Author's Note:
Hello again, reader! PCW is back with another chapter, and this time it's only… *checks watch* …five months late. To compensate, it's another long one! And since it came up again: a year in this world is 416 days (which means there's 104 days of summer :) ), so every 7 pokemon world years is ~8 human years.
"How long until he wakes up?" I asked impatiently. After losing our battle at Crystal Lake, the other guild members brought us back to the guild. Everyone returned to their crew rooms to rest except for Chimecho, who was busy healing our wounds.
"Just give him a little more time, Jolt," Chimecho answered. "Brandon's injuries were a bit more severe than yours. He's probably exhausted."
"Grovyle really didn't want to face Brandon's Reflect. He hit him pretty hard just to take him out quickly," Crest noted.
"He's healing just fine," Chimecho assured us. "You've got nothing to worry about."
"You mean besides the fact that Grovyle got away again?" I pointed out.
"Oh, just relax," Crest said, "Even if we didn't catch Grovyle, we did defend the time gear. The way things are now, Grovyle can't act until Azelf does, so we have some time to recover."
Speaking of recovering, Brandon finally began to wake up. "Uhg, what… oh, we're back at the guild," he noted.
"Yeah, you're about the last pokemon to figure that out," I said.
"In my defense, I was unconscious," Brandon argued.
"Well, in case you missed it, the time gear is safe and Grovyle got away," Chimecho summarized. "And now that you're awake, we should head to the meeting room. Dusknoir wants to plan our next move."
Following Chimecho's suggestion, we left our room. Chimecho split off from our group to gather the other guild members, but we found Dusknoir, Mesprit, and Azelf waiting for us in the meeting area. They were talking to officer Magnezone and a floating, yellow pokemon that Crest confirmed was Uxie. As the rest of the guild filed into their usual spots, Wigglytuff stepped out of his room with Chatot following close behind him.
"Ah, good. It would seem everyone is accounted for," Dusknoir said as he looked over the crowd of pokemon before him. "Even Team Strength. In truth, I was unsure of whether or not you would all recover in time for this meeting."
"We're doing fine now," Crest confirmed.
"That's good," Dusknoir acknowledged. "But as we all know, Grovyle has once again managed to avoid capture."
"And you are certain that Azelf's time gear is safe for the time being?" Uxie asked.
"The crystals encasing the lake are completely impenetrable," Azelf assured him. "Grovyle would have to attack me directly before even attempting to reach it."
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid that raises new concerns," Magnezone cut in. "With the time gear inaccessible, what will Grovyle do next? Have any of you determined Grovyle's intentions? Are we putting civilians at risk if he is not captured immediately?"
"Dusknoir, sir?" Crest asked, "Toward the end of our battle with Grovyle, you mentioned something about knowing everything about him, right? Including his motives?"
"That is true, Crest," Dusknoir answered.
"Did you know him from somewhere?" I asked.
"Not exactly," Dusknoir explained. "I'd never actually met Grovyle until the battle. However, I still know a lot about him."
"How is that possible?" Magnezone questioned.
"Dusknoir had been investigating the time gear thefts for a while before reaching our guild," Chatot said. "It makes sense that he would have learned of Grovyle during his investigation."
"I'm afraid the truth isn't so simple," Dusknoir corrected. "In fact, I hadn't originally intended to reveal it. Not out of secrecy, mind you, but rather because what I know is a bit too fantastic to be taken at face value. So, please bear with me, and I'll start with the more mundane aspects of my explanation. First of all, Grovyle is an infamous criminal where I'm from."
"If that's the case, then why don't we have any records of him?" Magnezone interrogated.
"Surely the answer is simple," Uxie reasoned, "Dusknoir must be from somewhere far away. Beyond your jurisdiction."
"Though incorrect, you're not far off," Dusknoir said. "For you see, where I'm from is not actually a matter of 'where,' but a matter of 'when.' You have no records of Grovyle because he doesn't actually exist yet. He is a fugitive from the future, a time so distant that few in this room will live to see it, who fled to your time to escape capture. Similarly, I traveled back in time to apprehend Grovyle."
Dusknoir paused his explanation as noise began to grow in our crowd. "To think I thought you were weird," I told Brandon.
"You don't believe him?" Brandon asked in response.
"I don't know," Crest said. "It might sound insane at first, but there are pokemon capable of time travel, and when you consider that nobody had ever heard of either of them until such a short while ago, Dusknoir's story actually explains quite a lot."
"If Dusknoir is telling the truth, then our world would be documented in the future's history. Ancient history, by the sound of it, but history nonetheless," Brandon reasoned. "It could explain how Dusknoir is so knowledgeable. Researching the past would be significantly easier than predicting the future."
"Unless you have visions and can't read," Crest joked.
"Hey, I can read now! Just not fluently," Brandon responded.
"You couldn't read before?" I taunted.
"Just give me a break, okay? You know my first language is Knownun," he defended.
"Everyone, quiet down! Let Dusknoir finish his explanation," Chatot ordered. The guild quickly obeyed.
"Thank you Chatot," Dusknoir continued. "Now, as for Grovyle's motive, he intends to destroy the flow of time to cut off any other of his pursuers from the future from reaching him. He is very specifically after the time gears, so I do not believe any civilians are in danger at the moment. Grovyle will only draw attention to himself if he is desperate."
"So, while we do have time to plan our next move, we should still act quickly," Mesprit reasoned.
"That is true," Azelf agreed. "Perhaps we should set a trap. Grovyle knows he will have to defeat me to reach the time gear. If I returned to Crystal Lake, there is little doubt he would be lured in."
"An irresistible bait," Dusknoir considered, "If a small enough group accompanied you, we could catch Grovyle without scaring him off."
"How small of a group?" Chatot asked.
"An excellent question…" Dusknoir thought for a moment. "Besides Azelf and myself, it's tough to say. We need other pokemon that can go to Crystal Lake without arousing suspicion."
"Perhaps Mesprit and I would be ideal," Uxie suggested. "It is common knowledge that our powers are similar to Azelf's. If we spread a rumor that the three of us intended to permanently seal the time gear away, Grovyle would think nothing of it."
"Of course! And that would leave me as your lookout while you did so," Dusknoir agreed. "It's settled then. Tomorrow morning, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf will accompany me to Crystal Lake and await Grovyle's next attack. Everyone else will spread the rumor that, by the time we leave, the time gear will be permanently inaccessible. Oh, and in case it wasn't clear, you are all to stay far away from the lake until Grovyle has been captured. We can't risk letting him escape again."
"Well, Guildmaster? Care to make it official?" Chatot asked.
Wigglytuff didn't hesitate to answer. "Okay, everyone! We're going with Dusknoir's plan. YOOM-TAH!" The guild erupted into cheers before Chatot dismissed everyone for the night. We returned to our rooms and prepared for tomorrow.
"It sounds like we'll finally have an easy day," Brandon pointed out.
"As long as it's not our necks on the line this time, I'm happy. Just don't take that as an excuse to go back to the desert again," I said.
"Actually, I was thinking it might be best for me to stay in the guild tomorrow," Brandon reasoned. "Since we don't have a mission, I'd like to ask Chimecho to help me hone my psychic abilities. I'm not expecting much, but she seems to think she could teach me a few things."
"Wait, we're not going on an exploration?" Crest asked.
"Well, it hasn't been decided yet," Brandon clarified. "I'd have to clear it with Chatot first. Besides, even if I stay behind you two can still explore a dungeon. Chatot will probably want you to take jobs from the board."
"I thought you were the team leader?" I asked.
"Officially, yes, but that doesn't mean much," he explained.
Crest clarified, "I've led roughly as many explorations as Brandon has, and I'm also our team's co-leader. We should be fine, even without Brandon, especially if we visit a dungeon I've been to before."
"Alright then, I guess we'll see in the morning," I agreed.
"…And remember, absolutely no one is permitted to go to Crystal Lake," Chatot explained as he wrapped up the morning briefing. A moment later, Wigglytuff led the daily cheers before dismissing everyone for their guild work. Chatot then approached my team to give us our assignment. "Team Strength, we have no mission planned for you today. Just do some jobs from the boards and remember to spread the rumor."
"There's nothing planned?" I asked.
"Don't get used to it. The Guildmaster has merely been preoccupied with catching Grovyle," Chatot explained.
"I'm not complaining," I clarified, "I just have a request. I'd like to stay here in the guild to train my psychic abilities with Chimecho, if you'll allow it."
Chatot considered the idea. "I suppose it would be useful to have another psychic in the guild. Let me confirm it with the Guildmaster…"
As Chatot left we were greeted by another Flying type. "Hey guys!" she called out.
"Gligar?" Jolt responded.
"You're still here?" Crest asked.
"Well, yeah. It's not like I have anywhere else to go," she argued. "Wigglytuff's been letting me stay at the guild until time gets fixed. You really didn't notice?"
"We've been pretty busy," Jolt explained.
"Busy, huh? You looked pretty beaten-up yesterday. I was kind of worried for a bit," Gligar retorted.
"You were worried? About us?" Jolt questioned.
"What? No, err, yeah… I mean, why wouldn't I be?" she sputtered. "Anyway, it's been boring just waiting around in the guild, so I was wondering if I could tag along with your exploration today?"
"I don't have a problem with it," I answered. "Though I don't expect my input matters. I'm planning to stay here during today's mission."
"It's fine by me too," Crest added, "and Chatot doesn't have the authority to say you can't, so sure, you can join us."
"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Jolt asked.
"Technically it's my decision to make," Crest answered jokingly. "Do you have a problem with it?"
"What? No! I just didn't want to feel left out," Jolt recovered.
"In that case, the three of us will leave once Chatot comes back," Crest concluded. "We'll stop by the job board and Kecleon market on our way out and work from there."
As Crest finished planning, Chatot returned from Wigglytuff's room. "All right, team Strength, the Guildmaster has approved Brandon's request to train within the guild today. If you haven't already, make sure Chimecho has time to assist you before the rest of your team leaves for their mission. That is all. Now, please excuse me, but I have my own work to attend to…"
"Well, that settles that," Jolt said. "So, are we splitting up here then?"
"That would be awkward, considering we're all going to the upper floor," I answered. "I'll talk to Chimecho and see you guys out. Crest will take over from there."
"Sounds like a plan," Crest agreed, already heading toward the ladder. "I suggest we take a job from the mission board. The last thing we need is to face another outlaw."
"Yeah, we've already agreed to an escort mission. No need to make things harder on ourselves," Jolt added.
"Are you implying I'm dead weight?" Gligar asked. "Or did you forget that I can fly?"
Jolt quickly back peddled. "Just relax, okay? It was a joke."
"No, keep going and scare some respect into him," I said.
By now we had all reached the top of the ladder. "Don't you guys think it's a bit early to be picking fights? Jolt, help me choose a job for today. You can mess with everyone after we leave," Crest said. After that I split off from my team.
Chimecho noticed me as I approached. "Oh, hi Brandon. Do you need something from Team Assembly?"
"Not exactly," I explained, "Remember when you said you could teach me some 'psychic tricks?' I was wondering if you could help me train my abilities today."
"Of course!" she replied enthusiastically. "Although, I've never had an apprentice before, especially not one who wasn't a Psychic type. Forgive me if I'm not the best teacher, but I suspect I can still teach you the basics."
"You aren't too busy?" I asked.
"I tend to have a lot of spare time once all the exploration teams leave for the day," she explained. "Once Sunflora leaves there isn't much else for me to do until dinner, unless a team visits that needs to use the Assembly. I'm more or less on call in that case." I looked over to the job board and saw Sunflora talking to my teammates. With how much she talks, I guess it's no surprise she's one of the last ones out of the guild every day.
We met our friends at the ladders to confirm our plans for the day. "Have you got your mission?" I asked.
"Yeah, we're going to Apple Woods to retrieve some perfect apples," Crest said.
That confused me. "I thought the tree was picked clean?"
Crest just laughed it off. "You've clearly never seen a dungeon crop before. Those things grow back in days, and perfect apples are no exception. With Gligar's help, this should be our easiest mission yet!"
"Oh my gosh, you're so lucky! I have to go to Mystifying Forest," Sunflora said.
"I thought there weren't any missions there?" Jolt asked.
"There weren't," Gligar agreed.
"Maybe not, but that place is paralyzed and right next to Capim Town," Chimecho explained, "and Sunflora is known both for her gossip and being a member of the guild. That's a best-case scenario for spreading the rumor."
Sunflora was surprised by Chimecho's answer. "Aww, you beat me to it. Did you read my mind again?"
"No, just Chatot's," she joked. "In any case, you should probably leave soon. We're all pretty busy today."
"Since when were you busy?" Sunflora asked.
"Since she found out I'm a psychic," I answered.
"I'm training him today," Chimecho clarified.
"Aww, I wish I could stick around to watch. Okay, I'll leave you to it. See you all at dinner!" Sunflora said, making her way out of the guild.
"We'd better go too," Crest said. "Good luck with your training, let us know how it went when we get back."
"Are you sure you needed to buy those oran berries? Because it looks like we aren't going to use them," Gligar asked. We had stopped by the Kecleon shop before our mission today, but given how much easier this dungeon was compared to my last visit spending all of our Poke on healing items seemed a bit redundant.
"Even if we don't need them today, we needed to restock," I reasoned. "We'll probably need oran berries eventually. May as well have them now, too."
"Besides, you're only level 16. If we're taking you with us then we need those berries," Jolt taunted.
"17 now," Gligar shot back, "and a more effective fighter than you. How did you plan to deal with that Exeggutor?"
"Crest has Peck!" he argued.
"And a Grass weakness," I pointed out. "Now, if you two would stop your bickering and focus, maybe we could finish our mission early and go home?"
"What's the rush? I thought you liked exploring," Jolt asked.
"Curiosity," I admitted. "Aren't you excited to see what kind of abilities Brandon learned while we were gone?"
"Not really," Jolt answered. "I'm more of a fighter than a scholar, and I'm not interested in a lecture on some power I'll never be able to use. Besides, that kind of stuff would just go over my head."
Gligar agreed. "I'm not exactly invested in whatever weirdness your teammate is up to, so exploring is enough excitement for me."
'At least that's one thing they can agree on,' I thought. "Okay, so there's no rush," I conceded, "as long as you stop arguing, anyway."
"Oh, come on, it's just some friendly banter," Jolt whined.
"Yeah, it's all in good fun," Gligar added.
"You can argue for that long and still call it fun? You two are even weirder than Brandon," I thought aloud. "I guess it would have to be. It's not like it's very professional."
Jolt just laughed at that. "And what would you know about acting 'professional?'"
"More than I'd ever like to apply," I assured him. "My parents were always pretty strict about that sort of thing."
"Hey, at least you have parents, right?" Jolt reasoned. "That kind of makes you unique within our team."
I was taken aback by how blunt that was. "I never really thought of that. I guess if Brandon had a family, he wouldn't remember it," I thought for a moment, "but what about you? Surely you have parents?"
"Eh, probably," Jolt answered nonchalantly, "but it never really mattered. Luxray sired most of the pack, so he's probably my dad. Not that anyone would dare to call him that."
"What about your mother?" Gligar asked.
"Who knows? We were all raised communally. Well, as communally as you can with Luxray around," Jolt explained. He hesitated a moment before asking, "What about you Gligar? I know your home is kind of screwed up right now, but do you have a family to go back to when it's fixed?"
"Now that you mention it, I probably should visit them once time is back to normal," she answered.
"What do you mean, 'visit?'" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I moved out a while before the continent was paralyzed," she explained. "Come to think of it, you two talk about your parents as though you're still children-"
"Hey, I'm sixteen! Legally, that's an adult," I objected.
"Well, she's actually right about me. I've still got a year until I'm full-grown," Jolt admitted.
"Hah! And here I thought I was joking," Gligar laughed. "I mean, I figured we were about the same age, but it's weird to think that I'm an adult and you're still a kid. Crazy how much of a difference one year makes, huh?"
"It doesn't feel that different to me," I said. "Fifteen or sixteen, either way my parents weren't happy with me leaving. The only difference was that at sixteen there was less they could do to stop me."
"Well, it's a huge difference for me," Jolt explained. "Think about it, I would be in so much trouble if I were just one year older. Remember how we met?"
"Oh yeah," I remembered. "I guess that year is the difference between a kid making mistakes and getting on Magnezone's bad side."
"Wait, are you some sort of delinquent?" Gligar asked.
"For what it's worth, I was naïve, not cruel," Jolt defended.
"I'd say that's worth a lot," she assured him.
The remainder of our trek through Apple Woods was uneventful. It's funny to think that the last time I was here, I was wishing we had new allies. No offense to Brandon, but he wasn't much of a fighter at the time. Besides, I know he felt the same way. Now I had those new allies, and while I might not have needed them to fight, I was still glad they were here. Still, it felt strange not having Brandon with us, especially at the first place we failed a mission. It almost felt like this was our redemption, and he was going to miss it.
In any case, we reached a familiar clearing. "This is the dungeon's exit. The perfect apple tree should be just over there," I said, taking the lead.
"So, what does this tree look like, exactly? It's not like an apple tree will stand out in this forest," Jolt reasoned.
"Trust me, you'll know it when you see it. It's massive and separate from the rest of the forest. The tree itself is more obvious than its apples," I answered.
"That's impossible! Perfect apples are huge, and they're so shiny they practically glow. You're saying the tree is even more impressive?" Gligar exclaimed.
"I'd say so," I said, the tree coming into view. "After all, just look at it!"
They were awestruck. "That thing is a tree?" Jolt asked.
"It's insane! It makes the cacti back home seem small," Gligar added.
"I think anything would be small compared to this," I reasoned. "So Gligar? Think you could fly up and grab a few? We only need one for our mission, but I think we should take some for ourselves."
"Can I take multiple trips?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't think I can fly with more than one."
As Gligar took to the air the tree shook violently, as if it had been struck by something, and several perfect apples rained down from its branches. One of the apples hit Gligar, causing her to stumble toward the ground in surprise, though she managed to remain airborne. "Ow! No fair," she complained. "I didn't even reach them yet! What's the point in flying when everything just falls around you?"
"Well, it's certainly easier when they fall," a Zubat said, popping out of the tree to face Gligar.
She was apparently unfazed by Zubat's sudden appearance. "Maybe if you don't have a tail, but-"
"Gligar, get away!" I shouted up to them.
"Why? I don't think the apples are that dangerous," she responded, completely missing the point of my warning.
"Wait, I'm confused. Isn't this our trap?" Zubat asked.
I spotted Skuntank under the tree, his dramatic entrance apparently thwarted. "There is no way you're both that stupid. Zubat!" he yelled.
"What?" he shouted back. "Oh, right. Air Cutter!"
With one quick flap of his wings, Zubat's point-blank attack hit Gligar hard, dragging her downward through the air before crash landing next to me. Jolt rushed to help her up while I kept an eye on Team Skull.
"Double unfair! I wasn't ready," Gligar complained.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Where do you find these pokemon?" Koffing laughed, floating down from the tree. "Honestly Piplup, your choice of friends is pathetic!"
"Now Koffing, give the wimp some credit," Skuntank taunted, "he at least had the sense to ditch that worthless Chikorita!"
"Worthless!?" Jolt repeated angrily.
"What do you jerks want? Or did you lure us out here just to mess with us?" I tried to negotiate.
"Keh-heh-heh! As much as we like messing with you, we had something else in mind," Zubat cackled.
"Of course, since you were nice enough to ask, we'll let you off easy," Skuntank reasoned. "Just hand over that special charm of yours and we'll let you go without a fight."
"What is he talking about?" Jolt asked.
"My relic fragment," I explained. Turning my attention to Skuntank I added, "It's just a rock. I believe your goons know from experience that it's worthless."
Zubat took offense to that. "Hey! We're not goons, we're lackeys! Get it right!"
"I'm pretty sure the correct term is idiots!" Jolt shouted back, already using Charge.
"That's rich coming from you, brawn-for-brain," Skuntank argued. "Now give us the rock, or we'll make you wish you stayed in Amp Plains!"
"Have you somehow not noticed that we have the type advantage here? You're the ones who n-need to back off," I threatened, quickly realizing that my bluff wouldn't work when I was visibly scared. How does Brandon always seem to pull that off? Is it one of his psychic powers? However he does it, I really wished he were here right now.
"Yeah, we have a Ground type on our side," Jolt continued for me before realizing something. "Uh, you do know a Ground move, right?"
"Does Sand Attack count?" Gligar answered.
"Chaw-haw-haw, you guys are even more hopeless than I thought. But if you're so confident in your little 'type advantage,' then I guess we'll just have to deal with that weakness first! Night Slash!"
Skuntank charged at Gligar, but the attack was met with a blinding blue light. When the light faded, we were back outside the guild.
"What happened? Where did they go?" Jolt growled, still angry from Team Skull's taunting.
"I used our escape orb," I explained. "We're not strong enough to fight them, and I'm not making that mistake a second time."
"You've fought them before?" Gligar asked.
"It's a bit of a stretch to call it a fight, but yeah," I sighed. "Brandon and I lost in a single attack. I know we're stronger now, but it's not worth the risk-"
"Not worth the risk? Do you even hear yourself?" Jolt complained. "I thought you were a Piplup, where's your pride?"
"I don't have it, ok!?" I shouted back. "I never did…"
Jolt clearly wasn't ready for that answer. "I… didn't… I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know… that…" he struggled a while to find what to say before giving up. "Look, let's just go see how Brandon is doing. You wanted to see what abilities he learned, right?"
"Just keep focusing," Chimecho assured me. "Project your thoughts as loud as you can."
"I'm trying," I answered. "At least, I think I am. I'm still not sure I understand what I'm supposed to do." After my teammates left, Chimecho led me back to her desk to train my psychic abilities. She claimed that Telepathy was the easiest technique to learn, but I just couldn't seem to figure it out. None of her explanations worked for me, and her demonstrations were equally unhelpful. We had already spent half the day on this, and it was looking like I wouldn't learn anything.
"If you're not sure, then take a break and clear your mind," she explained again, "That's a prerequisite to most psychic techniques."
'Just clear my mind. Just… Completely… Empty,' I thought. 'Then… Focus… Somewhere…'
"Your mind isn't clear enough," Chimecho interrupted.
"What do you mean? I wasn't thinking of anything," I asked.
She thought for a moment before answering, "Let's try something else. This isn't a psychic ability, but I think it will help you understand what you need to do."
"What is it?" I asked, eager to try anything that wasn't Telepathy.
"Hiding your thoughts," Chimecho answered. "Specifically, from mind reading and Telepathy. It's something anyone can do, but it's conceptually similar to preparing your mind. All you have to do is think without forming a coherent thought. Don't 'speak' your thoughts in your mind, just listen to your raw ideas."
"Think… without thinking?" I tried to understand.
"That's pretty much it, if that makes any sense to you," she confirmed. "Just try it. I'll read your mind while you do; when I can hear your thoughts, I'll raise my arm. Otherwise, I'll keep it down. Ready?"
"Okay, I'll try it," I said before retreating to my mind. 'Think without thinking… no coherent thoughts…'
'Don't think in sentences,' Chimecho thought telepathically, raising an arm. 'Sentences announce your thoughts. More than that, they complete them.'
'No… Sentences…'
'No more words,' she instructed. 'Create a thought without words, then listen.'
A thought without words? How was that possible? How else could I think? I waited, listening for my own ideas as Chimecho had told me to. 'athoughtwithoutathoughtwithoutwordswordswords… isitpossibleitpossibleathoughtwithout… howcouldcouldhowcouldthinkpossiblewords…' As I listened, I heard messy, incomplete phrases echoing in my mind. When my focus broke, I noticed Chimecho had put her arm down.
"Did it work?" I asked.
"I think you got it," she confirmed. "What did it sound like?"
"It was echo-y," I explained. "Just incomplete ideas whispering over themselves and each other."
"Could you understand them?" she asked.
"I think so," I answered.
"Then it did work. Now just remember to do that before attempting any psychic ability," Chimecho explained.
"Does that mean we're trying Telepathy again?" I asked nervously.
"Yes, but," she answered, getting distracted by an idea. "I think I know something else that will help you. Wait here for a moment."
Chimecho suddenly disappeared. Before I had time to comprehend that Chimecho Teleported she was back, holding some sort of refined crystal tied to a string.
"You can Teleport?" I asked.
"It's something a lot of Psychic pokemon can do, but Teleporting without knowing the move can be exhausting," Chimecho explained. "I don't expect to teach you how to do it, at least not anytime soon. It's much more difficult than simple mind reading."
"At this point I'm starting to think my abilities aren't even strong enough to manage that," I said. "What did you Teleport for, anyway?"
"You don't recognize it? This is the crystal you used for your vision. I made it into a psychic charm," she explained. "I was planning to use it to enhance my own powers, but I don't think I'll get to use it how I'd hoped. You'll get more use out of it than me."
"So, you're just giving it to me, then?" I asked. "What were you going to use it for?"
"A special variation of Telepathy called a Psychic Link. As long as the link is active, anyone connected to it can telepathically communicate with the rest of the link," Chimecho answered. "I've experimented with links before, but they tend to break easily. The charm would help me maintain it."
"That sounds difficult, especially considering I can't even get Telepathy right," I thought aloud, "but it would be pretty useful if it worked. What's stopping you from trying it?"
"Remember what I told you at the start of this lesson? The mind is a very personal place. Reading someone's mind just might be the fastest way to lose their trust," she explained. "I wanted to connect the entire guild to a link, but getting everyone to agree to it would be impossible. Anyway, let's get back to Telepathy: I want you to use that charm as a focus point. Clear your mind and focus on the charm, then project your thoughts to it."
I applied thought hiding and focused intently on the crystal, listening to the thoughts I planned to project as I did so. 'Once your mind is clear and focused, 'speak' your thoughts as normal to project them,' Chimecho instructed.
'Just think my thoughts?' I thought back.
'Just like that!' Chimecho answered. 'That was attuned to the crystal, so any psychic listening from it could hear. Now try to redirect the Telepathy to me: try to imagine sending your thoughts from the crystal to my mind, then 'speak' them.'
'From the crystal… to your mind…' I thought, continuing to focus.
'Stay relaxed. This is a job for your mind, not your body,' Chimecho explained.
'Okay. Just stay relaxed and send my thoughts from the crystal to you. I think I can do that,' I reasoned.
Chimecho chuckled at that. "Perhaps 'think' is an understatement. You got it!"
"I did?" I asked, surprised. "It didn't feel very different from projecting to the crystal."
"That's because the charm enhances psychic energy. If you use it to focus, any skill becomes easier," she explained. "And now that you've figured out Telepathy, I think your lesson is done for today. You should get some rest."
"I didn't realize how long we spent on that," I said. "The day is almost over already, isn't it?"
"The exploration teams should be getting back soon," Chimecho agreed. "I think I'll head to the kitchen to start work on dinner. I'll see you when it's ready. Of course, I'll see everyone when it's ready."
"I guess we will," I agreed. "Thanks for the help." Chimecho floated down the ladder to the lower floor. I was about to return to my room when my teammates appeared above me, much sooner than I expected them. "You guys are back already?"
"Yeah," Crest answered, seemingly upset about something. "The dungeon wasn't too bad, but the mission was another of Team Skull's traps. We ended up using our escape orb."
"Things didn't go well," Jolt agreed, "but they could have been worse, right?"
"But I wanted an apple," Gligar complained. "I almost got one, too, but that Zubat stopped me."
"How did your training go?" Crest asked, clearly not wanting to linger on the failed mission.
"Not as well as I'd hoped," I explained. "I spent the entire day learning Telepathy, but I'm still not very good at it. Chimecho even gave me this charm to make it easier and I can still barely do it."
"A charm? Can I see it?" Crest asked, suddenly excited.
"Sure," I answered, handing it over. "It's made from the crystal I used for a Dimensional Scream. Apparently the psychic energy it contains is helpful for focusing mental abilities. Aside from that, its only value is looking pretty."
"So, it's basically a crystal on a string?" Jolt asked. "Better not let Team Skull find out about it, given what they've done for Crest's rock."
"It's certainly more refined than my relic fragment," Crest acknowledged. "Though there isn't much of a mystery behind it. I'd say this is more useful, but less interesting."
"Less interesting?" I repeated. "I thought you said the relic fragment was just a rock. What's so interesting about it?"
"Oh yeah, I haven't actually shown it to you yet, have I?" Crest realized.
"Isn't it usually tucked away inside your silver bow?" Jolt reasoned.
"I didn't mean to hide it, that's just an easy place to keep it," Crest said, pulling out the fragment and placing it in front of him. "Look at this though: the stone has an intricate pattern on it."
Intricate was an understatement. Despite the rock's small size, it had a single, flat surface covered in some sort of rune. The pattern itself consisted of several small, crossed lines that looped over themselves near the surface's edge.
"I guess it is interesting," Jolt concluded. "Where did you get this, anyway?"
"Lapras gave it to me when I left Blizzard Island," Crest explained, "She said it's the key to some sort of mystery. I just hope I can solve it one day."
"I thought you told me you found the relic fragment," I questioned.
"When was that?"
"When we met," I reminded him. "You said it was just a cool-looking stone you found."
"And you wanted to run headfirst into a mystery dungeon when you could barely walk," he pointed out, taking back the fragment and returning the psychic charm.
"Didn't you call it worthless earlier?" Gligar asked.
"Obviously he just said that so Skuntank wouldn't want it," Jolt reasoned.
"That's not entirely true," Crest admitted. "Sure, it's mysterious, but it also might be just a rock. Sometimes I think that it really might not be worth anything."
"I doubt it, with a pattern like that," I thought aloud.
"Yeah, it has to be important!" Jolt agreed.
"I hope you're right," Crest answered. "I just… don't know…"