Chapter 7 - A Fated Encounter
Jay trudged forward through the desert. Everything below the horizon was dull yellow sand, and everything above was the deep blue of a cloudless sky. He desperately wished that there was a break in the two endless seas of color, be it on the ground or in the air, to provide some shade from the sun's oppressive rays.
You picked a really bad day to start being optimistic.
It had been a few hours since they set out from the mesa town, and Jay wasn't sure how much more he could take. The sun was finally beginning to dip towards the sand, but it would be a while before the cool relief of nightfall fell upon them. He was overheated, his fur was soaked in sweat, and…
Wait, was he panting?
"Alright, wait, we need a break," he croaked out, his throat as dry as the desert around him.
Bliss stopped and turned to face him. "What, all that steel starting to melt?" Despite the challenging note to her voice, it was still just as scratchy as his was. Apparently the heat resistance that fire types had didn't extend to preventing dehydration.
"…Pretty much, yeah." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a canteen, taking a few swigs from it. As he drank, he fished around with his other paw for another canteen and offered it to Bliss.
"Fine." She accepted the water begrudgingly. Despite her best efforts to make it look like she was only taking a few light drinks from the canteen to humor Jay, it was empty when she handed it back to him. "You good now?"
Jay put his own empty canteen back into the satchel. "Better, but I really need to rest for a while. Didn't you say there was an oasis somewhere ahead?"
"If you wanna detour from our path to the ruins, sure. Should be somewhere on our left over one of these dunes. Dunno how far off we are, though."
Jay squinted his eyes against the harsh light in the direction of the supposed oasis, hoping to catch a glimpse of some palm trees poking out above a sandy hill. Still nothing but yellow and blue as far as the eye could see. "Honestly… I don't think I'll be able to make it if I don't get some shade soon."
"What about your fancy aura barriers? We both know how well they block out heat; they could make for good shade."
"I… don't know how."
Bliss gave him an incredulous look.
"What? It's true, I don't!"
She sighed and ran a hand through the feathers on her head. "You're right. I guess I must've just been imagining those shiny blue energy walls that kept blocking attacks."
"No, I mean I don't know how to do it at will. It just… happens."
"Yeah, that's how techniques work. You get a feel for them, you hone in on that feeling; boom, you can repeat it. Like, every time I need to throw out a fire wave, I think about this one time these two chumps tried to mug me. They were both bug types, the idiots."
"Why were you getting mugged by bug types?"
"The point is how I felt. All the heat that flared up, not wanting to let them get away with it. And any time I wanted to do it again, I focused on that feeling again. Now it's like second nature, y'know?"
Jay glanced down at his paws. "That makes… a lot of sense, actually."
The blaziken rolled her eyes. "Don't act too surprised. So, how'd you make the shield?"
It was a fair question: just how did Jay manage to create the aura barriers? The only commonality that came to mind was combat instinct; he was in a dangerous situation, and just like his fighting type strength kicked in, his aura powers decided to actually work. "I guess I just have to feel… threatened enough? Like, both times it's worked I've been really, really desperate, and it just happened reflexively."
"Gotcha. There's an easy way to see if you're right, too."
"Well, it has to be pretty life-or-death for me to–"
Bliss dashed forward, flames engulfing her leg.
Jay stumbled back on the uneven sand. With no other options, he threw his paws in front of him and tried to will an aura barrier into existence to block the attack.
Sadly, the only thing that Jay produced was a cry of pain as the attack connected with his side, sending him flying. He landed on his back in the sand a few feet away; it was a painfully familiar experience.
Before he could recover from his dazed state, Bliss had made her way over to him. She reached down and fished around in his satchel, pulling out an oran berry and offering it to him. "Looks like that test was a bust."
Jay glanced between the berry and the blaziken offering it, stunned. "Test? You attacked me!"
"Seemed like the best way to see if you were right." Her expression betrayed no malintent; in fairness, knowing what Jay knew about her, this was probably her best attempt at being helpful.
He sighed and accepted the berry. "Alright. But next time, can you pull your punches a little?" He gave his scalding side a tender rub; it had just healed from the arena fight.
"First of all, that was a kick, not a punch," she corrected, "Did you hit your head when you landed or something? Second, if I didn't attack with full power, it wouldn't have been an accurate test."
Jay simply ate the berry; there was no use in arguing further. If nothing else, he could be thankful for the refreshing oran juice. Although he felt warmer than ever thanks to his companion's 'test', at least he wouldn't be as dehydrated, and hopefully the regenerative effects of the fruit would sustain him on the rest of the journey.
Bliss looked contemplative as he finished off the berry. "So, got any more bright ideas?"
"Actually, I think I'm good to keep moving now."
"If you're sure." She extended a hand to help him up.
Jay reached out to take it, but stopped as his ear flicked. Something was rumbling… and it was getting louder. "Bliss, do you hear that?"
She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Hear what? Did you actually hit your head?"
He lowered his ear towards the sand, pinpointing the source of the noise as something underground.
Wait, an underground rumbling that's getting closer…?
Before he could shout out a warning or scramble to his feet, a deafening boom reverberated through the ground. They were sent careening through the air, a torrent of sand whirling around them. Jay yelled out and closed his eyes as he fell to the earth once more.
To his surprise, the landing was soft and painless. He had expected the sand to be far more unforgiving than the plush, feathery surface that had cushioned his fall. Perhaps he had gotten lucky and landed on the softest patch of sand in the desert?
He was distracted from his thought process by the sensation of a thousand pinpricks stinging his skin from all angles; somehow the underground shockwave had created a full-on sandstorm. It took a few attempts to force his eyes open, but eventually he managed to squint against the onslaught of sand. He couldn't tell what had caused the attack, but–
Wait, you landed on something feathery?
He didn't have time to glance down before the blaziken below him gave a shove, sending him toppling off of her. "I know you couldn't help landing on me, but I'm not a pillow. Come on, we've got company!" She sprung to her feet, ready to fight.
Jay wasted no time in following her example and rose as well. "Sorry. Did you see what attacked us?"
"Nope, but they've gotta be close." Bliss's eyes scanned the sandy torrent that surrounded them; it was so dense that they couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction. With a groan of frustration, she moved closer to him, putting her back to his. "Keep an eye out."
"Alright." Jay stood there for a while, his back to the blaziken as they watched what little of the desert that they could actually see. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as the sand swirled around them; even if he was getting more accustomed to combat, the suffocating anticipation still remained.
Then, in an instant, the sandstorm cleared.
Light flooded in from every direction as the sandy veil fell. When Jay's eyes adjusted, he was met with an unwelcome sight: they were surrounded. He swiveled around, taking note of the strangers: a swampert in front, an archeops to the side, and a graveler behind. The pokemon made an uneven ring, and they didn't look friendly. His anticipation morphed into tangible fear.
The swampert stepped forward, wearing a confident smirk. "Well, well, well, what do we have here… A blaziken and a lucario, of all things? Looks like it's our lucky day."
The archeops tapped his claws together nervously. "Uh, boss, are you sure this is a good idea? Aren't lucario really strong? Are you sure we can take them?" He sheepishly looked back and forth between Jay and the swampert.
A booming laugh echoed through the desert. "Of course," the swampert affirmed, "No pokemon is a match for our sheer power! This desert belongs to the Grounder Gang!" The water type resumed his hearty chuckling; the two lackeys joined in, albeit with less certainty.
Jay felt a wave of lightheadedness wash over him; he was already overheated and exhausted, and the rising panic only served to further disorient him. He struggled to ground himself; they had made it out of a similar situation earlier that day. All he had to do was keep calm and think, and a solution would surely present itself.
"These guys are morons." Bliss's voice pulled him from his thoughts, though Jay could barely hear it above the laughter. The blaziken's gaze remained firmly fixed on the marauders, and she moved her beak as subtly as she could. "They left a gaping hole in their defense. We're gonna crash right through."
Jay's heart soared, though he did his best to not let his face betray it. "What's the plan?"
"See that spot over there?" Her head tilted slightly towards a bare patch of sand; it was the biggest gap in the perimeter the outlaws had set up. "Follow my lead, and–"
Bliss was cut off as an excadrill emerged from the exact spot she had been motioning towards. "Sorry I'm late, boss! What's so funny?"
Embers shot out from Bliss's hands as she groaned in annoyance. "Great."
The leader of the gang motioned for the others to stop laughing and gave his newly arrived lackey a nod. "Good subterranean sandstorm; they never saw it coming." He turned back to Jay, fixing his eyes on the satchel. "Now, we would be happy to let a revered species such as yourself pass through our desert… for a modest fee. That looks like a fine bag, and we'd be honored to accept it as payment."
Jay was taken aback. "But… we would die out here without supplies…" He had to think; he was so close to making it home. "Can't we make a deal? We can give you all the money we have, and you can let us pass." A quick glance at Bliss revealed that she was vehemently against the deal, but he pressed forward regardless. "It'd be a win-win, right?"
The swampert narrowed his eyes. "Ah, yes, a negotiator. Lucario are as eloquent as they say. Still, this is our land, and if you don't want to feel the full unbridled extent of our wrath, we'll take the entire bag.
It was an absurd demand and Jay knew it. "Alright, can you give me some time to check with my… partner?" He gestured awkwardly to the blaziken at his side.
"Go ahead, but we'll be watching. Don't try anything clever."
Jay nodded and turned to Bliss, keeping his voice low. "So, what's the backup plan?"
She glared at him. "First I'll tell you what it isn't. We're not giving these crooks a single coin, and especially not the reviver seed."
Jay sighed. "I just want to get to Jirachi in one piece, but if they're not going to compromise…" He gave the thieves a sideways glance; they watched the duo attentively. "If you've got a plan to fight our way out of this, I'll follow your lead."
Bliss shook her head. "We could probably take one out if we moved fast enough, but we'd be getting smacked by attacks from every angle the whole way. For overconfident idiots, they have a pretty tight hold here."
"Well…" Jay racked his brain. "Well, what if we take out the leader? The others seem to listen to him, so maybe they'll get scared and run off?"
"That guy's the reason we have a problem. One torrent of water and I'm as good as snuffed. We'd never get close enough."
Something sparked in Jay's mind. "…Unless you had a shield."
She blinked at him in surprise. "You sure?"
"Well, I have to be really desperate for it to work, right? And we can't let these guys take all our supplies." He closed his eyes and focused. He could feel that same sixth sense he had felt back in the cave and in the arena lingering at the edge of his perception. "I have to at least try. I'll tell you when."
Bliss gave him a nod. "I can launch some fire at–"
"Hey. That's enough." The swampert tapped his foot impatiently. "No more whispering. Are you giving up the bag, or are you prepared to face the most powerful gang in the desert?"
Jay closed his eyes and honed in on the shield. As hopelessly outnumbered as they were, he'd overcome his face share of poor odds in the last few days. He just had to be smart and stay focused on what he was fighting for. His sister was counting on him to make it home, and Bliss was counting on him to shield her.
Silence hung in the air and Jay opened his eyes, surprised that he hadn't been interrupted mid-thought. Bliss and the outlaws were all looking at him expectantly. "Oh, right, you're all waiting on me to go first. Sorry." He drew in one last deep breath and yelled out the signal: "WHEN!"
Jay dashed towards the swampert and extended an arm as it was coated in a brilliant blue glow. He could see the oncoming stream of water through the translucent barrier, but the attack was reflected harmlessly as he continued to advance.
He risked a glance to his side and saw a streak of fire fly towards the excadrill, who yelped and burrowed back into the sand to avoid the attack. He whipped his head in the other direction when he heard the archeops squawk in distress; the bird was running in circles, wing on fire.
Jay turned his attention forward once more as he neared the swampert. The hydro pump tapered off as he entered melee range. He dropped the barrier and threw a punch into the outlaw's stomach. The swampert shrugged off the attack and slapped Jay across the snout, sending him sprawling into the sand.
Bliss was right behind him for the followup and landed a swift kick across the swampert's face. The water type stumbled back, and Jay used the opportunity to scramble to his feet.
Even still, the outlaw chuckled. "You two are bold, I'll give you that. But this is our territory, and our power here is unmatched."
Bliss scoffed. "If you keep ranting about 'power', I'm gonna fry you so badly that you'll–"
Bliss cut herself off with a yell as the graveler slammed into her and sent her skidding away from Jay and the swampert. Jay's eyes widened as Bliss was driven back; he had forgotten all about the fourth gang member.
The blaziken regained her footing as the graveler rolled towards her once more. She dove to the side to avoid the rock type, only to be knocked even further away by a gust of air from the archeops, who had taken to the skies.
"Bliss!" Jay tried to move to help her, but he didn't make it more than a single step before the crushing force of the swampert's arm slammed into his stomach. He slumped over in the sand, gasping for air.
The swampert loomed over him. "Getting distracted so easily in a fight? Or perhaps you've realized that you're doomed to lose. Either way, I'll be taking my toll." The pokemon bent down to roughly pry the satchel from Jay's shoulder.
"No… you… won't!" Jay backhanded the swampert, slashing one of the patches on the criminal's face with his spike. The swampert reeled and Jay used the distraction to stand up and take a few steps back. "You're not taking anything from anyone."
The outlaw stopped clutching his face and let out another laugh. "Who can stop me? Your 'partner' is being dealt with as we speak, and you can't muster enough strength to contend with me. That punch earlier was pitiful."
Jay narrowed his eyes. His breathing was labored and he felt like he was about to fall over, but that just made the situation all the more familiar. "The last time I heard a pokemon say something like that in a fight, it didn't end well for them."
The swampert took on a defensive stance. "Your move, then."
Jay started forward. He threw his arm in front of himself as the swampert unleashed another jet of water. This time, though, Jay only managed to create a weak pulse of blue light. The water crashed into him and knocked him off his feet.
He struggled to stand, but was knocked flat on his back by another torrent of water. The drenched desert sand around him felt more like quicksand as it clung to his fur, dragging him back down as he tried to rise.
The swampert strode forward confidently, grinning. "Most mons don't like sand, I've found. Sticks to everything, gets everywhere. Now pay up; I'm running out of patience."
Jay gazed past the outlaw, catching sight of Bliss still fighting in the distance. She got a solid hit on the graveler, sending the rocky pokemon tumbling to the ground. The archeops tried to launch another wind attack at her, but she rolled out of the way and countered with a blast of fire.
All Jay needed was time. "Okay, I'll give you the bag, but there's something I have to tell you about what's inside."
The swampert stopped his advance. "Oh, what's that?"
"We have a reviver seed in here. So you'd better not accidentally lose it."
"A reviver seed?"
"Yeah, you know, a reviver seed. It has really powerful healing abilities, it's rarer than just about anything else…" He racked his brain for more of what he knew about the item. "I think it comes from a magic tree?"
The outlaw crossed his arms. "You're bluffing."
"Well, I try not to lie. So it's really lucky that we have something that made for a perfect distraction."
"…Distraction?"
Jay pointed a paw to the area behind the swampert. "Yeah, distraction."
The swampert didn't get the chance to turn around before Bliss's leg collided with the back of his head, sending him toppling forward onto the sand. She looked down at the fallen outlaw, smirking.
Jay simply lay there in the damp sand, too exhausted from the fight to rise. In a way, he was actually thankful for the swampert's attack; his drenched fur provided some much needed cool relief to the desert sun. "Thanks, Bliss."
She gave him a thumbs up but kept her focus on the swampert. "For all your big talk, your gang was pathetic. What about all that 'power' you were ranting about?"
The swampert clutched his head. "How… we had every angle covered… how did you take them all out?"
Bliss tilted her head to the area behind her where a cracked graveler and charred archeops lay on the ground, unconscious. "Having one goon roll at me in a straight line while the other shoots weak blasts of wind isn't 'covering every angle,' and you gave me two free hits while you were trying to look intimidating in front of the lucario." She glanced over at Jay. "At least the thieves at the mesa were exciting; these guys are just sad."
Jay sighed. Of course she would be upset that the experience didn't have more mortal peril rather than being relieved that they had handled the outlaws. Though, something still didn't sit right with him. "Uh, what about the mole?"
Bliss gave him a skeptical look. "The what?"
"I mean, the excadrill."
"Haven't seen 'em. Guess they realized that fire melts steel and decided to–"
A deafening boom shook the ground once more and Bliss was sent skyrocketing. The subterranean blast was even more powerful than the previous; Jay could only stare up in horror as the blaziken lost momentum and began to fall. She landed on a dune behind Jay, crying out in pain.
The swampert rose to his feet as the excadrill emerged from the ground. He rubbed the back of his head and shot a scowl at his underling. "Late as always. Still, we'll get our spoils." He turned to Jay again.
A blast of fire whizzed by Jay. The swampert raised an arm and shrugged off the ineffective attack. All eyes turned back to Bliss. She was sprawled out in the sand, clutching one leg with a hand whilst the other was curled into a flaming fist. "It'll take more than that."
The swampert merely shrugged his shoulders. "You two just don't know when to quit, do you?" He opened his mouth and shot a hydro pump directly at the helpless blaziken, who cried out in pain as the stream collided with her.
Jay forced his exhausted body into motion and jumped to his feet. He wasn't close enough to the swampert to stop him, so he settled for throwing himself in front of the attack. Another barrier manifested at his fingertips.
After a moment, the flow abated. The swampert's patience seemed to finally snap. "This is getting out of hand; how many times are you going to keep getting back up?" He stomped towards Jay, rage burning in his eyes.
Jay's shield dissipated and he glanced back at Bliss; she was soaked and unconscious. He'd have to fight the remaining two thieves on his own, and he was already on his last legs.
Before he could turn back to the swampert, a fist crashed into Jay's head with the force of a sledgehammer. Lights flashed in his vision and he hit the ground. The world spun as he tried to find the strength to rise, but he was fading fast.
The blurry figure of the swampert stood over him. "We're powerful outlaws, and you're still not paying attention! We rob travelers every day and we still don't have enough of a reputation for you to take this seriously?"
"I suppose that can serve as a spoken confession."
A shadow blotted out the sun. All eyes turned upwards. Jay's head throbbed with pain as he squinted against the sky, and he could only make out a blur of black and purple and red.
The unknown pokemon continued. "I insist that you turn yourselves over immediately and face the full extent of the guild's justice. If you surrender, this can end without further violence."
The swampert groaned in annoyance. "Oh, great, another do-gooder. We just took down a lucario, you think you can stop us?" The outlaw didn't wait for a response before shooting a stream of water into the sky.
Whatever species the newcomer was, he was fast; in an instant he had flown out of the way of the attack and launched a gust of wind that knocked the swampert away from Jay.
The swampert growled. "Don't think for a second that you're more p–"
An ear-piercing shriek filled the desert and the swampert crumpled into the sand. Jay clutched his already aching head as the sound echoed through the dunes.
The muddied figure of the excadrill cried out in fear and burrowed back into the sand. There was another shrieking pulse as the ground itself shook. Sand was sent flying as the tremors forced the excadrill to surface. One final shriek and the last outlaw was on the ground, incapaciated.
All of the noise had increased Jay's headache and nausea to near-unbearable levels. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the mysterious figure landing in front of him, stepping closer.
The pleasant sound of trickling water gradually drew Jay from unconsciousness. The ground beneath him was soft and grassy. He took in a few deep breaths; gone was the arid desert air, having been replaced with something cool and humid.
As tempted as he was to take the shift in location for granted and simply bask in the tranquility, the dull throbbing in his head and the lingering ache in his limbs reminded him of his journey. Tentatively, he opened his eyes.
Lush desert trees blotted out the sky above him. A turn of the head revealed a rocky stream constantly funneling water into a small lake. Beyond the verdant area that surrounded the water, sand stretched out for miles. The sky dimmed as the sun began to fall towards the horizon.
Something clicked in Jay's head: the oasis. Somehow, he had made it safely.
"You're not dead? Nice."
Jay sat up and turned to face Bliss. She sat at the base of a nearby tree, nibbling on an oran berry. Her injured leg was sprawled out in front of her uncomfortably.
He breathed a sigh of relief; she had made it, too. "What happened?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno. Last thing I remember I was getting drenched, then I wake up here with a noivern doting over me. He said something about checking up on you and flew off. He must've carried us here."
Jay tilted his head. "A noivern…?"
"Yeah, and a weird sounding one. Like, fancy weird."
His eyes widened in realization. "Did he have a red scarf…?"
Bliss's expression morphed into confusion. "For an amnesiac, you sure do know a lot of mons."
"I met him when I was traveling to the arena. His name was…" Jay trailed off; it had only been a few days since their meeting back in the forest, but it felt like a lifetime. "Uh…"
"Zeal." The noivern spoke his name as he dropped through the canopy of leaves, landing in front of Jay.
Jay jumped to his feet and stumbled back; the dragon towered over him just as imposingly as he remembered. Zeal held his head high, and his eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
Zeal fixed Jay with a critical glare for a moment before turning his head towards Bliss. "You claimed this lucario is an amnesiac, correct?"
Bliss looked wary, but gave the noivern a nod.
"I see." He began to pace around Jay, his tail sweeping across the grass. "What, if I may ask, is the nature of your journey?"
Jay was taken aback. "What?"
"When we spoke in the forest, you made no mention of amnesia, nor did you tell me the nature of your quest."
"I… It just didn't seem like an important thing to mention at the time."
Zeal stopped in front of Jay, looking him up and down one more time. "Very well. Would I be presumptuous to ask about your mission now, given the circumstances?"
Jay's head was still fuzzy from the swampert's punches, and the noivern's vocabulary wasn't making things any easier for him. "Circumstances…?"
Bliss saved him from his confusion. "He thinks because he bailed us out with the bandits he's entitled to hearing what we're up to." Her tone was sharp and her eyes were narrowed.
Jay's eyes flicked between Bliss and Zeal as realization set in. "Oh, right, you saved us. Thanks." An uncomfortable silence hung over the oasis for a moment; Bliss and Zeal looked different types of annoyed. "I, uh, don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up."
"Indeed; the situation was grim. Fret not; the bandits have been safely transferred into the custody of the guild. Now, regarding my previous question…" He inclined his head towards Jay.
"Well…" Jay glanced over at Bliss; she shook her head forcefully, gesturing emphatically at the noivern whose back was turned to her. He broke eye contact with her, instead opting to look back at Zeal. "You saved us, so you have a right to know. We're looking for Jirachi."
Zeal recoiled as though he had been slapped. He stared blankly at Jay, wide-eyed. "Your mission. Is to find. Jirachi."
"Yeah…?" Jay looked back to Bliss. She stared daggers at him.
After a moment, Zeal seemed to regain some of his composure. "Why, then, did you refuse to accompany me during our initial meeting?"
Jay tilted his head. "You're trying to get to Jirachi, too?"
"Yes." The agitation in Zeal's voice was palpable. "I specifically mentioned that my quest involved finding the location of Star Cavern, the home of Jirachi."
"You'll have to forgive Jay," Bliss cut in, sarcasm dripping from every word, "He's dealing with memory loss, which apparently hurts his decision making skills."
Jay ignored her. "I… didn't know at the time. Sorry."
Zeal looked between Jay and Bliss. After a moment, he stood even taller. "Very well… It appears as though we have a common goal. Despite that, it is abundantly clear that you are both unfit for the danger that lies ahead. Therefore, I will take on the burden of leadership for the remainder of this journey."
"What?" Bliss managed to stand, though she had to brace herself against the tree to avoid putting weight on her injured leg. "You're joking. You can't just swoop in and act like you're in charge of us."
"If I recall correctly, my 'swooping in' saved you both from a grisly end at the hands of criminals. If you continue forward without guidance, you might meet an even darker fate."
"Oh, so you're saying we can't fight, huh?" Flames ignited around Bliss's wrists as she clenched her fists.
Zeal didn't waver at the show of aggression. "Among other things, yes."
"I bet I could knock you right outta the sky." After a moment, she took a deep breath and relaxed her stance. "…But I probably won't be able to walk until morning." She pointed to Jay. "So he'll have to do it instead."
Both pokemon turned to face a very surprised Jay. He shrunk away from their expectant gazes. "W-what? I don't think–"
"If he wins, you can tag along with us and do things our way. If you win, sure, we'll do what you want until we get to Jirachi."
Zeal considered the offer. "A duel to determine the most apt leader? Intriguing…" After a moment, he nodded and spread his wings. "I accept. We can begin at sundown." Without another word, he launched off from the ground, flying away from the oasis and into the cloudless desert sky.
Bliss scowled after him for a few seconds before slumping back down against the base of the tree. "Real nice work, telling him our entire life stories and all."
Jay watched the noivern shrink smaller and smaller until he was a tiny speck in the endless blue horizon. "Well, we could use the extra help to make it to Jirachi."
"Sure, but not his help. Did you hear him? I can't even remember the last time I saw a mon that was that full of themself. And I'd rather be dragged to the Distorted Realm kicking and screaming than take orders from him."
Jay sighed. "Alright, I guess I'll just have to win, then."
Bliss gave him a skeptical look that gradually became more devious. "Y'know, it would be nice to see him eat a facefull of sand."
Well, better for her to rage at him than you. But if you lose, she'll probably be even more upset…
Jay shook the thought away and focused on the task at hand. "So… how do I beat him? I still don't think I can use the shield consistently."
"Again, I've never seen you be able to use it when you needed it."
"It worked at the start of the fight, and at the end, but it didn't in the middle. I didn't feel any safer or any less motivated, though. It's almost like it only works if…" Jay thought back to the previous times he had created an aura barrier, and even further back to the combat training Gill had given him. His eyes widened in realization. "It only works if I have something to protect."
Bliss narrowed her eyes. "And in the arena you were trying to protect… a vague sense of pride?"
"Well, I had to win the fight to find out where Jirachi was."
"Does wanting your memories back count as protecting something?"
Jay simply shrugged. He had found the strength to win because he knew he couldn't leave his sister alone, but there was no point in getting into his backstory when he was a day away from being whisked back home.
The blaziken pointed a fist at Jay. "Only one way to know for sure."
Jay focused on the idea of defending something he cared about. He felt that pulsing sixth sense growing the edge of his perception as he dug deeper and deeper. The more he homed in on it, the more it felt as though the idea and the barrier were one in the same.
It was an indescribable correlation, but he felt it nonetheless. It was as if he could reach out and turn the idea into a physical thing, sustained only by the concept in his head.
Bliss's fist flashed with flame as she shot a blast of fire at him.
Jay extended a paw and amplified the pulse, turning the idea of the barrier into a reality. Sure enough, a blue shield formed and blocked the flames. He stared at it in shock. "I… figured it out?"
The flames parted, revealing a pleased Bliss, though she was tinted blue through the translucent barrier. "Hey, a successful test! Not bad. I guess protecting stuff is your big motivator for that move."
Jay looked down at his paws as the barrier faded and the pulsing ceased. Having a sixth sense that seemed so linked to ideas and non-physical vibrations was stranger than having spikes and fur and a tail all combined. "Aura is so weird," he mumbled.
If Bliss heard him, she didn't comment. "You've got defense now, but unless your plan is to block until he gets tired of flying and falls outta the sky, you need a plan of attack."
She had a point; Jay still needed a way to actually hit the noivern. "Do you have any ideas?"
She looked him up and down. "You still can't use any ranged moves?"
"I don't think so."
"How's your vertical leap look?"
Jay sighed. "Bliss, I'm being serious."
"So am I! Even with a shield, you're gonna get pulverized if you stand on the ground and let him rain down pain."
The mental picture didn't help Jay feel any better about the impending fight. "There isn't anything you can think of that'll give me a decent chance?"
Bliss tapped a hand on her beak. "There's one thing you could try. But it's risky. You could use the same trick you did in the arena."
Jay tilted his head. "I thought we already talked about my shields. I need an attack, right?"
"Not the shield. The fighting technique you used at the end." She rubbed the side of her head. "That was definitely an attack, trust me."
"It was just a punch, wasn't it?"
Bliss balked at him. "Just a punch? You think I got taken out by just a punch? Nonono, your hand was glowing with energy."
He glanced down at his paw. "Really? It was glowing?"
The blaziken nodded. "Yeah, it was glowing. You were doing that one move where you funnel all your pain into a single attack when you're at your limit. I think it's called a reversal strike, or something."
"Well, if it's a fighting move, you can help me with it, right?" A hopeful note crept into his voice. "How do you reproduce it?"
"Dunno. Like I said, it only works when you're at your limit; it's not something you can really train for in a sparring match. Not in a boring sparring match, anyways. Most mons don't wanna get that intensive."
Jay was willing to bet that she knew from experience. "Is there anything you can tell me about it, at least? Is it tied to physical pain, or emotional desperation, or something else?"
"Fighting type energy draws its power from stimulation. Adrenaline, exertion, nerve endings, that kinda stuff. So when your entire body is screaming out in pain and you've got a ton of adrenaline pumping through your system, you can tap into it and use it to turn your attacks up to eleven."
"Any advice for how to tap into it?"
"It's like…" She waved her hands around vaguely. "Y'know. Like you just gotta feel it. Same kinda stuff as the barriers."
Jay rubbed a paw along the bridge of his snout. "Alright, thanks, I guess. Anything else?"
"Don't lose. I didn't walk all the way out here just to get bossed around by an oversized zubat who talks like he's a classically trained actor."
"Do you mean to imply that there is something wrong with being classically trained?"
Jay jumped and glanced up at the source of the sound. How had Zeal ended up in a palm tree above them without making any noise?
Bliss, on the other hand, didn't seem intimidated or amused by the noviern's sudden reappearance. "At least theater mons usually turn off the flowery words and showy mannerisms when they're not on stage."
Zeal's eyes glinted in the setting sunlight. "Ah, but has there ever been a greater stage than the battlefield itself? While others act out retellings of combat, we have the high honor of experiencing the reality, rather than the imitation."
The blaziken rolled her eyes. "You can talk philosophy all you want if you win. It's sundown."
The noivern nodded and glided out of the tree; he landed on a relatively even patch of sand next to the oasis.
Bliss turned her focus back to Jay. "Seriously, don't lose. We're close to the ruins, but I think I would go feral if I had to deal with him chirping about theatrics the whole trip."
All Jay could offer was an uncertain shrug. "I'll do my best."
He turned and trotted over to where Zeal waited. Bliss scooted across the grass of the oasis to position herself to spectate the fight. Jay took what little time he had to strategize.
He had a shield now, so he could stall for an opening. How he would find an opening against an airborne target was an entirely different problem. Then again, this wasn't a fight he needed to win; he was doing it more for Bliss's sake than anything. Regardless of the outcome, he'd make it to Jirachi tomorrow. That thought alone provided him enough comfort to ease his nerves.
Zeal sized up Jay as he approached, squinting against the light of the setting sun. When Jay stopped a few paces in front of him, he turned to Bliss. "The duel will commence on the count of three. Blaziken, if you would please."
Bliss scowled back from her viewing spot. "I have a name. But fine, I'll 'commence the duel'. One–"
"Wait!" Jay yelled, "Is it count of three, or count of go?"
Zeal tilted his head. "How would one count to 'go'?"
"Like, 'one two three' and then we start, or 'one two three go' and then we start."
Bliss rubbed her temples. "You're going on the word 'fight' or I'm gonna limp over there and fight both of you."
Zeal offered a nod of affirmation before turning his gaze back to Jay.
"One."
Jay scanned the noivern's formal but neutral posture for any kind of tell. Zeal didn't spread his wings for flight or lower his speakerlike ears for a sonic attack, making him impossible to read.
"Two."
Maybe Zeal would dive in and try to slash Jay with his claws? It would give him a chance to counter with a punch. Was tearing a noivern's wing with one of his hand spikes an option to remove flying from the equation?
"Three."
A light breeze blew across the desert sands, catching Zeal's scarf. It was the only sign of movement that came from the noivern, though Jay thought he picked up on the faintest of smiles across the dragon's maw.
"Fight!"
Jay threw a paw forward, creating a barrier in anticipation of Zeal's opening move. Behind it, the noivern continued to stare at him, unmoving. A tense moment passed.
Jay let the shield dissipate and tilted his head in confusion. "Uh… are we not fighting?"
Zeal chuckled softly. "Oh, we are. But I thought it would be appropriate to use this as a demonstration."
"Demonstration?"
"Indeed. You see, one of my many innate talents is that of keen observation. Which is to say, I have learned a vast amount of information about you in the relatively brief amount of time I have known you. I knew that there was no risk of you attacking me when the duel began."
Jay didn't have a response; out of all the ways Zeal could have started the battle, this was the farthest from what he had expected.
Zeal continued, looking increasingly pleased with himself. "I have observed from your mannerisms that you are unsure of yourself and unlikely to take initiative, except in dire circumstances. Even then, you spend much of your time thinking rather than acting. Your ears flatten when you are distressed and your tail freezes when you are alarmed. You have a poor grasp of combat techniques, likely due to your memory loss. You primarily use your left paw for a majority of activities."
Jay blinked at the noivern. He hadn't even realized half of the things Zeal had said, but everything else seemed to check out perfectly. "Why are you telling me all this…?"
"A great pokemon once posited that knowledge is power. I hope that my demonstration has proven to you how hopelessly outmatched you are and emphasizes why I would be the most apropos leader for the remainder of our journey."
It was a valid point; the amount of information that Zeal had gleaned in such a short amount of time dumbfounded Jay. But, as he cast a glance towards Bliss, he knew surrender wasn't an option. "Well, we're still dueling, right?"
Zeal sighed and lowered his head. "…Tenacious to the bitter end, as anticipated." The noivern fired a screeching burst of soundwaves from his ears angled directly at Jay.
Jay resummoned his shield. Instead of being harmlessly deflected by the barrier, though, the waves crashed directly through it. A flash of blue filled Jay's vision as the solid aura shattered into small particles that soon dissipated entirely.
With no barrier to defend him, Jay felt the full brunt of Zeal's sonic attack. His entire body quaked with the force, but perhaps the worst of it was how loud it was. He tried to move his paws to cover his ears, but found his body completely paralyized. It was as though the waves had such a high amplitude that all of his nerves were being disrupted all at once, preventing him from doing anything at all.
After a few seconds, the attack ceased. Jay was unable to funnel any strength into his legs to continue standing. He slumped over in the sand, defeated.
He heard muffled voices through the ringing in his ears, but he didn't care. The pain in his body had already faded into pure numbness. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift.
Jay awoke to the peaceful sound of the rocky stream once again. He breathed a sigh of relief; his hearing had returned. A quick test proved that he was capable of moving his arms again, though his entire body still felt a little numb.
He opened his eyes to find an upside-down noivern hanging directly above him, peering at him through the dark.
Zeal gave a curt nod. "Be patient; it may take some time for the effects of my attack to wear off completely."
Although he felt a jolt of panic, Jay didn't bother trying to scramble out of the way. If the noivern wanted to swoop down and maul him, he would've done so by now. Instead, he glumly stared back at the dragon. "Where's Bliss?"
Zeal extended a wing towards a lush patch of grass across the oasis where Bliss lay, sleeping soundly. A glance further out into the desert revealed pitch black darkness; night had fallen.
So much for making the trip without stopping to rest…
The noivern shook his head as he regarded the blaziken. "She was exhausted after trying to immolate me. Not to mention all the yelling."
Jay sighed. "You didn't hurt her, did you?"
Confusion sparked in the noivern's eyes. "Of course not. I simply flew out of range and she was unable to chase after me. Then it was a simple matter of waiting. I have met many fire types in my travels; some are slow burning fuses, while others are bombastic bursts of flame that fizzle out quickly. Your friend is the latter."
Questions swirled through Jay's head, but one was more pressing the rest. "How'd you break my shield?"
"Even aura has limitations. If an attack is sufficiently powerful, it can shatter a relatively weaker barrier. As fate would have it, my sonic waves are perfect for such a task." A prideful note filled Zeal's voice as he spread his wings. "I am uniquely gifted amongst noivern; I have the uncommon biological ability to produce waves of an extraordinarily high frequency, which makes them highly effective at breaking through defenses."
Jay recoiled slightly at Zeal's motion; he had half a mind to ask the dragon to stop hanging over him, but he didn't want to be rude. "Alright. So, you're in charge while we go to the ruins?"
"Indeed. Though I am curious… How did you discover the location of Star Cavern? I had to venture through perilous dungeons and solve perplexing riddles to find the final map."
"Oh, uh, a lucario who runs the arena in the mesa gave it to me." Jay brushed a paw through the fur on his arm absentmindedly, testing his nerves.
Zeal's eyes narrowed. "A lucario in the mesa, you say?"
"Yeah." He seemed to be getting most of his feeling back; with any luck, he'd be back to normal in the morning. As normal as he could feel in the body of a fictional creature, anyway.
"Strange… Strange indeed." Zeal's expression grew pensive.
Jay pulled himself from his thoughts; only barely registering the noivern's odd reactions. "Huh?"
"I find it strange that there are apparently two lucario on this continent that the guild has been entirely unaware of."
Jay tilted his head. "Who's the second?"
Zeal blinked a few times. "The lucario. In the arena."
"Yeah, but who's– Oh, right."
The noivern gave Jay a troubled look. "I must admit, you seem absentminded and, if I may be so bold, conflicted. I suppose it can be attributed to the memory loss. We can only hope that Jirachi will be able to mend both of our situations."
Jay said nothing, instead opting to dig around in his satchel for some oran berries to accelerate his healing. He continued to lay on his back, trying to avoid making eye contact with Zeal while he ate. "So… we'll make it to Jirachi tomorrow?"
Zeal's expression immediately brightened. "Indeed! After so much traveling, we find ourselves on the cusp of the journey's end and the long-awaited reward." He seemed almost giddy with excitement.
Jay smiled. It had felt like a long time coming, but he really was about to go home. "Yeah. It'll be a relief to finally have all this over with."
"Hear hear!" Zeal beamed for a moment before reigning himself in and clearing his throat. "The hour grows late; it would be wise to retire and reconvene in the morning."
After finishing his last berry, Jay gave a nod. "Alright, sounds like a plan."
Zeal released his grip on the branch and glided into another tree a ways away, hanging from it as well. He wrapped himself up with his wings and closed his eyes.
Jay watched him for a minute before turning his head to Bliss. Her chest rose and fell heavily with each breath; she must have really tired herself out. He sighed and returned his gaze to the now empty canopy of leaves above him.
For as strange as his companions were, he couldn't help but find them likable. He would miss them, but he had missed his sister far more. Passing acquaintances didn't hold a candle to family, after all.
Sleep well, Cassie. See you tomorrow.
