Weeks passed both curiously slowly and in a blur as they kept working on their respective research, the lighthouse, and visits to the doctor for Sada's pregnancy.
Turo's first research paper about examples of human activity directly influencing Pokémon evolution was being peer reviewed, while Sada had just submitted a paper about her theory about Primal Energy and Primal regression being the cause of the Pokémon of her time changing into their current forms.
At the moment, Turo had been working on something a bit different... or at least, that's what he said he was doing. To Sada, he was just typing at his computer like always.
« .... I really don't know how you can do that every day and not get bored.» she commented, holding back a yawn as she watched him type while she read the Scarlet Book.
« Did you get bored crafting arrows or travelling all day? Or working with Tera Crystals?» he replied after a moment, barely looking away from the screen.
Sada tilted her head, thinking.
« No... But I don't see how that is the same. Aren't you just writing stuff that tells the computer what to do? Aren't the commands always the same?» she asked after a moment. Turo's frantic typing stopped, and he turned the chair towards her.
« The various commands may be fixed, but you have to think how to use them to get the computer to do exactly what you want... I could teach you a bit, if you want.» he offered, and she stopped leafing through the Scarlet Book to look at him.
« ... Learn to program? I don't know... I think it's better if I leave it to you. I like to work on more "physical" things. » she answered after a moment with a small frown.
Turo shrugged and went back to work.
« All right. » there was a pause as she felt him look at her, and she curved her shoulders slightly inward. « ... It's not because you think you wouldn't be capable of it, right?»
She flinched, surprised. Well... she had thought about it, to be completely honest. She had worked so hard just to be able to fit in this time. Learning the language , learning to read, write,catching up on all the elementary school subjects like basic math just to be able to follow the actual courses... she felt like she had to put so much work into just being on the same level of everyone else. Turo had helped her, of course. In the evening, he would often come into her room and explain things to her when she didn't understand something... especially during those first weeks, his help had been invaluable.
But she couldn't help but feel like she was just... being left behind. She had been thinking about it a lot with the baby growing inside her.
Turo had all this knowledge about the future, he had to actually pay attention to not reveal too much of everything he knew. But her? What about her?
What... what could she even teach this child, in a world where she herself barely fit in? How to follow wild Pokémon tracks? How to fight with a spear?
... Ridiculous.
« Sada...?» she heard Turo stand up and move to her side.
« Do you really think that?» he asked. She avoided his eyes, staring at the drawing of a Roaring Moon in the Scarlet Book.
« I... I'm not sure. I've been having a lot of thoughts. I still feel like I'm always catching up with everyone... and that it will happen with the baby too. » she said, watching Turo tilt his head at her with a puzzled frown on his face.
« What... do you mean? »
« I mean... that I don't know anything about raising a child in this time! About... Raising them right, and proper, and... and giving them everything they need here...»
« Sada-» Turo interrupted her by grasping her by both shoulders, and she stopped halfway through her almost-meltdown.
« I... I understand. You're scared. I am too.»
« Y-you are...?» she asked.
But even now, he always looked so calm, and collected. Turo always knew what to do.
« Of course. I'm terrified. I have no idea how to be a father either. But I think that no one does. And we will do it our own way. The only thing we can do is... taking it one day at a time.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves... you taught me that, remember?»
She bit her lip and nodded, not quite convinced, as she lowered her eyes.
Turo kept speaking.
« You not knowing something now doesn't mean that you can't do it. I'm sure that you could learn how to program a dumb computer in no time, if you wanted.» he said with a short laugh. « And the same will happen with our child. We'll figure it out together. You are... you honestly have no idea how much I admire all the work you've put into studying since arriving here. »
She slowly raised her head, to find Turo extremely close, his eyes shining with pride.
« You went from barely being able to read in this language to writing a scientific paper discussing your theories in not even a year! You really don't realize how incredible that is?» he whispered.
« But... that means nothing -»
« It means everything!» his uncharacteristically vehemence made her almost jump; he looked exactly like he had when he had first explained to her what a "scientist" was. She thought back to his words that day, the ones he had added right after that at the time she didn't understand because she hadn't known his language enough yet. They had sounded like...
"And that's... beautiful"
She smiled and lowered her eyes, feeling herself blush now that she finally understood their meaning.
« I... I just don't want to feel like... I need to hide what I'm truly like to this child. I want them... to learn my language, and the stories of my tribe... our traditions and our beliefs. I want to make them a warm blanket out of pelts and -» she struggled to continue.
« Then do it! Who's stopping you? We'll both tell them bedtime stories of our times-» he actually smiled a little at that, like he was already thinking up stories of faraway worlds full of magical, wondrous technology.
« Also, they are not even born yet! Let's worry about it when we're actually there, right?»
She slowly nodded, going back to the Scarlet Book with her mind still swirling with thoughts. A moment later, she yelped when she felt Turo's hand brush her thigh.
« Also we have to get married first. Maybe let's freak out about that, first?»
She blushed. Right, that was... much more imminent. And she still had to finish her present for him...
« You're right. Clavell is pestering me to know our "wedding vows"» she sighed, and he chuckled.
« You too? Since we're already here, let's think of something-»
Sada smiled and pushed the Scarlet Book closed and away, happy for the distraction.
---
It turned out that planning a wedding was a lot easier when neither the groom nor the bride had any of the problems that usually were involved in weddings: handling the guest list was a non issue since it was so laughably short, and neither of them really cared about stuff like "what colour are the flowers going to be".
As for the guests; Clavell, Jacq, Raifort, a couple more classmates and people they had met around Paldea... that was it.
It was almost depressing.
Turo was actually much more nervous about... something he was working on for Sada. He had left the notebook he had sketched all kinds of things on during his visits in Sada's era back in his time, so frustratingly, he had nothing to go on except memory. It would have turned out much better if he could have used at least his old sketches for reference.
He also had the problem of where to hide it; he had started to work on it in the art room because it had all kinds of supplies and was convenient, but anyone could have just waltzed in, Sada included, and he wanted to minimize the chances of it happening.
The art room was full of half finished works by students of all ages, but she would have realized who the author was as soon as she glanced at it, so he had to move.
His own room was no good for the exact same reason.
Which was exactly why he had carried an entire aisle and canvas in the last place in the Academy Sada would have looked in: the computer lab.
Not the best place to paint in, admittedly, but at least some of the kids in there had found it pretty funny. And it was quiet... if you ignored the occasional groans coming from people sitting at their computers, the ones he recognized as the universal sign amongst computer nerds that meant "this dumb thing I wrote isn't working and I don't know why".
Working on a canvas was something he definitely wasn't used to: he was much more used to smaller and simpler sketches done in pen or pencil, with minimal use of colours.
And of course, in his time, he was used to just being able to erase a line and do it over and over again.
The canvas on the other hand looked so incredibly... final and intimidating.
After wasting another twenty minutes fussing about how to mix the colours to use after he was done with the initial sketch, he cursed under his breath and grabbed his Pokénav, dialing a number he had saved some months ago.
« Brassius...? This is Romero Turo-» he furrowed both eyebrows after a moment.
« No... the Tera Orb still isn't ready -» he lowered his voice to a whisper, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the other people working. Two kids were working on what looked like a simple remote controlled drone, and they were the only ones currently looking back at him as the drone's rotors spun uselessly.
« ... but we do have an almost working prototype. Could you come to the Academy?»
---
« So, umm.... Sada....?»
« Yes?» Sada turned to Raifort as they walked through a little, charming open market of pottery and other handmade objects held in Alfornada every other week. She had discovered it during one of their many trips around Paldea and by now was a frequent customer. There were some things you could only find here... And personally, she liked that excitement and sense of discovery of what you could find you felt walking along the stalls. Much more that simply walking into a shop and asking the store clerk about what you needed.
Was the latter more convenient, and saved a lot of time? Yes, but it felt less... adventurous, in a way.
Walking along these haphazardly set up stalls that would disappear the next day reminded her of when her whole tribe would move to the lake during the summer to trade pelts and other materials with other tribes.
Here she was using money instead of trade, but there was a similar sense of community. Things felt more personal.
Normally, Raifort would eagerly follow her, but today she seemed a bit more reluctant.
« ... So you want to make Turo this wedding gift.... why, exactly?»
Her question made Sada smile softly.
« It's a tradition from my village that goes way back. When two people marry, it's customary to make something the other part would find useful in their... er... job. » she answered after a moment, looking past a stall that sold old books and fighting the urge to stop and take a look.
Raifort followed her, and she could her hum slowly to herself.
« ... And that something was usually... A cape?» she asked.
Sada threw a look back at her as she nodded.
« Yes... Er... My village is in the middle of nowhere, in Kalos. It gets quite isolated in winter, and... really cold, so.. that's why....» she trailed off a bit.
Raifort looked quite intrigued.
« Your place sounds pretty hardcore...» she just commented after a moment.
Well, to be exact, it was a tradition to make the groom either a weapon or an elaborate, heavy travel mantle from pelts, something that symbolized him using those new tools to protect their new family and becoming part of the tribe... But she couldn't exactly show up to Turo with an elaborate dagger she had chiseled from stone... even if his face at receiving something like that would have been incredible.
And she couldn't exactly do heavy furs again, so... she had to adapt a bit.
« It won't exactly be a cape, but... something similar. And I need a very specific fabric for the effect I'm looking for.» she said with a little smile. « And Jacq's help-»
« Jacq? Why do you need him? Have you seen how he dresses?» Raifort asked, but Sada just laughed.
She couldn't wait to see Turo's face.
---
« You want to seriously paint something here? This place is a disgrace to everything representing the arts-»
Turo sighed; the moment Brassius had arrived from Artazon and set foot inside the Academy's computer club, he had felt the eyes of pretty much everyone in the room move over to him. Couldn't they go back to their own projects? No...?
The little drone the two kids had managed to get to start flying was buzzing around the ceiling, beeping in distress as its batteries depleted while one of the students sat with the controller in hand, trying to not look too obvious as he eavesdropped their conversation.
« Look, I don't need a lecture about how boring you think computers are-» Brassius rolled his eyes at that, but didn't say anything else.
There was... a certain beauty for Turo in writing code. In making something that was able to execute certain actions, to have a physical effect on the world, out of nothing but instructions and logic.
« But I need... someone that understands how to convey emotions, and... what colours to use. I have this sketch- it's a place that's very important for Sada... here.» he gestured towards the canvas, and he could see Brassius turn an eye towards it -and half the computer club behind him stretch their necks trying to take a peek at it -
« ... But I don't know... How to start. What colours do I use first? What if I pick it wrong, and it ends up ruined -»
You could always erase and rewrite code, but this was completely different.
Brassius took some steps towards the canvas, studying it.
« ... Do you always sketch like this?» he asked after a moment. Turo stared, not quite sure what he meant.
« ... I'm afraid I don't follow.»
« Your sketch is... hyper realistic. It looks like you tried to redraw a scene from memory like you're recreating a photograph. You mostly do a lot of still life or portraits, I assume?»
Turo's eyes widened. « I... yes...? That's just how I've always drawn. I like to copy what I have in front of me- what's wrong with it...?» he almost snapped, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Brassius shook his head.
« Oh, nothing's wrong with that. But if you asked for my help, I assume you don't want this to simply look like a hyper realistic photograph, am I right?» he said, tilting his head towards the canvas.
« One thing I always ask myself with my art is: "what do I want the viewer to feel"? What do you want Sada to feel looking at it?» the man asked, and Turo had to think in silence for a couple of long moments.
He moved closer to the almost blank canvas, his fingers twitching slightly. His eyes flitted over the canvas, before stopping on a particular point.
« ... Here. This point right here.» he pointed to the barely sketched hearth.
« I want it to feel... warm. Cozy. I want her to feel... safe looking at it. Not sad... and definitely not nostalgic. It has to be cozy.»
Brassius "mmm"-ed, alternating looking between the canvas and him.
« You could use very warm colours for the fire, and make the corners of the painting very dark in contrast, to draw the viewer's eye to it. This is not a campfire, isn't it? It's a small fire in a enclosed space, so it's not going to cast much light... Emphasize that. That feeling of safety and warmth huddling close around it.» he said.
Turo blinked and turned to look at him, confused.
« Won't... won't making it too dark feel all dreary?» he asked in an anxious tone. That was the last thing he wanted.
Brassius flashed a smirk.
« Not at all, if you do it well. Now, show me your brushes.»
Turo showed him the brand new ones he had bought. Brassius grabbed the two smallest ones and promptly threw them behind his back. They spiraled through the air and barely missed the little drone that beeped in alarm.
« You won't need these.»
« W-what?»
---
Sada impatiently waited for Jacq to arrive, staring at the point where the Flying Taxi would land. She had found exactly what she was looking for, a nice piece of cloth of exactly the right color, now she only needed...
« There he is...» Raifort yawned as she slammed a book about the Paldean royal family she had been reading shut, and Sada jumped up.
« Jacq! What took you so long?!»
The researcher almost fell out of the taxi and scratched at his head, embarrassed.
« I was discussing my latest project with Clavell, I'm sorry... So, um... What do you need me for?» he asked.
Sada simply grabbed him by the arm and pretty much dragged the man behind her, towards the bench where Raifort was sitting. The woman waved.
« You'll be my model. You and Turo have a similar build, he's just a little bit taller but that I can easily fix-» Sada answered, to which Jacq's eyes widened.
« M-model? For what? And why here? In the literal middle of the road-» he sputtered while Sada dumped her trademark yellow backpack at his feet. For once, it wasn't filled with camping gear but anything she could need for sewing.
Grabbing a measurement tape felt highly nostalgic as she held it up, slowly unraveling it. Aw, just like she had done all those months ago...
« For a new labcoat I want to gift him. And don't worry... I've worked in worse conditions. I'll be done in a moment, I just need your measurements.» she rolled her eyes at his obvious embarrassment.
Jacq turned a helpless look towards Raifort, who shrugged and went back to her book, then back to Sada.
« B-but... there's people watching.. why here?» he squeaked.
Sada turned to follow his eyes, towards the dozen or so people in the little plaza that were pretending not to be looking at them.
« Would you have preferred Mesagoza? The Academy? Or maybe in the wild, being watched by a couple of Lechonks?» she answered back as she started to measure his waist and shoulders.
Truth was, she vaguely remembered the measurements she had done for Turo's clothes in her time... But those were much heavier than what the labcoat would end up being. This would be... A lot more form-fitting... But also light! She wanted it to go "swoosh" like his old one had always done when he moved, she loved that so much! And of course, she would make a labcoat for herself too... they could finally match!
« I also need your help with some... tech stuff. I don't just want to make him a labcoat... I want it to glow.» she said.
Jacq blinked, now looking quite perplexed.
« Glow... Like... Glow in the dark?»
« Yes! Well... not only in the dark! It has to be subtle, but... I want to sew little handcuffs and the interior with this exact color-» she said, pausing to grab the fabric she had just bought from her bag. It was a very light violet, the exact colour that Turo's bodysuit shone when he still wore it.
She knew how much he missed wearing it and wanted to make him something that would hopefully feel as good for him to wear as that garment did. Something to wear in this time he could actually love, instead of constantly fidgeting with it.
« And it would look so cool if it glowed just slightly, enough to make you notice it but not be too bright, that would be distracting... you know what I mean? Can you help me do it? Is there some kind of... LED you can put into it? Or can I make the fabric itself glow in the dark in some way?» she asked, hopeful.
Jacq now looked quite intrigued and lost in his thoughts, even as she resumed measuring his arm length.
« I think... yes, there's definitely ways to do that... There's a Pokémon here in Paldea who's saliva contains a substance that could be useful... ever heard of Grafaiai?»
« No...?»
« Great! » Jacq smiled « Could you help me catch one?»
Sada pouted and jabbed him with a needle.
« This is actually for your research, isn't it? Fine...»
---
After a while, Turo understood why Brassius had told him to get rid of the brushes. He had carefully painted the hearth at the center of the canvas, and some of the brightest spots, but now he needed to do most of the background.
The man was watching him with sharp eyes, arms crossed.
He wanted this painting to remind Sada of her time, but not painfully so. And what painting tool was better to do so than to use what had been humanity's first brush?
He dunked his fingertips into the black paint, and pressed them on the upper corner of the canvas. A little chorus of "oooh" rose up behind him as probably half of the Academy's STEM course was busy watching.
He frowned and turned around.
« ... could you please not comment everything I do...?» he mumbled.
« Don't complain about people appreciating art being made. You could have chosen literally anywhere else if you wanted privacy-» Brassius roller his eyes, and Turo went back to work.
« ... all right, you can watch. But please no one tell Sada about this.» he mumbled.
« Bro, do I look like I even know who this Sada is-» one of the high school students piped up, and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit under his breath.
---
« According to my research, Grafaiai should live right around here...» Jacq said as they stepped out of the Flying Taxi, the pilot with the multicoloured flock of Squawkabilly lighting himself a cigarette as soon as they landed.
« "According to your research"? Everyone knows where Grafaiai territory starts: the bright, neon light graffitied trees make it kinda hard to miss.» the driver commented in a bored tone, prompting an amused chuckle from Raifort.
« I like this guy! We should call him more often.»
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Sada, meanwhile, was more interested in the trees themselves. She had seen them before, but didn't know they were made by a Pokémon! She had left her heavy backpack back at the Academy after a brief stop there, not wanting to risk damaging what she had just bought, and was instead holding the bow she had crafted in Area Zero in one hand. A quiver full of arrows was slung over her shoulder.
Instead of stone or metal arrowheads, each arrow had a Pokeball tied to it; that was the only way Clavell had allowed her to bring it around, and the one that wouldn't attract too much attention.
People had developed all kinds of unconventional ways to throw or use Poke Balls, it seemed like. Boomerangs, fishing rods, poles, slingshots... her bow wouldn't look that out of place.
Sada had accepted the compromise: a Pokeball was quite effective in blocking any wild Pokémon for a moment, even if they broke out of it immediately.
Too bad not all Pokeball in this time were like the white ones that Turo had shown her... maybe the technology wasn't there yet?
« All right Kim, we need to hunt some wild Pokémon now!» she said, releasing the Litleo from her Pokeball.
The Fire type blinked and looked around, her tail twitching slowly behind her, something that Sada had learned meant she was interested.
She crouched near the Pokémon and showed her a picture of the Pokémon they were looking for from one of the many books about Paldea's fauna that Jacq always seemed to carry with him.
« It's this one. We'll have to be careful and really sneaky. With those big eyes, it can probably see perfectly even in the dark.» she explained as the Litleo peered at the picture, ears twitching.
« Let's do our best!» she whispered, and they set off.
She liked to watch the Litleo prowl confidently in front of her. It was a stark contrast with how she had acted when she had first caught her, clumsily chasing after a Tandemaus. Kim had grown a lot, just like her: she was now completely silent as she approached the first tree, sniffing it and briefly clawing at the trunk, before turning her eyes upwards.
« Do Grafaiai usually hide in the trees?» Sada whispered towards Jacq, biting her lip. That would make it more difficult for her is she had to aim between the branches...
« I guess so?» Jacq shrugged, and Sada sighed and shook her head.
She started following Kim as silently as she could, before she realised that it was useless when she noticed how much noise Jacq was making. Raifort was a bit better at it, since the two had spent quite a lot of time travelling together, but Jacq... well, he reminded her of how clueless Turo had been back in her time.
She repressed a nostalgic smile, before flinching when she noticed that Kim had crouched completely flat on the ground, tail low but the point of it twitching excitedly.
She had found one!
« Go!» she whispered, and the Litleo took off. As a blur between the tall grass, she aimed a Fire Fang at the figure of a Grafaiai crouched low on the ground, busy munching on some berries. The wild Pokémon's ears prickled up, and it turned those enormous, luminous eyes towards the Litleo. It raised one claw and threw the berry it was eating straight at Kim's mouth before scampering off. The Litleo bit the berry in half, charring it completely, and barely slowed down as she chased after it.
Sada run after the two, raising her bow: the first arrow flew past the Grafaiai and embedded a Pokéball in the ground in front of it, making the wild Pokémon grind to a stop. The pupil-less eyes made it difficult to understand what it was thinking; the wild Pokémon's ears twitched backwards, and it briefly turned to look towards Kim and Sada just as she fired the second arrow at it. It ducked low, avoiding the Poké Ball sailing past it, and decided to confront the Pokémon that was chasing it. Screeching wildly, it fired a Poison Spray straight at Kim's mouth, prompting her to close it and stop her Fire Fang to avoid ingesting the poison directly. She couldn't avoid the rest splattering on her face however, and the Litleo hissed in annoyance.
« Kim, attack it at a distance! Noble Roar!» she called out an order as she nocked her third arrow, but the wild Pokémon seemed to have wised up to their strategy already. It rushed the Litleo with a Fury Attack even as she roared, keeping as close to her as possible and slashing the air with its claws, more berry juice and poison dripping from the claws spattering everywhere.
With the two Pokémon fighting close up like that, she had trouble aiming.
Kim tried to Headbutt the Grafaiai to send it tumbling back and give her a clear shot, but the Poison was smarter than that. One ear was constantly turned towards Sada as he kept his attention on both her and her Pokémon.
Sada found herself grinning: this one was smart! It knew how to act around humans and to be wary of Poké Balls. Who knows how many people trying to catch it it had already escaped...
The Grafaiai now darted between the trees, climbing one with blinding speed and using it as cover as it tried to make its escape. Kim roared in annoyance and opened her mouth, ready to breath a stream of fire after it, but Sada interrupted her.
« No, Kim! Chase after it on the ground and cut it off where the trees clear up, quick!» she exclaimed lowering her bow, starting to run after it herself.
The Litleo took off, much faster than her as it beelined through the tall grass, her eyes still fixed on the figure of the wild Pokémon as it escaped.
Soon neither of the two Pokémon was visible anymore, but she had faith in the Litleo. She would catch up to it-
She kept running , hearing both Raifort and Jacq run behind her, until she saw the trees get more scarcer ahead. There was a sound like a squeak and another roar, and Sada caught a glimpse of her Pokémon and the Grafaiai.
The trees stopped and would have forced the Grafaiai to jump back down to the ground, except that Kim was standing proudly in front of it, cutting off its escape route. The wild Pokémon hesitated a moment, reluctant to abandon the cover of the trees but also aware of the humans coming up behind it. It turned around just in time for Sada's arrow to hit it straight on the head, the Poké Ball finally catching it. The red and white sphere fell to the ground, where it shook a couple of times... before breaking open and releasing the creature again.
The Grafaiai shook its head and screeched; it really looked almost used to the feeling, confirming Sada's idea that it wasn't the first time someone had tried to catch it.
She readied another arrow as the Pokémon seemed ready to rush her to escape up in the trees again. She just had to hit it again to stop it-
But just then, a mighty roar resounded behind it, and both Pokémon and Sada looked up in surprise, towards Kim.
The Litleo had started running as soon as the Grafaiai had moved to attack her trainer, and mid run, her whole body was now glowing brilliantly.
With a gasp, Sada's arms went slack as she realized what was happening.
« Kim...!»
The Litleo's form grew, the tuft of fur on her head growing into a mighty and fiery mane, limbs growing longer and stronger as it finished evolving. Her roar grew deeper as she came out of the evolution as an enormous yet nimble beast. Covering the remaining space in a single bound, she leapt on the now much smaller figure of the Grafaiai and pinned it to the group, slamming one paw over its back. The wild Pokémon squeaked almost pitifully, but it could barely move as the Pyroar stared it down.
Sada could only stare at her, breathless.
« Kim! You evolved!» she whispered, amazed. One of her Pokémon evolved! Right in front of her!
And she was so... Oh, she looked incredible! So strong and proud-looking, and... and she was so big now! Standing up, she could now look Kim in the eye without barely looking down.
The Pyroar started purring, a sound now as loud as the ones Winged King used to make when it would preen her hair, and she almost teared up.
Kim flicked her ears, and pointedly looked down.
« What ...? Oh! Right, the Pokémon -» she muttered, tapping the Poké Ball towards the Grafaiai pinned to the ground. This time, be it either the shock or the damage after being slammed by Kim's paws, it barely struggled and allowed itself to be captured.
She smiled briefly as she picked the Poké Ball up, moving to scratch Kim behind the ears, carefully avoiding the fiery mane.
« Let's go back to the others. We have lots of work still to do. I can't wait to show you off to everyone!» she giggled.
---
The day had actually come: it still didn't feel real to Turo as he looked at himself in the mirror of his Academy dorm room.
A dark blue navy suit with a tie and a simple white shirt.
This was... so different to how he had imagined this day would go, if it ever actually happened.
A couple of hours, and he and Sada would be married. Legally.
... With forged birth certificates and forged everything else that gave them a shred of identity in this era, sure, but... This one piece of paper at least would be real.
He finished adjusting his tie with trembling hands, before turning his head towards the door when he heard someone knock.
« C-come in...» he swallowed, feeling a heavy lump in his throat.
He felt a smidge of relief at seeing Clavell poke his head in. The older man looked at him and nodded approvingly, coming inside and closing the door behind him.
« ... I suppose this is not how you pictured this day going. » Clavell commmented after a moment of silence, walking near.
Turo smiled nervously, looking out of the window. The Mesagoza staircase was barely visible from his room, but he could see a couple of Flying Taxi land right in front of the Academy gates. He squinted, trying to make out who had just stepped off them, but they were too far away to make out.
« Well... I definitely didn't expect to get married at school... by my biology teacher, to boot.» he chuckled to himself.
They had decided to hold the ceremony at the Academy in the end... Mostly because doing it anywhere else would have costed so much money they didn't have, not when they were using every penny they had been saving to restructure the lighthouse.
And when Clavell had offered to perform the ceremony right on the school grounds, they had both found it... Fitting, in a way.
It felt right.
The Academy had been their home since they had arrived here, after all.
« You really didn't have to become an officiant just for us, you know. » he added, to which Clavell just smiled.
« Why not! Seeing two of my students marry here at the school has actually always been a dream of mine... especially two students as particular as you.» he answered, before moving to stand by his side next to the window.
« How are marriages done in the future? Is there still the tradition of cutting the tie? Please don't tell me you wear those glowing suits even then-» Clavell sighed, and Turo smiled nervously again.
« N-no, of course not... and yes, we still cut the groom's tie. Well, at least people in Paldea do. » Turo murmured. For a moment, they just looked out of the window together.
« There's some new traditions... if you get married on the Moon, or in low orbit, you watch the first dawn on Earth together. People over on Mars have their own weird customs... I went to the wedding of a cousin of mine and there's this... thing going on of throwing red dust from Mars's soil all over the newlyweds. Some things are still the same though, so... it's pretty similar all in all. I would have been a lot less sweaty and uncomfortable back in my time however.» he chuckled nervously.
Clavell smiled and briefly grasped his shoulder.
« Let's go.»
For a moment, Turo couldn't help but think that back in his time, his father would have done the same exact gesture, and he swallowed a lump in his throat.
« Yeah.»
They stepped out of the room, and made their way towards the great central hall where the ceremony would be held. The desks at the reception had been moved and replaced by a low table where Clavell would office the ceremony with all the required legal documents. Chairs had been brought out for the invited guests to sit down in, but really nothing stopped anyone else from watching the ceremony from the high balconies of the library all around, and some people (students and staff of the Academy alike) were already milling around. The location was maybe a bit unconventional for a wedding, but both him and Sada had choosen it for what it represented: the very center of Paldea's prized Pokémon Academy, surrounded by books and knowledge on all sides.
His eyes drifted for a brief moment to the two bookshelves closer to the entrance, where he knew a copy of the Scarlet and Violet books were kept, and he smiled briefly. In a way, Winged King and Mirai would be there with them... or at least, he liked to think so.
He spotted various people and his and Sada's Pokémon already waiting in the hall; Ötzi was busy tottering up and down the room, greeting guests and showing them to their seats, looking quite happy to be so useful.
Miguel was flapping in large circles over everyone's heads. At first Turo had been worried that seeing so many people wearing jewellery and their best clothes would send the little Murkrow on a stealing frenzy and bring chaos to the ceremony, but the Dark type seemed to be on his best behaviour... for now. He trusted the Murkrow to understand the importance of the day... he was looking quite intently at some of the guests, but Ampere floated right next to him, keeping quite literally an eye on his teammate.
Miguel cawed in seeing him and flapped briefly down to land on his shoulder, pecking playfully at his hair, and Turo took a short moment to stroke the Dark type's feathers.
« ... Tell you what? People are going to throw coins for good luck at the end of the ceremony. You can keep everything you manage to grab then.» he proposed, and the Dark type's eyes glinted with mischief.
« Treasure? » he cawed, and Turo smiled before letting it fly back up towards the ceiling.
He caught more glimpses of people he knew once he turned around at the end of the makeshift isle to wait for Sada's arrival. Jacq and Raifort were sitting side by side in the first row; seeing them wearing formal clothes was incredibly strange, especially for Jacq, who kept messing nervously with his papillon until Raifort let out an annoyed hiss and fixed it for him. Judging by how the man's face got slightly red, she had tightened it up a bit too much. And judging by her face as she turned back around, it had been completely intentional.
They locked eyes for a moment, and Raifort gave him an almost imperceptible nod. He nodded in answer, and he could swear she smiled almost imperceptibly.
Director Harrington and most of the academy teachers occupied the next two rows, but behind those, he could see various people he and Sada had met during their research on Terastal energy and their gym challenge... plus a plethora of people he had never seen before, who had probably just heard of the event. He swallowed, feeling suddenly quite self-conscious.
So much for the private, little ceremony he had hoped for.
But when a figure walked past the entrance and the guests fell completely silent as Sada stepped inside, he couldn't help but forget everything around him that wasn't her. For that singular moment, the rest of the world didn't exist for him.
As had long been tradition for people of Paldea in the past, Sada was wearing a striking black wedding dress.
Her shoulders were completely bare except for the sleeveless lace top that covered her upper body, while a tight black gown covered her legs... with a small smile, he realized that she had probably wanted to avoid a dress that was too long and cumbersome to walk in, or that dragged on the ground.
It wouldn't have fit her anyway.
However, Sada had still put her own personalized spin on the dress; the necklace with teeth and feathers still shone proudly at her neck, as did the bracelet made with Star Pieces he had given her. She had carved hairpins out of wood and chiselled stone and attached Tera Shards to both, then used them to put her long, wild hair up.
Turo was absolutely sure that if Clavell had allowed her, instead of a bouquet she would have marched in with her bow, or another spear she had crafted.
But instead of a weapon, and maybe representing Sada's proud, wild side even better than a bow ever could, right by her side was Kim. The female Pyroar looked magnificent, her fiery mane casting a warm glow on the Tera shards that adorned Sada's dress, head held high as she escorted her trainer down the isle.
It was tradition between Pokémon trainers to have one of the bride's Pokémon follow her down the isle; it symbolized them entrusting the groom with their trainer, and also accepting the fact that the bride and groom's Pokémon teams were also going to become like a single, shared family.
Turo watched her walk slowly through the hall as he remembered their very first meeting on that riverbank... It felt like it had happened in a completely different life. One where they could have never been together like this.
And now... she was going to become his wife.
Sada and Kim stopped in front of him and Clavell, the Pyroar letting out a short growl. The was no aggressiveness in it, the growl slightly more than a formality, but that was what tradition dictated.
He looked up towards Miguel, and the Murkrow glided back down to his shoulder, careful not to puncture his suit with his sharp claws.
Turo took a deep breath.
« We'll take good care of her.» he bowed his head slightly, Miguel doing the same, and the Pyroar blinked slowly in satisfaction and sat back on her haunches.
« And we promise to do the same for you.» Sada answered.
He couldn't help but notice with a bit of amusement that she was fidgeting a bit, not knowing what to do with her hands.
Together, they turned towards Clavell, who had taken his place as the officiant of the ceremony in front of the couple.
An expectant silence fell in the hall, every person and Pokémon present silently waiting for him to start. Turo caught eye of some of the younger Academy students peeking out at them from up in the library balcony.
« Since the day it was founded, Uvanja Academy's purpose has always been to provide opportunities for its students. » Clavell began. « Opportunities to learn about the world, to hone their skills and find their true calling in life... since centuries, we've always entrusted our students with finding their very own "treasure". »
With his back to the crowd, Turo couldn't see what they were doing, but the silence was almost deafening. Clavell smiled more broadly and now turned his eyes from the audience to him and Sada.
« Today, honoured guests, we are here to celebrate two of our students finding their most precious treasure in each other. Two brilliant and very special minds » nobody but the two of them noticed the very quick smile Clavell gave them at those words « who, I'm sure, will go on to accomplish great things in life, together... but today is not that day yet. »
He paused for a moment, and Turo could feel Sada tremble slightly at his side. Kim purred and rubbed her head against her hand.
« If anyone can show just cause why this man and this woman may not be lawfully joined together, let them step forward now to challenge them or hereafter remain silent.» Clavell continued. This part was purely a formality as far as Turo knew.
In the past, having Pokémon present had also been a purely practical way to protect the couple if someone tried to interfere during the ceremony, and the tradition had stuck.
Clavell cleared his throat to continue, but was interrupted by a sinister chuckle. Turo and Sada both turned around, to the figure of a Haunter rising slowly from the floor, cackling.
Clavell and everyone else froze, looking at the Pokémon. Kim and Miguel growled and stepped forward, ready for the challenge, before Raifort let out a whispered curse.
« Haunter!! Come back here, I said it as a joke-»
The ghost type snickered loudly and clapped both Pokémon on their backs, then slinkered back to its trainer, still cackling. Raifort sighed and recalled her Pokémon.
« Sorry, he's just... please go on.» she mumbled.
Everyone relaxed, and there were some chuckles from the audience.
Clavell took a moment to continue.
« All right, then... let's go on.»
He took a deep breath, and Turo felt himself go rigid. This was the most important part of the ceremony.
« Do you, Romero Turo, take Alba Sada as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not so good times, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?» Clavell's voice rose steadily, and Turo had to take a deep breath to keep his voice from trembling.
« I do. » he answered.
« Do you, Alba Sada, take Romero Turo to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not so good times, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?»
« I do.» Sada's voice didn't hesitate, and he had to physically refrain from kissing her then and there.
Clavell smiled, then turned to both Pokémon in turn.
« Do you, Miguel and Kim, swear to protect your Trainer's companion like it was your own? To care for each of their Pokémon as if they were your own teammates? »
The two Pokémon answered in unison, Kim with a resounding roar and Miguel by mimicking Turo's own "I do", which caused another fit of giggles in the audience.
Feeling a bit lightheaded, he turned to Sada; now was the time for the vows and the ring exchange.
« Since the moment we first met, our lives both changed in ways that we could have never imagined. » Sada began, and Turo couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for her at seeing the pride with which she was speaking, the pure love in her eyes. She took both his hands in hers, interlocking their fingers.
« I still remember how you looked at me in that moment. Nervous, panicked and... honestly, completely lost. » she said with a smile. Turo thought he heard a small "doesn't surprise me" mumbled from Raifort.
« It's a memory I will always cherish, like every other precious moment I spent with you that is now in the past... I vow to love you and support you, and to treasure every new memory I'll make together at your side.»
It took a couple of long moments for Turo to compose himself and reply.
« The first time we met, I never imagined that this day would ever come. Being at your side for the rest of my life sounded like an impossible dream; you looked so... far away to me, so impossibly out of reach.
But now... we'll build a new future together.» he raised his voice a bit as he saw Sada's eyes widen and start to tear up, trying to keep his voice steady.
« I vow to love you and support you, and I am excited for every new day that will come at your side.»
Clavell smiled brightly before continuing.
« Now, wear these rings as a reminder of the vows you have just taken.» he said, before turning expectantly to the entrance. After a long moment of silence, the sounds of Ötzi's stubby clay legs started resounding across the hall as the Golett made its way through, holding a small pillow with the two rings.
With a slight buzzing sound, Ampere floated down and pointed its magnets towards one of the ring, which started floating towards Turo's hand.
With a small smile,Turo picked up his ring in midair and took Sada's left hand in his. They were simple golden bands, with their names engraved on the inside. He could feel Miguel shift his weight on his shoulder, and for a horrible moment thought that the Murkrow would snatch the ring away right as he was about to slide it on Sada's finger. Thankfully, he seemed to only want to watch, and looked intent in keeping his promise.
« Romero, as you place this ring on Sada’s finger, please repeat after me:
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment. With this ring, I pledge to love you, honor you, and cherish you, today and for all the days of our lives.”»
« I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment. With this ring, I pledge to love you, honor you, and cherish you, today and for all the days of our lives... for all time. » he repeated, adding that last bit on impulse. It just felt... right.
Sada did the same after waiting a moment for the Magnemite to float the second ring magnetically towards her hand.
« I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment. With this ring, I pledge to love you, honor you, and cherish you, today and for all the days of our lives... for all time. » she said, her smile bright.
« With the power given to me by the region of Paldea, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. »
Cheers erupted even before he was done with the customary "you may kiss the bride", which Turo only heard because he was standing right next to him, and because Sada had taken the chance to kiss him first, pretty much jumping into his arms.
He pressed his lips to hers, holding her tight, only vaguely aware of the complete chaos that had erupted in the entrance until they looked around.
« Congratulations, Library Lady!!»
Sada laughed and waved at the group of small kids from the elementary classes that had gathered on the library balcony as a mix of rice and coins thrown by the guests started to rain on them both. Miguel started flapping his way around, snapping up as many coins as he could in his beak, and Turo laughed, holding Sada close as he tried to avoid rice getting in her hair. He looked at the wedding band glinting on his ring finger as he did, smiling happily.
A moment later, they got swarmed by the guests that wanted to congratulate them, and he got swept up in the celebrations.
---
Sada found out that marriage celebrations weren't that much different from the rites performed in her tribe. Lots of people, lots of food, music, and drinking were always involved. In a way, she found it reassuring... even if a part of her kept thinking about how the people in her time would have reacted to seeing how things were here.
Well... Chalo would have loved the wine, for sure.
Long tables had been set over on the lawn in front of the school, and most of the guests, plus whoever happened to pass by which by now looked like most of the Academy were freely mingling around.
Following a Paldean tradition that said it was good luck to spot a Tandemaus or Maushold during a weeding, lures that emanated a smell similar to incense had been set up all around the lawn to attract wild ones, and a couple of students had let out their own Tandemaus that were now zigzagging between the tables, Kim chasing after them with absolute glee.
She caught a glimpse of Grusha, talking with other students his age near one of the tables while his Sneasel was stealing most of the tarts from a plate. Larry was speaking with Turo a bit over to the side, the Gym Leader looking unusually... animated. Well, as much as he could. He had come near her earlier and congratulated them both.
« Even if I have no idea why you two would have invited someone like me.» he had added.
...well, it was mostly because Clavell had insisted they invite someone and... they didn't really know that many people outside of the Academy. And she had found his Gym challenge fun.
There had definitely been a point where Clavell had made a bit of a public event out of it, and somehow, the whole Academy had rolled along with it.
Sada didn't mind; she was having fun, and all the people gave her less time to think about the people that were missing from it.
« Could I have a word with the bride?» a voice she didn't recognize made her turn around, towards a woman that had just approached her.
The first thing that struck her was her clothes: she was wearing a two piece suit, which already contrasted with most other women present wearing dresses, each piece in contrasting colours: the upper half a bright violet, the pants a stark red. She had bright eyes of a peculiar bright orange and purple that immediately caught her eye.
The woman,who looked more or less her age, offered her her hand, and Sada shook it.
« I just arrived from the airport so I'm afraid I missed the ceremony, so I wanted to congratulate you and the groom... My name is Briar Heath.»
Heath?
Sada's eyes widened, and Briar must have noticed, because she smiled brightly.
«... Yes, that was the reaction I was expecting. I'm currently busy with a project overseas in Unova, but I heard from Director Harrington that you and the groom have shown... interest in entering Area Zero for your research?»
Sada turned to where Turo was still making small talk, desperately waving him over.
« Oh, well... yes,we do-» she replied vaguely.
The ones that knew that she and Turo had actually appeared in Area Zero were limited to Clavell, Harrington and a couple of other people at the Academy. How much did she actually know?
Turo must have noticed, because he raised one eyebrow and approached them both.
« I'm... afraid I don't know your name, Ms...?» he said, looking perplexed.
« Oh, I'm not on the guest list! Harrington called me over because he thought I would be interested in meeting you... He keeps me updated about students of the Academy that show interest in Area Zero, but sadly no one does recently... Until you two came along! Briar Heath.» she shook Turo's hand, whose eyes also widened at hearing the name.
« Are you perhaps related to...?»
« Yes. I'm a descendant of the author of the Scarlet and Violet books. That is actually why I wanted to talk to you! I'm not a trainer, and literally no one has gotten permission to enter Area Zero in decades, but... if you two could manage it... I would be very interested in discussing what's written in those books- maybe even help with funding your research?»
There was something calculating behind her smile, but Sada didn't care. This woman could give her what they needed the most at the moment. Backing, someone that actually wanted to invest in their research-
« Yes... yes, of course!» she breathed out, excited. What a stroke of luck!
« ... why are there two books? Did he leave anything that explained it?» Turo blurted out next to her, looking as excited as she was. She couldn't blame him: the Violet Book and how it showed Pokémon from the future had puzzled him from the first moment he had seen it.
Briar looked pensive for a moment, playing with a pair of pearl earrings she was wearing.
« Well, the thing is... What Heath saw down there centuries ago is not even all that's written in the printed books that are still circulating. The original draft has some unedited text and... puzzling pages that were left out, for some reason. But I don't want to keep you from your celebrations! I need to leave shortly, we can talk about it another time!» she waved and disappeared down the Mesagoza staircase.
They both followed her with their eyes, perplexed.
« Did she ... dodge the question?» Turo asked after a moment.
« Yeah, I'm sure she did. What was written in the original version, then? She said "version", singular.» Sada answered.
Had there only been one book before Heath decided to split them into two versions? Why? They absolutely had to-
« What are you two doing over there?» Clavell's voice snapped them both out of their almost trance, making them turn in unison.
« Oh, we were just talking with... A woman named Briar...» Sada answered.
Clavell looked slightly surprised. « I didn't think she would actually come visit... but we can talk about it another day! There's something I want to show you both.» he smiled, walking them both towards their table.
« I thought a lot about what to gift you-» he started, and Sada's eyes widened.
« Gift? Sebastian, you don't need to do anything for us, you've already done so much for us...» she hurriedly interjected, but Clavell shook his head.
« And you're the officiant, does the officiant even need to do a gift?» Turo questioned, looking perplexed.
« I couldn't do nothing. I wanted to do something meaningful. »
A big, bulky object had been set upon the table, covered by a cloth, which Clavell raised not without a certain flair.
Under it was a big hourglass, the two ends in lacquered wood; it was laying sideways, and curiously each end was filled with what appeared like colored sand. Completely scarlet on one side, and violet on the other.
« I've taken the liberty of using some of the fire and poison tera shards you've collected and grind them into dust. » Clavell said as Sada bent slightly to examine it, fascinated.
« It's beautiful... »
« But won't the sand get all mixed up as soon as you turn it the first time?» Turo muttered, to which Sada giggled, turning towards him with a smile.
Aw, Turo... she found it so endearing how he could analyze complex problems in seconds yet completely miss the obvious things laying in front of him sometimes.
Clavell looked similarly amused.
« Yes, Romero. That's, well... that's pretty much the point. It's supposed to be, you know... symbolic.» he answered slowly as he politely tried not to laugh.
It took a couple of seconds for Turo to realize and turn bright red.
« ... ah. Of course. Me and Sada's favourite colors.... all mixed up because... yeah, makes sense.» he mumbled, and she laughed and kissed him.
« I love you so much.» she whispered.
« I wanted something to always remind you to not lose sight of what's important. The fact that you are both here, together, able to spend the rest of your life with each other instead of... being separated in your own times. » Clavell whispered, and Sada followed the sudden urge to hug him, eyes stinging.
« Thank you. Really. For everything.» she whispered in his ear, leaving him quite flustered.
« Well, it's... nothing special-» he raised his head when music started to suddenly play, before hurriedly pushing them towards the other guests.
« The music started! It's time for your first dance! Go!» he smiled.
Pushed away, Sada could do nothing but turn towards Turo, excited. He looked quite tense. She knew what he was worried about: stumbling while they danced and generally embarrassing her.
« Remember what I told you when we tried those dancing classes?» she whispered.
She would never feel embarrassed of him.
After a moment, Turo smiled and offered her his hand, the Tera shards he had used as cufflinks glinting under the moonlight.
« ... let's see if those lessons paid off after all.» he replied, and she smiled while he led her to the center of the space created by the guests.
Sada grabbed his right hand, putting the other on his shoulder, and together they started dancing.
Turo really had practiced; his steps were a bit rigid, but sharp and focused, like he was putting every ounce of his focus on performing them correctly. She smiled and moved her hand from his shoulder to his neck, briefly, never looking away from his eyes. She could feel him lock up the slightest bit, before his smile relaxed and he spun her around, and she threw her head back and laughed joyfully.
She barely noticed when the other guests slowly started joining them as they kept dancing under the moonlight.