I went to visit the Gym early the following day, after meeting up with the others for breakfast. During breakfast, we had shared our experiences of the previous evening and discussed our future plans.

The obvious objective was to get the local badge, also known as the Oracle Badge but afterwards, there were quite a few ways we could continue. The most arduous, but likely also the most interesting would be to head north. It was an incredibly long way to Snowpoint City, the northern most town in all of Sinnoh and worst of all, it was a path that turned almost impassable during autumn. During that time, the cold winds blocked by the Coronal Mountains turned northern Sinnoh into a frozen wasteland, where freezing temperatures and deep snow made travel near impossible. If we didn’t head north soon, we wouldn’t be able to do so this year, unless we wanted to stay in Snowpoint City for the winter.

Alternatively, we could head further south, towards Veilstone City or Solaceone City and travel the rest of eastern Sinnoh before heading north next year. Or maybe, if things turned out perfectly, I might be able to evolve Charm into his final form, Charizard, and learn to ride him through the sky. That way, we would be able to cut down travel time to a few days.

But no matter where we ultimately headed, we decided to spend a few days in town and relax, as the atmosphere of Celestic town was quite agreeable to us. Friendly people, excellent food and an incredible view, what more could one want?

When we got to the Gym, I realised that I had only just missed it the day before. The large, open area where I had trained Vio the day before bordered the large backyard of the Gym, likely allowing people to head there and back without trouble.

As we entered, I immediately recognised a few of the people in the public area as some who had been in the crowd the day before, but I was unable to remember their names. Too many names in too little time for my exhausted brain to remember.

Regardless of whom I remembered, we all approached the counter first, intent to get our registration out of the way, so we could make further plans.

“Good morning, welcome to Celestic Gym, how can I help you?” the attendant asked with a polite smile on his face.

“Morning, we’re looking to get the Oracle Badge. What are the local procedures?” I asked, curious how a town as friendly as this one had their gym battles and tasks organised.

“Generally, there’s going to be a discussion with the Gym-leader, Kodra, where he accesses your general knowledge and frame of mind. He might also give you some advise, before deciding on a task to accomplish. Those tasks are going to be individual, though you can team up to accomplish them.” the attendant paused for a second, “In fact, that is even recommended.”

“Once the task is accomplished, you’ll be asked to participate in a trainer battle against a suitable opponent and if you perform well, you’ll be given the Oracle Badge.” he finished, getting nods of understanding from the four of us.

“Sounds simple enough, if a tad annoying that we have to accomplish four tasks,” Lucas shrugged.

“Hopefully, the tasks will be a little simpler, or at least not as time-consuming, in turn. Otherwise, that might take a while if we want to move together for all four,” Claire grumbled, remembering the previous tasks. If every task took us three to four days, it’d be taking almost two weeks to accomplish them all.

“That depends on the number of Badges you already have and your overall competence. Better trainers get harder tasks but in turn, there can be extra rewards for excellent performance,” the attendant explained with a grin and for once, it looked quite genuine.

“So a harder task gives bragging rights and likely the opportunity to train your Pokémon against tougher foes,” I reasoned, guessing that few people would be willing to be labelled incompetent in order to receive an easier task. No, if anything there might be competition for harder tasks.

“Well, be that as it may, please register us first,” I asked, handing over my trainer card, my action mirrored by Claire and the others.

The attendant quickly scanned my card and there was a brief frown flickering across his face as if trying to remember something.

“Give me a second, please,” he asked, stepping away from the counter.

He came back shortly after, a note and an envelope in his hand.

“This has been deposited here for you, Dani. Please take a look,” he handed the envelope to me. Opening it, I found a folded letter and pulled it out to read.

It was written in a beautiful, cursive script, the letters folwing and elegant, unlike the blocky, standardised script used by the Pokémon-leauge. It was almost a work of art in and of itself, not just a means of communication.

In this case, it was an invitation by a Professor Carolina, asking me to visit her at her lab, here in Celestic Town. Curious why Professor would ask me to visit, I decided to make time for her.

“Thank you, could you give me directions to Professor Carolina’s lab?” I asked, certain that the attendant would know.

I wasn’t disappointed and was shown where to go on the map, now more than a little intrigued. The laboratory was at the edge of town, right at the cliff that dropped off towards Eastern Sinnoh.

“I will visit her soon,” I assured the attendant, before looking at the other three, “Is there anything else we need to accomplish before heading our own ways?”

“No, the registration is complete and I’ll send someone to the hostel once your meeting with Kodra is scheduled. If you are interested, you can get some reading done in the library or head out, towards the training field. You can find a few people working with their Pokémon there at almost any time, trying to perfect new moves or just do some general, light training. Just make sure you don’t cause too much of a commotion if you head there,” the attendant warned us and I noticed that Lucas looked quite interested.

“I think I’ll head to the training area, what about you guys?” he asked, already looking in the indicated direction.

“I’ll join you,” Cliff decided after a moment.

“What about you, Claire? Want to join me in meeting the Professor, or go with them?” I asked, curious what she’d do.

“Neither,” she grinned, “I’ll get some window shopping done, maybe even some real shopping. I need a new pair of shoes, mine are getting worn.”

“Fair,” I nodded, looking at my own, already quite worn shoes. The miles through the difficult terrain of the Coronal Mountains hadn’t been kind to them. Maybe I’d get a new pair at some point, too, or have them re-soled.

“See you all later,” I gave them a wave, as we all started moving in different directions.

Finding the lab was quite easy, thanks to the description I had been given and even without it, the lab was an incredible sight, one that I might have been interested in regardless.

Built on one of the highest points in town, on a small, earthen hill right next to the cliff steeply dropping off the plateau it was less a laboraty and more a small castle or maybe manor-house. Even compared to the rest of town and its classic architecture, the laboratory building had a timeless charm, making me want to look at it closer.

When I approached, I noticed that it, too, had a pair of door-guardians, carved into the portal’s arches. However, what surprised me was that these weren’t the normal, simple Pokémon I had been accustomed to, Pokémon like Arkanite, Mightyena, Rapidash or Staraptor, but a pair I immediately recognised, the likeness so spot-on that it sent shivers down my spine, even if I was only looking at their carvings.

Flanked by carvings of Palkia and Dialga, I knocked on the laboratories door, the hairs on my neck standing up a little, maybe due to the pressure still engraved into my psyche.

It didn’t take long for the door to be opened and an older lady looked at me, guarded curiosity in her eyes.

“How can I help you?” she asked, squinting a little as she studied me.

“Good morning, I was given this letter at the Gym. My name is Dani and it asked that I come here,” I introduced myself and the earlier slightly guarded expression faded, like mist in the sun.

“Ah, Dani, my granddaughter told me so much about you, please, come in.” she stepped back, waving for me to enter. “I’m Professor Carolina,” she introduced herself.

“Your granddaughter?” I asked, wondering just how old the woman was.

“Well, yes, Cynthia. She comes by for Sunday dinner every other week,” the old woman told me and I almost stumbled due to surprise, as my estimation of her age was corrected upwards. By a lot.

“Now, I’ve heard a few details about you, why don’t you tell me your story? I might be able to help,” she asked, as we sat down in a comfortable living room. For a moment, I wasn’t sure where to start, before deciding to, quite simply, start at the beginning. The day I met her Granddaughter.