Chapter Text
It was one thing to travel across Kalos on a journey to achieve your goal, and quite another to have such a journey with a passenger for the ride.
For example, shopping.
Alain, hardened Mega Evolution user with the goal to climb to the top with his trusty Charizard by his side, was stuck waiting for his companion outside one of the shopping malls populating this particular city. A companion that he never asked for, yet got all the same. And he may have despised every single living second within this building, as one wont to do.
Sighing, he looked down at the face of his Holokit, noting the time. He got his new assignment a few hours ago. The Director will be expecting results soon or otherwise Alain should expect a call. He pushed the device deep in his pockets before walking into the building, levelling glares at anyone who stared at him and warding off any potential approaches. Just a quick in-and-out, a retrieval, nothing more.
There was no reason why he was avoiding stores, not a chance.
He finally spied that familiar… well, hairstyle was overdoing it— head of the one person he was looking for and quickly made a beeline towards them. He cleared his throat in preparation as to what he was about to say, before stopping in front of her and letting out those precious words. “Are you done yet?”
The Chespin by the girl’s side stiffened up, his quills sharpening as a small squeak came out of his throat, before noticing who spoke and calming down. Tugging on her pant leg, the Grass-Type’s Trainer finally turned around and huffed. “Alain! When did you get in here?”
He gave her a flat look. She laughed without reason, just like always, and shoved a box of crayons in his hands with a long-winded ramble about textures and colouring. Surprised, he held onto the spontaneous gift as the girl skipped away with her Starter following suit, scanning for her next pricy item, and he found his gaze falling to the small drawing she made on the sample paper left out for trialling pens.
Even after everything— after nothing, in fact, she still held that stubborn notion of their teamwork. Alain pulled out one of the markers nearby and held it over the picture of a green-and-yellow stick figure with red hair and a large smile alongside a blue stick figure with a pout, an orange dragon and a small green hedgehog beside them.
“Alain! Hey! Since you’re here, do you think this one or this one is best?”
There was that twisting feeling again, of emotions both foreign and familiar curdling and tasting bitter instead of sweet. He cannot afford weakness. This place, full of colour and creativity and homeliness was not for him. It couldn’t contain him. Why was he even here in the first place? “Just grab whatever and move out. It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter! Just come over here already and help break the tie, why don’tcha!”
He let out a breath before letting the black ink blot them out of view.
It doesn’t matter.
It will never matter.
It’s been only a few days and Mairin has been a handful, in the worst of ways.
If past Alain would’ve known… he probably would’ve made the same choices regardless. But it would be entirely his onus, and he would know what to expect in any case. This current version of him has been left bamboozled at every turn of decision this one beginner has made, from Pokémon care (and self-care) to having any sort of aspirations that were separate to him, and no matter how he tried he could not make neither heads nor tails of them. He couldn’t shake them out of her either. Or sever whatever was connecting them at this point in time.
It was frustrating. It was infuriating. It was also, somewhat, still his onus.
He watched as she continued to stuff the pack of felt-tip markers into her bag, her chin battling against the zipline as she tried to zip over it. “Just… a little bit more…” Her Chespin chirped in support as she wrestled with the zipper, the bag blocking most of her view as she continued to stumble on forward.
Maybe it was best to see this play out. He couldn’t always look after her, and with matters as simple as closing a bag?
“Ow!”
…She was hopeless, wasn’t she? Alain stopped his pace and turned around, intently watching her pick herself up from the ground she fell upon. “Are you alright?”
Mairin shook her head before looking up and overcorrecting that with a very enthusiastic nod, jumping to her feet instantly and wiping her hands on the sides of her shirt. “Of course I’m alright, that fall was nothing!” She turned to Chespie as she added, “We had way worse, yeah?”
The (presumably ever-suffering) Grass-Type pointed at himself and shook his head before pointing to her and then the ground. She laughed a little too loudly in response and stood in front of her Starter, waving her hands in front of her. “It’s nothing, really! Chespie’s just worrying as alw—”
“Your hands.” He stared at the rawness of her palms and finger pads— the fragileness of her skin must be caused by this sort of careless action repeated over a long period of time. His gaze snapped up to meet her own, and he felt his eyes narrow. “They’re chafed. Why didn’t you buy cream? Or gloves?”
“...It always itches,” she murmured, pulling her hands down and kicking at the ground with her foot. “And they never help.”
She didn’t further elaborate. For once, he would welcome an elaboration. “If you can’t keep yourself from the ground, then getting some padding would help. You don’t want your knees to be unable to support you in two years.”
Mairin rolled her eyes as she walked over to where he was and then made an exaggerated pose, putting hands on hips and leaning her head back until she was facing him. “Hmm, and yet I recall someone rushing me out of the mall earlier. Who would’ve thought you cared?”
“You said your goal was getting stronger. I’m just reminding you of where you currently stand.” Alain went to move forward, at least to put some distance. She still followed, because that’s just the nature of their travels now. His fault for encouraging it. His responsibility now, he presumed. “Even ignoring travel, it will be harder to use and grip Pokéballs. ID scans will also be difficult. Your hands have the highest proportion of representation in your somatosensory cortex as well. Good self-care pertains to whole body and mind approaches, not just what has been newly injured.”
“It’s not that bad,” she called out, trying to meet his gaze. He made sure to focus on the path ahead, and found himself drifting at times around potholes and other obstacles, almost steering her at the same time. It was a small mercy that she didn’t try to follow up her whining about the mall incident. “This happens all the time. That doesn’t even scratch, like, top fifty percent of trips-and-falls ever.” Mairin noticed his focus and pouted immediately. “You’re not even listening, are you?!” she cried afterwards, folding her arms and stomping instead of walking.
It was a astute enough observation. Alain eyed her half-open bag and grabbed the zipper, deftly snapping it closed before facing forward once more. His companion gaped at him and her Pokémon followed suit, and there was a rare moment of silence if anything.
Then, “Thanks, I guess.”
The woods stretched on and on. “You’re welcome. Now, follow my lead.”
The problem when it came to travelling was that there was always that chance of picking up something new.
Alain had first started out this particular journey on a quest to find the source of Mega Evolution. Needless to say, he was naive back then. With no strength, no information, and no hope, he was lucky to have been found by the Director at the time that they met. No amount of training on the road on his own would’ve been sufficient for the task that he set out to do.
To get information, one had to be strong enough to defend it. Wisdom was everything, but so was strength, and it was the combination of both alongside resources that made the world turn. Alain had seen the lengths of which people will go to hoard their own truths. The Director hadn’t tried to shield him from that ugliness either once he went with him as his ward. And in a way, Alain can appreciate it.
It made it easier to spot danger. To fight back against it, to break it before it broke the ones that he loved. This conviction burned deeply even outside the throes of battle, where he found himself scoping out potential sites to either gather materials or power, wherever it hid, and being strong meant being able to do this on his own.
He glanced at the bracelet over his wrist as they kept up their meandering pace, watching the sun catch onto the hues within the embedded stone. A Key Stone, for the Trainer to hold. Charizard had the corresponding Mega Stone, a Charizardite, and both of them were a gift from the Director. A man with lofty goals of peace, helping to carry those underneath him to attain greater heights. Without him… Alain didn’t know where he would be.
He owed so much to his benefactor, that was true. And someday, he’ll be able to repay that debt and return home with renewed purpose, having grown stronger all the while.
And then everything will be better.
It has to be.
“...lain! Didn’t you hear me?!” Alain paused his gait as Mairin ran over to him, exaggeratedly bending over with her hands gripping her knees. Her chafed hands. He needed to buy some lotion some day. Something that was friendly on her skin. “You…” She sucked in a long breath before jabbing a finger at him, glaring resolutely. “You said you were going to get a Mega Stone today.”
“I did not say that.” Chespie went to stand between them as he chirped, presumably the same question, and he glared down at the Starter. To his shock the Grass-Type stuck out his tongue while standing his ground. Sighing, he looked up at the newbie Trainer and crossed his arms. “What I did say was for you to stop asking me questions.”
“Even if they are important ones?” she needled, raising an eyebrow.
Her definition of important was laughable. Still, he indulged her, if only to get this train of thought to stop. “If it’s about Mega Stones—”
“No— Well, yes, it’s just…” Mairin straightened herself up and started to walk forward, a slow meandering pace. He found himself following, if only to finally make distance once more. Sending a look back to him, she chewed her lip before saying, “What is Mega Evolution, anyways?”
Alain resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Didn’t I already tell you before?”
She shook her head in a sincere movement, which… sort of floored him. The fact that she was able to be sincere, not the fact that he had forgotten to explain (no wonder she thought it was all fun and games). “If you mean telling me that it ‘evolved’ or something… But there has to be more than that, right? Does the Stone make it all colourful and that?”
The Mega Bracelet felt heavy over his wrist, a constant reminder of what Mega Evolution meant to him. Sucking in a deep breath, Alain fixed her with a serious look. “Evolution beyond evolution. A change in Abilities, shape, and power, where it can only be achieved by two stones held by both Trainer and Pokémon.”
“…That’s it?”
Alain stared at her with his mouth agape. “That’s it?” He could swear he heard his voice crack over those words.
Mairin flashed him a cheeky look before turning to Chespie, whispering something to him before running forward. And somehow, beyond all reasonable belief, she was a really fast runner when she wanted to be.
It took a few meters to catch up to her though, sprayed across the ground with her cap draped over Chespie’s head.
“That’s it?” he repeated, this time schooling his voice to be low and devoid of all emotion as he stood above her, shadow wide and taking over her form. Mairin sighed, face down on the well-trodded road, grumbling something unintelligible.
At the best of times, she was… confusing. Raking out reactions from him with words that slip so easily from her mouth, no consideration or thought behind it. Because she wanted to know. Because she was careless.
The results were clear to see in any case, though. An attempt that clearly failed at producing those desired results.
“Get up. You’re wasting time like this.”
“Grumpy pants.”
The next location, a temple, held a clue for the location of a Mega Stone nearby. As Alain checked through the building, letting his Mega Bracelet light the way forward, he could hear a scribble of a pen on paper constantly nearby.
He didn’t say anything to that. Maybe he should’ve. He will never know, when it comes to her.
And yet, the question remained.
Sitting down in a private room in a Pokémon Centre for a small break, Alain chewed over the question as Mairin brought out her notebook. One that she recently bought, pages fresh and crinkling underneath her reckless flipping and positioning, the cover a bright teal. He tried to bury his interest in it. What she wrote wasn’t his business, after all.
…There were markers of all colours beside her. Black, blue, and red were most prominent, although green was rolling off the table. Alain reflexively grabbed it and placed it between them, his other hand fiddling with the Holokit facedown on the table.
A call should be coming soon. He hadn’t retrieved as many Mega Stones this week, and the reason was right in front of him. And yet, he couldn’t shake her off. Didn’t really want to, no matter how stupid that idea was. “What are you doing?” And instinct won out against common sense once more.
Mairin looked up, her elbow over the adjacent page. “I’m recording our adventures!”
“What?”
She rolled her eyes as she pulled out the lid with her teeth, both hands already holding markers. Switching the drawing utensils between hands so that her left was free for drawing with the one that she just opened, she then shrugged. “The point of being a Pokémon Trainer is having a good adventure, right? And it’s not like anyone knows much about Mega Evolution. You sure don’t. So I thought I could fill my adventure log with research so that we don’t forget.” Before he could interject Mairin then added, “It was an Absol you battled before, wasn’t it?”
Alain was ready to refute everything she was doing, stop her from writing down what he was doing, keep track of him in his weakest moments but… her earnestness was his undoing. Sighing, he let his body relax a little after stiffening up at her words, looking down on the page— a messy drawing of an Absol with a long fringe down one side of its head and a large horn peeking out from the other side before a hand blocked the rest of the view. Turning to look at her buttering grin, as he mentally called it, the young man said, "Back when we first met. Or before we met, to be exact.”
Mairin flapped a hand out dismissively and lost a marker, the sky-blue rolling away from both of their reaches. Obviously she didn’t mind though, laughing while reasoning with, “Yeah! I guess you’re right. But I still want to have that in the book.”
He eyed the marker escapee. “If that’s what you want.”
A proud huff answered him. “Glad to see you seeing things my way.”
He grappled with that roiling discontentment inside of him. Slipping the Holokit away, Alain continued to watch her draw. Unbiddened, he said, “There was another smaller horn on the other—” and then he stopped himself.
What was he supposed to be doing again? Mairin made a bright sound as she pulled out the navy blue marker, presumably adjusting the body of the Mega Absol as he said. As he shouldn’t have said. Why was he entertaining this nonsense again? “Do you have something better to do?”
“I dunno. Is Nurse Joy done yet?”
This girl was a sneaky little— Alain schooled himself into nonchalance once more. “There was no need for you to put your Pokémon in with mines.”
“And why not?”
“Because you weren’t in any battles.” She couldn’t do any battles if she tried, but he wouldn’t give her more ammunition. One thing he’s learnt about her was that she could very easily argue for the most mundane of things. “And by putting your Chespin—”
“Chespie.”
His jaw ached. “By putting Chespie in with my Charizard, you are delaying both of their treatments unnecessarily. Pokémon Centres tend to group Pokémon that have been brought together. Your Chespin… Chespie will not require that much care, but Charizard does, which means that your partner will be waiting for Charizard's treatment to be done. Do you understand?” Alain didn’t hold much hope, but there was always the stray miracle.
The colour she picked for that Absol’s face was of an overripe Oran Berry. “So you’re saying they get to be buddies? That’s pretty cool.”
That’s the last thing Alain wanted to say. But clearly, none of his words were getting to her. Why keep wasting more of his breath? Exhaling, he pulled out the Holokit again and stared at the screen he brought up.
No new messages.
As expected. A good thing, really. And yet, the expectation remained.
“Does your Charizard have a name?”
Alain blinked, looking up from the device. Mairin kept her focus on the page, but there was that flicker of a smile that could not be contained. “You know. Because I’ve got Chespie, and you’ve helped me get Bébé.”
“…No.” Alain did not need Charizard to have a name. Not really. She was the only one he had, and it wasn’t like he was going to get confused over the names. And it wasn’t like she asked for one either. “We don’t need such a thing.”
She looked up at him then, confusion on her face. “You don’t need a name? But then how did you get yours?”
“Not by choice.” He raised an eyebrow at Mairin, daring her to challenge his statement there. She chuckled instead, a bright tinkling sound, before resuming her serious stance once more.
A laughable one to him, but as serious as it could get for her, anyways. “You can’t just say that! Hey, let me help with picking out a name. Something cool. I mean, cool in the awesome way. Definitely a fiery one.” She put her maker down to tap her chin, clicking it with every suggestion. “How about Chari? Cherry? Nah, that’s a girl's name.”
“Charizard is a female.”
Mairin’s eyes brightened. “Really?! Oh, that means I’ve got even more ideas! What about Ember? Or Blaze? Ruby?” She kept rattling out names and he sighed to himself, spinning one of the markers that was nearby. “Come on, at least one of those has to be good, right? I can’t keep doing this forever.”
“I already told you my thoughts. You only have yourself to blame for your waste of time.”
“You’re no fun, you know?” she groaned as she slumped on the table, head cushioned by the bracket of her arms. “I wish Chespie was here. You’re so boring and old.”
He snorted despite himself. “And you’re fun and young?”
She nodded, thunking her head against the table. “Ow. I mean, yeah, obviously. That’s why it’s me recording our adventures.”
‘Our adventures’. Those words sounded wrong, being addressed to him, and yet he knew better to refute it. What he ended up bringing upon himself, as it were. She straightened herself up at the Pokémon Centre chime, her body twisting towards the door— But Alain was already standing as he walked to the exit, stepping over the marker on the ground. “Pick up after yourself before coming to the front desk,” he said flatly before leaving the room, hands in pockets and nothing left behind.
There was no adventure, at least not on his end.
And yet, she persists.
“Are you sure you can’t tell me about Mega Evolution?”
Alain readied himself to ignore her, but Charizard growled at him while holding a bundle of wings collected from around them. Evidently, the pseudo-dragon was getting attached to their little hitchhiker. Too soft and spoiled, the lot of them. “What’s there to tell?” he said instead, not bothering to hold back the bite.
That infernal book balanced on the crook of her elbow, Mairin shrugged. “I dunno. Why does Charizard get all black and blue while Absol grew wings?”
“It’s not wings, it’s the fur at the back of its mane.” Although he could understand why she would think so. Pulling himself upwards after setting down the rocks that would mark the campfire, he then adjusted his scarf. “And that’s just how the power shows itself. Charizard’s colour change might also be due to the change in Type as well.”
“Wait, she changes Type?” Her eyes widened as she turned over to Charizard. “Wow, I wouldn’t have guessed that!”
“Did you not wonder about our battle against Mega Garchomp?”
“For your information, I couldn’t see that very well. Because you told me to hide.”
“And for good reason.” Kicking away the stray branches they didn’t need, Alain watched her from the corner of his vision. She didn’t consider much more after that. Didn’t suddenly get the revelation he was trying to push onto her. Didn’t even move. “Normally, Charizard is Fire/Flying. The Mega Stone that she is equipped with allows her to switch her Flying Type with Dragon instead.”
Mairin oohed at that, leaning forward as if entranced. “That’s incredible! Non, it’s magnificent! Marvellous even!”
“It looks marvellous on you.”
Alain, for whatever reason, found himself frozen in place for a few moments before he shook that memory/thought off. Just a second, really, a small moment, honestly, but it still happened. Mairin looked up at him curiously, the Pokémon pausing their attempts of filling up the soon-to-be campfire with logs while stashing kindling nearby, and he had no way from hiding it.
“It’s… okay,” he tried to say, clearing his throat, he went to sit down, hating how light-headed remembering made him feel. Some things were truly better left in the past. Clearing his throat, he looked down at the bare ground as he said, “From what I’ve seen, Mega Evolution occurs when a Pokémon and a Trainer hold a specific stone that resonates in battle. This change is reversible, which overthrows what has been previously studied as normal Evolution. All Trainers have the same stone, a Key Stone, while what the Pokémon has is dependent on their species. What Charizard has is a Charizardite. That Absol you’ve seen would have an Absolite. And so on.”
There were small scratching sounds as Mairin busied herself with her book, the two Pokémon moving away from each other to their respective Trainers. Charizard gave him a long and heavy look as she chuffed, laying her long snout on his shoulder when he didn’t reply. Alain answered the question. Wasn’t that enough?
“People keep taking and taking. It’s deplorable.”
“That’s so adorable!” Mairin was pointing at Charizard and giggling to herself, Chespie sitting on her log and looking tiredly amused. Noticing Alain's attention, she then stood up and then started to walk towards them, her smile widening with every step. He decided to not let Charizard know about it— since the Fire-Type loved her presence so much.
The spout of fire that erupted from her touch was not something to blink at, at any case. “Ah, sorry about that, Charizard!” Chespie hid behind her leg as she poured out profuse apologies towards the Flame Pokémon, her words getting quicker with every second. Charizard blinked at her languidly before trying to rest her muzzle on Mairin’s shoulder instead, toppling the girl and her little partner.
There was a moment of silence, where even Alain leaned forward, before there was a laughing sound from the ground. One so boisterous that very quickly Mairin found herself gasping for air, the complete opposite of how he found himself struggling just before, and maybe his mouth ticked a little upwards. Sighing, he motioned for Charizard to step away from them. “That’ll teach you to jump on other people’s Pokémon.”
“If that was a lesson, it was a really funny one.” Sitting up and swiping a hand underneath her eyes, she then held her ankles and beamed at him. “Which reminds me, you were telling me about Mega Evolution!”
“I told you before, it’s not like I know everything about it.”
“Really?” Even Chespie uttered a questioning sound, situating himself on her lap. With twin pairs of eyes boring themselves into his face, it was no wonder why he caved.
Shuffling on his seat, he turned his head away from them. “Of course. That’s the primary reason why Charizard and I are travelling in the first place.”
“Woah… so we’re doing the same thing?” Charizard huffed as she nudged the younger Trainer, causing her to raise her hands to cup the Pokémon’s snout. “Haha, nice try but you won’t knock me down this time!”
Alain… softened at his partner's antics. Her big heart might make her susceptible to no-good hitchhikers with too many accessories, but it also tended to work in his favour as well. Before they’ve reached Mega Evolution shortly after her final Evolution, it was a give and take of sorts that defined their relationship.
But now, more and more, Charizard tended to give.
“It’s getting late. Let’s eat then rest for the night.”
And more and more, Alain tended to buckle under the pressure of the mountain. So weak on his own.
He needed to get stronger.
You’ve got: one new message(s).
The next location wasn’t too far from where they’ve set up camp.
Alain quickly got out of the tent that he set up, buckling the pack around his waist before noticing silence from the one beside him. Briefly tackling the idea of just leaving her behind, he shook his head and then said, “Get up now.”
No response.
He raised an eyebrow, slowing his gait to a stop and crossing his arms. “Hey!” Quiet. “…Mairin. We need to go.” Still nothing.
The start of a new day, and he was paralyzed by the lack of movement a few meters ahead of him. He could not blast his way through, nor battle it— because what was before him was no battle in the first place. Not his kind of battle anyways. He snarled underneath his breath as he thought about the cave nearby, just a bit shy of a kilometer, where the supposed Mega Stone was supposed to be.
Alain didn’t have time for attachments. Flimsy things that could weigh him down, that can slow his judgement, that has already cost him one such commodity in the past. In less than twenty-four hours since they’ve met, at that.
He gave one more glance before pulling out his Pokéball and letting out Charizard. Looking into the eyes of his longtime partner, he said, “Watch the campsite. I’m going to go out for a retrieval then return. Shouldn’t be more than an hour tops.”
The Pokémon stretched out her wings as she growled, readying herself for any sort of confrontation. Too much effort for one such person, but who was he to tell her otherwise? After all, preparedness could never be a bad thing. Cracking a small smile, he scratched underneath her chin and earnt a small clicking-coo from his partner as a reply. Hopefully that should tide her over until he returned.
Alain didn’t look back as he made his way forward, his eyes on the Holokit he brought out. Nearing destination; ETA minus fifteen minutes, give or take. He could feel the heaviness of the air, an old power residing nearby, warping the environment to sustain itself. Pink crystals started to pop up, jutting from the ground or reaching towards it, growing in diameter and height. A telltale sign that he was close.
Entering the immediate area of the cave had Alain pausing. Even though the area was empty, devoid of even the presence of Pokémon, there was the feeling that someone had intruded recently. He immediately went on alert, his footsteps slow and quiet, breathing measured, ready to observe. He couldn’t go back to call Charizard now. Perhaps this was his punishment for caring so much about another human while on the job.
The mouth of the cave was yawning and dark, or at least it should’ve been dark— squinting in deeper, he could almost see a small light glowing within. Great. Did someone else get this place too?
“…can do this, stop worrying so much!”
His blood iced over. It cannot be who he thought it was.
Just as quickly his body thawed out, fire rushing through his veins as he gritted his teeth and glared into the dark, already entering the cave without any more hesitation. It cannot be who he thought it was. His pace suddenly became breakneck, silence and stealth be damned. It shouldn’t be, couldn’t be, wouldn’t be, because who would care about some rock in a cave?
Mairin would. All those questions, tangling around him until he couldn’t see straight, or right, or even through it. A veritable map. Did she say she liked adventures? Was there a glint of impatience in her eyes as he answered her questions the way he did? Wasn’t there a lack of restlessness in her tent, and her insistence on eating big for the night, and a myriad of signs so obvious in hindsight?
He really shouldn’t have underestimated her.
The cave suddenly widened into a massive chamber, light from somewhere bouncing off the crystals that made the opening possible. Broken stones littered the ground, with moss overgrown in the cracks similarly ubiquitous in this area. Up ahead Alain could see a small speck of light down by the canal dug around in a semi-circle. By that light, a small green body.
“Merde,” he found himself hissing as he stomped up towards Chespie, making his presence known.
The Starter Pokémon’s attention didn’t waver from its fixed point, but his tail did wag after hearing that voice. “Che, che!”
“I’ll be out soon! Just… just give me a moment!” Alain stopped by the lip separating solid ground and the abyss, glancing downwards. What would’ve been filled with water was instead replaced with the void, a cold pulsing sort of darkness. Still the light wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise, as stubborn as someone else that he knew, and squinting forward he could see two hands partially blocking out that light, tugging at it with all her strength.
And what negligible strength that was. Beyond fed up, Alain called out, “And what do you think you’re doing?!”
There was a pause of movement, some shuffling sounds before silence. And then, “Hi, Alain! I’m getting a Mega Stone. It must suck so bad for me to get here before you, doesn't it?”
“It’s stupid, that’s what it is,” he spat out.
Her voice grew petulant. “But I’m getting a Mega Stone! That’s like, what causes Mega Evolution right? So if I get one—”
“And have you not thought of the danger? The massive hole you’re in? The real issue here? You’re still being a liability now, once again putting yourself in another bad situation because of what you think is right.” Alain sighed, feeling all the blood rushing past his ears through his bad posture. Shouting at her won’t change things. She’s still going to be stuck down there.
Shaking his head, he then straightened up and looked around. No exits, and he doubted that Chespie could support both her and the Mega Stone, especially with its… strange effects. He then switched his focus down to the body down below and let all that bottled up air flow through his nose again. “Look, I’m going to need you to trust me, alright? I’ve got a plan.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Of course you need it. You’re stuck in a hole.” Alain made sure to enunciate the last sentence. How thick is her head? “Your life is more important here, and I don’t want to know what prolonged exposure to Mega Energy could do to a human.”
“It can do something to me?”
“Great, you can understand basic sentences. Now understand this— You need to let go of the Mega Stone. Now.” He could just barely see her hands separate from the glow, and his heart rested just a bit. A literal infinitismal proportion. “Okay, okay, that’s good.”
“It really isn’t. Now me and the rock are stuck down here.”
“You’re saying that as if it wasn’t true the entire time.” That got her to stop. Alain's mind kept ticking around, trying to find a way to salvage the situation. He needed to get this Mega Stone. He needed Mairin safe and sound and on the ground. Why did both of his needs have to complicate things in such a way? “…This could’ve been so simple.”
“…”
Alain looked down and realised he couldn’t see where she was. With no reply, it was almost like she wasn’t there. Without Chespie beside him, he could imagine that to be true. And yet… his mind rebelled against the thought. Mairin was real. Her drive was real. And even if it was stupid, she didn’t give up. She still stayed curious, stayed childish, stayed true. It was something that he never knew he needed. “I’m… Well, to be honest, I’m mad at you. And disappointed. But I get it. You weren’t half wrong when you said that we’re similar.”
“…I doubt it.”
“Doubt all you want. I didn’t tell you this so you can mop around down there. I’m telling you this so you know that you can get better, and through less foolhardy ways than this.” He glanced at Chespie and saw the dedication in the Pokémon’s pose— and recalled the fact that she had been a Trainer for only a short amount of time. He nodded to himself, satisfied with what he knew. “Get Bébé out.”
There was a note of hesitation in her voice as she called out, “She doesn’t listen to me, though.”
“She will, because you’re the Trainer and you’ve got a plan. Get her out.” Alain listened to the pop of the Pokéball, followed by the small sparkle that followed. “Now use Fairy Wind.”
“But… Okay. Bébé, use Fairy Wind!” There was a pause, tense and full of wills silently battling to the top, but Alain had faith in her. Faith in her ability to change her circumstances, at the very least. There was a tiny dissatisfied squeak followed by a tinkling sound, with a massive gust of sparkles following. There was a split second where brown eyes met his own— how much power did that Flabébé pack in that one command— and then just as lightning quick Alain had grabbed her from falling back down, right when vines had entangled around her and brought them closer even still.
Mairin’s heart beat at a rate that mirrored his own; to say the least, too fast to be normal or safe. She was safe. Alain glared down at the mass in his hands and snapped, “Don’t do that again.”
“Wha…” Her eyes, which were unfocused for the whole time that he’s seen it, locked onto a point far beyond himself before she suddenly pushed at his chest, quickly getting on her own feet and patting herself off. “Whoo, did not expect that!” Voice deceptively light. Her own way of dealing with it, he presumed.
Her Chespin walked over to her with a frown on his face, tugging at her pant leg. “Pin, che.” Mairin didn’t say anymore as she went to pick him up and give him a big hug, soaking up his presence.
Her hat floated up to Alain, angry squeaking being heard from underneath, and the elder Trainer took it off to reveal Bébé underneath. “Don’t ruin it,” he chided her, and the Fairy Type smacked him with the end of her flower before floating away. A temperamental one, for sure.
But still. The problem remained. Alain went over to that same edge once more, peering down to where his companion once was. He could not leave his assignment until the object was acquired.
For some reason though, he felt a flicker of resentment, but he quickly buried it. Not now. Not ever. This is what he owed. The darkness below was so thick not even a flashlight could pierce it. The Mega Stone continued to glow in the absence of light. He shook his head and got up, willing to just go back to the campsite and figure out his next approach. Perhaps there was another mine nearby. Someone else who was willing to get it, a weaker person of whom he could take the artefact from. There were many other options he could take—
“…You know, now that I think about it, those two rocks have the same pattern as the one the Mega Stone was on.”
Alain turned to Mairin, who shrugged as she slowly let Chespie down, before glancing at the pillars at opposite corners of the room. “I think, maybe, they’re linked. Doesn’t Mega Evolution need two people? And this looks like something that people made, so that means it has to do something—”
“It could be a trap. We can’t risk everything on some sort of ‘if’.” It was a foolish idea to even begin to entertain. So many of them were traps. That’s why Alain had to be strong, to stop things from hurting them before they had the chance. Curiosity leads to pain. Strength leads to victory. He’s heard this story before.
But Mairin doesn’t let up. She fixed him with that burning gaze as she said, “So I guess that means you don’t care about it after all. Figures.” She held a slight pause there, as if contemplating her words, before spitting out, “You’re always taking missions that you can win, and everything else? You just ignore ‘em. …You know, for a strong guy, you’re also a bit of a coward.”
“…What.”
Bébé cackled at those words as Mairin started to take a step away from Alain, smile fierce and uncaring. She wasn’t the least bit scared of being down there in the unknown. Maybe… she never was (and how foolish was that). “I’m not telling you this so you can pout. I’m telling you this so you can do something about it.” She then stopped by the leftmost pedestal next to her, her head tilted up towards him, that gaze unrelenting. “So trust me.”
His hand clenched by his side, his mouth twitching. He wanted nothing more than to destroy this whole place and pick up the Stone from the ruins. He could do just that if he got Charizard. He didn’t need her advice.
But he needed the Mega Stone.
And there was an option he could take.
Without any words he marched over to the other pedestal, his head screaming in opposition, warning him so many different warnings. What would she know, why would such a mechanism exist, it’s just broken stones and ancient traps and they’re dooming their lives to this guess—
But Mairin didn’t hesitate. She pressed down on the button instantly, and quickly Alain did the same, unable to do anything else but lock up after the action (because he couldn’t leave her and she was stubborn, even more so than he was). The pillars trembled in their places before sinking down to the ground, until they were level with the ground itself, and she turned to him with an excited gleam in her eyes, so unabashedly alive with wonder. Right after the deed was done she was running over to where the Mega Stone was, laughing at the results and reaching forward to claim the prize.
Unbidden, Alain followed her lead.
Out of the darkness, an amber-coloured piece of crystal poked out— somewhat closer to the surface than he would’ve expected, either through speed or distance— a small swirl of alternate colours revolving within. The pillar where the Mega Stone was stuck had shuddered to a halt at the height of Mairin’s chest, and she whooped in delight as the rock easily came into her grasp. “We’ve got the Mega Stone! We’ve got it, we’ve got it, we’ve got it, you guys!” Chespie chittered in weary delight as Bébé glanced at it from the corner of her eyes.
Alain's breath shook in his chest. It worked. Some faulty structures didn’t completely fall down on their heads and actually gave them the item they needed. It was almost like… it was created for such a purpose. His mind, usually on battle strategies and travel qualms, started to poke into the intricacies and poetry of such a device, but he stopped it there. Such areas of knowledge… couldn’t always be as benevolent as today’s has been.
But seeing the joy, the whimsy, the impressed glow in Mairin’s eyes as she held her first Mega Stone?
“You’ve done it, alright.”
It was something.
A temptation worth giving into, just this once.
“Report.”
The Trainer glanced over to where his companion had laid asleep, underneath the stars this time. Last nights’ tent must’ve been a ruse to cover up her tracks. He’ll have to talk to her about it the next morning. “We’ve acquired a Mega Stone and am ready for the next rendezvous point.”
“That’s good. Any battles?”
“Five the last week. None of them were a challenge, though.”
“And you’re keeping up with your regiment?”
“Yes. You will find that we’re approaching peak conditions.”
Even in the night, the hologram retained its own sort of light and shape. The Director’s eyes narrowed at the wording (the very same wording that he has drilled into his protégé). “It’s a good thing that you have not lost sight of your goal despite your exposure to the masses. Only a strong Trainer can display the fortitude and honesty required to work past their faults.” He gave a pause it’s due weight, before nodding. “Yes. You are truly shaping up to be a worthy person. I’m pleased with your development.”
“Thank you, Director.” There was that seed of pride, shameful and small, inside of him. Alain couldn’t help but chase those words, that acknowledge, even if it was from someone he swore he wouldn’t care about. After all, the Director can protect himself, their partnership is temporary, and this was just an exchange, that’s all.
So why did his voice feel so special?
“Anything else you wish to tell me?”
“Charizard’s been able to exert more power with her attacks in the last few battles, and we’ve managed to call upon Mega Evolution more often. We’ve also managed to acquire the Mega Stone with minimal issues.”
“That sounds like good progress. Continue to work on your bonds and above all, do not lose yourself. I shall expect even greater things next call. Au revoir.”
“Au revoir.”
A click.