It felt surreal landing in a completely unknown location up in the mountains. The plateau they landed on was eerily flat, with no apparent incline or decline throughout the expanse. At the edges, their rocky platform had a sheer dropoff, leading down to yet another plateau that was just the same.
This was definitely the kind of adventure that Ethan was more than willing to take part in. But, a question remained. “So, why did we stop here?”
Cyntia was also scanning their area with a slight smile at the sight. “Just to take a break. We’ve been flying for over two hours. Want to walk around?”
“Sure.” Ethan answered, eyes already on a small group of pokemon way off in the distance. He pointed them out. “Wanna say hello to those Ryhorn?”
“Why yes, Ethan. Let’s go bother the wild Ryhorn as we intrude in their territory. What a great idea.” Cynthia teased in a mocking tone… but she didn’t say no.
Ethan led the way, releasing Pachirisu as he traveled. Pachirisu took a gander at the rocky terrain and tilted his head in confusion. Ethan realized that Pachirisu had probably never seen anything other than Eterna City, Eterna Forest, and Floraroma’s flowery meadows. He might not have even known that places like this could exist.
Pachirisu kicked a nearby rock as he skedaddled about by his side. Togekiss and Garchomp were right by Cynthia’s side, who walked leisurely through the area beside him. She asked him a question. “Have you ever seen areas like this?”
“No,” He answered. He’s seen mountains before back on Earth, but nothing like a plateau deep in the wilds. At least, not in person. “We didn’t really explore the wilderness back where I’m from. We drove cars everywhere or took trains…” Ethan trailed off as he was reminded about his last train ride.
He probably would never get on a train again.
“Oh? You can drive?” Cynthia continued the small talk, completely at ease.
“Where I was born, you had to drive to get around. The closest major city nearby was nearly an hour away by car.” He explained. “I saw a few box-trucks in Eterna City, but haven’t seen any roads for cars outside of it. Do those exist here?”
“In Sinnoh? Not really. There’s a few roads that run around the coasts, though. Mt. Coronet is the main reason why it isn’t widespread. Other regions do have some paved roads for vehicles connecting major cities. Kanto has quite a few underground roads if I remember correctly.” Cynthia helpfully explained.
It was nice to have a normal conversation. All too often, it was either about work, problems, or pokemon. He was also learning more about the world he found himself in. This was all information he should have already known.
“Seems like they noticed us.” Cynthia casually remarked, nodding off in the Ryhorn’s direction. They were pretty close now, maybe a quarter of a mile away.
The small herd of a dozen Ryhorn shifted their bodies to face them, pawing at the ground in a threat display.
“Do your thing.” Cynthia gave him a nudge, causing Ethan to scoff.
“Of course, Champion.” Ethan replied, stepping forward and doing his best to feel his own current emotions. This wasn’t an ability he used, it was a passive sort of thing. Though, maybe knowing what he felt would help a bit? He felt a slight amount of awe and wonder still from his flight over the mountain, alongside an eager facilitation about their current area. The Ryhorn themselves were very interesting, but it wasn’t like he was here to catch them or anything. They seemed to be doing well enough by themselves up here in their home. They wouldn’t be very happy in a forest.
Pachirisu clambered up onto his shoulder, taking the spot he thought he deserved because Chatot wasn’t around to say otherwise. Ethan gave him a considerate look for a few seconds, rendering judgement… then ignored him.
Pachirisu preened.
“Hello!” Ethan shouted as the herd of Ryhorn slowly clambered forward, their short and stubby legs pawing at the ground. They had stark blood-red eyes and were quite intimidating. With a second to fumble with his bag, he went for the tried and true method of becoming friends. “Would you all like some berries?”
A minute later, Ethan felt like a Disney princess. Ryhorn surrounded him as they nosed his bags and pockets, seeking more delicious berries with quiet and eager cries. Ethan never left home without an absurd amount of berries—partly because things like this could happen, and partly because he was afraid of being lost without food again. The chance of that was next to zero… but fool me once world? Shame on me. Fool me twice? Not going to happen.
After handing out several berries to each of the Ryhorn, who had already abandoned any hostilities in the face of wonder berries, Ethan gave a few of their rocky horns a rub and many shoulder pats. They didn’t even pay attention to Cynthia, but a few seemed to be submissive to Garchomp and Togekiss. Pachirisu was riding one without it even realizing it had a passenger.
A sudden cry in the distance caused the Ryhorn to perk up at attention. As one, they filtered away from him, going from a slow gait-heavy walk into a jog. From their jog, they transitioned into bulldozers moving nearly thirty miles per hour, charging off and away.
“They were called away.” Cynthia helpfully informed him as she stepped up to stand by his side, also watching the herd charge into the distance. “Ready to get back to flying?”
Ethan gave the leaving herd a final look, then turned away and nodded with a slight smile gracing his lips. “Sure.”
—-----------------------------------------
Two hours later, after soaring over many meadows, thickets, ponds, and many many pokemon, Togekiss swooped down in a spiral to land in the center of a cozy looking town. Unlike Floaroma Town, Celestic Town wasn’t a major stopping point or destination for trainers. In total, there were maybe a hundred and fifty buildings. For comparison, Floaroma had roughly four hundred by his best estimate.
The buildings were very different from those from the flower infested city as well. The buildings here would have fit in the European countryside. Large thatched roof cottages with steeped hipped roofs, stone walls, and large porches were a dime a dozen. The Pokemon Center and PokeMark stood out like beacons, their bright red and blue roofs and unique appearances let everyone know what they were.
They landed in the center of town, where a large community fountain geysered plumes of water up into the air, misting the area. Ethan’s feet landed on the cobbled road as he looked about at the many curious faces looking upon him. A handful of them were trainers, who completely disregarded him in favor of staring slack jawed at Cynthia and Garchomp, but the older folk who called Celestic Town their home had their eyes squarely on him.
Grannies shared coy looks with one another and started whispering. No doubt, they were up to no good.
Cynthia recalled Togekiss and Garchomp, ignoring all the stares from the trainers that had used Celestic Town as a point in their journey. None of them had the confidence to approach the Champion of the region in her own home. He didn’t blame them one bit.
“C’mon, Ethan. We’ll stop by my house first, then we’ll go to the ruins.” As she said ‘ruins’ she turned to look off past the large fountain.
In the shape of a horseshoe, a slight decline led downwards and a slight slope. At the bottom of the slope, down a well trodden path, was the entrance to the ruin. Etched into the stone above and to the sides of the entrance, were depictions of three very famous lake dwellers. The etchings were ancient, Ethan could tell that much even from this distance. Time and rain had eroded the sharp lines, rounding off the corners of the drawings into a mirage of earth, only hinting at what once was. Hell, if Ethan hadn’t actually known what the drawings were, he probably wouldn’t have connected the dots.
Cynthia led the way through Celestic Town, saying her greetings to those who lived here. Not everyone who called Celectic Town home was old, but they definitely made up the majority of the populace. Some questioned her about him, but she simply said he was here to help out with the ruins and research. All interest in him faded in an instant at Cynthia’s reply.
God bless you old ladies, thinking that I even had a chance to begin with. Ethan thought with a knowing smile as some more old ladies got the bad news. Their hopes for juicy rumours and dating life dashed by the Champion without her even realizing.
Pfft. And people said I was dense back in the day… I can tell if someone is flirting with me. Always have… Ethan shook his head, obvious to the truth.
Eventually, they arrived at Cynthia’s home. It wasn’t anything special, just a cottage that matched the majority of the homes in the town. The home was only slightly bigger than the others, with an addition built on the side. Cynthia walked in like she owned the place, which she probably did, then greeted someone inside as he followed in.
Ethan stepped through the doorway, finding Cynthia greeting a Mr. Mime. Surprised at the sight of the all too familiar pokemon, Ethan stood there waiting for them to finish their reunion. Once their hug ended, Mr. Mime looked Ethan up and down, the pantomimed a greeting and a show of excitement. Then, the Mr. Mime left the room in a hurry.
“I didn’t know you had a Mr. Mime.” Ethan said as he looked around the living room they entered.
“She doesn’t. That one’s mine.”
Entering the living room, an older woman who looked much too spry for her age replied. “Cynthia, who is this?”
“Grandmother, this is Ethan Reed. I believe we’ve talked about him in the past.” Cynthia introduced him, and Ethan took the opportunity to speak as well. “It’s nice to meet you, Professor.”
Ethan didn’t remember much about Cynthia’s grandma, but he knew she was the head of the Celestic Town Historical Research Center. He wouldn’t have remembered that from his time on Earth, but he had done some research during his time here. Professor Carolina Shirona, head researcher into Sinnoh’s time-space legends—Palkia and Dialga.
“A pleasure.” Carolina greeted him back with a nod. She wasn’t being cold, though. She was just more focused on her granddaughter. “And what brings you here? You’ve been spending your free days at this man’s ranch, have you not?”
What soon followed was a ten minute conversation that Ethan didn’t even have a chance to take part in. Cynthia and Carolina talked shop about Ethan’s ability to read Unown and his very shoddy knowledge of the legendary pokemon in the world. He was by no means an expert, but he could give a gist of what they do and what aspects they cover along with their names and regions. That was apparently pretty good in this day and age for a, and he quotes, ‘Budding researcher’.
They both talked as if he wasn’t there in the room with them, deciding which ruins would have priority transcriptions and which could be done without physical travel by taking pictures or getting rubbings.
Ethan had helped himself to the nearby couch as they lost themselves in their chatter behind him. He opted to play ‘Wack a Shuckle’ with Shuckle's limbs to kill the time. Mr. Mime had taken a seat next to him to join in as his trainer and her wayward granddaughter Champion geeked out.
They’d sooner or later wind their way back to the ruins here in Celectic Town soon enough. It was the reason he came, anyways. Maybe they just forgot?