Adaman's collective smile greets you as you stop in front of him by the Front Gate. He gives you the latest, "Irida's already headed to Mount Coronet. How're things looking here?"
Without warning, Professor Laventon, Rei, and Captain Cyllene approach from behind. Cyllene speaks for you, "The commander is already at Mount Coronet," Everyone walks up beside you.
Adaman's warm brown eyes widen at her words, "He's already started up the mountain?! He must be more reckless than that dignified manner of his lets on. Not that I blame anyone for wanting to avoid wasting time." He adds.
"Well, all right, then! Guess I'm going after him." Adaman turns around and takes a few steps before stopping. "Let me go first, (Y/n)," He says over his shoulder. "If you were to show up with no warning, there'd probably be a fight! Time's a-wasting. See you there!"
The Diamond Clan leader bolts out of the village. You place a hand on your chin, thinking. He said if you show up with no warning. Does that mean he's going to warn the commander that you're coming to stop him?
Cyllene's voice shakes you out of your thoughts about Adaman's words, "Hmph. Who is the reckless one?" She shakes her head with her eyes closed, referring to Adaman sprinting to Mount Coronet to go after the commander.
Behind you, a little girl and her father stand hand-in-hand. "Hey, you got run out of the village, right? But you...still tried to find a way to help us all?"
You separate from the line you four were in. "Yes. I was going to find a way to help you. All of you." You gesture around you.
Rei comes up beside you, standing in front of Laventon. "(Y/n) worked hard to get that Red Chain to help us. To help you."
Professor Laventon pokes his head out from behind Rei, sticking a finger in the air by his head. "Too right-and a fine job she did, too! The Survey Corps is always hard at work for the sake of everyone here in the village-as well as for the sake of our relations with Pokémon!"
The little girl lets go of her father's hand and walks up to you. She wasn't much taller than just above your knees as she sticks her closed fist up for you to take something from her with a big smile on her cute face. "Thanks! Here, take this!"
She opens her palm to reveal a Max Revive. You tell her thanks with a sincere smile before sticking it in your satchel. Then, she sprints away and her father follows her back into the heart of the village.
Captain Cyllene clears her throat before addressing the three of you. "Your orders are three. One: Make for the Summit Camp and, from there, the Temple of Sinnoh. Two: Use the Red Chain to resolve this mess." She paused before raising her voice for the third order, "And three: Return here...alive!"
You and Laventon nod while Rei does some silly thing with his arms. Then, your journey to Mount Coronet and the commander begins.
~
With your arrival at the Summit Camp in the Highlands, a familiar merchant makes his way over to you. You finish up your conversation with the Professor as a hand lands on your shoulder unexpectedly. You slightly jump from the contact before facing whoever it was. The bright face of the Gingko Guild merchant, Volo, beams at you. You sense that he wants to engulf you in a hug, but with someone around, he wouldn't.
Instead, he places both hands on your shoulders and looks up at the rift that was growing with every passing minute. "It looks like the big moment is upon us at last." He turns his face to yours again, his grey eyes locking with your (e/c) ones. You feel like your knees were going to combust with how much gentleness but worry there was in them. His calm smile straightens you, "But no doubt it'll be fine! After all, you worked so hard to earn that Red Chain."
His hands slip off your shoulders before turning to get a better glimpse of the expanding space-time rift. "Both Adaman and Irida have headed to the peak as well. I wish you great fortune in the battles to come. I would truly regret losing..." Volo's voice dwindles as his eyes hover over the Professor, remembering his presence. "...one of our most beloved and loyal customers."
You blink several times before following his eyes to Laventon. You swallow before meeting Volo's grey eyes. You can sense the fear in his eyes as he gives you the look that just about proves it. He was afraid of Laventon knowing about your feelings toward one another. To be honest, you didn't really either. You were afraid that because they didn't know as much about Volo as you did, they wouldn't allow it. Why would they? But also, why wouldn't they?
Volo flattens his lips before turning around and walking up the hill, on his way to the peak as well. You resisted the urge to join him, hold his hand, and walk up to Kamado together before beating him senselessly.
As he turns around the pillars right next to the camp, a new set of footsteps approach. Electrode's warden stood behind you, his hand proudly on his chest. "Things certainly seem to have gotten out of hand. Well, if anything goes wrong, the great Melli will be here..." His words lifted your spirit about facing Kamado. "for moral support, at least." But there it went, a frown replacing your smile. But you aren't too picky, so Melli being there for moral support wouldn't be so bad.
Playing a tune on your Celestica Flute, you call a certain deer Pokémon. Wyrdeer appears at your side in an instant. You hop on, struggling a bit because of the Pokémon's height. Once you were securely on, you direct Wyrdeer up the mountain in the snow. You pass a lone Luxray, some Elekids and Electabuzz, and an alpha Electivire. You swiftly pass the alpha Pokémon, reaching a new cave. There was a Security Corps guard standing beside the entrance. You kindly speak to him, wondering if this was the right cave that led to the peak. He kindly answers, telling you that the cave is called the Stone Portal. You thank him and head inside, still atop Wyrdeer.
Upon entering, you notice how dark it becomes. There were no torches so you had to wait for your eyes to adjust. Wyrdeer, however, wasn't phased and kept walking through the cave. You hold on for comfort before reaching a point where the ground was leveled. Once your eyes fully adjusted, you saw a blue-clothed figure with slightly bent knees. You recognize this figure as the one who fed you potato mochi: Beni. You sigh in relief, knowing that this was the correct place to be because where Kamado is, Beni is right behind.
You approach, still atop Wyrdeer, and the cook turns around, hearing the Pokémon's hoofbeats. A slight smile crosses his lips, "Oho. Still alive and kicking?"
"Sure am." You respond as Wyrdeer paws at the ground as if something was interesting there.
He sighs, "Sorry about having to shutter the Wallflower. I'd much rather be there now, serving up some freshly grilled potato mochi."
You softly scoff, "I was banned from the village. I couldn't eat there anyway!"
"Right," Beni closes his eyes for a brief moment before continuing his rant. "Anyway, Kamado left and left me to oversee our food supply. He always finds a way to put even these old bones to work..." He smiles cheekily.
You raise a brow, confused as to what the meaning behind it was. Suddenly, he snaps his head up, "While I'm handling that, I suppose I'll handle you as well. Time we got rid of you once and for all."
Your eyes widen, remembering all that time he was nice to you when bringing his food out for you. Was it really just a set-up to get rid of you all this time? "I don't understand..." You whisper and Wyrdeer continues pawing at the floor.
He violently scoffs, resulting in a slight flinch from you. "I'll make myself plain. As Kamado's right hand, I'm charged with executing all the gritty deeds Kamado can't or won't do himself. I gave him my word I'd get rid of any fools that might dream of getting in the way of his plans. And besides, it's not just Kamado who longs to live in a new home free of fear or strife. His dream is mine now, too.
"You've seen my Smoke Bombs before, right? Well, this is how you're meant to use them!" He pulls one out before aggressively smashing it to the ground, causing smoke to fly from the impact. It surrounds Wyrdeer mysteriously, making the deer perk its head up. You cough and wave your hand in front of you, clearing away the smoke from your eyes.
When the smoke eventually subsided, a new appearance of Beni was before you, in a mysterious white, ninja-like outfit. Your stomach flipped, piecing together what will happen next.
"When I heard you managed to quell those nobles one after another, oh, did it ever make my blood run hot and my heart pound..." He smiles mischievously underneath his mask. "At last...at last... One final opponent worthy of my great ninja techniques that have been left to molder all these long years!"
"Wait! We can solve this without a battle! What Kamado's doing isn't-"
You try getting to him but instead of listening, he pitches his Poké Ball out to release his first Pokémon, Mismagius. Beni points at you, and his partner prepares an attack. Mismagius uses Power Gem to hurdle sharp rocks with gems inside toward you. Panicking, you throw yourself off of Wyrdeer at the last second, but not fast enough. One rock slices your left upper arm deeply, causing blood to trickle down your arm. Wyrdeer, panicked, dashes out of the cave in two seconds.
Groaning from the pain in your arm, you toss out your partner's Poké Ball. Your alpha Garchomp pops out, ready for battle, focusing on the small Pokémon in front of him. Garchomp's eyes narrow aggressively at the little Mismagius before him and lets out a deep, threatening growl. You wrap your right hand around your deep, sensitive wound.
"Garchomp, use Outrage!"
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Word Count: 1,764
My sport season is over, but I still have theater rehearsal :( at least I have more free time for this! Thank you all for waiting patiently (or impatiently, I understand) for me to update! It's been rough but I'm still working on this!