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Despite the frigidity of Sinnoh's December, our young heroes Topaz, Jade, Violet and even Donut grew a fair bit over the course of the month. Thanks to the aid of Lou and Donut's father, Lancelot, Donut himself has grown as a person. It will take time, but perhaps one day he and Amethyst could truly call one another friend? We now enter a new year. Topaz has much on his mind yet still, but hopefully soon he shall receive far more pleasant new thoughts to occupy his mind. I only wish I could converse with him a bit more myself...

~x1x~

PoV: Topaz Heart

Date: January 16th, Year 8527

Location: Sunyshore Underground Entrance

At every mining entrance there's a decently large cafe for miners to relax, talk or trade before they either depart into the ground or return home. There was an exchange table off to the side if you wanted to quickly drop some stuff off, or pick something up. It was built into the ground a bit, and had a nice, cozy feeling. The smell of earth and ozone was only disrupted by the smell of drinks and light meals being prepared in the back. No donuts fortunately, or Donut would be going nuts.

I sat by the window drinking peppermint tea to warm my body before I began my own descent today, staring out the window at the rising sun. There were a few older miners sitting at the other cafe drinking coffee and lightly talking, but besides the soft sound of morning jazz it was quiet.

Today is going to be a day of fun. No more over thinking about traumatic memories and missing mothers. Just fun with the champion.

Just as Cynthia promised last month she was going to take me to the Oreburgh mining expo, but first we had to go mining ourselves to find our own treasure to show off. Honestly, considering how much thinking I've been doing lately the outing is much appreciated.

I turned to Donut to engage conversation. Mainly to distract myself from my own thoughts. It was still the early morning as we wanted time for mining and the expo, but my brain was super active at all times.

"Cynthia should be here soon. Excited?" I asked, after checking my poketch, feigning my anxiety.

Donut sat across from me on the table with his own hot cup of chamomile tea he calmly drank, eyes closed. He opened an eye and nodded.

I envy his nonchalance.

I adjusted my jacket absentmindedly. It was new and comfortable, but most importantly it was outfitted with heat rock insulation. So even in the bitter cold the heat from the rocks would keep my body warm.

I wore boots that were well equipped to handle any falling rocks. My hard hat had reflective strips and a light so that I was easily spottable in the dark.

Naturally, I had the regular gear: pickaxe, hammer, ropes, flashlights etc. I was more than prepared.

Can't look bad in front of Cynthia.

I smiled as I turned back to stare out the window at the snow covered world ahead of me, losing myself to the gentle sound of the jazz music playing in the background and the scent of warm drinks blending in the air.

I sighed absentmindedly, catching the attention of Lou who was sitting on the table, also looking out the window. He whirred softly to get my attention, bringing me to a smile.

"I'm alright, Lou. Just thinking…" My voice trailed off before I smiled down at him. "Ya know, I'm glad you've gotten so used to the cold temperatures. I know you're a tough guy, but lemme know if you're feeling too cold. Losing to a little frost ain't a good look."

Lou huffed affirmingly before turning back to the window. I joined him, looking at nothing in particular.

New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Lumifrost and even the dinner party before that. The holidays this year… they were pretty fun actually. More fun than usual… yet I still feel like something is missing. Despite having more than I've had in so long…

I took out my deck of cards. All the auras they emanated felt muted for some reason. There was nothing necessarily wrong, it just… irked me a bit.

I should be happy. Things have been going great. I've got great friends, being a gym trainer is so much fun, Donut and Lou are getting stronger everyday. But this… why isn't it enough? Why do I feel so unfulfilled? Is it stress? Overworking? All the mysteries that keep piling up or… did the memories of Nero's funeral really mess me up that bad? How come even when everything is going great I still can't find pea-

Lou buzzed again. I looked down to see his eyes were unusually soft. His rough exterior was tender and concerned in this moment. A vulnerable stance he does not take lightly.

He can sense everything wrong going in my head.

An expression he's never dared showed anyone besides Donut and I. I clicked my teeth at my own weakness.

I shouldn't worry him over stuff I can't even wrap my head around. I couldn't get over myself last month to properly help Donut. I'm not going to stress Lou out too.

"Lou… I think something is wrong, but… I don't want you to worry. When we go mining I'll bring my head back into the game. Right now, I just need to sort out some feelings, alright?"

He stared at me for a solid 30 seconds before huffing and turning back. He was allowing me my space, but I could tell now his own thoughts were turning. Donut remained silent still, his only sound being the sips from his mug.

I wonder what's brewing in his mind right now?

To distract myself, I opened up a new book I had gotten on psychology and understanding one's own mind. While I don't think it can help me self diagnose myself, maybe it could answer some questions about why all my feelings seem to lead to stress.

Carl Jung, please give me an answer.

~x2x~

~One Nap Later~

"Come on Topaz," a gentle woman's voice said, a hand on my shoulder shaking me lightly. "There's nicer places to sleep than a mining booth."

I got up groggily, rubbing my eyes before wiping the drool from my mouth.

I fell asleep? How tired am I?

I looked up to see Cynthia and Reginleif standing over me with a gentle smile. I quickly roused myself awake as I shot up to my feet.

"You're both here! When did that happen?"

She chuckled. "Not too long ago. I half expected you to be bouncing around waiting, but it seems I took too long. Reginleif would've been here sooner, but y'know. Duty calls."

Reginleif shrugged while I shook my head adamantly.

"No no, it's alright, it's neither of your faults! It's pretty early in the morning and I was just a bit tired. Now I'm raring to go! Donut, Lou?" I turned to my pokemon properly to find that Donut had finished his chamomile tea and was curled up on the table. Fortunately, Lou was wide eyed as ever.

"Donut. Donut, wake up, Cynthia and Reginleif are here," I poked Donut till he finally opened his eyes, stretching his whole body and a few sparks racing over him. He sat up proper and waved sleepily at them both. "Good, you're awake. Thanks for looking out, Lou."

Lou buzzed a salute with a proud expression decorating his face.

He must've let us just sleep till they got here.

Cynthia gently pet him slightly before looking at us all. "Are you ready to go or do you need a second to wake up first? Except you Lou, I swear sleep is like eighth on your to-do list."

Lou nodded in admittance while I put on my bag as Donut hopped into it. "We're all good to go! Let's do this!"

"Alright! Reginleif, another day of exploring the Underground awaits!" Reginleif gave a low, pleased rumble as we all left the rest area. As we walked into the tunnels proper, Cynthia looked towards me. "So, how've you been doing lately? You certainly look stronger than before, but are you sure you've been getting enough sleep?"

She can tell I got stronger just by after a couple looks? Is that the power of a champion's eye or a wild guess?

"Since there's less challengers in January, I've mostly been training and helping out Volkner with his projects. He's been pretty productive lately which is strange since usually this time of year he's got no energy, but I think working with Violet and I has given him more ideas. That and when he can't do pokemon battles, I think sparring with me is his second best outlet," I half laughed.

Until he gets serious and all of a sudden I'm lying on the ground, upside down.

Cynthia's eyebrow went up at that. "So you do that too…" she muttered before smiling. "Do you enjoy it? If you do, we can spar together sometime. I'm quite used to it, and I think Heimdall would appreciate me not pestering him for more training."

She spars with the strongest Lucario in the world!? Is this just a champion thing or a Cynthia thing?

I collected myself before nodding as we made our way deeper into the tunnels. "It's what I've always wanted, to be a part of the League somehow. Volkner didn't get to become the strongest Sinnoh leader by slacking off, so if pushing me this hard is what I've got to do to reach his level then I'll do it. Candice and Roark put in loads of effort to get where they are and so will I. Balancing school, my own freetime and responsibilities can be a lot sometimes so I guess I'm a little more sleep deprived and stressed than usual, but at least I'm making a difference," I stated boldly.

And I'll keep making a difference. Benedetto won't be the last criminal I take down, I swear it.

Moving on from my serious thought, I half laughed. "But I don't think I'm ready for sparring with Heimdall anytime soon, haha…"

She chuckled in return. "Not if you're not ready to end up on your butt a couple dozen times an hour. But pushing your limit's the best way to improve, so it works out." She gave me a worried glance. "But make sure you're taking care of yourself too, alright? Self care is important."

I stared at the ground intensely, thinking back on Benedetto and Dispetto as a whole. "It can be a lot at times, sure, but even if it's draining I am learning so much. Everyone goes through stress in life, but considering what I am learning. It's all worth it."

I've got to pull myself together.

She shook her head. "Even so, everyone needs breaks now and then. Don't overwork yourself, okay?"

I nodded. While mining underground isn't the most leisurely activity for a break, when you have the chance to hang out with Cynthia? You take it. Plus, mining is loads of fun.

Cynthia tilted her head. "On the topic, how have you been getting along with Violet and Jade?" She chuckled awkwardly. "I'd ask how they're getting along, but I think I already know that."

Good to know we both can tell they are absolutely hopeless.

"Jade is still doing acting and I've even seen some of his commercials on TV. I know he's participating in the tournament organized by Flint at Mount Stark, so I've been helping him train for that. Violet… well she's actually been doing well for herself. She's been nicer to me, Amethyst and Donut talk more and she's been training Zenara a lot better. It looked like she enjoyed the holidays too, cept it's hard to say sometimes. Other than that, she spends her time helping out at the gym or tinkering with Volkner. But I think she's good."

We're all being productive. Busy, but productive.

She gave a small sigh. "I'm glad to hear. I'll admit, I was a bit worried how she'd get along with everyone. But it seems like trusting you'd formed a bond worked out quite nicely." She ruffled my hair, though distinctly not where I'd made it look a certain way. "Good on you."

I tried to hide my pleased smile by looking anywhere but her, but I swore I could hear Reginleif chortle in the back.

"O-oh look, I think we can start digging now," I flustered out, examining the earth around us and the atmosphere change. We had passed into the Underground's spatial distortion, meaning the laws of reality were drunk now.

Cynthia put a hand to her chin, looking at the ground. "I'd say so." She kept scanning the floor until her eyes locked in on a spot. "Reginleif, I think there would be best if you would?"

Reginleif nodded before getting into position to begin digging, until Lou jumped in front of her and buzzed with a determined expression. My own confidence returned as I turned back to Cynthia.

"Remember when we went mining for the first time and you got me this topaz?" I held up the necklace I had made for the gemstone in question. "That was before I was a trainer and a bit of a crybaby… but now I've got a team and I'm a gym leader's protege! Please let us take the lead!"

Ever since that fateful day years ago Cynthia has taken me out on mining trips whenever she had freetime, but it was always her who took the lead. Now it was my team's turn.

She sighed a bit. "Topaz…"

My heart sank. Is she gonna say no?

She put her hands on my shoulders. "Of course you can, but please don't demean yourself like that. Crying is never a bad thing, and you couldn't have gotten to be who you are now without being who you were then. So take pride in where you've come from, along with where you're going. Okay?"

I stared thoughtfully at the ground in consideration. Take pride in myself… yes, she's right! I'll do my best!

I pounded my chest. "Okay! I will!"

She smiled and pulled me in for a quick hug. "I'm glad. You're someone worth being proud of." She then let go and stepped away, a bit of excitement sneaking into her grin. "Now, show me what you've learned."

I turned back excitedly trying to hide my jumpiness. "A-Alright Lou, show them how well you can d-dig now!"

My jumpiness clear in my command, Lou nodded earnestly before he jumped into the air and began spinning like a drill before rocketing in the earth. Dirt and stone flew out as he created a hole big enough for even Reigenleif to fit into.

He drilled through the cold earth as though it were melted butter, buzzing the whole way down. We all watched from the entrance as he kept going and going.

Charjabug may not be a garchomp, but they are both exceptional diggers and Lou is a prime example. Personally, I believe him the definitive of his species.

After a few more seconds the drilling sound stopped, before Lou shone a light from deep within the tunnel signaling us he found a cave.

"Alright! That was quick, let's catch up!" I cheered. I glanced over to Cynthia and Reginleif to read their reactions at his digging aptitude. Cynthia was smiling, but Reginleif seemed concerned. She walked over to the hole, peering down.

"Is there… something wrong?" I asked anxiously.

Reginleif is an expert ground type so whatever flaws she sees in the hole must be as clear as day. Or dark. However good her eyesight is. Did Lou not meet her standards? It's a hole, what standards are there to meet?

Cynthia looked at Reginleif, who glanced back. Without even saying anything, Cynthia's look hardened. "I think we may have given someone a rude awakening."

I turned to the ground by Reginleif where it began to shift. I could hear Donut's ears perk up ever so slightly at the sound.

Who's gonna come out?

"Though I think 'broke down the front door' would be more apt here," she said as Reginleif easily sidestepped a Krokorok who practically flew out of the ground. Cynthia and I jumped back, creating a distance between us and them. Except we went different ways, so now the Krokorok was between us.

He looks pissed.

He began looking around with shady eyes, glaring at every one of us. I kept a calm expression and began reasoning with him. "Uh sorry about that Krokorok. Didn't know someone was down there. We can plug the hole back up if you want."

Reginleif nodded, giving a quick but calm series of rumblings and roars. The Krokorok gave a loud, furious roar back with his tail lashing side to side. Reginleif was unfazed and simply gazed back at him.

He's ornery and brazen. The power difference is obvious, yet he's back talking Reginleif? A prideful adolescent I'd wager.

Krokorok's anger didn't necessarily waver, but I think after sizing up Reginleif proper he decided to look for easier targets. His eyes fell on Cynthia, but even he could sense that was a bad idea from a single squint. Finally his eyes landed on me. I could feel Donut shuffle slightly in my bag.

Krokorok's claws became coated in ghastly energy before charging towards me. I dodged his slash while holding out my right arm, giving Donut a good running start as he jumped off me and punched Krokorok right in the gut. Sending him skidding back, forcing him to brace himself with his tail.

Donut twirled through the air before landing expertly, staring down his opponent. I stepped forward and took a deep breath, focusing my attention on the inevitable fight. No need to be shy about this even in front of Cynthia. We know what we're doing.

Let's make this quick, alright Donut? No need to keep everyone waiting.

Donut didn't need to hear my words to understand my intent as he flicked his ears back at me.

"If you don't want to be humiliated, I suggest you leave Krokorok," I smirked, standing tall. "We'll fill the hole when we're done, no need to get violent."

Krokorok got back up, eyes filled with indignant rage. He snapped his jaws at Donut with a dangerous look, but Donut yawned in his face vaguely bored. I couldn't help but shake my head.

"Standing your ground I see," I muttered. "I respect that. You want a fight, that's what you're gonna get! Donut, Wukong style!"

"Oooh, a reference to Journey to the West, nice!" Cynthia said approvingly.

I smiled back at her, glad she got my reference for Donut's new technique. Donut got onto his hindlegs before getting into a boxer's position, his fists glowing orange with fighting type energy indicating Brick Break.

Krokorok took the first step, but Donut had already jammed his fist deep into his stomach. Krokorok reached down to grab him before he jumped back, following up by punching his left leg causing him to buckle. In his panic, Krokorok lashed out with a Sand Attack, but Donut skirted around it before uppercutting him in the snout. Krokorok's feet left the ground a bit before he slammed back down on his back.

In retaliation he tried to sweep Donut off his feet with his tail, but Donut simply slammed his tail out of the way before whirling into a brick break charged tail slam. Krokorok flew spinning into a wall like a top before crashing. Donut hopped a bit closer with his dukes still raised as Krokorok stood up, backed into a corner.

I stepped beside Donut and crossed my arms, looking down at Krokorok. "Ready for round 2?"

Obviously he was not as he began digging away immediately upon my suggestion. Donut waited a few more seconds in case he returned before relaxing his stance and sighing apathetically, while I knelt down to scratch his head.

"Nicely done Donut. That was perfect," I complimented him as he leaned into my hand.
"Cha!" He squeaked, pleased with the extra pets.

"Well done Donut," Cynthia said with a smile, "That's certainly not a fighting style I've seen from Pikachu. Inspired by your father?"

"Pika pika!" Donut responded.

He's looking a lot livelier now. Just needed to punch someone in the face.

"A few days after the dinner party, Lancelot and Flint came by to teach us some new techniques. Donut caught on fast," I explained, puffing out my chest in pride for my partner.

"That's certainly something to be proud of," she said while scratching his ears. "You've come quite a long way already."

Donut preened under her scratching as I ate up the compliments as though they were my own. "Training with Volkner's team consistently absolutely makes a difference, it's crazy how much they've grown the past few months."

"Beating a ground type single handed is nothing to scoff at. Although…" She glanced towards the hole. "I do feel bad that we disturbed them. And I can't at all blame them for not standing down earlier."

Donut shrugged while I nodded.

Having someone drill a hole through your home out of nowhere would leave me in a sour mood too. Although the way he was running at me… krokorok is definitely not the type of pokemon I'd want to anger when by myself.

"Let's go around their home this time, we should leave them be."

Where exactly was their home? I peered down the hole to find Lou sitting at the bottom impatiently blinking. Donut climbed up my shoulder to wave down at him.

~x3x~

Location: Sunyshore Underground

We made our way down to Lou into the cavern, Reginleif filling up the hole as we made our way down. The tunnel we did find after was filled with bright blue, electrically charged floating rocks. They cast a dim glow on their own, but due to their size and abundance it was pretty easy to see. Combine that with the frequent spears of electricity jumping between them and we were able to see just fine. Cynthia took out her pokedex a moment, which scanned the area before putting it away.

"Checking the air quality right? How is it?"

She smiled. "Well enough. We shouldn't have any issues."

I nodded approvingly. "Sounds good to me; let's get spelunking!"

The five of us continued making our way through the caverns, observing the walls for a decent spot to mine. While I had been down here several times over the course of my life, the Underground never failed to captivate my interest.

To think that all of this was underneath the city.

Lou shuddered a few times each time he got near an especially large charged rock, looking chipper after each one.

"You're in a good mood, Lou. The electricity tastes good today?" I asked. Lou turned towards me and buzzed positively before skittering over to another rock to showcase him absorbing its power. As lightning suffused his form it became a bit dimmer, but he stopped before it lost all power.

"All the more watts for you to evolve," I smiled. "How about you Donut?"

He shook his head in disinterest, as expected. He had a tendency towards actual food.

"Yeah yeah, not yet." I turned back to Lou. "While you're still looking for large rocks could you find a good place for us to start mining?"

Lou buzzed his salute before scurrying off down a steeper path in the cavern. We followed leisurely behind him, making sure to watch our step. Cynthia and I stayed vigilant of anything catching our eyes or until Lou found something of note. Otherwise, nothing much of interest was really happening which brought me back to what I was thinking about earlier.

Too many mysteries filled my head. The strange voice in my head, the mysterious tarot cards, my cloudy past and my missing parents. Even now, when I am trying my best to just have a nice time with Cynthia the thoughts invaded my peace of mind. Not to mention how even after all the work I've been doing, I still feel like there's something missing in my life?

I think now is the right time to just get some things off my chest.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm my nerves before I began wracking my brain as to how to ask my question. It took a few minutes, but I finally willed up the courage to ask.

"So, Cynthia…" I spoke slowly, drawing her attention. "I was going to ask Volkner about this, but I felt a bit awkward considering the topic… you remember my little incident near the beginning of December? How I got some flashbacks and Lucian performed a memory test?

She nodded, her face hardening. "Of course I do, why? Have your headaches started up again?"

I shook my head. "No, the medicine has been working and the doctor said I was recovering well. The problem is less about me and more on what happened after…"

I quickly rehearsed my thoughts so I didn't stumble on my words. Cynthia waited patiently until I blurted them out. "Volkner told me Lucian spoke with my grandparents and Professor Rowan about my mom to figure out my whole… brain tampering situation. I know you and the elites have a billion other things to do than look into this, but uhhh… have you… found… anything?"

My bravery tapered off near the end and was replaced with anxiety. The implications were all there. Whatever they find likely would not be positive. My memories were physically tampered with by a Metagross. The only Metagross I was ever in contact with was my mother's. Shortly after said tampering she disappeared and no one has seen her since. Everything pointed to unsettling answers.

Reginleif had looked over by this point. Cynthia had a hand to her chin, and was silent for a few moments. "Information on your mother is… hard to come by, to put it lightly, even with thorough investigation. She seems to have made a deliberate effort in many ways to not be traced easily. And what we do have is less than positive." She looked at me seriously. "Topaz, if anyone has the right to know about this, it's you. But I don't want to tell you more than you want to hear. Ask me what you can and what you need, alright?"

I grimaced back at the floor as we kept walking. Donut squeaked in my ear comfortingly, but the gravity of that question was hitting me.

"I had suspected that was the case…" I muttered under my breath. "I…"

I want to learn the truth.

My heart resonated once again. The familiar feeling of The Fool's energy surged through my being. The tarot card of curiosity and discoveries. I'm wracked with all this anxiety because I need answers to my countless questions. If I'm provided a source with a bevy of them… I ought to take it.

"Please… tell me what you can," I asked, turning to face her with a much more self-assured expression. Donut patted my cheek in support.

She nodded solemnly. "Well, her discoveries typically revolved around what could be done rather than what necessarily should. She was the one who developed Life, Flame and Toxic orbs. She created the Electrizer and Magmarizer. Devices of that nature. She never associated much with anyone but a select group of people, who are all currently either dead or missing. And she was involved in the Tohjo war, which couldn't have been easy."

She paused a moment, giving me the space to tell her to stop if I wanted to.

"She went missing around when Helheim was projected to have begun- the construction of the facility, that is-, and was only seen after that when she brought you to the Beacon household. Combining that with what we know of your situation, your father's and her prior interests… it's not at all off the table that she had a hand in Helheim in some capacity."

My heart beat faster.

Her gaze turned to me more seriously. "I don't want to give you the wrong impression, however. We currently don't have anything concrete. The closest to anything concrete we do have is a few similar Pokemon and body type to her being one of the higher ups in Helheim, but even that is far from conclusive."

I clenched my chest.

"In other words, any somewhat skinny woman with a couple of notable pokemon that may or may not be hers…" I finished. "I see…"

The League and I were coming to the same conclusion and it was damning. It was vague, but I knew Cynthia and likely Lucian were also connecting the dots. My mother, Vanna Heart, might've been a participant in one of the most criminal acts in modern Sinnoh history and a key member of Team Galactic.

…

I awaited an intense reaction. Some sort of flood of emotion. Possibly even a panic attack yet… all I felt was… relieved? Just barely, but I was. It was strange, I even touched my chest to find the beating of my heart had slowed down. I unclenched my shirt and exhaled slowly. This answer… is exactly what I predicted.

I looked up at Cynthia, feeling a bit more at ease. Technically my questions weren't answered, but my theories were confirmed. That's still one step closer to the truth.

"Thank you for telling me that. It's… about what I expected. The evidence is incriminating, but inconclusive so far."

She nodded slowly, though she looked… concerned, maybe? "Of course, I'm always happy to help you however I can. If you don't mind my mentioning, you seem… almost relieved."

"No sense in stressing over it now at this point. Neither of us have found the truth of all this, but what we do know there is absolutely a story here. My mother is missing, but if- when Team Galactic rises again, she will likely be there among them. Until then all we can do is continue learning in preparation. There's a story behind her disappearance and one day we'll have it." I rubbed my chin before looking up at Cynthia. "On another note, my father, Rod Heart, went missing as well, but I know a lot more about him from my family in Alola, than I do my mom. So I figured he prolly got caught up in whatever my mom was doing. That sound about right?"

"Essentially," she affirmed, "While we don't have anything conclusive about him either? We know much more about his character and priorities. He was likely kidnapped in a similar manner to the others, but the main question we have is why he isn't numbered amongst them. But unless he had some sort of psychotic personality locked away within him, it's highly unlikely he has anything to do with the atrocities that happened there."

Now that made me feel better. Cyrus and his admins went off the grid before Helheim began including most of their grunts and even some well known decent people besides the victims of Helheim. So many lives were upturned… it looks like my father was one of them.

"Actually, this may help ease your mind more about your father's situation." I turned to her and there was a small look of hope. "One of the victims wasn't kidnapped. Instead, she used to work with Galactic because of their front of an infinite energy source. From what she's told us, she was told that she would be a part of a top secret project that she assumed would be that energy source. It was only once she got there that she realized how horribly she'd been deceived, and was later a factor in how all the survivors escaped the way they did. Your father could easily be someone like her who didn't end up as a victim in the same way as the others for whatever reason."

I rubbed my chin in thought. The fact he was involved at all in Helheim was depressing, but it definitely sounds like he was swept up into something bigger. Not totally comforting, but it's better than what I had before.

I gave Cynthia a small smile. "At least he's looking pretty innocent. Thanks Cynthia, that made me feel way better."

She smiled back in relief. "Anytime. I'm glad it helped in any way."

I smiled back in return. Donut squeaked comfortingly as we continued on our way.

~x4x~

Location: Deep Sunyshore Underground

With all the tension out of the air, I was feeling a lot lighter. This was the only one of my many questions I had a lead on, so now we were getting somewhere. Now I could simply enjoy my mining trip. Until Lou halted before us and began buzzing to Reginleif.

He's on high alert. There's something unknown up ahead.

We all stopped and began listening to the earth rumble slightly from a decent distance away. "You hear that, Cynthia?"

She nodded. "That's not a rumble I've heard often before…"

I turned to her with confusion before she gestured ahead of us. In the distance I could see a… I saw a… ummm.

What exactly am I looking at here? Is that a walking lighter?

The pokemon had a brilliant, silver metal body. The only rough patches were at the ends of their arms, which seemed like they'd been snapped off from the same thick rod of steel and used as arms. Each of their legs were large angled rectangles with a single blue toe-like protrusion at the center of each. A similar stocky tail adorned their backside, thin blue wavy lines trailing up towards their head. Said head was small, all things considered, about the size of the end to one of their arms. The back had a slot where a small rectangular railgun end with a red tip sat idle.

They were nothing I had ever seen before and I refused to believe this was just a common pokemon. The pokemon in question didn't seem perturbed to see any of us. Reginleif rumbled with greetings and the pokemon grumbled in response.

Least they are peaceful.

Both Lou and Donut turned to me instinctively for explanation, but I still wasn't even sure what I was looking at.

"A new pokemon…?" I whispered before taking out my dex and scanned them.

'Data not found. Collecting information...'

"No data..." I muttered, before getting another look at the strange… entity. Lou was standing before them buzzing up a storm, but the pokemon didn't seem all too invested in his banter.

My pokedex has data on 7 different regions... could this be a pokemon from Sinnoh that was never documented? Did we find a legendary or a pokemon lost to time?

"New data for the pokedex then," Cynthia said to herself while typing in something on her own. "The underground data should be updated for Duraludon."

I paused at the name. "Duraludon… like duralumin dragon or something?"

She nodded, still looking at her Pokedex. "They're rarely seen in general, but you can usually see them either around Mt. Stark, Fuego Town or deep within Mt. Coronet. Their bodies rust easily, so they tend to stay underground." She turned to me and smiled. "You're definitely lucky to see one, much less this far away from where they typically are."

I turned back to Duraludon who was talking to Lou proper now. Donut, now vaguely curious as well, decided to hop off and join the conversation. Naturally I couldn't understand their words, but I could sense the general gist was my pokemon explaining why they were here and Duraludon being mildly interested in the going ons of surface dwellers..

Duralduon huh… definitely not a legendary then, but still a sight to see.

I was a little disappointed, but considering I had never even heard of this pokemon before suggested they were rare enough. "I'm guessing because this pokemon is so hard to find they aren't in the regional dex. Right?"

She nodded. "With the exception of legendaries, unless there's a proper population instead of a few isolated pokemon they're not registered. A good example would be how Bidoof are in the regional pokedex, as there's a large number of them throughout the region. Meanwhile, Hydreigon and their line have only ever been found as having been released from trainers in the past and have never properly fit into a niche. So they're not. Duraludon are mainly found in Galar with some occasional sightings in other regions."

Galar… that's where Jade is from.

"I've never even heard about them on the surface," I whispered as I watched Donut hop onto Duraludon, trying to learn more about the strange new pokemon. I could feel a smile begin to form on my face.

Such a unique pokemon. I wonder how many there are down here.

"My first Galarian pokemon sighting. I've gotta ask Jade about this later, but as for right now… they are a steel… dragon? I'm guessing. Do you know what they like to eat?"

A wide smile crossed her face. "They are steel dragon, well done Topaz! As for what they eat, they're herbivorous and lithotroph. They eat ores more when they've rusted recently or are growing, while plants supplement their diet. I've heard some people in Fuego Town will give them metal scraps as treats."

"Ore huh…" I began fidgeting through my bag looking for spare metal. "Aha! Got it."

I pulled some leftover spheres from a past mining trip. Duraludon's attention immediately steered towards me as I gathered up some for them to eat. Cynthia and Reginleif stood by and watched, but I knew they'd intervene before anything went wrong. I strolled over to Duraludon and offered up the spheres.

"It's nice to meet you Duraludon. I'm Topaz and I'm well… I'm just an explorer, I suppose. I heard you like rocks and ores, so I hope you enjoy," I smiled as I held out my hand to them. Duraludon rumbled softly. It was different from anything I had ever heard from a dragon or steel type. Oddly high pitched, yet undeniably fierce.

They got on all fours, bringing their head to a level where they could take the spheres before they went at it, chomping away. They got back onto their hindlegs once they were finished with a pleased expression.

I turned around to Cynthia, curious about her reaction to find her giving me two thumbs up with a big smile.

Nailed it! They can call me a dragon savant now. Or steel savant.

Duraludon stayed a wee bit longer to entertain Donut (and Lou in his own way) before they had to depart deeper into the cave. We all said our good-byes before turning back to the path ahead. Although my mind was now filled with thoughts of meeting other rare pokemon dwelling within this cave and the prospect excited me.

I began checking the minimal data my pokedex collected from the brief encounter, adding to my hype.

My first encounter with a Galarian pokemon went perfectly and I even got to feed them. To encounter a pokemon I knew nothing about. It has been a long time since I've had that experience and it was exhilarating to say the least.

"You seem pretty happy," Cynthia noted with a grin. "Meeting a new Pokemon is always exciting, isn't it?"

"Absolutely! I've never seen a pokemon with such a unique body structure and they were so chill too! Have you seen other Galar pokemon in Sinnoh besides them?"

She nodded. "I have, though not extensively." Her grin became a smirk. "Though I can say you've a bit more to look forwards to when we get to Oreburgh."

My grin widened at the prospect.

There's more new pokemon in Oreburgh? Even more reason to visit west Sinnoh! I can't wait to see more.

~x5x~

Location: Mining Spot

Soon enough we made our way to a clearing and extra large electric rocks. Lou stopped before scanning the area and buzzing positively. He turned to us and gave a few more buzzes incidicating this spot was promising.

"Alright, finally time to mine!"

Cynthia pulled out her tools, which were a lot more plain than you'd expect of a champion's mining tools. They were the same as last time, just more worn out from use. A wide grin was on her face. "Let's see if we can't find some interesting stuff today. Shall we?"

I nodded in earnest as we each went to find our own mining spots. Donut and Lou walked behind me as I began searching for where to begin, until I found a peculiar indent in the wall.

Looks like there's a lot in here

I laid down my bag before gathering all my mining tools, leading with my hammer and pickaxe. Donut and Lou stood patiently, making sure nothing fell on me from a blind spot. I began slowly digging away at the earth, taking care to not accidentally collapse the wall or damage whatever treasure I sought.

After some careful navigation I managed to excavate a yellow shard and some spheres, until I noticed a brown crystal embedded a bit deeper into the wall. Noting the wall was still stable I began to cautiously mine the stone out before I came face to face with a smooth rock.

Do I know any sandstorm users who'd like this? Hmmm, I can sell it either way.

I pocketed my goods before moving onto the next spot. The routine remained the same as I collected several different minerals, ores and minor treasures encased in the dirt. Donut and Lou were chatting away behind me leisurely and I could hear Cynthia work at it as well from her location.

Oh?

After making a risky hammer strike, I noticed what resembled a dirty vase within the earth. I could tell there were some cracks in it, but it was more complete than any other shard I had seen. With precision I managed to dig it out and place it before Donut and Lou who wore curious expressions.

"I think there's a design on the vase. Lemme clean it up real quick," I muttered as I took out my duster brush to gently clean off the dirt.

"Pika?" Donut tilted his head as I was brushing before pointing to a spot on the vase that had become visible. I turned it around to find a painting of a rowlet, the Alola grass starter, spreading their wings.

"Rowlet? In Sinnoh? Maybe an Alolan brought it here," I theorized as I began dusting more. Once I finished, I gave it a proper look and found close to it were a painting of cyndaquil, the Johto fire starter, igniting their back and Oshawott, the Unova water starter, wielding their scalchop.

I screwed my face in confusion staring at the vase depicting three pokemon I was vaguely certain had nothing in common besides all being starters. "Three starter pokemon all on the same ancient vase. Did they used to exist in Sinnoh or were they a foreigner's pokemon?"

I began examining the vase until I came across a golden cross, both limbs striking at perfect 45 degree angles, interlaced with a golden circle struck down the center. Four green ovular gems sat where two shapes intersected. The symbol was unmistakable.

Arceus' crest?

"Cynthia, I found… a thing!"

She glanced behind her, having been contemplating where to strike next. "What sort of thing?"

"I found a vase with three foreign starter pokemon all together and the symbol of Arceus. Even I don't see the connection here," I shouted as I began looming over the vase with wonder.

She came over, Reginleif keeping an eye on where they'd been digging. "May I?"

I gently handed the vase to her in order to inspect it. She had her gloves on (what with oils from your hands tarnishing really really old stuff like this) and slowly turned it round. A smile spread across her face. "Well now. You've found an artifact of the time when the first Pokedex in Sinnoh was created."

"The first pokedex… seriously? I thought Professor Rowan made the first Sinnoh pokedex."

I suppose early catalogues would make sense, just never expected to find one in a place like this.

"It's not surprising," she continued, "When you try and find anything on the Pokedex you get the modern definition. Technically, 'the first Pokedex' isn't entirely accurate. As it wasn't actually electronic in any capacity. It was sketches and notes on paper across several notebooks. Those sketches still endure today in some form; check your Pokedex, they're still there. It even has images of the creation trio."

I opened my pokedex and checked Turtwig's entry. There I found several different archaic sketchings of turtwig in the wild, sleeping, attacking and eating. Despite it being so old, the drawing was surprisingly well preserved and accurate to the real deal. Alongside there were several meticulous notes about their mannerisms and biology.

I then headed to the end of the dex to look at Palkia, ruler of space. Once again depicting detailed artwork of the formidable pokemon with far less notes, but more than I had expected. Judging by the intricacy of the work, whoever had done this had great talent.

"Wow… I never checked these before. There's so much data to be found, I feel bad I missed something so… inspiring," I muttered softly.

Cynthia just smiled warmly. "But you discovered it all the same. Just because something is ancient doesn't mean it's any less relevant to today. Sure, those sketches aren't accurate to the final detail, or as elaborate as a three dimensional model. But they were made with passion and curiosity, and those feelings endure to this day."

"They're amazing… but I'm also sort of envious. I'd love to make my own Pokedex. To see all these new pokemon all for myself. That'd be stellar." Another question crossed my mind. "Why are these pokemon here and what do they have to do with Arceus?"

"Before we get to that, is it alright if I put this in a capsule? You found it of course, but just to make sure it's preserved."

I nodded quickly. "Oh yes absolutely, go on!"

She nodded back, gently putting the vase on the ground before pulling out a small Munchlax capsule. Once it was properly secured, she handed the capsule to me with a smile. "You should hold onto it. You found it, after all. And I think this is already quite the start for showing off to those in Oreburgh."

The idea of my finding being the centerpiece of the expo did bring an elitist smile to my face, but I quickly shook it off as I put away the capsule. "I can only imagine what else other folk find, considering we just dug around randomly and found a relic related to the first pokedex."

"That's the beauty of it, isn't it?" She dusted off her gloves before continuing. "Anyway, to answer your question. The one who went out originally was given Pokeballs, supplies and met their starter Pokemon via a foreign professor. They brought a Cyndaquill, Oshawott and Rowlet. Why exactly those Pokemon is still unknown, but what we do know is that Sinnoh natives hadn't developed Pokeballs at the time. Instead, they offered food and other such things to convince Pokemon that they were friends." A small look of sorrow crossed her face as she glanced to the side a moment. "A shame what Pokeballs have done besides simple protection…"

Cynthia had a more sorrowful look than I expected for a moment before her face returned to normal. "Nonetheless, we're still learning about the original pokedex to this day and the field researchers' involvement in Arceus' last known appearance in Sinnoh. That vase is a small sign, but it's another connecting the creation of the pokedex and Arceus in some way."

"I see…" I said slowly. As much as I wanted to solve this mystery I managed to hold it to a respectable level. I had enough mysteries on my mind already, no need to add another one prematurely. "I've got to say I'm invested now. I'll have to keep up with any new updates from now on."

She nodded brightly. "I look forward to your thoughts! For now though, let's try and find some more items of interest."

We resumed our dig once again. Each of us amassed a decent amount of treasure to either sell, keep or show off at the expo. While I knew it wasn't likely to keep finding rare artifacts, the fact remained in the depths of my mind. This went on for a while until a resounding chuckle broke the silence. "Steven is going to lose his mind, that's hysterical," Cynthia laughed to herself.

I looked behind me to find Cynthia holding a gigantic thunderstone. Usually they were around the size of someone's fist, maybe a kiddie football at biggest. This one was the size of her torso easily and had several jagged prongs coming off on all sides. It seemed to hold more electrical energy than even the floating rocks all around us, and the thunderbolt usually within thunderstones seemed to dance and streak about the inside of the stone with reckless abandon.

Donut and Lou had gathered around said thunderstone with eyes of wonderment, desire and intoxication. It was as though the emergence of the stone had become their sole focus.

Donut being distracted by something that isn't sweet? Lou being distracted at all?

I made my way over, noticing the smaller electric rocks sparked slightly in the presence of the stone. When I brushed by Donut and Lou it seemed to break them out of their hypnotic state, although they continued eyeing the stone with an interest that was unusual for them.

"And you two consider me the rock fiend when you both get giddy over a slightly bigger one," I joked causing them both to shock my legs in retaliation before they each huffed. "H-hey! I only speak the truth."

Cynthia chuckled before smiling at the two of them. "Frankly I would've been amazed if you hadn't reacted that way." She looked back at me, a curious glint in her eyes. "So Topaz, how do you feel about trying to figure out what this is? You already know everything you need to figure it out, and I feel like you'd enjoy the challenge."

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden proposition.

The obvious answer would be a large thunderstone. But Cynthia wouldn't test me with such an obvious answer. So, I'll have to recap what I know and consider where we are.

I placed a hand on my chin in thought.

The Sunyshore Underground is known for its electrically charged rocks and a prevalence of electric related ores, especially thunderstones. Now what could have caused the area to become so charged that even electric types on the surface flock to the Sunyshore area….

"I got it!" I slammed my fist into my palm in realization. "A shard of an Electric Spire!"

"Well done!" She nodded approvingly. "I'll have to give you a smiley sticker later. The primary cause of Sunyshore having so much ambient electricity is a gargantuan Spire deep underground, typically referred to as the Neutron Spire for the moment. They form everywhere, just at a much quicker rate in the Sinnoh Underground. Steven has been frothing at the mouth for an example like this one for months, so it'll be quite fun to see his reaction."

"Unless Donut and Lou get to it first," I wisecracked, earning me another set of indignant huffs from my team. "I'm kidding guys. Plus I know neither of you want to evolve in a place like this, right now. Especially you, Donut."

Donut twitched his ears in contemplation before nodding along with me, taking several more steps away from the thunderstone. Lou on the other hand scoffed at the stone and turned his back towards it. Cynthia, Reginleif and I had a little chuckle at the sight as Cynthia took care to deposit the spire shard into a capsule.

So the electric spire of this location might be close to us if we're finding shards of it. This is likely the closest I've ever been to one. A spire… the natural growth from a type gem, to an evolutionary gem to beyond. There's a spire for each type and they say if a pokemon of matching type touches it they are blessed with more power due to the immense elemental energy held within each one. I wonder where I could find an insect spire for Lou…

Cynthia checked her poketch. "I'd say we can do a bit more mining before heading back into the surface. You good to go a bit longer?"

I smirked as I flexed before her in confidence. "A little dirty work is gonna take a lot more to wear me out!"

Plus, if I couldn't manage mining for this little time, what was the point of enduring all of Volkner's training sessions?

Cynthia chuckled fondly before we returned to each of our sites.

Admittedly, while I still could go on, I truly did want to see Oreburgh sooner than later and have the energy to enjoy it. I went a bit more lax with my last few excavations before I came across another odd find.

It appeared to be some sort of ancient metal gauntlet. I managed to pull it out of the earth, almost yelping at nearly dropping it from how heavy it was. Once I'd set it down properly I began dusting it off. The time spent underground had been weary on it as the bright sheen it likely once had was completely dull and it was littered with scratches, but it remained relatively smooth and intact save for a huge hole in the back of the hand.

Whoever had forged it had taken great care to ensure it would last. I held it up for inspection as I heard Cynthia make her way over to me.

"Cynthia, I think I-" The words stopped dead in my mouth as I turned around. In Cynthia's hands was a very clearly ancient sickle. The rusted and worn blade, the rod of metal beneath what was once likely wood or cloth on the handle, all that was expected.

What wasn't expected was the tendril-like shoots of thunderstone coming out the bottom of the broken hilt and growing to encase the sickle itself. It looked almost like roots had grown from the tool, except made of crystal instead of wood.

"That's…" I got up quickly, still holding the gauntlet (which was really heavy), and observed the sickle in awe. "The rocks grew over the sickle akin to a plant and have begun to encase it.. It's so ornate. Astonishing..."

"It's potentially even more interesting than that." She tilted her head. "But what's that you've got there?"

I looked down at my hands, suddenly remembering that the gauntlet was indeed very heavy as I exhaustively half dropped it. "Another relic of the past! Appears to be a gauntlet of some kind. It's in surprisingly decent shape and uhhh… a bit too heavy. I think you've got to be strong as Leader Maylene to wield something like this. Or Crasher Wake. Definitely not me though."

Her eyebrow raised as Reginleif walked over, observing what was going on. "May I see it?"

I gestured for her to pick it up. She did, holding the sickle gingerly in one hand. Her eyes widened a bit before she picked it up in her free hand, clearly holding it tighter than the sickle. "You weren't kidding. Honestly, I'd be surprised if even they decided to use this." She set the sickle down on the ground, being careful to not snap any of the crystal branches so she could turn her full attention to the gauntlet. "Did you find anything else with it or this exclusively?"

I shook my head. "That was the last thing I saw in this mining spot." Cynthia nodded slowly, examining the gauntlet intently. Lou and I exchanged curious looks. "Is there something special about it? Some sort of ancient armor or weapon?"

"It's certainly special, I can tell you that. The question is how." She turned the gauntlet over so the palm was facing down. "Doesn't the hole here seem a bit too intentionally placed? It's modeled out and everything."

I took a closer look. What I had thought was erosion and a hole created by time now looked more… intentional. There was a half dome on the back of the gauntlet, with the hole facing forwards. Almost like some sort of vent or something?

"Over here, doesn't it look like the gauntlet has some sort of vent?" I leaned over, brushing my gloved hand over it. "Maybe it was a piece of a bigger set and required some form of ventilation?" I theorized.

There was a sudden flash in her eyes. "But there's no sign of interlocking by the wrist section. It doesn't seem to attach to anything. Which means it has to have functioned on its own somehow." Her eyes zeroed in on it as she began muttering to herself. I could feel my own brow furrow as well.

A gauntlet with a vent that doesn't connect to anything, but functioned on its own. I wonder...a magical tool perhaps? No. I doubt Jubilee's skinny arms couldn't even lift this off the ground. Unless mages were ripped back then…

"Not necessarily part of a set… not an automaton of some variety, the joints wouldn't work like that… much too heavy for most humans to use… but if you could… and they-"

Her whole face brightened as her previously serious expression spread into a large, excited smile. "Oh. Oh. We've certainly stumbled upon something special."

The tone of her voice hid a tint of suppressed joy.

She's come to an epiphany. Is it connected to her past research?

I glanced to Reginleif who had seemed to recognize the look on Cynthia's face. I noted the slight vibration of the horns on her head as she scanned the area we were in. Lou and I glanced at each other, and he silently confirmed my question.

Reginleif is registering this location to her memory so they can come back another time. Looks like this site is important to them… and Lou found it!

My curiosity in the gauntlet and pride for my pokemon clashed for a moment till I noticed Cynthia was staring intensely at the gauntlet. The same way she stared at ice cream before she selected a flavor. Which meant we would be waiting 30 minutes before she chose a flavor (and her choice was always all of them).

"Cynthia, you're heading into the zone, just warning ya," I interrupted.

She blinked, shaking her head a bit before smiling at me. "Sorry, I got lost in my head at the implications of this. This is a phenomenal find Topaz, Lou. Thank you both."

I smiled and nodded while Lou buzzed. "You sure look invested in… whatever that gauntlet is. Plan on coming back later?"

"Absolutely. This is either a battle site or a previous settlement of some sort, and either way there's certainly more of these artifacts around here." She gazed around the tunnels, looking thoughtful. Peaceful. This site was obviously very important for her. "I'm very glad we came here today."

"Me too! It's been awhile since I've had the chance to mine. It felt good to get my hands dirty again and just vent my stress out on rocks. Plus we found all this cool stuff for the expo!"

"Actually…" She looked at the gauntlet. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to hold onto this for a little while. There's certainly secrets that it holds and information it can tell us that I need more time to look into. The sickle I believe is much more easily explainable, and also a wonderful example of crystal growth." She looked back at me. "But you found it, so it's your decision."

I shook my head immediately. "It looks like you know what to do with it so you should have it!" I held up my topaz necklace to show it off. "Plus, you gave this to me and I've cherished it ever since. So now if this gauntlet is important to your research, it's only fair you take it in return."

Without warning she pulled me in for a hug. I could feel my eyes bug out in surprise. "Thank you Topaz. This is going to make many people very happy." She smiled brightly. "I can't tell you what it is exactly right now, but I do know that it's from a time before any human records."

Before human record? Like before writing and stuff? And it's still in such decent condition? Guess humans have been artisanal for a long time. I wonder why she can't tell me more... Either way Cynthia appreciates what I found!

"Pikapi," Donut squeaked a familiar phrase. After years of working with him I have deduced that 'Pikapi' is Pikachu for Topaz. "Pika pikachu."

Cynthia let me go, allowing me to give Donut my full attention. I rubbed my stomach absentmindedly as it growled. "Donut has had enough it seems. Is there good electric type food at the expo? I know it's not exactly fitting, but..."

She chuckled. "There is. All sorts of people are going to be there, and quite a number of electric types. Everyone deserves to be accommodated, and there's good human food there too."

Donut squeaked fondly before bounding onto my shoulder and pointing upwards. "Perfect! Let's get your food, Donut."

"Pi pikachu!"

~x6x~

Location: Sunyshore Mining Entrance

After Cynthia noted the whereabouts of this particular mining spot, we backtracked our way to the mining entrance this time avoiding the krokorok den. Once we were all out, I dusted myself off and checked the time to find it was only around noon.

We made good time.

Cynthia and Reginleif were in the background doing some stretching. Cynthia glanced at me mid stretch. "Donut and Lou should likely go in their Pokeballs for the time being. Reginleif's big, but there's limited real estate."

Reginleif chuckled while cleaning herself off, whilst Donut and Lou turned to look at me with the same look. We all collectively nodded before Donut climbed into my jacket, poking his head out right under my neck whilst I placed Lou in my bag.

"We're ready!" I cheered standing in a superhero pose, my pokemon peeking out. "These two can't evolve today, but one day they'll fly on their own. Until then, we all want to share in the adrenaline!" Donut and Lou concurred with consecutive squeaks and buzzes.

She smiled warmly. "Then you'll all need these," she said while pulling out three sets of goggles. "For your own safety, you should make sure you've got them on." Once we'd taken them, she put her own on. I made sure they were all well adjusted onto Donut and Lou's faces before I put on my own.

I'll admit. I was a bit nervous about skyrocketing across the region in the bitter cold. Sure Cynthia rides fine all the time, but… Sunyshore to Oreburgh… that's a long flight and Reginleif's known for being insanely fast when need be. At the same time, this was going to be so freaking cool! Exhilaration beats fear today!

Good thing I had a light breakfast.

Cynthia gazed across us all before taking off her coat and handing it to me. "Here. You'll want this when we're flying."

I stared at it in disbelief. The best champion's signature coat. "W-wait, won't you be cold?"

She shook her head, a warm smile on her face. "I'm used to it, don't worry. You need it more than I do right now."

She put the coat in my hands and I swore it was dimly glowing like a rare item in a video game. I hesitantly put it on over my own jacket to find my hands absolutely did not reach the ends of the sleeves, and the length of the coat was actually touching the ground (at least till I immediately pulled it up).

It's so long… makes sense considering how tall she is. It smells like victory and power.

"You got +25 badass and +5 cute points." I looked over to see Cynthia had her hands cupped around her mouth, whispering with a wide smile. Reginleif was smiling, but rolled her eyes and shook her head. Cynthia took out her phone. "Would you three like a picture?"

"Um YES!" There was no hesitation in my answer. Donut sat comfortably in my jacket, while I angled in a way so Lou was in the shot.

Cynthia held up the phone and began suggesting how I should pose until Reginleif sighed and started physically positioning me. After we had managed the right pose, she accosted the phone from Cynthia and began taking her own pictures. How might one ask? I do not know, but who cares? She's a champion. She doesn't need to make sense.

Reginleif rolled her shoulders after giving Cynthia her phone back and got into position. Meanwhile, Cynthia beckoned. "Let's get on, shall we?"

Cynthia helped me on first and sat behind so we wouldn't slip off. I was a bit concerned she'd be cold without her jacket, but her body was perfectly warm. Donut and Lou snuggled up against me making me feel even warmer than I already was, but I knew I'd need it for what's to come.

"We're ready," I gulped.

Cynthia nodded, her arms around me as she leaned forwards and held Reginleif's shoulders. "Okay then. Reginleif, let's fly!"

I was not ready.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was almost literally what riding a plane from the outside was like. There was a thundering boom as we shot into the air almost instantly, the wind whipping my face and the g-force nearly making me a pancake. I didn't even want to think what it would've been like without goggles. Nor did I want to think about how it would've felt without Cynthia behind me, keeping me steady. Or what it'd be like if humans hadn't evolved to handle this sort of thing by now.

She must have a steel grip, I would be flying into a mountain by now.

Sunyshore quickly went from sprawling city to brightly lit pile of metal as we rocketed into the air, accelerating even more somehow. Below us sprawled Sinnoh in all its glory. The endless, sparkling blue ocean that surrounded Sunyshore, the Lily League island off in the distance with its castle standing proud, and of course the land below us. Tiny moving specks of the trains going on their routes, chugging along resolutely. Mountains and valleys looked like nothing more than crinkles in a blanket from how high up we were, the rivers little strands of blue thread snaking through the landscape.

The sea of what I knew were trees just looked like bushy grass. One of the only things that actually stuck out was Lake Valor. Even from this high up, the serene, brilliant lake was clear to all, the island in the center where Azelf was said to rest almost blending in.

And then suddenly, my vision was pelted with white, gray and moisture.

Before I even had time to register that we were blasting through a cloud, we'd punctured the other side with a burst of cloud erupting around us. Reginleif leveled out before really going full throttle, streaking across the sky. I could see the cloud we'd blown through was torn apart, while other clouds were being cleanly sliced as just the wake of Reginleif's flight tore them in twain and left wide, curling wisps like waves crashing all behind us.

Donut was handling better than expected, but he looked fairly uncomfortable as his body smushed against my chest. The skies were frigid as one would expect, but I withstood. Behind me I could vaguely hear Lou buzz obscenities at a flock of Starly we may have flown by, but I could not tell. But I knew he was 100% fine.

But what truly caught my attention was the massive mountain range below us, slowly encroaching upwards even to where dragons fly. The summit was surrounded by a dark cloud impossible to see through, but any Sinnohan could recognize this mountain at a mere glance.

Mount Coronet...

Its peak went above all the other clouds, and even at the speed we were going it took time to reach and pass it. Everything else went past in the blink of an eye while it stood tall, watching eternally over the entire region.

I can see why people say Spear Pillar is there, that has to be the highest place in the world.

Just as soon as we'd passed Mount Coronet though, Reginleif dipped. This time I had some slight warning for blasting through the cloud, but no warning would have prepared me for my stomach flying right into my throat. Once we were below the cloud layer again, I saw a side of Sinnoh I'd never been to. And yet… it felt familiar all the same.

The same rolling mountains and valleys, boundless trees, rivers, Lake Verity even further ahead, as different as it was? It was Sinnoh all the same. As we were descending I did notice Eterna Forest's treeline was much higher up than the surrounding area, almost making a hill of trees all on its own.

My attention turned to the city where we were landing. It was built into a natural valley, with little snakes of conveyor belts slinking throughout the eastern side of it. Buildings were in and around the valley, nestled between another mountain to the west.

And as soon as I'd registered that, we'd landed.

It was a surprisingly soft landing, considering if Reginleif had landed at the same speed she took off we would've crashed several hundred feet into the Underground. As it was, there was only an indent maybe half a foot deep into the earth. As soon as I could I scanned the new city for the first time.

There was a main cobblestone road, but a vast majority was simple dirt paths with gravel and unpacked dirt marking where the path ended and usual ground began. Unlike Sunyshore there were no particularly large buildings and nothing coming close to a skyscraper. But at the same time, the entire place felt homey.

The houses on the ground nearly blended in with the earth, and some literally blended in. Stone was expertly carved out into walkways and entrances to homes, the area clearly being made full use of.

Several miners and other people waved as we arrived, hardhats and soot a common sight. The conveyer belts rumbled as coal and ores were dragged out of the earth and up towards storehouses likely, Timburr, Gurdurr, Machop, Machoke, Makuhita and far more helped move rocks right alongside humans.

A group of Bronzor flew overhead and the air was still, owing to the looming mountains all around us. What had before seemed like simple dots in the ground could now be seen for their full splendor, towering high above all.

And those mountains crowned, of course, by Mount Coronet. Dwarfing all others, standing high and proud above the region.

Cynthia rubbed my back gently. "Topaz, Donut, Lou? Welcome to Oreburgh City."

~Chapter 25 Fin~

Question: Were you a fan of the Sinnoh Underground mechanic? How do you think it'll be upgraded in the remake? What are your thoughts on Bright Diamond, Shining Pearl and Legends Arceus? Yay or nay?

I sorely wish we got the ORAS treatment for the Sinnoh games, but Legends looks immensely promising!

Author's Note: I am back from hiatus! It has been far too long since I have uploaded and I must apologize. I got some helpful reviews on another site that caused me to pause and begin overlooking older chapters and then school started, so I got distracted. But I'm back now and ready to begin uploading again! I'd like to work on editing older chapters to meet my current standards, but I just needed to work on something new to regain my motivation to write.

No worries, I have not lost an iota of interest in the story. I've been thinking about it all this time, it's just the act of writing is… a lot of work sometimes. Hopefully we can get back to more consistent uploads.

I also want to plug the Thousand Roads discord for those interested in discussing fanfic writing. The community is absolutely wonderful and I am active there! Now until we meet again, reader!

-Hi, it's me! The person writing "Hybrid: Aurora Edition" who knows very well that writing is a lot of work, and is taking a slight break by helping out here some more! It's fun writing for Topaz' side, it's a lot more chill. I'm still working on stuff, don't you worry. It's nice that we're putting up more for this story though, and you can look forwards to more Hybrid content soon!

Unless you're reading this in like, fifty years and we've already done everything. In which case uhhh I hope you like it?-

Trainer: Topaz Heart

Age: 12

Class: Junior Gym Trainer

Gear: Pokedex, Poketch, Cellphone, Several Berries, Baton.

Deck: Fool, Devil, Strength, Hermit, Fortune.

Team: Donut (Pikachu), Lou (Charjabug).

x

Donut (Pikachu/M)

Equip: Eviolite.

Moves: Thunderbolt,Thunder,Iron Tail, Brick Break, Quick Attack, Rollout, Tickle, Charge, Thunder Wave, Flash.

Ability: Static Chance to paralyze opponent upon physical contact.

Likes: Pastries, sweets, naps, relaxing, quiet, Topaz's bag.

Dislikes: Bitter food, stress, stupid decisions, feeling alone.

Tactics: Maneuver (Creates a thunder wave barrier to sense attacks+Tickle), Enhanced Tickle (Enhances his tickles with electricity to hit the nerves of sturdier opponents), Spin Dash (Rollout+Iron Tail), Battery Bolt (Combo: Lou's Battery + Donut's Thunderbolt), Thundercloud (Creates thunderclouds to summon lightning independently), Wukong Style (Martial arts style learned from Donut's father).

x

Lou (Charjabug/M)

Moves: X-scissor, Wild Charge, Acrobatics, Mud Shot, Iron Defense, Screech, Dig, String Shot, Spiderweb, Thunderbolt, Electroweb.

Ability: Battery Boosts allies' special attack moves.

Likes: Bugs, war, battling, General Topaz, usurping oppressors.

Dislikes: Birds, criminals, condescension, threats to his unit.

Tactics: Mud Pit (Digs a hole underneath the opponent and traps them in a pit of mud), Mud Spin (Digs into the ground and begins throwing mud all over around himself), Grapple Bug (Uses string shot to reel in himself or the opponent), Web Sling (String Shot+Acrobatics), Battery Bolt (Working alongside fellow electrics to launch the ultimate electric move).