Within seconds it was over, leaving a gorgeous Vivillon where her cuddly Spewpa had just been.

"Oh wow, look at her!" Ash's exclamation finished drawing the rest of the group's attention, and Serena could only beam at her friend before holding her arm out to her second Pokemon.

Kofurai's wings were split between two main colors, a vibrant orange on top and teal-blue on the bottom, in a sunset over water type image. The reds, yellows, and deeper blue of the details were utterly stunning. The Vivillon fluttered over to perch on the outstretched arm, letting out a happy trill.

"Ocean pattern," Calem declared, impressed. "Those are really rare, Ser, you're lucky!"

They'd all been spending some time exploring the castle garden areas that were open to the public, and it must have been just enough excitement for Kofurai to evolve. She said so aloud, getting nods and hums of agreement back. Delia was the first to approach, cooing delightedly over Kofurai, who was eating up the attention happily.

A light pressure against her leg had Serena looking down at her other Pokemon, expressions mixed between pride and a pout.

"Aw, don't worry Mimi, Felix, you guys will evolve soon enough too," she reassured them, kneeling so they could spend some time with Kofurai in her new form.

"Serena's right, it shouldn't be long," Ash added.

The honey blonde looked at her friend, taking in the slight shadows under her eyes. Nobody had explained what the queen had wanted to speak with Ash about, but they all had been told about her mentorship with one of the Aura Guardians, and the training she was undergoing. That, Ash seemed to enjoy, so clearly it wasn't learning more about her aura that was the issue, but Serena just didn't know what the problem could be. And she wasn't sure how to ask.

Ash had been her only real friend for a long time-her hometown only had two other kids living in it right now, and both were under five years old-and while they'd reconnected easily after Daisy had passed on their contact information, there was so much about Ash that she didn't know. The incidents with Team Rocket, being given feathers from Legendary Pokemon, being able to use aura... All that had to be connected somehow.

Serena knew that she was sheltered. Grace had decided that was a good trade off for her daughter being safe. But what the girl really wanted to do was make sure her best friend was safe, and not silently suffering over something she felt she couldn't tell Serena, for whatever reason.

"What's the matter, Ser?" Ash asked, brown eyes concerned.

"It's nothing," the honey blonde shook her head. "It's the first time one of my Pokemon evolved, is all!"

No, she wasn't going to ask Ash about it all, not yet. But if whatever was bothering her didn't clear up soon, she felt like she'd have to.