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When Sakura was little, reading her first picture books depicting stories of Pokemon and colorful stones, there had been a quaint little legend that had caught her attention at the time: a tale of a stone as black as midnight transforming a Skitty—a joyous little Pokemon as bright as the sun in disposition and native to Hoshido—into an elegant, gorgeous feline, its coat rich in color like Nohrian purple roses. But these stones—Moon Stones—were said to be mined straight from the mountains of Nohr, and since the splitting of the lands between the Dawn and Dusk Dragons, this Pokemon had become a rare sighting, to the point that many today would believe it didn’t exist any more. Sakura had never thought of the possibility of setting her eyes on a real Moon Stone, nor did she hope much to see this rare Pokemon. But times had changed drastically compared to when Sakura had been a toddler.
The fact that a Moon Stone lay in Sakura’s hands was surreal enough, but even the things she’d heard from word of mouth and the illustrations she had seen—no matter how detailed—couldn’t compare to seeing one with her very own eyes. It was just as the stories had said: it was a dark mineral—as dark as the obsidian of Leo’s armor, Sakura would say—but underneath the night sky, she could see the stars reflected in its surface, and if Sakura turned the stone at the right angle, it caught the light of the full moon, appearing as a piece of the moon itself. Just as it did at this very moment. It truly was a sight to behold.
“You’ve been admiring that stone with the same wide-eyed look for the last fifteen minutes,” Leo spoke, voice full of mirth. He had managed to scoop up Sakura’s Skitty, despite her running in circles around him for the last five minutes. Skitty’s tail twitched with excitement. Leo patted the little Pokemon on the head, earning an elated mew from Skitty. “It seems the both of you are looking forward to this.”
“Nya!” Skitty chirped in agreement.
Sakura blushed, averting her eyes for a brief moment. “I j-just c-can’t believe you found me a Moon Stone,” she said. “You can’t find s-something like this in H-Hoshido…”
Leo chuckled. “It was no trouble at all. I was surprised myself, to learn that they’re quite rare in Hoshido,” he mused. “In Nohr, they are plentiful. I suppose that’s the advantage of living in a place with such rocky and mountainous terrain. Although, there are no Pokemon like Skitty in Nohr.” He glanced down at Skitty. “The least I could do, to return the thanks of introducing her to me, is to help you find that stone you’ve always wanted.”
Sakura kept the Moon Stone clutched to her side, using her other hand to scratch Skitty under the chin. She giggled as Skitty purred. “She really likes you, you know,” she said, noting the way Skitty’s tail was trying to curl itself up happily beneath her tiny body. Her Skitty, like Sakura, was also shy around most strangers. “I thought i-it’d take longer.”
“It’s only right, seeing as how Umbreon took a liking to you so quickly, dear Sakura.” Sakura laughed softly; she remembered how aghast Leo had been when he’d caught her one night sneaking a treat to his Umbreon and taking scratches under the chin, and how willingly Umbreon had done so, rings aglow, and without growling nor flattening his ears in discomfort, either! It’s only been a week! Leo had protested. As an Eevee, it took a whole month for him to willingly come sleep on my lap, and much longer before he evolved! He massaged his temples. Princess Sakura, you continue to surprise me every day…
The memory of that particular encounter also made Sakura reflect fondly on the other sorts of talks they had shared late into the night, ones they would have after being subject to meeting after meeting. In their free time, they traded stories and knowledge about many subjects, from Pokemon to medicine to evolution to bits about their countries’ respective histories, before shifting to more personal subjects. She'd learned so much from them, and there was much they were going to learn tonight, too, if the story surrounding the Moon Stone was true.
Clutching the Moon Stone close to her chest, she backed away steadily from both Skitty and Leo, gazing at the latter with as much determination as she could muster. “I…I think I’m ready now,” she said. “Are you, Leo?”
Leo’s dark eyes gleamed intensely. “I’m ready, as well,” he said.
He set Skitty down to the ground, and stepped back a little in anticipation. Giving one last glance at the Moon Stone, Sakura then bent down to her knees and held the Moon Stone out. She motioned for Skitty to come to her.
With the stone catching the glint of the moonlight, it immediately sparked the little kitten’s interest. Skitty padded forward, just as bright and curious as her owner. Skitty sniffed, and then with one last happy mew, she pressed her nose to the stone.
For a breath-taking second, nothing happened.
Then, the Moon Stone glowed, at the same time a luminous light overtook Skitty’s body. It seemed as if they were both coated in moonlight, and then Skitty’s shape began to shift; she grew taller, her legs became slender, her ears turned sharper, and tufts began to extend from the sides of her face.
Then the light disappeared from Skitty’s form. The Moon Stone had crumbled away, too, in Sakura’s hands, fading away into sparks of light as if it never existed. Sakura gasped at what she was looking at now: a new Pokemon, one with large but delicate purple ears, a large, prim-looking shawl-like fur surrounding its neck, and black sparkling eyes looking kindly back at her. A Pokemon she had only seen in storybooks and drawings.
To the side, Sakura heard Leo draw in a breath. “So…,” he murmured, “this is…?”
Sakura nodded. “A…A Delcatty,” she finished for him. She could feel tears in her eyes. “T-The legend was t-true a-after all…”
Delcatty let out a pleased, low mew. She padded forward, rubbing her head into Sakura’s outstretched hand. Her pleasant purring made Sakura giggle with delight. Even if this was all new to Sakura, the excited little Skitty Sakura had known her whole life was still present here, sharing in their joy. “Hello there, Delcatty,” she said. She looked to Leo, sniffling. “Thank you,” she said to him. “I…I never would have done this w-without you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he simply said, though he was smiling fondly at Sakura. He bent down, too, to stroke along Delcatty’s fur, chuckling at the way Delcatty rubbed her cheek all too eagerly against his hand. “After all, I still have much to learn about our new friend here.”
Sakura laughed. “Oh, Leo,” she just said, “t-that’s just like you. You don’t ever want to stop.”
It was true though; without their countries coming together, a sight like this would never be possible for either of them. But they had found each other, and Sakura was certain there were many new wonderful discoveries for them to make in their new journey together, both in Pokemon and with each other.