The wind carried the earthy scent of Ternstone's mines as Shion stood near the edge of town, glancing back at the place where so much had changed in just a few days. What was once just another stop on their journey had become a turning point the place where he had recovered the first Plate… and where his path, for better or worse, had grown heavier.
His Scarf fluttered behind him, newly washed and trimmed. The scarf brought from a small stall in Brookmill, now bore a small tear from the Golurk cave incident he didn't bother to patch it. It was part of the memory.
"Alright, everyone ready?" Dunlin's voice broke through his thoughts.
Shion turned toward the merchant's cart, now fully loaded with wares and secured tightly under a tarp. Machoke was adjusting the final straps with mechanical efficiency. Fena stood beside him, arms crossed and boots clean for once, while Jareth did one last check on his supplies and his Pokémon.
"Yeah," Shion said, adjusting the strap of his shoulder pad. "Let's move."
As they set off, Shion looked at the Poké Ball on his belt. Inside it rested Golurk, silent and massive, the guardian who had changed the trajectory of his journey. He couldn't let it out often it was simply too large but he could feel it, somehow, watching. Waiting.
Beside him, Bidoof was, as always, lounging in the bag like a king. It yawned loudly.
"You didn't have to sleep in," Shion muttered.
"I didn't sleep in. I was recovering," Bidoof grumbled. "Absorbing a Plate isn't like eating berries, you know."
"You looked like you were snoring while doing it."
"...Spiritual snoring."
Shion smirked slightly as the road curved and Ternstone slowly faded behind them. The red-rock cliffs framing the landscape ahead stood tall, a reminder that every step forward now could bring new Plates… or new dangers.
As they crossed the first hill and the wind changed, Shion found himself gripping the bracelet Miya gave him, feeling the woven thread between his fingers.
"Still a long way to go…"
---
Ravios, Capital of the Ravelle Kingdom
Far from the dust-red roads of Ternstone, the white towers of Ravios gleamed under the midday sun.
Atop one of those towers stood Commander Seris, arms folded behind her back, her white hair braided tightly, her armor gleaming faintly with silver edgework. Her Gallade stood beside her, silent as a shadow, eyes closed and meditating.
Below, in the training grounds, Ren was sparring against two knights at once.
His Lucario ducked a blade, countered with Metal Claw, and then vaulted off the shield of the second knight to land behind them. Ren, standing firm in his new uniform a dark jacket with the Ravelle insignia watched every movement with laser focus.
One of the knights lunged, and Ren commanded, "Feint, then Aura Sphere!"
Lucario vanished in a blur and struck true. The training knight was knocked flat on his back, weapon clattering.
The sparring match ended.
Ren offered a hand to his opponent.
"Well done," he said quietly.
The knights muttered respectful nods as they stood and left the ring.
Above, Seris narrowed her eyes.
"He's adapting fast," she murmured.
Gallade said nothing but gave a slight nod.
---
Later, Ren stood at the top of the training courtyard stairs, breathing steadily, his Lucario standing at his side, eyes closed in perfect synchronicity.
"Still focused on the fight?" came a calm voice.
Ren turned to see Commander Seris approaching.
She stopped a few paces from him, her gallade following silently.
"You fought well. Not just with power, but with poise."
"Thank you, Commander."
Seris studied him with her piercing eyes.
"It's only been a few days since you accepted my offer, but I can see the discipline is already in you. That's rare...even among nobles."
Ren didn't flinch. "Discipline is how I've survived here."
Seris gave a faint smile, barely visible.
"Good. Because if you continue, you'll need more than that. You're stepping out of the academy now. Into the real weight of the Ravelle military. Training, reconnaissance, defense… and worse."
Ren nodded, gaze steady.
"May I ask… why me?"
Seris blinked. "You mean, why I chose you?"
He nodded.
She looked up, toward the horizon.
"Because you fight like someone with nothing to prove. And those with nothing to prove often fight for the right reasons."
That struck Ren harder than he expected.
Before he could respond, Seris added, "Report to the East Watch Tower tomorrow morning. You'll begin training under active deployment protocols. You'll get a taste of what it's like out there. If you're still standing after a month… we'll talk more."
Ren bowed his head. "Understood."
She turned, then paused. "Oh,and bring your Aura forward. I can sense you're still holding back."
Ren looked at Lucario, who nodded slightly, a mutual understanding passing between them.
Seris and Gallade disappeared down the stairs.
---
That night, Ren sat by the fountain near the academy garden. Mila found him there, as usual, quietly tending to Braviary's feathers with a gentle cloth.
"You're actually brushing it," she teased.
Ren glanced over. "he earned it."
She smiled and sat beside him.
"Tomorrow?"
He nodded.
"I'll be gone for at least a few weeks. Field training."
"You'll write?"
Ren hesitated. "Maybe."
"You better."
They sat for a while in silence.
Then Mila reached into her coat and handed him a folded cloth. Inside was a small wooden pendant, shaped like a feather.
"For luck," she said.
He looked at her for a long time. "Thanks."
She nudged his shoulder with hers.
"You'll be fine."
As Mila stood and walked off, Ren looked at the pendant, then at the sky, where stars were beginning to shimmer.
His fingers closed around it slowly.
------
Far away
The moon was still high above the Torncliff Ridge, its pale light revealing scattered pine and jagged black rock, when Kaela dismounted her Noivern and slid down the narrow hillside. Her boots hit stone with a sharp crunch. Ash. The edges of the terrain were still scorched a sign of a recent fire, likely the aftermath of the robed man retreat.
She crouched down, gloved fingers brushing over the charred grass.
"Still fresh," she muttered. "Hours, not days."
Her Noivern landed behind her with a whisper of wings, its sensitive ears twitching. Kaela pulled her coat tighter, the wind biting at her arms.
It had been two days since she encountered the robed man.
Two days since he poisoned himself to avoid interrogation.
And in those two days, Kaela had been following the paper trail, quite literally the sketch of a Plate with the Ω symbol had turned out to be part of a broader network. Hidden signs, codes, and encrypted messages shared between cult members.
The deeper she looked, the clearer one thing became:
'This wasn't a rogue group. It was a movement. Organized. Intentional. And spreading.'
---
Kaela had visited ruins before. Excavation sites, elemental shrines, fallen towers from the ancient wars. But this place was different.
Deep within the Whispering Hollows, far from most towns and cloaked by wild terrain, was a forgotten watchtower built during the First Ravelle Expansion. Records marked it as abandoned, unusable.
But what she found said otherwise.
She moved silently, pressing her back against the cold stone as she peeked through a broken archway.
Inside the tower, three figures in white robes stood around a stone table. Lit torches flickered along the wall, and their Pokémon a Drapion, a Weezing, and a Dusclops stood vigil like sentries, their crimson eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
Kaela narrowed her gaze.
'The red eyes again. Another corrupted cluster.'
She leaned closer, her Noivern still watching silently from above, cloaked in shadows.
"...The Nihilego fragment is stable," one of the robed man said. "The next site will be ready within two weeks."
"We've already lost two scouts to interference," another replied. "We should consider moving operations toward the Great Lake. The resonance there is stronger."
"And what of the Ravelle capital?" the third asked, their voice female. "The Tyranitar incident drew too much attention. Seris is circling closer."
Kaela's breath hitched. So they knew about Commander Seris. They were watching the kingdom's response closely.
' They're planning something larger… something coordinated.'
---
Kaela slipped back behind the ruins, carefully unrolling a small scroll and scribbling notes. She couldn't take them all on not with those corrupted Pokémon but she could report this. Someone needed to.
But then…
A sound carried over the wind.
A child's voice.
Kaela paused, brow furrowed.
The voice was faint… humming.
Following it carefully, she crept along the ruined wall to a side room what used to be a storage vault. Her boots stepped over cracked stone until she saw her.
'A little girl?.'
She stood alone, maybe seven or eight years old, her black hair cut short and her white dress stitched with delicate patterns. She was drawing on the wall with chalk childish swirls, plates, and Pokémon-like figures. Her humming was sweet. Carefree.
Kaela's hand hovered near her dagger.
"Hey," she said gently.
The girl stopped and turned.
Kaela froze.
Her eyes.
They were blank not red, but glassy, like a doll's. Unfocused. Unfeeling.
"Are you lost?" Kaela asked.
The girl smiled.
"You're not supposed to be here," she whispered.
Kaela took a slow step forward.
"Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head. "I'm… Lira. Papa says I'm special."
"Is your dad here?"
The girl's smile widened.
"He says the world is broken. That he's going to fix it. But first, he needs the gates to open."
Kaela's stomach twisted.
"Gates?"
"To the other sky," Lira whispered, tracing a spiral on the wall. "Where the other ones sleep. He says they're hungry."
Kaela's blood turned cold.
The otherwordly Beasts.
This wasn't a cult worshipping an old legend.
'This was a movement preparing for invasion!.'
Suddenly, Lira stopped drawing.
"I have to go now," she said sweetly.
A pulse of energy shimmered around her, and Kaela flinched as a purple flash lit the room.
A Telepathy aura. Psychic-based. Too controlled for a child. Too precise.
'This wasn't a little girl,This was some kind of Pokemon , wearing a human skin.!'
And in a blink, she vanished.
Kaela cursed and rushed back to the courtyard, but the Robed people were already gone. The corrupted Pokémon had disappeared without a trace vanished into the woods or through teleportation.
She was alone in the ruin.
Alone with the scent of fading incense and the echo of madness.