Sharpedo Bluff

[Virgil134]

Cabot tilted his head slightly. "How long have you been training with her?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Only five years for anything intensive," Meringue said. "Sort of astronomical how young that is, when you think about it from a Legendary perspective."

 

[Virgil134]

"Well, maybe it is, but doesn't that also mean you haven't fallen behind that much?" Cabot asked. "It sounded like you and your Master were still doing okay last week, and one week isn't all that much compared to five years."

 

[Namohysip]

"Tch..." Meringue didn't reply immediately, and instead conjured another Weather Ball between his wings. This one was a clear white, which he shot forward and upward, where it burst and became a small cloud.

"I've fallen behind in general," he said simply. "This week has only been exposing that. If I keep going at this rate, my brother will have to be a Legend without me."

 

[Virgil134]

"Well, would your Master or your brother agree that you've fallen behind?" Cabot said. "Since that Weather Ball looked pretty good to me."

 

[Namohysip]

"My master has told me that I've fallen behind a little," Meringue said simply. "So, I know I'm falling behind. It was the last thing she told me during evaluations a few weeks ago. And now this is happening..." He trailed off, head drooping.

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh..."

Cabot shifted uncomfortably. Meringue seemed to take his training pretty serious, so it would make sense that he's feeling down if the last bit of feedback Lugia gave him before falling prey to Darkwhite was that he was falling behind. Still, Meringue seemed far from weak and what happened to Lugia was hardly his fault, so surely there would be some way to make him feel better.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but... at least she won't be able to say that once we all rescue her. These are strange times, and I don't think there's even been a Lugia like you who has had to deal with anything like this. If anything would prove that you're not falling behind it would be by saving your master and defeating the thing that took her."

The Cranidos gave Meringue a small smile before continuing on.

"Besides, there are more things you'll need once you take her place besides just power... Things that a true Protector would need. Like the determination to keep going even if the odds seem impossible, or the resolve to protect others even if it means putting your own life at risk. You definitely have those qualities if last night is anything to go by. You tried to save Celeste and kept trying to fight Darkwhite even though there didn't seem to be any way to defeat her. "

 

[Namohysip]

"Power and being able to harness it is all I need," Meringue said, glancing at Cabot with a hint of amusement and dejection. "All of those... heroic qualities you mentioned, the self-sacrifice, the dedication, the iron will, those aren't things that they teach you when you become a Legend. Those are the things you need to qualify to become one. The training is so I can properly harness the power I'd be given... You don't just teach anybody how to become powerful if you don't think they'd use it right. Especially someone at my level."

He sighed, then raised his wings again. The sun seemed to get brighter, and then Meringue lobbed a fiery ball into the sky, which burst like a firework. "Groudon and Kyogre disappeared, too, or I would've asked them for some help in the interim. They're not totally the same, but they can at least help me with training my weather techniques."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot said nothing for a moment as he silently looked at the exploding Weather Ball. He'd hoped his words could lift Meringue's spirits, but it seemed like they had just fallen flat. Despite how similar they looked, Meringue and Pleo were clearly two very different Pokémon.

"I see..."

He let out a disappointed sigh, before opting to move the conversation along.

"So what's Lugia like anyway?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Lugia..." Meringue said the name like he was referring to an old, favorite book, fond memories both ancient and recent. "She's stern. Serious. But she's also, obviously, kindhearted and she wouldn't have been Lugia if she wasn't kindhearted." He rolled his head to the side, then the other side, and then waved once skyward. The clear skies became rain again, and a watery Weather Ball made the downpour ahead of Sharpedo Bluff shift into a torrential, but brief, cloudburst.

"Really intimidating, too. When I first met her I thought she was going to crush me between the sea rocks... But that turned out to be how her expression naturally is. Could do to ease up a little..." Meringue tittered softly. "Just like she has scales and I have feathers, I think she's a lot tougher than I am right now. Weathered by eons of being the Guardian of the Sea. She probably don't even remember her mortal life anymore. A speck of time so far away... Scary to think about, sometimes. Incomprehensible, actually, but here I am, taking steps toward that..."

 

[Virgil134]

Stern... serious... tough... a naturally intimidating expression... a more kindhearted personality than what she initially let on... Why this world's Lugia almost sounded like Nagant! Cabot smiled a little, amused by the idea that this world had a god with similar characteristics to that of his own captain.

"Well, if you're worried about forgetting your past life, maybe talking about it helps? What sort of Pokémon were you like?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Heh... I'm not afraid of that part so much," he said. "Just how much is suddenly in front of me."

He formed a hailstorm in front of the bluff next, chunks of ice pelting the water far below, and tossed an icy sphere into the sky. This explosion snapped and split the air like shattering glass.

"When I was a mortal just fighting off an Omen with my brother, I was a Jolteon. Yeah, yeah, I know... adjusting to two legs, and two wing... arm things, it was a pretty big change. My brother was a Sylveon. Which, yeah, same problem there, going from Fairy to Fire. But that's part of the training process. It's about the content of the spirit, not the form of the old body, after all."

 

[Virgil134]

"That must have taken some time to get used to..." Cabot mused. The idea of normal Pokémon getting reincarnated as Protectors felt... strange to say the least. Still, it certainly wasn't the strangest thing he'd heard of since coming here. "Do you and your brother usually train together?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I'm not strong enough to train with him where it wouldn't be a waste of time," Meringue said, sighing. "One day. One day." Still, he seemed at least slightly more upbeat than before. "You guys really seem confident that you'll be able to help. At least, you do. Do you guys really have that kind of power behind you?"

 

[Virgil134]

"I think so!" Cabot exclaimed. "Three weeks ago it seemed like the town was gonna be destroyed by a giant Magikarp, yet we managed to save it in the end. Plus Team Spice was missing and infected by Shades, but you saw how they're doing now. If we could save them, I know we'll rescue Lugia as well!"

Cabot looked out at sea with a smile, moving his legs up and down a little as they hung over the cliff's edge.

"Despite all the different worlds we come from, we really do make for a great team."

 

[Namohysip]

"Guess you do," Meringue said with an amused smile. He was a little off-put by how carefree this Cranidos was compared to the others on the team, but at least he had a positive attitude.

"You know," Meringue said, "compared to the others, you seemed to be... pretty interested in me back there. Did you worship or know about a Lugia where you're from or something?"

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot blinked, before he began to flusteredly paw at the back of his head

"Was is that obvious?" he sheepishly asked. "But, I don't worship a Lugia... I'm actually friends with the Lugia from my world!" The Cranidos perked up a bit. "His name is Pleo, but he's still pretty young. I admittedly don't know how old he is exactly, but it's definitely less than two months."

 

[Namohysip]

"Two months! You caught him early," Meringue said, stifling a laugh. "Then again, I suppose the way you speak of him, he's literally that old. How odd that you can be friends with him already... Perhaps your world is one of those mystical ones where creatures are born with knowledge, one way or another?" He trailed off, but then shrugged. "Well, that explains your interest, at least. Just do not be frightened when you see Lugia at her full glory. If I had to deduce something else from your reactions, you won't expect the way she appears, compared to me. It's subtle, perhaps only up close... Ahh, but then again... you'll probably be facing her Aeroblasts, if my guess on your luck is right... Have fun with that."

 

[Virgil134]

"Yeah... you mentioned she has scales, right?" Cabot asked. "That's definitely something different for me. Pleo has feathers and I don't think he'll grow scales when he gets older either... But I'm sure it will be fine! I've already seen plenty of things that felt strange to me since I left my world and my own body is covered with scales as well, so I don't mind if she looks a little different!"

Assuming Darkwhite's 'Makeover' wasn't too horrifying of course... But with Meringue finally seeming to be in a better mood, he obviously wasn't gonna bring that up.

"And Aeroblast is a Flying-Type move, right? At least I'll resist it a little since I'm a Rock-Type."

 

[Namohysip]

Meringue frowned, looking Cabot over. "No offense," he said, "but I can sense from you that energy attacks are going to hurt you no matter what type they are. You might want to be careful about that. Still, with all of you guys together, maybe that'll be enough..." He sighed. "Well. Guess we'll see. I'm going to do what I can to try to help you guys out, too."