Chapter 16 - Ember Spa

At first, all Celeste felt was warmth. And it was good.

The heat was not oppressive, nor did it burn. Instead, it was soothing and healing, like the embrace of a loved one. She could stay in that place forever. Floating in the safety of the warm and dark emptiness.

And then a star appeared. It shone modestly in the void in which she drifted.

She contemplated going after the star. Then she giggled. There was nothing to contemplate. Curiosity always got the best of Celeste. Why waste time pondering, right?

The girl straightened herself up, even though she wasn't sure where up was, and pushed herself toward the star.

As she swam in the empty void, more colours started blooming. The blacks weren't actually black, but unique tones of deep blue and vivid purple. What she thought was empty had life. Dim flickering lights danced all around her, forming complex patterns she could not comprehend.

As she moved closer, the light of the star became brighter and the world more vibrant.

At first, she saw pokémon. There were diglett burrowing on the floor and beautifly flying by. A glowing rapidash galloped, leaving a trail of fire behind and a hatenna twirled by her feet.

She blinked, and the entire world changed.

No longer Celeste was drifting in the darkness, but flying among rainbow coloured clouds. The sky was burning orange and red, and the bigger, not so distant star shimmered as the setting sun.

This new place, whatever it was, seemed very different from where she came from. Still, it was warm and comforting.

All she could do was look around with wonder. Until something tugged her hand.

"Geodude," Celeste whispered. He said nothing, only pointed to a cotton candy green cloud and flapped his browny arms as if they were wings.

As the pokémon disappeared in the cloud, Celeste grinned. She also wanted to play, so she launched herself towards the green cloud too. It looked like cotton candy, but would it taste like it too?

Her mouth opened wide as the green form swallowed her. But she tasted nothing. Pity. She had hoped it would be minty.

The inside of the cloud was empty, green and boring. But from somewhere, she heard a sound. Maybe that was where the geodude went.

"This plan will not work," a high-pitched silvery voice said. Celeste felt like she recognised it… If only she knew where those voices were coming from. "You are messing with forces you don't understand."

"Of course it will work. I told you I'm very good with plans," another familiar voice said.

The owner of the high-pitched voice huffed. "You keep saying that, and yet… There will be consequences. Things could get worse."

"There are always consequences… We just have to do our best and hope it will be enough."

Suddenly, something whisked her away and dragged her out of the green cloud.

"Geodude?" Celeste asked. But the rock type wasn't there. All she could see was fire and—.

Celeste blinked as she realised she had reached the star. It wasn't a star, though.

Its golden body looked pale in the glow of its own flames, which wildly danced over the pokémon's back. Wild is how one might describe fire. And what was Moltres, but wildfire itself?

The pokémon gazed at her and screeched.

Celeste open her eyes wide… she was in a cave… in the water? It was still so warm.

A man stood in front of her. "Are you feeling better, kid?"

Another weird dream… Great.

—*—*—

"What's happening?" Delia yelled. The hoothoot was using Echoing Voice again, which was already horrible. But somehow the ground was shaking too.

Luan shrugged. His eyes were still fixed on the bird he wanted to catch and he barely seem to care about the shaking.

Then the hoothoot stopped. And everything else happened incredibly fast.

Just as the owl pokémon hid behind Luan, an onix emerged from the ground. The rock snake wasn't that big, but it was still intimidating. It roared loudly at the hoothoot. And the boy's solution to that? Capturing the bird.

Usually Delia would scold anyone for taking advantage of a scared pokémon, but they had bigger problems. The onix was furious. It kept hammering the ground and, as big chunks of rock got loose, it batted them with its tail toward her and Luan.

Between the rocks and the ground breaking down, Delia decided Shelly could help. A water type would have the advantage, after all. However, just as she readied her pokéball, a big tremor cracked the floor beneath her. Luan grabbed her hand, and Lulu grabbed them both with some psychic move.

That was close.

"Both of you, don't waste time. Use Hypnosis," Luan yelled to both his pokémon as he and Delia got back to stable ground..

Everything was chaotic, but they would have time to worry later. "Shelly, help them out, Water Gun."

The munna and the lunatone were having trouble hitting the onix, who kept hammering the ground. Shelly, however, hit the rock pokémon in the face. It roared with discomfort, but now that the hoothoot was gone, it didn't seem too invested in attacking anymore. Before any psychic move hit it, the pokémon burrowed itself back into the ground and left.

Delia threw herself on the floor and let out a heavy sigh. That was… well, scary. But also fun. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but even though the past weeks have been stressful, she really liked to be on One Island. There was adventure, domestic bliss, and every day she and Shelly went to a beautiful beach.

It was easy to be in a place like that… the perfect holiday.

Delia glanced at the boy by her side. Luan seemed relieved as well. Then she turned to Cee, who was unusually quiet. Her heart sunk as she realised her friend wasn't there.

"Where is Celeste?" she asked with a trembling voice as she looked at the fissures in the ground. Her friend didn't have any psychic pokémon to keep her from falling… Except the slowpoke… But somehow Delia doubted the dopey pokémon would be of any help.

With dread, the girl moved in close to the rift when Luan stopped her.

"Dude, be careful. There is no use in you falling in there as well."

Delia frowned. She was the sensible one, not this boy. "You know this is your fault."

Luan gave her an apologetical look. "Hey, no worries, I bet you friend is fine. We can try to look for her in the caves around."

She arched her eyebrows and crossed her arms in an attempt to imitate Olga. The boy didn't get fazed by it, however.

"Me and my cousin have been exploring the caves here for the past few days." He gave away a small smile. "Unless you go to the volcano, there is always an easy way out."

The boy picked up the hoothoot's pokéball and looked at it for a moment. After some consideration, he pressed the release button, and the bird materialised. First, it made sure there was no onix around, then it started pecking on the two humans.

"Hey stop that, I'm your trainer now," Luan tried commanding the hoothoot. But it didn't seem to be in the mood for listening. "Seriously, I need your help."

"Hoot," the bird protested. But Luan was persistent.

"Hey, you chose to become my pokémon instead of facing that onix." the boy grinned and pointed to his other two pokémon. "You are part of team Luan now. Deal with it."

The hoothoot's response was a peck on the boy's forehead. Before the second peck, however, the lunatone intervened. Lulu put itself between the trainer and the bird and its red eyes glowed as a warning.

"Don't worry, Lulu," Luan said, rubbing his forehead. "She will listen to me in no time! You will see."

Delia chuckled at the boy. Celeste was not the only one who didn't know what she was doing.

"We don't have time," Delia said as she straightened herself up. Her friend might be in trouble. It was time to take the lead. "Hoothoot, I'm sorry you got captured. But we really need your help."

The bird chirped and tilted its head, but it did not peck Delia this time. That was some progress, at least.

"Menace," Luan grinned.

"Yes, it was a menace. But we can all be friends now, isn't that right?"

"No, I mean, I'm calling her Menace. What do you think?" Luan asked, still not taking his eyes off the hoothoot. But no one bothered answering. "Anyway… Menace… can you help us find the other girl that was battling you? Just fly around and see if you can spot her."

The hoothoot looked at the boy unenthusiastically, and then at Delia. After a moment's consideration, she nodded. As the owl pokémon flew away, Delia wondered if she would come back.

"Dude, that one will be a handful," Luan finally said with a sigh.

"Well, maybe it fits with you."

—*—*—

Celeste stumbled out of the water. She remembered sliding down a tunnel and ending up in there. Did she hit her head? Probably not… however poor her current state was, she actually felt amazing.

"Where am I?" she asked as the man helped her get back on her feet. He was… strange. His grin reminded Celeste of the meowth from Galar and, even though she could tell he was elderly, he had not a wrinkle in his face.

Not waiting for a response, her eyes darted to her surrounding so she would get a better idea where she had fallen this time. Around the water, there were several square rocks that were too geometrical to be natural. Many of them had scorch marks… Actually, there were scorch marks everywhere in this cave. Could this be from the lava…?

"Are we in a lava tunnel?"

The man kept grinning. It was disconcerting. "I suppose it used to be one. But it's inactive. Now it's just another cave."

If it is inactive, then why were there so many burnt rocks? Celeste at the tunnel from where she fell.

"Don't worry, the caves here are connected. There is an exit nearby." He gestured to the girl's broken hand. "Don't you want to stay in the water a while longer? It can help your healing. It's on the house."

Celeste nodded at the man but didn't pay attention to his words. This cave was too interesting.

Ugh. She was acting just like her parents. Still, she couldn't help it. The scorch marks, the warm waters, her weird dream… and One Island favourite bird. Could it be around?

Well… her parents wouldn't use a dream as evidence. Critical thinking, Celeste. She could hear her mother saying. Extraordinary conclusions need even more extraordinary evidence.

"Is this a hot spring?" she pushed her rational side to the surface. Fire pokémon liked heat, and she knew there were slugma in the area. The scorch marks could be their trail.

"Ember Spa," the old man said, somewhat pridefully. "This place is a family secret."

Celeste nodded again. His previous words were sinking in. Did he say the waters helped with healing?

Her eyes widened as she considered it. The man, who seemed to be able to read her expression, broadened his meowth like grin. "Would you believe if I told you that there are unique minerals in the water that aid healing?"

The water was clear and soothing, surely… But… Well, the extraordinary evidence was lacking here.

"Hot springs are good for health," Celeste said, more to herself than to anyone else. "They help circulation, reduce stress and all that." They do not heal broken bones, however.

The man laughed. His eyes glinted. "That was a nasty fall you had, kid."

It was… and she wasn't hurt.

No.

She didn't even fall. She slid down. That is why she was unharmed. Not because of magic water. If there was such a thing, it would be a medical miracle, not a family secret. Right?

"Not too sure, eh?" the man continued his hefty laugh. "I'll let you into the secret. The minerals I mentioned. Not really from the volcano, but are a gift from Moltres."

Celeste could only stare at the man. And at the scorch marks. He was trying to scam her, right?

He closed his eyes and somehow widened his grin. "It is said that Moltres once died while protecting the people on the islands from the volcano. She summoned such a powerful flame that her own body turned to ash in the end. People on all islands wept, for that was the passing of fire itself and a prelude to the cold winters ahead…"

"But with the prayers of the faithful, a spark rekindled the flames and from ashes the bird of fire was born anew." Celeste finished.

"You know the legend?" the man asked with enthusiasm.

Celeste chuckled. "My parents scavenge the world for any legend that might turn out to be a good story. This is a pretty famous one…"

"And yet I can't convince you that this spring has Moltres' ashes?" the man said, never letting go of his grin. "Thinking I'm crazy?"

"Are you?" Celeste raised an eyebrow.

"Ha! You tell me, kid!"

—*—*—

They had been searching for hours and there was no sign of either Celeste or the hoothoot. Saying Delia was worried would be an understatement.

She looked at Luan. The lunatone had long since been recalled to its pokéball, but the munna stayed comfortably in his head. Or at least he stayed as comfortable as possible, as the boy glanced at the sky every five minutes.

"She will come back," Delia said, breaking the long silence that had fallen between them. She wasn't sure she believed it, though. But it would be good for Luan to have faith in his hoothoot.

"Yeah…" he whispered. "Bet she doesn't want to disappoint me. That is why she is probably out there searching extra hard."

Delia nodded slowly as they got back to the main road once more. She was glad Luan seem to know the area well, and also not be searching for her friend alone. But being with Luan made her realise that she only knew Celeste for less than a month. She had never made friends with anyone so fast.

"So, tell me about your pokémon?" Delia asked, deciding that she could be friends with Luan too. "They are not common in these parts."

Luan grinned. "I know, right? That is my secret strategy for getting to the conference and winning everything. Most of the trainers and gym leaders won't know what my pokémon can do, so I'll take them by surprise."

Delia shook her head. That was a horrible strategy. Did he truly believe anyone would get to become a gym leader without knowing what a lunatone can do? She decided not to tell him that, however. He would find it out soon enough.

"So, how did you meet?" Delia smiled cheekily. "Did you bully them into coming with you, too? "

"I didn't bully Menace," Luan said with a small voice. "We just got excited to find a hoothoot."

The girl giggled.

The boy pointed to the volcano. "I think we should search further down the road." He picked his munna from his head and smiled. "Rev was my first pokémon. My cousin gave him to me when I started working for her. Lulu was the first one I actually caught when we were in this cave in Hoenn. Way easier than Menace, though."

"You go to a lot of caves with your cousin, huh?"

Luan chuckled. "Yeah, whenever me and Mia go to a new place, we do a lot of exploring."

Delia tilted her head. "You said you worked for her?"

"I'm her assistant. She said hiring family was cheaper and safer," Luan said, nodding at first, and then he got quiet. "She had the coolest job, you know?"

"Exploring strange caves?"

Luan laughed. "She works for this big corporation. Cosmetics and accessories mostly, but they are branching out. Mia she… uh… travels to check the market in other regions. Partners, competitors, all that."

"You said she had the coolest job?" Delia asked. Maybe she was prying too much, but Luan didn't seem to mind.

"Don't get me started on that, dude." he put his hands up in a sign of defeat. "She got promoted."

"Why are you saying that like it's a bad thing?"

"Because she going to stay around headquarters now. So we are going back home to Kanto. No more travelling all over and no more having me as an assistant." He sighed.

Delia looked at the sky once more. The sun was getting low. How much longer could they keep searching?

"So now that you are jobless, you are going to try the gym challenge?" she kept talking, both out of genuine curiosity and to distract herself from the fact that it was getting late.

"More or less…" he answered, also paying attention to the sky. "Mia can get me a job in her company. Apparently I'm helpful. But well… I said they were branching out, right? They are interested in sponsoring trainers or something. I think I can get a better deal out of that."

Luan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the sky. Delia looked up too. Was that the hoothoot?

"What you guys looking at?" The playful tone made her mind click before she even recognised the voice.

"Cee!" she hugged her friend, who seemed completely fine for once.

"Awn, I'm glad you are happy to see me," Celeste said, grinning. "Remember that feeling, okay?"

Delia frowned. "What… did you do?"

"Paid a crazy old man to show me the exit of a cave," Cee shrugged. "Sorry, most of the battle money is gone."

Delia laughed as the hoothoot landed on Celeste's head. They would figure it out, eventually. She didn't mind staying around a while longer. Luan seemed relieved, too.

"But thanks to this cutie here, I didn't need to pay for a guide back to town as well. I feel people here really like to rip trainers off," she continued as she petted the owl in her head. "Anyway, thanks for sending hoothoot after me, Luan."

"It's Menace," Luan said, as he reached for his hoothoot and got pecked immediately. "Dude, come on!"

Celeste giggled. "Yeah, I'm not calling her that." She turned to Delia for a moment and it seemed like she was about to tell them something, but after a pause she simply smiled. "Hey, I'm starving. Do you guys want to go back to the pokémon centre?"

—*—*—

The morning light crept through the examination room as nurse Joy studied the X-Ray image. She looked puzzled, but turned to her patient with a smile. "We can finally get this splint off your hand."

Celeste's smile was small. She had too much on her mind.

"The nurse Joy from Vermilion city said it would be a month and I might need to do some rehabilitation," the girl said, trying to mask the uncertainty in her voice.

The nurse put her hand on her chin and thought about it for a while. "Everyone heals differently. But last time we did a checkup, your were almost good to go."

"That was three days ago," Celeste muttered as she moved her fingers.

"Yes…" Joy smiled again. "Plenty of time for the bone to finish healing. Really, Celeste, there is nothing to worry about. This is a sign you are very healthy."

Celeste nodded. She ate lots of veggies, and she had been exercising a lot. The nurse was right; she was really healthy. It was normal that her hand got all better. There was nothing else to it.

But… if there was, should she tell her parents about it? The mystery of Ember Spa. That sounded cool. They could even try to track down Moltres…

Celeste shook her head. What was she thinking? That was not her life anymore. Besides, Ember Spa… maybe it was best it remains a secret. She didn't even tell Delia about it.

Once more, she looked at her hand and moved her fingers.

None of that mattered, anyway. She was not getting distracted by magic water. After all, this was the day Celeste had been preparing for.

Today she needed to focus.

Today she had a battle to win.

A/N:

Next Chapter: vs. Rey