Episode 16: Crisis of the Seasons

Grounded. After all that had happened, Lute had managed to forget that recent events all stemmed from his sudden bolting out of school. That, followed by a night away from home into an agent mission, left Mum and his friends in absolute terror. To say that he and Sophitia got a talking to was putting it mildly.

This did let the next few days pass by contently, however. After the drama his absence caused had been talked about, everything settled back into usual routine for him. Eventful school days and banter-filled mornings replaced his worries about getting stronger, if only because he now had too much work to do than to worry about whatever King’s Shield wanted him to do for them. Either way, they didn’t call him once.

Then the weekend came…

“Yes, he’s not allowed out after that whole event. But I’m not going to turn you away Infia, you know that.” Marina welcomed the Minun into the house. “Have you been feeling alright?”

“I’m okay. It’s… nicer being back at school. Cinder and Raiju have been visiting, too,” Infia played with her paws as she spoke.

“That’s good. And should you ever need the company too, don’t hesitate to come by. I promise you, there’s always space for you here.” Marina smiled.

Infia blushed and bowed, and then made her way to Lute’s room. She found him and Sophitia deep in an argument about something, presumably homework due to the scroll of paper she spotted on the floor. Sophitia’s bandages were off and her wound had healed, although there was still a mark of darkened fur where she’d been hit.

“I’m telling you; the attack is called Last Resort. I can’t believe you’re mixing it up with Self-Destruct,” Sophitia said.

“It’s an attack seen as a last-ditch effort, that’s what the paper says,” Lute stomped on it.

“Considering what Self-Destruct does, it’s an easy last option. It’s such an obvious mix up,” Sophitia said.

“It’s what the book says, and Anbi said to go by the book. It has to be Self-Destruct,” Lute argued.

“Oh my gosh, are we reading the same book here? It also says that Eeveelutions can do it. Do we look like we can explode into a million pieces?” Sophitia raised her voice

“Well you probably could if you tried, what with the way you eat,” he said.

“Oh what, are we leading toward another fat comment? Whatever, it’s Last Resort!” She shouted.

“Um,” Infia spoke up, and they both froze.

“Infia! I-I didn’t see you come in.” Lute hopped to his feet. He went right up to her and held her paws in his. “H-hi. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“He-hello. I just… got a bit lonely this morning, and I knew you were at home this weekend, so,” she said, looking away. They stayed there for a bit, still holding each other’s paws. “Yo-you’re still wearing the necklace I gave you.”

“Oh, yeah. I did say I’d treasure it. Been keeping it clean, too,” he snickered.

“So hey, why don’t we let Infia decide our take on it, then?” Sophitia pointed to the paper.

“Oh, the battle practice homework,” Infia muttered.

“Yeah. This dolt thinks Eevee can explode. Meanwhile, I’m trying to tell him it’s Last Resort. Only every Eeveelution can do it,” Sophitia stated.

Infia’s face was straight, but a confused kind of straight. “It is Last Resort for that question, isn’t it? The only way Eeveelutions could do Self-Destruct is through Mimic. I don’t even know if they can use it.”

“See? Nyeh.” Sophitia stuck her tongue out at him. “Who’s the battler here, remind me?”

“If we’re wrong, it’s your fault, not Infia’s,” he said and he wrote it down. He had to write it in footprint runes, pressing a paw into a tray of ink and then making a pattern of his pawprints on the paper. Once done, he rolled it up and cleaned his paw in another tray of water. “But that’s that done. I’m not doing any other homework while we have guests.”

“Of course,” Sophitia said, a smug look on her face. “Should I leave you two alone?”

“Aren’t you grounded, too?” Infia said.

“Really Sophitia? You’re still doing that?” Lute groaned.

“If you’re gonna make chub jokes, then I’m gonna make wuv jokes. That’s the deal you made,” she said, still smug.

“I didn’t make a deal over this!” he cried.

Infia couldn’t help but giggle as they started bickering again, and settled down on a cushion. That was until Marina came into the room and everyone silenced thanks to the troubled look on her face.

“Erm, Lute? Sophitia? You er… just come to the front room, please,” Marina ordered.

The trio exchanged nervous glances and followed. Esther and Phoenix were by the front door, and the Pikachu piped up and bounced over the moment they came into view.

“Esther?” Lute gasped.

“It’s true, you do live in Everend! For some reason, I really thought that’d be like, some sorta special alias to hide your identity or something. You’re way too special to live in a bumpkin town like this,” Esther said, and laughed as she held up his paws.

“Uh,” was all he could respond with.

“So, aren’t you happy to see me?” Esther asked, half-lidded. He didn’t know how to answer, and phoenix’s blank expression behind her didn’t help. “Hee hee hee, you look so confused!”

“Well yeah, you of all Pokémon showing up is sorta?” Sophitia trailed off. She brushed a feeler between them to get Esther to let go of him. “Dare I ask? Did something happen with you-know-who?”

“Uh uh. Somethin’ much cooler happened, or is about to happen. And the lil’ Minun cutie’s here, too. Perfect!” Esther cheered, and pumped her fists at Phoenix. Infia gasped and tried to hide herself from view behind Lute. “It’s like I told ya Fluffy Cheeks, it’s fate. It’s gotta be cruel fate!”

“Cruel fate?” Lute said.

“Okay, so get this. We looked around Angard for a while ‘cos there was so much to see. And we found this crater, and inside the crater was this magic stage. It’s like a silver platform kinda thing. It was nothing like anything else in that dead country,” Esther began waving her arms about.

“That sounds like a teleportal.  If it is, what’s that doing there?” Lute glanced at Sophitia who had raised an eyebrow as well.

“Not gonna ask what a teleportal is yet. But on that stage, we found, da duuun!” Esther threw her arms up. Out came a tiny Pokémon barely any bigger than Lute’s nose. The tiny thing fluttered around and stopped in front of them. “Check it out! It’s our legendary guide.”

“Hey I have a name!” the Pokémon cried. Despite its absurdly small size, its voice was loud, clear, and squeaky. “It’s Naivie. Naivie the Carbink. You’re Lute, right? Lute Aska Violets?”

“Ah— that name.” Lute shifted back. Sophitia snuck a look at him. “It’s er, why do you need them?”

“Don’t play coy, I’m not dangerous. Can a little old sprite like me really harm you?” Naivie replied.

“I don’t really want to risk that one.” He turned away.

“Ah, don’t be like that!” Naivie said. Unlike ordinary Carbink, her little wing-like ears let her stay afloat so well that she could circle him with ease. “Like the pretty Pika says, you and your strongest allies have got a fate to fulfil. Won’t you hear me out?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Lute groaned.

“No. You really don’t,” she said.

Lute didn’t make a sound.

“In my time, the Pokémon of the world paid their respects and took care of these giant flowers in Aseria’s most important corners. In exchange, the flowers granted Pokémon their powers, and allowed nature to cycle through its seasons. But thanks to a horrible war, those flowers withered, and the seeds they gave us were seen as our final test,” Naivie explained. She steadily floated around everyone as she told her story, and Lute and Sophitia exchanged angst filled looks.

“A horrible war? Could Angard have something to do with that?” Esther wondered.

“Definitely, that’s why you found me there? But let me finish, because all hope isn’t lost. If Pokémon can plant those seeds in the correct places and give them the respect they deserve, we can grow the flowers again. The weather can return to normal,” Naivie continued. “The Pokémon that can do this are you guys! I know it for sure. I am your guide and messenger from the past who is to ensure that you succeed.”

“It’s vague, but that sounds an awful lot like,” Lute said.

“Florrie and Floette?” Naivie fluttered up to him.

“You’re one of them. The guardian fairies. So they were telling the truth after all,” Lute said, suddenly looking away. “Are you sure you’re looking for me and not Sophitia?”

“I was looking for all of you, but you’re the central child in all of this. And because you’re a kid, I’m taking care of the great flower seeds and stuff, okay? You’ll just have to trust me when I say that I’ve got them all. I can show you exactly where to put them, too,” Naivie said. “So go on! Pack your things and get ready for a journey. The lot of us, we’re gonna save the world!”

“Yes, I knew we hit the jackpot. This is perfect!” Esther cheered.

“Hold on,” Lute said. All eyes on him made him hesitate, and he shifted backward.

“Wait a minute, you’re not going to,” Sophitia said. He gulped and looked away, and she got angry. “Are you serious, Lute? Not this again.”

“Yes this again. I can’t possibly be the Pokémon for this,” he objected.

“You’re an Agent of King’s Shield. You’ve fought against High Points and—” Sophitia argued.

“I’m just a scared little Eevee that got lucky with a few dreams! I was useless during those fights and I’ll be useless here, too,” he stated.

“You didn’t just, ‘get lucky’. Look, we had that run in with Florrie and Floette for a reason, ya’know? Then that stuff around Moand Dia, and now this. You keep saying that I’m the special Pokémon, but you are too, you know? It’s us together,” Sophitia said. She stepped around to face him, but he struggled to look up at her. “You just need to have confidence in yourself. And try with what you know you can do.”

“Eep. I had no idea being an agent was this stressful,” Esther comment.

“It’s really not,” Phoenix said quietly.

“Oh shush! You dunno what real stress is, Fluffy Cheeks,” she folded her arms

“I’m not very strong or useful, either. You don’t really want me to go too, do you?” Infia asked.

“Ugh, what is this? I didn’t sleep thousands of years to wake up one day and counsel a bunch of depressed teens. What gives? I thought kids these days would be like, super excited to save the world,” Naivie cried.

“Well sorry I’m not who you want me to be?” Lute raised his voice. “Seriously, I don’t have anything special about me. I wanted to be a hero, but these past few weeks have shown me I’m not cut out for it. I get scared easily, I’m too weak to fight other Pokémon, and I’m actually pretty stupid in front of bad guys, too. I’m not the hero you’re looking for.”

“Consider this, little Eevee. If you guys don’t do this, Aseria is done for. Give it a few years tops, the weather stopping will make everyone freeze to death,” Naivie warned. “And I know you don’t need much convincing on this, ‘cos you can’t have not seen it. The way all that fog’s been lingering around a lot of places. The sun never comes out. It’s never windy, it never rains, everything’s just a stagnant cold.”

Lute turned to Naivie with fury. “The sea will dry up. Pokémon that need water will fight for it. Conflicts will start. Pokémon that live in water will fight for it. This dreary tone will drag down the hearts of even the most resilient. And all because you’re afraid of screwing up something you won’t even try at!” Naivie shouted.

“Can’t I get a word in? I’m his mother, after all,” Marina said, turning everyone’s attention to her. Lute flinched. He had forgotten that she was there the whole time. “I don’t think beating him up is the way to encourage him, if you really are hoping to guide him.”

“I don’t actually care how these lot feel about it all, I’ll be honest with you. All that’s important to me is that these seeds get planted and tended to, that way we still have a planet in a few years,” Naivie said. The Vaporeon ignored her spoke to Lute directly.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? If this is how you’ve been feeling about everything, I wish you’d have talked to me about it at some point. I haven’t been tough to approach, have I?” Marina asked. Lute looked away. “I think you should go.”

“Wha? Wouldn’t you be—” he said. “You’ve been against me being an agent the whole time. Why would you be okay with me going on a journey?”

“If I was really against you being an agent, I would’ve done far more to stop you from doing so. But it’s not my place to stop you from doing what you want or need to do, only to point you in the right direction. It’s my job to worry nonstop about you, but if this is something you have to do, then it’s something you have to do,” Marina explained. She gave his head fur a ruffle. “What you’re doing will be hard, but you have friends to fall back on and a home to come back to, where you can rest any time, you know? So maybe you’re not going to succeed right away. But watching you, I know this is something you want to do.”

“It is what I want to do,” Lute hung his head. The others smiled behind Marina. “That’s why it hurts so much to not be good enough. What’s the point in trying if I already know I’m never going to be good enough?”

“Please keep trying. You won’t see it right away, but you’re getting stronger, and you’re growing up. Admittedly too fast for me,” Marina came closer. She embraced him, surprising him from how warm she was. “To see you get recruited into the thing you always said you wanted to be a part of, only to beat yourself up like this, that really saddens me, Lute. Don’t give up on your dreams like that. Not when you work so hard to achieve them.”

“Mum… but what about school?” Lute said.

“Oh Lute, you’re such a good boy,” she giggled. “I’ll cover for you, of course. You just have to promise me that you’ll catch up when all of this is over. And for my sake, please keep in touch with me to let me know how things are going. They say no news is good news, but you saw what happened when you were gone that evening.”

“I already promised you something like won’t happen again. I meant it. I’ll write letters,” he said.

“No need. I added myself to the contacts of that badge of yours,” Marina said. He was sceptical enough to check his agent badge, and just like that, Marina’s name and face were amongst the Pokémon he could call. Sophitia scrambled to check her badge and found the same thing.

“How? When?” Sophitia squealed.

“A mother has her ways. If you ever need me, please don’t hesitate to call me. And if things get rough, come back to rest. This is your home, no matter what,” Marina said. She walked around to address everyone. “… But if you’re all going to stay a night or something, make an effort to tell me in advance please? I’m not used to having so many guests and as you can see, the house isn’t the most spacious.”

“Ehehe, sorry for the intrusion! I just couldn’t wait. I’m seriously so stoked for this journey, it’s gonna be so much fun,” Esther said.

“If we’re going to be gone a long while, I should go home and pack my things. A-and change my clothes, too,” Infia said.

“Wait, Infia? You’re coming too?” Lute gasped. “Are you sure you want to? You don’t have to if you don’t want—”

“Yes she does have to go. Be as sappy as you want, but it’s law that all of you have to go. You’re all required,” Naivie stated.

“You never told us why that is. You are going to tell us, aren’t you?” Phoenix asked.

Naivie flinched, and then started mumbling. “That’s cheating. I’m not allowed to tell you that, either.”

“Of course you aren’t.” the Fennekin rolled his eyes.

“But I want to go, anyway. I-I want to make it up to you… for saving me… back then,” Infia played with her skirt.

“You don’t have to do that. Honestly, you being here and happy is all I need,” Lute assured.

She shook her head. “I want to find a way to be useful, too. Plus, if you’re going away for a while… I-I know I have Cinder and Raiju, but it’s not the same without you.”

“Only if that’s really how you feel. Don’t ever feel you have to push yourself for my sake,” Lute nodded.

“I had no idea he had this many hots for the Minun,” Esther mumbled as she leaned towards Sophitia, who hushed and slapped her with a feeler.

“Well what’s wrong with the way you look now? Seems fine to me,” Naivie said.

“This old thing? It’ll never last if we have to go camping and stuff,” Infia brushed her skirt.

“Then just take it off and let’s go! Your fur not do the trick or something?” Naivie cried.

Infia answered with a groan while the others rolled their eyes. Marina giggled though. “Naivie, keep acting that bossy and you’re not going to last long.”

…

The group disbanded to get themselves prepared for the journey. For Lute and Sophitia, this meant getting a bag with necessities and camping equipment. For Infia, she did as she said she would do and changed clothes, only she had to be braver and pick something suitable rather than pretty. She turned up the following morning with a costume similar to Esther’s pop star clothes, a wholly pink costume of a shirt and tutu.

They all agreed to meet at Everend’s gondola station. Only when they were departing did Lute start to feel that this whole thing was surreal. He had many questions for Naivie and Esther, but he didn’t expect to get answers from any of them. Either way, instinct and excitement told him he didn’t need to even ask. He was so excited at the prospect of a legendary journey to save the world, that he didn’t want to question it and reveal the whole thing as an elaborate lie. No one else questioned Naivie’s legitimacy, so perhaps they felt the same way.

“Okay, we’re all set. Let’s go!” Lute said as he patted a bag hung at his side. Sophitia had the same, only bigger.

“Where’s our first destination, anyway? You can tell us that, right?” Sophitia asked.

“I can, but there also might be some inaccuracy. After all, I’ve been asleep for thousands of years, so I wouldn’t be surprised if places I know have changed,” Naivie replied.

“I’m too tired for this. Why’d we have to wake up so early if we had to think about stuff?” Esther yawned. She was sat on Phoenix’s back, but he didn’t look too bothered by her at all.

“I thought you would be good at early mornings,” Infia said.

“I thought I’d be done with them,” she grumbled and sunk into the Fennekin’s head.

“It’s an area to the east of this location. Back then, it was known as Castle Radial,” Naivie stated.

“The Radial Castle? Really?” Lute said.

“So it’s still around. Good. We can stop wasting time and march,” Naivie said.

“Yeah, you do that.” Esther gurgled into a snore. The others giggled.

It didn’t feel like it took too long to reach the castle, but only because Lute had already been there before. Just like last time though, the trip was as unsettling for him. Stale, white fog drowned them the closer they got, while distant, tropical trees created a maze as they walked. When the area got too foggy, Infia took to riding on Lute’s back while Sophitia’s feelers kept everyone close, and the group fell to silence.

“It’s worse than last time,” Lute commented. Their progress slowed as the fog thickened. “It’s getting pretty cold, too.”

“It’s getting? It was already cold, thank you very much. Are you guys that used to not having weather?” Naivie said with a groan. “Just follow little old me, and you’ll be fine.”

“Okay, so how does that work? The weather’s dead, so it gets really cold and foggy. Doesn’t that just mean it’s winter all the time?” Sophitia wondered.

“Hey, weren’t you at school? Surely you know how to science works, right?” Naivie commented.

“Bold of you to assume Sophitia understands science,” Lute said. He was rewarded with a pinch.

“The weather and seasons do not function. As a result, there’s no wind. And with no wind means that the air doesn’t move. Sure, hot air rises, but with no sunlight to heat it up, the air won’t go anywhere. It just sits here until it gets cold enough to turn into dank fog,” Naivie explained. “And it’ll keep doing that. Populated areas will see a slower transformation than others, so just use this place as an example. The whole of Aseria could look like this if we don’t succeed.”

“It almost doesn’t seem that threatening,” Lute admitted.

“What do you mean ‘not that threatening’?” Naivie screeched. “Could you live in a place like this? Here and now, shrouded by fog. Nothing grows, it never heats up, and any water will one day just evaporate. How can you not see this as a worldwide crisis?”

“I dunno. A worldwide crisis to me looks more like, volcanoes erupting, or earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff, you know? Stuff that makes Pokémon in immediate danger,” he replied. “I’m not denying this is pretty serious, though.”

“Hmpf. Get your head outta the clouds. This is what a worldwide crisis looks like. We’re here,” Naivie said.

Lute and Infia made sounds as they stopped before the castle’s entrance. From the looks of things, it was untouched from their last visit, right down to the blast marks and stains of sludge where the Risen had been fought. Infia got off his back to look around a bit.

“I didn’t see anything odd the first time I was here. Where could we plant a seed in the castle?” Lute asked. Naivie didn’t answer and continued on inside the castle. “Oh, is there some kind of puzzle we have to solve to get to a secret area?”

“Ahahaha! You think the ancients are dumb enough to leave a puzzle? Once Pokémon start figuring it out, everyone knows it and our precious temples are done for,” Naivie puffed out her metaphorical chest. “The temple is underneath the castle, and it’s where the water from the river gathers before it goes to the sea.”

Lute glanced back the way they came. “Everend River stops here? So shouldn’t we have gone here from the river cave?”

“What, walk all the way here underwater? You really aren’t very bright, are you?” Naivie said.

“I think you are just not very nice,” Phoenix said.

“Somebody had to say it,” Sophitia shrugged.

“Gah, whatever. Get out the castle, I’ll do it,” Naivie said.

She waited until everyone was behind her before starting, and let out a bright, fiery blue glow. A shimmering sound came from her as well, and when that glow grew enough to blind everyone, the castle reacted.

“What’s happening?” Infia asked, entranced as waves of blue light seeped in between the stone of the castle walls. A similar sound began to emanate from the castle, followed by a rumble of the world around them. Naivie soon let out a cry, and the rumbling grew stronger.

“Fuck I’m awake! What’s happenin’ who-what-where-when-how?” Esther jolted awake.

“About time you got up. Naivie what’s happening?” Sophitia shouted. The tiny Carbink didn’t reply, only glowed brighter, so bright that the fog around them dissipated. Everyone had to shield their eyes. The last thing they saw being Naivie and the castle’s mystical blue.

Lute tightly cradled whoever was closest to him and grit his fangs as he used their weight to plant himself on the floor. It felt like they had gripped him so tightly they might pull out his fur, too. The quake carried on for minutes, so he dared to open an eye and see what was going on. To his surprise, the lights had stopped and he had a full view of the scene.

“Guys!” he cried, making them all look up as well.

Stone and rock were fell like rain, although it was only in front of them. He stumbled back in fright as the floor split from him as well, and the floor of the castle floated upwards. It pulled part of the ground with it, forcing them all to run backwards or else fall into the crater being formed.

“It’s… it’s flying?” Sophitia gasped.

Lute couldn’t think straight and grasp until she said it. The Radial Castle was said to be able to fly, and here it was, taking off into the sky right before his very eyes. The magical light lining the gaps in its stone walls bled below it in a giant stream of propulsion, providing more than enough light to be fully visible even as it ascended into the foggy sky.

With the castle fully ejected, the ground was still once again. In the castle’s place was a gigantic crater that was eerily smooth in its carving. The base of the crater was perfectly flat and actually tiled, with only one thing stationed directly in the middle: a teleportal.

“Hey look. Fluffy Cheeks, it looks exactly like the crater in Angard,” Esther said as she dismounted the Fennekin. “Let’s go check it out!”

Sophitia stuck out a paw as the Pikachu charged off to grind down the side of the crater. “Trust her to be full of energy the moment she wakes up. What if the castle comes back and crushes us?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’ll be back in a year or something. It circles the planet once and then lands right back here to seal the temple from view. You dolts have plenty of time to screw things up,” Naivie informed.

“Naivie,” Lute said.

“That’s really specific programming,” Infia commented.

“Hey guys, c’mon! Don’t be lemons,” Esther called. Phoenix was first to hop down after her.

“Any idea where that teleportal will take us?” Lute tilted his head at Sophitia. She shook her head, still jaw-dropped. “Dare I ask if you remember anything at all?”

“I don’t think I’d want my memories to be this weird,” she admitted. With that, the trio jumped down and joined Esther on the teleportal.

“Holy fucking shit, I can’t believe this. This is so cool! We could only pretend to make something this elaborate on one of my shows. But it’s like, actually happening! I could pee myself this is so exciting!” Esther squealed into the air.

“Okay okay, please just, don’t actually do that?” Naivie bumped her on the head.

“We should actually keep our guard up as well. Not that I don’t trust Naivie or anything, but I have no idea what to expect from here on,” Sophitia suggested.

“I’m actually p-pretty scared,” Infia said.

“It’ll be alright. Somehow. We’ll play it safe not matter what happens,” Lute said, and held one of her paws. She nodded and squeezed back.

“Naivie are you gonna do something cool with this, too?” Esther asked. Sophitia rolled her eyes as she initiated the warp.

When they arrived, Esther was squealing again, but silenced when she realised what had just happened. Lute did his usual of scouting their new surroundings, but he was joined by a fierce Phoenix this time. They landed in a cave and immediately noticed the shiny rocks high up near the cave’s ceiling.

“Wait a minute. This cold,” Lute said, seeing his breath come out in smoky puffs. The cave was frigid, the rocks were glistening and glittery, and everything had a turquoise tint to it. “We’ve been here. This is Moand Dia. The level we went to the other day.”

“Not quite. But close enough. Good on you knowing what Moand Dia is, though. I don’t have to explain that part,” Naivie praised.

“It is. It’s the same section,” Sophitia said, her voice shaky and low. Lute and Infia glanced at her strained look. “Just like last time, as soon as we got here… he’s here. That really powerful Eevee.”