“The Embedded Tower…”

  Beyond the confines of Cianwood City, was what appeared to be mountainous terrain at first glance. But in reality, was a set of ancient ruins, a heaven reaching tower from ancient times that had long since collapsed under its own unwieldy weight.

  Melded together with the natural cliff face that formed its base, It was now known as the Cliff Edge Gate — the absolute western border of Johto.

  There wasn’t much left of the collapsed tower on the surface. Whatever treasures it contained had long since been looted over the years. Although, people do still occasionally report fortuitous findings within the vicinity.

  Nina’s goal as she glided over Cianwood City, a stinky little onion pixie by her side, was the portion of the Embedded Tower ruins that still existed within the cliffs. Because just as its name suggested, the grand tower was embedded into the terrain itself — a hollow carved into the rocky cliffs that functioned as its base.

  And according to her uncle, unlike its collapsed body, the ruins contained within the base were perfectly intact.

  “Let’s land away from the city, Nitey. No point announcing our presence.” Especially since she was planning on sneaking into the ruins.

  “Niiite…”

  With a shift, Nitey veered and perched them atop a flat surface by the edge of Route 47, positioned perfectly to allow a perfect view of the imposing wall of waterfalls that defined the area.

  “Wow… That’s quite something huh, Nitey?”

  “Nite, dragonite!”

  Where the river met the sea, plumes of misty vapour obscured the lands and a thunderous cacophony of cascading waters, like the mighty roar of a legion of Gyarados.

  To say that the sight before her was merely grand would be doing it a disservice. At over a thousand metres, the aquatic curtain before her stood taller than any waterfall from her past life — like a supersized Niagara Falls expanded to the nth degree.

  “Where do you think all this water even comes from? Do we even have that many rivers here in Johto?”

  “Nite, drago-dragonite.”

  “Glaciers huh? I mean we do have a lot of mountains here in the region.” And that’s not even counting the Northern mountain range that denoted Indigo’s borders.

  Nina could just imagine it, steam rising from the ocean forming storm clouds high above, eventually drifting over the lands and returning in the form of rain and snow. Rocky mountaintops, once bare from the seasons, freezing under Winter’s gaze, only for the ice and snow to melt within Spring’s warm embrace, the gentle stream flowing down rivers, eventually returning to the ocean's bosom in a glorious descent.

  Nature’s cycle — the beauty of life.

  “Hmm… With so much natural erosion going on, it’s no wonder the Embedded Tower fell.” Or was it intentional, meant to be a transitory construct from the start?

  Nina would ask Celebi, but she knew she wouldn’t answer. Mainly because the Myth probably did not care enough to know.

  “Alright, Celebi… Do you need me to enter the ruins first or can you work your magic from here?”

  “Bi. Bibibi.” The pixie gestured at the cliffs, indicating that Nina should head inside first.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  For their plans to work, Celebi needed to set up a domain. And an enclosed space like the ruined tower formed a natural border with which she could more easily manipulate. Otherwise, a wide open area like this would strain her powers without end.

  “Yeah, I figured. I kinda wanna see the before and after anyway. Let’s go Nitey, try to come in at an angle where no one can see you. After that, we’ll have Azzy and Espy sneak us in.”

  “Niiite.”

  ***

  HERE LAY OUR DEVOTION

  A TRIBUTE TO THE SKY

  Those were the Unown letters adorning the gates of the Embedded Tower.

  Nina would have liked to take photos and engage in some archaeology, but their concealment would not last and there were a couple of bored looking guards languidly patrolling the area. So she quickly slipped in, past the banal signage and haphazard chains that warned against intrusion.

  The dark interior was weathered and aged. Faded murals of a long lost civilization, divots where precious gemstones and metals used to sit; a great clash between land and sea, people and Pokemon alike praying towards the sky for salvation. And in the center, a meteorite falling from the distant stars.

  Despite its broken state, the walls of the broken tower remained a monolith, reaching far beyond what the naked eye could see, necessitating that Nina arch her neck to take it all in, an orb of sunlight from her Espeon illuminating the scene.

  “Es.”

  I know, incredible isn't it?

  There were no floors segmenting the tower in this portion. The entire space, as far as Nina could tell, was just one big exhibition hall, built for worship. She could imagine the reverence that its architects held towards the Legendary figures depicted in their murals.

  But the question remained. Why was a relic of Hoenn located here? In Johto?

  “Were we originally one region, fragmented from disaster? Or is this a memorial from migrants, pining for a lost home?”

  “Biii…”

  “Just a sec, Celebi. Gotta take pictures. For posterity, y'know?” Especially since there was no one here at the moment. Whatever archaeological value the site contained had long since been extracted.

  There was no electromagnetic interference in the tower, indicating the total absence of Unown. Which made sense, this was not a monument to Hisui but a tribute to Hoenn.

  “Alright, Celebi. All done. Work your magic, onion girl!”

  “Bi… BIIIIIII!!!!”

  The Celebi broke out into incandescent light and flew circles around the air, scattering dust and glitter all over the space. Time stopped, reality warped. And within the hazy mist, Nina blinked and found herself within a golden temple, walls studded with colourful jewels, lifelike murals adorning the walls. And a set of spiral staircase running along the cylindrical wall, previously collapsed during her time.

  “Woooow…” With a flash Nina summoned the rest of her team as well, they all deserved to bask in this glorious sight.

  “Nite! Dragonite! Nite!”

  Nitey was the most excited of all. The curious orange Dragon flew all over the space, zipping from one end to the next. In particular, he was especially entranced by the image of a green serpentine figure near the top, encased in a halo of stars — one that was previously broken in the future.

  “Bri! Brionne! Bri!”

  Meanwhile Brinny was inordinately excited at the sight of the glimmering jewels, squirming against Nina’s embrace in hopes of getting close enough to nab one.

  “Brinny… No. These are priceless historical relics. No stealing.” Not that it would matter since they all went missing in the future anyway. But Nina did not want to risk needlessly tampering with causality anymore than she already had.

  Espy on the other hand, was just casually slinking along the walls, appreciating the ancient artwork on display. No doubt, Nina could count on the Espeon to reproduce this miraculous scene in the form of drawings later on. The girl made a mental note to stock up on art supplies for her princess, earning Nina a haughty wave of approval in her mind.

  And thank goodness for that. Because while Nina was snapping as many photos as she could, Celebi kept pulling at her sleeves to hurry her along. Apparently, there was a limit to how long the Mythical Pokemon could sustain such a miracle.

  “I know, I know… Keep my eyes on the prize. Nitey can Fly us up in no time anyway. But speaking of which, do you even know where this Mega Stone is?” Celebi had told Nina about the Embedded Tower and her plans for time travel but nothing beyond that.

  “Hehehe… We’ll go and surprise Greenie!”

  Nina frowned in confusion. “Don’t we already have a little green onion right here?”

  ***

  The tower was endless — felt endless. With no end in sight.

  “How high does this place go?” Nina wondered. “How could such a wonder possibly be built by human hands?” Pokemon magic or not.

  At some point, even Nitey got bored of Flying and began to trace the spiral staircase, looping round and round…

  Initially, the group of explorers had been looking forward to the ascent, thinking that maybe they would find brand new murals or maybe something interesting along the way. But that was a lie, the murals were the same recurring images from bottom to top. Even the placement of the jewels and inscriptions were the same, according to the keen eyes of Brinny and Espy.

  “Are you sure this is right, Celebi? We’ve been going at it for half an hour now. Maybe we’re trapped in one giant Trick Room or something? Actually, that’s a great idea. Do you think you can reproduce this effect with your own Trick Room, Espy? It’d be really good in battle — especially with Flying Types.”

  “Es…” The Espeon purred in consideration and conveyed that she would think about it.

  “Hehehe… Up, up and up we go!” The precocious green pixie chanted, which Nina took to be a cue to keep going.

  Eventually though, after what felt like an eternity, they reached a segment shrouded in radiant fog. And a divine, oppressive Aura beyond its depths — all encompassing and heavy but not discomforting, more like a sense of gravitas pervading its beholder.