A/N: Just three more chapters to go and you guys will be all caught up here. This section really is a lot of work with the re-edits and stuff, but I think all of the extra lore I've added this chapter is one of my favorite additions/changes. I hope an body that's read this far'll enjoy this extra-ness and the new chapter. I appreciate you guys more than you know.
This chapter was originally posted on ao3 on: (2024-07-31)
Juliet leaned against a boulder, hands in pockets and legs elegantly crossed that Virgil figured was to accentuate everything that was there. His eyes ran over her once, then again before he tore his eyes up to hers, making note of a smug smirk that irked him in only a way that she seemed to be able to. She was dressed sporty and casual and it had thrown him for a loop. She had opted for a pair of olive buckled cargo shorts, and a cropped tank top that fit a little tighter than what he'd expected.
"It's hot," was all she said.
"Summertime usually is." She shrugged.
"Well," she sighed. "You brought me out here, so how intense of a chewing out are we looking at? I want to make sure I'm ready." Virgil frowned, or glared, it was hard to tell which entirely.
"I'm asking the questions, you know."
"Well you definitely aren't doing a very good job."
"Then let me start," he snapped. Her hands went up, but her eyes sharpened and so did her smirk. "Who are you?" Juliet leveled Virgil with an intrigued expression.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A real one, and you should answer it. I can't say that I really have the patience for the games right now." Juliet let out a small chuckle, closer to a scoff and Virgil turned to her with his own quizzical, and slightly pointed expression. She had bent a little under his eyes, but she didn't back down; she wound a finger through her hair.
"You heard them at the contest, didn't you?"
"Tell me." He was irritated now. "I've already said it and I'll say it again: Rich people like you are terrified to leave their communities. Then, you show up and cause all these problems? What gives?" Something shifted in her face then.
"I should be asking you that. Since you love talking about that alley so much, you should let me ask you a few questions before I answer yours. How can you expect me to not be a threat when you're a prime example?"
"I didn't attack someone's friends."
"But you're probably itching to attack me," she retorted with an eye roll. Virgil's jaw clenched.
"Shoot."
"What happened to you?"
"Me?"
"You're definitely… more aggressive than what you showed me before. I never would have pegged you for the leader of your group. You seemed too… shy." Virgil paused. It was a sharp observation, and a good point. It was also something he didn't have the answer to. He had seen, but not quite understood why Jaret hadn't challenged him at all, or why Viola followed suit. He had only understood the shame in the helplessness when he watched them battle Juliet.
He really just wanted to keep the two of them safe.
"Your true colors come out in a crisis," came his response. Juliet's eyes hung on him, a bit amused. Her smirk had softened a bit, turning into something closer to genuine interest.
"Yeah," she quipped. "I guess you're right." Virgil didn't waste any time.
"Now you. Who are you supposed to be? 'The Princess of Sinnoh' is a huge title. But looking for the Cat's Eight and dodging the law?" Juliet shrugged again.
"When you've been around as much as I have, a reputation's bound to spring up, I guess."
"Doing what?" A grimace flitted subtly through her face.
"You don't think a Grand Festival winner would have a reputation?"
"I would think they'd have a better one." She drew back with an exaggerated swivel of her head, hand across her forehead.
"Oh, and my blue blood simply can't handle it all!" Virgil ignored her, and the crinkle at his lips; his mind fell back to Jaret, and then back to the battle in Violet City. His eyes narrowed as he looked on.
"Are you one of the 600?" Juliet balked.
"You think I'm a poacher?"
"That's not what I said. I said–"
"I heard you," she snapped. "You can't just accuse someone of that kind of thing just because they have a rare Pokemon." Virgil blinked, dumbfounded.
"Do you even know what the 600 club is?"
"Do you," she shot back. She was impossibly thick-headed, or more accurately, difficult.
"Knock it off," he growled. "The 600 aren't poachers, they're the highest level of registered trainers! Why would any of them ever hunt Pokemon?" Juliet's eyes narrowed, and she kicked off from the boulder, and closed the space between them. Virgil's body tensed at the ready; the alley was still fresh in his mind. She came to a stop in front of him.
"The 600 are strong enough to do whatever they want," she hissed. "There's only forty-five trainers that everyone has a read on, and that's every league and their champion. As for all of the others, you never know what they plan on doing." She paused in thought for a second, glare softening but eyes still narrow. "Some of them could even be here now."
"In the valley?" Juliet nodded.
"It is the Charicific Valley. I'm sure you've heard the stories."
"She's right." They both turned to a young woman with long and wild hair, tied back into a radical mess of a tail. Her lips curved a bit at the edges with expectant fervor, settling her attention onto Juliet. "The Charizard here are considered guardian deities of the mountain, and they have the strength here to back it up. But, they also have to maintain that strength of course." Virgil was sure she could feel him staring at him; her attention didn't wane. "Poachers make the attempt to come here often, and some of them have had… reputations. "
"You mean the 600 really are thieves?" The woman bade a hand.
"I wouldn't say that. But I can attest that people can really be stupid. But they're not important." She turned to Virgil then. "If I recall right, you don't have a Charizard here to train, do you?" Virgil gave a timid shake of his head. "I didn't think so. But at the very least, I heard the news that your friend finally woke up. That's good." She turned back to Juliet, her lips curving wider into a lipped smile. "And as for this one, I'm sure she knows what comes next." Juliet kept her arms folded tightly over her chest. "We've finished sizing up your Charizard, and just over twelve feet isn't too bad. But more importantly, are you ready for the challenge?" His eyes moved between the both of them, more so to gauge whatever he could from the both of them. Liza was straightforward, brash and a little prickly. It made Juliet feel all the more mysterious in comparison. Liza turned to him abruptly.
"I'll have to ask you to wait outside the proving grounds."
"And where would that be?" Liza gestured in the general direction from where they came. "You could always go and check back on your friend. It seems like I was the last one to find out, but she is awake." Virgil shrugged and turned heel but froze mid-stride when he heard the two girls hush into a quick exchange of words.
Were they talking about him? Liza's sigh told him otherwise and she turned to him with an arched brow. "There's been a change in plans. Just this once, and at request, you can stay to observe if you so choose." He had no idea how, but Juliet had said something to make the woman concede, and if he were honest, none of this was his business anyway. But he had also never seen a battle happen inside of the Charicific Valley before.
Not many people, if any, ever really did. He made his way back over and took up a space next to Juliet.
"What'd you guys even talk about," he muttered inquisitively.
"Nothing too important. Just… enjoy the show while you've got one." Virgil grunted.
"You're not off the hook. After this, you're gonna tell me everything."
Liza led them deeper into the valley, past patches of small cliffs and shrubbery and by a small handful of battles. An aerial duel between two of the Charizard had snagged his attention so entirely that he had nearly upset one of the ornery Charizard when he bumped into it. Liza was quick to intervene and subdue it, but not before heaving a breath in slight annoyance and chastising him.
They eventually came to an arena, naturally mined out and filled with water on its perimeters. Massive pillars of rock, all different heights, surrounded the arena. Virgil counted ten of the pillars, and ten different Charizard all laying on each one. None of them looked enthused at the intrusion, but looked down into the clearing and at them. Virgil took care not to linger on any one of them too long, coming to realize that the size of the pillars weren't random at all.
"Relax," chided Liza. "This is where the strongest Charizard in the Valley train, and where they sit on those pillars is their rank among every Charizard in the valley, if that wasn't evident enough." She shifted to Juliet. "But because they're all wild, there's a very strict policy among trained Charizard coming by, let alone being accepted."
"What kind of policy," Juliet asked. Virgil had nearly missed the small hiccup in her tone.
"When a wild Charizard turns up here on its own, they're allowed to face off against one of the Charizards at the gate. It commends the Charizard's quest and drive to get here. Defeating a Charizard at the gate is essentially a key for a Charizard to let themselves in. Trained Charizard on the other hand… are seen as pampered, and guided here without having to brave the real dangers of the journey to get here. A trainer's Charizard is far too accustomed to the luxuries of being a pet, at least, in their eyes… There has only ever been a single Charizard that was accepted by the valley so firmly, and that one was raised specifically in Blackthorn…" Virgil pursed his lips together, eyes coming down to Juliet's hands at her side, balled into a fist and shaking. It was near undetectable, and she managed to maintain an impassive face; Virgil was impressed.
"So," Juliet inquired. "Cas has to fight any one of these Charizard here on these pillars?"
"Cas?"
"It's... short for Casanova don't mind that…" Juliet shirked away at Liza's reaction.
"That's an interesting name for a Charizard. I can't say that a name like that'll be in his favor, depending on the Charizard that comes down to challenge."
"How does an opponent get chosen," Virgil interjected.
"Through a showcase," Liza answered matter-of-factly. "Wild Charizard that seek to train here with greatness in mind have to fly leagues in order to get here, and have to deal with the rugged mountain range and deep valleys. Flight and dexterity in the air is one of the most important things that a Charizard can have under its belt, especially when they can be so outclassed by quicker fliers in the air. The better the flier, the stronger the Charizard… physically, at least."
"Physically," Juliet mused. "Then let me guess, there's another trial that probably tests their fire-breathing, right?" Liza nodded.
"You catch on quick. And the stronger the flame, the better the Charizard."
"And the Charizard on those pillars without names choose the best Charizard accordingly, right?" Liza turned to Virgil, grin breaking open into a smile.
"Guess that goes double for you too!" Liza snorted. "By the way, call those Charizard up there 'The Scales'. They are the strongest in the valley, after all. They'd be a little ornery if you didn't." They turned to Juliet standing decidedly taut. She was staring at a poke-ball that Virgil assumed was that chaotic Charizard of hers. Her trembling was more pronounced now, but she steeled herself looking at Liza with more strength than she felt.
"We're ready."
Casanova ballooned to form with a yawn and scratching at his neck casually before noting that he was in and under the watchful eye of the Charicific Valley. Virgil watched in disbelief as Casanova brought himself to formal attention. He stood still unmoving and with a face that was his own incredulity. He couldn't quite believe they were here. Virgil looked back over Juliet. For all of her confidence earlier, she was nervous , and that was a fact that wasn't lost on her Charizard either. It was strange to see the same Pokemon that gave them so much trouble cut down to size. Juliet stepped back.
"All right Cas. Now's your chance to get into the valley. Make it count." Casanova nodded, stomped once and powerfully in challenge, then rocketed himself into the air.
He wasn't anywhere near Swellow's level, but Casanova held his ground, turning deft acrobatics that would have placed him impossibly close to Jaret's Pidgeot on a good day. The Scales seemed to be impressed as well, and added an extra barrier through a spewing of flames that Casanova sifted by, through, and at one point deflected, flames swirling outward and away from him. It looked like a coordinator's trick. The Charizard glanced at each other, consideration passing from one to the next.
They had waited until Casanova came center before they fired again, this time from all sides. Casanova rumbled a noise of surprise but he was quick, twisting and arching downward onto the arena. The flames clashed in the center, coalescing into a ball of fire that grew larger by the second. It would cover the entire arena if Casanova didn't do something. Juliet started and an arm came out in front of her. Liza shook her head.
"Any battle for entry into the valley has to be fought on their own merit. This goes double for a trained Pokemon. If you interfere, then Casanova's chances to get in are as good as gone." Juliet's shoulders slumped in defeat as she looked on, but perked back up when burned light swirled toward Casanova. Virgil flinched when flames seared upwards from Casanova that blasted through and dispersed the sphere into tatters.
He heard Liza whistle, impressed.
"Not bad at all. That Charizard of yours is really putting his all into this." Juliet didn't say anything like Virgil thought she would've. Like she should have. Instead, all of her attention and focus was on Casanova's trial. He looked away as Casanova struggled to move, down to Juliet's fingers balled tightly into fists. Liza's attention went up to the pillars, and to the sixth tallest one. It was already standing, a claw balled into the other and beamed with an exalted expression as it honed in on Casanova and it was quick to glide down into the arena. The earth under it cracked under its landing, standing at least a foot above Casanova, and at least double that over Virgil. "But it looks like that Blast Burn has gotten this one really excited." The flame on Charizard's tail roared into shape, and Charizard bellowed, rushing for Casanova with a claw aimed squarely for his throat.
Arcanine grumbled lazily as Jaret called him over, more than likely for another round of warming up Viola. It was good that she was alive, but his task as a live-in fireplace wasn't necessarily high on his priorities. He had been having an excellent, and curious time exploring the valley. His trainer and the others could smell smoke, coal and fire, but he could smell so much more than that. The Charizard in the valley carried a heavy and cloying scent that would ruffle his fur, and poke the inside of his nose with subtle heat. It reminded him of Liechi.
Arcanine assumed his normal space aside Viola's cot, and just before the fireplace. She was sleeping again, like she had been for the past day or two. Arcanine watched the subtle rise and fall of her chest before laying next to and coiling himself tighter against her.
The first time she had gone back to sleep to get some rest, she had nearly froze again, and Jaret had searched high and low for him in the valley when he wandered off with Eevee, or more accurately, when Eevee decided to explore on her own. It brought one of the Charizard's wrath onto them. Liza intervened quickly and Arcanine figured that it was probably in his best interest to not let Eevee, or himself, wander too far off again.
Arcanine yawned. This was a boring but necessary job, and he watched with low eyes in his trainer's direction, legs laying over the other and face buried into one of the books he had taken from Liza's study bookshelves. It had caught both of them off guard; Liza didn't seem like she'd be so interested in theory.
Still, his preference was outside , or at least, being able to move around more freely. Everyone else had been given free reign of the valley, so long as they stayed within the limits. Arcanine was sure that meant away from the massive dome of a pillar sitting a little ways deeper, and not to irritate another Charizard. With the birds being tended to by Leavanny and Virgil's Lucario in the converted guest room, and that same room being watched over by Virgil's Ampharos and Jaret's own Lucario, that left Dragonite and Eevee and whoever was left of the other trainers' teams. Arcanine tensed.
Eevee was outside.
"Arcanine," His ears twitched and he perked up at Jaret's voice. His eyes went to Jaret quickly. Jaret's eyes were just over the book. He had to be holding back a laugh. "I know that look." Arcanine grumbled, and Jaret stifled a noise. It wasn't quite a laugh but right enough for Arcanine. He grumbled again. "I know we all got into trouble," he began laughing. "But Eevee's a fast learner! She won't get into too much trouble here. And, she has Dragonite out there with her too, so you and Leavanny can relax." Arcanine grumbled a third time, and Jaret sighed. The book came down and for a moment he sat there with the same jovial grin that he always had.
He was really getting a kick out of this.
His rise from his seat was abrupt and he made his way over to the cot, kneeling down to place a hand over Viola's forehead, then to her hands. He wasn't smiling anymore and for a few fleeting seconds, stared. "I don't understand," Arcanine tilted his head. "Sleeping and freezing is an awful combination, but I'm glad she's okay." He sucked in a breath, and turned to Arcanine:
His smile was back.
"I think she'll be okay with just the fireplace for now. And, you look bored! Why don't you go get some exercise? I'll keep an eye out on Viola." Arcanine only waited long enough to see Jaret's thumbs up of approval before he was moving outside.
The powerful inhale he took brought a small smile to his lips. His nose twitched with the scent of the valley air, or more accurately, Charizard. The hint of Dragonite, that sharp twist of seaweed and dirt wriggled his ears. He scanned the space for him, over spaces of craggy rock face, past the bridge that linked Liza's home over to other spires of raised earth that reminded him that they were already pretty far in the valley.
He had also picked up Eevee's airy and subtly perfume-y scent quickly. But the unmistakable tint of dirt meant that she had gone wandering off again. He caught sight of her almost immediately peering over the edge of her cliff, and that sent Arcanine barreling over the bridge. She was always getting into trouble.
She made a noise when he scooped her up by the scruff of her neck, then another out of protest. He moved with her as she squirmed and turned to make his way back away from the cliffside; he stopped when he caught sight of Dragonite below, and let Eevee plop into dirt.
He had been looking at something far off in the distance before he looked up to the both of them, lifting himself and landing next to the two of them. Dragonite pointed to where he'd been looking and Arcanine followed. His eyes rested on the dome he had seen in the distance earlier. It was where Virgil and that other problem had gone, and guided by Liza no less. It was the place that she had told them not to go in particular, after all.
But Eevee had been watching Dragonite, and he had been looking over the valley, particularly at the arena. It bellowed a cacophony of battle and fire even now. The three of them listened for a moment, Arcanine's ears wriggling at a few particular quips in sound and Eevee being the most still he had ever seen recently; Arcanine chalked it up to Dragonite's shoulder being a surprisingly comfortable space for her. Dragonite, on the other hand, had begun moving over to another edge of the pillar they were on and Arcanine followed him over to that edge.
Below them were scores of Charizard. Some were resting while others tested their strength, and Arcanine watched closely. He watched them spew fire that he could feel but was sure he could absorb and watched as they tapped into that draconic nature that Dragonite only rarely did. They were very impressive, but weren't quite a threat. Not either him or Dragonite, and nothing like the Blaziken or Salamence.
One bolt had been particularly powerful, a Flame Burst from what Arcanine was able to tell, and it had been strong enough to pierce through another Charizard's flames, bursting on contact and leaving the other Charizard face down in the dirt. It lay there for a moment before picking itself back up with a shake of its head and conceding defeat.
Arcanine was utterly transfixed on them. They reminded him that he possibly should have been training at that moment too. His Fire Blast could outburn any of the Charizard here, and the thought brought him back to Shinobu. He was probably stronger than every Charizard in the entire valley, and he was sure that applied to Sagark as well. Dragonite had intervened back in Violet City, had protected him and that took strength. And if he had to be protected, then there was still a long way to go before he became his strongest.
Something in Arcanine snapped then.
He bellowed, charging down in an outright challenge to the Charizard. He felt Dragonite moving next to him with the same intention in mind. Arcanine wondered if he had to have been thinking the same he had. It didn't matter. They were the two Jaret relied on the most, and they would do everything in their power to honor that trust.
They had been too engrossed in the image of that promise to see her, hiding expertly as she scaffolded a cliff surface. The ice that nipped at the soles of her shoes didn't bother her much at all; she had done this many times before. She had been watching Arcanine closely and wondered how many Charizard he'd be able to beat. The Dragonite moved in toe with him as well, all the while keeping that little tuft of fur, Eevee, snug at his shoulder.
All of them were rare, if not for their species, then for their strength.
"So that's what a well-built Arcanine looks like…"
"He looks like he's just on the cusp." She smirked, and her eyes fell back to Dragonite.
"What about the Dragonite?"
"The same," he said.
"Eevee too?"
"She… has more work to do. She's… young and curious… And maybe a little reckless…" His voice trailed, subsumed by scribbles and scrawling, pencil over notebook. It was always louder than he was. It was a reminder that he was a boy that was truly old as he said he was, that happened to be the same age as her little brother. It was impressive that they could be so different and also a testament to exactly where Cody had come from and what he had been through.
Victoria laughed. "The two powerhouses it is, then."
Idleness was not exactly Viola's forte, and it made long form idleness a nightmare. She had been awake for maybe an hour, all of it made of desperate attempts to break away from the disconnect with her body. The ceiling would spin sometimes, and she would clasp her eyes to keep from getting sick. So far, Viola managed feeling back into both of her feet.
She could hear Jaret in the other room, footsteps unwieldy and a little heavy. She wondered exactly what it was he was doing. Breath was nice, but more than anything, she wished for movement. His footsteps stopped abruptly and his face came timidly into place.
"You're up." Viola smiled, and a raspy chuckle came after. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I'm alive…"
"And not having a good time, I'm guessing." Viola smiled again.
"I can't say that I am. Not being able to move is its own kind of terror." Jaret made a face.
"Well, you do seem to be taking it well…" Viola didn't respond and Jaret sucked in a breath. "Uh, sorry. That didn't come off rude, did it?"
"I can feel my feet now, so I hope this won't take too much longer." She coughed and was taken aback at feeling nothing. "But, what about you and Virgil, and everyone else for that matter? What about–"
"Easy," Jaret interrupted. He plopped into a chair close to her and out of her sight. "You just woke up again, and the only thing that's changed is that Swellow is doing much better than last time. And, if he's regaining strength back then hopefully you will too. I didn't realize that shivering like that could leave you so sore…"
"It can do that, but that was different. "She felt him get up and he came to her again, but his arm slipped under and around her arm. Strength and heat plumed from the spot, rushing over and erasing all of the icy stiffness that had been holding her there. He hoisted her up and her feet came strong against the ground.
"Here, I can help you move for a bit." The push she had given him had come up by reflex, strong enough to force him back one step.
"I'm fine," she responded, and she watched the confusion etch into his face. All of it culminated in a restrained curve of an eyebrow.
"Yeah… I can see that…" His eyes went down, then up and then back down. "I thought you were really sore from all the shivering?" Viola gave him a small shrug.
"Me too…" They were both quiet then, and Viola could see Jaret struggling with finding something to say that wasn't rude. If it were any other moment, she might have found it endearing, and maybe a little funny. "I wasn't faking any of that, you know." If he had managed to grab any words, they had all evaporated right then. "You heard Virgil say it himself, and you were there too: I almost froze to death in my sleep. That question I asked you when I woke up the first time was…actually me looking for some kind of comfort, if I'm honest. I still feel some kind of thing, something that tells me that I have to be here with you two in particular…" She paused.
"And you just wanted to make sure that you weren't the only one having all of that visual weirdness happening right? The dreams?" Viola nodded.
"I really did have a hard time moving. Right up until you decided to lift me up."
"Really? What did that do?"
"I can't say, but something I can only describe as energy, or electricity brought heat through my entire body. And by the time my feet touched the floor, my body came back to me." He gave her nothing. His eyes went by her and back into the room he came from, and was moving seconds later; Viola couldn't help the titter of relief when she moved with him. She followed him with questions on her tongue but was too slow to get them out. She bounced from his back, even stronger than it had looked with a stumble,giving her nose a ginger rub and sniffle. She circled around to see what had stopped him, quick to note that he was sitting before a bookcase, and that they had shifted through a few more rooms, into a basement of some kind that Liza no doubt had had help from the Charizard to dig out a portion of the mountain. How else could she have done that? She caught Jaret's hands sifting along one of the shelves, pausing before one before walking up the spine and slid it loose with a small flux of dust that Viola shielded her nose against. That had scattered her attention to the rest of the room they had found themselves in.
They were in a library.
"That Liza's really interesting," Jaret remarked with fingers shuddering through the pages. "She feels too abrasive to have a library if you ask me."
"And she just let you down here? This place is like a research center!"
'Eh," Jaret shrugged. "I think that she could have made it a little more inviting if she were going for a study." Viola pinched the bridge of her nose.
"That's because it's built in the mountains and in a cave , Jaret. And, she has the basic lighting and accommodations," Her eyes moved from shelf to shelf, spines cuing her into titles that she had both read and had only heard of, a copy of a "Deity Avian of the East" that stuck out to her, "It is a place that's designed for a real scholar," she finished lamely.
"Yeah, well, Blackthorn does exist. They seem to have the whole thing down-pat." It was a flippant response; all of his focus was on whatever he was looking for in those pages. Viola came in closer. It was a bit of an unwieldy thing, but bound in a hard cover scrawled over in black and gold, more square than rectangle.
"What're you looking for? You seemed like you knew where this book was sitting on her shelf no problem. How long have you been looking into this book?" He didn't say anything, but the page's shudders had been slowing down. He flipped to the next page slowly, his finger coming to rest in the pages spine. Her breath hitched.
"This…"
The image was a double spread that reached across the entire width of the book that showcased a landscape and a pedigree of homes, richly decorated out of what Viola was sure was stone. There wasn't any color in the page but mismatched shadings of stone communicated that it was a material that glossed in sunlight when refined, but also darkened at night in that same way. The artist's rendition made them look marvelous , and they stretched back into the page, like a road, toward a natural tower of the same material. The sun burned at what was meant to be the top of the mountain, but was the page instead.
There were sketches of people too, not quite as detailed, all of them closer to blurs or apparitions of people, and that probably denoted the business of such a place. It was a portrait of a place that looked, evidently, quite rich. As if he had been reading her mind, Jaret flipped to the next page, and to the same place.
This time, Viola's breath caught in her throat, and then disappeared. This page, unlike the one before it, had been colored. The homes, so rich, so elegant with their Glosstone marvel, had been rent into, and cleaved apart. Viola's eyes darted around the page, picking out the artistic blurs that she had seen on the other page, but the style was different, an amalgamation of sharp edges scribbles that came off deformed and enraged.
They were hungry and inhuman.
The humans were also different. They were rendered in painstaking detail, cowing in fear of those erratic blurs, red dots–splotches—spilling over their arms and some across their faces as they raised them to shield themselves. There had been some illustrations of them that hadn't even been completed, and instead were left just as they were, sometimes with frenzied but localized scribble into places where they should have been finished. All of it bathed against the color of a blood sunset, still there in the space that was supposed to be the top of the mountain.
Her eyes fell to a man, chest exposed from broken armor, like some of the others in the rendition. When Viola made the startling detail that he hugged at a pile of bones, she was suddenly very ill.
"This piece is called Demon Tail Mountain, apparently," Jaret finally said. His expression was grim when he turned to her. "We saw this. You remember what you asked me, when you woke up, right?" Viola nodded once.
"...What's Liza doing with a book like this…?" Jaret frowned.
"She's Johtoan…"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" She said that a little sharper than intended and Jaret winced. He hesitated.
"I found this book around the time when we first got here. I asked Liza if she knew anything about Johto and its history, especially around the deities." He bit the inside of his lip. "She pointed me to this…"
"Tales of the Mountain Sulfur?" Jaret nodded.
"And, the Charizard here are known to be strong. Some people even call them deities of the valley and the mountains here. I think it would make sense that Liza would have an entire book that looks into folklore surrounding mountains. She's the main overseer of one of the most coveted places in the world…"
"...What else did she say…?"
"The same thing me and Virgil have been hearing: That we need to get to Ecruteak…" He was scowling at nothing now, but the concern line into his face threatened to unravel the expression entirely.
"Then, we should. We really, really should." A pit formed in her stomach, as her mind raced with so many questions, and the strange anomaly of having no way to inquire or test into them. All she had was minute but still present, inkling of dread.
"You're not okay, are you?" No answer. "Viola–" She fixed him with a hard stare.
"There's clearly something going on, and we both know it. You saw Raikou, and I saw Suicune, and we each had a catastrophic run in with them." Her eyes went back to the page, and to the warrior in the pile of bones. "We did see this, and if we've both seen it, then there has to be one more, doesn't it? Doesn't the legend of Ho-oh come in threes?"
"Yeah," Jaret admitted tightly. "Raikou, Suicune and Entei are a package deal…"
"Then there might be someone out there that's going to see and hear Entei. And even if we find them, we still don't know what all of their chanting even means… " She took a breath, flexing her fingers and shivering at the stress that wrung from her mind.
"There's something about Virgil," Jaret murmured. "He has nightmares of this kind of thing like I've said before, but he's also said that we put a stop to them, moreso you than me…"
"So I've been told…" Her voice trailed. Ecruteak City was urgent. She had tried to bring her eyes up to Jaret, just to see if he felt as uneasy about everything as she did; she wondered if he was even able to tell.
Instead, the page spread of wouldn't let her look away and Suicune's whispers played over her ears as well.
"It's a compendium of all of Johto's folklore, from local all the way up to regional and their historical contexts that color and propagated the myths."
"I'm aware," Viola quipped. His next breath was deep and contemplative. "Some information on some of the mythical Pokemon in Johto can only be found here." He paused again, and shifted the book. The move brought her eyes up to his.
" 'The seven tenets of the mind glisten as the golden sun when as one, bending before all, as all is nothing.'" Viola was lost.
" What does that even mean?"
"I… can't really say… But reading over that hit something."
"Yeah?" Jaret nodded.
"I saw you the first time you met Virgil." Viola's jaw dropped. "I saw you leave right after the 'fire-head' thing."
"Virgil asked me what I was doing there before all of that… Falkner rushed over to the tower because Virgil had caused an uproar."
"He did that for me," Jaret replied quietly. "He did it because of me."
"Because of you? You'd be the last person I'd guess that'd cause a problem like that."
"Well, I wouldn't say I actually did anything physically... The Sprout Tower was the first place I went to try and find some historical information on anything in the region, particularly about a 'Marus' or 'Mira'. It's usually those two names that Virgil ends up screaming about when he has those nightmares, the ones that we also saw." Viola's jaw clenched. "We ended up in Violet City when we did because Virgil had had a really bad one, and it got us kicked out of Happy Town." He winced. "The only thing I could really do was wrestle him until he calmed down. I really didn't know what else to do…"
"And you had been hoping that the Sprout Tower had any kind of information." Jaret nodded.
"Instead, I just got a really basic primer and a referral to Ecruteak." He sighed. "But, I also figured that if I couldn't get anything out of my main goal for coming there, then the least I could do was gain some ground toward my now secondary goal."
"The conference?"
"The Conference. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to convince the Elder and that Jin guy to let me and Lucario take auxiliary lessons. Basically meditation and the sort but…"
"But what?"
"I don't know how he did it, but the Elder did something. Like… he warped space or maybe he just warped what I saw… but suddenly I wasn't even there anymore." His voice was deafening the next moment, exalted. "I… had all the strength in the world. " A high. "I had all of the strength I would ever need to protect my friends, to make everyone proud and inspire them." He was looking past her with a euphoric smile. For all of his description, Jaret seemed like he had never come down."
"Where were you…?" His eyes flicked to her; the smile hadn't wilted even a bit.
"Wyndon Stadium…"
"The Coronation series?" He nodded.
"And I battled and beat them all. Lance, Cynthia, Leon…" His exhale was a mess of breath and beaming pride. "I won…" Reality set in then, and his expression shifted, face contorting back into thought; the gravity of the conversation had gotten a hold of him again. "But… Virgil said he tried to get my attention. Said I didn't respond and wouldn't help him at all. He had said that Li turned into Marus but when I came to, he was just… an old man. And then the rest is history…"
"You must have felt strong," Viola had said after a long moment. "Unstoppable and unfathomably strong…After all, there's nothing that can go as high up or be so close to the sun…" Jaret turned to her with incredulity before offering her small smile, a relief that she understood exactly what he meant.
It was hard for Virgil to believe that the battered form of a Pokemon was the same Charizard that had done so much damage in the last few days. The Charizard, one of the Scales, that he had been pitted against had been quick to make an example of him. The gashes that bit into the same shoulder that Viola's Swellow had swiped were deep, and made it impossible to move it without pain.
At the same time, Casanova was still the Pokemon that had taken on Swellow and Pidgeot, even if the latter hadn't fully recovered from his gym battle, and Casanova had put down the other Charizard with a Blast Burn that Virgil was surprised that he even had the strength to muster.
That had made his situation even worse than before. Where Virgil and from what he could tell, Juliet had thought, they both had expected that to be the end of it, but a showcase of Blast Burn had thrown another one of the Scales, the third one from the tallest pillar into the arena after him in challenge. It came down like Jaret's Pidgeot with a claw radiating azure power, a Dragon Claw that clasped around Casanova's skull and drove him down into the earth with all of the force of its added weight.
It was what had led to Juliet being clasped against his chest while she screamed hysterically with quite a few attempts to break away from him. She nearly drove a thumb into his eye at one point. Virgil retaliated angrily by tightening his arms. Her breath pinched in response and for a moment, Virgil hoped she would get a grip on at least a fraction of Viola's common sense. His voice was harsh in her ear.
"Get a hold of yourself! Didn't you say you wanted to bring him here?" She slumped.
"...I thought I would be able to battle with him…"
"You really are a tourist. Didn't you do any research about this place?" She didn't respond, and stayed put, even as Virgil relaxed his arms a little. Juliet turned, hollow, over to Liza; Virgil followed.
"Cas beat the Charizard. So, why is another one attacking…?"
"That Blast Burn of his isn't a natural one," Liza replied. "Remember, these Charizard don't take well to the un-natural."
"Blast Burn is a tutored technique," Juliet hissed. "How could any Pokemon learn it on their own?"
"Pokemon have their ways." Liza directed their attention back to the trials. "With Charizard, they have to bring their fire to a peak, and then form that peak to their will. It takes time in the wild."
Casanova bellowed and Juliet winced. The desperation seized her, and bit Virgil when he had tightened his grip. He yelped and stumbled backwards as she wrestled free and sped, full force to her Charizard, and ignored the face down Charizard at Casanova's feet.
"Cas! You can stop now! You're strong enough! We–" The words shrank in her throat as Liza's hand formed at her shoulder and rooted her to the spot.
"It sounds like this was your idea, but it looks like now it's your Charizard's dream." Virgil made his way back to the two of them grumbling, coming to Juliet's other side, just in time to hear Liza's tone sharpen. "We can leave and stop the trials right now if you want, but the consequences are different: Your Charizard will never be allowed back. A battle in this trial space is a battle before the deities in the mountain face. Forfeiting at this point, and against the strongest of the scales is pretty much sacrilege." Juliet was blank as she watched another Charizard come down before Casanova. The gashes over his shoulder had gotten worse, and this second battle left him with a wound above an eye that leaked into and obscured Casanova's vision, and another open wound on the same side as his shoulder that made him lean to the right a very subtle bit, and an action that tore Juliet apart to watch.
He was hurt.
"Then…what can I do…?" It was a plea more than a question that had been layered thick with desperation, resignation and a hopelessness that Virgil couldn't help but notice. For just that moment, there was nothing for Juliet to say.
"Let him fight," came a callous reply. "Cas seems to understand what's on the line, and you should too." Virgil noted Juliet's clenched fists.
"...Are they going to kill him?"
"They shouldn't. But the fights do go on until one of them admits defeat. So, it is a possibility if one is stubborn enough. But I think you're lucky." Liza pointed to the highest pillar; it was empty. The realization brought Virgil back to the Charizard standing over Cas; Juliet watched too but was clearly far away. Virgil clicked his teeth.
"That's the strongest one, isn't it?" Liza nodded.
"Yep, and by far. I was surprised Cas got by the second Charizard, but she tends to grossly underestimate her opponents. I think Cas could've gotten off a lot better if he had been half as hesitant."
"He's even bigger than the first two…"
"Well, he is one of the strongest Charizard here. Not that size is a perfect indicator. But I was serious when I said that your friend is lucky."
"This is not my idea of luck," snapped Juliet.
"But you are. Onyx is that Charizard from Blackthorn I was talking about." They both froze.
"Him," piped Virgil. "Was he already that big when he got here?"
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that Onyx probably has some idea of what Cas is thinking, although I doubt Cas was born and raised in a city for dragons." Liza turned to Juliet. "He's also the Charizard that taught himself Blast Burn, and taught it to all of the Scales by extension."
No response, and Liza took a breath. "Their fight won't last that much longer though. Onyx came down here with the goal to end the trial." Juliet snapped to attention, and Virgil tensed at the ready to hold her down again.
"Cas doesn't have anything left…!" Right then, Cas rumbled, a little choked back and ravaged with exhaustion. It hadn't done anything to calm Juliet down, and had actually made everything worse.
It also garnered an understanding: It was the best way to bring the last leg of the trial to a close, and it was something that Cas was willing to do without question.
"Hey," He caught her eyes when she turned to him and they took away his thoughts for just a split moment. She had been stronger in the alley, unbothered just hours before. That was the sole reason why he didn't trust her. But he did, just at that moment. "Cas's tail." She cast her eyes down.
Cas's tail had ballooned into a full sphere of flame. He was terribly beaten and on his last legs, or at least, that had been the idea. Maybe that even still applied. More than anything, a bursting flame on a Charizard usually meant something good.
He wished he hadn't seen the hopeful uptick of her lips in that moment either.
"Alright," Juliet found some of her confidence startlingly quick. It was low, and a little withdrawn but still unmistakable. It strengthened her voice as she turned back to Cas with a deep exhale. "Give him the best Blast Burn you can muster up. You're gonna' do great." Cas trembled when he turned to face her more completely, and his blood had drained into and shut one of his eyes, but he offered her his best smirk, wholly arrogant and unbothered as he could make it, just as searing light began to build around him.
He turned back to a glowing Onyx that Virgil bit down to hold his ground. His light pulsed a burnt orange that contrasted against the black of his scales. Onyx stomped powerfully, as Cas roared fire that would have melted mountains; Onyx's flame never came.
Instead, he sank into the fire with his wings as a shield and pressed– strolled– along the fire. It broke against his wings and washed over him so casually, a stream of water in all but appearance. Onyx threw his wings aside when he was close enough, ripping Cas up from his feet by his throat to hold him there, for just long enough, before slamming him head first into the gravel.
Virgil choked back his gasp of horror, but felt Juliet's heart sink. He couldn't tell which one was worse. Onyx's gaze was quick as it darted over the three of them, hanging just marginally longer on Liza, and she nodded.
"Looks like he's had it." Her blow was wild, and fast. And on top of that, it hurt , and he was sure that the awkward smile that came after that made him look even worse.
"I was aiming for her, " Juliet spat. "But this works too." She held firm, but her eyes shook and screamed at both of them with everything she couldn't muster. "I don't know why I let you give me hope like that…" She swung again, but his reflexes kicked in, and he stepped gently just outside of range. She didn't follow after him, but the way she glared at them made Virgil wish she had. It put the alleyway and to a degree, Juliet , into perspective.
"I can't believe that you really are that different from the nobles…"
"And I can't believe you're still quipping snarky rich girl jokes. Is there anything in that head of yours?"
"Just… what I see…" She huffed frustrated but Virgil pointed past her with a snap of his fingers, and she turned.
There were new wounds from where Onyx had grabbed him, unsightly but not as deep as the ones across his side or shoulder. He usually turned to look at her with that suave, confident grin of his that let her know that he was okay.
She didn't give him the time to.
She was fast, and ready for Virgil this time, slipping by and past his reach. He watched her go and throw herself against Cas, clasping his good arm tight. Cas stared forward, at Onyx who had drawn back a little to give him space. He barely noticed her, and Juliet tugged lightly to make sure he was still conscious. It was slight, but his eyes dipped down to acknowledge her.
"Cas," It took everything in her to hold her voice even. "It's okay. You did really good…" She swallowed. "But, we lost, and we should really get you looked at…" His gaze went back up. "Cas…?" He watched—stared—at Onyx undeterred, and nearly without a blink. Juliet watched Onyx too. A 17-foot behemoth with scales hued like cloudless night—darkness—did make him a standout. His eyes went to her, and her hand went to her waist; Virgil's did as well.
Cas finally spoke, a low roll of rumbling that was less raspy and more like himself: boastful, unbothered and confident. There was even an unfamiliar lilt of softness to it too and his attention fell back down to Juliet. She had been so abhorred at the amount of blood that covered one of his eyes that she nearly missed the beaming brightness in the other; Cas had never been one to ask for a second opinion about anything, and she wondered exactly what it was that he even needed a second opinion for. The understanding had hit her suddenly:
Casanova had passed his trial.
The binoculars clacked against her chest and Victoria exhaled something between a whistle and a sigh.
"So, what about them?" Her partner winced.
"Er, which one? There's kind of a lot…"
"The last two Charizard. One of em's pretty banged up, so it has to be tough to some degree."
"But aren't they all wild Charizard?" Victoria frowned.
"I don't think so. Were you watching the fights? The Blast Burns on the last two were pretty serious. Blast Burn is a human take on Pokemon techniques. Isn't that why you're here, Ravin?" Ravin paused, in either thought or a loss of words, slumping a little dejected.
"It's more than just that. It's for PokeRus, and how that particular phenomenon—"
" 'Affects the bond between trainer and Pokemon' yeah, yeah I got it. Don't you think I know that ? You know what I can do."
"I've… only heard." Victoria smirked.
"Then I hope you're ready to find out."