Chapter 4: The Road to Floaroma
Route 203 hadn't changed at all during the time she'd spent in Oreburgh City. The same trees shaded the path, the same sun shone in the sky, the Starly still sang in the trees. Somewhere along the route Ion's old pack probably still roamed. It was Dawn and her team who were different as they set up camp a few miles outside the Oreburgh Gate.
In truth, she'd wanted to head north up Route 207 to get to Eterna City as fast as possible, but a rockslide had left the Oreburgh entrance to the route unusable for the next few weeks. Even Pokémon couldn't solve the problem of half the mountain blocking the path quickly, so she had to take the long way around. At least this way she had plenty of time to train before her next gym badge, and maybe pick up a new Pokémon. Floaroma Town's famous flower fields or the towering trees of Eterna Forest could be just the place to find a new team member.
Then again, her team members had already proven their worth and quality trumped quantity. Digging out her badge case from her pocket and flipping it open, Dawn stared at the badge nestled in the first spot, a stylized piece of coal lined in silver. Proof of their first victory against a Gym Leader, the empty slots a reminder of how far they had to go. Most important of all was Roark's advice when he gave her the gym badge: "Great battle there! I told you that Piplup was impressive. I'd make sure you train up his defense though; once he evolves, he won't be as fast on his feet and he'll need to take hits better. You're relying too much on his mobility and offense at the moment. Think like a rock or you won't ever get to see his steel!"
Pocketing the case again, Dawn looked over at where Crest was practicing Bubble while she started the fire. He'd grown quite a bit since leaving Twinleaf Town, the top of his head reaching almost halfway up her thighs now instead of just under her knees like when they'd first met. His wings were growing longer as well. The signs of evolution were growing all the clearer after their gym battle and Dawn hoped that he would evolve before they reached Eterna City.
A scream from above distracted her as Zephyr zoomed by overhead, working on his speed. He could have avoided getting tagged by Geodude's rocks so much if he was a little faster, so he was working nonstop to correct that weakness. Well, he was now that they were out of the cave. His only exercise in the Oreburgh Gate was chasing after random Zubat in larger caves.
Ion was in the middle of tackling a large rock, trying to keep Charge going through his claws and body as he worked to learn Spark. Spark was basically a less powerful version of Wild Charge, where Ion would cloak himself in a coat of electricity and charge at the opponent. At this point Ion couldn't summon quite enough power for the move or keep the energy contained to his body, so she had him practicing on a rock far from the rest of the team. Ion didn't have the best control yet and no one wanted an electric shock during training, especially when both of her other Pokémon were weak to Electric type moves.
Standing up, Dawn brushed the wood shavings off her pants and went over to help Crest. "How's it going?"
Crest looked frustrated and it wasn't hard to see why. The Pokédex said that to learn Bubblebeam a Pokémon had to practice with their Bubble until each individual Bubble cast a blue glow and the Bubbles had enough speed that they shot out in a straight line instead of a cloud. The Bubbles floating around them now had a bluish tint but were still mostly clear and weren't anywhere close to being in a line. Crest had been practicing Bubble nonstop since their first night together. His Bubble had gotten exponentially stronger and faster, but it refused to upgrade to the more powerful version. It didn't help that his water storages were still low after their battle with Roark; the night after the battle he couldn't cough up so much as a single Bubble and he was still stopping at every stream to fill up.
"Try again," Dawn encouraged him. "Maybe we can figure out if there's something you're doing wrong technique-wise." Crest flashed her a frustrated look but once again reared back, chest swelling and blew with all his might. The Bubbles were a little bit bluer this time but not anywhere near a line. Better for traps than true attack.
"Try taking a deeper breath and holding it for longer." The Bubbles didn't care for his efforts, spewing out in a thicker cloud than before. "Hmm, they were a little bit more powerful that time. Okay, let's try again and adjust the angle you're blowing at…"
They worked on it for half an hour with no results and Crest was just about to explode with anger.
"Stop bud, you'll just exhaust yourself."
Crest kept blowing, nearly knocking himself off his feet as he blew and blew and blew until his water reserves were near spent.
"Stop!" Dawn rushed over to catch Crest as he began to fall. Steadying her partner, Dawn crouched in front of him, seeing the frustration in his eyes like a fire in his soul. "Exhausting yourself when it isn't helping won't help you figure out Bubblebeam Crest. I promise you will learn this, but it won't be tonight."
Crest harrumphed and turned his head away, beak up, but didn't try to blow any more Bubbles as the ones around them popped one by one.
"Instead, we'll learn another move, one just as useful." That got Crest's eyes fixed on her again. Dawn withdrew her Pokédex, pulling up a video and turning the screen so that Crest could see.
Onscreen a Piloswine exhaled a plume of white mist, obscuring it from view of the video camera in moments. "That's Mist, an ice type move that will help you avoid attacks. If you can learn Mist, you'll have a lot more time to move around and get in position for attacks and avoid attacks coming at you. Since you aren't too durable before you evolve, I thought this would be a great move for you to learn for when we face powerful opponents, and we'll be facing a lot of powerful opponents. But if it's too hard to learn a new move while trying to learn Bubblebeam, we can leave it for later…."
That last sentence got him hooked. It wasn't in Crest to deny a challenge. Crest squeaked and jabbed a wing at the Pokédex.
"Great! I want you to focus on your water reserves. You need to figure out how to lower the temperature of your water before you release it for it to come out as Mist. Sit here for a while and focus while I go work with Ion. If you think you've got it, try using Water Sport with the colder water and see if it comes out as Mist. It might take a few tries but keep at it." Dawn stood up and walked away as Crest settled into a seated position, his eyes already closed.
Five, four, three, two, one… The sound of Crest using Water Sport behind her was followed by an angry squawk and a few more seconds of silence before he tried again.
Dawn couldn't suppress the grin rising to her lips as she went to help her electric type. Crest would never change.
#
"On the road, far from home, you don't have to feel alone, brave and strong, together we will be, its our destiny…" Dawn may not have had the best vocals, but she was singing her heart out. She had Zephyr bobbing his head in tune and Ion mewing along to the song as they walked down the road. Crest just looked at them like they were all insane and inched away like he was afraid it could spread.
She was so invested in the song that Dawn barely noticed the slow approach of civilization. Only a sharp tug on her pants leg courtesy of Crest's beak let her avoid tripping on the abrupt transition from dirt to asphalt. Looking up, she saw the masses of people crowding the streets and the enormous buildings looming overhead.
I sure haven't missed this.
Ion was trying to hide behind her as best he could, but a recent growth spurt meant it didn't work well. This shaking kit was the warrior who'd faced down an Onix? Dawn just shook her head and recalled him, allowing Zephyr to land on her shoulder and sweeping Crest into her arms before braving the path to the Jubilife Pokémon Center.
After dropping off her Pokémon with Nurse Joy at the front desk Dawn settled in to work on her strategy notebook, ignoring the chatter around her and too-loud TV reporting on some poacher at large. Something J? It didn't matter.
Crest was so close to learning Bubblebeam, it was infuriating. No matter how much they worked on his power and speed with Bubble it refused to upgrade into the more damaging and powerful stream of bubbles. They had spent hours on the technique during their trip back to Jubilife, but something was clearly missing. On the other hand, Mist was progressing well. It didn't linger in the air long at the moment, but Crest could produce the mist needed for the move in small quantities.
Zephyr was so close to evolution that she was sure he would evolve before or when they reached Floaroma Town. He was growing larger and more aggressive and Dawn now had to keep him in his Pokéball whenever too many trainers were around, or he would go to the strongest looking Pokémon around and immediately challenge them. She didn't want to teach him any moves until he evolved because he would have to spend some time getting used to his new body, and if he was in the middle of learning a new move it could set him back. That would only frustrate him, so for now she would have work on his speed and help out with the other's training. Dawn would spend his training time figuring out exercises that could help him adapt to evolution.
Ion was in desperate need of an offensive electric-type type move, since his Charge and Tackle combination wouldn't work on anything that wasn't already sensitive to electricity. His work with Spark was progressing slowly but surely. He had made some progress with power generation during the walk to Jubilife, but his control was still lacking, sparks flying everywhere and exhausting him when he tried to use the move. Zephyr and Crest now took great pains to stay far away from Ion when he was training.
Ion was also growing larger, though not as much as the other two. Most of his growth could be seen in the way the black fur that formed his "collar" was spreading, reaching halfway down his legs and growing up towards his head. According to the Pokédex he would be ready for evolution when the black fur reached the top of his head.
As Dawn finished up the last of her notes and closed her notebook, she glanced at her Pokétch. She stood up and looked up at the clock on the wall to be sure. Lucas and Professor Rowan were half an hour late. Lucas was never late, a habit he'd picked up from working with Professor Rowan who hated latecomers. What was keeping them?
Nurse Joy called over the intercom and Dawn went to pick up her Pokémon. Stepping outside, Dawn summoned Zephyr. The flying type announced his release with a scream and a loop in the air before landing on Dawn's shoulder. She staggered from his weight and the force of his landing.
"I won't regret it when you're too big to land on me," she told him solemnly as she regained her balance. Zephyr just chuffed, calling her bluff. "Lucas and Professor Rowan were supposed to meet me here but they're late. Do you mind searching for them? You met Lucas last time we were in Jubilife City. Professor Rowan is an older human with white hair, he should be with Lucas." Zephyr chirped an affirmative and took off, circling over her head for a moment before zooming down the street.
Dawn could only shake her head when he took a moment to dive at a Natu flying nearby, nailing the wing joint with Quick Attack and causing it to spiral down towards the ground. He waited to see if it would come back up for a real battle before continuing on. She could only hope he stayed mostly on task.
She didn't have to wait long before Zephyr came back. Zephyr flew back at full speed, not even landing as he zoomed back and executed a midair loop so he could face the way he came, twittering and shrieking the whole way.
Zephyr wouldn't act this way if it wasn't serious. Dawn broke into a run, pushing through the crowds as fast as she could while Zephyr flew ahead, using Quick Attack and Wing Attack to clear out any flying Pokémon in his way. Dawn didn't try to reprimand him, her mind too busy going over every possible alternative for why Zephyr would be in such a hurry and why Lucas and Professor Rowan would be late other than them being in trouble.
The crowds became less overwhelming as Dawn raced towards the North Gate, the gate that lead to Route 204 and Floaroma Town. She was less than a block from the gate when Zephyr took a sharp turn down a thin alley. Dawn tore after him only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw who was also in the alley.
Lucas and Professor Rowan were facing two of the oddest men she'd ever seen. They were wearing identical white outfits with black highlights and a giant gold G symbol in the center. Their hair was an identical shade of blue-green and styled in a bowl cut, obviously a wig. They looked like spacemen with a bad fashion sense. What was going on? Each spaceman had a Pokémon out, a Stunky and a Glameow, but didn't have any other Pokéballs that she could see. Atlas stood in front of Lucas and Professor Rowan, the twig on his head shaking due to his growling.
"Come now Professor, just tell us what we want to know, and we'll let you go," one of the spacemen said, his voice soothing. "This doesn't have to get ugly. Just give us your notes and we all go home happy, yes?"
"Your research notes are what we need," his friend piped up. "Failure to comply means we take what we need by force." Stunky and Glameow straightened at those words, their lazy postures turning into attentive eyes and flicking tails, tense and ready to pounce. Atlas' growls became louder.
"You don't want your poor assistant to get hurt, do you?" the first grunt added innocently.
"Don't you nuisances have anything better to do than harass an old man and his assistant?" Rowan yelled, his fury evident.
"Like Atlas and I are going to let you hurt the Professor!" Lucas chimed in.
The second man scoffed, "You won't have a choice little boy."
"Are you so sure of that?" All four humans and three Pokémon in the alley whipped around to see Dawn walking deeper into the alley, Zephyr on her shoulder and Crest's Pokéball in her hand, fierce smile on her face. She hoped they couldn't see her shaking hand hooked into her Trainer's belt.
The second grunt just snorted. "Great, two kids. Like that'll make any difference."
Dawn just shook her head as she took up position beside Lucas, Professor Rowan falling in behind them. "Like two wig-wearing idiots could beat us. I mean honestly, what are you? Spacemen? Fashion failures?"
"You had to make this personal! Stunky, Fury Swipes!"
"Glameow, Scratch! We'll make them regret insulting us!"
Glameow and Stunky ran forward, their claws glowing with energy and ready to attack.
"Zephyr, Quick Attack Stunky."
"Atlas, Absorb on Glameow."
Glameow and Stunky were clearly new to the concept of battle, because as soon as Zephyr took off and Atlas ran forward it was nearly over. Stunky took two hits in succession from Zephyr's Quick Attack, unable to do more than land a glancing blow on his tail feathers. The feathers floated to the ground just as Zephyr smacked Stunky's head off the tarmac with a vicious Wing Attack. Stunky fell to the ground, out cold, just as Glameow shrieked and fell over, glowing green from Atlas' Absorb. The grass type had a row of scratches on his shell, but they healed over quickly as Atlas stole the normal type's energy.
The spacemen backed up quickly as their Pokémon were beaten, recalling them with panicked expressions. "How can kids be so strong?" one of them wailed.
"This won't do… Time to retreat, the mission is a failure. Let's go!" The two recalled their Pokémon and ran off deeper into the alley.
Dawn sighed and unhooked her hand from her belt, racing heart calming down some. For all that they appeared like fashion rejects, they had been real criminals threatening her friend and his mentor. She was more than glad to see them beaten so easily.
"What is with those outlandish outfits? Kids, don't grow up to be like those sorry specimens one day," Rowan said, shaking his head as the two mystery men disappeared.
"Shouldn't we chase them?" Lucas asked.
"No my boy, it's not worth it. They're just hopeless fools who thought themselves stronger than they were. If threatening old men and children is the best they can do the police will catch them soon enough, and we would lose them quickly in a city this large if we tried to pursue. With those outlandish outfits they'll soon be caught once we report them."
"What did they want?" Dawn asked, letting Zephyr land back on her shoulder. He looked pleased with himself, already chirping to Atlas, probably about how well the battle went. Of course this would be his idea of a good time.
"They wanted the Professor's notes on Pokémon evolution and the energy it uses," Lucas told her.
"Yes, they said something about harnessing that energy for their own uses before you arrived," the Professor said. "But I do not believe that is possible. Our understanding of evolution is still woefully limited. Still, thanks to you two those idiots did not get away with my research. Thank you! You've both grown much stronger in a short amount of time. Dawn, your Starly looks impressive, I imagine that he'll evolve soon."
"I'm hoping that he'll evolve before we reach Eterna City," Dawn told him, turning around and leading them back out of the alley and towards the Pokémon Center. As they left, Dawn couldn't help but look back at where the strange men had disappeared. Something told her that encounter had not been the last she would see of them.
#
"That's it Zephyr, keep going!" A tired scream echoed from twenty feet up in the air as the Starly zoomed past, his wings pumping as fast as they could. He'd been sprint-flying nonstop for about ten minutes and looked ready to fall right out the sky.
Dawn waited until Zephyr began to lose altitude before calling "Stop! You can land and rest for a bit." The flying type all but fell out of the air, sending a puff of dust up as he skidded to a stop and flopped on the ground, wings still outstretched. He was panting hard enough to make his entire body move every time he took a breath.
"I swear, you're even more of a drama queen about this than Crest," Dawn said, walking over to sit by where Zephyr lay. A winded screech refuted her statement. Dawn eyed the feathers on his wings critically, noting how much longer and heavier they'd gotten and eyeing her Pokétch to see how long he'd managed to sprint-fly this time.
Two days down the road to Floaroma meant that Zephyr had done this exercise many times over the past few nights, but all it did was exhaust him and had no visible results. Zephyr needed to evolve before he could really make gains with his speed; his tiny wings were holding him back from the speed they both wanted and she could see his frustration growing every time he flopped on the ground like this. Time for a change of strategy.
"I know this isn't fun, but I promise it will make you faster. But for now, I have a different idea for a training exercise." That got Zephyr to look up, his beady eyes fixed on hers as his breathing slowed down.
"Ion," Dawn yelled behind her, "Can you come join us?"
Ion padded over from where he'd been practicing Spark on a fallen tree trunk. He still didn't have enough control to keep the electricity contained in his coat and claws for maximum damage, but he'd gotten to the point where he could train within a couple hundred feet of the others without shocking everyone around. That was progress in her book.
"Now, I want you two to have a quick battle. First one to hit the other wins. It's fair because you two both have only physical attacking moves at this stage, so Ion can't zap Zephyr out of the sky and Zephyr can't rain attacks on Ion from above. Ready?"
Ion and Zephyr moved to face one another, Ion crouching down in order to pounce and Zephyr dragging his tired wings off the ground and taking to the sky once again. The two eyed each other, one with his signature cool calm and calculation, the other with the joy and fury that made him who he was.
"Begin!" Zephyr predictably attacked first, diving down with a Quick Attack in order to win a quick draw. Ion was prepared for the move, jumping aside at the last minute and attempting to Tackle Zephyr as he went by. He mistimed his attack and went sliding into the ground face-first while Zephyr made a sloppy turn due to exhaustion and dove back in again.
Dawn let them go at it for a few minutes, watching their attempts to hit one another with her notebook open and pencil at the ready, occasionally writing down a quick note about something she wanted to correct or improve on.
It took them both a while to get creative. Zephyr waited until five minutes had gone by before he tried Whirlwind and Ion didn't use Flash until Zephyr got a little too close with a Wing Attack not long after. They were also having a bit of trouble timing their attacks, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little more battle experience.
What they weren't lacking was force. Their failure to hit one another seriously was making them try to hit harder, not smarter. Ion's electricity was beginning to get away from him, the frustration of being unable to touch the species he naturally hunted wearing at him. Zephyr too was diving in recklessly, frustrated that the advantage of wings and speed couldn't help him hit his landlocked opponent. If she didn't come up with something soon Dawn might have a real injury on her hands. It wasn't until Ion dodged one attack by diving behind a nearby tree that Dawn figured out how to solve most of their problems.
"That's it!" Ion and Zephyr paused, looking over at her. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to stop you but it's good you stopped anyway, I want to change things up. Zephyr, Ion, we're going to play a little game." Dawn stood up and walked over to the, pointing deeper into the forest surrounding the clearing.
"Ion's going to go in with a minute head start and hide himself as best he can. Zephyr is going to go in second and try to find Ion. Same rules as before, first one to hit the other wins, but you'll have to be creative. Learn how to use sneak attacks, learn when to hit and learn how to find your enemy without letting them find you first. Learn to use your surroundings! You'll switch off whoever goes in first every round and whoever wins the most rounds at the end earns some extra berries. If you seriously hurt one another you don't get dinner, so be gentle. Ready?"
She didn't need their verbal answers. Ion's tail was flicking with interest and Zephyr already had his wings raised in preparation to take off. They exchanged a set of snarls and shrieks, no doubt a challenge. "Go!"
Ion shot off into the forest, his blue and black coat blending in with the shadowed ground in moments. A minute later Zephyr shrieked and flew ahead, his tiredness forgotten. Dawn grinned, already listening to the shrieks and screams of Ion and Zephyr honing their skills, an occasional bright flash of light or gust of wind chasing her away from the forest.
This would be good for both of them. They could get their frustration out about being stuck on their current moves and techniques while using their hunting instincts to learn to be creative and use the terrain and their moves more effectively. Once they learned long-range moves this would be good resistance and aim training. She winced when she heard the distinctive sounds of a Bidoof go flying. Well, it would if they didn't knock each other out in the next ten minutes from competitiveness.
#
"No, I'm sure it was the other way. That trail looked more worn down and the trees were growing further apart." Dawn's answer was a chirp and another pull on her pants leg courtesy of Crest's short beak.
"Fine, but don't blame me this time if we get lost and eaten by a stray carnivore." Only a few minutes later they emerged from the most recent patch of forest and Dawn saw a signpost up the road. Stopping in front of it, she read aloud "Route 204 to Floaroma Town." Glaring down at the far too smug water type at her feet, all she could do was refuse to acknowledge to the muffled squeaking of Ion's laughter and Zephyr's unmasked shrieks of mirth and plan more harsh training in the future. She tried to keep walking, leaving her embarrassment behind, but the flying-type decided to add to her pain by coming in for a landing on her shoulder at that precise moment, nearly knocking her over with his speed.
"You know, you're really getting too big to sit there," Dawn said. Zephyr just churred and flapped his wings, unintentionally hitting Dawn in the face and proving her point. The once tiny Starly was now over two feet tall with a wingspan to match. His talons had grown so thick that she had a few rips and tears on her left shoulder from his takeoffs and landings, newly made that morning since she repaired the jacket every night with her emergency sewing kit.
Crest piped up with a few squeaks and trills, wings flapping around and nearly causing him to fall. He might be getting better with walking on the ground for extended periods of time, but he'd need to evolve and gain longer legs in order to truly be comfortable there. As it was, he was always a step or two behind Dawn, eyes focused on the road at all times. Dawn honestly couldn't tell if it was necessary from a balance perspective or if he just needed to be sure that nothing was coming to attack them. He could just be looking out for mud puddles.
Ion was quiet as usual, tail flicking and nose twitching as he took in all the smells and sights around them. The strongest sense of the Shinx evolutionary line was their eyesight, but their noses were nothing to scoff at. Ion was wandering furthest from the small group, exploring the flowers and bushes on the side of the trail. Every once in a while, he would disappear into the foliage for a few minutes then come back out. Dawn didn't ask what he was doing in there and didn't want to know. She was bleeding her wallet dry to feed all her Pokémon (why had she gone and captured three carnivores so soon on her journey?) so she wouldn't mind them finding extra food but didn't want to know the details.
Route 204 was much different than Route 203; the winding path took the team through many cultured fields tended to by Combee and Roselia, crops like corn, grains and rice growing in huge swathes behind neat white picket fences. The only mark of where one property ended and the next began were picket fences and the small groups of trees that grew in whatever free space there was between farms. Dawn had met lots of farmers and farmhands walking along the path, many with grass or bug types at their sides. Some even rode the rare Ponyta or in one memorable case, a Rapidash. All were happy to battle with her, though Dawn and Ion were still smarting over the defeat handed to them by the trainer with the Rapidash.
The trail was curving up now, heading towards a large dark line that blocked most everything in sight. Zephyr took one look at the hill and squawked, flapping his wings and looking at Dawn like the world was about to end, eyes wide and sad.
"Oh, stop being a baby, this is far from the last time we'll find a tunnel in all of Sinnoh," Dawn admonished him. "This is the Ravaged Path, it's short and sweet. It'll only take an hour or two to walk through and it'll save us days." Zephyr was still unconvinced, screeching and taking off, soaring high into the sky as if that would stave off the impending darkness any longer.
"I do wonder why they call it the Ravaged Path though," Dawn said as they walked towards the entrance. What had looked like a dark line in the land a few miles back now showed itself to be a true cliff, cutting off the lowland sea area of Sinnoh from the higher parts of the eastern region that held Floaroma and the Eterna Forest. Only the dark hole at the base of the cliffs showed that there was a pass through the area at all.
"Ravaged Path. Route 204 to Floaroma Town. Please beware of wild Pokémon." Dawn read aloud before whistling to call Zephyr back down. "Come on bud, it's only for a few hours!" she pleaded. It took two berries before Zephyr was convinced to come back down to her shoulder and be recalled.
Crest looked like he was only a moment or two away from asking to be recalled himself, watching the cave mouth with distaste. But of course, that would be disgraceful, showing fear, so Dawn knew he would never ask no matter how much he clearly wanted to.
Ion nudged Crest and made his tail light up, either reminding Crest he could use the move to light their way or trying to comfort him. Probably both, Ion was remarkably good at guessing other's emotions. He'd certainly come and curled up on her lap at just the right time enough for her to be familiar with this trait of his.
Ion's tail stayed lit as they entered the cavern, cool air washing over the back of Dawn's neck and making her hair stand on end as they walked in. The roof of the tunnel was much higher than she'd anticipated; the entire tunnel felt more like a natural cave system than something carved out of the earth. The screeches of Zubat, the soft echoes of skittering sounds made by Sandshrew and other cave-dwelling Pokémon, the moving air and the occasional stalagmite or stalactite made Dawn fee like she was walking through Mt. Coronet again.
There were occasional signs of how this path had gotten its name. Huge holes and broken stones could sometimes be seen to the sides of the path, boulders with the exact contours of the holes they were torn from lying forgotten against a wall. Scratch marks and burns from energy blasts marked the cave walls and there was an eerie stillness in the places where the devastation was more prevalent.
What could have caused such destruction? Perhaps a Garchomp or one of its evolutionary line. The famous Sinnoh dragon was known to nest in caves like these; did it get into a territorial dispute? Maybe it had been powerful rock-types like the Rhyperior or Golem lines. Dawn could even imagine the long-gone Rampardos and Bastiodon lines duking it out for territory in the ancient past, no matter how unlikely. Well, those species preferred wide open spaces more anyway. The destruction was old in most places, the natural erosion caused by water dripping and Pokémon living in the caves smoothing jagged edges, but some of those blast marks looked recent…
Lost in thought, Dawn didn't notice the threat until too late.
A scuffling sound, the crash of rocks breaking apart. A huge form, tons of force and anger behind it, crashing into Dawn's unprotected body. The flare of pain and sounds of tearing skin as she was thrown against the nearby rock wall, sharp protrusions and stone cutting gashes along her arms and shoulders. Her head spun, unable to interpret the flash of colors and light and the cacophony of sound around her for several seconds.
By the time Dawn eyesight cleared enough to see again, the battle was already turning for the worse. An Exploud, huge purple body crowned with sound-emitting horns making it unmistakable, roared so loud that it made Dawn's ears feel like they should explode. For her two Pokémon, both with ears much more sensitive than hers, it left them wide open to attack.
Ion got hit by a vicious Stomp, smashing a crater into the cavern floor. It was a near miracle that the poor electric type could stand after a hit like that, but he struggled to his feet, electricity sparking over his coat and eyes colder than death. He staggered as he ran but he ran forward all the same, rushing in and Tackling Exploud's leg.
The stagger caused by the maneuver let Explode avoid Crest's stream of Bubbles. Crest squawked loudly at Ion, annoyance clear even through the language barrier. Exploud roared again, the sound forcing Dawn to cover her ears and put her head between her legs. When she looked up both of her Pokémon were struggling to rise, the Exploud using their incapacitation and disorganization to hit them with powerful normal-type moves like Take Down and Stomp.
No, no, no, no! What could she do to help? Exploud was almost on them, her head was still swimming too much to think, what could she do?
Her hand moved to her belt, a movement made natural from long weeks of walking and training with three Pokéballs on her belt. One of which had an occupant. The button clicked and a flash of red light coalesced into her flying friend, Zephyr shrieking his arrival for the world to hear.
Exploud turned, eyes narrowed and hands clenching into fists as it turned to face the source of the light and sound. Zephyr didn't give it any time to register his presence beyond that; he felt forward, smashing into Exploud with a vicious Quick Attack.
Dawn missed most of the next few seconds, head still swimming and body aching as she attempted to pry herself off the ground. Once she had herself leaning heavily against the rough cavern wall, she looked over to see Exploud's white-cloaked fist punch Zephyr's tiny form right into a wall, taking advantage of his attempt to gain altitude.
Still have to work on that, Dawn's dazed mind supplied.
Crest and Ion tried to take advantage of the distraction, each preparing their strongest attacks. Crest blew out yet another stream of Bubbles, leaving nowhere for Exploud to move if it didn't want to get hit. Unfortunately, that meant that Ion smashed a couple as he ran for Exploud's tail, black energy gathering around his teeth for Bite. He shuddered but kept going.
Their efforts were for naught. Exploud swept the Bubbles away with an errant gesture, only shivering a little as it popped the Bubble surrounding it. Not much could get through that thick skin. Ion's leap for the tail doomed him as it swept around at exactly the wrong moment, throwing him to the ground.
Dawn's gasp attracted Exploud's attention. It ignored Zephyr struggling to rise near the wall, Crest's frantic Peck at its leg and Ion's errant bolts of electricity. It rushed straight for her.
Panic welled in Dawn's head and heart, pushing its way past the dizziness and throbbing headache currently occupying her mental space. Exploud ignored her Pokémon, it was coming right for her, all her Pokémon were down, and this damn headache won't go away, I can't move itscomingwhatdoIdo-
Bright light flashed in her peripheral vision, then grew. In half a second it was so powerful as to be blinding. Dawn threw her free hand over her eyes and tried not to collapse as the light made her headache worse. Exploud howled loudly, the sound nearly deafening but not nearly as debilitating as the brilliant glow.
Exploud's howl was replaced with a shriek a moment later, the sound of something smashing against the ground making Dawn wince. She was still unable to see well, the bright light that had now faded leaving her with spots all over her vision and the fiercest headache she'd ever had. Blinking rapidly, Dawn opened her eyes to see a new Pokémon had joined the fray.
A familiar-unfamiliar gray, brown and white bird stood on the cave floor, wings outstretched and screeching for all it was worth. A tall crest of feathers curled over its head, the beak was longer and sharper, the wings stretched out at least a foot longer. The talons were big enough to do serious damage. But Dawn knew it was Zephyr the moment she saw the gleam in his eye. No Pokémon she knew had that same insatiable lust for battle.
The newly evolved Staravia once again outlined himself with bright white light and rushed Exploud, who was just standing up after being knocked to the ground. Exploud crossed its arms in front of it and took the brunt to the Quick Attack, grunting and being pushed back a step. Zephyr's new size and evolution high made his attacks hit harder, but not hard enough to cause Exploud to fall when it wasn't surprised.
Dawn may have been dealing with the mother of all headaches and was still shaky on her feet, but she knew a losing battle when she saw one. They had to get out of here, fast. None of her Pokémon, even on an evolution high, could defeat this monster at this point in their training. Not a fully evolved three stage Pokémon.
"Time to go!" she yelled, catching their attention. "Distract and disable, then follow me!"
She didn't have the brain capacity to give detailed orders right now, no matter how much they needed it. She stumbled toward the exit of the large cave and had to hope they could deal with Exploud without her. If they could make it into the narrower part of the pass where Exploud wouldn't fit, they would make it.
Crest and Ion moved in sync this time, waiting for Zephyr to knock Exploud back a step with a blistering Quick Attack before they attacked the legs. Ion's electricity made one leg seize up while Crest's pecks to the heel made the other collapse, their twin attacks sending Exploud staggering to the floor.
Crest and Ion bolted for the exit. Ion quickly gained ground on Crest, his longer legs making escape possible. Crest tried to waddle as fast as he could, but his fast was still no better than a jog to a human. It was much slower to an Exploud, especially a furious Exploud now hauling itself up from the ground.
A pair on feet tipped with long talons hooked around Crest's blue body and lifted him up, showing the flightless bird the wonders of flight, if only for a moment. Zephyr rushed for the exit, too tired to shriek and wings flapping madly to keep the two of them in the air. He might be bigger and still on the adrenaline rush that came with evolution, but he hadn't grown enough to support Crest easily.
Exploud was gaining ground. A beam of pure energy clipped Zephyr's tail feathers as they neared the door, causing him to wobble in midair. Crest turned his head, opening his beak wide to release a cloud of shimmering Mist. The white cloud filled the gap between Exploud and the two escaping Pokémon, blocking them from view, but the loud footsteps and bellows made it clear Exploud was still in pursuit. Crest spat a cloud of Bubbles this time, the blue spheres grabbing a payload of Mist as the formed and burst through the cloud. The hidden threat made the sound of Exploud's footsteps stop for a moment. Crest trilled a triumphant call, Zephyr speeding up through use of one last Quick Attack.
They cleared the entrance of the cave, making the flying type and his passenger crash to the ground just out of reach of the narrowing entrance. Ion was already inside, having run through a moment earlier.
Dawn recalled Crest and Zephyr in a display of dexterity she hadn't thought herself capable of with her headache and limped after Ion's glowing form, heart still beating fast but slowing now that Exploud was just a roar in the cave behind them. They had made it.
#
"That's it Ion, keep it going!" The Shinx sprinted across the clearing, body spitting sparks and glowing with the light of the countless tiny lightning bolts crossing his form at irregular intervals. As he ran the sparks began to converge, the cloak of electricity growing thicker until his fur was nearly invisible beneath the sparking cloak of white-gold.
"Now attack!" Ion turned, rushing at a downed tree on the edge of the clearing. He was nothing but a gold blur by the time his little form impacted, an impressive crack emanating from the tree. When Ion leapt back, electricity spent and breathing heavily, there was a large black mark on the tree trunk. Dawn could see marks indicating where the electricity had traveled, splintering lines that led about a foot away from the main black mark.
"You did it bud! Look, the electricity didn't split nearly as much and you torched the impact point" Dawn pointed out the black mark, poking it slightly and coming away with a finger coated in soot. Wiping it on her pants she turned and bent down, scratching Ion behind his overly large ears. He turned to putty at her touch, purring loudly and eyes shining with pride as he cuddled up to her.
"It sure took long enough but you've mastered Spark." It would help him out tremendously in battles, allowing him to win with power instead of waiting for an enemy to exhaust themselves. Any enemy would like to avoid a move with that much power packed into one spot, and he could take down larger or more powerful enemies that were vulnerable to electricity now. Hmm, speaking of powerful Pokémon.
"Can you call Zephyr down here?" Dawn asked the purring electric type. Ion responded by screeching loudly. A higher-pitched shriek echoed from the sky and Zephyr swooped down from his position soaring high above them. Dawn took a moment to admire the flying type's new form.
He stood about three feet tall now, just over waist height. His large curling crest, long sharp beak and huge talons made him much more intimidating than the bird who has so often perched on her shoulder. The glint in his eyes told her he knew just how much he'd grown in his intimidation factor and how much he enjoyed it.
"You're going to fight Ion, physical moves only," she informed him. A cheerful squawk of assent and a quick flap of his wings later, Zephyr was hovering two feet above the ground, facing down his opponent. Ion crouched down, tail flicking and eyes hard, small claws releasing the occasional spark of electricity into the ground.
"Go!"
Zephyr was much faster than he had been as a Starly. He crossed the fifteen feet between himself and Ion in a blink, longer and larger wings carrying him forward. A thump echoed across the clearing as Ion went soaring back. He growled in frustration and leapt at Zephyr, sparks beginning to crackle across his form, but Zephyr was long gone by the time he reached his old position.
"You've got to get it going faster Ion, or you'll never hit him!" Dawn yelled. Zephyr wasn't even using Quick Attack yet. Ion snarled and tried again, only to meet with a similar fate.
The battle went on in similar fashion for about three minutes, Ion getting battered by his larger teammate while Zephyr danced rings around the slower, land-locked fighter. Whenever someone said a flying type would always lose to an electric type Dawn would tell them this story. Or better yet, let Zephyr show them the error of their ways.
Ion's frustration got the better of him. He yowled in anger, releasing all his pent-up electricity in a burst as he missed Zephyr yet again. The errant lighting made Dawn shield her eyes and back up, but it also made Zephyr swerve, getting a little too near the ground.
Ion was on him in an instant, the chance to hit making him build his electricity back up faster than ever before. It wasn't a full-power Spark he hit Zephyr with, but the shaky flight pattern and slight burn marks told Dawn it hadn't felt good in the slightest.
"Good job Ion!" Dawn's voice made Ion preen in pride, but his eyes never left Zephyr. He'd gotten one hit in, but mostly by luck. Every hit made him the least little bit better, so it was time to try for round two.
Dawn left them to it, heading back towards the fire where Crest was waiting. He was poking at the feathers of his wings with his beak, done with his training for the day. She made him stop early these last few days so he could finally finish replenishing his water supply and not blowing it on futile work on Bubblebeam. Once they were back to full, she had a couple of ideas she wanted to try out. Their battle with Exploud and witnessing his Bubbles catching some of the Mist had given her a fun idea for a combination move.
A tug on her pants leg brought her out of her thoughts and directed her attention back to Crest. "Right, thanks buddy." He went back to preening, unintentionally reminding her something. She bent down and rummaged in her bag for a moment, emerging with a small comb and a bottle of oil. Time to try out a different new idea.
Sitting down cross-legged next to the fire, Dawn beckoned to Crest. "Come here for a minute bud, I want to try something." Crest cocked his head to the side in confusion but did as she asked. A quick twirl of her finger made him turn around and Dawn bent down to inspect his coat. Just as she'd expected, there were a few places on his back where the feathers were ruffled, the barbs caught on dirt or on other feathers, in some places flaking away due to lack of care. Crest couldn't care for the feathers he couldn't reach after all.
"I'm going to try to help you get these hard-to-reach places," Dawn said, keeping her hands carefully in his range of vision. "If anything hurts or feels wrong, just turn around or tap me and I'll stop, okay? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." From what she'd read, preening was a deeply communal activity for Piplup. Their intense pride meant that they only allowed others to help groom them if they truly trusted one another. A well-groomed Piplup was something of a rarity for this reason; only Piplup living with their parents tended to have the trust in another necessary for communal preening. She could only hope that this would help them bond even further, if Crest allowed her to help him at all.
Crest's body was stiff, his nod hesitant, but it was there all the same. She used a little of the specially made oil to wet the soft comb, then went to work, cleaning out any dirt and smoothing barbs and feathers one by one, coating them with the oil in order to help waterproof them. A preened Piplup would be a much better swimmer than one forced to rely only on its own beak.
Crest was utterly still when she first began. She could feel the tiny flinches and hesitation every time she moved from one feather to the next. But as she moved from one spot to another, she could feel him relaxing, body unclenching like fingers loosening from a fist. By the time she reached the last spot, Crest was paying her no attention at all, instead using his beak to preen his wing feathers while she worked on his back.
A squawk to her left made Dawn look over, having to move her head slightly around Crest. At some point he'd transitioned from standing in front of her to sitting in her lap. Zephyr and Ion both stood there, fur and feathers ruffled and marked with small scratches and burn marks. Both were giving her a remarkably close impression of the Baby-Doll Eyes move.
"Alright, alright, you two can have a turn too. Just let me finish up here…" Dawn turned back to Crest, picking up the comb again and starting on the last patch of feathers. She had a feeling this would turn into a nightly routine. Now, time to find out how to brush an electric type without getting shocked…
#
"See up there, the line of three bright stars? That's Zacian's Sword, you can see it from just about anywhere north of Hoenn." Dawn's finger pointed straight up at the inky sky dotted with tiny glimmering lights above. Her three Pokémon follower her gaze from where they lay on their backs in the grass beside her, looking up at the universe above.
"If you look closely you can see an arrangement of seven stars beside those three bright ones, to the left. They form a triangle, do you see?" Three noises of assent greeted her a moment later. "That's Zamazenta's Shield. Apparently, they're a pair of canine Pokémon that defend the Galar region…" Dawn's voice trailed off, eyes darting between the myriad of stars above her head before an inquisitive cheep drew her attention to Crest.
"Oh, Galar? I don't know much about it, the region only just joined the League Alliance. They're far to the west and a little south, but that means they can see these two constellations for a lot of the year. One day I'd like to find out more about Zacian and Zamazenta…"
Dawn's finger pointed up again, pointing at a cluster of stars further down nearer the treelike this time. "See down there where the stars form a little circle? That's Cresselia's Dreamcatcher. She keeps Darkrai, the Hunter of Souls, trapped so that it can't enter your dreams in the form of nightmares, searching for your soul to sate his hunger. If you look closely, there's a nebula there that you can see with the naked eye; it looks like a smudge. It's supposed to be the anger of Darkrai manifested, or its actual body no one's really sure."
Ion snuggled in closer to her side, body devoid of any electricity in an attempt to keep her from harm. His control kept on getting better. Now that Spark was complete, they could start on a long-range move. He didn't have the stature he needed to be a physical threat to anything too large or powerful and he had no way to catch a flier, so he needed something with range to be a true threat on the battlefield.
Speaking of flying type threats… "Do you see those bright stars up there, to the right of Crest? That's Moltres the Avenger, who paints the sky with the fires of sunset and sunrise and razes cities to the ground in his wrath. Would you like to hear the story of the time Moltres destroyed the Empire of the Sun?"
Zephyr's chirp was the loudest of all, overpowering Ion's squeak and Crest's squawk. Clearly the idea of hearing about the conquests of the great firebird of legend, a flying type just like him, was exciting on many levels. Dawn didn't doubt that he was planning to defeat it someday.
Settling her head back into the grass Dawn began to tell the story, her eyes wandering through the uncounted stars of the heavens as she spoke. "Long, long ago, the Legends roamed the world openly and the people enjoyed their favor. Solgaleo the Unconquered, the Mighty Sun, was the patron Legend of the Alolan Islands. The people formed a mighty empire under Solgaleo's burning gaze, for the sun shone warmly on Alola and allowed crops to grow and people and Pokémon to thrive. But to all who threatened their borders, the sun was as fierce and unforgiving as in the harshest desert."
"There came a king of Alola who was unsatisfied with their peaceful lives and bountiful harvests. He wanted all to bow before the him for he saw Alola as superior to all others, for no one else was blessed by the grace of the Sun and protected by the lesser Legends, their Island Guardians. The king began a great campaign, delighted to find that the blessing of Solgaleo followed their warriors across the seas as they took island after island, land after land for the growing kingdom. With each land they took the king grew greedier, declaring Alola the center of the Empire of the Sun."
"Soon the tyrannical Empire of the Sun extended all the way to Hoenn, reaching an inexorable hand towards the Orange Islands. The people of those islands lived near a trio of uninhabited islands, one of which held a great volcano where it was rumored the Firebird slept. The heat of the volcano and the soil left over from countless eruptions made their land beautiful and wealthy, but it would not remain so for long. The Empire attacked, burning all who stood against them and destroying the beauty and peace of the Orange Islands."
"But in their greed, they awoke what should not have been awakened. The Firebird rose from its place in the depths of the earth, rising to greet the sun for the first time in millennia. It rose to find the Sun had destroyed the land it held dear. In its rage the Firebird painted the skies red with the burning bodies of the Empire's soldiers. Ash, smoke, stone and endless waves of fire and lava poured from the volcano, hiding the sun from sight. The Firebird glowed bright enough to light the world, bringing forth a wave of flame that burned all who had destroyed the land it held dear until they were no more than ash in the breeze."
"It is said that Solgaleo descended from the heavens to stop the Firebird before the raging flames stretched beyond the Orange Islands. In return for forgiveness Solgaleo made the Firebird his herald, painting the sky of dawn and dusk with fire so as to remind mortals of the beauty of the sun and its terrible power, so that it would never be misused again. The remnants of the Empire faded back into the Alolan islands and the people of the Orange Islands named their savior Moltres, the Firebird, the Avenger. Moltres' flies above us all in the stars, reminding us of the dangers of the pursuit of power, that we must never take more than we should."
They were silent for a time after the story, watching the stars twinkle and letting the story settle in their minds, like a memory long forgotten now rising to the surface.
"Do you see those stars over there? There's an especially bright one in the middle and a ring of stars around it. If you connect all of them with lines, it looks like a flower." Dawn's Pokémon indicated their assent with the chorus of chirps and squeals.
"That's the Lily of the Valley. Sinnoh's national constellation, the one named after our First Champion. Would you like to hear the story?" She had hardly finished her sentence before the chorus of squeaks and squeals started.
"A thousand years ago, the sky fell upon this mortal world. A star fell from its place in the heavens, burning the sky on its way to decimate the world below. The dreams of the Original One were disturbed by the calamity about to befall its creation. A portion of its power manifested to shield the world. Even the dreams of the Original One were powerful, but the falling star was too strong. The Fragment placed itself between the world and the star, stopping the calamity at the cost of its body. The star shattered into pieces, falling to earth like rain around the broken body of the Fragment."
"A man, brave but foolish, dared approach the fallen god. He approached, and the Fragment spoke to him, asking him to return what was lost. The man gathered the plates that had fallen around the god, returning them to the Fragment. Its essence returned, the Fragment healed and was grateful. The god offered its savior a wish in return for his help."
"The man wished for the barren wasteland to become green and growing, so that people and Pokémon might live there together in harmony, enjoying the world the Original One had created. The Fragment approved, splitting off five parts of itself, the Plates, forged from the essences of Creation. From the Plates of Grass, Water, Earth, Electricity and Dragon, the Jewel of Life came to be. Wherever the Jewel went, the earth flourished. But the Jewel carried terrible power: if it fell into the wrong hands, Creation could fall out of balance. The man swore to use it only for good, and to protect it for all time. The Fragment faded back into the dreams of the Original One, leaving the man with the Jewel of Life."
"For many years, the valley was green and gold and all life flourished. The Jewel of Life brought untold prosperity to what had once been a wasteland, calling many people and Pokémon to move there and make it their home. The man built a castle upon the remains of the fallen star, housing the precious jewel in the highest tower. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and a promise made with a pure heart was broken before a decade had passed."
"The man had a partner, a brother in all but blood who helped him build a great nation in the valley. This partner became jealous of the power the Jewel of Life afforded the man, asking to see the Jewel for himself. The man refused, citing the promise he had made to the Fragment. But every day for years on end, the partner asked and wheedled and made sure the man understood just how much he could help the valley if only he could see the Jewel. After five years had gone by, the man finally allowed his friend to see the Jewel in all its splendor. And every day for the next five years the friend returned to see the Jewel, walking up to the tower alone."
"Then the day came that ten years had passed since the man was given the Jewel of Life. On the day when the Beast that devours the Sun finally caught his prey, an earthquake tore the land apart, fire burst from the ground and all the green and gold of the valley withered. The man rushed to the tower, afraid that the Jewel of Life would be gone, only to find his partner standing in the tower. Instead of the beautiful green jewel he had received many years ago, the friend held a black gem that pulsed with sickening light, drawing in the light around it as if trying to consume the world. "What have you done?" cried the man, distraught at the betrayal of his friend."
"'I have done what you wished you could,' his friend replied, his corrupted eyes darker than coal. 'I have taken the power of the Original One for myself, so that I may use it as I please. You have made this valley beautiful, but I shall make a new world, by devouring the old.' The Devourer turned on his friend, the man who had earned the Jewel of Life from a fragment of the Original One, eating his life force until nothing remained."
"The Devourer raised an army powered by the souls of living beings and sent them out across the land of Sinnoh, crushing all in their path and devouring all life they came across to fuel their master's need for power. The western region of Sinnoh fell quickly to the overwhelming power of the corrupted Jewel of Life, and all of eastern Sinnoh trembled as the boots of the approaching army echoed from the caves and passes of Mt. Coronet."
Dawn paused here, a silence that stretched on for an endless moment before she continued:
"But all hope was not lost, for on an island covered with flowers, a little girl was born."
"On an island far to the east, away from the mainland that was slowly being crushed under the heel of a madman, a little girl played in the flowers with the Pokémon she loved. Her clan was large, and they loved her, but as she grew older, she watched more and more of her friends and family take up arms and leave, sailing over the churning sea to join the battles raging on the mainland. Far too soon, the girl's own father was sent away to fight, the great dragon that stood beside him promising to the girl that her father would return. The only piece of her father that the girl ever saw again was a single lock of his hair, twisted around a burned scale, sent back home in a small box."
"The girl was forbidden to fight. She was too young, they said, her partner a tiny Budew barely grown from hatching. But the girl knew she could not stand by. So she went to the clan's great hall, and began to read the books they kept there, seeking a way to end the war that had taken so much from her, from all of Sinnoh. The war had reached the coast by the time she found her answer."
"The girl asked for the help of the water Pokémon to sneak her past the army building boats on the shores of the mainland, sailing from her island up the coast under the cover of night with Roselia at her side and the water Pokémon pushing her boat from below. Only the power of her conviction and the stalwart aid of her Pokémon allies kept the girl going as the water turned from the warm coastal waters to the icy sludge of the north, and her partner began to shiver even in the sun. The water Pokémon slipped away, leaving the girl to what little mercy the frozen northern reaches of the world could provide."
"Abandoning the boat that had been her home for months, the girl pressed onto the land, climbing mountains and exploring tunnels, learning to fight and survive and thrive even in the worst conditions with Roselia at her side. The frozen power of the north and the ice dwelling in the souls of the Pokémon could not deter her and Roselia, not when the fire of hope in their hearts spurred them onwards as their destination grew near. Following maps older than her great-grandparents, the girl found the great mirror of the North: Lake Acuity, the Lake of Clear Sight."
"The Lake was clear and clean, with no sign of the corruption that had touched all living things as the corrupted Jewel of Life spread its poisoned tendrils throughout Sinnoh. As the girl stepped closer, an island appeared in the middle of the lake where before there was no island at all. In the middle of the island there was a cave, leading deep into the heart of the earth. The girl and her partner sailed to the island, the ember of hope that her books had lit in her heart growing until it was a bonfire. Deep into the depths of the earth they walked, until they reached a cavern glowing with light that came from nowhere. In the middle of the cave a figure waited."
"The Bringer of Knowledge, Uxie, waited for her."
"No one knows what happened in that cavern exactly. Only the girl and her partner knew, and from that day they refused to speak of it. But the girl entered that cavern as a girl from an insignificant island to the east, one who had lost too much to war and traveled far in order to find the smallest spark of hope for her people. When she left, she was so much more."
"When she left the cavern to stand in Solgaleo's light once again, she was Lily, Champion of Uxie, soon to be the Savior of Sinnoh."
"Sinnoh was a dark and ruined land, all life subjugated or devoured by the greed of one man. The Devourer believed he had won, laughing from his tower in the castle he built atop the holy peak of Mt. Coronet, gathering power from the land and its people in order to commit his final sin and destroy the world he once revered. But from the ruined land, pockets of resistance began to rise. Slaves working in the pits broke their chains and fled, patrols exploring the wild lands to the north vanished without a trace, and the people who hid in their homes from the terrible servants of the Devourer began to whisper of a growing rebellion, and the Lily who led it."
"The Devourer was enraged as the whispers began to grow, reaching even his ears as entire towns began to rise up in rebellion. He sent his power flowing from the corrupted Jewel, but to his surprise another power began to beat it back: the light of knowledge, the hope that all was not yet lost. That light led people and Pokémon to one another, instead of tearing them apart. That light led the lost and the broken to the hidden places where they could rest, where a Lily and a Roserade walked among the refugees to heal their wounds and teach them to fight against the evil."
"The Devourer could not stand the thought that another could challenge the power he held. He gathered his armies, men and Pokémon thousands strong subjugated by his dark power, and marched them north, burning the land under their feet to be sure that all the power of Life was the Devourer's. The Devourer expected resistance, but he did not expect the wild itself to rebel."
"The landscape of Sinnoh itself rose to stop the Devourer as the Pokémon exerted their power to stymie the dread army at every turn, allowing the resistance to grow and organize. When the exhausted army of the Devourer finally emerged from the caverns of Mt. Coronet, they found an army thousands strong to greet them, Lily herself standing at their head with Roserade by her side. Her light and wisdom inspired all who came close, and those corrupted by the Devourer who touched her found themselves cleansed by the power of Uxie. The resistance, the League, pushed back the army of the Devourer, freeing Sinnoh with every step closer they took to the stronghold on Mt. Coronet."
"As the resistance approached his stronghold high upon the slopes of the holy mountain the Devourer began to feel real fear in his heart for the first time in many years. The Devourer could not bear to see his empire fall, so he conquered the last of his fear of the Legends and headed for the gate to the peak. "
"After two years of fighting, the final battle took place before that holy place, before the sealed gate leading to the beginning of all, the place where the Original One created the world. If he could break the seal and enter bearing the corrupted power of the Jewel of Life, nothing would stop him. So Lily came for the final battle."
"On that snow covered peak before the towering gate the Devourer faced the Champion of Uxie, the ones the legends name the Lily of the Valley, for the first and final time."
"Their battle was so great it was said that no snow remained on the mountain when the battle was over, the clashing of their power tearing down the castle of the Devourer and carving great furrows into the earth. The Devourer with the Jewel of Life and the corrupted power of all his victims flowing through him, the Lily of the Valley glowing with the knowledge and power of Uxie and Roserade by her side, their teamwork faultless. It is said that as the battle drew on Uxie itself came to aid the Champion, lending its might to contest the corrupted power of the Original One."
"In the end, light will always overcome darkness, for shadow only exists where no light reaches. The Lily summoned the light of knowledge and love, so bright it outshone the sun, to cleanse the Devourer from the earth once and for all. The Devourer, knowing all hope was lost, thrust the Jewel of Life in front of himself in an attempt to block the blow. Uxie's power cleansed all corruption from the gem in an instant, but the power was too much for the Jewel and it shattered into a thousand pieces. So too did the Devourer, for in attempting to eat the world, he had lost his own soul to the corruption he placed inside the Jewel."
"The Lily stood victorious before the gate, stained with her own blood and that of her partner as her army cheered for their salvation, the enemies losing all will to fight as the corruption left the hearts of many and others saw their leader defeated. There atop the holy mountain the Lily declared that humankind and Pokémon must live together in peace, joining their strength together to form a nation that gave to one another instead of took. She declared that their League would live on, learning from the light of knowledge that all beings hold within themselves. On Mt. Coronet, the Lily of the Valley declared the League that would take her name, would be established on the island that was her childhood home, and thus created the world we know today. The Lily of the Valley, Champion-hero of Uxie, would become the leader and first Champion of the Pokémon League of Sinnoh."
Silence stretched long into the night, but Dawn gathered her Pokémon in her arms and stared up at the endless heavens.
"One day we'll be there. One day, we'll be legends, bringing peace and prosperity to Sinnoh as the strongest in the land."
Her voice was no louder than a whisper but no less strong for it. "I swear it."
#
Dawn knew she was near Floaroma hours before she arrived. The smell of flowers was so strong Ion was sneezing for an hour before the first flower fields came into sight and only half an hour after he started sneezing Dawn wanted to do the same. The smell of roses and gardenias, jasmine, pine, mint, and of course their famous lily of the valley wafted along on the breeze, pleasurable for about five minutes then growing so strong it stung Dawn's nostrils every time she breathed in. She almost envied Zephyr and Crest their weak senses of smell.
Flowers dotted every field they passed in a riot of color, from white to blue to brightest red and orange. After days of nothing but waving grasses it was a pretty sight, but Dawn's aching feet just wanted to reach Floaroma as fast as possible.
Pachirisu and Bidoof ran though the fields, screeching and running off as fast as they could when Zephyr descended from the heavens to take them on. He had his fun with the Bidoof, much as Dawn tried to stop him, but after the second Pachirisu left him with scorched feathers and wobbly flight he left them alone. Ion would occasionally send sparks skittering along the ground in an attempt to talk to the other electric types. He didn't often get a response, but he spent a while playing tag with a particularly rambunctious Pachirisu in the flower fields. It made Dawn's heart swell with pride when she saw him outrun the speedy electric type with ease, his hours of training shining though.
The road became crowded as the team got closer and closer to the flower-strewn gates in the distance. What had been a steady trickle of passerby became a gushing river, so many people walking in and out of the flower-covered wooden gates that Dawn was soon forced to walk on the edges of the dirt path, Ion and Zephyr recalled to their Pokéballs while Dawn scooped Crest up in her arms. There wasn't enough room for him to walk but he refused to go back in his ball, watching the passerby with suspicion and looking around at the riot of colorful flowers.
What was going on? Floaroma was a tiny town, a stopover just before the Eterna Forest where trainers could rest and view their famous flower fields before braving the tangle of dark trees and unknown paths ahead. She'd always thought it would be a quiet place. Instead she was pushing past what had to be hundreds of people. If too many more came though she'd be reminded of Jubilife City instead of Sandgem Town.
There were two police officers standing on either side of the gate, each one holding a clicker and counting the number of people entering and exiting the gates. Dawn stopped and stepped off to the side before entering town, asking the nearby officer, "What's going on? I thought this was supposed to be a small, quiet town."
"Trainer are you?" the officer asked rhetorically, glancing at the Piplup in her arms. "Figures you wouldn't know, you all never keep track of the days or the news." Dawn frowned but the man kept going, "Tomorrow's the first day of Floaroma's famous Shaymin Festival. We do a huge celebration of Shaymin the Purifier as well as grass-type Pokémon in general. Rituals and prayer in the morning, a good ol' fashioned celebration in the afternoon. We're gonna have a grass-type catching contest at some point as well. Trainers have been flooding in for the contest and everyone else is here for the festivities. It's our biggest event of the year, so you've got good timing."
Dawn barely heard anything after the words "grass-type catching contest" were spoken. What a chance! Catching contests normally had rare and unusual Pokémon added in order to make it more interesting and Dawn needed a grass type. After the weeks of training with Ion, Zephyr and Crest, she was sure they had bonded enough as a team. Adding a new member wouldn't throw them off significantly and even just learning more about grass types would be valuable before her gym battle in Eterna.
"Thank you," she said, already walking through the gate in a distracted haze with not even a glance back towards the officer. If she had glanced back, she might have noticed the man's covert glance toward his partner. She would have been too far away to notice the quick nod, or the second clicker the officer took out of his pocket, adding one to the tally before slipping it away in a back pocket and turning to face the tourists again.
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This chapter was a beast to write and edit, but here it is! I hope you enjoyed it. I love getting to worldbuild by writing mythology and history, so expect more fun stories like the story of the First Champion or Moltres the Avenger in the future. Thanks for reading, see you next time!
