Alakazam and Kirlia

Up in a cave, high on the snowy mountain, there lived a Pokemon Sage. He was said to be an Alakazam of great age and power, and that he had solved many mysteries of life. Some brave adventurers climbed up the treacherous path to ask for advice, insight, or wisdom. On occasion, explorers would seek him out to find information on mysterious artifacts, or ancient enigmas. They came back down and spread the word that the Sage could solve any problem.

One morning as the sun sparkled off the constant snowpack, a Kirlia made his way up the path to the Sage. He was alone; one would think that it would make him wary, but instead he skipped and spun on his way. He skated on the icy surfaces, daring to skid close to the edge and a thousand foot fall, but never losing his footing. All he required for the dance was the music of his memories and thoughts of another blessed way to begin a day.

At the entrance to the Sage's cave, the Kirlia stopped, causing his green skirt to flare up and back. He made a gracious bow, pointing his toes gracefully. "I am Franklin the Kirlia. I seek the Sage Kazza."

"I have been expecting you," an airy voice came from within the cave. "Enter."

"Thank you." He bowed again, then came in with a skip to his step. "So you speak not with your voice, but by manipulating the air itself? That is quite impressive."

"It is my process of deconstructing the ordinary," the Sage replied. "Would you explain why you have come?"

Franklin gave a whirl. "Oh yes. A month ago, I was delving into what the future held."

"By tearing holes in the dimensional fabric and forcing Time to show you its hand."

"That is so," he admitted. "You cannot expect to read time without tearing something ephemeral apart. When I looked at the future, I saw myself speaking to you. So I made preparations, crossed the Aquean Sea, passed through the Sienna Foothills, found my way about the Icy Mountains, and finally, climbed this mountain to its peak to meet with you." He stopped and bowed again. The area he had stopped in was a circular room with four torches. However, there was no sign of the Alakazam aside from the aura of Psychic power he gave off.

There was quiet for a moment, then Kazza asked, "Yes, but why have you come here?"

"I told you: because I saw myself speaking to you."

"About what?"

Franklin shifted his weight onto one foot and stood there. "I don't know."

"Are you trying to figure out what evolution you should seek next?"

"No," the Kirlia replied. "I am happy as I am. When the time comes, I will know what I want."

"Are you trying to solve some riddle?"

"Um," he changed the foot he was standing on. "No, I prefer to solve them myself."

"Are you trying to find something?"

"Only why I've come here." He swung his foot out, making himself twirl. "But I am sure I will have no regrets for doing so."

"Franklin, you've come a long ways. Surely there's some reason other than you simply saw yourself coming."

"No. Just that."

Kazza made a sighing sound, which amused Franklin because the Alakazam went to the effort of forcing the air to make that sound. "You just saw yourself talking to me?"

"That's right."

"Did you see me in your vision?"

"Hmm, what an odd question." The Kirlia twirled a few times, thinking. "No, I don't believe so," he finally announced. "I knew that you were there in the room with me, as I know that you are here in the room with me. But where, that is a peculiar question too."

"It doesn't matter. And I must also ask why you've been dancing since you woke up this morning. The path to this cave is icy and treacherous, yet you came waltzing up here whimsically."

He laughed. "It's more of a ballet than a waltz. A waltz is a step, step, turn, step, step, turn, while ballet is what you make of the music." He demonstrated as he spoke, then bowed deeply with both feet on the floor.

"But why do you dance?"

"I dance because it is a good morning. When I look into the future, I see bad days approaching. No one likes bad days, so when I see one coming, I take steps to avoid, undo, or endure it. I wake up to that morning and if it is a good day, I am glad and dance for joy. And then other times there are good mornings when I have not sought one out. Someone must have made that morning good, and so I dance in celebration of that someone's work."

Kazza considered this. "If it is your power, then so be it."

"And," Franklin said with a dramatic flair, "I know where you are now."

"You do?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes." He twirled, then spun down to the floor and looked down into the ice sheet. "There you are. I saw a spot of brown when I last bowed, and there you are. You must fool others by forming your voice in the upper part of the room."

"Yes, that is the trick of it. It is my own riddle; no one has yet solved it."

He put a hand to his cheek. "So simple, it works elegantly. But I sense that you only tell half the truth. So, why are you there, frozen in the ice?"

It was quiet for a minute, so Franklin spun himself around to get up. Then Kazza explained, in an embarrassed tone, "It was originally an accident. I came up here because I was fed up with life below. I wanted peace and quiet in order to think and meditate. So I got all the way up here and found this cave. I placed myself on the floor and went deep into meditation. Unfortunately, I went so deep that the ice grew over me."

"How do you survive down there? There is no food, no air."

"There is a pocket of air, with a pair of vent shafts I formed out with precise and tiny psychic taps. And there is ice, which I can melt for water. As for food, I endure hunger as part of my trial."

"How long is your trial? You would need to come out at some point, or die down there and be forgotten when explorers come to find you and don't."

"I have considered coming out in recent times. I know how to do it. With those torches, I can melt out the ice. With my power, I can form trenches so the water does not drain and drown me."

"Why not blast your way out?"

"And risk all this ice collapsing on me? There are air pockets so I do not feel the full weight of the ice pack. At this point, it would crush me if the ice shattered. It will take a lot of time, but it will work."

Franklin moved back, to be in line with a pair of torches. "It is a fine plan, but what if hunger weakens you and the time works against you?"

"There is that possibility…" Kazza admitted.

"Well there is plenty of space in this cavity. Why don't I shave the ice from above while you work with the torches to soften it and watch the air bubbles? It would work faster that way."

"It would," he admitted reluctantly.

"I offer my help freely, so there is no need to be stingy with acceptance." He stopped dancing for the time being and focused his mind on digging up the ice. When he flipped one large sheet out to the back of the cavern, Kazza dumped the torches over and began assisting.

As the ice sheet had grown and shifted considerably over the years, it took some time to dig the Alakazam out. With a massive pile of ice beside the hole, Franklin hopped down the steps he had formed to where Kazza's body was now a quarter out of the ice. He helped to break the last bits of ice trapping him. Then, Kazza lifted his own body like a ragdoll with his telekinetic powers. He floated this way towards the exit of the cave, so Franklin hurried up and out after him.

Kazza was lying limply against the ice sheet that formed his cave. His ice-encrusted eyes were slow to open, but soon shut again. "Ach, so bright after being in that cave."

Franklin pulled out an Aspear berry. "Here, this food is spicy enough to warm your blood, and get rid of that frostbite."

"The body is not as important as the mind." He brought his hand up, awkwardly like a stringed puppet. But he managed to take the berry and eat it. "But thank you."

Franklin spun around. "If that is your power, then so be it. Come, we shall go down to the nearest village and get you taken care of properly."

"I left so that most people would stop bothering me," Kazza said. "I do not want to be helping with every little problem that comes along. They are simple enough to be mind-numbing. When people ask me simple things, I think it would be best for their minds if they figured it out themselves."

"I suppose I could agree with that." He leapt and turned back to the Alakazam, spreading his arms wide. "Well there are many other obscure hidden places to go in the world, places where you're less likely to be frozen alive. I'm sure one of them should be suitable to you."

"Mmm," Franklin had the impression that he was nodding in agreement, although all that came from his body was an awkward jerk. "There are many places in the world."

They went out in search of those hidden places.

...

Emerald entry: While it has strong psychic abilities and high intelligence, an Alakazam's muscles are very weak. It uses psychic power to move its body.

Emerald entry: A Kirlia has the psychic power to create a rip in the dimensions and see into the future. It is said to dance with pleasure on sunny mornings.

My birthday entry. Psychic is my favorite type (although Normal is a close second). It may be biased because I started with first-gen, where Psychics were godly. This pair is a nice contrast, one of the philosophy of the mind against the philosophy of the body.