Chapter 7 - Constellations

Aria wasn’t laughing. She was howling.

Celeste watched her Eevee literally rolling in the sand, snickering with a snarkiness only she could muster. She would leap up, call Powder over, and then mimic the way Seel batted the Pokéball with her own tail before pretend-diving in the sand. To make matters worse, she made Powder laugh too.

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Celeste grumbled, still rubbing the sore sport in her head.

While she was fixed on her Pokémon and on the moonlit waves where they played, Delia approached. Hands firm on her hips and a quiver on her lip. She wanted to laugh, but wasn’t doing so. Out of politeness, perhaps?

“Think he’ll come back?” Celeste offered her companion a hopeful smile, only to have Aria scoff at her optimism, starting all her mockery again. Delia closed her eyes and exhaled heavily.

“I think you lost us our best chance of getting out of here,” she replied, dryly.

Celeste’s eyes wandered back to the sea and the millions of stars slowly rising over the horizon. The warm breeze caressed her face, and no other light shone over the vastness before them.

“We still have the lifeboat,” she tried. “And your Shellder can help us steer it.”

Delia slumped her shoulders. “You know she can’t. Shellder are not good with this sort of thing.”

“We can…” Nothing came to Celeste. “We can figure this out.”

Her reassurances felt hollow and her promises empty, even if she believed them. After that, they went to have dinner without many words. It was a simple affair: berries they’d gathered, coconut water, and pieces of an energy bar would fend off thirst and hunger for the night. They had no long-term plan.

We can figure this out for sure, Celeste told herself again, theough not entirely convinced.

After almost burning her tongue with a Tamato Berry (why did Delia put this among the other fruit?) Celeste settled on the ground and began studying the Seel’s broken collar. She prodded the antenna a bit, half-hoping it would miraculously still work. She then tried tapping SOS in morse-code with the buttons, but they didn’t beep anymore. Finally, she threw it in the sand with a frustrated groan.

“What are you trying to do now?” Delia’s voice was sharp. Angry?

Celeste nudged to the broken device. “Figured this could be a radio or something.”

“Can it help us?” A glimmer of hope shone in her eyes.

“No. It’s useless now,” Celeste murmured. “But hey, if we ever get back, we can sell it for scrap.”

Delia’s sigh mirrored Celeste’s frustration as she toyed with her energy bar, contemplating her next question. “Why didn’t you fight it?” she finally asked.

Celeste turned to the ocean, lost in thought about the Seel. “We were becoming friends, I didn’t want to fight him.”

“But that’s what trainers are supposed to do. You battle Pokémon, then weaken them for capture,” Delia insisted.

“There other ways,” Celeste retorted.

“Like what? The power of friendship?” Her companion stood, gathering the peels and other remnants of their meal. Her tone was harsh. “Friendship doesn’t sprout overnight. You could’ve worked on it afterward.”

Delia left Celeste with a silent accusation in her eyes. All Celeste could muster in response was a quiet whisper to the night.

“You just watch me.”

—*——*—

Delia moved through her activities that evening quietly. She arranged the rest of their food in the lifeboat and secured it to a tree as a precaution. With deliberate care, she spread leaves across the tarp, transforming the coarse sand into a makeshift bed, making it comfortable not only for her, but for Celeste as well. Prodding the earth with a stick, she shooed away nearby Krabby and shook the bushes, making sure no hidden dangers lurked nearby. Once the campsite was set, she moved to the water, and washed her face and began braiding her hair again.

Unlike Delia, Celeste filled the air with her presence. She attempted to offer some assistance at first, but her companion refused. When she began placing leaves over the tarp anyway, Delia said they were “wrong” and smiled politely, telling her she “really didn’t need help”. That made Celeste get back to her Pokémon, to whom she complained about her lost sleeping bag until she came up with a game she called “guess the berry”. Shelly played too, though not Delia, who remained absorbed in her tasks. By the end, they all had their mouths burning from eating too much Tamato Berries and were giggling as they splashed seawater on each other’s faces.

As the night deepened, Delia’s attentiveness to their shelter persisted. She was checking if their lifeboat was secure for what felt like the millionth time when her Shellder let out a tired yawn. Celeste was telling stories then. Something she vaguely remembered about Galar. Aria had already fallen asleep and Powder nestled comfortably in her lap.

“… and with the darkness vanquished, the two heroes were crowned…” she trailed off, a small smile on her lips. “I used to sleep to that one too,” she whispered to herself, gently tracing her fingers on her Vulpix’ back and feeling her slowing breathing.

That was when Delia finally joined her, bringing the dozing Shellder to a comfortable pile of leafs. “Thank you, Cee,” she said, her voice soft.

“You’re the one who did everything.” Celeste gestured to the tarp, careful to keep her voice low.

Delia shook her head. “You took care of the Pokémon. Shelly’s shy, but you made her feel included.”

The gratitude surprised Celeste. “I… She’s really sweet.” She smiled, feeling her face warm. “Stays in… her shell… a lot, though.”

“Legendaries.”

They both shared a quiet laugh that mingled with the melodies of the night. Waves kissed the shore, palm leaves rustled, and the distant calls of Wingull echoed, all harmonising with the soft snores of an Eevee who dreamt of greatness, the gentle clacks of a curious Shellder.

Lying on their leaf-strewn bed, Celeste felt Powder’s weight against her stomach. Her ice Vulpix felt warm. In this moment, with Powder and Aria close and the moonlit beach singing, she was content. Yet, it was when calm finally came, and no more words spoken, that fear crept up.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the good, willing anxiety away and coaxing forth dreams of tranquillity. Hours passed like that, or maybe only seconds.

Beside her, Delia sat still, watching the world go by.

“Can’t sleep?” Celeste asked softly, careful not to disturb her Pokémon.

The other girl barely turned around. “I’ve never camped in a place like this. There’re so many stars.”

She wasn’t wrong. The sky was alit with stars everywhere, surrounding the sliver crescent moon like a billion Volbeat. It was quite amazing.

“Did you camp a lot?”

Delia bobbed her head. “I was a trainer for a little while,” she said with a wistful note, but her gaze drifted off to a place only she could see. There was sadness there, too. “It didn’t last long,” she added, answering the question Celeste was about to ask.

The silence that followed wasn’t exactly comfortable, but wasn’t uncomfortable either. It was eager. Celeste shifted, knowing that the quiet meant drifting back to her own thoughts and fears.

“What about you?” It was Delia who spoke. “You’re on a journey, right?”

“To become a strong Pokémon trainer,” Celeste declared.

“Badges?”

“Freedom.”

In the dim light, Delia turned to face Celeste. The darkness obscured their features, leaving only silhouettes framed against the starlight.

“It’s… complicated,” Celeste murmured, her fingers absentmindedly stroking Powder’s fur. She didn’t want to think about her parents and all the expectations she was running away from. “I’m not as interesting as you, though. Assistant of the big shot Professor at only…?”

Delia chuckled. “Fifteen.”

Damn. “Like I said, interesting,” Celeste smiled. “I don’t really know any of Professor Magnolia’s assistants, but they’re all adults with fancy titles.”

Delia’s eyes returned to the sea. “There are those, too. But I feel proud to help with what I can,” she said. “Professor Oak was a friend of my mom’s and offered me a place when I stepped away from training.”

They lingered in silence, and Celeste decided it wouldn’t be nice of her to probe. They all had the things they didn’t want to talk about, after all.

Breaking the brief lull, Delia was the one who began talking again, “So, did Professor Magnolia give you your Eevee?”

Celeste glanced at the snoozing Aria, kicking the air. “Not exactly,” she smiled. “How did you know she was my starter?”

“Sometimes the Professor gives Eevee to new trainers he’s sponsoring.”

The thought of Professor Magnolia giving one of her friends back in Galar a Pokémon like Aria amused her. Not that she was close to many people back there, but it still seemed unlikely. Besides, most of her classmates chose paths completely different from her own…

She paused.

That wasn’t true anymore, was it?

A lot of them became trainers when they turned twelve. Some stayed in school and some did the Gym Circuit. She was the one that went out to do something else. Regardless, none of them would handle an Aria that well.

“Professor Magnolia sponsored one girl back in my old school,” Celeste said, returning to the present. “Lyra. She got a Scorbunny.”

Delia sounded puzzled. “…Scorbunny?”

“Aren’t they popular in Kanto?” Celeste tried to illustrate the bunny ears with her hands, careful not to disturb her sleeping companions. “You know, like a fire-footed Buneary with white fur? Lyra made sure everyone knew about hers.”

“A friend of yours?” Delia ventured.

Celeste’s scoff startled Powder, who briefly lifted her head in surprise. Delia took the opportunity to lie back, making herself comfortable among the leaves beside her Shellder.

“Not a friend, then?” she asked.

“Definitely not a friend.”

Yet, in some way, Lyra had influenced Celeste’s decision to become a trainer. Maybe. Only a little. Ugh, she hated Lyra. Earlier in the year, Champion Peony let out a list of rising star trainers for people to watch out for. And there it was, smack right in the middle, a big picture of Lyra and that stupid Cinderace of hers. Got all badges on the second try. An inspiration to all. Not even Rei-Rei, who was an actual friend of Celeste’s, was on the list.

Redirecting their conversation away from uncomfortable topics, Celeste returned to Delia. “So, a Shellder as a starter? I mean… I’m assuming…”

“She’s my only one,” Delia confirmed, a bit hastily. “You know how it is. You send a young kid into the world with big dreams, but they end up meandering without a clue.”

“Is that how it is?” Celeste chuckled.

“Twelve-year-olds don’t have the maturity,” Delia affirmed, then added more softly, “Caught her with my mom. Before I was old enough to train even. Couldn’t bear to stay away from Shelly for a minute even.”

Celeste imagined a young Delia, wide-eyes, alongside her mother, reeling in little Shellder. Cute.

“Huh, you and Shelly have been a team longer than Aria and me,” Celeste said, her eyes shooting up towards the stars again. Once upon a time, she’d lived in a boat with her parents, too. It was only for a few months, and they didn’t go fishing even once. Instead, in nights like this, they told her of the stars, and how the sailors of old used them to find their way. “Look, the Skorupi constellation!” she blurted out louder than intended.

Delia, checking on her Pokémon, shushed Celeste. “What was that for?”.

Pointing up, Celeste traced the stars to outline the scorpion-shape. “Right there, see?”

Pausing and perhaps straining to make out the pattern, Delia shook her head. “Can’t say I do. Not much for Skorupi myself.”

“Me neither.” Celeste shuddered. “Poison-Types give me the creeps.”

“Not the Pokémon, silly,” Delia spoke in an airy tone. “The star sign.”

The star… sign?

Celeste wanted to say Delia was the silly one for believing in this sort of thing, but she wasn’t going to pass up on a perfectly harmless topic of conversation.

“So, which one do you care for?” Celeste tried not to sound sceptical. She gestured towards another group of stars. “There’s Dubwool,” then, sweeping her hand westward, “and up there is Pelliper, swooping down just under the Magikarp.”

Delia pondered, then replied, “Hmm… I suppose I’m a romantic match with Dubwool, and can be friends with Magikarp?”

“Score!” Celeste put up a fist in the air, quietly not to wake up the Pokémon. “Told you we’d be friends. Now if you fuss, I’ll say it’s written in the stars.”

Delia’s laughter filled the air. “You’re funny, Magikarp,” she said, and then after another moment, “You still thinking about that Seel, aren’t you?”

Celeste shrugged. “Maybe he wasn’t a good match with a Magikarp.”

“I mean it.” Delia shifted to the side. “What happened there?”

“I… just…” With a large exhale, Celeste thought about it. It was simple enough. She liked to make friends. “Battling, then capturing them—it feels like we’re starting on the wrong feet. I like to think our partner gets to choose as much as us.”

“Like I told you, there’s more to catching than that…” Delia began, but a heavy silence fell, thicker than before.

Maybe she was right, but Celeste didn’t want to think of that. So, to distract herself, she scanned the sky for more constellations, her eyelids growing heavy as she did so.

Eventually, Delia broke the silence, “How’d you met them? Eevee aren’t that hard to find, but your Vulpix… Were they gifts?”

Celeste stifled a yawn. “I don’t think they’d be the kind of Pokémon my parents would gift me,” she said. How many times did her mother tell her Aria was unruly again?

“How come?” Delia’s interest spiked.

“They never wanted me to be a trainer,” Celeste sighed, fighting sleep. “It’s kind of dumb, really,” she shared. “Both mum and dad did the trainer thing when they were young, but then they figured it wasn’t for them. So they decided that it wasn’t for me either. They have big plans for my career.”

“Not your plans?”

Celeste hesitated. “I tried their way, but…”

“It was their way, not yours,” Delia softly concluded.

“I want to make my own choices, find my own path, you know?” Celeste turned to the stars, still so bright above them. “Maybe I’m wrong to want this, or maybe I’m ungrateful. It’s not like the time I spent following their dreams was bad or anything. The problem is… one day you look around and the people you used to know are following dreams of their own, and they have this… this intensity about them. Like they’re glowing.”

Yes. Even you, Lyra.

She took a deep breath. “I don’t have that. But I crave it. To find dreams that glow as big and as bright as those stars up there.”

The breeze that blew on Celeste’s face felt warmer. She felt warmer. Sleep was ready to claim her, but her heart beat faster. She didn’t know where she was going, but, not long ago, when Powder hatched from her egg and those earnest aurora filled eyes of hers seared into her own, Celeste knew she needed to go somewhere. Maybe she just wanted to see the world with her Pokémon and on her own terms. Or she’d realised that there was injustice out there and she didn’t want to feel powerless when faced with it. Or perhaps she needed to be ready for when she heard her call. Strength, cleverness. Those were the means to make dreams come true in this world, right? When her time came, she wanted to flare up like a supernova.

“Dreams as big as the stars…?” Delia echoed, with her own voice fading. “From down here, stars don’t look all that big.”

“That’s because we’re still too far away.” Celeste answered, her eyes closing.

And with that, she drifted off, allowing her dreams to come just a little closer.