Birth of a Goddess
August 16, 2019.
Kangucha National Park
Proving Ground
The time has come. I received the 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 from Bri this morning.
Well, she is my girlfriend now, I should say. After the experience at Nadyenka Springs, it was like no time had passed at all for us. It was 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗯𝗲 who brought us back together. I've never been one for fortune and fate, but I really have a gut feeling that this was really meant to be. All my failures with other women made me settle until I met Phoebe who brought me back to Bri.
She takes my hand. The soft, cool nighttime breeze from the mountains brushes my face. The Moon is full, casting its gentle light upon the hills. The glow of the city lights glimmer below. Bri turns her head.
"Randi, are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
"This will be just like last time, but now we will have Phoebe Mega Evolve as she holds the 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲. I have placed the stone in this necklace. I want you to put the necklace on Phoebe, this act will strengthen your bond with her even more."
Sabrina hands me a beautifully handcrafted golden necklace featuring an inset containing a marble-like orb. There is a green and pink swirl inside the Gardevoirite, matching the colours of Gardevoir's hair and chest horn.
"Phoebe, I am going to place this necklace on you. You need this to Mega Evolve. Doesn't it look pretty?"
Phoebe glances at the necklace sparkling in the moonlight. She smiles as I tuck the jewelry around her neck.
"Garde, Gardevoir!"
"It looks great on you!"
Bri glances back at us.
"You two are always cute together. I have never seen such a good Trainer and Pokémon pairing; I am always astonished."
I feel warmth and excitement as the three of us are gathered here, all connected by love in some way.
"Randi. Remember what I told you this morning. Mega Evolution can be dangerous. Phoebe will absorb a huge amount of energy she has never felt before. It will be shocking to her at first and she will depend on your complete and total connection to her to guide her through this challenge. Your mind, heart, and spirit will become one."
Bri holds out her phone. On the screen is a photo of a Pokémon that looks much like a Gardevoir, but with two chest horns, extra facial features, and a wider, more elaborate dress.
"This is what Mega Gardevoir looks like. Expect Phoebe to look something like this while in Mega Form."
I feel my heart beating fast, as the moment of Phoebe's Mega Evolution approaches.
I stand in the clear area between the surrounding trees, a target tree some distance from us like last time. Phoebe walks in front of me, facing the tree.
I clasp the Key Stone, ready to battle.
"All right, Phoebe," I hold the Key Stone high in the air, "Mega Evolve!"
Phoebe's necklace immediately reacts to the Key Stone as her entire body begins to glow brightly. She levitates off the ground and begins to change form, similar to regular Evolution.
Suddenly, I begin to experience a flood of visions!
I see Sabrina, younger, traveling with a Gardevoir that looks a lot like Phoebe that I can only assume is 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲. I see a vision of Sabrina, Phoebe and I holding hands together like a family. I see a great city with buildings of ancient architecture everywhere, towering above a bustling market under a scorching hot sun.
Except, the sun is going away. It is being covered in what appears to be a total solar eclipse. Shadows grow crisp. A cool breeze flows. The sky darkens all around. Everyone in the market begins to kneel and look skyward. A figure of light begins to form, a white silhouette of a winged entity descends from the centre of the eclipse.
I feel an embrace from behind, as I return to reality. Bri has wrapped her arms around my chest under my arms. She whispers into my ear:
"It's the Moon Goddess..."
Phoebe has transformed into a fantastic creature, floating high in the air. Six lavender wings slowly, gracefully fluttering in a beautifully choreographed synchronicity. Her dress billows in the wind as her hair streams to her sides. Her hairpiece has become an ethereal light shining above her head, surrounded by a golden ring circumscribed by ancient glyphs. Crescent moons adorn her face and body as a tapestry depicting the phases of the moon hangs from her midriff.
I feel an awesome, terrifying flood of visions through my mind as if everything in existence were happening at the the same time. I feel the collective spirit of all the ancient Gardevoir, including Sabrina's beloved Celeste coalescing into my heart. I feel as if I am drifting in the sky as Phoebe, the Goddess of the Moon herself, as the bond of Mega Evolution carries my mind.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Bri says, stroking my shoulder.
I need to focus. There's the tree. I try to synchronize my mind with Phoebe and aim for the tree.
Suddenly, I am overcome by overwhelming dread. Something seems to have gone horribly wrong. I hear a horrible high-pitched metallic scream.
"Concentrate!" Sabrina commands.
But I have lost my balance. Phoebe's entire eyes glow red. Her fingers draw in tendrils of blinding light.
"She's berserk!" I cry. "Revert! Revert!"
Phoebe unleashes a blast of energy into the woods, creating an explosion sending dirt, rocks, and wood pieces everywhere. Bri and I duck just in time.
"You have to call her back," Sabrina says in a slightly stressed tone. It is very unusual to see her confidence faltering. The situation is growing dire.
I take out Phoebe's Pokéball, something I almost never do, "Return!" I shout. Nothing happens. Phoebe's eyes glow red again. "Return!" I cry, increasingly desperate.
Phoebe unleashes an incredible light that pierces the heavens, evaporating all the clouds to the horizon and lighting up the city below as if it were daylight.
It's as if it were the opposite of a solar eclipse, if there were such a thing. Daylight at night.
Seeming to exhaust her power, Phoebe suddenly reverts to her normal Gardevoir form and falls from the sky in a flurry of pink, glimmering sparks.
"Catch her!" I yell, but Sabrina is one step ahead of me, throwing her telekinetic power towards Phoebe, easing her descent until her body gently rests into the grass. I sprint to her and kneel, holding her head and shoulders in my lap. Her eyes open slightly.
"Gaaar. De. Voir?"
She can barely speak. I worry about the ancient technique and her use of life force. I have a flash of Sabrina's story of Celeste in my mind.
"Let's get her to the Pokémon Center!"
***
04:30 AM.
University District
Alumni Ward
University Pokémon Center
"Nurse Joy, will she make it?" I ask.
"Your Gardevoir is very tired. I can't make promises, but she appears to be stable. You may visit her now. Come."
Bri and I hold hands and follow the nurse down the hallway.
Phoebe is in a room lying on a bed. She is connected to several different machines. The nurse gently draws back the curtain, covering us from the hallway. Bri's grasp on my hand tightens slightly.
I lean over Phoebe and look into her beautiful eyes.
"It's going to be okay. You're improving."
"Gaar..."
"Don't try to speak. You need your strength."
Phoebe's arm slides across the bed, dragging a few wires. Her fingers take my other hand. Her big round eyes look my way.
"You're so strong, Phoebe. You took the form of the Goddess. You made it through. You went beyond Mega Evolution into something I don't think anyone has observed before."
Phoebe smiles.
"So, let's get you better, ok?"
Phoebe places her other arm across her chest, grasping my hand with both sets of her fingers. I hold tighter.
"I saw your visions. You wanted so deeply for Bri and I to be together. We are. And it's because of you."
Bri smiles, squeezes closer to me and places her other hand onto Phoebe's and mine.
"It's true," she says. "Thank you for bringing us back together."
Phoebe blinks, her eyes shifting to Bri.
"We're staying at your side until you get better. Randi and I will take care of you and bring you home. We love you. It's as if..." Bri looks at me. I nod. She turns back to Phoebe.
"It's as if you're our child. We love you, Phoebe. You mean the world to us."
Phoebe's eyes water slightly, as she makes a small cooing sound, as if content.
***
August 17, 2019.
Huffman District
Cottonwood Ward
Randi's Apartment
It's another morning. I wake up with the sunlight streaming into the window. Bri is next to me, stirring in the bed. She's disheveled, but absolutely beautiful.
I slip out of bed and peek into the second bedroom. We brought Phoebe home yesterday evening after she made a full recovery. She's sleeping peacefully in the bed we bought for her with her Ralts companions 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲 and 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗼 tucked under her arm.
Bri decided to sell her Turnagain District property and move in with me. When I said I could have moved us into her luxury condo, she told me she preferred my modest home, saying that in the end, material things didn't matter, only love. She's planning on putting some of the money into starting a foster organization for Psychic Pokémon that couldn't be cared for by inexperienced Trainers. It turns out several of the Ralts in the Nadyenka Springs Horde weren't wild, but feral, abandoned by Trainers that couldn't handle them. She adopted the Shiny 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮 that led the ritual at the Springs. She has had the Kirlia playing together with her friend Paige's Shiny Ralts.
Just a couple of seasons ago, I lived alone and kept to myself. Now I live in a family among friends and Pokémon.
I sit at the dining room table and sip some coffee. I think about the "dark force" that tried to keep Bri and me apart.
My 𝗦𝗵𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁 wandered into the room, staring suspiciously into the kitchen.
"Shuppet, Shup!"
𝗔𝗯𝗯𝘆, just resting on the floor, jumped up and growled at the window over the kitchen sink.
"Aaaaaab-soooool!!"
A 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗿𝗼𝘄 that had been staring at us from a tree fluttered away into the daylight.
END OF BOOK ONE
***
AN: That's a wrap on the first story arc! The family is together and despite the Mega Evolution mishap, all is right with the world... for now. A dark power with an unknown motive is trying to destroy Randi and Sabrina's relationship. Randi must hone his skills as a Trainer to handle the power of Phoebe's Mega Evolution. Will Randi and Sabrina stay together this time? There's much more to come!
I will take a break from the story to practice my art. I'll be trying to improve my character drawings more and further my techniques. I'll post more fanart in the meantime as I get ideas for the second arc.
As always, keep following for more and have a wonderful day!
J