Chapter 25 - To-Do

—*—*—

Celeste's To-Do List

1: Figure out fairy-type moves.

2: Go to the police station with Lorelei

3: Enrol in the ice pokémon tournament.

4: Call mom and dad.

—*—*—

Celeste shifted in her seat in front of the video-phone, her eyes fixed on Powder's premier ball, which was resting on the table in front of her. The small room in the pokémon centre, where the phones and computers were located, was quiet, save for the ticking of the clock on the wall and the soft snores of the slowpoke in her lap.

Before pressing the call button, she glanced at the clock once more for good measure. It was 6:03 AM, which meant it was 10:03 PM in Galar. That wasn't too late… She would be happy with the call.

"Pat, I need you to be your absolutely cutest," Celeste whispered, not really wanting to wake her slowpoke. Her eevee, who was sitting beside her seat, tackled her leg in a sign to get this over with. Taking a deep breath, the girl closed her eyes and made the call, hoping for the best.

The phone rang only once before a woman answered. In a grumpy tone, she started to say, "If you are calling me about the play…" before cutting herself off. She narrowed her deep blue eyes and wrinkled her long and crooked nose, as if trying to make sure she was seeing correctly. "Celly?"

Celeste smiled as she studied the woman's image on the video screen. Her once-lavish blond hair was now mostly grey and tucked inside an old-fashioned nightcap, which the girl was pretty sure was as much of an antique as the wearer. Good wines get better with age, she remembered, was always the woman's reply whenever someone dared mention her age.

"Hey aunty Opal." Celeste's tone was casual, as if she was just calling to catch up with an old friend.

Well, Opal was more than a friend, really. To the girl, she was family.

Around the time Tia got pregnant with Celeste, she got a job at Ballonlea University. During that time, Opal would often visit Tia's department to do historical research for a play and the two struck up a friendship. As time passed, Opal became not just a friend, but also Tia's and Otto's support system. When the two overworked academics realised raising a child in a foreign region would be tough, Opal was there for them every step of the way. Even after they moved to Hammerlocke, when Celeste was two, the older woman remained a constant presence in their lives, always willing to help however she could.

Granny Opal was how a young Celly affectionately called the older woman, much to her chagrin. A gym leader such as Opal, however, would deal with the child with as much grace as she delt with the fairies she trained. Whenever the girl called her "granny", Opal would dress the child up like a doll, always in pink. "That's what grannies do, Celly. I don't think a cool aunt would dress you up like this," she would often say, punctuating her statement with a wink.

It suffices to say that granny Opal became aunty Opal before very long and that Celeste, to this day, doesn't own even one pink sock.

"Where—?" the older woman started asking, but interrupted herself again. "Celeste, you parents are worried sick about you."

The girl blushed and sheepishly put a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm… hum… the Sevii Islands…"

"Weren't you supposed to be in Kanto?" Opal narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why are you calling?"

Celeste pressed her lips together and smiled, before taking the slowpoke on her lap and putting him in view. "Wanted to show you my new pokémon. Look at how pink he is!"

Opal let out a hearty, yet mocking, laugh. "So you disappear for weeks, making everyone worry, and then call me from the middle of nowhere just to show off your slowpoke?"

"His name is Patrick, Pat, for short. He doesn't always answer my commands on time, but he is the sweetest slowpoke ever." Celeste gave Opal the biggest smile. She knew how to win her over. "Don't you love him?"

"Of course, cutiefly," Opal's tone softened, but Celeste caught a glint in her eyes. "I'd love to see him in person. Say, why don't you come to my gym? We could train your slowpoke and then finally evolve that eevee of yours into a beautiful fairy to make sure you have a team of glorious pink."

Aria let out a scoff at Opal's words, making sure to be loud enough for the gym leader to hear. Despite that, Opal only chuckled. Celeste simply arched her eyebrows, knowing too well her aunty hadn't really expected her to come back running so easily. It was time to get to the point.

"Well, actually…" the girl started, taking a deep breath. "I have a fairy I might need help with…"

"Ah, you show thyself," Opal made a dramatic gesture, as if she had been mortally wounded. "And here I thought you looked at your pink blob and actually missed your poor old aunt."

Celeste rolled her eyes at Opal's comment. Actors, she thought before turning back to the screen with determination. "I miss you, but a lot has happened…" The girl straightened herself. "See, I promised my pokémon that I would figure out how to train them properly, and… well, there was this battle that I lost… then I got overprotective, and this woman said she would help me train, but I blew it… and then Powder ran away, and there was this sneasel. We got into a battle, and she glowed pink and now there's a tournament, and…"

"Calm down, child," Opal finally interrupted Celeste, who had barely stopped for air. "You're not making any sense. Let's start at the beginning. Who is Powder?"

The young trainer nodded and began to tell her story to the gym leader. She explained how she had got angry with her parents, stormed out, and ended up in Mount Lanakila, where she met her vulpix, Powder, and the poachers. Celeste described to Opal how she had felt powerless there and decided that she wanted to become stronger. She told her how, since she had arrived in Vermilion, she had been stumbling around from one place to another without a clear direction. They talked for an hour, and Celeste shared everything with Opal, from her battles to all the new people she had met.

"Moonblast," Opal finally said, after Celeste finished recounting her recent bout with the sneasel. "We call those egg moves because they are inherited from the parents." Opal sighed and rested her head in her hand. "An alolan vulpix… I tried to buy one from a breeder on the Isle of Armor once, but never had luck…"

The girl, on Opal's request, had Powder out in her lap instead of Pat. While she scratched her pokémon's ear, the woman kept trailing off about her failure to obtain that particular fairy-type. "So, can you help me figure this out?" Celeste finally asked, interrupting the gym leader.

"Are you asking if Galar's greatest fairy specialist can help you out?" Opal scoffed, but then added in her overly dramatic tone. "I'm hurt you didn't call sooner." She placed a hand on her chest and smiled. "I'll come up with a training plan for you tomorrow, cutiefly, but you have to follow it to the letter. No slacking and no getting distracted. Iknow you too well."

Celeste nodded, but Opal wasn't done.

"Still, long-distance training isn't really the same, and perfecting Moonblast takes a lot of work. So you're going to talk to this Olga person and apologise. Really apologise. It's okay to disagree with your mentors, but you can't disrespect them," she said sternly. "You say you want to get strong with your pokémon? The best way to do that is by learning from everyone around you. Everyone has something to teach."

The vulpix wagged her tail excitedly and barked loudly, agreeing to every word Opal said.

"I'm glad she is excited, but do not forget your other team members. Even if you are focusing on you vulpix now, the other two shouldn't be left out. Figure out some training routines they can do even without you supervision. And Celeste…" the gym leader continued. "Call your parents."

—*—*—

Celeste's *NEW* To-Do List

1: Figure out fairy-type moves. (Done)

2: Go to the police station with Lorelei

3: Apologise to Olga

4: Convince her to train again

5: Enrol in the ice pokémon tournament.

6: Create a training routine for Pat and Aria

7: Call mom and dad.

—*—*—

Celeste, with Aria perched on her shoulder, was waiting around in the pokémon centre lobby, staring intently at the post-it note with her new to-do list. She wasn't exactly sure when Delia walked in, but her friend looked even more put together than usual, although also a little flustered.

"Are you going to meet Olga today?" Celeste asked.

Delia nodded, fidgeting with a PokéNav in her hands. "She asked me to go to her house so we could go over some last-minute details about the festival."

Celeste bit her lip. "Right… Do you think she will kick me out if I… uh… swing by later?"

"You want to go to Olga's house?" Delia asked with a frown.

The trainer tried to smile innocently as she spoke. "I did some… soul-searching? I want to apologise." Today's plan was straightforward: talk to Opal, apologise to Olga, and then call home. Because she was such an awesome person, she would deal with all the difficult things in her life in one fell swoop, and she would nail it.

Delia ran her hands through her hair and looked at her friend suspiciously. "I think she secretly likes you, so do swing by." As Celeste nodded, Delia added, "But remember, it's Rey's house too. So maybe avoid calling him a psychopath or starting an even bigger argument this time, okay?"

"Great," Celeste muttered and, from behind her, she heard a quiet laugh.

"I can take you there after we go to the police station." Lorelei, chuckling in amusement, approached the other girls and greeted Delia politely. "Olga is my neighbour, after all."

Celeste raised her eyebrows, "Olga is your what?"

Lorelei shrugged and didn't bother to answer. Instead, she examined the PokéNav that Delia was struggling with and smiled. "No need for that. Just take the main road to the festival plaza, but then turn towards the mountains on Swine Street. It's the place where the festival floats are being set up. You can't miss it."

Delia straightened herself and thanked Lorelei with a small bow. "I guess I'll get going then. I want to check if Luan or Mia are in their boat to give this back to them." She waved the PokéNav. "I couldn't find them anywhere yesterday…"

Celeste grinned mischievously. "I bet Luan will looove the surprise visit," she said, but Delia only tilted her head in confusion before shrugging and finally leaving. As the girl made her way out, she crossed paths with nurse Joy, who was rolling a cart with a smoochum that was blowing kisses to all the other people in the centre.

"Your smoochum is remarkably well, both physically and mentally, Lorelei," the nurse said, stopping by the trainers' side. She petted the small pokémon before finishing. "Quite remarkable, given how you found her."

Lorelei fixed her glasses and lowered herself to the smoochum. "Hear that, Kristal?"

"Kristal?" Celeste asked, looking curiously at the smoochum.

"The name fits well with my team," Lorelei answered without turning away from her new pokémon. "Tell me, Kristall, what would you say about participating in a tournament with me?"

The smoochum threw her head back and winked at her new trainer, while blowing a kiss in the air. Celeste wasn't entirely sure if the pokémon knew what a tournament was, but Lorelei picked her up with a quiet laugh, accepting her gestures as a yes.

"You will do great," she told her pokémon before turning to Celeste. "Maybe we will even get to battle Celeste's vulpix."

Celeste felt her face getting red, and Aria, still on her shoulder, smirked and bumped heads with her trainer. A clear message for her to keep her cool and take the challenge.

Unfortunately, before Celeste could think of something to say, Lorelei was already walking out with nurse Joy, asking more questions about the state of her new smoochum.

"Hey wait up, we still need to go to the police station!"

—*—*—

"You want to submit a vision a herd of lapras has shown you as evidence? "

"… And you are not even telling us where those lapras are…? Just two names and vague descriptions?"

"… I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do."

Celeste slumped onto the soft, plush sofa, gazing at the collection of PokéDolls in front of her in a vain attempt to forget their disappointing visit to the police station.

The dolls were neatly arranged in a large mahogany bookcase, protected by a glass door. Lorelei seemed quite proud of her collection and spent half an hour excitedly recounting her latest acquisitions from Celadon during the summer. When Celeste asked about the city, she actually showed off the gym badge she won there, but quickly returned to her dolls. Honestly, though? They were creepy as hell.

Before Celeste could find yet another source of nightmares, Lorelei emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with a black iron pot, two delicate cups, and a plate of chunky, chocolate chip biscuits shaped like ice-type pokémon. The aroma of freshly brewed tea and the inviting sight of those treats seemed to be exactly what she needed, but before she could even reach for one, Aria and Kristal got on the tray, not even giving her a chance to get close.

"It was a long shot with the police…" Lorelei said, glancing over to the girl who was skulking on the sofa. She picked up the pot and began to pour the tea. "Galarians take it with milk, right?"

Celeste sighed. "Plain is good, thanks," she said, accepting the cup. "I know it was a long shot… But… I don't know… Shouldn't those people be on the Interpol wanted list or something?" She slumped back in her seat, almost spilling the tea. "We were providing valuable information…"

Lorelei took a sip of her tea and waited a moment before responding. "They should…" she said with a hint of frustration. "But it's out of our hands now." She leaned back against the sofa, gazing out the window where some fallen leaves floated towards the beach nearby.

Aria looked up at her trainer, her ears twitching in concern. Out of our hands was one phrase Celeste really hated to hear. For a while, the girl stared down at her tea as she tried to come up with a plan. Wasn't she the one who was awesome with plans? She just needed that missing spark of inspiration, and then she would fix all that was wrong with the world.

"There's no use in dwelling on that, Cee," Lorelei said in a gentle tone. Despite Celeste's tendency to keep things to herself, she was easy to read. "We can't do anything about the poachers now, and that is a fact. The only way forward is to focus on the actions we can take."

"And what would those actions be?" Celeste asked, setting her cup back on the table before locking her gaze on Lorelei's dark, almost crimson-coloured eyes.

"Well, for me, my long-term goal is to become a champion and use my position to help protect the lapras. But for now, I'm focusing on slaying my figurative cetitan."

"Slaying your… cetitan?" Celeste tilted her head.

"What I mean is that I need to overcome the major roadblock I've been facing on my journey. Everyone has one of those," Lorelei explained calmly. "In my case, it's getting the Volcano badge from gym leader Blaine. I've already lost to him twice, and I feel like the difficulty only increases every time I try to challenge him again."

Celeste's gaze wandered around the doll-case again, stopping at a small charmander doll. "This sounds like a fire-type gym."

Lorelei nodded and followed the girl's gaze to the charmander doll.

"But you have a lapras. That is a water type. It should be easy," Celeste concluded.

"Pokémon battles are more than just memorising type charts, especially at the level you need to be for your last badge." The older trainer smiled. "Besides, like almost everyone on this island, I'm an ice-type specialist."

Celeste frowned and reached for the teacup once more, taking a slow sip. The warm, floral taste of the tea was almost soothing. "Battles are more than type matchups, huh?"

"Yes, but fire is still a bitch," Lorelei said, grimacing. "Anyway, the thing I can do now is train as hard as I can. So what about you?"

Aria, holding an oversized biscuit in her mouth, managed to bark out some kind of support for her trainer. "I have a to-do list, actually," Celeste said, fishing for the small post-it note from her pocket and handing it over to Lorelei. "But none of the things on it will help the pokémon those people caught."

Lorelei read Celeste's list and asked curiously. "Half of this list is about training. So tell me, what is your goal?"

The girl coughed on her tea and stumbled over her words for a few seconds before finally managing to speak. "I want to become strong to… help out?"

"That is too vague," Lorelei said, handing the post-it note back and leaning back in her chair. "What does being strong even mean? Is becoming champion your goal?"

"I…" Celeste looked at Aria, pondering what her pokémon might want to achieve. As for herself… one reason she left on her journey was to figure things out. But, in the end, she couldn't help but to wonder, "Does it even matter?"

Lorelei smiled. "I grew up around a person who always taught me we should have a clear goal to follow, like a north star. If you have a heading, you will never be lost."

"But how can you decide? What if you change your mind?"

"Then you pick another star and follow it instead," Lorelei replied with a small smile. "Although, I think this old mentor of mine would advocate to follow through with what you started."

The girl looked out of the window and watched the sunshine over the golden leaves piled in the garden. She was Celeste, so, of course, she felt like she should follow the whole cosmos… But maybe one thing at a time wasn't too bad? Pick a star and follow it until it's time to move to the next one. She kept talking about gyms and strength and travelling… But she needed something concrete… not a life goal, but something for her to accomplish now… like the upcoming tournament! Her goal would not be just taking part in it, but actually playing to win this time. "This person sounds wise."

"So why not cross another item of your list and apologise to her?" Lori said, placing her empty cup on the table and standing up.

"Olga…?" Celeste said in surprise, but she also placed her cup on the table and stood up to follow her friend.

—*—*—

Celeste's *NEW* To Do List

1: Figure out fairy-type moves (done)

2: Go to the police station with Lorelei (done)

3: Apologise to Olga

4: Convince her to train again

5: Enrol in the ice pokémon tournament.

6: Create a training routine for Pat and Aria

7: Call mom and dad.

—*—*—

Lorelei's family home exuded charm, despite the creepy dolls. Located at the very end of a street lined with brick houses, it offered the peaceful sounds of waves breaking against the shore of a nearby pebble beach. But there was something else that made the place feel warm and inviting. Perhaps it was the glow of the fireplace in the living room, the colourful array of flowers on the window-rails or the pumpkins and candles decorating the entryway. Out of all the small details that gave the house character, Celeste was drawn to the beds of flowers in the garden. Among them were the rare hourglass lilies, their curved stems giving rise to two inverted bulbs that gave the flower its unique shape and name.

The adjacent house in the street offered a stark contrast to Lori's cosy home. In one word, it was plain. Olga's door was a bleak grey, and she had the most boring doormat: brown with a blue contour. Everything was practical and with little charm, to absolutely no one's surprise.

"Come on, this way," Lorelei said, gesturing to the passage that led to the backyard of Olga's place, where they could hear voices.

As they approached, Celeste heard Delia's speaking. "D-do we really need to do this?" she asked, standing behind her shellder and facing none other than Rey and his larvesta, who shot a small ember at its opponent.

Delia yelled something, and Shelly quickly withdrew into her shell, effectively avoiding any damage. Rey shook his head and crossed his arms. "You need to stop being so defensive."

"I'm not really a battler…" Delia said, somewhat relieved to see her shellder emerged from her shell and stuck out her tongue. "I… I told you… I have some issues with doing this sort of thing."

"The best way to deal with your issues is to face it head on," Olga said, crossing her arms and looking sternly at Delia. Celeste was ready to intervene right away, but Lorelei placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

Rey flashed his charming smile and walked towards Delia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, it's a tournament for young pokémon. Nothing too experienced or evolved is even allowed in. If you just try a little, you can win."

Delia shook her head once more. "We haven't done that in years! I'm really not…"

"Think about it this way," Rey interrupted, pulling Delia closer. "Mother is taking you under her wing, isn't she? I never seen her do that to any employee… It almost seems like she considers you to be more…" The boy looked at his mother, who simply crossed her arms. "… Her apprentice, perhaps?" He shook his head. "No… I think you are like family."

"F-family?" Delia asked.

Rey's grin widened. "And you know what they say about family, right?" He drew her even closer. "We look out for each other. And right now, our family business is the only one not sponsoring a promising, up-and-coming trainer in the Snowflake Cup. Do you really want us to be left behind?"

Delia turned to Olga, who raised an eyebrow. Failing to get any comment from her boss, the girl turned her attention back to the larvesta and pressed her lips together. "I think Cee will still come around… There is no need."

"Pe-lease," Rey said, rolling his eyes and tightening his grip on Delia. "That girl wouldn't know a good battle strategy if it hit her in the face," he scoffed. "I bet your Shelly alone can win again her entire team of plush toys without even trying."

"That girl is right here!" Celeste shouted as she shook Lori's hand off. Unable to resist the urge of confrontation, she marched over to Rey and pulled Delia away from him.

He smirked again. "Do you really think I didn't see you lurking in the corner?"

The girl huffed at the boy but couldn't resist smirking. "I don't get it." She crossed her arms and glanced at the larvesta on the side. "If it's sooo important for someone to represent your mom's family business, why don't you battle?"

The boy threw his head back dismissively. "I don't have any ice-type."

"Isn't ice the entire island's deal?" Celeste muttered under her breath before perking up with a wide grin. "Don't tell me you think you're too hot to handle a little ice—"

Delia kicked her friend's leg, not giving her time to come up with some actual insult. "You were not going to make things worse, remember?"

Celeste opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to respond. Rey, of course, laughed at the situation. "Yeah, don't make things worse, Cee," he said, bumping shoulders with her. "After all, now you have to apologise to both me and mother. If you keep acting like this…" He lifted his head and looked down at the girl. "I don't know if there'll ever be enough you could do to win me over."

"Okay, that's enough," Olga finally intervened, putting herself in between the girls and her son. "What do you want here, Celeste?"

The girl looked at her feet, and then back at Lorelei, who gave her a small nod of support. "I… actually wanted to apologise," she said, feeling her face burn as she gathered the courage to meet Olga's gaze. "To you, not to him."

The owner of the ice boutique raised an eyebrow inquisitively but said nothing.

"I was… disrespectful yesterday," Celeste continued, feeling her face grow hot. "I was out of line… You helped Powder learn a new move, and I think you can help us more if…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "If you would still be willing to take us."

Olga's silence was palpable, and Celeste nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Just when Rey opened his mouth to say something obnoxious as always, his mother interrupted him with a curt, "Yes." The girl could hardly believe it, but she noticed a hint of a blush on the woman's cheeks and her perpetual frown was gone for a moment. It was almost as if Celeste had melted her heart for a while.

"What?" Rey snapped, but was wonderfully ignored by everyone around.

"I'll train you for the tournament," Olga said. "But you will work for me in the meantime, and you will do what I say. No complaining."

Celeste wondered for a second if she would regret this. "If I disag—if I don't understand something, can we talk about it?" she asked, recalling her earlier conversation with Opal.

Olga narrowed her eyes and glanced at Delia. "If it's within reason, we can talk. But I have another condition."

With a deep breath, Celeste nodded and braced herself for it.

"I want Delia to also take part in the tournament," Olga said with a shrug, and without waiting for Delia's response, she turned to Lorelei, who was still standing in the corner. "What about you? Have you become too strong to battle with the other snowflakes?"

The redhead trainer smiled. "I have a new pokémon that is perfect for it, actually. Also other sponsors, sorry."

"I know, I know." Olga waved her hand dismissively. "I've always said you were going places. But good to know you are not forgetting us."

Lorelei smiled, and Delia looked meekly at her boss, resigned that there was no way out of this. "So now what, Miss Olga?"

The shop-owner arched her eyebrows. "Now we train."

—*—*—

Celeste's *NEW* To Do List

1: Figure out fairy-type moves (done)

2: Go to the police station with Lorelei (done)

3: Apologise to Olga (done)

4: Convince her to train again (done)

5: Enrol in the ice pokémon tournament (done)

6: Create a training routine for Pat and Aria (done)

7: Call mom and dad. (maybe tomorrow?)

—*—*—

Celeste stood before the printer, tucked away in the corner of the same computer room where she had started her day. It was now 11:48 PM, and exhaustion weighed heavily on her. In her hands were two post-it notes with the training routines for Pat and Aria, the ink slightly smudged and the letters squeezed together to fit. I really need to buy a notebook, she thought to herself.

The printer whirred, spitting out a piece of paper with some exercises Opal had prepared for Powder. They would need to intercalate those exercises with Olga's training, but she wasn't too worried. Powder had been so eager to train and improve, she would actually enjoy the extra work.

Celeste carefully placed the post-its and the paper with Opal's instructions inside a book titled "Breaking the Ice: Understanding Your Ice-Type" that she had borrowed from the centre's library.

"Let's go, Aria," the girl finally said, heading towards the door. However, the eevee, who had been sitting in front of one of the computers, barked. Celeste knew all too well why. "Come on, I'm way too tired to deal with them now. I can always call mom and dad tomorrow."

The eevee shook her head and let out a long "Veee," but when Celeste turned off the lights, Aria simply yawned and followed her out of the room. Before leaving, she glanced at the phones one last time.

Celeste's browser history

www . canalavelibrary. co. si/lists/classics-6

Top 10 Literary Classics of All Time

By Lucian Penn

6 - Moby Dick, Herman Melville

One of the greatest adventures in Unovan Literature, first published in 1859 by Herman Melville. This fascinating tale recounts the story of Captain Ahab in his pursuit of the great cetitan, Moby Dick, through the isolated mountains of Paldea. This is a story of madness and obsession, of a man waging war against nature itself.

(…)

Moby Dick has permeated through the collective zeitgeist of our times. Indeed, today many people, and in particular trainers, refer to the obstacles that seem to be just out of reach as their "cetitan". While Moby Dick is a cautionary tale for not losing oneself trying to reach for the impossible, it is also true that we can rise to the challenge and, in the end, capture our figurative cetitan. Be sure to pack on ultraballs, however.

Previous: Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes

Next: Pokémon Farm, by George Orwell

A/N:

Weeell I got worried people might not understand my cetitan is Moby Dick reference in the chapter, so I was going to add a note. Then I thought, I could make this sort of urban dictionary page. Theeen I kind of thought, "It would be so fun if there was a page on the Canalave library website about Moby Dick. What if Lucian wrote it!?".

Soo yeah… "Celeste's Browser History" might turn into a thing I add to the end of (some) chapter. XD

Also I really want to read animal farm with lechonks as characters.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Snowflake Cup: First Round.