Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 17 - Holes in the Mind

Anam, Rhys, James, and Amia all left for Manny's Spire of Trials. In the meantime, Nevren paid a visit after he was summoned, and left to rally up Kilo Village. That left everybody else to go through some training with Star, who was summoned this time by Zena. Compared to Anam's strength, Star was barely solid, and for the most part, could only be heard. There were a few instances where Pokémon accidentally passed right through the Mew phantasm because they didn't see her. And, generally, it was hard to tell the pink cloud of Mew-shaped smoke from everything else.

Owen was sitting at the town square, just below a small bulletin board that went largely unused. He stared at it nostalgically; he knew every corner of that board, the way it was carved from stone and then melted at the edges to look shiny. There was a small bowl of grayish-yellow adhesive to the side of the board that was used to stick papers on; when it was no longer needed, it could just be peeled off. Owen remembered how he once put a notice here. 'Looking for a new rock, at least two feet in height, polished! Will pay 3000 Poké!' was what he had posted.

It ended up being a very good rock.

He had bought it with his allowance that he'd saved up from Amia and Alex, after spending most of it on treats and fighting materials. But now, what could he post there? Especially now that he knew all of the other Pokémon that had lived there in town were dead and hiding out in Amia's Fire Orb to leave room for the newcomers. Owen felt a pang in his chest. How could his parents do that to him? All of the friends he had were spirits. They weren't even around anymore—they had to make room for all the Guardians and their spirits. What was the point of all that, anyway?

Spirits... It had been a while since Owen thought about the ones he had. Were they watching the whole time? "Wait..." Owen said. He looked around. It seemed that mostly everybody was training in their own corners of Hot Spot Square, focusing on what they felt was most necessary. Zena was nearest to Owen, despite this. Star was also nearby. "Um—Star?"

"Yo." The Mew in question was watching everybody and their training, giving pointers when necessary. Zena, in particular, was still gathering her energy after expending so much into summoning Star.

"How do I summon spirits?"

"Oh, you wanna learn that? Yeah, I guess you should, especially since everybody else knows how to do it. It actually isn't that hard, either. Zena, didn't you accidentally spit someone out when you used Water Gun once?"

"Y-you promised you wouldn't speak of that!" Zena squeaked.

"O-oh, sorry," Star said. "But hey, wasn't a Divine Promise, heh... S-sorry. Really."

Zena, flushing red, slithered away to compose herself.

"A-anyway, it feels a lot like using an Attack, okay? But instead, it feels like you're focusing... inward, and then bringing something out... That make sense?"

"I think I understand," Owen said, closing his eyes. "Inward... inward... Wait—who do I summon?"

"Uhh," Star said. "Why don't you try talking to them? It's kinda like talking to yourself in your head. You'll get a response. Hey, you might even feel them reaching out. That'll make it easier to summon them."

Owen nodded. "Okay, let me try." He closed his eyes and tried to ignore everything that his five senses were giving him. It was easier than usual; this part of town was quieter, and the heat was nothing to his natural body.

Um... hello? Is anybody there? Owen said. It's me, um, Owen.

A few voices replied to him—various forms of hello. Owen knew that if they'd done this to him earlier, he would've thought he was going crazy.