Chương 60: 5.5 Entree

Aaron's Pokemon - Artoria (Kirlia) - Jeanne (Flaaffy) - Durvasa (Mankey) - Sunnyside (Egg) - Magellan (Chikorita) Entree 5. 5 Aaron Fulan Rustboro City The whole Team Aqua matter concluded without much fanfare. The children were found, Roxanne beat the ever-loving shit out of an entire boat full of Aqua grunts, and the fossil pokemon were likewise recovered unharmed. Chaz and Lisia got to experience live combat with relatively few stakes. The blonde especially looked rather contemplative after it all.

All told, I considered it a net positive. For all that we'd wrapped up the matter with a neat bow, it left me feeling a little stressed out. It was a clear reminder to me that the Teams existed: Aqua and Magma, the imbeciles who wanted to destroy the world. And here, they weren't led by a pirate cosplayer and someone who probably got his head dunked in the toilet one too many times in school.

Well, they were, but they weren't pathetic blowhards some random kid could bulldoze his way through with an overpowered starter like in the games. Archie Aogiri and Maxie Matsubusa were some of the most powerful trainers in Hoenn. They were rare, but a handful of recordings existed of their official battles, back before their rivalry radicalized their respective Teams and they became two of Hoenn's most wanted. That was almost seventeen years ago, when Drake was Champion.

Back then, there were people who legitimately thought that Archie or Maxie were the region's future. Good battling skills, a passion for pokemon-human coexistence, and an inexplicable charisma that drew people in. They had it all. Maybe the two weren't Elite Four candidates, but they weren't far off, either. I could only assume they'd grown even stronger since then. They also had resources I'd only ever seen glimpses of in the games: Submarines? Hollowed out mountain bases loaded with teleporters?

Ocean scanners that could detect and map out undersea caves? In the real world, that shit required money, connections, and industry, the kind that could mobilize armies. Just as Team Rocket had entrenched itself into Indigo's underbelly, Aqua and Magma's roots reached deep into the Hoenn League's creation. There was more to them than funny costumes and apocalyptic, mustache-twirling villainy. Perhaps the worst part of it all was that I didn't know what they wanted anymore.

I thought I did, but this incident threw my understanding of Aqua for a loop. As far as I knew, Archie had zero interest in fossil pokemon. He was a rather accomplished water expert so I supposed there was the chance that he wanted a kabutops or omastar for his personal team, but anorith and lileep too? No, according to canon, the two teams weren't supposed to be active until several years later. May wasn't even old enough to have a partner pokemon yet.

And even then, their focus should have been to find the undersea cavern that housed Kyogre or Groudon. Except of course, this wasn't a game. The two Teams didn't magically pop into existence the moment May acquired a torchic. They must have done something before finding out that a Legend slept in an undersea cavern just off Sootopolis. For that matter, how did they fund themselves? How did they know about the Orbs?

Why bother with the Weather Institute's weather logs if the Legends were asleep until reunited with the Orbs anyway? How did they determine that Professor Cozmo's meteorite was special? There were literally dozens of meteors in Meteor Falls. That's where it got the damn name! I didn't know and not knowing made me want to pull my hair out. Archie's interest in fossil pokemon made zero sense.

Either this Aqua cell was acting alone on faulty information, or Team Aqua was getting into the black market pokemon trade to fund their enterprises. Except that didn't make sense either, because they were heavily insistent on an environmental conservationist agenda. That might all be bullshit for all I knew, but both Aqua and Magma relied on a facade of environmentalism. Radical? Sure, but there were people who legitimately thought they were misguided do-gooders rather than unrepentant terrorists.

It was partially what kept the League from mobilizing in force to root out one or the other. Hell, I'd bet anything that the narrative made recruiting easier, too. Which meant they couldn't be seen publicly stealing pokemon like this. Engaging in pokemon trafficking would damage the image they tried to cultivate. Oh, Archie was sure to claim it was Magma trying to make them look bad, but regardless, this wasn't how they wanted to be seen in the news.

No matter how much I wracked my brain, I couldn't figure out what this cell was doing. I refused to believe they were acting without Archie's knowledge. Or, at least one of the executives. Shelly? Matt? There was another one in the manga, right? I wasn't sure. And, if I was wrong about Aqua, could I really say I knew anything about Magma either? I stretched my back and grasped towards the ceiling, groaning in relief as my spine popped in four places.

After returning to the pokemon center, I'd cited exhaustion from the gym battle to coop myself up in my room for the day so I could think things through. I'd only emerged briefly to grab dinner from the center's canteen.

'You should sleep, my lord,' Artoria said, her mind nudging me insistently. I glanced at the clock next to the desk lamp. It was ten at night. What with how fast it got dark in the wild and my morning training regimen, ten was already an hour past my usual bedtime. The rest of my pokemon had all settled themselves on the bed and were fast asleep. Durvasa claimed the corner near my pillow, close but not quite in the huddle. Magellan, too big for anything else, claimed the foot of the bed.

Jeanne had her back flush against the wall, tail and arms clutching the incubator protectively. A line of drool ran along the incubator's transparent plastic container. She'd really taken to the idea of a "little sister." Artoria alone remained awake. She sat at the edge of the bed, on her knees and back ramrod straight. As always, her trusty spoon was on her lap.

'You go to sleep, Artoria,' I told her. My pencil doodled away at the margins of my journal, its contents written in a language that did not exist on this world.

'You don't have to wait up for me.'

'I do not, but I shall. I am your knight. I will not rest while my master contemplates the potential destruction of the world.'

'Hardly the world. I'm sure the other Legends would stop Groudon and Kyogre even if Rayquaza doesn't for some reason. It's probably just Hoenn that's fucked.'

'What delightful news, my liege,' she replied sarcastically.

'Regardless, your mind has been running in circles for a while now. Come and rest; perhaps the dawn will bring about new revelations.'

'I'm not sure, Artoria. A part of me just wants to tell mom and let her deal with it.'

'Why don't you? Lady Sharon is among the most capable people in Hoenn. She has connections and resources we lack. If there is anyone who can act on your information, it is her.'

'I don't really want to have the "I have an alternate reality's memories in my skull," conversation.'

'Then don't have that conversation,' Artoria said succinctly.

'Simply tell her that we had a dream together, one brought on by our proximity to the gardevoirite. I will confirm your story.'

'I don't think that's how that works. Besides, you suck at lying.'

'I do not,' she huffed.

'And if I do, that is obviously because deceit is unknightly.'

'Of course. Relics don't grant visions like that though.'

'Who can say? Relics have had strange effects on their wielders before and there is only one other keeper of a gardevoirite in the world. Plus, Champion Diantha is not a psychic as far as anyone knows. Perhaps we are simply special.'

'That's true… But what if I'm wrong?' I asked. I couldn't keep the nervousness out of our link, not that she hadn't already noticed.

'So much of the information I have is hypothetical.'

'Then we do what we resolved to do after the Oldale contest: We investigate to discover the truth of the matter. Only, would it not help if Lady Sharon knew about some of the immutable aspects of your visions?'

'You're right, Artoria. Team Aqua or Magma is trying to awaken a Legend. In three to four year's time, there will be a Team base in Mt. Chimney and just offshore of Lilycove City. Even without the specifics, this is all actionable intel.'

'Then you will tell her?' she urged. I sighed.

'This isn't a conversation I'm looking forward to, but yes.'

'I will be with you, my liege.'

'Always.' X After some more thought, I called mom in the morning. It was a long, uncomfortable chat, and I wasn't sure she believed me. Or maybe she did and didn't believe the Relic in my possession was the source of my premonitions. Visions, after all, were seldom this detailed. It could simply be that she refused to question me on the source for whatever reason. But in the end, I got what I wanted. She promised to look into the seas around Lilycove to verify my claims.

Being so close to the Mossdeep Archipelago and lacking a gym of its own, no one would question it if she decided to take an interest there. Hopefully, if she found evidence of activity in the harbor, she'd take the rest of my warnings more seriously and would bring them up to the other authorities. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Mt. Pyre was an especially sensitive topic I had to tapdance around. As I'd been shown repeatedly, Relics could not be scried.

This was true of the mega stones, the Rainbow Wing that was on display in Ecruteak City in Johto, and certainly true of the twin Orbs on Mt. Pyre. Just having one in your possession granted you protection from most divination attempts. Which meant I couldn't tell them what the Orbs did, or that someone was looking to steal them. All I could offer her was that Team Aqua or Magma would storm Mt. Pyre within the next several years, looking for something "connected to the Land or Sea."

The Orbs were the only items of worth in that regard so I could only hope she'd come to the right conclusions. In the same vein, I couldn't mention anything about Primal Reversion though I'd initially wanted to. The "super-ancient" pokemon were mysterious, unknowable forces. There were precious few records about them and if the Relics were divination blindspots, so too were the Legends. Despite all that, I was ultimately satisfied with our chat.

Even while being largely uninformed of future crises, mom was able to walk me through my "visions." Just talking things out with someone besides Artoria, even in a limited capacity, gave me new avenues to consider. My journal was looking fuller by the day, both with questions and ideas. After a mentally stressful morning, I met up with Chaz and Lisia for one final lunch together. The Hard Geodude Cafe had become a go-to spot for us, what with Lisia's sweet tooth.

"Hey, you two. How was your morning?" I asked as Artoria and I took our seats.

"Pretty good without you beating me over the head with a stick at the crack of dawn, thanks," Chaz sniped without any heat.

"How was your call home?"

"Stressful, like a job interview."

"Is everything alright?" Lisia asked, concerned.

"I thought you got along with your family."

"I get along with my siblings. Mom and I have a complicated relationship," I corrected and waved her off.

"It's fine though. No one's in trouble, just a conversation that had to happen sooner rather than later."

"Oh, I see. I wanted to say hi to Tate and Liza for real."

"Next time. Or, you can just call them yourself."

"No! It's awkward if I call without you."

"Why? You've been in the chat group for months now. They'll be thrilled."

"You guys have a chat group?" Chaz asked.

"Why am I not in it?" I rolled my eyes. Poor kid probably thought I was flirting with her in secret or something.

"It's for family and friends. Me, my younger siblings, Lisia, Max, and May. Why? Want in? Fair warning, your inbox will probably blow up with nonsense chat."

"Who are Max and May?"

"Gym Leader Maple's kids. They play online games with Tate and Liza, my siblings, a lot. You wanna join?"

"Well… It'd be nice to keep in touch," Chaz said. Then, more hesitantly, "I can text you for advice on training, right?" I blinked in surprise.

"Oh? Finally taking things seriously, are we?"

"Sod off. But… yeah. Macherie and I were talking and you're right. She does enjoy fighting, just as much as she enjoys contests. I know we're too late for the conference, but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get into a few scraps now and again."

"Badges are good for two years," I pointed out.

"You still very well could go for all eight."

"Maybe… We'll see," he said, sounding unsure.

"It's a big commitment to even try. The Grand Festival will always be our priority, but… I don't want us to ever be helpless like that again."

"That's a good mentality to have."

"Yup. Chaz and I will be training together more often now. Besides, Uncle Wal says there are some moves that can only be truly mastered through combat," Lisia added. The prospect of spending more time with his crush seemed to perk the boy right up again. Really, under that debonair act, Chaz was a remarkably simple guy. I wondered if I'd ever been that easy to please. No, who was I kidding? I'd been even dumber. I was happy for him.

When I first met him, I dismissed him as an arrogant blowhard, high on daddy's money. He was that, to a point, but he'd also proven to be reasonably skilled, with a clear idea of what he wanted out of life, and a capacity for growth and self-reflection that I'd not expected of him. I could freely admit that I'd misjudged him.

"So, Aaron," Lisia called as she reapplied her lip gloss after her parfait.

"We were thinking about going to Dewford. Wanna come?"

"Dewford?" I asked.

"Why?"

"I want to compare your mankey with the fighting type trainers there," Chaz said.

"If anyone can teach Macherie both elegance and power as a fighting type, it's those guys."

"True. I suppose they also have contests."

"Exactly. I'll have a ribbon of my own the next time you see me."

"You sure? If you're traveling together, Lisia's just going to take all the ribbons."

"W-Well…"

"You two might have to split up eventually."

"That's true if we all want ribbons for the Grand Festival," Lisia hummed.

"But that doesn't mean we have to part ways right this instant. So? Dewford?" I shook my head.

"That sounds interesting, but I'll have to pass."

"Aww, why not?" Lisia pouted.

"Dewford also has a gym, right? And it's even the next stop on the gym circuit."

"It does, but I'll be heading to Lavaridge. I never planned to follow the circuit, anyway."

"Lavaridge? Leader Moore? Are you sure? He's super-powerful."

"Yeah, Aaron. Even I know that and I barely know anything about gyms," Chaz added. To be fair, he was right. Marcus Moore, former Elite Four, his title alone spoke volumes.

"Lavaridge is supposed to be my fourth stop anyway, so I guess I am following the circuit in a way," I said.

"Besides, remember my egg? It's going to hatch in a week or two and if I happen to be in the same town as the foremost fire type master in Hoenn, wonderful."

"Wait, what's in that egg again?"

"Larvesta," Lisia said for me. She barely held down a squeal of excitement.

"Ooh! You could do so much with a volcarona!"

"Yeah, in years. Don't they take a long time to evolve?"

"They do," I nodded. I stole a wafer from Artoria's sundae and popped it into my mouth.

"An early evolution isn't unheard of with a good trainer, but you're right. It'll take a while before I have a volcarona that's ready for a battle or contest."

"That's good news as far as I'm concerned. Your flaaffy is enough of a monster as it is."

"Jeanne's not a monster," Lisia scolded.

"She's a fluffy, cuddly sweetie-pie."

"Of course… I'm pretty sure she could bench my weight."

"She probably could," I agreed.

"More to the point, Jeanne and Artoria are competing to see who gets to teach the baby larvesta. Who knows if it'll enjoy contests like Jeanne."

"Oh, yeah! Why doesn't Artoria do contests? She'd be phenomenal. She's ridiculously skilled, matches your sword-idiot style, and probably knows a ton of moves."

'It is unknightly,' Artoria said, broadcasting her thoughts to everyone at the table. She hadn't even looked up from her deluxe triple-berry sundae. Given she was only a few inches north of two feet tall, she could practically bathe in the bowl.

"Woah… Weird…" Chaz muttered.

"I've never had someone talk in my head before."

'Apologies. But to answer your question, I pursue the path of chivalry. A knight's sword swings only for the glory of her lord. I need no praise from the unwashed masses.'

"Huh… You weren't kidding about the knight thing."

"Nope," I said, popping the "p."

"Her dad, mom's gallade, is pretty much like this as well."

"You have a nice voice, Artoria," Chaz complimented.

"Or, mind? Mind-voice? Whatever it's called."

'Thank you, foppish human,' Artoria replied, face turning pink. She never was good with compliments.

"F-Foppish?" I chuckled.

"She didn't mean it as an insult. Keep in mind, the line between thoughts and emotions are often blurrier than people realize. What you translate as audible words is actually also an entire psychological schema which includes words, associations, impressions, and emotions. This is how I can give detailed orders to Artoria mid-battle, and why it's so much harder to lie while telepathically connected to someone else."

"That doesn't make me feel better. Doesn't that just mean her first impression of me was a 'foppish human?'" Chaz moaned, slumping dejectedly into his seat.

"There, there," Lisia consoled, halfheartedly patting his shoulder. Tellingly, she didn't deny it. We talked until it was time to say goodbye. Chaz and Lisia had to catch the bus to the harbor because the passenger ferry to Dewford would leave at five in the afternoon. Well, they didn't need to, but if they missed this one, they'd be stuck in Rustboro for another week. It was a little funny watching them rush out of the cafe like that.

They'd only decided where they wanted to go next last night so this was only to be expected.

'We are in no position to tease, my liege,' Artoria gently chided as we headed outside.

'We, too, decided on our destination last night.'

'True, but we're not relying on public transit.' The chance to pick a former Elite's brain about fire types was invaluable, but that wasn't the only reason I was headed to Lavaridge over Dewford. I also wanted to look around Mt. Chimney while I was in the area. I knew that Dr. Kagari, Courtney, was leading an excavation somewhere on Mt. Chimney. I was fairly certain she was already Magma. However, what I didn't know was why this mattered.

At first, I thought that this was how Team Magma acquired the meteorite, but that couldn't be it. Not only was Professor Cozmo uninvolved with this, I was fairly sure that the meteorite was found during canon, not before. And, it would be found in Meteor Falls, only to be taken to Mt. Chimney later. Was there something wrong with my foreknowledge? Or was this truly an innocent, scholarly excavation from someone who happened to love funny-shaped rocks? Whatever the truth of the matter, I had to make sure.

It wasn't even about stopping the Team, I didn't even know which Team I'd be dealing with in a few years. No, at this point, it was about settling the uncertainty; not knowing was a pain in my ass.

'My lord?'

'Yes, Artoria?'

'Even if we go to Mt. Chimney, how will we involve ourselves in the excavation? It was announced months ago when we were in Mauville. Back then, we were too weak to be employed as on-site trainers, but now–''Now, they've had the time to hire all the extra hands they could need,' I finished for her.

'You're not wrong, but us trainers are nomadic by definition. There's a chance a few people might come and go throughout the duration of the excavation.'

'We shall have to see, my lord,' she said.

'I am certain we can distinguish ourselves from the rabble.'

'We might have to get the fourth badge before visiting Mt. Chimney. The more we have, the more qualified we seem.'

'That will be no issue. Only, my lord–''Hmm?'

'While we are in Lavaridge, would it be possible for me to commission a sword? I have heard many good things from my father about the traditional swordsmiths there.'

'That's right. It is a town with a history of fire type experts, after all. Maybe I should look for a proper sword as well. The one I have doesn't even have an edge.'

'Perhaps…' Author's Note Dashel was confused about Archie's intentions. He heard something from Matt (the admin) and concluded "super-ancient" pokemon meant fossil pokemon. And now, Aaron, who actually does know what Archie wants, is confused as fuck. Remember, kids, stupidity is a disease and it can spread. I opted to skip over the chat with Sharon. I'm so far into the story but I still haven't decided if I want Courtney to be as unhinged as Harley Quinn or just a generic evil scientist.

In other news, Pokemon x Mass Effect was the crossover I didn't know I wanted. Thank you for reading. To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https: //linktr. ee/fabled. webs.