Book of Paldea

Chapter 17.... A Leap of Faith On a Clean Slate

I was gently shaken awake by my mom for breakfast, which was a refresher after last night's travel around the region. It all felt like a dream that I wondered if any of it even happened as I munched on the cream covered strawberries that topped my pancakes when Kari asked, "Say, didn't you tell me before bed that you were going to call Nemona?" "Hm? O-OH! Y-Yeah, I was worried she may've been busy, but said I'd ring her up to see..." I responded, breaking out of my thoughts of wonder for a bit. So it WASN'T a dream... This really DID happen, otherwise Kari wouldn't have said anything! "Well, worry about getting your bellies filled first- you two seemed to have had a restless night considering you two slept like Rock Types on a slow afternoon. But regardless, it's good to see you both in such high spirits today!" My mom mused, circling behind us to embrace us both. "Y-You noticed?" I asked, shocked that she would've seemed to notice. "Absolutely! And to think I worried about how glum you were last night..." "Well, what's past is past. Personally, I'd be more happy if you were feeling more healthy than you were before!" Kari chirped, taking a piece of sausage, and chomping into the succulent meat. "I-I feel great-BETTER than great if I'm being totally honest!" I admitted, pushing an empty plate away from me before resting my head on my palms. "That's wonderful, Spirit! Now, let me see your plates and I guess I'll see you when I see you. Have fun today, girls!" My mom replied cheerfully, waving us off as the two of us left to Kitchen to return to my room. "So, first things first..." I said, taking my phone from my nightstand when something fell to the floor, and clattered at my feet. My eyes widened as I beheld the Fuecoco phone case I had bought from a while back, still in pristine condition as the red, white, and yellow colors glinted in the sun! "Oh? I've never noticed you got a new case for your Rotom phone! It reminds me of my Hálogi before he evolved." Kari reminisced as I lifted the case from the ground to observe it. "I didn't get this for me...." I replied, handing the case to her after turning it a few times in my hand; catching her off gaurd as her eyes widened in shock. She smiled, and laughed, "It's unheard of for a Nord to recieve gifts from outlanders- usually because WE'RE the ones offering gifts to others! I thank you." She took the case from my hand, and with an eager look in her eye, quickly merged the case to her phone as she fawned, "Now I've got something that reminds me of my Hálogi ALWAYS!" "And I got one to match my River as well!" I replied, taking the Quaxly case and placing it over my phone in turn. "How cute! Now we can TRULY call ourselves fans of Pokémon!" Kari cheered, and the two of us shared a laugh amongst each other as our two partners stood side by side proudly. I rung up Nemona, and to my shock, she ACTUALLY answered- sounding frightened to bits about the news as I told her everything that had happened with me during the treasure hunt. "Well, it's good to know you're still alive! You REALLY scared me to death, y'know..." she whined, and I laughed in response as I said, "Sorry, I didn't expect for me to get so worked up over something so small." "As our teachers ALWAYS tell us, "The number one rule of thumb for new Trainers is to know when to step back for a spell.", and BOY, you REALLY needed it!" She laughed. Hearing her laugh made me feel happy, and I wished her a good day before saying goodbye to her. "She sounds like quite the character!" Kari mused, laying her head on the foot of my bed as I joked, "You mean moreso than YOU?" I took my pillow, and lightly tapped her head with it- prompting a war that sent plushies and pillows soaring as we laughed. I've NEVER laughed so much in all my life- not since my dad left us, anyway! Kari had the grand idea after our war to collect up all the pillows, and my blanket to make a fort in front of my T.V., where we watched my favorite detective show from the Alola Region. "I wonder if maybe you'd be the type to have an Alolan partner?" Kari mused, laying flat on her stomach as she rested her elbows on my Skwovet plush. I shook my head before laughing in response, "Nah, it'd be too much for me! So many rituals and whatnot- I don't think I could handle the backlash of doing it wrong." "There's nothing wrong with learning, though that's a bit biased coming from somewhere that's RIPE with rituals, and feasts for any occasion. I can see where it can be a pain in the backside!" Kari teased, laughing as she pinched my arm. "OWWWW!" I squealed, hitting her back with a pillow as she roared with laughter. "But seriously, what WOULD you like to see in a boy?" Kari asked, clearly interested in my thoughts as I looked up in thought. "Well, for OBVIOUS starters..... I'd like him to be kind, and soft natured. Someone strong and handy when I ask him to be, but collected and caring when I need him to be! I don't really care if he's whip smart, just so long as he's got eyes for me." I replied, carefully putting my thoughts into words before asking, "And you, Miss dreamer?" "Oh-ho? Why, I suppose I'd want the same thing in a boy, but I'd like him to be gentle only when the time comes, and strong for everything else. I also would like for him to be patient, understanding, and willing to learn my heritage without judging!" Kari replied, sounding very mature for someone who was the same age I was, and I hung my jaw open in excitement as I fawned, "Wow, you're a different cut above the rest of the jewels, aren't you?" "My father would agree to that!" After our little talk, Kari showed me images of some of the garbs they wore in their region: Baggy trousers with tunics for little boys, belted and dyed dresses with protective beads on them for girls, even the wedding garbs foe the men and ladies were something truly spectacular! "What about Kalos? What's the attire for THEIR culture?" Kari asked in interest, scooting closer to me as I thought about the clothing. "Meh, It's usually a bit exaggerated, but it's regular wear nonetheless. Oh, and the ladies on their wedding day wear mostly lace, silk, and vintage or cathedral style dresses! Here, I'll show you." I pulled up some images to show her, and she took the phone from my hand with awe in her eyes as she breathed, "Oh, how pretty! I can see you in something like this in the future." "Meh, it's more like a puffy cloud that's hard to walk in- and that's if you don't want a sleek dress! No, I'd much prefer the oriental kind of dresses that are worn in other regions. They're MUCH more unique!" "Oooooohhhh, so you may find someone in Paldea- have yourself a Paldean wedding with them?" Kari mused playfully. "Wh-Who said it HAD to be Paldea?" I remarked, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly as I smiled. "It was only an example, no need to be embarrassed." She laughed when an ad about the Academy began to play. "Welcome to the infamous Pokémon Academy in Mesagoza!" The announcer said, showing scenes from the campus to the inside. Kari, seemingly flustered, quickly grabbed the remote to change the channel when I stopped her, and simply said, "Let it play." "But Spirit..." "It's okay, really! Just let it play." Kari gave me a worried gaze before sighing, and reluctantly placed the remote back down on the ground as we continued to watch the ad. No more running from reality! As I listened to how they described the school, and saw all of the smiles on the students, a feeling of joy and pride began to well inside me; causing my own lips to stretch into a smile as I came to terms with the truth. I WAS Paldean, and I AM proud to call Uva Academy my school, and I was GLAD to have such great friends there! "Commercials.... They always seem to lack what the TRUE joys of a place are compared to just finding it yourself!" I replied, looking down at Kari. A stunned look plastered her face for a bit, seemingly in disbelief by my response to the advertisement before smiling, and her eyes glimmered with happiness as she said, "Hey, you didn't faint this time!" "Of course not! I made a promise, and I've come to terms with myself." I replied, looking over at my sweet partner Pokémon as he slept soundly with Hálogi on my bed. Following my gaze, Kari's eyes softened as she said, "To make a promise to your Pokémon, and strive to keep it out of the love you have for them- tis a beautiful form of bond to have as Trainer and Pokémon. I bet River is over the moon!" "From how he looks when he's around Hálogi and the others, "Over the moon" doesn't even BEGIN to describe how he's feeling!" I stood up from the fort, and approached my bed quietly as to not disturb the two sleeping Pokémon until I was just about looming over River. I took my hand, and gently caressed his wing before being met with a gentle grasp from him. Afraid that I may have awakened him I gasped, and my blood ran cold as he guided my hand gently to the top of his head for me to pet as he smiled. It was rare for River to let me touch his head, so any chance like this was a welcomed memory as I stroked his head softly. His hair was very cool, and very whispy to give the illusion that you stuck your hand on the surface of water, and I could see that he was enjoying every minute as he set his wing back to the side in peace. Coming to my side to observe, Kari leaned over my shoulder as she cooed, "Such strong desire for strength, yet so very gentle and full of passion for one's that matter. His aura is unmatched when it comes to you, Spirit." "And there's several out there like him, but they'll never come close to being my gentle River." I added, leaning down to peck him on the cheek. "So I'm assuming this promise you made...." Kari began, rubbing Hálogi's belly, "It's that you'd go back to the Academy with a fresh slate behind you?" "Yeah, but I didn't know how to go about that until last night while we traveled around the region. Now that I've seen it all, I know what it provides for me. That means I'm MORE than ready to go back to the Academy, and continue my treasure hunt without my clouded judgment!" I turned to her with a proud smile, and declared, "I'm ready for this adventure MORE than ever before! And River, Buttercup, Daisy, ALL of them are going to their absolute strongest by the time my treasure hunt is done." "Yeah! And I'll be there every step of the way to support you always. Your Pokémon are resilient, if not the most valiant I've ever seen." Kari cheered, putting a hand on my shoulder in support. After a couple more hours of indoor time, we decide it best to teach our Pokémon new moves, and Train them up in the form of light playing, and afterwards we had lunch with mom before returning to our little outdoors time. Kari would sing with Sæll, like we did in the desert wasteland before fighting the Lurking Steel Titan, and I listened along to her meaningful, and gorgeous melodies while stroking River. I've made up my mind, and I was going to do EVERYTHING to carry out my promise to River to the fullest extent! No more doubts.... No more pushing things away..... From today forward is a clean slate- a clean slate followed by a leap of faith!