Chapter 23: Settling in, part III
« ... I think that, umm.. "u-ni-form" looked good on you.»
Sada had been trying to cheer him up since they had stepped out of that clothing shop to get their measurements done. Turo simply grumbled in response; he wasn't looking forward to having to wear any of the different combinations of clothing the Academy offered. They all looked uncomfortable, and just the idea of wearing those shorts ... No. Impossible. Even stranger had been seeing Sada try them on. It was still surreal, seeing her dressed with 21th century clothes. Not as surreal as seeing her with the orange bodysuit of his time had been, but... she looked so... normal.
Just... here, with him. It still filled him with a strange mix of incredulity, desperation and wonder.
After exiting the shop, they had decided to simply spend some time walking through Mesagoza. Which, he had never quite realized, had so many stairs when you had to actually climb them all with no convenient teleporter in sight.
« L-let's rest a moment...» He was forced to pant at the third flight of stairs they had walked up, sitting down on a bench in a little plaza. Sada didn't say anything, simply following in lowering herself on the bench by his side.
« S-sorry... I always slow you down...» He said after a moment, hanging his head with some guilt.
Sada didn't say anything in response, simply holding his hand. He appreciated it, how she always waited patiently for him no matter how slow he moved compared to her. Little by little, he felt his heart rate settle down along with his breath as Sada drew little circles on his hand with her thumb.
« This will be fun... we will learn so many things together!» She said right as he was ready to resume walking, looking up to the sky. « Or... you already know them?» She tilted her head with a questioning look, suddenly worried. Turo smiled.
« Some of them... but I will have to learn them again. To make sure... I don't say anything strange.»
Sada nodded, determined.
« Me too. The children at the library are teaching me a lot of things... they always talk about "homework" and "tests"... I wonder if I can do those...» She wondered out loud, getting a laugh out of him. That was so like her.
« You fought wild Pokémon with a spear! A test is just questions about stuff! You will be fine.» He chuckled, taking one last big breath before getting back up again.
« There's also "tests" about Pokémon fighting... how good you are at commanding them... right? » Her eyes were practically shining as she said it, even as her mouth twisted in just a little sad smile. She touched the Poké Ball clipped to her belt, and Turo found himself doing the same. They were probably thinking about the same thing. They both let their Pokémon out at the same time, watching the Litleo and Murkrow appear in identical flashes of light.
The Murkrow hopped on his shoulder, not looking surprised in the least about where he was; definitely a city boy... "just like me", Turo thought with an amused smile as he scratched the bird's neck.
Also lazy, since he didn't look at all like he wanted to actually, you know, fly around... "just like me", he mentally added again.
The Litleo, meanwhile, was looking around with wide eyes. Probably her first time in a city... just another thing she had in common with her trainer.
« I still have to give her a name... I was thinking of... Little Huntress.» Sada commented as they resumed walking. The Litleo meowed, apparently already having learned her name, and Sada smiled.
« Yeah, um... it would sound strange, I'm afraid. You can't give names like you did to Pokémon in your language. Most people go for... short names. Cute names. And-» He added in a haste, as Sada was already puffing her cheeks out in annoyance.
« She's not going to stay "little". When she evolves, she will grow a lot.»
Sada grumbled, looking back down at "Little Huntress".
« ... I'm only thinking about names these days... what will you call him, then?» She asked, pointing to the Pokémon on his shoulder. Turo shrugged - which made the Pokémon squawk in annoyance-.
« Don't know. A simple name. Something like... Carlos-» a rather pointy beak playfully pecked at his earlobe.
« ... all right. Not Carlos...» He tried a couple of other names, but with more cawing noises, the Murkrow seemed to refuse them all. This was going to take a while...
« What is that?» Sada pointed to a little cart on the side of the road, distracting him. When he saw what had caught her attention, he couldn't help but smile.
« That's called cotton candy. It's sweet.» He said, and her eyes just grew wider.
« "Cotton"? Like the plant you make clothes of? You eat that?! I want to try!»
Her enthusiasm was endearing, but the price tag for one stick of candy made him frown.
Enrolling in the Academy was not free, and all the costs of registering and supplies were going to make a big dent in their first paychecks. Trainer equipment like Poké Ball and Potions they were going to need also weren't exactly cheap.
He took out his wallet, an old thing he had gotten from Clavell, and stared at the meager pile of bills and coins inside.
Just a little while ago, he would have happily spent all his money to have Sada try all the food she wanted in the single day he had had to enjoy with her.
Now he had all the time in the world with her, and they had to worry about every cent they spent. But if he couldn't even enjoy little moments like these with her by his side now...
He walked up to the vendor with a little smile.
« One please.»
When was the last time he had even had cotton candy? Ages ago. Sada watched the little machine start whirring and create the fluffy treat with the wide eyes of a child, taking it with an enormous smile.
« It's so sweet!» She gasped after the first bite, before shoving it towards him.
« You have to try it!»
No sooner had he taken an hesitant bite out of it that he heard Sada's vibrant laughter fill the air.
« It's stuck to your beard! »
... yeah, that was probably why he hadn't eaten it in ages. He started to pick out pieces of cotton candy stuck to his chin as Sada kept laughing.
... worth it.
---
The classroom was buzzing with activity and excited whispers. Sada could barely contain her excitement as she waited for the teacher of her first lesson at the Academy to walk in. At her side,Turo was sitting down leaning against the back of the chair, fidgeting every two seconds with his uniform. He had opted for the "spring" uniform in the end, finding the winter uniform "too damn hot" and absolutely refusing to wear the hat or shorts. With his choice he still had to wear the little "suspenders", and those seemed to be the cause of his suffering the most out of anything at the moment. Sada didn't mind the clothes they had to wear, she quite liked not having to wear layers over layers of heavy pelts and fur for once.
« I won't last ten minutes with these, never mind hours...» He murmured, and she chuckled softly, caressing his hand before quickly drawing it back. The class went silent as the teacher walked in.
« Good morning. I'm Rodrigo Crayne and will be your history teacher for this year.»
Sada listened with rapt attention as the teacher listed everything they would learn; it reminded her of when Narjik would tell stories of her tribe around the campfire, but... there was so much more! She had already started to slowly read the book they had to buy, and... there were drawings, and pictures (which were not the same thing, she had discovered), and numbers to tell what year it was... so, so many things to learn... and this was only one subject! Then Clavell would teach them about Pokémon's "biology" and "types", and "science", and there was "math"... but for now, she wanted to focus on this history class. It was incredible to her, that people in this time knew how things were so long ago, how people lived before them... especially because they couldn't even jump through time like Turo did, to see for themselves... how did they do it?
« Are we going to reach the age of the Paldean Empire this semester? »
One young woman that was sitting to her left, near the window, suddenly raised her hand to ask a question. She had wild dark purple hair and striking eyes only partially hidden behind a pair of thick glasses, and looked more or less her age. Sada watched her curiously. What was an empire...? Or a semester, for that matter? Did she know some things already?
« Yes we will, we will probably also do some field trips in a couple of castles from that era, if you are interested. But first, we'll have to start from the very beginning... open your books on page 10.»
Sada threw a little glance back to the woman, studying her. She looked interesting... she wanted to talk to her as soon as the lesson was over. By her side, Turo opened up the book in front of his face to hide a yawn.
« I already know this stuff... if I fall asleep wake me up if there's something interesting.» He mumbled, hiding behind the cover as he put his head on the desk.
But... but everything sounded interesting!
His little nap lasted barely ten minutes before Sada poked him awake in excitement.
« Turo!! Fossils!! There's creatures inside rocks?!»
---
Honestly, Turo was having more fun watching Sada follow the lesson than actually doing it himself. He wouldn't mind a refresher, but he knew what was coming for the first part of the course at least: how the planet was formed, how Pokémon appeared, debates about Mew actually being the ancestor of all Pokémon, first life forms included, or just of modern Pokémon from a certain point in time, and all that stuff. All stuff he had already done in school already. But watching Sada listen to it all with wide eyes and mouth open was like rediscovering the wonder of it all himself, in a way. She was furiously taking notes, and sometimes would whisper little comments in her language.
« There really were no people?? Only Pokémon? » She whispered to him excitedly, and he nodded with a tiny smile. The idea that there had been something even before her tribe was evidently mindblowing to her.
This was going to be fun.
---
« Um, hi... » Sada approached the woman at the end of the class as they were walking to the next lesson.
« You looked really... interested in class. Do you like history...?» She didn't quite want to ask what the Paldean Empire was in case it was something obvious that everyone was supposed to know; she would look it up by herself later.
« Oh... I know about you. I've seen you in the library. You're the exchange student from Kalos.»
Sada blinked, surprised. People had noticed her?
« You also looked pretty interested... so you like prehistory? Fossils are interesting, but the fact that you can never be sure of how things were at the time is a bit... frustrating. It would be amazing to just have a time machine to go see for yourself-» the woman was saying.
A loud snort made her stop and turn around, and Sada did the same, already recognizing who the one responsible for it had been.
Turo was walking right behind them, his bag full of books for the next lesson thrown over one shoulder and suspenders left hanging at his waist, trying to suppress a grin.
« What's so funny?» the purple-haired woman huffed, to which Turo simply shrugged.
« ... nothing. Just happened to hear what you were saying. It would be nice.» He commented, shaking his head and walking away with a wry smile.
Sada sighed, while the woman looked pretty peeved at having been laughed at, at least from her point of view.
« What's his problem? »
« Nothing, Turo is just... a bit weird... but he is nice, usually.»
« So you know him? Ugh... ah, where are my manners? Name's Raifort, by the way.» The woman offered her hand to shake, and Sada took it after a moment, recognizing the gesture after having seen it a number of times at the Academy and in "movies" on tv. What a weird custom.
« Alba... Alba Sada.» It was still strange using the other name to call herself, but she was slowly growing used to it. Slowly. Every time she repeated it, it sounded... not really natural, it never would, but... more believable, in a sense.
« And.. yes, I... I live here with him...» Raifort frowned at her words, muttering something under her breath that she didn't understand.
« Figures... ah, whatever. Do you want to have lunch together, after the next lesson?»
---
The cafeteria was pretty crowded that day, and the lessons were going well. Sada seemed to already have found a friend, the history-loving girl who wished to have a time machine (ah! That had been hilarious to hear.. didn't they all), and would sometime spend time after class studying with her, in the library. Turo didn't mind, on the contrary: Sada was smart enough to know how to not act suspicious. She couldn't and shouldn't always stay with him; he had his own moments when Jacq would slap his laptop in front of him at lunch, barely avoiding crushing his plate, to discuss his project with a desperate "I need your help pleaseeee, nothing is working!".
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He liked looking over the code with the guy, even until late at night; it was familiar, almost comforting, in a way, similarly to the math lessons. Finally being able to look at something that was exactly the same as his time had almost brought him to tears.
Numbers didn't change. Algebra was always algebra. The computers were excruciatingly slow and primitive, but they still worked on the same principles as the Hadron-quantic ones of his time. Writing code or losing himself through purely mechanical calculations felt like being home... at least a bit.
Right now, however, he was preoccupied with something different.
« All right, take this coin. Got that?» He waved one in front of Murkrow, who followed the shiny object with wide eyes, cawing sofly.
« ... krow.»
« You fly to the bar, all right...? And then you give the coin to the guy and say "Coffee".» He pointed the coin towards the counter.
Murkrow were pretty smart, and he knew that a lot of bird Pokémon were able to imitate an impressive number of sounds. The Pokémon actually followed his finger, clicking his beak and then pecking his hand softly.
« No! You can't have this coin. "Coffee"» He repeated.
« "Krow... "krowkee"...»
Turo wondered for a moment if the bird actually knew the name of some things already, simply because he heard people at the Academy speak them out loud every day.
« Good. You do that, you can keep the change. All right, go.»
He watched the Pokémon take the coin and fly away with a chuckle.
« What are you doing? ... apart from trying to teach your Murkrow to order coffee, for some reason.»
Turo turned around at Clavell's voice coming from behind him, watching the older man approach his table. Clavell took one look at him and sighed. Turo cringed, already knowing what was coming next.
« I know you are an adult, but as one of your teachers I'm obliged to do it: ... wearing the suspenders like that doesn't respect school regulations.»
Turo reluctantly put the suspenders, who he had left hanging around his trousers as soon as he had stepped out of the classroom, back on, attaching them properly.
« I don't like them. I feel like I can't... breath or move properly. I miss my suit-» He muttered in a lower voice as Clavell sat down by his side.
« ... that scuba diving looking thing? ... You really are used to wearing that thing everyday?»
Turo said nothing in response, frowning at his mistake. Their old clothes, together with their meager belongings, had been moved inside their dormitory rooms and carefully hidden away.
« ... I was teaching words to Murkrow...» He answered, opting to ignore the other's comment and change subject completely. Clavell's eyes narrowed, but he didn't comment on it.
« Murkrow can actually learn to reproduce an impressive number of sounds, like Squawkabilly and Chatot. Even sounds that are mostly artificial, like machinery... and speaking of machinery, I've seen you speak with Jacq often. You like programming? »
Turo allowed himself to relax a bit; that felt like a safe argument to talk about, as long as it was about basic concepts...
« Yes, it's... a hobby...»
« Are you thinking of doing something related to it for the Treasure Hunt?» Clavell asked.
He had absolutely no idea. In his time, his own Treasure Hunt had been about researching new possible Artificial Pokémon, but what could he even do here...?
The only thing he could think of was... doing that, just for fun...
« Well, maybe... do you have a Por-»
« Turo!»
Sada's voice, almost a yell, resonated through the mostly empty room, followed a moment later by the woman herself sprinting inside.
She looked completely out of breath as she slid to a stop near them, eyes wide, holding something under her arm. Her eyes landed on Clavell for just a moment, and she seemed to hesitate, before sitting down in front of him.
« I was at the library... and I saw these... look!»
She pushed two thick books stacked on top of each other in front of him. Turo furrowed his eyebrows, looking down on the bright red cover that had been thrust in from of him.
« Oh... those... haven't seen them in quite a while, I didn't even know our school still had copies of those books...» He heard Clavell said right by his side, but all his attention had been captured by what was represented on the cover of the book. It was a simple picture, draw in the very center in stylized lines in black ink. It wouldn't have looked out of place on a coat of arms, or as the family crest of some old noble Paldean family. That's what had been his first thought the book was, until he actually recognized what the picture represented.
That was Winged King. No doubts about it. The feathered crest, the long tail, the webbed feet... he swallowed, reading the title of the book. "The Scarlet Book".
Before seeing it with his own eyes, as far as he knew there had been no records of there being a prehistoric ancestor to Cyclizar... maybe he had been wrong? Maybe people in the 21th century or even before had actually found fossil evidence of it, and the knowledge had simply been lost...?
Maybe they had thought they were something else? There was that whole story about people in the past mistaking old Mamoswine skeletons as the skull of some enormous giant or whatever...
« Those books were written almost 200 years ago.» Clavell spoke up, and Sada looked at him with wide eyes, almost trembling, as the man opened the "Scarlet Book" and turned a couple of pages.
« They supposedly document the first scientific expedition in modern history into Area Zero... they caused a lot of uproar when it came out, but people started questioning what was written in them... some things are probably based on real events, but all these tales about "monsters" and magical herbs and crystals in Area Zero... sounds more like he used his experience and myths around the Crater as basis for a nice fantasy tale to me.» He added, stopping shortly after the start of the first chapter.
Sada looked understandably agitated as she kept turning pages, stopping on what looked to be another drawing.
« But... the Pokémon in this book... how...» She whispered, throwing a quick glance to Turo as she pointed to the image. Turo simply nodded, recognizing the figure of a Great Tusk.
Clavell was looking between the both of them, suddenly serious.
« ... you're not about to tell me you actually saw these Pokémon under there, do you?» He asked, lowering his voice to barely more than a whisper.
Sada was chewing at her lip, her eyes flitting everywhere around the page as she tried to read everything at once. She just shook her head in response.
« We didn't... go all the way down... they could be there...» Turo slowly offered.
It was... statistically improbable, but not impossible, for Pokémon of long ago to still be alive as they were. If the Crater had acted as a closed environment, completely separating them from the rest of the world for thousands or even million of years... hadn't it happened with at least another Pokémon? Relicanth, or something similar? Pretty much unchanged for ages?
But Sada looked way too agitated for it to be just that: surely she didn't think... he sighed, raising one hand to squeeze her shoulder.
« Sada... even if there's Winged King under there... it wouldn't be yours...» He tried to gently remind her in her language. Sada looked back up, face white as a sheet.
« I-I know... but these creatures are just like the one I know... and the other book... »
The other book? He had assumed Sada had just grabbed two copies to have him read one, but when she lifted the Scarlet Book to look at it better, he saw that the second book underneath was actually different. A violet cover, with a sleek figure drawn in similarly stylized lines as the Scarlet Book, pointing to the right instead of the left, almost mirroring the other.
Nothing could have prepared him for what was drawn on the cover. He drew a strangled breath, suddenly feeling his chest ache.
Miraidon...
That was unmistakably a Miraidon. But that was...
Someone discovering a place where Pokémon long extinct everywhere else still survived to this day? Difficult but not completely impossible.
But Miraidon as a species wouldn't even exist for at least another good thousand years, at a minimum.
He tore the book open at a random point, his eyes frantically scanning the page up and down.
This made no sense. How had they never heard of these books?
« Impossible... this is impossible...»
Now he understood Sada's frantic nervousness. It wasn't about there being or not Pokémon of her time in Area Zero. She was thinking about how they could be pictured in these books... Because if Pokémon also from his time had been seen in the Crater, somehow...
« We need to go back to Area Zero.» He said, raising his head back up towards Clavell, who simply stuttered for a moment, speechless.
« ... What? What are you two talking about? I just dragged you out of there and you want to go back? You...» The man looked between him and Sada, and Turo realized he was gripping the Violet Book so tight that his fingers hurt.
« They are just fantasy books! Why the sudden interest? You...» His eyes went wide, and Clavell fell silent for a moment.
« ... You recognized the Pokémon on the cover.»
It wasn't a question, it was a statement, said in a dull voice as he still looked between the both of them. Sada, clutching the Scarlet Book to her chest; Turo figured that while he was simply holding it in one hand, he probably was unconsciously showing a similar expression to hers. Eyes wild, almost shaking from head to toe.
« You did, didn't you? » Clavell repeated. « You actually think these Pokémon exist?»
A heavy silence fell between the three of them.
« ... They exist. » Sada whispered, head held low as she looked at the book's cover, one finger brushing over Winged King's silhouette.
From an external point of view, it was probably silly. Two grown adults suddenly getting obsessed about pictures in some old books... But Clavell couldn't understand. He couldn't understand the implications behind the simple existence of these books.
If, somehow... there were Pokémon of other times in Area Zero... maybe that was why they had landed here of all places. Maybe that place... attracted things from other times.
Somehow.
And maybe there was a way for them to contact home- he immediately suppressed that thought.
He didn't even dare to hope.
It was too absurd to be a coincidence. A guy coming up with Pokémon that just happened to look exactly like Pokémon that had actually existed, and would exist in the future?
The author being some psychic prophet or whatever was a likelier explanation than it being a coincidence.
« We... We know they do. We just do. We need to go see.» Turo begged Clavell, who just shook his head.
« Impossible. I already got in too much trouble rescuing you two with a quick touch-down. You need at minimum the Paldean League's and Director Harrington's permission to enter the Crater officially-»
« The Paldean League...?»
Sada's tone made Clavell sigh as he adjusted his glasses, obviously growing more exasperated as the conversation went on.
« You... don't know what the League is. Of course. »
Turo tried to regain his composure, forcing himself to sit still and relax the iron grip he was still holding the Violet Book in.
« Clavell. What would we need to do to get permission to enter Area Zero...?» He asked, voice barely more than a whisper. Sada crept closer, leaning forward to listen, still holding the Scarlet Book close to her chest like she was clutching a lifeline. Clavell now looked completely lost and overwhelmed, shrinking back in his seat as both of them loomed over him.
« W-well, Area Zero is notoriously dangerous, so... other than an actually good reason... I imagine the League would like proof that you are strong enough to handle yourself under there...»
« I can-» Sada was interrupted by Clavell raising one hand.
« Not with a bow and arrow. With Pokémon to protect you. You would probably need to be Champion-ranked trainers at least -»
Champion ranked...? Turo listened with a strange sense of detachment to the older man's words. Now that was something straight out of the history books.
Challenging Gyms, the League... That was what countless VR games in his time had been based on, long after the actual League in most regions had become just a distant memory.
« If that is the case...» He said, looking back down to the cover of the Violet Book, stroking the silhouette of the Miraidon depicted on it with his thumb.
« ... I guess we'll just have to do it.»
For a moment, the only sound was Clavell's exasperated sigh.
« You are serious... » He said, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. For some long moments, neither of them spoke. Sada looked ready to bolt outside and attempt to climb into the Crater herself. Honestly, Turo could understand her.
« Umm... I have an order for... one coffee for the guy with the Murkrow?»
All three of them looked to the guy at the bar that had spoken up, and was now looking confusedly around while Murkrow landed on the table in a flurry of little wingbeats.
« "Krowkee!"» He cawed proudly, clutching two little coins in his beak.
Uh... Oh, nice! The little bastard actually did it!
Turo chuckled and stroked the little flying type.
---
That same evening, as soon as lessons were done, they had toured every book store in Mesagoza to buy a copy of the Scarlet and Violet Books for themselves. They had been quite difficult to find; Turo had said that they were probably "out of print", but they had finally found two copies in a little place that sold all kinds of old books.
Now they were back at the Academy, both sitting on her bed in her dormitory room.
« They... They are the same book.» Sada commented as she cracked open the pages to the first chapter.
« Look.» She waited for Turo to do the same, and pointed to one sentence at random.
« "A photograph from...the survey team's point of in-ingress-"» She read aloud, only for Turo's voice to join hers, Violet Book held in his left hand.
« "-to the crater, which is visible in the background."... You're right.» He commented. He went back and forth between the two.
« ... Completely the same, word for word. Same author, same edition... same print year. » Sada watched as he dragged his free hand through his hair, leaving some short bangs sticking straight up. She wasn't sure what the edition or print year were, but she had compared even the little codes printed on the back, and they came out similarly identical.
« ... Why make two books the same, except for... the Pokémon? The story is the same... even some pictures.» She wondered, going back to the page with the Great Tusk drawing. Turo mirrored her movements, turning to the same page number on the Violet Book. The creature drawn inside had the same general shape of a Great Tusk, but like most things she had seen of Turo's time, had a smooth and compact appearance, covered in rigid plates.
« ... Iron Treads. I... I don't know what to think. Did this guy have visions of the future and decided to use them for his book? Why have I never heard of these books? »
At Turo's incredule comments, Sada closed the Scarlet Book again to look at the name of who had written it.
« ... It says "Heath" wrote this. Many years ago.» She said after a moment.
Turo sighed.
« Well, the guy is long dead. » A frustrated scowl crossed his face for just a moment. « If I still had... It would be so easy to just go there and ask him... But in that case we wouldn't even be in this situation, I guess...» He flopped backwards on her bed, the still opened Violet Book falling back on his face.
« ... We can try to look for his family. They must know something.» Sada offered. If he had children...
The Violet Book was lifted just enough for a single brown eye to peer up at her.
« ... His descendants? We can try...» He muttered.
Sada smiled, feeling excitement bubble up inside her. This... it had shocked her at first, but now... they had an objective. They had something to do: go back to Area Zero... And find out how these books had been written.
If it was true... if... if something from "home" was waiting for her at the bottom of Area Zero... she just had to see.
« These books... They will be our "Treasure Hunt"!» She offered, falling backwards and landing over Turo, prompting a little "oof" out of the man as she knocked the wind out of him.
His arms came up from behind to hug her waist, and she felt his short stubble tickle her neck as he leaned against her.
« If... if there really is a way to go back home there...» He said after a long moment, and she could feel the hesitation in the way his voice vibrated against her.
« Would... would you...» He didn't finish the sentence.
If each of them got back home in their respective times... they would be separated again.
Unless...
« ... Let's not worry about that now.» She said, turning around in his arms to face him directly.
« For now, let's just focus on getting there. » She cupped his face with both hands, stroking his cheek with one thumb.
« We don't know what is happening there. » She added, and Turo nodded silently, eyes closed as he leaned into her touch.
« ... Right. One thing at a time. Like in the crater. Together.» He whispered.
« Together.»
---
As he accompanied Sada and Turo through the road towards Los Platos on a little picnic to both relax and train their Pokémon a bit, Clavell kept carefully observing the two. Those reactions to the books had been... curious, together with their immediate desire to go back to Area Zero.
They had recognized the Pokémon on the covers, he was sure of it. They meant something to them.
Which was... strange, since those Pokémon mentioned in the Scarlet and Violet Books had never been found.
They looked similar to existing Pokémon, sure, but... both Turo and Sada had looked shocked at seeing the books.
Their surprise was genuine, he was sure of it. And they obviously didn't want him to overhear when they spoke about something, whispering to each other in a mix of Sada's strange dialect and Turo's foreign accent when pronouncing certain words.
He... had to admit it stung a bit, how they obviously didn't trust him to reveal what was going on. So he instead had decided to focus on their current, more immediate objective.
« You really want to challenge the Gyms?» He asked.
« Yes. I have looked at all the Gyms in Paldea. With my Litleo's "fire" type and Turo's Murkrow's "flying" type, we can easily challenge the Grass Gym or the Bug Gym. They are also both near here.» Sada answered. She had taken to the challenge with a readiness that was almost scary as soon as he had explained what a Gym challenge was.
« So it's a way for trainers to prove their abilities in combat. Good. » She had said, looking thoughtful.
Now, she was walking in front of both of them; Clavell couldn't help but notice that she was extremely silent. Every step was carefully measured to make as little noise as possible, and she would often half-crouch to examine tracks on the ground, or gather tufts of fur or scales left behind by wild Pokémon.
Her Pokémon, the Litleo she had caught, was walking by her side, carefully sniffing every time the woman paused to examine something.
« Kim. Look here. Tiny scales like these are left by bug Pokémon. Don't touch them, they will hurt! Do you understand?» She was saying to the little fire type right at that moment, pointing towards a pile of dead leaves on the ground covered by a fine, sawdust like powder - maybe traces of a Stun Spore, or Poison Powder attack, left by some Pokémon, or what was typically left by the fine powder that usually covered their wings. The little Pokémon was listening with wide eyes - then again, Litleo always looked a little surprised -, ears twitching.
« They look like they have just been shed-» the woman's following words took Clavell by surprise. She could tell?
He would have to ask her how... They definitely hadn't covered that in his biology lessons.
« So a bug Pokémon is nearby. A big one. » She got back up, pointing away from the road and towards a little thicket, where the trees grew closer. Her Litleo faithfully followed her, half disappearing through the tall grass.
« ... She knows a lot about wild Pokémon tracks.» Clavell turned to Turo, who had been slowly shuffling after them. The man seemed more than content to simply let his Pokémon fly around, picking fights with wild Scatterbug and the like and just letting him do his own thing. Clavell didn't think he had heard him call out a single attack yet.
« Um? Oh, yes... She's got a lot of... Practice.» Turo answered after a moment, obviously distracted. Clavell glared at the younger man. He had given up trying to extract information out of them by now, but sometimes he had the distinct impression that they were toying with him.
« ... Practice. Tracking Pokémon alone. In Kalos, I suppose.» He added.
Turo simply blinked, calmly putting both hands into the pockets of the dark winter parka he was wearing.
« Right!» He said with a hint of a smirk.
They got interrupted by Turo's Murkrow landing on the man's right shoulder with a loud screech. Like most times when he came back, the flying type was holding something shiny in his beak that he spit in Turo's waiting hand.
« Miguel... I told you to not pick up trash from the ground...» Turo grumbled.
It had become a habit for the man to pretty much accept anything the Pokémon would find pretty -and shiny - enough to bring back to him, and he had been amassing a veritable collection of random junk from the moment they had left the Academy.
A moment later, Turo raised a single eyebrow.
« This... where did you find it?» He asked the Pokémon, who looked more busy preening his feathers to bother answering. Clavell approached Turo to look.
There, in his hand, were what looked like little shards of colored glass. They refracted the light in a multitude of colors, but most of it looked light green. He could see how it would have attracted the Murkrow's attention.
« Some of my students have reported finding these... crystal shards around Paldea.» Clavell commented, interested. It was the first time he saw them up close, and they definitely weren't simple glass shards like he had first thought.
« ... They have?» Turo looked even more puzzled at that, turning the little shards around in his hand. « We've seen this ... crystal.»
Something in Turo's tone made a chill run along Clavell's back. If he had said "we"...
« You mean... under there?»
Turo nodded, absentmindedly petting Murkrow as he slipped the crystals into his pocket.
« Yes... it was everywhere. The grass... over trees. The air felt... heavy, sometimes. Especially at night.» He frowned, like he was remembering something unpleasant.
« What do you mean... heavy? Toxic?» Clavell asked. It was the first time either of them mentioned any detail about how things had been in the Crater. Turo however shook his head.
« No. It didn't seem to do anything to us, but... it felt... "powerful".» He answered after a moment.
A tense silence fell between the two, neither of them quite willing to voice their concern out loud: if these crystals came from Area Zero... What were they doing here?