Ray's POV

So… I guessed this was really happening. I was stuck here, and we would have to go up into the sky together and make sure the winds didn't accidentally destroy everything, or something. Something about the weather. I had had that kind of power. I didn't know if I did anymore. My level of power depended on her level of power, and her level of power, as far as I could tell, was not very high. The fact that she could only just barely bring me over from the other world, the fact that she couldn't even get the winds to pick her up a little bit. I didn't think her level of power was very high. Unless she was holding out on me for some weird reason.

If she was this weak, she could have just, I don't know, left me well enough alone? There were plenty of chosen ones whose power got boosted. I saw some of them, Dialga and Palkia, their powers were so much more powerful. They didn't even need to demonstrate it, I could feel it. They had… I don't know what it was, an aura? I felt it when I walked into the dining hall.

So now, what, we were going to remedial magic class? We went to the library. It was a maze of books, books everywhere, the walls were lined with them. I wondered how many new books there were here. Back in the palace, while I was waiting for… this. I couldn't believe this was what I was waiting so long for. Anyways, I was just sitting and waiting for a while before I started courting Mel. I read every book in the library. At least, I was pretty sure I did. I wondered if there were any new books here. I glanced at Emerald. And would she stay still long enough to let me read any of them.

"Emerald, I'm proud of you. I'm very, very proud." I heard a voice from nearby, a voice I recognized. I turned to see her. Oh, it was the lady that brought me food last night. She was also the remedial magic teacher. Emerald's eyes had the beginnings of tears in them, and she embraced her teacher tightly. It was obvious Emerald worked very hard to accomplish the feat of magic used in the ceremony. I did recognize that. I just… I wished she hadn't. Or, I wished it wasn't me that she called. There were so many others in my world who would have loved to take on a charity case like her, support her, and grow great together. I was sure there were those who would love that… but not me. I had a life, I had a wife… I was going to have a kingdom to rule over one day. Now what did I have? A charity case as my charge.

"Oh, and Rayquaza, I'm happy to meet you properly, of course." She turned to me. She seemed so chipper. She would be the type to take Emerald under her wing.

"Of course. Please, call me Ray." I said.

"Call me Lilly." She said. "And this is Guardevoir." She gestured over to a book case. A Guardevoir poked her head out shyly and waved. I waved back, and she poked her head back behind the book case. Was she shy, or enamored with me or something? I didn't see nearly enough Pokemon around here. They helped… some. The humans… all more or less the same, how did they not get bored with each other? How could they stand being so similar? Well, I supposed that it was just normal for them. And this was going to have to become normal for me, or I would go crazy. Or both, that was the most likely, I would get used to it and that would drive me crazy. Oh, but now I was just going on.

"So…now wind magic?" Emerald asked, excited like a little kid. She was a little kid. I was small compared to the some of the Rayquaza in this world, but I was not young. I had been around for decades. I wasn't sure how old I would be considered in this world. I was pretty sure the two used different systems of time.

"Yes." Lilly responded.

"She already tried." I said, deadpan. If she couldn't, then she couldn't. She wasn't going to make me significantly stronger by learning a few tricks, and the sooner she learned what she needed to do for our job the sooner I would have to carry her on my back. Only one person was allowed on my back, only one, and that was Mel.

"Yeah… but you don't know Lilly. She's a great teacher. She's the only reason I made it this far." Ah, so it was her fault. Good to know. Not that I was going to do anything to hurt her. Not that I was going to revolt outright. There were plenty of humans and Pokemon here far stronger than I could ever hope to be with Emerald. If I tried, I would get taken down almost immediately. I wanted to catch up with the other chosen ones, not fight with them. Unfortunately, there was no way to do it without Emerald and their humans being near, and the conversation was not for them.

"Is there a way to make the tether longer? I have some concerns." I said. If I could only break free, that would be incredible, but if I had to, lengthening the tether, being able to have some sort of privacy. I wanted to do things that did not involve her.

"Yep, it's kind of like a muscle, with time and persistence, it can stretch. There are exercises we can do, after Emerald is done with her magic." Lilly explained. I nodded, Emerald shot an exasperated look at me, but I didn't say a word. Yes, I wanted to be away from her, what was she going to do about it? I nodded in a form of thanks, and they began their lesson.

I actually wasn't sure how one learned magic. We Pokemon, we had power, but it wasn't exactly the same as magic. Our power could not be taught, it was just in us. However, magic could work on us, and it was tied pretty closely to our power levels. I wasn't sure how it worked exactly. I… really wanted to go through these books, actually. I went over to a bookshelf that was near enough to Emerald that I wouldn't have any issues, and started to go through them. Something told me she wasn't the type of girl who wanted to sit down and read, so if I wanted to read, this was the time to do it.

There were a wide variety of books in a strangely large variety of colors. A lot of things in this palace were more colorful than back home. Why was this? Did they just have better dyes? Or… what was it? Why was the world different? That was a stupid question, any world is going to be different, going to organize in completely different ways based on different resources and the people contributing to the world. When I thought about it, it was a little amazing that both worlds even had royalty, had palaces, and had Pokemon. Maybe it was a natural way to organize? Who knew?

The books on this shelf were mostly maps, maps of the kingdom, and maps of the outside world. I picked one up, it had a lot of world maps. It showed this land as I saw it from above. There were islands scattered in a vast ocean, and mainland. There was a huge volcano, there were sandy beaches. Such a varied landscape, and so much ocean. I was pretty sure there wasn't nearly this much ocean in my world. I hadn't done a whole lot of traveling in my world. Everything was for the sake of not building a strong attachment to the world, so that we could leave it behind and go to this world. Our duty… my duty… what a joke. My duty was to my people, not these people.

"Alright, now you're going to want to make these symbols with your hands. For all forms of advanced magic, you need to sculpt out the magic, define it. The beacon, you know, is the most basic, unformed magic. So, for the rest of it, there are things you must do."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emerald struggling to make the gestures Lilly made. So, she had trouble even with something like that? Something told me it would be a long time before we got anywhere. It would be a while before I had to fly with her on my back. She looked a lot heavier than anything I was used to carrying. I would need some training myself if I was going to have the same speed and agility I usually did with a human on my back.

"Like this." Lilly said, and guided Emerald's hands. "And keep up your magic, the ocean, the sky, remember." I heard her breathe deeply in and out. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I knew she was working hard, giving it her all… It was just, absolutely pathetic. She was objectively pathetic.

"Is this right?" Emerald asked.

"Don't talk, don't think." Lilly scolded. Was that how magic worked, or did Lilly just not want Emerald to keep on with her whining and complaining? Probably the first, Lilly seemed like she genuinely liked the girl. The two obviously meant something to each other.

I kept looking through books, there were maps of this kingdom, too. It seemed the lake and the cliffs were the entire kingdom. It was a very small kingdom. Mine was much bigger. Well, the kingdom that was supposed to be mine. It was stolen from me. My future was stolen from me by this stupid girl and social convention. Expectation… there were so many expectations, demands being made of me.

Or was that stupid? I was treated well… I didn't have to do a whole lot. No. I would not get used to it. I… I didn't know what I was going to do. No, I did, I was going to get out. No matter what the cost, I was going to make it back to my love.

'Not a question for me' the Oracle said. So who was the one to ask? Did Emerald know? Did Lilly know? I looked over to them. The two of them were busy trying to learn how to make a puff of air appear, or something. Best not to disturb, for now. I would have plenty of time, I imagined, all the time in the world… But, the fact that she didn't outright say no meant there probably was a way. But then why couldn't she answer. Maybe it was up to Emerald to release me. I couldn't sever the bond myself, free myself? Was that it? That was pretty cruel.

They kept on like that for an hour or two. I flipped through books, while they did strange poses and breathed. To anyone outside, it would have looked like the sign language of a madman. That was what I got from it, anyways. When they were done, Emerald ran off with little warning, dragging me along by the tether. It was weird. I did not know how to describe it. I had to move forward with her, but I didn't feel like I was being physically tugged. It was a tether of the soul. We were connected by the soul, and I hated that. Oh, that was probably why magic made Pokemon stronger, too. Stronger magic made their soul stronger, which made our soul stronger, which made our powers stronger.

"Where are you taking me?!" I demanded.

"Lessons are done, it's time for adventure!" She yelled, the biggest grin on her face. I grimaced.

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