The sun rose lazily over Avia's Hollow, casting long golden beams across the red rooftops, flower-draped windowsills, and spinning wind chimes that caught the early breeze. The town was waking up in color.
Shion stretched his arms wide, standing just outside the Hollow Hearth Inn. Kiba padded beside him, tail wagging slightly, and Bidoof yawned from the inside of his satchel.
"I could've slept another four hours," Bidoof muttered. "Maybe five. Maybe all day."
"We have work to do," Shion said cheerfully. "I took another gathering quest. This one's for wind-silk fern. Grows on high cliffs and hill ridges."
"I didn't sign up to be your berry basket."
"You also didn't sign up to eat three loaves of jam bread yesterday, but that didn't stop you."
"…Fair."
---
Shion's second mission as a Bronze-rank adventurer was simple, just like the first: gather herbs. Wind-silk fern, a wispy green plant used in wind salves and incense, was said to grow only on high slopes like those outside the Tornadus Shrine trail.
The job wasn't dangerous, but it did require a bit of climbing.
Shion hiked up the eastern ridges with Kiba sniffing the brush for the telltale feathery scent of the ferns. A few wild Pokémon a Skiploom, a Skiddo, and a curious Spearow watched from the treetops but didn't interfere.
The fern itself grew in small patches clinging to the windblown stone.
Shion carefully cut what he needed with a knife the guild had loaned him. Kiba guarded the area, and Bidoof… sat on a rock and supervised.
"Don't pull too hard," Bidoof called, half-dozing. "It bruises easily."
"You're not helping."
"I'm spiritual support."
By late morning, the bag was full.
Shion leaned back, breathing in the wind. "Alright. Let's return the herbs… then visit the shrine."
Kiba gave a soft bark in agreement.
---
On his way back through the city, Shion took his time.
He passed the guild again, where higher-ranked adventurers posted updates about border patrols and a strange report from the east something about infected Ponyta acting erratically.
He saw a few familiar faces at the market: the merchant Dunlin, bargaining for cinnamon sticks; a young pair of adventurers comparing Poké Balls at the smithy; even Kaela walking ahead of him on a side road, speaking with a tall woman in priestess robes.
Shion didn't approach.
Instead, he drifted along the edge of the town until he reached a path that twisted uphill lined with faded prayer banners, scattered feathers, and chimes that swayed gently in the breeze.
At the top stood the Tornadus Shrine.
---
The Shrine of the Roaring Sky
The shrine wasn't enormous. It was made of grey stone and white clay, carved into the shape of a great gusting tornado. Stone feathers circled the base. At the center stood a statue of Tornadus in Therian Forme a massive beast with wings spread wide and tail curled like a cyclone.
Burn marks still marred parts of the outer pillars remnants of the recent Talonflame attack.
But the shrine had been repaired.
Prayer paper fluttered in the wind. A low incense burner let off spirals of blue smoke. Someone had freshly swept the stone tiles.
"Whoa…" Shion breathed.
Kiba sniffed the base of the statue. Bidoof looked unusually quiet.
A voice interrupted them.
"Visitors?"
Shion turned.
A young woman in a long white-blue robe stepped forward. She wore prayer beads around her wrist and a sash tied with a jade feather charm. Her black hair was tied in a loose braid, and her expression was gentle.
"I'm shrine attendant Ria," she said, bowing. "Welcome to the guardian's roost."
Shion quickly bowed in return. "I'm Shion. From Riverleaf. I heard about the attack, and I just wanted to… see it for myself."
Ria's gaze turned to the scorch marks. "You're not the only one. The shrine is a symbol of protection. Its damage shook the village deeply."
She turned back with a small smile. "But Tornadus always returns. The wind may fall still, but it always rises again."
---
Shion hesitated. "Would you mind… telling me the story?"
Ria nodded and gestured for him to sit on one of the nearby stone benches.
"In ancient times," she began, "this land was ravaged by storms. Windstorms, lightning storms, and wild aerial beasts swept through what would become Avia's Hollow."
"Humans had only just begun building shelters, and the wind destroyed them. Every time they stood, it was torn away."
"One day, they say, a child stood in the storm and cried not in fear, but in frustration. 'Why..why won't you stop?!' she shouted. 'We're just trying to live!'"
"A great beast appeared. Green and
Purple , with wings of cloud and a tail like a cyclone."
"Tornadus."
"He challenged the child, asking why he should stop. She replied: 'Because we'll still stand. Even if you break us. Again and again.'"
Ria smiled faintly. "Moved by her courage, Tornadus offered a bargain. He would guide the wind instead of destroying with it. Help them grow crops, scatter seeds, bring rain when it was needed. But he asked for a promise that the people never stop rebuilding."
"To this day," she added, "we offer wind chimes and feathers to Tornadus, to thank him. In return, he keeps the worst storms away."
Shion stared up at the statue with new reverence. "That's… kind of amazing."
Ria bowed. "It is our oldest story. And maybe our truest."
---
As Shion stood to leave, Ria placed a hand on the stone altar and closed her eyes.
"…The winds feel heavy, lately," she said quietly.
Shion turned.
"Like they're carrying something. Like a storm is circling the continent, waiting to break."
He said nothing.
But he felt it too.
The tension in the air. The strange Pokémon. The red eyes.
The balance slipping.
He nodded. "I'll come again. And… I'll help however I can."
Ria smiled. "That's all we ever ask of the wind. That it comes when we need it most."
---
That evening, Shion walked back to the riverbank where he'd camped before.
The town glowed behind him. Lanterns lit the windows. Children chased after a flock of Drifloon near the bridge. The sound of laughter echoed from the tavern.
By the water, Shion rolled up his sleeves and stepped into the shallows. Kiba followed, tail wagging, and Bidoof floated on his back again.
The sky was turning orange.
Shion lay back on the rocks, arms folded behind his head.
"I don't know what's coming," he said quietly. "But I think… I want to be ready for it."
The breeze stirred.
Somewhere far away, a great force shuddered. And a crack appeared in the fabric between worlds.
But here… for now…
There was peace.