Silvan ran to the gem and picked it up in their paws, Kentarous hot on their heels.
The Gem was unlike any of the others. It was transparent, almost, yet it reflected every colour that either of them could’ve imagined. It sparkled and glittered like moissanite, and within it was power. Silvan could feel it.
“What… is this…?” their voice was a fervent whisper. Kentarous was immensely curious as well at the Gem.
“I… No… it couldn’t be…”
Silvan’s head snapped at the shaymin, “huh?”
“It-it can’t be what I’m thinking!” Kentarous was staring at the gem in realisation, “it doesn’t exist!”
“What can’t exist?!” Silvan was almost on the verge of losing their temper. He knew about this?!
“You remember that puzzle? The one in the mine?”
Silvan recalled it, and nodded their head quickly.
“And you remember how you said there’s no such thing as the Light element, right?”
“Yeah…?” Silvan said slowly. “There isn’t?”
“There is, it’s just not called that,” Kentarous was staring at the gem now, shock all over his face. “That…”
“What the fuck am I holding, Kentarous!?”
“Stellar.”
Silence stretched between them, Silvan staring at the shaymin, and Kentarous looking back at them, his eyes budding with tears. That confused the eevee even more.
“Why are you—”
“No wonder you couldn’t evolve like the rest…” Ken was smiling, and tears ran down his face, much to Silvan’s shock, “you were destined for something so much greater.”
Silvan’s confusion had to be comical as they stared at the crying mythical like he had grown a second head.
“Okay, well, um,” they blinked and took the crown out of their bag. Silvan had decided they could not handle Ken crying.
“Save the tears for when this thing actually does anything, won’t you?”
Kentarous laughed and nodded, wiping his eyes as Silvan inserted the beautiful gem into the crown, and placed it on their head.
And finally, the feeling they had been waiting for their entire life washed over them, and the crown and the gem began to glow, and Silvan felt energy rush through them like a warm tide. The feeling they had waited for their whole life felt like the biggest sugar rush they had ever felt. Silvan’s eyes snapped open as the cavern shone with all colours from their crown, and words rushed into their mind.
‘Go to Spear Pillar. Play the flute. The rest is up to you.’
“Spear Pillar…” they said softly as the glow receded, but the crown was lighter, and seemed to carry an inner light now. Just as Kentarous’s stars glowed a soft gold in dark places, the crown shined a soft silver, almost as a compliment.
Finally, they felt they had purpose. Finally, they had a path clear ahead like the brightest of daylight.
Silvan smiled just as brightly and turned to Kentarous, who was beaming, “we need to go to Spear Pillar!”
He could only laugh and nod. The pair rushed out of the room, the exit being any door.
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The boat ride to Veilstone City was silent. Silvan said nothing, and Kentarous could only sit with them with worry all over his body. He tried a couple of times to try and say something, but his words died on his tongue.
What could one possibly say to someone who was about to die?
Kentarous, at first, didn’t know how to feel about the Eevee when they first met. They were quiet, moody, and rather full of themselves for what they were. Kentarous wasn’t even sure if he liked Silvan let alone wanting to travel with them beyond Snowpoint City.
But, as they took the boat to Newmoon Island, Kentarous slowly began to realise the monumental effort they had put into their journey, and the effort they had put into themselves. To grow, to be better, to change.
Sure, some of the rides they had taken to collect every single type gem had been easier than others, but the more he got to know Silvan, the more he began to see that this was a mortal being that had tried. Tried to be good. Tried to be grateful. To overcome their sheltered upbringing and truly reach out, above and beyond, to better themselves.
It didn’t bypass his attention that Silvan had nearly died not once, not twice, but four times now.
And now, they were facing death in the face directly, and forcing themselves to walk straight into its arms.
Kentarous couldn’t help but admire that sheer moxy and bravery. Even if he could see how anxious Silvan was, how scared, and how terrified they truly were, the fact was that they were on a boat to Veilstone City, right towards the very location of the very last gem, was all the proof he needed of their strength.
When the boat arrived, Silvan waited, as always, for everyone to get off first before they did, with Kentarous following behind. Once they were out of the city, they entered Route 214 and changed back into their true form from their human one.
Silvan barely had a moment to look around and notice that the cold air of winter was slowly starting to ease as the first signs of spring were showing themselves. A sakura tree on the route had its very first blossom, and Kentarous took a moment to appreciate its fragile, fleeting beauty as they continued to walk towards the Spring Path. He began to point it out to Silvan, who, to his surprise, turned to look at the tiny bloom.
Silvan looked at the little flower on the tree. For a moment, they simply looked at it, enjoying its fleeting beauty, and then they turned back to the path in silence. But Kentarous heard a very soft ‘thank you’ from them as they finally got to the hidden entrance.
Silvan stared at the cove, part of them wanting to run back home to Unova. To get as far away from this place as possible. But, the other part of them kept their feet rooted to the spot. They couldn’t run from this, they couldn’t hide from it.
All they could do… was move forward.
Silvan took their first step into the grotto, and through it, onto the Spring Path.
It was as though someone had put earmuffs on their ears. Other than the rustle of the wind through the trees, silence enveloped the small path like something out of another world. Was this the beginning of the distortion of time and space? Silvan could only guess as they slowly walked along the path, Kentarous by their side.
The path was short, and eventually, Silvan began to see a rise in the short distance, obscured by fog. With a gulp, they stepped through yet another grotto pathway.
Before them was a cliff, covered in harsh rocks to climb up. Kentarous couldn’t fly, as it was daytime, so Silvan simply continued through the undergrowth of the path. There were, strangely, no Pokemon here either. Maybe they had all since vacated? Kentarous was surprised by that too, and remarked on it.
“No one’s here…”
Silvan didn’t respond. They simply looked at the rocky ledge and began to climb. Kentarous followed them.
Silvan stepped out onto the ledge of the lake below. The area was adorned by newly budded flowers, some of which had only just bloomed. Spring was on the way. There was a ramp on their side of the lake, and a sheer rock climb on the other side.
They could either swim across to the entrance down below, or they could climb it.
Silvan turned to Kentarous, their voice emotionless, “swim or climb?”
Ken startled a little, and worry crept over his face at the tone. Silvan didn’t move, waiting for his reply.
“L-lets climb down. Best not to soak ourselves to the bone, hehe…”
Their laugh echoed in a lonely away in the mist. Silvan merely turned towards the path around the lake and walked. Kentarous sadly followed.
The climb down was uneventful, and Silvan landed by the entrance. Here, they could feel something was off - something beyond their understanding was taking place. It was a feeling that they couldn’t shake.
Every nerve in their body was telling them to turn around. To go back home. Maybe this was why it was called Turnback Cave. A warning to all who came upon it.
Turn back now.
Go home.
‘Being here will only bring death to you.’
Silvan blinked. A whisper through their ears. They closed their mouth and looked down.
As if they didn’t already know that.
One foot after the other, they stepped inside the cave.
There were three doorways, and a podium in the middle of the room. Ancient text was inscribed on it. Silvan walked down towards it, and then up to look at the text. They couldn’t read it.
They looked at Kentarous silently, a please in their eyes. They couldn’t speak. Ken merely nodded and translated the words.
“Heed this; past three pillars, you must offer up your desire to the God of the Underworld before 30 is surpassed.”
“Before 30 is surpassed…” Kentarous repeated, and looked at Silvan. They didn’t respond. Ken looked back at the pillar, and thought to himself. He wasn’t as clever as Silvan was, so he could only guess as to what it meant.
“Which doorway should we take?” They all looked the same to him.
Silvan peered at each one, and silently, they simply walked to the right. Kentarous followed them.
The next room only gave them an entrance to the left. Silvan took it.
The next room following only gave them an entrance to the right. Silvan took it.
The third room had a pillar, and another message. Kentarous ran over to read it.
“Four have passed. Express your desire.” He read out loud. He turned to Silvan, then.
Silvan looked blankly at the writing, and with a deep sigh, they spoke quietly into the room.
“Please give me the Ghost Gem.”
A sharp sound pinged across the room. Suddenly, Silvan knew where to go, as if pulled by an invisible thread, and that was straight ahead.
“This way,” they said softly, but it was easily heard in the silence of the room. Kentarous followed through the next doorway.
The fifth room had an elaborate path of rocks blocking the way, but not really. Silvan took a left.
The next room had much of the same thing. Silvan went straight ahead.
The second Pillar appeared in the seventh room. An object was glittering at the base of it, along with text.
Silvan’s legs moved on their own as they numbly approached the text, along with the Gem. It was a deep, dark cold purple, but it glittered like the rest in the low light. Kentarous glanced at it, and then at the text.
For the first time, he looked confused.
“It’s scrambled…”
Silvan didn’t respond. They picked up the gem in their paws, their whole body shaking. This was the last element. The last chance to evolve. It was the very last time…
They took out their crown, and placed the Ghost Gem within it. Slowly, they placed it on their head, their whole body shaking worse than ever.
Silvan closed their eyes, waiting for the gem to resonate. Waiting for something, anything to happen.
But… just as it had been with every single other Gem…
Nothing happened.
Kentarous waited, holding his front paws together over his chest, worry all over his face, expecting the worst, but nothing happened. He watched with some small surprise as Silvan opened their eyes, confusion written all over their face.
“It didn’t…”
“What— but…” Kentarous took the crown from Silvan and looked at it. It was heavy, and full of power, that much he could sense, and the Gem was real, “there must be some mistake! Surely–”
“There isn’t.”
Kentarous looked upset. Silvan’s voice was so defeated. They were sitting there, head bowed, tears trickling out of their eyes and down their face onto the ground.
“That… That was the last element,” they said, the sound of sniffling filling the empty room. “The very last…”
Kentarous held the crown close, knowing what was coming next, and Silvan’s voice filled the room like a bomb as they snarled at the roof, “WHY CAN'T I JUST EVOLVE?!”
The screech echoed around the room. Kentarous had winced at the volume, but he said nothing as Silvan cried in frustration and anguish. Every single Gem, they had every single one.
And nothing resonated whatsoever.
Were they truly doomed to remain as they were?
“Please…”
Ken blinked as Silvan looked at the pillar, their face wet with tears, their eyes pleading.
“What do I need to do… what am I missing… please…” they begged, “please…”
“Silvan…” Kentarous said sadly, but as he did, the pillar began to emit a soft blue light. The scrambled writing on it began to organise itself, almost by magic. Silvan watched this, not understanding what was happening, but eventually the glowing stopped, leaving only one word;
“Forward.” Kentarous read, his voice full of wonder.
He looked at Silvan, who looked at him with tears still streaked through their fur, confused, and then back at the pillar. Ahead of them was a doorway, and upon looking around the room, they both realised it was the only doorway. The others had vanished.
Kentarous put the crown and the Gem into Silvan’s bag, and he tugged on their leg, “come on.”
“But… I…”
“Come on,” he urged, pulling on Silvan’s leg again. “I don’t know what this is, but I think you’re going to get your answer.”
Silvan looked at Kentarous, then at the pillar, and then at the doorway. Slowly, they steeled themselves, and with conviction, Silvan began to move towards the only doorway left after Kentaros.
The next room was empty, full of scattered rocks, with only one more entrance way. They both took it. Beyond that was one final room with writing on a podium, much like the entrance. Silvan and Kentarous approached it - it was a much bigger platform than the entrance had been. Kentarous got the feeling that this was likely where Giratina would show up if he was called.
But for them… it was different. In this strange place connected to the Underworld, the shaymin ran over to the pillar to read the writing. And when he did, he let out a loud gasp, paws going to his mouth as he did.
Silvan came over slower, and looked at the unreadable language, and then back at Kentarous. “What… does it say…?”
“Play the flute.”
Silvan blinked, and looked at the text, then back at Kentarous, who looked like he had realised something enormous.
“What does that—”
“When I was a kid,” Kentarous interrupted, and Silvan stopped talking at the tone. They had never heard Kentarous speak so seriously, “I went to a place near my home. It’s very, very far north, but it’s connected to both Johto and Sinnoh. It’s a rune called the ‘Sinjoh Ruins’.”
“And in it… I found something.”
Ken reached into his bag, and he pulled out a very strange purple and red object. He held it delicately, like it was an incredibly precious item.
“This.”
Silvan looked at the flute. It was a very, very weird looking instrument, more like an ocarina than a flute. But, how could this place have known Kentarous had such an item?
“So… you think…” Silvan looked at the pillar again, “you need to play that thing?”
“Yes.”
“And then…?”
“I don’t know,” Kentarous shook his head. “I played it at the ruins, and nothing happened. But here…”
Hesidantly, he took a stance. He planted his feet firmly, and raised the flute to his lips. He blew through it, and a noise that Silvan could only describe as the sound they imagined glitter might make if it had one echoed briefly around the room.
Then, Kentarous blew six notes, two longer ones, two shorter ones, one short one, and then one long one that made the fur on the back of Silvan’s neck and all along their back stand on end. The sound from that flute was unlike anything they had ever heard in their life, like something ethereal and otherworldly.
Kentarous looked hopefully at the text, but a light shone from the podium itself. A strange magical circle had appeared within at the sound of the flute, and as quickly as it had come, the light suddenly went out.
But in the very centre of the podium was a Gem, the same size and the same shape as the Elemental Gems they had been hunting for so long.
The pair slowly stepped onto the podium, and at long last… Silvan felt it.
The strongest ever pull towards anything they had ever felt in their entire life.
It was as though colour had come back into the world. Silvan burst out of the Spring Path like a bullet. The path felt warmer, the tiny sakura flower looked like the most beautiful flower in the world. Sound had been turned back on - the chatter of bird Pokemon and the others within the grass and forest beyond was audible again. They were happier than they could have ever hoped to feel.
Finally, finally, they had a path set in stone. A trial to undertake.
And they would do it with gusto.
Silvan was too excited to slow down, too excited to not run straight to Mt Coronet, but Kentarous had a better idea, “wait, wait, wait!”
“What?!” Silvan was running on the spot, close to Veilstone City already, “come on, we need to get to the mountain!”
“I’m excited too, but it’s still cold! We need to get ready–” Kentarous nodded to the horizon. The sun was beginning to climb down the tree line.
“And wouldn’t it be so cool if you could, you know… fly there?”
Silvan blinked, looked at Kentarous, who looked smug.
“Well, I must admit,” Silvan puffed up their chest, a glimmer of that old arrogance coming out as they smirked, “it would be rather fitting for a ruler to ride a noble steed to their destiny~”
Kentarous laughed, and Silvan joined him with a snicker of their own. It felt good to laugh. It gave them some time to calm down from the high of finally obtaining their destined Gem.
“I should probably not upset the cafe owners and actually rest and eat properly before nightfall,” Silvan realised the last few days, they had practically become nocturnal.
“I’m going to need my energy, too. Flying to the top of a mountain is no joke!”
Silvan smiled wryly at that. He had a point.
The pair took some time to seclude themselves away from prying eyes, and together they curled up in the plants and slept for a few hours. When they woke up, it was close to nightfall. They both tucked into every single delicious thing the pair of them had stored - a big meal for a big event. Together, for the first time since they had met, did both of them feel free to simply, and finally, enjoy one another’s company.
Silvan didn’t remember the last time they had ever really felt this light. Since the start of their journey, so much had been weighing on them that they hadn’t ever truly relaxed. They finally felt like they could just laugh along with Kentarous, who was his usual chatty, cheerful self. But it finally felt like he, too, could relax more in Silvan’s company.
It took a long time for Silvan to calm down. How long they cried for, they didn’t know, nor did they care. Eventually, Kentarous carried them to what looked like a very, very ancient room. It looked completely out of time, wooden floors with a thick layer of dust, a wall of books, a table with scattered papers and a lamp that he lit with a small flame, lighting the room up. It was out of place in the massive mine, but in it was a cot. Kentarous placed Silvan on it, and laid down on the ground next to them. In his Sky Forme, he was far too large to fit next to them on the small bed.
Silvan wiped their face and was silent for some time as Ken had put them down. They felt exhausted again, like back in the hut before Snowpoint City. Their paws still had spots of missing fur, even now. Pokemon healed fast, faster than humans by far, but even this was long.
“That move you used…” Silvan’s voice was very rough, “what…”
“Leaf Storm,” Ken said simply, their tail swishing a bit in the dirt. “I’m not at a high enough level yet to learn my signature move, Seed Flare, so for now, that’ll do nicely for a strong grass type move.”
“Oh…” Silvan didn’t know much about all of the many moves that Pokemon could learn, only that the move had been incredibly powerful. Their body ached from the whiplash of the wind, but they were happy to be in pain rather than dead.
“You saved my life again.”
“You kinda saved me too,” he shrugged, like it was no big deal, “I’m not Pokeball protected. I asked Haru to capture me, but she said she wanted me to have the chance to find a human like her someday. But frankly, I honestly just don’t want to.”
It had been a shame. Kentarous would’ve been very happy to become Haru’s Pokemon - heck, he knew that many Pokemon would. Being owned by a Pokemon Knight was an honour.
Silvan felt more tears trickle out. They were always being saved by someone, or helped, yet here they were, embarking on a quest that felt so fruitless. There were only four evolutions to go, and what if they never evolved?
Then all the help they had gotten, all the kindness they had been shown, all the lessons they had learnt…
… would be for nothing.
Kentarous looked worried as Silvan began to cry again, “hey, what is it? Was it something I said?”
“N-no…” they managed to get out as tears ran down their face again, “I just… I wish… why am I always being saved? Why can’t I just…”
They hiccuped and ground out, “why can’t I just not fucking suck for once?!”
Silence stretched between them as Silvan’s sniffles seemed to echo in the stillness of the room. Kentarous got up and gently bumped his head against Silvan’s wet cheek, startling them.
“You don’t suck. You’re just growing up.”
Silvan blinked at that, both confused and surprised, and Kentarous’s smile was gentle, and for a moment, Silvan remembered that even though Ken was a new adult just like they were, he was still hundreds of years older.
“No one really stops growing, but between when you’re a kid to when you’re like, middle aged? You’re always learning and you’re always growing. Sometimes humans and Pokemon alike mature slower or faster than others.”
“But you? You’ve only just started your life, Silvan. Of course you’re going to suck.”
Silvan spluttered a bit at that, and glared at him, “now who's being rude.”
Ken snickered, “I’m not wrong. But you also have your own strengths, too. You just need to remember that.”
Silvan looked at their still damaged paws, and sighed. It was hard to see themselves as strong when reality had come crashing down on them like a metric ton of bricks.
Kentarous stood up and shook himself, and what looked like sparks of light flew from him. Just like Silvan, it seemed Ken also shed a bit of glitter from his star-kissed fur.
“Now come on, let’s get out of here and get back upstairs, yeah?”
Silvan was about to agree with him before their ears stood on end. It was there, in that ancient room, that they finally sensed it.
“Wait.”
“Hm?”
“The Steel Gem… it’s nearby!”
“Huh?” Kentarous blinked and stood up tall, “really?”
“Y-yeah…” Silvan shook themselves as well and jumped off the cot. They looked around the room - there was a large cupboard to the left. They went over it and rubbed their paw of the very thick coating of dust on it. Their foot felt bumps and ridges on it.
“Ken, could you please blow the dust off this, please?” they asked.
Ken walked over and obliged, flapping his wings a couple of times to blow the dust away. This did have the other effect of throwing dust into the air, causing both of them to sneeze.
“Ugh,” that was stupid. Silvan shook themselves of the dirt as Kentarous snickered. They allowed it - it had been a bad idea.
The cabinet had an intricate puzzle on the front - there was no visible keyhole in it - only the pattern and mechanisms that must’ve been the ‘key’ within it. There were four ridges that looked like holes, and there was an indent right in the middle that was larger than the rest. Maybe a button?
“This is ancient,” Kentarous was in awe as they looked closer at it, “it’s written in the Ancient language, as well.”
“Can you read it?”
“Yeah! It’s super easy~”
“Ugh,” Silvan groaned. Kentarous merely snickered again before he read it out loud.
“Come day and night,
Light and dark,
Beneath fire and ice,
Lies a heart stronger than steel.”
Silvan blinked at it. They and Ken looked at each other, then back at the puzzle.
“How the heck are we supposed to figure that out?!” Kentarous said in almost outrage, and Silvan had to hide a snicker this time.
“Day and night…” Silvan thought about that. It could mean different things - a literal interpretation was times of day. The other… Silvan looked at Kentarous.
Was a Pokemon that represented night and day, either or, or both.
“Light and Dark…” Silvan felt over the puzzle as they took in the shapes with their paw. Once again a reference to night and day, but the holes were in the shape of a circle. Maybe this time, it was not the time or the day, but elements?
The only problem was, while the Dark element existed, there was no such thing as the Light element. And the types that were strong against dark types were Fighting, Bug and Fairy.
Fighting types were considered strong and proud, and supposedly on the side of ‘good’. The element purely on its own assigned itself to a certain degree of purity, and only turned when mixed with the dark type.
Bug types all existed in the ‘light’ - the sun. Nocturnal bugs were rare, but that type too also represented light and dark.
And Fairy… they shuddered at that. They knew personally how bright and how devious their own typing was. Thinking about the Fairy Crown incident again made the fur on the back of their neck stand on end again.
“Beneath Fire and Ice… that one is obvious.” They looked up at the roof. They were quite literally beneath fire from the volcano, and ice from the snow.
And the last line was obvious - the Steel Gem.
As Silvan thought, they looked at the holes in the puzzle for a little bit longer. If there was indeed a Steel Gem in here, then wouldn’t it make sense for the Gems to potentially be the key? Silvan opened their bag.
“What are you doing?” Kentarous asked as Silvan began to get gems out.
“I think I might know the answer to the puzzle,” they said as they got the gems out. They were very lucky they had each of the four elements.
“The Dark element,” they had to thank Darkrai for letting them keep the Gem. “Where does it say ‘Dark’, please?”
“Oh! Here,” Kentarous pointed to a spot where the text was, and it was right next to a hole. Silvan placed the Dark Gem in it. It was right at the top.
“Light?”
“Here!” Kentarous pointed to the left.
“Hm…” Silvan thought for a moment. If the Fairy Gem went there, then…
“Where is ‘Fire’ written, please?”
“Here,” Kentarous pointed to the right, near the next hole.
Silvan paused to think once more. Fairy types resisted the Bug type and the Fighting type, which meant…
“Maybe… if Fairy Type means ‘light’ against ‘dark’...”
Silvan placed the Fairy Gem on the right, the Bug Gem on the left, and the Fighting Gem on the bottom, opposite the Dark Gem.
“Now…” they turned to Kentarous, “could you please put your paw in the centre?”
“Me?” he blinked. “Why me?”
“You’re a Pokemon who represents day and night,” Silvan explained, “I think… it might open if you do it.”
Kentarous looked for a moment, but he shrugged and did as he was asked. He figured it couldn’t hurt to do it.
And just like that, when Kentarous pressed on the centre, the lines and words of the puzzle glowed a soft blue light. Both Pokemon jumped back with surprise as the puzzle rotated with a groan and a clunk, as though it had not been opened in a very, very long time. When the door was open, the gems in the door all fell out, which Silvan quickly collected before they both looked inside. Kentarous brightened the gold on his body to see inside too.
It was a metal doll of some kind. Silvan blinked at it - the chest piece of the doll was open, and in it was the Steel Gem. Both Pokemon looked at each other again, and then back at the doll. It looked very similar to a Pokemon Silvan had seen in a book before, but it was very different. Inside the cabinet were meticulous notes and books in delicate, ancient paper that was thick and sturdy, bound together with Tauros leather.
“Wow…” Kentarous exclaimed as Silvan carefully took the books. They didn’t dare open them for they were worried they would turn to dust, so they very, very carefully put them into the subspace of their bag. It was a good thing that humans had invented subspace technology - inside it, time froze. It was how trainers managed to carry around berries, milk and curry ingredients without them spoiling.
“You’re not gonna read them?” he said as Silvan shook their head no.
“I’ll give them to Haru if I see her again.”
Silvan turned their attention to the gem. It was firmly stuck in the doll, but there were no life signs coming from it. No… anything. Still, it felt very wrong to take the gem, and yet…
Silvan put their paws on the Gem, expecting something, anything, to happen. Nothing did. They began to yank on it, nothing still. With growing confidence that it was all fine, Silvan tugged more on the gem, even going so far as to put their hind legs on its body before pulling as hard as they could.
With the force, the Gem was finally free, and Silvan yelped as they landed hard on their back. Even worse–
“Oh crap–” the very heavy doll began to fall, but luckily Kentarous prevented it from falling on them and shoved it back into the cupboard. It closed with a loud snap.
Both of them panted with the effort. Kentarous looked at the shiny Gem Silvan held in their paws and smiled, “well look at that! See? Told you you had strengths. I never could’ve solved a riddle that complicated~”
Silvan managed a grin at that, their chest swelling a little with pride. It had been a while since they had felt their usual confidence. They sat up and held the Steel Gem with a small smile. It had been a literal life threatening effort, but they finally had it.
Their smile slipped, though. Just like all the others… they didn’t feel a connection with this Gem either. Still, they got out their crown, placed the Gem within it, and placed it on their head.
Nothing happened once more.
“... no luck?” Kentarous offered as Silvan slowly took the crown off their head, and they shook their head.
“No.”
Kentarous looked sad as Silvan put the crown and gem in their bag. It had been even more of a crushing let down than the others.
“Silva—”
“Can you fly us out of here, please?”
Kentarous took in their body language. Their ears were low, their bag was on their back, and they were trembling. He could tell that Silvan was trying very hard not to cry, their emotions too raw from before to hide.
“Yeah… of course…” He walked forward and knelt down. Silvan climbed up onto Ken’s back as he walked out of the room and stretched his wings. With a mighty flap, he began to fly up to the entrance of the mine, Silvan holding on tight.
He could feel their shaking on his back, but for the sake of their pride, for once, Kentarous remained quiet as they flew out of the mine and into the night.
From Iron Island, a ship doubled back towards Snowpoint City and went around the peak of Sinnoh to head towards what was known as the Survival Area. Stark Mountain was located further up from that point, but Silvan was dreading this one.
It was another area with Pokemon of high level. Silvan had been through enough battles that they were sitting comfortably at level 35, but it was paltry to the Pokemon they would encounter at this area. They felt lucky that Ken was with them. He had been nothing short of a life saver in the short time they had known each other, and Silvan decided to rely on him more. It also helped that he was sitting at a comfortable level 60, as well.
Silvan was subdued during the boat ride, and Kentarous didn’t try to strike up conversation like he normally did. Instead, he rested alongside them after the long excursion inside Iron Island, eventually falling asleep. Silvan did the same.
It was nightfall by the time they reached the Survival Area. The boat pulled into the port quietly, and the announcement that they were where they intended to go startled Silvan awake. They reached over and shook Kentarous’s shoulder to wake him, as well.
“We’re here,” they said as Ken jolted up and looked around.
“Wow, that went fast!” he yawned and stretched as he got up to get off. Silvan followed after him with an internal shake of the head. Of course it went fast when one was asleep…
Stark Mountain, even in winter, was a lot hotter than the other areas they had been to so far. Unlike Iron Island, which was an inactive volcano, Stark Mountain was far from it. Silvan was already on edge from seeing the smoke pouring from the mountain, even in the night light.
They looked over at Kentarous, and was surprised to see he also looked wary of the mountain.
“Ken?”
He snapped out of whatever he was thinking about and looked at Silvan with a nervous grin, “so, in there huh? Right. Right…”
Silvan raised an eyebrow in response to that. Ken puffed up in annoyance.
“Did you forget I’m a Grass type, Silvan?!”
Oh, right. Fire. Silvan looked at the mountain glowing a little bit from the lava boiling beneath, and then back at said Shaymin.
“Do you want to stay here, then?” they asked.
Kentarous grimaced at that. He didn’t want to give into some petty fear, but he was, of course, wary. At least it was night time and he could fly where he needed to go.
“I’ll go!” he said, his normal peppy attitude came back with a vengeance, “it’ll be fine, I’m sure!”
Silvan sighed and couldn’t help a small smile. They could only hope it wouldn’t be as much of a dangerous road as Iron Island was. What they would have to do to find the two gems available here was anyone’s guess. They did, however, remember one key item;
“Here,” they said, and Kentarous took the shard of ice that had been given to Silvan from Kyurem with wide eyes. It was very cold once more, unlike before when it was hot.
“Thanks!” Ken smiled bright, and Silvan managed a small one themselves once again.
As they began the road towards Stark Mountain, Silvan and Kentarous changed out of their human forms and into their regular ones.
“So, what Gems are here?” Kentarous began.
“Fire and Ground,” Silvan replied as they walked. It was weird doing this at night, but Ken’s sky forme had been a literal lifesaver last time.
“So a fire or a ground type, huh?” Ken grinned, “that’d be pretty freaking sweet! What kinda Pokemon is the Ground one? I don’t think I’ve heard of an Eevee turning into one!”
“Tiana Paleon, we call it,” Silvan was focusing somewhat to see if they could begin to sense the gems. There were indeed two ahead. “Neither of them are really my top choices…”
“Still, it’s better to know if they suit you, huh? Just like Umbreon!”
“Yeah…” Silvan was never going to forget that encounter.
But if those two didn’t suit them, it only left them with one final option. And the one final option was one they didn’t want to face more strongly than any other evolution they didn’t want to pursue.
Sensing their discomfort, Kentarous was pondering along the same lines. If Eevee’s really could become any element, then…
“So, what’s the deal with the last one, then? It’d be Ghost, right?”
Silvan stopped dead in their tracks.
Kentarous blinked and looked back from where they had stepped a few steps forward. He looked at Silvan curiously.
“Sil–”
“I will not become a Megara Obliveon.”
Their tone was so final that it caused Kentarous to almost flinch at the declaration. Of all of the evolutions that they had been around to face, even in the face of Umbreon, this was the evolution that they seemed incredibly steadfast on.
Silence stretched between them for a moment - Silvan’s posture was stiff as a board, their gaze serious and elsewhere. They were purposely looking away from Kentarous - a clear indication that they were not upset at him, but only the subject matter, and sat down briefly.
Deciding to push the envelope, he lowered his head and asked cautiously, “what… happens with it?”
Silvan was quiet for a moment, as though they were struggling to get it out, but after an internal mental battle, they began to speak quietly into the stillness of the night.
“Oblivion… normally, that is to say, a regular Eevee… they evolve by leveling up right before they faint with a Ghost type move,” they explained, and rubbed their foreleg with their other, “but for my species, it goes further.”
“Too far.”
Ken sat down in front of them, “too far?”
“We have to have the crown on, with the Ghost element infusion, and then…”
They looked Kentarous in the eye again, a touch of fear on them, “we have to actually die.”
“You have to DIE?!” Ken exclaimed in shock, “to evolve? How would that even work?!”
“I don’t know,” Silvan shook their head, shivering a little, even if the night was warmer here than anywhere else. It was a herald of the coming spring. “As far as I know, only one of our kind has ever become a Megara Obliveon, and she was very thorough in documenting her experience and what had pulled at her to become one. It was a warning for any of my kind to stop them from ever choosing that path, even if the Ghost element called to us.”
“That… or making sure that if anyone did choose it as their path, that they were prepared for what it would take to become one.”
“No kidding…” Kentarous looked utterly baffled, “I can’t imagine there would be many who would choose to put their faith in such an extreme path.”
“Mm.” Silvan began to walk again, and Kentarous fell into step with them to follow, “I know where that Gem is located, now.”
“Oh?”
“When I was heading towards Snowpoint City, I passed a place that led off in a different direction. I sensed a Gem coming from that location, but I didn’t know which one it was, since I hadn’t focused on the Ghost Gem at all. Its location is purposely missing from my notes on the Gem locations. But given that I only have three left now, I guess it’s that one.”
“Where was it?”
“Spring Path.”
Kentarous let out a loud gasp at that, “no way!”
“What?” Silvan had not seen anything interesting coming from that direction. Just a dead end path that led nowhere.
“Giratina lives beyond it!”
“G-Giratina?!” Silvan understood the reaction now.
“Yeah! That’s the place where time and space distort, and the world under ours can be found!”
“The world… under ours?”
“The upside down!”
Silvan merely gave them an annoyed expression before sighing and continuing on as Kentarous kept chatting.
“Anyway, it’s the fourth lake of Sinnoh! Most people don’t know about it, Pokemon and humans alike. I mean, some Pokemon live out there, I think, but not many. Mostly Pokemon who don’t really know what they’re doing and get lost in the time-space warp, I guess. Anyway, in the cave beyond that, there’s this weird kinda dungeon like place called ‘Turnback Cave!’”
“That’s not foreboding at all,” Silvan grumbled.
“I mean, no, but at least Giratina is really nice~ His daughter is a piece of work, though. Rumour is she’s dead now, poor guy.”
“... how exactly are you so ‘in the know’ about this?” It had baffled Silvan ever since Ken had so casually babbled about Legendary and Mythical Pokemon before, even if he was one.
“Word gets around in Legendary circles. We hear things, and then others hear things, and it all gets back to us one way or another. Did you know Groudon and Kyogre aren’t enemies and are actually lovers?”
Silvan did a spit take at that, “wh-what?”
The conversation continued onwards as they approached Stark Mountain. By the end of it, Silvan was actually smiling.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad to travel with someone after all.
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They made it to Stark Mountain and went inside without much thoroughfare. It was way hotter than Silvan expected, and so they donned their sand boots to be on the safe side.
Ken, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. He looked uncomfortable in the heat and even more so in the mountain. Silvan looked over at him as they finished putting their boots on.
They had never been fond of physical touch, but Kentarous had helped them so much that they decided to give him a break.
“Get on my back.” They said.
“Huh?” Kentarous blinked at them.
“It’s hot in here. Get on. I’ve got boots.”
Ken stared at them, and then at their poor feet. “I guess you don’t have another pair of those boots, huh?”
“No. You’ll have to carry my bag, though.”
“I don’t mind!” Ken jumped onto Silvan’s back. Luckily, he was pretty light. Silvan detached their bag and Kentarous strapped it onto himself along with his own little pouch he carried around his neck.
It took a little while to get used to Kentarous’s light weight and physically touching them, but after a little while of walking, they didn’t really notice much and kept looking around the mountain. The Pokemon around them were too amused by the pair playing piggy back to give them much trouble, much to Silvan’s embarrassment. Still, they persisted.
It wasn’t hard to avoid the lava pits, but the downside was the deeper they delved, the hotter it got. Both Silvan and Kentarous were starting to feel it far harsher than the occupants of the cave, who were all either rock, ground or fire types themselves. Kentarous in particular was feeling it worse than they were from their typing, though the ice shard was helping.
“Do you have water?” Silvan eventually asked.
“Yeah…”
“Drink it.”
Kentarous didn’t argue.
The search continued onwards. Silvan rather hoped that it would be easier, this time. But part of them knew it wasn’t going to be. In hindsight, the only ones who had been ‘easy’ were Bug and Flying, really. Every other journey, for them at least, had been tough, and life altering one way or another.
The last cavern they entered, however, was something they did not expect at all. They walked through the entrance only to see a large Pokemon they had only ever seen in a storybook.
“Oh…” Silvan couldn’t help a gasp as they stared at the Pokemon before them. They were…
Heatran was staring back at them, their eyes sleepy.
“What on Earth is an Eevee and a Shaymin doing in my territory?” They looked irritated. To the Gods, another one. “And waking me up at that?”
Silvan had forgotten it was night time.
“I’m sorry,” Silvan was quick to apologise, and Ken tensed against their back, “I didn’t mean to wake you. I didn’t know you were in here… I’m looking for two elemental gems.”
Heatran seemed to consider both of them for a moment, “Elemental Gems? Those are only made in the lava pits.”
“L–” Silvan blinked, and cringed. There was no possible way they could get them from lava. “Oh…”
“Hmm…” Heatran stood up from where they had been resting and peered closer at both of them, “you’re no regular Eevee. Not a Beholder, nor a Pillar, so you must be… Fairy Tale Eevee?”
“Y-yeah!” Inwardly, Silvan wondered what the other two were, but at least this Legendary knew their species.
“So you’re using the Gems to try to evolve?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Hmmm…” Heatran put one of their feet to their chin and scratched it a little with one of their claws, “I don’t mind getting the two Gems in question for you, but you will have to prove yourself worthy of them.”
“H… how should I—”
“Battle me.”
“B–” Silvan could tell Heatran was at a way higher level than they were! “R-respectfully, I know I would lose such a fight, erm…”
“I’m female.”
“...miss?”
“Acceptable.”
Silvan let out a breath, “I.. I’ve gotten stronger on my journey, but I'm not on a level to fight you.”
“And having the spine to admit when you’re outmatched is a good quality to have, but I still want to see what you can do,” Heatran responded calmly. “I know your friend there wouldn’t stand a chance against me, but you might just do.”
Kentarous had been quiet, but that was only because he was struggling in the heat. He glared at Heatran and slipped off Silvan’s back to move away from the battlefield. Ken continued to drink the water he had taken out of his bag like a lifeline. Silvan gave them a worried look, but their challenge was now with the Pokemon before them. They crouched down into a battle pose to prepare themselves.
“Vee!” Silvan shot a Swift off first - making use of the move being 100% accurate and a high priority move. Heatran took the attack without much notice - it barely scratched her.
“Weak!” She growled and stomped the ground, using Lava Plume Silvan rocked in place from where they were standing before a jet of molten fire shot upwards from the place they were standing. Silvan screamed in pain as they were thrown in the air, and landed roughly on the ground.
With one attack, they were nearly out. With barely any HP left, they looked up in pain towards the Legendary, who looked disappointed.
“I guess you weren’t wrong about losing. This was barely anything to me.”
Silvan growled.
They were so sick of not being strong enough to hit with any real potency. They were so sick of being weak. They had fought and lost and fought and lost, without ever gaining anything other than scorn.
Whether it was sheer will, sheer defiance or sheer anger, Silvan began to stand up, their fur beginning to shine, “I am so… sick… of being…”
Light began to shine around the cave, causing Heatran to look around. Even Kentarous looked up from his water to stare.
“WEAAAK!!!” Silvan screamed as the entire cave lit up with light. Heatran yelped in surprise as the light itself smashed into them. While it did very little damage, Heatran had been surprised by the move.
Silvan panted hard as the light dissipated. It seemed they had forgotten Bite. In its place they had learnt Dazzling Gleam, their first Fairy type move. They collapsed on the ground as the burns from Heatran’s Lava Plume stung still, their HP gone, and Heatran watched as they fell.
However, she was smiling.
“Look at that, it looks like you learned a new move.”
Silvan couldn’t respond verbally - they were panting too much. Kentarous ran over at that to quickly give them a revive. Once it took effect, with half of their HP restored, Silvan managed to get upright, though it still took an effort.
“I’m… I’m sorry…” Through everything they had been through, they had finally learnt the most valuable lesson of all. Arrogance really had been their worst trait, and through everything… they had been well and truly humbled. Silvan bowed their head to Heatran, and this time, for the first time, they didn’t hate it.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better fight.”
“Hmmm~” Heatran, on the other hand, sounded pleased. “Raise your head, Eevee.”
They did.
“I don’t recall saying you had to win.”
Silvan blinked. She had, indeed, not said that.
“Wait here. Best make sure your friend is hydrated.” Heatran left the cave, and Silvan looked over at Kentarous. It was unlike him completely to be so silent.
“You need something stronger,” Silvan said urgently as they went through their bag. They looked relieved when they found it. Out of their bag they pulled a bottle of water, but this bottle was glowing ever so slightly.
“Purified water.”
“What–” Kentarous looked at it before Silvan pressed it to his mouth. Kentarous took several sips of it, and with that, the stars on his back once again began to glow with their soft light they normally had at night. Silvan looked relieved at that as Ken noticeably perked up.
“Thanks…” he said with a wry smile as Silvan put the bottle back. “I should’ve stayed behind after all…”
“I…” Silvan hesitated, but they too smiled a little, “I liked talking with you.”
“Really?” Ken had gotten the distinct impression Silvan had not liked it so much.
“It just took me time to get used to you,” Silvan admitted. It really hadn’t been all bad, when they thought about it. It was true they were annoyed at first, but the more time they spent together, they had begun to find it entertaining.
Kentarous smiled his bright smile at that, and Silvan was just glad he felt better, enough to smile and talk again.
“You learnt Dazzling Gleam! You finally got a strong fairy attack!”
“Yeah…” they didn’t even know how. They just remembered being sick of being weak and there it went. They had heard plenty of stories about Pokemon learning new moves or even evolving in times of need and distress. They guessed it was finally their turn.
Heatran came back rather quickly, making both Silvan and Kentarous jump. The Legendary was still smiling, and she opened her foot to reveal two gems - one a bright orange-red, and the other a dusty brown.
“These are what you wanted, are they not?”
Silvan smiled at the sight - there they were. They looked up at the Legendary and smiled, “thank you. May… Can I please take these?”
“You may.”
Silvan took the gems with another thank you and carefully put them in their bag.
“Now, I think I will take a bit of time to have a nap before the day begins. Do see yourselves carefully out of the mountain, no? Perhaps flying?” She eyed Kentarous.
“Yeah, I think so too,” with a sniff of the strange flower Haru had given him, Kentarous turned into his Sky Forme. Silvan climbed onto his back, this time with their own bag on their back, and the pair departed from the cave, flying up through the exits and out into the early morning.
Dawn was threatening to break as they arrived back in the Survival Area, down by the docks. No human was around yet, so it was there that Silvan decided to try both of the gems.
“Here goes…” This time, they were nervous. Because if neither of these two gems worked… there was only one option remaining.
One they did not want to face.
Silvan tried the Fire Gem first. They put it into their crown and placed it on their head as Kentarous watched. But, just as the others before them had failed, this one did as well. There was absolutely no resonance whatsoever with the Fire element.
Silvan took it off after a minute, their paws trembling. Ken tried to speak, but his question was answered as Silvan slowly took the Fire Gem out and placed the Ground Gem inside. They placed it on their head.
And, as with the others… no energy, no resonance, no connection at all.
Silvan took off the crown, feeling numb. They put it down on the ground, withstanding all urges to kick the bloody thing. Kentarous could tell that they were at their limit, and so, he carefully put the tiara away, along with the Gems before Silvan did something foolish. In the back of their mind, they were grateful for it.
As the sun rose, the dawn was a bitter one indeed.
Silvan was quite silent as they made their way to Iron Island. There would be the location of the steel gem, and with it, an evolution to Merida Falcheon if they managed to resonate with the element.
After that was only three more evolutions - The Little Red Riding Hood Flareon, the Tiana Paleon, and the Megara Obliveon. Of the four left, they really wanted to evolve into Falcheon the most, but with only four left…
Silvan shook their head - they didn’t want to think about it too deeply. It was starting to give them a strange pain in their chest they had never felt before, and didn’t understand.
They rubbed at their chest, and Kentarous noticed it. He peered at them, “you ok?”
Silvan grimaced - not a discussion for now. Ken seemed to understand, and nodded as they pulled into port at the island. They both waited until everyone else had gotten off before they both finally did.
“Phew, that took a while!” Kentarous stretched his arm over his head and started walking towards the entrance to the highly industrial area, “too bad I couldn’t just fly or something. You ok, Silvan?”
Now that they were alone, Silvan shook their head and rubbed at their chest. The feeling wasn’t going away. Kentarous watched them and said, “your chest hurting?”
Silvan nodded.
“Are you anxious?”
“Anxious?” they finally spoke up, the word foreign in their mouth, “I don’t have anxiety.”
“Don’t have to have anxiety to feel anxious sometimes,” Kentarous shrugged, “it happens!”
Anxiety? Them? Silvan knew that mental health was nothing to joke about, but they didn’t think they’d be feeling anxiety. It was certainly not a sensation they were used to, at least outside of a terrifying incident like nearly dying. Thrice.
Or meeting Darkrai. That qualified.
Still, they knew they had to soldier on even in the face of it, and so Silvan took a deep breath, let it out, and looked ahead at the sight before them.
There was a complex ore mining rig present over the entrance to the mountain, but it looked as though the mine itself was inactive. The island itself was quiet from human industrial sounds, though there were trainers about. Silvan was grateful even so for their human disguise, though part of them was starting to wonder how on Earth they had managed to just… gain it.
Who had granted their prayer?
They and Kentarous walked forward to the entrance of the mine. There, they were able to separate from the humans and finally had the freedom to turn back to their usual selves. Both of them let out sighs of relief at that.
“Ugh. Walking is so tiring in those bodies…” Ken complained as they stretched. Silvan had to agree.
“So, where do we go from here?”
Silvan wasn’t sure; “let’s just look around for now.”
They were sure that eventually, they would pick up some kind of sense of where the Gem was located. For now, the best they could do was look around.
The mines were deep, and there was scaffolding everywhere. It made it easier to get around, at least, and also gave Silvan the chance to enjoy a place they never thought they would explore.
While Challengers Cave had some human construction in places, it wasn’t a mine like this was. Nor was it anywhere near as deep. Silvan held some contempt for humans, but they had to admit, their resourcefulness when it came to extracting what they needed from the Earth was quite amazing. They could see where the humans had taken the ore and also where Pokemon had reclaimed it.
Speaking of…
There were many around, and Silvan tried to keep to themselves, however there was one problem.
“Wow, look at what the humans did!” Kentarous exclaimed as they continued walking, “it sure makes walking around here a lot easier, huh?”
Not only was he chatty, he was attracting attention simply by what he was - a Mythical of the very region they were in!
“Kentarous,” Silvan hissed, “can we please keep a low profile?”
“Why?” Ken blinked at them, “no one’s bothering us.”
“Yet,” Silvan emphasized as they continued, passing a large group of Geodude and its evolutions as they continued their own building of their homes and nests. Silvan was quick to bypass the area, knowing that Pokemon were territorial around as such. Kentarous got the hint, at least, and followed.
“Still,” he continued once they were clear, “Pokemon usually don’t get too aggressive if we just walk past!”
“Not in my experience,” Silvan grumbled - the next large open area had Onix and Steelix, which Silvan very quickly took a beeline right around the bend towards the next incline downwards.
“I’ve never had any trouble,” Ken was watching the Onix, and as one turned to growl at him, they stopped still when they saw the Shaymin, who waved, “hello!”
Silvan whipped around as the Onix grumbled something and turned around reluctantly, and they were very quick to grab Kentarous by the paw and drag him off, “Silvan–!”
“You’re a Mythical of this region, Kentarous!” Silvan growled at him, “you’re revered by normal Pokemon! I’m not - I’m just an Eevee to them!”
“But… you told me that Fairy Tale Eevee have special powers over other Pokemon,” Ken detached themselves from Silvan’s hold and trotted beside them, “so why the worry?”
“I…” Silvan sighed, “I discovered that it only works if the Pokemon in question are younger than I, weaker than I, or are receptive to it. It doesn’t work on every Pokemon I encounter.”
“I… was arrogant to think that. And… let's just say I learnt the hard way.”
Kentarous listened on, rather fascinated with the whole story.
“I’ve never had any trouble, but I guess it never occurred to me that it was because I’m a Mythical Pokemon,” he shrugged, carefree; “I just thought it was ‘cause I’m nice!”
“And loud.”
“Rude,” Kentarous huffed, “maybe you would get what you wanted more if you were nicer!”
“Oh, trust me,” Silvan growled out, “I’ve learnt that very thoroughly.”
“Hmmm~” Kentartous looked smug at that. Silvan glared at him in return.
The day dragged on as they explored more of the higher up floors. They were still nowhere near the bottom of the deep cavern - Silvan had no idea how many floors there were in this place, but it seemed to go on forever.
Most of the Pokemon here were Onix, Geodude and Golbat, along with their evolutions. Occasionally, they spotted a Riolu and Lucario, along with a Mawile here and there. Silvan was surprised not to see many more steel types here.
There was a trainer here and there, out there training against each other, or challenging some of the wild Pokemon. Silvan avoided them like the plague, but just when they thought they were in the clear–
“Holy shit, it’s a Shaymin!! And a shiny Eevee!”
Silvan outright snarled, a reaction that got a startled yelp from Kentarous, along with the human’s loud words. Over and over, they had had to deal with humanity and their insistence of throwing balls around, and so, this time, right as a Pokeball went for Kentarous, Silvan readied a Swift.
“UEEVEE VA VEEE!” They shrieked at the humans, firing off a Swift, and throwing the ball back. What they didn’t anticipate, however, was the loud crash against the rocks the attack caused. And they had been right on the edge of the path.
“Get them!” The trainers yelled even so, sending out a Bozong in response. “Use Hypnosis!”
The Pokemon did, and both Kentarous and Silvan flinched at the attack, feeling tired. Silvan tripped, and Kentarous yelled for them as they fell off the side of the path.
“SILVAN!”
The Eevee woke up pretty quickly as they fell through the air, straight down the shaft. They screamed as they fell - they knew no flying moves. The trainers even ran to the edge as they saw Silvan fall, along with–
“I’M COMING!” Kentarous had jumped off the ledge!
“YOU CAN’T FLY RIGHT NOW!” Silvan bellowed as the ground deep deep below was rapidly coming into focus. They flailed in the air, the fear of death grasping them hard around the throat. The terror was overcoming them, making them almost miss the sound of Kentarous powering up a move, his body glowing.
“MIIII–!!” Air and leaves flew from him as a massive gust of air shot down around them straight at the ground, leaves flying down much faster than their body was. A backdraft from the attack threw wind back up at Silvan’s back, throwing them upwards into the air and straight into Kentarous’s now much larger Sky Forme.
Silvan had become so wrapped up in their adventure to forget that in winter, the days were far shorter, especially in Sinnoh, and in response…
“Sunset!” Kentarous was grinning from ear to ear as his wings flapped, landing them safely on the ground below. Silvan was staring at him, breathing hard - the panic of nearly dying was making blood pound in their ears and their body was shaking all over. They could barely process the shock of everything that had just happened in rapid succession to process that they were actually safe, flat on the ground, and no longer falling through the air.
Kentarous peered at them, still holding Silvan as he stood on his back paws, the gold parts of his body glowing softly in the darkness. He seemed completely unbothered by what had just happened, as though he knew they would be okay, but Silvan did not.
If he hadn’t been there, this time around, they would most definitely have died. All because they had reacted in temper to those humans.
Because they were sick of having capture attempts made on them, even if they wouldn’t have worked. No wonder their mother had done what she had done…
All of it was too much. They had nearly died by being frozen solid in ice not so long ago, and the encounter with Darkrai had shaken them to their foundations.
Tears began to leak from their eyes. The feeling of needing to cry while on the boat had only amplified, and now, they disregarded inhibitions and threw their arms around Kentarous’s neck as they began to howl on his shoulder. Kentarous was startled by this initially, but it didn’t take him long to relax and let Silvan cry their heart out. He gently pet their back slowly as they did.
“You’ve been through a lot, huh…” he offered softly into the silence, aside from Silvan’s crying.
Simon @ Silvan: It had been some time since he last saw Silven, a new face to him-- Kentaros-- seated next to them.
Looking towards Silvan's bag, he could sense the energy of the Gems, one for each element... except the Ghost Gem.
While he wasn't aware of the more intricate details of the Eevee's journey aside from the trials and perils they went through, he felt the suffocating fear and dread hanging over them.
Where does he even start with *this?*
"...Silvan, you've certainly been through a lot since you first started this journey."
"If it helps, would it be OK if you told me about Obliveon?"
"If you'd rather not, I won't think less of you, given the circumstances."
Silvan only glanced up briefly to see Simon, and looked down again. Kentarous was very curious about the Manaphy before him, and looked at Silvan.
"You know more Mythics than I it seems," he smiled. It was an attempt to try and cheer Silvan up, but they merely nodded to the question. Then, they began to speak, their voice quiet and somewhat monotone;
"Megara Oblivion..."
"There was an Eevee who had made a deal with an evil Giratina. This Giratina promised her love and fortune with her current love, in exchange for her soul. Foolishly, she agreed, and in the process, she became a Beholder Eevee."
"She discovered that when she had travelled to make the deal, her love had found someone else. Broken hearted, and forced into servitude by Giratina, she walked the Earth alone."
"Then, one day, she came across a Machop who dreamt of becoming a hero. The pair began to bond unexpectedly, and the Machop grew, evolving into his final form, a Machamp. He trained endlessly to become strong, and in time, he went across the lands defeating his foes. He made a name for himself, the Protector of the Weak."
"But, one day, Giratina commanded all Beholders to return to the Distortion Realm. The Machamp wanted to prevent Megara from going back to her captor, and so Giratina made him take a deal - in exchange for his strength, she would let Megara go free."
"But it was but a cruel trick. Megara was bound to Giratina for eternity. She would never escape Giratina's hold. The Machamp was devastated to learn this, and so he took on Giratina herself in a fight. He was about to lose, for a fighting type was not a good match for a Ghost. And so, with the last of her power, Megara threw herself between the Machamp and Giratina, taking the final blow meant for him."
"She died, but the courage and the self sacrifice of the brave Eevee turned her curse into a divine blessing. She was brought back as a different kind of Eevee, who evolved into an Oblivion. With her power, the Machamp and she defeated Giratina, and returned to the mortal realm. They lived happily ever after."
Silvan managed a small smile at the end of the tale. There was a last hope at the end of the story, but they simply couldn't see it right then.
