#asterluxray

hey, jinyoung... does that spire usually glow like that?

huh? no... i've never seen it do that.

looks like we're on the right track, then. this 'altar of the sunne' must be responding to byul being here.

[aster stares at the spire in the distance, looking practically entranced. eventually, she tears her gaze away to tug on lin's sleeves with her teeth.]

mrrr...

that’s right... if he is indeed the same shinx i knew from my childhood, then i can understand why he may want to return to our birthplace.

[aster straightens herself back up and closes her eyes.]

it was... long ago. we weren’t close, per se, but we were around the same age.

i can remember it clearly. the day he disappeared, it was chaotic. of all the children to go missing, it was him. the older luxrays were always talking about him, how he was chosen for an important role, for an important reason.

of course, he went by a different name back then. we both did, though that’s one thing i’ve forgotten. but what i do remember is the elders sometimes referring to him as the ‘child closest to the sun.’

so, he does have special genes? even though he looks like a normal luxray?

perhaps. he was different enough from the rest of us, at the very least. i don’t know what will happen if he goes back, but i suppose we might find out, won’t we?

yeah, i think he’s headed to poni canyon where i caught him.

i see. i don’t think my flygon can carry us both that far, so we’d better go back to malie city and catch a boat from there.

[after giving aster some chin scritches, lin returns her to her pokeball.]

by the way, jinyoung... i was thinking about this a bit ago, but...

not... not a lot. mostly just the guardian deities of the islands.

what’s that? a poster?

mrowr.

poni island... that’s where i caught byul. do you think he’s trying to go back there? were you born on poni island too, aster?

...

the pokemon league won’t allow him to participate in any official battles until he’s shown some restraint, which means finishing his obedience classes...

[jinyoung looks a little troubled, but the expression leaves his face when he sees aster approaching.]

mrr.

oh, inside the pokemon center? okay, let’s go check it out.

[chico waves at the dewott cheerfully.]

bye-bye! if you see a grumpy-looking luxray, can you tell him that his trainer’s looking for him?

oh, and here, take my luxray with you. the rain will probably make things a lot harder, but she still might be able to pick up a scent.

sure. thanks, lin.

[lin nods and tosses a pokeball out.]

uhh, dude? why does your luxray look like mine??

huh? ...oh, i guess i see what you mean, but we can talk about that later! aster, go with jinyoung and see if you can find his luxray, okay?