Chapter 71 – Secret Message

  The teleportation went off without a hitch and the three of us found ourselves overlooking the family farm of the battle loving Winstrate family. It was still early in the morning but not early enough to not see father Victor and grandmother Vicky already working the field. The grandmother was the first to notice us.

  ‘As expected, farmers start their days early. Tini get in my backpack for now, we’ll just stay long enough to be polite.’

  “Why I’ll be… is that you Egon?! How nice to see young people come over for a visit every now and then. Is this young lass here your girlfriend?”

  “It’s good to see you too Granny. We are just passing by, and for the record I am too young to already start dating!”

  “Ohh how old are you then? My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.”

  “Ten… no wait eleven.”

  “We forgot! Today’s your birthday!!!”

  ‘I told you that I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday! Pokémon don’t celebrate birthdays and the only one whose birth date we definitively know is Halo’s! I know for a fact you don’t even remember your own date of birth.’

  “What if it was Zinnia’s birthday?”

  “Well…”

  “Hypocrite! You don’t want to celebrate your own, but you do that of others!”

  ‘Can we discuss this later? It’s rude having private conversations while in the accompaniment of others.’

  To prevent me from looking like an oaf Roxanne took over the reins of my conversation with Granny Vicky. No doubt having already guessed what was occurring inside of my mindscape. Trying to pick up the thread of the discussion once more it seemed like Roxanne was busy fending off Granny Vicky's attempts at trying to scoop for juicy gossip on the two of us.

  “Come on, a pretty lass like you? You should meet my grandson, Vito.”

  “No thank you ma’am the both of us still have a lot left to do for today. Don’t we Egon?”

  ‘I actually wouldn’t mind hanging out with the family again but she’s right.’

  “Sorry Granny, we have to go but make sure to tell Vito that we’re still going on that field trip once he gets his own trainer’s license next year. I’ll teach him all about living it up as a traveling trainer on the routes.”

  The promise of teaching Vito the basics seemed to have mollified Granny Vicky somewhat. Being removed from society thanks to the fact that their family farm was located on the routes meant that they were starved for outside interactions. No doubt many a traveling trainer had been invited inside their home for the express purpose of casual conversation over the years.

  “Cheh! Fine, just as soon as the conference is over, we will be expecting a visit.”

  “Great! Well, we are off. See you again another time Granny.”

  Both me and Roxanne waved goodbye as we walked off northwards. When the farm started getting out of sight. She stopped and pulled open her own bag searching for a certain object which was found and pulled out in front of me. A foldable bike and not just any old model this one seemed like one of those expensive ones that they ran ads for every year nearing the end of the offseason period.

  “Mach or Acro?”

  “Mach, the salesman told me this one was more suited for rough terrain, while the Acro models they sold were intended for parkour cycling. This model also comes with a passenger’s seat so you can hold onto me while I paddle.”

  The process was fairly involved but eventually Roxanne completely assembled the bicycle. Sitting on the saddle and motioning for me to hop on behind her. There was this primal part of my brain that wanted to insist on being the one that did the paddling but eventually conceded that this was her bicycle, and that Roxanne knew what she was doing.

  ‘I can just take over when she eventually gets tired out. Even with a MachBike cycling to the desert will take at least three hours.’

  “Vi Vi!” “I want to sit in the front basket!”

  Roxanne, amused by Victini’s antics couldn’t help but dote on the little rabbit Pokémon.

  “Of course, Tini! We just have to put in an extra blanket so you can get all nice and comfortable.”

  ‘Roxanne’s already using my nickname for you... Brainwashing is a crime, you know?’

  “This proves that from now on you have to listen to me! There are a bunch of trainers waiting to take your place as my number one servant!”

  “…”

  Three hours later*

  As we approached the desert more and more sand particles filled the air. It got so bad that we decided to put on our protective goggles, way before we actually arrived at our destination. During our bike ride over I suggested Roxanne take a break peddling and let me have a turn, but the rock type specialist insisted that she do her “fair share” of the work. No doubt thinking that me taking her along was an act of charity on my part and downplaying her own role in the expedition as our sediment specialist.

  ‘Whose Pokémon are more likely to contribute to the actual excavating? Honestly this girl…’

  “We just have to make sure Roxy doesn’t overdo it.”

  Ignoring the fact that Victini was already on a nickname basis with Roxanne, I peered into the distance noticing that the ground was already beginning to form cracks. The first sign of salinization and the end of the paved road.

  “Let’s walk the rest of the way, the cracks will make it harder to move further on bicycle.”

  The both of us hopped off of Roxanne’s bicycle and while she was busy stowing the bike back in her backpack I decided to start a rather pressing discussion with Victini.

  “Being inside this perpetual sandstorm will be a major impediment for Pokémon that are not steel, rock or ground type. Are you sure that you want to stay out and be constantly pelted by fast moving sand?”

  “Vi Vi!” “The same goes for you! I can take it.”

  “Both Roxanne and I are wearing protective clothing and goggles. We won’t even feel the sand, you have to stay inside your poké ball unless… You could hide under my clothes.”

  “Awuuu…”

  “Don’t worry about missing anything you can experience whatever I see with your psychic powers.”

  With a sigh of disappointment Victini floated towards the white poké ball latched to my belt and gave it a quick tap being sucked inside within the blink of an eye. With the Victini issue resolved both me and Roxanne proceeded onward into the sandy steppes of the route 111 desert.

  After about ten minutes worth of walking on foot the soil had completely turned into fine sand making traveling on foot very energy consuming. The desert itself was oddly barren showing no signs of the typical flora one would expect to see growing in this kind of environment. The constant desert storm preventing nature from taking its natural course. This confirmed my suspicions that the desert storm was not a natural phenomenon but one caused by the desert’s residents. Enough ground types working in tandem turned this relatively small patch of land into a paradise for Pokémon well suited to the environment.

  While I was contemplating the implications of this Roxanne helpfully provided her own input into my ponderings.

  “This… There are no native Hoenn Pokémon that are capable of keeping up this kind of environment indefinitely, how mysterious.”

  “I know right? Scientists would have long discovered an invasive species of Pokémon making this place their home. Well… we should probably enact the next stage of our plan.”

  Roxanne and I had talked it over yesterday’s dinner conversation. After reaching our destination we would look for one of the native Pokémon living here and ask it for directions to the Mirage Tower. Usually this would be a bad idea since most desert dwelling Pokémon were carnivorous, but this place was often frequented by the rangers and any such overly aggressive Pokémon would have most likely been moved to a more suitable home.

  “Onix can help us find them.”

  “Most of the ground types living are likely to be found in some kind of subterranean tunnel network which onix’s large form would destroy once she burrows into one. But… I know of one sure way to find a particular species of Pokémon. We just have to look for the nearest…Ah! There’s one.”

  What I was looking for was just a dozen yards removed from our position. Perfectly camouflaged to the untrained eye, a large sand pit nestled between two sand dunes, the perfect trap against unwary travelers.

  “A sand pit?”

  Not taking the time to explain I instead pulled off my backpack and started rummaging its contents in search of Pokémon treats. In preparation for my journey I had taken the time to buy extra just in case I had to bribe a wild Pokémon into cooperating.

  ‘Lava cookies? Or something that’s more natural like a berry hmm…’

  “Not my cookies! Phoebe’s grandpa gave me those to keep for myself.”

  Swayed by her sound reasoning I instead pulled out a plain old Oran berry. Before dropping said berry down the pit expecting to see a certain species of Pokémon. While the berry was rolling down said sand pit and into the eye of the hole a small tremor could be heard and a vicious looking jaw sprang up from underneath the sand’s covering and swiftly tore apart the berry before swallowing it whole in a single gulp. Roxanne acted astonished but quickly overcame her surprise once logic started setting in.

  The Trapinch who made a quick morsel of my berry pulled itself further out of the ground to inspect the two newcomers who dropped in its meal for the day.

  “Excuse me Trapinch? Would you mind giving us directions? We are kind of lost looking for a certain spot in the area.”

  Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. A Ground type.

  Trapinch's nest is at the bottom of a cone-shaped hole, where it patiently waits for something to fall in. Its jaws are strong enough to crush rocks but so heavy that it can't get up if it flips over. This Pokémon can go a whole week without access to any water.

  Roxanne helpfully scanned Trapinch with her Pokédex eager to learn more about this ground type. Dexter provided information that wasn’t hard to come by, but I still appreciated these words of wisdom nonetheless.

  “Pinch! Pinch!”

  “Glutton! Trapinch asks if we have more berries.”

  “Trapinch we are both reasonable Pokémon and man of means, if you can share with us what you know I’ll happily provide you with more nutritious berries.”

  “Pinch... Pinch!”

  “We are looking for this large tower of hardened sand that rises out of the ground every now and then but mysteriously disappears afterwards.”

  “Twice during each mooncycle the tower rises, early in the morrow lasting only for the briefest of moments. If you want to know more give me three berries!”

  ‘This Trapinch is a great negotiator! Three berries for information that’s useless to him but priceless to us.’

  “No, he’s a baddy! if we do our best, I am sure we can haggle him down to only one extra berry!”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Even if I admired this Trapinch’s boldness, as a trainer getting by on another’s dime, I’ve learned to be frugal with my resources. Three berries saved equaled half a mealtime’s worth of feeding my own team.

  “Pinchy, can I call you that? Look, I have no guarantee that your information will be of use to us. How about I give you half a berry now and the other half if I like what I am hearing.”

  “…”

  The Trapinch looked at me as if I insulted its Flygon mother. Turning around the antlion Pokémon started making attempts to burrow itself back into the sand.

  “No, wait! wait! Three berries now!”

  “Pinch!”

  “…Now it’s four berries.”

  ‘This guy…!’

  “Four whole berries are too much to handle for a body of your size and those berries will quickly dry up in this heat. …What are you planning?”

  “Pinch! Pinch!”

  “His family is having a big reunion in a few hours and he wants to bring along food to share.”

  “Fine… Two berries now and two after you’ve told me all you know.”

  Roxanne who was watching all of this go down seemed to want to contribute with her own supplies tossing another two berries down the pit. Trapinch seeing the bounty coming his way quickly snapped them up but instead of eating the berries immediately the ground type buried them deeper into his little cubby hole.

  “Pinch Pinch, Pinch.”

  “Tomorrow morning when the sun crests the horizon the tower will reappear. It seems like Trapinch has no idea what causes the phenomena, but he assumes wild baltoy are responsible. The tower always reappears in the same spot, around a 10 minutes’ walk to the east from here.”

  This kind of information was exactly what we needed so I didn’t feel a great sense of loss when I tossed down another two berries down the sandpit. This time in appreciation of Trapinch’s willingness to add extra details that could prove useful later down the line.

  ‘Baltoy… the ones we found living inside the ruins of Relic Castle were swell guys. It shouldn’t pose an issue.’

  As our business with Trapinch concluded the ground type gave us a quick nod before burrowing itself deeper into the pit undoubtedly on its way to share its recently gained spoils with the rest of his colony. Roxanne who had been watching from the sidelines hearing only my side of the conversation gave me a questioning look eager to learn what I had just discovered.

  “According to Trapinch The tower will appear in the east, tomorrow at the break of dawn.”

  “That’s great! Now we just have to find a place that’s protected from the sandstorm to set up camp.”

  “Still if we could leave behind some kind of marker nearest to the tower’s location, I’d feel a lot more assured. That way we could find our way back without being disoriented by the perpetual storm.”

  “I’ve got that covered! Go Nosey!”

  In a flash of light Roxanne’s Probopass materialized in front of us. Being both a rock and steel type it didn’t even seem to notice the grains of sand pelting it from all sides.

  “A Probopass can detect the location of its mini noses by reading their magnetic field. If we leave one behind at our target destination, he’ll be able to lead us back with pinpoint accuracy. Nosey’s nose also acts as a compass, always pointing north so east must be this way!”

  Every single person traveling the routes had a compass with them at all times but Roxanne’s intervention saved me the effort of pulling one out of my backpack. With a mild sense of amusement I followed her lead as we set forth to our target destination. Keeping our eyes open for any wild Pokémon or secure places to take shelter from the storm.

  “We should look for those Desert Ruins, I can’t wait to meet another legendary Pokémon!”

  ‘That particular rock formation is well known. It should be in the southernmost part of the desert.’

  One hour later*

  When the both of us started getting fed up with traversing the treacherous sand dunes Roxanne decided that having her Onix ferry us across the desert was a better idea. Her giant rock snake was blazingly fast leaving me to question why she doesn’t ride upon her Onix all the time. The answer turned out to be quite a mundane one. Onix traveling in forested areas leave a path of destruction in their wake killing all the undergrowth that wild Pokémon rely on. That’s why the rangers made it against the law for trainers to use Onix as a mode of transportation. This was less of a concern while traveling through interior deserts like this one where there wasn’t any plant life to be found to begin with.

  With Onix’s help we made good time reaching our destination at which point Roxanne’s Probopass left behind one of his three mini noses. The Pokémon seemed a tad reluctant doing it but with Roxanne’s reassurances the steel type did as he was told. To make sure the mini nose wouldn’t get blown away by the harsh winds we buried it deep underground and afterwards took off towards the southern part of the desert. Roxanne seemed content to follow our lead commanding her Onix to go southwards.

  “There’s this rock formation that is quite famous, Victini and I would like to see it. It would also make for an adequate place to seek shelter.”

  “Hmmm I’ve read up about that rock formation. It is said to have been built around three thousand years ago. In a time where this desert was still just as lush and full of life as the rest of Hoenn. Do you think you’ll discover something by going there?”

  ‘She’s sharp as expected. What do you think we should do?’

  “Roxanne’s nice! We can trust her and staying there will let me teleport back whenever I want.”

  “I have long since suspected that that place holds more than just a rock formation. Before telling you I would like to confirm my theories first.”

  “Okay, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. You have always been the one assisting me; first by helping me evolve my darling Nosey and then bringing me along to excavate fossils. If I’d expect anything more from you, I’d feel bad about myself.”

  “…Tell her everything!”

  ‘…When we get settled down. Talking like this is uncomfortable, sand keeps flying in my mouth.’

  With the speed Roxanne’s Onix was going at, we arrived at the secretive desert ruins within half an hour. Rocky spires surrounded the larger outcropping in the middle forming a perfect circle. Clearly these were man made, the structures being too symmetrical and evenly spread to have been created by wild Pokémon. Pokémon built structures did exist but those tended to prioritize comfort and function over grandiose displays such as this.

  “Let’s make camp behind the largest middle spire. Could you ask Onix to use her body to shelter us from the sand while we set up camp?”

  “Did you hear that sweetie? Could you do that for me?”

  “Oaark!”

  With renewed motivation Roxanne’s Onix took us around the large middle spire but where I expected to encounter an empty plot of sand, we instead saw camping supplies, a fire pit, a single large tent and empty cans of preserved food as if someone had already been living here for a good week judging by the amount of stacked up empty cans.

  “Why, hello there!”

  The tent zipper slid down allowing us to see the person currently occupying the makeshift shelter. He was a portly and somewhat elderly looking man sporting an impressive moustache and clothed in safari gear. Roxanne was the first to reply back to the gentleman’s spirited acknowledgement of our presence.

  “Hello sir, my name is Roxanne and this is my friend Egon. We were looking for a place to shelter but I guess this spot is already taken.”

  “Nonsense! There’s plenty of room for the three of us and any Pokémon that might be accompanying you. My name is Tybald Darington Fitzgerald, but my peers call me old Dusty, and peers you must be! It isn’t often that two bright young trainers such as yourselves explore all the way into this part of the desert foregoing the proven path.”

  Onix parked herself in a spot nearest to the fire pit before laying down, allowing Roxanne and I to jump off her body. Following that we proceeded to unload our weary back from the backpacks we’d been carrying all day. The man named Dusty was still inside his tent undoubtedly up to something as we kept hearing swishing sounds from within.

  “Just a moment! The two of you must be parched! Nothing soothes the nerves better than a fresh cup of tea!”

  The nearby spires and Onix’s body did much to cover us from the worst of the perpetual sandstorm, but I set out to get my own tent up and standing right away. My own Pokémon had been stuck in their balls for most of the day and I was eager to have them stretch their legs as soon as possible.

  As I was busy setting up, Roxanne opted to release her team. Each of them hungry looking and ready to eat. With a wave of her hand the rock types dispersed into the surrounding area no doubt eager to munch on some of the rocks and mineral deposits we came across along the way. Roxanne did warn them to not damage the surrounding structures before sending them off, after which she started prepping her own tent.

  “You aren’t afraid that they’ll get lost?”

  “Onix has a magnet in her brain, which gives the species a perfect sense of direction. She’ll look after my partners.”

  It was at this moment that Dusty joined in on the conversation, the old man coming out of his tent with two cups of tea which he handed over to both me and Roxanne. One sip and I could immediately tell that this was the expensive stuff that you could only encounter in posh places like Phoebe’s family castle.

  “It’s a pleasure camping together with company. My usual entourage declined to come with me.”

  “It’s nice meeting you too sir. Have you also come to get a good look at his place?”

  “Indeed, although it is not my primary purpose for visiting this desert. I am actually more of a paleontologist than an archeologist and in my free time I travel from region to region acquiring specimens for my collection. As I have not yet managed to acquire a single fossil originating from Hoenn I took the liberty to come visit this region.”

  ‘He’s here for fossils?!’

  I exchanged a quick glance with Roxanne and a silent agreement was formed between us to not tell Dusty about our plans regarding the mirage tower. It wouldn’t do for an unaffiliated third party to swoop in and take our prize. So, with that goal in mind, I decided to engage in some meaningless banter to get a measure of the old paleontologist.

  “Dusty Sir, how large has your collection gotten up to this point?”

  “I’ve visited many regions over the years. Whenever there’s fossils to be dug up the relevant authorities call upon my expertise in such manners. Naturally this means that the fossils I dig up in an official capacity usually end up in the hands of the league associations. Though sometimes private collectors are in need of my services at which point I haggle for a cut of the bounty. Say… I happen to have brought my photo album with me. Would the two of you like to take a look at all the fossils I’ve managed to dig up over the years?”

  “Yes!” “Yes!”

  The old man retreated back into his sleeping tent and after some rummaging came back out with said album. Seeing as both me and Roxanne hadn’t finished setting up our tents, Dusty waited patiently for the two of us to finish calmly sipping his tea as he watched us. By the time we were done the sky started to darken, lauding in the start of the evening. To keep us all warm I released all the members of my team our trifecta of tents and the favorable location keeping my teammates safe from the pelting sands. Victini also released herself choosing to hide herself away inside the tent I had just staked down.

  “Arf!” “Rupt!” “Nineeee!” “Lit” “Vess!” “Nitan!”

  “This is Dusty, he'll be spending the night with us. Dinner has already been made, it just needs to be warmed up. Glove could you…?”

  My most reliable partner was already going through the backpack sorting every labeled plastic container based on its contents, filling each bowl with an appropriate amount of sliced berries and food pellets. While that was going on myself and Roxanne crowded around Dusty eager to see the various fossils he happened upon during his travels.

  “These Dome fossils were from the time I spent on the orange islands I even got to keep a couple for myself, and this picture is of a damaged Aerodactyl fossil… such a shame.”

  “How come?”

  “Aerodactyl fossils are some of the rarest fossils one can come across. Unlike what one would expect from a rock type their bones are actually hollow and full of holes like most other avian Pokémon. This makes it extremely rare to come across a specimen in pristine condition.”

  Just like that the three of us went through his entire photo album looking at all the different fossils he had successfully excavated. Gaining insight on how large his own personal collection really was in the process. Dusty’s collection was filled with fossils from Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh and Kalos. That was also part of the reason he came to Hoenn in the first place, he was looking to add at least two intact natively found fossils to his collection.

  Some of my partners gained a mild interest, attentively listening to the old man’s stories while filling their bellies with the meals Glove distributed among them. Dusty’s wide breadth of experiences made him an enigmatic figure to listen to even if only hearing about what it is like to receive permission to travel to other regions. The man himself was native to Kanto but had the equivalent of a green card that lets him travel freely in between four different regions without requiring special permission.

  “Slash!”

  “…?!”

  A spiny mouse-like Pokémon emerged from the ground nearest to the place where we were sitting. This desert was known to have nests of wild sandshrew and sandslash but this Sandslash’ meticulous grooming told me that this Pokémon was trainer owned. Confirming my suspicions, Sandslash proceeded to act all familiar with Dusty who was in the middle of regaling us with stories about the one time he excavated a perfectly preserved sail fossil from the frost caverns near Dendemille town.

  “Slashy! You have returned! Did you find anything?”

  The Sandslash who I had just now noticed was wearing a belly pouch crawled up to its trainer giving Dusty an affectionate rubbing with its quills. The pouch’s function was most likely to safely preserve items of import that it might discover while digging around subterranean levels. With much care it slid out a worn looking tablet handing over the artifact to its trainer.

  “Oh my! This surely will get the interest of the lads back at the anthropology department. The writing appears to be some kind of faded unknown script.”

  Roxanne’s inquisitive nature could no longer be suppressed, the girl basically clinging off Dusty’s arm just to gain a glimpse of the mysterious tablet.

  “Let me see! I’ve studied basic unknown script while taking guest lessons over at the Rustburo University.”

  “What an energetic lass! Have a look, but make sure to be careful with it.”

  While I was puzzled on how a ten-year-old managed to qualify for lessons at college level Roxanne scanned over the tablet but was quickly disappointed when her attempts at translating the script fell short.

  “This… I’ve never seen this type of script before. Sorry that I got your hopes up Sir Dusty.”

  “No worries lass, only a few learned people can actually decipher texts such as this one. I myself can only read a few words of the most basic unknown script myself!”

  “Can I have a look? I might not be able to read it, but I have some experience deciphering ancient texts myself.”

  “Sure, here you go.”

  ‘This is…! Those dots are unmistakably braille! This type of syntax must have been developed during the period in time where light sources were scarce, and the sun was blotted out by volcanic ash.’

  “What does it say!?”

  ‘It’s been an extremely long time since I last attempted to read braille. I can give it a try…’

  As I let my finger slip over the columns and rows of the braille cells. I awakened to old nostalgic memories of me sitting in a classroom checking the turned in homework of a visibly impaired student of mine. I didn’t know what Victini was up to but somehow her influence helped me vividly remember old memories that had almost completely faded away.

  Dusty and Roxanne were looking at me with much anticipation my weird handling of the tablet clueing them in that I somehow recognized and was able to read at least partially what was written on the stone artifact.

  “The message this tablet is trying to convey is one of regret. I don’t know if…”

  “Pleaseee!” “Share with us your acquired wisdom!”

  Fine If the two of you promise to keep this between the three of us, I’ll share its message.”

  “Deal!” “Deal!”

  “LONG DID WE LIVE HERE.

  ALL THANKS TO THE POWERFUL POKEMON LIVING ALONGSIDE US.

  YET, WE SEALED THAT POKEMON AWAY, ALONE IN THE DARK.

  WE FEARED IT.

  IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE, IF YOU STILL HOLD TO HOPE,

  OPEN THE DOOR. FOR BEYOND IT THE ETERNAL POKEMON WAITS.”

  https://discord.gg/9RfHV7r3f4