Ch.36
Reflection
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
"It has Delia; how is your journey coming along so far?" Jet asked his daughter, hoping to break the tension that was still clearly in the air, and Delia, if she could have managed it without hurting herself, would have shrugged, but opted to just stare at her father with a casual glance.
"It's not my journey father; it's Dmitri's journey. I just invited myself along and I do intend to apologize to him now that I realize what a selfish decision that was," Delia answered him tersely causing the older male to sigh and rub a hand through his hair at his daughter's straightforward answer while Maya reached forward and stroked Delia's forehead, an action that the young battle ace didn't attempt to fight off.
"Delia…Dmitri would have wanted you to come along with him knowing how shy-"
"Was mother; Dmitri is no longer a meek, timid boy," Delia interrupted her mom before she could finish her sentence causing the older woman to sigh softly and nod before lifting her hand from Delia's forehead before staring at Lopunny curiously and then shifting her attention back to her daughter.
"I see that you have a Lopunny on your team which is interesting in the fact that they aren't known for their great strength or awe inspiring power like the dragons you admire so much," Maya pointed out causing Lopunny to form an indignant look on her face while putting her hands on her hips and raising a brow while Delia put a hand on Lopunny's leg to calm her down.
"Mother, while it's true Lopunny doesn't have incredible strength, she more than makes up for it with her versatility, making her a formidable opponent," Delia responded causing Lopunny to smirk at her trainer's compliment and sent a smug look at Maya who blankly stared back at the bunny pokemon and then just shifted her gaze back to the dragon tamer.
"I see," Maya said softly as the room became deathly quiet once more as Dragonite and Druddigon, who had leaned forward in their beds to attempt to hear their conversations, let out annoyed grunts when their talk went nowhere and resulted in silence once again.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Jet tenderly put a hand on top of Delia's which she didn't protest too and simply stared back at her father blankly causing the wandering trainer to inwardly sigh sadly; there were no loving, adoring eyes staring back at him. The eyes he saw in Delia would make others think that it was just blank, but he saw pain, so much pain, and he didn't know how to help.
"Deli…" Jet started causing Delia to snort at the nickname her father gave her when she was a child, but nevertheless she didn't take her eyes off of him and allowed him to continue speaking.
"We want you to come home with us; seeing you lying in the bed right now looking like you've been through the reverse world, it makes me afraid of what will happen to you if you continue on like this," Jet told his daughter concernedly which finally caused Delia to violently react as she let out a low growl and wretched her hand from underneath Jet's hand and ignored the sharp feeling of pain when she did this.
"No, I'm not. I'm seeing this through to the end and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Delia retorted aggressively causing Maya to snort and narrow her visible eye at Delia which made the young dragon tamer angrily glare at her.
"If that were the case, then you wouldn't be hospitalized right now," Maya analyzed causing Delia to snarl and clench her teeth tightly while her mother furrowed her brows and leaned closer to her daughter who didn't back down in the slightest.
"Everyone can have an off day; you of all people should know that," Delia fiercely responded causing Maya to grunt and move her chair closer to Delia's bed while Lopunny wanted more than anything to help somehow, but she was at a loss of what to do.
"You of all people should remember that while you've only had a meager few months of traveling around one region, I was traveling around the whole world gathering knowledge of different battle styles before you were in diapers," Maya growled ferociously in challenge as the mother and daughter intensely stared each other down, neither giving an inch, while Haxorus, his teammates, and Jet sighed tiredly at the standoff.
"(Wait, if Sir Jet and Dragoness Maya are here then that means…oh,)" Haxorus realized quietly while Dragonite and Druddigon, upon realizing what he meant, happily clasped their hands together in anticipation and right on cue, the pokeballs on Maya's and Jet's belt vibrated before all of them opened in a bright flash of light and luckily, the room was big enough to accommodate all of the new occupants.
Standing in front of Haxorus, Druddigon's, Dragonite's, and Hydreigon's beds were older, stouter members of their species who Haxorus and Hydreigon simply stared back at with blank looks, Druddigon and Dragontie excitedly greeted them as they were enveloped in warm, strong hugs.
"(Oh my little dragon, it's so good to see you again! I trust that you've been keeping up on your training right?)" the older Druddigon asked Druddigon causing his eyes to beam and vigorously nodded at the other dragon's question causing him to once again be enveloped into another hug.
"(My son, how good it is to see you again! You must regale me with all the arduous misadventures you have been since I've last seen you!)" the elderly dragonite boomed merrily causing Dragonite to let out a hearty laugh, but winced slightly when his sides flared up in pain, but the wide smile on his remained there.
Druddigon's joy went through the roof when a Nidoqueen approached his bed causing all three of them to happily embrace one another while Dragonite's excitement soared like a rocket when an aged Sceptile approached his bed in an awkward, slow gait with a small grin on its face causing Dragonite to embrace his family in a big hug that wrapped all of them up. Delia and Maya, despite the still apparent animosity, couldn't help but smile at the reunion their pokemon were having as a grizzled Charizard with red tattoo marks resembling claws raking across one of its eyes approached Hydreigon's bed while a pudgy Swampert moved towards Haxorus's bed.
Haxorus, the other Haxorus, and Swampert stared at each other blankly, neither moving a muscle nor twitching a brow, before they all erupted into a brief chorus of soft laughter and hugged each other as Swampert and the other Haxorus knelt down next to Haxorus's bed. Hydreigon, the other Hydreigon, and Charizard on the other hand playfully growled at one another and softly nipped at each other's necks before engaging in conversation consisting of grunts, snorts, clicks, and yips.
"(Little dragon, it's good to see you again; for what purpose have you not gotten the warrior markings like Charizard and I?)" the older Haxorus asked as it briefly gestured to the long, thick red mark on its torso causing Haxorus to sigh and fiddle with the blanket awkwardly while Swampert and the other Haxorus waited patiently.
"(Mother, mere ink marks doesn't determine whether you're a warrior or not, they're determined by your grit, fortitude, and skill,)" Haxorus sagely replied with a dignified expression on his face causing the elder Haxorus to sigh and look over Haxorus's wounds concernedly causing Haxorus to put a claw atop of his mother's claw and shake his head.
"(Mother, I'm fine; it's Delia and Lopunny I'm worried about. I'm worried about Lopunny because she's relatively new to our clan and was thrust into a life-or-death situation without proper fighting experience and I'm worried about Delia because…well, she's Delia,)" Haxorus bluntly admitted causing his mother and Swampert to chuckle while Delia indignantly raised a brow and turned her attention to her trusted pokemon with her eyes narrowed while Haxorus looked back at her with calm, collected gaze.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Delia growled irritably causing Haxorus to blink before speaking his mind.
"(Do I really have to explain it?)" Haxorus deadpanned causing Delia to open her mouth to speak, but after thinking about it for a moment she reluctantly closed it and resumed lying down on her bed, but with a light blush on her face.
Albeit reluctantly, Delia called out to her parents causing them to divert their attention from watching the pokemon mingle with one another and focus their gaze on their daughter who hesitantly reached out and gripped their hands despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to not do this. This caused them to look at her daughter in shock, surprised to see that she would give them any sort of affection despite her mysterious resentment, but nevertheless they grinned at this causing Delia to give an ever so slight smile of her own.
Meanwhile
"Dmitri, I have some bad news," Nurse Joy solemnly stated causing Dmitri to turn to her with a concerned look on his face causing the revered nurse to want to brush it off, look at him with a kind, motherly smile, and tell him not to worry, but she knew it had to be done so she hardened her heart and informed him of the grim diagnosis.
"Unfortunately, your arm was burned so severely that all of your nerve endings were completely destroyed and even worse, your arm is now posing a severe health hazard to you as the blood vessels in your arm are damaged beyond repair which makes your blood unable to circulate properly and your arm has become infected. The only reason why you were able to move it around is because your Luxray and Mienshao healed you, but it wasn't enough," Nurse Joy admitted to the young trainer causing Dmitri to look down at his arm determinedly and clench his fist, hoping at least for some feeling of pain, but he felt nothing, absolutely nothing, which caused him to feel a void open up inside of him for the first time in a while.
Sighing, Dmitri stared at Nurse Joy with his head down and his shoulders sluggish as he waited for her to continue which she did without missing a beat.
"I'm sorry Dmitri, but unless we amputate your arm, you will die," the esteemed nurse grimly finished causing Maris and her teammates to let out a collective gasp of shock, not realizing the severity of their trainer's wounds, while Dmitri closed his eyes and stoically stared at Nurse Joy, but Maris could sense a cold chill go up his spine that shook him to the core.
"When can we begin the operation?" Dmitri asked as he tried to suppress the fear he felt, but all of his pokemon and Nurse Joy could hear the slight falter in his tone causing her to sympathetically look at him and thump her clipboard twice, summoning her team consisting of an Ariados, Meganium, Miltank, Umbreon, Ampharos, and a Gengar, all of them wearing the same first aid hat as their trainer.
"Ariados and Gengar, you guys take him to the operating room and prep him; Miltank and Umbreon, take care of his pokemon first before assisting us; Meganium and Ampharos, help Ariados and Gengar set up," Nurse Joy commanded causing her pokemon to give a vigorous salute and carry out their duties while Maris, who could still sense the chilling fear her boyfriend was exuding, sent out waves of her aura to put him at ease which helped calm him down as he was trembling slightly beforehand.
Before going out of sight, he shot Maris a grateful grin which the martial arts pokemon returned with a warm smile of her own before his gurney disappeared down the hall leaving Maris, Sparkplug, and Kiera alone with Miltank and Umbreon and upon seeing their worried faces, Miltank attempted to console them while tending to Kiera's injuries.
"(Don't worry about your trainer; he's in capable hands,)" Miltank assured the distraught trio causing Maris to sigh deeply and stare off to the side with a forlorn gaze before turning to the normal type with a sullen look as Umbreon began tending to her as Maris began to speak.
"(If you say so, but I'm also worried about his mother. She's been through a lot so hearing that her hatchling has to lose his arm in order to save his life is going to hit her hard,)" Maris replied sadly causing Umbreon, who had finished cleaning her injuries and began applying new bandages, to coo at the fighting type and tenderly placed a paw on Maris's leg to comfort her.
"(I know not of what your mate's mother has gone through, but I'm sure she'll be fine if she's given enough time to process what her hatchling has been through and Cilia will see to it that she's informed of what's about to happen,)" Umbreon comforted her which caused Maris to nod, somewhat relieved that Karen will know what had transpired, but also concerned for her wellbeing as she nearly lost her hatchling yet again and this time, Stephanie wasn't there to help them.
Maris's eyes widened in shock and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head the moment she realized what the dark type had referred to Dmitri causing the moonlight pokemon to mischievously chuckle at Maris's reaction, but didn't push the issue as she finished up helping Maris just as Miltank finished tending to Sparkplug. Saying goodbye to their patients, Miltank and Umbreon left the room in a calm, orderly fashion leaving Dmitri's Big Three in dead silence as Kiera, Sparkplug, and Maris looked at one another curiously, each seeing if someone would initiate a conversation, but all they got was silence in response causing them to shift their heads to the side awkwardly.
"(Hey guys, mind if I ask you something?)" Maris questioned her comrades causing Kiera and Sparkplug, who were in the middle of swapping stories with one another, to look at their teammate and nod immediately, noting the distressed tone her voice carried.
"(Do…do any of you know how long physical therapy for an artificial arm would take?)" Maris asked of them causing Kiera and Sparkplug to glance at each other, both hoping that the other could answer their teammate's question, but they both turned to Maris with blank looks on their faces causing Maris to sigh, but she thanked them nevertheless for at least attempting to come up with an answer.
"(Maris, not to point out the obvious, but doesn't Luka usually know about junk like this?)" Sparkplug pointed out causing Maris to smack herself in the forehead and then thank her friend for her advice causing Sparkplug to shoot her a toothy grin which Maris returned with a smirk before closing her eyes and focusing on Luka's life signature.
"(Luka, are you there?)" Maris questioned her friend and when she didn't get a response, she was about to just give up and take a nap before Luka coughed and replied to the martial arts pokemon with a happy, curious tone.
"(I'm here Maris; sorry, it's just that the medicine the healers gave me tastes awful and I'd rather just let my wounds heal naturally, but Catherine shoved the tablets down my throat when I refused to take them,)" the jackal pokemon explained causing both Maris and Luka to giggle briefly before Luka inquired about what Maris wanted causing the martial arts pokemon to sigh deeply.
"(Do you know how long physical therapy would take for an artificial arm?)" Maris asked once more causing a moment of quiet between the two which made Maris all the more tense before Luka finally got back to her.
"(It would take a few months for Dmitri to fully master using the new arm; no doubt that this would interfere with his original plans, but he's starting to take after you a little so I doubt he would let this slow him down,)" Luka answered her causing Maris to let out a terse grunt as a worried glance crept up on her face before she got back to her companion.
"(I know, that's what I'm worried about,)" Maris said in a distraught tone causing Luka to send out a wave of her aura out to her friend which made Maris feel a soothing, warm presence within her being that lifted her spirits causing Maris to grin.
"(Thanks,)" Maris gratefully said to her companion causing Luka to giggle over the connection that they had before she talked to her once again.
"(Of course sis; we both know Dmitri will want to continue on his journey so the most likely scenario is that Nurse Joy will assign him a pokemon that will help in his physical therapy,)" Luka consoled her causing Maris to grin slightly, feeling better if what Luka said was true, and thanked her friend once again for talking to her.
"(I have to go now sis; Catherine noticed our conversation and she insists that I get some rest so I guess I have to get some rest now,)" Luka said offhandedly causing Maris to chuckle and bid her friend farewell as the aura connection ebbed away leaving her with her two teammates who were staring at Maris worriedly as she made weird faces every now and then during her conversation with Luka which made them think she was having a conversation with an apparition.
"(What? I was just talking to Luka,)" Maris bluntly stated to her comrades causing them to nod in understanding as they now got why Maris was making the odd sound or facial expression for the past few minutes as Maris laid her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes, but fought off that feeling when Sparkplug and Kiera continued to talk to one another.
"(Hey Maris, could we ask you something?)" Sparkplug inquired causing Maris to lazily turn her head to her comrade and tiredly nodded at the request causing the lioness to suck in some air and letting it back out before addressing her friend.
"(What…what was it like growing up under Dmitri's care?)" Sparkplug nervously blurted out causing Maris to stare at Kiera and Sparkplug with a focused, intent gaze as if she was studying them before letting out a laugh and placing her paws behind her head.
"(Where do I begin?)" Maris pondered as the gigantic centipede and the big cat longingly waited for Maris to begin her tale like eager campers huddled around a warm campfire waiting for the scoutmaster to begin telling a story.
Pov shift
Alice, though trying to be humble despite the infuriating irony, felt an ice cold chill go up her spine that shook her to the core as Oni lowered her head and narrowed her eyes at her servant as her vibrant violet eyes studied Alice meticulously, taking in every detail, and after what seemed like an eternity Oni lifted her head up and stood up to her full height.
"(Alright then, Alice Wayne it's time for you to meet your new partner,)" Oni boomed authoritatively causing the entire cave to shake as if an angry tidal wave was smashing against the rocky surface in an attempt to drown Alice for all of her misdeeds and Alice looked up at her new master and with great hesitance on her part, nodded.
The pokemon that stood at Oni's side was a tiny, brown fur ball with four legs and bushy tail that seemed to make up most of its body weight and Alice snorted derisively at it causing the brown fur ball in question to frown at her.
"Master…" Alice began despite the vomit inducing urge the word brought to her as she composed herself and narrowed her eyes at the mighty pokemon while Oni blankly looked back at her with pulsating violet eyes.
"I don't hope you're expecting me to begin my new life with such a weak looking pokemon; I doubt that I'll be able to protect you effectively with…with whatever that's supposed to be," Alice said honestly, not thinking much of her new partner, that is until a brown blur crashed into her kneecap like a bowling ball colliding into the motionless pins causing her to gasp and hold her arms out to catch herself as she hit the rocky surface of the cave with a hard thud causing her to groan in pain and attempt to shake the cobwebs from her head.
"Vee, Eevee!" the brown fur ball growled at her indignantly as it got right into Alice's face so their noses were touching and the furious gaze it was giving Alice was as if to say "What did you call me?" and Alice, angered that her so-called "partner" had tackled her, raised her hand and shoved the evolution pokemon's face away from her causing Eevee to tumble like a rolling ball across the ground.
When Alice attempted to get back up however, Eevee was right in her face once again and with all the strength its tiny body could muster, put a paw on Alice's cheek and fiercely pushed it causing Alice to slightly sway to the side, but was relatively motionless as a giant boulder. Just as it seemed that Alice and Eevee were about to go at it once more, Oni let out a thunderous caw that echoed throughout the entire cave causing both the girl and the pokemon to jolt violently from it and slowly turned their heads to Oni who had an annoyed, exasperated look on her face that they both translated as "Stop your childish bickering now!"
"(Alice Wayne, your first assignment as my bodyguard…is to answer me why I requested that Arceus give you those clothes,)" Oni commanded causing Alice to angrily snort and ball her hands into fists that she would have liked to hit Lugia with, but she knew it wouldn't even faze Oni so she relented, but the scowl on her face remained.
"I don't know, because you have poor fashion taste?" Alice venomously snapped at her master causing an unseen force to unceremoniously smash her into the ground belly first leaving Alice in a small crater that was shaped like her own body while Eevee jumped back from fright due to seeing her partner standing up one moment and then flat on her belly the next.
No matter how much Alice screamed, clawed, or struggled, she was helplessly stuck on the ground unable to move like a worm wriggling in place while Eevee, despite being annoyed with her, wanted to see if it could help in anyway, but was cawed at it when it attempted to do so.
"(Don't push my patience girl; since you obviously can't comprehend the meaning behind it, I'll give you a hint. How did you feel when Catherine stopped talking to you? How did you feel when she left you with half of an ear and in a pool of your own blood? Most importantly, how did you feel when you were finally defeated and left at the mercy of Catherine and her friends?)" Oni demanded in a fierce tone of voice which made it all the more intimidating considering that she towered over her by large margin and the violet eyes that were seemingly piercing into her very soul wasn't helping matters either.
How did she feel? She felt an empty pit in her stomach, like someone had reached inside of her and yanked out all of the feeling and essence she had leaving her a hollow shell. She felt humiliated as she should have been strong enough to subdue her sister, but was somehow overcome and given aid out of pity, but most of all she felt weak. Maybe if she had acted sooner, she would still be close to Catherine and wouldn't be tossing in her bed at night wondering why she left her alone and all of this made her feel like…nothing.
"So that's the answer huh?! I'm nothing now and these bland clothes you gave me just represent I'm your expendable foot soldier to be thrown away when I'm no longer useful?! Is that what you're saying?!" Alice angrily roared which sounded like a whole mob of wrathful Gyarados laying waste to a small fishing village while Oni, surprised by the answer Alice gave her, raised a brow and studied her bodyguard, yet still kept Alice helplessly on the ground.
"(It's good that you're feeling just like the pokemon you discarded during you're tenure as a pokemon trainer as it shows you're growing as a person, but that's not what the clothes symbolize. In your old life, you were a petty, cruel girl who did horrendous acts to anyone who angered you and nearly destroyed an entire city to win your sister's love back, but in the end you failed. Underneath you're façade is a sad, helpless little girl crying out for the one that left her to give her some love and in the end, you're actions amounted to nothing as Catherine now sees you as nothing more than a bad memory,)" Oni began mercilessly making Alice feel as if she was back in the Hall of Origins being berated by Arceus once again and being threatened with the three options to decide what fate she would have to live out.
"(You were close in assuming that the clothes meant you were nothing, but the answer is actually that they symbolize that you are blank,)" Oni finished softly as the presence that Alice felt like a Snorlax was sitting on top of her spine vanished allowing her to sit up once again and once she processed what her master's answer was, she smashed her fist against the ground and savagely glared at the legendary pokemon who remained unfazed by the attempt of intimidation from her servant.
"Nothing and blank are the same thing! Great fucking answer oh wise one!" Alice furiously exclaimed at Oni, feeling like she was being toyed with, but Oni merely sighed while keeping a calm expression on her face as her violet eyes lit up once again, but Alice felt no pressure slamming her into the earth this time and instead felt a warm, soothing sensation that lit up her malevolent purple aura that she gave herself to combat pokemon which exuded the same energy Oni did.
"(No, they're similar, but they're very different. Nothing means that you're nonexistent and unable to interact with the world in any shape or form while blank is like a paint canvas as you start off with a bland, unappealing appearance, but as you grow you can adopt many colors to shape yourself into any image you wish. So you see Alice, you aren't nothing as I wouldn't be able to interact with you otherwise, but as something blank I can interact with you and help paint you into something great,)" Oni explained to Alice causing the girl to snort dismissively and stare off to the side with an angry scowl on her face, yet after mulling over what Oni said she scoffed and faced her master with a wary, curious gaze.
"Fine then; any other assignments you have for me and the stuffed animal?" Alice bitterly remarked, but kept her tone somewhat calm as Eevee head-butted her ankle causing Alice to become slightly off balance, but after she recovered she lightly nudged Eevee with her foot causing the evolution pokemon to get knocked onto its side where it angrily barked at Alice which she ignored.
"(Actually I do; you're to set off on your own pokemon journey and compete in the pokemon league,)" Oni commanded causing Alice to widen her eyes, not believing what she was hearing, before she frantically rapped her fingers on her arms and narrowed her eyes at her master.
"If I leave to go on a pokemon journey, then I'll be leaving you defenseless," Alice complained causing Oni to puff out her chest and extend her wings to their full width which knocked Alice onto her butt where she stared up at Oni irritably, more annoyed than impressed with her display.
"(I'm more than capable of defending myself and the pokemon here will serve as interim guards for me until you complete your task. Besides, you're not much use to me as of right now and I can't have someone who can't even defend herself protecting me,)" Oni offhandedly stated causing Alice to growl furiously like a Charizard roaring at a challenger at being called weak, but didn't really have anything to deny it so she picked herself up and held out one of her pokeballs to Eevee.
"Get in," Alice curtly demanded causing Eevee to scoff and like someone of the nobility would do if a commoner attempted to talk to them, haughtily snubbed Alice causing the ex-heiress to growl and demand Eevee get in once again, but this produced the same result.
"(Didn't Arceus explain the requisite for pokemon to ally themselves with you?)" Oni incredulously breathed out causing Alice to groan in frustration, getting fed up with her new job and her partner, and put on a false, wide smile and held out the pokeball to Eevee once more.
"Oh please, come on a journey with me your smug piece of shit! I promise we'll be the best of friends as I put you through hellish training that will make you wish you'd never been born and as a special bonus, I might even feed you two times in one day! So whaddya say, want to be my partner?" Alice proclaimed through a teeth-clenched grin that would have made even a Gengar back off from fright and surprisingly, Eevee opened one annoyed eye and stared at Alice as if to say "Leave me alone" and seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Oni decided to step in.
"(ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH! Alice and Eevee, I don't give a flying fuck if you guys don't like each other; believe it or not, you two asses would actually make perfect partners for each other!)" Oni roared with incredible rage the likes of which caused the entire cave to shake violently and in turn caused some stones to fall from the roof and nearly hit both Alice and Eevee causing them both to cover their heads, but they were shielded by Oni's giant wing.
Alice and Eevee glared at each other long and hard, sizing each other up like fighters at a weigh-in, before Eevee reluctantly stepped forward and without even looking at Alice extended its paw toward the human girl which just translated as "Get it over with." Alice, without even looking at Eevee, barely tapped its paw with the top of her pokeball causing Eevee to be sucked into the device with a bright flash of blue light that illuminated the cave and instead of the pokeball rumbling from side to side, the markings on the top flashed white repeatedly until they finally stopped after a moment which Alice took as a cue to clip the pokeball to her belt.
"(No, release Eevee now. You too will spend as much time together as possible,)" Oni commanded causing Alice to whine like a child being denied their favorite toy from the store, but relented and released her partner who frowned upon seeing Alice which the ex-heiress returned with a sour look as if she was viewing a bad piece of art.
"(Alice, calm down your purple aura by relaxing since you don't need to attract any more attention than you will get; to get out of this cave just follow this river downstream and it should take you to the exit,)" Oni bluntly explained causing Alice to grit her teeth and focus intently, exuding every reserve of willpower that her mind could muster, but with herculean effort her malicious purple aura finally died down causing her to collapse onto her knees where she panted heavily as if she just ran a marathon causing Eevee to walk behind her and push against her butt with it's head with all of its might to help her stand.
Alice, thanks to Eevee's help, managed to climb to her feet and stared at Eevee before letting out a terse grunt which the brown fur ball returned with a dismissive snort as the evolution pokemon and the ex-heiress did what Oni said and followed the river downstream to the exit, unsure of what this task would bring them.