Serena's POV

What started as a relaxing ride on Charizard has become a rollercoaster of anxiety. And we're reaching the top.

Since we left Wimpod Cove, we've been able to see our destination. A tall tree that apparently is like a mini city rises well above the horizon.

I couldn't wait to get to Caventree after an afternoon of flying through the cool air, holding tightly onto Ash. But I don't think it's going to be as magical as I'd hoped.

Most of the trip the sky seemed to have a summer haze despite it being Fall. Soon enough the smell of smoke filled our noses, with the origin being the tree in the distance.

I thought Charizard was flying full speed before but he sped up to the speed of an airplane as soon as the flames became visible. Even with my Rhyhorn riding experience it's been hard to hold on. My body is even aching from all my muscles being tensed up for so long.

We're only a few minutes away now and small flickers of fire and charring of the tree's bark are visible. A limb the size of a city street has flattened a path through the forest, still burning and starting to catch the trees around it.

"Oh my," I gasp as the smoke starts to make my eyes teary.

Burning with the tree are structures that are, or I guess were people's homes. Logs used for the walls slowly burn away into ash. All that's left on the forest floor are piles of jagged glass.

Ash's body tenses up and I peek around him to see directly in front of us.

Up in the hazy orange sky is a massive aircraft. "Hunter J's ship," Ash grunts and Charizard immediately flies towards it.

I tighten my grip onto Ash's stomach and dig my head into his back. We're on a beeline for that ship.

"HELPPP!"

I peek back around Ash just in time to watch a flailing Gold free fall in front of us. It's almost slow motion as we lock eyes with him before he tumbles down towards the tree canopy.

"Ahh!" I yelp when Charizard takes a sharp turn downward. I lose my grip on Ash and slide across Charizard's back.

"Serena!" Ash reaches back and grabs my hand. "Hold on!"

"No kidding!"

My fedora flies away and I trail behind Charizard like a second tail. At least I'm not on fire. My eyes are locked on his tan hand wrapped around my wrist, making sure he doesn't let go.

I catch a glimpse of Charizard grabbing the navy haired trainer and the fire type pulls up to avoid crashing into anything. My toes brush the pine trees as we fly by.

That was closer than I thought.

Charizard slows as we fly back up the top of the big tree. Ash manages to get both of his arms around and pull me back on top of Charizard. I instinctively hold him back to keep myself from falling back off.

"That was close," He smiles.

I use one hand to pull my now messy hair out of my face. "Thanks for not letting go," I try to laugh it off but my body is still shaking from the adrenaline.

"Always," I lock eyes with his auburn ones. 

I kiss his cheek and the anxiety melts away.

Green's POV

"Ash! Serena!" I yell as Ash's orange flying lizard Pokemon flies through the hole in the tree canopy.

The Pokemon lands in front of us and I run up to the group.

"What took you guys so long?" Gold shakes his head.

But his stupid smirk is showing.

"You idiot! I yell in his face. "What made you think going after Hunter J was a good idea?!"

"It all worked out didn't it!" He argues back.

I cross my arms and glare at his blue eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay I guess," I lighten up.

"Thanks," He rolls his eyes.

"Maybe that fall would've knocked some sense into you though," I knock on his hat-less head.

"We're all glad you're okay," Caventree's elder steps up. Her long grey hair is attempted to be tied up but it looks like she's been through the distortion world and back.

I notice the soot all over my arms and small cuts on my legs from swinging buckets of water. We probably all don't look our finest.

"A lot of people were hurt today," The Elder looks down sadly. "But we owe you kids a great deal."

"We're sorry about your home," I speak up. "Caventree was one of my favourite places to go visit."

The woman stares at me and it only takes a few moments for it all to click. "Miss North."

"North," I hear a few of the villagers mumble around us.

Probably not a name they're a fan of.

"Sshh," The Elder quiets them. "I remember when you were a little girl. I'm Meredith if you don't remember."

"I remembered your face," I give a small laugh. "I was never the best with names."

"I don't blame you," She nods. "I'm sure you're aware we no longer have a relationship with Triton."

"Mhm."

"But you are welcome here anytime," She says, a serious look still on her face. "All of you."

"Sorry for not letting you in," Another person says. They must be the gatekeeper.

"It's okay," I smile. 

"What was the reason for you kids to come all this way?" The Elder raises an eyebrow.

I go to respond but I blink and Gold is crouched beside the beast of a Pokemon laying on the canopy floor. It's bulging black and red muscles look weak, but it manages to lift its head up.

Before any further questions are asked, a small orb of light rises out of the Pokemon from another world. It dissipates into a small red and black marble that fastens itself to the golden bracelet on Gold's arm.

"Buzzwole's spirit," The Elder explains to the crowd. "A gift of strength."

Gold flexes his bicep but no muscle is noticeable through his maroon sweatshirt.

He frowns and I stifle a laugh.

"You four need to come with me," The Elder turns towards the stairs back into Caventree's atrium. "No one else."

That was an order.

Gold picks up Eevee, who's still in her bug type evolution. "What about our Pokemon?"

"I'll take them," A familiar face appears. Nurse Joy's bright pink hair is a nice sight after a day like today, however she is wearing traditional silk clothing to fit in with the villagers.

"Thanks," We hand her our collection of Pokeballs and then follow the Elder.

She doesn't say anything while we slowly trot down the 20ish stories of the tree. The wooden stairs echo with our footsteps since the place is so quiet. 

Villagers run around assessing the damage but are too distraught to talk. It's going to take months for this to sink in for them. Hopefully my Dad can help them.

I forgot I called him.

Uh oh.

"Um Elder," She stops the group. "In the panic of everything going on, I called my Dad..."

"Does he know what you are up to?" She asks.

We shake our heads.

"We better hurry," The elderly woman starts to climb down the stairs faster than we can.

She leads us down into the tree's root system. The smoky air is replaced by a cool air, almost feeling like a mist. The oil lamps lighting the way become more spread out, the orange glows not quite meeting each other.

All of a sudden the Elder stops and spreads out her arms to stop the rest of us. We're completely shrouded in darkness, away from the extent of the oil lamp's range.

She knocks the root walls in a particular spot and my eyes, now adjusted to the dark, make out a small opening. 

"Those orbs on your wrist?" She addresses Gold. "What are you planning on using them for?"

He glances at me.

"I don't think we know yet," He answers.

The Elder pauses to think.

She leads us into a new hallway, seemingly accepting his answer.

Eventually the hallway becomes better lit.

"Wow," Serena awes at the carvings in the root wall. "These are amazing."

I trace a section with my finger. It shows two figures trapped in a ball, high above a collection of two identical sets of figures, except one set has an additional marking.

"What are these showing?" I ask.

"Everything," The Elder gives a small smile. "Earth's greatest history book."

"You guys record everything?" Serena asks.

"How do you even know everything?" Ash follows.

"Not us," She answers. "As the tree grows, the carvings appear. We're currently walking through a lot of recent history."

My mind can no longer process the carvings. There's the tunnel we're walking down and hundreds of other roots to travel down. How?

Next you're going to tell me it predicts the future too.

"There is something you kids should know," She expertly leads us through a collection of turns.

It's almost as the air is gradually becoming mustier the further we go in. Even the carvings look less sharp. I'd guess we just walked a few centuries of history in ten minutes.

"Arceus," Ash points out a carving and the Elder turns toward it.

Not many of the carvings are decipherable, but this one is.

Arceus' ring is etched deeply into the root.

Surrounding it are a bunch of small orbs.

Thirty-six.

The Professor was right.

"Legendary spirits?" I questions and she nods.

"The Professor said no one has ever gotten all the spirits," Gold says.

"He's right." The Elder studies the picture. "This is when such spirits were created. When Arceus first gave a fraction of its power to specific species of Pokemon. There's other records of Arceus handing out more but this was when the concept of Legendary Pokemon was created."

"By filling up your bracely, you are putting together a power equal to Arceus," She says, warning filling her voice. "You will be capable of godly will."

Gold audibly gulps.

"What about these?" Serena points out a similar carving down the tunnel a bit.

Instead of orbs, there are 18 squares.

"The plates," I say.

"The other option," The Elder nods.

"That's what Triton is after," Ash says.

"I know," She sighs.

"So you know that's we also came from?" I ask.

"I did not," She says. "The three only records a certain level of detail and it takes me awhile to decipher the carvings, especially when there are new ones."

"Oh," I wish I could take back saying that but I might as well try to explain. "I'm helping Triton find them as part of my journey. But I don't want him to get them all."

The lady holds her hand to her head. 

 "This is quite the situation you found yourselves in," She shakes her head. "I can give you the plate."

"Really?" My eyes light up.

"In exchange for one promise... When you figure out what you plan to do, assuming you manage to collect all the spirits, you make sure no one feels the pain and suffering felt here today. Not the Bug District, not any other District, not the Capital, not Triton."

I find Gold's navy eyes in the dim light and we both nod. Agreeing to the promise not with the Elder, but with each other.

"We better hurry back," The Elder says. "With your Dad comes a lot of questions I'm sure you won't want to answer."

We all agree and run back. We take a short detour to pick-up the plate. The pale lime green palette of rock is now nestled in my bag. It's about as heavy as you think, both physically and spiritually.

Ash's POV

"Ash stay back for a minute," The Elder grabs my arms just as we get back to Caventree's atrium.

I nod and the others head toward the stairs.

"I have your marking memorized young man," The woman states. 

"That's good," I scratch the back of my neck, nervously laughing.

"You've been through a lot," She continues. "Helped a lot of people and Pokemon. Gold and Green won't succeed without your guidance."

"They're pretty strong," I argue.

"They are remarkable getting this far," She eyes them from a distance. "But there's going to come a time where they may not be able to make the right decision."

"Maybe," I look at the yellow Pokemon on my shoulder. "Pikachu was always by my side to help me make the right decision. I think they have each other to help make the right decision. Better than I could."

My nervous laugh continues due to the straight face I'm getting from her.

"That's my worr-"

"Elder!" Green calls us over. "He's here."

"See you later," Gold runs the opposite direction, Eevee on his shoulder.

I raise an eyebrow but the presence of Green's Dad doesn't allow for any questions.

The trainer disappears into the depths of Caventree's roots just as a man in military gear comes down the stairs. 

"Chief North," The Elder greets with his title.

"Dad!" The brunette embraces her father before he can return the greeting.

Part of me wonders if she's buying time for Gold to get outta here.

"I'm glad you're okay Snowflake," He lets her go. "What in the distortion world happened here Elder?!"

"Hunter J," I answer.

"They attacked to try and poach our Pokemon," The Elder explains. "They attacked from the sky and our gatekeepers couldn't defend the masses. If it wasn't for Green and G-"

"Ash and Serena," Green cuts in. "It took everyone's help to put out the fires. It was really bad."

The man takes in the group and shakes his head. "It shouldn't be up to three kids to defend one of Elemente's cities. If you would just accept Triton's defence."

"Triton is the reason our district is starving and history is being overwritten!" The Elder heats up. 

"That is not-!"

"Stop!" Green yells and the entirety of Caventree goes silent.

I've noticed a crowd start to gather as well.

"People died today, homes destroyed," Tears start to fill her eyes. "How about we focus on helping people?!"

Her Dad sighs. "She's right," He offers a hand to the Elder. "Let us help you rebuild and then we can discuss how to prevent this from happening again."

The Elder shakes his hand without another word.

He barks a few orders and the soldiers start running around to do various things. "As for you three, I think it's time to give the journey a break."

"No way!" Green and I say at the same time.

"What if we weren't here?" Serena asks.

"This is not your responsibility," He states. "All this is proving is that Elemente is not safe, not until Hunter J is arrested."

"Maybe it is," Green argues. "Maybe this what we're meant to do."

"This is not your fate Green," The Chief says.

"No one in Elemente knows Hunter J better than I do," I step in. "If we're going to find her, I know the signs."

"I can't sit at home and know that I could be helping people like today," Green says.

"And we have each other to rely on," Serena adds. "We're a team."

"Triton may want to end this," He crosses his arms.

"Then show him this," Green hands the plate to him. "We're doing just fine."

He chuckles. "You are your mother's daughter. Fine but you need to call me as soon as you see anything out of the ordinary."

Green nods.

"How about I give you a ride to your next destination? The Water District I presume?" He offers. "Make sure you guys get out of the Bug District without anymore trouble."

The three of us give concerned looks to one another. I don't know if this is an order or an offer.

"Come on," He waves towards the stairs. They must've flown their helicopter through the hole in the tree canopy.

Looks like we're leaving Gold behind.