Pokémon Gakutensoku: Hearth's Embers

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Previous parts:
Safe Passage, All Together Now, Cultivate The Vine, A Little Something Extra, Homecoming, Renewal, Face the Future, Milestone

Because Milestone contains two parts, Hearth's Embers is part ten of this series.




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Arven hadn't thought about it, but he found himself heading to the lighthouse a lot more.

His slow walk there after class felt weirdly normal, when just over two months ago it would have been unthinkable. He went down that way for Lydia's classes, or to play with Mabosstiff on Nemona's beach, but he had tended to hurry past the lighthouse.

But with Arturo present, his friends had decided to make it a hangout spot, and it had become oddly natural to go there. Of course it had been Juliana that encouraged it, but Arven realized that he didn't really mind.

He had a lot of things on his mind, and thought backwards into what had led to that realization. What had dominated his thoughts as he left Uva was the movie he had watched in home ec. Mr Saguaro was out sick, and had left instructions to play a specific movie, involving brothers who were preparing for their restaurant's big night that led to their falling out. The ending where, despite their argument, they cooked together the next day in silence, had sat heavily in his mind for the rest of the school day.

The power of food to bring people together, even to set aside personal differences, had affected the young man harder than he thought, and he absently pet Mabosstiff as he walked.

Food could be medicine. It could be comfort. It could bring back powerful memories. Even simply learning to make a dish was an experience onto itself.

It was what he wanted to bring to everyone, the same salvation he had found in his own culinary journey. To save Mabosstiff, he had ended up assembling a community around himself, a support structure he hadn't though possible.

And he was going to see them in a place that had once been nothing but pain for him. A place he only went out of necessity, even though it had held salvation in the most unlikely place.

That the same book that had fueled his father's obsession had held the key to Mabosstif's revitalization was an irony not lost on him. Arturo had obtained a new copy; Arven had seen the familiar cover on the bookshelf, but he himself had sought out a copy from the library anyway.

As Arven approached the lighthouse, he could see a Flamigo napping on the roof. They didn't stray that far from the nearby marsh, so Juliana had to be visiting.

Closer still, he heard laughter from the beach below. Juliana and Nemona; perhaps Arturo was with them. He headed around the side of the building to look down.

Lydia was also there, in the midst of tossing a large ball for a sizable group of pokémon including Miraidon and Chippy. Nemona was taking a long drink from a water bottle as she moved to sit down in a waiting beach chair, and Juliana was getting a treat out of a cooler as they pointed for Miraidon to pursue the ball. Arturo, however, was standing some ways away from the others, bare feet in the water and cuffs rolled up, facing out towards the ocean.

The rope ladder that Arven had used as a child had been replaced by a larger one to account for use by adults, but it lay in the same place as always. He called out and waved before recalling Mabosstiff and heading down the ladder.

Juliana jogged up with a bottled soda held out. "Hey Arven. Want to join us?"

He let Mabosstiff back out, and the dog immediately joined the other pokémon in chasing the ball around. "Thanks!" The soda was stuffed into his jacket pocket for later.

Lydia laughed as she turned towards him with a grin. "I'm still not used to this warm weather in March! Galar and Unova are freezing cold until around the end of May!"

"Unova is a special case." Juliana was getting another soda. "It snowed during the summer once but that was because of terrorists."

Nemona sat up straighter at that. "En serio?"

"I'm amazed you even remember that!" The laugh was still in Lydia's voice. "You would have been in preschool then!"

"Being jammed into a snowsuit in the middle of summer tends to stick with a tender child." Juliana emphasized the last two words with comedic flair. "Hey! Miraidon, don't let the ball go in the water!"

The dragon looked over its shoulder and swatted the ball back towards the cliff wall with its long tail before leaping back into the chase. Nemona's Pawmot lept for the ball but failed, righting itself with a flip before it could land.

During all of this, however, Arturo hadn't moved. Arven subtly gestured towards him and shrugged, hoping that Juliana would pick up on it.

The younger trainer came closer, leaning in to talk to him. "I don't know. He's been like that for a while but he says he's ok. I think he's doing some analysis."

"Huh..." Arven moved closer, sneaking across the sand even knowing that Arturo would be able to sense his vitals.

Taking a closer look, he saw that Arturo's eyes were closed, with an almost blissful smile. Before he could further approach, Arturo spoke, with an uncharacteristic softness. "I am glad you are here. I will fully greet you when I am finished."

The young man turned around. "Man, he really likes the ocean, doesn't he?"

"Who doesn't?" Nemona called as she stretched out and worked her way back to her feet. "At least around here where it's warm! Even if the water's still cold."

Lydia tossed the ball again. "I'm so glad I moved here. It's so beautiful."

Juliana's expression shifted and they looked away from her, away from Miraidon, out at the ocean.

Mabosstiff headbutted the ball towards Nemona, and she kicked it back with enough force to not only nearly knock herself over but to drive it almost to the cliff wall. "Oof! Sorry about that. I think I almost hit you guys."

But any near impact was overlooked by the excited pokémon.

Juliana turned and smiled before looking back at the water. "I'm surprised Bestie hasn't joined in. He's usually excited to bash a ball around."

"When I came down, it looked like he was taking a nap up on the building," Arven said with a nod in that direction.

"I'll take him when I go home if you want." Lydia stretched a bit. "I'm working on my next book and I have to log how my herbs are growing before it gets dark."

Juliana briefly looked towards Arturo, who remained unmoving, and back towards Lydia. "I'd help, but when it comes to stuff like soil pH I'm at a loss. I don't even remember what that stands for."

Lydia laughed. "I'll let you look it up, sweetie. It'll be good for the memory. I'll probably leave in about twenty minutes if you want to come back with me."

"Nah, I've got homework. I can't wait until I graduate."

Their words made Arven reflect more on his class earlier and all the thoughts that had stemmed from it. By all rights he should have graduated already, but the unique circumstances of his life, and the lives of his friends, had brought him to the point where he was. Without everything together, he wouldn't be there on the beach at that very moment.

That was why he kept coming back, to some regard. His life had shifted so much through the years, and most of it had been bitterly so, but the past few years, the past few months, tasted so much sweeter than he had ever thought possible.

Away from them, Arturo finally moved, head tilted towards the sky. "It will likely rain tonight," he said to no one in particular, and none of them heard him.

But they noticed his motions at least, and Juliana jogged over to him. "Hey, you back with us?"

He nodded, knowing it was just a quirk of language. He had, after all, been there the whole time. "Thank you for your patience."

"What were you analyzing?" they asked eagerly.

"Oh, I see." He took a step away from the water, sand gathering on his wet feet. "I was not analyzing much, other than what my passive sensors detected. I was caught up in a memory of this place."

Juliana sighed. There would be so many memories of the lighthouse and surrounding lands. "One of yours, or..."

"One of his. Cabo Poco does not exist in the far future. At some point, the cave beneath it collapses, and it will be reclaimed by the sea." Though, suspecting that this news may be upsetting to a human, he quickly added "The lack of evidence of support structures suggests to me that this must happen after the twilight of human civilization in this area. You will have no cause for concern in your lifetime."

They hadn't been worried. "Can I ask what the memory was?"

"First coming here." He was silent for a few seconds after that as he replayed a part of it. "...Turo did the bulk of his terastal research here. He wanted a place that was away from prying eyes, but the peacefulness of the area appealed to him as well. He was never one for the big city."

"That must have been hard on him, going to school in Mesagoza then. Though it's easier to find quiet when you have your own lab, I guess."

"Yes. Although the lab was far from a quiet place." A thin smile. "It was quite hectic, but in a way he greatly enjoyed."

"I'm glad..." Juliana slowly turned to look out to sea as well. "Was it a good memory?"





Turo had stood on the shore in the same spot. To his side, another human. Though the exact memories of that day had long since faded into history, Arturo could recall in immense detail the emotions that had run through his creator. Just being around her--




"In the moment, it was."

His answer was simple enough that Juliana knew they shouldn't ask further. It had been good /then/. Things had clearly changed.




Seeing Juliana's body language change so abruptly, Arven approached. "Hey, everything ok over here?"

Arturo smiled gently before turning towards Arven, movement a little stiffer than he would have preferred. "Yes. Simply reminiscing."

"You got your analysis all finished?"

"Yes."

Juliana's face flashed in confusion for a second, but only Arturo could see it. "Well, I'm about ready to wrap up," they said instead. "I think Miraidon is getting tired."

Miraidon showed no signs of exhaustion, but the hour was late and twilight tugged at the sky. "Yes," Arturo agreed, "best to settle in for the night."





As the groups went their separate ways, Juliana waving goodbye before darting off towards Mesagoza, and Lydia trying to gingerly ride Miraidon back to her house ("It always goes too fast when it smells my cooking," she had admitted with a bit of a grimace), it left Arven and Arturo at the lighthouse. Arven set about preparing a quick soup for himself with powdered stock from the cabinet and fresh vegetables from his backpack, making sure to leave a teaspoon aside for Arturo to sample.

"I am pleased that you are visiting more often." Arturo had quickly cleaned himself and Mabosstiff off and made sure to vacuum up all of the lingering sand in the house. The two sat across from each other at the small table, with Mabosstiff enjoying his own dinner at their feet. "It settles my mind to think that we can speak like this."

Arven paused mid-bite, and thought back to the ending of the movie. No matter what had happened between the characters, there were more important things at play, and they had still found solace in the others' company.

He was, of course, an only child. But the idea of bonding with someone over domesticity was something he had always tried to do. That was why he tried to put effort into cooking for his father, who rarely left his computer chair. Why he dug in and did the cleaning and laundry and everything else that needed because his father was too consumed with something beyond anything Arven could understand but had to assume it was of such vital importance that nothing else could ever distract him.

It hadn't only been because it was necessary. The smallest smile from the usually inexpressive man had been enough for the whole house to practically glow from something other than the multiple computer screens.

And now that Arven was surrounded by people who appreciated him for him, his company, his actions, everything was so much brighter.

Even the AI, bearing that face that looked far more like Turo than Arturo seemed to want to think, was expressing that appreciation.

The empty spoon on the table in front of Arturo was evidence enough of that.

Arven set his own spoon aside, across the top of the bowl, and smiled slightly, though he looked over at Mabosstiff as he spoke. His words were hesitant at first. "I'm glad to be here. I didn't think I'd ever be able to say that."

"You are welcome to stay here at any time," Arturo reminded him.

"I'd rather go back tonight." The words were awkwardly rushed out, but he knew he could relax. This was an offer out of kindness, after all. "But thank you. Depending on the weather I don't know if I can make it back every time I have class with Lydia. Tonight'll be fine though. It's just a sprinkle out."

Arturo nodded. "If the coldest of the year has passed us by, do you anticipate that happening?"

"Aw man haha..." Arven picked up his spoon again to gesture with it. "Rainy season may be mostly over but when we get a storm down here, nobody wants to fly in it. They'll still do it, the flying cabs, but the birds are all mad and sometimes you get a Hoppip to the windshield."

It took Arturo a moment to access the data to remember what that meant. The very light grass type that would often be picked up in powerful winds was something that no longer existed in the far future, at least not in Paldea. He had no doubt that the prevalent pokémon had evolved into something still extant in distant lands. "I see. That would indeed be unfortunate for all involved." His eyes flashed as he updated with this information.

"Yeah, so if there's a storm or something, I'd probably take you up on your offer. It's nice and warm in here."

"Yes, that is due to the research I have been doing. It would be a bit chilly if not for the computer and other machines."

Arven's expression glazed for a moment.

"But there is a heavy blanket that Nemona gave me," Arturo continued. "I have no need for it and have only used it for the experience of doing so. I found it quite comfortable. But as I am designed to withstand temperatures down to -40 and do not suffer ill effects in heat or cold as an organic being would, I do not require it. So any guest may make use of it." He sat watching Arven with an almost molded smile. It looked almost fake, but Arven knew it was Arturo's attempts at accessing emotional expressions that his father had rarely displayed.

Arven smiled back. To be offered a blanket by the robot double of his father was still such a mind-blowingly bizarre situation, but it also felt comfortable, like a meal cooked with someone. Something that could be a solace even in the strangest of times. "Thanks."

Someday, when he had plenty of time to teach, he would have to ask Arturo to cook something with him.







Soon, it was time for Arven to leave, and as he pulled his backpack on and whistled for Mabosstiff, he watched Arturo.

By that point, Arturo had settled onto the couch with a book. Although he could read an entire book in a very short time, he had come to savor them and read like a human would, and this was a book that Penny had given him, published during Turo's lifetime but after the man had gone into seclusion. He had pointed out the cover to Arven, telling him how trends in science fiction cover art had changed as artists were no longer required to guess what the subject matter was, and that he was eager to find out what the strangely shaped mountain in the distance meant. "There is nothing," he had said eagerly," in our world that would cause a perfect hole through a mountain that size! I suspect it will be related to the ship in the shadow of the moon."

Arven had laughed and said that his guess was as good as anyone's. But in that later moment, he could only truly be struck by how *happy* Arturo seemed.

"I hope that school goes well for you tomorrow." Arturo looked over the back of the couch at Arven, unopened book still in hand. "And that Mr. Saguaro is better."

"Yeah, same. Well..." Arven adjusted the straps of his backpack one more time. "I'll see you later."

"I know."







Arturo waited until Arven and Mabosstiff faded from his sensors before setting the book aside. He did want to read it, but just as the door had closed, his thoughts had wandered.

Wandered to the same subject as earlier.

He looked down at his hand, his non-dominant right, and remembered how it had felt when that distant figure had tugged at it enthusiastically, bidding him come look in the cave.

Not him, never him. She would have no idea he existed. She had no idea that the man in these memories, and in so many of hers, was long gone.

Only an imitation remained.

He knew he was more than simply an imitation of Turo, but from all his observations, it seemed innately human to know something logically and still suffer from the effects of false imaginings. It was not simply that Turo had been paranoid, as he observed the behavior to be commonplace.

No matter.

He leaned back, watching towards an unseen sky, and wondered where Sada was at that moment.