Lute awoke with a lazy yawn and a stretch, followed by a dozy look around the room. Sophitia's pudgy form lay sprawled out beside him, having stolen most of the blanket while drooling away. Nothing unusual.
He sighed and made his way out of the house, tripping up on a loose stone from one of the walls. With their new habitat, he kept telling himself he'd figure out a way to sort that. He had to go to the back of the house where a little pond was, where he could dip his face in the water to wake himself up. It was chilly and sent a shiver all the way through him.
He looked out over the town. Just another morning in the new Everend. The town had regressed since its change to natural technology over V-Wave technology, and even after all this time, he still wasn't really used to it. Food was getting scarce and the only way to wash was through the river water, which had been partially redirected into a lake in the middle of town. Every household in the area had to share it, but thankfully Pokémon were being polite and cooperative with it.
Speaking of those households, all of those had shrunk considerably, too. The brick structures and such remained, but they were more spacious thanks to the lack of appliances that were once standard. No fridges or ovens, no light bulbs, no electronic doors, and more. He had a fear that robberies would increase since the change, but thankfully, not one had been reported – in Everend, at least.
Of course, school was off. The entire school and system needed to be rebuilt from scratch, since so much of that building was built with V-Waves in mind. As such, he hadn't seen his school friends for a while, too.
"Lute?" Sophitia's voice echoed from within the house. She sounded like she was whining about something, so he made his way back in.
"Morning. Everything okay?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. She was squirming a bit, sprawled out on her back.
"Closer, please," she murmured, half awake. He was wary but obeyed, only to be snatched up by her feelers and brought into a surprise cuddle. She pinned him down with her body, giving him a half-lidded look. "Finally got you, mister hard worker."
"What's gotten into you?" he said, and rolled his eyes. He didn't even try to fidget his way out.
"Oh nothing, besides the fact that I've been totally ignored for all this time. So much for spending time together," she said. She curled around him so that her face was close to his. "And I know I know, we needed to rebuild Everend properly and stuff, but we've made crazy good progress on that, right?"
"Go on," he said sceptically.
"We should take a break today. Go somewhere special, have some fun. You promised me we would," she said with a little giggle.
"I did?" he said.
"Pretty sure ya did. But just in case, I ain't movin' until you say yes, so pick your next words wisely," she giggled again.
"Really Sophitia? You've been acting so weird lately. You're doing this again. What's actually wrong?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Urgh. I always have to spell stuff like this out for you," she groaned as she got up. She went over to the window and sighed, swaying her head with her thoughts. "I'm bored, okay? Like, really, really bored."
"Bored?" He cocked his head.
"Yeah, bored. I mean I get it, Aseria's a happier place now. There's no fighting, the Pokémon are all working together, everyone's constantly got stuff to do. But I'm a fighter, y'know? All that stuff I did before when we were travelling, I literally live for it," she explained. "I thought you did too, so I thought we were getting closer. Close enough to maybe... I dunno, do something special."
"With me?" he said, leaning back. "Oh whoa, first thing in the morning. Are you awake right now?"
"Yes Lute, I'm awake. You might think I'm a lazybones, but I got this strong 'cos I woke up before sunrise every day," she slumped. "But since Lassic died, I don't even have to do that. All we've been doing is rebuilding Everend. It's not me, I just can't enjoy it."
"C'mon, can't you be mature about this? This is life we're talking about. We have to do this; it's not going to be the funnest thing in the world. We still have so much to do. We've still got crops to plant and fields to make," Lute reasoned
She turned her back to him. "So it's no, huh? You're not interested in me?"
"What? No- I just, want to focus on this. And besides," he said. He slowly walked around her, but stopped and shifted back when he saw her face. "Forget it. I just think it's better we get all this over with first before we really relax."
"No go on, what were you gonna say?" she said.
"Forget it, don't worry about it. I wasn't going to say anything," he said. A loud, obnoxious vibration sounded out, and the two looked dumbly at each other before they realised that it was the King's Shield badge. "Er, where is it?"
"You don't remember where you put it?" she said, scrambling to shuffle through belongings.
"I thought you kept yours nearby or something," he cried, having to tidy up the room to help find it. It sounded like it was buried under towels and things, so he threw those up and everywhere to make space. In his rush, he didn't realise that she was doing the same, and accidently touched her paw. He flinched hard, but so did she, and their heads bashed together hard enough to have them waddle off in the opposite direction.
"Geez, watch where you're going," she cried. She had stepped on the badge, and held it up, still rubbing her head with a feeler. "Ugh. Browse!"
"Oh, you found it?" he said. He was worse, blinking continuously. The screen fizzed into view before them, revealing Naivie unexpectedly close to it.
"Finally! You guys took your sweet time to answer. Is it 'cos it's me calling?" Naivie shouted.
"Naivie? No, why would – we can't see who's calling until it's picked up," Lute said. "Why are you using this thing, anyway?"
"Because I needed a quick and easy way to get all you weakling's attention that I know would actually work. Don't judge me!" she shouted even louder.
"Okay okay, stop shouting into the badge. It comes up really loud over here." He cringed.
"I need you all to come to the Northern Temple. You remember which one that is, right? The trash island. Reis Island. And you better come quick!" Naivie ordered.
"What's happened? Are we needed there?" Sophitia wondered.
"Well like it or not, we're all ready to bring back the seasons and stuff. So, you know, it's only right that the heroes be here to witness it all first-hand and stuff. You know... you're honoured, VIP guests! So don't miss it, or I'll make you wish you were never born!" Naivie shouted her loudest. She cut the call off.
"Huh, not much longer until we don't have to put up with her anymore," Sophitia said, falling on her backside. Lute gave her a look. "I'm only kidding, obviously. Don't gimme that look. But before we go, can we please do something about breakfast?"
"Oh yeah, sure. We're running on fumes here," he said, and blushed as his own stomach rumbled. "It seems cheeky seeing as we're about to lose access to all the V-Wave stuff, but we're going to have to use the Teleportal for this one."
...
Getting ready was smooth, after that. Sophitia stuffed herself on Lute's idea of a cooked meal: toasted bread in mixed berry curry, with their remaining gummis on the side. He stressed over them possibly being away from the house for a length of time, making sure nothing could rot and that they wouldn't have anything worth stealing left inside. After about an hour of preparation, the duo finally left the house. Everend didn't actually have a Teleportal, so their route involved a Deposit Box that had been moved to the centre of the town.
To their surprise, they emerged from a Deposit Box right there on Reis Island by the gondola station. The station was still open from the looks of things, but in need of serious repair from when Sophitia had slashed the rail wires. From there, they made their way across the island's mountainous landscapes, quiet until about halfway to their destination.
"You know what, this is a lot better when you're not hiding for your life," Sophitia remarked. She stretched her legs and feelers.
"The island's prettier, too. We weren't actually here during the day," he said, admiring its numerous coves and views. The island's height meant that there were a lot of inlets where the sea could be seen, as well as the distant mainland of Aseria. The rail wires from the gondolas could all be seen connecting to one another. This was the only place he had ever been where multiple islands and the vehicles connecting them were in sight all at once.
"Hey, a little off-topic, but have I ever told you your cooking's really good?" Sophitia said with a sway of her head.
"My cooking? Really?" He scratched his face.
"Yeah, seriously. Where'd you learn?" she asked.
"I just copied Mum. She's way better than me, though," he admitted.
"Well I'm not gonna dispute that. But just, if what you made today is what you can do on like, limited bread and instant meals, then I can't wait to see what you do with a full berry garden. Just thinking about its making me hungry again," she said, looking up and licking her lips.
"Eheh. Well er, I am happy you like," he said, rubbing his face. "I don't think it's that special, though."
"Don't be so shy, it's a compliment," she giggled. "Er, where do we go from here?"
"The temple's on the other side of the mountain. Er, we can climb over." He drifted off. The mountain was tall and rugged enough to give a flying type a challenge. He gulped, and turned to the valley of water down below. "We better just go the way we came before."
"Ugh. Was hoping we wouldn't have to get wet," she sighed.
"Didn't you say you liked this stuff?" he said.
"Well excuse me for not wanting to drown myself getting to and from a place. Underwater's not my forte," she said, following him anyway. With a reluctant nod, they took deep breaths and dived.
He didn't have to sneak like last time, but it was still irritating to get through the tight walls. He felt nervous and claustrophobic from how close the jagged, dirty walls would get to him, and how he had to tiptoe sideways just to squeeze through. That was until he got about halfway through this part, and some new settings started to show.
As the walls spread out and he reached the far end of the valley, new scenery unlike anything he could ever have imagined showed up. There was enough space for him to swim properly, but he couldn't help but slow down to get a good look at it all. Dandelions grew on the riverbed. There were whole entire fields of them that covered the floor for miles. To his sides, the walls were clean orange rock, a mighty departure from the decomposed trash he expected to find. The water was crystal clear, too.
His chest started to ache a bit, and bubbles leaking from his mouth reminded him where he was. He kicked himself upward, realising that he was far deeper than expected. He let out a grumble and shut his eyes as he forced himself to keep his mouth shut, but even though was difficult. By the time he breached the surface, he was splashing about and gasping like a Magikarp out of water, and had to take a moment to catch his breath.
"Ahaha, c'mon Lute! You can do better than that," Sophitia popped up beside him. She shook herself off, but she didn't seem to have nearly as much issue with catching her breath. He wanted to snap at her, but seeing her smile made him rethink.
"Sorry, I really am not that good at diving," he admitted. "What is all this, though? Everything's clean, and there's way more water than last time."
"Down here. It looks prettier," she said, going back under.
"So much for not wanting to get wet," he said with a roll of his eyes.
He paddled ahead a little before he joined her, but she was miles ahead. He could recognise the hill they originally walked down to reach the temple, which was now totally underwater. The area was now a clean, natural field with not just dandelions, but sunflowers and even a few young trees. They all swayed in the current and shimmered a mixture of colours in the water's refracting light.
"It looks so beautiful," Sophitia said, her voice muffled. He opened his mouth to agree, only to immediately choke and have to surface again. She watched him with a smile, and giggled.
"You're really not very good at this, are you?" she laughed as she popped up beside him again.
"N-no. Wa-wait a second, you can talk underwater?" he cried.
"It's easy. Is that really not a normal thing Pokémon can do?" she said.
"No, it's really not! Ah, guess I'm never going swimming with you ever," he groaned.
"Oh yes we are. You wanted me to help you get stronger, right? That's being added to your training regime, mister," she said with a half-lidded smirk. "In fact, why don't we start right now?"
She dove into him and pushed him under, giving him the fright of his life. He just about managed to take a breath before he was stuck under and wrestling with her, but it was only until he managed to break free of her feelers that he realised that she wasn't being serious. She was barely even trying to trap him, instead tickling him with her feelers at most. It still made him cough though, and he wound up cradling her as his source of support for staying on the surface.
"Sophitia, stop it!" he cried.
"Not until you say you're gonna swim with me," she sung, pressing him back under.
"Geez I wasn't being serious- okay okay, I get it I will!" he cried, and she finally stopped, letting him catch his breath. "You're so playful lately... I-I'm not scared or anything, but can we at least go see Naivie before she calls us again?"
"Bah, Naivie can wait. I wanna check out this gorgeous place," she gasped. He groaned a little, stuck cradling her back. Looking at her though, he rethought his ideas.
She looked genuinely happy, and more than he had seen her look in a long while. Her eyes gleamed and her tail wagged nonstop. He went blank while she laughed and splashed her way ahead.
"You gonna let go of me anytime soon? I wanna dive again," she asked, bringing that sunniness over to him. He blushed a bit, and then returned with a light smile of his own.
"Er, I'm not that good, so mind if I hold on?" he proposed.
"Oh alright. Just this once. Gimme a tap if you wanna surface," she said, kicking into high gear.
To his surprise, she leapt right out of the water with graceful ease, and landed directly on top of it. She skipped with her usual gait and tapped off the surface like it wasn't water, almost like she was dancing across it. His mouth was agape as he was brought over to new scenery thanks to this, a view of the open ocean that this drowned area led to. Some woodland was stuck up out of the water. There were treetops swaying in the current like little islands of leaves and branches.
"Here we go!" she said, leaping especially high. He made a squeak but took a deep breath right before they dove into the underwater world.
He had to take a second or two to adjust his eyes to being underwater again, but once he did, he nearly gasped. The trees were the midst of a growing forest, right here in this underwater mountain field. It was like the forest nearby Everend, only far more tropical and colourful thanks to the clear water and colourful flowers everywhere. There were petals flowing in the current, herds of tiny Remoraid and Goldeen, and more nature all around them.
Even more impressive was Sophitia herself. He clutched her tightly, but that didn't impede her smooth movements at all. She weaved her way through the area like a Milotic in its prime, stretching her feelers to wrap them around the nearby trunks and branches. She launched her body like a pebble in a slingshot to propel through the water at a pleasant pace.
His chest started to irk him again, so he squeezed and tapped her. She giggled, but promptly shot for the surface. She breached it with an upbeat cheer of laughter. Lute cried out from how high they went, expecting them to plummet right back into the water. But she danced on top of it again, and stopped once she reached a treetop that was sticking out.
"Whoa. I thought you said water wasn't your forte? How are you this good?" he cried.
"I dunno, I seriously just discovered all this! But look out over there, those are islands, right?" she said, pointing. He had to lean forward and shake some water out of his face, but surely enough, she wasn't mistaken. Large islands were off in the distance.
"It is. But they don't have gondolas going- wait a minute," he gasped and whipped out his King's Shield badge. He brought up its holographic screen and tapped a few things on it. "I know I said I wouldn't use this thing anymore, but... no, I was right. These islands aren't on the map!"
"Not at all? So they're undiscovered islands?" she said, leaning forward too.
"They are. And they look big enough for Pokémon to live on," he said with an excited shiver. He put the badge away, and now he couldn't stop staring. "How didn't anybody discover this? Pokémon probably live there and stuff, yet the rest of Aseria has no idea that they're there."
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" she said with that half-lidded smirk again.
"Aww... but we do have to get back. Naivie and the others are probably ranting about us by now," he said.
"I was actually gonna say you're still on my back and your face is awfully close to mine," she pointed out, making him realise. Their cheeks were practically touching, so he wildly withdrew.
"Ah, don't say stuff like that! I didn't mean to," he cried.
"Ehee hee, oh Lute, I'm just teasing. I don't mind, really. But we're gonna check those islands out soon, right?" she proposed.
"Definitely. They're a bit too far away to swim to, though." He hung his head.
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to. We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she said, heading back. "Just, this is my idea of a day out with you."
He went quiet at that. Is that really what she wanted? Just a chance to hang out?
She leapt across the top of the water back to the mainland of Reis Island, and then followed her memory to go to where the temple originally was. All of that area was underwater now, so there was a bit of doubt and hesitation, but after a little while, a new island came into view. An island large enough for them to stand on. By the time they got there, Sophitia was panting, though.
"You okay?" he asked as she leaned against a rock.
"Y-yeah. Ha, just gimme a minute or two," she said. "I was running for quite a while! Swimming's a real workout, too."
He looked around, curious about the familiarity of this small island. It was shaped like yet another one of Reis' many inlets, but with a huge mountain walling the backside of it and a cave entrance looming before them, he couldn't wait to explore it. He shivered from the cold wetness of it all, though. The whole area was damp, right down to its sticky floor and the sound of droplets in the distance.
"Oh, wait. This is the temple," he realised. "The temple must've floated while the rest of island started sinking."
"Then we're here," she said as she wandered ahead. "That's another mystery, by the way. We gotta figure out why all the trash disappeared and why the island started sinking. I'm almost certain both aren't good things."
"You were really upset about all the landfill here," he said. Inside the cave was the wide area where they fought Silver, and beyond that, the entrance to the temple.
"Finally. You guys took your Arceus damn time," Kuri said. He was leaning on a rock somewhere high up, and hopped down to them.
"Lute, Sophitia!" Esther cried, charging toward them.
"Esther, everyone. Sorry, we er," Lute trailed off. Naivie was the only one that looked mad. "We had some important stuff to sort out back home. Really slowed us down."
"Ooh. Juicy stuff?" Esther bat her eyes at him.
"Esther please." Infia rolled her eyes. "Sorry I didn't come and visit. I hope my house wasn't too hard to deal with and stuff."
"We actually left a lot of it the same. We didn't want to mess with your stuff," he smiled. "Er, I'm surprised, Infia. You don't have a new costume or anything?"
"I do, but if this is going to be our last little adventure together, I thought I might as well go classic," she said, brushing her shirt and skirt. "Don't worry. You'll get to see my first show soon."
"Show? You girls got a routine already?" Sophitia asked.
"Heck yeah. Lute, you missed out big time. Infia's a natural, and I mean, she's really got the moves!" Esther wiggled a little dance.
"Don't, you're gonna make me blush," she said, shaking her paws.
"In case you guys didn't realise, this is not a family reunion!" Naivie shouted, popping between them all.
"This is literally a family reunion," Phoenix said, and pressed her down. "And now that you are here, I am going to have to tell you all off for not visiting Angard."
"Angard? Wait, have you been working there, Phoenix?" Lute said.
"Oh brother," Kuri rolled his eyes.
"Pokétopia did not need any help, so I just went to help there. And the progress is going impeccably. Turns out that despite the fact that Pokémon relied a lot on tools, a lot of them still remember how to be Pokémon. Building is actually easier when you use your powers to do it rather than a crane." Phoenix smiled.
"You know what, I was actually thinking the same! Making all the new homes in Everend's been way easier than I imagined it'd be," Lute said.
"That's because you've been doing all the easy stuff, gathering stones and stuff. I've been doing all the heavy lifting, and literally!" Sophitia said, and pinched him with a feeler.
"Oh Lute, how could you? Leaving a lady to do the heavy lifting, for shame," Kuri said with a cocky smile on his face.
"You try carrying stones three times your size! It's not that easy," Lute groaned.
"Oh yeah. I have Phoenix to do that for me. Gen and I have been on holiday," he said, arms folded.
"Didn't you say you weren't going to do that?" Sophitia said. "Gentlemanly advice is the last thing I wanna hear from you."
"He's teasing you. He has actually done way more than Genesis has," Phoenix said.
"He better be!"
"They're competing over who can do more."
"Oh. Of course."
"But what about the real juicy stuff, the juicy stuff!" Esther bounced between them all. "Go on, tell me all about it. What've you two been getting away with, havin' a house to yourself and all that?"
"We haven't been doing anything. And even if we did, like I'd tell you!" Sophitia cried with a little blush.
"Aww, the first timers are always so shy," Esther sung.
"No, I mean it. Me and Lute have been hard at work. That's why we were late today," she said, glancing at him. He smiled that she played along with his lie.
"Huh, seriously? But wait a minute, weren't you...?" she said, a finger on her lip. Sophitia raised an eyebrow, making her snort. "Excuse me a second everyone!"
"Esther—" was all Lute could say before she was off and dragging Sophitia so quickly that a cloud of dust remained in their wake.
Esther left the cave and ran to the side of the island, where she stopped to ensure they weren't followed. Once certain, she let Sophitia's paw go, and then pouted at her. "Are you like, totally for real now? You and Lute didn't do anything?"
"The only lie was that we were curious about this area being underwater. It's no use getting Naivie mad and admitting we mucked about on the way here," Sophitia said.
"Aww my gosh, what? Ah, the actual heck Sophitia? How can you have such an opportunity and do nothing about it?" Esther whined.
"I don't even know exactly what you're talking about, you know. Seriously, why did you drag me all the way out here?" Sophitia asked.
"Really? We're playing dumb, too?" Esther said. Sophitia tilted her head, making her sigh. "Alright. Look, it's super obvious. I can feel the sad aura oozing from you. You really like Lute, like, love him, right? And we all know how stories like this end in the plays. You can't have a whole journey with someone you like, get a house to yourself for two weeks and not do anything. It's like, literally against the rules!"
"Well your first mistake is trying to ship other Pokémon together. I thought we were through with this from Infia?" Sophitia replied with slight annoyance.
"No no, it's not a ship if it's true! Don't lie to yourself. I can sense these things from a mile off, I know when someone's suffering from feelings," Esther pointed at her.
"Bold claims for someone who couldn't tell who Infia had feelings for," Sophitia said.
"Hey in my defence, I didn't known what a lebsian- lesbiab- lesiban- ah, I didn't know girls could go with girls, 'kay? I seriously had a whole epiphany with that," she flinched. "But this ain't about me. Did he not even say anything?"
"Not a thing. All focused on rebuilding the town, day by day." Sophitia shut her eyes.
"Aww. I knew the kid was as dense as peanut porridge, but wow, no wonder you've got it so bad. You need to say something, Sophie," she said.
Sophitia growled and looked away, feeling her face heat up a little. "I have, okay? I tease, I play, I be extra nice, he's just not interested."
"Did you sit him down to talk?" Esther asked.
"I did. Sorta. This morning, actually."
"And did you ask him out at least?"
"No. Yes? Again, sorta?"
Esther sighed again and started pacing, and then hopped up to sit on one of the rocks. "Y'know, in my little experience with Infia, I learnt a lot. I mean I get it; most girls want boys to just, man up and pop the question. But I just have to ask, why?"
"Why?" Sophitia tilted her head.
"Yeah. Infia didn't have a boy to wait for, y'know? And you know how shy she is. But she wanted something so bad, she broke all those unwritten rules and just talked to me about it," she said, playing with her tutu. "So why not you, too? If you really wanna be with Lute, why don't you just talk about it properly?"
"Again though, your problem is your assumption that we're struggling with a relationship of some kind," Sophitia said, turning her back. "I just really like adventuring. And when I met him, I was sure he did, too. I thought we'd be travelling forever, but, turns out I might be wrong."
"If you're serious about it, make sure you ask him out. Preferably before he goes back to school and stuff," Esther said.
"Tell you what. I'll ask him if you promise to get outta the habit of trying to be privy of everyone's relationships," Sophitia said, turning back.
"I can't make that promise. I wanna know all the saucy stuff, 'cos maybe I could learn a thing or two," she said, tucking her paws behind her head. She fell right back too, kicking her legs up happily.
"You're shameless." Sophitia palmed her face.
"Not shameless, just nosy. Hey, come back! It's not that embarrassing, is it?" she cried.
They came back to find Naivie had quietened the group, fluttering between them. As soon as they got there, Naivie flew right into their noses, sending them reeling back in irritation.
"Took you furry louts long enough! The day will be over if we mess about any longer. And I ain't waitin'!" the little fairy screamed.
"Geez alright, I'm sorry. No need to hit me so hard," Esther moaned.
"You asked for it."
"I didn't ask for—"
"Shut up, just shut up already! Gods, it really is like dealing with a bunch of children sometimes," Naivie cried.
"I mean, they are literally children, so I don't really know what you're expecting," Kuri said with a shrug. "But you've got our attention now, so yeah, let's get to it."
Naivie gave him a leer. "Just follow me. And try not to get distracted like children."
"No fun allowed, huh?" Phoenix said.
"I called you all here because Aseria is starting to reach its limit, as evidenced by this island's drastic change in circumstances. None of you realised while you were journeying because you warped around a lot, but certain disasters are starting to occur. The sea is rising, and the land is shrinking," Naivie explained as she directed them into the temple. "As you're no doubt aware, Reis Island has seen the biggest effect. The island is mostly underwater now."
"But it somehow cleaned off all the landfill?" Sophitia tilted her head.
"Not exactly. There was actually an eruption here. Tectonic plates are starting to forcibly shift. We'll get all kinds of nasty eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis soon if we don't do something," Naivie warned. "But everyone's been making stunning progress. If Pokétopia is anything to go by, then I have no doubt in my mind that you Pokémon really can cope."
"So you brought us away from our work, why?" Kuri said.
"So that you can witness the evolution of Aseria with your own eyes," she said, positioning herself above the ancient flower. "Congratulations, heroes. You are about to see everything you've been working towards come to fruition. For Aseria to go back to being the way it's supposed to be. For Pokémon to..."
"Heh. I suppose that is cause for a little celebration," Lute agreed.
"Celebration? Yes. I should thank all of you for going through with all of this. It's just a bit of a shame, really," Naivie said.
"A shame?" Infia said.
"Yeah. A shame that I've had to bring you into one place like this. But I won't dwell anymore," she said, starting to glow. "It just makes my job a little easier."
Confusion swept across the group, but before they could question it, a massive cylinder of light enveloped Naivie and the ancient flower below her. She cried out for a moment, and then seemed to brace herself to resist it, letting out struggled grunts and moans. The group stepped forward to help but were stopped by a squint of her eyes, almost as though she were smiling.
The energy filled the ground, lighting up the altar around them, and with it, Naivie plummeted to the ground like a lifeless doll. Heavy wind blew against them, ruffling the petals and vines of the flower. All the while, the cave around them began to gain life. Colour, soil, grass, and more decorated the cave by the second. In just moments, they were stood in a cave that smelt beautifully of pollen and were surrounded by grassland and golden dust in the air.
"Naivie!" Esther let out a panicked cry. The heavenly choir coming from it all wouldn't distract from the fact that the tiny Carbink was lying on the floor nearly motionless. She looked as though she was dying right before their eyes. It was as if she were straining to flap her tiny wings.
"Naivie, wait what's happening?" Sophitia gasped as she came to the Carbink's aid. She attempted to pick Naivie up with her feelers, but a spark from an invisible barrier got in the way. Amongst all the light and nature growing around her, she noticed the Shaymin was awake and watching her. It promptly changed into its sky form, and then took off out of the cave.
"Guys, look out here," Kuri said, revealing he was by the cave exit. They all exchanged glances and then jogged joined him by the exit.
The Shaymin had become a golden glow that streaked through the sky, soon joined by three other gold lights – the other Shaymin. They gathered toward the centre of Aseria, where they formed one huge light that was blinding to look at, even from their distance. That light ascended into the grey clouds, instantly warming the colours and leaving a golden glitter to rain from the sky.
Even though he had just seen Naivie's predicament, an incredible relief began to take over Lute. He couldn't divert his eyes away from the sky, while a smile snuck its way onto his face. It started with rays of natural light peeking through the clouds, and then a natural breeze against his fur.
"We... we did it," he whispered. Nature spread throughout the world right before their eyes, as the blanket of clouds began to part and the sun peaked through. Flowers bloomed around them where there was once rock, and looking down at Reis Island, all over the surface there, too. The water suddenly splashed up against the island as a tide returned, while waves from a visible current filled the ocean.
Without really thinking about it, he raised a paw and linked it with Sophitia's. The two of them stared at the beautiful range of colours forming before them. He leaned on her a bit, too. All he could think about was how happy he was to see it all after so long. It was impossible to imagine how colourless and dry the world looked before, especially how quickly it had all reformed, too.
And then, a horrible noise boomed across the sky, and massive shockwave blew across it. The clouds above Pokétopia split in an instant and swirled into a pit around a dark object.
"What?" he whispered, his smile vanishing in a flash.
Another shockwave occurred, and this one was strong enough to hit them even from here. The clouds had vanished from the sky completely, revealing not the sun, but a massive object that was generating a solar eclipse. It was easy to think of it as a planet, but it was so close to them that its surface could be made out.
"What, is that?" Esther gasped and shifted back.
"Is that the moon?" Infia said, pointing out its greyish colours and craters.
"That's not the moon, that's a... I don't know what that is. It's a planet, but it couldn't be," Kuri said and clenched his fists. A powerful roar made them all flinch, and they turned back to the temple. Dark rays were coming from it. The group exchanged glances and rushed back in.
"Naivie?" Sophitia gasped.
The Carbink was mutating in a similar fashion to Lassic. She took on a white glow while her body expanded, gained, and threw away features to attain a new form. Her little wings expanded into long, straight, hard arms with solid claws on the end. Her overall size grew drastically, becoming taller and wider than the ancient flower behind her. And when the light burst away from her, she smashed to the ground with a triumphant, intimidating roar.
"Did she evolve?" Lute cried.
"It can't be," Sophitia whispered. She was shuddering hard.
Naivie had a mouth now, a maw lined with fangs with a wider bottom jaw than the top. Her eyes were solid blue, with no pupils or light reflecting at all. Her fluffy muffler was similar to before, but had a fiery sphere in the centre. Otherwise, her body was relatively the same as a Carbink's, only oversized and monstrous sounding. She had to balance herself using her new claws, but loomed over the party and laughed maniacally.
"Sophitia... Remember me?"