Satori in Kalos
Chapter 13
Fairy 1
It was rather obvious in hindsight. Satori knew what Yveltal really was, and it wasn't any being of destruction. If Absol really had an accurate ability of disaster-sense, then there was no way she mistook Yveltal for the being of destruction. Whatever it actually was.
But without anything else to go on, that was a problem for another day.
So Satori munched on a chocolate chip cookie. Rin sat across the table from her looking at it with a lustful gaze, but Satori wasn't going to give it up. It took awhile for Rin to realize this.
They sat in the hospital's cafeteria. Rin had two tails and cat ears, but with baggy clothing she could cover them up so no one noticed they were youkai. Doctor Eirin had let Satori wander around a bit after two weeks had gone by, but insisted Satori stay for a third before being discharged. Although she was somewhat eager to leave and get on with her life, Satori couldn't help but notice her injuries were still rather painful and perhaps an extended stay would be best.
"Orin, where'd Okuu run off to?"
She said she wanted to help out with the relief efforts. Is that okay?
"Please use words, enough people are staring at me already." Satori glanced around to confirm that yes, the other people in the cafeteria occasionally tried to sneak a glance in her direction. "I'd rather not have them think I'm crazy as well."
"Ahaha, sorry." Rin pretended to clear her throat. "This kind of sucks for you, doesn't it?" Satori raised an eyebrow. "All this attention, I mean. Take down the biggest badass monster on the continent and you're rewarded with what you hate."
Satori finished her food and put her hands in her lap. "Admittedly, yes. It will be nice to go back on the road again, other people were a rare encounter."
Rin grabbed her soda and made a loud slurping sound as she drained the rest of it. She didn't say anything, but Satori could tell she wished Satori would just come home. She didn't really know how to respond to that, so she didn't.
The two of them walked back to Satori's room, where they found Reisen tidying up. She gave a quick wave and helped Satori back into her bed. She wasn't there long before Calem visited.
"Afternoon." Calem took a seat besides Rin. "I got to speak with Clemont yesterday. Ah, he's—"
"The gym leader."
Calem nodded. "Right. He's pretty pissed off about what happened to the Prism Tower. Understandably. Apparently he designed most of it. He, er, went on quite a rant—"
"I don't care to experience it myself."
"Right. Anyway, the takeaway is that Clemont isn't accepting challenges until his tower is rebuilt. Which will take forever." Calem held up his hand before Satori could interrupt. "He has to accept if we have seven badges and he's the last one. But everyone else was told to bypass Lumiose and find other gyms."
"I know we're done with them, but what about Shalour and Coumarine? And..." Satori looked down. "...Viola..."
Calem rubbed his arm. "Ah, the former two gyms are still standing even if the majority of the city isn't. Doesn't really effect us but scheduling would probably be a nightmare. Korrina and Ramos are pretty invested in the relief efforts."
Satori nodded, but nervously interlaced her fingers back and fourth. Calem didn't seem to notice.
"I think one of the elite four is replacing Viola. Drasna, I think her name is? Well, at least until the league finds a permanent replacement. Again, none of this is relevant for us. We still have the entire mountain region gyms to go through."
"Viola's death is relevant," Satori said. "It's...it's relevant."
Calem looked guilty. "Ah, sorry. You're right" Calem put his hands in his lap. "On that, well, we were going to have Trevor's wake tonight. We rented out a suite, bought some food. That scary doctor of yours said it was okay."
"I would like that," Satori said. Calem gave her the specific details, and stayed around for a few awkward minutes before making up an excuse to leave. Satori just nodded and let him go.
Satori had done quite a lot of thinking over the past two weeks. There wasn't much else to do besides watch TV, but there was nothing else on but the news of how things were progressing. It all got very repetitive. After the fourth time hearing the story of what happened and her role in it, she shut off the TV and just gave up on that front.
Her Holo Caster was even more full of messages than it was before. For every email she read, four more took its place. She didn't want to just ignore these people, but there was no way she would ever be able to get through them all. Reisen said she was experiencing her "fifteen minutes of fame" and things would calm down "eventually." It felt weird to spend her fifteen minutes in a hospital bed, but it was preferable to the alternative.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully until it was time for the wake. Reisen had given Satori a few outfits since literally every article of clothing she owned was destroyed one way or another. Satori had asked if this was also on the KPD's dime, but Reisen said they were hers. A personal way of saying thanks.
Satori carefully put on the outfit. A white button-down shirt and red tie with a black jacket, with a white pleated skirt. It was more formal than she was used to, but it was a bit of a formal occasion she was attending. Or at the very least, deserved respect.
Rin followed Satori to go find the suite Calem had mentioned. It was at a very lavish hotel called the Richissimi, and how Calem managed to afford to rent a suite here was anyone's guess. But at least she fit in with what she was wearing. She'd have to thank Reisen later, again.
A man in a suit greeted her at the door. "Ah, Mistress Satori, welcome to our fine establishment."
Satori raised an eyebrow, but her question was answered without having to speak it. Her picture was apparently being broadcast on the news.
"Thank you. I'm supposed to be meeting my friends here, somewhere."
"Yes, follow me." The butler led Satori to the elevators, then around the hallway to one of the rooms. The butler bowed and walked off, leaving Satori and Rin to enter themselves. Everyone seemed to have already arrived—Calem, Tierno, and Shauna.
They all waved as she entered and sat on one of the couches. Rin sat next to her. Satori noticed Rin felt somewhat out of place, but she assured Rin she was welcome.
"Ahh, well," Tierno started everyone off. "I was thinking we'd start eating, and then just share some stories. That sort of thing."
Everyone nodded, and dug into the food. It was all junk food, pizza, chips, soda, that sort of thing. But compared to two weeks of hospital gruel it was as good as a five star feast as far as Satori was concerned. Rin certainly seemed to like it if her moans were anything to go by.
A few stories got passed around about Trevor. Some of them were hilarious, some of them were sad, some of them were impressive. Satori found it very cathartic.
"Alright, alright, I got another one," Tierno said. "This was like a year ago, before we all met. But we were planning our adventures, and I told Trevs about my dancing thing. I told him it was all about feeling, but he went and tried to devise some sort of algorithm or something for the 'perfect dance.' Oh man, you should have seen it, it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever done."
Tierno stood up and recreated parts of the dance he remembered. Everyone laughed as Tierno spun around and fell back onto the couch.
Satori raised her hand. "I have one." Everyone quieted down a little bit so Satori could speak. "Back in Cyllage, Grant beat me pretty hard. I didn't really have a good plan going back, but Trevor gave me some invaluable advice on how to win. I'm not sure I could have beat Grant so soon without his help."
There were nods all around. "He was a hell of a smart guy," Shauna said. "I remember—"
Before Shauna could tell her own story, someone knocked on the door. They looked up in confusion, there wasn't anyone else invited.
"Hey, uh, Satori, are you in there? This place is really big..."
Rin jumped up from her seat. "Eh? Okuu?"
"Orin?" Came Utsuho's voice from the other side of the door. Satori got up from her seat and jogged over to the door, making a silent apology to the rest of the group. She and Rin slipped out of the room.
"Okuu, I thought you were helping out with the relief efforts." Rin said.
"That's why I'm here, sort of." Utsuho jumped up and down. "The people at the power place said I was really amazing and they want to give me an actual job!"
Satori was honestly surprised. "The power plant gave you a job?"
"Yeah, they said they wanted me to be an, uh...engi...engi-something."
"Engineer."
"Yeah, that. They said I was really good, and I was. I mean, it all makes sense, you know, the electricity and power and stuff. They said I would have to move to Lumiose though, but they would pay for my room, and so I needed to talk to you and well, yeah."
"And they didn't mind you were a youkai?"
"Not at all, that was the super weird thing!" Utsuho exclaimed. "They seemed super happy I could fly up and fix the thingies on the ceiling."
Satori nodded. She walked over to her friend and held her hand. "That's really fantastic for you," she said with a smile. "You're amazing."
"Aww, thanks Satori." Utsuho smiled.
I'm going to have to live alone. A sudden rush of crushing disappointment came from Rin. Satori looked over and Rin noticed. Aw great, now I feel even worse for not being happy for Okuu. Dammit.
Satori had something to say in response to that, but it wasn't the appropriate time. Instead she told Utsuho to go back to the hotel while Satori and Rin continued their evening. Satori felt bad about leaving Utsuho out, but her obviously-youkai presence would only make the others nervous.
The evening was, overall, pleasant. And although a couple of times some tears were shed it was a valuable experience. Satori really felt like she needed it.
After all was said and done it was nearly midnight, and the gathering decided to break up.
"I guess this is goodbye, then." Shauna said. It wasn't very cheerful.
"Ah, right." Tierno looked to the side. "Sorry you guys."
Calem shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Traveling with you was really fun, and I'm sure we'll see each other again."
"I agree," Satori added. "Good luck in all your endeavors."
There were some last hugs before Tierno and Shauna finally left. Calem was going to follow them out, but Satori held him back. He looked at her questioningly. Satori just gestured for him to wait and led the group back inside the room for a brief moment.
"I was thinking," Satori said, "and it involves the two of you."
"Huh?" Rin tilted her head.
"Well, Okuu just got a job at the power plant and it'll just be Calem and me continuing on our journey now. I was hoping, Orin, instead of just going back home by yourself you would come with us."
"W-What? But I'm not a trainer, I don't even—"
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Satori said. "And, Calem would have to be okay with it."
Calem shrugged. "No complaints. It'll be lonely with just the two of us, and to be frank I don't think we'd get along well by ourselves."
Rin looked back and fourth between Calem and Satori. "I want to, of course I do." Thanks Satori.
Satori reached over and squeezed Rin's hand, smiling. "Come on then, I should get back to the hospital. I'm already late as it is, Eirin is going to be angry."
The others laughed at that and made their way back. Calem bid Satori farewell on the way back, while Rin saw Satori back to the hospital before heading to join Utsuho in their own room.
Satori's third and final week in the hospital was not so uneventful as the previous two. She didn't have any more new visitors, although Calem dropped by once or twice. But she was kept busy by setting up Utsuho's new career. Utsuho was really excited about it, but probably wouldn't be able to understand the paperwork involved or rent an apartment or anything along those lines. Satori was glad to do it for her, but it proved to be somewhat difficult to do entirely from her hospital bed.
Rin helped out though, and soon enough Utsuho was set up. Satori would be lying if she said she wasn't worried, but it seemed like the right choice.
And then finally the day of Satori's discharge arrived. She still hurt all over quite a bit, although not nearly as bad as she had weeks prior. A lot of nurses and doctors waved her off, not all of them Satori was sure she had met. She was forced to sit in a wheelchair while Eirin wheeled her out, despite the fact she could walk just fine. Something about "policy."
Once they got to the elevator, Satori found Reimu waiting for her. She wasn't wearing the whole military getup she was the first time they met, just a simple jacket with "POLICE" written on back. It didn't take Satori long to figure out why she had a police escort.
Waiting outside the hospital was a crowd of reporters. Reimu looked at them behind the glass doors with a disgusting frown. "Vultures."
"Any recommendation on what I should say?" Satori asked.
Reimu shrugged. "I'm not the best at this sort of thing. Answer as much as you're comfortable answering, and when you've had enough just tell me. They'll probably follow us a ways before dispersing. Do you have a destination in mind?"
Satori nodded. "The northern gate. The one to Laverre."
Reimu nodded, and walked behind Satori as she exited the building. Rin walked next to her, but Utsuho didn't want to go with them. The sliding doors of the hospital opened, and Satori was met with a torrent of thoughts and shouts.
"Miss Satori, Miss Satori, how did you take down Yveltal?"
"Are you sure it's safe? How likely is it we'll experience this again?"
"Can you tell us about that strange accessory around your chest?"
"Is it true you also played a crucial role in the power plant incident?"
Despite the fact that Satori knew what questions were going to be asked before they were spoken, there were still too many to take advantage. She was flustered from all the activity, and had a hard time keeping a handle on things. The reporters all but shouted out their questions, and although it quieted down a little when Satori started answering in a soft voice, it wasn't all that effective.
Some of the questions were grossly personal, but most deserved actual answers. Satori tried to give as much information as possible without revealing any of the personal and important bits (which were also the most interesting bits). She felt kind of bad when she had to tell people directly "I'm not answering that" though.
Satori hoped that if she answered enough questions they would back off, but it seemed that wouldn't end up actually happening. After a short while, most of the big questions had already been answered and Satori told Reimu she was done. At that, Reimu suddenly became ten degrees scarier and the reporters backed off.
It was incredibly impressive.
"This is strange." Satori said out loud. Reimu looked down and Rin looked over at her.
"What is?" Rin asked.
"People wanting to take my picture. Thanking me. Asking about me. Back in Vaniville we were—"
Before Satori could complete her thought, Rin waved her arm back and fourth. "Let's not talk about that. Let's just be happy people don't hate us anymore."
Satori caught the questions rising in Reimu's mind, but she had the presence of mind not to ask. More accurately, she actually just didn't care enough to ask. Satori figured that's probably the preferable mindset.
Reimu led Satori into one of their police cars and gave her a ride to the northern gate. Satori and Rin got out and Reimu gave a wave as the car sped off.
Inside the gate they met Calem and Utsuho. Calem looked uncomfortable around her, although they had lived in the same town for years so he wasn't all that afraid. Just nervous.
"Hey Satori," Utsuho smiled once she saw Satori enter the gate. Calem looked over and gave her a quick nod as she walked over and sat down. She tried not to show it but she was pretty weak from spending three weeks in a hospital.
"So, onto Laverre?" Calem asked.
"Give me a minute," Satori said. No one was rude enough to say anything but they all thought it. Pitied her for her injuries. "What sort of place is Laverre?" She asked to lift the mood.
"I'm sure you'll love it," Calem said bluntly. "They call it the youkai village. Apparently a lot of youkai live there. I'm assuming."
"You scared?"
Calem looked away without saying anything. He was, though not to any significant degree. It was still a town that hundreds if not thousands of trainers went through before with no trouble.
Before Satori could press him, Utsuho sat down next to her and gave her a hug. "Have fun, Satori." She exclaimed.
"Thanks. Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Satori asked.
"Uh huh, uh huh, I'm totally ready."
Rin gave Utsuho a hug as well and without much delay, they set off on their journey towards Laverre. The beginning of the route was rather mundane, but Satori got to experience the colors of autumn. While she was in her extended hospital stay the leaves must have changed.
It was hard for Satori to really appreciate it though, her mind was elsewhere. She had taken very good care of her ultra ball, never letting it out of her sight, but she knew she had to summon what was inside. Summon Yveltal. There were things they had to discuss.
Satori wanted to make sure she was secluded though, showing him off so quickly after he killed thousands of people would be in poor taste.
The issue wasn't so much that Yveltal would be directly seen, it wasn't that large. The issue was the darkness that irradiated from him. Satori wanted there to be as little chance as possible of anyone noticing it.
So, around the campfire Satori told the others she was going to release Yveltal in the middle of the night and talk to it.
"You can talk to it?" Calem asked a bit too loudly.
"Wait, you don't—eep!" Rin shrieked as Satori jabbed her with her elbow. "Ah, er, ahem. Never mind." Satori, how the hell did you travel so long and not have him catch on?
Satori straightened. "Yes, I can." Calem looked like he wanted to ask more, but Satori noticed how he explained it away as legendary pokemon stuff, and he made a mental note to look it up later. Satori gathered she might get some more questions later, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
Calem and Rin decided they wouldn't participate when Satori said she was planning on waiting until two in the morning to summon him. So it was just Satori standing in a clearing in the middle of a forest, praying that no one was around to see.
The ultra ball was intimidating. Satori was only partially confident nothing terrible would happen if she summoned the creature within, but she was still afraid. She took a deep breath, and gave it a good chuck.
In a flash of light, the figure of Yveltal appeared in the dead of night standing before Satori. A heavy pressure fell over the immediate area, and Satori felt the thoughts of all the animals around her suddenly seize in terror and run away. The monster itself shook its wings a bit and turned its head from side to side, getting its bearings.
Ah, sooner than I predicted. Yveltal turned its head to look at Satori. Brave enough to release me only after a couple of weeks, little murderess?
"I'm curious why you gave up." Satori attempted to put on a demeanor far more confident than she was actually feeling. "By all means you should have killed me."
Yveltal lowered itself to gaze into Satori's eyes instead of lording over her. It made her even more uncomfortable. I saw something.
"I don't understand."
That ability of yours, thought invader? Satori? For those of us with psychic capabilities it's a two-way street. You may peer into our minds but we can peer into yours. Although I'll admit pressing into your thoughts is like flying into a hurricane.
Satori shifted her left foot. "Thank you. But that doesn't explain what—"
You know that memory you're trying hard not to think about? That one memory that whenever recalled, you push as far back into the crevasses of your mind as you can?
"N-No...you didn't..."
Oh yes. I saw that. Murderer.
"Don't you dare," Satori shouted. "You bastard. You utter bastard, is that what you've meant all this time? Don't you dare call me that!"
That doesn't change the truth.
"Why did you even—" Satori cut herself short to reformulate her thought. "Why would you even trust me? Why me?"
I just explained that.
"Not that, before that. You called me out long before you pinned me down. Why me? Why did you choose me?"
This time, Yveltal laughed. It was a strange noise, but Satori knew it was laughter. Did I do that?
Satori's fists were shaking. "Yes, you did."
Memory is such a fickle thing. Yveltal's presence became heavier. Though I do find you interesting, so I think I'll hold you to your deathbed promise. Don't screw up this time like you did with your little—
"To make me do what? Make you immortal?" Satori sat down and dropped her face in her hands. "You don't want to die, so you want me to cure death. You bastard."
Good luck.
Satori sighed. She dug her face into her hands as she let Yveltal loom over her, trying to get a grasp on the situation. But it wasn't working. What Yveltal wanted from her, how they were connected. She couldn't put the pieces together. Besides the sheer impossibility of the task Yveltal demanded from her, there were still so many things that didn't make sense.
Too many things. And as long as they went unanswered, Yveltal was still dangerous.
Yet she could not answer them. Satori recalled Yveltal back to its ultra ball, and walked back to camp. Calem and Rin were still asleep, so Satori just curled up into her own sleeping bag and fell asleep with them. But she did not sleep well.
The next morning, Satori was interrogated by her traveling companions on how last night went. She only had one real word to give them though, "fine." She decided that she wouldn't divulge the full details of her and Yveltal's little bargain. Or partnership. Or whatever it was.
The others were unsatisfied, but quickly got over it. The route to Laverre proved to be an annoyance far more worthy of their time.
"There's muck in my boots," Rin complained. They hadn't been walking for more than an hour. "I hate this swamp. I hate it."
Calem was in agreement on this, at least. "One day we'll look back and be glad we did it. Once. Once, and never again."
The air was humid, hot, and Satori did not have the clothes for stomping her way through swampland. All she actually had were Reisen's gifts, and the look of a formally-dressed girl dragging her boots through the swamp was a sight to see.
The swamp wasn't too bad of a journey, only a couple of days. It would have been even shorter but whenever they found a dry spot of land they camped out on it, which cost a few hours of potential travel. Spirits were low, but when they finally reached the end there was much rejoicing.
Laverre Town was small and quaint, just how Satori liked it. The buildings were all made of wood and fit in with the landscape, built into the forest so not to disturb the environment. A few people were milling about, but Satori locked her eyes on two familiar faces. It didn't take more than a moment for them to notice Satori and run over.
"Heya, Satori," Cirno said. Daiyousei came up behind her and waved.
"Hey boss," Satori said. "What are you two doing here?"
"We live here!"
"Ahh...oh, right, let me introduce you." Satori introduced Cirno and Daiyousei to the others, who briefly exchanged pleasantries.
Cirno put her hands on her hips after the introductions. "Well, minion, want to come on adventures with me and Dai?"
Satori didn't really want to. She wanted to take a shower, then go drink tea at a cafe until sunset and pet her Pokemon. But it was really hard to refuse an offer to Cirno when she grinned from ear to ear like that. Even her thoughts were upbeat.
"Oh, all right." Satori said.
"Wohoo!" Cirno cheered. She grabbed Satori by her arm and hauled her off before she had time to say goodbye. Which didn't matter, because her companions were too busy holding their sides laughing at what Satori got herself into.
Cirno pulled Satori and Daiyousei north of the town, into the forest. Satori knew what their adventure was going to be before Cirno started explaining, but didn't interrupt. Apparently Cirno and Daiyousei routinely broke into the Pokeball Factory and explored.
A long set of stairs led up to the factory, on either side two large statues of Pokeballs. The factory itself was simplistic but large, a simple red tiled roof and brown brick. It fit surprisingly well into its surroundings despite being a massive factory in a forest. From the outside it was nearly silent.
Cirno led Satori a short way into the forest, and they circled around to the back of the complex. They hid in the bushes until Cirno pointed towards a row of ground-level windows. A few of them were open.
"Those are the offices," Cirno explained. "The dumb employees always leave the windows open. Easy for master-sleuths like us to get in."
Satori nodded absentmindedly while Daiyousei pulled out a pair of cheap binoculars. She looked at each window in turn and announced if they were occupied. The only one that was both vacant and had an open window was on the far left.
The three of them crept towards the window and hugged the wall next to it. Cirno made some indecipherable signal with her hands which, if not for her ability to read minds, Satori would have no chance in hell of understanding. The message itself was pretty simple: you first.
Cirno seemed surprised when Satori actually understood what she was saying and started climbing through the window. There was plenty of room, and even though Satori was sore from her numerous injuries she slipped in without much difficulty.
The inside of the office was cluttered with a lot of personal effects. Satori only took a quick glance before turning back toward the window to see Daiyousei climbing in next. Cirno came in last and gave a thumbs up before sneaking over to the door. She opened it a crack and peered through.
After a minute Cirno gestured and then snuck out into the hallway. Satori and Daiyousei followed. The hallway was minimalist, clearly the sort of hallway one would expect to find in a factory.
They didn't have to go very far before they came across a metal door labeled "Main Floor." Cirno opened it without hesitation.
The factory floor was large and loud. More importantly, it was completely unmanned. All of the conveyer belts and assembly machines looked to be completely automated. Satori could get a general feel for how the factory worked, the pokeball components were shuffled around the floor on conveyer belts and then put together in stages. The finished Pokeballs were then placed in boxes. There was likely more to the mechanism, but Satori was dragged away by Cirno before she could get the full picture
"Boss, what are we going to do?" Satori asked.
Cirno pointed to one of the conveyer belts. "Ride 'em!"
With that, Cirno trotted over next to one of the conveyer belts and climbed up onto the stationary metal sides. Then she lowered her stance, spread her arms and hopped onto the moving belt. Satori almost couldn't believe her eyes as Cirno started surfing the belts.
Daiyousei wasn't so bold, and simply knelt down on all fours and rode it that way. Satori, not wanting to be left out, climbed on in a similar manner.
The conveyer belt was quicker than Satori thought and it zoomed her around the factory floor along with a number of Pokeballs. She was careful not to touch them or otherwise disturb the production, but Cirno didn't seem to mind disturbing things at all. Satori watched her literally jump from one belt to another adjacent one and keep her balance.
"Wooooo!" Cirno shouted. It was hard to hear her over the sound of the factory. Satori and Daiyousei tried to follow her lead but there wasn't a chance they could keep up.
Riding the belts was kind of like an obstacle course. There were parts where Satori had to duck, parts where she had to jump and times when she had to switch belts entirely. It was fun and a little bit challenging. But she got worn out quicker than the other two and climbed off first. Daiyousei joined Satori a minute later, but Cirno seemed to never run out of energy,
"Aww, come on you guys," Cirno said. "I'm just gettin' warmed up."
Daiyousei gave a brief laugh, but then cut herself off. Satori followed her gaze to see someone standing at the far end of the factory with a very angry expression on her face. She wasn't very tall, with short blue hair and holding a wrench.
"Dammit you idiots, get the hell outta here!" The woman shouted.
"Ah crap it's Nitori," Cirno yelled, and jumped off the conveyer. She ran towards Satori and Daiyousei, Nitori hot on her heels. "Quick, quick, run away."
Daiyousei took the lead on this one and Satori bolted for the door after her. Or at least until Cirno caught up and overtook both of them, leaving Nitori far behind. They quickly burst through the factory door into an open hallway. They dashed through it to the other side and opened the door at the end.
Not two steps out of the hallway Satori realized she was about to bump into someone. She tried to turn to avoid it but the person grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and she fell to the ground. Cirno was also caught, only Daiyousei spared. She turned around looking worried.
"Go, Dai! Save yourself!"
It didn't take long for Daiyousei to take Cirno's advice and run out the front door, and out of Satori's view. Apparently Nitori gave up on chasing her, because she eased her pace and tried to catch her breath in the doorway.
"T-Thanks, Val." Nitori said.
Satori looked up at the person who caught her by the neck. She was a young woman with long black hair, but what struck Satori most were the two vibrant wings coming from her back. Unlike Remilia's, these were colorful and pretty.
"It looks like I caught a few fairies causing trouble," the woman said. "Cirno, you've recruited another miscreant into your little gang?"
"H-Hey Valerie, how's it been..." Cirno said with a lot of trepidation.
Valerie ignored her and turned towards Satori. "And what is your name, my new little troublemaker?"
"S-Satori, uh, ma'am."
"Oh?" Valerie raised her eyebrows. "Oh yes, I recognize you now. This is quite shameful, I honestly expected the legendary trainer of Yveltal to be a bit more mature than this."
Ouch. That one hurt. Satori lowered her head and averted her eyes.
Valerie tossed Cirno aside with a lot more force than Satori would have guessed her petite frame could muster, and then pulled Satori to her feet. She then grabbed Satori's wrist. "Come with me, Satori, we have a great many things to discuss." Valerie turned towards Cirno. "You on the other hand will be getting quite the lecture, later."
Satori couldn't do much as Valerie dragged her by the arm except give Cirno a worried look. Cirno was apologetic but didn't intervene.
Valerie led Satori all the way back to town, though she eventually let go of Satori's arm once it was clear she wouldn't run away. During the entire walk back, Satori couldn't help but stare at Valerie. She was beautiful by any definition of the word, and it was as if every thread of her clothing was placed perfectly. Together with her wings, she truly looked like a storybook fairy. Whether her wings were real or not though, Satori couldn't tell.
Valerie knew she was being stared at, Satori found out. It put her in an awkward position. But Valerie didn't say anything and just kept walking.
She led Satori to an outdoor cafe underneath a massive tree. A few people sneaked a look at Valerie, but from what Satori could tell her presence was a familiar one. Once they sat down at a table a waitress came by to take their orders. Tea for both of them. Valerie took a sip of hers once it arrived, and Satori did likewise.
"We'll be joined soon by a mutual acquaintance," Valerie said.
"Professor Sycamore, right?"
"My, that is correct. I had heard you had quite the deduction skills, although I'm at a loss for how you arrived at that conclusion."
The truth was Satori just read Valerie's thoughts. It was refreshing to know that her secret wasn't out, and the people she told had the foresight not to talk about it. She never considered the Holmes-esque cover as to how she knew what she knew, but it was a good one now that Valerie had brought it up.
"My list of acquaintances is short, and most don't know you."
"Is it really, though?" Valerie blew on her tea. "One does not travel through the central and coastal Kalos areas, pick up four badges, and become famous for defeating Yveltal without meeting a substantial number of people."
Satori stayed silent. She made a very good point. Satori took a minute to think—to really think—about all the people she'd met. The list had quite a lot of names on it, enough that she couldn't count them without getting out a piece of paper to write them down.
"I suppose any of Cirno's friends would have been valid guesses," Satori said. "Did you come to the factory looking for me, or was that just routine patrol?"
"Oh yes, I spend quite a few more hours than I desire chasing after those troublemakers. Or should I say you troublemakers?" Valerie frowned. "But in this instance I was there on an, albeit related, entirely different matter."
Valerie reached into her clothes and took out a pokeball. It was a similar shade of purple to Satori's hair and had a white "M" engraved on top. It was strangely intimidating.
"This is for you," Valerie said. "It's a Master Ball."
Satori gingerly took it into her hands. "What am I suppose to do with this?"
"It's the perfect pokeball. It can capture any pokemon without fail on its first try. It is your insurance against a repeat performance of Yveltal's rampage, should you be unable to control it."
She was at a loss for words. Not at what she held so much as that it existed in the first place. The perfect pokeball? If they had something like in reserve, why didn't they—
"And now I'm sure you're wondering why this wasn't used when it was truly needed," Valerie said. "Don't look so surprised, the question was written right across your face. They are extremely expensive to produce and the single one we had in reserve was stolen less than a week prior to Yveltal's attack. I am not in a position to say anything about the connectedness of those events, though any reasonable person would notice it."
Instead of replying, Satori sipped her tea. The police were probably all over that one already.
"You sadden me," Valerie said suddenly, looking Satori up and down. "You're pretty, but your hair is disheveled and torn. There's mud and slime on your boots, dirt caked on your skirt and stains on your shirt. You have bruises and cuts and scars. It pains me that someone who has the potential for such beauty has been... tarnished."
"I'm not sure how to respond to that."
"Forgive my rudeness. If you would indulge me, I am confident I could dress and clean you to the point where you would draw stares. I am just sad that you had to face such ugliness in your life so that your appearance has degraded to prioritize function rather than elegance."
Satori shook her head. "I don't have the money for any of that."
"Oh?" Valerie crossed one of her legs over the other, and leaned back in her chair. "I can't imagine it would be difficult for someone in your position to come across money. Couldn't you have asked the Scarlet household?"
"What?" Satori narrowed her gaze. "How did you know I went there?"
"You're a celebrity. People are going to be watching you wherever you go and report on whatever you're doing. They're curious. They want to know your story. When witnesses remember a girl with an eye around her chest visit the mansion, people want to know why. And when the legendary trainer of Yveltal breaks and enters into a factory to, what was it, ride the conveyer belts? People also want to know why."
"Ahh..." Satori didn't quite realize the consequences of what Shikieiki had said weeks ago back in the hospital room. That made her uncomfortable.
"Well, money shouldn't be too hard. Do a few exclusive interviews or a talk show. Give them something no one else knows. You'll have more money than you'll know what to do with if you play it smart. I could help you with that, but it looks like our friend Augustine has finally arrived."
Satori turned around in her chair to see the professor walking towards them. When he met eyes with Satori he smiled and gave a quick wave. He hustled over and pulled up a chair, sitting down.
"Good to see you, professor." Valerie said.
"And you, Valerie." Sycamore turned towards Satori. "But Satori, I'm astonished my pupil has become a legendary trainer. I'm so sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital, but I was needed to help in the aftermath of Yveltal's attack."
Satori shook her head. "It's alright. Really, I should thank you."
"Really? Why?" Sycamore shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. Satori chuckled.
"Well, for that." Satori said. "The question that slays monsters?"
After a beat, Sycamore started laughing. "My goodness, that is fantastic. I wasn't being literal, you know. If you would have said you planned on taming Yveltal on my word I would have never of said it." The professor leaned in. "But really, I must ask for myself now. Why? Why did Yveltal do what it did, and how did you stop it?"
"I—"
"No no, never mind." Sycamore interrupted. "I want to figure it out for myself."
"Uh, okay, I guess."
Sycamore leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. Satori saw his mind working, but Valerie took the silence as her cue to resume speaking.
"Let us move forward and discuss the reason we are here."
Sycamore nodded. "Right, right."
"Satori," Valerie said. "The topic of legendary trainers has always been one particularly difficult to manage. Whilst you have—"
"Yveltal is too powerful for standard gym battles," Satori interrupted.
"Indeed."
Before Valerie could continue, Sycamore cleared his throat. "What makes it tricky though, is you legitimately captured Yveltal. It's not really anyone's place to say you can't use and train it. It's just, practicality must—"
"He's game breaking," Satori said. "By letting him loose he could thrash any gym with no skill required on my end."
"Exactly. We have to examine the true purpose of the gyms, and that is to measure a trainer's ability. Introducing Yveltal—or other legendaries for that matter—simply breaks this system. And because of that, legendary pokemon simply are not allowed in gym battles. Every region has this policy."
"I don't mind."
"I'm glad you are being reasonable in this," Valerie said. "There have been other legendary trainers before you who did not agree so readily. As for the specific League rules, legendary pokemon are not permitted in official gym matches nor against the Elite Four. They are permitted against the champion of the region."
Satori just sat in silence and nodded at Valerie and Sycamore's explanation of what she could and could not do with Yveltal. At least in regards to the official Pokemon League. Sycamore went on to explain that most other organizations or independent tournaments also banned legendaries, and the list of times they are permitted is probably shorter than when they are not.
There were a few, though. As Valerie said, matches against champions allowed legendaries. There was also the "Legendary Tournament" which brought together all the legendary trainers, and there would no doubt be a few brave souls who approached Satori looking for a match against Yveltal.
The waitress came back and Satori asked for a few pastries. She came back with a doughnut and a couple other things Satori didn't have names for. They tasted delicious.
"There is another thing, dear Satori." Valerie put her hands in her lap. "You have insofar collected four badges with I imagine minimal effort. There is not much skill required in collecting your first four, but the latter four are notoriously more challenging. I would suggest instead of coming to me directly, consider spending some time challenging the other trainers in my gym first. They fight on a similar level to me, and are employed for the sole purpose of assisting challengers. You will need far more than type advantage and strength to win from here on out."
"I'll do that. Thank you." Satori took another bite of her doughnut and munched in silence. She stopped when Valerie suddenly reached over the table and placed her palm on Satori's cheek. They stayed like that for a few seconds, neither saying a word.
"I have to be off, there are others who require my attention." Valerie removed her hand from Satori's cheek. "Be safe, Satori."
With that, Valerie glided away leaving Satori and Sycamore alone at the table. Once she was out of ear shot, Sycamore started laughing.
"Aha, Valerie is quite the eccentric. She's a good person though, I hope you take her advice."
Satori nodded and shoved the rest of the doughnut in her mouth. After swallowing she shook hands with the professor, and they went their separate ways. Satori didn't know where her companions had run off too, but she planned on getting a room and taking a long overdue shower.