#IRIDA COME HOME

[nell0-0]

Think they made Adaman more OP cos everyone favoured pearl clan and they had to balance it out some how?

I mean, not everyone favors the Pearl Clan. Adaman is kinda popular last I checked. Is he overshadowed by Ingo's popularity and him being in the Pearl Clan? Absolutely. But the thing is, I don't think this difference between them is about that.

The main problem with Irida's sync pair is her dependance on hail. This probably comes not only from her sync pair pokemon being her Glaceon, but also as a callback to the Alabaster Icelands. Lore-wise, it makes sense. Once implemented with the game mechanics, though...

[episims]

Alison Screw vitamins, I need my blood sugar to rocket.

Alison "Why the hell are you here?"

Hanna "It was correct! I know where you live. Isn't that strange? I don't know where I learned it from. It returns empty. No, not strange – it follows the pattern!"

Alison Would Judi send Hanna to survey me? ...Fuck no, she's more clever than that. What pattern is this blabbering about?

[kafka030]

PokeMas - VOLO n JACQ !?

Volo n Jacq is confirmed to be arriving on Pasio at the end of this month! 🔥

Why's nobody talking about Volo's Japanese VA for him?? His voice is sooo suitable for him!

... and there's good ol' Jacq, his Japanese VA also suits him, such a young man's voice.

Little explanation of these sync pairs down below:

Volo paired with Togepi which is a Fairy Field unit with EX role of Tech. Togepi can sets up Fairy Zone n Sinnoh Circle. Volo also available in Lodge if you get him and you get Volo+Gible by Maxed out his friendship. 👌

Jacq's paired with Farigiraf, a Psychic Tech unit with EX role of Support. He can buff himself quickly and his kit is quite unique, imo.

Btw, their banner lasts for around 2 weeks, if I 'm not wrong... and both of their banners are Pokefair, which is quite a bummer, imo. I wish Jacq was a Spotlight unit, since the Paldea Theme Skill is now available...

I hope those who are scouting for them can get them early~ ✌🏻

[heavyshrimp]

browsing mercari for pokemon merch was a mistake i have like...ten dollars

[shiny-kaibernyte]

It's my Birthday!

March 19th and im a year closer to meeting Arceus lucky me! So here is some of my Pokémon simps headcannons as to how they would celebrate your birthday. (I was going to do my top 5 simps but they are all from different things so I'm gonna leave those to myself) There will be no Scarlett and violet characters. They will be in they're own post (There's a lot I like)

Characters: Adaman, Lysander, Raihan, Leon, Cynthia, Volo

💙💎Adaman💎💙

Adaman’s number one rule is that every moment counts. So when it comes to planning your birthday, he makes sure every second he spends planning results in the perfect outcome.

He would make sure to remember all of your favourite things to do and put as many as he can in one day without overdoing it. Adaman was always good at planning. Execution was the problem.

Headstrong and passionate don’t tend to go well together, so no matter how many hours he spends detailing everything. Planning around possible problems; as always something is bound to go wrong.

Surprise bandit attack; Alpha attack; Something happens in the Demand clan; Irida

Will that stop him from making this day all about you? Arceus no! He’s just gonna try harder to make you happy. Even if you're already beaming with the royal treatment he is giving you. Adaman won’t stop until the sun is gone, and he’s carrying you back home.

I would try and pinpoint 1 specific thing he’d do, but Adaman would do basically anything you wanted. Your wish was his command, whatever you wanted to do - he would do. Want to go on a catching spree? Sure. Want to walk along the coastal beach, when do we leave? Want to scale the cobalt mountains to reach the temple of Sinnoh? He’s already racing you up there.

You could drag him to the Alabaster Iceland's and he would follow you like a Fidough. It’s your day and he is going to make damn sure you feel like royalty by the end.

🧡☕Lysandre☕🧡

Lysandre is a busy man. Being the leader of Team flare and running his company and keeping his goal of beauty running smoothly. Time is not something he has! But for his darling's birthday, that's time he is happy to put aside.

He wouldn’t be particularly flashy about what he does for your birthday. He is a gentleman aftercall! Not psychotic at all he's fine i swear. Don’t expect Tengen Uzui level flashy. Lysandre is much more laid back than that. He won’t show you off to the world if you aren't comfortable with it.

His personal life is something he likes to keep behind closed doors, so for your birthday, the most public he would get is taking you out around Lumios, weather that be a shopping spree, a nice conversation at a quiet café. Dinner at a nice restaurant would be a must however. He still wants you to feel special so he will spoil you rotten with gifts. Dudes got the money to burn. 

I can see Lysandre planning something beforehand to keep the paparazzi distracted. Like calling in a favour with a friend high up and having them stage something on the other side of the city so you two can be together in peace.

Once you two get home, he will spend the night with you watching any movie or show you want. Reading with you, just talking with you. Anything you want so long as he can see that beautiful smile of yours. 

Lysandre will go to bed with you but… It's a 50/50 shot if he will still be in bed when you wake up. If he is there, lucky you! If he isn’t there, expect an apology note written quite detailed and a nice breakfast with a simple apology gift next to it.

💗🐉Raihan🐉💗

Battle dates. This man will take you to every single gym tournament and battle he can just to watch your excited face when something awesome happens. Seeing his treasure smile makes him all bubbly and giddy.

But don’t worry, he isn't just going to drag you around Galar showing you fight after fight. He isn’t that stupid. Raihan would definitely take you flying on Flygon so you can see the beauty of Galar from his view. Though his view won’t be on the land below.

For once, he will not mention Leon’s name once! I didn’t know that was possible but here we are. Today is about you, so Leon is flicked temporarily out of Raihan's mind and into the naughty corner.

Photo’s everywhere. Anywhere you two go, he will either stop to take a selfie with you or tell you to go pose somewhere so he can capture the moment. Defiantly will ask you before posting the photo though. Sometimes though he will sneak a photo of you when he thinks you like breath-taking. Something to keep to himself. And don't even think about saying you look bad in one of them, because he will then take a million more to prove you wrong. That or smother you in kisses so you won't say it again.

Raihan will be like Lysander when it comes to gifts. This man will SPOIL YOU! Anything you want, you’d have to grab him by the hood to stop him taking the crowd of people down with him. 

He would 1000% be down for a movie marathon as well if you would rather stay inside. He will have a fort built, snacks at the ready and every movie ready.

💜🎮Leon🎮💜

Bless his soul, he has no idea what to do. Leon would want to take you somewhere really nice he found during his travels, if only he could remember which direction it was in. Then he thought about a nice restaurant you had mentioned wanting to try. Which city was that in again? Perhaps he could take you out to the beach, where was that again?

He would leave it at. “I’ll follow you.” So just drag him around with you and he will gladly follow you and do what you wanna do. Just nothing reckless, he won’t do anything that could get you hurt. Unlike Raihan he would avoid battle arenas. 

I feel like Leon would 100% be down for a gaming day, he’d let you take him to any game store and buy every game you wanted and just play all of them. Card, board, video all of them. Single player or multiplayer he will be right there cheering you on or giving you competitive gals with a smile.

If you're up for it, Leon would ask if Hop could join you two for a little while, not long as Leon does want to spend the day with you, but Hop sees you as a family too.

Dude cannot read. So do not ask him to read anything, he can’t tell the difference between Your and You’re. But if you like reading out loud, he will have his head in your lap listening to you read if that will make you happy. 

Leon would try and make you the best cake he can! We know this man can decorate very well, the baking half is a hit or miss, definitely would have gotten help from an unknown alias. His mom.

🖤🌺Cynthia🌺🖤

Forest date. This woman would give you the royal treatment. Lysander got nothing on this Queen! She will take you anywhere you want for the day. But if you ask her to pick what you do or… a surprise!? She takes that as a challenge. You will most likely wind up on a secluded part of a meadow surrounded by nature.

Tranquil and beautiful, a place for just the two of you to spend time with one another. No champion duties, paparazzi, endless questions of your relationship. Just Her and you. 

Cynthia’s Roserade would make it subtly rain rose petals around the area to add to her love for you. If it’s raining, she has a plan for that too. No rain is going to ruin your special day! Hope you like dancing in the rain because she is already dragging you out to the flower meadows to dance with you hand in hand.

You can guarantee she has a picnic somewhere hidden, Where you will never know that. But this woman has come PREPARED! She’s prepared for everything, and your birthday is no exception.  She has everything, from your favourite snacks, drinks, everything. Even the blanket is your favourite colour. Cynthia even bought a pillow with her that you could sit on so you wouldn’t be uncomfortable if you wanted it.

Like Raihan her Pokémon would be involved. But instead of flying, she would use her Pokémon to put on a show for you. The rose petals from Roserade being just an example. Her Garchomp would show you a fireworks show when night arrived, along with the help of Togekiss.

She won’t spoil you with gifts. Instead she will have one thing she made for you herself. It won’t be very big, but it will show you the love she has for you. Whatever she made you, expect it to be incredibly meaningful.

💛✨Volo✨💛

Cynthia had to get her skills somewhere and this is where. Volo does everything Cynthia does but somehow even more extra. 

If Cynthia gives you the royal treatment, he is giving you the Deity treatment. Man has Giratina at his call, he can literally give you anything! And he will use it to his advantage at every chance he gets. He will use his craftsman skills to make you a bracelet with all of the stones on as a mark of your journey together. If you want him to make another so you can match, oh look he already did! What are the chances?

This man will take you EVERYWHERE! Even places you have never been to before on the back of Giratina, he will show you the world most don’t get to see. The world he will build for you. But he won’t spoil that surprise.

He would definitely make you food, he travels a lot so cooking is a must know skill. So your birthday with him isn't a day, it's a whole week. And every time he makes you something it is completely different. Volo is taking zero shortcuts on this adventure. He may have a Deity on his team, his Deity is sat Infront of him admiring the stars.

Speaking of Stars. Stargazing is a must on every clear night you two get. He would lay his jacket down for you to lay on and look up at the sky together.

Volo would make sure to stop around different areas and tell you about the history there, watching your expression carefully to see the enthusiasm and curiosity on it which just makes him want to try harder to get that smile to stay there. 

He will also use his trade skills to get you something that caught your eye from wherever he took you. Volo may have money but he will use his skills where he can. Giratina isn’t the only benefit he has. Dude is a travelling merchant after all. He has more knowledge than everyone combined. Expect him to show you off however. He loves you more than anything, and wants the world to know that.

[gouda-nough]

Thinking about the subway bosses being distant descendants of the Twin Heroes and, by sheer coincidence, they look very very alike. Plus they're identical twins in black and white.

Mostly people in Hisui coming across some of those documents/ depictions of the Twin Heroes of Unova and well... damn one of thems a dead ringer for Ingo. What does that mean?? Local train man may or may not be royalty what do?

Maybe Irida's not sure he came from the rift (she never mentions he is in game, just that he appeared one day) and is mildly worried about having potential foreign royalty as a warden. Surely he needs to get back home now they have a lead?

[monsoon-of-art]

Yay little mer snippet! Just a little thing as a break from Donut Hole. Probably won't post on ao3 (Edit I did lol)

Lost and Found

They didn’t see the storm coming.

Both clans knew the skies and the weather almost as much as they knew their watery home. They should've seen this storm coming days in advance.

But they didn't.

All they could do was hunker down in their settlements and pray to Almighty Sinnoh that their loved ones out at sea would return home safe.

Even deep inside their iceberg, Irida wanted nothing more than to curl up inside her den, like she did when she was a pup and a bad storm would roll over.

But as leader, she wanted to make sure her clan was safe first.

Thank Sinnoh, most of them were doing what she wanted to do; tucked away safe inside the many ice caves and dens they had made, little ones hiding under blankets and their relatives.

Lady Sneasler and Lord Ursaluna had plopped themselves down in the medical den with Calaba. Lord Kleavor and Avalugg would be safe under the waves, and Lord Arcanine…

Well, he didn't have to suffer this storm. It was a relief, in a strange, painful way.

Lady Sneasler yawned as Irida entered, without a care in the world. Lord Ursaluna barely even acknowledged her presence.

“Did everyone return to the settlement?” Irida asked.

Calaba let out a quiet, but still irritated, huff. “Palina has yet to return. Gaeric went out to retrieve her just as the storm hit.”

Of course. Since the passing of Lord Arcanine, Palina had been grieving away from others. She wanted solitude, as dangerous as that was, and Irida could respect it on some level.

But not in this weather.

And Irida truly respected Gaeric as her mentor and practically her brother, but he still struggled with empathy at the best of times.

“Right. Right. I'll go after them.” Irida decided, rubbing her cheeks and smoothing her whiskers, trying to not stress too much.

Palina and Gaeric were very, very good swimmers. She was positively certain she'd find them just outside the iceberg.

“Please be safe.” Calaba said as Lady Irida left.

Dipping into the frigid waters (for some, not that Irida was complaining), Irida was immediately hit with the turbulent, stormy sea.

With smaller storms, it was easy to hide under the waves. But with large storms like this? The currents would be thrown off kilter, the sediment on the sea floor would be dragged up, it was difficult for even the strongest of swimmers to keep their head on straight.

But Irida pressed on, weaving through the ice floats the best she could. Even through the dark waters she could see the flashes of lightning, hear the boom of thunder. 

This couldn't be a natural storm. This had to be from Almighty Sinnoh themself. Perhaps something had angered them. It was bound to be the false worship of the Diamond Clan.

(Little did she know, Lord Adaman was having the exact same thought.)

Just at the edge of the icy waters, where the glaciers were nothing more than floating bits of snow on the surface of the water, she found them.

“There you two are! This storm is too bad to be out!” Irida said as she rushed forward to greet them, unable to stop the worried tone in her voice.

“Blame her.” Replied Gaeric in a low rumble, narrowing his eyes at Palina.

“Oh? Oh? Blame me? Blame me for making sure Lord Arcanine’s only son and heir is safe in this storm? Yes! Yes, let's blame me!”

Irida loved these two like family. Siblings. Close as could be.

She would also love it if they could stop bickering for just one night.

“You two can fight about this later, inside the settlement.” she said, swimming behind to try and urge them forward. Irida had her fill of stormy weather for one night, thank you.

The three of them had barely started their trek home, when Palina spotted something lying at the bottom of the ocean. Thank Sinnoh that the waters were relatively shallow here, otherwise she never would've spotted it.

It was…a black and white….lump. 

“Wait…What…is that?” Palina asked quietly, finding herself slowly drifting down to investigate.

Gaeric turned, sounding confused. “What? No, we should go back. This storm is dangerous.”

As Irida began following her down, he grumbled under his breath, but reluctantly began to follow as well.

The three approached the mysterious object on the sea floor, and they all quickly realized that the black and white lump was big. Very big. 

“What…is it?” Asked Irida, glancing at Gaeric for guidance.

But he slowly shook his head. “I'm not…sure. Don't get too close. We don't know if this is a threat-”

His eyes narrowed as they approached, and for a brief moment, terror flashed across his face. Grabbing the two girls, he pulled them down to a rocky outcove to hide. “Orca, that is an Orca, stay down-” he hissed.

Palina did not do that, immediately slipping away to peek over the rocks. “Really? Just laying on the ground like that? That doesn’t seem very…Orca-Like.”

“You have the self preservation of a sea cucumber.” he growled. “I’ve seen Orcas, you haven’t. Get back down here!”

She crept a bit closer, sticking close to the rocks in case she needed to duck back down. “No…the shape is wrong. And I can see…fabric?”

Irida now poked her head above the rocks, much to Gaeric’s dismay. “...I think she’s right. I’m going in closer.”

“You two are going to die, and at your funeral I will tell everyone how stupid you were.”

Palina and Irida inched closer and closer, still remaining cautious as they approached. More details came into focus. There was a torso, head, arms, hands-

It was a merman, wearing strange striped garments, curled up and completely unconscious. The only signs of life came from the subtle twitch of his fingers.

“It’s not an Orca!” Palina said over her shoulder, “I-I think it's a merman? With Orca colors?”

That finally got Gaeric to take a look, swiftly coming over to join them, brows furrowed in thought. “I…don’t recognize him. He’s not one of us.”

“He’s not part of the Diamond Clan, either. He doesn’t have their colors or insignia…” added Irida with a frown. “Would he have come from a migratory pod?”

Gaeric shook his head. “There’s been no reports of pods like that. We haven’t had traveling pods of Orcas like him in years.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “...he could be an exile.”

The very word caused Irida to recoil and Palina to wince.

Exile was the worst punishment possible. Practically a death sentence, forcing a mer from their group to live on their own, to grow sick and weak and mad from the isolation. It was worse than a death sentence, only for the most heinous of crimes. Neither of the three there had ever seen it before, from their clan nor from the Diamond clan. A punishment spoken only in terrified whispers.

Palina shook her head. “No, no. You can’t just assume the worst like that. M-Maybe the storm swept him away from his pod? Maybe he got lost?”

She turned to Irida directly. “We can’t just leave him here. He’ll drown. He’ll die. I can’t handle another death on my conscious like this.”

“Irida, I have to object.” counted Gaeric, leaning over to try and block Irida’s view of Palina. “I cannot allow you to bring this stranger to our settlement. He could be a threat! He could be a murderer. What if he tries to eat the pups-”

“Gaeric!” Palina shouted, tugging on his hair and earning a pained yelp.”Stop assuming he’s an exile!”

“I didn’t say he was! But if he’s been alone for Sinnoh knows how long? Merfolk go crazy when they’re alone!”

Irida hummed in thought, glancing between the two and the unconscious merman.

Palina was right, if they didn’t do anything, the merman would die. He’d drown, and in a matter of time the crabs and eels would descend upon the corpse until there was nothing left.

Gaeric was right, they didn’t know this merman, they didn’t know how dangerous he was. This merman was big, too, much bigger than anyone at the settlement, he could overpower them if he wanted. He could be a danger.

The merman shifted slightly, and began making a low, rumbling croon. His face, even while unconscious, looked pained. 

He was calling for someone. Something. Anything.

And as the three waited with hesitation, nothing came.

“We’re taking him back.” Irida said with an air of finality. “Gaeric, help us carry him.”

“What?! I’m opposed to this! I’m the one who said we shouldn’t take him in, and you want me to carry him?! He’s probably heavy!”

“Oh, what?” Palina said, smug from having won, “Those muscles you’re so proud of are just for show, huh?”

He growled at her, a rumble low in his throat, but agreed. “Fine. Let’s carry this stranger back home.”

[au-wannabe-the-very-best]

In Wild Man and Wild Miss, a year before Ingo is set to leave, The Pearl clan as a whole gets into trouble. Just below the snow of where the settlement resides is a pocket encased by ice. One day, a space-time distortion happens, and something within the distortion triggers an earthquake.

It shatters the ice, and the entire settlement falls into the sinkhole. Many are injured, some severely. The clan is trapped into this smooth pocket of ice, and as the earthquake continues, the opening above is slowly shutting.

The Pearl Clan do not use pokéballs. They don't have Pokémon on them to help, and what Pokémon partners they do have tend to live outside the settlement, having their own home and lives. With the opening to the sinkhole shutting, those Pokémon partners are going to have no idea where they are. The Wardens and the Clan Leader weren't within the settlement, instead out to discuss the frenzy of Lord Kleavor.

The settlement is completely alone without any strong trainers around to save them.

Irida eventually comes back to find the settlement has vanished. She thinks it's an illusion at first, perhaps the Zoroark are playing a trick on her— but it soon becomes clear that this is no illusion. Everyone is just gone. And she panics.

Was it a distortion? Did one open up above the settlement and transport them to an entirely different space altogether? Or was this an attack? Is it even possible for it to be an attack, when there is nothing left behind to indicate as much?

She immediately gathers the wardens again. Not just hers, this time, she contacts the Diamond Wardens and Adaman. Despite the two clans not being on the friendliest terms, this is an appalling scenario and it's easily decided that whatever beliefs you may have are irrelevant when it comes to the human lives who are potentially in danger.

Meanwhile, Ingo is in Jubilife, and he overhears a rumor. Irida called for a secondary warden meeting a day after the first, this time with their twin clan, and quite frankly, Ingo just doesn't trust that. Call it paranoia, but Ingo's dislike of the Pearl Clan and their practices often leads him to assuming the worst.

He leaves Akari in the village for a while, and goes off to eavesdrop on this meeting.

He's glad he did. Because an entire settlement disappearing off the face of the earth is something he kind of needs to know, considering he lives in the icelands himself. Sending a letter to his daughter to let her know that he'll be gone for a while longer, Ingo sets off to find the missing clan. (He may dislike them, but he's not a cruel person... He doesn't wish for anyone to die.)

Unbeknownst to him, a certain noble watches him.

[volo-omnia]

Pokemon Legends Arceus is about Home and what it means to create a Home, change my mind (a mini essay)

Main series titles in the Pokemon series tend to follow themes and explorations of them. With mythology and tradition from Gold/Silver, our relationship to nature in Ruby/Sapphire, truth vs ideals in Black and White, and even the reoccurring themes of treasure and past vs future in Scarlet and Violet.

While PLA is a new departure from most series titles, it still explores a bunch of themes that are central to its story. While the land of ancient Hisui is partial to old traditions, divine gods, and the endless wild, several characters in the game have a recurring theme surrounding on the idea of "Home". This could be how "home" is defined, how one creates a home, and what it means to lose one.

One of the foremost examples of this is you, the player. While we know nothing of the player character outside of what is shown in the intro sequence and possible dialogue choices, the prompt of PLA is obvious. You were taken from your home by Arceus to be dropped into Hisui. Whatever life you had before, you will never come back to. And upon waking up on the beach that Laventon finds you, you have little to no memory, no money, no pokemon, and no where to go.

You have no home.

Now for the player character while it can be interpreted or headcanon a variety of possibilities, (such as the player character being the same player character from D/P/Pt) because it's a player character and meant to be a blank slate, we essentially don't know anything about the hero canonically outside of this. For all intents and purposes the hero has no home to begin with. But there is one thing we know. By the end of the game when you finally meet and defeat Arceus, he doesn't send us back home. We remain in Hisui. Once again, we cannot return to the home we came to. Hisui is our forever home now, but the choice is ours whether we accept or reject it.

This theme occurs a lot with the other characters of the game, to which we will be going through them.

One of the first characters in this game that also hits with this theme is Commander Kamado. Throughout the game it is specifically described as to how his character game to be. His home in Kanto was destroyed by wild pokemon, to which he and the other villagers had to immigrate to Hisui. Upon landing at Prelude Beach, they build Jubilife Village, a haven with large protective gates and guards always on patrol, ensuring security. It's their home, and Kamado repeatedly tells you throughout the game how he's determined to build a home for the village and himself. Even when the skies turn blood red and he banishes you into the wilds, he's determined to fight tooth and nail to protect his home.

This is one of the more obvious examples. Kamado has no home to return to. But in doing so with perseverance, he creates a new one. Even though Hisui is quite different from his old home in Kanto, he does settle with creating a new home, one that is safe, prospering, and peaceful. But when his home is threatened, he does not go back down to protect it.

A home is something you build.

Another similar example of this is the dynamic of Adaman and Irida. Their clans too migrated from other lands to Hisui, eventually settling on the land and living with the local pokemon. From their eyes, a home is something you must share and work together with. Even though they both warred over their patron gods, both the young clan leaders are determined to create a home that is peaceful and without bloodshed between them. However since this is the age of religious folks, insulting one's household deity is also akin to insulting one's home.

To some, a god is a home.

Later in the game we also encounter Lady Cogita. She like most, has no home. While Hisui is the land she has lived in for many years, her original home is long lost to time. As one of the Celestica, all of her people and culture have long disappeared, her god gone, and her old home now reduced to ruins scattered across the land. While she does reside in the Ancient Retreat, was it ever truly her home? That given her long life, does she ever miss the home she once had, and still vividly remembers? Is a home a home if you have no one to share it with? Does she ever feel homesick for her god that no longer answers her? She is a character with many mysteries to her, but you can't help but wonder what burdens could be going through her mind. The deities of time and space may have created the land, but is it the same as creating a home?

And most of all we cannot forget Volo. Your rival, nemesis, and literary foil. Unlike the others, he has no home, but has no home to return to either. Like Cogita, he too has lost all of his Celestica roots. However unlike Cogita, it's unknown whether he actually knows what their home was like before. Since we don't know canonically if Volo was alive at the same time as Cogita, we can assume he came long after the ruin of the Celestica, as he regularly questions her on the myths and traditions of a culture he isn't familiar with. He is a character that was born without a home, and tries desperately to pick up its pieces by ancient stories and writings on ruin walls. He also desperately yearns for his household god, as Arceus has long disappeared in the eyes of the world along with the Celestica.

Volo, as a character, is defined by his homesickness.

However unlike the hero, Volo refuses to accept Hisui as his home. As we all know at the end of the game when Volo reveals his true colors, he mentions that he wishes to subjugate Arceus to create a new world. In a desperate attempt to create a home he can finally accept, his wish is to create one with the powers of his god, and have pain and suffering be long-forgotten concepts. What makes Volo the villain in this scenario however, is that in order to complete this goal, it will destroy the homes of everyone else. In a grand act of selfishness, Volo is willing to destroy the homes of others in order to create his own. A home is something he is willing to destroy.

Overall throughout the game, the theme of what makes a "home" is repeated. Whether it be characters losing their home, characters trying to build a home, or characters trying to simply find a home. And as you play the game, the world around the hero changes. As humans and pokemon start to work together, their lives and homes start to become intertwined, creating a new life for everyone around them.

All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive. That is a home.

[episims]

Sara "Heeey!"

Irida "Oh! You waited for me?"

Sara "Sorta? I was going on a run anyway, and figured you might come home around now-"

Irida "Mmh... I still have some work to do, I'm afraid."

Sara "That's fine! I mean, if you don't mind me sticking around?"

Irida "I'll never mind you."

Irida "...Tch, sorry. One of the pumps is leaking again."

Sara "I didn't even notice. Man, this place is always so cool. I feel like one of these days, that door scans my low IQ and won't let me enter."

Irida "Ah, the door is old. More likely it'll stop working altogether and we won't get out."

Sara "That's, um... reassuring?"

[ultipoter]

I am no graphic designer and I'm aware that the layout is a bit of a monster, but I wanted to add those little doodles in

A summary of my Pokémon OC Jirou! I've been rotating him in my brain for a year and a half now and MAN I love putting this guy in Situations

There's going to be all sorts of assorted information below the read more.

Jirou Yasuda (he/him)

24 years old

He has an older brother, Soma (@manadyne's oc)

From Spikemuth, Galar and got isekai'd into Hisui by Arceus, seemingly out of nowhere

His ace Pokémon is an Alpha Flareon, Toasty. He'd do anything for Toasty and Toasty feels the same!

There's a Mysterious Force protecting Jirou (Arceus), that helps him recover even from more perilous situations. (It's Arceus.) It takes Jirou a while to realise that he should not be surviving the Pokémon attacks and high falls with mere scrapes as he does (Arceus can't let Their chosen one perish).

He does not feel like home or welcome in Jubilife. If people regard him with distrust after he does all these tasks as a member of the Survey Corps and Galaxy Team, and risks his life facing dangerous Pokémon, then he's not going to bother trying to get close to anyone.

Jirou does appreciate people like Laventon, Volo and Adaman who were chill with him from the start. He warms up to Irida too and he's glad to have these people around him.

Getting exiled from Jubilife village leaves him quite bitter. In his eyes he's done everything Commander Kamado asks of him, he's worked hard to help everyone and the reward for that is losing his shelter. Volo thankfully reaches out a helping hand and Jirou is holding onto that like a lifeline.

Even after Jirou is accepted back to the village, he does not Trust the people there. He rationalises that he'd rather camp outside and explore ruins with Volo than stay with people who might kick him out at the next inconvenience they decide is his fault.

Everything Jirou does is with the goal of getting back home to his brother. He's going to bear every misfortune because surely, once he finds Arceus, he can go home.

Arceus has other plans though. They want Jirou to remain in Hisui, to protect the land as one of Their nobles, as a branch of Them with divine powers.

Jirou does not take well to realising that he's going to be stuck "protecting" a land that he knows will prosper in the future, a land that is not his home in any way or form.

His big brother Soma is not going to leave him trapped in the past though, as the new Galarian champion, he and Eternatus are gonna Get That Boy Home

And now he's in Paldea, living a much better life! Reuniting with Volo after seeing him teach a class in the academy was quite baffling but a happy surprise!

I could write So Much More about him because this guy is spinning in my brain at top speed, but I'm going to spare you all from my brainworms. If you read this far, I appreciate it and I'm hoping good things are coming your way <3

[bellafragolina]

Can I request Adaman and Irida comforting homesick reader

heyo! you didn't specify separate so i assumed it was at the same time! hope that's okay

🍓🍓🍓

For all their love to argue over Sinnoh, time and space, Adaman and Irida are always ready and eager to set aside their differences for your sake. Seeing you in the village together, sporting injuries, they take to fussing with surprising agreeableness. When you were exiled from Jubilife, they were quick to find you and fret over you without even a word of anger towards one another, all their ire focused on Kamado to have done this to you. Not even when you pick one to accompany you do they say anything, only bickering about it when you’re not around

With things settled and you back to your normal mission of just filling out the dex, Irida and Adaman get along better than ever. Their common ground of loving you dearly helps them, and they come together when one notices your shoulders sagging, the lack of genuine brightness in your eyes and your smile. They approach together, hands gentle as their words are soft. They coax you to tell them your woes, and when you do, they find themselves at a loss

Homesickness is not something either has really experienced. Sure, they’ve missed their clans, but that was with the knowledge of their home being a few days trip away. Your home is out of your reach for an undetermined amount of time, and as much as you love Hisui, you long for what you can remember. And they understand.

Irida takes you into her arms, rocking you side to side as you cry or vent or whatever you need. She pets your head, and promises you over and over that both the Pearl and Diamond Clans are happy to help you in your goal to get home. Whatever you need, shelter or information, they will help how they can. Rare Pokémon in the area? Irida herself will guide you to them and help you study them with the tips and tricks she grew up with passed on to you.

Adaman hugs you as well, far tighter than Irida. He clings to you, wanting to squeeze away your sadness, but aware he can’t. Instead, he offers distraction. He has plenty of silly tales to share, about himself, his clan, or even about Irida (though she shouts and stammers over him sharing such embarrassing stories). He’s a big brother of the clan, despite being younger than Mai, and he tickles you and tells silly jokes until you crack a smile again

Together, Irida and Adaman do their best to soothe your aching heart. Whether with reassurance or distraction, they give it all to you. After your dedication to them and their nobles despite being foreign of this place, they owe you that at least. They adore you sorely, and want you happy and safe.

🍓🍓🍓

In the car headed home from the airport eyo

~Renee

[belltrigger]

Submastober Day 07!

Inspiration: There's an older OC-tober prompt-list here that I am using.

Title: Keep to a Schedule Prompt: Routine Word count: 831 Synopsis: Although Ingo worried that Emmet would have a hard time in Hisui, it seems to suit him just fine.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

When Emmet first appeared in Hisui, telling Ingo of all the things he'd forgotten, it seemed as though it would be a struggle for him to adapt to such a different life. Although Ingo couldn't remember much from before he'd shown up on the doorstep of the Pearl clan, his currently situation seemed so vastly different from all the details shared with him. Living in a city full of lights and attractions, absolutely filled with all sorts of people challenging each other to pokemon battles was beyond his current imagination, but it sounded so thrilling.

Every day, he would ask Emmet to tell him more stories, and he ruminated on everything he heard each night before falling asleep. With each story of their history, his twin (his twin! The knowledge still made his heart flutter) added more details of the life they lead, and it quickly became clear that Emmet highly valued many of the amenities back in Nimbasa City. Of course, it was Ingo who was asking about all the mundanities that he used to take for granted, but Emmet beamed and gestured animatedly during all of his tales. He seemed particularly fond of the bakery they passed every day on their way to work, laughing when he said that Ingo only ever let him get pastries on odd days, even though he always asked on even days.

With everything that Emmet told him, it felt certain that he would miss all of their old life, and have to spend some time adjusting. There were no large attractions like a Ferris Wheel or Electric-themed gym lighting up the night sky. You could still get pastries but certainly not the ones Emmet was used to. There was no Battle Subway, which Emmet described with such fervor that Ingo felt himself miss it almost as desperately as he had missed his twin. There were definitely no trains, though Ingo could very easily see them becoming popular; they were just so interesting and dare he say 'cool'?

However, to his surprise, Emmet didn't miss a single beat. On the first handful of days, Emmet wandered around, meeting people and learning the location of everything nearest to Ingo's home. There were even a few mornings where Ingo woke up to Emmet coming inside, looking scuffed up but otherwise happy - the first time, he said he ran into a pokemon with red glowing eyes and had a 'verrrrry exciting' battle. He soon joined Ingo on his Warden patrols, explaining he wanted to learn the area even though he himself was not a Warden (yet. Emmet always said 'yet' when talking about being a Warden.)

Within a month, Emmet had fully created a routine for himself. First thing, he would make sure that they had a filling breakfast - it varied from day to day, but it was always delicious. Ingo wondered if Emmet had always done this, or if it was because his twin worried he didn't eat enough.

After they ate, Emmet would bring out a team of their pokemon (it seemed natural to share), feed them as well, and then begin training for the next few hours. Ingo would report to Lady Irida and visit Sneasler before returning to his home. Emmet prepared a lunch and gave Ingo a detailed status report on how their pokemon had grown and what they still struggled with. Once they finished, he and Emmet would go out together, and travel along Ingo's patrol routes. They spared extra time for when Emmet spotted an exciting pokemon to meet (or battle), and Ingo used these trips to show Emmet his favorite spots.

Once they returned home for the evening, they would make dinner together. Ingo was fairly certain that they had always made dinner together, though he did not have any clear memories of it. Emmet just took it for granted that he would help, and had asked him to engage in certain steps with such surety that Ingo had to believe it to be true. He enjoyed it far more than he had ever enjoyed preparing food for himself. And while he only ever made a simple stew to eat, he knew it was about more than just what he was eating. The companionship of Emmet made every moment easier, smoother, more pleasant. He made Ingo feel lighter, made the aches and pains in his body fade to the background of his awareness, and Ingo began looking forward to each day he spent with his twin.

There was one final thing that Emmet added to his routine that Ingo would have never expected. The first time it happened, Ingo had been frozen in surprise as Emmet stared at him expectantly. But after locking gazes with Emmet, Ingo knew it was probably the most important part of their routine. In fact, after getting over his initial surprise, Ingo offered that they insert it into their routine more frequently.

Emmet agreed immediately, and began to add more kissing to their routine.

[monsoon-of-art]

Donut Hole - Chapter 16

Mountain Sound

Hold your horses now (We sleep until the sun goes down) Through the woods, we ran (Deep into the mountain sound) Hold your horses now (We sleep until the sun goes down) Through the woods, we ran

[THINGS ARE GETTING CRAZY FOLKS] [also shoutout to me rereading my old chapters and going 'oh Barry literally doesnt know Iscan's name'.] [Also I wanted to keep this chapter short and…that didn't happen. ENJOY THE 5k WORDS OF CHAOS!] [And a big thanks to my anonymous bestie and my friend Plant for Beta Reading!]

[ao3 Link]

Adaman didn’t return to his home in the Mirelands immediately. No, he went a bit further to the Coastlands to try and clear his head. Interacting with Irida for an extended period of time was bad for his health, he just knew it.

He stood on the sandy shores, the surf mere inches away from touching his shoes. Adaman took a moment to ground himself, breathing in the salty air. Time was precious, and spending time to reorient himself especially so.

“Lord Adaman!” down the stretch of beach, Iscan waved as he approached. “It’s always a pleasure to see you. What brings you here?”

“Had to clear my head. Irida just-” he gestured wildly with his hands with no clear meaning. “She just gets under my skin. You know how the Pearl Clan acts; they think they’re constantly right all the time?”

Iscan frowned. “I-I don’t know if every member of the Pearl Clan is like that…have you m-met them all?”

Adaman raised an eyebrow. “And you have?”

“Well…no.”

The Diamond Clan leader scoffed a bit at that, but Iscan seemed unconvinced. “W-What was Lady Irida talking about, anyhow?”

“You know that boy who robbed you, then broke your house?”

“How could I forget? What about him?”

Adaman fought not to roll his eyes. “Irida has convinced herself that he is connected to Dawn, of the Galaxy team.”

Iscan blinked at him, seemingly sharing Adaman’s skepticism. “And how did she come to that conclusion?”

“Half-baked coincidences and wishful thinking, I’d imagine. The two are children roughly the same age, both powerful trainers, both…weird-”

“Two of those things describe Warden Ingo? No offense to him of course-”

Adaman snickered at that, “That’s what I was thinking too. It’s all just coincidences. And my thought process is that sure, the boy may superficially resemble Dawn’s friend-”

“What?”

The clan leader took a breath. “I should’ve started at the beginning. Irida and I came to Jubilife to discuss that boy running about. But we were stopped by Dawn, who wanted to show us a pokemon she had caught, who she named after her best friend, Barry. Then she starts to cry and say how much she loved this friend, and how they used to train and battle and eat pecha berries-"

He paused, glancing over at Iscan, noticing how pale the other man was suddenly. "Did…did I say something?"

Iscan started to say something, stopped, thought for a moment. He closed his eyes and held a fist in front of his mouth, trying to recall. "You said the friend's name was Barry?" He finally asked.

"...yeah…?"

"And y-you said. You said they would eat pecha berries?"

Adaman felt a flicker of irritation. "Oh come now, Iscan, surely you don't-"

"Did Dawn describe the friend at all?"

"This is such a waste of time- yes. Yes she did, after Irida practically forced her to. A boy her age, taller, spikey blonde hair and a green scarf-"

Iscan spoke slowly, knowing that what he was about to say would not fly over well. "Sir. My Lord. With all due respect. I-I think Irida may be…c-correct.

That went just as well as Iscan thought it would. “You’re siding with her?! Might I remind you of what clan you’re part of?!”

“Adaman.” Iscan said firmly. “I am asking you to listen to me, instead of assuming the worst.”

This seemed to pacify Adaman, at least a little bit. Enough for Iscan to continue. “The boy in question came into my home, if you’ll recall. Stole some things, broke my walls. But before he did, he…spoke. I…I didn’t speak to him directly. Palina did, and she relayed everything the boy had said.”

Curiosity began overtaking Adaman’s anger. “...what did he say?”

“A-At first, we thought he was spouting madness. Asking for items we’ve never heard of, refusing to say where he had come from, and thought Palina was his mother. But…there was something else. He’s looking for someone.”

“That’s ominous. And vague. And unhelpful.”

“He’s looking for a girl. But he can’t remember the finer details. I think something’s scrambled his memory really bad. But there were two things he remembered; the girl was the best pokemon trainer he’s ever seen…and they used to share pecha berries.”

Adaman didn’t say a word. He slowly turned back to stare into the horizon, his mouth fixed into a thin line.

Iscan honestly thought he had broke him. “...L-Lord Adaman?”

Lord Adaman closed his eyes, inhaled through his nose, then exhaled. “...Fuck.”

He spun on his heel, gesturing in the air with his pointer finger. “Gather up the rest of the Wardens. We need to go catch this kid.”

---

When it was just Barry and his pokemon and the world around him, he could almost pretend he was on another adventure. That he was just exploring around Mount Coronet, looking for new discoveries, a pokemon center just around the corner. Later, when he was tired, he would go home, give his mom a kiss on the cheek, and tuck himself into bed.

It wasn’t true, of course. Not a single bit of it.

This was a different world from his own; Cyrus won, the world is ruined, pokemon centers don’t exist and his mom-

He didn’t want to think about that.

Barry focused on his pokemon. Once he was a safe distance from the weird shirtless man and his daughter(?) he had let his pokemon out of their balls. Fern took the lead, Pest sat on his head, Mystery flew above, Jen walked behind…

And Snacks kept bringing him things.

Snacks would toddle off for a while, returning with a handful of…something. Rocks. Twigs. Berries. He was surprised it stuck around so long. He had told the little guy that it was free to go once they were far enough away from those two nutjobs, but Snacks seemed content to stay.

Barry was…tired. Part of him wanted to find a nice spot to curl up and sleep, but they had already lost so much ground that they needed to make up…

He could feel it in his bones; this mountain had answers. He had to get to the top of this mountain.

Even if it killed him.

Barry tried to stifle a yawn as Fern slowed to check on him. “Atta boy Fern…keeping watch. Those nutjobs aren’t following us, right?”

Fern chirped, trying to gesture for Barry to slow down and sit. Barry barely put up a fight as his pokemon shuffled him onto a rock to rest.

“Mmkay, quick break. Quick break.” he muttered, petting the pokemon closest to him. In this case, Jen. Pest and Mystery preened the boy the best they could, and Snacks continued to pile small objects into Barry’s lap.

Absent-mindedly, he began sorting the items. Berries, twigs, clumps of dirt…and a jet black rock with sharp edges. This item caused him to pause, turning the item over in his hand. He ran his finger along the edge, wincing as he sliced a small cut on his finger tip. 

“It’s as dark as…dark can be.” he commented, trying to remember what this stone was. Had he seen it in a shopping magazine? Pamphlet? Flyer? Maybe in one of those trainer guides he’d get monthly in the mail-?

Realization hit him like a bucket of cold water. “M-MYSTERY!” He grabbed the bird, a little roughly, but not without kindness, to show him the stone. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!”

Mystery, understandably surprised and startled, squawked in reply.

“It’s a DUSK STONE! You can evolve with this!”

That got the bird’s attention, and now it too was staring at the stone with fascination.

Barry turned to Snacks. “You are SUCH a good boy!... Girl!... Tree!! You are SUCH a good tree!!”

Barry was perfectly ready to give Mystery the Dusk Stone and begin Mystery’s evolution, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Fern looking…tense. “...Buddy?”

His team grew quiet. Barry strained to try and hear what they were hearing, trying to listen past the faint whistle of the wind and rustling of leaves…

“...’m not sitting behind you, I have seniority…”

His brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but each thought felt like a Pikipek against his skull; were they followed? Where were these people? Did they know where he was? Would they hurt his pokemon? Was Cyrus there?

Quickly, he recalled all his pokemon but Fern, much to Mystery’s irritation. “W-We’ll evolve you later. This is more important. Fern, lead the way.”

The two of them crept closer to the voices, finding themselves peering over the rocky cliffs and into a small canyon.

It was all the commanders from Team Galactic he had met so far, and a few he hadn’t. What was worrying were the pokemon mounts they had - pokemon he had never seen before.

Barry focused on Palina, currently on the back of an enormous dog-pokemon. If he squinted, he’d almost be tempted to say it was a horribly ill arcanine. Of course they were mistreating their pokemon!

“I am not sitting behind you on Lord Arcanine, Palina. I have seniority! I should sit in front!” Gaeric argued. “I am not sitting behind you! That’s embarrassing!”

“Lord Arcanine is my Lord, Gaeric. You should’ve brought your own. Oh. Right. I forgot.”

He could vaguely see Ingo and that weird, stretched out Sneasel walking down a path in the the cliffs to join the small group, flanked by a tall man in blue with long hair who appeared to really not want to be there.

Even at a distance, Barry could sense a weird tension amongst everyone, which he found strange. Weren’t they all part of Team Galactic?

Both Barry and Fern turned to the sound of galloping hooves. Riding in on a large, white deer were two people; a woman in the blue galactic uniform with black hair, and a man in a much more decorative jacket of some kind.

“He must be a leader. Wait. Cyrus is the leader.” Barry muttered. “What’s in between a commander and a leader? General?”

Sure. He’d settle on ‘General’.

The ‘General’ barely had time to hop off the pokemon before another, tall man stormed over. “Adaman, what is the meaning of this?! Working together with them?!” The tall man gestured to the commanders in pink with disgust in his voice.

‘General’ Adaman raised his hands to pacify. “Melli, settle down. We’re here with a shared goal; to find the boy.”

Barry felt his heart skip several beats. “O-Oh my God.”

They were definitely looking for him. But…it appeared they didn’t know where he was yet.

‘General’ Adaman spoke to the group now. “We are still waiting for Warden Calaba and Lady Irida. They will be arriving on Ursaluna.”

“So they’ll be a while.” the girl on the deer added.

“Must we share ride pokemon?” Melli continued to complain.  

Ingo spoke now, “It is imperative we find the boy as fast as our routes will allow! As such, riding on the back of Pokemon is a must! But Melli and I know the mountains best, and it would be best for us to traverse on foot!”

Melli huffed at that, “Well that’s not much better.”

Finally, lumbering into the clearing was an enormous bear of some kind; with an older woman in pink and a younger woman with a crown on her head.

“Ah, finally decided to grace our presence, Lady Irida.” said Adaman. “This was your idea, you know.”

General Irida scowled at him as she hopped off the Pokemon’s back. “Lord Ursaluna takes his time, and who am I to tell him otherwise? Great haste makes great waste.”

“True, but a little haste would be appreciated.”

My God. Barry thought to himself. Were these two always like this?

How exhausting.

Finally, the two generals addressed the group together. Adaman spoke first, gesturing with his hands. “You’re all aware why we’re here. We need to finally take care of that child once and for all.”

Barry gulped.

Irida’s body language was much more closed off, but she followed up with, “The child is a danger to himself and others-”

“He set our settlement on FIRE.” Gaeric shouted.

“And he buried OUR SETTLEMENT in a LANDSLIDE!” Melli added.

The generals grimaced at the upset murmurings and general feeling of irritation. Adaman attempted to regain command. “Which is why we’re trying to capture him? He can’t just keep running around like this! Who knows what he’ll do next!”

“We’re in a temporary truce to work together to find him.” Said Irida. “According to Gaeric and Sabi, Berry was last seen heading towards the Highlands-”

Sabi began jumping in place, her giant bird loudly squawking, “And I can sense him still! He’s so close!”

Barry felt a shiver run up his spine at that. There were so many of them…and only one of him. If he wasn’t careful, then he was going to end up in their clutches.

He started slinking back, careful not to make any sudden movements or sound-

From his bag rolled the pokeball containing Mystery, and once the ball hit the floor, the large murkrow burst free with an ear-piercing croak.

As Barry and Fern scrambled to get its pokeball, Mystery was already rummaging in Barry’s bag, knocking items out with a loud clatter.

“MYSTERY- MYSTERY NO-!” came Barry’s terrified hiss. “I SAID WE’D EVOLVE YOU LATER - BAD BIRD! GET BACK IN THE BALL!”

The Galactic Commanders and General had definitely noticed the noise by now, unsure what to make of it.

“That is not a normal call from a Murkrow-” “Should we do something?” “What is it even doing-?”

Finally, Mystery managed to snag the Dusk Stone from Barry’s bag, and began to glow.

“SHIT.”

Mystery as a Murkrow was already an absurdly large specimen. Mystery as a Honchkrow was enormous. As large as Barry stood tall, maybe even larger. 

And much to Barry’s horror, Mystery’s new, large size made them a new, very large target.

“Is that him?” “That’s him!”

If looks could kill, the withering glare Barry gave his Honchkrow would’ve made the bird explode into a puff of feathers. “We need to leave. Now!” he said as he scrambled to shove all of the items back into his bag.

There was no way he could outrun them. But he had a bit of a lead. As Barry ran, Fern and Mystery flanked him. "Mystery, if we get out of this alive? I'm turning you into a feather duster!"

In practically no time at all, he could hear the panting and the heavy footfalls of paws hitting the earth from the arcanine behind them. It almost felt like each step caused the mountain to shake.

They had caught up so fast.

“Berry!” Palina pleaded from the back of the arcanine. (Wait did she get his name wrong?) “Berry, please! We only want to help! Stop running!”

“Then stop CHASING ME then!” Barry shot back. 

‘Help’. Sure. Like he’d believe that.

“Stop making this so difficult!” Gaeric said from behind her.

He saw a small trail up ahead, snaking through a thin chasm. There was no way the arcanine could follow them down there. And with a quick glance, Barry informed his pokemon of the plan.

As soon as they could, the three of them ducked down the trail. The Arcanine whined and tried to paw at the entrance, testing if it could fit, to no avail. Barry heard shouting, but the adrenaline that was quickly overwhelming his system blurred all noise.

He had to get out of here in one piece.

Barry and his pokemon finally squeezed out of the trail on a different side of the mountain. Everything was starting to blend together now; sound, sights, thoughts. His hands were clammy. His head was starting to spin.

A wave of clarity hit when Barry saw the white deer round a corner, General Adaman and the unnamed commander with black hair on its back.

“F-Fern-!” Barry squeaked, pointing in their direction.

With a single word, Fern understood perfectly. It took a ready stance, fully prepared to take on the white deer galloping towards them at top speed.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be that easy. The deer slowed to a stop, and with a single, stern look, Fern staggered.

Hypnosis.

“No-” Barry whispered, seeing Fern try to shake off the effects of the hypnosis and failing. “No!”

“This is for your own good.” Adaman said. “Lord Wyrdeer, another Hypnosis-”

“You don’t know what’s good for me!” Barry shot back, and before he could even utter the command, Mystery flew in for his rescue. 

Shrieking like a crobat from hell, Mystery swooped forward, talons aimed directly for the deer’s face. The deer bellowed, rising on its back legs to try and shake Mystery off, General Adaman nearly falling off entirely, if not for the unnamed commander grabbing his shirt.

“You’re not going to stop me! I won’t let you win!” Barry continued to spit like an enraged seviper, recalling Fern to its pokeball.

His adversaries distracted, Barry ran.

Looking over his shoulder, he whistled for Mystery to catch up with him. This proved to be a mistake, as taking his eyes off the path for a split second caused him to trip.

And fall.

Down one of the cliffs.

Luckily for Barry, this particular cliff wasn’t very high, nor was it steep. He mostly slid and scrambled his way down more than fell. This did not stop him from hitting every root and rock on the way down, and it did not make hitting the ground hurt any less.

He laid there for a moment, groaning, his bandaged leg spiking with pain upon impact. Mystery landed next to him with a flutter of feathers, tugging on his clothes to try and pull him up.

Barry couldn’t lay there for long, seeing and hearing something shuffling closer. He sat up, seeing the lumbering form of a giant bear approaching him now.

“Berry…we want to help.” came the soft voice of General Irida. “You’re looking for someone, right? We could help you find her…if you come with us?”

“Don’t try and negotiate with crazy people.” The older woman hissed.

“S’atrap…” Barry slurred as he tried to stand, wincing as he put weight on his injured leg. “‘S a trap. It’s a TRAP. Gonna help me into a GRAVE.”

Mystery cawed loudly in agreement.

“No! No no no, it’s not a trap! We’re not lying to you!” Irida continued to insist as she - and the giant bear with giant bear claws - lumbered closer.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cave entrance, from a glance it looked too small for the giant bear to fit in.

Could Barry outrun a bear? He was about to find out.

“You’re not getting me. You’re not getting me. You’re not getting me.” he muttered, slowly walking backwards. “You’re not going to win.”

“Berry-!”

“AND THAT’S NOT MY NAME! MY NAME IS BARRY!” 

And Barry ran. Bolting for the cave entrance even as the two women yelled and the bear bellowed behind him. The only confirmation of his pokemon by his side was the rustling of feathers as the two bolted for presumed safety.

But he found no solace within the cave. Instead he found two pairs of glowing eyes staring at him.

“You have traveled far, but your determination has not brought you victory. Not this time, young passenger.”

Barry felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am the Warden Ingo. You have done well to evade my fellow Wardens, but you will have no such luck with me.” 

Ingo assumed a familiar pose; the iconic ‘point and call’ that Barry was familiar with from travel magazines and advertisements for the Battle Subway in Unova. But it was…wrong. Ingo looked horribly stiff, his tattered clothing doing him no favors.

He looked like he had died on this mountain.

Barry quickly glanced around the cave, looking for a potential exit. To his immediate right was a soft glow indicating another cave opening, but the stretched out sneasel clearly noticed as well; starting to slowly skulk over to block it off.

“Now, you are a very smart boy, and a very skilled trainer. The bond between you and your pokemon is admirable.” He lowered his head, the brim of his cap obscuring his eyes and making him look all the more intimidating. “So don’t be stupid, now. Come with us. This track ends here. It’s time to divert your course.”

‘Oh my God.’ Barry thought, sweat forming on his brow. ‘Subway Boss Ingo is going to kill me in this cave.’

He couldn’t go back. And he couldn’t go forward without a fight.

So fight it was.

“MYSTERY, GO GET THAT SNEASEL!” 

Ingo and the sneasel seemed surprised by this outcome, but what did they expect, honestly? That Barry was going to give up? Turn himself in? Fat chance.

Mystery flew forward with a horrid screech, flapping its wings and raising its talons to fight the sneasel. It was a longshot; the sneasel had a type advantage, being ice.

Regardless, the sneasel howled and raised its large claws to try and shield itself. Ingo was shouting something, fumbling for his pokeballs. And in the chaos, Barry made a break for it.

Barry ran from the cave, temporarily blinded by sunlight, Mystery flying just behind him. But just behind the wingbeats was the sound of hooves, of heavy paws, shouting, begging, pleading for him to stop, stop, stop, STOP.

And deep down, Barry knew he had to eventually. His lungs were burning, his head felt fuzzy, his leg felt like jelly. The inevitability was killing him. He had to keep running. He had to stop. He had to keep running. He had to stop.

Unfortunately, the terrain decided for him.

Barry yelped, skidding to a stop just before tumbling off another cliff. This one steeper. This one taller. If he fell down this cliff, he wouldn’t have walked away with just scrapes and bruises.

He turned, starting to run back the way he came, but was instead met with the sick arcanine, Palina, and Gaeric.

Barry squeaked, walking backwards as the arcanine slowly inched closer. They were swiftly joined by the other commanders and their respective ride pokemon (or lack of).

He was cornered. Cornered cornered. His legs started to shake as he tried to think of possibilities to get out of this mess, but each potential idea ending in painful failure after painful failure.

“Good God, it’s about time we catch this brat.” said Melli with a snooty huff.

“You didn’t even help! Y-You were in the Moonview Arena!” countered the man with a shaved head in blue. 

“I was keeping a watchful eye over my dear Lord! Sinnoh forbid this brat hurt Lord Electrode-”

“Shut it- Shut it!” Adaman hissed as he dismounted the deer. “Squabble later!”

Irida dismounted the bear at the same time. “Ber- Barry. Barry.” she said slowly, hands outstretched as if she were attempting to pacify a great beast instead of a thirteen year old boy.

They were all inching closer now. Barry honestly thought his heart would explode, or his legs would give out. Like his entire body would fall apart at the seams like a poorly made ragdoll.

“P-Pl..please. Don’t hurt my pokemon.” was the only thing Barry managed to say, reaching to pet Mystery’s inky feathers without looking away from the encroaching commanders.

Behind him, Mystery let out a soft, confused croon.

“Should we have Ingo use sleep powder on him again?” Gaeric asked.

The woman on the deer looked surprised. “Ingo did what?”

“No, no, none of that. We’re not going to do anything drastic.” Irida spoke as if she were speaking for Barry’s behalf as well. Perhaps urging him to comply. “We’re just going to take him to the Galaxy Headquarters in Jubilife-”

“Team Galactic is in Jubilife?” asked Barry, quietly, almost in disbelief. Last he knew, the Galactic Headquarters should be in Eterna city. But this is a world where Cyrus ruled, and why wouldn’t he move his headquarters to the biggest city in Sinnoh?

Of course, that did him little good now, stuck between a horde of commanders and a cliff face, metaphorical rock and a hard place. And now he just felt stupid for running around a mountain all day. Barry could feel the tears start to well in his eyes.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. 

With a determined croak, Mystery threw the boy onto its back. It took Barry a minute to get more comfortable, practically throwing his arms around Mystery’s neck. It was a lot different than riding his Staratpor back home, that’s for certain.

Mystery looked over its shoulder. Barry looked back, eyes widening in realization.

He nodded.

“THAT TRACK IS NOT SAFE FOR TRAVERSAL!” Ingo shouted, voice frantic and fearful, reaching for the pokeball containing Gliscor. “FOR YOUR SAFETY I ASK YOU DISMOUNT IMMEDIATELY!”

“Ingo, what are you saying?!” the old woman on the back of the bear demanded.

Sabi answered for him. “HE’S GONNA JUMP!”

The group surged forward. Some begging, some yelling, but all telling the boy in some form to get away from the cliff.

“He doesn’t have the guts! Only Lord Braviary can fly carrying someone!” Melli loudly scoffed. “The brat might as well do a flip to entertain the crowd!”

Adaman turned and sharply hissed, “Melli, with Sinnoh as my witness, I will strangle you.”

Barry and Mystery paid the crowd no mind. The small bit of space before the drop-off would provide the bird a decent running start; so Mystery turned and began to sprint directly for the cliff’s edge.

Of course, Barry hadn’t seen a single Technical Machine lying around since he arrived, let alone the Hidden Machine for Fly. But he had to trust in his pokemon, and trust that Mystery wouldn’t let him plummet to his death-

“Wait WAIT WAIT- I CHANGED MY-”

Mystery jumped.

For the briefest of moments, Barry felt weightless. Looking out over the mountainous hills, he felt…small. Like a feather, or maybe a dandelion puff in the breeze.

And then gravity kicked in, and the two began to fall.

And fall.

And fall.

Seeing the ground rushing to meet him, Barry squeezed his eyes shut tight, “Mystery I’m sorry for threatening to turn you into a feather duster!” he said, fighting to speak against the wind. ”God, take pity on my little broken body!”

He couldn’t see it, but at that, Mystery smirked.

Barry felt Mystery start to flap its wings, and the pressure of gravity beginning to fade. He cracked open an eye, seeing the landscape flying by.

“W-We’re flying! WE’RE FLYING!!” 

Feeling the wind in his hair, seeing the world blur past…he had missed this. He had grown so used to flying on Staraptor back home, it had become so mundane. But this? This was a completely different ballpark.

“W-We can fly to Jubilife from here! It shouldn’t be that far- Mystery, fly us to the top of Mount Coronet!” he commanded.

Behind them came a screech. Barry spun around, seeing that the enormous bird Sabi commanded, a gliscor, and a crobat was currently tailing them.

“UH-” 

Barry couldn’t exactly start a pokemon battle in the sky. A sky battle? That sounded incredibly stupid. Instead, Barry rummaged through his bag and started throwing things. The rocks and sticks and other random items that Snacks had brought him proved excellent ammo.

Unfortunately, this only caused annoyance. Both for the pokemon pursuing them and for Mystery.

Mystery cawed and cawed nonstop, Barry meekly closing his bag and wrapping his arms around the bird’s neck once more, which finally seemed to pacify it.

Then, in a swift motion, Mystery rolled onto its back, slashing at the crobat with its talons. And with another swipe, slashed at the gliscor.

As Mystery rolled back, the crobat and gliscor retreated.

Only the enormous bird remained.

Mystery and Barry darted through the mountains, trying to shake the bird off their trail and to form some sort of sense of direction. But even the fanciest of tricks couldn’t get rid of it.

Regardless, Mystery darted through a cloud layer and emerged out the top, slowly circling the peak of Mount Coronet.

The first thing Barry set his eyes upon was the swirling vortex in the sky; a blackened, gaping wound that bled lightning and thunder. That same, terrible unease from before gripped Barry’s entire rib cage and began to squeeeeeze.

After some effort, Barry tore his gaze away. “Spear Pillar should be-huh?”

In Spear Pillar’s place was…well, a temple. Carved marble columns, statues, a stone roof- it was like someone came and fixed Spear Pillar overnight.

“I…I guess Cyrus likes old architecture?” It’d certainly fit him, Cyrus looked ancient.

“Those are the stairs! And they face North!” said Barry, pointing at the landmark. He then did some mental triangulation, using the tried and true method of ‘Never Eat Soggy Wurmples’, Barry was able to mentally map out where Jubilife should be.

“Mystery! We gotta head Southwest! We should hit Jubilife-”

Bursting from the clouds like a Sharpedo out of water, the giant bird screeched as it tried to grab the two with its claws.

Mystery screamed back, loud enough to hurt Barry’s ears (Snarl, maybe? Could Honchkrow learn Snarl?) and to make the bird hesitate. And within this hesitation, Mystery dashed forward, talons raised in attack.

Barry almost felt bad. But at this point he was just a passenger on this flight.

With a pained whimper, the enormous bird sank below the clouds, defeated.

Barry stroked Mystery’s chest feathers. “Let’s head out of here before it comes back. Onward! To Jubilife!”

---

[Sabi, last chapter: You can't hurt a Noble that's against the rules :( Mystery, this chapter: And I'll fuckin' do it again] [This entire chapter was seriously 'Mystery off the Shits' huh. BUT OH BOY HERE WE GO TO JUBILIFE :)] THE TEAM:

[id0what1want]

Same anon as the battle quotes one and I’m so happy you liked my ask! Was a little nervous. Curious on how she’d react to being transported to Hisui, mainly reactions to like. The Galaxy team, the way of life, stuff like that!

Also if you want to do the battle aspect, it’d be interesting to see her quotes for how she’d react to seeing an Alpha for the first time, getting hit by a wild Pokémon’s attack, fall damage, being spotted while sneaking up on a mon, low HP for herself, battling a Noble Mon and stuff like that as well! :>

No need to be nervous anon, I don't bite!! Cereza totally does tho

This is incredibly interesting! I love the mask maker Kieran au in Hisui so I might piggyback off of that! Cereza would be bewildered at first, but considering the wild events of the story, would quickly shrug and be like "yeah that checks". Especially cuz of the whole SadaTuro time travel shenanigans. Honestly she likely ended up in Hisui by fucking with the lab in Area Zero when she definitely should not have.

Cereza would make a beeline for every Pokemon she doesn't recognize, she would be an amazing member of the Galaxy Team but I think they'd be scared senseless of her. I feel like she'd definitely squint really hard at a few characters due to their resemblance to characters she knows *cough* Adaman *cough* The way of life definitely reminds her of Kitakami and it does make her homesick. She was forced to spend multiple months away from Kieran and now time travel has come back to bite her in the ASS and takes her away from him again, she's definitely pissed. If she still has her Tera Orb and Miraidon (both of which she keeps hidden except from maybe the professor and anyone who's tech savvy) she's trying to reverse engineer a way home through them. On that note, I'd love to see them find each other in the mask maker au, that'd be dope. She's very upset that she doesn't have her Pokemon with her. If any of them are with her, it'd either be her Corviknight or her Dragapult, both never leave her side. I'm airing on the side of Charon, her Corviknight. (I have to do her pokemon team post sooo bad :') If Charon is with her, she would refuse to let anyone remove him from her side. If anyone tries, she quickly gets violent. I imagine she does copious amounts of research as a way to distract herself, which she already does in her own time anyway but now she has a whole new TIME PERIOD to record. She feels like Director Clavell when she has to write the pages to her own Pokedex. She does recognize a few Pokemon and puts two and two together, for example Perrin's Hisuian Growlithe, Basculegion is native to Kitakami, and Kleavor can be found in the Canyon Biome of the Terrarium. For this reason I'm sure she has a Kleavor on her Hisui team. She would reach the pond that Turtwig spawn by and cry (She has a Torterra on her team back home named Ginkgo). That and the pond reminds her of Wisteria Lake and she starts missing Kieran again. She would definitely harass a spiteful little fox into joining her team. She loves that Hisuian Zorua, but it definitely tries to kill her multiple times before she catches it. (The two definitely have the 'I only worked with you cuz I had to, we will NEVER be friends' 'Let's get through this together!' 'I HOPE YOU DIE') but they eventually work it out. I think she either invests in a Porygon-Z or a Rotom to try and work out a way back home. If Arceus is talking to her, she's definitely speeding through the tasks he gives her in order to return. She recognizes Ingo and does the surprised Pikachu face. Her reaction to Alpha Pokemon is starry eyed interest. She's with Irida at the time and she spots one and Irida explains the phenomenon to which Cereza books it towards the damn thing. Irida has to physically drag her away. Safe to say on her own time she gets roughed up by a few Alpha Pokemon but it's worth it for research purposes. Getting hit by a Pokemon's attack she can probably shrug off half the time (she spars with her Annihilape for Arceus sake) but the other half she grips her ribs and lets out a heavy sigh with the line "that smarts..." (She's Galarian, but the accent rarely pokes through)

SHE WOULD SUFFER SO MUCH FALL DAMAGE she will straight up forget she doesn't have a rotom phone and jump off cliffs. Charon has to save her SO MANY TIMES. She probably hits the ground and falls over with a groan before face palming her forehead with the heel of her palm like "Dammit, this is getting old..." Being spotted while sneaking up on a mon would normally never bother her- unless it's an Alpha in which she frantically starts rationalizing to it. Like it can hear her. She is so smart yet so stupid. She'd be sneaking through the woods and hear the growl of an Alpha Ursaluna behind her and she turns around and says with a sheepish smile. "Technically it's not trespassing since you don't have a land grant." and she gets freaking socked. Low HP for her probably wouldn't be anything beyond a few winces. Cereza is small but very durable, she prefers the wilderness to the indoors, and in a way, Hisui is amazing for that. She already likes to rough it in Paldea, exploration is like her favorite thing ever, Hisui is a haven for that. Kieran I'm sure remembers how Cereza spent multiple nights in Kitakami exploring the land because she couldn't get enough during the day. She'd come to orienteering the next morning with scuffed knees, messy hair, a little bit of dark circles, and the most excited grin as she asks Kieran about everything she saw the night before. She'd be so good at battling Noble Mon (again, spars with Annihilape) especially coupled with all her pent-up anger. She is probably taunting the damn thing half the time, she would get hit and laugh saying "Oh I'm WAYY harder to kill than that!" it almost looks like she has a death wish. On quiet nights when she can hear herself think, she misses home. Especially her onion boy. Losing him twice is a punch to the gut. She cries herself to sleep some nights into Charon's steel feathers, her only reminder of home. She feels like she's going insane all over again and when she's alone in caves or on top of mountains, all she can do is scream until her vocal cords beg her to stop. Cereza may be chaotic and fun, but she isn't stupid. She understands the gravity of her situation and it guts her. I might do another one exploring a full scenario/au where she and Kieran get thrown to the past and she hears rumors of a mask maker and it's him. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASKS!! They get me thinking and this scenario is something I've never considered before!! :> Continue throwing in your two cents, anything is welcome!

✨Do whatever you want forever✨

~ Cytoplasm

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

Submas/PLA Fic: Electric Trains are the Future Ch. 21: Destination Set

Previous Chapter (20) - Current Chapter

Can you believe my internet went out on lunch when I planned to upload this, then I passed out after work for a few hours? Well, this chapter is STILL OUT ON TIME DAMMIT! Happy second birthday to a fic that I had intended to be done this time last year! I can officially say we're in the home stretch, at least. Thank you all for sticking around! I do have plenty of more to write, I just need to make the time.

Chapter Summary: Irida calls for a Warden meeting. Chapter Word Count: 5125

Check it out below the cut, or over on AO3 with some additional notes! Reblogs and comments are appreciated, as always!

“Would you be able to follow me, Ingo?” Irida asks politely, clasping her hands in front of her and glancing back towards Sneasler. “It won’t be too strenuous, and Emmet is free to come along.”

“I do have a bit of a curfew,” Ingo says sheepishly, pulling his hat down to hide his embarrassment, “but I am sure that Pesselle would forgive you a reschedule.” As Emmet steps behind his chair to start moving him behind Irida, he tilts his hat back up. “Oh no, I missed the Warden meeting, didn’t I?! I am so sorry, Lady Irida!”

Irida looks over her shoulder at her injured Warden and gives him an almost exasperated look. “Ingo, you’ve been in bed for nearly a solid week after a major accident. We postponed it until you were able to attend.”

Ingo’s frown deepens as he looks down towards the worn path of Flaoro Main Street. “That doesn’t mean I won’t feel bad,” he mutters, his voice managing to be quiet enough only for Emmet to catch, even with him muttering in Galarian instead of Kantonian as previous. Rolling his eyes, Emmet reaches down and pushes Ingo’s hat forward, covering his face. “Wha- HEY! Emmet, that is not funny!”

“Neither is your worrying,” Emmet says proudly, getting a chuckle from both Irida and Sneasler. “It’s common courtesy. How many times did we delay meetings for Isadore when he broke his leg and wasn’t able to come in?”

“Well, we wouldn’t penalize him for breaking his leg the day before his yearly review,” Ingo concedes, sighing.

“Exactly, you deserved your rest,” Irida says, laughing softly as she walks beside the pair out of the gates to the village. Sighing, she runs her fingers through her hair and puts on a smile. “When Calaba and I heard about your injuries, we made a joint call to cancel it entirely. I set out to Jubilife immediately that night.”

“Oh,” Ingo says flatly before frowning at her. “I hadn’t realized you had come while I was unconscious. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Ingo, you’re one of my Warden’s,” Irida retorts, giving her Warden a sharp look. “Even if you were an outsider when we met, you’re one of us now. And if I didn’t act like it, Old Lady Shiki would come after me from beyond the grave.”

“Shiki?” Emmet asks as the group crests the hill outside the village, making their way towards the Fieldlands proper. Now on flat terrain, Sneasler takes the chance to nudge Emmet out of the way and take the duty pushing Ingo along the path. 

“She was Ingo’s predecessor as Warden,” Irida says as her smile fades. “The only person in the clan older than her when she passed was Calaba, and they’d been Wardens together their entire tenures.”

Ingo nods solemnly and takes a deep breath before talking. “She was a blessing of a woman if I’ve ever met one. While Calaba and many others were wary of me, being a stranger who didn’t speak their language and had strange mannerisms, Shiki was patient and willing to give me the chance.” Sneasler gives a small trill, dragging Ingo’s attention upwards. “My beautiful Lady here was a relatively new Noble Guide Pokemon then, having ascended when her father had passed several years prior to my arrival.”

“And Shiki passed?” Emmet asks as politely as he can, both to confirm he is listening as well as prod his brother for more information. 

Ingo nods as Sneasler snorts and snickers at the obvious question. “No one is immortal, brother,” he says sagely, getting a snort in kind from Emmet, who knows an immortal and hasn’t explained it in full. “She made me her apprentice after about 6 months with the Clan, and by the time Jubilife had been established, she was already too sickly to make the journey off of Mt. Coronet.”

“She was a hair past 92 when she finally passed,” Irida follows up, her voice quiet. “She traveled the vast expanses of Hisui, and was devout to Sinnoh until her last breath.” Ingo silently nods as they approach the Base Camp at the opening into the Obsidian Fieldlands. 

“Hey boys!” Elesa calls from the Base Camp, drawing the quartet’s attention to where she was standing with Laventon and Wanda. “I didn’t realize that Irida was bringing you out this way.” Sneasler suddenly turns Ingo’s chair and steers the other three toward the Camp. “How’d the battle go?”

“I am Emmet,” the younger twin says with a nod and a puff of his chest. “I like winning more than anything else.” Even with the glare from his wife, Emmet stands proud. 

“We rode the tracks to Victory,” Ingo says with a proud frown, raising his hand to grip the brim of his hat. “Akari and Elio put us to the edge of the boarding platform, but our train arrived at the station just in time.”

“I’m sad I didn’t get to see it,” Laventon says with a sigh. “Battling isn’t my forte, but it is always fascinating to watch Pokémon battle at such a high level.” He then glances over at Emmet. “Especially because you’ll have Pokémon not native to here or Galar, presumably.”

Emmet closes his eyes and hum, tapping his chin with a knuckle. “Eelektross, Durant, and Archeops aren’t native to Galar, at least in our time.”

“And that would be right in this time too!” Laventon says excitedly, pulling his notebook out as Wanda looks over to Elesa and mouths ‘time?’ In confusion. Laventon ignores them as he steps over to Emmet, writing down on his notebook. “And you said Archeops? I believe that may be a new Pokémon entirely!”

“Stay behind the yellow line,” Emmet says, holding both hands up, the researcher stopping and stiffening in response. “Archeops is a restored fossil. I cannot let you check him.” With a dejected sigh, Laventon deflates and sags. 

“What brought you out here, Professor?” Irida says to help diverge from the subject. “I saw both Akari and Rei back in the Village, and you usually only leave if one of them is out here.”

“Ah, yes,” Laventon rubs the back of his neck in sheepishness. “We have a new recruit, Kana, who is doing some surveying. She’s, um, spirited you might say.” He hesitates and swallows before continuing. “She is very upset that the bulk of the research has been done on the Pokédex already, and while I told her having a bigger sample size is always good and there’s still gaps, she apparently is jealous of both Rei and Akari for working so thoroughly on it.”

“Oh, I think I remember her,” Ingo says as he taps his knuckle against his upper lip. “Akari said that she seemed to be targeting her contributions to the Pokédex to overwrite them. That it’s ‘unfair’ that she won’t be named in the Pokédex.”

“Even though I told her it would be fine, her contributions will still be listed regardless,” Laventon adds, slumping further. “She’s a good worker, and has found plenty of information that will bolster the foundation we already have, but she seems hellbent on not losing to a younger girl.”

“Sounds like a bitch,” Emmet mutters under his breath in Galarian, getting a finger driven into both sides of his ribs by Ingo and Elesa. “Ow! I am Emmet! Am I wrong?!”

“You don’t just call a 17 year old child a bitch!” Ingo scolds in his native tongue, frowning in disapproval. 

“And you shouldn’t call women bitches, either!” Elesa hisses in Galarian, leaving Wanda completely clueless and Irida vaguely confused. 

“Would brat be better?” Emmet huffs, crossing his arms. “That feels almost as insulting, if she’s almost an adult.”

“She is of working age,” Laventon adds to the conversation in a disapproving tone, “but I don’t think it’s fair to call her either. She’s just overzealous.” He pauses after that, and gives Emmet a small smile. “Though she does step out of line in regards to teamwork, so your sentiment isn’t unwarranted.”

As Emmet mumbles a thanks, Laventon turns to Irida. “I’m sorry for holding you all up, Lady Irida. You have a meeting to get to, I believe? I told Kana to give the area by the bridge a wide berth to allow you all privacy.”

“Thank you very much for the blessed space,” Irida says, bowing lightly with a hand over her heart. “We shouldn’t be overly long. I know Ingo will need to be back to the medical wing before sundown.”

“See you on the way back, Deerlings,” Elesa says with a wave as Sneasler begins wheeling Ingo away, leading the group towards the download slope of the Fieldlands’ entrance. The conversation stalls as Emmet and Irida keep an eye on the chair’s descent down the rough slope. 

As the river comes into view, Ingo catches sight of the Wardens of the Pearl Clan gathered around the bridge. Calaba was resting on her Bibarel, shading herself with the leaf on her pack while Lian seems to explain the difference between the two rocks he’s holding. Palina is down the path, watching her Growlithe harass the local Krickitot population, though Gaeric is nowhere to be se- And, as if on cue, Gaeric bursts from the river, holding a pair of Magikarp in his grip. “This should give us enough for Lady Irida and Ingo when they arrive!”

“Those things are mostly gristle, put them back,” Calaba scolds Gaeric from her perch, giving him a disapproving frown. “Besides, we aren’t planning to have a full meal today. We’re not at the village, or at a seat.”

“Maybe not,” Irida calls as the quartet from Jubilife approaches, drawing the gathered Wardens’ attention, “but some hospitality would be nice nonetheless. And I know I haven’t eaten since Calaba and I set out from the Mirelands this morning.”

Palina whistles to call her Growlithe back to the bridge as Lian crosses the bridge. “I’m glad to see yer up, Ingo!” The young Warden stops a respectful distance from Ingo, taking his hat off and letting his puffy hair show in full. “I was mighty worried when I saw them take you by in the caravan.”

Ingo winces at the thought, then takes his good hand and ruffles Lian’s hair. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Lian,” Ingo says with as much warmth as can show through an apology, ignoring his colleague’s protests. “I would never want anyone to see another person in that state.”

“I-It was nothin’!” Lian exclaims, pushing Ingo’s hand away and putting his hat back on to stop further ruffling. “I was just a little worried about one of my compadres, y’hear?”

“Didn’t seem a little worried to me,” Gaeric says, slapping Lian on the back with a smile, before looking down at Ingo. “Though I don’t blame him. Lian said you looked like a mess, wrapped up with half-bled through bandages and Akari and Elesa following behind so quietly.”

Ingo looks sheepish, pulling his hat down over his eyes as Irida speaks up. “He was in a very rough shape indeed. Elesa was telling me he was delirious for a time when he first awoke.”

“I was?!” Ingo blurts out, mortified as he covers his mouth immediately, getting a smile from Gaeric and a full laugh from Emmet. “I-I mean, I didn’t realize I was causing an issue when I first woke up.” Ingo cranes his head back to look at his brother. “I thought I was rather well put together when I woke up.”

Emmet taps a knuckle against his chin before nodding. “I am Emmet. Elesa says you woke up twice before I got here.” Ingo groans and places his face into his hand in grief as the thought of him making a fool of himself fills his mind. 

Any further thoughts of embarrassment are cut off when Irida clears her throat a split second before Calaba does the same, getting a sly look of approval from the centenarian. “Is Jun still gathering the chairs from the Heartwood?” she asks as Lian leads Calaba to a low seat that had obviously been transported there, and Palina takes another chair while Gaeric squats down next to her. 

“Yes,” Calaba grumbles as she slowly drops herself into her chair. “I said that I could sit on Bibarel for the meeting, but Jun and Lian both insisted that I needed a proper seat.” And given how quickly she sinks into the chair and nestles into place, it was clear that she hadn’t put much resistance to the idea. 

“We should have enough time to get through the beginning of the meeting,” Palina offers, her Growlithe curling up behind her as Lian goes to take a seat and Emmet steers Ingo into the open spot in the group. “He left with Sneasel about 20 minutes ago, and he knows how to navigate through Sinnoh's space.”

“Then let’s start with the usual minutes,” Irida says, leaning against one of the trees the seats were set up under. One by one, each of the Wardens gave a brief summary of what had happened in their spaces of Hisui through the last month and a half. 

Lian informed them of the conversion of Deertrack Heights camp into a more permanent settlement, a deal having been struck between Kamado and Adaman over the land where the Seat rests. The Diamond Clan were to still hold the direct area of the Seat, and have a permanent path to it for ceremonial purposes, but Jubilife would be allowed to clear the land and build as needed along the mountain path and at its base. “They’ve also been buildin’ along the southern shore opposite of the mountain,” Lian adds, gesturing vaguely south of their position, in the direction of Lake Verity. “It mostly seems to be a fishin’ spot, but I wouldn’t put it past them to make it permanent.”

On Calaba’s front, she wasted no time in telling them of Solaceon Ruins’ “reconstruction”. While it was no fault of Elesa and Zisu’s, and no one was hurt in the process, it still had a noted change on the Pokemon in the area, and prevented Calaba from making it to her usual quiet space. “That chamber was a place I was able to become connected to the Almighty Sinnoh,” she says with a sigh. “Confined though it was, it made me truly treasure our great Space given to us in Hisui, and the message within was an important life lesson.”

At the furthest reach of the Coastlands, Palina tells, a town is already popping up on the sand. Having cleared out the shipwrecks, and thus the Ghost Pokemon who made their former vessels home, Jubilife has established the camp there directly as Sunyshore Village. There aren’t many permanent residents, just a few Construction Corp members and a few Security Corp members, but already there were nearly a dozen houses ready for people to move into. “Warden Iscan insists that they are being very respectful,” Palina quickly adds. “The Galaxy Team has done nothing to infringe on either Clan’s territory within the Cobalt Coastlands, and they know not to.”

When it comes to the Highlands, Ingo does still speak up despite his absence. While Jubilife hasn’t attempted to make any permanent structures in the area, he has been working with the Survey and Construction Corps on a network of paths to take through the Highlands from both Gingko and Jubilife trade routes, as well as civilian travel between the burgeoning towns. While he had been working on it before Elesa’s arrival, the return of his memories has made the process smoother. “On the topic of Jubilife,” Ingo adds, bringing a hand up to rub his nose, an action that Emmet immediately recognizes as him hiding a Skitty’s smirk, “I hear that a shake up in the Galaxy Team is on the horizon.”

Finally, it’s Gaeric’s turn as he stands up straight to address the rest. The Icelands are quiet, which is good as the Clan prepares for hunting season. The Piloswine and Mamoswine herds are full and healthy, and Zoroark covens seem to be staying hidden away. Though, that also hides a more dangerous message, as both Zorua and Zoroark populations seem to be dwindling, and it’s getting harder to keep Bergmite healthy during the summer months, with the minerals in the area being sapped due to a decade of high populations. “We should be fine,” Gaeric says, his own serious expression undercutting his statement. “According to some records Calaba dictated to me, there have been instances of this happening before, and Bergmite are sturdy creatures. They should be able to bounce back strongly!”

Irida nods gently at each report, her eyes closed as she tallies and compiles it all mentally. As Gaeric finishes, she lets out a deep breath and leans forward off of the tree. “I actually can corroborate those rumors you heard, Ingo,” she starts, giving him a knowing look before continuing, “though I will leave it at that.” Looking at Palina and Lian, she nods to both of them. “Kamado and Cyllene have also approached me about potential places to build a few more settlements for their people.”

“Oh, so now they are encroaching on our Space?” Calaba mutters, burrowing deeper into her chair with a defensive scoff. “They’ve certainly gotten brazen.”

“Unfortunately, people keep coming,” Ingo says with a heavy sigh. “It used to be a boat every several months, but now they’ve been getting a boat each month, with the passenger size slowly growing each time.”

“A station can only increase capacity so fast,” Emmet adds, getting a look from Gaeric and Calaba for speaking up, though he chooses to ignore them for now. “It’s usually easier and better to build a new station to help offset the passenger load.”

It seems to take Irida a moment to properly process the metaphor before nodding to the statement. “I see what you mean. For now, I have rejected their requests to build in the Icelands, though they do currently have permission to build some more at their original base camp in the Highlands.”

As Gaeric and Calaba grumble, a voice calls out from further down the path. “Sorry for running late, Miss Irida!” Down the path towards the Deertrack Heights, a teenage boy with blonde hair is running down the path, carrying two chairs like the ones being used in the meeting. Besides him, a slightly larger than average Sneasel is running with his arms splayed behind him to keep pace.

“Ah, Jun,” Irida says with a smile as she waves to greet the young Clan member. “Go ahead and place those, then take a seat next to Warden Ingo.” Quickly, the teenager gets to work setting a chair down for Gaeric, who stretches his back then falls into the chair with a lounging slouch, then one next to Ingo’s wheelchair before quickly taking a seat. With everyone seated, Irida looks across the group. “Now that we are all here, let us get to the topic that we gathered for.” Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Irida focuses her attention onto Ingo. “Warden Ingo, do you wish to return home?”

For Ingo, everything freezes as his fellow Wardens look in towards him, his wheelchair in the center of the half circle they all form. Behind him, he notices Emmet bring a hand up, then hears a small, almost polite cough as his brother takes control of the situation from him. “I am Emmet. I am not Ingo,” he starts, getting a snicker from Gaeric and Jun, “but I believe this question would not be cropping up without me.”

“Without you or Elesa, yes,” Irida says with a nod, an action Emmet mirrors in response.

“I am Emmet,” comes the verbal response before Emmet continues on. “I came to Hisui to bring Elesa home. Not that I don’t care about Ingo,” he adds after a moment, resting a hand on Ingo’s good shoulder. “But I expected him to want to stay. This has been his life. History books say he had no memories here in Hisui. I wouldn’t want to tear him away from his home..”

“A fine sentiment, but it’s still a question for Ingo,” Lian says, tilting his own hat up to give himself a better view of Emmet’s . “Wouldn’t it be wrong to make his decisions for him, Mr. Emmet?”

“I agree,” Emmet says softly, moving his hand up to cover his mouth, rubbing his face as he sighs to hide the fallen smile. “Just because I’d given up hope of seeing my brother again doesn’t mean he should, just as it means he isn’t beholden to come back to our home.” Ingo brings his hand up to subconsciously mimic Emmet’s action, covering his mouth as it wavers with tears forming in his eyes. 

“Ingo?” Irida’s voice cuts into Ingo’s mind, causing him to blink back the tears and sit up straighter in his chair. “You don’t need to decide immediately. Whatever you decide, we will be prepared for it.” Not so subtly, she glances over to Jun, who goes from fidgeting in his seat to sitting in rapt attention.

Ingo takes a deep, shuddering breath as he tries to think of what to say. As he breathes out, every last breath of air leaves his lungs before he finally settles on something, his hand snaking under his coat to pull out Salamanca’s Pokeball, the red acrylic scuffed and nicked from years of use. “I miss Unova,” he says softly before breathing back in, squeezing the ball as he continues to hold back the tears. “I miss my Pokemon, my children and my companions. I miss Nimbasa City, with the noise so much louder than anything Hisui can create. I miss Anville Town, the sleepiness surrounded by a peaceful forest, with tracks and tunnels to explore.” His next breath is interrupted by an attempted sob, an action he resists and suppresses. “I miss my mother, Lady Irida.”

Emmet’s hand on Ingo’s shoulder squeezes again, trying to help ground Ingo. “I miss my family so much. Uncle Drayden, my cousin Iris, Elesa’s wife and our closest friend Skyla. Even before I could remember them, I ached in my heart for them, like a decommissioned rail line that had been sealed away. The track is there, even if we can’t see it.” Taking a deep breath, he isn’t able to hold back the sob that runs through his body as he breathes out, tears falling down his face into his sideburns. “I… I know I’ll feel this way if I leave, too.”

As he begins to sob, Ingo looks up at Irida as he tries to find words, though it fails as he sees Irida begin to tear up in turn. Even to the side, he hears Gaeric sniff back his own tears, and feels both Lian and Jun put hands on his back to comfort him. “The thought of losing you all is almost too much to bear. Before I couldn’t remember the faces of who I lost immediately, but… This feels like losing my father again. I know it’s coming, I know that I can’t avoid it, but that doesn’t help the pain. It doesn’t help the decision.”

The group falls into silence for a few moments as Ingo sobs into his hand, before Palina speaks up. “No one will fault you for leaving, Ingo, just as no one would fault you for staying. But it’s clear where your heart lies, and I believe that you should follow your heart, no matter where it may lead you.” She doesn’t move from her chair, though her eyes are misted as much as Irida’s and Gaeric’s are. “And just because you aren’t here won’t erase you from our hearts. The Almighty Sinnoh gave us a vast space with the intent for us to make our way through it in a lifetime. Departure is a natural step of this.”

Sneasler comes up beside Ingo, gently nudging past Jun to push Ingo’s hat aside with her snout and begins grooming the side of his head. With a soft chuckle, Ingo finally begins to calm down, then sits up and wipes the tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry for the outburst of emotions,” he says weakly, his voice somewhat hoarse. “My engine is now in check, all systems are go.” Ingo swallows again, then squints his eyes in a genuine smile of his own style. “I wish to return home, Lady Irida.”

Irida smiles back at Ingo, her eyes still misty. “I’m glad to hear that, Warden. We will support your travels across this sacred space with all of our beings.” She takes a deep breath and blinks her eyes clear before taking a stern expression. “Ingo, I hereby declare you free of your burdens as a Warden.” In spite of the reasoning, Ingo still winces as she says the words, as though a spike was driven into his chest from the welling sadness. “You will still hold the title, as all retiring Wardens do, and you are free to help train your successor,” she says, gesturing towards Jun, “but you will not be expected to continue your duties.”

“Still not sure it’s best to throw Jun in like this,” Lian mutters under his breath, shooting a smirk towards the older teenager. Jun turns on Lian, hand in the air as he’s about to let loose a tantrum response before he catches sight of Calaba glaring at him from her nest of a chair.

“Be nice to the boy, Lian,” she says, shifting in her spot to now glare at Lian. “He’s going to be your equal soon, so no petty barbs.” Relaxing her posture, the elder looks back to Irida with a solemn look. “I believe we have a bit more to handle, correct?”

“Correct,” Irida says with a nod, then looks at Sneasler with a smile. “You may step forward now, Sneasler.” With a gentle cooing sound, Sneasler gives Ingo one last nuzzle and steps past the Wardens to stand in the shade in front of Irida. “You have served our Clan, and the people of Hisui, well for long over a decade, before my time as Leader of this Clan. You have made Space into a domain of your own, not only traveling in manners we people are unable, but also leading us through perilous heights and rough terrain.”

Sneasler lets out a smug purr as she vainly places a paw under her smile, Irida returning the smile before continuing in a solemn tone. “O Noble Guide, Blessed by Sinnoh Itself, we thank you this day. We thank you for your service to the people of our Clan. We thank you for the nurturing of our Space. We thank you for the connections you helped to foster. And it is through our thanks that we respect your wish.” She looks towards the Sneasel by Jun’s side next, and holds out a hand towards him.

The Sneasel quickly bolts forward toward his mother, standing at attention next to her. “Young Sneasel, chosen in your line, stand tall knowing that the Almighty Sinnoh smiles not just upon your bloodline, but upon you this day. Feel its sacred Space fill you, and expand from within you.” Kneeling down, Irida produces a small wrapped parcel from her pouch. Holding it out towards Sneasel, she unwraps it to reveal a Razor Claw, glistening in the sunlight. “As Leader of the Pearl Clan, I do bequeath to you this Razor Claw.”

Sneasel takes it from her hands, then looks up at his mother expectantly. At the same time, each of the Wardens are looking at her with their own expressions. Calaba is looking at it with solemn reverence, Gaeric and Palina wearing looks of excitement, and Lian and Jun were both watching with unrestrained awe. Ingo, meanwhile, looks on in muted confusion as Sneasler raises a clawed hand, the wind picking up to blow the leaves aside and expose her to the sun’s rays. Even as the leaves come back into place, though, Sneasler remains shrouded in light, a soft golden glow emanating from her fur, slowly climbing across her body, then up her arm to focus on her claw.

Sneasler looks down upon her child, and the two Pokemon briefly talk to each other in a call and response. Sneasler speaks a phrase or a question, and Sneasel nods or responds. After a few moments of this, Sneasler lowers her claw as Sneasel clutches the Razor Claw tight. When the two connect, the light that was concentrated in Sneasler’s claws seems to shift into the Razor Claw with a circular pronged flash, and Sneasel begins glowing with the selfsame golden hue, before it is overtaken by the white light of evolution. With a bright flash, the young Sneasel elongates and grows in size until, after a few seconds, two Sneasler stand there, looking at each other. In unison, both bring up their paws to their mouths and snicker, turn to face Irida.

“With this, our Noble Guide Sneasler has stepped down from her position, as her Warden has,” Irida says with a light bow to the former blessed Pokemon. “And in her stead, our new Noble Guide shall embody the Blessing of the Almighty Sinnoh, and lead us through this sacred Space.”

As the gathered Wardens and Irida all motion a prayer, Ingo blinks in confusion towards Sneasler, his Sneasler, as she walks back towards him. “My dear Lady,” he starts to ask as he raises a hand to stroke her jaw, “why did you do this?”

As Sneasler purrs into his hand, tilting her head to be stroked behind her ears, Irida steps forward and speaks up. “The night that Akari went up into the mountain, Sneasler had come to the settlement. While we don’t perfectly understand her, it was clear that she wanted to leave this Space if you were destined to leave it.”

Ingo purses his lips together in another attempt to hold back tears as he holds Sneasler’s head to look her in the eyes. “Is that true, dear Lady? You want to travel these tracks with this conductor?” Sneasler blinks at Ingo, then opens her mouth in a toothy smile. “Even if it means leaving behi-”

Sneasler puts a paw on Ingo’s head, smooshing his hat down over his face. “Sneas. Snea-wa-ler.” The words may not be inherently clear to Ingo, but he could feel the intent and emotion behind what she says.

“Of course. My home is you.”

For the second time in the meeting, Ingo begins sobbing, and doubles over in his chair.