We spent the next few days training. After listening to Akari’s story during that glowing sunset, I had expected her to lean more into a supportive role for Lilligant and was therefore surprised when she joined me to toughen up Oshawott.
I had Golett, Bidoof, Ralts, and Starly train on Bolderoll Slope. Not only was it close to the Diamond Clan Settlement but it also sported loads of Graveler and Rhyhorn- tough opponents to optimally boost growth, or so I hoped.
Golett was in its element, blowing up Graveler with devastating Shadow Punches and lifting Rhyhorn like they weighed nothing. Bidoof was exceedingly close to finishing his evolution into a full-fledged Bibarel and was rapidly gaining proficiency in water type moves like Water Pulse. Ralts practised his long-range Psybeams whilst Starly suffered the most, having nothing to effectively hit rock types with. Still, she was certainly trying.
“Starly’s grown a lot,” Arezu commented after Akari’s Oshawott dismantled a Rhyhorn with its water type moves. “She’s on her way to a Staravia already.”
Arezu often hung with us during our training sessions. She seemed to enjoy watching our Pokémon practise and claimed we were doing the Diamond Clan a favour by culling the local Graveler population. It was a bit of a pain for her to reach, what with her dead leg and all, but I enjoyed her company and she was a good influence on Starly.
Not to mention, Starly was also a good influence on her.
I pursed my lips while my Pokémon independently trained. Bidoof was about to finish his evolution into a Bibarel and would become horribly weak to Lilligant. According to Arezu, Lilligant was a grass/fighting type and made up for its naturally frail disposition with speed and offense. I had never seen a Lilligant myself, so I was forced to take her word for it and plan accordingly. It was in these times I often cursed my lack of Pokémon knowledge from the future.
What that unfortunately meant was that both Lilligant’s grass and fighting moves would hit poor Bidoof hard. This meant I’d mostly be using him for Protect in case Lilligant got close to our supports or if Golett started to falter. Speaking of Golett, he’d be key. His clay was hard enough to utterly repel fighting moves, but grass moves could crack into it. Considering Lilligant’s supposed strength, I envisioned we’d be seeing Golett sustain damage for the first time.
Another key player would be Starly. Her normal/flying type naturally countered Lilligant and she could brawl safely by flying out of range. Getting her into a Staravia was therefore my highest priority.
I considered my Ralts. He mostly attacked via Psybeam but I’d discovered he knew Hypnosis, Draining Kiss, and Teleport. If the spiked food failed to work on Lilligant, it might at least slow her down enough for Ralts to add his own Hypnosis on top.
Bidoof was also exchanging Tackle for a more powerful Headbutt to take advantage of his growing bulk. Starly was working on Wing Attack’s strength and was starting to get the hang of Double Team- an incredibly potent move that produced indistinguishable copies of her that could dish out damage and distract Lilligant. The only issue was that it barely took a breeze to dispel the doubles, so I doubted we could make it work during the fight.
I wondered, between Ralts and Starly, which would evolve first. Starly was bigger and was growing some fierce talons. Her head tuft was growing longer every time I looked at it and her wingspan was rapidly increasing. Meanwhile, the cloth-like wrappings around Ralts’s legs were growing stiffer and had started to bloom upwards into a frill-like dress. The tough armour around his head was also splitting to expose his eyes and was elongating into hair-like appendages.
I waited until Akari yelled for her Oshawott before I motioned for my own Pokémon to follow.
“We’re done,” Akari fed Oshawott an oran berry for its hard work. “Good job.”
“That’s a full-blown Dewott you’ve got there,” I remarked to her. And it was true. Oshawott had finally stopped growing and looked indistinguishable to my recollection of Dewott.
Akari nodded neutrally, though I saw her lips quirk up in pride. I still wondered why she trained with me so intently if she wasn’t going to be helping with Lilligant, but figured she just wanted Dewott to grow stronger while she had the free time.
“And you might as well start calling your Bidoof by his evolved name.” Arezu added with a wink.
I turned my gaze to Bidoof. Indeed, he was now a slightly undersized Bibarel. Still a bit of growing left, but definitely too developed to keep calling Bidoof. “What do you think?” I patted Bibarel’s slick fur. “Bibarel kind of suits you.”
He replied in his usual chipper attitude, but I was too busy marvelling at how deep his voice had gotten. He was so big nowadays that Staravia often perched atop his head whenever we were debriefing like this and Ralts had clambered himself onto Bibarel’s back. Golett was… interesting. It seemed Riley- its master- taught it to communicate with its hands. Whenever it was alone, Golett simply stood statue-still and barely moved at all. However, when I had the others out, I noticed it would approach and offer its hand for some reason. Ralts was too small to take it whilst Bibarel and Staravia didn’t even had hands, but that wasn’t stopping Golett. “You want to go get some wood, don’t you, Bibi?” I met Bibarel’s vacant eyes. I knew him well enough to know what he wanted. Growing his teeth out was probably fairly painful and I imagined he’d have a sore mouth for a time. Letting him gnaw on some wood helped with that, it seemed.
Bibarel slowly strode off to the nearby trees, much to Ralts’s delight. Staravia was combing through his fur with her beak but quickly flew off next to Arezu when Bibarel started to move. I gave her a few berries Mai had spared me to feed Staravia whilst I offered a bunch of my own to Golett. The clay-Pokémon held out its palm and I deposited a few oran and cheri berries into it. I recall being intensely curious how Golett handled food. As far as I knew, it didn’t need to eat. So, how would it react?
As it turned out, Golett bent its joints and shoved its hand directly under its armpit and into its internal furnace. When its hand reemerged, the berries were gone.
Interesting…
A hopo berry I was saving for Bibarel was snatched out of my hand when Ralts used Teleport to flash next to me and disappeared back onto Bibarel's head. He was stood next to Bibarel who was leaning on a tree attempting to shoot water at a branch to knock it off. I think Ralts wanted to help him, but his psychic type moves only affected beings with minds from what I could tell. But big ol’ Bibi didn’t need any help and he successfully splintered off a branch with Water Gun and almost crushed Ralts underneath him when he dropped to all-fours. I smirked when Ralts let out a scandalised cry and had to Teleport out of the way. It seemed Bibarel’s Unaware was more than just an ability.
Ralts used Teleport to mount Bibarel once more now that he was happily munching on a branch. I let out a strangled cry when I saw Bibarel start to eat the wood- leaves and all- but decided to trust him enough to leave him be. If Bibarel wanted to eat wood, then he knew what he was doing…
I hoped.
“Did I just hear you call your Bibarel, ‘Bibi’?” Akari met my gaze with amused eyes.
“Yes?” a tilted my head. I thought Bibi was a good name for him?
Akari chuckled slightly. “It’s just that I’ve never seen anyone besides Laventon nickname their Pokémon before.”
“Neither have I,” Arezu stated with a slightly awed note. Was this seriously not a thing in Hisui yet? “I kind of like it, though. Bibi…”
“I always thought it was kind of weird of the professor to give Pokémon cute nicknames,” Akari muttered. “It’s like calling a sword, ‘Bob’ or something…”
“Can I call your Staravia, Edith?” Arezu pulled that mopey looking face she liked to use when trying to get something she wanted.
“Edith?” I asked.
“There aren't any Ediths in the settlement and I like the name,” she stated as if that explained it all. I inwardly sighed.
“Edith it is.”
Bibi and Edith. Now I just had to come up with a name for Golett and Ralts. Maybe I could find a patch of sand or mud and have Golett choose a name for himself by writing it out?
“Rei!” I darted around to spot Akari pointing all panicked at Bibi.
“Hey!” I jumped to my feet in horror at the sight of Bibarel working his way through a tree trunk, but it was too late to intervene. I gasped aloud when the tree completely fell over, sending leaves and hidden Cherubi scattering across the grass. “Oh, jeez! What have you done?!”
Bibi ignored me and started chowing down on the fresh bark. Akari and Arezu were laughing, so at least nobody was mad my Pokémon was destroying the landscape. But still. Maybe it was time to head home before Bibi deforested the entire area.
We started to make our way back to the settlement. Arezu was growing quicker now that she had started to grow used to dragging her left leg around, but it was still slow. I didn’t mind it, though. I just wished she wouldn’t act so apologetic about it so much. It really wasn’t her fault, despite her own opinions.
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“I used to dream of opening my own hairdressing salon,” Arezu wistfully spoke to us while dragging herself up the hill. “I always styled Vesper’s hair for her and I started to get asked by other women to do theirs. But… can’t exactly use my hands when I can’t even stand up without needing to lean on this stick.”
I could only offer her a sympathetic smile. Sometimes, people in Hisui just said things that were so tragic like it was nothing. A lot of those in Jubilife village did that, too. Spoke about how they narrowly escaped death or how their Unovan homes were destroyed by late-night attacks like it was common. It had really reminded me how much I took something so normal like safety for granted in Sinnoh.
Adaman was waiting for us when we finally made it back to the Diamond Clan Settlement. Akari and I met him with curiosity, but Arezu tensed next to me. I heard her draw in a breath.
“I thought I’d find you all here,” the Diamond Clan leader stuck his hands into his pockets. “Vesper finally perfected the bait food, so we just need to wait for her to make enough for Lilligant. I assume you’ll be ready in two-ish days?”
I nodded.
“Good,” Adaman smirked his approval. “We’ll leave by sunrise on the day. You have a good evening, ‘kay?”
“Wait, Adaman!” Arezu cried before he could turn to leave. “Let me go, too. Please. I need to make things right. I failed you. I failed the clan. And I must make up for that. Please let me do this.”
Adaman paused and turned to look at her for the first time since I had met him. His eyes were hard and his mouth had thinned into a straight line. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. But the slight narrowing of his eyes eventually revealed a stern disappointment. “You’re right, Arezu,” he said so lowly it was almost a whisper. “You did fail the clan.”
He turned his back to her and re-entered the settlement. I watched him as he smiled and high-fived a group of kids playing around before waving a greeting to another member.
“Gosh,” Arezu laughed, but it came out more like a choked sob. “I don’t think he’s sold on me going with you…”
“That was harsh,” Akari looked like she was fuming. Her teeth were gritted and her fists clenched. “Can’t he see how much you’ve already suffered? It’s unfair to exclude you because you’re hurting from past trauma.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Arezu waved her off in that false enthusiasm she always used when trying to hide she was upset. “It’s just the way we work, here. See, we believe when someone is born, they’re assigned a time by Almighty Sinnoh to which they will leave the land of Hisui. To die of anything other than natural causes is like dying before our allotted time for us. We fear that it angers Almighty Sinnoh when somebody dies before their time. Because of my failure with Lilligant, members have died before they should’ve. That’s why Adaman is so upset.”
Akari scoffed and shook her head. “Doesn’t excuse it.”
“I agree with Akari,” I added. “Adaman shouldn’t treat you like that.”
In fact, Adaman’s amiability towards me started to feel more and more like an act each day.
A small smile. “It’s okay. I appreciate it, guys.”
We bid Arezu a bittersweet farewell and returned to our tent. Once inside, Laventon met Akari and I with a tight hug. We both tensed but relaxed after a moment and reciprocated. Laventon was often fatherly towards us, but this was definitely new. “I never did apologise for trying to pressure you into helping with Lilligant, Akari,” Laventon revealed why he’d been so affectionate. “I shouldn’t have brought any of that nonsense up.”
I’d forgotten that, while I’d made peace with Akari back then, Laventon never did quite resolve things with her. I suppose the good professor had been giving her space.
“It’s okay,” Akari broke the hug and smiled. “It’s okay. I’m going to go.”
Eyebrows raised. “Are you quite sure?!”
“I can’t remain the little girl I was when I saw the White Beast,” Akari’s expression dropped a little. “I have to face my fears and start to get over them- to move on. Maybe, one day, I can return to Unova and ask the Pokémon myself why it did what it did.”
“That’s… good, old girl,” Laventon offered a small, but unsure, smile. “Just don’t push yourself too hard, yes?”
The two embraced again.
Meanwhile, I had kind of stood there and watched with an awkward smile. I felt out of place- like I was in on something private when I wasn’t meant to be. Akari and Laventon were always two peas in a pod. I always felt like the ‘third one’ despite Laventon’s best efforts. It wasn’t his fault, I supposed. The two had known each other for years.
The sliding door behind us opened. “Oh, man. Are we interrupting something?”
I turned to see Arezu leaning against a tall woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She was massaging her loose ponytail and had a sheepish beam on her caramel-tanned face. Arezu smirked awkwardly. “Hi, guys.”
“Really sorry,” the blonde had a loud voice and seemed rather excitable. “But Arezu’s feeling down and she’s always blabbering about you guys and I thought if we could hang out tonight then she’d feel better and I’d like to meet you anyways so I thought we’d just pop over but I can see we’ve interrupted something so we can leave if you like but if not then I think it’s cool if we can meet anyways because we’ll be seeing each other a fair bit quite soon I imagine…” a deep inhale.
That was… something. “It’s okay,” Laventon beckoned them further inside. “Come, come.”
“Man, I was so worried I messed that up,” the blonde nudged Arezu affectionately. “I’m Vesper, by the way. Arezu’s my best friend and we hang out a lot. I make Lilligant’s food. Well. Made Lilligant's food.”
Vesper aided Arezu in seating herself by the tent’s cooking stove. We weren’t cooking anything, but Adaman advised us to light it regardless for warmth. The nights did get really cold here. She then sat by the redhead and smiled. It took a moment for us to realise she was waiting for someone to talk, so I stupidly blurted the first thing that reached my mind. “So, you’re the one drugging Lilligant?”
Not the best opening, I admit. But Vesper wasn’t offended at all.
Instead, she cocked her head inquisitively. “Drugging? What do you mean, drugging?”
“Is that a Pokémon?” Laventon asked, equally confused.
“What? No!” I sighed and reset myself. “Never mind. I’ll go again. So, you’re the one putting the sleeping draft into Lilligant’s food?”
“Ah!” Vesper’s face lit up. “Yes. That’s me. Truthfully, I’ve been waiting since Lilligant went all crazy to do something like this. Serves that hag right for injuring Arezu.”
“Vesper!” Arezu shot her friend a horrified look.
“What?! You know it’s the truth! I don’t care if its blasphemy. That dancing poser’s killed innocent clan members. Nothing sacred about that.”
I agreed, to be honest, but I wasn’t much religious anyways so maybe that was why…
We chatted for a few hours before Arezu got tired and Vesper helped her back home. The next day, she accompanied us to our daily culling of Graveler as per usual and thanked us for being patient with Vesper. “She’s eccentric, but so was I before… you know.”
I said it was okay.
By the time ‘the day’ rolled around, Bibarel had flourished into a fine representation of his species and Starly was now a full-fledged Staravia. Ralts was borderline a Kirlia, but not quite there, whilst Golett was almost as tall as me, now.
I felt nervous waking up that morning. Adaman was already waiting for us and seemed pumped and ready to go. Vesper was with him carrying a weaved basket filled with food pellets and Mai seemed stoic as always with her Munchlax. I was briefly greeted by Adaman’s affectionate Leafeon who had wrapped his leaf-like tail around my leg. His Umbreon watched wearily from the shadows and his Flareon hid behind his ankle.
They were all really adorable. But I had taken a particular shine to Leafeon since he was so loving.
Laventon was in his element. He had been gaining immense amounts of data on Pokémon he never had access to before and was also tracking my progress with my own Pokémon. He’d never seen Pokémon evolve so fast, apparently, and was eager to record every small detail of this ‘phenomenon’. He had also learnt a lot about the fighting patterns and behaviour of wild Pokémon species, like Croagunk and Hippopotas, who’d attacked us in the Scarlet Bog. He seemed the most excited of us all. A Noble Pokémon were as rare as they were powerful- there were only four in Hisui apparently- and Laventon would get to see one in action and might even be able to interact with her, depending on how successful our attempt to quell Lilligant was.
Akari was the most nervous of us all, but she kept Dewott out to soothe her. And Arezu was also there. She was slinked back- out of the group- and was mostly present just to say goodbye and to wish us good luck.
But Adaman had noticed her, too. And she flinched when his sharp eyes slid to hers. “Arezu,” he spoke ambiguously. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re coming.”
Arezu’s face lit up like fireworks, but I was conflicted. Although a possible good sign, Adaman didn’t look too pleased that he had done that. I feared he’d change his mind.
But even as we climbed Diamond Heath and passed by all of the Combee and Roselia as we started to ascend Cloudpool Ridge towards Lilligant’s home, he silently continued on. Even when I demanded we stop after I noticed her struggling, he didn’t say a word. In fact, I knew that Adaman knew the reason I had asked for a break. But when he looked towards Arezu’s panting form, his eyes didn’t flash accusatorily. Instead, something else flickered.
We had a brief scare when a small swarm of Parasect attacked us, but Bibarel and Golett worked their magic and they were disposed of quickly. Adaman, having never seen Golett in action before, threw me a very calculating look after the fight. But, like with Arezu, he never said a word.
I had expected guards near Lilligant’s home- smack bang in the centre of the Shrouded Ruins- but there was nobody but us. The Shrouded Ruins, despite its name, was lacking in the ruins department for the most part. But the low fog that obscured the grass beneath our ankles certainly lived up to the title. Instead of encountering Lilligant within her forested home, we instead ran into a wall of spores. It looked like a scene out of a movie. We could all barely see five feet into the spore-wall and the occasional Murkrow would emerge all dazed and groggy.
“Murkrow only come out at night,” Laventon remarked as we all watched a Murkrow start to brutally attack itself. “This definitely isn’t natural.”
“We’re not wasting time,” Adaman was quick to move along. “Something clearly spooked Lilligant enough to release her spore clouds. Which means our plan of sneaking up on her is gone. Flareon…”
Akari winced when Flareon nervously stepped forward. With a single weak Flamethrower, the entire spore cloud erupted into flames in mere seconds. Heat splashed against our bodies and we all had to retreat back and shield our eyes from the intense light. The air started to shimmer around us. A harrowing bellow emanated from within the spores. “That’s her,” Adaman warned. “Hopefully the flames will do some damage before we go in. Remember, guys, the task is to wear her down until we can get her back under our control!”
We all watched as the flames seared through the spore cloud before eventually dying down. Akari had her eyes squeezed shut and was so tense it looked as though she could spring, but she managed to endure until the fire completely faded. “That…” she let out a relieved sigh, “wasn’t too bad.”
I turned my head to offer a reassuring smile when, out of nowhere, a flash-cold wreathed around my body and my breath came out in a cold condensation. I whirled around. In the distant hill overlooking the forest, a small ice-coloured Pokémon darted out of sight and into an unseen ridge. The cold immediately disappeared.
My heart lurched. “Guys…”
“We go now!” Adaman yelled over me, apparently having not felt the cold at all. “Lilligant’s stunned in there! Now’s our chance!”
Vesper quickly handed Golett her basket in case Lilligant decided she fancied a mid-battle snack and the rest of the group quickly rushed in. I hesitated.
“Go!” Arezu yelled at me, misinterpreting my hesitation. “I’ll be fine getting up there, but we all need you now!”
I gritted my teeth but obeyed after a moment, cursing to myself.
Whatever that Pokémon was, it had wanted me and me alone to notice it, and that made me nervous. I just had to hope that it wasn’t a certain Glaceon, else this battle could go very south.