HEARTHOME CITY, 19:00
In spite of its location, Hearthome City was home to Sinnoh's largest immigrant population. People came to the big city from tropical Alola, urban Kalos, and everywhere in between, settling down and calling it home. They were welcomed with such open arms that, in due time, the city had become a cultural melting pot.
This meant that, in regards to the people who lived there, it was almost definitely the most exciting settlement in Sinnoh. In the summer, all of these immigrants, whose customs and traditions weren't observed by the vast majority of Sinnoh, came together in a magnificent, two-week-long celebration of diversity known as the Hearthome Festival.
A Hoennian man breathed fire in a steady stream from his mouth alongside his Blaziken as a small crowd watched. A group of men and women, unidentifiable because of their masks but with dark skin not native to Sinnoh, danced in perfect sync to no tune at all, performing impressive flips and quick steps that made Claus dizzy as he walked past them. Of course, they were still in Sinnoh, and the natives did not miss the opportunity to join in the fun, with a woman and her Chatot singing in harmony as she strummed on a mandolin.
And, of course, the many vendors, shouting to the crowd that walked past, advertising their goods and services of varying quality to the crowd.
"The most stylish sunglasses! Get them here!"
"Authentic Rose Incense, humanely extracted from live Budew! The scent of heaven itself!"
"Focuses for your affinities! Any and all are welcome!"
"Mega Stones for your Pokemon! Boost their power to unfathomable heights!"
"Claus, did you hear that?" exclaimed Barry. "That one's selling Mega Stones! Holy shit! Do you know how rare those are?" He immediately dashed off to go and check them out.
Claus rolled his eyes. Barry didn't even have any Pokemon capable of mega evolving, and Mega Stones were specific to species. Unless he had already planned the rest of his team members, there would be no way he could choose one.
Dawn had already gone off elsewhere, staying behind to watch a street performance, and so Claus had no qualms about going off on his own. He had both of their dex numbers, anyways, so they could decide on a meeting place if necessary.
He wandered up to the place that had been advertising focuses for affinities, intrigued. Focuses for affinities were not rare, really, but they were certainly not easy to find either, and Claus was already finding plenty of use for his affinity even without a focus. With a focus, this would only increase tenfold.
The stall was a relatively large one, with plenty of space for the variety of different products. "Well, hello, young man," greeted the lady running the stall. Claus returned her contagious, gap-toothed smile. She looked like she'd be in her sixties. "Looking for a focus, to help you strengthen your affinity?"
Claus nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Steel, specifically."
"Oh ho, respectful," chuckled the lady. "That will get you far." She reached under the table, bringing out a tray with an assortment of objects. "Steel, hm? My nephew's own Steelix provides the Metal Coats used to make these. They are high quality, but I ensure that all of my products are."
Claus would have thought that the lady was bluffing, but she spoke as if it was an objective fact. The products at the Hearthome Festival were generally known to be of good quality, but still... "Can I try out the product before I purchase it?"
"You try it, you buy it," said the lady, shaking her head. "Do not worry. They are affordable, and they will not disappoint."
Checking the labels, Claus nodded. The prices for the objects were all mostly ten to thirty dollars, which he figured was reasonable.
Then his gaze drifted upwards towards the trinkets themselves, and his eye was immediately caught by an odd-shaped… something. It was blue and rectangular, not appearing metallic at all, but Claus's steelsight still detected it. "What is that?"
"Ah, the harmonica," said the lady with a smile. "I have one of my own." She pulled out an identical one, lifting it to her mouth, and she blew.
A haunting melody issued forth. It was only about ten seconds long, and it evoked the calm before a storm, an eerie stillness loaded with anticipation of danger. When she finished, passersby clapped at the impromptu performance.
Claus smiled at the lady. Even if it did nothing for his affinity, that was fine. He had always wanted to learn a musical instrument anyway. "That seems like a nice focus," he said as he reached into his pocket and gave her the money. "Thank you, ma'am."
"No problem, young man." The lady grinned at him knowingly.
Claus pocketed the harmonica. He'd try it out later. He'd seen the no refund policy, so there was not really any point checking to see how well it worked at the moment. Instead, he stepped away from the stall, pulling out his dex once again.
GROUP: Barry G, Claus H, Dawn M
Claus H: Hey, guys, I'm pretty sure we're all separated
Claus H: So how about we meet up in an hour from now
Dawn M: Where should we meet up?
Dawn M: Perhaps in front of the Cathedral?
Claus H: It's close to the Center, and big enough that Barry can't miss it
Claus H: So yeah, sure
Dawn M: LOL! Sounds good! :)
Barry G changed their name to "victim"
victim changed Claus H's name to "backstabber 1"
victim changed Dawn M's name to "backstabber 2"
victim changed the chat name to "the tragedy of julius cesar"
victim: i get off my dex 4 5 minutes
victim: because i wanted to c some cool mega stones
victim: and yall are talkin shit abt me
victim: behind my back
victim: smh
backstabber 1 changed the chat name to "Barry can't spell Caesar"
victim changed backstabber 1's name to "cesar"
victim: ok nerd lmao
Claus rolled his eyes, pocketing his dex. There was a nearby stall that had caught his attention, anyways...
HEARTHOME CATHEDRAL, 20:10
Claus had previously been amazed by Sandgem's Pokemon Lab, and would have deemed it the most impressive building that he'd seen in his life, both on the outside and the inside. However, it was only now that he was beginning to realize how small Twinleaf and Sandgem really were.
A massive monolith of granite towered above the rest of the city, raised by a devoted group of rock affinities and their Pokemon. It was topped by a dome of blueish rock and two spires flanking it, and was otherwise undecorated. But even despite the lack of color, the Hearthome Cathedral was eye-catching just for its sheer size, as it was probably the tallest building in the city three times over.
A voice next to him gasped, and he turned around to see Dawn staring up at the Cathedral as well. But then, she turned to Claus, and her gaze fell on his most recent purchase. "Oh, you bought an egg?"
"Yeah," said Claus, lifting the egg higher so that Dawn could have a closer look at it. "The stall was selling mystery eggs, and I figured it would be a worthwhile experience."
The egg was pretty large, bigger than Claus's head, and it was heavy. It was more or less spherical with a thick, pale brown shell.
"Do you have a guess as to what's in it?" asked Dawn, looking down at the egg.
Claus shrugged, interested in what Dawn had to say. "I have no idea. The shell's kind of leathery, which makes me think of some sort of reptilian Pokemon. Maybe a Sandile? It seems to match the color."
"Mammalian Pokemon lay leathery eggs as well," explained Dawn, reaching out and touching the egg tentatively. "I'm not completely certain, but- yep, it's warm. That's a pretty sure sign that it's a warm-blooded Pokemon, possibly some sort of normal or fighting type."
Claus shrugged. "Whatever it ends up hatching into, I'll be happy with it. I'm just excited to raise a Pokemon from an egg. It sounds like fun."
"Whoa, man, an egg?"
Barry had arrived on the scene, as well. He peered at the huge egg in Claus's arms, and laughed incredulously. "It's so big! What is it, a Bouffalant?"
"Good guess, actually," admitted Claus. "Dawn says it's probably some sort of mammalian Pokemon, maybe a normal or fighting type."
"I'm sure you'll make it work, whatever it is. I don't think I'd have the patience to raise a baby Pokemon and train it to catch up to the rest of my team, though, so you do you."
"That's why I got it now, as opposed to later. We only have one badge so far, right?" Claus shrugged. "There'll still be some catching up to do, but not that much. It should be fine."
Barry nodded, and there was a moment of comfortable silence.
"So I know the two of you are Disciples," said Dawn suddenly, seeming nervous.
"That's right," said Claus cautiously. Discussions about religion were, in his experience, quick to turn ugly, and he liked Dawn enough that he didn't want to endanger their friendship over something like this.
Barry, of course, was a lot less tactful. "Look, Dawn. We respect what you believe, and you respect what we believe. If you're worried about us judging you, then you don't need to be."
...Oh. That was not what Claus had expected to hear, but thank Arceus. He really needed to start giving Barry more credit.
Dawn smiled hesitantly. "Thank you, Barry, I appreciate it. But that's not why I brought it up." She gestured behind her, at the Cathedral. "I was going to ask if you guys wanted to pay a visit to the Cathedral. I'd like to at some point, and I'd like to share the experience with you two, if you're willing."
"Oh, huh," said Barry. "Nobody will be offended if we show up?"
"Manifold is open to all," said Dawn solemnly, and then immediately blushed. "Oh, goodness, I sound like a preacher. I'm not trying to convert you or anything, I swear."
Claus smiled. "I, for one, would be interested. I've never been to the Cathedral, of course, and I'm curious about Manifold too." He shrugged. "I am a Disciple, but I'm not one of the crazy xenophobic ones." That prompted chuckles from both of them, but they died down quickly. The topic, despite how smoothly it had been handled by the three of them, was still a sensitive one.
The three of them walked into the Cathedral, pushing open the tall and surprisingly heavy doors.
The first thing that struck Claus about the interior was how colorful it was in comparison to the outside's monotone grey. There were no windows, but stained glass mosaics covered the walls, some in geometric patterns but most as clear depictions of Mew's many Aspects. Manaphy, Celebi, Zeraora, Shaymin… There were a lot of Aspects, thought Claus, as his eyes climbed higher and higher towards the distant ceiling, trying and failing to take in all the art. He wondered how much effort it must have taken the people who had created all of this art to construct something so monumental and beautiful.
For the first time, Claus felt that he truly understood why the faith was called Manifold.
"Wow," whispered Barry. Claus didn't take his eyes off the walls, still trying to take all of it in, but Barry sounded just as awed as he felt.
As he began to recover from the overwhelming sight, the other aspects of the Cathedral began to register to him. There was a low background noise, with people walking about, speaking to each other in hushed voices, and kneeling in front of the mosaics, often with their eyes closed. A faint floral scent filled the air from incense placed at regular intervals along the walls.
He finally managed to tear his eyes away from the walls to glance back at Barry and Dawn, and quickly snapped his head back around when he saw tears in Dawn's eyes. He would think that he was good friends with Dawn, but the moment still felt a little too personal for him to be intruding on.
"Well," he said. "What do we do?"
"There's not really any structure for worship here," said Dawn. Claus felt that it was safe to look again, and sure enough, her eyes were dry, with only a small smile on her face.
"It's a personal thing, mostly. As long as you're respectful, you can worship however is best for you. Each Aspect has what you could call a specialty, but they're all of Mew, so it doesn't really matter."
"You know, I like that," said Barry. "It's like religion, but… freestyle."
"That's one way to look at it," said Dawn, laughing, but Barry was already gone, heading off rather predictably towards a mosaic of Victini. Claus began to follow, but then thought of the egg that he'd just adopted, still warm in his arms.
"Dawn," he asked, "Is there an Aspect that encompasses childhood?"
Dawn nodded. "Sort of. The closest thing we have is Mew herself, who blesses her children with innocence and youth."
That was good enough for Claus. Thanking Dawn, he began to walk all the way to the back wall.
When he reached the mosaic, he smiled. Mew, as humans had seen her, was said to be small in stature, with wide eyes and a long, winding tail. This mosaic had depicted her with a childlike innocence, her short snout seeming to hide a smile.
After a moment of brief hesitation, he began to address Mew, feeling a little silly speaking out loud to someone who wasn't even present.
"Um, I have an egg. It's a responsibility that I think I can manage, but it's a big responsibility anyways. Raising a Pokemon from birth, and all. It's almost like I'll be a father." He paused here. Saying it out loud made him realize how strange and foreign the thought was.
"I'm a Disciple, I know, but I know that regardless of religion, life is sacred. And, well, I'm pretty sure that you do exist, so… yeah. I just thought I'd seek your blessing, now that I'm taking on this task."
He felt really silly now, but nobody was listening, so the feeling faded quickly. The egg rocked back and forth, a muffled sound coming from it before it fell silent once again, and Claus's embarrassment was replaced with awe.
NOTES
I don't actually have much to say for this chapter. Claus got an egg though, which is a new teammate in the future wahoo
And, finally, non-lame chat names for everyone
You'll notice that my updates have been more sporadic lately. This is because I am now an engineering major in college and that's a good amount of work. That being said, sporadic doesn't mean stopped, and this fic isn't going anywhere! Stay tuned for more!