Chapter 154 (Patreon)

My path after the Conference was relatively laid back, as there wasn’t anything pressing that warranted a rush. Cynthia still needed to submit her proposal, and Sinnoh was in its three-month long break between League seasons. The next region I wanted to go to, Alola, didn't have its League-season equivalent until November. Given that it was currently the end of March, that left me plenty of time to plan everything out.

My immediate plans consisted of a trip to Spear Pillar to finally get answers. I had the Pixie Plate and, with it, a connection to Arceus. We would head to Mount Coronet and scale to the top to see what would happen.

My team and I took a boat to Sunyshore, visited Lake Valor, and headed down to Pastoria. We traveled on foot to enjoy the time we had to ourselves. There was no pressure, no impending reason to train, and it served as almost a "vacation" before any work I did for the League truly started.

Ninetales relaxed in the cold mornings and nights, Azumarill got in fights with anything that accepted her challenge. Both Florges and Mawile were a lot more gentle and simply liked to enjoy the scenery, whereas both Whimsicott and Dedenne liked to play pranks. There were a few points where I rode on Rapidash's back with Togepi in my lap, enjoying the rush of the wind from the speed. Gardevoir, too, would walk by my side, pretending to keep an eye out when we both knew he just enjoyed the company.

We stopped in Pastoria City as we traveled through the southern routes. I purposefully made sure our path took a detour here for a specific reason: visiting Crasher Wake’s Gym. Azumarill spent a lot of her time off the team between here and Professor Sycamore’s Ranch, and she was already there when we arrived. This way, I had seven members of my team with me instead of my usual six.

Crasher Wake was more than willing to help out, becoming pumped at the idea. I technically didn't need a Gym Leader's help for what I had planned, but safety came first when it came to Mega Evolution.

Inside the Gym, my entire team stood on guard as I positioned myself in the center of the arena with Gardevoir and Mawile. Crasher Wake and his own personal team were off to the side, each of them getting ready to tussle with a Mega Pokémon if needed.

I shared a glance with the two Pokémon with me on the stage. While we were all excited for the upcoming possibility, what we were about to attempt required intense focus.

“Ready?” I asked.

They both nodded. Gardevoir patted his newly made necklace. Mawile rolled her own stone around within her large jaws. I became much more aware of the bracer on my arm than I usually was, and I said one last thing before we actually began.

“Our goal will be to prove you’re the absolute strongest," I told them. "Both of you will be fighting each other if we pull it off successfully. I'll start with Gardevoir, and we'll begin in three... two... one—”

I faced Gardevoir first, as his Mega Stone was the newest. We had practiced his Mega Evolution on our trip here a few times before, primarily letting him get a handle on the increased power and the temporary ability the phenomenon granted. As Altaria also gained the Pixilate ability in his Mega Evolved form, Gardevoir was quick to pick it up with his help. It was his overall control of his Mega Evolution that motivated me to use him for this test.

Gardevoir’s body turned into a glowing rainbow, and then a few key details began to shift. The short white spikes on the side of his head extended out, and the red crest in the center of his chest split and divided in two. The skin that hung off the bottom of his body became a poofy dress rather than a hanging one, and both of his hands became covered by white gloves.

When the light disappeared, Mega Gardevoir stood at the ready on the field. I could feel myself slowly becoming tired from the vitality drain to support his transformation. I felt no abnormalities.

“Now, Mawile,” I said.

Mawile went through a similar process when I said that, her own Mega Evolution being delayed to prevent any issues that might have come from two at once. Her single jaw became two, and her body increased in height. When the light broke, I immediately felt something was wrong. I started to tip over and fall, my eyes heavy and my limbs feeling like nothing more than wet noodles.

“Stop," I groaned.

Neither Gardevoir or Mawile could reach me in time as they had to focus on canceling their Mega Evolutions. Azumarill dashed forward with Aqua Jet, and Ninetales attempted to run to me with Agility, but it was Rapidash's telekinesis that caught me before I hit the ground.

I was deposited on the floor in a seated position as my Pokémon ran up to me worriedly. With Gardevoir, Rapidash, and Florges here, I had three different Pokémon capable of healing checking my health.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just took a bigger hit to my exhaustion than I thought. Two Mega Evolutions at once are out of the picture for now. The energy drain is exponential rather than linear."

Out of everyone, Azumarill took that the hardest. I knew she wanted to be able to battle against both Mega Gardevoir and Mawile at once. I was disappointed, too. I'd seen Gurkinn do this technique in the past, and it seemed that we had a long way to go before we would be anywhere close.

I used this moment to catch my breath. Crasher Wake called out to me as I did.

“You alright there, Alex?!”

His voice boomed out over the entire empty room. Despite not using any microphone or speakers to enhance his volume, it didn’t stop his voice from being extremely loud.

“I will be. I’m exhausted, even after only a few seconds. Two Mega Evolutions back to back is definitely possible, but doing it at the same time feels way far off.” I sighed. “Thanks for the help. I didn't want two Pokémon going berserk instead of just one.”

Crasher Wake, dressed casually in a flowery T-shirt but still with his mask on, gave me a thumbs up and a wide grin. My Pokémon were already doing what was needed to help me, so he headed back off the field with his team, giving me and my own some space.

Ninetales suddenly let herself collapse into my lap. I chuckled and started to run my hands through her freezing cold hair.

"So," I said. "We're heading to Mount Coronet after this. From there, Spear Pillar. And after that? Well, it'll be time to work for the League."

My Pokémon calmed down at my words, seeing me so relaxed after I collapsed. I gave them all a smile before leaning back on the arena's damp floor, staring up into the bright lights above.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

I stopped by Mr. Backlot’s place on my way to Hearthome. He was ecstatic about my performance as Robin, but he hadn't heard I had won the Lily of the Valley Conference. He was in good spirits, all things considered. If it wasn't for our tests earlier in the year, he would have freaked out more when he saw the Blank Plate was gone.

He didn't give it away. One day it was there, the next, it had vanished. I checked in with Steven to see what happened, and he informed me the dates lined up with Ash visiting a place called Michina Town. Unfortunately, nothing interesting had happened there, so neither he nor I were sure they were connected.

With that information lingering on the forefront of my mind, we continued onwards to Hearthome, the last stop of our trip to the base of the mountain. We would start our climb at the southern point of the mountain range, as the entire thing increased in altitude the further north one went. Celestic Town was technically closer to Spear Pillar, but starting there would have meant an almost vertical climb the whole way there.

I used an extremely small amount of my winnings here (spending a good chunk of money but hardly putting a dent in the total I had been rewarded) to buy the supplies I needed to actually climb the mountain. I’d been in caves, tunnels, cliffsides areas, and icy environments in the past, but when it came to climbing a mountain, it'd be my first attempt at doing so. Even then, Mount Coronet was one of the tallest mountains in the world.

My team was chosen with extra care to ensure what Pokémon I had with me would help support this objective. Ninetales's control over ice could keep us warm on the icy peaks, ironically enough, and she could prevent any patches of ice from being too slippery. Mawile and Carbink were both capable of massively assisting us within caves, with Carbink being able to put up screens in emergencies. Gardevoir and Florges could both heal and teleport, those actions being crucial in times of emergency.

That just left Altaria, whose role would be to get us as high up the mountain as he could before being forced to land. The thin and chilly air up there meant that he, as a Dragon Type, couldn't actually fly too well. For all the stereotypes there were around Dragons living at the top of mountains, the cold was actually uncomfortable for them.

As for the rest of my team, they each had a particular reason why I was leaving them behind. Azumarill was strong, but this was a climb not a battle, so her raw power wasn’t needed. Whimsicott was too vulnerable to being blown away by the same harsh winds Altaria was weak to, and his skillset wasn’t relevant to climbing either. On the shortlist was Dedenne, as his capability to paralyze any aggressive wild Pokémon could be valuable, but he decided to stay down to continue to train moves while we were on the mountain. He needed to learn Thunderbolt and then something that wasn’t Electric Type.

Personally, I had a feeling the exertion just didn't appeal to him.

That just left Rapidash and Togepi, who would stay together in Sycamore’s ranch. As much as a second Psychic Type would be helpful, Rapidash would still be a horse trying to climb a mountain. His body type was designed for running long distances rather than scaling a rocky cliff. It was best for him to stay on the ground.

With my team set and collected, I put on the thick outfit I purchased for this purpose. Unfortunately, Valerie’s incredible designs had to be put away in favor of a neon violet, full body climbing suit. It was as insulated as it was gaudy. Though, the bright color would help identify my location through any heavy snow.

Then, I opened up Altaria’s basket, and he began to lift me upwards.

Mount Coronet was specifically the highest peak of this mountain range, which meant there were other peaks we had to get by. The southern portion didn't go up too high in the air, meaning Altaria early scaled to its top in not too long of a time, but it was the sheer distance of this mountain range we could have to travel that posed the difficulty.

Altaria only got us up about halfway before we set down on the ground and started to march northwards. Ninetales stayed out alongside me, as her Agility let her cross the terrain and check for safe paths with ease. Florges and Gardevoir were on "guard duty" within their Pokéballs. If someone fell, Florges could save them with Ally Swap, and she could float back up to the rest of the group. Similarly, Teleport could get us out of trouble in a pinch and cross any chasms with ease.

The first half of each day was spent moving northwards. The second half  of each day was finding a safe place to rest. Mount Coronet was filled with caves and tunnels, which were useful as locations for temporary cover. However, I only rarely ventured inside, because there were no guarantees the twisting interior could actually lead us where we wanted.

Many Pokémon lived on Mount Coronet, and while the climb was grueling, there was a lot to see. Chimecho and Chingling drifted in the wind, flocks of Zubat fluttered out into the night. At times, grooves were apparent in the floor from where Graveler and Golem had rolled down the rocky cliffside. I knew there was an underground lake here where Feebas were common, but, unfortunately, I never found it.

The most interesting sight I saw was when my team and I were camping in the entrance of a cave one night. It had worked out that the full moon was tonight, and it seemed that the Pokémon of the mountain were distinctly aware of such a thing.

Clefairy marched out of the mountain in lines from the caves. Wild Fairy Types passed us by, not even blinking at my team's presence. I wanted to ask to see if one was interested in joining my team, but it was easy to tell that this was not something to be disturbed.

The Pokémon collected themselves on a flat ground between two peaks, and then they began to dance. Circles of pink Pokémon moved in and out in a pattern, humming and singing to the tune of the wind. The world was silent save for the sound of their voices, and the sky became filled with ephemeral motes of light that matched the stars in the sky.

It was hard to say how long it went on for. The Clefairy danced and sang under the light of the full moon. There were no Cleffa among them, but I did see a few Clefable weaving in and out of the group of the rest.

It was beautiful. It was something I would never forget.

Five full days of climbing. Five full days of incredible effort only made possible through our efforts as a team. This would have genuinely been impossible without the help of everyone working together, but we did manage to reach the highest height.

There, I saw it.

Spear Pillar.

Clouds covered the base of the peak, coating everything in a freezing fog. Ninetales ensured no icy crystals formed in uncomfortable places as we slowly walked towards the worn stone ruins.

I heard the sound of church bells, drum beats, and chimes. Bronzong and Bronzor passively made music that created the atmosphere of somewhere humans didn't belong.

This was sacred ground. Holy. I wasn't connected to anything too mystic, but even if I didn't have my otherworldly knowledge I would have been able to tell there was something special about this place.

Ninetales and I approached the ruins built onto the peak. A raised, ancient stone platform sat behind a short staircase that led up to it. Warily, I released my entire team, wanting everyone I had with me to be out for this. Additionally, I clenched the Pixie Plate in my hands.

The wild Pokémon around us suddenly went quiet. I couldn't even hear the sound of the wind.

"This is it," I said.

My Pokémon glanced over to me. I could have said something else. I could have made a speech. Instead, only one more word came out of my mouth.

"Answers."

A foot was lifted up and placed down on the first stair upwards.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

My body ached and I let out a groan. My entire body was sore as if I had just ran a marathon with no breaks. Every little movement and even the tiniest flex of muscle caused me to shiver. I was barely able to angle my head away from the ground I was resting on. I only had enough energy to open my eyes.

The lumpy material under me shifted as I moved my head. I half expected it to be dark and plastic, but it was actually soft and quite comfortable. I looked around, confused about where I was.

The pained feeling faded. My memory became clear.

"I'm in my apartment. I went to sleep here last night."

I wasn't sure why I verbalized that, but speaking it out loud helped me settle where I was. An annoying buzzing sound went off, and my hand slapped down to stop my phone. From my position in my bed, my half-broken blinds let light shine down right into my eyes. A hand waved at it, annoyed, and I finally sat up and yawned.

"I have to go to work today. Back to the convenience store."

My room had the semblance of being organized, but it had slowly become a mess over these past few months of renting. I didn't have much furniture in here, just a desk and a laundry hamper, with all of my clothes being in the closet. Even then, my desk was covered in paper, and I had a shirt and some pants thrown on the floor from where I had kicked them off after my headache last night.

Grumbling, I collected the stuff and put it away while also straightening out my desk. There. That looked better.

My eyes flicked around to find a clock, but I had to resort to checking my phone instead. An action that should have been incredibly familiar to me instead felt sluggish and alien, as if I hadn't checked my phone in a long time.

I couldn't tell what the numbers were, but looking at it at least gave me an approximate time of day. It was early morning, as it should be based on my alarm.

In no time at all, I got washed up, put on some clothes, and munched on a quick breakfast. With the start of my shift coming up, I had to go fast. My house keys were thrown into my pocket. My phone went into my bag. I checked for my wallet, found it easily enough, then I stretched to grab my—

What was I supposed to grab? It felt weird. I could have sworn there was some group of something that should attach to my belt.

I wasn't sure how long I stood in the center of the room, frowning, staring at my empty desk with confusion clear on my face. It was when the sound of cars below started to become more intense that I finally headed out, locking the entrance to my home before heading away.

As it stood, my job at a local convenience store was only a few blocks away. I rushed down the sidewalk in an attempt to still make it on time. My boss was a dick and would get on my case if I wasn't.

I noticed that the street was filled with cars, for some reason. Something felt off about that, but city streets were always filled with cars, right?

My job was boring. I stood behind a counter and helped anyone who wanted to buy something. I only got an occasional break, and lunches were short, but it paid enough that my savings were only barely dwindling while I looked for a better job. Hours were spent in boredom as faceless people bought faceless products. Eventually, they all filed out, and I used this opportunity to restock the shelves.

Chips, drinks, coffee, potions, sanitary pads, and whatever else this store carried in bulk were placed in their proper spots. A few freezers got their drinks, and the four aisles this place had were once again full of miscellaneous products. It wasn't until I started to move back to the counter that I—

Wait.

Potions?

Why are there potions here?

My head snapped up to check the displays of products, but nothing was out of place. I felt my stomach gurgle for some reason, as if I was forgetting something, but my mind was stuck in a loop about my job.

I didn’t know what a potion was, or even how I managed to place it on a shelf. The memory of a spray bottle filled with purple liquid was fresh in my mind. But, there wasn't any of that here.

Then, the bell rang again, and I was brought out of my thoughts. A new customer entered the store.

They were a woman. She was tall yet somewhat young, only appearing to be about as old as I. A long mane of messy light blue hair extended down to her lower back, where it spread out as if it was a puffy tail. Her skin was as pale as it gets, and two sky blue eyes scanned across the room to take everything in.

When they landed on me, the woman smiled briefly before finally fully entering the store. She stumbled briefly in her first step, almost as if she had never walked on two legs before, then she stuck up her head like she meant to do that and confidently walked forward.

It looked ridiculous. I laughed. I didn't normally laugh at a stranger's actions, but she wasn't a stranger, was she? Despite having never seen her before, I knew I could trust her. I would trust her with my life.

The woman meandered through the aisles of the store, stopping occasionally to look at a product. She seemed interested in the slushie machine in particular, pawing at it briefly as if to figure out how it worked. Eventually, she moved over to the freezer, where she held the door open to experience the cold, then she grabbed a box of berry popsicles and walked over to where I was at the register.

She smiled briefly. I grabbed the product to properly ring up.

“So,” she said.

I raised an eyebrow. The register dinged to display the price.

“So,” I repeated.

“Don’t recognize me?”

I paused before finalizing the purchase and eyed the woman up and down. She was wearing a blue dress of sorts, but I couldn’t fully identify the style it was. There was something about her that was making my mind scream at me that I knew her, but I genuinely could not say.

My blank face made her own drop in disappointment.

“Really, Alex? I always knew you were dumb, but never this dumb.”

“I’m not dumb!” I said defensively.

“Please. You’re the type of person to rush into a cave with only a bag of plush toys to defend yourself. Even with all of your planning, you miss the obvious quite often. It’s why I was so quick to promise to always defend you. It's why I always have."

She smiled as if what she said was just ribbing between friends. I felt offended.

That was rude. She called me dumb! I wasn't dumb, I was great at thinking up strategies. Strategies like that one time where we—

Where we....

Where we what?

There was something about her words that sparked a faint memory in my head. I remembered running from something large and round in the darkness, but that didn’t make any sense. I lived in a city. Why would I be in a cave?

“What’s your name?” I asked cautiously.

She blinked, and then she smiled a vulpine smile.

“Ah. Great question. I’m—”

She paused, frowned, then crossed her arms.

“Ah, screw it. I’m not doing these games. Listen up, quickly. Do that thing where you lightly grill the Aspear berries more often, I love it when you make it so they have those brown lines appear on the sides. As for that recent shampoo you bought, go back to the last brand. This one is fine, but it doesn’t make my fur sparkle anywhere near as—”

The woman tried to speak, but no more words came out of her mouth. Frustrated, she turned to the sky and held up a paw—a hand.

“Oh, come on, you killjoy! I never get a chance to talk so clearly like this!”

My own mouth opened and closed in confusion as hers closed into a smile.

“Well, I guess that's all I can say right now, Alex. See you soon.”

She grabbed her bag of popsicles without paying, then exited the shop. I was left there in stunned silence.

"Ninetales?" I asked.

Everything came back to me at once. Running from Glalie. Meeting her in a cave. Fighting through the Gym Battles. Marty. Steven. Ash.

Pokémon.

I rubbed my head.

"She was right. I really am dumb."

I hopped over the counter and dashed out the front doors. The streets were empty now, and the city was nothing more than featureless walls of stone. I dashed down the street, desperately trying to find my Pokémon. I didn't have any Pokéballs attached to my waist, and everything I had grabbed in my apartment was no longer there.

I was no longer wearing my work outfit. I was back in that obnoxiously bright snow suit. The ground was hard stone beneath my feet, and I could see the sunset in the distance slowly bringing this world into darkness.

One by one, the street lights turned on. The walls of the city disappeared to create an empty road that stretched off into infinity. I slowed to a halt as the beams of light to my side slowly became intact, stone pillars holding up a solid sky. My movement was nothing more than a cautious walk as I continued forward.

"...Arceus?"

There was no response. However, a figure appeared in the distance.

A person. Unlike the customers from before, this one had a face.

“So you’re the one that caused my failure.”

In an instant, I was in front of the man, standing still as if I had been facing him all along. His voice was deep and level, lacking any sense of emotion in the slightest. It sounded tired, but only just barely at all. He looked at me with sharp yet sunken eyes in the middle of an angular face, and his body was covered up with long black sleeves and a light grey vest. Spiked, blue hair raised alarm bells in my mind, but it was the stylized yellow "G" on his breast that told me who he was.

“Cyrus. Leader of Team Galactic,” I identified.

The man in question huffed slightly, and he held his hands behind his back. His eyes scanned me over as if he was reading an interesting book. He stayed perfectly still.

“No. The man who I once was died a long time ago. Team Galactic is no more. Dissolved by my own doomed ambitions and impossible predictions from another world.”

Silence.

Neither of us spoke.

The last I heard of Cyrus was when he had disappeared within Turnback Cave. If that was true, he would have been in the Reverse World at best. Why was he here?

“The methods used to bring me to this existence don’t matter,” Cyrus suddenly said. “I failed, I ran, and I escaped, bringing myself to a location I could only hint at in my dreams. I aimed for a new world, one that would form out of the destruction of all things. I was simple minded, a fool. Yet, even in my failure, I do not feel defeated. Instead, I feel...”

Cyrus's thin grimace twitched up into a smile. His sharp eyes softened slightly, and he bent his head back to stare into the blank sky.

“I feel at peace,” he said.

I couldn’t say anything at that revelation. Cyrus brought his head back down. His eyes returned to their previous position, and I finally noticed something about him that had been pricking at the corner of my brain since the start.

He wasn’t breathing.

“You said, in the past, that you wished for answers," Cyrus said. "I am here to provide such a thing. The powers that be are limited; they cannot directly intervene. Your presence has allowed tragedies to be prevented. Your presence has stopped the inevitable from being the inevitable. I am a thank you gift. It was your decision to share the knowledge that made the world a better place. No information will be held back.”

“Then...” I breathed in. I licked my lips nervously. “That’s it, then. I was brought here to help the world. Arceus brought me here in the world to step in and stop tragedies that it couldn't stop otherwise."

“No,” Cyrus said. “You were brought here by accident.”

I...

“What?”

“Different worlds, different realities are both more connected and less connected than you think. It takes effort to truly separate oneself from an existence, but, sometimes, all it takes is for someone to be in the wrong place at the right time. A street corner underneath a falling meteor, a doorway that managed to reach the exact certain degree and pressure. When impossibly specific conditions line up, there is the potential to slip through the cracks between what is considered real. Nothing can be intentional when given a one-in-a-trillion chance."

I gulped. My throat felt dry.

“I was brought here unintentionally?”

“Essentially,” Cyrus said. “You were found between worlds, nothing more than a wisp of yourself floating in nothingness. Your connection to this place, your knowledge, your deepest desires, caused you to drift close enough for the one in question to sense you. You were brought in as a kindness, incarnated in a new body created just for you.”

Cyrus paused, tilted his head to the side, then looked at me, considering.

“Interesting. Your temporal age means your aura is still growing, but it was originally meant to be tinted with the Psychic Type. Instead, your decisions have turned it... pink.”

“And the mental block?” I asked.

“A gift from the Lake Guardians. It was agreed that parts of your knowledge were best not to be revealed.”

I could easily agree with that. I’d rather not have the wrong person check my mind and discover the possibility of something like nuclear weapons.

Cyrus continued to stand there, the omnicidal leader of the now defunct Team Galactic doing nothing other than waiting for my questions. His fate made me feel guilty, but, at the same time, he almost looked happy.

This man found himself a different future due to my presence. Then, due to the same reasons, he was now here, wherever we were, offering up the secrets of reality on a platter. All I had to do to learn was ask.

This was a boon, a blessing. I could ask for any information in the world, and I would receive an answer. I could learn about all of the Pokémon I didn’t know about, I could learn about any secrets when it came to training, and I could learn about hidden truths about reality itself.

Yet, doing so didn’t feel right. I already got the answers I sought: the truth about my origin and how my strange mental protection came to be. The impossible odds that brought me to this world were harrowing, but I did my best to not dwell on the topic. If I sat and thought about the possibilities of what could have happened, I would break. I had to accept that it was already behind me and move on what was in front of me instead.

And, in front of me, I currently had all the information in the world waiting to be given. But, what was fun learning about everything so explicitly? I was on a journey. This wasn't my destination.

“I think... I think I don’t have any more questions. I think that’s it.”

Cyrus cocked his head to the side again, this time, looking at me in utter confusion.

“You do not wish to ask for any more information? Anything at all? You could learn how to tame the rarest of Pokémon. You could learn how to stand at the top of the entire world."

“No. I don’t want that,” I said. “I’m still on my journey. I’m still learning about the world and training my team. Asking questions like that would, well, doing that would ruin it. What's the point if I learn everything at once? I already had a bunch of knowledge to give me an advantage, and I think that’s already enough. If something goes wrong I could have been better prepared for, so be it. My team will handle it head on. I trust them, just like they trust me."

It felt dumb, but I felt like Wally, or even Ash, as I said that. My brow furrowed and my lips quirked up into a small smile. Anyone who looked at me would have seen someone with a visage locked into that of pure determination.

I was offered answers to everything. I had turned them down.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Cyrus smiled. Short chuckles escaped his lips.

“Then, this shall be it for my last foray into the waking world. I should curse you for what your actions have done to me, but, truthfully, I am thankful.” Cyrus sighed. It was a tired, weary smile. “I almost doomed it all through my own megalomania. I am content now. That is enough.”

Around Cyrus's feet, a circle began to form. I thought I was in darkness before, but this darkness was something else. It was pitch black—a void. It was a zone of nothingness that appeared beneath his feet that he slowly began to sink down into.

“Ah, and Alex, before I go, there is one last thing I must share. The Pixie Plate—it is yours for at least the next few years. Do not concern yourself with its fate, and do not worry about unwanted effects. If there were anyone to possess it for just a few years longer, I do not believe the one in question would object to that person being you.”

Cyrus’s head disappeared into the floor. Behind it, I saw something within. It was a leviathan, an endless wyrm, ringed and spiked, with dark wings positioned behind its head. Its face was obscured by a golden, bone mask, and two red eyes pierced through the very depths of my soul.

As soon as I saw it, it disappeared. The darkness on the floor was gone, and the darkness around me gave way to the afternoon sun shining on the ruins of a collapsed temple.

I woke up.

A bark got my attention. My Pokémon, my team, my closest friends and companions, all sat around me. Ninetales. Carbink. Mawile. Gardevoir. Altaria. Florges. Some were missing, but they were still there at heart. All of my Pokémon were here, looking intently and awaiting what we planned to do next.

I smiled and glanced between them before staring off into the distance.

We were at the top of Sinnoh. No clouds or fog blocked our view. Fields of grey and brown spread out in all directions, with distant specks that marked the location of towns.

My visit to Spear Pillar was over. The Pixie Plate lay at my feet, as well as my team's Pokéballs as well as my backpack. The Pixie Plate itself still obviously contained immeasurable power, but there was no strange magnetism of my vision, and for some reason, I could tell that it would no longer teleport into my hands.

This quest was done. My time competing in the Sinnoh League was over. I turned away from the view to look at my team once more, and I finally stated what we would move onto next.

“Well, we have a job, now," I said. “It’s time to start our tenure working for the Pokémon League. And from there, Alola awaits."

====================================================
Author Note:

I consider this chapter to be the end of Sinnoh. It was a little weird, but this was technically a meeting with a god. Alex will still be in Sinnoh after this, but it’ll be the start of a new arc. Look forward to it.

Pokémon mentioned in this chapter (contains spoilers):
Arceus
Bronzor / Bronzong
Chingling / Chimecho
Clefairy / Clefable
Feebas
Giratina
Graveler / Golem
Zubat

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