"Lightning, could you do this for me?" She went to the pot and she
started to stir it. The soup smelled so good. She got a spoon to
test it and it was delicious.
Lightning finished smashing the berries. She got the things for the
outside of the Pokepuff.
Aurora nodded to Lightning and she began putting the filling inside
the Pokepuff. "You can start getting some soup now!"
Ash started setting up the tent for the smaller Pokemon.
As Najima chuckled at the others misfortune, Scarlet floated up to
her trainer and poked her in the shoulder. Looking over that the
shiny, Najima gave her a questioning look. "Is something wrong
Scarlet?"
I'm hungry. The Chandelure announced. Of the two humans
Najima was the only one who was able to understand her.
"You're always hungry." She said, deadpan.
But I am starving Master! Starving! Scarlet whined.
"First, how many times have I told you you don't need to call me
master? And second, you ate an hour ago."
To anyone who din't know her it may seem like Najima was genuinely
annoyed, but if one were to look closely they would see the glimmer
of amusement in her eyes. This conversation was not a new one
between the two, and it was just friendly banter between the
trainer and her first Pokemon. The only way Scarlet could satisfy
her hunger would be to either eat meat or consume another beings
soul, and both of them knew this. Scarlet usually fed off of any
wild Pokemon encountered, though not enough to actually harm them.
Their souls would repair themselves like an open wound scabbing
over and be as good as new within a few days.
As Marluxia had no idea what even his Pokemon talked about, he was
pretty confused as to why Nijima was talking to herself. "Is
everything okay?" He asked, wiggling himself out from under Skuld.
The Corviknight squawked in indignation but quieted when her
trainer have her scratches.
Seeong the Sterlezia was hungry as well, Lauriam marched up to
Marluxia and stuck out his rose hands in a silent demand for food.
"Oh yeah, Scarlet here's just complaining about being hungry again
even though she recently ate." Najima assured him, ignoring the
indignant Hey! she got from the Chandelure. "And it seems
like a few of your Pokemon are hungry to." She said with a small
smile at Lauriam's silent demand for food.
Lauriam scowled at Najima but was easily pacifies by the familiar
weight of an Aprijuice container. Trotting back to his sister, the
two eagerly drank from their special blend of apricots.
"So what do Chadelure eat?" Marluxia wondered, eyes lighting up in
excitement. He loved learning more about Pokemon, especially those
he didn't know about.
"Well, uh..." Najima spoke nervously, "Ok, please don't freak out.
They, and the rest of their evolution line, eat either meat, or the
souls of living creatures." She said, before speaking again very
quickly. "But don't worry! It's a completely natural thing and they
only feed a little on a soul before leaving so that it can heal.
The soul heals quickly and in a few days they'll be fully healed,
most of the time not noticing anything different in the first
place." She explained quickly, hoping to get it all out and prevent
any freakout from occurring.
Processing the information, he nodded slowly before his eyes lit
up. "That, is so cool." He breathed in awe, suddenly looking at
Scarlet in a new light. This Pokemon was amazing!
Najima blinked in surprise at his answer while Scarlet spun around
in joy. Oh you are just the sweetest thing! Scarlet said
happily, projecting her voice into Marluxia's head with Psychic,
unlike before where she had just spoken normally. Thank you
dear, I really appreciate it! A welcome reaction instead of the
terrified noises we usually get.
"No seriously, it's such an amazing power! Powers like that would
guarantee a Pokemon their own shrine. As a form of healing the
soul, eating away the parts that could have decayed or the parts
that people simply couldn't stand, it's almost amazing how I
haven't encountered any shrines dedicated to Pokemon like you."
Marluxia rambled excitedly, a goodfy grin spreading across his
face. "I'm not that sweet, really."
"Ah, well, you're one of the few people that thinks that way. Most
people are terrified of ghost Pokemon like Scarlet." Najima
explained as Scarlet's orange flames flared happily at his
compliments. Gesturing to her Pokemon, she continued.
"Look at my Pokemon, what do you see? Most of my team is either
dark type or ghost type, with Jupiter being the exception, and even
then he is a fossil Pokemon. I come from a village that specializes
in ghost Pokemon or Pokemon with a connection to death, and we
worship legends like Yveltal and Giratina." she said. "I can
understand ghost types and a bit of dark type speech. In our
village we pay respects to ghost Pokemon and we do have quite a few
shrines dedicated to them. However most people are terrified at the
thought and shy away from us because of it." She said with a soft
sigh.
"Hmm, The Vaishud people... I've never heard of them! Now I really
want to visit!" Clapping his hands together excitedly, Marluxia
grinned happily. "A whole village that worships those closely
connected to the death is almost unheard of! Of course there have
been instances of people worshiping Yvetal in the past but those
have only been singular people! To have a whole village is truly a
blessing in itself." Looking at Nijima's team, Marluxia could see
that they really were closely associated with death and the
afterlife, earning Nijima a deeper appreciation from him. "And to
be able to understand, and even communicate, that is quite an
amazing feat! "
The ghost type adept's pale face flushed in a visible blush, unused
to the compliment and attention. "Ah, well my people are quite
reserved and well hidden. You see, long ago there where people who
seeked to gain immortality, and many turned to my people. We where
both revered and feared, some wanting to kill us while others
wanted to steal our secrets for their own selfish purposes." She
explained solemnly. "My peoples numbers dropped drastically, and
fearing we would die, we hid ourselves away." She said before
pausing, tilting her head in his direction as if contemplating
something.
"However, while we usually do not allow outsiders, I believe I
could make an exception for you, if you would like to visit. After
all, you have a legend as you companion. That will quickly sway my
people as we trust in the legends and their judgment." She said
with a nod, turning her head to watch Ienzo interact with her
Pokemon with a small smile.
"I knew he was good for something other than earring all our food."
Marluxia teased, smiling softly at Ienzo. "I still can't believe
he's a part of my team sometimes. I only caught him very recently
when exploring a shrine in the Rumination field when he showed up
out of nowhere!" Chuckling at the memory, Marluxia watched in
amusement as Ienzo snorted and turned his head away. Obviously his
Pokemon wasn't pleased about the memory being dragged up.
"But if it makes you feel better, I want to go and document the
worship practices in your village. It's quite important too because
future generations can look back at the written record of what
their ancestors did and understand their way of living better." He
explained, eyes sparkling with passion. "And so, even if something
were to happen the culture would still be preserved on paper and
those who come after have a means of continuing their worship."
"I understand that feeling." She said with a chuckle, picking up
Ylva who had wandered over to her. "Sometimes I can't believe I
ever was entrusted Ylva's egg in the first place and I think it was
all a dream, but then I look at her and remember that it actually
did happen." She hummed as Ylva let out a happy chirp.
"I'm also sure my people would appreciate that! Much of our
tradition is passed down orally after all, and most don't visit the
library for our culture because to us it's common knowledge."
Najima said with a smile. "We have quite a few temples you can
visit to learn more, and we can visit some of the schools so you
can talk to a history professor or two if you want." She said as
Garlo floated over towards her, nudging her softly and letting out
a low croon.