Chapter 20 Post Obsidian Fieldlands Part 3
As they are back at the Heights Camp, they find a man who called himself the Balloon Race Man. He says, "Nice to meet you, young Survey Corps recruits! I hear you have the rare ability to dash over hill and vale on the back of a Pokemon, yes? Well, why not try your hand at the balloon race? It's a game I invented myself!"
"Sure, but how do you play?" Ash asks.
"It's simple, really - you just need to burst as many of my adorable balloons as possible while riding a Pokemon. If you manage to burst, say, 17 balloons, well, that'd be an impressive start! You can find me here any time, so let me know whenever you feel like testing your skill in the balloon race!"
Serena says, "I think I'll pass this one, even though I am a daughter of the famous Rhyhorn Racer."
"Sure, I'll do it for you." Ash smiles.
After a while, the man has set up the course, and he says, "There are a total of 30 balloons on the course! Let's see how many of them you can burst in 45 seconds! Now, get out there and get bursting!"
Ash hops on Wyrdeer and starts to burst the balloons while running down the Deertrack Heights, they also have to be careful not to hit Geodude or Kricketots on the way. After managing to smash all 30 balloons, they are now at the beach in the south. After getting back, the man says, "Welcome back! You burst...30 balloons! P-perfection! You popped every single balloon!"
"Well, it wasn't hard at all." Ash smiles.
"You definitely a balloon-bursting boss - that's for sure. And that means you deserve something special to mark the occasion!" The man gives them a Nugget and a Rare Candy for completion.
"And whaddya know? You beat my target of bursting at least 17 balloons! Well done, you!" He also gives them another Rare Candy and 15 Feather Balls, much to their delight.
"You can take part in balloon races in other places as well. This race is the easiest of the lot!" The man adds. "Let's see if you have what it takes to challenge them all and raise your skills to the next level!"
"I'm looking forward to that." Ash says.
And after that's done, they find Professor Laventon as they are going back to the Jubilife Village. Professor Laventon looks at his Pokedex and says, "Splendiferous results! I daresay you've earned yourself a promotion to the next rank! Best report to Captain Cyllene, eh? I'd get right on that if I were you!"
"Professor Laventon, sorry for the late news, but we also quelled Lord Kleavor." Ash says.
"Well done and bravo, my boy and my girl! Time to head back to the village and report to Commander Kamado!"
And then they finally get back to Jubilife Village, Volo is already waiting for them there. Volo says, "I saw a light fading into the sky. You must have quelled the lord Pokemon!"
He also notices the Insect Plate and the Mind Plate. "And what do you have there? Could it be...? Ah! Those are two of the fabled plates of old! Please, let me have a look!"
Ash shows the two plates, and he says, "I see, there are some letters carved into them."
"We already know that. I can read them as well." Ash says. "This one says, "Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin."
"It seems to be a phrase from a very old myth. How did you come across these?" Volo asks.
"We are given the plates by Wyrdeer and Kleavor." Serena says.
"That's quite something, indeed! My heart is practically racing with excitement!" Volo says. "It is my guess that you will find more plates like these scattered across Hisui! If we were to gather them all and decipher the scripts on them, we may uncover something absolutely amazing! The mysteries of the past! Oh, how they tickle my curiosity! What a joy to be alive in such times! Well, I must be on my way. Until next time!"
Then Volo leaves them alone, and both Ash and Serena just shrug as they don't know what just happened.
They find a man named Andra near the gate as he asks, "All right, if a Pokemon starts eyeing me, I'll find an Oran Berry, then run while it's distracted. If I just stick to the plan, I'll be fine..."
He notices Ash and Serena and he says, "Oh! You two from the Survey Corps! I was just headed out to the fieldlands to go gather Tumblestones, but I haven't got as many Oran Berries as I'd like. Are you familiar with Oran Berries?"
"We are, we have been feeding a lot of Pokemon with them." Serena says. "And they also restore some HP to Pokemon that eat them."
"So as you might imagine, Pokemon tend to be very interested in them." Andra says. "You see where I'm going with this? Throwing Oran Berries is a great way to distract and avoid wild Pokemon. They're indispensable! With that in mind...could I trouble you to gather five Oran Berries for me?"
"We already have a lot of them, we can share some with you." Ash then takes out 5 Oran Berries and gives them to him.
"I gratefully accept! Gosh, I can't believe you went to the trouble of finding these just for me!" Andra says.
"No problem." Serena says.
"Thank you! Gosh, you're nice for someone who fell out of the sky. Let's just tuck these away in my satchel..." He puts the berry away, and adds, "I won't let your kindness go to waste. Wish me luck with those Tumblestones!"
And he gives them 3 Revives as thanks, so Ash and Serena put them away as well.
They also find Sanqua the head of the Construction Corps in front of the house, as she is muttering, "I can't get a good night's sleep like this..."
"Sanqua? Is something wrong?" Serena asks.
"Wagh!" Sanqua jumps a little and says, "Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, but something wrong?" Ash asks.
"No, no. Everything's fine. Whatever you need, come back later, all right?" Sanqua replies.
"I don't think you're telling the truth here..." Serena sighs. "We can help you. Just tell us what's the matter."
"Hmm. Maybe a Survey Corps type like you two could figure out what's causing this...Look, when I'm in my quarters trying to sleep at night, it feels...It feels like I'm not alone in there! Sometimes, there's this kind of crackling sound...I've found burnt Berries a couple of times, and once in a while, I hear something clatter...So Survey Corps kids, go survey my quarters! Figure out what's happening!"
As it is nighttime, Ash and Serena decide to enter the house to investigate. Sanqua mutters, "I swear there's something in there. Check every nook and cranny for me, OK?"
They start to look at the table and find a faint smell, like Berries, and they hear a cracking sound at the item storage, so they check it out, they open the cloth to find some sparks flying for a moment.
"What was that? It was so fast..." Serena asks.
"It seems to me like an Electric Type Pokemon." Ash adds. They hear the sound again, and this time it is at the closet. Pikachu rushes towards the closet and drags a Pichu out of it.
"So it's a Pichu!" Ash says.
"Survey Corps kids! Are you all right? I heard this strange noise!" Sanqua rushes in and asks. "Wait a minute. This Pichu - could it be...It might sound absurd, but...I think this might be a Pichu I found injured in the forest a while back."
The Pichu rushes towards Sanqua and gives her a berry. "A berry? For me? What, because I fixed you up?"
"Chu!" Pichu nods and Sanqua takes the berry, "Wait - so the thing haunting my quarters was just...a grateful little Pichu? Guess all that worrying was pointless! To think I was afraid it was some spine-chilling thing."
She turns to Ash and Serena as she says, "Regardless, I owe you! Have a token of my gratitude."
Then they are given 7 Nanab Berries as thanks, Ash and Serena take the berries and leave the quarters.
The next request is from a man named Kichi near the farm fields. He says, "Listen here, Survey Corps kids. I saw the darndest thing. I was scouring the Heartwood for crops we could grow in the fields here when I saw it...This Pokemon called Cherrim changed its appearance before my very eyes! It was in the evening. The light was getting dim. All of the sudden, Cherrim's petals closed right up so it looked like nothin' but a little flower bud. "Wow," I thought, "I just witnessed the miracle of Evolution!" But the next morning, when I went to check in on that Cherrim, it was right back to full bloom! But why would it bloom just to close back up? Is that how Evolution works...or was the change I saw something different?"
"How about I show you from this Pokedex?" Ash asks as he shows the page of Cherrim. He says, "Wow, you sure went into detail. Uh-huh, uh-huh...I see. So, it changes its form when the sun's hidden. Guess I didn't see it evolve. I just saw that change in action. I see now why it helps to have you Survey Corps folks working at researching Pokemon. Guess I'd better get back to my own work. Food on the table's just another way to repay you! Ha!"
Then he gives them five Vivichokes as a reward, Ash and Serena just put them in the satchels and thank the man. And they decide to do one more request before meeting Kamado, and they walk back to the Craftworks and the owner Anvin needs some help.
"You there! You seem like someone who enjoys a bit of crafting! Do you think you could help me out with something? I'd be very, VERY grateful if you'd try to craft something using a special recipe I came up with! So, without further ado, here's the recipe!"
Ash takes the recipe and says, "A recipe for Pokeshi Doll? It needs three planks of wood to make it, huh..."
"I invented them, you see, as special items that we could make in this village. I would love to have you craft one and show it to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!"
Ash and Serena decide to work a Pokeshi Doll together with the woods they find in Obsidian Fieldlands, after that's done, they show the finished item to Anvin.
"Hmm...what's this? Why, that's a Pokeshi Doll if I ever saw one! Please, let me have a closer look!" After Anvin looks at the Pokeshi Doll, he says, "Amazing! Just look how smoothly you've carved these curves! Your attentive carving shows you put love and care into your handiwork! And these colors! You've definitely given it a vivid look, that's for sure! Yes, these hues must be the very shades of your inner strength and passion! Not to mention, this Pokeshi Doll is perfectly balanced! At a glance, you'd think it's sure to fall over, and yet it stubbornly remains upright!"
After giving it back to Ash and Serena, he smiles, "Thank you. I've savored your Pokeshi Doll to my heart's content. We used the same recipe, and yet your Pokeshi Doll had a completely different feel than mine. Here, I'll give you a Pokeshi Doll I made. I took great care in crafting it, so have a look, and see how it differs from the one you made!"
Then he gives them his own Pokeshi Doll, and Ash says, "It sure feels different."
"I know, but it is fun to have two different dolls with us as well." Serena says.
I'll end the chapter here, we'll be getting into the main story again in the next chapter, and also some of the quests. I hope you like this chapter.