Chapter 8: Wishing at the Wellspring Cave! Cheren and Cure Flare's Tag Team!
The night before N and Touko leave Nacrene City…
The sound of frantic footsteps breaks the silence of the normally peaceful Route 3. Some of the wild Watchog observe a young boy around nine years old making a mad dash away from a preschool that's settled on top of an elevated plateau. A white wish tag covered in messy handwriting is tightly clutched in his hand. As his feet carry him to the giant cave at the northwestern corner of the route, a nervous Panpour scurries after the child.
"Panpour, let's hurry before the teacher finds out we snuck out," he urges the hesitant Pokémon. The water-type skittishly looks behind its back before catching up to his trainer. As they hurry past another patch of tall grass, the little boy glances down at the white paper in his hands with an expression of determination.
"I'm going to make my wish come true...and then I won't feel so lonely anymore."
The child enters Wellspring Cave fearlessly, flicking on the tiny flashlight he had snatched from his teacher's desk. He strolls underneath a group of sleeping Woobat to a dimly lit, L-shaped lake. The body of water, once exposed to the small speckle of light, shimmers with a brilliant blue color that slices through the dark veil covering it.
Panpour hops into the water and waits for the boy to climb onto his back. They cross the lake and venture further until they reach a set of stairs that leads to the bottom floor. The little boy heads down first, and as he descends deeper into the void, his hand fumbles with the flashlight's switch, pushing it up until it expels its maximum capacity of light.
He isn't able to see anything other than what's in front of him, but despite that, he navigates the area with practiced familiarity. The little boy crosses the small land bridge that cuts the tip of the C-shaped lake off from the rest of the body of water. Continuing his way north, he squeezes his way through the narrow passageways until his flashlight lands on the elevated platform at the innermost part of the cave.
The light rests on a stone statue of the Wish Pokémon, Jirachi. Its sleepy expression is peaceful, unbothered by the spotlight cast upon it. Two white tags are attached to its head, which is in the shape of a three-pointed star. A bowl full of identical sheets of paper sits under its feet.
The child, after crossing the lake with Panpour, rushes up to the statue and sticks his tag onto its head, completing the trinity of wishes.
On the crumpled note, it reads:
"I wish for a home. Doyle."
Doyle turns around and begins his journey back to the preschool. But, before he can descend down from the elevated platform, the slit on the statue's stomach opens, and a dark portal activates.
The child gasps. The flashlight flies out of his hands, and darkness settles over the cave again.
Ever since leaving Nacrene City, the two heroes have not spoken a word to each other. While Touko is simply content with familiarizing herself with the landscape of Route 3, N is staring off into the distance again. As they cross the bridge stretching over the lake that makes up a large portion of Route 3, Touko breaks the silence.
"If I remember correctly, there should be a daycare and a preschool on this route. I wonder how the old couple is doing."
"Touko," N abruptly calls for her with a firm tone.
"Hmm, what's the matter?"
"...Shouldn't you be worried? Doesn't it bother you that we have no idea what that giant specter was? It could be a new threat plaguing Unova, and I can't ignore it if it is."
The heroine turns herself away, initially unable to answer him. The only reason why she isn't dwelling on the matter is that she knows exactly what it is. Or at least, she knows how to defeat it. And she's not ready to explain that to him. Not yet.
She carefully plans out her response. "I am worried. It's true that we don't know anything about the shadow we fought. But I'm not going to let that worry consume me. If another one shows up again, then I'm going to do what needs to be done. For now, though, I want to focus on my journey with you."
Touko sees a storm brewing within N's gray eyes.
"I don't fully understand," he eventually says, "But I want to trust your judgment. You're not the kind of person who would stand idly when the region's in danger."
The heroine flashes a confident grin. "Don't worry, N. You can leave it to me."
Her answer seems to placate him for now. He has that distant gaze again, but his focus is now on the frolicking wild Pokémon. They approach a branching pathway, and before the two heroes inevitably spark a small argument on which way to go, Touko hears her name being called.
"Wait, that's…" She turns around and finds Cheren jogging up to them, his breath coming out in little puffs of air.
"Thank goodness you didn't get that far," he wheezes out.
"Cheren, what are you doing here?"
The gym leader points in the direction of Nacrene City. "Lenora sent Bianca a call asking for help with restoring the nearby areas, and I was basically dragged along. But when Lenora told us the full story, I had to make sure that you're alright."
Despite his apparent concern, Touko is sporting a teasing smile. "You know I won't go down that easily!"
Cheren shakes his head as if pushing away a potential headache. "Still...you shouldn't be so reckless. Anyway, I should get back to helping Lenora. The damage is pretty-!"
Before he can finish, they see a woman wearing an apron running up to them. Her hands are trembling, and the bags under her eyes suggest that she's missing a few precious hours of sleep. Cheren recognizes her as one of the volunteers working at the preschool.
"Can you guys help me, please?" she pleads, "One of the kids from the preschool has gone missing, and we can't find him anywhere."
"Please calm down, miss," Cheren steps in. "We can help you, but we need to know the situation first." While the gym leader attempts to pacify the rightfully anxious caretaker, Touko notices that a group of kids is hanging around at the base of the stairs leading up to the daycare and school. One of them, a little girl around eight years old, is looking away and clenching her fists. The action, while barely noticeable, makes her stand out from the panicking mass of kids.
"Reshiram?"
"I can sense what you are thinking. However, let us grasp the truth of the situation first."
Touko sits down on one of the tiny chairs scattered throughout the one-room classroom. While N takes a seat on the floor, Cheren remains standing, folding his arms over his chest. The volunteer who ran up to them, Autumn, nervously glances at the preschool teacher running the place.
"Touko, do you remember a young boy with a Panpour here when you last stopped by?" Autumn begins with a question.
The heroine frowns. "Not off the top of the head. I have battled many trainers, so I can't be expected to remember all of my opponents."
"I guess I should have expected that," the caretaker concedes, "Anyway, that boy, Doyle, disappeared along with his Pokémon last night. He was here with the rest of the kids yesterday, so he must have left when we were all asleep."
Cheren rubs his chin as he launches a series of questions at Autumn.
"Has he done this before?"
"No, never. He's usually very obedient and stays near the school."
"Can you think of any reasons why he would go off on his own? A fight with another kid? Something that piqued his curiosity?"
"I can't...think of anything. We've been busy preparing for a field trip, and..." Autumn's guilt seeps into her admission, and Cheren walks up to her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay," he says in a gentle manner that stuns Touko for a moment, "He couldn't have gone far, and even then, someone around here must have seen him."
The gym leader turns to his friends. "Let's split up. I'll search Nacrene City and the southern part of Route 3 again."
"I'll check Wellspring Cave. I can ask the Pokémon living around here if they have seen anything," N volunteers.
"I guess that leaves Striation City and the eastern part of Route 3 to me," Touko manages to mutter to herself. Cheren immediately heads out after confirming each person's objective, but N lingers behind, having caught the heroine staring at her childhood friend with thinly-veiled surprise.
"Is there something off with Cheren, Touko?" His question seems to extend her shocked state.
"O-Oh, no, not really. It's just…Cheren has never been good at comforting people. So I was wondering where this side of him came from. Anyway, we can talk later. There's a missing kid we need to find."
N blinks once and then responds, "Right. I hope your search is fruitful."
They separate at the base of the stairs. While N turns towards the giant cave to the west, Touko heads east towards Striation City.
"It is possible that his position as a teacher, as well as his journey, have allowed him to improve his social skills."
"Yeah, that must be it."
Reshiram senses the melancholy behind its trainer's simple words. "Heroine."
"Don't worry, Reshiram. I'm just getting used to the fact that the people around here have changed. I wasn't lying when I said that from now on, I'm going to be there for my friends. And not just N."
The white dragon glances up from its luxury ball. "I do not doubt you will."
Meanwhile, N finds a group of Watchog hanging around the tall grass near the preschool. He approaches them with a friendly smile as he bends down to their height.
"Hello, my friends. Have you seen a little boy from the preschool last night?"
The wild Pokémon glance at each other before anxiously pointing at Wellspring Cave. N's gaze turns to the direction of their pointing.
"I see. He went into the cave?"
One of the Watchog shrinks away as it feebly shakes its head. The green-haired man catches the fear plaguing the Pokémon, and his grin is flipped upside down.
"What happened to him? Please tell me."
The Watchog all shake their heads, their frightened states preventing them from explaining any further. N pulls out a Sitrus berry for each of them as a way to quell their fears.
"Thank you, my friends. I guess I have no choice but to investigate the cave myself."
He continues down the path towards Wellspring Cave, but the moment he sees the entrance, he spots a Pokémon crawling out of the cavern. It drags its body until it can feel the sunlight, and once its blue body is illuminated, the Pokémon crashes into the dirt. Gasping, N sprints to the fallen Panpour and cradles the unconscious water-type in his arms. As he lifts the Pokémon up, he notes how its arms and torso are littered with many bruises. Its legs are visibly flattened, and many cuts mar its dirty face.
"How could this happen?" N mutters aloud. Making sure the Panpour is secured in his arms, he rushes back to the preschool. He barges in, startling everyone in the building, and places the Pokémon down on the first mat he sees.
"That's-!" Autumn gasps, repulsed by the Panpour's beaten state.
"Do you have anything to treat this?" N urgently asks. Autumn immediately hurries to the cabinet that has their first aid supplies while the teacher opens the freezer and pulls out an ice pack.
"We'll probably need to take Panpour to a Pokémon Center, but let's see what we can do."
N nods as he taps on his Xtransceiver. He scrolls through his tiny list of contacts until he reaches Touko's number. As he presses the call button, his mind drifts to a memory from a year ago, back to when he used to call his faded castle his home.
"N, how long are you going to hide away? This is not how someone should live their life! Come on! We're going to get you some new clothes and an Xtransceiver!"
Despite his protests, Mei grabbed his wrist and forcibly removed him from the shattered throne room. He was then transported to Castelia City, where he awkwardly stood in line with the actress in a tech store. She dumped a box into his hands, and while she explained the various features of an Xtransceiver, N discerned the outside of the box, eyeing the picture of the green communication device with a hint of wonder.
"N? Did you find anything?" Touko's voice passes through the Xtransceiver screen, bringing N back to the present.
"Touko, contact Cheren and ask him to bring Nurse Joy from the Nacrene City Pokémon Center. I want you to search for some berries in the meantime."
"Wait, why? What happened?"
"I have found a severely injured Pokémon. Please hurry."
N, Touko, and Cheren relocate to Nacrene City after Nurse Joy transported the Panpour to the Pokémon Center. Autumn has also come with them, while the teacher in charge of the preschool stays behind to watch over the worried children. After handing Panpour over to Nurse Joy, they reconvene in the waiting area, restlessly waiting and praying for some good news.
When Nurse Joy rejoins them, there is a deep frown on her face. N is the first to spring to his feet.
"How is Panpour?" he frantically questions the nurse.
"Panpour is resting at the moment," the pink-haired woman responds in a professional voice. "I have managed to bring him back to stable conditions, but his injuries are severe. Do any of you know how Panpour acquired these wounds?"
Cheren and Autumn shake their heads. N, on the other hand, turns his head to the doorway leading to the restricted area of the Pokémon Center and then immediately dashes towards it, ignoring the startled cries of his friends.
"N, you can't go in there without Nurse Joy's permission!" the gym leader scolds as he chases after him.
"I'm sorry about my friend," Touko apologizes to Nurse Joy, shooting the older woman a nervous grin, "He can't stand the thought of Pokémon being hurt, more so than anyone else."
"Is Panpour his Pokémon?"
The heroine gives a bittersweet smile. "No, Panpour is N's friend. Every Pokémon is his friend."
N feels sick. The number of wires hooked up to the water-type Pokémon gives him flashbacks of his time in his castle. A large number of wounded Pokémon, the look of distrust and despair on their faces as they retreated from his hand…
As the former king stares helplessly at the hospitalized Panpour, Cheren catches up to him. The gym leader sees the pained frown accompanying N's cloudy, gray eyes and holds his tongue back from lecturing N.
The tapping of footsteps begins to echo through the white hallways again. The sound attracts Cheren's attention, and he turns around to the sight of Touko and Nurse Joy dashing towards him.
"N…" Touko breathes out. Her green-haired companion continues to press his face against the viewing glass, unaware of the heroine's apparent concern. She walks to his side and runs her eyes down Panpour's beaten state.
"Who could have done this?" N mutters aloud, "Panpour was so close to…"
"I don't know," Touko simply says, "But it's awful."
"If only I could ask Panpour about what happened…"
No one moves for several minutes. Touko peeks to her right, watching as the agony on N's face persists. Her heart twists again, and a burst of determination surges through her.
To Cheren, she declares, "Let's go. We need to investigate Wellspring Cave."
Her childhood friend nods. "I can only imagine what the wild Pokémon who call that cave their home are going through. Let's proceed with caution."
As Cheren heads out of the ER, Touko is stopped by N's unusually quiet voice.
"I'm coming with you," he says.
The heroine takes another look at Panpour and then shakes her head, refusing his request to join her.
"You should stay here and watch over Panpour until he wakes up."
N's eyes once again flicker with conflict. "There's something extremely dangerous within that cave, and you were recently hospitalized from our battle against the giant shadow in Nacrene City. If something like that were to happen to you again…"
Touko flashes a wide grin that showcases her white teeth. "I'll be fine. Cheren will be with me, so he'll make sure I don't do anything reckless."
"Still-!"
"I promise that I'll come back in one piece. So, can I trust you to be there for Panpour until we find Doyle?"
"...Very well," he reluctantly concedes after seconds of intense contemplation, "Please be careful."
"You can count on me!" she reassures with another beaming smile.
As Touko rushes out of the Pokémon Center, N brings his gaze back to the unconscious Pokémon.
"What is this feeling that keeps interfering with my faith in Touko and her strength? Is this what it means to care for a human? No, it should be fundamentally the same as caring for a Pokémon. I must speak with Mei about this. She might be able to name what this feeling is. At this rate, it will cause me to doubt Touko."
On the way to Wellspring Cave, Touko fills Cheren in on her recent fights as a Precure.
"You've met the other Precure?" the gym leader repeats back to the heroine.
"Yes, but she is dead set on having me prove myself. What's worse is that I don't have a single clue as to who she could be."
"You do, Touko. Random as you think they are, her abilities, appearance, and even the way she talks can help you narrow down the list of potential candidates."
Touko resists the urge to slam her palm against her forehead. The thing stopping her from doing so is the fact that Cheren doesn't know how magical girls work.
"But then again, who actually does? I'm just going with the flow at this point…"
"I know you've never seen me transformed, but I look completely different from my normal self."
The teacher raises an eyebrow. "Really? Then, can you transform and show me what you mean by that?"
She forces her mouth shut. The image of her cutesy, fire-wielding magical girl self drifts over her head, and the bombardment of embarrassment she feels causes her face to boil with heat. Spotting her reddened cheeks, Cheren narrows his eyes at his childhood friend.
"Don't tell me you're embarrassed about being a magical girl?"
Touko snaps her head at almost whiplash speeds. "I am embarrassed! I'm kicking giant fusion monsters in a short dress and dainty little wings!"
"The dress is long enough to cover your thighs, and the wings are sturdy, despite their fragile appearance."
"The poses are ridiculous, and I can't believe what I say while in that form half the time. But I'm trying to get used to it because it's the only way to beat the Shadow Triad. Reshiram is lending me its power, and I will do what must be done."
They reach the branching pathway and head to their left. Cheren huffs, almost in bafflement.
"That does sound ridiculous. You would think that Reshiram would at least give you a cape," he jokingly suggests.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. How did I not consider that before?"
"Cheren, you better stop before you give Reshiram even more ideas..."
He releases a small chuckle before clearing his throat and steering them back to their original topic.
"Can you give me any details of the other Precure?"
Touko places a finger on her chin as she dredges up an image of the haughty magical girl.
"Her name is Cure Bolt. As you can guess, she can command lightning. I couldn't see much of her face or what she was wearing, but her hair was neon blue."
"That is hard to go off of," Cheren reluctantly concedes, "If she looks completely different in her civilian form, then she could be anyone in the region. The only other factor that can help narrow things down is that she's been a thorn in the Shadow Triad's side for a while. Maybe if we're able to figure out which Pokémon is lending her its power..."
The heroine closes her eyes and telepathically asks Reshiram, "Did you sense anything that might give us a lead?"
"I, unfortunately, did not. Her aura is being disguised by something."
"Disguised? Is that a side effect of transforming into a Precure?"
"It should not be. Whenever you transform, your aura is mixed with my power, and any Pokemon or human with enough affinity to read auras can distinctly recognize it as such."
"Could this mean that she is using a different method to transform? That makes a little bit of sense. I highly doubt she came across the same mechanism as you did."
"I have been meaning to ask this, but where exactly did you get my luxury ball from?"
The duo arrives at the entrance of Wellspring Cave. Touko stops in her tracks as her blue eyes widen in shock.
"Touko?" Cheren questions, frowning at her tensed body.
"I got it from Touya."
"Sir," Nurse Joy calls out to N, who is still peering into the window of Panpour's hospital room. Upon acknowledging the pinked-haired nurse, he registers the group of little kids behind her along with the teacher of the preschool and Autumn. Most of the children are carrying something in their hands, with some of them holding hand-drawn pictures of the water-type Pokémon, while others have wildflowers and berries picked from the trees lining Route 3.
But one girl, the one who had the pained frown and the clenched fists, is holding a white tag. She walks up to N and then takes a glance to her left, flinching at the sight of Panpour's broken state.
"T-This is my fault…" the little girl whimpers as her hand clutches the tag so tightly that no one can hope to separate it from her. "It's because I said those things to him…"
N bends down to her height and peers into her eyes, observing the thin line of unshed tears that the little child is struggling to hold back. His intense gaze frightens the girl, and she cowers as her clenched hand retreats to her chest.
"Please tell me what you mean by that," N urges. The young girl shifts her gaze to the floor.
"I-I…" she forces out as she sniffs back her tears. "I just wanted to know...why Doyle didn't want to play with anyone anymore. Ever since the teacher told us he's going to be staying at the school, h-he just sits in the corner...with P-Panpour. Then, last week, the teacher said that we were going on a field trip to Wellspring Cave. T-There is a stone statue there that can make wishes come true."
N's stare turns to the white paper in her fist. "Is that tag for your field trip?"
"Y-Yes. We write our wishes here, and then we were going to put them in the bowl under the statue. Everyone made one, even Doyle, but he didn't want to sh-share...s-sh..."
She succumbs to the urge to cry, launching herself into N's arms as she stains his white shirt with salty tears. It seems remembering what happened has rendered her incapable of finishing her recollection.
N doesn't know what to do. His hands scramble to do something, but they ultimately stay near the girl's back, unable to give her the comfort she needs.
Instead, he starts inferring what the little girl is about to say.
"He didn't want to share his wish."
"Yes," Autumn confirms as she pulls the crying child into her arms. "What he wanted was different from all of the other kids." She then releases the girl and whispers to N, "Come with me. I can't say what's wrong in front of the kids."
After Autumn asks the other teacher to watch over the kids, she and N turn the corner into a nearby hallway. Autumn's shoulders slump as she considers how to explain Doyle's situation to him.
Sensing her hesitation, N conveys his desire to elucidate the truth, "Why does that girl believe she is the cause of this?"
"Wendy and Doyle…they got into a fight a few days ago. When they were making their tags, Wendy wanted to know what he wished for. But after finding out his wish, she made fun of him."
A part of N is outraged at the callous disregard for Doyle's feelings. His wish must have been so important to him. She had no right to stomp on his heart. It's only after N remembers that she is regretting her actions that he calms himself down and thinks about the situation again.
"Making fun of someone's wish, especially when they were not willing to share, is not so easily forgiven," he states, "However, she does not know what Doyle's been dealing with. If she had that knowledge, perhaps she would have taken a different course of action. I remember her mentioning how Doyle had started staying at the school. Is that related to his wish in any way?"
Autumn lowers her head and softly answers, "Yes. You see…the reason he's staying with us is that…he has nowhere else to stay. His parents…dropped him off at the school one day and never came back for him. At the time, I thought they had gotten into some sort of accident and therefore couldn't pick him up, but after the police looked into it, they learned that Doyle's parents had deliberately left him at the school and had no intentions of taking him back. He's been abandoned."
N's heart sinks into an abyss. He feels his blood being drained away, leaving behind a chilling emptiness that intensifies with each second. The word "abandoned" loops in his mind and dredges up traumatizing memories of his past. Memories of a man in a giant cape and a maniacal gleam in his eyes reaching down to grab him...
"Ever since then, he's closed himself off and only plays with Panpour. I think…he knows his parents aren't going to come for him."
N glances at Panpour as his mind connects the rest of the puzzle that is Doyle's disappearance. "When Wendy made fun of his wish, he found himself in a pit of despair he couldn't escape from. Consumed by his loneliness, Doyle went to Wellspring Cave with Panpour without telling anyone in order to make his wish come true. How could such a thing happen to a small, innocent child like him?"
The sound of quiet sniffles grabs their attention. Autumn turns around and finds Wendy with tears flowing down her face. The little girl's voice struggles to push through her sniffling, "I-I'm…sorry-! I-I won't say…that again…so p-please…come back…"
Autumn goes to hold the girl again, and N kneels down to her level. His heart aches for Doyle and Wendy both. They remind him of how he and Touko were in the past.
Doyle and Wendy have to talk to each other. Not just so she can apologize, but also so that Doyle can learn why Wendy felt the way she did.
But for that to happen, Doyle has to come back. N places his faith in Touko and resolves to do all he can here.
"My friend will find him and bring him back," he reassures the little girl, "Let's wait for them and welcome them back with a smile."
When Cheren and Touko enter Wellspring Cave, the first thing they see are the masses of short rock pillars that litter the cavern. They create a maze with narrow passageways that weaves their way to the stairs leading to the bottom floor. As Touko squeezes her way through, Cheren takes a moment to run his hand down one of the pillars, noting how the composition of the rock formation is different from the material that the cave is made out of. He looks down and sees that the cracks on the floor branch out from the pillars.
"Cheren, did you find something?"
"From my observations, it seems we're only seeing part of what these pillars are. It's likely the bottom floor might be harder to transverse."
"I can sense the Kugeki's aura from these pillars. Someone here was turned into one."
"And that Kugeki was probably the one that put Panpour in such a state," Touko whispers to herself. Carefully maneuvering past the labyrinth of rock towers, the two trainers rush down the stairs to the bottom floor. True to Cheren's hypothesis, they are greeted with the sight of massive rocky "cages" littering the area. They extend to the ceiling and beyond, revealing themselves as the source of the rock formations on the previous floor. Touko walks up to one of the cages and finds a bulky hiker curled up into a ball. A sickening aura coats his unconscious body.
She quickly discovers that each cage is housing someone. The heroine scouts for any sign of Doyle or the Kugeki, but once she reaches the furthest part of the cave, a giant stone structure covers the elevated platform where the statue of Jirachi used to be. Large, red-orange crystals hang down from the ceiling, releasing pulses of heat. Cheren, in his long-sleeved dress shirt, begins to sweat the longer they stay in the area.
From within the cracks of the massive stone structure, a pair of gleaning red eyes seeps through, eyeing the intruders with a cautious gaze.
"The Kugeki...is this giant thing…?" Cheren gasps out. Touko grimaces at the dark energy lingering around the monster. It's considerably more intense than when she fought Yvette's Kugeki.
"Why did mommy and daddy leave me? What did I do wrong?"
"Was that Doyle's voice?" her childhood friend deduces. The heroine merely pulls out her luxury ball, bracing herself for combat.
"Transform, heroine. We must revert this Kugeki back."
Touko shoots an intimidating glare at her childhood friend. "Please don't judge. This is all Reshiram's doing."
Initially stunned by the offhand comment, Cheren eventually gives a shrug that tries to pass as nonchalant, but it only exposes the smugness he's hiding inside. "Don't worry. I'll give you an essay of what I think after we save Doyle." He attempts to make a light joke in the face of a terrible situation, and Touko feels the tension loosen from her shoulders.
"Please, no! I don't need you analyzing why my hair changes color!" she responds back, her uneasiness replaced with that familiar burst of determination.
She sucks in a shaky breath and holds up her transformation device. "Curing Fusion!"
The blinding column of light blasts away some of the rock pillars surrounding them. It instantly evaporates the water in front of it, and the lake rushes to fill the sudden gap. Touko opens her eyes and once again notices some changes in her transformation. Instead of two chokers, she can only feel one of them wrapping around the base of her neck. The armguard on her right arm is also gone.
"The Heroine of Truth, Cure Flare!"
When the light disperses, Cheren is momentarily blinded by the amount of white that is radiating off of the magical girl. Her aura illuminates the cave, a beacon of purity within a dark nightmare. The gym leader marvels at the sight, just like Bianca did when she first laid her eyes on the Precure.
On the outside, Flare's maintaining her confident posture. But, on the inside...
"You made edits again?!"
Reshiram impassively stares at her. "Yes. I almost considered replacing the armguard with a cape, as Cheren suggested."
"No, no capes! Ugh, I'll deal with you later!"
Almost like a trigger, the cave rumbles violently as the glowing red eyes hiding behind the rock formation flash dangerously. A rock pillar shoots up from under Flare's feet in an attempt to pierce her. She clumsily activates her wings and launches herself back, pushing off the erected pillar with her feet to gain momentum. The sensation of using her wings is like running with sore muscles, and the sudden burst of heaviness she feels prevents her from steering around the next attack. A jagged blade of rock bashes into her left side and sends her crashing into one of the cages.
"Tou-Flare!" Cheren quickly corrects himself as he worryingly calls out to his friend. She struggles to pick herself up, clutching the arm that was bashed against the cage as her wings shudder.
"This is bad. My movements are too sluggish. I don't think I've recovered from the battle with the giant shadow yet."
Flare finds herself leaping away from the Kugeki as more stony edges erupt from the floor. One of them bumps against her wings again, and she lets out a sharp gasp of pain. That one moment of vulnerability is enough time for several rock pillars to catch her and juggle her around until she hits the back wall of the room.
"You have pushed yourself too far last time. Your body, even after recovering for three days, has not regained its strength back. Focus on your defenses."
She quickly scans the area for Cheren, hoping that the Kugeki hasn't targeted him yet. He dashes towards her, not realizing he is susceptible to an attack from behind. The cavern rumbles, and a stalagmite made of the same, red-orange crystal that adorns the Kugeki breaks off from the ceiling straight toward the gym leader.
"Cheren!" Flare screeches as she launches forward with a burst of adrenaline. Cheren barely registers the sharp object heading towards him before the Precure blocks it with her bare hands. She prepares to toss the giant crystal aside, but when she encloses her fingers around the gem, a burst of light fills the room. The magical girl feels energy crawling throughout her blood, warming her up with fiery heat.
"W-What's happening?"
"This is...solar energy! I see now. This Kugeki was originally a Gigalith."
Cheren stares at his childhood friend as she is bathed in a light orange aura. A flash of movement sneaks into his peripheral vision, and he reacts to the sneak attack faster than Flare does.
"Stoutland, destroy that pillar with Superpower!"
Cheren's trusty partner is released from his Poké Ball, ready to execute the gym leader's orders. Before the Kugeki's attack can reach the magical girl, Stoutland charges forward and shatters the sharp pillar.
"Just like that, Stoutland! Let's give Flare some space to breathe!"
The canine-like Pokémon continues to fight the incoming wave of stone edges as Cheren repositions to Flare's side.
"Thank you, Cheren," the Precure sheepishly says. He smiles as if to dispel her hidden worries.
"I'm always ready to lend you a hand. It'll be like those times in our journey when we teamed up against Team Plasma. However, I feel like this is the most I can do."
Flare flexes her fingers, testing her body for anything unusual after absorbing the solar energy from the giant crystal, which has now dulled to a normal rock. "Alright, leave the rest to me."
She ignites her fists and flies forward, punching any rock pillars that got in her way. The magical girl, along with Stoutland, attempts to push past the waves of stone edges. As she bashes rocks, Cheren's Pokémon keeps a more defensive approach to protect his trainer from the Kugeki's attacks.
However, it seems that no matter how many stony pillars they crush, they are unable to force their way back to where they started. The Kugeki may be strengthening its defenses, but the barrier that it's creating is pushing them back towards the other end of the cave again.
Flare pants heavily after releasing a stream of fire that barely does anything to pierce the rocky wall. More sharp edges spawn from the ground, the ceiling, and even from the lake to encase the Kugeki in a cage reminiscent of a geode.
"Go away! You don't understand! You still have your mommy and daddy!"
"Doyle…" Flare mumbles out as she tries to find the right words to say to the morphed child. The Kugeki continues to wail, its red eyes rippling with anguish.
"I-I don't want to be with them! I don't want to hear them making fun of my wish! Even if they don't like their mommy and daddy, they still have them. They still have a family!"
"Making fun of his wish?" Cheren sputters.
Flare gasps as she recalls the little girl wearing a guilty expression when they first encountered Autumn. The pieces fall together, and they both have a picture of what really happened.
"So, that's what drove him to such a desperate decision," she wonders aloud.
In a motion that can only be described as struggling, the Kugeki unleashes an earthquake. Some of the spikes hanging on the ceiling snap off, threatening to crash into some of the rocky cages containing the human prisoners as well as Flare and Cheren.
"Stoutland, return! Cinccino, Bullet Seed!"
The Big-Hearted Pokémon is exchanged with a rodent-like Pokémon with an elaborate scarf wrapped around her neck. Cinccino, upon seeing the mass of sharp dagger-like rocks coming towards her, experiences a moment of panic before opening her mouth and firing a volley of seeds at speeds rivaling a machine gun. Her attack manages to stop the falling spikes from impaling her trainer and the magical girl.
As Cinccino's Bullet Seed protects them from damage, Flare aims a series of fireballs at the remaining stony edges. The cave continues to rumble, and the tremors of the Kugeki's earthquake increase in intensity.
"At this rate, we're going to get buried!" Cheren blurts out as he struggles to keep his footing. They're close to being backed against the wall.
"Any ideas on how to get out of this predicament?" the gym leader questions his friend as he recalls Cinccino. Flare quickly examines her surroundings, but all she can see are even more rocky edges sprouting from all corners of the cave.
"We need to use Solarbeam Flare if we want to end this before the situation becomes too dire."
"That is probably our best option, but it's too dangerous to release Scoria in this place. And I don't think one Sunny Day is going to be enough energy."
"Then we must somehow obtain more of those orange crystals. The densely compacted solar energy within them should be a suitable substitution."
"Cheren," the magical girl urgently hollers for her friend, "Those crystals...I'm going to need more of them!"
He bitterly frowns as if he already dissected the problem with her statement. "We can't even close the distance between us and the Kugeki. Unless your powers include telekinesis, I don't see a viable way for us to get them without getting impaled in the process."
At this point, the cave is starting to close in on itself. The ceiling is falling apart into masses of giant boulders, and the amount of space that the two can stand on is steadily decreasing. Flare activates her wings and flies up to face the Kugeki.
"We must make sure the Kugeki's attention is purely on us."
"I'll distract the Kugeki," the magical girl informs her friend, "While I have its attention, I want you to sneak up and get me a large chunk of that crystal. One should be enough."
Cheren immediately nods and releases his Stoutland back onto the field. There is no time for him to doubt the plan. Silently placing his trust in the Precure, he hops onto Stoutland's back and commands the canine Pokémon to take him to the other side of the cave.
After taking a few seconds to watch over Cheren, Flare turns her attention back to the fused monster. A fireball forms in both of her hands, glowing bright orange. She launches several at a stone pillar near the Kugeki's center, dodging any incoming pillars in the process, and it angrily wails.
"I hate Wendy! She gets to go home with her mommy and daddy! She said it's better if I didn't have a mommy and daddy! I hate her!"
Flare widens her eyes, and for a moment, her flames extinguish. The child's words have hit too close to home, and the magical girl finds herself thinking of her own family. Back to a time when it wasn't just her and her mom…back to when she had a dad in her life. Back to when her dad left her.
Despair overtakes her as her memories bring her back to a time she never wants to revisit. And…she remembers. She remembers the ugly feelings inside of her when she watched Cheren and Bianca walk around Nuvema Town with their parents from her bedroom window. She remembers how intense her feelings of envy were, and how many times she wished for them to leave her alone.
As the Kugeki howls, it sends a volley of sharp pebbles towards the Precure. Some embed themselves into her arms, shoulders, and upper body, but she hardly registers them, not when she's experiencing the far greater pain of re-living her past memories.
As Cheren's Stoutlant continues bashing an orange crystal, its trainer observes his friend limply hover in the air. She's dangerously close to dropping to the cave floor, and he lets out an annoyed click of the tongue. The Kugeki has reopened wounds within Flare's heart that have not fully healed yet. Cheren can sense anger and desperation coursing through him. He refuses to let her sink back into the past.
"Flare, don't give in!" Cheren shouts with all his might, "Show him that there are people waiting for him. People who are worried about him! People who don't understand his pain but want to! You're the only one who can give him that hope!"
The Kugeki begins to tremble in place as if holding back tears, "It's not fair! I want to go home with my mommy and daddy, but they don't want me anymore! No one wants to be with me!"
Stony edges slam down onto the Kugeki, breaking off several of the orange crystals from its body. The cave is rapidly collapsing as water pours in from the upper layer. Cheren hastily digs through the rubble to try and find a suitable piece to use. Stoutland picks up a bulky chunk lying in a nearby puddle and nudges his trainer with it.
"Thank you, Stoutland. Now, is there a faster way to get this to her without heading back?" Cheren mumbles to himself. He glances at the magical girl and then at his Pokémon. The Big-Hearted Pokémon barks once and jumps up, gesturing to the crystal to follow his movements.
"Of course!" the gym leader exclaims as he picks up the crystal and tosses it up a good distance into the air. "Stoutland, use Strength and send this straight to Flare!"
With an acknowledging howl, Stoutland pounces up and winds up one of his paws into a fist. A thin, white aura surrounds the tiny fist as the canine-like Pokémon socks the crystal with as much force as he can. Instead of shattering the glowing shard, the attack makes it soar through the cave. As it barrels its way towards the Precure, the crystal obliterates any falling rocky spikes that happen to land within its trajectory.
"Flare!"
With only a jerk of her arm, Flare catches the crystal and consumes the energy inside. Her body begins to radiate a harsh, white light.
"That's not true, Doyle," she slowly says, lifting her head to reveal a set of resolute, blue eyes, "Autumn, your classmates, Panpour…they're all waiting for you to come back. I'll deliver those feelings to you and drag you out to see the truth!"
All Flare can see is white. Cheren recalls Stoutland and takes cover next to a rocky cage, eager to witness just how a Kugeki is reverted back to normal. The aura surrounding the magical girl converges onto her pointer finger. She paints a circle in front of her and snaps her hand back.
"Precure Solarbeam Flare!"
She presses her palm against the circle of solar energy and releases a ray of pure white light. Her attack consumes the cavern and engulfs the Kugeki, burning away the geode-like cage and stripping the monster of its rocky exterior. The beam easily punches its way through the cave's walls, but thankfully, due to them being underground, no one can see the massive shaft of light.
The Precure struggles to pull air into her lungs after expelling the last of the energy stored up within her. She flies over to the end of the cave and searches for Doyle and Cheren.
"Cheren?"
"R-Right here...Flare. I've got to say that your attack was something else," she hears the gym leader from behind a crumbling pillar, "I'm grateful that it didn't obliterate my hiding spot."
She flinches, recalling the times when she did destroy a piece of the land during her battles. "Yeah...me too."
Cheren turns his attention to the massive hole in the wall.
"Where's Doyle?" he questions.
Both he and Flare transverse to the elevated platform, where, behind the Jirachi statue that managed to stay intact, they find the little boy sleeping peacefully next to an unconscious Gigalith. Flare sighs in relief and undoes her transformation. Once she does, though, the adrenaline fades away, and she collapses backward onto the hard floor.
"Touko! Are you alright?!"
"Y-Yeah, I might have pushed myself too hard again."
The gym leader exasperatingly shakes his head. Touko gestures to her bag with her head and says, "Can you bring out Ritsu? I don't think I can move."
Sighing, Cheren complies with her request and releases the water starter from his Poké Ball. The Samurott, upon seeing his surroundings, gaps dumbly at the destruction around him. He then sees his trainer on the floor, who gives the Pokémon a cheeky smile.
With a disgruntled groan, Ritsu hauls Touko onto his back. He growls softly, possibly scolding her for her recklessness. As Cheren calls out his Stoutland and climbs onto his back with Doyle in his arms, Touko turns her head to him and says, "Thanks, Cheren. If you hadn't snapped me back, I probably wouldn't have been able to save Doyle."
The gym leader softens his gaze, "Anytime, Touko. It's what friends do."
Cheren then looks back to the destroyed wall and cringes at what he sees.
"Hey."
"W-What's up?"
"I think you might have caused a portion of the surrounding forest to collapse."
"...Argh! Not again!"
Touko has never been more grateful for Lenora's generosity. Even with the reconstruction project, she was still willing to lend a hand in relocating the unconscious hikers and martial artists from Wellspring Cave to the Nacrene City Pokémon Center. Fortunately, the retired gym leader didn't question them too much about the state of Wellspring Cave, accepting Cheren's explanation of an earthquake striking the area when they went to find the child.
Doyle has been given his own room to recover in. The little boy wakes up a few hours later when nighttime has already fallen. When he opens his eyes, he's greeted with the sight of his teacher and Autumn, along with Touko, N, Cheren, and even Bianca, hovering over his hospital bed.
Autumn is the first to spring into action, cautiously wrapping her arms around the child as she sobs, "Oh Doyle, I'm so glad you're okay."
He sits there for several long seconds, staring at the mass of people who were waiting for him to regain consciousness. His eyes then water, and he clutches the purple-haired volunteer as he cries with her.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"No, no. Don't apologize, Doyle. It's alright. Everything's going to be alright."
As the teacher and student continue to hug each other, Touko whispers to N, "Did Panpour wake up yet?"
"No. Nurse Joy said it might take several days, maybe even weeks for Panpour to open his eyes again."
N's update only deepens the frowns on their faces. Autumn then pulls away from Doyle, and the boy glances at Touko. With a small smile, the heroine asks Autumn, "Can I talk to him in private for a bit? There's something I want him to know."
"Yes, of course. I'll go get Nurse Joy."
"Thanks."
Everyone else shuffles out of the room, though N eyes Touko as if he's considering listening in on their conversation before closing the door behind him. Letting out a yawn, Cheren adjusts his tie and announces that he's going to turn in for the night. Bianca glances back at the hospital room and then chases after Cheren, quietly fussing over his slight injuries.
Touko takes a seat beside Doyle. The boy shyly stares at her.
"Autumn told me about your parents," she starts.
He predictably tenses and grips his blanket. Touko softly continues, "I don't have a dad, either. He left me and my mom years ago. Even though his passion for adventuring was what brought them together, in the end, that same thing drove them apart. At least, that's what I think. I actually don't know why he left, even now. All I know is that he didn't want to be my dad anymore."
Doyle's eyes widen. Her daddy also didn't want to be with her, even though she's such a strong trainer? The shock on his face would have been funny if Touko was talking about something else.
"I felt the same things you did. I wanted my friends to go away because I was jealous of them. The longer I felt that way, the more I thought I shouldn't be with them. All of my sadness grew and grew until I couldn't hold it in anymore. And that was hurting my friends."
"But Wendy…she said…"
"That's because she didn't know the truth. She didn't understand how you felt, but you also didn't let her in. I'm sure there's a reason why she said that."
The little boy looks down, conflicted over her words, "If I tell her…will she say sorry?"
Touko flashes a wide grin, "Yeah, for sure."
Doyle's grip on his blanket tightens. Touko can see how he's trying to figure out what to do next, and while she thinks it's admirable, he should spend some more time before deciding.
"How about you get some rest first?" she says, "You need to get better before you can go back to school."
"Okay," he obediently mumbles, "Will they let me see Panpour?"
"When Panpour wakes up, yes."
The child seems satisfied and lays back down. She pats his head before standing up from her chair and exiting the room. When she turns to her right, she finds N leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Touko takes a step forward and feels her legs cave in. She trips, and moments before she bashes her face against the floor, N springs forward and catches her.
"Touko!" The heroine senses N shifting her body so that she's lying face-up.
"S-Sorry, N. I guess I'm going to need more sleep," she lightly chuckles out. She tries to play it off as nonchalantly as she can, but when she catches a glimpse of N's turbulent gray eyes, she stops laughing. He stares at her with an unreadable expression, a hard frown pressed onto his face.
Then, he picks her up, bridal-style, and carries her out into the waiting area towards their room.
"W-Wait, N! Put me down!"
"No. You're not leaving my sight until you've regained all of your strength. You are going to rest, even if I have to keep you in your bed myself."
Touko's frazzled mind malfunctions at his declaration. N takes her silence as her unspoken compliance.
A few days later, both Doyle and Touko are allowed to leave the Pokémon Center. N, true to his word, made sure Touko could not even lift her head off of her pillow. Her childhood friends had a good laugh through it all, relishing in her terribly hidden embarrassment.
As Touko, N, Cheren, and Doyle travel back to the preschool, the little boy clasps Touko's hand tightly. His pace slows down as they near the elevated plateau where his school lies. Once they reach the entrance, Doyle increases his grip on Touko's hand.
"Doyle, are you okay?" the heroine asks softly, "We don't have to go in right away if you're not ready to face them yet."
He lightly bites down on his bottom lip. "N-No, I...I can do this. It's just weird not having Panpour with me."
Cheren bends down to the boy's level and pats him on the head. "Nurse Joy is doing everything she can to make sure Panpour will be okay. Don't worry."
The little boy nods once and turns back to the door. His other hand inches forward, landing on the doorknob. The others can see that he's shaking in fear, and with a wordless agreement, they place their hands over the knob, gently reassuring the child that they're right behind him. Doyle twists the door open, and a chorus of "Welcome back!" invades his ears.
The classroom is decorated with many streamers and balloons, which have been taped to various parts of the play area. The tables are lined with cupcakes and cookies alongside many liters of juice. A burst of confetti explodes above Doyle, showering him in a rain of multi-colored paper.
"Surprise!" Autumn chirps as she sets off another party popper. Unable to process the sight, Doyle stands there silently, his jaw flung open from the shock.
"T-This is for me?"
Wendy, with a giant smile, grabs his hand and drags him further into the room. At first, he considers snatching his hand away. But when she hands him a chocolate cupcake, he allows himself to grab the pastry and take a large bite out of it.
"It's really good."
"I helped my mommy make them! Autumn said you really like chocolate."
He understandably flinches when the little girl mentions her mom. Both of them frown at each other; the words they wish to communicate are stuck in their throats.
"I'm sorry, Doyle," Wendy finally says, "I'm really sorry for making fun of your wish. I was super jealous you got to spend every day at school. School is fun! I liked being at school more than at home. But I didn't know you don't have a mommy and daddy anymore."
"I-I'm sorry, too," Doyle echoes back, "You always talk about how your daddy is always really strict and mean. He's super scary."
"Yeah! I don't get to do fun stuff when he's around. So...apology accepted?"
"Apology accepted."
"Really?"
"Yep."
His simple response brings back the girl's bright smile. "Then, from now on, I can be your sister!"
"But you can't be my sister, Wendy."
"Yes, I can! And Autumn can be your momma!"
The volunteer's eyes widen at Wendy's sudden proclamation. She catches on quickly, however, and reassures him that she can be his "mommy" until they can find him a new one. In the midst of all this, Touko and his friends observe the entire scene from the doorway.
"Your idea was a success, N," Touko states, proudly grinning at the green-haired man. N tips his hat down, clearly affected by her compliment.
"I didn't do much. They did all this on their own."
"Well, I'm glad everything got resolved in the end," Cheren sums up, crossing his arms as he watches several of the kids fight over the last chocolate cupcake. "It's going to take some time for his heart to heal, but I think he'll be alright."
"Yeah. I think so, too," the heroine agrees. Before the three of them have the chance to decide what to do next, Doyle runs up to Touko and gives her a large chocolate chip cookie.
"Thank you for saving me!" he beams.
She grins back. "It's no problem at all, Doyle. Just don't do anything like sneaking out on your own again, okay?"
"I won't! You were so cool, though! Like a real angel!"
His compliment shakes both Touko and Cheren to the core. Their bodies tense in unison, and shivers rack their spines. Sirens blare in their minds, prompting them to pick either a fight or flight response.
"Ahaha...t-that's...thank you?" the heroine feebly sputters out. The boy nods and heads back to his classmates. They hear snippets of his conversation with Wendy about how Touko managed to rescue him.
"And then she shot a giant Solarbeam! Like this!"
He mimics Cure Flare's pose, extending his arm out in a valiant effort to recapture the magical girl's epic moment. Wendy laughs and tells him how a human can't use a Pokémon move.
N gives that distant smile of his and says, "Kids have such active imaginations."
Cheren, seeing the opportunity before Touko does, merely replies back, "Yes, they do."
Profile: Stoutland
Cheren's signature Pokémon and the Big-Hearted Pokémon. Given to him by Lenora as a congratulatory gift for becoming a gym leader, Stoutland has faithfully stood by Cheren's side as he works to fulfill his dream. He's a slow but powerful Pokémon and is always ready to execute Cheren's orders. Stoutland loves children, and his trainer's students love grooming and playing on his back.
Gender: Male
Type: Normal
Nature: Brave
Characteristic: Sturdy body
Ability: Intimidate
Moveset: Superpower, Strength, Wild Charge, Crunch