Cilan did manage to recover his jaw, upon which he was able to further be surprised yet again by what I'd just said. "What? You're going to Nacrene City? Aren't you going to the Relic Castle with the Champion too?" Since he was one of the FEW people that actually took the time to listen to what I was going to say, I gave him my full attention, and of course, didn't condescend him.
"I already know where the Light Stone is. Alder's wasting his time going there, but Cheren's going to have a lot to tell me when we meet up again. We better get started." it was a simple enough announcement, Mistralton City was a good three days and longer walk away, or if Cilan could endure it, a full day's walk near non stop. However, it was even farther to the Relic Castle, so even if we took our time, we'd still beat them by several steps, considering that they'd near guaranteed be lead to Nacrene City.
He'd chosen the latter, to split it up into the longer of the bunch, and during our journey back to the city, we began exchanging all sorts of information. It turned out he was also an amateur chef, just like I was, and exchanging recipes was an absolutely delightful experience as well. We talked about our childhoods, and how our various experiences were similar in many respects, but still had a clear regional difference to it.
He regaled my fascination with cooking, telling stories of his inspiration for becoming a chef, and how it lead to him being the rather unique Gym Leader type that we encountered. Malnati & Dormano's Pizza. His eyes would always light up upon seeing the dough come out of the proofer. Every day that he came in, at the end of the day after school, he'd be able to follow the process of the entire pizza being made from start to finish. The cheese was shredded and stored the night before, all within complete sight of the customer. Mr. Malnati, was the older of the two, and they'd been lifelong friends who simply kept doing what they loved for as long as they could, make good food, while also entertaining the people.
The one thing, he always emphasised to Cilan, when he asked what his secret ingredient was, clear to him now as was clear to me when I asked the same thing of my favourite ramen stand's owner. "My boy, it is really quite simple. You use the freshest ingredients you can get. Never compromise on freshness. They will know, but more importantly, YOU will know." There was however, one thing that would never be known to Cilan, and would only come from having his own experiences. The charm of M & Ds was not just the amazing show that the two of them and their employees put on, but the fact that their pizzas were so unique that nobody else could replicate the taste, smell, and flavour.
It came from one simple thing, simple ingredients, and a family recipe from Alto Mare passed down through the generations, directly to them. The dough from Mr. Dormano, with a mother culture, that was likely as older than the Relic Castle itself. The sauce, coming from a combination of utilising the local community, which Cilan himself was a part of, and a precise seasoning amount, with a precise blend, and so many more factors that lead to only the two of them being able to produce these pizzas together. After the two of them were gone, the restaurant would be taken over by their children, if they so desired, and if they chose to pursue a different path, the patented recipe instead would be given to them to do with what they so desired, with the explicit clause of it never being able to fall into a corporation's hands for mass reproduction.
When it came my turn to begin sharing my experiences, Cilan listened just as intently as I had. The memory that stood out the most to me, is when I had missed my bus coming home from school in Littleroot, and had seen Mr. Hayato carrying what I was then going to find out were ingredients for his ramen cart. He had been gathering the ingredients himself, hand picking them for the taste that he wanted, that he'd experienced, that he wanted to share with the rest of the community. This was no different than the hand picked and selected tomatoes for the sauce that would be made in house, for the pizza Cilan experienced.
I'd learned why the memory of that pizzeria was so ingrained in his memory. He'd grown up in a lower middle class family, in the burroughs, and on his walk home from school, he'd always pass the pizzeria, during the night, as well as early during the morning to walk to school. They weren't able to afford bus passes, and when they saved up what they had, as a treat, Cilan got to eat a personal pizza made just for his size, by Mr. Malnati. Of course, other kids also got personal pizzas, but, it seemed, and of course we'll never really know, but, it seemed as if the pizzas HE got from Mr. M, were always bigger than the ones that were made for the other kids.
It was the darnedest thing, I swore that Mr. Yamato, after I'd seen him that night, and asked him about the secret to what makes his ramen so good, gave me the biggest pieces of pork, and beef, compared to the others that had the same dish. I couldn't swear, but it almost seemed like he saved pieces that were specifically bigger, just for me, whereas everybody else got the same standardised and machine precise cuts, which was also of course, the mark of his skill as well.
All and all, Cilan was somebody who I really associated with, despite the clear difference in our social statuses, and financial backgrounds. The humble beginnings to what would likely make his family proud, as a Gym Leader. That was just my assumption though, as I didn't really go into deep detail on that, and he didn't expect me to do so either, but I figured it was a pretty safe assumption considering the encouragement he seemed to get.
When we finally arrived in Nacrene City, it was business as usual. Nothing significant seemed to have been relayed, and the museum and library weren't on lock down or anything, which told me that no calls had been made informing her of them coming to the city, and needing to make sure that anything in particular was secure beyond what it normally was for a museum.
"Hawes, I really need to speak with Lenora. It's about Team Plasma. I know what they're planning, and I need her to help me with something that only she can help me with." The message was clear, and urgent, and considering what I'd done before, preventing the Dragonite Skeleton from being stolen, he was in no particular hurry to brush me off at all.
Lenora came rushing out of her Gym-office with her husband in tow. "What's going on Kynexn? Hawes said something about you needing me in regards to stopping Team Plasma?"
"Close enough. I know where the Light Stone, that contains the other Dragon, Reshiram, is located. It's here in this very museum." It was straightforward enough, I expected her to be surprised, and she was but she tried to get to the point so things could move along faster, something I appreciated.
"Well, where is it then? I get the feeling you already know where it is." Lenora was happy to help, getting out her set of keys for all of the exhibits.
"Just one, that newest exhibit, the Meteorite. That's the one I need." I said, before I headed into the area where it was displayed to wait for her.
Once she opened the case, I reached in and grabbed the Light Stone. It was immediately apparent that I was correct due to the fact that the stone itself began to vibrate, if only slightly. That was confirmation enough for her, since it was clear that this would not be something worth joking about.
"I'm rather shocked, actually. The very information about the Light Stone that Alder is likely about to get from Ghetsis to lead them here. There's a lot of information that you all overlooked. Something staring you all in the face.
This stone, Reshiram's hibernative form was found near the Resort Desert castle. I noticed something odd when comparing it to another place. Dragonspiral Tower is more than likely Dragonspiral Castle, but I'd have another name for it, Black Castle.
So far there is now only one being currently alive, who can confirm this for me. There will sometime soon, be two to confirm it. The other castle would subsequently have been named White Castle. I believe you'll find that the two castles are the same age." I was more than confident, I was sure that it was the case. The castle had been buried long ago, but that meant it was sandblasted, and the paint was replaced.
Most if not all castles were whitewashed, and it had been so ingrained into my region's culture, that the old pictograms even shared the same depiction as one another, which just happened to be the colour white. I chalked it down to different cultures, different ways of thinking, I had made the connection almost immediately due to castles still being in active display in my home region. It seemed that a lot of the architecture was rather recent, and what ruins were there, were millennia old, and likely other cultures had settled there, leading to the construction of what would be non native buildings at the time.
Lenora was both stunned and impressed with my research, since I'd been living here for only two years now, and already knew the myths of the region and the history as much as the natives. "Well I'll be. I really do feel silly, but in a way, I'm relieved as well. These are some really solid leads, and even if turns out we overlooked something that obvious, it'll still help us connect the past to the present, and maybe even give us a better understanding of our shared history."
"I agree. Though, like I said, I plan on asking the Reshiram about what he remembers. Since they both went into hibernation around the same time as these structures were built, we can assume that they'll have a different memory of the region, especially from the air. It'll be like stepping into the past, and I definitely want you to be there. No video recording though, just note taking." The reason was obvious, I didn't want to be on record as being able to understand Pokémon. She certainly understood, considering that there was no point in hiding it from her, for any reason. I didn't blatantly acknowledge it, but the way I was talking would have seemed completely out of place in any other situation.
"Then you take good care of that stone, y'hear? I'll let the others know what's going on, and that you're headed to Opelucid City. They might try to get ahead of you this time, since you're probably going on foot."
"It's certainly going to attract attention if I keep it naked like this, though. But no matter, I've got enough cloth for that, thanks to the local Leavanny Farewell for now." With that, Cilan and I headed off to Opelucid City, for me to take on the final Gym Leader of the region, Drayden.