Archive of Our Own

one

“Professor!” Akari exclaimed, in lieu of a greeting, as she barreled into Laventon’s office.

The man sighed, setting down his quill with only the slightest twinge of fond exasperation, and then turned to address the girl with a smile on his face. “Hello, my dear. What is it?”

He was, by now, somewhat positive that she would understand, if not the smaller details, at least the gist of what he was saying. The child was picking up new words left and right these days, mostly simple greetings and given names, and though most of them still carried a foreign lilt when coming out of her mouth, she was learning the way all young ones seemed to learn when settling in a fresh environment – quickly, cheerfully, and entirely out of order, skipping from one thing to the other like overeager Stantler fawns.

Nobody had come to claim her, yet. It was a shame, truly – Akari was a sweet, bright little girl, who no doubt was being sorely missed by her folks, wherever they might be. And of course, there were practical concerns as well; lacking any parents or guardians to look after her, she was being cared for by pretty much the whole village, give or take. She would sleep where they let her sleep, eat at everyone’s table, and allow herself to be fussed over by whoever took notice of her needs, be it Pesselle, another child’s family, or Laventon himself.

Not that the professor minded much, all in all. He was growing quite attached to this strange foreigner, and besides, Akari seemed uniquely interested in his studies, to the extent her young age allowed her to be. Why, she’d even tried to emulate Rei, who she near worshipped and who gave her begrudging, if genuine attention most of the time, and had attempted to draw a picture of Rowlet just as the older boy would do for Pokémon entries – it had been too crude and confusing to add to the Pokédex, naturally, but Laventon had pinned it to Rowlet’s enclosure all the same, for posterity as well as for anyone who swung by his office. It could only be useful, to encourage young, creative minds towards his line of work.

And who knew, maybe Rowlet would deign to return to its perch every now and then, if he saw his portrait hanging from it – he barely ever left Akari’s side these days, a loyal shadow flapping its wings in her wake. Even now he was sitting dutifully on her shoulder, hooting drowsily, as the girl took a hold of Laventon’s hand and tugged, trying to get him to stand up. “Professor! Come!”

That caught him by surprise, though he let himself be pulled to his feet, his notes momentarily abandoned. He couldn’t fathom what might cause such urgency in a child of three, but even if it was merely a new game that she wanted to show him, no one would begrudge him a short pause – if anything, Pesselle might even congratulate him for those few minutes spent away from “reading his dusty papers without proper lighting”, in her own words.

Still, he was taken aback by seeing Akari so determined to reach an invisible goal. She didn’t even stop on their way out to greet Beauregard’s Wurmple, which Rei had caught for him a while prior, and that was a shock in and of itself – the girl loved Pokémon, and she appeared to have an easy way with every single one of them she would meet, though admittedly not many were left free to roam where she could reach them.

“Slow down, Akari, I’m coming,” Laventon huffed, stumbling in his attempt to keep pace with her shorter legs. “Why the hurry? Is something wrong?”

She didn’t reply, though there was a chance the words might be flying over her head. Instead, she pointed at one of the lodgings closer to Galaxy Hall, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Eye,” she said, sternly.

“I’m sorry, my girl, I don’t understand. What eye?” Perhaps she meant see, or look, rather than an eye proper. The nuances of language weren’t always so easy to grasp, even to those born to it.

But there was no response altogether, so the man found himself being led along until they had reached the hut, where Akari raised her hand to gesture towards the wooden racks made to hang dried goods or freshly washed clothes. “Eye,” she repeated, even more insistingly.

Laventon looked up. The creature hanging from the racks didn’t so much as meet his gaze, staring straight ahead with its disproportionately big eye.

It was...the professor had never seen anything similar in his life, to be fully honest. He would have doubted it to be alive at all, with its lack of noticeable limbs and stiff position, but the lid over his eye, as black as the rest of the body, would twitch and move ever so slightly if he focused on it long enough – it was an odd sight, albeit not the oddest he could boast, in his long years of studying Pokémon across different lands; and this could only be a Pokémon, certainly, though it didn’t seem to be moving like one, not attacking them like a Shinx would have, or running away like a Starly, or sniffing curiously at their shoes like a Bidoof.

Well, there was only one way to dispel all doubts. Laventon let go of Akari’s hand to fumble through the pockets of his lab coat, rummaging deeply until- There. It was a blessing, sometimes, to be both practical enough to have Poké Balls always within reach and distracted enough to stick equipment in his pockets whenever his mind wandered elsewhere. One never knew when they might have to bring an unexpected specimen in for studying, these days.

He tossed the ball at the strange being gingerly, almost hesitantly, but he shouldn’t have troubled himself so much – the Poké Balls opened with a sharp click, enveloping the creature with its light and pulling it inside, and then it fell heavily to the ground, rocking one, two, three times until it finally sent off a bout of crackling fire. That confirmed it: it had been a Pokémon, and Laventon had caught it, as easily as drinking a cup of tea.

He hadn’t been the one to find it, however. He turned back to Akari, only to catch looking serenely up at him, nibbling at her fingers, seemingly unaware of what she had just done. When he summoned the Pokémon back out to see it again, sending it floating inches from the dusty ground, she let out a delighted little shriek, and moved to touch it with the same ease she usually demonstrated to all of its kind, be it Rowlet, Rei’s excitable Pikachu, or even Zisu’s Honchcrow, who was grouchy enough to scatter every kid save her by clacking his beak menacingly.

Laventon stopped her attempt mechanically, still somewhat dumbfounded. Goodness gracious, where did they rear children like these? Keen eyes and grabby fingers, and no sense of self-preservation to boot- she would make them all go grey haired, at least those of them who weren’t such already.

“Akari,” he began, recalling the strange Pokémon and crouching down before her, “how did you find this one? I would have never thought to catch something like this here. ”

She returned the question with a lost, puzzled stare, prompting him to sigh again. Of course. How foolish of him- this was not one of his own assistants, scarce that they were in numbers. She might even be wondering if she’d done something wrong, right now. “I’m not upset, my dear girl. Why, look at what you did! This might be a new species we’ve never seen before. We’ll have to put it in the Pokédex, once I’ve studied it better.”

The last part of the sentence seemed to hit its mark, for Akari brightened considerably, a toothy grin splitting her face in two. “Like Rei?”

The professor couldn’t help but return the smile, her enthusiasm nothing less than infectious. “Yes, just like Rei does! Good job!”

He pocketed the ball again and cradled the girl in his arms before standing up, now all the warier of her tendency of wandering off and slipping out of adults’ grasps- who knew what she might find next, if left to toddle away unsupervised. “Really, I think we should wait for him in my office, what do you say? He’ll be happy to see your discovery too, I am sure of it.”

Akari’s babbles weren’t nearly as intelligible this time around, but they still sounded terribly happy, so Laventon was willing to take her answer as a yes; and besides, he was quite eager to look at his new catch from up close and personal, in truth, and the safest place to do so would always be Galaxy Hall, even with Captain Cyllene’s intimidating presence just next door.

Right. Cyllene. She would have to be informed of the news, as with every advancement in their survey, and the commander as well...though Laventon was much readier to deal with the former than with the latter, he was sorry to say. The captain handled the Survey Corps firmly but not cruelly, and her stony facade often seemed to conceal a much softer interior, but Kamado had yet to warm up to Akari, for all that he rarely went out of his way to interact with her on a daily basis. Mayhaps he would mellow down, or maybe he would be cross instead, learning that an unknown Pokémon had snuck between the guards only to be found by a foreign child a few feet from his own office.

Ah, well. That would be a problem for another day, the professor wagered. For the time being he just needed to do his research and keep Akari busy, lest she sought out something way larger, stronger or more poisonous. This was not the moment to look a gifted Ponyta in the mouth, unusual techniques or not.

Besides, a Pokémon unknown? He had to admit, the words had a nice ring to them, now that he thought about it.

two

Ingo was not, admittedly, under any illusion that he might know Akari better than anyone else.

Sure, they shared a native language, but that was pretty much the extent to which he would stretch himself. He indulged the child’s requests for company whenever he visited Jubilife Village, and dutifully translated all she revealed to Professor Laventon and the others tasked with caring for her, and yes, he had grown more than passing fond of this odd girl that often took a hold of the end of his coat and amused herself with swinging it around as she walked, but they weren’t close. That would have been presumptuous on his part, to say the least.

He was, however, just about certain that he knew what Akari’s favorite word was, these days, if nothing else because he was the person who had to hear it more than anyone in the village.

“Ingo, why can’t I get water by myself?”

“Because it’s too dangerous, little miss,” the man replied, patiently.

The girl pouted, poking at the mound of sand she kept fruitlessly trying to mold into something approaching a house and that was too dry to cooperate in any way. “Why’s it dangerous?”

“Because you might fall into the stream, and then no one would be there to help you.”

“And why is that dangerous?”

Ingo bit back a huff of laughter, concealing his amusement under the brim of his hat. “Because you don’t know how to swim, Akari. I’ll be happy to teach you myself when you’re older, if Captain Cyllene allows me, but you need to be patient for a while longer, I fear.”

“Oh.” Akari frowned at her hands, now coated in a fine layer of dust, and then clumsily wiped them on her tunic before resuming her task, seemingly lost in thought.

The warden turned his gaze to the training grounds again, relishing in the brief pause between one why and the next. They were at the very edge of the area, out of range of the men and women practicing but still close enough to watch them at work – it was not the safest of places for a child to dwell in, perhaps, but it was a more contained one than most, where the girl could amuse herself behind sturdy fences and not, for one, stumble into the stream cutting through the village. And even if a pair of battlers were to stray so far out of bounds, Ingo was positive he would be able to put himself between them and Akari anyway, as would Gliscor and Professor Laventon’s Rowlet, who were currently perched on nearest roof’s edge, basking in the afternoon sun.

Besides, Ingo enjoyed being a spectator to the mock battles of Security Corps members and their Pokémon partners, whenever he swung by the village for some errand or the other. He had been offered a chance to join in multiple times, mostly at Zisu’s insistence, but not many were so eager to challenge him as their leader was. They seemed a bit...intimidated by him and by his battling style – the reasoning behind it escaped him, still, but he wasn’t about to force anyone into a match against their will, so hanging onto the sidelines with Akari it was, at the moment.

Not that he considered that a chore, honestly. Irida had suggested that if the child truly came from the same place as him, perhaps spending time together would help jog his memory, and she’d been right: no matter how farfetched it sounded, Akari’s presence appeared to be capable of unearthing previously hidden flashes and tidbits, and where her influence couldn’t reach, the battles stepped in her place, forcing him to remember nameless places and faceless people of his past.

It was, of course, hardly enough. A part of Ingo feared that he might never know who the mysterious man in white was, or which kind of Pokémon he’d met who could wield fire for him, but he did his best to squash down that particular little voice. After all, he’d already regained more memories than he could have ever thought possible, before Akari’s arrival. There was no reason to be greedy, nor to give up hope so quickly – hurrying down his tracks could bring him to derailment, and he wasn’t keen on doing that just yet.

He did wish he could return the favor, however. Akari had allowed him to speak a language no one else around him knew; she’d made him recall his old life simply by playing at his feet or orbiting around him; and still, nothing Ingo said or did seemed to bring results for her. Whether she truly couldn’t remember anything new, or she was simply too young to put what she knew into words, he didn’t know, but she was still stranded there at his side, and he couldn’t do anything more helpful than sweep off the bits of sand clinging to her hair. “Did anything new happen while I was away, Miss Akari?”

“Mh-hm.” The girl shook her head, then appeared to change her mind, and turned a bright smile up to him. “Beau has a new Pokémon now. It’s a Wurmple. He’s sticky.”

The corner of Ingo’s mouth curled up despite his best efforts. Beau had to be Beauregard, the guard usually stationed outside Galaxy Hall. “How wonderful.”

“Yeah. His name’s Beaugene. I helped Beau choose the name ‘cause Rei only knew boring names.”

“I see. That was nice of you, helping him along like that.”

“Does Gliscor have a name, Ingo?”

“I’m afraid not, little miss.”

“Why?”

And there they went again. “I don’t know. thought he was doing fine without one.”

Not many members of the Pearl Clan ever bestowed monikers upon their partners, in truth, nor was the Diamond Clan very different in that regard. Clan folks tended to form very balanced relationships with their Pokémon, where the latter could simply walk away if they were unsatisfied, or make themselves heard if they were displeased by the way they were addressed – calling them by a silly nickname would have likely felt offensive from the point of view of someone like Irida, who was a staunch supporter of traditions and old habits.

Ingo could remember a different world, though, albeit only barely. He had a hunch that somewhere, in some place he’d dwelled before, things had been quite different. Lost memories again, it seemed; he could recognize the sensation they left in him by now, like aftertaste lingering on his tongue – he could recall encouraging...someone not to go overboard with their Pokémon’s names, in case it ever backfired on them. Why, it was almost as if he had known-

The sudden rustle of fabric shook him out of his own reverie. Startled, Ingo glanced down again – a tiny hand had attached itself to the frayed hem of his sleeve, insistingly tugging at it; he hadn’t even noticed Akari standing up, never mind clinging amiably onto him, sporting an impish grin that brought dimples on her rounded face.

“I’m tellin’ you something,” she said, the volume of her voice lowering down a notch. “But it’s a secret.”

“Is it, now?” The girl responded with a grave nod, and he inclined his head in return, going down on one knee in an as exaggeratedly ceremonious way as he could muster, getting to an eye level with her. “I’m honored. Of course I shall keep your secret, little miss.”

Akari’s grin went even wider, if at all possible, and she leaned closer to his ear, haphazardly hiding their exchange from the rest of the training ground with a tiny hand.

“Rowlet has a name too,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I picked it, but you can’t tell the professor, ‘cause that’s his Rowlet.”

Though not privy to Professor Laventon’s innermost thoughts, Ingo doubted the man would have minded if a child had truly dubbed a Pokémon in a different way, particularly not that child. Indeed, not only was Akari everyone’s darling and delight, stumbling to greet every new arrival in the village as if she could make the whole world her playmate, but Rowlet had befriended her first, from what she had told the Pearl Clan warden upon meeting him weeks prior. Just like the partners of his fellow clan members were free to wander off to their hearts’ desire, he was pretty sure this Pokémon would have done the same, if the girl had been too rough or cheeky with him.

Still, it would not do to crush a little one’s fantasy of a secret plot, so Ingo simply nodded again, looking utterly focused. “I see,” he replied, just as quietly as she had. “Which name have you chosen, then?”

“His name’s Pudding. ‘Cause he looks like a pudding, and I like pudding.”

The man stole a glance upwards to Rowlet, who had by now settled quite comfortably onto the dojo’s roof. No sweet treat he’d seen in either Jubilife Village or the Pearl Clan settlement brought to mind the Pokémon’s shape, and he couldn’t for the life of him remember any sort of pudding from his past that could be this...feathery...but of course, that hardly proved anything. Akari had already demonstrated to him how spottily his memories could return, and besides, children often saw wondrous things were grown-ups couldn’t notice anything, so he shouldn’t have been that surprised, really.

It was, in a way, quite endearing, how Akari was nearly bouncing on her feet in excitement for this sweet, funny, possibly naughty thing she had done. Ingo suspected she would become an accomplished Pokémon handler in the future, if she managed to retain this enthusiasm and this gentleness as she grew up – he couldn’t wait to see it happen, for what his opinion was worth.

“Very well chosen,” he praised her, feeling a touch of her mischief rubbing off on him, and then shifted his position slightly, gesturing for the girl to move behind him. “All aboard, then! I think these news should be celebrated with a better view of the training grounds.”

Akari brightened up at the sight, and immediately stepped forward to clamber atop his back, clinging onto him like a creeping vine as Ingo stood up again – the girl thrived with physical contact, he’d discovered over time, and she was never too shy to march up to one of her acquaintances and pester them for a hug, or hold onto an adult’s hand when she had to cross one of the village’s bridges. Even now she was giddy with delight, waving at Rowlet- no, Pudding, to get him to look at how high she was sitting, as though her friend were her top priority at the moment.

Yes, it would truly be a pleasure to watch her grow into herself...provided she stopped questioning the whys of everything she saw some time before that, of course.

three

“Go on,” Vessa said, not unkindly. “You can touch it.”

Akari wrinkled her nose, very distrustful. “I don’t wanna touch it,” she complained, her hands closing into fists at her sides. “You can’t touch fire. It burns.”

“This is not a common flame. Don’t be scared- it won’t hurt you, I promise.”

That made Akari even more suspicious. Usually, when grown-ups said something wouldn’t hurt, or it would hurt just a little, they were lying about it; Pesselle always told her that what went on scratches to clean them would only sting for a moment, for example, and then it would hurt more than the scratch itself every time, so she wasn’t falling for that again. It was why the scabs on her knees weren’t bandaged anymore – she would have picked at them or peeled them off, anyway, and they weren’t supposed to waste bandages for unimportant things.

They weren’t supposed to waste anything for unimportant things, really, not even space or time. The commander always said that, and Rei had explained her what it meant, except Akari was starting to wonder if she was an unimportant thing, too, since the commander never tried to talk to her and explain stuff straightaway. She wasn’t even allowed into his office, even though she had permission to wander into every other room in Galaxy Hall, so long as she wasn’t getting into trouble or bothering the people working there.

But she shouldn’t complain about that, really. The other kids she played with couldn’t enter into the building at all. Vessa certainly couldn’t – she never seemed to go anywhere at all, in fact, except when she was trying to show something to Akari, as she was doing now.

The two girls were standing on one of the small earthmounds scattered all across the village, staring at the little purple flame dancing a few inches above the grass. It hadn’t been there that morning, Akari was sure of it – she knew the place very well by this point, enough not to get lost at least, and she hadn’t noticed the fire until she’d touched the weird broken stone Vessa had handed to her.

Said stone was weighing down the pocket of her tunic now, heavy and uncomfortable – she would have liked to give it back, but she didn’t think her friend would take it again, and besides, she was scared that she would stop seeing the flame altogether without it. It was pretty, that flame. Akari liked that color, and the way it shined in the light of the lanterns.

Still, it wasn’t pretty enough to make her forget she wasn’t supposed to get near fire, nu-uh. The professor would have gotten upset if he had known – he was always reminding her not to get too close to Cyndaquil’s back, even though Cyndaquil liked it when Akari petted her and scratched her near the tail. “’M not touching it. You touch it.”

“But you need to help me,” Vessa insisted, even more stubborn this time. “There’s a lot more wisps like this one in Hisui- you must learn how to touch them, if you want to find them all.”

“But I don’t wanna find them. You go get them.”

“I can’t. I can’t go look for them. But you can, when you grow up.”

Akari could believe that, she thought. The part about Vessa not being able to gather all the wisps by herself, at least – the older girl hardly seemed to leave the village, if she ever left it at all, that was. Most of her time she spent in the same spot shadowed by a tree, even when it was chilly and the sun could make you feel a lot better, and she only went wandering around when evening came, once the sky had gotten dark and the guards started lighting fires. It made sense that she wouldn’t want to go too far from her favorite place, in case she couldn’t return before dawn.

No one ever believed Akari when she said that she had a friend that spent all day under a tree, one that talked in a way she could understand perfectly, unlike the rest of Jubilife did. She supposed it was a little strange that Vessa didn’t seem to have a proper house anywhere, but neither did Akari herself, for that matter, and people noticed her all the time- no one noticed Vessa even when pointed in her direction, not the professor, not Rei, not even Zisu, who was in the security corps and was supposed to know everything that happened in the village.

Akari had guessed that they simply hadn’t understood her, that she had been using the wrong words again, but Ingo hadn’t known what she’d been talking about, either, and he usually understood her just fine. He hadn’t accused her of making a story up, as Rei had, but he hadn’t seen Vessa anymore than the boy had, so it had been just as useless. It was a mystery, just like the heavy lump of rock she was carrying around.

The other girl reached out, wrapping her fingers around Akari’s wrist and pulling her forward. Akari made a face, but let her do her thing anyway – maybe if she got burned, just a little, then Vessa would stop bugging her, and she could go see where the merchants had settled down for the night before getting into bed. Ginter was gruff and impatient with kids, usually, but Tuli would let her sit near the caravan and give her a fresh berry if she made customers come closer to talk to her, and then, of course, there was Volo.

Akari liked Volo very much, almost as much as she did Pudding. He always seemed to have time for her, and often showed her weird stuff he had found while travelling, tasty treats she could eat or old stones with words that she couldn’t read on them – he smiled a lot, too, which was nice to see inside the village. People were always so serious in Jubilife, and so busy as well, it got boring after a while.

She’d have bet Volo wouldn’t have made her touch anything she didn’t want to, if he’d been the one there, but it was too late now. Her fingers grazed along the edge of the wisp; it shivered as though hit by the breeze, and then moved towards her – Akari tried to step away, suddenly scared, but the little flame disappeared nearly as soon as she did, bursting into a dozen even smaller sparks, bright and glittering.

“That’s good!” Vessa exclaimed, letting go of her with a big smile. “You’ll find the others too, I’m sure of it. There’s a lot of them, but don’t worry- I’ll help you keep count, I promise.”

Akari was still staring at her hand, wide-eyed. It wasn’t burned in any way – if anything, the wisp had been cold, even colder than Vessa’s fingers, which felt like ice on her skin even on warmer days. She had thought it would hurt, but she didn’t feel any different at all, except for the stone in her pocket, which seemed even heavier now that they’d spent so much time squabbling over it.

She made to ask Vessa about it, frowning, but when she turned around the older girl was nowhere to be seen, leaving her alone on the earthmound. It was too dark to see if her friend had returned to her tree already – she couldn’t possibly have gone that far, but she wasn’t anywhere close either, and none of the people near the fence looked like they’d noticed anything strange. She was just...gone, simple as that.

Akari stood there for a bit longer, lost in thought, looking out and about for any explanation as she chewed distractedly on her thumb. Then she shook her head and marched down from the mound, wandering off in search of Volo – maybe he would know what had happened, if she remembered the right words to say. He knew an awful lot of things, Volo, nearly as many as Professor Laventon did, even though he was not as old. Maybe he would think she was telling the truth, and not a story.

Maybe he would let her hold Togepi in her lap as they talked, at the very least. It wasn’t much, but it was miles better than stupid fires that didn’t burn when they were supposed to, Akari was certain of it.

four

Irida had hoped that by being asked to remain in Commander Kamado’s office a little longer, she could perhaps avoid speaking to her opposite clan leader again, at least for the rest of the day.

She knew it was childish, of course, and unbecoming of someone of her status. She was not meant to be afraid of any young man who preached blasphemy within her line of sight, and Adaman would not be an exception to that rule, not even in his wildest dreams- and he wasn’t, not in earnest. He didn’t scare her at all, he really didn’t, but their diatribes often left her snappish and frustrated, much like her conversations with Palina tended to end up in coldness. She had no desire to leave the village nursing that tension once again, knowing she would have to bear it until she’d reached the Grandtree Arena.

It seemed, however, that this wasn’t her lucky day. When Irida stepped out of Galaxy Hall, having given Professor Laventon all the information about Lord Kleavor that she’d deemed strictly necessary knowledge, she spotted Adaman right outside –he was lingering at the very foot of the staircase, holding onto a small child’s hand as the latter attempted to climb up the stone banister, so there was no way Irida could avoid him, much to her chagrin.

As predicted, the man noticed her presence within seconds, and then regaled her with one of those smug, arrogant grins of his, his free hand raising to greet her. “Funny seeing you again, Lady Irida! Forgive me if I’m not more formal, but I’m a little preoccupied at the moment.”

Irida scoffed drily, feeling her stance straighten up even more as she drew closer. “I thought you’d be halfway to the Fieldlands by now. What has become of your hatred for wasted time?”

“I wouldn’t have wasted so much of it if you’d hurried up a bit. I meant to have a talk with you about this business with your lord- a talk without any of those nice fellows in there, if possible.” The child standing between them slipped, and Adaman caught them before they could stumble off the banister, setting them down safely on the ground before turning back to Irida. “So, what d’you say? Fancy taking a walk with us?”

The kid peered at her from under dark bangs of hair, and with a start Irida recognized little Akari in them, sporting a toothy smile and looking undeterred by the near fall she’d just suffered. The girl was squirming slightly in Adaman’s grasp, too, which prompted the Pearl Clan leader to reach for her out of pure instinct, momentarily distracted from the matter at hand. “”Us”? I hope you haven’t started using children to do your bidding, Lord Adaman- I doubt your false Sinnoh, wrong that it might be, would encourage anyone to do that.”

He shrugged, that blasted grin still plastered across his face. “Almighty Sinnoh’s teachings include offering friendship to those who seek it, which is exactly what the kid’s been doing thus far. I think you should take example from her, maybe.”

Irida grit her teeth, hard, but elected to ignore the last barb in favor of keeping some semblance of peace. “Very well,” she said, stiffly. “We should make this quick, though. I need to speak with Warden Lian as well.”

“I’d never dare to delay you, don’t worry. Shall we, then? I was thinking that Prelude Beach might be a good spot.”

They set out across the village, Akari still mindlessly toddling alongside them. Irida had half a mind to urge her to return to one of her caretakers, just to avoid the additional prying ears in their vicinity, but- first, she wasn’t certain the girl would have complied, and secondly, it was improbable she would figure out what they were saying to begin with. They would have been hard pressed to find someone in Jubilife who was less likely to snoop on them, to be quite honest.

Third and most important reason, however, was that Irida had no idea who she should send this child back to. Warden Ingo reported that Commander Kamado had yet to give any hint as to what would become of Akari, aside from ensuring that she would be kept fed and housed for the time being – as a fellow leader, Irida could understand his hesitance, though she could hardly approve of it in full. Driving a little girl out of the settlement would mean doing the unthinkable, but forcing her onto people who’d not volunteered to take care of her might lead to even more resentment further down the line; this limbo Akari was stuck in, not having a fixed place in the world despite not being left to fend for herself, had probably felt like the best temporary solution, in the hope that the matter would resolve itself sooner rather than later.

Still, it was not a life Irida would have wished on anyone, least of all someone so young. She’d been more than supportive of Warden Ingo spending long hours with the child when free from his duties, as the only one capable of gathering information from her – he’d learned next to nothing about Akari’s family, but he’d suggested that she might perhaps benefit from visiting both the Pearl Clan and Diamond Clan settlement, at least for a short time. They were quieter, less precarious places than Jubilife Village, he’d argued, and most families living there had done so for centuries now; if anyone took a liking to the girl, and she to them, they might have offered her a stabler life than the commander’s folks ever could.

It had been wise counsel on his part, but following it would have to wait until things had smoothed over for good – travelling between settlements was often a dangerous feat of its own already, never mind with a frenzied Pokémon of such strength wreaking havoc not so distant from Jubilife Village. “What is it you wanted to talk about, then?” She began, as they walked through the village’s southern gate. “You made yourself very clear about what concerns Lord Kleavor- I can’t imagine you have more to share, right now.”

Adaman shrugged, his lips pressed together in a thin line. “I just thought you could be persuaded to have a little more faith in these Survey Corps folks. If they’re so full of knowledge as people say, maybe they’ll be able to find out what’s wrong with your Lord of the Woods, you know?”

“It’s not their lack of knowledge I mistrust, it’s their methods. These...Poké Balls of theirs...they go against everything we’ve been taught about the creatures we share this world with. You should know better, too, even with the little respect you give to the land Almighty Sinnoh gave us.”

“So what are you gonna do? Let Lord Kleavor ravage this space you love so much? Because I’m not about to allow that, Irida. This goes beyond who’s the leader of whom.”

“Is that why you’ve brought me there? To warn me you’ll get yourself involved in something that doesn’t concern you?”

It had been a low blow, that one; she could see it in the way a muscle tensed in Adaman’s clenched jaw, in how he exhaled slowly before speaking again, as though needing to ground himself. She regretted it, but only for a brief, brief second – no one could begrudge her some irritation, on a day like this.

“It does concern me,” he said, slow and careful. “And it concerns the commander, too. It’s not just the Pearl Clan that’s suffering because of it- members of my own clan got hurt because of Lord Kleavor’s frenzy, as well, and the same’s true for the Galaxy Team. If we don’t do anything to stop him- to help him, he might bring his wrath up to here. Is that what you want?”

Irida sucked in a sharp breath, stiffly turning her gaze to Akari once more. The girl had dawdled behind for a moment, seemingly greeting the stout Buizel standing guard at the gate, but now she’d ran forward again, plucking weeds and flowers off the side of the path – she put one in Irida’s hand as well, a sad, wilting purple thing, beaming when the young woman nodded distractedly in thanks, grateful for the brief distraction from her tumultuous thoughts.

Adaman, damn him, had struck true with his insinuations, straying even too close to her own doubts. She was afraid of what Lord Kleavor’s insanity might mean, just as the other leader was- would the Noble Pokémon take his anger out on young Warden Lian, next? Would he infect Lord Wyrdeer, who often dwelled in the Fieldlands as well and whose warden was Adaman’s very sister? Would he ever get better without their assistance?

Nay, there were far too many ifs and buts about this whole situation. Perhaps Commander Kamado had been right – studying Lord Kleavor’s behavior might be beneficial to his safety, in the long run. It irked Irida, to have to rely on outsiders to better understand a Noble of her clan, but a leader need do what they must do, and that included knowing how and when to compromise, rather than stand their ground unrelentingly. Her personal feelings mattered little, in the face of a threat to the safety of her people.

They’d reached the edges of Prelude Beach, by now, trading barbs as they had been. Akari bounded ahead of them, her bare feet leaving tiny imprints in the soft terrain, and then started digging out fistful after fistful of sand, giggling happily as she let it fall through her fingers and onto the ground again. It was an heartwarming sight, one that, while not enough to shadow Irida’s troubles entirely, gave her at least the steadiness to open her mouth again, swallowing down what uncertainty she had still lingering at the back of her tongue – she was still a leader, after all. Her people should never have to see her doubtful or wavering, and neither, the Almighty Sinnoh forbid, should Adaman.

“The Galaxy Team will have its research,” she said, finally. “If there were any better option, I would take them gladly, but it seems there is none. I don’t know how that professor means to reach Lord Kleavor, but when...if he does, I’ll have to verify anyone he sends knows what they’re doing. Nothing will happen to a Pearl Clan Noble because of the incompetence of some foreigner, no matter what you think. I will not allow it.”

“I sure hope so,” Adaman snorted, crossing his arms against his chest, but some of the tension on his face had smoothed over, a corner of his lips curling upwards as he stared ahead. “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you, o mighty leader. I’m sure Mr Professor over there will bring us some good news, and- what have you got there, kid?”

The abrupt change of topic and tone startled Irida, causing her to follow his gaze. Little Akari had abandoned her nonsensical game, apparently, and had approached them again, a smear of mud on her face and a strange object clenched in her tiny fist. She held it out for Irida to take, standing on her tiptoes and holding onto Adaman’s coat for balance  - the young woman took it numbly, automatically, and was left staring at it dumbfounded, Adaman peering curiously over her shoulder.

It was truly an odd, incomprehensible shape to look at...not that Irida knew by what end she should hold it, truthfully. The center was a roughly squared off piece of something that felt like glass at the ouch, encaged in a white frame and with bizarre golden decorations splayed across what was presumably the back – they pricked at her palms as she turned the thing on itself over and over again, trying to understand what it might possibly be. She doubted she’d ever seen anything like it, if she ever had.

The glass-like surface came alive suddenly, flickering to light like a fire that had just been sparked and almost scaring her into dropping it to the ground altogether.

“What in the name of-“ Adaman stammered next to her, clearly stunned. “What’s that supposed to be?”

On any other day Irida would have drawn some degree of satisfaction from his confusion, but right now she was too busy staring at the light, transfixed like a Mothim drawn to a flame. It was not a simple, monochrome burst; rather, it looked as though there was something sketched all over it, thin lines painted in blues and browns and greens – when she tentatively brushed the pads of her fingers across the drawing, to sweep some stray grains of sand off, the picture seemed to follow her touch, moving left and right until she snatched her hands away from it.

There was something unsettlingly familiar about those lines, too. Why, it almost looked like a map, almost like...

“Wait.” A weight settled on her shoulder, stopping Irida in her tracks. Adaman again, brow furrowed in concentration – he’d hoisted Akari up onto his hips so she could see as well, but his other hand was holding stiffly onto Irida herself, his eyes glued to the object.

“I’ve seen that before. It’s- those are the Fieldlands, right? That’s Ramanas Island. I’ve seen it like that from above, with Sabi and Lord Braviary. Why is there a map of the Obsidian Fieldlands on that thing?”

“Why indeed,” Irida muttered. Adaman was right, surprisingly – those were the Obsidian Fieldlands for sure, drawn broadly but precisely, down to the last hill. She followed the coastlines with a finger, carefully to not touch anything again, and found herself lingering on one corner again, unease creeping up her skin.

A small, even brighter circle had caught her eye, the light pulsing rhythmically like the mockery of a heartbeat. There words etched here and there, but none that she could read – she could only go off her memories of how Hisui felt, when she travelled through it. Ramanas Island was nested in a corner, which meant the Bibarel dam had to be further east, which in turn would make the blinking circle-

“Grandtree Arena.” She didn’t realize she’d said it aloud until she heard Adaman’s shocked intake of breath, but that only made her more certain of what she’d seen, and so she turned around, shooting him a troubled look.

“Why is there a mark on it? If- I’ve never seen a map like this one, but if it is- Why would it point to Lord Kleavor’s domain? Now, of all days?”

“I have no idea.” He glanced down at Akari, bouncing her slightly in his arms – not roughly, just as a way to get her attention, it seemed.

“D’you know what that thing is, kiddo? Where- where did you find it?”

If the girl had acknowledged his question, then she gave no sign of it, instead gazing serenely at the scenery around them. And still, Irida felt compelled to look at her, at this child that had fallen from Sinnoh only knew where, with her singsong, chittering language, her love for Pokémon and her curious hands that had unearthed the mystery now in their hands. None of that could be a coincidence – none of that felt like a coincidence, not to someone who knew the old legends and the power of Almighty Sinnoh so well.

And there was a power emanating from that strange item, a power that went beyond its eye-catching light, so bright it would probably hurt to look at for too long. Irida could feel it almost vibrating in her grasp, thrumming along with her pulse as her fingers curled even tighter around it, mindless of how its sharper angles dug into her skin – the shape itself, too, tickled at the back of her brain, as though it were bringing to mind something familiar that she’d since forgotten.

It should have been an unsettling, terrifying thought; and yet, the more Irida pondered on it, the more it cemented her resolve, shaping off a decision she’d believed to have made already.

“It might be a sign,” she heard herself say as if from a distance, surprisingly firm.

Adaman arched an eyebrow, looking nothing but skeptical. “A sign of what?”

“Think about it. If Commander Kamado hadn’t summoned us to speak about Lord Kleavor, we wouldn’t have found this, and whatever it is, it’s calling for- for something to be done where our Noble resides. That cannot be an accident. It must be a message.”

“A message from whom?”

“I might have an idea.” Irida could feel her face settle into a fierce, determined expression, as though the discovery had ignited a fire inside her.

“I don’t know yet what it means, but if this is a divine sign, then I must get to Grandtree Arena at once. Either the Almighty Sinnoh itself has bestowed this power on Lord Kleavor, or it calls for us to do something about it, but in any case, I will not ignore that call.

“Bring Akari back to Jubilife, if you please, Lord Adaman. I have a hunch she might be just what we need to set ourselves on the right path.”

and one more thing

“Grandfather,” Akari chirped, voice full of satisfaction, “leek!”

Tao Hua followed the child’s tiny pointed finger, and then nodded brusquely when he spotted the tell-tale leaves of a medicinal leek sprouting from the ground. “Yes, that’s right. Let us add it to our bundle.”

It was rare for him to leave the village to scavenge goods, nowadays. He still knew Hisui’s products like the back of his hands, sure enough, but his old bones were getting less clement by the day – he was much more content, usually, to let the young folk do the hard work for him, and handle the inner workings of the Supply Corps from the warmth of his office below ground.

All the same, he’d been warned of the presence of a rare patch of medicinal herbs blooming surprisingly close to Jubilife, and he did not trust his newest underlings not to bring in salad fodder in place of healing concoctions, so off he had been, soaking in the best of the sunlight with a little mite in tow.

A child would have been an impediment during a normal supply search, but this hardly counted as such – they were barely further from the village than Prelude Beach would have been, in comparison. Plus, Akari appeared to have the makings of a capable member of his corps, given time to get a bit taller and nimbler; this was not the first time she’d pointed out some sort of material to him, parroting the names she’d heard in his office during long, tedious afternoons, and though those were not the goal of this outing, one could hardly let them go to waste in the wilderness, could he?

Plus, small ones could provide decent company, provided they were in a good mood. His dear Yui and that whelp of hers hadn’t deigned to give him any great-grandchildren yet, and most of the kids in Jubilife were smart-mouthed brats who liked to make fun of his stooped posture, but this girl was sweet enough, so he was not too displeased at having to keep her entertained for a few hours.

She was agile, as well, like most of her age tended to be. The herbs were not that distant as the Murkrow flew, that was a given, but the last stretch of walk was steep all the same – Tao Hua reached his destination panting with exertion, but Akari had climbed up without breaking a sweet, and was now staring in wonder at the open sky, neck craned back and mouth gaping. At least his informers hadn’t been mistaken; the product was exactly as the old man he’d hoped would be, and there didn’t seem to be any wild Pokémon lurking nearby, so it was unlikely he’d be interrupted too soon.

He bent to his task at once, eager to get back home with some fresh goods, and let the child roam closely but freely, not sparing her much more than a side glance every now and then. He’d categorically refused to allow her to bring that green bird of hers, in case it started quarreling with some other creature, but she seemed to be able to keep herself occupied just fine on her own. That was good, Tao Hua thought; a kid that was too clingy was just as bad as one who believed themselves above needing their family’s company – he’d counted himself lucky that Yui had fallen right in the middle of that line during childhood, until she’d left him to marry that Choy miser. Betrayal, that was what he’d call it. Betrayal and thievery.

He'd gotten quite a long way with his work, mulling over his thoughts, when Akari called for his attention again, her tone going up a bit in puzzlement. “Grandfather? What’s this?”

Tao Hua straightened up with some struggle, grunting at the noise his backbones made. He’d been the one to instruct her to call him such, since she still struggled with some of the townsfolk names, but sometimes he regretted it – it was a pleasant reminder of times gone by, having a little girl saying grandfather in his vicinity again, but Akari would use it to call upon him endlessly at times, as most children were wont to do with proper family members as well. “What’s what? I’m nearly done here, .”

She didn’t answer immediately, so he turned around with a huff, wishing to see what all this fuss was about – and then he froze, taken off-guard.

A buzzing, translucent dome had formed several feet ahead, away from the path; the crack at its peak was hauntingly similar to the one that had opened atop Mount Coronet, and there were dark, stormy clouds swirling all across its surface, shining like the layer of grease that occurred when you mixed water and oil. It seemed to be growing murkier by the second, too – it was getting harder to see what could be on the other side, and if there were any Pokémon enveloped in it, they were easily concealed by the gloomy haze that coated the entity.

Akari had gotten very close to it, while he hadn’t been paying attention. As he looked on, horrified, she reached out to touch the dome, her fingers sinking into the oily darkness with ease.

Finally, his paralysis seemed to subside, and Tao Hua found himself being propelled forward, stumbling to reach the child. He recognized, vaguely, the shape that had settled upon the Fieldlands; that foreign professor had spoken at length of them, of the threat they could pose over unknowing travelers – space-time distortions, the man had called them, ripe with weirdness and possibly dangerous Pokémon. He’d invited people to avoid them at all costs, but he’d also reassured them, quite vehemently, that none had ever appeared within a few miles from Jubilife Village, and that they would therefore be perfectly safe within close range to their homes.

This was much nearer than any other Tao Hua had ever heard talk of, and what was worse, Akari didn’t appear at all fazed by its presence. She was, instead, rather mesmerized at the sight, dipping her hand into the distortion and waving it around as though she were following a gust of wind – there a thick, sickening energy dancing all around the dome, so palpable it was making the girl’s hair frizzle and the hair on the back of the man’s neck stand up in alarm, and yet there she kept standing, quietly, happily focused.

A little voice digging its claws in Tao Hua’s brain was urging him to turn tail and leave the kid there, safety be damned. That couldn’t be normal – children were reckless, sure, and prone not to listen to their elders, but those space-time ruckuses were despicable things, even when glimpsed from afar. None of the boys and girls born in Jubilife were likely to just- just walk up to one and play with it, as this one was doing.

No, there was something uncanny about the way Akari was behaving, unnatural, almost, as though a foreign being had taken her spot and her face, with fluttering hair and glinting eyes. That was the being the old man was on the verge on abandoning altogether – he didn’t want to touch it, no siree, nor did he want to get any closer to the humming, crackling dome looming above them.

But Tao Hua was, first thing first, a grandfather. He commanded respect, and if a child was in his charge, then he would bring them back to sense, just as he’d done with his Yui countless times before. He was not, and never would be, a cowardly, irresponsible fool, and so he closed the distance between them and grabbed Akari bodily, pulling her away from the distortion.

Only then he turned around and made a run for the village, as quickly as his old knees would allow him – he did not leave behind his basket, for it would have been a waste, but neither did he care if he lost a leek or ten in his mad dash home, so long as he didn’t let the child slip from his fingers once more. He didn’t have the time nor the means to check on the girl’s conditions, but she didn’t feel in pain or hurt in any way; if anything, she seemed somewhat confused by the sudden change of pace, if not outright displeased at being torn from her new toy.

There were multiple, ear-piercing blasts coming from the plains behind them, but Tao Hua didn’t stop to check which monstrosity had provoked them, too busy cursing to himself all the way to the village. Damn that nonsense, damn his job, damn this cursed, blasted land with its sky cracking open like an egg and its children ripe with death wishes – he was never going to set foot out of the village again, mark his words. This was not a place for men of his age and experience anymore.

Nor was he going to play nursemaid to Akari again anytime soon, he wagered, though he was careful not to let go of her until he’d crossed the gates, ignoring the flabbergasted guards looking on them. He didn’t know what was hiding behind that sweet, angelic face of hers, but from what he had seen today, he didn’t much care to learn – he’d leave it to Laventon and all of those fools he called Survey Corps, who enjoyed chasing after monsters and feeding them off the palm of their hands. It was not a job for him, keeping that girl from crawling into a Pokémon den...unless she had crawled out of a Pokémon den already, of course; Tao Hua was not an expert, by his own admission, but he wouldn’t have been so surprised to be proved right, given how she behaved.

They would have to keep a very, very careful eye on her in the future, that much was terrifyingly clear.