To the victories, to the legends, to the fallen, all the way home.
With the end of an adventure came the ease that lasted for days, weeks, perhaps a month even, but it was an experience she would always hold fondly in her heart. But beyond the excitement, she learned to relax, feel the breeze of safety, and indulge in the warm scent of a really good sandwich. Out of all the companions she met throughout her journey, there was one she kept her eye on, one she pledged to always stand by.
He had lost so much in his life, even right before his very eyes, and she intended to be the one thing he wouldn't lose. When the going got rough, they both kept themselves sheltered. When things were rocky, she was the first to leap into action. When she found herself in peril, he held her back and was the one to keep her safe. There were times when she had to cry into him, and he had to sob into her, and sometimes it would end with a comfortable, albeit initially awkward wake up. Not exactly the kind of heart pumping adventures she signed up for, but she wasn't complaining, not one bit.
He was the one who tempered her recklessness and protected her when she needed it, all because he felt like he owed her greatly for all her help. She was there to support his dreams all the way through, all to help pick him up on hold on to him just as he did with her. She certainly didn't expect things to unfold the way they did, especially with how it all began, but looking back, she wouldn't have it any other way.
And now she was granted the privilege of looking forward with him. Ever onwards towards vast expanse of triumphs they bested with each other, and any that was still left was theirs to tackle together. They may have gone through their own journeys' worth of experiences worth treasuring, but in the end, she came to realize what, or rather who, her greatest treasure was. And now, it was all leading up to this moment.
To think all this would all come out of moving to Paldea, setting off with her aspirations, and getting enrolled in the academy, which all still felt like yesterday.
"Oh heck yeah, to the academy I go! It begins, perils and Pokémon adventures await! Look out, because now I'm ready for Momo's big moment! I love… adventure!"
Uniform and yellow overcoat? Check. Super cool black jacket? Check. A spunky attitude ready for the most epic adventure? Heck yeah, check.
Momo didn't mind her peaceful life in Cabo Poco with her grandma, but now that she was done moving in, it was go time. She knew it was about time to make a name for herself with a journey of her own. She even picked a Fire type starter Pokémon just like some of the greatest trainers from regions elsewhere. Her Fuecoco wasn't as big of a Pokémon as she was hoping, but it was no big deal. With her new enrollment in Uva Academy, it was goodbye home tea, hello hunt for tea-reasure! Well, after she got a move on to Mesagoza, of course.
It was a good thing the giddy student council president was there to help her get there. Not like that position was obvious, Momo just saw Nemona as the new excited neighbor who really liked battling. She didn't seem to mind all too much, the more excitement, the merrier!
"That's the spirit, Momo! Vamos!"
"Let me catch up, my legs aren't as long as yours!"
From one contest to another, they were quick to playfully butt heads, Pokémon, and elbows. When it was time for a quick battle, Momo won with her Fuecoco's sneezing flame. When Nemona suggested they go for a catching contest next, she ended up winning that one since Momo wasn't interested in catching anything just yet. With their scores tied, Nemona decided they would race to the lighthouse, and the two of them rushed down the grassy path. It seemed neck and neck, or at least, that's what Momo liked to think, but she wouldn't figure out for sure because an echoing roar from below reached her ears. The pained, almost metallic sounding screech had the two girls skid to a stop and beckoned them towards the fenced cliffside.
Momo peeked over the fencing, though even she found herself gasping silent when her purple eyes saw the distant and equally purple lump lying on the shore far below. With such similar shades of color, Momo knew it wasn't some coincidence. It looked to be some sort of dragon Pokémon, lying and growling at the Houndour approaching it. Normally she would've been ecstatic to see such a cool Pokémon, but she had a feeling she knew what was going to happen and what this meant for her, and that gave her the shivers.
Nemona kept warning her to stay away from the cliff's edge, but Momo insisted she knew what she was doing. She looked back at the undeniably unique Pokémon and took a deep breath.
She remembered reading about how these stories went. She had never seen this purple crooning Pokémon before, but she just had a feeling it was definitely a legendary one. She remembered hearing about how all the Pokémon legends went and the trainers associated with them, and her heart started to beat faster as she wondered if it was in her blood. Momo wasn't afraid of heights, but as she held onto the other side of the fence and looked down, for once, she hesitated.
"This is my moment to make a name for myself…" Momo kept muttering.
The game plan was simple. Skid down the side of the cliff, stick the landing with a sick pose, kick some Houndour butt, then win over what was definitely a legendary Pokémon. Shouldn't be too hard. Momo had never done any stunt like it, but she's seen other people do it. In anime, but still. If she just kept taking one step at a time, there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong-
"Eep!" The small outcropping she stood on shook, and Momo froze.
Before Momo could even reach the edge, the ground beneath her gave way. Shocked and staggering, she could only join the rocks and debris in a plummeting descent towards the sand below. She tried to scramble for something to hold onto, but all that did was leave her flailing in the air. Then, a flash of lavender darted out of her bag, floating into her hands and levitating upwards with just enough force to slow her fall.
Momo's fall finally halted, and after recovering from a breathless scream, she looked down to see her legs dangling just inches away from the sand. She landed softly on her feet, then looked at her hands to see her Rotom Phone's case smiling back at her.
"Thank the stars for Rotom Phones having a levitating protection feature against ground damage…" In a moment of overwhelming relief, Momo found herself kissing her phone's screen as she caught her breath.
Miraculously unharmed, Momo dusted herself off, carefully stepped past the other fallen rocks, and scoped out the funky looking purple dragon. It looked more mechanical than Momo expected, but she was more interested in trying to shoo away the Houndour yipping at the creature.
Momo's cheeky smile returned as she leapt into action, stepping in front of the helpless dragon as she started kicking sand at the Hondour and yelling. While her makeshift sand attack was more irritating than effective, a screeching hiss from behind her finally sent the dog Pokémon packing.
"Too easy." Momo proudly put a hand on her hip, using the other to rub at her nose before she would check on the Pokémon she just saved.
The poor dragon seemed to have worn itself out somehow, and its screen eyes flickered as it weakly tried to drag itself onto land. Momo cast a pitied look over it, though as she got closer, she noticed its snout perking up as if it was sniffing for something.
"Oh, are you hungry?" The gears in Momo's head started turning as she took a plastic bag out of her backpack. "Well, I do have this sandwich from home, but I don't really want it. You can have it, though I hope you don't mind the weird red mushroom bits inside."
It didn't seem to care, because not a moment passed when Momo took the sandwich out of her bag before the dragon perked up and scarfed it out of her hands. It gobbled and chewed, which was impressive given how Momo thought it was definitely one of those robotic type Pokémon, and afterwards the sandwich was gone. Then in an instant, the Pokémon's eyes flickered to life, and with a triumphant, invigorated roar, it reared back and got onto its four legs.
"Whoa…" Momo was too busy shaking with excitement to notice that the Pokémon was walking past her. "What the heck was my grandma trying to feed me?"
The purple robot Pokémon continued licking its lips as it walked forward, and with creaking joints, it let out another empowering cry as it changed form. This time, Momo watched, and her urge to squeal only grew when she saw the dragon hover with shiny thrusters.
"Now that's cool!" Momo cried out, watching as the very Pokémon that she helped disappeared into a cave opening. "Hey, wait! I thought we'd be friends now!"
Momo ran after the robotic sandwich eater, her brown braid flowing behind her as she did. Her supposed quest to befriend a legendary Pokémon in the world's record time wasn't going as smoothly as she'd liked, and she intended to make sure this one wouldn't get away. While the cave grotto she wandered into had some cool looking green moss everywhere, Momo kept her eyes on the purple sheened prize that hovered on those cooler looking rocket boosters.
Cries of "get back here" and "I still need to catch you" echoed around the cave walls just as Momo's footsteps did. The few Pokéballs she had bounced uselessly off the dragon, who simply rolled its eyes and smashed another rock in the way. It wasn't until she ran out of Pokéballs did she realize that this mysterious Pokémon was trying to lead her somewhere. Sandwich eater was definitely her friend now if it was trying to help her find a way back up.
But as she realized that, she also realized that she probably shouldn't have spent so much time calling out to it. As her voice quieted down, the sounds of other footsteps picked up, all creeping through the other nooks of the cave. The Houndour were pouring in, with the especially sandy ones back for a vengeance, and this time they came with a leader.
Momo gulped as a circle of Houndour inched closer, especially when she realized the Houndoom leading them laid its less than friendly eyes on her. The cave floor was too dry for her to kick anything at them, and even then, her legs were too shaky to move.
Deep breaths. She still had a Pokémon of her own, so fighting her way out of this was definitely an option.
"Go, Diego, go!"
Her innocently oblivious Fuecoco appeared before her. He sneezed out a blast of flame, but the Houndoom didn't flinch. The vicious pack leader snarled and lunged, and the whimpering Fuecoco immediately retreated into his Pokéball before bared fangs could connect.
"Well… drat." Momo sighed with a quivering lip. Now helpless, she nervously looked around herself as the Houndour drew closer. She tilted her head slightly upwards with a sniffle, and as she caught the sight of something purple hovering away without a care, she was quick to erupt into a desperate outburst. "Hey, where are you going? You're not just gonna leave me here, are you? Are you still annoyed about the Pokéballs thing? We shared so many meaningful minutes earlier! Like the sandwich! Come on, please don't leave me here to die…"
Momo continued frantically waving her arms and trying to make herself heard. It was that last part that got the dragon to stop. It remained in place for a contemplative second, as if mulling over something. Flinching, even. Then, with an indignant scoff, it swooped back down towards Momo.
An overwhelming flash of light lit up the cave as Momo shielded her eyes. She heard the crackling of electricity drifting and bursting around her as the dragon swept all the other Pokémon away in a single blinding manuever. It uncurled in front of the leader to bat it back with its tail, then swerved to scoop up Momo in its arms. The robot dragon's thrusters flared up and carried them away from the dangerous scene, rocketing through the cave until they caught sight of sunlight peeking in from above. An exit.
With an extra, albeit unwieldy boost of power, Momo had to hold on to the purple Pokémon's metal as it shot out through the air. As if she wasn't breathless enough, she was left wheezing when their flight came to a sudden stop. The warmth of the sun shone down on Momo as she tumbled onto the dirt. She remained there for a second, lying on her back and splayed on the grass. As she was catching her breath, she was half tempted to turn over and spend her relieved moments kissing the sweet, sweet ground. She saved herself the embarrassment when she realized a very concerned Nemona was watching the whole thing with widened eyes.
Momo tried not to stagger as Nemona helped her up. "Guess me and that sandwich eater are even now…"
"Ohhhh, is that 'sandwich eater' your Pokémon?" Just like the flip of a switch, Nemona went from worry eyed to starry eyed in the blink of a pair of eyes. She clasped her hands with glee as she stared at it. "It kinda looks like a Cyclizar, but not any kind I've ever seen before! And it looks like those crazy strong types! Is it yours? You have to let me battle it!"
"I don't… think it's mine. Yet." Momo groaned as she made sure her everything was still okay after that sudden velocity. Backpack? Check. Glasses? Check. Braid? A bit messed up, but she was planning on changing her style up later anyway.
The purple booster bot who Nemona continued fawning over continued to pretend as if it couldn't see them, though its hovering was quick to falter. Its upright floating posture was strained, and the energy that coursed through it earlier faded fast. It grunted, yawned, then got back on all fours in a sleepy daze. It curled up on the grass, falling asleep as if nothing happened.
Momo frowned. "Guess whatever my sandwich did wore off. Don't think it wants to battle this rate, and even if it did, I have a feeling it'd just do its own thing."
A faint robotic scoff came in between snores.
"Well, I'm sure I have plenty of time to see you and that purple Cyclizar reach full strength for our inevitable rematch!" Nemona's smile still lingered as she waved for Momo to follow. "Now, we still have a race to finish! Come on, the lighthouse is right there!"
With a curious sounding growl bark, the dragon perked up. It looked to where Nemona was pointing, eyes literally lighting up with intrigue. Still on all fours, it broke into a sprint.
"Whoa, Momo! Looks like your Cyclizar wants in on this too! You're quick to give me competition!"
"I don't plan on losing to this thing either! Wait up!" Momo cried out as she bolted after them.
At the base of the lighthouse, Momo noticed a sad looking guy sighing by a door that stood near the building. She would've called for him to watch out for the incoming purple Pokémon, but the thing was too quick. It whizzed past him, though the bothered guy reacted more stern than surprised.
"Why, that little… There you are! What do you want now, you big brute?" He frowned as the Pokémon started clawing at the door. "You wanna head in there? Too bad. The door's locked now. And what's with this limited form you're in? Not the same big strong Miraidon from before, are you?"
Momo raised an eyebrow as she got closer to the big backpacked boy. So that Pokémon was called Miraidon. And now it was whimpering.
Nemona stopped in front of him. "Wait, aren't you Arven from humanities class? I don't think I've seen you in the flesh for a while. Is this Pokémon yours?"
Momo wasn't liking the way this Ar-something guy was giving her purple lizard a stink eye, so she did the same in return. "I'll have you know I saved it from being viciously attacked. I even jumped off a cliff to do it."
And yet his glare was sharper. "I wasn't talking to you two. That's not my concern, so you can shove off."
Momo almost wanted to gasp, but instead she bit her lip and pouted. "Well, aren't you rude? And I saw that Me-Rhydon first." She crossed her arms and nudged Nemona. "Wait, so you know this guy?"
"Vaguely…" She had a similarly befuddled look. "Apparently his parents are professors, but that's all I know. Do you know if professors are supposed to be good at battling?"
"Professors?" Momo quickly mulled over it. Guess that status must've explained Arven's attitude, or so she thought. With a proud smirk, she gave him a haughty look. "Do you think you're some kind of big shot, Ar-guy? Big deal, one of my parents is a-"
"Doesn't matter who my parents are!" Arven cried out with clenched fists. He glared at Momo again. "Alright, new girl. Just know that Miraidon isn't the sort of Pokémon that any old trainer can hope to command. It's special."
Momo's smirk only grew as she clenched a fist as well. "I'll have you know I'm not just any old trainer." She still had practically no experience, but at least Momo wasn't just any old bluffer.
"Considering it's too weak to be in its battle form anymore, I'm not so sure." Arven glared closer. "You really think you're up to ordering Miraidon around? Then how 'bout I test your worthiness?"
"It's on, Ar… something!" Momo would've practically butted heads with him if she wasn't a good few inches too short. Still, with the way Arven's fringe covered a good half of his face, Momo felt like she had the upper hand—or rather, eye—in their little stare off. "I'm gonna show you I'm no pushover!"
"Heh!" In that scoff, Arven held the faintest of grins. "Well, look at you—quite the little go-getter!"
"Tch." Momo tutted at the mention of her height. It was only a few inch difference compared to him, surely.
The two walked away from each other, and as they did, Nemona eagerly clapped from a distance in the presence of such battle tension. Miraidon looked at the two tempered teens fighting over ownership of it, then curled up nearby.
"I've been feeling all out of sorts, so I'm gonna use this battle to blast these doldrums away!" Arven made a show of rolling up his sleeves, then slapped the sides of his face with a determined yell. "These memories are leaving a bad taste in my mouth—and I want it gone!"
Momo smirked at the opportunity to flex her own battle pose. She settled her excited breaths, narrowed her eyes, and slowly moved her hand over her face as she pushed her glasses up. "Ohohoho! I don't know about you, but I almost got my face burned off today! Maybe I'll show you what that's like if you still don't think I deserve this win!"
It was her Fuecoco against his Skwovet. Momo figured she could save Diego's signature Ember for a destructive finish, she didn't want to end this too quickly after all. Both their Pokémon sneered at each other with such intensity that she figured she'd have a little bit of fun first. The Skwovet stopped to groom its tail, then leaped with a Bite attack. It dealt a hefty blow, but now it was Momo's time to fight back.
"Diego, Tackle!"
All it took was one clumsy lunge to leave Arven's Skwovet struck and reeling in the dirt. In just one blow, it was already knocked out.
"Oh." Momo's smile fell at the anticlimactic scene. She supposed that with all the time she spent leering before the battle, her Pokémon must've followed suit, or something like that. "Guess I wasn't the pushover here."
Arven sighed as he clutched his head. "Okay, so it seems like you know a thing or two about battle. I guess I wasn't ever going to stand a chance using some Pokémon I'd only just caught…" With a huff, he straightened himself up and walked up to Momo, slapping something into her hand. "Here. If you really think you can do me a favor by taking Miraidon off my hands for me, you'll need this. It's the Poké Ball that brute's been kept in."
"Oh, heck yeah!" Momo beamed at the symbol of responsibility now in her hands. "I was wondering why I couldn't catch that thing."
Nemona stepped forward, giving Arven a curious look. "So if this Pokémon is so special, how'd you get its Pokéball in the first place?"
Arven didn't turn to look at her. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, then nodded at Momo. "Anyway, that thing's your problem now, not mine. Good luck."
Without another word or glance, he bolted off.
"What? Oye!" Nemona yelled after him. "Can you not hear me or something? What a weirdo…"
"And a grumpy grump," Momo added with a wayward glance.
Arven was already gone, and for a second, Momo wondered why it looked like he was running for his life. Maybe he was in a hurry to hide his embarrassment from such an embarrassing loss. She didn't seem to care all too much about whether or not that grump wanted to stick around, she was too busy being excited over the Pokéball bestowed upon her. Just as Miraidon woke up, Momo returned it into its ball, then held it to the skies.
"Legendary Pokémon obtained!" Momo proudly declared. "Supposedly legendary, I think!"
Nemona laughed. "Are you going to do this with every Pokémon you decide to put on your team?"
"Yes."
"Not sure what to think about that legendary part, though." Nemona crossed her arms. "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not the doubtful type, and that Miraidon looks crazy cool. I'm just worried if that Arven guy scammed you into getting some sort of bargain bin Pokémon that can't even battle. He definitely knows more than he's letting on, and if anything's up, I'm going to wring some answers out of him in a battle! So are you sure that Pokémon's legit?"
Momo shifted to a serious frown. "Listen, Nemona. I heroically jumped off a cliff, fought off a pack of big scary Houndoom all on my own, and defeated a rabid Skwovet with my bare hands just to earn this. Whatever this Miraidon can or can't do, I'm not taking the words of fate—no, destiny—for granted." She giggled, and her cheeky smile returned. "Besides, I got this all for free! It's not like I got scammed out of like, two and a half Poké Balls worth of money or something."
Nemona was counting something on her fingers, though she didn't seem any less confused afterwards. "An oddly specific example, but I like your enthusiasm!" Her smile picked up similarly as she looked up at the building ahead. "Oh right, now that we're at the lighthouse, I have got to show you something!"
Nemona took off with such enthusiasm that had Momo thinking it was another race. She was thankful it wasn't, because she wasn't the most ladder savvy person, and falling behind might've led to her own humiliating loss she'd have to run away from. One exhaustive climb later, Momo was glad she stuck to it, though her destination did leave her with more reason to stay breathless.
With a sweeping arm flourish atop the lighthouse, Momo was presented with the grand view of Paldea's great beyond, and what a great beyond it was. The distant view of grand Mesagoza, the proud Pokéball shape of the academy building, and all the landscapes surrounding it. It was all just calling to be explored, and as Nemona continued explaining the epic views ahead, the widespread excitement only grew.
"Oh yeah, home was great, but this is something else," Momo muttered.
With her warm welcome to Paldea made official, Momo was just about ready to keep booking it, all to make her story one for the books. She may have only had a Fuecoco and a questionable looking not-Cyclizar, but she was confident she'd be able to assemble a larger than life team in no time. As she kept a tight grip on the railing, her sparkling expression had its sights set on Uva Academy. Couldn't forget why she initially set out, after all.
Finally, after a bit of a surprising start, Momo knew it was time to get a move on to Uva to start the greatest adventure ever.