End of an Era

Narrator-POV:

This morning, Dawn and Akari took charge of the kitchen, collaborating to craft sandwiches for the entire group.

For this culinary venture, they meticulously chop up a lot of cabbage into very thin slices, mix it thoroughly with egg and fry it up in toast-sized portions.

The next steps involve layering up fried spam, ham, salami and cheese on a slice of bread, topping it with the cabbage hash browns and adding individualized sauces to cater to everyone's dietary needs.

To finish it off, both sides of the sandwiches are fried in butter to achieve a crisp exterior.

The result: Extra protein-heavy Gilgeori Toast.

While waiting for the food, Salandit has managed to discover her new favorite drink. Coffee. She relishes the bitterness of it.

Meanwhile, Swole Solo, the man with dirty hands, the man who is banished from the kitchen, the man with nothing to do and the man with the books; He remembers his history book.

In particular, he remembers that the book has a chapter on aura guardians. A topic that had piqued his interest ever since encountering Lucario.

With time on his hands and the aroma of sandwiches wafting through the air, he decides to lean back and read the chapter out loud for everyone to listen in.

While the girls make him a sandwich. Just like Arceus intended.

---

Aura Guardians

For a scientist like myself, aura guardians and the underlying topic of aura, is a very difficult subject to wrap my head around.

Until a few years ago, I would have argued that all recordings on that topic are merely fabrication and fable. Stories to tell the children of war-torn kingdoms to sleep better at night.

However, since the birth of wonder-child Sabrina Natsume, in Saffron City, things have changed in my world-view.

It is a commonly accepted fact that humans do not have access to type energy. There are machines that can measure it and humans do not show a reaction on them. However, it appears that humans do have access to some kinds of esoteric energy which is completely unrelated to the pokemon's type energy.

First, there is psionic energy. A rare few humans are born with the ability to use their minds to influence the world. These powers include telepathy, psychokinesis, clairvoyance and even astral projection and teleportation.

These people are quite literally born as super-humans. And the child Sabrina Natsume is so powerful that the scientific community had no choice but to accept her abilities as facts.

Some pokemon, specifically psychic type pokemon, also have access to those abilities: Espurr can lift tonnes of rocks with their minds, Xatu can see visions of the past and the future and Kirlia are said to be able to sense the emotions of their trainers.

The second energy is called 'aura'.

Seemingly the life energy of every living thing. Plants, pokemon, humans and even some inanimate objects, all possess their own aura. Every living thing possesses it but only some are capable of 'wielding' it.

The recordings of the applications of aura include telepathy, clairvoyance, the apparent ability to access the pokemon's fighting type energy and a general increase in durability and physical strength.

It is said that the so called 'aura guardians' were capable of standing toe to toe against pokemon thanks to their abilities. With their clairvoyance, they were able to scout terrain for tens of kilometers (km) and with their telepathy their control over pokemon was unprecedented.

As such, aura guardians were highly sought after during the many wars of history. Even an unskilled user of aura, who was only able to increase the durability of their own bodies, would make for a stronger fighter; For soldiers before the invention of gunpowder, this was a very desirable trait. 

According to the records of the Kanto-Johto wars, thousands of people were trained in the use of aura to create armies of super soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Sadly, with hindsight, this only managed to increase the number of casualties in the war. 

Combined with a lack of discipline, these armies became a menace to the general population as well.

Rape, murder, slavery and thievery was rampant throughout the conflicting areas where aura guardians were involved and as such, the sudden, worldwide disappearance of aura guardians can only be described as a blessing in disguise.

Over the course of the Thirty Years' War in Kanto, the majority of aura guardians have been hired as mercenaries and eventually perished in the battles. The most famous of which ended up being Sir Aaron of Rota, who perished in the final battle of the war and is solely attributed with ending the war.

The remaining aura guardians in the different regions have not managed to pass their traditions on to the next generations either. This was mostly due to their secretive nature. There is not a single written record that describes the process to gain access to the illusive aura abilities.

In Sinnoh, the last publicly known person who was able to use aura appears to be Cogita Shirona; My great great great grandmother. However, due to their secret-society-like behavior, it is entirely possible that a few aura guardians have kept the traditions alive secretly.

The majority of Sinnoh's history on aura happened around 300 to 350 years ago (years 1650 to 1700), when refugees from the war arrived to form the new colonies. Aura guardians were hired as security forces in order to clear out places for humans to live in.

The people who lived in Sinnoh were mostly refugee civilians and a few surviving descendants from the Celestica people. 

Due to poverty and prejudice, the majority of people had no interactions with pokemon in their daily life and feared them. The aura guardians and the Galaxy Expedition Team had then exasperated this problem by spreading propaganda and misinformation about pokemon.

This had caused an untenable situation where descendants did not want to have jobs related to pokemon - including aura guardians. Thus reducing the number of aura guardians in Sinnoh further and giving more political power to the Galaxy Expedition Team at the same time.

The situation had continued and spiraled until a small group of people, who worked within the Galaxy Expedition Team, as well as a person who was simply named the 'Traveler', had begun to actively integrate pokemon back into the daily lives of the people.

In the year 1775, the Galaxy Expedition Team renamed itself to the Galaxy Force and they have fully taken over the security job in Sinnoh.

The jobless aura guardians had no other choice but to look for new work and over the past generations, their traditions were completely forgotten or hidden away.

...

---

The sandwiches have been eaten, the book has been read, the coffee drunk and the boredom of camping has once again set it.

Camping and traveling all over the world had sounded so nice to the young trainers, but they had never thought of the fact that a lot of their time would be spent doing nothing at all.

And looking at the amazing environments of subterranean forests, lakes and crystal chandeliers can only entertain them for so long.

At least they still have training to occupy their time with.

But Swole still had aching muscles from yesterday and could only meditate his time away. Which, coincidentally, is once again just doing nothing.

Swole sits on the ground, trying to feel the world with his eyes closed while his pokemon are training their moves.

"Urgh. I wish something would happen." He says, trying to summon the plot device that continues the story.

Lucario, sensing his lack of focus, flicks a small rock at him. "You need to remain focused to train your aura."

She has taken it upon herself to help Swole, not as a team member but as someone willing to spend time with the group. Her ultimate goal remains finding information about Sir Aaron. 

'Maybe then I can find a new purpose.' Are her thoughts as her own mind drifts away from the meditation exercise.

As for training Swole, Lucario has the time and the motivation to spend time with him, and she thinks that she might as well try and see what being a trainer is like; So she decided to train her very own humanoid.

She determined that being a pokemon trainer is not very fun to her. And she does not understand why the humans enjoy it intrinsically. 

She would rather not have a companion that needs to be told how to do things. She prefers one who just knows how things work. 'Like Sir Aaron did...'

Meanwhile, Akari entertains herself with Zorua and Quilava. Engaging in games like hide and seek, catch, roughhousing and charades. 

All the while, Akari holds her egg close and never lets it out of her sight because she 'swears that she saw it move'.

Despite Zorua being technically too old for such childish enjoyment, her extended time inside a pokeball has left her with her own set of scars on her psyche. Zorua requires quite some care before she can be let out of her pokeball in civilization.

When Zorua tries to be kind to humans, she accidentally hurts them and when she tries to play with Piplup, she ends up scared of possibly being hurt.

Roughhousing is especially important to re-teach her how much force to apply when interacting with humans and other pokemon.

Lastly, watching their fun in jealousy is Piplup.

"Now spin around while you use Bubble Beam. But try to make the bubbles spin with you this time." His trainer commands as he wrests his eyes away from the fun games that the others are playing.

He tries to spin on the spot on a single foot, shooting bubbles out of his beak and trying his best to give each bubble a spin.

His efforts result in success. He builds up a spinning wall of bubbles that grows taller and taller with more and more sparkles.

The bubbles take in the light of the massive crystal and reflect it in impossible patterns all over the place. A visually impressive light show. And Dawn's idea to pass the performance stage of her debut contest.

... But his tiny flippers are too short to help him stabilize and eventually he stumbles and falls over. 

Piplup sees stars as the world keeps spinning for him even though he has already stopped moving. "Piplup..." He complains.

Before Dawn could give him encouragement and tell him to try again, a pokemon approaches the camp. Drawn in by the glittering sparkles.

Swole, Lucario, Buneary and Salandit have spotted the newcomer long ago and are moving closer to protect Dawn in a worst-case scenario.

Dawn and Piplup were startled by the challenger.

"Maw-Mawile!"

A Mawile - a half-meter-tall, friendly-looking fairy with a secondary, massive jaw that hangs from the back of her head - has seen the training that Dawn does for her future performances and wants to challenge Dawn for a spot on the team.

"You are challenging... me!?" Dawn is shocked.

Pokemon usually try to challenge Swole or Akari for a spot in their team but Buneary and Akari always reject the pokemon.

This is the first time Dawn is challenged directly, and by 'such a cute pokemon' too, she thinks.

But Mawile does have her pride. And even though she likes the pretty light show that she was presented with, she would not join a human who cannot prove her worth.

"Maw!"

Dawn wants to capture Mawile and checks her pokedex for extra information which could be valuable for the battle.

"Mawile, the deceiver pokemon. Don't be taken in by this pokemon's cute face - it's very dangerous. Mawile fools the foe into letting down its guard, then chomps down with its massive jaws. The steel jaws are really horns that have been transformed. It has two mouths. The big jaws on the back of its head can't taste anything, so that's the mouth it uses to eat foods it doesn't like."

"... You're not trying to eat me when I'm not looking, right?"

"... Mawi." She places her clawed paws over her heart, fake tears of sadness streaming down her face.

Her face portrays pure innocence and it actually matches with her inner desire to join the team if Dawn manages to win. 

Her second face however, the one stuck to the back of her head has something of a mind of its own and is grinning in insincere malice. That face would eat Dawn the moment she fails to prove herself worthy.

"Awww, I'm so sorry for accusing you! You wanted to challenge me to join my team, right? Piplup, are you ready?"

Piplup looks incredulously at his trainer for some time before he facepalms with his flipper. 

He just accepts the situation and assumes the ready position while Swole discreetly orders Buneary and Salandit to keep an eye out for Dawn.

"Ready as well, Mawile?" 

The pokemon in question simply nods, an evil glint hidden in her eyes.

"Alright, Piplup start with Aerial Ace!"

Both pokemon start charging for their first move at the same time.

Piplup is surrounded by a gust of wind as light blue energy builds up within him. Simultaneously, Mawile collects dark energy that drips like inky blood from the teeth in the maw on her head.

Then, Piplup spreads his little flippers, the wind speeds up and propels him with impossible speeds. One moment he vanishes, the next he reappears behind Mawile.

Mawile is unperturbed with this. When she heard the order, she already planned out how to fight against it.

Anticipating Piplup appearing behind her, a ghostly face emerges from Mawile's second mouth. It rushes into Piplup but the resilient, little penguin is undeterred, presses through the pain and smacks into Mawile with his body.

"Mawile!" She curses in pain and frustration after her Astonish failed to make Piplup flinch.

"Now use Bubble Blast!"

Bubble Blast, the fancy name for their close range version of Bubble Beam, is quickly charged due to Piplup's mastery of the move and Mawile receives a mouthful of bubbles as she tries to chomp down on Piplup with a hasty Bite attack.

The powerful blast of bubbles, reminiscent of a shotgun, propels Mawile far away, causing Bite to miss.

Mawile continues to slide a few meters but uses her large secondary mouth as a third leg to help her maintain balance. 

The area Piplup attacked is covered in a wet sheen and Piplup jumps in the new puddles in joy after witnessing the tangible results of his training.

Now at range, Mawile charges her next attack. Pink energy forms all over her head ornament and Piplup prepares his own move without awaiting Dawn's next command.

Piplup! He shouts, delivering a strategic Growl.

But Mawile simply shakes her head to flop her maw around and launch a Fairy Wind attack.

Piplup winces in pain as the pink shimmering gust of wind reaches him. He struggles to stay on his feet... 

But he perseveres until the wind lets up and a new order reaches his ears.

"Piplup, Bubble Beam!"

As fast as he can, he charges up his next move. 

Mawile prepares to dodge while gathering dark energy for yet another Bite.

A simple projectile attack on that range is not an issue for her. But she knows Piplup's Bubble Beam is anything but simple.

She has watched their training carefully and knows not to underestimate Bubble Beam.

The bubbles quickly move over the impromptu battlefield and Mawile runs perpendicular to the attack. She knows a crude side-step is useless because the bubbles would bend towards her.

However, across that much distance, Piplup does not need to bend the move. He can simply turn his head and readjust his aim.

Bubble Beam sweeps across the battlefield, chases after Mawile and eventually peppers her in the face without mercy. She attempts to block with her much sturdier horn but the unrelenting damage continues.

By the time Piplup runs out of steam, Mawile has to prop herself up to stay in the fight.

Piplup is barely winded. He could keep going for a lot longer.

But suddenly, a light, metal ball strikes Mawile on her horn. "Pokeball go!" 

Dawn tries her luck. 

Mawile is taken aback as a beam shoots out of the pokeball and envelops her. 

The next moment, she finds herself inside a weird room. 

'It's nice... But what happened to the battle? Wasn't I in a fight just a second ago? - Yes! Get back there!' She thinks to herself, and just as abruptly, she reappears in the real world.

Confused, she scans her surroundings and notices a broken pokeball beneath her feet.

"Mawile?" She did not even have the time to look around in the weird room.

"So, you want more beatings before joining my team, huh? Well, have it your way! Piplup, use Bubble Beam again!"

"Ma? Mawi--Mawile!" - Which roughly translates to: "Huh?"

In reality, she did not want to be beaten up anymore. She was merely surprised about the pokeball and escaped by accident.

Either way, with perfect aim, another stream of bubbles punches her in the face and knocks her out in the process.

"This time. Pokeball, go!"

Another pokeball soars through the air and hits the unconscious form of Mawile. She is once again sucked up into the ball and it wiggles.

Once... Twice. Dawn anxiously pulls at one of the bangs of hair peeping past her hat... Three times... "Come on!" And then... Ding!

"... I got her... Piplup! We caught a pokemon!"

"Piplup! Piplup! Pip--lup?" Piplup starts glowing in the middle of one of his joyful hops.

It is an all too familiar white-hot light.

"What? Piplup is evolving!"

The trainers and pokemon are forced to avert their eyes as the bright, small shape of Piplup twists, turns and grows into the larger shape of...

"Wuhoooo!" Dawn screams out in joy. "Piplup! You evolved into Prinplup!"

Dawn is elated. She is over the moon... But Prinplup is not.

Piplup would have jumped in joy, run in circles and run to his trainer to share the joy with her.

Prinplup on the other hand, simply stands in the same spot, inspecting his new body and occasionally, stoically looking off into the distance.

"Prinplup, what's wrong? Come here?" Dawn goes down to her knees and opens her arms for a hug.

He looks at her. Stoically. Before approaching her with measured steps. 

He gives her a quick hug, taps her on the back with his flippers two times and then turns around to look off into the distance again.

Dawn's face scrunches up in worry. 'What's wrong with him? What happened to my dear Piplup?' She thinks to herself and once again asks the pokedex for answers.

"Prinplup, the penguin pokemon. It swims gracefully through the frigid sea and sings with a voice like the roaring tide. It has powerful, sturdy wings and an impressive dignity to match. Because every Prinplup considers itself to be the most important, it lives a solitary life."

"Awwww! I get it now. You think you are too cool for hugs now! That's so cute! Come here you!"

Dawn picks her pokemon up with a lot of strain as the child-sized pokemon now weighs as much as a child.

"Oof, you got heavy!" He is a little chubby compared to the average of his species.

"Prinplup! Prinplup! Prinplup!" The chubby fella complains vocally. "Prin--" He broke his stoicism.

He blushes. Then he wiggles free from the hug and points at Mawile's pokeball with a flipper before resuming to his stoic gazing. "Prinplup."

"Oh! You're right! I need to heal up Mawile!"

---

Swole-POV:

"Buneary, don't change too much, when you evolve, alright?"

Piplup's change to Prinplup is pretty concerning. Almost a 180 in character.

Lopunny are notorious for their sassy and entitled attitudes and Buneary has that in spades already. I can only imagine how bad it could get.

~"I won't. I will keep being your guardian. So long as long as you keep being my trainer."

"Of course. You won't get rid of me... Anyway, can you and Salandit continue your training? Or do you want a Leppa Berry first?"

"Bunnie." She replies in denial before turning to Salandit and asking her. "Bune?"

"Sala."

I know they said no but only because I recognize the sounds they made. Lucario said that with aura, understanding pokemon should become easier but it doesn't feel like it at all.

Wait, maybe if I focus my aura sense on them, then I can understand them better?

I close my eyes and sense the two blobs of Buneary and Salandit in front of me as well as the strings that connect us together. 

The rest of the clearing is also barely visible to my inner eye but I try to blend the rest out and put my sole focus on them.

"Do you need a Leppa Berry?"

~"Nope." - ~"No." Buneary and Salandit answer clearly.

I could hear them use parts of their own name in the way they usually talk but it was like I heard the meaning of it at the same time.

But this wasn't conclusive enough. There were times in the past where I'm sure I was able to understand their yes or no answers.

"I'm trying to understand what you both are talking about with aura. Can you try saying something longer?"

~"Sure I can. Uhhhh... Actually, I don't know what to say." - "Salandit."

This time I couldn't understand Salandit at all. But from the context I can figure out that she insulted Buneary. Salandit gets kicked away and Buneary looks down at her with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hey, play nice you two... I will come back in a minute. Dawn finished healing up Mawile and I'm going to head over to congratulate her. Then I will come back to continue my own train. Are you going to be alright without me for a second?"

"Buneary..." She rolls her eyes, as if it's obvious that she is going to be alright.

With a bit more aura training, I'm sure to be able to understand them.

I slowly make my way over to Dawn. The floor is slick and slippery with wet cave-moss.

Dawn is checking out her pokedex and has the unconscious body of Mawile placed on her lap and is petting her carefully. She's already doing the necessary bonding for a trainer with their new pokemon.

"Prinplup, how did we even win? Her stats are so much better than yours and she has much better moves too."

Dawn casually comments and doesn't see Prinplup being hit by the description, causing him to stumble and fall face forward on the ground. Poor guy.

"I'd say it's because you became so much better as a trainer. You have improved a lot and the results speak for themselves."

I sit down next to Dawn after giving Prinplup a few encouraging pats on his shoulder.

"You really think so?"

"Sure. I still remember the way you fought the Wurmple, haha."

Dawn blushes as she thinks back to that embarrassment which just causes me to laugh out more. 

"Yeah... I can see now how bad I used to be. But I still made a mistake. I didn't expect Astonish. If Prinplup-- Piplup, I mean, had flinched, we would have lost the trade."

Suddenly she rips off her hat and shouts out a small scream in frustration. "I can't believe it! It was the same mistake I made back then! Why do I always try to fight in close combat?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's just your style? Besides, it's not always bad. Against Akari, you would lose if you stay at range."

She brushes her fingers through her hair. Turns out that her hair is an absolute mess under the hat. But after a few strokes to tame her hair she turns to me. "Can we spar later? Maybe against Salandit? I want to learn to fight a little more carefully."

"Yea, let's do that. I still want to train a little and I-- Huh. I still need to take a proper look at Salandit. With all the stuff that happened yesterday, I kinda brushed her off... Yea! Let's do some sparring in the evening!"

"Good." She smiles brightly at me while absentmindedly petting Mawile. "Looking forward to-- Huh? Oh! Look! Mawile is moving in her sleep. That's so cute!"

"Haha, but be careful with her horns. They are--"

Chomp.

"dangerous."

Mawile's face looks peaceful but the second maw on her mouth has chomped down on Dawn's hand. Hand, wrist and elbow are all stuck inside the vice grip of Mawile.

"... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Panic breaks out in the camp. The others are rushing here and I try to pry off Mawile from Dawn's arm.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Maybe it's not too late for her arm! 

Oh fuck, who am I kidding! Mawile are known to eat Aron in the wild. They can chomp through their steel carapace like it's nothing!

Oh Arceus. Dawn's arm is lost. That's for sure.

My struggles against Mawile's grip are futile and only when Lucario arrives to pull Dawn free can we see the results of the carnage.

... A bit of blood but otherwise, Dawn's arm is completely fine. She even stretches and moves her fingers in disbelief.

"..." I am in dumbfounded silence.

"..." Akari is too.

"..." Even Lucario has no idea what to say to this.

"I'm not complaining, but how do I still have my arm?"

I have no idea. Pokemon are way too strong for humans. 

Accidentally chopping off limbs or breaking bones is nothing to them-- Wait a fucking second.

I pull the right sleeve on my shirt up. I still have the scar from Nuzleaf's Razor Leaf. 

How is that possible? I still remember it clearly. There was a long cut on my arm but it was superficial at best.

That was a pokemon's attack. My arm should have been cleanly chopped off.

Same with Buneary's punches. I don't think she had pulled her punches in the beginning at all. Yet none of my bones were broken.

And then there was the explosion with Team Rocket. "I get it. Dawn and Akari, remember the news article that said explosions aren't deadly? I think this is part of the same phenomenon."

Dawn and Akari share a look of realization but Lucario looks at us as if we are crazy. "What are you talking about? Are you insane?"

The world is ending.

The news said this weeks ago.

This is all part of it.

"Swole... your mumbling is getting worse. Are you sure you are alright?"

"No... Dawn... I don't think I am alright. Ha, the world is literally ending. And I thought my personal issues were a problem."

Isn't that funny? Ironic? 

Just as I got old enough to go on an adventure, I got stuck with some garbage mental shit.

And just as I'm starting to get over it, the world turns out to be ending for real.

Lucario doesn't seem to be convinced yet. "Lucario, where do you think we are right now?"

"Under the Tree of Beginning. North of Mount Moon."

"In Kanto? ... Nope, we are in Sinnoh. Here, this app can show us exactly where we are within the world. And Dawn, the ship we were on, got stuck inside a cave. The other people are fused into the rock, for fuck's sake! That's not normal. That's not supposed to happen."

I don't know what kind of lie we managed to tell ourselves all this time.

Buneary and Salandit have climbed on my lap and are trying to calm me... 

"... I know." Dawn admits. "I-- I just didn't want to think about it. You know?"

"Yea, I get it."

That girl's hand... I just saw it for a split second but it's burned into my mind.

She scoots closer to me and leans her back on me. Akari sits nearby but seems to be stuck in her own world. Lucario... She still doesn't seem convinced.

"You believe him?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, he is right... Swole, what are we going to do about it?"

I don't think there is anything we can do about it. "I guess we'll wait for the league to fix it. I mean, we don't even know what's causing it. Until then... Well, it just means I gotta become the champion a bit faster, doesn't it? Ha."

Dawn turns her head to look directly at me. Her blue eyes staring into mine, looking for some better answer that I can't give.

"I guess you're right. Ha. Either they fix it and we go back to normal or they don't and... we have to live our lives faster." She turns away and leans back further.

The back of her head is resting against my shoulder.

"You got taller..."

Growth spurt.

"Say... once we are out of here... Do you want to go to a restaurant or something?" She asks.

"Like I did with Akari?"

"... Yea."

Damn. So it's not a date. "Sure. Why not?" Might as well enjoy some nice friendly time with her.

"Sorry Zoey." She mumbles out and I couldn't really hear what she said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a problem with mumbling." I mumble out.

"What?"

"Nothing. Haha."

"Stop fooling around." Lucario interrupts us. "We have another problem."

---

"What? What do you mean? What's going on?"

Lucario is in full focus mode. 

Her eyes are closed and her head are ornaments floating up mythically.

"The tree... Is it angry? I'm not sure. I'm not used to feeling trees with emotions but it feels similar to anger. It seems like it's fighting something off."

... "That doesn't sound good. Is it angry at us?"

"Is it because of me? Because I captured Mawile?"

"Maybe. The tree did get angry at us for destroying the crystals and sent Regirock after us. But we haven't touched the crystals in a while! What else could cause it?"

"There is a group of humans." Lucario comments. Her eyes clenched in focus. "Far away. Up the tree. 5 people. 2 women and 1 child. Some kind of... blobs are chasing them... The tree attacks them right now."

Humans?

"A rescue team? Or another group that's stuck here?" I suggest. "Should we help them? Maybe they are part of a research expedition? Here to investigate what happened? We could group up with them to travel back to Canalave City together."

"Yes!" Dawn jumps up and gathers up her stuff in a rush. "Safety in numbers. Let's get to them."

Akari follows suit. "You are right. We need more trainers in case we run into Regirock again."

"Do we have a chance against Regirock even with more trainers? There is no way anything could stand against it. If it wanted to kill us, we would have died. We're only alive because it made warning-shots."

"Perhaps you are correct. But... when push comes to shove, we can use them as bait. If we split up, it will not be able to get to all of us." 

Akari is ruthless. But she's right. There really is safety in numbers.

I get up last to gather the rest of our stuff up. 

I had hoped to spend some more time here. We didn't even really check out the lake itself. And maybe some more pokemon would have wanted to join us if we waited longer.

The kitchen is so annoying to pick up... I shouldn't complain. At least we have a portable kitchen. The trainers of 20 years ago only had fireplaces.

The others are waiting for me. 

Just as I finished packing away my sleeping bag and just as I was about to ask if the others were ready to head out or not...

The earth starts shaking and rubble falls from the top of the cave.

The crystals all around us start glowing red. It's especially obvious with the one that provides the cave with light. It's like the whole cave is suddenly bathed in hellish red.

There is some kind of pressure. It feels... stressful. I can feel my heart pumping. The desire to run away.

The wild pokemon around us are flipping out. 

The air is filled with panicked pokemon and the forest around us resounds with sounds of distress.

All of the pokemon are running, flying and even swimming away as fast as they can. 

Holy crap! It's the fucking Red Gyarados from the news! He just surfaced from the lake and is now swimming upstream in panic!

"What the fuck is going on!?"

If even a Gyarados is fleeing in fear, then we should really get the fuck out of here as soon as possible.

"The tree... it's dying! How can that be!? We need to get out of here!" Lucario reopens her eyes. Her pupils are dilated; Panic and confusion are clear in her face.

We need to get out.

Go to the heart! Save the tree!

What the hell am I thinking? We can't just run away!

The Tree of Beginning is the home of so many pokemon. We can't just let it die.

What kind of trainer am I if I just let so many pokemon down?

"No, we need to save the tree. Lucario, I need your help. If you can get us to the heart of the tree, then we can save it. Dawn and Akari, I want you both to start getting out of here... In case something goes wrong."

Buneary and Salandit look at me, worry clearly written in their faces. But they remain on my shoulders.

"Swole. I am not leaving you behind. I am coming with you." Akari is calm and collected. Her deep blue eyes are laser focused.

"Akari..." Dawn pauses. Her breathing is rapid. Her eyes are tightly pressed closed. She swallows and looks at me with as much resolve as she can gather. "Akari is right. Swole, we aren't going to leave you behind. We are going. Together."

"Are you sure? You can leave and Akari could protect you on your way."

She takes a deep breath and her breathing calms down. "I am sure... But how do you know the heart will save the tree?" She... asks a good question.

Why do I think that? I just know that it makes sense. But why?

"... Actually, never mind." Dawn changes her mind. "It makes sense. We go to the heart to save the tree. It's just that simple. Let's go."

Dawn, despite her fears, is resolved to do the right thing. She is a lot more heroic than I thought she would be.

All of these pokemon have already been ripped away from Kanto and now the tree that protects them is dying.

Why are these things happening?

Just save the tree.

Urgh. It doesn't matter. What matters now is to save the tree.

"Alright. Let's go. Lucario, can you lead the way?"

"I can. Follow me. Your resolve to do the right thing is commendable. You three would have made for great guardians of aura."

---

But as it turns out, climbing up a sky scraping tree-mountain is easier said than done.

The first challenge is easily solved: Finding a tunnel that actually leads to the top. Lucario's aura sense is absolutely bonkers.

She was able to tell us that the other group of humans is somewhere halfway up the tree and she could even point out the tunnel that leads to them.

"Well then, let's hurry up, before the ceiling comes down on us!"

The crystals around us seem to slowly disintegrate. And I bet the crystal inside the tree does too, as a result the walls, the floor and especially the roof is becoming porous.

As we hurry back through the jungle, we have to continually dodge falling debris and watch our steps or risk falling into newly forming pitfalls.

The treacherous terrain of the jungle was bad enough when I had to carry Dawn, but now that we're rushing through it, every step is a risk.

"Akari, look out!" I bodycheck her.

Boom

A stalactite crashed into the ground where Akari stood just a moment ago. The fragments from it still pelt my back.

"Are you alright?" I pant out.

Adrenaline is coursing through my veins and my heartbeat is through the roof.

I landed on top of Akari. My hands, supporting my weight, are on both sides of her head. Her mouth is gaped and she still seems to be processing the situation.

I'm effectively pinning her down.

I feel my face heat up. 

Akari looks to the side with her own blush. "I-- I am a-alright. Uhm... we need to hurry."

Hurry? "Oh! Right!"

I scramble up and help her stand up before we continue our run out of this hellhole.

'Hellhole'... It was such a nice place just a few minutes ago.

We dodge some more rocks. None as close as the one that almost crushed Akari but eventually we made it to the top of the waterfall. 

Somewhere below us is the tunnel we took to enter the cave. The tunnel that leaves back out... To safety.

A shallow stream feeds the waterfall and Lucario leads us through it. 

We wade through the water for some time. 

A few swimming pokemon pass us as they try to flee from the Tree of Beginning. None bother us. It's like escaping is their number one priority. And I can understand them.

I have this weird urge to just... run. Am I just afraid? ... No, I don't think so. I know what fear feels like. This is something else.

It's like the tree is telling me to leave. For my own sake.

And many times I have thought of running away. Of abandoning the tree to its fate. But... that wouldn't be right.

And every time my heart falters and the fear is about to win; I remind myself that I am doing the right thing.

Yes. It's the right thing to save the tree. I know I need to get to the heart and save it, no matter what.

My legs are cold... At least there are no falling rocks in this tunnel.

"Are you both comfy up there?"

Our progress has slowed a little since we can't safely run through the water. Slow enough to make casual conversation.

~"Yes. Very. You make for a good mount." - ~"Ha! That'ss what she ssaid."

... "What? Ouch! Hey! Stop fighting." Buneary tried to knock Salandit off my shoulder again but Salandit digs her claws painfully into my shoulder to stay on.

"Careful. Those claws of yours really hurt."

~"Sssorry. But I hate water. It's too cold! Hissss!" She looks disgustedly at the cold liquid, that I have to walk through.

Makes sense though. She is a fire pokemon after all.

No, wait. Chimchar loved swimming in the freezing cold river. It must be Salandit's own preference.

... I wonder how they are doing. He and Buizel. Their trainer just disappeared. I just hope they weren't inside their pokeballs when it happened. 

Do they resent him for it? Lucas didn't have a choice. But... he abandoned them. I shouldn't blame him for it but a part of me does.

The part of me that puts my pokemon above all else. I couldn't live with myself if that happened to me.

Good grief. What a situation. I just shouldn't think about it. There is nothing I can do about it either.

"Salandit... Just so you know, you're going to have to take a bath sooner or later."

~"No." She hisses out.

"Yes. I don't want you to smell bad when we sleep in hotels."

"Sala." What?

"Can you repeat that? I need to focus a little harder to understand you."

~"I don't ssmell bad."

"Oh? You don't think you smell bad?" I turn my head to the side to check her smell.

... What a weird thing to do.

She smells like licorice with a hint of strawberry. Is that just her natural scent?

I double check Buneary and she also still smells like Hazelnut and Caramel. It's the aroma of her grooming oils.

~"Hey! Don't just smell me without a warning!" She complains.

"Sorry."

Come to think of it, I have never noticed bad smells on Buneary. No matter how much she works out, she doesn't stink. 

Are pokemon just cotton candy and rainbows?

"That's so unfair. Every time I work out, I smell like a trashcan. And here you both are, smelling like a candy factory."

~"I like your sscent." - ~"I-- Looks like I have to agree with the lizard. You don't smell like garbage."

... Huh. Maybe humans and pokemon have simply evolved to find each other pleasant to be around.

"Weird." Probably doesn't mean anything.

...

We continue our trek through the tunnel. The water reached chest height at some point and Salandit repositioned herself to be on top of my head for that portion... Her claws dig into my forehead quite painfully for a while.

But eventually, the tunnel leads us back outside.

The blue, cloudless sky is in the far distance but we are cast inside the midday shade of the Tree of Beginning. Its leaves are casting a wide shadow all over the... crater? I wonder how this area formed.

We are a bit further up the trunk of the tree than ground level, the trunk tapers off, further up. And from here we can see that the valley is a mostly flat region with some jagged rocks sticking out. But as far as my eye can see, everything is surrounded by these massive mountains that seem to try to bite the tree with their jagged peaks that dent towards the center of the bowl.

There is no way natural tectonics could have formed this place. It almost seems like there was a truly massive mountain here once, and someone just replaced the mountain with the Tree of Beginning with some kind of spherical editing tool.

The jagged rock formations are all that's left of the mountain.

In the distance, a large piece of the foliage of the Tree of Beginning breaks off and falls down. Seemingly slowly, because of how far it is away and how far it is falling. A good reminder that we need to hurry up to save the tree.

I can already see the way up above us. The bark of the tree is jagged and rough and easy to climb. If I squint my eyes a little, it looks like there is a path that snakes up the tree with only minimal climbing involved.

We slowly and carefully make our way up.

Every step is measured. Because every misstep would see us tumbling down hundreds of meters-- And never mind. I forgot that falling isn't deadly. 

It would put our progress back to 0 and risk serious injury but I don't have to be afraid of falling-- "Shit!"

"Hold on!" Someone grabs me by my wrist to stop me from falling.

The rock that broke away from my weight tumbles down below me. Falling hundreds of meters before smacking into the ground with a loud crashing noise.

Lucario's paw wraps around my hand and she pulls me back up. "Thank you."

"No problem. You shouldn't try to dive off a cliff just hours after promising me that you would stay with me, Swole." She says with a teasing grin.

I rub my neck in shame. "Haha, you're right. Sorry... But don't worry, even if I die, I'm just going to haunt you forever."

Lucario's grin widens to a smile. A real smile. The first I have seen on her... It's beautiful. Gulp. She is beautiful.

"I will hold you to it. Just know, if you do abandon me, I am coming to break your ghost bones."

I nod and continue hiking up the tree. Her paw is still holding my hand.

Her fur feels soft but her paw feels hard and calloused. Metallic, almost.

I really like that. But I wonder how nice it would feel after I gave her the same fur treatment as I give Buneary.

... "Heh. That's what she said."

"What?"

"'I am coming' (to break your bones). That's what she said."

I can hear a facepalm coming from behind me and a silent 'cringe' is whispered too. But Lucario seems to get the joke if the crimson on her face is anything to go by.

"Ha! Got you."

"I guess you really did, Swole." She mumbles out and from the corner of my eyes, on top of my shoulder, I can see Salandit holding the left-most claw on her right arm up, in what can only be a thumbs up.

...

The rest of the way up is in focused silence.

The air is starting to thin out, the lack of oxygen is making it harder to carry a conversation.

And I don't want a repeat of that close encounter with the improvised flying lessons. That stuff is for the birds.

And I want to enjoy holding Lucario's paw longer. I don't want to say something wrong and remind her that we are still holding onto each other.

Once we reach the foliage and the trunk branches out into... branches, Lucario takes the lead again to maneuver us to the heart of the tree that she can feel in her range now. 

The other humans who are up here, have apparently split off into smaller groups now. Probably to search for the heart of the tree.

The leave-pads of the tree are rocks and ground. It's like walking along rolling hills.

The path Lucario leads us on, snakes past a bunch of barren hills that never see the sun and there weren't any glowing crystals here to provide any light either. A hostile environment for plant growth.

But eventually we reach the outer parts of the foliage. Where the sunlight hits the tree and where clouds crash against it.

We somehow ended up on the north-side.

It's a breathtaking view.

Life is abundant here. Wherever a beam of light could hit the rock, a plant grows there. Not a single spot of soil is not covered in some kind of plant; Be it tree, moss, grass or flower patches.

From way up here, I can see the ocean in the north, behind the jagged mountains that surround us.

In the east I can see some of the taller buildings of Jubilife City... The city is 160km away.

And if I squint my eyes, I can make out what appears to be the Canalave City harbor in the west. Where the ferry was supposed to land... I hope the other people can be saved somehow.

Maybe... Maybe being phased into rocks isn't deadly either? Or maybe Team Galactic can find a way to... I dunno, un-phase them?

Anyway, as cool as the view is, I need to refocus on the here and now.

The others are still stuck looking at the view.

And that's when I notice something.

It's hard to breathe. The air is too thin... There is not a single pokemon around.

It's eerily empty. 

... Too empty.

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