KINGDOM OF ROTA
CAMERAN PALACE
FIVE MONTHS LATER
The sun broke through a canopy of wispy clouds over Cameran Palace, the grounds bustling with early-morning activity. Pidgey sang overhead, Lotad splashed in the fountains in the gardens, Roselia pruned a spectacular display of white roses next to the main gate, assisted by dancing Bellossom.
Ash and Aurian skidded around a corner at precisely one minute to eight, nearly careening into a wall as they raced towards the throne room.
"We're gonna be late!" Ash hissed, Pikachu hanging onto his shoulder for dear life.
Aurian dodged a suit of armor. "That's what we get for staying up until three for research the night before the Tournament!"
"Was it worth it?"
Aurian groaned, ducking into an ornately decorated room. "Yes. Yes, it was."
The patonai joined a circle of folks in various stages of Tournament preparation– some wore period clothing, some wore serving staff uniforms, others wore jeans and t-shirts.
Ilene stepped forward, Mime Jr. resting on her shoulder. "Good morning! The day we've worked and waited for is finally here. Happy Tournament day, everyone!"
The room erupted into cheers and applause.
"Also!" Ilene clapped, "not only is this the two-hundredth anniversary of the event, this is also the first with our Preservation Project exhibition! For the first time, all of our attendees will be able to learn about Sir Aaron and the history of the Guardian Guild firsthand. Thank you for helping our legends come to life."
Ilene detailed specific assignments for her staff and for Ash and Aurian's teammates before the group splintered, hustling to make last-minute preparations before the gates opened at ten.
"Patonai, would you mind staying behind a second?" Ilene asked.
Ash nodded. "Of course, what do you need?"
"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your hard work," Ilene smiled. "Ryan and Mercy are overjoyed that the exhibition came together so quickly. Riley trained you well– thank you for sharing your talents with us."
Aurian beamed. "It's been incredible. Thank you for welcoming us home! The Preservation Project team really feels like a family."
"Ryan did threaten to adopt us. Multiple times," Ash said.
Ilene burst into laughter. "That doesn't surprise me. He's a good man. I know he and Mercy gave you a detailed debrief on your expectations for the exhibition today, but do you have any other questions?"
"I don't think so," Aurian shook her head, "but thank you for checking!"
"I'll admit I never imagined that we'd get to honor our heritage like this, especially here. Just to make sure, are you okay with us wielding while we're with the Project?" Ash asked.
"That's why we brought you on," Ilene said. "Ryan confirmed with Riley and Lance, if that helps."
"That's all we need," Ash said, Aurian nodding her agreement.
Ilene motioned towards the door. "Before you leave, you have a few visitors who asked to see you before the Tournament opens…"
The throne room doors launched open, six familiar faces sprinting forward.
"Ash!" Max yelled, tackling his mentor in a hug.
"You did not." Ash gave Ilene a conspiratorial look.
Maddie nearly knocked Aurian over. "We missed you!"
"Oh, we missed you too!" Aurian wiped a few tears away. "What are you doing here?"
"We're competing!" Noah grinned. "Figured this would be a good way to prepare for our first League competitions later this year."
"Also, seeing you guys is a great bonus," Max said.
Misty squeezed Ash's hand. "It's nice to see you in person instead of through PokeGear calls."
"You're telling me," he kissed her cheek. "Things still okay in Cerulean?"
She gave a wicked smile. "Steven officially shifted the Gym Leader rankings last week. I'm now seventh in the Kanto challenge order. It feels so good to go all-out against challengers instead of using my lower-level Gym team… and the bonus isn't bad, either."
"Brock, how's med school going?" Aurian asked.
"I just got my placement for my second practicum! I'll spend my last semester with the G-Men," Brock said, everyone's expressions reflecting the joy on his face. "It looks like I'll come on board full-time as a Pokemon Rehabilitation Specialist in the medical bay if all goes well."
"And we definitely need one of those. Congrats!" Ash exchanged a complicated high-five sequence with Brock.
"Speaking of G-Men news, how in the loop have you been with communication from the corps?" Brock asked.
The patonai shrugged.
"I think Riley made sure we weren't in the loop to keep us from working while we're here," Aurian said. "We got a notification that the bylaws were revised so anyone can join. Outside of that, we haven't heard anything major."
Misty and Brock both pulled cards from their wallets, passing them to Ash and Aurian.
"I think this qualifies as major," Misty winked.
G-Men identification cards rested in the patonai's hands, Brock and Misty's headshots and names printed in full color.
"Designation: Armada?" Ash asked, eyes wet.
Misty nodded. "Riley wanted us to tell you in person. We're not holding the initiation ceremony without you. We're perfectly fine with setting a date for later."
"Wow, this is incredible," Aurian hugged both her friends. "Welcome to the team!"
"More like welcome back," Ash said. "Did Riley ever officially discharge you after the Island incident?"
Brock shook his head. "They'll still need us to testify, so… no."
"Maybe we'll join when we get strong enough!" Maddie said, the other trainees nodding.
Ash put his hands up. "Whoa whoa whoa, let's not talk about that until you're at least eighteen."
"Twenty," Aurian protested.
Brock cleared his throat. "Twenty-five!"
"Fine," Max pouted, drawing laughs from everyone in the room.
"Since you're here early, would you like a sneak peek at what we've worked on for the last five months?" Aurian asked, hands on her hips.
The patonai led their friends through the palace grounds and gardens to a series of buildings on the west end of the castle complex, decorated with banners, flags, and ribbons in Guardian blue. A courtyard in front bore a fountain, cleaned to perfection. Bluebonnets and sunflowers filled the beds around the building.
"The Preservation Project team's built quite the set-up in the last four months," Ash motioned towards the doors. "Ready?"
The doors opened to reveal a lobby area decorated with smaller artifacts, dioramas, and wall displays about the Project's intentions and staff members. Max, Maddie, and Noah ran for a diorama of a temple, Brock analyzed old weapons, Misty found the staff roster.
"Mark and Mariah Edwards?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
Aurian shrugged. "We're still League fugitives until Steven and his new staff overturn the verdicts in our original cases. Once Tobias, Goodshow, and Giovanni are convicted, we might be able to put our actual names on there."
"What a bummer," Misty took in the displays. "This is incredible work."
"This is just the beginning," Ash propped a new door open. "Come on!"
The patonai took their friends through the museum, each room more spectacular than the last. Several of the display items responded when Ash and Aurian approached, their auras adding an extra layer to the displays. Misty's jaw dropped in the last room: a full-scale replica of a temple's inner Sanctum.
Brock shook his head. "This is incredible."
"It's all based on the Temple we found in the Tree of Beginning," Ash said.
Michael nearly dropped the imitation staff in his hands. "You did not."
"There've been legends about the Guild's headquarters passed around for centuries, but no one knew where to look… until now," Aurian said. "We found some clues in Father's oldest preserved documents that pointed us in the right direction. Our bosses here are over the moon! Most of the artifacts you see here came from what we found in the root system."
Max picked up a pair of gloves, crystal embedded over the backs of the hands. "Are these real?"
Aurian put a finger to the crystals, which flared blue under her touch.
"There's a mini-game on the back wall," Ash pointed his trainee towards a large screen. "Give it a try while the gloves are glowing!"
"How do I look?" Max pulled the gloves on and struck a ridiculous pose.
The room erupted in laughter.
"Not historically accurate, but great all the same," Aurian grinned. "Any questions before we send you to find costumes and show the trainees where to register for the tourney?"
Brock nodded. "So, your aura made some of these exhibits even more incredible than I thought they would be. If you're the only ones who can wield, how will the other staff make that happen?"
"Arrowheads!" Aurian pulled hers from under her shirt. "Turns out that aura-charged crystal works with pretty much everything here. Our other team members will explain it at the start of the tour, but we'll give a bit of an extra show."
"One more," Michael raised a hand. "If the tournament starts later this afternoon, what else is happening before then?"
"Since it's the two-hundredth tournament, Ilene and her advisors decided to go all-out. All the food is period-accurate this year, there are medieval games and activities in the main courtyard, there are pop-up exhibits across Cameran," Ash said.
Aurian threw her arms out. "The palace grounds are your Cloyster! Not to mention the giant party happening after the tourney. Full orchestra, massive fireworks show, huge banquet table. It's the event of the century!"
"If that doesn't sell you, you can try archery and axe-throwing at the stables," Ash trailed off, slightly alarmed by the mischievous glint that entered Max's eyes.
"There's one more perk to knowing Preservation Project staff," Aurian said. "First dibs on the costumes, come on!"
Michael flashed a thumbs-up as the group took off towards the dressing rooms. "Cool, I'm in. I'd love to throw some axes to relieve stress from the lab."
"... do you want us to ask how that's going?" Aurian put a hand on Michael's shoulder.
"Every time we think we've made progress, Darkrai fights back. Lance is sympathetic but frustrated. We're close to cracking almost every other one of Tobias and Faith's team members. Wallace, Steven, Wes, Rui, and I called in Professor Krane. He's just as stumped as we are."
"Do you think aura would do anything?" Ash frowned. "Is there any way to incorporate that into the purification process?"
"Maybe, but we're still working through how to integrate the concept into the machines we already have. This is personal for Wes, Rui, and I; we have to figure this out. That Darkrai is too incredible to spend the rest of its life in a pokeball in some purification chamber that can't help it."
Ash sighed. "That's a rough situation. I hope you find a way forward."
"I think we will," he said. "A weekend away from base has already done wonders. Thanks for letting me crash the party."
"It's not crashing if you're invited," Aurian winked.
The group spilled into Cameran Palace's costume room, splitting up to ransack the racks.
"Brock, don't you dare wear the same costume from last time," Max called. "You looked like a dingus."
"Hey! I was your dingus!"
The patonai took in the sounds of their friends rifling through racks, yelling encouragement and disses at each other until everyone vanished into fitting rooms.
Aurian nudged his shoulder. "Remember four years ago when you worried you'd never have friends again?"
"I've never been more glad to be wrong."
"Tough luck, but that was a great battle," Ash patted a dejected Max on the shoulder as he rejoined his friends in the grandstands. "You and Kirlia did great work out there."
Max mustered a smile. "You really think so?"
"Top Thirty-Two at your first tournament? I'd say that's a success," Brock said.
"For the record," Ash added, "I didn't make it past the Round of Sixty-Four in my Indigo league."
"And the numbers are ridiculously higher than normal because of the bicentennial, that's a big deal," Aurian stuck her hands out, nearly whacking Maddie in the face.
"According to RotaRounds," Noah started, earning a groan from his companions, "none of us were projected to make it out of the qualifying matches. We all did! Look at us, defying expectations and stuff."
"That sets y'all up well for your League competitions in a few months!" Michael gave Noah a noogie.
Max gave a nervous laugh. "We still have a few more gym badges before then…"
"Which you'll win with flying colors," Misty said. "You have time, and that's okay. You'll be ready."
"And if you ever need help or advice, you have five trainer friends who could give you really good tips if you called," Brock shrugged.
"I've heard they're pretty good," Michael nudged Aurian.
"I've also heard they're hopelessly addicted to s'mores and may or may not have plans to make more tonight," Aurian fired back, much to the trainees' delight.
The rest of the battles flew by, a figure in a hooded mage costume decimating a knight to deafening applause in the final round.
"Man, are we ever going to find out who our champion is?" Brock pouted, arms crossed.
Misty nudged her friend as the mage dropped their hood, revealing none other than-
"Touko?!" Max gasped.
"No wonder I couldn't beat her!" Maddie said. "That explains everything!"
"The winner of our two-hundredth tournament is Touko White from Nuvema Town, Unova!" Ilene's voice boomed around the stadium. "Remember, the fun's not over yet! Please join us in the palace for our annual post-battle ball!"
Ash and Aurian managed to catch up with Touko as the gang filtered back towards the palace.
"Touko!" Aurian waved, jumping up and down to catch her friend's attention. "Hey, that was great!"
The brunette nearly tackled Aurian in a huge hug. "Ohmygoodnesshi! I am so glad to see you. And Red, hi! Is the rest of your crew here?"
"Wouldn't miss it if these hooligans are involved!" Michael tried to give Ash a noogie and failed, spectacularly.
Misty exchanged a complicated high-five sequence with the new champion. "Since when do you have a Shiftree?!"
"Spent some time in Hoenn after the Global Invitational finished up. Turns out that was a fantastic choice, and Bladerunner and I bonded over chocolate-covered coffee beans. He's been a blast to work with," Touko beamed.
"I mean, it is the best region," Max smirked. "Make any other cool catches?"
"Tried to grab a Slaking, but my Arceus those things are terrible," Touko rolled her eyes. "Laziest brand of chaos I've ever seen. Visited Anabel at the Battle Frontier and really enjoyed that. What have you been doing?"
"Our first League competition's in a few months," Maddie said.
Noah groaned. "Getting my butt beat by Korinna. She's too good."
"Trying to solve our Shadow Pokemon problem," Michael shrugged. "Not a lot of luck so far."
"Research," Ash winked.
Touko raised an eyebrow.
"You'll see, come on!" Aurian pulled her forward into the palace ballroom.
The party was grand beyond words. An orchestra serenaded the attendees for hours, dance tune after dance tune echoing through the ballroom. Enough food to feed a small army sat on bowed tables, the chocolate fountains attracting an unsurprising and overwhelming amount of attention. Through it all, Touko sat on the champion's throne, enjoying the revelry but removed from it all.
Two patonai stood backstage, their father's staff resting in Ash's hands.
"Knowing what we know now about Father, I doubt he'd be okay with his champion sitting on the sidelines during the best party of the year," Aurian said.
Ash nodded. "Do you think a few Borealis kids could change that tradition?"
Maid Jenny, advanced in years but still young in spirit, gave the patonai a knowing smile. "Something tells me that this is the year to try something new."
Ilene stood, the crowd quieting on its own.
"As part of our yearly tradition, our champion will be presented with the very staff that Sir Aaron wielded during his service as a Guardian in Rota," she said. "The staff will be presented by two of our Preservation Project's lead researchers, Marcus and Mariah Edwards."
All assembled erupted into furious applause, Ash and Aurian passing the staff over to a teary Touko.
"This is incredible, thank you," she whispered.
Ash smiled. "Just you wait."
"Now– Touko White, please take the stance of the Guardian!" Ilene called.
As Touko raised the staff over her head, the patonai launched twin strands of invisible aura towards the crystal. Upon impact, the staff glowed, swirls of indigo and cerulean enveloping Touko's hands.
Fireworks exploded overhead, light flashing through the windows.
"Let the party continue!" Ilene said. "Thank you all for coming!"
Touko set the staff down, wiping a few tears away. "Wow."
"Don't wow yet, you haven't even danced with anyone!" Aurian pulled her friend off of the dais just as a remix of a popular song blasted through the speakers.
Ash exchanged a glance with the queen. "I don't remember this happening five years ago."
"We've made a few, ahem, upgrades to the palace since the last time you were here," Ilene said. "Also, the orchestra has a morning concert tomorrow and they need their sleep. Are you going to join your sister?"
"Maybe," Ash paused, taking in the sight of a few hundred people in medieval costumes getting their groove on to the Mienfoo Fighters. "Sometimes it's nice to watch."
Misty snuck onto the stage, her fingers interlacing with his. "You're not staying up here and wasting a night being philosophical if I have anything to do with it."
"I knew I liked you," Ilene beamed. "Go have fun!"
Misty yanked Ash onto the floor despite his protests, the pair joining in halfway through a corny but thoroughly enjoyable line dance…
"Normally I'm all down for any kind of adventure," Maddie yawned, "but does this adventure really have to happen at midnight after the best party ever?"
Michael nodded, trudging forward through the Tree of Beginning. "My sugar crash happened three hours ago. All that's left of me is uncertainty and trace amounts of caffeine."
"And probably not my brain," Noah added. "How close are we?"
Ash paused in front of a particularly large tangle of roots. "Pretty much there, hang on."
"Just one last thing we need to do," Aurian stepped forward, hands roving over the roots until she found a knot the size of her fist. Blue light erupted from her fingertips, aura chasing through the Tree's veins until it outlined a single door.
"Welcome," Ash pushed the door open, "to our greatest discovery."
Seven people stepped forward into the Temple of the Tree of Beginning, perfectly preserved for millennia. Stained glass glowed slightly from a full moon overhead, an altar draped with blue cloth rose from the back of the room. Pews rested in orderly lines, stretching through most of the room.
"This is unreal," Brock's jaw dropped.
Aurian led the group to the front of the room, an intricate design carved into the marble. "And, get this–"
"That looks familiar, but I can't quite place it," Misty frowned.
Ash put a hand to the design, blue light rocketing upward. Spirits roved in the background, out of focus, until a familiar Lucario poked his head into view.
"Ash, Aurian! This is a pleasant surprise. What can I help you with?"
Brock nearly fell over. "Oh my God. Uriel?"
"Please tell me there's chocolate where you are," Max blurted, laughter from everyone else following his statement.
"Hello, Max! Plenty of chocolate, promised. I'm glad that the patonai trust you enough to bring you here."
Michael nodded. "This is amazing. You found another Chronicle?"
"A permanent one," Ash said. "Not etched by blood and tears, but present, hopefully for a long time. Once we found this, the Preservation Project research took off like you wouldn't believe."
Brock swiped at his eyes. "Man. All your family in one place. I can't imagine the things you've learned and the stories you've heard."
"I'm so excited for you! Hello, Uriel," Misty gave a polite wave.
The Lucario gave a polite nod. "It's nice to meet you, Misty."
"Before we forget, we did promise s'mores," Aurian trailed off, noting the smiles on the trainees' faces. "And friendship is sacred, so we can totally get away with doing this in a Temple."
The night went on, seven friends and a spirit trading stories and s'mores over a small fire built in a bronze bowl.
"This has been great and all," Brock yawned, "but we should probably turn in. You ready to head back?"
Max nodded. "I think I might fall asleep here if I'm not careful."
"Y'all coming back now?" Michael asked, getting to his feet.
"I think we might hang back a bit," Ash said. "We'll see you back at the palace. Michael, you good to navigate back?"
He flashed a map on his PDA. "Ready and willing. Come on y'all, sleep waits for no man."
Ash and Aurian stood alone in a temple that shouldn't have survived, the faintest remains of marshmallow and laughter in the air.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Aurian asked.
Ash pulled his Pokegear from his pocket. "Let's do this."
Aurian's fingers dialed the number before she could think about the action. Three rings later, Delia picked up, donning a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers.
"What a surprise! Hello, you two, how are things in Rota?"
"Fantastic," Ash grinned. "We have a surprise for you."
Aurian motioned for someone in the Chronicle to step forward. "Come on!"
Aaron Borealis appeared, Delia's hands flying to her mouth once he appeared in the camera frame.
"Hello, love."
One week later, Ash and Aurian were more caffeine than human, buried in an avalanche of ancient books and half-filled notebooks in Rota's library.
"I thought we'd be in the clear after the Tournament," Ash set a book as wide as his bicep down with a resounding thump. "Maybe visit some primary schools, do some magic tricks, get people excited about the full museum opening in a few months."
Aurian smiled. "Sounds like someone's ready to get back into the field."
"Not really in the field, but… helping people more up close, you know? I love researching and helping Ryan and Mercy, but this feels excessive. Are people really that interested in knowing everything about the political landscape five decades before Aaron's sacrifice?"
"When the minutes from the Guardian Guild meetings include insults like 'you half-eaten wholly-useless Magikarp', absolutely."
Ash's PokeGear rang, shattering the peace within the patonai's makeshift fort of library books.
"Ri, it's a video call."
"Is this what I think it is?"
"One way to find out," Ash said.
The patonai huddled up and accepted the call. Lance, Riley, and Steven appeared on the other end of the line, massive cups of coffee at their sides. Dark circles rested under their eyes.
"Hi, please tell us the world isn't exploding," Aurian said.
"Not quite," Lance chuckled. "How's your sabbatical going?"
The patonai gave their commanders a brief recap of their five months in Rota.
"... and that's where we're at. The Preservation Project is over the moon that we managed to find the first Temple, that'll hold them over for a good two years. Ilene isn't sick of our puns yet, so that's nice," Ash said. "I'm assuming this is bad news."
"Come on, our communications aren't solely based on bad news!" Riley protested, earning a side-eye from both Steven and Lance.
Ash gave the camera an incredulous look.
"But most of them are. What's going on?" Aurian asked.
"In the process of prosecuting everyone we found at the end of the Island Incident, we made a critical discovery. Colress, from Plasma, has a brother, Lysandre Larsen," Lance shook his head. "Lysandre is a pivotal figure in Kalos. We can't prove anything yet, but we've noticed suspicious investments from his firm."
"You say that like there's trouble," Aurian frowned.
Steven nodded. "Each investment is timed in response to a rise in criminal activity. Organized criminal activity."
"There's a strong chance that the perpetrators are offshoots from the Rebel League," Lance added. "They call themselves Team Flare."
Ash frowned. "What kind of numbers are we looking at? Do we think Flare is more like Cipher or more like Mahogany Canyon Rocket?"
"We don't know a lot, but we're ballparking somewhere around early-stage Galactic," Riley crossed his arms. "There's a lot that we're learning on the fly."
"All right, what's their MO?" Ash crossed his arms. "Theft? Bribery?"
Aurian shrugged. "World destruction?"
"Calling down the cosmos?
"Masquerading as Pokemon protectors while warping an entire region's ideals?"
Riley sighed. "Attacking new trainers. Their vision of beauty means a peaceful world… where they're the only ones who have Pokemon. They're starting young and working their way up."
Ash and Aurian traded a glance, gaze sharper than steel.
"We want you to pose as new trainers and flush as many of Team Flare's members out as you can. Wallace and Brendan have your cover identities ready," Lance said. "All you have to do is say yes."
"That seems like our kind of mission," Aurian pondered.
"Well?" Ash turned towards his sister. "Going in with the odds stacked against us and not a lot of intel is a classic Armada move."
"The break was nice while it lasted," she shrugged.
Ash nodded. "All right, Lance-"
"We're in."
(A/N): Somehow, against all odds, we made it. Thank you for reading Primary Intentions! All the bows are tied, the plot's wound down, the story is complete. An official 'thank you' chapter/wrap-up will come in a few days, but the biggest one of all goes to you- thank you for sticking with the story and for believing in PI. This journey's been a blast, and it wouldn't have been the same without all of you.
See you on the flip side!