Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keely opens their eyes and is greeted with golden light. 

They remember, some time before, passing out asleep in their bed at the Guild HQ. They'd been filling out some paperwork with Admin and Edward until late, and hadn't felt like warping back and waking everyone at the Orphanage, so they had claimed use of their room. That's the last thing they remember happening before waking up to this.

They think they’re awake, anyway. 

The first thing Keely does is try and hold up their arm, but they find— to their alarm— that they can’t feel their body at all. Maybe it is a dream, then? But it doesn’t feel at all like a dream.

Coco?

“Welcome to my realm, young Ruler of Monsters. It is well that thou art here.” 

It is most certainly not Coco’s voice that responds. It’s not even really a voice, and yet it is somehow, somewhere between sound and thought. It surrounds Keely, and they feel sincerity in the words. 

“I am that which humans call Arceus,” the ‘voice’ continues, and suddenly Keely is able to sense a presence nearby. They reach out with their mind, and find something… large. Not human, and not Nexomon, although strangely somewhat like the latter. Keely doesn’t understand that at all. But it’s the largest presence Keely’s ever felt, and though strange, it does not feel hostile. 

Good to meet you, Keely sends out. Dream or not, it always pays to be polite, especially when whoever they’re talking to is as powerful as this being feels. I’m afraid I haven’t heard of you.

“Thou wouldst not have,” Arceus assures them. “Young Ruler of Monsters, thou wilt soon find thyself in a world strange to thee, a world inhabited by wondrous creatures which humans call ‘Pokemon’. They are not quite like thy kind. But I believe… thou shalt be the answer.” 

Alarm bells start ringing in Keely’s head. Wait, I can’t, they protest, forgetting to be diplomatic or dignified. I— I’ve got so much to do, and the Nexomon are just starting to heal. There’s a conference next week, and— and ‘Paragons of Golden Justice’ is on tomorrow! I need to stay!

“Fear not,” the voice says, and once again Keely feels the gentleness in it brushing up against them. “My realm is beyond both time and space. Thy home, thy family, need not feel thy absence. And I give thee my word that thou wilt be returned, once thou hast done what must be done.”

Keely feels themself and the space around them moving, even as the golden light remains steady. Their fear grows.

“Young Ruler of Monsters… Keely Briar… Seek out the Pokemon and humans of this world. Heal the rift, and thou wilt find me once again.” 

Keely’s mind reaches again toward the being, a plea filled with as much sincerity and desperation as they can convey. But Arceus’ presence retreats, and with it, the golden light. Keely reaches frantically for something to latch onto, but there is only darkness, and it isn’t long before even their awareness slips away. 

Chapter Text

The impact, though unpleasant, isn't as bad as it could be. They've been training hard, and the force of hitting the ground has nothing on a volleyball spiked by Arqua at full speed. But Keely is nonetheless unhappily aware they've fallen from a great distance. The sound of waves fills their ears.

Their memory of the other dimension is… fuzzy, at first. They remember the being who spoke to them, and that he had asked them to do… something to do with healing. His name had been… Arceus? There had been kindness in his words, and light, and something dangerous and unknowable. But mostly, they remember how he spoke to them.

He had not been a Nexomon, but he'd known what they were. 

"Oh, wake up! Please wake up! My friend, are you alive?" 

They snap their eyes open. A worried-looking man is hovering over them, partially blocking some sort of storm in the distant sky. And somewhat closer to them, three small animal faces watch.

"You fell right out of the sky! I was terribly worried! Who in the world does that? It's lucky these runaway Pokemon made their way over here- almost as though they knew you'd be here! Oh, but wait... you do know what Pokemon are, don't you?" 

Pokemon. Keely remembers now-- Arceus had asked them to 'seek out the Pokemon and humans of this world'. They assume, like the being himself, that it's somewhat similar to a Nexomon. They sit up, and look at the three creatures. A little bird- Keely would guess a Wind-type-, something that looks slightly like a Coral, and a rodentlike creature with fire on its back.

Keely looks up at the man, and gestures to the creatures in both guess and greeting. 

He looks grave for a moment. "Yes, these three are Pokemon. Quite mysterious creatures, but brilliant! But you... you've truly come a long way, haven't you? Incidentally, what is your name?" 

Keely lifts their hands and begins spelling out their name, but the man only looks confused. 

"Ah- I'm afraid I don't understand that language," he says. "I'm acquainted with it, but I've never been able to quite grasp it. Not to worry, though, I’ve a couple friends back in the village who are quite fluent, I believe! In the meantime, I’m called Laventon. I’m something of a Pokemon Professor.” He holds out a hand, and Keely shakes it.


One of the Pokemon makes a small sound, and Keely crouches down. They still don’t actually know how different these creatures are from Nexomon, but they seem similar enough that they wonder…
Hello, Keely sends toward them. Can you hear me?

None of the Pokemon visibly react, and Keely gets no sense of anything at all from them. But the next moment, the blue-and-white one perks up, and begins running.

“Oh, blast and bother! Oshawott, get back here!" 

The three creatures- Pokemon- are running further inland, led by the little Coral-like one. Keely feels a pang of pity for Laventon, who is yelling after them to no avail. He turns back to Keely, and there's desperation in his eyes. 

"My friend, I'm sure this must be horribly confusing, and I'm terribly sorry, but would you mind very much helping me round them up? They're very important to my research, and I'm not the best at catching Pokemon. Please! They're naughty, but not horribly fast." He gives Keely one last entreating look, and runs off after the Pokemon. 

Keely brushes the sand off them and stands up. Of course they'll go after them- not least because Keely may well be the reason they ran off. And they're sure they can round up a few wayward Nex- no, Pokemon. Mostly, though, it's a good way to stave off the growing anxiety that's been creeping up on them since they landed. 

They take off in the same direction as Laventon and his Pokemon, and hope the little creatures don't split up. 

The countryside is pleasant, a bit like the road to the Orphanage, but with a colder wind. Keely doesn't hurry, but jogs steadily, keeping the scientist man and his purple hat clearly in view.

As they jog, there's a very bright flash of light from the grass. Keely veers off, blinking the stars from their eyes as they investigate its source. They approach, there's a chirping sort of beep, and the light flares out again. 

It's a strange white object, gleaming from the grass. 

Keely picks it up, and a quick buzz travels from the device through their entire body. They remember, all at once, their discussion with Arceus- if it could be called such- and what he had asked of them. 

They still don't understand it, but the being's promise to return them home settles a little of the anxiety in their bones. 

They examine the device, and when they realise what it is, they nearly drop it on reflex. Zetta getting these as gifts for all of his siblings had had… interesting results, from what little they’d been told. He said he’d tried to send them one, too, but Keely had never received it, and they were fairly sure their Mentor was the reason. The others Keely had just heard secondhand, but Keely– and everyone else in the Orphanage– had woken up to his furious yell when his ‘phone’ startled him in the middle of the night.

The one in Keely’s hand now, however, isn’t quite the same as the one Zetta had shown them. It’s white, with gold protrusions on the back, and is a strange shape rather than the simple rectangle of their uncle’s. There’s something else, too, a power in the device that Keely can’t quite pinpoint.

While they’re thinking about this, the phone beeps again, and words appear across the screen. ‘I bestow upon thee this Arc Phone, and thy mission: help to heal the rift.’

Keely nods, although they’re fairly sure the device isn’t alive. They still don’t know what ‘heal the rift’ means. But they think maybe the Professor might have more of an idea, and they still need to help him round up those creatures that they may have scared away.
Still holding the Arc Phone, they continue jogging toward the Professor. 

It doesn’t take long before the path widens into a meadow, and they catch up to him. He’s throwing some sort of ball, and Keely guesses he’s aiming for the fire creature sitting in the flowers but with how wide the throw is, it’s hard to say for sure. He groans as the ball bounces into a bush, and the little rodent chitters at him. 

“Another miss,” he laments. Keely stops next to him, and he turns to them with a sheepish smile. 

“I’m very glad you’ve come to rescue me, my new friend from the sky,” he says. “I’m trying to round up these three by throwing Poke Balls their way, but I’m afraid I’m not the best at it.” 

Poke Balls… Keely wonders if those are similar to Nexotraps. They walk toward the bush where the ball landed, reach in, and withdraw it. They examine it as they walk back toward the man. It is like a Nexotrap, from what they can tell. The two are even fairly similar in colouration. But this Poke Ball is larger, rounder and significantly heavier, not to mention made from what appears to be wood and stone. And they’d seen him throw it, which means that launcher gloves are apparently not used here. 

“Is… Is this your first time seeing a Poke Ball?” Laventon asks. Keely nods, thumbing its scuffed surface. “Oh! Well, Poke Balls are simply a marvelous invention! It’s only been in the last few years that the Galaxy Group has been able to create them, you see, and they’re doing wonders for our ability to research and coexist with Pokemon!” His eyes light up as he talks, and though Keely barely understands what he’s saying, they can’t help but be reminded a little of Bonnie describing Cores. They grin. 

He takes that as encouragement. “Of course, they’re only useful if you can throw one successfully. I’ve tried many times, but I can never quite get the hang of it, and…” He trails off, lost in thought for a few moments. Then he rounds on Keely, and his face is almost manic. 

“My friend, you said you’ve nowhere to go, correct? And I gather you’re not familiar with Pokemon, either? It’s quite dangerous to be out and about on your own, you know, with all the wild Pokemon. But! I have never been able to quite grasp the skill of catching Pokemon. And my young apprentices have their own duties, beyond simply helping me, and as a result they’re dreadfully overworked. Anyone in the village would agree!” 

Keely just stands, not sure if they’re expected to respond and not at all sure what the proper response would be anyway. Laventon doesn’t seem to mind, though, and continues. “Nobody would dare turn out anyone who could be an asset to the Galaxy Group! Young friend! We are going to teach you how to catch a Pokemon!” 

Keely realizes what he’s trying to do, and they’re grateful, although more than a touch overwhelmed. He’s nearly shouting, at this point. But now he does seem to be awaiting some kind of response, so Keely hesitantly nods.

“Brilliant!” The man beams at them. “Right, well! That one there is Cyndaquil! The fire on Cyndaquil’s back will flare up whenever it’s surprised or angry… or amused, apparently,” he adds fondly, as the creature, Cyndaquil, chitters at them. 

“That one over there-“ he points- “is Rowlet! Rowlet can photosynthesize like a plant! And I’ve been told it can attack with its leaf-like feathers in battle, although I’ve never seen that for myself!” 

Keely watches it hop around. A Plant-type, then, not a Wind-type. They make a note of that for later and follow the scientist a little way across the meadow, to where the last creature is playing in a very tiny pond. 

“The Pokemon swimming there is called Oshawott,” he tells them. “Oshawott loves to nap floating on the water, and it uses the shell on its belly in battle!” Oshawott looks over to them and waves one of its little paws, and it’s adorable. 

Laventon watches Keely grin at the Pokemon, and laughs. “Yes, they’re precious little darlings, but naughty, too! They will keep running off! I think it’s a game to them, really. All right, do you think you’re up to trying to catch them, then?” 

Keely nods. They’re certainly going to try. 

“Brilliant,” the Professor says again. “All right, if that’s the case, you’re going to need these.” He reaches into his satchel and pulls out several more Pokeballs. Frantically realizing they don’t have anywhere to put them— or anything else, for that matter— Keely carefully sets the Arc Phone down in the grass. 

Laventon catches the action, and looks with interest at the faintly glowing device, but he quickly gets back to work and passes Keely a few more of the Poke Balls. 

“Not that one, it’ll be broken,” he says, motioning to the one Keely had retrieved. It doesn’t look broken to Keely, but they don’t question it, instead setting it down next to the Arc Phone. 

“There! Now, I’m sure I told you Pokemon are marvellous creatures, correct? But, ah, I never told you what makes them quite so much so! You see, all Pokemon are capable of shrinking down to minuscule size! And when you throw a Poke Ball, the Pokemon will shrink right down, comfy as can be, and make itself at home in the Poke Ball!” 

Hm. There was another difference, then. The official explanation behind Nexotraps was that they were able to connect with the innate elemental power in each Nexomon and let them become that power in order to rest within. Stronger Nexomon were supposedly better able to resist it, although every Nexomon Keely had ever spoken to claimed they had entered the trap, in the end, by choice. The way this man explained Pokemon implied something similar, at least, although Keely is entirely certain that Nexomon— at least the ones they’ve met— don't have any inherent shrinking powers. 

Laventon looks like he’s going to say something more, but decides to wait for the moment, and Keely takes that as their cue to give it a try.
They watch the Oshawott paddling around in the pond, and decide to start there.


From how Laventon talked about it, Keely expects it to be difficult, but it really isn’t. They’re not used to manually throwing traps– the gloves always take care of that, and these days Keely hasn’t done much capturing anyway– but the added weight of the Poke Ball makes it easy to aim, and the Oshawott doesn’t seem particularly bothered by their presence. True to what Laventon had said, the little creature shrinks down before Keely’s eyes, the ball shakes, and to Keely’s alarm a little spark flies up from the top of the device. They look back to Laventon to see if that’s what is supposed to happen, and Laventon is grinning from ear to ear.


“You’re quite sure you’ve never caught a Pokemon before?” he asks them.
Keely shrugs and nods. It’s technically the truth, and they don’t feel like trying to explain further when he won’t understand their signing anyway.

They instead turn their attention to the Plant-type– the Rowlet– hopping blissfully around the meadow. It doesn’t seem to notice or care that its friend has just been captured, instead enjoying the feeling of sun and wind on its feathers. Keely crouches and stays as still as possible, not wanting to startle it, and when it gets close to them they toss the second Poke Ball and watch as the little creature goes in.


“You seem to have a knack for this Pokemon-catching business, my friend,” Laventon says happily. “You know, many people fear to even approach Pokemon, never mind catch them. Bravo, indeed! Now, just one left.”

Keely nods, and hands him the two Poke Balls containing his first two runaways. He follows from a fair distance back as Keely approaches the patch of flowers where Cyndaquil rests.

He doesn’t stir, even as Keely throws the Poke Ball; however, after shaking once, the ball bursts open, and Cyndaquil emerges chattering angrily at them.


In a sense, it’s a relief to see proof that these creatures can resist capture if they want. But given everything they’ve seen so far of Cyndaquil, Keely is pretty sure this little one is just being difficult.
Come on , Keely sends. I’m sorry if I woke you up before.

Again, Cyndaquil gives no reaction, and Keely’s pretty sure by now that them running off before was just a fluke. Keely can’t understand a word of Cyndaquil’s chattering, and it doesn’t seem like the Pokemon can understand Keely’s telepathy, either.

They briefly feel a spark of worry, but before that can fully form they return their mind to the task at hand and throw another Poke Ball.
This one, too, meets its mark, and this time the Cyndaquil allows itself to be caught.

Keely picks up the ball and hands it to the approaching Laventon, who is once again beaming at them. “Remarkable! You truly didn’t seem to be at all afraid! Thank you very much indeed, my friend, it is such a relief to have them all back! You see, these three Pokemon have only just arrived in the village to help in our research, and they’re not yet accustomed to listening to humans. For them to come running so quickly just as you fell… I can’t help but think there must be a reason you arrived just here and now.”

Keely feels an uneasiness in their stomach at his possible implication, but the Professor is still smiling.

“You see– if you’ll indulge me for a moment– I have something of a dream. I wish to compile a record of all of Hisui’s Pokemon! That is to say… a Pokedex! I have two young apprentices working with me, to achieve that dream. But as I’ve shown you, I’m no good at catching Pokemon. That is, I hope, where you may come in, my young friend! You have a clear knack for catching Pokemon, and you have need of a place to stay, correct? Perhaps we could be of use to each other!” He looks quite excited.


Keely nods. They don’t mind catching a few Pokemon for what sounds essentially the same as the Nexopedia from home, and from the sounds of it, they’ll have help anyway. They give Laventon an encouraging smile, and he beams at them.

“Then, whoever and from wherever you may be, I welcome you! We’ve a Pokedex to complete! Now, first things first, we should get these Pokemon back to the village– then we can get you sorted out with lodgings and proper clothing and such. Oh, but before we leave– don’t forget your strange device. I wasn’t sure if I ought to touch it, to be honest.”

He gestures in the general direction of the Arc Phone, and Keely laughs silently as they collect it. Evidently Laventon isn’t overly familiar with phones, either.

“I don’t mean to pry– but do you know what it is ? I didn’t notice it when you fell…”


Keely waves their hand in the air, the universal gesture for ‘a little’. Laventon laughs.


“Well, perhaps someone from the Supply Corps is more familiar with that, as well. Come, now! Onward to Jubilife Village!”

He takes off at a brisk walk down the road, the opposite direction from the beach. Keely follows a bit behind.


They glance, once again, up at the storm raging in the distance. It seems to be centred over a mountain, and– there’s something strange about the lightning.
It looks more like cracks than bolts.
Heal the rift. Could that be what Arceus meant?

First things first, though. Keely looks around. Aside from Professor Laventon striding happily on ahead, they can’t see a single living thing. Discreetly, they cup one hand in front of them, and a small flame forms in their palm.
The spark of worry that has been building in them relaxes, and Keely dismisses the flame.
At least that hasn’t changed.


They hurry to catch up with Laventon. With any luck, they can find out just what they’re meant to do here soon, and get back home.
Perhaps first, though, they can get some proper rest. They don’t think whatever happened in Arceus’ dimension counts as sleep, and they’re still plenty tired. 

Chapter Text

The first thing Keely learns upon entering Jubilife Village is that the people here are really not used to strangers. Laventon leads them down the main road– he calls it Canala Avenue– and the people don’t even bother to lower their voices or pretend not to be looking. Keely feels their stares, and feels themself begin to tense. It reminds them a bit of Lateria, though less outwardly hostile and somehow even more unsettling. Keely wants to run, to retreat to the shadows of the buildings and escape from the people’s gawking. But they have nowhere to run to, and the Professor ahead of them is happily talking away, looking back every now and then with seemingly no idea of Keely’s inner panic.


He stops suddenly. “Oh, botheration! I’d completely forgotten- I need to report the recovery of those missing Pokemon! Might you do me a favour and head over to the canteen? It’s just around the corner, here- The Wallflower, it’s called. I’ll just pop off for that report and be back as quick as you please!”


He doesn’t wait for an answer, simply running on ahead.


It’s barely an instant later when the Arc Phone in their hand gives its trilling beep. Keely lifts it, and their eyes widen. Instead of words on the screen, the device now displays a map, complete with a tiny golden leaf marker they assume is meant to indicate themself. The buildings are unlabeled, but the layout seems accurate. They try to send their thanks to the Arc Phone, and it may be their imagination but they could swear the device grows a little warmer for a moment.


As they focus their attention back to the road, however, their gratitude quickly gives way to anxiety once more. The people’s stares have only gotten stronger, now that they’re alone, and Keely hears one man wondering about “that strange machine” as well. Keely forces themself to take step after step, and wills themself to cast it aside and recall what Nadine had said– she had definitely said something to encourage them, said it more than once, but faced with several strangers staring at them in an unknown place Keely can’t quite remember what it was.
Finally Keely sees a sign that reads ‘The Wallflower’, outside a building with a picnic table, and they set their attention on it. They reach the table and stand next to it, intent on waiting right there until Laventon returns.


But a moment later, the door opens, and a scowling man steps out. His hair and beard are green, and his stormy blue eyes look Keely up and down.


“Now, you don’t look like a Galaxy Team member,” he says. “The Wallflower’s for Galaxy folk only. Go on, move along!”
He actually physically shoos them, waving his hands and approaching angrily. A spike of offense penetrates Keely’s anxiety, and they glare at him as they step away.

Only to immediately be met with more strangers.

It’s a pair, this time, a very similar-looking boy and girl who look to be around Keely’s own age. The boy is trying to pull the girl’s arm past Keely, but she’s staring at Keely just as the other townsfolk have been.


The canteen’s proprietor stops shooing Keely and turns his attention to the boy. “Oh, so it’s you, is it? What can I get for you both?”


“Hi, Beni. We’ll have- Akari! Come on and order your supper!” The boy turns, looking worried. The girl– Akari– waves him off.


“Just a minute!” She meets Keely’s eyes, looking bright and interested. “Who are you? I’ve never seen anyone dressed like you. And what’s that thing in your hair?”


Keely is once again a little overwhelmed, but at least this girl doesn’t seem to be suspicious of them. In fact, she almost reminds them a little of Nora.

‘I’m Keely,’ they sign. Akari watches and furrows her brow.


“Three orders of potato mochi,” the boy sighs to Beni. “We’re meeting the Professor.” He comes up, looking with exasperation at the girl who must be his sister. He gives Keely a wary look, but doesn’t step away again.


“Rei, did you ever learn that signy-language?” Akari asks.


“Not… much?” he says. “Do you speak it, stranger?”


Keely nods quickly, and attempts once again to sign their name.

“That’s… I think a K? And… oh, I missed that one- an L?” Rei says, trying to puzzle it out. “I think it’s their name?”

Keely hears footsteps, and they turn. To their mild relief, Professor Laventon is coming up behind them, looking as happy as ever.


“Oh, jolly good! I’m so glad you’ve all met! Rei, Akari, this is the lovely soul who recovered our lost Pokemon! Even better, they’ve agreed to help with our Pokedex! Isn’t that right?”

Keely nods, and both of the teenagers noticeably relax.


“Oh, I was wondering if you knew the Professor!” Akari says. “I knew you’d have to have a tie to someone here, if the guard let you through. Professor, why are they wearing such strange clothes?”


“Akari!” Rei hisses. “And… Professor, are you sure? I don’t think Captain Cyllene would like it if you just hired someone without permission. No offense,” he adds quickly.


“I’ll allow it,” says a new voice, this one sharp and commanding. “Assuming this individual can contribute to the Survey Corps, that is.”

Keely looks up to see an elegantly dressed woman with the most stern expression Keely has ever seen. The twins are both visibly taken aback, and Keely hears Akari stammering ‘C-Commander Cyllene!”


Cyllene, however, is looking straight at Keely. “Greetings. I am the Commander of the Galaxy Expedition Team’s Survey Corps. You may call me Cyllene. Professor Laventon has just told me how you helped secure his Pokemon when they slipped from his control, and now it seems he wants us to feed and house you in exchange for your ongoing work.”

Keely nods. Cyllene is still incredibly intimidating, but her straightforward manner is something Keely is both used to and comfortable with.

“Hmm. You look… what, 14 or so? I’d say that’s old enough to be working for your keep. But of course we can’t simply take on any stranger who walks through the village, without any idea of their skills or history. Tomorrow we will see if you can prove yourself worthy. In the meantime, Beni, I authorize a meal for this newcomer.” She nods at Keely, and Beni frowns at them again but nods his head.

(Keely’s 16, actually, but they don’t bother trying to correct her.)


“Brilliant!” Laventon beams. “Commander, would you care to join us? Plenty of room at the table!”


“That won’t be necessary, thank you,” Cyllene shakes her head. “My meal has already been prepared, has it not?”


“Yes, Commander,” Beni says, and steps inside.


“Ah, well,” Laventon says. “Do enjoy, won’t you? In the meantime, I expect our new recruit here has much to tell us. It’s not a well-known fact, but Beni here’s an old hand at that hand language of yours! I’m sure he’d be happy to translate a bit.”

Beni emerges with a rather large paper bag and hands it to Cyllene. She passes him some Coins, gives him and the others a nod, and strides off toward the largest building on the street. Keely feels their brief moment of stability disappear with her.


“So, you’re under consideration for the Survey Corps,” Beni says, voice still thick with suspicion. “Commander Cyllene won’t take any chances, you know. The minute you give her a reason to doubt you, you’ll be out .”


“I’m sure they’ll work hard,” Rei says sheepishly, but doesn’t deny the claim.


“Actually, Beni, old chum, we were hoping you might help us out a little. Our new recruit here seems to know that hand-language of yours, and we haven’t been able to understand anything they’ve said yet,” Professor Laventon explains.


Beni gives Keely another narrow-eyed look. “Fine. I’ll interpret after I finish preparing your lunch, but tell Commander Cyllene I’ll want a bonus.” 

The dish he brings out is unfamiliar– a little bland, but filling, and Keely doesn't mind it. Judging by how Professor Laventon tears into it, though, it's clearly one of his favourites. The man could give Coco a run for his money in the eating department. Rei and Akari eat quietly, for the most part, although Keely catches them looking their way several times. After a while, when Keely's plate is clean and Rei's finished his last bite, he looks up appealingly at Beni. 

Beni raises an eyebrow at the boy, and then surprises Keely by smiling slightly at him. 

"All right, newcomer, are you ready to explain yourself?" Beni asks. The smile is gone when he looks at them, but at least he isn't scowling anymore. Akari and Laventon both sit up straighter in their seats. 

Keely nods quickly, and begins signing- not too quickly, in case there are differences between the sign language they're used to and this one. 

"Their name's… Keely, and they're sixteen years old," Beni translates. "Not used to Pokemon, but they have similar creatures where they're from. Hold on. No Pokemon? You really expect us to believe that ?" 

"Keely fell out of the rift in the sky," Laventon explains. "I saw it with my own eyes. Creatures like Pokemon! No wonder you managed our lost ones so well! Oh, you'll have to tell me all about them!" 

His eyes are alight, and Akari pokes his arm. "Uh, Professor? Don't we have enough on our plate with our own Pokemon?" 

"Of course! I was merely curious," Laventon says hastily.

Beni narrows his eyes again at Keely. "You fell out of the sky, did you? Well, wherever you came from, I certainly hope you don't intend the people here any harm." 

Keely shakes their head frantically. Really, why does this man seem so sure that they're dangerous?

(They are dangerous, they remember after a moment. But certainly not to these people.) 

"Good," Beni says. 

"Nice to meet you, Keely," Akari says, reaching out her hand. Keely shakes it, and she grins. 

"Likewise," Rei says, and they shake his hand, too. 

"It is lovely to have a proper introduction," Laventon agrees. His handshake is surprisingly firm. "Beni, thank you for the help, truly. And your potato mochis are as splendid as ever!" 

"At least there doesn't seem to be a language barrier," Beni says.



A short while later, Keely finds themself alone, in a surprisingly large room, completely exhausted. Cyllene had appeared not long after they all finished eating, to show Keely to this room and to announce that if they failed their trial the next day, they would be expelled from the town, and likely killed out in the wilds. Keely isn’t sure how true that is, but it doesn’t especially matter just now. The only thing that matters is doing what they’ve been asked so they can return home– or finding their own way back. They look down at the Arc Phone, still showing a map of the little village, and set it down on the floor beside them.


They flop onto the bed-- Akari had called it a futon, but really it just looks and feels like a pile of pillows on the floor to Keely. They begin to settle in before realizing there aren’t any extra blankets, and that jolts them temporarily from their tiredness. The way they’ve heard people talking about Pokemon, about them … Keely has a pretty serious hunch that if an accident happens in the night, as it has twice before, Keely will be in for much worse than simply being expelled from the village. And the windows of this room don’t have any curtains, either. If anyone happens to walk by…
They search the room for anything extra that isn’t immediately visible, but nothing turns up, although Keely does find a cupboard they hadn’t noticed before, empty save for a couple of rocks. They contemplate trying to sleep in the cupboard, but in the end Keely instead crawls under the futon and tucks one corner under their head. It… probably won’t do much, if they transform in their sleep, but it’s better than nothing, and Keely’s exhausted enough that they’ll take any excuse to let themself fall asleep.

As they doze off, Nadine’s words come back to them, much clearer in their mind now that they’re not surrounded by strangers. “You are a Ruler among Tyrants, grandchild of Omnicron himself, and more powerful already than those foolish people can even comprehend. Nothing any of them think will ever change that,” she had said. “Hold your head up, little breeze, and don’t forget.”

They aren’t sure it’s a good thought to hold onto here, but it does comfort them a little, and they try to keep it in their mind as sleep catches them. Their hand reaches to their gold leaf hairpin, seven points, meant to represent their family. They’re so glad they’d been wearing it when Arceus decided to bring them here. If they can remember that comfort in the morning, maybe the staring people won’t intimidate them quite so much…

Chapter Text

Fortunately, when Keely wakes up, they're still in their proper human shape. Unfortunately , they're still in the room they'd fallen asleep in, which meant that Arceus hadn't had a late-night change of heart and sent them home. Also unfortunately, there's a pounding noise coming from somewhere nearby. And when Keely blearily looks around to find the source, they see a girl's face looking angrily in at them through the room's back window as she knocks on the glass. 

"You're due to meet the Commander in five minutes ," Akari hisses once Keely steps outside. She grabs their arm and starts to drag them toward the large building; in their drowsy state, it reminds them of Ross, trying not to be late for breakfast. "The Professor's putting his faith in you, so don't you dare mess this up, all right?" 

Keely nods quickly. They really don't want to disappoint the kind Professor, even if they'd rather not be here at all. So they pick up speed, and Akari finally lets go of their arm.

The inside of the building is just as grand as its exterior would suggest, and reminds Keely a fair bit of Parum HQ. A thick red carpet stretches across the floor, a large golden sigil in the centre, and a staircase of dark wood rises up on the left. All along the wall in front of them, there are double doors in the same dark wood.

“Impressive, huh?” Akari says, correctly interpreting their gazing. “The Galaxy Team’s all Jubilife Village has standing between us and the wild Pokemon out there, so we have to have a strong base of operations. Come on, Commander Cyllene will be waiting.”

She goes straight for the pair of doors nearest them, directly across from the door to outside, and knocks. “Commander, it’s Akari. I’ve brought the new Survey Corps member.”

Keely hears a muffled ‘enter’ from the other side of the door. Akari sharply gestures for Keely to come forward, and as they do, she opens the doors inward.

The room beyond is tidy and austere. Cyllene sits behind a desk piled high with paperwork, and a few feet away, a short yellow creature dozes.

“Thank you, Akari,” Cyllene says. “Let’s get right to it. If you intend to join the Galaxy Expedition Team, prove your worth by going out into the Obsidian Fieldlands and catching three different species of Pokemon: Bidoof, Starly, and Shinx.”

Keely doesn’t know what any of those are, and out of habit, they begin to sign the question.

“Catching three, right from the start?” Akari asks, sounding shocked. “No one in the Team’s managed that…”

“Did not this stranger catch three different Pokemon just yesterday?” Cyllene asks. Turning to Keely, she adds, “You will be permitted a guide, as Professor Laventon has told me you are unfamiliar with Pokemon. My trial should be simple enough… if the Professor was not exaggerating things. The Galaxy Team does not have the means or desire to provide for those who only take without giving. If you intend to join us, you must prove without doubt that you will be an asset to our cause.”

Keely nods, and Cyllene returns the gesture.

“I will lend you one of our Survey Corps satchels to carry whatever you may need in the field.” She reaches behind some of the paperwork and pulls out a yellow-brown bag, holding it out to Keely.
They take it, running their hands over the fabric. It feels sturdy, and though Keely doesn’t think the Commander can understand sign, they sign their thanks anyway. When they loop it over their shoulder, however, Cyllene frowns, and Akari starts laughing.

“That’s not how you wear it,” she laughs. “It’s like mine, you- erm. Sorry, Commander.” She turns her attention back to Cyllene, who’s watching the two of them with an unreadable expression.

“Akari, I’ll expect you to step in if anything goes awry,” she nods to the girl. “Will Rei be accompanying you?”

“Not today, Commander. He’s suffering a flare-up from his Pokemon injury,” Akari says. “I will escort Keely to the Fieldlands on my own.”

“Very well,” Cyllene says. “You are dismissed.”

Akari steps back out of the room, and Keely follows along after her.


“This won’t be easy,” Akari says, once the door has closed behind them. “Even with a partner Pokemon, people have… Well, it’s a good thing I’ll be coming with you, but even still, this will be very dangerous. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Keely nods, mostly occupied with putting the Arc-Phone into their loaned satchel. It isn’t as if they really have a choice. They do wonder just how dangerous these Pokemon are, from how nervous Akari seems, but they’re less afraid than they could be. They did survive a dragon attack on their first day as a Tamer, after all. And they’re plenty capable of being dangerous themself, if worse comes to worst.


“Ah… I believe I can help with that!”

Keely and Akari both turn and see Professor Laventon coming out of another set of double doors.

“A jolly good morning to you both,” Laventon says happily. “I’m terribly sorry to hear about your brother, Akari, I’ll be sure to drop by this afternoon. Now, I’ve just overheard the details of your Trial, young Keely. In order to complete this Pokedex, you absolutely must pass! And as a Professor of Pokemon, I have just the ticket!”

He grins, and withdraws three familiar items. Dropping the Poke Balls on the ground, the three Pokemon from the day before emerge, looking around. They catch sight of Keely, and approach them curiously.

“Go on, Keely! Pick whichever Pokemon strikes your fancy!”

“Professor, are you sure?” Akari asks. “They’re- Keely, be careful!”

Keely, who’s crouching down to greet the Pokemon, looks up at her in confusion. The Professor laughs.

“I’m quite sure,” he says. “These Pokemon are very dear to me, but it’s plain to see they’re rather curious about Keely here! And it’s true that they’ll need a partner Pokemon if they wish to complete this trial!”

Keely hesitates at that. The Pokemon in front of them are adorable, but Keely won’t be here forever. Hopefully not even for very long. They don’t want to get attached, or for the Pokemon to get attached, and then have to leave each other behind. And if nothing else, Keely will get attached, there’s no doubt.
In truth, it may already be too late. The little blue-and-white one, the one that had reminded Keely of a Coral, is standing on tiptoe trying to reach the satchel in Keely’s hand, and as it loses its balance and rolls onto its back, Keely feels a grin spread across their face.

Akari is tense as she watches the exchange, and the Professor smiles slightly but doesn’t otherwise react when Keely reaches out with the satchel. All three Pokemon investigate the satchel, but the Water-type reaches for it, and as it tries to open the flap, Keely hesitantly picks the little creature up.
It looks up at them with surprise, but doesn’t seem bothered, and gives a little chirp.

“Good show!” Laventon beams. “What do you think, will you take Oshawott as your first partner?”

It may not be wise, but as Keely looks down at the Pokemon’s little face, they nod.

“Brilliant! With that, one of the Pokemon you captured down at Prelude Beach is your very own! There, see- I’ve marked his Poke Ball with a bit of blue paint there. Tap the button on the front, then, it’s yours!”

Keely picks up one Pokeball, then finding it marked with green instead, chooses another. This one does bear a dot of blue paint, so Keely gives the Oshawott one last pet and does as they’re instructed. In a beam of whitish light, Oshawott disappears into the ball.

“Wow,” Akari says.

“Wonderful!” Professor Laventon agrees. “Now- Bidoof, Shinx, and Starly, was it? Those aren’t too hard to find, out in the Fieldlands. Here, let me give you some Poke Balls for your Trial. You can keep them in that satchel there.” At the mention of the satchel, the Cyndaquil stops chewing on the strap, and the Rowlet hops off of the bag. They both chitter, and Keely pats each one as they pick up the bag.

Laventon hands them the Poke Balls, at least a dozen more than should reasonably fit in the little satchel, but they all go in easily. Keely feels a pang of homesickness, as they’re sure Coco would be making some kind of confusing joke if he were here right now.

“Looks like you’re finally ready,” Akari says. “Okay, I’m going to stop by and check on Rei, but then I’ll meet you by the north gate. Twenty minutes. Don’t be late!” She heads out the door without another word.

“I should get these little darlings back to my office,” Professor Laventon says fondly. “Keely, after seeing you yesterday, I have no doubt you can do this. Just be careful, and keep that satchel tied round your waist.”

Oh. So that’s why Akari had been laughing at them. Sheepishly, they tie it on properly, and Laventon grins.

“Much better! All right, I’ll see you after your Trial! Come along, you two!”

The two remaining Pokemon hop along after him, although they each make little sounds toward Keely before they do.

And just like that, Keely’s alone- or nearly alone, they remember.They head outside and let the cool morning air fill their lungs, and when they reach the bottom of the stairs, they press the little button on the Poke Ball again.
Their new partner Pokemon emerges, and Keely again crouches down.

You probably can’t hear me, Keely begins, once more trying to speak to the little creature. But I’m going to try. My name’s Keely Briar. I don’t think I’ll be here for long, but… until I leave, I’ll keep you safe, okay?

The Oshawott catches sight of an especially long blade of grass swaying in the wind, and waddles over to it.

Keely grins. It was worth a shot, at least. They follow the little Oshawott– it really reminds them of a Coral– and stand for a bit while he plays with the grass. After a few minutes, Keely remembers that the phones from back home could be used to tell time, just like their Nexopedia. They pull out the Arc-Phone, hoping the same is true of this one; if it is, though, Keely can’t figure out how. The map is still present, though, and fortunately the north gate is decently easy to find on it. They only hope they have time to grab a bite to eat first.

Keely catches the Pokemon’s attention and points to the Poke Ball; the little one thinks for a moment, bites the blade of grass, and then lets out a little chirp which Keely takes as permission to return him to the Poke Ball. They do so, and grass and all the little Oshawott returns to his capsule.

Keely can’t find Beni, however, and when they knock on the door of the canteen they get no response. Other people are beginning to trickle out into the morning, however, and Keely’s discomfort is beginning to build. They remind themself of their aunt’s words, over and over again in their mind like a mantra, and it does soothe them a bit to remember they aren’t alone. They have people on their side, even if they aren’t with them right now. . But the people of Jubilife Village are still watching them, with looks ranging from confusion to suspicion, and Keely feels their fear growing again. So they make their way to the north gate, hoping that if nothing else, looking like they know what they’re doing is enough to reassure some of these people.
It actually works, to an extent; several people see the satchel and the purposeful stride and decide this is ordinary enough to ignore, for the most part. A few don’t, but Keely can handle that.

When they reach the gate, Akari is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a man in strange red clothes is talking to another man, dressed in blue, white and yellow.
The gate itself casts a shadow, and Keely decides to wait for Akari in the shade. No sooner have they stepped into it, however, than the blue-clad blond man catches sight of them, and actually jogs over.

“Oh, what a curious getup you have there,” he says, taking in Keely’s attire. “I can already tell you’re quite the character! And what is that lovely trinket in your hair?”

Keely reaches up and touches their pin, and the man smiles.

“I’m Volo, of the Ginkgo Guild! The go-to choice for any of your mercantile needs anywhere in Hisui!”

Oh. That explains the energy. Keely gives him an apologetic smile, and signs ‘I don’t have money’. That always gets the message across to Cooper, when the merchant catches their eye.

Volo, however, just furrows his brow. “That’s… I’ve seen that before. Hand language… No, sign. That’s it! Pity I never learned. Perhaps I should, now, that’s three of you Galaxy folk I’ve met who use it. You are with the Galaxy Team, right? I haven’t made another blunder?”

Keely nods, but in that same moment, a familiar voice yells out their name.

They turn to see Akari, sprinting up the road towards them.
“You’re early,” she tells them, panting from the exertion. “Morning, Volo. Morning, Ress.”

The red-clothed man by the gate waves to her, and Volo gives Akari a sunny smile.

“Good morning, Miss Akari! I was just getting acquainted with this newcomer- Keely, is it? And wishing I’d thought to pick up that book on sign language. Does Rei still have it?”

“No, he gave it back to Commander Zisu,” Akari says apologetically. “Volo, this is Keely. They fell out of the sky yesterday, and now Professor Laventon wants them to help with the Pokedex. We’re just heading out of town for their trial.”

Volo’s eyes- well, the one Keely can see, anyway- brighten, and he glances up at the distant storm. “Fell out of the sky, huh? Now that’s a tale I’d love to hear. And you’re to be with the Survey Corps! Does that mean you have a Pokemon?”
Keely nods, holding out their Pokeball, and Volo grins.

“You certainly are full of interesting surprises! Well, investigating the new and novel is the key to any good merchant’s success! So what do you say, Keely? How would you like to see how your Pokemon stands up to mine in battle?”

“Oh, good idea!” Akari says, stepping back. “Go on, Keely, I want to see!”

Keely’s not sure it’s such a great idea; they don’t know this Oshawott very well, and they certainly don’t know what kinds of moves these Pokemon can use. But it’s… nice, to be smiled at instead of scrutinized, and they suppose Oshawott can always say no if he doesn’t want to fight.
Keely shrugs, and that’s all the approval Volo needs to send out his own partner.

The creature that emerges is not what Keely’s expecting from a seasoned merchant. It’s tiny and egglike, and reminds Keely very slightly of a Taipluff without its tail. Its expression, however, has none of a Taipluff’s mischief.
Keely releases their Oshawott. The instant he sees the other Pokemon, he hops with visible excitement. Volo laughs.

“Oh, I like you better and better! What a delightful find! All right, Togepi, Tackle!”

The little egg creature dashes forward obediently and tackles Oshawott. As Keely’s Pokemon is sent flying backwards, he looks up at Keely with a question in his eyes, and they nod.
Battling, apparently, is a transferable skill between these worlds.

Oshawott dives forward and swipes at Togepi with his shells. Togepi tries to dodge, but isn’t quite fast enough, and the attack connects.

The two trade blows a few more times, but in the end, Oshawott is victorious, and Volo recalls the tired-looking Togepi to her Poke Ball.

“It’s always fun to have your Pokemon do battle, don’t you think?” Volo asks happily. “Here, I’ll heal your partner all up.” He pulls out a spray bottle, and as Akari isn’t reacting badly Keely supposes it must be safe, so they gesture for Oshawott to go and allow himself to be sprayed. He chirps as the mist surrounds him, and Volo and Akari smile.
“Oh, don’t worry, little one, I’ll heal up Togepi as well. But first… I have a gift for you, my sky-fallen friend! Some Potions, as thanks for humoring me!”

He withdraws a number of the same spray bottles, and offers them to Keely. They fumble to put them quickly into their satchel, and as they do, Volo releases Togepi and sprays her with one, as well. She coos, and Keely can’t help but grin again. Oshawott toddles up and starts chatting to her, and the two carry on an incomprehensible conversation.

“I’ll be hoping for your victory with this trial, Keely! Clearly the Galaxy Team has a valuable ally ahead of them. And more Galaxy Team members means more customers for yours truly!” He flashes Keely the same sunny smile, and withdraws Togepi. “Maybe I can even get a closer look at that trinket of yours then. All right, I’m off to see what Tao Hua needs this week…”

He walks off, tossing Togepi’s Pokeball up and down idly as he walks.

“That’s amazing…” Akari says. “Are you sure you fell from the sky?”

Keely makes a face and nods. They’re quite sure they remember that well enough.

“Hm.” she frowns. “You can catch Pokemon, command them in battle, you aren’t afraid of them… Did you do battle with those other creatures, in that place you came from?”

Keely nods, and Akari grins.

“That explains it, I guess. Well, let’s get going.  Hey, Ress, we’re headed to the Obsidian Fieldlands this morning, all right?”

“Ready and noted, Miss Akari,” Ress says, writing something on his noteboard. “Good luck out there.”

“Thank you,” Akari says, and Keely nods their thanks as well. They recall Oshawott, and allow Akari to lead them forward, out of the village and toward the Obsidian Fieldlands. 

Chapter Text

Keely climbs the stairs slowly. 

Their new uniform fits, and they're kind of glad to get out of the clothes they'd fallen asleep in the other night, but it's unlike anything Keely owns. It reminds them, constantly, of how strange this place is to them. And now they're going to meet this 'Commander'. On the one hand, the art of presenting themself to someone and trying to make a good impression is one they've been practicing and learning for a long time- before they joined the Tamer's Guild, even, Keely desperately wanted to impress the Guildmasters. On the other hand, even back home Keely was always afraid they'd fumble and mess something up, and here they're almost sure they will. 

They take the last few steps, worrying now that they'll annoy the Commander by making them wait. When they reach the top stair, they see an open door, and a tall, broad figure standing with his eyes closed, facing them. 
The man's eyes snap open. They're stern and grey, and they take in Keely from head to toe. 

"I've been waiting for you!" His voice is loud, strong and a bit rough. "I am Commander Kamado, leader of the Galaxy Expedition Team! Hm. So you're Keely?" 

Keely signs 'Yes, sir,' reflexively; when they realize what they're doing, they nod instead. 

"Good," Kamado says, although his gaze lingers on Keely's hands. "I've been briefed on your entire situation, including how you fell from the rift in the sky." 

Keely wonders if there's anyone Professor Laventon didn't tell about that. 

"Now then! Let me see what you're made of!" Kamado says, throwing back the jacket he's wearing like a cape. "Face me in combat!" 

Keely feels themself flood with relief. Their mind immediately starts shifting, working to recontextualize this man. They know people like this, whose respect is gained through shows of force. Who love a good spar. And Keely's been having fun with their own fighting lessons, even if they do still routinely get thrown across the room by their older uncles.  

They get into a fighting stance, scanning Kamado's posture and movements for any tells. The man is watching them, his own stance sturdy and low to the ground. He looks slightly surprised, but pleased, and Keely grins, again, with relief. 
It's unwise to make the first move in a match with an unknown opponent, Keely knows, but they also know that Commander Kamado knows that, and he's clearly waiting for them. A flash of worry runs through them at the thought of making the wrong choice here, but they can't linger on it for long. After another moment they dive forward, fist heading straight toward the Commander. He reaches to grab it, but it's a feint, and they duck as their real aim- a kick to the ankle- connects. 

There's only a flicker in Kamado's expression before it settles back into one of grim focus. Abruptly he dives forward, and Keely leaps out of the way, the same rolling dodge Akari had taught them earlier when two Shinx decided to attack them. It's not suited for a small room, however, and when they roll into a chair Kamado takes the opportunity to rush them again. 

Keely recovers as best they can while also trying to hold off a large, strong man who is trying to throw them. To their credit, they succeed for a while; they push back against him for several seconds. But Keely is still a teenager, and Kamado has been practicing fighting since before they were born. He shifts a little and Keely is thrown, first off balance, then across the room.

"You've... fought... before," Kamado says, catching his breath as Keely sits up. "Now, don't expect a warm welcome from everyone. Naturally, some will be slow to trust an outsider who literally fell right out of the blue! The superstitious among us might see your arrival as a portent of disaster! But you passed the trial that was set to you. No matter how strange you may seem, you are a part of Jubilife Village- and the Galaxy Expedition Team! Dedicate yourself to your work, and perhaps others will warm up to you. But I warn you, Keely... Pokemon are terrifying creatures. Keep your wits about you at all times!" 

As Kamado talks, Keely stands. They check and adjust their pin, and though they're listening to his words, part of Keely can't help but think they're going to be sore later on. 
At his last remark, Keely nods. From what they've seen, Pokemon don't seem to be any more dangerous than the average Nexomon- but they do have a willingness to attack humans that most Nexomon (nowadays, anyway) lack. And Keely isn't going to underestimate them. 

"Good," Kamado says, at their nod. "Now, about your style. You have strength and agility, but you lack technique. Still, not bad for a newcomer! Officer Zisu is out on patrol duty this week, but when she returns, I'm going to talk to her about getting you some training! Is that understood?" 

Keely nods again, this time with enthusiasm. They've been told Zisu knows sign language, and while it will be nice to train, it'll be even nicer to have an actual conversation with someone.

"Well, then. Dismissed!" Kamado barks. 

Keely bows, and walks out the door. 
They immediately see Rei and Akari standing at the bottom of the stairs. Rei is leaning slightly on a walking stick, but he waves with his other hand, and Akari follows suit. 

"Well? How'd it go?" Akari asks. "What did the Commander say?" 

"I was a bit worried, so I had to come over," Rei admits. 

Keely wiggles one hand from side to side, and offers a tentative thumbs up with the other. 

"Oh, thank Sinnoh," Rei says. "Are you okay? How hard did he throw you?" 

So they must’ve heard the noise. Keely shrugs, and grins a little. It may be painful later, but they hadn’t minded the spar, and they think- possibly- they made a good impression. 

Akari grins. "Well, we should tell the Professor the good news. I'm really glad. I think he would've been pretty disappointed to lose someone as good as Keely so soon after finding them." 

"And maybe also the whole 'kid dying alone out in the wild' thing?" Rei asks, raising his eyebrow. Keely laughs silently at that. 

"Well, obviously," Akari says, swatting lightly at her brother. 
They reach Professor Laventon's office door, and though Keely's already beginning to feel their bruises, they open the door for their companions. These people... Keely appreciates them. They're already making this whole ordeal less lonely, even if they also make Keely miss their friends a little more. 

Chapter Text

Keely isn’t good at shopping.

They don’t mind it, necessarily, but they’re horribly indecisive, and whenever anyone shops with them they usually end up complaining at how long Keely takes. They discover that, whether at home or in Hisui, that’s one thing about them that stays constant.

“All you need is something clean and sturdy,” Akari says, leaning against the building with her own package in her arms.

“Nonsense,” Anthe says, shooting her a look. “There’s much more than that to consider! Colour, for example. Now, dear, would you consider yourself more of a purple or a red person?”

Keely examines the pants the woman’s holding out to them and considers the question carefully. The red pants are really more of a deep pink, and Keely’s always loved pink— but the purple pants have a wonderful spiral pattern on them, and Keely likes that, too.

“You guys are still here?” Rei asks, walking up with a couple of bags from the General Store.

“Yeah. Turns out Keely here’s a bit of a fashionista or something. Anthe’s in her glory.”

“I mean, fair,” Rei reasons quietly. “If all you had were the clothes on your back, wouldn’t you want them to be some you could like?”

“They have their uniform,” Akari shrugs. “They just need something to wear on laundry day.”

After a few more minutes, Keely selects the reddish pants, and gives Akari and Rei an apologetic grin.

“Wonderful,” Anthe beams. “Now, about a top to go with them…”
Akari very nearly screams.


They’re at the clothier’s for another forty minutes, but when they leave, they seem very content.


“Okay, you guys need anything else?” Rei asks. “I already went to get some crafting supplies, but do you two need anything there?”

“I think I’m good,” Akari says. “I should do a bit of actual crafting later, but that can wait. What about you, Keels?”

Keely shakes their head. They’d ended up nicknaming their Pokemon friend Coral, but after getting to know him— and evolving him— they’re pretty sure a name more related to dragons would suit him better. Keely has to craft nearly constantly to keep up with all the apricorns and tumblestones Coral gathers.

Rei, who’s seen Coral in action, laughs. “Yeah, pretty sure Dewott won’t let Keely run out anytime soon.”

“Oh, yeah,” Akari grins. “Okay, so that’s clothes and supplies… Man. This has been the shortest shopping day ever, even with Keely taking forever.”

Keely squirms and signs an apology, even if Akari won’t understand it. Fortunately, Rei does.
“She’s just messing with you,” Rei says. “’Kari, knock it off, they said they’re sorry.”

Akari looks guilty. “He’s right, I’m just teasing. Sorry about that. We’re in no rush today, anyway.”

Keely breathes a sigh of relief. They’re just glad she isn’t angry with them. They smile, and give both of the twins a thumbs up.



The rest of the afternoon is uneventful. Keely drops their new outfit off, although they remove the scarf they’d bought and tie it around their hair; it may be the weather, or the simple scarcity of baths, but their hair’s been getting horribly unruly. The scarf, at least, keeps it from getting in their eyes, and they make a mental note to thank Anthe the next chance they get. By the time they come out of their quarters, the twins are gone— presumably to take their own purchases home. So Keely wanders back to the Galaxy Building to check if there have been any requests from the people of Jubilife Village.

There’s only one, a man who wants to see a Paras up close, so Keely heads down to the village pastures and withdraws one of the Paras they’d caught for research.
She's an impish little creature, and when they take her to the man who wanted to see her— a fellow named Morel— he’s delighted. The Paras tries to eat his slipper, and Morel offers her some sort of cake instead. Keely’s not sure exactly what it is, but the Paras devours it. Morel promises to bring her more, over in the pastures, and Keely smiles. Most of the people here, in this village, are afraid of Pokemon, in a way Keely had never quite seen back home even when they were younger. It’s not necessarily unreasonable, with how unpredictable the wild Pokemon can be, but at the same time, it hurts them. Keely can’t speak to these Pokemon, but even in the ordinary way they know these creatures aren’t evil. They’re wild creatures and need to be respected, but they’re also very social. And to see people not realize that, and simply react in fear… It hits Keely just a little too close to home.
But a few people in the village are beginning to come around. Beauregard, and his beloved Cascoon. Morel. Tsumugi, befriending the Bidoof that had been leading him on a chase all through the village. It always makes Keely happier, which is why they’ve been making a point to take as many requests as possible.
It’s even helping to alleviate their nerves, somewhat.

When Morel’s done playing with the Paras, Keely takes her back to the pastures, and by then they’re starting to get hungry. So they head over to the Wallflower.

“Evening,” Beni says. “Waiting for the rest?”

Keely nods, and Beni walks off. He’s still not quite friendly with Keely, but he’s stopped glaring at them all the time, which is a relief, at least.

They pull out the Arc Phone, idly poking at it. It’s a peculiar device. Occasionally it will beep, drawing Keely’s attention to something or other on the map, but mostly it stays quiet. They thumb through the different pages: the map of Jubilife Village, their partial map of the Obsidian Fieldlands, a little notepad, the screen which only ever reads ‘Mend the Rift’. There’s a camera, as well, although Keely’s tried to keep that a secret; they don’t want to annoy Dagero, or make him think they’re trying to put him out of business. Mostly Keely uses that out in the field, to make notes of wild Pokemon behaviour or particularly dangerous places to avoid.
They’re flicking through their pictures and have just reached the end when something else slides across the screen, a program Keely’s never bothered to look at. Glancing up and seeing no sign of either Laventon or the twins, they shrug, and look back at it.

The icon is blue, with a bizarre, stylized S on it. They tap on it, and a keyboard comes up, along with a few buttons: a green triangle, a red circle, and a little blue image of a paper with a corner folded.

They type in ‘What is this?’ into the keyboard. Nothing happens. Keely presses the triangle, and the words disappear.

“What is this?”

They jump. The Arc Phone spoke, in a slightly electronic voice that was much louder than anything they’ve heard from the device so far.
Quickly, they type in another line, ‘My name is Keely Briar,’ and hit the triangle once more.
“My name is Keely Briar,” the Arc Phone drones.

“So it is,” Beni says, coming outside again. “Is that your weird machine?”

Keely nods. They type in again. “I think I can speak through this.”

Beni looks up at the sky. “Praise Almighty Sinnoh, I won’t need to translate anymore.” He then surprises Keely by shooting them a small grin.

“Thank you for the help,” Keely types.

“The Galaxy Team help each other,” Beni says, shrugging.

It’s the closest thing to acceptance Keely’s heard from the man, and it makes them smile.
Professor Laventon arrives at the next moment, and his face lights up at Keely’s expression.

“Evening! Keely, it’s jolly wonderful to see you in such good spirits. The two of you’ve been having a lovely chat, I presume? Beni, my good man, I hope you’ve had a good day.”

“Can’t complain,” Beni says, “Especially not now.”

“Oh? What good news have you had, then?” the Professor asks happily.

Beni nods at Keely. “Ask your new recruit there.”

Keely, however, is already prepared. They simply hit the triangle button, and the Arc Phone reads out, “I found a way to speak with this.”

“My days as translator are over!” Beni says happily.

Laventon’s eyes widen, and he stares at the Arc Phone. Until now, Laventon mostly seemed wary of it, but now… “That magnificent device! Please, show me!”

Keely holds out the Arc Phone and shows Laventon how to type into the keyboard and make it speak.

“Remarkable,” Laventon murmurs. “You just touch these pre-written letters, and…”

“Seven svelte Cyndaquil standing steadfast,” the Arc Phone reads out.

Laventon laughs with delight. “Oh, this is wonderful.”

He fusses over the Arc Phone for another several minutes, and when Rei and Akari arrive, it’s Laventon rather than Keely who explains the device’s newfound feature.
It’s a little overwhelming to Keely, if they’re honest. It’s also far more awkward and stilted than the sign language they’re used to. But it’s also the first time they’re able to have a fully-fledged conversation since arriving, and that is wonderfully refreshing.

Chapter Text

Coral hasn't been with Keely for very long, but he likes them. 

They take him outside the Village! They let him battle, and explore, and when he brings them little piles of stones they smile and pet him. They're good at keeping up when he plays, and just like him, they prefer to sleep fully hidden. Sometimes they even let him play with their magic talking glass that they keep in their satchel. They use it to tell him all about something called 'anime', and while Coral's not sure what that is, Keely makes it sound exciting.

So yes, Coral's very happy Keely picked him to travel with. But one day, something happens that makes him wonder just what he's gotten himself into. 

It's a sunny afternoon. Coral and Keely are walking along the shore of a lake they've just discovered, surrounded on all sides by a tall, grassy ridge. There's a little island in the middle of the lake, but Coral doesn't really care about that. There's water here, and sunshine, and Coral has to be on alert in case any more Pokemon jump out at his Trainer. 
Keely, on the other hand, seems very interested in the island. They look at the hills, and the path they've just come along, and Coral decides to leave them to their surveying and play in the water instead for a while. He needs to keep up on his swimming, after all, and he's too big now to swim in the pond near the village.

So he dives in, enjoying the cool feeling of water on his fur. He closes his eyes and just basks in the joy of swimming. 
But then, something happens. The water moves, slightly but very suddenly. And the cool feeling of water on his fur gets cooler and cooler until it's downright cold. 

He opens his eyes, and nearly jumps out of the water in shock. In the brief time between him diving in and looking up again, a narrow bridge of ice has formed between the lakeshore and the little island in the middle of the lake. And standing right in front of that bridge, with their hand outstretched towards it, is Keely. 
Coral shrieks. He doesn't know what kind of Pokemon could do that so quickly, but he doesn't want to stick around to find out. And his Trainer- they don't seem to understand how dangerous a Pokemon that strong could be. He scrambles out of the water and tugs on their sleeve, pleading with them to get away from here. 

But of course Keely doesn't understand. They pet him, hand still cold from getting close to the bridge, and take off their bag. They pull out their magic glass, and Coral likes the magic glass but this isn't the time!  Keely doesn't understand that, either, though. They poke at the magic glass, and it speaks. 

"It's okay," it says. "Come with me." 

Coral's about to insist that it is not okay, but he doesn't have a chance before Keely calmly steps onto the bridge. They gesture for Coral to follow them. 

He hesitates.

Keely holds out his Poke Ball, a gentle look on their face. Coral understands that. They're saying he can stay in his Ball if he's scared. 
Coral is scared, and he desperately wants Keely to understand, to get away from this place where a powerful Pokemon is clearly hiding. But Keely doesn't, and as scared as he is, Coral isn't letting them face danger alone. The Professor asked him to look after them, and they've been very nice to Coral since they met. He scampers up and stands next to them, and tries to look brave.

Keely smiles, and that makes Coral feel a bit braver, at least for a minute. When they start walking, he realizes he's definitely still scared. 
But it's not so bad. Whatever made this ice seems to have left for now, and the ice itself is not wobbly. Even with an entire human and Dewott on it, it's staying pretty still. Still enough that Coral feels safe trying to slide partway on his belly, and lands on the island laughing with delight. 

Keely laughs silently with him, and then looks around. There's not much there- a big rock takes up most of the island, and there's only a single tree. Coral lunges at it, shaking all the Apricorns loose that he can manage. He's not sure why Keely likes the things- they taste like eating wood- but they always seem to want to collect as many as possible, and Coral loves collecting things. He gathers these ones up while Keely's looking around, and when he catches their attention, he presents the pile to them. 
As Coral was hoping for, Keely beams at him, and he helps them put the pile in their satchel. 
When they've put the last one in, Keely hesitates. They look at Coral, and for some reason they look nervous. Coral looks around with alarm. Did Keely see the big Pokemon who made the bridge? But no, Coral doesn't see anyone but Keely, and a few Magikarp swimming out in the lake.

Keely pulls out their magic glass, and pokes at it to talk again. 
"I'm going to do something weird. You might want to go back in your Ball." 

Is that all it is? Keely does weird things all the time- all the humans do. Coral shakes his head, and sits down stubbornly. He wants to stay with his friend, and keep an eye out for the dangerous Pokemon. Maybe even play with the Magikarp after. Keely can be as weird as they like, Coral isn't going anywhere. 

Keely doesn't look reassured, but they shrug, and type into the magic glass again. 
"Okay, but I warned you. Just remember I won't hurt you." 

They put the magic glass back in their satchel, set the satchel on the ground, and pet Coral on the head. Then they start to walk away, toward the big rock. 

Coral is so confused. Keely was right, this time they are acting even weirder than usual. He starts to follow them, but is stopped in his tracks when Keely starts glowing. And growing. It looks a bit like an evolution. 

It happens quickly. The glowing shape of Coral's Trainer stretches and shifts, and a moment later, there's a... thing in their place. 

Once more, Coral shrieks. This... he assumes it's a Pokemon, but he's certainly never seen one like that. It's big, taller than the big rock, and long enough that its back feet are in the lake. It's blue and red and gold, and the closest thing Coral can think is that it looks like a Stantler crossed with a Luxio, but it isn't either of those things and mostly it just looks strange. 
And it's standing right where Keely should be. 

Coral panics. He's dimly aware of something he should be remembering, but it's such a quiet thought compared to every instinct Coral has telling him to run. So he does, quickly hitting water and diving below the surface. A couple of Magikarp swim up to see what's going on, and Coral urges them- stay down here, there's something scary up there!

It's around then that Coral's mind starts to catch up with his instincts, and he remembers- he has a friend up there. Or... he did? They disappeared, when the big Pokemon showed up. And then he remembers that it had looked like Keely evolved into that Pokemon. 
He gets another wave of fear at that, but it's quickly stilled by what Keely had made the magic glass say just before. 

"I won't hurt you."
 
Coral is really not sure what to think. If that... thing was his Trainer, then it's probably not dangerous. It hadn't attacked, after all. But it's still terrifying, and it means Keely wasn't kidding when they said they were 'going to do something weird'. Coral's been around a fair number of humans, but he's never seen one turn into a giant Pokemon before. Or... the ice. Could that have been them? No wonder Coral hadn't seen another Pokemon...
But if it wasn't Keely, then Keely's in danger, and Coral just took off on them. 
Either way, he needs to go back. 

He swims up slowly, but when he reaches the surface, there's no sign of the giant Pokemon. Instead, Keely's standing there, fidgeting with the strap of their satchel as they look out over the water. 
Coral figures that's all the proof they need. If Keely didn't get eaten by the weird Pokemon, Keely was the weird Pokemon. 

He's still nervous. More than nervous, really. But that's Keely, his Trainer, and they look worried. About him. 
He swims onto the shore, and hesitantly meeps at Keely. 
Keely turns quickly, and when they spot Coral their face lights up with relief. They sit down, right in the dirt, and wait. 

Coral walks over and carefully reaches out a paw. He thinks... he knows this human. Even if they can turn into a big, scary Pokemon, they're a good human. And he thinks he can trust them. 

Keely reaches out and pulls Coral into a hug. And the warmth and comfort of his friend feels so nice, after all that, that Coral feels himself start to purr. 

Sure, if it ever happens again, it'll probably still be scary. But Coral's pretty sure that they'll get through it. 

And hey, maybe the giant Pokemon gives good hugs, too. 

Chapter Text

There is an especially vicious Alpha in the southwest Fieldlands.

It’s not the first Alpha Pokemon Keely’s seen— there’s a massive Rapidash who lives in the plains to the north. Keely had thought, at first, that it was this world’s equivalent of a Tyrant, and tried to speak to it; they were rewarded with a painfully burnt arm, only narrowly escaping an even worse attack. Pesselle had demanded to know what had happened, and when Keely— through their Arc-Phone— had explained, Professor Laventon had told them about Alpha Pokemon. Pesselle had told Keely they were lucky to be alive, and Keely couldn’t help agreeing with her. That creature had been terrifying, and in the moment they were burned, they were briefly reminded of Vados’ fury and his rage.

That Alpha was formidable, but at least it didn’t seem to hold any grudges. When Keely passes by the area after that, the Rapidash watches them, but as long as Keely gives it its space, it doesn’t attack. Rei comes along with them, a few times, to observe it from a distance, and the two conclude that it’s simply protecting its territory. Not malicious, simply a creature defending its home.

The Alpha in the southwest is a massive yellow creature, one the Professor calls a Kadabra, and Keely is pretty sure that unlike the Rapidash, it doesn’t care about territory. On the contrary, it seems to have an issue with Keely specifically. The first time it encounters them, it fires several psychic bolts at them and chases them halfway back to camp before a water Pokemon attacks it, and Keely manages to escape with nothing worse than a bad headache. After that, it seems to wait for them to come near the area so it can attack— which is both scary and extremely inconvenient. The Professor has been wanting notes about some Pokemon that live on the southernmost shore, and not only will the Kadabra not let them anywhere near there, Keely can’t even get to the lake with the island anymore.
The twins had gone to investigate, as well, and while they’d both reported seeing the Kadabra, it had more or less ignored them. They returned to Laventon with sketches and notes on the Shellos population, and Rei had even managed to catch one to observe.

And yet, every time the Kadabra sees Keely, it immediately comes after them.

This time, Keely’s collecting tumblestone with Coral when the Kadabra sees them. Coral notices it before Keely does; he sniffs the air, catches sight of the Pokemon and snarls. Keely looks back, and they’re not sure exactly how strong this Alpha is but they’re pretty sure Coral should not be provoking it.
They return him to his Poke Ball, which ends up being completely useless as he immediately lets himself out again and throws a scalchop at the rapidly approaching Kadabra.
Keely thinks it may have hit. They think so, but they’re not sure, because the next moment a bright pink beam shoots out and hits Coral, and he collapses.

Panicked, Keely returns him once more and starts running.
They don’t have time to think, much less make a plan. The Alpha’s nearly caught up with them, valuable seconds having passed while Keely was trying to get Coral safely out of the way. And Keely is terrified.
Frantically, they reach into their bag and throw things backwards. A Berry, two of Coral’s tumblestones, an empty Poke Ball, an apricorn. Keely doesn’t really know what they’re hoping to accomplish— they just hope something they throw will distract the Pokemon, or stun it, or something, anything that will let them get away. They don’t throw any more, afraid they’ll toss something important by mistake, and instead just keep running.

After another half-minute or so, Keely notices that they haven’t had to dodge any attacks, and they risk a glance over their shoulder to see if, amazingly, something they’d thrown had worked.
Something must have. They can’t see the Kadabra anywhere, and even when they stop for a moment, no furious giant Pokemon appears. They wait, and while they’re waiting their mind catches up with their fear, and they remember- the Poke Ball.

…But that doesn’t make sense. They slowly walk back along the way they’d come, ready to flee if anything comes charging out at them. Nothing does; Keely vaguely considers that the chase may have frightened away most of the wild Pokemon in the immediate area. But their mind is mostly occupied with being highly alert, and ready to take off again if need be.
After a while, Keely catches sight of the tumblestones they threw, glinting in the sunlight. Still cautious, they come closer, and finally the Poke Ball comes into view. It’s sitting in the grass, and Keely has no way of telling if there’s anything in it but they’re too afraid to get close enough to check.

It’s around this time that they remember their powers, and they feel tremendously stupid for a few moments before they reason that they wouldn’t have been much help anyway. They had no time to transform, and anything else would have required more precision than they could give in the moment.
But they can help now. Carefully, Keely reaches out and catches a small breeze, and sends it  toward the Poke Ball. It rolls a few feet to the right, and when nothing springs out, Keely begins to think that it must not have caught the Kadabra after all.

They walk over slowly, and even more slowly they bend down to pick it up.

Before they can touch it, the ball rocks in place, and Keely jumps backward. The ball rocks again, and this time Keely focuses to feel if there’s any wind to push it. But the air is still.
The ball rocks again, this time a little more, but still nothing emerges from it. They have the sudden thought that maybe, somehow, the Kadabra doesn’t know how to let itself out of the Poke Ball, and that thought spikes their fear all over again.

If they leave this Poke Ball, the Kadabra will be trapped. But if they take it, and release the Pokemon, they’re pretty sure they won’t be leaving the Fieldlands alive.

In the end, they decide to head back to camp and bring help. The Alpha Pokemon’s hatred seems reserved for Keely, for some reason, so they figure that maybe another member of the Survey Corps would have better luck releasing it. They roll it over another few feet so it’s off the main path— again using a wind, just in case the Pokemon figured out how to get out while they were touching the ball— and head back toward the camp.

The walk does nothing to calm them; their mind goes in circles. Why did that Poke Ball even work? The Professor had told them the Pokemon shrank down and entered the devices on their own, but there is no way this particular Pokemon would have willingly gone into a ball. Laventon must have been wrong, then— Poke Balls must capture Pokemon forcefully. That thought makes Keely feel a bit sick to their stomach. But the strange thing is that for as long as they’ve been in Hisui, everything they’ve seen has supported the Professor’s words. Pokemon go into Poke Balls when they’re relaxed or curious or friendly. The shy and aggressive ones invariably break out, and usually take off running away from the thrower afterwards. And Pokemon who have been caught seem to have no problem coming out on their own; didn’t Coral just prove that?
Their hand brushes the Dewott’s Poke Ball, attached to their waist by their satchel’s band, and they silently promise him they’ll get him healed up as soon as they reach camp.

And reach camp they do, after a short while longer. Laventon’s lounging around, reading a book, but he takes one look at Keely and stands up.

“My friend, are you all right?”

Keely starts signing quickly, and fumbles their signs twice from nerves before they register that Laventon isn’t understanding, and remember. They pull out the Arc-Phone.

“The Alpha attacked. I accidentally caught it, but I don’t think it knows how to get out of the Ball. Coral got hurt.”

“Settle down, it’s all right,” Laventon says, giving Keely a kindly pat on the arm. “Stephan, would you be so kind as to help Keely with their injured Pokemon?”

“Of course,” Stephan replies. Keely releases Coral, and thankfully, the Dewott is conscious— he blinks up at Keely in confusion, but he looks physically sound. Stephan crouches down to see to him as Laventon turns his attention back to Keely.

“Now, if you wouldn’t mind repeating— did you truly say you captured an Alpha Pokemon?” Laventon asks.

Keely pokes frantically at the phone. “Yes, and it’s stuck. It can’t get out of the Ball, but if I let it out, it would attack.” As the device is reading that, Keely types more. “I didn’t think they could be caught if they didn’t want to.”

Laventon’s bright expression, thrilled with the idea of Keely having captured an Alpha— even if it’s that Alpha— to study, settles as he realizes how upset Keely is. Their hands are shaking slightly, and their pink eyes are wide with distress. Laventon sets a hand on their arm.
“Not to worry, we’ll get it sorted out. I’m certainly not the best with Pokemon, but I’m certain I can free her. Do you have the Ball you used?”

Keely shakes their head and points back where they’d come; Laventon, getting the idea, nods.

“All right, then. Stephan, how is young Keely’s Pokemon faring?”

Stephan looks over with a smile. “Looks like he’ll be fine. He seems to have gotten hit with a pretty strong Hypnosis, but there’s no lasting damage.  You might want to let him sleep it off.”

Keely takes a deep breath and sighs in relief. Hypnosis… they’re fairly sure that isn’t what the Kadabra has been using on them, given that they’ve been hit more than once since the Pokemon’s bizarre grudge started and it had hurt, but they’re extremely glad Coral is all right.



Despite his words, it’s nearly half an hour before Laventon has packed up and prepared to follow Keely back up the path, toward where the Poke Ball is. During that time, Keely sits down beside their sleeping Pokemon and tries to nap, too. They don’t quite manage, but they do succeed in distracting themself from the Poke Ball problem by wondering how many episodes of Paragons of Golden Justice they’ve missed and thinking about their favourite characters. It’s a hollow distraction, Keely knows, but it works long enough for Laventon to get ready to go.

As they walk, Laventon chats happily to Keely about the Pokedex. Rei’s data on the Shellos is fitting in brilliantly, he says, and he’s never met someone with such an aptitude for catching Pokemon as Keely has.
Keely listens in silence, not currently in any position to feel proud of themself for their catching skills. If the Professor was wrong— if Poke Balls don’t take a Pokemon’s choice into account when catching— Keely’s not sure they want anything to do with catching any more. They don’t think he lied to them about it; more likely he simply didn’t know. But… it’s far too personal, for them. The idea of any sentient being— and Keely is completely certain, by now, that Pokemon are— being trapped against their will or forced to obey someone is horrifying, and it brings them back to fears that, yes, may have been unfounded back home, but here seems to be a different story entirely…

They’re so caught up in their thoughts they don’t notice at first when Laventon stops walking. They’re startled, then, when he speaks up.
“Keely? Is that it?”

Keely blinks. That is the Kadabra’s Ball, glinting in the grass, right where Keely had left it. They nod sheepishly.

Laventon walks up to it slowly and picks up the Ball. “This shouldn’t be an issue,” he says. “Now… I would suggest you stay back, in case she’s a bit irritated about being left in that Poke Ball. You know, I really don’t understand how it happened, I’ve seen them shrink down…”

Keely steps back and hopes, desperately, that Kadabra’s hatred of them won’t extend to the kindly Professor.

Once they’ve backed up a suitable distance, Laventon clicks the button on the Poke Ball. In a beam of yellowish-pink light, the oversized Kadabra appears. She screeches, looking around briefly before her eyes lock on Keely, and she fixes them with the nastiest glare Keely’s seen on any Pokemon since arriving.
Laventon, seeing it, looks nervous.

“U-um, hello, please do forgive our intrusion. My name is Laventon, a-and I see you’ve met Keely. It seems you were caught quite by mistake, so please allow me to correct it.” He holds down the release button on the Poke Ball, and it shoots out another spark— a smaller one than Keely’s seen when it succeeds in a capture. “You’re free to go, now,” he tells her.

The Kadabra doesn’t move.

Professor Laventon blinks. He tosses the Poke Ball away, careful not to turn his back to the Alpha. She briefly looks away from Keely to watch him do so, but quickly turns her gaze and glare back.
She isn’t attacking; that’s good. But she isn’t leaving, either. And Keely currently has no Pokemon to defend them, and with Laventon there they don’t dare do— anything that might give them a better shot at getting away if she does decide to attack.
They take a single step back, still not breaking eye contact with the Kadabra, and she continues glaring at them.

Laventon can’t help it. He looks over at Keely, completely bewildered, and asks, “What did you do to this Pokemon?”

Keely shrugs helplessly. They don’t know.

The Kadabra makes a sound somewhere between a scoff and a growl, looking directly at Laventon while gesturing with a spoon toward Keely. Laventon cautiously looks from the Pokemon to his subordinate and back again.

“Well, whatever the case may be, I’m afraid there isn’t any more we can do here. Ma’am, I hope you’ll be well in the future.” He holds up his hands, showing the Kadabra they’re empty, and steps backward. Keely mirrors the motion, and while the Pokemon continues giving them the stink-eye, she does not move to attack.
They walk backwards for a while, but the Kadabra does not pursue them, and after a while Laventon suggests it may be safe to turn around. Keely takes another minute or two, but eventually they, too, turn and follow the Professor back along the path.

“I’m glad that was resolved safely,” Laventon says, after a few minutes. “Alpha Pokemon are  responsible for more— Well, all’s well that ends well,” he says hastily.

Keely nods. They aren’t… entirely sure it’s over, at least not if they expect to ever go back to that area of the Fieldlands again, but at least neither they nor Laventon were injured. And Coral… Keely hopes he’s woken up by now.

“I must admit, as harrowing an experience as that was, I’m thrilled at the chance to meet an actual Alpha Pokemon. Not many members of the Galaxy Team can say they’ve done that, Keely. You should be proud, as well! Even if she had… a certain degree of animosity toward you. I’m not doubting you, of course, but… are you certain you didn’t offend her somehow?”

Keely shrugs. If they did offend her, they certainly don’t know how; she’s hated them since she saw them, as far as they know.

“Hmm. I wonder… Could it be possible that she simply sensed you had come from another world? There are no records of Pokemon reacting to that, obviously, as rare as it is, but Kadabra are Psychic-type Pokemon. I wonder if you carry a sort of scent, from before you fell from the sky. Oh, that’s a fascinating idea!”
Laventon’s voice gets louder and louder as he speaks, face lighting up with excitement.

Keely… hadn’t considered that. It is possible, actually, and it would make more sense than anything else they’ve thought of so far. They catch Laventon’s eye and nod, and field the pang of homesickness that lands on them as they wish, once again, that the people here understood their signing.

“I wonder if this is something that can be researched! I’ve only ever heard of one other person who’s fallen from the sky, and— ah, look!”
Laventon gestures ahead of them, and Keely’s distracted from the Professor’s revelation by the sight of Coral, barreling up the path toward them. They crouch down and reach out for the Dewott, and when he arrives they scoop him up in their arms. He gives a happy little whimper and cuddles in.

Keely, with their arms full of happy Pokemon, doesn’t notice Stephan waving to them from the camp. Laventon, however, does, and he calls out to him.
“Well met! Shall I assume the patient recovered well?” He gestures to Coral.

“All rested up,” Stephan confirms. “He woke up about ten minutes ago. And I see your mission went well, too!”

“Indeed!” Laventon says. “It was a little alarming, but we’re both unharmed, and I’ve several things to write down! I believe Officer Cyllene may be interested in a theory I’ve developed on the behaviour of Alpha Pokemon… or, at any rate, this particular Alpha Pokemon.”

“I can imagine,” Stephan says, no longer needing to yell as the two Survey Corps members, as well as Coral, get closer. “But you know I must ask you to recall the Pokemon while at camp.”

Laventon looks at Coral, who’s walking alongside Keely and chittering happily at them, and frowns. “Stephan, you’ve just treated this Pokemon! I’m quite sure you’ve seen how well-trained he is!”

Keely nods, ruffling the fur on the Dewott’s head.

“…Professor, I’m not referring to this Pokemon,” Stephan says. “Of course technicality states that all Pokemon should be kept contained or away from camp, but I’m not concerned about this Dewott. I’m referring to the Alpha.”

He gestures toward them— no, behind them. With growing dread in their stomach, Keely turns around slowly.

The Alpha Kadabra is maybe ten feet away, floating silently above the ground. She’s clutching something in her hand.
Coral growls, but Keely puts a hand on his head once more and silently pleads with him not to attack. They do not want him to be injured again.

Professor Laventon doesn’t realize what’s happening until he hears that growl. He looks down at Keely, facing backward with fear in their eyes, and slowly looks back at Stephan.

“I was not aware this Pokemon followed us,” he says, trying to keep his voice calm with somewhat limited success.

Stephan goes about three shades paler as he realizes what Laventon’s saying— not an easy feat, as he’s a rather pale man to begin with. “Not a trained Pokemon?”

“Not at all,” Laventon says quietly.

Keely doesn’t see any of this. They’re faintly aware of a conversation behind the two, and they wish they could say something— but most of their attention is split between watching the Kadabra and stopping Coral from antagonizing her. They’re petting their Pokemon softly, trying to soothe him, even as the Kadabra floats closer and draws back her hand.

Keely considers in the moment just how dangerous this situation is— if it’s worth it to call on the wind and leap out of the way, surviving the Alpha but revealing themself to Stephan and the Professor—  but in the next moment, several things happen that stop them. First, the Kadabra opens her hand, and Keely sees what she’d been holding. Second, the Poke Ball begins to glow pink and flies from her hand, directly toward Keely.
Third, it smacks into their shoulder with impressive, though not particularly painful, force.

“Kaaaaa,” she says, glaring at Keely. And then, right where she’s hovering, she crosses her legs and sits down on the path.

Laventon looks from the Kadabra to Keely (and Coral, who’s holding the Poke Ball that hit Keely) and then over to Stephan.
“I don’t believe she intends to leave,” he muses.


They stay at the camp for another hour, but true to Laventon’s guess, the Kadabra doesn’t move. Once, Stephan suggests calling the Security Corps, but Laventon shoots down that idea, not wanting to escalate things. As he points out, the Alpha Pokemon isn’t exactly hostile, she’s just… there. She isn’t even consistently glaring at Keely anymore, although she does shoot them dirty looks every now and then. Keely returns Coral to his Poke Ball, not wanting a conflict to come up there. They try to make notes on the behaviour of the Staravia they’d seen earlier, but between the Kadabra and their thoughts about Poke Balls, they’re having a really difficult time focusing. Laventon is having no such difficulty, cheerfully making notes about the Kadabra and his theories on Alpha Pokemon.

Eventually, though, even Laventon starts to worry about making it back to the village before nightfall. None of them are sure what, if anything, the Pokemon will do when they attempt to leave. But if they don’t return, the Security Corps will come looking for them. And then things will escalate. 
So, as the sun is sinking down, Professor Laventon, Keely, and Stephan gather up their things and prepare to leave.
Keely nods at the Kadabra, Laventon bids her a polite goodbye, and they leave.

The walk isn’t long, but for Professor Laventon and Keely, it feels rather longer than it is. The Professor has already had a longer walk than he’s accustomed to, retrieving the Kadabra’s Poke Ball, and Keely had been walking and running all day. Still, they make it back to the village without incident, and when the Kadabra still doesn't appear, Keely begins to think maybe her only aim in following them to the camp had been to get revenge on them for hitting her with a Poke Ball and then scare them all by sticking around.  They report to Captain Cyllene, stop by the Wallflower for a quick bite with Rei, Akari and Laventon, and make their way to their room, doing their best not to reflect too much as they climb under their futon.

Chapter Text

There is something very wrong in Kadabra's territory, and that something looks like a blue-haired human. 

"Looks like" being the operative words. Kadabra isn't fully convinced it is a human, because too many things are off. Humans are noisy; this one is generally quiet, except when they pull out their strange box (and Kadabra's never seen a box like that before, either.) Humans are cautious, and mostly radiate fear if they approach Pokemon at all. This one walks around with a Dewott like they're old friends, and the only Pokemon she's seen them be afraid of is her. 

Mostly, though, it's their mind. Human minds are easy to read; really, it's more difficult to tune them out. Their emotions surround them like a kind of scent, and any self-respecting Psychic Pokemon needs only to look at a human to know their thoughts. The two young who'd been by recently, for example- the one with shorter hair was curious and afraid, and a little excited about seeing the Shellos on the coast. The one with the longer hair was also afraid, and very determined that the other one not see. She was skeptical, too; they'd both been told about her by the blue-haired human, and she thought they had been exaggerating. 

The blue-haired one, though? There's nothing surrounding them. 

That was the first thing she noticed, when they entered her territory. She could hear the Dewott next to them thinking about lunch- other Pokemon are less loud than humans, but most are still readable- but nothing from the human. There's no scent of emotion wafting around them, and when Kadabra tries to focus on their thoughts, she can't. It's not a void, like with Dark-types; their mind is just a jumble of confusion to her. 
That, more than anything else, is what makes her furious. 
She is the Alpha; this is her territory. Whatever this creature is, human or not, they have no right to hide their thoughts from her. What's more, they keep coming back! She can tell they're afraid; their face shows it, even if their mind won't. And she chases them, attacks them. (They're tough, too; that's another thing. She thinks humans are supposed to be more fragile.) But they still come, to her territory or near it, and every time they do, Kadabra grows angrier. 

At them, and deep down, at herself for not being able to get through to their mind. 

She refuses to let them keep getting away with it, invading her Fieldlands. When the Dewott tries to talk to her, and to fight for his partner, she sends him to sleep quickly. This is between her and this maybe-human. There's a moment where she sees the blue-haired one look concerned, and stop to help the Pokemon, but she doesn't care. This can't go on. 

The human starts to throw things out behind them, and Kadabra wants to laugh. Do they really think that will stop her?
She wants to laugh until she sees the ball. 
She recognizes it well enough. The other humans carried them, and the Dewott had gone into one. These things capture Pokemon within them. 
Kadabra feels a brief moment of fear as the device connects... but only briefly. It's true the Ball looks comfortable, and she can clearly see where she could get inside it, if she wanted, but nothing is happening to her, and the device bounces off her skin harmlessly. She catches it easily with her telekinesis and holds it as she watches the human keep running.

And gets an idea. 

This human- or whatever they are- keeps evading her. They keep hiding their thoughts from her, and escaping when she tries to stop them. And Kadabra's no closer to understanding why. 
It's a horrible idea, but... maybe she could get to the bottom of this, if she stuck closer to them. And she would be much better able to stop them, if they tried to do anything. 
This Ball they threw... now that she's holding it, Kadabra can tell she could crush it easily. She's sure that won't change, even if she does do what she's considering. 
With a final glance upwards- the human's still running- Kadabra's mind is made up. She lets the Ball drop to the grass and follows it, shrinking down and going inside. 

It's... strange, in there. Soft, and dark, and comfortable. She can still see outside, in her mind's eye; she can see the grass around her, and the sky overhead. It's the most bizarre experience Kadabra has ever had, and she lets herself be distracted by the strangeness of it until the human comes back. 

When they do, they look upset. Afraid. She's not sure why they're upset, but after all they've put her through it feels good to see them worry; maybe they'll reveal something about why they're the way they are. They crouch down to pick up the Ball; on a hunch, Kadabra shifts, and when the human rears back in alarm the ball wobbles again, this time from Kadabra's laughter. 

The human scrambles back, nearly out of Kadabra's view. The Ball rolls, a bit- it's difficult to tell, but based on the look of their hair she thinks it must be a wind blowing from behind the human. But then they run off, and Kadabra wonders if maybe her plan isn't working out like she hoped.

She plans to wait just a few minutes, intending to pop out of the Poke Ball if the human doesn't come back soon. Instead, she gets sidetracked. 
Looking at the world from inside the Ball is interesting. It almost feels like another kind of psychic power. Initially, she has only a vague impression of what's outside, but if she focuses she can make out the individual blades of grass touching the device, and count them all in her mind. She tries to extend her focus, using her telepathy to try and increase her range of awareness, and is pleased to discover that it actually works to an extent. 

As a result, she's immediately aware when the human comes back her way, this time with a second human. She doesn't recognize this one, but- interesting, she can even sense emotions through the Poke Ball. It may just be this particular human, though; if the blue-haired one is a closed book, this one has his intentions and emotions broadcasting outward for anyone to read. He's excited, and concerned, and afraid, and there's a distant sense of irritation that fades further into the background as the blue-haired human points out Kadabra's Poke Ball. They still look distressed. She considers shaking the Ball again, just to scare them, but stops when the older human steps forward instead. She has no grudge against that one, and in fact he seems determined to help her. He presses a button on the side of the Ball, and Kadabra abruptly finds herself outside again. She's annoyed at the sudden change- but again, she has no quarrel with the human who released her. So she glares again at the strange human with the blue hair. At the same time, she glances into the older one's mind. 

What she finds is... unexpected. She's certainly offended that these humans think they could have captured her, if she hadn't chosen it. They seem utterly convinced, in fact, so much so that the blue-haired human had run back and pleaded for help. And the older human had understood- they were afraid the Kadabra was stuck. Even as offended as she is, she can't deny the kindness there, that both of these humans should be so determined to help her free, even after she had so often attacked. 

But then, she can't tell with the blue-haired one, can she? For all she knows, it's all manipulation and misdirection. To what end, she doesn't know, but she fully intends to find out. 

Which is why, when the older human holds down a button and Kadabra feels her connection with the Poke Ball break, she's both momentarily panicked and outraged. 
How dare he- either of them- interfere with her plans?

Neither human seems to know quite what to do. The older one tosses the Poke Ball aside, clearly trying to be nonthreatening; even before he did that, Kadabra found him about as threatening as a Magikarp. She ignores him, and continues glaring at the smaller one. She can tell they're still afraid. 
After a short while, the two humans start leaving. When they finally turn around, Kadabra considers her options. 

She doesn't have to consider for long. 

She's angry, still, possibly even angrier than before. She's also determined to know. That blue-haired human may be dangerous, or they might not- but whether they are or not, they're hiding things from her, and she will know what those things are. 
She picks up the discarded Poke Ball and floats slowly, silently, after them. 

They reach their camp, and Kadabra watches as the Dewott runs happily to the little human, and they scoop him up. Even from a distance, she can tell that all of them are happy, and in spite of herself she grows more curious. 

When they finally notice her, though, it all changes. The Dewott is angry, radiating protectiveness, but the humans are once again afraid. The small one pets the Pokemon and holds him back, and the Kadabra is glad. He's strong, but nowhere near as strong as she is, and she doesn't want to have to hurt him. 
She lifts her hand, and the human backs up, panic on their features. She ignores it, aims as best she can, and sends the Poke Ball at them to smack against their arm. 

"Kaaaaa." Take it back, idiot, I'm coming with you.
She sits on the path and waits for the human to use the device once more, but they don't. They seem utterly confused- all the humans do. 
The Dewott does, too, but Kadabra can tell he understood. He just doesn't know why she's doing this. 

The humans try their best to ignore her, and it's tremendously boring. She considers antagonizing them, but decides not to; the less-familiar one is already thinking of calling in more humans to fight her off, and she doesn't want to deal with that. Really, as much as she dislikes it, her best chance at her plan is to stay on their good side as much as she can. 
So she stays put, and watches the humans. Her target is the most boring, making marks on a paper and wandering around, occasionally glancing at her. The unfamiliar human is only slightly less boring, because he's doing nothing but waiting, for her to leave or for the others to give him a signal. His thoughts are more like white noise to her. 
The other one, the one he called Professor- he at least is somewhat interesting. She eavesdrops on his thoughts easily enough. He's thinking about why Kadabra hates the blue-haired human so much, but his fear has given way to excitement. She wonders about his theory. She hasn't heard of humans falling from the sky before, but she wonders- would that be enough, to conceal their thoughts?
Either way, she's even more determined to keep an eye on this one. Nothing good has come from that sky-crack, and if that's where this human came from, that does not bode well. 

The group leaves near sunset. Kadabra watches them go, not following- at least, not at first. They're talking about angry humans and strong Pokemon coming to protect them from her, and again, she doesn't want that. So she lets them walk away, and only follows behind them once they've gone a fair distance down the road.
Eventually they enter their settlement, and disappear from view. Kadabra is very annoyed. The walls are high, higher than she can levitate, and the gates look strong. More than that, though, there are dozens of humans inside, and it makes it impossible to keep track of hers. The Professor's emotions get lost in the jumble, and with distance, she eventually loses track entirely.

Still, she refuses to give up. 

She gathers some Berries from nearby and eats them as she floats around the perimeter of the settlement, looking for gaps in the wall. There aren't any, that she can find, although she does sense several Pokemon in one place. They're sleepy, mostly, and she ignores them, but it is unexpected. She thought these humans would be too afraid of Pokemon to live closely with so many. 

She finds them, a long time later, sleeping under a lumpy white mass in a wooden building. 
They weren't easy to find. She'd had to wait until the humans drifted off to sleep, and teleport in- and then she'd felt a few humans still awake, and had to stumble her way through the settlement to avoid them. Eventually, though, she had, and though she'd banged her head on the ceiling when teleporting inside, the sleeping human hadn't even stirred.
She looks around the room. Apart from the human, there's a Poke Ball, a satchel, their strange small machine, and- ah. The instant she tries to lift the device with her power, Kadabra knows that this is not something to trifle with. There's an echo of power inside it, a power she knows. 

Where had the human gotten this? 

She leaves the machine be and gives a low growl, trying to alert the human to her presence. The human lets out a small snore and does not move. 
Irritated, Kadabra prods the white lump with her spoon, but nothing happens. She taps them with it instead, and still nothing happens.

She takes hold of the white covering over the human with her power, and lifts it easily off of them. They look even smaller than usual, curled up on the floor like this, sound asleep. It's frustrating. Here Kadabra is, with the blue-haired human when they're at their weakest, and she still has no idea what is hiding their thoughts from her. They look so completely ordinary. 
(Ordinary, except for that device. But there's no trace of that power on the human, so she's fairly sure that isn't it.) 
She doesn't know why, even sleeping, the human is still so completely inscrutable. She wonders- did they expect her somehow? Is it possible even in sleep they're still guarded? She doesn't know. But she thinks she'll have to pay close attention, if she wants to learn anything. And that will have to start with waking up the human.

She sets the covering aside on the floor and tries once more to prod the human with a spoon. They shift slightly, but don't wake, and Kadabra decides enough is enough. Focusing her telekinesis, she picks the human and lifts them into the air over the covering. 
She holds them for a while like that, and she's nearly ready to drop them back on the covering when their limbs shift, and finally, finally they wake up. 

They don't realize what's happening, at first. They see their bed a foot or so beneath them, flail with alarm, and look at their hands. Then they see the Kadabra, and make quite a funny show of trying to get away from her while still in midair. Still, she wants answers, and terrorizing this human in their home seems like a poor way of getting them. She sets them down on the covering, and she's even gentle about it. 
To their credit, they seem to realize that. Their terrified expression shifts a little, and they reach for the strange device. They poke at it a few times, and a somewhat mechanical voice speaks. 

"What's wrong?" 

What's wrong? Kadabra wishes she could tell them, angrily rant at them until they understand her, but she knows they won't. So she simply points at the Poke Ball. 

To her surprise, they seem to understand. They quickly type some more. 
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to catch you. It must have been horrible." 

No, no, no, they aren't understanding. Kadabra growls and shakes her head, and as she lifts a finger the Poke Ball rises into the air and floats toward the human. When they hesitantly reach up and grasp it, the Kadabra points sharply toward herself. 

"Dab." 

The human frowns, looking from the Ball to the Pokemon, and then their eyes grow wide. Keeping the Ball in one hand, they type with the other. 
"You want to go in there?" 

Kadabra nods. Finally, she's getting somewhere. The human hurries and writes some more. 

"You weren't trapped today?" 

She scoffs, and shakes her head. She's still offended that the humans thought they could hold her, even if- assuming they're telling the truth- this one honestly didn't plan on it.
To her surprise, the human starts crying. She's never seen this before, knows it only from reading other humans' memories. She knows it means sadness. But this human is smiling. 

Always such an enigma, this one.

"Were you trying to ask me to catch you before?" the human asks, through their strange machine. 
Kadabra doesn't know what they mean by 'before'. If they mean this afternoon, certainly; if they mean before that, she wasn't, but she's not going to tell them that if there's a chance they'll catch her now. 
She nods, and points again at the Ball. 

The human shakes their head, and reaches for the satchel. They pull out another Poke Ball, and a few stones spill out as they do. They hold the Ball out to the Kadabra. 
She wonders why they're not throwing it, why they're wasting time. She gestures to herself once more. 

They don't throw the Ball. Carefully, they reach out and tap her hand with it. Before it can connect, the Kadabra feels a spike of anger and fear; is this a different way of capturing, one she can't escape? But before she can move, the Ball taps against her hand. She again feels the change, senses the way inside opening up, but it's no different from the first time. She could ignore it, fairly easily even. But she doesn't. Giving the human a little nod, she shrinks down and enters the Ball. 

She can't see as much from inside the Poke Ball as she could the first time she'd been caught. It had been sunny, and the room they're in now is dark. But she can see the human's face, smiling through a few remaining tears, and they're looking right at her. They reach out and pick up the Ball, and this time Kadabra doesn't try to scare them by shaking it.
She can still see their smile as, with their other hand, they poke at that machine of theirs, and it speaks. 

"Can you hear this from in there?" 

She doesn't understand why the human keeps asking her questions. She's tried multiple times now to kill them. This seems like they're trying to be friends. A pulse of anger passes through her- the very idea! friends! with the human who invaded her lands and hid their thoughts from her!- but it's a little weaker than she's used to, and she chalks it up to being tired. If the human wants to think they're friends, so much the better; hopefully they'll let their guard down more. She lets herself out of the Poke Ball and nods, pointing at the glowing device so they know what she means. 

The human beams. 
"Thank you," they type. 

"Kada," Kadabra says, having no idea why she's being thanked. 

"We should rest. Tomorrow I'll talk to Professor Laventon, and you can meet Coral. Please don't put him to sleep again. I'm Keely by the way." 

Oh. Oh, Coral must be the name of the human's Dewott partner. She shakes her head; she'd only put him to sleep to get him out of her way, and now, she has a feeling that won't be a problem. Despite not being able to read this human's mind, she knows somehow that they will not let their partner attack her. 
This human... Keely. Kadabra had known their name, of course. The Professor human had said it, and she had seen memories of them in his and the two other young humans' minds. She has no use for human names, anyway. But she thinks they're trying to be polite in telling her. 

They smile at her, and gesture to the ceiling. "You might be more comfortable sleeping in the Ball. Coral always does. Goodnight for now." 
They set down the odd machine that also happens to be somehow holy, and pull the white covering over themself. Kadabra watches them for a minute or so more, thinking how stupid they must be to leave themself unprotected with her nearby, and then returns back into the Poke Ball. 

She doesn't know what to make of this situation, honestly. So much has happened today, and she's in a strange place, near a strange human who seems to think they are friends now. But the Poke Ball is comfortable, and she is tired. She feels herself start to doze, and before she can nod off she promises herself, once again, that she will get to the bottom of this. She'll find out why this human is the way they are, and protect the Obsidian Fieldlands from them if the need arises. 

She falls asleep before she can question why that's turned into an if, in her mind.

Chapter Text

At breakfast that morning, Keely is a little out of it.
They’d fallen back asleep quickly, but the interruption in sleep coupled with the previous day’s stress has taken its toll. Fortunately, nobody seems to notice. Rei and Akari are chatting amongst themselves about something that happened to someone Keely doesn’t know, and Professor Laventon seems tired himself. He still makes friendly conversation with Beni, about the weather and the chef’s secret seasoning for his potato mochi, but even that is quieter than usual.
Keely lets themself drift, for most of the meal, until suddenly they hear their name, and their attention is drawn from their daze.

“Oh, Keely, can you come out to the Fieldlands today? I got a request and I was hoping all three of us could work on it.” Rei gestures to his sister.

‘Okay,’ Keely types. They pause, then quickly type again. ‘I need to talk to the Professor first though. Can I meet you there?’

“No problem,” Rei says. “We’ll meet you out by the bridge just south of camp, okay?”

Keely gives him a thumbs up.

“Oh?” Professor Laventon says, curiosity piqued. “All right, let’s walk, then. Thank you again, Beni, your culinary talents are impeccable as always.”
He stands, and Keely hurries to follow him.


They head toward the Galaxy Hall, waving hello to a few people Keely recognizes as they pass through the doors. Laventon heads into his office, and Keely follows, shutting the door behind them. The Professor turns to them with a kind and expectant look on his face.

“Well, my friend?”

Keely sits down and types. ‘I caught the Alpha Kadabra.’

Laventon nods. “I know, and it was truly remarkable! A first for the Galaxy Team, did you know? A bit of a shame we won’t get to collect any data, but I think escaping from that rather fraught situation is an achievement all is own!” He laughs, and there’s a slight edge of nervousness to the sound.

Keely shakes their head, and the Arc-Phone reads out, ‘It was a misunderstanding. She wanted to come. I have her here now.’ They gesture at their Poke Balls, and Laventon sees— there are two, when normally they only carry one.

Professor Laventon frowns. “My friend, I don’t see how that’s poss- aaaaah!”
He scrambles back in his seat, and Keely frantically reaches for their two Poke Balls, both of which have suddenly been rendered empty by the two Pokemon now occupying the Professor’s office.

Coral, who had slept soundly through his Trainer’s meeting with the Alpha, looks rapidly between the two, his fur beginning to bristle. Keely reaches for him to pet him soothingly, before realizing how terrified Laventon looks and grabbing the Arc-Phone with their other hand.
‘It’s okay. She isn’t going to hurt anyone.’

“Dabra, kaka dab,” Kadabra says. Keely isn’t sure if she’s agreeing with them, but whatever she says, Coral steps away from her, and his fur settles down.

The next moment, however, the door from Cyllene’s office swings open, and the Captain rushes in, a short sword in her hand. Keely jumps. The Arc-Phone goes flying as they grab both of their Poke Balls and slam the buttons on both at once, recalling Coral and Kadabra in an instant. They reflexively send an order to stay to both of their Pokemon. A few moments later they remember that Pokemon can’t hear them, but by some stroke of luck neither Dewott nor Kadabra returns from their Balls.

Captain Cyllene watches them with a hard expression. “Explain yourself,” she says, and with a rising chill Keely realizes she’s turning toward them with her sword.

“Captain, please,” Laventon says. “I’m afraid it’s a simple misunderstanding. I was simply startled—“

Keely’s trying to sign an explanation before Laventon’s even finished speaking. They remember, again too late, that the people here don’t know sign language, and fumble the Arc-Phone as they reach for it.

‘I’m sorry,’ the phone says. ‘I didn’t tell them to come out. They won’t hurt anyone.’

“It’s quite true,” Laventon agrees. “Young Keely was just telling me they’d caught that Alpha Kadabra. I expect the Pokemon heard herself mentioned and wanted to know what the fuss was about.”

Slowly, Cyllene lowers her sword. Her hands are shaking.
“Recruit, I expect you to control your Pokemon.”

‘Yes, Captain,’ Keely types quickly. ‘I’m sorry.’

“Good,” Cyllene says. She turns and heads back into her own office, closing the door behind her.

Keely takes a deep breath, and then another. They run their hands over their pin, feeling the ridges and the smoothness of the Mind Shard in its center, and they slowly begin to calm.

“I’m terribly sorry, my friend,” Professor Laventon says. “That Pokemon just gave me quite a fright. I had no idea the Captain would react in such a way. Are you all right?”

They nod. It’s even— mostly— the truth.

“Good, good,” Laventon says. “I expect you’ll want to see what it was Rei wanted, then?”

Oh, right. They nod again, and type, ‘Are you okay?’

The Professor smiles. “I’m quite all right, yes. Looking forward to seeing what sort of data we can collect, as you get to know your new friend.”

Keely nods, smiling slightly. Professor Laventon gestures to the door, so Keely gives him a respectful nod and heads outside.
Beauregard looks up as soon as they step out the door.
“Oh, Keely, hello! Beauticia’s been eating a lot,” Beauregard says. “Do you think maybe that means she’ll evolve soon?”

Keely tilts their head and nods. Akari raised a Wurmple of her own, and both times she ate a lot before evolving. Keely’s fairly sure that’s actually a universal constant of bug creatures; their Heliventus friend, before he evolved, had eaten an absurd amount. They feel a pang of homesickness, but do their best to brush it off.

“That’s fantastic! Soon she’ll be a lovely Beautifly!” Beauregard beams at the Wurmple, who is looking a bit bigger, now that Keely’s looking. Beauticia wiggles her front feet. They crouch down to pet her for a few seconds before gesturing to themself and pointing at the gate.
Fortunately, Beauregard gets the message. “The work of the Survey Corps is never finished, huh? Okay. Thanks, Keely!”


Leaving Beauregard, Keely turns, not toward the gate, but to their quarters. They shut the door firmly behind them as they enter. 

As terrifying as Cyllene's appearing with her sword had been to Keely, they can only imagine it had to be at least as alarming for their Pokemon. Not to mention… they still haven't explained the situation to Coral. Or even properly introduced him and their new teammate.

Which is why, after sitting down on their futon and turning the Arc-Phone to the speech program, Coral's is the Ball they click first.

He looks around quickly, and when all he sees is Keely he wraps a paw around their arm. Keely's not sure if he's being protective or wanting comfort, but they give him a cuddle anyway. He chitters contentedly. 

'Coral, I want you to meet someone. She won't hurt you,' Keely types. The Dewott sits back. There's caution in his eyes, and his fur fluffs up a little, but he doesn't growl or get into a battle stance, so Keely counts that as a good sign. 

They press the release button on their second Poke Ball. For the first time in daylight, Kadabra materializes inside the room, and this time she has the foresight to emerge sitting. Her ears are still brushing the ceiling, but she avoids hitting her head this time. 

Keely reaches out to pat her, too. She flinches back, and Keely withdraws their hand just as quickly, again typing into the Arc-Phone. 

'Sorry. Coral, this is Kadabra. She wants to come with us, okay? Kadabra, this is Coral.'

"Ka-dab," Kadabra says, sounding both stubborn and slightly confused. She crosses her arms, and Coral tilts his head. 

"Wott? Wott." 

The two seem to be relaxing slightly, and Keely sighs in relief. 

'I'm glad you both weren't hurt. Captain Cyllene didn't expect to see you there, that's all. The people here are very scared of wild Pokemon. Are you both okay?' 

For a moment, before she sees the look of sadness and concern on Keely’s face, Kadabra looks proud. She quickly buries it, though, and nods her okay. Coral tries to give them a thumbs up, despite lacking thumbs; Keely gets the message, though, and grins.

‘Good. I need to head out to the Fieldlands to meet up with the others, so are you two ready? It should be less hectic than yesterday.’

This time, Kadabra doesn’t bother to bury her pride. Coral looks decidedly unimpressed, but Keely gives a tiny, silent laugh. Coral licks their hand and returns to his Poke Ball. Kadabra returns to her own a moment later, still a little puffed up at the reminder of how much trouble she caused this human the previous day.

Feeling relieved that their Pokemon seem okay after what happened, Keely packs everything up once more and leaves their room. This time, they head straight to the gate.
Ress is expecting them; he simply gives them a wave as they approach, and after they’ve passed through, calls after them to be careful of the Alpha. Keely feels one of their Poke Balls twitch when he says that, and they can almost hear Kadabra’s laughter as they walk away from him.



It’s a brisk morning, and a pleasant walk for Keely as they head first to Fieldlands Camp and then down the hill toward the bridge Rei had mentioned. They’ve seen the bridge, of course; it’s pretty hard to miss. But every time Keely has passed it, there’s been a member of the Security Corps stationed on it, and Keely always assumed they were there to prevent anyone from passing.
There’s still someone standing on the bridge, garbed in the orange of the Security Corps, but today they’re standing off to the side. On the other side, Keely can see Rei, Akari, and a third person they don’t recognize, along with a Pokemon of some sort, engaged in conversation.

As they approach, the Security Corps woman waves. “Would you be Keely?” At their nod, she smiles. “Good. Akari said you’d be along. This part of the Fieldlands is off limits to anyone below a one-star ranking in the Galaxy Team. I figure if they’re vouching for you, it’s probably fine, but I’ll need to see your ID card just to be safe.”

Keely feels a slight pang in their stomach. They reached a one-star ranking on their first trip to the Fieldlands; is that really all they needed to pass here? They hold out the card, and the woman gives an impressed not.

“Two stars already; not bad. All right, best head on over, then.” She gestures across the bridge. Keely fumbles their ID card as they put it away, and signs their thanks to the woman. To their surprise, she grins at the sight.
“You’re welcome,” she says.

Excited and curious and embarrassed all at the same time, Keely passes over the bridge quickly. Akari’s the first one to notice them coming, and she waves happily.

“There you are,” she says. “Rei, they’re here.”

“Oh!” Rei turns, and waves as well. “Ms. Mai, this is Keely, the one we were telling you about. Keely, this is Mai, of the Diamond Clan.”

“Good morning, Keely,” Mai says. Her voice is even and soothing, deeper than Keely expected.
They sign a greeting, but when Mai looks at their hands without understanding, they withdraw the Arc-Phone.

‘Good morning. I hope you weren’t waiting long.’

Mai smiles. “Interesting, that you would mention waiting. Time is, after all, unspeakably precious to Almighty Sinnoh. I’ve just finished telling your fellow Galaxy folk about how Almighty Sinnoh stretched time across all of Hisui, and keeps it flowing so that we all might live our lives as intended. But time is not only to be saved, or hurried; we’re meant to spend time, as well. Waiting can be a waste, yes, but it can also be a way of spending time. It has been interesting, speaking to you folk,” she says to Rei and Akari. “So no, we were not waiting too long. Especially if the confidence of your fellows here is not misplaced.”

Keely, more than a little overwhelmed, looks from Rei to Akari.

Rei looks a little guilty. “Mai needs the help of a skilled battler. I thought Akari might be up for it-“

“-But there’s no way I’m as good at it as Keely,” she admits. “Not yet. I will beat you eventually.”

“So we were thinking you could do the battling, and we could back you up and take care of anything else that needs doing.”

“Teamwork is admirable,” Mai says. “And your friends certainly seem to have faith in you. I’d like to see your skills for myself, though, before I entrust you with this. Is that acceptable?”

Keely nods, hoping frantically that they’re strong enough for whatever Mai has in mind.

She smiles. “Good, then. This-“ She gestures beside her, only to find that the little Pokemon who’d been there has wandered off. Keely spots him at the same time Mai does, peering into the river and waving his little paws at something he sees there. She makes a small sound in her throat and he looks up, quickly coming to his Trainer’s side once again.
“As I was saying. This is Munchlax, my beloved partner. We have no need for those silly things you Galaxy folk use to keep Pokemon confined. Let us show you the true bonds between humans and Pokemon.”

Her voice is still serene, but there’s a challenge in it, too. In answer, Keely sends Coral out to meet them.

As they battle, Keely pays close attention. Mai directs Munchlax with few words, mainly communicating with gestures and facial expressions, and seeing someone battle so similarly to Keely fascinates them, and they hope to learn from her. Munchlax clearly adores Mai, constantly looking to her for guidance and trusting her suggestions. He’s a strong opponent, as well. Coral is strong and fast, but Munchlax is sturdy, and judging by Coral’s reactions he packs a surprising punch. Despite this, Coral is clearly enjoying himself, and Munchlax certainly seems to be, as well. Even when the Dewott’s relentless strikes wear him down and he steps behind Mai, Munchlax seems relaxed and content. He even waves to Rei and Akari.

“Well done,” Mai says, to both Pokemon and to Keely. “It seems your faith in your friend was not misplaced. Now, if you follow me up to Deertrack Heights, we’ll see about this problem.” She gestures to a grassy hill, long and winding but not particularly steep. Keely can even see stairs set into the earth, in a few places.

“Of course,” Akari says. “Good job, Keely!”

Mai turns her back then, taking long but relaxed strides forward. Munchlax waddles along next to her.
Rei takes the opportunity to give Keely a thumbs up. Coral, still not back in his Poke Ball, brightens and tries once more to copy the action. Rei looks puzzled, but Akari laughs.
Keely ruffles the fur on top of his head, and recalls him to his Poke Ball.

The three make the walk up the hill quietly, some distance behind Mai. Keely has no idea what the Diamond Clan is, but Mai’s manner and the fact that she met them outside of Jubilife makes this feel like more of a matter of diplomacy than any of the other jobs they’ve taken on for the Survey Corps. Rei and Akari seem similarly nervous, although Akari does quietly ask Keely if everything went all right with the Professor. Keely nods, and after that, nothing more is said until they reach the top of the hill.

There’s a plateau there, grassy and flat, with a curving ridge of rock up one side overlooking an incredible view. Keely is struck by the sight, for a few moments. Mai is looking out across the Fieldlands with her back to the Survey Corps members when they finally crest the hill.
Munchlax, however, sees them immediately. He waddles over to greet the three newcomers. Keely squats to pet him, and after a moment, Akari hesitantly does the same.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Mai asks. She turns to the group. “Across Hisui there are ten Noble Pokemon, creatures directly descended from those blessed by Almighty Sinnoh in the distant past—“

“DeleleleleleWHOOP!”

Everyone looks around, trying to find the source of the sound. Rei sees it first. A tall, red buglike Pokemon with the glowing eyes of an Alpha leaps over the edge of the hill and skitters across the plateau, all the while making a sound somewhere between a song and a laugh. It completely ignores the humans present, not even looking up at them as it rushes over to a bush nestled up against some rocks and begins eating.

“That,” Mai says, pointing at the Pokemon, “Is not one of them. Deertrack Heights, where we stand, is the seat of Lord Wyrdeer. This Kricketune has been dropping by more and more frequently, causing no end of mischief. Nobody has been hurt, but Lord Wyrdeer is tired from all of this chaos in his home. And as his Warden, I approached the Survey Corps with the hope that you might drive Kricketune away. Do you believe you can?”

“Not yet!”

Keely jumps, and so do Rei and Akari. Directly behind them stands Professor Laventon, panting from the climb, looking distressed. A heavy-looking golden camera hangs from a strap around his neck.

“Professor?” Rei asks.

“Rei, my boy! Why didn’t you tell me it was this assignment you three were going on today? I nearly missed it!”
He lifts the camera and peers through it toward Kricketune, who’s gone back to eating the bush.

Mai looks at him with amusement. “Professor.”

“Good morning, Mai,” he says happily, after snapping a few photos. “All right, I’ll stand aside now. I’m quite looking forward to seeing how you three deal with this Alpha!” He smiles at his three subordinates.

“Do you believe you can drive off Kricketune?” Mai asks Keely, again.
Keely, who’s been watching the Bug Pokemon since it arrived, thinks. It’s fast, certainly as fast as Coral, and Keely has yet to defeat an Alpha Pokemon in a proper battle. But… Coral isn’t alone anymore, now. Keely knows Bug Pokemon hit harder against Psychic-types, but perhaps if the two work together… But will Kadabra even want to battle another Alpha? Keely won’t make her. They doubt they could if they wanted to.
They nod. There really only is the one answer, in a diplomatic situation like this.

“Excellent,” Mai says.

“Oh, Keely’s going to battle it? Wonderful!” Laventon says. “There’s no one better for the job! Oh, do try and catch this one, as well, won’t you? You’ve certainly proven a knack for it, after yesterday, and it may be the simplest way to relocate the creature. Ah, and this time I’ll be able to see it!”

Keely freezes.

“Oh?” Mai asks. “What happened yesterday?”

“Keely caught another Alpha,” Laventon says happily. “A Kadabra, isn’t that right? Oh, there was a bit of a misunderstanding at first, but it was all cleared up in the end. Apparently this Alpha wanted to join Keely all along.”

Keely stands as still as possible. They had not wanted it to come out this way. Kadabra’s Poke Ball is quivering, and they place a hand on it, silently pleading with her not to come out now.

“What?” Rei asks, turning to Keely.

“You told us yesterday you both just escaped her,” Akari bursts out.

“Yes, yes. I suppose I didn’t have the facts quite right, then, I’m quite sorry. Keely must have caught her while they were behind me, on the way back to Jubilife, isn’t that right?”

All eyes turn to Keely. If possible, they’re more afraid now than they were when Cyllene burst into the office, sword in hand.
They don’t want to lie, not to these people. But after seeing just how frightened of Pokemon the people of the Galaxy Team are… it’s not even a question. Perhaps Laventon would be all right, after he got over the shock. Rei, Akari, maybe. But the rest of Jubilife finding out would be trouble. Telling them that a wild Pokemon teleported into their settlement at night and broke into a house… Keely thinks that would go over about as well as telling them the truth about who— what— Keely really is.

They look up at Laventon and nod.

“As I thought,” Laventon says brightly. “See, they’ve got a way with Pokemon!”

“Well,” Mai says, smiling serenely at Keely, “I look forward to seeing what you can do, then.”

Keely nods shakily, and steps away from the group. Kadabra’s Poke Ball is still wobbling, from time to time, and Keely isn’t at all sure how much longer the Pokemon will stay inside. So, despite the type disadvantage, Keely picks it up and reaches to tap the button on top. Just before their finger can touch it, the Ball opens on its own, and the Alpha Kadabra materializes next to Keely with a smug look on her face.
Rei and Akari gasp, and Kadabra spares them a glance before she catches sight of the Kricketune. She stares at him for a few seconds, then looks at Keely.

Keely gestures toward the other Alpha, and makes what they most likely think is a scary face, before pointing again. Kadabra stares at them.
Keely makes some more gestures, but the Kadabra continues to just stare at them. Either she doesn’t understand what Keely is asking, or she simply doesn’t care.
They’re reaching for Coral’s Poke Ball, to send him out instead, when their hand brushes against the Arc-Phone in their satchel. They pause for a moment, and then pull it out.

‘We need to scare this Kricketune away. He’s causing a lot of trouble. Will you help?’

Kadabra tilts her head, considering. At the same time, the Kricketune, hearing himself mentioned, finally looks up from the bush and over at them. His gaze lingers on the much larger Alpha, and the growl he gives sounds a bit like a little melody.

“Kada,” Kadabra says. She yawns, stepping away from Keely as a pink glow builds up around her hand. Kricketune quickly begins buzzing his wings, and what looks like a tiny swarm of greenish particles gathers around him as he does. At the same instant he flaps the swarm toward Kadabra, she flicks the ball of energy at him.
Both attacks connect with their targets. Kricketune screams, flying backwards several feet. Kadabra hisses as the swarm reaches her, but she doesn’t move, and she looks more annoyed than hurt.
Kricketune rolls over, getting back to his feet, and chatters angrily at his opponent. Kadabra gives him an unimpressed glare, and glances back at Keely.

Keely beams at her.

She looks away again, shaking her head. The Kricketune, now that he’s gotten up, is racing around them in circles. He’s again ignoring the other Trainers and Munchlax, but as he darts around them in bursts, his eyes are trained on Keely and Kadabra.
Kadabra again begins charging up some energy, and this time it looks familiar to Keely. An identical blast was what she had sent at Coral, just the previous day.
When she fires it, however, the Kricketune dodges out of the way easily. Kadabra snarls, and begins charging up another, but her foe lunges forward to bite her.
Even as an Alpha, he’s still much smaller than she is, and all he can really do is latch onto the Kadabra’s leg. But it’s clear from the sound she makes that the attack hurts.
She charges up another ball, all the while Kricketune keeps gnawing at her ankle.
With his stillness, it’s easy for Kadabra to hit the Bug Pokemon with her blast. His mandibles fall away from her ankle, and the Kricketune falls to the ground, sound asleep.

Kadabra nudges him with her spoon, gives Keely one of her signature glares, and recalls herself back to her Poke Ball.

“Catch him!” Akari yells.

Keely looks up. They’d honestly forgotten, for a minute, that anyone was watching them. Laventon is grinning massively, and at Akari’s words he nods quickly.
Keely looks down at the sleeping Alpha. He looks peaceful, now, but they can see he’s injured. The single attack he’d taken from Kadabra was clearly extremely powerful— not that Keely’s surprised, after taking a few such attacks themself in the past.

“We need to relocate him, Keely,” Laventon says, a bit more quietly than Akari had. Keely nods. They aren’t sure if it will work properly, but they withdraw a Poke Ball and touch it to the Kricketune’s claw. The sleeping Alpha shrinks down, and the Ball shakes once, then twice, before finally sending up a spark, signalling a successful capture.

Keely picks up the Ball. They don’t know how captures work, if the Pokemon isn’t awake at the time, but the shaking of the Ball encourages them that maybe he’d had a chance to decline. Not that it’s especially important, when Keely’s planning on releasing him elsewhere in the Fieldlands, but they really hope they don’t need to worry about that being some sort of loophole in catching Pokemon.

“You really did it,” Rei says. “Keely, that’s…”

“My, that was a fearsome battle,” Mai smiles. Munchlax seems to agree, flailing his little paws in excitement. Keely grins at the sight.

“Brilliant show, Keely,” Laventon says.

“Wroooooooog!”
Everyone but Mai jumps as a deep, long and incredibly loud call rings out. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult to see the source of the strange call; above the plateau, on the stone ridge, a white Pokemon stands, looking down at them all. He looks vaguely familiar to Keely, but they don’t get a good look before he turns and begins walking down the grassy slope of the cliff, toward the group.

By the time he reaches the plateau, Keely both has a much better idea of why he looks familiar, and sees they were entirely wrong. From a distance, and in vague shape, this Pokemon looks very much like Fane, the skeletal Tyrant who occasionally appears on the outskirts of the Immortal Citadel. They have the same curved antlers, the same white colouring and majestic look. But where Fane’s eyes are empty and his body all bone and flame, this Pokemon— whom Keely assumes must be Lord Wyrdeer— is sleek and soft-looking, and he regards them all with bright, kind eyes.

“It seems Lord Wyrdeer wishes to thank you,” Mai says. “And you have my thanks, as well. All of you.”

“Of course,” Professor Laventon says. “It’s an honour to meet you both.”

The twins echo their agreement, and Keely nods quickly.

“You battled well today, Keely,” Mai adds. “Munchlax enjoyed himself, and so did I.”

‘Thank you. Coral seemed to be having fun too,’ Keely types.
Wyrdeer tilts his head at the electronic voice. He snorts in the direction of the device.
Keely steps forward, holding it out for him to examine. He comes closer, and everyone is silent as he approaches— but the next moment, his ears twitch, and his head turns sharply to the left. With a quick nod for Mai, Lord Wyrdeer bounds off, over the edge of the plateau and out of sight.

“Lord Wyrdeer says he is needed elsewhere,” Mai tells them. “But you really did leave a good impression upon him. I cannot speak for the rest of the Diamond Clan, but I will be glad to call on the Survey Corps again, if the need arises.”

Keely’s eyes widen.
‘Can he talk to you?’ they type quickly.

Mai nods, smiling again. “A Noble and their Warden must have a strong bond, so communication cannot be an issue.”

“Fascinating,” Laventon says, eyes practically glittering with excitement.

“That is really cool,” Akari agrees. Keely and Rei nod.

“Well, we’ve a report to make, and an Alpha Pokemon to relocate,” Laventon says, already moving. “Shall we be off?”

“Please release him as far from here as possible,” Mai says. “There is a colony of wild Kricketune near the southernmost shores of these Fieldlands; that should be far enough to discourage him from returning.”

Keely nods. ‘Thank you,’ they type.
With a final wave to Munchlax, they turn and follow after Professor Laventon and their fellow Survey Corps members.

Chapter Text

Keely wakes up to the distant sound of arguing, and for a moment they smile— that's Ross and Nora, in the other room, bickering over something or other.

Then they remember— Ross and Nora have actually been fighting a fair bit less lately. And the voices don't quite fit...

Oh, right.

They open their eyes and climb out from under the futon, wishing they could have held on to the illusion a little while longer. But they have things to do today— between Professor Laventon and Rei, they'd managed to convince Keely to wait to release the Alpha Kricketune until today, and they'll be heading to an area of the Fieldlands they haven't been to. They're actually somewhat excited about that, and it cheers them up a little from the spike of missing their friends the argument outside had brought.


Speaking of... that argument is still happening, and if anything, it's only getting louder. Keely gathers their Poke Balls and the Arc-Phone into their satchel, quickly straightens the futon on the floor, and heads outside.
The source of the arguing is immediately apparent, and fairly close by. A young woman wearing a large pink jacket is glaring at an extremely tall man in blue, who's scowling right back at her.

"Finally decided to stop wasting Almighty Sinnoh's precious time?"

"Whatever sham you and the Diamond Clan follow, it isn't Almighty Sinnoh! The true Almighty Sinnoh is the font of all creation and ruler of space!"

"Hah! The only thing you would know about space is the vast space between your ears!"

"How dare you! Your only gift with time is making those around you wish it would pass faster!"

(Keely once again amends their earlier comparison. Even at their worst, Ross and Nora had never been this bad.)

"Hey, Keely," Rei says quietly.
They jump. He's standing just beside their window, looking mildly concerned, but mostly amused.
Keely begins to sign a question, only remembering halfway through that Rei doesn't know sign.
"Kamado wants to talk to you, but let's give them a minute," Rei says, gesturing to the irate pair across the road. Keely nods immediately; they don't want to get in the way of that , either.

"It doesn't matter," the woman says. " I have to meet with the leader of the Galaxy Team. Whatever business you have is none of mine."

"Are you sure about that?" the man retorts. "I'm here to speak with Commander Kamado as well. And I'm done wasting my valuable time here with you!"
He strides off toward Galaxy Hall.
The woman with him scoffs, but follows in the same direction.

"All right, we'd better get you to Kamado's office, too," Rei tells Keely, starting to walk. "That man was Adaman, leader of the Diamond Clan. You met Mai yesterday— they put a lot of emphasis on time, as you definitely know by now. The lady was Irida, leader of the Pearl Clan. They're all about space. Believe it or not, what you just saw was mild , compared to how those two clans have gotten along in the past."

Keely wonders about what they'd been saying. They pull out the Arc-Phone to ask, but by the time they're ready to type, the two have made it inside the Galaxy Hall. So they hold their questions in their mind— including that of why Kamado wants to see them in the first place. They'll find out the answer to that one soon enough.
Rei waits at the bottom of the stairs, and Keely hurries up alone. They don't hear any more arguing, which seems to be a good sign, especially as Keely's fairly sure Kamado would not be impressed if they started bickering in his office.

He spots Keely just as they make it up the last set of stairs. "Good, I see that you've arrived."
The two clan leaders turn, both looking at them expectantly. Keely takes a deep breath. For this to be a meeting with two clearly important people... They square their shoulders, try to look dignified, and step into the room.

"This is Keely, the newest member of our Survey Corps," Kamado says.

Adaman's manner relaxes. "Oho! You're the one Mai told me about— she says you've earned Wyrdeer's favour. Good to finally meet you!" He gives them a friendly smile. "I'm Adaman. 'Adaman, Leader of the Diamond Clan,' if you want to be formal, but that's a mouthful, so just call me Adaman."

Irida looks thoughtful. "If you came from the space beyond the rift... could you be from the place where Almighty Sinnoh is said to reside? I'm Irida, of the Pearl Clan. I always aim to be cautious... which is why I'm still having trouble believing this tale. That you could have really come from the rift..."

Keely quickly types into the Arc-Phone. 'It's the truth, I promise.'

Kamado nods. "Let me explain the situation for this newcomer. Recently, Kleavor, a Lord of the Pearl Clan, has been acting strangely. He has become incredibly aggressive, and is responsible for many casualties and injuries in both clans, as well as members of the Galaxy Team. Kleavor's Warden says this has all been since Kleavor was struck by strange lightning a few weeks ago, but nothing else is known about it, or why it has driven Kleavor into such a frenzy."

"He's also gold ," Irida says. "That isn't normal for Lord Kleavor."

Keely frowns. That does sound strange, and entirely unlike anything Keely has seen since coming to this world.

"Now that you have been informed, this is my proposition. Why not send Keely here to investigate Lord Kleavor before making any decision? Study of Pokemon is, after all, the responsibility of the Survey Corps." Kamado looks from Irida to Adaman, gauging their reactions. Keely waits, too. They think they remember hearing something about this berserk Pokemon at dinner the previous night, but they'd been so exhausted they could barely stay awake to eat.

"You would send this stranger, who supposedly fell from the rift, to study Lord Kleavor? A stranger with no experience?" Irida asks. She doesn't sound angry, at least— just thoughtful again.

"Says the leader with barely more experience," Adaman mutters.

Irida turns, and the scowl is back on her face in an instant. "Being a good leader isn't defined by how long you've led! It's about embracing Hisui's vastness without fear!"

"Well, then," Adaman shrugs. "If that's how you feel, let's give this kid their chance. Personally, if Lord Wyrdeer approves, I'm happy to give them a shot. And I'll get to see more about how you Galaxy Folk work, and all your strange ways. You put your Pokemon in those little balls, too, right?" he asks Keely.

"That whole practice bothers me!" Irida says. "Almighty Sinnoh made Hisui so vast so we and Pokemon could live side by side! We're meant to be equals- not count ourselves above Pokemon!"

Kamado shakes his head. "Poke Balls are not used as a means to control our Pokemon. Only so that we may live together. I'm even told this child managed to befriend an Alpha Pokemon recently; surely they could not continue working together without the aid of Poke Balls."

'She doesn't fit in the buildings,' Keely types. 'I don't want humans to stand above Pokemon.'
An electronic voice can carry no intonation or emotion, of course, but perhaps Irida sees something of Keely's conviction in their expression.

"...Okay, you can investigate," she says after a moment. "Commander, I accept your proposition."

"Good. Keely, this will be your mission now, understood?" Kamado says, his voice booming.

Keely bites their lip. No, not really understood. But they give him a firm nod anyway.

"Do not forget: you are a stranger who fell out of the sky. People will naturally be suspicious of your presence here. Trust must be earned, and it can only be earned through hard work. Prove that you are to be trusted, and only then will you be fully accepted. "

Keely nods again. 'Yes, sir,' they type.

"Great!" Adaman says. "And hey, there's no time like the present. You up for heading out now?"

"Adaman, wait," Irida says. "Lord Kleavor is descended from a Pokemon who was blessed with Almighty Sinnoh's own power. Even before this frenzy befell him, he was stronger than any other Pokemon you'll have encountered before. He's even stronger now. Do you understand, Keely? You need to be careful."

That... is useful information. Keely nods, and catches Adaman's eye to nod to him, too.

"Just a moment. Might I have a brief word with my subordinate?" Kamado asks.

"Oh, of course," Irida says. "Adaman, let's give them a moment."
The two leave the office, surprisingly not arguing as they go, and Keely turns back toward Kamado.

"Listen to me," the man says. "The Galaxy Expedition Team are newcomers here. Many among the clans would call us interlopers, and it is imperative that that attitude not spread. We mustn't do anything to threaten the Galaxy Team's relationship with the Diamond and Pearl Clans. Do you understand?"

'Yes, sir,' Keely types. Diplomacy, at least, they understand.

Kamado nods. "Good. Captain Cyllene will fill you in on more details about this mission, so speak with her downstairs. And one more thing: Heed Leader Irida's warning. This Kleavor has been the cause of more bloodshed than we have known all year."

His voice is still serious, expression still brusque, but Keely smiles at his apparent concern.
'I will, sir.'

They head out of the office, and down the stairs.
To Keely's mild surprise, Rei isn't waiting for them when they reach the ground floor. Neither are the two clan leaders, although Keely's less surprised about that. They had hoped to speak with them, but it can certainly wait.
They enter Captain Cyllene's office, and find Rei there— along with Professor Laventon. They've barely gotten into briefing Keely on the mission, however, when the door to the Captain's office flies open.

"Has Keely- oh, good!"

"Ms. Mai?" Rei asks.
Keely looks back at the door. Not just Mai, but Adaman, too, and they both look rather excited about something.

"Keely, listen. That rift you fell out of— it sounds like it might connect to a whole different world. That world might be where Almighty Sinnoh resides- the true Almighty Sinnoh, the one who presides over time. Don't you think that's possible?" Adaman bursts out. "You may have travelled through time— on Almighty Sinnoh's own power!"

Keely doesn't think that's the case. They still have no idea who this Almighty Sinnoh is, but they're quite sure the one who brought them here was named Arceus. But in the interest of diplomacy, they decide not to mention that for now.

Fortunately, Adaman doesn't seem to be expecting an answer anyway. "Well, I have a request for you, time traveler! Don't just study Kleavor— quell his frenzy!"

"We were just talking about that!" Professor Laventon says. "Do you happen to know what kind of offerings are usually left for Kleavor?"

Mai gives him a small wave. Adaman turns and smiles just as widely at him as he had been at Keely.
"You must be that Professor that Mai was telling me about! Pleased to meet you! I don't actually know what Lord Kleavor likes, sorry. You'd have to ask his Warden about that. That'd be... Lian, I think?"
He looks to Mai for confirmation, and she nods.

"Warden Lian is a brilliant boy," Mai says. "And I suspect you will not have much difficulty finding out anything about Lord Kleavor from him. In fact... he is more likely to tell you things whether you wish to know them or not."

"That will be useful," Captain Cyllene says, surprising all of them by joining in.

"Of course! Keely, do try and get as much information as possible from the young Warden, won't you?" Laventon agrees.

Adaman nods. "Get all the information you can, yes. But if it comes to a battle... don't hesitate, okay? I'm sure the Pearl Clan wants this all sorted out, too. They've had a lot of problems since Lord Kleavor took to his frenzy. But it'd be hard for them to admit they need help from someone like the Galaxy Expedition Team, much less from our Clan. That's why we're asking— make sure to quell his frenzy!"

This does not sound like a good idea, from a diplomatic standpoint. It may well be true, what Adaman is saying, but taking that sort of step without the Pearl Clan's blessing sounds like a Very Bad Idea.
Perhaps Rei thinks of this, or maybe he's just worried about Keely, but he finally gets the courage to speak up. "Isn't Kleavor extremely dangerous right now? Keely's strong, but shouldn't they be more worried about being safe than quelling Lord Kleavor's frenzy?"

Adaman actually looks surprised. "Of course! We're not saying be reckless about it. But from the sounds of things, if it does come to battle, this stranger's our best hope! And that goes double if they've got Almighty Sinnoh's blessing."

"Lord Wyrdeer is not impressed easily," Mai nods. "But something about you definitely caught his attention, young one."

Keely relaxes slightly, although the idea that they might have caught Lord Wyrdeer's attention for something other than their battling makes them just a little nervous.
They poke at the Arc-Phone.

'I'll do what I can,' it reads out.

"That's all you can do," Laventon agrees. "I'm terribly sorry I won't be able to join you. I'm afraid I had already agreed to help Duna with a problem she's having with her Burmy before Captain Cyllene told me you were to be given this assignment. Oh, but you'll be able to release that Alpha Kricketune while you're out and about!"

"Indeed you will," Mai says. "Grandtree Arena is actually not terribly far from where the colony of wild Kricketune live. It should be right on your way."

"Very good," Cyllene says. The strange sound in her voice is back, and Keely wonders again what that's about. "What about you, Rei? Will you be joining this mission, or are you otherwise occupied?"

Rei winces. "I... think I'd better stay with my sister, Captain," he says. "Akari's helping our parents today."

Cyllene simply nods. "Very well. Keely, you are to investigate Kleavor, do all you can to quell its frenzy, and return unharmed, understand? And ensure you release that Kricketune, as well."

'Yes, Captain,' Keely types.

"Good, then. You are dismissed." She glances at the two Diamond Clan members (who, Keely suddenly realizes, were not invited into her office), and clarifies, "All of you."

Rei leaves quietly after that, and Professor Laventon excuses himself to go help Duna with her Burmy. Adaman and Mai wish Keely well, once again, and leave as well. In what feels like only a few moments, they're left alone.

After the morning they've had? It's kind of a relief. Their only real regret is that they hadn't gotten a chance to ask either clan leader about Almighty Sinnoh— but, if what Mai said is true, perhaps Lian would be willing to tell them about that, too.

They stop by the Wallflower for a bite of breakfast, gather their belongings, and head to the gate.

"Obsidian Fieldlands, I know," Ress says, before Keely's even reached him. "Adaman told me. Will you be wanting to head out from the Heights Camp, then?"

'Heights Camp?' Keely types quickly. They have no idea what that is.

"Yeah?" Ress says, sounding as confused as Keely feels. "Adaman and Mai told us to go ahead with the new campsite up at Deertrack Heights. Didn't they tell you?"

Keely shakes their head.

"Oh! Well, it's still being set up, but I can send you up that way if you like, if you're okay making the trip that far on your own. The only Security Corps not on patrol are up working on the new camp right now, unfortunately."

Keely nods quickly, and Ress grins.
"Figured as much. Be careful out there, though, all right?"

'I will,' Keely types. And when Ress opens the gate for them, they head out and follow the path toward the Obsidian Fieldlands.


They've barely gotten outside the village when the rain that's been threatening to fall since Keely woke up finally gives in and does. It's a light rain, though, and it doesn't detract from Keely's enjoyment of the walk. It's a nice day, even with the rain, not too cold or windy. And Keely can't help thinking how Coral will love playing in the puddles once some have formed.
They check the map on the Arc-Phone a few times, as they walk. This is only the second time they've come this way, after all, and the first time coming alone. Fortunately, the way is relatively simple to find, and the Arc-Phone doesn't seem to have any problem with the rain. The bridge still has its single guard, but this time the woman simply waves Keely through, once she's caught sight of them. She looks quite a bit more irritated by the rain than Keely and the Arc-Phone are, and as she's waving them through she shoots the sky a Look while holding her hat tightly to her head with her other hand.

As Keely's climbing the hill, they hear a voice— the first they've heard since setting out.
"Sky-faller! Is that you?"
They look around, but it isn't too hard to find the one who spoke. Volo of the Ginkgo Guild is standing under a tree, his bright blue garb standing out against the greens and browns and grays around him. He's waving cheerfully, looking quite the opposite of the bridge guard in this rain.
Keely adjusts their path a bit and heads over toward him.

"I thought that was you! Looks like we've both gotten caught in the rain today."

Keely smiles. 'I don't mind,' they type.

"Say, that's a fascinating little device, isn't it? I don't mind the rain too much either," he admits. "But I've been walking for a while anyway. The rain is as good a reason as any to take a break, no? And what fortune, that it's let our paths cross once again!"

Keely gives an awkward little shrug and a grin.

"Now, there's something I've been wanting to ask you about since we met, but I haven't been able to find the right moment," Volo says. "And that is that beautiful piece of jewelry you're wearing!"
He points, somewhat theatrically, at Keely's head, and they frown. Jewelry?

"That gorgeous pin! I really must insist you sell it to me! I've never seen anything quite like it."

Oh, right. Keely had never really thought of it as jewelry before, but now they remember, Volo had seemed interested in it before.
They put their hand over it protectively and shake their head, taking a step back. Volo cocks a grin.

"No? I'd give you a fine price for it. How does 500 Coins sound?"

Again, Keely shakes their head, and hold the pin in their hair more tightly.

Volo's grin turns resigned, and he shrugs, putting his hands in the air. "All right, all right, I can see this is going nowhere. Maybe someday I'll convince you." He tilts his head. "...To be honest, the Guild would have my head on a platter for spending so much, anyway."

Slowly, they remove their hand from the pin, and type. 'It was a gift. It's very important to me.'

"Aah, well then, any offer I made would have been moot anyway. I may be Hisui's greatest merchant, but even I know there's no separating someone from a treasured keepsake." He pauses. "Hmm. As an apology, how about you let me share a tip I've found, for catching Pokemon?"

Keely considers this, then nods.

Volo brightens. "Perfect! Shall we go?"


Watching Volo sneak up on a wild Geodude is admittedly interesting, and even more so when he throws a Poke Ball and hits it square in the back. The Geodude jumps in surprise, and until that moment Keely hadn't even known they could jump. The Ball shakes in the air once, then falls to the ground, and the Geodude shrinks down and enters.
The Ball doesn't even shake before sending up the flare that indicates a successful capture.

"See?" Volo says. "Pokemon are much easier to catch when they're surprised!"
Keely feels that familiar twinge of worry over if the Geodude had been too surprised to resist, but they push it down. Volo is clearly trying to help, and it is helpful, really. They shoot him a thumbs up.

His expression brightens even more at that. "Now, I've never seen you catch a Pokemon, but I've heard some rumours you're quite the natural at it. Think of this as just one more tool to add to your kit, hmm?" He waggles a finger at them, and Keely smiles. "Do you Galaxy folk need a Geodude for study?"

Keely shakes their head. Coral has already run into so many Geodude in his pursuit of Tumblestones that Keely's been able to gather more data on that specific Pokemon than Professor Laventon probably needs. There are three in Jubilife's pastures now, and one who's evolved and made friends with one of the shopkeepers in the village.

"I thought as much," Volo said. "Well, then, let's let this little one go back with their fellows, hmm?" He holds the release button down, and for the second time in three days Keely sees the ball open and fully release the Pokemon inside. The Geodude looks around for a moment, confused, and then wanders off to eat a nearby pebble off the ground.

Keely watches it with amusement, then looks back at Volo. 'Thank you,' they type.

"No need for thanks," Volo says, and looks more serious. "I truly am sorry for upsetting you there. I didn't mean any harm, but clearly it wasn't the right call."

Keely nods, grateful. 'It's okay.'

Volo smiles at them. "I'm glad. Now, surely you didn't come out in the rain just to learn my Secret Back-Strike Technique! I shouldn't keep you any longer. But if you ever have need of wares, remember Volo, greatest of the Ginkgo Guild!" He winks at them, and holds out an Antidote. "Don't tell anyone I gave out samples!"

Keely laughs silently, taking it with a finger to their lips. They won't tell.

"Brilliant!" He bows. And with another silent chuckle, Keely walks off, thinking that while the merchant may be strange , he's really not so bad.


It's another half hour before they arrive at the Heights Camp, or what will be the Heights Camp. There's already a single tent there, and a few Galaxy Team members working on a second. People dressed in the red of the Security Corp stand around the edge of the plateau, watching for danger. When one of them spots Keely, they wave.

"Mai told us you'd be coming," he explains. "My name's Rodan. We're not fully set up yet, but feel free to rest for a while."

'Thanks,' Keely types. They aren't exactly tired yet, especially not after their break with Volo, but they are a bit hungry, and as much as they've been enjoying the rain they wouldn't mind getting a bit drier before carrying on.
Rodan gestures toward the tent, and Keely gratefully heads inside. They have a small meal of Springy Mushrooms and then dry their hair with what Coco had once described as "Nadine's Blowdryer Technique". (The remark had gotten him blown into a bush by the older Tyrant, but he maintained afterwards that it had been worth it.)
When they exit the tent, they scan around for any sign of Lord Wyrdeer, either in the camp area itself or on the slope above it. But they don't see anything, and decide that maybe he just prefers to stay out of the rain.

The other Survey Corps members have finished setting up the second tent, and the three of them are sitting inside with the flap open, trying to dry off. Keely waves to them, and when they catch sight of Keely they wave back.

"On your way already?" one of them, a thin woman with light red hair, asks. At Keely's nod, she gives them a faint smile. "All right. Be careful out there."

"That Kleavor put my husband in the medical wing," the man sitting next to her adds. "Keep back from it."

'Is he okay?' Keely types, alarmed.

The man holds out a hand and wiggles it. "He's better now. Don't worry, just be careful, that's all." The other two nod their agreement.

'Thanks,' Keely types, and heads off.

The rain ebbs off as Keely walks, and a few careful rays of sun begin to peek out from behind the still-thick clouds. Keely stops a few times, to battle some wild Pokemon and catch a few who linger after the battles, but mostly they just keep going forward. They're concerned even more now about the Kleavor that's been causing so much trouble. Most confusing to Keely is that apparently this Pokemon was friendly until recently. Something isn't right there, and Keely worries— is Kleavor sick? Is he injured? That's usually what causes sudden aggression among Nexomon, at least.

Eventually the downward slope Keely has been walking on levels out to a massive beach along a riverbank, and they have to stop to take in its beauty. There's a wide strip of sand on either side of the river, and Keely can see several Bidoof and Staravia running and flying around. Those thin rays of sunlight sparkle off the water, and as Keely looks along the river they can see it open out into a bay, with an island off in the distance much larger than the one they and Coral had found.
Across the river, they can see a forest, and a brief check of the Arc-Phone confirms that yes, they are headed in the right direction. Kleavor and his Warden shouldn't be too far, now.

There's a wooden bridge spanning the river, and Keely heads toward it before a sound makes them freeze.

"Delelele!"

"Woop! Wooooop!"

Keely looks around, and it takes them a solid few seconds before they manage to spot the source. Back up the hill a little ways, a trio of Kricketune and several little Kricketot are buzzing.
Keely breaks into a grin.
Back they go, up the hill just a bit, so that they can still see the Kricketune but not so close that the Pokemon see them as a threat. They pull out the Poke Ball that belongs to neither Coral nor Kadabra (and that reminds them, they really need to ask her about an idea they had for a nickname), as well as a Leppa Berry, and hold down the button on the Ball.

"Kriiii?"

The Alpha Kricketune emerges, looking somewhat disoriented. When he sees Keely, he jumps slightly, and skitters back in a move that could be fear or could be challenge.
Keely throws the Leppa Berry toward the other Kricketune.

The Alpha jumps again, but almost immediately darts off after the fruit. And it has the intended effect. While he snaps it up in his mandibles, he catches sight of the other Pokemon, and stares at them while he eats. When he's finished, he doesn't even look back; he skitters up to the group and lets out a confused-sounding "woop?"
One of the other Kricketune snarls at him, but it's rather smaller than he is, and the Alpha just chitters back at it.

Keely wonders if he's forgotten about them entirely.

They watch for another few seconds, but none of the Pokemon are attacking each other, so they figure it's safe enough to carry on and let the Bug Pokemon get acquainted on their own.
They turn and quietly walk back down the hill, and continue forward onto the wooden bridge.

There's an Alpha Bibarel just on the other side of the bridge, and she certainly doesn't appreciate Keely encroaching on her territory, but fortunately she only chases them a short distance before giving up.
The forest is every bit as beautiful as the river; it stuns them, in fact. There are so many Pokemon Keely's never seen before. They wonder— has anyone from the Survey Corps even been out this way? They stop several times to snap some pictures with the Arc-Phone, toss several Poke Balls, and get into several battles. Kadabra isn't quite used to battling with a Trainer; a few times, she simply does nothing when Keely gives her a direction, and sometimes she gives them a smug look while doing something else entirely. Sometimes, though, she does do what Keely asks, and after battles Keely catches her looking around the forest with wonder in her eyes. She always stops when she sees Keely looking, but it's enough for them to realize- she hasn't been here, either.
Coral clearly hasn't, either, but as usual, he has no qualms about showing his excitement. He battles happily and races around, gathering Tumblestones and herbs and diving in the stream before a laughing Keely can call him back.
After a while, Keely spots a pair of torches, and between them, what looks like the beginning of a dirt path. Checking the Arc Phone and finding that Grandtree Arena is indeed nearby, they turn onto the path and walk along it.
It's a winding path, and between the trees blocking the sky and the clouds still there, Keely can't tell how long they've been walking or what time it is. They think the air is slightly pinker by the time the torches lead them to a rough staircase set into a hill, but it's hard to tell.
The staircase is flanked, at the top, by two large reddish banners with strange symbols on them. And as soon as Keely is high enough up to see the banners, they also see a tree- the second biggest tree they've ever seen, exceeded only by Tikala's home.
Their first thought is that Deena would love to see this tree. Their second, rather more practical thought is to notice that there's a child standing not far away, watching them.

They're not quite close enough to see his expression, but as they walk closer they can see that he looks serious and determined. Unable to call out to him— they're fairly sure the Arc-Phone can't shout— they simply wave as they approach.

The boy puts his hands on his waist. "I'm Warden Lian, of the Pearl Clan. And you... you're here to meet Kleavor, Lord of the Woods. Am I right?"

They nod. As they approached, they hadn't been sure that this was the Warden, but it made sense. He's standing right in the middle of the path, after all.

Lian doesn't even look at them. "Of course I'm right! I can see it so clearly. After all, the powerfully awesome Kleavor has become even more awesomely powerful. Perhaps that strange lightning that struck him was Almighty Sinnoh's divine power..."

Keely types quickly. 'What did it look like?'

"The lightning?" Lian asks, surprised. "It was bright gold, same as Lord Kleavor is now. But that's why I can't let you see him, as much as it pains me. It's too dangerous for you to meet him like this."

Golden lightning... interesting. Keely files that away in their mind for later. 'Can you tell me about Lord Kleavor then?'

Lian looks even more shocked. "I- really? I mean, of course! Lord Kleavor is the strongest Lord ever. He's tall, and really strong, and he can jump almost to the top of that," Lian points to the massive tree. "And he was blessed by Almighty Sinnoh's power even before the lightning, so he's really important. This whole forest is his home!"

Keely nods. 'He sounds impressive. And what does he like to eat?'

"Oh, he is! He's awesome! And he's really picky, he'll only eat Plump Beans and- hey, why are you asking that?" Lian's eyes narrow. "You're going to try and sneak in by bribing Lord Kleavor, aren't you?"

Keely shakes their head, but once again, the boy ignores them.

"I'm under strict orders from Irida not to let anyone see Lord Kleavor! I admit, your passion for meeting with him touches my heart... but this is for your own safety! I'll battle you, if I must!" Lian gets into a defensive stance, and Keely once again shakes their head.

'I spoke to Irida this morning. She asked me to check on Lord Kleavor,' they type.

Lian scowls. "Look, stranger, I don't know who you are, but do you really think I'd believe that? I'm one of the Pearl Clan's Wardens! If that was true, why wouldn't she tell me ? I'm warning you. Turn back, or face the wrath of my Goomy!"
He looks off the path, into the bushes.

Keely doesn't know what a Goomy is. But if Lian won't listen to Keely, and he won't tell them what they need to know, they'll just have to have faith in their partners and try their best.

'I'll battle.'

Lian shakes his head. "You won't even realize this is for your own safety. Come on, Goomy! Let's see if we can't ooze some sense into this troublemaker!"
The bushes rustle, and a small purplish Pokemon slowly makes its way out and over to Lian. And Keely is unable to keep the smile off their face, because that Goomy is adorable.
They know from experience, though, that adorable doesn't mean harmless. (Byeol briefly comes to mind.) So they send out Coral, and prepare for a battle where their opponent is entirely unknown.

Fortunately, in this case, Goomy does seem to be more or less as strong as he looks. He launches some noxious-looking spheres toward Coral, but one of them misses, and even after two of them hit Coral and he turns faintly purple, he doesn't seem to be terribly hurt. It only takes him two watery swipes with his scalchops before Goomy keels over, then straightens up and wobbles over to hide behind Lian.

"I-I don't believe it!" Lian says. "How could an outsider be that strong?"

Keely doesn't bother to answer him, as they're too busy digging in their satchel for an Antidote. When they've found one, and sprayed it on the little Dewott, Lian speaks up again.

"You may have won against me, but my point still stands! It's too dangerous to meet Kleavor now! Even I, his loyal warden, can't get close enough to calm him down... not with the way Kleavor is rampaging."
Lian looks distressed, and Goomy leans against the boy's leg with a soft croon.

Keely ruffles the fur on Coral's head and returns him to his Poke Ball. They begin typing on the Arc-Phone, but a familiar voice speaking from behind them makes them pause.

"Lian... It's true that Kleavor has grown even stronger, but I'm afraid that strength poses a problem."

"Irida? What're you doing here?" Lian asks.

"Lord Kleavor, Wyrdeer, and their cohort... all of them are descended from Pokemon who were blessed by Almighty Sinnoh with the task of helping others, human and Pokemon alike. It's by their grace that we're able to live in vast Hisui at all." Irida says. "That lightning... I'm concerned. Is it possible it was sent by the false Sinnoh that the Diamond Clan reveres?"

Keely desperately wants to ask about Almighty Sinnoh, but they have a feeling Irida may be on the verge of convincing Lian to let them observe Kleavor. So they stay silent, simply giving Irida a nod of acknowledgement.

Lian closes his eyes. "This outsider claims you gave them permission to see Lord Kleavor. It's true, isn't it?"

"I wanted to solve this ourselves as much as you did," Irida tells him. "But if Lord Kleavor keeps on this way, it will damage our relationship with both the Diamond Clan and the Galaxy Team. And Lord Kleavor means so much to our clan... Yes, I said they could come."

'We were hoping to find out what Kleavor likes to eat to help calm him down,' Keely types, as an explanation to both Irida and Lian.

Irida looks curious about that idea, but Lian once again looks distressed. "Normally, that's just the trick. A nice offering served up by Kleavor's faithful warden is the quickest way to soothe even the prickliest of moods. But since he's been hit by that lightning, I can't even get close enough to give him an offering."

Irida taps her chin. "Lian... Do you know if Lord Kleavor has been eating, since his frenzy began?"

"Of course," he says. "Almost nonstop! I doubt there's a single mushroom left in all of the Heartwood by now."

Keely pokes at the Arc-Phone. 'If we can find a way to get him the offerings, can you gather some of the things he likes?'

"...Do you really think you can?" Lian asks, after a few moments.

Keely nods. They're fairly sure they can work something out, they and the rest of the Galaxy Team. If nothing else, even if Lord Kleavor's too dangerous to battle, Keely's fast. Really fast, when they need to be. They're confident they can get near enough, drop off the offerings, and get out before they get hurt.

Lian nods, his expression solemn. "Then I'll gather his favourite meals. I should be able to have everything together by tomorrow, if I get started now." He gives Keely another look, and it's a sad one. "...Please help Lord Kleavor."

Keely nods in what they hope is a reassuring way.

Irida smiles. "I'll help gather Lord Kleavor's offerings, then," she says. "Keely, we'll meet you back here tomorrow, all right? Will that be long enough?"

They give her a thumbs up. 'We'll have a plan to help him.'

Irida stares at them, her expression hard to read. It makes Keely a little nervous. But after several seconds, she just nods.
"I hope so."

After that, the two Pearl Clan members— and the adorable Goomy still trailing after Lian— get to work, and Keely can tell they've been dismissed.

The walk back through the forest is a bit quieter than the journey there, mostly because the wild Pokemon have gotten a bit more used to their presence. They still capture a few, and Coral and Kadabra both have a couple of battles each, but for the most part, the novelty of having a new human in the area has worn off. Keely doesn't mind. It gives them time to try and come up with a plan to present to the Galaxy Team.
(They aren't very successful, beyond "rush in, drop off the offering near that tree, and rush out again", but they try .)


When they arrive at the Heights Camp, to their surprise, Adaman is waiting for them.
More specifically, Adaman is sitting on a bench, chatting with the Galaxy Team members at the camp like he belongs there. But as soon as Keely crests the hill and sees him, he immediately turns and waves at them.

"Keely! I was hoping you'd come through here on your way back. How'd it go— did you see Lord Kleavor?"

'No, but I spoke to Warden Lian,' Keely types. 'He thinks an offering could calm him, if we can get it to him. We're going to try tomorrow.'

Adaman nods. "That makes sense. Oh, but that's not why I'm here. Here, have a seat, it's a pretty long trek from down there." He stands up, and motions for Keely to sit on the bench instead.
They're not too tired, but Adaman's right; they've been walking all day. They sit down gratefully.

"When you've had a rest, Lord Wyrdeer wants to see you," Adaman explains. "He and Mai are waiting at the crest of his Seat."

Keely stands immediately, looking up at the great cliff above them. They can't see anyone up there, but the angle isn't the best anyway. They turn and nod at Adaman.

He laughs. "You sure?"

Keely nods again. It's not a huge hill, and the prospect of seeing Lord Wyrdeer again has given Keely a little burst of energy. They wonder what he wants— and they wonder what he knows.

"Okay, if you're sure," Adaman shrugs.

The Security Corps give the two space as they walk past the outer edge of the camp and begin climbing the hill. The shadows grow thinner, as they climb, and by the time they reach the peak, the last few rays of sun are shining from behind Mai and Lord Wyrdeer. The effect is gorgeous.

"Hello again, child," Mai smiles.

"Wyeeeeer!"
The white Pokemon stretches out his head in greeting, and Keely gives him a polite bow.

"So. I spoke to Lord Wyrdeer about what's been going on," Adaman says. "I told him how you've been running around the Fieldlands, trying to find a cure for Lord Kleavor. And you not even part of the Pearl Clan, or our Clan. Just a stranger who fell into this world. After he was already so impressed with you before, I thought he should know."

Keely squirms a little under the praise. They're only doing their job, and they still haven't actually managed to help Lord Kleavor yet.

Lord Wyrdeer snorts, and Mai smiles her mysterious smile once more. "Lord Wyrdeer was quite insistent upon meeting you again, after that. So I asked my brother to wait for you, down at your new camp, and to bring you here when you arrived."

Lord Wyrdeer steps forward, and Keely holds out their hand to him.
Hello? they send.
No response comes in Keely's mind. But the Noble steps forward again, and after a moment he ducks his snout beneath Keely's outstretched hand, and presses against it. His fur is soft and warm, and Keely carefully brings their other hand up to pet him.

 
He gives them a soft snort, and Keely doesn't understand it— not really. But maybe they almost do, because they can feel friendliness radiating from this Pokemon in a way that's not quite the same as their reading of Coral's body language, or Kadabra's.

"He has found you worthy," Mai says with a smile in her voice. "Which means you will need this."

Keely looks away from Lord Wyrdeer to see Mai holding a strange flute.
When she raises it to her lips, a melody flows out, short and haunting. It sounds like the wind, or like a mystery. Mai's fingers flutter quickly over the flute. It's beautiful to watch, and even more beautiful to hear.
And Lord Wyrdeer nods to her.

"Here, Keely."
They jump just slightly at the sound of Adaman's voice. When they look at him, he's holding out a flute identical to the one Mai has— holding it out to Keely.
"You'll need this to call on Lord Wyrdeer," he says. "It's a Celestica Flute, just like ours."

What?
Keely begins signing their protests quickly, before they can remember that neither Adaman nor Mai know sign. But Adaman just grins.

"Lord Wyrdeer was quite insistent on it, and both of us agree," he tells them. "You need only to play that melody on your flute, and he will come to carry you on his back." He proffers the flute once again, and this time, Keely takes it with shaking hands.

Thank you, they send to Lord Wyrdeer. Again, they receive no response in their mind. But Lord Wyrdeer gives them a nod, much like he'd just given Mai.

"Come here, Keely. I'll teach you the song," Mai says.

~~~~~

It takes Mai a little more than an hour to teach Keely the melody. Keely has barely any experience playing any sort of musical instrument— no experience, really, because they don't think they should count the time the Orphanage had gotten a box full of instruments to try out for an afternoon. Really, they're surprised they managed to get it at all. It's nothing like how Mai plays it, of course, all grace and flowing sound, but the notes are there, and Wyrdeer nudges Keely gently when he recognizes the melody.

"Sounds like he's learned the sound of your playing," Adaman says, sounding pleased. "Nice job."

Keely withdraws the Arc-Phone and gently sets the flute in their satchel.
'Thank you,' they type, to all of them.

"Thank you, too," Mai tells them.

"Just keep trying to help Lord Kleavor," Adaman says. "But you're doing great."
Lord Wyrdeer snorts softly, and noses at Keely's hand. They smile, and softly pet his nose.

'I will,' they promise Adaman.

"I know," Adaman says, and he smiles, too. Then he yawns.
"Well, we should probably head our separate ways for now. We'll be in touch, Keely. Oh, and again, be careful tomorrow. That Kleavor is in quite a state."

Mai nods. "I should get back to Munchlax. Good night, Keely."

Keely takes their hand off of Wyrdeer to type, 'Good night. Thank you.'
They mean it for Lord Wyrdeer, as much as for the two Pearl Clan people. But as soon as the message has been read off, Lord Wyrdeer noses at Keely's back, and Mai laughs.

"It looks like he wishes to give you a ride home," she says.
Lord Wyrdeer nods.

Keely looks at him, and frowns.
I can make it myself , they send, just in case. Are you sure?

He nudges at their back again.

That's... hmm. Keely isn't sure, once again, if the Noble Pokemon can hear them or if it's just a coincidence. But either way, Lord Wyrdeer's meaning is clear.

'Thank you,' they type after a moment.

It could be their imagination, but they could swear Lord Wyrdeer is smiling at them.
He bends down low to the ground, and makes a soft sound of encouragement. Keely sets the Arc-Phone back in their satchel, and carefully steps over the Pokemon's back. Once they're there, he stands, and Keely has to reach around his very fluffy neck to keep from sliding off.

Adaman and Mai are both grinning at them.
"You're a natural!" Adaman says.
Keely is pretty sure he's only being polite. They've never ridden a Pokemon— or a Nexomon, either, for that matter— and they feel awkward and nervous, and like they might slip off. But they appreciate his kindness. They give Adaman a thumbs up.

Mai looks amused. "Go easy on them," she tells Wyrdeer, patting his head.

"Wyyeeer!"


~~~~~


Riding on Lord Wyrdeer's back is incredibly strange.
They're used to walking and running, on two legs or four, and they've acclimated to using warpstones, too. But crossing the Obsidian Fieldlands at speed, with the familiar motion of galloping beneath them, but sitting mostly-still on Lord Wyrdeer's back? It feels uncanny. Keely holds on gently but firmly to the Pokemon's neck as he sails across the grass, and tries not to pay too much attention to the way they keep feeling like their legs have gone to sleep, even though they haven't. They focus on the wind in their face, the view passing by, the soft fur under their hands, and that helps a bit. Lord Wyrdeer carries on, seemingly completely oblivious to his rider's odd feeling, and only slows down once they come within view of the gate to Jubilife. Keely feels a bit more normal once he slows down to a gentle walk, although only a little. At least they feel comfortable enough to loosen their grip on his neck and relax a little.
Ress is already reaching for the chain to shut the gate by the time he spots Keely.

"Keely! Are you... unhurt?"

Keely nods, confused. Lord Wyrdeer stops and crouches down, and Keely's feet make contact with the ground again. They step over the Pokemon's back, and while they feel much more themself again they discover once more that their body isn't used to riding. Their knees feel like jelly.
Lord Wyrdeer stands, and doesn't seem to mind when Keely instinctively reaches out to him to steady themself. He makes a soft snorting sound, one that reminds Keely of Denny when he laughs.
Thank you, they send, as hard as they can.
The Pokemon doesn't respond. But he nods his head to them in a friendly way, and waits for a few moments to make sure Keely's got their footing back. Then he dashes off, even more quickly than he'd carried them, and Keely laughs silently, thinking that maybe he really did go easy on them.

Ress watches Lord Wyrdeer as he disappears over the hills, and when he looks back at Keely, his expression is hard to read.

"...Captain Cyllene will be wanting your report," he tells them after a few moments. "She and the Professor are waiting in Galaxy Hall."

They start walking, and Keely hurries to withdraw the Arc-Phone so they can respond. "Thank you."

The walk is silent— Ress isn't much of a conversationalist— but Keely doesn't mind. They're tired, their legs still feel a little wobbly from the ride, and it gives them time to work out just how to give their report when they get back to town.

Chapter Text

It's not quite light out when Keely wakes up the next morning.

They blink at the watery darkness coming through their window, and almost turn around to go back to sleep. But then they remember what they have to do, and they sit bolt upright.
The journey to the Heartwood isn't terribly long- only a couple of hours- but that's long enough, and Keely doesn't know yet how much time they'll need to reach and calm Lord Kleavor. It's definitely better to be too early than too late, especially if they want to make it back to Jubilife before night falls.
So they gather their belongings, make an impromptu breakfast of Plump Beans and Medicinal Leeks— they're certainly not going to bother Beni this early— and head out the door.

Jubilife Village is quiet at this hour; there's no sign of any of the shopkeepers or Expedition Team members that can usually be seen going about their business. As Keely had expected, there's no sign of Beni either, and they pass the Wallflower with a slight longing glance. Beans and leeks had been fine, but potato mochi is really starting to grow on them.
They're almost at the edge of the village before they see any other people at all, and even then, it's only Ress, dozing lightly against the gate. They try to quiet their steps as they approach; there's no need to wake him, they know the way to the Fieldlands by now and clearly it's still very early.

They're nearly to the gate when something stops them. A feeling of being watched. And, in the next moment, a voice.

"Halt! Identify yourself!"

Keely very narrowly succeeds in not jumping at the sound. It's loud, rich and feminine, and they're pretty sure they've never heard it before. They turn around, looking for the source; whoever it was had sounded nearby, but there's no sign of anybody behind them. They keep looking around.

It's only a few seconds before they spot her, a large, muscular woman with brightly orange hair and a stern expression, standing just outside a building about twenty feet away.

Their hands start moving before they remember, and reach for their satchel instead to pull out the Arc Phone. They hold up a finger to the woman, hoping she'll wait for them to respond before acting, and start typing.
Before they finish, though, Ress reaches them.

"Captain Zisu, this is Keely," he says, waving at the woman. "The new recruit to the Survey Corps."

Keely nods quickly, and- wait, they've heard that name before. That's... the person whom Commander Kamado wanted them to train with.

Zisu visibly relaxes. "Right. Keely Briar, I've heard of you."
And then she lifts her hands.
'You're the one who speaks sign, correct?'

Keely nearly drops the Arc Phone in their excitement. Instead, they put it back in their satchel and begin signing back.
'You're the one Rei mentioned! Yes. I'm Keely. It's nice to meet you.'

Zisu grins.
'Nice to meet you, too. I have to ask, though. What're you doing trying to sneak out of town?' She glances at Ress.

'I'm going to meet Lian and Irida of the Pearl Clan. We have a plan to try and calm Lord Kleavor down from his frenzy,' they explain. 'But I'm not sure how long it'll take, so I wanted to leave early. Professor Laventon can confirm that we've been working on that.'

Zisu frowns.
'I understand, but it's not safe to leave Jubilife Village on your own. Ress,' she says, saying the name aloud as she signs it. "Keely wants to head for the Fieldlands to meet up with some people from the Pearl Clan. Can you walk them out there?"

Ress looks alarmed.
"Was that what- Keely, you've got to have an escort! And why're you leaving so early? It's still night!"

Keely pulls the Arc-Phone out of their satchel again.
"It's a couple hours' walk. And I'm not sure how long calming Lord Kleavor will take." They don't say anything about the escort. They know they'd almost certainly be fine, especially with Coral and Kadabra with them. But it is a rule, and it isn't as if it bothers them, walking with the Security Corps— they just hadn't wanted to wake Ress up.

"I'll take you out there, then. Sorry, Captain, you can get some rest now. She's just gotten back from patrol duty," Ress explains to Keely.

Right, Keely remembers Commander Kamado saying something about that.
'It was nice to meet you, Captain,' they say.

'Likewise,' Zisu says, and yawns. Out loud she adds, "Good luck with your mission. 'Night, Ress."

She turns and heads inside, and Ress watches with somewhat drowsy bewilderment.
"It's going to be strange, watching you two. All right, let's head out."

The walk to the Fieldlands Camp with Ress is uneventful, and Keely's walk from there to the Heartwood is even more so. They don't see any other people— not that they expect to— and there are a few times when Keely briefly considers transforming and shortening the trip considerably. But they don't quite dare. Just because they don't see anyone doesn't mean there isn't anyone who could see them - and they remember Coral's reaction to their transformation well. The crepuscular Pokemon who're most active at this time have been mostly leaving Keely alone, and they don't want to do anything that might change that.
By the time they arrive at the Heartwood, morning has truly broken. The rising sun casts brilliant rays through the trees, and the same kinds of Pokemon Keely had seen the previous evening are beginning to stir and venture out into the world. A few even challenge them to battle, though Keely does their best to avoid the more assertive ones. They're not sure at all what to expect from Lord Kleavor, but they want to make sure they and their Pokemon are as prepared as possible, and that means no battling if they can help it.
Fortunately, both Coral and Kadabra seem to be in good shape by the time Keely spots the first set of torches. They craft a few Potions and use two of them to heal up the slight wounds both of their Pokemon have incurred, but neither is seriously injured, and when Keely explains what they're there to do, even Kadabra seems to be taking it seriously.
They recall their team, leaving the Arc-Phone loose in their hand, and follow the path, allowing themself to take in the beauty of the forest as they walk.

The heart of the forest is, if possible, even more beautiful by morning light than the surrounding area, shafts of sunlight all around Keely as they crest the hill.
There's no sign of Lian or Goomy, but Irida is there, waiting for them. Next to her is a strange-looking barrel of trash.

"Keely," she says. "You're here early."

"I wasn't sure how long it would take, so I left early," the Arc-Phone reads. "Have you seen Lord Kleavor this morning?"

Irida shakes her head. "No, but Lian said he was awake most of the night, sounding as if he was in pain. He might be sleeping now." She sighs, and gestures to the barrel. "Lian was up all night preparing these. I told him to get some rest about an hour ago."

Keely frowns. They hurry closer to the barrel, and then they understand. Inside the wooden frame are small cloth bundles, each tied with a second length of fabric, and when Keely picks one up they can feel a crumbly, chunky texture inside.

"Are these the offerings?"

"Plump Beans and Springy Mushrooms," Irida confirms. "Lord Kleavor likes the cloth, too. We weren't sure how much it would take, so Lian prepared... a lot. If you want to get it all into Grandtree Arena before Lord Kleavor wakes, you're probably best off starting now. I'm not sure how many trips it will take, but... What are you doing?" she asks, watching Keely set the Arc-Phone down in the dirt.

In answer, Keely simply braces their arms around the barrel and lifts.
Fortunately, it isn't very heavy— neither mushrooms nor Plump Beans weigh very much. But it isn't a small barrel, and it's completely full of little bundles, so it's nonetheless uncomfortable to carry. Keely has to brace themself and shift their arms to get a better grip as they take a couple of experimental steps before setting the barrel down again.

"You're smaller than me, and I can't lift that," Irida says flatly. "The world beyond the rift... What a place it must be."

Keely laughs a little awkwardly, and picks up the Arc-Phone.
"I've been training my strength," they explain. "Some of my family are very insistent on it. I should be able to carry that to Lord Kleavor's tree, if he's still asleep."

"Your family must be interesting," Irida says. "...I can't deny that it would be easier if you could carry it all at once, but be careful. If Lord Kleavor wakes up, he'll certainly attack. You must be prepared for if that happens."

"I will," Keely says quickly, and tries to shove down the homesickness they've been feeling since they brought up their family.
(Maybe calming Lord Kleavor will give them a clue about how to mend the rift in the sky. Maybe they'll be home soon. Maybe...)

"But if you're going to, you should take it now, before he wakes," Irida says, oblivious to the thoughts running through Keely's head like a painful song.

Right. They take a deep breath, and remember their Mentor's words. Best not to face danger with a clouded mind.
Another breath, and then another. Right now, this is all that matters.
"I'm ready," they say after a few moments.

They carry the barrel along the path to Grandtree Arena. Irida walks with them. She's quiet at first, but as they grow closer to the edge of the forest she begins talking, about Lord Kleavor and Lian and her worry for both of them. She doesn't seem to be expecting any answers, fortunately, and Keely's grateful. Both because they can't answer without setting down the barrel, and for her chatter. It makes a helpful distraction.
She stops just before another set of torches, which frame an opening into a great clearing surrounding a massive tree.

"Lord Kleavor's seat is just through here," she says. "I remind you again. Be careful."

Keely does set the barrel down then. They nod in what they hope is a reassuring way.
"I will," they promise her. "You'd better stay back here, just in case."
They set the Arc-Phone back into their satchel, tie it up, and lift the barrel once more.

They listen, but there's no angry-Pokemon sounds or any sign of anything running in their direction, so they decide it's probably safe to go. And they take their first few steps out into the clearing.
They're about halfway to the massive tree when pain strikes their stomach, and their feet are suddenly no longer on the ground. The barrel goes flying from Keely's grip as they're launched through the air, and there's a loud crunch of wood before Keely themself lands, fortunately on their feet but just barely.

There's a faint whistling sound and Keely rolls to the left, more out of instinct than anything. An instant later, a pulse of fear rolls through them.

They hadn't exactly been afraid of Lord Kleavor before, and they aren't particularly now. But there is a large, golden, glowing insectoid creature with axes for hands exactly where Keely would have been if they hadn't dodged, and so they think it's okay to be a little spooked.

"Keely!"

Lord Kleavor finally succeeds in extracting his axe from the ground, and turns to look for the source of the voice. Spotting it— why hadn't Irida stayed quiet?— he crouches low, and Keely realizes what's about to happen.

He's going to charge.

So they do the only thing they can think of- they scramble to one of the bundles of food that had gone flying when Lord Kleavor had struck, and they throw it as hard as they can at the Pokemon's back.
Two things happen when it strikes: the first is that Lord Kleavor makes a sound somewhere between a hiss and a ringing, turning back to Keely.
The second is that for a moment— however brief— he stops moving, and Keely could swear the golden light around him flickers.

If being hit by a bundle of food did that, then maybe...
They grab four or five of the little bundles while Lord Kleavor is confused, and then it's back on the move, watching the Pokemon's body language for any signs of what he's about to do.
They pick up the pattern after another couple of lunges, and that makes it easier; as Fenrir would say, Lord Kleavor has a lot of tells. Each time, he stalks toward Keely, swiping his axes in their direction, and when Keely jumps backward to avoid that he leaps into the air like he had after he'd sent them flying. Knowing it's coming makes it easier for them to dodge his biggest attack, and while he's stuck in the ground, Keely lobs bundles of offering at him and grabs as many more as they can reach. It's almost easy, after a while.

Too easy.

Keely's not sure what goes wrong; whether Lord Kleavor had simply gotten lucky or his leap this time was a feint. Whatever the case, they're rolling and trying to grab a bundle when a very sharp pain bites into their right arm, and Keely screams.
There's another shout from Irida, something Keely can't make out through their haze of pain, and Lord Kleavor once more turns away from Keely.
Keely reaches for the bundle, and- yes, that's a nasty cut. But it isn't as if they can stop now. They pick up the bundle and chuck it at Lord Kleavor.
And nearly scream again.
The bundle hits its target, but with significantly less force than Keely had been throwing them with up to this point. And their arm is agony , far worse than when they'd gotten on the wrong side of that Alpha Rapidash.
This isn't going to work. Not anymore.

Doing their best to push the pain aside, they grab a couple more bundles with their left hand and then get back on the move. Lord Kleavor strikes again at them with his axe-arms, and Keely hops backwards, but when he looks like he's about to leap, Keely doesn't move. It's not until he's already in the air that they dodge out of the way, and this time they roll a little further than usual and keep their arms close to their body.
Fortunately, this time the Pokemon does get stuck in the ground, and Keely's able to toss a few of the food bundles with their left hand.
It... only sort of works. They aren't used to throwing left-handed, and while their first bundle hits, it doesn't land where Keely was aiming. The second bundle misses all together.

And that's when Keely gets the idea.

Irida's shouting had been dangerous, but it had bought Keely chances to strike back; maybe, if there were more people on the battlefield, they could buy each other those same opportunities.
There isn't really time to think about it. Keely clicks both of the Poke Balls at their waist.

Lord Kleavor lets out a cry, trying once again to yank his axe free from the ground as first Coral, then Kadabra emerge and look around with alarm. Fortunately, he remains stuck long enough for Keely to catch the other Pokemon's attention before throwing another bundle at him.

The gold flickers again, and both of Keely's teammates nod in understanding. Kadabra begins gathering some of the nearby bundles with her telekinesis, and Coral rushes to grab as many as he can before Lord Kleavor finally wrenches himself free and lunges at Keely.
They leap backwards, hoping Irida doesn't notice the way the wind swirls around their feet as they land. And as they do, both Coral and Kadabra lob bundles of food at Lord Kleavor.

Upon getting hit with two bundles from different directions in rapid succession, Lord Kleavor looks confused. Coral takes the opportunity to throw another bundle while he's distracted, and that's enough for Lord Kleavor to decide Coral's the biggest annoyance at the moment, and swing his axes at him.
Fortunately, Coral is ready. He hurries backward much the same way Keely had done, and sends out a jet of water for good measure. Keely throws another bundle, hoping to get Lord Kleavor's attention away from their teammate. Kadabra, watching them, decides to throw two at once.
Lord Kleavor roars. He lunges at her, swinging as hard as he can, and Kadabra levitates herself to one side but she simply isn't fast enough.
The attack connects, Kadabra shrieks, and Keely desperately wishes they hadn't had to involve her or Coral in this at all.
They throw another left-handed bundle at Lord Kleavor, but it's too late; Kadabra drops onto the ground. With a glare at Lord Kleavor that Keely had thought was reserved just for them, she glows, and in a beam of light returns herself to her Poke Ball.
Keely can't tell if she's conscious or not by the time she reaches it. They just hope she'll be safe in there until they can get her some help.

Lord Kleavor follows the beam of light to Keely, and he swings his axes their way while Coral throws another bundle and grabs two more. Keely dodges easily, and wonders— is it their imagination, or is Lord Kleavor slowing down?

It isn't their imagination, they discover a minute or so later. They and Coral continue throwing bags of food, Coral punctuating his with occasional jets of water. And at last— Keely's not sure which of them had thrown the bundle that does it— the glow surrounding Lord Kleavor flickers... then dissolves, sending motes of golden light up into the sky.

Coral darts away from the Pokemon, and Keely prepares to do the same, but as they keep their eyes on Lord Kleavor they can tell they won't need to. The Noble is breathing heavily, and when his eyes meet Keely's, there's gratitude in them.
They think they might have been mistaken, when Lord Kleavor raises one of his axe-hands, but he lowers it a moment later and leaps away from them, toward the great tree in the centre of the clearing. He latches on, and an instant later he's scurried up the trunk and disappeared into the branches.

T hey don't drop their guard. But they do turn to Coral and check him over a bit, looking for any injuries.
The Dewott chitters at them, and Keely's relieved; he doesn't look at all hurt, and from his posture they're guessing he's proud of himself. They reach to ruffle his fur, and have to stop; now that the adrenaline is wearing off, the pain in their arm is coming back in full force. They flinch from it, and Coral hurries toward them, concerned.

"Keely!"

This time the voice is not Irida's, but a younger, more masculine sound. Keely looks around the tree and sees both Lian and Irida, hurrying toward them. With another glance toward the tree's branches, they head over to meet them, Coral following suit.

"Is it over?" Irida asks. "I saw the light from Lord Kleavor return to the sky, and he didn't seem to be in his frenzy anymore when he climbed the tree... And you're hurt!"

'I'm fine,' Keely signs, shifting so their arm is less visible.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Lian asks angrily. "You both knew how dangerous it was, and I'm Lord Kleavor's faithful Warden, I should- L-Lord Kleavor!"
Keely looks around quickly, spotting Lord Kleavor some distance away, approaching them all much more calmly than he had in the throes of his frenzy. Lian rushes up to him.

"Lian, be careful, we don't-" Irida begins. But it's too late; Lian is already reaching out to the Lord of the Woods. And Kleavor, who stands at least twice as tall as Lian, leans in to the boy's touch.
Keely's heart warms.

"You're really okay," Lian chokes out.

Lord Kleavor gives a soft grumble. He leans once more against his Warden's hand before fixing his gaze, once again, on Keely.
This time, they don't tense up, and when Coral growls they place their uninjured hand on his head.

Kleavor keeps walking until they're almost touching Keely, and then carefully holds out one of his axe-hands. Confused, Keely holds out their own; is Lord Kleavor trying to shake hands?
But he doesn't shake it; the next moment, a smooth greenish object drops from Kleavor's axe into Keely's hand. It tingles where it touches their skin, and Keely can feel power in it, a power that's somehow familiar but which they can't place. Lord Kleavor's eyes dart to their satchel.

And then he opens his mouth and Keely hears a voice, low and raspy, say a single word.
"Thanks."

Keely's so shocked that they almost drop the object they've just been given. But before they can respond, Lord Kleavor nods his head once, and then he's gone, leaping back up into the heights of the tree.

Irida watches after him.
"He really is better," she says softly. "Keely. Can I see that object Lord Kleavor just gave you?"

Keely hands it to her, and she gasps.

"What is it, Irida?" Lian asks, jogging back over. "Did Lord Kleavor... oh." His eyes fall on the rectangular tablet in Irida's hands.

'What is it?' Keely echoes.

"That Lord Kleavor would present this to an outsider..." She shakes her head. "Keely. This is one of Lord Kleavor's treasures, an artifact said to be passed down from Lord to Lord since the days of Almighty Sinnoh's first blessing. It's known as the Insect Plate."

"See these engravings?" Lian adds, and Irida hands him the object. He touches his finger to some carvings Keely had felt when they'd held it, but hadn't noticed the shapes of. "That language is old, too old for us to read, but legend says it tells the story of how Almighty Sinnoh first came to this land."
He shifts the Insect Plate so Keely can see the carvings better. For a moment, they wonder if they're going to be able to read them- if that's why Arceus had needed them in this world- but the characters make no more sense to Keely than they evidently do to Lian or Irida.

"Perhaps this is Lord Kleavor's way of thanking Keely for quelling his frenzy," Irida ponders. "I suppose you'd better take it with you. We do owe you— and the Galaxy Team— a great debt for helping Lord Kleavor. Even after he injured you and your Pokemon- can I see that arm?"

Keely holds up their injured arm for Irida to see, and with their other hand, accepts the offered Insect Plate from Lian. Power tingles through the artifact, and Keely focuses on the feeling to distract them from the pain.

Irida peers at the injury, and then breathes a sigh of relief. "It looks fairly shallow. Does the Galaxy Team have a healer? It must."

Keely nods, and lets out a relieved sigh of their own. With how bad the wound looks and how much it hurts, they hadn't been sure.
They set the Insect Plate in their satchel and hold out Kadabra's Poke Ball, looking at Irida to see if she understands. Her eyes widen and she nods.

"Yes, check on your Pokemon. I saw the attack that hit her, it looked extremely strong."

Keely clicks the Ball, and Kadabra emerges in a beam of light. She's only levitating a couple of inches off the ground, and she look extremely uncomfortable— but she's conscious, and Keely is incredibly grateful.
Coral rushes up to her, and the two begin an unintelligible conversation while Keely searches in their satchel for a few Potions and withdraws them, along with the Arc-Phone.
They set the latter aside for the moment and set to work spraying the Potions on Kadabra's injuries. She squints at them with suspicion at first, but quickly relaxes as the Potions ease the worst of the pain.

"Better?" they ask with the Arc-Phone, as soon as they've finished healing her. "And Coral, are you okay?"

"Dab," Kadabra says, giving them a single nod.
Coral hops up and down before hugging Keely's leg. They chuckle, as do Lian and Irida.

"It's no wonder that Alpha got hurt," Lian says. "Lord Kleavor's a Bug-type, and probably the most awesomely powerful one in all of vast Hisui. Psychic-types like her would be extra weak."

"I'm sorry," Keely types quickly, and turns to make eye contact with Kadabra so she knows they're talking to her, too. They look down at Coral and repeat the phrase.
They hadn't had time to think about it, but that doesn't make it okay. They should've thought about Kadabra being weak to Bug-types; they hadn't known Lord Kleavor was one, but it would have been an easy guess if they had been thinking about it. And Coral... he seems perfectly fine, but it was still a dangerous situation to put him into.

"Kaa?" Kadabra says uncertainly. "Kadabra."
Coral whacks Keely gently with a paw.

"It was a good strategy, and they both seemed glad to help," Irida says. "Right?"

Coral nods immediately. Kadabra takes a few moments, staring at Keely, but eventually she too nods.

"Thank you both," Keely types. They ruffle Coral's fur, and when they reach out to pat Kadabra she twitches, but allows the contact.

"Thank you, " Irida says. "The Galaxy Team has the gratitude of the Pearl Clan for what you've done here today. You know... I wasn't sure, before. But that light that was surrounding Lord Kleavor was the same as the lightning that emerged from the rift in the sky. And now that it's gone, he's been freed from his frenzy... I think this means the rift must be connected to what happened after all."

Lian looks sharply at Keely. "But you fell from that rift! Does this mean you're connected to my lord's frenzy too?"

Keely shakes their head quickly. Irida places a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Calm yourself, Lian. Keely may have fallen from the rift in the sky, but... I don't think they caused Lord Kleavor's frenzy. I think it may have been the false Almighty Sinnoh, the one the Diamond Clan reveres." She looks at Keely. "I may be foolish, but I don't think this person would put themself in so much danger just to solve a problem they caused themself"

"I don't know what caused Lord Kleavor's frenzy. I don't think it was the Diamond Clan. But I'm supposed to help mend that rift. If there's a connection, I'll try and find out what it is." Keely nods at both Irida and Lian, and holds out the Arc-Phone. Helpfully, the words "Mend the rift" flash across its screen.

"Hmm," Lian says. "...Okay, you've got a point. I'm sorry. I've just been really worried about Lord Kleavor."

"We all have," Irida agrees. "Keely, I think you should head back to your village and get your arm looked at. I'm sorry I can't do more, but your healer should be able to help with it."

Keely nods.

"Thank you both for the help. All four of you."

They hold up their two Poke Balls, and both Coral and Kadabra recall themselves.

"Thank you, too," Lian says. "...Though to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Lord Kleavor like that again sometime. He was fearsomely powerful, after all!"

Keely had walked straight from Fieldlands Camp to the Heartwood to meet Lord Kleavor, with no stops in between. The return journey, they realize fairly soon after setting out, is not going to be so easy.
For one thing, there are far more Pokemon out and about— or at least it feels that way to Keely. Certainly they get into several more battles than they had earlier that morning, although none of them are particularly dangerous to either Keely's teammates or Keely themself. The territorial Alpha Bibarel even more or less ignores them as they pass over her bridge, only darting at them once and letting them pass with a small growl.
No, the larger issue is Keely's arm.
Irida had said it looked like a shallow cut, and Keely believes her. But shallow or not, it's difficult to make the journey when every step jars their arm painfully. As soon as they're far enough away, Keely tries spraying a Potion on the injury, and while it does help numb the area and soothe the ache, it doesn't seem to do more than that, and the numbing effect wears off after an hour or so.
(They don't even try to heal it on their own. Deena had seemed certain they would be able to use their Life powers to heal as she could, and they have managed to somewhat get the hang of using them to restore wilting plants, but never themself. They aren't sure if it's not possible or simply takes more practice than they've had time to do; either way, they aren't going to risk messing up and making it worse.)
Still, they manage, mostly by taking the easiest paths they can find. It takes far longer, especially going around the rocky hills they normally just climb, but after a few hours they reach Heights Camp. They're looking forward to the rest, and they're hoping to run into Lord Wyrdeer if he's around.

Even with that hope, they're surprised to find that, once again, Mai is waiting for them, Munchlax waving as they approach.

"Welcome back," she says. "Your arm... but you are here. Did you manage to quell Kleavor's frenzy?"
Vic of the Security Corps leans in to listen, and Keely grins as they retrieve the Arc-Phone.

"He's better now, yes," they say.

"Wonderful!" Mai smiles. "I think Lord Wyrdeer knew, you know. He asked me to wait for you here, and to lead you up to his seat. But perhaps he would come down, seeing you're injured. Would you like me to ask?"

Keely looks up at the high but gentle slope of the trail to Lord Wyrdeer's home, and shakes their head. This may be important; they can rest when they reach the top.
"It's okay, I can make it," they tell Mai. "Vic, can you take care of Coral and Kadabra while I'm gone?"

"Very well," Mai nods.

Vic looks slightly sheepish at being addressed, but he too nods, and Keely gratefully hands over their Poke Balls before following Mai up the hill.

Lord Wyrdeer is indeed waiting at the top of the hill, and once again, Keely greets him with a small bow. He nods in acknowledgement.
Then he looks at Mai, and judging by the way she meets his eyes and smiles, Keely is sure the two are having some sort of silent conversation. They take a few deep breaths while waiting for them to finish, but it doesn't take them long— less than a minute later, Lord Wyrdeer is stepping toward Keely, and they turn their attention to him.

He reaches his snout into the ruff of fur around his neck, and when he emerges, he's holding a familiar-looking object— identical to the Insect Plate but for its colour, a sharp reddish pink. He gestures with a hoof, so Keely holds out their uninjured hand.
Lord Wyrdeer drops the object into it.
Once again, they feel the bumps and lines of writing and the tingle of power, and once again, Keely isn't quite able to comprehend either.

"Lord Wyrdeer is grateful for your helping Lord Kleavor. He wishes you to take this, the Mind Plate." Mai pauses. "And also to give you another ride back to Jubilife Village whenever you are ready to return."

Thank you, Keely sends to Lord Wyrdeer. They set the Mind Plate carefully into their satchel and pull out the Arc-Phone to thank both him and Mai.

Mai smiles her mysterious smile again. "I will thank you, as well. You seem to have made quite an impression on Lord Wyrdeer. And quelling Kleavor's frenzy... that was clearly not an easy task." Her eyes linger on Keely's arm.

"I wasn't careful enough. It will be okay," they tell her, and hope once again that it's true.

"Time heals many wounds," she agrees. "...But perhaps you would do well to get that one taken care of sooner, rather than later." Wyrdeer snorts in agreement, and Keely smiles.

"I'll ask Pesselle as soon as I get back," they promise.

"Good," Mai nods.

She and Lord Wyrdeer follow Keely back down to the Heights Camp, and wait while Vic gives Keely their Poke Balls back and announces that both Kadabra and Coral are perfectly healthy now. They even wait patiently while Keely lets both of their partners out to check on them themself— so focused on their teammates that they don't notice Mai smiling at them. Once that's done, Mai and Lord Wyrdeer sit with Keely while they eat a late makeshift lunch of foods they and Coral had foraged. It's a little awkward at first— Vic keeps giving Lord Wyrdeer nervous glances— but Keely shares their food, and by the end of it the quiet between them, Mai, Munchlax and Wyrdeer feels more companionable. The pain in Keely's arm feels a bit less severe, too, and Keely isn't sure if they're naturally healing or if it's just the rest doing them some good. Regardless, when they thank Vic and Mai and tell them that they're ready to return to Jubilife Village, they also tell Lord Wyrdeer that they're fairly sure they can make it back on their own with little problem.

Lord Wyrdeer responds by nudging Keely's back again, which makes Mai laugh.

"It would seem he isn't taking no for an answer," she says. Lord Wyrdeer snorts softly.

"Well, thank you," they say again. They set the Arc-Phone back in their satchel, and carefully arrange themself on the Pokemon's back.

*****

Keely waits until they've reached the bottom of Deertrack Heights before sending to Lord Wyrdeer, Thank you again. I know you can hear me, by the way.

Lord Wyrdeer slows down and turns to look at Keely, and for a moment they wonder if they shouldn't have said that.
But then he laughs.

"What gave me away?" he asks, and Keely grins.

Lord Kleavor thanked me when he gave me his own Plate, Keely explains. And then you gave me yours. But you gave yourself away just now, when you answered me.

Lord Wyrdeer chuckles again, picking back up to a trot. "That old spoilsport. I wanted to see how long it would take you to realize."

Why? Keely asks, and oh , it feels nice to talk this way again.

"Just a game I had with myself," the Pokemon says. "I apologize for not responding before."

Before? Then... You could hear me before I had your Plate?

Of course, Lord Wyrdeer says, surprising Keely slightly by speaking inside their mind. That wasn't why I gave it to you. Nor Kleavor, I'm sure. It simply felt like the right thing to do, to pass it to one chosen by Almighty Sinnoh.

Keely feels the question surge in their mind, and they pass it along. Who is Almighty Sinnoh?

They come to the wooden bridge, and Lord Wyrdeer slows again. ...I admit, I had hoped you could tell us that, and stop this fighting. He sighs. Nobles of both Clans are descended from those blessed by Almighty Sinnoh. We all have that power. And yet... how can it be that the Almighty Sinnoh of time and the Pearl Clan's Almighty Sinnoh could coexist? One of them has to be true, and the other false. But which? If Kleavor recognized Almighty Sinnoh's power, and so did I... Could you have met them both?

Keely frowns. I only met one being inside the rift. But he didn't call himself Almighty Sinnoh. He used a different name. It was... T hey wait, almost expecting something to stop them. But there's no sound from the Arc-Phone, and they feel no brush of divine power against their mind. So they continue. He called himself Arceus.

Lord Wyrdeer tilts his head. I don't recognize that name. But whoever sent you here was Almighty Sinnoh. I can sense his power on the object you use to speak.

He called it the Arc-Phone, Keely says.

It's a little while before Lord Wyrdeer speaks up again.
May I ask a question of my own? he asks eventually, and Keely can feel both apprehension and curiosity in his request.

Go ahead.

I said I could sense Almighty Sinnoh's power on your Arc-Phone. But it isn't the only thing I sense. The more we travel, the more sure I am. There's power on you , too, one I don't recognize. Do you know what that is?

Keely pauses, anxiety rolling through them.
I think I know what you're sensing, but... I'm not sure if I should say. I don't want to ask you to keep secrets from Mai or Adaman. And I would need to ask you that if I told you.

Lord Wyrdeer shakes his head. I trust them completely. Why are you afraid?

Painful memories flicker through their mind ; they manage to hold the images back from Lord Wyrdeer, but they're certain that he feels the emotions that came with them, fear and hurt and anger. It's... something from my own world. And people finding out about it hasn't gone well in the past.

Mai and Adaman are not ordinary people, Lord Wyrdeer assures them. I won't force you to tell me, but... I think you should. If only so I need not fear that it's the false Almighty Sinnoh.

Oh. Keely hadn't considered that, but the concern makes sense.
...Would you believe me if I promised it wasn't? they ask. I don't know who the false Almighty Sinnoh is, but what you're sensing... isn't that. I know that for a fact.

Wyrdeer is quiet for a few moments.
I don't think you're lying, he says. I can tell you're being honest. But how can you be certain whoever it is hasn't fooled you?

Keely takes a deep breath. They think about it. Would it really be so terrible if Mai or Adaman were to find out about them? The Clans don't seem to be as afraid of Pokemon as the people of Jubilife. Maybe it would be okay.
But...
They don't know Mai or Adaman. Not really. If they reacted badly... Keely doesn't know what would happen. But if they've got to mend the rift in the sky before they'll be returned home, they can't risk anything interfering with that.

I'm certain. You would just have to trust me.

Lord Wyrdeer sighs.
I don't understand why you're so afraid if you have nothing to hide. But at the same time... You have been kind. And whatever else you may have encountered, the true Almighty Sinnoh has chosen you. He turns his head so one eye is looking at Keely. For now, I'll trust you.

Keely's heart floods with relief.
Thank you, they say.

They don't get to say much else before Lord Wyrdeer spots the Fieldlands Camp and slows to a trot, then a walk, and finally stops entirely to let Keely slide off his back while Stephan comes to meet them. He waits some distance away, and it takes Keely a few seconds to realize he's nervous of Lord Wyrdeer.

Lord Wyrdeer evidently realizes it too, because he gives a soft snort. "Okay. Get that arm looked at right away."

I will, Keely nods. Thanks for the ride. And thanks for trusting me.

Keep helping the people of Hisui, then. And play that flute Adaman gave you any time you like. It's nice for me to get out and see Hisui.
He flicks an ear, turns, and bounds away.

Once he's gone, Keely heads toward the camp, and Stephan approaches them, shaking his head. "I'll never understand how you're so calm around Pokemon. That thing could kill you, you know."

Keely pulls out the Arc-Phone and begins typing, but as they do, Stephan catches sight of their arm.
"That's... That doesn't look good," he says. "There isn't much I can do about it at the moment, but let's get you to Pesselle, all right? How'd you manage with that mission of yours, anyway? Ress mentioned it this morning."

Keely nods, and adds more to what they'd been typing. "Lord Wyrdeer is used to humans, he won't hurt you. And it went okay. Lord Kleavor has settled down now."

"Good," Stephan says with feeling, and Keely's not sure which point he's talking about.

It isn't a long walk from Fieldlands Camp to Jubilife Village, nor a very difficult one, and Keely's glad about that. Between their sore arm, the early morning, and the journeys to and from the Heartwood, Keely is tired , and they hope it won't take too long to explain the situation with Lord Kleavor to the Professor and Commander Kamado so that they can get some rest. They have hope it won't; surely, with their injury, they'll be sent to Pesselle and give a brief explanation before being sent to bed. It's what would happen on a Guild mission, at least; they hold onto hope that it will be much the same here.

*****

By the time Keely makes it back to their quarters more than three hours later, they're exhausted, but in a good mood.

Things had started out almost the way Keely had expected, when they first reached Jubilife. True, they hadn't expected Volo or Akari to be waiting for them, but once they'd seen the pair they had known they would ask for a detailed account of the day's events, and they'd pulled out the Arc-Phone in anticipation. They'd told them everything they could remember, though they left out their conversations with the two Noble Pokemon, and seeing the interest on the pair's faces had been worth the delay. Volo's excitement over the Plates in particular had made Keely grin, and they were fascinated to learn that Volo could read the ancient language inscribed upon the tablets.
But then Akari had said Keely had better get to Commander Kamado, and things had gotten somewhat back on track. He had commended their work, and declared that Keely's training with Captain Zisu would begin as soon as their arm was healed. Then he had sent them to check in with Professor Laventon and Captain Cyllene, with instructions to go straight to Pesselle afterwards.
The Professor, much as Keely had expected, wanted to hear about Lord Kleavor as well, so Keely had relayed the story for the third time. He'd been nearly as excited as Volo had, and even Captain Cyllene had seemed impressed— as much as Keely could tell, at least. At the very least, she had promoted them to a three-star member of the Survey Corps, which Keely hadn't been expecting.
They'd been allowed to go see Pesselle, then, but that had been an ordeal. She had taken a while to get to Keely, still working on checking over the injured Security Corps members who had returned from patrol duty with Zisu. When she did examine Keely, however, she was furious. Furious at them for not being more careful, and even more furious that they hadn't left Lord Kleavor alone as soon as he had struck them that way.
She told Keely off the entire time she was cleaning the wound, applying a salve to it— which helped immensely— and bandaging it, and she finished by saying that they had better be more careful in the future.
(Keely had decided not to tell her about their ordered training with Captain Zisu.)
After that, Keely had had every intention of heading to sleep, but Rei, Akari and Professor Laventon had been waiting outside the infirmary. They'd all congratulated Keely on their promotion, and wanted to have an early dinner together. Keely hadn't had the heart to tell them they had eaten not long before that with Mai, and they were somewhat hungry, so they'd gone along. And they were glad they had; it was a happy evening, and although Beni seemed skeptical that Lord Kleavor was truly calmed, he did thank Keely for at least trying.
And then, finally, the Professor had decided that the day's activities had been enough and that Keely should get some rest.

It's barely beginning to get dark when Keely closes the door to their quarters, but they don't particularly care. They aren't sure what time they had left that morning, but they know it had been very early. And after everything... they think they deserve an early night.
They untie their satchel from their waist and set it on the little table next to their water jug, and reach inside for the Arc-Phone. As they do, their hand brushes one of the Plates, and the soft tingle of power momentarily distracts them.
They withdraw both of them and place them side by side, pink and pale green in contrast.
They had been given these artifacts because both Kleavor and Wyrdeer had sensed the power of "Almighty Sinnoh" in the Arc-Phone— but "Almighty Sinnoh" was apparently two different beings, and Keely had met neither of them in the golden void with Arceus. They can't make sense of it. 
They grasp the Arc-Phone and send, as hard as they can, Who is Almighty Sinnoh really?
There's no reply, but Keely hadn't exactly expected one. Apart from reminding them to mend the rift, Arceus has never spoken to them through the device.

They wait a few more seconds, but nothing happens, so they place the two Plates back in their satchel and carry the Arc-Phone over to the part of the room where the ceiling is higher. There's one more thing they have to do before they can sleep.
So they activate the Poke Ball not marked in blue, and step back. 

 Kadabra emerges, looking around the room in confusion before settling her eyes on Keely.

"Are you still doing okay?" they type.

Kadabra nods, still looking confused.

Keely smiles. "Good. I actually wanted to ask you something else, too. How would you feel about a nickname?"

Kadabra glares at Keely- and then stops. Her expression shifts to thoughtful for a moment, and then she looks back at Keely before shrugging. "Kada." 

Keely types quickly, and Kadabra yawns while she waits for them to finish. After nearly a minute, the Arc-Phone begins to read out what had been typed in. 
"Back home, there's a show called Paragons of Golden Justice, and there's someone on the show that reminds me of you. Her name is Jana Temir, and she's the Copper Ranger- that's a hero who protects people from dangerous monsters and bad people. She's kind of prickly sometimes, because she knows what she wants but she doesn't always know how to express herself. But she's a good person, and she always protects her friends. I was thinking about it before, but I didn't have a chance to bring it up. I was wondering what you'd think of being nicknamed Jana."
They watch somewhat nervously as the device reads it out. Kadabra isn't an easy Pokemon to read, but she's clearly paying attention, and she doesn't look upset. Keely takes that as a good sign.

"But only if you like it," they add, after Kadabra has heard what they'd said.

Kadabra tilts her head. She's silent for a long time, and Keely has no idea what she's thinking.
But then, eventually, she shrugs again, and nods.
"Dabra," she tells them.

"It's okay?" they ask.

Another nod. "Kada kadabra dab."

Keely grins.
"Okay then, Jana it is."
As the Arc-Phone is reading that off, Keely yawns, and Kadabra- Jana - catches it. She gives Keely a sharp look, almost a glare, and Keely laughs. 

"Yeah, we should all sleep. It's been a big day. Thank you both for your help today." They smile at Jana, and then at Coral's Poke Ball, and the latter surprises Keely by glowing and sending out its occupant. Coral chitters softly at Jana, and then at Keely.

"Dew!" He gently places a paw on Keely's bandaged arm and looks up at them.

"It's better now," they type, and then pet the little Pokemon.
He sticks out a paw, apparently again trying for a thumbs-up. Jana makes a tiny sound Keely doesn't recognize before scoffing, and returning to her Poke Ball.
Keely taps their own hand against the Dewott's paw.

"Goodnight, Coral," they tell him. "And goodnight, Jana."
The occupied Poke Ball wiggles just slightly. Coral presses his head against Keely's hand once more before recalling himself.

Keely smiles and yawns again. Okay, now they really have no excuse not to go to sleep.
Hoping that tomorrow will be an easier day with the Survey Corps, they set the Arc-Phone down next to their Poke Balls, and climb under their futon, setting their sort arm on top of it.
They only have enough time to hope they aren't "transform in their sleep" levels of exhausted before they drift off into dreams.

Chapter Text

Mirelands Camp is peaceful when Volo stops by. It's just past dusk, and the distant calls of wild Pokemon are making their way across the Crimson Mirelands, reaching the two resting members of the Survey Corps as a soft and pleasant jumble of sound. 
Ayako is the one to spot Volo first, calling out a greeting and making Rei and Keely look away from the campfire to wave to him as well.

"Hello, Ayako! And well met, my young friends!" Volo smiles at the two members of the Survey Corps. "Mind if I join you for a while?"

Rei nods, and he and Keely move down the log they're sitting on so Volo can sit as well.

"Much obliged. I'll confess, I didn't expect to see you back out here so soon after Lord Ursaluna's false frenzy. It seems to me you had all earned a break!"

Keely laughs, and Rei grins as well. It had hardly been strenuous.
"Actually, we were going to be working out of the village today, but Ress reported a mass outbreak of Togepi nearby, so we came to investigate. And catch a few for the Professor."

Volo's expression brightens immediately. "Togepi! And an entire outbreak? Normally they're quite rare, you know. And shy! Did you have trouble catching them?"

Rei shakes his head. "Not really. Most of them ran away from us, but not all of them. I think they were curious."

Keely holds up the Arc-Phone. "Rei had two of them following him for a while." They grin again as it reads their message off. "And I made a friend!"

"Oh?" Volo asks.

Keely looks over at Ayako.
They and Stephan over in the Obsidian Fieldlands have more or less gotten used to each other, and they know he's not as afraid of Pokemon as he used to be. But they've only known Ayako for less than a week, and they're afraid of making a bad impression on her.
"Do you mind if I introduce Charm to Volo?" they ask.

Ayako glances over. "That's the little one, right?" At Keely's nod, she shrugs. "Just don't let him run around the camp."

"Thanks."

Volo raises his only visible eyebrow. "Well, she said 'him' so I'm going to assume you haven't gone and made friends with that bandit leader."

Rei and Keely both laugh, and Keely sets down the Arc-Phone beside them and picks up a Poke Ball instead.
There's a brief beam of light, and then a small being that still somewhat reminds Keely of a Taipluff materializes. Keely scoops him up in both hands.

Volo peers at him, smiling as the little Togepi spots him and waves.
"They really are adorable, hm? This little one seems fairly outgoing, too. More social than most."

Keely nods, petting their new friend on top of his head. He coos happily.

"He came right up to us," Rei says. "Him and a few others, but he was the only one who wasn't skittish at all. Keely sat on the ground, and he went right over to them."

Keely grins, unable to respond with their hands full of Togepi. They're fairly sure little Charm had been more interested in their pants at first- the geometric pattern on the deep pink fabric must have reminded him of the patterns on his eggshell- but he hadn't minded when Keely held out their hand to him, instead carefully waddling closer and sniffing it. And after a while, when they'd used the Arc-Phone to ask if he wanted to come with them, he had only jumped slightly at the sudden sound. He'd been interested in the words, though, and when Keely had brought out a Poke Ball he had stayed still and let them capture him in it.

"So you charm not only Nobles, but regular Pokemon as well," Volo muses. "Both of you, it sounds like!"

"Not me. I've taken a lot of attacks from them," Rei says, sounding a bit sheepish. "Keely definitely does, though."

This is so unfair an assessment that Keely pets Charm once more on the head, recalls him, and reaches for the Arc-Phone to retort.
"The Alpha Rapidash? Jana? Lord Kleavor?" They fix Rei with a disbelieving look, and he laughs.

"Okay, but you have to admit you've got a way with them. Look how you figured out Ursaluna wasn't really frenzied! And look how Charm is with you already."

"Charm's just cuddly," Keely says, face red in the firelight. "How about you, Volo? How did you and Togepi meet?
Rei seems interested, too, and Keely breathes a sigh of relief. They don't think they're especially good with Pokemon, really- they just aren't as afraid of them as everyone else here seems to be. And they don't think they can take any credit for what had happened with Lord Ursaluna, either.

Volo shakes his head, seeming amused.
"Me and Togepi, hm? Well, it was a little over a year ago now. I had come upon him in- have either of you yet explored the Cobalt Coastlands?"

Keely shakes their head, and on a whim, calls Charm back out of his Poke Ball to hear the story too.

"No, but Akari's been trying to convince the Professor to expand our research out that way," Rei says.

Volo smiles. "It's not the safest place, although it would surprise me if the Survey Corps was unable to handle it," he says. "Here's a piece of information to start you off- Togepi aren't native to that area. And yet here this little one was. And he was injured-- I don't know how it happened, or if it was the same way he ended up so far from home. But he wouldn't let me get close enough to treat his wounds."

"So what did you do?" Rei asks.

"I waited," Volo tells him. "Sitting very still, trying to coax him out of hiding. I had help-- a friend of mine who's very good with Pokemon-- but it still took nearly two full days before he would come close enough to let me touch him. And it was a few hours more before he would let me spray a Potion on his injuries and capture him in a Poke Ball. I needed to capture him to get him back home," he explains.

"Poor Togepi," Rei says, summing up everything Keely's feeling at the moment.

"Yes, indeed! Fortunately, by the time I got back to the Guild, he was doing better. Still shy, of course, but he seemed to have grown attached to me, at least. It was enough for Ginter-- he's the leader of the Ginkgo Guild-- to... suggest that I keep him with me, for both of our safety. Apparently I had worried him somewhat by not returning to the Guild while I waited for Togepi to grow comfortable enough to let me help him," Volo admits. "And Togepi had been alone when I found him. So he suggested it would be to both of our benefit to stay together, and Togepi seemed to like the idea." He smiles, pulling out his Poke Ball.

Keely can't help smiling, too.

"And you've had him ever since?" Rei asks.

"We haven't been apart, no. Togepi is one of my dearest companions. I hope you and little Charm there will be similarly inseparable." He smiles. "...Particularly because he seems... a little small, even for a Togepi."

Keely's stomach twists just a little. They haven't had the chance yet to explain to Charm that they won't be staying in this world forever, and hopefully not even for very long. They'd forgotten to mention it before inviting him to travel with them, and by the time they'd remembered he had already been nestled comfortably into a Poke Ball. 
But right now, with Rei and Volo, doesn't feel like the right time to bring it up. So they try to ignore the twinge for now, holding the smile on their face. Charm, though, stops cuddling them and looks up with concern. He peeps softly.
They send him a silent apology.

"Aww," Rei says, grinning at the display.

"Small or not, he is a cute little one, isn't he?" Volo asks.

A real smile. They nod quickly, rolling Charm's Poke Ball in their hand.

Volo yawns, a long and exaggerated thing that makes Rei chuckle and Keely give a tiny yawn of their own.
"Well, I had best be off. Thank you all for the fire, and the introduction. I look forward to introducing little Charm to my own Togepi soon- perhaps in battle?" He gives Keely a hopeful smile. "Regardless, do have a pleasant evening. And remember- think of Volo of the Ginkgo Guild for all your mercantile needs!"

"Night, Volo," Rei waves. Keely stops playing with the Poke Ball long enough to give the merchant a wave of their own.

"Take care out there," Ayako says, smiling. "We'll be heading back to Jubilife in the morning, but the Mirelands Camp will always be open to you."

Volo nods deeply. "And you have my thanks for that. Safe travels!"


He doesn't quite melt into the dusk- that would be difficult, with how bright his hair and uniform are. But he makes his way away from camp quickly and quietly, and it isn't long before Keely loses track of which direction he was heading.