This certainly feels familiar.
It’s my own fault, and frankly, you’d be disappointed in how I’ve behaved as of late. Logically, I shouldn’t be texting you about it, but I’m not convinced you’re ever going to see these messages, after all.
Dragons above, I miss you. I want you to see this so you know just how much I’ve been thinking about you all, but it’s simultaneously... humiliating. I really thought it would work, and in hindsight, it was a fool’s hope.
Spite is just as potent a motivation though, isn’t it?
I certainly learned that much from living with you.
It’s still hard to believe I’m going to have to live without.
---
It wasn’t pneumonia this time, by the way. It was just hypothermia and a cold. Small mercies.
I would still argue that it was worse, not due to the severity of the illness, but because this time I understood exactly what Warden Calaba was saying about me while I recovered.
---
I’ve finally been let out of the medical tent on good behavior, and Sabi decided we’re going to celebrate by looking for the specific tumblestone needed to craft her warden’s bracelet.
That seems rather counter to what I’ve been told about this practice, but I can’t imagine I’ll be much help to begin with, and the only way I’m leaving the settlement at this point is with a chaperon. I might as well make the most of the opportunity.
---
Maybe I should revisit that idea about moving on to Unova. I might be able to make my presence known somehow.
But… if I successfully signaled to you, wouldn’t we have already seen it? Wouldn’t I already know what I did?
On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t. The logistics don’t make sense, and I don’t want to risk somehow becoming our ancestor. Ugh.
Reshiram’s candor, I’ve become a bad sci-fi.
---
I think I’m going to accept Lady Irida’s offer.
I don’t know if this is a life sentence or not, but my earlier argument has been made irrelevant; I’m going to be staying in Hisui for some amount of time, yet. Now that I can, why shouldn’t I make things just a little bit easier on everyone involved?
It would entail staying in the Highlands on a more permanent basis, but if I’m not traveling around in pursuit of perfecting the Pokedex, that shouldn’t be a problem. It might be nice, even. I like the idea of having a terminal to return to, even if it’s not my home station.
---
I’m just now realizing that Sabi didn’t bring me with her to help find the cyan tumblestone she needed. She brought me with her so I would have a frame of reference what to look for when I crafted my own warden’s bracelet.
Psychics are another breed entirely.
I’ll have to see if she’ll let me record her practice with Lord Braviary. She isn’t up to the same stunts Warden Ryder would perform, but by the same stroke, I’ve yet to watch her crash into a cliff. Seems she did learn quite a bit from her mentor after all.
Strange. Before Ryder passed, I was certain I would go back home. In that context, it made sense that they would have lived their lives and passed on, but I never thought I’d be here to see it.
I’m just glad Sabi had someone to lean on in the immediate aftermath.
---
[A picture of Sneasler hauling a large Ursaring behind her. While there’s no visible wound, there’s blood matted in its fur and it’s clearly dead.]
Oh, a present.
It’s like living with a giant Purrloin.
---
Oh, Swords, she wants me to carve my Celestica Flute from one of its bones.
---
I’m texting you this as a man who has seen the inside of an Ursaring.
Please live the rest of your life in ignorance, for the both of us.
---
Despite the inter-clan tensions, I had noticed that those wardens who shared a territory generally got along relatively well. At the time, I thought it might have been the overlap in their duties, making sure those people who crossed the province were safe under their watch, and that might be true, but, well...
Suffice to say that no such thing will be happening here in the Coronet Highlands.
The last time we met, I thought Melli and I just got off on the wrong foot. I was an outsider to the Diamond Clan, and he was the only Diamond Warden I hadn’t encountered prior, so it made some amount of sense. Now that I’ve gotten to know him a bit better, I can confidently say that we didn’t get off on the wrong foot. I never even had a leg to stand on.
It’s like being stuck in a cab with a commuter whose only goal is to needle you until you lose your temper, growing ever more agitated when their efforts don’t garner a response. I can think of no other reason he might have said half the things he has over the past weeks.
While I legitimately do believe that he cares for Lord Electrode, I can’t help but be reminded that the twin heroes both thought they were doing the best thing for their country.
---
My flute finally passed Calaba’s inspection; that marks both halves of my trial complete.
I hope this was the right decision.
---
You know, I had made it this far without lamenting Hisui’s lack of public transportation, but I think my patience just wore out.
I’m lucky enough to have multiple Pokemon that can be ridden, but what about poor Palina out in the Coastlands? Gaeric is stationed in the clan’s settlement and Calaba can rely on Lord Ursaluna, but now that Lord Arcanine is gone, Palina has to make her way on foot, either alone or with the young Lord Growlithe for protection.
I think I’m going to send a Pokemon to help her, but if she’s out on Firespit Island, it would have to be Gliscor, and frankly put, that seems like a recipe for disaster. I could… tie a note to his pincer and hope she sees it before panicking?
It’s my opinion that this could all be avoided with a decent rail system. That’s something to bring up at the meeting, I suppose, since by then I’ll also be a warden.
Public transportation in general, that is. I don’t think I’m capable of installing a functional railway in the Hisui region.
Unless…?
---
As of today, I’m officially a warden of the Pearl Clan.
That’s an odd thought, isn’t it? They took me in hundreds of years before we were born.
Actually
Will I also be long dead by the time we’re alive?
---
I’m bringing back several sprigs of mint from my pit stop in Jubilife. It’s supposed to be easy to propagate, isn’t it? Maybe I’ll try to plant some around the arena.
I think Sneasler would appreciate that.
We already know she likes it when I tidy up, and this seems on that same level of maintenance. If nothing else, I suspect she’ll find the novelty in it.
---
Wyrdeer was able to pacify the alpha Crobat for the time being, but now that I’m partially responsible for ensuring the safety of those who cross through the Highlands, I’d like to do something more tangible about it.
Even just highlighting the most efficient path through the Wayward Cave would be enough; that way, if someone ran into it, they would know where they could flee, be it forwards or backwards.
But we don’t exactly have safety lights here in Hisui, and stone markers would be lost in the dark.
How hazardous would it be to leave an open flame in the cave? Logically, nothing there can catch fire, even if a Pokemon were to knock it over. I suppose this hypothetical Pokemon itself might be flammable, but the water types wouldn’t be able to access these markers, the Gible are already fire resistant, and the bats would be disinclined to approach the light to begin with.
I think it could work.
I need to go gather some wood.
---
DON’T MAKE ANYTHING OF THAT.
---
I was on the hunt for an alpha Basculin when my tracks led to the Fabled Spring this evening, and I witnessed something remarkable there.
Do you remember the Kantonian folktales about finding Clefairy and Clefable dancing under a full moon? It seems they aren’t actually exaggerated. I watched four Clefairy gather around the spring and sing to one another, leaping this way and that while they waited for their alpha.
When she arrived, they brought their merriment to her instead, circling her and twirling as they continued to jump about in the moonlight.
I didn’t dare move while they celebrated, so my knees are terribly sore from hiding in the grass, but I think it was well worth it.
Do you think Clefairy celebrate the full moon everywhere they live? If the folklore came from the Kanto-Johto province and is also true in Hisui, where else might they dance like this?
Are there Clefairy prancing around in the Giant Chasm when nobody is looking?
I was too caught up in the moment to record tonight, but I’ll make the time to come through on the next full moon, too. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to share it with you.
---
A boy from the Pearl Clan came through earlier, looking for stones along the Celestica Trail. Given that the alpha Steelix’s territory is along that path, I thought it wise, if not necessary, to accompany him.
His name is Lian, and Irida is considering him to take up the mantle of Lord Kleavor’s warden. He was actually on the lookout for a suitable tumblestone to set into the bracelet he may someday craft, and while I would be able to guide him decently where Pokemon are concerned, minerals aren’t exactly my wheelhouse.
That’s just as well. A warden’s bracelet is a representation of one’s connection to the land, after all, and to be led to the materials instead of foraging them would defeat the purpose of that trial. I wouldn’t want to cast doubt on him when I scarcely even know him.
There was a moment where he pulled his hat up to protect himself from the sun, and I realized that he looks remarkably like Clay. I know he was from Sinnoh originally, but you don’t think Lian could be a relative of his, do you?
---
Basculin is doing well. Having Samurott around is good for her, because my experience with water types is, admittedly, rather lacking.
When we crossed paths, I asked Melli if he happened to know whether Iscan would be through in the near future, or if I’d be better off taking a short trip to the Coastlands to ask for his advice and, of course, Melli took this as an invitation to offer his own opinion.
To make a very long story short, he thinks it’s improper for me to associate with his fellow Diamond Wardens as much as I do. I can’t say I’ve done much socializing since being stationed out here, but Sabi comes to visit every now and then, so that must be what has him up in arms.
Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with inter-clan friendships, for all that I really count under that umbrella. Perhaps it’s a key difference in Unovan and Hisuian cultures, and the two of us couldn’t hope to understand the nuance, but only allowing oneself to associate with like minded individuals seems like a recipe for disaster. I’m not about to tell him he’s wrong, though, as the last thing I want to do is rekindle the animosity between the Diamond and Pearl Clans over-- of all things-- camaraderie between the clans.
There’s a part of me that wonders if his diatribe wasn’t just payback for installing torches in the Wayward Cave against his wishes, but I’d rather not believe that.
---
Another visitor came through today. I almost wish I’d let Melli take the torches down.
That was unkind. Volo’s not terrible; it's simply that, with the uncertain future looming ahead, I need to be even more careful in regards to how I answer his questions.
It was more of the same today, asking after my origins. I just… don’t know what to tell him. He frequents Jubilife Village and knows perfectly well that I didn’t arrive on a ship from Unova, but the way we look, there are only so many places I can claim to hail from.
While he was here, he met a Gible that seemed interested in him, so I did my utmost to change the topic to his new friend. I’ve seen spike nor shell of Togepi for some time, so hopefully a new addition will take some of the pressure off of it in battle. It’s a good combination to begin with; a ground type would be able to cover for a fairy’s weakness to poison and steel types.
That’s enough of that. The last thing I need right now is to build this man a competitive team.
Even IF it might give me someone to battle all the way out here.
---
There’s a h
There’s a hole in the sky above Mount Coronet.