POKÉMON: INFINITE LEGACIES
THE CIPRYS REGION
CHAPTER 26
MARSHMALLOW PARADISE?

Flame bit into his kebab. He'd already applied the sour cream sauce and was visibly drooling at the prospect of eating the meat, his growling stomach willing him on, until he jolted back and grimaced as heat exploded in his mouth.

"I did warn you that even with the sauce it'd still be hot."

Flame did his best to swallow the burning-hot piece of meat in his mouth rather than spit it out. "No' tha' 'ot," he croaked, forcing the cubed piece of meat down his throat. His stomach stopped rumbling in appreciation of the fiery offering.

He returned the rest of the kebab to his biodegradable paper plate and reached for his water bottle, gulping down the refreshing water until the burning sensation had eased.

Selina shook her head. "You need to be more careful."

"If you say so." Flame shrugged, smiling slightly. He ran his hands through his hair. They'd changed into their nightwear and he'd taken his headband off, so his dark brown hair appeared longer and messier than usual. He sniffed. "It is nice out here, but I really could have done with a shower," he remarked, however much the cool air lapping against his skin relaxed him. Despite the shade under the trees, he'd been training through the heat of the day and had yet to recover from his sweat glands' earlier outpour.

Selina gave him an amused look. "I'm the girl here. I should be the one complaining, not you, but . . . well, if you are really desperate, there's a stream not far that way." She pointed at the bushes.

Flame started to consider the prospect.

"But wild Pokémon probably drink and wash from it."

"Woah, no thanks than."

"Besides," Selina remembered suddenly, "I thought you had deodorant!"

Flame shook his head slowly. "Ha! Bravo! Very funny, Selina."

Flame's attention returned to his food, and before he knew it, he had devoured both his kebab and the one spare. But his appetite still wanted more. His eyes turned to Ditto . . . the promotional Pokémon mascot for Marshmallow Paradise. He took a marshmallow from the bag, spiking it onto one of the sticks that came with the packaging before pushing it over the flames.

"Marshmallow Paradise?" he said, offering a stick and marshmallow to Selina.

Frost gathered himself up and stared back. His vision had adjusted to the darkness, yet he saw nothing but two mysterious red eyes glaring back at him. This might have frightened another trainer, but he felt nothing but annoyance. This better not be a waste of my time. He searched inside his bag and pulled out his Pokédex, in the hope that it would decipher the shadowy Pokémon.

"Hoothoot, the owl Pokémon. Hoothoot always stand on one foot, and are capable of changing feet so fast, the movement can rarely be seen. Hoothoot begin to hoot at the same time every day. Some trainers use them as a replacement for clocks."

"Hoothoot," Frost mumbled to himself. "What a weak, useless Pokémon and an absolute waste of my time. Still, I wouldn't mind a Noct—"

A shrill ringing ended his criticism. Words failed him, and he had to suck in a long breath of air. Hoothoot must disagree, he thought. So piercing was Hoothoot's cry he felt like his ears were going to burst any moment now. He clutched his hands to them before any more damage could be done. That only reduced the ringing slightly, but it was enough for him to regain some control over his senses and pull out Mudkip's Poké Ball and press the button.

Mudkip materialised and looked troubled. His head-fin moved erratically and he started murmuring in pain. No surprise there, thought Frost, as Hoothoot continued to disagree and the air looked like it was vibrating around them. His head-fin can detect changes in air currents. He'll be hurting, so we have to stop Hoothoot with one attack.

Echoed Voice, if I had to guess, and it's only going to get stronger. "Do you see Hoothoot?" he had to shout the words even though Mudkip was just in front of him.

Mudkip glanced back at him. So distracted by Hoothoot's attack, he looked surprised to see him. But after a moment, his trainer's words registered with him and he gave a nod.

"Keep . . . watching . . . Hoothoot!" He never shouted or yelled, apart from one time he could remember, and it was a strange sound that reached his ears. For a heartbeat. Until his words were drowned out by Hoothoot's Echoed Voice.

When Hoothoot had to breathe instead of attack, Frost gritted his teeth, unclamped his hands from his ears, and lunged for his backpack. Silence seemed like the most peculiar thing in Ciprys now, and his ears throbbed, complaining, until Hoothoot assaulted his senses again. He gasped. Pain ripped into his ears and thumped against his head. His legs, his whole body felt shaky, and he wanted to cover his ears and . . . run.

He hated himself for thinking that.

If he fled like a feeble Bug-type now, at the first hurdle, how could he hope to beat him? He would never be strong enough with such an embarrassing defeat weighing on his mind. He kept going. He had to. Besides, he didn't fancy collapsing and passing out on the forest floor either.

He moved far more slowly than usual, his footsteps heavy and his body tensing up. Waves of pain crashed against his head, but he reached his backpack and fell to his knees. He could only move slowly to unzip it and limply pluck out a light grey-and-white Poké Ball. He had purchased it from a specialist trader in Whistltree, whose Slowpoke had given him an odd look and who had been far too talkative for his liking, but he had taken the Swoop Ball regardless, knowing any Flying-type he came across might make a useful addition to his team.

"Mudkip"—Echoed Voice was so deafening now that Frost wasn't sure whether sound or silence had emerged from his mouth—"use Water Gun on Hoothoot exactly when I say so!"

But Mudkip nodded, gargling water. He heard the same shrill ring as his trainer, but he seemed able to focus better, more familiar now with the consequences of Echoed Voice, his head-fin straightening.

Frost threw the Swoop Ball underhand in front of Mudkip. As it started to fall, he shouted, "NOW!" until his lungs were cleared of air.

Water gushed out of Mudkip's mouth. The Swoop Ball was picked up mid-flight and was sent hurtling towards Hoothoot. This was a technique Frost had learned of during his time at the Pokémon Academy. Older Poké Balls weren't able to handle much water before malfunctioning and potentially damaging the Pokémon inside, but in more recent times, thanks to the development of new and improved technologies, Poké Balls had been manufactured to withstand any amount of water without failing. And this was a favoured catching technique of Ciprys' Water-type specialist, Hali.

There were two main benefits to the technique: the Poké Ball was camouflaged by the attack and (although some stubborn Pokémon would try to withstand any attack to show off their strength) if a Pokémon was trying to escape capture, the attack would accelerate the movement of the Poké Ball. The only downside was that the attacking Pokémon had to show restraint in their attack; they had to control the flight of the Poké Ball by not overexerting. If the attack was too wild, the Poké Ball could break free of the attack and end up who knows where, as had happened when Professor Aconite had stopped teaching them the technique and let them have a go one by one.

To everyone's surprise Shunji had come closest, his Poké Ball just shy of the bullseye. Shunji had told them it was purely down to luck and his rental Pokémon, but Professor Aconite had praised him anyway. Kaitlyn and Frost were the only others to get close, their Poké Balls glancing off the rim of the target.

Luckily for Frost, though he and Mudkip had not practiced the technique before, Mudkip had used Water Gun so much that he had immense control over the water and he knew instinctively not to overdo his attack. Even so, nervousness crept into Frost's mind: the technique was difficult for anyone to pull off, let alone a recently qualified trainer; there was still a good chance the Swoop Ball would miss.

Hoothoot was slow to respond, though, only breaking off his Echoed Voice attack when Water Gun was over halfway to reaching him. His red eyes glared at the attack. He turned to face the water, as if wanting to prove he was as strong as his evolved form. As all Hoothoot did, he stood on one foot, digging his claws into the branch he was on.

Water Gun blasted against the black-feathered Pokémon, but he clutched the branch and hung on, wanting to show the arrogant human how strong a Hoothoot could be. He barely felt the Swoop Ball as it clipped his head and opened up, swallowing him inside.

The Swoop Ball bounced back off a tree and dropped to the ground, rolling back towards Frost with a triumphant ding.

Frost was close to breathing a sigh of relief, but didn't, knowing he had much further to go. "At least . . . one . . . good thing has . . . come out of this . . . so far," he murmured. His vision spun and his ears were still ringing. Softly, but still ringing, and his eyes wanted to close. Close badly. He felt his legs disappear from underneath him. He fell onto his knees and then the ground raced towards his face.

The Swoop Ball rolled back towards his outstretched hand. His fingers tightened around it, but he was already overcome with exhaustion. He managed to turn onto his back, but his eyes closed as he lay on his makeshift bed, and Mudkip nibbled on his leftover sandwich before deciding he wasn't overly fond of the taste. There was no mud to bury himself in, so the Water-type decided to settle down next to his trainer instead.

And sleep was calling to Flame and Selina like it did to a Snorlax on a tight path. The fire was glowing less and less and Flame had yawned a few times already, but chatting had kept his senses sharp and time had passed by quicker than he thought it could. He didn't want to fall asleep just yet.

They had released their Pokémon earlier in the night: Litten and Eevee were snuggled against either side of Flame; Drifloon's breathing was shallow, her body inflating and deflating, as she floated near Selina, her stringy arms tied around the single strap of Flame's backpack; and Selina's Eevee's head was on his forepaws in front of the fire; while Rowlet had found a bed inside Selina's yellow drawstring bad. Luckily, they'd eaten the food that had been in there before Rowlet had nestled there. During their time together Rowlet had quickly taught his trainer that it was impossible to remove him once he found someplace comfortable!

Oriota was the only Pokémon not asleep. The small yellow-feathered Flying-type stood in silence, a short distance away, but staring up at the night's sky and the stars like he was, he may well have been a world away.

Flame knew his Pokémon's thoughts were revolving around the fate of his flock, wondering where they were, hoping to return to them. But Flame's head was conflicted with his heart: You promised, his head told him—and he did want to see Oriota reunited with his family. He did, but the plucky Flying-type had become a vital member of his team. And a friend, said his heart, knowing it would be incredibly difficult to find another Pokémon like Oriota.

He was wondering whether he should go over and speak to Oriota when Selina said, "I've been thinking, what do you want to achieve at the end of this? What's your goal?"

What do you want to be when you grow up? he remembered answering that question on his first day at the Pokémon Academy. He'd written POKEMON TRAINER! then. Now his 12-year-old brain was thinking on a much bigger scale. "I want to be the best," he said as if it was obvious. "The best there ever—"

Selina stifled a yawn and giggled. "But what exactly does that mean?"

"I don't know. Champion, I guess . . . ? How about you? I can't help but notice you didn't show any interest in battling Declan yourself . . . unless you've already beaten him?"

Selina stared down at her light grey socks for a moment—she remembered camping once with one of her adopted brother who had stolen her socks and refused to give them back for the rest of the weekend until their dads had intervened—then the glow of the fire returned her to the present and she admitted to Flame, "I don't know really. Battling's okay, I suppose, and I know I'm good at it. I've even passed the gym leader's theory test, but I don't know if I've got the passion for it. As I've probably mentioned before, Dad would love for me to take over the gym from him when I'm older, but I don't know. He's there. A lot. He rarely gets a day off. I love the gym, but you've got to be dedicated, and having seen what's out here, I'm not sure I'd want to be confined to the same old gym for 300-odd days a year." Selina shrugged and smiled uneasily. "Maybe after I've seen the rest of Ciprys I'll change my mind."

This surprised Flame, but he made no comment. He found it odd that such a strong trainer like Selina didn't share his goal, but he respected her judgement and knew she would excel in the future at whatever she decided to do.

Selina surprised him further by continuing, "There is this one Pokémon, though. A Ghost-type."

Flame grinned back. "Selina wants to catch a Ghost-type . . ." he paused dramatically. "I would never have guessed."

Selina smiled more brightly. "This Pokémon's not just any Ghost-type, though. It's rare."

A story Flame had heard on the first day of his journey flashed in his mind. "You mean a Legendary like Zeurelic?"

"Not quite. Do you remember the statue outside of Spectre Tower?"

Flame nodded, remembering the faded-purple statue and understanding. Selina was right, he realised. Other than Ciprys' Legendary Pokémon, they were the hardest Pokémon in Ciprys for a trainer to find and then capture.

Selina glanced towards the Pokémon in front of the fire. "The conditions to evolve . . . well, little is known about them. Experts don't even know if any exist in the wild, or even completely what the Pokémon looks like, apart from rumours, of course. Though, being a Ghost-type, there had to be some kind of mystery involved, I guess. But . . ." her eyes lit up and a smile burst onto her face at the prospect, "one day I'd love Eevee to evolve into that Pokémon."

Unable to resist their exhaustion all night, Flame and Selina had eventually retired to their tents. They awoke the next morning to the sounds of singing Flying-types and chirping Bug-types. Meanwhile, Frost awoke to some herbs and bandages someone had left and a note that read, Be more careful. The herbs are for the pain. Mash them up first, then apply the poultice and bandages.

"What pain?" mumbled Frost, scanning the surrounding undergrowth suspiciously but seeing nothing—until birdsong rippled through the trees.

Instead of enjoying the sweet, gentle sound like Flame and Selina were a distance away, he felt like a Voltorb had decided to Self-Destruct right next to his ears. He gritted his teeth against the pain and clamped his hands down on his ears, looking towards the herbs and then the Swoop Ball still in his hand. You'd better be worth it, Hoothoot.

As Frost unlocked his phone and searched, 'the best way to apply poultice to your ears' (of course, because the internet is such a wonderful place, finding many, many results) Flame and Selina returned their camping gear to Nurse Joy. Flame squeezed his hands together and begged her for the use of one of the Centre's showers. Nurse Joy agreed with a laugh.

And before long all three trainers were heading off once more. Flame and Selina departed the Pokémon Centre and resumed their travels down Route 3. They were nearing the end of Whistltree Forest, closer than ever to Ridgecho City, where perhaps Selina would find something to make her dream. Meanwhile, Frost was venturing deeper into the Ciprys wilderness in his search for the notorious Ciprys Ridge and what he would find on the other side.

Author's Notes:
First of all, Frost's reaction to Hoothoot's Poké Dex entry made me laugh—what a savage! Haha.

These two chapters were tough to write. They were much longer than I had anticipated, around 11 scenes, mostly because I added in Frost's perspective, but I'm very satisfied with how they've turned out. The basis of this chapter was Oriota gazing up longingly at the stars and having a chapter where Flame and Selina got to relax and have a good chat. Frost's presence in these two chapters came about naturally; I wanted to contrast his being by himself with the companionship that Flame and Selina share.

I am also pleased to announce that Frost will be starring in the first standalone special, The Champion's Shadow. Most of it is already written but needs editing and checking, including a chapter that was originally scheduled to be the second or third chapter in the story! (Even though it was the first battle I wrote, I think it might honestly be the best one, so if you like this story, follow/favourite me to keep an eye on that!) Somehow, I was motivated enough to write this story over one weekend, so I'm excited to be able to share the result of that work with you soon!

I'm not 100% sure on the exact details yet, but I will be giving Hoothoot/Noctowl a Dark- (or Psychic-) and Flying-type variant. For the life of me, I do not understand why they didn't give Hoothoot/Noctowl a variant in Sword and Shield. A missed opportunity for me considering that owls are a culturally relevant bird in the UK. In fact, in the process of writing this Author's Notes, I really did hear hooting outside. :P

Are there any Pokémon you feel are overdue a regional variant? (I wish they'd done more for Galar than they did.)

Reviews (Chapter 25: Special Ciprys Kebabs)
KokoroEcho: 'I genuinely hate camping. Someone once stole my socks while I was camping, and it ruined my week. Haha.'—Looks like Selina had the same problem. (I just had to reuse that detail, haha.) ;P

'"His confidence had hardened until it turned to arrogance" - Dayum! No! Bidoof is an HM slave?! No! Also, I'm kind of rooting for Frost to be able to beat Solomon. I think it'll be a way for him to find some closure. That said, it'd probably also be good for him to be humbled, but I imagine that losing to Solomon wouldn't do that.'—Thanks! I like that line too and overall I'm really pleased with that opening scene, added context to why Frost was so snarky with Flame after leaving, and that chapter. I thought Frost seemed like someone who would use a HM slave. Poor Bidoof, haha. Read the standalone when it is released to find out about Frost and Solomon . . .

'For fanfiction characters, I think Declan is in my top three favorites (CrescentApple's Clint, Declan, pokestets23's Tony (from almost 10 years ago). I just really love how you write Declan. He's such a well-rounded character, and especially the way that he felt like he should have done more for Frost was incredibly touching.'—Thank you! I'm pleased with how Declan's turned out and I'm delighted you rate him so highly. On that detail, because he's fostered plenty of kids in the past, he definitely felt like he should have been able to help Frost more than he did. Because he's a gym leader, I don't know how much more he will feature in the main story, but I'd like to see more of him too.