- - Chapter 30: Crossbred Legacies - -
Syra shook herself awake. A part of her forgot where she was for a moment, but the weight of a remote and bowl of popcorn near her waist reminded her. It was nearly the end of her trip to Sinnoh, and Dawn had invited herself to a night of relaxation and hanging out at the hotel room Syra stayed at. It was pretty easy: the Sinnoh Champion had done her research on her before arrival and was able to bring a cheesy action flick that she hadn't seen in awhile. The promise of this plus a treated dinner after spending what felt like an arduous time in a land far away from her abode was enough to sway her. An empty DVD case, an Ultra Ball, Master Ball, opened bag of Shrimp Flavored Chips, small bowl of dip, lightly opened box of Sinnohian Cookies, and a half-drank bottle of Golden Razzberry Liquor lay on a small coffee table in front of the TV. For a moment, she wondered how long it had been since Dawn wasn't on the couch with her anymore. Dawn lay snoring in the other portion of the penthouse suite where another bed lay. The lavish hotel room that was booked for Syra would be so hard to walk away from once the trip was over.
She tried to stay quiet as she got her bearings. /What time is it..? I must have napped pretty hard. I feel so awake now./ Glancing at the clock next to her own bed, she saw the red digital numbers say '11:08'. /Damn, only napped for an hour and a half? To the pissing news channel?/ Thinking on that, she thought in her head of the time differences between herself there in Sinnoh, and home, Galar. /It's the afternoon back home. I should check in with someone at least before I get back on a plane.../
Stepping out onto the balcony, Syra felt the cool air hit her immediately. "Okay wow, I'm even more awake. Phew." Placing both hands on the railing, she looked over Veilstone City before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "It's going to suck leaving such nice sights...but I have responsibilities." Turning away for a moment, she brought her Rotom Phone out, dialed a number, then sat down on the chair that was on the balcony with her.
After a few rings, she heard the familiar click of the call being picked up. "Syra, hey!"
Syra's cheeks flushed red and smiled bright. "Holly, hi! I'm not calling at a bad time, am I?"
The longtime friend to Syra chuckled, and could be inferred that she was shaking her head. "No, not really. I welcome the call. For the moment I'm helping Nessa and Haru with their wedding planning as well as Haru's upcoming sanctuary."
"Oh right, he did tell me about that; how's that going for you? What exactly has to be done?" Reclining in her seat, Syra propped her feet up via a stool.
Holly was heard taking a breath, scratching her chin. "Well...for one thing a lot of what needs to be done for the location of the actual ceremony is almost set in stone. I think. Nessa and I are coordinating with some folks who can make sure the whole thing is privately isolated with no chances of paparazzi getting wind of the event. They know the two of them are getting married; they don't need nor want to deal with crowds of stupid journalists looking for a scoop on the most special day. As for Haru's sanctuary, we're getting some help not just from applicants in Galar...but nearby locales.." the sounds of Holly flipping through papers is heard. "...Kalos and Hoenn. Specialists coming from those areas are going to be a big help for him and the conservation efforts."
Syra hummed. "Hoenn had to deal with nearly getting wiped off the map, and Kalos had some dumbass who tried to kill everybody by summoning some old 'weapon', right? That's what you told me, anyways."
"Right you are, sis." Holly said, agreeing. "So tell me, how was the trip to Sinnoh? Your final day is tomorrow."
Feeling what Holly was going to be asking, Syra stood up, walked back into the hotel room for a brief moment, then returned outside, carrying the Master Ball. She sat back down and lightly examined it by rolling it in the palm of her hand. "Pretty surreal that it's already almost over." She would say as her eyes lovingly looked at the purple ball with a sense of accomplishment. "A whole lot happened here that I never imagined I'd experience in my lifetime. I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back home."
A moment to pause between them, Holly asked cautiously. "Uhm...you sound like you have quite a story to share. Guessing that it's nothing you can share over the phone? Something amazing?"
Hearing that, Syra felt a swelling sense of pride within her chest as she straightened her posture and grinned. The Master Ball in hand looked so perfect in her hand, and she let out a chuckle that was hidden behind a smarmy grin. "Aye, my bonnie Holly...I found something just pure dead brilliant.~"
- - - - 6 days ago... - - - -
- - - - Veilstone City, Sinnoh - - - -
- - - - 9:40 PM - - - -
Sinnoh. A land known to many as the birthplace of myths and the towering Mount Coronet. As if reaching to touch the skies above, Coronet looks over all of modern day Sinnoh as those on ground level can only take a glance at it and see a window of cultures long since passed. Once succumbing to the evil Team Galactic, the region now has been enjoying a wave of peace since its passing and the rise of Champion Dawn. That girl who worked hard to do what others thought was impossible is now acting as the representative and guardian of one of Pokemon history's oldest sites of origin. For today, she was riding in the back of a limousine with the Galar Champion, Syra. Glancing at the citizens of Veilstone City going about their daily lives, Syra was on the receiving end of culture shock. The architecture, visage, differing Pokemon and means of traveling to and fro areas in Sinnoh meant more land was designed with pedestrian travel in mind. Automobile traffic came secondary, and unfortunately for Syra, Sinnoh had no such exclusive extra mode of transport like the Sky Taxis.
Part of her starting hours in Sinnoh made her feel she might experience a more welcoming 'home-away-from-home', but also made her feel secluded from the rest of the world; exactly the type of getaway she was looking for. "This is just me taking a shot from my first glance, but is all of Sinnoh this..." Syra began to ask.
Dawn was sitting across from her in the back of said limousine with legs crossed and with a hint of interest to her fellow traveler. "Private? Remote?"
Syra turned her head to face Dawn as Tsukiyomi, her shiny Eevee who was also looking through the window, wagged his tail faster in curiosity. "Isolated."
Dawn chortled and waved a hand dismissively. "I like to see it as moreso conservative, personally. Sinnoh is a much quieter space than where you're from, but that's not to say it isn't as passionate about the sportsmanship of Pokemon battling." Folding her hands, she gestured to some building they passed by. "See that building there? That's the local Gym."
Both the grey Eevee and Champion jerked their head sideways to the building which caused Syra to guffaw at it.
"Yes...?" Dawn felt as if Syra had something to say; her reaction was the opposite of what she predicted.
"It's so...tiny. Reminds me more of an office building than a 'Gym'." She turned back to look at Dawn. "How do you guys know if there's a Challenger approaching a Gym?" Syra asked, eyes widened with growing questions in her mind. Meanwhile, Tsukiyomi took it upon himself to trot to the other side of the limousine and looked at some of the exclusive Pokemon walking by that he hadn't seen in Galar.
"We don't."
"You DON'T?! But-but-but-but...b-but...but why?! Do you mean to tell me the league here is just..." Syra would bring both of her hands together, then spread both open with palms facing up. She looked to Dawn before ultimately shrugging.
/Galarians view the league awfully different than we do.../ Dawn said before raising a finger. "We just don't. Everybody goes about their journey for the challenge in their own way. Sometimes you see people walk in and then later exit holding a brand new badge, and sometimes you don't."
There was an air of quiet between the pair of Champions before Dawn spoke up. "Do you...perhaps find it problematic that we do not televise Gym battles, Syra?"
Not wanting to offend the local for her own hometown, Syra slumped a little forward and pouted. She was thinking of young girls and boys in similar age to her brother, and at one point in time, herself, going through the league challenge of Sinnoh. How it would curate and evolve someone's way of thinking and approaching things differently than Galar felt so alien, but there was nothing truly wrong with it. Still, she could not stop herself from speaking up on hypotheticals. "I guess I just thought it would be fun to have a crowd congratulating you for your accomplishments, you know? There's not a feeling that's equal to it, and I guess I just have to consider how differently you guys handle things here."
Pulling a strand of hair back behind an ear and smiling patiently, Dawn nodded. "Well perhaps I was not entirely truthful. As challengers get to the Elite Four, there is a bit more of a congregation of people watching. If a talented enough trainer beats all of the Elite Four members, they have a chance at taking my seat of 'Champion' for that year, and the whole region finds out about it in short order."
In that, Syra felt a bit of kinship form between them as she smiled. Leaning back into the comfortable seating of the luxury ride to her hotel, Syra reminisced. "In Galar we hold a tournament. The top trainers who make it holding every single badge then compete with each other to see who makes it to the Champion. Done in a bracket formation, our top competitors fight for the right to go against the final set of trainers, and then aim for a chance of becoming Champion. After that, no matter the result, the league is over for that season." She looked to the side and had a memory flash back. She was on the field wearing her league uniform glaring down at a young man in a steel-borne uniform and hat. Her eternal rival.
Blushing and having a smile spread across her cheeks, Syra's heart fluttered. "Sometimes interesting things happen during the league that makes ultimately getting to the top all the more worthwhile. Isn't that right, Tsuki?" she said to her Eevee, who then hopped onto her lap and laid his head down: asking to be pet.
"Having friends and a rival to push you forward is definitely what makes the whole journey sweeter. Though seeing them succeed is just as rewarding. You'll meet my friend Lucas, who's the assistant to Professor Rowan. He's going to be showing you around Sandgem Town. I think he plans to give you a Pokedex for this region on the off chance you ever decided to search for Pokemon here of your own." Dawn said with a chipper tone. Her and Lucas, once rival trainers who both were aiming for the Championship title previously held by Cynthia, had kept in contact with each other ever since the events that led to that fateful encounter.
"Oh, sweet! I don't know how likely it is that I'll be able to fully explore Sinnoh since I'm only here for a week before I transfer to another region, but I do want to see at least a few of the notable sites." Syra replied, eagerly reaching into a pocket of her lone luggage bag she brought with her, and bringing out a list.
"Here, do you know where these places are at?" Syra leaned across to hand Dawn the list.
The woman squinted her eyes to make do in reading the handwriting. "'Alamos Town', 'Canalave City', 'Celestic Town', 'Raman-" She stopped, looking up at Syra. "You know of Ramanas Park?"
"Yeah! Well, only heard of it. When I became a Champion, I got a slew of new paperwork that was a headache to handle. On top of containing some legal language that I'm not privy to, it appears I've gained access to quite a few other locations than before. Now I understand how someone like Haru does the hopping around he does. I had to hire my mom to become my manager so I could actually go through it-" Syra would begin to elaborate, as Dawn held up a hand to halt her.
"Ramanas Park is something of a...hmm." She squinted her eyes and appeared to strain to reach a point. "One would call it a gathering of wonderous rewards for us Champions with a bit of a 'multiple-step-process' in order to gain anything out of it." She looked at the Galarian up and down briefly. "How good at you at mining?"
The limousine suddenly hit the brakes as some lights on the road turned red and pedestrians crossed the road. With a similar shock of her own self, Syra was left puzzled. "I've never mined a day in my life...what does that have to do with it?"
/Great. Well I guess it can't be helped. Much as I'd really like to tease her and leave her underground to her own devices, it wouldn't be very 'Champion of Sinnoh' of me to do such a thing./ Dawn thought with a smirk. She cleared her throat and took a glance through the windows from inside the car that was ferrying them to their destination. She didn't have long left. "To make it simple to understand, you must earn your reward at Ramanas Park through mining. I'll help you myself, but we can worry about that later."
Just as they had pulled up to the hotel, Syra could only shake off the confusion she was briefly shot with and looked outside. Towering above the other establishments around it was a large, 13 floor hotel that had a penthouse suite on the top, swimming pool, jacuzzi, and an assortment of smaller restaurants below the ground level floor all within the confines. A sign above the double door entrance says 'Veilstone City Hotel', and aside from some similarities, Syra had accepted this place was far different than Kanto, the only other region she had any experience in visiting.
But the culture clash came back to the front of her mind when she came to her hotel. Sure, the penthouse suite was spacious and cozy. Equipped with not just the means to make one feel as though they were in a luxury apartment, but a welcoming gift basket sitting on the large queen sized bed. She turned around and tossed some PokeBalls upwards, in which several Pokemon popped out. Josef, her Inteleon, Cyrus, her shiny Cinderace, and a new Pokemon that Haru gifted her, a Weavile in which was nicknamed Amelia.
Syra smiled at the group of them as Tsukiyomi had hopped up onto her shoulders. "C'mon guys, go ahead and stretch your legs. We're here!"
"Vee!" Tsukiyomi said.
The others would start stretching in place, and her Weavile would walk up to her appearing a little skittish. "Hey, it's okay, Amelia. Are you worried about the new place we're at because it's not Galar?" The 3 foot bipedal 'mon nodded her head and hugged onto one of Syra's legs. "Right...I remember Haru telling me that you get nervous easily. Let's work on that together, okay? Like I said before: I'll make sure to protect you. For now, let's just see what we got here..."
Walking over and picking up the basket, she noticed a letter on top. " 'From the members of the GPC, please take this welcoming gift for your arrival into Sinnoh. Signed, Vice President of GPC Public Relations. Mars.'" She sounded shocked and her face retreated back to the confusion she had bore during her trip over here.
/GPC...? Is that the company that owns the hotel here?/ Immediately, Syra began to study the letter formatting and turned it to both sides, then opened up her Rotom Phone. On the backside of the note there was only an imprint pattern of pink pearls and azure diamonds, and was left blank. She wanted to find an answer at that very second. "I don't know why this caught my attention but I feel like figuring out what a 'GPC' is."
/Maybe it's a banking company. Dawn is rich after all. Did Cynthia create a humanitarian organization? No of course not, she'd be more interested in helping Celestic Town if something like that came up first. Humanitarian? No. Pokemon-like efforts are more Dawn's thing. She took that seriously after becoming Champion when she defeated Cynthia way back in the day./ She thought to herself as her thumbs tapped on the phone and browsed through several searched tabs in quick succession. The answers were slowly forming in her head.
She gasped after some aggressive searching and located only a few notable standout names that could match...but only one would match not just 'GPC' but the name 'Mars' as well. A name for an officer of the former Team Galactic, and the acronym would stand for 'Galactic Power Company'.
She stood up from the side of the bed and gasped, dropping the letter. /What the fuck?! This has to be a simple naming coincidence. There's no way this is the same villain team from back in the day! How would GPC not only know of my arrival and sign off on a welcome letter unless this is a setup for some deal with-...no. Maybe it's a trap. Or maybe it isn't. But wouldn't Dawn know about this? There's no way something like this involving my arrival would just fly under her nose so easily, right?! Unless...they rebranded./ She shook her head as Tsukiyomi yipped at her, confused. Syra had taken a deep breath before explaining to her Eevee.
"Back in the day, Tsuki, Team Galactic was this big branch of villains who would make our ex Chairman Rose blush. Macros Cosmos is nothing compared to them...! They nearly destroyed not just Sinnoh, but our whole universe, because their bigwig named Cyrus wanted to recreate everything in his image!" She looked down to her leg as the Weavile was shaking from fear. /Right, I need to be more aware of how I present myself.../
Syra knelt down to pick up the Pokemon and held it close to her chest while sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hey, hey...sweetie, don't worry. We won't have to worry about fighting any bad guys while here, okay? They're gone, and if we find out they aren't, it's not up to us to do anything..." Patting the top of the Weavile's head, she was trying to calm the Pokemon. "But if it does come to it, I won't put you in harm's way."
Taking off her hat and setting it aside, and doing her best to calm her small friend, her thoughts raced. /I wonder what sort of relations the leftovers of this group have with Dawn now, if any? Is this Vice President the same person I think it is.../
Night grew darker, and as the lone Champion peered out through the tall windows she could glance at Sinnoh in peace to herself. It hit her mind again that she was far away from home. As much as her heart desired to be back in Galar, she knew it was best to stay there for the time being. "It's so 'different' out here. Almost alien-like, even." She glanced down to Amelia and then back. "Tomorrow we can explore..." she whipped her head back to the bed. "Maybe I'll find another shiny Pokemon and bring them home-!" Her thoughts were cut off when she saw Tsukiyomi sprawled out on the large bed with his eyes and pointy ears drooping.
"Okay okay, I can take a hint. Let's get us some food delivered and then we can all sleep." Syra said with a bit of a laugh, reaching for the connected landline phone in the room to order room service. The group had underestimated how tired they would be.
"Oy...okay. I'm proper knackered, actually. That curry ain't like home, but it was enough to make me sleepy." Syra said to her Pokemon in the room, which were Amelia, who was snuggling up on her own side of the bed and had long since passed out, and Cyrus, who had checked in with Syra before he slept.
The travel to Sinnoh had made everyone too tired to stay up for long.
- - - - - Hotel, Sinnoh - - - - -
- - - - - 8:00 AM - - - - -
"Fucking jet lag."
Those were the first words Syra uttered to herself out loud as she had faceplanted her pillow to the dulcet morning alarm she set for herself on her phone. The jump from Galar to Sinnoh was a safe though long in the tooth, and she had hoped to avoid waking up with a headache, but some things couldn't be avoided. Mumbling in annoyance when she peeked through the blinds, the sun had already began shining on Sinnoh's lands. It was a bit brighter than Syra had wanted to deal with at daybreak. /At least I'm here now.../
Her annoyance at the clear weather subsided when she remembered her reason for the trip. The only thing that was pushing her own schedule was herself. and it wasn't for anything important. /Right, I'm here to have fun./ The Champion reminded herself. Going around and lightly tapping on the sleeping Pokemon in the penthouse, her head began to fill with the things she'd want to accomplish by the end. /First thing is first: I have to meet up with Lucas in Sandgem Town, get a Pokedex, take in the sights. Maybe I should visit Celestic Town...or see what Dawn was talking about when she mentioned 'mining'. What was that all about, anyway?/
"C'mon team, let's all wake up..." she said, nudging lightly the sleeping Weavile that was on the opposite side of her hotel bed. Her eyes glanced back at the basket that she put aside after walking into the penthouse and the word struck back in her mind twice as hard: 'Galactic'. /Right...that's another thing I have to ask Dawn about...GPC./
Syra balled up her fists while in the shower and thought however maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. /Wait, no, I should be responsible. Bringing up something like them as an outsider could cause trouble, and I shouldn't be stepping on toes while I'm here./ The hot water trickling down her body washing away the grime from the prior day did little to wash away the doubt that seeped in. 'Twas if she had a debate within herself trying to think of this from multiple angles. Her mind played back the entirety of Team Rocket's involvement in her life from start to finish, and hung her head when the memory of seeing a defeated Giovanni came back. /No, it's not going to be like that at all. If I just ask questions and find a way to talk about it professionally, it would not be an issue. I'd just be doing my job of making sure that other regions are looking out for each other, right?/
"AAAUUGHH!" she huffed and lightly jabbed at the bathroom tile wall before beginning to rinse her long hair. "What would Haru do in this situation?!" she said without thinking, before being hit by a faux memory of Haru looking at her, hands in his pockets, and shrugging. In her mind, she heard him say "It's important to keep Galar safe, and Dawn has been through worse than us. You and I now equally share this burden together alongside others like May, or Hilda. She'll understand."
Leaning against the wall while folding her arms over the other, Syra sighed with a smirk then hung her head to the side. "Yeah, he'd probably say that much."
- - Sandgem Town, Sinnoh - -
- - 9:30 AM - -
Postwicke was Haru's mother's town, so Syra had seen just how small towns could get in Galar, but Sandgem Town was its own flavor of rural. With Sandgem Beach and Route 219 as its neighbor, there would be nary a reason for Syra to stick around long after her objective was completed. A lone Pokemon Center, a Pokemon Research Lab, and several small blocks of neighborhoods where people lived silent, peaceful lives were all this corner of Sinnoh had to offer. Off in the distance she heard kids playing outside, and saw another group pretending to be cops and robbers; Pokemon such as Shieldon, Buizel, and Buneary joining them.
"What do you think, Tsuki?" Syra asked her Eevee, who took to sniffing in one direction when they arrived, then looked to his master. "Real cozy place, innit?"
"Vee!" Tsukiyomi shook its bushy, grey tail and then moved to the other shoulder as Syra knelt down to reach into her bag. Bringing out the map and taking a glance around, she took note of how little signage there was in Sandgem, so she took to asking around for directions. "We shouldn't keep Lucas waiting, though it would kind of suck to just look like a tourist here, right?" One girl, when she was waved down by Syra, gasped and dropped her soccer ball, noticing Syra with Tsukiyomi walking towards her. "Ah. Excuse me Miss, could you throw me that ball? Oh...! Wait! You're...Miss Syra from Galar! The Champion from there!" she said, with her other friends coming in to see who their friend was speaking to. They too, would become just as starstruck.
She had to take the notion of being recognized by some children who may be fans of her in stride, and gave a patient smile. "Yes, that's me. I was hoping to get some help going somewhere. Do any of you know where I could find the Pokemon Research Lab? I have someone to meet there...". She'd be bombarded by most of the children in the troop giving her similar answers. Not wanting to leave the crowd with nothing to show for their help, Syra gave autographs to each of them be it on a shirt, a baseball cap, or the ball they were using to play, and waved farewell as she made headway to her destination.
A mere skip and a jog from where she found herself lost, and Syra came to the Research Lab. "I shoulda gotten a cuppa before heading out. Tsuki, remind me to get some after this, okay?" she said before opening the door and walking in.
Walking in, Syra would be greeted by a more conservative laboratory than the one she was familiar with back home in Galar. Multiple bookshelves lay stacked with books and binders all filled with anything that could be useful, but whereas the lab back in Wedgehurst had a verticality and personality, Syra felt herself very aware of this being a lab where all things Pokemon were to be studied. There was a pair of big, tube-like machines with containers for something not within them currently, cabinets containing unknowable research items, and several small computers. Spotting the adjacent room in the building, she muttered to Tsukiyomi "I feel like I'm back in school being here...".
Lucas stood out rather vividly amongst the small number of staff within, as they had all worn labcoats lightly dirtied from Sinnoh-based research that was happening but his hat had given him away. Before the Galarian Champion had a chance to greet him, he took note, and him and the rest of the staff turned to face her. "There's the person I've been waiting for: Champion Syra from Galar!"
"Please, you can just call me 'Syra'. It's a pleasure to meet you finally: Dawn was telling me I'd see you." Syra replied, going over to shake his hand as he bowed politely. "Is Professor Rowan here today as well, or just you?"
Appearing from the connected study room, an older gentleman with a gruffy appearance walked out with a cane in hand. "Miss Syra, I presume?" Professor Rowan had aged quite a bit since the days Lucas and Dawn took on the journey to becoming Pokemon masters, but still insisted on passionately researching until his dying breath.
She was delighted to see several figureheads of Sinnoh's notable past already on her trip. It was a wonder how rare an opportunity she came onto. "Yes sir. I wasn't sure if you'd be here today when I got an updated Pokedex for the region. I am going to be here for only a week, and it would have been a shame if I left not seeing the person who helped get Lucas and Dawn started on their journeys." /This guy is still helping lead the way for future talents, huh? Amazing./ she thought to herself.
Walking with a slow and cautious march to one of the cabinets, Rowan had opened it and turned back to face the tall woman when he retrieved a device from within. "Be it in the times of Team Galactic or not, our job as researchers of Pokemon is to give people the guiding tools. What comes after is up to you, though I suppose in your case, you've already done plenty, yes?" Extending a hand towards her, he held a Sinnoh-version of the Pokedex for her to take.
She stared for a brief moment at the technological age in which a region would consider fit for recording data of Pokemon, but it wasn't enough to bring it up. "Thank you, Rowan, Lucas. But uh..."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, sensing a question coming. "Yes? Let me ask, you wanted to know more about Team Galactic, huh?"
As both hands lay to her side, one of them flinched hearing Team Galactic be mentioned casually. She remembered the note in her hotel room, and squinted her eyes. "I apologize. It's rude of me to come here as an outsider and simply ask about the villains you, Dawn, and Barry helped take down with Looker. But...I'm not a 'hero of Galar' like you're insinuating." She hung her head a little as Rowan seemed a might shocked at the statement. "Haru and Hop were the ones who took down Macros Cosmos and stopped The Darkest Day Incident. I was just there for the Team Rocket resurgence with Operation Critical Hit...an event that I was part and parcel responsible."
Professor Rowan took to scratching his chin hairs and hummed studiously. "Tsk tsk tsk...no point in thinking so hard about the past. You are still someone who has proven herself. News traveled quickly of the deeds you, Haru, and the others did during that, and afterwards. We don't profess it as much across billboards or maybe gossip as much as Unovans...but we know."
Looking at her with a bit of reservation, Lucas crossed his arms. The self-doubt and turning down something like this reminded him of Barry.
Tsukiyomi noticed Syra grow a little somber, but had hid it as she changed the subject slightly. "Still...I couldn't imagine what it was like dealing with a group notoriously infamous for having nearly destroyed our universe as we know it."
"Mmmm...yes." Professor Rowan nodded, humming again and then closed his eyes in thought. "Cyrus, I'm told, was sucked away into the Distortion World after angering Giratina, where he still lays trapped to this very day."
"...and yet, you guys still allow such vermin to pollute your waters as we speak." Syra asked, but the volume of which she raised her voice had caused several researchers to gasp in shock. In typical fashion, she whipped her head back to them and barked back. "Don't act all conservative with your gasps! Galactic Power Company. THEY'RE the remnants of Team Galactic, aren't they?!"
Professor Rowan felt a bead of sweat form on his head as Lucas grit his teeth a little. Both of the men went silent, but the expression in Lucas' eyes told Syra everything. She felt her irritation flare up, and all manners of her being an outsider to Sinnoh disappeared. "Do you have no balls, Lucas? You're not Champion, but you fought alongside Dawn and Barry! Why haven't you guys run them out?! You all should have put them all behind bars or made them pay just like anyone else! It's the right thing that should have happened!"
Narrowing his eyebrows to a furrowed brow, Lucas stepped forward in between her and the professor. "Syra, I don't think you should talk so coyly on things you don't fully understand here."
"Oh yeah?" She stepped forward and then leaned over him in an attempt of intimidation. Her voice lowered. "You think someone like me is going to walk away from this?" Her head tilted as Lucas grunted in irritation, not being able to do anything currently. "Need I bring the fact up that I have no problem trespassing on enemy territory even if I don't have a Pokemon on hand? If you guys won't do anything about them, then I may have to exercise my power to defend Galar and other regions by finishing your job for you."
"You wouldn't-!" Lucas began to say but caught himself, realizing how folly it was to argue against Syra when she now stood nearly nose-to-nose with him. She'd hope he'd back down. In her mind, she was fully intending to take down another organization that very day, and had already begun planning the steps to do it. After all, she had experience in breaking-and-entering headquarters of villain teams.
Her eyes glared. Both of them opened wide with disappointment. "You gonna stop me, Lucas?"
"..."
She lowered her tone. "C'mon. Stop me. Take out your Pokemon. Battle right outside the front of the lab."
Not backing down from his spot, he leaned forward in protest. "I don't have to do anything. You'll find out soon enough there's nothing you can do. You'll be stopped before you take a step outside of here."
"Is it? Try me." Syra said, challenging him, one hand firmly on a PokeBall on her waistline.
"Syra." Came a voice from the door.
Dawn was standing in the doorway in the same outfit she wore when greeting Syra at the airport. Presently sporting a waistline of PokeBalls, Dawn had one of her hands twitching near them. "I believe you've gotten your Pokedex and have no further business here, right? Do you want to make an incident on your first official day out here in my home?"
The Galarian Champ clicked her tongue in protest as Dawn looked to Lucas and Professor Rowan. "Thank you for being wonderful guests to Syra, gentleman." Her eyes glanced then back to Syra coldly. "I'll take it from here. My guest needs a reminder of where she stands."
- - - Outside, Sandgem Town, Sinnoh - - -
- - - 10:10 AM - - -
Making several paces forward before stopping, Dawn turned her head to look back to Syra, who was presently fuming.
"You want to explain why I shouldn't just walk by you, sleuth my way into finding where Team Galactic's remnants lay, and finish your job?" Syra spoke coldly. Both of her arms folded around her ample chest as Dawn just scoffed at the lashing.
"Because there's a lot more at play here than what you're thinking." Dawn would reply with a bit of a huff.
Her notion was mocked immediately. "Oh, of course, your first response is a heroic, self appointed 'I did what I had to'; because you other Champions have such a good record of doing that don't you?" Syra piped up, sneering.
Moving to face Syra fully, Dawn looked on with a squint. "What...?"
"A boy named Red from Kanto defeated Team Rocket's Giovanni, who disbanded Team Rocket and disappeared. Red was labeled a hero, but he left Gold to take up the scrap afterwards in his stead when the team's remnants came back and tried to take over several cities in Johto. I don't want to undercut what either gentleman did, but the argument could be made that these guys were sloppy, shortsighted, or just simply naïve. Both times they let Team Rocket walk off without making sure they paid for their crimes. Neither of them made sure to finish the job. It was up to Haru, Sam, Leon, multiple other ex-Champions and I to complete what was started! We're the only reasons that those jerks won't come back-"
Not wanting to let Syra have this argument so one-sided, Dawn stepped forward. "-Which you love so much to bring so you can prop yourself up, don't you, Syra? Does it make you feel better airing that out loud: like I don't already know or need to be reminded? You think you're the only one who has to make up for others' mistakes? To take on something bigger than your life at the risk of your own?"
Pointing decidedly to Dawn, Syra yelled. "Those mistakes could have cost people their livelihoods or worse! We Galarians were lucky not to have to deal with a world-ending threat that Hoenn or Sinnoh, or heck, our neighbors in Kalos were subjected to, but before I was a better person that I am today, Haru took care of it himself! He made sure the energy crisis in Galar would not end with people's lives being ended."
"I had to come back from purgatory to see to it that the most evil man possible does not harm anyone ever again! You think that's any easier to do than what you did? Answer me this: do you think Rose won't try to come back one day to reignite The Darkest Day again?"
"He's in prison. Haru's talked to him, and not only is aware of his lack of intentions to further his places, but knows th-"
Dawn interrupted once again. "That what? That there's nobody else out there who learned of his plans and wants to take another stab at Galar in a similar fashion?"
The two women stared each other down harshly, with Syra feeling her anxiety go up slightly. The question was proposed, but she had no direct response to give one way or the other: Dawn was right. Yet she insisted. "I...I trust Haru. The worst that came after him was a pair of royal twins, and the aforementioned Team Rocket incident. Which I was a pair of, and I made good on repairing my image. That's all I can tell you."
"Yet you're so quick to think that someone like me would so eagerly forgive and let villains walk around. Sorry to disappoint, but here in Sinnoh, we take our criminals seriously." Dawn said before walking off away from Syra, prompting the other woman to follow.
They'd be quiet amongst each other until Dawn reached a hundred paces then stopped to cool down with some deep breathing. "I can't speak for the others, Syra. All I know is that one day I'm walking with my friends Lucas and Barry, hoping we can become Pokemon Masters one day, and then the next I'm staring down a shadowy figure named Giratina. He sucked away a man into a void of nothing but pitch black nothingness where Cyrus will be there possibly forever. When I came back out of the Distortion World to Sinnoh, I thought about whether or not it was right to put away such a man for his crimes."
The gravity of Dawn's words made Syra take a moment before responding. "It wasn't your call that made it." Syra said plainly, showing her lowered guard for a moment.
Dawn nodded slowly and looked at the ground, thinking back. "Things felt simpler before I took on Cynthia, and had to worry about other things beyond being 'the best'. I suppose that I should have seen this coming."
The couple of Pokemon Champions shared a brief second of silence as Syra sighed. "Sorry. I...am known to be very aggressive like this sometimes."
"...no. You have every right to be that way." Dawn conceded, sighing again and then admitting. "I don't want to fight you, Syra. Not unofficially. Doing that would cause issues for both of us." The Sinnoh Champion let both of her hands rest to her sides. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in a means to recall something for that moment. "For one thing...Close Combat. Focus Blast. Reversal. Brick Break. Dig. Quick Guard. Sacred Sword." She opened her eyes and looked to Syra. "Those are moves that could be troublesome for me with your Zacian should we have a serious battle against my Dialga."
Syra felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise up a little. "D-Dialga?"
Dawn nodded slowly and remained on her guard. "Mmm. Of the pair of deity Pokemon who are responsible for many myths here in Sinnoh, I am paired with Dialga. The Pokemon with the power to control, and move freely through time. Before you arrived I looked into your Hall of Fame team and looked into what Galar's infamous sword wielding hero could accomplish. As much as I'd like to try and stop you seriously in a fight, I do not believe the odds would be in my favor in a guardian-to-guardian fight."
She unsnapped one of the PokeBalls from her waistline and held it up to Syra. "Then again, I have a knack for taking down opponents stronger than myself."
There was just so much to unpack from the new information that Syra uncovered, and the truth behind her original query had yet to be truly answered. "...but you won't. You're willing to tell me what I want to know, which is why you're only giving me a warning, isn't it?"
The PokeBall was receded, and Dawn stuck an upper lip outwards. "You want to know why remnants of Team Galactic exist, and why I would defend them now, especially after giving you such a loaded speech."
"I promise I won't do anything to harm the connections between Galar and Sinnoh." The pair shook hands as Syra looked at Dawn with the hopes she'll explain everything.
"Let's get a ride back to Veilstone City..." Dawn would turn, bringing out a phone and calling for a ride just like last time. "The truths you are asking about Syra are rooted to Sinnoh itself...in the past."
Tsukiyomi spoke up with an inquisitive 'Vee?' as Syra blinked. "In the past...?!"
- - - - - Galactic Power Company, Veilstone City, Sinnoh - - - - -
- - - - - 12:20 pm - - - - -
At this point during her vacation, she felt a part of her was already getting way more than she anticipated. Syra leaned back into the taxi that was driving her and Dawn to Veilstone City as she glanced out the window with all but the most indifferent of faces. /Originally I had worried that maybe I'd end up finding some new Pokemon that I'd never seen before, only for it to end up being a Ditto in disguise. But as it stands, I'm a day 1 visitor here and now uncovering a plot surrounding this region's previous villains. Either I'm going to bounce back from this to some incredibly lucky finds, or encounter something else that will have me questioning everything even further./ Syra thought to herself while patting Tsukiyomi's lush grey fur.
"We're here." Dawn says, pointing to a building that stood several stories higher and was noted with its non-flashy 'Galactic Power Company' sign. As the pair exited the taxi, Syra whistled while leaning a little away from the skyscraper-like ex-headquarters. No longer baring the 'G' atop its center dome on the rooftop, it had its outside design changed as well to accommodate the renovations needed. This was, at least, the first impression Syra had when looking at it, as she turned to Dawn.
"We're both being expected, so let's not waste time." Dawn would say as the pair walked in as Syra reflexively held up her guard once they passed through the entrance via the glass doors. Inside were several groups of employees seen wearing suits of similar color aesthetic to that of the old guard, moving through the hallway to get to a conference hall. When Dawn and Syra arrived, a few took note of them and muttered among themselves. It was strange, but Syra noted how a concerning number of the members, whom she had assumed were on the lower end of the hierarchy, bore teal colored hair.
"Excuse me, we're here to see the President? Champion Dawn with our guest of honor that they're expecting." Dawn asked while at the front desk to a lone clerk who was on her computer.
The lady picked up the landline phone and nearly dialed before asking. "...and you are..?"
Speaking with a straight upper lip, Syra looked to Dawn, then her. "Galar's Representative. Their Champion: Syra."
"So..." Syra tried to say, walking past a fountain of needlessly pretentious design and some tables where staff was quietly talking amongst themselves. Surely, on the surface it looked like any normal corporate-driven company building, but as Tsukiyomi sniffed in several directions while he perched on her shoulders, she tried to stay on her guard all the same and not to make any judgments.
"So...?" Dawn replied, squinting her eyes.
She shrugged as Dawn went to press the elevator button and waited amongst the set of 6 elevator doors. "Everybody here is just a normal, everyday worker, huh...? No pretense or cover-up. No secondary image that's being upheld to outsiders or for the sake of continuing to drive profits into its overlord's pockets and trickled down to its underlings. It's an actual, legitimate business here...?"
The questions were starting to weigh down on Dawn, but she knew there was only going to be more soon. She sighed. "I'm not particularly well versed on how well run this business is, but yes. These are just people trying to make a living."
Tsukiyomi did a 180' turn, sniffing at some people that walked past them as Syra commented. She remembered busting through Team Rocket HQ after entering what appeared to be a normal gambling outlet. "I guess you could say that, but don't blame me for being on edge."
-Ding-
As the elevator carried them to the 30th floor, they got off and were greeted by a security turnstyle door, a pair of guards, and a large sign hung on the wall with the company's name and subsequent few rooms listed that would be on said floor. They, and Tsukiyomi would get the pass through security where on the other side was yet another receptionist desk in a mostly monochromatic room. Therein was little in the way of decoration outside of a single plant in every corner, a lone analog clock that hung on the wall behind the desk, the company name hanging on both sides of the wall, and a 'RESTRICTED ACCESS' banner that was mounted above a set of sliding glass doors to the west from the entrance.
The group did not step far from the turnstyle doors before the sliding glass doors opened and out walked a woman clad in a dark purple suit, office skirt, leggings and heels. Walking up to the pair of Champions, she was seen also having a lone 'G' pin near the left breastpocket in lieu of a nametag, and her appearance was one immediately recognizable by the bright red, short hair she sported. "What an interesting morning I find myself in: it's good to see you, Dawn."
Turning to Syra, Dawn gestured with an arm. "Syra. Meet the head of Galactic Power Company: Mars."
Biting through the urge to keep her guard up and play it professionally, she nearly felt her jaw pop from speaking up. "Syra. Champion of Galar. It's uh...it's a bit of an event for me to be here." Extending a hand as Mars leaned forward and shook the hand of the taller girl before her.
"No doubt that the reason you are here is something I can easily guess: you've got questions aplenty." Mars said, making a small guess as she gestured the women to follow her back. Both of the glass doors open, allowing them through and slid close with a definitive 'click' of the locks behind them initiating. In the restricted hallway connection to the entrance, Syra looked at several corporate photos of Sinnoh and Team Galactic members, both current and alumni. "I was informed prior to your arrival that HR sent you a welcoming gift. If you're the person that I assume you are, you most likely started investigating on your own about us already."
Syra tried to ignore Mars seeing through her and only would continue to follow. The trio stopped at a large thick steel door that would only open with clearance via high level staff such as the President or Vice President. Pressing her right palm to the reader, an electronic voice spoke. "Welcome, President Mars."
Dawn quietly stood by, having done all she could to explain her side of the story when Syra looked to her for 'help' on how to respond, and shrugged. Taking the moment to wipe the sweat from her brow, Syra nodded. "I'm not native here, so you'll have to forgive my rudeness if I come off out-of-pocket. But I have a hard time understanding how you, much less this group, is still around. How can I trust that the people you now lead from Cyrus' exit off this plane of existence won't initiate a coupe on Sinnoh or other regions?"
Mars smirked in a coy manner. "How much of your homework have you done on us?"
Choosing not to be easily buttered up, Syra grumbled. "Well, you could say that I'm not one to slag off when I learn about enemies and their headquarters. You guys are hard to ignore since you nearly killed everyone in this universe."
The steel door slowly opened as Mars turned back to face Syra with her hands behind her back. "Correction: since Cyrus nearly killed everyone. For the moment I'll only inform you that the organization you're standing in is on the whole quite different than yesteryears. What I'm about to reveal to you is information that is hard to come by concerning our history. Should you reveal any of it to anyone, I trust that it be at your discretion. But if by doing so your decision brings trouble to us, we will retaliate with an official challenge."
Flying off the handle at what her brain initially perceived as a threat, Syra laughed, then pointed. "AHA! I DINNAE THINK FOR A SECOND THAT ALL THE BANTER YOU GAVE ME W-...wait, you said 'official'? As in...regulated league battle? Possibly an exhibition match for the sport of entertaining the masses?" She blinked as both Dawn and Mars looked at each other, and then back to Syra.
"How else would it be? We have to make sure we keep up appearances, and I refuse recklessness. I'm not like the 'old guard'. I'm not Cyrus." Mars explained.
"Aye. Well then..." The red flushed through Syra's cheeks as Mars led the pair with her into the secret access room. /Way to take the wind out of my sails./ She thought. As the group walked in, the space illuminated with large domed flourescent lights turning on in rows. It was as though walking into a private library. Quiet enough to hear mice breathing, Syra felt a little intimidated by the change of atmosphere around her. Lining the walls were multiple large shelves with books that had yet to be opened in untold numbers of years, and glass cases containing historical findings. There was a series of records books that laid out on a long table; dimly lit from nearby smaller lamps.
In her confusion, Syra's eyes markedly went right to the glass case that had mannequins wearing some garbs she did not recognize. It appeared uncouth and from an era she could not place. Within the case was a picture of what appeared to be old photographs of people from a long time ago who adorned themselves wearing it.
"Team Galactic was not originally something to be mired as a villain organization. Long ago, it was named The 'Galaxy Expedition Team'." Mars began to say, looking at a glass case where therein lay a mannequin wearing what was referred to as a 'warden' outfit, with a sepia-tone photograph of said 'wardens' from that time.
"T...The Galaxy Expedition Team? What were they?" Syra asked, almost frozen in awe as Tsukiyomi had quieted down from his loud cautious sniffing and yipping as though he too was trying to listen in.
"Long ago, this team of people grouped together with other people from other regions to study Hisui." Mars turned to face Syra after walking up to where Syra had been staring at some ancient created PokeBalls that were preserved in all their old tech. "The name 'Hisui' is what Sinnoh was originally called by the people who lived back then. It wasn't until certain events that occurred that some historical figures chose to rename the region to what it is today."
As Mars pontificated on, Syra would lay her hand gently to the glass cases to peer back into the past. She'd learn about how it was split up. The Survey Corps would be tasked with exploring the whole region and documenting all of its Pokemon. The Security Corps was in charge of defending Jubilife Village from outside threats and wild Pokemon that caused trouble; back then the relationships between Pokemon and humankind were still in their infancy. The Medical Corps treated wounded people and created medicines, the Supply Corps were the group that handled all logistics of Jubilife Village, Agriculture Corps grew crops and curated pastures to keep tamed Pokemon safe, and the Construction Corps were responsible for setting up base camps outside of the village, and construction of buildings both in and out.
The group walked onto a photo that was hung up, framed, and protected by bulletproof glass. In the photo were people who bore resemblances to some of the people that are around that very day. Mars would point to the mustached gentleman in the front and center. "This gentleman's name was Kamado. He was the head of the whole team. Migrating from what we believe may have been Galar, it's thanks to this gentleman and one other person that the team came to exist." Mars would point to another person, a woman with a stern look to herself, and blue hair. "Captain Cyllene."
Dawn had walked up to the same display and appeared to bore a hole through the glass. Her eyes met with Syra's when the Champion noticed a person in the old photograph had a strangely similar appearance. The raven-haired Pokemon Master looked at the photo, pointed, then looked to Dawn, who rolled her eyes.
"The similarities of this woman and I do not escape me, Syra, but I do not know who she was outside of being an important member of this group outside of her name: Akari." She folded her arms together, with herself continuing to view the photograph with scrutiny. "...the same can be said for this 'Rei' whom Lucas could be mistook for a twin."
"Well...my Mom did always tell me we have at least a doppelganger of ourselves walking somewhere around Earth, unknowingly." Syra said, trying to play it off with a weak laugh. /I say that, surely, but it is creepy how close this woman looks like Dawn. It's uncanny!/ She thought to herself, quietly.
Standing there staring at the photograph of the members with Dawn, her attention shifted back to Mars. "How did you guys come across this information?"
Dawn would assist Mars by answering. "After I became Champion, I wanted to make sure my job was finished with Team Galactic. A gentleman named Looker, whom I had help from in the past, came back to help me catch and arrest a man named Charon: an officer from the previously evil Team Galactic. Both Looker and Interpol really came through, but with Mars and Jupiter having left before Charon was arrested, I felt the task was incomplete. There was no way I was going to just walk away from all of this without getting answers. Why did Cyrus do what he set out to do? How did he garner so many others to follow him if so many then are so fickle? What were people like Madame President Mars here really looking for in the end?"
Her words garnered a confused eyebrow raise and squint from Syra.
Dawn continued. "In the end, I figured none of that really mattered so much if I could try to find a silver lining. So I had to look into the organization with Cynthia's assistance. It turns out that she has a connection to everything you see here in this room within her family tree, but she is ashamed of it to elaborate much on."
Mars folded her arms. "Basically after our organization fell through...Saturn, Jupiter and I agreed that once we found out what Cyrus was truly after, it wasn't something we signed up for at all. Saturn was the one to comment first about how he didn't like the extremist perspective Cyrus took, and when Charon tried to pick up the pieces but make things equally as bad was when Jupiter and I decided to take our leave. Then Dawn and Cynthia show up one day to my house, and an effort to take back the original namesake of this group formed."
Completely baffled, Syra just shook her head and took a few steps away. Tsukiyomi hopped off and walked alongside her, looking up to his master as she did. Holding onto her head with a hand, and taking off her hat, Syra leaned against a nearby part of the wall. The realization about it all had finally hit her. "...so you guys were never trying to be the bad guys until Cyrus came along."
"That is the primary theory." Mars replied definitively, hanging her own head a little. She raised it and then pointed to the set of books near her that was on a table. "Those books contain more details about their findings, and other photos that are from that time period, if you so wish to see."
So she did.
- - 1 hour later - -
Mars had temporarily left Syra to flip through the books, essentially locking her in the room until the president returned. Dawn had taken her leave: agreeing to meet back up with Syra on the following day. As Tsukiyomi wagged his bushy tail to and fro, Syra flipped through a section of some thick tattered notepad that had artist renditions of Pokemon findings back in the Hisui period. She noted that a large number of these came from someone on the Survey Corps signed 'Hachiro', but thought little of it at the moment. "Whoever this Hachiro person is, they certainly did a good job there in Hisui. He's so thorough. Like here...look, Tsukiyomi...!" Syra pointed to a sketch of some Eevee herds, where one was a considerably larger size. It was noted underneath as 'Alpha Eevee looks over its brethren'.
"That one could have been an Eevee who was your great great great great..." her eyes squint, feeling her brain's gears turn. "...great...uh..grandfather."
"Veeeee~" Tsukiyomi flattened himself until he was on his stomach, looking at the page with his nose wiggling.
"Alpha Pokemon like Eevees must have been cute, but if all Pokemon back then had the tendency to grow that big, can you imagine what a Garchomp would be if it was an alpha? That'd be nutty!" She flipped the page and started looking through the Eeveelutions. "...Hachiro wrote a bit more about how he wants to help Eevees live happy lives, noting how he wants to keep more of them safe from predators." Her cheeks went pink thinking about the cute imagery of being surrounded in a cuddle puddle of brown fluffy tails and squeaking Eevees.
She continued to read further, and stopped again after a considerable few pages. "Damn, okay. This guy helped out with the Survey Corps while being a trained male nurse, who was friends with a...uh..." she flipped previously to tens of pages beforehand to remind herself. "...'blacksmith named Hironori'. That's a cool ass name. 'His mother, Raina, taught him how to farm and grow herbs and vegetables in the backyard, eventually becoming interested less in the pursuit of helping humans and more on what he could do for Pokemon.' At least, that's what he says in those pages." She blinked twice. "Sounds like a chad."
"Vee!" Tsukiyomi yipped, eliciting Syra to give some behind-the-ear scratches.
"The thing is, Tsuki, that I don't get is, if the recent team was so shitty, why would information like this be held from public viewing? I knew about Hisui..." She stared off into nothing and shook her head. "Well, kinda. But this would clear them from bad perception! Look how poorly I thought of these guys right up until just a bit ago! It's not like they should be punished forever for the actions they did one time." Syra said without thinking, then frowned once realizing how close such a situation was to her own plight. "Then again, I guess it makes sense."
She turned through some more pages within the book. Learning that the documenter, Hachiro, fought a man named 'Volo' who had tried, and failed, to take life into his own hands and summoned Giratina from The Distortion World, Syra's eyes widened. He was written in the book to be a fanatical Arceus-follower who had taken all the wrong lessons about the God Pokemon itself and threatened all livelihood back in the day. The next few pages were archived letters from Hachiro at a date and time much later after that incident where he was writing to Komada and Cyllene about 'him and Kailani'. Within the letters he spoke highly of a tropical region that bore many palm trees, beaches, and a very different culture around Pokemon livelihood. A note had talked about the curious nature of 'totem' Pokemon, and included a sketch of one. Another letter had ended on a somber note, saying " 'I have decided to stay here in Alola, as my dear Kailani is now with child. I am pleased to report everyone that I have found a new purpose in life, and it is to defend and strengthen this nation with everything I learned under the Survey Corps. I won't let you down, and we shall visit one day when fate smiles upon me again.' Whoa. There HAS to be a picture of this guy somewhere, right?"
Suddenly, Syra began flipping through pages to try and find more pictures, and to see if any of them showed this 'Hachiro' at all. Eventually she came to a photo and found herself shrieking in disbelief. "You've...!" Instinctually she reeled from the photo upon seeing it, but then leaned in close. "...you've got to be kidding me."
Within the photo was a man of about 5 foot stature, sable skin, amber eyes, medium length red hair that curled on the ends, wearing glasses, a green hat, white kimono with silver patterns, and sandals. He was standing with his hands behind his back, giving a confident smile as a woman next to him, much darker-skinned and almost a foot taller than him, posed for the photo with him. She had long, dark black-and-light-blue hair with blue eyes, and wore an Alolan garb with Alolan jewelry. Her manner of dress was very obviously more colorful and indicative of her homeland, but felt like a perfect match to him. Under the photo was printed: "Hachiro with Kailani, first meeting."
To say that he was a looker wasn't a question, but the shock that pierced Syra's heart was next-level. The resemblance was uncanny, and her mouth dropped. "Dawn may have doubts about Akari, but my gut is telling me...!" She pointed definitively with her pointer finger. "This...is Haru's ancestor! Both of these...!" Hurriedly, Syra pulled out her phone and brought up a recent photo she had of Haru in his Steel Gym outfit and placed it next to the sepia-tone photograph of Hachiro. It was a perfect match. The jawline. The eyes. The height. The smile. "Holy fucking shit. I found Haru's great great great...great...whatever grandfather and grandmother..." her eyes went to look at Kailani. "...and she looks like Nessa, too. Except she's Alol-!"
Syra sucked in her breath and felt her mind recall a conversation she had with Nessa on a fond memory with Haru.
/"I'm not -entirely- Galarian by blood. I'm part Alolan."
"What?! Get out, really?!" Nessa would exclaim in a pleasantly surprised tone of voice. He nods, standing up and doing his arm circle stretching.
"Yep. My grandmother was entirely full blooded Alolan, and my mother is half. So that makes me a quarter Alolan. The other half is Galarian but I don't know to what extent my father was Galarian and if he had anything else on his side. I never really got to know him."/
"Holy shit! Tsukiyomi! That means his family was 100% Alolan all the way up until a certain point when someone came overseas to Galar, and this Hisuian man and Alolan woman here in the photo is the proof! This guy and woman here are part of his family tree!" Syra exclaimed excitedly, pointing. It got the Eevee to bounce in place and do a full turn before sitting again.
It may have never been her place to say outright, but looking at the photograph made Syra chuckle. A part of her was able to fully let go of feelings she had been holding onto up until recently, even if she didn't air them out publicly. /Heh...you know. Discovering that this man fell in love with a beautiful lady from Alola only to eventually birth someone who would birth Lana, who would birth Haru, who would end up falling for Nessa. Heh. Haru has the same tastes as his great great great grandpappy./ Her eyes narrowed and sounded forlorn. "...I never once had a chance with him. Not ever."
"Vee..?" Tsukiyomi asked.
Her eyes closed and she sighed before shaking her head. "Nothing, Tsuki." She folded the book closed and gave a warm smile to her Eevee. "Don't worry about me, okay?"
The steel door opened and Mars walked through, holding a bottle of water to give Syra. "I've returned. Did you find your visit rewarding, Syra? Is there anything else I can do as a favor to extend to you?"
Taking the water bottle in kind, Syra smiled. "If I could, I'd like to have a copy of everything you have on the Survey Corps member 'Hachiro' sent to me personally. The whole family tree, and all documentation surrounding him, his wife Kailani, and who came after. I understand that may take a bit of time."
"Hachiro, huh? He was one of the older heroes from Hisui. Very upfront, old-fashioned man." Mars spoke with conviction, looking at the notepad Syra was holding onto, then Syra again. "What gauged your interest in him?" Mars asked, not having an issue with such a request.
"I think it would be a good gift for a close friend of mine..." Syra replied, standing up from the table as Tsukiyomi hopped onto her shoulders.
Seeming to understand the perspective she came from, Mars gave her own pleased expression. "Ah, I see. I'll see to it that this is forwarded to you as soon as possible. Expect it to show up at your mailbox back in Galar."
The pair exited all the way back to the turnstyle doorway as Mars extended a hand. "Thank you for understanding where we stand nowadays, Syra. I know this was more than you initially bargained for your trip here to Sinnoh, but I promise you we won't be in the news for destroying anything other than our competitors."
Shaking the hand firmly and smiling confidently, Syra nodded. She accepted what Mars said. "Thank you for allowing me to learn the truth. You have my word that Galar will be behind you if Sinnoh undergoes any problems that needs Galar's strength behind it." waving to her and walking through the turnstyle door, she headed to the elevator and eventually made her exit from the large building.
It was strange, Syra thought, that even in her new role she would be finding herself in new conundrums that would be only a hair's length away from turning into more battles. Yet she had to remember that for all the trouble she almost caused, she did get a new Pokedex, make amends with previous evil team members, and gained the trust of Sinnoh's Champion. Thinking on how Mars turned her life around, she was reminded of herself, and snickered in jest of herself. "Sheesh. I've still got quite a bit to learn about this whole 'adulting' thing."
She turned to the Pokemon that was on her shoulders. "Fancy a cuppa, Tsuki? Let's get that and us some food, aye?" The Pokemon was very happy at the idea of eating, and yipped positively back to her.
Syra would spend a part of her day familiarizing herself with Sinnoh's landmarks. Dawn would not be in contact with her again until the following morning, so with what miniscule details she knew of Sinnoh itself, she made a decision that was less taken for this trip. After spotting an outdoor market strip and getting some takoyaki and a bottle of peppermint tea, Syra let her Pokemon roam around to stretch their legs on the unfamiliar grounds while she sat to enjoy her treat.
"You know it's weird..." She said to Tsukiyomi, who was busy munching on some freshly baked poffins she got for her whole group. Spotting his left ear twitch, she got the sign he was listening. "I didn't think before about whether or not a villainous organization could ever be reformed...and whether or not it was even fair to assume the heroes who still live here would just let them stay."
Looking at how her Weavile, Cinderace, and Inteleon were intermingling in the open air and being investigated by other native Pokemon brought a small smile to her face. Tsukiyomi got up on all fours and looked at her before huffing. "I'm not going to go back home after this and start trying to convince Rose to do the same. When it comes to him and the royal twins, that's Haru's responsibility, not mine. But you know, it just got me thinking is all."
She idly prodded one of the fried balls of octopus meat in thought. "Part of me has to let off a little on this...instinct that others are out there to get me." Her magenta eyes stared off and locked onto some bird Pokemon flying by that nosedived to the nearby waters and yanked a Magikarp out from within. "...I really am out of my element being here, and it's not just the food, either."
The shiny Eevee walked a little closer to her side and dropped its half-eaten poffin next to her, before looking back up at her. He yipped, giving the impression she would benefit from it more than him. She just scoffed and smiled before scratching the top of his head gently. "You goofball, I can't eat that, but thank you. I'll be fine, Tsuki. Just having some boring adult human self-reflection."
"Finding your trip in Sinnoh to be fruitful, Syra?" Came the voice of Lucas, dressed in a casual outfit more closely resembling his days from the Pokemon League. Removing his cap and waving to the other Pokemon from Syra's group who took immediate notice of his presence, he waved.
"Hey Lucas. Listen...the way how I acted earlier was really out of pocket. Can you forgive me?"
He blinked, turning his face to the side with a squint. "Out of pocket? I wouldn't think too much of it."
"No!" She shouted back quickly, which made Lucas reflexively lean away. Syra stood up, walked to him and bowed with her hands held. "Please. I was such a bitch that was making assumptions about you, and I threatened to have a battle with you in a place where it wasn't up to me to make that decision. I arrived too quickly to my conclusion about what I was ready to do to defend Galar and other regions FROM you guys if what I had assumed was true. But I can't let you get the wrong impression of me."
Lucas was left a little shocked, but before he was able to reply Syra continued.
"I've...got a bad history of making clutch decisions that don't end up right in the end." Her mind flashed to the times with Haru, and her whole legacy that led her to this moment. Frowning while straightening her back, Syra looked Lucas in the eyes. "I am, at times, an emotional-response woman. I'm trying to not charge into other people looking for a fight because that was a bad habit I had before, so for being very aggressive I'm asking for your forgiveness. Don't think of Galarians like me, please." She went back to hanging her head, and then the other Pokemon she had out with her walked to her side and also bowed with her.
The sincerity of her action and the words behind them moved Lucas. "You're forgiven Syra. It's okay. I'm not cross about it. Besides, I came here to actually make up for my end of what I was supposed to do. We aren't in Sandgem Town, but I can still show you places."
She perked up, with Tsukiyomi quickly munching on the remainder of his fresh poffin he was eating and hopped up towards Syra's shoulders. "Oh, right! Dawn did tell me you were going to do that but then I got distracted...and educated." She would fold her arms together.
"You got a specific and very poignant history of Team Galactic, hmm?" He asked, holding up a finger.
Syra looked to the side at the vocabulary use of 'poignant' and sighed. "...yeah. I could comment about what those ancestors might think on what Team Galactic did, but it's not all bad. They've reformed and are doing their best to make up for lost time."
Gesturing with an arm, Lucas looked off to where the marketplace strip ended and the more natural borne avenues of Sinnoh continued. "...but you have thoughts on that, right? Walk and talk with me, then. We can head back to Sandgem Town, but perhaps I ought to leave that last. Are you up for a bit of walking?"
She took that as a little bit of a challenge and put her hands on her hips. "I don't have a full team with me, but this Eevee, my Inteleon, Cinderace, and Weavile here are my guardians while I'm here. If you're asking me if I'm down for an adventure, then where're we heading first?"
Enthralled that Syra was down for a longer than normal trip, he pointed south. "We have to head to Route 214 to the Valor Lakefront, then Route 213 to Pastoria City. Route 212 will take us a bit of maneuvering, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal, and by the time evening hits we'll be in Hearthome City." He felt some of his oldschool fighting spirit reignite. "Well...that is if you can keep up!"
"Tch, don't take me for a weakling, Lucas! I'm ready for whatever's along the way! Trainers or not!" Syra replied excitedly, clenching her right hand into a fist as Tsukiyomi yipped happily.
He waited until they passed several crosswalks of heavy pedestrian traffic to add to her thought. Holding onto his hat while he looked back to Syra, he replied, "Oh sure. Trainers." Lucas would gesture with a hand. "...and Collectors, some Psychics, a few Fisherman, maybe a few beautiful ladies and kids. But sure...just a few 'trainers'."
"Uh huh. Well in Galar, we have fanboys of trainers with too much makeup, men wearing blue karate gis, musicians who challenge you to fights in pairs, news reporters looking for battles, doctors, cabbies, cosplaying children who look like Eevees, and postmans!" Syra smirked, walking alongside him with a raised brow.
"Wow, really? What else is different there in Galar?" Lucas would ask as they walked by a sign with a pair of arrows on it. One pointing to the city they're leaving, and the other pointing saying 'Route 214'. A long, narrow stretch of grasslands and trees laid out before Syra. Dismissing the few oddball looking trainers she saw, she'd turn to Lucas.
"Well...given what little I caught from Dawn and it's still my first official day being here, I'd say that Sinnoh's got a lot more traveling routes for trainers than we do." She spoke while trying to run down other notable differences. "We only have 10 named routes which leaves any other notable location to be properly named. This goes for both our adjacent Isle of Armor, and the southern province of Galar, the Crown Tundra."
The pair came across a patch of grass, causing Syra to kneel down and Lucas to follow. He knew she had caught something of interest because her voice went quiet. "What is it?"
"That." Pointing straight ahead, Syra turned to Lucas with a rise of confusion in her eyes. "Th'heck is that?"
The Pokemon that caught her attention was a fire horse Pokemon that had exited from some nearby trees, come out onto the tall grass and was looking for food. He blinked, scratched his chin and gave her a side-eye. "You guys don't have Ponyta in Galar, I take it?"
Both of her eyes widened like a child having spotted a rare toy. "THAT'S a Ponyta?! What the fuck?!" Her eyes look back at it while she bit her thumb. /It's a fire type everywhere else? Holy shit, it's so cool looking!/ The Champion thought to herself. The decision was made then and there as she stood up out of the tall grass and locked eyes with the Ponyta, who would then freeze in place. Without reaching for any of the Pokemon on her belt, and with Tsukiyomi giving a hard stare back to the unusual horse Pokemon, she tossed a Quick Ball.
Tap! The Quick Ball clocks onto the Ponyta and sucks it into the ball. Syra and Lucas stare down at the ball as it falls to the ground, wiggles once, and then 'clicks' into place. "TCHYEAH! That's a new variant of Ponyta for me!" Running over to the Quick Ball, she'd snatch it up and set it aside on her waist. "Almost sporting a full set while I'm out here. Wonder what else you guys have here."
Smirking at the glee she showed for a new capture, Lucas asked her another question when he walked up to her. "Is it true what I heard about the travel you have in Galar? That a large part of it is done through Pokemon?"
"I mean...we still have automobiles, trains, boats, and planes." Her eyes darted back and forth as if to inquire herself if she missed mentioning anything. "But we have a Pokemon named Corviknight that acts as our airborne taxi-" She stopped herself, causing Lucas to almost trip.
"...yes?" He noticed she was looking back at him and pointing forward. An assortment of folks were talking amongst each other, mumbling in low volume and looking suspicious. They stood around in an area that seemed to curate the paths ahead through some fencing right alongside the same time she spotted a small body of water to her side. A raised hill opposite of it had some seemingly manmade stairs where big rocks blocked a pathway, and even thicker grass.
"Sorry, just curious, do you have any Pokemon with you currently or am I getting us through these paths today?" Her arms crossed.
"...well if I let you take on these guys we run into, I can treat you to dinner. How's that? May as well since I'm already showing you around." Lucas would say, making an offer.
Syra's eyes squinted at him and then let out a huff. Tossing her hair back, making Tsukiyomi go to the opposite shoulder of hers, she shook her head slowly. "Shit. That was smooth, L. Real smooth. I've gotten fan letters with less charisma asking me to dinner than what you just said." With one heavy stomp forward, the nerdy Collector who was shuffling through his backpack jumped a little and turned to Syra's direction.
"!"
"!"
"Hey buddy, I'm not from around here. Feel like battling?" Syra says with an air of confidence, taking out a PokeBall that held Cyrus in hand.
Seeing the beautiful woman in front of him, the nerdy male shuffled in place and nodded. "Yes! Show me what you've got!"
- - - Route 214 - - -
The battles and waltzing through Route 214 was relatively peaceful. A few of the battles had some awkward interactions that would helm from the fact Sinnoh people appeared to not know how to handle someone of Galar's Champion's personality. A few would have heard about her, and others who didn't were able to instead offer some advice for the given area, as well as unique Pokemon nearby. Several PokeBalls were thrown, and Syra added a few new possible friends to her Pokedex. A Mightyena, Girafarig, Kricketune, Staravia, and a Swellow were successfully logged in, and after spending a bit of time talking to the locals, Lucas and Syra took a break on the shores of Route 214.
Tsukiyomi bolted off of her shoulders once he saw some of the other Pokemon in the area, making Syra laugh. "Legs holding up well with all the walking?" Lucas asked while sitting on the sandy shore with her.
"Hmm? Oh, of course. In Galar we have this crazy big province-within-a-province called 'The Wild Area'. It's just this giant area where Pokemon roam freely that's smack dab before Motostoke and a train station that can head back to Wedgehurst. I just needed a moment to re-focus. All the energy of talking to people here who are fans of me made me think how it was nice to not be reading or answering mountains of fan mail." The raven haired Champion spaced out and exhaled slowly.
"Dawn sometimes tells me about how stressful it can be. On top of what she already does to make sure Team Galactic are staying in line, she works with Cynthia and some neighboring smaller regions like Oblivia in making sure we're all okay." Lucas went quiet and bit his lip. "The fan mail she gets helps, from what I hear."
"...Syra?" Lucas noted that she appeared distracted. Waving a hand in front of her, he turned to meet where her gaze was looking. A few people walked by with lassos along their waistline, a peculiar wrist-bound device on their left hands, and strange uniforms.
"Who are they?" Syra pointed to the small group of uniformed people. A few men and a woman clad in orange/black outfits, wearing caps with an unknown insignia on them, with Pokemon following closely. Each one seemed at the ready for a task. "They don't have any insignia like the police from what I've seen here so far. I noticed them as soon as I came here to Sinnoh, but forgot to ask."
"Oh, them? Those are Pokemon Rangers." Lucas said with some excitement.
"...what's a Pokemon Ranger?" Syra asked, sounding befuddled.
"Do you not have any in Galar?"
"mm-mm." She shook her head. "Never heard or seen them. Are they Pokemon trainers?" She asked, looking past Lucas back to the group as they seemed to then sprint off to some unspoken duty.
"They can be, but they usually aren't. They're a special force of Pokemon specialists who don't rely on using Pokemon the way you do. As such, they do not battle as their most proficient skill. They resolve all conflicts simply with that wrist-bound device you may have spotted." He gestured with his right hand in a circular motion. "Sorta like this."
She only had a light understanding to his explanation, but trusted it. "I guess I get it. Rangers seem pretty cool and very important, then."
A memory flashed back to Lucas as he gave a weak laugh. "Very important, indeed."
Clicking her tongue, Syra laughed, scratching her chin. "Yeah well...that's honestly really cool. Sinnoh has Pokemon Rangers. I wonder if they get fan mail if they're important too? I hope one day I befriend one and ask her or him someday."
"Rangers are lower in number nowadays, so a lot of importance goes into anyone who trains to become one. But...perhaps you're not wrong." He leaned back and looked up to the skies. "At one point in my journey I decided to focus more on helping the people with humanitarian means. I wanted to be there at the ground level helping Pokemon and people alike, while Dawn took the heavier route. I don't envy much the popularity she gets since I've seen her become overwhelmed at times."
Syra felt she was at least partial to why Dawn would say such things to her friend Lucas and chimed in. "If it's anything like how I've experienced it, then it comes down to the personal experience. Some fans just simply know how to talk to you like a person without overwhelming you. You don't feel like you have to make an 'impression'. For the fans like that out there, I genuinely look forward to hearing from."
"Oh?" The assistant to Professor Rowan hugged his knees and raised a brow to Syra. "Care to share?"
She didn't even have to think about it and gestured with a hand. "There's a few that I can think of at the moment. Vector from Johto, who watches my stuff through a VPN and imports my merchandise. He sometimes attaches a poem either about me or Pokemon battling within his letters. Mina from Kalos who likes rewatching my stuff to help herself focus and get better at being a trainer. She tells me that watching me battle is a means of helping her focus on her schoolwork. An artist named Octo from Paldea, who gives me amazing hand-drawn portraits that she's done of me." She laughed. "I have to get a frame for the last one she drew. Then this one guy named...Isaac. I think. He's also a Galarian, like myself. Found out he comes from a good home where his parents are well off: his mom is a banker, and the father is a Pokemon dentist. He told me in a few letters back that he wants to do something 'more' than what either of his parents are doing, so he's gonna try to go somewhere named 'Almia's Ranger School', I think." She hummed curiously, then nodded to assure herself. "I hadn't considered it until now but maybe it's where people train to become Rangers? I couldn't tell you, since he told me he wants to become an 'Operator'." She scratched the back of her head. "I guess that's a whole different thing, huh?"
/This Isaac is going to the same school as 'her'./ "Guy sounds like he has a lot going for him currently." Lucas guessed.
"Yeah. When he's got time he tries to catch up on all of my matches, or, knowing him, probably just rewatches the one where I became Champion. According to him, he's been a fan since I started. Y'know..." She looked away from Lucas a bit more and frowned. "Back when I was a much worse person at heart." She gave a weak laugh. "Feels odd knowing I had someone loyal to me at my worst."
Lucas smiled. "That's a good thing, right? Shows that despite what you or anyone thought about you, he was in your corner rooting for you."
There was a moment of silence between them where Syra hung onto his words.
"...the letters I get are oft pretty high in number. I asked Gordie, our Rock Gym Leader, for tips on how to deal with so much, though he all but said 'You just do what you can at any given time, then take a break and come back to it. Put on some music'. Heh. Knowing that he has a fan club and told me that, I try to consider his advice the most. It helps."
"Do you ever get letters from crazy fans?" Lucas asked.
"Heh. Guess you could say that I do. I've put some thought into doing a meet-up with fans similar to how Haru and the others held one in Wyndon, but I need to get back home and talk to my Mom to see how we can do it. Maybe with a booth like how he did in front of our Wyndon Stadium." Standing up slowly, Syra dusted herself off while waving down Tsukiyomi to come back to her. "Before that, though, I need to talk to Oleana about a hospital visit. May meet some new fans, make some new friends or at the very least pen-pals." She'd turn to face him as he stood up with her on the sand.
"Like that one guy you mentioned? Isaac?" Lucas asked.
As Tsukiyomi came back and circled around Syra's feet, she replied. "Heh. Yeah, like him. I hope he's doing okay. Guy has a good head on his shoulders from what I gathered. I'll have to send him a response letter to encourage him to pursue that career when my vacation's over." For one reason or another, however, she felt a bit of worry hit her as they began walking through to the sign that said 'Pastoria City' in front of her.
"!"
"What's up?"
Syra pointed to a small building that lay isolated on a raised hill further high than the hotel they had passed through to get on this Route. "Well...what's with that building there? It's too small to be a civilian home, and without any signage next to it I figured it can't be a police building."
"That would be one of the Ranger lookout points. They have many of those set up here in Sinnoh." Lucas explained, stretching his legs and getting ready to head out with his comrade.
"...well I hope they don't overwork themselves. Evil doesn't rest." She said with a thought coming back to Giovanni.
"Hmm?"
She beckoned to him with a hand. "Pay no mind to me. C'mon. You're gonna show me around Pastoria City, right?"
Lucas followed closely, but thought back to some old friends of his. The conversation just now had brought up some older memories he hadn't thought of in a long time.
- - - Pastoria City, Sinnoh - - -
"Pastoria City, the city that protects The Great Marsh, and home to the Water-type specialist, Crasher Wake." Lucas said with a bow after they stepped foot to the small city.
Stepping out of the transitioning tourist building between the previous route and the city, Syra would come behind Lucas rolling her shoulders and briefly shielding her eyes from a sunray that blinded her. It was a little foggy, with the air feeling rather damp. "Water-type specialist named Crasher Wake huh? I take it this person is the Gym Leader here eh?" She asked, looking off to the nearby small port where a pair of expensive looking boats lay. Tsukiyomi peered around where she was looking and yipped at it. "Missing only one thing from having this place feel more 'homely' for me, personally."
"Oh?" Lucas looked over back to Syra, putting his hands in his pockets.
The Champion nodded confidently, smiling and thinking of Nessa as she made a fist. "Yeah. A lighthouse would make this small town a lot more comfy!" She rescinded it, relaxing her hand. "Though I'll say from a first impression that it's a lot quieter than Hulbury."
"Is that a good thing?" Lucas asked, suddenly feeling as though the group was being watched and turned his head to look around. /Why do I get the feeling that her visit to Sinnoh is going to suddenly take a nosedive?/
"It's welcoming. Don't think too much on it Lucas. I'm just saying for comparison's sake that Hulbury's not so bad-" Syra's commentary was shut off when she and Lucas were bumped into rather abruptly and violently, causing Tsukiyomi to fall to the ground and land on his feet. Syra herself had tripped over her foot and fell to her knees, but caught her own fall with a hand. Looking up once he hit the grass, her shiny Eevee started yipping at the intruder, thinking it was someone trying to start trouble with Syra. "Hey what's the big idea, pal?"
The new intruder took no time to start mouthing off, but not to Syra. Wearing a long-sleeved orange and white striped top, green scarf, grey pants, and carrying some satchel around his waist, the young man pointed. "Ouch! Hey Lucas! What's the big idea? You go off grid for months for some new research with Professor Rowan, tell Dawn not to inform me, and that's all just within the first month! Then you say you can't respond to messages outside of shortform text, which I completely get but-oh wait! I forgot to tell you about some new gig Wake has me going through. See- oh hey do you have time by the way? I wasn't sure if it'd be possi-" The new guy was suddenly clocked across the face hard by a sucker punch, causing him to fly back onto his back. "Ow!"
"AH'M TALKING TO YA YE PRICK! WOT THE FUCK YE DAIN AN THINK YOU ARE YOU BLOODY TOSSPOT?! NOBODY WHO TRIPS UP AN OUTSIDER CAN JES RUN INTO MAE WI'OUT APOLOGIZIN'! IF YOU SAY SORRY REAL QUICK AN' NICE THEN MEBE I WON'T SHOVE MEH FOOT UP YER ERSE!" Syra yelled at the top of her lungs, clearly tilted and causing Tsukiyomi to yip repeatedly at the blonde man who ran into her. She was huffing with both her nostrils flaring, and flashed the intruder the 'finger' with her right hand.
"Barry! Hey, get up man! Syra I'm so sorry, Barry's not too bright. He's a friend." Lucas said, slightly in a panic, having never seen Syra go off like this and hoping her trip wasn't ruined. Dusting off the weird man, he looked at her, rubbing his face.
"AYE I figurin' that, but I cannae be arsed wi' a stupid eejit like this for long!" Having not encountered anyone this dense before was like overcoming a new trial for Syra. Feeling her heartrate skyrocket while trying to control her breathing, she was met with a just as illiterate set of response from Barry.
"Holy cow, you hit HARD!" Barry felt a vein twinge in his forehead. "I'm not a dumb Mankey! SHUT UP!" He retorted in a complacent tone as he stomped his foot, causing Syra to grunt in response.
"AYE my fists hit hard, and there's MORE where that came from ye diddy!" Feeling both of her fists clench so hard that the veins in her knuckles showed. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had made her go full rage-mode. "Your name is Barry, aye? Well first thin' about being an outsider 'Barry' is that I've been having a wonderful time traveling here. I'm not from here, and was having a lovely conversation with Lucas here..." walking up to Barry, she yanked him by the collar. "...until I was so rudely interrupted by you!"
"Barry." Lucas said in a normal tone, trying to de-escalate the situation. "This is Syra. A very important guest to Sinnoh. You need to apologize to her."
"Yes, I suppose I should. Sorry ma'am..." He said in a sheepish manner, as Syra would then suddenly feel a vein in her forehead throb.
"Ma'am? How old do you think I am?" She grimaced, then looked to Lucas. "Is he someone who was there with you back in the hayday, like Dawn?"
"!" Barry blinked and felt a wave of determination hit him. "You know that much about my dear friends? Are you...a remnant of Team Galactic, or maybe you're someone who's come here to try and take down our Champion, Dawn?!"
It was almost baffling; the lengths of which Barry would make assumptions so quickly astonished and stunned Syra. /This guy is a fucking moron./ She thought to herself, looking at him with complete and utter dismay. Barry had wiggled himself from Syra gripping and reached down to his waistline. Syra took note of the 6 PokeBalls inside his satchel and smirked. She laughed and looked to Lucas. "Hey Lucas, I hope you don't mind if I make an example of, and ultimately try to humble your friend Barry, do you?"
"Don't look down on me, or think it'll be easy! I may not be a Champion, but I was there right alongside my friends. I learned many strategies, absorbed a lot of tips, and fought hard in our Battle Tower. You could say I'm not part of the Elite Four, but I could match them any day!" Barry said confidently, pulling out a PokeBall and holding it forward.
"Okay." She held up a hand as Tsukiyomi went to hop back up on her shoulders, and then flashed a finger at him. "One. I'll give you a handicap and only use one Pokemon to fight your team. You defeat it, and I'll concede. Deal?"
He grit his teeth. For some reason the cockiness reminded him of Jupiter, a former executive of Team Galactic. It reminded him so much of the same eagerness to put him in his place that he had hoped then that time would not repeat itself. "Tch. Deal!"
Syra only responded with a confident smirk, reaching for the PokeBall of her choice and brought it out, confidently awaiting for the battle to start.
The battle did not last long. Choosing to bring out her shiny Cinderace to handle things, Barry's team fell quickly. Dusting her hand and looking down to Barry, who was kneeling to the ground, aghast, she raised an eyebrow. "I'll give you one thing...you almost had a chance with the Floatzel of your team. Giving him a Quick Claw was a pretty good idea of a strategy."
The blonde was still in the middle of his post-battle confusion and self loathing when he stopped to listen to her, tilting his head upwards. "...it was? Wait, how did you know my Floatzel had a Quick Claw on it?"
Syra chuckled. "Because Cinderace is one of the fastest Pokemon from Galar, maybe?" She glanced to Cyrus, who flexed by juggling a rock on one foot, then balancing it on another one, then back. "Mine is pretty competitively trained against faster water types like yours. I'll say now that his build is different than when I had used him for our League Tournament. His moves he used against your whole team was different, too. I'm thankful now I taught him Electro Ball, but his hidden ability being 'Libero' was a blessing in of itself. Good job, Cyrus!" She'd say with a prideful smile, giving Cyrus a pat on the back.
Barry stood up and furrowed his brows. "You countered with Electric Ball against my Staraptor and Floatzel. Pyro Ball against Heracross and Torterra, Focus Blast against my Snorlax, and stronger fire with Pyro Ball against my Rapidash." He took a long, deep breath and exhaled. "Clearly you are extremely talented and knew every possible angle. That you were able to account for the endurance of your Pokemon and whatever I threw at you..." A look of determination came to Barry's face, causing Syra to reel back a little in defense. "You must be an amazing trainer!"
Syra had given Barry a long, drawn out look of silence before glancing at the sideline audience: Lucas. "Do you wanna tell him?"
"?" Barry looked to Lucas, then Syra, then Lucas once more in confusion.
"Barry, the person you ran into and subsequently got clocked and schooled by?" Lucas would gesture with both of his arms pointing to Syra. "She's the Champion of Galar. You're looking at the strongest person from that region who defeated both Leon, the previous Champion, and Haru, the man who defeated Leon."
The woman had crossed her arms and nodded slowly as she took a little bit of pleasure in seeing Barry's face contort in horror. Now he had finally realized why it was not a good idea to be so 'Barry' to her, and in doing so would panic. Running over to Syra, he gasped.
"Whoa buddy, personal space..." Syra started to say, before Barry spoke up. Tsukiyomi stuck close to her side and glared at the weird man.
"I am so sorry! To know that my first encounter with someone so legendary, so immensely capable of anything had started off so poorly is unforgivable! I'm deeply sorry!" Barry had said, almost in a panic-stricken shout, bowing repeatedly.
"Ehhh...~" Feeling some anxiety sweat form on her forehead and a muscle in her cheeks twitch, she wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this one. "I...it's okay. You really got me pissed off doing what you did, but just learn to relax in the future." She would say, before giving him a light tap on the forehead. "...and look where you're going! As Galar's representative, I'll overlook this whole thing, but you gotta work on yourself."
"R-right! Hey Lucas, I'll have to get back to you on what I said earlier. If you're acting as a chauffeur for someone important like her, then I shouldn't interrupt. Just contact me later when you have time, okay?" The hyperactive blonde turned back to Syra. "I'll take into account what you said as well as the advice from the battle. Maybe one day I'll be able to see your league battles in Galar!"
Having to dive deep into personal relations advice her mother gave her, Syra cracked the best smile she could for the sake of professionalism. "Don't oversell yourself to others while you're working on yourself and you can improve, too, okay?" She waved him off with a tip from her hat, and Barry walked off in a jog. Lucas walked up to Syra's side after seeing his friend disappear off into the distance and sighed.
Holding up both hands together in a prayer-like manner, Lucas sounded exasperated. "I. Am. SO sorry."
Dropping all pretenses and giving Lucas the honest irritation she was feeling, her smile faded. "Is he always like that? Because holy shit I've never met someone so 'on' all the time like that...and what was that thing he said in the middle before we had our battle? Something about a 'dumb Mankey'? Neither you or I said anything like that at all to him."
He had to think on it for but a moment, but Lucas sighed. "It was something he was called often, but not by myself or Dawn. People he ran into for being...y'know." He shrugged.
"So it was like a trigger for him, I guess. Hmm." Syra looked to the ground in befuddlement.
"..."
"...what?"
"...what was THAT from you, by the way?" Lucas asked, raising a finger.
"huh? What was what?" Syra raised an eyebrow.
Letting out a weak laugh, and feeling a bead of sweat form, Lucas scratched his back. "It sounded like you got so mad that you spoke an entirely different language. I had a hard time piecing together what you were saying..."
"..."
"When you punched him?" Lucas tried to give context.
"OH FUCK! That just-" Syra's face went red, then huffed, crossing her arms again and grumbled. "It just came out of nowhere." She held up her right hand and pinched her pointer finger and thumb together. "When I get to that level of angry I have this tendency to start speaking in an accent from Galar. Since I grew up as a kid from both The Crown Tundra and then Circhester, it sticks with me."
"...ooohh. I suppose that makes sense. Well then, shall we continue?" Lucas made a 180 and was in mid-step when Syra put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey...please tell me one thing first before we continue by exploring this city for a bit." She looked exhausted for a moment after letting off so much steam. "...you don't happen to have any other weird, quirky friends who could cause me problems like that do you? I can handle battling Pokemon trainers along the way with no issue...but Barry REALLY got me ragin' really quickly."
His eyes dart back and forth, and quivered his lips in thought. "Nope."
She exhaled as if holding in a deep breath for awhile. "Thank Arceus."
- - - - Hearthome City - - - -
- - - - 6:10 P.M., Pokemon Center - - - -
It took the traveling pair until early evening to venture between Pastoria City through Route 212. Syra was ill prepared for the increase of random folks she ran into that were itching for Pokemon battles, but was more than willing to get through them quickly if it meant trouncing anyone capable of spreading rumor. Sinnoh had been more than friendly to her for the first day of her trip, but she was able to put the local Reporter trainer in her place. Walking out of the Pokemon Center and meeting up with Lucas, who waited outside, Syra looked little bothered.
"Hey, you get held up?" Lucas asked, having taken a break by relaxing at a bench near the center.
Nodding her head towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center, Syra huffed. "For the most part my trip so far has been a lot less turbulent than I'm used to; surprise interviews included. Sinnoh is a lot more welcoming to me for the most part...but I'm guessing it's normal for random trainers to be on the lookout to pounce others." She saw that Lucas was confused with her saying that and answered for him. "After I healed my troupe inside, a Reporter approached me with a full team and we had a battle right there. I'm...a little too used to being approached at the worst of times. But she wasn't looking for a scoop on me, so I held back."
Lucas narrowed his eyes, unsure if he believed her. "You took her down in one hit no matter the Pokemon, didn't you?"
She smirked; caught red-handed. "I basically took her down in one hit no matter what, but hey that's okay! 'Twas as fair as I could make it!" Walking by him, Syra tapped on his shoulder with a fist. "Now what was this place you wanted to introduce me to? You have somewhere in mind?"
He nodded then pointed in a direction, beckoning her to follow him.
- - - Gracidea Gardens - - -
"Irasshaimase~" came the calls of a chef from inside 'Gracidea Gardens', greeting the pair as they walk in to a hole-in-the-wall ramen place just on the corner of Hearthome City where the route signs lay. Syra took one long whiff of the smells around her and took in the scene. Off to the side there was an open air kitchen where customers saw the chef and his crew working to make dishes in mere minutes, sometimes seconds. Some seats were stools near the counter while others were in the more common booth-style. A Togetic was fluttering its wings wearing a small hat and apron with the shop's logo on it, handing out refills of drinks to customers via a drink tray it levitated alongside it. Meanwhile behind the counter, a Kirlia was seen assisting as a sous chef, walking in a heightened pace with its pointy feet skittering on the floor.
Syra had taken note of how popular the place must have been given that the wall had some photos hung along with commentary: each one coming from those of higher businesses.
It was, however, confusing. She didn't see any staff waiting to seat them, yet she could tell they weren't understaffed. Her attention diverted from thinking too hard on it as Lucas gestured to his side where a vending machine lay. "Need help ordering?"
Tsukiyomi, who was now on the ground with them, commented with a simple 'Vee' in confusion. Syra held up a finger. "How...how do they know that I uh..?"
"You pay for what you want on this machine, and it'll print out a ticket! The number of what you ordered is printed on that ticket to which you hand to the chef at the counter. He'll call your number or numbers when it's done!" Lucas said with brimming confidence.
Scrutinizing the menu by looking at it intently, Syra squinted. "Ramen. That's...a kind of pasta, right?" She felt a bead of sweat go down her forehead in embarrassment. "What do you recommend?"
Lucas pointed to an image of a ramen bowl with a price point of 900₱. "If you like chicken, there's a local special here called the 'Shaymin Blessing Ramen'. Has chicken katsu, green scallions, nori, egg, bean sprouts, sesame paste, mushrooms, cilantro, sweet corn, and some bamboo shoots."
The Galarian Champ froze. "Uhh..."
Another attempt is made. "Maybe if you can't decide on ramen you can always go with seaweed salad. Or Guoza. Or some fruit tea...Pecha Black Tea...Honey Razzb-"
*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!*
*kchunk!*
Four small card-sized tickets printed out of the machine before Lucas finished his suggestion, and he felt a bead of sweat form on his face. "U-uh..Syra?"
She turned to him and was sweating profusely. "I uh...let anxiety get the best of me and ordered every single thing you just suggested all at once."
"Wow! You must be really hungry, then!"
Her cheeks flushed and she yelled. "HEY! A girl like me has to eat you know!"
From behind the window came the voice of the chef who spoke up. "Daijoubu, Syra-sama?"
She recognized her name being called but felt a little culture shocked at the language. Lucas came in for the assist and spoke cordially. "He's asking if you're okay, and named you. Seems he knows who you are already."
"Ah..! Y-yes, I'm fine. H-here..!" She would say, handing the gentleman her ticket for her order, with Lucas following right behind and finding a seat.
Off the cap would go as Syra sank a little into the cushioned booth seat, trying to brush off coming off like a tourist to Lucas...even if that's what she was for now. "Thank you. I've been keeping up with everyone here since they seem to speak Galarian, but I don't like being rude by not knowing what's being said." She admitted to Lucas, who took to this confession by exhaling and giving a patient smile. "S-some of the words escape me. Sorry."
"It's a complicated language, I understand." He says.
Tsukiyomi had been keenly watching the kitchen staff doing their job as Syra folded her arms and rested further on the table. "...yeah."
The sounds of cutlery and kitchen tools clanged while the engrossing aroma of the oncoming dinner lured Syra into a state of relaxed anticipation. As she glanced around, she observed how much space the hole-in-the-wall appeared to give its customers despite its size. Outside of the sections where there were posted photos of families, businessmen, and a few local celebrities, the ornaments posted about tried to give a sense of pride. One photo was isolated by itself showcasing the original owner that opened the shop, with a blurb of text underneath. A person who had come in to eat when Syra had arrived was already leaving before her and Lucas got her order. Glancing at the Pokemon who were working as staff, she could see some marks on their skin indicating their experience helping the chef. The hustle-and-bustle mood of the shop left Syra pining for home, but at the same time she wasn't in any hurry to cut her vacation short. "It feels kind of weird to be so far away from home. Outside of my Gym Challenge, I only went one time so far away from home...and it was when I went to Kanto for a day."
Lucas racked his brain a bit, and took off his cap. "That was during your first run of the Gym Challenge, right?"
"Mmmm. What about you? What was your journey like?" Syra figured having talked enough about herself that she should move on to learn more about Lucas. She had spent time with one of the heroes from Sinnoh, it would only be appropriate to look deeper to the other one.
The man looked down at the table and looked rigid. "If there is something I want you to take from this trip, and your career, Syra, is that you walked away being able to celebrate your achievements, and that Galar joined you in accomplishing your goals. I chose the path that was harder for me to decide when I started noticing the gap between Dawn and I widening." His eyes glance back up to her and he took a deep breath.
Before he could spin his tale to her, a Kirlia appeared at their table and handed over both of them their orders. With Syra looking at the giant bowl of ramen as part of her order, she mentally blanked seeing a pair of stick utensils. "Oh no...is this all I use to eat with...?" She felt a bead of sweat form on her face and looked at Lucas, who would spend some time helping her learn to use chopsticks.
She was...sloppy. Overgripping the chopsticks and putting her fingers into the proper position took some mental fortitude. Slow eating was the name of the game for Syra, but as she did the overwhelming 'punch' of flavor that ramen delivers hit her, and she understood why so many people across Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn loved eating it. Handwaving her own embarrassment aside, Syra spoke up, "So you were talking about the 'gap' between you and Dawn just now. What did you end up doing as you became Professor Rowan's aide?"
He was so much younger back then. Being there throughout the journey with Dawn, Barry, and the others they met along the way, he was thrust far into new and different responsibilities that needed to be kept in check daily. "You would think that after Dawn becoming Champion after defeating Cynthia that the worst we'd have to worry about as a group would be the fame. Maybe we'd have to deal with the new world of cross promoting things that clash against our interest or being noted as something we aren't. But Dawn got the worst of it..."
Tsukiyomi yipped a confused "Eevee?" while at the table as Syra's face squinted. "The 'worst' in a funny, ha-ha, way? She saved the universe. She's a bigger figure on the world than I am just in Galar." Syra gestured with her chopsticks in hand. "I'm hoping to be even half the woman she became."
Memories came back to Lucas. Confused journalists would question Dawn about her next actions as a champion now that there's no more Cyrus, who would then badger her about where he was located. When they heard that neither Interpol nor local police were able to find him, they grew suspicious. "You come from a place where a lot of information on anyone is celebrated immediately because of your stadium events. I'm sure Dawn told you how the league operates a little differently here, but information still spread quick when Cynthia's defeat happened. I'm putting it nicely that some people here did not take well to the announcement."
"What, she step in someone's lawn or something? I don't get it: Dawn's a sweetheart." Syra said, making a guess and squinted in disgust.
"Well...after they learned Cyrus was left in The Distortion World, some people thought that, as a kid at the time, that she 'prepared' that statement about him to the media. That maybe she was told to 'change' what went down with him: to 'lie' and insinuate he was 'taken care of' by other means. People thought she was trying to hide something. Some people accused her of murder, which was, and still is, absurd. There was no way she could do that to anyone. We were all just kids back then. When the journalists didn't believe her, I spoke up." His eyes squint in irritation, moving his cap further against the wall as he put some sushi in his mouth and chewed angrily.
"...and they didn't believe you? What about Barry? Was he there with you?" Syra asked, partially about to slurp up some of her ramen noodles.
He shook his head. "When someone asked us to have the captains of Team Galactic to come forth and give their side of the story, the press didn't like how we couldn't say where they were. Rumors spread that the threat of destruction of Sinnoh and the universe as a whole, and our inability to produce more concrete information about Cyrus and his contribution was a 'psy-op'. That we couldn't bring the man responsible and hold him accountable was a failing of us both, or that we were 'in on it' somehow. Over time, Dawn became less willing to do interviews, and eventually chose to focus on events that required the responsibility of a Champion."
"What the fuck?! That's so stupid! Why would you guys go through all that trouble to do that just so you could what, say nothing to the press? Don't they realize that you, Dawn and Barry were just starting out of Twinleaf Town and were thrust into the destinies that pit yo-.." Her cheeks puffed and she leaned back into her side of the booth seat, huffing. "Sorry, I'll keep my volume down. I have to remember my place here."
Lucas handwaved it and gave a weak laugh. "It was a long time ago, but the fallout and eventual rebirth of Team Galactic, Cyrus' disappearance, and Dawn becoming Champion led to all of what I said, and more. It never rose to the point where we had to deal with an uprising of dissenters, but more than once I had to stick by Dawn's side as a wingman when she is out doing her duties. Though...nowadays it's been awhile since I was asked to join her. Nowadays, Dawn buries herself into the idea of 'the mission is what matters more' when it comes to her responsibilities."
Syra said nothing and continued to enjoy her dinner. It burned her to find out that Dawn didn't simply grow up to the desposition she had when meeting, it came from dealing with harsh audience reception after becoming Champion. /I can't even begin to imagine if Haru and Hop had to deal with something similar just because they put Rose, Sordward and Shielbert behind bars. Haru would be such a completely different person. If those events happened on top of the ones I know he dealt with now, would he even want to work as hard as he does to stay compassionate?/
"I don't mean to detract from what I just said, but what do you think so far of this place?" Lucas gestured with a hand, pointing to their meals.
It worked. "I wish I could eat more of this back home!" Laughing, she'd took another long slurp of the ramen and gave a happy wave to the chef who had come by briefly to check on her.
- - - Veilstone City, Hotel - - -
Laying in bed, Syra became infatuated in looking up information pertaining to the situations Lucas was inferring to her. She saw local papers, a few blog posts, and some old recorded video that was in a small resolution and archived with worse clarity. " 'Local Trainer Possible Ties To Criminal Organization Fallout - Undercover Ties Not Ruled Out'? Who the fuck were these people writing this trite?" Syra squinted at her phone. "' '? You're lucky we didn't meet face to face , cuz if I were there in that office when you wrote this, I'd kick your fucking ass!" Syra said to nobody while on her back, pointing at her cell phone before it fell straight on her face.
"GYAK!"
As if Arceus himself was telling Syra to let it go, a message from Dawn came up on her phone.
[I hope you're excited for tomorrow. Reminder that we're getting our hands dirty and going to Ramanas Park.]
Syra audibly gasped and showed her phone to her sleepy Cinderace who just got out of the shower and looked at her. "Dawn texted me! Ramanas Park is tomorrow bay-beeeee~"
[-You mentioned something about how it's a 'process'. What did you mean by that?]
- - - - - Underground, The Day After, 8:30AM - - - - -
Syra stood there blinking, wearing some construction gloves, a hardhat for herself, and overalls. "Uhhh...you weren't kidding, huh?" The Champion laughed nervously.
Looking at the Galar Champion with a bit of bemusement, Dawn rolled her shoulders. "Here in Sinnoh, a part of the process of fully exploring Ramanas Park involves special trainers like you and I mining for special crystals. We have to go underground and find some spots to find crystals that look like these." She had come prepared and showed Syra a printout of a tiny magenta colored shard, and a much larger one next to it. The note underneath the picture read 'Mysterious Shard S / L'. "If we can find these while mining, we exchange them for a sacred slate that relates to Ramanas Park altars."
"Altars? Are you saying that ancient Sinn-...er..Hisuian people had altars set up of deities?" Syra inquired.
The Sinnoh Champ nodded with a serious expression. "We're not entirely sure why it's like this, or where they come from, but what we're aware of us that upon using those slates we are then encountered by a great force. What force that is...is up to you."
That was confusing, so Syra asked the obvious question. "What do you mean? I choose which Pokemon to encounter and then what, fight it?"
Dawn shrugged, then walked past another Underground Miner, pointing to a spot on the wall that was bulging outwards where they could mine. "Or catch it. You've said in interviews from Galar that you'd like to meet other legendary Pokemon like The Sky High Pokemon. Is that right?" She stopped in her tracks as she saw Syra's excitement suddenly skyrocketed.
"You mean if we find enough crystals I could face Rayquaza?! THE Rayquaza?!" All of that professionalism and finesse went straight out the window, and Tsukiyomi yipped like he was laughing at how Syra reacted.
"You'd be facing -a- Rayquaza, not -the- Rayquaza who was responsible for bonding with Hoenn Champion Brandon and stopping Deoxys from smashing into the planet. Here, let's start mining at this spot. You see where the dirt is bulking up together with a hint of crystals poking through?" Dawn said before spiking the wall with the pickaxe she brought.
The pair had to learn how to cooperate together on such a task of tedium, but Syra kept the conversation going. What did Dawn mean with such language choice as 'not 'the' Rayquaza'? "So...your Palkia is the deity in charge of space, but there's a connection in Sinnoh where people can be transported to...what is it: a different dimension?"
She could tell that the question gave Dawn some time to find an answer that would work for conversation. "We aren't exactly sure if it's a different dimension, or a universe. There's been times when I encountered a legendary Pokemon that I was ill prepared for, only to return to what I thought was the same space and have it be another one that yet saw me before."
The wall in front of them crumbled, and Dawn motioned Syra to follow her through the underground dirt maze. More questions came. "Another one? Do you mean it was some region variant or mutation of a Pokemon? Or not a Pokemon at all, like how Deoxys isn't even from our planet at all?" Syra asked, only to be surprised by Dawn looking surprisingly smug for the first time.
"Not quite that 'different'. In my case, it was Entei: one of the Divine Beasts of Johto. But its mane wasn't red, but grey, and its chest was not a pale yellow but a dirt brown, like this wall here." She stuck her chest out as Syra suddenly got a twinge of being starstruck.
"Holy shit, you encountered a shiny Entei?! Wh-...well shit!" Syra moved ahead to the patch of dirt that Dawn pointed to and went to town, rap-rap-rapping away with her axe against the wall as dirt flew past her face. "If you can find a Shiny Entei then I can get a Shiny Rayquaza!"
"SYRA WAIT, SLOW DOWN!" Dawn shouted, briefly panicking.
"What's the prob-" The dirt crumbled in front of her before she could say anything more as Syra blanked out, causing Dawn to sigh and fold her arms over the other.
"...you have to be careful and calculated when you mine down here. Otherwise you hit the wrong spot and it crumbles prematurely." She explained.
The Galar Champion found herself completely embarrassed, but used that embarrassment to her advantage and got pumped up to cover her shame. "SINNOH HAS GACHA DIRT HERE?! God, what the fuck ELSE do you guys have here?"
Dawn blinked twice. "Huh...?" She felt a bead of sweat form.
Walking over to Dawn, Syra held her hand and then pulled her to walk with her. "C'mon, let's head to the next one! If it takes all day I'm going to get me a specific shard to exchange for that slate that leads me to the legendary Rayquaza!"
As her cheeks tinted pink, Dawn found herself relaxing despite the crass and reckless nature. "If you say so." She laughed.
Syra turned back with a bit of fire in her eyes and pumped a fist. "Yeah! Besides, if I return to Galar with a shiny Legendary, Haru's going to be so fucking pissed and jealous, and won't that be a great story to tell, huh?!" She looked back ahead with the most smug of expressions, chuckling in satisfaction to herself as Dawn was starting to second guess her goals.
"Ah...to mess with Haru, is it..."
"mmhmm! And for me, too of course!" She threw a fist into the air. "COME ON OUT RAYQUAZA!"
- - - 9 hours later... - - -
Several thick, heavy bags lay next to the pair of trainers who were in a corner of the Underground, stuffed full of findings from mining. The pair of Champions of Sinnoh and Galar were on the ground with visible wear and tear to their clothing and exhaustion filled with sweat, grime, and frustration. Looking across from her in the hallway, Syra panted. "Why...in the fuck...in 9 hours...have...we...only...mined..." she held up a pair of tiny crystals in her left hand "ONLY TWO FUCKING SMALL CRYSTALS?!"
Dawn, who was in between drinking a bottle of water and getting Syra some bottled tea out of her bag, just nodded tiredly. "This is the process."
She nearly threw the crystals at Dawn like a pair of baseballs before just clenching them in her hand into a fist. "HOW IN THE SHIT DO YOU ENCOUNTER LEGENDARIES WITH SUCH A SLOW PROCESS?! IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO JUST BUY THOSE GOD DAMN SL-...Okay Syra...find your peaceful place...breathe in...and exhale."
Shrugging off the frustration since she herself went through the stress of it herself, Dawn exasperatedly explained. "We just do, okay? Unless you would rather this be how they do it in Johto, our neighbor, where Gold says he had to chase down those legendaries."
Staring across at the woman who brought up Johto, Syra tiredly just shook her head. "Traveling across an entire region just to find a legendary? I don't know."
Groaning from the fatigue, but being the first to stand up anyways, Dawn readjusted her iconic wool cap. "Look at it this way: your luck could sway in your favor soon. You could find another crystal that's small like those few we found earlier, or a big one. Either way, you get a slate out of it, and that slate equals an encounter."
"Right...okay." Syra winced from getting up slowly, stretching. "Then I won't give up."
"Are you sure? With how our luck has been, you could be spending another day or two here. Is it fine to spend your vacation like this?" Dawn asked, pulling out some towelettes to wipe their faces down.
"If I can come away from all of this with some legendary Pokemon and YOUR pretty face? Worth it." Syra said without missing a beat, and taking one of the towelettes that was offered. The comment caught Dawn off-guard and blinked. She was at least happy to see Syra doing her best to turn the previous negativity into positivity, but couldn't fight off the worry that her new friend had made a presumptuous judgment.
Only time would tell.
- - - 3 long days later, Ramanas Park - - -
- - - 2:10 PM - - -
Looking dissheveled, agitated, and yet relieved of all stress, Syra stood at the entrance to Ramanas Park holding 2 heavy slates under her arms. It had taken several long days with many hours of finding random areas of dirt to dig into, and a few dozen bags' worth of other shiny trinkets before getting what she wanted. It wasn't enough to find enough crystals for a slate for a chance encounter with a legendary, Syra needed enough to have a pair and was ready to finally go to the one location she had her eyes on visiting. It should have been an exciting time...yet Syra found herself with pause. Before her was a mostly barren, poor excuse of a 'park' that contained several open patches of grass fields and multiple cave-like doorways that appeared to be ancient and unmarked. Nowhere within this already exclusive park had it indicated what were inside these cave-like doorways that appeared to either rise out of the ground or be constructed from Hisui times.
Syra would gesture with a free arm her slight annoyance, pointing to the empty feeling this park gave her. "So I guess I just...walk in somewhere and see if these go to any of the altars inside, then?" She asked, looking to her left where Dawn stood.
Nodding, Dawn answered, "Yes. The ones you have differ from each other, as you noticed, but you'll have to choose an altar inside and place the slate within. Once you've done that, you'll be pulled into another of unknown number of 'dimensions' where you'll come to a fated encounter. If you succeed, you'll come back, and the altar will have changed on your return. You can also choose to simply 'exit' and come back here with this device." She'd hand Syra a small pager-like electronic device that would act as a wristband. "Tap the button on that, and you can come back prematurely if you aren't prepared enough, or something goes awry."
After being handed the item, Syra turned it upside down to view it, and squinted at the item name. "'E.S.C.A.P.E.R.O.P.E.'? That's its name?"
Dawn nodded definitively and pointed to each letter on the wristwatch-like band on it. "Ethereal Shifter Contraption And Portal Equipment (for) Rapid Or Posthaste Exit. Or 'Escape Rope', which is faster." She furrowed her brow and looked straight at Syra. "I'm not going to lie to you, Syra. You'll be going into uncharted territory outside of where I've been. I can't tell you what you'll encounter, or the success of it, either. But..." She folded her arms and sighed. "...I didn't come unprepared for this, so I showed up today with a gift. Consider this my apology for you having to spend so much time doing something like this rather than seeing the sights of Sinnoh, given that you've only a day or two left..."
Syra gasped. Dawn had then handed her a small purple ball with an 'M' on the center and pink circles on its top half. It was a Master Ball. "Dawn I...! I mean I was going to just lob Ultra Balls but...!I mean this is..!"
Giving Syra a smile, Dawn handwaved it. "I called in a favor from Lucas, who worked with Professor Rowan for one of these. Don't worry about it: it's the least I can do. But you have to be careful and choose who to use this on. It's a guaranteed catch, so it should be used on something special."
Clutching onto the Master Ball that was handed to her right then and there, Syra looked at the park and caverns before her. She had to make a choice, and who knew where it would lead? There couldn't be a discussion. There was no debate to be had: it was simply a choice to make based off of gut feeling or luck.
...and so she did.
Entering one of the rooms, Syra was greeted by a lone circular platform in the center with a staircase that led to it, and a small podium in front of it that had a square indentation in it. Both walls appeared to have some unknown piping connecting the front to the back, and the back wall had large pillars that reached the ceiling. The whole room was a stale, steel grey, and despite the entrance to the temple not having a door that closed off the outside, there was no sound that could be heard neither in or out. The only thing that was audible were Syra's footsteps as she walked to the podium. "So this is one that requires the square slate, huh." She put the other one down on the ground next to the podium, and then eyed the other slate in her hand. She took a few deep breaths, put the slate onto the indentation, and then winced.
As her eyes squinted, she was instantaneously transported to a strange world that immediately sent shivers from her lower back to the top of her neck. The ground that was not covering the immediate area where the pillar had previously been seen was now accompanied by what she could only describe mentally as an infinite void decorated by rocks and other floating pieces of Earth. Or perhaps, it wasn't Earth at all. In front of her lay a Pokemon that had its back turned to her, causing Syra to suck in her breath and go on the defense.
/You come to my domain knowing full well that your efforts may be futile? Just like the others, it will be the end of you, human./ Came the voice straight into her head through telepathy.
She knew the Pokemon just by his tall bipedal stance that was slightly hunched forward and the aggressive aura he gave off, and pointed with conviction. "Mewtwo!"
/Hmph. So you know my name, then./ The clone of Mew had said with a bit of irritation, one of his eyes squinting.
She nodded once. "In my world, you helped me defeat the man who created and used you, Giovanni. I respected your wish to be free as a Pokemon who could live as he pleases, but I know you are not 'that' Mewtwo. So instead, I'm going to ask you to come along with me as a friend." Taking a step forward, she had clutched onto an Ultra Ball and locked eyes.
Mewtwo glared back with indignation and snarled. /So you can use me like he did? Not a chance!/ Going into a battle stance, the Pokemon levitated off the ground, initiating the battle.
Shaking her head in disagreement, Syra insisted. "No. I genuinely want to be your friend. You don't deserve to be used by anyone ever again, and I want to help you understand that humans are worth more than the sum of their parts! Please, Mewtwo!" She threw an Ultra Ball at him. As it bonked on his forehead, sucking him in and falling down to the ground, the Ultra Ball snapped in half before a single wiggle as Mewtwo escaped.
He yelled out angrily. /THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVE IT TO ME!/
A Weavile appeared in battle, snarling back as Syra grinned. "In that case don't say I didn't warn you! You're gonna be my friend and that's that!"
The interior of the doorway where Syra had teleported to had lit up with a blinding light as she arrived back to Sinnoh's Ramanas Park. Landing on her feet, she looked at the Ultra Ball in hand with a smirk and then looked to her right where the platform lay. Now there was a statuesque representation of Mewtwo floating on said platform, indicating that he was captured. /Well Mewtwo, looks like you'll have a new home in Galar. Glad to have you with us./ Syra thought to herself before tucking it away.
Making her exit from within, she waved to Dawn, who saw that she left with a smile. "Who did you catch?" she asked.
"The Genetic Pokemon and clone of Mew: Mewtwo." Syra said proudly, poking out her chest with a confident bounce and then turned to look at the remaining locations she could use with her remaining slate. "Now...this last one."
Looking down she noted how the shape of the slate she found was wider than the previous one. Whether or not it would mean trouble finding the proper 'slot' for it, she would worry when she got to it. "Well I guess I'd go poke my head into each one until I figure out where this one slots into..."
The trial and error of finding the right spot for her remaining slate took her an arduous half hour of walking in between locations. Initially cursing that Ramanas Park bore no signs to direct trainers, she now figured part of the attraction was being unable to predict who'd you'd end up facing. Stepping into one such entrance welcomed her with an unsettling room that appeared to be falling apart into an abyss. The footpath leading to the center pillar, as many others would, was much thinner. To both sides of the walkway were statues of an unknown or otherwise generic Pokemon on smaller pillars. /Geez, this almost feels like I just stepped into some ruins. /A chill went down her spine as a gust blew by her. /That must have been a sign, but I'm too invested now to back out./
The podium before the pillar had an indentation that matched the width of the remaining slate she bore, and decided to take the chance. For this one, she had to 'insert' the slate on top of it as one would to a cartridge. Once again she was instantaneously teleported, and found herself in the familiar setting of the void as before with Mewtwo. The arena was of a similar shape, coloration, and smell. It was as equally quiet, and as equally foreboding. Upon arrival, she saw no Pokemon. "The hell...?" Syra walked to the edge and looked around to no avail. No Pokemon was visible anywhere. No trail or any evidence of a legendary awaiting her...until she turned around and raised her head to see the creature looking down, hovering in mid-air.
All of the hairs along her back stood on end, and Syra felt her legs lock in place in a fight-or-flight instinctual trigger. She inhaled deeply, and slowly, then exhaled with as long of a breath. She pointed right at it. "You. We can make this go the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice, buddy. No matter your choice, I'm leaving here with you in tow."
The Pokemon roared at her defiance that she displayed to it, causing her to skid backwards from the force of its roar. The Pokemon then settled, lowering itself to the ground as its eyes glared back to her. Covering her face from the wrath of this Pokemon before her, Syra dug her feet into the ground further, brushing aside the slight sense of fear that rose within. She eyed the E.S.C.A.P.E.R.O.P.E. wristband device and shook her head. /No. I can do this./
With a "Kiyuryursheeah!", the sounds of battle began as the Pokemon raged at her: the soundwaves of the nebulous dimension shaking. "COME ON! LET'S DO THIS!" Syra yelled as a blinding light encapsulated her being, and...
- - - - - END OF CHAPTER 30 - - - - -
