Log 16: The Fighting Mind
I made it back to the Coral Ward rather quickly. Amaria's boat was sitting at the dock. I looked at the key in my hand and had a small panic attack. Never actually driven any sort of machine vehicle, land or sea. But there really was no time to second guess myself. I shoved the keys in the ignition and took off. Or I attempted to, as the boat was apparently in reverse and I nearly slammed into the wall behind us. It wasn't too bad once we got onto the lake. Lilith and Aero came out here to help drive the boat. Lilith lit the sky with flames to increase visibility, while Aero flew ahead and served as a guide. She lead us to the shores of Apophyll beach, but still no sign of Cain.
The air was unusually humid there. The sand on the beach was a mix of black, white, and orange. It turns out the black sand was actually ash from the volcano on the island. A school at the base of a volcano. Has no one here ever seen a movie? The volcano always erupts or something causes it to blow. Although maybe it isn't so bad. Worked out great for the city of Pompeii.
A large wooden dojo lay in front of us. It appears that this is the famed Apophyll academy, where students train their minds and bodies. We were looking for the master of the school, but it turns out she was in the middle of a lesson. We went down to the training area where a large group of students, some in traditional dojo garb, while others were from all walks of life, gathered. At the focal point of the mob, an elderly woman was just finishing up giving some kind of speech on priorities or something. Didn't really hear her. This was clearly the master, as she introduced herself as Kiki. She asked me to follow her back to the academy so she could sign me up as a proper student. Didn't even have time to explain the situation to her before she left.
Victoria showed up as I walked in. She said that she was a student here, but another student said that she was actually Kiki's protege. Wasn't really interested since all I came here for was the HM for Strength, which I quickly explained was crucial to saving the children. She said she would go tell Kiki of the situation and see if there was any way to quickly get the disc. Before I could follow her though, I noticed a large poster on the wall. It was something about the proper method of mediation, but I really don't remember. What I do remember is that the girl who butted in as I was talking to Victoria handed me a Pokeball, saying that I had an extremely focused mind and that I should master what was inside. Wasn't actually in a state of zen. Just couldn't read the poster, but oh well. Got a Meditite. She told me that her name was Hammer, and that she would only listen to someone with a focused mind. Sadly this means I had to box another of my team members. I left Aero with it, but I fully intend to bring her back out to continue training her.
I followed to Kiki's room, where Victoria was just finishing up explaining what was happening. Kiki said that the HM was reserved only for graduates of the acadamy, of which I was not attending as I quickly corrected her. Victoria spoke up, saying that she would like to apply for graduation, obviously to give me the HM. Kiki, still not trusting me, said I would need to prove myself. There was a student mediating and I would need to battle him. Where was he? At the top of the volcano, of course. Because that isn't a stupid idea.
To say the inside of the mountain was scalding would be an understatement. It was unbearable. Even Lilith, who usually prefers to follow me outside of her ball and is a fire type, found it too hot to stay outside. Can't say I blame her. There were a lot of broken rocks in the way on my path to the top, so this was the perfect time to test Hammer. Using Rock Smash, she made very quick, precise, and powerful strikes. I can tell she'll be a very strong fighter, but I don't know if she understands me yet.
There was a warm breeze at the top of the mountain. It was still insanely hot, but at least it was somewhat more bearable. As Kiki said, there was some guy meditating there. He didn't seem to notice me until I spoke up, saying I was there to battle him. Victoria had told me his name was Cain and that he used to be the fire gym leader. For a gym leader, he was pretty simple. His team mostly consisted of the first fire Pokemon in every regional Pokedex. Since three of them were weak to Psychic, it was pretty easy to take him down. My team was more than ready for this battle.
After taking him down, we went back down to the school. It was still a burning journey to get back down. Will never enjoy that. Kiki did say she would let me challenge her for the badge now. However, Victoria gave me one more battle, saying that she wanted to protect Kiki, since she, by her own admisssion, was close to dying. Again, with her Fighting team, she lost though.
Kiki was much more of a challenge. She also had a fighting team, but hers was far more prepared for a fight like this. They had trained in the art of mediation, which seemed to be greatly benefited by the serene locale. In the end though, her team was just incapable of standing up to us. Victoria declared me the victor, and I was set to recieve both my badge and the HM.
Then Kiki collapsed.
In the middle of the field, Kiki just collapsed. Victoria and I carried her back her her room, where she explained that she didn't have much time left and wished to be left alone. As per her wishes, I quickly left, only to have Victoria tell me something even more troubling: Cain was missing. He had never shown up at the beach. She said that the only place in between here and the city was Azurine Island, a breeding and research ground. It seems to be the only place he may be, short of something terrible happening on the open waters, so that is to be my next stop.
I did continue writing this for a while. Don't know why I never posted them here.