Episode 25: Leos' Awakening

"This way, Leos!" Griselle sung as she skipped far ahead of him. He refused to run after her, but he did walk faster to keep up. He didn't say anything. He paid too much attention to his deserted surroundings to think of a comment.

After a rest in the tents, the strange time functions of the Second Country came true and light returned to the world. A few other Pokémon showed up from out of the tents as if it was a normal morning even though there was only two hours of night. The sun even rose fast.

As they traversed the desert away from the prairie and tents, Leos' mind wandered. Prem clearly didn't want him to go out with Griselle like this, but couldn't work up the courage to outright say it. He felt that the Pikachu had acted strange from since they woke up here, but without anything bad coming out of it, he had no reason to complain. Yet still, it almost distracted his thoughts from what he knew he should've been thinking about.

"So, what do you actually wanna see?" Griselle asked as she twirled to a stop. Leos slowed down and gave her a weirded-out look.

"For someone walking across a desert, you have a lot of energy," he said.

"Eh, it's not so bad. It's not super-hot or anything. Plus, I'm really happy right now," she giggled.

"Hmm. Well, everything's up in the air right now. My only idea is that evolution spring. I want to see if I can find out how nature is growing down here," he thought aloud. "I was under the impression that the Tapu were absolutely required for nature to function. But this place has nature even without their blessing. I'm curious how."

"Oh okay. Aren't you gonna ask why I'm so happy?" she batted her eyes. Leos gave her another look. "Heh, c'mon Prince Leos! No need to be that closed up. We're out to have a good time!"

"Are we? I came out to try and find a way out of here," he corrected her. "Oh yeah, you did say you wanted to talk about something. Now's a good time."

"Huh, really? You're quite literal," she slumped. She resumed their walk, heading back to the tall towers of rock where he'd woken up yesterday, much to his confusion. "There's a dungeon here, but there's no Pokémon around except for a few Zubat. They know me, so they won't bother us."

"That's helpful," he said.

"As for what I was gonna talk to you about," she said, and slowed down. "It's a bit of a bad confession. You won't get mad, will ya?"

"Tell me some good news," he sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Okay then, I will!" she said. She spun around to face him, and her cheeks flushed. "I really like you, you know!"

Leos didn't reply, but stopped with her. He barely reacted with a slow folding of his arms. She responded to his silence with a cute pose, and began to twiddle her feet and hands together. "Hey c'mon, I mean it you know! I've never had anyone treat the real me this well."

"What do you mean? Blossom and Prem have been treating you just fine. The Deliverance didn't seem bothered by you being a hybrid, either," he said.

"But you're the only one that's ever said they're interested in me. And I'm like- Papa always said to cherish the Pokémon that like you. And I'm not a slow Pokémon either, so I'm ready to go in, if you know what I mean," she said. "C'mon. Let's get you to that spring."

"Hold on, I'm losing you a bit. I said I'm interested, but only because I've never seen a hybrid Pokémon before. If it were up to me, we'd be in a lab and I'd be testing all sorts of reactions with you," he unfurled his arms.

"That's fine, too. Instead of a lab, we've got a little lake," she said.

In the middle of the towers, the shade darkened much of the area. They could still see all the exits as the place wasn't maze-like, but it was hard to see the ground around them. Leos took note of the how the sand felt wetter here than out in the desert, but that didn't seem to bother Griselle. She searched the area a bit before stopping by a hole and pulling him over.

"Down here. It looks dark, but there's candles and stuff," she pointed.

Leos examined the hole in caution. A rope ladder had been tied to the top of the hole by sturdy wooden pegs, which were stuck down with sticky webbing. It clearly went down a long way and was jet black.

Griselle nodded to him and then slid down first, so he set aside his concerns and followed. He climbed each step carefully, surprised to find the ladder wasn't built for a Pokémon his or her height as the steps were so far apart. Griselle playfully hopped up to yank him down, making him scream and fall on his backside.

"Wow, you got scared!" she laughed at his surprised face.

"G-Griselle!" he cried. He froze, surprised to be able to see her clearly. There really were candles down here, and the lit up a long hallway littered with small mounds of sand. Strange markings covered the walls to the sides, while grains of sand trickled from the ceiling in various spots. "What is this place?"

"We call them the Ruins of Origin. No idea why to be honest, but they're super interesting. C'mon, I'll show ya around! There's something you've gotta see," she said, jogging away. He watched her for a moment, still surprised by how much energy she showed. He had only been walking, yet even he felt like he needed to take a seat somewhere. It was almost embarrassing, being outdone by a Pokémon as fat as her.

At first glance, there wasn't much to these ruins that stood out. The markings were clearly decorative and served no deeper purpose, the Zubat Griselle mentioned could be spotted asleep on the ceiling, and the sandy floor was uneven as they walked across it. Otherwise, it just felt like a long hallway; humid, quiet, and devoid of the excitement Griselle had. That was until about minute of walking brought them to a circular room with multiple exits. Some sort of ancient apparatus was sat in the centre of the room, with several iron bars holding a perfectly spherical ball.

"Think you can figure this one out?" Griselle challenged.

He walked up and stared at the mechanism from top to bottom. Two tall pillars made of stone blocks, where the iron bars jutted out of the stone to make a web of hands and claws to hold the ball in place. The ball was intriguing in appearance, with the top half black and the bottom half white. The top half had the design of chains across it.

"What is this? Some kind of seal?" Leos tried to pull the ball out. It didn't so much as budge, even when he growled and put effort into it. He clutched it with both paws and pulled as hard as he could, but the action proved fruitless. "It's stuck tight. Whoever put this here clearly doesn't want Pokémon taking it."

"I pulled it out once, but Papa put it right back. You're smart, though! You could figure it out, right?" she asked.

"I guess. I couldn't figure it out here, though. Take it out for me, and we'll bring it back," he nodded.

She cheered and then took a few steps back to brace herself. Leos flinched when she threw her whole body into the ball to knock it out of place. She recoiled harshly and was winded from the hit, but the ball came free. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, j-just, ow," she whined as she rubbed her side. "That never doesn't hurt."

"You're crazy, you know that?" Leos sighed and shook his head as he retrieved the ball. "What material even is this? It's smooth like metal, but it's so light."

"Ooh ooh ooh, and get this!" she snatched it from him. She tapped the button on it and flipped it around to point the button at Leos. He flinched again when a laser shot out of it, surrounding his body in warmth. The next thing he knew, he was travelling at high speed, getting sucked into some kind of void of darkness.

"What? Griselle!" he screamed.

He blinked a few times, finding himself in some kind of world of comfort. He had fallen on his backside, but the ground below him was softer than a cushion. The sky was what took his attention however, as it looked like a faded projection of the outside world had replaced it. He could see clouds, blue, and sunlight like it was a normal, beautiful skyline view, but the transparent image of a smiling Griselle and the sandy ruins around was melded into it. He could even hear her boastful laugh, which was just as distant as he expected it to be.

"Okay, I'm gonna let you out now. Prepare to land!" she warned.
His view turned away from her and faced the ruins floor, and then a light surrounded him just as suddenly as the one that had sucked him into this world. It pulled him out with comforting momentum despite the fact that it pulled him against his will. Soon Leos was back in the outside world.

"What was that?" he gasped, glancing left and right again. Nothing had changed. He had been sucked into a world via the ball, and then sent out with so much ease that he couldn't believe it.

"It's called the Lock Ball. We don't exactly know how it works or anything, but it can seal Pokémon inside and call them out at any time! Papa was sealed inside of it for the longest time. He left it down here because he doesn't want anyone to mess with it," she played with the ball in her hands.

"A ball that can seal Pokémon inside of it. And that world I entered within the ball… it was comforting, yet convenient, capable of seeing and hearing the outside world," Leos muttered, taking the ball back. He cradled it obsessively. "This has got to be the most remarkable piece of technology I've ever witnessed. That something like this exists, again, outside the awareness of the Tapu!"

Griselle didn't say anything, so he looked up at her, and then gazed around at the rest of the ruins. "I've not been here for long, yet the Second Country has proven to be a wondrous world. Two hours per day and night, an abundance of nature – Griselle, you've got to show me the rest of this place!"

"You're excited to look around? I didn't take you for much of an explorer, you know," she giggled as she directed him down one of the paths.

"Experimenting doesn't mean sitting in a lab or a room reading books all day. The best way to gain information is by doing, having your own experiences and trying things out," he explained, fixated on the Lock Ball. "If the situation calls for it, I will gladly travel the world to discover and learn."

"And to do that, you'll need to be strong, right?" she asked, going quiet.

Leos slowed down as well. "Of course. Etheria is a dangerous place. And with Master Lin and Tapu Bulu doing what they're doing now, I can't even think about this."

"Oh no no, that's not what I meant! I'm here to help you, so like," she cried, shaking her hands. She started walking beside him. "We'll all help you, you know? We'll get back to Faernia and all that, but when this war is over… we can travel together or something."

Leos looked up at her. "You can't possibly mean what I think you mean."

"What do you think I mean?" she said with a giggle, walking backwards.

"You're starting to give me the same vibes as Prem. You gush out these little hints that you like me romantically," he said. "The difference is, I've known Prem all my life. He's practically a member of the family. I've known you since… er, not long at all."

"And? How long does it take for you to get a judgement?" she replied. He blinked and tilted his head. "You know, I'm either pretty enough for you, or I'm not your type. Which is it? 'Cos you're my type."

"I… don't get that philosophy. I couldn't possibly decide on a romantic partner after being with them for such a short space of time. If you're just trying to stay on my good side so that you can stay as my bodyguard, you don't have to. I've seen your physical strength and determination. I trust you enough to be by my side."

"I'm not! I'll do that anyway. You know like, Pokémon are either scared of me 'cos I look really weird, or they don't mind me. But you straight up said you're interested, so," she twiddled a foot. "Maybe it's the Oshawott in me talking, but I honestly think you're pretty cute, and you're trying really hard as the new prince. I can only look up to that, you know?"

Leos stared at her. His face was straight and unclear, making her nervous. "S-so which is it? Am I cute, too?"

"I won't make any comments," he answered.

She puffed her cheeks at him. "Oh c'mon! You've got to think something. Can't even give me a rating outta ten?"

"You want me to rate you? That sounds horrible!" he cried.

"It's not horrible! Everyone does it, right?"

"I couldn't possibly apply a rating to someone, especially not based solely on their appearance. That's all there is to it," he said. She whined at him and faced forward.

"I'm givin' you permission. Ten is best, one is ugly."

"Right now it's a one since you're starting to annoy me."

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that! Meanie, you're a seven."

"A seven? And not a ten? You're going to settle that low?"

"That's not what I—"

"Told you it's an awful thing to do," Leos tucked his paws behind his head as he walked in front of her. She puffed out her cheeks, but finally gave up.

The path didn't change direction much, but Leos could tell that it sloped down further into the planet. After a few minutes it finally turned into a steep slope that he could see himself slipping down if he wasn't careful. Luckily there wasn't much sand here so the ground was rough enough not to, but the darkening colours of the area still slowed him down.

"Down there is the Evolution Spring. Urf, I kinda wanted you to be on a high note when I told you this," she said as she began to play with her hands. She ignored his obvious question and jogged down the slope.

The Evolution Spring was a complete transformation from the Ruins of Origin. It was a shallow pond filled with luminous water that reflected off the rocky walls and ceiling, giving everything a humid, turquoise hue. In the centre of the lake was a glowing white Master Seal, an orb surrounded by strands of fluctuating light.

"That's the Heaven Seal. The thing that Shaymin didn't want to give you. It's been here the whole time," Griselle informed.

"What?" Leos whispered.

"The truth is, you've been knocked out for quite a few days, Leos. And I don't mean Second Country days, I mean Etheria days. We woke up before you so I went to get help, and then Shaymin told us to keep it a secret from you," she twiddled her feet again. "But me and Prem knew how upset you'd be. So I knew I'd lead you here when the time came, anyway."

"If I've been asleep for that long, then that means- and here you are trying to talk about silly little relationship fluff!" he shouted. "Tapu Bulu must've reached Eris ages ago! Gods knows what's happening up there."

"Shaymin wanted to test you. She said she knew what you would have to do to stop Tapu Bulu. The Heaven Seal will give you the power, but it won't do anything if you have a low support level from your friends," she explained. "I thought, maybe if you sincerely had a little time away, we could bond a bit and it might work for you or something."

Leos coughed and maintained his anger with a shake of his paw. "You thought wrong, Griselle. I'm actually really mad right now. That's what's been bothering Prem, not this silly love stuff. While we're faffing around here, Pokémon are dying left right and centre. And the power to prevent it all has been right here the whole time?"

"Leos!" Griselle gasped and stuck a paw out. She couldn't stop him from dashing after the seal. The water went up to his head in height, so he wasn't that fast and had to splash through to reach it. He didn't seem to notice the oddity she spotted running towards him however, and her heart skipped a beat. Someone had leapt past her and aimed for a critical hit on him. "Leos, look out!"

"What?" He spun around.

His moment of blind anger sunk into shock and panic when he saw the situation he'd put himself in, that he was seconds away from being torn into by a claw that was twice his size. He could barely react with a sharp squeak, but thankfully for him, Griselle was ten steps ahead already. She threw her lance, having it lodge into the ground in between them both. This made the mysterious attacker's claw hit the handle of the lance instead of Leos, which slowed it down enough for him to go into the water to get away.

He scrambled through the shallows and dared to look back after a moment. The Pokémon hadn't followed him, so he stood up to get view of them. It was an Absol in a mask, with only one eye showing through the mask. One side was jet black, the other side white. It stood in front of Griselle's lance, motionless and unfazed by its obstruction.

"Whoa. Griselle, you saved me," Leos whispered, staring at the Absol. "Wait, I know you. You're in Father's diary. Mirror, Princess Diantha's murderer!"

"Murderer?" Griselle gasped.

"I see. That's the title I've been given," Mirror replied. "Surely you're more intelligent than that, young man?"

Leos quivered. He had to keep calm. "Why are you here?"

"To do what my species does. To enact what you and I have been destined to do," Mirror replied, motionless. "You're pushing forwards, yet you don't have the qualifications. To do so guarantees death to us all, and you know it. Your father knows it. Your friends and the goddess of this land know it, as well. Yet here you are, defying them."

"That's what I am. I defy what future Pokémon want to give me and make my own fate, based on the logic of my own experiences," Leos replied. He put one foot forward. "I know that Absol foretell disasters. But unless you outright tell Pokémon what you're up to, it doesn't excuse your actions."

Mirror remained still for a few moments, and then shifted a foot forward as well. "Your determination is admirable, but it's in the wrong place. I will have to redirect it by killing you."

Leos growled and then flicked his scalchop to pose with his Razor Shell at the ready. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Wait, Leos!" Griselle cried. "Let me help! I just need to get my lance back."

"Griselle, get away. This is my fight!" Leos said without turning around. Mirror didn't move, so it was now obvious he was guarding the weapon.

"Stuff that! I'm not gonna leave you here," Griselle cried.

"You don't have anything to do with this battle. Stay back!" he shouted even louder.

"Argh, don't you get it you royal dolt?" she cried at the top of her voice. "I love you. Prem loves you. Blossom and everyone else really like you, too! We're not here to just do what we wanna do. We're here 'cos we're your friends! Think about us for once!"

Leos heard her loud and clear, but he couldn't reply as Mirror finally attacked. The Absol twirled his head around to surround himself in dark waves of energy, and fired it all forward a second later. Leos dove to avoid the Dark Pulse, swam to his feet, and then rose both hands to charge his Water Pulse. He threw it with all the force he could, but Mirror sliced it in two with an effortless slash of a single paw.

"No, I've got to get him away from this so that I can get my lance," Griselle whispered, having a lightbulb moment. "Leos, the Lock Ball! Use it!"

"The Lock Ball?" he muttered as he realised. He retracted his Razor Shell and revealed the ball, copying Griselle's actions from earlier. Mirror seemed to recognise the potential danger and leapt into the air to avoid the laser. Of course, this let Griselle run over and grab her lance, where she wasted no time in making herself the centre of attention.

"You picked the wrong Pokémon to mess with. I'll never let you kill Leos!" she shouted. She held her scalchop as a shield.

"Griselle—" Leos coughed.

Mirror landed right behind him with claws enveloped in Shadow Claw, and he panicked. He instinctively held the Lock Ball in front of his face to shield it. Mirror's attack struck hard, not only smashing the ball to bits, but sending him flying as well. Griselle cried out and stood over him.

"For the love of the gods Leos, shut up! I'm not letting you fight this alone," she said, not looking back at him. "This is my fight as well. Even if it's just to protect you or to fight who you want me to fight. It's my fight too, so I'll stand to protect you any way I can!"

He sat up weakly and stared at her with a gawk. To want to protect me so much, even though I never once asked for it. Even though I never treated her like a friend, she's putting her life on the line to protect me. Blossom did the same thing.

Griselle and Mirror broke into a battle of their own, but the hybrid struggled from the get-go. Her scalchop wasn't big enough to block his Dark Pulse attack, and she was too slow in the water to dodge it. She braced herself behind her scalchop to resist two shots of the attack anyway, and then charged through the water with a war cry, thrusting her lance the moment she was in range. Mirror moved at the last moment he could and swiped the weapon aside with a single slash of his paw.

Griselle and Blossom don't really have any noble ties, either. They have no reason to put that much effort into kissing up to me, Leos thought to himself as he watched their battle intently.

Now that Griselle was close to Mirror, he resorted to Slash rather than Dark Pulse. Griselle blocked each attack, but the size difference caused her to topple side to side with each hit. Despite the obvious pain taken from each hit, she stayed on her feet and struck back as hard as she could, and never wavered.

…

"Then forget the Heaven Seal and this whole legend thing. I need to know how to get out of here and back to Eris," Leos cried. Shaymin gave him a saddened glare.

"So you can do what, exactly?" she replied. "Listen, hybrid. I've been watching you for a long time. I've seen you fight. I've seen you react. I know what will become of you and your friends if you leave here now. Well, if they're really your friends, that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a prideful jerk, you know that? You didn't care about your friends until I challenged your relations with them," she sighed. She cut Leos off before he could respond. "How about right now, huh? No interest in the state of your friend?"

Leos realised that she meant Blossom. The Mime Jr. was still unconscious, but thankfully showed no signs of discomfort. "She's not a friend yet, though. She's just my retainer."

"Just your retainer, huh," Shaymin looked down. "Get out of my sight, all of you."

…

Now that I think about it, what Griselle and Blossom have both said is visually sincere. Especially Griselle, right now. The way she gives her all in a fight like this, and thought of me when choosing to do so… he shuddered with his thoughts.

All of a sudden, Mirror leapt back to the entrance to the spring. Griselle gasped but didn't give chase, wary of what he might try. To her and Leos' surprise, he simply turned and started walking away without a hint of aggression.

"What? Where are you going?" Leos gasped. Mirror stopped and glanced back after a moment, his single eye piercing right through Leos' calm stance.

"My work here is done for the time being. I've no reason to continue fighting you for now," he replied. "No one came to harm during your realisation right now. Keep those thoughts safe, and we might not ever have a real battle."

"So much for trying to kill me. Why can't you just explain yourself? What is it you're really up to?" Leos shouted.

"Remember this: when the time comes to search for the final Shadow Partition, find me in the temple of the shadow's first descent. There, we will decide this world's fate," Mirror said. He disappeared into the darkness of the ruins.

"You're really gonna leave after all that? After leaving a scary message like that?" Griselle shouted. The duo waited for a few moments in silence before they moved.

"Griselle," Leos was first. He waded over to her. "I've made a serious error in my thinking, and just now, I've realised something I should've been doing. For now, thanks so much for standing up for me there."

"Leos!" she squeaked at the top of her voice and jumped on top of him.

"G-Griselle?" he backed off. He ended up catching her and held her up for a brief moment. Their eyes met and he blushed, but her weight quickly got the better of him, and he began to stumble backwards. "G-get off m-me- Griselle, I'm gonna—"

He didn't get to finish as he fell right back into the water. She sat on top of him in an uncontrollable giggle fit the whole time. "What is wrong with you? Get off me already!"

"Na-uh. I like it here," she bat her eyes at him.

He growled at her and wiggled under her weight, as he tried to push her off. It was only when he looked up at her face that he realised exactly what position they were in, and he slowed down to stare. She didn't feel heavy right now, but she still pinned him to the spot by sitting on his waist. His mind wandered from the cheeky smile of her face to her other features, like how soft she felt, or how happy she earnestly looked. He could feel his face began to heat up, so he leaned back to hide his head underwater and retracted his hands.

"Griselle, seriously! Please get off me!" he shouted from beneath.

"Aw fine," she groaned, hopping off.

He stood up and brushed himself off, making sure to face away from her. "Geez, right after I said something nice for once. What is wrong with you?"

"You thanked me! Someone actually thanked me, and that made me really happy!" she cheered and skipped around to face him. He kept turning away while rubbing his face to try and erase the blush.

"For real? Forget it. You're so weird," he said. "Look, I thought wrongly of you and the others. That's all."

"Whatever you say, my prince," she giggled and batted her eyes. He groaned and rubbed his face as he returned to the task at hand: the Heaven Seal. It was still at the far end of the room, floating on top of the water. He stared at it, and then the shards of the broken Lock Ball floating not too far away.

"Griselle… he broke the Lock Ball," he said as he gathered it up. She leaned back and the colour washed from her face. She looked like she was screaming in silence. "I'm sorry. I didn't have my scalchop at the time.

"O-oh no, that's fine, I guess… you did what you had to do," she looked away. Oh Gods Papa is gonna kill me!

"But it's an ancient artefact, and it had an amazing mechanic, too. I'll keep it in case somebody can repair it," he said.

"Uh-er, it's probably better not to ask around. Everybody told me to leave it alone, yeah? 'Cos nobody knew what it was," she said, a heavy sweat on her face. "More importantly, how's the Heaven Seal? We actually need that one.

"It's untouched. Mirror could've destroyed that too, but he left it behind," he said, approaching it.

"Are you going to try and use it?" she asked.

"Of course. My main aims still stand that I really need to get to Eris and stop the Tapu. It's just this time, I…" he said. He turned back to her. "I'm asking you for help. And I'm not going to force you to—"

"You already know the answer, silly! C'mon, I just confessed to you. Why wouldn't I say yes?" She giggled.

Leos breathed out and smiled at her. "Thanks, Griselle. You're right. Let's try the Heaven Seal."