...
[=====================================]
*Sniff*
...
Ah… you're scared. I'm sorry… perhaps this was a little too mature for you, little one. I should wait until you're older…
...
"NO!"
...
A-are you sure?
...
"I wanna hear it!"
...
"I want to know."
[=====================================]
"Friendsfriendsfriends," Scraggy danced around the alleyway, the purple flower pinned on his chest with pride.
Mienfoo looked at him with a warm smile. Finally – a friend his own age. As peaceful and nice as his hometown was, its population was mostly elderly. There was only one other child in town, too young to make the trip. The next youngest mun was too old, at nearly ten years his senior.
But uh… he thought, sweating nervously. How exactly do friends act?
"Do you live around here, young Scraggy?" Jellicent asked, lowering his gondola into the alley near them.
"Yup!" Scraggy said, grabbing the railing and looking up at him with a grin. "Live with muh mama!"
"Then I take it you've already registered for the Queen's Tournament?"
Scraggy shook his head from side to side vigorously, still grinning. "Nuh uh. Addie said dun bother. Said she'd win fer sure."
Mienfoo tilted his head in confusion. "Addie...?" he asked. "Who is Addie?"
"Her," Scraggy replied, pointing down the alleyway in the direction the bullies had fled in. "Si-mee-sir." He struggled to pronounce the name properly, his bulging eyes drooping sadly.
"Oh, Addie..." Mienfoo gasped, before his expression hardened. "Those mean mun." He gave Scraggy a reassuring look. "Don't worry, I won't let them pick on you anymore." He sighed, his gaze drifting off into the distance. "What was her problem with you, anyways."
Scraggy's smile turned into a frown. "Addie... we..." He seemed to have trouble explaining himself. "We used tuh get along, but... somethin' changed."
Mienfoo felt his fists clench in anger. He tried to stay calm, but the flames within him couldn't help but peek out of his pelt. "What was it?"
Scraggy glanced down, his head drooping as his shoulders slumped. "I... I.. I dunno..." Tears started to form in his eyes, and Mienfoo's rage immediately turned to guilt.
"Hey, hey... you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Mienfoo lifted his hand to Scraggy's shoulder, and the skinny reptile flinched at the touch. "You don't have to worry about it."
"I... I... I..." Scraggy sniffled, but couldn't continue.
"I don't wish to interrupt," Jellicent interjected, his voice booming in the quiet alleyway. "But I do believe we should get moving, yes? You wish to register for the Queen's Tournament, don't you?"
Mienfoo smirked, clenching his fists excitedly. "That's right!" He extended a hand to Scraggy, smiling. "Let's join the tournament together! Amicitia Aurea!"
Scraggy looked down at Mienfoo's hand, his tears suddenly gone. His eyes began to shine. He sniffled, then nodded and took Mienfoo's hand. "Ami-city Auray!" He squeezed his new friend's hand tightly, as the pair lifted their heads. They shouted together, to the heavens.
"AMICITIA AUREA!"
[=====================================]
Well, it's not like that anymore, at least. Nowadays we have-
...
"The Queen's Tournament!"
...
That's right - The Queen's Tournament.
...
The biggest and grandest competition in all Pokévrth, open only to mun under the age of eighteen.
A great trial with the Golden Fruit as its prize.
...
The tournament is the pride of our kingdom. It represents- well, I'll get to that later.
...
Now where was I…?
[=====================================]
"WELCOME!"
Two gray-furred Cinccinos shouted in unison, ushering Mienfoo and Scraggy into the room with an exaggerated, yet coordinated dance. The two adults each stood about a foot taller than the two young Pokémon, which was still rather short compared to most species.
"I'm Cinccino Vii from the Childcare Committee!"
"And I'm Cinccino Wii from the Registration Committee!"
"WE WELCOME YOU TO THE 99TH QUEEN'S TOURNAMENT!"
Mienfoo and Scraggy looked with awe and excitement as they led them to a desk, where Wii quickly shuffled through numerous papers. Meanwhile, Vii leaned on the desk and addressed them.
"Every decade, the tournament grows bigger and bigger in scale," she said, twirling a ribbon-like tuft of white fur in her hand. "This year, we've already blasted past twenty thousand participants."
"Queen Meloetta can't run everything herself," Wii added, dipping her quill into an inkwell while rapidly scribbling out several documents, "so she employs mun like us to ensure everything runs smoothly. It takes an organization the size of a small nation to run an event of this scale!"
Vii shot the pair a friendly smile. "It's not uncommon for youngsters like yourselves to travel alone, so we want to make sure that you stay safe and have fun. I'll be watching over you until the tournament begins-"
"-and I'll be taking care of all the boring paperwork so you can get straight to the fun!"
"Mienfoo Gregorian, age 12, and Scraggy Ardi, age 14. Is that right?" The pair nodded while Wii rapidly wrote several forms. After a moment, she slid a pair of forms across the table. Mienfoo and Scraggy looked down at them curiously. "Please stamp your paws here."
Mienfoo pressed his paw into an ink pad and then onto the paper in front of him. Scraggy watched him do this and mirrored the action. Wii whipped one of her hair tufts across the table, snatching the papers up with it and returning it to her hand. She looked them over and nodded. "Good, good. Now I'll need your proof of identity and a letter of permission from your guardians."
The mustelid dug into his bag, before pulling out a hard case. He popped it open, revealing a folded parchment. He unfolded it, laying it flat atop the desk along with an envelope. Wii took them and read them while nodding.
"Looks great!" she said with a chuckle. "Your aunt sounds so sweet~" With lightning speed, she took numerous notes before finally passing the documents back to Mienfoo. She looked at Scraggy. "And you?"
"Yup," Scraggy said, pulling out a crumpled-up piece of paper. "Got muh mama to write it on thuh way 'ere."
Wii raised a brow as he unfurled the crumpled paper and made a little effort to flatten it, before giving up and pushing it to her. A look of pure horror filled her face as she saw its contents – a mess of unintelligible scribbles. Vii laughed.
"I'm sorry, but…" Wii started to say, doing her best to keep a kind tone.
"Oh right," Scraggy added, pulling out a tiny cylinder. He popped off the top like a pen and leaned forward to stamp the paper with it.
Wii froze upon seeing the tiny red symbol stamped onto the paper: A tree, with spiraling helixes hanging from its branches. Her jaw dropped. "No way…"
She practically crawled onto the table, pulling out a magnifying glass to inspect the symbol carefully. "This… is real…!?" She looked up at Scraggy in disbelief. "You're from the U-" she stopped herself as she saw Scraggy tilt his head in confusion. "Nevermind…"
Mienfoo and Vii both raised their brows in surprise at the exchange. They looked at each other, and Vii shrugged.
She climbed off the table and brushed herself off. "Everything's seems to be in order," she said, returning to her paperwork. "Welcome, both of you, to the Queen's Tournament! Amicitia Aurea!"
[=====================================]
The Endless Warring raged for many, many generations.
...
Caught in the turmoil of constant conflict…
...
…or drafted into the armies of foreign powers.
...
The mun of the land forgot peace.
...
They were fodder, dying for a treasure they could never possess.
...
They resigned themselves to this fate.
…
That was, until she arrived.
...
Meloetta and the Four Warriors.
[=====================================]
"Because of the sheer number of participants," Vii said to the pair, "the start of the tournament will be divided into four divisions, or Paths. You'll be allowed to choose which Path you would like to enter, but eventually all of them will converge."
Vii spoke first, alternating with Wii:
"First is the Cobalion Path, which will meet at the entrance to the Sapphire Tunnels in the northeastern section of the city."
"Second is the Terrakion Path, starting at the Windswept Field south of the city."
"Then we have the Virizion Path, which will meet in the Jade Woods on the city's northern borders."
"And lastly is the Keldeo Path, meeting at the reservoir in the city's western outskirts."
"That's all we can tell you – "
"- don't ask us what the tests will involve, because we don't know."
Mienfoo was breathless. "How meaningful!" he said happily, clapping his hands together. "To name the four paths after the Four Warriors… it truly brings honor to our kingdom's origins!"
"Oh, also… in order to maintain fairness, flying types and other mun capable of free flight will have a different path set aside for them."
"YOU ADDED A FIFTH PATH!?"
[=====================================]
Meloetta and her companions saw the inhabitants' misery, and they knew this was not what Arceus wanted.
...
Though the Four Warriors were powerful, the strength of the other nations was far greater.
And Meloetta knew their leaders – fellow Children of Arceus – would never relinquish their desire for the fruit.
...
And so, after a particularly brutal war, she travelled the land and addressed its inhabitants.
...
'Fight with us,' she said to them.
'The Golden Fruit belongs to YOU. Join us, and we will help you earn your freedom!'
...
But the mun were afraid. To turn against the invaders was to invite punishment.
And why should they trust her? Would she not claim the fruit for herself, just like her siblings?
Surely, she meant to use them just like the other nations had.
...
And so, she said to them:
'AMICITIA AUREA!'
[=====================================]
In the end, Mienfoo and Scraggy decided to sign up for the Keldeo Path. Mienfoo had always identified with Keldeo – the smallest yet bravest of the Four Warriors. He remembered the stories of the great Thunderstorm War, where he stood firmly against the destructive stampede of Thundurus and his Thundering Herd.
But the tournament wasn't set to begin for another two days – for now the duo was let out to explore the festival! Sort of. They were under Cinccino Vii's constant supervision, alongside a dozen other children, so it was more like a guided tour.
Still, it was an experience unlike Mienfoo had ever had! All sorts of games, rides, shows! And he got to experience it all with his new friend! The festival seemed to stretch on and on – it was almost a shame he only had another two days to take part in it. Once the tournament began, he suspected he wouldn't have time to do much else.
"I said stay close!" Vii shouted at a Patrat and an Oshawott who were scurrying in opposite directions, quickly tossing her long tufts of hair to lasso them and pull them back towards her. "No wandering! We'll get there, ok!?"
Mienfoo was impressed with the Cinccino's skill at handling a crowd of unruly children. He couldn't imagine himself keeping track of them all. How incredible! It must've taken years of training to prepare for a role like this!
While Mienfoo was a model student, Scraggy was the unruliest of the bunch – constantly having his attention shifting back and forth between different attractions and running towards them at top speed. Vii tried lassoing him back in, only to find herself overpowered and dragged along with him. Eventually she gave up, realizing that Scraggy would always return when Mienfoo called out to him.
[=====================================]
Amicitia Aurea
...
Golden Friendship.
...
With those words, Meloetta swore that she treasured her friendship with the mun above all else.
...
She swore that she would not take their treasure from them, and that she would stand with them as equals.
...
For Amicitia Aurea was a promise of unwavering loyalty and comradery.
...
One that shall never be broken.
[=====================================]
"So, we just have to toss this ring onto one of those bottles?" Mienfoo asked, standing on a crate so that he could look over the counter of a stall.
"That's right, lil' fella," the vendor – an unusually thin Seismitoad - replied with a tip of his hat and a twirl of his mustache. "It isn't as easy as it looks, though." He pointed his cane at the far back of the stall, where a single bottle rested atop a tall platform. "And if you can get the ring onto that bottle, then you win tonight's grand prize."
He motioned towards a large plushie hanging from a net in the ceiling – a cuddly looking Beartic. Mienfoo imagined that the real thing probably appeared more intimidating.
"Grandprizegrandprize!" Scraggy shouted, taking the ring and flinging it at the bottle full force. It missed completely, tearing a hole straight through the net behind it and the wall that separated it from the stall behind it. It flew through several rows of stalls, drawing a line of confused heads.
"HEYHEY!" the Seismitoad shouted. "Cool it with the property damage!"
Scraggy hung his head sadly as the vendor snatched up the rest of his rings. Mienfoo looked at his friend's expression with concern. This… he thought this is what friends do, right?
Mienfoo slammed a coin down on the counter. "I'll give it a go!" He winked at Scraggy, who grinned back at him.
Mienfoo stepped away from the booth and took a deep breath, steadying his breathing and focusing his mind. He held the ring between his fingertips, spinning it and studying its balance. It was light and had a strange, rubbery texture.
He thought back to his time in the flower fields with his aunt, where they would spend hours and hours holding poses and practicing movements. The key to the martial art she had taught him was to control the subtle movements of one's body, imitating the flow of a flower spiraling freely in the wind. Part of that was learning to read the wind, to position yourself so that you could let it take you where you wanted.
Mienfoo shifted his stance and moved his arms, shifting the ring from one finger to the next and getting a feel for the weight. Surely, he could apply that principle to an item like this. It was vastly different from a flower, but so was he.
After a few seconds of this, the Cinccino cleared her throat. He turned and looked at her and she pointedly gestured towards the group of children impatiently. Right, I was going to try this, wasn't I?
Mienfoo smiled at her. He spun back around and closed his eyes, imagining himself as the ring. Then, with a final exhale, he let the ring fly. The ring flew and struck the bottle – then bounced off and fell onto the ground.
Mienfoo sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Vii walked over to the Seismitoad, handing him a coin. "Let me try."
She grabbed one of the remaining rings and repeated the same steps that Mienfoo had. She studied the ring, then spun it around a few times, then closed her eyes. She flung it.
The ring hit the bottle and rolled off the platform.
"Heehee," Mienfoo snickered. "Nice."
Vii gave him a wry smile. "Alright, let's see YOU try again."
Mienfoo shrugged and stepped back up to the counter. He flicked another coin to the Seismitoad and picked the ring off the ground. He tossed it in his hand a few times, getting a feel for it again. He then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He felt the flow of the wind – and shifted himself so that the wind carried him forward. He flung the ring with as much force as he could muster, opening his eyes as it spun through the air.
"OH!" the crowd gasped.
The ring passed just above the bottle's top – catching it and spiraling perfectly down its neck.
Mienfoo pumped a fist in the air, while Vii looked at him with a smirk. "Not bad, kid."
The Seismitoad sighed, before reaching up to pull the huge stuffed Pokémon off the ceiling and plopping it on the counter with a soft thud. Mienfoo motioned Scraggy towards it, but the taller mun shook his head.
Mienfoo nodded and pushed it towards him, forcing his friend to take it. "I want you to have it!" he said with a laugh.
Scraggy looked down at the Beartic plushie. He lifted it and buried his face in its fur, nuzzling his cheeks into its softness. Then he pulled it out and hugged it tightly, beaming with joy.
"Thunk yu!" he replied with a grin, "I take gud care of her." He held above him, looking at its face. "Lil' Olga."
Mienfoo laughed again, before the pair joined the group and continued moving.
His ears twitched as he heard unusual sounds coming from behind the crowd. Shoving? And whispering. He paused and turned with a raised brow. He thought he saw a red mohawk amongst the crowd.
[=====================================]
The mun of the land were impressed by Meloetta's resolve.
...
They decided to stand with her, underneath the great tree Aurum.
...
From it, they took their name – Aurumus.
...
And they prepared themselves for hell.
[=====================================]
"Well then!" Vii said with a clap of her paws. The setting sun had passed beneath Aurum's branches and was now dipping into the edge of the horizon. "We've had a fun day haven't we, kids?"
Numerous cheers reverberated through the restaurant. "But it's about time we head back to the inn." The cheers were replaced with several groans. "We have another full day ahead of us tomorrow, after all!" The cheering resumed.
Mienfoo cut and picked at his food with a knife and fork. Beside him, Scraggy scarfed down a huge plate. He'd never had such an exciting day before! He thought about how his aunt was doing back home, and he couldn't wait to tell her about everything! For once, he would be the one telling the stories.
The group were filtering out of the building when a cry from Scraggy drew Vii and Mienfoo's attention: "OLGA!"
They turned to see the young lizard Pokémon looking frantically around the table. "SHE'S GUN!"
Mienfoo immediately joined him in his search. They checked under the table, in the seats, on the floor, and everywhere else, but there was no sign of the large toy. Vii approached and leaned over them with her paws on her hips.
"You didn't leave it somewhere, did you?" she said, raising a brow.
Mienfoo looked up at her. "It was here - Scraggy put it between him and the window!"
Vii sighed. "Well, let's retrace our steps and-"
"I told you - it was HERE!"
Scraggy nodded vigorously. "It wuz heeeere."
The Cinccino looked at Mienfoo. "Listen, I've seen kids forget their own names, alright? We'll look for a bit longer, but we're on a schedule here."
The group scoured the restaurant, looking under every table and every seat, before finally Vii forced them outside. They made a lap around the area, and then another. Still no sign of the plushie. Scraggy looked heartbroken, and Mienfoo sighed as Vii called the children back to her.
"It's alright, Scraggy," he said reassuringly. "We'll get something else. Maybe even bigger and better."
"But..." Scraggy whimpered. "But... I prumised yu..."
Mienfoo grit his teeth, feeling a familiar rage welling inside of him. No calm down, he told himself while controlling his breathing. It's just a toy... But he still couldn't shake the anger.
He glanced back at Vii. She had been very helpful, but there was a nagging part of him that was frustrated with her. And he couldn't shake the idea that someone had intentionally stolen the toy.
But who would steal a toy from a child?
The thief had to have followed them around all day. They would have to be incredibly patient, or perhaps sadistic. But why steal a toy? And for what purpose?
Mienfoo grit his teeth.
A part of him already knew.
As the group reached the entrance to the inn, Mienfoo's ears pricked as he heard footsteps in the distance. Scraggy noticed him turn his head and did so as well.
They looked down the dark street together, to see a figure emerge from the darkness. The fire in the lanterns lining the streets was weak, but it was still just enough to recognize her.
Simisear.
And in her arms, she held Scraggy's Beartic plush. She smirked, twitching a finger to call them towards her.
Scraggy clenched his fist in anger. "You...!" he growled, walking forward.
Mienfoo put his arm in front of Scraggy. "Listen," he said to him in a pleading tone that barely masked his own frustration, "it's just a toy, we don't need to-"
"I PRUMISED YU!" Scraggy growled, pushing Mienfoo's arm aside. "YU STAY, I GO!"
"Hey...!" Vii called out from the door to the inn, in the process of ushering the rest of the children inside. "What are you doing?"
She whipped one of her hair lassos towards Scraggy, successfully hooking him before he could take off - only for the young lizard Pokemon to flex his arms outwards and forcefully snap the tuft off.
"Scraggy!?"
Scraggy ran forward and Mienfoo found himself powerless to stop him. He lowered his gaze in frustration, feeling his claws burst from his fingertips at his side. Why won't that monkey leave him alone...!
Mienfoo took after him, skillfully dodging another lasso from Vii.
The Cinccino called out angrily as the pair ran into the darkness.
[=====================================]
And thus, Aurum and its Golden Fruit became the symbol of our independence.
...
Together with Meloetta and the Four Warriors -
...
We fought and we died.
...
We bled and we wept.
...
We killed and were killed.
...
But we never relinquished.
[=====================================]
"Don't do it, Ardi!"
The young Pansear desperately called out to the small lizard Pokémon that stood on the opposite rooftop. She watched the young Scraggy take a few steps back, working up the courage to jump. Pansear banged her hands on the floor, tearily struggling to contain her emotions. "You don't have to prove anything to me, ok!?"
"Just don't jump! You're gonna hurt yourself!"
The young lizard took a deep breath, before his eyes narrowed in determination.
"I BRAVE!" Scraggy howled, charging forward and leaping.
"NOOOOO!"