Lunation

Deep within a large city. Through empty and poorly lit streets. Past houses and buildings ranging from architectural masterpieces to barely held together. Beyond the government buildings and homes to large families of more than ten. To even beyond the schools and parks scattered throughout the city. 

The sky was dark, as night plagued the air. The city was caught up right in a rainstorm. Water tumbled down quickly and harshly on the city. Splashing down on stone streets and over the many roofs that housed Pokémon beneath them. 

One building, doused in the light of the moon above. Stood almost alone, a fence surrounding it on all sides, an open front and back yard, decently large with toys scattered throughout. The side yard was thin and more akin to alleyways to hide from the sun. 

The building in the middle of it all stood built from bricks, many of them breaking and crumbling from years of wear and tear. The many years of use and abuse, was leaving its mark upon the sides and base of the building. The years of children running, scraping, and attacking it was finally showing. 

Rumors said there were plans to renovate the place completely. Tear it down just to build it back up anew. New and modern. Much like the religious space redevelopment project several years back. Building and remodeling churches of several religious faiths. It was a resounding success, giving the city more diverse places of prayer. 

Going back to the building in question. It was not a church. It lacked the fancy colored and tinted windows depicting any sort of religious ties most modern churches had. Its architectural design was more basic, the building being a simple multilayered rectangle with several add-ons making the building an odd shape of squares and rectangles, varying in height and wood. Despite the history that lay within its walls. It was an orphanage and the conditions weren’t up to standard.

Several kids lived in the crumbling and uneven walls. Underneath the several different layers of roofing and beside buckets and cans collecting water from the rainfall. The orphanage was rather old. There were several different paint layers on the outside.

Most of the kids within the orphanage slept soundly as the night breezed by. The winds howled through the holes in the roof causing a loud whistle to sound through the air like a loud shrill, it rattled the gutters like someone was shaking it as water plunged down from the top of the house to the bottom in large splashes upon hitting the ground. 

All around the room were beds. Mostly bunks of three. On them all were Pokémon of some kind. Charcadet, Poochyena, Buizel, Zigzagoon, and Emolga. Many more were also resting. Scattered about the bed-covered room were small tables or stools that not Pokémon rested on, but buckets and cans. With the rain gushing inside from the messy roof above. There needed to be something to catch the water.

The tables and stools set up left very little walking space. One could delicately squeeze and tip-toe around the room and not knock something over, but it was a task that shouldn’t be tested. Especially with the risk of waking the other ‘mon up, and someone probably wouldn’t want several grumpy kids to deal with in the morning. 

Among the beds, buckets and stools. There was one Pokémon, a kid who was most certainly going to be grumpy later tomorrow, stared across the room with a head tilt. Their tail wagging slowly behind them. His purple eyes almost glowed in the dark as he stared at the door. Faint light blue fur evident over his body.

A few moments passed. The rain kept dripping down. The room was filled with the clatter of rainfall and the plunk of them in the buckets. Then the sound of a click and the door slowly creaking open.

“Pst! You awake in there?” A feminine voice piped up from outside, a little head peeking inside.

“Yeah! I’ve been waiting!” The Rockruff chirped, nodding back at the one snooping around. He peered underneath the snout peeking inside, “Anyone else out there?”

The other ‘mon shook her head, “Nope. C’mon. The girls’ room is way less crowded.” And then they ducked out of the room.

The Rockruff peered back at the snoring ‘mon behind him, then at his bed which he had stuffed with an extra pillow to make it seem like he was still on bed to nuns who ran the orphanage. He gave an approving nod and snuck out after his friend, gently closing the door behind him.

The Deerling smiled at him and clicked the lock back on again and trotted down the hall, keeping her head low as she went. Rockruff glanced around and followed after her. 

The halls were plain. Several photographs of former runners and nuns. All in almost full body, veil-like clothing, black and white in color. The orphanage had been linked to the Arceist church for generations. The photos went all the way to the end of the hallway and most likely continued elsewhere. It didn’t surprise the kids anymore. They’d lived with these photos, and they’d be able to name any and all of the ‘mon in each. 

The one thing that spruced up the hallway were the intricate lights. They were round in shape. A central spherical light hanging down from the ceiling where it hung from a base that looked like an upside-down flower pot. Around the spherical light was an Arceus cross. A circle with four diagonal points, each arching down and holding a smaller light. The smaller and dimmer lights were the ones that were on at night. Granting just enough light to see but not enough to disturb. 

It also would’ve given the two kids away if there was a nun walking by, but thankfully, there wasn’t. The duo continued down to the last room on the left, flipping sides of the hallway. The Deerling opened the door quietly with a hoof and pushed her way inside, holding the door for the Rockruff as they made their way inside the room. 

The girls’ room was the same as the boys. Except they had significantly fewer holes in the roof. There were a pawful of buckets around the room collecting water. The girls had bunks that seemed sturdier than the boys, yet upon one light tap proved it wasn’t true as the bunk creaked. Rockruff just gave a nod and slunk around a small stand. 

“Shhh!” Deerling yelled, whipping around to stare at the Rockruff. She frowned and shook her head at him and gestured for him to be quiet. She turned away and continued onwards to the back window of the room. 

The duo made their way to the window. Deerling pushed herself up and pressed against the glass. After a few moments of pressing against the glass, she pushed it and a creaking could be heard as the window slowly swung open. She smelled the air and smiled, falling back onto her fours again. 

She smiled back at Rockruff before looking back out the window and then proceeded to hop over and out the window! 

The Deerling closed her eyes as she hopped out and disappeared from view. Several moments passed before she popped back up the other side. The young fawn winked at him before gesturing to follow after her.

The Rockruff grinned and hopped up and out the window as well. He landed on a surprisingly dry patch of land. An overhang that didn’t have any safety measures. The two kids nodded to one other and made their way around the side of the building. Despite the heavy rain that poured down around them, they weren’t scared. They looked more scared when they were trying to sneak and avoid the nuns. 

Deerling led the way up and onto the roof of the building, becoming momentarily soaked in the rainwater for a few moments before sliding down the other side, back onto a landing and down another level. The blue Rockruff followed after her, neither of them close to falling off.

They landed on a small balcony, seemingly forgotten and closed off from the years of renovations. It was still in good shape, and even was out of the heavy rainfall when sitting closer to the building. It still had railings, which, while soaked and most likely not in great condition, did its job and ensured neither of the kids slipped off the edge. The railing was a mix of twirls and curves, black in color and metallic in makeup. A lot of fancy curvature as they wound around and through each section of the railing. It was like an abstract art piece. 

The Deerling smiled and slid against the building. While her autumn fur was soaked, it thankfully didn’t make things harder to move. She’d gotten rather used to running and hooves under rainy conditions. 

Rockruff, who was similarly soaked from the rainfall, his thick fur was even more of a mess than Deerlings, his hair covering his face and eyes as he skidded beside the deer. Rockruff shook himself out and lifted his hair up with a grin.

“Hey! Deerling.”

“Heya Rockruff.”

The duo shared a greeting of commonality. No real names were really shared. The nuns were worried about the intermingling and possible confusion it’d cause. So they just asked when in public to refer to each other with their species names. It was more of a formality anyhow to refer to others as their species names until they were close friends. 

“So! What’s the deal this time? Minus, you know. The storm.” The rock type asked her. He sat back and leaned against the cracked wall behind him. 

“Not much, really. I just heard something about the moon.” She replied, peering up at the overhang protecting them from the rain. She yawned, raising a hoof to cover her mouth before continuing, “Some Pokémon outside the orphanage said something about it being a super moon tonight!” She looked rather excited.

“But… the clouds.” Rockruff dropped one of his ears as his other twitched upwards. A frown and look of sadness on his face, “We won’t be able to see it. The storm, too! It’d-”

Deerling raised a hoof to his mouth for a second, “Well. The storm and clouds are supposed to let up for a little bit tonight, I heard as well. Letting the moon shine down in all its glory!” Deerling looked up and peered out from under the overhang and up at the sky, “Mhm! The rain is slowing!” She grinned, her smile wide and full of joy.

“Really!?” Rockruff trotted out and peeter after her, up at the sky above. The rain slowly filtered out. The clouds gave way slightly, letting a shining white light down on the orphanage, “It is!”

Deerling smiled excitedly, “C’mon! To the roof!” The fawn was the first to hop up and out and onto the roof. Like last time, she’d been the one who’d taken the lead. Clomping onto the roof and up to its tippy top. 

Rockruff, similarly without regard for safety, hopped up and rushed after her, skidding after her, grabbing a small pole that jutted from the top to stop his forward momentum. With his teeth clamped around the pole, he spun for a moment before stopping, “Heha! Check that out, Deerling!” 

The grass type pat him on the head and sat alongside him looking up at the parting clouds above, “This is really it…” She breathed, a wide smile on her maw, “The moon is peeking through! I can see it!” She pointed up at the glowing object above, her small tail swaying behind her. 

The clouds, as if seeing her point, began to break apart, slowly deteriorating and blowing away from one another. Each break and each gust revealing more of the glowing rock in the sky. The dark clouds stopped releasing rain, and the weather soon grew to a cloudy and rainless sky. Everything would come together. The clouds parted to reveal what the two kids wanted to see.

The great moon. Lady Lunala’s greatest creation and gift to Pokémon around the world. The silver light in the sky was huge, much closer than what the duo were used to. They could see craters, indents, and many other bits and curves on the surface if they squinted. Each orphus, each indent, the duo looked up in an intent awe. 

Deerling reached into a small bag she had adorned around her neck and laid down, placing her back down on the roof and then laying a piece of cloth atop it. With that, she bit down on something, some sort of blue stone from the rooftop, and began to draw something. A large circle in the sky, rays aimed down at the building below it. She switched colors as she reached into her bag. Each color mixed until they came out gray. A blue circle became a gray one, and blue and multicolored lights rained down from the orb. 

Atop the building in her drawing seemed to be two little chibi heads. Both resided in little speech bubbles. A blue dog with an excited look on its face, and then a deer with a look of awe on theirs. 

Then it clicked. Those chibis were them! Deerling had drawn them… in the moment! Rockruff looked back up at the moon, letting her finish her work. His excited look was still evident, his tail wagging as well.

Deerling looked up and smiled, “I thought I’d-” She lifted the cloth up, “Make something to remember this moment… us and the moon…” She looked up, back at the super moon above them. In its glowing glory. She raised the drawing up and tied it to the poll. So it hung like a flag above the orphanage. Deerling turned and looked back toward Rockruff.

Rockruff peered at her drawing, now flapping in the wind. His head was tilted to the side as he inspected it. The moon… the depictions of them below it. Rockruff was worried the drawing would come off or the cloth would be torn away and be dragged elsewhere. The rock type didn’t dare speak these aloud, but Deerling seemed to understand his concerns. 

“Rockruff. Just have a little faith! Listen… Lady Lunala will watch over it for us. We can come back anytime to look at it. It’s just a little something to remember… to remember today and all the time we’ve shared.” Deerling smiled and clasped her hooves over one of his paws, “Let’s watch the moon until sunup… okay?”

Rockruff blinked at her as she held his paw. He was confused at the gesture and didn’t quite understand what it meant. So he just leaned against her side. The Deerling was bigger than he was, so she was rather comfortable to lean against. He wrapped his tail around her back as they both sat.

They peered up at the night sky. The moon shining bright above all else. It ignited the sky, the orphanage, and the hearts and souls of the duo sitting atop it. They didn’t have parents nor anyone to truly look up to. They had to stick together.

Lady Lunala was their guide. Their shining hope in the world. It was all they had and looked towards. 

The rain began to gently fall again. The moon, however, stayed bright and clear. The dark clouds formed and shuddered into view, and loud winds whistled through the roof of the orphanage. The cloth flapped in the breeze, and yet… nothing ripped or tore. Lady Lunala was protecting it, protecting them… and that protection would continue for years to come…

---

Another groan, yawn and grumble. The Pokémon stretched from beneath his covers, his paws reaching up to his head as he spread out. The Lycanroc shuddered, his dark blue fur messy. He hadn’t gone to a dresser in a while. The last few towns he had visited hadn’t had one even around. 

It was mildly unfortunate. He raised a forepaw to his mohawk-like spike that hung down between his ears and onto his face, blocking one of his eyes from view. He released a sigh, scooting out from under the covers and leaning against the back wall. He poked and prodded at his hair for a few moments and decided to push it enough to the side so that he could see out of both eyes. 

Lycanroc’s paws lowered to his collar and mane. He hadn’t taken care of it either, so it was a similar mess to his hair. A white fluffy, rock filled mess. The rock spikes jutting out were harder to see than usual. The knotted and tangled fur didn’t help either. It just made picking at it even more irritating. With constant instances of claws getting lodged in the knots and then the forceful undoing of said knots. It wasn’t the most comfortable process. 

He sighed and flopped onto his fours as he settled on the ground. His tail smacked the bedside as it slowly wagged behind him. His tired eyes gazed around the room. It was a standard hotel room. One large bed situated in the main area, a walk-in kitchen, with a counter separating the kitchen and living area, off at the end of the room, a door that led into the bathroom. The room was just a plain brown, mostly to match the wood of the walls better. Esthetics were important, he guessed. 

Lycanroc yawned, making his way to the counter where he’d left his exploration bag, no badge clipped onto it. Just a regular old and torn bag. He’d tried guild life after leaving the orphanage years ago. It never really panned out. His teammates were always self righteous dinguses, who believed all they did was right. They bossed him around because he was ‘lower’. It made him question the legitimacy of guilds.

It sickened him that they allowed Pokémon who would charge a small child, for asking for some help to save her mother because she was starving. He beat the crap out of his teammates, handed in his badge, and skipped town. He hadn’t gone back since. Didn’t want to. 

He scooped his bag up and over his shoulder before heading to the door. His cloak was hanging there. He had it just to protect him from the weather. He had other clothes he wore when out and about. He didn’t mind the cloak, it was nice enough. He wasn’t some fashion star or idol. He was just your regular, guildless explorer. 

Lycanroc slowly pushed the door openmeeting the sun head on as he left the establishment. As the golden light momentarily blinded him, the chatter and bustle of the made its way into his ears. There was plenty of chatter about subjects he didn’t care about, Pokémon who spoke about selling their wares, or school today or how some fancy ‘mon were coming to town today. Blah blah blah. Same old boring stuff. 

Lycanroc turned and trotted away from the hotel. He’d paid the night before and was gone before anyone even knocked on his door. Lycanroc merely joined the crowd as he walked along. 

The crowds weren’t big by any means. It was smooth sailing. No bumps or pushes from ‘mon behind him like from his hometown. There was a severe lack of arguing amongst the Pokémon in the crowd. It was much more tame than what he was used to. A tameness he enjoyed.  

It wasn’t much longer until Lycanroc stepped away from the crowd, heading towards one of the streets that led away from the town. He wasn’t here to lolly-gag with the Pokémon around, nor to just go with the crowd. He was here for something much more important. Treasure.

Lycanroc sighed, yet another treasure hunting request that would most likely end in nothing coming out of it. It was how his last few missions had gone. He and the ‘mon that hired him looked and looked and looked. Each time, they found where it supposedly was supposed to be, but it was gone. Each and every time. 

He’d apologize, and then they would apologize. Then they’d pay him what they owed, and they went on their way. Lycanroc didn’t know how he acquired the title of treasure hunter. He’d only found two artifacts, and both those times were accidental. It had gotten around that he had a nose for this sort of stuff, and while he tended to, agree. The last few trips were just a bore with nothing to come out of it. Each and every time he left, he even more bored than the last. Maybe he’d lost his touch. He hoped that was what was going around, at least. 

“Aha! There you are!” It was a familiar voice. One of his former bosses? Was that the right word for it? It didn’t matter. The Jolteon grinned at him. They had flowing white hair, long and luscious, growing down the back of their head leaving a large amount of long, spiky hair waving beside her neck, while in her face were several strands of the same white hair waving down beside her eyes. Her eyes were a thunderous blue in color. Her mane was the same white as her hair, just as spiky as well. On her backside, where her tail would be were several white tipped spikes. 

She was wearing a shirt black in color with strings at the front for adjustment. A pair of goggles loosely hanging around her neck. They were gray in color, with a black stretchy fabric holding it in place. Her hind legs had some sort of socks. She had leggings on with a few pockets and bits hanging off of them. Several strange objects hung off her jacket and pants, one holding a piece of paper, another a knife of some kind. Over it all, she wore a gray jacket, with a scarf tied over it around her neck. 

“Oh it’s you. Knew the name was familiar,” Lycanroc grunted, nodding to the Jolteon. The rock type looked down at her with the smallest of frowns on his maw. Despite the familiar face, he didn’t consider her a friend. He hardly remembered her name. He was sure she forgot his too anyway-

“Anorthosite! Eyyyyyy, Aaaannnyyyy~” The Jolteon swaggered over to his side and gave him a teasing nudge with her nose, “Good to see you again, kiddo!” Her grin was wide and rather smug as well. Her blue eyes shimmered.

“Aren’t we the same age?” Anorthosite replied, looking at the Jolteon bluntly. His eyes were lidded and dark. Not happy at all to see this Jolteon, “Don’t call me, ‘kiddo’, Fos.” Lycanroc looked away.

“I’m a year older than you. It’s my right!” She laughed in return. She raised a paw and wiped her hair aside, “Besiiiides. I’m only joking.” 

“There’s a difference between angry and annoyed,” He sighed in response. His tail lashed behind him as he walked to the side of the road. Anorthosite wanted to get out of the way so he and Fos could talk about the mission.

“Yeah! One goes ‘A-N-N’ and the other goes ‘A-N-G-’.” She snickered, walking alongside him. Her head bobbed from side to side as she walked along, as if listening to a tune. 

“What do you want me for? I haven’t found any treasure in years.” He snorted to her, not hesitating to cut right to business. His yellow eyes half closed as he looked at her.

“Well! This discovery is a newer one. So we have a better chance at finding it,” She prefaced. Stopping the Lycanroc’s walk with a paw to his chest, “The Moon Piece.”

Anorthosite tilted his head in return, raising an eyebrow, “The… Moon Piece? I haven’t heard of this before…” He mused, looking around momentarily as he thought. 

“I did say it was newer~” Fos giggled. She shook her head out and continued, “Anyway! The Moon Piece is apparently very special to an old clan way up north. It was stolen from them a few hundred years ago, and brought into a church in the capital, before being sent out to put in an old cave for protection, but upon the fall of the empire, all their caves and tunnels were lost. We’ve found several since then, but the Moon Piece was never truly recovered.” Fos took a deep breath, “Until recently. One of the caves was found, and its interior was completely different from all the others! Several moons and depictions decorated the walls. We believe this is where the Moon Piece is… which is why I came to you. You were the quickest of anyone I’ve hired, soooo I thought we’d team up again.” 

Anorthosite sat down before her. His tail twitched from side to side as he thought about her offer, “What more can you tell me about the Moon Piece? Or the group who considers it a relic?” He asked her.

“Ah! Glad you asked. The group. They’re a religious group. Dedicated to the lady of the moon herself, Lunala,” She explained, holding a paw to her chin in thought. The Jolteon fidgeted with her mane and hair back and forth for several seconds in thought, “The Moon Piece was their way to speak directly to her. That’s at least what they said it did. I don’t have any concrete proof of it, but the basis was that it was linked to Lunala.”

Anorthosite hummed, “How long will it take to get us there?”

Fos blinked and tapped at the ground for a few seconds, mumbling the calculations under her breath, “About two days.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

The two days went by in a near blur. Fos and Anorthosite didn’t talk much, and when they did, it was almost exclusively about what the Moon Piece was about. Their talks were very rinse and repeat-esc. The Lycanroc seemed to have a rather deep interest in the Moon Piece. It intrigued him.

Fos didn’t question why, to his relief. Even if she did ask, he wouldn’t have bothered telling her. It was just a small spark of curiosity. With his memories of the moon, his fondness towards it. He’d never forget it… that day.

“We’re here!” Fos exclaimed under the early morning light. Her grin was unmatched. Wide and almost crazy as she stopped before the large cave opening. Her fur sparked in excitement before she peered eastward, “Wh-What!? How-” She shook her head out, “We were beat here!?”

Anorthosite peered eastward and rolled his eyes, “Well that sucks doesn’t it?” There were several tents a small way away from the cave’s entrance. They were all grouped together around what was a campfire. The few smoldering coals remained in the center of the three tents.

“Then we have no moments to waste!” Fos, tossed her large bag down beside her, “Anorthosite! Anny! You head in. I’ll get our base set up here. You have to catch up and find that Moon Piece first!” Fos called to him. 

The Lycanroc blinked at her. He released a heavy breath, “I’ll be back with the Piece.” He grunted, turning away and trotting into the cave without another word. 

“Good luck!” Fos yelled from behind him.

Anorthosite didn’t look back at her. He stalked onwards into the cave. At first. He didn’t see anything remarkable. Just plain cave walls, dark and gray. He blinked several times as he continued deeper, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. The cave seemed to go on for quite a ways. The Lycanroc didn’t know how long he walked for, but the world around him slowly began to shift and change. 

The cave seemed to glow more and more. Several markings on the wall began to appear. At first, before a large indent down into a tunnel, large lettering in an arch over the doorway. 

“Throughout a cycle of change, one shines dim.

The start and the end, many view it as grim.

The only time when the lady moves about. 

Is the time when nothing is called out.”

Anorthosite grunted upon reading it aloud, “Damn riddle…” He muttered, trotting ahead into the tunnel.

Several markings began to appear distantly. They looked like the moon. Several different indentations and variations of the rock in the sky. It was almost telling a tale. Of the moon and its cycles. As Anorthosite walked, the markings grew more and more frequent until they all lined up next to each other, growing in closeness until it settled. 

It repeated upon completing a cycle. Anorthosite blinked as the cave just kept on going. The roof had curved downwards and was just a few feet above the Lycanroc’s head, Tyranitar would not fit in here, most likely. 

The Lycanroc only grew more and more confused as he went along. Nothing was changing. No matter how much he walked forward. What was the point here? What did he have to do? He stopped and raised a paw to the markings, merely inspecting them.

Their glow was strange. He could feel some sort of energy from them but couldn’t really label what. They were cold, like he’d just washed his face, and a gust of wind blew into it. He bit his lip and stepped away, leaning against the blank wall behind him. 

“How does this…”

“Work?” 

Anorthosite blinked and glanced in the direction of the new voice. His body tensed up, ready to fight. The figure was taller than he was, by a wide margin. Tall horns with evergreen bunches of leaves and pink flowers blooming stood beside him. They were adorned with a rather fancy looking black vest, dark green jacket with golden embroidery decorating the front over it. A white mantle placed over the top, a bright and gleaming gemstone at the front. 

“It appears we are no longer ahead.” The Sawsbuck observer casted her gaze down at him, “No matter. The Moon Piece shall be ours in the end.”

Anorthosite rolled his eyes, “Aren’t you confident.” 

She looked back at him, her gray eyes glistening, “I’ve gone on more dangerous missions.” She replied, her tone smug.

“Well so have I,” The Lycanroc yawned in return, glancing back at the runes, “The riddle biz isn’t new to me.” He looked back to the wall and hummed, repeating the riddle aloud, mostly for himself. 

The Sawsbuck sighed, “I hated those nights,” She grunted, glancing at him briefly, “Oh. The answer is clear.”

“It’s the New Moon.” He snorted, trotting up to the Rune where it was just the faint outline of a circle, glowing blue against the gray and black, “Dim, so it’s dark, free for Lunala to fly around without igniting the moon and the moon itself isn’t called out.” He pressed his paw to it and waited.

The Sawsbuck hummed and placed a hoof onto the New Moon as well, “I’m impressed. Though, that was an easy one.” She raised her head and loomed away.

As she spoke, the wall would creak and rumble before shifting back and opening up, leaving a large opening in the wall. The cavern behind it was dark and only seemed to go deeper underground. The Sawsbuck wasted no time heading down in front of the Lycanroc. 

Anorthosite shook his head and headed in after her. There was no chance he’d lose to this deer after solving this riddle for her. He gritted his teeth as he rushed after her into a new cavern. This one was… strange. It was a glossy, almost glass floor. The ceiling and walls were similarly glossy but were dark, unlike the blue floor. The air was chilling as he stared around, eyes falling onto the Sawsbuck. 

“What’s this room going to do?” He asked no one in particular, glaring around momentarily. He took a few steps forward before placing his paw down onto an indent in the floor. 

“BE CAREFUL!” Sawsbuck failed to warn from the back wall. She immediately slammed her hoof onto the ground, “Idiot! Watch. Where you are. GOING!”

The floor gave a very soft hum. Lycanroc didn’t seem to react, “You’d think they’d hide the trap better. Huh?” He stared around them as the cave walls glowed. 

No trap popped up and out. The walls just numbly glowed. Nothing dared move. Nothing dared happen. It was as if time had stood still, like he’d broken some large contraption and was now staring at the mess he had caused. While staring at nothing at all.

The Sawsbuck made a noise and sighed, trotting to his side, “We clearly aren’t going anywhere with you standing there,” She gently pushed him over and placed a hoof down on the disk in the floor, “Let’s see if both of us make it react-”

The walls glowed brightly once more, and then it all began to shift and change. The roof above them twitched and shifted into that of a stormy night sky. Deep dark clouds, the walls seemed to disappear entirely, as a vast cityscape manifested before them, several buildings, light billowing out from windows and out into the dark world around them. The rich and expansive darkness of the cave simply molded into that of the sky. 

The ground below them seemed distant as several streets and roads manifested several meters below their paws. The dark dirt roads, several ignited lamps on posts, some sort of glass covering the flames, all so that light still spread out even under the heavy rain. 

Speaking of rain. The dark clouds were releasing a complete downpour onto the city. The rain was harsh and heavy, the streets almost flooded, the wind blowing and whistling dangerously, threatening to blow tiles off of roofs and more.

Despite the gloriously rain filled cityscape before them. That was not their focus, not at all. Their focus was on a building, manifesting just like everything else. It was mostly made up of crumbling bricks, from years of wear and tear. The building was an amalgamation of many different ones, almost pushed and shoved together, to form some sort of “coherent” shape. The world around them seemed to finally settle. A bright glow from a pole atop the newest and central building was evident. 

“The…”

“Orphanage.” 

They glanced at one another. Anorthosite’s face one of shock. The disbelief on his face at the fact that she knew. This Sawsbuck knew where he grew up. His head slowly made its way over, so he stared at the Sawsbuck. His legs were weak, his eyes shaking as if threatening to pop out at any moment. His tail stood still as if struck by an ice beam. Throughout the shock and inability to move. The Lycanroc released a croak, “I-Ipomoea?” 

At the same time. The Sawsbuck wore a look of confusion and worry. She had a bead of sweat dripping down her face, her eyes were wide, and her legs quivered. Her tail was whipping in either direction. She raised one of her hooves towards him, “A-Anny?” 

The Lycanroc stared into her eyes. She stared back into his. The world seemed to fade out around them. They were the only beings there. Just staring and staring. 

“Y-You’re okay-?” The Sawsbuck was the first to speak, “Oh Lunala. I haven’t seen you since those ‘mon picked me up,” She was wincing as she regarded her former best friend, “Did you ever get picked? Where’d you go?”

“I ran to the guild. That didn’t work out. So I became a mercenary for hire.” He replied, raising a paw to gesture to a scar across his right cheek, “What about you?”

“They needed an heir to their wealth and didn’t want their eldest to get it because of his… tactics,” Ipomoea sighed, “I was a pawn until they died.” 

“… At least you’re wealthy.”

“Wealthy but trapped,” She sighed, “I came here, seeking out the Moon Piece. Something I’d read about…” She looked away.

“… Well, I’m also here for it. My hire and I came here to return it to its rightful owners.” He raised his chin, “Something something. Righteous.” 

Ipomoea frowned as the tile below them glowed gently, “I’m sorry… but that Moon Piece is mine.” 

Anorthosite blinked at her, “Why do you want it? Why not help us return it?”

“Because, Anny,” She gazed at the Orphanage, the glow reflecting off her dark eyes, “This artifact is something I’ve wanted for years. I am not letting it slip away from me.” Her gaze fell back to him, “It was all I had. Before you and after leaving the orphanage, I am not letting a bunch of Pokémon who never bothered to look for it themselves take it.”

“Ipomoea…” Lycanroc winced, “I’m sorry… but I can’t allow that,” He fell into a fighting stance, “I have a job to fulfill.” 

The tile only glowed brighter beneath them, and in a near instant, they were no longer staring at the orphanage…

But stood within its walls. 

That same hallway, with all the pictures of the nuns and fancy lights. Everything was there like they last remembered it on that fateful night, the creaking and whistling roof. All of it. 

The duo only gave brief glances around before leaping into action. A slash, a kick. The Lycanroc pushed the Sawsbuck back, avoiding an attempted Horn Leech. 

She slammed into a wall, and it crumbled and broke under her force as she fell into a room full of bunks and buckets. No children in sight. It was only them in what remained. 

Anorthosite rushed into the other bunk room. His paws quickly dove around the bunks, knocking several aside as he slammed into the window. The window shattered and broke off its hinges, falling down into the city below. 

The Lycanroc was quickly grabbed by his hair, and thrown back. He screamed as the wall gave way upon his weight slamming into it, tumbling into the hallway now. 

Ipomoea was quick to recover and quiet to approach. She’d gotten the drop on him. She gave him a look as before she hopped out of the broken window and away. 

“I can’t lose- not now-” Hissed Anorthosite, forcing himself up and after her. He dove out the window himself, skidding on the wet overhang surface, almost falling off as he winced, rushing after her. He was much faster than her, especially in this weather. She was halfway onto the roof when he arrived on the balcony where they’d sit and watch the rainfall. He hopped onto the railing and up beside her as she pulled herself up onto the roof. 

The Sawsbuck looked shocked for a moment but sprinted ahead, her hooves skidding and slipping as she ran. 

Anorthosite didn’t waste another moment and slammed into her, sending both of them slipping sideways for several paces. Neither of them veered too far away as they charged the pole sticking out of the tip of the building, the duo rushed, reaching out to the glowing ball ensnared at the end of a piece of parchment-

“Lady Lunala will watch over it for us…”

They both grabbed a hold of the cloth. 

“We can come back anytime…”

They pulled and they pulled…

“To remember today…”

There was a loud rip.

 “Let’s watch the moon until sunup…”

A flash of light followed, blinding the Lycanroc and Sawsbuck. 

The Rockruff stared at the Deerling as they held the piece of cloth up to the pole. The drawing facing the weather head on… but remained intact. Rockruff loosened his grip. Deerling seemed to do the same. They smiled and turned to look up at the bright moon above. 

“Let’s never forget…” They stated on Unison as the light faded.

Held in between a paw and hoof, where a drawing once was. Lied a stone. Faintly glowing cyan with a quiet thrum of energy. On the ground, rested a piece of parchment. Drawn on it, mere squiggles representing shapes. A large circle with a deer and a dog looking up at it. Now ripped and torn, separating the two children.

Anorthosite looked down at the drawing and then back at Ipomoea in front of him, her face… distant. He took a deep breath and dropped the stone, picking up the piece of cloth. 

Ipomoea held the glowing blue stone gently in a hoof, following his gaze down to the cloth. Neither of them spoke to the other, or in general. The Sawsbuck didn’t flee, she sighed as well. 

“What are we doing?” She asked, looking at the stone in her paw, “We both… held this close. This legend…”

“It was all we had.” Anorthosite continued, picking the piece of cloth up, “All we thought we could believe in…”

“But… we were blinded by it.” 

Silence fell over the duo once again, a heavy thick silence as rain poured down onto them. Soaking their fur and washing away anything else. 

The Lycanroc picked the torn cloth up and looked towards his best friend.

Ipomoea set the stone down and took the cloth in her hoof, pushing forward so that the cloth was squished between their forelegs. It gave off a faint glow.

The rain began to slow and the clouds began to clear, parting the way for a moon, larger than anyone had ever seen loomed overhead. 

Anorthosite guided the cloth to the pole once again, they brought it close and tied it to the post once more, while still slightly torn, it had mended itself. 

Sawsbuck picked up the stone, before sitting and looking up. 

Lycanroc joined her, sitting beside her.

“… Let’s figure out what to do…” She offered, pulling him close to her side, so that the moon’s light bathed over them both. 

“…Together?” His voice wavered, no longer the confident young pup he once was. 

“Together.” She confirmed, her voice no longer holding the faith or innocence she once had. 

“Let’s never forget.”