Episode 21: The Sylveon Shrine! What's a Madamfetch'd!?
Leaving the Village of Black Thorns, Ashton, Dylan, Kris, and Rei headed into the mountain range that separated Johto and Kanto to climb Mount Silver and find the elusive Hydreigon that lived there. Rei's survival skills came in handy, as his familiarity with this time period helped the trio know which berries were safe to eat and hot to stealthily avoid wild Pokémon. A few times on their journey they even encountered Alpha Pokémon, which Rei explained to be larger-than-usual Pokémon with glowing red eyes and very aggressive behavior.
"It's best just to avoid them," Rei whispered.
Kris shuttered. "Yeah, that Gyarados was no joke."
Dylan nodded in understanding. He had Poli'ahu out as the Artic Vulpix could guide them safely through the increasingly snowy terrain. "Thankfully Ryujin was kind enough to give us coats," Dylan said, his breath fogging his glasses.
"Vulpix!" Poli'ahu exclaimed, jumping up and pointing with her nose to a path up ahead. The gang followed the Artic Vulpix to a small hut built into the mountainside, a small stream of smoke coming from the top indicating that someone was inside.
Rei took the lead here, knocking on the door. A girl in a kimono opened it, whom Rei bowed to. "Greets! My friends and I seek shelter for the night, as we head for Mount Silver in the morning."
"Oh, please come in!" the girl said. The quartet entered the building, removing their shoes as they did so. "It's rare that we get travelers this late at night, but welcome to the Shrine of Sylveon."
The Shrine of Sylveon was a traditional Japanese house built into the mountain, with a shrine to the Pokémon Sylveon being on prominent display at the back of the house. The part that went further into the mountain even had a small field for battles and a secret entrance and exit for Pokémon to come into the shrine from within the mountain.
"Kimono girls with an eeveelution theme," Ashton mused. "That sounds familiar."
"Indeed, there are many other shrines to the Eevee line across this land of Johto," the girl said. She looked to Kris and smiled. "And I can see that one of you is already blessed with an Eevee." Sera suddenly burst from her Poké Ball and gave a cry of approval. "And one with such a nice coat as well."
"You have an entire Pokémon sanctuary back here," Kris said in awe, watching as Pokémon mingled in the back of the cave.
One of the other Kimono Girls walked up and gave an approving nod. "Mount Silver is a harsh environment, and our shrine is dedicated to helping weaker Pokémon get stronger, as well as keep their eggs safe." She motioned to a nesting ground near the entrance to the shrine.
"Amazing," Rei said in awe. "I should talk to the professor about making an egg sanctuary back in Jubilife Village. There's still so much we don't know about Pokémon eggs and where they come from."
"And we still don't know much two hundred years later," Ashton muttered to Dylan.
The Kimono Girl then looked to Dylan as her Sylveon started staring at his bag. "Oh, do you perhaps have an egg with you?"
"Oh, we do, actually," Dylan said. He opened up his bag and showed her the egg Delphi had given him. "I was told that this egg would be helpful in the future."
"Then perhaps Almighty Johto sent you here for a reason," the Kimono Girl said. "He does watch over the birds of Kanto like his children, some say he even hatched them himself." Her Sylveon gently took the egg and placed it with the others. "We shall keep it safe for you until it hatches. I can sense a strong spirit within this one."
"What is that!?" Kris suddenly shouted, pointing to a Pokémon near the shrine. At first, Dylan and Ashton thought it was a Farfetch'd, but this Pokémon had different characteristics. It was swan-like with tan feathers that ended in brown, a black mask-like design around the eyes, and it carried its leek more elegantly. "I've never seen a Pokémon like that before!"
"Doesn't Farfetch'd evolve in the UK?" Dylan questioned.
"Yeah, it becomes a Sirfetch'd, with a shield and everything," Ashton said.
"This Madamfetch'd," one of the Kimono Girls said, bringing the Pokémon over. "It's a Pokémon that loves to hang around sacred shrines in Johto, keeping them clean and warding off bad spirits. It evolves from Farfetch'd when it consumes pink onions, as well as becoming a Fairy type."
"It's a beautiful Pokémon for sure," Kris said, kneeling down to get a closer look at the Madamfetch'd. She took a photo of the Pokémon and recorded her data on her Pokégear. "Where we come from, you can't find this Pokémon at all. You said it evolves when it eats pink onions?"
The Kimono Girl nodded, showing some of them in their garden. "You can have some if you want. We grow plenty here."
"I'd like to see what Madamfetch'd can do in battle," Ashton said.
"Then let me challenge it to a battle," Rei offered. "I can show you guys how we do things in Hisui!" The Madamfetch'd gave a cry, shaking her leek and heading over to the small battlefield. Rei joined the Pokémon, sending out his Pikachu to battle. "Have you guys ever used Pokémon Battle Styles before? By reading special scrolls, Pokémon can learn to use their moves in certain ways, either hitting harder but moving slower, or hitting more often but with a weaker move. The downside is that these techniques tire out Pokémon faster."
Rei nodded to Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon ready for a battle. Madamfetch'd gave a cry, its body glowing blue as it used Agile Style First Impression to get the drop on Pikachu. Madamfetch'd then followed up by twirling her leek around, a swirl of cherry blossoms appearing around the Pokémon before it attacked Pikachu again.
"That was Sakura Dance, a move that only Madamfetch'd can learn," the Kimono Girl explained. "Sometimes it can even raise its own attack power after using the move."
"You've seen Agile Style, so now watch our Strong Style Iron Tail!" Rei said, ordering Pikachu to attack. His Pokémon did as it was told, hitting Madamfetch'd for super effective damage.
The Madamfetch'd then held up a wing, giving a bow to Rei before waddling off. "It seems that she is done fighting for today," the Kimono girl said.
"It's still so amazing to find what's potentially an extinct Pokémon in our time living here in the past," Kris whispered to Dylan.
"Well, if we find out what's so special about these onions, maybe we can bring them back when we get home," he replied. Dylan then let out a yawn. "Well, I'm tired. Let's all head to bed and climb Mount Silver tomorrow."
The friends all agreed and set up their sleeping bags for the night. As the shrine became quiet, save for the sounds of sleeping people and Pokémon, Ashton got out of her bag and headed for the door. "Sorry guys," she whispered, "But I have to do this on my own." With that the blonde girl left the shrine, out into the freezing night to search for Hydreigon.
[***]
"We must rest for the night, Inari," Aurora said, stopping underneath an outcropping of rocks. "I can sense the aura of my Trainer getting closer, so we'll make haste tomorrow towards his location."
"Tell me another story, Aurora," Inari asked, giving a cute yawn. "The help me to sleep better."
Aurora smiled, patting the Zorua on the head. "Well then, this story is about a boy that was raised by Pokémon in the wild. The boy loved Pokémon with all his heart and gained the ability to understand them just on their feelings alone. The boy was soon found by humans, who told that boy that he was destined to become a king and free all Pokémon from control of humans. The leader of the humans became his advisor, and called himself the boy's father."
"So, the boy became a king and went about spreading the word of how humans were using Pokémon as slaves and that they must be freed from their owners. When the boy king visited a small town, however, he met three people that would start to change his mind."
"The first was a smart boy with a Snivy. The king asked him "Why do you keep Pokémon captive?" and the smart boy answered "My Snivy and I wish to become stronger so that we can face this world together. That is my ideal." The second was a determined girl with a Tepig. The king asked her "Why do you keep Pokémon captive?" and the girl answered "While I am not as strong as my friends, Tepig and I will find a way to make the world a better place together. That is my truth." Finally, the king met a boy with an Oshawott, asking him "Why do you keep Pokémon captive." Th boy didn't reply, instead letting is Oshawott tell the king why he stayed with the boy. The Pokémon was determined to stay with the boy, and his confused the king."
"So the king wanted to separate humans and Pokémon, but he met people that got along well with Pokémon," Inari said.
Aurora nodded. "Correct. The king would remember what the boy with the Oshawott said, and promised that they would meet again. The king and the boy met several times as the king gained more followers, with each encounter going the same way: the king would ask him "Why do you hold Pokémon captive?" and the boy would let his Pokémon explain to the king why they sided with the humans."
"Eventually the king was able to befriend the Dragon of Ideals, a powerful Pokémon he hoped would make his dream of separating humans and Pokémon forever. The boy with the Oshawott, now a Samurott, had befriended the Dragon of Truth, and challenged the king to a battle. The words of the boy stuck a chord with the king, as over his journey he had begun to have doubts about his mission. Accepting the boy's challenge, the Dragon of Ideals and the Dragon of Truth held their battle to decide the fate of the world."
"What happened then?" Inari asked.
Aurora continued, "It was a fierce battle, but eventually the boy won. The king didn't understand how his ideals could have lost, but then realized something: every person he'd met on his crusade, from the smart boy to the determined girl and even the first king of the region, all of them had different truths and ideals, yet all of them still lived together in harmony with Pokémon. The king came to the conclusion that by accepting different ideas, the world could come together and be a better place."
The advisor then revealed himself to have been manipulating the king so that he could make his own world where he ruled. The boy with the Samurott faced the advisor and defeated him, banishing the man and those loyal to him. The king surrendered himself to the boy, who forgave the king for his actions. The king then decided to leave with the Dragon of Ideals, promising to learn more about humans and Pokémon, but not before telling the boy one last thing…"
Aurora smiled and looked up to the stars, seeing a constellation of Zekrom within them. "The king said: "Dream your dream! Then, pursue the ideals to make that dream a reality, and someday you will achieve all that you dreamed of!""
Inari laughed. "What happens next, did the king and the boy ever meet again? Did the king learn what he needed to?"
Aurora closed her eyes, the faint image of a boy with green hair buried deep in her memories. "I'd like to think that the king did find his answer, and that he and the boy reunited years later, becoming the best of friends." She looked down and Inari, who was now fast asleep. "But the moral of the story is this: no matter how different we all are, each of us shares this world, and it's only from understand each other through our truths and ideals can we make the future a place for everyone to live together in peace."
Author's Note
The Sylveon Shrine is based on the Kimono Girls with the Eevees from the Johto games.
Madamfetch'd is my name for the cut Farfetch'd evolution from the beta versions of Gold/Silver. In this story it is a Fairy type that specializes in physical attacks and setting up screens (think a physical-based Mr. Mime).
Aurora's story is a fairy tale retelling of N's story from Pokémon Black/White, with this one being mostly based on White version (which I consider the more canon one as that's the one where you fight Iris and she becomes Champion in Black 2/ White 2).