Ashing for a Lady: Opera Then

Exiting out of the home, Aria took a moment to regain her composure. While Gary had thrown her a touch off, that was to be expected. Such a change was bound to be seen as blindsiding, even for the people that would claim to have known her quite well. But she let that thought fade from her mind as she and Gary approached the main group.

“Everything alright?” Giselle inquired and Aria nodded. The last thing she wanted to do here was to put them at unease for one reason or another.

“Yeah.” Gary announced, waiting a moment for everyone’s gazes to focus on him. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, you’re going to be restricted to a small area right now. Mostly so that I and my team can assess your skills and in turn, be certain that you won't create any problems with the big site.”

Tyranitar raised a claw. While part ground type, she was perhaps the worst being to mess around with priceless artifacts.

“Uh…” Gary continued and looked over to Aria. As much as this probably should be his call here, it was probably best to defer to the lady trainer at this moment.

“Tyranitar, do you think your pokemon would like playing around in say… the removed dirt rather than the excavation site? Carefully, of course.” Aria suggested and watched Tyranitar look over to said pile. Relatively shallow, it was the perfect spot for baby pokemon to frolic about without worry from their trainer. Looking back at Aria, a nod followed. As for the lady trainer, her gaze shifted back over to Gary. “Would that work for you, Gary?”

Gary’s face went red. Not for the question itself, but more the tone used. Sounding like an old-fashioned lady, his heart skipped a beat. Trying his hardest to ignore the feeling here, it made it all the more obvious to all parties.

“Yeah. That will work.” Gary announced and Tyranitar nodded. Heading in the direction of the dirt pile, the archaeologist motioned for the rest of the group to follow him. Doing just that, their destination was that of a small blue tent. There, a table with the various tools used on the job site awaited them. A cooler for lunch sat beside it, optimistically awaiting opening.

“If you don’t mind me asking, just how many do you have on a site like this?” Giselle inquired and Gary chuckled. In turn, he was treated to a raised eyebrow from the teaching assistant. Going back down as quickly as it appeared, it did provide the perfect opportunity for Aria and Paul to sneak a chuckle in. While getting away with it, that was likely not something they could repeat.

“A handful of people, but it usually depends on the size of the site.” Gary explained as the group stepped under the tent. Coming to a stop at the table, care was taken to hand out each set of tools. As for Aria she took the time to pull Pikachu out of her purse. Setting said purse on the table, it would hopefully be safe here. If not, she would track whoever was dumb enough to think that they could get away with such a stupid crime. Then it’s back over to Gary.

Accepted with glee, then came the simple task of heading over to a small, corded-off area. Relatively little dirt had been brushed away in comparison to the massive bones that one could make out, even from here. If there was anything here, it was bound to be small and insignificant. Not that the lady trainer and company minded. That was part of the test here. Once they had shown the capability to unearth things without breaking them. Simple as that.

“Uh… do you want to spread out?” Paul inquired as they stopped in front of the corded-off area. Looking over to Gary, he was met with a nod from the archaeologist. Stepping off to the side, that was the cue for everyone else to step over. Though, it was Aria who was the first to bend down and begin brushing. Pikachu watched intently, oddly reminded of when the lady trainer applied her makeup. Just the face was the dirt here.

“It’s oddly calming, isn’t it, Pikachu?” Aria whispered and caught a nod from her partner. Turning back to her work, she let the zen of the activity pull her in. By no means the most interesting thing in the world, that didn’t particularly matter to her. It was the perfect opportunity to let her thoughts wander to other stuff. More specifically, any places that she wanted to go. While not a long list, a couple places did stick out. For starters, Hearthome Gym. Fantina was bound to have some idea on the requirements to get accepted. If not, she could probably make a good educated guess. Beyond that, the temptation to see a contest hung thickly in the air. Dawn was likely in some other region, May being a similar story. Though, she could participate as well.

When was the last thing she had done that? Had to have been that last battle with May that ended in a tie. That sounded right in her mind, but could very easily be her misremembering that particular moment. Wouldn’t be the first time that it had happened. Beyond that, the lady trainer found herself on the cusp of daydreams of St Valerie’s. Her goal was so close and yet, it still felt out of reach. Perhaps once this last leg of the journey was complete, that feeling would finally fade away. She could on-

Aria didn’t get a chance to finish that thought, her brush connecting with the air rather than dirt. Pulling her gaze downwards, she was met with a cavity. By no means large, it was odd to find here. Especially in comparison to that of the large bones almost… taunting her. An absolutely bizarre feeling to get now of all times, but it hung thickly in the air for the lady trainer. Looking around to her companions, they had very much locked onto her.

“I’m honestly not certain what I did.” Aria announced and raised her hands up. Clinging to her brush, that did little to put their minds at ease. Especially as Gary made his way over. Taking care to not disturb any more dirt than had already been so, it was easier said than done. Especially with the way that the ground around Aria seems ready to burst.

“Odd. The equipment should’ve picked up such a void.” Gary muttered and helped Aria up. Staring down at the void, once could just make out steps leading into what one could only assume to be a tomb. Quite a big tomb at that, something about it reminded Aria of dragon pokemon. Why that type in particular, she couldn’t say. It just felt that way in her mi-

“Huh.” Poipole announced as she appeared out of her pokeball. Lowering herself down to the hole, part of the ground gave way. Not enough that a person could slip through, but a pokemon could very much do so.

“There is Rota - the kingdom my descendant Sir Aaron came from, but this feels similar yet different.” Aria explained as her partner inched slightly closer to the hole. Just in time for everyone else to approach. Disturbing the ground that much more, it was very likely to be unable to handle any more weight that could be thrown on it.

“Could be some alternate Ash that got offed and their place got warped here… for some reason.” Poipole countered and watched Gary’s gaze swivel over to her. Staring for a couple seconds, it’s over to Aria and everyone else.

“Well… there are stories of a trainer in ancient times who tamed Arceus. Maybe this is their tomb?” Paul added and Tsareena appeared out of her ball. Looking around at her new surroundings, she didn’t get a chance to finish that activity on account of the ground giving way under their feet. Dropping the group down into the tomb, they landed relatively softly. A far cry from the expected result here, that was a small saving grace at the moment.

“Tsa?” Tsareena announced, taking a moment to dust herself off. Looking over to her trainer, the fruit pokemon gave him a light tap. Just enough to get Paul up, the trainer gave a nod. Dusting himself off, his gaze shifted over to Aria. None worse for the wear, she took a moment to wave back at Paul.

As for Giselle and Gary, it was a similar story. Just with a bit more dust on their clothes. Knocking it off, their gazes shifted to the rest of the group. Looking among each other, it was over to the tomb itself. Up close, faint carvings of dragon pokemon could be made out. A tunnel leading further in awaited on the normal wall, unlit torches hanging proudly to the wall. Not that this explained the smell of perfume coming through.

“Umbreon, could you by any chance use Flash?” Gary inquired and watched his partner begin to glow. Illuminating the room, one could make out scrolls and oddly, tomes. Far more modern that this tomb would suggest, what exactly was going on here.

“Weird. Definitely not related to Aether, though.” Poipole announced, catching a glimpse of Giselle’s gaze swiveling to her.

“What makes you think that?” Giselle answered, debating pulling out a pokemon of her own to help with the illumination process. Nonetheless, her gaze hung on the poison pin pokemon.

“Aether generally prefers high tech structures. They wouldn’t be caught in a place like this.” Poipole muttered as Aria slowly approached the tunnel. Motioning for Pikachu to follow right behind, her partner did just that. But not without a touch of protest on account of needing to dirty her dress here. At least until Aria scooped her up and held the cosplay mouse pokemon in her arms. Heading down the hall, the lady trainer couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was threatening to spill forth into her mind. Right on the tip of her tongue, it eluded her at every turn.

“Pikachu, how are you feeling?” Aria inquired as she stopped. In the distance, she could make out the end of the tunnel. With it, an answer to the question that she had managed to stumble into here. Or, it would bring with it even more things she couldn’t easily answer. Perhaps both outcomes at the same time. After that visit with IT, anything felt possible in the worst possible way. But that wasn’t a thought

“Pika.” Pikachu whispered, activating her own flash here. While rarely useful, knowing how to do it was the basis of many other attacks that were worth using in most situations. Illuminating the hallway, more of the dragon drawings could be made out. Yet, something about these markings felt different to the lady trainer. Like they were trying to tell her a message, but it wasn’t coming through for her. Or if it was, her mind and body were overriding whatever effect it was supposed to have. Didn’t matter to the lady trainer as she slowed her pace as she passed through the doorway.

Compared to the room she had just left, someone had clearly put a lot of time into this particular part of the tomb. Cyan stained stone surrounded her at all sides, making the pink tourmalines inset into the walls all the more odder. Clearly not intended to be lights, what use were such an adornment? Better yet, why were there scripts for operas of all activities scattered about? Aria couldn’t say with certainty.

Bending down, Aria cautiously picked one of the scripts up. Taking care to not accidentally drop Pikachu in the process, that was easier said than done. Yet, the lady trainer managed with a surprising amount of grace.

A Ballad of Flowers

Directed, Written and Performed By Rose Ketchum

Pulling her head back, Aria almost dropped the script. That couldn’t be right. She didn’t have any relatives (that she knew of) named Rose, let alone were into opera and/or performing. Yet, something about all of this checked out. At worst, the possibility of being her own grandmother was remarkably high.

“Huh…” Aria muttered and looked around. Beyond all the scripts, dresses hanging on by literal threads had been set down on a table in one corner, shards of pokeballs laying on top of them. Tempted as the lady trainer was to touch them, her gaze was on something else entirely.

A skeleton laid on a bed of stone. Regal and full of grace, it still brought a chill down Aria’s spine. Setting Pikachu down, she slowly made her way over to the skeleton.

Giving it a light tap, nothing happened. Not that this stopped the lady trainer from stepping back on the off chance something would. Letting out a sigh, Aria took a moment to compose herself. Everything would be alright. This was just part of whatever conspiracy that permanently hung over her and she was going to need to deal with. A shame there was nothing to be done here. Instead, the lady trainer took a moment to compose herself here. This was very likely the tip of the iceberg when it came to whatever her and company here. All the more reason to head back to the rest of the ground. They would likely freak out when they saw her discovery. Though, Aria got the feeling that she just created a headache for her former rival. Couldn’t be helped here. Just the nature of things as of late…

.

Back in Pallet Town…

Charizard raised an eyebrow.

While she was normally not one to pry into other people's business, she couldn’t have seen what she had thought she had seen… right? Her mind had to have been playing a mean trick here

Inching her way back over to the door of Delia Ketchum, the flame pokemon could just make out the mother dressed in a black team rocket uniform.

Relatively well-fitting for the amount of dust that covered the outfit, Charizard pulled her gaze away.

“Char.” she muttered, making a beeline to the stairs. The last thing she wanted to do here was to be late for her lessons. Yes, it was perhaps best to let this remain a mystery.