Chapter 41 - Silverwinds

“Oh wow, look at the size of this Bibarel!” Mia exclaimed with excitement, drawing closer to the enormous Pokémon. “Where on earth did you find such a massive one?” She gently petted its soft fur, and in response, the fluffy giant affectionately nuzzled her.

Topaz glanced at Celeste and Lori with a puzzled expression on her face.

Twilight had come back, followed not only by Aria and Rey but also by everyone else. Mia, Delia, Olga and Luan were all there, entering the cave with varying levels of relief and worry.

After Rey grumbled and Mia was done with her outburst, it was Delia who gestured towards the runaway girls. Thankfully, she was ready to actually be helpful. In her hands, she held a large bag filled with dry winter clothes for the girls, along with a satchel with what appeared to be thermal bottles sticking out.

“You must be freezing here,” Delia said with a caring and warm smile. She gently placed the bag on the ground and began sorting through the clothes. “I’m not sure if they’ll fit you that well, but it’s all we could find on such short notice.”

Meanwhile, Luan sprang into action without uttering a word. Carrying a small crate filled with kindling and firewood, he swiftly arranged the materials on the ground, preparing to start a fire. Rey, however, couldn’t resist making some snarky comment and mock the poor boy.

Eventually, he released his Larvesta and knelt down beside Luan. “Please don’t tell me I have to teach you how to light a fire,” he sneered. “If we’re going to stay in this cave, I refuse to freeze. You have to add more wood.”

Luan grumbled back, but at this point Rey was not listening anymore. So, he relegated himself to just handing over the firewood so his friend could light a fire the proper way.

Olga took on a supervisory role. It was evident they had discussed what needed to be done, so she stood silently in the background, scowling just as intensely as the Vanillite by her side. She studied each of the girls before finally crossing her arms and muttering, “What happened to the three of you, anyway?”

Topaz became flustered. If that was due to Delia asking about her size of clothes or Olga’s questioning, Celeste wasn’t sure. Either way, it didn’t seem she would answer anything. Lori, however, had been too busy glaring at Celeste since they talked earlier, and it seemed she didn’t even listen to anything the others were saying.

Not that Celeste herself cared. She just continued to giggle like a little girl while hugging Aria.

“Prison break gone wrong?” she offered eventually, her mood completely brightened by her Eevee’s presence. “There was a bit of a fire situation too... but that… doesn’t matter right now. I didn’t expect all of you to be here, though. How…?”

“Delia snuck all your Pokémon from the centre earlier today and then organised an emergency meeting to figure out how to help you guys,” Mia explained, releasing her hold on the Bibarel and finding a place to sit beside Celeste. “She’s been really worried about you. Seeing you locked up was tough for her.”

As Rey commanded his bug, Celeste’s attention turned towards the fire coming to life, and the warm shadows it cast. The sleepy Pokémon in the cave gradually woke up and approached the humans. Before long, Luan had a Poliwag on his lap, while a curious Wooper nestled itself between Topaz and her Smeargle.

Slowly, everyone, both human and Pokémon alike, settled around the flame. The small, unremarkable cave transformed in this comforting place, lit by a warm glow.

“Delia snuck our Pokémon from the centre?” Celeste blinked rapidly, her eyes darting from the fire to Delia and back to Mia.

“She came to me and Luan on our houseboat, crying about Olga not being any help...” Mia chuckled, earning a groan from the ice-cream lady by her side. “Anyway, I’m a softie when it comes to crying children, so I thought I could help her... uh… liberate your Pokémon from the centre. You should’ve seen how squeamish my little cousin got!”

“Hey!” Luan protested, causing the Poliwag on his lap to jump off, slap his arm, and wander towards Delia, who simply shook her head.

She didn’t seem too pleased with him.

“By the way, don’t tell my boss we did that,” Mia winked, amused at herself. “After we were done with our little ‘crime’, Delia marched over to Olga’s and demanded that we come up with a plan to make things right. We argued all night long, and then your Eevee ran towards some bushes behind the house, sniffing the air like crazy until she found the Mr Rime.”

“You make it sound like it was fun,” Rey chimed in, unable to resist giving his input. “I couldn’t sleep because you were all too loud. I couldn’t have peace because Celeste’s scrappy Eevee wanted to annoy mine. To make things worse, you all dragged me out here.”

Aria barked but wagged her tail, not pretending to be bothered at all.

“Well, seems like my scrappy Eevee was super helpful.” Celeste grinned, choosing to ignore most of Rey’s comments.

“She was,” Olga admitted, but didn’t dwell on the topic. “So, if I understand correctly, you escaped from prison, there was a fire, and you came here to hide while sending...” Olga took a deep breath and gestured towards Twilight. “This thing to fetch me?”

“That’s pretty much it,” Lorelei confirmed, finally turning her attention away from Celeste. “Delia, do you also have my Pokémon? I need to...”

“We need to figure out a plan before you run off to the caves,” Olga cut her off, her face obscured in shadow.

Delia huffed and swiftly retrieved five pokéballs from her satchel, handing them over to the ice specialist without hesitation. “I don’t see the point in waiting any longer,” she stated, shooting a displeased look at Olga, before apologising to Lori for not bringing her Glalie as well. “He was still recovering.”

Lori nodded, a small smile on her lips, but she didn’t release any of her Pokémon.

Celeste glared expectantly at Delia. She didn’t need to say a word.

Before she knew it, Celeste felt the cold metal of her own pokéballs in her hands. Unlike Lori, she wasted no time and immediately released her Vulpix and Slowpoke.

Powder let out a loud cry as her paws pushed against her trainer, her tears freezing before they hit the ground. Pat simply rested his head on Celeste’s lap, his large oval eyes expressing a mix of worry and happiness, his tail sweeping the floor as he uttered a soft “Poke.”

Celeste placed a hand on each Pokémon’s head, giggling before widening her embrace and bringing them all closer.

Aria barked and joined the group hug, and tears flowed freely among the group, some of them freezing in the cold air, while others streamed down.

They were all together again. The best friend team! Which Celeste realised they definitely needed a better name for.

She giggled again, then cried some more.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Cee, Aria, Powder and Pat were together, and they would never be apart again.

Yet, there was still so much happening, so much to talk about.

Talk...

Celeste’s gaze shifted to Pat.

Silent, sweet Pat…

They’d figure how to talk, eventually… right?

Her fingertips then brushed against the bandages tightly wrapped around her Powder’s torso and her chest felt tight. A flash from the battle with Ryder invaded her thoughts—his Sneasel looming over the Vulpix’s injured body, its claws stained with blood.

Celeste shivered.

Lately, she had been making too many mistakes...

“I don’t think there’s a lot to talk about,” Mia said impatiently. “You didn’t want the kids to go into the caves alone because they’re inexperienced. You don’t want us adults to go either. Now you have your star trainer here, so what’s the excuse going to be?”

Olga groaned.

Apparently, they’d began arguing while Celeste was distracted.

“We can make a plan. What I’m saying is that they are exhausted,” Olga gestured, particularly to Lorelei. “The caves are more dangerous this time of year, especially with poachers around. We can’t take unnecessary risk—”

“Excuses,” Mia hummed, crossing her arms. “Why are you so scared, Olga? What are you keeping from us?”

“A whole lot of things, I bet,” Celeste mumbled, earning glares from both Olga and Lorelei. She curled up around her Pokémon for a moment before meeting their gazes head-on. “C-can we just make a plan and go? Help the Lapras and the fridge Pokémon.”

“Frigibax,” Lorelei corrected, eyes fixed on Olga’s changing expression.

“Here?”

“It seems like it,” Lori replied. “We don’t keep track of all the Pokémon that… migrate here this time of year.”

Celeste rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“Do you want to share something with the rest of us?” Olga asked.

All eyes turned back to Celeste, who opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure how to follow up.

“It’s just that...” she started, gaining confidence from Delia’s nod of support and a raised eyebrow from Rey. “We all want to help. We all want to go inside the cave, but you and Lori only give us half of the story.” She turned to face Lorelei. “And then you get angry when we try to figure things out on our own? That’s not fair.”

Rey, seated by the fire next to Luan and his Larvesta, snorted. “Good luck getting any information out of these two,” he remarked with a contemptuous grin. “You’ve only been here a few weeks, and Mother and Lorelei have told you more about this place than they’ve ever told me. I haven’t even seen this elusive Lapras nest everyone keeps talking about.”

Celeste paused for a moment, choosing her words. “But I take it she didn’t hide from you that your ancestor was Oliver Silverwind?”

Rey frowned while Olga raised her eyebrows, almost amused.

“Was that meant to be a secret?” Rey asked, narrowing his eyes. “Because I’ve spent years trying to escape from this bullshit and nobody ever lets me.”

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Celeste glanced at Olga, annoyance evident in her expression. “She made it seem like it was.” Crossing her arms, she met the older woman’s unimpressed gaze. Then she took a deep breath and quickly surveyed her friends around the fire. They had all come here to help. Even Topaz, whom she had only known for about a day, had tried to save her from the fire.

She could trust them.

Though those secrets were not hers to share, everyone gathered around the fire deserved to know.

Celeste deserved to know, too.

She bit her lip, mustering her courage.

“So… is the Articuno in the cave supposed to be a secret or not?”

—*——*—

“The WHAT?” Mia yelled, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. She swiftly turned her gaze from Celeste to Olga, who stood frozen in place, wearing an expression that was even less amused than usual.

Celeste nervously chewed on her cheeks, contemplating if she could be wrong. However, the reactions from Lorelei earlier and now confirmed her suspicions. Her face turned pale, and she pressed her lips together, nervously tapping her heels on the floor.

“...mother?” Rey asked, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I’ve always had a feeling there was something powerful there,” he muttered, turning towards Celeste. “She never answers me... What did you actually find out?”

All eyes in the room were fixed on Celeste. She took a moment to gather herself, then gently placed her own Pokémon on the floor beside her. It felt overwhelming to be the centre of attention, so she focused her gaze on the fire and took a sip of the tea Delia had brought before continuing.

“You see, while travelling with my parents, I learned stories get embellished over time,” Celeste explained, straightening herself. “Sometimes it’s a magical wizard, other times it’s a magical star. My mother always says we have to peel off the layers to separate truth from fiction.”

She continued, finding her confidence. “I suppose I tried to do the same with Captain Silverwind’s story.” Celeste looked at her own hands and began counting on her fingers. “First, we had a crew from Orre who got lost in this area. They were supposedly saved by a magical star they named Polaris and taken to an island filled with ice Pokémon.”

Delia nodded profusely, holding the Poliwag that had come to her tightly. However, she also kept glancing back at Olga, who was just silently listening.

Noticing Olga, Celeste felt her throat go dry, but she pressed on, raising a second finger. “The second piece of the puzzle came from Topaz. She told me that every year, ice Pokémon gather on this island at the exact same time to express their gratitude to the creature that created a sanctuary for them. Then, earlier tonight, Twilight also mentioned sensing a power that called out to him.”

The Mr Rime’s moustache curled up, his (actual) face beaming with curiosity. He seemed just as intrigued by the discussion.

“I assume that the star had to be a Pokémon,” Celeste continued, her nervousness in overdrive. “Something known for rescuing people and having power over ice. Polaris is not a name I’ve heard before, but I figured that most people from Orre three hundred years ago would not have heard of most Pokémon from around here, either. So they did what explorers do. Saw something they didn’t recognise and gave it a name. Now the question was what Pokémon it could be?”

Powder raised her head curiously and answered Celeste with a loud “Vul.” The trainer, of course, couldn’t understand it exactly, so she just petted her Pokémon’s puffs before returning to her explanation.

“Something powerful that could be a star. At first, I thought it could be Jirachi, but honestly, I don’t really know anything about it. But when I heard all the talk about ice and rescuing, Articuno came to mind, and everything clicked. Ice even sparkles, reflecting light, like a star. It all made sense,” Celeste finished, feeling very unsure of herself. “Anyway, Lori clearly knew what it was. So... I might have tried to nudge her to tell me... Sorry…”

An awkward silence filled the room, and Celeste became acutely aware of her own movements. She didn’t have concrete evidence; it was more like she was trying to piece together fragments of information.

“Anyway,” Celeste muttered, still attempting to convince everyone. “One thing we do know about Articuno is that it migrates between mountains, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t come to an island. Also, uh, I’m not sure if this is relevant, but your main plaza is named after it.” She took another deep breath, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the situation. “What I don’t understand is why go to all this trouble to hide it? Everyone knows that Moltres roosts in the volcano at One Island. Why hide that Articuno comes here?”

“Maybe because there is no Articuno here?” Lorelei finally spoke, clearly making an effort to appear composed.

Too much of an effort.

“Yeah,” Rey smirked, gesturing outside. “I’m sold on Articuno. It also explains the freaky blizzard we get every year.”

Mia nodded, her eyes gleaming, and a wide smile spreading across her face. “So when it comes, it makes sure ice Pokémon can thrive all around the island.” She nodded, very satisfied. “Shitty for us humans, but man, doesn’t this place become a treasure trove?”

Luan, who had been mostly silent the entire time, sighed. “But if Articuno is here... can’t it deal with the poachers instead of us?” He quickly glanced at his cousin, who grinned and nodded at him. “If we slip its location to the poachers, it can—”

“No,” Olga said firmly.

“Olga…” Lori began as her mentor finally sat down by the fire.

She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh.

“Only a select few who protect these caves are aware of it,” Olga continued. “And now, all of you. I suppose it’s time I share with you kids the story of Silverwind, the one who forever changed this place. Then, if you still want to, I won’t stop you from going into the caves.”

—*——*—

“I know you’re probably expecting me to talk about Oliver Silverwind, but his story is pretty much what you guessed. He came here, and Articuno saved his ship. He named it Polaris and made sure that he and his people showed just as much gratitude towards its kindness as the Pokémon that visit this place every year,” Olga explained, her voice tinged with exhaustion. Her Vanillite floated around her, occasionally tapping her temples gently.

Celeste felt bad for having forced Olga’s hand. Maybe she should’ve stayed quiet... but... well, that ship had sailed.

“Oliver lived and died for his island, and so did his descendants,” Olga said, glancing at her son before shaking her head and continuing. “Or at least most of them. About fifty years ago, my grandfather was the mayor of Polaris. But back then, the world he knew was very different from ours. Information was slower, and travel took longer. However, things were changing rapidly.”

Her Vanillite nodded before settling on her head.

“During his time, he already knew that the Pokémon our people called Polaris was actually the embodiment of winter, Articuno. But our way of life hadn’t changed. The people of the island lived in harmony with nature and coexisted peacefully with the local Pokémon. Life was calm, maybe even boring, but our traditions and way of life were cherished. The highlight of the year was the festival, of course. We would release candles into the ocean to guide Articuno’s path and wish it a safe journey as it continued its migration. It was believed that spotting it brought good fortune, so we’d always look at the sky with our hearts filled with hope.”

Strangely, Rey silently turned to Luan for support. The other boy nodded encouragingly before they both returned their attention to Olga.

“Fifty years ago, in case you don’t know, was also the beginning of Kanto’s great war against Johto,” Olga continued. “The people on the islands didn’t care about the war, but the Kantonians thought they could find valuable resources here, so they started sending people over. We didn’t want any trouble, and we didn’t have an army, so we allowed them to come. And then... they discovered Articuno...”

“... and also about the Moltres next door?” Celeste tentatively asked.

“You got hung up on that, huh?” Olga crossed her arms. “They say Moltres roosts in a pool of lava deep inside Mt. Ember. There are always one or two idiots that go there every year, and they always die long before they can find it. The place is usually crawling with rangers to keep tourists out, and even so, no one actually knows for sure where the fire bird is.”

“Besides, ice can be just as lethal as fire,” Lorelei added, her voice still uncertain. “But people aren’t as afraid of it.”

“So…” Topaz frowned, still looking awkward and out of place in Celeste’s group of friends. “You hide it to protect trainers who think they can take a little cold from looking for it?”

Olga raised an eyebrow at Topaz but didn’t bother answering. Instead, she just continued her story. “The first festival season after the Kantonians learned about it, they sent a League delegation here. And before you ask, I don’t know about Moltres. All I know is that they came to capture Articuno and use it in their war effort,” she said. “It didn’t go well, obviously. Our bird brutally killed all of them, leaving our island with a big problem.”

A heavy silence fell upon the group. No one dared to break it.

“For starters, once they recovered the bodies and saw the state they were in, locals began to fear Articuno could snap at anyone, at any time. Then, as the year passed and the next coming of Articuno approached, there was a lot of unrest in the population.” Olga let her Vanillite land in her hands and looked at Celeste and Rey. “Children weren’t allowed anywhere near the caves back then, and a lot of families left the island. To make matters worse, my grandfather received notice that the Champion at the time would come and visit Polaris during the following festival. He had no doubt this was another attempt to capture Articuno.”

“The Champion came here?” Rey’s eyes widened. “And my great-grandfather knew them?”

“I’m pretty sure this is not the point of this story,” Celeste muttered, redirecting her attention to Olga.

“Actually, it is,” she replied, leaning back and observing the fire. “The Champion was a coward who mostly hid from the war. Everyone expected the island to be swarming with League officials after the failed delegation, yet all we got was a visit from the Champion a year later.” Olga turned to Celeste with a touch of amusement. “Want to take a guess at what happened next?”

Celeste stumbled over her words, but Topaz placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and flashed a smile. “It was a cover-up?” she asked.

Olga let out a snort. “That idiot of a Champion was terrified that he’d be sent after Articuno next, so he erased all information about it. When the next festival season came around, he was so afraid that someone else would discover the truth that he paid my grandfather a visit, begging him to keep the bird a secret. For the good of the people, and all that.”

“And he did it?” Rey asked, narrowing his eyes.

“He put it to a vote,” Olga shrugged. “Articuno was effectively erased from our history, but my grandfather never stopped striving to keep our traditions alive, and he never wanted people to forget the Pokémon that gave us our home. He came up with the story about the star and named our main square, Articuno Plaza. Little actions, but it mattered to him. All his life, I heard him saying that the Articuno wasn’t bad, that it only attacked bad people…” She let out a sigh. “His generation eventually died out, and the tales of our people weren’t passed down. The festival lost its importance, and eventually, the Silverwinds stepped out of politics.”

“Until Mayor White revitalised it,” Rey grimaced. “The festival is a big deal now.”

Olga let out another sigh. “He stripped away what was important. It’s nice to see people returning, but it feels hollow. Besides, he gets furious whenever someone tries to bring the festival back to its roots...” She nodded towards Topaz. “Your arrest for that little show was just the latest example of that.”

“He hates the fact that despite having no involvement in politics, people here still hold more respect for Olga than him,” Lorelei added with a slight smile. “At least he doesn’t know about Articuno. It’s probably best he remains in the dark and not try to… capitalise on it.”

“Which brings us back…” Luan started. “Why not just let Articuno deal with the poachers?”

Delia jabbed Luan’s arm indignantly. “We can’t simply send people to their deaths.”

“Maybe…” Mia said, clearly lost in thought. “It’s all about risk and reward, right? Who’s to say the poachers would go for a high-risk target like Articuno when they can keep hunting Frigibax, Lapras, and whatever else is in there? Maybe if we make a plan, it should consider that too. Let’s find the rarest Pokémon in the cave and mount our defences around them.”

The fire crackled in a moment of silence, and they all kept their thoughts to themselves.

“This group is too large. If we all go, it will be inefficient,” Olga finally said, her eyes lingering on the Bibarel. “And we also need to figure out how to clear the girls with the police. I suggest we split up.”

Celeste nodded in agreement. “I think my parents are sending a lawyer here to help...”

“I’ll go to the police department in the morning,” Olga stated, her gaze fixed on her Vanillite rather than the other kids. “Topaz’s Pokémon clearly need some rest, maybe a visit to the centre...”

Topaz shook her head. “I need to get out of here and not get arrested again.”

Delia pressed her lips together. “We need to clear all of you of any charges... But you mentioned a fire?”

Celeste turned to Olga. “There was a fire caused by a confused Growlithe. We tried to escape, and I’m sure we’ll be blamed for it. But… it was the police’s fault. They would have left me to burn in my cell too… I think that counts as misconduct.”

“Burn in your cell?” Mia’s eyes bulged. “Damn, that’s messed up…” She shifted her gaze to Luan. “I have an idea you’ll hate, cus, but hear me out. Mayor White seems to have quite the pull here, right? And I have some influence over him because he loves the fact that I’m a representative from Razzo Cosmetics. I’ll talk to him. Olga and Delia can go see how things are on the police front, and the rest of you trainers can go to the caves and be the big heroes. Well, except for Topaz. She can stay home, resting with her Pokémon or whatever.”

Olga furrowed her brow. “I suppose that could work...”

“Y-you’re saying we just go in without a plan?” Luan asked quietly. “W-what if we bump into Articuno by accident?”

“It only attacks bad guys,” Delia tried, with a reassuring smile.

Luan waved his arms around. “You don’t know that! And what even defines a bad guy?”

“Quit being a wimp. It’s the hero who gets the girl, you know?” Mia muttered.

Rey smirked confidently. “I’m with your cousin. We’ll be fine. People go in and out of this cave all the time, and nobody has ever seen Articuno. Our focus should be on finding the poachers and resolving this.”

“Great,” Celeste chimed in, feeling a surge of determination. “Let’s do this.”

Lorelei let out a sigh. “I suppose it’s good that we’re all on the same page. But I don’t completely dismiss Luan’s idea of leading the poachers towards Articuno,” she said, her expression serious as she looked at Olga. “Only as a last resort.”

“You want to know where it is?” Olga asked.

Lorelei nodded, her eyes carefully scanning the cavern and studying each person. “It’s the one thing you’ve never revealed to me.”

“I never told you because I don’t know,” Olga replied. “But I suppose Lite can accompany you.”

Celeste frowned. She remembered that in the murals, the original Silverwind was always depicted with a Vanillite of his own. “If you are a descendant of Oliver Silverwind,” she said slowly. “Your Vanillite must also be a descendant of his Pokémon?”

“No,” Olga said, her face unmoving. “Vanillite has a very long lifespan, Celeste.”

Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. Olga seemed satisfied with that.

However, another voice yelled in surprise.

“It’s... the same?” Rey asked, looking at his family’s Pokémon in complete shock.