【 Crystal Treasures – Contents Page 】
Pokémon Scarlet tag / Pokémon page / Team Rhyme Lore page
Pokemon Scarlet fanfic. Zephyr the Zeraora and Ruki the Lucario run into Ogerpon, who thinks that their obsession with becoming stronger reminds her of the Trainer Kieran. Later on, Zephyr went to talk with Rhyme about it.
【 Festival of Masks 】
The Festival of Masks was a huge thing in the land of Kitakami. The mountainous region was high with energy for the summer festival, food and game stalls lining its main shrine, Kitakami Hall. Once the sun set, lanterns were lit around the shrine and music filled the air. Adults and children clad in traditional jinbei and masks came in droves to enjoy the celebration and local food.
Trainers Rhyme and Leo were among the visitors, clad in their respective black and light blue jinbei, with a Sylveon and a Zeraora mask, basking in the jolly atmosphere. They were told that the festival originally commemorated a group of Pokémon called the Loyal Three for protecting Kitakami from a fearsome masked ogre. But recently, it had been discovered that the ogre, a Pokémon called Ogerpon, was actually the righteous one, so the festival was now held to honor her as the protector and friend of the land.
“Heard that Ogerpon’s still out and about, and might visit the festival in a mask,” Rhyme said.
“You think we might run into her?” Leo asked.
“Who knows? Let’s keep an eye out!”
The two walked around the stalls with their Pokémon, buying themselves shaved ice, yakisoba, and candied apples. Leo wanted to look for some grilled salmon for his Zeraora, Neon, but they couldn’t really find any since it wasn’t a food typically sold at festivals.
“Unfortunate,” Leo said, “We can look for a restaurant later. Hope you’re liking the yakisoba, Neon!”
Neon growled a little. Quite hungry, he was satisfied for now. Meanwhile, most of Rhyme’s Pokémon were too happy to have the sweets, overjoyed with the candied fruits and shaved ice. The trip was certainly a nice present to wind down after the long journey in Paldea.
Rhyme smiled to himself, content. He hoped that it’d be enough refreshment for all his Pokémon. Then feeling a little headache, he swayed a little. Leo supported him.
“Whoa, Rhyme, what’s wrong?” Leo asked.
“Nothing… Just a bit tired…”
“We can go back early if you want.”
“No, no. Don’t worry about me. Don’t wanna ruin everyone’s fun.”
“Hey, you guys, okay?” A voice called out. It was a boy around their age, with a white jinbei and an Ogerpon mask, purple hair tied up into a small bunch atop his head. A little girl with green robes and a large Ogerpon mask was with him. The pair stopped in front of Rhyme and Leo, the boy pulling his mask aside.
“I’m Kieran from Mossui Town just next to this shrine. Those Pokémon–you’re tourists? Not uncommon for people to feel fatigued from the summer heat around here. There’s a clinic in Mossui’s Community Center, if you’d come along.”
“Perfect! Thanks! Take us there!” Leo said, not letting Rhyme protest.
“Sorry,” Rhyme said when they got to Mossui Town’s clinic. “Take Zeph and the others with you, Leo. Don’t let me stop you from enjoying yourselves.”
“Zera…” “Niii!” Rhyme’s Pokémon huddled around him, looking quite worried.
“Aww, that’s okay, Rhyme. It’s getting late anyway,” Leo said. “We’ll watch TV at the lobby or something and go back to the hotel once you feel better.”
“…Thanks, Leo. Thanks, too, Kieran,” Rhyme replied.
“No problem! Get better soon!” Kieran grinned.
Later on, Rhyme’s Zeraora, Zephyr, was sitting by himself atop the Community Center’s roof. He stared off into the distance, thinking about various things while toying with the Soothe Bell around his neck. Ruki, the wild Lucario travelling with the group, saw him there, so he climbed up the roof to join him.
“Your Trainer going to be fine?” Ruki asked. Zephyr looked at him for a moment, before looking away again.
“Yeah. Rhyme’s tough and rarely gets sick. He’ll probably be back up in no time.”
“Hmm, you think? Is that how he looks like to you?” The Lucario challenged.
“……?”
Zephyr tilted his head at Ruki questioningly. Ruki smirked.
“Despite being his main Pokémon, you don’t seem to know him too well.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“My Aura abilities let me tune in to his feelings, so he can’t hide anything from me.” Ruki shook his head.
“Rhyme–he’s actually quite brittle. He worries for you, burns himself out for you, and doesn’t think that he’s good enough for anyone. He’s constantly afraid that you’d leave him.”
“H-HUH?! I don’t think– I never saw him that way!” Zephyr protested. Ruki nodded.
“Exactly. He’s good. Good at putting on a mask. A true performer. He knows that the stage is not a place to mope and cry, so he deliberately chooses not to show that side of him to anyone. He looks strong for us, the audience he wants to please,” Ruki said. “But only on the outside. He’ll break down eventually, like he does right now.”
“Ugh, Ruki! If you’re just going to insult my Trainer, stop that!” Zephyr grumbled. Ruki shrugged.
“Believe what you want. His strength is a pretence. I stick with my opinion that if you really want to become stronger, you’re better off training under someone else. After all your time together, I’m sure you know deep down yourself that someday, you’ll need to choose between Rhyme or becoming stronger.”
Zephyr gritted his teeth and balled his fists, about to give Ruki the punching of his life, but stopped when he saw someone nearby. It was the little girl with the green robes and Ogerpon mask who was with Kieran earlier. The ‘girl’ took off her mask to reveal that she was the Pokémon, Ogerpon herself.
“Y-You’re Ogerpon!” Zephyr exclaimed. Ruki tilted his head at her curiously.
“Ponpon was listening to your talks, pon!” She said, walking over to the two Pokémon. “Sounds rough.”
“It’s… nothing,” Zephyr said, looking to the ground. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him couldn’t deny what Ruki said. He relaxed himself and sat at the edge of the roof, looking into the distance.
“Asking me to choose between Rhyme or becoming stronger… That’s cruel. You know I can’t do that.”
Zephyr sighed. His story would’ve been different if Rhyme was a hardcore competitive Pokémon Trainer. He’d probably turn much stronger, reach all his personal ambitions, and beat even the all-powerful Ruki in a blink. But Rhyme wasn’t. He was a loving Trainer who loved all his Pokémon as they were. Rhyme didn’t care how strong or weak his Pokémon are if they can be together. But because it was Zephyr’s wish to become stronger, Rhyme had gone out of his way to become as close to a competitive Trainer as he could, even if he had to burn himself for it.
He put on his best mask. All for Zephyr.
And Zephyr loved him too much for everything he had done to just leave him, even though they were both probably hurting each other by being together. The Zeraora had put off thinking about it, just tagging along with Rhyme and depending on the Soothe Bell around his neck to calm himself whenever the intrusive thought crawled up his mind. He knew that sooner or later, he’d have to fight the problem head on, though, preferably before Rhyme broke under the pressure he had put on him.
“I can’t choose. I don’t want to choose,” Zephyr said sadly.
“………” Ogerpon walked up to him quietly, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Becoming stronger is an important thing for Trainers and Pokémon, pon, but Ponpon had also seen how it could corrupt the purest of hearts.”
“……?” Zephyr looked at her worriedly. She sat down next to him.
“Kieran. You know he’s a nice boy from earlier,” she said. Zephyr nodded, seeing how Kieran had been so friendly with them. Ogerpon continued.
“He’s a Trainer too, pon. And just awhile ago, he focused all his time and energy to becoming stronger. He alienated his family and his friends, and scared all of his Pokémon. He became so obsessed with winning, that he lost sight of all the fun he was supposed to have. It was like he became someone else, pon…”
“He did?!” Zephyr asked. Ogerpon nodded.
“Thankfully, he realized what’s the most important for him later on, and he’s back to his old self!” She smiled. “Hope you don’t lose sight of your most important ‘treasure’ too, Zeraora-san!”
Zephyr watched Ogerpon thoughtfully. She turned to Ruki, continuing.
“You, too, Lucario-san! It was scary to see you being able to tell Zeraora-san to leave his Trainer for power without batting an eyelid, pon! Are you okay? You might be more lost than Zeraora-san.”
Ruki winced. “Ugh, keep your talks to yourself. I don’t need it.”
“………” After thinking for awhile, Zephyr finally stood up. “Thanks, Ogerpon. I think I know what to do now.”
In the clinic room, Rhyme was just packing his things, preparing to leave since he felt better now. Before he finished packing, the room’s door opened, and Zephyr walked in with Echo, Rhyme’s talking Alolan Vulpix.
“Oh, Zeph and Echo,” Rhyme greeted, “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll find a way to make up for it.”
Echo shook his head, motioning at Zephyr. “He wanna say a thing. I’ll translate.”
“Huh?”
Echo and Zephyr didn’t miss the split second of worry in Rhyme’s voice and expression, like he was expecting some big trouble. Rhyme looked to the ground, not having his usual energy.
“Something you’re not happy about, Zeph? I’ll listen.”
“………”
Zephyr closed his eyes and reached for the Soothe Bell’s red ribbon behind his neck. He slowly removed it, placing the bell in Rhyme’s hands. Rhyme froze. There was fear in his face. This was it. Zephyr was returning the bell because he would leave forever. Rhyme was too tired to say something to lighten the mood, and it took everything he had to prevent himself from crying on spot. His hands shook as he held onto the bell tightly.
But then Zephyr hugged him.
“Zera…!” He meowed, crying into Rhyme’s shoulder. Echo translated for him.
“He said that so far, you’ve been focussing on getting us, your Pokémon, to feel better. But you’re tired yourself too, Rhyme. You should rest. Don’t worry about us!”
Zephyr pulled back. “Zera! Zera!”
“He said that he’s not going anywhere. A Zeraora can live for a very long time anyway, so he has all the time in the world to become stronger. He never regretted being with you after all the love you showered him with. So he wants you to be who you are, because he wants to enjoy his time with you as your true self.”
Rhyme’s eyes watered. It sounded too good to be true. He stifled a sob, rubbing the tears from his eyes.
“Zeph, you silly cat,” Rhyme said, “You’ll probably outlive me, but if you don’t mind sharing some years of your life with me despite all my shortcomings, despite the fact that there are people better than me, I’ll do my best to give you memories that are worth remembering forever. Thanks for your friendship!”
Rhyme couldn’t hold back anymore. He bawled into Zephyr’s shoulder. Zephyr did the same. Finally being truthful with each other, they both felt a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders. No more masks and no more pretence.
Echo smiled, happy that things ended well.
The next morning, Rhyme found Ruki by himself at their hotel’s lobby, seemingly waiting for him.
“Morning, Ruki! How are you?,” Rhyme greeted, then looking away. “Sorry about yesterday. I was hoping to not show any weakness while you’re here. I know that you don’t like it…”
“Forget about it,” the Lucario said with his telepathic abilities. “I heard your talk with your cat from outside the room last night.”
“…Disappointed that Zeph chose me over becoming stronger?” Rhyme asked quietly. Ruki shook his head.
“Zephyr was incredibly weak the first time I fought him, but managed to come this far. I was wondering if you trained him with some secret technique or discipline, so when I travelled with you and saw that you gave him, Arceus forbid, only love and sweets, I thought that he got here all by himself and was disappointed in you,” the Lucario said, glaring at Rhyme. Rhyme winced. Ruki continued, relaxing a little.
“But last night, I saw a much stronger, unbreakable bond. So I concluded that maybe, ‘Team Rhyme’ is just… different. You didn’t become stronger out of discipline, but out of kindness to each other. You made yourself stronger just for Zephyr, and Zephyr made himself stronger just for you in return. It’s a strange mechanism.”
“O-Oh… Really?” Rhyme asked nervously, seeming to have done everything so naturally that he never realized anything until Ruki pointed it out.
“Don’t know if Zephyr’s ever going to reach the level he wants when he’s with you. But seems that he found something in this team that power can’t get him. Not a bad trade-off,” Ruki continued.
“Heard that the trust between a Pokémon and its Trainer is necessary for Mega Evolution–something I couldn’t understand. But I think now I saw a little of that power, between you and Zephyr. Maybe my visit here paid off, after all.”
“Is that so?” Rhyme smiled at him. “Happy if we can be useful to you, then!”
Ruki nodded. “We’ll go on separate ways after Paldea. But I’ll be glad to see Zephyr and Ruka’s progress whenever we run into each other, so be my guest.”
“How kind of you! Thanks, Ruki!”
The two shook hands. From outside the hotel window, Ogerpon watched them. Everyone having made friends and ended things peacefully filled her with joy. She did a little dance, trotting to Kitakami Hall to enjoy the rest of the summer festival.
【 Crystal Treasures – Contents Page 】
A compelling story!!! It’s always really cool to explore these kinds of relationships when I look back to how this all began. It’s really so cool that this all grew into a wonderful world and we get to be part of it in a way through your writing and art. It really is super inspiring. I love how everyone is growing.. Even Ruki, finally realizing that power is just a means, not an end.