PARAGON
Hisui Incursion Arc [5]
Chapter 57 : Yura
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Sabrina’s eyes opened the next morning of their own accord. Her room was windowless, but she could more or less tell how bright it was outside due to the light that filtered through the paper screens of the wooden door. She listened for a moment and soon heard Akari’s steady breathing beside her. She was still asleep.
Should she get up now?
She’d already missed a day of training yesterday, buried beneath Jubilife Church. Missing another day would only make her more anxious. And in this situation that they found themselves in, curbing her anxiety was even more important than usual.
Silently, she peeled out of her futon. It only took a minute to change out of her yukata, and then she was faced with how to freshen up. Laventon and Rei were likely still asleep in the main room with the sink, and unlike modern versions, it was squeaky and loud.
Closing her eyes, her gauntlets whirred momentarily and she flicked her wrist. Immediately, her hair straightened and fell back on her shoulders. Her face instantly felt lighter, and the taste of morning breath in her mouth vanished.
She tried not to do this. Brushing her hair, washing her face, and brushing her teeth were all tasks she could accomplish with a literal flick of her wrist, but she really tried not to. She was human. The only way that claim held water was if she acted like one.
She slid open the door to the main room and as expected, Laventon and Rei were both still asleep. She stepped around them and slipped outside.
It was about six in the morning. She didn’t know that because she was some survivalist who could tell time based on the position of the sun; she just knew because she woke up at the same time every day, and had for years. It was the same last night, waking up in that pitch-black little room. She’d simply waited for Kamado to come and collect her.
Light had just started to descend on the Sanctuary and it was silent out. A soft wind caressed her face, reminding her of the season since it had an icy bite to it. No matter. She’d done her training in the cold before.
Luckily, the sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains in the distance, so she could still do her training. And as it happened, there was a small hill a short walk away from Laventon’s house.
But it seemed she wasn’t the only early riser. Someone was already up on that hill.
Sabrina swallowed and started toward the hill. The grass felt moist beneath her sandals as she walked.
Riley turned upon hearing her approach. “Ah, Sabrina. Good morning.” He smiled politely.
She put up a hand.
From this slight loft, they could overlook the small plaza of houses where Laventon lived, and the more cramped central part of the Sanctuary where most of the market lay. Now that she was up here, Sabrina could see a few people off in the distance, over in the fields, and in front of a few shops, setting up for the day.
“It’s oddly tranquil here,” Riley said. “You’d never know people and pokémon are at such odds seeing this.”
So he said, but the pastures Akari had mentioned lined the wall further away, and though she couldn’t make out any individual species from here, Sabrina could tell they were tightly caged and separated cleanly from the rest of society. It looked like there were several guards standing watch over those sectioned pens—members of the Security Corps, probably.
Sabrina glanced over at him, and her gauntlets began to spin faster as she prepared to speak. “Are you alright, Riley?”
The Guardian looked over at her. “Hm? What do you mean?”
She didn’t think this was overstepping, but even if it was, it was too late to back out now. “What happened to Rota…and Sir Aaron… It’s only been a few days.”
Riley’s expression noticeably darkened and he turned away. “Ah, of course. I appreciate your concern,” he said flatly.
At first, Sabrina thought that was all he was going to say, but eventually, he continued.
“Any time I dwell on it for too long, despair claws at me. The feeling of loss is…unexpectedly heavy.” He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “I should be grateful. Rota may be gone, but for what it was, there were surprisingly few casualties” He turned to her and smiled. “I have you and your friends to thank for that.”
Sabrina wrinkled her brows and she felt her face heat up. “That’s not how it works though…”
Riley raised an eyebrow.
“Even if we were able to save so many…it doesn’t make the ones we lost any less painful,” she said quietly. Then she froze and whipped toward him. “Sorry! I—“
Riley smiled. “Of course. You’re right.” He nodded and straightened. “King Aaron’s death weighs especially heavy on me. Perhaps it is the burden of expectation he left behind or the fact that I have already faltered on the road he set me on.”
“It’s not your fault,” Sabrina said firmly, her brows tightening. “It’s like Ash said. And no one could have predicted what would happen. Not even Sir Aaron.”
Riley met her gaze, but she was stalwart. Eventually, he leaned back and stretched, pushing his arms out. He smiled. “If it were you or Ash in my position, I think I’d say the same to you. But it’s as you say. I cannot deny the feelings I’m left with. All the same, I feel like a weight has been lifted talking to you.”
Sabrina’s face burned, though in embarrassment or pride, she couldn’t say.
“I promise, I won’t burden you or Ash anymore,” Riley said. “For now, my heart is dedicated to the task at hand.”
Before Sabrina could tell him he wasn’t being a burden, Riley grinned. “That Leader Kamado is rather shrewd, isn’t he? When he attacked us, he targeted me specifically. He immediately identified me as the weakest among us and took me hostage accordingly. He’s a very talented man.”
“You’re not…” Sabrina began, but a smirk from Riley shut her down. He didn’t look hurt about it at all. If anything, he looked amused.
“Of course, he’s no match for me or any of us. But, I must say I’m rather impressed with these trainers of the past. I’d very much like to see how they battle first-hand.”
Ultimately, Sabrina did not get around to training her eyes that morning. Yet curiously, she was never visited by a bout of anxiety because of it. And unbeknownst to her, Ash was also already awake, and he jogged up behind them a bit later, having completed his usual morning run. He greeted them both with a ‘good morning,’ and a suggestive smile.
“What’s going on here?”
Sabrina turned beet-red at the insinuation. There was nothing to be done. Her gauntlets were going a mile a minute too.
“Just a conversation between friends,” Riley said matter-of-factly. “Is that alright with you?”
Friends… Sabrina’s heart warmed.
“You don’t need my permission,” Ash said, kicking a tiny rock down the other side of the hill. “Anyway, I don’t know when the others will be up but I’m kinda starving. You guys down for breakfast?”
“I did see a couple of inns on our stroll yesterday,” Riley said. “We could look into those.”
“Way ahead of you, man. I saw a breakfast place near the fields on my run. Berry pancakes and fresh milk, it looked like.”
Sabrina’s stomach growled involuntarily.
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They’d forgotten they had no money, but for establishments like this, all they had to do was mention that they were in the Survey Corps and that was good enough, apparently. Seemed Cyllene or the Church would be picking up their tab.
Ash got a stack of the pancakes he’d been raving about, as did Sabrina but hers was half as tall. Riley opted for a tea and some sort of sugary pastry which seemed to be Hisui’s equivalent of a donut.
“Ash, do you mind if I go with Cyllene today?” Riley asked as they were finishing up. “I know you wanted to let Pikachu stretch his legs but I wanted to perform a certain Guardian spell back where we landed.”
Ash swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I think Cyllene is almost ready to head out on a proper survey again anyway. At least that’s what Rei was thinking.”
“Great, thank you. It may be a long shot, but given how powerful the three of us are, I believe there should be some residual Aura left where we landed, and possibly a trail leading back up from where we fell. If said trail reaches into the rift, it may be possible for us to navigate our way back home by following it. But I’ll have to do it before the trail dissipates.”
“Sounds good.” Ash grinned, unclipping his pokeball and tossing it in the air. “Pikachu can handle his pokéball a bit longer. Who knows, maybe the old design is more comfortable.”
Somehow, Cyllene found them just as they were getting up. Seems they were still being spied on.
“You. Let’s go now,” she said, nodding at Ash.
“Actually Miss Cyllene, do you mind if I come instead?” Riley stepped forward. “I’d like to perform—“
“I don’t care. One of you, let’s just go.” She spun on her heel and started walking away.
Riley glanced at them and shrugged, then waved his goodbye. “Hopefully I’ll have some good news to report later.”
Ash and Sabrina watched them go.
“So rude,” Ash muttered. “And we’ve been nothing but polite too.” He shook his head.
Sabrina stared at his breath condensing in the air in front of him. His hair was unkempt from his morning run but he’d been given a cap similar to Rei’s to cover it. As he stretched, Sabrina became slightly jealous at how carefree he seemed to be. She wished she was the same.
“By the way, how was Riley this morning?” he asked. He rubbed the back of his head. “I know he’s been down the past couple days and I’ve been meaning to talk to him, it’s just…I don’t know what to say.”
Sabrina’s cheeks heated up. “…We talked a bit about it.”
Ash looked over and raised a brow.
“I think he just needs time to process it,” she continued. “Actually…I think he wanted to go with Cyllene just to get some space…” She trailed off and whipped toward Ash. “Not that I think he’s lying about the Guardian spell, it’s just…”
Ash smiled. “Gotcha. Thanks for doing that. I’m just…not good at that stuff.”
But… Sabrina wanted to say. How many times had the thought of him given her confidence? How many times had she asked herself what he and their friends would do in order to help her through a situation? But, of course, she couldn’t say anything. That was way too embarrassing. All she had for him was a pink face staring up at him.
“I guess you’re pretty good at reading people,” he said. “I don’t know what you said, but I noticed immediately that he seemed brighter this morning.”
“No way…” Sabrina pulled her scarf up and buried her face in it. He didn’t even say anything about my psychic powers… But it was true. It’s not like she’d read Riley’s mind. She spent a lot of time observing people. Maybe because she was so familiar with it herself, she was acutely aware when people put on a mask to hide their feelings.
“Since we don’t have anything to do today, I was gonna head back to that pokémon supply shop to pick up a few more things. Wanna come?” Ash asked, thumbing down the street.
Sabrina pursed her lips, then shook her head. “Sorry. I saw something earlier that I want to check out.”
Ash stared at her, probably in surprise, but nodded. “Okay. Guess I’ll see you back later at Laventon’s place.” He started walking away, then turned around and tapped his head with a grin. “Feel free to…you know, if you need anything.”
She felt her face heat up as she nodded, though luckily he’d already turned away again so he didn’t see her blush for the umpteenth time. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Honestly, this much socializing deserved a nap.
But, she had seen something while they were eating breakfast. And she did want to take a look. Honestly, Sabrina was a little surprised at herself at how sure she was of such a decisive decision.
Then again, given what it was, she kind of wasn’t surprised at all. And she was actually glad Ash hadn’t asked to come with her.
She’d seen other villagers walk onto and through the fields so she was pretty sure she wasn’t breaking any rules as she stepped between a short cobblestone wall from the dirt street to the soil path between two tilled plots. She kept her head low as she walked, not wanting to attract the attention of the few farmers scattered throughout.
“Good morning!”
Instinctively, she looked up. A man was smiling at her from across another field.
She gave an awkward wave back and luckily, that seemed to satisfy him, as he went back to what he was doing. Now that she thought of it, they were on the cusp of winter, and there’d likely have been way more people out here if it were any other time of the year. But, she’d lucked out, and no one else stopped her as she crossed the fields, which rolled up a shallow hill the further she got from the rest of the village.
Maybe it was an unconscious habit of hers to suppress her presence or maybe it was just because the soil beneath her was so soft that she didn’t make any sound, but either way, the tiny girl hunched over what appeared to be a barren field seemed to have a heart attack as she turned around and saw Sabrina crouched down behind her.
“AHHHHHH!” The girl screamed, falling back onto her field, her eyes wide as saucers. As she crawled back, away from Sabrina, she glanced around the fields to see if anyone else had heard her.
Seems they hadn’t, or they didn’t care.
“Sorry!” Sabrina said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I didn’t take anything! I didn’t!” She rolled and stood.
“Wait, I didn’t say you were!” Sabrina raised a hand to stop her, and the girl actually stopped and turned around.
Upon closer inspection, the girl kind of looked like Sabrina. She had tangled black hair and she wore the same thick dark clothes as everyone else. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were wild, ready to defend herself. However, all she had were two tiny balled hands covered by mittens to defend herself with.
“W-What’s your name?” Sabrina decided to start with that.
The girl frowned, her thin eyebrows curling. “You haven’t heard of me?”
Sabrina shook her head. “Sorry. I’m a visitor.”
Immediately, the girl’s eyes widened and all aggression vanished. “A visitor? From where? Somewhere in Hisui?” She pumped her fists excitedly.
“No, it’s not in Hisui… It’s pretty far away.”
“Huh? What? Where? Where is it? How’d you get here? Why’d you come?”
With each question, she got closer and closer to Sabrina until she was right on top of her, and since Sabrina was crouching, she fell back onto her behind.
“Ah! Sorry!” The girl took a step back and twiddled her fingers in embarrassment.
Sabrina shook her head. “Don’t worry about me.” She met the girl’s dark eyes and offered a smile.
“Uhh, I’m Yura,” the girl said, looking away. She bounced between her feet awkwardly. “Hey, why are you talking to me anyway?”
Sabrina’s smile faded. She really hoped she wasn’t coming across as creepy. “Sorry, I just saw you earlier and was wondering what you were doing… How old are you, Yura?”
“Nine.” Yura turned her head up proudly, then glanced back at Sabrina. “What’s your name?”
Oh, right. Sabrina internally cringed. She’d forgotten the proper order of things. “My name is Sabrina. Nice to meet you, Yura.”
“Hmmm.”
Suddenly, Yura seemed disinterested. Did kids really change on a dime so quickly?
“So how old are you, miss?” she asked.
“Um, e-eighteen.”
Yura stuck her finger out. “And what’re those?” she asked, pointing at her gauntlets.
Immediately, they started to spin faster.
“O-Oh, t-these. T-These…are from where I come from.”
Again, Yura lit up. “Oh, yeah! Wait, where are you from again? Unova? Rota? Or…what’s that other place called…?”
“I’m from a place called Kanto,” Sabrina said, trying to calm herself. “It’s near Rota…”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Oh…” Yura seemed to falter a bit after hearing the answer but quickly regained her toothy grin.
“You sure know a lot about places, Yura,” Sabrina said, mustering a smile as best she could. Ugh, terrible line.
“Hmph. I’m the only one who knows anything about other places,” Yura scoffed. “Anyway, why’d you talk to me, miss? I have important things to do right now.”
Sabrina shuffled, half to get better footing on the soft ground while crouching, and half because she was about to breach this girl’s privacy in exactly the sort of way she would’ve hated someone doing to her. She took a deep breath.
“Where are your parents?”
It was a simple question, but Sabrina already knew the answer. One look at the girl, even from all the way across the fields as she’d been eating her breakfast, and she could see it. The cloud of isolation. The loneliness. The determination of someone who had only themselves.
Yura bristled and looked away. “Don’t have any.”
I knew that. “S…” Sabrina started to say. No, don’t say sorry. “D-Do you live by yourself?” she said, quickly recovering.
Yura’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t try and find it. I won’t give anything back.”
Give anything back… Of course. There was only one thing a girl like this could do to survive on her own: steal. That’s why she was surprised I hadn’t heard of her… She must be a menace to all the shopkeepers. But still…
“Have you met Professor Laventon? He’s a nice man. I think he’d—“
Yura snorted. “That old fart? He’s just like the rest of them. No one believes me.”
“Believes you about what?”
The little girl stood, clutching the thick folds of her clothes. “Don’t worry about it, miss! Hope you like your visit here!”
Before Sabrina could get in another word, she spun on her heel and started running away as fast as her stubby legs could carry her. As she crested the hill, she tripped and fell. A handful of berries spilled out from within her clothes and rolled down the hill to Sabrina’s feet.
Didn’t take anything, huh?
Yura turned back and glared, but decided against recovering them and continued over the hill.
Sabrina stood and watched her go, and when the girl left her sights, she continued to watch her presence weave its way through the outskirts of the village with her psychic sense. But, she turned that off too eventually, and let Yura disappear.
She looked down at the berries at her feet. Scooping a few of them up, she tucked them in her own clothes. As she sighed, her breath wafted in front of her. Suddenly, she felt far colder than the weather would suggest.
Of course the girl wasn’t just going to accept Sabrina just like that. She wouldn’t have either. But…still…she wished there was more she could’ve done.
She knew, more than most, what it was like to feel utterly alone, thinking no one in the world could possibly understand her. She only wished she could impart the same warmth others had imparted to her.
Sabrina pulled her scarf up as she walked back toward the village. For now, she’d go and seek out a quiet place to collect herself again. But, she had questions for Laventon.
Again. Quite uncharacteristic.
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Sabrina reunited with Ash and Laventon back at Beni’s for lunch. Rei and Akari were elsewhere this time, so perhaps that meant they trusted Ash and Sabrina with the Professor.
“I wanted to ask about something if you don’t mind, Professor,” Sabrina said after watching him all lunch and waiting until an opportune moment arrived.
Ash glanced over curiously.
“Of course,” Laventon smiled.
“Who is Yura?”
Immediately, Laventon grimaced and his smile faded. “So, you met her.” His eyes drooped in sadness.
Ash looked between him and Sabrina.
“The Survey Corps found her outside the Sanctuary in the Crimson Mirelands several years ago. Close to death, riddled with sickness, and protected by a strange pokémon. We brought her in and nursed her back to health. None of the villagers reported any connection to her, but when we asked her where she’d come from…” He bowed his head, then met Sabrina’s gaze. “I know what you’re thinking. How could we possibly let that girl live as she does? But…she refuses to accept our help. Believe me, I’ve tried… But…she’s so stubborn.” He said it firmly, as if angry at himself.
“Where did she say she was from?” Sabrina asked.
Laventon looked up. “She said she was from a village outside, near Mount Coronet. She couldn’t tell us its name since she didn’t know it, being so young. But she said she returned one day to find it completely destroyed and her people, gone… She took her pokémon and traveled south as far as she could.” Laventon shook his head, and his eyes suddenly looked hollow, steeped in tragedy. “But…no such village exists or has ever existed. We’d know of it too. Our maps of Hisui are quite detailed. We spoke with the Diamond and Pearl Clans too and they’d never heard of such a place either.”
“Did you go over and look?” Ash asked.
“Yes,” Laventon said, a defeated laugh escaping his mouth. “Yes, we went. Exactly to where the girl told us to. Yet there was nothing there. Not even the remnants of a village.” He shook his head. “She’s so adamant about it, but she must be mistaken. Hallucinations induced by her grave health. Our theory is that a merchant vessel shipwrecked off Hisui’s eastern coast and she was its sole survivor. It wouldn’t be the first time those haunted shores have claimed a wooden life. I mean, how else could she have gotten as far as the Mirelands from all the way in the northeast?”
“You said she had a pokémon with her. Where is it now?” Ash asked.
“It’s still with her. It’s just as precocious as her. It protects her from the many shopkeepers she earns the wrath of, and prevents us from offering any further help.”
“Couldn’t Miss Cyllene or Leader Kamado handle it?” Sabrina asked. “Or is it that strong?”
“It’s strong enough. But a tiny thing, like her, and just as wily. Any time someone goes after it, it burrows into the ground and threatens to attack buildings in the village from below.”
Sabrina frowned. What was this pokémon? She doubted she’d recognize it, but surely Ash would if he saw it.
Laventon clenched his fist. “I would too, you know I would. Just like I took Akari and Rei in, just like I took you all in… I would take her in a heartbeat if only she’d let me. But…until we believe her story about the village…she refuses.”
“It sounds like a tough situation you’re in,” Ash said.
Laventon nodded. “At least she gets what she needs. We don’t know where she stays in the village but every now and then she emerges to swipe food, clothes, and other such things. The Church repays the shops and everyone turns a blind eye to her deeds… But this sort of cold treatment just isn’t proper for a child, especially as young as she is…”
Ash leaned back. “Hmmm. I wonder if there’s anything we can do to help.”
As always, it was just like him to insert himself into others’ problems even when they had their own problems to contend with. But this time, Sabrina was on the same page. It’s just one girl. It should be so easy! It was so easy they didn’t even realize they saved me… I just have to do the same…somehow!
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After lunch, Laventon had more shopping to do to finish getting his house back in order, and since Akari and Rei weren’t around, Ash and Sabrina stayed to help. According to Laventon, the two young members of the Survey Corps often trained their pokémon against each other at the Security Corps barracks where they had small practice battlefields. Though lately, their pokémon were getting so powerful that they sometimes had to take it outside the village.
Sabrina could tell Ash wanted to pop over and watch and maybe if she was more assertive, she would’ve told him it was alright for him to go and she’d stay and help Laventon. But, she wasn’t. So they walked around together until night fell.
“Hm, I wonder what’s taking Cyllene so long,” Laventon wondered as they ate dinner at home: a delicious rice porridge filled with winter root vegetables. “I would think they’d be back by now.”
“Oh, yeah, Riley said he wanted to try out a Guardian spell to look into that rift,” Ash said. “That’s probably it.”
“What?! He’s using a Guardian spell?! Aw, I totally woulda wanted to see that!” Rei whined.
“Sorry.” Ash chuckled nervously.
Rei frowned and then whipped toward them. “Wait, you guys are Guardians too. Can you show us anything?”
Ash and Sabrina glanced at each other.
“Uhhh,” Ash said. “Sssssure.”
Even Akari’s eyes lit up and they leaned closer into the circle they’d been sitting in. Laventon paused from stirring the pot in the middle of the room to watch.
Ash opened his hand and summoned a few thin bolts of electricity between his fingers. As they zapped between his fingers, the light flickered off the walls of the house, and Rei and Akari’s jaws both dropped.
Ash extinguished the bolts and smiled, then turned to Sabrina. “Alright, your turn.”
Sabrina blushed and her gauntlets glowed brighter as they started to spin faster. Glancing around the room, she found one of the bags of stuff they’d gotten today sitting on a dresser. She raised her hand, and an emerald light outlined its form. It hovered off the dresser and Rei couldn’t stop himself from running over and waving his hands above and below it as if to confirm it wasn’t on string or anything. Then, Sabrina sat it back down.
“No…freaking…way! That was awesome!” Rei hollered. “I’ve heard about Guardians since I was a kid, but you guys are actually real!”
Uhhh, yeah, totally…
“Yep,” Ash smirked, leaning back proudly. Sabrina had to stop herself from smiling.
“So, how powerful are you guys anyway?” Akari asked, her eyes alight with interest.
“I’d say pretty powerful,” Ash said slowly, checking with Sabrina through eye contact, though she wasn’t really sure what he wanted her to say.
“Who’s the most powerful between you guys?” Rei asked.
Sabrina recalled what Riley had said this morning. The weakest among us.
She caught Ash’s eye. He was positively brimming with competition.
“I think I might—“
“I think I’m the strongest,” Sabrina said, raising her hand.
Ash balked, but a smirk soon overtook his face. “How do you figure that?”
“Just a feeling.”
Ash looked over at Rei and Akari, then back at Sabrina, speechless. Sabrina felt her chest burn with pride and she couldn’t stop a small smile from sneaking onto her face.
“I have seventy-five pokémon, you know?” he said loudly. “I won…that. I have…that.”
Sabrina covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
“Seventy-five?!” Rei hollered.
“You what?” Laventon gasped, unable to stay silent.
“I only have four, but mine are way stronger. Plus, I’m just stronger in general,” Sabrina said calmly.
Ash frowned. “Four? I thought you only had three.”
Whoops.
“Wait! Do you actually have seventy-five pokémon?” Rei demanded, jabbing his finger at Ash.
Ash stared at him, before sighing and smiling. “Nah, sorry. I was just kidding. I don’t have that many.”
“What? C’mon, man.” Rei plopped back down, disappointed.
“Haha. Of course not,” Laventon said with a smile. “I can’t believe I fell for that.”
“So, I guess that means Sabrina is stronger,” Akari said.
Ash turned and met the psychic’s eyes. “Yeah, I guess we’ll say that,” he said with a smile.
Sabrina blushed suddenly. Why had she challenged him again? Now all eyes were on her. She shifted awkwardly in place, her gauntlets whirring faster accordingly.
“So what pokémon do you have back home?” Rei asked excitedly. “What’re the four?”
Sabrina glanced at Ash for support, but he’d turned back to his bowl to take a bite. “Um,” she said. “Well, I have an Alakazam.”
Rei and Akari whipped toward each other, both frowning.
“Alakazam…”
“Have we heard of that one?”
“I feel like one of Volo’s guys may have had one…?”
“Hmmm,” Laventon said, stroking his chin. “It’s a psychic-type, correct?”
“Yes,” Sabrina nodded. “Maybe you’ve heard of Abra? It evolves from Abra.”
Rei snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah! One of the guys in the Church has one, I think. Little yellow thing that sleeps all the time!”
“That’s right,” Sabrina said as she covered her mouth with her sleeve. She wondered what Alakazam would think of Rei’s description. “I also have a Gengar.”
Akari’s eyes widened. “You actually have a Gengar? And it obeys you?”
Sabrina smiled in embarrassment. “Yeah, basically.”
“Incredible,” Laventon said. “The Guardians were always said to be adept at handling pokémon, but to think you tamed such a fearsome ghost…”
“Man, Sabrina really is the strongest…” Rei muttered.
“Now hang on just a sec, I have a Gengar too!” Ash interjected, setting his bowl aside as if fully devoting himself to the argument once again. “I also have Dragonite, I bet you’ve heard of that one!” He grinned proudly.
“You don’t have a Dragonite!” Rei said.
“It’s true.” Ash could not look more pompous if he tried. “And a Charizard. And a Snorlax!”
Some indescribable sound escaped Rei’s mouth and Akari swiftly chopped him in the neck and pushed him aside.
“Wait, so if you don’t have seventy-five pokémon, how many do you actually have again?” she asked while leaning over Rei’s prone body.
As Akari and Rei fawned over him, Sabrina leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief now that the attention was off of her. She doubted they’d have known who Minior was, but there was no way she could’ve mentioned her fourth and final pokémon. Even Ash didn’t know about that one.
“Can you bring out Pikachu?” Akari suddenly asked. “That’s okay, right?” she said, turning to Laventon with a pleading look.
The professor frowned nervously, glancing between her and Ash. “Oh, alright. We walked the whole way back to the Sanctuary without issue. But please Ash, if it starts to run wild—“
“Don’t even worry about it, Professor. Pikachu’s a total softie.” Ash pulled out Pikachu’s pokéball and weighed it in his hand for a moment before thumbing the release.
The moment Pikachu coalesced onto the floor, he lunged at Ash.
“Oh, no!” Laventon yelped, jumping back. “Recall him, recall him!”
“Settle down, Pikachu!” Ash said as the mouse clawed at his face. He managed to push Pikachu off, and for a moment, trainer and pokémon glared at each other. That was the longest he’d spent in a pokéball in a long time, and on an empty stomach too.
Then Pikachu glanced aside and noticed Rei and Akari. Before either could react, he grinned and jumped toward them.
“Whoa!” Rei shoved Akari out of the way as Pikachu buried himself in his lap.
The mouse looked up and smiled, nuzzling Rei’s belly.
“See?” Ash sighed, his face slightly red. “A total softie.”
Rei was frozen, his jaw agape, seemingly from shock and excitement both. And behind him, Akari wore a similar expression, peering over his shoulder cautiously with a look of unfettered interest.
Laventon swallowed then plopped down. “Ahh, so this is how Cyllene feels when she sees what we’re up to… I’ll have to apologize when I see her next.”
As Pikachu scampered into Akari’s lap, the girl leaned back to give him room but didn’t recoil. Carefully, she reached a finger down to stroke his fur.
“Ah.” She pulled her finger back. “I got zapped.”
“That’s just static,” Ash smiled. “Don’t worry, he’d never hurt you guys. As long as he’s here, you’re totally safe. Don’t even worry—“
Sabrina’s eyes suddenly flared, sizzling to emerald life, and her gauntlets whirred noisily, cascading around her wrists. “Ash!” she yelled, standing in an instant.
Pikachu’s ears rocketed up and he leaped out of Akari’s grip, growling.
“I gotcha,” Ash growled, moving toward the door.
“What’s going on?” Laventon said, his eyes alight with concern.
“Stay here. We’ll make sure this house lasts longer than twenty-four hours.” Ash placed his hand on the front door and threw it open.
Immediately, the sound of screams erupted from without, and the interior of their abode became bathed in orange light. In the distance, fires roared atop buildings, and people were running from its direction.
“What in the world…?” Akari mumbled, shaking.
Rei glared at the carnage outside. He started to get up.
“Stay here,” Ash repeated firmly. “You don’t have your pokémon!”
“I have to do something!”
“Rei!” Laventon barked, grabbing his shoulder.
Ash met the Professor’s eye and nodded, then he turned. “Let’s go, Sabrina.”
She nodded, and with an emerald flash, she, Ash, and Pikachu all disappeared at once, before teleporting right into the fiery cold.
They were now at an intersection between the structures of the inner village. Flames roared around them, the air filled with smoke and ash. Wood splintered and cracked as the fire burned, each burst of destruction sending another plume of embers into the black sky.
“Anyone in the area?” Ash yelled over the raging fire.
Sabrina’s eyes were already closed, searching the area for survivors. “No!” she yelled back. “I put us near the fire but whatever started it is down there!” She pointed down one of the streets filled with even brighter flames.
On the ground, Pikachu screeched and started running. Ash and Sabrina glanced at each other before following. As they ran, Sabrina waved her hand, and the fire within her line of sight sputtered out, plunging them into a darker scene and leaving nothing but scorched wood and stone behind.
As they emerged into an open plaza, wreathed in flames, the source of the conflagration soon became apparent. And they weren’t the only ones that’d appeared to help.
Captain Kamado’s unmistakable cloak billowed behind him, his hand gripping his sword as he stared up at the beast. Golem and Heracross were both deployed beside him. Aside from him, a dozen other people surrounded the monster with their pokémon scattered throughout the ring.
The monster in the middle of it all made Sabrina think of one pokémon. It bore a striking resemblance to Anabel’s Sophia. Like Decidueye, it wore a cloak of leaves, but these were autumn brown and red, made even redder by the licking flames around it. And instead of a leafy hood, this one wore what appeared to be a brilliant crimson-brimmed hat.
Ash skidded to a stop upon seeing it and Pikachu’s cheeks crackled dangerously. They were ready to fight, but it’d be difficult with so many people around already engaged.
The towering visage of Jubilife Church shimmered over the fiery scene and just beside it, a grisly hole lay within the thick wooden wall of the Sanctuary. The logs were splintered and crushed like they’d been forcefully hacked through. Overturned torches scorched what was left of the breach.
The Decidueye’s head rolled on its neck, locking toward Ash and Sabrina the moment they arrived. Beneath its hat, its beady eyes narrowed.
“If you can hold it in place, I can—“ Ash began.
The monstrous bird stepped forward, sending its assailants into a raucous panic.
“Leader!”
“Orders, sir!”
At its feet came a higher-pitched scream. “Get away!”
Sabrina’s blood ran cold. As the monster slowly stalked forward, a tiny form on the ground in front of it, within the circle of trainers and pokémon, scooted away on shaking legs.
“Yura!” Sabrina screamed, darting forward.
The trainers nearest her turned in surprise at the sudden arrival but Sabrina ignored them as her power ignited, curling up her arms. She reached out, ready to grasp Decidueye in her psychic hold.
Faster than lightning, Decidueye blitzed into the air. Then, as Sabrina had seen Sophia do countless times, it nocked a volley of arrows in its arm and pulled back on the bowstring.
It’s so fast! Just as fast as Sophia! They’ll be too fast for me to stop!
The words were coming out of her mouth before she realized it. She raised her left wrist. “Disable left arm restraint!”
Her left gauntlet went dark and clicked, then fell off her arm into the mud below.
The jade light coursing across her body turned a deep purple, and violet cracks webbed out across her entire body, fracturing her face in an instant. Her eyes glowed with a harsh darkness, and as she ran, violet embers flecked off of her body, revealing a roiling mass of power barely contained just beneath her skin.
“Sabrina!” Ash roared.
She identified Decidueye’s individual arrows in a millisecond, and the moment it loosed them, she snatched them out of the air with a violent twang and hurled them away uselessly. As she did, a burst of psychic energy threw all the people and pokémon around her to the ground, and Decidueye was also buffeted out of the sky. It landed unceremoniously on its back a distance away from Yura and hissed in anger.
“Now!” Kamado barked. “Heracross, Agile Megahorn! Golem, Strong Heavy Slam!”
Heracross beat its wings and launched forward, its horn glowing, and an iron sheen overtook Golem before it burst into a roll.
Decidueye flailed on the ground, turning over in a moment and its beady eyes found Kamado. Its black talons dug into the earth and it launched forward, between and past his charging pokémon.
The old man’s eyes scarcely had time to widen before Decidueye planted its foot into his chest, sending him flying into the scorched ruins of a building across the plaza.
“Leader!”
“How dare you!”
“Attack it from behind!”
The Sanctuary’s trainers ran forward toward the monstrous bird issuing commands.
A golden lance of lightning lit up the plaza and carved across their path, cleaving a blackened rent into the earth between them and Decidueye. Pikachu landed, snarling furiously, and the trainers recoiled in fear, as did their pokémon.
“Get back!” Ash snarled, joining his pokémon in the circle. “Recall your pokémon and get out of here!”
Confusing murmurings and dawning realization spread across the gathered trainers and they pointed, recognizing Ash as one of the new arrivals. Surprisingly, they actually obeyed.
Decidueye stomped across the burned ground hunched over, sizing Ash up. As it circled him, its eyes narrowed.
“Handle it, Pikachu.”
Ash turned away as Decidueye lunged, but an Iron Tail sliced across its chest, forcing it back. With his back turned, Ash knelt next to Sabrina.
The psychic held Yura in her glowing arms. The little girl was shaking, eyes wide with fear.
“P-Please h-help…” Yura tried to get up but she was shaking so badly she could barely lift her arm.
Ash glanced at Sabrina. She looked like a demon, with the purple glow seeping out from between the cracks across her body, and those lightless eyes. Her hair floated behind her as if suspended in water.
A Thunderbolt from Pikachu lit up the plaza, and the trainers who’d remained to watch the battle scurried back at the sudden boom of thunder. Decidueye roared and crumpled to the ground as the bolt crashed down on him, seething with hatred as it squawked in pain.
Suddenly, a heaviness wafted over Ash as if his heart had just been submerged in tar. He shivered and stepped back.
Sabrina trembled beneath him, glaring across the way at Decidueye.
Her hatred far outstripped its.
Her hand shot out and snatched an empty pokéball from Ash’s waist and she hurled it at Decidueye’s seizing form. The pokéball snapped open and Decidueye screeched before melting inside.
Sabrina’s glare deepened as she felt Decidueye struggle within the pokéball. But instead of letting it escape, she grasped the pokéball with her psychic hold, forcing it closed and keeping it from opening. The metalwork of the device creaked and its sides bent against her brutality.
But before long, it pinged, and she let it drop to the ground where it sat motionless and smoking.
Next — Chapter 58 : The Paragon of Infinite Darkness
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I just realized I’d forgotten to add Minior to Sabrina’s roster on my FFN profile till now. Whoops.
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