Chapter 10: Know

The minute he walked through the PokeCenter's door, Lucas heard the nurse call his name. He immediately walked over.

"Arty will be fine," she said as she handed Arty's PokeBall and a plastic bag to him. "It's going to take time, though. Between his age and how quickly he evolved from Golbat to Crobat, he may experience some pain if he pushes himself too much. That can be managed with some Protein and Iron. I went ahead and prescribed some for you - and some Carbos, for good measure."

Lucas peered into the bag, and found three bottles - Protein, Iron and Carbos. Not that he doubted what the nurse had said, but he wanted to see it for himself.

Lucas looked up at the nurse. "Thank you so much for all your help."

"Of course!"

Lucas then meandered over to Dawn, whose relief seemed to match his.

"That's better news than I was expecting," she admitted. "I knew he'd be okay, but..."

Dawn trailed off, and Lucas understood.

"Yeah, same," he said softly. "I'm so glad."

Dawn placed a hand on Lucas' back - an attempt at comfort - when she noticed it. "Isn't that a Dive Ball? Where'd you get one of those?"

Lucas froze. Of course Dawn would notice that, if she was specializing in water types! "Uh, yeah it is. And, uh…don't be mad?"

Dawn was bewildered, at least until Lucas explained what happened with Cynthia and the wayward Feebas. Thankfully, she took the news far better than he anticipated; especially when he added what Team Galactic had been doing.

"No wonder I couldn't find a Feebas," Dawn huffed. "I knew they were rare as it was, so I didn't get my hopes up. But with how long I searched, you would think I'd find at least one."

"So, you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? That Feebas picked you, didn't she?"

"She did, yeah...but I know how much you wanted one." That, and Lucas could detect the sting in her Aura. It wasn't a strong one, but it was still there. One look at his face must have given him away, because Dawn flinched.

"Sometimes I forget how perceptive you are," she sighed. Her hand still on his back, she took a moment before admitting, "It is hard not to feel a little jealous. I actually found something much rarer than a Feebas, so I promise I'll get over it. I might need a little time, though."

Lucas could understand that. If their positions were reversed, he would probably feel at least a little jealous too. With that said, he was curious about what she could have found that would have topped a Pokemon as rare as a Feebas. Try as he might, he couldn't think of anything that fit the bill. Unless-?!

"Did you find a shiny Pokemon?!" It was the only explanation that made sense - shiny Pokemon were supposed to be unbelievably rare - most people could go their entire lives without even seeing one in the wild.

Dawn grinned. "I did! And not just any shiny! Do you remember when Barry saw that Red Gyarados documentary and decided to drag us out to Lake Verity to look for one?"

Lucas nodded - who in the world could forget about that? 'Search for the Red Gyarados' was an old documentary that had been produced some decades ago, but that didn't stop Barry from being completely enraptured by it. Since they lived so close to Lake Verity at the time, he insisted that there had to be something similar lurking within the lake's depths. That didn't explain why Dawn would bring it up now. UNLESS-?!

"You did not," Lucas gasped.

"I did!" Dawn gushed. "I found a shiny Magikarp!"

Lucas didn't even try to hold back his laughter. The absolute irony of Dawn finding a shiny Magikarp after that whole debacle about the Red Gyarados was not lost on him. He could just see Barry's bewilderment upon hearing the news.

(Perhaps it was a little mean having a laugh at Barry's expense, but Lucas considered it payback for every time the blond crashed into him.)

"Did you tell Barry yet?" he wheezed.

Dawn shook her head, similarly amused. "I wanted to tell you both at the same time, but you looked like you needed a pick-me-up."

Lucas appreciated that. He couldn't recall the last time he laughed so hard, and it wasn't until just then that he knew how much he needed it.

Barry did not disappoint when Dawn released her golden Magikarp from its PokeBall. Disbelief quickly turned to indignation, to genuine happiness for his friend.

"Are you kidding me!" he exclaimed. Despite his words, there was a thousand-watt grin on his face. "After that whole thing with the Red Gyarados, you found a freaking shiny Magikarp?! Why didn't you tell me about that sooner?!"

"I mean...you didn't ask," Dawn responded, a sly grin on her face. "Besides, back then I wanted to break the news to the two of you at once. Then everything happened with Arty, and..."

"Oh yeah...he's doing okay though, right?"

"He will be," Lucas supplied. "The nurse gave me some vitamins to feed him, and suggested I keep track of his progress."

"That's good." Barry reached over to pat Lucas' back. "Arty's kinda grown on me since you caught him. It would've sucked if anything bad happened to him."

Lucas nodded, not really sure what to say in response to that. Not that Barry's heart wasn't in the right place...but he just wished he could put the situation behind them as soon as possible.

As if he could read Lucas' mind, Barry said, "Ooh, I just remembered. I've been meaning to ask; that guy we bumped into in the Valley Windworks...Aeber, right?"

That was a sudden change in subject, and one Lucas would wholeheartedly embrace. "You mean Aevus?"

"Whatever. I just remembered that you said you'd explain how you knew him, and you never did. So come on, spill!"

"Oh, right!" He did say that. Between their immediate goal of expelling Team Galactic from the Windworks and Aevus' sudden disappearance that day, it had completely slipped his mind. "Remember when I first told you two about how I can sense Aura? Aevus was actually the one who first brought up the concept to me."

"Wait, that was Aura Guy?!" Barry exclaimed, completely incredulous. "But he's so awkward!"

"What did you think he'd be like?"

"I dunno..." Barry kicked some dust. "I guess I always imagined him like the old sages you see in movies - the really wrinkly old ones that meditate on mountaintops, only coming down to impart his wisdom to a select few! Not...awkward pirate."

Lucas choked on a laugh. It couldn't be denied that Aevus was awkward - their very first interaction was proof enough of that. Still, that didn't mean he could be all bad.

"He doesn't look like it," Lucas agreed, "but I've never seen an Aura like his. At first it was a little like staring into the sun. It's still just as intense now as it was then - kind of like the inside of a giant clock."

Dawn tilted her head. "Like that one movie with the Maushold?"

When Lucas nodded his assent, Dawn commented, "Strange. I guess that just means you should never trust a book by its cover."

"That's true, I guess," Barry agreed. He then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Man, I really wanna watch that movie now. You think they'll have it in the next Center we crash in?"

As the conversation continued, Lucas thought on the subject some more. Aevus was definitely eccentric - and somewhat contradictory. If the two of them had never interacted before, Lucas would have assumed that he was some kind of king, with how he presented himself. Not many people had an Aura like his, not even Cynthia. Why wouldn't royalty make sense?

Then again...there were no kings in Sinnoh. And Aevus definitely didn't act like a king anyway - they wouldn't just run off after apologizing for seemingly no reason. (And Lucas realized at that moment that the memory still stung.)

Even stranger than their last interaction was the fact that he still wanted to trust Aevus - whoever (or whatever) he turned out to be.

The foot of Mt. Coronet had a surprisingly cold feeling. Lucas couldn't be sure if it was due to its connection to Route 216's perpetual blizzard or some other reason connected to the legends of the Creation Trio. Given what happened in Eterna Forest, he wouldn't be very surprised if it was the latter.

Unlike in Eterna Forest, Cyrus was there. If Lucas didn't know any better, it was like he had been waiting for them.

This time, Cyrus acknowledged the three Trainers. Lucas tried to ignore how his gaze seemed to linger on him a moment longer than his friends.

"According to one theory, this mountain is where the Sinnoh region began; with the birth of time and space," Cyrus suddenly said. He didn't let the Trainers have any room to respond as he continued, "In a newly created world, where time flowed and space expanded...there should have been no strife. But what became of that world? Strife was introduced, because the human spirit is weak and incomplete. This world is being ruined by it. A deplorable state of affairs."

"Psst," Barry whispered to Lucas. "What does 'deplorable' mean?"

"It means he condemns it," Lucas whispered back, trying to assuage the sick feeling growing in his stomach.

It was then that Lucas realized that Cyrus had fixed his gaze on the two of them. "Any questions?"

Before he could stop himself, Lucas called out to the man: "I got one."

To his surprise, Cyrus nodded. Was that his way of letting Lucas speak? Either way, he took the opportunity; "What do you mean when you say 'incomplete spirit'?"

"...It means exactly that," Cyrus answered. "For something to be incomplete, it must lack a necessary-"

"I know what the words mean," Lucas seethed. He did not like being patronized, and Cyrus' answer felt exactly like that. "I mean, what makes spirit as incomplete as you say it is? "

Cyrus' expression didn't change, but his Aura did. He could pick up traces of surprise...and frustration? As he moved to walk past the trainers, he was silent...until he reached Lucas.

"Of all people," Cyrus muttered, just low enough for Lucas to hear. "You should best know the answer to that."

Lucas turned to watch him go, unable to shake off the surprise and unease. There were so many questions; why would Cyrus say that? Should Lucas really know the answer to that?

Did Cyrus know something that Lucas didn't?