Chapter Text
It was a nice day out in Paldea, and Maxwell was having a stroll.
Such things were rare for the student–Usually, he was too cooped up indoors, focused on his coursework, but today his Vulpix had pinned him down and dragged him outside, so–Might as well make the most of it, right?
The Pokemon in question–One Aurora, as Maxell named her–was following behind him, happily enjoying the sun on her white fur. Maxwell wondered how she’d enjoy such a sunny day, but then even the warmer days here were still cooler than back home in Alola.
Mesagoza was bustling as usual, and despite Maxwell wanting to shy away from the larger crowds, Aurora was basically pushing him forwards as best a small white fox Pokemon could–Or at least, his ankles.
“Alright,” he sighed, bending down and picking up his Pokemon. “If you’re going to keep doing that, you’ll end up tripping me.”
“Vul!” Aurora gave a pleased yip, not at all ashamed of the prospect.
Maxwell took a deep breath to steel himself, and moved into the crowd. He himself wasn’t particularly notable, but his Pokemon was –Not many Alolans here in Paldea, after all, and while he didn’t outwardly appear as such, the novelty extended to him as well. He’d long learned not to wear his Z-ring out in public–It just meant questions, questions, and more questions.
How long has it been? He idly wondered, giving curt nods to the people saying hello to him. There was the big Mesagoza courtyard–It’d be less crowded there.
Four years , he hummed. He turned 16, soon. That was exciting–He could video chat with his parents, even if he couldn’t go home when it wasn’t the summer. Summers in Alola were… Well, they were nice, if crowded–Like Mesagoza, now.
Maxwell stumbled his way out of the open plaza and down the steps, to the south gate. Wandering around the South Province was fine, especially with his Pokemon on hand. There weren’t many strong or scary Pokemon this close to the city, so it was perfect for a stroll.
Maxwell’s mind wandered as he did–Contemplating Alola, and Paldea, and his experience in Uva Academy. Paldea was nice–Even if he hadn’t gone out and explored it much. The teachers were all nice, and so were the students, but when Maxwell first moved here from Alola to go to Uva Academy–Well, he felt so isolated and outcast that he just shut himself away for basically the first entire year, and he wasn’t particularly able to recover from that in the years following.
He did have one friend–One particularly stubborn, sticky friend whom he was extremely grateful to for not taking “no” for an answer–And of course he had his Pokemon. Unfortunately, his social circle stopped there, making it extremely discouraging to do… A lot of things. Classes, thankfully, weren’t one of them–But he couldn’t deny that he was sliding by as an average student.
It was something he was acutely aware of–Something that his Pokemon was acutely aware of–and something that he was actively trying to work on. Of course… Being more active and trying to reach out and make friends is very difficult when your only current friend was persistent in pursuing you and not the other way around.
Maxwell shook his head of these thoughts–Even out here in the Paldean air, it was easy to get caught up in his baggage. Focus on the walk. He could do this.
Down southeast, towards the rolling, hilly fields of South Province, Maxwell found his gaze trailing up towards the sky. Paldea’s sky was always so bright, and blue, and vast–Just like the Alolan sea.
Everything reminds me of home, he thought, wincing. Immediately after trying to shake his head of the wistful thoughts, they clung onto him like wispy Tarountula threads.
No matter what he did, where he went–Coursework, socialization, Akala, the Paldean countryside–something always felt missing . He had been sent to Uva Academy with a written letter of recommendation by the kahunas of Alola. Spend some time outside of Alola–Find yourself. You can finish your trials when you return.
It’s been four years since then, and Maxwell had no idea what “find yourself” was supposed to mean.
“Vul…” Aurora whined, leaning her head back to lick at Maxwell’s chin. He laughed, giving her some scritches under her snout.
“Sorry, girl. I got caught being wistful again,” he said. “I promise my full attention is on our walk, now.”
“Pix!” Aurora gave a cheerful yip and wriggled out of Maxwell’s grasp, jumping back down to the ground. She trotted forwards, tails held high. Maxwell gave a little laugh–She was the one leading, now.
“Why don’t we head to the top of that hill, girl?” Maxwell pointed to a hill overlooking the small town of Los Platos. It would give them a bit of a workout, but not too far from the school. The perfect outdoor excursion on a crisp Autumn day.
With a yip of affirmation, Aurora set off–Past Los Platos proper, in a leaping excited run. Maxwell laughed and rushed after her–Caught in the moment of simply a pleasant moment with one of his Pokemon.
Aurora would bound forward several foxleaps, then turn back and yip at Maxwell until he almost caught up to her–Before bounding forwards again. Sometimes a wild Pokemon would join her, and they would bound around each other until the hapless trainer arrived. Maxwell panted after her, the exertion incredibly uncommon for him. But still–He was having fun.
They made it to the top of the hill like this in little time–Aurora still bursting with energy, Maxwell feeling like he might collapse at any given moment. His lungs burned as he took deep breaths, and his legs shook–But it was a good feeling. He looked up to smile at Aurora, and then promptly fell on his back.
Maxwell let out a sigh, staring up at the wide blue Paldean sky. It still reminded him of the Alolan sea–But he found that he could think about it without being swept away in the tides of his memories, now. Even if it was for a short while, for this short moment, Maxwell found himself simply enjoying the present.
Aurora trotted up next to him and laid down in the grass, resting her head on his chest. Maxwell set his hand on her back and absentmindedly started petting the Pokemon–A reward for a job well done. As Aurora began to purr, the two simply rested under the wide blue sky. Pokemon from the nearby area slowly stuck their heads out to stare at the pair–Were they safe? The Pokemon in this area were usually timid, but friendly. It wasn’t too long before they started coming out of their hiding places to skygaze with Maxwell.
Hadn’t he arrived in Paldea from this same sky? Hadn’t he been too scared to open his eyes the entire trip–Despite Olivia promising him that it was safe, and that she wouldn’t let him fall?
Staring at this wide expanse like this, Maxwell could hardly remember what he was so afraid of. He wanted to revisit the Paldean sky one day–Properly. No fear, no clinging to the kahuna’s back. Maxwell wanted to fly again.
The two laid like this for a while–Maxwell reminiscing as usual, Aurora simply enjoying the attention, surrounded by the local Pokemon–When Maxwell caught something in the corner of his eye. Something flying through the sky–And not in the same way the Wattrel or the Fletchling flew through the sky. This was fast, frantic– Uncontrolled.
Maxwell sat up, eyes tracking the position of this fast-moving Pokemon object. The Pokemon around him, Aurora included, were startled by his quick movement. Some kind of man-made object maybe? Or perhaps a meteor of some kind? Or–Well, no, there couldn’t be a Pokemon that moved that fast…
Couldn’t there?
The object–Whatever it was–Zoomed through the sky at unprecedented speeds, zooming over top of Maxwell and crash-landing somewhere in South Province. The Pokemon around let out panicked noises at the loud crash, scattering.
Maxwell’s eyes widened. “That’s only two hills over, Aurora,” he said. “I…I think we could have gotten hit by it.”
“Vul!” Aurora yipped looking up at him with a determined expression. Her six tails wagged behind her. “Pix! Vul vi vul!!”
“Wh–You want to go investigate it?” Maxwell exclaimed incredulously. At Aurora’s vigorous nodding, Maxwell let out a groan–His Vulpix was nothing if not stubborn and headstrong. She always got her way in the end. As much as Maxwell wanted to just leave it alone–He knew he’d end up over there regardless.
“I suppose someone should check if any of the Pokemon over there got hurt…” He conceded.
With that decided, the two got up, resuming their earlier ritual–Aurora bounding forwards, waiting for Maxwell to catch up, then zooming back ahead. This time, however–It was less for fun and more urgent, more serious. No wild Pokemon joined Aurora to play, this time.
It wasn’t too long before they made it to the impact site, two hills over. Trees were broken, snapped in two by whatever object landed here–And a long crater led Maxwell to the thing in question.
Nothing could have prepared him for how beautiful it was.
Maxwell felt his breath hitch as he saw the Pokemon–Shimmering white and blue, catching the light of Paldea’s sun in such a way that the colors constantly shifted. The Pokemon had a shining luster to it that couldn’t be marred or tarnished in any way–despite the fact that it was stained with dirt and mud, nothing ruined the beauty underneath.
It looks like it’s hurt, Maxwell realized.
He hopped down into the crater, ignoring Aurora’s “VUL?” of surprise, and hurried over to the Pokemon–Slowing considerably when he got near. He had no idea what kind of Pokemon this was, let alone how aggressive it might be, meaning he had to tread slowly and carefully.
Maxwell inched closer and closer, careful to be light on his feet and move as slowly as he could. The closer he got, the clearer he could see the shimmering, iridescent body of the Pokemon. It was the most gorgeous creature he had seen in his life.
A ruby-red eye opened, squinting with pain–And then, staring in perfect clarity at Maxwell as he inched closer.
Maxwell stopped.
The mysterious Pokemon raised its head and stared at him with two shimmering red eyes. Maxwell saw himself reflected in them–Hands raised to show that he wasn’t holding anything, hair messy and unkempt after his excursion just before the impact. But what caught Maxwell’s attention the most was the Pokemon’s expression as it stared at him. It was… Calculating. Thinking. About him .
Maxwell realized he was being judged in this moment. Whatever this mysterious Pokemon was, no matter why it crash landed in Paldea–It was taking Maxwell’s worth, and that would determine if it would accept Maxwell’s help.
Maxwell thought back on everything–His life in Alola, his transfer to Paldea, the years and years of listless days and his constant, unfulfilled, empty feelings–And could only hope he would be found worthy.