Linkage

5

Wes loved riding his Rapidash. He felt like a cowboy, suited in blue on his way off to the sunset. Somewhere in his heart, he wished that he'd had one of these creatures in Orre. While his bike had always been great because of the sidecar for Umbreon and Espeon, he liked the bounce of his Pokémon and the feeling of one of his two eeveelutions tucked against his thin, blue shirt. Wes could only just imagine what that felt like in the desert heat. Oh would he love that.

The tall grass parted and in the distance he saw a small town. Wes knew Celestic Town. He admired the rustic feel, the lack of television, and the fact that it was a nice refueling point before Mt. Coronet. The vigilante didn't have much interest in the myths and lore of old, but there were a set of ruins and a shrine he had never experienced. He felt guilty, considering Sinnoh was his new home until he would have to leave once again, but he had to make sure every single member of Team Galactic who was unanswered for was attended to. That was his path to redemption. He had to undo every bit of damage done to the world by crime.

He rode into the town much like a knight. The amount of activity surprised him. There were tables of food and games everywhere. However, most stood in the center, around the shrine. Not knowing what was going on, he dismounted his Rapidash and went for the crowd. There was an old woman talking and so Wes strained to pay attention from the back.

"...and so a warrior will be chosen in accordance to the rules of the ritual. The shrine will light when a suitable fighter is found. Only those with strength and courage may enter to complete the ritual."

Wes missed the rest, but watched as people lined up and touched the shrine. There was something almost ridiculous about the action. He didn't understand how the citizens of Sinnoh would expect a shrine to predict a warrior. And he wondered what the point of doing this was. Yeah it was all fun for some to pretend as if they were important to some form of lore, but how did they not get tired? He stood up to leave. His trek to Mt. Coronet would have to begin.

"Wait, young man!"

Wes turned around to the old lady who spoke on stage behind him.

"You haven't touched the shrine," she said. "Offer Sinnoh's blessings to yourself."

And so the truth became clear. It was an action of 'luck'. Wes didn't believe in luck. Things just happened because they did.

"I think I'm good," he said, and the action received him a few glares. Wanting to not make more of a spectacle he agreed with a simple fine.

As Wes approached the shrine, there was a blinding light that hurt his eyes even through his sunglasses. For a moment, he didn't know what to think. It was certainly odd that out of all things this would happen. Perhaps it was rigged to light up after a certain amount of people touched the shrine? He couldn't figure it out though. Certainly people would touch at different intervals. He supposed that perhaps someone from the village was rigging some form of remote control lamp. That sounded interesting to Wes. He'd love to play with remote control technology.

The old woman snapped her fingers. "Young man! Do you realize what this means? We have not seen a warrior in five years. You must take part."

Wes had no choice, despite the fact he still wanted to hike Mt. Coronet. He was shuttled into a house and given a deep blue outfit to wear while his things were being held inside. It was only a pair of pants, with a strange blue scarf full of almost crystalline patterns around it. His back and chest were visible, full of scars from his years in the military, and cuts from his conquests in Orre. Being so exposed made him uncomfortable. His body told a story of his past.

There was something almost hilarious about his journey to the cave. If Wes wasn't exposed to the world, he would be laughing. The festival visitors were so surprisingly amazed that he didn't know what to do with himself. Though, with his chest on full display, Wes was uncomfortable. He headed for the cave's entrance, only to be surprised by what he saw. Cynthia was inside with a tight, navy dress with an open back on. Something stirred inside of Wes, and his breath was taken away by how neat she looked.