This story was co-developed by Titan127 and beta read by ShonnaRose.
[2-1] Plague on the Wind
"Hey, Ciel!" Someone knocked sharp against the fiberglass door, each rap timed with audible revolutions of the engine. "Ciel. Ciel. Ciel. Ciel."
He fired a sly look over his book, not wanting to pull his nose too far from the scent of fresh paper. His sister hovered in the doorway to the cabin and knocked again. Her face was visible through the transparent port at the center. He said, "You know it's unlocked, right?"
She stopped knocking. She paused. Laina tugged hard and slid the door roughly open. Her red hair was frizzled and splitting because, as she discovered on the first night of the trip, she forgot to pack conditioner. "I'm bored."
"You've been bored for days, like five at least. I don't know what you expect me to do about it at this point."
"Give me a thing to do."
Ciel reached over to his side, into a pile of autobiographies, field guides, and training manuals, along with stacks and stacks of his own notes, and tossed a book her way. She failed to get a grip on it and juggled it in her arms, barely keeping it in the air but never quite closing her fingers around it. The book soared high, and on its fall, Laina smashed her elbows together and caught it between them.
Ciel kept his smile, trembling to withhold his laughter, hidden behind his pages. The afternoon sun vanished as the caravan transport passed under some dense trees. The constant feeling of the tires meeting road vibrated beneath them.
His sister examined the cover of the book and dropped it to the floor in disgust. Its flat landing boomed throughout the small room. Something within his pile of texts shifted in response to the impact, but it quickly vanished.
Laina groaned. "I want to be unbored, not doublebored. Why do you gotta be into boring stuff?"
"No celebrity got where they needed to go without learning as much as they could," he said.
"What about those hot guys that Mom likes to watch on Celadon Street Prowl?"
He tried to come up with an answer, but it died on his tongue. Instead, he notched his bookmark and closed the textbook he was reading to hold it up. "Okay, besides the point. Look!"
After blinking at it, she frowned. "It's… another textbook."
"Not just any textbook," Ciel said. "It's The Empirical and Statistical Manual to Pokémon Types, Sixth Edition. It's the single biggest text for the battling scene since the ESM 5 in 1996. People have been anticipating this book since it was announced, I think it was... four years ago."
"What people? I bet nobody is reading that except you," she said.
He pointed a finger at her and frowned, continuing to brandish the manual in his other hand. "I waited in line for five hours to get this opening night because I didn't want to wait until we got to Sinnoh. And can you blame people?"
Ciel tore the book open again to an earlier bookmarked page. It was a full, two-page spread depicting a labyrinthine flowchart, interlocking with arrows and footnotes. Each major node was a unique color representing an accepted and empirically tested battle Type, and eighteen were accounted for from the previous edition's chart.
This edition, however, had twenty.
"Two. New. Types." He could barely contain himself saying it out loud. Two new types! People who thought the reclassification of Fairy or the splintering of the old Rock type into Rock and Steel were big hadn't seen anything yet.
Light. Coded warm yellow. A type solely marked by energy synthesis in the body. As expected, tons of Light-type Pokémon were reclassified from or dual-typed with Grass, but the difference was that Grass types synthesize for nutrition while Light types explicitly do so for bioluminescence or to power their energy pathways rather than metabolizing chemical resources. Effective against Ice, Dark, and Ghost. Weak against Grass, Dark, and Dragon.
Sound. Coded mint green. It had been speculated for decades. The sheer number of moves utilizing sound waves, and the amount of Pokémon specifically resistant or vulnerable to vibrations made it a viable classification option. It was only a matter of time, and the time was now. Effective against Rock, Flying, Bug, and Psychic. Weak against Steel, Ground, and Electric.
His sister stared straight through the book, him holding it, and the wall behind him. "So is that cool, or…?"
"Well, I think it's cool. I'll catch a Light or a Sound-type Pokémon as soon as I can. I need to practice with the new Types to stay ahead of the curve," he said. He jotted a note for later in one of his open notebooks.
His mound of books shuffled again. From a hole in the pile, a paw on a spindly—though muscular—leg emerged, at first stretching and then hanging limply in the air. It was dressed in white fur, black claws emerging from the paw.
Laina dug with her hands, throwing things around the cabin, until she exposed a tract of white she could rest her face onto. After a few moments of silence, the purring began. He could hear it despite the mounds of junk piled atop his partner.
Ciel leaned over and peeled back one last book to see the half-asleep and blissful, yet still somehow dodgy, expression of his partner. The black sickle extending from her head was wrapped in a knitted mitt to prevent its edge from touching anything while she slept. Raven tilted her view ever so slightly to sneer at him.
"Are you comfy?" he asked.
He took her wide yawn as a yes. By the end of this trip, his luggage and belongings would be covered in enough hair to clog his sinuses for days. He already went through enough lint rollers as it was.
He had to admit, a nap seemed inviting right at that moment. Four days on a nearly non-stop road trip had him feeling out of it, no matter how fun it was to see the sights. Just himself, his sister, and his Absol dozing the rest of the drive away sounded like a real treat. However, a voice came over the box speaker hanging from the cabin roof.
"Attention passengers, all two'a ya. We'a short bit from Coumarine City and the Berlitz Tunnel, but we ain't stoppin again until we get to Canalave. Thanks for ridin' with us."
"Ugh, finally!" said Laina, muffled into Raven's side. After a few more seconds, she pulled back and stole a deep breath. "We can get to the good part."
This was it. One last leg until their adventure could begin in Sinnoh. Any thoughts of sleep in his mind were instantly destroyed. Ciel shot to his feet, simultaneously empowered by the news and crippled by pins and needles. He stood strong and held a fist in front of him.
"Yeah. You got that right. Let's get this show off the road."
Ciel's jacket meant forward. It was a gift from his father, and a promise to keep going no matter what. As it fell around his shoulders, he embraced its empowering weight. The gray exterior was durable, while the black lining hugged him warmly.
His quick glance outside showed nothing beyond the vehicle's window. They were trapped by the rocky walls of a wide underground passage, void of all outside illumination. The occasional glimmer of gemstones nestled in the rockface pierced the darkness, and every once in a while, an oncoming train on the tracks parallel to the passenger road would cause the tunnel to explode into light. Ciel hovered by the window as he organized his luggage. He wanted to catch glimpses of the underground architecture in those camera-flash moments.
It took him a few hours to get everything together. He couldn't catch any more lights outside, so maybe there was a gap in the train schedule.
After struggling to jam his strewn belongings into his biggest suitcase—and just now wondering why the ratio of clothes to books was one to three—he collected the rest of his personal items. His water-damaged, half-dead Poké GEAR on his wrist and three Poké Balls clipped to his boot, he was ready.
Well, almost. Before he put it in his pocket, he cracked open his new custom-order badge case. One half of the eighteen recesses were filled. Zephyr. Hive. Plain. Fog. Storm. Mineral. Glacier. Rising.
As beautiful as they were, Ciel was far more captivated by the shining emblem that sat central to the badges.
"The Johto Challenge Sigil. Just like a Badge, it's physical proof that you've conquered the entire Johto Region."
Lance, Champion of Indigo, had personally delivered it to him alongside his eighth Johto League badge with a small smile, a nod, and a world of confidence between his eyes. The same eyes that had watched hundreds of Ciel's betters rise to the World Trial.
He had also been the one to arrange this trip, dispatching Ciel to another Region to collect the second Challenge Sigil he needed to enter the World Trial himself. He believed it wasn't an endorsement. It was a dare.
One day, he would be as famous as Cynthia and Lance. Ciel didn't inherently care about the money, the status, or the connections, and the position—Gym Leader, Elite Four, Champion, World Champion—didn't matter. He didn't care where he ended up as long as he could grasp the indescribable power that those with fame were afforded. He'd clench his fingers around it and wield it like a legendary weapon.
It was the only way he could always be there for his friends, his family, and his Pokémon. Just being beside them to make them smile wasn't enough because he couldn't be everywhere at once for every person who needed him.
But, if everyone on Kibra knew the name Ciel Fauder, their happiness would always be within his reach.
He believed Lance wanted to see him up there one day. Who was Ciel to deny him?
One he finished tidying the cabin, Ciel stepped out into the truck's common space. The vehicle itself was the deranged offspring of an RV and a hauling truck. The front car contained three cabins, two for alternating drivers and two guest spaces, plus a toilet and a shower, all glued around the main motor like some engineering student procrastinated on their final. It tugged a covered trailer behind. What the load was, Ciel wasn't brave enough to ask.
He passed one of the two crew members, a woman named Kyoka, who slapped a rough hand into his shoulder blade. "How's the studying going, tournament boy?"
"Fine, fine," he said. The nickname came from the first day of the trip, where he caught her staring at him on the far side of every room in the vehicle. It started to weird him out until she finally confronted him, cornered him almost, to ask if he had participated in the Goldenrod Showdown.
He had. Twice, actually. Apparently, she was a big fan of competitive battling, and had anxiously awaited his return to the tournament after his Gym Battle with Whitney Akane appropriated his first attempt. Any creepiness was punted aside by the ego boost. Someone was excited to see him. That was one step down from being famous.
"Well, don't read too hard or you'll blow your brains out. I suck at cleaning this place as is," she said before disappearing into her cabin.
He waved her an uneasy goodbye and stepped up to the front, putting a hand on the occupied driver's seat headrest. Through the wide, wrapping windshield, the headlights just barely illuminated the underground passage a few meters ahead of them. If it weren't for the rumble of the truck beneath him, he'd have no idea they were moving at all.
The driver, Ujenn, flicked her eyes at him with her bulging arms tight on the wheel. "How ya' liking the Underground so far? Not very comfy like yer used too, huh?"
"It's... cool? Though, I have to say, I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic." He leaned towards the windshield and angled himself to spy the roof of the tunnel. Jagged rocks passed overhead and threatened to cut gashes into their transport.
At least it was a little more comforting than the earlier leg of the trip between the shores of Kalos and Sinnoh. Though that was a well-lit concrete tunnel—the Berlitz Tunnel, she had said—unlike the rest of the Sinnoh underground, it couldn't distract him from the heavy ocean suspended above. He specifically requested a land trip. He wanted to avoid the sea at all costs.
The woman laughed. It was loud and grating, but genuine. "Well, yer' taking it better than most city folk that get the rundown. I was surprised ya could understan' me."
"I've heard stronger accents," said Ciel.
"Kan du forstå meg nå da?" she shot back, with a wicked grin. Though her calloused hands never left the wheel, her eyes left the road to find him.
Ciel slunk back from her gaze a bit, not sure what to say. He rubbed his cheek and laughed half-heartedly under his breath. However, it only intensified her taunting. She threw a few more jabs in what he believed was Sinnohan.
His eyes flicked to the windscreen. The cast headlights raced back towards their origin.
"Hey, watch out!" he shouted.
Ujenn floored the brakes and Ciel was flung towards the front. He barely managed to hold himself back with his hands on the dashboard as the entire vehicle shuddered to a stop. It probably lost a few parts judging by the sounds.
When the truck finally jerked backwards at a stop, Ciel raised his head. Across their entire view, an abrupt wall of boulders filled the space of the tunnel. The headlights reflected off the gem shards in the rubble.
"Drit." A heavy breath escaped the driver as she leaned back in her seat. "Good call, kid. Hate it when this happens."
Laina and Kyoka appeared, dazed, from their own cabins. The former mouthed a "what" and all he could do was shrug. The latter asked as she stepped up to the front, "Hey, why the stop? We're gonna fall behind schedule."
"Not sure we got a choice, hun," said Ujenn.
Ciel pulled the transport's main door open. He hovered his foot past the access steps for a few moments before he lowered himself onto the unseen ground. Not waiting for his eyes to adjust, he followed the lights to the front of the truck. It was further illuminated when the following convoy vehicles pulled to a stop and idled behind the leader.
The stale air burned into his lungs, forcing Ciel to fight his way forward. He stood at the obstacle in their path and held out his hand against the barrier. It was the last thing standing between himself and the Sinnoh Region. He could feel the soft motion of his partner brushing against his legs as she examined it herself. Raven took a seat. Waiting. Expecting.
Ujenn called from the door, "Hey, don' worry about the blockage. Happens all the time. We're calling it in, and the other side's probably sent Trainers out to blast it already."
"They blast these things?" He turned back to her. "It won't collapse the whole tunnel?
"The rock here is tough, and it's got some plate frame. We can usually—" She stopped short. "Wait, what're ya thinkin'?"
Ciel shot her a grin, knowing he was fully illuminated in front of the truck's headlights. "Have your trucks back up a good distance. I have some firepower."
"Well… aight. Give it a go. Yer Poké Balls should work, they rout signal under for stuff like this," the woman said. She disappeared inside the vehicle and reappeared at the windshield to talk on the CB radio.
Ciel retrieved two of the capsules on his boot and leveled at partner. "You step back too, Raven. This is a bit out of your element."
Begrudgingly, she took place at his back and curled up on the stone floor, obviously disappointed that she didn't have something to hit or bite or tangle with. Pouting, just like his sister. No wonder they got along.
He tossed the two Poké Balls forward and was temporarily blinded by the neon light of the materialization beams. Two creatures gained form within the beams, reconstructed from exabytes of data.
One, a lithe-yet-bulky mammal, stood low on four limbs. As his consciousness returned, he stood up on his hind legs and his neck burst into flames brighter than the neon itself. His Typhlosion, Arden, revved his internal engine.
The other he had yet to fully adjust to. Overlapping plates and a horned snout defined themselves as the data poured in, framing a bulky bipedal body with a muscular tail. He was smaller than the average member of his species, but no less powerful. He was no longer the Rhyhorn that had shared his journey for over a year. Hector had evolved into Rhydon.
These three were the Pokémon he'd decided to brave Sinnoh with, leaving behind two that had accompanied him through the Johto Region. He believed them best suited to the cold, and his best bet to tailor a new team to the Sinnoh Gym Challenge. They stood mighty, awaiting their orders.
Ciel took command, "Hector, step between me and Arden and take defensive position. Arden, give the wall everything you have. We need to weaken the rock."
His Typhlosion affirmed with a growl and stepped up. As he formed a fireball deep in his gullet, his collar fired at full strength and curled high enough to lick the ceiling rocks. Arden let loose.
An infernal beam roared against the rock surface. Immediately, the tunnel began to boil. Ciel was partially shielded by Hector, whom he knew barely felt such heat at all, but he still felt his skin begin to burn under the emanating waves. The rocks turned molten under the continuous bombardment.
At last, Arden ceased his burning and stepped back. The nearly vaporized landslide was an effective substitute for the truck's headlights, which had backed off further down the tunnel to avoid damage.
Ciel nodded to his Rhydon. "Alright, Hector. Carve it open."
At his command, the drill on Hector's snout spun at high speed. He reared back for a moment before slamming his entire body into the molten wall. The power from Hector's muscles, focused into a single point on the weakened stone, was more than enough. It burst. Stray debris fired in every direction, and the boulders blasted deep into the tunnel.
Ciel felt the rumble from the initial impact through his body, and his teeth ground against each other as the ground's vibrations raced up his feet to his chest to his head. He held up his hands to protect himself, though nothing ever hit him. Hector threw his limbs wide as he could to catch any debris between Ciel and the wall. A single, slanted eye within his plates found his Trainer.
"Thanks, buddy," Ciel said, happy to avoid the scratch or two he expected.
Looking past his Pokémon, he stared into the gap they had created. Though the lights behind him were evidence of a grounded world, there was nothing ahead. Even if the tunnel's fading walls suggested that it continued, could he really be sure? Was there really anything beyond the limits of his senses?
A chilling wind blew from within the portal. He shivered and held his jacket tight. It confirmed that there was at least something in the beyond.
Ciel looked at his team. "Well, it should be wide enough for road traffic, but we should clear debris off the tracks. Hector, can you—"
A weak growling caught his attention. His head snapped to his Absol. Her limbs were shaking, but she couldn't seem to move. She was completely wracked by shivers from that wind. And then she fell.
"Raven!" Ciel rushed up to her and caught her before she hit the ground. Her muscles were so stiff. What was happening to her? Heaving his partner up into his arms—she was much heavier than she looked—he darted back towards the headlights down the tunnel. Ujenn leaned out the door to meet him. "Hey, I cleared the rocks! But, for some reason, I don't know, something happened to my Pokémon."
Then he saw the expression on her face. It was unable to meet his own. And it was pale. He held his partner tighter, not sure what it meant.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Bring her inside. Come," the woman said, though there was no urgency in her voice. She turned her back on him. "I talked with other drivers on'a radio. A thing's… happened."
Whatever this invitation was, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. After calling to his other Pokémon to come back to the truck, he stepped up himself, hoping he wouldn't have to stand the desolation of the tunnel any longer.
We get to meet another of our major protagonists. For those of you who have read Anew, it's been about a year in real time since you last saw him. I really like the difference between the wanderlust-stricken kid at the beginning of that story and the more goal-oriented, confident person seen here. Hopefully, he's grown up in a satisfying way.
Since I ended up posting this today, happy Gen IV remakes! Admittedly, I was a little less exited for them because I knew well in advance it would happen due to rumors, plus these are the first remakes that I played after having played the original games, so they lack a bit of the novelty. However, I'm still excited for them (especially writing this now), and that Legends game looks neat! I just must get over it trying to convince me that Poke Balls existed hundreds of years ago. Just don't think about it.
Next is 2-2, Underworld Above. See you someday!