Mt. Silver. As a place where only the best of the best dare tread, one needed sufficient proof of their skill just to enter. Naturally, it didn't see many visitors. Battles of legendary proportions could be held here and the world at large would be none the wiser.
As for why it was this way... Well, no one was really sure. The official reason given by the Pokemon League was that the wild Pokemon here were too strong for most to handle. And while that was true, it did beg the question of how they got so strong in the first place. Many theories tried to answer answer this, ranging from the logical to the fantastical.
But the most absurd theory, which was more legend than anything, was that Mt. Silver exuded a sort of magical power. None could consciously detect this power, but it apparently subconsciously attracted the strong and skilled to it. Some even believed there existed a power source deep within its caves, which would lead someone truly worthy to it and make them...something greater. Nobody knew what, though.
Regardless, it was a ridiculous theory. Ridiculous enough to believe in, but still.
Then again, if it was true, sooner or later someone would come along and stumble into that power source. And it may just be sooner rather than later...
------
"A Coordinator visiting Mt. Silver?" The guard scratched his head. "Not to be rude or anything, miss, but the heck're you doin' here?"
"Vacation, I guess."
"Va...cation? You guess?" The guard shook his head, muttered something under his breath.
May shrugged. "I just felt like coming here all of a sudden."
It wasn't some half-baked excuse she was making up on the spot. May just woke up one morning wanting to visit Mt. Silver for no apparent reason. She just...felt like she needed to go there. Take a break from her Coordinator career to do a little solo adventuring. She'd finally won the Ribbon Cup in this year's Grand Festival around the time of her 18th birthday not too long ago.
Come to think of it, that sudden desire came about the morning after celebrating her victory (and birthday) with her family. Weird, considering she had no interest in Mt. Silver before now.
"And besides," May continued, "I'm qualified, aren't I?"
"Well, sure," the guard said. "It's just... Yeah, we let Coordinators in, but we never actually get any comin' through here. More of a Trainer's place, y'know? All rough 'n' tumbly like."
May sighed. "I'll have you know my Pokemon are plenty strong. And I literally have years of traveling experience." Staring the guard dead in the eyes, she enunciated her next words, "I'll be fine."
Now it was the guard's turn to sigh. Without saying a word, he turned to the security lock on the gate, swiped a card, and punched in a code. The lock beeped, a red light turning green, and the gate opened. The guard stepped aside and ushered her through. "No offense meant, miss," he said with a voice that suggested he wasn't all that apologetic. "Just showin' some due concern is all. Be careful out there."
"Yeah, thanks." May didn't even look the guard's way as she strode through the gate. She heard it shut behind her but didn't even spare it a passing glance. Too busy grumbling about that dumb jerk of a guard. Just showin' some due concern, yeah right. She'd be just fine. And when she walked back through that gate looking none the worse for wear, she'd rub it in his stupid face.
But, first things first... What was she going to do here?
Well, she'd figure it would on the way there. She still had some ground to cover before reaching the mountain proper, after all...
------
The area surrounding Mt. Silver lived up to its reputation. Not hard to traverse on its own, but the wild Pokemon knew how to put up a fight. Thankfully, May's team was up to the task of fending off any of the rowdier ones roaming about. There were quite a few rowdy ones, though, more so than in most other routes, and that made on otherwise short trek much longer. It was at the point the sun was beginning to set by the time she finally reached the Pokemon Center at the foot of the mountain.
Thankfully, the Center doubled as a lodge, so May had a place to rest for the night. It also gave her time to consider what she was going to do, or why she really wanted to be here in the first place. She knew she wanted to explore the mountain, but not why. Not like she was a fan of exploring caves. So why...?
One good night's sleep later, she still didn't have an answer.
With her Pokemon fully rested and a word of caution from the Nurse Joy, May set off into Mt. Silver. She was glad to be out of that center; the complete lack of anyone but her and the nurse was more than a bit weird. Yeah, this area was isolated and all, but still.
Not wanting a repeat of yesterday, May brought a few cans of Max Repel to keep the wild Pokemon away. She had no idea where to go; nobody ever made a map for this place, for some reason.
That wasn't a problem, though. She couldn't explain why, but some gut feeling told her she was going the right way, despite her picking paths at random. Almost like she somehow knew to go, or something was guiding her somewhere.
But that couldn't be... Right?
The paths twisted and turned. Sometimes they went up, Sometimes they went down. Narrow at some points, wider at others. Straightaways led into twisting turns and vice versa. It was just one mountain, yet it seemed to go on forever.
Yet never at any point did May have any doubts about where she was going. Still totally clueless about that where or why she wanted to do this in the first place, but that did nothing to slow her down.
Eventually, she found it. The destination she didn't know she was looking for lay before her very eyes.
It was a room big enough to house a pond, complete with a waterfall. Despite being in one of the colder parts of Johto, a humid warmth filled the air. A large opening in the ceiling allowed sunlight to shine down on it all. The water shimmered with an almost ethereal glow, as if it were somehow more blue and vibrant in here.
As May stood in awe of the beauty she beheld, part of her noted something in the air made her skin tingle. She felt itchy in her clothes all of a sudden. Though maybe that was just the sweat.
"A quick dip would be nice..."
Without so much as questioning the sudden thought, May stripped out of her clothes and eased herself into the pond. "Ahh," she sighed.
Nice, warm, and oh so soothing. Yet at the same time, also... Invigorating? Whatever was making her skin tingle must also be in the water, because it tingled even more now. She didn't mind it, though. It felt good. Real good.
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