Laguna's Log

SPOILER: Click to show

{"On the topic of Everworld,"}

Somehow, I knew how to get to the Everworld without explanation. Teleportation, of some kind. Though I do not believe I could repeat such a feat, unless another one of my Pokémon perishes, a feat I do not intend to do willingly. Perhaps there is another way, it is simply unknown to me.

I found an endless hall before me, large red traditional gates, and pillars of glowing light seemed to hang from the ceiling. Although, I saw no ceiling in sight. Gold-robed statues lined this hall, and those that were whole seemed to wear masks of Pokémon. I presume these to be Pokémon who had lost their lives recently.

Meowth, Dustox, Sobble, Popplio, Bergmite, Dewott, and Shinx.

I have vivid memories of looking over these statues and being quite upset over Glacia's apparent death.

Shortly after my appearance, a gray cloaked figure appeared before me. Their body seemed to be amorphous, with no set shape. It didn't walk, more accurately hovered as it approached me. Near its presence, all color seemed to fade. Like the ink ran out while using a color printer slowly. Everything was grey, asides from the golden mask they wore that became more apparent as it approached.

Their words, unlike mine before, are burned into my mind. I could not forget their statements if I tried. I know not how they spoke, they simply did. I've gone over his statements over and over again in the text, and I do believe they are mostly accurate. I fear I might not ever forget them, actually. Panicked as I was with Glacia's death, their words, and what followed, might never be forgotten.
"You seek a phantom. A visage that wanders my endless halls. There is a price to reverse what had been done. You will be tested."

Somehow, as seems to be the case with these mysterious things, I instinctively know his name is Seta, as it continues to speak to me.

"Unless you wish to abandon the spirit? After all, there is always room in my palace. And perhaps, another, more fitting, trainer will come to claim them."

It is to my understanding, that dead Pokémon can be reclaimed by anyone, who chooses not to rescue them. To banish them. I am unsure how one would go about rescuing these banished Pokémon when access to it seems dependent on having your own to rescue.

Again, the being spoke. His words were still impossible to forget.

"So you wish to bring a spirit back with you? Answer me truthfully: What makes you think your ghost wishes to return after what happened? What will be different this time? Nothing returns from this realm unchanged. You too must change, if you are to win back the lost."

I responded to the being, but I regretfully do not recall all my words. I was again in adrenaline, and fear that Glacia might be banished for good. I remember calling her a hero, that she sacrificed herself for her home. That such a kind soul does not deserve to be doomed before their time. I explicitly remember saying she was cuddly, and likely wanted to cuddle again. I believe she cuddled upon my lap, during our interview earlier.

Most importantly, I asked how I must change to win her back. I was determined. Glacia, of all my Pokémon, has impacted me the most on my journey.

"You speak from the heart, but I can not give you the answers. I can only ask the right questions."

From there, I was led to some kind of hole in the wall. It appeared like some kind of shadow covered the other side, appearing akin to a doorway.

"Through here. You answered well, and now you have your chance. Nothing is freely given, especially life."

From there, I entered the shadowed doorway and ended up somewhere else entirely. I theorize that everyone who speaks to this Seta will encounter a trial unique to them. For me, I encountered something rather specific. I found myself in a foggy area, attempting to stand on what I can only presume to be frozen clouds.

The air was thin, so I was very up high, and it was hard to breathe. Glacia's cries were heard from somewhere and growing more distant as time passed, and the challenge became apparent. I had to jump from frozen platform to platform, whilst struggling to see said platforms. Given the frozen nature of each, not only was traction difficult, but they were sharp and uneven. I had to leap from platform to platform, some to even platforms that were too high to jump to, and required me to pull myself up by my hands, on sharp, yet slippery ice.

I remember a lot of jumps to spiraling platforms and a lot of injuries. My legs were bruised and bloodied, and so were my hands. At one point, I even mistimed a jump due to the slippery platforms and slammed my face into one, falling down a few feet, but not before likely breaking my nose upon the side of the platform. My body refused to move for a time.

Adrenaline, however, is a miracle drug. The fear within me of losing Glacia for good was too much. Somehow, and I don't know if I'll ever have this much strength again, I pushed through. I just simply jumped without thinking, the memory of the pain is still so real, and yet numb at the same time.

At the end, I ended up spiraling up into above the clouds. The air was impossibly thin, but I managed to jump off the platform and grab Glacia, who had apparently been floating further and further away with every passing second, despite her desperate attempts to get to me.

It was only afterwards, that I heard Seta's voice once again, as I fell into the abyss past the clouds, wherever I truly was. I know not from where his voice came from, only that I heard it.

"When faced with loss, you took a leap of faith. You have passed the Trial of Fog."

I returned to the hall after fading into black, finding myself holding Glacia still in my arms. And from there, I was able to return home. To my mother's house, literally, and get patched up. The magic of UNOVR Healthcare.

However, I have noticed an odd irregularity. Ever since that day, Glacia has been able to make great leaps. The move, High Jump Kick has apparently been leaned by her since the event. In fact, she seems to enjoy doing so quite often, crashing down with great force. It's almost a bit too coincidental to my actions during the trial, to be unrelated.

In summary, I believe that should a Pokémon perish, if an individual is able to arrive at Everworld, answer his questions and complete his difficult trial, one is free to return with their Pokémon changed for their time there. Said trial probably has variations, I would imagine. I sensed no malice within Seta during my time, only a calculated sort of treatment. As in, that was simply how things worked there. Death was a fact of reality, just like life.

SPOILER: Click to show

{"On the topic of the Trial of Scales,"}

It came to my realization that there were many statues, with masks atop them within the Everworld. Many Pokemon abandoned by their trainers, left to rest in the afterlife for eternity, or purposefully sacrificed to a shrine, without care for what would become of the Pokemon.

And I will not lie when I said that it was my emotions that led me to attempt and rescue one of these abandoned Pokemon. Just walking through the Everworld's vermillion halls, I noticed just how many Magikarp masks there were. Hundreds must have been sacrificed, abandoned, or left to rot because of how infamously weak and worthless the species is known for being.

I took it upon myself to care, because I felt like nobody else would. Anyone could fish up a Magikarp practically anywhere. But if any Magikarp wanted to leave, I would help them.

I cried out for Seta. My words are roughly paraphrased, due to a lack of perfect memory. "I'm here for the Magikarp. I will give it a home that loves them. There must be a trial for that too, isn't there? I want to help them, I'll do it."

Seta recognized me. "You have proven yourself twice. Each time returning with the one you sought." They had said, but that wasn't the most startling feature about this experience. When I walked through the signature dark doorway, and appeared within the location of the trial, Seta was there with me.

A pond filled with Magikarp as far as the eye could see formed before me. Thousands and thousands of Magikarp of all colors swirled against each other, an ever changing pattern that was almost hypnotic.

I had never felt in such awe of any Pokémon, other than a Legendary before in my life.

But sure enough, Seta remained right there. Facing away from the pond, never looking towards it. Never moving, never even looking my way. And yet, unlike every other Trial, he was there to instruct. "The soul you seek is here."

I know not if this is a situation unique to rescuing a soul that had been abandoned, or something the caretaker of the Everworld simply decided of his own volition to do. Nor did he ever explain when I asked why he had come with. As silent, unchanged as ever.

I sat in awe of the Magikarp and their sheer numbers for an amount of time I do not remember. I was lost in my emotions, reflecting on the nature of Magikarp. So weak, unable to even swim against a slightly strong creek. And yet, they had the power to eventually ascend to a Gyarados, a dragon in all but typing.

It didn't seem fair to me at the time. That these poor fish had to work twice as hard to overcome even the most minor obstacle, just to be a Pokémon that people loved or adored. The genuine thousands of Magikarp within the pond made me think that they were all the different Magikarp that Seta had welcomed into his halls over time.

Eventually, I realized that whatever Magikarp that would want to leave, would want to do so for a reason. The waters were pristinely clear, calm, gentle, perfect to the touch. To be discontent with a perfect pond, they must have sought more in life. Perhaps they were one of the few that wanted to actually challenge themselves, to fight, to overcome their fate.

I made it my goal to help them.

I kneeled down within the water, Magikarp swirling around me as I looked for whichever one that would want to come home with me. I reasoned that if I grabbed a Magikarp, and it squirmed in my arms, it would wish to stay, and I would let it go. With that logic, I began to gently grab Magikarp after Magikarp, lifting them into my arms.

I stopped counting somewhere after I had grabbed approximately 400 Magikarp. I was drained, tired, and allowed myself to be swept in the swirl of the Magikarps and their slowly moving pond, floating at the top to regain my energy.

And yet, in the end, it had all been for nothing. I began to think of a better way, and sure enough I asked out loud, "If you want to leave, Jump!" And without even a moment's hesitation, I witnessed a Magikarp leap out of the waters, splashing right back into it all. I admit, I felt a bit of an idiot for such a simple solution to a problem I made much larger than it was.

But, perhaps that was the point. Seta said the past two times, that nothing ever left the Everworld the same. Perhaps that also included me, the trainers who did manage to go there to rescue their Pokémon.

I've always known I was stubborn. It's how I've pushed through so many of the difficulties in my life by stubbornly pushing through, regardless of anything else.

But that day, I realized that I was learning a lesson just as much. Sometimes the right answer is the easiest one, and I did not need to overcomplicate everything.

The Magikarp was of a Black Calico pattern and just rested within my arms as I held them close. They sought a new life, and I would give it to them.

Once again, Seta spoke. "You used communication when force of will was not enough. This lost soul will leave with you. Time in the Everworld has steeled its spirit."

I was curious what he meant by that, given how his ending statement is usually about nothing leaving unchanged. The intent remained the same, but the different quote caught me by surprise.

As soon as I had returned to the world, I took the newly named Tabby out of their Pokeball. I had never seen such a strong Magikarp. Unlike all of their kin, they're able to swim against the strong streams that would have blown their kin alone. It clearly takes effort, but they can do it, and it amazed me. I've witnessed Tabby push heavy rocks, splash so hard that it soaks the land around it, and jump higher than anything I've seen.

They might still be a Magikarp, but I have never seen a Pokémon fight so hard to complete every task they put their mind to.

Perhaps we're both a little stubborn. I see why fate put us together.