Draco: I am not going to pretend that my progression of events in these alternating plotlines are anywhere close to the same relative timeframes or being in the right chronological order. Please forgive me if this is confusing. The last time I had simultaneous plotlines was in a Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep literation (novelization, whatever), where [a] I was not writing my own events, thus I had an official timeline to work with, and [b] I had the different time axes of different worlds and the weird time flow in the Ocean Between to justify any discrepancies.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Celestic: The Researcher of Myths

"Towns in Sinnoh run a much broader range of sizes than towns in Ransei."

Evia's remark as they arrived in Celestic Town earned a sigh from Dawn. "Benefits of not having a castle to build it around, I guess," she observed. "Is there a reason you were opposed to riding on a Staraptor?"

"Riding on a Pokémon's back over long distances is very uncomfortable," Evia insisted, "and makes me very sore. I do not want to pair that with a flight."

Dawn glared. "Oh, but camping for a few days in the snow with your young daughter, there's nothing dangerous about that."

"We've done it before," Kaguya argued. Then, looking around town; "So, where's the lady you said you wanted us to meet?"

"Cynthia," Dawn mused. "Hers is the big one, there." Celestic Town was built around what looked like a large crater of some sort, with a cavern at the north side framed by old drawings of Time and Space; Cynthia's family lived in a large home above that cavern.

With a nod, the Warriors and Kirlia followed her forward. Their weapons had earned them several strange looks on their way through the Fight Area and Snowpoint City, and sure enough, the few people out and about in Celestic Town seemed to similarly regard them with curiosity and concern. Kaguya kept her grip tight on Evia's hand as they walked, though they reached the house in short order; Dawn knocked on the door, earning a "Come in!" from inside.

Standing there was a woman with blonde hair that reached down to her knees; a pair of hair decorations that looked like a Lucario's aura sensors were hanging at the sides, and her bangs hung over her left eye. She wore a fur-trimmed black coat that reached a bit further than her hair did, with a silvery teardrop shape hanging from the point of a V-neck; beneath was a nondescript black top and dress pants that reached down to her shoes, and a fuzzy band of some description was worn around her neck.

"Oh," the woman mused. "So these are the Warriors of Ransei."

"Hello," Evia greeted. "You must be Cynthia."

"I am indeed," Cynthia confirmed. "Come in; I want to know about your region. Maybe, in so doing, I can understand how you came to be here."

+x+x+x+

"A mysterious message..."

Cynthia curled her hands around her teacup. "And you suspect this might have had some connection to what happened in Aurora?"

Evia nodded. "I wonder. I had expected some attack on the field of battle, maybe an arrival from outside of Ransei, but nothing like this. Who could have sent us all the way to Sinnoh?"

"A 'G', huh," Dawn mused. "It might not be an individual. Team Galactic leaves that G of theirs everywhere." She drew out her phone and brought up an image before turning it to Evia. "Like this?"

"...No, nothing like that," Evia admitted. "It wasn't... stylized, just plainly written."

"That rules out any criminal organization," Cynthia admitted. "It must be someone's initial."

"Maybe not an initial," Dawn suggested. "There's N and AZ to account for."

Evia raised her gaze in surprise. "You know AZ?"

Dawn turned to her. "Um... not personally," she confessed. "My friend Serena knows him. She's mentioned him before."

"I... see," Evia mused. "But you have a point. 'G' might just be someone's name. The question is who."

Kaguya finished her mug of hot chocolate and set it down. "But who would be able to take us out of a castle and put us in another region with a bunch of crystal?"

"Crystal?" Cynthia echoed.

"Uh-huh," Kaguya confirmed. "Before things went white, there was a big sound like ice breaking. Lady Dawn said it might be crystals."

"No 'Lady', please," Dawn insisted. "Just 'Dawn' is fine."

"S-sorry."

Cynthia's gaze fell to her tea. "Crystal..." Her gaze rose. "...Terastal?"

Evia turned. "I'm sorry?"

"Here, let me show you." Cynthia got to her feet and approached a computer in the corner of the room, illuminating the screen and seizing the mouse. Kaguya and Evia traded glances before making to join her; after a moment, a video began to play of a battlefield, of two Trainers in battle.

"In the Paldea region, as well as the land of Kitakami, there's a phenomenon called 'Terastallization'," Cynthia explained as a Pokémon was sent out on each side. "Each land is steeped in a strange energy that causes objects and Pokémon to... crystallize, I suppose. The Paldea region has developed a means to harness this power in a controlled manner for a Trainer's use, but it still occurs naturally... and I imagine someone of ill intent might figure out a way to use it maliciously."

One of the Trainers in the video held out what looked like a Poké Ball at first glance - but its upper surface was transparent, containing a large jewel of some kind. A light gathered towards the orb, causing the jewel to illuminate, and the Trainer hurled it towards the Tauros before her; it burst in the air above the Wild Bull Pokémon... and crystals started to emerge around it, consuming its body.

Kirlia gave a cry of surprise as Kaguya leaned forward. "That's it! That's the sound I heard!"

The crystals shattered, revealing that the Tauros now seemed to be made of crystal; a large brilliant-cut jewel was mounted on some kind of crown between its horns, and it gave a ferocious cry, scattering particles of light before Cynthia paused the video. "Throughout the lands where Terastallization occurs," she explained, "large clusters of crystal manifest - we call them Tera Crystals. Inside is a sort of... pocket dimension which radiates with Terastal energy. I suspect your attackers might have developed some means of abusing the Terastal phenomenon to exploit that pocket dimension in order to cast you out without being able to fight back."

"I suppose a plausible idea is better than no idea," Evia admitted. "But that only answers how we got here. There's still the question of who was responsible, and how we can get back."

"I think getting back might be the hardest part," Cynthia confessed. "Most people think of Warriors as something ancient. Fairy-tale material, even. A region of Warriors is..."

"Isolationist," Evia admitted. "That's what it is. We trade goods, we acquire new technology, we learn about other regions, but... we're happy with what we've got, for the most part. It doesn't really mesh with the idea of tourism, or immigration." She shook her head. "The last Warrior to leave Ransei and travel to other regions left and returned on dragonback."

Cynthia hummed. "I do have a Garchomp-"

Dawn elbowed her in the ribs. "Cynthia!"

"I'm joking," Cynthia insisted. "Their wings are made for short-burst flight, not interregional travel." She sighed, turning back to Evia. "Let me try and pull some strings. As the defending Champion of Sinnoh, I've got some weight for international League business. A displaced Warrior might be enough to merit a passenger boat to Ransei."

"I hope so," Evia sighed.

"In the meantime," Cynthia proposed, "why don't you and Kaguya try and enjoy what Sinnoh has to offer? You could go to Hearthome and try to catch a Contest Show."

Kaguya angled her head. "Contest... Show?" she echoed. "How do you put on a show if it's a contest?"

"Oh, we are definitely taking you to Hearthome," Dawn insisted. "In fact, now I think I have some strings of my own to pull. I want you to get the best possible show."

+x+x+x+

Cynthia insisted that the Warriors could stay the night in Celestic Town while she and Dawn made their calls. Evia excused herself after dinner, saying she would be on the outskirts of town; the two Champions sought her out and found her carving wood by use of her sword.

"Dare I ask what you're doing?" Dawn asked.

"Making bokuto," Evia replied. "Kaguya mentioned she wanted to spar, so I'd like to have a weapon I can parry with that won't destroy her bamboo pole." Her gaze fell. "Though I suppose her protective gear is a bit more of a concern than my weapon."

"I'm sorry," Dawn pleaded. "It was weakened by the seawater when Lucas found you; it fell apart while we were trying to inspect her for wounds."

Evia shook her head. "It's alright. It can be replaced."

Cynthia glanced at the wooden sword she was carving. "If you're just using wood and bamboo," she explained, "I have some old kendo equipment. I think I might have something in Kaguya's size."

Dawn turned to her. "You've done kendo?"

"Okay, what?" Evia echoed. "Hold on. What use does a region of Trainers have for swordsmanship?"

"Kendo is less 'combat' and more 'competition'," Cynthia argued. "It might well serve as a foundation for proper swordsmanship, but strict rules on how a fighter can or cannot strike the opponent means that habits developed in the sport won't necessarily serve you in a proper combat situation. In Trainer regions, a man with a weapon is more often a sportsman than a swordsman." She smiled. "I still practice sometimes, when I need to vent frustrations about something. Would you mind sparring with me?"

A smile rose on Evia's face. "Sure," she mused. "I'm curious how a Trainer might approach armed combat."

Dawn sighed as the Warrior tested her wooden sword. "Oh, this is going to be brilliant."

After digging out a set of sparring armour and a rather high-quality shinai, Cynthia was ready; Evia left her robe in the house, leaving her armour exposed as the two made their way to the depression in the center of Celestic Town. Kaguya and Dawn elected to spectate, and a few of the townsfolk were watching from above as the Champion and the Warrior took their positions.

"Ready?" Kaguya asked. "Three..."

Cynthia held her shinai in both hands, angled forward towards Evia.

"...two..."

Evia swept her bokuto out at one side, holding her other hand before her as she would with a shield.

"...one..."

In spite of herself, Dawn couldn't help but look forward to how the battle might unfold.

"...go!"

The Warlord dashed forward, blade out at her side; Cynthia made to bring her shinai down, and found Evia's left hand joining her right on the bokuto as it was raised to meet the swing. There was a force to her motion as the blades connected, sending shocks down each weapon - Evia had a firm grip, but Cynthia found her hands shaking from the force as her weapon was bounced back.

So fast!

Evia's left hand left the bokuto as she swung it in her right, forcing Cynthia to move her shinai quickly to meet one blow and then another. A third swing was sidestepped, and the Champion brought her weapon into an upward swing that connected with the gauntlet of Evia's sword arm; her shock was palpable when Evia proceeded to move with the strike and lash a kick into her leg, leaving her stumbling as Evia landed a blow on her side.

"I see what you mean by kendo being a foundation and not a discipline," Evia admitted. "The biggest mistake any Warrior can make is to focus on the weapon."

Cynthia shook her leg back and forth to make sure she hadn't sprained it before rising tall and readying her shinai once more. "Lesson learned."

She was the one who closed the gap this time, thrusting her shinai at Evia's ribs. The Warrior managed to make it a glancing blow, striking the weapon aside with her gauntlet and then bringing her bokuto down towards the blade in an attempt to disarm her; Cynthia managed to bring the bamboo weapon up to meet the swing, countering the force of Evia's swing and then throwing the wooden sword over her head before throwing a shoulder-tackle to knock the Auroran backwards.

A charging swing found Evia seizing her bokuto in both hands as she crossed swords. "Oh, you're a quick study!"

"Go, Mama Evia!" Kaguya cheered.

Evia forced Cynthia's shinai down before bashing her hands with the pommel of her bokuto; one released the weapon, but Cynthia managed to keep the other firm as she twisted into a kick that collided with Evia's shoulder. The Warrior stumbled back as the Champion tried to disarm her in return, striking the bokuto with a sharp two-handed skyward swing, but Evia twisted around and turned that into a descending blow that Cynthia narrowly managed to evade. With a hiss, she swept her blade skyward, narrowly missing Evia's weapon but coming up past her face.

And slamming into her right horn.

A piercing scream echoed across Celestic Town as Evia stumbled back; Cynthia halted with her weapon raised as she registered the vibrations of a solid connection under her swing. Kaguya's smile vanished as her hands came up to her mouth in shock, and no one had a chance to react before Evia retaliated, bringing her bokuto into a skyward swing that sent vicious shocks through Cynthia's shinai. As she stumbled aside, the Warrior seized her blade in both hands and brought it down with a ferocious crack, knocking the weapon from the Champion's hands; it hit the ground with a notable bend in its blade as Evia lowered her sword, trying to catch her breath.

Cynthia didn't understand what had happened until she saw it - Evia's left horn was untouched, but her right was askew, and drops of blood were trailing down her neck from beneath her hair.

Draco: "This chapter seems short, how can I give it more body?" "Let's add a spar, Warriors trying to keep in shape." "You've got one Warrior and her daughter, that's not much of a spar." "Then let's get the Trainers involved and make it painful."

I'm a frickin' monster.