Music Video:「Forgotten Words」 by DAZBEE (Cover)

Resistance begets persistence. What you resist will persist in one way or another.

When Cynthia scooped Mindy up and brought her back to her house which was now nearer to Mt. Coronet than Celestic Town (it moved as though it was orbiting the town), she was resisting the general sentiment of hatred towards the girl in her arms. At this moment, the internet and the streets were abuzz with the latest gossip on Mindy whom they perceived to be the harbinger of misfortune, for this hellhole only began after she left her house and tried to escape her outcast status. They wished she were dead, that the Murkow she painstakingly caught in Eterna Forest would die with her, and the Lake Guardians wouldn't waste their time on a useless person. Had she woken up any later, had the Lake Guardians not woken her up, Mindy might truly not have made it, as everyone else would've hoped, Cynthia thought as she pressed a damp towel on Mindy's forehead. In her peripheral vision, the Lake Guardians were conversing with Rasu, appearing deep in thought, impassioned and frantic. Mindy, on the other hand, bore no trace of emotion in her repose, as though she were carved out of marble by an artist with a creative block whose lack of intimacy with his work bled into her.

As Cynthia combed and redid the girl's hair, the former champion wondered if things would've been different if Kōki never had Gaspar. She fondly recalled Gaspar as a Gengar fighting her Garchomp, not a bit of malice, only suppressed ire and homesickness. Perhaps Gaspar saw something in Mindy worth clinging to, which explained the forlorn look unbecoming of a Gengar.

"My sweet, your phone is vibrating again!" Carolina called out to her.

Cynthia craned her neck at the coffee table. As expected, going against the flow yielded pain and hatred. The whole world wanted to know why Cynthia was helping someone involved in Kōki's disappearance, Kōki in whom Cynthia found a precious friend. Reporters were calling and emailing and texting her, hungry for answers.

Would they accept instinct as a reason? Or trust? Or would they give her an ulterior motive, something along the lines of keeping the enemy close?

Celeste had to entertain the elderly residents of Celestic Town at the shrine and explain the situation at hand. No, it wasn't Mindy's fault. No, do not think you've misplaced your faith in Cynthia or Carolina or herself, for that matter. Yes, Cyrus timed the incursion perfectly well, perchance it started when Mindy became known as a Trader. Why, people like the attention and want to jump on the bandwagon, but you know how fickle they really are, so don't worry about Mindy and Cynthia.

She was making waves, albeit small ones. The elders frothed with understanding and concern, pity for Mindy rising steadily in their minds. Anger was still there, still lurking, except it knew its place and receded to find new homes in other minds.

It was hence not surprising to hear good news on the Celestic front while the rest of Sinnoh and the world at large bombarded the media with rageful remarks. This was but one of the topics Rasu and the Lake Guardians discussed while Mindy grunted in one corner.

"Every Trade is irreversible. The way forward will be more perilous than ever," Uxie said.

"Negative emotions run amok, which is exactly what Cyrus aimed for, so his means could justify his ends. Mindy, however, is robbed of all emotion." Mesprit's shoulders sagged as zie glanced at her. "You did what you could, Rasu."

"He had insufficient willpower," Azelf argued. "In hindsight, it was understandable. But hindsight is far from what we need now."

Rasu scratched his leg. These Pokémon sounded graver than he was used to and he didn't like that.

"We have the former Champion. She can help."

At Rasu's words, Cynthia's gaze flickered. "Celeste is on her way to the Canalave Library to glean information on this curious event. My grandmother will research as well."

"And you will take care of Mindy."

Cynthia rolled her eyes at the Murkrow. "For now. And what will you do?"

Rasu glanced at Mindy and deflated. "Cyrus and Giratina will pay. Once we find them."

"Oh, great, revenge is exactly what he needs to prove his point," Mesprit hissed and poured Mindy a cup of piping hot matcha as she groaned. Zie supported her back as she pushed herself up. "Drink this."

Mindy took the cup from her with shivering hands, her eyes fixed on the potted plant by the window molested by violet rays of light. She wondered if the terrarium in Snowpoint was doing well now. And that old man in Eterna, if he's seen such a thing before. And Cyrus, if that nihilist was happy with the consequences.

She brought her lips to the cup and sucked the steaming tea. Her tongue protested, but she did not mind. The tea flowed throughout her being, warming her up, but how warm can a shell get, how warm till cracks surface? She coughed, the hacking type when one was down with a horrid illness.

Cynthia rose to her feet and dusted her blouse. "I will find my grandmother. She has something to tell you when you awake."

Mindy watched her go with a blank stare. She said she felt fine when Rasu asked her. "Fine" meant she was ambivalent about her broken redemption arc, how it crumbled at its climax. It meant she wanted to know why she couldn't feel a thing, not even the hint of jealousy and confusion she would have felt when Cynthia nursed her, Cynthia who was the polar opposite of everything she was. Perhaps not everything back then, but now it was the case.

It's like their names prophesied their fates. Cynthia, like the moon, was also sentia, capable of feeling and empathy. Mindy represented the mind, and as a shell of her former self, she grew apathetic, her voice monotonous when she spoke, which should have surprised her, if only she remembered how to feel surprised.

Even when the Lake Guardians apologised and promised they had always valued her, wanted her the best for her, she could not concoct words of gratitude or forgiveness. She recalled only "if you value your life, think", and that was it.

Cynthia returned with Carolina, but they weren't alone. A bipedal Pokémon stepped over the threshold and rushed to Mindy, the girl barely having time to recognise who this wild one was. Rasu ruffled his feathers at the sight of the Pokémon while Mesprit consoled him.

"This Pokémon appeared at my research lab a few hours ago," said Carolina, "and you won't believe it. It's Kōki's Medicham!"

Cynthia bit her lips, aware of how equally blessed and cursed this reunion was. Uxie shook zir head. All attention soon reached Mindy.

She blinked and cocked her head sideways. "Am I next to disappear?"

Mindycham frowned, which meant no. To this, Mindy raised a brow and asked if this was her punishment now that she was reduced to an exoskeleton of herself, that Mindycham was akin to a Ninjask while Mindy was a Shedinja. It made sense, somewhat, since she had the protection of the Lake Guardians and the former Champion Cynthia that she somehow gained an ability similar to Wonder Guard.

Her forehead ached with heat.

"You need to get back together," Mindycham told her, "Kōki is in danger. Only you can stop Cyrus and save Kōki!"

Mindycham then expressed her forgiveness and homesickness to Mindy with fast gestures. Mindy blinked again and nodded hesitantly. How would a missing Champion not be in danger? But how was it that Cyrus was related to Kōki's disappearance and not her? Could the Trade have affected this or was this the reality all along? Speaking of, what would happen to her now that the third and final Trade was done?

Stroking Mindy's chin with her hands, Mindycham noticed the tension within her friend. It was strange. There was so much feeling yet none of it at the same time. Fear surged into her eyes as she glanced at Rasu and narrowed her gaze. This Murkrow was trouble, she thought, and charged at him with a Thunder Punch. Rasu dodged just in time and clucked at Mindycham. Mindy watched on like a silent observer of the world, there but not fully there.

"What happens now?"

Her sudden question hung in the air. Heads turned.

"I just received a text from Celeste. To restore your emotions, you need the Gracidea flower," Cynthia told her.

"But it will be dangerous," Uxie added, "Cyrus and Giratina will be hunting Shaymin down." She further explained that Shaymin, Disciple of Emotion, blessed the universe with gratitude, the most positive and influential emotion to exist. Killing Shaymin would mean effectively destroying Gratitude and many other positive emotions in the world. Of course, Mesprit, being the Guardian of Emotion, would be the next target to cancel out all other emotions that Shaymin could not hold.

On the Disciples, Uxie swiftly elaborated that every Guardian had their Disciple. Heatran was the Disciple of Willpower while the Lunar Duo, Cresselia and Darkrai, were the Disciples of Knowledge. Not that these three would be of any help in the realm of emotions. Besides, Shaymin had always been Giratina's archnemesis since time immemorial and zie wouldn't waste time on any other.

That's far from what she wanted to hear, so she became direct. "I can no longer Trade, am I right?"

Mesprit bowed zir head cautiously.

"Is my redemption over?"

Cynthia looked at her grandmother, the sorrow in the elder's eyes, then turned to Mindy. "You don't need to Trade to redeem yourself. It's time you rely on yourself and your Pokémon, no?"

Mindy blinked and stared at Mindycham and Rasu. Mindycham gave her an encouraging smile. Rasu looked away, flapped his wings twice and cawed, "I will be gone for a while." before leaving through the window.

Even if Mindy couldn't feel a thing, she understood his jealousy. The Medicham's emergence must have had an impact on him.

But he had also left her a note which she unravelled: What do you value, Mindy?

What, indeed. It was a no-brainer. She valued her redemption. A redemption both a blessing and a curse. Yet she was thinking way too much, becoming too rational, and she recalled that stinging line again: if you value your life, think.

So she kept thinking, kept considering her options, her priorities, her desires. Even as the sky continued to darken outside, even as a hard knock on the front door drew anxiety across the room, she ran about in her mind. Was she worthy enough to value anything? What was her value anyway?

The guest gave her an answer.

"Gone."

Mindy's worth was gone. She had nothing to value, to respect, to appreciate, to appraise. Her life in shambles, her Trades null, her resistance hollowed out by fate's persistent throngings. She accepted this answer. It felt right.

"Charon's gone. So are the rest!" The voice continued to say.

Cynthia flipped her hair. "And why exactly are you here, Saturn?"

The blue-haired man, the new boss of Team Galactic, puffed up his chest. "Because I need your help." His gaze flicked to the girl with a towel on her forehead, the towel slipping downwards at a Shuckle's pace. "I need Mindy's help."