diamondpearl876
Well-Known Member
SURVIVAL PROJECT
chapter 16 ; [KUIORA]
connection
*
connection
*
Everyone makes mistakes. I always knew I could make mistakes, but the number of consequences had gotten bigger since going on a journey. No one at Professor Elm's lab cared if my water gun wasn't as powerful as it was supposed to be, after all. With Sai, it mattered.
My mistakes were much more noticeable as well. It was embarrassing for me to lose against a normal-type pokémon. It wasn't my fault it could use electric-type attacks, but the defeat was unbearable nevertheless. I spent the rest of that day in my pokéball, lamenting and imagining the scene over and over. Ezrem told me later that Rennio experienced a painful loss, too, and that made me me breathe a sigh of relief.
Ezrem was also nice enough to inform me about Sai's disappearance. My trainer made the greatest mistake of all! We needed to train for the gym, and we had to head back for a rematch... but he needed to be there for that! I couldn't win two badges by myself. I couldn't so easily forgive him, no matter where he was. Maybe I was just being stubborn, but I didn't care.
Then there was Senori, who went and lost our supplies. Atis never wanted to fight or become stronger. The blame was on them and no one else. Even Ezrem seemed to miss the memo. He was a legendary pokémon that didn't know he was a legendary pokémon! I had been about to tell him why he was so special, especially to me, but we were rudely interrupted.
I had seen pictures of rufflet and braviary in the past. There was a difference between Ezrem and the rufflet I saw. It hit me a few moments after we met. Rufflet were supposed to be blue, but Ezrem was red. He was a shiny rufflet, perhaps the only shiny rufflet in the world.
I just had to tell him, and soon.
*
Two days passed since we were interrupted. Ezrem had suddenly turned quiet. Something had happened between him and Sasha, but I couldn't figure out what. He wouldn't tell me, either. He never told me much about himself. The only words that came out of that bird's mouth were ones that made me feel like I should slap him.
He was acting as worse company now. I wanted to switch my partner, but Senori wouldn't allow it. “I think I'm a better fit for Rennio, and you don't like Atis,” he had said.
Well, that was fine. I would find my own partner outside of the team, if I had to.
While Ezrem napped, I went over to a pond he showed me once. Immediately I decided that being a wild pokémon sucked. You had to retrieve your own food and water instead of having it handed to you, and there was too much competition. Those who wanted a trainer waited ever so patiently, while those who didn't lived in fear of being caught. This pond would be put to good use another way.
I stood by the edge, leaning over and washing my face with my paws. None of the water-type pokémon swimming nearby came to talk to me. I got bored rather quickly and plunged into the water myself to find someone.
There was a school of magikarp murmuring to themselves as they passed by. A few psyduck floated by, some of them on their backs. To my dismay, I didn't see any totodile.
The most peculiar thing I found was a pack of poliwag, all huddled around at the bottom of the pond, away from everyone else, as if they were discussing something top secret. I made my way over to them, curious and hoping to learn more about them. I saw a larger version of the poliwag present, one with arms and longer legs. I assumed it was an evolved form.
As I approached, I heard one of the poliwag say, “The ceremony will take place tonight, so everyone should be there if they can.”
“Ceremony? What ceremony?” I said, butting in as I placed my feet on the ground. I put myself in between two poliwag, noting the rough, pebbly exterior of the pond floor. Whatever they had to say, I wished they would say it fast so I could go back to swimming.
They looked at me suspiciously, and no one spoke for a while. Finally, the poliwhirl stepped in and asked with a sweet but stern voice, “Excuse me, but who are you?”
“I am Kuiora, the only croconaw in this pond!” I cried, my voice full of excitement as I was able to prove myself to others. “Since I am the only croconaw, that also makes me the strongest.”
“I see...” the poliwhirl said, scratching her belly idly. “You are new, then.”
“I have a trainer, but he's kind of missing at the moment,” I said. “So here I am.”
“I see,” the poliwhirl said again. Since she had no real mouth, just a stomach full of swirls, I couldn't tell if she was happy to see me or not. She accepted me, at least, when she added, “Well, welcome. We have a tradition here that takes place once in a great while. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure!” I said, gleeful because I had found not one partner, but several of them.
“There are very few staryu around these parts,” the poliwhirl started. I saw her as the leader. “Similarly, there are very few water stones that we come across. Trainers leave them behind, or they are dropped from the skies above. We have found one of these water stones, and therefore we are ready to evolve a chosen staryu.”
“And why is this a ceremony?” I asked. “Don't pokémon evolve from stones all the time?”
“Yes,” the poliwhirl admitted sheepishly, “but the staryu are an interesting species.”
“Really?”
“Staryu evolve into starmie. Starmie are considered to be alien creatures. That status shows us they are very rare and deserving of special treatment.” Now I had come across the chance to meet another legendary pokémon! This day was getting better and better. The poliwhirl went on, “Every participant gathers their own food around the forest. You will bring this food to the ceremony, and the rest will be made clear to you during the actual ritual. Oh, and another thing... Men are not allowed to know about this ceremony.”
“Why not?” I asked solemnly. I was thinking about bringing Ezrem. Then again, he wasn't a water-type pokémon...
“Some ceremonies involve men. It depends on the sex of whoever finds the water stone. This is because staryu are genderless,” she explained. “In this case, a female found the stone. ...Any other questions?”
“Nope!” I said. The others shook their heads no, seemingly intimidated by my unfamiliar presence.
“In that case,” the poliwhirl said, lifting her arm like she was saluting us, “I will meet you all at the south end of the pond at dusk.” With that, everyone but me swam away in different directions. She turned to me. “This is the first time we will have a croconaw at our ceremony. I think it's a bit unnerving for them, to have the ritual be different,” she said, laughing. Apparently, she had been reading my mind. “By the way, my name is Lynn. You don’t have to remember, since I’m the only poliwhirl in Ilex Forest and therefore I’m easily recognizable, but there it is.”
Meeting Lynn was nice, but it would be even nicer when I met the legendary starmie. I looked forward to it immensely.
*
One of the drawbacks to being a pokémon is that it's very difficult to tell time. I slept when it was dark, and when it was light, I woke up and trained. So naturally, I had no idea how long it would be until the ceremony took place. I asked the entire team, but no one knew, not even Atis.
“Why do you need to know?” a curious sentret asked me.
“I have to be somewhere at dusk,” I said.
“You’re not supposed to be going out on your own. What if we need you and can’t find you?”
“I’m not a baby like Rennio, you know,” I retorted, ignoring his question. “I’m young, but I can handle myself. I won't be alone, anyway. I met some friends. I want to hang out with them before Sai comes back. If he comes back,” I added, correcting myself at the last second.
Senori glared at me. “He'll come back,” he said. His face was strained to the point where I could feel the pain he held inside.
“Well, I need distractions just as much as you do. I don't like him being gone,” I said, willing to admit anything in order to see that rare legendary pokémon. I was being vague, but I wasn't lying.
Senori remained quiet, contemplating my answer. Finally he said, “Don't go getting into trouble. And make sure Ezrem knows where you are. We don't need to lose anyone else.”
“I'll be fine,” I said, dismissing him with a wave of my arm. I thought for a moment. How much leeway could I get away with? “Say, can I take that bag of pokémon food you got in Goldenrod City?”
“Definitely not,” Senori said immediately. “Eat berries. I know you like those.”
“Fine, fine,” I said, sighing.
Smiling, I turned to leave. In addition to mostly winning the verbal battle, I had gotten a wholehearted confirmation of Sai's future return. I hadn't known that was what I was looking for. I wanted a rematch at the Goldenrod City gym... I wanted Sai's continual affection as he saw me grow stronger... I wanted to evolve once more, into a tall feraligatr that would force him to look up at me... I wanted him to come back, but knowing his personality, it wasn't very likely. Everything seemed to remind me of that last part.
I searched for berries, trying to forget about him. Cheri berries were my favorite because of their spicy, pungent flavor, but they were hard to find. They were usually planted around flowers, but there were only trees and bushes around the forest, which made my quest harder than it had to be. I settled for a mixture of cheri, oran and pecha berries. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I had to settle for Sai not being in my life as well.
*
Ezrem was still napping when I went back to him. He stirred when he heard my footsteps, but he was silent as ever. I gathered a few large leaves from a nearby tree to help carry my berries. Then I sat next to him and counted them.
When the slightest hint of darkness came over the horizon, I told Ezrem I was leaving for a while.
“Where are you going?” he asked, now choosing to show interest in me for some reason.
“I met some friends. Water-type friends!” I said. “No flying-types, sorry.”
“That's a shame. I'll stay here,” he said.
“Good enough for me.”
With that, I made my way to the pond. When I reached the water's edge, I realized another drawback to being a pokémon. I didn't know my directions. I didn't know which way was south. Luckily, I saw a group of poliwag on the other side. I swam across the pond to meet up with them.
“Hello!” I said, trying to be cheerful so they would accept me. That tactic seemed to work for Ezrem, anyway. They said hello back, but my cheerfulness disappeared when I saw how thin the poliwag looked when they were outside the water. I could see their insides! I felt uncomfortable as I wanted to put feed them my berries and fatten them up.
Each of them had food with them, at least. Some, like me, had berries, while others had caterpie and weedle. No one said anything about it, even if they eyed the dead bug-types sadly.
Surprisingly, other species joined us. A couple psyduck waddled over to us and expressed their regrets on behalf of the pond's magikarp. The magikarp would be unable to attend the beginning of the ceremony due to their inability to breathe on land.
“We're water-types!” I exclaimed. “Why do we have to do this on land?”
“You'll see,” said one psyduck. “Anyway, I think we have everyone. Lynn and the staryu are at the entrance, so let's go.”
The psyduck led the way. We left the route and soon arrived at Ilex Forest, but then we went around what seemed like a million trees, all part of a labyrinth we'd never be able to escape.
“I thought they were at the entrance,” I whined, tired of being lost.
“Sorry. Here we are,” the psyduck said, moving to reveal a large clearing, filled with even more pokémon chattering amongst themselves, waiting for the ceremony to start. Lynn and the staryu—the legendary!—stood in the middle of the clearing. I could see a blue, shimmering item in Lynn's hand.
The two groups merged. I placed myself in the circle, pretending I knew what I was doing. There was a downside to being the only croconaw here. It was awkward, too, being around what was basically a pile of skinny bones. Lynn wasn't so different, though she was evolved. At least the staryu's appearance was normal...
“Ladies!” Lynn suddenly roared. Everyone hushed and stood to face her. “Thank you. I am glad to see you could all make it. Without further ado, we can begin the ceremony. We will make it as quick as possible, since Comerhi as been waiting a long time for this day to come. Isn't that right, Comerhi?”
“Yes, it's true,” said the staryu.
I took a moment to absorb the staryu's presence. As expected, the main shape of the pokémon was a star. It had five appendages, all of which were a golden-brown color and flexible. The outline of the star was a dark yellow, and in the very middle of the pokémon, their was a bright, circular ruby. So this was what a rare water-type pokémon looked like! How had I never heard of a starmie before? I mentally scolded Professor Elm for not telling me about them before.
“For today, Comerhi wants to be referred to as a female to fit in with us,” Lynn went on. “Her being a part of our team here in Ilex Forest and Goldenrod City has been wonderful. She's been here for about ten years, and is now finally ready to take that final step toward evolution.” Lynn bowed honorably. “She was born to two proud starmie. Sadly, they have left us since then. They consistently reminded us that Comerhi was a temperamental baby, but was soothed by companionship. As she grew up... Well, there are many stories to tell. Does everyone remember how she used to pretend to be a magikarp? There was also the time she learned to walk on land. Her determination was inspiring. And no one can forget the day her parents sacrificed themselves so she wouldn't get caught by a trainer...”
Lynn stopped, allowing the silence to spread over the group and engulf them.
“Anyway… I’m a bit jealous. Maybe one day there will be no staryu in Ilex Forest, and I can use the stone on myself, though I am not as special as this well-renowned species,” she added to lighten the mood.
She paused again. The audience chuckled. I stood in awe at this new found information. Poliwhirl needed a water stone to evolve, too, yet she was being noble and selfless for the sake of a friend...
“Enough memories. As I said, Comerhi is beyond excited. She is ready to move on with her life and become an alien creature. Though she will be as mysterious as ever, we vow to love her for as long as we live.” She nodded. “Comerhi wll come around to each of you. She will sprinkle her body's dust on the food you have brought. This is done to bless everyone and make sure her un-evolved form will be remembered fondly.”
Comerhi made her away around the concentric circle. Her body was practically shaking with anticipaton. I suppose that's what happens when staryu prepare to evolve, though I consider evolution as an act of creating rather than simply changing.
Comerhi approached me last. When she came to me, I felt included in something unique, as if the staryu had passed on its legendary status to me. For once I believed we are all special just because of the different lives we lead.
When Comerhi finished, she went back to Lynn and the water stone.
“Eat your blessed food,” Lynn instructed, “and let us have a moment of silence for the group member that made this occasion possible.”
We did so, and all I could hear was the sound of masticated food. Soon Lynn turned to Comerhi and held her arms out, revealing the water stone. Comerhi's bent forward. She began to glow when the top part of her body touched the blue rock.
I ignored the bitter taste of dust in my mouth and stared. Comerhi grew larger, then larger still. What astounded me most was how her red core fell apart and disintegrated right in front of our eyes. When the illumination faded, I saw the starmie's purple form, with a dark yellow belly and a spinning second star behind her. The red core had been replaced as well, and the new octagonal gem symbolized a passion for life with its deep crimson color. Comerhi let out a robotic, rhythmic grunt to signify the transformation's end.
Everyone yelled with joy and clapped if they had hands. I finished the rest of my berry, then applauded.
Lynn spoke when the celebration died down. “When you are done eating, you may take a part of Comerhi's lost core, which is vital to its communication abilities. Embrace this piece of jewelry as you sleep tonight, and use it to dream of your lover, or someone important to you. Once this portion is complete, the last part of the ceremony will commence. Everyone will follow Comerhi to her pond of choice and swim with her alien form.”
I got up and stepped over a bunch of poliwag and psyduck to get to the two of them. I picked up a piece of the jagged, sharp stone. I would have to be careful with it. I bowed to Comerhi and asked, “So what's it feel like to be a legendary?”
But Comerhi only laughed and said, “I'm not a legendary. There are plenty of my kind in the world.”
“Then why did we do all this for you?” I could have reworded the question, but I couldn't help but ask.
“Staryu and starmie are hard to find in Johto. Their foreignness is cherished here. It really is nice.” Without distinguishing features a face might have, it was hard to decipher whether she was smiling or annoyed. I left after bowing again.
Comerhi left with me. I slowed my pace and let her lead the way. I owed her respect, and so would the others, once they finished eating. Lynn decided to join us too. She walked beside me, looking at me expectantly.
“What did you think?” she asked.
“I learned some things... I'll think about those things tonight,” I said. I tried not to mention my disappointment, knowing now that starmie weren't legendary after all.
“I see. Well, feel free to stop by anytime.”
“I will."
Dusk came. No one noticed when I left the ceremony and headed back to my trainerless team. It took a while to find my way back, but it gave me an opportunity to think. In the end, though, I couldn't think about much of anything. I had been shaken up. My whole understanding of the world had been brought into question. I wasn't sure what to make of that.
*
Ezrem and the others were already sleeping when I returned. They would have been awake, had they really missed me or worried about me like they said they would. I sat next to Ezrem, amused by seeing his head buried in his feathers. I looked away, knowing I wasn't going to get any rest tonight.
I held the red jewel piece in my hand. It felt like the ceremony had happened years ago. The starmie's word rang in my ears. They weren't rare or legendary, but the group treated them as such. Where was the justice in that? Wasn't that an insult to real gods? I remembered the stories I had told the team. All of them ended with disaster. Surely the legendaries didn't mean for tragedies to happen. The legendaries would want humans and pokémon alike to lift each other's spirits. And that's exactly what the group did. That's what Sai did, too, when he was here. That's what Senori did, when he wanted to take care of us. That's what I did, when trying to impress Ezrem or make myself feel superior.
Being ordinary could be powerful, if done right. The whole team was special. Ezrem had been special before, but now he was special in an ordinary way. I decided I wouldn't ask him about his shiny self. It no longer mattered.
What happened next was a great stroke of luck. I wished epiphanies hit me more often, if this was the result, really. So that is the way of it. You wake up, hoping the day will go as planned. But it never goes as planned. Between the exchanges you have with people and with pokémon, there's this and that. This and that may change your beliefs and morals. There's you'll never guess... and didn't I tell you?—both of which may spite you. But by the end of the day, there's hey, by the way, I love you, too...
I heard something. Someone.
I stood up and listened for the sound's source. I heard human footsteps, soft but firm against the forest floor. There was definitely someone coming.
“Who's there?” I said, wanting to wake up the others in case it was a violent intruder. I held up the sharp end of the jewel, prepared to use it if necessary.
“Kuiora?”
It wasn’t a violent intruder. It wasn't a legendary pokémon. It wasn't a member of the team attempting to scare me.
It was Sai.
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