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Chapter 80
Part 2
Southwest Ambera
Char had been anticipating his evolution ever since his first day as a Charmander. Now it was a reality, and it was everything he had hoped it would be.
He was taller and could look more Pokémon in the eye. His stamina quadrupled, and it felt even more effortless, natural even, to walk on all fours. His Ember burned so solid and steadily, as though his blazing reaction were active all the time; he could feel its warmth sizzling beneath his scales like a second heartbeat. And as it burned, it purged so much of the stress and weakness which always defined his existence as a Charmander, leaving so much power and confidence that, for the moment, he could barely remember what fear felt like anymore.
…Hopefully that confidence was coming from his new Charmeleon body. Hopefully it wasn't coming from knowing the true power of the Call. If that were the case, he knew he'd be finding out soon enough; he wasn't going to let himself rely on the Call, especially now that he felt strong enough to do things the right way.
The Gold Division warriors stayed at Basin Canyon for three more days to help fix the damage from the battle (including a certain hole in the floor). Roughly six days after leaving for the mission, Char was relieved to finally return to the base, hoping to find Legend and Aster had made it back safely.
"Different, isn't it?" Daemon said as they neared the waterfall village.
Char flexed his three-fingered hands in front of his eyes. His claws were so huge, clearly meant more for battle and less for dexterity. (In helping Jirachi set the table for their daily meal, he'd dropped and shattered fragile dishware at least six times before getting a feel for it.)
"My feelings are very different now, yes," he considered. "I don't see myself as an inferior creature anymore. I feel like I can stand up to anything. I know I still have limits, but I won't know what they are until I push them, and I'm not afraid of trying. I hope I'm not too different – or at least, different enough that my friends won't recognize me anymore. I actually tried turning into a Charizard, but it didn't work. That definitely would have been too different…"
Char turned to Daemon, still in disbelief at how companionable he now seemed. "So it was like this for you, too?" he asked. "You were a whole different person as a Houndour?"
Daemon snorted in shame. "I… was happy as that Houndour, and still, in some tiny flicker of my fire, I resent how much I've changed," he said.
"You resent evolving?" Char asked with fascination, and some concern. "How come?"
"The world forced me to be the way I am," Daemon confessed. "Whenever the world tried to twist my heart, turn me into some dark, callous, cynical mockery of myself… I resisted. I stood firm and I martyred myself for the sake of my principles, and I took pride in surviving for so long without darkening my heart."
"And you feel like you've failed?" Char wondered. "You lost that fight?"
"Yes… I lost that fight," Daemon sighed, sad and deep. "In that small way, I could say that I empathize with Cepheus. He never wanted to be slave to Enigma, he fought it, and yet in the end he was dragged into it biting and thrashing. All the fighting I'd done to keep myself the same… it did not help me stay the same. Rather, it only served to keep me in denial of the truth: that I had already changed. The world had long since transformed me into a monster… and I hadn't even noticed."
A small crackle in Daemon's voice brought Char to cast a quick glance at him. He wasn't sure if Daemon was struggling not to cry, but he was going to respectfully pretend not to notice. Either way, he was likely still mourning the loss of his friends and teammates.
"Scythe is the only one who has seen the Houndor I used to be," Daemon continued. "Adron the Terrible was a hundred times greater of a monster than I ever was, and yet he somehow overcame that. I hoped I could as well, if I learned from him. And just as I fought to keep the world from changing who I was, Adron vowed never to become a Scizor. He understood the struggles of keeping the world from changing him, and triumphed over those challenges also. When we first met, I only wanted to learn how he managed, so I could emulate him."
"And did you?" Char asked.
"I learned that I was a fool," Daemon said plainly. "I learned that the world needed him, but the world is no place for the kind of Pokémon I wanted to be."
Before Char could ask for more elaboration, Daemon simply vanished from beside him, as did the chilly autumn countryside around him, replaced by a damp, badly-lit tunnel.
I'm never going to get used to that memory-wipe spell, Char thought as the tiny water droplets from the waterfall vaporized between his scales. But unlike last time, when he still felt pinpricks stabbing at the base of his spine from having to walk through the waterfall and douse his tail – this time, he didn't feel a thing.
Division Base
The base felt different and unfamiliar, every bit of it – like the walls were slanted wrong, the ground was sturdier under his feet, the colors were warmer, the torches burned brighter, the temperature was more pleasant, and the faraway voices of Pokémon echoed differently. Of course, it wasn't the base that had changed – it was himself. But rather than being a disturbing sort of change, it was an exciting one, reminding Char of the fiery rush of excitement he'd felt on his first day in the base. Now that Char the Charmander was gone, Char the Charmeleon was equally as eager to explore and settle in to his new home.
After parting ways with the homecoming group of warriors the first chance he had, Char made a run for his team hall. He wasn't sure who would be home at this time of day, around high noon – the team could very well be running missions – but he hoped to at least find Aster there, and to hear that Legend had made it home safely.
What he actually found, however, was nothing that he'd expected.
Dozens of noisy Pokémon crowded around the front door of Team Ember's hall. At least forty of them, all excited and clamoring about something. Char couldn't spot any of Team Ember among the group, as far as he could tell, though he recognized a few members of Team Stripes. It certainly wasn't a homecoming party, that much was obvious. Rather, all these Pokémon seemed excited to get Team Ember's attention about something.
He approached warily, baffled by whatever could have drawn so much attention to Team Ember. Thankfully, if the spirited shouts and cries of the Pokémon were anything to judge by, at least it seemed to be positive attention.
"Char…? Is that… you?" said a voice from behind him.
An old, familiar voice. Something that halfway resembled a voice he'd know from anywhere, a voice he'd not heard in a very long time. Yet, the voice was halfway different than he remembered, as though distorted by a dream. But that was probably just because, like everything else, his own ears had changed… right?
Char found, standing behind him: three little Bulbasaur children standing alongside an Ivysaur.
The Ivysaur gave a pleased smile.
"Saura?" Char breathed.
"Yeah. It's me," said the Ivysaur, his smile widening. "Welcome home, Char."
"Me…? Me… welcome home…? You!" Char blabbered as he jumped at his dear old friend.
The Ivysaur pounced at the same moment, tackling Char down and embracing him with vines. A perfect glomp! Char hadn't realized how much he'd missed getting tackled and wrapped in vines.
Those vines… They'd always been there right at Char's side, always ready to lend help. At times they used to feel like an extension of Char's body, something he would always count on. Char wondered for a moment how he'd gone so long without them…
"Aieeee! Watch out, big brother! It'll burn you!" shouted one of the nearby Bulbasaur seedlings.
"Naaah, it's fine, Saurlee! This is the friend I've been telling you about!" Saura laughed, squeezing Char tight. "I missed him too much to be afraid of a little fire."
Char and Saura, just like old times, hugged one another for a moment. To them, it felt like only a short moment, but it was long enough for most of the Pokémon crowded around Team Ember's hall to notice them and start to quiet down.
"Y-you back? On the team?" Char struggled to say.
"Yeah. I'm back," Saura said warmly. "Officially back yesterday. For good this time."
"…And you brought your family?" Char said in surprise. "Care to introduce them to me?"
Saura jumped off Char and waved at the Bulbasaur seedlings next to him. "This is Saurlee. My youngest sister. And these are two of my little troublemaker brothers, Saurgo and Saurmel," he said.
"Proud members of Team Grayleaf!" Saurgo chimed in. "We're gonna train to be the best!"
"Yeah, I helped register my whole family as a new resistance team a few days ago," Saura said. "They even got a welcoming gift when they signed up – a feral-shard from Basin Canyon, from their first new shipment! I'll give you one guess who got it."
"…Oh? You're on Team Grayleaf now?" Char said with reserved surprise.
"Naaaah. Team Ember for life!" he declared, giving Char another quick nuzzle. "But I was the one to convince them to sign up. Team Grayleaf has the rest of my family. My dad is the leader. They live in Iron Town next to the gardens now, so I can be on Team Ember and still see them whenever I want!"
"Yeah, we're going to pretend to be gardeners but actually do all kinds of awesome illegal stuff!" Saurgo cheered. "Just like our big brother used to do. Now I can't wait to get our first mission!"
"Oh, come on now, doing illegal stuff isn't all that glamorous… most of the time," Saura chuckled. "I've got so much of a story to tell you, Char! But first, some of my siblings really wanted me to introduce them to my old friends."
"And your new friends!" Saurlee reminded him.
"Oh. Right. My new friends," Saura said, his eyes glazing over. "Soooo many new friends… I haven't even learned all their names yet…"
"Are these the new friends?" asked Saurmel, waving at the now-silent crowd in front of Team Ember's hall. "That is a lot of Pokémon there!"
"No… these aren't them," Saura said, eyeing the group suspiciously. "I have no idea what's going on. I just got here," Saura said. "I mean… I came back to the base a few days ago. But I was out visiting dad all this morning and I just got back here."
"Well… I just got here too…" Char said. "So why don't we find out?"
Char turned around and approached the unexpected group of visitors, most of whom were young children. He put his hands on his sides and made a stern glare. "Allllright, anyone want to tell me what's going on?" he said loudly. "And save the welcome-back stuff for later."
An Electrike bounced up and replied, "Oh, Char! Have we got a surprise for you!" he beamed. "Scythe was just here and he… invited all of your team to a victory feast!"
"Ah, uh… a what?" Char said. "Oh, did they do something really awesome while I was gone?"
"No, not what they did, what you did!" said a Teddiursa. "Everyone just saw in the news bulletins that Basin Canyon was won back! So Scythe was arranging a big huge victory feast for all the teams that helped out. Fully catered! And since you were there too, your whole team got an invitation!"
Saura stepped up beside Char. "Well, that's a nice surprise," he said, "but what does this have to do with you guys blocking our way in the hall?"
"B-because they're…" The Teddiursa looked somewhat ashamed to answer, and Char noticed the same meekness reflected in the rest of them. "They're giving out free feral-shards to everyone at the party."
"Aaaaaaand we were wondering if maybe, possibly, probably, if you could uh… try and save us some…? We'd be super thankful," said a Machop, fiddling his fingers.
Char frowned. "Ohhh, you've got to be kidding," he groaned. "The Gold Division is about to be swimming in feral-shards, guys. We're the ones distributing them to this whole region. Give it a few weeks, and I bet you'll be able to get one just by doing a B-rank job." He grinned deviously as a fun idea struck him. "Buuuuuuut I guess if you're really desperate to evolve a few weeks early…"
He stepped closer to the door and pointedly looked over his bulletin board. It seemed pretty cleared off, relatively speaking, since Team Ember tripled in size and Tallie had probably been working the new recruits very hard for the past several days. But there were still a good ten-or-so jobs pinned there.
"I miiight just be inclined to arrange something, if anyone wants to help us with some of these," Char said, meandering to the board and yanking one of the notes off. "How about… I'll hand out some jobs from our board, and I'll sneak a free feral-shard to anyone who takes one of them for us. Liiiike… Like this one right here?"
Char read the note out loud. "'Client: Team Stripes. Rank: B. Request: Please deliver feral-shard, Sammie really wants to evolve…' Okay, maybe not that one." He quickly pinned the note back into place, scanned the rest of the haphazardly-pinned notes for something more reasonable, and pulled another one. "'Client: Team Cog. Rank: A. Request: Please deliver forty-four steel beams to upper floor of Gold Division base for new construction project.' Alright, any takers?"
The crowd of Pokémon glanced awkwardly at one another.
"No? Alright, how about this one?" Char said, pulling another note and reading it. "'Client: Dunsparce. Location: Nincadia. Rank: S. Request: Please escort me to see the legendary Sitrus Orchard! Protect me from all harm and I will pay you well!'"
There was immediate moaning and groaning from all the hopeful little trainee Pokémon, until they all shuffled away disappointed.
Char laughed heartily, pinning the job request sheets back into place. "Oh, it's a shame nobody came forward and took one," he said, once the Pokémon had all dispersed. "First one to claim a job, I'd have tossed them this." And he reached underneath his armband, still tied snugly in place, and produced a feral-shard to show Saura.
Saura beamed in surprise, but not at the feral-shard. "Char…! When did you learn to read? You're so good at it too, I can't even read half the penmanship on those notes!"
Char grinned mysteriously. "You aren't the only one with stories to tell, but first I'd love to hear yours. Where've you been all this time? What brings you back? Why bring your whole family with you?"
Rather than replying, Saura blinked twice at the job board. He crept closer, studying it intently. "Wait a minute… I wonder something…" he muttered. "I wonder if… naaah, nevermind, don't see anything," he sighed.
"What's wrong? Looking for something?" Char asked.
"Ehh. I tried sending you a letter sometime last week, actually a whole job request! But I think it got lost in the mail," Saura said extending some vines to look underneath a few of the notes. "I don't see it anywhere."
"Well that's quite… odd," Char said, scratching his chin. "I'd have loved to see a letter from you! And the mail system is usually super reliable here… it's a shame."
"I heard you weren't even home for a few days, too," Saura noted. "Something about building a secret base? What's that all about?"
"Oh, I can't wait for you to see the secret base! The new recruits built it… kind of," Char explained, stepping towards his door. "I made it a whole training mission and they did a great job getting Kecleon to deliver supplies and hiring construction crews and directing the whole project. It's a bit of a walk, so I'll have to show you another day. Anyway, why don't we make our grand appearance and see who's home?"
"I'd like nothing more," Saura sighed happily, ruffling his shiny new leaves in anticipation. "Ahh… just seeing this place again… It's all coming back to me. It's like I never left."
"Yeah… but at the same time, it's almost like we're about to enter for the first time, isn't it?" Char said oddly. "Since we're technically different Pokémon species now, and all."
"Aw. Congratulations on evolving, by the way," Saura said. "You look amazing. I can tell it's still you, but… you're just… such a grown-up now."
"I thought you can tell it was me because I'm still the only Char in the Gold Division," Char laughed.
"Yeah, alright, that too! But seriously, I always imagined it would suit you to be a Charmeleon. You're so confident now, I can tell just by the way you talk."
"Well, right back at you! You look incredible too, Saura! I thought you didn't even want to evolve? I remember you telling me that once."
"Eh, there's a lot of Pokémon who are scared to evolve when they're young. My reasons for it were silly, and it was easy to get over it once I realized all the power I was missing out on. Still not sure about making the last step, though. That'll be a decision for another day."
"Hey, speaking of steps, isn't it harder to get up the stairs now?"
"Nope! Not at all! Actually, it's way easier than before!"
"AHEM. BROTHER," shouted Saurmel, who was still standing right next to them alongside his other brother and sister. "Are we going in, or what?"
Saura jumped with a start. "Oh…! Sorry, kinda forgot you were even here," Saura said, rustling his leaves sheepishly. "Yeah, Char and I have a lot of catching up to do, but I guess we can save that for later. After you, Char!"
Char proudly stepped forward to his team's door and rapped loudly on it.
No response.
Char gave a longer, louder knock, making sure to clack his new claws against the stone. After several moments, still nothing.
"Um. Well. I guess everyone was hiding from the fan mob," Char said with a shrug. "Luckily… I can do this."
Still wearing his trusty mobile scarf, Char stepped through the closed door, ready to freak out anyone who might have been standing around in the main hall…
But Team Ember's hall was empty. Disturbingly empty. All the bedroom doors were opened and dark inside, including the master bedroom, and no audible murmurs rose from any of them.
Char unlocked the door and slid it open so his companions could enter. Saura hopped into the room, and the three small Bulbasaur pranced along beside him, bursting into gasps of wonderment almost immediately.
"WOWWWW! It's so pretty!"
"Too much fire! How do you even keep from burning yourself?"
"No, you dummy. Weren't you listening yesterday? The fire is all fake. It's ghost-wisps or something. It won't burn you."
"Yeah? Well I dare you to stick both your vines into that torch right there."
"Stick my vines? Into that torch right there? Uhhhhhh, no!"
As the two little brothers galloped around mischievously and almost looked like they would knock over all the candlesticks and tables, Saurlee stayed right at Saura's side. "You were right. It's really a pretty place. So much red and sparkly gold. Like one of dad's marigold gardens," she said.
"Yeah… it really is. We got lucky, and some really nice Pokémon gave this place to us," Saura fondly told his sister. "Ahhh. This is it. My home. My real home. Except… where is everybody? Our team has lots of Pokémon on it, I promise!"
Char shrugged. "Maybe they all headed off to Scythe's feast already? Explains why they weren't opening the door with all the commotion out there. I guess we'll have to – "
A Raichu burst out from the planning room, running nearly at top speed. So excited about something, static sizzled along his tail and across his fur. He stopped himself hard before running into Char.
"CHAR! CHAR! CHAR CHAR CHAR! Ray gasped. C'MON YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS!"
"Huh? What, no welcome back for Saura?" Char said oddly.
"And not even any congratulations on evolving?" Saura added, equally as oddly.
Ray bounced up and down and ran in small circles. "Okay yeah it's weird but HEAR ME OUT," panted the Raichu. "I got something to show you that's EVEN BIGGER than all that! EVEN BETTER! C'MON! LOOK! IN HERE QUICK! Also, oh look it's team Grayleaf hi guys anyway C'MON GET IN HERE!"
Char and Saura shared a very baffled look, then unquestioningly followed after the flash of static leaping from the end of the Raichu's tail as it vanished around the corner. The three Bulbasaur warily followed along behind.
They entered the planning room, or the "war room" as it was sometimes called, where Char and Tallie would hold their important team meetings. This room's lighting was significantly dimmer, with a channel of torchlight cast directly on the surface of the central table. Ray, however, ran completely past the table and stood at the back wall.
"Char! Get this! We just got this AMAZING thing from Kecleon!" gasped the excitable Raichu, still bouncing up and down in place. "Fern got it for us after we showed her the new base! But it's SUPER RARE and SUPER ILLEGAL! Even more illegal than your braziers, Char! Our heads will totally roll if High Intelligence even so much as finds out that these are in the base! ISN'T THAT AWESOME?"
"WOW! THAT'S SO AWESOME!" cried Saurgo. "Uh… but what is it? I don't see anything."
Ray pointed at the blank wall. "THIS! Right here!" he presented. "It's a two-way portal and it TOTALLY WORKS! We just set it up and it goes to the secret base! It even TUNNELS RIGHT THROUGH all the forcefields around the Gold Division base and nobody else even KNOWS about it!"
Char folded his arms. "Well, that's very impressive, I'm not going to lie," Char said. "But isn't that also kind of insecure? Couldn't enemies get in from the other end?"
Ray shook his head hard. "No no! Because, get this, Kerzek and Dusknoir programmed it only to let through certain Pokémon! Right now it only lets through Team Ember and Team X, and nobody else at all. Here, I'll prove it. Saurlee! That's your name, right? Saurlee, try walking into this wall here! Show them!"
A totally baffled Saurlee carefully crept up to the plain, ordinary-looking wall, and set her front paws up onto it. Nothing happened. It remained looking like a plain, ordinary wall. She looked up at Ray like he was completely nuts.
"See, SEE? Totally secure! Now watch what happens when I do it! Follow me!" Ray instructed.
Char halfway expected to see Ray ram his head at full force against the wall, but perhaps given how thrilled Ray was acting, it should have been no surprise to see that he'd been telling the truth, and he vanished straight into the wall like a ghost. Or a mobile scarf user, perhaps.
Once Saura told his little siblings to wait for a moment, he joined Char in testing out the portal for the first time.
And there, on the other end, was the welcoming party he always expected to see.
There was Team Ember. All of Team Ember, all in one room. Every last member. Nobody absent.
There was Ray, bouncing off the walls and trying to get everyone's attention, beaming about how Saura finally came back.
There was Tallie, gathered alongside Otto, Brace, and Glower, all sitting around in a newly-furnished corner of the base and nibbling on birdseed-and-berry salad.
There were Zachel and Scarlet, looking like they were trying to position a bookshelf that had just been brought in. There was Kerzek, standing a bit further back and nitpicking the way the bookshelf lined up with the other nearby supply shelves and wall-racks.
There were Gemstone and Dragonbane arguing about something in the middle of the room, and Nincada looking too afraid to cut in and say something. There was Lyre, watching the argument as though it were the most fascinating thing in the whole world.
And finally, there were Evan, Leo, Asunder, and Zona, all sitting in a little circle around Aster, listening with rapt attention as she appeared to be telling them some kind of story or giving some sort of lecture.
One-by-one, at the bidding of Ray, they all stopped what they were doing and noticed the two Pokémon who'd just appeared together at the portal. One-by-one, they all fell quiet.
Just as soon as they'd all fallen quiet, the whole room – all seventeen Pokémon – burst into surprise, welcomes, applause, and congratulations. Before they were completely surrounded and drowned out by their friends' voices, Char cast his Ivysaur companion a sideways glance that said, 'This is what Team Ember has become while you were gone, Saura. This is our family.'
Saura looked overwhelmed and thrilled at all the Pokémon wanting to greet him and comment on his new body. He didn't know who most of them were, but he tried his best to keep up and assured everyone that he would know everyone by heart in only a few days.
And it was going great and all, until the moment Char noticed that Aster had come to approach Saura.
A dreadful knot formed in the pit of Char's stomach, and he wasn't sure why. He knew that Aster was possessive over him, but aside from the incident with Scarlet (which only happened because of the highly unlikely and strange case of Scarlet being a human), it hadn't really caused any harm so far. Why should this be any different? Saura wasn't really going to change anything between Aster and himself… was he?
And yet, as he watched his new partner confront his old partner, he couldn't help but feel oddly uncomfortable. Aster's expression was unreadable, and very reserved, as though she were purposely avoiding showing any emotion to Saura whatsoever. She sat before him like a royal cat, with barely even a swivel of the tail as a reaction.
"Ahhh! So many of you!" Saura gasped happily, looking around, likely not even noticing Aster's reaction. "Hopefully there's still room in this family for me?"
"There was always room for you, Saura," Aster said plainly. "Char made certain of it. He always expected you would return someday."
Char whispered telepathically to her. Hey, are you alright?
I'm fine, was her response, looking at Char.
You don't sound fine, Char said sternly. Look… you don't have to be afraid of Saura, alright? We're just old teammates, same as Ray. If you're not afraid of Ray, you have no reason to be afraid of Saura.
Yes, master, came her flat response.
Hey. You know this is why I asked you about Saura at Basin Canyon, Char said, even more sternly. If there was going to be a problem with Saura coming back, I wanted to know, and you told me there wasn't going to be a problem. You even asked me to brainwash you. Don't make me have to do that.
Yes, master, she said again. But then she tilted her head and added, To be truthful, I do not feel resentful that Saura has returned. Mostly, I feel relieved.
Relieved?
Yes. Because there was something I didn't tell you at Basin Canyon. I told you that I saw a vision of something terrible happening. The reason I didn't tell you was because it was Saura who was in danger. And I didn't want you to be distracted or distraught over it any more than you already were at the time, and I also feared you would one day learn the truth about what I saw, and hate me for it. I am only reacting this way because I honestly believed Saura was now dead.
…Oh… said Char, feeling his heart suddenly wanting to break. I… see. What happened, exactly…?
I'm absolutely certain Saura will tell you the whole story the first chance he gets, Aster sighed. Go on and enjoy your time with him, then. Let me know when you've decided whether or not you hate me for withholding this truth from you.
Aster… no. I don't hate you, especially after everything I withheld from you, I don't think I have a right to complain, Char said. Everything worked out in the end. I even thank you for not telling me at the time. I would have been devastated and probably wouldn't have made it through the battle of Basin Canyon. So I think you did the right thing.
Yes, master, she said.
Char remembered something, and felt a needle stick through his heart from it. He looked at a certain member of his team for a moment.
But if you really feel like you need to make it up to me, Char told Aster, there's something you could help me with. Help me figure out how we break the news to Gemstone.
The news?
That her father died at Basin Canyon.
Aster peered over at the little Nidoran, who was too distracted talking to Saura to notice. I understand, said Aster solemnly. Since I was the one who encouraged you to bring her onto the team in the first place, I will deal with it. And I suppose I can consider that my penance.
Thank you, Aster; I truly appreciate it, and everything else you've done for me, said Char, before finally forcing a smile back onto his face and socializing with his teammates until the smile became genuine again.
It turned out that nobody even knew about Scythe's victory banquet. Char was the first person to give news to his team, compounding the joyous occasion of his and Saura's return with the news that more of his teammates might be able to evolve soon. Char could tell that his teammates, both those who were eager to evolve and those who were hesitant, were all overwhelmed with nervous excitement at the thought of getting to make the big decision on this very day, knowing that maybe they might just be going to sleep that night as a completely different Pokémon.
And the banquet was quite the event. It took place in a room Char didn't even know existed until then – an exclusive sort of ballroom right next to the mess hall, apparently reserved for these sorts of private events, often used to host reception parties for the Gold Division's biggest victories. The only ways into the ballroom were through the kitchen, making it easy to arrange catering, and through a set of stairs from the floor above, hidden behind a set of doors that Char always assumed was a supply closet of some kind. It was just about as big as the mess hall itself, but ten times cleaner and tidier than he'd seen the mess hall, ever. Char was immediately reminded of a certain endless, pristine dining room he'd recently visited. Although this wasn't half as sparkly and immaculate as the work of Jirachi, he could tell that the kitchen staff had put over a day's worth of efforts into this. The Basin Canyon victory apparently was a very big deal!
The room was set up with two long, parallel tables spaced far enough apart that an Aggron could comfortably walk between them. On one end, the ends were connected with a third table, making a "U" formation. The team leaders like Prince, Scythe, and Kain took their places at the middle table, while the rest were placed around the outer sides of the parallel tables in a rough order of smallest to largest Pokémon. Char noticed the limited number of seats at the "head" table, and despite being a team leader and the reason for the victory, he did not presume to expect a designated spot there. But his assumption was incorrect, as he was instructed him to take his place at one of the very ends of the head table, with Prince at his left and several of his smaller teammates at his front. Of course, the closest of his teammates happened to be Saura, who was very busy catching up on things with Ray, who sat next to him.
The kitchen staff wheeled in all kinds of incredibly strange dishes they'd never served in the normal cafeteria – like kabobs of extremely rare berries, long white loaves of bread topped with crystalized candy, and even a few carnivore dishes like a nice pile of stuffed roasted Rattata (which admittedly gave Char a load of strange and conflicted feelings, and he felt somehow incredibly guilty that his mouth watered at the mere sight of it). And thus, the feast began, filled with war stories and wonderful cheer. Char even noticed that Legend was present at the far table, and he couldn't help but to smile in sweet relief at seeing the proud Ninetales jovially conversing with the Bayleef at his left (also very much alive) and the Arcanine on his right.
"So, you never did tell us," said Prince after sipping a goblet of what looked like plum juice, "did you know Cepheus was trying to trick you? Or did you figure that out as you went?"
"Oh yeah, he completely got me," Char chuckled sincerely, swallowing a mouthful of cake. "I actually didn't realize there was a contradiction until he was already gone. So I'm nice to him by giving consideration to the people of his kingdom. Fair enough. In return, he says he's nice to me back by not telling Enigma about the Call. Except… if he told Enigma about the Call, she wouldn't have to punish him for disobedience because she'd know about the mind control, so there'd be no need for my kindness in the first place, and nothing to disobey. Something so obvious in hindsight, but something you can't really see in the heat of the moment."
"Yes… and trust me when I say that you're not the first to be tricked by him," said Daemon from beside Prince. "I'd even venture to say that Scythe falls for his antics more times than he's actually seen through them."
"So yeah… yeah, he played me," said Char. "He got me good. Hey, I know I'm not perfect. I still have much to learn about playing mind games with the enemy. But I actually think… I still won that mind game in the end. I played him back."
"How do you figure?" Daemon said in a lightly accusing manner. "Because from where I'm sitting, you let him get away with the crime. Perhaps you didn't erase our memories in the end, but you let him get away with some terribly sensitive intel. How do you know he wasn't immune to your mind-control the whole time, and it was all an act? How do we know that he isn't speaking with Enigma right now, telling her the truth of what happened?"
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I figured that out," Char replied, leaning an arm on the table. "I figured it out when I realized the real reason he's not going to tell Enigma. So he thinks I'm an idiot who easily falls for his tricks. And with the power I have, he thinks that letting me stay in the resistance is going to be a massive liability for you guys. He hopes I'm going to make some bad mistakes using the Call and ruin things for the whole division, and maybe ruin things for the whole resistance while I'm at it. That's why he wanted me to erase your memories too, and why he tried to appeal to my ego, and try convincing me I knew better than anyone else how I should use my power. Yeah, I think Enigma will wreck his whole plan if she finds out about it and come after me, and that's why he doesn't want Enigma knowing yet… but the real reason he wanted me to keep the secret is so that I wouldn't ask anyone for any support or get any advice about what to do with it. He thinks that I can burn down the resistance with my blind fire-type pride. But I'm better than that. I know that I still need a lot of help using power responsibly, and even being a team leader. And really… that's how I win against Cepheus. He thinks he played me like a bonehead. All I have to do now is just… prove him wrong."
Prince nodded thoughtfully at Char's explanation, but Daemon only tilted his head in confusion. "Yes, and what about the case that Cepheus is immune to the Call?" Daemon pressed further. "Have you considered that angle? I find it highly likely at least one of those rings of his provided immunity to your mind-control. So despite what he said, perhaps he is returning back to Enigma right this very moment to tell her the very news he promised he wouldn't tell her."
"Well… if he's immune to my mind control and he was just pretending that whole time, I guess there was never any getting out of it either way," Char considered. "Unless I killed Cepheus and the rest of those soldiers, Enigma was going to find out no matter what we did. But even if he tells her, I think he's still going to try to convince her to wait until I make a mistake first, before she comes after me outright. Still… I get the funny feeling that the Call worked on him. Something about a few things he said at the end."
"There's another possibility as well," Prince offered. "A very different possibility, but one I think we shouldn't disregard outright: perhaps Cepheus wants you to stand up to Enigma. Perhaps he wanted you to erase his memories, and keep your secret safe, because he knows you're the first Pokémon in decades who can actually stand up to her, and he wants to see you take that chance."
The Infernape shrugged and poked at a colorful pile of mush on his plate with a spoon, and added, "It's not as though Enigma is a popular figure, even among her followers. Scythe alone is enough evidence for it. Again, not likely… but like you, I get the funny feeling it could be true."
Daemon snorted. "Now we can only hope that your funny feelings are as accurate as what Scythe had when he decided to take Char to Basin Canyon," he grumbled, blowing a little plume of fire onto a wad of meat on his plate.
"SEE? SEE? I TOLD you!" Scythe cheerfully goaded, nudging Daemon in the side. "I said you could trust me! You didn't believe me, did you?"
Daemon sighed so hard he nearly lit his whole plate of food on fire. "I did not," he only said.
"Yeah! See? Now maybe this will teach you to always trust my gut feeling! You know I always know what I'm talking about! Even if it might sound strange at first."
Daemon grumbled harder. "Yes… I admit that I was wrong, and that you were right, Grandmaster Scyther," he said with much more genuineness and humility than Char ever thought he was capable of. "I pledge, going forward, I will… give more consideration to your thoughts, regardless of how bizarre they might seem. Even more than I already do. But I cannot, and I will not ever promise that I will never disagree with you again… only because it's the job you hired me for. But yes, you win this one, Scythe. You win this one. That much I will give you."
"Hah! Great! I knew you'd come around," Scythe said proudly. "And wonderful work to you too, Char! Couldn't have done it without you! You deserve to sit here with the best of us!"
"Not sure how true that is, but alright…" Char said, forcing an awkward laugh.
After a three course meal and dessert (as though half of Pokémon food wasn't already a dessert to begin with), the kitchen staff wheeled in something else on their trays. Something they kept hidden under giant silver lids.
"Here we go!" Scythe beamed. "Here it comes!"
Once all the trays had been arranged, the lids were lifted to reveal mounds of feral-shards. Easily enough for every Pokémon in the room, even those who had no need for them.
"To show our appreciation to you all," Scythe said, standing tall and addressing the entire room. "Everyone here, young or old, is welcome to one feral-shard from our first shipment. For your mighty strength, I give strength, in return. Keep them, use them, or give them away however you see fit – they are yours, a symbol of the bright future you've brought the Gold Division. I only ask you don't use them right here in this room, if you mind. We don't want to start knocking over tables and wrecking the work of our hardworking kitchen staff. Yes, on that note, everyone give some applause to our kitchen staff! Team Hospitality!"
The Ampharos, Ludicolo, and Chansey standing nearby smiled and gave a humble bow as the warrior teams hollered out their appreciation. Then, with a gleeful murmur, the Pokémon of the room – especially most of Team Ember – snatched a feral shard off the trays and marveled at them, treasured them, some blinking in disbelief that they were actually real. Char's heart fluttered in deep pride as he imagined his new recruits all having the opportunity to graduate not just from their training teams, but now into their stronger bodies. He imagined Zona becoming a proud and spirited Ninetales, Gemstone becoming a stompy, angry Nidorina… Leo becoming a fierce and zappy Luxio, and Evan – well, he didn't actually know what Evan would become, but he was more than happy to be surprised, and accepting of whatever choice Evan would pick – he knew that it was an especially difficult decision for Eons.
Char pulled out his own feral-shard one more time, and turned it over in his mighty new claws, searching for anything resembling a reflection in its deep, glitzy surface. He knew it was the feral-shard that would let him one day become a Charizard, let him finally become a flying-type Pokémon and soar through the skies just like in his happiest dreams.
…But he snagged another one too, just because he could. Maybe he'd use it as a job reward for some team willing to help out Team Ember with their workload.
One Pokémon, however, didn't seem so thrilled at the sight of the feral-shards. Saura looked at them in hesitation and distaste, poking one of them with his vine as though deciding whether or not to take it.
"What's wrong, Saura?" Scythe called over to him. "You're poking those rocks like they're moldy peas. Don't want one?"
Saura looked almost ashamed to answer. "Naaah," he said. "Don't really need one. You can give it to someone else if you want."
"But don't you want to become a big, powerful Venusaur someday?" Scythe pressed. "Do you realize how powerful they are? What an asset you could be to your team? Why would you turn that down?"
"Do you really want to know…?" Saura croaked. "Ahh… in all honesty… I have nothing against Venusaur. Super great Pokémon, they are. I've just never wanted to be one, because… well… I think they're ugly."
Scythe looked like he'd swallowed a shard of glass. "You think… they're ugly," he repeated. "And that's why you don't want to evolve."
"Yeah, so?" Saura said, rather defensively. "Maybe I'll change my mind one day, but right now, I'm pretty sure I'm happy as an Ivysaur. It was enough of a tough decision to make as it is. I just… I've always just hated the way they look. I don't want to see myself like that. Alright?"
"I… I've never… I've never," Scythe tried to say. "You'd really turn down the incredible might of your final form… for that reason? I… that's…
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Scythe said bluntly. "That's the worst reason I've ever… heard…"
"Ah…"
"Ha. Ha."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha."
"Hahahahaha…"
Scythe suddenly look like he'd seen a ghost. With the widest eyes anyone had ever seen, Scythe stood up from the table, buzzed his wings, and zipped toward the kitchen before half the room had even realized he was leaving.
For a single, solid second, Char and Saura stared at one another, mouths gaping.
"Did you… did you SEE THAT?" Char cried. "Saura! Tell me you saw that!"
"Yeah! I did!" Saura squeaked.
Char leaped onto the table, kicking several dishes out of the way to get his team's attention.
"EMERGENCY ORDER!" he roared. "FOLLOW THAT SCYTHER! Ray, go after him! Asunder, go with Ray and track him by scent! Otto, Brace! Fly upstairs and head him off! Tallie, take Kerzek on your back and fly through the walls! DO NOT LET SCYTHE GET AWAY!"
And although they took another solid moment to realize this wasn't a joke, they all unquestioningly moved out.
After giving out the orders, Char jumped down from the table and took off running in the direction Scythe had fled. He'd already disappeared into the kitchen areas when Ray and Asunder started gaining on him, but the sounds of clanging pots and startled Pokémon from the kitchen told him that he wasn't too far away. When he dropped to the ground and dashed, his own speed surprising him as he barreled forth on all fours like he might imagine an enraged Entei would. And just before he crashed into the wall, he sucked in a big breath, flared his fire, and called upon the power of his mobile scarf one last time to plunge into the wall in the direction he was sure would take him to the public mess hall.
His team followed his orders with startling efficiency. Minutes later, he converged with Otto and Brace at the bottom floor lobby as they dove over the railings and down from the upper floor. Tallie and Kerzek soon popped out of a wall and appeared on the other end of the room. Thankfully, there were not a lot of Pokémon out at this time of day, as most of the teams were out on duty and doing missions, or Char might have feared losing Scythe in a giant crowd.
"Anyone? Anyone seen him?" Char called. "He's not in the mess hall."
"Nobody was flying, so he didn't go upstairs," Brace reported.
"Cursory glance through the meeting hall and major areas comes up empty," Tallie reported.
Ray came zipping out from a hallway. "CHAR CHAR CHAR CHAR! CHAR!" he shouted. "WE GOT HIM! ASUNDER TOTALLY GOT HIM!"
"Oh… wow! Well done!" Char gasped, and took off running after Ray, with the rest following at his tail. "Keep him there. I've got quite a few questions for him."
The place where Asunder had pinned Scythe was a very unusual little nook in the Gold Division base where Char had never been. It was underneath the stairs, at the very bottom of the staircase, at the very bottom floor. A complete and perfect dead-end. And there he found Asunder, growling a deep and menacing growl, having taken the initiative and evolved into a Mightyena. At first Char was shocked that Asunder would have taken such a risk to take control of a completely new body for the sake of chasing Scythe, but Char soon found there was a very good reason for it…
Scythe, indeed, was not Scythe. The Pokémon that Asunder had pinned in place, trapped in a cramped little corner – was a Mew. A very afraid, startled, guilty looking Mew.
"Domo!" Char shouted the moment he laid his eyes on the scene. "WHY WERE YOU PRETENDING TO BE SCYTHE?!"
"I, uh, well, um, see," Domo stammered, as bits of spittle from the ferocious dark-type hound still spattered all over his face. Char realized that Asunder was purposely keeping Domo stuck in a tiny place where he couldn't transform – because even if he wanted to transform into a ghost to phase through the wall, he'd have to go back into his Ditto form first. And the moment he made any wrong move, he'd get a painful crunch straight to the face. Domo was so intimidated by the show of threat, his entire body was visibly shaking.
"Tell the truth, Domo," Char demanded, pointing at him as he drew closer. "Either you tell the truth, or I mind-control you to tell the truth. There's no getting out of it. Why were you impersonating Scythe? I really hope you have a good reason…"
"I… OKAY OKAY!"Domo cried as those dark-type fangs came terrifyingly close. "I'll tell you, just… get this guy off me, please! Arceus please, I'm sorry!"
Char motioned for Asunder to back off, and Domo took a long, relieved breath. "Alright. For your information, Char… I do have a good reason for this…" he said, switching to a hushed whisper. "But you've gotta not tell anyone about this right now, because…"
"I think that'll be for Char to decide, not you," said Aster, swaggering into the room. "Hmph. Puny kitten."
"LOOK! I was pretending to be Scythe because… because… because SCYTHE ORDERED ME TO DO IT, Okay?!" Domo cried in panic. "He told me… he said… before he left on a mission to the Emerald Division, he said I had to pretend to go off hunting a legendary Pokémon or something, and if he never came back… then he told me… to do my best to keep everyone from realizing he was gone. And that's the truth!"
Char paused to consider the Mew's words, imposingly staring down at him the whole time. "So… what you're saying…" Char uttered… "Is that Scythe never came back from the Emerald Division at all? It was always you?"
"YES! YES! BUT! I… it's no fun for me either, alright? Do you know how hard it is to pretend to be Scythe? Do you know how hard it is to pretend to be someone who's like ten times the IQ? I HATED it! I HATED EVERY MOMENT of this assignment, Arceus help me, please! I have to lie to so many Pokémon and be so many Pokémon and…"
"Did Scythe give you a reason? For not wanting anyone to know he was gone?" asked Otto.
"Yeah. In fact, yeah, he did," said Domo, floating back into the air. "He said… he didn't want anyone trying to come find him. Under any circumstances. Between you and me, I think he's trying to play a giant trick on Adiel. Trying to make Adiel think he's in four places at once, or something, while he hunts him down."
"Four places at once…" Char considered, touching his chin. "That… makes so much sense. He said that to me once. So… Here, in the Gold Division, he had you pretending to be him. At Basin Canyon, he had Adarc pretending to be him. And I'm guessing there's no record of Scythe ever flying back down south, so someone might think he's still up there, in Rayquaza's Clutch or Zerferia. And the fourth place… is wherever he actually is right now. Finding Adiel."
"SEE! SEE! Problem solved! Scythe is fine! We won Basin Canyon by sheer dumb luck, Scythe is off doing his plan, nobody needs to worry! EVERYTHING IS FINE!" yammered Domo in his silly, high-pitched Mew voice. "So… can we all go back to acting like normal now? And can you guys pleeeeease not tell anyone about this?"
Char crossed his arms.
He thought for a moment. He blew smoke out of his nostrils and tapped his toe-claws loudly against the stone floor.
"Alright. Fine," he decided. "Forget this happened. Go back to being Scythe."
"R… really?" Domo squeaked. "I wasn't expecting you to actually… y'know… listen to my begging. Nobody ever does that. Scythe certainly didn't do that when I begged him to actually come back…"
"Yeah, well, it's fine. Go back to whatever you were doing," Char sighed. "I'm not even the first person to figure it out, either. Marrow figured it out right before he died."
"Oh… is it really that obvious…?" lamented the Mew, drifting pathetically around the room. "I knew I was being… not good at being Scythe… but… I didn't know someone already found out. Arceus. I hope he comes back soon. I don't want to have to keep doing this for the rest of my life."
"Well, if he didn't want anyone chasing him, then we shouldn't chase him," Char said, shrugging. "Not much we can do."
"Although, wait, he did say 'for as long as possible', right?" Asunder said in his weird, new, deeper voice. He had to stop to taste his teeth for a moment before continuing. "If you're so tired of doing it, why not tell everyone? Maybe tell High Intelligence at least! They can help you figure out what to do."
"Y-yeah. Y-y'know, yah, maybe you're right, actually," Domo muttered, drooping in the air. "I really can't do this anymore. So if the gig is up, I don't have to… try anymore. But but! What if Scythe hasn't finished what he's doing yet?"
"What if he has?" Char returned. "We don't know. Nobody knows. I think he only wanted you to do your best. And even though we all knew something was wrong with Scythe this whole time, you did a bang-up job keeping it hidden this long."
"Aw. Thanks. I think," Domo said meekly. "Alright. So here's what I'll do. I'll go back and finish the dinner. Then I'll get Alakazam's attention and tell him everything. Heh, he probably already knows, too. So. Thanks, actually. Finally telling someone all this was a relief. I feel much better."
"You can thank the late Marrow for that," Char replied.
Before Char could say another word, he found there were two new Pokémon in the room, acting as though they'd always been there.
They were Xatu… and Dusknoir.
"Alakazam already knows," Xatu said, softly nodding her head. "If you do not wish to you continue your ruse, I will have Scythe officially sent on a mission, and Domo can return to the base. That much I can do."
"Ahh… really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Domo breathed, zooming forth and giving Xatu a big hug, to which she didn't even flinch. "I'm so – "
"But that's not the worst of our worries," Xatu suddenly said, pushing the Mew off her with psychic force. "Char… I'd like you to touch my wing."
She held out her wing. The moment Char stepped forward to touch it, Char found himself in a massive underground chamber with a bright, blinding ball of sunlight. It took him a minute to realize Xatu had teleported him. It took him another minute to realize she teleported Dusknoir with him.
"Char, we have a problem," Xatu said to him. "As you might already know, Dusknoir is your guardian, known as The Executioner. And I was given the title of Overseer. Our most primary concern is the progression of your plan, that which you've set out for us as a human. There is something we must discuss with utmost urgency. I've taken you here to my private chamber. We are safe here from spies, from teleportation, from psychic intrusion. Currently, only Alakazam and Metagross are strong enough to enter here, with some effort."
Char clutched his claws into fists, and nodded attentively. "Yeah? What's the problem?" he said. "I'm listening."
"Dusknoir here has, only as of yesterday, informed me of something I find very troubling," Xatu explained. "Char… despite his wishes, you will most likely need to chase after Scythe anyway."
Char felt a small flicker of his flame. "How come?" he asked in worry.
"Dusknoir will explain," she said, turning to glare somewhat resentfully at the menacing ghost, as though angry at him for withholding key information for so long.
"Ah. Yes. So. Scythe is missing because he's chasing Adiel. Yet, here lies the problem: although I've no earth-blasted IDEA where Adiel IS at the MOMENT," he explained, directing his abrupt outbursts back at Xatu. "I know WHAT Adiel is trying to do. See…"
Dusknoir produced the Master Ball from inside of himself. "As a double-agent, I was involved with a certain plan of his, and by extension, of Enigma," he said, showing Char the Pokéball up close once more. "Although you've given me a clear plan for what Pokémon this ball should be thrown at, Enigma has a plan of her own. Adiel… is… hunting Giratina. And would have had me – or rather, Croagunk – throw the ball at Giratina. But then Scythe vanished. Adiel got all panicked and he vanished too. Now nobody knows where either of them are. And despite having this ball… I know, this is NOT the only Master Ball in Ambera. Enigma has a few more of them."
"So… do you understand the situation, Char?" Xatu said gently. "What with your next priority being to find Giratina, you must hunt for Scythe, who hunts for Adiel, who hunts for Giratina. It is our only lead going forward."
And there it was. The last piece of the puzzle, at least for now, clicked into place in Char's head. Just like it had for Marrow, Char thought. I know what's going on now.
At Basin Canyon, Cepheus told me a very specific memory to implant in him and all of the soldiers about what happened, Char remembered. He told me to say that Primal Groudon came out of the Spacial Rift.
But everyone knows that Groudon doesn't live in the Spacial Rift. Palkia lives in the Spacial Rift.
But if I gave everyone that memory, Enigma would've known the memories are false. She would have known that didn't happen. So he had to think of something else.
Enigma knows Palkia wasn't in the Spacial Rift because she knows Palkia is in a Pokéball. And so does Cepheus.
Which means that they probably know that Dialga is also in a Pokéball.
Which means…
Which means Enigma is the one who has Palkia and Dialga! And Cepheus knows!
Which means…
Char stood up straight and proud, pretending to carry the figure of the human whom The Overseer and The Executioner had known and respected.
"I understand," Char said with solid confidence. "Enigma is hunting for Giratina, so she can take control of all three of the creation gods.
"Which means we're running on limited time. We need to find Giratina before Adiel does."
And that's it! That's the long-awaited Wish arc. I hope you enjoyed this arc, and I hope you're enjoying the weekly updates. I wonder how long I can keep this up?
The next two updates will be a short interlude scene, coming on Tuesday, May 10, and a special episode, coming on Tuesday, May 17. Neither will be particularly long, and neither will get Twitch readings. This can be considered a little breather before the next season starts.
See you around!