Tale 79: Questions for Meloetta (Misty)

(real tale: "Folktales from Japan", episode 17, story 3)

"Once a certain miko, or priestess, traveled across the land seeking wisdom--we'll call her Rena." Misty begins. "In every place she stopped, she would ask people questions."

"What kind of questions?" Ash is interested.

"Sometimes the questions were general knowledge, sometimes they were moral questions, and sometimes they were philosophical questions." Misty replies. "No matter what sort of question Rena asked, sometimes she got great answers, and other times, the answers were not that great." Giggles go up and whispers of what some of the sillier answers were fill the air.

Misty's voice silences the chatter. "One day, Rena came to a small village, and saw that the temple had some wear and tear on its roof and its sides. She found it odd that someone would allow the temple to fall into disrepair, but went inside anyway."

The group's speculation turns to why the temple had wear to begin with. "Rena was shocked to find that the high priest was not in his robes, and had been dozing when she arrived." Misty notes.

"Talk about being asleep at the wheel..." Brock notes.

Laughter goes up at Brock's comment. "Although to be fair, the young priest--we'll call him Kimari--was a bit on the lazy side, and had only been the high priest for a short time, meaning he was not yet used to his duties." Misty explains to the group. "Kimari scrambled to his feet and told Rena..." As a young boy, she stammers "Forgive me, my lady, but the high priest is away right now. He will return in the morning."

As a young girl, she replies "Very well, I will return in the morning, after the morning prayers have been said."

Some "ooh"s go up as Misty continues, now as herself. "No sooner did Rena depart, did Kimari realize he had lied to a miko."

"Uh oh..." Ash snickers at Misty's expression of feigned panic.

"He fell to his knees..." Misty pauses to kneel on a towel before an imagined altar. "and pleaded to Arceus to forgive him for his lie, and to help him out of his predicament."

Giggles filled the air as Misty pantomimed praying for a moment. "Suddenly, Kimari was jolted from his prayers by a soothing song."

Anome, tafihi de so... Melody fills in the song.

Excited murmurs race through the tent. "Kimari hurried outside, and was shocked to see the guardian of song, Meloetta, resting against a rock. She looked into Kimari's eyes and asked him... In her best mimic of Melody, Misty asks "You seem troubled...will you tell me what's the matter?"

"That was pretty good!" Ash is impressed as how accurate Misty's impersonation of Melody is.

As herself, Misty continues. "Kimari told Meloetta what had happened, and she replied..." As Melody again, she assures the audience "If you wish, I will answer the miko's questions in your place in return for a night's lodging."

"I have fond memories of that night..." Melody sighs in nostalgia.

"Kimari readily agreed to Meloetta's proposal, and made sure she had the best food and lodging he could find." Misty continues as herself. "Rena returned the next morning, and Kimari escorted her inside the main prayer hall, where Meloetta was waiting. Needless to say, Rena was very honored to be before the temple's patron Legendary, and immediately started asking Meloetta all sorts of questions. Kimari listened from outside--no matter what sort of question Rena asked, Meloetta would answer in her holy spellsong."

Melody sings some nonsense spellsongs for effect. Talida amia ili... Ruibe neta mode... Matam ista etare ichi... Eshuna, arerina do...

"After several hours, Rena emerged from the prayer hall with a smile on her face." Misty goes on. "Kimari then asked Rena just what it was Meloetta told her to make her so happy."

As Rena, she tells the group "There is much wisdom in Meloetta's songs... when I asked how much does Arceus love the world, she told me that Arceus' love is as deep as the sea. When I asked what the five basic elements of the universe were, she replied earth, fire, wind, water, and spirit. When I asked Meloetta how you can see the entire world at once, she replied that you can see the world in a person's eyes."

She concludes as herself "Kimari was awed at Meloetta's answers, and vowed that he would take his priestly duties more seriously. Rena, meanwhile, continued on her journey, giving thanks to Arceus for allowing her to speak with Meloetta."

"Do you know what became of Kimari after that?" Ash asks Melody as he applauds.

"Sadly, no." Melody sighs. "I moved on my own travels, just as the miko did."