"So, this is the little Shinx you have been telling me nonstop about?"

In the waning downpour of a spring night, two levitating figures stared into a scorched tree trunk that was put out by the rain. One touched the fur of the electric lion, the other heaved a sigh at the sight.

"Apparently a Luxio now. Poor thing. He went through a lot and even evolved during all of that."

"If older brother didn't bless him with this power, I doubt he would be able to survive."

"So, what should we do now? Leaving him like this just gets him into more trouble. Besides, we also promise older brother to protect him no matter what."

The two looked at each other with hesitation. The early light from dawn already showed itself among the leaves.

"The best thing now, I believe, is to get him somewhere safe. Here's what we're gonna do…"

The mild brightness caressed his eyelids, waking him up from his seemingly eternal slumber. He blinked a few times, the wooden wall greeted him back. Axel found himself lying on a straw bed next to the window. Worried and confused, he slowly got back on his four.

"W-Where am I?"

He staggered as a sharp pain ran through his head. He wanted to remember something but he could not. The only image that was left inside him was the sound of explosions followed by a deafening scream.

A sudden breeze brought a shiver down his spine. He stood frozen for a while. The peaceful atmosphere somewhat brought relief to his heart. He calmed down, trying to recollect his broken memory.

"You are awake!?"

A Feraligatr walked in from the door, carrying with him a basket full of berries. The gator ignited the fireplace, apparently trying to make breakfast. Axel gave him a perplexed look, not sure how to act.

"Name's Razor," the Feraligatr spoke. "Found you out cold in the forest clearing, rough night, isn't it?"

Just as the Luxio was about to respond, Razor pulled out a small chair. "Take a seat, the meal is almost done."

Axel nodded and then sat down. A bowl of stewed berry with a fragrant scent of herb was handed to him. His stomach rebelled against him, giving Razor a small chuckle. The Luxio accepted the dish and ate it eagerly. Razor shook his head with a defeated smile.

"So," he said as he cleaned the plates, "mind telling me who you are?"

"A-Axel," Axel answered timidly.

"Do you remember where you came from? You don't seem to be native to this place."

Axel's eyes widened. A sharp pain ran through his head. The last thing he could vaguely remember was the image of a scorched tree trunk in the forest.

"I don't…"

Seeing the Luxio struggling to put two and two together, Razor decided to not push the topic further. "At least you still remember your name." He then kindly suggested, "I'm heading out to Windswept Village, wanna tag along?"

Left with no other option in the current position, Axel nodded.

"By the way, you might need this." The gator threw a piece of cloth at the Luxio. "Town peeps are gonna freak out and start asking me stuff if you walk around with that blade of yours."

"And before you start asking how I'm not "freaked out" yet? Yes, I've seen more bizarre cases."

Windmills, the distinctive feature of Windswept Village, were always a sight for sore eyes for weary travellers. The wind here guided its habitants, offering power and cleansing burdened souls.

The town was blessed by mother nature, being surrounded by mountains whose tops were always covered in a thick layer of cloud all year round. The mountains acted as a border, separating the town from the rest of the world. Yet, the Pokémon who lived here treated them as protection walls and received enough supply to sustain themselves through growing berries.

The terrace-like terrain of the town gave way to an interesting design of pathway. Overgrown bushes swayed gently on the sideline of the stone paved stairs, leading directly towards the largest windmill in the middle of the town.

"Morning Razor!"

Several greetings were shared along the way the duo traversed. From the way the locals treated Razor, Axel could tell that everyone around here really looked up to the blue gator. This just piqued his interest even more about this place and the position that Razor held within the town.

"Ol' Razor, how's your day?"

Their concentration span was cut off by a large shout. A Conkeldurr waved at Razor and Axel from the entrance to the windmill. He descended from the stairs, carrying a box full of metal tools with him.

"Same as usual, Gorgon." Razor gave Gorgon a handshake before patting on his left shoulder. "You're still trying to fix that damn thing?"

Gorgon shook his head slightly, "That thing has lived for far longer than it should, ol' friend. I'm surprised the machine inside is still running." Gorgon then took notice of the Luxio standing next to Razor, "And who might ya be?"

Axel timidly hid behind Razor, peeking at the tall Conkeldurr. Razor gave Axel an assuring look, "This is Gorgon, he's the town builder. Most of the houses and windmills around here are all his work."

Gorgon laughed heartily, "Haha, if ya ever need a hand fixing stuff just call me."

"About him, prolly another refugee," Razor said, looking at the Luxio. "We've had several of them washed up to this place. Found him unconscious last night while I was patrolling Livra Woods."

The Conkeldurr nodded, "It's true that more and more of these kinds of Pokémon end up in our town these days. Take him to Meoni, then. She should know what to do."

"Will do."

Just as Gorgon left their sight, curiosity took the best of the electric lion.

"Who is Meoni that he's referring to?" Axel asked.

"That's our town elder, or at least that's what we respect and call her so," Razor replied, walking towards the large windmill with Axel following just right after. "You will be surprised when you know who she really is."

The largest windmill stood proudly amidst the mist and clouds and the evergreen terrace that shaped the town. One could get intimidated by how massive it appeared to be, yet the shattered wood and grayed out columns reminded about the time that it had withstood.

Past the entrance revealed the massive structure that put the thing into motion. Several giant gears that are attached to the main axis slowly turned, occasionally creating the creaky sound. The four main sails on the outside caught the flow of strong wind from the mountains and generated force to move the whole contraption.

The Pokémon here used these windmills to channel water from the river across the town to irrigate their berry farms.

"Here we are!" Razor exclaimed, "Wait here."

Axel glanced across the place. He was awestruck and his mind was filled with fascination about the enormous thing. Razor came back shortly after, and behind him, Axel could notice a blurry pink shape that was floating alongside the gator. Then realization struck him.

"No!" Axel gasped, all eyes on the town elder. "You can't be…! I thought you were just a legend!"

"Well guess I'm no longer a legend, then?"

The pink cat Pokémon circled around the stunned electric lion who had been staring relentlessly at the marvel that he was witnessing. "Mew!" It squeaked with a giggle before stopping in front of Axel, looking at him directly with its round blue sky eyes. Its tail curled up as it flew away and landed next to Razor, still beaming with joy.

Razor could not hold back his chuckle. He leaned his back against the wall, watching, "Meoni, you scare the kid. Give him a break!"

"You are… real right?" Axel asked, still being blown away. "You are not an illusion made by some ghost-type right?"

Razor and Meoni shared a surprised look at each other before bursting out into laughter. Meoni then floated back to Axel, and gently tapped the Luxio on his nose.

"The one and only Mew," Razor said. "Don't worry, lots of Pokémon are like you when they first see her."

"I have only heard about you through fairy tales," Axel spoke softly. "The ancient Pokémon weave stories about how great you are. To be able to catch a glimpse of you would send joy to any Pokémon, let alone seeing you right here in the flesh."

"So if everyone's done with the admiring talk," Meoni raised her voice. "A Luxio eh? It's been a while since I saw one of your kind, especially not one with that feature of yours."

Axel jolted, raising his paw to cover the blade he was bearing. It was really well hidden from the others when they were walking along the town. However, the look on Meoni's face indicated she had already figured out about it long ago.

"Don't be so surprised," Meoni continued. "My psychic power is considered one of the strongest, it's natural for me to be able to sense my surroundings in great detail."

Axel heaved a sigh of relief.

"He said he couldn't remember anything," Razor spoke from across the room. "Maybe you can use that psychic power of yours to figure out something."

Axel's ears perked up. His memory had been a broken mess ever since he woke up. It would be nice to be able to recall what happened to him.

"So that's the reason why you two are here in the first place," Meoni said. "Very well, let me have a look at your memory."

"How are we going to do it?" Axel asked.

"Meoni is able to see through your entire memory," Razor recalled. "It's something of her power, I'm not really sure but just trust her. She knows what she's doing."

Meoni gave Axel a heartwarming smile before touching her forehead against that of the Luxio. Axel closed his eyes, he could feel an overwhelming psychic surge going through his body. It was actually very soothing and pleasant.

However, something strange happened. A blinding light shone brightly from where their heads made contact. The sight raised alert from Razor. He felt something wrong was about to happen and readied his battle stance.

And it happened. An energy field suddenly exploded, knocking back both of them. Razor caught Meoni mid air, but the explosion was so powerful that it slammed both of them against the wall. Axel also took a substantial recoil from the impact. The cloth covering his blade was torn apart during the whole incident.

"Are you two both fine!?" Razor yelled.

Meoni slowly recovered and so did Axel.

"This is the very first time it actually happened," Meoni whispered. "I need to think about this. Axel, your memory, it is covered by a layer of psychic power that prevents others from looking into it."

She coughed and levitated towards the Luxio to help him get up. She then continued, "I was about to break through that barrier but the result is as you could already see for yourself. However, I already know what happened to you."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Axel insisted, slowly getting up on his four.

Meoni's face turned serious as if she had wondered if it was appropriate to tell the Luxio about it or not. She paused for a while before finally speaking, "Come back tomorrow. I have a lot of things to tell you. For now, you and Razor should go home and get some rest. I need to check on a few things."

Said so and Meoni immediately flew away deeper into the windmill. Confusion struck Axel, yet the thought of finally being able to unravel the whole ordeal he was in brought peace to his soul.

"You heard her," Razor consoled the Luxio. "Let's head back for now and come back later."

They left the windmill as the sun was about to set on the horizon. It had been a rough day.