Kamado clenched his fist, then slowly released it.

The ache in his wrist was of little importance. Small enough to ignore for someone with such heavy responsibilities as him. Still, it ached. Bother.

He dropped his ink pen, not caring if it splattered ink on any of the letters before him. It rolled to a gentle stop beside its matching inkwell, awaiting him for when his break finished. He stood up, softly groaning as his legs stretched for the first time in hours.

Managing an entire village isn’t getting any easier, he thought.

Jubilife existed like a complex network of ropes on a ship. When tugged, each rope would carry out its own unique purpose—and an experienced sailor knew how to make the ship stay afloat. As long as the right ropes were tugged at the right time, the cargo would arrive at its destination swiftly and surely.

Of course, that wasn’t to say that Kamado was manipulating his citizens. Absolutely not, he thought with a chuckle. The metaphor wasn’t perfect in that regard. No, everyone in the village chose to follow him. They knew that of all the options, only he had the willpower to lead them.

He flexed his hands again, mentally likening it to a grizzled sailor underestimating a rope’s strength and getting burned when it lurched back. He clenched and unclenched his fingers again, almost reflexively.

Through the window's glass, he could see the clear weather. A healthy breeze rustled the trees and bushes, picking up piles of falling leaves and scattering them across the roads. For every single face out today, his mind immediately supplied a name and profession. Every man, every woman, every child in his village. How could he claim to be their leader if he didn’t know them all personally?

There goes Dorian, he thought, seeing a man carrying a burlap sack of what he assumed to be vegetables back to his house. He saw Colza, the botanist, cleaning his hands with a towel after repotting a row of stubborn saplings. He frowned as a group of children threw rocks at a tree, trying to dislodge their stuck ball—and he chuckled as Dorian made a detour to knock it down for them.

But instead of climbing the tree himself, Dorian simply released his Buizel. One spurt of water later, and Buizel was happily soaking up the cheers and adoration of the children.

Another man would’ve dismissed this and allowed his thoughts to drift elsewhere. But not Kamado. Maybe the Kamado of thirty years ago, maybe, but definitely not this one.

A bitter taste filled his mouth and he clenched and unclenched his hand again.

Just then, he caught sight of another person down in the village, another face and name he clearly recognized. Clothes that contrasted sharply against the crowd and a posture that exuded confidence. An unknown.

Alec. Just Alec. No family name or background. He worked for the Corps, but that was about it.

And it was a direct result of the boy’s efforts that Pokemon were infiltrating the village. A few guards employed Pokemon, but it was nothing like what was going on here. He’d even heard rumors of children getting Pokemon for pets. Pets!

Kamado grew disgusted at the thought of keeping one of those demons in his home.

The only reason he’d granted the boy a place in the village was to keep an eye on him. His bizarre story, evoking the legends of the Diamond and Pearl clans, made him strangely uneasy.

Alec’s influence had spread throughout the village, popularizing Pokemon through an accidental grassroots campaign. The children looked up to him and wanted Pokemon partners. The adults recognized how useful a Pokemon could be.

For a split second, Kamado wondered if Alec had planned it. The paranoia whispered that Alec wanted to sow discord and destruction in their village from the inside like some sort of spy.

Down in the village courtyard, Alec was shopping for berries. He seemed indecisive between two, so he offered two to his Flying-type to smell.

Kamado clenched and unclenched his fist again. By now, the cramp from writing for so long was gone. He glanced back to his letters. His pen still dutifully awaited him. He stared at it for a few seconds, thinking.

Sigh.

He reluctantly sat back down. The letters, envelopes, and stationery on his desk rustled as he brushed it aside. Instead, he grabbed a fresh blank sheet and started something new. A speech, to be given to all of Jubilife as quickly as he could get it on paper. It would take roughly a fortnight to finish, as he liked to ruminate on his words many times over to ensure clarity and appeal.

From the corner of his eye, his magnificent armor glinted knowingly in its glass display case. It spoke to him, repeating promises of dependability and strength—exactly what he needed right now.

But now wasn’t the time to don his armor. No, he didn’t have to face the threat head-on just yet. Diplomacy would have to do.

This peace must last, Kamado thought. I will do whatever I can to see that it does.

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

The journey to the coastlands was a grueling one.

Alec shifted his posture for what felt like the dozenth time in the past handful of minutes. A pile of finished Pokeballs rattled by his feet. He shook his head, promising to prepare more things to occupy himself when he made this journey in the future.

His satchel was heavy, packed to the brim with supplies. Mostly food, it would enable Alec to stay in the coastlands for an extended period of time. Since the journey was a long one—about four hours—he’d opted to camp out instead of riding back. The coastlands would be his home for the next few days.

The dirt trail they followed was long and winding. It was mostly the same as the trail to the mirelands, though it split at a fork in the road. Sadly, it didn’t travel through Coronet Valley, as it ended up too far south. It wasn’t entirely bad, though. The aspen trees by the roadside shimmered in the wind, whispering their distinct sound that nothing else in nature made. The trail was paved with restless leaves that made Alec wish to run with the wind, free and boundless.

Alec pulled his hands back and groaned, stretching. Behind him, small glassy lakes and rivers reflected the backsides of the Coronet Spine, creating a perfect mirror image that wavered and rippled with the water. The midday sun tinted the water a bright blue.

It’s too hot to be out in the open like this, Alec mentally grumbled, tugging at his shirt. I wish there were a canopy of trees or something to shade me. I really don’t want to get a sunburn.

Despite the approaching winter, Thundurus and Landorus seemed to be taunting the land. Everyone in Jubilife Village was stockpiling firewood and patching up holes in their thick coats. The town was ready to be covered in the usual blanket of snow.

The sky was cloudless. The sun, like a single blemish in a masterpiece painting, filled the air with the noxious scent of a heat wave. Thank Sinnoh it wasn’t humid.

“Good beach weather, I suppose,” Dorian suddenly said, noticing Alec’s attempts to cool off.

Alec looked back at him, surprised to have the silence broken. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I guess,” he shrugged. “Shame I’m not here to play in the sand, though.”

Dorian chuckled. He didn’t look back at Alec. His attention was forced to be elsewhere, on Mudsdale and the reigns as he drove their cart. “I’d make time if I were you. I’ve been down to the beach…maybe four times in my life? I don’t know. It’s not every day you end up there.”

“Alright, if I have time,” Alec shrugged.

“At the very least, you have to spend a minute on the shoreline. Take your shoes off, dig your toes into the sand, and feel the coastal wind.”

The first thing Alec saw of the coastlands was a massive volcano pointing over the horizon. It looked like the muddied reflection of Mount Coronet—sooty and brown where Coronet was rocky and snowcapped. Its peak looked like it had been filed off, leaving the mountain with an unceremonious flat top against its otherwise triangular shape.

Alec asked Dorian what it was. “That’s Firespit Volcano,” he explained. “Every ten years, give or take a month or so, it erupts and spews fire like a Pokemon attack.”

Alec shuddered. “When’s it due to erupt next?”

“Not sure,” Dorian simply answered.

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

A little while later, they reached their destination. Dorian quickly bade Alec good luck and returned, saying he needed to get back to his post at the village gate.

Alec was on his own. Well, it wasn’t much different from before, just that he wouldn’t have access to the village to sell anything. He’d still be camping out and he’d packed plenty of food.

Still, he was a little nervous.

Just one week, he thought. Easy.

He looked around, taking in the lush, green landscape. The area was covered in rolling hills, each one capped with a dense thicket and scattered trees. His necklace watch reported that the afternoon had just begun, so he had plenty of daylight left before he needed to focus on finding someplace to spend the night.

There was only the noise of the wind and the distant crashing of waves to accompany him. He could faintly see a few moving shapes—definitely wild Pokemon—in the distance, but he was alone here. No Rei, no Akari, no Laventon, nobody. It was a strange feeling.

A Pokeball on his belt suddenly popped open. Alec grinned as Auster emerged and flew in a circle around him. He held out his arm and allowed him to perch on it.

“Morning, buddy,” Alec greeted.

Auster chirped in response, looking around in awe.

“Cool, huh?” Alec asked. “Either way, get used to it. This is our home for the next week.”

“Dar…” Auster gasped in awe at the beauty of the landscape. He chirped excitedly and shuffled his wings.

“You wanna go explore?” Alec confirmed. He could see the glint of excitement in his partner’s eye, the drive to flap his wings and soar for countless miles.

“Dartrix!”

“Alright then. I’ll try to stay beneath you. Don’t go too high,” Alec grinned. He flung his arm upward, giving Auster a boost to take off. With a flap of his wings, the wind carried him upward.

Alec craned his neck and squinted to make out Auster’s silhouette through the sun's glare. After a glance at his compass, he started heading east, toward where the ocean was. The rest of the coastlands could wait—he wanted to see the beach.

Occasionally, he’d shoot a glance upward to check on Auster. Sure enough, he was still circling above Alec every time. There weren’t very many signs of wild Pokemon nearby, save for several flocks of Starly, Beautifly, Dustox, and Yanma.

I wonder why I’m not seeing very many new Pokemon, he thought with a grumble. He pulled out the paper map he’d bought from Ginter, the Gingko merchant stationed in Jubilife. There wasn’t any major landmark he could use to discern his exact location but he figured he’d only seen a small chunk of the coastland’s actual area.

Oh, that makes sense, he thought. Most of the area itself is the ocean. There’s bound to be a ton of Water-types in the ocean that I can catch.

Wait a second.

“Legendaries Above, how am I gonna get out that far?” he muttered.

Just then, a sudden rustling in a tree caught his attention. His gaze shot up to it and he quickly stashed his map in his pocket, falling into a stance ready to dodge at a moment’s notice. He squinted, trying to see through the tree’s thick canopy.

A sound almost like laughter trickled through the leaves. It was wheezy, like the owner of the voice had inhaled a gust of campfire smoke. Alec looked upward, already seeing Auster descending to come to his aid.

The owner of the voice soon revealed itself—a Flying-type Pokemon with navy feathers and a long beak. It opened its beak again, cawing in its mimicry of laughter.

Is that a Murkrow? Alec wondered. Laventon had briefed him on a handful of common species to be found in the Coastlands, and Murkrow definitely fit the bill: Small, darkly-colored, hoarse voice.

Just as Auster landed between them, he pulled an empty Pokeball from his satchel. The wild Murkrow flapped down from the tree, confidently accepting their challenge. It had a sinister glint in its red eyes as if it knew some dark secret that it was itching to share.

Alec bent his knees, falling into a stance that was all-too-familiar to him. The stance of one who had to fight for their life every day. He hated it. But it was necessary.

He shook his head. He needed to focus.

“Auster, Axe Kick!” he commanded.

The Murkrow reactively spread its wings and took to the air. Auster followed, flapping powerfully a few times to gain speed, then letting his wings fall behind him to steer.

It was far smaller than Auster and it clearly knew how to leverage its agility. It swerved to the side, rolling through the air. Auster’s powerful strike still managed to clip its wing, making it stumble in the air and drop a few feet before slowly recovering.

It cawed again, almost mocking their missed attack. It opened its beak wide and summoned a black-colored orb of energy, using the move Dark Pulse.

Alec’s mind quickly made the necessary assumptions. The Murkrow was on the small side, the orb seemed transparent and flimsy, and it lacked the depth of energy he saw in Tricky’s Dark-type attacks.

“Blow it away! Gust, Agile-style!”

He figured that an Agile-style Gust would be more than enough power to deal with the attack. Even if it wasn’t—and he’d be shocked if that was the case—the leftover energy would be minimal.

Auster complied, beating his wings firmly. The teal-colored blades of air clashed against the Murkrow’s Dark Pulse, cleaving it in half and sending a strong blast of air out in all directions. Alec shielded his eyes and the Murkrow was thrown off balance.

Axe Kick wasn’t fast enough to hit it last time so I need to change up our strategy. “Try Arial Ace this time.”

The Murkrow rasped out its laugh-caw again. As Auster was building up speed, it opened its beak again and used a different move. It yawned for several seconds, not bothering to dodge. The telltale traces of Type-energy wisped from its mouth meaning it was using a Move.

Yawn! Alec realized, just as Auster subconsciously followed suit and yawned too. He slowed down, aborting his dive and landing on the ground.

“Oh no! Auster, wake up!” Alec shouted. The Murkrow cackled viciously, mocking their naivety. The fact that it chose to taunt them instead of taking advantage of Auster’s incapacitation made it sting even more.

“That was a dirty trick,” he muttered as he recalled Auster. Immediately, he swapped one Pokeball for another, replacing Auster’s on his belt and grabbing Tricky’s.

An Electric-type attack will decimate this nuisance, Alec thought angrily. I’m not falling for a trick that simple ever again.

One Thunder Fang later and the Murkrow succumbed to paralysis, falling out of the air and twitching on the ground. A simple Pokeball did the trick, and Alec continued on with his day.

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

“Whoa…”

“Lux…”

Trainer and Pokemon stared out at the ocean. They stood right before the grass and dirt gave way to the sandy beach, about thirty feet from the shoreline. The wind had picked up a bit, rustling Alec’s hair and cooling him off. It was still pretty hot out, but it helped.

Auster woke up a few minutes after their encounter with the Murkrow, but he was still extremely tired. He could barely even keep both eyes open and could barely fly straight. He all but begged to be returned to his ball so he could get some sleep. That meant it was just Alec and Tricky until nightfall.

“Have you ever been to the beach before?” Alec asked.

“Luxio.”

“Yeah, me neither,” he replied. He chose not to count his awakening on Prelude Beach, the day he fell into Hisui. That had been entirely against his will and altogether unpleasant.

Alec sat down on the grass and started to remove his shoes and socks, placing them into a pile beneath a tree. “I don’t wanna get sand in my shoes,” he explained to Tricky. “I’d be itchy all day if I didn’t.”

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Once he was finished, he turned toward the shore. “You ready?”

“Lux!”

Alec smirked, an idea forming in his head. “Alright, race you to the water!” He took off toward the shoreline as fast as he could go.

Tricky cried out in betrayal and quickly gave chase, barreling after Alec. Being a quadruped with a much lower center of gravity, he quickly caught up to Alec and overtook him with ease.

“Hey!” he shouted indignantly, already panting. Tricky just laughed at him and kept running.

When he reached the water, Tricky immediately started splashing around. Alec joined him a moment later, scooping up handfuls of water and throwing them at his partner.

Of course, Tricky returned fire, using his forepaws to splash back at Alec.

Before long, they were both soaked. Despite the sting of salt water in their eyes, they enjoyed every second of it.

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

About an hour later, once they tired of playing in the water, Alec and Tricky began to explore the coastlands properly. Playing in the ocean had been fun—and he certainly didn’t regret the time spent—but there was only a limited amount of daylight left. Alec needed to get serious or he’d be left out in the open when night fell.

His clothes were still absolutely soaked , but he figured they’d dry off soon enough. If anything, they’d be a nice coolant against the sun’s heat.

With Tricky by his side, he walked crookedly back to the tree where he’d stashed his shoes. While he was brushing off the remaining sand from his feet, he saw Tricky take a square stance—a move he recognized.

“Wait, don’t!” he reflexively yelped, shielding his face—

—just as Tricky shook himself off, sending a spray of water all over him.

“Lux?” Tricky asked, sounding confused. What had he done wrong? Couldn’t Alec shake himself off too if he was too wet?

Alec just chuckled. He was already wet—his reaction was more on reflex than on necessity. He simply took his shirt off and wrung out the excess water.

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

The flora of the coastlands was rather sparse compared to other areas of Hisui like the fieldlands. Of course, it was nothing compared to the icelands—where there was barely a hint of green anywhere to be found. But still, it was strange to Alec not to have very many patches of tall grass or shrubs to hide in.

So far, he’d only seen two new Pokemon species: Glameow and Skorupi. Catching a Skorupi wasn’t too difficult, but dealing with the rest of its nest after catching it definitely was.

He’d mostly been heading north, hugging the edge of the mountain range. On his map, it was labeled Windbreak Stand. Along the rocks, he saw several Geodude alongside their first evolution, Graveler. The large Gravelers were repeatedly attacking a cliff face, dislodging chunks of rock that the Geodude would crush into smaller chunks.

What’re they doing that for? Alec wondered. They’re made of rock, maybe they eat rocks instead of food? He’d have to ask Laventon to get a concrete answer.

The Geodude and Graveler seemed content to keep to themselves, even after one noticed him. The decreasing plant cover required him to walk out in the open. It turned and muttered something to the others and returned to its work, unphased. Alec just shrugged and continued on, not wanting to bother them at the moment.

I figure it’ll be easier to catch a Geodude back in the fieldlands and evolve it than deal with that horde right now, he thought. Tricky’s electricity would be entirely ineffective due to them being Ground-types and Auster was still fast asleep.

Windbreak Stand began to curve toward the east, along the northern end of the bay. Alec followed the side of the cliff, relishing in the bit of shade it provided. Occasionally, he’d spot a random Starly or Burmy in the trees, but he didn’t want to waste his Pokeballs on such a common target.

One species he kept seeing was Tangela, a rather small Pokemon whose body was comprised entirely of vines. Well, it technically had a proper body underneath, but the vines completely covered it. Its eyes peeked out from its vines like a mummy, blocking its eyesight, so Alec had no difficulty sneaking up on it.

Alec slowly made his way toward Castaway Shore. Every thirty minutes or so, he’d stop and check on Auster, who was still peacefully snoozing. Some time later, a strange sight caught Alec’s attention: A large blur darting around behind a layer of foliage. He only got faint glimpses, seeing red and white.

What was that? he thought, lowering his stance and scurrying forward. He didn’t have much experience tracking Pokemon so he was determined to not let it out of his sight.

He looked around, catching another glimpse of red disappearing into a bush. The chase continued a few more times before they burst into a clearing and Alec got a good look at what he was pursuing.

It was a small quadrupedal Pokemon, a little smaller than Tricky, with bright red fur and black stripes. Its most striking feature was its mop of curly white hair that hung low over its face, completely covering its eyes. The next thing Alec noticed was that there was another of the same species, this one a few inches smaller than the other one.

“Grow? Grow grow!” the first one barked, seeing its counterpart.

“Who’s there?” an unfamiliar feminine voice shouted, coming from around an outcropping of rock. Alec nearly jumped a foot in the air, not expecting to hear the voice of another human. He looked around and quickly caught sight of the speaker as she emerged from behind the rock.

The surprise at hearing the voice of another person so far away from any village or settlement nearly made Alec scream. A human was the last thing he expected to see here! His hand instinctually shot down to Tricky’s Pokeball, ready to defend himself if necessary.

She had curly blond hair and wore a white dress that tightly hugged her figure, with the Pearl clan symbol sewn into it. Around her neck, she wore a facemask likely designed for swimming. Concern covered her face, at seeing an intruder in an area she originally thought was safe.

Alec raised his hands defensively, trying to not appear threatening. “I mean no harm,” he quickly said.

The woman barely focused on him for three seconds before she noticed the Pokemon Alec had been chasing. She knelt down and patted it on the head. “Oh good, you’re back,” she said happily. “We were worried about you, y’know. Don’t go running off like that again. You could get lost or hurt.”

The pup looked up at her apologetically—as far as Alec could tell, at least. Its fluffy fur hung down over its eyes, making its expression hard to read. It whined briefly before perking up and running over to tackle the other one.

The woman stood back up and scanned Alec up and down. “I don’t recognize your face,” she said matter-of-factly. “You must be from Jubilife, right?”

Alec let his posture relax slightly. He’d half expected her to be defensive and threaten him to leave. “Yeah, I am. My name’s Alec.”

The woman gasped. “You’re the sky-faller! I’ve heard about you from my sister! I’m Palina and I’m from the Pearl clan, if you couldn’t tell,” the woman said, holding out her hand to shake. Alec took it, noting her firm grip and calloused hands.

Alec laughed humourlessly. I’m so tired of that name following me everywhere , he thought. It was like a pebble in his shoe—a minor annoyance that somehow drove him crazy. It was like a constant, never-ending reminder of everything that was going wrong in his life.

“But I thought the Pearl village was on the other end of the Hisui? What’re you doing here, in the coastlands?” Alec asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” she chuckled. “Jubilife is far away too.”

“I’m just here to research the Pokemon that live here,” Alec said, grabbing an empty Pokeball from his satchel and tossing it from hand to hand. “Speaking of, what species are those? I just followed one through the brush and stumbled upon you here."

Beside them, the two Pokemon rolled around in the grass, play-fighting to pin each other. Both tails were wagging. Palina sighed when Alec brought them up, growing uneasy. She didn’t answer Alec’s question, staring at them and falling deep in thought.

A moment passed, and just as Alec was about to ask her what was wrong, another voice could be heard from behind him.

“Palina, I couldn’t find him. I don’t think he went this way,” the voice asked from behind him, this one belonging to someone he’d met before.

“Irida?” he responded incredulously, turning around to face the direction he’d heard her. Sure enough, the chief of the Pearl clan emerged from the brush, roughly from the direction he’d come from.

“What are you doing here?” Irida asked. Her voice was calm, though burdened by stress. She sounded like she hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in weeks, like the world kept throwing her curveballs despite her best attempts to keep going.

“You don’t need to worry, Alec found him for us,” Palina interrupted before Alec could respond.

Huh, seeing them next to each other, they look remarkably similar, Alec thought, though Irida stood at least a foot taller than the new woman and looked about five years older. They both had very similar facial structures and skin tones.

“I’m working for the Survey Corps to explore this area and catch Pokemon. I didn’t mean to intrude or anything, I just followed this one and he led me here,” he said, gesturing to the two pups as they played.

The larger one playfully tackled the smaller one, who rolled over onto its back and stuck up its legs. Their tails wagged back and forth extremely fast and both tongues hung out as the pups happily panted.

A moment later, the larger pup nipped the younger one on the leg. It yelped in pain and backed up defensively, hiding behind Irida’s leg.

“I see you’ve already met my sister,” Irida commented.

Alec raised his eyebrows in understanding. “Oh, I figured as much. You two really look alike.”

Faintly, Alec heard both Irida and Palina mumble something under their breaths. They heard each other too, and they glared at each other.

“What kind of Pokemon is this?” Alec quickly asked as the larger pup approached the smaller one, seemingly apologizing for playing too rough.

“They’re called Growlithe, a Fire and Rock type,” Palina supplied. “They’re always in a pair with another Growlithe. These two are practically inseparable.”

“Then why’d he go missing?” Alec asked.

Irida sighed. “These two aren’t a natural pair, meaning they aren’t from the same litter. It’s called an adoptive pair. You see, the smaller one’s on the verge of his evolution, so his instincts are acting up and going out of sync with the other.”

Palina’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly. Alec watched her take a slow, deep breath in and out. “We don’t know that for sure, Irida,” she said, an edge of irritation in her voice.

“Isn’t knowing everything about these two your entire job, though?” Irida replied, a twinge of sarcasm in her voice.

Alec took a reluctant step backward, away from their brewing argument. The twin Growlithe sensed it too, flattening their ears and whining softly. He wanted nothing to do with any kind of disagreement. Though, he did wonder what Irida meant…

“What do you mean, her job?” he asked, before his mental filter had a chance to catch it.

Irida smiled warmly and her irritation disappeared as she turned away from her sister. “Palina, have you not introduced yourself to Alec yet?”

“No, not fully,” she said, her tone rigid. “Sorry, I forgot it wouldn’t be common knowledge to you since you’re not a Pearl. I’m a Warden.”

Alec’s eyes widened. Meeting another Warden so suddenly felt strange—as every other Warden he’d met before had been under dire circumstances, not counting the festival at Solaceon Village. It was a weird feeling, meeting so many important people so quickly. He glanced around the area. If Palina was a Warden, that meant her Noble was nearby. The only Pokemon he could see at all were the two Growlithes. Alec’s eyes practically skimmed passed them as he looked around.

“Huh,” Alec sighed, still in partial disbelief. “You must have a Noble then, right? What Pokemon is it?”

All the Nobles he’d met before—Kleavor, Wyrdeer, Lilligant, and Ursaluna—were completely unfamiliar to him. Lilligant was an odd case, as he recognized the name but not the actual Pokemon at all. The Lilligant from Unova was short with a bulbous lower body, a far cry from the one he fought.

That had to be connected to how he didn’t remember any mention of Noble Pokemon in history class, when they were learning about Hisui. Maybe the position had been lost to time, along with the species?

Irida opened her mouth but Palina cut her off. “I don’t have one,” she quickly spoke. “I used to serve Arcanine, Growlithe’s evolved form, but he sadly perished ten years ago. Until his heir evolves, the position is unfilled.” She gestured toward the two Growlithe. “If you were to guess, Alec, which Growlithe is the descendant of the Nobility? An heir to the power of Sinnoh Themself?” As she spoke, her voice carried a sort of worn-out exasperation, just potent enough to sting.

Alec decided to ignore her irritation with him and examined the two pups. His instincts immediately jumped to the larger of the two, easily dwarfing its pair in size and strength. All the Nobles he’d seen were absolutely massive Pokemon, standing head-and-shoulders above him with muscle mass to match.

He opened his mouth, ready to confidently give his answer, before reconsidering. If it was the immediate, obvious choice, why would Palina ask the question?

The fact that she asked the question—the fact that it even existed in the first place—implied that there was more to it than what meets the eye. Alec looked back over to the smaller Growlithe, watching it play. The larger one barked and charged at it, trying to tackle and pin it, but the smaller one quickly sidestepped and pounced in return.

Alec made up his mind. “It’s the smaller one, right?”

“What makes you think that?” Palina asked, confused.

“The fact that you asked the question to start with. I figured you’d only ask if the answer wasn’t the obvious choice.”

Palina chuckled. “That makes sense, I suppose. Sadly it’s incorrect—the larger one is the Noble’s heir. The smaller one is actually quite large for a Growlithe, it’s just that Sinnoh’s blessing tends to speed up growth.”

Alec hummed in understanding. Though some species were naturally big, the Nobles had made them seem like Joltiks in comparison. Even Lilligant, the smallest of them all so far, was still considerably taller than Alec. Kleavor, the evolved form of Scyther, was nearly twice the size of every Scyther Alec had seen. That makes a lot of sense, Alec thought in amazement.

“It’ll only get bigger once it evolves,” Irida interjected. “Evolution is Sinnoh’s glorious blessing where a Pokemon receives its birthright, a sliver of Their power as a reward for growing stronger.”

“Do you not remember the previous Lord?” Palina suddenly snapped. Alec was startled by her sudden outburst, a sharp increase in tension from their previous irritation. She was so calm before Irida showed up. Had they been arguing about something important? The paradoxical relaxed tension between the two indicated that it had been going on for a long time.

“Barely!” Irida countered. “We’ve been without a Noble for so long!”

The two sisters had completely forgotten Alec was there too, entirely focusing on each other. Just as Palina was about to snap back at her sister, the larger Growlithe—the Noble’s Heir—ran up to her. It looked up at her worriedly, pawing at her feet and growling softly.

Palina’s face flashed through a dozen emotions in rapid-fire succession. She sighed and knelt down, scratching him behind the ear. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I just don’t want to push you too hard. I don’t want to pressure you into something you’re not ready for.”

She reluctantly stood back up and took a deep breath. “Alec, I suppose you deserve some context. It was the eruption of Firespit Volcano ten years ago that caused the death of my Lord, the Noble Arcanine.” Her voice cracked and Alec noticed tears welling in her eyes. “The eruption triggered a tsunami. He gave up his life to stop the disaster and went to be with Sinnoh…”

She started coughing, covering her face. It wasn’t until Alec heard her sniffle did he realize that she was crying. He looked at Irida, who seemed uncomfortable. Distant. Somehow sympathetic, despite knowing her role in upsetting Palina.

She stepped forward and continued the story for her sister. “We fear that this year’s eruption may cause a similar disaster as the one ten years ago. Without a Noble Arcanine to assist in stopping it, it will ravage the coastlands. That’s why I believe Growlithe should evolve.”

All hints of anger or vitriol were gone from her tone. She was only speaking the facts, without any intention of provoking Palina. She sighed sadly. “My sister believes that the little one isn’t ready yet.”

“He’s not!” Palina gasped, tears still streaming down her face. They pooled and collected in her facemask that hung around her neck, fogging up the glass. “I don’t want to lose another Noble!”

Irida hugged her sister, holding her tight. “Palina…I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

Palina just buried her face in Irida’s shoulder.

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Ten years ago

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Arcanine stared toward the horizon, where the light of the setting sun was just vanishing. Fitting , he thought, that the light disappears now of all times.

Another earsplitting boom shook the ground. Arcanine felt each tremor like it was his heartbeat. The ground cried out. Fire and rock, the two things he was gifted as his domain, rebelled against him.

It was only fitting that he would be the one to stop it.

He stood at the shoreline of the beach, a few feet from the tide, facing out toward the volcano. He could already see the waves near the landmass growing more turbulent and agitated as the volcano grew more volatile.

Liquid fire, brimstone, ash, creations from deep within the earth spewed from the mountain. Arcanine feared for the safety of the Pokemon he watched over. He knew that the ones that lived on the volcano itself would be fine, not ones to be bothered by that sort of thing. He’d even seen some Magmar go swimming in the liquid fire like a Basculin does the ocean. No, he worried for everyone else—everyone on the mainland, separated from the volcano by miles of ocean.

The tide washed forward, nicking him on his forepaws. The water that normally would’ve made his skin crawl on contact felt strangely comforting. It was cold, a sharp contrast to the blistering heat he usually felt.

His fellow Noble—one with far greater knowledge of the ocean than himself—had warned him about the true danger they would face that day, not from up atop the volcano, but from deep beneath the water.

Another tremor shook the ground.

“The earth-shaking will cause a collapse deep underwater,” his friend had said. “In conjunction with the heat from the volcano, the water will surge upward, toward our land. A wave a mile high, tall enough to cause the deaths of a million Pokemon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, we are sure.”

No matter how many times Arcanine let the words play in his head, they never got any easier to process.

The warm wind of the coast tickled his fur comfortingly. He let the feeling wash over him, reminding him of the land he protected. As a Noble, he was supposed to keep his entire domain in heart and mind, but right now he could only focus on one Pokemon. Mentally, he knew his child’s egg would be safe with his Warden. It was currently back at her people’s village, on the other side of the region, but a thorn of worry the width of a hair still remained in his side.

In the distance, he saw another spurt of liquid fire burst from the peak of the mountain like blood from a festering wound. A split-second later, another tremor rippled through the ground. This one was significantly stronger than the previous ones, strong enough to disrupt large boulders.

It was time.

Arcanine threw back his head and howled. A battle cry. An announcement to the lands that he was ready to protect them from whatever may come. He took a step forward, placing his forepaw down into the surf.

It immediately stung. The saltwater felt like sandpaper on his fur. As a Fire and Ground-type, he was incredibly vulnerable to the water. He took another step forward, then another. The stinging quickly faded into background noise.

Step by step, he progressed into the water. Before long he was up to his knees, making each subsequent footstep harder and harder. A faint growl rippled from his chest as he tried to ignore the grating pain of the water.

Then, the mountain erupted again. Something that could only be described as a cloud of darkness was spat into the air, thick enough to blot out the sun. More liquid fire spewed from the mountain, creating a bastardization of the night sky with the glowing droplets against the soot.

However, Arcanine barely noticed the earthquake that followed. His attention was on how the shoreline was receding at a rapid rate. The water was being sucked back into the ocean like the sea was taking its last deep breath before dying.

He remembered what his fellow Noble had told him: “When the waters pull back, you must be ready. We will do all we can to hinder it at its source, but the tsunami will regardless be daunting.”

Arcanine grit his teeth and channeled his power. The earth was his domain—it didn’t matter if it was beneath some water. The rocks obeyed his call and solidified into a pillar just large enough for him to place a paw on. Three times he repeated the process until he was standing fully on them.

The waters continued to recede, so he knew his time to act had come. He leaped forward, summoning more pillars while midair, and sprinted toward the island. Immediately, his instincts started panicking, warning him to evacuate. To run, to get out of the area, to warn as many others as he could. But he couldn’t run. So he did the next best thing.

Quickly, even quicker than the riptide receded, Arcanine blitzed forward like a bolt of lightning, leaving a trail of embers in his path. His breathing was steady and controlled. Focus, he kept repeating, catching himself with pillars of stone.

In the distance, the horizon started to rise.

Arcanine stared in terror—and nearly lost his footing—as the water rose like a Seviper coiling up to strike. The wave, that terrible wall of water, swelled upwards. Just when he expected it to stop and crash forward like a tower of pebbles stacked too high, it kept growing somehow, as if fueled by some sort of unnatural force bent on destroying the land.

But Arcanine was fueled by something even stronger. He felt it burning in his chest, the signature flame his species was known for. The physical, literal flame contained inside his body that would never go out. And next to it, he felt the blessing of Sinnoh Themself, his holy birthright as an heir to Nobility.

Arcanine stopped running. He shot a glance back to the shore. Yes, he was far enough away. He planted his feet, squeezed every muscle in his body, and howled.

He poured out every last fiber, every spark of power he could muster. Just when he thought he’d run out of breath, he found the strength to keep howling. The ocean floor, the earth deep beneath the water, responded to his call, surging upward like the pillars he’d used as footstools. But instead of creating platforms, he created a barrier. The rocks groaned and cracked as they shifted, arranging themselves into a new construction.

A massive wall of solid stone, long enough to span the entirety of the shoreline and tall enough to eclipse the wave.

Arcanine felt the pillar supporting his back left paw grow unsteady and crumble as he focused all his power on the barrier. He shifted his weight to the other three pillars and balanced, continuing unphased. A moment later, the same thing happened to the front right one. His eyes were squeezed shut. There was nothing else in existence besides him, the barrier, and the wave.

The world was silent for a few precious seconds. He dared to open his eyes. Slowly, he looked upwards and gasped in relief. The barrier stood strong, easily tall enough to stop the tsunami.

All he could do was stare at it in wide-eyed anticipation. The back of his mind relayed to him that his entire body was in excruciating pain. He didn’t feel any of it, strangely enough.

A flock of Flying-types chirped faintly in the distance. The wind continued to whistle, ruffling his damp fur.

CRASH

The world flipped upside down. Arcanine barely had time to cry out in pain as the wall collapsed from the tsunami’s onslaught. A torrent of water, stronger than the Hydro Pump of an Empoleon, blasted forward, swallowing him. It seemed to have a mind of its own, with how the currents wrestled him about like a leaf during a storm.

All of Arcanine’s senses betrayed and worked against him. His ears overwhelmed him with the constant crashing of water; his eyes saw nothing but a tumble of blue; his skin screamed like it had never before.

Faintly, past his panic, he felt himself sinking.

NO! he thought, looking upward. Believing he failed. Believing he’d let down the people he’d promised to protect. He tried to paddle upward in vain—he was far too heavy.

But from beneath the water, he could tell that the tsunami had been almost entirely negated by the wall. The surface of the water above him was calm. Bits of debris that comprised the wall sank alongside his unresponsive body.

Although he was rapidly sinking. Although he was running out of air. Although he was dying, he was peaceful. He knew that he’d fulfilled his duties.

His son would be safe.

Arcanine closed his eyes, satisfied, and sank into the ocean, smiling.