Chapter Thirteen: The Legend
"Because I've come to see it's not something you can wish for, by golly. You've got to work hard… Once you've really done your best… put in the effort, then you can feel like a worthy explorer. You gotta have lots of experiences… lots of feelings and memories… Those are the ways you learn, and grow, and get better, little by little. Yup yup." - Bidoof, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (Special Episode: Bidoof's Wish)
At first, the cavern was nothing but a cloud of grey. Alex and I coughed and hacked and covered our eyes. Then the dust settled. We could see the interior, the dark red walls with carved black lines, the thick layer of ancient film from a millennia of decay. Lovely stuff.
We waited still as statues until Peridot and the others came running into the room. The Turtwig's yellow eyes were wide and shining.
"It's open…" she whispered, then coughed as well.
Mikey and Evie's faces were drawn in awe. They followed us up the steps, Peridot at their side.
I looked behind me. Solana and Lunick's spears were slack in their paws.
"Do you want to come with us?" I asked.
They looked like Bagon who'd just been handed two pairs of wings. But they were Guardians, they were professional. They straightened their backs, and bowed.
"It would be an honour," said Solana.
"You are very kind," said Lunick.
The surfaces of the walls, floors, and ceilings had crumbled after a millennia of neglect, and gravelly dust rose with each step we took. I looked at my tracks and saw that under the grey film, the stone was actually a rich, almost pinkish red, and the carvings along the walls were a clean jet black. Alex's flame and electric sparks gave us light; in it I saw the black had been covered in a opalescent blue gloss. The carvings were geometric, and looked almost artistically designed, but I couldn't make any sense out of them.
But what I could understand was the meanings of the tiles lining the walls, ceiling, and corners. Each one with a different symbol, yet each symbol with the same single staring eye. Not Pokémon, but the suggestions of Pokémon. Ancient, powerful, terrifying Pokémon.
The Unown.
Alex stared up at them, frigid.
"Are… Are they real?" he asked.
"You'd know it if they were," said Lunick, walking past him.
Mikey and Evie were scanning the cavern.
"This make any sense to you?" the Grovyle asked.
I looked up at the tiles, across then down.
IMIHSANAKONIMAK
M
O
E
R
U
"Nothing," I said, "it just looks like letters strung together."
Peridot stopped at the far wall. Darkness led down a wide tunnel.
"Can you feel anything?" Solana asked. "Any presence?"
The Turtwig shook her head.
"I feel something," Lunick said quietly, presumably only intending the other two to hear, "creeped out."
Solana silently agreed.
"Need a light?" Alex asked, stepping around them. I jogged to catch up.
"Lead the way," Peridot said nonchalantly. But Alex turned away, their attentions weren't on me, and I caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes.
Red stone, patterns, Unown. The corridor up ahead was still pitch black. The further we went the more the decrepit air seemed to press in and choke us. After a couple of minutes, Alex's flame flickered. He looked over his shoulder and caught my expression.
"It's okay," he said, with an unconvincing smile, "I feel fine."
"We can turn back if you need to," I said.
"We've come all this way," he said, "we can't stop now!"
And so we carried on. That was Alex. Brave, dependable Alex. Never afraid to charge head-first into danger, be it on the water, in the air, or underground.
It was only other Pokémon Alex struggled with.
Suddenly a flash of white up ahead. He stopped suddenly and gave the rest of us a start. He inched his way ahead, and finally the end of the tunnel revealed itself to us.
It was a room, larger than before, with ceilings that stretched a story high and half across. We stepped across cool black lines, shining blue where the light touched it. The carvings now took on many different styles, hexagonal and crystalline and rounded and zig-zagging, flowing into one another, leading from the floor to the walls. The tiles were there, but now ran in lines of three, and for some reason it made them feel as if they were racing across the walls, chasing something. Surrounding something.
But our attentions were drawn to the centre and up above our heads. The flash turned out to be Alex's light reflecting off of white carvings on the far wall. It became clear the words were written in columns, not rows. And they were Unown.
Alex frowned up at the elusive letters. "Don… ten… no…"
"Allow me to translate," Peridot said, sitting herself down under the Unown's glaring white eyes.
"You can read this?"
"I am a Guardian of the Epsilon, Alex," said the Turtwig. "Besides. Every sorcerer knows these letters."
She cleared her throat.
Under a cloudy sky, a creature lies prone on the sand
Deaf to the ocean washing on the beach
A human in a Pokémon's form
Skin of orange
Skin of blue
Meet by chance on that day
Land and sky
Earth and water
Heaven and earth turns upside down
Through war
Through magic
Through gold
Two souls
Of legendary determination
Lay claim to the power of God
Silence.
"Words…" said Alex. His expression yielded nothing, even to me.
Skin of orange, skin of blue. My mind went to the barrier in Ruby Forest, the lights of many colours that shone as the magical veil parted before us.
Legendary determination. Could that really be us? I had a hard time believing I could be that special. Alex, no doubt about it, he was the strongest person I'd ever met. But me? Come on.
Heaven and earth turn upside down. Sounds more like a bad night out than anything.
War. That tracks.
Magic.
I looked down at my scarf. Alex did too.
Gold.
Mikey was frowning, it looked like he was still turning the words over in his head. Evie's ears drooped.
"This isn't us," she said. "Mikey found me on a mountain."
Alex frowned. "But Tobias found me in a cave," he said, "not on the beach."
"Well it was a cave beach," I said, "that must be it."
The words were read left to right. Though I knew the meanings would still escape me, I found myself trying to read the tiles running along the walls.
AKAIME
HAGESHII
KASHINOKINOSHITA
"Does this tell us anything?" Solana asked.
Peridot was reading the words over again.
"This isn't it, is it?" Lunick looked to Peridot for answers. "This isn't all there is to the Epsilon Cavern? Everything we've been protecting all our lives? For generations? … Peridot?" Panic had crept into his voice.
The Turtwig squinted, tilted her head. Then she pressed her foot against the wall, where a thin crack surrounded the last two letters. A round stone fell away, leaving an R and a U lying on the floor.
T
S
U
K
A
M
E
She turned it over. There were letters written lengthways, and the stone ball read:
U
"High Guardian Peridot!" a voice came crying down the corridor.
The sorcerer's eyes widened.
"Do not enter!" Peridot cried, taking off at a run. "Maintain your distance!"
She turned to her guardsmon.
"Solana, take the stone. Lunick, protect our guests."
"Yes, ma'am!" they said as one.
"Ambushers have entered the tunnels," came the voice. "They're headed this way!"
"Wait for us by the doors! We're coming!"
We took off at a run.
"Do you think it could be them?" said Alex. "The Pokémon who ambushed us?"
"I don't think there'd be this much alarm over six intruders," I said, "considering how quickly they dealt with the eight of us."
"Could it be the Archon's Pokémon?" said Evie.
No one had an answer.
"What if they're looking for…" Solana trailed off, looking at the precious stone in her arms.
"Then we want them out of here," Peridot replied.
We followed her out of the Epsilon Cavern. As soon as we were beyond the threshold, the carvings glowed again, and the doors slid shut behind us.
A clothed Togedemaru stood just beyond them, her spear crackling with electricity.
"They entered five minutes ago," she said breathlessly, "they've already cleared out the north-western halls."
"How many of them where there?" Alex asked. "Was there a Charizard with them?"
"I didn't see," said the guardian, "but maybe, maybe, I don't know!"
"Did you see any of them?" Peridot asked.
"Briefly, ma'am. Armoured, gold-armoured. They're from Karma City."
"How many?"
"Hundreds, ma'am."
There was a stillness in the air, even as the clanking of steel and the howling of pain leaked towards us down the corridors.
"Give them the stone."
Solana took off her uniform, wrapped up the relic, and held it out.
"All right, who wants it?"
"I'll take it," said Mikey. "They're targeting the humans, they won't be interested in me."
The Grovyle took the items bag from around Evie's shoulders and placed the stone inside. Lunick handed Alex and Evie a warp seed each.
"They'll be looking for the humans," said the Minun, "keep these on you."
"It's not much," said the Plusle, "I'm sorry we don't have enough for all of you."
"The Pokémon we came with," I asked, "are they somewhere safe?"
The Togedemaru answered: "They're in the guest chambers, sir, the ambushers won't have reached them yet."
"They're directly beneath us," said Peridot. "I can bring you to them, and then you need to leave."
"We can't just leave you like this!" said Evie.
"We can stay and fight!" Mikey said emphatically, holding up six leaves like glowing blades.
"You're very kind," Peridot said, unexpectedly gentle, "but I don't believe I need to remind you what's at stake if you're caught. Follow me now. And don't look back."
The further we ran the louder it got. We were running away from the ambushers, we knew, but they were spreading themselves through the tunnels faster than our short legs could keep up with.
Alex's eyes were wide. His breath was heavy, though we hadn't been running for long. His flame burned like a bushfire, and a trail of smoke weaved behind him. Easy to follow, I thought but didn't say.
"The fastest way out is through the guest room," Peridot said. "Naturally it's the furthest away from the Epsilon Cavern as possible, but the soldiers have come from the north, and the tunnels there lead south."
There was a blur of red across our path as an Applin was thrown violently against the wall. We heard the rhythmic rustle of metal as a gold-plated Sandaconda emerged from the tunnel leading east. The soldier saw us and raised her body up to attack.
It happened in an instant, but I remember every detail. Peridot's gem shone, and tendrils of pale-green light wrapped around her legs, her torso, up to the leaves on her head. The red walls turned green around us. Peridot's body glowed the colour of her soul, and the light flowed from her through the pendant to form a sphere. The Sandaconda lunged for her, but with a flash the Energy Ball shot through the tunnel, striking her under the chin. The soldier fell to the ground, green smoke rising from a scorch mark where the blow had struck. She breathed, but did not move.
The Applin opened his eyes. Peridot silently placed a foot on his forehead, and her energy flowed through her, softly, seeping into the Apple Core Pokémon's wounds. Within moments he was healed.
I was awed. The terrifying and beautiful power of magic. To destroy, and to heal. The Applin hopped down the tunnel, determined eyes already searching for the next fight. Alex watched him go as we ran.
"He's going to get hurt again."
"Huh?" I said.
"He's going to keep fighting, and he's going to get hurt, and Peridot isn't going to be there to help him."
"We have other sorcerers," Peridot said, "we have other healers."
"But-"
"There's nothing we can do about him," said Evie, "we have to focus on our own Pokémon first. They're counting on us!"
Suddenly Alex fell to his knees.
"It's my fault…"
He was trembling head-to-tail. His breathing was sporadic. His flame was jumping wildly.
"That Charizard, he knew me. I brought them all here, didn't I?"
He looked up at me with horror and regret on his face. As if I was ever going to say anything other than:
"Alex, no! None of this is your fault! None of this has anything to do with you! This was my mission! If there's anyone to blame for this, it's me!"
There were tears in his eyes. In the distance, steel was drawn, and a Pokémon screamed.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" he whimpered.
I was paralysed. I wanted to help him, I would have given anything to get him back on his feet again, in the right frame of mind, ready to move on. But I had nothing to give. He wanted an answer, and I had none.
"Over here!" Peridot called from further along.
We came to two double doors, much smaller than the last, undecorated.
"I need to unlock the door first," Peridot said. Her pendant glowed.
Some guest room, I thought, until I heard a blood-curdling scream just above me, and realised I couldn't exactly blame them.
"Oi, you!" came a voice.
Solana and Lunick stood between us and the Pokémon down the corridor, spears raised and crackling.
"Alex Albion," it came again. Clear, direct, almost playful.
Alex looked at him. The Charizard smirked, flashing a sharp canine.
"I don't know who you think you are to me," Alex said, "but I don't know you. And I don't want to know you. Leave me alone."
His eyes were still red, and his voice caught in his throat. The Charizard looks smug, almost gleeful at his pain.
"You don't remember me, but I remember you, pal."
"Always a power move to establish how irrelevant you are first and foremost," Evie said.
"Sir Ryū Hino," he said, "knight of the Varias, Centurion of the Red Torches."
"That means nothing to me," Alex replied.
"Really? Because you were one of us."
The lock clicked. Peridot, Mikey, and Evie got to pushing at the door while the rest of us stood guard.
"Actually, that's not quite giving you credit," the ex-knight continued. "You were in charge of us."
"Well if that still means something to you now, why don't you take this order and turn the fuck around, soldier."
The Charizard didn't laugh. He took a step forward. Solana fired a warning blast from her spear. Ryū just grinned.
"We were your soldiers," he said. "All us were poised and ready to tear Ruby Forest root-from-earth. We waited for you, all those weeks, hanging by a fucking thread until you came back to give purpose to the years of our lives we spent in service to you and King-bloody-Dreigo."
He took another step.
"And then you came back to our home."
Another step.
"And you fought your way into the castle you helped to conquer."
Another.
"And you ripped everything we had out from under us. Root, from, earth!"
Another. Solana and Lunick fired their Thunders as one. Ryū grit his teeth and howled through the pain. His body shook violently and by the end he had sunk to his knees. Smoke rose him his body. He was still smiling.
"And all six thousand of us were driven from our homes. By you." It came out as a growl.
Something dark flickered across Alex's face. "You hypocrite," he said slowly.
Ryū frowned.
"You hypocrite!" Alex roared. "What the hell do you think you were fighting for?! Why do you think I turned on the Varias in the first place! It was murder, Ryū! You were being led to a slaughterhouse with a cleaver in your hand! I feel sick when I think about everything I was almost a part of, and you should too!"
I grabbed his arm and he almost yanked me off my feet. The gem in his skull flashed, and sporadic images flickered across the Varia Charizard's face; forest Pokémon and flashing swords and a human's cold-eyed face.
I placed my hand to the gem. There was a yellow spark and the recording died. Peridot waved us into the guest room. Ryū knelt there, trembling violently. He was paralysed, with a smug grin frozen to his face. I put myself between Charmander and Charizard and led my partner through the door.
Ken, Cream, Toto, Torch, Spencer, and Cynnamon shared confused and frightened looks as they got up from the carpeted platform they'd been resting on. Peridot called them over and we put our backs to the door to push it closed. The sorcerer's jewel glowed, and the seal clicked shut again.
"The safest way out is through the south-eastern tunnel," Peridot said, already running to the next door to unlock it, "take the first left then continue straight. There are two forks in the road, take the right and then the left, and the exit should be up ahead."
We helped her push. Peridot removed the uniform from her back, turned it over and handed it to me. Woven inside was the circular symbol, ringed by sown leaves much like those on a Turtwig's head.
"Show this to any guardian and they will assist you," she said. "The southern exit is half a mile from here, you'll make it out undetected if you hurry."
"You're not coming with us?" Alex said.
Peridot gave him a look of gratitude, but said: "I cannot abandon my home in its time of need."
"Don't you dare feel bad for us," said Solana.
"This is what we've trained for all our lives," said Lunick.
Peridot waved us through, Alex leading the way. I stopped just on the other side.
I looked down at the Wartortle Tail charm hanging from my neck. I met Alex's eye. He nodded. I handed the charm to her.
"Stay safe, you guys," I said. "Stay alive."
She gently took it from my hand, held it to her chest. There was a softness in her eyes I wouldn't have expected.
"And you the same, Tobias."
We slipped through the tunnels. We couldn't break out into a full run in case the pounding of our feet drew attention. We were a big group, after all.
We followed Peridot's directions, stopping only to show her seal to the several Guardians who stopped us on the way. I suspected there were far more hidden from plain sight, but I actually found that reassuring. The sounds of battle followed us, no matter how far we ran.
The southern tunnels were strewn with common quartz crystals growing from the ground. We passed by a Sableye gathering the more elusive green aventurine from the ground. She didn't ask for identification. We didn't ask her what she was doing.
Alex led the group while I took up the rear. Every minute or so I looked over my shoulder. Xerneas knew who could be following behind us.
We came to a fork in the road and took a right. It led us to a wide empty cavern, the walls, ceilings, and floor embedded with patches of murky white streaked with grey. The howlite was cold beneath our feet, and so tough not even Ken's Thunderbolt could chip a piece from the shafts growing around us. Cream looked at the treasure wistfully.
We came to a yawning chasm stretching several metres across the floor. The only way through was a thin narrow bridge. It was wide enough for a small Pokémon to walk across, but I wasn't about to take any chances. The drop was too far down to see the bottom.
"Everybody get onto your stomachs and slide across with your arms," I instructed them, "cling on with your legs, and don not look down."
Torch and Toto were already at work trying their scarves together, around his tail and her ankle. They crossed first without incident. Alex and I waited at the back. He would go last, as wind was blowing in from the south, and any smoke in a Pokémon's eyes could spell disaster. And of course, I wasn't going to cross without him, was I?
Mikey and Evie were next. The Grovyle's wide arms and legs gave him speed, and the Eevee's bipedal body gave her stability. The stone weighed Mikey down, but Evie cleverly had him place square it on his back so it wouldn't drag in any direction. They crossed the chasm without worry.
Spencer and Cynnamon were next. The poor Cyndaquil was shaking, and kept stealing glances over the edge at the empty blackness below.
Yet despite the terror I glimpsed in the Mudkip's eyes, he put a smile on his face and a foot on her back and said: "It's all right. You won't slip, I promise. Look at us, we're way too small for gravity to bring us down, aren't we? And I'll be right behind you, just in case that makes you feel better."
Cynnamon nodded. With slow, labouring steps, she brought herself to the bridge, lowered her torso, and scuffled across.
Ken and Cream decided to ignore my warnings.
"We've got excellent balance," the Pikachu said, twitching his tail, "and that bridge is ten inches wide!"
"Ken, please-" I began.
"Look, look at me, look," Cream said, balancing on one foot. Thankfully they weren't on the bridge, or I might have hit her. "I'm a Meowth, I walk narrower paths than this every day!"
"I'm guessing they don't usually have 30-foot-drops, though, do they?" said Alex.
Cream shrugged. "At least I always land on my feet!"
"Your feet are gonna be mush in a minute," Mikey said.
Ken and Cream at least had the sense to hold out their arms. They walked slowly but steadily. They really did have perfect balance, it seemed. I even allowed myself a sigh of relief, but at that very moment Ken came to the narrowest part of the bridge, stone crumbled away, and his foot slipped.
Time slowed. In the space of what felt like several minutes I called his name, held out my hand, and stepped forward, knowing I would be too slow to make it. I felt Alex's hand on my other arm stopping me from running across the bridge, and at the same time saw a furred arm reach out and grab Ken by the wrist.
The Pikachu winced as Cream's claws dug into him. He looked down and adjusted his footing, and he was stable again.
I let out the tension in my chest with a groan. The two kids looked timidly over their shoulders.
"Both of you get down on your stomachs right now," I said. "And slowly, for the love of Zygarde."
They did as they were told. Alex looked at me, and to lighten the mood a little I rolled my eyes and said: "Kids."
For one terrible moment, I thought Peridot's directions had led us to a dead end. A great wall of purple and yellow crystal stood before us, a swirling kaleidoscope of shining surfaces and glinting edges. But up close, there turned out to be a crawlspace, around five metres long at a sharp incline. It would be just about wide enough for us to crawl through.
"Now I can see why all the Pokémon here are 2 feet tall…" Mikey said.
"Don't worry about," said Evie, "you're like 75% bone."
I tested the edge and point of a crystal shaft with my finger. Blunt, but with no guarantee we wouldn't cut ourselves. I looked up the crawlspace, at the glimpse of dark red that told of the exit, and five metres suddenly felt a lot longer.
I would have to lead by example, I figured. I put my feet up on a shaft each and started climbing.
"Be careful!" Alex said.
"Yeah, thanks for the heads-up," I said.
He was staring over his shoulder, towards where loud booms where echoing down the tunnels. In truth, I didn't want to leave him there on his own.
But he's not on his own, I reminded myself. The others are with him. If I want Alex to trust other Pokémon, I have to do the same.
I climbed, holding onto shafts growing at a straight or upwards angle. I avoided the smoother ones; better to be cut once than slip and be cut by every single crystal along the way.
There were no flat surfaces for my right foot. I rested it on the edge. I placed my left on another, and reached up with my right hand. I slipped. I winced as the crystal slice through the skin. Then I carried on climbing.
I rested the toes of my bleeding foot against the flat surface. I reached out and my fingers felt course stone. It took a bit of wriggling, but finally, I managed to heave myself up onto solid ground. I looked back at the slick of blood I'd left behind, knowing the others would see it. But Toto and Torch were next, and they were troopers. Toto held on with not only his hands and feet, but his mouth. I cringed, but each time he pulled away unscathed. Torch leapt from shaft-to-shaft. Her feet were tougher, and both of them made it to the end without a single scratch.
Mikey was a natural climber. His brow was furrowed in concentration, but he was sure-footed and reached the top with ease. Evie slipped a couple of times, brushing against an edge, but her thick fur protected her.
Cynnamon climbed onto Spencer's back.
"We'll be here in case you fall," Alex said. "But you won't fall," he added quickly.
Spencer nodded. Cynnamon ducked her head and held on tight. The Mudkip slowly picked his way up. A foot slipped here and then, but he held on tight and kept going. At first I thought he'd managed to avoid a cut. Then I saw several of them across his feet and cheeks. Cynnamon was unscathed.
Mikey reached down and helped them up. Torch discreetly wiped the blood off his face while Toto helped Cynnamon down. I offered Spencer an oran berry then looked over the edge of the crawlspace. Ken and Cream held each other's hands as they went. The fright at the cavern had made them cautious. I was relieved, but the fear on their faces was a little heartbreaking. The cruel part of being an adventurer, I thought to myself.
Finally, it was Alex's turn. He climbed the same way I did, and made it to the top much faster. There was a cut across his shoulder, foot, and tail, but he barely seemed to feel it. I offered a berry.
"Oh, I'm okay," he said, "you can give this to someone else."
"Everyone else has eaten."
He still didn't take it.
"It's about to go off anyway," I lied, "you may as well."
Alex shrugged, all nonchalant, then swallowed the berry in two bites.
"All okay?"
A chorus of confirmation.
"Then let's keep going. You too, Cream."
The Meowth stared down at the stubborn chunk of crystal that wouldn't come apart from the ground. She sighed and hung her arms as she followed.
The corridor led straight to a chilly cavern that glittered with the agate embedded in the walls, too deep to even think of prying out. A wide lake stretched across the floor; we could see purple gemstones at the bottom and around the edge. Cream's eyes sparkled like the jewels down below.
"Just take one," Ken said, "they're right there."
Cream grimaced, reached her paw down to the water, and immediately snatched it away. Then she reached in again, slowly, screwing up her face in disgust.
"Why is it so moist?!"
"It's… It's water."
While the two of them struggled in vain to pry away the agate welded into the floor, the rest of us split up into pairs. The water-types would carry the fire-types across their backs. I put my scarf in my bag to keep it dry as possible (I picked the water-proof fabric, naturally.)
Mikey and Evie were confident swimmers, having spent so long by the water. Toto winced as Torch's claws dug into him. Each stroke rocked them both, and Torch cringed as water splashed over her feet. Cynnamon clung to Spencer's fin, trembling. The Mudkip moved sluggishly through the water, his steering wheel compromised. Still, he got her to the other side, as dry as could be expected.
Alex fared better, the roundness of my shell giving his feet ample protection. Besides, he's surfed on much rougher waters before. My face in the water, I had a full view of the agates glistening down below. I'd always found gemstones captivating, perhaps more than any other kind of tangible treasure I could think of. The colours and the shine and the joy of seeing such elegant beauty born purely from nature was enough to make my heart race. Is this what "treasure" truly is? I remember thinking to myself then.
Cream certainly seemed to believe it was. Toto or Torch might have said the treasure was back there, in the Epsilon Cavern, the holy secret kept for over a thousand years, before finally being uncovered by us. At first that's what I believed too.
For many teams, this is all just a means to an end. Some become famous treasure hunters in pursuit of riches. Some join for fame.
Team Tenacious wanted the glory. Team Treasure clearly want wealth. Cream wants to honour her grandmother. Ken wants to make his father proud. Alex wants a place to belong.
But what do I want?
I used to think it was all of those things. Fame, to show the others at the Academy I was worth something after all. Wealth, to live a life of luxury (maybe that was to the same end, as well). To honour Bruiser. To make the Professor proud. To find a home, with friends, with people I could call family. Maybe I want all of those things. Maybe I want none of them.
But right now none of that matters. Right now all I want is to get everyone out of here alive.
Alex hopped off my back and I climbed up onto the lake's edge. I'd planned on going back for Cream, but when we reached the shore I saw Ken carrying her on her back, crossing the lake with a confident breaststroke.
We waited a couple minutes while the fire-types dried their feet by Alex's flame. Evie stood to the side and shook off her fur. She licked her paw and furiously tried to smooth it down but it wouldn't obey her.
"Maybe I should just give up and become a Vaporeon after all," she said.
"Yeah, that'd work out for you," said Mikey. "Oh, a Vaporeon, nice to meet you. What's your name? "Evie.""
By the water, Cream grit her teeth and growled, kicking at the floor as she pried at a chunk of agate. With a snapping sound it finally came free, and she held it above her head with a cry of triumph.
A thudding down came from the bottom of the lake. A few seconds later Toto emerged with an armful of agates, beaming. Cream's arms sagged.
"Wh- I just- you could've- just- you know what? You know what? Yeah."
Beside me, Ken shivered. Without really thinking about it, I took my scarf out of my bag and handed it to him. He stared at it as if he had no idea what to do with it.
"I'm a water-type," I told him, "do you think that thing never gets wet? Go on, we don't want you catching a cold."
"Thank you," he said, real gratitude in his eyes.
"Anytime."
Torch pressed her hear to the wall.
"I think we're close to the surface!" she said.
"Oh, thank Celebi," Spencer sighed. "I never thought I'd pine so much for the warmth of the sun."