worksinprogress1

[worksinprogress1]

Drayton opened the door to his dorm, flung down his bookbag, threw off his jacket, put on his headset and sank into his gaming chair. He’d had the good luck of having all his midterms before spring break, which meant he could look forward to a week of doing what he was currently getting a headstart in: absolutely fuck all. He moved his character with practiced grace through some platformer Kieran’s Paldea friend had designed, absolutely in the zone. Then, a loud banging at the door caught him off guard and made him smush his character against a wall of spikes, wrecking his no-damage run.

Grumbling, Drayton paused the game and got up to see who was making that racket, though there was only one person he knew who would knock like that just to take him out of his gamer focus.

Drayton opened the door, and, as expected, Crispin was there, a big smile on his face that made Drayton wonder what he was planning.

“If you’d have knocked much harder, you’d have beaten down the door,” Drayton said, a lazy smile on his face.

“Sorry, Dray. You didn’t hear me when I was quieter, and I wanted to repay you a favour!”

“...Go on.”

“Remember when we had that bet, and you held me to asking Lacey out even though I won?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, Lacey asked me to spend a whole week- all of spring break- with her family. And word is that her dad is scary. So here’s what I’m thinking. If I make it the whole week, you have to finally ask your crush out at the end of it. How’s it sound?”

Drayton froze up at that last part, but he managed to keep his cool. “Somehow I don’t think this is just about repaying a favour,” he deadpanned.

Crispin shrunk into himself a bit in embarrassment. “Yeah… well… I’m also really nervous, and I’d really appreciate the extra push, I guess…”

Drayton chuckled. “I’ll think about it, kay? I’ll let you know tonight when we meet the others at the cafeteria.”

Crispin smiled and gave a thumbs up. “You got it!” he exclaimed. “See you there!”

With that, Crispin dashed out the door, leaving Drayton to lay back on his bed and contemplate. Drayton had gotten pretty close to Kieran in the months since his and Crispin’s last bet had gotten them spending time together, and yeah, Drayton had been finding him pretty attractive now that he looked and acted more mature. But asking him out? Drayton wasn’t sure his pride could take it if he got rejected by someone he was so out of the league of. And he liked things as they were right now. Why fix what wasn’t broken and risk the whole thing falling apart?

On the other hand… things could only stay the same between them for so long. There’d been a lot of lingering glances between them lately. Drayton could remember how, just a few days ago Kieran had come over, they’d been laughing over some silly game while sitting on the floor and Kieran had fallen right onto him. Drayton had put him in a headlock, and soon they’d been on the ground one on top of the other. The look Kieran had given him when they’d separated before he blushed and looked away… yeah, Drayton was sure of it. Kieran had liked that. 

Yeah, it was time to rip the bandaid off. Even if Kieran had some silly reason for not wanting to date, Drayton could rest easy knowing that Kieran wished they could.

-

Drayton was, naturally, the last one to the cafeteria. Carmine, Kieran, Crispin, Lacey, and Amarys were already there, chatting over ice cream.

“Hey, Drayton,” Lacey said as he approached. “We were just talking about how we think we did or will do on midterms. How do you think you did?”

“Fine,” Drayton said dismissively before turning to Kieran. “Hey, Kieran. You got any plans for spring break?”

“Not really. Studying, gaming. There’s not a lot to do in Kitakami.” By now, Drayton knew that Kieran would also be spending time helping his grandma in the garden and the kitchen, but he wouldn’t admit that in front of a group of other teenagers.

“Well, wanna spend it in Unova with my family instead?” Drayton offered.

“I mean… sure! It could be fun. It’ll cool to find out about your family.”

“Aw, how nice!” Lacey chimed in. “Aside from Carmine, we’ll all be in reach of each other for the break. We should meet up sometime.”

“Yes,” Amarys said in her usual monotone. “That sounds enjoyable. But let’s not leave Carmine out.” She turned to Carmine. “Carmine, would you like to join us? I could ask my parents to have you. I’m sure they’d say yes.”

Carmine looked rather surprised for no reason Drayton could deduce. “Yes, I’d love to! We’ll make sure it’s a good break,” she said with way more intensity than the situation asked for.

Is something going on there, or is it just Carmine being Carmine? Drayton wondered. Eh, probably just Carmine.

“Awesome!” Crispin sang out.  “This is gonna be the best spring break ever!”

The group concurred as they continued making plans for the week.

—

The trip to Unova was quick, and soon the six Blueberry Academy students had split off into pairs and gotten on buses headed to separate cities.

Carmine and Amarys found seats at the back of the relatively empty bus, and Carmine pulled Amarys close, a gesture Amarys had learned not to fight- not that she’d ever wanted to.

“Is there anything I should know about your parents before I meet them?” Carmine asked.

“Not particularly,” Amarys answered.

“You can tell me anything. Remember that,” Carmine asserted, not for the first time in their relationship.

“Yes,” Amarys replied. “You as well.”

“And if the others invite us out, we’re going, no matter what, alright?”

“So long as I have enough time to study, then yes, we will.”

Carmine surmised that she wouldn’t get much more information from Amarys, so she turned her attention to the passing valleys outside the window. She’d let go of Amarys by now and had settled for holding her hand. Amarys seemed calm- her hands weren’t shaking or anything- but it was hard to tell with her. And frankly, there was so much that made Carmine think that things hadn’t been great for Amarys in the past. No one acted as stiff and serious as Amarys without something happening to cause it, and the fact that she’d started battling as young as she had and was so focused on her studies and so successful at everything made Carmine wonder if she wasn’t facing immense pressure at home. Carmine figured Amarys was lucky to have her to teach her how to live and to encourage her art, her friendships, and her more sensitive side. And now, Carmine would have a chance to take a look at the root of the problem. It wasn’t one she’d waste.

Just then, the bus passed by a field of purple flowers peaking out from the snow. Amarys got out her rotom phone to take a picture. “This would make a beautiful painting,” she said, and the conversation moved on to art.

Before long, the bus had entered a city of skyscrapers. Carmine had seen plenty of Castelia from pictures Amarys had sent her, but seeing it in person was a whole other experience. Everything was so big, and the streets were so busy. This was a place where more happened than the mind could imagine.

Before Carmine could even finish wrapping her head around the immensity of the city, the bus had come to their stop. From there, it was a couple blocks’ walk to the apartment building Amarys lived in, and an elevator ride up to the fifth floor. Carmine knocked on the door, bracing herself for whatever was inside.

The door was opened by a tall, slender woman with glasses and her hair in a bun. “Amarys!” the woman, presumably Amarys’ mom, exclaimed, wrapping her daughter up in a hug. “How are things at the academy?”

“Good,” Amarys answered without enthusiasm. “I’m doing well on my tests, and I was elected president of the student council.”

“That’s great. And it’s great that I’ll finally get to meet this girl you’ve been telling me about. You two are just in time for dinner. Come on in.”

The two stepped in, and Carmine took a look around. The place was about what Carmine expected- a higher-class place, lots of books on the shelves- but a lot cozier. She could even see what looked like Amarys’ paintings on the walls. Carmine wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but somehow the misalignment just put her more on edge. Amarys guided Carmine to her room, where they put their bags before heading to the table.

“So,” Carmine said once they were seated and everyone was serving themselves, “what got you to put Amarys in Blueberry Academy?”

“It just seemed like a good fit,” her father said. “Rigourous enough to challenge her, with more like-minded people than a public school. Plus, she’s always been into battling.”

Carmine nodded, thinking of how Amarys told her she’d been battling since preschool. No one did that without parental pressure. “Right… I’m sure bragging rights for having her in a year early had nothing to do with it.”

Amarys’ father looked to her mother, as if looking for a cue on how to respond.

“I’m sorry, father. Carmine is rather protective of me.”

“Okay,” her mother said, voice dripping with a mean girl energy that Carmine recognized all too well. “Well, I’m glad she’s looking out for you. And how are things at school going for you, Carmine? Are you doing well in your classes? Join any extracurricular?”

“It’s great. Everything is just great,” Carmine replied, trying not to sound too defensive, before going into some modest, believable lies that only her own parents would be able to fact-check.

What are they hiding? Carmine wondered, teeth grit. And why are they acting like I’m the crazy one? Like they’re testing me? Well, this has to be better than whatever Clay is putting Crispin through.

—

Crispin’s muscles strained as he struggled to pick up the pickaxe. The problem wasn’t the weight of the thing, it was that Crispin had been at this since eight this morning, and it was almost noon.

“Come on now,” Clay barked, breaking chunks of coal off the wall with his own axe. “The day’s not half over. This is what I did before business took off. Put yer back into it.”

With a grunt, Crispin raised the pickaxe above his head and let it fall, picking off a wimpy, hand-sized piece of ore.

“Hey, Dad,” came Lacey’s voice. “You forgot your lunch on the counter, so Mom sent me to drop it off for you. And I was wondering- there’s a musical in town and I would really like to bring Crispin to it. Could I steal him away?”

Crispin looked away from his work and to his possible salvation. Lacey was swaying girlishly on the balls of her feet and giving Clay the same fairy eyes that had gotten Crispin to put up with Clay in the first place instead of running like all of Lacey’s previous dates.

“O’course. Just don’t tire ‘im out too much before his shift tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Lacey agreed. “Thank you, Dad.”

Lacey grabbed Crispin’s hand and led him out of the mine. It was a good thing she was holding onto him, too, because Crispin couldn’t have navigated those dark tunnels by himself, and the bright light of day was just as disorienting as the darkness had been after he’d spent so long underground. “Hey, Lacey… Thanks for getting me off work, but I’m really tired. Could we go to a show some other time?”

Lacey giggled. “There is no show. And Dad didn’t forget his lunch, either. I took it out of his bag so I’d have an extra excuse to come and rescue you.”

“...Thanks.”

“Hey. Y’know, this is the longest anyone’s lasted my dad’s test. You’re doing great. More than great. You’re doing fantastic. I’m really sorry he’s so old-fashioned. I’m sure glad I’m his daughter instead of his son, or he’d probably have me in the mines instead!”

“Heh… yeah… lucky.”

“Well, mostly. I’d rather be treated like a cute little thing than be expected to do everything myself or get berated for it. But it’s a good thing I like cute things and fairies. He’d never let me specialize in steel-types, or fire, or dragon, or ghost, or dark…” As Lacey listed types, the joy left her voice. “He only lets me use excadrill because it used to be his Pokémon, so he trusts it. I wish I trusted me instead. But hey, fairies are the cutest! I’d have picked them no matter what!” Lacey flashed a slightly-forced smile, which then fell somewhat. “But I wish it had felt like an actual choice.”

“Geez, when you put it that way, maybe I’m the lucky one! I’d hate being treated like I can’t do anything myself!”

“Well, maybe. Anyhow, that’s why he insists on testing all my boyfriends. He thinks they’ve gotta be able to protect and provide for me. But if it makes you feel better, I don’t think you need to be a ‘real man’ to be perfect. You’re always cooking something up even when you’re not literally cooking. And you are super, super cute.”

That last part made Crispin blush. He knew that for Lacey, that was the highest praise. “Thanks…” Crispin said.

Lacey frowned. Then, she smiled. “I think I know what’ll perk you up. How’s about a bet? You show my dad that you don’t need any testing because you’ll be a great chef and a great businessman, and I’ll show him that I can look out for myself. How’s it sound?”

“You’re on!” he exclaimed just as they got to Lacey’s house.

Soon, the two were at Lacey’s house. “Great. Now, go take a shower. I don’t want any coal dust on my bed while we plan things out!”

—

“Wowzers, this place is like a sci-fi movie!” Kieran exclaimed as they walked through the chrome streets that sprawled out between blocks of equally chrome skyscrapers.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Drayton said. “Opelucid wasn’t a bad place to grow up. Has some nice clubs I could sneak into. May as well do that this week since we won’t have a single responsibility to haunt us.”

That made Kieran’s eyes light up even more. “Oh, yeah! I’ve never been to a nightclub before! You think I could pass as an adult now that I turned fifteen?”

Drayton chuckled as they turned the corner to his house. “Well… maybe. But the owners know me well enough that they’d let us in if you were twelve.” Drayton turned to Kieran as he rang the doorbell, momentarily savouring the look of indignation on his face before the door opened.

A short, spunky-looking girl with wild purple hair had opened the door, and Drayton felt his enthusiasm for the break deflate like an untied balloon.

“Oh. You’re here,” Drayton deadpanned.

“Yep,” Iris said, apparently none too put off by his attitude. “Visiting for the week. Nice to see you, too, cousin!”

“Hey, Kieran, let’s go to my room,” Drayton said, taking Kieran by the wrist and heading for it.

Kieran let out a surprised, “Huh?” but followed along. 

Thankfully, Drayton got Kieran distracted with some games, and he didn’t ask questions or ask to come out of his room until Iris called them for dinner. Unthankfully, dinner was with Drayden and Iris.

“So, you’re the kid my cousin’s been talking about, huh?” Iris asked. “You two must have really made amends if he invited you here!”

Drayton’s face went red as he regretted ever venting to Iris about anything. It looked like Kieran could sense the tension in the room as well- he looked like he might choke on his food. “Heh. Yeah, we’ve come quite a ways…”

“Since you beat him at your school club?” Iris asked innocently, as though she wasn’t intentionally belittling his achievements. Who knew, maybe she wasn’t.

“At the school you’re three years too young to get into, that produces some of the best trainers there are? Yeah.”

“How are things as champion of Unova, Iris?” Drayden asked, shooting Drayton a sharp glare that said, “quit making snippy comments towards my adopted child.”

“It’s great!” Iris exclaimed. “Grimsley has been teaching me all kinds of card games, and I’ve started learning some mixed martial arts stuff from Marshall.” Iris giggled. “If a challenger comes by one day and one of my Pokémon isn’t feeling it, maybe I’ll just be my own sixth slot.”

Drayden chuckled. “Learning new skills is fine and good, but it won’t save you from a hyperbeam.”

“Don’t worry,  I’m joking. I have more than six Pokémon, so I always have backups.”

Drayden nodded. “That sounds wonderful. It sounds as though you’ve achieved a lot, and your time with the elite four has helped you to grow as a person.” Drayden turned his sharp eyes to Drayton. “Meanwhile, all you’ve managed to accomplish is to become a fake Elite Four Member in a school you should have graduated from already.”

Kieran looked over to Drayton, probably expecting either a comeback or Drayton’s classic chill indifference. Instead, Drayton just kept his head down and kept eating.

“Hey, it’s Drayton’s third year,” Kieran cut in, “it’s a four-year program. He’s not supposed to have graduated.”

Drayton gently touched Kieran’s arm. When Kieran looked over to him, he shook his head to let him know he should shut his mouth.

“Given that you’ve already been held back two or three times, the point stands,” Drayden replied calmly.

Drayton kept a straight face and nodded. He knew by now that defending himself against Drayden was a lost cause- he’d call it “talking back” and use it as more evidence of Drayton’s inadequacy.

Drayton could feel Kieran’s eyes on him, confused. Kieran knew him as this chill rebel, and he wasn’t acting like one right now. Hopefully he’d just forget about it.

The four finished up dinner quickly, and then Drayton herded Kieran to his room and put on a movie to keep them from talking. Soon enough, it was time for bed. There wasn’t much talking except about basic things- pop culture and whatnot- and Drayton could feel that Kieran sensed something was off. As Drayton lay awake that night, he wondered to himself- with Drayden and Iris around, how was he going to regain his cool image in Kieran’s eyes by the end of the week? Because there was no way he could ask Kieran out like this.

“Hey, Drayton?” came Kieran’s voice. “You wanna talk about what just happened?”

[worksinprogress1]

N’s hands trembled from shock as he sipped from the water bottle they’d handed him. He waited in the passenger seat of one of their trucks, a blanket draped over his shoulders, taking shelter from the rain as the rangers searched the area for any stray embers to extinguish.

After some time- maybe half an hour- the thickset woman returned to the truck, got into the driver’s seat, revved up the engine, and started off down the highway, the other trucks following along behind her.

“So, what’s your name, son?” the woman asked. “And where can I drop you off?”

“My name is N,” N replied. “You can drop me off…” N wracked his brain for the nearest town or city. He’d been staying in the wild for a week straight, and it was hard to think while he was still weak from the smoke.

“It’s nice to meet you, N. Sorry you’re feeling a little shy. My name’s Evelyn, by the way,” the woman replied, saving N from having to do so himself. Something about the woman was very disarming- maybe the way she held herself, like she had everything under control. But then, N remembered feeling the same way about Ghetsis when he’d first met him. “Maybe I should drop you off at the hospital. You must have inhaled a lot of smoke. You over eighteen? Should I call your parents or something?”

N shook his head.

“Okay. I’ll respect that.”

There were a few moments of silence as the truck passed over the bumpy, unpaved forest road.

“I know you probably wouldn’t say yes if you were, but I gotta ask,” the woman said, her peppy voice taking on a more concerned tone, “Are you some sort of runaway? I mean, we found your camp. Your Pokémon led us to it. It looked like you’d been there quite a while for just a kid on a Pokémon journey.”

N stayed silent, trying to figure out the safest answer.

“I just want what’s best for you, okay? I don’t have to go to the police if you don’t want me to. I know that most runaways don’t become runaways for no reason. You could even stay with me for a while once the hospital is done with you- for as long or as short as you’d like.”

N considered this. “If you can give me my Pokémon, then sure,” N replied. He didn’t see what harm could become of him if he had reshiram on his side.

“I have your zoroark and the big feathery guy’s pokéballs in my bag. I’ll give em’ to you as soon as we’re not driving.”

“Thank you,” N replied.

It wasn’t long before the truck passed into one of the most unique cities N had ever seen. There were a few traditional buildings, but easily nine in ten of the buildings N saw were big, sturdy treehouses built on big, sturdy trees, all attached by wooden bridges and accessible by ladders. A grovyle caught N’s eye as it whipped through the trees, swinging from branch to branch and causing bugs and birds to scatter into the streetlight-illuminated night sky.

“Haven’t been to Fortree before?” Evelyn asked.

“No, I haven’t,” N replied. “I…” he wanted to say that he would like it here. But he’d thought that too many times already on his journey.

Evelyn pulled up her truck in front of a large tree surrounded by a raised garden. “Well, I gotta get back to the station. Here’s your Pokémon,” Evelyn said, handing N the two pokéballs. “One of the guys has your stuff. I’ll get it back to you in the morning. If you need to lie down, you can take the first door on the left. And call 911 if you’re feeling faint or anything.”

N thanked her, took his Pokémon, and left.

Everything about this is too good to be true, N thought as he climbed up to the treehouse. The first thing he did was to listen to the voices of the Pokémon. The first sliver of doubt he’d had in Team Plasma came when he saw how happy most Pokémon were with their trainers compared to the scared, hurt ones he’d lived with in his room and those controlled by Plasma grunts. But the Pokémon in Fortree seemed as happy as any other. Cautiously, and with his Zoroark out, in case of danger, N went inside.

At first glance, Evelyn’s treehouse seemed like a pretty normal home. There were pictures of what were presumably her four kids hung in the living room, and a couch decorated with an vigroth pelt. N wrinkled his nose. Not great, but not out of the ordinary for a human. The room Evelyn suggested he lie down in was just a bedroom, with howling mightyena painted on the walls and nothing suspicious under the bed except old magazines.The “basement,” located in the trunk of the tree, contained nothing but a washer, a drier and a cellar full of canned goods, jars of jam, and pickled foods. The attic contained nothing but boxes. After checking a few more rooms, N heard the front door open. He scrambled to the bedroom and laid down.

This place seems pretty innocuous, N thought as he listened to someone, presumably Evelyn, taking their shoes off. And if something does go wrong, I have Reshiram. And he was tired, the smoke and stress having sapped him. He decided it would be safe to stay and drifted off quickly.

N woke up to the smell of cooking eggs. He padded to the kitchen, where Evelyn was making breakfast.

“Morning, N,” Evelyn said, turning her head to face him as she scrapped the pan with her spatula. “Feeling better?”

N nodded, trying not to look like a nervous deerling.

“Good. Sit down.”

N awkwardly sat down. Evelyn came over to the table with two plates of eggs and toast, put one down in front of N, sat down, and started eating her own.

“So, I gotta ask- how did you manage to put out that fire by yourself? Those politoed ran off right after you landed, and it would be weird if you kept that many.”

“Well, I have this ability where I can talk to Pokémon,” N explained.

Evelyn nodded. N looked at her and didn’t see any trace of malice. She’d spoken to him so warmly, and as much as he didn’t trust it, it had been nice to meet someone on his journey who seemed to genuinely care about him.

For whatever reason, words began to spill out of N’s mouth at record speed. “I don’t know if you’ve looked me up by now, but yes, I’m N of Team Plasma. Please don’t send me back. They weren’t what I thought they were. I don’t know what state they’re in, but if they’re in any state to have me, I- I don’t want to be seen by them, and if they aren’t, I still don’t want to go to Unova because I wouldn’t have anywhere to go and the police might be after me.” By the end of his ramble, N’s breath was uneven. He looked away awkwardly as the silence stretched on for a few seconds.

N felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not taking you to Unova,” Evelyn promised. “You can stay here as long as you want. I’ll teach you to be independent. And when you have the money to and feel ready, you can move out. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” N said. “That sounds really good.”

“Great. It’ll be nice havin’ someone here again after my youngest son moved out. If you want, you could even try working as a ranger. That’s all about using wild Pokémon as helpers just like you did on the night of the fire, so I think you’d be good at it.”

“That does sound like something I could do,” N admitted.

“Then it’s settled. You’ll start tomorrow.” Evelyn said.

N was apprehensive at first about becoming a ranger, but it turned out that he was a natural at it. On their first mission- locating a man who had gotten lost in the woods- the other rangers needed Capture Stylers to get wild Pokémon to help them out. N had just asked Zoroark to gather his pack and see if they could sniff someone out. They found the lost man before the rangers had even found a flock of bird Pokémon to use their stylers on. While he wasn’t as much of a superstar in their next missions, N could ask the wild Pokémon for advice on solving problems in the woods, and that let him somewhat keep up with his ecologically knowledgeable coworkers- somewhat, at least. They were teaching N about the natural world in ways he hadn’t been taught from the mouths of Pokémon. If this was all that it seemed, it was his place, using his knowledge to help people and Pokémon.

One day, as the rangers were on their way to a mission site, N heard the cry of a Pokémon.

Help me! Help me! I’m over here! Came the voice.

N turned to it. It was an absol, its paw trapped in a snare. It lifted its head to look at N with pleading eyes as it dangled above the ground.

“Let me get that,” N said, turning towards the Pokémon. It looked up at him, hopeful and expectant.

“What? No, N, that’s there legally,” said Evelyn.

“What do you mean, ‘legally’?” N asked, anger beginning to flare up in him.

“I mean, the trapper here follows all the laws. His snares usually kill instantly, he checks the snares twice a day so that the Pokémon aren’t in pain for too long if they don’t, he stays away from places with endangered species, and so on. He’s an ethical hunter.”

N was still staring at the absol as it whined stared back at him with pleading eyes. “He’ll kill him. How is that ethical?”

“Pokémon kill each other to survive all the time. And anyhow, it doesn’t matter what we think. Using our position to release a hunter’s quarry would be an abuse of our position.”

“You’re the one in charge, aren’t you? If the rules are wrong, change the rules!” N snapped.

“If I did that, I’d be sued and the government would fire me.” Evelyn put a hand on N’s shoulder and guided him down the path. “Now come on, let’s catch up with the others.”

N took one last look at the trapped creature before turning back down the path.

It wasn’t the only moment like that. Being a ranger, as N found out, meant cooperating with the way human society treated Pokémon- including farming them or hunting them for food. And yet, it was a job that N had held for a solid month and a half- one that let him help people and Pokémon. There might not be other opportunities like that. And he did appreciate Evelyn, and how she taught him to be human. So he stayed.

-

“And, that’s it. That’s how you pay your electric bill. Once you’ve saved up a little more, you could get your own place if you wanted.”

“Wow. Thank you,” N said. “I was starting to think I’d never learn to live like a human, but here I am!”

Evelyn clapped him on the back. “You just hadn’t been taught,” she said. “Well, I’ll be in the garden if you need me.”

“Got it.”

N took to the couch and turned on the TV, his zoroark joining him and snuggling his head in his lap.

This is what it is to be human, N thought. I really can do it. Maybe not as well as others could- he didn’t have a single human friend, and he still wouldn’t know how to function outside of this little bubble where he could use his skills and have his mom guide him through any new challenge that came along- but he was doing it.

N started flipping through channels- catching up on shows he wasn’t allowed as a kid wasn’t as exciting as reading the books that were forbidden to him, but it was still nice. The first channel was a drama N wasn’t fond of. He switched it over to home improvement show. A talk show with Diantha and her costars for a new movie. The news. A cooking show.

N flipped back to the news. He thought he’d saw- but it couldn’t be. It was the plasma emblem. Yes, it was- the screen showed five Team Plasma members, all in new, military-looking uniforms, blocking a path N thought he recognized as route 3.

“It seems that Team Plasma has made a resurgence,” the blonde news anchor explained. “Five members were seen today creating a blockade on a commonly used road. The police were able to break up the blockade before any real harm was done. Investigators are working to see if these are radicals working independently or if they are part of an organized group.”

N prayed that it was the latter. If not… Could he justify staying here? Or was it his duty to return to Unova and try to put a stop to it?

Unfortunately, in the coming weeks, news stories of Team Plasma kept cropping up. After he encountered the second, N began to keep track of them. One night, N watched on the news as a female Team Plasma grunt ripping a woobat from a little girl’s arms and kicking her down. He wasn’t able to sleep that night, so he went out to the trapper’s trail, found a snared seviper that was still alive, and untied it.

Thankssss… the snake said as it slithered away.

N watched as the creature disappeared, his heart pounding. Would he be caught for this? Would he be fired? What would Evelyn say? Maybe it would be for the best if he was fired. That way he’d have no reason not to go back to Unova.

N looked back to the untied snare. N didn’t know how to reset it, nor did he want to. So he just hoped the hunter would think his prey had escaped naturally and returned home.

It was not the last time N did something of the sort. Every time the headlines got worse, he did something in defiance of his policy. It made him feel a little less guilty, and it let him tell himself, If I’m caught, if I’m let go, then I’ll leave. Maybe they’ll catch me this time.

Three weeks later, N saw the headline: Ghetsis had been spotted poking around the Giant Chasm. He didn’t know why, but that was it for him. He had to go back to Unova. Maybe if their king told the Team Plasma members to stop, they’d stop, and whatever Ghetsis was doing could be prevented.

The morning after N saw the headline, he shuffled into the kitchen, doing his best to look tired and out of it. He touched Evelyn on the shoulder as she was making breakfast.

“I don’t want to go in today,” N said. “I’m sick.”

Evelyn put a hand against N’s forehead. “Oh, you’re fine,” she said. “Come on, take some coffee and painkillers and get ready to go.”

“No. I’m sorry. I just can’t do it today.”

“Alright, fine. See you tonight, N,” Evelyn said, sounding mildly disappointed.

N shuffled back to bed and waited for the sound of the front door closing. When it did, he got up and started packing his things. He had some new outfits now, bought with the money he’d earned as a ranger. He packed a few of them, his alarm clock, his books, some basic supplies, and thought about what else he might need. He couldn’t justify taking food from Evelyn when he was able to buy his own, as much as he’d miss some of the foods she’d made or grown fresh in her garden. As much as part of him wanted to take his ranger uniform as a keepsake, somehow that felt wrong, too. “Goodbye,” N said to the house as he descended its ladder.

As risky as it was to go through the woods when his fellow ranger might see him, he had one more stop before he left- the mightyena den where Zoroark now spent most of his nights.

Zoroark was right outside the den, gnawing on a bone as he watched two poochyna tussle. As N appeared through the brush, Zoroark dropped the bone and lopped over.

You seem sad, Zoroark said, sniffing around to try and figure out why. What happened?

“I’m leaving for Unova,” N said, unable to meet Zoroark’s eyes. “You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to.”

Zoroark’s ears drooped, and it stayed silent for a long time. Y’know, I get it. Why this is hard for you, I mean. I can pretend I’m a fish, but I still need to breathe air. Zoroark turned into a feebas to demonstrate. I can pretend I’m a bird, but I can’t fly. Zoroark turned into a starly. He looked like he was flying, but N knew it was smoke and mirrors, his feet on the ground. He couldn’t pretend to fly higher than his own height. I can turn into a human, Zoroark said, turning into what looked like N, but I can’t speak. The human illusion was mouthing the words, but the animal noises that came out of it couldn’t have been understood by any other person. Finally, Zoroark turned back into himself. All I can be is me. And, since I was abandoned by my pack, I never had that until, well…

N braced himself. So Zoroark really had found his place amongst the mightyena pack, and didn’t want to go back.

…until I met you. I’ll stay with you, N. Always.

N hugged Zoroark. “Thank you,” he said.

N hiked down the trapper’s trail. Zoroark darted left and right, following N’s request that he use his keen eyesight to tear apart every trap he saw and to leave the pieces. N could have had Reshiram incinerate them, but he wouldn’t. He just marched forward, the sound of snapping wood mixing with the sounds of the forest and the occasional thankful cry of a Pokémon. When he reached the end of the path, N took out Reshiram and flew to a pasture of mareep on the other side of town. He ordered Reshiram to burn a hole in the fence, and N shook a mareep awake.

“The people here want to eat you. You need to leave,” N told it.

The mareep didn’t get up. They feed us and keep out the predators, it replied. I’d probably die being eaten out there, too. I’d rather stay where it’s comfortable.

In different circumstances, N might have mulled over what was truly best for the mareep, but he didn’t have that time. He released his zoroark, who chased the mareep out of the pasture and into the woods. He had to make the evidence undeniable, to ensure that he could never come back here. Otherwise, he’d be tempted to. He already was tempted to herd back the mareep, incinerate the traps, and go back home to bed. but if he got on Reshiram now and left, the evidence would be undeniable within hours. He’d fight Team Plasma, not only because it was right but because he would have nowhere else to go.

All the mareep had streamed out the gate and N had tears in his eyes before N shook off his paralysis. He turned back to Reshiram and mounted it. “To Unova,” N requested.

Reshiram lifted off. Sensing N’s sadness, it looked back at him as it soared over the forests and towns.

N… You might feel as though you’ve made no progress at all, like your journey is ending right where you began. But I’ve seen you grow on this journey. You’ve learned so many human skills. I promise, once you are free from Team Plasma again- if you are free from them again- it will be easier. It will be easier each time until we succeed. I promise.

N let his tears fall on Reshiram’s fluffy white pelt and prayed it was right.

“Thank you,” he said.

[worksinprogress1]

The bus was only going to my hometown, but to me, it may as well have been headed to a hard, cold cell. How was I going to tell everyone what I’d done?

“Something wrong?” came a woman’s voice. Dark as it was and with my head full of thoughts, I hadn’t noticed her approaching the bus stop. It was the purple-haired woman I’d seen sometimes at my gym. I’d wanted to get one last workout done before I left Veilstone, and I was also hoping that if I came back late enough, my mom would be asleep by the time I made it.

“You could say that,” I replied.

She took a long drag on her cigarette and regarded me with piercing eyes. “Feel like telling a stranger about it?” she asked, almost sympathetically.

I took a deep breath. I wasn’t likely to live in this city again anytime soon, so why not?

“I flunked out of college,” I said bitterly. “I know that sounds like it’s not much to be upset about, but… I really like Veilstone, and living on my own, and all my new friends are here, and all my high school friends have moved out of Sandgem, and…” I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice from breaking. “And it’s gonna break my mom’s heart. She’ll think I’m a failure, and she’ll never let me forget it. Living with her is gonna be Hell.”

“Hm,” the mysterious woman said. “Y’know, I might have something that could help you. Galactic Corps is looking for temp workers. It’s six months. You wouldn’t have to apply or anything, you just get the job. It would give you an excuse to hang around Veilstone for a little longer. And who knows? Maybe it’ll lead you to bigger things.”

The bus pulled up beside me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman even as the others headed for Sandgem began to line up and get on the bus. She pulled out a business card with a golden “G” logo and a phone number on it. I took it, thanked her, gathered my bags, rushed onboard the bus, and took one of the last available seats.

It took a minute for the opportunity I’d been given to sink in. It seemed way too good to be true. I opened up my pokétch to do a smidge of research. Galactic Corps was an energy company, and it did indeed have a lot of six-month temp positions open- and they paid a lot considering the menial stuff they’d have us do. This was amazing. Once I got home, I wouldn’t be telling my mom that I flunked out. I’d be telling her that an amazing job opportunity came my way, and I was going to take a semester off to do the whole six months of it. That was plenty of time to get off academic probation or find another path in life, and so my mom would never have to know how I partied my last opportunity away.

-

My mom was excited when she heard about the job. She was fine with me missing the Fall semester for it and helped me to find an apartment in Veilstone to stay in since I couldn’t live in the school dorms if I wasn’t in school. The apartment was pretty empty since I didn’t have a lot of furniture to put in it, but hey, that would come in time.

“There you go, Evie. Home sweet home,” I said, putting down my middle-aged eevee once I’d unpacked. She looked around like she was appraising the place, then skittered over for her pet bed and curled up, head on fluffy tail. I sat down next to her on the floor and stroked her. “Yeah, this is gonna be a nice place for us, isn’t it? No roommates to keep you up at night, or to trash the place and leave us to clean up… it’ll be great.” In a crazy way, it felt almost like I was more mature than the guys who were still living in dorms.

My first day at Galactic Corps was unusual but not concerning. I met up at its entrance with about twenty other temp workers, mostly people my age with some teenagers and late twenties mixed in. A few of them were from out of town and were talking about the weirdly-placed spikes on the building or staring at the secretary through the glass door and asking why she was in some space-age costume, but as a Veilstone resident, I was used to that. I didn’t know that this building was Galactic Corps, but I did know that we had a weird spiked building looming over us, and I’d seen the weird little space dudes running around on occasion. Never thought I’d end up working here, but hey, it was a job.

At 8 AM, The secretary unlocked the door for us and told us that the person responsible for training us was out sick that day, and showed us to the cleaning supplies.

“Think of it as a way to get to know the place, find out where everything is,” she said. “Try to make yourselves useful as you do it.” With that, we took the supplies and scattered. I took a broom.

I’d never thought of what an energy company’s headquarters would be like, but this wasn’t what I expected. Even rooms that seemed to have no unusual purpose- just their weird little space dudes (and girls, there were girls, too) tapping away at computers and whatnot- made me feel like I was in some sort of space vessel, with those metal automatic doors that opened and closed like mouths swallowing us up. A lot of the doors wouldn’t open. I counted six locked doors in the chemistry department, ten in the biology department, and four in engineering before I ended up in a hallway leading to a dead end. While I was sweeping it, a permanent worker carrying a box walked past me with a sense of purpose, like she was heading somewhere. She stepped on a weird circular tile at the end of the hallway, and seemed to disappear into thin air like an abra teleporting. Driven by unthinking curiosity, I dropped my broom and stepped on the strange tile, too.

My whole body seemed to tingle, and the ground shook beneath my feet. Then, a second later, I was in some sort of break room. Two space dudes were sitting at a table, chatting and playing cards. For a moment, I was too stunned to do much of anything. The female space dude walked past them and left through a door.

I didn’t know anything except that I didn’t know where I was, so I stepped off the orange tile and stepped back on, hoping for a ride back, but nothing happened. “Uh, a little help here?” I asked the workers.

Suddenly, two pairs of eyes were on me, and one of them looked angry. “You’re not supposed to be here. This section is for grunts only,” the shorter space dude snapped, springing up. “Did you steal someone’s keycard or something?”

“Cool it,” the taller space dude said to him, getting up. “Keycards let the teleportation panels open, but they stay open for a few seconds after.” He held his keycard over the panel, making it light up. Then he looked to me. “You just wandered in here because you were curious, right?”

“Uh, yeah…?” I said.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’ll deal with that. Why don’t I meet you down at the lobby at quitting time so we can go out together?”

“Sure,” I said. It didn’t seem like a good idea to say no to someone who knew I’d fucked up.

“Sounds good. I’m Titan A-3, by the way,” he said, gently pushing me to face the other way and step onto the teleporter. A second later, I was back in the empty hallway.

As he asked, I showed up to the lobby after I got off work, and Titan came to get me a few minutes after that. He told me to follow him, and he took me through a keycard-requiring door and a couple portals.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay since you’re with me,” he assured me.

One more portal, and I was in a room full of bunk beds, many of which were occupied by… well, I guess they call themselves grunts, like Team Rocket grunts in TV shows.

“Who wants to go out to the Crafty Flask?” Titan asked. Several grunts dropped what they were doing to join him. Some of them were raising their hands like kids in a classroom. Two even had temp workers with them, so some had clearly known the plan beforehand.

“Meet us outside in ten minutes,” Titan said, turning on his heel, “If you’re late, you’re left.”

Once I got to the lobby, the grunts had shed their uniforms and some of them had shed their weird hair. As we walked to the bar, there were a lot of whispered conversations between grunts. They seemed to be having a good time, giggling away and all that, but they also seemed to be hiding their conversations with me. I looked for the other temp workers, but it looked like the two of them were planning to hook up. So I went to the front of the pack with Titan.

With a whole bunch of them, Titan stuck out even more. He was fit, he was confident, and he had an air of admirability to him that the other grunts just didn’t.

“So, you guys live in the headquarters?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Titan answered. “You take a cut in pay once you become a grunt, but since you get room and board and don’t have to worry about bills and whatnot, all your money is fun money, so it kind of evens out. And you get to be with your favourite people all the time. It’s great.”

“Yeah, sounds nice,” I said, thinking about how I still had to figure out where to pay my bills and utilities for the new apartment, and figure how much money I should spend furnishing the place. I had a lot of adulting-type stuff to figure out in a hurry.

Once we got within a couple blocks of the bar, Titan turned back to the others.

“Alright, you guys know the drill. Low ranks pull back so the rest of us don’t look like weirdos,” he said to the crowd. Then he turned to me. “You can come with us, newbie,” he said. The grunts without the weird hair kept walking as the ones with it stayed behind, and soon we were at the bar.

“I am so glad I got to A rank,” one of the male grunts said as soon as we were seated. “Pulling non-Galactic girls is impossible when you have to wear your freak flag wherever you go.”

The female grunt next to him playfully punched him. “And what exactly is the point of fucking outside people again?” She said the word ‘outside’ like it was some kind of slur.

“Variety!” he shot back. “And thrill of the chase. You Galactic girls are too easy.”

“Wait,” I cut in, “Are lower ranks not allowed to take off the bowlcuts, or…?”

“Yeah, basically,” Titan explained. “Only the higher ranks are allowed to go back to being normal people at the end of the day because we’ve proven ourselves loyal. For the rest of them, well, it’s their actual hair. But you climb the ranks pretty quick if you’re halfway competent.”

I nodded.

“And for the record? He wasn’t lying about Galactic girls being easy. You know how I offered the bar and a bunch of people sprung up? Well, the same works for, say, a game of Scrabble, someone to watch the game with, and yeah, sex. Have you seen the ‘Make sure the bed is unoccupied before getting in’ sign in the-”

My eyes had been getting wider and wider until he’d mentioned that sign and taken me out of it. “Oh my God, that’s what that’s for!?” I’d seen that sign in the Team Galactic nap room, and I’d thought the same dirty thoughts anyone would, but I hadn’t thought I was right about it.

Titan laughed. “Yep.”

The rest of the night was great. I played beer pong with a team of three grunts and the two temp workers and I learned a little more about their lives. Apparently, they get to learn to battle as a part of their job training, and dang, who wouldn’t want that? I’d take up hobbyist battling if I didn’t have to be the one actually taking care of six pets I don’t have time for. It seemed like a fun life, and one of the grunts even invited me to visit their training center later in the week.

Come the next morning, I was supposed to learn the Galactic Corps methods of encryption. I showed up at 9 AM, head throbbing and unshowered, and plunked myself into the correct chair. The grunt next to me greeted me professionally and began explaining stuff, but I could barely absorb any of what he was saying.

“Hey, drink this,” a passing grunt offered, handing me a disposable water bottle filled with sludge that looked like pond scum. “It’ll help with your hangover.” He handed one to my instructor as well, who thanked him. They both uncapped their bottles and started drinking.

I eyed the bottle hesitantly. The stuff had to be edible if the others were drinking it. But it looked disgusting, and my stomach wasn’t in the mood for a challenge.

“It’s not as gross as it looks, I promise,��� said my instructor before taking another sip.

I uncapped the bottle and drank. The murky drink tasted like if someone had blended Gatorade, energy drinks, and protein shakes, and given its texture, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what it was. Nasty. But the other grunts handled them with a stiff upper lip, so I kept chugging. And my headache did go away. My stomach stopped hurting. My heartrate picked up. I felt legitimately as good as new- no, better- before I’d even finished it.

From there, the morning went smoother. My mentor demonstrated the code to me one time and I picked it up immediately. I was honestly pretty surprised at myself for learning so quickly. Within an hour, he’d left me to my devices, interpreting and translating the encrypted messages. It was repetitive, mindless work, and normally I’d have daydreamed while doing it. For some reason though, when I tried to, I just couldn’t. It was like those thoughts were out of reach. I didn’t get bored with the work, either, so I didn’t mind much. It was kind of unsettling how focused I was.

“Hey, lunchtime,” one of the grunts said to me. It felt like I’d only been working an hour, but sure enough, the day was already half over. I followed the crowd of grunts and temps to what must have been their lunchroom. I decided to try out the trick Titan had taught me last night.

“Hey,” I asked the crowd of grunts, getting some of their attention. I wasn’t exactly sure what to ask them. Sex was obviously out- I was willing to risk looking weird, but not crazy. My eyes caught on two grunts playing cards. “Anyone want to play some poker?”

A few of them shot up and joined me. We had fun.

It didn’t occur to me until the next day to ask why an energy company was doing encryption. And once I took another murky drink, that question faded away.

Over the next several weeks, I fell into the habit of spending most of my free time at Galactic Corps. My other friends were scattered to the winds for their summer jobs. Even on the weekends, making plans with them was a lot harder than just walking into a room and getting exactly the kind of attention I wanted.

Through it all, I heard whispers about Cyrus. It was all vague enough that I didn’t feel like I knew much about him, but I put together four basic things. 

Firstly, he was their boss. I’d heard enough comments along the lines of, ‘why does Cyrus want us to do this,” or, “I wonder what Cyrus has planned next,” to be sure of that. 

Secondly, they feared him. They didn’t see him often outside of speeches and direct orders, and those who had said that he had a gaze that could freeze you solid and see into your soul-deep flaws. 

Thirdly, they loved him, and in ways that seemed overzealous just for a CEO. The commanders saw the most of him and those who worked in tech saw the second most, and they were envied for getting to see him in action. And the way they spoke about his abilities in battle, strategy, and oration, well- I wish anyone had that much confidence in me.

Lastly, he had promised them a new world. I had no idea what that meant, but it didn’t seem like my business. Cyrus didn’t seem like my business. I was there to buy time to sort my life out, not to gain some sort of hero figure. Still, I was curious.

One day, after Cyrus given a speech the night before, the cafeteria was abuzz with grunts talking about him, and curiosity got the better of me.

Even Titan wasn’t as focused on me as usual that day. He didn’t speak to me at all as I sat down next to him, seemingly lost in dreamy thought as his entourage chattered away. I grabbed his shoulder to knock him out of his daydream.

“Hey. Could you tell me about the new world?” I asked.

“We could if we knew about it ourselves,” a low-ranked male grunt answered before Titan could, “the boss is pretty close-mouthed about the details.”

A higher-ranked grunt rolled her eyes. “No, he isn’t. You’re just not listening to him right. He’s said it- the new world will only be for Team Galactic! Everyone else will be drones that serve us. They won’t be able to fight or mess things up like he hates.”

“Don’t be stupid. He’s going to take over the region and let us all live like royalty and that’s it. Conspiracy theories are hardly becoming of Team Galactic! -er, Galactic Corps.”

The female grunt pushed him, knocking his chair over and sending him to the ground. “Don’t listen to him,” she told me. “Cyrus talks about how terrible humans are every time he opens his mouth, and he’s having us research Pokémon that can change it. He’s gonna take us to a whole new planet where no one can bully us and everything is perfect.”

“Maybe,” Titan cut in, all attention in the room going to him, “but I don’t think Cyrus wants to just make everyone- or even everyone but us- into zombies. I think he wants to rid everyone of their flaws, so we can live our best lives without them. He says it’s for Team Galactic alone because we’re the only ones who will remember how things used to be.”

“But we’ll be rid of our flaws, too, right?” I asked. God, I liked that idea.

“Absolutely. Cyrus talks a lot about the purity of the new world, how nothing so incomplete as the human spirit will be a part of it. I think every person in the new world will be born anew.”

“I’ve heard that he’s even draining Team Galactic of their flaws right now,” another grunt added. “We’ve messed with legendary Pokémon for him. He wouldn’t lie about making Pokémons’ power his own, so he’s definitely already got it. Right? Maybe that’s even what the murky drinks are for.”

Titan hesitated. “I don’t know if he has any special powers, but yeah, I’d say he is. The structure is good for a lot of people, including me.” Titan rolled up his sleeves then, showing off forearms that were scarred with a few track marks. “I was about to fall into a dark place before I joined. You know, you could join us, too,” he said, looking at me.

All I could think about was those murky drinks, and how I felt on them. Focused. Linear-minded. Free from any doubt. Was that my flaws leaving me? If Team Galactic could fix an addict, could it fix me, either with the drinks, or the structure or something involving legendaries? The drinks made me feel weird, not quite myself, but maybe better. Maybe that version of me would be happier. He’d probably make my mom a lot happier. And he definitely wouldn’t be such a fuck-up.

“I’ll… I’ll think about it,” I replied.

[worksinprogress1]

N had never been so thankful as when the warm water of the motel room shower hit his back and began to wash away the grime of the last few days.

I’m really not meant to live like a wild Pokémon, N thought as the soap suds ran between his fingers and down his back. I have all the time in the world to figure out what kind of human I can be.

N wasn’t exactly sure where to start exploring the world, but he might as well start with the method that had done him well in Unova- asking people who probably had a better sense of what they were doing. He grabbed the arm of a woman walking through the Main Street of Jubilife City. “I want to see the world. Where do I start?” he asked. “My name is N. I’m new here.”

The woman gave N a surprised look before tearing her arm away and moving away at a slow jog. N shrugged and tried again with the next person who crossed his path- an older-looking man, who thankfully responded better to the same prompt.

“Well, if you want to start in Sinnoh, you could try our contests first. There’s also the fossil lab down in Oreburgh, and there are out-of-country boats down in Sunnyshore.”

“Thank you,” N replied. “That’s very helpful.”

After a short hike through a field and a zubat-filled cave, N arrived in Oreburgh. It was a city hewn from stone, with its mines, rocky hills and humble infrastructure. Machop worked diligently alongside humans, pushing carts of ore through the coal mine, a sight common to the city’s residents as they went about their business. The museum was open as well, and since the miners weren’t keen on N’s offer to help them out, N went there right away. He watched as a cranidos was brought back to life for a trainer on a journey.

“Hey, do you battle, mister?” the trainer asked N. “I want to try out this little guy’s skills!”

Zoroark nodded to N, and the cranidos seemed willing as well. “I suppose we’re up for that,” N said.

The kid took out his pokédex. “Alright. He’s got two moves, so don’t take me out in one hit, alright?” the kid requested.

Before long, the two were on a rocky area just outside the museum, with both their Pokémon out and facing each other.

“Ready,” N said.

“Cranidos, rock smash!” the kid called.

The cranidos’ fists glowed with power and charged at Zoroark. Zoroark leapt up onto a rock, forcing the little dinosaur to change course. Zoroark leapt onto another rock moments before Cranidos hit the first one and smashed it to bits.

“Yeah! That’s some power! Alright, Canidos- headbutt!”

This time, Zoroark leapt to the ground and let the smaller Pokémon charge, blocking its body with his arms. Cranidos was pushed back, and when it tried to charge again, Zoroark tripped it with his mane and took it out in short order with a focus blast.

“Woah,” the younger trainer exclaimed, returning his fainted cranidos. “You didn’t even need to command your Pokémon to beat me.”

N nodded as Zoroark trotted back to his side. “He’s got faster instincts than I do. And he knows that if I see something he doesn’t, or have a strategy to share, I’ll tell him.”

“I’ve never seen a trainer battle like that before! Are you on a journey yourself?”

N hesitated before answering. The word “trainer” had made him wince. “Well… sort of. Maybe I am? Maybe I could be.”

“Okay, then. Maybe I’ll see you around in the Pokémon center tonight,” the boy said before giving N his winnings and leaving.

N thought to his experiences with the kind trainer he’d met on his journey through Unova- the one who had won Zekrom’s favour. Her Pokémon had loved her despite her being a competitive battler, and he did know that Pokémon liked to fight- they fought all the time in the wild just for the fun of it. And he knew now that ownership of Pokémon wasn’t inherently abusive. But… no. There was too much potential for abuse in competitive battling. Letting glory-hungry humans push Pokémon to their brink, choosing their opponents for them and leaving them no choice, it just wasn’t right. N would rather find a way to dismantle that system then to participate in it, as powerless as he was now that he didn’t have Team Plasma behind him.

That night, N went to the Pokémon center, mostly out of curiosity of what the young trainer was talking about. Children, teenagers, and the odd young adult were camped out there, their sleeping bags and pads on the floor and their Pokémon running about as they played cards, exchanged stories, and looked up at the stars through the glass ceiling of the second floor. There were shower facilities, and N didn’t get any weird looks for brushing his teeth in the public bathroom because he wasn’t the only one doing so. Once he was bathed and brushed, N found a corner and settled down himself. He preferred just watching the others over attempting to start a conversation, but it was a relaxing scene nonetheless. There really was no rush, was there? To figure out where he belonged. Not when his financial needs were taken care of.

-

It was a little over three years ago. N took a seat in his hair brushing chair and Ghetsis took his customary place behind him, setting out the combs and oils.

“Anything to report?” Ghetsis asked casually.

“No,” N said. “Well, the deerling you left with me is getting worse. I hate to leave him with another person, but unless something changes, it might be the best choice.”

“Understood,” Ghetsis said, nodding gravely. “Today, we’re going to start teaching you some basic human skills for your journey,” he explained. “One of the sages has set up some videos for you on the basics. How to use public transport, how to use a credit card, and so on.”

“Why would I need money for my noble journey?” N asked, a slight growl in his voice. It seemed ridiculous to taint his something so pure with something so evil.

“Because out there, food won’t come to you on a silver tray. Stupid boy,” Ghetsis snapped, pulling N’s hair in a way that N couldn’t know for sure was on purpose.

“Sorry!” N yelped.

“It’s fine. And don’t worry. You won’t have to think much about money at all. I’ll give you a credit card for whatever you need. Let money be peripheral for you.”

“Is there any limit to the money?” N asked.

“It will be connected to the Team Plasma account. Don’t buy anything excessive, and you’ll be fine.”

N nodded solemnly. “Understood.”

-

N knew now that Team Plasma wasn’t exactly operated on a limited budget- at least, it sure didn’t seem that way. And if all that money was either abandoned or being used to hurt people and Pokémon, well, why not waste a tiny fraction of it making people happy?

N dialed a number, and within the hour, pizza had arrived for everyone in the Pokémon center, along with treats called “poffins�� for the Pokémon. N watched in satisfaction as his zoroark tried the new treat and the various trainers speculated on where this gift from the universe had come from. Probably a mere drop in the bucket of the money available to him, and it felt good to use it rebelliously.

The next day, N set out once again. Hearthome was as beautiful as Oreburgh was humble, as though every inch of it was meant to attract tourists. N saw a contest there and bought the loser a new outfit. He learned to bake poffins as well.

From there, it was on to Sunyshore, the city of solar panel roads and boats- including boats out of the region. He found a boat headed for a place called Alola. He stayed there a few weeks, and once he was done there headed to Galar, and then Hoenn. In each place, he found people to learn from, Pokémon to help, and opportunities to spend money. There really was no reason to rush an end to his journey and find a place to settle… until very suddenly there was.

“Oh, it didn’t go through,” said the motel clerk in some small Hoennese town N had planned to spend the night in.

“What does that mean?” N asked, taking his credit card out of the machine.

“It means you have no money.”

“That’s impossible.” Team Plasma had airships. The idea that a few months of frivolous spending could drain their accounts was ridiculous.

“I’m sorry, you’ll have to take that up with a bank,” the clerk said dismissively before turning back to his computer.

N left the motel and headed for the nearest bank, but it was already closed. It looked like it would be a night in the open for him, and since summer had turned to fall, that wasn’t the comfortable option it had once been. At very least, he had Reshiram to keep him warm and prevent anyone from stealing from him. On Reshiram, he flew to the nearest wild area and slept until morning. The next day, he returned to the bank, only to be turned away because his card was from a different one. After a trip to a larger city, he found one whose logo matched the one on his credit card.

“This card doesn’t work anymore. What’s wrong with it?” N asked the teller.

“It looks like it was cancelled a few days ago,” the woman said.

“Which means?”

“The person whose account it’s attached to, in this case, someone named ‘Ghetsis Harmonia’ didn’t want the card to work anymore, so he called his bank and made it happen.”

“How do I fix that?”

“Are you Ghetsis Harmonia?”

“No. I’m his son, N Harmonia, and he gave that card to me.”

The secretary turned back to her computer and reached for the phone, “Well, I have his phone number right here. If you’d like me to give him a call and figure out what’s-”

N grabbed her hand. “No, don’t. Listen, I need the card to work, but we can’t contact him. I can’t let him know where I am.”

The woman looked at N, startled. N released his grip on her hand. Thankfully, she didn’t make another move for the phone.

“Well, N, in that case I can’t help you. It’s Ghetsis’ card and he’s the only one who controls it. And he will have been able to see what you’ve been buying and where by looking at your purchase history. I’m sorry.”

“There has to be something you can do.”

“There really isn’t. I’m sorry. Best of luck.”

With that, N stepped away from the counter and left the bank, defeated.

Zoroark came out of its ball and began lopping along beside him.

So… back to the wild now? Or what?

N thought on that. “I don’t want to go back to the wild, but I can’t just go wherever without money. If I want to keep living as a human, I guess I’ll have to do what humans do and get a job.”

N headed to a Pokémon center that night, battled a few kids in its parking lot, and used his earnings to buy himself and his two companions supper. Technically speaking, it would be possible to live like this indefinitely. At least, it would be if N had no aspirations beyond staying alive. But if he wanted to make a difference anywhere, he would need to make enough money to worry about things beyond keeping his own life together.

N wasn’t sure where to start looking for a job, but the library surely had books on it. That would probably be a good place to start. On his way to the Petalburg City library, he saw a post office with a sign in the window that read, “Help Wanted: no résumé required.”

N wasn’t sure what a résumé was, but he knew he didn’t have one, so it seemed like an opportunity he didn’t want to miss. Plus, with how fast Reshiram was, he could probably deliver mail really quickly. He entered the post office and was told by the man at the front desk to fill out a form and give them a few days to get back to him. It seemed simple enough until N saw the contents of the form.

Phone number… none.

Address… none.

References… no one he knew for sure wasn’t either in jail or dead.

Relevant experience… N figured that “King of a terrorist organization” wouldn’t earn him any favours.

“I can’t fill this out. I had an unconventional early life,” N explained. “I still want to work here. If you could just-” N got up and grabbed a mail bag from the corner.

“Hey!” yelled the man, turning to N with a look of anger and confusion.

“Let me show you how fast I can deliver these,” N insisted. It occurred to N that he didn’t exactly know how to read addresses, but how hard could it be?

The man grabbed the letterbag and tried to pull it from N’s hands. “What are you doing? You can’t steal people’s mail!”

As soon as he heard the word “steal,” N let go, sending the man tumbling backwards, the letters spilling out over the floor.

“Oh! Let me get those,” N said gently, bending down to pick up the letters.

“Just get out,” the man snapped. N hung his head and did as he was told.

The library didn’t raise N’s spirits any. There were indeed books on finding a job, but they were all about references, résumés, criminal record checks, and other things N just wasn’t set up to do successfully. N ended up battling a couple trainers for lunch money and then pressing on to nowhere in particular.

The next day went similar. N walked to the next city- one called Fortree- looked around for any work that was advertised, received a few “nos” from people who wouldn’t hire him when he had nothing but his word, and then he found a few trainers to fight for enough money to see him to the next day. The day after that went similar, and the day after that. Days turned to weeks, and N rather lost interest in the cities and found himself spending more time in the wild areas, with the creatures whose social structures were so much easier to understand.

Weeks turned to months. N had gotten some temporary work here and there, but nothing that had stuck. He battled for his food and for winter supplies and lived out of his tent and Pokémon centres, spending most of his waking hours either reading or in the wild areas, interacting with various wild Pokémon. Maybe this was the life he was destined for- one not of a human or a Pokémon, but something in between. It wasn’t the heroism he’d grown up expecting and he had no realistic hope of changing the world, but it wasn’t a terrible existence.

Some days were nice. Some days, N could accept just studying physics and survivalism and helping stantler to collect spring berries and the like. It was peaceful. But often, when N saw the stantler return to their herds at night or Zoroark running around and play-wrestling with the pack of mightyena they’d encountered, he felt something familiar that drew him back to the Pokémon Centres to be around people for a while. No one ever stayed there more than a night or two, and N didn’t really know how to tell them a thing about his own unconventional life, but he could join them for a game of cards or the like before returning back to camp with Reshiram.

One night, as he watched a group of preteens laughing over stories of some misadventure they’d shared, N thought back to what Ghetsis had told him about other people.

-

It was two years ago. N was sitting still in his hair-brushing chair, deep in thought as Ghetsis ran a brush through his long, bushy hair.

“You’re quiet today,” Ghetsis noted.

“Sorry,” N replied.

“No, no. Tell me what it is,” Ghetsis insisted gently.

“I… I don’t know. I have my Pokémon and all the mental stimulation I could want, but…”

“But?”

N sighed. He couldn’t easily explain it. He’d recently gotten an abused liepard to lay in his lap for the first time. It had been a weeks-long process to get it to go from a hissing, nervous, aggressive wreck to having its heart open to love again. He thought that doing so would get rid of the sadness that had been building in him, but it hadn’t. Neither had the presence of his sisters, no matter how much they listened to his chatter. They had other places to be, and weren’t allowed to speak a word about their own lives.

“Father, when I go on my journey, will I meet other people like me? I know what my mission will be, but-”

“No, you won’t be making friends,” Ghetsis cut in. “You aren’t like the others, and that’s a good thing. You’re untainted. You’re above them. A king. Trust me, N, once you see the disgusting selfishness of others, you won’t want anything to do with them. Anyhow, aren’t you always saying that the Pokémon are your friends?”

N stayed still as he thought of the rotating cast of battered and abused Pokémon that had stayed with him in his room. Ghetsis was right- why would he want to befriend monsters who did things like that to his friends? N gritted his teeth in frustration with himself. He should be better than that.

“What will the people on my journey be like?” N asked, suddenly more worried of them than hopeful. “Will there be people like you, or the seven sages, or Anthea and Cordonia?”

“No. And even if they were, you wouldn’t know how to talk to them. You know how to give speeches, and that’s the only speaking skill you’ll need. But don’t worry, your friends will protect you. Just follow the plan to the letter, don’t talk to anyone unless it’s for the plan or to change their minds, and you’ll be fine. We wouldn’t ask of you something you weren’t capable of.”

“...Okay,” N conceded. “Could you stay a little longer today? Just to talk.”

“What about?”

“I don’t know. Math. Math and Pokémon. The usual.”

Somehow, that didn’t seem like nearly enough.

-

If N could ignore that feeling then, he could ignore it now, and he did. Mostly, he just felt like time was passing him by.

Then, one rainy night, everything changed.

N was woken with a start by the sound of stampeding hooves and the cries of Pokémon filled the air. He grabbed his flashlight, scrambled out of his tent and immediately felt warm smoke entering his lungs. N took out his Reshiram immediately, mounted it, and took to the air, taking in some deep gulps of oxygen once they’d risen higher than the smoke.

Thankfully, it seemed as though the fire was far off from where he was. Nonetheless, just leaving it to burn would be a terrible idea.

“Reshiram, to the swamp,” N ordered his Pokémon. It nodded and obeyed, and in under a minute, it had landed again. N saw the bubbly mud below the water’s surface and knew that politoed must be hibernating underneath it. He started digging in the soft mud and quickly hit the skin of a frog Pokémon. The politoed looked up at him, annoyed, and readied a watergun.

“We have a forest fire to put out,” N shouted. “Wake up your friends! Come on!”

The politoed seemed to grasp the severity of the situation almost immediately and gave a loud ribbet as it crawled out of the mud. Soon, over a dozen frogs had climbed out of the mud and onto Reshiram, who waited until N had mounted to take to the pitch-black sky again.

The only thing that could be seen through the smoke and the blackness of night was the glow of the forest fire. Reshiram flew towards it, beginning to angle downwards as they got near.

Reshiram stopped gliding and fluttered high above the fire. The politoeds shot water at the blaze down below, but N couldn’t even tell if they were reaching it.

“Deep breaths, everyone,” N ordered, taking one himself before he guided Reshiram into a dive down into the smoke.

“Watergun,” N coughed out, his eyes stinging from smoke.

He could feel the coolness of water shooting past him, and the rain beginning to fall from the politoeds’ ability. The smoke grew less intense, and the heat died down, but as it did so, N grew weaker from smoke inhalation. After a while, Reshiram began to gain altitude again. N, his eyes burning and his body weak from lack of oxygen, had no idea what was going on except that he was suddenly getting much cleaner air. He felt Reshiram glide, then descend again as he hung limply, his head against Reshiram’s neck.

Reshiram landed.

“Did that boy put out the fire before we even got here?” came a voice.

“Or did that Pokémon rescue him?” came another.

“Are you okay, son?” said a voice that sounded to be a middle-aged woman’s. “You inhaled a lot of smoke.”

“Um… I think I am,” N said, blinking away dust and smoke. The woman was stout and strong-looking, and there were many people behind her wearing uniforms that matched her own, most with water-type Pokémon beside them. The sight frightened N.

“You’re not an evil team member, are you?” N asked.

The woman looked at N with disbelief, then laughed heartily. “No, I can promise you I’m not,” she said. “We’re Pokémon rangers. Come on, let’s make sure you’re okay, and then we’ll take it from there.”

[worksinprogress1]

The wind whipped through N’s hair as he rode into the sunset. He didn’t know where he was going, only that it was far from home. Beneath him, cities and forested areas passed him by. Was he still in Unova? He wasn’t sure. If it weren’t for the sun, he wouldn’t even know what direction he was headed. All that he knew was that there was no going back. Even if he wanted to, even if the police and Ghetsis weren’t racing to capture him and very well might have been, there was nothing left for him in Unova. Not that there had ever been much for him to begin with.

As the sun slipped under the horizon, N guided Reshiram to prepare to land. After a few minutes of gliding just above the treetops, they came upon a lush open field that gave Reshiram the space it needed to touch down.

“I guess this is where we’re spending the night,” N said, dismounting. Reshiram huffed in acknowledgment and curled up on the grass.

N knelt down and felt the cool ground, then looked to his Reshiram, its skin glowing orange with warmth beneath its fluffy white fur.

“Could I…?”

Reshiram lifted its head, and, sensing N’s predicament, opened its wing. N slid laid down at the creature’s side and allowed it to cover him with its warm plumage. His zoroark took the opportunity to come out of its ball and snuggle up against N, its head pressed against his chest. 

“Reshiram,” N said, closing his eyes, “what should I do?”

Reshiram’s chest heaved, as though it was preparing to give bad news. I don’t know. The world has changed much since I was last a part of it. I trust that you will continue to follow your ideals, N, and I will help you however I can. But for practical advice, I’m sorry to say that I’m useless.

N stifled a sob, useless as that was while sandwiched between two Pokémon, one of which could smell his feelings.

It will be okay, N, Zoroark told him.

Yes, N, Reshiram agreed. It will be okay. We’re here.

“Thank you,” N whispered, hugging his zoroark tighter. The feel of their fur and of falling asleep between the bodies of warm, furry creatures reminded N of the winter nights he’d spent as a child, snuggled into his mother’s fur for warmth alongside his zorua pup siblings. Maybe he could go back to that life. It was the only prior life he knew, after all, and he’d been happy with it then.

The next day, N addressed his Pokémon and told him his plan.

It seems sad that the best you can do is to live apart from society, but you would know your options best, said Reshiram.

Zoroark on the other hand looked ready to move. Well, I think this could be great! I’ll help you to refind your wild. Come on, first thing we gotta do is find some water that’ll agree with your delicate human stomach. Let’s go! With that, it took off into the woods, sniffing the air periodically and changing direction depending on what it found. N followed it at a jog, and Reshiram flew overhead.

Before long, the trio had arrived at flowing brook. Zoroark drank from it as the others caught up.

Alright. Now, you should probably follow this upstream until you get to the source. It could be a long walk, so… Zoroark returned to its ball.

N took it right back out. “No. I don’t want ownership of you,” N explained to him. “I’m not like other trainers, and I’m sorry I acted like one. I hope you’ll stay with me as a friend, but you’re your own creature now. Don’t forget it.”

The zoroark huffed, broke eye contact, and let out a little whine. But it’s hot… it grumbled, but it resigned itself to lopping along, N at his side and the sun beating down.

Once they arrived at the spring, N and his two Pokémon drank heavily from it. After that, it was time to scout out nearby caves. They were able to find one big enough one for the three to occupy by nightfall, and there was time besides to survey the area for edible wild plants, which, thanks to zoroark’s sniffer, were easy enough to identify.

For a solid day afterward, N truly thought he could make do with a wild existence. Then, he woke up to pouring rain and gnawing hunger. Roots, bark and berries weren’t enough for him, even though he’d eaten himself sick on them the day before. Zoroark, the crepuscular being he was, had already taken off just as he had the previous morning, leaving N with nothing to do but sit against his still-sleeping Reshiram and debate venturing out.

A couple hours ticked away, and N found himself drawing chemical equations and structures in the dirt. If only he had his books with him, this time would pass quicker. What kind of Pokémon was he if he couldn’t even go out in the rain? But his clothes didn’t dry easily, and he didn’t want to be wet all night. He was already uncomfortable- his mouth was fuzzy and stale, his hair was tangled, he needed a shave, and he sweat so much more now than when he was a cub. N’s stomach growled. Damnit, he wanted a proper meal. A part of N resented Ghetsis for ever taking him from the wild and keeping him from learning to live this life.

-

It was fourteen years ago. With one hand holding N down so he didn’t run from the tub of water, Ghetsis inserted the strange object into N’s muddy pelt and pulled, practically taking N with it. N yelped, then turned to Ghetsis and snarled, drops of soapy water splashing onto Ghetsis’ impassive face. 

Far from intimidated by the small, dirty boy, Ghetsis sighed heavily. “This is more matted than I expected. I’ll have to cut it all off,” he said.

Ghetsis snapped his fingers, and an attendant turned on his heel and appeared moments later with a pair of sharp claw-like things that drew together.

N whimpered. Even then, he’d understood enough English to know that Ghetsis meant him no harm, but Ghetsis was rough, and forceful, and everything about the situation was so new.

“There, there,” Ghetsis cooed as he pushed N’s head down and brought the scissors to his scalp. “It’ll grow back. In fact, I think long hair would suit you. It’ll be softer and nicer, too.”

After N’s pelt was shorn and thrown away, he spent what felt like another half-hour being scrubbed by Ghetsis’ attendants. By the end, his skin felt raw.

“There. Don’t you feel better?” Ghetsis asked N once he was in new clothes. “Now, let’s get you some dinner. I’ve ordered something bland for you tonight, but over time, you will be accustomed to food richer than you could have imagined in the wild.”

-

N’s memory was interrupted by his zoroark returning, hauling a half-eaten dead linoone by the neck. Brought you something to eat, he said.

“Say, that’s right- I used to eat meat as a cub. Thank you, Zoroark,” N said, rubbing the creature between the ears.

N turned his attention to the linoone. “Now… how did I eat it?”

N wasn’t stupid- he knew that humans didn’t eat raw meat. But he struggled to see how else it could have gone when he was young, with a whole litter of hungry pups to compete with. Maybe he had some sort of rare immunity, or exposure from a young age had given him one.

Tentatively, N peeled back the linoone’s pelt to expose a part of it that Zoroark hadn’t touched and bit into it. The metallic taste of blood coated his mouth instantly. N pulled away and tried to chew the tough, bloody meat, but in seconds he’d spat out the red wad on instinct.

What are you doing? Zoroark yelped. Reshiram could have cooked that for you!

Roused by the commotion, N’s Reshiram lazily lifted its head. You called?

It was as Reshiram stared, unimpressed at the sight of N’s bloodstained face that the memory hit N like a brick: he hadn’t eaten his mother’s raw kills as a cub, the darmanitan that visited their family had brought him cooked meat. God, he was stupid.

“This isn’t working,” N admitted. “Let’s take a fly.”

And so, they did. Reshiram was very fast, and N found a village after an hour of flying, and various towns and cities not long after that. N still had Ghetsis’ credit card- an item given to him for his journey around Unova. He could use it to buy supplies and solve his immediate problems. That would give him some time and space to figure out what to do in the long run.

N guided Reshiram to land at the outskirts of a port town. “You’d best stay here, Reshiram,” N said to it. “We don’t want too much attention.” Reshiram nodded in understanding. As N entered the city, “Canalave,” according to a sign, Zoroark took the form of a pikachu to be more inconspicuous. N wished he had some way to turn into another person, but no such luck. He’d have to buy a hoodie while he was in town so he’d at least have a hood to put up.

N walked quickly through the blue brick streets of the elegant port town until he made it to a shop near the canal. If the locals were paying him any attention, they didn’t show it. When N got to the check-out of the store, he saw a flicker of recognition on the shopkeeper’s face.

“Are you N?” asked the shopkeeper.

“Why do you ask?” N said, his heart pounding in his chest.

The cashier flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry. I keep up with foreign news, and I wasn’t expecting to see you all the way in Sinnoh.”

N’s mind raced to put together the implications of that statement. “So I’m not commonly known in this region, and no one’s out to get me.”

“Not as far as I know.”

“Thank you,” N said. With that, he paid and left.

On the way back to Reshiram, N caught sight of a big and beautiful building. “Canalave Library,” read the sign.

N remembered wanting to visit a library once he was finally allowed to roam Unova unescorted. He had, briefly, but he’d had many other important things to do. 

N found himself stepping into Canalave Library and immediately gravitating to the non-fiction section. Maybe he could find something helpful here, or at least interesting. His heart rate picked up as he passed the history books, Ghetsis’ words echoing in his brain.

If you learn about all the things humans have done, it would take your innocence, he’d said. It would make you a monster, just like the people who hurt your friends and all of Pokémonkind.

Ghetsis had lied to N about a lot, especially in terms of how decent humans could be, and how they related to Pokémon. Learning history would be a good way to learn a little more about the truth about humans. Was his purity worth that? N wracked his brain for some other way to figure out what exactly Ghetsis had been hiding from him.

-

It was eleven years ago. “Tell me about that book series you’re reading,” Ghetsis said as N scrambled into his special hair-brushing seat- a daily ritual they’d had for three years now. N knew by now that if he squirmed, either he or the Pokémon in his room would get the cane, and he did look forward to talking, in addition to needing the practice. Human language was a lot more complicated than most Pokémon languages.

“It’s great!” N replied, “it’s about this superheroes that fight this evil alien race that want farm humans like humans farm tauros! Have the sages finished vetting the next book yet? I’m about two day away from finish.”

“These superheroes, and you’re two days away from finishing.” Ghetsis corrected, dipping a comb in lavender oil.

N sighed. “These superheroes, two days away from finishing,” he repeated. “But, are they?”

“I’m afraid it will take them a week or two to finish reading the next one over.”

N bristled with annoyance. “Why does it take them so long?”

“They’re chapter books, and the sages have other important things to do,” Ghetsis stated.

N bristled with annoyance, but stayed still. “Can I read it anyway?” he asked.

“If you ask one more time, you’ll get the cane. You know how important your innocence is,” Ghetsis deadpanned, combing N’s bangs into place.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. Your book will be vetted soon, and in the meantime, you have your chemistry.”

It was a good thing that N liked chemistry. Chemistry didn’t need vetting, so he could read it as fast as he wanted. 

-

Hesitantly, N went to the front desk.

“Do you have the Ultra Alien Task Force books?” N asked the librarian.

“Yes,” the librarian replied.

After being guided to the children’s chapter books, N took out book six of the series and flipped to the thirteenth chapter- one containing one of the heroes’  backstories. When he’d read it as a child, several pages of it had been blotted out by the sages with black marker. N read the pages he’d missed as fast as he could.

The hero’s father used to beat him with a belt as a punishment, like Ghetsis had frequently beat N or his friends with his cane. And the book portrayed that as a trauma, and the father’s hero as a monster. No wonder Ghetsis hadn’t wanted him to see this.

N got up, returned the book to its shelf, and took out a book on the myths and legends of Sinnoh- the region he’d apparently found himself in. What followed was an afternoon of study. He read about a time long, long ago, when humans and Pokémon lived in utmost harmony. They lived together, ate together, sometimes even married. There was substantial paleontological evidence that this legend was true. However, there were also frighteningly recent parts of its history when it had lost its connection with Pokémon and saw them only as enemies, closing their gates to them and slaughtering them when they could. And yet, that was treated as an anomaly, different from other regions at the time.

N read up on other regions as well, and when his mind got tired, he took breaks and read childhood books that Ghetsis had deemed inappropriate for him. He was reading up on ride Pokémon in the Alola region when a scratchy voice sounded over the intercom.

Attention, the library will be closing in five minutes. Please make your way to the exit.

N checked his watch. It was 7:55. He’d missed getting engrossed in study like this.

I really can’t live in the wild, N thought to himself, Or at least, I wouldn’t want to. Then a second realization hit him. I can do anything I want now. I can find out whatever I want about the world for as long as I need to figure out how to live in it and help it.

When N got back to Reshiram, it was with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Reshiram on the other hand was regarding him with impatience, unhappy with having been made to wait all day.

“Reshiram, we’re not going back to the cave. We’re staying in a motel tonight. I’ve decided that I’m not going to hide from the world. I’ll find my place in it, find a way to help.”

Reshiram’s features softened into a smile.

That sounds like a plan.

N dug out a pokéball. “That does mean we’ll have to use this, though. I know I said that I wouldn’t use them anymore, but you won’t fit in a motel room.”

And if you’d used one today, I wouldn’t have had to sit in one spot for hours. You still have much to learn when it comes to tempering your ideals with truths. But it seems you’re headed the right direction.

N chuckled. “I’ll take it. Thank you, Reshiram.”

With that, N returned the mighty beast and headed back into town.

[worksinprogress1]

The festival was a sight to be seen. Never before had any resident of Jubilife seen so many clanspeople within their streets, let alone welcomed them warmly. Children donned masks and chased each other through the streets, merchants made trades, musicians played, and every spirit seemed to soar.

Through it all, Laventon couldn’t be in enough places at once. Everything was worthy of a photograph, and he sought to capture as much of the event as he could. He’d captured a beautiful photo first thing- one of clanspeople in their finest montsukis and furisodes pouring through Jubilife’s open gate- and from that moment on, the spirit of photography was with him. He was managing successful picture after successful picture. With any luck, this would serve as a reminder for everyone the joy and connection that came from working as one- not that he suspected the tale of the three factions conquering Gods together would die out anytime soon.

It was as Laventon captured shots of the drummers drumming that he caught sight of two men and a woman carrying fireworks toward the edge of town. He certainly wanted a picture of that. He followed the three up the towers of the village gates, asking them the best place to set up his camera for the best view.

“Excuse me,” Laventon said to the trio, “where can I best set up? To take a stunning photograph of the fireworks without disturbing you, that is.”

The woman chuckled. “The fireworks won’t be for another hour yet, and you’ll be able to see them from anywhere.”

Laventon blushed. “Oh. Yes, of course.”

“You should go down to the town square. Someone down there is looking for you.”

“Oh!” he replied. “Very well, then.”

The square was in the thick of the action. It was where the musicians had chosen to play, and thus, a lot of people had taken to dancing there and merchants had taken to the edges of it, trying to make a dollar off of partygoers.

Sitting off to the side of it was Cyllene and Rei, talking at one of the tables outside the Wallflower. Even disregarding how he was leaning over the table with his good arm and how tired his unbandaged eye looked, Rei seemed drained. Who wouldn’t be after all he’d been through? But he was happily chatting with Cyllene, perhaps recounting the tale of how he’d been injured in the first place.

Cyllene. It wasn’t often that Laventon had seen Cyllene interacting casually- not outside her training sessions with Zisu that Laventon had sat in on and in one disastrous instance, participated in. She was wearing a fine purple kimono, her face adorned with a small smile as she listened to Rei’s tale. She reminded Laventon of a queen he’d once met in Jhoto- a comparison he perhaps ought to keep to himself.

“I heard you were looking for me,” Laventon said as he approached their table.

“No,” Cyllene replied. “But it’s good to see you nonetheless.”

“Yeah!” Rei seconded. “I have so much to tell you about what the plates are for, and a story to tell you that I’ll be telling to everyone for years, especially once these are scars to bring it up with!” Rei pointed at the bandages over his eye with that that last part.

“Well, I’d love to hear it!” Laventon said. Just then, the music slowed as a new, romantic song played. “But, um, first,” he turned to Cyllene. “May I have this dance?” he asked, extending a hand to her.

“You may,” she replied, taking it, and soon they were on their way to the square.

“I’ll warn you, I don’t really know how to dance, let alone whatever dances are popular in Hisui.”

“I don’t dance, either,” Cyllene replied. “So show me how Galarians dance. It’s the only way either of us know.”

Laventon put a hand on her shoulder and his other one on her hip, and she mirrored him. “Very well, then… I only know so well myself, but… one step, two step… one step, two step…”

It was a simple dance, one that both of them could keep up.

Eventually, the song ended and the next one began. “You look lovely tonight, by the way,” Laventon mentioned as they returned to the table. “Is that why you were looking for me? So I could see you dolled up?”

“I wasn’t looking for you,” Cyllene said.said.

Laventon chuckled. “You’re too much.”

“It’s the truth,” Cyllene said.

“Laventon, I would like a word with you,” Kamado said.

Laventon looked over to Cyllene, nervous and looking for guidance. Kamado had every right to be at this party, of course- Laventon had caught glimpses of him while he was running around with a camera, even- but this had come out of nowhere and he hadn’t done anything wrong that he could think of, and-

“Cyllene can come as well. I promise that you aren’t in any trouble.”

With that, Laventon and Cyllene started following Kamado. They followed him past the gates of Jubilife- gates that were left open more and more nowadays as Pokémon and the clans had become less their enemies and more their allies. Laventon began to trust that Kamado really did mean no harm. Or at least, that he might.

“You still keep a knife on you, right? At all times?” Laventon whispered to Cyllene. Not that it was likely to come to that, but it would be reassuring nonetheless!

“Is that something Mesprit showed you?” Cyllene whispered back.

“Yes,” Laventon replied, taking a more thorough look over Cyllene’s outfit and wondering how exactly she’d manage to hide a knife in it.

“I don’t think we’ll have any need to impale our commander,” Cyllene said coolly. Laventon grabbed her hand for comfort.

The trio’s destination wasn’t far from the village: it was Prelude Beach, the same port that Laventon had arrived to Hisui at, and, most likely, the place that Cyllene and Kamado had years prior.

“Laventon,” Kamado started, “I have brought you here to apologize. When the first of us arrived here on Prelude Beach, myself, Beni, and all the others, we had little. We wanted to make ourselves a home and a future here, and I would have done anything to protect it from anything that might threaten our status quo, such as a team of adventurers teaching us to live in harmony with dangerous creatures, aided by a foreigner seeking glory. But since you have come here and since the Survey Corps has flourished, the lives of everyone in Jubilife have improved. Thank you for your help in protecting Hisui, and I’m sorry that I didn’t see that you were with us from the beginning.”

“Sir… It’s alright,” Laventon said. “So long as I’m welcome here now and you respect me from now on, that’s all I care about.” It was the truth.

Kamado’s stiff posture seemed to ease considerably. “Thank you…” Kamado said.

For a moment, the three sat on the beach, watching the waves come in as they reflected light from the lanterns of Jubilife. Laventon held Cyllene close and Cyllene held him back, Kamado’s presence ruining none of it. Maybe Laventon should have been less forgiving of Kamado, but he honestly felt like a hurricane had stopped coming his way- like he could stop waiting for a shoe to drop. Maybe now that Kamado wasn’t a shoe or a hurricane he could be a person to Laventon, maybe even one he liked, or maybe he couldn’t, but all Laventon could feel now was relieved. Relieved, and grateful that he could keep enjoying the wonders of Hisui without fear.

Suddenly, the trio heard the whizzing sound of something flying through the air, followed by the bang of the first firework exploding into a flash of coloured sparks.

“Oh, no! The fireworks!” Laventon cried, rising to his feet. “I need to get back and capture this!”

“They’ll be going long enough for you to take your photo. But let’s hurry, just to be safe,” Cyllene said, and the three rushed back to Jubilife together.

[worksinprogress1]

Rei hung tight to his alpha yanmega, scouring the fields below for any signs of Volo as he approached Jubilife Village. There were none, and he quickly found himself at the steps of Galaxy Hall. Once inside, Rei could hear the ear-piercing scrape of claws against metal. Rei ran to investigate it and found Volo, his arcanine out and clawing at the door to the Galaxy Team's vault.

"What are you doing?" Rei yelled.

"What I must," Volo answered. His arcanine breathed fire on the door, causing the metal to glow red from the heat. With another scratch, his arcanine managed to bend the near-molten lock enough to break it off. Volo stepped into the vault, ignoring the money and other valuables and making directly for the plates of life, which he pocketed.

"Volo, we need your help! Come on, you can't study the plates if there’s no world to study them in!"

Volo chuckled sadistically. "It's rather inspiring that you Survey Corps members think you can stand against two Gods, but that's impossible. Even a trainer of my might most likely couldn't, and you are not trainers of my might. With you as our defenders, the world will most likely fall. And that's why I need to do this now! I need to finish what I started when I created the rift in the sky. I will summon Arceus to make my new, kinder world before this one dies!"

For a moment, Rei was stunned. Volo ran past him, his arcanine following.

Rei turned and threw out his decidueye. "After him!" he yelled, taking chase himself.

Volo didn't even look back, but his arcanine did, spitting flames not just at the decidueye, but at Rei as well. Rei ducked behind a desk to shield himself from harm. Moments later, he emerged from hiding to find Volo gone and several small fires in need of putting out. Rei hesitated a moment on which to focus on, then took off out of Galaxy Hall.

Outside, Volo had mounted his togekiss and was taking off into the air, pursued by a few Security Corps members who had happened to have large flying Pokémon on them.

"There's fires in the Galaxy Hall. Make sure they get put out!" Rei called to one of the ground-bound guards before he mounted his own Pokémon and took chase.

-

With the three nobles and their wardens by his side, Laventon watched as the various Pokémon of the Survey Corps launched their attacks at the steel behemoth. It turned to give them a pained roar at times, but thankfully it wasn't retaliating- at least not anymore. It called to mind something Laventon had once read about how cave people kept predatory Pokémon at bay by having a large group throw rocks at them- they couldn't be a threat to these beings, but they could be a nuisance enough to guide them away from harming them, much like one would avoid a horde of insects.

Finally, Palkia stumbled into the arena. Lord Arcanine growled and got into a fighting stance, but Palina ordered it to heel, to wait for the right moment.

Laventon handed off the origin ball to his porygon-Z, and it levitated high into the sky, positioning the ball at just the right angle to hit Palkia with a stream of intense red light.

Palkia screamed and fell to its knees with an earth-shaking boom. It shot hyperbeams from its mouth, forcing several Survey Corps members to take cover. The Porygon-Z set up a light screen, intensifying the light further and prompting more screams from Palkia. As it got up, panting and growling, its hide began to turn the same golden colour as the nobles had turned when enraged.

"Now," Laventon said. The three wardens let loose their nobles. Arcanine bit at Palkia's heels and shot rocks at its face, dodging and weaving as the behemoth tried to kick it away. Kleavor climbed up the writing creature's leg and began hacking at its back with its axes. Avalugg shot it with ice.

Palkia roared. Trees fell from the ground a few yards from the arena. It roared again, and rocks shot up from the earth on the arena's edge. It was distorting space to defend itself. This would most likely be devastating in normal circumstances, but while it was too enraged to use that power with any accuracy, the Godly beast was just as helpless as it was powerful, launching nearly-aimless attacks as the lords weakened it and it became engulfed in more and more intense yellow. The humans on the outskirts of the arena relied on the shields of psychic types or the speed of their various rides to stay safe.

Laventon felt a tug at his coat. Poygon-Z had returned and was offering him the origin ball. "I suppose now would be the time," Laventon said. He mounted his borrowed ursaluna and rode through the icy arena, watching Palkia's mouth should it try distorting space again and its feet lest it try to stomp him. Once he got close enough that it was a sure hit, he threw the ball. It hit. Palkia disappeared into the ball. It shook. It wouldn't stop shaking with Palkia's frenzied anger and torment. But it sparked shut.

"Oh, it's alright," Laventon cooed, scooping up the ball. "Once your brother is caught and we fix the sky, you'll feel much better, I'm sure of it."

From the distance, a roar sounded.

"At least, I hope."

---

There may have only been two nobles at the Moonview Arena, but they fought with spirit. From the back of her staraptor, Cyllene watched as Lord Voltorb and Lady Liligant dashed around the giant's feet, Liligant striking Dialga’s muscled legs with kicks and voltorb sending out electricity shocks. All seemed well until the beast once again roared, slowing time to a crawl.

This had not been the first roar. During the first roar, Cyllene had left the manipulation of the origin ball to her alakazam. But as Dialga moved regularly and everyone else was nearly frozen, keeping the red beam of light on it required an incredible amount of focus and coordination. Using small movements in her wrist, she focused the beam of light through the light screen her alakazam had put up and onto Dialga, trying to keep it distracted while the nobles were crippled.

She'd done this four times before.

Each roar had been longer than the last.

There was little distraction could do for an attack that required no accuracy, and they couldn't keep this up forever.

Liligant was on the far side of the arena, frozen in mid-air as it tried to run. Dialga galloped towards her, nearing the edge of the light's beam. Cyllene tried to adjust the origin ball, but slowed down as she was, she couldn't keep up with Dialga. Its mighty foot came down upon the Lady of the Ridge, crushing her.

Time sped up again. Cyllene led her staraptor into a dive towards Lilligant, scooped her up, and then brought her back to Cabala.

"Take her to safety," Cyllene ordered, "and find some backup." One noble could not be expected to handle this.

"I believe we should call Lord Voltorb back," Melli insisted, his voice carrying the implication that this had been a stupid plan all along.

"I agree," Cyllene said, looking out to the arena, where the Lord of the Hollow was rolling with all its might to avoid Dialga's mighty stomps.

Cyllene called the Survey Corps members to the ground and ordered that they bring out every Pokémon they had that could use forcefields of any sort. Together, they erected a dome strong enough to contain the beast, at least for the time being. A few members were sent to different districts to find backup.

Dialga threw itself against the patchwork of shields. It was beginning to get scratched up, but then, so was Dialga. Periodically, Dialga slowed time. Right after one of its roars of time and thus a little while before it could use the move again, Cyllene ran into the dome and threw the origin ball at Dialga, hoping for the best. It bounced right off, doing nothing but bringing its attention to her. She ran between the creature's legs, picked up the origin ball, and made it out the other side of the dome. Once she did, she looked back at the menacing beast as it shoulder-chucked the shield. Dialga needed more damage if they were to catch it and keep everyone safe. Much more damage. And soon. But until backup arrived, there was little they could do but wait.

---

Rei could have caught up to Volo, as togekiss wasn't the fastest of rides, but instead he chose to keep pace keep his stealth. Thankfully, Volo never came to notice him as he took the plates back to the now-abandoned Spear Pillar. Volo landed, took out his garchomp to stand guard, and began taking out the plates, one by one, and arranging them into a horseshoe shape on the temple floor. He glanced back, saw Rei, and, realizing that Rei was too far away to properly hear any taunts, settled for smirking at him and then returning to his work.

Rei remained in the air. There was no way he could beat Volo in battle. Should he try anyhow, and delay the inevitable? Or was there another way that might buy him more time?

Volo placed the final plate, smiling as they began to rise and glow. Then, a raichu dashed through his formation, knocking the plates aside and running away with one in its mouth. Volo stood and turned, watching as the electric rat ran the plate back to the pesky trainer who'd followed him there.

"You meddlesome brat! You're making the last mistake of your life!"

"Not unless you catch me!" Rei said, holding up the insect plate and sounding braver than he felt.

Volo snapped his fingers, and his garchomp sprang into action, jumping surprisingly high and gliding on the aircurrents.

Rei simply guided his yanmega to go higher. Garchomp could glide with grace, but it couldn’t fly. And there was no way that Volo’s togekiss could catch up to him, especially after it had done so much flying already. Rei looked back at Volo, his face enraged and his land shark slowly gliding back to him. Rei stuck his tongue out.

Volo growled. But then he laughed. "You think you have the aerial advantage, don't you? Well, I have a little surprise for you! Don’t you feel the chill building in your veins?"

Volo paused for dramatic effect. Expecting Volo to come after him with ranged attacks, Rei readied a pokéball. Volo grinned menacingly.

"Giratina, strike him down!"

A new void opened in the sky, and out of it came a worm-like monster the size of Dialga or Palkia, with glowing red eyes that shone from its golden crown of a face. The beast roared, and with a single strike of its claw-tipped shadowy tentacle, it sent Rei and his Pokémon flying. He landed on the rough mountain rock on his back, and his yanmega immediately returned to its ball, too hurt to carry on.

If only... I could do the same... Rei thought. Then, he saw the insect plate just a few feet from him. Unsteadily, Rei got to his feet and picked up the plate. He raised it above his head and brought it down on the rocks again and again, hoping to break it. His mad fury continued until suddenly, he couldn't bring the plate down again. He looked up to see that Volo had grabbed onto the plate, and with Giratina floating right behind him, there was no Pokémon he could bring out to save him.

"I'll be taking that!" Volo said, snatching the plate away and leaving Rei to fall to his knees.

As Volo began to walk away, a roar sounded in the distance. Giratina perked up its head and turned its attention to the sound. It made a strange mrrring noise that seemed to shock Volo to his core.

"Absolutely not! I don't care that Dialga is weakened, you are not going to finish it off!"

Giratina moved towards the noise longingly.

"Don't you dare!" Volo yelled, chucking his fragment of red chain at the giant worm. Red electricity crackled once Giratina was struck. Giratina bellowed in pain as it was thrown back a few meters. Then, it snarled in frustration.

"Hey! Don't hurt him like that!" Rei called out, taking out a few Pokémon in case there was a fight.

Giratina turned its attention to Rei.

Volo wronged me, came a voice from Giratina. Helping you could provide me some revenge. Would you like to give me a command before I bring down my sibling?

It took Rei a moment to recover from shock.

"Uh, yeah. Could you take the plates from him, and also take me the way you're going? My people are there and I could really use some medical attention."

Girtina grunted. Then, it squeezed Rei in one of its shadowy tentacles, gathered up the rest of the plates in his other tentacles, and took off. It was a rough ride, with Giratina paying little mind to how its tentacles- and with them, Rei- swung as he flew.

I liked Volo's plan of overthrowing Arceus, Giratina mused, and Volo was agreeable enough at first. But I did not like how he treated me, or how tightly controlled his view for the new world was. I don’t want to spend eternity with someone who treats me as he did. Perhaps... perhaps any human who wishes to be the next Arceus would be no better than Arceus itself... a depressing thought. It is something I must ponder before the next opportunity like this comes along.

Rei, who'd just finished upchucking his lunch into the open air, raised his head. "Ugh... what was that last part?"

Giratina didn't answer. It simply set Rei down, threw down the plates, and rose back up. Soon, a medic was upon him, and Rei could lay back, accepting that his part in this conflict was finished.

--

When the dome of forcefields shattered before any backup had arrived, Cyllene thought they were done for. But as the semi-transparent shields faded away, she saw the new creature on the other side of the arena. It was big, and it looked strong. And importantly, it seemed to take issue with Dialga, hitting it head-on with its crowned head as the two locked limbs, each trying to overcome the other's strength.

"What is that thing?" Adaman asked Cyllene.

"I don't know," she answered. "But it's our salvation."

Cyllene took out her staraptor and once again took into the skies, beaming down the targeted red light onto Dialga in order to help their mysterious interloper. When the light hit Dialga, it once again roared in pain. While Dialga was distracted, the strange monster pushed it back several feet and then knocked it to the ground on its side. It then wrapped Dialga in its shadowy tentacles, and by the sounds that Dialga made after that, those shadows caused pain that made the red light feel like a kiss goodnight in comparison. Dialga roared and slowed time once again, but that seemed to do nothing to alleviate its pain. Its cries became weaker. When time returned to normal, Cyllene threw the origin ball. It hit, Dialga disappeared into it, and the ball clicked shut with a spark.

As soon as Dialga was caught, the sky began to turn blue again. Cyllene didn't pretend to understand why- it would be a good subject for further study once they returned to Jubilife- but it seemed as though balance had been restored to the world.

Giratina chuffed in a way that sounded almost like a satisfied laugh, then collapsed in the arena, curled up, and closed its eyes to rest. It was beaten up from the fight, too. Quite badly, it looked like. And on its side was a chain-shaped burning red scar.

"Unbelievable!" came a sharp yell from the bushes. Everyone turned their heads towards the tired and furious Volo that was emerging from the bushes. "Ruining my plans to go satisfy some stupid rivalry? Pathetic!"

Rei came up behind Cyllene. his arm was in a cast and he'd had some serious cuts bandaged, but otherwise, he seemed fine. "Uh, ma'am? Volo kind of admitted to causing the rift in the sky. We should probably turn him in to the Security Corps."

"Alright," Cyllene said, taking out a pokéball. Survey Corps members rallied behind her.

"Ha! You're laughable. None of you have a quarter of my strength in battle. None of you could have subdued the Gods on your own. Try me!"

It was then that Laventon, Irida, and the Pearl Clan wardens appeared behind her, the pearl nobles and several members of the Survey Corps behind them. From behind Volo, several members of the Security Corps appeared, led by Kamado. It was a bit late, but the backup had arrived.

"We would have done just fine," Cyllene stated. “And I believe we can take you, as well.”

Volo glanced around the arena, trying to find a place to escape and finding that he was surrounded. Even a trainer as formidable as he was stood no chance against so many. He attempted to make a run for an opening, only to be caught by the arms by two Security Corps members.

"Good, a mystery solved," Kamado stated. "Take him to the Jubilife prison until he can be put to trial." Kamado stepped before the crowd of people. "We have faced a calamity unlike any we have known—but we were able to overcome it by working as one! This calls for a celebration—a festival for us all! Gather your clans! This will be the greatest celebration Hisui has ever seen!"

"Awesome!" Rei exclaimed. "Just one thing I have to do first."

Giratina's eyes opened weakly as Rei ran up to it and his origin ball hit it in the forehead. The ball shook weakly, but ultimately clicked shut.

"We'll... uh, we'll talk about what to do with this guy later," Rei suggested.

With that, everyone started for Jubilife.

[worksinprogress1]

Cyllene and Laventon returned to the camp hand-in-hand. Irida and Adaman were the first to notice, and they looked to Laventon for signs as to how his little intervention had gone.

Laventon gave them an encouraging nod. “Yes, she’s prepared to lead, if that’s what you were wondering.”

“That I am,” Cyllene seconded.

“Good. We’ll need everyone on their game for this,” Irida said. “Now, could you show me how you make ultra balls while we’re waiting?”

“Sure,” Cyllene replied.

Not long after, Poppy came by.

"Captain Cyllene, the origin balls are done," she explained. "When you're ready, we're ready for you."

"Excellent.

---

Above the runes, three pokéballs made of red gem-like material floated alongside the short scrap of what remained of the red chain.

"What do we do from here?" Cyllene asked Cogita.

"That has no easy answer," Cogita responded. "The red chain is said to be able to mend the sky and to bind any Pokémon to the will of its holder. Once a Pokémon is caught in the origin ball, it will be unable to escape, and we’ll be able to soothe them. But catching them may present quite a challenge."

"If it works like catching any other Pokémon, we'll have to weaken them first, then."

Cogita nodded. "That sounds wisest."

"If only we could actually touch them..." Poppy grumbled.

"Yeah," another Survey Corps member said, "we could take gems off of the chain just fine, but we couldn't move it, and once the balls were made, they were too hot to handle, literally!"

"Perhaps we should allow the trial-goers to give it a try,” Cogita suggested.

Cyllene stepped up to the chain and carefully took it in her hands. It emanated an otherworldly warmth, but it was nowhere near burning.

"Rei, Laventon, touch it."

The two did as they were told. Volo touched it as well. Irida also tried, but immediately pulled her hand back, letting out a little yelp.

"Told you Ursaluna didn't count," Adaman said.

"It was more than you did!" Irida barked back, holding her burnt hand.

Rei, Laventon and Cyllene each took an origin ball, and Volo took the remaining scrap of red chain. With that, they were on their way.

The Survey Corps made their way through the tunnels of Mount Coronet, their Pokémon keeping any wild creatures at bay. Finally, they made it to the mouth of the cave, from which Cyllene could see a disastrous but completely expected sight: Security Corps soldiers guarding the mouth of the cave. As planned, Laventon made his way to the center of the Survey Corps crowd, trying to detract attention from himself.

"Captain Cyllene. What is your business here?" asked one of the Security Corps guards.

"I have news from Jubilife. I need an audience with Kamado."

"And the others?" the guard asked, eyeing the crowd suspiciously. If he saw Laventon, he didn't show it.

"They can stay there for now."

"Very well, captain."

Cyllene was marched to the center of the Spear Pillar, where Kamado and the highest-ranked members of the Security Corps were standing in a battle-ready formation, staring up into the ever-expanding void. From so close, it looked like a tear into another dimension- like a part of the sky had become partially transparent, allowing them to see and hear that something on the other side was intent on clawing its way out.

"Commander. I have news," Cyllene started, getting Kamado to turn to face her. "According to a lorekeeper named Cogita, two deities will come out of that rift in the sky. It would be suicidal to face them with blades and Pokémon alone. But I might have an alternate solution."

Kamado nodded. "Very well. What is your proposition?"

"We created special pokéballs from a chain said to bind reality. Cogita told us that by catching the deities, we can restore order to the world."

"Excellent, we'll-"

"Sir!" called a Securtiy Corps member, drawing the two's attention back towards the cave. The Survey Corps were being marched towards them by several Security Corps members, shame-faced, Laventon still in the middle of the pack. "The Survey Corps was found to be working with the exile!"

Kamado turned his attention back to Cyllene, his gaze harsher now. "Is he who you received your information from?" Kamado asked.

"It was from the lorekeeper," Cyllene insisted.

"A lorekeeper whom neither of us have seen until now, and whom we know nothing about, some of whom's information you received through him." Kamado shook his head. "I expected better from you," Kamado said, disappointment tinging his voice. "All of you should know better than to trust an outsider like him over your own commander. Especially you, Cyllene. I won't allow him to cause any more trouble during such a crucial time." Kamado turned to a Security Corps member. "Take him to a Jubilife holding cell at once," he ordered.

The Security Corp member attempted to push through the crowd to get to Laventon.

"Defend him," Cyllene ordered in return. A Survey Corps member initiated a battle.

As the two battled, Kamado's face contorted in anger. "I never thought I'd see the day you defied my orders," Kamado growled. "Hand him in!" Kamado barked at the Survey Corps, "That's an order from your commander!"

"No," said Rei. "We love him."

Kamado turned back to Cyllene, one hand on his sword. Cyllene reached for her own, ready for the worst. "Captain, you will follow my orders," he said.

Cyllene shook her head and drew her blade.

Kamado brought his blade down hard upon Cyllene's, and soon their focus was on the other's blade, parrying metal against metal, strike against strike. Cyllene knew Kamado's strategies like the back of her hand- they had practiced and sparred together on many an occasion. She fell into adrenaline-fueled habit, repeating the well-practiced movements with all the power she could muster. She was used to fighting opponents larger than herself, to acting defensively until she saw an opening. But Kamado was a big man, and very forceful, and not given to leaving himself open.

After what seemed like ages, an ear-splitting crack sounded and Cyllene and Kamado were knocked off their feet by a powerful shockwave. Everyone else on the Spear Pillar followed suit as the force travelled outward. From the rift in the sky, a two-story-tall beast of blue metal descended, and after it came an equally large centaur of pink armour.

"Attack!" Kamado yelled.

Several Security Corps members charged the two beasts. Dialga reared up and stomped the ground, sending out another shockwave that knocked several off their feet. It roared mightily, freezing them in time. Then, Palkia threw them back with a whip of its tail.

Kamado’s face read terror as he stared at the beasts and the ease with which they were fighting his army. “All of you, we must vacate this- gah! Forget the fancy talk! Book it! C'mon! We gotta make it back to the Summit Camp while we still can! We need to leave...before these two almighty Sinnohs kill us all!”

It was an order that nobody cared to protest.

--

The tunnel down the mountain was dark, cramped and winding, but it didn’t take long for the large group to arrive at the summit camp.

Once the group arrived, Kamado caught sight of Cogita, sitting there daintily as if awaiting the Survey Corps’ return.

“Is that the lorekeeper you were speaking of?” Kamado asked Cyllene.

“Yes,” Cyllene replied.

“So she was right here. There would have been little chance for Laventon to lie to you.”

It was then that Kamado spied a piece of paper- the letter Cyllene had sent out to all the Survey Corps members that they should allow Laventon to use their camps in spite of his banishment. Beside it was one of Laventon’s spare hats. Kamado picked up and read the letter.

“And you all agreed to help Laventon, without exception. They took your word over mine.”

The silence between Cyllene and Kamado stretched out for what felt like minutes. Cyllene knew she might be fired for insubordination- even exiled if he decided to be harsh. But there had been no spite in his voice.

Kamado inhaled deeply. “I’ve raised a good leader,” he said. Kamado put one hand on Cyllene's shoulder and the other on Laventon’s. "It is clear that you're the best chance we have. I'll lead most of the Security Corps back to Jubilife to defend against those creatures should worst come to worst, and set up an evacuation plan if there's time. I'll send a contingent of the Security Corps to each clan to help them do the same. Best of luck."

“Thank you, Father,” Cyllene said.

Before long, the Security Corps was gone, and the remaining group was gathered in a circle, planning.

“Alright. Does anyone have any ideas?” Adaman asked.

Irida shook her head. "They're like the enraged nobles... only worse."

Cyllene closed her eyes tight. The Survey Corps had quelled the nobles... but even with all the teamwork and strategy in the world, their Pokémon had little chance against two Godlike beings. "It would almost take something that powerful to stand against them..."

It was then that Laventon spotted it: the reflection of red light from the origin ball.

"I've got an idea!" Laventon exclaimed. "It would seem that the origin balls refract and intensify the energy emanating from the broken sky. Perhaps if we shine that refracted light on the two Pokémon, they'll become enraged just like the nobles did. I've done research on the nobles, and it seems as though they're not only more accurate when they're not distracted and in pain, but they're stronger, too. If we put the nobles at their best against those two at their worst, it may very well be enough!"

"That sounds... dangerous..." Irida said. "The nobles attacked everything while they were enraged.

"We don't have time," Adaman cut in. "They're already rampaging, and we need to do something before they reach the settlements, even if it is a long shot."

"Here's the plan," Cyllene cut in. "Laventon, you go with Irida to the Pearl settlement and tell the Pearl wardens to bring their nobles to the icepeak arena. We'll have half the Survey Corps chase Palkia there. Hopefully, once it's enraged and the three are together, they'll stand a chance. I'll do the same with Adaman and the Diamond Clan nobles, gathering in the Moonview Arena to fight Dialga. There are only two Diamond Clan nobles instead of three, and so Rei will come with me as well, along with Volo-" Cyllene trailed off as she surveyed the gathered crowd. "Where is Volo?"

The crowd searched for Volo, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Hey... my insect plate is gone," Rei complained.

Laventon quickly checked his bag. "My wave plate is gone as well."

"My zap plate..." said another Survey Corps member.

Cyllene sighed. "We'll have to go through with the plan without him. We will worry about his theft afterwards."

"Captain," Laventon cut in, "Volo wanted all of the plates as a reward for helping me. He said he had a plan involving them. Given that we haven't the slightest clue what the plates do, I think it might be wisest to chase after him."

"Very well. Rei, your skills in battle make you most likely to match him. You're tasked with tracking down Volo. Start with Galaxy Hall. He knows it's where we keep the plates when they're not in use. Everyone else, move out."

[worksinprogress1]

The silence in the cave was deafening. Cyllene stepped forward. “Very well,” she said.

T e l l  m e,  h o w  d i d  i t  f e e l  t o  l o s e  y o u r  p a r e n t s?

"Telepathically?" Cyllene asked. She hadn't seen reason to think about that in ages. But as much as she didn't like how this trial was going and feared what else Mesprit might ask her to recount, Hisui needed the red chain. And if she could do it without tarnishing her image to the others, it would be for the far better.

E v e r y o n e  h e r e  w i l l  h e a r  y o u  e i t h e r  w a y.

Cyllene hesitated.

I f  y o u  c a n 't  t e l l  t h e m,  I  c a n  s h o w  t h e m.  B u t  y o u  m u s t  s h a r e  y o u r  e m o t i o n s  t o  p a s s  t h e  t r i a l.

"Show them, then."

The cave walls gave way to an illusion of a house in the countryside surrounded by farmland. The illusion of a tall, armoured man walked through the group and knocked on the door, which was opened by a nervous-looking girl of about twelve with long ice-blue hair.

"Hello? Who is this?" the girl asked.

The man shifted uncomfortably. "My name is General Kamado," he explained in a somber tone. "I've heard that your parents went missing."

The girl nodded. "They've been gone for two days. Have you seen them?"

"They were found impaled and their bodies dragged into the underbrush. Most likely a random act by Jhotoian ninjas. I'm sorry."

For a moment, the girl was in shock. And then she burst into tears and started crying into her hands. A wave of panicked distress hit Cyllene, and, if their faces and wet eyes were any indication, everyone else in the cave. Mesprit was making them all feel how she'd felt.

"Do you have any relatives that would take you in?" Kamado asked. "I'm sure there must be neighbours, at least."

The girl didn't even look up. Kamado took her in his arms and brought her in close, allowing her to bury her face in his chest.

"Come with me," Kamado said. It was something that Cyllene understood as an adult to be a more self-driven act than she'd known back then. Kamado and his wife had been unable to have children, and it would not have been difficult for him to find another place for her. Still, it had been the best thing he could have done for her. She'd needed the oasis he'd provided.

N o w  w e  w i l l  s h o w  t h e m  w h y  y o u  j o i n e d  t h e  w a r, Mesprit explained, and the scene shifted to show an only slightly older Cyllene looking out the window, the deep bags under her eyes visible even in early morning night.

Cyllene shut her eyes tight. Rei thought of her as so brave and heroic. This would change that. More importantly, it was treading far too close to things she did not want any of them to see.

A woman entered the scene and sighed. "I wish you'd at least try to sleep," she said. "I worry about Kamado not coming back, too. But he's survived every battle he's been in so far, and he's seen a few!" The woman smiled in a weak attempt to be comforting.

Cyllene turned to the woman. "How old do I have to be to help out at the camps?"

"You'd be old enough now."

"Then I want to be where he is as soon as possible."

The scene shifted to Cyllene sitting with a group of soldiers, comically small next to most of them. "Hey, wanna learn how to fight, pipsqueak?" asked a large, red-haired young woman.

"Sure," Cyllene said. Before long they were squaring off in a field, swords in hand. Metal clashed against metal, and Mesprit allowed the others to feel her excitement.

The scene shifted again to her and other soldiers in armour, marching toward a similar group of Jhotoians in a field- foot soldiers and archers to the front, with the samurai vanguard close up behind them. Thankfully, Cyllene couldn't find herself in their ranks, so it was unlikely anyone else could. But she could feel vengeful excitement in her chest, another emotion forced on her by Mesprit.

No, not this. Not in front of the clan leaders, Cyllene thought as the apparitions of archers and footsoldiers phased through their group. She didn't need them to see her as bloodthirsty.

D o  y o u  w i s h  t o  t e l l  t h i s? Mesprit asked.

Just as Mesprit finished its question, a Jhotoian samurai ran, perhaps breaking formation out of panic or suicidal impulse- pushed through the Hoennian ranks. On instinct, Cyllene drew her sword to defend from the attacker, but the apparition faded right through her and attacked instead a Hoennian soldier with a stance identical to her own. The soldier struck the sword from a Jhotoian's hand, knocked them down, and lowered their blade towards their throat. A distinctly female scream came from the armored figure, whose face was hidden by a helmet.

"Stop this. I'll say it," Cyllene asserted. The bloody battlefield faded back into a peaceful cave.

Y o u 'v e  k i l l e d  p e o p l e, Mesprit said. H o w  d i d  i t  f e e l?

Cyllene sheathed her sword before answering. "The only people I killed were enemy soldiers. It was my duty to Hoenn."

N o t  w h a t  I  a s k e d.

"It... does no good to think of that... but you leave me no choice. I expected to enjoy taking revenge on Jhoto. It caught me off guard that it was a woman. I don’t know why. I don't know how many people I killed and how many I merely wounded, but severe wounding isn't always an improvement on death. I've caused screams- men, women, boys, children so young I'm not sure whether they were girls or boys. I hated Jhoto, but I did not enjoy that. It was merely necesary."

T e l l  t h e m  h o w  i t 's  h a u n t e d  y o u, Mesprit ordered.

Cyllene closed her eyes and tried to put it into words she’d be willing to say. It was impossible. "Show them," Cyllene said. It was the only way she was going to complete this.

Cyllene turned her back and walked past the others. She could hear memories play out behind her. The first one was one in which, during peacetime, she’d thought a Jhotoian was attacking and Kamado had had to hold her down to keep her from hurting anyone. The jolt of panic that Mesprit forced through her shook her up so badly that nothing she heard registered after that. She was a trembling mess, hoping that the others didn’t look back at her. She wanted to tell them that that had been years ago, that she wasn’t like that anymore, that it had only caused her to be dangerous once. But there was only so much faith she could inspire in this state, and regardless, the damage was done. The damage was still being done. And she was too keyed up to even know what it was.

O n e  l a s t  q u e s t i o n,  a n d  i f  y o u 'r e  h o n e s t,  t h e  t r i a l  w i l l  b e  c o m p l e t e.  H o w  d o  y o u  f e e l  a b o u t  t h i s  t r i a l?

Cyllene turned back to face Mesprit, back to her steely professionalism. "This trial is an appalling waste of time and of my usefulness as a captain. The Survey Corps needs to think of me as a strong and infallible leader, and our allies need to see me as impartial and reasonable. You have helped us to save the world, but there was no reason for the cost."

Mesprit plucked out one of its plumes and handed it to Cyllene.

"Thank you," Cyllene said. Thankfully, the loathesome creature faded away after that.

"Our next location is in the Coronet Highlands. We'll travel on our flying Pokémon and stay low enough to find the rest of the Survey Corps. With any luck they will be gathered at the ruins Cogita described," Cyllene commanded the others, voice steady. She turned to exit the cave and began walking past the others, averting her eyes from whatever reactions they might have had. "You will follow me until the sky is fixed. Do what you will afterward. But do not breathe a word of this to anyone. Do not speak of it."

"Y-you got it, ma'am," Rei replied, "None of it leaves this cave!"

Outside the cave, the red sky persisted, painting the landscape in its oppressive gloom. It was all the reminder Cyllene needed that now was the time to focus on the immediate.

The flight was short, and before long the six landed in front of Cogita and around two dozen Survey Corp members.

"Ah, there you are," said Cogita. "Did you bring the keys from the lake trio?"

"Yes," Cyllene said, digging out the plume and Rei and Laventon did the same with their respective supplies.

"Perfect. While you gone, I led the Survey Corps to harvest enough origin ore to make a few pokéballs from the red chain. We discussed it and we think that would be the best use for it."

Cogita took the three items and carried them to the center of the Celestica ruins, the Survey Corps as well as the six following along to watch what was sure to be a mystical process. Once she was there, apparitions of the lake trio appeared and levitated the items from her hands. The items spun, bathed in red light, and then transformed into a beautiful chain of red gems that fell back down into Cogita's hands.

Cogita turned back to the group. "There. Now, what do you say, Survey Corps? Shall we do the crafting ourselves and allow these six a chance to rest? The lake trials couldn't have been easy. And lord knows that you have quite the challenge ahead of you."

"Thank you, Cogita, Cyllene said.

It wasn't far to the Galaxy Team's nearest encampment, where the group started a fire and put on some food. There were many noises from Pokémon as the less intelligent ones played outside their balls and the cleverer ones bayed at the foreign sky. It was loud enough to save them from attempting to make awkward conversation to distract one another from the reality of facing their allies or fellow Galaxy Team members.

While Cyllene tended the fire, Laventon sent out the strange trio of Pokémon he’d brought- the specimens he called a rotom-mow, a porygon-Z, and a bronzong.

“Alright, you three,” Laventon called out over the noise, “If you have any special world-saving powers you’d like to share with me, now would be the time! Because time really is of the essence right now, and, well, um… I’m afraid it’s been hard to figure out exactly what you do or how you work biologically, or, well, anything about you, really.”

The three Pokémon looked at each other and appeared to laugh at him before joining the other Pokémon in the encampment at their play.

Laventon sighed and sat down next to Cyllene. “Perhaps bringing them wasn’t my wisest move. But I couldn’t have forgiven myself if I found out later that they could have saved us!.”

“You have your typhlosion. That will be enough if you are separated from the group.”

"Do you want to go for a little walk, captain?"

"No," she said firmly, looking back to the fire.

"Please?"

Cyllene sighed. "Fine," she answered, getting to her feet.

Cyllene led the way into the pines, eyes forward.

"You know, you're nothing special to me," Laventon said. "Er, um, I mean, you're nothing different to me. Um, wait." Laventon sighed heavily. "What I mean, captain, is that I studied in Jhoto. My work had nothing to do with the war, but I met plenty of people who were affected by it.”

“And you can use that information to decide whatever you please once the world is saved. Until then, you follow me regardless of how it bothers you that I could have been the one to hurt some of those people.”

“That isn’t what I meant at all. You're not anything I couldn't understand. And even if you were, you've proven yourself as a leader. Nothing we saw in that cave changes that for any of us. I know them enough to be sure of that."

Cyllene stopped dead. She knew she was a good leader, both in action and appearance, both of which were extremely important. She had not known that she had allies and subordinates so loyal that such a failure in appearance wouldn't shake their loyalty. But Laventon knew how others thought. He was far better at that than she was. If that's what he saw, and if he were telling the truth, then he was probably correct.

"Thank you," she said.

"Of course. We need you clear-headed for what's ahead, after all!"

Cyllene could imagine Laventon's sweet smile before she even looked back to see it.

"Laventon. You are my subordinate, and as such I wanted to keep an image to you. But, now that there are no secrets... I want you to know that I..." Cyllene closed her eyes and grit her teeth as though in pain. "I love you. If we survive this, and you feel the same way, I would like to be with you."

Laventon crossed the space between them and kissed her on the lips. Cyllene relaxed immediately and reciprocated, running a hand through his curly hair. When they separated, she was bewildered for a moment. Soon, they would be heading up the mountain, possibly to their doom. But they had this moment, and that was something worth treasuring.

[worksinprogress1]

The Survey Corps members moved aside for Laventon as he approached the pastures, each understanding that the quest of the lake guardians would take precedence. Laventon didn't have many Pokémon that were trained as anything but research subjects, but he gathered his typhlosion and beautifly nonetheless, along with some particularly mysterious specimens he hoped would come in handy. He then stuffed his backpack with healing items, food, and crafting materials and met the others at the gate. It wasn't long before the six were gathered.

"According to Cogita, the materials we need to forge the red chain can be obtained from beings in the three lakes," Cyllene reiterated once everyone was present. "Splitting up seems inadvisable until we know what exactly the trials will entail. We'll start at Lake Acuity, as it's the furthest from any route Kamado is likely to be taking. I've gathered enough flying Pokémon from the pastures to transport those of you who do not have your own. My staraptor is fit to carry two. Laventon?"

"Alright, you'll ride with me. Let us be off." Cyllene took out the staraptor and mounted it. Laventon got on behind her as the other four got onto various flying creatures themselves.

With that, the staraptor took off into the air, the other four following. Afraid of falling, Laventon grabbed onto Cyllene's waist. If she minded, there was no sign of it. Everything looked so small from the sky, and the air rushed past them as though they were going a thousand miles an hour.

In less dire circumstances, this might be very pleasant, Laventon thought. Then he took a closer look at the world below.

From the up high, the disarray caused by the bleeding sky was already apparent. Grasses were beginning to wilt and turn brown, and normally docile Pokémon were running about, agitated and confused. Worse was that in the distance, Kamado's army could be seen marching up the trails of the Coronet Highlands. Laventon looked up at the hole in the sky, two massive shining creatures seeming to peer through it, and it dawned on him that he might not live to take a recreational flight.

The group landed on the island in Lake Acuity, returned their birds, and entered the small cavern without much thought, only to be faced with a ghostly maned fox that was larger than an ursaluna.

"Is that- the vengeful fox?" Irida exclaimed, terrified. It was so much bigger than the legends had said.

Whatever it was, it charged towards the group, teeth bared.

Volo ran to the front of the group and threw out a Pokémon- a strange, ghostly thing Laventon didn't recognize. "Dark pulse," Volo ordered. The second the dark beam caught up to the charging zoroark, it went down. That was another disturbing thing about Volo- he always seemed to have just enough power to handle any given task, and no one quite knew how he'd acquired it.

In a flash of light, a small, blue figure appeared in the center of the cave. Though the creature was small, power could be felt emanating off of it in waves. Cogita had described the being with a yellow hood as being the representation of knowledge. Was this it?

R e i came a voice. It was like a horrible vibration in Laventon's skull, but somehow he could tell that it had come from the lake guardian. S t e p  f o r w a r d.  M y  t r i a l  i s  y o u r s.

Rei stepped forward.

S h o w  m e  h o w  y o u  h a v e  u s e d  y o u r  c a p a c i t y  t o  l e a r n.  I  w i l l  j u d g e  i t s  w o r t h i n e s s.

Rei hesitated, trying to work out what exactly he'd learned that might impress the being. It wasn't though he was terribly intellectual- wouldn't Laventon be a better choice for this? But he had to try.

"Well... I learned how to make a pokéball," Rei said. "I guess I could show you."

Rei knelt down and took out his crafting kit. "Basically, you just have to make something hollow. The nuts are already hollow, and I take the ores to a smith to make the top half. You just put the two parts into the seal belt, and that’s all they need to be functional,” Rei explained as he cobbled together a basic ball. “There's other stuff you can add, though. One thing that’s a really good idea is the spark release on top, so you know when a catch has been successful. Without that, you might think you’ve caught something only to have it burst out in your face when you go to pick up the ball. Aside from that, there’s different types of ore for different weights, and iron for better quality. And that's pretty much all I know."

The strange pixie twirled in the air and then lowered itself down to Rei's level, presenting him with something in its tiny hands: what looked like a fragment of claw.

T a k e  t h i s  p i e c e  o f  t h e  s p i r i t  a n d  b i n d  t h e  s k y  o n c e  m o r e.

"Is this... for the chain?" Rei asked. But before he even finished speaking, the Pokémon was lifting into the air and was already fading away- perhaps teleporting, or simply destroying what had always been a mere representation of itself controlled from elsewhere.

"Wait! I have so much to ask you! We need your knowledge to fix the sky!" Rei called out, chasing after the form. A few steps into the chase, the creature had faded entirely, and Rei stopped.

"You did well, Rei," Cyllene assured him.

"Indeed you did," Laventon added. "I'm sure it has its reasons for not granting us its knowledge."

The trip to Lake Valor was uneventful, and this time the group had a better idea of what to expect. Cyllene led the group in, on alert for a Pokémon standing guard. No sooner did she poke her head into Valor Cavern then were a barrage of poisoned quills shot at her. She scrambled out and took out her alakazam, which put up a forcefield.

"Laventon, can you identify what Pokémon these barbs are from? I didn't get a good look at the Pokémon that shot them."

Careful not to exit the safety of alakazam's forcefield, Laventon picked up a barb from the ground. He squinted as he looked at the quill, trying to place where he'd seen anything similar.

"Those are definitely from an overqwil," Adaman cut in. "Looks like a big one, too. Their only weakness is ground."

"Then I know something that might help," Irida said, taking out her Celestica flute. With a few notes, an ursaluna came running over the hill. It swam through the lake and shook itself off once it washed up on the island, soaking the six humans.

"Hey, big guy," Irida said, giving the bear a stroke on the cheek and ignoring the grime she was now coated with. "I know you're usually a finder, but would you mind fighting something for us today?"

The ursaluna grunted in acknowledgment and shuffled into the cave. After taking out a few additional psychic-types to bolster Alakazam's forcefield, the others followed in and watched as the bear charged the enormous pufferfish. The overqwil expelled its quills, but most of them bounced off the bear's thick hide as easily as they bounced off the forcefield, and those that did prick it didn't seem to bother the ursaluna in the slightest. The ursaluna roared, reared up, and took the giant fish in its mouth, shaking it around as it deflated. It threw the fish against a wall and then ran to it and slashed with its claws until it was satisfied that the job was done.

No sooner had the bear returned to Irida's side did a light begin to shine in the middle of the cave. From the light, another sprite appeared- the one Cogita had called "Azelf."

L a v e n t o n, came the spirit's voice, s t e p  f o r w a r d.  M y  t r i a l  i s  y o u r s.

Laventon glanced nervously at the others and then stepped forward.

Y o u  m u s t  c a t c h  m e, Azelf stated. A large bag of ultra balls appeared in Laventon's arms. Then, Azelf turned into a shiny zubat and flew out of the cavern.

Laventon continued to cast nervous looks at his companions. He probably seemed on the brink of panic. "This is much more suited to any of you, I mean-"

"Laventon," Cyllene said, "We will help you however we can, but Azelf wanted you. It must have its reasons. You can do this."

Rei gave a nod of agreement. "I had the same thought with my trial. If I could do mine, you can do yours." Behind Rei, the clan members were nodding as well.

“Jolly good,” Laventon said, straightening up. “Irida, I’ll need use of Ursaluna’s nose.”

"You have my blessing," Irida said.

Laventon mounted the bear. Ursaluna didn't wait for orders. As soon as Laventon was securely upon it, it took off back into the lake and began swimming across. Laventon had to pray it knew what it was doing. As the bear neared the opposite shore, Laventon looked back at his companions, following him on various flying Pokémon. Ursaluna ascended over the hills, and that's when Laventon caught sight of a glimmer of hope: to their left was a colony of zubat flying about in the shade of a forested area.

The bear took an aggressive right.

"No!" Laventon told it. "Ursaluna, you have to turn around!"

Then, Laventon saw it. A shiny stantler in the fields was looking at him with a competitive gleam in its eye.

"Oh my, Azelf has taken a new form! Ursaluna, you're a genius!"

The stantler took off at a run. It was faster than Ursaluna.

"Stop," Laventon ordered. The bear skidded to a stop. Moments later, the other five landed. "I need something swift enough to catch up to Azelf. Cyllene, may I borrow your alakazam?"

Cyllene handed him the pokéball. Wasting no time, Laventon released it and used the creature's teleportation to catch up with the stantler just as it transformed into a buizel and scurried into a thick, wooded area. The woods were too dense for a riding Pokémon, so Laventon took chase on foot. He was hardly the fastest runner, but the weasel stayed within his sights, looking back at him periodically as though to mock him. Laventon fumbled for an ultra ball, took aim at the creature as it watched him from atop a log, and then promptly tripped over a tree root.

Laventon laid in the dirt, trying to catch his breath as Azelf scampered away and his companions caught up to him, none of them half as tired as he was. He really was terrible at this, wasn't he?

G i v e  u p.  Y o u r  s t r u g g l e  i s  i n  v a i n.  R u n  f r o m  t h e  g r o u p  y o u  a r e  o n l y  a  b u r d e n  t o  s o  t h a t  a n o t h e r  m a y  s u c c e e d  i n  y o u r  p l a c e.

If it was the only way for them to pass the trial and save Hisui then perhaps that was for the best...

Cyllene offered Laventon a hand up. He took it.

"You know, individual strengths are often less important than the ability to use the strengths of others," Cyllene said. "Kamado has issued commands while injured that led the Galaxy Team to success. You are a field researcher. How have you caught slippery Pokémon in other regions?"

Laventon thought on that. "Well, there have been other species that I've had to flush out of their hidey-holes, and this isn't a big bush," Laventon mused. "If the five of you surround it with your Pokémon and move inwards, we can force Azelf out no matter what form it takes. I'll stand outside the bush, you get it to come towards me. Does that sound like a plan?"

"That sounds like an excellent plan," Cyllene said.

Laventon stood at the edge of the bush and waited as the other five and their Pokémon marched inwards. Bugs, birds, bats, rodents, and the occasional stantler were flushed out, and Laventon watched for any that showed signs of being Azelf, ultra ball at the ready. Azelf wanted to test him on willpower- on not giving up- so surely this was the correct course of action. Yes, he was sure of it.

Finally, a shiny buizel emerged from the bush, grinning at Laventon with pleased determination. Laventon hucked a ball at it. It bounced out of the way. He hucked another. It wasn't even close. Then, a number of other buizel emerged from the woods, scampering about as though Azelf had ordered them to make this trial even harder. Laventon trained his eyes on the white collar of the shiny and kept throwing.

Ten balls later, one hit. The ball shook once and then sparked.

Laventon let out a sigh of relief. Blood was coursing through him, and he felt more alive and keyed up than he could ever remember being.

The buizels dispersed, leaving behind only one- a second shiny. To Laventon's horror, the creature turned into Azelf. But then it picked up Laventon's ultra ball and handed it to him, along with a small horn.

T a k e  t h i s  p i e c e  o f  t h e  s p i r i t  a n d  b i n d  t h e  s k y  o n c e  m o r e, said the spirit before it vanished.

"That was some leadership, professor!" Rei explained.

Laventon was stunned silent. "I caught a swift and slippery little buizel all by myself," he mused. "A shiny one! My God, that was... I don't even know what that was!"

"It was a fine performance," Cyllene said.

Before long, the group was on the move again, and not long after that, they were on the island of Verity Cavern. Before heading in, the group took a moment to heal their Pokémon.

"So, if Uxie's trial was showing knowledge, and Azelf's trial was showing willpower, Mesprit's will be showing emotion? That sounds like a really lame trial," Adaman stated.

"Maybe it'll go to someone who struggles to control their emotions, and they'll have to do something frustrating," Irida suggested.

"In that case, it's definitely your trial."

"Oh, please. You're the drama queen. And anyhow, I fought overqwil, so I had my turn."

"Ursaluna isn't your Pokémon, and you didn't give it orders," Adaman countered.

"Hmph! well-"

"Now is not the time," Cyllene said, leading the group in.

Within the cave was an alpha goodra. Rei took out his decidueye, but Cyllene stepped in front of him. "Allow me," she said, taking out her staraptor. "Close-combat."

The bird struck at the armoured dragon, denting its shell, but the goodra struck back, hitting Cyllene's staraptor with its massive tail and knocking it into a nearby wall.

Cyllene gave her bird a stiff nod to let it know to continue, and took out her samourott. "Ice beam," she commanded.

Between the two attackers, the Goodra was giving out far less damage than it was receiving, but Laventon found Cyllene's choice to step in baffling nonetheless. With the amount of office work they had to do while the other members were in the fields, he and Cyllene were among the weakest of the Survey Corps when it came to their Pokémon's levels, and Rei had long surpassed them. It wasn't like Cyllene to fail to delegate when it was for the better.

Is she trying to make sure she won't have to face the trial? Laventon wondered as the Goodra finally hit the ground and Cyllene's Pokémon returned to her for healing.

Just as had happened in the previous two caves, Mesprit appeared to the six in a flash of light.

C y l l e n e, Mesprit said telepathically. M y  t r i a l  i s  y o u r s.

[worksinprogress1]

"Getting tired yet?" Crispin asked, a competitive gleam still in his eye.

"You wish," Drayton said casually, ignoring the tears stinging his eyes and the burning heat of his own breath.

"You're redder than a habanero pepper, and you're going down!" Crispin grinned and took a huge bite of the jalapeno and ghost pepper sandwich he'd made up for this bet. He'd made ten of them, and the two boys had already gone through three each. "Mmm," he Crispin, making a show of how little he was affected.

Drayton maintained lazy eye contact and stuffed another bite of his own sandwich into his burning mouth. Drayton didn't lose bets, and he wasn't about to start today- especially not with the high stakes. He swallowed as quickly as he could and started gagging on an unchewed strip of pepper that had gotten lodged in his throat.

Crispin giggled at Drayton's struggle. Then he realized Drayton was choking. He got up and started giving Drayton hard hits to the back, trying to help him out. In panic, Drayton grabbed the glass of milk on the table and downed half of it, managing to swallow the pepper.

"You okay?" Crispin asked.

"Yeah..." Drayton said, colour returning to his face.

"Well, I win!" Crispin announced, crossing his arms triumphantly.

"That doesn't count. I was choking."

"No, we shook on it- first person to give up or touch the glass of milk loses."

Drayton looked at the half-finished glass of milk and Crispin's unaffected face. He could either keep arguing with Crispin, or he could finish cooling off his mouth. Begrudgingly, he picked up the glass and downed it. "Yeah, you win," he admitted.

"And I'm not letting you off easily! You knew the rules: I lose, I have to ask Lacey out. You lose, you have to be nice to Kieran for a whole week!"

"Alright, geez. I was just trying to help you work up the nerve."

"And I appreciate it! But now, let's make up some rules for what being 'nice' means. I know you'll do the bare minimum if we don't."

"Fine. What are the rules?"

"Hmm..." Crispin put a finger to his lips and seemed to think it over. "You have to partner with him for the group project this week. And you have to invite him to sit with us at lunch. And you have to have him so convinced you're friends that he's willing to hang out with you outside of class. And no calling him ex-champion!"

"Got it. But only if after this week, you ask out Lacey. No excuses. Deal?"

"Deal. But if you don't uphold your side of the bet, I'm forcing another super-spicy sandwich down your throat, got it?"

"Sure, whatever."

-

Kieran had gotten his lunch from the cafeteria and was making his way back to his dorm room when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Kieran, come sit with us," Drayton said, giving him a winning grin.

Kieran looked back at the BB league's usual table, where Amarys and Lacey were chatting and Crispin was waving him over.

"Well... sure," Kieran replied, sounding guarded and a little confused.

Drayton walked him over to the table, where the boys ate in awkward silence as Lacey chattered over Iono's latest stream and Amarys watched it in content silence. Drayton focused on his taco salad. Sure, you could cut the awkwardness with a knife, but it wasn't his responsibility to fix it. If Crispin wanted to change the situation he'd created, he could go on ahead.

Tired of waiting, Crispin kicked Drayton's leg to get him moving. Drayton turned his eyes to Kieran. "Hey. We start a group project in terrarium class tomorrow. Wanna be partners?"

"Wha- uh, sure."

"Hey, you're the only one here who's in that class with me. Might as well do it with a friend, right?"

Kieran seemed taken aback. "Friends? Wowzers... I-I knew you guys had forgiven me, but I didn't know you'd be willing to be friends..."

It almost made Drayton feel guilty. Thankfully, as Drayton tried to figure out a response, Amarys took interest in the new face at their table.

“Kieran. I’ve been looking to test some supplements on a synthetic Pokémon. Would your porygon-Z be up to the task.”

“Sure!.”

“Thank you. Allow me to tell you the potential side effects,” Amarys continued, pulling out a notepad covered in small, neat text.

With a list like that, Drayton could enjoy the rest of his lunch period free from bet-related obligations. Thanks, Amarys. You really came in clutch, he thought.

-

The next morning, Kieran realized that partnering with the guy that never showed up to class might not have been his brightest move. Kieran checked his watch again as he leaned against the wall of the outdoor classroom. It was 9:30- thirty minutes from when the class had started and twenty minutes from when the other students had started on their assignments. Seeing the other students running around the lush environments battling and tossing their balls made Kieran downright twitchy. Maybe Drayton wasn’t going to show up and he should do this on his own. Maybe that had been Drayton's plan from the beginning.

Just as Kieran had left the classroom to get started on the project, he caught sight of Drayton and ran to him. "There you are. I thought I was gonna have to do this whole project by myself," Kieran snapped. "The assignment is to catch one Pokémon of each type and write a few sentences on why it's an exemplar of its type. Come on, let's go- the class is already halfway over." With that, Kieran turned his attention to the fields, looking around anxiously for his first catch.

"Relax," Drayton said. "Eighteen Pokémon in four eighty-minute classes isn't that much. Let's just take it easy and see what we can find, okay?"

"Oh. O-okay," Kieran replied, back turned. "S-sorry. I guess I'm not making the best new impression on you, huh?" All that nervous, angry energy probably reminded Drayton of Kieran's reign as champion. Not exactly what Kieran wanted now that Drayton was finally giving him a chance.

"Nope," Drayton stated. Drayton walked past Kieran, and Kieran followed along at his side in silence. After not too long, they passed a herd of executor. Drayton threw a quick ball at one of them as they passed, causing the others to take notice and shuffle away from the two humans. The quick ball shook three times, then clicked shut. "There's grass done," Drayton said, picking up the pokéball.

"...I don't know if that's a good representative," Kieran said after a little hesitation.

"Why? It's a tree. Can't get any more grass than that."

"I don't think that kind of logic will get us a good grade. Let's keep looking."

"Fine. What do you think our grass-type should be?"

"Follow me," Kieran proposed, taking off at a jog. Drayton ran after him. Not long after, Kieran slowed down and knelt at the outside of a forested area. It was time to show Drayton that he'd learned a few nice things about the terrarium and about Pokémon.

Inside the bush was a pond with dozens of bulbasaurs wading and sunning themselves on the rocks in the dappled light. Kieran carefully, quietly entered the bush and picked up one of the specimens on the rocks.

"I think this is the one," Kieran said as he stepped back into the sunlight, the bulbasaur held in both his hands. "Grass-types are super docile, even ones with other types that tend not to be. That can be our reasoning."

Drayton smiled as he looked down at the bright-eyed little frog. "Makes sense. I guess you would know, 'cause of your hydrapple."

"Yeah. And my shiftry back in Kitakami. It’s a dark-type. With grass, you can have an easy-to-train dragon, a kind dark-type, and even a nurturing poison-type. But they're not just softies, either. With a secondary type, they can be super strong and nasty, too! That’s why they’re my favourites.”

"Huh. Guess there’s a lot more to them than meets the eye. So, what type do you want to tackle next?"

"Hmm... dragon? We both like dragons. And you can choose the species this time."

"Sure. Let’s go catch something fierce.”

"Sounds good. I'm glad you came around to me."

By the end of the period, the two boys had caught a flygon, and a rhyhorn for ground type as well, leaving them only a little behind the expected pace. Drayton even promised to show up on time the next day. Maybe, Kieran thought, this really isn't some kind of trick.

-

The next day after class, Drayton asked Kieran to hang out. It was one of the requirements of the bet, after all. Drayton suggested they play some games in Kieran's dorm room. It would save him the work of cleaning his own room or having to pay for an outing. It was a sound plan, but once Drayton actually got there, well, he thanked Arceus that there was no requirement on how long they had to hang out. Kieran's game system was hilariously outdated, practically older than they were, and beside it was a stack of E-rated titles. Considering that Kieran's guardians didn't even allow him a phone, Drayton supposed he should have guessed.

"That's what we'll be playing?" Drayton asked, not bothering to hide the snideness in his voice.

Kieran looked away and played with a strand of his hair. "I know it's not exactly an impressive set-up. But a friend made a game for me that's pretty fun. Wanna try it?"

"Wait, made for you?"

"Yeah. Her name is Penny. She's a long-distance friend from Paldea, and she's like, super tech-savvy. I told her that this racing game reminded me of a carnival game from my hometown, and, well, she used some photos and tech wizardry to work her magic. It's nothing I understand, but it's pretty cool."

"Dang. Yeah, let's see."

Kieran popped the cartridge into the device and booted it up. The game was a simple race car type of deal that had been altered to make collecting items the objective instead of finishing first. The photos of balloon characters clashed horribly with the cartoonish style of the game, but hey, it was more than Drayton could have done.

Kieran set up a round for them. To none of Drayton's surprise, Kieran was great- almost good enough to keep up with him. He'd pegged Kieran as the type to have spent way too much of his time indoors in front of screens. By the way he was leaning forward in intense determination, he was competitive, too.

The round consisted of three laps. By lap two, Drayton had figured out the system- pop as many balloons as possible and deliver as many berries as you could. They didn't have to be the right ones and there was no benefit to being a team player. He'd lost points thinking there was, but maybe he could catch up.

At the end of the three laps, the points tallied up. They'd tied.

"Wowzers. You're good. And this is your first time! I wasn't expecting that." Kieran looked away, smiling awkwardly. "No offense."

"Well, I had to do something with my time in Unova, so I got pretty good.”

"Huh. I kind of figured that you were like, super popular and always going out, or something."

"Yeah, when I wasn't grounded."

Kieran laughed. "I thought being the grandson of a gym leader would be cool."

"You'd think. Anyhow, after we're done this, let's go to my room and I'll show you what actual video games are like."

"Sure! Can't wait."

The conversation died down as the two focused on a second round.

"Say... since you're so good at this... maybe you could join me for the festival? My grandparents said I could have someone over for it next year."

"Sure," Drayton said absentmindedly as he mashed buttons.

Kieran's face lit up like fireworks. "Oh my gosh, I've never had a friend to invite for this before! Uh, I mean, they've never been able to make it. Don't bail out on me for this, got it?"

It was only then that Drayton realized that he'd agreed to something way outside the requirements of the bet. But whatever. Drayton would find a way to let Kieran down gently later. Probably. He'd see- a festival could be fun and Kieran’s company hadn’t been the worst thing in the world. And there was one promise he would keep tonight, even if it meant leading Kieran into his disaster-zone of a room.

“Ready to play some real games now?”

“You bet.”

-

Friday's lunch hour had finally arrived, and it was time for Crispin to uphold his part of the bet. He and Drayton were sitting at their usual cafeteria table, waiting for the others. Crispin was fidgeting with the buttons on his chef coat, uncharacteristically quiet.

"You know the rules," Drayton reminded him. "No wriggling out this time.”

Crispin nodded. "Well, at least Amarys is on that study date with Carmine, so there'll be less of an audience... Though I guess Kieran will be there since he sits with us every day now... so it's not really better at all, actually."

There was a pause before Crispin turned to Drayton with a competitive gleam in his eye. "Wait. Part of the deal was you had to hang out with Kieran outside of school. Did you?"

"Yup."

"Then prove it!"

"Matter of fact, I can," Dayton said, digging out the cartridge for Ogre Ousting out of his bag and slapping it down on the table. Unbeknowest to the two boys, Lacey and Kieran were approaching them from behind. "Kieran lent me this because he wants us to do the real thing together this Spring when he invites me over for his hometown's little festival. He’s that convinced that we’re friends."

“Wait. You agreed to go to his hometown? It’s starting to sound like you actually like him,” Crispin said, grinning.

Drayton flushed. “No, no, I only said yes to that because I kind of pitied him, ‘kay? I’m gonna find a way to let him down gently. Look, I did everything we agreed on for the bet. Now you gotta take your lumps for yours.”

Lacey dropped her lunch tray on the table, getting the boys’ attention. "You did what for a bet?" she all but yelled. "Manipulating someone into thinking they're your friend? That's not right!" Lacey crossed her arms over herself in her trademark X as she stared daggers at the boys.

“I- I- we didn’t mean to hurt anybody!” Crispin protested. “It was just a punishment for Drayton! He wasn’t supposed to find out!”

“And I just wanted to give this fool the courage to ask you out,” Drayton added. That defence sounded weak to him before he even turned to Kieran, who was holding back tears and looking at Drayton in shocked betrayal.

"Guess I… I guess should've figured..." Kieran managed. Then he turned away and ran.

"Look what you did!" Lacey scolded. "He was finally comfortable enough to hang out with us, and now he probably thinks that me and Amarys are fake friends with him, too. Go apologize right now! And tell him he's still welcome to sit with us."

"Um, okay, but first, for the bet, I have to-” Crispin muttered.

"You’re still talking about the bet? The answer's no until you apologize to Kieran and ask me out properly! Going out after you needed catch someone in the crossfires to just to ask? It's just not-"

Drayton didn't have to be told twice. He got up and ran after Kieran before Lacey could finish her catchphrase and Crispin could respond with, "Wait, so it's yes once I do?"

Kieran was already out of sight, so Drayton started by looking in the most obvious place: Kieran's dorm room.

Drayton stopped in front of Kieran's door and considered his options. He could just go back and tell the others he'd apologized. Kieran was a grudge-holder, so there was a good chance that the others would believe that Kieran was avoiding them in spite of an apology. But Drayton didn't want that. He took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock on the door.

The door opened violently before Drayton had even put his fist down. "What?" Kieran snapped, fists curled as he looked defiantly at Drayton. His puffy-from-crying eyes made the whole thing a whole lot less intimidating, and a boy three years younger and a foot shorter than Drayton wasn't all that scary to him to begin with.

"Hey. I'm sorry about the bet," Drayton started.

Kieran wiped away fresh tears. "Was Amarys in on it? I mean, Lacey wasn't, obviously..."

"It was just me and Crispin. And Crispin doesn't hate you, either. He just thought that being nice to you would be a punishment for me. That’s it.”

“Do you actually pity me that much?”

“If I did, would I have called you ‘ex-champion’ half a million times while your wounds were still fresh? No. I’m actually pretty jealous of you.”

Kieran looked at Drayton like he’d grown a second head. "You're jealous of me?"

"Well... yeah." Drayton took a big breath. "I'm a lazy screw-up. Everyone knows that. And I figure it's just my place, right? It's who I am. But then you come along and go from a nobody to the best trainer in the school in a semester. Yeah, you were killing yourself to do it, but it made me think... if I worked like that, no one would think of me as the lazy screw-up."

"Oh. I didn't know. I'm, uh, sorry about that." Kieran paused. "I'm jealous of you, too."

It didn't surprise Drayton at all that he was on the list of people an awkward, fragile boy with jealousy issues was jealous of, so he opted not to say anything and let Kieran keep talking.

"You don't have to even try to seem like you’re good enough. You just act like you are and you don’t need to do anything to feel like you deserve to. I wish I were like that."

“Heh. Yeah. Anyhow, I shouldn’t have used you for that stupid bet. It was wrong. Can you give me a chance to be your friend, for real this time? I actually do want to come with you to the festival, if you’ll still let me.”

“Well… if you actually want to…” Kieran looked away and played with his hair as he seemed to consider that. “Yeah. Let’s be friends.”

[worksinprogress1]

The further Volo travelled into Turnback Cave, the more sure he was that this was the place he'd been seeking. The tome he'd bought off a merchant from his homeland had described a cave in which the physical realm came dangerously close to the realm beyond. This cave certainly felt otherworldly with the way the rocks and earth shimmered and the dry ground yielded slightly too much under his feet, and how much bigger it seemed on the inside than the outside. And both the Celestica runes he'd investigated and the local folks had told him of the labyrinth within that had earned the cave its name. When one found themselves in Turnback Cave, the only way to survive was to turn back immediately.

Volo's growlithe barrelled towards him and rubbed against his legs, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes in hopes of getting fed, or at least getting a treat for keeping the wild zubats and geodudes at bay. "Sorry, little guy," Volo said, "I don't have anything to give you."

They'd been in this cave for three days, and Volo's supply of food had run out yesterday. He was in so deep that turning back had left him just as lost. Maybe he should have heeded the warnings of the clan members when they'd told him to turn back. Maybe he was about to become one of the many lorekeepers who'd died here. But there was one thing left that he was willing to try.

"Giratina?" Volo called out, "I've come seeking you out. I want to make a deal."

A rumble sounded from within the cave, followed by a deep voice that Volo could hear within his head. Tell me your intent, the voice demanded.

Volo waved around his lantern, but the tunnel seemed empty. "Well, I want to meet Arceus," Volo explained. "I want to know why the world is as unfair as it is, and if there isn't a good reason for it, I want to overthrow Arceus and fix it. I heard that Arceus locked you away for a very long time, so I thought you might understand. You do understand, don't you?"

Hmm... came the voice. Then there was a pause that to Volo seemed to last an eternity.

Suddenly, a tunnel opened up before Volo, perpendicular to the one he'd been hiking down.

Come, said Giratina.

Volo started down the path at a jog, his growlithe running ahead of him. The further he went down the tunnel, the more the rocks shimmered as though covered in a plasma veil, and the more the ground gave beneath his feet.

The tunnel then opened up to a room with a high ceiling and a sight Volo would never forget. Against the far wall and behind what looked like a purple force field, an enormous snake-like creature floated a few feet above the ground. A golden crown making up its face, the grey and red snake-like being was decorated with golden rings of armour. Black tendrils of shadow stretched from its back, each tipped with a blood-red claw. It didn't look exactly like the creature Volo had seen depicted in ruined temples, but was similar enough that there was no mistaking it. And its beady red eyes were focused on him.

Volo dropped to one knee before the creature. "Giratina. At last we meet. I've come seeking your service. I'd like to collect the eighteen plates of life so that I can converse with Arceus, and if you would help, I would be eternally grateful."

You need not kneel, Giratina said. I do not seek worship. It seems as though we are natural allies. I doubt that you will find the answers you seek in Arceus, but I will gladly help you reach It if it means I may have a chance to dethrone It. However, there is something I need help with first.

Volo rose to his feet. "And what would that be?"

As you have heard, I was banished to this realm. You must help me to escape it. There is a golden rock in this room- the griseous core. Pick it up.

Volo peered around, found a jagged golden rock, picked it up, and looked to Giratina for further instruction.

Now, you must touch me, Giratina ordered, putting his shadowy tentacle against the barrier.

“Will do,” Volo replied. He returned his growlithe and set down his pokéballs- no need for his Pokémon to get hurt if this turned out to be a grievous mistake. Then, he took a deep breath and touched the barrier.

The barrier felt like several inches of thick wax, but with effort, Volo forced his hand through it. He grabbed onto Giratina's claw and was pulled through with ease.

Volo regained his footing. Now that he was past the barrier, he could see the environment in which Giratina dwelled- a strange world of endless purple skies, floating islands with strange geometries, and no life as far as the eye could see save for some bare trees and sickly flowers. "Woah," Volo said. "So this is the place you've been spending the past few centuries, huh? It hardly looks like a pleasant place to spend such a long time.."

Not centuries. Millennia, Giratina corrected. But I would guess that you're much the same. Of all people I expected here, a Celestica was not one of them. Has Arceus wronged you as well?

"It certainly seems so. I'm one of the last Celesticas."

One of the last? Giratina straightened up in surprise. When I was sealed away, they were thriving. They were Arceus' chosen.

"Yes. Apparently not anymore." Volo laughed bitterly.

Ha. Then we do have something in common. I am Arceus' child, and yet he treats me worse than he treats his creations. No matter how many times I try to apologize, it's as though he doesn't hear.

"And I keep doing what the old faith tells me to, but it hasn't gotten me anywhere. It's as though he forgot all about us."

Sometimes, I wonder if he has. But your plan to gather the plates... that will work. I am sure of it. At any rate, the task at hand...

Giratina touched the griseous core with one of its tendrils, but nothing happened.

Hmm… it seems that Arceus put a seal on the stone as well. That is... unfortunate.

Giratina paused for a moment as it seemed to consider its options. Then its eyes fell upon Volo.

Would you do anything for your goal? Giratina asked coolly.

Volo met Giratina's eyes nervously, not knowing what to expect. But he'd come so far, and he had so little to return to. "Yes, of course, anything," he said.

Very well, Giratina said. Then, it touched Volo between his mouth and nose with one of its tendrils. The frigid smoke-like substance began to seep into Volo's nostrils, and then within seconds Giratina turned to smoke and entered Volo through his nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and pores, overwhelming him until he was knocked flat on the ground, spasming from the sheer amount of power and substance his body had been made to absorb. He felt simultaneously like he was being frozen from the inside and as though his body might explode like a burlap sack stuffed with too much cargo.

Go to the physical world, Giratina instructed.

Volo tried to think past the pain and understand what that meant.

Your world, the other side of the barrier! Giratina explained urgently.

Volo rose unsteadily to his feet and staggered to the barrier. It was harder coming through this time, as though the wax had thickened. As he permeated the outer barrier, he felt something begin to shatter around him- like a thin sheet of ice.

Evidently, Giratina had felt it, too. Yes, YES! the creature roared, a vibration that Volo could feel from within.

Once on the other side of the barrier, Volo dropped to his hands and knees. The griseous core he'd been holding tumbled onto the ground beside him.

Giratina tore out of Volo's body through his eye and touched the griseous orb in the corner, brushing away the damaged barrier with ease before he'd even come out of its origin form, halting the process. Another touch allowed it to transform him into his worldly, altered form. Oh, yes! It worked! Giratina roared, dropping onto its new legs. The barrier is broken! My thanks, Hu-

It was then that Giratina looked back at Volo and saw the sorry state he was in. He was nearly unconscious and laying on his side, groaning as he held a blood-stained hand over his left eye. Volo pulled his hand away for a moment and saw that it was covered not just in blood, but a jelly-like substance that moments before had been contained in his eyeball. And he screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

"What did you do!?" Volo shouted, rising to his knees and looking up at the diety with terror.

Giratina struggled to find words. It knew what had happened: in its rush to see if the barrier was broken, he'd put too much pressure on a small, delicate part of Volo's body, and this had been the result.

I... I was reckless. The barrier is broken, so we will not have to do that ever again. Please, let me help you, human, Giratina replied.

Volo tried to rise to his feet, but stumbled. "Go ahead," he said weakly, probably feeling as though he had no other choice.

With its beak-like mouth, it picked up Volo by his backpack and placed him on its back. It opened up a path straight to the outside, gently flew out, and plucked a branch full of sitrus berries from a nearby tree. It craned his neck back to hand Volo the berries.

It is these that heal you, right?

Volo opened his eyelids weakly. Giratina hung its head when it saw again the bloody mess it had caused.

"Yes, that's the healing stuff," Volo said, putting some enthusiasm into his tired voice. He picked two of the sitrus berries and ate them, juice running down his face. Giratina put down the branch and took a bite of the sitrus tree as well.

Mmm... not bad! Much tastier than antimatter. Are there any other berries in this area?

Volo slid off of Giratina's back, looking haunted but a little more energetic now.

"Indeed there is," he said, surprisingly calmly given the situation. "You don't know much about this world, do you? Well, I'll just have to show you, then. But... not right now. Going through that barrier tuckered me right out. Can you make sure that no one disturbs us?"

Yes, Giratina said. I will make sure no one comes near enough to see us.

"Thanks."

Giratina laid down in the shade of the trees and watched as Volo dug through his backpack, took out some bandages, and wrapped them around his head to cover his bleeding eye. When Volo was done, he laid against Giratina's side, intending to fall asleep. Giratina wrapped in his head and tail and prepared to do the same.

I'm sorry about your eye.

Volo was quiet for a long time before he responded, but he kept a casual tone when he did. "It's quite alright. I didn't expect that the help of a deity would come cheap. And once we meet Arceus, I'm sure that restoring an eye will be the least It can do."

Ha. Can, perhaps, but will It? That I doubt.

"In that case, once we enslave It and use Its powers to recreate the world, making a new eye will be the least of our concerns."

Now that, I can see.

[worksinprogress1]

Henry was woken from his nocturnal sleep schedule by the ringing of the phone. The call was from a familiar number that Henry had not received a call from in years: that of his brother, George. Henry ignored it and shuffled back to bed. The call didn't surprise him considering the way he'd acted at a family get-together just a few days ago, an event he certainly didn't want to think about. It also didn't surprise him that he'd stopped calling him for a couple years before this. He'd isolated himself and avoided contact after Charlie's death, unwilling or unable to handle anything but the machines he understood so well. Even going to the get-together had been abnormal for him, and as it turned out, a mistake.

There was a call the next day. And on the third, there was a message left on the answering machine.

“Hey, Henry. This is George. Connor and I are coming over today. We need to talk to you, and this is the last day before we go home. We wanted to give you more notice, but you kept ignoring our calls. We’ll be there at 1:30."

Henry sighed and dragged himself out of bed. His digital clock, the only light in the room, read 10:30 in bright red numbers. Unfortunately, that meant that his chances of getting his house in order were slim to none.

After a shower, Henry’s first order of business was to clear away all the creepy robot and machinery parts from the floor and into the closets, leaving oily smears on the carpet and hardwood where they had been. He removed the sheets of wood from the windows and picked up the pizza boxes and beer bottles on the floor, moving fairly quickly on it considering that he would normally be asleep this time of day and for hours after.

After an over an hour's work, Henry collected a six-pack of beer from the fridge and collapsed onto his couch. The scent of oil, metal, alcohol and stale food was still in the air. Dust, grit, and smears of grease still covered the floors and counters, more than he could clean in- Henry checked the clock- he still had an hour. He didn’t have it in him to get up.

An hour later, there was a knock on the door. He got up and opened the door for his twin brothers. George was carrying a gift basket with Henry’s favourite candy from childhood in it.

“Come on in,” Henry said. He tried not the pay attention to George’s obvious disdain for the house’s state, or how Connor was watching the floor to make sure he didn’t step in any particularly oily areas as they walked to the living room. Once they got there, the brothers sat down on the couch, and George gestured for Henry to do the same. Awkwardly, Henry obeyed.

George sighed heavily. “We’re really worried about you, Henry. I know that Charlie dying was really hard on you, but it's been five years. We never see you anymore, and neither does your ex-wife or Sammy. You know, up until last year, Sammy was asking every time he saw me whether you’d be up to visiting soon. And this year he stopped. He gave up.”

Henry looked away and slugged down more beer.

“Will you listen?!” Connor snapped. “We're trying to help you!”

Henry ignored him. Henry did know about Sammy. Sammy’s ignoring of him is what had driven him to drink so heavily at the Christmas gathering in the first place. He still wondered whether Sammy simply hadn’t recognized him in his degraded state, or if he didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. He didn't want to think about it.

“We think it would be best for you move in with me in Colorado," Connor said firmly. “Staying here can’t possibly be doing you any good. Are you still working?"

"Yes. Same job as before, just from home now."

"We’ll get you set up to work doing something other than holing up at home making robots for the restaurant your daughter died right outside, get you into therapy, and whatever else you need. I’ll even keep booze out of the house if need be. But we don't want to see you like this.”

"No."

"Why?" George asked.

Henry thought about how to respond. It was hard to explain, but he was used to his life. Machines, numbing alcohol, and William were his comfort zone, and he felt so delicate that anything else might break him.

George touched his hand. “You know, it would be amazing to see you happy again. You get along so well with kids. I want my kids to be able to meet the person I knew.”

“I’ll do it,” Henry said quickly. His voice lacked conviction, but it seemed like his brothers were willing to take it.

“Great. I’ll get you a plane ticket. And I want you to send your two weeks’ notice now, right in front of me, alright? I don’t want these to be empty words.”

---

When William first received Henry's resignation letter, he was rather unnerved. What could have caused Henry to want this? He visited Henry’s house the next day. He knew that Henry would most likely be asleep at 11 AM, so it would probably give him a chance to look around for any clues of what had caused Henry’s sudden change of heart. If Henry was awake, he would say that he was here to pick up the Foxy bot that William had sent him to repair. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d come in uninvited for such reasons, and though the deadline he’d given Henry for it was tomorrow, Henry would very easily believe he’d mixed up the days. He’d both done so before and believed William lying about it before.

William used Henry’s spare key, which he’d known for years now was located under his mat, and opened the door.

The first thing that William noticed was that Henry’s house was remarkably tidy compared to usual. That was strange- it happened every now and then in the first couple years of Henry’s grief, but this had to be the first time it had happened in years.

With everything clear of its usual trash, it was very easy for William to find the one-way plane ticket to Colorado on the table. Henry’s brothers were from Colorado. So that was it. Henry’s brothers had given him an intervention. That meant that Henry might very well slip from his grasp, but William wasn't going to give him up that easily. He swiped the plane ticket and left. Henry could easily call the airport and ask for another one to be printed, but that relied on Henry noticing and remembering to, and having the conviction to go through a little extra inconvenience. It wasn't much, but thankfully it was only the beginning of what William could do to prevent this.

That evening, William gave Henry a call.

“Hey, buddy,” he started off. “I got your email. I was hoping I could come over and we could talk about it. Have a little send-off for our partnership.”

“I'd like that,” Henry said. “I want you to know that it’s nothing against you. I just need a change in scenery. That’s all.”

“Of course. You did good work for us. I’d be willing to be your reference if you want. Anyhow, does now work to come over?”

“Sure does.”

“I’ll be right there.”

William showed up with a six pack of beer and two bottles of Henry's favourite whisky in a bag by his side. Henry looked a little more perked up than usual when he greeted William at the door.

“Hey,” William said to Henry, flashing a sad smile.

“Hey,” Henry returned.

The two made their way into Henry’s living room.

“So. Ten years of building robots together. And they were good ones," Henry said, sitting down in a plush chair.

"And four years before that in college," William said, sitting nearby him on the couch. "Wow, we've really only been apart for a few years in our entire adulthood."

"Yeah."

"So... what changed?"

"Connor wants me to move in with him in Colorado and help me to get my life together. It's... well, I guess I can't live like this forever."

William nodded in understanding. “I thought you had a system that worked here. But if you're unhappy with how things are, I get it. I just hope you’ll be okay out there. I mean, you’ve barely left the house in years. This is a big jump. I guess I should be proud of you.”

“Thanks. I’m a little proud of me.”

“You should be. I mean, you’re going to have to get a job where you deal with people again. There won’t be any easing into it- you’ll have to deal with people and do well at it or you’ll get fired. And there won't be any more leeway if you mess the days up.”

Henry visibly tensed a little. William handed him a beer, which Henry opened and sipped heavily from. Then, William continued. “I remember how you were in college. I sure hope you haven’t become that person again over these years stuck in your house.”

Henry put the beer can back on the table and gripped it nervously. “I suppose I really do owe you for letting me work from home.”

“It was my pleasure as your friend. It’s a shame that you won’t be making any more of these animatronics that Charlie loved so much. Do you feel like you were doing it in her memory?"

"Yes," Henry admitted. William knew he would. He'd said as much before while drunk.

The two men spent the night drinking and reminiscing. William had already planted the seeds he could, so for the most part, it was a relaxed chat for him. Towards the end of their conversation, William assigned Henry to a heavier-than-usual workload for his last two weeks, and he insisted on leaving the rest of the whisky behind. Both would lower Henry's chances of ordering that new plane ticket.

A few days later, William was at home watching football when he received a call from a worried and intoxicated Henry Emily asking if he could still call William after he moved and if he would rehire him if need be.

"I don't know, Henry. I mean, I can't hold a position open for you while you get your mental health sorted out. And you could call, but I won't have the context of your problems like I do now. You'd be better off talking to your brothers. You've been keeping good touch with them, right? Connor is an understanding man."

The next question Henry asked was even juicier: whether Charlie would forgive him if he stopped making animatronics.

"I'm sure that if Charlie is still around, she loves every animatronic we make," William said, smirking as he laid back on the couch and thought of the puppet's reaction every time a new animatronic became possessed. "Why? Are you having second thoughts about leaving?"

There was a long pause. And then Henry said that he'd think about it.

"Alright, well, keep me posted. I can always cancel your resignation," William said before hanging up.

It was another week before William received a call from Henry asking to cancel his two weeks' notice. And a week after that, William found himself at Henry's doorstep, holding an animatronic head in need of repairs.

Henry opened the door for him. He seemed more glum than usual.

"Henry. Something wrong, buddy?"

"Sort of. I never told my brothers that I changed my mind. I don't know how I'm going to speak to them again, to be honest."

"Oh. Well, let's talk about it," William said, moving inside. Trash was beginning to pile in Henry's house again, including the now-empty bottles of whisky that William had gifted him.

They did talk about it. And most likely, it would be the last time Henry would ever mention his brothers. He'd go right back to where he'd been a month ago: a good worker, numbed with alcohol and with no need to think about his pains, let alone bother William with them. Really, he was doing Henry a favour. It's not like he had it in him to get his life together. William was giving him the best life he could have.

[worksinprogress1]

“Now!” Cyllene shouted, taking out the tangrowth she’d borrowed for the purpose the mission. Two Survey Corps members at her side did the same, taking out their respective grass-types, and if the three vines coming their way were any indication, so were three other members on the other side of the beast. Cyllene and the other two members caught the vines and pulled down hard, pressing the vines down on avalugg. It lost its footing and fell onto the icy ground with a boom. The remaining six Survey Corps members threw balms as the grass-types sent out their various attacks.

Before long, however, Cyllene felt the vine moving as the beast pressed against the ground and stood again. Now the vine-minders were the ones losing their footing, slipping on the ice. Avalugg shot out great icicles. Cyllene dropped the vine to shield her face. She heard the sound of ice shattering inches before her. She opened her eyes. Her alakazam had come out and put up a light screen just in time to save her.

“Phase two!” Rei called out, taking out his gallade. The other corps members did the same with their own barrier-users, together creating a barrier that could withstand the avalugg’s icy attacks. Balms were thrown ferociously. One trainer took out a hippowdon to create sand for better footgrip on the ice.

Finally, the barrier broke. They’d planned for this. “Phase three!” Cyllene called out. Rei released his Decidueye and ran in front of the Avalugg. The decidueye attacked the monster’s face with its talons, forcing its attention away from the corps members as they continued to throw balms and their grass-types asssisted the assault. Avalugg threw out icicles, which were blocked by psychic types. Finally, the golden glow left the beast.

Irida, Adaman, and Laventon entered the arena as the Survey Corps regrouped, along with their honorary member, Volo. Volo stretched out his hand as Lord Avalugg approached the Survey Corps, but it went right past him, giving the icicle plate to another member of it.

Laventon chuckled as Volo scowled in displeasure. “Better luck next time, my friend!” he said. “Let’s take a look at the plate together once we’re back in Galaxy Hall.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Irida reminded him. “That’s the last noble Pokémon.”

“Maybe now the sky will finally be fixed, like Kamado said,” Adaman added.

The Survey Corps was in high spirits as they marched home- so much so that when Laventon looked back and saw the hole in the sky crack and widen, he didn’t say a word.

It was as the group passed through the gates of Jubilife Village that there was an ear-splitting crack followed by a carpet of red billowing out from the void over the coronet highlands and darkening the sky from horizon to horizon. The Survey Corps members looked to Cyllene in their panic, hoping for answers. In turn, she looked to Laventon, hoping he knew something she didn’t, and Laventon looked to the clan leaders for the same reason. Without anyone breathing a word, it became apparent that no one knew what was going on.

“What does this mean?” Rei asked. "Will we be able to live like this?"

“I don’t know,” Cyllene answered. She wasn’t sure whether this darkness would be enough to wither plantlife, but it was a bad omen regardless. “We will find a way to fix it.”

“Laventon,” came the grave voice of Kamado. In the group's distracted confusion, Cyllene hadn't heard him approach. “Report to my office immediately.”

Laventon gulped. “Y-yes, sir!” he said. Kamado turned towards Galaxy Hall, and the two began to walk.

Cyllene followed, and Rei and the clan leaders followed behind her. There was something in Kamado’s voice, combined with his tendency toward rash decisions, that told her that she would want to be present for whatever he chose to do next. Most likely she would be unable to stop it, but she knew Kamado well and would use that to manage whatever he did the best she could.

The group arrived in Kamado’s office, where he took a seat behind his desk and, a harsh glare on his face, gestured for Laventon to sit across from him.

“This void in the sky opened up not long after you arrived,” Kamado stated.

“Yes…” Laventon admitted, trying to hold Kamado’s gaze and hold onto his dignity.

“And with it came Pokémon turning berserk. You’re from Galar. And you’ve come here seeking glory. Hisui isn't home to you like it is for us.”

“Well, yes-”

“It is very convenient that you knew how to calm the nobles.”

“It was pure luck and experimentation on my part! Nothing more.”

“You’ve recorded a number of oversized Pokémon while you were here, in a addition to the raging nobles. And you photographed as much of every enraged noble encounter as you could.”

“Th- that doesn’t- sir, the alphas were merely undiscovered before I- I- we- the clans already knew about them.”

Kamado stood, eyes closed. “I’ve been to Galar. Galar has a method of turning Pokémon enormous and aggressive called dynamaxing. It involves energy much like we've seen emanating from the sky. And if you recreated the dynamax phenomenon here, it would give you the glory you seek. ” Kamado focused his glare on the stuttering Laventon. “There is good reason to believe that you are the cause of this mess. Professor Laventon, you are hereby banished until you can prove your innocence beyond doubt. No- until you have undone the breaking of the sky.”

Everyone in the room was aghast.

“But he’s helped us so much!” Irida insisted.

“And we’ve always had alpha Pokémon. They have nothing to do with him!” Adaman shouted.

“Sir, you can’t be serious,” Rei said.

Only Cyllene remained silent and stoic. It was clear that Kamado would not budge on the matter. It was best to feign obedience if she was to help as much as she could. “Orders are orders,” she stated, drawing looks that one would give if she’d kicked an eevee. Laventon looked at her like the eevee who’d been kicked. It hurt. She forced herself to focus on Kamado. “Hiring Laventon was my decision. It is only right that I should personally escort him from the village and to the Fieldlands Camp.”

Cyllene led Laventon to his quarters and kept watch of him as he packed his bag. By the time he was ready to leave, the whole village had gathered outside to witness his banishment. Some were horrified, speaking of how kind and sociable Laventon had been. Others were showing their xenophobic colours. Most, however, were holding their tongues in fear of Kamado's ire.

“You can’t be doing this,” Laventon said, his voice thick with tears. Cyllene ignored him as he took him through the gates. It was only once she reached the Fieldlands Camp, which was thankfully empty, that she stopped and looked him in the eyes.

“It will be my duty to prevent other Survey Corps members from helping you openly, lest Kamado exiles them as well,” she stated. “However, there are others. You've been an aid to both the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan. Don't die alone out there. That's an order. I will ensure you have all you need to complete the survey the commander has tasked you with.”

“Captain- I thought we were friends…”

“We are. This is all I can do. If I might offer my advice: in this life, you will meet with both admiration and abuse from others. How others choose to view you is a choice only they can make. You cannot make it for them. All that truly matters is that you hold firm to your own values."

With that, Cyllene turned. Laventon watched her walk away. With nowhere to go, Laventon began to make his way to the Grandtree Arena to meet up with a member of the Pearl Clan. When he met up up with Warden Lian, he was turned away. The Pearl Clan were too afraid of Kamado retaliating to help his exile. He ran into Warden Mai not long after and received the same message on behalf of the Diamond Clan.

Morosely, Laventon wandered. He didn’t know where to even begin fixing the sky. He supposed he could eventually sneak onto one of the Ginko Landing ships to end up somewhere more welcoming, but that was more easily said than done. And until he made his way to the eastern shore, he would have to survive in the wild. He didn't know how to build a shelter. It was quite likely he'd die. And whether he escaped or not, the sky was still bleeding. Hisui was in danger- perhaps the whole world as well.

After a period of following an eastward trail, Laventon caught sight of a Galaxy Team encampment attended by a woman in a blue Survey Corps uniform. He kept his eyes off of it.

"Hey," said the Survey Corps member as Laventon approached the encampment. It was the voice of Poppy, a Survey Corps member whom Laventon had shared many a meal and many a discovery with.

Laventon continued down the trail. He wasn't in the mood for more verbal abuse.

"Hey!" came the voice again.

That was too much. Laventon broke into a jog.

Poppy let out her ursaring, which passed Laventon easily and blocked his path. Poppy then approached him from the side. "Hey. Do you want to stay at the encampment for a while? Get some rest and healing items and talk about this?"

"Well, I would love that, of course! But I'm exiled. If you welcome me, won't Kamado exile you, too?"

"Captain Cyllene said to keep any help we give you on the down-low for that reason. But she also said that so long as we're in the middle of nowhere, it should be safe. She'll send a message through her alakazam if Kamado is coming. So it's fine."

"Oh..." So Cyllene really did care about him. She really was doing all she could. And the rest of the Survey Corps were taking their trust in her and their liking for him over Kamado's authority. "Well, in that case, I'd love to. Thank you."

"No problem. Let's get a fire going and some food cooking."

As the two gathered wood in a forested area, the two heard the footsteps of a third person.

"Hide!" Poppy snapped. Laventon dove into the bushes.

"Ursaring, find whoever's out there and scare them off," Poppy ordered.

The big bear took off running. A minute later, Volo sauntered into their line of vision, his garchomp walking beside him with a fainted ursaring in its arms and not a scratch on its purple hide.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Volo said. "I saw Laventon around here a while ago. I heard about his predicament and wanted to lend a hand."

Laventon stumbled out of the bushes and came to Poppy's side as she returned her Pokémon. “Volo. Very glad to see you here and not Kamado or one of his men. Would you like to join us around the fire and discuss a plan going forward?”

"I don't think any discussion will be necessary. I know someone who might know how to fix the sky and clear your name."

Laventon lit up in excitement. "Wonderful! Let's go."

With that, Volo led and Laventon followed. "Do you happen to have any of the life plates with you?" Volo asked as they walked.

"Only one," Laventon said. "The water plate, from basculegion. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well, you see, they're artifacts that I have use for. If I help you with this, I'd like you to give me the plate. I'd also like you to ask the rest of the Survey Corps to give me their plates as thanks. It's not as though you have any use for them, and they're very important to my research."

None of this came as a surprise to Laventon. Pretty well everyone in the Survey Corps knew that Volo only lent them his abilities on occasion because he wanted access to the plates. As far as any of them could tell, the plates were useless. It made Volo's fascination with them rather unnerving. But then, a lot of things about Volo were rather unnerving.

"Well, I suppose I could ask Captain Cyllene. I doubt she'd agree to it, but there's no harm in asking."

"If that's all you can promise, then that's what I ask. We're almost here."

The two turned a corner on the rocky path, and Laventon first saw the quaint farm and homestead, with a tall, white-haired woman drinking tea at a little table outside her house. As they approached, the lady looked up at Volo from her tea.

“Shirking your work to come pester me again? Even beneath a bleeding sky, you never change.”

“Mistress Cogita,” Volo replied cordially. “I brought you a member of the Survey Corps- one who is close with their leader. I believe that with your instruction, he could help mobilize them to mend the sky.”

“Is that so? Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. The task of preventing great disaster falls to you. The rift in space-time must be mended, lest time and space themselves be thrown out of balance. But come. You may enter my dear hideaway. There's much to be told.”

Cogita brought the two into her cozy cottage, sat Laventon and Volo down at her table, and told them everything. About almighty Sinnoh, who was both time and space. About the lake guardians, who could create a chain to mend the sky. About what Laventon must do to set it in motion.

Laventon fidgeted uncomfortably with his coat. “With respect, Mistress Cogita, that sounds impossible. I mean, I’m only one person, and a person who can barely do his own fieldwork at that. I… suppose I have to try, for Hisui’s sake. But if only I had allies…”

Suddenly, the sound of teleportation came from outside the hut, setting Laventon on edge.

"That's probably a wild Pokémon," Laventon reasoned. "But please, someone check. And if it's one of Kamado's men, hide me."

Volo got up, left the hut, and came back a moment later followed by an alakazam. It floated over, nuzzled Laventon's neck, and handed him a letter. Laventon opened it.

Laventon,

I have informed the Survey Corps that you are to be allowed to use the encampments. In addition, you may use my alakazam to access the pastures. If you have any information as to how to mend the sky, send a message back through my alakazam immediately. Kamado is growing desperate.

-Cyllene

“Good news!” Laventon said, excited and relieved. “Cyllene is looking for the very information we have. Everyone, gather around the alakazam.”

Volo looked over Laventon's shoulder and read the letter. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Volo asked. "Cyllene always pretty loyal to Kamado. She might not be the best ally."

“What’s going on?” Asked Adaman, who was poking her head into the retreat.

Cogita looked at him with playful disdain. “I know how you value time, but it would have cost you seconds to knock.”

"Well, there isn't any time!" Adaman insisted, stepping in. Irida was right behind him.

"We saw Kamado," Irida explained. "He was marching an army to Mount Coronet. It looks like something is coming out of the void. He's going to get people killed!"

Laventon's mouth hung open. "Has he taken leave of his senses?" He looked around the room nervously, and his eyes fell on Cyllene's alakazam. "Everyone, gather around the alakazam. We must gather a red chain-making army of our own! It's a risk, but I trust Cyllene and we don't have any time to spare."

After exchanging some awkward glances, the group did, and at Laventon's command, the alakazam teleported them directly into Cyllene's office.

Cyllene stood from her desk immediately. "Laventon. You've managed to not die, as I ordered. Congratulations. Why have you brought these four?"

Laventon peered back to the group and then to Cyllene. "There's a lot we have to explain. But in gist, I think we know how to mend the sky."

By the end of Laventon's explanation, Cyllene was emboldened.

"If creating this 'red chain' is what we must do to save Hisui, then that's what we'll do. Professor Laventon, you are reinstated at your former rank."

"But- Kamado-"

"If Kamado did not want me to make decisions on his behalf, he should not have left me in charge. At any rate, Lady Cogita, you mentioned a location where we must take the materials to forge the chain. I'll have you lead several members of the Survey Corps to locate it. As for the rest of you, I will lead you to find the needed materials. We will take Rei as well. His abilities in battle may prove indispensable. Prepare yourselves and meet me at the town gates as soon as possible."

There was general agreement, and the others left to prepare. Cyllene began to file out, most likely in search of another Corps captain to hold down the fort in her stead. Laventon caught her arm.

"Thank you," Laventon said. "I was certain that everyone had turned their back on me. But you stuck your neck out against Kamado's orders for me, and the Survey Corps trusted you so much that they did the same on your orders. Truly, thank you."

Cyllene hesitated. "All I know is that my alakazam..." she closed her eyes, most likely realizing that any attempt to cover what she'd done would be transparent. "It was what was right. You are valuable to us."

Cyllene held Laventon's gaze, trying to find more words. "I hope your plan succeeds, and Kamado will agree with my decision."

"Me as well," Laventon replied.

With that, they went their separate ways.

[worksinprogress1]

When Cyllene returned to camp, not long before sundown, it was safe to say that the mission had been an unmitigated success. More research subjects had been recovered that day than in any prior week of the Survey Corps' existence, and Laventon would be writing new pokédex entries for days.

"It's beginning to look like the Survey Corps will pull through," Cyllene stated as she stepped into the encampment and looked around at the various specimens- everything from mushroom beetles to living rocks- and at the people interacting with them. Laventon was taking footprint sketches of a rodent-like creature. Rei was stroking the muzzle of a flaming pony. "Survey Corps," she called, turning everyone's attention to her. "You have done well. It is time to pack up and return to the village. Tomorrow the real work begins."

So it did. The next morning, the Survey Corps reported to Cyllene's office. Now that the Survey Corps members had calmed down somewhat about the prospect of being disbandment and Cyllene was somewhat more confident that they could avoid it, Cyllene was able to reveal their circumstances.

"Kamado has given us three weeks to prove our worth. We're going to use that time to map out every corner of the Obsidian Fieldlands- resources, useful trails, the Pokémon that inhabit it, and perhaps even Pokémon that would be useful to take as guides. I began mapping out Windswept Run yesterday to give you an idea of what I expect. All of you but Laventon and myself will be assigned an area to map. If we prove to Kamado that we can do it once, then he'll allow us to do it for every area in Hisui."

The corps accepted their orders and filed out in way that reminded Laventon of loyal soldiers.

"And what about us?" Laventon asked.

"Desk work. Study the specimens and work on the pokédex. I want to see its updates on my desk at the end of every day. It will be the most important resource for the field guide."

"Alrighty, then. Let's get to it!"

Cyllene gave him a stiff nod, and Laventon returned to his conjoined office.

A few hours later, Cyllene knocked on the doorframe.

Laventon looked up from entries he was writing.

"Yes?"

"I'm mapping out the horseshoe plains. Do you have any information on the temperament of ponyta? Are they aggressive? Territorial?"

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know. We have a form of them in Galar, but not ones on fire! Their temperament very well could be entirely different from the ones I know."

"Understood. It will be something to ask the other survey corps members to investigate. And soon, we'll have to have a meeting to discuss the knowledge you gathered on your travels and in Galar."

"You know, you can just ask me about my travels! You don't need to feign a reason."

Cyllene looked away. "...Noted. But I am serious about putting your prior knowledge to work."

Days passed. Cyllene often popped in to ask about the abilities and temperaments of various Pokémon. Far from being a disruption, Laventon relished an opportunity to talk about his discoveries. He'd enjoyed the research he'd done throughout the years regardless of who he could share it with or what he thought its impact would be, but he'd never felt the direct impact of his studies so strongly before! And he did notice when Cyllene asked questions out of interest rather than necessity.

The three weeks came to an end, and the Obsidian Fieldlands guide was, if not complete, at least viable.

"I think will prove our worth," Cyllene said as she and Laventon gave the guide one last look over. The next day, it was to be delivered to Kamado's office, and the fate of the Survey Corps would be decided.

"I do hope so," Laventon said. "Do you want me to stay behind? I know that Kamado doesn't exactly, erm..." Laventon let himself trail off. Cyllene would know what he meant. Kamado was suspicious of outsiders. It was just who he was.

Cyllene paused and weighed their options. "No," she decided. "Avoiding him will only mean that nothing will change."

Strange lightening from the rift arced through the sky that night. But by now, Cyllene and Laventon were used to the unstable time-space of Hisui.

The following afternoon, the two made their way to Kamado's office to find clan leaders Adaman and Irida already there, the latter looking quite distressed.

"What's going on?" Cyllene asked.

Adaman gave Irida a scornful look. "Apparently the Pearl Clan doesn't take the time to look after its nobles and now it's causing a mess."

Irida's teeth clenched. "This has nothing to do with us! We might have no idea what happened to it or what to do about it, but neither do you!"

Kamado sighed and faced Cyllene. "The Pearl Clan's noble kleavor is rampaging. It seems to be afflicted with a supernatural frenzy. And neither the Pearl Clan nor the Diamond Clan want to kill the something sacred to them or sacred to a clan they have an unsteady alliance with." He turned back to the clan leaders. "You need an impartial third party to kill the rampaging beast? Very well. We'll send the Security Corps to kill it."

Irida clasped her hands over her mouth. "Kill it? It's not its fault that whatever this is is happening to it! And it's spent its life making the forests safer for us. We don't want it dead."

"Very well. I suppose we could have the Survey Corps scout out an alternative." Kamado looked to Cyllene. "You have your orders. I'll look over your guide as well, but if you are able to find an alternate solution to the frenzied noble, you will have proven the Survey Corps' worth beyond doubt."

"Understood," Cyllene said. The Survey Corps was gathered and marched to Pearl Clan territory within the hour.

-

Within the Grandtree Arena, Lord Kleavor raged. Bathed in gold light and filled with pain and energy, it dashed about, running into trees and rocks and thrashing its heavy axes- axes that were still wet from its last victim's blood.

"Release the spores," Cyllene commanded from the edge of the Grandtree Arena. Her staravia, along with the bird Pokémon of the two survey corps members at her side, each took a paras in their talons and flew over the rampaging lord, dusting it with sleep powders and stun spores in hopes of rendering it immobile. It barely seemed to slow the creature down.

"Plan B," Cyllene yelled. She and the other members returned their Pokémon. Cyllene then threw out her kadabra, which set up reflect- a shield that would hopefully allow them to get close enough to the kleavor to stop it.

The three members slid down the rockface and began throwing balms at kleavor. It took immediate notice and rammed itself towards them only to bounce off of the reflect shield. It rammed again and the shield began to crack.

"Backup!" Cyllene called out, still throwing balms along with her allies. Another three Survey Corps members slid down the opposing side of the rock face. There wasn't much they could do aside from throw balms as well.

With a third smash, the reflect broke. The survey crops members scattered. The six regrouped and Cyllene's kadabra put up another reflect. This time, the kleavor smacked into it head-first and fell backwards, dazed. Rei took out his dartrix to distract it with a battle as the other members threw balms. Finally, the golden glow lifted off the kleavor, leaving a normally-coloured and much calmer creature.

"That was close," Rei said.

"Yes," Cyllene conceded. "We'll have to strategize a bit more should there be another situation like this."

The Pokémon approached the six and handed them a strange green-coloured plate. Rei took it. He hardly had time to contemplate it, however, as Irida, Lian, and Laventon approached. he tucked it into his bag and turned his attention to the approaching people.

"What was that?" Irida asked. "It seems like Lord Kleavor lost its aggression when the light left it. So the lightening from the rift really is the cause of all this... At any rate, thank you. Without you, our only options would have been to let our lord and protector continue to be a danger or to-" Irida looked over to her lord and shook her head. "Thank you."

"No need," replied Cyllene, "It is to everyone's benefit that we keep Hisui a safe place for everyone, and that we avoid conflicts between you and the Diamond clan. There is a way that you can repay us, however."

"And what is that?" Irida said.

"The Pearl Clan has lived here for generations. You have knowledge of the Pokémon here that we don't. Share it with us. It may even help us in any further incidents such as this."

"Oh! Sure. Gladly."

"See me in my office tomorrow morning. We have much to discuss."

With that, the Survey Corps started back for camp and then Jubilife.

"Excellent work today," Laventon said, hurrying to the front of the line to catch up with Cyllene. "I took as many photos as I could of your conflict. If this doesn't show Jubilife Village that we're doing Hisui a service, well, nothing will!"

"Yes," Cyllene stated. "There will be much to discuss with Kamado tonight on a possible alliance with the Pearl Clan. Such a discussion would be incomplete without the leaders of essentially every Corps- agriculture, gathering, security, and potentially medical since a full overlap of our medical knowledge is unlikely. But our worth is proven. I'll be sure to let Kamado know that you were the one to come up with the balms."

"Wonderful! That will warm him right up to me! At least, I do hope it does."

"Indeed."

-

Basculegion motored towards the shore of Ginko Landing, stopped sharply, and launched the riding Laventon onto shore, leaving him to wipe out face-first in the sand.

"Oof..." Iscan said, approaching Laventon and helping him up. "I hope that handling the frenzied noble went a bit smoother than that."

Laventon got up and dusted himself off as basculegion headed back to Firespit Island to retrieve his fellow Survey Corps members. "It certainly did!" he assured Iscan. "My commander even approved that I lead this mission, since our usual captain was out sick. I wasn't the one doing the fighting or the planning, but I did have a few Pokemon and some guidance to contribute."

"It sounds like you're on your way up, then... Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

"Well..." Laventon said, his face beginning to flush as he thought of the Security Corps couple he'd met the previous day. "There is a reason that I asked to be brought back first. There's this friend of mine that I think fancies me. But she's kept me at such a distance that until recently, I thought there was some unspoken rule against dating someone from your corps. Do you think I should say something? What with you and Palina, I thought you'd be the one to ask."

"Hm... Absolutely. I mean, Palina and I made it work even though we're forbidden from seeing each other. If she hadn't spoken up... well, we'd both still be pining and putting up walls. Even if the answer is 'no,' or 'yes, but let's not pursue it,' it's better to know, I think."

Laventon thought that over. By now he knew that there were a few people- namely Kamado and Zisu- that Cyllene wasn't entirely aloof with. And both he and Cyllene seemed to want him on that list. Maybe once they'd talked about it, he could be. And if not, he'd at least know to give up trying. "Yes, I think you're right!" he said.

-

The next day, Laventon asked Cyllene to finally have that talk with him about his travels. While waiting for her at their planned meeting place at the Wallflower, Laventon took a moment to appreciate the changes that had come upon Jubilife since his arrival. The occasional harmless Pokémon roamed the streets now, as they had in other lands he visited. And where there were once only the sounds of people training in the training grounds, there were now animalistic cries as well, now that the Security Corps and the Survey Corps had embraced Pokémon as a means of defence. Given the direction she was coming from, that may have even been where Cyllene was coming from.

"I brought a surprise," Laventon said as Cyllene sat down.

"Oh?"

"Close your eyes," Laventon said.

Cyllene obeyed. Laventon took a wurmple out of a ball and onto his hand.

"Alright, open up."

Cyllene opened her eyes and immediately tensed. "Is there a reason for this?" she demanded, eyes focused on the bug. Laventon hesitated, and Cyllene took a careful scooch back, trying to balance between keeping the appearance of composure and keeping away from that thing.

"Well, it's... ready to evolve, and you said just recently that you'd never seen an evolution before your kadabra. I thought you might want to watch another. It's certainly a different experience than just reading about it in reports! Is there something wrong with that?"

Cyllene's nervous eyes were still on the bug. "We had those in Hoenn. They feed on our crops and on the intestines of anyone unlucky enough to contract one. All research on them should be done in the field. Not here."

"What...? With respect, captain, that's nonsense. Wurmple are insectitarians. They eat the eggs and larva of other species. That's probably why you see them around plants other bugs like to eat, and in unsanitary places that cause disease. Wurmple are harmless as they come."

Cyllene relaxed. Not entirely, but somewhat. "I... see."

"Shall we watch it evolve, then?" Laventon asked as the worm crawled up onto his neck like a scarf.

"...Let's take this to my quarters."

And so, they did. Laventon had never been in Cyllene’s quarters before. He didn’t know what he expected, but a room overflowing with indoor plants wasn’t it. There were more herbs, flowers, berries, and vegetables in there than there was paperwork in her office, and that was saying something. Cyllene moved a couple planters out of the way and led Laventon to a table. She cast a sour look at the worm and hesitantly gave it a pet. When the two were seated, Cyllene gave Laventon a stiff nod.

Laventon took the worm off his neck and passed on the nod. A sparkling flash of transformation later, the worm had turned into a cacoon- a white one, thankfully- Laventon couldn't have a toxic moth around so many well-tended plants and still have Cyllene as a friend afterward. Another flash, and the cacoon had turned into a beautiful beautifly.

"Hm. That was indeed more of an experience than reading about evolution in reports," Cyllene admitted, twitching as the beautifly began to inspect her face with its trunk. "Laventon," she said, her voice betraying a little fear. "Put it away."

Laventon chuckled and returned the creature. "You gave it your best effort."

Cyllene flushed.

"You would have hated Alola. It's just crawling with bug types! There were quite a few areas where we had to wear nets to gather specimens. Not that it wasn't worth it! It's a warm and beautiful place, some of my favourite memories come from there!"

“That’s where rowlet came from, correct? Mind if I ask about the others?”

“Not at all, so long as I can ask a few questions myself."

"Very well. We'll take turns."

"Alrighty then! So, what was your life like before Hisui?"

"I'd rather not say."

That made Laventon feel pretty stupid. She was a swordswoman from Hoenn. Chances were she'd been in the war. "Ah. Okay. Well, then, how did you manage to track an abra? They certainly aren't an easy species to track, even injured ones."

"I didn't find it by tracking. But I do think you'll be interested in its story. It was shortly after the first time-space distortion opened. We didn't know what they were at the time and had closed our walls in fear of it. A visitor from another region had locked himself outside, chasing after an injured Pokémon. And thank goodness for that visitor."

At this point, kadabra floated over and, despite nearly being Cyllene's size and barely fitting, curled up on her lap.

"I led the Security Corps to investigate the distortion and search for the visitor. He joined up with us for a while, but ran off again. After Pokémon. It was frustrating. But then a Pokémon he knew in childhood saved his life. I understood then that understanding Pokémon would help make Hisui hospitable, so I ordered that we take back a few that had been injured by the distortion. It cost us almost nothing, pleased our visitor, and gave me a small opportunity to know Pokémon better than I had. It’s from that event that I decided to create the Survey Corps. The injured Pokémon included Abra. It simply never left me after that."

“Well, then thank goodness for that visitor,” Laventon said, stroking the kadabra.

“Where did you get Cyndiquill?”

Laventon’s heart rate picked up. Somehow it seemed a bad idea to let her know he’d worked for Jhoto during wartime. Not for anything military-related, but still! “Well, I, er- I hardly remember! I take on a lot of research subjects, after all!”

Cyllene gave him a blank look that told him that he seemed a lot more suspicious than he would have liked. "Fair enough. Your turn."

"Well, if it's not too personal... is there a Mr. Cyllene?"

"No. I will focus on that once the nobles are quelled and the Survey Corps takes less of my time. Perhaps I'll be with someone from the Security Corps, or division that has little to do with ours, such as agriculture."

"Ah, I see. No time to seek someone out. Well, um, captain..." Laventon stroked the kadabra again and let his hand find Cyllene's. "What if there was no need to do any seeking?"

Cyllene took her hand away. "No, Laventon. That isn't a good idea."

"Oh. Okay. Friends, then. Right?"

Cyllene hesitated. It occurred to Laventon that she might find even that too familiar for a close co-worker. "...Friends," she conceded.

Months passed. Lands were explored and one more nobles quelled. Meanwhile, time-space became increasingly unstable, and the rift in the sky grew ever-wider.

[worksinprogress1]

For years, the SCP Foundation could only watch as the Ambassador led artist after artist to abandon their lives on earth. They'd sent fleets of trained military personnel only to have them killed effortlessly by reality warpers, their remains tossed back through the doors as though to mock the researchers.

Another strategy had been tried: training researchers in the way of fine arts and positioning them to be chosen by the Ambassador, such that they might enter Alagadda as a welcome presence.

Unfortunately, the results were the same for every researcher-turned-artist who had gone through this process: once they entered Alagadda, nothing could get them to leave.

"There is one more thing we could try," said one shadowy O5 council member to the board after yet another researcher had been lost to the strange realm. "We could send someone who is impervious to most otherworldly influences. Who has reality-warping powers of his own. Who would never choose art over the violence we let him inflict.”

Another council member, the oldest, looked across to her, eyes sharp. "Alto Clef is an important asset to the Foundation. And moreover, letting him into a realm we know nothing about given his… personal characteristics… could have any number of consequences.”

The other O5 member shook her head. “We don’t know whether Alagadda is related to the Scarlet King,” she countered. “This could very well be the only way to stem a growing army of reality warpers.”

The eldest member sat back, steepled his hands, and thought for a moment. “Very well," then." he said finally. "We will set him up with Mahavira Madhvacharya for art film mentorship and see what happens. But if he dies, or worse, converts, you may very be terminated for it.”

The woman nodded. “That's a risk I'm willing to take.”

—-

Charlotte shuddered and screamed as millipedes coated in fake blood crawled from her mouth. Her writhing on the floor was a bit of overacting that her director had demanded, but the rest of her reaction was genuine. Her joke of a "director" had insisted that nothing else would do.

“Cut!” Alto Clef yelled, prompting the poor actress to roll over onto her hands and knees and spit out the bugs. “Someone get me a lemon drop French martini," Clef ordered. "We start filming again in seventeen and a half minutes. I want twenty more takes of this by the time the day’s out.”

The actress spat out one last grub and looked at Clef in absolute disdain. “What,” she demanded, “is the point of having six bug-vomiting scenes in a film about children’s drawings?”

Clef lounged back in his director’s chair and smiled ghoulishly at her. “It’s about how human expression is painful, or something. I don’t know, it’s fun for me.”

Charlotte looked over to the renowned but retired art director, Mahavira Madhvacharya, who was sat next to his spoiled little protégé in a similar chair. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, he seemed perfectly at peace with things. The man loved watching the creative process of "young and blossoming artists" the way some liked watching the bizarre films he'd spent decades of his life creating. It's why he'd chosen to spend his retirement mentoring anyone who wanted to be mentored. "A film does need to be enjoyed, eh, Alto? No meaning will be absorbed without pleasure, surely. But you have to consider what the audience will like, too, no? Don't become too wrapped up in your own preferences."

"Yeah. Sure. I'll think about it," Clef said. He surely would not think about it. He didn't give a damn about children's drawings. Not like his kid could make him any that wouldn't disintegrate in a day from merely being artifical and in her radius. No hand-drawn Father's Day cards for him, just the flowers that sprouted from the wreckage of her containment cell whenever it went too long without replacement.

As Clef returned home to the base that night and did his one-hour off-key ukele solo, he thought to himself, "This is the life." He thought he had it made on the base tormenting SCPs and his coworkers all day, but this. He had a whole year where his "job" was basically to boss people around and make them do whatever he wanted. Sure, they were supposed to move on to other stages of film-making eventually, but he wasn't going to let that happen. And as for the idea that this would make an artist out of him, well, that there was even less chance of.

Yes, as Clef settled down for the night, he was absolutely certain that he'd never go to Alagadda. This would be a fun year, and then he'd go back to his old life. He fell asleep peacefully, blissfully unaware that he was being watched.

That night, Clef dreamt. He was standing in a dark void, and then an explosion occurred, sending fractals of light and particles in every direction. From there were images of things Clef would never have been able to describe.

Clef watched as an alien-looking, water-dwelling jellyfish creature taught a smaller creature of its species- its young, perhaps- to forge ornate glass vases using the heat of hydrothermal vents. After a while, Clef was torn away from their cozy home. He saw its beautiful glass exterior, and then, as he continued to be pulled away, he saw a city of similar ones. He was pulled further and saw more cities, then pulled from the ocean and into the sky, where he saw alien plant life and beautiful cities of stone on the planet's landmasses. And then he saw a tiny blip in the water- the rainbow-coloured corpse of the parental jellyfish. But the cities, the art, the legacy remained.

Clef's alarm went off the next morning at six sharp. He rushed through his usual work out regimen feeling especially amped, adrenaline pushing him through more chin ups than he'd ever accomplished as his mind raced. He had to get back on set. He had to do what those jellyfish were doing.

When Clef arrived on set, he was surprised at first to find that everyone there aside from Madhvacharya looked bored and annoyed with him. But of course they did- he'd been treating this privilege as a joke. "Everyone but Madhvacharya, take the day off," Clef announced. "I need to make some changes to the script. You'll be paid in full."

The actress turned away in annoyance and began walking away, no doubt wondering what fresh torture Clef was cooking up for her.

Clef had no time to worry about that. He took to the side of the old director, who had already been seated beside the director's chair. "Alright. We have to make some changes," he started, putting his chair opposite the directors and sitting to face him. "First, I want the protagonist to be vomiting coloured paint, not bugs. We can use some kind of practical effects to make the colours cover the whole room to show what art does to the world. The windows should become coloured glass. And I want her to survive it. Second, I want this movie to actually be good. You'll have to teach me how to do that."

Madhvacharya smiled enthusiastically and stood up with all the energy his old bones could muster. "I knew you'd find your inner artist," he drawled, "All my protégés do in time."

They began to walk to the desk on which Clef would plan his masterpiece.

"Though, then they tend to disappear..."

---

Weeks passed. Every night, Clef dreamt of art being created by aliens, proto-humans, and even by what seemed like biblical angels. Every day, he woke up and worked on the film, incorporating what he saw or what he'd learned from it. Everyone but Madhvacharya was furious with the constant change, but Clef didn't care. He had eight months left to create his masterpiece. The film wouldn't be publishable by the end of the year, and Madhvacharya would make limited copies of the film and move on to his next protégé, but that was fine. Clef accepted it. He'd keep his copy, share his art with anyone he could, carry the skills into smaller, hobbyist projects afterward, and let that be enough. He'd even started trying to play his ukele well.

That was, until the night of September 28th. On that night, Clef dreamt again of the jellyfish creating blown glass. This time it was a master artist creating a great glass structure as many others followed suit, waving their tentacles around in rows of hydrothermal vents like a university classroom attempting to emulate an esteemed professor.

And then the earth began to shake and rumble, and every last glass structure shattered as the jellyfish panicked. Once again, Clef began to zoom out of the scene, first from the ocean and then from their atmosphere, backing away just in time to see an asteroid reduce their planet to shards of rock.

Dull shards of rock. They must have been miles in legnth, but from Clef's perspective, they were like particles of glass. Clef's scientific knowledge told him that every last shard of actual glass from the planet must have been melted now.

Gone.

Clef was hyperventilating. Once he would have enjoyed such destruction. But now...

From there, Clef saw the particles of the planet disperse and stars in the sky explode, one by one, until the sky was empty. What looked like a biblical angel floated a few feet from his face, and Clef thought that surely it couldn't die. Surely it wouldn't be destroyed by time as well. But it, too, exploded in a flower of blood and viscera.

And then, Clef heard music. He turned, and he saw a beautiful city with strange geometries, painted in red, white, yellow and black and decorated in all forms of art, most of which Clef had never seen before, even in his dreams. He even spotted a palace made of coloured glass, even grander than the ones he'd seen underwater. Clef came towards the city, and as he stepped into its streets, he began to feel safe again. This place wouldn't crumble. It would outlast the very universe and then the universe after it.

Then, Clef's alarm went off. He turned it off, cold with sweat and heart racing.

Clef arrived at the film studio, still feeling and no doubt looking haunted. By now, the studio was filled with strange and abandoned props- things that Clef had integrated into his film in a flurry of inspiration and discarded in favor of alternative desires just as quickly. And amongst them were a crew of frustrated actors and a smiling Mahavira Madhvacharya.

"We need to start all over," Clef said.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Charlotte shouted at him. "For what? So you can keep overloading this movie with weird shit that no one is going to understand?"

As recently as yesterday, Clef would have snarked at her in response. Today, all that escaped his lips were the words, "I don't know."

How could he make something that mattered? He needed his work to be seen, worshipped, its message known, but even if it was, it would all disappear in the end. He looked over to Madhvacharya, whose face had fallen. "I don't know," he repeated, hoping that his mentor would have the answer.

"Shall we leave the actors to their acting and try to do some writing?" the mad director asked, putting a hand around Clef's back and guiding him to a breakout room. Clef followed his lead into the room and fell down heavily in a chair. Madhvacharya brought him some paper and pencils.

"Alright, now leave me alone," Clef ordered. "And have someone bring me a martini. My usual order."

"Very well," Madhvacharya said, turning to leave.

Clef faced the paper, his mind empty. Minutes passed, and he tried writing the easiest story he could think of, a simple torture-and-murder type thing that he'd fantasize about on his coffee breaks in the Foundation. He didn't have the words even for that.

Clef's lack of inspiration continued for several days, and the dreams had stopped entirely. Filming continued as Clef directed, his eyes glazed over and the wheels of his mind spinning as he tried to fix his film. The actors were glad for the lack of changes, which annoyed him. Why hadn't he taken the time to enjoy their misery before? He couldn't now. The halls of the foundation had grown quiet from the lack of Clef's ukele solos.

Weeks later, Clef finally had a dream again. No imagery, just a single voice, deep and androgunous and smooth.

Show me who you are, it said. Express yourself. Show me that you are worthy.

The next morning, Clef came into filming, loaded his arms with all the art supplies he could carry, and ran back home. Frenzied, he ran through his unit at the Foundation, coating everything with red and black. That wasn't enough. Home wasn't where he was most himself and he knew it. He took his cans of red and black, with white and yellow, too, for good measure, and stumbled into the SCP research center. He threw a bucket of yellow paint on the ground and began spreading it before he realized that this wasn't enough, either. No. He knew what he must do.

Clef made his way over to SCP 682's containment cell, opened it with his keycard, and threw black paint into the vat of acid containing the anomaly. In its subdued and tortured state, the creature did not react. Once at a safe distance and out of the creature's eyesight, Clef pushed the button to collapse the tank of acid and watched as the reptile thrashed about, roaring and spilling paint everywhere. Soon, the blood of some unfortunate personnel would join the black.

Yes. This was him. He was pure chaos and destruction. This was the self-expression the voice had commanded of him. He could feel it. A bit longer and he'd be done.

At some point during Clef's artistic rampage, in which six more SCPs were released and he faced a strange lack of interference, something was said over the intercom. Clef scarcely registered it. At some point, cameras, microphones, and a harness were put on his body by other members of the SCP personnel. He didn't notice. At the end of twenty minutes, the SCPs were once again contained and Clef found himself painting a door of white on a wall of black. When he was finished, he stepped through the door.

From the control room, several researchers were gathered to watch through Clef's cameras. Through it, they saw a world of four colours: red, black, yellow, and white- though Clef was, for the first time, seeing it with every colour he knew of and some he hadn't. The realm's citizens, all clad in masquerade masks, were strange and alien. Some even floated as though through water. The world's structures and geometries were downright bizarre. The camera on Clef's chest heaved as he took several sighs of relief. And then he noticed the equipment that had been attached to him.

"Ha, you thought you'd try to pull me back if I went local, huh? Well, I'm not going to be held back by some stupid leash."

"Okay, let's reel him back," the head researcher ordered through a walkie-talkie, and on the opposite side of the door, three guards began to heave the cord that connected Clef to the real world. Clef fell backward, but then he used his reality-warping powers to undo the harness. The three guards, suddenly pulling at an empty leash instead of against a man, fell backward.

"What do we do?" asked a scientist from the control room.

"We learn what we can learn from the cameras," said the lead scientist, "and if need be, use our last resort."

Clef strolled through the city, stopping occasionally to gawk at bizarre art or to chat with a strange beings in an unrecognizable tongue and be spoken back to in English. About ten minutes into his sightseeing, a fifteen-foot-tall being cloaked in robes and wrapped in chains melted out of the cobblestone road and appeared before him.

Alto Clef, the being said. Its voice was androgynous and otherworldly and threatening. Clef remembered it as the voice from his dreams. Welcome. I'm glad that you've accepted my invitation. You are not any ordinary guest here. We know of your powers. And we know of your love for violence. We have a special role for you here.

The being stomped the ground, and a portal showing all of the universe opened up beneath it. You see, for people to crave creativity, immortality, and all else that our world depends on for its new members, they must fear death and destruction. We will make sure you have time to create, but we would also like to instruct you in the ways of using your powers for destruction. You'll have a role here in destroying worlds and causing random calamities to keep living beings aware of their fragility. Do you agree to this arrangement?

Clef took a moment to absorb what he was hearing. Then he smiled and laughed so hard he could barely collect himself. "Yes," he said. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Now he would be able to cause more calamity than the SCP foundation ever would have allowed him! The trepidations he'd had before were gone- he was no longer one of mortal creation, so why should their destruction frighten him?

"Clef," came the voice of a female researcher through the speaker attached to his chest. "This being might be tricking you. You know that your life is pleasant at the foundation. Come back. We'll even re-negotiate your contract if you want, we-"

"Shove it."

"Very well. We'll have to turn to other measures, then." With that, the transmission ended.

"Dad," came a female voice from behind Clef. It was a blonde teenage girl with furry grey goat legs and horns. His daughter. And she looked ready to cry. "Dad. Please come back. If you don't come back, I'll stay here."

Clef's mouth hung open as he took in the implications of that. "Honey... you have to leave. Your powers will destroy this place. It's entirely made of man-made materials and some of them are really processed! There's nothing natural under it. You'd the whole world collapse in on itself!"

The girl clenched her jaw as tears ran down her face. "If I go back without you, the foundation will kill me," she said.

"I have to protect this world," said the ambassador. "Will her powers still affect this place if she's dead?"

"Yes!" Clef screamed. "In fact, it'll make them go haywire! This place will be destroyed in a minute if you kill her, so don't even think about it!" It was a lie. Clef didn't know what would happen if his daughter died. He had to think of a way out of this.

Grass was growing at his daughter's feet, disturbing the cobblestones. That was Clef's final straw. He ran, grabbing his daughter's hand and sprinting for the door he'd opened and thankfully not painted shut. They were through the door before Clef dared to look back.

The ambassador was not in a rush. It stepped slowly toward the door, and once it got there, pulled a paint bucket and brush out of thin air and painted the portal closed.

It made sense, Clef supposed. He was a threat to Alagadda's existence. There'd been no need to stop him from leaving.

With information on Alagadda acquired, there was no need for Clef to be learning about the art of film. His mentorship was ended and he returned to his post at the Foundation. The very day he was repositioned, Clef bought himself a set of paints. He'd make something to earn his way back to the unending world of Alagadda, and this time the Foundation wouldn't interfere.

[worksinprogress1]

It was mid-day when Laventon’s ship arrived at prelude beach. He could see the vast forests of the land he was about to study, no doubt teeming with species he’d never encountered, a great mountain that would doubt hold interest, and the walls to the little village he’d be staying in. It was so exciting that he could barely contain himself! He’d studied Pokémon in plenty of regions, sure, but never one whose fauna was so unexplored as this. The woman who’d hired him had said she wanted his help in creating a record of every single Pokémon in the region! Even he wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but he was willing to try!

…And that very woman was becoming increasingly visible on the docks. Laventon pulled himself together somewhat, removed his toque, attempted to brush down his hair with his fingers, gave up on doing so and repositioned his toque, and brought out the three Pokémon he’d brought from overseas so that they could make an entrance.

The boat hit the docks. Laventon hopped off and gave his new boss an excited wave. “Hello, there! You must be Captain Cyllene!”

The woman peered up from a photo she was holding- the picture Laventon had sent her in his letters so she’d be able to recognize him. “That is correct,” she deadpanned. “And you’re Professor Laventon.”

“That’s right. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

“Excellent. Come with me,” Cyllene said, turning towards the village.

It wasn’t a long walk to the severe-looking wooden walls of Jubilife, and as they approached, the watchmen opened up the gates to reveal a quaint little place. Children were playing with hand-carved toys in the streets, villagers worked in the fields, and number of cute little shops made themselves available to them. Laventon caught himself eyeing up a local’s woodcarvings before he realized that he was falling behind Cyllene. He caught back up just as she reached the steps of a large stone building.

“This is Galaxy Hall, home of the Galaxy Team, which you will be joining,” Cyllene explained, still walking with an evident sense of purpose. “We are a group dedicated to building a life on Hisui both for ourselves and for future generations. The Survey Corps is a new division of the Galaxy Team meant to research Pokémon so that we might gather resources more easily, explore their uses, and generally learn to coexist.”

The two walked through a door into a messy office. Cyllene stepped behind the desk and pulled out a blue uniform, complete with a satchel and red scarf.

“This is a mere formality since you won’t be doing fieldwork yourself, but here is our uniform. The Survey Corps will have their first excursion tomorrow and will bring you subjects for research. For today, I’d like you to give me a full report on the Pokémon currently in my office, including its abilities and care needs.”

Laventon took the uniform and looked uncomfortably around the room for the Pokémon. “The Pokémon in…? Oh.” Laventon finally spotted the abra asleep in the corner. “He’s a cute little fellow.”

“He was found injured, and he is constantly lethargic or asleep despite several months having passed. If you have any information on what the problem with him might be, report it to me immediately.”

Laventon smiled. “Actually, I can help you with that right now. We have that Pokémon in several regions. They’re called abra- as in "abra kadabra"- and they’re supposed to sleep all the time. Their psychic energy uses a lot of energy, after all. I’ll take a look, but there might be nothing wrong with it at all!”

"It isn't ill?" It was hard to tell, but Laventon could swear that Cyllene had just let out a sigh of relief.

"Most likely not."

“Excellent. Well, start your report. Your office is the one next to mine. When you’ve finished, I’ll show you to your quarters.”

“Will do!”

Laventon beckoned the abra over to him and left. It seemed like of all places to spend the next year or so, this was a fine one. And imagine the recognition of making the first-ever log of every Pokémon in a region! And the more immediate praise for his knowledge on something so little known in these parts... What a rewarding adventure he'd embarked on.

Or so he thought. The excursion team he set out with the next day was the most nervous-looking he’d ever seen, and by the end of the day they’d only brought him a few specimens from a measly four species. It hadn’t occurred to Laventon until then, but Cyllene’s abra was the only Pokémon he’d seen in the village. Cyllene had mentioned in her letters that these people didn’t use Pokémon of their own and were just learning to use pokéballs, but he’d never expected them to be as naïve as they were. Laventon tried teaching the Survey Corps better methods, but it was slow going, especially with a teacher who had always been too clumsy to catch many Pokémon himself. And instead of proudly bringing new specimens to the villagers, he had to see them gawk at the pastures and listen to whispers from Jubilife of how the Survey Corps was a dangerous experiment and a waste of resources.

A month passed, and a hole opened up in the sky. No one knew why. It alarmed many. Laventon prayed that it would cause some sort of miracle that would solve their problems. None came.

A few weeks after the hole opened in the sky, Laventon was sitting at his desk, swirling the poison of a zubat in a test tube to separate its elements and determine its potency. That had been a good deal of his work in Hisui: testing poisons, bite strength, voltage, and so on from the same ten species that the Survey Corps was able to catch. Just as the elements were separated, Laventon heard the doors to the Galaxy Hall open. It was Rei, who was, not for the first time, coming back from camp with a distressed shinx squirming in his arms and shocking him with every couple feet he dragged it. Around the shinx’ back leg was a tight, painful snare that had been used to catch it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one of the Survey Corps to have used such methods.

“Oh, no… Rei, what have I told you about using pokéballs?” Laventon said, running over.

“I’m- sorry- professor,” Rei said, his voice starting and stopping with each shock the feline Pokémon gave him.

Laventon untied the snare, receiving a few shocks himself, then took the Pokémon in his arms. “Let’s take this little one outside,” he insisted.

Once outside, Laventon guided them to an uncrowded area of town. “Alright, Rei. I’m going to put the shinx down, and I want you to send out your partner against it.”

With some hesitation, Rei tossed out the pikachu Laventon had arranged as his partner. The two pokemon squared each other up and began to tussle.

“Now throw the ball,” the Professor insisted once the shinx was beginning to tire out. Rei did. It hit the shinx, shook, then clicked shut with a spark.

“See how easy that was? There’s no reason to risk your safety doing it any other way than that,” Laventon said, still sounding a bit distressed even to himself.

Rei seemed to think this over, then shook his head. “pokéballs are fine for wurmples and bidoof and whatnot, but how is a hollowed-out rock and an apricorn supposed to protect me from something like that?”

“Rei… a pokéball isn’t a cage. All Pokémon could come out of them if they wanted. Unless you’ve put them asleep, a Pokémon who stays in the ball wants to be in it. And we want to eventually study all Pokémon in Hisui. How will you bring me Pokémon that could really hurt you if you don’t use Pokémon of your own?”

“Why would they want to be in a ball just because we beat them up a little? I don’t get it. And as for your second question…” Rei looked down. “I’m not sure, Professor. A lot of people are saying the Survey Corps will be broken up and reassigned soon.”

“Oh, come now. Where have you heard that?”

“Commander Kamado. I overheard him talking about it in the medical bay after the electrocution event last week.”

Laventon’s jaw dropped. If there was no more Survey Corps, he wouldn’t have a reason to stay in Jubilife anymore. As basic as the research here had been, he didn’t want to leave Hisui so soon, or in such a poor state. “I’m sure he’ll see reason eventually!” Laventon insisted, a very fake smile on his face. “After all, we have so many achievements behind us! Such as, well…”

Just then, Captain Cyllene walked up to the pair. “Professor Laventon. There you are. Join me to the Obsidian Fieldlands immediately,” she ordered.

“Oh. Got to go. I’ll see you soon, Rei.”

It then occurred to Laventon that the captain had met with Kamado that day. Was he about to be let go? But then, why do it out in the fieldlands? It wasn’t as though Cyllene was the type to shy away from delivering harsh news in front of others.

“Um, Captain?” Laventon said as the Jubilife Village gates shut behind them and two Security Corps members joined their party. “Is there a reason for the sudden excursion?”

“I will inform you of that when we arrive,” Cyllene replied.

After an anxiety-riddled hike, the party arrived at the encampment. Cyllene looked Laventon in the eye. “The Survey Corps is doing poorly,” she admitted. “We are not meeting our goals to make Hisui more traversable or to make Pokémon our work animals. Most of the village is still afraid of Pokémon, our team has twice the rate of injury of any other division, and many are doubting whether this is a good use of our resources.”

Laventon nodded solemnly, wondering when the next boat to Galar would arrive. “I understand.”

“Good,” Cyllene said, determination in her eyes. “We’re on the same page. Today, I want you to teach me everything you know about catching Pokémon for research. Tomorrow, I’m calling for an emergency excursion for the entire Survey Corps to help them implement your teachings. There’s no need for us to give up yet.”

“Wonderful!” Laventon said, and he meant it. It seemed like the ice was thin, but at least he had every chance to scramble off of it.

The next day, Cyllene ordered an expedition for every member of the Survey Corps, starting at the Fieldlands Camp.

“Every one of you is returning to the village tonight with six Pokémon, each of a different species," Cyllene announced once the group had arrived at camp and lined up before her. "Three of them will be research subjects for the professor, the other three will be your new teammates, and all of them will be caught in pokéballs."

Of the twelve survey corps members, half were attempting to put on a brave face. The rest, including Rei, were clearly nervous. “But… ma’am…” Rei said, “six species in one day is more than any of us have managed.”

“I would not have you do anything I was not prepared to do myself. Come along,” Cyllene replied, turning on her heel. She led the others into the field and then stopped abruptly, holding her arm out to signal that they should stop and be quiet. Before them was a bird of prey with a wingspan as large as a person was tall.

Cyllene carefully stepped towards it, scooped up some mud, and threw it, hitting the bird in the shoulder. It turned to her, screeching fiercely. Cyllene drew her sword and held it between herself and the bird.

“Pokémon respond to strength,” Cyllene explained, keeping her eyes on the bird. “What they want more than anything is an opportunity to use their power. Show them that you will present such an opportunity-”

The bird lunged at Cyllene. She tucked and rolled out of the way, picked up a rock, and threw it. The bird dodged out of the way and adjusted trajectory to lunge at her again. Cyllene threw a pokéball. It hit the bird on the forehead. In a flash of light, the bird entered the ball, which fell to the ground.

“Present such an opportunity, and they will want to stay with you,” Cyllene finished, again holding her sword between the ball and herself in case the bird popped out.

The ball shook once and then clicked shut. Cyllene picked up the ball and released the Pokémon from it, allowing it to perch on her forearm. “Are there any questions?” she asked, facing the rest of her team.

Laventon hesitantly raised his hand as the other members stayed silent. “Well… not so much a question as an addition…” he said.

“Go on,” Cyllene said.

Laventon made his way to Cyllene’s side and faced the others. “Everything the captain said is true, but don’t forget that Pokémon are also naturally companiable creatures! They’re not tools or enemies to be subdued. They want to be your friends and you should treat them as such!” he said, stroking the bird.

Cyllene nodded in agreement. “Yes. If we’re to live in peace on this land, we must learn to co-exist with its wildlife. We will want our relations to be positive.”

Laventon sighed in relief. It would be quite an intimidating task indeed if he had to convince Cyllene that Pokémon were friends!

“The professor will provide a Pokémon for each of you to begin your efforts with. The Pokémon will be weak, as we have only gathered weak Pokémon thusfar, but they’ll ensure that you will not be fighting wild Pokémon yourself and they will become stronger with use. Any weapons you are carrying are an absolute last resort. Keep your Pokémon in fighting condition if at all possible and return to the encampment if they are incapacitated. Now, move out. Each of you in a different direction.”

The ten survey corps members let out a chorus of “yes, ma’am’s” and set out, each stocking up on potions and revives, receiving a Pokémon from Laventon, and heading their separate ways.

“My, you have their respect!” Laventon exclaimed. “I see now why you wanted to demonstrate this yourself. A goofy foreigner like myself shows them time and time again how to use a pokéball and they still don’t trust it to protect them, but when it’s you, they hang on your every word!”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Cyllene replied. “The Galaxy Team has immigrants from several regions. We are quick to accept anyone who proves their worth. And Rei seems to have taken a liking to you.”

Laventon smiled. “Has he? Well! That’s delightful. So, do you have any name ideas for your new Pokémon? It looks to be a starly evolution, so something with ‘star’ in the name would be sensible, don’t you think?”

“Hmm… yes, I suppose it would. Once we get back to the Galaxy Hall, we’ll have to explore whether its power over the wind could be used to dry the ink on my paperwork.”

Laventon wanted to make a light jab at her about being too focused on her work, but before he could, Rei came running back. “Hey, Professor- before I set out, I was wondering if you could teach me a little about battling. There has to be more to it than just letting a Pokémon out, right?”

“That there is, Rei! I’d be happy to teach you.”

“Hm. I was going to stay a while in case there were any such questions, but it seems you have that under control. I will be off, then. I intend to make good on my promise to not to order the Survey Corps to do what I am not prepared to do myself.”

Cyllene put her sword in the camp’s lock box. Laventon nodded in understanding at the gesture- everyone else was to exclusively use their Pokémon as weapons that day and so would she. “Keep the lesson short,” she reminded.

“Will do!” Laventon said with a smile. “Happy hunting!”

Cyllene gave him a stiff nod and walked off, the yet-unnamed bird flying by her side. Laventon watched. How he wanted to talk to her more, and in a more casual capacity. She seemed like such a fascinating person, and yet he could only ever see her businesslike surface… at least now it seemed he’d get a chance.