Chapter Fifty-Six: Getting Back in the Pyroclastic Flow
The next morning, Dawn and Serena were up early. The two of them were heading out to explore the island, looking for inspiration for the Location Round of their Exposition.
"Don't you mind going out together? What if we end up finding the same thing that inspires us?" Serena asked as she and Dawn left the Pokémon Center.
"So what if we do?" Dawn replied. "We've got very different teams, and even if we didn't, the same idea can be pulled off in many different ways. And besides, do you think the audience is going to care? They'll just be happy they're getting two awesome appeals, and it won't matter to them if the idea behind both is the same. We're all trying to tie our appeals to Cinnabar Island, anyway."
"I guess that's true. So do you have any idea who you're going to use yet?" Serena asked.
("Me, of course,") Piplup said from atop her shoulder.
"Really? That's news to me," Dawn said teasingly. "Maybe you'll be sitting this one out…"
("You wouldn't dare,") Piplup said, though he didn't sound certain.
"Wouldn't I?" Dawn asked, and Serena giggled when Piplup began to rant at Dawn, causing her to clap her hands over her ears and say, "Alright, alright, you get to compete, now please stop ruining my eardrums, I might need those at some point."
She grimaced and looked at Serena. "This is what I have to deal with every day," she said.
"You have my sympathies," Serena said with a small smile.
Dawn sighed and shook her head. "Well, anyway, I'll be using Quilava as well. I'm not sure who's going to be third yet. How about you?"
Serena considered for a moment. "Delphox for sure," she said, "but I'm not sure who else. It'll depend on what I come up with today."
They left the city and headed down a forested trail. Despite being outside the city proper, though, there were still many tourists on the path, and there were large numbers of colorful signposts advertising hot springs.
"Maybe you should have Sylveon use Double Team to represent all of the people here," Dawn said, after she and Serena had navigated their way past what seemed to be a tour group of senior citizens.
"Yeah…" Serena replied. "Ash did mention that Cinnabar Island was a bit of a tourist trap, but I hadn't expected it to be this clear…"
If there's nothing here other than tourists and hot springs, it's going to be difficult to come up with an appeal, she thought to herself.
Fortunately, as she and Dawn kept choosing the branches of the path that went further west and up the slopes of volcano, rather than staying around the base, the number of signposts began to diminish, as did the number of tourists, and after a while it was just the two of them, enjoying the silence around them. And then, further still, the forest they'd been walking in, as well as the path…simply stopped.
In front of them was a barren, jagged wasteland of dark, cracked rocks, much of which looked to have been molten at one point. From between the broken stone, at random intervals, were the remains of tree trunks, charred and bent downhill.
There was a sign at the end of the path, and Serena and Dawn quietly walked over to read it.
PYROCLASTIC FLOW
What you see in front of you is the result of an eruption of the Cinnabar Volcano. The western wall of the crater was blown out when subterranean gas exploded, leading to an avalanche of molten rock and gas (tephra) down the slope of the volcano. This particular pyroclastic flow is estimated to have moved at a speed of nearly 200 km/h with a temperature of around 1,100 °C. As the western side of the island has always been far less populous, there were no recorded victims, though the forest in the flow's path was destroyed. Today, traversing the solidified lava is allowed and relatively safe, though visitors are advised to exercise caution, as footing might be unstable.
"That's incredible," Dawn said quietly as she looked at the ruined ground beyond the sign.
"I'm just glad there weren't any victims," Serena said.
("There were,") Absol said as he released himself from his ball.
"But the sign says–"
("The sign is only speaking of human victims,") Absol interrupted.
He impassively looked at the wasteland stretching out in front of them. ("While I was not present for this particular eruption, I have seen others. Humans may not have inhabited this part of the slopes, but Pokémon surely did. How many remain buried beneath the lava, even now?")
He looked at Serena, his expression more intense than usual. ("It is events like this one that I and others of my kind seek to warn Pokémon and humans alike of. And more often than not, our warnings go unheeded, and the blame for the disaster is pinned on us.")
"Most humans can't understand you, though, can they? But other Pokémon do, right? Why wouldn't they listen?" Dawn asked.
("Many Pokémon will defend their territories from intruders, regardless of species,") Absol said. ("My kind roams the world, settling nowhere. We do not have rapport anywhere and because of this, we are mistrusted. We are seen as trespassers and competitors for food.")
He bitterly looked away. ("So many could be saved if they would only heed us.")
He shook his head and sighed. ("Yet we will not, cannot give up on warning them. If even one life is saved because of our interference, then it will have been worth it.")
He turned back to Serena and said, ("And that is why I will accompany you now, to help avert whatever disaster lies in your future.")
Serena nodded slowly. She knew how seriously Absol took his job, but she'd never heard this much regret in his voice. For the first time, she realized what it must be like for him to try and warn people, only to have it all be for nothing in the end.
"I'm glad you're with us," she said. She smiled faintly. "And don't worry. We will listen to you, when it comes down to it."
As she said that, her eyes still wandering over the ravaged slope, an idea began to form in her mind. She looked at Dawn and grinned. "I think I know what I'm going to do in my Location Round."
Serena was pacing up and down the room in the Pokémon Center, while her Pokémon were silently watching her. Ash was out training with his own team to give Serena time to work on her Location Round appeal, which Serena greatly appreciated, especially since she was more frustrated than she wanted him to see.
"Okay," she said after walking back and forth a good number of times. "I've got an idea for the Exposition, but I have no idea on how to pull it off."
("Maybe it would help if you told us your idea first,") Delphox said dryly. ("Then maybe we can actually pitch in too.")
"Right," Serena said a bit sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess that would help… Okay, here's what I've come up with…"
She quickly outlined her plan, and when she finished talking her team was looking at her like she'd lost her mind.
("That's…really cool, but also insanely difficult,") Pangoro said hesitantly.
("And who do you want to perform, anyway?") Mismagius asked.
Serena played with her hair and shook her head. "I don't really know," she confessed. She looked at Absol. "I think you still don't want to participate, right?"
Absol slowly shook his head. ("Your idea is admirable, and I even consider it somewhat flattering…but I would rather not be in the public eye. Furthermore, I do not believe that my current skill set would be particularly useful here,") he said.
"Yeah…" Serena said. She let what felt like dozens of ideas go through her head, willing one of them to solve her issues as she let her eyes wander over her team, considering who would be necessary for the act, but every time she came up short. She was only allowed to use three Pokémon, after all, and it was beginning to seem more and more like she'd need all of them to even stand a chance.
Sylveon, who sat at the edge of the group, glanced at Absol, and then down at her own body. She began to smile, got up, and stood next to Absol. She folded her ears back onto her head and flattened her ribbons along her back, except for one, which she curved in the same shape as Absol's blade, and then mimicked his body language, looking at Serena expectantly.
Serena let her eyes go from Absol, who looked bemused at Sylveon's actions, to Sylveon, who was still smiling brightly. And then, Serena realized what Sylveon was saying.
"Sylveon, you're a genius!" she said, and Sylveon's smile widened further. "But it's going to be difficult, probably the most difficult thing you've done so far in an Exposition," she warned.
("We can do it,") Pangoro said, and while Serena could hear his usual confidence, she could also hear more than that, his desire to prove himself after what had happened last time.
("We won't let you down,") Delphox agreed with a small smile.
("Well, I think you've got your team,") Mismagius said a bit enviously.
"You'll be in the next one," Serena promised. Her frustration had been replaced by excitement now that her plans were beginning to solidify. "Come on, let's go. We've got a lot of work to do…"
Serena never slept well before Expositions, but this time it had been exceptionally bad because the routine was so complex. She and her Pokémon had worked harder than ever, and even Absol had pitched in to assist Sylveon, though he still declined to watch the competition live. Part of Serena felt a bit guilty for how tough she'd made the choreography, especially since she herself would have to do relatively little this time, but her Pokémon hadn't complained even once, and they had been as enthusiastic as always even when they were tired.
"I'm so curious as to what you've come up with," Dawn said from opposite her. "I've hardly even seen you these past few days."
"I'm curious too," Ash agreed. "But I'm sure it's going to be amazing," he added with a smile, which Serena returned a bit shakily.
"Thanks for the confidence," she said. "I just hope the audience will like it too."
("I'm sure they will,") Pikachu said. ("I don't there's ever been an Exposition where they didn't.")
("As long as you don't think you're beating us,") Piplup said warningly.
("Have you seen the things Serena's Pokémon can do with their moves?") Pikachu asked.
("Have you seen the things I can do with my moves?") Piplup countered.
("Yes, I have. Many times, actually,") Pikachu said. ("That's why I can confidently say that in the Location Round, you're toast.")
Piplup began to rant angrily at him, but Pikachu just looked at Serena and winked, and Serena gave him a small smile in return. She was glad that Ash and Pikachu were so vocal in their support of her, and despite her fatigue, she was beginning to feel more energetic. She had faith in her team and they'd all worked their hardest, so now all that was left was to actually perform. She drank the last of her tea and then resolutely got up and said, "Let's get going."
The atmosphere in the stadium felt a bit different than usual. Some of the Artisans were eyeing Serena a bit warily, and there were certainly a few who began to whisper together when she walked past.
Dawn just gave them disdainful looks and said, "Don't let it get to you. As much as I love the Contest and Exposition world, there's a lot of 'image is everything' going on. And while that's true when you're performing, some people really need to lighten up outside of it."
She grinned sheepishly and said, "You should see how some people on the Contest circuit reacted when I told them I was taking this season off to try other things and relax a bit. You'd have thought I insulted their grandmother to her face, or something."
"Really?" Serena asked in surprise. "They seemed nice to me."
"Yeah, but the people you met were the good Coordinators," Dawn said. "They're perfectionists in their own way, sure, but the snooty ones are generally just…strong in their hometown and nowhere else, you know? They're good, but they're all so rigid they can't make it past the local level. But if you mess up even once, you can bet they'll start whispering about it."
She gave a bloodthirsty grin and said, "So you just need to beat them and show them they've got nothing on you."
Serena laughed and said, "I'll keep it in mind. Well…good luck, Dawn. I'll be cheering for you in the Location Round."
"Thanks! We'll do the same for you!"
They shared a high five and then went their own ways to get ready for the competition. Unlike most other Expositions, this time there wasn't going to be much in the way of costumes. Serena would be wearing her bathing suit with a towel wrapped around herself besides, since she'd be in a 'hot spring' during the performance, and Sylveon would actually be wearing red contacts for her part in the show, and some dark makeup on her face. Pangoro, like Serena, was wrapped in a towel since he'd be in the 'hot spring' as well, and Delphox went costume-less, since her role would purely be to supply part of the special effects.
Sylveon blinked a couple of times to adjust to the lenses. ("I'm glad I don't have to wear these for the Showoff Round,") she said.
"If they're too uncomfortable you can perform without them, you know," Serena said. "It'll be hard to see from the stands anyway."
Sylveon shook her head. ("No, I want to do this right,") she said. ("I have to look the part as much as I can.")
She smiled brightly. ("It was my own idea, after all.")
Serena returned her smile and said, "Yes it was. Okay, then… I think we're ready. Let's go and see what the order is."
They headed out into the waiting area and found an empty spot near one of the informational screens, and soon the turn order was posted. Serena would be out fifth, Dawn ninth.
("I can't wait to see the look on Piplup's face when we're done,") Pangoro said.
("I don't think he'd admit to being impressed,") Mismagius replied with a smile. Though she wasn't competing, she still wanted to be backstage, rather than being in the audience with Ash and Pikachu.
Pangoro gave her a sideways look. ("I know, that's why it would be pretty cool if my girlfriend could sense emotions and tell me what's he actually feeling,") he said.
Serena chuckled to herself. Maybe it was just because he'd evolved, but Pangoro seemed to have become a bit more comfortable referring to Mismagius as his girlfriend in the past couple of days. It reminded her a bit of how she herself had become much more comfortable referring to Ash as her boyfriend since they'd gotten together, though she still felt her face heating up a bit every time she did.
The first few performances seemed to go by fairly quickly, but while they were certainly good, they hadn't looked as elaborate as what Serena had planned. When she and her team were called to get ready, she briefly smiled at the short nuzzle Pangoro and Mismagius shared, and then they set off to the actual stadium to set up. Pokémon battle courts weren't exactly small, but for this performance, it would still be rather cramped.
They walked onto the empty court, and Delphox positioned herself in the center of the near side.
"Good luck, Delphox. See you in a bit," Serena said quietly.
("You too,") Delphox replied. She smiled, but Serena could hear the nerves in her voice.
She, Pangoro, and Sylveon stood on the other end of the court and Pangoro began to use his Stone Edge to set the stage. Serena was glad he'd gotten so adept at building various structures out of it through their travels, because now he had to construct the slope of a volcano out of it. Even in the gloom, with the stadium lights turned off, Serena could see the look of concentration on his face while he worked, and she could hear the curious muttering of the audience all around her.
When Pangoro created the basin of a hot spring, Sylveon immediately began swirling a dense Fairy Wind within it, using the blue glow of the Stone Edge walls to her benefit to make the sparkling fog look like steaming water within which she hid her own body. A Double Team clone bounded up the side of the volcano and hid between strategically placed spikes so the crowd wouldn't see her. When Serena and Pangoro had sat down in the hot spring, the performance finally began in earnest.
A single spotlight lit up the hot spring, and the music that played was calm and relaxing. After a few moments, Serena and Pangoro looked up when they saw Sylveon moving down the mountain, her sole visible ribbon curved like Absol's blade. Both it and her tail were surrounded by extremely dense Dark Pulse rings from Pangoro, and Absol-Sylveon gestured at Serena and Pangoro, beckoning them get out of the hot spring and leave.
Pangoro stood up and threateningly raised his fist in an attempt to chase the intruder away, but Serena got up as well and placed her hand on his massive arm, to calm him down, though Pangoro still clearly wanted to go out and fight Absol-Sylveon, whose gesturing had become more frantic.
A deep rumble interrupted the calming soundtrack, which now became a slow, ominous drum beat. Pangoro and Serena looked up the slope of the volcano, past Absol-Sylveon, just in time to see the top of the volcano explode in a Fire Blast from Delphox.
Mere seconds later, the top rim of the volcano began to disintegrate, partially because Pangoro let it, and partially because Delphox was now using her Mystical Fire to heat up the stone enough to crack and melt it, while simultaneously blasting off other bits of stone with Hidden Power orbs. A glowing tide of flames and broken and molten rock began to roll down the slopes of the volcano, and Absol-Sylveon jumped in front of it, diverting the flow with a shimmering green Protect, but she was pushed back by a large block of stone smashing into the shield, which broke as she stumbled.
Another rumble, and the volcano's top exploded again, sending yet another flow of lava directly toward Serena and Pangoro. Pangoro gestured at Serena to get up and run, and he himself leapt out of the hot spring, in front of the still stunned Absol-Sylveon. He gestured at Serena to pick up Absol-Sylveon, and she did, although she lifted up the real Sylveon instead, who quickly took the place of her clone.
Pangoro hid the momentary lack of Dark Pulse horn and tail on the real Sylveon by dramatically stomping the ground, creating a Stone Edge wall which diverted the lava flow past the hot spring, and with a single glance over his shoulder he recreated his Dark Pulse special effects on Sylveon, whom Serena was now carrying in her arms. The lava flowed along the edges of the hot spring, but before it could hit the battle court itself it was caught in another layer of Fairy Wind and dissipated.
Pangoro stomped the ground again, raising up another wall to stop the tide of lava, and Serena and Sylveon jumped down the last part of the slope just as Pangoro stomped the ground one last time, restoring the top of the volcano and finally stopping the flow.
The rumbling now lessened and the soundtrack dimmed, and Pangoro joined Serena and Absol-Sylveon on the ground. For a moment the two Pokémon looked at each other silently, while Serena anxiously looked from one to the other, but then Pangoro held out his fist, which Absol-Sylveon lightly touched with her tail.
Serena smiled at them both, and Pangoro dissipated his Stone Edge construct just when the music stopped.
Well, I'm back, and of course I just had to make things exceptionally difficult for myself with this performance. Aside from stretching the moves to their limits — and incidentally, I see Sylveon's Double Team clones as being actual illusions more than afterimages created by movement speed — I also had to describe things in a way that would make it clear what I'm going for, which was a bigger challenge than I envisioned, but I like to think I succeeded at least somewhat.
Anyway, I'm back in my own home now that the renovations are finally over, but I'm still having a lot of trouble getting back in the flow of writing. I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be out. It could be a few days, it could be a few weeks. I hope it won't be a few months, this time. As always, feel free to let me know what you think, and see you in the next one!