The doors to the Eterna Gym chimed musically as Kaitlyn and Cassie entered early the next morning, letting them walk into the refreshingly cool lobby of the gym with a warm welcome from Annie. “Good morning, and welcome to the Eterna City Gym!” she called out in a well-practiced tone. “Are you both here for a gym challenge?”
“Not today, but we’d both like to set one up for later if we could,” Kaitlyn replied as they walked up to the desk. A few scattered people were milling about the lobby, some looking at the pictures decorating the room, others fidgeting nervously as they waited for their chance to face the Gym Leader. Just faintly, Cassie could hear the sounds of cheering and battle coming from somewhere off in the distance behind the reception desk. Now that she was closer and not distracted with work, she could see the doors and their labels to either side of the desk. On the left, stamped in large white letters was “Staff Only - No Unauthorized Entry,” while the other was labeled “Stadium Entrance.”
Annie’s fingers moved quickly as she typed away at her PC, quickly pulling up the challenge schedule and looking it over before turning back towards Kaitlyn. “Right now, we’ve only got about a two day wait for challenges. Were you looking for something soon?”
“Could we schedule for two weeks from now?” Kaitlyn asked, looking to Cassie to see if she had any objections. When the shorter blond nodded in agreement, Annie flipped over to the appropriate week to start scheduling.
“Sure - what time are you looking for?”
“What do you think, Cassie? Do you want early or late?”
Cassie pondered the question for a few seconds, looking up at the ceiling as she thought. “What about something like...two o’clock?”
“Fine with me,” Kaitlyn replied. “You want to go first, or should I?”
“...I think I want to go first, just to get it over with, you know?” Cassie replied with a nervous laugh.
“First it is, then,” Kaitlyn agreed, turning back to Annie. “Could we do two and three o’clock, please?” she said, gesturing to each of them in turn.
“Of course,” Annie said, already starting to set up the battle reservations as Kaitlyn spoke. “Let me just go ahead and get your names, trainer IDs, and phone numbers, and we’ll be good to go! Oh, and how many badges do you have for this season?”
The pair of girls quickly provided the info, all of which Annie dutifully logged into the system quickly and efficiently. Both of their phones chimed a minute later with text messages confirming the appointments as Annie finished getting everything set up.
“You’re all set - your reservations are for Tuesday, April sixth at two and three o’clock,” she repeated, gesturing to each of the girls with the appropriate time slot. “We’ll send you a text message one hour before the scheduled time to remind you, and we ask that you be here thirty minutes before the scheduled time for the pre-battle check-in. Make sure you have your trainer’s license with you, too.”
“Thank you - we’ll make sure to be here on time,” Kaitlyn replied with a nod. “Is there anything else you need from us?”
“Nope,” Annie shook her head, “you’re all set. We’ll see you on the sixth!”
“Thanks for your help!” Cassie said as they turned to leave, waving politely at Annie. The receptionist simply grinned, waving back from behind the desk.
“Bring some cookies from the shop when you come!” she joked, causing Cassie to laugh. She knew Annie was joking, but she might actually do that as a surprise. The staff would certainly appreciate it, she thought.
“I kinda thought that would take longer,” Cassie said as they left, walking back down the trail away from the gym. “What now? I’ve still got about three hours before work.”
Kaitlyn considered the question for a few seconds. Training was probably not a good idea right now, since the park was likely to be busy anyway at this time of the morning. They only had about two hours to work with before Cassie went to work, so maybe more study about league circuit rules or the like was an option. Although...
Kaitlyn stopped, a thought suddenly striking her as she recalled something Cassie had told her not long after they met. “You said you’re still new in town, right?” Cassie nodded, prompting her to continue. “Have you been to the museum yet?”
Cassie shook her head, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. “There’s a museum?”
“Eterna Historical Museum,” Kaitlyn confirmed. “It’s just a couple blocks from here, and if you’ve never been, you should really check it out - especially if you’re interested in any of the old myths about Hisui or the regional Legendaries.”
“Hisui?” she echoed. She was familiar with the regional Legendaries - almost any Pokemon fan would be, honestly. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, the three major Legendary Pokemon of the Sinnoh region, were easily recognizable to anyone even passingly familiar with the generation four games, but the odd name Kaitlyn had mentioned was drawing a blank.
“The old name for the Sinnoh region,” Kaitlyn explained. “A few centuries ago, it was called Hisui instead - the name Sinnoh came from an ancient name for Arceus, but after a while it gradually came into use as the regional name.”
Cassie nodded in realization all at once. She hadn’t gotten to play it, but that sounded like bits and pieces from the last game before the new generation. She vaguely remembered seeing something similar in some of the pre-release information for the game, at least.
“If the museum’s that close, I’d love to see it,” she replied. Anything about the history of the region and possibly history of its main legendaries was bound to be interesting, and she still had around two hours to kill before she would need to be at work. Besides, she could always come back later if she wanted to see more.
The door at reception leading to the stadium swung open as Gardenia stepped back into the lobby, having just finished her second match of the day. This one had been a loss for her, and she was definitely pleased with it despite that. The boy she’d been facing for his second badge had shown definite promise, even without having any Pokemon with a type advantage over her own. If he kept that up, she expected to see him at the conference later in the year for sure.
“Hey, Leader,” Annie greeted, nodding to her boss and gesturing for her to step over to the desk. “You’ll never guess what I just did.”
That was a tone her receptionist didn’t usually take, Gardenia thought as she quirked an eyebrow. It was definitely in the “I know something you don’t” category, and Gardenia moved around to the open side of the desk as Annie tilted her computer towards the Gym Leader. It was showing the calendar for gym challenges in the upcoming weeks, and Gardenia looked it over for a few seconds, expecting to see something out of the ordinary.
“I don’t get it,” she finally said with a look towards Annie. “What did you do?”
Annie’s finger rose, pointing to one specific day and the two appointments sitting on it. Gardenia honed in on that one spot on the calendar, and her eyes widened as she saw the name sitting in the slot.
Cassandra Blair - 2:00 PM (0 badges)
Gardenia looked at Annie.
Annie looked at Gardenia.
The Gym Leader couldn’t contain the snort of laughter that escaped her lips, and she broke into a fit of giggles all at once that also caused Annie to start laughing at the look on her boss’ face.
“What did I tell you? Didn’t I say she was going to be taking on the circuit soon when she dropped off the order here the other day?” Gardenia laughed. Annie just shook her head, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
“You did, you did...”
As amused as she was, the sight of the challenge appointment did serve to alleviate one of Gardenia’s fears. She felt comfortable ruling out the idea of the girl being a member of Team Galactic now. She’d only had one person claiming to be from the group come through her gym, and they’d put up a poor showing with Pokemon that, while healthy, clearly weren’t trained very well at all for battle. For the most part, the ruffians didn’t want anything to do with the Pokemon League or the challenge circuit, but simply wanted to cause trouble wherever they went. If the girl had half the enthusiasm about being a trainer that Gardenia thought she did, the Gym Leader was going to have an interesting match on her hands in two weeks.
She’d already seen a couple of promising trainers so far, even with it being just over two weeks into the season. Elizabeth Nagata had swept into her gym with aplomb in the first week, a Fire-type trainer who was out for her first Conference win after getting stonewalled the previous season by Volkner’s gym in Sunyshore, and she was clearly out to prove that she had what it took this year. Her Cyndaquil might’ve been small and timid-looking at first glance, but the diminutive Pokemon had firepower in droves for its size. Between it and her Houndour, she’d burned through Gardenia’s Roselia and Oddish in no time at all to earn her first badge of the season.
James Marien had only come in a few days ago, but had also left his mark emphatically with his second-badge challenge. He only had a single Pokemon to his name, but his Pancham had proven to be quite the resilient fighter, going so far as to demand to take on two Pokemon instead of the one-on-one that Gardenia had initially offered. The tiny panda-like Pokemon had gone blow for blow with a Bellsprout and Treecko, laughing as he slugged it out with the lizard in round two before delivering a brutal knockout blow with a series of Arm Thrusts to clinch the win.
The last trainer that came to mind was Lein Basch, who’d come all the way from Ecruteak City in Johto seeking a Sinnoh conference title. Like James, he only had one Pokemon to his name, but that Pokemon had turned out to be a highly-agile Sneasel. The Ice-type had made quick work of a Bayleef to earn his first badge in a one-on-one match, though Gardenia was a bit critical of his arrogant attitude even if his Pokemon was trained well.
If that had been the first two weeks, Gardenia shuddered to think what the rest of the season would be like once trainers started coming around for the higher-level badge challenges. There might be some unholy terrors waiting in the wings, she thought as she headed back towards the stadium to prepare for her next match. She’d have to make extra sure not to skimp on any of her training, too - it just wouldn’t do if her gym looked like the weak link in the ranks.
The Eterna Historical Museum was one of the oldest buildings in the city, predating even the gym by many years. Located just a few blocks to the west of the main road leading south to the 207 exit, the two-story building held a premiere spot of land on one of the main cross streets surrounded by light tree cover. It had been renovated a few times in the intervening years to bring it up to date with modern amenities and keep its structural integrity sound, but the age and simple historical gravity of the building stood out like a sore thumb regardless of the cosmetic overhauls.
Three large gates marked the main entrance to the hedge-lined perimeter of the museum grounds, and Kaitlyn and Cassie both caught sight of two massive statues to either side of the entrance path the moment they crossed the threshold. They towered above the paved walkway, polished gray stone features that loomed like protectors of the museum entrance. To the left, a statue of Dialga, the Legendary Pokemon of Time, and to the right, Palkia, the Legendary Pokemon of Space. Each were sides of a universal coin, two separate but related concepts of reality that were useless without one another to give them true purpose.
Cassie’s hand brushed over the polished bronze plaque set into the base of the statue of Dialga, eyes tracking down to read the words inscribed there.
“Dialga, the Temporal Pokemon,” she murmured, scanning the inscription. “It is said that time flows when Dialga’s heart beats. It uses its power to travel at will through the past and future.”
She reached into her pocket for her phone, pulling out the PokeNav and snapping quick pictures of the inscription as well as the statue itself after stepping back a few paces to get a better shot of it. Kaitlyn stood patiently nearby, watching as she moved towards the Palkia statue to do much the same. Cassie quickly snapped a picture of the statue from afar before moving in to look at the plaque, but she stopped as her eyes caught sight of the words there.
Palkia, the Spatial Pokemon. It is said that space becomes more stable with Palkia’s every breath. Its total control over the boundaries of space enable it to transport itself to faraway places or even other dimensions.
‘Other dimensions...’
Cassie’s heart leapt into her throat all of a sudden as she slowly snapped a picture of the bronze plaque, mind whirling at the sudden thought. She’d never even considered the obvious thought in front of her. The legendaries of Sinnoh were fragments of Arceus that controlled time and space...could one, or both of them, be what was responsible for bringing her here?
Her eyes tracked back up towards the visage of Palkia high above her, staring at the myth given form in front of her. It was hard to understate how imposing even a facsimile of the Pokemon was, reminding her all at once that this was a Pokemon that surpassed nearly anything else in the world - or, perhaps, even beyond it. Even if one of the Legendaries was the one responsible for her appearance here...how would she ever find it? Dialga and Palkia were practically myth, the number of their sightings throughout history likely infinitesimal. Where would she even begin?
“It’s really something, isn’t it?” Kaitlyn said thoughtfully, breaking Cassie out of her sudden moment of self-reflection. “Just...makes you think about how small we really are. Pokemon like this...they’re myths, forces of nature, beyond anything we could possibly think or dream about.”
“Y-Yeah,” Cassie said, her mouth suddenly feeling dry as she came back to her senses.
“If you think this is neat, just wait until you see the inside,” Kaitlyn added, gesturing for her to follow as she walked towards the front doors. “You’re going to be hooked.”
Cassie slowly left the statues behind, slipping the phone back into her pocket as she walked towards the entrance. Kaitlyn held the door open to let her inside, as well as a young man with teal hair that thanked her on the way in before they stepped up to the attendants at the entrance.
“Good morning - welcome to the Eterna Historical Museum. Just two of you?” one of the male attendants asked, causing Cassie to nod. “That’ll be fifty credits, please.”
Cassie reached for her bank card only to have Kaitlyn wave her off, reaching into her own pocket and handing the attendant a single hundred credit note. “Thank you - please enjoy your visit!” the man said, handing them each a folded brochure before waving them through the entrance and into the main area of the first floor to give Cassie her first good look at the building’s interior.
The main part of the room had a vaulted ceiling that stretched clear up to the roof, letting Cassie see the large glass window on the upper level that extended out over the front entrance as a sort of internal balcony. At the center of the room stood a large fountain that was a clear focal point of the design, a multi-tiered fixture that was exquisitely decorated with Pokemon carvings etched into what resembled brilliant white marble. Gold-colored metallic lines criss-crossed parts of the base in swooping curves and sharp angles, reflecting the light from above with a brilliant gleam. Around the edges of the room were various exhibits behind glass, mostly what looked to be documents, parchment, or other small pieces of historical artifacts spread among sections of the wall between sets of double doors leading to other parts of the museum. People were milling about in the room at many of the exhibits, speaking quietly among themselves or getting informational lectures in what appeared to be a small tour group off to one side.
“Holy...” Cassie breathed, stunned at the beauty and magnificence of what she was looking at. She could almost feel the weight of the ages around her, a near-tangible force contained within the fragments of the past that adorned the room. “Where do we even start?” she asked, slowly walking further in to take in the sights. Her breath almost caught in her throat as she slowly turned in a circle to take in the sights of the entrance, entranced by the design of the structure and the beautiful layout of the room. Kaitlyn smiled behind her, watching as she took a good look at everything around her before she stepped towards the fountain in the center to read the bronze-colored plaque affixed to the bottom part of the decoration.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
In dedication to the Original One, Almighty Sinnoh, our protector Arceus. May your eternal radiance guide this land and protect its people until the world once more returns unto the void from whence it came.
A chill ran down Cassie’s spine as she read the inscription, the mere thought of the mythical Pokemon sending a sudden wave of unease through her.
Arceus.
It was said to be the Pokemon who created all things - time, space, the universe as a whole, as well as all the Pokemon and humans that now inhabit the world. Mew was considered the ancestor of all Pokemon, whether or not that was truly the case, but even that was a pale shadow of the status Arceus supposedly held. Legendary Pokemon in general were seen as nigh-unstoppable figures, forces of nature whose power was beyond nearly anything else in the world except others of their kind.
Arceus, however, was the closest thing to a god that the Pokemon world could conceive of...immeasurable, incomprehensible, eternal. Its portrayal in the games seemed benevolent enough, but...who really knew for sure?
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Kaitlyn said, stepping up to watch the crystal clear waters flowing down over the fountain’s tiers. “This fountain was put in about a decade ago, and it’s probably the best part of the last remodel they did.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Cassie agreed. “It’s made out of...what, marble?”
“I think so,” Kaitlyn replied, running a hand over the smooth, polished surface of the fountain’s edge. “If I remember right, they brought in all the material to make it from Coronet. I’m pretty sure that the original stone floors that were in here a long time ago came from Coronet too. They’ve been replaced by now, of course,” she added, tapping a foot on the tiled floor underneath her.
Cassie finally unfolded the brochure to take a look at it, revealing a map of the two floors of the museum with a color-coded list of exhibits and the wings they were contained in. It looked like there was an entire wing dedicated to the history of Hisui, as well as one dedicated to the history of the modern Sinnoh region. Another appeared to be focused around the myths and legends of Sinnoh, with a lesser focus on those from other regions, and yet another for fossil Pokemon and related archaeological discoveries. Those four topics combined made up the entirety of the first floor, and Cassie only gave a brief glance at what was on the second floor before making up her mind. She likely wouldn’t even have time to see all of one of the wings today, let alone more than one.
“Can we check out the myths and legends wing?” she asked Kaitlyn, looking around for the doors that led towards that area. Kaitlyn nodded with a smile, motioning for Cassie to follow as she started walking towards one set of doors on the right side of the central area.
“I had a feeling you’d want to see that first,” Kaitlyn remarked, pausing to let an older couple exit the hallway before moving onwards. “Most people who come here check this wing out to begin with. There’re a lot of neat writings about Legendaries and ancient stories about the first people to work with Pokemon in this section, though who knows how much of it is actually true.”
“How much of it do you believe?”
Kaitlyn had to think for a moment on that one. It wasn’t a question she’d ever been asked, nor one she’d ever asked herself much if she was being honest.
“I like to think it’s mostly true,” she finally replied as they stepped into the large room beyond the hallway. “Maybe it isn’t, but...I want to believe.”
The inside of the myths wing was covered almost wall-to-wall with framed paintings, torn and weathered writings, and cases full of items of all kinds said to be connected to the Legendaries of the Sinnoh region. Colorful banners hung from the ceiling, designs inspired by Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus filling the room and breaking up the drab colors of the walls and floor, and several rows of tables stretched throughout the room. The tables were full of portable cases and various items that were more interactable, things such as older books with interesting stories or displays talking about sightings of Legendaries in recent times.
“...I’m never going to be able to see all of this before I have to go to work,” Cassie moaned, stealing a glance at her phone to check the time as Kaitlyn laughed.
“Yeah, that’s a common sentiment too,” she said with a grin. “Come on - let’s see how much we can get through before you have to go.”
With that, Kaitlyn turned and started moving towards the first exhibit along the wall to her left with Cassie right on her heels. The leading display was a simple framed manuscript written on something that didn’t even look like proper paper, dark inky writing almost painted onto a brown canvas that could’ve passed for leather at a glance. It was also several feet tall and around half that height wide with visible wrinkles and creases in the surface as if it had been rolled or folded up many times before in the past. The flowing manuscript was surprisingly well-preserved, with the script still very legible despite the age and wear to the material. Cassie gazed upward to the top of the frame instead of turning to the printed transcription attached to the portrait, reading the elegant letters silently in wonder.
In the beginning, there was only a churning turmoil of chaos.
At the heart of chaos, where all things became one, appeared an egg.
Having tumbled from the vortex, the egg gave rise to the Original One.
From itself, two beings the Original One did make.
Time started to spin. Space began to expand.
From itself again, three living beings the Original One did make.
The two beings wished, and from them, matter came to be.
The three living things wished, and from them, spirit came to be.
The world created, the Original One took to unyielding sleep.
Cassie stared at the portrait for long seconds, gazing on the ancient text as if it had just revealed long forgotten knowledge to her. It was clearly a creation myth, one detailing the creation of the universe and all things within it by Arceus. She never remembered seeing such a thing in any of the games she’d played, but perhaps she’d just missed it. She had never really explored much off the beaten paths of the games hunting for lore, so it could have easily been somewhere she simply never had thought to check.
The two beings were clearly referencing Dialga and Palkia, but it left her wondering what the three living things were a reference to. She wracked her brain for a minute as she pored over the text again before realizing that it was probably a reference to the legendary trio of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. The little pixie-like Pokemon had been rather forgettable to her in the games despite their plot relevance, so she wasn’t too surprised she’d forgotten about them.
She blinked suddenly. Speaking of forgotten things...the text didn’t mention Giratina. That was odd, to say the least.
“Hey, Kaitlyn?” she asked, turning to the girl beside her who was checking out the next exhibit over. “So, this text...it’s talking about Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia, right?”
“Yeah,” Kaitlyn said, nodding. “The creation myth talks about how Arceus split fragments of its power off into Dialga and Palkia, and then created the lake guardians to balance out that power - time and space are the matter, and willpower, emotions, and knowledge are the spirit.”
“What about Giratina?”
That caused Kaitlyn to frown. “Giratina? It’s an actual myth - none of the old legends that we’ve ever found talk about it, and there’s never been a recorded sighting of it in history that I can think of. I don’t even think we know what it’s supposed to look like, if it even exists. You’ve never heard the stories?”
“Stories?”
“Growing up, I always heard scary stories about how if you were bad, Giratina would come out of a mirror and suck you into another dimension, then leave a copy of you behind so no one would ever know you were gone. Just silly ghost stories meant to scare kids around a campfire.”
Now that was interesting, Cassie thought. Giratina was very clearly real in the games, the third member of the trio along with Dialga and Palkia...could it actually just not exist here? Was that even possible? She had assumed that everything she knew of the games corresponded closely with her new reality, but now...
“Do you think it exists?” she finally asked, honestly curious now to see what Kaitlyn thought. Kaitlyn simply shrugged.
“Do I think it exists? Not really. Could it? Maybe. There’s a lot that we still don’t know about Pokemon even with everything we’ve discovered, so...who knows? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but I’d lean more towards it being just an old ghost story myself.”
Cassie took one last look at the creation myth parchment in front of her before stepping over to the case that Kaitlyn was standing in front of to check it out. Inside was an odd little object about two feet in length and a couple of inches wide, solid white and with a squat hexagonal shape at the top that elongated out to look much like the lid of a coffin. It sparkled under the light illuminating the case from the ceiling, and seemed to have words engraved on its smooth surface.
“Three beings whose...power can hold both time and space fixed,” Cassie read, squinting a little from the glare on the case before she looked at the informational paper accompanying the object. Her reading was correct, it seemed, and the paper also listed some information about the object. It was apparently found outside of Snowpoint City during an archaeological dig some years back, frozen below layers of ice and sediment for who knows how long. The one in the case was just a replica, according to the sheet beside the display.
“Now this is an odd one,” Kaitlyn said. “This plate - at least, that’s what everyone calls it - might be the most unusual thing the Sinnoh League has ever discovered in the region.”
“Why’s that?”
“So, they dug it up near Snowpoint around...twelve years ago, I think? There’s an old temple out in the mountains up there that’s been a hot topic for decades now, but it’s so rough up there that no one really wants to venture out there to explore all that much.”
She folded her arms, looking down at the white object within the case. “I remember seeing news articles and TV shows about it when I was a kid. A couple scientists from Celestic went out there to see what they could find, since it was one of the few places that hadn’t been touched over the years. They started digging around on the outskirts of the ruins to see what might be lying around buried underneath all the frost, and one of them hit this little thing.”
“Did they have any idea what it was?” Cassie asked, and Kaitlyn shook her head.
“No, and no one knows any more today than they did back when it was dug up,” she replied. “The one thing we do know is that they tried to chip off a tiny fragment to test what it was made of...and they couldn’t. Whatever that plate is made out of, they couldn’t so much as scratch it with anything they tried. Tools, lasers, even Pokemon...not a single thing that they tried worked. Yet somehow, those words were inscribed as clear as day in the center. They wrote a big article in Pokemon Researchers Monthly about it, but all the buzz faded away pretty fast because they couldn’t even properly test anything about it, let alone figure out what kind of purpose it might’ve served.”
Goosebumps broke out on Cassie’s arms as she listened, and she nodded slowly as her eyes trailed back down to the case.
“We’ve found some odd things before on digs like this, but never anything remotely similar before or since. Even Professor Carolina doesn’t have an idea as to what it might have been.”
“Who’s that?” Cassie asked - she didn’t recall ever hearing the name before.
“She’s the leading regional Professor in archaeological studies, mainly in relation to legends about Dialga and Palkia,” Kaitlyn explained as she began to walk towards the next exhibit. “I’ve seen her on TV a few times.”
That was a bit of a surprise to hear for Cassie, though it did make sense after a moment’s thought. When she thought of regional professors, she thought of ones like Professor Oak or Rowan, professors who gave the player characters in the games their first starter Pokemon. However, why wouldn’t there be regional professors for other disciplines besides just Pokemon research? Archaeology, technology, astronomy...there were bound to be any number of people who were considered leaders in their fields just like those famous Pokemon researchers.
Cassie followed Kaitlyn over towards the next table, where several large models were set up alongside a number of framed portraits and pictures. The entire exhibit looked to be about the Coronet mountain range, as well as the ruins found near the peak of its namesake spire. Those ruins were of vital importance, as the climax of the games took place atop Coronet in the place known as the Spear Pillar.
“Once known as the Temple of Sinnoh in ancient times, the Coronet ruins now known as the Spear Pillar got their name from ancient texts which described them as ‘pillars now turned into spears, stabbing into the heavens,’” Cassie read, examining the model closely but refraining from touching it. “Legend says that it is the place where Dialga and Palkia enter Sinnoh from their respective dimensions in times of need.”
Alongside the photographs of the modern-day Spear Pillar, its grandeur of old now little more than crumbling and broken columns atop the mountain’s peak, an artist’s rendition of what the Temple of Sinnoh may have looked like hundreds of years ago sat in comparison. Snippets of ancient writings describing the former beauty of the site were transcribed beside the photograph, and Cassie found herself in awe of the majesty that the rendition portrayed. The broken pillars of the present were replaced by gleaming white marble columns the same color as that of the fountain in the entryway, rising up to a sloped ceiling with a golden sigil embossed over the entrance that she didn’t recognize. Golden bands ringed the base of each column, and statues of Pokemon guarded the stairs leading into the sacred temple.
“I’ve never been to Spear Pillar, but I’d love to see it one day,” Kaitlyn said, a hand on her hip as she looked between the models of ancient and modern times. “The League keeps watch over it because it’s a historical site, but it’s so far up the mountain that most people just don’t bother going up there.”
Cassie felt a warmth in her chest as she looked at the recreation of the ancient temple, admiring the architecture and statues in equal measure. Something about the sight just seemed to put her at ease, a feeling she couldn’t really explain. She grabbed her phone again and quickly took a snapshot of both the temple model and the one of the Spear Pillar before looking over at Kaitlyn, who appeared to be reading some of the documentation that was set beside the Spear Pillar model.
“I never knew there were so many myths in Sinnoh,” Cassie remarked, looking around the exhibit hall and all the people walking around with interest. “Is it like this in all the other regions?”
“I don’t know,” Kaitlyn admitted with a shrug. “I’ve only ever been to Kanto, and there aren’t too many legends there with the exception of some texts about the legendary bird trio and all of the speculation about Mew and its origins.” The younger girl nodded in understanding. Sinnoh overall just seemed like a more...otherworldly place than any of the other regions, really. When your regional deities were ones that ruled over time and space alongside the likely creator of the universe, that was probably to be expected, Cassie reasoned.
A sigh escaped her lips as she kept looking around. There was so much more to see, and so little time left for her to do it in. She’d definitely have to come back later to see more of it, since she doubted she’d even get to see everything in this wing before she would have to get ready to head to work. The smile came back to her face as she excitedly headed over towards the next exhibit with Kaitlyn trailing behind, determined to see as much as she could in what little time remained.
It was almost eleven o’clock by the time Cassie finally returned to her room at the Center after work, and she felt exhausted all the way down to her bones from all the excitement of the day. Paulos was already sound asleep, scrunched up in a feathery ball beside Growlithe’s bed, and the Fire-type himself was sprawled out on the floor beside Cassie while she read. The gentle sound of the pages turning was gradually lulling the Fire-type to sleep, though one eye was focused on his trainer as his head rested on the floor.
Cassie’s mind was only half-focused on the book she was reading, the dull phrasing and technical rules text of the Pokemon League Conference Handbook, Rev. 9.2 doing little to keep her thoughts from wandering as she struggled to make any headway through the manual. As they had for several days now, her thoughts had dithered about with ideas for names for her starter. She’d run through a host of names with him already, everything from more common household names to astronomy, pop culture, and more. After visiting the museum today, however, her mind had wandered over towards mythology. She found it odd that she could remember some things from her home, like constellations or historical facts, but still couldn’t remember much about her own life or past at all.
Still, she’d decided not to dwell on it as much as she could for fear that she’d drive herself mad with worry. If Legendaries were involved somehow, as she strongly suspected after what she’d seen and read today, then she figured she’d likely find it near impossible to get any answers unless they chose to make themselves known to her.
“How about...Helios?” she suggested, glancing down at the pup. Growlithe thought for a moment before uttering a low sound between a growl and whine, something she’d learned to interpret as a ‘no.’ “Okay...hm. Apollo?” Another no, followed by another sigh. She felt like she was getting nowhere fast with it, and a part of her was almost starting to resign herself to calling him by the species name forever.
“Ares?”
She flipped another page, eyes tracing over the rules for switching Pokemon in official battles as she heard another ‘no’ from the Fire-type.
“Orion?”
She’d skimmed the entire next paragraph before finally realizing that her starter hadn’t said anything in response, and she glanced over to see the puppy’s head raised and looking at her with curiosity. She blinked, wondering if she’d finally hit on something, and put the book down on the table for a moment to give him her full attention.
“That one’s an old name for...a famous hunter, I think,” she explained. “Did you like it?”
The dog uttered something slowly in his native language that Cassie couldn’t interpret, and he stood up for a moment before wandering over towards his bed and nosing the sleeping Pidgey beside it with a low bark. Paulos started with a flutter of wings, chirping something unintelligible before he settled down again after realizing it was only Growlithe that had disturbed him. Another couple of short barks and growls were interspersed with chirps as the two Pokemon conversed, and Paulos threw his head back and wings wide with chirping laughter after a bit of discussion before saying something back to Growlithe that caused the dog to sit back on his haunches. He looked between Cassie and Paulos for a few seconds longer as Paulos balled himself up again and returned to his slumber before finally padding back over to Cassie and sitting back down at her feet, seeming contemplative about the idea.
‘Was he asking what Paulos thought?’ she wondered, seeing that as the only logical reasoning for why he would have awoken his fellow team member. She reached out to stroke the top of the dog’s head, gently petting him while he thought things over. “If you don’t like it, we can keep looking. There’s no rush.”
He still seemed deep in thought, eyes aimed at the ground but not seeming to really be focusing on anything in particular as Cassie petted him. They sat like that for minutes, the only sounds in the room coming from their quiet breathing and the gentle hum of the nearby fridge, before Growlithe finally looked up at his trainer once again. A single, low bark of acceptance came from his mouth, low enough where Paulos didn’t stir, and Cassie smiled widely as she realized she’d finally succeeded.
“I guess that’s that,” she said, beaming as she shut the book on the table. There was no trace of nervousness in her face as she looked down brightly at her starter. “Orion...we’re going to make sure that everyone in the region knows your name by the time we’re done. Are you with me?”
The newly-named Growlithe nodded, giving a short excited bark that wound up giving way to a yawn an instant later. Cassie patted him on the head one last time before he wandered away, curling up in his bed for some much-needed shut eye, and she checked the time on her phone once more before she decided to do much the same.
Two weeks before they could make their mark on the circuit, she thought as she started to drift off. She didn’t want to waste one single second of it, either.
It was time to show the Sinnoh League what they were made of.