Save State

By: Aviantei

File Seven: Conflict Point

As Professor Maple had said, the Shrine Guardian had protected our town for generations. No matter the circumstances of weather, performance, or state of the region. Even if there was a national crisis happening, the Shrine Guardian would appear so long as someone called on it. That was what made it our reliable guardian, our town's very own legend.

This sort of thing was unprecedented.

Professor Maple rushed up to the stage and calmed the crowd. I wasn't sure how. I couldn't really listen at the moment. I stared at Fri, and she stayed frozen before the Shrine, as if remaining in place would somehow summon the Guardian. Her assistant shrine maidens tried to pull her away, but Fri didn't budge. After a few minutes she sank down to the ground, forehead touching the platform.

A complete prostration.

Somewhere in my dazed state I was pulled back into the Shrine, the same room that Professor Maple and I had waited in before. Several Festival Committee members were gathered, and someone had managed to drag Fri back inside. Hushed whispers filled the room. I snuck over to Fri's side and put a hand on her arm.

Up close, she looked even worse. She hadn't cried yet, but her eyes were already red, and I could just now see the streaks of sleeplessness that I had missed during our date. No matter how Fri pushed herself, she never seemed run-down. I knew she couldn't go full-blast without breaks, but this was too much. Fri deserved to look confident and triumphant, not like she was fighting to stay standing.

"Hey," I whispered, slipping close to her side. In the commotion, no one seemed to notice. "Don't be hard on yourself for this." Fri looked at me, but didn't say anything. "You were amazing. The preparation, the performance, everything. Fri, this festival couldn't have happened without you. So this isn't your fault."

"…s yo…"

"Hm?" I prodded. Fri's words mushed together. "I know I'm close, but you're gonna have to be a bit louder if you want me to hear anything…"

"I said that it's your fault."

Fri spoke in a calm, authoritative tone. The past few days she had been happy to see me. Before that, she had been beyond upset. Now, I just had a cold anger directed in my direction. Worse, Fri's voice carried throughout the entire room, bringing everyone's whispers to a halt. Despite being the Champion, I wasn't used to being the center of attention.

"You're the one that said you wanted to challenge the Shrine Guardian," Fri continued, fists clenching at her sides. She hadn't pushed me, but I still stepped back. "I never thought about it before, because I wanted to support you, but of course this would happen. What sort of guardian would want to show up when it would just have someone try to catch it? Were you even thinking about what would happen if you just took our Guardian and left with it?"

"Of course I thought of it!" I retorted, clutching onto my pack. I wouldn't pull out Wicker in a place like this, but just feeling the texture helped keep me in focus. "I thought about it long and hard. But no one ever said anything against it. You even went through the Elders and they okayed it. Don't act like this just falls on me."

Fri scoffed. "You're avoiding the point," she said. "What were you planning on doing with the Guardian? Just catching it to say you could? To prove a point? What's so special about this damn thing to you? Don't you have enough Pokémon already? One Legend wasn't enough for you? You really need more?"

"What about you?" I couldn't just sit here and talk crap about me, not when she had been pushing at my back this whole time. As if I wasn't hurt by this too! "What's the point in you becoming the head of the Festival Committee? I mean, you're already pretty much in charge, right? There's no difference, right?" I clicked my tongue. "Don't talk to me about pointless dreams. You're just the same as me."

"Like hell I am!" Fri's voice echoed in the room, and one of her fellow shrine maidens flinched back. I hadn't felt this intimidated since my showdown with the former Champion, but I didn't back down. "I work hard, Jijri. I did all this. I did this for you! But I guess the Shrine Guardian doesn't wanna take the chance of getting caught by a lazy bum like you—"

Smack!

Professor Maple stepped between us, lowering her hands from their clap. "That's enough, you two," she commanded. Fri stepped back and tried to recover a few quavering breaths; I averted my eyes to the ground like a scolded child. "This evening didn't go the way any of us expected, but we cannot point fingers any which way we chose. I know this event was important to you, but we can't change what's happened here." How the hell could she sound so calm about this? I straight up wanted to cry. "Fri, Jijri. I want both of you to go home and rest, do you understand me? No complaints."

Her voice carried a tone of absolute finality. Not even my mother had ever sounded like that.

With a mumbled "Yes, Professor" from the both of us, Fri and I stepped from the room to change from our ceremony clothes.

Getting out of my haori was a lot easier than getting into it, and I changed in a matter of minutes. Leaving the outfit for the shrine staff to take care of, I rushed towards the entrance. Most of the crowd from the ceremony was gone, and Festival Committee members swept the area. With the artificial lights turned on instead of just the flames from before, the Shrine yard looked like a completely different place.

Trying not to get pulled aside by anyone, I booked it to the entrance. Normally the Shrine would stay open for visitors to come and collect blessings fresh after the Ceremony, but the Elders had decided to close down early given recent events. It was kind of hard to want to pay homage to a shrine when you knew its guardian wasn't there.

Smacking stomach acid out of my mouth, I took up vigil outside the Shrine entrance. Fri had performed damn beautifully; it was no wonder she was frustrated from the outcome. My fist clenched, and I made an effort to unwind my fingers. I was frustrated, too, but I couldn't yell at her again. Despite everything, I liked her. I liked her a lot. If I couldn't try to make it through this, I had no business thinking up dumb promises of what I would do after accomplishing one dream.

Catching the Shrine Guardian. I know I was a kid, but honestly how stupid can you get?

What Fri had accused me of was true. I hadn't thought of what would happen to our town once if I caught the Shrine Guardian. Professor Maple had said the hope was to strengthen the bond between it and our town, but would that really happen? Even as the Champion, I had no business messing in stuff like that. I couldn't just catch the damn thing then let it wander off. There wasn't a point in catching it then. What the hell had I been trying to accomplish?

I was so caught up in my pity party that I almost didn't notice Fri exiting the Shrine. She walked right past me, not even pausing as she headed down the path of trees towards her house. I took a few steps after her but stopped. If that wasn't a clear indication that I wasn't invited, I wasn't sure I'd find a better one.

My house was in the opposite direction anyways.

Not that I walked towards it.

I couldn't handle being alone right now. And definitely not in that house. Facing my childhood after this wasn't the best idea. I couldn't bother Errat right now since the Noda family stand ran until the festival shut down around midnight, but I could wander until then. Pulling the Master Ball off my belt, I let Wicker out into the night. She landed, tense for battle, then tilted her head up at me when she didn't see an enemy. "Naaa?"

"Sorry, girl," I said, throwing up a pointless smile. "I know I got you all ready, but there's nothing to fight."

Wicker let out a concerned cry, rubbing against my leg. I kneeled down to pat her head, and she nuzzled into my hand. Her bark scraped against my palm, but I didn't mind. "I promise I'll let you have a battle soon." Maybe once I got over how pathetic I felt. "But why don't I show you around the festival? You've been at the lab the whole time, so you haven't seen anything." I stood back up and patted my shoulder. Wicker bent her legs and leapt straight up in one bound. Her feet scrambled to find purchase against my shoulder, and I helped to steady her. "All balanced?"

"Naa!"

"Let's go then."

My nerves had done a number on my stomach so I hadn't eaten before the Ceremony, but now I was just starving, so I headed to the food stalls first. Wicker perked up once the rush of fresh smells hit our noses, chirping in an attempt to give me directions. She nearly stumbled off my shoulder on a few occasions, but we managed to pick up some food alright. There were more than a fair share of Pokémon food stalls mixed in with the regular ones, so I let Wicker lead the way, being sure to avoid the Noda folks in the process.

I didn't feel like showing Errat how lame I was yet. Besides, he was my friend. Wicker had the chance to eat Noda food the rest of the year.

Fresh baked Poké-Puffs in tow (Wicker had chosen her own assortment) and some barbeque on a stick for me, we tucked back into the trees for somewhere to sit down. The festival areas had plenty of seating, but those tended to be crowded. It wasn't uncommon for locals to sneak into the trees to settle down. It was just like when I had been on the road, and me, Fri, and Errat had done the same thing as kids.

Back when we were kids…

Wicker stopped mid Poké-Puff to nuzzle against my arm. A group of kids about Fuji's age laughed as they ran through the trees, glow stick jewelry setting of streaks of mismatched color. I swallowed the last two bites of my barbeque, twirling the stick between my fingers. "You almost done there?" I asked. "There's more to this place than the food."

Wicker tilted her head, then stuffed her nose straight back into her blue Poké-Puff. We had bought quite a bit, so I worked on stuffing the remainders into my pack while she finished. Once done, Wicker jumped straight up on my head, her hooves digging into the brim of my hat. She kept her balance when I stood up, so I just let her sprawl out there and resumed my wandering.

We headed into the games area next. Beyond the ones for people, there were a fair number of games that could accommodate both trainers and their Pokémon, or even just the Pokémon themselves. I offered Wicker the chance to play, but she seemed content resting in my hat, so we passed them by. Then again, maybe letting a legendary into festival games was a bit cheap…

Once we got towards the miscellaneous entertainment stands, Wicker chirped more. This being the finale night of the Festival, the crowds were in full swing, but nobody bothered to call me out for my poor Ceremony job or my chatty Pokémon. There was so much noise from the crowds that I could barely hear her anyway.

Following Wicker's prompts, we scoured over a lot of the merchant's stalls. Wicker was content to just look, which was all good because buying her a gift would have the rest of my team looking for something, too. I would have to figure something out to thank everyone for their hard work, but now wasn't the time.

Heading into the entertainment stalls we passed by Wato's cousin's booth. In its finished state it seemed to be a fortune teller of some kind, with Wato's impressive paintjob sporting the banner. Thankfully the lab assistant wasn't around. I didn't think I could take his look of disappointment after all the idolization he had given me before. Wicker urged me on before I could start to think too hard.

Like the food stalls before, she was adamant in which direction I went. Unlike the food stalls, she wasn't taking no for an answer. I had to fight the crowds a little bit, but I cut across the isles. Trajectory set, I could see just which stall Wicker had her eyes on.

"There's no point in going to that one," I said, the still blank banner head sticking out like a sore thumb. Professor Maple had said their guests had arrived, but at this point in the Festival it was kinda late. Sure, there was still tomorrow, but maybe my pessimism was because everything felt like it was over for me. "There's not gonna be anything there."

"Leef!" Wicker insisted, biting at the rim of my hat once I tried to fit back into the flow of the crowd. "Leeeeeef!"

Well, it looked like no wasn't an answer. "Fine, fine, just leave the hat be." I waved at Wicker's nose, and she retracted her mouth. As an herbivore, she didn't have the teeth to do much damaged, but I liked to keep my mom's hat in as one piece as possible. "But I'm telling you they're gonna be cl—"

Wicker leapt straight onto the counter, almost sounding like she was laughing. No longer was the stall in its plain state. Most of the wood had been covered with what looked like dark green curtains, a sign behind noting the prices per Pokémon. Considering the potential of talking to your team, it was a pretty cheap price, especially at volume. The outside hadn't been decorated, but with the crowds, that would be tricky to pull off. Leaning over the counter to get a closer look, I nearly knocked heads with a girl as she stood up.

I recoiled, and Wicker swiftly hopped away from the flailing. The girl stood up, keeping her calm, holding a sign between her hands. She was dressed in simple black and white, though the green of her eyes stuck out against her dark hair. She put on an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but we're still closed," she said, propping the sign on the counter, which read the same thing. "We're still putting together the back so we're not gonna open until tomorrow."

"Na Naleef," Wicker protested. The girl patted Wicker's head, being careful to avoid her twig antlers. Wicker looked perfectly pleased. "Leef naaaa."

"Oh, you're adorable, aren't you?" Wicker soaked up the attention. Did she really just drag me over here to get pet by a stranger? Still tending to Wicker, the girl looked to me again. Her eyes widened, and I wondered how fast I'd be able to get away if she caused a scene. "You're this Pokémon's trainer, aren't you?" I nodded. "How'd you meet her?"

"Huh?" The girl only smiled, urging me on. Man, I had to tell this embarrassing story again? "Well, she's a Naleef, a legend. She only allows people to catch her that show determination and…I basically just followed her around until she let me catch her."

"Na!" Wicker chimed, nodding her approval. The girl gave my Pokémon a few last pats before moving her hand away.

"So in order to be caught she has to want to?" That was the gist of it. The girl tapped a finger to her chin, her smile growing. "Why don't you come inside then? Even if we're not completely set up, I think Natural will want to meet a trainer like you."

I spluttered a few incomprehensive syllables. The girl undid a latch, opening up a small door in the front of the booth I hadn't even noticed. Some Festival Committee member I was. The girl stepped to pull back the curtain, revealing an opening. I tried again to protest, but Wicker hopped down to the ground and trotted inside like she belonged there. Growling to myself, I stepped into the booth, shut the gate behind me, and followed my Pokémon.

The inside was about as wide as the stall in front, but it stretched back for quite a bit. It seemed to be completely enclosed, too, lamps lining the ceiling. You had to hand it to those Festival guys; as long as you didn't have too many massive members, I could easily see a whole team fitting in here, especially where the space opened up in the back. Without decoration, it still managed to hold a sense of ambience.

Wicker didn't share my awe and raced down the plain hallway with abandon. The light from outside disappeared, and I glanced back to see the stand girl tugging the curtain closed. She waved me forward and I did just that. There was the sound of scuffling further in the back, and on my arrival I found a tall boy struggling to hang up a dark blue curtain across the wall, Wicker hopping around his heels.

"Wicker, you're gonna trip him," I scolded.

"Leef na!"

"It's alright," the boy said lightly, finally stapling the curtain to the wall. The other half of the room needed work, but so did all the furniture scattered about. Wicker continued to nudge at the boy's leg, and his green ponytail bounced as he kneeled down to her level. "You're just excited to meet someone new, aren't you?'

"Naaa!"

"Then that makes you the Champion."

I winced. Busted already? Then again, these people were supposed to be friends with the Professors, so they would recognize me. The girl slipped around me, her bell skirt bouncing as she skipped to the boy's side. "Yeah," I admitted. "That's me."

"I'm Nochi," the girl chimed in. The weird look she had given me earlier had vanished from her expression. "Sorry for skipping out on introductions." She tapped her green-haired companion's shoulder. "This is Natural."

"Though N is fine," he corrected. I nodded. It wasn't the weirdest name I had ever heard. These guys were from out of the region anyway.

"Then call me Jijri," I offered. Getting called Champion didn't sit well with me on a good day. Today only made it worse. "And my Naleef there is Wicker. Though you seem pretty well acquainted already."

N smiled. "She wanted to talk to me. Said that she'd heard about me." For a moment, I had forgotten just what these guys were supposed to do. Though she hadn't made as much noise as she had outside, Wicker was apparently pretty chatty when you could hear her. Wicker continued to rub against N's hand, not protesting his interpretation.

I looked to Nochi for some sort of confirmation, but she only shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just the receptionist here," she said. "Natural can understand any Pokémon without trying, though. I've seen it plenty of times, so I know it's a fact." Ah, she had expected my skepticism. Or maybe I was being obvious about it. "I guess you can't just take my word for it, huh…?"

"Ah." I stumbled, not even able to get the apology out. Neither of the Pokémon interpreter pair seemed to be too offended by it, though. "Wicker," I called, waving her over to my side. She complied within moments, and I offered my arms for her to jump in. "They don't seem like bad people. But I gotta know if you trust them or not."

Wicker nodded, her leafs rustling with the movement. "Leef leef na!" she chirped. "Naleef na-na!"

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha."

Wicker's entire legend was about determining if a trainer was worthy or not of catching her. Though I still found my own selection questionable, I figured she at least had enough sense not to trust people that were doing something sketchy.

"Thank you," N said, and I realized he was addressing Wicker. "I'm honored to have the defense of one f the legends of this region." Now if only I had gotten that from the Shrine Guardian, too. "You seemed like you wanted to tell Jijri here. Is it important?"

"Naaa!" Wicker cried, and my ears almost hurt from that one. I tried to pat her head in a hope to sooth her. At least she wasn't struggling.

N frowned. "I see." Um, what had she just said? "Nochi, would you mind helping me set up the chairs? I haven't quite gotten to that part of the room yet."

"On it!" Nochi headed into one of the piles of supplies, soon dragging out a rather plush looking armchair. It was a mystery if they had brought it with them or gotten it on loan from someone. N followed behind and produced a small, round table. I stood around and awkwardly watched. By the time I thought to offer help, they had already assembled three similar seats around the table, two of them touching at the armrests. Nochi sat in one and beamed as N took the seat beside her.

That left the remaining armchair opposite of the table for me.

Sitting down trained a lot of the physical tension from my body, but I couldn't relax yet, no matter how easy sleeping would be. I loosened my hold on Wicker so she could settle in my lap. She sat, but didn't lie down, bark ears perked up.

"So," I tried, "what exactly did she say? She wanted to talk to me?" No matter how you sliced it, I had only been Wicker's trainer for two weeks, and I had done a pretty crummy job at that. There was no way I could understand her fully on my own yet, even if it would have been nice. N rested his arms across their designated rests, not helping my nerves. Nochi sat at rapt attention, eyes on him. "Um, did I do something wrong?" Maybe Wicker was having second thoughts about letting me catch her.

"No, it's nothing like that," N said. His serious expression made it hard to erase my worries, though. "Forgive me, but I've never had a high opinion of trainers." I flinched, and even Nochi looked a bit guilty. "I've used the help of many Pokémon in the past, so I can't completely condone trainers' actions. And not too long ago, I met a trainer that turned my expectations of them around.

"I now know that not every trainer is forcing their Pokémon to stay by their side. I know now that Pokémon can be happy, even if they are not 'free' in the purest sense." I swallowed. Our little town had always been close to the Pokémon around them, and all trainers showed absolute respect for their Pokémon.

The second I thought it, I grimaced. No, not all trainers, if you could even use the term for them.

N smiled, though it definitely didn't light up his face. "I take it you know what I mean," he said.

"Yeah."

"There are those who would use Pokémon for their own gain. It's sad, but it's fact. And while I want to trust that someone who worked to become the Champion couldn't possibly have any ill intentions, I need to know for myself." N leaned forward, keeping his grey eyes on mine. "Jijri, are you capable of proving yourself to me?"

"Natural," Nochi whispered, looking at me warily. Since the festival noise outside was dulled by well-done construction work, I could easily hear her. "I think you should. Naleef wouldn't be with him otherwise. He's like they were. Like T—"

N's smile cut the girl off. This one was benign, and I felt embarrassed just watching them. "I feel that way, too," he said. "But I need to know for certain." N locked eyes with me again, his gaze more intense than a trainer encounter. "Jijri, is that something you can do for me?"

True to my battle instincts, I didn't look away. "I don't know what you're expecting out of me," I returned, "but if Wicker's concerned for me, I'll absolutely try. For her sake. I'll try as many times as it takes." After everything I had done so far, it couldn't be that hard. "So, if you'll accept my blind determination, then, yes, I can prove it."

We held our little staring contest for several minutes. Wicker shifted in my lap, and Nochi fidgeted in my periphery. Finally, N relaxed back into his chair, giving me a pleased look. "That's enough," he said, eyes flickering down. "Heh. I keep trying, but people are impossible to read. Numbers are much simpler."

Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? Nochi patted N's shoulder, so I let it slide. "You'll tell me, then?" I probed.

"Of course." Nochi let out a small sigh of relief, and Wicker continued her vigil from my lap. N cleared his throat and pointed towards Wicker. "She's been trying to talk to you because she's worried about you. She thinks that you're in danger."

"Danger?" What else could possibly go wrong in this region? Wasn't one crisis enough? Then again, as the Champion, I'd probably see my fair share of troubles in the future. Was my next trouble really so soon? "What kind of danger?"

Wicker stood straight up in my lap, her hooves pinching right through my pants and into my legs. She opened her mouth and let out a cry, the same sad and quiet note she had let out so many times when I was with her on the lab grounds. N's expression drooped, and even Nochi looked depressed from the sound.

N opened his mouth, shut it, thought a moment, and decided on the best way to translate her words:

"She says you've been left behind."

[Avi's Slightly Groggy Notes]

Look, another line that's been floating in my head for this story for years, finally out and in the open. What a nice feeling.

Thanks goes out to anyone that's taken the time to read this story in the past week. Even if you're just lurking, I do appreciate it.

This chapter was a lot of things: the aftermath of the failed Shrine Ceremony, some arguing, plus the appearances of N and Nochi. I'd been dropping hints at their appearance, and here they are. The tricky part was writing them post BW but pre-BW2, especially since I haven't written Ideally, either. Man, I should get on that someday.

That being said, Wicker's been spending this whole story trying to tell Jijri he's been left behind. What does that mean? Find out next chapter, when things get even more ridiculous in my ancient plotline... Please look forward to it!

[POST] 03.18.2017