Chapter 5
Route One wasn’t any different than any country road in Equestria. It was a simple dirt road winding its way through lush fields of green sprinkled with wildflowers and groves of trees dotting the landscape. Far to the north she could see the sparkling buildings of a city as they gleamed in the sunlight.
Aurea Juniper said its name was Accumula Town. It was a small town with only a little more than two hundred inhabitants. But if Celestia and one of the mirror shards had both appeared in Nuvema Town, chances were that other shards would be in the surrounding area.
If Celestia were being honest with herself, she would have preferred going a little further to search for them. In just half a day’s walk, she’d seen large groups of Pokémon darting about in the tall grass or flying overhead. The most common ones were giant rats with fierce-looking red eyes that walked about on their hindlegs.
“Those are Patrat,” Evan had told her when they spotted a small colony foraging for food. “They’re incredibly common between Nuvema Town and Nacrene City due to a lack of competition from other Pokemon.”
“You certainly know a lot of different species,” Celestia commented. “How many varieties are there?”
“In Unova alone there are one hundred and fifty six different Pokemon. But outside of Unova, there’s reportedly over six hundred more.” He shrugged. “Though there’s probably far more than that. Professors and Trainers alike are always discovering or rediscovering new species around the globe.”
“And how do you keep track of so many species?”
“With this,” Evan reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangle made of black metal with a red Pokéball painted onto its lower half beneath a small screen. “This is a Pokédex; an encyclopedia that keeps records of every Pokémon encountered. Watch.” Evan tapped the center of the Pokéball and pointed the device at one of the Patrat. When he showed it to Celestia, the screen showed a smaller image of the rodent, along with details on its size, weight, and even footprint.
“I’m glad you decided to come along with me,” Celestia smiled as he slipped the Pokédex back into his pocket. “Locating the shards without understanding the technology I’m carrying wouldn’t get me very far.”
“I was looking for an excuse to travel anyways. There’s only so much you can do in a lab compared to actual fieldwork.”
When Celestia was ready to set off on her journey, it had come as a bit of a surprise when the dark-haired youth volunteered to be her guide. During her time at the lab, she’d felt that the two of them hadn’t started on the best of terms, and his silence when not talking about wild Pokémon seemed to reinforce that thought. But perhaps now the both of them could try to learn more about the other.
By midday the trees began to give way on the left side of the trail, and the scent of salt water was strong in the air. Not long after, Celestia could see the path diverge downhill, leading towards a small, tranquil bay dotted by rocks. The two decided to stop for a brief luncheon near the shore, the calming sea breeze blowing over them. Evan prepared their food and released his Unfezant from its Pokéball. “Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, OK buddy?”
The bird replied with its name, and Evan fished into his grey knapsack, fishing out a bag of what appeared to be trail-mix. He let the bird enjoy a few mouthfuls before it took off into the sky and began lazily circling around them.
Such a proud creature must hate being confined to such a tiny space, Celestia pondered as she watched the Unfezant in full flight. The thought also reminded her of her magic predicament, and she decided to test and see if her magic reserves had increased since the last time she checked. Unfortunately, her tests confirmed that she still wasn’t strong enough to lift a stick, so she again let both her mind and eyes wander where they pleased.
In the shallows of the water she could see large fish leaping into the air; the sunlight caught on their green scales, making them shine like emeralds. Evan noticed her gaze and moved beside her, two sandwiches in his hands. “Those are Basculin. Don’t get too close or they’ll bite your nose off. They’re fiercely territorial.”
“Do they always congregate near the shore?” Celestia asked, trying to instinctively levitate a sandwich to her mouth only to realize her folly and instead simply took it with a hoof.
“Shores and rivers, yeah,” Evan answered. “Probably because of the much more dangerous Pokémon that live further out.”
“And you’re not scared of those dangerous creatures intruding on your homes?” Another Basculin leapt from the water, closer to shore. This close, Celestia was able to spot a thick black band that ran down the fish’s back, and two thin red stripes that flanked the band on both sides.
Evan shrugged, wolfing his sandwich down quickly before speaking. “Why would I? In all likelihood they were here first. If anything it’d be humans that are intruding on them. But we all have to live somewhere, and if you don’t go bother Pokémon, they won’t go bother you.” Looking out over the water, Evan smiled and pointed. “Besides, sometimes it works out best for everyone involved. See there?”
Celestia followed his gaze to where, just past the horizon, she could see the glint of metal; though they were somewhat hidden by the light haze over the city, she could easily make out several tall structures. To be seen at such a distance they must be staggeringly high. Coming from the south was a moving object across the water, likely a massive ship.
“That’s Castelia,” Evan said. “Usually it’s hard to see from here unless we get lucky with the weather. It’s Unova’s business hub, filled with thousands of people and dozens of ships coming and going from all over the world. But among all those tall buildings and busy streets, you’re still going to find Pokémon who call that city home just as much as the humans do.”
“And I suppose if they did cause trouble, you could use your own Pokémon to battle against them?”
“That’s only for extreme cases. The Pokémon who live in cities are very accustomed to humans and almost never lash out or cause damages unless they’re provoked first.”
Celestia smiled and bit into her sandwich. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience. Did you live there?”
“In Castelia? No way. Way too many people and way too much going on for my liking. But I did grow up in a city not too far away called Virbank. It’s not nearly as big as Castelia, but the concept of people and Pokémon sharing living space inside a city is the same.” He smiled and looked at the six Pokéballs resting on his belt. “In fact, if there weren’t Pokémon living alongside humans like that, I don’t know if I’d have wanted to become a Pokémon trainer in the first place.”
“And why did you, if you wouldn’t mind me asking?”
Evan gave an indifferent shrug. “I wanted to learn more about the world outside of Virbank. Unova is a big place and I wanted to see what other people and Pokémon live here. Sort of like how you’re asking all these questions to understand our world.”
“I feel like I’m still a long way from understanding, though I’ve always been the curious sort. I suppose I can sympathize with your wanderlust.”
Evan didn’t say anything more after that and instead headed began putting away the remains of their lunch. Celestia could do little but watch as she finished her own meal, though the silence was soon broken as Evan’s Unfezant abruptly shot down from the sky and landed on his shoulder, cawing incessantly. Celestia trotted over, her brow furrowing in unease. “Is something the matter?”
“I’m not sure,” Evan said, stroking Unfezant’s plume. “What’s got you so upset? Did you spot something?”
Unfezant simply swung its head to the south, back the way they had came. Evan stood, a Pokéball already in his hand as he ostensibly prepared for the worst. Celestia followed the bird’s gaze as well and quickly spotted what he had: a tiny green figure was hurrying towards them.
“What is that?” Evan wondered aloud. “It too small for a Watchog, and the wrong colour for Scraggy.”
The figure seemed to speed up when it spotted them, running nearly flat to the ground. Even at this distance Celestia could make out large expressive red eyes and a pointed nose turned towards the sky. “Oh my, isn’t that Aurea’s Snivy?”
Evan groaned in frustration and held his forehead with his free hand. “Of course. I bet she forgot to lock the door again.” Without removing the hand from his face, he pointed his Pokéball at Unfezant and a red light encompassed the bird. “Unfezant return. He’s going to run off if he sees a Flying type and we’ll never track him down.”
“I take it this happens frequently?” Celestia asked as the Snivy came to a stop before her.
“Let’s just say this particular Snivy has a habit of being picky around new trainers and running off when he shouldn’t.” Evan slipped Unfezant’s Pokéball onto his belt beside the others and then looked at the black and blue device on his arm. “I’d better call the professor before she gets worried.”
Evan had barely finished his sentence before his device began ringing. Perplexed, he held it up and the screen flickered on, showing Aurea’s face; her voice also came in as clearly as if she were right there with them. “Ah, Evan, glad I caught you. Seems I have a slight problem. Snivy got out again.”
“You actually got lucky, Professor,” Evan said. “The Snivy tracked us down. He’s here right now.” Evan pointed the screen toward the Snivy, who stood tall beside Celestia’s leg. “Should we wait here until you can come and pick him up?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. You’re both pretty close to Accumula Town, so contact me once you’re inside the Pokémon Center and I’ll transfer Snivy’s Pokéball. Then just send it back to me.”
“Snivy!” He crossed his arms indignantly and pointedly looked away from both Evan and Aurea.
Celestia chuckled. “I don’t think he likes that plan.”
“Well I can’t keep him with me,” Evan said. “I’ve already got my full team and it wouldn’t be right for me to leave one of them behind for Snivy. Besides, don’t you have a new trainer coming by soon, Professor?”
“Yes, but I should have enough time to get another Snivy before they arrive. I think this one has already made his choice of trainer anyways.”
Celestia was silent for a few moments as Aurea’s words sunk in. “Wait, you mean me? I believe I was clear before, Professor: I’m not a trainer and I don’t wish to be one.”
“Think of him as protection, then,” Aurea pushed. “You and Evan might get split up in the future, and if you don’t have a Pokémon with you, you could get seriously hurt by a wild encounter. Plus, it isn’t fair to rely solely on Evan and his team. I’m sure having another Pokémon around will help lessen their load quite a bit.”
Celestia was silent for a few moments before she nodded slowly. “You are correct, Professor. This is not the time for me to be overly stubborn.”
“Then it’s settled!” Aurea clasped her hands together and smiled. “By the time you reach Accumula Town I should have all the legal work done. Be safe out there you two.”
With that, the screen went dark and Evan lowered his arm. The Snivy’s eyes turned back to Celestia, finally calming down, though he still didn’t wander too far from her.
“Snivy,” Celestia mused. “What an unusual name. Who chose it?” She turned to Evan as she asked.
“‘Chose it’?” Evan echoed. “Snivy is the name of the Pokémon species, remember?”
“So you simply call things by what they are?” Celestia asked. “Is that common?”
Evan nodded. “It’s pretty much the norm, yeah. Though every so often you find folks who give ‘em proper names. I’ve never thought of it as unusual.” He looked between the Snivy and Celestia. “Although, since he’s gonna be traveling with you, you can give him a name if you’d like.”
Celestia looked down at the grass-lizard. “Is a name something you’d like to have?” The Snivy crossed his little arms and pondered the question. After a moment, he gave a slight nod of his head. “Yes, then I’ll try and come up with something you’ll enjoy. It might take a little while though; a name is not something to be impulsive about.”
“Well, you can think while you walk, right?” Evan asked, rather brusquely. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I’d like to reach Accumula before night falls.”
The trio set off down the dusty road towards Accumula at a brisk pace, heading further inland and away from the ocean. The scent of salty sea air was soon gone and replaced by a plethora of wildflowers and greenery. But the further they got from the sea, the more of Accumula Town Celestia could finally make out. The buildings had a surprising amount of detail and craftsmanship to them. Evan the smallest easily dwarfed all but Town Hall in Ponyville and Twilight’s new castle.
Celestia could also make out several small groups of people and Pokémon (Lillipup and Purrloin, if she was remembering correctly) mingling on the outskirts of the town. Given the small size of the majority of the humans, Celestia guessed they were merely children.
Upon entering the city proper, Celestia paused a moment to look at the ground, covered in an odd grey material not unlike the cobblestones of Fillydelphia, though far smoother and uniform in size. The cobblestones were broken every so often to allow a spot of grass in the town, along with hedges, flowers, or trees, as whomever tended to them preferred. Trailing her gaze upwards, Celestia saw flocks of birds flitting about overhead, undeterred by the buildings around them and nestled inside the branches of various trees.
The Snivy kept himself hidden underneath her body until the birds were well out of sight. Otherwise, he was just as intrigued by this city and its crowds of humans as Celestia was. As crowds came to inspect Celestia and ask Evan what kind of Pokémon she was, the Snivy held his head high and took account of each of them.
“This is your first time in a city, isn’t it?” Celestia asked when the crowds finally dispersed. “I’d imagine it can be intimidating at first, but you get used to the crowds and size after a time.”
“Snivy.” He said back, though his eyes now lingered on the passing buildings.
“Alright, if I’m remembering correctly, the Pokémon Center should be on our right just beside the central plaza,” Evan pitched. “Though it shouldn’t really be hard to ask for directions if we really get lo-”
He was interrupted by an odd metallic pinging coming from the detector on her forehoof. “A shard? Already?” Celestia asked, lifting the scanner to her eye-level. The image in the screen was constantly wobbling and shaking, as if someone were forever disrupting it. “That can’t be right,” Celestia said. “I thought Professor Rowan said it wouldn’t work when we were closer to a shard.”
“Then maybe we’ve found one already.” Evan offered.
Celestia nodded in agreement. “I believe so, yes. But why is it only notifying us now?”
“There might be a problem with it, I guess? Big difference between a controlled test in a lab and actual fieldwork,” Evan countered. “We can discuss it when we call Professor Juniper later. Maybe she’ll have a fix for us as well.”
Celestia was about to speak again, though the sudden silence of the scanner gave her pause. “It stopped?” she wondered aloud, glancing at the device. “I do hope it hasn’t broken.”
Evan was scratching his head, just as confused. “Strange. I wouldn’t think any of the Professors would’ve made something so fragile.” He looked around, as if at a loss of where to go, though something to the north caught his attention. “Hey, looks like there’s a crowd forming up there.” Without waiting for a response from Celestia he hurried ahead, pushing his way through the crowd rather rudely.
Celestia, a little put-off by Evan’s brusqueness, trotted towards the crowd calmly, the Snivy proudly at her side. A large group of humans had gathered at the plaza and were standing in front a raised section of ground covered in grass. It was an island of greenery in the otherwise grey city, and perfect for social gatherings and town meetings. Unlike Evan, people were more willing to step aside for her, though that could likely be attributed to shock and surprise than deference, and she was able to stand aside him without much difficulty.
Standing atop it was a line of seven humans unlike any Celestia had seen so far. They wore black, form-fitting uniforms with pale blue boots, gloves, hoods that concealed all but a few strands of orange hair, and long white surcoats that trailed past their knees. A coat of arms was displayed on the center of the surcoat, but Celestia couldn’t make it out from this distance. She assumed that it was the same as the symbol on the flags that flanked both ends of the humans: a blue P on a white and black field halved vertically and broken by a blue symbol reminiscent of a lightning bolt.
“Evan, who are these people?” Celestia asked.
“I have no idea,” he replied. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen them.”
“That is curious.” Celestia looked back at the line of strangely dressed humans. “They almost look like knights.”
The human in the middle of the line broke formation and moved to the left, revealing an eighth figure, taller than the others, who moved to address the crowd below him. Unlike the knighty-humans, this one’s head was uncovered, allowing his long pale-blond hair to pool around a large bronze, crown-shape object object adored with blue glass that covered his shoulders and chest. The same coat of arms as the knights was on its center. Could this human be royalty? Beneath his crown, the man was garbed in a long robe that covered his right arm. One half was pale gold and the other dark violet. Two eyes with red irises were drawn in the opposite side’s colour.
“Welcome people of Accumula Town,” the man began. His voice was sharp, and though he wasn’t shouting, Celestia knew that every person in the crowd could hear his words. “My name is Ghetsis, and I am here with my fellow representors of Team Plasma to talk to you about an issue that can no longer go overlooked by our society. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation.”
The crowd began to murmur in confusion, though not so loud that Ghetsis was drowned out. Celestia herself perked up as well.
“Subject to the selfish whims of trainers, Pokémon are treated as little more than tools. A means to an end.” Ghetsis raised his voice a little at this, holding his fist in the air. “Yet each of them would claim that their Pokémon are their ‘partners’, in equal standing.” He cast his gaze across the crowd, one eye hidden behind a red and white monocle. “I can see on your faces that my words shock you. That is understandable. Many of you believe that humans and Pokémon came together out of necessity and need, and remain together because of mutual trust and respect. And that might very well have been true in the past... but does it still ring true for the present? Is it not possible that we humans only convince ourselves that this is the truth?”
Again the crowd murmured amongst itself. Celestia could see signs of doubt appear in the eyes of the humans as they processed Ghetsis’ words. He must have seen it as well, for he lowered his arm and walked down the length of his platform.
“No one blames you for believing this. But the fact remains that Pokémon are repeatedly subjected to the selfish and often ill-conceived actions of their trainers. If they are truly our partners, why are they always the ones to suffer first?” He turned on his heels and walked the opposite length of the platform. “We all need to remind ourselves that Pokémon are different from humans. They are living, thinking beings of unknown potential. Beings of which we know so little about, of which have so much to teach us. What, then, is our responsibility towards these wonderful creatures called ‘Pokémon’?”
Ghetsis stopped abruptly in his pacing and turned to face the crowd, his gaze fierce. “We must free them from their bonds! Only then will they be considered our equals. We have the duty to liberate them from the restrictions that we ourselves have imposed on them.” He took a moment to catch his breath, during which Celestia noted the crowd had gone rather somber. “I end my time here by imploring you to reconsider the relationship between humanity and Pokémon... and how we should proceed if we truly care for them.”
With that, Ghetsis turned from the crowd. Two of his knights stepped forward to retrieve their banners while the rest formed up around their leader before all eight marched off the platform in unison. The crowd remained motionless until the knights were halfway down the main street, then slowly they to began to break apart. Most of the humans left in a hurry, but the few that lingered nearby had contemplative looks in their eyes. One of them, an elderly man that looked older than Cedric Juniper, sat on a bench and looked at a small grey-rodent Pokémon resting on his shoulder. I wonder if he’s considering letting his Pokémon free. Her gaze fell on the Snivy, still at her hooves. His nose was turned up and his eyes were closed, shunning the stage and looking very put-off by Ghetsis’ speech.
Beside her, Evan huffed and glowered at the departing knights until they finally disappeared into the distance. “What a big blow-hard,” he muttered. “Probably mad ‘cause he saw one spoiled brat mistreating his Lillipup and thought that’s how every human is.”
“So there was some truth to what he was saying?” Celestia asked.
“No. Or at least, not to the extent that he was suggesting. Yes, there are people who misuse Pokémon and see them only as tools or servants or weapons, but that’s a small percent of trainers out there.” Evan gestured to the Snivy. “Even he seems to disagree with the oaf.”
The Snivy had his arms crossed and a sour frown on his face. “Snivy,” he agreed, giving Evan and Celestia a curt nod.
“If that’s the case, then I wonder if this might be a problem from another region that has found its way here.” Celestia pondered.
“I doubt it,” Evan replied. “From what I’ve heard, the other regions are the same with Pokémon and humans living side by side as equals. That’s certainly the impression Professor Rowan gave me.”
“Your Pokémon... Just now, did you understand what they were saying?”
The three of them turned towards the new voice. Between Celestia and Evan was another human, roughly a few years younger than Evan was. He had a fair and youthful face, which was nearly hidden by a mop of light green hair poorly contained beneath a black and white ball-cap. It grew longer down his back—just touching his waist—and tied up in a ponytail. He wore a white overshirt over a black one, and a strange pendant around his neck shaped like a black sphere with overlapping blue and yellow rings.
“Uh, I’m sorry?” Evan sputtered. “Can I help you?”
“Do you understand your Pokémon?” the green-haired stranger repeated, a little faster than before. He turned towards Celestia and Snivy, which allowed her to see a strange cube-shaped device hanging from his hip.
“What? No. That’s absurd,” Evan said with a scoff.
Celestia gave a slight shake of her head. “I apologize for the confusion, but I assure you I am not a Pokémon.”
“Snivy,” the Snivy agreed. It seemed to startle the youth and he took a step back in surprise.
“My mistake,” the youth replied. “I got too excited.” He looked at Evan, and Celestia thought she could see pity in his green eyes. “I thought you could hear them too.”
“‘Too’?” Celestia echoed. “Am I to understand that you know what they’re saying?”
The stranger nodded as quickly as he spoke. “Yes, that’s right. My name is N. Who are you, and,” he paused to address Celestia directly, “what are you if you’re not a Pokémon?”
“My name is Celestia. I’m an Alicorn.”
N smiled at her. “Celestia. I like that name. But I’ve never heard of an Alicorn before.”
“I’m not from around here,” Celestia smiled back at him. “I regret to say that I am not entirely sure where my home is in relation to yours, however.”
“Oh.” The smile vanished from N’s face, like he was hurt emotionally. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Is there something we can help you with?” Evan asked.
“Huh?” N looked at Evan, his face returning to normal, then back to Celestia. “Oh. I didn’t mean to intrude on you. I just overheard you two talking about Team Plasma’s speech.”
“Yeah? And what’s your take on them?” Evan asked, a little harshly.
N’s eyes trailed down to the Pokéballs on Evan’s belt. “You’re a trainer, eh? So... you’ve confined many, many Pokémon into Pokéballs. Why?” There was unmistakable disdain in his voice.
Evan scowled, one of his hands instinctively dropping to his belt. “What do you mean by that? You’re a trainer too, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m a trainer, but I can’t help wondering... are Pokémon really happy like this? To be forced to obey a trainer’s commands because of their Pokéball? That feels wrong to me.”
“Is that how it works?” Celestia asked. “That they lose their free will upon being captured?”
“No,” Evan began. “Or... well, they don’t lose all their free will, but...”
“... but they’ll listen to humans more easily,” N finished.
“Snivy!” The little lizard spoke up, indignant. N knelt down to him, his expression oddly calm as the Snivy chittered out his name. Judging from his flailing arms and the fixated expression in his eyes, he didn’t think very highly of N at the moment.
N turned towards Celestia again as he stood, one corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. “Your Snivy has a lot of praise for you. How long have you two known each other?”
“Not long,” Celestia answered. “Perhaps no more than a week.”
“A week?” N paused, contemplating this. “And he thinks so highly of you already... I’d like to know why.”
“I’m sure he’d be more than happy to answer your question himself,” Celestia said.
N shook his head. “No. He can’t explain your connection to me. Not with words,” he smiled and gave a slight bow to Celestia. “There’s only one way for me to truly hear the heart of your Snivy. Please battle with me. I wish to hear your Pokémon’s voice once again!”