The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 23
Celebi was hovering over a cup of hot chocolate, pondering the best way to cool it off as the dripping of a nearby stalagmite gave them the answer. Jirachi, who was already enjoying their own cup, giggled seeing a time fairy gathering up water with her own hands.
«I'm thinking of going back to meet a certain Pokemon, soon», Jirachi spoke up, getting the pixie's attention.
«Going back? But it has only been a few years, what about your rest?»
They shrugged off Celebi's concern. «Meh, none of the wishes last time required any effort on my part. The shinies were surprisingly more creative at least, but even they didn't ask for anything special, aside from-»
«The Zorua, yes, you told me before», Celebi stepped in, wanting to avoid hearing their friend rant about the Pokemon's basic wishes again. «Which I've still not found, by the way, are you sure he's still alive?»
Jirachi pondered the thought, before sighing. «...Yes. His energy seems a bit conflicted at the moment like there's an overwhelming aura surrounding him, but he's very much alive. Just...»
«I volunteer!», screamed Mew, frightening the two, with Celebi tossing their cup at the newcomer. «Ow- hey, that's hot!»
As Mew was rolling around, trying to cool off their fur, Celebi's eyes were filled with fury. «Why are you here! I don't remember anyone else being invited!»
Mew simply giggled, half-covered in dirt before wrapping themselves around Jirachi, ignoring what was said. «Heeeyyy, so apparently you guys want a Pokemon alive, right? And I happen to know where said Pokemon is, so I wouldn't mind giving a hand, scratch my back and I'll scratch yours and all that~»
Celebi was fuming but held their anger in, their curiosity getting the better of them. «You know where that Zorua lives?»
«Oh, what do I hear, the little detective pet doesn't know something as simple as this? What shame, truly!». Mew smiled, though didn't gloat further. « I can help, but I'd like you to use that favor from the old dragons in exchange. Deal?»
Celebi appeared frustrated, but one glance at their friend's worried expression was enough to make them decide. They had no need for the favor anyway, and it seemed like that trickster had a plan.
«Deal»
Over the next few days, the medical post had gradually emptied out, each Pokemon eventually recovering from their injuries, with one exception. Jay, the Ninjask who'd received a strong blow on his side, had not been able to recover control of his flight, and the problems worsened until his eventual demise. Death was an uncommon sight within the safety of the Sprout, but everyone had experienced life outside of it. They knew he had lived far longer than most Shinies would away from here. Sera had come to care for the few Pokemon left in the medical post while Noelle went to the burial ceremony. She wasn't quite sure what that entailed, but Freya had insisted to the Eevee that she should ask the Honorable about it since it wasn't easy to explain. She'd have to wait, though…
«Why are you still not up...», she wondered, passing a paw against one of Fen's spikes. Out of the three Pokemon that were left here, two of them were her friends, and the third one was the one Pokemon she was supposed to go to for help if something was wrong. Noelle had been doing her best, but it was clear to Sera that the Comfey quite simply had no clue what to do. Heal Pulse and Floral Healing were the only things she knew, and that wasn't really working.
«..You'd know what to do, wouldn't you, huh?», she grumbled, lying down near Fen's unconscious body. «Figure something out with Pomeg Berries or what. Never really got how you knew these things»
She sighed, before looking to the bed next to her, staring down at an asleep Shinx. «...Can't say I've expected to feel sorry for you, but, uh, please wake up. We kinda need you. Your sister does, too»
Lumin didn't budge, of course, though Sera could've sworn his tail lit up ever so slightly over these words. Though she was likely just imagining it.
«..no dice, huh. Just.. gonna sit here and wait until Lou and Megan come back, I guess». Sera slumped on the ground after these words. «You know, I really miss that music box… You sure you can't dream yourself fighting or anything, Lumin?Some electricity would be nice…»
«Perimeter four is secured, no leak detected!», shouted Megan, leaning against the wooden wall she'd just scutinised. «Permission to deter Commons nearby?»
Glen, who was sitting on top of a stack of gems, hesitated before answering. «Threat level?»
«It's just small fries, some Pincurchins and a Wattrel», replied the Shinx. «We'll be fine»
«I call dibs on the Wattrel», Lou called out, before storming off the doorway, eliciting a giggle out of Megan who quickly followed suit.
Glen grumbled, not having given permission, but didn't press on. The two Shinxes were newcomers, and hadn't been able to train with Cedric yet, so they were often acting out on their own. Still, he couldn't ignore the fact that they were skilled in combat, which they desperately needed at the moment.
Megan quickly caught up to her friend, and they both ran straight into the Commons, who were already fighting each other and were caught off-guard. Lou lunged towards one of the Pincurchins, biting one of its spikes, enduring the electric shock and quickly tossing it into the air as she readied herself for a follow-up attack. Megan's sudden giggle took her out of her focus though, as she looked annoyed at her friend who simply pointed upward.
«What! I know it's up, don't just… oh». Lou blushed from embarrassment, seeing the Pincurchin having been pinned to the ceiling and unable to act. «W-well he's still out of the fight. Just need to get the Wattrel down another way...»
Megan smiled at her friend, before sending an electric shockwave towards the flying Pokemon, who was still too focused on fighting the other Pincurchin to notice the newcomers, landing squarely on his beak.
«Squawk! N-no!», he cried out, finally realising what happened. «...Outcasts! Die!», screamed the Wattrel as he flew directly towards Megan, before being tackled by Lou, crushing him against the wall of the cavern.
«No thanks», she replied crudely, before turning her gaze towards the last Pincurchin, who was doing his best to hop away.
«...Are we not chasing him?», asked Megan, surprised.
«Nah. We need them to not come around here, remember? Fear is good for that», answered her friend, picking up a luminescent gem. «You should probably get the Wattrel back to base, by the way»
Megan nodded, understanding the undertone and quickly left with their spoils in tow. There was one more Pokemon to deal with still, and she wasn't a fan of Lou's more.. ruthless methods.
Once they had reported the situation to Glen and Julian, the pair went back out to scout further in. They'd been doing these tasks back and forth for two days now and were slowly getting further and further away each time, emboldened by their success. Getting to find and eat more berries coming from who-knows-where was a good motivator as well.
«Hey, Lou, let's pause for a bit. I need to catch up on the map». Megan lifted her tail, shaking the map wrapped in it in clear view.
Lou nodded, slowing down while keeping watch for any potential threat. «Why do we even need to do that, can't we just remember the place?»
Her friend rolled her eyes. Lou seemed a lot less interested in many of the creations from the Sprout, unlike her. «Because we know where we've been, but others don't, it's a way to share our knowledge! And it also makes it so we don't just forget».
Lou flared her tail in irritation but said nothing. «It's all just squares anyway. This is just a weird cave with weird gems and sticks. The only good thing here's the food», she pested, before something caught her attention. «..Huh. That's a big one!»
As Megan focused on drawing the map, the curious Shinx approached a large circular gem on the ground, bigger than any she'd seen before. «That's a new thing, right? They wanted to find new things, so...», she mumbled under her breath, before attempting to grab it. The gem was surprisingly heavy, not even budging. Lou, her pride wounded, tugged on the gem with all her strength, before-
«Eeeeouch!», someone screamed loudly, scaring both Shinxes who quickly partnered up, looking around for the source of the noise. A thump gave them the answer, as the gem started floating up, carrying with it… a Pokemon?
«Who dares attack me in my sleep? I won't show mercy!», the Pokemon shouted, before noticing the pair. «You! Why did you do that!»
Megan seemed frozen, while Lou put herself into a defensive stance. «Back off! I didn't know you were a Pokemon, that's all!»
They seemed to giggle lightly, putting down their guard. «Well then. I can't say-»
Lou cut them off, immediately lunging at the gem-like Pokemon, before promptly landing face-first on a large gem she could've sworn didn't exist before. «O-ow… Megan, back me up!»
«We can either talk it out, or I'll crush you both», let out the Pokemon, glaring straight at Lou and making the Shinx back out in fear.
«O-okay, we're sorry, we didn't know this was your lair!», Megan let out, bowing down. A few seconds passed before a snicker could be heard, confusing her. «Is something wrong?»
The Pokemon in front seemed surprised, before staring once again, though her smile made her feel a lot less of a threat. «Nothing of the sort, I just find it funny that you call it my lair! That place isn't mine yet, though I wished it was when I saw this place for the first time ! So many gems, all around!»
Megan and Lou looked at each other, before nodding. «Well… what if we were to show you our hoard, would you follow us?»
Their eyes sparkled hearing this. «Say no more!»
With the strange living gem in tow, they eventually made their way back behind the wooden walls, as Glen came to see what was going on.
«Is that a new Shiny? I can't say I've ever seen this specie before… so pretty...», the Weedle muttered, before standing tall… as tall as a Weedle can, at least. «Oh well, welcome to the Sprout! It's a safe place for us, where we can work together to improve our lives! The exit is in the door behind me, you'll see a ladder, just climb it, and follow the red line on the grass. It'll appear like it goes nowhere, but don't worry!»
«Thank you, little weedle!», she enthusiastically replied, before her gaze turned towards the pile he was standing on. «...These aren't as pretty as I thought it'd be...», she sighed.
«Name's Glen, and the gems are used for their lights! We're not really in a situation to pretty up the place just yet. Though don't tell Matt I said that!». He giggled over the thought, before pointing to the Shinxes. «You two go with her, let's not get her hurt by any Commons on the way there!»
Lou and Megan saluted, before promptly pulling the Pokemon along as they tried to latch onto as many gems as possible. «H-hey, wait, I've not checked each of them yet! This isn't a way to treat me!»
«You heard the chief, pretty stuff. We gotta get you above», replied Lou, smirking.
«And we've gotta get our break. I wanna see how Sera's doing!», continued Megan, before pausing. «...Wait, pretty stuff?»
«Well, yeah. You don't think she's pretty?». Lou smiled at her friend, before turning to face the Pokemon. «What's your name, by the way? Mine's Lou, and she's Megan!»
The Pokemon's cheek reddened up, before replying. «It's Diancie, and, uh, thank you»
«No biggie, now let's get out of here!», joyfully said Lou, turning her back to them. Megan glared at Diance for a second before following along, with a confused Diancie right behind them.
Glen's directions were simple but effective, and it didn't take long for them to arrive near the end of the red stripe, where Lou and Megan paused, turning their gazes towards the newcomer.
«Hey, do you know what we're next to?», asked Lou.
«Of course she doesn't, it's her first time here...», Megan pointed out, frustrated. «Let's just get her in...»
Diance, intrigued, focused her senses, before noticing a strange barrier right in front of the two Shinxes. As the two were arguing with each other, she decided to figure out the secret hidden in this place, channeling up the sunlight into her body. After a minute of charging, her whole body started emitting light, eventually getting the duo's attention.
«What the… what's going on!», Lou cried out
«It's time to see what's hidden beneath!», Diance shouted, before releasing the energy stored, discharging it all into the barrier she felt, breaking it entirely. All at once, an entire city appeared, complete with a palisade, and a flurry of Pokemon looking at them, having been attracted by the beam of light.
«Wha… what have you done!», lashed out Megan. The Sprout had just lost its illusion field and was now visible to anyone and everyone.