Zinnia took a deep breath, climbed the stairs to the altar, and sat down. Then she turned back to ask the other two a question.
"What should Cynthia and the others do? I think this will take a while. Should we go back first, or wait?"
"Wait. I've come this far. I'll stay with you until the end."
"Yes."
"I understand."
With that, Zinnia lay on her back and looked up at the sky. Cynthia sat beside her, while Kaim leaned against the edge of the altar.
Silence settled over them. But Zinnia broke it.
"Come to think of it, I haven't heard your name yet."
Still lying on her back, Zinnia looked at Kaim. He frowned at her words.
"You never asked my name, but you heard someone call me, so you know it."
"Right. Kaim, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Kaim, why do you think I wasn't chosen?"
Zinnia was the successor of the People of the Meteor. She was supposed to have been chosen by Rayquaza, but the ones actually chosen were Steven and Yuki. She asked why, but Kaim had no way of knowing.
"Who knows? If there were criteria for the choice, those two met them. That's all."
"...I see."
"What? There are criteria?"
"Maybe."
At that point, Zinnia recounted a legend that seemed to describe the criteria.
It was said that Rayquaza could lend its power to someone who demonstrated three strengths. The first was "power." Zinnia did not know exactly what sort of power that meant, but, simply put, she imagined it was equivalent to skill in Pokémon battles. The second was "wisdom." Zinnia believed that referred to the wisdom to protect the world, passed down to each successor. The final word was "courage." She told him it meant having the strength of will to