“Ugh, another forest,” Sofie mutters, stepping down off Eve’s back.
The trip down the off-route mountain was… stressful to say the least, for multiple reasons. It hadn’t taken as long as I had said it would, but a few minutes after we reached the base, we leapt over a river to find ourselves standing outside a forest that seemed to rival Santalune. Its canopy is certainly different, thicker and more lush then the other woodland, and I get an uncomfortable feeling of being watched from within.
I step off Eve as well, who shares a deep unease at the forest. I sigh, then release Tinder into my arms, sending both of my Pokemon my affection as a bit of reassurance in the process. When Sofie releases her partners, Cappuccino stretches upon entering reality, then scowls at the forest, looking up to me in annoyance. On the other hand, Chamomile is positively bubbling with energy at the sight, and of course, by that I mean her leaves are bobbing up and down a tiny bit more than normal. The silly Petilil just didn’t really show much emotion.
Tinder, who seemingly was napping in the ball, drowsily blinks awake as she takes in the surroundings. Over a few seconds, her facial expression shifts into one of utter disbelief, before wiggling in my arms while poking me with her deep interest I eventually yield, and the little Kit leaps forward, turning back to us with a wide smile before she starts running towards the trees.
“W-wait Tinder!” I rush after her, anxious that my baby sister would get in trouble without us.
Tinder leads us through a twisting, strange path that I’d never be able to retread without her, several clearing that she blows right through without a care in the world. We pass a group of Eevee and Leafeon, which was a welcome sight all things considering, but they immediately run away upon seeing us. Actually, that’s the case for every single pokemon we see. It’s remarkably strange after the previous few days where they just ignored us.
Soon, the Vulpix begins to slow down, panting at the sudden physical exertion she had brought upon herself. I lean down and pick the fox up, touching my head to her forehead as I share my mutual interest. Tinder looks up with a relieved grin, then points out with her paw straight forward. I tilt my head, then follow her lead.
Our new method set, the kit, leads us through the dark forest, occasionally shooting her paw off in entirely different directions seemingly at random. It’s when we step through two particular trees that had grown into a strange twist that I start getting confused, since when I look behind me the trees just… aren’t there anymore. It wasn’t distinctly unsettling like the area Blaine had led us to in Santalune, but this place was just, unnatural. After we shift through a couple more strange portalish trees, I gasp as the entire landscape opens up.
Sprawling out before us is a huge meadow, yet with flowers eerily similar to one I had seen just a few months ago. Their stems are a deep crimson, leading to a star of six black and red petals. An aura of sorrow hangs over the clearing, and as we begin to take our first steps in the orchard, Tinder leaps out of my arms and dashes into the flowers. My mind is in other places however, so I let it go, walking forward until we reach a ramshackle hut where several tiny pokemon sit.
“This… I don’t understand…” I lean down and pick one, lifting it up to take a closer look. “Someone told me not long ago these flowers were extinct.”
“You’d be correct, if things hadn’t changed within the last ten years.” I freeze, letting the flower float to the ground. “To be honest, I’m curious who exactly you heard that from, since only about fifteen, maybe sixteen people know about them.”
Not wasting a breath, Eve and Sofie rush to stand between me and the two people walking towards us. One is a very tall, rather heavy set woman with a rather adorable sweater dress with snowflake motifs sewn into it. Her long, very dark brown hair ruffles down to her shoulders, and her gray eyes show a cautious readiness to do battle.
On the other hand, I doubted anyone in Kalos didn’t know who the older woman was.
Wearing an ankle length ebony dress with an elegant white shawl over it, Diantha’s dark gray hair is braided over her shoulder, the cerulean jeweled tiara upon her head perfectly matching the shade of her eyes. It’d almost be overkill if the woman wasn’t as breathtaking as she was, an undeniable elegance in all of her movements. Her famous partner, a Gardevoir, stands beside her, its seemingly calm demeanor betrayed by the fierce aura that it emits at us.
“To be honest, Miss Meier, Miss Morgan, I hadn’t expected to meet you here.” Diantha takes a few steps forward, cupping one of her dimpled cheeks. “I predicted you’d be going to Snowbelle, but I didn’t exactly know how you’d get there. To find this place, I’m honestly impressed.”
The woman behind Diantha takes a step forward, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face as she says:
“It’s a problem, Diantha, these two are already an hot-button issue in the circuit as is. Them stumbling upon a national secret isn’t exactly a good thing.”
Unsettled, I step forward and take hold of Sofie’s arm. A small trickle of fear has begun to drip into my heart, but I do my best to ignore it. At this rate, it wasn’t an issue. I just could only hope this wouldn’t go as I was expecting it would.
“We just want to continue our circuit.” Sofie grabs my hand squeezing it as she speaks. “The incident in Santalune was because the Rangers made the center hold her Absol. We didn’t do anything else.”
Diantha snorts, tapping her chin.
“I knew that already. The controversy isn’t even about that,” Diantha says, pointing at me, “It’s about whether we should play dumb and let the dastardly villain from the neighboring region get decently strong here.”
“I don’t get why Alexa and Viola are so invested in these two.” The large woman beside her shakes her head, then inspects us with a glare. “I say we just kick them out and be done with it. Too much trouble.”
Eve growls as I take a small step back, looking between everyone with my mind swirling, the trickle of terror turning into a stream. Is this… the Snowbelle gym leader? Alexa and Viola are interested in us? They want to kick both of us out? Where would I even go? What would Sofie do? How do I… I bite my lip, shaking myself out of the spiral. If I’m too much trouble…
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
I’ll make myself too valuable to ignore.
As I retrace the step I had taken, Diantha raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Have something to say, Little Ruination?”
I clench my hands, and nod with a resolve I hadn’t had before.
“I’m willing,” I state, my voice unflinching, “To lay out the true details of the crimes I committed.”
Diantha scoffs, putting a hand on her hip as she says:
“And this helps you how?”
I take a deep breath, sharing a look with Eve. She nods, and I find a small smile appearing on my face as I look back at the former champion.
“My first major crime was stealing an Articuno egg that had been kidnapped from its parent, so that we could return it to them.” I pause, a teeny bit of trepidation at revealing what might ruin me rising, before I banish it and force myself to speak. “The victims of my theft were the Paldean league who were planning to sell it at the big yearly auction, and my father was the one who had taken it from the nest. He’s one of the top rangers in the Paldean Union, by the way.”
The large woman whistles, and Diantha covers her mouth with her hand as she speaks.
“Now, that’s a very interesting little tidbit you’ve shared with us.” Diantha moves to pull something out of her purse, revealing the small smile that had appeared on her lips. “Would you be willing to go to the league with us, to put everything you experienced into an affidavit?”
I nod, but then turn to look out at the field of flowers.
“Before that, can I ask, what is this place?” I reach up, putting my hand on Eve’s head. “It’s so…”
Diantha sighs, then walks around us, ducking beneath the hut. She kneels down, an aura of bittersweet melancholy spreading out across her face as a Gothita runs up to her. She pats it on the head, then turns to look at us.
“This is the Pokemon Village, a reserve for Pokemon that have been hurt by humans in any way,” The former champion says, before she continues, “It was once completely natural, a secret meadow filled with beautiful golden flowers, where they’d be safe without any human intervention.”
Grimacing, true pain in her expression, Diantha faces away from us as she whispers, “Then, Team Flare happened.”
Everyone is silent for a moment, the little Gothita giving a small smile as it runs off. I glance up to see several powerful pokemon peering at us from the distance, clenching my hand against my heart. The sorrow I felt earlier wasn’t from the flowers; it was from them.
The large woman walks up to the former champion, her arms still crossed as she turns towards us.
“My father, Wulfric, took care of this place alone up until the big battle.” Shaking her head the woman looks out over the meadow, locking eyes with a huge Nidoking. It immediately roars, then runs away in fear after a moment of being stared down. “Now, he can’t bring himself to come here.”
I take Sofie’s hand, looking up at her to see the same thing I was feeling in her eyes. She nods, and we both take a step forward.
“Me and Morgan swear we won’t tell anyone about this place.” Sofie does a deep bow, and I quickly scramble to do the same. “Please, trust us.”
Suddenly, a bark comes from within the flowers as Tinder reappears, a gigantic grin on her fox lips. She’s not alone; trailing behind her is a tiny blue mouse, red spots on its back. Tinder barks affectionately, leaping up to stand on my shoulders with a smug look on its face. The mouse walks up to us, looks up at me, shakes its head before it approaches Sofie.
A bit confused, Sofie kneels down, picking it up in her palms to match her face. She locks eyes with the small Cyndaquil for a few seconds, neither of them saying anything. Finally, it reaches its tiny paw out and touches Sofie’s chest just above her heart. Sofie sucks in a breath, and her eyes go wide as something shifts in her crimson pupils.
“Hoh, this is interesting. It wants to battle you.” Diantha pats her Pokemon on the head, sending it forwards.
“You want,” Sofie mutters, her disbelief apparent, “to test me?”
It nods, the flames on its back flaring up in Sofie’s hands. She doesn’t flinch, but I do at the sight. Looking at Diantha’s Gardevoir, which glides over the ground until she passes us, Sofie lets the mouse down on the ground, who runs off behind it.
[Let us move to a less… burnable area.]
I glance towards the two other trainers in the area, who just look at us with interest as we move. We walk through the meadow until we enter a clearing, nearly a perfect circle within the flowers where nothing grows. The Cyndaquil runs to the other side, its fire excitedly roiling across its back. Sofie, obviously still a bit taken aback by all of this, pats Cappuccino on the head to send it out to match the mouse. The Gardevoir creates a dome barrier around the pokemon, an added defense against the little one’s flames.
[Now, you may begin.]
Sofie raises her hand, a small smile appearing on her face. “Echoed Voice, remember we don’t wanna hurt it!”
The large lady standing beside me scoffs as the Minccino twirls its tail like an arm, blatantly telegraphing its attack to its opponent. Seemingly entirely unaware of the situation, the Cyndaquil runs forward, ramming into the chinchilla with its full body weight.
Cappuccino doesn’t even budge.
Whipping its tail forward, Cappuccino winces as the Cyndaquil flies across the arena, sliding roughly against the ground until it comes to a stop. Shaking itself off, the mouse angrily flares, a glob of fire bouncing across the ground at the Minccino. Cappuccino tries whacking the ball away with its paw, which does work, only for it to screech when its fur gets a bit singed.
“Uh-oh,” I mutter, seeing the rage in the Chinchilla’s eyes.
The Minccino rushes forward at the little mouse, raising its paw and whacking it out at the Cyndaquil. To my, and apparently Cappuccino’s surprise, it’s opponent actually dodges, but in a rather strange way. Its eyes flash pink as it suddenly floats up, levitating a few feet up before launching itself across the arena. When it lands, it sends another Ember.
Not taking the chance of more ruined fur, Cappuccino’s tail lights up with grayish white light, swinging it at the flame. It vanishes from the Tidy Up, and now glowing, Cappuccino rushes at the mouse. This time, the psychic trick it had used is too slow, and a fist Pounds into the Cyndaquil's side. Sofie winces as the mouse slides across the ground again, scrapes appearing on its skin. Taking a deep breath, Sofie collects herself.
“Cyndaquil! Use the psychic attack on Cappuccino to keep it still after an ember!”
Looking back at her trainer in shock, the Minccino doesn’t have much time to react as Cyndaquil follows Sofie’s orders without question. Releasing another flame, the psychic energy forms around the Chinchilla, who despite its boosted physical abilities, cannot seem to break out. The glob of flame slams into Cappuccino, who is then rammed into the ground by the mouse a few times for good measure. When the mouse begins to move again, the Chinchilla is no longer moving. I do, however, catch the pokemon winking at her trainer from her position on the ground. Sofie recalls her friend, walking forward to the mouse with a grin.
“You’re a strong one, aren’t you?” Sofie kneels down, offering the pokemon a hand, which it climbs upon. “Did I pass your test?”
The mouse nods, then stands up on its hind-legs and touches its forehead to Sofie's. My friend gasps and closes her eyes, which gets me a bit anxious, but Eve simply steps in front of me, a warm pride at the girl spreading out between us. Tinder cheers as Sofie hugs the Cyndaquil to her chest, and her eyes open to reveal tears that I can tell are of joy.
“Cider,” She says, quietly giggling as she presses her forehead to the Pokemon, “That’s your new name.”
[author]Yeah, maybe a bit rushed? Idk, I was having a lot of difficulty coming up with ways to describe this place beyond what I have here. This is one I may come back and rewrite, because it's probably really important to the future plot. [/author]