It was certainly a late morning, but it was still early enough in the day that Rydia's Café was still serving breakfast alongside lunch. Alexei Ivanov had invited her to share her findings regarding the Gale Mesallion she had found in the Braviary's Nest, as well as the other Medallions of Eight. While she only had five in her possession, she had a lot to tell the Fortree Leader about her goings-on. Her ride Espeon, a bright green one at that, sat down next to Alex. "You picked a good place to have breakfast," the wild child greeted him, though it was a bit late for breakfast. It was already mid to late morning.

No sooner than a minute after the two had exchanged pleasantries, a waiter had arrived to take orders. "Swedish Supreme, with the eggs scrambled and a large milk, please." she requested. It was a little of everything: some scrambled eggs, some Swedish pancakes, and a waffle to go with it. It was a big breakfast, but perfect for those who could not decide.

Once Alex had placed an order for a meal, if any, she would cover her side of the table with the five Medallions she had retrieved, leaving the Gale Medallion closest to the Djinni's Patron, for lack of a better word. "I've got a lot to share, so I hope you can take good notes."

Alexei Ivanov

{WC: 231}
{PC: 1}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

Upon hearing Alex order bacon, Shalin thought to get a side of it, as well. With it being so late in the morning, she could easily turn this to a brunch. She had worked hard the last several weeks. She deserved to treat herself every now and then! When the server returned with their drinks, she asked. "I'm sorry, can I also add a side of bacon to my order, please?" With a nod, it was made so.

"...No one knows," Shalin slowly answered Alex. "The Halls of Origin were sealed away so long ago that no one truly knows why they were sealed or what's inside." With the Medallions of Eight all depicting legendary Pokémon, the Fortree Lorekeeper could be right. "It wouldn't surprise me, but there's no way to know. Considering it's not only in the same location as, but shares a name with, the Cave of Origin..."

She recounted the tale of her brief trip to the Halls of Origin with Sasha Huang . "There were so many statues of legendary Pokémon at the entrance. And the entrance was not easy to get to, either. I legitimately think Team Rocket doesn't know about the place," she whispered before speaking in her normal voice again. "We didn't get far, though. Not far after that, there was a small hall with eight pedestals and an inscription that read, 'Ones who does not have the Medallions of Eight can't go in.' That's how I know there are seven more just like the Gale Medallion. And you're looking at four more of them right now."

Alexei Ivanov

{WC: 264}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

"That's what puzzled me," Shalin agreed with Alex. Out of the five Medallions she had gathered so far, all of them depicted legendary Pokémon not native to Hoenn. She passed them to Alex one at a time, having started with the Gale Medallion because of his obvious interest in the Flying-type Unovan legendary Pokémon. Though she didn't know he had already befriended the Djinni, she had a good idea, given how much he loved Flying-types. "The Night Medallion," bearing Yveltal's image, "the Glacial Medallion," bearing that of Articuno, "the Chrome Medallion," of Regigigas, "and the Mirage Medallion," of Volcanion. "There are three more out there."

"I haven't been able to make a connection," Shalin replied. "There's the Cave of Origin, but that's in Hoenn. Nothing off region comes to mind. I do find it strange that the gods on the medallions are all from different parts of the world, though." She paused to collect her thoughts one more time. "Inside that entry chamber in the Halls of Origin, there were clues on where the rest of the medallions were at. This is what I found."

"One atop a remote peak, passed down by avian-blessed warriors..."

"One in the depths of a wetland snake's belly..."

"One buried in an arctic prison..."

"One in an ancient pharaoh's tomb..."

"One in a mystic palace erected in defiance of reality..."

"One beyond the jaws of a dragon of stone..."

"One in the shadow of the grandest tombstone..."

"One in the hottest, fiercest depths of Hoenn's red earth..."

She let out a sigh after she was done reading aloud. "We went to the first one together. The second was a place deep in the swamps of Route 123, called the Seviper's Remains. The third was the Crystal Trench, buried in Shoal Cave. You know, that place not even Hoenn's Rangers will rescue you from? The fourth was the Epoch Ruins in the Great Desert, and the fifth was the Mirage Palace in the Fiery Path. All of them were...extraordinary, to say the least. And I've located the sixth one but it's in a harsh place. It's the Shark's Maw, and it's at the very peak of Meteor Falls. That's where I'm going next."

When asked about Crystalblooms, Shalin shrugged. "What are Crystalblooms?"

Alexei Ivanov

{WC: 380}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

Shalin gasped when Alex nearly threw the Mirage Medallion across the table. "Careful! I can't go losing any of these!" she exclaimed, some heads in the café turning toward her mid-outburst. "...Interesting," she replied to the Fortree Leader's remark about Volcanion. While she didn't know the name of the Pokémon directly, she expected it was a legendary Pokémon of some kind. "Interesting you say that, because I found this one in that palace I told you about. Is it a Fire and an Ice type at the same time? The bottom of that place was boiling hot, and the top half was built out of solid Never Melt Ice. It was, needless to say, a living hell." A living hell that Julia Davis would remember all too well.

"I've been to a lot of corners of Hoenn, and I did not see a single Crystalbloom. Or at least nothing resembling what you described," she answered with a sigh. "What is with Hoenn's wonders just up and vanishing of late?" When the waiter came back with their beverages, Shalin slid the medallions to the side and started stacking the ones Alex had already examined in detail, leaving the Gale Medallion on top and the Night and Chrome ones separately visible. She took a big gulp of her milk before setting the glass back down.

"I noticed you looked at the Gale Medallion especially closely," Shalin made Alex aware of her observation. "Do you know a lot about this Pokémon?"

Alexei Ivanov

{WC: 250}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

"...Fire and Water?" Shalin asked, confirming what Alex had said. "That's such an odd type combination. I wonder why this would appear inside a palace of fire and ice, then?" Perhaps at one point the second floor of the Mirage Palace revolved around water rather than ice. She would have much preferred that than what she went through up there, given how close she came to freezing despite sitting on a fire-type's back most of the time she was up there.

"Must have been several months ago," Shalin remarked. "Is this a Kalosian Pokémon?" she asked. "It reminds me a lot of the Guardian of the Sea, Lugia." As she listened to the tale of the two Djinn, it reminded her of how Lugia and Ho-oh didn't really get along after the Brass Tower, now the Burned Tower, had been struck by lightning. The similarities to Johtonian legends increased. "Just like the Guardian of the Sea and the Bird of Rainbow Colors, it seems..."

Once Alex had paused long enough, Shalin shifted the conversation back to her own expeditions. "So I mentioned earlier that the other two were 'In the shadow of the grandest tombstone' and 'In the hottest, fiercest depths of Hoenn's red earth.' You've been traveling Hoenn longer than I have. Do you have any idea what those lines may be referring to?"

Alexei Ivanov

{WC: 226}
{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

Despite Shalin's misconceptions, she was mostly on the right track. "You would say fire and ice together is an oxymoron, but that would change real quick if you set foot in that place," she replied, Janus trying to implant calming feelings in Shalin, as well as Alex if his mind consented. It was clear the young female was getting a little heated. After all, she remembered the environmental whiplash the Mirage Palace put her and Julia Davis through. How could she forget? She showed Alex two pictures: one of the magma-laden, Chandelure and Magcargo-filled room she had nearly burned her lungs out stepping into, and a second of the map she had taken, the surrounding structure clearly constructed out of pure Never Melt Ice. "These photos were both taken from inside Mirage Palace. I know it sounds hard to believe, but they were." Just like the inscription at the Halls of Origin stated, the strange building in a remote corner of the Fiery Path seemed to defy the laws of reality.

It seemed like Alex had a clue on one of them, at least. Shalin pulled up a regional map of Hoenn on her phone after taking another big drink of milk. Only one place fit Alex's description. "Mount Chimney," she concluded. "I don't have the Pokémon to explore such a hot place. Gonna have to go hunting." There was no shortage of water Pokémon in Hoenn. What there were a shortage of were Pokémon that were amphibious, water-type, and large enough to fit with a saddle. And that was just one step of her preparation. She had her work cut out for her.


Alexei Ivanov

{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good

Alex's reaction to the two photos being from the same place was understandable. Never Melt Ice only occurred naturally in Shoal Cave in Hoenn, after all. Why would the stuff be in such a hot place? "Absolutely certain. When I heard what my Wyrdeer had to say after she scouted, I was in just as much disbelief as you are now." It wasn't exactly a wormhole, but there was definitely something paranormal causing it. While she never got to the bottom of why the two halves of the Palace were connected to each other yet separated by thousands of feet, it was there. And it was very dangerous. The Rangers' warning for people to keep out was well founded.

"Like I said, I've been through Shoal Cave, too," the explorer added, stopping what she had to say when their meals arrived. "Thank you so much!" There was so much good food in front of her. It was a good thing she decided to make a brunch out of this, because this was going to fill her up! She began to dig into her scrambled eggs, letting her pancakes and waffle soak in syrup to make it more delicious. "It wasn't that Pokémon I heard down there. The cry I heard sounded more...avian."

Water-types were indeed a good idea, but a Pokémon with Flash Fire was an even better idea. "I would have one if it weren't for the barrier," she added. "Caprice, a giant Ninetales of mine from Johto, would fill that well, but she's stuck on the other side of the barrier. Until after the Meteno crisis is over, she won't be able to help me."

Alexei Ivanov

{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Starr         Espeon         Good