When Goh finally reentered the Arena lockers, he nearly puked.

He had watched some serious battles before, heck he had watched some very brutal battles recently when studying for his battle with Clarence, but what he had witnessed out there had to be one of the most gruesome scenes he'd ever seen. And to his surprise, the highlight wasn't because of Arron's violent nature, although his hands were just blood-soaked as Scyther's.

No, watching Scyther be practically torn apart yet continue standing was the most disturbing part of the battle. Watching his shattered exoskeleton hang from his body like some demented armored plating made Goh sick to his stomach. It looked so painful, so… intolerable, yet he stood, he fought and he won.

Had Goh prompted that? He could have ended the battle at any time, just as Clarence had. It's as if his mind was muddled, or rather it was met with incredible clarity. He didn't know how to describe it, all he knew is that he was thinking differently. His inhibitions had disappeared during that match, and he had pushed one of his most beloved pokemon to the breaking point. Sure they had won, but at what cost? How broken was Scyther's body for the time being, and how long would it take him to heal.

But during the battle, he wasn't thinking that. He was strategizing and preventing his pokemon from fainting, sure, but never worried about their wellbeing. Even when he wasn't commanding, he felt the stark detachment in his mind, or at least he noticed it in hindsight. That was a problem that he didn't know he had, and that scared him.

He felt the same clarity begin to emerge again, as if sensing his work wasn't done, but he pinched the bridge of his nose and it dissipated, as if it was manageable. It sounded useful, but managing how you thought and acted in the heat of the moment was as difficult as it sounded. Goh would have to actively work on that.

Goh limped into one of the empty lockers and leaned against the walls, sliding down into a sitting position with his hands covering his face. He heard footsteps clamber down the hall and towards him, before Ash entered, seemingly worried.

"Goh, are you okay? You looked like you were gonna be sick!"

Goh let out a shaky sigh. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in."

Ash's alarmed expression wavered for a moment before he nodded and sat down next to him. "You gonna be okay?"

Goh nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just a lot to take in, Y'know?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it can be like that sometimes. I've never seen it get that bad before, though. Scyther was really…" Ash looked as if he was going to say awesome, but he held his tongue while he looked for a more appropriate word. "Strong, Scyther was really strong. It seemed so impossible after he was downed the first time, yet he got back up and finished the job; that's really impressive."

Goh nodded. "Yeah, he's really something special. But with how badly he got hurt, and how long he lasted, it makes me feel like it's all my fault."

Ash seemed to think about that for a moment before responding. "Goh, Pokémon Battles are always violent, that's kinda the point. Yeah, the battle out there was worse than most, but that's always a possibility. Nothing that happened out there was your fault: you believed in Scyther and he pushed himself to the limit to win, and now the best thing you can do for him is let him rest, relax and recover."

Goh nodded and stood up. "So, what now?"

Ash shrugged. "I guess we should go get lunch while waiting for Korrina and Chuck to battle."

Goh facepalmed. "That's right, those two were going to be fighting today! Damn, that means I'm going to have to battle one of them."

Ash seemed confused as to why Goh was so concerned. "What's the big deal about that? You can totally beat either one of them!"

Goh scowled at Ash. "Ash, there's no way I can beat either of them. I barely beat Clarence!"

Ash crossed his arms with a skeptical look. "Goh, you just beat Clarence, a trainer with two Mega-Evolutions, both of them with type advantages against Arron and Scyther. You then proceeded to beat all of his pokem9m while only using two of yours. Goh, if you can beat him, you can most certainly beat either Korrina or Chuck."

Goh thought about that for a second before realizing why his concerns were a bit unrealistic. "Oh." He replied simply.

"Yeah, oh," Ash responded with a condescending tone. "Now we should probably go get Arron set up at the pokemon center and then figure out what we're doing for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, I guess so. But I have someone to meet today, so I'll be stepping out for a while."

Ash shrugged. "Hey, no problem, I've been busy racking up victories in the town with the tournament lovers anyway. I'm already number eight hundred and ten."

Goh was surprised by how fast Ash was ranking up. "Wow, you've been busy."

"Yep, I'm gonna be ready to beat Leon in no time."

"Well, good luck with that."

They left the stadium and went their separate ways on the sidewalk, Ash waving goodbye as Goh made his way to the bazaar again, hoping to meet a certain someone.

Goh wandered through the sparsely populated lanes of the outdoor market, most of the stalls and stores closed for the holiday. Raboot sat on his shoulder, straddling his neck to stay stable while he made his way to his destination.

Where was he planning on going? Fayette shop. He had promised he would visit, and he wanted to know more about the local lore. Everything he was learning here wasn't in any of the textbooks or encyclopedias at home or at his old school, so it was hard to make sense of what he was seeing. As for why he wanted to know, well he really didn't know why yet, except for his insatiable curiosity. But that couldn't fully explain it either.

Goh was never really into history, theology or mythology, preferring to study science, biology and especially anatomy. The bodies of both humans and pokemon were fascinating to him, partially because of how incredibly complex and cohesive they were. His mother would always talk about how nature and especially the bodies of all living creatures were evidence of how the world was consciously and deliberately designed, and how everything had meaning behind it. When he was little, he would help her in the garden, and when she would plant and prune her flowers she would talk to him about how beautiful everything was while holding him in her arms. "The world is beautiful," she would say "and it's beautiful because it was made to be so. Everything moves in harmony like performers dancing to a song, so we should whirl to the tune of life with them." Then she would lift him up into her arms with a smile and twirl around as he giggled. He was three or four then, before everything was complicated.

Goh hadn't thought much of it at the time, but he had a feeling her devotion to balance and her belief in something more had rubbed off on him in one shape or another.

As he approached Fayettes stall near one of the smaller exits, he spotted a young girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen, sitting down in a stool as she arranged a bundle of daylily and gladiolus flowers into a small woven sack that stretched up near the necks of their stems. Fayette was nowhere to be found, but the young girl didn't mind, simply filling a small glass vase with water and placing the flowers in it before setting it on the wooden shelf. She dusted off the rest of the shelf with her and before clapping them together to clean them off and standing up, setting the stool behind the desk and yawning while interlocking her fingers and stretching her arms above her head. A satchel was hanging across her chest by a leather strap.

She turned to Goh with a small smile. She was a beautiful young woman with tanned bronze skin, her blonde hair tied into a long woven braid that extended down her back and nearly to her waist. Her eyes were a sparkling emerald and her body was adorned in a short white skirt and woven sandals on her feet. She eyed Goh mischievously, as if she had plans for him and wanted to keep him on his toes. Despite her simple appearance, there was something… unnatural about her. She glowed somewhat, as if she radiated warm energy.

"Well, hello, if you're looking for Fayette, she isn't here right now. She probably won't be back until after the holiday."

Goh cleared his throat. "I… um, do you know where she is?"

She shrugged. "Probably in the Godswood. She spends a lot of her free time there nowadays."

"Do you… know her?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You could say that. I'm Emilia, who might you be?"

"Oh… um… I'm Goh. Thanks for letting me know where she is."

She looked at him curiously. "Are you planning on going to look for her? I wouldn't recommend that."

Goh nodded. "Yeah, I figured that. People have told me that there's something very wrong with those woods."

Emilia placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head condescendingly. "Now, I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with the Godswood, just that it isn't very, ah, what's the word? Welcoming! Yeah, the Godswood isn't very welcoming to strangers."

Goh looked at her with concern. "You act as if you've been in the Godswood."

Emilia wiggled her eyebrows. "Who said I hadn't?"

"But you just said it was dangerous!"

"No, I said it isn't welcoming to strangers. And I'm pretty sure that it doesn't consider me a stranger."

Goh was confused by her strange wording. "You say that as if the Godswood has a mind of its own."

She giggled. "Oh, it absolutely does. It's hard to describe unless you've been within it, but it really is a sentient force."

Goh didn't respond, pressing his lips. Emilia raised her eyebrow again, as if she was pushing him to say something.

"Could you… take me into the Godswood?"

Emilia tilted her head curiously. "I could, but are you sure you want to? It's a big forest, we could get lost."

Goh scrunched his eyebrows. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Whatever you say. Follow me, the entrance is near the vineyards."

She walked up to Goh and interlocked her fingers with his, causing him to blush lightly as she led him out the Bazaar and onto the paved roads leading down to the rural edges of the city. The hills in the distance were multicolored and vibrant, with swathes of red, yellow and orange dotting the landscape along with the occasional barn or farmhouse. She led him across the street and onto the sidewalk and past shops, offices and grocers, all with their doors locked and lights off. Sorry, were closed signs in both Kalosian and Kantonese were hung from the windows and doors all without explanation, probably because everyone who had spent any time in Shalor knew that the people took their holidays easily.

"So, um…" Goh started, still flustered with Emilia's hand holding his. "Are you from Kalos?"

She nodded. "I've lived in Shalor my whole life, and I have no desire to leave. What's it to you, Kanto boy?"

Goh was stunned that she had correctly guessed his home region. "How… how'd you-"

Emilia cut him off. "You have a certain look about you."

Goh wasn't convinced. "No way, my mom and dad are both from Galar, you wouldn't be able to tell."

She just rolled her eyes as they crossed another street, passing a fruit seller peddling strawberries and grapes along with wines to people as snacks and refreshments. She stopped in front of his cart and muttered something in Kalosian, to which the man passed her two blue bottles of… something. In exchange, she handed him a thin wad of cash that she just conjured from somewhere, goh couldn't even begin to guess due to her dress having no pockets, and nodded to the mustachioed merchant, who nodded back with a smile. She then handed Goh one of the blue bottles, which was sweating and cold as ice, and opened hers by leaning the bottle cap lid against the wooden banister of a shop and slammed a balled fist down on the top, forcing the cap off and leaving a refreshing, frothing beverage ready to drink. She did the same with Goh's before taking a deep swig of hers before leaning against the banister and gesturing to Goh to take a sip. "C'mon, it's just some Maneater, you'll like it I'm sure."

Goh took a sip and cringed a bit at first: it was bitter and dry, with a strong taste of citrus and coriander. He didn't care for it as much but he didn't hate it either, and he didn't want to be rude so he continued to drink it. "It's a witbier, spiced wheat beer, very big in the summer. Practically a celebratory drink here in Shalor."

Gon nearly spit out his drink. "What? I'm not old enough to… how did you even get this?"

Emilia looked at him as if he was insane. "There's no drinking age in most of Kalos. Only Lumiose has one, and it's at sixteen. I don't know why you're so freaked out anyway, Kanto boy, I figured that you'd want something refreshing. "

Goh didn't agree, but he didn't make a huge deal out of it either, instead choosing to change the subject. "You said you knew I was from Kanto. How?"

Emilia rolled on her heels. "I already told you, you have a certain look about you."

Goh scowled. "How'd you know? Don't I look like I'm from Galar?"

"Just because you're dark-skinned doesn't mean you have to be from Galar. Besides, it was never about your skin: it's the way you dress, how you speak and what you say. Besides, if you're fluent in Kantonese, why would I think you were from Galar?"

Goh blushed from embarrassment. "I… maybe I'm fluent in both, my parents speak both. Besides, everyone speaks a little Kantonese!"

"Yeah, but not everyone speaks it the way you do. But anyway, back to business. Go ahead, speak Galarian, I want to hear how fluent you are."

Goh hesitated before clearing his throat. "I can speak the language just fine, thank you very much."

Emilia sniggered. "Just fine? Sure, but definitely not fluent. Yet you speak Kantonese perfectly."

Goh gaped at Emilia, who had just spoken perfect, fluent Galarian. She set her beer on the wooden bannister and crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow condescendingly.

"Oh," Goh said weakly. "How'd you… how'd you get so fluent in Galarian?"

"I've had plenty of time to practice." She said cryptically. "But yes, you look like you're from Kanto, you talk like you're from Kanto and you act like you're from Kanto. The way you reacted to drinking beer, for instance, shows you grew up in Kanto. People from Galar have no reservations about alcohol, unlike Kanto and Johto where it's practically seen as sacrilege to drink more than a glass of wine at dinner."

Goh huffed. "Fine, be that way." He set the beer down and crossed his arms. "Are we going into the woods or not?"

Emilia stepped close to him, surprising Goh for a moment before she placed her lips up to his ear. "I wouldn't say that out loud if I were you, people don't take too kindly to anyone, especially strangers or foreigners, entering those woods. So if you value not being ostracized by the community, you should keep your voice down."

Goh paled, but complied, reducing his voice to a whisper. "But I thought you entered those woods all the time, so why don't people avoid you or treat you poorly?"

"Because they know better than to treat me poorly."

"That doesn't explain anything." Goh said irritatedly. "How come you can come and go from the woods without scorn but Fayette can't? That doesn't seem very fair."

She played with a small bracelet made from bone and little beads of jade. "Let's just say that the people of Shalour are superstitious and leave it at that."

Before Goh could continue, she picked up her beer, drank the rest of it, tossed the glass bottle into a nearby recycling bin and took his hand again, leading him farther and farther east, towards the vineyards, the orchards and the woods. The taller three and four story shops, offices and condominium complexes transformed into two story townhouses with barred windows and rows of small stores including butchers, delicatessens, chandlers, carpenters, produce markets much more, with all the buildings having more of a rustic build, removing the mansard rooftops and replacing them with simple V-shaped, shingled frames. Small gardens flourished in the lots around the homes, boasting a plethora of flowers, vegetables and herbs.

"It's the outer districts, where the villages feeding into the city once stood." Emilia blurted out. "Shalour used to be much smaller a long time ago, but as the city grew it absorbed the nearby hamlets and converted them into the Aduliton districts."

" Aduliton?" Goh asked, never having heard that word before. "And what language are you speaking? I've never heard of it before."

"Latin, it's an old language, as old as any of the cities in Kalos. Legend has it that Hostia Multorum gifted it to mankind so they could speak freely and convey their thoughts."

Goh sighed. "And who would this Hostia Multorum be? You keep forgetting I can't speak this Latin language ."

She gave Goh a dirty look. "Neither can I. It's a dead language, and hasn't been used practically for a thousand years at least. Only some words we use in Kalosian and Galarian are taken from Latin, like Stomach or Fulcrum, and even those words have changed a bit."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Right, I'm getting to that." she responded as they turned a street corner to a long, winding road that led to a large stone wall, about seven meters high and a meter thick, with a mechanized gate that had seemingly been added much later. The walls were crumbling in some places and had been infested with moss and ivy in others, but were still standing strong. It obviously served as the boundary between the city itself and the outer agricultural lands. " Hostia Multorum is… well he's a bit hard to describe. The name means 'the host of many' or 'the one who receives many guests'. A lot of gods had pseudonyms to hide their true names or at least prevent people from speaking them."

"But why wouldn't people just say his name then? That all sounds really convoluted and unnecessary."

Emilia scowled as they reached the gate, the guards watching them keenly. "What's your business outside the city?" The one to the right of the gate asked, obviously not happy that people want to pass through.

Emilia cleared her throat. "I seek passage to the shrines, as usual."

The guards on either side of the gate looked at each other, apparently hesitant to give an answer. The leftmost guard was the first to respond. "Gurkinn doesn't want anyone going in or out of the woods, not with the mob a few days ago."

Emilia simply glared at them with a deep frown and a scowl, and the guards paled. "Bu- But I suppose we could… make an exception for you, Miss Emilia?"

Emilia turned her frown into a small smile, batting her eyelashes as if she was just an innocent little girl. "Why, that would be lovely sir, thank you so much."

The guards looked at each other one more time before the guard on the left gestured for the other guard to open the gate. He did so, pulling a lever on the side of a circuit box, causing the doors to slowly retract into the stone walls. Emilia took Goh's hand again and gently tugged him along as the guards glared daggers at the both of them. When Emilia looked back at them, however, they looked away as if they were afraid of her seeing their true expressions. It was all very strange and unnerving, as if Emilia had some serious pull in the community. Were her parents rich or something? Maybe she knew the head guard or Gurkinn. But even then, her response to his earlier inquiry seemed to disprove that. "Let's just say that the people of Shalour are superstitious and leave it at that." She had said. It was a strange choice of words, like it was implying that the people of Kalos correlated her with the supernatural.

They passed through the gates unimpeded and down along the beaten path, the paved roads reduced to old, cracked cobblestone and then eventually just a worn dirt trail. The houses also changed, the homes becoming larger and more spacious and the yards and land opening up and revealing large vineyards and orchards growing anything from apples and pears to apricots and clementines. The summer heat was oppressive, causing Goh to sweat and they approached the entrance to the woods.

Before they came near the border between the crimson woods and the farmland however, Emilia pointed at something in the distance, some small structure along the side of the road. It was a small and humble thing, about the size of a sedan, and it's shape reminded Goh of one of the many tiered pyramids found on Alola. The difference, however, was the shape: unlike the pyramids in Alola, the tiers were just barely concave as well as smooth, carved from slate to achieve a midnight blue color almost reminiscent to the shade of his father's favorite tuxedo. Near the top, a face was carved: it was a bust of the upper body of a man with a handsomely cruel face, although Goh couldn't begin to describe how or why it seemed that way. Something just felt… wrong about describing it as anything else. The face reminded him of every cold, detached authority figure Goh had ever seen, from judges and lawmakers to greedy executives in suits with finely pressed lapels and polished platinum cufflinks, men who had power and knew how to use it. The eyes were roughly hewn diamonds, gleaming like daggers in the sunlight and making it hard for Goh to look directly at them. His features were sharp and angular and his lips were thin, with a mop of short, curly hair on his head. At the base was a bowl filled with coins, Kalosian dollar coins mostly, and it was about halfway full.

"Is this some kind of grave, whose it for? I don't see a name anywhere."

"A shrine," Emilia replied, "although your description is apt since most of his shrines are designed after the headstones of the wealthy. But to answer your other question, people don't say his name because it is considered a bad omen. Names hold power, and speaking the names of the powerful is often conflated with summoning them. You didn't want to summon the god of death in any circumstance, so people only spoke of him when necessary, and only under pseudonyms."

Goh scratched his head. "But wouldn't that be disrespectful? That's like calling the intelligent kid a nerd, I wouldn't want to be called anything but my name."

"A fair question. Think of it this way: Hostia Multorum isn't just the god of death, he's the god of a lot of things. Winter and famine, knowledge and learning, scholars and scientists, thieves and vagabonds, time and the written word amongst dozens of other things. And due to his many spheres of influence, he had many names given to him to identify his purpose. For instance, due to being the patron of spies, thieves, assassins, and nefarious plots, he is also called Insidiator or Sycophanta. Then you have his more base form, like Viduus, the widowmaker, who represents plagues and disasters. I could go on and on."

"So he just does a lot of stuff?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose, but more importantly he is capricious. His moods, plans and intentions can shift on a dime depending on the dealings of mortals. He loves to toy with the living and offer them great boons only to topple their empires and achievements at the first sign of hubris. To do this, he wears many masks, takes many names and works through a cabal of mortals to bring about their ruin. The greedy and the contemptful are never safe from his machinations."

"He sounds like a jerk." Goh said bluntly.

"I disagree, it's essentially the embodiment of karma. Notice how I said the greedy and the contemptful. He doesn't choose just anyone to articulate the downfall of, he always targets the wicked and tyrannical.

"So, what you're saying is that this guy was like the manifestation of consequences?"

"I-" Emilia started, before closing her mouth again to think about what Goh had just said. "Yeah… you could say that."

She stood there, quiet for a moment before Emilia fished through her pocket for another dollar coin and tossed it into the bowl, the clattering of silver interrupting the chirping of bird pokemon. It could have been a trick of the light, but Goh could have sworn the coins in the bowl glowed a faint and baleful grey.

"Alright, let's go to the woods, I don't want to waste your time."

Goh shook his head. "You're not wasting my time, I have until tomorrow before my next battle starts. Just show me what you think is interesting."

She gave him a small smile. "Oh, I didn't know you thought what I was explaining to you was interesting."

"It's very interesting. But I also want to find Fayette, I have a few questions to ask her."

Emilia's smile rescinded a little. "Knowing her, she's probably deep into the sanctum of the woods, much farther west. Getting to her now… that isn't practical."

They continued talking about her as they passed the boundary between the edge of the villages outside the town and the forest itself. Unsurprisingly, Emilia seemed to know a lot about Fayette, more than the average person would. Goh used the opportunity to probe her for information, but Emilia was obviously aware of his intentions, as Goh could sense her apprehension over speaking of topics that would have otherwise been completely mundane.

"So… how old is Fayette?"

Emilia paused for a moment. "Old." She replied simply. "Older than you can imagine. I don't even know her true age."

"That's not really an answer."

"How do I provide you an answer that doesn't exist? All I know is that she's old and wise."

Goh didn't continue to push, but he remained skeptical and switched the topic. "What about family? Is she alone?"

Emilia shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't been around long enough to find out for myself." Emilia released her hold on his hand anxiously, as if it was a sensitive topic. "As for what she's told me, well, very little. From what I've pieced together, her life was a very tragic one. Whether her family passed away, left her or simply just… disappeared is unknown."

Goh felt his heart soften at herbresponse. It was sad, for sure, and he suddenly realized why Fayette was so lethargic and quiet. He would be too if he had lost everyone else he loved and could relate too. And with the town shunning her for her beliefs, she was well and truly alone except for the few people who had the decency in their hearts to spare some kindness for the strange old woman. Goh knew how that felt on a very personal level.

Sure, she was odd, but no more odd than many of the people Goh had already met while on his journey.

"Yeah… I can tell she was isolated, but I didn't know how much the community hated her."

"That's not what it's like," Emilia corrected. "Nobody hates her, but they fear what they don't understand. They don't understand why she loves these woods and why she practically lives here. And with all the disappearances over the years, it's not hard to understand why."

Goh nodded, noticing when Emilia intertwined her fingers with his again. He didn't know why she insisted on it, but he didn't want to seem rude or wielded out by it because he really wasn't. That type of contact just wasn't common in Kanto.

"So, um, what about you?" He dared to ask. "Are you native to Kalos? You seem to know a lot about the local lore and stuff."

She nodded. "I've lived in Shalor my whole life, although I've taken some time to visit other places. Galar is beautiful during the spring and the autumn, especially in the Glimwood tangle."

"Yeah, it is. My mother took me there when I was younger, just to show me where we came from. She said it was a very important place."

Emilia smiled, eyes admiring the ever approaching treeline. "She's right, you know. This place, the Godswood, isn't just part of Kalos: it's a part of every region in the northwest. Kalos, Galar, Sinnoh and Unova all have bits and pieces of it, attached by the borders not inhabited by human settlement like a great vine, growing across an old cobblestone wall. And it's always growing, ever so slowly, but growing nonetheless."

Goh listened with rapt attention as she explained how the woods were unique. "The most important thing is that for the longest time these woods were considered sacred. Shrines and temples were built to honor Fiosai, the mistress of the weald, and all of her servants."

"So she's like a nature goddess?" Goh asked.

"Of sorts."

Well, that didn't answer his question.

She seemed to notice Goh's skepticism and decided to shift the conversation away from the mythological and towards reality. "Let's just enter the woods and see what we find, okay?"

Goh sighed and nodded, willing to put up with that for now. They had reached the treeline anyway, with thick birch trees the height of large buildings shuffled close together, only opening up for a wide dirt path to pass through. Their leaves were rea

d, which seemed like an unnatural hue for late June, but he supposed they called it the crimson woods for a reason. Ivy grew along the trunks of trees as well as the branches of the bushes that surrounded them, creating a thicket that seemed impossible to traverse, but the dirt path remained clear for as far as Goh could tell.

"Does somebody keep the path clear?" He asked, creeped out by the sheer uniformity and good condition of the dirt path. "It seems like someone is making sure the path is clean and free of debris."

"No, definitely not. Very few people enter the forest regularly besides me and Fayette. And besides, nobody would need to anyway."

Goh was puzzled by her response. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that the forest cleans itself. Remember when I told you that these woods had a mind of their own? I wasn't kidding. This place is almost like one big entity that cares for everything within."

"That's not natural."

"Who ever said it was?"

Now that made Goh concerned. "Is this forest haunted or something? Are the spirits of those who go missing floating around and murdering people?"

"Definitely not. The forest is just a little more sentient than you might be used to."

Goh pondered that for a moment before sighing. "Alright, let's go. I better not get murdered by some forest spirit."

"Well, aren't you optimistic today."

The Crimson woods truly were a strange place.

Upon entering, one would have a hard time distinguishing it from any other heavily wooded area in any particular region. The outskirts were seemingly abandoned by any life beyond the scant few bird pokemon who roosted in the trees, watching Goh and Emilia with apprehension as they followed the dirt path deeper into the heart of the woods. Fruit hung from branches and bushels and a myriad of flowers bloomed in between them. This, along with the varying shades of red, orange and brown that the leaves were, created a kaleidoscope of colors that dazzled the eye.

At first, one would have a hard time finding anything unnatural about it: it was just another wooded area, but upon closer inspection the view would lift, creating a sense of unease that slowly descended into panic when he thought about it for too long until he counterintuitively forced himself to focus on something else, anything else other than the impossibility that the crimson woods presented.

There were no dead or broken trees anywhere. Nothing seemed to rot or collapse over time. The woods had a bewildering sense of timelessness about it, as if it had and would always remain the same. All of the trees, even the tallest and oldest, looked young and healthy, as if they could stand another ten thousand years.

Then there was how silent it was. There was no chirping, no howls or grunts, not even the sound of rushing water. The forest was dead quiet beyond the noises of the wind and the crunching of the dirt and rocks under their feet.

"So, where are we heading specifically?" Goh asked, somewhat disturbed by the silence of the woodlands.

"Oh, to a place I like to visit. There is a beautiful mineral spring in the mountains to the southeast, but the only way to get to it is through the forest. But let's just admire the scenery for now."

"But what is there to admire?" Goh asked. "The trees are beautiful and all, but the rest of the forest seems almost… dead, as if nothing lives here."

"The woods aren't dead, far from it. They're just scared of your presence."

Goh scrunched his eyebrows. 'Why would they be scared of me? I'm just a kid."

She gave him a sad look. "Because they're afraid you'll expose the secrets of the forest and tell people what you've seen in here. For many, that's not a risk they're willing to take."

Goh was puzzled by her response. "So what's the point of coming here if 'they' won't show me anything? It just makes me feel bad that they're scared of me."

Emilia shook her head. "With a little patience, they'll soon learn you aren't a threat. But to dissuade them from the idea that you're a danger to their way of life, you must follow me and do as I say. Whatever you do, keep your hand in mine."

Goh didn't like the sound of that, but he decided to oblige. "But why? Where do you fit in?"

"The woods trust me, I've been coming here for as long as I remember, and they've learned that all I want to do is find peace here. But they don't trust many others, mainly because human greed is a powerful force. They don't want men coming here and uprooting them from their home, both literally and metaphorically."

Goh understood what she meant by that. "They're afraid we'll destroy the forest if we knew what it actually contained, right?"

She looked at him, a quizzical expression flashing across her face before she shook her head. "I suppose that's what they'd think, but the forest is both impenetrable and unyielding. No, they're afraid of being caught."

Now it was Goh's turn to be puzzled. "I understand not wanting to be captured, but it isn't a bad life, and it surely isn't something to be afraid of."

Emilia laughed bitterly at him. "That's quite the statement, although I don't blame you for holding that belief; your pokemon seem happy to be with you for the time being." In a millisecond, her face soured and she narrowed her eyebrows. "Well, most of them at least."

Goh couldn't be certain, but it almost seemed that for a brief moment her once sparkling emerald eyes had shifted to a bleak crimson, the joy and mischief sapped from them like a fading tapestry. He also didn't understand why or how, but he somehow knew exactly who she was referring to: Arron. Goh knew that the word 'happy' wasn't a part of his vocabulary. Even when he was drenched in the blood of his enemies like some barbarian he wasn't happy, Goh had only ever seen brief moments of satisfaction during the aftermath of his victories. Nothing was enough, nothing would ever be enough, as if the hole in his chest was devouring any sort of peace he scrambled to attain.

Goh realized he was staring at the ground while thinking about Arron, so he ran his free hand through his hair while he regained focus and looked up to see that Emilia's eyes had indeed turned a deep shade of crimson. "The pain is understandable, losing a loved one can be debilitating no matter how strong the spirit is." Her voice sounded older, deeper and more jaded, like the voice of an old woman who had lost all who she loved. Her voice sounded like Fayettes, but not the same, especially with the younger backdrop of Emilia's sparkling youth mixed in. Emilia was seemingly lost in a brief trance before she blinked rapidly, her eyes returning to their original shade of emerald. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Goh stared at her, concerned by her apparent change in tone. "Are you okay? Something happened, your eyes changed, and your voice…" he trailed off, not knowing how to describe her transformation."I know you don't know me well, but you can tell me if something is wrong, I can help you?"

"I'm fine," she stuttered, obviously embarrassed. "I just zoned out for a moment, don't think too much of it."

Goh knew for a fact that she was lying through her teeth, but he decided not to push any further, knowing it could lead to a conflict or worse. "If you say so. Are we still going to that spring?"

"Yes," she said, "That is, if you want to. I'd understand if you were apprehensive."

Goh shook his head. "It's fine, I want to see what you have to show me."

She led him further into the woods, hand in hand, the trees opening up more and more and allowing more and more sunlight in as they continued. He could see things out of the corners of his eyes, pokemon perhaps, scuttling across the trees. But he also saw other things; swarms of something congealing like bits of ash or dust, vibrating and shifting like metallic shavings in the presence of a weak magnet. He looked over to see what it actually was, but all he saw was just the endless expanse of more trees and plant life, no sign of anything moving. He gulped and focused on the rising treeline and Emilia's auburn hair, preferring not to give into paranoia.

"So, Emilia," he started, causing her to look back at him, and he suddenly realized how nervous he felt. "What were you talking about earlier, about the pokemon here not wanting to be caught?"

"The pokemon here don't trust people. They believe they have bad intentions and want to hold them against their will. Many of them even believe that people want to harm them and abuse them."

"But most of us don't! People can be bad sometimes, but many of us just want friends. We want partners that can help us do great things."

Emilia sighed. "Do people want friends and partners or servants and warriors? And do they want help in doing great things or committing great evils? Goh, many people aren't bad but many more are, or at least a majority are complacent in the face of evil. I've met many pokemon here who've been put through the ringer over the course of their lives. They're raised to know nothing but violence, bred like commodities and destined to never realize the true scope of their existence. Entire species of pokemon are shackled to this way of life, and it's justified by a cavalcade of multi-million dollar media conglomerates. Evil is present everywhere, and most people overlook it, either because they don't care or because they don't think they can make a difference."

Goh was silenced by her response. What she said was morbid and quite possibly true. "Is it like that in Shalour? Are the people here that way?"

Emilia shook her head. "No, the people who live here are fervently against that way of life. Many of the trainers here are taught to respect and cherish their partners from a young age."

Goh nodded. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't partaking in something evil."

Emilia stopped and turned to him, placing her hands on her hips as if she was about to chastise him. "You aren't evil," she said quietly and gently. "Nothing you've been doing is evil."

"But I've been battling, and you said the system is broken-"

She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. "Taking part in a broken system doesn't make you evil, embracing it does. Compared to a lot of trainers, you've been the best trainer many of your pokemon could ever ask for, and for them that's more than enough."

"I don't feel like it is."

She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. "You being so hard on yourself just shows you have strength of character." She wrapped her arms around him gently, eliciting a blushing, nervous face from Goh, who turned away to avoid looking her in the eyes. She leaned up on her toes and flicked his head with her forefinger, causing him to stutter. "Besides, you need to stop doubting yourself, it's annoying."

Goh was flustered by her actions, rubbing his forehead where she had flicked him before following her. she continued to hold his hand as they walked onward in silence, Goh watching the ground for the remaining majority of the journey. He liked her; he didn't know why, but there was something magical about her. Not romantically, but rather just some unquantifiable aspect about her that Goh couldn't help but appreciate. It was probably just how mature she was: she was around his age, but she acted ten years his senior, as if she had seen so much more than him.

Or maybe it was simply because she was nice to him. When he was in school, he was very lonely except for a few individuals who would hang out with him on occasion. Most people didn't pay him any mind, which is why he felt so ostracized; he felt as if he almost didn't exist, like if he had disappeared one day nobody would notice. She hadn't ignored him at all, rather she had immediately offered to spend time with him and had shown him more courtesy than almost anyone his age he had ever known, besides Ash and his friends, and Chloe of course. It sounded pathetic in his head, as if he was latching onto people out of sheer desperation, but he really didn't care anymore. He was sick of being so self conscious; if Emilia believed he was too hard on himself then maybe he was.

They spent the remainder of the trip walking up the hills of the forest, along the dirt path flanked by wild fig and olive trees and the occasional bushels of flax and flowers. In fact, red flowers of all shapes and sizes bloomed all around in cohesion: poppy, hyacinth, salvia and hibiscus swayed in the wind that parted through the trees, leaving a multitude of floral scents that caressed the senses. Goh could see why Fayette loved this place; it was as if some great force breathed life into it, making it timeless and ethereal.

Further up the hill, the trees began to thin, but not as if they were leaving the woods. Rather, it was as if they were simply approaching a clearing. The incline became more pronounced, with rocks and woody roots sticking out of the dirt just waiting to snag the feet of those who strayed too far from the path. Soon, they broke through the treeline once again, reaching a flat point on the mountainous incline that seemed to serve as a base for a series of structures.

Emilia finally released his hand and walked forward, removing her small satchel she wore around her shoulder with a strap. She opened it and pulled out a pair of small cheesecloth wrapped around something. She tossed him one and raised an eyebrow, as if she was waiting for him to ask the obvious question.

"What is this place, what are these ruins?"

She beckoned him to come closer. "These are the springs. It's a natural thermal hotspot, making it a great place to set up a series of large baths for esteemed guests. The natural water runs from the mountains above, filled with all sorts of minerals, making it very good for the skin."

Goh approached the vast structures, seeing the water flow in from a group of streams on the incline and pool down into the baths where they steamed. The entire place was built from multiple kinds of stone, including marble, slate and limestone, giving it an odd multicolor effect that made it seem all the more contrasted from the forests. Rusted iron pyres hung from marble columns surrounding massive four foot deep pots layered with marble and shaped into rectangular cubes, allowing for dozens of people to wade in it with plenty of room to spare. There were two of them, identical to each other, and they were obviously once incredibly ornate and beautiful, with erosion eating away and the baroque carvings and statues that littered the place, including a great ten foot statue of an almost inhuman figure holding a curved sword in one hand and blowing a horn in the other. It's head had long since fallen off and disappeared, but the shape of its legs and it's baggy thighs hinted at it being something other than a man.

"Great warriors would come here," Emilia started. "This was a headquarters of sorts, part proving grounds and part spa. They would come here before and after campaigns, littered with the loot of vanquished enemies and use it to fund greater expansions to their hold."

Goh wasn't impressed "but it's just a set of baths, there isn't much to it other than all the statues."

"Much of it lies within the mountains themselves, carved into the rock and layered with slate to keep it stable. Inside were the private quarters, dining hall, and other accommodations. Above us, farther up the hill, is the gymnasium. That was where they would battle with or without weapons, grappling, racing… bloodsport. Anything went as long as the whole group approved."

Goh looked as Emilia approached a set of bronze doors sealed with a lock. There was an indentation meant for some kind of jeweled oval, possibly a brooch or pendant of some kind. If only he could find the key to the lock mechanism, maybe he could explore the ruins, he was sure professor Cerise would love to see what was on the inside. She glanced at him and then at the doors, noticing his piqued curiosity. "Don't even think about it, that place has been locked up for Arceus knows how long. Besides, entering it wouldn't be advised."

Goh sighed in defeat and followed her as she approached the steaming waters of the baths, the color a deep mossy green. It couldn't have been clean, but Emilia didn't seem fazed. "The water here is colored like that due to the minerals in the water, not from scum or algae like most people believe. The constant heat and the drainage built to run down the mountainside and into the ocean prevents the water from growing sickly. It's quite ingenious for the culture that built it."

"So what do you know about the people who built it then?" Goh asked, "This place seems really old, older than many of the buildings in Shalour."

"This place is older than you can imagine, a few thousand years at least. As for the people, they were ancient Shalourians who spoke a sort of proto-kalosian more akin to the language spoken at some of the big holidays here, like at the beginning of the Votive Games. They were very different from who we are now."

"Oh." He said simply. "So how do you know so much about the history of this place anyway, is it common knowledge? Because I've read up on Kalos before and I've never been able to find anything about its history up until a few hundred years ago."

"I'll tell you in a minute," she said, "let me dress in my swimsuit."

Goh's eyes widened. "Wait, we're swimming in there? Isn't that like… disrespectful or taboo or something? I wouldn't think that would be appropriate."

She rolled her eyes. "It's perfectly fine, I'm sure the long dead owners of this place aren't going to haunt us for using their baths. Just put on your trunks and hop in." With that, she slipped behind a large, crumbling marble pillar to switch into her two piece swimsuit.

Goh sighed, pulling his trunks out of his backpack before ducking behind the Great gnarled olive tree providing shade over a cracked mosaic wall that had faded with age, obscuring its original illustration. After a quick change, he peeked out to see Emilia had changed into an emerald green bikini and was stepping into the baths slowly, testing the waters. She looked at him with a grin, waving at him to come over. "Hop in, it's fine!"

Goh walked over and leapt into the water, the heat of the springs bringing it up to a wonderfully warm temperature that somehow complemented the heat of the summer. It was cooler than he expected, less like a hot tub and more like a pool, but it was nice all the same and virtually pure, the green water sparkling in the sunlight. It was a beautiful sight, especially with the canopy of the olive trees filtering the bright midday sunlight into beautiful golden rays that illuminated the pollen like golden dust floating in the air.

"Okay, I have to admit; this place is pretty cool."

Emilia's smirk widened. "This is my favorite place to think, and I love to come out here with a small picnic for myself and watch the stars at night. It truly is a magnificent sight, something a lot of people don't get to see anymore with all the light pollution."

"Does Shalour have that issue? I haven't seen a building taller than three stories here, so I would think that the stars wouldn't have too much of an issue keeping pace."

Emilia sighed half-heartedly. "You would think, but the city has a habit of shining like the sun at night. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful in its own way, but it reminds me that every day nature is shrinking and cities are growing. People have lost their respect for nature and its mysteries, but I suppose when scientists can perform what would seem like miracles, the wonders of the past pale in comparison to the common man."

"Yeah, I guess so. Is this place all that's up here?"

She shook her head, a small smirk overtaking the frown that was previously on her face. "Definitely not; there are a few great shrines further in the woods, mostly dedicated to Liura. But they're way to far inland to get to in one day, most were visited on pilgrimages."

Goh continued to ask her questions and she continued to answer as they relaxed in the warm spring baths in the forested hills, the sun slowly but surely fell to the western edge of the sky, casting a dim crimson glow on the forest. By that time they had exited the baths and hung around the fruit trees, gathering a bounty of olives, figs, pomegranates and pears from the surrounding woodlands. Again, Emilia somehow procured a small pan and what looked like a miniature bottle of oil from her satchel. Within a few minutes, she had started a fire and had Goh gather some of the tubers nearby at her discretion as to not poison them both. He returned with some garlic, some celery root, and onion and a few golden potatoes along with whatever herbs he could find. With this, she made a hash in the pan over the fire, sprinkling in fresh rosemary and dill to enhance the flavor before slicing up an apple and tossing that in for a bit of sweetness. After some time, they ate together from the pan, sharing the food along with the fruits and olives to supplement it.

"I wish I would have bought more of the witbier, that would've been great with how humid it is tonight."

"We still have the stream water, you said that was clean."

"Yeah. We should head back soon, I don't want to keep you for too long."

"You're not keeping me you know, I'm having a great time."

Emilia smiled. "Thanks, but we should still go home, the forest becomes harder to navigate after dark. It may take a little longer to get back to Shalour if we don't hurry."

"I understand," Goh took another bite of the hash. "How long do you think it will take to get home?"

She shrugged. "Usually thirty minutes to an hour, It depends on how tumultuous the godswood is. But I have a feeling we'll be home sooner."

They finished their food, and Goh pocketed a few figs before he helped Emilia kick out the cinders and put out the remaining flames with some water.

"Let's go, I'm sure the forest will be beautiful tonight."

She packed the rest of her items into her satchel and held his hand again, leading him back into the woods. Almost immediately, he was struck with an odd sensation, as if the air had become as thick as water and the trees melted into shadows. Bright lights danced everywhere, like floating lanterns. Eyes peaked at him throughout the trees, red eyes burning like hot coals.

In what felt like moments, the effects dissipated, and he was staring back at the front of the hotel, his head spinning and his stomach all up in his throat. Emilia stood next to him, holding his hand. "I hope that didn't make you sick, that tends to make those who aren't used to it a bit nauseous."

"I… what?"

"Shhh, just go inside and sleep. I'll be watching your match tomorrow."

She leaned up and pecked him on the cheek, causing him to blush a little before Goh found himself wandering back up to his room and falling asleep in a blur.