Using Corviknight for a return flight is tempting, but it’s out of the question. That Pokémon has already had enough of Alola’s heat. The only way back is on foot – a short hike through the withered volcanic landscape, where I can learn endless things.

Whenever I get the chance, I try to take photos of passing Pokémon, but I don’t manage more than a decent shot of a Fletchling – the pre-evolution of the bird I saw at Kiawe’s side – and a Marowak from this island.

Maybe it’s my lack of concentration. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I look at Amethio. He walks along the shady areas whenever possible. It’s probably his way of avoiding heatstroke. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry, I would offer him a bottle of water now. But we don’t have any provisions, and the brief glances he casts in my direction from time to time probably don’t spell good news.

Although he tries to be discreet, I sometimes catch him staring at me for longer than necessary. There are probably ten thousand things going through his head right now. Not only does Rayquaza dart from place to place like a shadow, making it almost impossible to trace, but he also has Lillie and me on his tail. The curses that are probably running through his head are most likely endless.

Luckily for me, the tense mood passes the moment we get back onto a solid road leading straight into the open area around the Battle Royal Dome. We don’t need to make a deal to agree on heading for the Pokémon Center.

Ten minutes later, we step into an air-conditioned reception area.

I hurriedly turn towards the integrated café and stumble the few steps straight to the counter, on which I clumsily put my hands down. “Something cold, please!”

The old, scrawny man behind the wooden counter nods in sympathy before grabbing a glass and opening a door underneath. “Hike?”

“Down the volcano, yes.” As I confirm the question, Amethio appears beside me and signals with a curt wave of his hand that my order should be laid out for two.

“Oh, long way.” The old man snorts as he sets both glasses down on the bar and places two bottles of ice-cold lemonade next to them. “Takes a lot of energy and a lot of water.”

Nothing I can deny, so I’m left with a wry grin as Amethio pays the bill. We sit down together at one of the three small tables.

The silence between us remains comfortable. Besides the lemonade running down my throat and relaxing my throbbing legs, there is time to look at the ring I will now probably wear forever. Having a stone capable of triggering the Z-Move – whatever that may be – sounds tempting. Raya’s necklace at least tells me we are now one step closer to the secret of this power. All that’s left is to explore it.

A small smile comes over me. Becoming a professor is looking more and more like an option with each passing day. As I have already told Lillie, this idea seems to be getting closer to forming part of my future and I can hardly wait to mould this aspect with my own hands.

----------------------------------------

》 W H I S P E R S《

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The next day brings no fresh sense of adventure. After the brief break at the Pokémon Center the day before, we headed back to the lodging and, after a shower and some sleep, I thought everything was fine.

Then came the pain.

The cramps in my legs kept me awake for half the night and the headache at the start of the day was so bad I had to skip breakfast.

Now, two hours later, I’m sitting on a small chair next to the entrance to our accommodation and enjoy the warmth of the early afternoon on my body. Thanks to a Petilil leaf tea, the pain has subsided dramatically. All that remains is to wait for Amethio and hope I make it up the path to the Lush Jungle.

Closing my eyes, I lean back and place one hand on my small travelling bag. Lillie is already off on her own little research and Conia is gathering some information on the side that might lead us to Rayquaza. However, the internet keeps going down, and she’s travelling more often than she’d like.

As I open my eyes again, the door next to me swings open. Out comes my companion – in completely different clothes. The black lace-up boots – just high enough to graze his calves – have a thick sole and the dark grey trousers loosely covering his legs have several pockets. My eyes travel along every inch of his body. It’s somehow strange to see him in such loose clothing.

“Are you coming?” His request sounds like a question, but it doesn’t allow for a “no”, which is why I slowly push myself off the chair and take a deep breath. Then I fall into line next to him.

Yet, after the first few steps, I am overcome with listlessness. My shoulders shake and my feet drag across the dusty floor with more difficulty than usual. If only we had a Pokémon that could be ridden...

“Do you even need me?” Another sigh escapes my lips. “After all, I wouldn’t say I’m much help.”

“Conia is already busy with Lillie and it’s easier to search the Lush Jungle with two people. Your ability can help us.”

For a moment, I just want to blow my brains out of my ears and give them to Amethio, hoping that my strange skill is buried somewhere in there. But I’m not capable of that, nor am I an Alakazam who has mastered some wacky attack to transfer problems like mine to people like Amethio.

“Can we take a break if we don’t find Rayquaza? Like ... for a week? Or four?”

Without further ado, he glances over his shoulder. “No.”

Well, no, it is. It was worth a try.

We leave Paniola behind us once again at a strolling pace and a glimpse back at this little patch of earth reminds me that I stopped thinking about Powell somewhere in the middle of our wanderings. He’s nowhere to be seen and part of me is relieved he’s decided not to harbour a grudge against us.

“Have we decided where to look if we don’t find Rayquaza here?” My gaze shifts back to the front, where Amethio has taken the lead.

He doesn’t even turn round to face me as he replies: “Then we’ll leave this island. There are no more hiding places or people here who can help us.”

Another leap that takes me away from home. I can’t complain. Yet I don’t want to do anything else as our path winds upwards and we get closer to Brooklet Hill. I just about manage to grit my teeth until we reach the bend, which could take us back to the water. This time, however, we follow the path uphill, and it takes a few minutes before we reach the beginning of the Lush Jungle.

Here, the thick trees twist up towards the sky and the canopy is so dense it seems dark underneath. During the day there is clear shade, but at night you probably can’t even see your own hand in front of your eyes.

Amethio also looks at our destination for a moment while he subtly adjusts the white turtleneck top with its purple rhombi print. There seems to be a small glimmer of hope in both of us that just won’t go away, so we slowly start moving. This time I immediately fall into line next to him and keep pace. Getting lost in a forest is the stuff horror films are made of – sore muscles or not!

The worst part, though, is when we end up at a fork, offering us the path to the right or left. That means if Rayquaza is here, we’ll have to walk both paths and that will consume precious time.

“Are we splitting up?” I glance briefly over at Amethio. His gaze rests on the two wooden arrows that someone has knocked crookedly against a pole.

“No,” he then decides. “You’re no match for Rayquaza, so we should stick together if it’s really here.”

He’s not wrong. But it’s still bitter. His statement makes me feel like the miserable fight in the Royal Dome was worthless. And yet I did actually achieve something, even if it was only a small thing and I was representing rather useless merchandise apart from that.

On reflection, the thought of the fight with Bellro makes me gulp. I didn’t think about it yesterday because I was glad everything had ended. There was also the tiny problem with the Salandits afterwards. But now, a day later, looking back soberly, my performance is just a drop in the ocean. I did about as well as a Magikarp trying to use anything other than splash.

Lips pressed into a thin line, I try to shake off the thought. Sure, I may be a Magikarp now, but one day I’ll become a Gyarados and then no one will fool me! Hope is there. I just need to take the first step in the right direction somehow without falling flat on my face, burning something down, watching my Pokémon die or panicking. All beginnings are difficult – or about as simple as catching an Abra with a whistle.

Without further ado, I tighten my shoulders and stare holes into the ground. I urgently need to think about other things. And just as Amethio decides which way to go, the crack of a branch reaches my ears. The thin twig has broken under the sole of my companion, so the brief shock in my limbs subsides and I close my eyes. Every fibre in me is tired.

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“Where did that come from?”

“You stepped on a branch,” I reply briefly before casting a questioning glance at my companion.

His eyelids slightly lowered, Amethio looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. He doesn’t need to say a word to ask me if I like stating the obvious.

“You asked,” I elaborate as I shrug my shoulders.

“I can smell them.”

“Hah?” My mouth twists. Amethio’s lips haven’t moved and the voice I’ve just heard is deeper than my partner’s. “I-I take it you didn’t hear anything?”

Instantly, his shoulders tense, and he takes a step towards me. “You can hear it?”

I nod.

“Where is it coming from?”

“I don’t know...” Tracking voices isn’t in my skill set. The words just pop into my head and could be coming from anywhere. Even as I try to listen, Rayquaza’s words seem to echo throughout the jungle.

“Humans.” A disdainful snort reaches me. “Weaklings. They don’t know where I need to go. I’m sure they don’t.”

Coldness stretches across my body before I point in any direction. Whether it’s the right way is written in the stars, but the tightness in the pit of my stomach finds the darkness of one side more oppressive than the other.

Amethio doesn’t even bother to ask before he runs off, forcing me after him. The speed and the weakness of my limbs make it difficult to follow, however, and after a few metres, I run out of breath. Panting, I stop, gasp for air and watch as Amethio is swallowed up by the shadows. I am left with a hungry loneliness driving a shiver down my spine.

My legs want to give way, sit down and never have to get up again. My heart, meanwhile, is pounding so hard I keep glancing over my shoulder. I want to leave these woods – the entrance to this mess can’t be far – and get back to the lodging. I’d even face Powell if that’s what I’m asked to do.

“Foolish brat!”

Animalistic roars chase my body into a dead straight posture.

“No room. No space.” Rustling can be heard in the distance, branches break, an avalanche seems to roll through the jungle. “Next time I’ll kill you!”

I hold my breath. The avalanche is getting closer. My body stiffens.

And then Rayquaza flies over me.

It’s so sudden I stumble back and crash onto my bum as the Pokémon’s black body sweeps over me like it’s an unexpected storm.

“I’ll find him...”

I can hear myself gulp. It’s still searching – for someone. Its journey seems far from complete and although I want to follow it, Amethio comes to mind again.

I hastily pull myself to my feet, barely noticing that Rayquaza’s body has disappeared above me. It has followed the path out, while I have to go further in. For a moment, the aching muscles and shortness of breath are forgotten. My throat burns and the darkness strains my senses, but I must find Amethio.

I call out his name several times, stop and listen, but can’t hear anything. Only when I desperately jump over a fallen tree trunk and land in some kind of clearing, do I catch sight of him. I immediately cover the last few metres before coming to a halt next to him.

His hands are clenched into fists, and his head is bent back. His gaze is fixed on the impenetrable canopy of leaves above us and the lack of light can’t tell me whether he’s pale with shock or red with rage. Ceruledge is nowhere to be seen.

“It saw me and wanted to attack,” Amethio begins out of nowhere. “Before I could call Ceruledge, however, it decided to flee.” He presses his lips together. “Its interest in a fight with me...”

“It was too confining for it,” I interject. It’s the truth, and probably better than the unspoken thought that Rayquaza never took Amethio seriously for a second.

He doesn’t answer for a breath. He simply swallows what’s happened before his fists loosen and he turns his body to face me. “We’re going back. We can still track it.”

His calm voice, the pressed sound of his words, his tense shoulders and his hasty steps in the direction we’ve come from – it’s the little things that give him away. The encounter with Rayquaza and the Pokémon’s actions doesn’t leave him cold.

I look after him briefly before my body can muster the strength to follow. By now, every fibre in my body is throbbing and dizziness makes my steps unsteady. But I wanted to be part of all this. Weakening now is out of the question. Yet every junction looks like the next. Trees line up next to each other, grass grows too high in places, moss covers everything in sight, and nowhere is that damn post with its arrows to be seen.

In hopes Rotom might distract me, I glance at my mobile phone. It’s barely noticeable in the partly gloomy shadows, but we’ve certainly been wandering around this place for an hour or two. My stomach hangs in the hollow of my knees, thirst claws at my throat, and my legs give way after every third step.

“Amethio...” In the end, I just stop. “I can’t keep going.”

As my eyes take in his body and I fixate on him for a moment, I realise he’s no different. Even in this oppressive semi-darkness, his skin looks pale as a sheet. Sweat stains his top and his tense jaw reveals what he doesn’t want to say.

We’ve lost our way.

“We should call Conia and ask her to help us,” I continue. “Otherwise, we’ll probably never get out of here.” A sigh escapes me as I look up. “Or we could use Corviknight and just fly out.”

“That won’t work,” he replies dully. “The canopy is dense enough to prevent any birds from even thinking about breaking through.”

“But Corviknight is big... And its feathers are halfway made of steel. That ... must be enough...” I don’t want to give up hope. This damn canopy is our best way out of here. But Amethio only lets out a meaningless sigh, so I turn to Rotom.

Finding information about the Lush Jungle is easy. However, the reports and warnings remain sobering. The canopy is too thick to break through. Using force would injure both trainer and Pokémon. Of course, fire is out of the question and the Pokémon attacks take strength and hours of labour to catch even a glimpse of light.

We can’t put any of that into action and it at least explains why Rayquaza didn’t just make room to fight.

“That leaves us with Conia.”

Instead of answering, Amethio points his index finger at my Smart Rotom. I should probably give it a try. I don’t have Conia’s number, but I can reach Lillie – until I realise we’re in a dead zone. He must have thought of my idea while I was still counting the stems of grass on the path.

“What now?” Raising my brows, I look at him. His gaze glides over our surroundings as he listens to the rustling of the leaves.

“We’re resting.” Without further ado, he moves again. “There must be water around here somewhere.”

I have no idea what makes him think there’s water here. Yet everything is so green and the moss is so damp I want to believe his thoughts. He has probably just heard something, or he sees things in our surroundings, which sometimes seem to move.

The thirst is probably driving me mad.

Trotting along behind Amethio still feels like I’m a slain Doduo in the middle of a desert. My body is numb, my perception fuzzy. The faint sensations only subside when I catch sight of the dark liquid my partner is kneeling in front of. His hand finds its way out of his glove, descends into the wetness and tests it until he utters “water”.

I immediately fall to my knees next to him. My hands cup the cool wetness and even though it isn’t completely clean – there’s earth and a little green in the middle – there’s nothing to stop me from drinking eagerly.

Amethio does the same, albeit in a much more controlled manner. A sideways glance brings his long, slender fingers to the fore. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without gloves and the faint hope he’s trying to hide scars or tattoos fades. He has nothing more to hide than well-groomed hands that seem almost a little delicate.

As I let myself fall onto my rear, I feel a rush of relaxation, as if I’ve been exposed to a Parasect’s sleeping powder – only not as strong. I lean my head back and study the canopy of leaves. “And now what? How do we get out of here?”

He slips his gloves back on. “Your Growlithe. Maybe your Zorua too. They can find their way out.”

I grimace briefly. “Then why have we been wandering around here for so long?”

He doesn’t answer, and it’s easy to work out that a certain amount of pride must have played a part. At first, he probably didn’t think of this option because everything in him wanted to catch Rayquaza. But I’m sure after the first half hour, he just didn’t want to admit that something had gone drastically wrong. The coolness of his personality and the fact he always keeps things in perspective can’t compete with the biting passion driving him after the Rayquaza. He wants to achieve something – almost desperately – and perhaps this is the reason Bellro perceives him as impatient. Amethio certainly has that side.

“Since our fate is in my hands now, I’m all in for a break. I can’t stand any more.”

“Absolutely not!” He disagrees with my idea in the same breath. “We have to get out of here and Ray-“

“No,” I interrupt him a little louder. His voice, which was previously so firm, even bossy, stops immediately. “We’ve been wandering around here for too long. Rayquaza has probably already found another place and won’t spend two hours flying over the forest waiting for you. You’re too uninteresting for that Pokémon.”

Any idiot would realise – that’s what I tell him, and as soon as I finish, my words feel too harsh. Amethio’s gaze is glued to me as if I have thrown his Ceruledge into the sea. The piercing violet of his eyes bores through my body. We both know I’m right, but we also realise that he really cares about Rayquaza and that I shouldn’t even be here.

The circumstances drown the space between us in silence. Finally averting our eyes from each other, I pluck the grass to my side. I want to get away from this place, from Amethio, from this shitty situation, but my bones ache worse than a Zubat’s screech in my ears. The only thing I can pull myself together to do is to examine a mushroom that looks edible.

But as soon as I move closer, I see the small, colourful spots on the cap and slump my shoulders. Spotted mushrooms are rarely edible.

But the disappointment only lasts an instant. The gentle glow of my ring lures my interest in a different direction. The further I crawl, the more intense the glow becomes. It leads me to an old tree stump whose roots have grown half over the ground. Moss covers a considerable area. In between are green hardenings with little lustre and yet as hard as stone. They react to the flashing of my ring, shimmer gently, but nothing else moves.

It is only when I break off a piece and take a closer look that I am overcome by the tingling feeling of having found a crystal. Rotom helps me out with my question.

“Grassium Z, unprocessed form. Triggers the Z-Move in combination with a Grass-type attack.”

“I knew it!” The misshapen, leafy green stone somehow seems more charming than the other processed variants. I don’t have a Pokémon capable of doing anything with it, but if I’m already collecting Z-Crystals, this brings me closer to a complete set. It’s slowly looking like I’ll be able to make friends with it.

A quick glance at Amethio reveals he hasn’t moved. He is still staring holes into his surroundings, his legs drawn up and his arms wrapped loosely around his knees. His expression tells me he’s somewhere in thought, and even if I don’t want to break the silence, it’s wiser for us to leave now. I just want to go back to the shelter and spend the rest of the day whining.

Before I turn my attention to Amethio, however, my gaze falls on a few pretty flowers next to the uplifted tree roots. Some of them look special. Lillie would certainly be pleased to have more material to research. So I drag myself over to the plant, but my fingertips barely graze a leaf when a mushroom sitting next to it jumps towards me. I can just make out the soft pink colour before I close my eyes and raise a hand to ward off the attack. In fact, it’s only a light impact against my forearm sending jolts through my body and when I open my eyelids, it’s shiny spores making me sneeze.

In the next breath, I lower my arm and stare at a Pokémon, its three pretty mushrooms shimmering softly. The small, pale yellow body with tiny black eyes seems to analyse me for a breath. Simultaneously, I have the feeling my face is sinking into numbness. A leaden heaviness settles on my eyelids, my shoulders lose all tension, and this tiny thing in front of me bobs up and down joyfully.

“A...methio...” I don’t want to be the first to break the silence between us, but my body collapses. My mouth can barely move and although I’m sure my eyes are open, blackness overcomes me.