Chapter 3: Culinary Chemistry
by dust_scoutPresent Day:
Muffled words sounded out in the darkness. I couldn’t make out any of them. No, before I had a chance to, a loud drum echoed and aroused me. My eyes shot open to see the ceiling. My heart was racing, I could hear it between my breaths.
I sat up and glanced around. No one was there. In fact, everything from last night remained undisturbed, even the door. I pinched the bridge of my nose. (“Good grief, what an awful nightmare.”)
After a few minutes, I finally gained the strength to stand up. The room was still dim, but I knew it was a different kind of dim; the light had a morning look. Though I was still a little groggy, I didn’t want to risk experiencing another night terror. (Yet another excuse from the long list.)
I was about to quietly leave the room when I heard a knock on the door. Out of instinct (and no sense of consideration), I quietly sneaked off the bed and toward the wall.
“Hey Zera,” a voice said from behind the door, “I know you’re cautious and all, but can you not ambush me, please?” It was Lucy’s voice and seemed oddly calm (too calm).
“Uhhh, sure…come in,” I replied.
The fledgling sighed and loudly opened the door. She then marched into the room with evident annoyance. (Oh noooo, she wasn’t a hostage after all.) Lucy turned back to me with crossed wings. “Look, I’m fine. You can stop being an uncivilized idiot.”
“I- uh,” I relaxed myself after a moment before asking her, “How did you know I was-”
“You didn’t answer right away and…I just had a feeling.”
I squinted. “A feeling? You deduced I was going to ambush based on a feeling?”
“Y-Yes, is there something wrong with that?”
I sighed. “I guess not, but that’s a heck of a guess.”
The fledgling made a smug superhero pose. “Hmmm, maybe I’m just lucky. Since it’s morning now, I figured I should check up on you. Breakfast time, you know.”
I gritted my teeth and looked away, “Ohhh, then I’ll be there real soon.”
The youngling dropped her pose before asking, “Hey, you okay? You look pale. Bad dream or something?”
Embarrassed, I waved her off. “Y-Yeah and everyone gets nightmares every now and then. I’ll be fine.”
Lucy wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. She then left the room reluctantly.
After verifying she left, I closed the door before sliding my back down the wall (becoming a nervous wreck in the process). I breathed rapidly as a surge of anxiety overtook me, desperately clasping my mouth to prevent noise from coming out of the room. Tears fell down my face, much to my dismay.
My head started flooding with thoughts once more. The memories of my dreams, they remained clear and detailed. Actually, the experiences of my old body remained. The cold feeling of the rain, everything…it still felt real to me. (“Last night. That’s right! So…I’m actually…human? B-But that doesn’t make any sense. I was born here. I was told so. How could I have a human life and my life? There’s something wrong here, something about this is all wrong!”)
I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths. (“Okay, calm down, Zera. Your imagination is just getting a little out of control. You might think you’re one of these so-called humans, but humans don’t exist according to the world. Who would believe you? Just don’t tell anyone no matter what. Otherwise, they’ll think of you as insane. Yeah, this is something you have to solve on your own, but after this week. For now, just…keep it together. You. Are. Zeraora.”)
Despite my best efforts to deny it, despite my attempt to find any kind of doubt about these strange “memories,” my mind kept recalling them as fact. Details continue to write themselves in like they were always there from the start. It was just like nine years ago, but different. My mind just ran through them all as events that did happen. I brought the Shinx home, we raised him like family, and…everyone…everyone…
I shook my head. It was just imagination! Dreams! Not real life! It was just…a fairy tale…
My body shrunk and curled into a weeping ball. (It was a truly pathetic sight to see.)
No matter how I saw these dreams now, there was only one thing to do; get through this week. This long, long week.
After some time spent composing myself, I left my quarters and headed into the nearby washroom, which felt a little odd considering I didn’t think of it as a “washroom” at first. The word just…appeared, in my mind. It was a pretty wide space with a large countertop basin. On the side were several switches and levers for water. Above the basin were pipes I recognized as faucets, while the wall just beyond the basin held a mirror. Finally on the back wall was a large tub for bathing.
After messing around with the knobs, I decided to wash my face. The water was cold, but it at least woke me up. After a splash or two, I gazed at the mirror holding my reflection.
My reflection was the same Zeraora I’ve always been. Yellow fur, blue eyes, light blue whiskers, and well…every other detail one would see on a Zeraora in their prime. Although, saying I was in my prime wouldn’t exactly be accurate.
My eyes were tired. I could vaguely see the shadowed baggage beneath them. (There was a need for sleep, for rest. It had been too long, but noooo. Of course not, one must be alert at all times.) For the first time in forever, I had to consider my habits. (“Dang, I look like a mess. No wonder Diancie and Meloetta are worried about that ‘paranoid routine’ of mine. I mean, it’s not too bad yet. I think?”) I sighed at the reflection before leaving the room.
I then walked to the dining floor, where Lucy sat impatiently. The sight reminded me of something I forgot about before. (“…Right, the cuisine. I have to eat whatever else this house had to offer for ‘meals’ without gagging my guts out.”) There was no way I was having that again. I had to make something else; even salad or something without meat would be leagues better.
As I thought this, Lucy turned toward me. It was time for an excuse.
I boldly announced, “Well, I think I’ll just get to making my own meal kind of like a-”
“Zera, just make your breakfast,” Lucy interrupted with a mildly dulled tone. “I already told Grapploct you didn’t like yesterday’s meal very much.”
My jaw dropped at the sudden tone change. I stammered in surprise. “I- You didn’t have to…”
“Just looking out for you,” the youngling stated. “Knowing your mouth, you’ll probably just make your food situation far worse. Besides, I’d rather have you in fighting shape.”
It was a low blow, but it was certainly true. Although, that last part was peculiar in terms of its conviction. It was far more blunt and…mature than I anticipated.
“So show the chef who’s the boss!” Lucy declared. And she was right back to her bubbly self.
(“…Maybe the moment was a fluke after all.”) Either way, I wasn’t going to complain.
Out of relief, I began to blurt out, “Ah…uh, Thank you! I, uhh.”
“Grapploct should be in the Berry Garden, just take the kitchen stairs,” Lucy said, pointing toward the kitchen.
Following the fledgling’s advice, I entered the small kitchen. To my right was a device I recognized as a stove. In front of me was a door that led to a cold storage room found in restaurants. To the right of said room was a countertop sink accompanied by a chopping area.
Thinking about restaurants made me recall another image from my “past.” It was a brief flash, but I saw several humans frantically moving stuff around from behind a countertop. (“Geez! I can’t imagine dealing with the anxiety of serving these humans as rapidly as those guys. Are pokemon-run restaurants like that too? I wonder…”) My eyes widened, (“Wait, why am I thinking this?”) I shook my head. (“Later Zera! Later! Focus!”)
To my left was a stairwell, the one Lucy was referring to earlier. After a short trip down the stairs, I found myself in a stone corridor, whose atmosphere was noticeably colder than the warmer bedroom hallway. Speaking of which, I learned that the corridor passed by the lounge area when I saw a path on my left. Further forward was yet another set of stairs. Unlike the others though, these went on for another flight before reaching the bottom floor.
Once I exited that final stairwell, I finally reached the berry garden, which was surprisingly intricate. Although, the initial room I entered wasn’t exactly a garden. It was more like a cavern lobby filled with doors, all of which led to another part of the cave. Each door was also labeled with the name of an environment, written in Modern Print Rune (or as other legendaries casually called it nowadays, “the written language of commoners”). I took a glance at each door’s label. One read “Cold and Dry,” while another read “Desert Climate.”
Seeing this, I huffed and thought to myself. (“Hmmph, geez! How much is Grapploct getting paid here? This looks like stuff the rich commoners tend to do with their unearned wealth when they have no idea what to do with it.”) (Us legendaries had no use for wealth, but if Lugia could track down some goods, a feat he could easily do, one could see Grapploct getting paid quite handsomely. Why else would the blasted Fighting-Type deal with Lucy’s nonsense?)
There were plenty of rooms I could have chosen, but I decided to find an environment I was familiar with. Eventually I went into the room labeled, “Warm and Humid”.
Despite its underground location, the room was brightly lit. I almost thought I was seeing actual daylight, before quickly realizing there were gaps within the lighting. It was subtle, but noticeable.
Hence the room’s name, the room had a noticeably warmer climate than the plaza before. In front of me was a large floor covered in rows upon rows of what looked like small glass greenhouses, each keeping a particular berry type. One house contained Watmels, and another had what looked like the extremely rare Eggant berry species.
“Unbelievably lucky!” I scoffed. I might not have been a berry farmer, but I certainly admired the attention dedicated to this place. If I had the Poké, I would have bet a billion that berry enthusiasts would be frothing at the mouth upon seeing this.
“Not luck, my feline friend,” a familiar voice called out. I turned around and saw it was Grapploct with a few arms crossed. “Time, effort, and plenty of sweat,” the retainer said.
“Sweat, do you water the plants with it by chance?” I asked sarcastically.
“Ha!” the retainer exclaimed, “If I could do that, then I could water all forty fields with just a few exercises! Hahaha!”
“Ha ha,” I sarcastically laughed. “But forty fields? how big-…no. How did you two do all of this?“
The retainer wagged a tentacle. “Correction: Lugia only paid the funds.” He then walked in front of me and gestured toward the rest of fields. “The rest was mostly all my hard labor.”
“You did all of this?”
“Indeed! And I’m proud to be the fabled hero of these wondrous lands.” Grapploct declared, puffing himself up in a bold superhero-like fashion. In normal folk terms, he was a berry gardener. Kind of unexpected considering that Grapplocts I heard of are more of the “fight first ask questions later” type. Then again, he did manage to put me in a choke hold quite easily.
Grapploct scratched his head, “I will admit that this much cave space is a bit much to manage, but I’ve made some thriving environments for what it’s worth, even if it does take hours to manage.”
I cringed at the statement, now starting to get a pretty good idea on how Lucy managed to sneak away so easily. (Yep, Mr. Superhero was a lot of things, but super retainer was definitely not one of them.)
Nevertheless, I bit my lip, pondering on how all this was made possible. “So how did you-, how are these rooms so bright?” I asked.
“Three things dear citizen.” the retainer stated, holding three tentacles up. “A grand budget, good connections, and the everlasting power of the Hourglass Tower. To emulate the surface sunlight.” He curled his tentacles back as he listed those things. Again, that tower. I figured it seemed important.
I squinted and then tilted my head. “The Hourglass Tower? How?”
“That question there, requires a bit more explanation,” the retainer replied. Just as he tried to speak, he stopped himself and twisted himself into a thinking posture.
He turned his back on me just after. For several moments, he just indiscernibly muttered to himself.
I was more or less puzzled by the behavior.
He tilted and shook his head on occasion, seemingly weighing some options. Made me wonder if he was arguing with himself.
Eventually, he twisted and turned back to me. “ Ahem, I’ll need to get into a mood first. Hang on.”
I blinked. “A mood? What?”
“It’s just a technique to help get my thoughts together,” Grapploct explained. “Bear with me if I sound a little off-putting though.”
“In what way?”
By the time I asked that, the retainer already took a deep breath and bowed. An then on a moment’s notice, he slowly straightened up, not to a superhero pose, but to an entirely different demeanor.
Rather than a confident warrior, the presence before me was akin to someone elderly, complete with a bent stance. It was hardly subtle, something changed in Grapploct’s attitude. This difference became all the more apparent when he spoke.
“Now then, shall we begin our lesson?” he asked with a sophisticated sense of confidence.
The tonal change in his voice and the very sudden use of an accent left me confused, “Uhh, Grapploct? Why are you speaking like that?”
“No no no!” the retainer said, tapping my nose (and dodging the question). “We’re talking about the Hourglass Tower here, not what’s bothering you. Now pay attention.”
The retainer continued. “The Hourglass Tower quintuples as the city’s government facility, the city’s main public time tracker, a historical landmark, a sacred temple, and most importantly of all, it serves as the city’s central distributor of power. Every aspect of the lighting, power, and even the air we breathe here are all because of it. Surely, you’ve already seen empirical evidence of the Tower’s miraculous capabilities yesterday.”
I didn’t know how to respond. This was a lot to process. “Hold on,” I said, grasping my head. “You mean to tell me that this ‘Hourglass Tower’ is the sole reason there’s air down here?”
“Of course, that’s what I am telling you,” he answered, gesturing to me. “All of the districts are laid out in giant air bubbles that vaporize incoming water. We call them the air shields. This vapor made by the air shields is the air all Silspringers breathe. In fact, you’re breathing said air, right now.”
As I processed the retainer’s words, I couldn’t help but feel a little sick at the thought of it all.
This bubble, I knew Grapploct and Lucy told me about it last night, but still. Something felt wrong about it. I tried to think back, see if there was anything, anything at all that could make this place make sense.
And yet nothing. No air bubble in water could ever do this, definitely not in the way Grapploct just described. I bit my thumb, thinking of an unfortunate alternative. I wondered if my so-called human memories knew of something. Against my better judgment, I tried to think human. (“Think uh, bald? Err, I am a human? Uh…”)
Once again, I was met with nothing. Just internal embarrassment at the thoughts my head made. Perhaps not even human fairytales could explain the absurdity of Silspring’s air. I mean, water…passing through an air bubble as wind? Could it get any more ridiculous than that? Where would someone get that idea? Why? And better question, how did they do it? Not even us legendaries would dare think of something so unnatural, even if they did help with their power somehow. One tower powering everything, it could not be that simple. It just couldn’t!
Grapploct watched as my mind struggled to grasp everything. He raised a brow, definitely noting my reaction. “Well then, I suppose some things are still hard for outsiders to believe.”
I had to ask Grapploct at once, trembling at the possibility, “H-How deep are we again?”
The retainer shook his head, “My, my, you’re still awakening, aren’t you, chap. We are at the Sea of Wonders’ south-eastern depths, at the face of an underwater mountain range. About…two miles down give or take. In the words of the simple-minded, the bottom.”
“Th-The bottom, like the very bottom?” I stammered.
“…Err perhaps not the actual very bottom, but pretty close to a large crevasse of no return. The point is that we’re on the seafloor.”
I dropped to my knees as the point from yesterday (finally) sank in. Granted, Lucy and Grapploct confirmed we were underwater. I didn’t think literally though. I would have thought of a darkened reef or an ordinary underwater cave, but the seafloor?
Now I knew what Lugia meant when he said I had no chance of getting back to the surface on my own. Not just that, I was lucky, oh so stupidly lucky. It was truly a one in a million miracle that I was even alive and well at all. The currents apparently aided Lucy when she dragged me down here, but…something just didn’t add up.
Grapploct patted my shoulder, interrupting my train of thought in the process. “It’s alright, I understand now. You’ll get used to it after some time. Is there anything else you would like to ask me?”
I forced myself to stand up. “I don’t know. There’s just a lot on my mind.” (“There’s a lot more than you can guess.”)
I figured I should confirm something, at least then there would be a base of understanding to start from. “So, that tower acts like a…a giant Charjabug?”
The retainer nodded, “Indeed. Whatever helps you understand. Nobody in the public truly knows all the details on how it works, but it has been that way for the past…errrmmm…hundred years or so. Mm, perhaps I shall hold off on the rest for now. Silspring is, at the bare minimum, complicated.”
“That would be appreciated,” I said. (“There’s more?!? How much more is there?”) My belly growled. “Maybe after I’m no longer starving.”
The retainer breathed out and quickly straightened up. The old superhero attitude was back in full force. “Right then, citizen…” he said before dashing to a nearby tool area. He then tossed a small bucket toward me.
I caught it as he stated, “You’ll need this. Don’t forget to close the doors when you’re done. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
Grapploct was about to walk by when he said this to me. “Oh, and don’t break anything.” With that, the retainer left me alone in the garden and closed the door.
I peered at the bucket in my paws, it was pretty small with four segments, presumably for each berry type picked. Grapploct certainly took a careful approach to make sure no blending occurs between species. I didn’t know much about farming, but something told me he didn’t want any unexpected problems with his berries. Nevertheless, I looked around for some familiar berries to work with.
I gazed at several greenhouses, each of which had one type of berry. There were rows upon rows of berries in each greenhouse. The air was so much warmer in the greenhouse than outside. The glass houses certainly lived up to the category of ‘Warm and Humid.’ The air was wet, almost similar to a rainforest I would find in the tropical regions. Though this air also had the aroma of the house’s berry, which certainly kept my mind off of the fact I was breathing sea water.
There were several choices in the room I chose, including some rare species. (Back on the surface, one does not simply stumble upon a line of Nutpea and Kuo berry plants in one place.) In the end, I carefully grabbed seven sweet berries. I stuck with stuff I knew how to cook. (Sure…“cook One Bluk, Two Magos, Two Roselies and Two Razz Berries.” We’ll go with that.)
Once finished, I triple checked the doors and left the area promptly. With some helpful ingredients, I could only hope the meal would be decent enough to last the day.
Climbing back up to the kitchen with the berry bucket, I found Grapploct leaning on one of the counters. “So, did you find what you needed?” the retainer asked.
I nodded.
Grapploct continued, “Very good. You can put that down for now. Now we can cook…whatever you’re planning on having.”
“Sure sure, but…” I glanced around, “How?”
“With a good old dose of electricity of course,” he said to me, “Good thing you were an Electric-Type otherwise this meal wouldn’t have been possible.”
I held up a finger. “Hold on a second. What do you mean?”
Grapploct glanced at me. “The air in most places here is too wet for fire to last, so we use electricity to do the job. Not as great as fire-cooking, but we work with it.”
“Then what do you need me for again?” I asked.
The retainer pointed to me, “We’re out of charge stones for the oven, so guess who’s gonna be providing the power.”
The idea finally clicked in my head. “Ugh, me,” I groaned.
“Exactly, but you have nothing to worry about. Being a legendary yourself, this stuff should be nothing to the likes of you, right?”
“Uhhh, I mean yeah of course,” I blurted out. “Shouldn’t be a problem. I mean it can’t be that different.” (“This is gonna end badly somehow…again”)
Grapploct squinted his eyes. “Hold up, you mean to tell me you never cooked with your electricity before?”
“Of course I have…I mostly did it to start the fire.”
The retainer closed his eyes and sighed. “Ohh dear…” he mumbled quietly. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he didn’t like what I said.
Could he really blame me for not doing it at all? I tried electrical frying once before on some tough meat in a rainstorm, but it didn’t turn out very well. On paper, such a skill would have been useful, but that meat tasted more like charred dirt than actual meat (never was good at moderating the power release).
“Alright,” Grapploct said to me. “We’ll walk through it one step at a time.”
I nodded, “Okay, but I don’t think these berries would be good for roasting though.”
“Let’s see here.” Grapploct said as he peered into the bucket. After a moment of analysis, the retainer looked back at me. “Well, I see you have an appetite for sweets like the little one. Though your choices aren’t exactly on point. Why have a hint of spice and bitterness?”
My eyes darted around in embarrassment as the retainer waved his arms, “N-Not that it’s a bad thing, maybe I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Grapploct paced around for a short moment. He then made this suggestion, “Ah! A set of sweet buns might be a good choice for these ingredients…even if it isn’t exactly nutritious.”
I bashfully scratched my head, “Well, I never cooked bread with electricity before.”
“Not anymore! You’ll get to try it first hand,” the retainer stated before wrapping his upper right arm around me. “With me by your side, you have nothing to fear!” Unfortunately, that statement only worsened my anxiety.
The retainer began gathering several bowls before mixing together what looked like bread dough. He then placed a wad of the substance into one of the metallic bowls and gestured me toward an area distant from the other ingredients. “My hero senses are telling me you haven’t done this in a while. So, we’ll cook this small bit by hand first.”
A while was an understatement. I mostly lived off of meat and berries for a long time. It got me by, but I definitely missed out when it came to the cuisine commoners were known for. Us legendaries didn’t have much time for small things like innovating cooking techniques, except for…uhhh, Diancie?…huh…
Grapploct gestured toward the bowl in front of me. “Okay, here’s the first step. We’ll start with a practice run. Just give it a Thunderjolt.”
I nodded. “Alright…” I began to prepare a charge by rubbing my paws together. Sparks quickly started crackling around my wrists and Grapploct started looking a little anxious.
“Zeraora, what are you doing?” the retainer asked.
I halted my preparation and glanced at the Fighting-Type. He wore an expression of concern, almost ready to brace himself for a big attack. So I spoke up, “Come again?”
“Why are you making sparks like that? Can’t you just generate electricity?”
My gaze dulled itself at the sound of the questions. (“Of all the things to not tell…”) “…No. I can’t just Pika-shoot lighting from my fingers off the bat.”
Grapploct took a deep breath before telling me, “Well, please do so slowly, and I mean it. Makes us nervous when folks recklessly spark like that. Please.”
I rolled my eyes and obliged. I tried at slower rate, but the retainer cleared his throat once he saw a few sparks. He then gestured slower. And then it happened again, and again…and again for several agonizing minutes. (The audacity of this proposed pace was just awful. A Snom could run across a town faster than the rate of charging at that moment. It was sooo boooriiiing!)
“Grapploct!” Lucy called from the other room, “What’s taking so long?”
The retainer answered promptly, “It’s just Zeraora, taking his time to charge up.”
“Sure, sure,” Lucy said. “Of course, he can take his time. But I’m sure all prefer he’d finish sometime today at least.”
I grumbled as I continued to charge myself up at the abysmal pace. (“Oh, I would looove to, ‘sister’, but apparently this kitchen is run by a Blastoise, on land.”)
“Now now, Lucy,” Grapploct said, turning to the door, “You and I both know that Zeraora is new here and as a new Electric-Type-“
“Done charging.” I announced, interrupting the exchange. I tried to charge up for the day, but clearly the amount of patience in the house varied. I figured I could fully charge up later.
“Fiiine”, Lucy called back. “Do your magic…”
Grapploct turned his attention back to me. “Are you sure, citizen?”
“Oh I had more than enough to be ready.” I replied, nodding. “But we might as well not keep Lucy waiting now, can we…” With that, I turned my attention to the bowl.
The Fighting-Type glanced at me for a moment, but eventually shrugged and repeated his instructions, “Very well, now give it a nice little Thunderjolt.”
With Grapploct’s reminder, I took the metal bowl zapped it with what I thought was a small jolt of electricity. The bowl heated up as planned, but far more quickly than I anticipated. The dough rose, burned, and then exploded in my face within a few seconds.
The dough felt like burnt rock that stuck to my face. I screamed, “IT BUUUURRRRNNNSSSS!!!!!”
Grapploct promptly grabbed a towel and soaked it; he then wiped my face with it to ease some of the pain.
Once the pain subsided, I grabbed the towel myself and continued cleaning off the mess.
The retainer sighed and looked down at the floor. When he straightened up, he was in his bizarre lecture mode again. “I said Thunderjolt, not Thunderbolt ,” he chastised with annoyance.
“I thought I did though. It was a gentle shock,” I retorted.
Grapploct shook his head. “No no, you clearly overcharged it.”
“Thanks, mister obvious,” I commented after cleaning myself up, “Would you mind giving me some helpful advice?”
“Of course, you don’t need nearly that much power. Just…go as slow as possible.”
“Heeeey!” Lucy called, “Can you two speed it up a little? I’m getting bored waiting and we don’t have all day here.”
The fledgling’s lack of patience irritated me. But before I could comment, the retainer zipped over to the kitchen door. “Patience little one, you cannot rush culinary art. Safety comes first.”
I growled at Grapploct’s last statement. (“I wish you could have said that sooner. Would’ve saved my face from a few burn marks.”)
The retainer and I continued our experiment by gathering the berries and placing them on the table. Grapploct grabbed one of the Razz berries and squeezed it slowly. “Grab one of the Magos, and squeeze it,” he instructed.
I obliged and crushed the berry, which shot juice up and into my eyes. Until that moment, I never thought that sweet juice from a berry would burn so badly.
As I once again cleaned myself with the soaked towel, Grapploct said to me, “I have to say, your strength is quite remarkable. I wish I could say the same about your luck.”
Lucy was laughing from the kitchen entrance after she heard my panicked screams earlier. Good to know that she was finding joy in her life, at my own expense.
After that not-so-happy accident, Grapploct and I continued mixing the berries together. The juice mix was the result of two Razz berries, a Mago, a Bluk berry, and leafless slices of the Roseli berries. We mixed the dough and juice together to create a sweet-smelling substance.
From there, we headed over to a metallic and semi-spherical structure that stood opposite of the kitchen stairwell. It had a door opening that was shaped similarly to a brick oven on the surface. We then poured the mixture into a slotted pan and placed it in the structure.
“Alright now comes the hard part,” Grapploct stated.
“Hard part? What do you mean?” I asked anxiously.
The retainer took a deep breath before replying, “You gotta power this oven with your electricity. Now the hard part is that, no offense or anything, you currently aren’t used to moderating your powers.”
I was disgusted at the thought. The nerve this Fighting-Type had to say I was a novice essentially. (It was frustrating beyond belief.) I had full control of that storm yesterday. (I tossed lightning for a long time, far longer than his lifetime. The most famous of Electric-Types took great pride in their control of such mighty power. Being called uncontrolled was basically a statement of failure. It made me furious.) I was mad and the retainer saw it.
The Fighting-Type remained unphased and continued, “Anger’s only going to make it worse. Now pay attention Zeraora. I‘m not sure why, but firstly, you tend to overdo it a little. Secondly, you must provide power to the oven by gripping this wire and transferring power to heat rods.”
I was still in a steaming mood when I said to the retainer, “Can you put it into words I understand?”
Grapploct sighed. “Grab the wire with your paws. The wire should catch any electricity you send out of your paws while grabbing it. Start at a very loooww charge and build your way up. It’s elementary. It’s how even the most basic of furnaces work. Does that help?”
Despite the weirdness of it all. The statements in all of their detail were easily understandable. So I did as the retainer asked, while he peered into the structure. I heard a whirring from within the structure as I began to release the stored charged from my paws.
Though it seemed odd at first, a thought appeared in my head. (“It’s a microwave.”) Reflecting on it, the idea kind of made sense. Those devices were powered with electricity to some degree. Sure there were other things, but that was one key component. It was an electronic device.
My train of thought was then interrupted by a panicking Grapploct, “Stop! Stop! You’re overheating it!”
Upon hearing this, I let go of the wire and stopped supplying power. The device’s buzzing died down as it drained the leftover energy.
The retainer stared into the device’s dark chamber for several moments before opening it. No smoke came out at all; the most we noticed was the heated air.
We carefully placed the buns on a safe part of the counter. Although there was no smoke, they looked quite burnt.
“Good bloody thing you dropped the wire when you did,” the retainer remarked, “Would have been disastrous if you didn’t.”
“I guess so,” I replied, “got a little distracted.”
“Tsk tsk…” Grapploct sounded out as he shook his head slowly, “Quite the understatement I would say.” He glanced at the buns once again before trying to act optimistic. “Then again, maybe it won’t be all bad. After all, it’s the inside that matters.”
I glanced nervously at my new batch. The top of each bun had crusted over. The color darkened from a fine pink to an ugly purple like color. (There was no way I was eating that mess. Nope, not a chance.)
The three of us were gathered in the dining hall. It was the moment of truth.
Lucy piped up after peering at the buns, “This…this looks like poison in bread form.”
I raised an eyebrow in disgust. (“Wha-? I thought I was the picky one here. How cruel.”) “Rude,” I scoffed, “It cannot be that bad.”
The fledgling gestured to the treats, “Brother, use your eyes and don’t lie. You didn’t know what you were doing.”
“To be fair, I was distracted,” I retorted.
Lucy shrugged. “Don’t shock while distracted, buddy.”
“Hey,” I said, placing a finger on the table, “Shocking’s my job, not yours.”
Grapploct only sighed and mumbled to himself in response.
I made a groaning growl, “It was a good first attempt.”
Both the fledgling and retainer remained silent.
“Fine,” I said, “I’ll show you myself then.” I foolishly grabbed a bun and bit it. At first, I thought I made a horrible mistake as I gagged briefly. But then the dough beneath had an appealing, sweet taste that seemed enjoyable. (I would still rather face embarrassment than try consuming those buns whole.)
Confused, Grapploct bit into his treat next. He too made a gagging reaction initially, before liking the inside’s taste and swallowing the rest of it. “Mmm…Quite deceptive,” he said, “It has a similar taste format to a Durin berry. While yes, it is a bit burnt up. It’s nothing too terrible.” He then glanced at Lucy.
The fledgling cringed at the thought of having one. I almost felt bad (not really). All it took was one bite for her to toss the treat to the side. She did not bother hiding her disgust. “Bluyggck! Poison!”
“Geez! At least Grapploct was nice about it,” I remarked.
“Good thing I already had breakfast,” Lucy scoffed, “because I just lost my appetite.” She then stood up. “You two can have those…things you call bread, while I wait like a sane pokemon.”
I watched the youngling leave the room as Grapploct said to me, “Don’t worry yourself. She’s always been a tad loud when it comes to expressing herself. She at least has the makings of a good legendary pokemon when it comes to making her voice and opinions known. Though there are some…rough spots still.”
I gritted my teeth at the idea that Lucy is the heiress to Lugia’s name. (“Right now, that mouth of hers is the only thing that’s exceeding expectations.”)
The retainer gestured at the buns, “I can tell you don’t like the outer crust so, let’s just get those parts off the rest of the buns.”
We eventually ate the batch, while also avoiding the awful outer shell of the buns.
After we finished, Grapploct looked toward me, “ Not a bad first batch, but it wasn’t exactly something I’d call a meal. ”
That was true, but it would at least help me get through the day…hopefully.
I felt the urge to make a pun. Without really thinking, I wore a bold smile, “Hehe…I guess you can all call me a Bunsen burner!”
Grapploct sat there in silence, looking away; he did not get the pun at all. (I didn’t even get it and I had the head that thought of said pun.)
“I…don’t understand,” the retainer admitted. “But I suppose that’s surface-dweller humor? …Perhaps refrain from doing that here. Could save you from trouble.”
“I- I guess that was bad,” I said while cringing, “I’ll keep that tip in mind.” (“And just as I got on his good side too…stupid human memories.”)
The Fighting-Type straightened up and then said this to me, “Well then, maybe you could get some pointers from the mayor, who’s amazing at cultivating and cooking.”
(“Back to the old hero stuff and-“) “H-Huh? What do you mean?” I stuttered, “And the mayor?…A she?”
Grapploct’s expression lit up in realization. “Oh right, you don’t know much, do ya.” the retainer said, “Simply put, the current mayor is a local hero. Been helping us all out for a long time, even before us Silspringers ever considered her as one of our own.”
“That word again,” I blurted out, “Silspringers? You mentioned that.”
“Oh my apologies. That’s what us locals call ourselves,” Grapploct explained, “It’s a way to distinguish ourselves from outsiders and surface-dwellers.”
I raised a brow. “…Why would you all do that?”
“We’re just used to the environment here,” the retainer answered, “It’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”
I sighed and shrugged.
The Fighting-Type gestured to me. “Alright alright, citizen, the point is that the mayor, despite all her differences, did so much to earn the trust of everyone. Volunteering, advocating for those in need, other politic-stuff you don’t need to know, and even battle.”
My eyes widened at the last part. “Wait, battle?”
The retainer nodded. “Indeed, she’s living proof that not all leaders sit at a desk nowadays. Surely you know that.”
“I know but…but still.”
“She’s not just any ordinary fighter either. She’s powerful, elegant, a real hero- errr I mean heroine, don’t you think?”
I didn’t know how to really process this information. The qualities mentioned were something to really admire. (It all sort of reminded me of someone important…Made me wonder how she was doing now.)
I smiled and shrugged. “Heh, wow. Sounds like a wonderful lady,” I commented.
Grapploct nodded. “Oh yes indeed. You two would certainly get along well.”
I tilted my head. “Huh? What do you-”
Lucy returned to the dining area. “You two done with your heart-to-heart yet? We have things to do. And it’s under a tight schedule!”
I rolled my eyes. “Right, right, mentioned something like that. So what’s first?”
“Swimming Lessons: Abridged Edition,” the fledgling declared with a dynamic motion.
“Sw-Swimming? Wait what?” I stammered, “Come on, I know how to swim.”
Lucy grabbed my wrist, “Ohoho! Not in this town, brother! You need to know how to swim down here with very cold water.”
“Hehehe, nice joke, Lucy,” I nervously chuckled as she pulled me away from the dining area, “I mean come on, the water can’t be that cold plus I had enough swimming time from yesterday and stuff. Wh-Where do you think you’re taking me?”
I never got an answer from her as she kept on pulling me along this bizarre adventure track of hers.
Lucy dragged me to the third basement floor where the seal was visible. There was nothing noteworthy behind the stairwell, not from where I was. In fact, there wasn’t much to see on this floor. If anything it seemed like a maintenance floor with a bunch of locked doors.
The air here felt much colder than the previous floors. The lighting was also dim, save for the seal area. I saw the foyer ceiling thanks to that hole in the ceiling. The light from the area shined down onto the seal, as if it was of great importance.
We walked across the seal, but I couldn’t get a good look since Lucy kept pulling me around. Across the seal was a large, stone arched entrance. The arch itself had an extremely sturdy structure. Initially, I couldn’t tell why until we passed through it.
The room beyond was vast. The most prominent feature was a body of water, a circular pool more than large enough to fit half a Wailord at least. The pool was bordered by paths made from the grip-plastic. Actually, the entire room’s floor was made from this material.
It then made sense why this floor was much colder than the others, this pool was the reason. The air here felt even more moist, far more pronounced than it was outside. I almost forgot the air here was so wet.
When I saw the pool, I began fighting back against Lucy’s movement. “Oh no. No no no nononononononononononono no! My fur just dried itself! And I’m not getting in that water!”
“Quit your whining,” Lucy demanded, trying and failing to pull me toward the pool, “This is how everybody gets around and you’re NOT going to be the exception this time!”
“Well maybe I DO!” I spat back, pulling Lucy away from the water.
Grapploct entered the area at this point. “Lucy, please treat our guest with respect,” he politely told the fledgling.
Lucy tried to protest. “B-But-”
The Fighting-Type gave the fledgling a stern glare. “Lucy. Let him go now.”
In a huff, the youngling let go of me, causing me to fall on my face in the process.
“Look, if we’re going to get around, Zera needs to be able to swim here.” Lucy stated, “What if he gets into a bad situation?”
“It won’t happen as long as he stays on the land here,” Grapploct replied with crossed arms.
I stood up. “Besides, Lugia said not to cause trouble. And that basically means not interfering with stuff outside of my domain.”
“This is also a town,” the retainer added. “The authorities should be the ones to deal with problems.”
The fledgling pouted. “Like they’ve done anything with the crime around here.”
The Fighting-Type’s stare turned stern. “Lucy.”
The fledgling did not even flinch. “Well it’s true. And Zera, don’t you think it would get so boring to just sit in one place all the time. A fast guy like you wouldn’t like that, right?”
(The youngling had some nerve thinking she knew me.) I couldn’t believe this young lady’s persistence. “Y-You don’t know me, I still would rather follow my commands than cause worse problems.”
Lucy stepped back. “Guys, come on. The last time Zera was sitting out alone, he cried his eyes out at the Hourglass Tower courtyard. If anything, keeping the guy busy would be good for him. Besides, don’t you need go to the market anyways? Maybe bring us along. All we have to do is not cause a scene, right? Pops will never know. And I know Zera is here is responsible. Give him a chance. He’s an adult.”
(“Barely…”) I groaned once more. “Lucy, you can’t just force me to disobey orders.”
Finally, Grapploct piped up, “Fine, a simple swimming lesson wouldn’t delay many plans anyways.”
The fledgling smiled upon hearing those words. “Yes, thank you, I won’t make you regret it. Both of you.”
“Wait, what?” I blurted. (“That sneaky little- How?!?”)
Lucy started pulling me toward the pool as Grapploct said to us, “However, you’ll need my supervision. The little one loves to rush into things.”
“Fine, who cares?” Lucy stated, “We’ll just do the crash course and hope it’s good enough.”
I gazed at the pool to find it was not structured like any lake I’ve seen. After the surrounding rim, the floor gradually lowered itself below the surface until there was a drop-off. The drop-off went into a tunnel. Where it led was a mystery to me.
“Alright,” Lucy said to me, “Lesson one: the water here can get very cold.”
I waved my hand irritably. “Like how cold? I’m pretty sure it was cold when I was out of it.”
“It depends,” Lucy answered, “but here and especially far off outside, like SUPER VERY MUCH COLD cold!”
I hated the idea of it all, but there was no getting out of it now. (“It couldn’t be that bad,”) I thought.
I moved toward the waters. The moment water made contact with my foot, I immediately wanted out. It made me wonder how Lugia could stand this stuff without getting himself frozen.
“Ahhh haha haaa! That’s cold!” I exclaimed, pulling my foot away.
“Oh quit being a baby about it,” Lucy demanded, trying to push me.
It was at this moment, Grapploct performed his species’ namesake and grappled my squirming body. He then gradually dipped my waist into the cold waters. I wasn’t sure if he was frustrated at my defiance or what, but either way I did not like the gesture.
My claws were out and my legs kicked around haplessly. “Waaah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Cold! Cold! Cold! Hyyyyyyiiieeee!” I gripped Grapploct’s tentacle and pulled myself out.
Grapploct remained composed and shook his head. “You won’t get used to it like that.” And with that he shoved my whole body into the shallow pool and released me.
The cold feeling struck my nerves as the waters enveloped me. Even with the saltiness found in the ocean, water was still ice cold to me. It only took moments before I emerged in the most spastic manner possible. I was pretty sure I splashed water several hundred times in a panic before finally pulling myself out of the water via the shore.
“How are you feeling, Zera?” Grapploct asked.
I was shivering, cold, soaked, and lost the dignity of my appearance again. “Thanks, I hate it!” I shakily told the onlooking duo.
Lucy shook her head. “Get used to it, because it’s like this everywhere in the Central District.”
And so they tried for the next hour or two. They taught me how to take my breaths here. Since the air was also water, I had to be a little careful. Unlike Silspringers, who, from Grapploct’s words, had no such issues with it. Not even the Fire-Types were afraid of this air.
And that certainly begged other questions that weren’t exactly answered with all the water dunking I experienced.
No matter how many times I was submerged, I could not get used to this awfully cold feeling the waters kept providing.
Eventually, we decided to take a break from it all. Grapploct sat on a chair to undergo a long session of “thinking” while Lucy was just swimming in the pool’s surface with relative glee.
I simply remained near the wall of the room. I was NOT taking chances with Lucy. Knowing her, she’d pull me in the first chance she got.
I remained curled in a ball, trying to warm and dry myself up a bit.
After a while though, my eyes were greeted by an upward splash of water in front of me.
“Gah!” I immediately ran over to another part of the poolside grounds as the newcomer made their landing on the spot I sat at earlier.
I turned around and faced the source of that new splash. It was a Water-Type pokemon with sky-blue locks of hair and a blue fish tail. No doubt it was a Primarina, known as the Soloist Pokemon by many.
Lucy swam over and greeted the Water-Type.
“Kalea! You’re back!” She called out in a rather rehearsed manner.
“Ah! Young one,” the Water-Type politely responded as she slowly lowered herself. “What’s our favorite little youngling been up to lately?”
Lucy shook her head, “Come on, please! I got a name now.”
“Oh? What would that be, this time?” Kalea asked in a doting manner.
The youngling crossed her wings. “Lucy, and I’m sticking with it for sure.”
Kalea chuckled. “Really now? I do hope you mean it.”
“I do,” the fledgling declared confidently.
“Hmm…It’s a good name and has a nice pun. Where did you get it from?”
The fledgling then pointed at me as I finally walked closer, “From him.”
The Primarina turned and faced me. In mere moments, her smile and expression soured into a dead look of disappointment. “…Oh, how lovely…” she grumbled.
“…Hi…” I said with a sigh.
Kalea and Lucy continued their conversation.
The Primarina stared back at me with an awkward frown. “So…that must be…”
“That’s just Zera,” Lucy replied, “He’s kind of an idiot, but he promised to be my big brother…”
“Oh, well…I can probably see the former,” Kalea stated.
I pouted at that remark, “Hey, I moved out of the way of your little entrance there, miss. You’re welcome by the way.”
Grapploct came over at that point. “In any case, welcome back. I hope the trip wasn’t too bad, well, what with Mr. Tyler-”
But Kalea put a flipper up. “Ehh, it was fine.” Her eyes briefly bounced toward Lucy before focusing on Grapploct. “Just…a lot of talking.”
Lucy, once again in a rehearsed motion, rolled her eyes. “Oh, that sounds boring.”
“Mister…Tyler?” I tilted my head curiously. (“What kind of name is that?”)
Kalea frowned. “Just a friend, nothing you would need to understand right now.” She took a long breath before making her way out the room, with Grapploct soon following after her.
I stood still with crossed arms. (“Does everyone here have secrets?”)
“Sadly yeah…” Lucy chimed in from behind.
…She read my mind again.
“What?” I blurted.
Lucy awkwardly moved her wings together, tapping digits in hopes of finding the right words. “Things…are a little prickly. Kalea’s always been nice to be around, but lately…I dunno. She’s been- Never mind. We got a schedule to run. Let’s follow them.”
The fledgling moved ahead without waiting.
I reached out in vain to stop her. But with nothing else to do in the room and me not willing to go for another swim, I decided to depart as well.
The four of us eventually gathered at the lounge room on the floor above, where I told Kalea about my situation. During my whole story, the Water-Type just had her eyes closed and listened silently. It honestly made me a bit nervous.
After I finished she began responding to me. “Hmmm…There’s something off about this.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The tone of your voice,” the Water-Type replied. “You showed a sense of fear and anxiousness as you spoke. The facts, though firm, are a bit messy, most particularly around the time you met the youngling.”
She was already doubting my story. (“It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out it’s a lie.”) I had to play it off. “As unbelievable as it sounds, that’s how it happened.”
The soloist shook her head, “I disagree. You decided to leave something out, therefore you needed a more believable story. Honestly, I think Lugia just played along because of the public pressure. Considering what he’s told us about you, you’re lucky.
I glanced at the others awkwardly before focusing on Kalea. “…Meaning?”
The Water-Type narrowed her gaze. “Let me say this in words you can understand. You are a terrible liar.”
(“Right again on that.”) In hindsight, maybe I should have tried telling a different lie.
I shook my head. Yes, there were still quite a few scrambled facts, but I couldn’t just tell them. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me,” Kalea plainly told me.
I shook my head once more. “I can’t believe it.”
“Try me,” she repeated.
I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes for a moment. Afterwards, I reluctantly explained, “…Fine…Lucy, she…kind of followed me on the surface and then when I heard her voice I kind of got a headache. The next thing I knew, I was being carried by Lucy as I said before.”
Both retainers blinked silently after hearing my confession. Lucy hid her face behind a wing while sighing.
I shrugged. “See? I told you wouldn’t believe me.”
Kalea placed a flipper on her head. “Yes…I definitely don’t believe you.”
Grapploct piped up. “Probably a good thing you didn’t tell Lugia that story because…well…you know. Lucy can be a bit…”
“Hey!” Lucy said in a fluster.
Kalea glared at the Fighting-Type in silence.
Grapploct hesitantly continued, “To some folks! Lucy can be seen as highly adventurous, but I don’t think Lucy is even capable of inducing headaches. I mean she can’t even use Extrasensory yet.”
“But she can read minds,” I murmured.
Kalea then gave me a stern look. “Don’t mess with us Zera. You’re already on thin enough ice as is.”
I put up my hands. “Look, I’m being honest here and I’m just as confused.”
We sat in silence for a short while before I decided to ask about the Primarina’s deal.
I stared at her, ready to process the response. “So Kalea, I guess you’re also a protector?”
The Water-Type nodded. “Yes, I see there’s no need to introduce my name too. Good. My species name has always been a bit of a mouth full to say. You understand that too, Zera-ora.”
I scratched my head. “Yeah, so about that voice tone thing. How did you do that? How did you know?”
She chuckled a bit. “Hehe. Plenty of practice.”
I scratched my head. “Lucy?”
Kalea crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. “Yes, she does lie on occasion, but my experience mostly comes from a former passion of mine in academics.”
I tilted my head. “Academics…”
“Education, School, Learning…any of those words ring a bell?”
That list of words triggered another series of images. (“Ggh! Not again…”)
There were several images that featured large buildings, with many humans gathering. They were each carrying books and bags. And then there were other images of a most bizarre device. It was some kind of flat box with a lit-up side that showed far too many things; words, pictures, and other oddities. It was like a window to another world.
I recognized this as a computer, my computer. I even had a Porygon companion to help keep track of the data. It was a glimpse into the nonsense Porygons have spoken for many years now. Many of us legendaries, save for very select few, dismissed the Porygon line as those who follow a far more separate form of logic, impossible to ever logically understand. Yet here it is in this “dimensional space of numbers” I’ve heard about.
After that flashback session, I was shot back into reality when Kalea asked me, “Zera, are you okay?”
“Oh…yeah. I guess I went into a daydream…sort of?” I replied sheepishly.
The trio glanced at each other before Lucy piped up, “You sure about that? Cause you just sort of…spaced out for a second.” The fledgling gave a mockingly exaggerated impression of what she saw; she blinked her eyes in an over-the-top fashion before blankly looking in a random direction.
I gestured to Lucy with a thumb. “Uhh, I didn’t look like that, did I?”
Grapploct shook his head. “No, but it was concerning.”
“Look, I’m fine,” I assured, “You were saying something Kalea?”
The Primarina shrugged. “…Anyways, I used to study criminal justice at the city’s academy. You know this stuff, kind of. Law enforcement, investigation, the works.”
I was a bit puzzled at the idea. “So wait, you were studying that?”
“It’s how I learned to interrogate folks,” she replied. “Figuring out when they’re lying or hiding something in general.”
I scratched my cheek. “Wow, that’s impressive. So, does that mean-”
“No,” Kalea promptly and sternly answered. “Not after some…tough times. I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Oh…” My ears flattened at that. It must have been a sensitive topic. Maybe regrets or something? Either way, it was not my business to know, not after just meeting her.
“What about Lucy? What brought you to her?” I asked.
Kalea slowly turned her gaze to the fledgling, seeming a bit more sympathetic.
“…That’s also a bit personal. It’s not like we never met. We’ve met up several times before for…reasons. But let’s just say that it took time for me to be here specifically.” Her eyes moved to Grapploct, making certain he wasn’t going to say anything else.
Lucy then spoke up suddenly. “Hey! I must ask something very important.”
Everyone stopped their staring and gave the fledgling their full attention.
“What time is it?” the youngling asked.
Everyone else, including myself, groaned upon hearing the question. (“You couldn’t just check the time yourself?”)
“Lucy,” Kalea said, hiding her face, “It was nearly Mid-Day when I came in.”
The fledgling gasped upon hearing the answer and started pacing frantically.
“…Not good at all,” the fledgling muttered, “We took too long…”
“Too long? For what?” I asked.
The fledgling turned around in a panic. “I uh…oh gosh. I had plans and we wasted like half the day! We gotta go, like right now.”
The Fighting-Type shook his head. “Oh no no. I’m not falling for that. Not after the little stunt you pulled yesterday.”
The youngling groaned “Of freaking course!” She mumbled a bunch of words before continuing. “But I’m hungry and we really need to go to the Market Street on the Eastern Side.”
“No.” Both retainers said in unison.
The fledgling then looked at me. “Come on, I want to see Zera’s reaction to the stuff we have here.”
“The answer is still no,” Kalea stated. “You are staying here.”
Lucy’s eyes glanced at the duo before locking onto me. (There was no choice. It was either help her or face the consequences.)
I spoke up, “Look Kalea I-”
The Primarina glared at me, “This isn’t your problem. Stay out of it.”
I clenched my fist. “Well, it is my problem now.”
“How so?”
I pinched the rim of my nose. “I kind of promised I’d be her big brother, remember?”
Kalea’s eye twitched in response to what I said. “So?”
“So, I made a promise,” I explained with the most stern look I could muster. “A-And legendaries always keep their promises.” (…It was a very shaky delivery there.)
“I don’t ever recall Lugia mentioning something like that,” Grapploct commented before looking toward Kalea, “Do you?”
The Water-Type frowned at me. “…No,” she growled quietly.
I crossed my arms and suddenly the words started coming out on their own. “And as a big brother, I…I don’t think it’s good to keep her all cooped up in this dark little nest here. A-And if everyone here knows about Lugia here, what’s the honest harm in bringing Lucy along? We can just stay close.”
I stared at the retainers with a frown. “Both of you should know how lonely a legendary’s life can be. If the cat’s out of the bag, we may as well work with what we got.”
Kalea rasped for a solid minute before finally saying, “Fine! You wanna indulge the little one then fine, but she’s your responsibility too! You hear me?”
With that statement, the Water-Type stormed out of the room with elegant grace (or as elegant as Magikarp flops could be).
“Thanks Kalea,” Lucy said. She then turned toward Grapploct and I. “I’ll be outside waiting.”
The fledgling left afterwards.
“Well, citizen, I admire your courage.” Grapploct asked.
I nodded smugly. “Yeah that’s-” My eyes shot open and glanced at the remaining retainer. “Huh? What do you mean by that?”
The Fighting-Type sighed and shook his head. “Oh boy, you’re in for a rough ride. Lucy can be rather troublesome.”
(Out of bold and stupid pride,) I decided to point at Grapploct. “Listen here. I’m a mythical pokemon and I used to be a bit mischievous myself. I might not have looked like it so far, but I can totally handle anything this little angel has thrown at me.”
The retainer gave back a side glance, “I have the unfortunate feeling you’ll going to be calling her a little devil by the end of the day.”
“It’s going to take way more than lies to come to that,” I said, leaving the retainer behind.
Just before I went up the stairs, I heard a rather off-putting comment from the Fighting-Type. “Your funeral.”
Fragment of Knowledge:
Silspring’s Waters:
The waters that run through Silspring go through various temperature changes as they pass through the bottom-half of each air shield in the city. The Central District area tends to have the coldest temperatures within the city limits, while the Salt District has the warmest due to its proximity to the seafloor volcanoes.
Outside the city’s outer air shields, the waters are at their natural coldest due to the lack of sunlight. These waters are also part of a normally weak current that moves past a large and nearly inescapable crevasse.
And so begins the long, long week…
Special Thanks to TheSnapDragon for beta reading this chapter
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