Hi everyone! My, it is nearly the end of the year! And guess what? I have a new chapter ready for you!
Yes, my New Years Resolution for 2019 was to post at least three chapters of Reflecting Balance this year, and while I had technically fullfilled that goal if you count the Special Episode, I wanted to get at least one more chapter of the main story in before 2020.
So, what will my goal for 2020 be? Well, without revealing too much, there's a certain point in the story I've been looking forward to reach. I'm pretty sure I'll get there soon, so my initial goal will be to reach that chapter. I hope you'll all look forward to it!
For now, here's chapter 58 of Reflecting Balance! I hope you all enjoy it! Feel free to leave your thoughts on it! And Happy New Year!
Chapter 58: Just stay calm and remember that you're awesome!
Chiaki continued to look around at the vegetation in the area as he and his teammates followed Aeron and Angeline to Gale Wing Village. Glancing at his teammates, it seemed Sera and Azure were also checking out their surroundings, while Frederick seemed to like the scent of the plants around them. Blitz on the other hand just seemed to be focused on reaching the village, keeping his gaze on what was ahead of them as they followed behind Aeron and Angeline.
Perhaps he was preoccupied thinking about the mission ahead of them. Blitz was the leader of their team, after all.
"All right, we're here," Angeline said, as they stepped into the village.
Looking around at the village, there were quite a few dragon type and flying type Pokémon about. There were several large houses that seemed to be built in ways to evoke caves, made for the dragon type Pokémon living in the village. Looking up at the trees, Chiaki saw that there were also several smaller tree houses, where bird-like Pokémon lived. Any other houses with different designs were likely made for Pokémon of other types.
In addition to the houses, there were also a few shops set up, although there wasn't as many shops as in Fenix Town's shopping district. It was probably because the shops in the town plaza mainly served rescue teams, and there weren't any official rescue teams here on Wyvern Island, according to what Aeron had told them.
There was a long-necked dinosaur-like Pokémon running an item shop, which seemed to have an especially large selection of berries. The shopkeeper had large leafy wings on its back, and seemed to have fruit growing out of their chin. The Tropius greeted their customers with a friendly smile, while Blitz and his teammates continued following Aeron and Angeline to where the other rescue teams were.
A short distance away from all the buildings, were the other three rescue teams and a few of the local Pokémon. As they walked closer, one of the Pokémon, a female Garchomp, turned to look at the newcomers. As he looked up at the bipedal dragon-type Pokémon, Blitz noticed that there was a slight glint to her scales.
"Ah, there you are, Angeline," the Garchomp said, looking a little annoyed.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Indigo," Angeline responded. "I had to wait for Aeron to bring the last rescue team over."
The Garchomp nodded her head slightly before walking over to take a closer look at Blitz and his teammates. In the meantime, Chiaki looked over at the other Pokémon gathered, and noticed that there were also a chubby orange dragon and a blue bird-like Pokémon with the most of her body covered in fluffy white weathers present.
"Hmm… Yeah, they seem strong enough," Indigo commented with a slight smirk. "All right, let's get back to business."
Everyone listened as Indigo gave a quick explanation of what kind of Pokémon they could expect to run into while exploring the jungle. The plan was to get through the jungle, then spend the night near the entrance to the mystery dungeon of the Sky-High Mountains, then begin climbing the floors of the dungeon in the morning. She also recommended that the teams gather apples and berries that they could prepare for dinner once all of them had gotten through the jungle dungeon. Each of the teams would be joined by one of the four dragon Pokémon.
"… Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Indigo asked Blitz as she looked over the teams, trying to decide which one to pick.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to stare…" Blitz responded, looking away for a moment. "It's just… you're a shiny Pokémon, right?"
"… You can tell?" Indigo replied.
"Well, yes," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "While it is a bit hard to tell, your scales do have a more grayish tint than that of most Garchomp. Plus, there's that slight glint to them."
"Wow… You have pretty good eyes!" Indigo replied, grinning. "All right, I've made up my mind. I'm going with you guys!"
"Huh? Just for that?" Blitz responded incredulously.
In the meantime, the other dragons were choosing which team they would accompany, while Angeline talked to Aeron.
"I kind of wish I could've helped out too," Aeron said, glancing at his wing. "But I guess it is best for me to avoid fighting for now."
"Agreed." Angeline responded. "Just take it easy and don't worry about us."
Once everyone had decided on which of the dragons would be accompanying which team, it was about time to finally begin the mission. Angeline would be accompanying Mirage's team, the Altaria had decided to go with Sting's team and the Dragonite would be going with the Weavile's team.
"Good luck, everyone!" Aeron said, waving his good wing.
"Aw, thanks Aeron!" the Dragonite responded, waving back at Aeron.
"Ha, I don't need luck," Indigo said with a confident smirk. "But thanks anyways."
At last, Blitz, his teammates and Indigo entered the mystery dungeon. Indigo took the lead, confidently strutting down one of the paths of the first floor of the labyrinth.
"This is the first time all five of us are on a mission together," Chiaki commented, glancing around at his teammates.
"Well, yeah," Azure responded. "The usual limit of four Pokémon for regular missions means we don't get a lot of chances to go on missions all together."
"So, because this isn't a regular mission, it's okay?" Frederick asked, tilting his head slightly.
"I guess so," Sera responded. "I mean, when we went to Nightmirror Forest and Mt. Frostbite, we had Lodestone and Wynn come along with us even though there were already four of us, so I don't think it matters that much in situations like these."
"Makes sense to me," Azure replied, shrugging slightly.
The group continued heading further into the dungeon, with Indigo making good use of the shark-like fins on her arms in the battles against wild Pokémon. Indigo seemed quite eager to put her battling skills to use, to the point where Blitz and his teammates nearly missed their opportunity to assist in the first few fights. As they made it further into the dungeon and got into more fights with more than one wild Pokémon at a time, Blitz and his teammates were able to get more hits in.
"Ooh, nice hit!" Indigo commented as Frederick got a critical hit on a Vileplume with his Dragon Pulse attack.
"… Was she talking to me just now?" Frederick whispered to Azure.
"Yep, she was," Azure replied.
"Cool," Frederick responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Trying to make a good impression on the other dragons?" Azure asked, smirking.
"Well… I certainly wouldn't want to make a bad expression on them," Frederick responded.
"Heh, you don't have to worry about that, buddy," Azure replied. "You're doing just fine. Just stay calm and remember that you're awesome!"
"Thanks, Azure," Frederick responded, smiling.
The group continued moving forward, fighting off wild Pokémon and making sure to pick up some rare berries along the way.
"I wonder how the other rescue teams are doing?" Chiaki wondered out loud.
On another floor of the dungeon, Sting and his teammates were exploring the jungle while listening to the Altaria cheerfully singing a song she had written herself. Melody was just listening intently, while Frosty and Sting seemed a bit unsure what to make of some of the lyrics.
"… What is this song supposed to be about?" Frosty whispered to his teammates.
"… Perhaps it's up for interpretation?" Sting responded.
After about another minute, the Altaria finished her song.
"So, what did you think?" the Altaria asked, after first taking a moment to catch her breath.
"It was amazing!" Melody responded, smiling. "You have real talent! Right, guys?"
"Ah, yes," Sting replied, nodding his head. "It had a nice tune."
"Yeah! You have a really great voice!" Frosty commented.
"Ah, thank you!" the Altaria responded, blushing slightly. "It is always nice to meet other music lovers! I figured that with a name like 'Melody', you'd probably be willing to hear my songs!"
"Is that the reason she picked our team?" Frosty whispered to Sting.
"Well, of course!" Melody said, looking at the Altaria. "Your songs are lovely!"
"I'm glad you like them!" the Altaria responded. "Would you like to hear more?"
"Um, you might want to hold off on that," Frosty said, pointing to some wild Pokémon just ahead.
"Oh, good point," the Altaria replied. "I'll let you hear more later!"
Together, the four of them fought against the wild Pokémon, the Altaria mainly attacking with quick pecking attacks and Dragon Pulses fired from her beak. Whenever the Altaria had to make quick and sudden movements to avoid her opponent's attacks, Sting and his teammates could hear muffled sounds of metal objects clanging together. Once all the wild Pokémon in the area had been taken care of, the group continued moving forward.
"… Are you carrying a bunch of stuff inside those feathers?" Frosty asked, gesturing towards the fluffy white feathers covering most of the Altaria's body
"Oh, yes I am!" the Altaria responded, nodding her head. "Since we'll be spending the night near the entrance to the Sky-High Mountains mystery dungeon, I figured it was best to bring some extra supplies!"
"Makes sense," Frosty replied. "Why carry it in your feathers, though? I mean, that sounds like it'd kind of uncomfortable."
"Not if you know how to pack your things efficiently!" the Altaria responded cheerfully.
"Huh… If you say so," Frosty replied, shrugging slightly.
In another part of the dungeon, Angeline and Mirage's team were trying to get through the floors as quickly as possible, while still taking the time to gather up all the money and items they could find.
"… Hey, Mirage?" Megara said, looking over at the Zoroark. "You seem a little lost in thought. Something the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that," Mirage responded. "It's just that… you know, distortions have been getting worse in a lot of areas, including where I used to live…"
"Oh, right," Megara replied. "You're worried about your family?"
"Yeah…" Mirage responded, nodding her head slightly. "I haven't heard from them in a while, so I hope they're all right…"
"I'm sure they're fine," Megara replied. "Maybe they've just been busy re-locating to a different part of the forest, or someplace else that isn't as affected by the distortions, or something."
"Hmm… That might be it…" Mirage said, tilting her head slightly. "In that case, I hope they've found a place to stay…"
"Speaking of distortion, the mushroom hasn't noticed any in this place so far," Cordyceps commented.
"Well, as far as we can tell, the island hasn't been affected yet," Angeline explained, looking over at the rescue team.
"Oh, really?" Megara responded, looking over at Angeline. "Is it because it's so far up in the sky?"
"I don't know," Angeline replied, shaking her head.
When the group battled against wild Pokémon during their exploration, Angeline took down her opponents with many different attacks of various types. Most of these attacks were physical attacks making use of her fangs, claws and wings, but when up against opponents with certain abilities, she would also unleash breath-based special attacks.
"You sure don't mess around, huh?" Megara commented, seeming impressed with Angeline's strength. "Where'd you learn all those moves?"
"Well, most of them I just learned naturally," Angeline responded. "Upon fully evolving, there are a lot of moves us Salamence can learn, even without the use of TMs and stuff."
"Cool," Megara replied, nodding her head.
The Weavile's rescue team were also making their way through the floors of the dungeon, the Dragonite accompanying them seeming more interested in gathering up all the berries and other food items they came across than fighting wild Pokémon. Of course, being one of the Pokémon trained to be able to handle the mystery dungeons of Wyvern Island, the Dragonite was still a really good fighter when he wasn't distracted by nearby food items laying on the ground or hanging from nearby trees.
"Wow, you don't usually see berries like this in mystery dungeons!" the Emolga commented as she picked up and examined a red berry. "This is a Haban berry, right?"
"Yes, it is!" the Dragonite responded, nodding his head. "If you hold onto it, it lowers the damage from dragon-type attacks."
"Sounds like it'd be pretty useful around these parts!" the Emolga replied, grinning.
"It sure is!" the Dragonite responded, smiling back. "Berries are amazing."
The Weavile let out a sigh, while the Roserade seemed amused by the interactions between the Dragonite and the Emolga.
"Looks like Liz has made a new friend," the Roserade commented, chuckling a little.
"Yeah, yeah…" the Weavile responded.
"My, are you in a bad mood?" the Roserade asked teasingly. "Is this mission not as exciting as you thought it'd be? Or is the tropical environment just too warm for your liking?"
"I'm fine, Rosie," the Weavile responded. "I suppose it'd be nice if we could move a little faster, though…"
He glanced over at Liz and the Dragonite, who seemed to be having a fun conversation.
"I know that escort missions have never been your thing," Rosie commented. "Ah, well, I guess this isn't quite like one of those missions, though."
"The dragon's a pretty good fighter with some strong moves, I'll give him that," the Weavile responded. "But how does he get anything done at this pace, assuming this is how he does every mission he goes on?"
"You know, it's not a bad thing to take your time, take in the surroundings," Rosie said, looking around. "I mean, look at this place! Isn't it quite lovely?"
"I guess so," the Weavile responded, quickly glancing around. "There's… a lot of plants and stuff."
"Ah, you're hopeless," Rosie replied, shaking her head.
The group continued moving forward, the Weavile hoping they'd be able to pick up the pace soon, or at the very least that they'd find some more wild Pokémon to fight.
Blitz and his teammates continued to explore the jungle along with Indigo. As they continued moving further in, the opponents they faced gradually got stronger and stronger. Even with Indigo's assistance, they proved to be quite the challenge.
"How many floors is this dungeon?" Sera asked, glancing around. "We've been walking for a while now…"
"Don't worry, fluffy one!" Indigo responded, grinning. "If you've made it this far, you can handle the rest of the dungeon!"
"… That doesn't answer my question," Sera replied.
"Whew, the wild Pokémon on this floor are really tough…" Frederick commented, panting a bit.
"The stronger they are, the more satisfying it is to defeat them!" Indigo replied.
"Yeah!" Azure said, beaming. "Hey, are the wild Pokémon in the Sky-High Mountains mystery dungeon just as strong?"
"You bet!" Indigo responded, glancing over at Azure with a smile. "I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!"
"Ooh, I can't wait!" Azure replied.
"… Those two seem to be on the same wave-length," Chiaki commented.
"Maybe it's because they're both named after colors?" Sera whispered back.
"Haha! Don't be silly, you two!" Azure said, giggling a little.
Blitz hoped they could get through the last few floors without having to use up any of the Reviver Seeds they had brought along. After all, if the Pokémon they would fight tomorrow while climbing the Sky-High Mountains mystery dungeon were as strong or even stronger than the ones here, then it'd be best to have as many Reviver Seeds as possible, just in case.
"We're running low on Oran berries…" Blitz said, checking on the items.
"Huh? Already?" Sera responded. "I didn't think we had used that many…"
"Yeah… I guess it's easy to lose track of that in the heat of battle…" Blitz said.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine!" Chiaki said, smiling. "Maybe we can find some more Oran berries around here, or maybe one of the other rescue teams will have some extra that they can share with us."
"Yeah, maybe," Sera responded, nodding her head slightly.
Moving through a few more floors, the group continued to gather more items while trying to avoid getting into more battles than necessary.
"… All right, this is the last floor!" Indigo announced as the group headed up another set of stairs. "Once we've gotten through here, it'll only be a short walk to the entrance of the mystery dungeon of Sky-High Mountains."
"Okay," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "Let's keep moving!"
"I wonder if the other rescue teams already reached the end?" Chiaki wondered out loud.
"We'll know when we get there," Azure responded, shrugging slightly. "I'm kind of surprised we didn't run into at least one of the other teams on the way."
"I'm looking forward to dinner…" Frederick said, licking his lips. "Delicious berries…"
The group picked up the pace a bit, knowing they were now close to reaching their destination. All they had to do was find the stairs. They kept searching for a few more minutes, at one point having to turn around and take a different path when they come across a particularly hard-to-wake Snorlax that was blocking their path forward. Eventually, they finally found what they were looking for.
"Ah, there it is!" Blitz said, as they finally located the room with the stairs.
"Huh, that easily?" Azure commented, glancing around. "I was half-expecting there'd be a really powerful wild Pokémon or something in the way that we'd have to fight…"
"Well, I'm sure there'll be plenty of Pokémon for us to fight tomorrow," Sera said. "For now, let's just get out of here."
Heading up the stairs, the team finally exited the dungeon. Upon arriving at their destination, they discovered that Sting and Mirage's rescue teams were already there.
"… How did you fit this in your feathers?" Frosty asked, as he helped pull some of the cooking gear out from the Altaria's fluffy feathers.
"I told you, it's all about knowing how to pack your things efficiently!" the Altaria responded.
"Oh, hey, Blitz and his team are here," Megara commented, waving at the group.
"Hi Megara!" Chiaki said, waving back. "Hi everyone!"
"Glad to see you guys made it," Angeline said, looking around. "Now we just need to wait for Wilbur and the last rescue team to get here."
"Well, I'm sure they'll be here soon," Indigo responded. "In the meantime, should we start preparing dinner?"
"All right, let's see what we've got!" Azure said, walking over to check what ingredients the various teams had gathered and what cooking gear the Altaria had brought.
While Azure and a few of the other Pokémon began discussing what they would make and set everything up, the Weavile and his teammates finally arrived.
"Ah, looks like we're the last ones to arrive," Liz commented, looking around.
"Sorry we're late!" the Weavile said. "We ran into a Monster House on the way, and it took some time to get through that."
"You were the one who insisted on fighting all of the Pokémon," Rosie pointed out with a smirk.
"Hey, why let the potential battle experience go to waste?" the Weavile responded, shrugging slightly.
"Oh, hey everyone!" Wilbur the Dragonite said, walking over to the other dragons while holding a large handful of berries. "Look at all these berries we found!"
"Good work, Wilbur!" Indigo responded. "Bring them over there."
With Azure taking the lead and assigning tasks to the Pokémon helping with the cooking, it didn't take long before dinner was underway.
"Azure sure is fired up," Sera commented.
"I guess she's putting her experience from helping out at the café to good use," Blitz said.
While waiting for the Pokémon preparing dinner, the Emolga from the Weavile's rescue team approached Chiaki and the others.
"Hi there!" Liz said, waving at the group. "I've seen you guys around, but I don't think we've ever actually spoken. I'm Liz!"
"Nice to meet you!" Chiaki responded, smiling at the Emolga. "I'm Chiaki!"
The two Pokémon began to ask each other about their respective teams, discussing adventures they had been on and talking about their teammates.
"Oh, looks like Liz had made yet another friend today," Rosie commented. "Hello there, little ones. You're that rescue team that's helped retrieve each of the crystals so far, aren't you?"
"Uh, yes, that's us," Blitz responded, nodding his head.
"How exciting!" Rosie said, smiling.
"What are you guys doing over here?" the Weavile asked, walking over.
"Ah, you're finished cutting up the berries?" Rosie responded.
"Pretty much," the Weavile replied, licking some berry juice off of his claws before looking over at Blitz and his teammates. "I'm Yukio, by the way."
The two rescue teams talked amongst themselves for a bit, while Azure continued to lead the dinner preparations.
"Ooh, they smell good," Wilbur commented, holding the pan containing the roasted berries. "Are they done now?"
"Hmm… Yeah, that looks good," Azure responded, grinning. "Good work, everyone!"
The rescue teams and the dragons would spend the rest of the evening enjoying their dinner, talking about different things and discussing the plan for tomorrow. Eventually, it was time to get some sleep. The Altaria found a nearby tree to perch on, while the other three dragons each found a spot on the ground a bit away from the others.
"Hmm… Maybe this will do?" Rosie commented as she examined a grassy spot.
"Trying to find a spot where you'll get plenty of sun in the morning?" Liz asked.
"Yes, exactly," Rosie responded, smiling. "There's nothing like waking up to the warm light of the sun."
"Eh, speak for yourself," Yukio said, looking around. "I'll just find a spot in the shade, somewhere a bit cooler."
While Rosie and Yukio looked for good spots to sleep on the ground, Liz decided to find a tree to sleep in.
"… And in addition to the cold, it is really hard to sleep comfortably with your icicle beard poking at my body," Melody said to Frosty as she explained why she didn't want him to use her as a pillow.
"Fair enough," Frosty responded, nodding his head.
Megara tried to find a spot to sleep where she wouldn't accidentally set anything on fire in her sleep, with her two teammates making sure there was a bit of distance between them and her.
"Well, I guess it's time to get some sleep," Azure said, leaning against Frederick. "I hope nobody here snores."
Blitz looked surprised when Sera decided to lay down right next to him, snuggling up against him.
"… You don't mind, do you?" Sera asked, noticing Blitz's expression.
"Uh… No, it's fine," Blitz responded, blinking a few times. "As long as you're comfortable."
As the various Pokémon gradually fell asleep, Chiaki looked up at the night sky. Even on this island floating in the sky, the stars seemed as far away as always. Chiaki glanced over at the entrance to the mystery dungeon. Tomorrow, they would all be heading up the mountain through that dungeon to find the thieves that had stolen the prices for the flying tournament. And then they would retrieve the Axis Tower crystal that was currently in their possession.
Chiaki moved a little closer to Blitz and Sera, hoping that Sera wouldn't mind if he used her tail as a pillow. He looked at the two of them, and couldn't help but think about how cute the two of them looked sleeping next to each other like this. Chiaki let out a yawn and laid down, resting his head on Sera's fluffy tail.
"Good night," Chiaki whispered, before closing his eyes and trying to sleep.
End of Chapter 58