Hello again!

This chapter is a bit on the slower end as we recover from the last few chapters.

Going through some of the earlier chapters (and most likely this one), I've noticed a lot of typos. I'm not sure when, but I'll probably go back and fix everything. Though not now, cause it's currently 3 AM when I'm finishing this chapter.

Anyways, enjoy!

~~Prism City - Western Province~~

Rainbow: Eevee

Rainbow cringed as he read the title of the newspaper. "Oh, great. 'Shocking Development! Mysterious Powers Revealed at the Autumn Festival!' So much for keeping our powers hidden."

Vera took a sip of her oran berry tea, a favorite of hers, before setting it back down on the small table she was seated at. "It was your decision to do so, remember?"

Word had spread fairly quickly about what had happened at the Autumn Festival Tournament. Multiple news organizations all reported with eyewitness reports on mysterious powers shown during the event. An Eeveelution capable of re-evolving, a Gardevoir that healed even the most grievous wounds on a participant, a Milotic that could summon a small thunderstorm, and a Hippowdon seemingly able to control the earth at will.

"I know," Rainbow pouted in his seat opposite of hers. "But that was the only way I could win. It was worth it, I think."

Vera gave a playful smirk at his words. "Let us hope so."

It was the next morning after the tournament. After gaining a restful sleep (after escaping the mob), the duo was hoping to eat a nice breakfast at a small café near the inner city. It was a little pricey, but they could more than afford to live luxuriously with the winnings Rainbow had earned.

Rainbow took a bite of his feral Pidgey egg omelet and read on in the paper. "Because of the announcements, they have all of our names listed except for a certain 'mysterious' Gardevoir."

Vera bent forward and rested her face on her palm, sipping her tea once more. "What a shame. I was prepared for stardom."

Rainbow rolled his eyes. "How many Gardevoirs could there possibly be in the city right now? I'm sure they'll have you figured out by the end of the festival." Rainbow sighed and put the newspaper down, uninterested in the rest. The entrance bell to the café rang, signaling the entry of another guest.

"I hope it takes as long as possible, then." She picked up the newspaper and opened it herself. "It is quite amusing to see what theories they have come up with. Some suggest you used many different illusions to seem like you 're-evolve', as they put it."

Rainbow took another bite. "All they can do is make wild conjectures. I may have given away our existence, but I sure as hell won't tell them how or why it works."

"How what works?"

Rainbow nearly jumped out of his skin at the new voice while Vera regarded the newcomer with a warm smile. "What a pleasure to see you on friendlier terms, Princess Azaelia."

Azaelia waved Vera off, a warm smile on her face in turn. "Oh, please, just call me Azaelia. I mean," she met eyes with Rainbow. "We're friends, right?"

The Eevee, getting over his initial scare, returned the gesture. "Good to see you again, Azaelia. It's a bit of a surprise to see you out here. Not that I'm complaining." He quickly added on to the end.

The princess pulled up a spare chair from another table and joined the two. "It took a lot of convincing for my parents to allow me out. But they eventually let me go and I just happened to be passing by when I saw you two. You don't mind if I join you two, do you?"

Vera shook her head. "Of course not."

Rainbow glanced around. "It's a good thing this place isn't so packed right now. I don't even want to imagine what a mess that would be after what happened last night."

Azaelia frowned. "I apologize for that. My, well, 'fans' get pretty excited over that type of stuff."

Rainbow chuckled, finishing his meal. "I wouldn't really call that 'excitement' but to each their own, I suppose. I see you're still wearing that bracelet."

The Alolan Ninetails brought up the silver bracelet to her chest in a showing of protectiveness. "Of course I am! It was your request for me to wear it, after all. Plus," her face flushed slightly. "I don't think I want to take it off anyway." Rainbow only tilted his head in confusion while Vera had a knowing smile. "Anyway, what were you two talking about?"

Vera answered. "We were discussing the theories people have made regarding our champions' blessings."

Azaelia cracked a smile. "The multiple illusion theory, right? While that would explain the outward appearance, it doesn't hold any merit regarding his attacks. Speaking of," she turned to Rainbow. "How exactly did you beat Polelto Gracia? I thought you didn't even have the Zap Plate in your possession?"

Rainbow revealed the plates around his neck. The Bond, Dread, and Mind Plates all sat beside one another, drawing their gazes. "I don't. To be honest, I couldn't tell you how I did it, either."

Vera crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you remember what exactly happened the moment you transformed?"

"Well," he dipped his head in thought. "I did feel like a tingling sensation in my band just before it happened."

Azaelia creased her brow in thought. "Could you explain how your power works, exactly?"

Rainbow was a small bit confused as to her request but obliged anyway. "When I tap into a plate, I essentially rid myself of all other typings and the typing of that specific plate takes over, transforming me into the eeveelution associated with that type."

"I see… and you felt that tingling sensation right before you transformed?"

"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"

"I have a possible theory."

Rainbow felt surprised at how fast she had come up with something. "Hit me."

Seemingly out of nowhere she pulled out a small notepad filled with scribbles and complicated diagrams that frankly gave Rainbow a headache. "I have a theory that the Plates are more than just some magical items that allow Arceus, and by extension you, to change types."

"How do you figure that, might I ask?" Vera inquired from her side, eyeing the overwhelming amount of information in the notepad.

Azaelia flipped through a few pages before landing on the one she seemingly wanted. "I'm glad you asked, Veraloe. I ran some, how you say, 'experiments' on the Flame Plate in my family's possession."

"Already?" Rainbow scratched his head. "When did you have the time to do that? We've only been here for two days."

Azaelia bowed her head, a dark look in her eyes. "I've had my whole life to do so. I was never able to get out much before, so I had to keep myself occupied somehow."

Rainbow gave an apologetic look. "Right. Sorry for bringing that up."

"No, it's fine." Azaelia shook her head, dismissing the thoughts of the past. "Anyway, I compared the properties of the Flame Plate to a common Fire Stone and found them to be quite similar."

Rainbow looked bewildered, falling behind once again. "Wait, how did you compare it to a Fire Stone? Aren't they only used for evolution?"

Vera spoke up to answer. "Not so. Knowing where you come from, I'm not surprised you do not know the other applications of the Stone types."

Azaelia nodded in agreement. "We use the different elemental Stones for the technology around us. For example," she pointed up with a digit, referring to the artificial lights on the ceiling of the café. "Artificial lighting."

"You mentioned that the electricity comes from a certain stone mined beneath the earth, right?" Rainbow eyed her, eager for an explanation of the technology he had missed out on.

"Right. Those special stones are Thunder Stones. We discovered that the elemental stones could hold and distribute the element it was filled with. You see, Thunder Stones are charged with electric-type moves. This combined with the stone's natural electricity gives off a major charge. We then distribute that charge throughout the city to power stuff like those artificial lights."

Rainbow held his head as if it may explode. "I don't even want to consider the logistics of that, but I get what you're saying at least. So then what are Fire Stones used for?"

Azaelia sat up with a straight posture, really falling into the teacher role. "Artificial heating. Things such as making sure our homes are warm during the wintertime and cooking food without starting actual fires within our houses."

"Amazing…" Rainbow felt a little despondent that he had missed out on the technologies of modern times so much. But then again, Lela was the one who chose to raise her children in such an isolated cabin. But what confused him was that he hadn't even seen this stuff in Quartz City. It must have been a recent discovery, he surmised, at least within the last five years.

Vera's voice broke him from his thoughts. "So then I'm assuming you compared the Flame Plate's properties with a Fire Stone by comparing their performances?"

Azaelia nodded fervently. "That's right. I compared things like the heat it gave off or how well it created flames, for example."

"And what did you find?"

"For one, the Flame Plate was tremendously more powerful. It gave off much more heat as well as created immense flames that took quite a while to put out." She lowered her head sheepishly. "The castle may have burned down if not for the swift actions of my father."

"That powerful?" Rainbow started to flick his Plates around.

"It is like comparing a small ember to a roaring inferno. The Flame Plate, and most likely the other Plates, contain uncontestable elemental power. They must be that powerful, considering the one who uses them."

"So what does all this have to do with me transforming into a Jolteon without the Zap Plate, exactly?" As much as Rainbow loved to hear Azaelia talk about this type of stuff, he wasn't really getting where she was going with this.

"Just stay with me a bit longer. It will make sense in the end, I promise you." Her eyes beheld a pleading nature that Rainbow couldn't find it in him to deny. He nodded for her to go ahead. "Thank you. My experiments revealed something to me. The energy of the Flame Plate was much more powerful, more Primal, than a Flame Stone's. Other than the obvious, I was transfixed as to why."

"I assume you found an answer, else you wouldn't be telling us all of this?" Vera said in a level tone. To be honest, she was starting to lose a bit of interest in the conversation. But she tried to pay attention, Azaelia seemed to be having too much fun sharing her discoveries and she didn't want to ruin that.

The Alolan Ninetails flipped to another page. "There were myths that told of the original sources of the types. The abridged version went like this: Pokémon were originally all Mew. The Mews eventually were introduced to the different typings in the form of their originally primal sources. This allowed them to evolve into different Pokémon with different typings. Though whatever types Pokémon used, they would never compare to the power of the original sources."

Rainbow then started to get what exactly Azaelia was insinuating. "So you're saying that the Plates are, like, the original source of the types?"

Azaelia took a small breather before responding. "Either that or close to it. The old myths usually overlap, so it wouldn't be completely out of the question if the Plates that Arceus used to change types were the original source of the types."

Rainbow glanced down to his Plates in wonder. To think, all of that raw and ancient power was confined into the small forms that now dangled from his neck. It was a bit unnerving, to be honest. "But all of that still doesn't change the fact that I transformed without the Zap Plate."

Azaelia sighed in relief after taking a sip of water. Her throat was getting somewhat dry after all of the talking. "That is where we've finally arrived, actually. While the Lost Plates of Arceus are the original source of types, that does not necessarily mean they are the only source."

"Now you've lost me."

"Nature, Rainbow!" Azaelia exclaimed with her paws in the air, excited to finally get to her point. After realizing what she had just done, she shrunk back down with a large embarrassing blush across her face. "Sorry. But nature. Things like hurricanes, tidal waves, forest fires. Those are also, albeit small, sources of energy."

Realization then dawned on Rainbow after this point was made. "Does that include lightning as well?" She only nodded in response.

"Ah, I see now," Vera spoke up. "You are saying that Rainbow was miraculously struck by lightning whilst fighting Mr. Gracia."

"It would make sense." Rainbow raised his paw to his chin. "If a lightning strike carries the same type of energy as the Zap Plate, then it could have been used as a temporary substitute for the Plate. If that's the case, then I really lucked out."

"Right," Azaelia agreed. "You must have been devoid of any other energy to absorb that electricity and transform. Any other energy at all, even a little, and I wouldn't hesitate to suggest you would have been seriously injured by a stray bolt of lightning."

Rainbow grimaced. It was only with his power to change that the absorption worked at all. He was extremely lucky that he had been in the middle of switching when the lightning from Polelto's storm had decided to strike. If he wasn't… he didn't even want to entertain the thought. All of this still didn't push out the single thought that was now in his mind.

He had, effectively, won on just a fluke. A stroke of luck that was completely out of his control.

His distaste in the discovery probably showed on his face, as Vera reached over the table to pat him reassuringly on the shoulder. "While your transformation may have been a complete accident, it does not discredit everything else you have done."

"She's right." Azaelia agreed with the Gardevoir. "It was still your skill and quick thinking that won the fight. After all, a type advantage alone isn't enough to win a battle."

Rainbow mulled their sentiments over in his head. He shook the despondent thoughts out with a smile. "Right, thanks. Anyway, does this mean I can transform without the Plates?"

"Not quite." Azaelia quickly discouraged the thought before Rainbow could entertain it even more. "I believe the transformation only happened under certain specific circumstances. Those being: absolutely no other elemental energies within your body and an absorption of energy from a natural source."

Rainbow slumped. "Oh, man. And here I was hoping to skip the whole Plate process."

Vera took another sip of tea. "We still need to find the Plates, anyway. Preventing the other champions from bringing Giratina back and all that."

"Speaking of," Rainbow suddenly got a serious look in his eyes. "Polelto Gracia and Hector the Hippowdon. Those two were champions as well."

Vera nodded in agreement. "You saw it, too. They both had the same distinct aura that we have when we use our blessings as well as doing things no normal Pokémon should be able to do."

"Polelto Gracia…" Azaelia stowed her notebook away to who-knows-where and rejoined the conversation. "What he did was akin to a Rain Dance. Although instead of just a small shower, he produced a full-on thunderstorm, lightning and all."

"I could definitely feel the difference." Rainbow thought back to his time during the final fight of the tournament. "A Rain Dance is like a small sprinkle. This, though, felt much more potent. The raindrops stung when they hit my pelt and it was so thick I could barely see anything in front of me. If that wasn't enough, he even said 'Kyogre would like a word with you' to me after the match."

"If we can indeed trust Mr. Gracia's words, that would indeed identify him as the Champion of Kyogre." Vera finished her tea with a content sigh, leaning back in her chair. "Now that leaves us with the barbaric fellow."

Azaelia nodded grimly. "Hector the Hippowdon. His strength may have been overwhelming, but his tactics were beyond brutal and went against everything in the spirit of the competition."

"Not even just that." Rainbow bit his lower lip, a habit he seemed to be getting into. "He just left the competition, not even bothering to see it through. As if we weren't even worthy as scraps beneath his feet."

"What he said before he left worries me," Vera said. "'The world is about to change' and 'we have to be strong to survive'. Giratina wishes for a world where the strong rule the weak. If one is deemed too weak, they have every right to die."

"Even if his goals misalign from Giratina's in the end, they still coincide." Azaelia theorized. "He mentioned how he came here to fight the best opponents and expressed disappointment when he didn't find the contestants worthy. He seems like a Pokémon bent on finding and beating strong opponents, not to change the world as a whole."

Rainbow finished her line of thought. "But creating a world of the strong would allow him to easily find strong opponents. For him, bringing about Giratina's world is the best path to accomplish his own goal."

"That is, assuming he is a champion in the first place." Vera folded her arms in skepticism. "While it looked similar to a champion's blessing, we could have also mistaken it for a simple Fissure or Rock Tomb."

Rainbow was unconvinced. "With that much control? Those rock pillars were way too exact and fluid to just be a normal Pokémon attack."

Azaelia brought up another point. "He also had that glow while he used that move as well."

Vera shook her head. "There are just too many unknowns surrounding that Pokémon. But one thing is for certain: he is extremely dangerous."

Rainbow shivered. "You got that right. The way he easily took care of his opponents even without the blessing is a testament to just how powerful he is." He glanced out of the window and into the busy street of the city. "If he didn't drop out as he did, I seriously don't know if I could've won against a powerhouse like that."

"We must count ourselves thankful that we did not have to face him yet, but we must be prepared to in the future." The air was suddenly filled with a grand chime reverberating throughout the city. Eleven notes were counted, signaling the time to be 11 AM.

"Eleven already?" Rainbow hopped out of his chair. He groaned as he stretched his stiff limbs. "I haven't realized how much we've been here talking."

Vera followed her partner's example, Azaelia following right after. "Indeed. But we should be going." She then pulled out a small map of Prism City from her pouch. "The auction is taking place in White Plaza, the southernmost plaza."

"I can take you there." Azaelia offered. "It's around a forty-minute walk from here. We should arrive early for some seating, however."

"How many Pokémon would possibly be interested in going to something like this?" Rainbow started making his way to the door.

"Megnias Archaeology is a pretty well-known and well-respected business. They always give away some really high-end artifacts and objects in their auctions. Actually, this event may be one of the more popular events in the festival. Besides the fireworks display, of course." Azaelia summed up.

"What's a firework- '' Rainbow's question was suddenly cut off as he was swiftly tackled to the ground as soon as he exited the café. He and his attacker tumbled down to the street with him on the bottom, trapped.

"Bow, you idiot!"

Any question to who the Pokémon attacking him was thrown out the window by the use of the nickname. He craned his neck up to spot the yellow ball of fur that was trapping him on the floor.

"Great to see you again, Jolt." He struggled to get out as his breath was knocked out of his lungs. "But could you please get off of me now?"

Joltier rubbed her fist roughly on Rainbow's forehead. "Not unless you promise not to do anything so damn stupid again."

Rainbow let out the last of his breath, tapping his paw against the paved ground in surrender. "Alright, alright! Never again!"

Joltier instantly got off of her suffocating brother, lending an arm to help him up. "Seriously, dude, what were you thinking? We spent all that time talking about how we had to keep the whole champion thing a secret and there you go revealing it anyway." She crossed her arms and sighed. "What possessed you to go so far, anyway?"

Rainbow steadied his breathing. "The battles were super tough. I don't think I could have won if I didn't use my blessing. Plus," he took a quick glance at Azaelia, who was still standing beside Vera. "I had to win, no matter what."

Joltier looked between Rainbow and Azelia, noticing his gaze. Her eyes eventually made it to the silver bracelet on Azaelia's wrist. Her eyes shone with a small realization. She donned a deep, mischievous smirk on her face. "Oh, I see. You just had to win." She patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I get it completely."

Rainbow let out a breath. "Oh, you do? Thank Arceus, I didn't really want to have to explain the situation to you."

She patted him on the shoulder a bit harder. "Don't worry, bro, it's completely fine. Just know you have my full support."

Now Rainbow was confused. "What? What are you talking about? And stop doing that." He pushed Joltier's paw away from his now aching shoulder. "Wait, what are you even doing here? I thought you had guard duty for the whole festival?"

"I was actually wondering the same thing," Vera spoke up from the sidelines.

Joltier flexed her arm, showing off her armband. "Oh, I assure you I am on duty." Instead of the black armband with a rainbow pin that signaled her to be a guard of Prism City, it was now a pale blue armband. She practically glowed with pride. "You're looking at the first and only member of the Princess Guard Force."

Rainbow and Vera looked to Azaelia for confirmation. She nodded. "It is true. It actually happened just this morning, believe it or not. Well, there is one more."

Joltier slumped. "Do we have to include him, Princess?"

"Yes, you do." The group looked up to the origin of the voice. There, two stories up and sitting on the roof was a Kecleon. His eyes shifted in every direction, never focusing on one point. Rainbow would have called him a creep had it not been for the same pale blue armband around the Pokémon's arm.

"Please come down from there," Azaelia called up to the other guard. In obedience he jumped down to the ground, but not without performing a flip on the way down.

Joltier crossed her arms and huffed. "Showoff."

The Kecleon bowed before Azaelia before greeting the rest. "Greetings, friends of the Princess. I am Benit, the second and last proud member of the Princess Guard Force."

"Hello there, Benit. I am Veraloe and this is Rainbow. It is nice to meet you." Vera extended a hand out to the Kecleon. He took it and shook it in a likewise greeting.

"Ah yes, the two with mysterious powers." His two eyes suddenly locked on to the two champions, one eye each. "I do hope you two mean no harm to the Princess."

"Benit." Azaelia cut in. "I told you, these are my friends. I trust them, so you should too."

Benit's glare lingered on the two of them for a moment before he dropped it. "My apologies, Princess, but one can never be too careful in times like these."

Joltier scoffed. "Chill out, dude. Not everyone we meet is an enemy."

Benit merely looked down upon his PGF (Princess Guard Force) partner. "It is imperative that we make sure the Princess is safe at all times. Not that someone as lax as yourself would understand that simple concept."

Joltier glared back. "What was that, shrimpy?"

Azaelia stepped between the two, interrupting the apparent showdown. "Can you two please not argue like this in public? It is extremely unbecoming."

Benit immediately backed down from the confrontation. "As you wish, Princess. I will station myself to follow on the rooftops to look out for any aerial threats." And just like that, the Kecleon crawled up the nearest wall and disappeared over the tall buildings.

"What the hell does he mean by aerial threats? We're in the middle of the freaking city!" Joltier growled. Azaelia only groaned quietly in mild annoyance.

"What's your issue with him, Jolt? I thought he was pretty… attentive." Rainbow tried to reason with his grumpy sister.

When the Pikachu didn't answer, Azaelia spoke up. "Benit joined at the request of my father. He deemed it too… insecure to hire only Joltier for the Force."

"Ah, I see." Rainbow turned back to his pouting sister. "You thought you would be the only one to hold such a title, didn't you?" When she only deepened her frown he knew that was the answer. "Let me guess, you think he stole some of your thunder?"

Vera compromised. "Being the only one of two to be specifically allowed to guard the Princess is still a hefty accomplishment."

"I know, I know. I'm acting kind of childish over this."Joltier slapped her cheeks and shook her head. "Alright, I'm over it now."

Rainbow looked questioningly at her. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Totally. Just becoming a member of the Prism City Guard Force has been a dream of mine since I was little. I never even imagined I could get even further than that. So what if I have to share it with someone else?"

It was now Rainbow's turn to pat her on the shoulder. "There you go, sis."

Azaelia smiled at the content Pikachu. "If you still aren't satisfied, I guess you'll just have to aim even higher."

"Such as guarding the King?" Vera asked with her brow raised.

"Wait, that's a position?" Joltier leaped in surprise and shock.

Azaelia giggled at her apparent cluelessness. "Of course it is. The King of Arkant cannot just stroll out of the castle unguarded."

"You know, I've never thought about that."

"What, did you think he just magically commanded people to not attack him?" Rainbow teased his flustered sister.

"Well, I kind of just thought that he beat them up himself…"

The joking and lighthearted conversation phased out of Benit's hearing as the group moved towards White Plaza. Ever dutiful, the Kecleon had both one eye on the group and one-pointed into the sky.

~~ Prism City Dungeon - Prism City - Western Province~~

"What do you mean you don't have it?"

"Shaid, I think this guy is broken in the head or something."

"Yeah, he keeps asking the same questions even though we answer them. He might be insane, Caid."

Magellan Megnias sighed in defeat. He lurched forwards and banged his head multiple times on the prison bars.

"Now he's hurting himself! Should we stop him, Shaid?"

"Let's not. It looks pretty funny."

Magellan stopped slamming his head and steadied himself. "Let me ask you one more time, what happened to the Bond Plate?"

The Duskull, Caid, shrugged. "We told you, it was stolen from us."

"You stole it from me!"

Caid continued past the interruption. "We were beaten in the Southern Great feral forest and it was taken from us."

Magellan reviewed his notes from the interview. "You say you were beaten by an Eevee? Forgive me but I find it quite hard to believe two bandits lost to some random Eevee kid."

"You may or may not believe us, but that's the truth."

Shaid the Dusclops pounded her fists together. "When I see that runt again, I'm gonna pound him into a pulp and drink the fluids that come out."

"I think I'm done here." Magellan turned away and made for the exit.

Caid called out after the head of Megnias Archaeology. "Wait! You can't just leave us here!" His pleas only fell on deaf ears as Magellan exited the dungeon and left the brother and sister pair alone.

"What a mess…" Magellan wiped his brow of sweat. "All that work to find the Bond Plate was all for nothing. Oh well, I'll just have to resort to Plan B for the auction today." He pulled out a small box from his pouch and peeked at its contents.

Inside was a palm-sized black orb. It may not look like much to the average Pokémon, but for historians like himself, it was a figurative goldmine. He closed and tucked away the box, making his way to White Plaza to make preparations.

See you next time!