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Chapter 83
Okay, so Dad's gone.
Okay. Okay.
Okay.
I can handle this.
This is just like when I lost Mom. Just need to stop thinking about it so much.
I can get over it. I did it once. I can do it again.
I'm a grownup. I can support myself. I could support myself ever since I joined Team Chasm. Dad even said so.
Dad even said this would happen someday. He always told me he works on a team that runs very dangerous missions. He always warned me he might not come home someday.
That's why he said he loves me every time we met. He always wanted that to be the last thing he ever said to me. And it was.
Hey. Children are supposed to outlive their parents. That's how the world works. Parents prepare you for the world as much as they can. Then you leave and go do stuff on your own. Then they die before you. That's the way things are supposed to be.
Dad taught me all he knew. He taught me how to fight. He showed me 'earth power' fissures. He taught me how an elite team is supposed to be run.
So really, everything went right. Everything went the way it's supposed to happen. I have no reason to whine, or to scream and cry, or to make this everyone else's problem. I have no reason to be a worse teammate because of this.
I just joined this team. I've got to make a good impression. Got to be proud and strong and never make any mistakes.
I just need to keep telling myself this. It's fine. Everything's fine. Just keep walking.
…Walking?
…
Wait, where am I?
…
I'm in some sort of field in the middle of nowhere.
I'm already past all the forest?
Is there a road nearby?
Where was I going?
Um… I feel like I was doing something important. Was I running a mission?
Why am I all alone?
Wait, is it almost evening? The sun is going down?
Where am I going to hide from the Watchers? I can fight them, but not all night!
What do I do?
Okay, Gemstone. Don't panic. Be rational about this. Stay sane.
Try to remember the last thing you were doing.
The last thing I was doing…
The banquet with Team Remorse. We all got feral-shards. Scythe ran off and Char chased him. We found out that Domo was pretending to be Scythe for who knows how long.
What happened after that?
The team meeting. Char told us about our new secret mission. We have to find Scythe.
Oh, is that what I'm doing? I'm looking for Scythe?
No, that can't be it. I wouldn't be all alone. There had to be something else that happened.
Char also said something about evolving. What did he say?
He said we didn't have to evolve if we don't want. We can give our feral-shards to Zachel for safekeeping.
That's right. I gave my feral-shard to Zachel.
Or… did I? I was going to.
No, I got distracted before I could do that. Something happened.
Eva said she wanted to have a talk with me. That's…
Oh. She told me that dad's gone. That's why he didn't come back from Basin Canyon yet. He was never coming back. Because he's gone.
And I can't remember anything else after that. Did I block it out of my head?
Did I run away in rage? I ran away, didn't I?
Did I cry in front of everyone? Did I throw a fit?
I hope I didn't make a scene.
So… is that it? Is that why I'm here? I should just go back now, right? It's getting late. Being so far out here at this hour is irresponsible of me. I should figure out which direction I ran, and…
Wait. No. That's still not everything.
There's something else going on. I'm here for a reason.
I'm going somewhere. I remember now. I decided to go somewhere. And I'm at least halfway there, so I can't go back now.
I just… need to remember where I was going.
There's the sunset. I'm going west.
What's out west?
"Hey, everything alright? Did you lose the way or something?"
Someone's voice comes out of nowhere. I flip out. I realize I probably made a loud embarrassing shriek. But I don't care.
Who's following me?
I turn to look. At first I don't see anyone. Suddenly I notice a stupid Skitty staring at me.
Wait, this Skitty is familiar. I know him. I've only known him for a few days, but he's very difficult to forget.
The new teammate. The one that blasted me with that stupid normal-type solar beam, however the blazes that's supposed to work. I'm still angry about that. That shouldn't even be possible.
"Dragonbane…?!"
"Hi! Are you okay, Gemstone?"
This doesn't make any sense. Just a second ago, he wasn't here.
"What the heck are you doing here? How did you find me?!"
Dragonbane looks very confused. For some reason that makes my stomach go even more sour.
He says, "What do you mean? I was here the whole time."
That's impossible.
Well, maybe. I did just black out for like half a day, so anything could have happened.
I say, "You mean you followed me all the way here?"
"Yeah!"
"Why?"
"Because we're teammates!"
"…So?"
He looks at me sad and he says, "Teammates aren't supposed to leave one another alone! I wanted to make sure you're going to be okay. Besides, technically it's against the rules to run a mission all by yourself like this. You gotta take someone with you."
"Run… a mission? Is… that what I'm doing?"
"Well, that's what you told me you were doing!"
"I… did?"
"Yeah! And I offered to be your partner on the mission. And you didn't object to it. So I just followed along to make sure nothing bad happened to you."
"Well, if I would have noticed you there, I probably would have objected a lot sooner."
"Wait, Gemstone. I know you've been quiet, but… Did you really not notice me until just now? We've been walking for like six hours."
He looks really concerned about me. Like, super concerned. I don't see why someone who blasted me in the face point-blank with a solar beam would want to be concerned about me.
"Dragonbane… did I ever tell you where I was going?"
"Of course you did."
"Well… where is it? Where did I say we were going?"
"You said we were going to Basin Canyon, of course! You said you had a really important mission there, but you never told me what it is. And I've always wanted to go to Basin Canyon myself."
Something is telling me maybe I should be worried about myself too.
I look at the sky. I don't like how dark it's getting. Or how cold it's getting. And I don't like how I can't hear any wildlife. It looks like we're about to go into the badlands. Nothing lives there.
Okay. Fine. I'll be humble, just this once, and admit that maybe I made a mistake and not everything is okay. Maybe this stupid Skitty can help me.
I still hate it. But after blacking out for six hours, I don't think I have a right to argue right now.
"Dragonbane… I think I need to admit something to you."
"Yeah?"
"I blocked the last six hours out of my mind completely. I have no idea where I am, or what I was doing. I don't even remember telling you I was going on a mission. I don't remember letting you come with me. I don't really remember anything."
"That's… understandable."
"Understandable? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, I know you just found out about your dad dying. You were trying to keep yourself together but I could tell you were hurting a lot. That's why I was worried about you going somewhere all alone. When you hurt that much, you might let something bad happen to you. Or… y'know, you might just get lonely. That's bad too."
"How did you know my dad died? I thought Eva told me that in secret."
"Oh! Because you told me. That's actually the last thing you told me before you left."
I'm starting to feel really defeated. How do I know so little about what happened to me?
I tell him, "Sorry, I didn't remember. Look… I'm not okay right now, alright? I don't even remember why I was going to Basin Canyon. Can you… help us find a way to hide from the Watchers for the night?"
"Hey! Why else do you think I'm here?"
"Thanks."
We keep going deeper into the badlands and it's getting darker. It doesn't look like there's anything around, and the wind chill is really getting to me. Soon it'll be too dark to see anything.
Dragonbane spots a flat rock up ahead that I didn't notice.
"How… did you spot that?" I ask. "For that matter, how do you even see anything?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"How do you Skitty see anything with your eyes closed all the time?"
"Oh! Actually, they're not closed. I'm just squinting. Skitty have such sensitive eyesight that we have to squint almost all the time. But our eyesight is actually really good."
"So… you're telling me you actually can open your eyes?"
"Y-yeah! Of course I can!"
"Prove it. I want to see."
So he does it. He opens his eyes. I guess the sunlight is low enough for him to handle it.
I… don't know what else I expected. They're just normal eyes. Black and beady with white pupils.
Oh, they're the same as Delcatty eyes. That makes a lot of sense, actually.
He's looking at me like a young and innocent little puppy. Even though he's taller than me, it still feels like he's looking up at me. Like a big baby. It makes me feel kind of weird so I turn away.
"I see," I tell him, just so I sound like I appreciate that he did what I asked.
"Can you use your earth power and break the ground here?" he asks. "Just like you caved in the bunker? If you do that, we can hide under the rock. Just be careful not to break the rock too."
"Wait, you know I caved in the bunker?"
"Gemstone, everyone knows you caved in the bunker."
I try to cast him an evil eye, but his eyes are still open and he looks too, ugh, adorable to be angry at. So instead I just focus my power into my paws.
"No, I can't do earth power here. That would make the rock explode. But I can dig."
I focus until I have giant glowing energy claws at the end of my paws, and I dig down underneath the huge flat rock. The rock goes deeper into the ground than it looked, but I burrow right down without caring where I'm flinging the dirt. I haven't dug a hole this deep in a while and it's more tiring than I thought. But the den doesn't need to be very big, just big enough for a tiny cat and a tinier bunny to wedge under it. With some modest space between us, of course. I don't want to poison him.
I'm starting to see starlight and maybe some Watchers floating up there. So I tell him to get down to safety. When he climbs down into the trench, his stupid eyes are still open but I feel too weird about asking him to close them again, so I just ignore him.
Why? Because Dragonbane is my teammate, I don't want to feel like I'm his mother and he's my child whenever he looks at me, okay? That's seriously weird. Hopefully he takes the hint when he notices I'm averting my gaze whenever he looks at me.
He settles in, and then out of nowhere he says, "Are you going to see your dad?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I was thinking: you said you don't know why you're here, but maybe you're going to Basin Canyon so you can visit your dad's grave? Maybe that's why you decided to go there right after finding out he died?"
I stop to think about it for a second. That does sound like something I'd want to do.
"Yeah, let's go with that," I say. "I don't know why I was going there in the first place, but that can be the reason I'm going there now. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Now it's my turn to ask him a weird question.
I kind of don't want to ask him, it feels, I don't know, personal. I'm not good with personal things. I try to keep this stuff professional. He's my teammate, he's not my friend yet.
"Since nobody else is here, I guess I should ask you something. When you beat me in that fight, you said I might not realize it, but I'm a dragon. Just what did you mean by that?"
I kind of try to sound accusatory just in case it was a silly insult or something, but really I was just baffled by it.
"Oh… I was just trying to say that I think you have the heart of a dragon," he offers innocently. "I know you haven't really done much for Team Ember yet, but even just talking with you, already I can tell that you're proud and you're super fierce and you like having authority and you know how to get what you want. You're just like a dragon."
"So it wasn't supposed to be some kind of a hidden insult? I thought you hate dragons? I thought you wanted to kill them all?"
"Oh, no! No no no! I actually admire dragons a lot. I only want to slay the evil ones."
"I thought all dragons were evil to you."
"Oh no, of course not. Dragons are good at fighting one another too, so if I can make friends with them, they can help me fight the evil dragons."
Begrudgingly I look at him and his stupid cute little eyes. I guess he likes having them open when it's dark. I never knew that about Skitty.
"Uh… thanks, I guess," I grumble. "Sometimes I only feel like I'm strong when I'm pretending to be strong. I don't know why I'm admitting this to you."
"You are," he says. "I can already tell that one of these days, you'll do something so incredible that you're going to surprise everyone. I can't wait to see it happen."
"Well, I can't wait for that to happen either."
I realize something about Dragonbane just then. It was staring me in the face the whole time, but I didn't think hard enough about it. I guess I tried not to see it, just like I tried not to look him in the eyes.
It's even in his name. Dragonbane. He lost his best friend to a Hydreigon.
I say, "You came with me because you know how I feel, don't you?"
He looks rather sad, but he nods. "Yeah, that's right," he says. "I try not to remember how bad I felt. But it was real bad. I was a wreck. I did a bunch of stupid stuff. Nearly got myself killed. Worst of all, there was nobody to keep me company. The one who always kept me company was… well… yeah. He was dead. So when I saw you storm off, I knew just how you felt. I know other Pokémon probably think you need time alone after hearing that. But I saw you and I knew you needed company."
"Well… thanks," I say again. "I guess I did need company. I thought I could handle it myself. Before I joined Team Chasm, my mom died and… dad helped show me how to be strong enough to handle it. I mean, I didn't know her too well, she was only ever around the base sometimes… but I still cared about her and… I guess I tricked myself into thinking I handled it all by myself. But I realize now that I didn't handle it myself. Dad helped me through it."
"I'm really sorry. What happened, if I can ask?"
"She drowned," I said. "She was an expert spelunker. She went on hundreds of cave expeditions, hunted for treasure and rescued Pokémon. One day she was exploring a cave, and it filled up with water, and she couldn't get out in time. After she didn't come back for a few weeks, Scythe sent some of his team on a rescue mission, and they found her body."
Here I am wedged in a rough, cramped ditch under a rock. Now that I remembered the story of my mom, I know I'm going to have nightmares about this space filling up with water.
"Oh… that's sad, but I guess it's kind of happy too," he says.
"Happy? How so?"
"It sounds like she died doing what she loved."
I have to sigh. "Dad kind of said the same thing, actually. Makes me kind of wish I'll die doing what I love."
"What's that? What do you love doing?"
Again I don't know why I'm being so honest with this kid. I guess I'm just too lazy right now to stay in character.
I just say, "I… don't know. Really, I don't. I… guess I like showing the world how strong and smart I am. So maybe you're right. Maybe… I just like being a dragon."
I give him an evil eye. "By the way, we never had this conversation, okay? Nobody hears about this. I'm a grownup. I don't want people thinking I'm a child who just spills their heart to someone whenever I'm alone."
"Alright, make you a deal," he says. "If I ever tell any of your secrets, you can tell them one of mine. How about my real name?"
"You… have a real name? You're not Dragonbane? Oh… I guess that makes sense. Since I guess your reason for hating dragons didn't exist when you hatched."
"Yeah, and I hate my real name so much. It's on all the official records and everything. But that's the first thing I'm going to change when I evolve. I'm going to change my name to Dragonbane for real."
"Alright, so what's your real name? It can't be that bad."
"Rufus… or, as all the bullies called me, Rufus the Doofus. Ughhhhh."
He shudders when he says it. And I'll admit, I had to try really, really hard not to laugh at him.
"I hate that name more than I hate dragons," he even says. And yeah, he looks as fed up with the name as I feel fed up with spending the night in a ditch in the middle of nowhere.
"Okay. It's a pact, then," I say. "You don't tell anyone I got lost and needed help getting to Basin Canyon, and I won't tell anyone your real name."
"Deal," he says.
It's much easier than I expected to sleep. I hate to admit it but the burrow is too comfortable and cozy. Probably because this is now Nidoran sleep in the wild. Maybe I'm a dragon on the inside, but I'm a ground-type too.
Hope Dragonbane rests as well as I do. We've still got a long day of walking tomorrow and I might need him.
I blacked out for six hours again. This time it was on purpose. I got a good night's rest out of it.
Felt like I had some crazy dreams, but I don't remember them. I only remember how they felt. Happy and sad at the same time. Made me want to get to Basin Canyon faster.
After thinking about it for a while and sleeping on it, yeah. That's what I want. I want to see my dad again one last time. Even if it's just his grave. I want to tell him one last time that I love him. That's exactly what I need.
There's no doubt in my mind this is exactly why I decided to come all this way.
We traverse a dry desert in the early morning. There's nothing in any direction, but somehow I know where I'm going. Everyone knows where Basin Canyon is.
"Do you know where we're going?" asks Dragonbane.
"Of course I do," I tell him. "Everyone knows basically where Basin Canyon is. You go far enough west and a little south of the Gold Division and you'll hit it in a few days. It's kind of hard to miss."
"Yeah, but… do you know how to get into the actual base in there? For all you know, the entrance could be like a hundred leagues up north and we'd never know. Also, what if the entrance is down at the bottom? How are we going to get down there?"
I have no flipping idea. But of course I don't say that to his face. I start talking and hope that I sound smart.
"There's a way in, and it's not far from here," I tell him. "There's a road that goes from here to Iron Town, Route 104 or whatever it's called. The way in is probably around there."
"Hm, how do you figure?"
"If it were any further away, there's no way my dad or any of Team Remorse would have made trips to the canyon so quickly."
"What if they used secret passages to get in?"
I grumble. Too many questions. "Now that the Sandslash are settled back in, there'd be no reason for them to use secret entrances. Also, aren't you supposed to make evolution pilgrimage to Basin Canyon now? How is anyone supposed to do that if nobody knows how to get in? For all anyone knows, maybe I'm going there to evolve."
"Well alright, but I don't see anyone else besides us making a pilgrimage here," he says.
I look around in a vain attempt to maybe spot someone and prove him wrong. Probably pointless since he has much better eyesight than me apparently. The only thing I do notice is that he's squinting again, the way Skitty are supposed to look. Thank goodness.
"We'll worry about that when we get there," I tell him. "I have a feeling it's not going to be much of a problem."
"Alright, I trust you. You're the leader."
Weird. Pokémon don't usually say that to me. I usually have to yell at them first before they do what I say.
It's true. I have this feeling I know how to get in. I can't describe it, but I know.
Basin Canyon is creepy from the outside. You hear it long before you ever see it. There's this wind that's always howling down there.
But when you get there and you can see the canyon, it's actually pretty beautiful.
And by that, I mean it's TERRIFYING because oh Groudon, I'm scared of heights. I really tried to stand close to the edge to get a better view but no. No, I can't. It's too much. And that windy sound is always just making me think I'm going to suddenly get blown off the edge like a lost little leaf.
No way I'm admitting to that, though.
"Alright, we're here! What next, o fearless leader?"
"Where are my dragon wings when I need them…" I grumble under my breath and back away really far from the edge. "Um… now we look for a way down."
"Oh! You mean like that?"
"Like what?"
"Come here! I'll show you!"
I follow him for like thirty solid minutes. We reach a weird outcropping where the cliffside bulges a little bit into a sort of balcony. There's a sign there. I get closer and there's an arrow on the sign pointing to the left. I look in that direction and…
Oh. Stairs. There's an entire staircase on the canyon wall going all the way down. It's decently wide and even has a guardrail.
How very convenient. And fortunate.
"Dragonbane. How in great Groudon's name did you see this from all the way back there?"
"Told 'ya, I just have good eyesight."
"That's ridiculous."
He giggles at me. "You know what else is ridiculous? That somehow you knew this staircase was even here."
"I… did." I just say, still astounded. I was just saying stuff and trying to sound competent, but somehow I was actually right.
"Maybe you were right and it just made sense, but I never would have expected to run into this. I might have good eyesight, but you have good intuition! That's something I'd rather have. It's like having good eyesight into the future."
We go down the stairs. At first I take it slow because I have to hop down every single step, and I really don't want to fall down these stairs. Also because the view is gorgeous. The far side of the canyon looks like its own horizon with its own colorful sunrise.
I realize how hungry I am. I haven't eaten in almost an entire day now. I start booking it down the stairs.
"Hey, wait up!" Dragonbane shouts. "You're going too fast!"
I don't want to admit that I'm hungry. I just say, "We're wasting time. Got to move faster."
"Sorry! I'm a little hungry, that's all. Belly hurts."
"Well if you're hungry, you should move faster so we can get there sooner!"
"Alright, yeah. Good point. I'll do my best."
It feels like two hours as we're descending the stairs. I'm starting to get thirsty. My hind legs are sore from having to thump down every step. Maybe this whole trip was a mistake and we'll get stranded here halfway down the cliffside.
"Hey, there are Pokémon down there!" says Dragonbane. "A bunch of Sandshrew."
I try to squint ahead but I don't see anything yet. Ridiculous. But it gives me the strength to keep up the pace. Eventually I see them. Fifty or so Sandshrew working at the canyon floor. Trying to pave a road or something. They see us as soon as we get to the bottom of the stairs. Two of them come up to us.
"Travelers!" he says. "Welcome! Are you walking the path of evolution?"
At first I want to just outright tell them the real reason I'm here, and ask for directions to the burial grounds. But I don't want them to feel sorry for me or anything. So I decide to just say I'm going to evolve. I'll figure out where dad is buried later if I have to.
But Dragonbane says "We've come to visit those lost in the battle. Can you direct us to the cemetery?"
Well, forget that thought, I guess.
"We certainly can. My team is busy at the moment, but I can call for someone who may guide you."
I say, "Actually, before we go to the cemetery, can we just go inside for a bit? We're both starving."
"Oh, that can be arranged as well. You will find the most hospitality here by entering through Evolution Hall, as we've set up that entrance special for travelers like yourself. It's about two hours downstream. Er, south. That way. It is marked by blue fires."
I growl along with my stomach. Augh, we just came from there! We were only at the top of the cliff.
"Think maybe you guys should build a staircase closer to the Evolution Hall, then?" I say admittedly rather rudely.
"That is absolutely on the agenda! Apologies for the inconvenience," he says.
We walk another two hours and by the end I feel like I'm dying. I want to tell Dragonbane to just have me buried next to dad. I almost want to barge in one of the random burrow-holes in the wall and storm the place for food. I ignore everything and keep walking. I know Dragonbane probably feels the same way. The least I can do is not complain and make it sound like my hunger is worse than his.
What a relief to finally find the entrance. The cliffside is carved into an awning held up by thick gray pillars. There are chains tied between the pillars, and huge blue lanterns hanging from the chains. A front entrance if ever I've seen one. Maybe the Gold Division entrances would look like this if we didn't have to hide them from the world.
There's no welcoming committee in sight. We just wander in. I'm expecting a system of tunnels like the way Dad always described it. I'm totally not prepared for what Basin Canyon actually looks like. The front room is this super-massive temple that looks like it's all on fire. Except it's not; there's just one wall at the very end that's on fire.
It might have been beautiful if I wasn't starving to death.
It takes forever to cross the room. We're halfway to the wall of fire when a Sandslash wanders in and notices us.
"Oh! Greetings! Are you visitors, by chance, or here on official business? Shall I fetch the princes?"
We're a dumb Skitty and Nidoran. I don't know what kind of official business she thinks we could possibly have with princes.
"Actually, do you have anything to eat? We walked for almost two days straight and we're about to pass out from hunger," says Dragonbane.
"Oh, yes! Right this way, my good sirs. We have plenty to share. Sorry that we don't exactly have a guest relations team just yet. We are still settling in."
Dragonbane gives me a stupid grin of amusement.
"Don't worry, I get that a lot," I tell him. "Really used to it by now."
"Yeah, so do I," he says. "You wouldn't believe how many people think I'm a girl until I talk. It's funny."
"Well, I believe it. I thought you were a girl at first, too."
The Sandslash takes us to a huge room stockpiled with food and I almost die of happiness the moment I see it all.
"Help yourself, this is all for our guests," she says. "Just don't make a mess, or we'll make you clean it up yourself! When you're ready, you can follow the signs back to the Evolution Hall, and I'll let someone else know you're here so they can guide you wherever you want to go next. Anyway, take care!"
Towers of baked bread. Bowls of berries. Honey balls. A drinking fountain. They have weirder stuff too, like gemstone candy for the rock-types and I guess for Sableye. (Though Sableye don't evolve so I don't know why they'd be coming to Basin Canyon.)
They even have poison nectar. It's a weird, thick drink that only poison-types can drink without getting sick.
It's a little cold in here, I guess to keep everything fresh. But I don't even care. I just bounce in and eat my fill, and I clean up after myself so that Dragonbane doesn't cast me a look of disapproval. Probably with his eyes open.
We rest for a moment and then we go back to the big fiery Evolution Hall. I actually had no idea which direction to go, and I didn't see any of the signs the Sandslash was talking about, so I just sort of wander back in the direction I thought we came from, and we end up in the right place. Dragonbane seems impressed.
Now there's another Sandslash there. He's up near the wall of fire. As we approach closer, it becomes really apparent this is a large and important figure. He seems preoccupied with something, like he's watching for something in the wall of fire. Weird.
"Um, hello?" Dragonbane says when we get close.
The Sandslash turns around and bows to us. "Welcome, visitors," he says. "I am King Shiel, but you are free to address me as a prince. Have you come to walk the path of evolution?"
Oh. This question again, and from the actual king himself. Wow, what have we walked into?
They're all about evolution here now, aren't they? Makes sense. I know Dragonbane is just going to answer for me like he did last time. I interrupt him just as he starts to talk.
"Yes. I am," I say. "I have come here to evolve."
Dragonbane looks at me in wide-eyed surprise. It's delicious.
"And you, Skitty?" says the prince.
"Hmmmmmmmmm Nah. I'm good," he says. "I'm just a traveling companion for her. She's the reason I'm here."
"Very well, then," says the prince. "What is your name, young miss?"
"Gemstone," I say. Unlike Rufus the Doofus here, I'm very happy with my name and I don't plan on changing it when I evolve.
"Well, miss Gemstone, you should be pleased to know that you are the first Pokémon to make the pilgrimage here for evolution."
I have to blink in surprise. "What? Really? Nobody else has come here to evolve yet?"
"Not from the outside, no," he says. "This chamber has only been called the Evolution Hall for a mere few days. Word has not yet spread far and wide of our new traditions. So, you are the very first."
"…Oh, that's… something," I say. I'm at a loss for words, really.
"Hey, if you've never done the evolving ceremony before, do you even know how it's supposed to work?"
"We have conducted the ceremony three times already with batches of our own people," he assures. "Now, while I could initiate the ceremony right at this moment just for you, I would be honored if you would be willing to wait until tomorrow, when we have our next public ceremony planned, so that more of my people might witness the historic occasion. But you are the guest, and the decision is yours. What do you say?"
"Fine," I say, pretending like I am not secretly thrilled about being the center of so much attention! "We'll wait for tomorrow. Are there places we can stay the night?"
"Oh, certainly! This is an entire underground castle, with an even larger feral-shard mine down below. There are barely enough of us to occupy the place, so of course we have plenty of extra room for our visitors."
I wanted to say "Yeah… but are they good places to stay, or just random nooks and crannies in the caves?" But I decide against it. Now that I'm not hungry anymore, I have no excuse to be whining and complaining about free hospitality.
As we're being sent to our rooms, Dragonbane looks at me and says "So, you really just decided you want to evolve after all? How come?"
"Well, it's…" I start talking but I stop myself. What am I doing? Why am I suddenly being so honest with this doofus? There's really no point in telling him the truth. I could just say "Because I want to" and leave it at that.
I just blurt it out anyway. "I want to be stronger for when I visit my dad for the last time," I say. "I'm afraid I'll break down crying as soon as I see his grave. So I… want… I want to show him how much I've grown up. And how… good he… made me…"
Oh blast it all. I'm already starting to cry. I let my guard down for one moment and I start bawling like a baby. Just kill me already.
"Aww, that's so sweet," says Dragonbane. Because of course he did.
"Shut up," I tell him, trying to shake the tear-droplets off my face. "Forget I said anything."
Now this next part.
The crazy part.
What I'm about to put here, you don't have to believe it really happened. I wouldn't blame you.
If someone was telling this to me, I wouldn't believe it really happened, either.
You're free to believe I'm just making up this whole next part to rewrite my own narrative.
You're free to believe I'm a filthy liar who's making up tall tales for attention. It wouldn't be the first time.
I fully admit there are plenty of other ways I could have learned what I learned. Lots of other ways it could have happened.
So believe what you want. It's not going to change the way I'm telling the story.
I'm going to tell you what happened to me that night.
The room we stayed in wasn't all that bad. It was not as good as the Team Ember rooms, but it was decent. Turns out that Basin Canyon has whole entire hallways of these rooms for visitors, like a hotel almost. I'm sure the Gold Division teams stayed in some of these places when they worked here. Now they're for travelers who 'walk the path of evolution.'
I wonder which room my dad stayed in.
It was already late afternoon by the time we got to Basin Canyon in the first place, so there wasn't much time left in the day. We were shown around a few of the nearby halls and good lord they're all so gaudy for being just a bunch of underground caves. The place obviously wants to be a castle.
Then we retire to the rooms and I have one last talk with Dragonbane for the day. I forget what it was even about. I think I was bragging about going down in history as the first one to journey to Basin Canyon for evolving.
But then I fell asleep.
It was an instant black-out. Just like when I found myself in the wilderness for no reason.
I just blink and suddenly things are different.
It's the middle of the night. The torches were magically dimmed to their lowest settings, so it's dark. Dragonbane is all curled up on his bed and passed out with a huge stupid grin on his face like he's having an amazing dream. Maybe a dream about befriending dragons, or slaying dragons. Or both at once.
"Gemstone," says a voice.
My ears perk.
Not this again. Did someone else sneak into the room when I wasn't paying attention? I look around and see that nope, nobody here but Dragonbane, and he definitely isn't the one talking.
"Come to me."
No.
It can't be.
Dad?
I mean, I know I'm delusional sometimes but… dad is dead.
And yet he's talking to me. That's his voice. It's soft and quiet but it's definitely his voice.
"It's okay, my little sparkle-stone. Trust me. Follow my voice. I'll guide you."
That's impossible. Dad was the only one who ever called me that. Dad only called me that in private, too. Nobody else knows that name.
Every muscle in my body is clenching in dread. Every bit of sense I have left is telling me this is wrong, this is dangerous, this is a trap.
But my body is moving on its own and I'm going anyway.
I creep out into the hall of guest rooms. Everything is dark and quiet. All the torches are dimmed and half of them are put out. No Sandslash to be seen anywhere.
"This way."
The voice sounds like it's so far away, yet it's so clear to me. Telepathy? There's no way the Sandslash aren't hearing this too.
"Now this way."
I follow the voice down the hall. Around the corner. Down a corridor I hadn't been in yet. This place is stupidly complex. I don't see how everyone doesn't get lost in here all the time.
"You're not going to get lost. Keep following my voice."
I follow the voice through like twelve different halls and chambers. There's no way I'm ever going to remember how I got here. Strangely it keeps getting darker, too. All the lights are out. Even the torches I thought were supposed to be permanent.
Now it all just feels like a dungeon.
"I helped build these halls," says the voice. "I know them well. Trust me."
I don't have much of a choice anymore. I'm completely lost.
Worse yet, the voice takes me down a spiral staircase. For like three floors.
This had better really be my dad somehow. And not some Darkrai or something messing with me. Am I dreaming? This feels surreal. And I do have crazy dreams a lot. I never remember them. But I always remember how they feel.
Happy and sad at the same time.
"Almost there, sparkle-stone. Stay focused. Keep going. Don't be afraid."
I'm walking down a long, dark, damp cave. Completely black. My dark vision isn't helping much because there's just nothing down here. No torches.
This really feels just like a cave now. The castles are all gone. This is just wet, dirty, smelly cave, infinitely going straight forward.
"Dad…?" I shout down the tunnel. "Dad? Are you here?"
"My sweet little Gemstone. I was always here."
There, in the darkness in front of me, something glowing.
A Nidoking.
A big, strong, brave, proud Nidoking.
This is a dream.
Or this is a ghost.
There's no way this can be real.
And yet… I scamper up to him as fast as I can make my legs go.
Dad welcomes me with open arms. I jump into them.
He's real. He touches me. He holds me.
"There's my little girl…" he whispers. "So brave and strong for coming so far."
"Dad… Dad… You're… you're really here." Yep. I'm bawling. Nothing can stop me.
"Yes, and no," says Dad.
I look up at him. He smiles down at me. Happy and sad at the same time.
"I don't really look like this," he says. "This is just a form I'm projecting for you. But I am really touching you. I can still do that."
"You were calling to me…" I gasp. "I remember now. That's why I came all the way here. Eva told me you were dead. I cried myself asleep, and had a dream about you. You were calling to me! You were visiting me in my dreams and I just never remembered them. Y-you even told me where to go… and you told me about the stairs down into the canyon too!"
"Yeah. Smart little girl you are," he says so proudly. "As it turns out, spirits can get special permission to stay tethered to the place where they died for a little while. Not forever, though. I'll fade away eventually. And I have to stay close to the place where I died, so I had to get you to come here. But I stayed here because I wanted to see you one last time."
"Oh dad…" I whisper, hugging him tight. "I'm so sorry… this wasn't supposed to happen…"
Dad pets my ears. "What do you mean, sparkle-stone? None of this was your fault. Don't blame yourself."
"I know. I just don't care. I love you. I miss you. I don't know if I'm ready to be alone yet."
"But you're not alone. You never were and you never will be. You're such a proud and determined girl, and you have so many great teammates to stand by your side just like I had."
"I know. But I don't have you anymore. Or mom. I have to finish growing up all by myself now."
"No, no! Look me in the eyes, Gemstone. Listen. You don't have to grow up all by yourself."
I look him in the eyes. This perfect, caring father cradling me and glowing in the dark.
He's harder to look at than Dragonbane is with his eyes open. But I look at him. Because this is the last I'm ever going to see of him, and I need to remember this.
Even if this is a dream, I really, really need to remember this dream and not just forget it when I wake up.
"You just have to learn to show a little bit of your weakness every once in a while," he says. "I know you never wanted to feel like you're being a burden on anyone else. But sometimes it's okay to let them see you're not perfect. Everyone has little things they can give you, little lessons they can teach. You just have to learn to admit that you need them."
"But… I don't want to be whiny," I answer. "How can I demand anyone else help me and not have them just hate me? I don't want to be like my awful classmates that everyone hates."
"Because you don't have to demand anything," he says. "Just… show them you're imperfect. Not too much that you're begging for pity… but just a little bit. Just enough. Then you have to let them decide to help you. Some of them won't help you. But some of them will. And those that do… those are the Pokémon you might call your friends. Do you understand? We are kings and queens. We are high and mighty and proud creatures. But we just need to learn to be humble sometimes."
"Okay, Dad. Alright. I'll… try to be more humble. I hate it. But I'll try."
"Well, do you hate the young boy who helped you come here? With his impossibly-sharp eyesight?"
"No. Not really. I don't hate him."
"Then you don't have to hate being humble. Because that's what it gets you."
"Alright. I'll try to be better. I promise."
"Good girl."
We hug for a while. I want it to feel like forever.
"So… there's really such a thing as ghosts?" I ask dad once I kind of stop pathetically sobbing. "Real ghosts? That aren't just ghost Pokémon?"
"That's right," he says. "Ghost Pokémon are living beings that have really fun powers. But no, Pokémon don't suddenly turn into ghost-types when they die!"
"Speak for yourself, Rocky."
A new voice! I turn around in Dad's arms. There's another ghost standing there watching me.
It's a Marowak. With really dark-black scales. And it's holding a bone club with green fire on both its ends.
Marrow? He looks so different…
He hoists his bone club up on his shoulders.
"What your father is neglecting to tell you is that we have a duty to perform in return for staying here," says the ghost of Marrow. "For as long as we stay here, we have to roam the halls and help Pokémon not wander into the mystery dungeons when they're not supposed to. And the tribe never sleeps, so you've got to get back on your patrol."
"Oh, shut it, Jake. I'm having a moment here."
"Eh. Suit yourself. Don't come whining to me when you break the contract and fade away. Oh wait… you couldn't."
"Blah," says Dad, bouncing me in his arms. "It's just my luck. I have to keep doing the same job I've basically been doing for the past four years, even after death."
"Life's not fair! Death's not fair! Get over it, Rocky. Nothing's ever fair." Marrow looks at me and says, "But sometimes, if you're lucky, things can be fun. Don't forget it, kiddo."
"Thank you for staying, Dad," I whisper to him. "Can I come back and visit you sometime?"
"Maybe. We'll see. It's not as easy as you'd think," he says.
Marrow appears to adjust his helmet. "Hey, uh, Rocky… so when are you going to tell her the real reason you called her here? You're kinda runnin' out of time. You want me to tell her for you?"
Dad chuckles. "Okay, okay. I'll tell her, I'll tell her," he says. "Gemstone… the real reason I stayed behind was because I had one last thing I never got to tell you, that I think you should know. There's… another reason you won't be all alone. Not just yet, at least."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Because your father is still alive."
I stare at him blankly for a solid moment. He only smiles proudly at me.
"Y-you're still alive?"
"No, silly girl," he says. "I was only ever your foster father. Your real father was afraid of trying to raise you. He didn't think he'd do a very good job. So he offered your egg to me and asked me not to tell you who your real father is. Because he thought that a Nidoking would have a better time with a Nidoran. And I guess he was right. I think I did a fairly good job, if I might say so myself."
"Oh… you did…" I tell him, hugging him tight. "You were such a wonderful dad. You were so amazing. Thank you… I'm always going to remember you as my dad forever. But… who's my real father, then? I… kind of want to go meet him if I can."
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, since he's around nearly all the time," Dad said. "Your real father is Raptor. And he's super proud of you too, just like I am. But be patient with him, okay? He doesn't take responsibility very well. At least, the fatherly kind of responsibility."
"Alright. I'll be nice to him. I promise," I say.
"Well… I've kind of got to go now," he says, peering over at Marrow who's standing there waiting impatiently. "Maybe I'll come haunt your dreams some other time. And hey… my little sparkle-stone?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Dad. Forever. And I'm going to grow up to be just as awesome as you were."
"That's my girl."
I snap awake, like I'd never even moved. It's morning.
I finally did it. I remembered my dream.
This time it might not have been just a dream. Maybe that really was Dad coming back to tell me goodbye.
There might be a way I can find out whether or not it's real, though. I'll have to do that later.
Now it's time to evolve.
I look over. Dragonbane is still on the other bed, sleeping like a rock.
I realize something.
If that dream was real, and if that was really Dad, and if he was really telling the truth.
Dragonbane was right. That stupid doofus was right.
I guess… I am part dragon after all.
Hah.
Hahah.
I guess that explains everything, then.
We get up and moving for the day. We visit the food room and eat a great breakfast. We even take baths because Basin Canyon somehow has a water supply. And then we start preparing for the evolving ceremony. It's a huge and important ceremony that the Sandslash take way too seriously. I even had to do two pre-rehearsals.
I try not to be nervous out of my mind.
I realize this was a huge mistake. I'm just taking evolution and putting a whole extra layer of stress on top of it for no reason. I –
No. No, it's more than that. I'm making history. I'm doing this for the Sandslash.
Okay.
Okay, I can do this.
…
The ceremony was wild.
The room filled with Sandshrew, Sandslash, and a few extra new Pokémon as well. I guess they were either living in the canyon, or they're new pilgrims who just baaaarely didn't make it here first. And I mean it filled. Like… every single member of the tribe must have been there for that one ceremony. I guess that makes sense. This is a historical occasion after all.
So we line up on the throne platform in front of the giant wall of fire. Twelve Sandshrew with me in the very middle. King Shiel gives us a long, long, way-too-long speech he wrote himself about the profound significance of evolution or something.
Then – and this is something I wasn't expecting, even after all the rehearsing – there's a portal that opens up in front of the wall of fire. And out of the portal, there comes Jirachi.
The Jirachi. The real one. The wish-granter. The one who literally made the Map of Jirachi.
One-by-one, he hands us our feral-shards, wishes us luck, and he bows to us. Then we're supposed to evolve right there. Then immediately after evolving, he gives us a special drink of some kind to calm the nerves.
So that's exactly what I did. I stepped onto that stage as a purple Nidoran. I stepped off the stage as a purple Nidorina. Hey, I can kind of walk on two legs now. That's going to take some getting used to.
And that Jirachi drink? Ughhhhhh. I'm a poison-type and even I thought it tasted vile. Though he wasn't lying – it did really calm the nerves. I almost felt none of those cramps or disassociation spells that everyone talks about.
When all thirteen of us are done, we step off the stage together, and the whole room applauds us.
I look and see, in the front row of Pokémon, Dragonbane is there cheering for me.
Then I notice another Pokémon in the crowd.
Standing in the very back. Behind the whole tribe.
Watching me quietly, but with a deep smile on his face that I can even see from here.
A Gabite.
A Gabite who loved me from afar for my whole life, and I never even noticed.
I never even imagined.
Though I never knew it…
He was always there.