I take back what I said about Basagiri.

The thought of starting with Crebase is… unfathomable. Even with the experience of quelling the Lord of the Woods first, knowing that the methods were viable, it was a thoroughly chilling experience. I’m not sure I could have done it without that battle prior.

Ah.

Well, rereading that, I’m sure you hated the pun, but I promise it was incidental.

That’s both of the Pearl Clan’s afflicted nobles taken care of, now. I’m going to approach Adaman and see if there isn’t any way I can help quell Dredear and Marumine as well. The answer is likely no, in which case I’m not entirely sure how to address the tasks I’ve been given, but I’m sure it’s a problem with a solution.

Even if I do somehow find Adaman’s blessing, there’s still the matter of Melli.

...every day we interact, I stray farther and farther from the Dragons’ lights.

---

Sympathy Pangs: Ursaluna, the Pokémon served by the Warden Calaba, seems to be raging out of control. But why? There have been no lightning strikes reported recently... COMPLETE

Raging Ridge: Lilligant, the Lady of the Ridge, has been driven into a frenzy by the strange lightning. Investigate the matter and find a way to quell her frenzy. COMPLETE

---

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.

“I’m sorry about before, but I do have time to talk now.” Says the caller, audibly exhausted.

There’s a swish of fabric, followed by a muted cluck of the tongue; those familiar with Ingo would recognize that he was disappointed in something, but the specifics are left a mystery. It’s followed by something else being set down, and then a human lowering himself onto a futon. After that, one might catch an immediate scampering of multiple sets feet.

“That should be all of them.” He says, once he’s caught his breath again, “I don’t know why some nobles were affected and not others, but I’m not looking a gift Blitzle in the mouth-- not after Marumine.”

In the background, there’s a high ‘quiiiiiil!’ that goes without response.

“I knew going in that it would be difficult, between it being an Electrode and Melli’s involvement. I don’t think it was even possible to anticipate the amount of resistance I encountered, though. Not only did I have to ask Adaman for his direct involvement for Melli to budge even an inch, but when I arrived in the Highlands, Sneasler required assistance, too.”

There’s a shuffle directly against the receiver and a buzz of disapproval; it’s followed by a quiet command for Cyndaquil to remove herself from the Arc Phone and, instead, find a spot wherever Ingo indicates. She trills for a second time, and Rotom’s static grumbling ends.

His voice is muffled for a moment, and, presumably, he maneuvers the mouse away from his face, into a more workable position-- but he never actually confirms what the sounds are. “Sadorn and her accomplices were making the most of my absence, and causing no end to trouble in the Highlands, seemingly in an attempt to settle the score against Sneasler. Sneasler could have retaliated herself, of course, but I’m proud of her for how she handled the situation. Stolen bits of statuary, entire trees plucked clean of berries, Pokemon scared into territories they didn’t belong… it was incredibly petty, and to what end? To cause a noble to go out of her way during a time of crisis? It’s bizarre that they braved the territory to begin with when Marumine was so volatile.”

A lull hangs for roughly half a minute, during which a number of Pokemon can be heard in the background. Small, feathery wings buffet at another teammate and a snuffling, shifting stone scrapes against something.

“We tracked them down while Adaman was attempting to talk sense into Melli, and while it wasn’t difficult to run them out, I have to wonder what the logic is. Sadorn voluntarily abdicated her role, so why return here? Regret? Spite? Without being a mind reader, it’s impossible to say.”

He shifts upright, and Cyndaquil squeals delightedly as she audibly rolls down onto the futon. “Moving along-- as expected, we saw no quarter from Melli, who went so far as to lament the end of his Lord’s frenzy. I’ll go no further into that; you already know everything I have to say on the matter. Marumine itself was challenging, but I daresay I was the only one too affected by its explosive properties; Gliscor was able to stay well out of range until I needed him to battle. Against a ground type Pokemon, the Lord’s only recourse was to use Energy Ball, which was no more effective against Gliscor than a normal type move would have been. It eventually got the better of him by virtue of being such a powerful Pokemon, but it was worn down to the point that Magneton was able to carry us the rest of the way toward victory. It’s been an incredible help, and while I’m sorry that it also found itself stuck here, I am glad for its cooperation.”

There’s a pause, marking the primary topic’s conclusion before he moves on in a different direction.

“When it asked to evolve shortly thereafter, I simply couldn’t refuse. I wonder if it wanted the honor of evolving before the Lord of the territory, thus marking its accomplishment? Or perhaps it was too excited to wait. While we take the time to rest, I’m going to work with Nosepass a bit more, just in case she wants to seize this opportunity, too.” It’s marked with several subtle, thoughtful clicks, “I’m not sure whether we’ll take a full week, but everyone has certainly earned a break. In spite of what my device says, I haven’t heard any news out of the Coastlands, so it can’t be urgent; Palina would have gotten in contact with someone, otherwise.”

He goes quiet for a minute, the content purr from Cyndaquil suggesting that he’s using that time to continue idly petting down her back.

“The rift is still as bright as the day it tore open,” He eventually says, “So there has to be something else. I don’t know if it lies in the direction of the Coastlands or elsewhere entirely, but it’s not just the frenzies. To get my hopes up now would be setting myself up for derailment; we’ll just have to see what the next stop truly is.”

---

Volo again. He tried to sneak up on me for some reason. I don’t pretend to understand that man.

At the very least, his concerns were valid ones; everyone was made aware of the frenzies, but it seems news of their end has been slow to disseminate. That’s reasonable enough; were I in his position, I would also want to be sure it was safe before setting course for such treacherous ground.

Hopefully he’ll carry that information to Jubilife more effectively than he distributes his wares.

Palina was a different matter entirely. The young Lord Growlithe has been upset lately, disturbed by alleged phantasms of the late Windie, and even his companion hasn’t been able to soothe his nerves. I promised to help look into the matter; the territory’s population of ghosts makes it likely that the poor pup is being played for a fool, and he doesn’t deserve that. No one does, but especially not a grieving child.

Perhaps I’ll see if I can’t convince Iscan to get involved. He could use some experience where ghost types are involved, to show him that Idaitou isn’t the exception to the rule. Surely he would cooperate if I were to mention that it was for Palina's sake.

...And Lord Growlithe's too, of course.

Hm. On second thought, maybe I should keep those two endeavors separate. If the ghosts ARE tricking Growlithe, that would only convince Iscan that he’s right to be frightened. I’ll afford it more thorough consideration before acting on anything.

---

When it Rains…: It seems the Miss Fortune sisters have taken advantage of your absence to sew chaos in the Highlands’ foothills. Help Sneasler track the bandits down and see if you can’t settle this. COMPLETE

Scaling Perilous Heights: Electrode, the Lord of the Hollow, has been driven into a frenzy by the strange lightning. Investigate the matter and find a way to quell its frenzy. COMPLETE

The Lordless Island: Arcanine, new Lord of the Isles, has been driven into a frenzy by the strange lightning. There’s nothing left to do but quell his frenzy.

---

An image is taken and then immediately filed under Miscellaneous: Stone Plates. It features two brightly-colored tablets, one blue and one red, both resting in the pale sand of the Cobalt Coastlands. They’re uniform in dimensions and bear writing on their otherwise-pristine faces, which seems to be the subject of interest. Two follow up photos are taken shortly thereafter, just to ensure that the Hisuian characters are clear enough to read.

In the last one, focusing on the red plate, a splash of color is visible on the frame’s rightmost edge: a pair of vermilion paws.

The device is pocketed, but Rotom is uninterested in hibernation-- still riding the high of the battle on Firespit Island-- and emerges already recording.

“Hello again.” Ingo says to the approaching Growlithe. He’s balancing on one knee, inches from the surf, frozen where he’d been taking the pictures.

The Growlithe whines and snuffles at his hands, reading into the scents it finds there. One has to wonder what it might make of the blend: the newly evolved Lord Arcanine, iapapa berries and singed fabric. Whatever it thinks, its covered eyes give nothing away. Eventually it yips at him and stares out over the water, toward Firespit. In this, it couldn’t make itself any clearer.

Ingo looks between it and the island, and his resolve immediately cracks.

“I’ll take you to him.” He says, sinking a hand into the fur of its neck and moving up to scratch behind an ear, “Can you ride on Idaitou with me, or is it too much?”

The Growlithe considers him and then moves away to dip its toes into the waves. It almost immediately prances back, barking in alarm, but then looks to the faraway island and slowly, determinedly wades in again, holding back a whine.

“That won’t be necessary.” Ingo tells it, scooping up the plates and turning to call for Lord Basculegion. When the noble does a u-turn and starts heading their way, he addresses the pup again, “Stay still and remain calm while we’re in transit, please. You may get water on your person, but there’s no reason to be afraid; I’ll see to it that you arrive safely at your destination. All I ask is for your trust.”

While he’s busy loading a squirming fire type into the harness on Lord Basculegion’s back, the Arc Phone slips silently into his pocket once more.

---

[A picture of the horizon line, taken from the tent just outside of Heart’s Home Arena. The Coronet Highlands themselves are utterly unremarkable. The same cannot be said for the sky.]

Okay.

Fine.

I'm the one who remarked upon the rift's static appearance.

This might as well happen, now.