Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Name?”

“Crystal Soul.” The teenager adjusted her green backpack as the customs officer opened her passport.

That got raised eyebrows. “The Hoenn Champion?”

Crystal laughed. “Well…yeah, I guess so. I’m still getting used to the title, though. It’s only been a couple months….”

“Still, that’s an incredible feat for someone your age.” The officer paused as he looked at her passport, then back at Crystal. “So that thing with your…that’s all real.”

The pink, triangular ears on top of Crystal’s head flicked at the questioning stare. Her thin, pink tail curled around her waist, the tip flicking nervously.

“It is,” Crystal said carefully. She ran her fingers through her blond hair, pushing it back enough to reveal that there wasn’t any sign of ears where humans normally had them. “I’m…used to hiding them, so this is kinda new to me, too.”

The man stared, then shook his head quickly. “R-right, you and those other weird kids…what are you planning on doing in Kalos?”

“I want to take some time to explore the region,” Crystal replied. “It sounds like a beautiful place. A couple friends of mine moved away from here, and they said a lot of good things about it.”

The officer nodded. “And you know the rules about taking on multiple Leagues. Unless a challenger beats you in an official match—”

“I can’t participate in another League for a second Champion title,” Crystal confirmed. “My adopted father made sure that I’d remember that.”

“Good!” A stamp hit the open page of Crystal’s passport, and it was handed back to her. “Welcome to Lumiose City, Champion. Enjoy your stay in Kalos!”

“Thanks!”

Crystal walked past the customs office and down to the airport’s lobby. She didn’t stop at the baggage claim, only pausing to make sure the four PokeBalls at her belt were secure before grabbing a bright yellow device from her pocket. She didn’t need to look around to know that there were people staring at her as she walked past.

A part of her wished she hadn’t dropped her illusion during her battle against Steven, but then that would have made her passport photo look strange because of the camera’s technology and her attempt to hide…

Crystal shook the thought from her mind as she found the number she was looking for. She stood not far from a rotating baggage claim and waited as the person on the other end to pick up.

The screen on the PokeNav was dark, and remained dark as a light flicked on in the upper right corner, showing that a connection had been made. Crystal could hear something moving around on the other side.

A lamp on a desk was turned on, and a balding man with an orange mustache rubbed his eyes with one hand. In his other was a pair of glasses.

“Hi, Blaine. Sorry to wake you up, but you did want me to call when I landed in Kalos.”

::It’s all right. I just misjudged how long I could stay up for:: The old man rubbed the back of his head. ::I’m glad that you were able to get there safely. Nothing happened on the way?::

Crystal shook her head. “I got a few stares, and some questions, but I was left alone for the most part. I don’t think that very many people have really…come to terms with the fact that there are people who are half Pokémon in the world now.”

::Give them some time and let the news circle around the planet a few times. Have you seen Professor Sycamore yet?::

“Not yet. I’m about ready to leave the airport, though.” Crystal looked up and around at the people walking past. There were some people staring at her, but they moved away quickly when they saw her looking back at them. Some children stopped and stared, but they weren’t able to stop for long. “I’m not getting as much attention as I was expecting, since I’m a Champion, but…I’m sure I’ll be able to find him without any trouble.”

::You’ll let me know how things go over there if you need any help, right?::

“I will, don’t worry. I don’t think anything is going to happen, but I’ll be on guard. Promise.”

Blaine nodded, then yawned and shook his head. ::I’m going to bed. This old man can’t stay up all night like he used to. I hope the jet lag doesn’t give you any trouble!::

“I’ll be okay. You just get some sleep.”

Blaine yawned again, then reached forward and pressed something Crystal couldn’t see clearly. Then the screen of her PokeNav went dark.

Crystal smiled to herself and put the PokeNav back in her pocket, then looked around and started to make her way towards the doors at the other side of the lobby.

Something tapped on her shoulder, and Crystal turned to look at where it was coming from.

“Excuse me,” the woman said. “You’re…you’re that Mew girl, right? The Hoenn Champion?”

Crystal blinked at the question, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. Hi.”

The woman looked like she wasn’t entirely sure what to say for a moment, but she shook her head and composed herself. “It’s…I wasn’t expecting to meet you in person. Are you really as powerful as everyone says? That you can talk to Legendary Pokémon?”

“Anyone can talk to a Legendary Pokémon,” Crystal replied. “It’s just a matter of earning their trust.” Her tail curled around one of her legs like a loose spring. “And I don’t think I’m that strong. I’m about the same level as my own team right now, so…fifty-ish? I’m not as strong as what some people think.”

The woman blinked in surprise. “But that’s still strong. Stronger than what anyone normal would be able to get to.”

“Mm.” Crystal nodded. “I suppose.”

One of her PokeBalls rattled, causing Crystal to look down. The woman looked down, too.

“I think that’s Richie telling me we should get moving,” Crystal said. “I’m planning on visiting Professor Sycamore before going into the rest of the region.”

“Oh! I shouldn’t keep you, then.” The woman smiled and stepped away. “I hope you enjoy Kalos!”

Crystal waved back, then turned and finally reached the large, glass doors that led out of the airport. As the PokeBall was still rattling, she took hold of it as she stepped out.

Crystal tossed the PokeBall as she stepped out of the airport. “Here we are, Richie. We finally landed in Kalos!”

The PokeBall released its contents with a flash of light, revealing a humanoid, mostly white Pokémon with a green helmet and red eyes. The Gallade looked around and raised an arm to shield his eyes from the sun as cars and Pokémon rushed passed the. “It’s loud out here.”

“We’re in the middle of the central city.” Crystal’s ears flicked back as a car rushed past and honked loudly. “It’s called Lumiose. Professor Sycamore is supposed to be meeting us out here. I hope he didn’t forget that we don’t know where his lab is.”

“I certainly did not!”

Crystal and Richie turned to look in the direction of the voice and caught sight of a young man with black hair and a lab coat walking towards them, arm raised in greeting.

“Crystal Soul and her Gallade, correct? That was some masterful work of Mega Evolution in the Championship match against Steven Stone.” The man held out a hand. “Professor Sycamore, at your service. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Same here.” Crystal returned the handshake. “It was definitely something that I haven’t seen before, or seen used. Mega Stones don’t really show up in Kanto or Jhoto.”

“I should hope not, considering that their history is considered a cautionary tale more than anything else. Not that they shouldn’t be used, of course – it’s just that some Pokémon can be potentially dangerous if Mega Evolved incorrectly.”

Crystal frowned and looked at Richie with a concerned expression. “Are there Trainers who are trying to do that?”

“I’m sure there are some who would like to, but Trainers in Kalos and other places with Mega Evolution have learned that it isn’t something to be trifled with.” Sycamore motioned for Crystal to follow him. “My lab isn’t far. I can give you a more comprehensive history there, if you like.”

“I was originally curious about Fairy-Types, but if Mega Evolutions could be a possible problem, then…” Crystal nodded. “Yeah, I’m curious. After what happened in Hoenn, I don’t want to have another disaster pop up because some scientists let the potential power go to their heads.”

“You seem to have a great deal of experience with that.” Sycamore motioned for Crystal to follow him, and he started walking down the street. “It hasn’t been that long since that particular incident. I’m surprised you aren’t having more people attempt to jump on you.”

“I…think a lot of people are still trying to wrap their heads around me,” Crystal said. “A lot of kids are asking me questions about what it’s like to be me and what Legendaries are real, which…I only know some of them? And that’s a very small number compared to how many people say exist.”

“You are aware of all the Legendaries that are said to exist in Kanto,” Sycamore pointed out. “Especially since you are part Mew.”

Crystal rubbed the back of her head as Richie looked around at the other people walking around them. The ones who did see her slowed their pace and looked back at her curiously. “Well, I guess…that would make some people curious. But I’m only ten years old, and this is the fourth region I’ve been to. I don’t know everything despite my high power level by comparison.”

Sycamore did a double-take. “I’d…My apologies, I’d heard from Samuel that you were younger than you look, but…you speak and act like someone who is closer to your physical age than I was expecting in person.”

Richie snickered while Crystal gained a small smile of her own.

“Yeah, that probably throws a lot of people off, too.” Crystal’s ears flicked as she tracked the conversations of the people around them. Most seemed to be talking about their days and errands – things that weren’t getting her attention. “I guess that could explain why some people are cautious about talking to me. I’m strange to everyone else.”

“True, but that is what makes you magnificent, as well as the other Trainers who came out of the Team Magnus debacle.” Sycamore sighed heavily. “I do wish that Serena was as down to earth as she used to be, however. It seems that her awareness of her abilities has only made her gravitate more towards the ‘upper crust,’ as it were. Do you think you could help with that?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “I don’t know…I could try, but she and I were on opposite sides of what happened.” She looked around at the tall buildings that hemmed them in on all sides, and found her gaze drawn to the strange tower that peeked over the top of some of the buildings. “What’s that building?”

“Ah, that is our pride and joy, Lumiose Tower. The Electric-Type Gym Leader, Clemont, has his Gym inside the tower itself, but there are ways for tourists to go up to the top of the tower without taking his challenge. The view from the top is fantastique.”

“I’ll have to go up there some time.”

“Yeah.” Richie nodded in agreement. “I wonder if being up that high is like flying, like how Red does.”

“It would be something to ask about. It probably isn’t all that much different from my ability to hover, but I can’t go up that high yet.”

“I would assume that would be fixed if you had practice, yes?” Sycamore remarked. “Unless your ability to fly is weakened by the fact that you are not as small as the Mew we are familiar with. Or fully Pokémon for that matter.”

Crystal looked at Sycamore with a curious expression. “Do you understand Pokémon?”

“Oh, not really. I don’t have a connection with your team like you do, so I am merely guessing about what you are talking about. I would assume that you are talking about the height of Lumiose Tower and what it might feel like to fly at that height, yes?”

“Ah…yes, that’s right. We don’t have a Flying-Type on my team, so we haven’t really gone up in the sky like that. And…you’re right, about the flying thing. I haven’t practiced it enough. I don’t have to fly to get everywhere.”

“Very practical of you.” Sycamore nodded. “Although, we do rely on Pokémon and cars in order to get places in larger cities like this. The Gogoat and taxis get to see a lot of action here, as you can see from the people around us.”

Crystal nodded as she watched another one of the four-legged, green, horned Pokémon trotted past them, a person on its back. “So that’s what it’s called? Gogoat?”

“Indeed. They are quite docile Pokémon, and good for carrying Trainers and people alike across the land. These Gogoat are trained and employed by the city, but it is possible to find them and their children, Skiddo, out in the wild.”

“That’s good to know.” Crystal nodded. “I might look into that.”

“If you want to travel on land quickly, nothing is better. Although, I am sure that other Trainers have their own opinions on what Pokémon are good for land travel.” Sycamore looked up at the buildings next to them. “Ah ha! Here we are, home sweet home. I don’t have access to grand fields to house Pokémon and research them in their natural habitat, unfortunately, but I do have assistants who are willing to go out into the field when I cannot.”

He launched himself up the stairs with a youthfulness that made Crystal wonder if he was the youngest of the current Professors. Maybe he had taken over the position recently?

Richie followed up the stairs after Sycamore, and Crystal quickly moved to follow after him. She heard some shouts from behind her as she moved up.

“Mommy, that girl has a tail! Can I get one?”

“We’ll see, honey.”

The mother sounded distracted, but Crystal didn’t look back as she reached the door and stepped inside.

The lab looked like a five-story apartment building that had been converted into something else, likely some years ago. The first floor had a sitting area and a woman sitting behind a desk who looked like she was ready to fall asleep until Crystal closed the door behind her.

“Welcome ba—oh!” The woman sat up straight when she saw Crystal, her eyes widening. “Oh! Professor, when you said you were bringing back a guest, you didn’t mention it was going to be—”

“The Hoenn Champion?” Sycamore finished brightly. “I did. You weren’t paying attention, likely because it has been so quiet as of late. But that’s all right. A quiet region is a good thing, after everything that has rocked our world in the last month. I would rather not have to wake up in the morning and not worry about some Team Magnus nonsense, wouldn’t you say?”

The woman looked like she wanted to say something else, but then she ducked her head a little and nodded. “R-right.”

Crystal frowned at her reaction, then looked at Sycamore. “Has…Kalos had problems before?”

“A long time ago, long before my generation was born.” Sycamore tapped his chin in thought. “There were a few wars with Galar, I remember, but there hasn’t been anything recently. Team Rocket and Team Magnus were much more dangerous than Lumiose Tower momentarily losing power because of one of Clemont’s inventions. That’s almost a regular occurrence now.” He chuckled. “But no, we haven’t had anything like what you’ve experienced.”

“That’s good.” Crystal relaxed, unnoticed tension leaking from her shoulders. “I don’t want to run into any more trouble for a long time.”

“I should hope not,” Sycamore agreed. He clapped his hands together. “Let’s move onto lighter subjects, shall we? I have a guest room on the fourth floor that you can make use of. It should be large enough for at least a few of your Pokémon as well, depending on which ones you have with you.”

“Well, I brought four of them with me, and I can get the rest from Professor Oak if I need to.” Crystal looked at the red and white spheres at her waist. “I brought Samuel and Esmeralda – my Breloom and Espeon – with me, and a new Pokémon that I haven’t gotten to know very well yet. Blaine said that Fennekin were used as one of the starters in this region, right…?”

“Yes they – oh! So you’re the one who got the Fennekin Blaine asked for! I had wondered if he was planning on using it in his own team.” Sycamore grinned widely. “I should hope that the two of you will get along splendidly!”

“I hope so, too,” Crystal replied. “Blaine said that Frieda will become part Psychic when she’s fully evolved, which I’m curious about. But it’s going to take time for me to work with her to get there, first.”

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Richie spoke up. “Nothing bad’s gonna happen, and we have a year before Brendan and May call up and ask us to come back to Hoenn for an Elite Four challenge.”

Crystal nodded back.

“Let’s get you settled in, and then you can ask me whatever you want to know about Fairy-Types and the known history of Mega Evolution.” Sycamore motioned for Crystal to follow him to an elevator at the back of the first floor. “I have a great deal of papers written on both subjects, as they are both my realms of expertise!”

“I remember Professor Oak saying that you’d discovered Fairy-Types.” Crystal stepped into the elevator, Richie at her heels. “It surprised me when I found out that Richie’s previous two forms, Ralts and Kirlia, were both part Fairy.”

“Still glad I don’t have that skirt anymore,” Richie muttered.

“And Amy, my Azumaril, now that I think about it,” Crystal added. “But she and Richie are dual-types. Are there any that are pure Fairy or…?”

“There are! The Flabebe line is a good example – Serena is connected with them, if you remember. The flower that she carries is a part of her.”

“Really?”

Crystal felt the elevator come to a shuddering halt, and the doors opened into a hallway with a few doors.

“My suite is on the floor below, along with my office,” Sycamore explained. “You’ll be sharing this floor with my two assistants, Sina and Dexio. They’ve been quite excited about meeting you, but they aren’t here at the moment.” He walked down the hall towards a door at the end of the hall.

“Where are they, then?” Crystal followed after him as Richie looked around at the hall. “Do you have them doing something?”

“Indeed! A few promising Trainers asked for a first Pokémon, and I’ve sent the two of them out to give them Fennekin, Froakie, and Chespin.” Sycamore reached the end of the hall and opened the door and motioned for Crystal to step inside ahead of him.

The room was simply decorated, with a bed and a desk next to a window over the street that ran by the building.

“If you want your Pokémon out of their spheres to sleep with you, there are a few blankets in a supply closet if you need them.” Sycamore motioned back out to the hall. “If you want to wash up, the restroom is on the other side of the hall. I’ll let you get settled in, and if you want to talk to me about Fairy-Types and Mega Evolution now, I’ll be waiting in my office on the fourth floor. If you want to take the day to recover from flying, on the other hand—”

“We slept the whole way here,” Crystal replied. “I don’t think I’m planning on going to sleep again for a while.”

Sycamore blinked at the interruption, then laughed. “Very well then. I’ll be waiting downstairs for you when you’re ready.”

Crystal nodded as Sycamore stepped out of the room and back down the hall, leaving Crystal and Richie standing in the room.

Crystal looked at Richie. “He seems nice.”

“He’s kinda like Professor Birch.” Richie sat down on the bed. “Except he doesn’t go out on the routes and doesn’t have any kids.”

Crystal nodded. “I wonder if him having two assistants makes up for that? Or does he do something else with his time that keeps him busy?”

“Could ask, I guess.” Richie shrugged, then frowned. “Why are you interested in Fairy-Types and Mega Evolution, anyway? They’re not that big a deal, are they?”

“They could be. I mean, I didn’t know that the Fairy-Type existed before I went to Hoenn, and that Mega Evolution thing made you really strong during our fight against Steven. If we didn’t have that, I don’t think we’d have been able to beat him.” Crystal motioned to the necklace around Richie’s neck, where a round stone gripped by a metal Mew-like shape hung. “I’d like to know more about it, especially if using it is potentially dangerous. I know that Ven could do it, too, but I don’t want to push anything that might not be a good idea.”

Richie frowned. He leaned back against the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah…so talking to the prof about that would be good. But Fairy-Types?”

Crystal rubbed the back of her head. “W-well, Kanto doesn’t have very many. While Jigglypuff and Clefairy were ruled as part-Fairy recently, I wanted to see what other kinds there were out here, and how many Kalos has that got the Type so much attention.”

“I guess that’s fair.” Richie swung his legs and hopped off the bed. “So, we’re gonna go talk to Professor Sycamore, then?”

“Yup. I think I’ll take the rest of the day to just stay here in Lumiose, but after that we can figure out where we want to go and what we want to do.” Crystal dropped her backpack on the foot of the bed and checked the other three PokeBalls on her belt. “Looks like everyone else is still asleep.”

“We can get them out later to have a look around the city,” Richie replied. “The noise outside’s gonna wake up everybody.”

Crystal smiled. “Yeah, I guess. Okay, let’s go talk to the professor. I’m looking forward to learning something new.”

Chapter Text

Sycamore’s office took up most of the fourth floor, which was surprising to Crystal. There was a wall that split a good portion of the floor in half, but there wasn’t even a door there. Just a gap near the elevator that let a person look in on whatever the professor was working on at the moment.

Sycamore was already at an L-shaped desk tucked into one corner of the room, a computer monitor sitting on the portion that was against the wall. Papers covered his desk, and there were a few art pieces on the walls that looked strange to Crystal.

She and Richie hesitated near the break in the wall as Sycamore looked between his papers and the computer. It took him a moment to notice that the two of them were standing there at all.

“Oh! Please, come, sit. You don’t need to stand over there like a pair of uncertain Maractus.” Sycamore motioned to a pair of chairs in front of him. “I do have more chairs if you want to bring out your Pokémon.”

“It looks like they’re still sleeping off the flight.” Crystal walked over and sat down in one of the chairs, her tail flicking as she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. Richie followed after her and sat down next to her. “I don’t want to disturb them too much.”

“Ah, so Pokémon can feel jet lag despite being inside PokeBalls? How interesting.” Sycamore put a stack of papers to one side. “They do feel some passage of time in there, I suppose. But you aren’t here because you wanted to learn about PokeBall mechanics. So!” He folded his hands and rested them on the desk in front of him. “Where do you want to begin. Fairy-Types? Mega Evolution?”

“I think Mega Evolution is the more pressing one,” Crystal replied. “Why is it dangerous to try and force Mega Evolution if the Pokémon is capable of it?”

Sycamore’s bright smile turned into an expression that seemed to add ten years to his face. “To put it simply, the act of Mega Evolving comes from the deep bond of friendship that you form with your Pokémon. If the bond isn’t deep enough, or if there isn’t any sort of a bond at all, then the resulting rush of energy causes the Pokémon to go on a wild rampage that could damage the people around them, as well as the buildings that might be nearby. It is a dangerous procedure, and it’s not like all Trainers will listen to our warnings on the matter. The vague history of the creation of Mega Stones doesn’t necessarily help, either.”

“Vague history?”

“They appeared after a war that happened three thousand years ago, in this country.” Sycamore sighed. “Kalos has a history of civil wars that hasn’t reared its head in recent memory, but the scars of the war are everywhere. The war that brought about Mega Stones was the most dangerous and deadly, both for humans and for Pokémon.”

Crystal’s eyes widened, and she exchanged looks with Richie.

“It’s far enough back that we don’t know what caused the war unfortunately, but we know that it ended in a violent manner,” Sycamore said. “The research I’ve managed to find has said that a great weapon was created that was powered by something unknown, and the resulting blast not only wiped out a good deal of people, but also created the Mega Stones as a result. I’m not certain whether they were created from the energy blast itself, or the Pokémon who were caught in the crossfire, but you can see why I’m concerned about the rush of energy that hits a Pokémon and Trainer combination when they might not have enough trust in each other to control it.”

Crystal nodded, wide-eyed. “Y-yeah, I see what you mean. How many Trainers know that?”

“Any Trainer who wants to learn about Mega Evolution and how to control it gets that sort of information, but some have been too eager to utilize Mega Evolution, and the results are…well, destructive. It’s resulted in the Tower of Mastery refusing to accept new Trainers into their Mega Evolution program until they have some proof that they have a bond with their Pokémon.”

Crystal considered that, then nodded and leaned back. “That’s good. I guess there are always some Trainers who are over-eager…” She frowned. “Although…I have two friends, Archie and Maxie. They said that messing with Infinite Energy was a bad idea because it came from the war, and that it showed up in Mega Stones and Key Stones. Is that the energy surge you were talking about?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about it.” Sycamore sighed and shook his head. “Lysandre and I have been researching to find an answer, but we haven’t had much luck with that so far.”

Crystal frowned slightly. “Is there a chance I could help?”

Sycamore blinked at the question. “Ah…well, I am not about to turn down assistance, but what do you think you could do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well…” Crystal frowned and scratched her head. “I don’t know yet, but I want to be able to help. If we can find the answers, then we could get a concrete history that could help Trainers understand that they shouldn’t rush into it..”

Sycamore frowned. “Yes, I could see that being a problem. People who think they know what they’re doing with dangerous items don’t always know what they’re doing. If you are willing to help Lysandre and I…I will be seeing him tomorrow afternoon. Would you be willing to come with me to meet him?”

“What kind of guy is this Lysandre?” Richie asked suddenly.

Sycamore looked confused for a moment. When Crystal relayed Richie’s question, his expression cleared up immediately. “Oh! Lysandre is a very intelligent man who is intent on making living easier. The companies that he sponsors have helped to make life in Kalos and in other parts of the world that much easier. He wants to see the world become beautiful and take steps towards peace, which I admire.”

“See the world as beautiful?” Crystal repeated. “That…I haven’t heard of something like that before.”

Richie frowned. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Crystal. “He sounds like he likes what people look like.”

Crystal frowned at Riche’s words. “…maybe. We should wait until we meet him to decide, though.”

Richie’s frown increased, while Sycamore looked between the two of them with a curious expression.

“…I think I’d like to meet him,” Crystal said.

“Wonderful!” Sycamore clapped his hands together. “I’ll make sure that he knows – unless – oh, keeping you a surprise might be better. I would love to see the look on his face when he meets you.” He chuckled. “I don’t often get to surprise him. I hope you don’t mind me indulging in this, just once.”

Crystal blinked, then nodded. “So long as it’s just this once.”

“We are in agreement!” Sycamore laughed. “Fantastique. I look forward to your meeting him tomorrow afternoon.”

“He sounds like a good friend,” Crystal said. “People like that are good people to meet, I think.”

“He is! Lysandre has nothing but the good of the future in mind. I hope that you can see that in him as well.”

Sycamore’s eyes were shining with an eagerness that Crystal had seen a few times before, mostly from Pokémon Professors who had reached a research breakthrough. Although talking about a friend was a little different, she couldn’t help but think it was a little similar, at least.

“Ah! I almost forgot – you were curious about Fairy-Types as well.” Sycamore reached for a deep blue device that was sitting on a stack of papers. “What would you like to know about them? Their strengths and weaknesses, perhaps?”

“I’d like to know more about the Pokémon themselves,” Crystal replied. “And…well, how did you know they were a new Type?”

Sycamore blinked at Crystal’s question. “I…I have to say, I wasn’t expecting a Trainer to be interested in the history of my research. Most come asking if the data in their PokeDexes is correct and if there is anything they need to know to make their team stronger.”

“Professor Oak raised me in his lab,” Crystal replied. “Well – his granddaughter Daisy taught me in his lab. I like seeing the kinds of things that professors do.”

Sycamore’s expression brightened. “Well, in that case—” He set the device aside and reached for a stack of papers. “Out of the Pokémon that live in this region, the three that led me to find the Fairy-Type’s existence were Flababe, Spritzee, and Swirlix. The Flabebe line is, of course, what makes up half of Serena’s genetic data. Originally, we thought they were Grass and Normal-Types, but that didn’t entirely explain the wind-like ability they had that heavily damaged Dark and Dragon-Types.”

Sycamore placed the top sheet in front of Crystal and Richie. There were three pictures of three different Pokémon. One looked like a small, pink bird with a large beak, a small, white creature sitting on a red flower, and the last looked like a bundle of fluff with a tail.

“They don’t look like much,” Richie commented with a frown.

“This is Flabebe,” Sycamore explained, tapping the flower and the small creature sitting on it. “The small creatures choose flowers that they will bind to throughout their lifetimes. Their final form, Florges, binds the Pokémon and the flower together.”

“I can see why you thought they were Grass-Types,” Crystal remarked. “And the other two?”

“Spritzee was originally a Flying-Type that some thought was also part Psychic, but we could never find any proper proof of it, such as telepathy.” Sycamore motioned to the little pink bird. “They were more likely to be kept around women in the royal court, as they smell quite nice.”

“Psychics don’t smell nice,” Richie said, crinkling his nose. “Not normally.”

Crystal frowned at him. “Are you saying I smell bad?”

Richie jumped. “N-no, not – you take showers! Pokémon don’t do that unless it’s rainy!”

“Well, you could have said that.” Crystal chuckled as Sycamore looked between the two of them with an amused expression. “What about the last one, Professor? The…Swirlix?”

Sycamore smiled. “Swirlix was a Normal-Type, originally, but its strange attraction to sweet things and its sweet, sticky fur made some of us wonder if there was a secondary Type. My mentor was in the midst of studying the wind-like move that Flabebe was capable of using when we exposed it to a Dratini that belonged to one of the Elite Four. It was only after we were able to catch up with it that it revealed the problem with original line of thinking.”

“How did you talk to it?” Crystal asked.

“The little thing’s Trainer is capable of having heart-to-hearts with Dragons. She’s said she has family from an area of Jhoto that is known for their ability to tame Dragons, but she never gave us the details on where.”

Crystal frowned. “I think I know where, maybe….”

“Then you are more informed than I am,” Sycamore replied. “But we were able to get an explanation of what Flabebe and others of its type are, and that led to the official release of information on the Fairy-Type.”

“Amazing that they didn’t think to talk to Pokémon about it,” Richie commented. “We could have solved their problem so many years earlier.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. When she saw Sycamore looking at Richie curiously again, she relayed Richie’s comment.

“A lot of questions could be solved by just asking the Pokémon and finding a way to cross the language gap,” Crystal added to her translation. “The Fairy-Type was likely always there; it’s just that no one really thought to look into it until this wind move you keep mentioning popped up.”

Sycamore’s eyes looked as wide as a Hoothoot’s. The expression stayed on his face for only a moment, however; the burst of laughter that followed caught Crystal by surprise as Sycamore leaned back in his chair, hands over his belly.

Crystal waited for Sycamore to stop laughing before she said anything else, but she did exchange looks with Richie, who shrugged.

“Oh, my apologies.” Sycamore recovered himself and cleared his throat. “That would have been the simplest way to find the answers to my questions, but unfortunately, not everyone can understand Pokémon on the same level that you can. I would have needed to spend a great deal of time with the Pokémon I was studying before I would be able to receive the answers I needed.”

“But then you would have a deep bond with them, and you would be able to communicate with more Pokémon that way. If you can read the heart of your own team, they’ll be able to help you communicate with Pokémon you haven’t gotten to know yet. That’s how Archie and Maxie talk to Water-Types, or Rock, Ground, and Fire-Types. I bet that you would have a great time getting to know Pokémon that way.”

Sycamore blinked at Crystal’s words, looking surprised. Richie looked between his Trainer and the Professor as Sycamore frowned a looked towards one of the paintings on the wall, a thoughtful look on his face.

“I can see how you would think that,” Sycamore remarked. “Especially because you can converse with Pokémon without the language barrier that the rest of us have to work hard to breach.”

“I’m willing to help narrow that gap,” Crystal said. “Professor Oak has asked for my help a lot when he hit a roadblock with his own research.”

“And I am grateful for that! However, I think that reaching that level of communication for me might be…somewhat difficult.” Sycamore rubbed the back of his head, frowning.

“You won’t know until you try,” Crystal encouraged. “Psychic-Types are a good place to start, since the stronger ones can use telepathy.” She frowned when she saw the look on Sycamore’s face. “Unless, you…have a Pokémon in mind already?”

“I have a few in mind,” Sycamore replied. “Pokémon that I have worked with in the past…it might be something to look into, as a side-project while I’m investigating Mega Evolution. A deep bond is key to the connection between Key Stone and Mega Stone, after all. It’s why you and Richie were able to make it work safely.”

Crystal nodded. “And that’s something I’m definitely glad for.”

Sycamore rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers in front of him. “I hope that you would be able to help Lysandre and I as well.”

“I hope I can.  I hadn’t been planning on doing anything other than training Frieda and maybe finding other Pokémon here in the region.”

“We have a lot of interesting Pokémon that aren’t findable anywhere else,” Sycamore replied. “Of course, you don’t have to go out and do anything like that today. Only one of your Pokémon is awake, after all! Explore the city, or stay here until tomorrow afternoon when we go to meet Lysandre, that’s up to you. You have a great deal of options!”

“We do.” Crystal looked at Richie, who looked thoughtful. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t want to go out into that noise again for a while, that’s for sure,” Richie replied.

“We’ll probably just stay in the lab then. Maybe everyone else will wake up soon.”

“I should hope so,” Sycamore spoke up. “I would like to meet the rest of the Pokémon that you brought with you.”

Crystal smiled brightly. “I’m sure that the rest of them are curious about you, too.”

Chapter Text

Crystal woke up the next morning to the sound of voices on the other side of a closed door. She was barely able to hear the voices, but it was enough to wake her up.

Where am – oh, right.

Crystal sat up in bed, careful not to wake up the little tuft-in-ears fox Pokémon that was sleeping tucked up against her stomach. The Fennekin simply nuzzled against Crystal in response and muttered something that Crystal didn’t catch.

The nest of blankets in the middle of the floor stirred, and Richie raised his head as the other two Pokémon grumbled at the noise.

Crystal shook her head slightly at them before she patted the Fennekin between her ears. “Frieda. Freida, wake up.”

The fox yawned, and Frieda blinked a couple times before her eyes focused on Crystal.

“Good morning,” Crystal said with a smile.

It took Frieda a moment to register the greeting. “Morning.”

“Who’s making the noise outside, do you think?” Richie asked.

One of the other two Pokémon, a short-armed green Pokémon with a mushroom cap on his head, raised his head and snorted. “I’d like it if they’d stop. I may rise with the sun sometimes, but I like it when I don’t hear humans talking.”

“Don’t they know we’re still on Hoenn time?” the other Pokémon asked. Crystal could see her Espeon’s split-tip tail lashing back and forth as she hid under the blankets. “I know I’m an early riser, but this is too much.”

Crystal sat up and tilted her head at the door, frowning as she tried to pick up the faint voices. “I think…didn’t Sycamore say he had two assistants? Dexio and Sina? I think that’s them, but I can’t hear them too well.”

“Well, could you ask them to pipe down?” the Breloom demanded. “I don’t want to be thinking about talking to people at this hour. I want to get some sunlight and then think about talking to people.”

Crystal chuckled. “I’ll take care of it, Samuel.  I don’t think I’m going back to sleep anytime soon.”

Samuel huffed and dragged himself over to a window, then rose to his feet and yanked the curtains open to let the sunlight in properly. The flash of light made Richie raise an arm over his eyes and glare at the Breloom, but the mushroom-capped Pokémon didn’t seem to notice.

Crystal got out of bed and patted Freida on the head again before she made her way to the door, where the voices continued to whisper excitedly. She opened the door a crack, unsure of what sort of people she would see on the other side.

“—want to make a good impression! I don’t want—”

“Sina! Sina!”

Crystal watched with a small smile as the blond young man pointed his purple-haired companion towards where Crystal was watching. The young woman – Sina, apparently – turned her head, only to slap her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock.

“Good morning,” Crystal said. “I’m afraid my Pokémon are still adapting to the time change. I don’t mind hearing that this lab is lived in, but my Breloom isn’t ready to hear for any noise yet.”

“Oh!” Sina smacked her forehead. “Sorry, I – I was just so excited to meet you. I’ve got so many questions for you.”

“I was telling her that she should go downstairs and wait for you to come down to breakfast, but she wanted to meet you out here.” The young man shrugged. “Sorry about that. I’m Dexio, by the way, and this is Sina. We’re the professor’s assistants.”

Crystal nodded. “He did mention you yesterday.”

“Crystal!” Samuel yelled.

“I’m taking care of it,” Crystal replied as she looked behind her. Sina’s gasp made one of her ears flick back towards the assistants, and she followed its turn to look at the two of them again. “How about we go downstairs and get breakfast? My Pokémon can find their way around a house well enough, since two of them are at about a human’s height. Sort of.”

Crystal felt something press against the back of her legs, and her Espeon nosed the door open before stepping out into the hall.

“I’ll come downstairs with you,” she said as Sina started hopping from one foot to the other excitedly.

“Dexio! Dexio! She has an Espeon! You didn’t have one when you challenged Steven!”

“Esmeralda has been with me since I met her in Jhoto,” Crystal replied. “I just didn’t take her with me through the Hoenn League, but I had my own reasons for that at the time.” She looked back. “Anyone else want to come downstairs for breakfast?”

“I will!” Frieda hopped off the bed and trotted over, looking up at the three humans with a wide-eyed expression. “Hi!”

“You went with a Fennekin?” Dexio looked down at the little fox as Crystal closed the bedroom door behind her.

“Blaine got her for my birthday when I was still in Hoenn,” Crystal said. “He said they gain the Psychic-Type later?”

“They do.” Dexio nodded. “But not until their final evolution, though. Did you go with Fennekin because of that?”

“Well…kind of? I think Blaine wanted to give me a Fire-Type, since I didn’t have one yet. The fact that she’ll become part Psychic later was a bonus, I guess.” Crystal knelt down and picked up the little fox, which got a squeak from her.

“And you’ve got a Gallade and an Espeon, which already gives you Psychic-Types to work with,” Dexio commented. “Are you planning on picking up more?”

“Well, I do have an Alakazam, but I don’t have any plans to get any more right now. I’ll have to see what kinds of Pokémon live in Kalos.” Crystal started to step away from the door and towards the elevator at the other end of the hall. Esmeralda fell into step next to her, and Dexio and Sina moved quickly to catch up.

“Dexio’s got an Eevee,” Sina said. “He doesn’t know what he’s going to evolve into yet but he’s hoping for an Espeon or a Sylveon.”

“Really? I haven’t heard of Sylveon before. Is that a Fairy-Type Eeveelution?”

Dexio nodded. “Yeah. They’ve been getting pretty common with Trainers who like Fairy-Types—”

“—or cute things,” Sina cut in. She shrugged when Dexio frowned at her. “What? It’s true. Sylveon is adorable.”

“All the Eeveelutions are adorable,” Dexio replied. “You can’t choose one without choosing something adorable.”

“Have you asked what your Eevee wants to evolve into?” Crystal asked as they reached the elevator. “Sometimes they have opinions, and others are up to absolutely anything. Esmeralda didn’t know what she wanted to be, so her evolution into Espeon came as something of a nice surprise.”

Esmeralda nodded as they stepped into the elevator. “It’s fitting, since we’re both Psychics and share abilities as a result.”

“I’ll have to ask Eevee about that.” Dexio hit the button for the second floor. “I’ve only been with him for a few months, since I caught him to the west of Lumiose when Professor Sycamore wanted us to investigate the ruins around Geosenge. Something about what the standing stones might have stood for initially.” He shook his head. “The Sigilyph there painted a pretty grim picture of their oral tradition, but they didn’t know everything.”

“Does it have anything to do with what Sycamore told me yesterday?” Crystal frowned. “About where Mega Evolution came from?”

“We think so,” Sina replied as the elevator came to a stop. “There’s a lot of ruins around Geosenge that Sycamore and Lysandre think have to do with the war that happened three thousand years ago. Are you interested in it?”

“A little.” Crystal frowned as the elevator doors opened, revealing what looked like another sitting area with a kitchen on one side. “The thought of people trying to force Mega Evolution without a good bond of friendship worries me. I haven’t met anyone who would be eager to do that, but I know that some people can get overeager and reckless.”

“Well, we haven’t heard of anyone trying to do something like that, thanks to the Tower of Mastery.” Dexio stepped out of the elevator, followed by the others. “For the most part, everyone knows about the history of Infinite Energy – which is what transforms Pokémon into Mega Evolution – and how it almost completely decimated Kalos. There are people who are mad about not being able to Mega Evolve their Pokémon immediately, but I don’t think most of them are going to try and get around what we know.”

“I…suppose that could make sense.” Crystal frowned. “But…do we even know what kind of weapon made the Mega Stones yet?”

 “Not that we’re aware of,” Sina replied. “And Professor Sycamore always has his ear to the ground when it comes to that, and promising Trainers who could help. Almost everybody gets a new Pokémon from him nowadays, and he gets alerted every time one of them signs up for the Gym Challenge, too. Besides, even if the secret weapon was located and unearthed, it would probably get a lot of attention, even if people tried to unearth it in secret.”

Crystal tilted her head slightly and frowned. “I…guess that makes sense. So right now it’s just filling in the gaps of information that Kalos doesn’t have?”

“Exactly!”

Crystal looked up in surprise as Sycamore spoke up from the kitchen. He was standing behind the counter with an apron over a rather nice set of clothes, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The number of plates with pastries and other breakfast foods made Crystal’s eyes grow wide.

“I am sure there are plenty of Trainers who are wary of Infinite Energy and will not do the sorts of things that we discussed yesterday, but there is still some warranted concern that others may attempt to do the same without realizing the consequences.” Sycamore wiped his hands down and out a towel aside. “Lysandre is interested in the past and how it can be used to move us forward in the present, and a tale of caution will definitely help give us more peace instead of any conflict.”

“Professor, how early did you get up to make all this?!” Sina moved towards the piles of food, wide-eyed.

“He seems quite the baker,” Esmeralda remarked. “Didn’t Professor Oak used to say that bakery was chemistry with food?”

“It smells so good.” Frieda started leaning forward. Crystal had to adjust her hold on the little Pokémon to keep Frieda from falling to the floor. “Can I eat some of it? Please?”

“That depends on whether or not it’s safe for you to eat,” Crystal told Frieda with amusement. “Professor, do you do this sort of thing often?”

“When I have the opportunity,” Sycamore replied. “And you don’t need to worry, it’s good for both humans and for Pokémon. There are a lot of recipes in Kalos that allow for things like this.”

“Yay!” Frieda started to try and wiggle out of Crystal’s arms. “I want one of everything!”

“Hang on! Just because you’re a Fire-Type doesn’t mean you can burn through everything.” Crystal adjusted her hold on the Fennekin again. “You get to pick one pastry, and if you’re still hungry afterward, you can pick another one. Okay?”

“Awwww.” Frieda slumped, pouting.

Esmeralda chuckled and walked over to the counter. She propped herself up against it using her front paws to get a better look at the array of food. “We won’t be able to eat all this in one day. Let’s see….”

Sycamore and Dexio both gasped as one of the pastries was lifted into the air by an unseen power and moved over to Esmeralda. She moved away from the counter and took the pastry with her, sitting down in a corner of the kitchen to eat.

“Fantastique,” Sycamore said. “How many of your Pokémon are capable of such feats?”

“Just Esmerlada and Kaz, my Alakazam,” Crystal replied. “Ven uses her vines, and except for Mike and Frieda, the rest of my team walks on two feet.”

“Ah.” Sycamore nodded, then frowned. “Mike?”

“Her Mighteyna,” Sina explained. “It knows a Fairy-Type attack, right?”

“He does.” Crystal nodded as she approached the counter filled with baked goods. Frieda once again tried to leap out of her arms and dive into the sweets, but she held the Fennekin back. “I’m…not entirely sure if I’m prepared to have more Dark-Types on my team. Mike is…nice, but…I’m not used to having him as a permanent member of the team yet.”

“Is it because he’s a Dark-Type?” Dexio frowned. “I hope you’re not against him because of his Type.”

“I-it’s not because of anything to do with him,” Crystal replied quickly. “It’s…it’s got to do with things that happened to me. I know Mike and other Dark-Types aren’t mean all the time, but…” Crystal shook her head, then grabbed a pasty. Frieda took her chance and leapt onto the counter, and grabbed a pasty of her own before sitting down on an open part of the counter to start eating.

“If I may.”

Sycamore and his two assistants looked around at the sudden voice.

“Down here.” Esmeralda was looking up from her pastry, tail flicking back and forth. “Crystal had a bad experience with Dark-Types because of Team Rocket. It is taking her time to work past this, and while Mike has helped, she has not entirely managed to overcome her fear. So long as she does not meet any Houndoom in this region, she should be all right.”

“You are capable of telepathy? Fantastique!” It took Sycamore a moment to realize what Esmeralda had said. “Oh, oh, I see. Yes, that would cause some fear of certain Types. I can see her reluctance in that.”

Esmeralda nodded and went back to her pastry while Crystal sent her Pokémon a relieved look. She was halfway through her pastry by now.

“If you have a Mighteyna, then that means you can spend time with them,” Dexio said. “Even if it’s for a little while. But if you want to get a Fairy-Type because of their ability to hold back Dark-Types, you might not want a pure Fairy-Type to take on Pokémon like Hou – like the one your Espeon mentioned. A Water-Fairy Type would be better, like--”

“Azumaril?” Crystal asked. “Amy is on my team, but she wanted to do a few things in Hoenn before she went to Kanto with everyone who didn’t come here. Her previous Trainer released her, and I guess she still has some things to settle. I made sure she had a way to teleport to Kanto quickly before we went our separate ways. I don’t…think I’m going to have any problems here? But I know I can call her for help if I need to.”

“It so cool that you and your Pokémon can have that much trust in each other!” Sina was looking at Crystal with wide-eyed amazement. “And a Pokémon who got released by her Trainer, too? I didn’t know about that!”

“Most people…didn’t really ask after my match with Steven,” Crystal replied. “I think a lot of them thought that I’d trained Amy myself which is…not entirely true. I hope people don’t think any less of me for not saying something.”

“I don’t think they will,” Sycamore replied quickly. “You are a child, after all, only – ah, how old did you say you were again?”

“I’m just barely old enough to be considered a legal Trainer,” Crystal said with a sheepish smile. She laughed when she saw the looks on their faces. “Uh, so…yeah. I turned 10 when I was in Hoenn. Blaine gave me Frieda because of that.”

“That’s…I was going to say unexpected, but since you weren’t born in the same way that everyone else was, I guess it’s kinda expected.” Dexio tapped his chin in thought. “So, you’re technically the youngest Champion in history!”

Sina gasped. “I hadn’t thought of that! That’s so cool!”

Esmeralda chuckled as Crystal looked between the two of them with a surprised expression.

“Yeah, Crystal’s really cool,” Frieda spoke up. She’d managed to finish her pastry during the time that the others had been talking, and little bits of Pokémon-friendly icing were stuck in his fur. “I’ve been learning all sorts of cool stuff! She’s fun!”

“So, what are you planning to do in Kalos?” Sina asked. “I mean, are you looking for more Pokémon? Do you want to talk to Legendaries?”

“I haven’t really thought about talking to Legendaries,” Crystal admitted. “They don’t usually get involved in other people’s business except for when they need to. I would like to know more about them, but that sort of knowledge is hard to come by.”

“That is true,” Sycamore agreed. “Because of the power they have, all Legendaries make it so that they are never known, much less seen, except by a few. Although, that sighting of Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza in Hoenn certainly made other tales of fantasy a possible reality. Not to mention the fact that Mewtwo exists.”

“Mythos and I would be very weird if we didn’t have a real Pokémon to get stable DNA from,” Crystal agreed. “Meeting more Legendaries would be nice, but…I don’t want to try to hunt them down. I don’t want to be annoying to them like that.”

“Very understandable.” Dexio looked over at the elevator as the doors opened.

Richie and Samuel stepped out, the Breloom looking more tired than the Gallade, but not as tired as he had been when Crystal had left her room.

Esmeralda nodded towards the counter. “Have at it.”

Richie followed the motion and stared at the pastries. “Uh…”

“It’s safe!” Frieda spoke up from the counter. “And tasty!”

Richie and Samuel exchanged looks, then pounced on the pastries with a ferocity that made Sycamore jump back in surprise with a laugh.

“Your team is truly energetic!” Sycamore exclaimed. “Wonderful!” He clapped his hands together. “So, are you planning on doing anything in the city today? You did have the entirety of yesterday to adjust to the new time.”

“Not enough time,” Samuel grumbled.

“I’m not entirely sure what I want to do yet,” Crystal replied. She reached over and grabbed another pastry before Samuel could bury his head in another plate of the sugar-covered breads. “There are a lot of things that I would like to see in Lumiose, but didn’t you say you wanted me to meet Lysandre with you this afternoon?”

Dexio and Sina looked at Crystal, then looked sharply at Sycamore.

“You want to introduce them that soon?” Dexio asked with a frown. “What about—”

“—you’re not giving her time to see the city!” Sina exclaimed over Dexio. “Oh, wait a week so that I can show her everywhere, please?”

Sycamore shrugged. “I don’t know when Lysandre is going to be free next! Besides, this is a wonderful opportunity that can be fit into a tour around the city. Our café is one of the more quiet spots, and it will be a good place to pause her tour before she picks up whatever whirlwind you are no doubt planning by now, Sina.”

Dexio looked at his fellow assistant and took a step back when he noticed she was almost vibrating.

“We have to do Lumiose Tower last,” Sina declared. “The view of the city at sunset is breathtaking. And that leaves us so much other stuff to do before you meet Lysandre!” She turned to look at Crystal with a wide grin. “What do you want to do first?”

Crystal blinked at Sina’s question, then looked over at Richie, who was watching the conversation with a wary expression. “Um…I think just a walk around a part of the city will be all right? I can’t really think of anything other than the Tower that I want to look at, so….”

“But that leaves us with so many things to do, like shopping! You have to pick something that will take up our morning. Please?”

“But I don’t know the area!” Crystal replied. “There are a lot of things that I don’t know about Kalos yet and that includes the things I could do in Lumiose besides go up the tower.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you get taken shopping all day,” Dexio spoke up. “There are clothes shops all over the region, you don’t need to do all that here if you don’t want to.” He gave Sina a pointed look, which only made her scowl in return. “There’s a museum that has an exhibit from Viola’s photography, if you want to go and see that. She takes masterful pictures of Bug Pokémon that almost look like they’re going to leap out at you! You could see some of the ones that live in Kalos that way, too.”

Sina’s scowl only seemed to worsen. “But walking around in a museum isn’t—”

“Is Viola someone I should know about?” Crystal asked.

“She’s the first Gym Leader that most Trainers go up against, if they’re coming up from the south of Lumiose,” Dexio said. “She’s a Bug-Type Trainer.”

“Oh, cool! The only other Bug-Type Gym Leader I know about is in Jhoto.” Crystal’s tail flicked back and forth as her ears stayed upright. “I’d like to see what she does when she’s not in her Gym, what do you guys think?”

“Pictures of Bug-Type Pokémon?” Samuel frowned. “There are bugs everywhere in the Petalburg Woods, why would I want to see more of them?”

“Maybe there are ones that live in Kalos that don’t live in Hoenn?” Richie suggested. “I’m kinda curious.”

“I wonder if they would let Pokémon wander around a museum,” Esmeralda commented.

“It could be something to ask about.” Crystal nodded to Esmeralda. “If I brought you all with me, I wouldn’t want you all out in the open on the city streets. We could get separated accidentally if it’s as busy as when we landed.”

“It’s always busy,” Sina said. “Besides, you’re probably going to get stopped a lot if people…”

Sina trailed off and stared as Crystal’s ears and tail faded from view completely, leaving her looking like an average human.

“I’ve been hiding my features for a long time,” Crystal said. “I can keep people from coming after me on the street, at least, but I’ll probably have to drop the illusion in the museum. I don’t think I’ll get mobbed in a quiet place where people look at exhibits, and I don’t want to lie to the people who are running it, either.”

Sina looked sharply at Dexio, who shrugged at her.

“You saw the recording of the Hoenn Championship match,” Dexio said. “She dropped the illusion there, remember? There was a huge uproar over that.”

“So, it’s settled, then?” Sycamore looked between them. “A trip to the museum this morning and then meeting with myself and Lysandre this afternoon? Sina, Dexio, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you to act as Crystal’s escort until then.”

“I think we can handle it.” Dexio looked at Sina, who shook herself from her shock and nodded quickly in response.

“Excellent. Go ahead and have fun, all of you.” Sycamore motioned for them to head to the elevator. “I’ll be here until it’s time to meet Lysandre this afternoon. Someone has to put away my breakfast, after all!”

“I look forward to meeting Lysandre later,” Crystal said. “Let’s go ahead and have a look around Lumiose until then.”

Sina’s expression brightened. “I hope you like our city when you see it today!”

Samuel snorted at Sina’s smile and shook his head. “I hope we aren’t going to run into any problems as soon as we set foot outside of this place.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Richie replied. “I think this is going to be a nice vacation after Magnus.”

Chapter Text

“Viola is a fantastic photographer,” Crystal said as they left the museum. “Those Pokémon are beautiful. I didn’t know that there were so many different appearances for one Pokémon.”

“Vivillon is a strange Pokémon, but it’s a great way to see how Pokémon can develop different forms depending on where they live in the world.” Dexio looked back at the tall building as they walked down the street. “A few professors point towards Vivillon as an example of what Kanto and Alolan Vulpix started as, before they completely split from each other and became Type divergent.”

“Do you think Vivillon could do that too?” Crystal frowned in thought. “The one with the snow pattern on the wings makes me think it could become an Ice-Type.”

“If it evolves in the snow in the north, it probably has a natural resistance,” Sina spoke up. “Although, I’d love to see a Vivillon with a new Type that hasn’t been seen yet. It would be a fantastic discovery, that’s for sure.”

“It would give a lot of views into how Pokémon adapt to situations they end up in.” Dexio nodded. “Are you interested in catching a Scatterbug and evolving it into a Vivillon, Crystal?”

“Maybe? It is a pretty cute Bug-Type.” Crystal noticed a couple people looking over at them curiously as they moved past and absently checked to make sure that she had put her illusion back up as they had been leaving the museum. She had, thankfully. “What part of the region do they live in?”

“You can find a lot of Scatterbug to the south, if you want to go down there for a little while,” Dexio replied. “You could meet Viola down there too, if you wanted.”

“I’m thinking about it. Her pictures almost made me feel like I was walking through the Viridian Forest again.” Crystal looked up and down the street. “So, where’s the café that Sycamore mentioned?”

“It’s down this way.” Sina motioned for Crystal to follow her across the street. “It’s in a bit of a hide-away place, so not many people know about it, so we shouldn’t have a big crowd when we get there.”

“That’s good. I’m used to keeping things hidden, but…Blaine and everybody I know is encouraging me to not do that anymore, after I beat Steven.”

They crossed the street in a break in taxi and Pokémon traffic, and Crystal followed them, looking around at the buildings as they moved towards a smaller street that made Crystal think of a back alley in Saffron. This place was cleaner, though, and there were a couple cafes and a Pokémon Center nearby, so it wasn’t a terrible corner where people lay in wait.

Crystal wondered if she was going to be able to let her Pokémon out, but hesitated as they reached the café that Sina was leading them towards.

“It looks like Lysandre and Sycamore are inside already,” Sina said. She stepped away from one of the windows and motioned for Crystal to step through the doorway. “Go on in.”

“You’re not…coming in with me?” Crystal frowned at Sina.

“Professor Sycamore will tell us what he and Lysandre talked about when he comes back to the lab,” Dexio replied. “And besides…we may have caused a bit of a ruckus the last time that we were here. I don’t think the staff are ready to forgive us for that yet.” He rubbed the back of his head, sheepish.

“Oh.” Crystal almost laughed, but sensing his embarrassment, she held back. “Okay. I’ll see you back at the lab, then?”

“Yup!” Sina nodded, smiling widely. “I hope Lysandre gives you a good first impression!”

Crystal nodded in agreement, then turned and stepped into the café.

“—is quite late, Sycamore,” a man was saying as Crystal stepped inside. “I should hope they did not decide to ditch you for another meeting.”

“She will come,” Sycamore said. Crystal spotted him sitting in a booth on the other side of the café. There were two people sitting with their backs to her, a dark-haired woman in white and someone with an explosion of flame-colored hair that made her think of a mane of fur.

Sycamore locked eyes with her between the two people and motioned her over. “In fact, she’s here now.”

Crystal smiled and walked over to the booth as Sycamore moved further inward, giving her a place to sit on his side. Her ears pulled back slightly as she walked over. The two people behind the counter started talking to each other in hushed tones as she did.

The woman turned as Crystal approached and gasped. “Sycamore! This is a surprise!”

The man with the fiery mane finally turned as Crystal reached the booth. The stern frown on his face caught her by surprise, and it made her pull back and hesitate.

“Don’t worry about Lysandre,” Sycamore encouraged with a smile. “It seems he was kept up late last night in his own work. Crystal, this is Lysandre, the man intent on discovering Mega Evolution’s true origins. Alongside myself, of course.”

Lysandre’s frown softened at Sycamore’s words, becoming more grumpy than angry. Crystal’s tail flicked at the sight of it. “Yes, my colleague is quite about that. My…research hasn’t made itself easy as of late. It is good to meet you in person, Crystal.”

Crystal nodded back. “Y-yeah. Same here.”

“Goodness you aren’t much different from how you presented yourself in your battle against Steven,” the woman in white remarked. “No need to be shy, dear – sit down, please! You are Sycamore’s guest for the day.”

“Oh! Uh—” Crystal moved over and sat down in the open spot Sycamore had given her.

“This is Diantha, Kalos’ Champion,” Sycamore explained as Crystal made herself comfortable. “She is also a famous actress in the region, and is therefore famous in two ways!”

Diantha laughed. “Sycamore, you don’t have to introduce me like that. I am more than what I have known for, you know.”

“I know, but I love seeing the looks on Trainers’ faces when they get to meet you in person.” Sycamore was grinning.

Lysandre shook his head slightly. “I think you have forgotten that Crystal is a child from outside of Kalos. I doubt that she has seen any of Diantha’s works.”

“No, but I’m kinda interested in them,” Crystal spoke up. “Blaine and Professor Oak probably know about them, too.”

“I should think so!” Sycamore looked delighted. “Diantha has done a lot of work in the film industry.”

“I know you are a fan of my work, Sycamore, but you don’t need to sing my praises.” Diantha shook her head. “Besides, we had originally met up to discuss other matters. You two wanted to know about how many Trainers with Mega Evolution reach me, correct?”

Lysandre’s tired expression became serious again. “Yes, I was wondering about that. Trainers could be actively hunting for Key Stones and the like.”

“Except that they aren’t allowed to make use of them until they have climbed the Tower of Mastery,” Diantha replied. “But that is our limit for Mega Evolution. I assume Hoenn has different limits?”

Crystal’s ears pulled back at the questioning look she got from Lysandre. “I didn’t get one until after I’d defeated the eight Gyms. Professor Birch gave me a Key Stone, and my friend Wally got me a Galladite. We spent a week working on the transformation alone, just to make sure it didn’t overwhelm him, and I didn’t use it until my fight against Steven himself.”

Lysandre’s eyebrows rose. “You are capable of using it? I hadn’t considered that you could, considering what you are.”

Crystal frowned as Sycamore and Diantha exchanged looks. “You mean, because I’m half Pokémon?”

Lysandre paused, then nodded.

“Well, I thought that too, but it didn’t hurt to try. Steven was really happy, too. I guess he wanted to see if it could work for me, since he picked up so many stones in his collection. Because then he could give Gold and everybody else like me Key Stones too if they wanted.”

“Did they take him up on his offer?” Sycamore asked.

“Red and Blue did. They can’t Mega Evolve themselves, but they like being able to have their Pokémon do it. I don’t know if anyone else did.”

“I see.” Lysandre frowned. “That is good to know.” He placed a hand on his chin, frowning. “You are not interested in seeing more of…your kind, are you?”

“Lysandre.” Sycamore frowned.

“It is a valid question. I doubt that a person like Crystal would be able to have children in the natural fashion.” Lysandre looked at Crystal. “Whether or not she is thinking about such matters right now.”

Crystal frowned. “I’m ten. I’m not old enough to think about that. That’s what Blaine says, anyway.”

Lysandre blinked in a wide-eyed fashion.

“Besides, everybody who wants to see more people like me and Gold and Red and Blue keeps looking at us like we could be something like Mewtwo. I don’t want to see that happen again.”

Diantha nodded in agreement. “I think you have your answer, Lysandre.”

“Hm.” Lysandre frowned. “I suppose so.”

Crystal frowned at him. “Are you thinking about making more?”

Lysandre snorted. “Hardly. I’m not sure who thought it would be a good idea to combine human and Pokémon DNA, but I’m not interested in pursuing such matters.”

Crystal’s frown deepened at Lysandre’s words. She wasn’t sure if he was saying he wouldn’t ever do such a thing, or if he was mad that someone had come up with the idea in the first place.

Sycamore cleared his throat loudly. “Perhaps we should get back to the original topic of our meeting? Diantha, how many Trainers come to you capable of Mega Evolution?”

“Not many,” Diantha replied. “While Trainers actively search for Key Stones and Mega Stones, as well as approval from the Tower of Mastery in Shalour, not everyone can find one by the time they reach Victory Road and the Elite Four. Most give up, and give up on their Gym Challenge as well as a result. And out of the ones who continue on to the challenge, very few actually use a Mega Stone, even if they have a Key Stone.”

“Steven said that Mega Stones and Key Stones were hard to find,” Crystal replied. “He searched for years before he was able to find one for his Metagross, and he’s still looking for one for his Aggron and his Steelix. He’s gotten others, though.”

“And not every Trainer can have a Mega Stone for their favorite Pokémon, either,” Diantha agreed. “The starter Pokémon that have been chosen for Kalos aren’t capable of it, but the starters from Kanto are, as are the ones in Hoenn.”

“I think I heard something about that.” Crystal blinked. “Huh. I guess that means I could get a Mega Stone for Ven if I really wanted to look.”

Lysandre looked at her oddly. “How many Pokémon do you have?”

“Only ten. I’ve got four of them with me right now, but Ven isn’t one of them. My Venasaur likes staying at home in Pallet Town with Professor Oak.” Crystal swung her legs under the table, but she wasn’t able to swing them too far, so she stopped after a couple seconds. “I wonder if any of my other Pokémon can get the opportunity to Mega Evolve…it would be cool, but then I’d have to choose between my team members to Mega Evolve one per battle, and even then it might not be entirely fair. I mean, everybody in the rest of the world knows me as someone with a Gallade that can, so….”

Sycamore chuckled. “That is another problem that some Trainers have, yes. But knowing that Mega Stones themselves are rare and that Trainers spend more time hunting for them than misusing them is a satisfying piece of information to hear. It means that there aren’t a large number of Trainers who are going to accidentally send their Pokémon on a rampage. You have been causing me far too much worry lately, Lysandre!”

Crystal looked between the three of them with a frown. “So, wait. Mega Evolution isn’t a problem you’re worried about?”

“I am worried about it,” Lysandre replied. “My family has passed down that history, and considering how much the current generation is into battling and the activities of Team Magnus and Team Rocket, it has me greatly concerned that some Trainers will attempt to amass power quickly in case of an evil group, only to cause a disaster themselves as a result.”

“I think that most people across the rest of the world aren’t that intent on forming groups like that, though, or using Mega Evolution at all,” Crystal pointed out. “I mean…I didn’t know it was a thing until Winona mentioned it in Fortree, and I was over halfway done with Hoenn’s Gym Challenge by then. I see how it could be a problem, but it’s not a problem right now, and I don’t think it ever will be.”

“That is easy for you to say now, but I think your opinions will change when you have seen more of the world,” Lysandre replied gravely.

Crystal frowned. Something about Lysandre’s words made her feel like there was something cold shifting down her spine. She didn’t like the sensation.

“So, I suppose the question now is, do we have any leads on where Mega Evolution first appeared in Kalos?” Sycamore nodded to Lysandre. “And if we have any more information on the epicenter of that secret weapon’s attack that ended the war three thousand years ago and upset the balance of our region of the world enough that it allowed the Darkest Day to happen in Galar.”

Crystal blinked sharply as Sycamore mentioned another disaster that had happened in another part of the world.

Lysandre sighed. “Unfortunately, my progress hasn’t netted much information. The best we’ve been able to do is confirm that my ancestor’s brother, AZ, was the one who created and used the weapon, but nothing on either where to find him or the true location of the weapon.”

“Your ancestor’s brother?” Crystal repeated. Her ears stood straight up.

Lysandre looked at Crystal with a frown that made her want to disappear into her seat cushions. But then his expression softened ever so slightly. “Yes. I am part of what used to be the line of kings that ruled Kalos. AZ and my ancestor were part of the ruling family at the time, and were also involved in the war that resulted in the weapon being created. We have some access to records, but unfortunately, most of those concerning the weapon were destroyed.”

“Well, maybe that’s a good thing?” Crystal suggested. “I mean…if this weapon caused a lot of trouble, then maybe it shouldn’t be found?”

“Yes, but then it would fade into fairytales and leave people wondering if what they know of Mega Evolution’s origins is true or covering for something else.” Lysandre looked grim. “We need concrete answers, and proof that the weapon itself was destroyed, so that no one else would be able to replicate it. It will help to put my family’s rumor to rest that AZ is still alive because of the weapon that he created.”

“Yes, that would be something else to put to rest,” Sycamore agreed. “I find it hard to believe that a man could live for three thousand years as a result of the weapon he created.”

“Is that a part of the story?” Crystal asked. “Humans are only supposed to live for a fraction of that….”

“Yes, they are, unlike some of the Pokémon that live around us,” Diantha agreed. “Do you think you’ll live for a long time, Crystal?”

Crystal frowned. “I don’t…I don’t know? I don’t think I’ll live as long as Legendaries do, because I’m not a full Legendary, but I don’t think I’m going to live as long as a human does, either. Maybe somewhere in the middle?” She shrugged. “I don’t think even Blaine knows how long I’m gonna be alive for, and he created me, so….”

She looked at the three adults and shrugged. “Nobody really knows what’s going to happen as I get older, or anyone else like me. I think they’re just hoping to be able to live for as long as everybody else.”

“Which makes complete sense to me,” Sycamore said as Lysander started to open his mouth. The man with the mane looked at Sycamore sharply, but the professor didn’t seem to notice the stare. “You do have more of a human shape than a Pokémon one, after all.”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah.”

Lysandre looked between the two of them, then stood up abruptly. “So, it had been made clear that we still haven’t found any truly concrete leads on the origins of Mega Evolution, despite the amount of information that is currently available to us. As much as we know that Infinite Energy is a dangerous side-effect of both Mega Evolution and the hidden weapon, Trainers who have access to Mega Evolution are apparently few and far between. I will keep looking through the records I have as best I can. Sycamore, you will keep looking as well?”

“That is the plan, yes.” Sycamore nodded. “I do have some new Trainers who are starting their journey, so perhaps they will be as willing to help us as Crystal is.”

“I look forward to seeing how far they can progress through their challenge,” Diantha said. “It has been some time since a Trainer has been able to reach me, much less give me a proper challenge. I am starting to wonder if I will have to simply retire from the position and let the Elite Four fight over the position.”

“Well, if you do, I am sure that whoever takes over will provide the level of challenge that will encourage Trainers to gain strength, but at the same time not be strong enough that no Trainer will ever be able to take the title,” Sycamore replied. “Well, Crystal – do you have anything else planned for today?”

“I was thinking of Lumiose Tower, at least,” Crystal replied. “I’ve been to the museum already with Sina and Dexio, but I’ve heard about the tower so much it’s making me excited about it.” She looked down at the PokeBalls at her waist. “I hope I can let my team out there so they can see the view, too.”

“You should be able to,” Lysandre replied. “It is also a Pokémon Gym; the Tower is built to withstand Pokémon of most sizes.”

“That’s good to know.” Crystal nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I hope you enjoy your time in Kalos. It is a truly beautiful region.”

As Lysandre left the café, Diantha rose to her feet. “I could go with you to Lumiose Tower, Crystal.”

“Ah!” Sycamore looked surprised. “My dear, you don’t have—”

“My afternoon is clear of any schedule, and I do not mind spending it with a Champion so young.” Diantha nodded to Crystal, smiling. “And it will give me an opportunity to meet your Pokémon, as well – I know my Gardevoir is interested in your Gallade.”

“Oh! Y-yeah, that’d be cool.” Crystal’s tail started swaying back and forth at the thought.

Diantha laughed. “Let us make our way to the tower, then. Sycamore, will you be coming along?”

“Oh, no no, it’s all right. I have a few things that I should start looking into after our conversation today.” Sycamore laughed. “You two go on ahead and have fun.”

“If you insist.”

As Diantha and Crystal left the café, Crystal looked up at Diantha with a concerned look. “Does Professor Sycamore like to stay in his lab all the time? He didn’t go and give those new Trainers their first Pokémon in person, he sent Sina and Dexio instead.”

“He loves all sorts of things, but these days it seems his focus has been almost exclusively on helping Lysandre with his research,” Diantha replied. She sighed and shook her head. “It is quite saddening. I used to see him at a large number of parties that Trainers would hold after beating Clemont and climbing Lumiose Tower, or when they had completed the League and were looking to climb Victory Road to reach me and the Elite Four. Now, he is…much more inward with himself.”

“I see.” Crystal frowned. “Do you…do you think my being here will make him come out more, later?”

“Perhaps. We shall have to see what the future holds, and only some are able to pierce the veil to see forward that way.” Diantha tilted her head. “Hm. Perhaps I should give Olympia a call. She might know something about where this research might lead.”

The duo stepped out onto the busy street, and Crystal followed Diantha as she turned and started leading towards the center of the city.

“Is she a psychic, like Sabrina?” Crystal asked. “A human who can see the future?”

“Correct. She is a bit…odd, speaking always in rhyme, but she is very capable of looking forwards. She actually predicted the trouble with Team Rocket and Team Magnus, and made sure to warn Trainers to avoid Kanto, Jhoto, or Hoenn, if they didn’t want to get caught up in something as they traveled the world. Most Kalos Trainers rarely leave our borders, though.”

“I think I can see why. Just looking at the city alone, it’s – it’s really big. There’s a lot more to do here than there is in Saffron!” Crystal looked up at the tall buildings rising above them. “I would like to see what the rest of the region is like, though.”

“Well, if you are here to explore Kalos, I should think that you are going to get a great deal of opportunity for that,” Diantha replied.

“Diantha! Look, it’s Champion Diantha!”

Crystal turned her head at the excited voice and almost jumped away as a pair of boys ran over. She could see a pair of PokeBalls on each of their belts, which meant they were Trainers.

“So cool! I didn’t think I’d get to see you in person!” one of the two boys exclaimed. “I thought you stayed on the other side of the Victory Road all the time!”

“Why would I do that?” Diantha laughed. “It gets to be quite boring, when I don’t have anything to do while I’m waiting for new Trainers. Besides, I do occasionally act in movies, and I need to step out for that.”

“See, I told you.” The second of the two bumped his friend’s shoulder. “What are you doing here this time?”

“Well, I was visiting friends, and I am now getting to give a new friend a tour of Lumiose.” Diantha nodded to Crystal, who suddenly found herself stared at by the two boys.

“Whoa….” One of the boys – who looked slightly younger than the other – looked Crystal up and down with wide eyes. “You’ve got Pokémon ears! And a tail! That’s so cool!”

“I think I’ve heard about you,” the other said. “You’re Crystal, right?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. Her tail curled around her waist to keep it away from anyone walking past. “And you two are?”

“I’m Joseph!” the younger exclaimed. “And this is—”

“My name is Andrew,” the older said. “Are those real? I didn’t think that was possible.”

“They are.” Crystal’s ears flicked and swiveled while the boys stared.

“It’s like Xavier’s got cool feathers,” Joseph spoke up. “But he hides them a lot of the time.”

Crystal blinked in surprise as Andrew frowned at Joshua. “You guys know Xavier?”

“Yeah!” Joseph bounced from one foot to another. “He’s our big brother!”

“Mom said we’re not supposed to talk about that,” Andrew hissed. “Joseph!”

“But Andy, she knows him! It’s okay.” Joseph looked at Crystal. “Right?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “Is he doing okay? I know it hasn’t been that long since everything in Hoenn.”

“He’s—”

“He’s doing all right,” Andrew said over his brother. “You don’t need to be worried about him. Is that why you came to Kalos? To check in on him and Serena?”

Crystal blinked at the accusation. “No? I’m curious about Fairy-Types, and Kalos is supposed to have a lot of them, so….”

Andrew looked confused. “Wait, but—”

“If I may,” Diantha spoke up gently. “I don’t think Crystal is concerned enough over the well-being of your brother and others involved because she is still a minor and trusts people like your parents and the local authorities to help set things right for people like Xavier and others. Is that right, Crystal?”

Crystal looked at Diantha in surprise, then nodded. “Y-yeah. That’s right. I’m not old enough to have a say in stuff like that yet, so I’m mostly asking because I wanna know how he’s adjusting back to normal. And maybe I can see him? If he doesn’t want to, I’ll understand, but…”

She looked at the two boys, who were staring at her with confused expressions.

“But…you don’t look like a minor,” Andrew said.

Crystal shrugged, a shaky smile on her face. “I’m a lot younger than I look.”

“That’s so cool!” Joseph exclaimed. “Then you can go places that I can’t!”

“Well, I dunno about—”

“Where are you going now? Can we come too?”

“We’re going up Lumiose Tower,” Diantha replied. “And if you want to come with us, I certainly don’t see why not.”

Joseph started jumping from one foot to the other, but then Andrew grabbed his shoulder with a frown.

“We promised Mom we’d head home after going out to train, remember? She wants us home to help Xavier with something.” Andrew motioned for Joseph to follow him. “Come on, we should be heading back. We can climb the tower another time.”

“Aw, but Andy….”

“You probably should go,” Crystal agreed. “I mean, if Blaine wanted me to come home for something, I’d think about listening to him….”

“Blaine?” Andrew blinked. “You…you mean the Kanto Gym Leader?”

“Yes. I don’t think there’s anyone else named Blaine I could be talking about.” Crystal’s tail flicked. “He’s…the closest to a dad, for me. He’s not really my dad, but I don’t know if that many people care about that.”

He had been the one to create Crystal, but being the combination of human and Pokémon genetic material that she was, it was hard to say where exactly her human half had come from. Blaine didn’t remember who he’d taken genetic samples from in order to combine human DNA with Pokémon DNA, but that didn’t seem to matter to him, so Crystal didn’t think about it, either.

“I wish I had a Gym Leader for a dad,” Joseph said. “That sounds so cool.”

“Maybe, but he’d be busy all the time.” Andrew tugged on his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, we have to go.”

“Perhaps we will get to meet another time,” Diantha suggested.

“That would be cool if we did!” Joseph agreed as his brother dragged him off.

Diantha laughed as the two boys ran off. “Another reason to leave the Elite Four’s location is to meet Trainers, both new and old. I’m glad to see that someone affected by Team Magnus has brothers like those two.”

“I am, too.” Crystal nodded in agreement. “I hope this means he’s going to be okay, and not get into any trouble.”

“I doubt that he will.” Diantha looked up towards the tower. “It appears we’re getting close. Let’s go onward; today is a good day to look out over Lumiose from up there, and I think you will enjoy the view.”

Chapter Text

Lumiose Tower was much larger up close than Crystal had realized.

“I knew it was big, but – it’s almost like a small mountain up close!” Crystal leaned back to look up towards the top of the tower. She could see the sun was in the middle of its downward arc towards sunset, but it wasn’t going to be there for a while.

“I suppose it does have that sort of effect,” Diantha agreed. “Although, I have to admit, a mountain in the middle of a city of tall buildings presents an interesting picture.”

“Mhm.” Crystal started towards the tower. “So, how do we climb it?”

“There should be a set of elevators inside, but we will have to be careful – the Pokémon Gym of Lumiose is set up in the center, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Really?” Crystal slowed slightly as Diantha moved to catch up with her. “Then how are we going to get up the tower without accidentally looking like we’re challenging the Gym?”

“Clemont has something, if I’m remembering correctly.” Diantha moved ahead of Crystal, who moved to follow after her. “He is the Electric-Type Gym Leader for the region, and something of an inventor in his spare time.”

“I wonder if he and Watson would get along. He’s the Electric-Type Gym Leader in Hoenn, and he likes making a lot of traps and stuff in his Gym.”

“I could see them potentially getting along.”

Diantha pushed open the glass doors that led inside Lumiose Tower, leading Crystal into a well-lit lobby with black tile on the floor. Bright green lines ran between the tiles, pulsing towards an elevator on one side of the room, to the right of a reception desk. There was an elevator on the left as well, with a lit sign over the top that showed the Lumiose Tower.

“I’m guessing we want that one?” Crystal pointed to the elevator on the left.

“That would be the idea,” Diantha confirmed. “Clemont isn’t the type to play tricks on his potential challengers, and I doubt that he will be accepting any more today. It is late enough in the afternoon that he has likely started shutting down his and his younger sister’s challenge to reach him.”

“His sister helps him? That’s pretty cool.”

“It is indeed.”

They reached the elevator without the receptionist calling out to the two of them. Crystal assumed that meant it was okay to go up, especially since she was with Diantha, the region’s Champion.

“How, if I’m remembering correctly, the elevator ride is short because it has to rise quickly, but it is safe,” Diantha remarked as they stepped inside. “It’s because the tower itself is so tall, and there aren’t any stairs leading up to the observation deck.”

Crystal nodded as the elevator doors closed behind them. She felt a gentle shift in the small, rectangular box as it started moving upward. “I see what you mean now about accidentally stepping into the Gym – do the other doors open up to an elevator, too?”

“No, actually, although elevators do play a part of Clemont’s Gym. It’s been some time since I’ve been there, but if I’m remembering correctly, his younger sister set up a game show-like challenge where you had to give the correct answer to move on to the next floor.”

“Really? That’s pretty cool. And it makes sure that challenging Trainers know the things they’re supposed to know, right?”

“I should think that would be the idea, yes.” Diantha chuckled. “Especially considering that he is usually not the first Gym Leader that is reached, unless the Trainer lives here in Lumiose.”

“That makes sense.” Crystal nodded. “Is there a Trainer School that people can go to in Kalos?”

“I do believe there is, but I haven’t traveled around the country that much since I became Champion, and that was…oh, several years ago.”

“Years?” Crystal frowned. “You don’t get any Trainers who are able to beat you?”

“Oh, some who come close, but not many. Like I told Lysandre and Sycamore before, most Trainers decide they want to search for an ability to use Mega Evolution before they reach me, but not all do. They seem to think it as a marker for being a Trainer from Kalos, when you really don’t need it. All Mega Evolution does is prove that you and your Pokémon share a deep bond, and that you are capable of using it in battle safely. Most Trainers outside of Kalos don’t or can’t use Mega Evolution anyway, so it’s banned in any cross-region tournaments.”

“I can see it being a problem. I don’t think Steven was planning on using his Mega Stone until he saw me Mega Evolve Richie in our match. I’m…guessing you’d be willing to do the same?”

“Unless the Trainer requests I Mega Evolve my Pokémon despite their lack of a Mega Stone, yes. There are some Trainers out there who would likely see defeating a Mega Evolved Pokémon, without using one themselves, as a true challenge of their skill and strength.”

The elevator came to a slow, gentle stop, and a quiet ding came from somewhere in the ceiling as the doors opened, revealing a round-shaped area with open doors in every direction.

Crystal stepped out, blinking at the sight beyond the doors. “I can only see the sky out there….”

“Well, we are at the top of Lumiose Tower.” Diantha followed Crystal out of the elevator. “We are high enough that the tops of most of the buildings in the city sit underneath us. For now, at least.”

“For now?”

“I’m sure that, in the future, there will be people intent on building more upwards than outwards. But that won’t be for a great many years yet.”

The two of them stepped out onto a large platform that ran around the outside of the shelter the elevator had arrived in. Crystal stopped just short of the opening as she finally got a look at the view that the top of Lumiose Tower offered.

“Wow.” Crystal blinked a couple times, wide-eyed at the skyline that stretched out in every direction below them. “This is….”

“Quite beautiful indeed.” Diantha produced a PokeBall from somewhere on her person and held it towards a portion of the platform. It exploded open, releasing a feminine figure of a Pokémon with a green helmet of hair, a long white dress, and green eyes. “Your Pokémon will enjoy this view as well, I think.”

“O-oh! Right!” Crystal reached for the PokeBalls on her belt.

“I wouldn’t recommend tossing them; you wouldn’t want to see them falling off the edge of the platform.”

“Right. I don’t want them going over the railing.” Crystal turned to look away from the view for a moment and released her team from their PokeBalls in quick succession.

Samuel, Richie, Esmeralda, and Frieda popped out onto the platform and immediately started looking around in order to get their bearings.

“You didn’t you let us out when you were done talking to that guy?” Samuel asked, frowning. “We could’ve handled walking all the way from that café to here.”

Crystal rubbed the back of her head. “S-sorry. It was pretty busy, though. There were a lot of people walking on the street….”

“It wouldn’t have been wise,” Diantha’s Gardevoir agreed. “The streets of Lumiose could have accidentally separated you from each other, and with you all unfamiliar with the city, it would have created some problems.”

Samuel blinked a couple times, confused, while Richie and Esmeralda nodded in agreement.

Frieda moved towards Gardevoir with a hesitant step, eyes wide. “Wow. You’re really pretty.”

Gardevoir looked down at the Fennekin, then smiled lightly and lowered herself into a kneeling position. “Why, thank you. You are quite adorable yourself.”

Frieda squeaked as Gardevoir patted her between the ears, the sight of which left Crystal grinning.

“Wow…” Richie looked past Crystal and at the skyline of Kalos around them. “Is that…”

“Hm?” Crystal glanced back at the view. The sun was starting to properly set now, but the sky hadn’t started changing colors yet. “Yeah. We’re on the Lumiose Tower right now. Really cool, right?” She looked back at her team with a grin.

Richie and Samuel both nodded, then moved to the barrier at the edge of the platform to have a better look.

Esmeralda huffed. “And here I am, unable to see it because I’m down here.” She walked over to the barrier and looked it over with a critical eye before pushing up and putting her front paws against it. “Maybe…” She huffed and lowered herself again. “It’s still too high.”

Diantha chuckled. “I should think there are places on the wall somewhere where steps were built in so that it was possible for shorter people of any age to see over.”

Esmeralda turned and looked at Diantha in surprise, then tilted her head slightly. She nodded. “I shall go look for one of these places, then.”

“I’m coming too!” Frieda bounced away from Gardevoir. “I wanna see what the city looks like up here, too!”

“I’d better come along to make sure you don’t fall off by accident.” Crystal started to move after the two four-legged Pokémon, but felt a hand on her shoulder and stopped short in surprise.

“Gardevoir, would you mind going with them?” Diantha asked. “You all might as well take a walk around and see as much of the city as you can.” She looked at Richie and Samuel.

Samuel and Richie frowned as Gardevoir nodded and followed after Esmeralda and Frieda.

“Is there…something going on?” Richie asked. “It doesn’t have anything to do with what you were talking about in the café, does it? We couldn’t hear anything, but—”

“If you want to keep secrets from us, that’s not a good idea,” Samuel replied, frowning.

Crystal frowned, then looked up at Diantha. “I don’t keep things secret from my team. What is it?”

Diantha blinked at Crystal’s statement, then nodded slightly and raised her hand off Crystal’s shoulder. “Sorry. It…made sense, initially, because they hadn’t been outside of their PokeBalls for the conversation.” She paused. “You…seemed uncomfortable in there. Was it because of the café itself, or was there something else?”

Crystal’s ears flicked at the question as her tail went upright almost against her back. “O-oh. Um…” Her tail almost fell limp, only to curl around her waist. “Well…it’s just…there’s something about Lysandre that doesn’t feel right.”

“Lysandre?” Samuel repeated.

“Probably the guy with the explosion for hair,” Richie said. “You saw that, right? Through the PokeBall?”

“Kinda? I wasn’t exactly at a good angle for that.”

“What about him doesn’t feel right?” Diantha asked.

“Well, it’s just…he kept looking at me like he didn’t like me. And the questions he asked me were…kinda weird. And just…” Crystal rubbed her arm absently, hand finding the bite scars through the fabric of her jacket. Despite not feeling where the Houndoom had bitten her so many years ago, she could still remember where they were. “When I first saw him, there was something about him that felt…wrong, somehow. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Hm.” Diantha frowned as Richie and Samuel exchanged looks. ”I can’t say that I’ve ever felt that way around him, but I think it has more to do with where you came from and what you are, rather than who you are. When news first reached us about what had happened with Team Rocket, some of the information that was supposed to be kept secret between professors and Champions managed to trickle down to Lysandre somehow. He’s said he hasn’t told anyone else, but…it seems he’s formed his own judgements against you.”

“Because I’m…because I’m part Mew?”

“Because you’re a mixture of human and Pokémon, and it’s not a…natural state of things.”

Crystal frowned. “Well…that explains why he asked about me wanting more people like me, anyway. But I think it went…deeper than that, somehow? Just…something about him feels wrong. I can’t explain it.” She looked at Diantha. “Have you ever had feelings like that about a person?”

“I…can’t say that I have, no, and certainly not about Lysandre. Sycamore and I have known him for many years; he is a good friend to the both of us.” Diantha frowned. “Is this…could this possibly be an instinct from your Pokémon half?”

Crystal shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been told that we can sense when people are potentially trustworthy, but humans can do that, too. But I’ve always been good at reading emotions, and…there was just something about Lysandre that set that part of me off, somehow. I don’t like it, and I don’t know if I can trust him with anything that I find out about Mega Evolution’s origins. Which means that I can’t tell you or Professor Sycamore about it, either, because then you’ll tell him, right?”

Diantha looked like she was about to respond, but then she paused as Richie and Samuel moved up to stand on either side of Crystal. “I…most likely would, yes, considering that he is connected to this through his family. But if you’re concerned about him…I would recommend keeping anything you find to yourself unless it’s important enough that you have to tell myself or Sycamore. I haven’t seen anything about Lysandre that would make me cautious about him, but I will keep a watchful eye on him for you.”

“That would be great.” Crystal sighed and let her shoulders drop from a tense position. “I don’t know what it is he’s thinking or why, but…I just don’t want to help him only to find out he’s running another Team Rocket or something.”

Diantha winced. “Yes, that would be bad…how about this: I’ll ask Olympia about him when I see him next, along with asking about what might result from the research. At best, it could just be that you’re sensing what he thinks of you and others like you, and nothing more.”

Crystal nodded. “But worst-case—”

“He would be what you fear, most likely,” Diantha confirmed. “But we will have to wait and see. Perhaps we should exchange numbers, so that I can tell you what Olympia thinks?”

“Sure!” Crystal scrambled to grab her PokeNav as Diantha pulled out a strange-looking device that Crystal didn’t recognize. “What’s that? Is it like a PokeNav?”

“Sort of. It’s a holographic communicator that Lysandre invented and sells to people in Kalos. A great deal of Trainers use them to keep in touch with each other and their families. It should be cross-compatible with other devices, but it will be a little strange if we manage to contact each other.”

“Well, if they should be able to connect with each other, then we should be able to talk to each other if we need to.” Crystal pulled up her number on the screen of the PokeNav and showed it to Diantha, who tapped it in before doing the same for Crystal. “There. Now we should be able to reach each other.”

“Indeed,” Diantha agreed. She looked to Richie and Samuel, who didn’t look so defensive now as they had a few moments ago. “You two are very protective of her, aren’t you?”

The two Pokémon nodded.

“That’s a good trait to have. I would recommend continuing to do so, no matter what Kalos decides to throw at you.” Diantha lowered her voice slightly. “You may be here for reasons outside of problems, but that doesn’t mean Kalos has none. Trainers will always be seeking more power in order to become stronger, and I’m sure they will see you as a true challenge.”

Samuel rolled his shoulders and slammed his fists together, grinning. “I think we can handle a few Trainers.”

“A few challenges won’t be a problem,” Richie agreed.

Diantha saw the looks in their eyes and nodded. “Good. Now let’s go find our Pokémon and enjoy this wonderful view. I don’t want to end this day on something as grim as a friend of mine being…well, what your instincts are telling you.”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “I want to help, but…I don’t want to do anything that could end up helping someone else. I was created to help someone find a way to create Mewtwo, and someone else used my data to create everyone else like me that I know, except for Red and Blue. I don’t…I don’t want to help someone do something like that again, whether knowingly or not.”

“And you won’t, if you are going to be keeping anything you find secret from Lysandre,” Diantha assured. She moved past Crystal and her two Pokémon, carrying a small smile.

Crystal nodded and turned to follow, but her ears flicked as she frowned.

“What is it?” Richie looked at her with a frown.

“She’s not sure whether to believe me or not, I don’t think.” Crystal frowned. “But…she is worried. I hope that she doesn’t tell him about how I’m worried.”

“I don’t think she will.” Richie shook his head. “She seems trustworthy.”

“And if she isn’t—”

“No,” Crystal and Richie said to Samuel.

Samuel scowled. “I didn’t even get to say what it was I was thinking of.”

“You didn’t have to,” Crystal replied. “Come on – let’s go see what the rest of the city looks like from up here, and then we can go out and start exploring the region tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Samuel looked at the buildings below them. “This city’s too cramped for my tastes.”

“We’ll be back out in the woods before you know it.” Richie nudged him with a grin.

Chapter Text

“So, you’re heading out?”

“That’s the thought.” Crystal grabbed a pastry and started eating. “I’m curious about the sorts of Pokémon that live to the south, so I’m planning on going and having a look around. Maybe I’ll see something there that I’ll want to add to my team, like the first form that Vivillion has.”

“Scatterbug?” Sycamore blinked in surprise. “Did your visit to the museum interest you in the Bug-Type?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “The different patterns look cool, and I’d like to see what I could get out of a Scatterbug.”

“I can see that being interesting.” Dexio hummed. “Are there any other Pokémon that you’re thinking about looking for?”

“I’m not sure yet? I’d like to look into at least one of the Fairy-Types in the region, but I’ll have to wait and see which ones might want to work in sync with me, first.”

“And with the rest of us,” Esmeralda spoke up. Her tail flicked as Dexio, Sina, and Sycamore all looked in her direction. “A team has to be able to work in sync to a degree, you know. If we can’t mesh together well, then that could prove disastrous in later battles.”

Crystal nodded. “I don’t know if I’m going to meet any right away, but I am going to be keeping an eye open for them. I don’t want to turn anyone down who might be interested, but…well, I’ll have to wait and see.”

“I didn’t think of putting a team together quite that way.” Sina tilted her head and frowned. “I mean, I just knew that I wanted Pokémon that I like a lot on my team. So there could be different species that don’t like each other?”

“There are some that are known to eat other species – or each other, when it comes down to it,” Sycamore pointed out. “Golisopod and Grappleoct, according to some records in Galar—”

“I-I don’t want to hear about that!” Sina yelped, putting her hands up.

Sycamore laughed. “My apologies, Sina. But you do have to think about what sorts of personalities Pokémon can and do have. Just like with people, Pokémon can clash in that way, as well.”

“Oh. Yeah, that does make sense. I guess that means I’d have to think about the Nature a Pokémon has before I can officially bring one onto my team.” Sina frowned. “That’s…a lot to think about.”

“It is,” Crystal confirmed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t try different Pokémon out before saying it doesn’t work or not. Most Pokémon will understand the situation and part ways with you without any trouble.”

“That’s good to know!”

“If you’re looking for Scatterbug, the Santalune Forest has a pretty big collection of them,” Dexio spoke up. “Viola’s near that area, too, if you want to talk to her and get her opinion on Bug-Types.”

Crystal gave a thumbs-up. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!” She looked at the rest of her team. “You guys ready to go?”

Samuel snorted from where he stood by the elevator. “I’ve been ready to go for the last hour! Come on, let’s move it already! I want to get back out into the woods and wildlife!”

“I’m ready!” Frieda bounced back and forth between Richie’s and Samuel’s feet. “I’d love to see more of Kalos!”

Esmeralda licked any remaining pastry from where it had gotten stuck to her fur, and nodded to Crystal. “Shall we?”

Crystal smiled and nodded. “Yup!”

“Remember what I told you, now,” Sycamore said. “You can follow the main street we’re currently on until you reach the gate for Route 4. Going south from there should get you to Santalune Town, where Viola and her Gym are, and further south of that is the Forest Dexio mentioned.”

“Got it.” Crystal pressed the button to open the elevator.

“And if you need any help with anything, you’ve got our numbers!” Sina added.

“And we promise to make sure not to call you for silly reasons.” Dexio gave Sina a pointed look, which she frowned at.

“I’m not going to do anything that silly,” Sina muttered.

Crystal laughed as the elevator doors opened. “If you want to send me a message to ask me about something, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I just hope it doesn’t happen when I’m in the middle of something.”

“We’ll have to make sure to time it on our side, at least.” Sycamore waved as Crystal and her team stepped into the elevator. “Good luck, all of you! Enjoy everything Kalos has to offer!”

“We will!” Crystal called back as the elevator doors closed.

Getting out of Sycamore’s home and lab wasn’t a problem – it was early enough in the morning that his receptionist hadn’t shown up for work just yet.

It was getting out of the city that was another problem entirely, because there were, once again, crowds of people moving everywhere.

“You are not getting out of my sight.” Crystal scooped Frieda up before they had taken five steps into the crowd. Frieda squeaked, but she didn’t try to fight her Trainer’s grip.

“So many people…” Frieda pulled back against Crystal. “It’s so loud!”

“I see now why we didn’t spend much time outside of our PokeBalls here,” Esmeralda remarked. She kept close to Crystal’s feet as people rushed past them, and they did their best to move in a southern direction.

Samuel and Richie did their best to stay close, behind and in front of Crystal, giving her a little space. People saw the Gallade coming down the street and seemed to get the message that they should give them a little space.

“Thanks, Richie.” Crystal sighed in relief and looked around. “This is a lot busier than it was yesterday.”

“This is why I like the forest more than the city,” Samuel complained. “I’m going to end up with my tail stepped on if we don’t get out of here soon!” He grunted. “Hey, watch it, buddy, we’re walking here!”

“Keep calm, Samuel,” Crystal said without looking back. “I don’t think the route gate is that far.”

“I should hope not.” Esmeralda circled around Crystal quickly to avoid a businessman’s feet. “I would rather not have my tail or paws stepped on.”

“Same here,” Samuel replied.

“I think that’s the gate up ahead!” Richie pointed up towards an arch that was not too far from them. A giant “4” was carved into the stone, making it easy to see where it led. “Let’s get out of this crowd!”

“I agree!” Samuel jumped forward, his tail moving quickly with him. A few people walking past them had to quickly move in order to steer clear.

Trainer and Pokémon managed to push their way past, and within minutes they were not only at the gate, but through it and standing outside of the city on a large path surrounded by hedges and flowers of all kinds.

“Much better.” Samuel sighed in relief and slumped against the wall that ran around Lumiose. “Aah, nothing like the smell of flowers to wake you up in the morning.”

“I have to agree, this is nice.” Esmeralda sat down, relieved. “Lumiose is pretty, but it is much too busy for my tastes. I much prefer Kanto and Hoenn. They were quieter by comparison.”

“I know what you mean.” Crystal nodded. “I hope the rest of the region isn’t as busy as Lumiose is…I was hoping for space to breathe, not large cities to be cooped up in.”

“If they’re all like that, we can just stay on the routes,” Samuel suggested. “Could be a nice change of pace, just living on the land all the time.”

“I like sleeping on those beds the Pokémon Centers have,” Richie replied. “I’d like to be able to sleep in those every once in a while.”

“Hey! I think I see someone over there!” Frieda started trying to wiggle her way out of Crystal’s arms. “It looks like there are Pokémon in the flowers! Let’s go say hi!”

“Pokémon in the flowers?” Crystal repeated. She looked towards a yellow flower patch that was nearby. She frowned. “I don’t see anything moving around in there…maybe it’s just the wind?”

“It looked like there was something small holding onto a flower!” Frieda put her back paws against Crystal’s chest and pushed. The resulting force sent Frieda out of Crystal’s grip and the Fennekin tumbling across the road and into the flower patch.

“Frieda!” Crystal dashed after her quickly and dropped to her knees when she reached the Pokémon. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay.” Frieda stumbled to her feet and shook her head. “I’m not hurt or anything. I just saw a Pokémon and I wanted to say hi.”

“You can’t just rush off like that,” Crystal replied. “You could’ve scared them, or they could have attacked you. That could’ve been dangerous.”

“Oh.” Frieda’s ears drooped, and she sat down with a frown. “Sorry….”

“At least you’re all right.” Esmeralda walked over, Samuel and Richie following after her. “But Crystal is right, you should be careful until you’re a little stronger.”

“Okay.” Frieda nodded.

“But you’ve got so many big friends around you! You don’t have to be afraid!”

Crystal looked up sharply when she heard the small voice. Her ears swiveled as she tried to find where the voice had come from.

One of the yellow flowers shifted, and a small, white creature clinging to the stem peered out from under the petals. It looked like it was wearing a crown of pollen on its head, and while it had arms, the Pokémon didn’t have legs.

“Having big friends like you do is really cool,” the little Pokémon added.

It took Crystal a moment to realize that she was looking at a Flabebe, one of the Fairy-Types that Sycamore had mentioned studying.

“It can be cool,” Crystal said.

The Flabebe pulled back under the petals quickly, jumping almost at Crystal’s voice. She peered out again, carefully, but not as much as she had when she’d just seen Frieda. “Whoa…I don’t think I’ve seen a human like you before.”

“I haven’t met a Pokémon like you before, either,” Crystal replied. “We don’t have Pokémon like you who live in Kanto, Jhoto, or Hoenn.” Her tail curled around her. “I’m Crystal, and I’m…not entirely human. Not really. Do you have a name?”

The Flabebe shook her head. “Flabebe’s fine.” She paused. “Are you a Trainer?”

Crystal nodded. “These guys are my team. Frieda, Esmeralda, Samuel and Richie. I’m Crystal.”

Flabebe looked at Crystal for a long moment. “Are you the person that Serena talked about? The person who helped stop the world from ending?”

“You – you know Serena?” Crystal’s ears perked up. “Does she live around here?”

“Mhm.” Flabebe nodded. “She comes up and talks to us a lot. She likes the flowers, and her flower is nice, too.”

“Sounds like she’s doing okay, then. That’s good.” Crystal sighed in relief. “I wonder if I’ll see her. I hope she won’t look at me like I’m a bad guy or something….”

“I don’t think she will. You’re different, like she is. But…you’re not a Fairy-Type, are you?” Flabebe looked worried.

“No, I’m Psychic.” Crystal’s ear twitched as something shifted in the flower patch, a short distance away from them. “I’m not going to hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you, either.”

Flabebe relaxed, but not enough to send her sliding down the flower stem. “That’s good. Serena talks about how your Pokémon could be dangerous. Do you…you don’t have anything that we’re weak to, do you?”

“I don’t think so? I remember Richie didn’t like touching Poison-Types when he was a Ralts and a Kirlia, but I haven’t picked up any except for my Venasaur, and he’s at home in Kanto right now. And...” Crystal frowned, thinking. “You guys don’t like Steel-Types either, right? I don’t have any Pokémon that are naturally that type, either. I have more Psychics than anything else.”

“Yeah.” Samuel shuddered. “It’s weird that I’m the only Fighting-Type on the team.”

“Fighting?” Flabebe stared at the Breloom. “Um…I thought you’d be Poison.”

“What? No! I hate Poison-Types! They tried to completely destroy my home in Hoenn! Petalburg Woods is never gonna be the same after what those Magnus morons did to it!” Samuel stomped on the ground, causing Flabebe to wince. “If one more person calls me a Poison-Type just because I have Poison Heal for an ability, I’m gonna punch ‘em in the face!”

“Samuel, no.” Crystal frowned at him sternly. “We don’t attack people like that.”

“Except if they can’t be talked down,” Frieda spoke up. “Right? You’ve said that a couple times.”

“Exactly,” Esmeralda agreed. “And even then, we don’t do anything to harm them. We just tie them up for a while, or take care of their Pokémon. Harming humans who can’t withstand our power isn’t something we want to do.”

Samuel muttered something and scuffed a foot against the grass, but he didn’t argue.

Flabebe looked confused, but she didn’t look like she wanted to jump to another flower and disappear despite the argument. “Um…you’re…what are you doing in Kalos?”

“Hm?” Crystal looked away from her team. “Oh, I’m just exploring. I’d like to meet a Fairy-Type who might want to join my team, but I’m not gonna force anyone who doesn’t want to. I don’t have anything specific in mind other than that.”

“Oh!” Flabebe looked surprised as another Pokémon’s head popped out of the flowers – a green helmet with red horns, with a mostly white body underneath. “I didn’t – Serena made it sound like wherever you went, troubled stuff happens.”

“Really?” Crystal frowned. “I don’t…I don’t mean for that to happen….” She sat back, hugging her legs against her chest. “It just does. I can’t predict when people around me are going to do mean things, I’m not that kind of Psychic.”

The Ralts who had been sitting just out of view raised a hand to a hidden mouth at Crystal’s reaction. The Pokémon quickly moved closer to Flabebe. “Hey – she’s telling the truth. She’s not a meanie. She feels nice.”

Crystal looked up as Flabebe made a noise of surprise.

“Wh-what? Really?”

“Yeah. Her emotions are really strong and – and she has a Gallade, too! She has to be trustworthy, right?” Ralts motioned to Richie, who was looking at Crystal with a concerned expression.

Flabebe started to splutter, but then another voice spoke up from another flower.

“Hey, he’s right!” A white flower bent over suddenly, revealing another Flabebe gripping its stem. “We can’t always judge a person by what someone else says. Because sometimes people were forced to do mean things, sometimes people wanted to do mean things, and sometimes people are just really hard to read on a first meeting! This is why we sit back and watch people before we talk to them.”

“But Serena is—”

“I said watch people, not watch humans.” The Flabebe wagged a finger at the other Pokémon. “We’re people, and humans are people. That’s it.”

Flabebe hid under the yellow flower again, looking rather ashamed. The Flabebe under the white flower, on the other hand, swung around and twisted the white flower’s stem, breaking it off abruptly before floating over to Crystal.

Crystal was staring at the Pokémon with clear surprise. “You – th-thanks, but – is your flower gonna be okay?”

“It’ll be all right.” Flabebe landed the flower on one of Crystal’s knees, then climbed up over the petals to sit in the pollen of the flower. “I sustain it with my energy, after all! It’s my flower – it’s as much a part of me as I am a part of it. We’re cool.”

Crystal blinked in surprise, then smiled. “That’s good to know. Thanks for – for defending me. I know you don’t…really know me, but…thanks.”

“I trust the Ralts around here,” Flabebe replied. “They know how to read people, and if you’ve made friends with a Gallade, well --- that speaks volumes for you.” She nodded to Richie, who nodded back. “And any friend of a Grass-Type is a friend of mine.”

Samuel huffed, but he didn’t look annoyed by the Fairy-Type’s words.

Crystal nodded. “I like making friends with Pokémon, when I can. People, too. I came to Kalos because I wanted to explore and meet all sorts of new faces.”

“I dunno how well that’s gonna play out here – Serena lives in Santalune, and she talks a lot about how she doesn’t like you very much. I’ve always taken her words with a grain of salt, but…not very many people listen to me, to be honest. I’m the odd one out because I picked a plain flower.” Flabebe looked up at the white petals of her flower with a frown, then looked at Crystal again. “You’re going to need someone for the area who can help you around, aren’t you?”

“Well – I mean, maybe. I don’t know very many people personally who live here, except for a few people. But they moved to Hoenn some time ago.”

“How about I come along?”

Crystal blinked in surprise. “What, you – really? You want to come along?”

“Well, why not?” Flabebe shrugged. “I’m older than most of the others of my kind here, and I’m the odd one out anyway. Except for the Ralts, nobody’d notice that old Lily’s gone off somewhere.”

“We’ll miss you, though.” The Ralts who had been watching from the flowers looked on with a concerned expression. “Please, please be careful.”

“I will be, kiddo. Don’t look so worried.” Lily grinned, then looked up at Crystal. “So, what do you say?”

“Well, I…I’m not going to say no, but—” Crystal frowned. “Do you just want to travel with us, or do you want to become a part of my team?”

“Well, I’d like to see what your Pokémon see in you, sure. And getting stronger would be nice – it’d mean I could actually give Serena a thing or two to think about when I see her next.” Lily grinned. “Dropping pollen in her hair and tricking the Combee to follow her around all day to mess with the Vespiquen is one thing, but really getting on her nerves by choosing you over her? Yes please.”

Samuel snickered. “I like the way you think.”

Crystal, however, hesitated. She looked at the Flabebe on her knee with her ears slightly tilted back, while Lily looked back with a lifted chin and a fire in her eyes that almost made the tiny Pokémon look bigger.

“Well…all right. We’ll see how this plays out. But if we start deciding that we aren’t the right fit for each other, we should sit down and talk about it before deciding if we should go our separate ways or not.” Crystal slipped her backpack off her back and went digging in one of the pockets before pulling out a familiar red and white sphere. “Are you…absolutely sure you want to do this?”

“Sure I’m sure. I’ve had a long time of watching Trainers go by and thinking about joining in, and I think you’d be a good way to get my stem in the door.” Lily tapped her flower against Crystal’s leg by grabbing a small stalk coming up from the pollen and bouncing. “So, let’s do it.”

“Okay then.” Crystal moved the PokeBall towards Lily, and as soon as it brushed against her petals, the sphere opened up and sucked her inside. The ball vibrated in Crystal’s hands before finally settling with a quiet click.

Crystal stared at the PokeBall for a long moment, then rose to her feet and gave it a gentle toss and released Lily into the open air. She caught the Pokémon on one hand as she materialized.

“That has to be the strangest experience I’ve ever had,” Lily declared.

“It’ll probably get stranger,” Richie spoke up. “Just wait until you evolve.”

“I haven’t been able to do that yet!” Frieda spoke up from the ground. “I really want to, though! It sounds cool!”

“You’ll have to get stronger, first,” Esmeralda told the Fennekin.

“You certainly are a lively bunch,” Lily remarked. “All right. So, what, are you going to put me through the ropes or something?”

“Not unless you want to be,” Crystal replied. “My current plan is to go down to the Santalune woods and catch a Scatterbug.”

“Really? Interesting choice. Well, if you want that, I could probably point out a few interested nests. Let’s go give ‘em a poke, and see if a few want to be cannon fodder for your fox there.”

“Or maybe some other Pokémon,” Crystal agreed. She looked down the path. “Hey, guys – it looks like there are some Trainers up ahead. Who wants to help me coach Frieda through a few battles?”

Chapter Text

By late afternoon, Frieda had exhausted herself investigating every Trainer and attempting to talk to or spar with every Pokémon they came across.

“Looks like we’ll have to stop for the night….” Crystal looked around at the small town that they’d arrived in. Compared to Lumiose, this town was tiny by comparison, but Crystal felt like she had more room to breathe here.

That, and the flowers everywhere were really nice.

Frieda collapsed next to a bench, legs stretched out in all directions. “We walked a long way. I wish my legs were longer.”

Esmeralda lay down next to her and stretched out her paws. “We might want to find a Pokémon Center and rest, Crystal. I don’t think Frieda will be able to keep going today.”

Crystal stood next to the bench as Richie and Samuel sat down on it, then look up at the sky with a frown. “The sun’s still up. We could keep going, but…yeah. I’m feeling a little worn out, too, walking all the way here from Lumiose.”

“I’m hardly winded!” Lily hovered on Crystal’s shoulder. The Flabebe had settled there not long after they’d left her flower patch, and Crystal had hardly noticed the weight. “If you want to get a Scatterbug friend today, you should keep going. Just put the Fennekin in her PokeBall or whatever.”

“I don’t want to, though.” Crystal frowned. “I’m used to traveling with my team walking next to me. And we did come a pretty long way, so we can take a break and look for a Scatterbug tomorrow. Besides, the forest doesn’t look far, so we can spend the entire day there.”

Crystal pointed across the town square, down the main road, and towards the forest that stood in the distance.

“Suit yourself.” Lily folded her arms in a huff. “So, miss Trainer, where are we going in this human city, then?”

“The Pokémon Center first, I think. The ones in Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn all had rooms that Trainers could use to spend the night, but if they don’t let me, then…I guess look for a hotel?” Crystal tilted her head and frowned. “Although, I don’t think I’ve ever spent a night in a hotel before….”

“Don’t look at me.”

“We’re not,” Samuel grumbled at Lily.

“The nurses at the Pokémon Center will probably know a place,” Richie pointed out. “There’s nothing wrong with asking.”

“If you say so,” Lily muttered. She huffed, but Crystal wondered if it was because she was tired, and not because she was annoyed with the rest of them.

Crystal nodded, then turned her attention to the rooftops. The Pokémon Center usually had a red roof in other regions, so maybe the same was here?

It didn’t take her long to find the familiar red color, and her expression brightened immediately. “There! Let’s head over to the Pokémon Center.”

Samuel grunted as he rose from the bench. “All right. I could do with some food.” He paused. “What are we gonna do about the kid?”

“I’ve got her.” Crystal went over to where Frieda was lying on the ground. She had definitely fallen asleep in the few moments they’d stopped at the bench.

Crystal returned the Fennekin to her PokeBall and waited for Richie and Esmeralda to get to their feet before she started for the building. Frieda would’ve been grumpy if she had been carried in Crystal’s arms instead.

The Pokémon Center looked similar to how other Pokémon Centers did, except that there were flowers everywhere. Crystal couldn’t help but stare in surprise at the large vase on the counter Nurse Joy was standing behind.

“Oh!” Nurse Joy blinked in surprise as she looked over Crystal and her team. “Ah – good afternoon! I can’t say that I was expecting a visit from the Hoenn Champion. Is there any reason in particular that you’re in Kalos?”

“I just wanted to see Kalos and have some fun, that’s all,” Crystal replied. “Just being a tourist.”

“Well, you couldn’t have picked a better place to do so. I assume you are going to be staying here for the night?”

“Yeah. My newest friend got tuckered out on the way down here, and I don’t want to push her too hard before we go into the forest tomorrow.”

“Very wise of you! Do you want me to look her over before you turn in for the night?”

Crystal tilted her head at the question, frowning a little. “I…I guess it wouldn’t hurt. She is still pretty young in comparison to everybody else on my team.”

“I take it one room will be enough?” Nurse Joy held out a hand, accepting Frieda’s PokeBall from Crystal. “Or do you need more than one?”

“I think one’ll be fine. Maybe one with a few beds, though? What do you guys think?” Crystal looked to her teammates. “Richie, Samuel, do you want to dog pile on the floor or have a bed like I do?”

“I’ll take a bed, sure.” Richie nodded.

Samuel shrugged. “Sure.”

Lily eyed the vase on Nurse Joy’s counter. “Can I have one of those?” She pointed at the vase.

Crystal smiled at the Flabebe. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Esmeralda?”

“I’m fine on a pile of blankets,” the Espeon replied.

Crystal relayed the requests to Nurse Joy, who nodded and handed over a room key for a three-bed room on the second floor of the Pokémon Center, promising that there would be a vase full of water for the Flabebe whenever they decided to turn in. After Nurse Joy pointed out the small cafeteria in the corner and the PokeMart counter, she disappeared into the back with a Chansey and Frieda.

“So, what now?” Lily asked. “What’s that lady gonna do with your Pokémon?”

“She’s just making sure that Frieda’s okay and growing all right,” Crystal replied. “Nurses in Pokémon Centers check for illnesses and stuff like that. If there’s anything that’s going to sneak up on Frieda when we aren’t looking, Nurse Joy will find it.”

“You’ve got a lot of trust in an adult you don’t know.” Lily frowned. “Are you sure you can trust her with Frieda?”

“Yeah.” Crystal started over to the cafeteria and sat down at one of the tables. Samuel, Richie, and Esmeralda followed and took seats around her.

Lily hopped off Crystal’s shoulder and landed on the table, balancing her flower’s stem on the plastic surface. “I don’t know if you’re being too trusting of adult humans or not, but if I were you, I would want to know exactly what that human is doing to that Pokémon.”

“But I already know. She’s going to look in Frieda’s ears and listen to her heart and make sure that her temperature is in the right spot and that she’s healthy.”

The Flabebe blinked blankly. “You…know about that.”

“Professor Oak let me sit in on his examinations of Pokémon sometimes.” Crystal shrugged. “It’s normal.”

“…huh.”

“You’re awfully hesitant of trusting people,” Richie remarked. “Is it because you haven’t spent much time around them? But there were gardeners everywhere on that route.”

Lily spluttered at the question. “I’ll have you know that—”

A sudden gasp came from behind them, cutting Lily off and making her stiffen on her flower. Crystal tilted her head at her reaction, then turned her head to see who had come up behind them.

A woman with short, blond hair that curled in the front was standing a short distance back, a spark of interest and delight in her bright green eyes. There was a camera hanging from her neck, and her clothes looked like they’d seen some wear from walking in the woods.

The woman jolted when she noticed Crystal looking at her. “Ah! My apologies – I just didn’t think that I would get to see you in person.” She closed the distance between her and Crystal’s table. “I am Viola, the Gym Leader of this small town. You are Crystal Soul, correct?”

Crystal blinked at the question. “I – yeah, that’s – wait, you’re the one who took all the pictures of those Vivillon, right? I saw the exhibit in Lumiose yesterday.”

“You saw them?! Fantastique!” Viola immediately took an open seat at the table, causing Lily to hop away from her nervously. “I didn’t think that you would be one of the people who would express an interest in it, much less come to Kalos in person! What brings you here?”

“Sight-seeing, mostly,” Crystal replied. “I’m not looking to battle anybody, but I was thinking about getting new team members. Blaine gave me a Fennekin for my birthday when I was still in Hoenn, but after seeing all your pictures, I’m…kinda curious about getting a Scatterbug of my own.”

Viola looked like she was about to burst from excitement. “How fantastique! And you traveled all the way here from Lumiose today in order to catch one?”

“Mhm. Frieda got really tired, though, so we’re probably going to be looking for Scatterbug tomorrow. I don’t want to push her too hard.”

“Ah; yes, that makes sense.” Viola nodded. “Traveling from Lumiose to Santalune can take a great deal out of lesser-experienced Pokémon, if they aren’t used to the travel. I hope you intend to take it easy on her tomorrow.”

“Definitely,” Crystal agreed. “We’re probably going to catch the Scatterbug tomorrow, then spend another day or two here before we start heading back towards Lumiose. I haven’t figured out where it is that I want to go after that, though.”

“I’m sure it will come to you, and besides, you have all the time in the world!” Viola laughed. “And you are making a good choice, I think – unless you have experience with other Bug-Types?”

Crystal shook her head while Samuel and Richie did the same.

“Interesting. I would have thought that you might have trained a Butterfree, or perhaps a Surskit or a Pokémon of the Wurmple line before now.” Viola tilted her head, curious.

“Well, they are native to Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn, but…I guess it never really crossed my mind to try and ask one if they wanted to travel with me? I mean, my first team was Ven, Kaz, and Esmeralda– my Venasaur, Alakazam, and Espeon.” Crystal motioned to the Eeveelution lying at her feet, causing Viola to peer under the table at the purplish feline. “So I’ve been learning to, um, make friends with other Pokémon Types. Richie and Samuel were the two that I made friends with in Hoenn, and I met Lily recently. Vivillon’s different wing colors look really cool, so I think it’d be cool if I could make friends with one.”

Crystal motioned to the other Pokémon in turn as well, making Viola’s eyebrows rise when she finally focused on the Flabebe on the table.

“We don’t have to,” Samuel remarked. “We could make friends with a different Pokemon that lives around here.”

“Well, yeah, but Vivillon was the one I saw first. We can try for other Pokémon if there aren’t any Scatterbug who are interested in traveling around with me.”

Samuel grumbled something while Viola looked back and forth between them.

“Anyway, we’re going looking tomorrow, not today,” Crystal added. “I’d like Frieda to be awake and walking along with us. I don’t think I’m going to let her spar much, though. She was sparring a lot this afternoon.”

“Very wise of you,” Viola agreed. “Scatterbug are more likely to come out in the mid-morning or early afternoon, so you should have an easier time of it tomorrow.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that. Thanks!”

Viola nodded. “Good. If you want any help tomorrow, meet me in front of the Gym in the morning.”

Crystal blinked, startled. “Y-you don’t have to. Don’t you have things that you have to do as a Gym Leader?”

“Nonsense! I’m planning on going into the forest for more pictures anyway.” Viola waved off Crystal’s concerned expression. “I’m not expecting very many challengers early in the morning, anyway. Sycamore did tell me that three new Trainers were setting out from the town to the south, but they haven’t shown up yet in the last couple days. I’m expecting them to come to my Gym at some point soon, but not during my morning walk.”

“…I…guess that makes sense….”

“Besides, my Gym has hours on the door. I won’t start any matches until 10am.” Viola laughed at the look on Crystal’s face. “Did that ever occur to you?”

“…it probably should have, now that I think about it.” Crystal chuckled while Samuel shook his head. Richie shrugged while Esmeralda shook with silent laughter on the floor.

Lily looked between them all with an expression that looked like confusion, then annoyance. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm?” Viola looked down at the Flabebe, blinking. “What was that?”

“She’s not familiar with Gym Leaders, I think.” Crystal looked down at Lily. “Viola’s one of eight Trainers that other Trainers put their team’s strength against. I guess that Trainers can only challenge her at certain times during the day, rather than being able to challenge her at any time.”

Lily tilted her head at Crystal’s explanation, then nodded. “Ok. You could’ve said so earlier.”

“Sorry.” Crystal shrugged. “I guess it didn’t occur to me.”

Lily frowned, but didn’t say anything else.

Viola nodded. “You are still young. You have a lot that you have yet to learn, although there are plenty of things that you know that most people don’t.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t be too concerned if you forget anything. Remember, you are ten years old.”

Crystal blinked, then smiled a little and nodded. “Y-yeah. Sure. Right.”

Viola gave Crystal an encouraging smile, but then her expression shifted to something more serious, making Crystal frown as Viola leaned forward and folded her hands in front of her.

“Diantha said you were worried about someone in particular, correct?” Viola asked, lowering her voice.

Crystal blinked at the question. Something about Viola’s current stance made her ears swivel in search of other voices. When she didn’t pick anything up, she replied carefully, “Yes, she did. She told me I should talk to someone named Olympia about it”

“She lives in Anistar city, on the northeastern side of the region,” Viola explained. “I would recommend that you try to go there next, if you can.”

“Why?” Crystal frowned. “Do you have a bad feeling, too?”

Viola blinked at the question. “Can’t say that I have, but…well, if a half-Pokémon who’s been in a few dangerous events has a problem, then I’m willing to listen. Bug-Types are very sensitive to changes in their environment, so if anything sets them off, I’m willing to do what I can to help them adjust or get their surroundings back to normal. So, I’m willing to listen when a Pokémon – or anyone, really – says they have a hunch that something seems off.”

Crystal blinked at Viola’s statement, while Lily frowned in confusion and her other three Pokémon exchanged looks.

Esmeralda’s tail tapped against the end of Crystal’s, almost making her jump.

“Th-thanks; I really appreciate it.” Crystal nodded to Viola. “I guess I’ll be heading up to Anistar city after I catch a Scatterbug in the forest tomorrow?”

Viola eyed Crystal for a long moment, then nodded and clapped her hands together. “Fantastique. So! You will meet me tomorrow in front of the Gym, and then we will go looking for Scatterbug together. And then, after that, you can make your way back to Lumiose and start heading northwest. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Crystal nodded.

“Good. In that case, I should leave you so that you can rest after your journey here.” Viola rose from her chair and nodded to each of them in turn. “I shall see you in the morning.”

Riche and Samuel nodded in agreement, and Viola gave them a wave and walked away.

Immediately, Samuel leaned over. “Her talking about Bug-Types and listening to people who are sensitive to the environment felt like it came out of nowhere. Did it feel that way to you?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “Kinda, yeah. Although, she did mention Diantha having contacted her, so…I think she did. But why would Diantha call Viola? That doesn’t make much sense.”

“I’d recommend being cautious, just in case,” Samuel said seriously.

“Don’t worry; I will be.” Crystal nodded to him. “But I want to give Viola the benefit of the doubt. She is a Gym Leader, after all; I don’t want to think of her as someone terrible.”

“Giovanni was a Gym Leader,” Esmeralda pointed out from below them. “I certainly hope that Kalos is much better at picking their Gym Leaders than Kanto was before.”

Crystal stiffened a little at the reminder. “Oh…yeah. Yeah, I hope so, too.”

“Can someone fill me in?” Lily demanded loudly. “I may know about who Crystal is because of Serena and just…everything, but there’s some things you’re talking about that are going over my head a bit here.”

“Crystal!” called Nurse Joy from the front counter.

Crystal looked over and nodded back, then turned her attention to her team. “Let’s talk about this in our room. I’m gonna go get Frieda, and then we can head up, and I can…tell you a little, at least. Okay, Lily?”

Lily looked Crystal up and down for a long moment, then nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Lily was still attempting to wrap her head around what Crystal, Samuel, Richie, and Esmeralda had told her the night before. It made her very chatty on the way to Viola’s Gym.

“Is everything with those Magnus morons why you’re not looking for Serena, or is it because you really are a jerk like she has been saying you are and think you’re above her because you’re half Legendary?” Lily asked from Crystal’s shoulder. “She likes talking about that a lot when she’s near our flower patches.”

“I don’t need to look for her because I’m not the one in charge of taking care of her,” Crystal replied. “If I wanted to look for her, it’s because I would want to be friends with her. And…I don’t think she wants to be friends with me. Not after everything that happened in Hoenn. Besides, she…she didn’t seem like she wanted to be friends with me.”

“Hm.” Lily frowned. “But do you want to make friends with any of them?”

“Yeah. A lot of them are nice people who were pulled into something they didn’t entirely want to do. Like Xavier. He seems like he could be nice.”

The Pokémon Gym for Santalune wasn’t far from the Center. It was a few streets back and on another road that led out of town, towards a large building that stood in the distance. There were a few people walking around, going from building to building and greeting each other, but Crystal ignored them and tried to walk with confidence towards Viola’s Gym.

Having Richie, Samuel, and Esmeralda walking side by side with her definitely helped, as did Frieda bounding around ahead of them. Having her Pokémon walking alongside her made her feel more confident, more safe.

Granted, she could defend herself, but she couldn’t defend herself against everything.

“Good morning!” Viola waved at them from the front door of her Gym. The clothes she was wearing today looked better suited for a walk in the woods than her clothes from yesterday. “Are you ready to go looking for a new friend?”

“Yup!” Crystal nodded.

Frieda bounced up to Viola and sat down near her feet. “Hi!”

“Oh!” Viola looked down and smiled at the Fennekin. “Well, hello there! You must be the member of Crystal’s team who was so tired yesterday. It’s good to see you up and about, my little friend.”

She reached down and patted Frieda between her ears. Frieda nuzzled back, delighted at the affection.

“Frieda’s got a lot more energy this morning,” Crystal said with a smile. “I think it’s got something to do with the sun.”

“Makes sense to me! The little ones certainly like anything to do with heat.” Viola stopped petting Frieda and looked at Crystal. “So! Shall we go? The Scatterbug will start to be on the move shortly, I imagine, and I’d love to catch a picture or two of one sleeping in the early morning. Time is of the essence!”

With that, Viola turned and started for the southern side of town, where Crystal had seen the forest in the distance.

Crystal quickly moved to follow after her, Frieda and her team close on her heels. “So, where are we going to look for the Scatterbugs? Is there any place in particular?”

“They live all over Santalune’s forest!” Viola called back. She strode out of town with a spring in her step as Crystal and her team jogged to keep up. “It is the perfect place for them to live – so many trees for them to find food, and plenty of places to hide and rest from the other local Pokémon. If you want to find a large number of them, they have a few places to nest, but they keep them well hidden.”

“So they don’t get jumped while they’re asleep,” Crystal guessed.

“Exactly.”

As they followed the path to the forest, Crystal noticed the patches of grass rustling as they moved passed. She recognized the Dunsparce and Azurill that poked their heads out sleepily, as well as a couple others, but there were some Pokémon she didn’t recognize at first glance.

She would have to check her PokeDex for information later; she had a Bug-Type to find, first.

“I noticed that some of the pictures you took reminded me a lot of Viridian Forest,” Crystal said as they reached the treeline. “I wonder if that means Santalune Forest feels the same, too.”

Samuel took in a deep breath as they slowed their approach. “Ah. Nothing like damp forest air to wake you up in the morning.”

“Just don’t go digging for fertilizer and put down roots,” Richie said.

Samuel gave the Gallade a playful punch, which Richie dodged with a laugh.

Lily shook her head at them, while Esmeralda looked amused.

“Fertilizer’s stinky,” Freida complained. “I don’t like it.”

Samuel spluttered while Crystal shook her head with a chuckle.

“It’s good to see all of you so lively this morning.” Viola clapped her hands together. “So! Scatterbug are Bug-Type Pokémon, very similar to the Caterpie and Weedle you’re likely familiar with, since you’ve mentioned Viridian Forest. They live in abundance in this forest in particular, so it should not be hard to find one looking for a challenge. Finding one that wants to travel with a Trainer shouldn’t be hard, either.” She motioned for the group to follow her under the tree canopy, then started leading them into the forest.

It was cooler under the trees, cooler even than the early morning air outside the forest. Crystal quietly zipped up her pink jacket and looked around at the trees and tall grass as the group started forward.

“If any Trainer wants to come to me for their starter Pokémon, I tend to give them a Scatterbug,” Viola continued. “They’re reliable, and depending on where they evolve or who their parents are – or both – they can evolve to have some truly splendid wing patterns. Just when I’ve thought that I’ve seen them all, another one surprises me.”

“That’s so cool that there are some things you haven’t discovered yet.” Crystal smiled brightly. “It always feels like it’s that way for me.”

“It makes the world even more fantastique.” Viola motioned to the trees around them with a laugh. “Now – to help you with your own journey of discovery with Bug-Type Pokémon.”

Viola led Crystal and her team through the quiet forest, off the beaten path and towards a group of trees that were closer together than the other trees around them.

Samuel moved towards the trees and sniffed at the leaves sitting around the roots. “Hm. Definitely different from Hoenn. I think the soil composition’s leaning towards….”

Crystal held back a laugh as the Breloom stuck his head in the leaf pile. Richie sighed and shook his head.

“I hope there’s nothing in there that’ll make him hallucinate,” Richie remarked. “I don’t think we need that right now.”

“Let him have a little fun,” Crystal replied. “That’s what we’re in Kalos for, remember?”

Richie frowned, but then he sighed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah…all right.”

“So, this is one of the Scatterbug nests I was talking about.” Viola motioned to the trees they’d stopped in front of. “They know me, and they know I’m not about to bring down their trees for any reason. They haven’t let me take pictures of them sleeping yet, though, which is something I’m hoping to do today.”

“Not this time, Gym leader!” called a voice from above their heads.

Crystal looked up just as a pink-winged butterfly Pokémon landed on a tree branch above their heads. The checkerboard-like eyes twinkled with amusement as Viola threw up her hands in despair.

“Ah, you have caught me again, my dear!” Viola called up. “It seems I will have to try at another time.” She turned to Crystal. “This Vivllion is the mother of most of the Scatterbugs in the forest this year.”

“This year?” Crystal repeated. “Does that mean they have children every other year or something?”

“Ah, if only.” The Vivillion  fluttered her wings in what Crystal guessed was a shrug. “We do not live as long as other Pokémon live. It is why we grow so quickly. Most of us only live for two to five years before death takes us, and those are the lucky ones.”

Crystal’s curious look dropped almost immediately when she heard that. “That’s…that’s so short.”

Viola nodded sadly. “It really is, yes. That is one of the downsides to having a Bug-Type on your team – while they can be capable fighters, they don’t live long enough to become a truly permanent member of some Trainers’ teams. And most Trainers think to discard them as soon as possible, because they consider other Pokémon to be stronger. That doesn’t mean that Bug-Types are weak by any stretch of the imagination! It just means that there are some ways that they fall short when compared to others.”

“I hope that Ando’s got more life in him than that,” Crystal remarked worriedly. “I like having him on my team.”

“Something tells me he’ll be fine,” Samuel spoke up. “He’s a rock. He’ll be fine.”

“A rock?” Vivillion tilted her head at them.

Crystal noticed Viola’s curious look as well. “Ando’s an Armaldo – they’re Bug and Rock-Types that used to live in Hoenn, but they went extinct. The Devon Corporation found a way to revive him from a fossil as an Anorith, and I kept him on as a part of my team all the way through the Hoenn League.”

“And you didn’t bring him with you?” Viola asked in surprise.

“He wanted to stay in Kanto for a little while.” Crystal shrugged. “I’m sure I can bring him around if I need him, but he didn’t like the idea of flying in an airplane to get to Kalos.”

Esmeralda nodded. “Armaldo are ancient Pokémon. While Ando may be familiar with how we do things here in the present, he is still cautious about some things that we are capable of.”

Viola looked down at the Espeon and blinked, then sighed and nodded. “I suppose that would make sense, actually. Well, if you do ever bring him here, I’d appreciate getting a chance to meet an ancient Bug-Type. If he’s part Rock, he will live a lot longer than your average Bug-Type.” She nodded up to the Pokémon above their heads.

Crystal’s shoulders relaxed from an unseen tension. “Ok. That makes sense. I’ll see if I can teleport him over here later, then. If he wants to, at least.”

Viola’s expression brightened. “I shall hold you to that.”

“Did you just come to talk about old creatures in front of me, or is there something you were intending to do today?” asked the Vivillion above their heads. “Not that I mind it, but you are making quite the racket.”

“Sorry about that,” Richie said. “Crystal said she wanted to see if she could make friends with a Scatterbug. I guess they ended up being distracted by talking about our teammate.”

“Oh!” The Vivillion fluttered her wings. “Well, that does explain why you’re lingering by the nest. I’ll go see which of my children would be interested in traveling with you.”

Crystal watched as the Bug-Type disappeared into a large hole in the side of one of the trees. She looked over at Viola, who looked sheepish.

“Sorry. I don’t get to talk about Bug-Types very often, and the thought of a revived, ancient Bug-Type interests me,” Viola explained. “Do you know where I can get my hands on an Anorith fossil?”

“I think Mr. Stone has it classified as a Claw fossil, specifically, which is weird, but if it helps people know what they found, it works.” Crystal rubbed the back of her head. Her ears flicked in the direction of the trees; there was a lot of whispering going on inside. “In Hoenn, all the fossils were found in the desert east of Lavaridge. I think in the last year, though, I’ve heard some people saying they’re finding fossils by breaking open rocks that are found on the coast, but I haven’t tried that yet.”

“Rocks on the coats…hm.” Viola tapped her chin in thought. “It might be possible for me to find an Anorith fossil here in Kalos, then, if I look hard enough. But that would mean leaving my Gym and going west, and I can’t do that when there are three new challengers coming up from the south this morning.”

“Maybe after they’ve gone through, you could go have a look,” Crystal suggested. “I could travel with you too, if you wanted.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I unfortunately have other things to do besides take on challengers.” Viola sighed and shook her head. “I won’t be able to get away from my duties this week to travel to the coast to search for fossils, but I might be able to do that next week. I’ll give Grant a call and see if we can arrange for a rock hunt.”

“Grant?” Crystal frowned, then turned her head slightly as the Vivillion made her way out of the tree. Following after her were three small Bug Pokémon with unusually large heads and a collar of white fuzz around their necks.

“He’s the Rock-Type Gym Leader in Cyllage, which is right on the coast. I think he has a couple fossil Pokémon of his own, too.”

Lily snorted loudly next to Crystal’s ear, making her jump. “I don’t see the point in reviving a Pokémon that’s already dead; if they’re gone, they’re gone. They become food for the flowers and their blood feeds ours.”

Crystal looked at Lily with an alarmed expression, which Richie mimicked. Frieda and Viola both tilted their heads in confusion.

Samuel nodded. “Yeah, but you shouldn’t talk about that in front of a kid. Crystal’s not an adult by human standards yet. And it’s not like Ando is the Ando he was before he died. He’s a different guy.”

Lily grumbled something, but didn’t add anything else to the conversation.

“That Flabebe’s weird,” one of the little Bug Pokémon announced. She was immediately bumped against by the two others on either side of her.

“Don’t be an idiot!” one of them hissed. “She’s stronger than we are right now!”

“But she’s weird!”

“Aren’t we all, in our own way?” Esmeralda called up.

“Are you all right?” Viola asked.

Crystal blinked at the question, then shook her head slightly as Esmeralda kept talking with the Bug-Types. “I…yeah. Lily just said something a little disturbing, is all. I wasn’t expecting her to say something like that.”

“Ah.” Viola nodded slightly. “Some older Pokémon can have a cynical way of looking at life, but I can’t say I was expecting a Fairy-Type to have that sort of mood towards them.”

“We don’t ignore what happens around us, just because we’re cute,” Lily pointed out. “Or just because we live in flower gardens.”

Crystal frowned. “Still….”

“Well, we shouldn’t think about that too much.” Viola turned her attention to the three Scatterbug sitting in the tree hollow with their mother. “I assume the three of you are looking to travel with a Trainer?”

The three Pokémon nodded.

“I don’t think I wanna go with her, though,” the middle one said. “That Flabebe’s weird.” She dropped back into the tree hollow.

The remaining two looked at each other, then at Lily, who huffed and turned away from them.

“Maybe she’ll mellow out?” one of the Scatterbug suggested. “We change over time with age, right, Mama?” He looked up at the Vivillion, who nodded back.

“I didn’t think a human could have the ears and tail of a Pokémon,” said the other Scatterbug. He tilted his head. “They almost look like Skitty ears, but…they’re not. It’s weird.”

“I was kinda surprised to see there are Skitty in Kalos, too, but I guess there are a lot of Pokémon you can find in different regions,” Crystal remarked. “I haven’t studied enough to know which ones are common across what regions, though. I could probably ask around about that.”

The Scatterbug stared at Crystal blankly.

“…I don’t think I can handle someone who thinks that hard,” the second Scatterbug said meekly. “She sounds older than she looks.”

“She’s actually younger,” Esmeralda remarked. “As a Psychic-Type, her mind grew quickly.”

Well, that and a few other things, but Crystal wasn’t willing to talk about her childhood at the moment.

The Scatterbug stared at Crystal again. She almost laughed at the pure confusion that was coming off them.

This was a much better reaction than what she’d gotten from the Flabebe yesterday.

“Yes, I’m strange that way.” Crystal’s tail curled slightly behind her while Viola watch the conversation with intent curiosity. Crystal wondered if she was picking up anything that was being said. “I hope that doesn’t make you any less likely to travel with me.”

The Scatterbug exchanged looks.

“Normally, Trainers try to fight us to get us to travel with them,” the Scatterbug on the left said. “Are you gonna do that, too?”

“If you want,” Crystal replied. “I won’t force you if you don’t want to.”

“So…you don’t care if we’re strong?” the Scatterbug on the right asked.

“Not really.”

Samuel huffed, frowning.

“I like looking for friends, first,” Crystal explained. “If you want to be strong, we can train together and help you get stronger that way, if you want.”

The Scatterbug exchanged looks again while Viola nodded in satisfaction.

“You’re a lot more mature about this than most Trainers your age,” Viola remarked. “I think that a lot of Pokémon will appreciate that.”

Crystal smiled brightly. “I hope so!”

The Scatterbug on the left tilted his head, then shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll go with you. I mean, you’re nice and all, but…I don’t think I can keep up with all the big words you were using.”

With that, he dropped back into the tree hollow, leaving one Scatterbug sitting alone.

“I’d be okay traveling with you.” Scatterbug nodded. “Mama calls me Sawyer.”

“Sawyer? That’s cool.” Crystal shrugged her shoulders to bring her backpack within easy reach, and unzipped the pocket she kept her PokeBalls. “You ready?”

“Yup!” Sawyer leaned forwards.

Crystal bumped the PokeBall against Sawyer’s head. Immediately, he disappeared inside, followed by a slight wiggle and a dull click from the PokeBall.

Viola clapped her hands together. “Well done! I hope that the two of you become good friends.”

“I hope so, too.” Crystal looked down at the PokeBall with a smile. “So, is there anything I should know about training Scatterbug?”

“Well, they take a little longer to evolve than most other Bug Pokémon that have a cocoon stage.” Viola looked up to Vivillion. “And the environments you travel to and how you care for your friend will cause the wing patterns to be either identical or drastically different from his mother’s. We haven’t figured out yet if Vivillion wing patterns are genetic or based on where they grow up, but I think most Professors agree it’s their environment, not their parents.”

“Huh. So…they’re like Eevee that way?” Crystal looked down at Esmeralda, who flicked her tail at the thought.

“Maybe?” Viola shrugged.

“That’s not an answer,” Samuel muttered.

“It’s better than most answers we’d get, probably,” Richie pointed out. “They could have absolutely no idea.”

“I guess.”

Crystal frowned at Samuel briefly, then felt a pair of paws on her leg and looked down.

“Can I say hi?” Frieda asked.

“I don’t see why you can’t,” Crystal replied. She prepared to release Sawyer, but then Viola gasped.

“Oh my goodness! I didn’t even realize the time.” Viola started to move away from the tree hollow quickly. “I need to get back to the Gym! I was supposed to open ten minutes ago! Oh dear, oh dear. Will you be able to find your way back to Santalune all right or—”

“You go on ahead,” Crystal told Viola. “We’ll be making our way back the slow way. I want to get to know our new friend, after all.”

Viola’s expression relaxed, and she nodded before heading back to the main path of the forest.

Vivillion chuckled as Viola vanished. “I would not be surprised if she asked for a picture of you the next time she sees you.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since she’s a photographer and all,” Crystal replied. She bounced Sawyer’s PokeBall, releasing the Scatterbug.

The Bug-Type shook himself out as he materialized. “Ooh, that felt weird. Is that what all PokeBalls feel like?”

“Basically,” Richie said. “I’m Richie. This is Samuel, and Esmeralda, and that’s Lily and Frieda.” He motioned to each in turn.

Sawyer looked around at each of them, nodding, until he looked at Frieda and froze. “U-uh…”

“Hi!” Frieda said cheerily. “Nice to meet you!” Her tail wagged in delight. “I hope we can be friends!”

Sawyer stared at her, then nodded somewhat nervously. “Y-yeah. Sure.”

“Frieda’s not going to do anything to hurt you,” Crystal assured. “How about we spend some time getting to know each other and train a little on the way back to Santalune?”

“Yay!” Frieda bounced happily.

“Train them, you mean,” Samuel remarked. He sighed. “Well, at least I’m back in a forest. I’ll definitely enjoy this.”

“I’m sure,” Esmeralda agreed with amusement.

Chapter Text

When they got back to Santalune, Sawyer and Frieda were definitely stronger. There were a few young Trainers who had been looking for a challenger, and some of the local wild Pokémon had been up for a fight as well.

Lily leaned forward from her perch on Crystal’s shoulder, looking around as they stepped back into Santalune. “Is there anything else you plan to do around here? As nice as the flowers are, I don’t like the idea of sticking around.”

Crystal and Samuel frowned at Lily.

“I said I was here to explore Kalos,” Crystal said. “I don’t think I’ll stay here for too much longer, but I don’t know why you’re so eager to leave what’s familiar behind.”

Lily ran a paw down her face. “I think I’m just gonna take a nap for a while. Let me know when we’re out of Serena’s territory.”

Crystal frowned as Lily retreated into her PokeBall. “I really don’t know what to do about her…she said she wanted to come along, but I don’t know how well she’s going to get along with everyone.”

Samuel huffed. “Well, she wants to get out of the area, right? Why don’t you just let her go when we go back to Lumiose or something?”

“I…I dunno. She might not like the city a lot.” Crystal frowned at Lily’s PokeBall on her belt, then shook her head. “I’ll…I’ll think about it later. Right now…”

She pulled out her PokeNav and pulled up a map of Kalos. She frowned at the routes. “Looks like we could either explore to the south past the forest, or go back to Lumiose and go in another direction. It doesn’t look like there’s a lot to do in southern Kalos. Not here, anyway.”

Richie looked at the map while Frieda and Sawyer say near their feet, looking up. “So, where do we want to go next, then? After we get back to Lumiose, I mean.”

Crystal frowned at the question. “I think…I think I’d like to go see Olympia. Diantha said she’s a Gym Leader who can see the future. But I don’t know what city she lives in.”

“Viola likely knows,” Esmeralda remarked. “Let’s go ask her, if we have the chance to.”

“Or we can ask Professor Sycamore!” Frieda piped up. “I bet he knows!”

“Ask who about who?” Sawyer asked in confusion.

Richie knelt down to get closer to the Scatterbug’s eye level. “Olympia is a Psychic-Type Gym Leader who can see the future. Crystal wants to be able to talk to her, but we don’t know where she lives. Professor Sycamore is the guy who hands out Pokémon like Frieda to beginning Trainers.” He nodded to Frieda, who wagged her tail at him.

“Oh.” Sawyer tilted his head, then nodded. “Okay. So, we just gotta figure out where she lives, and then we go there. Right?”

“Right.” Richie nodded.

Crystal nodded in agreement, then looked around at Santalune. It was mid-morning now, and that meant there were more people hanging around. Apparently, that also meant more people were staring in her direction. She did her best to ignore them. “Let’s head over to the Gym and see if Viola’s busy with a Trainer. If she isn’t, we can ask for directions and head back to Lumiose either now or tomorrow. And if she is, we can wait until she’s got a free moment.”

Her team expressed agreement at the idea, and they started moving in the direction of the Gym.

“It’s kinda weird that we’re not challenging the Gyms here, too,” Samuel remarked. “Think we could still do that?”

“We wouldn’t get the badge, though,” Richie replied.

“Well – yeah, but still!”

Esmeralda’s tail curled. “I wouldn’t mind seeing what the Gym challenge is like for myself. I didn’t get to experience it with you, after all.”

“I wish you could too, Esmeralda,” Crystal replied. “But I think at best we could challenge her to a battle when she’s not working.”

“Ah, well. Perhaps when you lose your title in Hoenn to one of your friends, then.”

“Maybe. I’ll have to doublecheck with Blaine to see how that works.”

When they arrived at the Gym, there was a group of three kids standing at the entrance. As Crystal got closer, she could hear them arguing about who should go in first to challenge Viola.

“—should be me,” a boy with orange, almost helmet-shaped hair was saying. “I’ve actually caught a few Pokémon that can help against Bug-Types, and Pichu and I have been training. You guys aren’t prepared for the League yet.”

The Pokémon on the boy’s head, a little yellow mouse with giant, black-tipped ears, nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We’ve got this.”

“None of us are prepared for the League, though,” the girl with her brown hair in pigtails pointed out. “That’s why we’re challenging the Gym here! And I’ve got a Fletchling, so I should be fine.”

“And I picked up a Pansear, so I’m good,” the boy with an Ice-Type Pokémon on his shirt declared. “If Sombra can’t keep up with what this Gym Leader has, Salsa can pick up the pace.”

The boy with the Pichu looked startled. “Pansear is the least useful out of—”

“Hi!” Crystal waved as she approached the group. Samuel and Richie moved to stand on either side of her as Esmeralda corralled Sawyer and Frieda. “What’s going on?”

The three kids and the Pichu jumped at Crystal’s voice.

The girl shrieked. “Ohmygosh! You’re the Crystal!”

The high-pitched noise made Crystal’s ears flick back. “Uh…y-yeah, that’s me. And you are?”

“I’m Tierno!” said the boy with the ice Pokémon shirt. Now that Crystal was closer, she could see it looked like a frozen ice cream cone. “This is Trevor, and this is Shauna.” He motioned to the boy and girl in turn. “She’s a big fan of yours.”

“Tierno!” Shauna hissed in alarm. “Don’t say that!”

“It’s okay,” Crystal replied. Her tail flicked. “I’m still kinda getting used to that, since it’s only been a year and all.”

Trevor blinked. “How many fans of yours have you met?”

“Not a lot? I think Red and Blue got more attention than I ever did.” Crystal laughed nervously. “So, are you guys planning on taking the Gym challenge?”

“Yeah!” Shauna replied. “Are you going to do it, too?”

“She can’t,” Trevor said. “Crystal’s still Champion of Hoenn. She can’t challenge any other Leagues until she loses the title, and she hasn’t lost it yet.”

“Nope.” Crystal nodded. “I’ll have to wait until after May or Brendan beat me in order to take another League challenge.”

“Oh!” Shauna laughed sheepishly. “Oh, I didn’t know about that.”

“It makes sense, though,” Tierno pointed out. “Each region has its own League and its own way of doing things. If Crystal forced them all to dance to the tune of her being the Champion, she wouldn’t be a single region’s Champion anymore.”

“World Champions are rare, but not impossible.” Trevor pushed his bangs out of his face. “It’s a title only given to Trainers who have been a Champion at least once in multiple regions. It’s been years since someone’s taken the title, though.”

Crystal frowned. “I think I remember Blaine saying something like that…I’m not looking for that title, though. I think one League’s enough for me.”

“It would be cool if you did, though.” Shauna remarked.

“Maybe. I don’t think it’s for me, though.” Crystal shook her head. “So, what are you guys doing here?”

“We’re gonna challenge the Gym!” Shauna replied.

“We just need to figure out who’s going to challenge her first,” Tierno added. “Gym Leaders only let so many challengers come through in a day, depending on how many badges they have. At least, that’s what Trevor says.”

“It’s true.” Trevor nodded. “Most Pokémon teams need time to recover after a challenge, and they need time to reset the Gym puzzle for the next Trainer.”

“I can see that.” Crystal nodded. “But standing in front of Viola’s Gym and arguing about it all day isn’t going to help you decide who’s going to challenge her first. You might spend more time arguing than challenging her.”

The three Trainers exchanged looks while Richie and Esmeralda nodded in agreement.

“I mean, you’re all going to get around to challenging her, right?”

“I mean, that’s the plan.” Tierno rubbed the back of his head. “And we know what kind of Pokémon she has, and we’ve got Pokémon to help against that. My starter, Somba, is a Lotad, though, so I’ll have to rely on Salsa to get me through all the way.”

“And Salsa has Fire-Type moves he can use, right?” Crystal asked.

Tierno nodded.

“Then I think you’ll be okay, unless Viola has a Surskit. That could be trouble then.” Crystal looked at Trevor. “What about you?”

“He has me!” the Pichu declared proudly.

Trevor looked up at the baby Electric-Type and nodded. “I’ve got Pichu and a Fletchling – that’s a Flying-Type Pokémon that lives around here – so I should be fine.”

“And I’ve got a Bulbasaur and a Fletchling!” Shauna said with a smile.

“Sounds like you guys should be okay with Pokémon, then.” Crystal nodded. “So I guess the issue then is the order, right?”

The three Trainers looked at each other.

“Well, I am kinda focused more on our dance routine than battle moves at the moment,” Tierno remarked. “I’d be fine with one of you guys going ahead.”

“I feel like I’m pretty prepared,” Shauna said. “I’m ready to go whenever. What about you, Trevs?”

Trevor frowned at the nickname, then sighed and shook his head. “Well, I don’t know what the Gym puzzle looks like yet, just that Viola has Bug-Types. Maybe you could….?”

Shauna’s eyes brightened, and she threw her fists into the air in triumph. “Yes! I’ll absolutely tell you about the Gym puzzle when I get out! Wish me luck!”

She rushed into the Gym before anyone could say another word.

Esmeralda chuckled and shook her head. “Let us hope her enthusiasm carries her through.”

Trevor shook his head. Pichu shifted to keep his balance without falling off. “She didn’t used to be interested in taking the Gym challenge. I don’t think she really gained interest until we found recordings of the Hoenn Elite Four and Championship matches.” He looked over at Crystal. “She really wanted to meet you.”

Crystal blinked in surprise. “Really?”

Trevor nodded.

“She said she thought the ears were cute,” Tierno said. “And…well, when Serena came back, she said she didn’t want to hang with us unless we could prove we were strong.”

Crystal’s ears flicked. “You guys are friends with Serena?”

“We were,” Trevor corrected. “She’s been…different, since she got back.”

“Xavier’s cool, though,” Tierno spoke up. “He comes down and hangs with us when he can with his younger brothers. Serena’s been avoiding her family, though.”

Crystal blinked.

“They’re siblings,” Trevor explained. “Or, at least, they’re adopted siblings. But Serena wants nothing to do with them, and nobody’s been able to get through to her yet.”

Crystal frowned. “Oh. Well that’s sad.”

Tierno nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it really is. I’d rather not try to prove that I’m strong in order to hang out with her, but…well, I want to be friends with her again.”

“I was already planning on taking the challenge whether Serena used it as a benchmark or not,” Trevor said. He looked up at Pichu. “It’s the best way to travel across the region and gather data on all the Pokémon for the PokeDex. Professor Sycamore said Kalos has one of the biggest across all the other regions. We have 454 Pokémon in the PokeDex, but Galar’s is bigger.”

Tierno held back a laugh as Trevor scowled.

“Is Galar big?” Frieda asked, tilting her head.

“I don’t think it is,” Sawyer said. “Mama flew that far north once. She said Galar’s just an island that’s not as big.”

“Oh.”

“If Galar has a lot more different Pokémon, that means there are a lot I could make friends with,” Crystal remarked. “Maybe I should travel there next, after I’m done traveling around here. Although, I’m gonna have to head back to Hoenn, first – I promised May and Brendan that I’d let them challenge me when I’m done here in a few months.”

Trevor perked up. “You have friends waiting to challenge you?”

“Yup.”

Samuel grinned. “They aren’t gonna know what hit them when we get back. Ha!”

Tierno looked at Samuel with a surprised expression, then looked around at the rest of Crystal’s team. “Say, uh, how good would you say your Pokémon are at dancing?”

“Dancing?” Crystal blinked at the question, then looked around at her team. “I…can’t say I ever thought about that, to be honest. Why do you ask?”

Trevor rolled his eyes while Tierno started to look excited.

“I’m making a dance team of Pokémon!” Tierno explained. “Ludicolo are great dancers, so I asked Professor Sycamore if he could get me a Lotad for my starter, instead of Fennekin, Chespin, or Froakie. And now I have a Pansear, too – they’re a Fire-type monkey Pokémon that live in Santalune Forest.”

“And they’re really annoying,” Sawyer muttered. “They burn all the Berries! We can’t eat burned Berries.”

“I want to find more Pokémon that I can teach awesome dance moves to,” Tierno added. “And your Pokémon look like they could be good at dancing if they wanted to be.”

Richie tilted his head with an interested frown. Esmeralda made an amused noise while Sawyer shook his head.

Samuel huffed. “I don’t know if dancing’d help me fight or not.”

“Dancing sounds fun!” Frieda said brightly. “I’d like to learn how to dance!” She started bouncing in circles.

Crystal laughed at Frieda’s antics, then looked over at Tierno. “I never thought of looking at Pokémon that way, but I could keep an eye out if you want me to. Would it be okay if we exchange numbers, so we can tell each other if we find any interesting Pokémon like that?”

“Sure!” Tierno pulled out a device that looked identical to Diantha’s. They quickly exchanged numbers, Tierno grinning all the while. “And I want to find Pokémon that not only look like they could dance well, but ones that want to dance, too. Find a Pokémon that can dance and doesn’t want to dance isn’t going to do a dance team any good.”

“Makes sense to me!” Crystal replied brightly.

“Can we exchange numbers, too?” Trevor asked. “I’d like to know about Pokémon everywhere, and any kind of help in filling out the PokeDex would be really appreciated. And you’re a Champion, so you can help me with strategy against certain Types.”

“Well, I’ll try, but I don’t think I know as much about them as some Gym Leaders and Pokémon Professors,” Crystal said as Trevor pulled out his own device.

“Can we give your number to Shauna, too?” Tierno asked. “I don’t know if she’d call you for any reason, but she likes puzzles a lot. She’d probably ask you about how the Hoenn Gyms are designed on the inside.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I think Shauna wants to become a Gym Leader if only to make cool puzzles that people would have to solve. I don’t know if she knows what kind of Type she wants to use yet, though.”

Crystal frowned and tilted her head. “Well, I guess that would be something she would have to figure out, if she ever wanted to be a Gym Leader. If she doesn’t get through the League all the way, maybe she could take an apprenticeship at a Gym she likes the design of and get in that way? I think that’s how the Gyms get Gym Trainers, although Blaine always does it with a riddle quiz.”

“Riddle quiz?” Tierno repeated. “That sounds kinda difficult.”

“It sounds like fun to me,” Trevor remarked. “But he’s the Fire-Type Gym Leader in Kanto, right? That’s a long way away from here.”

“Well, so is Hoenn,” Crystal replied. “If you don’t have a Pokémon that can make the flight, an airplane seems to work just as well. If you wanted, I could get you over there to see if you want to help Blaine in his Gym. If you want.”

“…I’ll think about it,” Trevor said after a moment.

“So, are you here for a reason, too?” Tierno asked. “Do you want to talk to Viola?”

“We were wondering which city Olympia lives in,” Esmeralda spoke up.

Tierno jumped. “Whoa, that – where did that—”

“Your Espeon has telepathy?” Trevor asked in surprise. He paused, then shook his head. “What am I saying, of course she does – Espeon are Psychic-Types.” He looked up at Crystal. “Olympia is the Psychic-Type Gym Leader of Anistar City. Anistar is far to the northeast, so you’ll have to head through Lumiose and past Laverre in order to get there.”

“North…okay, thanks.” Crystal nodded.

“Why do you ask?” Tierno eyed Esmeralda with a curious look as he glanced at Crystal.

“I’ve got some questions that I wanted to ask her,” Crystal explained. “I heard that she can see the future, and there’s something that’s bothering me, so I want to see if she knows anything about it.”

Tierno and Trevor exchanged looks.

Pichu leaned forward. “Is there something we should be worried about?”

“I don’t think it’s anything you guys need to worry about,” Crystal replied, nodding to Pichu while the boys looked at her.

“But it could be,” Trevor said.

“I really hope not.”

“Well, if it is something to worry about, let us know?” Tierno gave Crystal a hopeful look. “We may only be starting Trainers, but we want to help if something comes up.”

Crystal frowned, her ears pulling back slightly. “Well…I hope it’s not a problem, but if you guys want to get wrapped up in it, I won’t stop you. Just make sure that you and your teams are strong enough if something does happen, okay?”

The two boys nodded.

“If we’re taking the Gym Challenge, then we should be fine,” Trevor said. “So, are you going to Anistar City now?”

“Well, I was thinking of heading back to Lumiose either today or tomorrow.”

The boys looked at each other.

“Well, that’s gonna be a bit of a walk to get there,” Tierno said. “Would you be okay to wait until tomorrow? Shauna might wanna talk more after she finishes her challenge.”

Crystal looked at her team members. “What do you guys think?”

Samuel shrugged and waved a paw in the air.

“I don’t see why we can’t,” Richie said.

“I wanna meet their Pokémon!” Frieda declared.

Crystal chuckled at Frieda’s exclamation, then nodded to the boys. “I don’t see why we can’t hang around today, I guess. Do you mind if I stay with you guys while you wait for Shauna, then?”

“Not at all,” Trevor replied.

Chapter Text

It took Shauna about an hour and a half to get through the Gym.

The young Trainer skipped out of the Gym with a Bulbasaur on her heels and a small, orange-and-gray bird on her shoulder. “Guys! Guys! I got it on my first try!”

“Nice!” Tierno bounced from the bench he, Trevor, and Crystal had found.

“How was it?” Trevor looked up from the little mock battle Pichu and Frieda were having near their feet. The two Pokémon were chasing each other and tackling each other, but without too much force.

“It was really cool – Viola’s got this whole spiderweb puzzle set up in her Gym, and you have to walk on the thicker strands in order to get to where you want to go! You have to walk past her Trainers in order to get to her, but I think at least one was skippable?” Shauna tilted her head in thought, then shrugged. “Do you have any paper? Maybe drawing out the puzzle will help me remember a little better.”

Trevor reached into his dark green backpack and handed over a notebook and pen.

Shauna sat down on the ground and opened the notebook to a blank page. “Okay, so it’s a spiderweb, but some of the strands are thicker than others. None of it is sticky, so it’s not going to slow you down. That’s not the point of the puzzle.”

Trevor leaned forward while Frieda and Pichu stopped their game. “Huh. So, it’s like a maze, except we aren’t walled in.”

“Yup! Oh – and you should be careful of her Pokémon. Her Surskit and Vivillion are no joke, especially because they’ve got this move called Infestation.”

“Oh, I know what that move is.” Sawyer stretched. Crystal could feel his little feet moving as he shifted on her leg. “You infest the other Pokémon with a lot of Bug-Type energy, and they take damage.”

“Hm.” Crystal nodded. “Do you know it?”

“Not yet, but Mama said I could learn it when I evolved.”

“That sounds like it could be trouble,” Trevor said with a frown. “What does the move do, Shauna?”

“It hurt poor Falks after every move he took – and even when I gave him a potion instead of telling him to attack!” Shauna looked at the bird on her shoulder, worried. “It went away when we beat her Pokémon, but…it was scary while it lasted.”

Tierno shuddered. “Oh, that’s a problem. Sounds like I’m gonna need to train a little more, just in case.”

“And she’s not taking on any more challengers today, right?” Trevor asked.

Shauna shook her head. “She said she could take another one of us this afternoon if we wanted, but that’d be it for challenging people who didn’t have any badges.”

“Really?” Tierno blinked in surprise. “So then, uh…Trevor, do you want to take her on next?”

Trevor frowned. “I don’t know…maybe. If she has a Surskit and a Vivillion, then Pichu and I should be fine, because one of them is part Water-Type, and the other one is probably part-Flying. I won’t know unless I fight it, though.”

“I’d be good against Bug-Types,” Frieda said. “They don’t like my fire very much.”

“No, we don’t,” Sawyer agreed.

“Well, if you wanna give it a go, Trevs, I’m not gonna stop you,” Tierno said. “I’m gonna go train with Salsa for a bit around here.”

“Sounds good.” Trevor nodded.

“So, should we go find someplace for lunch before you go train?” Shauna asked. She looked over at Crystal, only for her eyes to widen as she quickly looked away.

Crystal frowned and tilted her head at Shauna in confusion.

“That sounds like a good idea, actually!” Tierno looked at Crystal. “Do you know of any good places to eat around here?”

“Well, there’s always the Pokémon Center’s food court,” Crystal offered. “That’s always free. I haven’t really looked around to see if there’s anything else, though.”

“We probably need to go back to the Pokémon Center, anyway,” Trevor pointed out. “Shauna’s team probably needs to be looked over after her match.”

Shauna looked like she was about to protest, but then she paused and looked at Falks before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. And it is almost lunchtime.”

“I could do with some food,” said the Bulbasaur next to her. The Pokémon hadn’t taken her eyes off Crystal since they’d stepped out of the Gym, but this was the first time she’d spoken up.

“Sounds good to me.” Tierno rose from the bench with a grunt. “Come on; let’s go.”

Shauna frowned. “Ah, but I wanted to try one of the cafés.”

“We can try them later,” Trevor suggested. “And I don’t think they will let us keep our Pokémon out.”

Pichu frowned. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound nice.”

Samuel, sitting in the small garden behind the bench, huffed. “If they won’t let me into a café, I’ll just make a snack of the flowers that are nearby. That’d probably be a better snack than anything they’d try to serve me.”

Richie started nodding in agreement, then did a double-take. “The flowers? Really?”

“The nectar tastes sweet,” Sawyer spoke up. “The flowers won’t mind.”

Crystal smiled and shook her head at them, then picked Sawyer up and put him on her shoulder. Shauna and Trevor rose to their feet, while Samuel and Richie stepped out from the flowers to join them on the sidewalk.

Shauna immediately turned to look at Crystal. “So, is it true that you can understand Pokémon?”

Crystal blinked at the question. “Um…yeah?”

“That is so cool. I wish I could understand my Pokémon. Sometimes it feels like we might be getting somewhere, but then…” Shauna shrugged and sighed. “This is one puzzle I’m not gonna be able to solve for a while, I guess.”

Esmeralda moved over to Shauna and circled around her, getting the girl’s attention. “It is a puzzle you should continue to tackle, young lady. Learning to understand the hearts of Pokémon simply takes time, and you may find that you understand some Pokémon more easily than others. Those of us who are Psychic would be among the easiest because of our ability with telepathy, but that does not mean you should form a team of solely Psychics.”

Shauna almost tripped when she heard Esmeralda’s voice in her head, but she regained her balance as they arrived at the Pokémon Center. “Do you think so? While I’d like to get a Psychic-Type, too, I want to be able to know what my starter is saying whenever she says something.”

“We’re working on it,” Bulbasaur said encouragingly.

“I know some Trainers who get really good at reading their Pokémon after some time traveling and training with them,” Crystal said. “Figuring out what they’re thinking by how they’re acting is a good start, if you don’t think you can learn what your team is saying right away. I have a feeling that you’ll get there, though, if you’re willing to put a lot of effort into it.”

Trevor and Tierno stepped into the Pokémon Center ahead of Crystal and her team, and Shauna and hers.

Samuel moved to follow them. “I am definitely getting that fruit!”

“Hey, wait up!” Richie quickly followed after him.

Crystal laughed at the two of them. “Come on. Samuel’s probably going to eat all the fruit they have set out if we don’t get to some of it first.”

“Is that what he was yelling about?” Shauna asked. “I thought Grass-Types only ate sunlight.”

“Not all the time,” Esmeralda said. She moved to follow after them, Frieda at her heels. “Samuel is quite fond of fertilizer, which is made from overripe and decaying plants, and he will also eat fresh fruit when given the opportunity.”

“Huh.” Shauna blinked. “I guess I should’ve remembered that they do things like that.” She looked down at her Bulbasaur. “What do you think, Betty? Do you want to do that this morning instead of plain old Pokémon food?”

The Bulbasaur nodded.

“Okay! Sounds good. Let’s go get some, then!”

Crystal watched Shauna moved ahead with her own Pokémon, then followed with Sawyer still sitting on her shoulder.

“Are you going to let the Flabebe out?” Sawyer asked as they reached the counter of free food. “She might be hungry, too.”

“I’ll have to see if she wants to come out,” Crystal said. “I would like to make sure she eats something, too.”

Crystal tapped Lily’s PokeBall, intending to get her out, but the button didn’t respond. It seemed as though there was something resisting it from the inside.

Crystal frowned. She unclipped the PokeBall from her belt and held it up so that she could look through the translucent red upper half. “Lily?”

The Flabebe was sitting on the other side of the ball, arms curled around her chest in a sulk.

“Come on, Lily. We’re in the Santalune Pokémon Center, and you should really eat something. Please?”

Lily glared back at Crystal, then sighed heavily and shifted in the PokeBall.

Crystal had to pull the PokeBall away from her face quickly in order to avoid getting hit in the face by the small Fairy-Type.

“Fine,” Lily said. “But I won’t hang out with you outside the Pokémon Center.” She promptly went and dropped herself into the nearest vase of flowers, which happened to be at a table near the buffet of food.

Crystal frowned after the Flabebe, then sighed and shook her head.

“Why’d you catch her?” Sawyer asked as Crystal walked over to the buffet. Esmeralda was sitting near the counter, a tray hovering over her head as she talked with a nearby Chansey about Pokémon food. “She doesn’t seem very nice.”

“She wanted to come with us, and I said I’d be willing to give it a try,” Crystal replied. “Something tells me she’s not going to be traveling with us forever, though. She seems to just want to get away from Santalune for some reason.” She frowned. “I wonder if it has something to do with Serena. She did say something about Serena when we caught her yesterday.”

“Hm.” Sawyer tilted his head a Crystal picked up a tray. “If Serena’s nice and Lily wants to get away, maybe she thinks Serena’s being too nice for her. Or is there something else going on?”

“I wouldn’t call Serena nice, from what I remember,” Richie said as he walked past. His try was piled high with berries and local fruits that Crystal only half-recognized. “She didn’t like Crystal very much when we met her in Hoenn.”

Crystal’s ears drooped slightly at the memory. “Yeah…that is true. I can’t help but wonder what happened, and if Serena could’ve been different from what she is now.”

“She used to be a lot sweeter.” Tierno walked by, munching on what looked like a small cake with strawberries embedded in the top. “Her mom’s got a house in Vaniville to the south of here, and Serena used to hang out there a lot. It’s where the rest of us grew up, too.” He sat down at the table Lily happened to be at.

A squat, blue Pokémon with a large leaf on top – a Lotad – waddled after him, balancing a tray on his head while a red-furred monkey Pokémon followed after, carrying a bowl of Pokémon food.

“Yeah,” Trevor said from further up the buffet counter. He was at the deserts, even as Crystal was only starting to work her way past the options for a person’s main course. “Serena’s and Xavier’s family have famous Pokémon jockey racers all over the place – their mom used to be one, but she retired a while back. If you want to see where Serena spent her summers, the family Rhyhorn is probably still sleeping in their front yard.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Crystal replied.

It didn’t take Crystal long to work her way through the buffet. She grabbed a sandwich for herself and a few fruits, as well as a few large lettuce leaves at Sawyer’s request. When she got to the table Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor had taken for their lunch, their Pokémon teams had taken a couple nearby tables for the space.

Lily, still hiding in the vase, gave the four Trainers a somewhat grumpy look as Crystal sat down. “The longer we stay, the more likely it is that Serena’s gonna come in here. I may want to get stronger to teach her a thing or two, but I’m not that intent on challenging her right now.”

Oh, so that’s what the problem was.

Crystal frowned as Sawyer crawled down her arm to reach his lunch. “Lily doesn’t seem to like the idea of staying around to see Serena. Is…she’s doing okay, right? After last year?”

Shauna sighed. “Serena…she’s definitely different now. Thinking about it now, it…kinda bothers me, that she told us she wouldn’t hang out with us unless we competed in the Gym challenge first. I mean, they’re great puzzles and I was planning on seeing the inside of them anyway, but….”

“Being strong shouldn’t be a prerequisite for being a friend,” Trevor agreed, nodding.

“It’s a stupid idea,” his Pichu said from a nearby table.

“Yeah!” Frieda piped up in agreement. “Being a friend makes you strong!” She slammed a paw into the plastic chair she stood on.

Crystal smiled at her Fennekin, then looked over at the Trainers. “So, you’re still planning on going through the Gym challenge despite that?”

“Like I said, I want to see the puzzles,” Shauna said. “I don’t know if the Elite Four have any puzzles set up for when you get to them, though. That could be cool, but I’m fine with just going through the Gyms. Being a Champion sounds like it could be a lot of work.”

“I’d like to put together my own Pokémon database,” Trevor said. “I know Pokémon battles can’t be predicted with numbers, but it never hurts to be prepared for everything. Taking on the League will help me with my research, but it’s not entirely required. I want Professor Sycamore to know I can handle Pokémon before I try to get an internship with him, though. Having experience with different Types of different strengths will help with that.”

“And if he doesn’t have any open spots, I could probably help get you out to Kanto, Jhoto, or Hoenn,” Crystal said. “I know the lead professors in those regions, and I don’t think they’d be against having an intern for a little while.”

Trevor’s expression brightened. “I’d like that. I’ve heard that Professor Oak has the most comprehensive database on Pokémon; if he wants to take someone on and teach them his techniques, I’d jump at the chance if I could.”

“I’d love to see you dance the day he says yes,” Tierno said with a grin. It got him an affronted look from Trevor and a laugh from Shauna.

“Tierno, why do you want to do the Gym challenge?” Crystal asked. “Do you have anything in mind?”

Tierno frowned at the question. “Well, I want to be able to find Pokémon who want to dance. Some Pokémon like that are stronger than the ones we find around here, and I want to prove that I can handle strong Pokémon like that. Gym Badges are supposed to be a proof of that strength, so if I at least go for some of them, that’ll be a big help towards my plans for a Pokémon dance team. I don’t think I’ll go the whole way, though. Battling doesn’t groove with me the way it does for other people.”

“May’s like that.” Crystal nodded. “She’s a Coordinator who does Contests in Hoenn. She’s gotten really good at them, too. The only reason she wants to challenge me for my title as Champion is because she wants to go through the Gyms and see if she can make the battles look as beautiful as her contest challenges.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a challenge at all,” Shauna remarked. “Pokémon are always beautiful to me.”

“I think Contests have a lot involved in them, though.” Tierno tapped his chin in thought. “I remember that Sinnoh’s contests have their contestants dance while they’re showing off for the judges. Maybe I’ll go there with my dance team after I’ve got one put together, and we’ll see about competing. It could be fun.”

Samuel shuddered, having overheard the conversation from a table over. “I am not one for Contests.”

“Me, neither,” Richie agreed. He elbowed the Breloom. “Moving and using abilities at the same time sounds like a useful ability, though. You could dodge around and punch someone in the face at the same time.”

“Same to you and those flashy blades of yours.”

“I’ve seen the contests in Hoenn,” Crystal said, “but I haven’t seen any Sinnoh ones yet. Maybe I should go there next and see what kinds of things they do differently.”

“And I could go with you!” Tierno said brightly. “And your friend May, too! Oh, I bet the contest halls are fun places!”

Crystal laughed. “The ones in Hoenn are full of people dressing and grooming their Pokémon; I bet that the ones in Sinnoh have dance studios, too. And PokeBlock makers – they’re the snacks that people make to help with contests.”

Lily started perking up in the flowers. “What are the snacks made of?”

“I think May said the PokeBlocks are made from berries, plus a couple other ingredients depending on the texture and flavor you want them to be. Humans and people like me can eat them, too.”

Lily tilted her head while Tierno’s expression brightened. It looked like the Flabebe was about to say something, but then her eyes widened and she and her flower vanished into the bouquet inside the vase.

Crystal frowned at the Flabebe’s movement. She was about to ask what was going on when she heard someone clear her throat behind them.

“What are you doing here, Mew Girl?”

Crystal felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Serena!” Shauna exclaimed. Her eyes were wide, but not with excitement. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in the area,” replied the girl behind Crystal.

Crystal turned in her seat to look up at the girl who’d snuck up on her.

Serena stood with a straight back, looking down her nose at Crystal as Crystal met her gaze. Serena’s eyes glimmered with a strange, pink energy that Crystal couldn’t identify, and it seemed to pop against the deep red color of the giant flower she was carrying over one shoulder. Her dress was a pink-red gradient that shimmered with sewn-in sparkles, easily catching a person’s eye.

Serena turned her gaze away from Crystal, putting her focus on Shauna. “I wasn’t expecting to see her here. Or that you chose to spend time with her.”

“Why not?” Shauna replied. “She’s a Trainer, and she knows how to talk to Pokémon.”

“I know how to talk to Pokémon,” Serena said.

“You can talk to Pokémon,” Trevor said, “but your advice hasn’t sounded as useful as what Crystal has provided. We can’t come to you every time we want a translator who is willing to translate for a favor.”

Tierno nodded in agreement while Serena’s expression twitched.

Crystal’s tail curled around the back of the chair she was sitting in. She could hear Richie and Samuel muttering something nearby.

“They are prepared to do anything, if you say the word,” Esmeralda conveyed privately.

“Well, I don’t stop you if you’re intent on listening to the Mew girl,” Serena said.

“I have a name,” Crystal said.

Serena ignored her, keeping her gaze on the other three.

“The more you put her down like that, the less I want to be around you,” Shauna said. “I’m sorry, Serena, really, I am, but….”

Serena’s expression shifted again, but she still refused to look at Crystal.

“If you keep making demands like you have, you’re not someone I want to be friends with,” Shauna said. She rose from her seat. “Whatever I decide to do, I’m going to do because I want to. Not because you want us to prove to you that we’re strong or whatever. That’s not how you prove friendships.”

She turned and walked away from the table, dropping off her tray in a basket near a garbage bin. When she came back, Betty and Falks were already moving away from the table their teams had sat around.

“Let’s go,” Betty said. “The mood’s gone sour. I don’t like it.”

Shauna simply nodded, then stepped out the door.

“I’m going to go make sure she’s okay.” Tierno rose to his feet. “Samba, Salsa?”

“Ready to rumble when you are, boss!” Salsa replied with a loose salute. The Fire-Type monkey hopped off the table.

Samba shook himself out and moved out from under Samuel’s chair. “Good to go.”

Tierno nodded, then looked over at Crystal. “I’m gonna go see if Shauna can help us train for a bit. Maybe it’ll help her take her mind off things.”

Crystal nodded. “Good luck on your challenge to Viola, when you do it.”

Tierno smiled a little. “Thanks.”

As Tierno turned and walked off, Serena turned her attention to Crystal, her eyes sparking in a glare.

“What did you do?” Serena demanded. “They were just fine with being my friends before.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Crystal said. “I just talked to them. It sounds like you’re doing something to push them away, though.”

“Maybe more than that,” Samuel muttered. The table the Pokémon had taken over was starting to look more empty, since only Richie, Samuel, Esmeralda, Frieda, and Pichu were sitting at it.

Serena turned her head sharply to glare at Samuel. The Breloom frowned back, not the least bit cowed. She huffed and turned her attention back to Crystal and Trevor. “What I do with my friends is none of your business, since they’re not your friends.”

“Hey.” Trevor frowned. “We can make friends with whoever we want. You never expressed this kind of problem before.”

“If I may.” Esmeralda walked over, away from the Pokémon table and towards Trevor, Sawyer, and Crystal. Serena looked down sharply at the Espeon, startled. “Hello. I am Esmeralda. I am Crystal’s third team member. You are Serena, one of the Trainers who was pulled into Team Magnus against her will, correct?”

Serena blinked rapidly, then quickly recovered herself. “And if I am?”

“Are you afraid of your friends pushing you away just because you are part-Pokémon? Or do you have something else in mind, with asking your friends to take the Gym challenge in order to keep their friendship with you?”

Serena’s eyes widened at the Espeon’s question. Crystal’s ears flicked forward while Trevor’s eyebrows shot up.

“You – what are you –” Serena stumbled over her own words. “What leads you to that conclusion?”

“Merely speculation. After all, you are once again free of Team Magnus, and I doubt that you want to end up with an organization again.” Esmeralda’s tail flicked back and forth. “Making sure that your friends can not only defend themselves, but defend you as needed, is important. At the same time, being honest with your friends is equally important. You shouldn’t lean into your Fairy-Type tendencies as much as you are. Being a trickster won’t help you keep your friends as you are currently using it.”

Crystal watched Serena’s expression shift and change as Esmeralda spoke. Her expression wavered, showing cracks that Crystal hadn’t noticed before.

“Fairy-Types can be just as nice as they are tricksters,” Richie said. “Ralts and Kirlia are known to be nice.”

Serena’s expression suddenly turned into a wall. She shook her head, then turned and walked away without a word.

Trevor sighed. “I didn’t think that was what was going through her head. How did you pick up on that?”

“Serena has not learned how to hide her emotions from those who know what to look for,” Esmeralda replied. “Either she will learn in time, or she will be forced to confront her own emotions. I thought it would be better to bring it to light first.”

Trevor nodded. “I can see that. It was kind of mean to do that in front of us too, though.”

“It needed to be done. And it informed you of what is going on in her mind.”

Trevor nodded. “I’ll talk to Shauna about it before I go challenge Viola. Maybe she’d be up to solving that puzzle.” He looked over at Crystal. “Are you still planning on training with us?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “I don’t see why I can’t.”

Chapter Text

Crystal crouched and watched as Sawyer’s glowing form shifted and changed, growing taller and broader. She smiled widely as the light scattered into small sparks. “Congrats, Sawyer! You’ve evolved!”

Sawyer shook himself out and looked down. He was bigger than his Scatterbug form, which meant that he wasn’t going to be riding on Crystal’s shoulder anymore, and his body from the head down was hidden in some kind of white fluff. “Huh. Well, this happened faster than I was expecting.”

“He’s so cute!” Shauna dropped to her knees to give Sawyer a closer look. “So, this is what Scatterbug evolve into. What’s it called?”

“He’s a Spewpa,” Trevor called over. He was sitting on a bench nearby, Pichu napping next to him. The Pokémon was exhausted after their attempt against Viola’s Gym. “They’re the second stage for Scatterbug.”

“Spewpa.” Crystal frowned. “That sounds like a funny name.”

Sawyer shook himself out, scattering small scales of something into the grass around him. “It’s just the human name for us. Mama said we used to be called something different, but they forgot that a long time ago.”

“Huh.” Crystal tilted her head, ears twitching in thought. “I wonder what people used to call your middle stage.” She reached for her backpack behind her and pulled out a deep green and black, case-shaped device, with a pink Mew silhouette on the top. She opened the device, revealing two screens and a few buttons alongside the bottom screen.

A few button pushes later, and the device showed Sawyer’s form on the top screen, and a screen of information on the bottom.

“Spewpa, the Scatterdust Pokémon. It lives hidden within thickest shadows. When predators attack, it quickly bristles the fur covering its body in an effort to threaten them, and spews powder to defend itself. If a bird Pokémon attacks regardless, their beaks can’t begin to scratch its stalwart body. This Pokémon is a pure Bug-Type.”

Crystal looked up from her PokeDex as Sawyer shook himself out again.

“This feels really weird,” Sawyer said. His voice sounded muffled, since it was buried under the fur covering his body. “I’ve lost my antenna. This is strange.”

“Not as weird as Richie growing a skirt,” Samuel called over. Richie immediately elbowed him in the gut.

Esmeralda laughed from where she was lounging nearby, watching Frieda as she napped off some earlier training.

“Evolving does cause you to change and lose some things from before, and gain other things,” Crystal said. “You didn’t have all this fur before.”

“I guess.” Sawyer frowned. “I didn’t think that it would feel like this, though.” He shook himself out again. “I’m gonna take a break from fighting for a bit. I wanna get used to moving around like this, first.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Crystal nodded. She looked over at where Tierno was working with Samba and Salsa, dancing with the two Pokémon and trying to lead them in some kind of routine. She looked back over at Trevor and Pichu again. “You guys doing okay after your match?”

“Yeah,” Trevor called back. “I just need to get Pichu’s confidence back up. That Vivillon of hers gave us a lot more trouble than I was expecting.” He looked down at his sleeping Pokémon and sighed. “I might need to catch another Pokémon, too, but I don’t want to make him feel like I don’t trust him anymore.”

“So long as you explain it to him, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Shauna rose to her feet and walked over. “Having a second Pokémon to rely on and be a friend never hurts.”

Betty nodded in agreement as she waddled after Shauna. Falks the Fletching sat on the Bulbasaur’s head, looking pleased that he was able to ride rather than fly around. “It never hurts to have more friends.”

Trevor blinked at Shauna, then looked at her two-Pokémon team, then at Crystal’s. “…I guess I should’ve thought of that.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’ll make sure Pichu knows he’s not at fault for anything that happened in there today. And that we should go make another friend who can help us against the Gym.”

“Fletchling’s a good choice,” Crystal said. “I don’t know how good Salsa will be in there, but I am familiar with Fletching and its later evolutions. A friend of mine moved from Kalos to Hoenn with his brother, and he has a Talonflame on his team.”

“Really?” Shauna looked surprised. “Who is it?”

“Maxie and his brother, Archie.” When Crystal saw the confused frown that crossed Shauna’s face, she added, “Their dad is a Flying-Type trainer, and I remember Archie saying once that their mom was a breeder before she passed away.”

“I don’t think they ever lived in this part of Kalos,” Trevor said with a frown. “Maybe they lived in a different part of the region?”

“Maybe. Kalos does seem to be pretty big.” Crystal rose to her feet while Sawyer slowly made his way over to the bench Trevor and Pichu were sitting on.

“It is big,” Shauna agreed. “My mom once said it’s like we have three regions in one! It’s great!”

“It sounds like a lot of walking,” Samuel replied.

“And a lot of challengers,” Richie said. “We could get into a lot of fights with Trainers.”

“Hm.” Samuel inclined his head. “That does sound kinda fun. So long as I don’t have to deal with any Poison-Types.”

“You have Poison Heal.”

“Doesn’t mean I like the feel of it.”

“What are they talking about?” Shauna asked.

Crystal looked over at the two Pokémon. “Samuel doesn’t seem to like the idea of us traveling around a lot, but Richie pointed out that we could challenge a lot of people. Samuel’s not keen on anyone with Poison-Types, though, despite his ability.”

“Why’s that?” Shauna tilted her head.

“Well….” Crystal hesitated. Something was itching at the back of her mind, and she didn’t like the feel of it. She turned her focus towards Shauna’s curiosity and Tierno’s bouncing energy. “When Team Magnus was causing trouble in Hoenn, a part of the team decided to poison Petalburg Woods, where Samuel lived before he joined my team. Samuel has the Poison Heal ability as a result, and my friend Brendan’s Swellow has health problems, too.”

“Oh.” Shauna winced. “That sounds terrible.”

“It was.” Samuel nodded.

Crystal nodded while Trevor looked over, frowning. “Lauriana was the leader of the Poison-Type group that did it. She’s like Serena in that she’s part Pokémon, but she’s part Crobat, and…as far as I know, she was raised by people in Team Magnus. Her and the half-Salamence guy, Ryu. And Lauriana wasn’t allowed to return to society like the others were, because they encouraged her to lean more into a toxic personality. Which isn’t what Crobat are known for, which is strange.”

Shauna and Trevor frowned.

“That sounds really awful,” Shauna said. “Why would they do something like that?”

Crystal shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. But Ryu apparently had an honorable personality, so he’s just being watched by the Rangers to make sure that he doesn’t do anything to catch them by surprise. And everyone else went home to their families with the hopes that they’d be able to adjust back to normal. I don’t know how well everyone is doing, because I’m not an adult and it’s not really my business, but May and Brendan said Ruby and Sapphire are doing okay, and Leaf is getting help from Erika to control her abilities, and everyone else in Kanto and Jhoto seem to be fine.”

“It isn’t our responsibility to act as caretakers for them,” Esmeralda said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t try to be friends with them, though.”

Crystal nodded in agreement, as did Shauna.

“That’s right; you are still a kid like us,” Shauna said. “Even if you do look older.”

“I think that’s also why Xavier asked us to try to keep being friends with Serena,” Trevor said. “Despite any changes that could’ve happened to her.”

Pichu stirred next to him, waking up from his nap. The little electric mouse yawned as Sawyer settled under the bench, having finally reached his destination.

Shauna frowned at that. “Now I feel kinda bad for talking to her like I did. She wasn’t really acting like our friend, but…”

“I believe she needed it,” Esmeralda said. Frieda woke up next to her and yawned, stretching, before looking around.

“Where’d Sawyer go?” the Fennekin asked.

Crystal pointed towards the Spewpa under Trevor’s bench. “He evolved while you were sleeping. Be careful, though – it looks like he’s a bit tired from changing his shape.”

“Oh!” Frieda looked over, ears perked up. “Okay!” She walked over to where the Bug-Type was sitting and lay down next to him.

“Did she really need it, though?” Shauna frowned at Esmeralda. “I mean…she’s been through a lot, right?”

“And that can sometimes cause changes in a person,” Esmeralda replied. “Kaz, my Alakazam teammate, used to speak often of how Blue and Red often acted around each other. Blue used to be an arrogant Trainer who thought he knew better about training Pokémon just because his grandfather is Professor Oak. Blue had to learn that this knowledge would not get him everything he wanted.”

Shauna frowned, then nodded a little. “Yeah, okay, I guess. But…still…”

The itching feeling started to come back to the back of Crystal’s mind. She frowned. If that was going to be there, she was going to have to figure out what it was and where it was coming from.

On a whim, she inhaled, closed her eyes, and reached out with her Aura Sight.

Immediately, the landscape was awash with blues of various shades and strengths. She could see every tree, every blade of grass, and every Pokémon watching them from their hiding places.

And one figure, a mix of Pokémon and human, swirling together so closely that it was hard to separate the two, standing at the edge of the path with a flower made of herself on her shoulder.

Crystal opened her eyes, letting her aura sight fade. “Something tells me you guys just have to be patient. Do what you want to do, and don’t let her push you around. And don’t let her claim your journey was all her doing. She may have tried to push you, but you guys made the first step.”

Shauna frowned at the question, then nodded. “I…yeah. That makes sense. I don’t like it, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

Crystal nodded.

“It’s easier said than done,” Trevor remarked. “But we can at least try.” He looked over at Tierno as he tripped over himself with a yelp. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to figure something out.”

Crystal smiled slightly. She felt the itching at the back of her mind again, and mentally grabbed it and considered it.

It definitely came from where Serena was standing. She wasn’t happy with Crystal, but at the same time, there was something else. Something that felt like doubt.

Crystal hoped that it would help lead her in the right direction.

----

The next morning, Crystal told Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna good bye and good luck, made sure they had her number if they needed her advice or just someone to talk to, and started the walk back to Lumiose City.

“Why didn’t we stay?” Frieda asked, bounding around Crystal’s feet. “Shauna’s nice!”

“I think that Serena doesn’t like me, and she doesn’t want me to stay around for too much longer,” Crystal explained. “And I think she needs some time to think. I’ve given Shauna and the rest a lot to think about, too. I just hope they won’t do anything terrible to each other as a result.”

“Oh.” Frieda frowned, tilting her head. “But…you couldn’t stay to see what they thought?”

“I don’t think I need to. Shauna knows Serena better than I do – the real Serena. I’m confident Shauna and her friends will figure things out.”

The path back to Lumiose was familiar and just as flower-filled as Santalune, if not moreso. The trainers in the area weren’t interested in taking Crystal or her team on in any matches like they had before, but the Pokémon in the area were no less interested.

A pair of green, bulb-shaped Pokémon lunged from the flowers with twin cries, trying to catch Frieda by surprise with an attempted attack. “Yaaaaaa!”

Frieda yelped in surprise, moving back a couple steps before bracing herself and running forward. Fire sparked from her paws and quickly covered her form in a Flame Charge right as she collided with the two Grass-Types.

The two Budew didn’t know what hit them. The scattering flames and the collision with the Fennekin sent them rolling back into the flowers.

“Don’t jump me like that!” Frieda yelled after them. “That’s not a nice way to start a battle!” She stomped a paw on the ground in frustration.

“They’re babies, Frieda,” Esmeralda pointed out. “They likely didn’t know any better.”

“Yeah, but still!” Frieda started to catch up with Crystal, who’d gone a few steps ahead, then stopped and blinked slowly. “Hey…I feel kinda…”

The bright flash of light from the little Pokémon caught Crystal and the rest of the team by surprise.

“She’s evolving now?” Richie looked surprised. “It took me longer than this to evolve!”

“I think Professor Oak said the starters tend to grow faster than other Pokémon,” Crystal said as she watched Frieda transform. Suddenly, the little four-legged Pokémon was standing on her two hind legs, and her ears were larger.

When the light scattered into tiny embers, Frieda looked around in confusion. “Did…everything just get smaller?” She took a couple steps forward, but stumbled.

Richie caught Frieda before she could hit the ground. “Take it easy. You’re a lot bigger now.”

Frieda leaned against Richie as he helped her stand upright. “Oh, this is weird. Is this what walking on two paws feels like? I don’t know if I like it.” Her snout wrinkled into a frown.

“You get used to it,” Samuel replied. Esmeralda’s tail smacked him in a leg.

Crystal walked over, offering a hand to Frieda as Richie gently nudged her away from him. “I was expecting you to evolve, Frieda, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this drastic. Come on, I can help you figure out how to walk like this. You’re just putting one paw in front of the other, and you’re using your tail for balance. Humans can walk around without needing a tail, but having one is a nice bonus for you and me.”

Frieda blinked in surprise, then smiled a little and nodded.

“If she’s this tall when she’s like this, she’s gonna be taller than me when she evolves again,” Samuel complained.

Richie snorted. “You’re taller than Esmeralda.”

“She has to walk around on four feet, not two! It’s different!”

Crystal laughed while Frieda grinned, her snout splitting down the middle almost perfectly with more sharp teeth than what she’d had before.

“The world’s definitely different from this high up,” Frieda said. She looked down at her feet, carefully moving one in front of the other while Crystal held one of her paws to help her balance. “How long before I get used to it?”

“I think that depends on you,” Crystal said. “We’ll be here every step of the way, but eventually you’re going to have to start moving on your own.”

Frieda nodded back. “Yeah, okay. Can we take it slow back to Lumiose, though?”

“Sure. I don’t have a problem with that. We could probably let Sawyer out if we’re going slow, too.”

“Yes, please! I wanna see the look on his face!”

-----

Black hated his little purple-furred Liepard ears. His adopted mom thought they looked cute, even if she didn’t say it out loud, and he knew his adopted sister White thought the same thing. At least she could make her Glaceon ears look like pig-tails; he had to cut holes in all his hats if he wanted to be able to hear clearly.

At least, with how loudly this guy had been talking, he didn’t need to cut holes in his hat to hear.

Black frowned at the procession of people dressed in chain mail as they walked away from the town square. They looked like people from Galar’s history. Or Kalos. One of the people, a man with green hair and the most ridiculous set of eye-covered robes Black had ever seen, was doing his best to not look smug as he walked away.

Black knew to look for that kind of thing – after what happened last year, especially.

“Liberate Pokémon?” one of the people in the crowd around him asked. “What are they even talking about?”

“Is that something that’s even possible?” another person behind him muttered. “We need Pokémon to be able to do things. We can’t just let them go.”

The small crowd started to disperse, talking with each other about the speech they’d just heard and if this Ghestis of Team Plasma was right. Black watched them go with narrowed eyes.

The kid next to him pushed his glasses up his nose, frowning. “Let our Pokémon go? Ridiculous. That would completely tear apart society, and there are some Pokémon that want to stay with humans no matter what. It’s proven that they’re stronger when they’re with Trainers, after all.”

The green, lizard-like Pokémon on his shoulder hummed in agreement.

“At least we’re in agreement on that, Cheren,” Black said.

The red and black pig Pokémon near Black’s feet snorted in agreement. “Yeah. I like hanging out with you, not with any of those wild ones. Besides, how would they be able to separate you from yourself?”

White held back a laugh at the Tepig’s remark.

A startled noise came from somewhere nearby. Black’s ears flicked under his hat as his sister’s ears swayed with a slight turn of her head.

The blue and white Pokémon with the shell on her chest looked up at White from where she was held in the Trainer’s arms. “What is it?”

“I think someone is staring,” White remarked. Her voice was smooth and calm, but not the same cold she had been in Hoenn. Time at home had certainly done some good for her. Everyone around them seemed to think it was a good thing.

Black followed her gaze and noticed the one person still standing where the small crowd had been a moment ago. White shirt, tan pants, a black and white hat on his head, and a long, green-haired ponytail.

Green hair that was a lot like the green hair that Ghestis guy had, come to think of it…..

“What was that your Pokémon said just now?” the teenage boy asked quickly. It was almost at the beat of a Pokémon’s speech, which piqued Black’s interest.

Cheren hold up a hand. “Slow down, I can barely understand you.”

“Ash likes spending more time with us humans than with wild Pokémon,” Black said. Cheren looked at him sharply while the Tepig at Black’s feet nodded proudly. “Why?” His eyes narrowed.

The green-haired young man looked startled. “What – you – you can understand your Pokémon?”

“Yeah? Why? Who are you supposed to be, anyway?”

“He’s definitely too old to be like us,” White remarked. “Unless Charon’s done…something else.”

Cheren looked at both of them, startled. “You – what?”

“Relax, I’m pretty sure Charon would’ve pulled him in if he’d known about this guy.” Black waved off Cheren’s wide-eyed look.

“Unless there was someone else,” said the Snivy on Cheren’s shoulder.

Black snorted. “Doubt it.”

The young man blinked rapidly. “I – uh –” He shook his head and breathed to regain his composure. “My name is N. I’m…I don’t know how it is you all know how to understand Pokémon, since most people I’ve run into don’t….” He trailed off when he looked at White. He swallowed.

White’s long, light blue ears moved slightly. She frowned at him, her normally calm, neutral face immediately turning into caution and warning. “What?”

“…are you a Zorua?” N asked carefully, glancing at Cheren and Black.

“She’s a Glaceon!” the Oshawott in White’s arms said. “Isn’t that cool?”

White hummed while N paled.

“I wasn’t aware that Glaceon could shape-shift,” N said carefully. His words were starting to slow down a little, but not by much. “I only thought Zorua and Zoroark could disguise themselves as different Pokémon or people.”

Black raised an eyebrow and glanced at White. Well. This was definitely interesting.

“She’s not,” Cheren said. He paused. “You…does the name Team Magnus ring any bells?”

N blinked. “N-no? Why?”

Black and Cheren exchanged looks. Cheren looked up at Black’s hat.

Black frowned at Cheren and shook his head. “I’m not going to—”

His hat was suddenly pulled off his head. “Don’t be such a baby, Black.”

“White!” Black lunged for her, but she danced away, leaving a thin sheet of ice in her wake for him to trip over. He slammed into the ground the instant his foot hit the slippery surface.

When Black got to his feet, he could see N staring at him, wide-eyed. Or, more accurately, at the top of his head.

“What….” N looked at a loss for words.

Cheren sighed heavily. “Come on. Let’s go sit down somewhere. Something tells me this is going to take a while.”

Chapter Text

“The city’s power is out?? Are you all right?!”

Sycamore held up his hands and laughed, but the sound wasn’t all that cheerful. “We’re fine here, I promise. The city has been moving to get backup generators turned on to make sure that everything is functioning. Our section of the city was one of the first ones to get the power back, since we share the district with the hospital and one of the more commonly-used Pokémon Centers.”

Crystal sighed in relief and looked around the main floor of Sycamore’s lab. There were a few people sitting in chairs nearby with worried expressions, but no one seemed to be worse for wear at the moment. “Well, that’s good, but what caused the power to go out? And how long have people been without it?”

“It’s only been a couple days,” Sina replied. She looked over at Dexio as he played with a couple small children with his Eevee in one corner of the lobby. It looked like he was doing his best to keep them distracted. “We’re doing our best to help some of the people in the affected areas, like set up emergency generators and get them supplies. That’s why there’s all these people here – they’re waiting for someone to come by with food they can eat in their homes without needing to store it in their refrigerators or freezers.”

Frieda stayed at Crystal’s side, looking around at the people. “It’s weird that they all look shorter…but I guess that’s just because I’m taller.”

“You should be able to get used to it,” Samuel said.

“I wish I got taller,” Sawyer muttered from below.

“You’ll get there,” Esmeralda assured him. “It’s just something you will need to take time with.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Crystal asked. “This is the kind of thing—”

“It would be, young Champion, but this is not your region,” Sycamore replied gently. “If this was a disaster in Hoenn, you would be expected to assist with solving the problem. However, you are a tourist, and considering your actual age, I doubt that you would be expected to assist the officials in any way.”

Crystal frowned. “Still, though….”

“You could ask Clemont if he needs help,” Sina suggested. “He went north to the badlands this morning, to see if he could find out what was going on with the power plants that are stationed up there. The streets to the north are blocked off, though, so you’ll have to go west and north in order to reach him.”

“Why are the streets blocked off?” Crystal asked. “Does it have something to do with the power outage?”

Sycamore winced. “Well, all the taxi cabs in the city run on electricity, and the Gogoat are options, as well. When the power went out, not only were the taxi cabs unable to run, but the Gogoat were also startled by something and caused a bit of a commotion. As a result, Pokémon aren’t allowed in certain parts of the city until the power can come back online. There are engineers checking the area over in order to find the source.”

Crystal’s ears flicked as she winced. “Oh, no…”

“It could have a bad effect on you as well, whatever it may happen to be,” Sycamore added. “Therefore, it would be safer for you to take the longer route around in order to reach the badlands. It will likely take a few days for you, but if the power still hasn’t returned to Lumiose by the time you reach your destination, then you might be able to help, if you can find Clemont.”

Crystal didn’t like the sound of not being able to help right away, but if there was a chance that she would be affected by something that drove the Gogoat in the city berserk, then she was going to have to live with taking the long way.

Crystal sighed and frowned. “I don’t like it, but I guess that makes sense.”

Richie rested a hand on her shoulder. “We can move fast as soon as Sawyer evolves, too. It’ll help Frieda learn how to run, too, and we can get more training in on the way for them.”

“But you’re probably tired from having walked all the way here from Santalune today,” Sycamore said, pulling Crystal’s attention away from her Gallade. “Why don’t you rest here tonight and go out again tomorrow morning? We do still have a room set aside for you here. It wouldn’t be any trouble on our part.”

Crystal looked around at the people in the lobby. “Are you sure?”

“We’ll be all right,” Sina said. She offered a smile. “This isn’t the first time that we’ve had a power outage, anyway – Lumiose Tower has been struck by lightning during thunderstorms in the past and caused power outages. Clemont and the city’s engineers are usually faster at getting things back to normal, that’s all.”

“Sina is right,” Sycamore agreed. “You can spend some time here tonight, and then head out in the morning. Don’t be afraid to enjoy yourself – please.”

Crystal frowned. She didn’t want to leave them unable to defend themselves, but… “…yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll call when I’m near the badlands so you can tell me if the power’s back, though.”

“An excellent compromise.” Sycamore nodded. “Is there anything that you want to do this afternoon, then?”

Sina’s expression started to brighten, but then she paused, frowned, and snapped her fingers as she muttered something under her breath. Something about her favorite places being shut down because of the power outage.

Crystal frowned. “Well—”

The door to the lab opened. “Professor, the earplugs aren’t keeping the noise out, so I’m—”

Crystal jolted and turned, startled at the familiar-but-not-quite familiar voice.

Standing in the doorway was a teenage boy wearing a dark blue jacket with sleeves that looked like they’d been ravaged along the bottom of the arms, judging by the shimmering brown feathers sticking out. He had a red baseball cap on his head, jeans, and boots that looked like they were built more for the outdoors than the city.

“…bringing these back,” the teenager said, holding out something on one hand.

“Ah, Xavier!” Sycamore moved around Crystal and took the item from Xavier’s hand. “I appreciate you testing that; my apologies that you can’t stay in those areas for very long.”

Xavier blinked, then nodded and let his hand drop. “Yeah. I guess I’m going to have to find a different place to stay if I can’t stay at home. Do you have any extra space?”

“We have one extra room, yes. It won’t be an issue for us to let you stay here until after the power is back.” Sycamore motioned to the elevator, then paused. “Ah, yes – did you know that Crystal was here in Kalos?”

“My brothers did mention they’d seen someone with pink ears.” Xavier stepped into the lab, ignoring the brief stares he was getting from the people who were sitting in the lobby. Crystal noticed a few glances being thrown in her direction, too, but they quickly glanced away when she or other members of her team looked in their direction. “I kinda wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“Same here.” Crystal nodded. “I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to your brothers before, but I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.” She paused. “Other than the power outage.”

 Xavier shrugged one shoulder. “They happened before. The headache from the noise is new, though.”

“And the…the feathers aren’t?” Crystal glanced at Xavier’s arms. “I don’t remember seeing them before.”

“Oh, those?” Xavier looked down and turned his arms, making the feathers catch the light from the lamps in the ceiling. “I kept them hidden before. They’re harder to hide now, but it feels better to let them stay out.”

Crystal nodded, her tail flicking. “I get that.”

Xavier looked like he wanted to say something else, then paused and frowned at Professor Sycamore and Sina. “Do you…mind, if we take our conversation upstairs, professor?”

“Go ahead.” Sycamore stepped aside, giving them a free path to the elevator. “The rooms are up on the 4^th floor. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” Xavier nodded and started for the elevator.

Crystal looked to her team members and tapped her PokeBalls, then started for the elevator after Xavier. Her team took the hint and returned themselves, allowing Crystal and Xavier to fit into the elevator without being cramped.

Crystal hit the button for the floor Sycamore mentioned, then stood back and waited while they rose up. “I was down in Santalune the last couple of days, so I didn’t know the power was out until I got back.”

Xavier hummed. “I see. That does make sense. What did you think?”

“I like the flowers that are everywhere.” Crystal was prepared for the elevator’s somewhat rickety stop this time. “I met Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor, too. They’re challenging Viola’s Gym.” She stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway.

“Really?” Xavier followed after her. “I didn’t think Tierno was interested in that.”

“I don’t think he’s interested in it so much as he is interested in being able to catch stronger Pokémon that might be dance-inclined if he picks up a few.” Crystal looked around. “Let’s see…I think Sycamore said last time that Sina and Dexio have those rooms, and then I borrowed this one when I was last here, so….”

“Did you meet Serena too, then?”

Crystal paused as she was reaching for the last door. She turned around and looked back at Xavier.

The look on his face was cautious, and guarded. Crystal guessed that he had a few things on his mind already.

“I did.” Crystal pushed the door open, revealing a dark room with a bed on one side and a desk in the corner. “She wasn’t happy about my being in Kalos. I think she thought I was stealing her friends from her.”

Xavier sighed heavily.

“I’m…guessing you know something about that?” Crystal looked down at her team’s PokeBalls. “You guys can come out, if you want.”

Richie popped out of his PokeBall immediately. He looked Xavier up and down for a moment, then relaxed and nodded.

Xavier eyed the Gallade for a long moment, then nodded back.

Frieda popped out of her PokeBall a moment later. She took a moment to find her balance before she waved at Xavier. “Hi! I’m Frieda! Are you one of Crystal’s friends?”

Xavier blinked at the question, then looked over towards Richie. “I…I don’t know if I count as a friend to her yet.”

“Well, I hope you’re a friend soon,” Frieda said with a determined nod.

Crystal smiled at Frieda’s encouragement, but that expression faltered as she looked at Xavier. “Is…is there something you wanted to talk about with me?”

Xavier held her gaze for a moment, then looked away. He walked into the dark bedroom and sat down on the bed, leaving Crystal to reach for the light switch as the rest of her team came out of their PokeBalls, Lily included.

Xavier picked at the feathers on his right arm. “Serena isn’t adjusting well to being back here, even after a year. While I’m comfortable being with my brothers and be given time to feel the freedom of the sky, she’s sequestered herself in our vacation house in Vaniville and spends more time in Santalune than anywhere else. I’ve asked Shauna and the others to try and still be friends with her, but I know Shauna’s wanted to meet you for the last year.” He looked up at Crystal. “I can guess your meeting with Serena didn’t go over well.”

Crystal sighed and shook her head while Sawyer settled on top of her feet. The Spewpa didn’t look like he wanted to move for a while. “I ran into Shauna and the others first. I went down to Santalune because I wanted to catch a Scatterbug of my own, and Viola helped me find Sawyer. They showed up a little later in the day, looking to challenge her. Serena managed to win, but Trevor lost his challenge and Tierno decided to wait a day.”

Xavier nodded.

“Serena showed up at lunch wanting to know what they were doing in the Pokémon Center. She tried to ignore me at first, but…well, we’d been talking about her while we’d been eating, and it came out that Serena had said she wanted them to take on the Gym Challenge, like it was something they needed to do in order to keep her friendship. Shauna said to Serena that she didn’t know if they could be friends anymore if she was going to try to make them do things like that. I think it shook her up.”

Xavier frowned at that, then sighed and nodded again. “That sounds about right. I’m sad Shauna had to say that to Serena’s face. They used to be close.”

“I got the feeling that all four of them were.” Crystal leaned against the desk and folded her arms. She glanced at Lily, who was hovering on the back of the desk chair, but the Flabebe wasn’t looking at her.

“And what about you?” Esmeralda sat next to Xavier’s feet, tail swishing slowly. “Transitioning from where you were and back cannot be easy.”

Xavier blinked at the question from the Espeon, then sighed and shook his head. “As nice as it is to have access to the open skies whenever I want…having a family to keep me grounded is nice. I just wish Serena would accept she has the same thing. Black and the others certainly have.”

Crystal jolted slightly. “You’ve been keeping in touch?”

“It was my idea.” Xavier shrugged one shoulder. “Most of the team that I have are Flying-Types; they’ve turned into a mail carrying system for those of us who signed up for it. We’ve been using it more than technology, but that’s mostly because Serena and I don’t have Holo Casters yet.”

“That’s the…this region’s version of a PokeNav or PokeGear, right?” Crystal frowned, remembering the device that Diantha, Trevor, Shauna, and Tierno all had. “Why don’t you have one yet?”

“They’re made by the company Lysandre runs, and either he or someone in his company doesn’t think we should have one.” Xavier frowned. “Something about them ruffles my feathers, anyway, so I’ve been trying to stay away from using anything that Lysandre made.”

“Crystal said she doesn’t like how Lysandre feels, either,” Richie remarked with a frown. He folded his arms, mimicking his Trainer. “There’s something about him that feels off, somehow.”

Xavier nodded. “None of my Pokémon are sure of him, either. The adults all think they’re overreacting, but I think we’re just seeing something they’re missing.”

“Diantha said it’s because we’re part Pokémon,” Crystal said. “And that we’re probably more in-tune with things than other people. I know I am, because I can people up on people’s emotions sometimes.”

Xavier sat up and stopped playing with his feathers.

“I’m not doing it right now, but I can.”

Xavier’s shoulders relaxed. “But you did it to Lysandre.”

“I didn’t need to, but I did.” Crystal ran her hands up and down her arms, frowning as she looked away from Xavier. “He didn’t like me very much. He asked questions about if I wanted to see more people like me running around, and he was very mean about it.”

Xavier winced.

“He also thought if I was going to live for a long time, and was surprised that I could do Mega Evolution with Richie.” She reached up for the necklace that hung from her neck, and what looked like a Mew holding a glittering stone. “I don’t think he liked that, either.”

“If he wants to have a fight with us about it, I can give him one,” Richie said. “It’s not like we’re inexperienced with using it.”

“It’d probably be better if you didn’t, not yet,” Xavier said. “You don’t know what kind of Pokémon he has, and he could be prepared for anything Crystal might try. Your Championship match was broadcast to the world, and people can still find reruns of it. If you want to challenge him, he’ll know your team.”

Crystal frowned.

“But he isn’t doing anything strange right now, so I wouldn’t worry too much. If the Champion knows you’re worried, she’ll look into it. Since she’s the Champion of this region, that’s what she’s supposed to do.” Xavier nodded. “And since you’re a Champion in your own right, she’ll listen.”

“I hope so.” Crystal frowned. “I know I’m not an adult, but sometimes…”

“That’s probably your Pokémon half speaking for you,” Esmeralda remarked. “With every evolution, we are known to mature more quickly than humans. Even those who do not evolve can mature quickly as they gain strength. As you are high enough in levels to challenge most Pokémon on your own and come out on top with ease, I’m not surprised that you would be more mature than other humans your age.”

Xavier frowned. “That’s a thing? We can actually keep track of our levels?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “Do you want me to show you how? I could, but it’s an aura reading thing.”

“Ah.” Xavier’s expression relaxed. “I don’t think I’d be good with that. Unfezants from Unova aren’t exactly known to be able to see aura, or use it.”

“Oh.” Crystal’s face fell.

“You could check for me now, though. I don’t mind.”

Crystal’s expression brightened at the invitation. “Sure! It could give you an idea of what kinds of moves you’re going to learn next.”

At Xavier’s nod, Crystal closed her eyes and focused on her aura sight. The room was immediately colored in shades of blue, much like the route outside Santalune before, but this time her focus was on someone in front of her, not a broad sweep of a search.

Xavier’s aura immediately made itself known, a mix of human and Pokémon, a bright shade that made Crystal think of a clear sky on a good, sunny day, with a breeze that was meant to uplift anyone who was out in the middle of it. The presence was strong, but then Crystal noticed the aura of her own Pokémon nearby – Esmeralda’s deep blue-purple had a shine that was more bright than Xavier’s, and Frieda’s was weaker still.

Crystal opened her eyes as she let her aura sight fade into the background. The blue glow faded from the room. “It looks like you’re somewhere around Level 30. So, you can hold your own against some Trainers, but not all of them.”

Xavier inclined his head, then nodded. “Okay…yeah, that makes sense. I probably hit that recently, too, because my feathers decided they wanted to molt a couple weeks back. They’ve been coming in a lot more shiny than I’m used to seeing them.” He raised an arm, making the feathers reflect the light. “Would it be safe to guess that everyone else is about there, too?”

“If they haven’t had as much time to use their abilities, maybe,” Crystal replied. “If you want to pick up any new moves, too, you should be able to handle a lot.”

“I did pick up Fly in Hoenn last year. I’ll see if I can learn some others while I’m in Lumiose – it’ll help keep my mind off whatever’s happening in the other sections of the city.” Xavier rose to his feet. “I’ll see about getting you in on the network with everyone else, too.”

“You don’t—”

“It’s okay. Really.” Xavier held up a hand, smiling. “We probably should’ve done it when we started the network, but I don’t think any of us were really thinking of you at the time. But if you can do things like what you did just now, it might help us figure out what we can do with ourselves now. After all, the only training any of us have really had was what Team Magnus decided to give us, and that obviously isn’t the only way of going about it.”

Crystal blinked in surprise.

“I like the sound of it,” Samuel remarked. “And if any of them ask for a spar—”

“No,” Richie said flatly. “They’re all glass cannons; I’m not letting you punch any of them in the face.”

“Ah, come on!”

Their conversation helped break Crystal out of her surprise; she laughed a little at the two of them and looked over at Xavier. “I’d be happy to help with any questions you guys have about being what you are now. Especially since I’ve known about myself for longer than you guys have known.”

“I’ll make sure to let the others know,” Xavier replied. He paused, then frowned. “And, uh…we never really got the chance to ask. About the other girl like you that Team Magnus had around. None of us have heard from her or anything. Have you?”

“About Khrista?” Crystal frowned, undid her crossed arms, and rubbed the back of her head as her tail flicked. “Well…I haven’t heard from her in the last year, either, but her story’s pretty strange. She said she’s like…an alternate version of me? From another world like ours? And that Charon pulled her from her world to this one using something in Sinnoh in order to do it. One of my…” She trailed off, then shook her head. “My older sister Rosa took her home last year. I don’t think we’re going to be hearing from her.”

Xavier blinked a couple times. He opened his mouth, then closed it. “Do you…you mean a Mew took her home. An actual Mew.”

“Yeah. She knew how to get Khrista back.” Crystal nodded. She paused. “Wait, how did you—”

“I ran into her in the last year somewhere over Anistar city. She said she was in the area checking on a friend, but I think she was hoping to run into me.” Xavier frowned. “I wonder if she wanted to check on me, too.”

“She might have,” Crystal said. “I don’t know what she’s got in mind, though.”

Xavier inclined his head. “Well, I guess even Psychic-Types have secrets from each other.” He rose from the chair. “You want to do something this afternoon? We can’t go near Lumiose Tower because of the power outage, but there are a few things we can do in this part of the city.”

“Sure. I haven’t had that much of a chance to look around the city yet.” Crystal looked over at her team. “What do you say, guys?”

“Sure,” Samuel replied. “Maybe we can find a challenger or two.”

Xavier smiled briefly. “There probably aren’t going to be a lot, but maybe we’ll be able to find something.”

Chapter Text

As anxious as Crystal was to get to the badlands sooner rather than later, she couldn’t exactly teleport to the area directly, and she couldn’t fly like Xavier could, either.

Which meant that she had to walk through Lumiose’s western gate and out onto a stone path that led through a grove of trees and into a flower-heavy countryside.

Lily breathed in and sighed from Crystal’s shoulder. “Ah, that’s good. Nothing like getting away from the stifling air in Santalune.”

“It wasn’t stifling,” Sawyer said from below. He kept the team moving at a slow pace, waddling along as he was. “You just felt like it was because of that Serena girl.”

The Flabebe glared down at the Spewpa.

“Guys,” Crystal spoke up. “Please, don’t. I think a lot of people have reasons for wanting to leave home. Sometimes the reason that humans want to leave can be the same reason that people want to stay, too.”

Lily frowned and huffed. “Fine.”

Richie looked over at a strange square of land nearby. It was covered in concrete of different colors, with dips and raises in the ground and railings at odd places. “What is this used for? It looks like an unfinished obstacle course.”

“It’s a skating rink!” replied a new voice.

Crystal and her team turned her heads to see where the voice had come from, only to be met by the sight of a pair of jackal-like, blue, black, and white Pokémon with steel spikes sticking out from their chests and the backs of their paws.

“A skating rink?” Crystal repeated.

“Yup!” one of the Pokémon nodded. His companion was a bit more guarded, eyeing Crystal and her team with a slow, analytical gaze. “Our Trainer likes using skating parks like these. She made her entire Gym one!”

“Your Trainer’s a Gym Leader?” Richie asked.

“Lucario!” a young woman wearing a white helmet glided up the path towards them. Crystal noticed the wheels on her shoes. So that’s what the Lucario meant by skating. “Please, don’t run off like that. You know I can’t keep up that well on these country roads.”

The Lucario that had been speaking ducked his head, while the other nodded to the woman.

“This one saw someone interesting,” the second Lucario said, motioning to Crystal.

The Trainer looked from the Lucario to Crystal, and her eyes widened a moment later. “Oh! You – you’re Crystal, right? Hoenn’s Champion?”

Yup.” Crystal nodded. “I wasn’t expecting to see a pair of Lucario out here. Are you their Trainer?”

“Yup. I’m Korrina, the Gym Leader of Shalour City to the north.” Korrina waved, grinning. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to meet you in person. What brings you to Kalos?”

“Sight-seeing, mostly,” Crystal replied. “I was looking to see if I could make more friends with other Pokémon, too.”

“You’re certainly good at that,” the first Lucario said. “Your aura’s really friendly.”

“I can see aura, too, actually,” Crystal told him. “A Lucario taught me how.”

Both Lucario’s eyes widened, while Korrina looked between them with momentary confusion.

“Wait – you actually can understand Pokémon?” Korrina asked. “I thought that was only a rumor.”

“Well….” Crystal motioned to the ears on her head while her tail twitched. “I think it would be pretty weird if I couldn’t.”

Samuel snickered. “It definitely would be.”

Korrina blinked a couple times, then laughed. “Yeah, you’ve got a point there. Where are you headed next?”

“Well, I was planning on traveling around to the north of Lumiose. Apparently, most of the power in the city’s gone out.”

Korrina’s eyebrows rose, but then she snorted. “It’s probably nothing. Clemont causes occasional power outages all the time. Everything should be back to normal in a day or two.”

Crystal frowned, as did Richie. “Is it really that normal?”

“Every couple of months, sure. I think Clemont’s about due for another one. He’s probably working on it right now, and it should be back to normal before you get back. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“What about the sound frequency that has upset any Pokémon in the blackout areas?” Esmeralda asked with a frown.

“A sound frequency?” the first Lucario repeated.

“Hmmm….” The second Lucario looked at Korrina with a pointed look.

Korrina frowned. “That doesn’t sound normal, no. Is there anything else going on that you know about?”

Crystal shook her head. “Not that I know about. I only stayed in Lumiose for a day after spending time around Santalune. I don’t know if anything else has come up other than the power going out and Pokémon having trouble in those areas. Xavier said the sound gave him a headache, so I haven’t gone in the blackout areas.”

Korrina winced. “Oh, ouch, that does sound bad.”

“Is there anything that you can do, do you think?” Crystal asked. “All the paths to the north and west from Lumiose is blocked off.”

“Hmm….” Korrina frowned and tilted her head. “I don’t know. The best I could do is offer assistance in the areas that aren’t affected by the blackout – at least, my team could. But I have a Gym to run as well, and the Tower of Mastery, too.”

“Tower of Mastery?” Crystal repeated.

“It’s the place that Trainers go to if they want access to Mega Evolution.” Korinna blinked, then noticed the necklace hanging from Crystal’s neck. “Hey, you’ve got a Key Stone with you! Does that mean—”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “I used it in my Championship match against Steven. I’ve only used it with Richie, but I’ve heard that other Pokémon I’ve befriended might be able to do the same thing.”

“She hasn’t found the other Mega Stones, though,” Richie said. “And I don’t think that everyone else here can do that, either.” He glanced at Samuel.

Samuel scowled, causing one Lucario to laugh.

“We can Mega-Evolve,” the first Lucario said. “Korrina can do it with both of us!”

“That’s cool,” Richie said.

“Well, what other Pokémon do you have?” Korrina asked.

“Besides the Pokémon with me here, I’m friends with an Azumaril, a Mightyena, an Armaldo, a Flygon, a Venasaur, and an Alakazam,” Crystal said.

“Hmm.” Korrina tilted her head to one side, tapping one foot against the ground. “Well, Venasaur and Alakazam can both Mega-Evolve, but their stones are really hard to find. Kalos does have Mega Stones that can occasionally be unearthed, but they’re not always found by Trainers, and if they are, those Trainers might not want to use the Pokémon those stones work for.”

“I hope you can find them,” the first Lucario said. “If your bonds are strong with them, it’ll make the transformation easier.”

“And it will make them stronger,” the second Lucario said. “But only if you can actually control that power. Which is why bonds of friendship are so important.”

Richie nodded. “They were her Pokémon before I was, but I don’t think they like to battle very much. Ven doesn’t, anyway. So it might be better if we didn’t find those stones.”

“Having options never hurts, though,” Crystal pointed out. “And if Ven and Kaz decide they don’t want to use them in battle, we can find other Trainers with Key Stones and good bonds to give those Mega Stones to.” She tapped her chin in thought. “At the very least, Steven might want them. He collects rare stones and puts them on display.”

“Better that than using them for the sake of using them,” Korrina said. A beeping sound came from her wrist, and she offered it a glance. Her eyes widened a second later. “Shoot, we’re late! We’ve gotta get going. It was nice meeting you, Crystal, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be. A Gym Leader’s job is never done, apparently.”

“I’ll see you around, then,” Crystal offered as Korrina grabbed a PokeBall from her waist.

Korrina’s two Lucario returned themselves as she nodded. “Yeah! Come by the Tower of Mastery if you ever come by Shalour – the old master will definitely want to meet you.” She tossed up the PokeBall. “Hawlucha! We need to get to the Tower of Mastery!”

There was a bright flash of red feathers, and the Gym Leader was gone.

“She seemed nice,” Frieda remarked. “What were those Pokémon with her? Lucario?”

“They’re Fighting and Steel-Types,” Crystal said. She started moving along the path again, looking down to make sure that Sawyer was able to keep up. “Lucario are really good at reading a person’s aura, and as a result, they really good at picking Trainers they think they’ll get along with. If they don’t, they’ll disobey the Trainer they’re caught by until they’re either released or the Trainer changes their ways. I learned how to read aura from a traveling Lucario, years ago. He never expressed interest in finding a Trainer, though.”

“Do you think you’ll ever make friends with a Lucario who’d want to be on the team?” Frieda asked.

“Maybe. But that’s really up to them. I don’t want to force them to be friends with me.”

“Forcing is never a good thing,” Sawyer agreed. He gasped a moment later. “Wha—”

Crystal looked down quickly, and gasped in surprise when she saw the soft glow that was starting to come from the Spewpa. “Give him space, everyone!”

The team quickly moved away as Sawyer’s form was overtaken by the glow, and his body started to grow as a pair of large wings grew out from his back. The main body shrank at the same time the wings grew out.

When the light scattered, Sawyer shook his now-shrunken head and looked around in confusion. His wings, colored a soft green-white with flowers in the corners, flapped a few times before he looked at them in sharp surprise.

“Those aren’t Mama’s wings,” Sawyer said in confusion. “I don’t think those are Papa’s wings, either….”

“That’s new,” Lily leaned forward far enough that she almost fell off Crystal’s shoulder. “It looks like you can hide in flowers and you wouldn’t be found as easily as some other Vivillon.”

“I wonder if the PokeDex has data on this wing pattern.” Crystal pulled her PokeDex from her backpack and opened it up.

“Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. This Pokémon has many different patterns that are found all over the world. The pattern is different depending on the climate and topography of its habitat. This Pokémon is known to scatter colorful scales that match the colors of its wing patterns. This Pokémon is a Bug and Flying-Type. The scanned pattern is the Fancy Pattern. It is an uncommon pattern that only appears when the Pokémon evolves near large fields of flowers, and is associated with Shaymin sightings.”

“What’s a Shaymin?” Sawyer looked up as he flapped his wings a few more times. With one great big flap, he rose from the ground with more elegance than when Frieda had first relearned how to walk.

“I think it’s a Legendary Pokémon,” Crystal said. “I’m not sure, though.” She looked over at Sawyer. “I like your wing pattern, though, regardless of whether or not people think it’s connected to a Legendary Pokémon.”

Sawyer smiled. “Thanks. It shouldn’t take me long to get used to them.”

----

It indeed did not take long for Sawyer to get used to his new wings. While he did spend some time clinging to Crystal’s backpack to rest and regain his stamina, he did participate in some of the matches that Crystal got into on the route, whether they were wild Pokémon or Trainer-instigated matches. The fact that some Pokémon tried to gang up on them with five-on-one fights only meant that Samuel could jump in and pummel up the smaller, younger challengers.

“Those Minun definitely didn’t know what hit them,” Richie said dryly as Samuel kicked away one of the blue and white Pokémon had had lunged for him.

“Shut up!” Samuel snapped back. “They wanted a challenge, and they got one. So there!”

Richie held up his hands, but the smirk on his face said he wasn’t the least bit worried about Samuel’s outburst.

Crystal shook her head at them while Frieda held back a laugh.

“Why do you two get along so well, anyway?” Lily asked. She’d gotten into a few fights when Crystal asked, but she liked staying on Crystal’s shoulder more than anywhere else. “With how you two act, I would’ve thought you’d be at each other’s throats.”

Richie and Samuel exchanged looks at the question, then looked back at the Flabebe.

“We know we’re joking with each other,” Richie said. “If Samuel was mad at me, he’d make sure I knew it.”

“It’s obvious to me they’re friends.” Sawyer looked up from where he was sitting on a nearby purple flower. He was having a snack from one of the flowers nearby. “My siblings and I joked around like that all the time. Mama didn’t stop it, so it’s probably normal.”

Lily blinked a couple times. A strange look crossed her face, which Crystal raised an eyebrow at.

“Hey, Crystal!” Frieda waved at Crystal as she turned at the Braixen’s call. “It looks like there’s a town up ahead!”

“It’s mid-afternoon, so stopping here for the night might be wise,” Esmeralda added. Her tail twitched and flicked, occasionally slipping into the field of purple flowers nearby. “We don’t know how much further we will have to go in order to reach the next town.”

Crystal frowned at the remark, then nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. We can spend the rest of the day training here, too.”

“It’d help me get used to my wings,” Sawyer said. He flapped them, and moved up into the air again.

“Let’s go let the Pokémon Center know we’re looking for a room for the night,” Crystal said. “Then we can have a look around.”

The town that Frieda noted up ahead was small, with only a few buildings that were surrounded by old stone walls. It looked like it had been around for some time – even the Pokémon Center looked like it had seen some wear from the passage of time.

“This place…it doesn’t even look like there are any shops here,” Crystal said.

“Camphrier Town used to have one,” said a man who was walking along the street. “As Lumiose has gotten larger, we’ve lost shops and people to the city. It’ll only be a matter of time before we’re absorbed into the city, too.” He looked her up and down, a frown slowly crossing his face. “Hey…you look…you’re not the Hoenn Champion, are you?”

Crystal’s tail curled slightly as she nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Huh. My daughter watched the match and said it looked like you were wearing a costume. Did you…”

Crystal pulled back her blond hair, showing that she did not have human ears hiding underneath. “They’re real.”

The man blinked rapidly. “Carbink’s queen, that’s…my goodness. So the rumors are true, then.”

“I…think that depends on the rumors?” Crystal frowned.

“That humans and Pokémon can work together so well that some have merged together,” the man said. “Or, the Trainers can get the traits of Pokémon if they work with them long enough.”

“Neither one of those is how I became how I am, but that doesn’t mean that Trainers can’t get close to their teams like I have with mine,” Crystal replied.

The man blinked in surprise. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that. “Really? Then how did you—”

“Jerald!” A woman stuck her head out of a nearby house. “Leave the girl alone and get in here! Our son’s Espurr has made a mess of things again!”

Jerald stopped short in surprise, then sighed and shook his head. “Coming, honey.” He eyed Crystal for a long moment, then turned and walked back to the house.

Crystal frowned as he walked away. “That was…are there people really talking about those kinds of rumors about me and everyone else?”

“If they are, I hope they’re not that wide-spread,” Richie said. “I mean, it happened in Hoenn. I doubt that Serena and Xavier have gotten that much attention here.”

Crystal nodded a little. “Yeah. I hope so, too.”

“Let’s go to the Pokémon Center,” Esmeralda suggested. “We’re going to need a room tonight, after all.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Frieda replied. “Crystal?”

Crystal’s expression twisted a little, but she nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do that and then go train a little more.”

“Yay!”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Crystal woke up, got her team up, had breakfast, and left the Pokémon Center to leave on her planned route.

Which meant that she was surprised by the sight of a large, sleeping Pokémon in the middle of a bridge on the route to the west.

Two young men – one of them dressed in a worn suit that looked like it had seen better days – were standing on Camphrier’s side of the bridge, frowning at the giant sleeping Pokémon.

“What’s going on?” Crystal ran over, her Pokémon following after her. Lily clung to her shoulder as Sawyer flew over her head, wings catching the morning sun. “Where did this Snorlax come from?”

“It’s a local wild Pokémon,” one of the men said. “It wanders out from the woods and lies down somewhere on the route for a nap. Normally, it lies on the ground, and we can walk around it easily enough, but this year….”

The man in the worn suit sighed heavily. “If I still had my Pokeflute, I would be able to wake it up and ask it to sleep somewhere just off the path.”

Crystal blinked at that, then frowned. “If I had a PokeGear and good enough reception, getting access to the Pokeflute radio frequency would work…Kalos is kinda far from Kanto, though, so probably not.”

The two men looked at her – really looked at her – then exchanged looks with each other.

“Kanto…really has something like that?” the man in the suit asked. “I wasn’t aware that you could record a Pokeflute and have it played on the radio…doe that affect Snorlax?”

“Yeah. My friend Gold used it for some Snorlax that slept on routes when he traveled around Jhoto, and he said it worked just fine.” Crystal rested her hands on her hips as she frowned at the large sleeping Pokémon. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a Pokegear or a Pokeflute on me…”

“We would, but the people who live in Parfum Palace took the one we had,” the man not in a suit explained. “They’ve been doing things to help the small town stay alive, like setting up a hotel in town, but they’ve been asking for some…strange things in exchange. The Pokeflute was the latest.”

“Well, that does seem weird,” Crystal remarked with a frown. Her tail flicked behind her.

“Think we can just beat this thing up?” Samuel looked over her shoulder and frowned at the mound of fat in the middle of the bridge. “It looks like a Normal-Type; I bet a few hits from me and Richie would have it rolling off somewhere else.”

“But then it’d be someone else’s problem,” Richie replied. “If we can just ask it to sleep on the side of the road, then it’s fine.”

“I bet we could roll it. It doesn’t look that heavy.”

Crystal ignored the conversation while Esmeralda shook her head at Samuel. The Espeon started to explain to the two of them why moving a Snorlax was so difficult while Crystal asked the two men, “Do you think they’d be willing to let you have the flute back? If this happens a lot, you definitely need it, and I know those flutes are hard to craft properly.”

“That is probably why they wanted it,” the man in the suit said. “This flute in particular was passed down in my family for generations. It’s seen a lot of use in guiding Snorlax to move away from town before they could eat any berry crops the locals were growing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Parfum only saw the flute as an expensive piece to be admired, not something to use.”

“What’s the use of admiring something if you don’t use it?” Frieda asked, frowning. “I like the stick I picked up, and I like looking at it, but I like using it, too.” She gestured to the stick sticking out of her tail.

“Some people like just staring at things without using them, I guess,” Crystal told Frieda. “I mean, some things aren’t able to be used because they’re too old, or they’re pictures or paintings.”

“But this is something that can still be used, and they just want to stare at it.” Frieda frowned. “That makes no sense.”

“It definitely doesn’t make sense,” Sawyer agreed. “But it’s keeping us from being able to go north, so…what do we do?”

The two men stared at Crystal, then exchanged looks with each other.

“You’re...the Champion of Hoenn, right?” the man not in the suit asked. “Do you think you could convince the people of Parfum Palace to let us have the Pokeflute back? They’re just to the north of here at the end of Route 8.” He motioned to the fork in the road Crystal had passed by in order to reach the bridge.

“Do you think that will be enough?” the man in the suit asked, frowning.

“It could be. A Champion’s word might be enough.”

Crystal’s tail twitched at the thought. “I could give it a try. It wouldn’t hurt to do that much.”

“And if they don’t listen, you’ll have us to back you up,” Richie added. Samuel nodded in agreement next to him.

Esmeralda shook her head at them.

“If you can at least try, that’ll be more than what we can do right now,” the man not in the suit said. “We’ll stay here and see if we can rouse the Snorlax in other ways, and warn Trainers if they try to wake him up by other means.”

“Breaking the bridge with a battle would be a bad idea,” the man in the suit agreed.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Crystal nodded to them, then turned and started for the fork in the road they’d pointed out.

The route changed almost immediately from a road lined with trees and flowers to a road lined with pruned trees and bushes, with long, untrimmed grass that wild Pokémon were likely hiding from.

“Looks like there are a few Trainers up ahead.” Richie pointed to two women on the route, looking up at the trees and admiring them. “Maybe.”

“Maybe,” Crystal agreed. “Let’s see if they’re interested in a match with anyone.”

They were, and they were thoroughly trounced without Crystal needing to give her team that many commands. They were past the tree-lined path in minutes.

“Hardly a challenge,” Samuel scoffed.

“If this keeps up, I’m going to have to keep you guys in reserve so that Sawyer, Frieda, and Lily have more of a chance to train,” Crystal told him. “You and Richie are more than strong enough to handle yourselves right now.”

“Of course we are!” Samuel puffed himself up. “But there’s nothing wrong with a challenge sometimes.”

“Except that no one around here is offering enough of a challenge,” Richie replied. “Come on. Sawyer’s not gonna get used to fighting while flying if he doesn’t get to do that.”

Samuel frowned at that, then sighed heavily. “Fine. I’ll hang back. But only if you do, too.”

“I will, no worries.”

Crystal smiled as they broke through the trees and walked onto an open, well-manicured lawn in front of a large, two-story building that looked a lot fancier than most buildings Crystal had seen before. The building itself was longer than it was tall, which made Crystal think of the abandoned mansion that used to sit on Cinnabar Island, before the volcano erupted.

Although, that had been more of a blessing than anything, considering what it was that hid in the mansion’s basement. It was better if no one knew what Blaine had once been coerced into researching for Team Rocket.

“So, this is Parfum Palace.” Esmeralda’s tail flicked. “Interesting. I wonder if the name is because of the owners, or because of its history.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to find out,” Crystal replied. “I mean, we’re going to be looking around for that Pokeflute, anyway.” She started up the path, then paused and looked at her team. “I might have to return at least some of you, depending on how they feel about letting Pokémon walk around inside. I don’t know how these rich people are about that kind of thing, but….”

“We’ll deal with it when we get there,” Samuel replied.

As the group came up on the large, ornate gate that sat in front of the building, a man standing near it quickly stepped in front of them.

“Apologies, but we don’t allow Pokémon to walk around inside the Parfum Palace,” the man said. “If you are intending to step inside, that is.”

“I was wondering if that was going to be the case.” Crystal glanced at her team, and they quickly returned to their PokeBalls without much fuss – except for Lily, who grumbled and folded her arms across her chest before she vanished.

The man nodded in satisfaction. “We also have an entrance fee of 1,000 Poke for those who want to enter the palace.”

That was surprising. “Really?” Crystal looked up at the palace. “That’s a lot more than most museums….”

“Well, this is a historical site of some value, and it takes more to keep an entire building in perfect condition than just a few artifacts,” the gatekeeper replied. He paused. “And…well, you see, the owner of the palace follows the school of thought that you can never have too much money.”

Crystal frowned disapprovingly. “Well, is there a way to earmark mine as only going towards the grounds upkeep? I’d feel better about paying the fee if I could.”

“I believe that can be arranged.”

Satisfied, Crystal pulled out her wallet and handed over the requested amount.

The gatekeeper nodded back and opened the gates. “I should let you know – this fee will allow you access to the palace for the entire day. If you wish to enter the palace again tomorrow, you will have to pay the fee again.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be here longer than that,” Crystal replied. “Thanks for telling me, though.”

The gatekeeper nodded in reply, and Crystal walked through the gate and across the stone courtyard to the white and gold front doors.

If the front gate, with its gold trim and the elegant Snake Pokémon that were carved into it, was enough of an indication of the owner’s wealth, the inside of the palace was just flaunting that wealth.

A large, gold statue of a Milotic stood on the other side of the entryway, which was lined with statues of what looked like a Pokémon wearing a helmet with an axe embedded in it, and with blades on its arms.

“Where is it?!”

And there was a man wearing extravagant clothes, pacing in front of the Milotic statue, looking distraught and worried. “Where could it be?! My Furfrou!”

Crystal tilted her head in confusion. Furfrou? Was that a name, or a species? Probably the latter.

“My beloved Furfrou has disappeared!” the man wailed as he fell to his knees.

Crystal’s ears pulled back at the screech as her tail lashed. That was not a kind sound. It sounded like a child whining about not getting the thing they wanted, except this was an adult.

She got the feeling that she wasn’t going to be able to find the Pokeflute she needed if this man was going to be shrieking all day.

“Um….” Crystal started to reach out a hand, then paused and pulled back, frowning. She wasn’t sure how to approach the man wailing about his missing Pokémon. That, and her passive empathy was picking up a number of things from him.

Mostly a childish greed that she didn’t like the feel of.

Crystal pulled back and shook her head, then skirted around the Milotic statue into the main part of the house – a long, extravagant hall, lined with deep blue colored doors with golden trim.

There was an old man in a suit standing near a set of blue double-doors. He blinked at Crystal, his gaze lingering on her ears and twitching tail before he quickly recovered himself. “Good morning. Are you here for a tour, young lady?”

“Ah…not…really?” Crystal motioned back to the front door. “There’s a Snorlax sleeping on the bridge leading to the west of Camphrier Town. One of the locals said there’s a Pokeflute here? I was hoping that we could use it to wake the Snorlax up so that people could use that road again.”

The man frowned at the question. “Well, I would direct you to ask the master of this house, but unfortunately, his Pokémon has gone missing, and he has become inconsolable.”

Crystal blinked, then looked over her shoulder at where the man was weeping in front of the golden Milotic statue. “You mean…that’s….”

“Indeed.”

Crystal picked up a flicker of something from the old man, but she wasn’t able to pick out the emotions that were going on.

The old man inclined his head slightly. “Perhaps, if you were able to find and return his Pokémon to him, he would be willing to listen, but that will depend on whether or not you can actually find the Pokémon. Furfrou has become known to hide quite spectacularly whenever it wants to get away from the master of the house for a time.”

Crystal frowned at the suggestion. “I….hmm. Maybe. I’ll have a look around, but I don’t know if I’ll have as much luck as others, if Furfrou knows how to hide.”

“Well, perhaps a fresh set of eyes will do something the rest of us can’t,” the man replied. “You did pay the entrance fee at the front gate, so you are allowed to walk into the rooms on the first floor and second floor, as well as out these doors to the back garden.” He motioned to the doors next to him. “Furfrou knows better than to wander off the grounds entirely, so I doubt it will be beyond the walls.”

“Okay.” Crystal nodded. “I think I’ll have a look around the building first, then.”

The man nodded back to her, then settled into a position of attention, fixing his gaze on a statue of a nearby knight.

Crystal took that as a sign that the conversation was over, and she started combing the rooms of the first floor. There were a few people walking around, and some that were wearing what Crystal assumed were uniforms for the people who worked in the palace.

“To think that a king had this place built three thousand years ago,” remarked a man with a large backpack on his back. He looked over a set of painting on the walls of one of the rooms.

“Does that mean the current owner is descended from the king?” Crystal eyed the paintings. They certainly looked old, and the frames were just as gold-covered as the walls were.

“Actually, the current owner inherited from a family that bought this palace from the royal family years ago,” spoke up a member of the staff – a woman, wearing a black and white dress. “After the war centuries ago, the royal family fell into poverty and had to sell one of their palaces. War debt is a dangerous debt to build up, as history has told.”

“Oh.” Crystal frowned, her tail flicking. She knew they were staring. “That makes sense. It must’ve been a pretty bad war, though, to sell a place like this. Unless a lot of this was added after the palace was…?”

“Most of the furniture is what it was from three thousand years ago,” the woman replied. “Anything that didn’t survive the passage of time was replaced with more modern replicas.”

“That makes sense.” Crystal nodded.

“Are you wearing half a costume or something?” the backpacker asked.

Crystal blinked at the question, then pulled back the hair on one side of her head, like she was going to push her hair behind her nonexistent ear.

The backpacker’s eyes widened when he saw that Crystal wasn’t human. “Oh.”

Crystal let her hair fall back. “I’m…guessing you weren’t expecting Hoenn’s Champion to be in Kalos, huh?”

The woman gasped softly. Crystal’s ears flicked in her direction.

“…can’t say I was,” the backpacker said. “I kinda thought you just wanted to dress like her. There are people who like dressing up like their favorite Pokémon or Trainers. Some of them can get pretty realistic.”

“Well, I don’t think anyone would be able to mimic this.” Crystal tapped the side of her head.

“What brings you to Kalos, if I may ask?” asked the staff woman.

“I’m just traveling through the region,” Crystal replied. “I want to be able to see the sights. There’s a Snorlax sleeping on the route to the west of here, though, which means I can’t keep going in that direction today.”

“There’s a what?!” the backpacker repeated in alarm. “Don’t tell me he’s sleeping on the bridge.”

Crystal shrugged. “Unfortunately…”

The backpacker groaned loudly. “There goes my chances of going to Cyllage by tomorrow, unless that thing wakes up.”

“I’m hoping to find a way to wake it up, but I don’t want to hurt it in order to do so. Wake-Up Slap would only make it go on a rampage, and that’s not a good idea.” Crystal shook her head.

The backpacker sighed heavily. “Well, I hope you find a way soon. I don’t want to stay in a town that’s only a stopover point for rich people and tourists who want to see this place.”

The staff woman looked a little alarmed. “I’ll warn the other staff that we may have an issue with supply lines if this isn’t resolved; I hope you can find your solution soon.”

“I hope so, too.” Crystal nodded to her, then stepped out of the room moments before she dashed out and down the hall.

Crystal watched the woman go for a moment, then turned and went up the stairs to the second floor to have a look around. More extravagance, and more people admiring the chairs and beds and everything else scattered around the palace.

She poked her head into a small library and almost stumbled into the back of a tour that was somehow going on this morning.

“—was said that this library contained a book with dark origins,” a male member of the staff was saying to a group wearing somewhat fancy clothes. “This book was said to contain the secrets that would bring a Pokémon back from the dead. However, we’ve done a careful search of the library and have found that no such book exists here. We do have a book talking about one of the first instances of Mega Evolution. If you turn your attention here—”

Crystal ducked out of the room and moved into a hallway almost lined with mirrors. That conversation wasn’t going to get her what she was looking for, and she doubted the Furfrou Pokémon was going to be hiding in a crowd like that without attracting attention.

She combed the hall of mirrors for a moment, then stepped out of the hall of mirrors and onto the other side of the second floor. She passed through the other rooms, then back down to the first floor.

“Well, it isn’t inside the house from what I saw,” Crystal said as she approached the man in uniform near the double doors. “The only Pokémon I saw was a little girl’s Marill running around in one of the rooms, but that’s about it.”

The man frowned. “We had requested that Trainers keep their Pokémon inside their PokeBalls when able, so long as they are inside the palace itself. I suppose she might not have the ability to keep her Pokémon in check just yet.”

“Maybe. I’d have given her an Azurill, though, unless it evolved quickly and hasn’t settled down yet.” Crystal tilted her head in thought. “Azurill do evolve into Marill when their friendship is high enough.”

“Hm. Well, you know more about that than I.” The man motioned to the double doors next to him. “I can see by the PokeBalls at your belt that you are a Trainer yourself; you are welcome to let them out when you go into the garden, so long as they behave themselves.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Crystal said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

The man looked gently surprised at the statement, and Crystal was soon out the door and into the sunlight.

The garden wasn’t as gold-trimmed as the inside of the house was, but the whole thing looked like it was more of a statue garden with small hedge mazes than anything else. The hedges weren’t even that tall, either, especially in comparison to the large, white and black statues that sat at either end of the area.

“Hmm…” Crystal moved around the white dragon statue, looking over the strange wings and how it looked like it had a jet turbine in its tail. There was a plaque in front of its feet. “’Reshiram, the Pokémon said to help people search for truth.’” She looked up at the dragon carving again. “Are you the Legendary Pokémon of this region? Or did someone see you in another place?”

“That Reshiram thing is a Legendary in Unova, actually, if you can believe the legends.” A man walked past, carrying a sack of dirt over one shoulder. He was wearing overalls and a pair of gloves covered in dirt. “The original owners of the place had a thing for ‘em, although they never came here.”

“They?” Crystal blinked.

The gardener nodded, then pointed to the black dragon on the other side of the garden. “That one over there’s Zekrom. It’s said to help people search out their ideals. I think the king who built this place thousands of years ago wanted to find an ideal truth, or maybe a truthful ideal, so he had statues built to both of them.”

Crystal followed the gardener’s hand and looked at the black dragon statue on the other side of the garden. “An ideal truth…huh.”

“I never really understood why the king would be interested in them, honestly,” the gardener said. “The princes in Unova who befriended them were at each other’s throats about which was more important – truth, or ideals. I get the feeling that these two Pokémon would be at each other’s throats if they ever ended up in the same space as the other.”

“That doesn’t have to be how things are, though,” Crystal said. “I mean, that’s just an old story, right?”

“Every old story has a grain of truth in it, whether the folks telling it like it or not.” The gardener shrugged. “Like the old stories about what happened in the war, or the legends about the Pokémon that call this region home.”

Crystal’s ears perked up. “Can you tell me about the Legendary Pokémon of this region, then?”

The gardener waved a hand. “Not a whole lot, but sure. The one I know about is called Diancie. It’s a Pokémon that’s said to be made of pink diamonds, and if you are given a piece of it, it’s said you’ll have good luck and an easy life for the rest of your days. The owner of the house talks about finding and catching it nonstop, but the best he’d ever be able to find are Pokémon called Carbink. They’re said to be capable of becoming Diancie if exposed to a lot of pressure, but good luck trying to make that happen yourself.”

Crystal hummed. “I don’t have any reason to look for a Pokémon like that. I’m pretty content with my life as it is.”

“Well, that means you’re not focused on wealth, and that’s a good thing.” The gardener nodded. “Got any other questions?”

“Not about Legendary Pokémon, but…there’s a Furfrou missing, apparently?”

The gardener blinked, then sighed heavily. “Yes, there is. I saw it run into the hedge mazes earlier this morning. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it, but cornering it might be another matter.”

“Does anyone know why it keeps trying to hide?”

“As far as we can tell? It probably wants a breather from the owner of the house every once in a while. He practically smothers it in affection that it doesn’t want.”

“Hm.” Crystal frowned. “I can see why it would want some space. Thanks for the heads-up.”

“No problem.” The gardener adjusted how the bag sat on his back, then turned and walked towards a row of small, potted trees on the edge of the garden.

Crystal watched him go for a moment, then turned to face the hedge mazes. “All right. Time to find that Pokémon.”

The hedges were easy enough to navigate, despite all the dead end paths they had. The hedges didn’t go any higher than Crystal’s waist, which meant she could look over them and see if there was a Pokémon hiding in the mazes. There were a few items that people had dropped in the mazes, too, which was interesting – and helpful. An extra Revive and Antidote never hurt anyone.

The last maze Crystal reached, in the back left corner of the garden, had a four-legged, furry Pokémon sitting among the hedges. Her ears flicked forward when she saw him.

She pulled out her PokeDex just to make sure, and when the machine’s scan came back with the data, she nodded quietly to herself and put the PokeDex back in her pocket. The Pokémon in the hedge maze was, in fact, a Furfrou.

Now to convince the Pokémon to go back to its owner.

The Furfrou’s fluffy ears rose slightly as Crystal approached. She could see one eye peering out from under the mass of fur, eyeing her with caution. “If you’re a Trainer that got roped into looking for me, forget about it. I need some time to breathe.”

“I was told that your…owner? Trainer? Likes to smother you in too much affection,” Crystal said. She stayed at the entrance to the hedge maze, watching where the Pokémon was sitting in one of the corners in this hedge maze. She glanced over the whole of the hedge maze and noted the inter-connected paths, except for the one dead end on the other side of the maze. Obviously, the Furfrou wasn’t going to hide there, where he could be cornered.

“So I understand the need to get away from him for a bit,” Crystal added.

The Furfrou snorted. “You have no idea what it is that I go through.”

“Maybe not.” Crystal sat down on the worn dirt path, staying to the entrance while the Furfrou remained where he was. “But I can listen. And maybe find a way to convince him to pull back on the things you don’t like.”

The visible eye blinked. The Pokémon tossed his hair in order to get it out of his eyes, but it didn’t seem to do much good. “Wait. What’s that on your….Hm. You don’t smell like the humans I’ve met.”

“I’m not…quite human,” Crystal said. “I mostly am, I think, but there’s a bit of me that isn’t. It’s why I can actually understand what you’re saying right now.”

“Hm.” Furfrou shuffled his feet. He looked like he was thinking about getting up. “So, you’re willing to listen to me, then. That’s new. You’ll have to give me a moment to think about what sorts of things I’d want that child of a man to do.”

“Take your time,” Crystal said.

Furfrou nodded, then turned his head in the direction of the palace. “Hm. He doesn’t let me out for walks. I would like to be able to at least walk the garden whenever I choose. Installing a Pokémon door in those large double doors of his shouldn’t be a problem. He also likes keeping my fur long, which is a problem.”

“I noticed you were having a hard time seeing,” Crystal said. “Is there any way I can push that fur out of the way now, or…?”

“I’m used to it, as sad as that is.” Furfrou shook his head. “I don’t want him hanging over me all the time, is what it comes down to.”

“Okay. I’ll try to talk some sense into him.” Crystal’s tail flicked. “I hope that I can get him to listen at least a little. The way he was crying when I walked into the mansion, it makes me a little worried.”

Furfrou sighed heavily. “My parents were his parents’ pet Pokémon. Believe me, all they did was baby him.”

Crystal winced. “That…doesn’t sound like a good thing. His emotional state feels nothing like the adults that I’ve spent time with.”

Furfrou nodded. “So try, at least. I guess there isn’t much more I can expect from a Trainer from outside the mansion.”

Crystal nodded. “Do you want to come with me then, or…?”

“No, no, have him come out here after talking to him. I want to have a little more quiet before I have to deal with that again.”

Chapter Text

The owner of Parfum Palace was…difficult to negotiate with. After he’d turned from a weeping mess into a delighted owner trying to smother Furfrou in affection the Pokémon did not ask for, Crystal had a very hard time trying to get him to listen.

In the end, she just exchanged a sad, sympathetic look with the Furfrou, who told her, “You tried. I wasn’t going to expect anything else at this point.”

Crystal was, as a result, forced to watch a fireworks display mid-morning before she could even ask about the Pokeflute, which the owner of the palace directed a butler to hand over without a second thought. Finding his Pokémon had put him in a good mood, apparently.

At least she was able to run back to the route with the sleeping Snorlax without any Trainers trying to get in the way. She did notice some movement in the tall, wild grass below the manicured path, though, so she decided maybe to take her team and investigate down there before moving on past Camphrier Town.

The two men were still waiting near the sleeping Snorlax on the bridge when Crystal returned, Pokeflute in tow. “I’ve got it!”

The two men turned in surprise as Crystal came to a stop. She held out the wooden flute with the PokeBall-like shape on the end, smiling at them a little haggardly.

“I had to find his Furfrou before I could ask him about it, but I got it,” Crystal said proudly.

The man in the worn suit smiled and took the flute from Crystal’s hand. “I’m sure he appreciated it. Although, I’m sure the Furfrou wanted a chance to sleep more than anything.”

“Yeah, he said as much to me.”

The man nodded. “Our families have been acquaintances for a long time. I think it’s fair to say I know that Pokémon’s heart better than he knows it.” He brought the flute to his lips, then paused. “Snorlax could be grumpy when I wake him up. Do you have any Pokémon that would be able to take him on?”

“My team would be able to handle him,” Crystal assured. “And I’ve got some strength to me, too. I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it.”

The man blinked, then nodded. “All right. If you’re sure.”

He put the flute to his lips and started to play a gentle tune. It was soft, and spoke of a kind heart that called out to sleeping Pokémon, urging them to wake to the call of someone who wanted to be a friend.

The Snorlax grunted, then grumbled. “What is this annoying noise? I wanna go back to sleep.”

The flute kept going. Crystal started to reach for Samuel’s PokeBall, wondering if he would want to guide the Snorlax away to somewhere else to sleep.

The Snorlax grumbled louder. “What the scrap is this noise? I want to sleep.”

“This isn’t exactly the best place to sleep, my friend,” Crystal replied, keeping her voice gentle.

“Whaddaya mean? It’s a nice enough place to sleep.” The Snorlax started to get up slowly. The wooden bridge creaked under his weight. “At least, it was, before that guy started playing. Now I wanna make him shut up.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Crystal said. She stepped between the flute player and Snorlax as her tail started to lash slowly. “Please. There are other places you can sleep. You don’t need to sleep here.”

“But I like sleeping here,” the Snorlax complained. “I don’t want to move.”

Two of Crystal’s PokeBalls rattled. She moved a step back just as Samuel and Richie exploded out.

The Snorlax wasn’t expecting dual strike of Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave that hit it in the face, forcing it to stumble back a couple steps.

“She said to find a different place to sleep,” Richie said.

“So move.” Samuel brandished his fists. “Or we’ll hit you again.”

The Snorlax frowned at them disapprovingly, then looked at Crystal. The narrow eyes almost seemed to narrow further as the Pokémon stared at Crystal.

Crystal’s ears flicked, and she brought up a hand. Blue energy started to form in her palm, drawing in aura from Crystal and the surrounding air.

The Snorlax drew back, then snorted. “This is too much trouble to deal with. All right, I’ll move. This time.”

Crystal let the Aura Sphere she’d been forming dissipate, and she nodded. “Thank you, Snorlax.”

The Snorlax grunted, then turned and waddled off the path towards a small grove of trees on the other side of the river.

The flute’s music finally died away, and the flute player sighed in relief. “At least that one’s going to leave us alone for now.”

Richie and Samuel relaxed, then exchanged looks.

“Do you want us to stick around for the rest of the day, to make sure it doesn’t come back?” Richie asked.

Crystal blinked at the question.

“What was that?” the man with the flute asked.

Crystal relayed Richie’s question, then added, “I don’t think that specific Snorlax is going to come back, but if there’s a chance it has friends, they might think the same thing about this bridge that this one did.”

The two men exchanged looks.

“I don’t think there are going to be any others coming down from the mountains,” the flute player said. “Not today, at least. But having someone keeping an eye on things might be better than waiting to see if one comes tonight.” He looked at the Pokeflute with a sigh. “Which means I am going to have to ask if I can still hold onto this for a little while longer.”

“You don’t need to!”

Crystal turned sharply out of surprise at the voice.

Furfou and the owner of Parfum Palace walked up from the break in the road.

“I forgot how wonderfroully you play that flute,” the palace owner said. “It’s not quite as wonderfrou as my fireworks, of course.”

“Uh…” The flute player blinked a couple times.

“You can keep the flute. It sounds like you’ve gotten a little rusty, and I never really learned how to play it. Besides, my Furfrou seems to like it.”

“He gave me space, you don’t,” Furfrou said to his owner. “Besides, it’s a nice melody to listen to, unlike your screeching.”

Samuel snickered.

“…thank you,” the flute player said after a moment.

The palace owner simply nodded back, appearing satisfied, and he turned and walked off without another word.

“Don’t worry about him,” Furfrou said. “He’s trying.” He bumped against the flute player’s leg, then walked back towards the palace himself.

Crystal blinked in confusion as they walked away. “Uh…huh.”

“I can’t say I was expecting that to happen this afternoon, but it is a bit of a relief to know that he won’t be taking the Pokeflute from me,” the flutist said. “I appreciate you doing that for me.”

Crystal smiled back. “It’s the least I could do. And besides, if Furfrou can use you as an excuse to get away from his owner’s smothering every once in a while, so much the better for him.”

That got a chuckle. “What do you intend to do now, then? You have the entire day to do as you like.”

Crystal tilted her head at the question. “Well, we do have to keep moving. I want to see if I can get to the area north of Lumiose; there is a blackout in Lumiose itself, and I can’t move around inside Lumiose in order to find the problem. There’s something affecting the Pokémon in those areas, and it would affect me, too.” She motioned to her ears.

“Ah, that would be a problem.” The flute player tapped his chin in thought. “Well, other than the Battle Chateau on this route, the only buildings you’ll find are the towns on the other side of the cave at the end of the route.”

“Sounds like I’ve got a ways to go, then,” Crystal said.

“Battle Chateau?” Samuel repeated. “Sounds fun.”

“No,” Richie said flatly. “No way. Besides, he already said having someone nearby to watch would be a good idea.”

Crystal relayed her Pokémon’s conversation to the two men watching them, which got a chuckle.

“The Battle Chateau is a place where the local nobility battle with Pokémon raised by breeders they’ve paid,” the flute player explained. “The Gym Leaders are a part of the local nobility as well if only because of their strength. You might be welcomed as well, considering your strength.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think I like the idea of battling people who haven’t put that care into their teams themselves. I’d be open to challenging the local Gym Leaders, though.”

“And I can keep an eye on the bridge in case any Snorlax come by,” the other man added. “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with them coming down to take naps.”

Crystal blinked a couple times at that, then smiled and nodded. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“We’re sure. Go enjoy your journey around Kalos, as important as that mission of yours is.”

Crystal gave them a nod. “Thanks. Good luck with the Snorlax. And, um, dealing with anything that happens in Parfum Palace.”

“We’ll be prepared, don’t worry,” the flute player assured. “He’s had to deal with a lot, especially when people come in insisting on taking a ghost tour. There’s a rumor that someone close to the king died in one of the bedchambers.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“It’s just a rumor. Considering how old the palace is, I’m not surprised that rumors like that would come up.” The flute player waved the Pokeflute around in the air. “To be honest, I’m surprised my small mansion hasn’t received that kind of attention yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushed the ghost hunters on me in the future, though.”

“Well…good luck? I guess?”

“Heh. Thanks. Something tells me I’m going to need it.”

Crystal gave them a nod, then looked at Samuel and Richie before walking past them and onto the other side of the bridge. The trees here quickly gave way to flower fields on one side, with a river on the other. A few buildings sat on the river’s side of the road, but one of them caught Crystal’s attention: the small, single-story building with a small, fenced-in yard that had Pokémon inside.

She quietly released the rest of her team out into the open air.

Esmeralda stretched out as soon as she hit the ground, tail curling up above her as her back arched. “Mm. I’m glad I don’t have to get used to being in there all the time. It can get quite cramped when you’re not used to it.”

“It felt roomy enough,” Frieda remarked. She watched Esmeralda stretching and raised her front paws above her head, stretching upwards in mimicry of the Espeon.

“You won’t be saying that soon enough, I think.”

Lily landed on Crystal's shoulder while Sawyer landed on the closest flower for a morning snack. “Where are we, then? I don’t recognize these flowers.”

“We’re on the other side of Camphrier,” Crystal replied. “And we’re going to be traveling a lot today, so we’re going to not get a lot of training in.”

Lily looked back at the open bridge and blinked. “Huh. So the sleepy guy’s gone, then.”

“They’re called Snorlax,” Richie said. “They’re giant Normal-Types that eat you out of house and home, then sleep until they’re hungry again. It takes a good Trainer to get one to wake up long enough to help in a fight. Or a patient one.”

“I don’t like the idea of making them fight if they like to sleep all the time,” Crystal said. “There are probably ones that are okay with fighting, but I don’t know if I’d ever have one like that on my team, either.” She looked up at the fenced-in building not far from the bridge. There was a man standing near the fence, holding a bucket that was probably full of Pokémon food or berries.

And there was a pair of small, mouse-like Pokémon near his feet, with a red, plus-shaped tail and a blue, minus-shaped tail.

Crystal pulled out her PokeNav and pulled out her contacts. Devon Corp had recently added a texting ability to these strange little devices, and Crystal knew she wanted to send something to a couple friends.

“Let’s see…there they are.” Crystal tapped the red “M” that looked like a mountain, and the blue “A” that looked like a crevice in undersea currents, then activated the PokeNav’s camera and sent an image of the building. That done, she pocketed the device and walked over. “Excuse me?”

The breeder who was at the fence looked up as Crystal approached. The pair of electric mice sitting at his feet looked up with curious expressions. “Oh! Hello. Are you here to ask about having your Pokémon looked after?”

“Not today, but I’ll keep you in mind for that,” Crystal replied. “I was…actually wondering if you knew someone I know. They moved to Hoenn about a year ago, and they said their mom liked breeding Pokémon.”

The breeder’s eyebrows rose at the question. “Their mother? That’s pretty specific.”

“Well, Archie said that his mom really liked Plusle and Minun, and I saw a lot of them to the east of Camphrier.”

The breeder’s expression shifted, eyebrows dropping as his shoulders relaxed. “Ah. Yes, I know Archie and Maxie. Are they doing all right in Hoenn? We’ve heard rumors that they found themselves wrapped up with some Legendary Pokémon of all things.”

“Well, I can say they weren’t expecting it when they got to Hoenn,” Crystal replied. Her tail flicked as she chuckled nervously. “But, uh…well, they are part of the guardianship that watch over Kyogre and Groudon now. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time for it.”

The breeder stared. “You mean it’s true? That they can call on them to be members of their teams?”

“Only in emergencies, but…yup.”

Samuel snickered. Lily looked back at him with a confused expression. “I still remember the looks on their faces when they found out. Ha!”

“Which means that their father…is he really allies with Rayquaza?”

“He had to talk to the Dragon Tamers that live in Meteor Falls, but yup.” Crystal nodded again. “I told them I’d send pictures if I came across the right day care, to let them know how you guys are all doing.”

The breeder laughed, then leaned against the fence. “Well, that’s good to hear.” He looked down at the two electric mice. “Hear that, Prim, Mina? The kids are actually doing all right.”

“That’s good to hear,” the Plusle said. He chuckled and leaned against the fence. “They weren’t able to take us with them because we were too old to make the trip.”

“Ray said they’d come back to visit once they’d settled in,” the Minun remarked. “I suppose that will be a bit more difficult now.”

“I think they’d be able to find time to get away for a little bit,” Crystal said. “Probably within the next year.”

Her PokeNav beeped loudly, and she pulled it out.

-Call us- the screen read.

Crystal grinned. “In fact, how would you like to be able to talk to them right now?”

“They’re awake?” the breeder asked in surprise.

“Looks like it!” Crystal opened the PokeNav, found Archie’s number, and pressed Call.

Immediately, the screen lit up with a view of the inside of a building, with a pair of teenage boys. One dressed in blue and looking more like a sailor than the last time Crystal had seen him, and the other wore what looked like a red lab coat.

Crystal turned the PokeNav so that the breeder could see them, grinning. “There, see?”

::Hey, Brendan!:: Archie said cheerily. ::Long time no see!::

::Apologies for not being able to come in person:: Maxie offered. ::We’re a bit tied up at the moment::

“So I’ve been told,” Brendan said. Prim and Mina pulled at one leg of his pants, and he glanced down before scooping them both up into his arms, so that they could have a view of Crystal’s PokeNav screen as well. “How did you two get caught up with Legendary Pokémon?”

Archie laughed, though his smile was a bit strained. Maxie cleared his throat and adjusted how his glasses sat on his nose.

::It caught us off guard, too:: Maxie admitted.

::Prim! Mina! Good to see you two!:: Archie’s grin dropped a little. ::Sorry we couldn’t bring you two with us. You wouldn’t’ve liked the trip too well::

Mina shook her head. “We knew we wouldn’t be leaving Kalos. It’s all right.”

“Have you two made any friends?” Prim asked. “I hope you have.”

::Ah, Crystal?:: Maxie asked.

“I’m here,” Crystal said. “Mina said they knew they wouldn’t be leaving Kalos, and Prim wants to know if you’ve made more friends.”

::Oh, we’ve made plenty!:: Archie said, delighted. ::We even work for this group that’s investigating the environment now! You wouldn’t believe how much clean energy they’re making over here!::

::We’ve made plenty of friends with local Pokémon and humans:: Maxie said. ::Archie has more Water-Types than he knows what to do with. At this rate, he may just have to build a house in Pacifidlog or Mossdeep::

::Same for you and all your Fire and Ground-Types:: Archie replied. ::I betcha he’s gonna have a house in Lavaridge or Fallarbor when Dad finally kicks us out of Lilycove. Ha!::

“Where are you now?” Brendan asked.

::Slateport, having a day off. There’s a new exhibit in the museum down here talking about how the land and sea work with each other. There’s even a jungle gym built in that lets kids wander all over miniatures of Groudon and Kyogre! It’s great!::

::They asked us for measurements so they could properly scale the Pokémon down into playground size:: Maxie smirked, a twinkle in his eyes saying how amused he was. ::They weren’t too sure about the idea, but we managed to get them to sit still long enough to get what we needed. We needed to measure them regardless for the PokeDex data::

::And Wailord’s bigger than Kyogre! Can you believe that?!:: Archie burst out laughing. ::She claims she used to be bigger, but still!::

“That is…a little hard to believe,” Brendan said faintly.

Prim laughed. Mina giggled next to him.

“Aurora always knew the two of you were destined for greatness,” Prim said, smiling. “She would be so proud of you to see how far you’ve come.”

Crystal blinked in surprise at that, then translated the statement for the humans present.

There was another pause from the other side. Then a loud sniffle.

::Thanks, guys:: Archie said, his voice choking slightly. ::It means a lot::

The conversation died down from there after that. Archie and Maxie talked about their work turning an abandoned ship into a new habitat for Water-Type Pokémon that needed to come on land sometimes, as well as Devon’s continued research into Infinite Energy and other forms of clean energy, like solar, geo-thermal, and hydro-electric dams. Lavaridge and Fallarbor were already taking advantage of the volcano for geo-thermal, and other parts of the region were looking into the other types. Some Trainers who used Mega Stones – few in number though they were – offered to let the Devon Company study the energy output as well, to see if they could produce it artificially, without the need of Pokémon or Mega Evolution energy.

When the conversation started to die down, the boys turned their attention to Crystal and how her journey was going.

::A blackout in Lumiose? That is worrisome:: Maxie frowned. ::They use a number of different power plants in the badlands to the north. And if there is something that causes Pokémon to act strangely in the blackout areas…it makes sense that you would take the long way around::

::On the other side of the cliffs at the end of the Daycare Road, there’s a bunch of cliffs that’ll lead you down to Ambrette Town:: Archie added. ::The cave can also lead to Cyllage City, but there’s a lot of cave-ins in that part of the passage, so you’ll probably have to take the way to Ambrette in order to get up the coast. Just to warn you – there’s a Psychic and Dark-Type Pokémon in the area called Inkay. Look it up, memorize what it looks like and avoid it. The little suckers are just as trickster-y as Fairy-Type Pokémon, and their evolved form, Malamar, is downright mean. Left alone in groups, and they’ll hypnotize people to do their bidding. Trust me, you’re better off leaving them alone::

Crystal shuddered, causing Brendan to look at her in concern. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

Richie gave her a concerned look, while Samuel puffed out his chest.

“We’ll take care of the suckers, no problem,” Samuel said.

::Glad to hear your Breloom is still planning on getting into fights:: Maxie remarked. ::Good. You will need that::

::On the bright side, Ambrette Town is a beautiful place to reach:: Archie added. ::I’ve heard that Fossils sometimes end up on the shore, too. Could be interesting if you want to revive another one::

“I’ll….I’ll think about it.” Crystal hadn’t considered getting another Fossil Pokémon because she already had Ando, but that would depend on what kinds of Pokémon that could be revived. That was something to think about.

::We’ll leave you to your journey, then:: Maxie said. ::And we’ll see if we can get Devon to open a line of communication to Lysandre Labs in Kalos. Our connection to the region should give President Stone an easier time. Hopefully::

::Hope the power comes back on soon!:: Archie added. ::In the meantime, we gotta go to bed. Early morning and all that. Talk to ya later, Crystal!::

“Talk to you later,” Crystal called back.

As the PokeNav registered the disconnect in the call, Crystal pocketed the device and Brendan put Prim and Mina back down on the ground.

“It’s good to see they’re doing well,” Mina said.

“You’re going to have a ways to go if you’re going all the way to Ambrette,” Brendan said. “Don’t be afraid to stop and rest when you can; climbing down those cliffs when you’re exhausted would be a terrible idea.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Crystal promised.

“And don’t be afraid to come back and check in on us from time to time,” Prim added. “It could let us talk to Archie and Maxie again.”

Crystal chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind; don’t worry. Maybe I’ll swing by after we get the power back on.”

“I think we all would appreciate that,” Brendan said.

Chapter Text

The warning about the cliffs and the Inkay was definitely needed, although Crystal ended up caught off-guard by the other Pokémon that lived in the area.

“I had no idea there were Zangoose and Seviper having feuds here, too.” Crystal made her way down the path slowly as the sun set to the west. Somewhere behind them, Pokémon snarled and hissed at each other on the cliffs, while others egged them on. “I mean, Bagon I kinda expected because they like high cliffs and trying to fly from them, but I wasn’t expecting those two.”

“They’re really noisy.” Lily gripped the backpack strap on Crystal’s shoulder with one hand. She’d gotten significantly bigger after her evolution, and was now holding her white flower in the same way that Serena carried around her giant red one. “No one back in the flower gardens in Santalune would be able to stand noise like this. Ha!”

The now-Floette was definitely enjoying the change of pace that came with the drastic change in environment. Crystal wasn’t sure what to make of her improved mood, but she wasn’t planning on ruining it.

Freida, following behind with the rest of the team, was starting to become stronger, too. Crystal was already starting to see the signs that would lead to her becoming a Fire and Psychic-Type in the future, since she was already using Psybeam by “casting” the attack with her stick-like wand, and she wasn’t using Flame Charge to slam into her opponents as often anymore.

“I don’t like how high up we are,” Frieda said, glancing at the edge of the cliff they were slowly climbing down. While the paths weren’t narrow, there were a lot of breaks in the road that they had to jump over, and that could make things dangerous if they weren’t careful. “And there were Dark-Types everywhere, too. I didn’t even get to fight them.”

Crystal did her best to suppress the shudder that tried to come up when Frieda mentioned the Dark-Types. She’d appreciated Archie’s warning about the Inkay – and the little creatures that looked like they should be Water-Types were avoided – but she hadn’t been expecting to see Absol walking the cliffs with practiced ease.

She’d had to remind herself that Capone said he had an Absol, and that the white-furred Pokémon with the blades on their heads weren’t eyeing her with anything violent in mind.

“We can handle them just fine,” Sawyer told her proudly. After his evolution, he’d picked up Infestation and Struggle Bug rather quickly. As a result, he’d gotten used to pinning any Pokémon in place with a sudden manifestation of Bug-Type energy, only to follow it up with a second attack. Samuel was getting annoyed that he wasn’t able to take the Dark-Types down himself. “And even if you can’t hit them with Psybeam, you can still hit them with Ember or Flame Charge.”

Frieda frowned as they reached a set of carved stairs. With the sun setting over the ocean, it turned the sky an orange-pink color that bounced off the buildings directly below them. “Yeah, I guess. I’m not really good at the charging in thing anymore, though.”

“You’ll learn other things,” Richie told her. “As you get stronger, your moves will get stronger and change, too. So, keep that in mind, okay?”

Frieda frowned. “If you say so…”

They finished climbing down the stairs, then immediately stepped into what Crystal assumed was the town of Ambrette. Buildings built into the sides of the cliff and all the way down to the beach, which Crystal had to wonder about. Was there rock under those buildings, or did they think it was a good idea to build on sand?

She decided to think about it in the morning. The sun was almost gone, and they had just reached a Pokémon Center. After having just climbed along a route at the edge of a cliff, she and her team could do with a nice, long rest.

-----

The morning was gray and drizzling. Crystal wasn’t going to let the weather keep her from moving on to the next town if she could help it.

However, there was a commotion in the part of town that was close to the cliff, with a path leading east, and her ears flicked in that direction despite the rain smothering some of the noise.

“What’s going on?” Crystal moved away from the Pokémon Center and towards a young man with only a blue spike of hair on the front of his head.

“Hmm?” The man glanced at Crystal, his gaze scanning over her team – or, most of them. Sawyer and Frieda didn’t want to get wet, so they were hiding in their PokeBalls. “Oh, you haven’t heard? There’s a group called Team Flare that’s trying to shut down the Fossil Lab in town.”

Crystal’s tail lashed at the mention of a team. First Team Rocket, then Team Magnus, and now a Team Flare? “Why? Are they trying to steal the fossils?”

“Doesn’t look like it. I heard one of them say something about Fossils and the Pokémon revived from them ‘not being beautiful.’”

Crystal frowned.

Samuel snorted. “Clearly, they haven’t met Ando. If they tried to tell him he wasn’t worth the effort to his face, he’d punch them all over the head.”

Richie nodded in agreement.

“What’s an Ando?” Lily asked from Crystal’s shoulder, frowning.

“A former Fossil Pokémon,” Esmeralda replied. She wasn’t the least bit upset by the rain, or at least knew how to hide her feelings about it. “He speaks like a human, and his kind served Crystal’s ancestors. He’s very loyal and protective to a fault, that one.”

Lily snorted. “Doesn’t sound like much of a Pokémon.”

Crystal frowned at her comment, but kept her focus on the man. “What reason do they have to decide what’s beautiful or not? I’m pretty sure every region’s got a different view of that. I mean, there’s a Gym Leader in Kanto who finds Vileplume beautiful, but there are plenty of people who like Bellossom more.”

The man shrugged. “I dunno, honestly. They’d probably harass every single Poison-Type user if they could. We’ve been able to keep them off our backs before, but today there’s more of them than usual.”

Crystal frowned then looked past the man and over at the small crowd ahead of them. She could see bright flashes of red-orange clothes and hair through the crowd.

“None of these are beautiful!” one of the fire-themed people shouted. “You should tear this ugly building down and stop bringing these ugly Pokémon to life! They died for a reason!”

“We’re not going to stop!” someone shouted back. “We’re not going to stop researching and reviving Pokémon! Not only are they important for research, but they’re important to understand how the world once existed!”

Crystal looked up at the sky. “Esmeralda? Do you think you could give me some help? I want to use Rain Dance.”

“Use?” the man repeated.

The Espeon’s tail flicked. She tilted her head as her ears flicked. “The rain is about ready to pass on, but there should be enough energy to give a good downpour for a few seconds.”

“Rain Dance?” Lily repeated. “You can do that?”

Crystal hummed. “I’m gonna get a little closer.” She walked closer to the crowd and the argument that was going on.

Samuel bounced after her. “What are you going to do with Rain Dance?”

“Did you learn that from Blue?” Richie asked.

“Is that another Pokémon of hers?” Lily asked.

“Nope.” Crystal stopped just behind the crowd as the shouting continued. She could see the three Team Flare members a little more clearly now – all of them were wearing red-orange suits, and their hair was died the same color. “Okay, this should be far enough. Let’s do this.”

Crystal closed her eyes and breathed in, taking in the smell of the early morning rain and the sea. The scent filled her as she focused on the feeling of the rain falling on top of her head, dampening her hair and her fur.

She called on her energy next, raising her hands above her head, cupping them as power crawled up her arms to her fingers. It wasn’t a true dance, not really, but the energy was going towards the same thing.

A beam of deep blue energy shot up to the sky, causing some people nearby to look at her in surprise.

“What just—“ someone started to ask.

And then the rain turned into an utter downpour.

The crowd yelped in surprise. Some scattered for the safety of roof overhangs and the Pokémon Center in order to avoid getting more wet than they already were. Others stayed where they were, laughing at the sudden rain.

The Team Flare goons were not expecting the drizzle to become a proper downpoor. The speeches and arguments for destroying the Fossil Center quickly turned into yelps and yells about the sudden rainstorm.

Crystal kept one hand raised in order to keep pouring energy into the rainstorm while she frowned at the Team Flare members. “Leave them alone! Reviving Pokémon isn’t going to hurt anyone! And besides, most Fossil Pokémon are kept in habitats like what they knew, and they’re not allowed to wander into other places. So leave them alone!”

The three Team Flare grunts looked in Crystal’s direction as some of the other people looked towards her.

“Unnatural!” one of them shrieked. “How dare you—”

Samuel stepped forward, raising a fist. “What are you saying about my Trainer, buddy?”

The second of the Team Flare members grabbed the arms of his companions. “Come on – let’s get out of here! I don’t want to be out in the rain!”

“We’ll be back!” the first one shouted. He pointed at Crystal. “You’ll regret getting in our way, ugly half-breed!”

The Team Flare members fled through the gate leading east, dragging each other and tripping over each other in an attempt to get away from the downpour.

Crystal waited for a moment to see if they were going to come back, or if something else was going to happen. When nothing did, she closed her hand and dropped her arm, cutting off her connection to the rainstorm above their heads. Slowly, the downpour turned into a drizzle, then dissipated entirely as the clouds started to clear away.

As a cold breeze came in, Crystal realized she was soaked through to the bone. She quickly pulled off her white jacket and started wringing it out, leaving her just in a pink T-shirt. “Oh, man…looks like I’m going to have to do some laundry in the Pokémon Center this morning.”

“That was incredible!”

Crystal looked up as a woman in a lab coat walked over. She looked soaking wet as well. “Hm?”

“You’re the Hoenn Champion, aren’t you? Crystal Soul?” The woman looked Crystal over with an expression of interest. “I knew you could use Pokémon moves, but I wasn’t expecting a status move this morning!”

“I learned it from a friend of mine,” Crystal said. “I have Pokémon that are good in the rain, and knowing how to alter the weather a little helps with training.” She looked down at her jacket and sighed heavily. “I kinda wish I’d thought to put a barrier over my head before I did that, though.”

“The Pokémon Center has a dryer you can use if you need it,” the woman said. “Oh, where are my manners – I’m Agate, one of the scientists who works at the Fossil Revivication Center here in Ambrette. We have a dig site out to the east where we’ve been finding no end of Fossils. When you get yourself dried off, would you be willing to come by and see what we’ve been trying to work on?”

“Sure, I’d be open to that.” Crystal paused, then frowned. “Wait, trying to? Have there been things getting in the way?”

“Team Flare, mostly. They’ve been trying to break in and destroy our machinery and research databases, but they don’t know we have backups in Kanto and that our machinery is very much Pokémon-proofed. The only lasting issue is that they’ve made camp in Glittering Cave, which is where we’ve been getting our Fossils from.” Agate blinked when she saw the look on Crystal’s face. “Oh, but you shouldn’t worry about that right now – you should go dry off before you catch hypothermia out here. Come find me in the Center when you’re dry, all right?”

Crystal, frowning at Agate’s words, nodded anyway. “All right. If you say so…”

-----

After a couple hours of sitting in the Pokémon Center’s laundry room, Crystal’s clothes were clean and dry, and she was back at the Fossil Revivication Center, now free of Team Flare harassers and any bad weather.

“You timed the weather nicely,” Esmeralda said. “Rain Dance is very good against Trainers and Pokémon who don’t want to get wet.”

Frieda whined. “Please don’t use it when I’m out, Crystal.”

With the rain being gone, her full team was back out in the open.

“I won’t, I promise,” Crystal told her. “Come on. Let’s go see if Agate and the others are still doing all right.”

The inside of the building didn’t look like it had been bothered by Team Flare, thankfully. There were stones on shelves that lined the walls and also sat in the middle of the space, marking off research spaces where desks and computers were set up.

Crystal noticed the counter at the back of the space, with a dark room beyond it, but before she could move closer to investigate, Agate called her name from a different corner of the Center.

“Crystal! It’s good to see you dried off.” Agate waved from a corner to the right of the counter. There were bookshelves behind her with binders of information. “What do you think of our little space? We don’t have a proper setup right now, but that mostly because we’re trying to catalogue the fossils we’ve found in Glittering Cave so far.”

“I’ve seen messy spaces before; it’s okay,” Crystal replied. She looked around at the stones while Samuel and Richie leaned over one of the stones on a nearby shelf. “Professor Oak and Blaine have some messy spaces sometimes.”

Agate laughed. “I’ll take it as a compliment to be compared to such great minds from Kanto, then. I see you don’t have your Armaldo with you, though. Where is he?”

“Back in Kanto right now.” Crystal looked over the six Pokémon with her. “He may come here later, but I wanted to spend some time working with Frieda, first. Sawyer and Lily have joined me since I started traveling, though.”

“I was wondering about that.” Agate motioned to Sawyer. “It’s rare to see a Vivillon with a pattern like that. Has Viola seen it yet?”

“Nope. I may go back and see her after traveling around western Kalos, though.”

“Well, you should. Helping a Pokémon researcher is something I always look forward to.”

One of the other lab coat-wearing people in the space cleared his throat. “Dr. Agate? The Flare problem?”

Agate blinked in surprise as she looked away from Sawyer. “Oh! Right. Crystal, would you be willing to help us with a little problem?”

“What kind of a problem?” Crystal asked. “I’m guessing it has something to do with the people hiding out in Glittering Cave, right?”

Samuel groaned. “Seriously? We get done with taking out Team Magnus last year, and now there’s another group? I thought we came here for a vacation.”

“You heard what they called her, though,” Richie said. “They called Crystal an ‘ugly half-breed.’ I don’t plan on let them getting away with that.”

Frieda gasped. “They called her what?! I didn’t hear that over the rain!”

Samuel’s nose scrunched up while Crystal frowned.

“I don’t like what they called me, either,” Crystal told them. “But we shouldn’t let them get away with whatever they’re doing in the Glittering Cave anyway.”

“Team Flare is very opinionated about what is and isn’t beautiful or natural,” Agate said. “While I don’t condone Team Rocket’s or Team Magnus’ decision to create human-Pokémon hybrids, I’m not going to fault you for that. You had nothing to do with the circumstances of your creation. Team Flare doesn’t seem to be able to come to terms with that.” She shook her head. “But let’s not talk about their beliefs – they’re doing something here that’s slowing our research considerably.”

“They have Dr. Flint trapped in Glittering Cave,” spoke up the man who’d spoken earlier. “He knows how to run the revivication machine, and without him, we can’t continue our research into the Pokémon that used to live in Kalos, and the Types of Pokémon they were. We have a waiting list of Trainers who are experienced in different Types who are willing to help us raise anything we find, but it’s difficult to fulfill that list when we don’t have any way to revive the fossils.”

“That is a problem.” Crystal frowned. She looked at Samuel and Richie for a moment, then back at them. “I’m willing to do something about them, and I think my team is, too.”

“Yeah.” Frieda nodded. “Nobody calls you ugly and gets away with it!”

Lily made a quiet noise, but she said nothing.

Agate nodded. “That’s good to hear. The road right outside our doors leads to Glittering Cave, but you’ll have to be careful – the route is incredibly rocky, and hard to walk on for normal people. We have Rhyhorn sitting on the route ready to carry you there if you need it. I’ve heard you’re capable of flight…?”

“Not over long distances,” Crystal replied. “Not yet, anyway. I’d have to see how long the route is before I try that.”

“That’s fair. When you get to Glittering Cave, though, you may need to keep your Pokémon inside their PokeBalls. Glittering Cave is a mostly narrow path with a few branching paths, so bringing in large groups could get tricky, especially if you need your team in front of you rather than behind.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Agate looked at Crystal seriously. “Good luck, and don’t let whatever Team Flare says get to you. If they think you’re ugly, that’s their opinion. I’m sure a lot of people in the rest of the world think you’re very cute.”

Crystal blinked, wide-eyed. “Uh…”

“Oh!” Agate put a hand over her mouth, then laughed. “I don’t know why I picked cute for that. Don’t mind me.”

Esmeralda snickered. “We’ll take care of them; don’t worry. Something tells me that Team Flare won’t know what hit them.”

-----

Black flipped the thin, gold bar with red, green, and blue triangles embedded in it around his fingers before slipping it into his Badge case again. “Well, that was satisfying.”

The green monkey with a bush in its head laughed in agreement. “My cousin didn’t know what hit him.”

His Tepig snorted and frowned at the Grass-Type. “I’ll be more prepared next time.”

“I’m sure you will!”

“Relax, you guys, Ash did his fair share of the work.” Black patted the Fire-Type’s head, getting a pleased grunt. “We’ll be more prepared next time, yeah?”

He stepped out of the Pokémon Gym, leaving the delicious smells of the restaurant behind as he walked onto the open street. White and Cheren were already waiting for him with their respective teams. “We got it!”

White nodded while Cheren took a look at his map. “I can see the match didn’t do anything terrible to you.”

“Yeah, well, Ash still wasn’t happy about being forced to sit out for the second half of the match.” Black shrugged. “I plan to make sure he shines next time.”

“The next Gym is in Nacerene,” Cheren said, looking up. “My dad’s notes say it’s in a museum in town.”

Black hummed. “Yeah, all right. Let’s go then.”

“Not yet.” White frowned. “There’s a scientist here who asked me to look into something called Dream Mist in the Dreamyard. That’ll take the rest of the day to find.”

Black scowled. “Seriously?”

“You can train there while I’m looking. Besides, someone is still stalking us for questions.” White turned to look towards a nearby building, where a green-haired teenager was trying – and failing – to look inconspicuous. There was a small bird Pokémon on his shoulder, tilting its head and staring at people who walked past.

Black frowned at N, then snorted. “Well, if he wants to follow us around, that’s up to him. I’m not gonna stop him.” He looked at White. “So, where’s the Dreamyard?”

White nodded towards a path that led out of town to the east. “It’s over this way. We’re looking for a Psychic-Type called Munna.”

Black groaned immediately. “Seriously? Psychic?”

“Black.” Cheren frowned.

“I’ll behave, don’t worry about that. I just wish that whatever you’re looking for wasn’t Psychic. We’ve had more than enough trouble from those things already.”

Black noticed N frown out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t comment on it. If the guy wanted to keep stalking them instead of talking to Team Plasma to stop their stupid propaganda, that was on his head.

He was going to keep himself out of the whole “Team” trouble for once.

Chapter Text

The road outside Ambrette was indeed very rocky, not only because of the ground but also because of the large rocks sitting on the path. Crystal almost considered flying over it, were it not for the look she got from a Rhyhorn sitting on Ambrette’s side of the rocky route.

Lily was disappointed that she didn’t get to see Crystal actually fly, but the fact that she occasionally threw rocks at the Ground and Electric-Types that popped up for a challenge caught the Floette by surprise.

“I knew people like you could use Pokémon abilities, but I didn’t think you would use ones that aren’t a part of your type,” Lily remarked.

“I’m part Mew, and that’s the important thing,” Crystal replied. “Mew can learn any move in existence. Sure, my Psychic moves are stronger, and I like being more defensive than offensive, but I can pick up a little bit of everything if I want to.”

The Rhyhorn below her snorted. “I’d like to see a little thing like you manage an Earthquake, or at least a Magnitude.”

“Haven’t picked that one up yet, but I’m willing to learn!”

Rhyhorn snorted again. “I’d teach ya, but I’m on the job right now, and they don’t like it when we do it near the cliffs. Maybe if you can find me off the clock later, kay, kid?”

“Sounds good to me!”

The cave was quickly reached on the other side, and Crystal thanked the Rhyhorn for the ride before stepping up to the cave entrance. While she didn’t see any of the fiery suits nearby, that didn’t mean they were hiding inside.

Crystal looked at the cave entrance, and the narrow path that led into the cliffs she’d climbed over the day before, and saw the glimmering stones stuck in the walls. “Well, that explains why it’s called Glittering Cave.”

“So, we’re here to find those Team Flare guys?” Lily asked.

“That’s the thought.” Crystal looked at Lily. “Are you ready to help?”

“That’s what a Pokémon does for their Trainer, right?” Lily adjusted her hold on her white flower. “They’re supposed to help or train with and stuff like that. And if these people just insult you on sight like the Flabebe Serena talked to, then that’s a problem.”

Crystal frowned slightly at the first part of Lily’s words, but her expression relaxed when Lily mentioned what had happened when they’d met. “Yeah. It is a problem.” She turned her attention back to the cave, inhaled carefully, then stepped into the dim light inside.

The cave really was a narrow path, lit only by bright green crystals stuck in the walls and the occasional patch of glowing moss. Crystal took the path slowly, relying on the light to show her the path, rather than glowing with Flash like she did for another cave a year ago.

A little brown Pokémon wearing a skull dashed out of a small crack in the wall and tripped in front of her. The bone it had been holding bounced on the stones and stopped at Crystal’s feet.

The Pokémon sniffled. “Owie…”

Crystal knelt down and carefully moved the bone back in grabbing reach of the little Pokémon. “Hey there, Cubone. What’s wrong?” She held out a hand, and it pulsed gently with an aura of light that immediately surrounded the little Ground-Type. “Hey. It’s okay.”

Cubone sniffled while Lily watched with a wide-eyed expression, and the little Ground-Type sat up and grabbed his bone. “I…I’m okay. I-it’s just…there’s some very loud people deeper in the cave, and they’re scary. They don’t like any of the Pokémon in here. They yell so loud, and they just…they…they made me leave Mama’s nest.”

Crystal breathed in sharply. “Oh no. That’s a problem. How about we go down and drive them away together?”

Cubone looked up. “You…you’d do that?” He frowned. “Wait…you…are you a human?”

“Not quite.” Crystal smiled a little. “I’m part Pokémon. There aren’t a lot of people like me in the world.” Her tail flicked behind her. “I’m here to help get the mean people out, okay?”

“They called her ugly,” Lily spoke up, pointing at Crystal.

Cubone gasped softly.

“Well, they’re doing other things besides that.” Crystal frowned at Lily briefly, then looked back at the Cubone. “The people dressed like they’re on fire are also being mean to humans. So we want to stop them. Would you be willing to show us the way?”

Cubone nodded. “Sure! I can do that.” He looked around, then started along the main path. “The fiery people are down this way. Since you’re so big, we can take the human’s path. We shouldn’t run into any other Pokémon down here, either.”

“OK. Lead the way.”

The path was easy enough to follow, it turned out. The bright green gems lit the path Cubone led them down, away from branching-off points that apparently led to dead ends and secret passages to Pokémon nests. Crystal and Lily caught sight of Pokémon watching them from the shadows – including a large rock snake that was curled up in one of the dead ends – but none of them tried to attack the trio as they made their way further down.

Eventually, the cave path widened into a large, well-lit chamber. Glittering stones of various colors lit the space, accompanied by human-made electric lamps sitting in the corners of the room. A mine cart sat on a set of rails, filled with rocks that had bits of fossils sticking out of them.

And standing in the center of the room was one of the three Team Flare members that Crystal had scared away earlier that morning.

“There he is!” Cubone pointed at the man in the fiery suit as he turned to face them. “The weird guy with the red eyes!”

“Those are sunglasses,” Lily said as the man frowned at them. “I think the bit of hair sticking up like a flame looks kinda funny on him, though. He looks like he’s trying to mimic Frieda’s style and is doing a bad job. Ha!”

“You?!” the Team Flare member yelped. “What are you doing – agh, I don’t have time to deal with you! We’re supposed to be stopping the revival of those stupid, dead Fossil Pokémon!”

“And I won’t have you stopping what those people are doing just because you don’t like the look of the Pokémon,” Crystal replied. She prepared herself to grab one of the PokeBalls at her belt, depending on what this man would attempt to challenge her with. Team Flare probably meant Fire-Types, which meant she’d have to rely on Richie or Esmeralda for the moment. Amy wasn’t with her, and Samuel, Frieda, and Sawyer wouldn’t do too well.

Crystal wasn’t about to get an innocent child involved, either. “Cubone, it might be a good idea for you to hide somewhere nearby, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt while we drive them out.”

“Okay!” The Ground-Type scrambled for a group of rocks nearby.

“Do you think we care about what you think?” the Flare member replied. “Team Flare’s goal is to make ourselveshappy. We don’t care what happens to other Trainers or Pokémon! Houndour, go!”

Crystal’s hand froze a few inches away from her PokeBalls at that call. She started to shake as the small, black and red Pokémon leapt from his PokeBall with a howl.

Houndour. Houndoom.

The sound of howls in a dark forest immediately filled her mind.

Crystal’s breathing hitched sharply as her ears flattened against her head, and her team responded to her fear before she could so much as cry out in panic.

Frieda materialized in front of Crystal, ready to fire off an attack at a moment’s notice, only for Richie to run ahead and swing his bladed arms while Samuel, Sawyer, and Esmeralda hung back near Crystal.

Crystal’s shaking and wide-eyed stare of fear unnerved Lily enough that she drifted off Crystal’s shoulder. “H-hey! What’s going on here?”

“Panic attack,” Esmeralda replied, her voice quiet.

Lily looked sharply at the Espeon, then up at Crystal as Richie’s Vacuum Wave hit the Houndour.

The vacuum of air sent the Houndour flying back into a cave wall with a yelp of pain. It collapsed and didn’t get up.

“Not cool, man!” Samuel shouted. He turned his attention to Crystal’s trembling. “Hey, hey, hey! We’re right here, Crystal! You’re not alone, remember? We’ve got your back.”

Crystal trembled even as she looked at Samuel and nodded, but the sound of the Flare member snarling as Sawyer landed on her head made her jolt.

“Of all the – Fine! Zubat, mop up this—"

Frieda took a shot this time. The bright pink-purple glow on the end of her wand turned into a Psybeam, smacking the little bat right in the face and sending it flying back, too. “Don’t do that to Crystal! You’re mean!”

The Zubat collapsed to the ground, leaving the Flare grunt swearing.

“How dare you get in the way of Team—”

Richie was on him right as Zubat finished returning to his PokeBall. One of his bladed arms was up against the man’s chest, sheathed, but prepared to reveal itself at a moment’s notice.

“Richie, hold,” Esmeralda warned.

“I know,” Richie replied. He glared at the Flare grunt, who yelped at the look he received. “I’m just making sure he doesn’t have any more Pokémon on him. Is Crystal doing all right?”

“Give her a second,” Samuel called back. “She’s still pretty badly shaken up here…hey, hey, Crystal, deep breaths, okay? C’mon, Kaz talked me through this for a reason.”

Samuel got Crystal’s attention with a wave of his paw, turning her attention away from the Flare grunt Richie had pinned. The Breloom inhaled, his chest puffing out as he breathed in, then exhaled slowly. Crystal got the message and started to do the same.

“Richie – don’t—” Crystal paused, her voice trembling. “Don’t – don’t hurt him.”

“Wasn’t planning to,” Richie called back. He raised a fist and knocked it into the Flare grunt’s head. There was a dull thunk as his fist connected, followed by a groan as the grunt collapsed, unconscious.

“Just breathe,” Esmeralda said from below. “Samuel, can you stay with her? It would likely be better if we cleared out the rest of Team Flare on our own.”

“We can do that?” Frieda asked. She looked between Esmeralda and Crystal, worry clear on her face.

“If they have more of those little Pokémon, yes.” Esmeralda looked up at Crystal. “Will you be all right following us from behind?”

Crystal blinked at the question. Her eyes were focused, but fear flickered in them despite the Houndour’s defeat. “You guys – you’re definitely strong enough, especially with Esmeralda and Richie at your back.” She shook her head, tail shuddering. “I’ll – I’m just gonna stay back for a bit. Okay?”

Lily stared at Crystal, an unsure expression on her face, but Frieda’s own unsure expression hardened into determination.

“You’ve got it!” Frieda said. “Sawyer, wanna come with me? You said your Bug-Type attacks were good before!”

“They are, but—”

“I’ll protect you against anything else they try! Let’s go!” Frieda immediately ran towards the rails and followed them around a corner. “A-ha!”

“W-wait for me!” Sawyer flew after her, just as a Flare grunt hiding behind a set of rocks yelped and released a Gulpin. “Psybeam!”

The purple-pink energy took the bottomless pit of a Pokémon down before Frieda could finish casting hers; instead, Frieda’s Psybeam hit a green and yellow, four-legged Pokémon in the face before it glared back at her.

“No fair, Sawyer, that was mine!” Frieda complained.

“Get this one, then!” Sawyer replied.

“What is it with you Pokémon?!” the Flare grunt – a woman this time – demanded. “Electrike, use—”

The Electric-Type took another Psybeam to the face from Frieda before the woman could finish the order. Crystal and the rest of the team came up just as the Electrike collapsed.

Frieda laughed and twirled her wand. “Got it!”

Crystal managed a shaky laugh at Freida’s delight. “Nice one!”

Richie gave the Flare grunt a glare, and she squeaked and scrambled back in response. When the woman hit the wall, the Electrike returned to its PokeBall.

“Wh-what is with you?!” the woman demanded. “What kind of cave is this, letting wild Pokémon this strong run rampant?!”

“Whoever said we were wild?” Esmeralda’s tail curled. Her ears flicked. “The last one is up ahead. I’m not sensing any Fire-Types in the PokeBalls he carries.”

Crystal sighed in relief and leaned against the cave wall. “Okay. That’s…that’s good. You guys okay to take them on?”

“Sure!” Frieda replied brightly. “Come on, Sawyer! Let’s go!”

“Wha – hey! Wait up!” Sawyer quickly flapped after her.

The Flare grunt stared after them, then looked at Crystal with an open mouth and lopsided sunglasses. She opened and shut her mouth a few times, then openly winced at the sound of two Psybeams going off down the tunnel, followed by Sawyer yelling, “Bugs, to me!”

Samuel chuckled. “Those two kids’re gonna go far, I can feel it.”

Crystal hummed and nodded in agreement, still shaken, but slowly calming with each breath. The fact that there wasn’t a second Houndour certainly helped her mood.

Frieda came running back a moment later, followed by Sawyer and a man in a lab coat who was carrying two rocks close to his chest. “We found the Fossil guy!”

“And I saw the remains of a nest back there, too,” Sawyer said. “Is that—”

A brown blur moved past them quickly. Crystal barely caught the words “Thank you!” as the Cubone moved past.

“Oh!” the man with the rocks in his arms looked down as the Cubone moved by. “Oh, my. I hope the little thing will be all right.”

“He should be fine,” Crystal said, smiling shakily. “And are you all right, sir?”

“Oh fine, fine. You can call me Flint, by the way.” Flint blinked, then leaned forward, frowning as he looked over his glasses. “Hm…you don’t look too well. Let’s get out of this cave and get you some fresh air.”

“What about the members of Team Flare?” Esmeralda asked.

“Ah, them? We can bring them around too, I suppose.” Flint’s nose wrinkled as he frowned. “We’ll have to call for someone outside of town to have them contained somewhere, however; Ambrette isn’t exactly built with troublemakers in mind.”

“So long as we can keep them somewhere,” Richie said. His voice was heated and harsh, entirely unexpected of the normally calm Gallade.

Flint stared at Richie, then looked at Crystal. “What’s gotten into him?”

“He’s mad on my behalf,” Crystal replied. She took in a shaky breath. “But…yeah, let’s get out of here. And…do you mind if I sit in the Fossil Center and call someone in Kanto?”

“Not at all! So long as your Pokémon don’t bump into the fossils or disturb the other researchers, I don’t think there’ll be a problem.” Flint motioned for them to follow him, and started to move towards the chamber’s exit. “Come on, then. I do hope the rain’s cleared up from this morning, I don’t want these Fossils to get damaged….”

-----

::They had WHAT?!::

Apparently, Richie wasn’t the only one getting mad on Crystal’s account.

On the other side of Crystal’s PokeNav’s connection, Blaine slammed his fists against his desk so hard the camera shook. ::To think that not one, but two organizations would rise up and think of doing this! I ought to jump on a plane, fly to Kalos, and rout this Team Flare myself! And to think they thought using the fire motif would be wise!::

Crystal smiled, but the expression was small and shaky still. The scientists in the Fossil Revivication Center had given her a corner she could sit in that was out of the way of their work, and a heavy tarp blanket to help ground her. She was wrapped up in it now, grateful for the weight of it and Frieda, who was snuggled up next to her. “I wish you could too, Blaine. They want to shut down the research center that’s studying Pokémon fossils here, just because they think the Pokémon are ugly and should stay lost.”

Blaine raised a hand to his bald head, clearly intent on pulling out something, but there wasn’t any hair left for him to pull. ::Of all the nonsensical – what sort of nonsense are people being taught in school these days?! Fossil revival has been a practice that has existed for years now! If they had wanted to say something about stopping it, they should have done so years ago!::

“And the people in Ambrette like them,” Crystal said. “It’s a pretty small town, so having even a little reason for people to come by the coastal town here seems to be a good thing. Especially since the only other thing is a museum that opens into the beach route to Cyllage City.”

::Hm! Good, good. A quiet place for Fossil Pokémon is always preferable to a large city. I should hope that Rustboro is going to learn that sooner rather than later:: Blaine paused. ::But that’s not the reason why you called. Are you sure you’re all right? I am more than aware of your problems with--::

“I’m okay, Blaine,” Crystal promised. “Richie took care of it quickly, and there was only one. Sawyer and Frieda took care of the rest of them before I could so much as see their teams, too.”

::…I can see that Frieda’s evolved, but I’m not familiar with a Sawyer::

“He’s a Bug-Type – a Vivillon. They’re like the Butterfree of this region, except their wing patterns can all be very different from each other.”

::Ah. I’ll have to see if Bugsy knows about that. He could be interested:: Blaine tapped his chin in thought. ::Still, though, this Team Flare…I would feel better about this if you came back to Kanto and got yourself away from those people, Crystal. If they’re willing to use Houndour, and word gets to their higher ups that you are not only trying to stop them, but have a negative reaction to them--::

“I don’t want to leave Kalos alone to deal with this, though,” Crystal replied. “I didn’t run into them in Lumiose or Santalune, while I ran into Team Magnus all over the place in Hoenn. I think they’re not as wide-spread yet.”

::But you are putting yourself in danger of more panic attacks. You shouldn’t have to put yourself in danger like this:: Blaine frowned, his mustache shifting downward. ::I am sending a message to Hoenn to get Amy to Kalos as quickly as possible. You need her to back you up against those Pokémon::

Crystal frowned. “But…I have a full team here already.”

::I’ll talk to Cassius about getting you access to the PC Box system in that region. I know you don’t like the idea of using the digital box system, but if it will make sure that you can be prepared for every possibility, then all the better. Your team will understand::

Crystal frowned. “I don’t….”

“We’ll keep you safe, Crystal,” Frieda said. “If we have to get stuffed in a box sometimes, then that just means someone else can protect you for a while.”

Crystal frowned, her ears flicking as her tail twitched under the blankets. She still didn’t like the idea, but if it meant that she could reach everyone on her team easily…

“Only if the others say it’s okay,” Crystal said. “I don’t want to force them into anything if they don’t want to.”

Blaine nodded. ::That is fair. I will let them know and see if there’s any way for me to get to Kalos myself. If this Team Flare thinks they can use Fire as their motif without consequences, they have another thing coming! I’m going to go pack and lock up the Gym for a while::

“But Blaine—”

The PokeNav’s screen went dark.

Crystal sighed and closed the device, then looked at Frieda. “Looks like Blaine is going to come and give us some help.”

“Good.” Frieda nodded. “I like him. And I know you do, too.”

Crystal smiled a little. “Yeah.”

Flint cleared his throat near them, and Crystal looked up.

“Sounds like Blaine is going to be paying us a visit?” Flint asked, somewhat hopeful.

“Sounds like it,” Crystal replied. “Were you…hoping to see him?”

“Meeting the man who created the revivication method is something of a dream of everyone here,” Flint replied. “There’s something I wanted to give you, as well – or, rather, someone.” He produced a PokeBall and held it out to Crystal. “This is one of the Pokémon that we’ve revived recently. It’s one of the actual natives, unlike some of the fossils that are found washed up on our shores, or whatever chaos that hack Cara Liss produces in Galar.”

Crystal reached out of the blankets and took the PokeBall, then peered inside. Within the PokeBall, there was a long-necked Pokémon with sail-like shapes on either side of its head.

“This is Amara, a Rock and Ice-Type that used to live here when the region was significantly colder,” Flint explained. “It isn’t doing too well in the warmer weather that we have this far south, and considering your luck with that Armaldo on your team, I was wondering if you might be willing to take it with you on your journey.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. She looked up from the PokeBall to Flint. “You – are you sure? I don’t want to –”

“It’s all right. We have other Fossil Pokémon to study, and the Tyrunt that come from the Jaw Fossils are more than enough trouble.” Flint chuckled. “You needn’t worry about our research here, and there are always other Sail Fossils to find.”

Crystal frowned, but then she looked down at the sleeping Pokémon in the PokeBall again. “Well…all right. Is there anything I need to know about taking care of it? I haven’t worked with an Ice-Type before.”

“I would recommend keeping it in its PokeBall as much as possible, unless you know you’re going to be in cooler climates. The PokeBall will make sure that Amaura won’t overheat. Don’t be afraid to have it battle at least a little, too, but I would recommend waiting until after you’ve left the coast in order to let it out.”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do after you saved our center. I’ll spread word about Team Flare and tell Trainers to take care of them if they ever see them. At the very least, I hope that you won’t have to run into as many of them as you did today.”

“Absolutely,” Richie agreed from where he was standing nearby. “If they try, we’ll make sure Crystal doesn’t have to so much as look at them.”

Crystal looked over at the Gallade, then scanned the rest of her team. They were all sorts of concern and anger, but most of that anger seemed to have run its course.

She hoped the Houndour was an outlier in Team Flare’s Pokémon roster. She didn’t want to have to deal with this every single time they ran into Team Flare.

Chapter Text

Flint wasn’t kidding about the coastal heat that was on the beach. It was a little cooler than it was in Hoenn, but she wasn’t about to test her new teammate’s stamina against the morning sun.

Not to mention, there were Trainers looking for a fight, and Crystal didn’t want to force Borealis to battle immediately. He was young, inexperienced, and was probably better off sleeping for now, until she could get into another air-conditioned building.

Like the Pokémon Center in Cyllage City, which was definitely her goal for today.

The beach wasn’t much of a beach, but it certainly was one all the same. There were fishermen and swimmers spending time on the rock-strewn sand, and some Rock-Type Pokémon hiding in the more cracked stones. Crystal saw some that looked like they’d be just as comfortable in the water as they were on land, but the Binacles glared at her defensively whenever she or other members of her team got too close.

“Why didn’t you say no?” Lily asked. “You’ve got a full team already, right? So why let him give you a seventh?”

“I don’t think he would’ve let me say no,” Crystal replied. She looked down at the seventh, unopened PokeBall on her belt. The Amaura was looking around inside his PokeBall, but he hadn’t tried to leap out. She’d gotten a chance to talk to him the day before, and had learned he had a child’s mindset. He definitely wasn’t ready for any battles yet.

Borealis hadn’t called her “Mistress Mew” on meeting her, though, so that was definitely different from when she’d met Ando. She wondered if it had something to do with the region Amaura were found in.

“Besides, taking him out for a little adventure wouldn’t hurt,” Crystal added to Lily. “He seemed curious about the world outside the Fossil Center, and he said it was getting crowded.”

Lily hummed, but she frowned all the same.

The route quickly gave way to hardened sand and asphalt as the beach came to an end and a town began in its place.

A group of five people on bicycles zipped past on another road, forcing Crystal to stop short in surprise.

Richie and Samuel stopped behind her as well, watching the group zip past.

“Whoa!” Frieda watched the cyclists zip past, then wheel around some of the buildings and climb up the cliff on one side of town. “They’re so fast!”

“I don’t think I could fly that fast, either!” Sawyer agreed. “Wow…I didn’t know humans could go that fast. How are they doing that?”

“Those are bicycles,” Crystal replied. “They’re things humans can ride to travel long distances. They have to push with their feet against something called ‘pedals’ in order to turn the wheels. That’s what their feet are doing when they’re picking up speed.”

“Oh. I wonder if there’s something like that for Pokémon…”

“If there is, I haven’t heard of it.” Crystal looked around and noticed the Pokémon Center. “A-ha. Let’s go let Nurse Joy know we’re going to need a room.”

“You mean we can’t keep going?” Frieda asked. “The sun’s still up! It’s not even noon yet!”

“But we don’t know how far the next town is.” Crystal started towards the Pokémon Center, pausing as another group of cyclists rushed by. “So it’d be a good idea for us to take a moment, have a look around town, and then we can keep moving.”

Lily gripped the backpack strap on Crystal’s shoulder as she jogged across the street. The rest of Crystal’s team followed after before the cyclists could pass by again. “I thought you were in a hurry to get back to Lumiose to get the power on. Don’t tell me you’re not planning on doing that.”

“I still want to get there,” Crystal replied. “But I don’t want to make everyone exhausted by running you guys ragged. And most of my team isn’t as strong as Samuel, Richie, and Esmeralda. That counts you, by the way.”

Lily grumbled, but she didn’t say anything more.

The Pokémon Center’s Nurse Joy was more than willing to let them have a room for the night, and make sure the room was cool enough that Borealis and everyone else was able to sleep in the open.

“The local Gym Leader has an Amaura and a Tyrunt of his own,” the nurse explained as she handed over Crystal’s room key. “We know how to accommodate for them. I have to be surprised that the Fossil Center gave you an Amaura to train – Fossil Pokémon in Kalos are a bit notorious for being difficult to train.”

“Because Amaura are Ice-Types?” Crystal asked.

“And because they overheat so easily, but also because Tyrunt and their evolved form, Tyrantrum, are prehistoric Dragon-Types that have the instincts of strong predators. Grant has trained his Tyrunt to not try and eat his team, at least, but that’s harder than it sounds for prehistoric Pokémon.”

“Oh, wow.” Crystal winced. “I’m pretty glad that I was gifted Borealis, then. A Pokémon that needs to stay cool is better than trying to train a Pokémon to not eat my teammates.”

Nurse Joy nodded in agreement. “Is there anything that you plan on doing in Cyllage City? Most Trainers who come here are either looking to participate in the cycle races, or the Gym challenge. Since you are still marked as a Champion, I doubt that you are going to be doing the same.”

Crystal shook her head. “No, but if he knows how to train the local Fossil Pokémon, I might want to go and talk to him anyway. If I’m going to train Borealis, I’m going to need some tips.”

“Well, he’s participating in the cycle race right now, but if you wait a couple minutes, you might be able to ask him before he goes back up to his Gym to wait for challengers. He told me yesterday that Viola had three challengers a few days ago, and he’s expecting them to reach him soon.”

“I know the three Trainers who are coming,” Crystal remarked. “I don’t know how far behind me they are, though. I left them in Santalune when only one of them had managed to get Viola’s Badge.”

Nurse Joy’s expression brightened. “So it is true this time, then. Good. He tends to think up all kinds of excuses to go climbing on his personal climbing walls inside his Gym. It’s good to know he’s actually getting a challenge soon.”

“Sounds like this guy likes running around,” Samuel remarked. “Think he’s a Fighting-Type guy?”

“If he’s got Amaura and this Tyrunt they’re talking about, he’s probably a Rock-Type Trainer,” Richie replied.

Frieda made a face. “I can’t do much against Rock-Types.”

“Which is why you’ve got us to back you up,” Esmeralda replied. “Besides, we’re not here to give him a challenge. We’re here to know how to help Borealis, and then we can move on.”

“…yeah, okay. I hope I can get some training in, though. I want to figure out what other moves I can cast with my wand.”

Crystal pocketed the room key and looked at the rest of her team. “Well, we can split up if you want. I’m sure Grant wouldn’t mind if I worked with him and Borealis, and you guys can spend some time training in another part of his Gym. If you wanted, that is. I won’t force you if you don’t want to.”

“I’m all right with that,” Richie said.

“Sure.” Samuel grinned. “If there are any rocks who want to take us on, I could show them a thing or two.”

Esmeralda nodded and nudged against Frieda. “We can work together on your moves, rather than any Rock-Types that might be there.”

“Sure!” Frieda said brightly. “And Sawyer can work with us, too!”

Sawyer landed on Crystal’s backpack, wings flared. “Sure, I’m fine with that.”

Crystal nodded. She looked at Nurse Joy. “We’ll probably be back in a couple hours; we’re gonna go find Grant.”

Nurse Joy nodded back. “Grant wears gemstones done up in his hair. He’s very hard to miss as a result.”

“All right. Thanks!”

As the six of them stepped out of the Pokémon Center again, Crystal stopped a little away from the road to give the city another good, long look in order to get her bearings. Running across roads in order to avoid pedaling cyclists hadn’t given her a lot of time.

Most of the city was built at the base of the cliffs high above their heads, with a couple buildings higher up and what looked like the entrance to a Gym built right into the side of a cliff.

And there was someone starting to climb up the side of the cliff, rather than taking the steep road leading up.

“Do you guys mind if you return to your PokeBalls for a second?” Crystal asked, not taking her gaze off the figure now halfway up the cliff.

“So long as you let us out as soon as we get to the Gym,” Samuel replied.

Crystal nodded in promise, and her team quickly returned to their PokeBalls.

Lily gripped the backpack strap on Crystal’s right shoulder. “What are you planning on doing?”

“Do you want to stay out for this?” Crystal asked. “You’re small enough that you can ride with me.”

“What do you mea—”

Crystal jumped up, and didn’t come back down.

Lily stared down at the ground, and Crystal’s feet hovering a foot above the ground. “How…”

“Mew get around by flying,” Crystal replied honestly. “So, I can, too.”

She immediately did just that, flying forward and up the steep road that led to the Pokémon Gym. The wind pushed her hair back as Lily clung to her backpack tightly in one hand, and her flower in the other.

“Why don’t you do this all the time?!” Lily demanded. “You could travel so much faster just flying!”

“Because I’m human, too – and humans have legs that Mew don’t!” Crystal reached the top of the road and landed on her feet. “Besides, I can’t fly for very long yet. It’s something that I’m working on.”

“Well, work on it more often!”

A pair of hands appeared at the edge of the cliff, followed by a dark-skinned man with gemstones of different colors wrapped in his hair. “Whoo! That’s some speed you’ve got! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone fly like that before. That wasn’t your Floette dragging you up here, was it?”

“Nope.” Crystal’s tail flicked as she grinned and Lily slowly released her grip on the backpack. “It was all me. I’m Crystal, the Hoenn Champion. You’re Grant, right?”

“Hoenn Ch—” The man did a double-take. “You?”

“Mhm!”

He blinked a couple times, then shook his head and grinned. “I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting you to show up in Cyllage City. Not gonna lie, you don’t look like the kind of person to go on cycle races or go rock climbing.”

“Well, I’m currently passing through,” Crystal replied. “But considering the time and the fact that I don’t know the region very well, I thought I’d stay for a day and train a little. The Fossil Center in Ambrette gave me an Amaura, and the Nurse Joy here said that you know how to train one?”

“They gave you an Amaura?” the man repeated in surprise. “I can’t say I was expecting that. It took me a long time for my request to go through for Amaura and Tyrunt.” He shook his head slightly. “But yes, I’m Grant, the Gym Leader here. Did you want to train in the Gym with your new Fossil Pokémon, then?”

“Mhm.” Crystal nodded. “And the rest of my team wants to spend some time training, as well. Richie, Esmeralda, and Samuel, my Gallade, Espeon, and Breloom, are pretty high-leveled, but I’ve been catching new team members here in Kalos, too, and they want to train a little.”

Grant rubbed his chin in thought. “Hm. Well, I am expecting some Trainers to come through here soon, but I’d be all right to have my apprentices fight against your team while I work with you and your Amaura. If any challengers show up, though, I’m going to have to step away from you for a bit.”

“That’s fine.” Crystal nodded. “I don’t know if there are any other challengers other than Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor, but I’m pretty sure those three are at least a day behind me. If they get to Cyllage, it’ll probably be tonight or tomorrow.”

“Oh, really? You ran into them?” Grant’s expression brightened. “Well, if they won’t be able to challenge me until tomorrow, then the rest of the afternoon is wide open for training! Come on, let’s get started.”

Grant led Crystal into the Gym entrance in the cliff, and she was immediately greeted by a tower of rock with hand and foot-holds built into the stone. Trainers sat or stood on various ledges of the tower. A couple of the younger ones looked a little winded, but not entirely exhausted.

“Hey, guys!” Grant called with a wave. “This is Crystal – she’ll be training with us this afternoon. She’s got some young Pokémon that could use some training, and her stronger Pokémon are looking for a bit of a challenge. Are any of you willing to help?”

“We’re not getting any challengers today?” one of them called down.

“Crystal doesn’t think they’re going to get here until tomorrow,” Grant replied. “All the more reason to make sure you’re all prepared. You up for it?”

“Sure!” one of the exhausted boys rose to his feet. “If I can beat even one of the Hoenn Champion’s Pokémon, then that means I’m getting stronger!”

Crystal grinned a little. “Sounds good to me.” She tapped each of her PokeBalls in turn, summoning her Pokémon from within them.

Six PokeBalls burst open, and Crystal’s team materialized – including one light blue, long-necked Pokémon with ice gems embedded in his sides and frills on either side of his head. With that long neck, he was four feet tall, which was definitely taller than Crystal had originally expected of the Fossil mon.

“Aww!” cooed one of the female Trainers above them. “You’ve got an Amaura, too? It’s so cute!”

Borealis shook his head and looked around. He blinked his wide eyes at the rock climbing tower. “What is that? There are cliffs inside?”

Grant laughed. “Yup, there are cliffs inside! Sometimes I want to go rock climbing, and it’s a bit difficult to do that when the cliffs get wet from rain.”

Crystal’s ears perked up. “Oh! You can understand Pokémon!”

“Yup! Well, only Rock-Types. Fossil Pokémon kinda count because they carry it over from being revived.” Grant grinned and patted Borealis on the head. “We’re doing a little training today, little buddy. You up for it?”

Borealis blinked at Grant’s hand, looking confused, but not disliking the contact. “Sure! Crystal said she wanted to help me get stronger. Are you what she meant?”

“He’s the start of it,” Crystal replied. “He’s gonna help us get some solid ground under you.”

“Okay. So, where do we start?”

“Well, we can start by letting the rest of Crystal’s team go fight the rest of my Trainers for a challenge.” Grant nodded to the rest of Crystal’s team. “Go on, now. Have fun, and put my Trainers through their paces!”

“Within reason,” Crystal added quickly. She gave Esmeralda, Samuel and Richie a pointed look. “Some of you are probably stronger than them.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Samuel waved a paw. “I know, I know. I’m saving Drain Punch for the stronger ones, anyway.” He looked over at the climbing walls, then started for it.

Richie followed after him. “I hope some of those Trainers are easy enough to get to. Climbing could get difficult for some of us.”

“I’ll figure something out,” Esmeralda remarked.

Lily frowned up at the climbing tower, then looked at Crystal for a long moment. She huffed and shook her head. “I won’t do any good in whatever frozen room you’re gonna be walking into. My flower won’t like it.”

“Go and have a little fun,” Crystal encouraged. “If I need you, I’ll call.”

“Sure, sounds good.” Lily drifted off Crystal’s shoulder, then moved to follow after the rest of Crystal’s team.

Crystal turned to look at Grant and Borealis. “So, where do we start?”

-----

Grant’s training room for his Amaura turned out to be a large, repurposed walk-in refrigerator at the back of the Gym. He’d torn out all the internal shelving and replaced it with a rocky obstacle course with targets at the back of the space.

Crystal pulled her jacket more tightly around her to ward off the cold, while Borealis breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, this is better.” Borealis stretched out his neck. “So, what are we going to do?”

“Well, I can tell there’s targets in the back for your long-range moves…and I’m guessing the obstacle course is to help with speed?” Crystal guessed.

“That’s the thought,” Grant replied. “We should work on both, since you have the time for it this afternoon. Amaura aren’t exactly the fastest Pokémon because of their weight and the shortness of their legs, so we want to make sure your Pokémon can move well enough to dodge any attacks coming at him.”

Crystal nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Borealis, which one do you want to start with? Do you want to get to know your moves better, or do you want to get used to moving quickly first?”

Borealis tilted his head. “Um…running sounds like a lot of work…I’m okay with starting with moves, though.”

“Moves it is!” Grant replied. “Let’s go and have a look at those targets and get started, then.” He started to lead them around the obstacle course and towards the firing range in the back of the room. “So, Crystal, how did you make friends with Borealis? The Fossil Center does let Trainers revive any fossils they find, but Sail and Jaw Fossils are rare, so they keep them pretty close to their chest.”

“A group called Team Flare was harassing them,” Crystal replied. “They wanted to make the Fossil Center stop because they called Fossil Pokémon ugly.” She frowned. “But they’re definitely not ugly. I like the way that Ando and Borealis look.”

Borealis hummed, the frills on his head flickering with color.

“So do I!” Grant replied. “Fossil Pokémon are great Pokémon to have on your team. These Team Flare people must just be jealous of people who have good, strong Pokémon.”

“Maybe, but…something tells me they might be more of a problem than just that.” Crystal frowned. “I don’t know what they’re going to do, but they’re a group that we should keep an eye on and stop whenever they start to mess with people like that.”

Grant frowned at that, then snorted and shook his head. “You’re probably overreacting. Kalos has had a history of conflict and war, sure, but everyone’s taught to be open and accepting. This Team Flare group is probably just a group of dissidents that will die out eventually. I wouldn’t be too worried.”

Crystal stared at him with an incredulous expression. “You…are you serious?”

“Yeah. Not the first time that a group’s started to rise up and die fast in Kalos. I don’t think this one’s gonna have enough traction to keep going, especially if all they’re doing is messing with the Fossil Center in Ambrette.” Grant shrugged.

Crystal frowned at Grant. “That is not the sort of reaction I was expecting from a Gym Leader about a potential threat.”

“I’ll consider them a threat when I start hearing about them more than just one small town. In the meantime, I’ll just focus on rock climbing and helping Trainers get stronger. So.” Grant motioned to the targets. “Let’s start on those moves, shall we?”

Crystal wasn’t sure what to make of Grant, but she could see the eager look on Borealis’ face at the thought of training some.

She sighed heavily, then nodded. “Yeah. All right. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Text

Grant was very thorough in his training with Crystal and Borealis. He definitely had experience with Amaura, and it showed in how he handled Borealis’ beginning steps.

“The one thing you have to know with Amaura is what their ability does to their moves,” Grant said. “Every move they learn becomes Ice-Type. Ghost, Rock, Dark, Normal – doesn’t matter, everything becomes an Ice-Type attack. While that means he won’t do well against Pokémon that can resist Ice-Type moves, it does mean that every move is going to be stronger than what you were expecting.”

“Because the attacks will resonate with him better than if he didn’t have that ability,” Crystal said, nodding. “That’s pretty cool. It’s like Skitty’s Normalize ability, that turns every move it learns into the Normal-Type.”

“Exactly.” Grant nodded, grinning. “Glad you know your Pokémon abilities just as well as your moves! Does this mean you have an Ability of your own?”

“Um…I don’t think so?” Crystal watch Borealis use Icy Wind, freezing three of the five targets in front of him. “Keep going, Borealis. We want to get it down to two targets today, okay?”

“Sure.” Borealis pulled his head back slightly and inhaled before blowing out a cold wind again. Three targets were coated in ice again, and he frowned. “Hm.”

“You don’t think so?” Grant repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Because I’m part human and part Pokémon, my physical defenses aren’t as good as a normal Pokémon, and my Barrier, Reflect, and Light Screen moves are stronger than usual in order to compensate for that,” Crystal explained to Grant, her tail flicking. “I don’t like fighting a lot, either, so I haven’t, um, tested to see what my Pokémon-given ability actually is. If I had a guess, though, it’d probably be Synchronize.”

“That’s the Psychic ability that causes opposing Pokémon to suffer the same status ailment that you do,” Grant said thoughtfully. “So, poison and paralysis would bounce back and hurt them as much as it hurts you, so long as they’re not naturally immune to it.”

“And I haven’t tried to test that,” Crystal said.

“I can imagine why,” Grant replied. “We’ll just leave it as something unspoken, then.”

Crystal nodded in agreement.

Borealis exhaled sharply, producing an Icy Wind that froze two targets. “I did it!”

“Great job, Borealis!” Crystal praised.

Borealis smiled brightly, his frills glowing brightly.

Grant laughed. “Good! You’re going far. Now, how about we work on his movement speed a little? I should also check on my apprentices and make sure that your Pokémon aren’t completely trouncing my Gym Trainers.”

“Sounds good.” Crystal nodded.

-----

Training the rest of the day went well overall, and the next morning when they left to the north for Geosenge, Frieda had a spring in her step, Sawyer was flying ahead of them instead of staying near Crystal and sitting on her backpack, and Borealis was waiting in his PokeBall for a chance to walk in the sun and test his strength against the warmth of the modern world.

Crystal wasn’t planning on releasing him until they were beyond the flowers and the beach was out of sight, but the morning was cool enough that she was already thinking about letting him out.

And then she and her team turned a corner on the path, leading away from the yellow flowers and instead towards a sight that made Crystal’s tail fall still.

“What…” Crystal blinked in confusion as she looked over the tall stones that sat ahead of them.

Samuel tilted his head. “Did a bunch of humans think it’s a good idea to put up a bunch of rocks like that and call it a day or something?”

Richie elbowed him. “I think there’s something else going on here.”

“Richie’s right.” Esmeralda stepped forward, ahead of the group, and sniffed at one of the tall stones. “There is a strange power here, and it seems to be coming from the stones themselves. Crystal, are you seeing anything from them?”

“Yeah, and I’m not even using my aura sight actively.” Crystal frowned. “It’s like…I’m almost feeling something from them, but it’s just on the edge…I can’t quite figure out what it is I’m feeling, but it’s kinda familiar.”

Crystal sensed the presence coming up from behind her before she heard the sound of flapping wings, and she turned as Sawyer yelped in surprise.

A large Pokémon with skeletal-shaped wings hovered behind the group. It was hard to tell where its eyes really were – whether they were on the round, strangely-patterned body or the single eye sticking out of the antenna – but it wasn’t hard to sense the psychic power this Pokémon possessed.

“Whoa…” Frieda stared, eyes wide, while Sawyer quickly flew around to hide behind Crystal, clinging to the top of her backpack tightly.

“Hey!” Lily glared up at Sawyer as his wings almost pushed her off her shoulder perch.

“Hello,” Crystal said, looking at the Pokémon. “I – sorry if we offend, but I don’t think any of us have seen a Pokémon quite like you before.”

The Psychic, flying Pokémon said nothing for a moment. Then its flight pattern dipped slightly as the main body bobbed. “No offense has been found, young Child of Mew. Your inexperience with the world is acknowledged. I am a Sigilyph, with the taken name Glyph.”

Crystal nodded back in greeting. “Okay. It’s nice to meet you, Glyph.”

“Is there anything you can tell us about these stones?” Frieda asked. “They kinda…they feel really weird. It’s almost like they’re trying to say something.”

Crystal felt rather than saw Glyph look down at Frieda.

“These stones are very old,” Glyph said. “Most humans and Pokémon only see them as relics of the past to stare at, but there are some among us who can hear clearly, and know the tales that these stones would tell. That one of your kind traveling with a child of Mew can hear them even a little speaks of your hidden strength.”

Freida blinked in surprise, then rubbed the back of her head with a paw and chuckled nervously. “Eh hee.”

“I can’t hear them so much as I can feel them,” Crystal admitted. Her tail slowly moved back and forth behind her. “I’m more…empathic? I think that’s the word? So I can feel emotions better than I can pick up clear thoughts from people without inherent Psychic power.”

“It is not a power to be taken lightly,” Glyph replied. “I know you will use it well.”

There was a finality to his voice that caught Crystal by surprise.

“You have questions about the stones. Ask, and I will answer.”

Crystal blinked at that, and Sawyer peered over her shoulder while Lily tilted her head.

Richie cleared his throat. “Why—”

And then Borealis burst out of his PokeBall, hit the grass, and demanded, “What’s so important about rocks that feel funny to Crystal and Frieda? Do they have Pokémon in them like how I was in one before the scientists pulled me out of it?”

Richie jumped at Borealis’ question. Samuel snickered at his reaction.

Glyph took on a silence that Crystal found contemplative. He was definitely looking Borealis over as he thought about how to answer.

“They are not like the fossil you were created from, child of the frozen past and human present,” Glyph said. “However, these stones do contain the souls of Pokémon. If you know to listen, you might hear their stories. Their anguish. What happened to them here as they died.”

Crystal’s tail went still as she breathed in slowly.

Samuel looked sharply between the stones and the Sigilyph. “You mean – this is Kalos’ Mt. Pyre. This is where all Pokémon are buried.”

“It’s not that,” Esmeralda said. “This is…something older, than the Pokémon buried in Mt. Pyre. These stones, these souls, have been here for a long time.” Her ears flicked as her tail swayed slowly.

“Three thousand years, maybe?” Crystal asked, her body starting to feel cold.

“By the humans’ reckoning, Child of Mew.” Glyph moved, then went to hover in front of one of the tall stones in front of them. “These stones are here, and they remember, even when others do not. And we are here to help them remember, when humans make that request.”

Frieda tilted her head. “Help them remember?”

“You mean you can put the memories into their heads,” Sawyer said. “Mama said we used to be able to do that, but Vivillon lost the ability to do that a long time ago.”

“Your mother taught you well,” Glyph said. “You do not need me to bring these memories to you, but you will need me to bring you out of the memories that are experienced. Human Psychics can have some difficulty in pulling themselves out, and the same can be said for Pokémon who do not know what happens when they touch the stones.”

“That sounds like it could be dangerous.” Crystal frowned.

“Only if I did not know what I do. And I know what I do.” Glyph’s body shimmered with power. “Would you like to see, Child of Mew?”

Crystal’s ears flicked at the question, pulling back as her tail started moving more quickly. “I don’t…mm. I don’t want to feel what it is to die, if that’s the memory you want to show me.”

“No. I am not cruel. And neither are they, to show a child that which should not be experienced by those who live still.”

Crystal still felt cautious. She wanted to know, but…there was something about the stones that made her more uneasy than anything. Like they served as a warning.

Still, though…learning what that warning was might make her unease lessen. Or turn into something else.

“I can go with you, if you want.” Esmeralda moved to stand next to Crystal. “This is not something that should be gone through alone.”

“Two at once is acceptable,” Glyph said. He started to shimmer more brightly. “Come, then, and touch the stone. You will not be able to interact with those you see in the memories, but you will be able to hear, see, and feel that which the Pokémon felt.”

That was the part that Crystal was afraid of. Her ears pulled back at the thought. “I don’t – I don’t know….”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Esmeralda said. “But I am curious about what the souls of the Pokémon here have to say, if there is anything they still want to share.”

With that, Esmeralda walked forward and leaned her forehead against the stone. Glyph crooned – a sad sound that made Crystal feel chills down to her bones – then started almost glowing.

The power shifted over to the stone, and across it to Esmeralda, who fell still.

“Why didn’t you go in?” Lily asked. “Glyph had the door open for you right there.”

“I already know something dangerous happened here, once,” Crystal replied. “The longer I stand here, the clearer the emotions of the stones are. And…and I don’t like what I’m feeling already. There’s…there’s a lot of fear. And, and anger, that they were put through something terrible here.” Her tail started flicking, agitated. “And there’s despair, too, that they weren’t able to stop whatever it is that happened, that they were forced to help it instead, whatever it is that happened. If this place is a graveyard, it’s cursed.”

Lily stared at Crystal with an odd expression, while Sawyer made a worried noise at her back.

Richie stepped forward. “Then we should take those warnings to heart. If this place is sacred like Mt. Pyre is, but in a different way, then we should treat it with respect.”

Samuel nodded in agreement.

“If the Pokémon in these stones can’t come back, then we should make sure the stones aren’t hurt,” Borealis said. “They’re important.”

“Yeah.” Frieda nodded in agreement. “Definitely.”

Esmeralda gasped suddenly and fell back from the stone; she stumbled and fell on her behind, limbs akimbo. “That – oh, why—”

Glyph crooned softly and pulled away from the stone himself. “I am sorry. I did not know that was the memory he wished to tell.”

“Esmeralda!” Crystal knelt next to the Espeon. “Are you all right??”

Esmeralda leaned against her Trainer with a worried noise. “The Pokémon here…they were forced to give themselves to something terrible. They were given up because the king of Kalos needed them. This one…a Rhydon…he wanted to come home to his human partner. But he never did.”

Crystal gasped softly. She hugged Esmeralda close, burying her face in her fur. “I’m sorry. I should’ve—”

“You would not have dealt with this well,” Esmeralda replied. “You were wise to stay back, Crystal.”

“Too much emotion can overwhelm the most empathic,” Glyph said. “It was wise for you not to follow.” He moved away from the stone, shuddering a little. “What Esmeralda says is true. The ancient king used them to power something great and terrible. They did not know what the thing was, however, and we are sworn to not tell what lies under Kalos.”

“That’s okay,” Crystal said. “I don’t want to know what it is.” She paused. “Or, I don’t think I need you to tell me. Archie and Maxie said that…that there was a crazed man who unleased a lot of energy, and that’s where Infinite Energy comes from. The same kind of energy we make with Mega Evolution…these Pokémon were forced to release it for something. And if there was a disaster in Kalos’ past….”

She trailed off with a shudder, her ears pulling back as her tail twitched wildly.

Esmeralda hummed and nuzzled Crystal. “It will not happen again. They serve as a reminder of the past, now, and will keep it from happening again in the future.”

Crystal hummed back, shaking slightly.

“I will guide you to Geosenge,” Glyph said. “I know the quickest way out of these stones, that you will not hear their voices any longer. Come, let us leave this place, that you may rest.”

“Sounds good to me,” Borealis spoke up. “I’m starting to feel a little warm.”

Crystal laughed a little, quietly. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s…let’s get away from here. I don’t like how heavy the air is starting to feel.”

-----

A Team Flare grunt crouched in the bushes watched as Crystal and her group of seven Pokémon gathered themselves together and followed the Sigilyph they’d briefly befriended. He held the Holo Caster close. “She’s in Geosenge. Should I attack?”

::No:: came a gruff-voiced reply. ::We have reports of her response to the Ambrette attempt. She will be wary of us, and the Pokémon you have chosen. The Gallade and Breloom traveling with her will finish you before you have a chance to get close::

“Hm.” The Flare grunt glanced at the two Pokémon at the back of the group as Crystal and her Pokémon moved out of his line of sight. “…yeah, they do look strong. What now, then?”

::Follow from a distance. Watch to see if she does anything that will help or hinder our projects. If need be, we will stop her then::

“Understood.”

The Flare grunt pocketed his Holo Caster, then started to move after Crystal on light feet. He knew how to avoid the wild Pokémon that lived in the area, so they didn’t bother him for the moment.

Especially since he didn’t want to touch those old stones that tourists liked to ooh and aah over. Something about them made his skin crawl. Probably the history of them, but also…

No. No, he didn’t want to think about it. Definitely not.

The grunt shook his head a little, then kept moving forward. He moved around the stones and patches of rougher grass where the Pokémon hid, still avoiding the stones. “That ugly Mew kid better not try anything…we want to make the world a better place for us, not for people like her. As if the climate shift in Hoenn last year was bad enough….”

His muttering didn’t go unnoticed. A mound of clay, molded and possessed by a spirit of old, lifted its head and watched the man go with a seemingly blank gaze.

“Potential hostile force detected,” the Pokémon said. “Engage?”

“Deny, Golett,” said the Sigilyph in the tree above him. “Observe and follow. If he acts hostility towards the Child of Mew or any humans or Pokémon in the area, then engage.”

“Understood.” Golett crouched down slightly, then moved to follow after the grunt.

When the Flare grunt ahead of him started talking to his Houndour about what the Fire and Dark-Type was commanded to do to Crystal the instant she acted against them, he immediately took a clay fist to the side of his head. The Team Flare grunt fell like a stone.

“Threat neutralized,” Golett said.

“Good. Take it to their front doorstep. Let it serve as a message. We are not going to take kindly to what they intend.”

“Understood.”

Chapter Text

Geosenge was a small town of cabins in a circle around a small clearing. The three small stones poking up out of the ground in the center made Crystal uneasy.

She decided that paying a quick visit to the Pokémon Center was in order, but then they were going to move on to the next town immediately. After Esmeralda’s exposure to the stones and the emotional distress she felt from them, Crystal wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

Her team didn’t argue. Borealis had to return to his PokeBall because of how much warmer the day had become, and Esmeralda looked as shaken as Crystal felt uneasy. Maybe the next town would have a better atmosphere than “cursed graveyard being used as a tourist site.”

“Shalour City is next?” Crystal looked between her PokeNav and the stone arch that led out of Geosenge to the east, away from the stone formations that had spooked her so much. “I think…didn’t Korrina say she was the Gym Leader there? And that there was a Tower of Mastery to Mega Evolution?”

“Yeah.” Richie nodded. “She said we should check the area out. Want to give it a look?”

“It might be a good idea. Especially after what we saw earlier. I’d…I’d rather find something nice to end the day with, rather than the lingering emotions of those who passed on here.”

Esmeralda’s tail shuddered. “Agreed.”

The route leading away from Geosenge was very, very short, and only had a couple Trainers on it. Crystal decided to hang back and let her team battle the Trainers without giving them too many commands; she trusted them to know what they were doing, and they did exactly that.

She snuck Archie and Maxie a text during one of the battles. ::We just passed through Geosenge. I talked to one of the Sigilyph there, and after that…I wish I could scold every single tourist who goes there in order to gawk at the graves of the sacrificed::

She doubted they would respond for a while, but it helped vent her frustrations.

The end of the short path led to a cave entrance.

Esmeralda sniffed at the sign next to the entrance. “Hm. Reflection Cave…it feels like there are Psychic Pokémon in here.”

“It doesn’t look like we can go around.” Crystal looked around the route.

“You can’t,” confirmed one of the Trainers nearby – a Psychic who has used Pokémon Crystal hadn’t seen before. “Reflection Cave is the only way to Shalour City. I think that was done on purpose, considering that Korinna is a Fighting-Type Gym Leader.”

“If there are any Trainers coming from this direction, that does make sense.” Crystal nodded. “Is there anything I need to know going through this cave?”

“Not a lot. It’s a rather simple path. The crystals have flattened and formed into perfect mirrors on the walls, which is interesting to look at. We’re not entirely sure why that could’ve happened.”

“Oh; cool.” Crystal’s ears flicked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a cave with mirrors in it before.”

“Well, it should be an interesting trip for you, then.” The Psychic motioned to the cave. “Have fun traveling.”

Crystal nodded back. “Thanks. Sorry if my team ruined your plans for training today.”

The Psychic chuckled. “It was expected. You don’t need to worry yourself.”

Crystal nodded back, then turned and walked into Reflection Cave, followed by her Pokémon.

The change in atmosphere was apparent immediately. Being inside, out of the sun, meant that it was cooler and dimmer inside. At least, it would be dimmer, except for all the softly glowing crystals stuck in the walls.

Crystal let Borealis out as she stepped inside, looking around for a moment before she noticed the mirror on one of the cave walls. “Oh, wow. So, this is what he meant.”

She walked up to the crystal-mirror wall to give it a closer look, while her team followed after or started to scatter a little, investigating dark corners and looking around for the path forward.

The mirror of crystal was perfectly flat and smooth, without any imperfections that Crystal could see at a glance. There was someone on another part of the same wall giving it a similar inspection, eyes wide with a look of amazement.

“Is it as smooth as it looks…?” Crystal put her hand against the mirror. Somehow, it felt smoother than glass.

Then the reflection rippled out from her hand, turning into something else: a lab, one that was better left to memory, with a cylinder of hollow glass in the center, filled with liquid. Crystal found she was staring at…herself, wrapped in a blanket and sopping wet, eyes wide with confusion and wonder.

Crystal pulled her hand back sharply, and the vision faded. “What was—”

“I see you have found the other reason why this place is called Reflection Cave.”

Crystal turned at the voice, and blinked in surprise when she saw a floating rock with a head sticking out the top. The long ears flapped slowly, but they didn’t look like they were holding the Pokémon in the air.

“Greetings,” the Pokémon said. “I am Carbink, one of the many Carbink that live in these caves. Our princess has been expecting you.”

“Your…princess?” Crystal blinked in confusion.

“Indeed. If you and your entourage would please follow me, I will take you to Princess Diancie.” The Carbink turned and started floating towards another passage.

Crystal glanced at the man who was staring at the mirror. Her tail flicked when she saw he was still standing there was that same expression, but she shook her head and quickly moved around and gathered her team back together from where they’d been exploring. “Come on, guys. There’s a Carbink who wants to take us to see a princess named Diancie.”

“Diancie?!” Lily yelped. She hopped off Samuel’s mushroom cap and landed on Crystal’s head. “The Dianice?!”

“You know about her?” Crystal asked, looking up at the Floette on her head.

“Of course I do! She’s a Fairy-Type who’s said to be among the most powerful! Not as powerful as the lord of life, Xerneas, but powerful enough!”

“Sounds like she’s potentially a Legendary,” Richie remarked.

“What’s a Legendary?” Borealis asked in confusion.

“Maybe I can explain that while we’re walking to go see her,” Crystal said. She looked over at where the Carbink was waiting, floating patiently. “Come on.”

Her team exchanged looks, then followed after her, down a smaller passage and away from the main path of the cave. The passage here was shorter, making Crystal duck down a little, but it wasn’t too narrow that she couldn’t get through.

“So…Legendary Pokémon?” Borealis repeated.

“Legendary Pokémon are usually one of a kind or rare Pokémon who have a lot more power than most Pokémon that Trainers come into contact with,” Crystal explained. “Most of the ones I know play some part in the creation of the world, like Arceus, who made everything. Other Legendary Pokémon were made after the creation of the world and have some important part to play in how the world works.”

“And Mew?” Lily asked.

Crystal’s tail flicked. “Mew is the first Pokémon. From them, every other Pokémon that isn’t Legendary came into existence. It’s why they can learn all the moves that other Pokémon can.”

“What about Diancie?” Borealis asked. “Do you know her?”

Crystal shook her head as the small passage let out into a cavern. “No, I don’t. There was a gardener at the Parfum Palace who said the owner really wants to catch one because they’re made of diamonds, but I’m not interested in that kind of thing. I want to make friends with Pokémon, not try to catch them just because they look cool.”

“You don’t care about a Pokémon’s looks,” Lily repeated flatly.

“No? Not really.” Crystal looked around at the chamber Carbink had led them to. There were a lot of crystals embedded in the ceiling, shimmering with an inner light that Crystal was amazed by. “If I cared, I probably wouldn’t have asked Samuel to come along. But I like Samuel for who he is, and I’m not going to tell him to stop traveling with me.”

Samuel grinned. “Like I would’ve let you say no. Ha!”

Lily frowned at the statement, twirling her flower in her hands.

Carbink cleared his throat suddenly, and Crystal turned her attention towards the other side of the chamber. A large, raised platform of stone sat behind him.

As Crystal’s team turned to look in that direction as well, the Carbink proclaimed, “Announcing the Mythical Legendary Pokémon, our Princess Diancie!”

The crystals above their heads brightened considerably, turning into a bright, harsh light that made Crystal cover her eyes.

“That’s pretty!” Borealis exclaimed.

Crystal saw the light fade from around her arm, and she lowered her arm as she blinked at the faded light.

Well, mostly-faded, at least. There was a lot of pink light now, especially coming from the Pokémon that was now hovering over the stone platform.

Diancie was small, but larger than the Carbink. She looked like a child dressed in a white dress, but the lower half of her body ended in a bright pink crystal that looked like the centerpiece of a chandelier. A tiara of the same material grew out of her head, sparkling with the same pink light.

The Pokémon curtseyed – or, did her best to mimic the movement. It looked like her dress was built into her body. “Greetings, fair Trainer. It is an honor to meet the sister of my friend, Lady Rosa.”

Crystal blinked a couple times in surprise, ears flicking. “Ah…thank you. It’s an honor to meet you, too – you’re the first Legendary that I’ve met in Kalos.”

Diancie clapped her hands together. “It is a delight to hear that I have reached you first, although Lord Xerneas and Lord Yveltal are currently at rest, and Hoopa prefers to travel and commence with his mischief across the world rather than stay in one place. And Zeraora…he stays somewhere to the southeast, I think. You will not see him near here.”

The names Diancie gave were unfamiliar, but Crystal took note of them to ask around about later. If there was a gardener who knew about Diancie, maybe there were some who knew about the others.

After all, Lily had mentioned Xerneas earlier.

“Is there a reason why you wanted to meet me?” Crystal asked, ears and tail flicking from her nerves. She was trying to be respectful, but she didn’t know if she was doing it right or not. It wasn’t like she interacted with royalty every single day. “It’s not often that a Legendary Pokémon asks for the presence of a Trainer, even if that Trainer is part Pokémon.”

Diancie seemed to sense Crystal’s nerves, because she smiled kindly. “I wanted to speak with you, Lady Crystal. I assume you have seen the people who walk around with fire on their clothes?”

“Fire on – oh, Team Flare.” Crystal’s ears pulled back slightly, and she nodded while Richie, Esmeralda, Sawyer, and Frieda exchanged concerned looks. Lily frowned, and Borealis looked at all of them in confusion. “Yeah. We ran into them to the south in Ambrette. I…can’t say I was expecting that. Or the Pokémon they were equipped with.” She shuddered.

Diancie frowned. “How so?”

“If I may speak, Your Highness.” Esmeralda stepped forward with a slight bow. When Diancie nodded to her, the Espeon explained, “Crystal has difficulty with Dark-Types, especially those known as Houndour, and even more so their evolved form. We were not expecting Team Flare to be equipped with them.”

“Oh,” Borealis said quietly.

Diancie frowned. “I see. I was aware of the Gulpin they are armed with, but I did not expect them to also have Pokémon that are equipped with resistances against the Fairy-Type. I appreciate the knowledge you’ve given us this day.”

The Carbink next to the platform bobbed in some form of a nod.

“There is something that I would like to ask of you, Lady Crystal,” Diancie said. “We have heard it said that you traveled with a Mythical Legendary in Hoenn for a time. Would you be willing to do so again, if asked?”

Crystal’s ears stood straight up at the question as her eyebrows shot up her forehead. Samuel and Richie exchanged looks behind her. “I, uh…sure? But, why do you ask? Latios traveled with me because he wanted to keep Team Magnus’ attention off his sister.”

“I was hoping to travel with you in safety. My court in Reflection Cave tells me there are members of Team Flare who seek to carve my diamonds from my form. You are a strong Trainer, as well as a strong user of moves.” Diancie inclined her head, almost as though she was looking down at Crystal as a ruler from high on her throne. “You would serve well as a guard to me, while Team Flare attempts to hunt me.”

Lily gasped loudly.

One of Crystal’s ears flicked back in the Floette’s direction, but she didn’t turn her head to see the look on Lily’s face. She kept her gaze on Diancie instead. “But…I’m probably going to be followed by Team Flare. They already don’t like me – the people I ran into in Ambrette called me ‘unnatural’ and an ‘ugly half-breed.’ They’re probably going to find ways to force me out of the region, or worse. And if that’s true, when they realize that you’re traveling with me, that would make it even more dangerous for the both of us.”

Crystal shook her head. “I don’t want to put you into that kind of danger, especially when you want to avoid Team Flare already. I do appreciate your asking me if you can travel with me – I really do – but…I don’t think that right now would be a very good idea for that.”

“Are you crazy?!” Lily burst out. “You’re turning down her request?! But – Crystal, she’s—”

“Enough.” Diancie held up a hand.

Lily made a confused noise, but she quieted. Crystal glanced back to see her trying to hide behind her own flower, looking down at the cave floor as she did.

“While I understand the desire you have for me to travel with you, Floette, if Lady Crystal is concerned about my safety because of the attention she has already received, that concern must be taken into account.” Diancie lowered her hand. “If Team Flare is already likely to hunt you, Lady Crystal, then we will take your statement into account and look elsewhere for protection.”

Crystal nodded.

“However, for your honesty, I would like to give you a gift.”

Crystal tilted her head. “A gift?”

“Indeed. As a Mew, you can learn all moves that have been created by Pokémon. Therefore, to help you in your plight against some of the Pokémon that hound you, I would like to teach you a move that I learned upon my becoming Princess.” Diancie smiled. “My subjects don’t like to admit it, but all Carbink can become Diancie. We just choose to have one at a time, to prevent wars over the throne. While teaching you our signature move, Diamond Storm, might be a bit of an issue for one who does not know how to compress carbon into diamonds, I can teach you a powerful Fairy-Type move called Moonblast. Would you be willing to learn?”

Crystal’s ears went straight up as he tail started flicking back and forth. “Sure! I already know Fairy Wind and Play Rough, but I’d love to learn another one, if you’re willing to teach me.”

“Excellent!” Diancie clapped her hands together. “Your companions are welcome to stay and watch while we work, if they have any chance to learn it as well. Shall we begin?”

“Whenever you’re ready!”

Diancie motioned Crystal over to the platform, and Crystal immediately walked over. Lily tried to follow after her, but stopped when the Carbink floating next to the platform shook his at her.

Crystal moved to stand across from Diancie as the floating fairy rock held her hands together, a delighted expression on her face.

“Now, to begin, you said you are familiar with Fairy-Type attacks already, correct?”

“Yeah. My friend Amy, an Azumaril, taught me Play Rough, and I’ve been watching Lily use Fairy Wind enough that I think I’ve figured it out myself.” Crystal held up a hand and waved it towards the wall. A soft pink wind followed and collided with the wall.

Diancie nodded in approval. “Well done. Then you already know how to access the Fairy-Type energy that is present in Mew and all the children that followed with the Fairy-Type, like myself, Carbink, and your Floette companion. Moonblast is a strong ‘special attack,’ to use the human term, unlike Play Rough, which is solely physical.”

Crystal nodded. “Okay. Special moves like that come to me more easily than physical ones.”

“All the better for us, then. You should pick this up quickly. Now, to begin…”

----

Lily sat in the back corner of the cavern, turning the flower around in her hands as she looked up at the white petals. She didn’t want to look at Crystal as she practiced gathering together Fairy-Type energy from within herself to construct the Moonblast attack.

She heard Richie’s footsteps, but didn’t look up as he approached.

“Are you mad because Diancie’s not traveling with us?” Richie asked. “You know it would’ve been temporary regardless of what happened with Team Flare, right?”

Lily sighed heavily. She stopped spinning the flower. “While that is disappointing, there’s something else that’s on my mind now.”

“What is it?”

Lily looked up, just catching sight of Samuel working with Borealis on something. The Amaura was throwing boulders wrapped in ice, which Samuel was dodging with loud laughter. She focused on Richie standing above her, a concerned frown on his face. “I don’t think this team is one that I want to keep traveling with. I didn’t sign up for this Team Flare nonsense, and I certainly didn’t sign up just to see Crystal turn down the chance to travel with the princess among Fairy-Types.” She motioned to Crystal and Diancie on the other side of the chamber.

Richie’s concerned frown became more pronounced. “What did you think you were signing up for?”

“I dunno. A vacation? I just wanted to get away from Serena and prove that a Flabebe could, in fact, travel with someone who wasn’t the same Type as her.” Lily huffed. “She’s been trying to get my attention for weeks, you know. She knows I’m the oldest of the group that lived in Santalune’s gardens, and I wanted nothing to do with her. Figured leaving with Crystal would teach her a lesson or something.”

“So you decided to travel with us not because you actually wanted to travel with us, but because you wanted to get away from Serena,” Richie said flatly.

“I wouldn’t say get away, exactly…”

“Still, that’s what you did. I don’t think Crystal will be happy to find out that you used her like that.”

Lily shrank in on herself, huddling under her flower. Despite the fact that she was trying to hide, she could still feel Richie frowning down at her.

She heard him sigh, then jumped as he sat down on the cave floor next to her.

“I’m not mad at you for wanting to get away from Serena,” Richie said. “She’s obviously got a lot to learn, if she hasn’t adjusted back to living a normal life yet.” He paused. “Or, as normal as she can get – it just feels normal for me because Crystal’s my trainer.”

Lily snorted.

“But lying like that wasn’t very honorable. You’re going to have to tell Crystal at some point, and figure out whether or not she’s going to release you back in Santalune, or somewhere else.”

“I don’t want to go back,” Lily said immediately.

Richie nodded.

“But I want flowers. I can’t….I can’t be released here. The lack of sunlight is a bad idea.”

“Crystal’s not that cruel. Just…tell her the truth, and she’ll keep it in mind as we keep traveling. All right?”

Lily frowned. Something about the statement didn’t sit well with her, but…

She sighed. “All right. Fine.”

Across the cavern, a large explosion of pink energy and sparkled overtook a rock statue in a corner, and Crystal whooped loudly. “I got it!”

Diancie laughed, a sound of gems clattering against each other. “Wonderful, Lady Crystal! I hope this move will serve as your defense.”

“I definitely plan on using it in the future,” Crystal agreed. “Thank you so much for teaching me.”

“It was of no issue to me, Lady Crystal. I wish you luck in your journey, that you will not have too much difficulty with the unhonorable Team Flare.”

“And the same to you.” Crystal nodded back, then turned to look around the cavern. Lily watched as her gaze lingered on her and Richie for a moment in confusion, then looked elsewhere.

“Time to get moving,” Richie remarked. “Come on. We still have to get out of this cave.”

Lily sighed and nodded, then hopped up into the air and landed on Richie’s shoulder. “I’m looking forward to getting out of this dusty place.”

“Hey!”

The boyish, telepathic voice made Lily jump in place. Across the cavern, Crystal’s ears swiveled before her head did.

“Who said that?” Crystal asked.

“You don’t get to call this place dusty! The Carbink do a really good job keeping everything clean!”

Something green and blobby flew into the room from the entrance, coming straight for Lily and Richie.

Richie held out a paw and grabbed the small blob before it could collide with Lily. “And who are you?”

“I’m Rummy! And that Pokémon just insulted the caves! C’mere, you little—”

Diancie sighed. “Little Solosis, calm yourself. You do not need to get so worked up. Floette are not used to living inside of caves; it is understandable that she wouldn’t like this place.”

The Pokémon – Solosis, Rummy – stopped short and blinked a couple times in Richie’s hand. “Oh. Huh.”

“I haven’t seen a Pokémon like that before,” Crystal remarked, her ears flicked forward. “Are the common in these caves?”

“That one is the most rambunctious of them,” said the Carbink who’d escorted them into the cave chamber. “He gets into everyone’s business, and has become a terrible annoyance.”

“No way! I want to help!” Rummy bounced out of Richie’s hand as Crystal walked over. “I was watching you learning Moonblast – it looks fun! If you’re fighting against bad guys, I wanna help, too!”

“Really?” Crystal asked in surprise.

“Yup! Please, please, please take me with you? Pleeeeaaaassse?”

Lily sighed heavily and rested her forehead against her flower stem. She was starting to think that getting out sooner rather than later would be a very good idea.

Chapter Text

When they finally exited Reflection Cave, Crystal and her team were tired, and the sky had turned dark with only the scattered stars to light their way.

And the street lamps of the city right in front of them.

Crystal blinked a couple times. “Huh. I…guess we reached Shalour City.” She looked around at the buildings ahead of them and spotted a red roof in the light of a street lamp. “There.”

Lily sighed heavily from her perch on Richie’s shoulder. “About time!”

“So, this is what it looks like outside the cave?” Rummy hovered near Samuel’s head as he looked around. Solosis, as it turned out, were large singular-celled organisms, which Crystal found a little confusing to think about. Maybe Blaine would have an opinion about that when she called him next. “It’s definitely bigger, but it’s not any brighter.”

“That’s because it’s night,” Esmeralda told him. “When the sun rises in the east, the sky will change. You’ll see. For now, though, it would be wise for us to go and get some rest. Most humans and Pokémon don’t function well at night.”

“Oooh, so that’s why you guys feel so sluggish. Does this mean I have to sleep, too?”

“It would be a good idea,” Crystal told him. “Come on. Let’s go check in at the Pokémon Center and get a room. I hope Nurse Joy won’t mind me traveling with eight Pokémon rather than six….”

The Nurse Joy on shift wasn’t surprised at the number of Pokémon with Crystal, but she was concerned.

“Most Trainers keep their teams to six Pokémon because it’s hard to keep track of so many of them at once,” Joy explained as she handed over the room key. “I don’t know if you are very talented in working with your Pokémon, or if your Pokémon are waiting for an opportunity to run you ragged.”

“I don’t think it’s the second one,” Crystal replied. “Richie, Samuel, and Esmeralda are my stronger team members, and they’ve been with me longer than the others with me. Frieda can behave, too, and I think that’ll help.”

Nurse Joy frowned with worry, but nodded anyway. “All right. If you need any assistance, don’t be afraid to call me, all right?”

“Sure!”

Thankfully, the night passed without incident, except for Rummy’s hyperactive curiosity as they were settling down. When morning came, Crystal felt refreshed enough to explore the city and find the Tower of Mastery.

Of course, finding the Tower of Mastery wasn’t that hard at all – the giant tower rising up from the coast was very easy to see on the horizon.

“What’s that giant ball of bright in the ceiling?” Rummy asked. “And why’s it blue now? Where’d the small sparkles go?”

“That’s the sun,” Esmeralda explained patiently. “Don’t look at it; it will hurt your eyes. And the ‘ceiling’ is called the ‘sky.’ The sparkles are still there, but we can’t see them because the sun’s up.”

“Oh.”

Crystal chuckled. Rummy’s innocence was bringing back memories of when she had been learning about the world, ten years ago. Being out of the labs and spending time with humans and Pokémon in the outside world had been a truly eye-opening experience.

“Come on.” Crystal motioned for the group to follow her towards the tower on the coast. “We’re gonna visit the Tower of Mastery today, and then we’ll move on to the next town. I think I remember seeing on the map that there’s one more stop between us and the badlands where Lumiose’s power plants are.”

“We could skip over this and come back when we’re sure the power’s back on,” Richie pointed out. “We are in a bit of a rush to help Xavier and the other people in Lumiose, I thought.”

“We are. Which is why I don’t want to stay longer than I’m already planning to. Besides, I want to give Rummy some time to adjust to being outside of a cave and how traveling with us is going to work.” Crystal pulled out her PokeNav. “I can give them a call, though – Professor Sycamore and I exchanged numbers, and this seems to be like the kind of thing I could call him over.”

“I know I’d appreciate an update.” Richie nodded. “It’s been a few days since we left Lumiose.”

The group reached a set of stairs leading down to a beach, then up a sand path that rose from the sea to the Tower of Mastery. The shape of the tower was strange to look at, with what looked like a shell-like shape rising from a part of the tower itself, but that probably helped Trainers locate it if they ever wanted to learn about Mega-Evolution.

“You’ve got your Mega Stone, right, Richie?” Crystal asked as they stepped onto the sand path.

“Yup.” Richie nodded. “It’s always on me. You’ve got the Key Stone?”

“Always.” Crystal clasped the pendant hanging from her neck briefly. “Let’s see what this place is like.”

They walked past the front gate, down a short street with a few homes, and up to the grand main entrance of the tower itself. Rummy kept zipping around, trying to look in the windows of the homes they passed by, but Esmeralda and Crystal worked to keep him from wandering far, answering questions he had about what the houses were and why people lived in them.

“This one is huuuuuge!” Rummy bounced ahead of them – how he did that while he hovered in mid-air, Crystal didn’t know – and moved around the base of a tall stairwell in the middle of the Tower of Mastery. The stairs curled around a statue of a Pokémon that Crystal recognized at a glance, but something about it made her do a double-take while Esmeralda patiently corralled the Solosis.

“Something’s up with how that Lucario looks,” Crystal remarked with a frown. “I don’t remember their aura sensors being that long…or that weird mask, for that matter.”

“That’s because this is what Mega-Evolved Lucario looks like!” called a familiar voice from above.

Crystal looked up as a blond-haired young woman grinned down from a balcony far above their heads. It took her a moment to recognize her without the protective helmet she’d been wearing outside of Camphrier. “Korrina?”

“Hey, you remembered!” Korrina laughed. “Glad to see you come by on your way to the Badlands! My gramps has been looking forward to meeting you!”

“Your grandfather?” Crystal blinked. “Where is he?”

“Hold on, I’ll go get him!”

“What’s a gramps?” Rummy asked.

“A grandfather is your father’s father or your mother’s father,” Crystal replied. She didn’t look down at the Solosis, instead looking around as footsteps resounded in the upper reaches of the tower. “Humans like keeping a hold of their relationships and identifying who they were descended from. Some of them even have records that date back centuries.”

“Wow. Does this mean they know who the first humans were?”

“I don’t think their records are that good.” Crystal’s ears flicked. There were voices somewhere above them now, accompanying the footsteps. “Either they didn’t think to keep track until after a certain point, or they tried and all the records were lost at one point or another. Doesn’t stop them from trying, though.”

“Huh. Well, I know all Pokémon are descended from Mew, and that all Solosis are more like brothers and sisters than anything else. I don’t think anyone’s ever been a father or a grandfather, like some Pokémon can have.”

“What really?” Crystal looked over at Rummy as the rest of her team looked on in confusion, interest, or indifference. “How do you guys do it, then?”

“Well, we take in a lot of energy and go to rest somewhere. While we rest, that extra energy gets siphoned off into a second body that splits off ours, and boom! New Solosis! That’s how I was born, but I haven’t done it myself yet.”

“I…only knew about Pokémon having eggs,” Crystal said. “I didn’t think that there were other ways for Pokémon to…make more of themselves, I guess.”

“We have had our suspicions about how Solosis have produced their offspring for years,” said an old man from the stairwell. “To hear it confirmed would certainly make a researcher happy somewhere.”

Crystal looked over as Korrina hopped down the stairs, followed by an old, balding man wearing robes of cobalt blue, with bright orange-red at the edges of his sleeves and along the bottom. It was probably some kind of traditional wear, more than anything.

“I think a lot of people would learn things about Pokémon quickly if they could talk to them,” Crystal said.

The man chuckled. “Indeed. However, most of us don’t know how to understand Pokémon, and the more mature ones know to keep their ways of reproducing a secret to the human realm. There is a reason that most Day Care workers don’t know the secret to that, after all.”

“That’s weird,” Rummy declared. “Why would adults do that?”

“I’m sure they have their reasons.” The old man turned away from Rummy, to Crystal. “So, you are Crystal Soul, the Hoenn Champion who utilizes the Galladite. I am the Mega Evolution Guru of this tower. My granddaughter, Korrina, has spoken highly of you and your bond with your Pokémon. Her Lucario have backed her up in this.” He motioned to Richie. “Tell me – how did you learn about Mega Evolution, and how did you train to utilize it?”

Richie and Crystal exchanged looks.

“Well, we were given the Key Stone and the Galladite after we helped stop Team Magnus,” Crystal said. “Professor Birch had them, and said that Steven Stone had found them and wanted to see if I could use them.”

“We spent about a week or so figuring out how the stones resonated with each other and how they affected me,” Richie said. “Mostly because it focused me more on being honorable, I guess? So we had to work through that and make sure that it wasn’t going to affect our fighting ability.”

Crystal was about to translate when she saw the guru nodding thoughtfully.

“That is an interesting reaction to a Mega Stone,” the guru said. “Most Pokémon undergo a painful, powerful transformation that brings a surge in power that is difficult to control. The Tower of Mastery was built with those difficulties in mind. I am aware that most other regions do not have this kind of educational center for such things, but it is good to know that you took your time to adjust before challenging the Elite Four.”

Crystal’s tail curled as she smiled, pleased. “Thanks. Steven knew about Mega Evolution, too, and I think he would’ve given me a few pointers if I’d asked him. I think my friend Wally is getting some help from him, though – he’s got a Gardevoir, and I’ve heard they can Mega Evolve, too.”

“Indeed. The Champion of this region has given her Gardevoir a Mega Stone for that very purpose.” The guru nodded again. “May I see your transformation, Gallade? It isn’t often that I can see a Mega Evolution brought on by a Trainer who is also part Pokémon herself.”

Richie looked at Crystal. “I don’t see why not.”

Crystal blinked a couple times, then nodded and raised her hand to her Key Stone. Richie did the same to his matching pendant on his neck, and they breathed in and focused.

The swirling power of Mega Evolution that normally lay dormant within the stones glowed brightly as they reached out, and immediately Crystal felt a surge of energy that was familiar and known. Having Mega-Evolved Richie before, she was familiar with it, and knew how to pass it along to her Pokémon so that he could make use of it.

Richie glowed brightly in response, and suddenly changed, gaining a cape as his helmet and arms changed shape. Transformation complete, the light shattered into a million sparks, and the Mega-Evolved Gallade bowed to Korrina and the guru.

Crystal held back a laugh at the look on Korrina’s face. “He wasn’t kidding about becoming more honorable with the transformation. I’m pretty sure the more we do it, the more it carries over when he isn’t Mega Evolved.”

“Is that so?” Korrina blinked a couple times.

“The transformation is stable,” the guru said. “The two of you have done well to learn to control it, especially when Hoenn lacks the dedicated teachers we have here. I have quite a few beginners here who could learn a thing or two from you.” His eyes twinkled. “If you would be willing to stay today and help me instruct some beginners who are over-eager for their Key Stones, I would appreciate the assistance. However, I do see that your Pokémon are more than a little restless. Is there something else they want to attend to?”

Crystal released the Key Stone’s connection to Richie’s Mega Stone, and he turned back to normal in a flash of light. “Lumiose’s power went out a few days ago, and we’re working our way around to the north of the city in order to see if we can help. We’d have cut through the blacked-out portions of the city, but there’s…something that’s causing the Pokémon in the area to act strangely, and it could affect me, too.”

“Hm, that is worrysome.” The guru frowned. “I can see why you hastened back so quickly, Korrina. Were you concerned that something similar would happen here, too?”

“A little,” Korrina admitted, ducking her head slightly. “The power plants in the Badlands don’t just send power to Lumiose, after all. If it weren’t for the underwater generators we have here taking advantage of the sea’s currents, we probably would have noticed a few lights going out.”

“And you haven’t called those in Lumiose since you have left?” The guru turned to Crystal with a raised eyebrow.

Crystal shook her head. “I’m planning on calling when I reach the badlands; if everything’s fine, then I can make my way through without any problems. Otherwise…well, then I’m going to do what I can to help.”

“You aren’t a Trainer of Kalos – you are the Champion of another region. You needn’t carry burdens that are not yours to bear.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I should stand by and just watch. I mean, I was born in Kanto, not Hoenn. You could make the same argument about me helping against Team Magnus.” Crystal frowned. “And I don’t like that argument.”

The guru inclined his head, while Korrina blinked a few times in surprise.

“Well? Am I right?” Crystal folded her arms across her chest, frowning.

The guru recovered before Korrina did; he chuckled and shook his head slightly. “You are quite right; if a Trainer with the strength you have decided against helping those around her because it was not her business, I would be greatly concerned over your ability to wield Mega Evolution as well as you do. I have no qualms about you going to assist Lumiose with their power problem, but if you get the chance, I would appreciate it if you would return here for a time, if you are willing.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Crystal promised.

Esmeralda nudged Crystal’s leg with her head. “We should warn him about Team Flare. It seems only right.”

“Hm?” The guru looked down and frowned.

Crystal’s ears flicked, and she frowned. “You could understand Richie, but not Esmeralda?”

“I can understand Pokémon who are capable of Mega Evolving, unfortunately,” the guru replied. “At best, I can tell that your Espeon has requested you inform me of something she considers important.”

“Oh; that makes sense.” Crystal looked at Esmeralda, her tail flicking quickly in a worried pattern. “There’s this group called Team Flare. I ran into them in Ambrette, where they were trying to stop the Fossil Center from doing its research. They…they didn’t like me very much. I’m worried they could try something, like Team Magnus in Hoenn, or Team Rocket in Kanto and Jhoto.”

“Team Flare?” Korrina repeated. “That sounds like they want to watch the world burn.”

“I don’t know what they want to do, other than the fact that they didn’t consider Fossils or Fossil Pokémon ‘beautiful,’ and they wanted the research to stop as a result.” Crystal frowned, her tail shuddering. “I think they don’t like me for a similar reason.”

“They sound like they could become a dangerous group,” the guru agreed. “We will watch for them and any Trainers who start leaning towards that mindset. Trainers who find themselves thinking such similar thoughts could produce a dangerous person who cannot Mega Evolve properly.”

Crystal nodded.

“I’ll warn my Gym Trainers, too,” Korrina added. “I definitely don’t want them to get around when we’re not looking. You be careful, all right? I know you’ve dealt with a lot from the other groups, but you aren’t alone here, either. If we couldn’t defend our own region from Team Flare, which came from within Kalos, it would be a terrible problem.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” Crystal smiled a little, the expression lopsided. “I’ll make sure to keep in touch if anything comes up.”

“Excellent.” Korrina grinned. “Let’s exchange numbers before you go, then!”

-----

“Are you planning on following us all the way to the Pokémon Center or what?” Black called over his shoulder.

Cheren shot Black a pointed frown while a soft gasp came from behind them.

White rolled her eyes. “Did you have to call him out like that?”

“Well, it’s not like he can hide in the woods forever.” Black motioned to the end of the path ahead of them. “And I’m pretty sure we’ve got a bridge up ahead, and a huge city with a lot of crowds. A guy who talks like a Pokémon is gonna have a hard time there, I bet.”

The bushes next to the main path rustled behind them, and the green-haired young man stepped out in the open. “I wasn’t sure whether to believe it when you said you had the senses of a Liepard as well as the features of one. I never thought such people existed.”

“Is that what you’re stuck on?” Black snorted. “This is old news, believe me. The rest of the world found out about us last year. Where were you, N?”

N blinked at the question, opened his mouth, then paused and closed his mouth again. He shook his head.

“If he doesn’t want to say, he won’t say it,” Cheren said. “Come on; I’m sure Bianca’s gotten far ahead of us already.”

N quickly moved to catch up with them. “Were you telling the truth before? About there being more like you?”

“Yup.” Black waved a hand. “One for every Type, but you don’t want to meet the Poison-Type. Believe me, Lauriana isn’t the best person.”

“Coming from the Trainer who encourages underhanded tactics,” White replied dryly. She stepped back in an easy dodge when Black swiped at her with a loose hand. He didn’t intend to hurt her, and she knew it, judging by the smirk that crossed her face.

N looked between them, confused but curious. “I…”

“Well, are you gonna travel with us or not?” Black asked. “Either you do or you don’t. Either make up your mind or learn to sneak better.”

Cheren frowned disapprovingly.

“I…” N hesitated. He frowned. He fidgeted. “I…I want to learn more about you. Why you exist, and how it is that you can walk among humans and Pokémon both. I want to know how you came to exist, and….”

He trailed off. White’s ears raised slightly, suddenly looking a lot less like dyed pigtails.

“…I’ve been taught all my life that humans have been mean to Pokémon for keeping them in PokeBalls and acting like their masters,” N said. “But you – you’re an anomaly in the system. You are Pokémon and human both. If your two sides were forced to separate, you would be forced to choose a side, rather than staying with both. If you can prove to me that humans and Pokémon can co-exist, then….”

N trailed off. Black watched him intently, expecting N to construct an answer.

When N didn’t answer, White quietly tsked. They must’ve broken N when they had confronted him after Team Plasma’s presentation.

Black looked N over again, then sighed and nodded. “All right. Fine. You can travel with us. Just don’t get too weird with the whole ‘understanding Pokémon’ thing. Most people around here really don’t know how to do that.” He grinned. “Doesn’t mean you can’t show off, though. I bet there are a lot of people who would like to know what their Pokémon think.”

White rolled her eyes.

Cheren elbowed Black; the hit connected only because Black let him. “Come on. Skyarrow Bridge is up ahead. We should cross it before night falls.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Black waved a hand.

“I hope we get a response from Xavier soon,” White commented. “I would like to see what she thinks about all this.”

“She?” N repeated.

“If he can get a hold of her.” Black waved a hand. “I’m pretty sure we can handle this Team Plasma on our own, though. I mean, it’s not like they can ignore what happened in Hoenn last year.” He laughed, even as N looked at them in confusion and Cheren rolled his eyes.

This journey was going to get a lot more interesting, that was for sure.

Chapter Text

They arrived in the next town that evening.

Crystal offered the pier a quick glance as she led her team past it, then looked over at the large forest that grew not far from the coast. The trees were so thick and dense, it was almost impossible to see the buildings that were scattered around within the treeline. The dimming sunlight and the brightening of indoor lights certainly made up for that, however.

“Courmarine City,” Crystal murmured to herself. “It looks like Erika would have a great time here. Or maybe Winona. I wonder if there are some people who’ve built into the trees like they do in Fortree.”

“They do what where?” Sawyer repeated. He was resting on Crystal’s backpack, wings drooping slightly. They had made quite the hike to get here; it made sense that he was exhausted.

“In Hoenn, there’s an entire town where people live in tree houses,” Crystal explained. “They have a Flying-Type Gym Leader there. It’s a really nice place.”

“Could do without being up that high, but yeah, it was.” Samuel nodded in agreement. The Breloom glanced around, frowning at some of the people who were walking by. “So…where’s the Pokémon Center?”

“Probably somewhere up ahead. Let’s go ask around and see if we can find a place to stay for the night.” Crystal looked around the street and spotted a man in a booth, clearly working on packing up something from earlier that day. “Maybe he knows? Hi! Good evening, sir!”

The man looked up at Crystal’s call, blinking a couple times as he took in her appearance. “Um…hello. I didn’t think it was that time of year yet….”

Crystal’s tail flicked as she frowned in confusion. “Time of year?”

“She isn’t wearing a costume,” Esmeralda spoke up calmly. “My name is Esmeralda. This is my Trainer, Crystal. Do you know where the Pokémon Center is, by any chance?”

The man almost jumped when Esmeralda’s telepathic voice entered his head, but he managed to keep his calm for the most part. “O-oh! Oh! I’m sorry, I – I didn’t realize you were – Sorry.” He shook his head. “The Pokémon Center is in the forested part of the city, but it’s a bit of a trek to get to it right now. The monorail that connects the central area of the city with the coast is down because of the power outages in the badlands. We have some generators and alternate power sources to keep us going, but not everything’s online right now.”

Crystal’s eyebrows shot up as her ears went stiff and upright. “Really? Oh, no. That doesn’t sound good. Is the Pokémon Center okay?”

“Yeah, they have their own personal generator, according to what I’ve heard. They should be all right to let you rent a room tonight, but good luck if you want to find anywhere else to sleep that’s got power to spare. The inn’s been shutting down power in rooms they aren’t using in order to conserve it, and they’re probably not going to give you a room willingly.”

“Good to know. So, what’s the quickest way?”

“Walk up to the monorail tracks and follow them to the station on the other side. That’s what most folks have been doing.”

“All right. Thanks for the help!” Crystal gave the man a nod, then turned and started walking up the street again.

Her team quickly moved to keep up.

“What’s a monorail?” Rummy asked. “Can you eat it?”

“He said you could ride it, so I don’t think so,” Borealis spoke up. “If you could eat it, it wouldn’t hold together for very long.”

Crystal snorted in amusement at the two of them. “Borealis is right. A monorail is something made out of materials that are very sturdy. People ride them to get from one place to another very quickly. It sounds like we’re going to have to walk along the tracks instead of riding this one, though.”

Lily groaned. “Great. More walking. And here I was hoping we could actually stop somewhere now.”

Crystal looked at the Floette hovering over her shoulder. “It’s okay, really. Most of us have walked further than this before. Besides, trolleys are for short distances, so we won’t be walking very far anyway.”

Lily huffed, but she didn’t offer anything else to the conversation.

Richie felt a jab in his side, and he looked over to see Samuel frowning at him.

“Lily’s really killing the mood,” Samuel muttered to Richie. “Is there something up, or…?”

Richie shook his head back. “I just think she’s tired. It’s been a long day for all of us. She’s gonna need to sleep sometime.”

Samuel frowned, but nodded. “Yeah…guess that makes sense.”

The group soon reached a building nestled into the trees next to a large, single iron bar that served as the monorail track. There was a woman standing on the small platform next to it, looking tired on her feet.

“Hi,” Crystal said. “I’m guessing this is where the monorail normally is, right?”

The woman nodded. “Unfortunately, the power plants in the badlands stopped transmitting power to it right in the middle of a run to the central part of the city. If you want to reach the other station, you’re going to have to walk. I’m sorry, but—”

“It’s all right.” Crystal shook her head. “These kinds of things happen, and we have to adapt to him. How long of a walk is it?”

“Not that long. The monorail shaves off several minutes, to be sure, but you should be able to reach the Pokémon Center before the sun completely sets. It’s right next to the monorail station on the other side, do you don’t have far to go.”

“That’s good to know. Thanks!” Crystal gave the woman a nod, then started to walk next to the monorail.

“Don’t get too close to it!” the woman called after them. “The power could come back on at any time, and we don’t want to have anyone shocked by it when it starts creating a magnetic field again.”

“I’ll keep an eye on it!” Crystal called back. She moved a couple more feet away from the rail, just in case, her team following suit.

Rummy floated the closest to the monorail track and stared at it as they walked. “How does it work? It just looked like a hunk of metal.” The Solosis tilted this way and that, almost to the point where he swung upside down as he stared at the rail.

“I don’t know everything about how it works, unfortunately,” Crystal replied. “There’s a Magnet Train between Kanto and Jhoto that uses magnetism on its monorail in order to move fast. It sounds like the monorail here uses the same thing, or at least something similar.”

“Oh. Huh.” Rummy floated back to hover next to Esmeralda as they walked. “Humans are weird. They can’t fly, so they have to make things to fly for them.”

Richie chuckled. “They’re really smart, when they put their minds to it. Stubborn, too. It’s just that some humans are so stubborn they do stupid things instead.”

Lily snorted. “Sounds like you speak from experience.”

“Team Magnus in Hoenn was probably the height of stupidity,” Samuel declared. “Thinking they could remake the world just for people like Crystal. They clearly didn’t know what they were doing trying to pull something like that.”

Crystal nodded in agreement, her expression souring at the memory. “Yeah. Humans can think they’re so smart that they end up being stupid sometimes. But that doesn’t mean they’re always like that. They can come to realize what they’re doing is wrong and change their ways. Sometimes. Other times they need someone to help them figure out they’re doing the wrong thing, though.”

Samuel nodded, a sort of knowing smirk on his face while Sawyer, Borealis, Rummy, Frieda, and Lily looked between Crystal, Richie, Samuel, and Esmeralda with curious expressions.

“Sounds like you’ve found a lot of dumb humans,” Lily remarked.

“More than I’d like,” Crystal admitted.

Lily frowned and tilted her head. “Being a Trainer must be hard, then, if you have to interact with stupid humans and stupid Pokémon. Sometimes at the same time.”

Crystal frowned at the Floette’s words, but she didn’t argue on that point. “It doesn’t make it all bad….”

The conversation trailed off from there, and the rest of the walk along the monorail fell into near-silence, except for the sound of the grass and dirt crunching under their feet.

When more buildings came into view, Crystal almost sighed in relief when she saw the red roof of the Pokémon Center. And the lights were clearly on in that building.

Lily sighed. “Time to sleep with a roof over our heads. Finally.”

Crystal frowned at the Floette. “Are you all right, Lily?”

“Just tired. Get me a vase in there and I’ll be fine in the morning.”

“Well…all right….” Crystal couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else going through Lily’s mind, but the Floette was probably going to be keeping her mouth shut until then.

The Pokémon Center was a little more crowded than the other centers that Crystal had been to. Considering that some of them were better dressed than most Trainers Crystal knew, she assumed they were people who were kicked out of the hotel she’d heard about earlier.

“Good evening,” Nurse Joy said as Crystal approached the desk. “You’re Crystal Soul, I assume?”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “I hope I’m not coming at a bad time, but I was hoping for a place to stay the night? Do you have an empty room, or…?”

A couple groans rose up from some of the people in the lobby.

“We do have some rooms available, yes, but we have so many people looking for space that I’m afraid you’ll have to bunk with others.” Nurse Joy looked at Crystal’s team apologetically. “Which, unfortunately, means that Pokémon will have to sleep in their PokeBalls tonight.”

Crystal’s ears fell like balloons losing air. “Oh…I see.”

Lily grumbled something under her breath that got a soft gasp from Sawyer and a curious tilt from Rummy.

“Well, if that’s how it’s going to have to be…” Crystal looked at her team. “Are you guys okay with that?”

“It’s not comfortable, but I’ll be able to manage for a night,” Richie replied. He looked at Samuel, who nodded in agreement.

“It is doable,” Esmeralda agreed.

“I’ve slept in a PokeBall before,” Borealis said. “I’ll be okay.”

“I’m willing to give it a try, if we have to,” Sawyer said. “It can’t be any different from sleeping in a tree, can it…?”

Lily grumbled something again, then sighed loudly and threw her hands in the air. “Fine. But don’t expect me to like it!”

Crystal nodded to her team, then looked back at Nurse Joy. “Sounds like we’re going to be okay with it. Mostly. Lily was hoping for a vase to put her flower in the night, but I think we’ll be okay.”

Nurse Joy frowned slightly, then nodded. “All right. I’ll give you a room key and see who else is willing to share a bunk with you tonight. There’s quite a number of people who are looking for rooms, so you may ask to share with someone different if you're uncomfortable with the person you end up with.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Crystal nodded. “Thanks.”

Nurse Joy nodded back, and Crystal stepped away from the counter and found an open spot on a wall to lean against.

Her team gathered around her, settling into a somewhat defensive ring with Crystal at the center.

Esmeralda, sitting in front of Crystal, turned her head and looked up at Crystal. “I do hope we do not end up with someone who makes you uncomfortable, Crystal.”

Crystal noticed that Esmeralda’s voice was quieter than when she was freely broadcasting her telepathic abilities. The rest of her team were turning their heads a little, but no one else was staring.

Crystal’s ears flicked, tracking some of the voices in the lobby. “I hope so, too. I don’t think they’ll put me with someone older than me – physically, anyway. I don’t think a lot of people know I’m actually ten years old.”

Esmeralda nodded slightly. “At least, we can hope for someone who is also female, then. Someone your physical age or younger might be better. Another aspiring Trainer, perhaps.”

“Maybe. I don’t mind it.” Crystal shrugged one shoulder and went back to watching the room around them. “I can’t think of very many Trainers that I haven’t gotten along with…other than the people from Team Magnus, anyway.”

“We will see if that holds true tonight.” Esmeralda turned her gaze back to the other people in the room as well, while Richie straightened himself next to Crystal.

It didn’t take long for Nurse Joy and her Chansey to separate the people in the lobby into groups to take rooms. Crystal wasn’t without a roommate, like Nurse Joy had warned – instead of a Trainer taking a Gym challenge or someone who wasn’t able to get a room at the hotel, it was a young woman carrying a heavy backpack and armed with only a couple PokeBalls.

“Hi! I’m Sara.” The backpacker grinned. “You’re Crystal, right? The Hoenn Champion? I didn’t think I’d ever get to meet you in person. Is it true that you’re part Mew? I only thought those Pokémon existed in fairytales.”

Crystal smiled a little, looking sheepish. “Well, Mew do exist. I’m not going to tell you where, though. Like all people, Pokémon like their privacy, too.”

“Oh, sure, sure! It makes complete sense.” Sara held up a hand and laughed, her other hand resting on her backpack strap. “Let’s get our room key and bed down for the night, huh? I know I’d like to ask you more questions, but it’s getting kinda late, and I’ve been on my feet all day.”

Crystal chuckled a little. “Yeah, I know the feeling. We’ve been on our feet all day, too.”

Lily returned herself to her PokeBall with a tired scowl.

“Lily was probably the loudest complainer,” Crystal explained when Sara jumped a little in surprise. “She’s just grumpy because I wasn’t able to get her a vase to rest in tonight.”

“Ah.” Sara nodded. “That makes sense. Floette are always pretty attached to their flowers. It’s like they have a symbiotic bond or something.” She motioned Crystal to follow her. “Come on; let’s go find our room and bunk down. I promise I won’t do anything weird, although I will be calling dibs on the shower first.”

Crystal laughed a little. “Go ahead.”

-----

Thankfully, the night passed without incident, from either Sara or Crystal and their respective teams. It was kind of nice, to spend some time with a fellow traveling Trainer, but Crystal was still glad to slip out early the next morning, get some breakfast, and leave Sara behind to pack up her half of the room.

Crystal released her team just outside the front door of the Pokémon Center. “I think she was looking to pester me for questions about things that I wasn’t planning on answering. When I told her I was ten years old I think I shut her up from asking half of her questions momentarily.”

Samuel snorted, turning his nose up. “You’re making me glad I slept in my PokeBall last night.”

“I’m not,” Richie replied. “There are some things that you aren’t supposed to ask about, and it sounds like she wanted to ask a lot of them.”

“Well, she didn’t,” Crystal replied. “So – according to the map, we’re to the north of the badlands, where Lumiose’s power plants are. All we have to do is head south and see if there’s anything we can do to help get the power plants working again.”

“They mentioned yesterday the power was acting funny up here, too.” Rummy bobbed around them, looking around at the buildings. “How do humans make power to do the things they do, anyway?”

“I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but I do know some people who know things about power plants,” Crystal replied. “We could ask around later to see if there’s anyone in the region willing to explain it to you.”

“Neat!”

An old man chuckled nearby, causing Crystal’s ears to flick in the direction of the sound. Her head followed a moment later, and she blinked at the figure she was met with.

A short, old man, dressed in dark greens with a large pair of what looked like scissors at his side, met her gaze with a smile. “Sounds like you have quite the adventure ahead of you, if you are intending to travel into the badlands to investigate the recent blackouts. Might I ask why you are so eager to do so, Hoenn Champion? I would have thought that you would leave this task to the Gym Leaders and champion of this region. You don’t need to take every single problem on your shoulders, after all.”

Crystal blinked at the statement, then frowned. “Professor Sycamore said the same thing, but I was born in Kanto. At least, I think I was. And they called me to help them in Hoenn. While I wasn’t planning on getting into problems when I got here, I just – it feels right to help. And besides, Professor Sycamore said that they could get the power plants back online by the time we got here, and they definitely haven’t. So I want to help.”

The old man tilted his head at that. “Hm. You certainly have a kind heart if that’s where you go immediately. I do appreciate your concern, but I think this time might be a bit too much for you to take on alone.”

“She’s not alone, old man,” Samuel spoke up with a scowl. “She’s got us.”

Esmeralda nodded in agreement, tail flicking. “Indeed. I doubt that Crystal would go into such a thing alone.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, or why the humans think these plants are so important,” Borealis admitted, “but if there’s trouble, it’s a good idea to help solve it, otherwise things could be worse for everyone.”

“Yeah.” Sawyer nodded in agreement from where he sat on Samuel’s head.

The old man considered each of Crystal’s Pokémon in turn, then chuckled again. “Your team trusts you highly; that’s good. And if you’re that intent on assisting us in whatever problems we are currently having, well, I won’t stop you.” He offered a slight bow. “I am Ramos, the Gym Leader of this town. Korrina sent word ahead, saying that you were coming.”

Crystal’s eyebrows shot up at the introduction. “Oh! That’s – I didn’t—”

“It’s all right. Not a lot of Trainers expect an old man like me to be running the Gym around here. But I’ve had the right kind of temperament and patience to prune Grass-Types for decades, and no one’s come forward as a good apprentice for me yet.” Ramos chuckled. “I expect one will bloom in due time, but not yet. But that’s neither here nor there – we have an issue that, if you are willing, you might be able to help us resolve.”

“What is it?”

Ramos motioned for Crystal to follow him. “There have been some Pokémon acting strangely as of late. They’ve been sitting in the gate that leads into the badlands, and have been aggressive when people have tried to move past them. Otherwise, they seem fairly peaceful, so long as they’re left alone.”

Crystal frowned. “Pokémon don’t normally linger near a gate like that…were they Pokémon forced out of their homes? Are they trying to make a nest in the area and are defending it until they’re properly settled in?”

“I’m glad that was the first thought you came to, but unfortunately, no. There is something else going on here, and I need a little extra help in driving them away from the gate.”

Richie frowned at Ramos’ words. He looked over Ramos’ head towards what Crystal guessed was the south gate. “The only other place I’ve heard of Pokémon acting strange is when Lumiose’s power went out. We might need to plug our ears when we get close enough.”

Crystal’s tail flicked. “Oh, yeah…Xavier had problems in that part of Lumiose, too. He can’t live in his house right now because of the sound frequency. If this is the same thing, then I’m going to have to find something, too.”

“Oh?” Ramos inclined his head. “You’ve run into something similar, then?”

“We’ve heard about it.” Crystal looked over at Ramos. “When the power went out in Lumiose, something made the Pokémon in the area go out of control. Xavier, who’s part-Flying, said that he had to plug his ears if he ever wanted to go back to his family’s house, so he’s staying with Professor Sycamore until it goes away.”

“Xavier being one of the pair who was kidnapped by Magnus.” Ramos hummed. “And you think that you will be affected the same way?”

“We’re both part Pokémon, so…maybe?” Crystal shrugged. “I haven’t run into anything similar to that so far, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be true.”

Ramos nodded. “I see. You have a right to be cautious, then. Let’s go to my Gym, then. We have protective gear for when we go gardening, and more than a few pairs of headphones. I don’t know if we have any that would fit on your Pokémon, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to make an attempt.”

“Sounds good to me.” Crystal nodded back. “Where’s your Gym?”

“Right over here!” Ramos motioned to a nearby large tree and laughed. “What better place to have a Grass-Type Gym than within that which embodies the type so well?”

Crystal’s expression brightened at Ramos’ words. “Oh! That’s clever! Erika has a Gym that doubles as a floral shop, but having it inside of a tree is even more cool.”

“I’m glad you think so!” Ramos chuckled. “Come, then. Let’s go and find some ear protection for all of you before we investigate the south gate. I would be more than happy to show you around after we have moved the Pokémon to another, safer location.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

Chapter Text

Finding ear protection for Pokémon and one half-and-half was easier said than done, as it turned out. While Ramos had a lot of equipment to work with, it was another matter to find something that fit Crystal and her party.

“It seems we never needed Pokémon to help us with our garden trimming,” Ramos said apologetically to the group as Richie held a pair of headphones in his hands. “Most of our ear buds are also going to be made for human ears, which is going to make finding something for the rest of you difficult.” He nodded to Crystal and Esmeralda as he closed the supply closet behind him. “I can see if we have something else that could help you against whatever might be nearby affecting the Pokémon, but something tells me we are going to be here for longer than any of us would like.”

Crystal shook her head. “It’s all right. I don’t think any of us were really prepared for something like what happened in Lumiose, and what could be happening here.”

“Still, a Gym Leader such as myself should be more prepared for events such as this.” Ramos sighed and shook his head. “We can look again, at least, but I would rather not leave those Pokémon sitting where they can harm humans any longer than they already have.”

“I think we’ll be able to manage it, if we swap who’s closest and move in and out of the area,” Crystal remarked. “Is that okay with the rest of you guys?” She looked around at her team. “I know some of us will be able to retreat into our PokeBalls without any trouble, but I want to make sure that the option’s there to help, too.”

Richie jammed the set of headphones over his head; even with the sides extended, it barely fit over his helmet. He gave Crystal a thumbs-up, or at least the closest equivalent a Gallade could manage.

“I think I can handle it!” Rummy floated around their heads, almost bouncing in the air. “I don’t have ears! I just hear everything you say as surface thoughts! So I should be all right, no problem!”

Esmeralda shook her head slightly at the Solosis, then looked up at Crystal. “I will back out, for now. I doubt that I will be of much help if we cannot find proper ear protection for someone such as myself.”

Crystal nodded. “That’s okay, Esmeralda. You’ll be watching though, right?”

“Of course. If worse comes to worse, I will attempt to teleport us directly to the Pokémon Center here. It would be far better for us to do that than to linger where danger lies.”

As Esmeralda returned herself to her PokeBall, Lily looked around the room and made a face.

“I don’t think you’ll have ear thingies small enough for me, so I’m going to hang back,” Lily announced. With that, the Floette also returned herself to her PokeBall.

“I’ve had to deal with a lot of noise from the forest,” Sawyer remarked. “I’m willing to stay out.”

Borealis nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

Crystal chuckled and put a pair of headphones over Borealis’ head. As soon as they touched his ice-cold skin, they started to frost over. “I’ll keep in touch with all of you telepathically, so if you need any help from me or anyone else, just think really hard and I’ll be able to hear it, okay?”

Borealis almost jumped at the sound of Crystal’s words, but then he saw Richie give another thumbs-up and nodded as well.

“All right.” Crystal nodded, then looked over at Samuel as he tugged at the large amount of cloth that had been tied over his head. “All good there, Samuel?”

“I just wish this thing wasn’t so uncomfortable,” Samuel replied, a little more loudly than usual. “It’s weird.”

Ramos chuckled at the Breloom’s comment. “I hope that it won’t stay there long, my friend.” He stepped away from the supply closet tucked into the bottom of the Gym’s levels, and started back towards the main entrance.

Crystal would’ve loved to explore the Gym’s climbing nets and swinging vines, but they had more important things to worry about. Maybe, when they finished investigating the badlands, she would come back here and have some fun climbing Ramos’ tree for a day. If she managed to get Ramos’ permission to do so, that is.

The group left the Gym and started towards the gate to the south, Ramos leading the way. He pulled out some PokeBalls as he did, humming to himself.

“What sorts of Grass-Types live in Kalos?” Crystal asked. She checked her ears as they walked, making sure that the wrap of cloth over her head wasn’t going to come undone anytime soon. Ramos didn’t have anything to properly plug her ears, but it was enough to muffle some of the noise.

“All sorts,” Ramos replied. “The Pokémon Skiddo and Gogoat are among those that I have bred and trained over the years, and I have a Victreebel at my disposal as well. I don’t know how much of a help they are going to be against whatever you think might be affecting the Pokémon at the south gate, but if need be I can call on them for assistance.”

Crystal nodded in response, then looked over at the south gate as it came into view.

Crystal frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Pokémon sit in a straight line like that before.”

The Pokémon that were sitting in front of the gate stared back at them. There were two Gogoat, like the ones that were used in Lumiose as taxies, and a couple Weepinbells and three Trapinch.

The sight of the Trapinch made Crystal wonder what Trisha would think of this. She hadn’t known that there were Trapinch living in the area.

That thought was quickly dashed from her head by a high-pitched noise that pierced through the muffling fabric around Crystal’s ears.

Crystal winced at the sound and raised a hand to her head. It was like something had pierced her ears and was attempting to drill into her brain. Next to her, Frieda whined and held her paws up to her ears, already stuffed with fur. Apparently, not even that could protect her from whatever was affecting the Pokémon stuck at the gate.

Richie quickly moved between Crystal and the Pokémon standing in front of the gate, which started to move as soon as Crystal winced at the noise.

“No further,” one of the Gogoat said flatly. He stomped his hoof and lowered his head. “If you come closer, we will push you back.”

Richie flicked out his blades while Crystal pulled her arms over her head, attempting to block the noise from her ears. “Crystal! Are you all right?”

“I – ugh – I’ll be all right.” Crystal gritted her teeth at the noise bouncing around in her head. “It’s a really annoying noise…I can see how it’d make it hard to think.”

“I’ll find the source,” Ramos spoke loudly. “Do what you can to keep the Pokémon distracted, if you can!” He quickly moved away as one of the Gogoat rushed the group. Richie caught the horns in a Protect shield before swinging in for a Psycho Cut, sending the Gogoat skidding back.

Samuel jumped in as well, kicking and beating up the Trapinch before they could burrow underground. “Nope! Nope! Nope! I am not going to let you do that! Get your sandy behinds back to where they belong, you stupid little baby dragons!”

One of the Weepinbels shrieked and spat a glob of poison in Crystal’s direction, but it bounced off an instinctive Protect of Crystal’s own before Sawyer flew at the Pokémon with intent. Bug-Type energy gathered around his wings, and he unleashed a green-glowing Infestation before swinging around for a Struggle Bug.

Crystal shook her head to clear out the shrieking noise that was running through her head, then breathed in through her nose. It took only a moment for her to center on heat and warmth and fire before she forced everything out of her lungs. “Flamethrower!”

The stream of flames made the Pokémon move back out of the way, but as soon as the flames were gone they were back in place in front of the gate.

Crystal frowned at them, the high-pitched noise in her ears still rattling her brain. “I don’t like the looks on their faces. Something seems…wrong. I’m not sure how, but it seems wrong.”

“Gee, that’s specific,” Samuel said dryly. He kicked a Trapinch back, only for the Pokémon to force itself to waddle forward again. The Ground-Types were looking more and more bruised, like they shouldn’t be moving despite the fact that they still were. “Got any more words of wisdom, or are you getting headaches from this thing, too?”

“It definitely feels like someone is trying to make me confused, but…at this point it just makes it hard to think.” Crystal shook her head. The sound was still insistent and annoying, but it wasn’t fully settling into her brain yet. “You guys doing all right?”

Frieda winced and held one paw to her ears. She quickly cast a Fire Spin over a Gogoat and brought her other paw up to her other ear. “It hurts. I don’t like it.”

“I’ve been tuning it out the best I can, but it feels weird,” Sawyer spoke up.

Rummy shook himself abruptly and shot out from behind Crystal. “Shut up shut up SHUT UP!”

The Psyshock the Solosis released into the Weepinbel caused the pitcher plants to scatter, shrieking in pain. One of them collapsed, unconscious.

“I hate this voice!” Rummy complained. “It wants people to stay out of the badlands!”

“You hear a voice?” Crystal repeated in alarm. That didn’t sound like what she was hearing – although, was there a different effect in place because she was part human?

“Keep fighting it,” Crystal encouraged. “We just have to hold out until Ramos finds where the sound is coming from!” She held out a hand and cast a Psyshock of her own, knocking out the rest of the Weepinbel in the process. Now it was just the Gogoats and the stumbling Trapinch who attempted to bar their way, and even then, they were already worn down by Frieda, Samuel, Sawyer, and Richie.

“You don’t need to tell me twice!” Rummy glowed briefly from a Recover before he launched another Psyshock at a stumbling Trapinch. It collapsed moments before Samuel stopped his kick from whacking it in the face. “I like you a lot better than this voice anyhow. It sounds like it wants to take over my head or something.” He made a noise that sounded a lot like a child getting ready to throw themselves into a tantrum. “I’m my own person, not some puppet they can order me around. I won’t let that happen!”

Something about Rummy’s words struck something in Crystal. She wasn’t sure why, but she caught sight of something dark out of the corner of her eye. As she turned to face it, her headache intensified, causing her to wince and clamp down tightly on her ears. Instead of something trying to get into her head, however, this felt like something trying to dig its way out. It was uncomfortable, painful, and something told Crystal it was better off not being remembered.

She assumed it had something to do with the Houndoom, pushed it to the back of her mind in a panic, and surged her power into another Psyshock to hit a charging Gogat in the face.

“It looks like we’re almost done with clearing out the gate,” Richie called over. “But there could be more Pokémon coming if we’re not careful.”

“Keep an eye out for them, then!” Samuel yelled back loudly. “I for one do not want to end up stuck fighting these guys for the rest of the day! Come on!” He whacked another Trapinch back; it fell down and didn’t get back up.

Richie gave Samuel an odd look, forcing Crystal to relay what the Breloom had said telepathically. Richie nodded back, then turned and started looking around at the trees and the coastline, looking for more Pokémon that could come out of nowhere and surprise them.

If there were any Pokémon about to join the fray, they never got the chance.

A loud shriek of bending metal shot across the area, causing Crystal to stumble at the noise and throw her arms over her covered ears.

“Found it!” Ramos called. His voice was slightly muffled, but strangely clear after the ringing noise Crystal had been hearing. It took her a moment to realize that the noise she’d been hearing had suddenly cut off when the shriek went off.

“What was it?” Crystal started pulling off the cloth wrapped around her head and pulled out the cotton she’d stuffed in her ears. “Guys, Ramos found it. The noise is gone.”

“Ah, blissful silence.” Rummy floated down to the ground, his large, cell-like body almost turning into a pile of goo.

Wait. Large?

Richie did a double-take as well as he pulled off his headphones. “Uh…Rummy? Did you just evolve?”

“Huh?” Rummy looked at himself. “…oh. Well, whaddaya know. I’m a Duosion now. Cool!”

Ramos grunted from behind a nearby tree, then started slowly moving into view, dragging something along behind him. Compared to the old man, the device looked large, heavy, and like it had taken a slash to the side from something.

Crystal glanced at Ramos’ gardening shears – the looked like they’d seen better days suddenly – then ran over to give him some help. “This is it?”

“Looks like it.” Ramos leaned against the tree, dropping the device. “It was sitting right over here, doing who-knows-what. I assume the sound has stopped?”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah; I heard metal shriek and then it just stopped.”

“Well, then it sounds like I might’ve found it.” Ramos chuckled. He frowned at the device he’d dragged out. “Still, it’s worrysome to know that something like this exists, if it can affect Pokémon to do something like that.”

Crystal frowned and turned her focus fully to the device as well.

For the most part, it looked like a cylindrical device with a rounded top and prongs on the bottom end that it likely stood on. Because Ramos had been dragging it, it had fallen on its side, which probably dealt more damage and made it less likely to work.

Still, the slash that had been cut in the side of what looked like an outer moving part was probably more than enough in order to keep it from working.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before,” Crystal remarked. “It’s weird. Any idea what it is, Ramos?”

“Not me, no. I’ll ask around and see if anyone is familiar with it.” Ramos frowned deeply. “Still, this might be what is causing trouble in Lumiose. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more than just this one scattered around the badlands and Lumiose itself.”

“So, there’s more of these things….” Crystal looked around at her team as they shook off their headgear – or, in the case of Frieda, shook her head and rubbed her ears. “If we’re going to help in get the power back on, then, we’re going to need better protection than what we managed to find, then. I could still hear it despite what we managed to do for me, and it gave me a pretty bad headache. It’s still kinda there, too.”

“Not surprising.” Ramos pushed himself away from the tree and got himself to his feet. “Let’s go back to the Gym and get an alert out to the other Gym Leaders. I doubt that Grant will listen right away, but that boy can be very rock solid when he sets his mind to it.”

Samuel snorted from where he stood nearby. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“We should give the Pokémon here medical attention as well,” Ramos added. “Can I count on your help to bring them to the Pokémon Center with me before we discuss this?”

“I don’t have a problem with it.” Crystal nodded. “Come on, guys – let’s get them to the Pokémon Center.”

“Um…” Frieda made an uncertain noise. “I’m feeling kinda—’

The Braixen was suddenly cut off in a flash of light, causing the others to jump.

“What excellent timing.” Ramos nodded in satisfaction. “Congratulations, Crystal. Your Kalos starter has reached her final form.”

-----

Frieda flopped down onto the couch Ramos directed them towards. “Whew! Walking is weird now. I didn’t think I’d get to be so big.”

“Or fluffy,” Crystal agreed with a laugh. She patted the Delphox’s arm as she sat down next to her. “We can help you get used to it, though. Walking around town should help a little if it hasn’t already.”

“Well, I’m not tripping, so that’s kinda a plus…” Frieda looked down at her legs, eyeing the large amounts of fluff that covered them. “But it still feels weird.”

“Tell me about it.” Samuel leaned over the couch behind them. “I went from being a short stubby mushroom to this. I had to get my sense of balance back all over again. At least you didn’t have to deal with that going from your last form to this one. You got it out of the way early.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Frieda nodded to him. The large tufts of fur sticking out of her ears almost hit Crystal in the head.

Crystal chuckled at Frieda’s movements, then looked over at Ramos as he sat down on the couch across from them. “Thanks for letting us talk about this back here, Ramos. I knew Gyms had sequestered spaces for Gym Leaders and Trainers to rest in.”

Ramos chuckled. “Well, I certainly wasn’t about to have a discussion up at that top of the climbing tree.” He looked around at the tall bookshelves around them, then settled back into the couch with an exhausted sigh. “If any challenging Trainers came through and were looking for a challenge, it would make for quite an interesting conversation.”

“Yeah, I bet. Although, I don’t think you’re going to get any challengers just yet; I’m pretty sure I’m traveling ahead of three Trainers by a few days at most.”

“Well, that’s good to know. Hopefully their journey won’t involve them running into trouble like this morning.” Ramos frowned. “Still, though, if those strange devices are scattered across the badlands and Lumiose, that will cause you trouble if you want to assist in turning the power back on in the city.”

Crystal’s ears flicked as she looked around the small space. She saw Lily sitting in a vase on a bookshelf, seemingly curling in for a nap on her flower’s stem, then looked back at Ramos. “Yeah. I don’t like the way that felt.”

“Me, neither.” Rummy settled onto the back of the couch next to Samuel, while Richie took the open spot on Crystal’s other side. “It sounded like it was trying to Confuse me and then get me to do whatever it was making the other Pokémon to do. That’s not very nice.”

“No, it’s not,” Esmeralda agreed.

Richie nodded. “Think it’s got something to do with Team Flare? Or is there another group that’s causing Kalos problems?”

“I really hope it isn’t a second team, Richie,” Crystal replied, frowning. “We had enough trouble with Team Magnus in Hoenn…I don’t want to think about all the trouble two teams could cause.”

“That would be trouble,” Ramos agreed. “But I doubt that would be the case; after all, they likely would have appeared not long after Team Flare started making the movements they have.”

Crystal looked sharply at Ramos. “What do you mean?”

Sawyer, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Richie, looked around with a concerned expression. Samuel frowned deeply, and Lily looked up from her napping spot.

“I took the liberty of looking over the symbol on the machine that was causing all that Confusion trouble,” Ramos explained. “There was a symbol of a flame carved into it on the top, so I have little doubt that it is something that Team Flare uses, or at the very least had made for their own schemes. If it was manufactured by another group, they would have left their symbol there, but I didn’t see any sign of anything similar. Still, I’ll contact the Rangers and see if they are aware of any poaching activity that might be going on when the rest of us aren’t looking.”

Samuel looked up at Ramos’ mention of Rangers; he looked over at Richie, who looked back with a raised eyebrow.

“Think that Aria girl’s gonna come by this time?” Samuel asked. “Or are they gonna give her a break and call someone else?”

Richie blinked at the question and frowned.

“Aria?” Ramos repeated. “You don’t mean the Ranger who assisted you in Hoenn last year, do you?”

Crystal frowned in thought. “I mean, she does have experience with fighting a team like we do….” A moment later, it clicked in her head that Ramos had understood her Breloom. “Oh! Wait – you can understand Grass-Types?”

“Indeed I can. Although, your friend is a little tricky to make out sometimes – I haven’t spent a lot of time with fungus.” Ramos smiled briefly. “Still, if you have a Ranger friend who has some experience and might be willing to help, I don’t see why I can ask around for her. I’ll see what help I can wrangle from the Rangers. In the meantime…well, you want to do something about the power plants, correct? And I doubt that Lumiose is doing very well considering that half of the city is still without power.”

“I don’t see why we can’t help,” Sawyer said. He flapped his wings a little, looking at Crystal. “Right?”

Crystal nodded. “The only problem is that we don’t know how many of those machines they’ve set up in the badlands – if they’ve set up any at all – and how we’re going to be able to stop them when some of us need hearing protection.” She reached up for her own ears, frowning. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to set foot in the badlands until at least some of them are gone, but that’s not an option I can take….”

“I’m sure some of my Gym Trainers will be able to come up with something,” Ramos remarked lightly. “Wait here; I’ll get the attention of a few and see what I can do. I don’t doubt they’d be more than willing to give you some help, especially if it means they can help solve Lumiose’s current crisis.” He got up from the couch. “And please – do help yourselves to any snacks that I keep here. Most of them are plant-based, but they are Pokémon friendly. I doubt that any of you would have a problem with them.” He nodded to the group, then stepped out of the room and closed a bark-covered door behind him.

Crystal looked at the closed door for a moment, then turned her attention to the Pokémon sitting around her. Most of them looked back at her, except for Lily, who curled back against her flower stem again.

Crystal sighed. “So…are you guys ready for whatever’s going to come next?”

Richie and Samuel nodded at once.

Esmeralda tilted her head for a moment, then nodded slightly. “If you need me, I will find a way to assist.”

“No way are those guys gonna get away with messing with my head!” Rummy declared.

“I don’t like the noise, either,” Sawyer agreed.

“Or me.” Frieda nodded. “If we can stop them, then all the better.”

Crystal nodded back to them, then looked up at Lily. “What about you, Lily? Do you want to sit this one out too, or…?”

Lily shifted on her flower. She remained silent as she looked down at the rest of them. After a moment, she sighed and nodded. “I don’t think I’ll be a lot of help outside, if there’s nothing small enough for me. But if those idiots start pulling out Pokémon the rest of you can’t handle, I’m willing to give it a go.”

Crystal nodded back. “Thanks. We appreciate it.”

Chapter Text

The Kalosian Badlands made Crystal think of the desert in Hoenn, although with less sand being blown around on the strong winds.

She pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head, careful not to jostle the heavy-duty plugs that the Gym Trainers had found for her ears. It was strange, not being able to hear anything through them, but at least it meant she wasn’t going to be picking up the sounds of those strange devices.

Unfortunately, she caught sight of one as soon as she stepped out of the south gate of Courmarine city.

“Looks like our guess was right,” Crystal remarked to Richie. He had his borrowed headphones over his ears again. “Team Flare – or at least someone – is using these weird devices to do something to the Pokémon here.”

Richie nodded back. He frowned at the black, cylindrical device that sat in front of them on the main path. “Let’s get rid of it, and hopefully make our journey easier, then. The fewer of these things that are around, the better.”

Richie walked up to the device, bringing out his hidden arm blades. A quick slash of a Psycho Cut later, and the slowly-spinning device was cut in half.

Crystal sighed in relief as the upper half fell to the ground, sparking as it died. “Well, that’s one down. Who knows how many to go.”

“And the power plant,” Richie added.

Crystal nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Let’s go find those power plants.” She turned her gaze out to the badlands, looking over the windy, clay-like landscape. Yes, this was definitely similar to Hoenn’s desert, but the wind and the Pokémon who were wandering around were the only similarities that Crystal could see.

After all, Hoenn didn’t have buildings scattered across its desert, with giant fans facing one direction, or stout towers releasing steam into the air.

Crystal wasn’t sure which area of the badlands they were going to have to check first. There were buildings scattered around, but which ones were easy to get into was another matter.

She was about to point towards a building near the giant fans that were collecting wind energy, when something bright red-orange caught the corner of her eye.

“Hm?” Crystal turned her head sharply, then frowned. “Over there. It looks like we’ve found a Team Flare grunt.”

Crystal’s team turned as one to follow Crystal’s gaze, settling on the fire-themed figure standing a short distance away, laughing at a trio of Trapinch that were marching in circles in front of him.

“Yeah! Man, these Flare-remos are super useful!” the Team Flare grunt exclaimed with delight. “We can make Pokémon do what we want without even using PokeBalls! It’s a shame it doesn’t work well on the stronger Pokémon – I’d love to see what it could do to a Champion’s Pokémon – but at least we can slow them down! Ha!”

Samuel gritted his teeth and started shifting from one foot to another. -Permission to knock him off his feet?-

“We may need him to tell us where the rest of them are.” Crystal frowned. “And where they are making these ‘Flare-remos.’ At least we have a name for them now.”

There was something about the name that sent a chill down Crystal’s spine, but she wasn’t sure why. She decided to ignore the feeling for now. Team Flare was a bit more important than random chills.

Samuel started for the Flare grunt directing the Trapinch to mark in circles, walking in a crouch with his fists tucked in close. Crystal and Richie followed after him, the rest of their team in PokeBalls for now.

After all, Crystal didn’t want to have everyone lose their headgear to these harsh winds. It wouldn’t bode well for what was to come.

The Flare grunt paused, then turned his head. “Who’s—”

Samuel leapt up like a spring, punching the man in the gut before he could so much as reach for the PokeBalls at his waist. “SURPRISE!”

The Flare grunt groaned in pain and fell onto his knees, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he doubled over in pain.

“Don’t overdo it,” Crystal warned Samuel. “Remember—”

Samuel huffed and stepped back. -I know, I know. I was aiming to knock the breath out of him, not do anything else. Believe me, that punch had no weight behind it. I wasn’t going to use a Mach Punch on a defenseless human-

“Still.” Crystal nodded to him, then closed the distance between herself and the Flare grunt. She got down on one knee in order to see eye-to-eye with the man, or as close as she could get. With those reflective sunglasses he was wearing, it was hard to tell where exactly his eyes were at any one given moment. “Hello. Mind telling me why you’re out here in the badlands? I get the feeling that you’re not just here to mess with the wildlife on a whim.” She glanced at the Trapinch, still walking in circles.

The Flare grunt groaned in pain again, bending forward so far his head almost touched the ground. “Ow….”

Crystal frowned. “Please, tell us what you are doing out here? I don’t want to have to use Hypnosis to get the answers that I’m looking for.”

-Pulling out the big guns are we?- Samuel asked dryly behind them.

Richie elbowed him with a stern frown. “Don’t.”

-What? It’s not like Hypnosis has any lasting physical affects like my punches do-

The Flare grunt lifted his head slightly. Crystal imagined his eyes were likely finding hers under those reflective glasses. “What makes you think I’m going to answer to you, half-breed? Go die in a hole, far away from everyone else. The world would be better off without you.”

Crystal stiffened. Behind her, Richie immediately moved forward with the intent to punch the Flare grunt himself, but Samuel stepped in front of him and gave the Gallade a pointed look.

-You gonna be a hypocrite?-

“He just—”

“Richie, Samuel.” Crystal glanced back at the two of them. “It’s…it’s okay. I was worried that this would be the reaction I’d get when I revealed myself. While the acceptance of the people in Hoenn has been nice…I’m just sad that there are people out here who think this way of me, too.”

Richie and Samuel exchanged looks.

Crystal didn’t know what was going through their heads right at that moment, but she assumed they were thinking of something.

She looked back at the Flare grunt, and raised a hand as she called on her innate power. “All right. I gave you a warning, and I’m sorry that I have to do this if I want to get any answers from you.”

The Flare grunt started to back up, but Crystal quickly grabbed his head in both hands and put her face directly in front of his. A pulse of psychic energy passed between them, even as the Flare grunt grabbed her arms and started to force them away from her head.

He stopped moving in seconds.

Crystal, her hands already forced off his head because of the Flare grunt’s pulling, cautiously wriggled one arm out of the grunt’s grip and pulled off his sunglasses. When she saw the half-closed eyes looking back at her, she sighed in relief.

“Samuel, can you go find another one of those ‘Flare-remos’ he was talking about earlier and see about destroying it?” Crystal asked. “Something tells me there might be another one nearby.” She nodded to the Trapinch.

Samuel grinned widely. -Sure, no problem.- The Breloom happily ambled off in search of the cylindrical device, leaving Richie to loom over the Flare grunt.

"Rummy, could you tell me what he says? I don't think he's going to be able to think his answers back at me."

The Solosis bobbed in response. "Sure!"

Crystal turned her attention back towards the man and his half-closed stare. He still hadn’t moved, despite the blistering winds and the small bits of stone and sand that were being thrown around. She carefully moved his hands down from where they had been pulling her hands off his head, then asked in a voice loud enough to be heard over the wind, “What is Team Flare doing in the badlands?”

The Flare grunt blinked at the question. “We’re testing the Flare-remos and gathering power for a project the boss wants done.” His voice came out flat, and sleepy, like Crystal had caught him just coming out of a deep nap and he hadn’t fully woken up yet.

Crystal frowned. “Their boss wants power…?”  She shook her head slightly. “That’s why you commandeered the power plants in the badlands? Because the leader of Team Flare wants to siphon off them for power?”

“Not all of them.” The Flare grunt blinked again. “We only needed the power from one of the plants. He said…he said to take all of them would get more suspicion than we could handle, and we’d be found out.”

That made sense. If only parts of Corumarine and Lumiose were affected, instead of the entire cities and others besides, then no one outside of those areas would be suspicious of what was going on. That didn’t make Crystal feel any better about the situation, however.

“Which power plant?” Crystal asked.

The Flare grunt slowly raised a hand and pointed towards the southwest.

Crystal nodded. At the same time, the sound of shrieking metal came from somewhere behind her, followed by a shout of triumph from Samuel.

“Woo! These things crumple like paper!” Samuel yelled. “You should take out the next one, Crystal, if you can get to it!”

“We’ll see!” Crystal called back. She picked up the Flare grunt’s glasses, considered them for a moment, then put them back on the Flare grunt’s face and waved a hand in front of his now-covered eyes. “Sleep. This encounter will be nothing more than a strange dream for you.”

The Flare grunt’s head rolled forward, and he slumped to the ground.

Richie relaxed his arms, but he still looked stiff as Crystal rose to her feet. “I don’t like them, Crystal. First the Houndour, now them telling you that you should go and die because they don’t like you? Something about this doesn’t feel right. At all.”

Crystal sighed through her nose and got to her feet while the Trapinch looked around the area with confused tilts of their heads. “I don’t like it, either. Can I count on you, Samuel, and everyone else to keep their Pokémon off our backs?”

“Of course you can.” Richie nodded pointedly. “I’m not about to leave you alone to handle whatever it is that’s waiting for us.”

-Same goes for me!- Samuel ran back over, grinning. Clearly, he was still pleased with himself for taking out the Flare-remo that had been bothering the local Pokémon. -Oh, by the way – I saw some kinda dial thingy on the side of the machine. It looked like it was set to something that said ‘repel?’ I’m thinking that’s why we haven’t had any Pokémon coming over to investigate us just yet. There could be Pokémon under our feet for all we know-

“Hey, you!”

Crystal turned her head at the voice, and blinked when she saw one of the three Trapinch looking at her with narrowed eyes.

“Do you know what’s going on around here?” the Trapinch asked. “My head feels kinda funny, like something’s been dancing on it or something.”

“Something like that.” Crystal pointed at the unconscious Flare grunt. “There’s a group of humans dressed like this, calling themselves Team Flare. They’ve made devices that are broadcasting a Confusion signal. I’d recommend being very careful about where you go in the badlands for a while; Richie and Samuel have destroyed one each, but there could be more of those devices.”

The three Trapinch exchanged looks.

“Sounds bad.” One of the Trapinch shook herself out with a worried noise. “I’m gonna go hide, then. I don’t wanna have one of those people dancing on my head.”

The first one that had spoken nodded in agreement. “What are you going to do to that one? He smells weird. Weirder than the normal humans, or you.”

“I was thinking of leaving him alone until he wakes up,” Crystal replied honestly. “He should wake up in about five minutes or so.”

“Oh! Oh!” The third Trapinch started hopping around. “Can we bury him up to his neck in clay? That way, when he wakes up, we can sit and watch him squirm!”

“Only if you give him enough space to breathe,” Crystal replied. “I wouldn’t be happy if he ended up suffocating for your enjoyment.”

“We don’t have to listen to a Trainer if we don’t wanna,” the first Trapinch declared. He paused and tilted his head at Crystal. “Still…just this once. But don’t expect us to be willing to listen a second time.”

Crystal’s shoulders relaxed, and she nodded. “Much appreciated. We’ll see about driving the rest of Team Flare out of the area, as well, so I don’t expect them to be causing problems here for much longer.”

“Good. We could use with a stop to their mental dancing.” The first Trapinch turned to look at his companions. “Let’s trap this guy and show him what it means to mess with us!”

“Yeah!”

Crystal shook her head a little at them, then looked at Samuel and Richie. “All right. Let’s go find a way into that power plant.”

As they worked their way across the landscape in the direction the Flare grunt had pointed, Crystal, Richie, Rummy, and Samuel saw more proof of Team Flare’s meddling with the local Pokémon population. More Pokémon standing around, not attacking Crystal as she walked by, or some patrolling in circles and lashing out the instant Samuel got too close to one of them.

Samuel shook his foot as he made a face at the fainted Gible that had just tried to take a bite out of his tail. -This is getting really annoying-

“They aren’t in control of themselves,” Crystal replied. “We’ll just have to be patient until we can deactivate all the Flare-remos. Maybe there’s a way to turn them all off at once, but I think we’ll probably have to destroy them all by hand.”

Samuel groaned loudly. -Team Flare is lousy.-

“You’re telling me,” Richie grumbled back.

There were more Team Flare grunts along the way to the power plant, and although some of them did attempt to force the local wild Pokémon to attack Crystal, or used their own Pokémon, Richie, Rummy, and Sawyer took them out before Crystal had to so much as lift a finger.

Crystal sighed in relief as another Houndour was knocked out before it could so much as launch an attack at either her or her Pokémon. “Thanks. If they keep sending…those Pokémon after us like this, I don’t…I don’t know how much of a help I’m going to be able to be.”

“Don’t say that.” Richie looked back as the Flare grunt they’d beaten stumbled back, completely defenseless now that he was without any conscious Pokémon. “You were able to help in Hoenn despite your fear of Dark-Types then. I don’t see why we can’t help here, too.”

"Oh, you have problems with them, too?" Rummy shook himself, frowning. "I hope I can learn something to fight them, too."

-Samuel's got a point- Richie pointed out. -I mean, if you want to sit out, you can sit out. But we wouldn’t work as well without you here, Crystal- He frowned. -Besides, if most of the Gym leaders around here act like Grant, then we’ve got a problem. And Rummy, I wouldn't worry about it yet. We don't know what you're going to be when you evolve yet-

Crystal frowned at the thought. That was true, as unfortunate as that was. “Well, I…I don’t like the idea of facing Houndour now, of all times, but…if I need to, I’ll stand with you. I’m sorry if I can’t do any more than that.”

“You’re fine, Crystal,” Richie replied. “We can’t expect you to do everything.”

Crystal smiled slightly, then nodded a little. “All right. Okay.”

Eventually, they reached the entrance to the power plant the Flare grunt had pointed towards. The Flare grunts standing guard outside it – as well as the Flare-remo – were quickly defeated and demolished before Crystal so much as stepped towards the front door.

Crystal looked over the building in front of them. “It looks like this is an entrance to an underground facility. Most of the power plant must be underground…I wonder if that’s because of the harsh winds up here.”

-Who knows- Samuel replied dryly. -Can we get in is the question.-

Richie eyed up the small building himself. It looked like a well-built metal building with an equally metal door.“Fighting-Types are good against Steel…I can beat it down if the door’s locked, but that’s going to make noise.”

“Hm.” Crystal frowned. She walked over to the steel door and grabbed the handle. She gave it a testing, hesitant twist, tilting her head. Her ears flicked, unable to hear the sound of the door clicking open, but she did feel something click in the handle.

With a cautious tug, the door moved open.

“Looks like we won’t have to worry about finding a key or breaking down the door,” Crystal remarked with a small smile. “Let’s move inside, and as soon as we’re in out of the wind, I’ll let everyone else out. We’ve got a power plant to search so that we can find a way to get the power back on.”

Samuel and Richie nodded in agreement, and they stepped into the building and down the stairs after her.

The inside of the power plant was dark and dimly lit. Lights lit up on either side of the stairs and the hallway at the bottom, giving the area enough dim light that they could see. Passages branched off in different directions, but for the moment, there was no one else standing in the area.

Crystal looked around, then reached for the PokeBalls on her belt and tapped each in turn.

Her team released themselves quickly, standing around Crystal in the crowded hallway with their own makeshift earwear – except for Rummy, of course, who didn’t really have a pair of ears to cover.

The Duosion shuddered. “I’m not hearing the weird voice-thing down here very clearly, unlike outside, but it’s definitely coming from somewhere nearby.”

Crystal nodded back. “Good to know. We found a Team Flare grunt who said they were in here, taking power for something. We need to find them and drive them out, then find a way to get the power moving back towards Lumiose and not to wherever they’re sending it. Is everyone willing to help?”

Her team exchanged looks at the question.

Lily huffed, then sighed heavily and nodded.

Frieda tilted her head, her large tufts of fur almost unbalancing her head in the process. “I’m down to help. I don’t like the voices that Rummy is hearing, either, and if Team Flare is causing them on top of the power plant problems, they have to be stopped.”

“Agreed.” Esmeralda nodded. “I am not about to stand by when they are causing Pokémon to suffer like those that you fought near the south gate. Have you been running into more?”

“The badlands do seem to be affected, yeah,” Richie replied. “Hopefully we can find a way to shut them all down at once.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “Let’s have a look around. Stay close, and don’t wander too far. We don’t know where Team Flare is or what they’re doing here.”

Her team nodded at once, then moved around Crystal in a defensive ring, with Richie and Samuel up in front. If any Houndour tried to sneak up on them, they would not do well against their fists.

It didn’t take them long to find the first of the Flare grunts, standing at the end of the hall where it turned around a corner. He yelped in surprise and threw a pair of PokeBalls, releasing a Houndour and a Gulpin into the hallway. “Get away from me, you—”

A Psycho Cut and a Drain Punch later, and both Pokémon were down for the count before he could even issue commands.

“Get out,” Richie told him, holding up his bladed arms.

The Flare grunt jumped at the Pokémon’s telepathic voice. “You – what – how –”

His voice was faint, muffled, and almost unheard through the ear protection that Crystal was wearing at the moment, but she could still pick up his alarm at the sight of her and all the Pokémon with her.

“I won’t stand for you stealing more power from the people of Kalos,” Crystal said. “And I’m sure the local authorities will have questions for all of you.”

The Flare grunt swallowed visibly, then stumbled back and hit the wall behind him. He was clearly shaken by Crystal’s appearance and her team around her.

Crystal held up a hand, and her eyes flashed with power. Unseen eyes met hers, and the man collapsed to the ground.

Frieda jumped as he fell. “What did—”

“I just cast Hypnosis.” Crystal lowered her hand. “It should keep him there for a few hours. Let’s look for the rest of Team Flare before they can get the jump on us.”

Her team exchanged looks, then nodded in agreement.

“I don’t remember you doing this with the Team Magnus grunts,” Richie remarked. “What’s different this time?”

“Team Magnus was causing trouble all over by the time we arrived in Hoenn,” Crystal replied. “Team Flare seems to be only just getting on their feet. If we can stop them sooner rather than later, then we’ll be able to keep them from doing anything like what Team Magnus did. We might be able to keep them from awakening or finding any Legendary Pokémon that way, too.”

Richie and Samuel inclined their heads, then nodded.

-Stopping it now rather than too late is better than nothing- Samuel agreed. -Let’s find more of these guys to knock out-

The next Flare grunt they found a little further down the hall and around a corner. She was standing in front of a door, arms folded like she was guarding something. Unlike the last grunt, she didn’t jump in surprise when she caught sight of them. Instead, she immediately reached for the PokeBalls at her belt.

“Didn’t think the half-breed would decide to try and stop us,” the Flare grunt huffed. “You’ve got more guts than I thought, girlie.”

Crystal frowned, not really hearing the grunt’s words. That was the annoying thing about having her ears plugged, but she could work around that just fine.

“We won’t stand for you messing with the power in Kalos like this,” Crystal said. “People need the power back on in the cities that are affected. We won’t let you use the power here for whatever it is that you want to use it for.”

Now, the Flare grunt stiffened. “Oh, ugh. I didn’t think you could put your voice in my head. That’s terrible. Can you hear my thoughts or something? That’s terrifying.”

“I can’t hear your thoughts, no. I’m just picking up enough to know what it is you’re saying, since I’m keeping my ears plugged.” Crystal looked over at Frieda, who produced her wand and prepared for a fight. “Are you going to stand aside?”

“Yeah, no.” The Flare grunt uncrossed her arms and reached for her PokeBalls. “I’m going to make you fight everything that I’ve got.”

The Gulpin that jumped out was immediately hit in the face by a Psybeam from Frieda’s wand, sending it flying in the wall next to the Flare grunt from the force of the attack.

“Is that all?” Frieda asked boldly.

The Flare grunt hesitated at the question, then quickly snatched two more PokeBalls and released the Pokémon inside. The two Houndour that she released were immediately taken down by Richie and Samuel, sending the two Fire/Dark-Types to join the fainted Gulpin next to the wall.

“Don’t try that trick,” Richie snarled. “You people have far too much Houndour for your own good.”

The Flare grunt put her hands up. “Wh-what do you—”

Crystal held out a hand and cast Hypnosis, causing the grunt to collapse like the others. She reached over and tapped each of the grunt’s PokeBalls in turn, returning her fainted team. “Sleep. The police will probably be here sooner or later.” She looked at the door the Flare grunt had been guarding, scanning it up and down. “I wonder if there’s something important behind here that they wanted to keep protected.”

“Only one way to find out.” Frieda walked over to the door and put a paw against it, tilting her head. “Is this one locked, do you think?”

“If it is, I doubt the grunt would mind if we picked her pockets for the keys.” Esmeralda walked over to stand at the Flare grunt’s feet.

Crystal nodded in agreement. “Let’s just try the door, first. We can look around for the keys when we know we can’t get in. And if we can’t find the keys, then we can force the door open.”

She looked over at Samuel, who nodded back with a wide grin on his face.

Frieda let her paw drop from the door and rested it on the door handle. She frowned at it and tilted her head, then pushed down.

Just like the power plant’s main entrance, the door handle shifted with a soft click, and Freida pushed the door open on quiet hinges.

Samuel’s shoulders slumped. -Aw, man. I was hoping that I could break it down-

“Maybe next time,” Richie said in amusement.

“Um…” Frieda looked at Crystal and pointed at the open doorway. “There are people in lab coats in here. I don’t know if they’re with Team Flare or if they’re other people…?”

Crystal frowned, then moved past her teammates and poked her head through the open doorway to see what Frieda was seeing.

Crystal blinked, but then her eyes widened when she saw the figures standing in the room on the other side. Most of them, like Frieda had noted, were wearing lab coats with nametags, but there were some who wearing hard hats and looked like they were more prepared for hard labor than they were working in a lab or with computers.

Crystal met the wide-eyed stares from the figures standing in the room.

One of the lab workers opened his mouth to say something, then paused and frowned. He motioned to the space above his head.

Crystal wondered if the man was motioning to her ears.

“I’ve got them plugged up at the moment,” Crystal said to them. “Whatever Team Flare is doing to the Pokémon in the badlands gives me a terrible headache, so I’m afraid I can’t hear very well. If you focus hard enough, I might be able to reach the thoughts that come to the surface, but otherwise I’ll have to rely on the one Pokémon who can still hear to tell me what you’re trying to say.”

She motioned for Rummy to come forward, which he did.

“It still sounds like an annoying buzzing,” Rummy said with annoyance. “But I can manage if you need me to.”

The people in the room exchanged looks, clearly startled. One of them motioned for Crystal to come forward, speaking quickly.

“Looks like they want us to come in there in order to hide,” Rummy remarked. “In case someone in Team Flare comes by and catches us by surprise.”

Crystal blinked at that, then looked over her shoulder back at the hallway they’d walked down. “…yeah, that might be true. Depending on how long we take, those Team Flare grunts could wake up from their Hypnosis-induced sleep…all right. Come on, guys.”

Lily quickly zipped into the room, and everyone else followed. Richie followed Crystal into the room, and shifted the door shut behind them.

“So.” Crystal turned her attention to the figures in the room. “Is there anything you can tell us about what’s going on?”

Chapter Text

There were five people in the space in all – three people in lab coats, and two more dressed for construction work of some kind. They looked nervous, which was understandable – not only was Crystal accompanied by several Pokémon who were definitely not local to the badlands, but her Mew ears and tail were within their line of sight.

She didn’t think it all that surprising that they stared at her ears above her head like they were being greeted by a Ghastly that claimed to be a loved one who has passed on.

Rummy floated over to a nearby chair, where he landed on the seat cushion with a sigh. He shook himself out and looked around the room. Crystal knew he was irritated, but he wasn’t irritated with the people they were sharing the space with. “So? What’s up?”

One of the labcoats – the one who had motioned them inside – jolted at Rummy’s voice and looked at the Duosion with an expression of surprise. He took a moment to compose himself, then started, through Rummy’s telepathic translation, talk to Crystal.

“I can’t say we were expecting a Trainer to break into the power plant, least of all the Champion of Hoenn,” the man said. “But, still, you should be careful – we’ve heard Team Flare talking about battle strategies like they’re prepared for your coming. That’s why I asked you to come in here so quickly.”

Crystal frowned. “They were prepared for me? I suppose that explains…” She trailed off and looked over at Samuel, who gave her a concerned frown in return. She shook her head slightly, then looked back at the man. “I have friends who can counteract whatever it is they throw at me. I think I’ll be okay for now.”

“For now, maybe, but not forever. The Gym Leader from Lumiose thought he could help save us, but Team Flare stopped him in his tracks.”

Crystal’s tail stiffened at that. “The Gym Leader of – you mean Clemont? He’s here?”

“He is, as far as we know. But he wasn’t able to stop Team Flare from siphoning power away from the power plant.” The man wrung his hands and looked around at everyone else nervously. “They’ve been keeping us hostage here, forcing us to help them siphon the power away to another location, but they haven’t told us where in Kalos we’re being forced to send it.”

Crystal frowned and bit her lower lip in thought. “That’s…I suppose that’s to be expected, if they don’t want their hostages to tell their rescuers everything they’re up to. I remember we were left in the dark a lot about what Team Magnus was up to. Sill, though, what would they need all that power for…?” She shook her head. “I’ll think about that another time – Team Flare needs to be taken out, and Clemont needs to be rescued, it sounds like. Do you have a map of the power plant anywhere? I’d like to know where I need to go and if there’s anything I can do to stop them from siphoning power. Lumiose and Courmarine are both suffering from power outages.”

The people exchanged looks at the question.

“I’ve got a basic map,” one of the men in hard hats volunteered. “I don’t know how useful it’ll be, but it’s better than nothing.”

Crystal walked over to him, leaving her team standing around near the door. “Can I have a look?”

The man nodded and reached into a pocket of his work pants. “Sure.”

Rummy scooted over on the rollaround chair he’d landed in. He reached a nearby table just as Crystal accepted the map from the man and unfolded it on the table.

The map showed the path of the main corridors that stretched out under the surface. Crystal noted that some of the rooms were marked as storage for equipment, while others were observation rooms meant to monitor the power flow and look for problems with any of the power plant’s working parts. According to the note at the top, this particular plant was geo-thermal, which explained even more why this plant was underground.

The map was simple, like she had been warned, but it was absolutely better than nothing.

“We’re right here.” The man pointed to one of the rooms closest to the entrance. “And they make us mechanical engineers work here in shifts, and everyone else is forced to work in here.” He pointed to two different rooms in turn. “We think that Clemont’s being held near where everyone else is, because the others have said they’ve heard something on occasion, but we haven’t actually seen him since he burst in and tried to rescue us.”

Crystal frowned, then nodded. “Okay. So, we just need to work our way all the way over there, defeating Team Flare grunts along the way, and hopefully that’ll let you guys turn the power back to where it’s supposed to be going?”

“If you can manage it.” The man in the hard hat paused. “I really, really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be doing this alone, though.”

“I’m not alone, though. I have my Pokémon team with me, and I’m not that defenseless myself.” Crystal motioned to her ears, as though that was proof enough. “Besides, we have experience with stopping Team Magnus. I’m confident we can handle whatever Team Flare wants to throw at us.”

The man hesitated at Crystal’s words, but when he looked over her face, he sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know what it is they have, or what they’re planning on doing, but still. Be careful. I’ve been hearing a lot of them talking about catching more Dark-Types for one reason or another.”

“We have a few Pokémon who can handle that,” Esmeralda spoke up from the door. “Worry not; we have taken into account all the weaknesses and strengths of those involved.”

The people in the room exchanged looks at that, then nodded.

“We’ll stay here until Team Flare’s been taken care of,” one of the labcoats said. “When you’ve defeated them, come back and let us know so that we can turn the power back to where it’s supposed to be going.”

Crystal nodded in response. “That should be easy enough.” She turned and looked back at her team. “All right, guys. Let’s go stop Team Flare.”

Her team nodded at once, and Richie leaned back against the door to push it back open.

The awake Team Flare grunt on the other side immediately yelled in alarm. “You—”

Richie brandished his blade at the woman. “Don’t try it.”

Crystal cast Hypnosis before the woman could try anything else, and she fell to the floor just like before. “We should hurry. They probably know we’re here by now.”

Samuel laughed and jumped from one foot to the other. -Let’s knock them into next week!-

Team Flare absolutely were not prepared for the full brunt of Crystal’s team. They were accompanied by a number of Houndour and Dark and Fighting-Types, which Richie and Samuel were able to knock them out in one hit, rather than letting them linger long enough to trigger a reaction from Crystal.

Their other Pokémon, too, weren’t strong enough to slow Crystal’s team down for long. There was a large number of Poison-Types, which Crystal thought was strange considering Team Flare’s fire theming, but she put her questions about it to the back of her mind to think about later, when the power was back on in Lumiose and Courmarine.

Besides, Team Flare was holding a Gym Leader hostage, if what she’d been told was true. Maybe Clemont would’ve heard something of their plans that the workers of the power plant weren’t aware of.

It wasn’t until they reached the end of the hall and the platformed-crossed room beyond, leaving sleeping and unconscious Team Flare grunts behind them, that Crystal and her team were able to find out what exactly had happened to Clemont.

At the opposite side of the room the man in the hard hat had pointed out, there were three figures – two standing, one knocked to the side with his hands and feet tied up. One looked like a bald Flare grunt in a white suit instead of the usual red-orange, and the other was a woman in a short dress, with tall orange-yellow socks and bright orange hair that was cut short and close to her head.

And the figure who was lying on the ground, tied up, was wearing a light blue jumpsuit of some kind. A pair of round glasses were lying nearby, cracked, and the young man looked like he’d been kicked in the face a few times.

Crystal frowned at the sight of him, worried, but she quickly turned her attention to the two Flare-themed figures standing ahead of her.

The two Flare members – clearly higher up on the chain of command than the grunts Crystal had faced so far – hadn’t seen Crystal yet. Or, they didn’t acknowledge she was standing behind them. She assumed they already knew she was there because she’d worked her way around the room taking out Flare grunts before reaching them.

“How much longer?” the bald Flare member asked the woman. Again, Crystal couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Rummy was quick to tell her.

The woman adjusted something on her face and turned to look at him. Crystal frowned when she saw the visor on her face. “If you’re interested in the facts, I’d say we already have enough energy to power the device.”

Device…?

Crystal frowned.

The bald Flare member nodded. “Good. Let’s finish up here and move out. There’s still more work to be done.”

Crystal decided to take the plunge and stepped forward. “What kind of work?”

The two Flare members turned to face Crystal and the team of Pokémon standing behind her.

The Flare member in the white suit stiffened in alarm. “You – the half-breed?! Here?!”

“Oh?” The woman with orange hair inclined her head in interest. “Well, now. Aren’t you interesting.”

The Flare member grabbed the one PokeBall off his belt and threw it. “Houndoom, use—”

“I don’t think so!” Richie moved in between Crystal and the materializing Fire and Dark-Type before his Trainer could so much as give an order. Before Crystal could so much as stumble back in fear at the sight of the horned Pokémon, Richie slammed into it with a Close Combat that sent it back into its PokeBall almost immediately.

“Tch.” The Flare member gritted his teeth. “Why you little—”

Crystal felt something press up against her leg; she stiffened in alarm, only to hear Esmeralda’s voice in her mind.

“Breathe, Crystal. It’s all right. The Houndoom has been taken care of.”

Crystal closed her eyes and breathed in shakily, then nodded. “Y-yeah. I saw. But…that doesn’t mean they don’t have more.”

“So, you are afraid of Dark-Types,” remarked the woman in the dress. “Very interesting.”

Rummy bristled next to Crystal as she opened her eyes. “If you try anything, lady, you’re going to wish you hadn’t!”

“Oh, believe me, I have no interest in whatever it is you may attempt to do.” The woman waved off the bristling glare from the Duosion. “What I am interested in is how you all are dealing with the Flare-remos. Considering all the head gear, I’d assume you were expecting it.”

Crystal frowned. She sensed her Pokémon bristle around her defensively.

“It’s interesting that you were warned about it,” the woman continued. “I wonder if we were too hasty in setting them up for experimental use. Now one of our trump cards has been revealed too early. Oh, well. I’m sure the boss will not be pleased with that.”

The man in the white suit turned his bristling stance from Crystal and towards the woman. “Scientist! You—”

“Don’t. I need you to pull out – now. Even though we have all the power we came for, it’s clear we won’t be able to get everyone out in time.” The woman turned her attention fully to Crystal and pulled out a PokeBall. “I’ll buy you some time. Go.”

The Flare member hesitated, then cursed and took off running.

Crystal was about to send one of her teammates after him when the woman threw her PokeBall and released the Pokémon inside – a Mightyena.

Crystal felt a chill run down her spine, but she held her ground. She had a Mightyena of her own after all – she wasn’t scared of this Dark-Type anymore.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the woman said. “My name is Aliana. As you can see, I’m one of Team Flare’s Scientists. I’m researching a certain something that you probably wouldn’t understand. Unfortunately for you, you’re never going to learn what that is, either. Mightyena, if you would.”

Aliana motioned with one hand, and the Pokémon charged – only to be caught by a punch from Samuel before an attack could land.

Samuel let out a laugh as the Mightyena went skidding back, barely standing after the Mach Punch that had hit it in the face. He shouted something that Rummy didn’t bother to broadcast to Crystal, but Crystal didn’t mind. She could tell that Samuel was very pleased with taking out the Dark-Type in one hit.

Aliana stopped her foot and cursed as her Mighteyna returned to the PokeBall in Aliana’s hand. “Well! It seems your Pokémon are stronger than we were expecting. And we weren’t even able to test you today, either.” She grabbed a device from her belt and held it up – a remote of some kind. “As much as I would like to stick around and test you, half-breed, it seems it’s time I made my leave. I don’t expect the two of us to be meeting again anytime soon.”

Crystal frowned, then started to move forward to grab Aliana before she could do whatever it was she had in mind. “Wait—”

Aliana pressed the button on the remote in her hand, and she vanished in a bright green, almost pixelated light.

Crystal’s hand closed on the empty air Aliana’s arm had been in before, and her hand dropped with an expression of annoyance. “Great. Well, at least we have the Team Flare grunts around here to get information from…hopefully.”

“We should check on the scientists and let them know we’ve taken care of Team Flare, and they need to call the police,” Richie added.

Sawyer flew over and landed next to the unconscious young man Crystal had spotted on arrival. He hadn’t moved during either fight. -Who’s this guy? Is he a Team Flare person?-

“I don’t think so.” Crystal walked over and knelt next to the collapsed form. “I think this might be Clemont, the Gym Leader for Lumiose.” She looked him over, frowning. “We need to get him out of here. It looks like he still has his PokeBalls on him, but it looks like everyone’s badly hurt. We need to get him to a hospital.”

Considering how bruised Clemont’s face alone was, she wouldn’t be surprised if he needed some proper rest in a proper bed.

Crystal started to move her arms under Clemont’s body, only to be met with a low groan from the young man. She froze at the sound, halfway to picking him up.

Clemont shook his head slightly and blinked his eyes open a little. His expression was clearly unfocused; he frowned, then muttered something.

“He’s wondering who you are,” Rummy muttered to Crystal. “Sounds like his voice is a little funny.”

“He’s hurt,” Crystal replied. “Most humans can’t take a beating as well as some Pokémon can.” She turned her attention to Clemont. “My name is Crystal; I’m the Hoenn Champion. We’ve driven off the people from Team Flare who were doing things to the power plant, and now we’re getting you out of here.”

Clemont frowned, his eyes still unfocused.

“Rest, Clemont. Please. You’re safe; I promise.”

Clemont muttered something else, and then his head rolled back as he closed his eyes.

“He wants to make sure everyone else is safe,” Rummy said.

-Like we’re going to leave them alone down here to wonder if we’d beaten Team Flare or not- Samuel replied with a snort. -Come on. If the kid needs medical attention, then we gotta get him to the people who can give it-

Crystal nodded in agreement, then carefully picked Clemont up. As she rose to her feet, she had to lean back to compensate for Clemont’s weight. “I might need some help. He’s heavier than I was expecting.”

“I’ve got it.” Richie came over and slipped his arms under Crystal’s, taking the Gym Leader from her arms. “Let’s get out of here before Team Flare decides they’re going to try their luck again and come back.”

“Y-yeah.” Flare nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

The walk back through the room and into the halls went more slowly than before, mostly because Richie was carrying Clemont as carefully as he could. They also needed to collect the unconscious Team Flare grunts who were still in the power plant as well, before any of them woke up and escaped.

When the group showed up at the room the power plant’s employees were hiding in, they were met with relief that they were still all right, and alarm that so many Team Flare grunts were hypnotically unconscious and ready to be arrested by the local authorities.

“We’ll make sure the authorities are called and they don’t have immediate access to their Pokémon,” one of the lab coats said as the others pulled the unconscious Flare grunts inside the room. “You need to make sure Clemont sees some medical attention.”

“I will,” Crystal replied, nodding. “Will you be able to get the power going back to where it’s supposed to be?”

“Absolutely.”

“Can you see about finding those devices that are messing with the Pokémon outside, too?” Rummy whined. “The voices are getting quieter, but they’re still really, really annoying.”

“We’ll go out and have a look around,” one of the men in hard hats spoke up.

“They can take a few hits from us,” Richie warned. “And there may be Pokémon guarding them.”

The man held up a spray can in one hand and a large wrench in the other. The grin on his face was knowing. “Never underestimate the power of a good Repel! I’ll be back!”

With that, the man turned and jogged off down the hall.

Crystal watched him go with a surprised expression, then looked at the rest of the people. “Is he…?”

“Rivet’ll be fine,” spoke up the second employee with a hard hat. “This isn’t the craziest thing he’s done, believe me.”

“You should worry more about Clemont,” one of the labcoats added. “Go, Crystal – we’ll be fine.”

Crystal almost considered hesitating, but then she nodded and left the room, then the power plant, her team in tow.

The sun said it was late afternoon when they stepped out onto the windy badlands. Crystal cast a quick Barrier to keep the wind from bustling them too much as she looked around to get her bearings.

“We have to move south, and quickly,” Crystal said to herself. “But we also have to be careful that Clemont doesn’t get jostled too much.”

-Think we can manage a Teleport to Lumiose?- Samuel frowned at the city on the horizon.

Crystal frowned at the question. She tilted her head slightly, taking in the distance between them and Lumiose, then shook her head. “I don’t think I can manage it. I could teleport us if it was just me carrying everyone in their PokeBalls, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it with Clemont, too, especially if he’s hurt.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Richie agreed, “but we need to come to a decision quickly. Any ideas?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “I don’t…I don’t know, other than walking quickly, maybe…”

The wind howling around them made her worried, all the same.

“Agh, if only I had the confidence to Teleport us straight to Professor Sycamore’s lab, or pick him up and fly him straight to—”

Crystal cut herself off and blinked in surprise, only for a smile to quickly cross her face. “That’s it! Xavier!”

Her Pokémon exchanged looks.

“What’s a Xavier?” Rummy asked, frowning.

“He’s a friend – he’s part Pokémon, like me, but he’s part-Flying Type instead,” Crystal explained. “I’m going to see if I can reach him telepathically, or maybe one of his Flying-Type friends. He doesn’t have a PokeNav or anything similar, so we should be able to reach him.”

“Let’s just get as close as we can to the city and see if we can reach him,” Richie replied. “You are strong with your telepathy, I won’t deny that, but can you reach that far?”

Crystal frowned at the question, then sighed and shook her head. Richie did have a point, unfortunately. While her skill with telepathy was good enough to reach out to her companions and strangers alike, she’d never really tested how far she could reach out.

“Then…I guess we should start walking?” Crystal looked across the portion of the badlands that remained between them and Lumiose.

A low rumble suddenly came from behind them, sounding like a voice but not quite clear enough for Crystal to make out the words being spoken.

Crystal spun around quickly, more surprised than anything else, and found herself tilting her head back to look up at the figure standing there.

The figure before them was human, but he was tall – taller than any human Crystal had ever met. The clothes he wore looked old, and worn, and his white hair was long enough that it almost went past his waist.

The man said something again, motioning to Richie and the unconscious Gym Leader in his arms.

“He said he’s willing to get Clemont to Lumiose quickly,” Rummy said. He paused. “Huh. The weird voices from those Team Flare contraptions are gone.”

“Really?” Crystal reached up to one of her ears and pulled out the makeshift earplug. The sound of the wind whipping around them immediately filled her sense of hearing, but there was no high-pitched noise that accompanied it to give Crystal a headache. “Huh; nice.”

She turned her attention to the man. “We’d appreciate the help if you can give it.” Crystal’s voice sounded louder than usual to her own ears, although that was probably because they’d been plugged for so long. “He needs medical help – Team Flare hurt him and his team from what we can see.”

The tall man nodded, then held out his arms. “I can move much more quickly than your knight can. I request you follow behind as quickly as you can, but you may not be able to yourself.”

“I think I might be able to keep up.” Crystal nodded to Richie, who frowned, but handed over Clemont’s unconscious body.

She then turned her attention to her team. “Guys, it might be a good idea to return to your PokeBalls for a bit. We’ll have to go back to Courmarine later to return all the stuff we borrowed from Ramos, but I want to make sure Clemont gets to Lumiose safely and quickly.”

The tall man tilted his head at Crystal as he Pokémon exchanged looks with each other.

Lily inclined her head at Crystal, then returned herself to her PokeBall abruptly.

“Be careful,” Esmeralda said. “Something about this stranger seems…off.” She followed the Floette’s example.

Frieda and Sawyer both gave Crystal concerned looks for a moment, only to turn into determined nods before they returned themselves. Rummy followed suit, muttering something about being relieved that the noises were finally gone, and then Samuel, who gave the tall man a look that said he was more than willing to punch him in the gut if he did anything to Crystal.

Richie gave them both a long, hard look. “If you do anything to Crystal or Clemont and his team while we’re in our PokeBalls, you are going to regret it.”

“Calm yourself, young knight,” the tall man replied. “I do not mean you or your Trainer any harm.”

Richie eyed the man with narrowed eyes for a long moment, then looked at Crystal. “If anything happens, get us out here.”

“Of course.” Crystal nodded back.

Richie considered Crystal’s words, then nodded and returned himself.

Crystal looked up at the tall, worn man. “All right. I’m ready.”

The man nodded back. “Good. Then let us go.”

Immediately, the tall man took off at a brisk walk, his long legs giving him even longer strides than Crystal could ever make with her own walking pace.

So, she didn’t.

Crystal jumped into the air and took off flying after him, pulling out the other ear plug as she did and tucking it into a pocket of her jacket. The wind battered against her with a loud howl as she caught up to the tall man, but after having only heard the thoughts of her teammates, it was nice to be able to hear the world around her again.

“See? I can keep up!” Crystal almost yelled over the force of the wind as she settled her flying pace next to the tall man’s long stride. “So don’t worry about leaving me behind!”

The tall man’s head turned in surprise at Crystal’s voice, and he glanced down to see that Crystal was flying alongside him, instead of running. “I should have known a Child of Mew would be capable of such things. But to trust me so easily? I was taught your people were secretive by nature.”

“I’m a little different from any normal Mew,” Crystal replied. “I was kinda all over the news last year because I finally showed what I’d been hiding from the humans. Didn’t you see? About everything that happened in Hoenn?”

The man blinked at the question, then shook his head in answer. “No. I have not been in touch with the outside world in…a long time. While I have heard rumors, I cannot say whether or not they were true.”

“Oh!” Crystal’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, uh, I’m not a natural form of Mew. Some humans thought they could experiment with Mew DNA and human DNA, and they made me. They were bad people, though, and they were put in jail a long time ago. And now I’m the Champion of the Hoenn region – for now, anyway; when I go back to Hoenn, I’m going to get challenged for my seat by my friends.”

The man inclined his head at that. “A child of Mew, a Champion.”

“Yup! I actually came to Kalos for vacation. I wasn’t expecting to see they were having problems, too.”

The man frowned. “It would be wise if you didn’t become involved in the events that are happening here, then. What you are stepping into is incredibly dangerous for all who have a part.”

“I think what Team Magnus was trying was dangerous, too,” Crystal replied. “But I helped to stop them there, too. What’s different about what Team Flare is doing?”

The tall man hesitated at the question. He looked ahead as Lumiose started to come closer, and the gate at the end of the route stood open for them. “I fear for their leader’s sanity. He intends to do something with what should remain buried.”

Crystal frowned at that. “What should remain buried? What do you mean?”

“Ask any historian about the war that brought devastation to Kalos, and created these wastelands in the process, and you will know of what I speak, child of Mew.”

The tall man picked up his pace then, his stride turning into something that almost looked like a run.

Crystal was hard-pressed to keep up, but even then, she fell a little behind.

When they reached the gate and moved into Lumiose itself, a part of her wondered if the tall man had taken off like that because he didn’t want to talk anymore.

Chapter Text

“Team Flare is starting to become much more than an ordinary nuisance.” Dexio frowned. “Grant sent a message that said they were harassing the local cycle races, but he didn’t think much of them. Compared to the information we’ve been getting from Ambrette and now the badlands, however….”

Crystal nodded in agreement, worry clear on her face.

They were standing in Sycamore’s lab – her, her team, Professor Sycamore, Dexio, Sina, and Xavier, who was still staying until all the Flare-remo devices had been cleared out of the northern part of Lumiose.

Sycamore ran his hand over his chin, frowning. “It sounds like they’re trying to gather power for something – or, they were. And they clearly have something against people like Crystal.” He nodded to Xavier. “You are probably going to start running into them yourself, if they get bold enough to show up on your front doorstep.”

Xavier nodded in agreement. “If they managed to get those controlling devices into the city, then they’re already in the city. I’m going to send a few messages out to make sure Serena knows, and the same for everyone else. If people like them are here in Kalos, there are probably others who would think the same thing in other regions.”

He turned and disappeared into the elevator, taking a ride up to the rooms above.

Sina watched him go, then sighed and shook her head. “It’s a little hard to believe that there’s a group causing trouble right under our noses, and we’ve been missing their movements this whole time.”

“I’ll get in contact with Diantha and see if she can dig up anything,” Sycamore said. “She is the Champion of this region, after all, and it wouldn’t do her any good if she was out of touch with what her potential challengers are running into.”

“At least Clemont and his team got out of that mess all right,” Dexio remarked. “I thought he was just holed up in the tower again, working on something.” He sighed and shook his head. “Shows how much I know, I guess….”

“Don’t blame yourself for not knowing!” The Eevee sitting at his feet pawed his leg. “There’s a lotta stuff we don’t know. Right?” He looked over at Esmeralda.

The Espeon nodded back. “That’s right. And the only way to learn about those things is to stretch out your mind and search for yourself. You can’t expect that information to fall into your lap.”

Eevee nodded, then looked up at Dexio. “See?”

Dexio looked down at Eevee, then sighed and nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

Eevee wagged his tail.

“Still, we’ve got a lot more questions than answers.” Richie looked around the room, more than a little crowded because of all the Pokémon in it. “We don’t know what Team Flare is doing with the power they stole from the power plant. It could be an experiment, it could be they’re trying to wake up a Legendary Pokémon…if Clemont was awake we could ask him if he heard anything from them when he was held hostage, but he’s got a concussion at least, according to that doctor.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I just hope that he’s going to be all right. Humans don’t have all the natural defenses that a Pokémon does, and it looks like he took quite a beating.”

“I’m sure he’ll be all right,” Sycamore said reassuringly. “Clemont’s had his inventions explode in his face before; a little battering from this won’t hurt him that much, I imagine.”

Crystal didn’t feel the least reassured by that.

“Still, I’m more curious about the strange man who decided to help you carry him to Lumiose’s hospital,” Sycamore continued. “A tall giant of a man wandering the badlands, calling them a wasteland. While we used to consider the badlands as such centuries ago, they have since become a habitat for Ground-Type Pokémon. We have a fair number of Gible and Trapinch that make their home there, among others.” He looked at Crystal. “Did you even get his name before he left the hospital? He almost seemed to disappear like a phantom before anyone could stop him for questions.”

Crystal shook her head, remembering the giant of a man who had run with longer strides than any normal human was able to. “I didn’t catch his name, no. But he seemed to know something about what Team Flare was doing. I don’t think he’s a part of them, since he didn’t like what they’re doing, but I don’t think he was actively trying to stop them before, either.” She frowned and tilted her head. “It’s…a little strange, though. He immediately knew that I was part-Mew, but he didn’t know about where I’d come from. I wonder if he thought I was a Mew using Transform to look like a human, rather than someone who was a mix of both.”

It had been at least a little strange, now that Crystal was thinking about it. Still, most of her focus now was on what the man had said, and what Team Flare could be up to. After what Team Magnus had pulled with awakening Groudon and Kyogre…just what could this group have in mind?

“It sounds like Team Flare’s moving towards something quickly,” Sina said. “And if they’re using Houndour, and a lot of Dark and Poison-Types like you’ve been saying…isn’t that going to be a problem for you? With all the Dark-Types, I mean.” She looked over at Crystal worriedly.

Crystal shook her head, looking at Samuel and Richie. “I have team members at my back who can help me against them. To be honest, I hadn’t realized they were using Dark-Types other than Houndour and that Mightyena until I told you about what Pokémon they were using. I hadn’t realized that the little guy who liked headbutting so much was a Fighting and Dark-Type.”

“Scraggy are scrappy fighters, and their styles do tend to mean below-the-belt hits,” Sycamore remarked. “Not to mention, they’re immune to Psychic-Type attacks, but they gained a Bug-Type weakness instead. I doubt you will have that many problems with them.” He nodded to Sawyer, who was sitting on Crystal’s backpack.

“But do you intend to keep going after them?” Dexio asked, frowning. “If they have Houndour, I wouldn’t be surprised if….” He trailed off, suddenly uncertain about continuing that train of thought.

Crystal could feel her team’s gaze on her – well, most of them, at least. Lily was sitting in a vase nearby, not really looking at any of them. Her ears flicked as her tail twitched behind her.

“It’s…a valid concern,” Crystal said slowly, not trying to think so much about the Pokémon that Team Flare was currently using. “But I don’t want to stand by and let them do whatever it is they want to do in Kalos. It doesn’t feel right.”

Sina frowned. “But—”

The elevator shifted and whined as the doors opened suddenly, and Xavier walked back into Sycamore’s office. Another man was right on his heels – an older man, wearing round glasses and a hat and carrying a cane, but still wearing a familiar lab coat that was lined with flames along the bottom.

Crystal’s eyes widened as soon as she laid eyes on the man with Xavier.

“If Crystal wants to put herself in harm’s way in order to stop this accursed team that intends to smear Fire-Types in the dirt, I certainly don’t intend to stop her,” the man said. “However, I would ask that you be a bit more careful with what you throw yourself headlong into, young lady. Especially if you don’t have human help with you.”

Crystal didn’t know what to do for a moment, but she settled for leaping forward and grabbing Blaine in a hug. “You said you were thinking about getting a plane ticket, but I didn’t think you actually would!”

Blaine chuckled. “Well, I wasn’t about to leave you to tackle this alone. You had Gold with you in Hoenn, and May and Brendan. It wouldn’t do me any good to sit back when I could come here and do something.”

“But what about your Gym?” Crystal looked up at him, frowning. “You can’t just abandon that!”

“I’ve got a Gym Trainer who I’ve been training to be my successor; I’ve told her to consider the next few days something of a test run.” Blaine grinned. “Besides, they’ve been trying to get me to take a vacation for years. They just don’t know the actual reason why I came here in the first place!”

Crystal blinked at that, looking a little uncertain, but when Blaine laughed again, she nodded a little and released him from her hug. “Well…okay. If you say so. I’d appreciate the help, Blaine.”

“Good to hear, because I’m not leaving until this Team Flare is dealt with. Team Rocket and Team Magnus were more than enough trouble.” Blaine reached into a pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a PokeBall. “I brought a friend of yours along, as well. She was quite unhappy to find out you were getting into trouble with Fire-Types.”

Crystal frowned and accepted the PokeBall, only for her eyes to widen when she saw through the translucent red half. “Amy!”

“Your Azumaril has a few words that she’d like to say to you later, but I think that can wait until we’re in a space that’s a little less crowded.” Blaine looked around the room, his gaze settling on Crystal’s team and Frieda. “I’m glad to see that your Fennekin has fully evolved, as well! It’s good to see you, Frieda.”

Frieda nodded back. “Same to you! I haven’t figured out telepathy yet, but Esmeralda’s teaching me!”

“Good!” Blaine laughed. “I’ve always had a natural affinity to Fire-Types, though, so you don’t have to worry about whether or not I can understand you.”

Sycamore chuckled while Dexio, Sina, and Xavier watched the exchange with somewhat confused expressions.

“I didn’t realize you’d come out here specifically to help against Team Flare, sir,” Dexio said. “Was your intent to study the relationship between Fairy-Types and Fire-Types false, then?”

Blaine snorted. “No, I am still very much interested in that. But a team that smears the good name of Fire-Types takes precedence.”

The sound of someone clearing her throat cut across the room, and Crystal looked up at the sound. She frowned when she saw Lily getting out of the vase, a frowning look on her face. She didn’t seem mad, but the Floette did look like she’d been thinking about something for some time.

“Hey, uh, Crystal?” Lily looked over at her Trainer with that frowning expression. “I’ve got a request.”

“A request?” Crystal tilted her head as the humans in the room exchanged confused looks. “Sure; what’s up?”

“Well, it’s just…” Lily sighed and rubbed her head, annoyed. “Why does this kinda thing seem so easy but is impossibly hard?” She shook her head. “Look, I know I said before that I wanted to travel around with you, but all this? This Team Flare business? It’s not what I signed up for. At all. I was just looking forward to traveling around the region and getting away from Serena and Santalune. The kid was always going on about how rare it was for a Flabebe to bond with a white flower and how much she wanted me to be her starter, and it never sat well with me. Well, this…whole thing, doesn’t sit well with me, either. I didn’t sign up for this.”

Crystal frowned at the Floette’s words, and she lowered her head slightly. “Oh…”

“I’m afraid I didn’t catch any of that,” Sycamore said. “Has your Floette said anything worrying?”

“She’s saying she doesn’t want to be a part of the team anymore, it sounds like,” Esmeralda noted with a tilt of her head. “It seems that she mostly joined with us for selfish reasons, only for what seemed like a relaxed journey to turn out to be more stressful than she expected.”

Dexio and Sina exchanged wide-eyed looks.

Blaine frowned and rubbed his hand on his chin in thought. “What sort of selfish reasons did she join for, then?”

Xavier sighed and shook his head. “It seems my sister has become demanding to the point of being overbearingly selfish. She wanted Lily to be her starter, but Lily chose to find a way out rather than wait for a Trainer who might suit her better.” He looked up at the Floette, sitting next to her vase.

“I see.” Blaine nodded slightly. He turned his attention to Crystal’s team. “And do any of you feel the same way?”

“I wasn’t expecting this to happen, either,” Sawyer admitted, “but I’m not going to leave just because I didn’t expect it. If Team Flare’s humans are being this mean to humans and are calling Crystal mean names, I don’t want to sit by and let them do what they want.”

“I knew Team Flare was a problem,” Rummy said. “They were coming by Reflection Cave, looking for Lady Diancie. If they want to keep being a problem, then I’m going to be a problem right back at them!” The Duosion somehow managed to puff himself up as he spoke, making himself seem bigger than he already was.

Crystal offered the two of them a small smile. “Thanks, guys.”

“Now you’re making me feel all bad for saying I didn’t want to be on her team anymore,” Lily muttered from above their heads.

“It’s your choice what you do, Lily,” Xavier called up. “If you don’t think you’re going to be able to make it work between yourself and Crystal, then you shouldn’t force yourself to stay with her.”

“Exactly.” Sycamore nodded. “We Pokémon professors haven’t been able to study the intricacies of human and Pokémon connections, but we do know that personalities can make or break such a bond. It would be far better to part on amicable terms than it would be to force a bond to the point that it breaks without your consent.”

Crystal blinked at Sycamore’s words. “That does make sense. But…then what are we gonna do?” She looked at Lily, then back at Sycamore. “I haven’t had a situation like this before, not really. Normally, when a Pokémon tells me they want off the team for a while, it’s for a break. Lily’s request feels more than a little permanent.”

“It certainly does seem that way,” Sina remarked. “But…why anyone would want to stop traveling with you is beyond me. You’re so nice!”

“It doesn’t stop the fact that she’s been attracting the attention of trouble, though,” Dexio replied.

Crystal’s team gave varying nods of agreement.

“Not on purpose.” Crystal frowned.

“I’m not saying it is.” Dexio held up a hand, smiling slightly. “There are ways to release a Pokémon from their PokeBall and back into the wild, but I don’t think you should do that in the city. It’s not the best habitat for a Fairy-Type Pokémon like Floette.”

“I am not going back to Santalune,” Lily announced. She paused, blinking. “Wait, you…you’re not mad about this?”

“Mad?” Crystal frowned. “Why would I be mad? We tried to work together, and it didn’t work out. I don’t see any reason to be mad about that. Besides, you got stronger for it, and I learned more about the Fairy-Type in the process. I don’t see why I have any reason to be annoyed about you leaving.” She sighed and shook her head. “I am sad, though, that you don’t want to stay.”

Lily tilted her head at Crystal’s words, looking somewhat confused. Then she shrugged and shook her head. “Eh, don’t be sad. I kinda used you for my own ends anyway. Just don’t let me go anywhere near Santalune, all right? I can’t say I’m too keen on seeing Serena again.”

“I think we can figure something out, sure.” Crystal nodded. “And I’m gonna guess you don’t want to be released anywhere we’ve been already?”

“Well, it would be nice to be near Lady Diancie, but I wouldn’t do well in a cave, so…yeah. Let’s find a new place other than where we’ve already been.” Lily nodded.

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Speaking of traveling, I’m planning on starting to journey around Kalos as well,” Xavier spoke up. “My brothers have been looking into taking the Gym challenge for themselves, and I don’t want to leave them alone with Team Flare making moves like they are.”

“Really?” Dexio turned his head in surprise. “I assumed you’d want to stay near your sister. Has Team Flare reallychanged your mind that much?”

“And what about all your Flying-Types?” Sina added quickly. “How are they going to find you?”

“My network and I won’t have much of a problem keeping in touch,” Xavier replied. “As for Serena….” He trailed off, then sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want to leave her alone, especially after Shauna and the others left on their journey. But if Team Flare is starting to make moves against people like us, I want to make sure that they don’t have the chance to strike before we’re aware of them. Besides, I’ve started to feel a little cramped in the city. Getting out and spreading my wings will do me some good.”

Crystal looked at where Xavier’s feathers stuck out of his jacket sleeves and held in a laugh. Xavier caught her look and smirked briefly.

Blaine shook his head and chuckled. “Well, I wish you luck on your journey, Xavier. Be sure to watch your back for what Team Flare may be attempting to do when Crystal and I are looking elsewhere for them.”

“I’ve already been through the western part of Kalos,” Crystal said. “I really only ran into Team Flare in Ambrette, near the Fossil Center.”

“Fossil Center?” Xavier inclined his head. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He paused. “Oh, right; I’ve got some letters for you, Crystal.”

Crystal’s ears flicked forward as Xavier reached into his pocket and started pulling out a few folded papers. Her team exchanged looks in surprise as well. “Letters? For me?”

“From who?” Richie asked. “I didn’t think anyone would want to talk to Crystal through letters.”

“Sapphire and Ruby are near Archie and Maxie, right?” Samuel looked at Richie, who nodded. “Yeah; they’d be hanging out with each other; if they wanted to call, they probably would. Right?”

“It’s Black who sent these, actually.” Xavier handed held the papers out to Crystal. “Or, well, Blake, which was his apparently his birth name.”

Crystal blinked in surprise as her tail stiffened. “Black? Really?”

The Dark-Type hybrid wasn’t someone Crystal felt she was on good terms with. Out of all of the Pokémon-human hybrids, Black and his sister, White, had stayed away from Crystal after Team Magnus’ disbandment.

Crystal shook her head a little and took the letters from Xavier’s hand. “Why would he write to me?”

“Something’s going on in Unova,” Xavier replied. “He wanted your opinion on something, apparently.”

“Huh.” Crystal frowned, then unfolded the letter and started to read through the letters’ contents. Richie leaned over her shoulder in order to read the letter as well, a focused frown showing on his face.

Crystal’s ears flicked as she followed the sound of people and Pokémon moving around in the room. A frown came across her face as she worked her way through the letter.

“What is it?” Blaine asked. “Black isn’t saying anything that is upsetting you, is he?”

“Not Black himself, no….” Crystal turned to the back page of the first letter. “It sounds like he’s dealing with a team in Unova. A group called Team Plasma? They’re trying to claim that all Pokémon who work with humans are being abused, and not just the ones who end up with bad humans.”

“Team Plasma,” Dexio repeated. “Rocket, Magnus, Flare…what is it with these groups and choosing weird names?”

“Rocket was supposed to be an acronym, I recall,” Blaine remarked. “I don’t remember what it stood for, however.”

“Don’t look at me,” Crystal agreed. She frowned at the letter in her hands. “Huh…Black says he’s met someone who was raised by Pokémon, but he’s definitely human. His name’s N.”

“Just N?” Sina frowned. “I wonder if that’s a nickname….”

“It looks like Black’s wondering if it’s possible for humans to be raised by Pokémon, and know how to speak human and Pokémon as a result.” Crystal paused. “It looks like he’s attached to Team Plasma, too, so he’s wondering how to approach this. There’s an extra message written from someone named Cheren at the end, too…”

“Cheren?” Dexio repeated.

“Black’s written about him before,” Xavier said. “He’s a childhood friend; I think they’re traveling across the region together.”

“It’s good that he’s traveling with someone who wasn’t a part of Team Magnus,” Blaine remarked. “Having more friends never hurt anyone.”

Dexio and Sina nodded in agreement, while Xavier glanced at Sycamore’s desk with a thoughtful expression that suggested he had something on his mind.

Crystal wondered if she should ask, but then decided against it when she got a second look at Xavier’s face. “Well, I should write a response to Black, I think. Most of it is asking about what to do about Team Plasma and this N guy they’ve started to travel around with. I don’t know if anything I say is going to help, but it’s…well, it’s better than nothing, I think.”

“What kind of information can you hope to give, then?” Sycamore asked.

Crystal slipped her backpack off her shoulder and reached inside for a notebook that she normally used to create lists of supplies to buy from PokeMarts. “Well, we know that humans can learn to talk to Pokémon, after a fashion, and that some people are more in-tune with certain Types. Like how Blaine can understand Fire-Types.”

Blaine nodded thoughtfully as Crystal’s team nodded.

“So it’s possible that a human raised by Pokémon would know how to talk to Pokémon, too. It doesn’t answer the question of how he knows how to speak and act like a normal human, though, so he probably had some human influence while he was growing up.” Crystal tapped the pen to her chin in thought. “As for Team Plasma’s goal to ‘liberate’ all Pokémon from Trainers and leave the two worlds separate…there are parts of the world that humans can’t get to in human form. Something changes them into Pokémon the instant they cross over, and they can either go back to being human and leave those areas, or they can join Exploration and Rescue teams.”

“Exploration and rescue?” Dexio perked up. “Pokémon have groups like that?”

“Yup. They have their own problems, too, but the Pokémon I’ve talked to who have worked with those transformed humans have acknowledged they carry an innate strength, and that when a human works alongside a Pokémon, their strengths are drawn out, too. So Pokémon and humans are meant to live and work together.” Crystal shrugged. “I don’t know if there are any guild branches out in Unova, though, so I don’t know if Black would be able to use that as proof or not. He would have to go looking for them himself.”

“I’m sure White would be willing to ask around,” Xavier said. “Or maybe Black can do something. But even a little information like that is going to help. I’ve flown over a lot of Kalos myself and I didn’t know Pokémon had formed their own groups like that.” He smiled a little. “I’m sure there are some solo adventurers as well, who prefer the freedom of their own decisions?”

“Yeah, there are some solo explorers or rescuers, but I think even they have to team up with people sometimes.” Crystal looked down at the empty notebook page. “I should write this response out before I forget about it. I don’t want to leave Black hanging.”

Sycamore motioned to his desk, and Crystal took the unspoken invitation to sit down and start writing. As Crystal started her work, Sycamore turned to face his assistants and the others in the space. “Well, then, what do you all intend to do next? With Team Flare starting to rear their heads, I admit I am a little hesitant to continue handing out starting Pokémon to aspiring Trainers. I don’t want to put more children in danger than there already are.”

“I’ll see about intercepting Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno, and let them know that if they need to go home and put their Gym challenge on hold, they can,” Sina said. “Dexio, do you want to come with?”

“Of course.” Dexio nodded. “It’ll give me and Eevee more time out of the city, too.”

“Yay!” The Eevee at his feet wagged his tail.

Sina nodded, then started for the elevator, Dexio and his Pokémon almost on her heels.

“I should head back home and start packing,” Xavier remarked. “I’ll head out after Crystal’s done writing her response, though, so that I can set her up with a member of my Flying-Type network. I get the feeling that Black may send mail with more questions for her as things progress.”

“I have to say, I am impressed with your information network, Xavier,” Blaine said. “The fact that you are the one who set up a world-wide, letter-carrying army of Flying-Types is certainly impressive. I assume that not all of them are registered to your name?”

“Some of them are. Most of them are friends and family, though. It’s gotten to the point where they’re wanting me to catch them, rather than stay free, in case they end up getting caught by some unknowing Trainer.” Xavier shook his head. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep the network going if that’s the case. I think there’s a limit to how many Pokémon a Trainer can have in PokeBalls.”

“There is,” Sycamore confirmed. “But I do believe exceptions can be made. It’s simply a matter of circumstances. I’ll ask around on your behalf and see what I can find.”

“Thanks.” Xavier nodded. He looked over at Blaine. “I’m planning on leaving in the next couple of days. What about yourself and Crystal?”

“I’m prepared to leave for Crystal’s next destination whenever she is,” Blaine replied. “But that will depend on her, not me. I would assume she wants to stop Team Flare sooner rather than later, so would I be correct in assuming she will want to leave tomorrow morning?” Blaine looked around at Crystal’s team, who nodded back at him. “Ah; good. If you want to keep a fire burning in your heart, you have to act quickly. Same if you want to put one out, like these hooligans.”

“And hopefully, we’ll be able to stop them before they do anything terrible.” Crystal paused in her writing and looked up from her letter. “But yeah; I want to stay in Lumiose for the rest of today and head out the northeast gate tomorrow.”

“Then it sounds like our plans are set.” Blaine nodded.

Sycamore nodded in turn. “I plan to talk to Diantha about these events as soon as possible. I should hope that I can catch her tomorrow at the earliest, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to see here again, Crystal.”

“That’s okay,” Crystal replied. “She’s a Champion, and an actor, so she’s going to be a lot more busy than I am.”

Blaine chuckled at Sycamore’s look. “I told you that Crystal isn’t some crazed fangirl like some people get to be around Diantha. I believe it helps that she hasn’t even seen some of those films yet.”

“Perhaps I ought to introduce you to them the next time you are in Lumiose, then,” Sycamore replied. “Or, perhaps, tonight?”

Crystal hummed at the question. She finished writing on the notebook paper, then tore the page out and folded it up. “Xavier, do you have any envelopes or…?”

“I’ve got some upstairs,” Xavier replied. “Come on – let’s get that sent to Black before he sends another one with more questions.”

Chapter Text

The route to the northeast of Lumiose was a bit chillier than Crystal had been expecting. Not to mention swamp-filled.

“I don’t know if it’s chilly because of the temperature or because of all the water,” Crystal remarked, looking around. She pulled her pink jacket closed and zipped it up. “Are you going to be okay, Blaine?”

“I’ll be fine. Articuno’s home makes for great endurance training against the cold, especially because my Gym is currently sitting one of the caves above it, so I’m not all that bothered.” Blaine frowned at the large, muddy puddle in front of them. “The swamp, on the other hand, I could do well without.”

Samuel snorted and waded into the mud without a second glance. The muddy gunk came up to his knees and stopped there. “You’re kidding, right? This stuff feels great. I could plant myself in here and feel energized by tomorrow morning! What about you, Lily? What do you think?”

“I can’t ‘plant’ myself like you’re suggesting.” The Floette, currently hovering over one of Richie’s shoulders, turned her nose up at the swamp ahead of them. “Pokémon like me do our best when we are hiding among flowers, not when we’re sticking out in a dreary landscape like this.”

“Just let us know if you change your mind!” Samuel called back. He started moving forward through the mud, grinning at the loud squelching noises he made with each step he took.

Crystal looked over at Blaine. “Do you want to fly over that, or…?”

“Flying would be preferred, but it’s not every day that an old fellow like me makes a journey on foot.” Blaine paused. “That said, I doubt that the cold mud would do me any good at this stage.”

Blaine held up a PokeBall and tossed it, releasing a large, white horse with a flaming mane and a horn on her forehead. “Rapidash, I hope you don’t mind, but I doubt the clammy mud will do my bones any good today.”

The Rapidash eyed the swamp ahead of them, even as Samuel danced around ahead of them, almost reaching the other side of the first mud patch. “It certainly would not. I’ll deal with the discomfort, but I expect a good bath when we reach the next Pokémon Center.”

Blaine chuckled. “Consider it done.” He took a moment to wind up, then jumped up onto Rapidash’s back. “All right; let’s see what waits on the other side of this swamp, eh, Crystal?”

Crystal nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She looked to the rest of her team, who were still standing at the edge of the swamp. “Well, might as well get this over with. The longer we stand here, the worse the thought of walking into it is going to get.”

Frieda poked at the mud with one foot and made a face. “I’m not looking forward to this.”

Borealis sniffed at the mud. “I’m not, either, but it looks like we don’t have much of a choice.” He sighed, then stepped into the mud himself. Unlike Samuel, the mud completely covered his legs and made the Amaura look like he was swimming in the mud, rather than walking through it.

Crystal stepped into the mud herself, and the rest of her team followed. It only took seconds for the mud to seep into her jeans and socks and shoes, leaving her feet wet and clammy.

Crystal made a face at the feeling. She was absolutely going to take a shower the instant they reached the next town.

They started to work their way through the route slowly. Sawyer and Lily were the only Pokémon able to avoid the muddy ground, since they could fly or sit on people’s shoulders. Crystal could probably fly as well, but she didn’t want to leave her Pokémon to deal with the muddy mess alone.

They weren’t left alone by the local wild Pokémon, either; little purple slimeballs with dragon power popped up underfoot and demanded battles, among other Pokémon that made the muddy swamp their home. Crystal wouldn’t be surprised if her team gained a level or two as a result – Borealis most of all, who was definitely taking advantage of his Ice-Typing against the Dragon-Type Pokémon.

“Goomy, huh?” Crystal put the PokeDex back in her backpack. “It looks kinda cute, but I think if I end up with more Pokémon on my team, I might have to send some of you guys back to Professor Sycamore’s, or Professor Oak’s.”

Samuel snorted. “You’d better not.”

Richie elbowed him. “I don’t think that’s going to happen; relax.”

“I don’t think I like this area,” Frieda whined. “If you end up sending me back, I won’t mind.”

“I doubt you’re the only one who feels that way,” Blaine called over from Rapidash’s back. “And I doubt we will be in this mud for the entire trip to the next town.” He flicked his wrist, summoning a hologram from a device. “It looks like the next city is called Laverre. Hm.”

“Laverre,” Crystal repeated with a tilt of her head. “That’s an interesting name.”

“It looks like there’s a Gym there; perhaps they are aware of something.” Blaine flicked his wrist again, and the map disappeared. “I doubt that Team Flare has been only active in the western half of the region.”

“I bet, yeah,” Crystal agreed. “Team Magnus was all over the place too, I remember. I don’t think there were very many towns they didn’t bother.”

“I don’t think they were anywhere near Verdanturf,” Richie remarked. “We didn’t run into any Trainers other than the Daycare workers who lived and worked in the area. I liked it; it was peaceful after running into Team Magnus all over the place.”

Crystal nodded in agreement while Rapidash inclined her head. “Yeah; that’s true.”

“I doubt that place was as peaceful as it looked.” The blue and white rabbit wading through the mud with them frowned. “There could’ve been Magnus spies in the area for all you knew. They just decided against hitting the area for some reason.”

“If they had, I’d’ve given them a beating for messing up a good day,” Samuel remarked. “Or the other guys would’ve.”

“Something tells me they didn’t hit the area because of all the Pokémon at the day care, Amy,” Richie added.

The rabbit Pokémon – Amy – flicked her ears and huffed. “Maybe.”

Lily leaned forward on Richie’s shoulder, looking over the Azumaril wading next to Crystal. “Where did you two meet, anyway? I know Esmeralda was some kinda friend from Jhoto, and Samuel, Richie, and Frieda met up with Crystal later, but you don’t seem like everyone else.”

“Oh?” Amy inclined her head. “Why do you ask?”

“Lily doesn’t want to tag along with us for much longer,” Esmeralda explained. “She’s wasn’t expecting Team Flare to rear their heads.”

Amy tilted her head, then moved closer to Lily and Richie. “Oh, that.” She punched a Goomy that tried to lunge at her with a very quick Play Rough that sent the little slimeball flying. “So, I was actually released from my original Trainer’s team before I started running with Crystal.”

Crystal felt a hand tap her on the shoulder, and her head turned as she looked up at Blaine. One of her ears shifted towards him, while the other kept track of the conversation going on between her Pokémon.

“As glad as I am that you are enjoying this journey with your team, Crystal,” Blaine said, “I have to say, I am worried about you and what you have been getting yourself into as of late. It almost seems like you stumble upon trouble, then refuse to let it go until it’s resolved.”

Crystal frowned, while Amy explained in the background about what she had been doing around Hoenn’s Mt. Pyre before Team Magnus had reared their ugly heads. “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave things like that unresolved. If I’m in the area and I can help, I don’t see why I can’t. Red helped people all the time on his journey through Kanto, and he fought Team Rocket.”

“I’m not saying that you shouldn’t,” Blaine replied. “And I’m not saying you shouldn’t mimic him, either. After all, only now are you the same age Red was when he ran into Team Rocket on his own journey.” He sighed. “But this is different for you this time, isn’t it? Because of the Pokémon that Team Flare have taken to using. I already know how you get about Dark-Types, Crystal, and to have the one Pokémon you’re most terrified of be a part of what we’re facing…you shouldn’t have to expose yourself to that. Let the Gym Leaders and the strong Trainers of Kalos do what you already are.”

“My team is protecting me, though.” Crystal looked back at the sound of a yelp; Amy had pushed Samuel over into the mud they were walking through. “I’m not afraid of the Houndour because Richie and Samuel take them out before Team Flare can so much as launch an attack at me.”

“That does not mean you can simply walk into dangerous situations with only your convictions at your back,” Blaine replied. “While you have learned that not all Dark-Types are bad Pokémon, that does not mean you have overcome your fear. I shudder to think what could happen if your team was overwhelmed by whatever Team Flare might decide to put in your path in the future, Crystal.”

Crystal frowned at his words.

“He has a point,” Rapidash said. “Not to mention, you are in a region that isn’t your home region; one would think that you would leave at least a little work to the local authorities, or even stand back yourself and let the Trainers in the area handle it with their Pokémon.”

“But I’m not from Hoenn and I was called there to help,” Crystal pointed out. “So would that same argument hold up in Hoenn? Besides, I was walking into dangerous situations with no one but my own team and maybe some other Trainers at my back. It’s a little hard to prepare for what you don’t know is coming, when Team Magnus could have literally any Type at their disposal.”

“Well, we know what Pokémon Team Flare likes to use, so you will have a much better time preparing for them,” Blaine replied. “But knowing what they can use and actually being prepared for it are two very different things, Crystal. What you experienced when you were young does not go away that easily; there are papers about these things, and I have even read some of them, despite psychology not being my field of expertise.”

Crystal blinked in surprise at Blaine as he looked at her seriously. Nearby, she could hear another fight briefly break out between her Pokémon and the local wild ones. “Oh.”

Blaine nodded. “Yes, ‘oh.’ So, please, Crystal, don’t fight Team Flare head-on anymore. Not when they could surprise you in the worst way, with Pokémon that you would rather not see.”

Crystal’s expression twitched at Blaine’s request, but she nodded. “I…yeah. I have been a bit nervous about some of the Pokémon they’ve been using, but…when you put it that way, there is always the chance they could overpower my team when I least expect it. I don’t like that idea, though – my team is strong, and Pokémon on a Champion’s level are more than a little rare.”

“Under normal circumstances,” Blaine agreed. “But I think you and I both know that ‘normal’ isn’t something that remains the same.”

Crystal nodded a little. “I…yeah. I don’t want to stop fighting against Team Flare, but I promise I will be careful, Blaine. Is that…?”

“That’s fine. I’m not expecting you to stop fighting them anytime soon.”

-----

When they arrived at the end of the route that evening, Crystal, Rapidash, and most of Crystal’s team were mud-caked and soaking wet from at least the knees down – or, in the case of Amy, from the waist down.

Crystal looked around at the town they were walking into. The houses were quaint, there were cute bridges across the river cutting through the town, and the Gym looked like it was some kind of giant doll house.

“Here we are.” Blaine grunted as he got off Rapidash’s back. “Laverre. I wonder if the Gym Leader here prefers Ghost-Types. It would certainly fit with the surrounding routes.”

“I dunno.” Crystal frowned at the doll house on the far side of town. “That Gym looks a bit too brightly colored. I don’t know off the top of my head what sort of Type they could be, though.”

A laugh caught their attention, and they turned their heads.

“You are right,” said the woman walking towards them. She was dressed in a kimono with very, very long sleeves. “My Gym does not utilize Ghost-Types. I’m much more comfortable with Fairy-Types.”

Crystal’s ears perked up at the woman’s words.

“Ah.” Blaine nodded. “I suppose that would make sense, if Kalos is the region where Fairy-Types were first officially discovered.” He held out a hand. “I am Blaine, Gym Leader of Cinnabar in Kanto. This is Crystal, the Champion of Hoenn.”

The woman reached out and took Blaine’s hand in her kimono sleeve. “Valerie, Gym Leader of Laverre. A pleasure to meet you both.” She smiled at Crystal, then glanced down. “Oh! You walked across the swamps today, then. My goodness, I’d forgotten how terribly muddy that part of Kalos is.” She inclined her head at them both, then smiled again. “I know. The two of you and your Pokémon can spend the night with me in my home.”

“We don’t want to impose,” Blaine replied. He gripped the head of his cane, and Crystal blinked in confusion. “The plan had been to—”

“Come now, the Pokémon Center only has the basic amenities.” Valerie motioned for them to follow her. “You can draw a proper bath where I live, and you all look like you need it. Come along.”

Crystal exchanged looks with Blaine as Valerie started walking along the street ahead of them, then turned her attention to her teammates. “What do you think?”

“I mean, if she’s inviting.” Samuel shrugged. “I’m not about to say no, but I’m not that inclined to take a bath, either. I like the feel of the mud.” He grinned.

Richie shook his head. “Well, you’re going to stink if you don’t get one.” He looked at Crystal. “I don’t see anything wrong with accepting her invitation.”

“Same here.” Frieda shook out her feet. “I wanna get this icky stuff out of my fur.”

“Then let’s go and do that.” Blaine nodded to them, then started after Valerie, who’d stopped a short distance away and was watching them with a patient expression.

Valerie’s home was near the large doll house of a Gym, almost hiding behind it. It looked like a smaller version of the Gym, but without all the bright colors that were normally associated with children’s toys. There was also a giant garden of flowers right in front, with Flabebe and the occasional Floette looking up from underneath the petals as Crystal and the rest walked by.

Lily made a noise of surprise as they walked past the garden. Crystal looked over at her and Richie, then looked back towards the front door as Valerie reached it. A sad feeling settled into her heart briefly, but Crystal shook it off; if Lily wanted to leave their team now and stay here, she wasn’t going to stop her.

“Welcome to my humble home,” Valerie said as she opened the door and motioned for them to step inside. “Don’t worry too much about trailing mud everywhere; I doubt it will be that difficult to be cleaned up.”

Crystal almost didn’t hear Valerie as she stepped into the building and looked around at the inside. “Wow….”

Valerie’s house on the inside made Crystal think she’d been teleported back to Ecruteak City in Jhoto. It made her think of the style of building that the kimono dancers performed in, and how the Ghost-Type Gym in the area looked very much the same.

Blaine hummed as he and the Pokémon followed after Crystal. “I see you have a specific style that you prefer, Valerie.”

Valerie hummed as she closed the door behind them. “Indeed. My father and I made a trip to Jhoto when I was very young. I have been quite enamored by the history of the region, and Ecruteak City especially, ever since. If I was not tied down by my duties here, I would make trips to Jhoto more than once a year.” She laughed. “It’s also the reason why I have become so well-known for my kimono line. I think a few of the dancers in Ecruteak have started to wear them, much to my delight.”

“I think that’s pretty high praise coming from them.” Crystal looked down at Esmeralda. “I mean, they’re not only strong, but they’re also very elegant with their movements.”

Esmeralda nodded in agreement. “Their battle style and their dancing styles are very similar indeed.”

Valerie clapped her hands in agreement. “Absolutely! I wish to mimic their elegant abilities, but one can only do so much when I do not know the ins and outs of their dances. But let us put this discussion on hold – you all are still dripping with mud, and I will not have a conversation when you are clearly so uncomfortable.” She motioned to a room off to the side of the main entrance. “There is a washroom over there that you can make use of, as well as the master bathroom on the second floor.”

“Let us take care of our Pokémon in the washroom here, first,” Blaine suggested. “They are the ones who need it more than we, I think.”

“I can handle it,” Crystal replied. “You can go and wash up first.”

Blaine frowned and was about to protest when Rapidash nudged him in the shoulder.

“Go on,” Rapidash said. “Your bones will not be able to handle being cold for as long as Crystal’s can. If you want to come and help afterwards, you are more than welcome to, but please. Warm up first.”

Valerie looked amused while Blaine sighed and shook his head at his Rapidash.

“All right, all right,” Blaine muttered. “I’ll go upstairs and wash up. Crystal, do you think you can handle things?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Crystal nodded. “Come on, guys, let’s go get cleaned up so we stop tracking mud all over Valerie’s house.”

Valerie motioned to the wash room with amusement, then looked at Blaine and Crystal. “I will make sure that there are clean, dry clothes for you to wear tonight. I doubt you will want to get back into what you are currently wearing after washing up.”

“Much appreciated.” Blaine nodded. “Well, then, let’s warm up.”

Valerie disappeared into another hallway as Blaine started up the stairs towards the master bathroom that she’d pointed out before. Crystal took a moment, then motioned for the Pokémon to follow after her as she moved in the direction of the washroom Valerie had pointed out.

The washroom was bigger than Crystal had been expected. A clothes washer and dryer sat in one corner, and a large metal tub sat on the other side of the room. The floor was lined with tiles, and there were drains at regular intervals.

“Well, looks like we can use this whole space,” Crystal remarked, she kicked off her shoes and nudged them against one wall with her dirty, wet, sock-covered feet. “Let’s get started.”

Chapter Text

Crystal flapped her arms in the pink kimono sleeves, watching the fabric bounce up and down with each movement. “I know this is how they’re made to be, but it feels weird having sleeves that are this big.”

“Yes, but you can’t do this with your jackets.” Blaine tucked his hands into the extra space in his sleeves, crossing his arms and making his hands disappear into the fabric. “Or, if you do, you don’t have a lot of room to do so.”

“I can see how that would be interesting and useful to do sometimes.” Crystal tried it herself. She wriggled her fingers in the remaining space in the kimono sleeve. “You could probably hide things in here, too….”

“In ancient times, some female ninja would hide smoke bombs and daggers in their kimono sleeves,” Valerie offered. She walked past them and towards the dining table, carrying a large pot. “No one ever thought to be suspicious of a woman, especially one who might be high in court.”

“That IS sneaky!” Rummy exclaimed. He hovered over one of the chairs, trying to make his face turn into a smile. It was a little strange considering how a Duosion’s face normally looked. “I didn’t think humans could have Dark-Type tendencies like that!”

Crystal’s tail, sticking out through a tailored hole in the back of the kimono, stiffened slightly at that.

Richie elbowed Rummy. “Humans can take on a lot of elemental Types. Not all of them decide to be underhanded in a fight – I think more often than not, they’re willing to be honorable about the things they do.”

 “I know humans can be all kinds of different things – there are little girls who act a lot like Fairy-Types who come into Reflection Cave sometimes – but I never found a human who acted like a Dark-Type.” Rummy bobbed to one side, his whole body tilting. “Or a Ghost-Type, for that matter. Ghosts can be sneaky like that, too.”

“I think all Pokémon and humans can be at least a little mischievous,” Valerie remarked as she set the pot on the table. The fact that it was long and large enough to sit herself, Crystal, Blaine, and most of the Pokémon they’d brought along said a lot. “Well, here we are! I hope you don’t mind if we have some local Kalosian cuisine here, rather than something more related to the décor. You all look like you could use a little warming up.”

“I don’t mind,” Crystal replied. She pulled her arms out of her sleeves and rolled them up to her elbows to keep the fabric out of her hands. “I could use something that will warm me up.”

“Indeed.” Blaine grinned. “I haven’t had much of a chance to try Kalosian cuisine, so this will be a good opportunity for me.”

“Wonderful.” Valerie gave them a smile and a nod, then pulled off the pot’s lid. “Bon appetit!”

The meal, as it turned out, was a stew that was nothing but vegetables. A very good choice, considering the Pokémon company that they were keeping that night.

Sawyer slurped from his bottle of nectar as he sat perched on the back of Crystal’s chair. “This is nice. Is this what all buildings in Kanto and Jhoto look like?”

“Not all of them,” Crystal replied with amusement. “Ecruteak City is supposed to be more of a traditional style from the past that they’ve held onto; most of the rest of the regions look more like Lumiose does – more modern.”

“Oh.” Sawyer nodded a little, then went back to drinking his nectar. “So, they just like how the past looks and hold onto that.”

“Ecruteak has their reasons for clinging to history,” Esmeralda said from where she sat on the floor nearby. She was joined by Blaine’s Rapidash and Valerie’s Sylveon – a pink Eeveelution with lots of ribbons that Crystal found adorable. “Most importantly, it helps them remember why a tower burned down years ago, and their connection with the Legendary Pokémon of Johto, Lugia and Ho-Oh.”

Sawyer blinked, then tilted his head. “Huh. That does sound important.”

“An entire city is connected to two Legendary Pokémon?” Lily asked. She was sitting in a vase in the middle of the table, nibbling on something Valerie had called ‘faerie treats.’ They just looked like cookies to Crystal. “So they can find and bother the Legendary Pokémon if they want to, rather than letting them sleep, huh?”

“Jhoto is very different from Kalos, friend Floette,” Valerie replied. She sat at the head of the table, her bowl of stew filled to the brim. “While humans can call on the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, they only come when the one calling has a heart that Legendaries are willing to listen to. Not all who call on the Legendary Pokémon get an answer.”

Lily frowned, but said nothing.

“So, it’s different here, then?” Crystal asked. “Do the Legendary Pokémon here sleep, like Lily said? I’ve only met Diancie, but she definitely wasn’t sleeping at the time.”

Valerie perked up. “Oh, you’ve met Lady Diancie? It’s said that those who meet her have good fortune in their future, especially if they are gifted with a piece of pink diamond that fell from her dress.”

Crystal rubbed the back of her head while Lily shot the Fairy-Type Gym Leader a look of surprise. “Well, I didn’t pick up anything like that, but she did teach me about a Fairy-Type move called Moonblast.”

Valerie clapped her hands together. “A beautiful Fairy move. I do think you will use it well.” She sighed wistfully. “I wish I could use Fairy-Type moves as easily as my own Pokémon, but…well, as an ordinary human, that isn’t in the cards for me, alas. When I was younger, I once wished that I could become a Pokémon myself, you know.”

Crystal blinked a couple times. “…really?”

“It’s a common fantasy among children, I think,” Blaine remarked. “To have the wings of a Charizard and take flight on your own, or to be able to see the world through the eyes of a Psychic-Type…some children become Trainers because that is the closest they will get to becoming a Pokémon themselves.”

“Those children would consider you very lucky to be able to walk the line between both worlds, Crystal.” Valerie nodded to Crystal. “You can still have a human shape, but you can cast Pokémon moves without needing another Pokémon to do that for you. I can think of more than a few Trainers who would wish to have the power you possess.”

Crystal smiled at that. “Thanks. I don’t think I’d want them to go through what happened to me in order for them to gain this power, though.”

“Of course.” Valerie nodded. “It is one thing to wish for it; it is another to be forced into a less-than-ideal situation in order to have that wish granted.” She paused, then looked over at Blaine. “Speaking of wish-granting, have you done any research yet into the Fairy-Type Rapidash of Galar? There has been some rumor that it was the original Rapidash, before a migration to Kanto changed it into a Fire-Type.”

That was news to Crystal. “There’s a Fairy-Type Rapidash?”

“Fairy and Psychic,” Valerie said with a slight smile.

Blaine sighed heavily. He looked like he wanted to rest his head in his hands and dig his fingers into his temples. “I am aware of the Galarian Ponyta and Rapidash, Valerie, but I don’t currently have any reason to go looking for them. I am content enough with having my Rapidash by my side, thank you.”

“Hmm. I can’t help but think you are missing out on something very interesting if that is the direction you intend to take.” Valerie hid her mouth behind a kimono sleeve, but her eyes said she was smiling all the same. “Another myth suggests they were originally Fire-Type, but then Lord Xerneas gifted them with a strange power that turned Ponyta Psychic, and gifted Rapidash with his Fairy typing.”

“Oh.” Crystal nodded, went for a spoonful of soup, then paused and tilted her head in thought. “Hm.”

Richie picked up on what she was thinking. “You mentioned a ‘Lord Xerneas? Is he one of the Legendary Pokémon that lives in Kalos?”

Valerie nodded. “Indeed. I assume, then, that you haven’t had the chance to spend time looking over our history with Pokémon?”

Crystal and her Pokémon shook their heads.

“I am somewhat familiar,” Blaine said. “But learning it again never hurt.”

A Mr. Mime sitting further down the table sighed and shook his head. “Here we go.”

The Mawile next to him elbowed him. “Hush. You know you like hearing it as much as the rest of us.”

Valerie sent the two Pokémon a smile, then looked to her guests as they continued to eat their dinners. “There are many Legendary Pokémon that exist in Kalos. Lady Diancie and the Trickster Hoopa are among what most Trainers would call ‘Mythical,’ but they are no less powerful by any means. Diancie, as you already know, is the princess of the Carbinks, a Rock and Fairy-Type group of Pokémon that live deep in Reflection Cave. Most Trainers seeking wealth attempt to seek her out, but they will not find her if their hearts are full of greed.”

Crystal tilted her head in thought, while Blaine nodded.

“Hoopa, on the other hand, is a Pokémon who is constantly causing mischief around the world. It is hard to say where it is he was born, but he can create portals to other worlds and bring Pokémon and items through them to stir up trouble. He does so in good fun, however, and returns them home once he is done – or once he is caught.” Valerie tapped the side of her nose with an amused smile. “There are others, of course – Magearna, the Pokémon created from machines with a beating heart at her center, and Zeraora, who streaks across the land and follows thunderstorms, but you wanted to know of Lord Xerneas, the Lord of Life, and Lord Yveltal, the Lord of Death.”

Crystal’s small smile dropped at the title. “Death?”

“Indeed.” Valerie folded her hands in front of herself. “Xerneas and Yveltal represent the cycle of life and death in the natural world. They have a third as well – Zygarde, the Lord of Balance, in order to make sure that neither Xerneas, nor Yveltal end up with too much power at any given point in time.”

“It seems there are a lot of Legendary Pokémon who come in threes,” Blaine remarked. “The Weather trio of Hoenn, the elemental birds of Kanto, the elemental dogs of Jhoto – it seems that someone decided that each group of Legendaries must have more than two in order to remain balanced.”

“Except that Latios and Latias only have each other,” Crystal pointed out. “I don’t think the Eon Pokémon have a third.”

“Not all Legendaries need a third, I believe,” Valerie remarked. “It depends on the power each Legendary holds. And in the case of Xerneas and Yveltal, they hold a great deal of power. Xerneas represents life, and its ability to flourish and thrive. He can bring the dead back to life, assists Celebi in maintaining the forests in Kalos, and has even been said to create new life on occasion. Yveltal, by contrast, represents the end of all things. He comes on silent wings when someone is on their death bed, and represents the coming of winter as plants die and settle into hibernation during the colder seasons.”

“Silent wings….” Crystal frowned and tilted her head. “Is Yveltal a Flying-Type, then?”

“At least in part.” Valerie shrugged. “We don’t know enough of the Legendaries to say for certain if they are one elemental type, or two.” She unfolded her hands and reached for a plate with bread rolls; she took one and started dipping it into her soup. “Of course, when Xerneas grants too much life, or Yveltal takes too much of it, Zygarde is said to step in and settle the scales as much as he needs to, else the cycle be upset. It’s said that he has agents all across the region, watching for the fight sign of a potential imbalance. The fact that he has not been seen since the war three thousand years ago speaks highly for Xerneas and Yveltal, but some believe it’s only a matter of time before the world becomes unbalanced again.”

Crystal frowned. “But…you said they were asleep? Do they do their work even while in slumber?”

“That is the thought. They are thought to awaken every few hundred years or so, and when they go to sleep, either they release a great deal of life, or cause life to be lost in some form. It doesn’t have to happen in the area they fall asleep in, either.”

As Valerie ate her soup-soaked bread and took a moment to regain her voice, Crystal looked up at Blaine, who looked back with a frown on his face.

“Do you think Team Flare could want to do something with Xerneas and Yveltal?” Crystal asked worriedly.

“Perhaps,” Blaine replied. “But if Zygarde is keeping watch over the region, I believe it will be easier said than done for Team Flare to use the Legendaries as they so please.”

“Just so,” Valerie said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “But that does not mean men haven’t tried. The weapon from three thousand years ago, for example, was said to cause a great deal of destruction when it was fired on Kalos. I would not be surprised if we found that either one of those Legendaries was involved in the firing of the weapon, or that Zygarde had to step in and clean up after them.”

Crystal frowned. “But…well, Yveltal I might understand with that, maybe. If he’s the Lord of death, then someone could use his power to…to end the lives of a lot of people. But how could Xerneas’ power be used for a weapon like that? I’d almost see the badlands as an overgrown jungle instead of the clay badlands it is now.”

“Quite astute of you.” Valerie gave Crystal a nod. “However, we can only speculate. We only know that they were involved somehow in the event three thousand years ago, and nothing more.”

Crystal frowned. “But then…I guess that leaves us with more questions than answers, still.”

“Thinking about such things this late in the day will likely leave you with a headache, rather than anything more useful,” Valerie said with a small smile. “I hope you don’t mind if this conversation is tabled for tomorrow morning? Perhaps some sleep with give you some fresh insight in the morning.”

Crystal tilted her head at the suggestion. “But—”

“I find it’s an idea that works well for us,” Blaine spoke up in agreement. “We will have plenty of time to discuss Legendaries in detail in the morning, when we have a bit more energy to use.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow at Crystal, who met his gaze briefly for a moment before sighing and nodding a little.

“I…yeah. Okay.”

“I understand your desire to learn more,” Valerie said, “but some things must be learned, absorbed, and then looked back on in order to truly know. Please – I have plenty of space in my home, and hardly any regular guests. You are more than welcome to stay here for the night.”

“Much appreciated.” Blaine nodded back, then looked over at Crystal. “Let’s finish our meal and turn in, then. I may not have been in contact with very much of the swamp on the way here, but that doesn’t mean I’m not feeling the journey. It’s a shame – I’m not as young as I used to be, apparently.”

Valerie inclined her head in response. “Indeed.”

-----

The next morning, Crystal’s usual clothes were clean and dry, and she felt much more refreshed than when she’s arrived in Laverre. Her team seemed much the same way, as well as Blaine and his Rapidash.

Valerie smiled serenely as they finished their breakfasts. “So, what do you intend to do now? You traveled a great distance through the swamp from Lumiose.”

Crystal frowned at the question and tilted her head. “Well…I don’t know. I’d like to see if Team Flare is doing anything right now and find a way to stop them, but I’m not sure where to look first, if I’m really honest.”

“Crystal has already been along the western part of the region,” Blaine explained. “Traveling the eastern side of the region seemed like the next logical step to make.”

Valerie inclined her head while the Pokémon around them exchanged looks.

“So, where should we look?” Richie asked, frowning. “I didn’t see any red suits last night when we came into the city. But they could be hiding for all we know.”

“I would suggest you ask Olympia about your next move,” Valerie suggested. “She is two cities over from here, and we keep in regular contact with each other.”

Crystal’s eyebrows shot up. “You – you do?”

Valerie nodded. “She has been telling me she has been having…odd visions, as of late. Perhaps you are connected to them. The only way to know for certain is to travel to Anistar City yourselves.”

Crystal’s tail flicked at that. “Odd visions? I wonder what’s involved in those. I know Future Sight can sometimes give Pokémon visions, but I’ve never really used that move, so I’ve never really experienced that myself. But you’re right; maybe something like that will be able to give us some help.”

Valerie hummed. “Olympia has always been helpful with such things, but it is a matter of parsing out her meaning on occasion. She speaks in rhyme, you see, and has never let up, no matter what she is speaking of. It takes some getting used to, but we Gym Leaders have learned to understand what she is implying.”

“Oh, wow.” Crystal blinked a couple times.

“Psychic-Types who can see the future are known to be a bit odd themselves,” Esmeralda remarked. “It’s no surprise that a human with similar abilities would have similar quirks. I am curious to see how Olympia sees her visions of the future.”

“At the very least, some insight into what Team Flare is aiming for would be better than none at all,” Blaine said in agreement. “Is there any way we can contact her now, Valerie? I assume you have her number.”

“I do, but keeping in contact with her is…interesting.”

“What do you mean by that?” Amy asked. The Azumaril folded her arms with a huff. “Don’t tell me she’s some kinda hermit or something.”

Valerie looked like she was about to continue and explain, but then a beeping noise from inside her kimono interrupted her. She blinked in surprise, then pulled out her Holo Caster. “Hm?”

A holographic screen rose up almost immediately, turning into a few lines of text. Crystal could read them too well because from her perspective they were mirrored, but it did look like a poem format from her perspective.

“Ah.” Valerie nodded, and the holographic screen vanished. “It seems Olympia knew to contact me about this even before you had met her. She has determined what Team Flare is truly aiming for.”

“She has?” Blaine stroked his mustache. “What sort of vile schemes do these defilers of Fire-Types have in mind?”

“They intend to seek out either Xerneas or Yveltal – perhaps even both – in order to reactivate the weapon that was fired three thousand years ago.” Valerie frowned, worried.

Crystal’s tail started twitching as she thought back to Valerie’s story from the night before, about how Xerneas represented life and Yveltal death. It made sense that Team Flare would go after the Legendaries at some point to forward their own goals – Team Magnus had woken up Groudon and Kyogre, and Giovanni had created his ownLegendary Pokémon in order to take over Kanto. But at the same time, Team Rocket and Team Magnus had both failed, because one had lost control of his creation, and the other had never had control over Kyogre and Groudon in the first place.

If Team Flare was going to find a Pokémon to use in conjunction with a weapon, then…

“They’re probably going to look for Yveltal,” Crystal said worriedly. “If they’re looking to use a weapon, it would make sense they would look for the Legendary that would do what a weapon would do, right?”

“Life can be equally dangerous,” Valerie remarked. “There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.”

“So, then – that would mean they could go after one or the other, or – or both. But we don’t know where Xerneas and Yveltal are, do we?” Crystal started pacing up and down the dining room. “Or – or Zygarde, who would probably want to know what’s going on.”

“Zygarde has agents across the region,” Valerie said patiently. “If he was not aware of Team Flare and their schemes before, he is certainly aware of them now.”

Crystal nodded slightly in response. “Okay…that makes sense…I hope that he’s aware of them soon, if he hasn’t learned it yet. But – what about Xerneas and Yveltal? Do we know where they are?”

“At this point in time, they are both currently in slumber,” Valerie replied. “I doubt you will see them walking about the living anytime soon, and they are not ones to reach out in dreams, either. They tend to keep to themselves.”

That was going to make it even more difficult to find them.

“Then, we’re going to have to start looking for them so that we can know how to protect them and warn them when they wake up.” Crystal paused in her pacing, her tail lashing back and forth. “If they do wake up.”

“We can cross that bridge when we come to it,” Blaine spoke up evenly. “First, let us do what we can now to make sure that Team Flare’s plans do not come to fruition. All right?”

Crystal’s expression shifted at Blaine’s request, but she nodded. “I…yeah. Yeah, all right.”

Blaine nodded back to Crystal, a satisfied expression on his face. “Good, good. Now, let’s have a look around town, and see if anyone’s seen anything that we could make use of.”

Richie raised a hand and was about to say something, only for the sound of doors being thrown open came from the front of the house.

“Valerie! Gym Leader Valerie!” called a woman’s voice in a panic. “The PokeBall Factory is under attack!”

“In the dining room,” Valerie called back. She waited while Crystal and Blaine turned to face the figure who ran into the room – a woman dressed in a kimono with sleeves as long as Valerie’s. “What is this about an attack on the PokeBall Factory?”

The woman took a moment to catch her breath. “There are strange men and women in red suits who took over the PokeBall Factory. They’ve locked the doors and are keeping more of the workers inside. We don’t know what it is they want, or why.”

“Red suits?” Crystal’s eyes widened. “Team Flare! They’re here!”

“Then it seems we do not need to look for them.” Blaine pushed up his glasses. “Let us go to this factory and keep them from whatever it is they’re looking for.”

“Right!” Crystal looked to Valerie and the woman. “Which way to the factory?”

“It’s just to the north,” Valerie replied. “It’s technically within the town’s limits, but most of us don’t consider it a part of Laverre proper.”

“Then let us go.” Esmeralda’s tail flicked. “The sooner Team Flare is stopped, the better.”

“Wait!”

Crystal turned at the sound of Lily’s voice. She blinked at the Floette sitting on Valerie’s table.

“Crystal.” Lily looked at Crystal with a serious expression. “Remember what I asked for back in Lumiose?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “If you mean the fact that you didn’t want to participate in any more fights against Team Flare, I remember. You can stay here if you want to.”

“I also said that I could tell you when I wanted to be released,” Lily said. “Remember that, too?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Well, I want to be released here. In that garden that’s sitting outside.” Lily pointed towards the front door. “And not in that swamp or anywhere else!”

Crystal’s ears fell slideways at Lily’s declaration, and she looked over at Valerie. “I…Lily didn’t want to travel with us after she found out that we were going to be running into Team Flare a lot from now own. I guess she wants to stay here in your gardens. If…if that’s all right with you, that is. I don’t want to impose if you don’t think her staying here would be all that good an idea.”

Valerie inclined her head at Crystal, then looked over at Lily. “An adventurer’s life is not for you, then, little one? Are you certain you want to make this decision now?”

Lily nodded. “Absolutely. I didn’t sign up for this to beat up a bunch of guys in freaky suits.”

“Hm.” Valerie nodded. “Very well, then. You may stay in my garden. But I do expect you to do something in return for me while you remain here on my lands.”

“So long as it doesn’t involve fighting, that’s fine by me.” Lily nodded, determined. “Crystal? What do you have to do to make the PokeBall thing not be a thing on me anymore?”

“Not…a lot, I don’t think.” Crystal pulled Lily’s PokeBall off her belt, then started fiddling with the button on the front. “Let’s see…I think there’s something that I need to do with this? Blaine?”

Blaine looked over and nodded as Crystal fiddled with the button. “Yes, that’s right. You have to turn it slightly to get access to the release mechanism, and—”

Crystal heard a click in the capture sphere, and quickly pulled her head away as a blue beam shot towards Lily. The Floette yelped in response to the light quickly surrounding her, but it faded within seconds.

The PokeBall in Crystal’s hands suddenly cracked in half and fell open, revealing a sparking mechanism inside.

“And you will release the Pokémon at the sacrifice of its PokeBall,” Blaine finished. “And there you have it.”

Lily sighed loudly. “Finally. I’m gonna go to the garden now. You guys have fun taking on that factory or whatever.” She promptly zipped past everyone else and started for the front door and the garden on the other side.

The woman who’d come for help blinked a couple times at the disappearing Floette. “Ah…”

Crystal sighed and shook her head. “She didn’t want to stay with me and fight Team Flare; it wasn’t what she signed up for.”

Amy snorted and folded her arms. “Good riddance. Let’s go and take care of these idiots before they do something worse than raid a PokeBall factory.”

Samuel grinned and hopped from one foot to another, looking like he was ready to catapult himself straight into a potential opponent. “Yeah! Let’s go, go, go!”

Crystal laughed a little at his antics. “Save your energy for their Pokémon, Samuel. But you’re right; we should move.” She looked up at Blaine. “Ready to go?”

“Of course!” Blaine clapped his hands together. “Let us see what these Team Fools are made of.”

Chapter Text

The PokeBall Factory was almost on the outskirts of Laverre to the north, connected by a short path that wasn’t long enough for it to be a proper route. Team Flare grunts walked the grounds outside the factory building, backs straight as they looked around.

Blaine frowned at them as he stopped a short distance from the Flare grunts walking around. Crystal stopped a few steps ahead of him, as did her team, and they looked back with curious expressions.

“Blaine?” Crystal asked. “What are you thinking?”

“Just about how best to scare them into realizing the error of their ways,” Blaine replied brightly. “I am not about to take a leaf from Sabrina’s book, but I do think that a little wildfire will make them rethink their lot in life.” He grinned at his Rapidash, standing at attention next to him. “Shall we?”

Rapidash smiled knowingly. “Let us see if they think to carry Burn Heals for the fire that awaits them.”

Blaine laughed, then jumped onto his Pokémon’s back without much prompting. “The rest of you go on ahead and see about rescuing the people trapped in the main factory building there. Rapidash and I will take care of the fools outside, then follow you in for assistance.” He gave Crystal a serious look. “That said, do not be afraid to retreat if things become far too much for you. I would not be surprised in the least if you start seeing them armed with the evolved form of Houndour.”

Crystal frowned at that. Her tail flicked, suddenly uncertain at the thought of meeting the one Dark-Type that she never wanted to stare down ever again.

Richie stepped forward and rapped his hand against his chest. “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Besides, we have Amy with us to help against any Fire-Types we come across.”

Blaine considered Richie for a long moment, then nodded. “Yes; good. I’ll come find you when I’m done out here, in case you need more assistance. My Arcanine will be more than enough for them, believe me.”

Crystal’s somewhat shaky expression became a little more confident at Blaine’s words. “Right. Yeah.”

“Good.” Blaine nodded to Crystal, then turned his attention to the Flare grunts ahead of them, who hadn’t even noticed their arrival yet. “Time to stir up some trouble!”

With that, Rapidash immediately took off at a gallop towards a pair of Flare grunts who were talking and clearly not paying attention to their surroundings. Fire cloaked his feet, and the Fire-Type immediately took off into a Flame Charge.

Blaine whooped from Rapidash’s back. “Hope you lot brought Burn Heals! If you can’t take the fire that you all claim to be, drop the suits and run!”

Blaine’s yell and Rapidash’s charge were immediately met with screams of panic as Team Flare grunts scattered before the Flame Charge.

Crystal gave herself and her team a moment to watch the trail of flames as Flare grunts started to scramble to combat this newfound menace. She grinned at Samuel, who grinned back, and the two of them immediately took off towards the building that Blaine had pointed out earlier – the main building of the PokeBall Factory.

The rest of the team quickly followed suit, Rummy whooping loudly as they went.

“That old-timer is GREAT!” Rummy exclaimed. “I mean – Crystal! You find the best people!”

Crystal laughed in response. “He isn’t the Gym Leader of Cinnabar for nothing. Blaine has trick for Fire-Types that I don’t think that anyone else knows.”

“He’s fun. I wanna see his tricks up close!”

“Maybe later, when we’re done here!”

Samuel reached the front door before Crystal did, and he shoulder-checked the door rather than slow down to a complete stop. The door was not built to handle a Breloom running at speed into it, and it fell in with a loud clatter as Samuel jumped over it and landed inside.

Crystal and the others quickly followed him inside, but the group paused there in order to get their bearings.

The inside of the PokeBall Factory looked like how Crystal expected it to be. Conveyor belts led into the entrance room from openings in the walls, carrying PokeBalls and dropping them into large steel containers that were welded into the floor. PokeBalls, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and almost every other type of PokeBall that Crystal had ever laid eyes on were being dumped into bins here.

And there were Team Flare grunts scooping them out and throwing them into large sacks like they were harvesting Berries from trees in an orchard.

Samuel’s tail slapped against the metal floor. The Team Flare grunts not already staring from the door being knocked down looked up sharply at the noise. “Hey! How about you pay for those, huh?”

“Something tells me they’re not going to listen even if we ask nicely.” Richie stepped forward and engaged his blades. “Get ready! I wouldn’t be surprised if they came prepared.”

Some of the Flare grunts started to reach for the PokeBalls on their belts, their expressions turning from surprise to something closer to determined panic.

“We’ve been found by the half-breed!” one of them shouted to the others. “Remember what we were told; take her down!”

“Go!” Crystal yelled. “Do what you can to take them out!”

Crystal’s team scattered immediately as the Team Flare grunts started throwing PokeBalls. Loud, chilling howls immediately filled the factory floor as large, horned, black and orange canine Pokémon materialized from their PokeBalls, but as Crystal started to get weak in the knees at the sight of them, they were bowled over by a forceful Surf from Amy, or a Close Combat from Richie, or a Drain Punch from Samuel. In seconds, the Houndoom were lying across the factory floor, knocked out and no longer snarling in preparation to knock out Crystal.

The Team Flare grunts looked at each other in alarm at this development.

“We weren’t told she had an Azumaril!” one of them yelped. “When did that – how—”

Amy blasted one of the grunts with a Bubblebeam, leaving his suit sopping wet as he was pushed to the ground from the force of the attack. “What, did you think we were going to let Crystal walk in here unprepared?”

The Team Flare grunts suddenly looked uncertain at the sight of Amy, giving the rest of Crystal’s team a chance to completely demolish the other Pokémon they had with them. Crystal, on the other hand, merely walked towards the closest grunt with a sack of PokeBalls at his feet, Esmeralda walking alongside her with all the serene grace of an Espeon waiting for the right moment to strike.

“First you stole power from the badlands, and now you’re stealing PokeBalls,” Crystal said. “Why? PokeBalls are cheap in comparison to paying for an electricity bill, especially after taking several days’ worth for half of a city. What are you planning with all of this?”

The Team Flare grunt opened and closed his mouth a few times. Crystal couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but she could imagine that his eyes were very wide.

“Don’t tell her!” one of the Flare grunts nearby shouted. “Come on, man! We have orders not to say anything to anyone who’s not in Team Flare!”

“Try saying that when not even the admins tell us everything!” another grunt shot back. He was pinned up against the wall, Samuel standing in front of him with his fists up.

“Hey! You—”

“You are being kept in the dark, then?” Esmeralda asked, her tail flicking. “How unexpected. Team Rocket and Team Magnus were much better with their internal communications than you all are.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “Yeah. If you don’t know how this is going to forward your team’s goal, why are you putting this much effort into it?”

“You wouldn’t understand!” shouted back the vocal grunt. She held her ground, even as Richie and Amy walked towards her, with Sawyer and Rummy circling above, looking for Pokémon who were still conscious. “Team Flare will live past whatever disaster comes to hit the world, and we will get to live in paradise! Everything we do is only going to forward that goal, half-breed! And we’re going to make sure that you don’t live to see it!”

The hatred in the woman’s voice hurt. Crystal wasn’t surprised by it – all the Team Flare grunts reacted to her with that exact same hatred – but the declaration still made her pause and look away, ears drooping as her tail fell limp.

Borealis, sitting on top of a knocked out Houndoom, turned his head to look at the grunt Amy and Richie were cornering. “That’s not very nice of you.” He breathed in, then exhaled an Icy Wind that circled the grunt’s feet, sealing her feet in place and keeping her from retreating further. “Crystal’s nice, and all of you are clearly not.”

The grunt cursed and tried to move her feet, but then Amy and Richie were standing on either side of her, serious expressions on their faces.

The grunt in front of Crystal shook for a moment, but then he shifted his stance and stood his ground. “So, what are you going to do to us? There’s a lot more of us here than just us, you know."

“I know,” Crystal replied. “Blaine is handling the ones outside right now, so we’ve only just started liberating the factory from all of you.” She looked around at the grunts, who were starting to come to terms with the fact that they were standing defenseless against her. “I’m not going to do anything to you except make you go to sleep with Hypnosis. I don’t want to cause harm to any of you, so I won’t. Still, it’s not very nice that you call me mean names, whether or not I’m in the room.”

The Flare grunts exchanged looks at Crystal’s words. Their sunglasses made it hard to read their expressions, but Crystal’s empathic abilities picked up uncertainty, caution, and an annoyed anger that was directed at herself and the grunt feeling that emotion.

“I’m not some kind of monster,” Crystal said. “I’m not. Please, remember that.” She returned her gaze to the grunt in front of her, and her eyes flashed.

The man collapsed into a heap on the ground, out cold.

The vocal woman yelled in alarm. “You – what did you do?!”

“She cast Hypnosis,” Esmeralda replied clearly. “Did you not hear her say that when she stated her intentions with all of you? You will wake up when the authorities get here, of that I have no doubt.”

The vocal grunt stuttered something, looking like she was going to keep ranting as Crystal moved towards her other companion, who was staring Borealis down like he was expecting the Houndoom underneath him to rose up and blast him with a Fire Blast.

“But – but – but we were told—”

“Maybe you shouldn’t believe everything you were told?” Crystal suggested. “Sometimes things are different from what you actually think they are, and it never hurts to learn something new.” She used Hypnosis again, and the second grunt fell as well.

“It’s why I like learning new moves, when I can. There are some I can’t do very well, if at all, but I like learning about them from my friends.”

“Like what?” the woman asked defensively. “Hyper Beam? Eruption?”

“Barrier and Light Screen are actually my favorites.” Crystal smiled when the grunt pulled back in surprise. “I’ve gotten so good with them that they’re actually almost like Protects that last a little longer, in a way. I can’t do Defense Curl and Harden very well, anyway – my natural defenses aren’t very good because of my human side.”

“Uh….” Clearly, that hadn’t been the answer the Flare grunt had been expecting. “What?”

“Helping Hand feels nice to use, too, but I don’t use it very much,” Crystal added. “Since I don’t participate in battles against Trainers, my using it to help my teammates in their fights would count as cheating, and I don’t want to make people think that I became Champion because I treated every fight as a 2-on-1. Not to mention the big disadvantage between myself and most Pokémon because of the difference in power.”

The Flare grunt opened and closed her mouth a few times. All Crystal picked up from her was pure confusion, and nothing more than that.

“I’m going to put you to sleep now,” Crystal added. “Pleasant dreams. And please – rethink what Team Flare has taught you about people like me? We’re not all bad.”

Her eyes flashed, and the woman fell just like the other two.

Frieda came over and thawed out the woman’s legs, then pulled her away from the cold patch on the ground. “Do you really think that talking to Team Flare like that is gonna make them listen?”

“It’s better than not trying at all,” Crystal replied. “Come on – I don’t think they were the only Flare grunts hiding in here. Let’s search the rest of the factory and see what we can find.”

Her team nodded in agreement and gathered together again.

“Hey, Borealis?” Richie nodded to the Amaura. “Try not to use your moves on humans too much, all right? I’m glad you were able to keep her from moving far, but too much cold can make humans lose their limbs. We don’t want to hurt any of them, even if they say mean things about Crystal.”

Borealis frowned at that. “Are you sure?”

“He’s got a point, much as I don’t like it sometimes,” Amy agreed. “Their natural defenses against our abilities are terrible. Better to just keep them in place than try to knock them out yourself, all right?”

Borealis tilted his head, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll remember that.”

The next room in the factory was filled with even more conveyor belts covered in PokeBalls. Some led out of the room to another part of the factory, while others emptied out into bins scattered throughout the room. Stairways led up to metal platforms suspended in the air above their heads.

And on the ground, instead of a proper floor, were conveyor belts leading to small spaces that were free of moving obstacles. Except for Team Flare grunts, at least.

Crystal frowned up at the scaffolding above their heads, then looked around at the ground floor. “Looks like there’s more of them around here. We should stick together in case one of us goes somewhere and gets caught by surprise.”

“Sounds good.” Richie nodded. “Would you rather we returned ourselves so that you could fly over?”

“It would be easier than running around down here.” Crystal frowned and tilted her head. “At the same time, I may need you to return regardless; it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of space on this floor to move around freely.”

“Sounds good to me,” Borealis said. “This place feels a little too warm for me, anyway.” He quickly returned himself into his PokeBall.

“I get the feeling that they’re going to shoot me down if I try to get a look from the air,” Sawyer said. “I won’t do well against Fire-Types. If you see any Dark-Types, though, I can handle them.” He quickly returned himself as well.

“If you see a Houndoom, call us out,” Samuel added. “Or we’ll call ourselves out. All right? We’ll take care of the problem.”

“I will take care of the problem,” Amy corrected with a pointed grin. “We’ve got this.”

With that, the rest of the team returned themselves to their PokeBalls, and Crystal quietly steeled herself.

“All right.” Crystal breathed in, then out. “Let’s drive Team Flare out.”

While riding the conveyor belts to the gaps in the machinery where Team Flare grunts were patrolling was tempting, Crystal wasn’t about to let herself get caught in the conveyor belt and get dragged into the factory machinery as a result. Maybe she could ride them on the way back out, or maybe she could ask the people who actually worked in the factory for a safe ride along some of the conveyor belts.

But she had other people to worry about. Fire-themed people who were stealing PokeBalls straight from the factory.

The first Team Flare grunt didn’t have a Houndoom, thankfully. He seemed caught off-guard when she dropped down in front of him. His Mightyena did his best to Intimidate her, but Sawyer flew out of his PokeBall with a screaming Bug Buzz that tore into the Dark-Type’s ears and knocked him out before the Mightyena could so much as Swagger in their direction.

“How dare you,” the Flare grunt hissed. “You don’t know what it is we’re trying to—”

“Honestly? I can guess, and I’d rather not see what Team Magnus tried to do nearly happen again,” Crystal replied seriously.

The Flare grunt stiffened. “Wha-- ?”

The confusion in his voice was more than enough of an indication of what Crystal could guess already. “So, they didn’t tell you about that, either?” She frowned. “That’s not good.” She shook her head, then fixed her serious frown on the Flare grunt again. “Please, just turn yourself in and tell the authorities what you know about Team Flare’s plans. I don’t want to see Legendary Pokémon used for something they shouldn’t be used for.”

She focused a Hypnosis on him, and the man collapsed to the floor.

Sawyer hummed as he landed on Crystal’s shoulder. “Sounds like they’re completely clueless.”

“I imagine they get less clueless the higher up the ladder we go,” Crystal replied. She remembered that woman with short, orange hair from the Kalos power plant. “That woman we fought before might know something, but I don’t know if we’re going to be lucky enough to find her here.”

“Only one way to find out.” Sawyer nodded to the rest of the factory, then returned himself.

The rest of the ground floor of the factory went in much the same way. Crystal was relieved that none of the Team Flare grunts had Houndoom on their teams, but most of them were Poison-Types that tried to poison her as much as they tried to poison her teammates.

The Swalot in front of her hissed with malice as he collapsed into a fainted puddle, weak from Esmeralda’s Psychic assault.

The female Flare grunt returned the Poison-Type with a huff. Crystal felt the glare rather than saw it. “What kind of person are you, to use Pokémon when you can fight well enough on your own?”

Crystal blinked at the question. “I’m a Trainer. Trainers don’t fight alongside their Pokémon, unless you count Rangers, but even they don’t get into head-to-head battles with wild Pokémon.”

“But – but you’re a Pokémon! You should—”

“What? Put myself in the line of fire, only for my team to panic when I take a hit that no human could handle?” Crystal frowned. “I may battle defensively, but a hit from that Swalot would’ve left me incapacitated at best. And I’m used to hiding my Pokémon features because I didn’t want to be used by people like you and Team Magnus who see us as weapons. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I shunned people’s attempts to help me? Fighting alone is a dangerous thing to do!”

The Flare grunt looked a little surprised at Crystal’s words, judging by how her eyebrows shot up. “Huh?”

Esmeralda sighed and shook her head. “Something tells me that reasoning with these Trainers will be easier said than done, Crystal. It would be best if we simply moved on. After all, I doubt that we will have much longer before we reach whoever is in control of the Flare grunts here.”

Crystal followed the Espeon’s pointed gaze to the small building built on the scaffolding. They’d come across one earlier where the workers of the factory were being held hostage; it was likely that there were more Team Flare members hiding out in this one.

“You’re not—”

Crystal glanced at the Flare grunt, and she collapsed under Hypnosis. “All right. Let’s go see who’s waiting in there.”

Crystal kept her steps light as she approached the small hut on the platform, and Esmeralda returned herself to keep from falling off. While the small hut looked normal at a glance, there was something about it that had the hair on Crystal’s neck standing on end. She wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe it had something to do with her nerves – after all, she had been fighting Team Flare across the factory and none of them had that certain Pokémon on their teams.

She hoped it was just her caution turning into paranoia, and not that her psychic senses were picking up something else.

Crystal rested a hand on the doorknob and paused. She didn’t know what was going to be waiting for her on the other side, but she suspected there was at least someone from Team Flare in here. She was going to have to be prepared for a fight, but she doubted she was going to get launched into one immediately. Not with how Pokémon battles usually went between Trainers.

Feeling a bit more confident, Crystal breathed in and pushed the door open.

Chapter Text

In the space on the other side, there were three women harassing a man sitting at a desk in the back of the room. One of them was in a white suit, much like the bald man in the power plant had been wearing, and the other two were in red-colored, matching outfits. They almost looked like suits with short shorts, and only one of them was wearing leggings.

Crystal noticed that the one with the leggings had short purple hair, and the other had lime green hair, which was odd for a pair of humans. Maybe they’d dyed it?

“Really, Mr. President, all we just need is most of what your factory has sitting on the floor right now,” the woman in the white suit was saying. “We’ll leave you enough to keep the factory on its feet – we’re going to need it in the new world, after all – but we need your stock of PokeBalls now. You’ll be paid handsomely later, I promise.”

“I am not about to associate myself with hooligans such as yourselves,” the man at the desk replied. Crystal noticed him look over the women’s shoulders, and his eyes widened. “Wha—”

“I really don’t think that stealing is a good idea,” Crystal said as the three women turned towards her. “If you have enough funds to make those weird machines that were out in the badlands, then why do you need to steal PokeBalls from everyone else?”

The three women exchanged looks at the question. It was hard to read their expressions because all three of them were wearing different types of glasses of some kind.

“You must have a lot of guts to come in here alone,” the woman in the white suit said with a grin. She grabbed one of the two PokeBalls off her waist and tossed it into the air, her grin widening as Crystal started to reach for her own team. “Houndoom! Teach this meddler a lesson!”

Crystal’s eyes widened as the PokeBall exploded open, releasing the orange-and-black, horned canine into the space.

The Houndoom growled lowly at Crystal. “Get out.”

The sight of the Pokémon, without any of her team members standing beside her to defend her, caused Crystal to freeze in place.

She suddenly felt like she was standing in dark woods, surrounded by growling creatures hiding in the shadows that she couldn’t see through. Crystal’s breathing started to pick up the pace.

The woman with purple hair hummed in interest, but then her slight smile started to slowly drop as Crystal’s breathing continued to turn into hyperventilation. Tears pricked her eyes, and her vision blurred. In seconds, it was hard to tell if Crystal was standing in a room on the factory, or in the Viridian Forest in Kanto.

The only thing that remained consistent was the Houndoom staring her down expectantly.

Or was he glaring at her with the intent to kill?

Crystal shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself, curling into a floating ball as Protect, Barrier, Reflect, and Light Screen manifested around her in a multifaceted, glittering prism. She didn’t want to get hit – or bit – again by a Houndoom. Never again. Never, never again.

Someone said something, but the sound was muffled. Crystal felt one of the PokeBalls at her side quickly explode, but she didn’t pay any attention to that. She didn’t want to look up and see what was going on, for fear of meeting the gaze of the Honudoom again. She did not want to see if the Pokémon was still there.

She did not want to uncurl herself from her Defense Curl, hidden behind all the walls she had learned to make over the years. She was not going to leave herself vulnerable to attack, she was not. The Houndoom would never get to sink their teeth into her again, never, never, never—

“—stal! Crystal!”

Crystal blinked her eyes open at the telepathic voice in her head. She was still curled up as tightly as possible, but there was someone…tapping? On the barriers?

“Crystal, it’s all right. The Houndoom is gone, I promise.”

It took Crystal a moment to recognize the voice. “…Esmeralda?” She lifted her head slightly, looking out with one eye and ready to hide her face again if she needed to.

She only saw Richie’s concerned face looking back at her through the barriers, Samuel and Frieda standing on either side of him. Behind them, she could barely make out the shapes of the Team Flare women she’d encountered upon entering the room. It looked like they were doubled over from…something.

Crystal blinked a couple times, then cautiously expanded her protective bubble to cover her team as well. She floated to the floor and sat down, her knees up against her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs.

Esmeralda nuzzled up against her. “It’s all right, Crystal. It’s all right. Richie and Amy took care of the Pokémon. You’re fine, I promise.”

Crystal inhaled shakily, then exhaled slowly. She nodded a little, then breathed in again. “Are…are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine,” Richie promised.

“It wasn’t much trouble when Amy Aqua Tail’d it straight into the wall,” Samuel added. “Seriously; it couldn’t take the hit. We’re a Champion’s team, remember?” He grinned.

Crystal blinked at that, then smiled a little and nodded slightly. “Y-yeah. Yeah, that’s right.”

“Blaine will probably be here soon,” Esmeralda added. “Do you want to get out of here? Get some space away from this?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, that’d…that’d be a good idea.” Crystal nodded again, not wanting to look over at where the Dark and Fire-Type had been. The less of a chance there was of freezing up again, the better.

Richie reached down and offered a hand. Crystal took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

Frieda immediately took up the main position of blocking Crystal’s view of the rest of the room. She sent a pointed glare over her shoulder as she did; Crystal thought she heard something squeak in response.

“Wh-what was….?” asked a woman’s voice. Whoever they were, they sounded shaken by something.

Richie guided Crystal out of the hut as Esmeralda responded.

“Have you ever felt pure fear?”

As soon as Richie and Crystal stepped out of the hut, Crystal leaned against the outer wall and slid down to sit on the floor. Her breathing was still ragged and shaky, after her brief encounter with what had once been a threat on her life.

“Take it easy,” Richie said. “Deep breaths, right?”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah. Deep breaths.”

Esmeralda slipped out of the hut and moved to sit next to Crystal, who immediately buried her face in her fur. The Espeon accepted the hug with grace. “Samuel and the others are keeping an eye on the Flare grunts. Crystal’s reaction surprised them enough that they haven’t thought of releasing their other Pokémon to fight, or of running. They seem fairly shaken, actually.”

“Shaken?” Crystal looked up a little. “What…what do you mean?”

Richie looked at Crystal in surprise. “You mean, you didn’t know?”

Crystal frowned. “Know about what, exactly?”

“Crystal, you released a strong Extrasensory focused on your current emotions,” Esmeralda explained. “You likely didn’t even realize it because you were lost in yourself at that point in time. I’m amazed you thought of putting so many protective barriers around yourself at the same time.”

Crystal blinked slowly as she absorbed that. “Extrasensory…that’s the Psychic move that’s supposed to make the target extra sensitive to the information they’re getting from their senses, right?” Talking about the move she instinctively released was helping her focus and calm down; better to talk about an attack rather than the reason it went off. “So how could something like that be focused on my emotions? Wouldn’t it make sense that they would feel theirs more?”

“Maybe,” Esmeralda acknowledged, “but you aren’t fully Pokémon, and we’ve noticed you have a strong empathic ability for a long time.”

“It is the reason why you’re so cautious about Lysandre,” Richie agreed. “So…did she just use that connection to force her emotions in the other direction?”

“It’s certainly possible.”

Crystal frowned as she turned that thought over in her head. “Using Extrasensory to give others what I’m feeling, instead of just making them feel more of what they already feel…so, then…does that mean…?”

“When we managed to break out of our PokeBalls, the four humans in the room looked frozen stiff,” Richie confirmed. “The Dark-Type was the only one unaffected, but he was looking back at his Trainer in confusion. It gave us enough of a distraction to knock him out quickly.”

Crystal breathed in shakily, then shook the memory out of her head. She didn’t want to think about that now, not when she’d only just gotten away from the women who had the Houndoom. “All right. Okay. So, I can use that as a deterrent to make people leave me alone.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Esmeralda said immediately. “Using Extrasensory to extend your feelings of trauma to others is just as harmful to you as it is to those around you. And you didn’t use it on just Team Flare. The man they were holding hostage inside was also affected.”

Crystal winced. “Oh….”

“Don’t use it as a defense mechanism,” Richie said. “Please. There are better ways to keep yourself safe.”

Crystal sighed at Richie’s words and nodded.

The sound of feet hitting the metal platform hit Crystal’s ears. “Crystal!”

Crystal looked up at the voice and saw Blaine running along the walkway towards them. “Blaine!”

“Are you all right?” Blaine came to a stop. “Rapidash and Magmar are giving Team Flare the attention they deserve outside, so I thought I could come in and offer assistance.” He frowned. “You haven’t been hurt, have you?”

“Not…physically.” Crystal shook her head.

“They released a Houndoom into a confined space with her inside it.” Esmeralda nodded towards the door. “The rest of the team is inside, watching them.”

Blaine looked sharply towards the door, then started rolling up the sleeves of his lab coat. “Well, then. Sounds like they need to be taught a lesson.”

“I would argue they already have, but be my guest. Be warned, however – they have the president of the factory in there as well. He was caught up in what happened moments ago with Crystal.”

“Good to know. Thank you, Esmeralda.”

Blaine gave them a nod, then stepped into the hut Crystal was leaning against.

Crystal sighed again and buried her face in Esmeralda’s side. “Can you guys just…give me five minutes?”

“Take all the time you need,” Esmeralda replied.

-----

By the time Crystal had calmed down, the local authorities had arrived and were arresting every single one of the Flare grunts that Crystal had left unconscious around the factory. Not even the three women – two scientists and an admin, apparently – had been given the chance to escape.

Crystal watched from outside the factory as the three women were led away, faces stricken with something that shook them still.

“…can’t believe that was kept from us,” the woman with purple hair muttered as she moved past. “Arming us with Dark-Types is one thing, but using a child’s trauma is….”

“It’s all in the name of the new world,” the green-haired woman said. “It has to be. Right? Right?”

Blaine rested a hand on Crystal’s shoulder, pulling her attention away from the Team Flare members. She could read his kindness and worry well enough, despite the fact that his glasses reflected sunlight very well, and she pulled herself into a hug with him in response.

“I don’t like these teams,” Crystal said. “But I don’t like letting them run around, either. If helping stop them makes them stop, then I’m more than willing to help.”

“Well, right now you’re putting yourself on the forefront more than anything,” Blaine replied gently. ”If you are of a mind to help, and not put yourself front and center, maybe you should let Xavier handle the rest?”

Crystal shook her head. “That would put his brothers in danger, and maybe Serena, too. I don’t want to force that on him.”

Blaine frowned, and was about to comment something else when another voice spoke up.

“You’re Crystal Soul, correct? The Hoenn Champion who arrived in Kalos some time ago?”

Crystal looked up at the voice and blinked as a policewoman approached them. At her side strode an Arcanine, head held high as he looked over the Flare grunts being forced into police cars.

“Y-yes, that’s me.” Crystal nodded and slipped out of her hug with Blaine. “What is it?”

The policewoman considered her for a moment. “You really are younger than you look. Ah; excuse me. I was here to ask if you are all right. The factory head said you were shaken by something Team Flare did inside the factory, and he was caught up in the midst of it.”

Crystal’s ears flopped sideways. “Oh…yeah…um….” She swallowed and shook her head. “I’ll be okay. I just don’t…don’t want to look at a specific Dark and Fire-Type for a while. That’s what caused that.”

“That specific Pokémon caused that reaction,” the woman repeated. “All right. We’ll make sure to send out that alert. Team Flare grunts seem to mostly use Dark and Poison-Types with the occasional Fire and Dark-Type. Trainers have been encouraged to stay away from Team Flare because of how dangerous they are said to be, but if they are stealing PokeBalls from the factory directly, we may need to encourage stronger Trainers to go after them.”

“Considering that Team Rocket and Team Magnus were both defeated by up-and-coming Trainers, I would not be surprised if they turn out to be your main source of assistance this time as well,” Blaine added.

The policewoman frowned deeply at that. “Hm. I don’t like the idea of relying on the same methods as other regions where they’ve had more trouble than us.”

“Team Flare isn’t less trouble,” Crystal replied. “They’re just trouble. It doesn’t matter that they’re here and not in Unova or something. Kalos is not better here.”

The policewoman frowned at that, then shook her head. “I will keep that in mind, Champion.”

“She didn’t mean anything by—”

“I know she didn’t mean anything by what she is saying,” the policewoman said, cutting off Blaine. “I needed the reminder. Despite our past and our oaths to not let our chaotic history be repeated, there are clearly people who are willing to bring chaos back to the region. We will need to be more careful from here on about our future.”

Blaine relaxed at the woman’s words, and he nodded. “Indeed. Will you need anything from the two of us, in order to keep in contact with us? Or statements concerning this event?”

“Statements would be nice, but not necessary,” the policewoman replied. “Not necessarily, at least. The factory head did want to speak with the Hoenn Champion, however. If you are willing, he’s waiting by the entrance of the factory.”

Crystal nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Of course.” The policewoman gave them a nod, then turned and walked over to a different part of the factory grounds.

The Arcanine who had come with her nodded to Crystal and Blaine. “Don’t mind her. She’s just frustrated that she had to rely on someone who isn’t a part of the police force in order to stop Team Flare today. She will warm up to you in time, but it will take as much from her as it will from you. Perhaps even more so.”

“It’s all right,” Blaine replied. “She likely has a lot on her mind, and our being here is only making her job a little more difficult.”

“Or maybe a little easier,” Crystal remarked. “Because we’re taking care of the problem before it gets worse, and before the police can get here.”

“But it’s not always a good idea to leave these kinds of things to Trainers,” the Arcanine said. “Especially the younger ones. If you are able to take down teams like this with ease, it may encourage younger Trainers to try and do the same thing, with terrible consequences for their health.”

“Arcanine!” the policewoman called.

Arcanine bowed his head to Crystal and Blaine. “Just – keep that in mind.” He turned and walked back to the policewoman, who gave him a quick pat on the head before moving on to a different section of the grounds.

Blaine and Crystal watched him go, then exchanged looks with each other.

“So, we have a few options,” Blaine remarked. “We can go back to Laverre proper and let you recover, or we can go talk to this factory head first. Your team is already stored away in their PokeBalls – at least until the authorities clear out – so, what would you like to do, Crystal?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “Well, I do want to talk to him and make sure that he’s okay. He was caught up in…what I did. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I don’t think Team Flare was expecting that, either,” Blaine said. “Considering what they were talking about as they were led away, it seems they only expected that you would have a fearful reaction to seeing Houndoom, and not that you would bombard them with an empathic wave of psychic energy.”

Crystal rubbed the back of her head as her tail flicked nervously. “Do you…do you think they only got my fear?”

“It’s hard to say. We may need to ask a Psychic expert about such things, and I for one do not intend to put you through that position again just to see what they saw.”

Crystal sighed as her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded. “Thanks. Okay, let’s go see him. Then we can go back to Laverre and rest for the rest of the day or something. I don’t think I’m going to be going very far after…well, that.”

“I am in complete agreement with you there.” Blaine nodded in agreement. He started towards the factory’s main entrance. “Let’s go see what the factory head has to say, then.”

Blaine led Crystal back towards the factory, where the factory head was standing next to the doors talking to some of the workers that Crystal had seen briefly earlier. They had blankets wrapped around their shoulders, and while the factory head looked shaken, he didn’t look at Crystal with terror as she approached.

“Ah; you’re all right!” The factory head sighed in relief. “Good, good. After what you did in self-defense, I was a little concerned.”

Crystal smiled a little, her expression a little shaken as her ears and tail flicked. “I…yeah. I’m still a little shaken, but I’m better than I was. What about you? I didn’t realize that you were—”

“I’m no worse for wear.” The factory head waved her off. “I don’t think I’ll be able to look at a Houndoom the same way again, but I’m not scared of you, young Champion. I’m more concerned for you than anything else.”

Crystal’s shoulders relaxed. “I…I see.”

“So, you were exposed to her emotional trauma as well, then.” Blaine frowned. “Damn Team Flare, bringing that trauma back to the forefront by force.”

“I had originally thought they were just Pokémon thieves and troublemakers, but considering that those two women were addressed as scientists, I have to wonder if they are attempting to do something else.” The man sighed and shook his head. “They even took away the few Master Balls we had managed to make. They’re not among the PokeBalls we managed to recover, so I assume they were already taken out of the factory and are who knows where now.”

“Master Balls?” Crystal repeated. “You mean those purple PokeBalls that are supposed to be able to work on anything? Including Legendary Pokémon?”

The factory head nodded. “Because of their power, we can only make so many, and most Trainers won’t get access to them. Not to mention they are terribly expensive. We were planning on giving one to Diantha to have her test it against a high-level wild Pokémon, but now it looks like we’re going to have to push that idea back until we can make another.”

Crystal frowned at that. “I hope they never become widely used, much less known about. Giving Trainers that kind of power could throw the whole world into disarray, especially if Trainers can use them to catch Legendary Pokémon like I’ve been hearing rumors about.”

“Didn’t you pick up a Master Ball in one of Team Magnus’ bases?” Blaine asked.

“Yeah, but it’s buried in my backpack so deeply that I never intend to pull it out.” Crystal paused. “Or I could use it on a normal Pokémon that actually wants to join me, but at that point it would work just like a Quick Ball or an Ultra Ball.”

The factory head spluttered quickly. “W-well, of course our intent with the Master Ball is to give it to Champions as a status symbol, to prove that they have mastered their craft. It’s just that some people want to know if it’s possible to make a Master Ball that can, in fact, catch anything without fail. And of course, one thing led to another. The best we can do for now is keep the plans under lock and key off-site so that no one except for certain people are allowed to have access to those plans, and keep the production numbers small. If someone finds a Master Ball and uses it on a wild Pokémon that is significantly weaker than a Legendary, then that will mean there is one less Master Ball in the world to worry about. And I’m sure there are some Trainers who are interested in finding PokeBalls that match their Pokémon in terms of color, rather than in terms of power.”

Crystal exchanged looks with Blaine during the factory head’s long-winded defense. Blaine merely sighed and shook his head at her, getting a shrug from her in response.

“Well, so long as you do not cause a Legendary Pokémon to be caught in a Master Ball, I won’t voice any complaints against you.” Blaine paused. “For now. If a Trainer comes to Kanto and tries to catch Articuno in a Master Ball, I am more than willing to raise hell for her.”

“Duly noted,” the factory head gulped. “So…what are you going to do now, then?”

“Take the day to recover,” Crystal replied. “I don’t…I don’t want to cause what happened earlier to happen again.”

The factory head blinked, then relaxed and nodded. “That sounds like an excellent idea. I hope you feel better.”

Crystal nodded back in thanks, then looked up at Blaine for a moment before she turned and started walking back towards town.

Blaine fell into step next to her. “If you need anything, just let the rest of us know, all right? You should make sure to rest.”

“I will,” Crystal promised. “After…after doing what I did, I don’t want to find out what could happen if I ran into another situation like that so soon.”

Blaine nodded, offering a small smile. “That makes sense. I hope Valerie won’t mind us imposing for another day, then.”

“If she does, we can always sleep in the Pokémon Center tonight.” Crystal looked up at the clear sky above their heads and sighed. “I just hope that Team Flare doesn’t do anything at all the rest of today.”

-----

To say that Lysandre was angry was putting it mildly.

The owner of Lysander Labs and the boss of Team Flare stalked the halls of his laboratory underneath Lumiose, Team Flare grunts scattering ahead of him as he made a beeline for the command center. He'd gotten word that they’d reached the PokeBall factory – and that they’d managed to secure the Master Balls they needed for their scheme – only for communications to get cut off minutes later.

Considering the chatter some of his broadcasting machines had been picking up, it was little wonder as to why.

“Xerosic!” Lysander forced the doors open and stepped into the command center. “It seems you underestimated the half-breed and her abilities.”

The pale scientist didn’t bother to look up from his calculations. The computer monitor was full of them, along with blueprints of the thing hiding under Geosenge. “Hm? What makes you think that I underestimated anything? The child is part Mew, and therefore has Mew abilities and Mew weaknesses.”

“She did something in Laverre that led to the unit sent there getting arrested,” Lysandre said. “I have reports that some grunts felt a primal fear towards Houndoom specifically. Their arms burned with bites they had never received. Can you explain that?”

Xerosic tilted his head, but didn’t look away from his calculations. “Really? That is unexpected. I assume then it was a psychic attack of some kind.”

“One that we were not warned about.” Lysandre marched over and slammed his hand into the console below the monitor, nearly missing a few buttons in the process. “We were only told that Dark-Types would drive her back, and that if she did lash out, the power would be minimal. I don’t know where your colleague got his information and how long he has been holding onto it, but it is clearly outdated. We cannot rely on it any more in terms of what to expect from Team Rocket’s runaway experiment.”

“Team Rockets’ failed runaway experiment.” Xerosic turned fully to face Lysandre, frowning up at the man. “They succeeded in creating a different abomination, if you recall.”

Lysandre huffed in response. “Regardless, that thing should not exist. I hope that you have better news for me than the loss of PokeBalls supplies from the factory in Laverre.”

Xerosic didn’t even pause; he merely grinned. “A report came back in from the field, so I sent a small group out with one of the Master Balls that was sent ahead. They’ve found one of them.”

Lysandre’s dark mood brightened slightly. “They have?”

“Indeed! The creature of death has been found sleeping not far from Laverre! It would certainly explain why that part of the land has been in everlasting autumn.” Xerosic laughed and clapped his gloved hands together. “I very much look forward to hearing their report when they return, don’t you?”

Lysandre maintained a neutral expression for a moment, but then a slow smile started to cross his own face. “Yes, that does sound much more pleasant. Carry on, Xerosic – and let me know when you have found what we need to activate the weapon with our plans in mind. I want to make certain that we are prepared.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I should be done by the time that Zygarde has been officially pushed out of the way and our other sleeping component has been found.” Xerosic laughed again, then turned his attention back to his calculations.

Lysander watched him for a moment, then let his smile drop and walked out of the room. He had appointments to keep and a cover to keep up, if he wanted his Team Flare to complete their duties.

After all, what use would a beautiful world be, if the people who survived didn’t trust the man who had given them a new world?

Chapter Text

The next morning, Crystal woke up feeling a little more refreshed than yesterday evening. A part of her was surprised; she’d been expecting nightmares after the events of the PokeBall Factory, but somehow her rest had not been interrupted by visions of Houndoom hunting her.

“Maybe releasing all that emotional energy did something for me,” Crystal murmured to herself. She pulled back the bed sheets and stepped out of bed. “I’d rather not think of it that way, though. Forcing what I feel on other people isn’t always a good thing. At least, I think that’s what Rosa told me.”

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Crystal left her borrowed bedroom and went downstairs to find her team, Blaine’s team, and Blaine and Valerie already in the dining room having breakfast.

Blaine looked up from the dwindling pile of pancakes on his plate. “Ah; good morning, Crystal. How are you feeling?”

“Better, after a night of sleep.” Crystal took an open spot at the table and sat down. She started reaching for the platter piled high with pancakes in the middle of the table. Something about their fluffy look seemed familiar, in a comforting way. “Did I sleep in, or did everyone else just get up early?”

“A little bit of both.” Blaine nodded to Richie. “That one came knocking on my door a couple hours ago and said he wanted to do something, so we took over Valerie’s kitchen with her permission and got to making pancakes.”

Crystal’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really?”

“It was no issue to me,” Valerie said lightly. “I am always delighted to partake in meals made by others. And these pancakes are most certainly a delight. I intend to get the recipe from you later, Blaine.”

“Of course! Your stovetop responded to my needs for heat and temperature perfectly; I have no doubt that you will be able to replicate this to your heart’s content.” Blaine motioned to the pancakes.

Crystal speared two pancakes with her fork and moved them onto her plate, then reached for the pot of maple syrup sitting nearby. “Blaine experiments a lot in the kitchen. I’m lucky he hasn’t had us eat some of his stranger things yet.”

“I am not that eager to foist my results on anyone except for myself yet,” Blaine replied. “Crystal, do you really have such little faith in me?”

“Only in your kitchen.”

The comment brought a round of laughter from the Pokémon around them. Blaine pouted for a moment, but then he grinned as well.

“There are some good things that come from my kitchen I’ll have you know,” Blaine said. “But you do bring up a fair point; they are a bit too few and far between for my liking.”

“Perhaps you should keep your experimenting away from the culinary arts, then,” Valerie commented.

“Ah, but then we would not have these delicious pancakes!”

The conversation continued from there, moving away from pancakes and towards other dishes that Blaine had made – or attempted to make and failed miserably at.

“I still remember when you put starch in those cookies,” Crystal said. “It was hard enough to scratch Magcargo’s shell, I remember.”

Blaine groaned and dropped his head into his hands. “That was years ago, Crystal! I am a changed man!”

Valerie laughed. “You should realize that sometimes the failures are more memorable than the successes, my friend!”

That got another round of laughs from the table. The sound made Crystal smile; it was a nice sound to have in the morning. She hoped that the good feeling here would carry over into the rest of the day.

Still….

Her smile dropped a little. “We haven’t heard about anything Team Flare’s doing yet, have we? I’d think that, after yesterday, they might be shaken up for at least a little while….”

The question brought sobering expressions to the others.

“Nothing yet,” Valerie replied. “I have asked the other Gym Leaders to tell us if they hear anything, and it seems as though Grant has finally come around to realizing that Team Flare is far more than just the troublemakers that he took them to be originally.”

“Good.” Crystal nodded. “Grant really worried me after I told him what happened in Ambrette town with the scientists who study the region’s fossils.”

“So, that’s where they are, eh?” Blaine stroked his chin. “I’ll have to pay a visit there when Team Flare is no longer a problem. I’d like to see how well they’re coming along. I assume your friend Borealis came from there?”

Crystal nodded.

“Well, then that’s something I will have to thank them for. He’s been quite the interesting fellow.” Blaine chuckled. “I believe he is close to evolving as well, and if I know my fossils well, he won’t be able to fit inside buildings as well as he currently can when he evolves. Aurorus are said to be very, very large Pokémon.”

Borealis looked up from his breakfast, from where he was sitting behind Crystal. “I’m gonna get big?”

“Sounds like it.” Crystal glanced back at him with a smile. “Do you think you’re ready for it?”

Borealis frowned and tilted his head. “Well…I dunno. Maybe? It feels like my legs are shorter than I want them to be right now, so…maybe getting bigger will help?”

“Sounds like he’s ready to evolve, all right,” Samuel remarked. “Don’t worry buddy; you’re gonna be fine.” He looked over at Rummy, who was stuffing himself with pancakes. “What about you? Or is that what you’re gonna look like from now on?”

“Oh, I’ve got one more evolution left in me,” Rummy replied cheerily. “I think it’s close, too, but I dunno how close. I’m gonna be a lot stronger when I evolve, though, that’s for sure! And then those Team Flare guys will be in a lot more trouble!” He laughed, then stuffed his face again with another pancake. “I gotta say, I’m loving your experiments if they all come out like this, Blaine. And maybe those cookies’ll be good for some Rock-Types or something.”

Blaine gave a crooked, sheepish smile. “Perhaps. I wouldn’t count on it, though.”

Breakfast was quickly wrapped up after that, and Valerie took the dishes away and insisted on being the one to clean up her own kitchen.

“You have a journey ahead of you,” Valerie said. “Olympia is expecting you in Anistar City; travel east from Laverre, and you should be able to find it on the other side of a snow-covered plain. She asked that you travel quickly, as well.”

“Travel quickly?” Crystal frowned. “Does that mean that…that there are parts of Team Flare that are still moving around and doing things?”

“We stopped Team Magnus from doing a bunch of things, and they still moved forward with their plans,” Richie pointed out.

“We didn’t stop them from taking the orbs,” Amy muttered from where she stood between Richie and Samuel. “That was where it really counted.”

“But we got Rayquaza, so it turned out fine.” Samuel waved a paw in the Azumaril’s direction. “We’ll just have to be faster this time, that’s all.”

“Something tells me that’s easier said than done,” Sawyer said. He was perched on Samuel’s head this time, and he looked a little worried.

Crystal nodded in agreement. “We don’t know Kalos very well, just like we didn’t know Hoenn. Having Olympia willing to guide us on where to go next is definitely our best course of action right now.”

“Agreed.” Blaine tapped the PokeBalls on his belt, and his Pokémon returned to them. Magmar, Arcanine, and Rapidash were the only three along for the ride this time, but they seemed to be the only ones that Blaine really needed at the moment. “If we want to beat them before they can succeed even in part, then we are going to need to move quickly.”

“Then let’s go!” Frieda almost jumped towards the front door, the fur in her ears shooting off sparks as she went. “If we want to keep them from doing who knows what, then we have to find what they want to find first!”

“I think I have an idea as to where to look, but I expect you to stay close to the rest of us!” Blaine shouted after the Delphox.

Frieda stopped just short of leaving the dining space. She turned and looked back at Blaine with a curious expression. “You – really?”

“I spoke with Valerie about it last night,” Blaine explained. “She said there is a legend about where Yveltal may be sleeping, and it seems he decided to rest nearby.” He started to move towards the front door himself. “Come on; it isn’t very far, as far as we are aware.”

Crystal exchanged wide-eyed looks with her team, and they quickly moved to follow after Blaine before he could leave Valerie’s home and leave them behind.

“She knew where Yveltal is sleeping?” Crystal asked as they left Valerie’s home behind. She thought she saw a familiar white flower sitting in the Gym Leader’s garden, but she didn’t stop to see for certain if it was Lily watching them go.

“Not knew so much as heard rumors about,” Blaine replied. “A Legendary’s resting place isn’t something to speak about in day-to-day business, after all. Otherwise they would be constantly disturbed by Trainers seeking to challenge them to battles, and I think that would upset the balance that Yveltal and Xerneas currently have. It’s also why most Trainers don’t ever get to know that Articuno ever nested in the Seafoam Islands. If they only know it as the place where I keep my gym, then all the better for her, and she will never be disturbed by those ruffians.”

Crystal frowned slightly, then nodded. “Yeah, I can see how that could be a problem. But if Valerie’s the local Gym Leader, wouldn’t she have something more concrete than rumors?”

“I think that would depend on how old the rumors are,” Blaine reminded her. “Yveltal has been asleep for a long time, after all. If he did have anyone protecting his resting place, the chance that their descendants would know why might become twisted, depending on how long he is asleep for.”

Crystal frowned. “Oh. I…I think I see, yeah.” She looked up as they reached the eastern exit from the town, tilting her head in thought. “So, how far away from Laverre is his supposed resting place?”

“Not all that far. Apparently, there are some ruins nearby, as well as an abandoned hotel. Valerie said that Yveltal’s resting place is somewhere around there.”

The other side of the gate led out into an autumnal landscape, catching Crystal by surprise. Large piles of orange leaves covered the path ahead of them, and instead of a healthy green, the tall grass that lined the sides of the road and occasionally grew over it was more of a dying yellow.

“What in…” Crystal looked around in confusion.

“We are further to the north than the previous routes,” Blaine remarked. “But there is something about the land here that points to it being the area of Yveltal’s resting place. Valerie said it is constantly locked in autumnal weather, only briefly moving through the other parts of the seasons before coming back to autumn.”

“Sounds like it’s gotta be rough on the Pokémon here,” Richie remarked.

“It’s cooler, so I don’t think it’s so bad.” Borealis stretched his neck and closed his eyes. “Feels kinda nice, actually.”

“Nice for you, maybe,” Samuel muttered.

“I dunno what to think about it.” Sawyer flew around the group, frowning at the route ahead of them. “I mean, I think I’ll be okay? But we Bug-Types aren’t exactly known to be resistant against the cold.”

“If it gets too cold, your PokeBall is always an option,” Crystal told him. “And that goes for the rest of you, too.”

“I may take you up on that offer,” Samuel muttered.

Amy elbowed him. “You could use some endurance training if you’re thinking like that. Come on; let’s go find some Pokémon to challenge. There might be some Trainers along the way; could do us all some good.”

Samuel muttered something that sounded like a series of curses, but Crystal didn’t pay any attention to that. She turned her attention to Blaine instead.

“How far do we need to go, do you think?” Crystal asked.

“Let’s at least locate the abandoned hotel that Valerie spoke of, first,” Blaine replied. “She suggested using it as a landmark to get our bearings, before we find Yveltal himself.”

Crystal frowned a little at that, then nodded. “Well, okay. Lead the way.”

Blaine nodded back to her, then started walking forward. Crystal followed right on his heels, and her team followed after her.

“What do you think we’re going to do when we find Yveltal?” Richie asked. “I don’t think waking him up just to tell him Team Flare’s coming would be a very good idea.”

“I definitely don’t want to,” Crystal agreed. “I think our best plan is to tell the Pokémon in the area to keep an eye on him and warn them about what Team Flare has been doing. If they know that Team Flare is looking to capture Yveltal, they might be able to at least slow them down, and at best stop them from taking the Legendary.”

“It is certainly better than leaving him alone for someone else to stumble across him,” Blaine agreed. “I doubt that his resting place is far – I recall Valerie saying that it was a short distance from a river, and not far from the ruined village. We should be coming up on that area soon.”

“If we don’t run into anything in these leaf piles.” Samuel kicked one of the piles of orange-yellow leaves just off the path.

A yelp of pain came from inside the pile, and a man wearing a red Ranger uniform rolled out. “Hey, now! That hurt!”

Samuel jumped back in surprise. “I didn’t know there was a—”

“Sorry!” Crystal exclaimed over Samuel’s stuttering. “None of us knew there were people hiding in leaf piles out here.” She looked sheepish on her Breloom’s behalf.

The Ranger grunted, then forced himself into an upright position. “It’s all right. I probably should’ve expected something like that.” He laughed, then winced; Samuel had apparently landed a kick to his ribs. “There are a few more of us hiding in piles scattered around the route, so be careful what piles you walk through, all right?”

“We will keep that in mind,” Blaine promised. “In the meantime – have you seen anyone strange on the routes this morning? Say, someone wearing a garish red suit?”

“Red suit?” The Ranger scratched his head and frowned. “Can’t say I have, no. Others might’ve though, but they’re planning on ambushing Trainers today. You might be able to convince them to give you some information if you get a battle out of them, first.”

“Why would they want to battle us before we can ask them for information, though?” Sawyer asked with a frown. “That makes no sense.”

“It could be a training day for them,” Crystal suggested. “And I don’t think it’d hurt the rest of you to get some training in, either. Come on; let’s go see what we can find out.”

The Rangers were indeed in a fighting mood that morning; most of them threw their PokeBalls at Crystal and her team first and sheepishly answered questions later. One of them almost tried to catch Rummy, but Richie batted the PokeBall away before it could so much as land.

Eventually, they did get a few answers out of the Rangers – that there hadn’t been any Team Flare members walking around that morning, which was a relief for Crystal, and that there was an area to the north that was much closer to winter than autumn, but most Rangers had thought the area to be off-limits because a strong Pokémon was said to sleep there and wasn’t to be disturbed.

“Sounds like that’s the place.” Samuel looked over at Frieda, who nodded.

“I hope we don’t wake up him,” Frieda said worriedly. “He doesn’t sound like he’d be very nice if he’s woken up early.”

“If we’re very quiet and very careful, we won’t,” Blaine told the Delphox. “We will just see that he is there, and leave him be. Nothing more than that.”

Frieda frowned, looking worried and concerned, but she nodded. “Okay.”

“Do you think he’s like a fossil, because he’s been asleep for a long time?” Borealis asked. He was out, because the weather was cooler, but he’d been starting to trip over his own feet a little more. “The scientists in Ambrette talked a lot about how they had revived me, and being revived is a lot like being woken up, so…”

Crystal hummed at the question. “Sounds about right to me. He’s probably more of a living fossil, though.”

The Ranger they were talking in front of looked back and forth between Crystal, Blaine, and the Pokémon around them. “Wait – you can understand Pokémon? I was only able to catch half of what they were saying, at best.”

“I can only understand Fire-Types well,” Blaine replied. “But Crystal has a knack for all of them.” He chuckled. “You will learn how to understand them as well as we soon enough. It took me years and a great bond with my own Pokémon before I was able to understand Pokémon beyond my own team.”

The Ranger tilted his head, then nodded. “That makes sense. Thanks for that – I’ll keep working on communicating with my Pokémon, on or off missions. Good luck with what you need to do too, but please don’t mess with the wildlife. We don’t want nature to be thrown out of balance by something you could’ve done.”

“We’ll be careful,” Crystal promised. “Thanks for the help.”

The Ranger raised a hand in farewell, then stepped back into his leaf pile and disappeared into the orange-yellow leaves. Crystal and Blaine exchanged looks while Samuel shook his head at the man.

“Why they like to hide in leaves where anyone can kick them is beyond me,” Samuel muttered.

“Nothing wrong with catching people by surprise,” Crystal told him. “Come on; let’s go have a look across the bridge.”

She pointed towards the bridge in question, and then the ruined buildings beyond that. It looked like there had been something there, once, but now there were only crumbling walls and ruined tile floors.

“What do you think was here before?” Sawyer flew across the bridge ahead of the group, stopping on the other side of the bridge as the others followed after him. “I haven’t seen human buildings like this before.”

“It looks like they were abandoned and fell into ruin a long time ago,” Crystal replied.

“We wouldn’t be able to tell you how long ago, though,” Blaine remarked. “Maybe there is an archeologist in the area somewhere who can tell us something, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Oh.” Sawyer tilted his head, then nodded. “That makes sense. So, where does Yveltal sleep again?”

Crystal pointed towards the north, leading deeper into the woods around the path. “He’s somewhere up there, I think. According to what the Rangers know, anyway.”

“And it certainly fits with what Valerie knew,” Blaine agreed. “Let’s go have a look and see if we can find where Yveltal is currently resting.”

Blaine walked up towards the trees on the edge of the path. Crystal and her team started after him, keeping close to each other as they started working their way around the trunks. Every step kicked up autumnal leaves, and it wasn’t long before the color of the leaves started to change from bright orange-yellow to a more dead brown.

Crystal tried not to feel dread at the sight of the change in color, and instead focused on what was ahead. “I hope he’s still asleep. If he’s asleep, then we can ask the local Pokémon to help defend him. If he’s awake, we’ll just…have to count on him to defend himself and not do anything drastic against Team Flare. While I don’t want him to be caught, I don’t think I want him to bring his power to bear against all of them, either.”

“I can’t say that I am fond of that idea,” Blaine agreed.

“But the best we can hope for then would be that Team Flare would leave them very much alone.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. Behind and around them, her team expressed agreement.

“If he is awake and see us, then I hope he’s not going to try and do anything to us,” Frieda said.

“We’ll be fine,” Rummy remarked. “If push comes to shove, Crystal can make a wall and we can run, then get back to Laverre and pull together some help if Yveltal decides he wants to take us all out!”

The Duosion’s comment got a dry look from Richie at that.

“What?”

“Don’t jinx us,” Richie said flatly. “You could make things worse than they are already with talking like that.”

Rummy blinked, then shook himself and shrugged. “Fine, fine. Have it your way.”

Crystal offered a small smile at the conversation, then shook her head and refocused on what lay ahead of them. The smile on her face started to slowly drop as they stepped through the trees, however.

“Blaine…?” Crystal asked cautiously. “Why does it look like the trees are all bleached up ahead? Is that what a dead tree looks like?”

“Dead trees look as most trees do in winter,” Blaine replied with a frown. “Brown trunks, no leaves, and some of them with fungi growing up their sides. This is…this isn’t natural.”

Blaine’s words only sent a chill down Crystal’s spine as they crossed from the brown trees with the brown fallen leaves, to clear ground and bone-white trees that didn’t look natural in the least.

“I don’t like the feel of this,” Esmeralda announced. “There’s something in the air here that says it should not be taken lightly. We should proceed with caution.”

“Agreed.” Blaine reached for his PokeBalls, but he didn’t do anything more than that. “Let’s have a look around, but be cautious. We don’t know what could be lurking in the trees around here.”

“Right.” Crystal nodded, as did her team.

As they continued to step through the trees, Crystal’s ears flicked and twitched constantly. Other than the sound of the dirt crunching under their feet, she wasn’t picking up the sound of anything else. She wasn’t sure what to think of that, but she did know that it made her feel more and more unnerved.

“It’s like the entire land is dead,” Samuel said. “I’m not picking up anything from the ground that I could absorb for food. Or anything else.”

“There is nothing living in these trees,” Esmeralda said. Her tail flicked back and forth, picking up speed as they continued to walk. “Is this what happens in the places where Yveltal sleeps? Will the entire route look like this by the time he awakens?”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Crystal said nervously.

Blaine stopped walking abruptly, and Crystal bumped into his back since she wasn’t paying attention.

“Blaine…?” Crystal looked up in confusion.

“It seems we won’t have to wait for long to find out when Yveltal awakens,” Blaine said. “Look.”

Crystal looked around Blaine as her team came up behind them. Her eyes widened a moment later.

“What….”

The clearing beyond the dead, bleached trees looked like it had been torn apart. Large gouges had been cut into the earth. Bleached trees were scattered around, fallen over and turned into kindling and powder that Crystal knew could not be used as firewood.

There was a circular depression in the middle of the clearing, but whatever it was that was there had disappeared.

Crystal sucked in a breath sharply. “Oh, no…”

Blaine strode into the clearing and looked around, frowning. “It looks like we came here too late. These are the signs of battle here, and it looks like they were very recent.” He turned and looked back at Crystal. “Team Flare has likely already been here. If Yveltal is no longer here, much less in the area, then he was either awoken by them and fled, or….”

Crystal shook her head slowly, not wanting to think about what exactly that meant. But at the same time….

“Well, at least we don’t have to fight him now,” Rummy remarked. He got elbowed by Richie for his trouble.

“What do we do now?” Borealis asked. “If Team Flare did wake up Yveltal, wouldn’t that mean Xerneas has to wake up, too? To keep the balance?”

“There is a chance of that,” Blaine replied. “But we won’t know for certain unless we can find where Xerneas sleeps – or slept – before Team Flare does.” He turned to face the rest of the group. “Let’s keep moving to the next town. We have one stop before we can reach Anistar City, according to the map. I have little doubt that Olympia will be able to offer assistance in that.”

Crystal’s tail flicked back and forth, but she nodded. “Yeah. Right. Let’s move – and fast.”

Chapter Text

Crystal wanted to run the rest of the route and get to the next town as quickly as possible, but she wasn’t about to leave her team or Blaine behind. It meant she was constantly flitting forward and back, trying to urge them forward more quickly.

Blaine sighed heavily. “I understand your concern and your panic, Crystal, but how much do you expect us to be able to do?”

“I don’t know,” Crystal replied. She paced back and forth from ahead of them to back in step with them. “Other than moving faster, maybe, but I don’t want to force you to walk faster than you already are. I don’t want to push you, Blaine.”

“And I appreciate that,” Blaine replied, “but your pacing is making me a little more nervous than I already am at Yveltal’s disappearance.”

He rested a hand on Crystal’s shoulder, keeping her from walking ahead of the group again. “Calm down. I doubt that the other Legendary Pokémon are going to allow Yveltal to be held. Remember, Valerie said that Zygarde has eyes and ears everywhere. I would not be surprised if he’s reached out and prepared defenses around Xerneas already, or maybe even woken him up to warn him and keep things in balance, if Yveltal is truly awake.”

Crystal frowned at the statement. “But…”

“Legendary Pokémon are creatures that have been alive for a long time, Crystal. I would not be surprised if they have dealt with situations like this before, and know how to handle themselves against humans seeking to use their power.” Blaine smiled a little. “It’s why the Legendary Birds of Kanto test the Trainers who come across them, if you remember. Red was tested by them, after all.”

Crystal’s frown relaxed, and she nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s – you’re right.” She breathed in and out a couple times, trying to force her nerves down to something that was a little more manageable and a little less wild. “It’s just – after Team Magnus, I can’t help but worry. I mean, they got to Kyogre and Groudon, and Rayquaza wasn’t able to help until it was almost too late. I don’t want to see that happen again – or something worse than that, even.”

Blaine nodded in agreement. “Let’s not tire ourselves out getting to where we need to go, then. Pacing ourselves is far better than rushing forward into a danger we don’t know the details of yet.”

Crystal couldn’t help but feel like she needed that reminder, and she nodded. “Right. Yeah. Okay.”

They ran into more Trainers and wild Pokémon as they walked further along the route. There were a lot of floating pumpkin-shaped Pokémon around of varying sizes, but Crystal’s concern about Yveltal and Team Flare kept her distracted form really commenting on how a single species of Pokémon could be that naturally diverse with its size.

She didn’t think her team would notice until they reached the large, abandoned building on the side of the road.

“Looks kinda haunted,” Samuel remarked. “What do you think, Amy? Are we gonna run into any ghosts in there?”

“If there are any, there better not be any Shuppets,” Amy muttered. “I’ve had more than enough problems with those.”

Richie hummed in agreement, looking amused. He offered a glance at Crystal, worry flickering across his face before he looked back at the building. “If there are any Ghost-Types, I don’t think we’re going to have any problems with them. Not with our team as it is.”

Something rattled near the front doors of the building, and a floating key ring popped out of the bushes.

“If you’re looking for Ghost-Types, look in the trash cans,” the key ring said cheerily. “Rotom like to hide in there sometimes, but you’re more likely to find Trubbish most of the week. They’re really stinky, though.”

Crystal almost jumped in surprise when the key ring spoke. “A – are you a Ghost-Type? Possessing a bunch of keys?”

The key ring jingled as the keys shook and clacked together, and the Pokémon laughed. “No, I’m a Steel-Type! And Fairy-Type! I’m a Klefki – call me Lockpick! I know my way in and out of this old human hotel really well, so if you want a tour and want to make some new friends, I can help! I can even unlock locked doors for you, since all my keys are from the hotel! Except for these, though.”

Lockpick swung her ring, causing the keys to jingle together again as what looked like a set of metal rods of varying lengths separated themselves from the rest. “Someone left these sitting around, so I picked them up! They’re very handy when I’m trying to get into places that I don’t have keys for. I think it’s why the humans around here call me Lockpick, but I’m not entirely sure why.”

“I think those are lockpicking tools,” Blaine said in amazement. “That Pokémon must’ve picked them up when a robber dropped them, but why would someone like that try breaking into an old building like this?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, old-timer!” Lockpick replied cheerily.

“Sounds like Lockpick doesn’t know where they came from really, either.” Crystal reached into her backpack and pulled out her PokeDex. “When Professor Sycamore was talking to me about the Fairy-Types that live in Kalos, he never told me about one that is part Steel. Let me see….”

It didn’t take Crystal long to find the entry that she was looking for. “Klefki, the Key Ring Pokémon. These Steel and Fairy-Type Pokémon are known to absorb metal iron through the horn on top of its head, and they used to live in mines until the minerals were depleted. After that, they started appearing near human settlements and became avid key collectors. Wild Klefki will sneak into people’s homes and steal keys, and caught ones are often given keys to safes and important locations for safe-keeping. As a result, the horns on their heads came to look like keys. When threatened, Klefki will jangle their keys fiercely in order to ward off attackers.”

“Wow, that was a lot,” Samuel remarked, peering over Crystal’s shoulder. “Sounds like these guys have been around for a while.”

“I don’t know about eating metals from the earth, but some of my keys have looked rather tasty sometimes,” Lockpick said thoughtfully.

“If they look tasty, then you could probably eat them, so long as they’re the right kind of metals,” Crystal remarked as she put her PokeDex away. “But then your key collection would get smaller, and I don’t know if you’d like that very much.”

“Oh, definitely not.” Lockpick shuddered, her keys jangling together.

Blaine chuckled. “Well, I’m sure there are alternatives around here besides just eating keys that you like.” He tilted his head in thought. “Would you like to show us around? We’re making our way to the next town, but I think Crystal needs a little distraction at the moment.”

“A—” Crystal turned sharply. “Blaine! We need to move because we don’t know what Team Flare is doing! Why would we—”

“Because you are clearly stressed, and making yourself even more stressed by trying to reach Olympia as quickly as possible is not going to do you any favors.” Blaine raised his eyebrows at Crystal. “Just – trust me. A little diversion will do you some good. Just this once.”

Crystal frowned at his words, not wanting to say yes to them. “But if we dawdle, then Team Flare could do who knows what before we catch up to them. I don’t want to give them any more advantages than they probably have already.”

“Then we won’t,” Blaine replied. “But only after you have taken some time to regain some emotional control. Stress will do you more harm than good – believe me, I am more than aware of the consequences of that.”

Crystal frowned at Blaine. “But—”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Richie spoke up. “We haven’t had a lot of time to really explore the region. It kinda feels like we’ve been rushing from one place to the next, without really stopping to see what Kalos has to offer. We spent a lot more time in each of the towns in Hoenn than we have in the towns in Kalos.”

“I don’t like the idea of sitting around much, either,” Samuel spoke up. “But Blaine’s right. Stress isn’t gonna help us when we get back to fighting Team Flare again. We could end up making mistakes or something, and that would be bad. We could end up making mistakes that would let them win.”

Esmeralda tapped her tail against Crystal’s leg. “While reaching them is important, so is taking a moment to breathe. Trust us, Crystal, this will do you more good than harm.”

“Exactly,” Blaine said.

“I won’t pretend to know what’s going on, but if you’re stressed out, then a break is definitely a good idea!” Lockpick agreed. “Oh! How about I show you around some of my favorite places in the hotel? There are a few odd-looking humans who like to hide out in here, too, so maybe they’d be up for a battle while we’re at it!”

Crystal’s frown started to look more and more focused and concerned as she looked around at the group standing around her. They were looking back at her with varying looks of concern and determined annoyance, in the case of Amy.

“They’ve got a point,” Amy said. “A break will do us all some good. We need a breather before we can keep going.”

“Think of it like we’re spending a day in Lavaridge or something,” Samuel suggested. “Come on. Let’s let the kid show us around.”

Lockpick laughed, her keys jangling together. “Oh, I’m no kid, but I appreciate the fact that you’re calling me young. Please – follow me! Let me show you what the Lost Hotel looks like on the inside!”

“Lost Hotel?” Esmeralda repeated.

“Uh-huh! It’s what the humans call it.” Lockpick floated towards the front door of the abandoned building, which was part-way open. The doorknob looked like it had been torn off at some point. “Come on! There’s lots of secrets in here.”

“Well, if our little tour guide wants to show us around, I don’t see why we can’t have a look around,” Blaine remarked. He started for the half-open door.

Richie nudged Crystal from behind. “Come on. Let’s go have a look.” He strode towards the door himself. The rest of her team started to follow after him, offering her encouraging looks as they passed by.

Crystal sighed as her team started to leave her behind, and she moved in order to keep up with them. “All right, all right. If you guys are so insistent on it, I’ll come along.”

Richie offered her a smile as she moved quickly to catch up to everyone else at the front door.

The inside of the Lost Hotel was dimly lit, with flickering lights in the ceiling that weren’t holding their power very well. Crystal saw what looked like the faint shadows of invisible Pokémon moving along the floors and walls, and some humans standing in the shadows between the dim lights and broken windows.

“Here we are!” Lockpick said cheerily. “Home sweet home. Let me show you around – and maybe get you into a few fights.” She laughed, her keys jangling together. “Come on! There’s lots of fun stuff to see. And I think some of my friends will be glad to see some new faces, too!”

“Friends?” Crystal repeated.

One of the humans turned his head, and Crystal caught sight of spiky blue hair. “Hm? Oh, hey! Looks like we’ve got some guests!” He stepped into the light, grinning as he reached for a PokeBall. “And Lockpick’s taken a shine to you too, huh? Wanna have a battle to pass the time while it gets some of these old rooms open? I’d love to have a look around and see if there’s anything we haven’t taken from here yet.”

Samuel stepped forward and slammed his front paws together. “Up for a fight, are you? Bring it on!”

Crystal hung back and let Samuel handle the battle by himself, rather than offer her own advice and help. As much as she wanted to offer her help as a Trainer, her mind wasn’t on the battle and was completely elsewhere.

Besides, Samuel could handle himself more than well enough; the punk’s Trubbish went down in a few hits before he could so much as release a Toxic in Samuel’s direction.

The punk whistled as he returned his Pokémon. “Not bad, not bad. Especially since you know how to fight without your Trainer sayin’ a word! She looks a little out of it, though, buddy – do you wanna come with me instead?”

Crystal’s head shot up in alarm as Samuel looked back at her. He looked back at the grunt, shook his head, and moved closer to Crystal.

The punk’s shoulders sagged. “Ah, that’s a real shame. You don’t get to meet strong Pokémon like you every day.”

“You could train your own,” Blaine pointed out.

“Do I look like I have the time, old man? I’m out here because there’s a server in the basement and the Rotom keep trying to mess with it. If they managed to actually get into them, a part of the PC network in Kalos would go down before you could say ‘possessed.’” The Trainer snapped his ringers, as though to mimic that sudden change in the servers. “Believe me, if we could catch them all and ship them out, we would, but they breed like Bunnelbys and more are coming in all the time.”

“That does sound like an issue,” Blaine remarked. “You might want to look into grounding materials, or look into getting generators that Rotom aren’t interested in might prove useful. If it’s the Pokémon in the servers that are attracting their attention, then I’m afraid that I wouldn’t know as much about your situation.”

The punk looked up at Blaine with a surprised expression. “Uh….what, you some kinda engineer or something?”

“Biologist, formerly,” Blaine admitted. “I know a little about Rotom, but not enough to make more than an educated guess.”

“Huh.” The punk eyed him for a long moment, then glanced at Crystal for a moment. “I’ll bring it up with the boss and see what he has to say about that. Thanks.”

Blaine nodded back. “Happy to help.”

The punk nodded back to him, then looked at Crystal. “You look super stressed, kid. I’d recommend taking a second to breathe before you get into another battle, y’know? Wouldn’t do your team any good if you’re head’s in the clouds and their feet are on the ground.”

Crystal blinked at the statement. “Ah—”

“Just keep that in mind.” The punk offered a wry grin, then nodded to Lockpick. “Show ‘em the good places, yeah? Give them a nice distraction today.”

“You bet!” the Klefki replied cheerily. “Come on, everyone! Let me show you some of the good rooms.”

Lockpick turned and bobbed off towards one of the doors that lined the hallways. It looked like it had been wedged shut at some point in the past.

Esmeralda nudged Crystal’s legs. “It’s all right to be nervous, Crystal, but you should know that we won’t work at our best when you are not at your best. Everything will turn out all right in the end. We just need to work together and remain calm and confident. Being panicked and quick on our feet is not the combination that we need right now.”

Crystal frowned. “I-I know, but—”

“You should have confidence in us too, you know,” Richie added as Lockpick started to stick one of her keys into the door’s lock. “We handled ourselves before, even when it seemed like it was almost too late. We can do that again.”

“I-I know, I just…” Crystal sighed and shook her head. “I just don’t want what almost happened before to almost happen again, you know?”

Richie nodded in response. “I know. But we’re gonna do what we can, and I don’t think any of us could ask for more than that.”

Something clicked, and Lockpick whistled. “We can open the door now! I’m gonna need one of you to do it, though. I don’t have hands like you humans do!” She laughed. “I think you’re gonna like what’s behind door number one!”

Crystal exchanged looks with her team, still nervous and cautious.

Blaine, on the other hand, clapped his hands together. “All right, then. Let’s see what it is the little one wants us to see.”

Blaine walked over to the door and waited for Lockpick to move away before he rested a hand on the handle. He didn’t look down at the Fairy/Steel-Type as her keys jangled, but Crystal’s tail flicked when she picked up something from Lockpick.

It felt almost like…amusement?

Blaine turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Immediately, they were met with the screeching laughter of Pokémon as a wall of mist collapsed out of the room and poured into the hallway like some semi-solid mass.

Crystal jumped up as the mist settled around her legs; she hovered a short distance above it, shaking out her feet. “That feels cold!”

Lockpick gasped. “Oh! You can fly! I didn’t know humans could do that!”

“Crystal is a little more than human.” Esmeralda raised her head in order to keep it above the mist. She looked a little annoyed, but not annoyed enough to start sending out Psybeams at wherever the mist was coming from. “Not all humans have ears and tails, after all.”

“Well, I saw that, but I didn’t think they meant anything!” Lockpick flew around, her keys jangling together as she shook rapidly. “I’ve never seen a human that was half Pokémon before!”

“You’re hanging around humans all the time!” Samuel yelled. “You didn’t hear about Crystal becoming the Champion in Hoenn last year?”

“The what of where now?”

“Hey, Lockpick! Who’s the new guys?” A head stuck out from the mist-filled room, dark purple with pointed ears and a wide grin that took up most of the Pokémon’s body. “I’m hearing something about a half-Pokémon?”

“Hey, Gengar!” Lockpick greeted. “Look! A human that can fly!” She jangled her keys at Crystal.

“I’m hovering, technically,” Crystal corrected. She looked down as the mist slowly dissipated, and she carefully lowered herself to stand on the floor again. “I can’t fly for very long distances yet, like my big sister, but I’m getting there. Kinda.”

“A hovering human?” The Gengar stepped out of the room and into the hall. A pair of gaseous forms peered out from the room, staring with curious expressions. “Can’t say I’ve heard of people like that before. Hovering Pokémon, sure, we can do that all the time. But hovering humans…that can bring around all sorts of pranks if you decide you’re up to it.”

Crystal eyed Gengar’s wide grin, then glanced at the hotel room and watched the pair of Ghastly that were grinning at her. “I’m not…not really one for pranks, to be honest.”

Well, it’s never too early to learn,” Gengar replied. “What’s your name, kid? Not every day I meet a human who can talk to Pokémon.”

Crystal’s tail flicked while Lockpick looked between Crystal and Blaine.

“Waaait. You mean the old guy doesn’t know a word of what I’m saying?” Lockpick bobbed towards Blaine.

“Blaine can pick up what we are saying based on what he sees and hears from those he can understand,” Esmeralda explained. “He is far more comfortable with Fire-Types than anything else.”

“I should introduce you to some Litwick buddies,” Gengar remarked. “I bet they’d get a kick out of this guy.” He chuckled. “So, what’s your name?” He nodded to Crystal again.

Crystal’s tail flicked again. “I’m…my name’s Crystal.”

“Crystal, Crystal.” Gengar rolled the name around in his mouth. “Not a bad name. It’s one I’d expect from a Pokémon, but I guess humans come in all sorts.”

He nodded after a moment. “So, Lockpick thinks you need to loosen up, huh? It’s the only reason she’d think to unlock this door.” He leaned against the door behind them, smirking thoughtfully. “What’s going on that’s got you so stressed? I’ve been hearing things from the Pumpkaboo in the area that something’s been off since this morning. Your Pokémon instincts picking up on that, too?”

“I think we know a little bit more about what’s going on than the local Pokémon,” Crystal said.

“There’s a group of people who are trying to do something with Yveltal, we think,” Richie explained. “There was a battle near his resting place; we saw the remains of it this morning.”

Gengar’s grin dropped immediately. “Oh. Oh, no.”

“What’s so dangerous about that?” one of the Ghastly asked. “Papa?”

“Yveltal’s just a giant sleeping Pokémon, isn’t he?” the second one added. “He’s not supposed to wake up anytime soon, is he?”

“Supposed to doesn’t mean he won’t wake up early,” Gengar replied. He looked around at Crystal and her other companions. “Without Yveltal around to keep an eye on things, Ghost-Types are gonna start having a hard time. According to legend, a lot of the older ones formed three thousand years ago, when Yveltal was awake when he was supposed to be asleep.” He frowned. “Sounds like we might have a similar problem on our hands soon.”

“Which is why I’m so worried,” Crystal said. “I don’t want anything bad to happen, but we weren’t able to stop Team Flare from taking Yveltal. At this rate, we may never be able to properly catch up with them.”

“The worry’s wound her up tight like a spring,” Frieda added. “And we want to stop them – we do – but it’s not like we know exactly where they are right at this moment.”

“Which is a part of the reason why we’re here,” Blaine said. “We didn’t mean to cause any alarm.”

Of course Blaine would only speak up now that Frieda had raised her voice, but he had been watching Gengar’s expressions and the reactions of everyone else.

“Oh dear,” Lockpick said worriedly. “Sorry, Gengar, I didn’t—”

“It’s fine.” Gengar waved her off. “We were gonna learn about Yvetal waking up sooner or later. I’m just glad we learned about it now and not when he got mixed up in whatever the humans are doing.” He looked Crystal up and down, a frown forming on his face as he did. “So, you’re intent on stopping these Team Flare humans, huh? Sounds like you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.”

Crystal nodded. “I – yeah, I guess so.”

“We want to remind her that she can’t let her stress overtake her,” Esmeralda remarked.

“Well, now that I’m stressed, I don’t think I can do much to help,” Gengar admitted. He tapped his chin in thought, looking over the group. “Hm. How about you spend some time wandering around the hotel having a look at the place? I’m pretty sure you can see what we Pokémon can do with the ruins of human ingenuity.” He motioned to the rest of the hall. “Just walk around and don’t think about Yveltal.”

“But—”

“Let me finish.” Gengar held up a hand. “I’m not saying that humans are stupid and disaster-prone, but I am saying that we can rebuild after things are abandoned and left in disrepair. Humans can, too, otherwise those punks wouldn’t be building technology thingamajigs in the basement.” He laughed. “So yeah – go have a look around. Relax. Sure you know what you’re doing and plan on stopping them, but you should know it won’t be the end of the world if you don’t. Probably.”

Crystal didn’t know if she wanted to think about what Team Flare wanted with Yveltal and how that could end up ending the world regardless, but she nodded anyway.

“Good!” Gengar clapped his hands together. “I can see you don’t want to be distracted, but you need to be distracted anyway. Give them the fun tour, Lockpick – hopefully our new friend’ll loosen up by the end of it, yeah?”

“Sure!” Lockpick replied cheerily. “I can absolutely do that, no problem.”

The Klefki then moved to bob down the hallway to another room, keys already moving in preparation to unlock the one she had in mind.

“Go on,” Gengar said to Crystal with a grin. “Loosen up. Being tight like a spring won’t do you any good in the long run, believe me.”

Crystal blinked at the Gengar, who simply offered her a grin in response before stepping back into his room and closing the door behind him.

Chapter Text

By the end of Lockpick’s tour of the Lost Hotel, Crystal definitely wasn’t as focused on their end goals as she has been at the start. That didn’t mean she’d completely lost her focus, but she wasn’t stressing herself out about not finding a solution to the problem quickly, either.

Running into a lot of Ghost-Types who tried to get her to calm down apparently had a positive effect on the worrying Trainer.

“Feeling better?” Richie asked as they stepped out of the hotel.

“A little,” Crystal admitted. “But not a whole lot. I still want to stop Team Flare from doing something stupid with Yveltal.”

“And we will,” Blaine told her. “And not just us, either – I doubt that the rest of the region is going to stand for what they are attempting, especially if the Gym Leaders are aware of it.” He looked up at the afternoon sun, slowly setting towards the horizon. “Let’s get to the next town and spend the night there; we should be able to reach Anistar by tomorrow evening, I suspect.”

“Sounds good to me.”

It really didn’t – Crystal would fly herself all the way to Anistar if she could – but she knew she wasn’t going to get far when she had her team and Blaine to think about. While she could return her team to their PokeBalls in order to fly, she couldn’t do the same for Blaine, and she didn’t think she’d be able to carry him there the whole way, either. And that wasn’t even touching on the problem of not knowing the terrain of Kalos very well. If she tried to fly to Anistar and got caught in something natural that she wasn’t prepared for, it likely wouldn’t end very well for her.

These thoughts circled around in Crystal’s head a few times as they finished making the journey from the Lost Hotel to the next town.

“Well, this is a quaint little town,” Blaine remarked. “A bit cold for my tastes, but I suppose that’s what happens when we’re this far north. Kanto is certainly never this cold in winter. I wonder if this means there are going to be Ice-Types up ahead.”

Sawyer shuddered. “Oh, I don’t think I like the sound of that….”

“You don’t have to stay outside of your PokeBall if you don’t want to,” Crystal told him.

“I definitely don’t want to go back into my PokeBall,” Borealis spoke up. “This feels great. Is it gonna get colder? I hope it does. I haven’t felt like this before and I kinda want to feel more of it.”

Samuel groaned. “I don’t. I wanna take a nap or something with how cold it’s getting out here.”

“You can hide in your PokeBall too if you want,” Richie told him.

Samuel snorted. “Nah, I’ll stay out.”

Crystal shook her head at them, then looked around at the town in front of them. “All right, then. Let’s go to the Pokémon Center and get a couple rooms to spend the night.”

That shouldn’t be a problem, I imagine,” Blaine remarked. “I doubt very many people pass through here very often, if at all.” He pointed towards the red roof. “And there is the Pokémon Center. Let’s go say hello to Nurse Joy and see if she has any rooms available.”

Crystal followed Blaine towards the Pokémon Center, her team gathering around her with Samuel and Sawyer staying especially close for warmth. She glanced towards the north as they walked and saw piles of snow sitting around the gate leading out of the city.

Crystal frowned. “Did Yveltal’s awakening make winter come early here? Or are we just that far north?”

“I think we’re just that far north,” Blaine replied. “While Pokémon can affect the local weather patterns, I doubt that Yveltal’s influence would have spread this far.”

“Then there are a lot of natural Ice-Types in that area, then.” Crystal nodded. “I wonder if they’ve heard about any Team Flare members causing trouble in the area.”

“We can ask them tomorrow,” Blaine replied somewhat pointedly. “For now, I could do with sleeping in a proper bed. I am not that eager to go camping in the cold.”

The Pokémon Center was, thankfully, much more quiet than the center in Courmarine had been. While there were a few Trainers sitting in the cafeteria spending time with their Pokémon, it wasn’t to the point of ridiculous crowds.

After having spent the entire afternoon in an abandoned hotel with punks and Ghost-Types, Crystal felt like she had a little more room to breathe. At least a little.

Nurse Joy blinked in surprise as they walked up to the counter. “Oh! Hello – I can’t say that I was expecting newcomers today. Welcome to town. How long are you planning on staying?”

“Just for one night, hopefully,” Blaine replied. “We’re planning on going on foot to Anistar City tomorrow.”

“You’re going to Anistar?” Nurse Joy repeated. “Oh, my. I hope you’re prepared for cold weather – the route to the northeast is always covered in heavy snow, and it’s difficult to traverse without help from Pokémon.”

Crystal blinked. “Really? What makes it difficult?”

“Lots of snowfall makes the path difficult to traverse on foot. There’s someone in town who trains Mamoswine to lead people down the route, but you’ll have to wait to talk to him in the morning.”

“What’s a Mamoswine?” Sawyer asked. “It sounds big.”

“It’s a Ground and Ice-Type Pokémon,” Esmeralda explained.

Crystal let Esmeralda handle explaining to Sawyer while she kept her focus on Nurse Joy. “We’ll keep that in mind. And probably bundle up, too, if it’s supposed to be that cold. I think the only place that I’ve been in that made ice show up everywhere was the Shoal Cave in Hoenn during low tide. And the Ice Cavern in Jhoto.”

“Sounds like you have some experience, then!” Nurse Joy smiled in relief. “Good; most Trainers who aren’t from this area and travel this far north are horribly underprepared for the trek from here to Anistar.”

“We’ll make sure we’re more than prepared,” Blaine promised. “In the meantime, do you have two rooms that you would be willing to let us have for the night?”

“I do have two empty rooms that I can prepare, yes.” Nurse Joy nodded. “Do your Pokémon need to be checked over? It looks as though you’ve been in the middle of more than a few battles.”

“We did stop by that abandoned hotel and ran into a few Trainers there,” Crystal admitted.

“Ah; yes, that does make sense.” Nurse Joy nodded. “Let me look over your team and make sure they’re all fighting fit, then; it shouldn’t take too long. We recently made sure the cafeteria was stocked for dinner meals as well, so there should be something warm for you to eat there while you’re waiting.”

“Thanks.” Crystal nodded to Nurse Joy, then looked around at her team. “See you guys in a few minutes?”

“Sounds fine,” Richie replied with a nod.

-----

The next morning, Crystal and Blaine stepped out of the Pokémon Center wearing heavier coats that were more prepared for the cold weather.

Unfortunately, that meant they were prepared a little early for the cold weather.

“Is this…snow?” Crystal caught one of the white flakes that was falling from the sky. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before.”

“This is snow, yes.” Blaine didn’t bother trying to catch the flakes; he frowned up at the sky instead. “The weather forecast this morning said we were set for clear skies; what caused this sudden change?”

“There could be a Pokémon that caused it,” Amy remarked.

“Pokémon can make snow fall?” Frieda asked in surprise.

“Well, the Spheal in Hoenn could make it hail.”

“Pokémon can summon hail in the middle of battle,” Blaine remarked, not completely understanding that Amy was saying the same thing. “Snow is simply a softer version of that.”

“Ah.” Crystal nodded while Frieda tilted her head thoughtfully.

“I bet I could make it hail,” Borealis remarked. “It sounds nice, whatever it is.”

“For you, maybe,” Samuel muttered. He shuddered at the cold. “Those little balls of ice can hit hard if you’re not prepared for them.”

“I think I’m always prepared for them,” Rummy said cheerily. “Us Solosis and Duosion have abilities that keep us from getting hurt by stuff that isn’t caused by a direct attack. It’s great!”

“That is useful,” Richie said in amazement.

Rummy laughed while Crystal smiled a little. Having Rummy’s ability would be useful, but she knew she didn’t have it; she could still be poisoned, and feel the effects of that poison.

Mew weren’t exactly known for their ability to withstand status effects, after all.

“Let’s ask around and see if the locals know anything,” Blaine suggested. “They are likely more in-tune with the weather than the region’s news channel.”

Crystal nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

It didn’t take them long to find some of the locals. Most of them were confused about the weather as well, as none of the weather from yesterday had pointed to snowfall this morning, but there were a couple people near the north exit of town who seemed to have a better idea than “sudden snowstorm.”

“The Abomasnow in the cave to the north is acting up again,” said a purple-haired young man. “Either that, or his Snover kids are causing trouble for the heck of it.”

“Abomasnow?” Crystal repeated, blinking in confusion.

“It’s a big Grass and Ice-Type,” the young man explained. “It and Snover are known to cause snowstorms sometimes, but usually we get a heads-up of some kind before they start one. This one came out of nowhere last night, and it looks like it’s centered on the route between us and Anistar.” He motioned across the bridge that led to the north. There was definitely more snow falling out there than there was in town.

“That could prove to be an issue,” Blaine remarked. “How difficult would it be to traverse the route now?”

“Now?” The young man blinked at the question. “Well, while my Mamoswine wouldn’t have any problems moving forward in a snowstorm, he’s been antsy since last night for some reason. I don’t think I’d be able to get him to go far right now.”

Crystal made a worried noise, her tail flicking.

“Sounds like they might have a problem and they need to get it solved before we can move on,” Rummy remarked. He looked up at the giant, brown Pokémon next to the young man, with large ice tusks sticking out from the front. “What’s the problem, big guy? Do you think you know what’s going on, or do we need to go find out for ourselves?”

The Mamoswine turned to look down at the Duosion with one eye, focusing more on the bridge and the brewing snowstorm on the other side. “I saw people in red suits walk into Abomasnow’s cave, but the snowstorm didn’t kick up until after they’d disappeared inside it. Whatever’s going on in there, it isn’t good.”

Crystal frowned deeply as her tail’s movement moved from flicking to more of a lashing motion. “Red suits…? Could that be Team Flare?”

“It certainly sounds like it could be,” Blaine agreed. “In any case, it sounds like this problem is going to have to be dealt with before we are able to continue on to Anistar City.” He looked to the young man. “We are going to need to make the journey to Anistar ourselves later; would you be willing to wait for us here while we investigate the cave and what could be causing the Abomasnow irritation?”

“If you do that, I’d be more than willing to help you across the snow,” the young man replied. “I don’t expect other Trainers to try and make the trip anytime soon today other than you, but you’ll have to be quick – the sun sets quickly, and even if the Abomasnow stops his snowstorm, there’s a chance that the weather up here will want to pick up where he leaves off.”

“We’ll make sure to move quickly, then,” Blaine promised. He looked at Crystal. “Shall we?”

Crystal nodded and pulled her coat up around her neck. “I’m ready to go. If Team Flare is causing trouble, we’re going to have to stop them, whether or not they’re making it difficult to get to Anistar City.”

Blaine nodded in agreement.

“Count me out,” Sawyer spoke up. “It’s gonna get too cold for me to do very well up here.”

“Or me,” Sawyer agreed. “Sorry, Crystal.”

“It’s fine, you two.” Crystal nodded to the Breloom and Vivillon. “You guys have done a lot already.”

Sawyer sighed in relief, then vanished into his PokeBall. Samuel gave Richie a pointed look, then followed suit.

The young man blinked them. “Did you just…understand them?”

“Crystal has a special bond with her team,” Blaine said with a smile. “She can understand all Pokémon, regardless of Type.”

“That’s useful.” The young man looked at Crystal. “I bet that’s made you into a strong Trainer, huh?”

“It does help, yeah.” Crystal nodded. “But that’s not the only thing that makes me strong.”

“I bet not, if you’re talking about taking on Team Flare with just the two of you.” The young man nodded to the route to the north. “I’ve been hearing that they’re pretty strong, and I don’t want to tangle with them if I don’t have the strength to stand up against them.”

“I don’t think they’re all that strong right now,” Crystal said. “I’ve had challenges from stronger trainers; most of my team can take them down in one or two hits. My more recent friends have a little more trouble, but not a whole lot.”

The young man blinked, then nodded. “Yeah, okay. How strong are your newer members?”

“They’re somewhere around Level 40, last I checked. Borealis and Rummy are both pretty close to evolving, and Frieda and Sawyer have already reached their final forms.” Crystal motioned to the Pokémon as she mentioned them in turn, patting Sawyer’s PokeBall last.

“Huh.” The young man inclined his head. “That’s about as strong as most Trainers get when they reach this place…all right; I’ll see about giving Team Flare a few hits when I see them. Or, when we see them – I bet Mamoswine would want to run a few of them over it they’re messing with the Pokémon in the caves. He’s pretty close with Abomasnow for some reason.”

Mamoswine huffed and muttered something that Crystal didn’t catch.

“You can keep an eye out for any that try to run from us, then,” Blaine suggested. “And lead us to this cave you mentioned while you are at it. You said it’s to the north of here?”

The young man nodded. “Yes, it is. Come on; it’s up this way.”

The young man and his Mamoswine led Crystal, Blaine, and Crystal’s Pokémon across the bridge and out into the falling snow.

As soon as they set foot on the route, the number of white flakes increased, much to Crystal’s surprise. “When you said it was focused on this area specifically, you weren’t kidding!”

“Oh, it’s about to get worse!” the young man replied. He pulled up the hood on his jacket, bundling up even more than he already was. “Be glad that it isn’t windy, too – that would make it almost impossible to see where we’re going!”

“That would be troublesome,” Blaine agreed. “And it makes me quite glad that I live on an island far closer to the equator than this!”

“Oh, so that’s why you’re so wide-eyed about the snow.” The young man shook his head as Crystal and Blaine pulled the hoods of their coats over their heads. “Well, at least you thought ahead about preparing for cold weather; I don’t know how well you’re going to do in the cave, though. It’s filled with ice everywhere.”

“There’s an Ice Cavern in Jhoto that I’ve been through a couple times,” Crystal replied. “I think I’ll be able to handle it for at least a little while.”

“And the Shoal Cave near Mossdeep,” Richie agreed. “We’ve gone and trained there sometimes when the tide’s low. I don’t know how it gets as cold as it does in there.”

“We’ll make sure to be careful, regardless of our previous experiences with the cold,” Blaine said. “Any warnings you can give us about the cave inside would be more than helpful.”

The young man laughed. “I don’t think I can tell you a lot, but I can certainly try.”

The path up to the cave to the north wasn’t all that long, but the young man was quick to fill them in on what information he had about the cave inside. How the floors were occasionally slippery and covered in ice, and how there were areas where cold water ran in deeper sections of the cave. Amy wasn’t pleased to know she would have to Surf in cold water, but she waved off Crystal’s concerned look as they reached the mouth of the cave.

“If I have to, I have to,” Amy said. “At least I’m better at regulating my body temperature than Samuel.”

Crystal shook her head at her Azumaril, then looked at the cave entrance ahead of them. It was embedded into the side of a snow-covered mountain, almost making her think of Mount Silver. It’s tall peak was one that she had never really climbed before traveling to Hoenn, but now she probably could make the trip without trouble.

She wouldn’t find a Trainer waiting at the top, though, unless Red had decided to disappear for some alone time with his team again.

“I’ll stay out here and see if I can catch any Team Flare members that do come out,” the young man said. “Mamoswine can’t fit inside the cave very well, anyway, but you guys shouldn’t have a problem with getting around. Just watch your step and you’ll be fine.”

“We’ll keep your warnings in mind,” Blaine promised with a nod. “Stay safe out here – I wouldn’t want to be in this heavy snowfall for longer than we have been already.”

“I’m used to it, although I do wish that it wasn’t as bad as this.” The young man looked up at the cloudy sky. The snow was falling in big, thick flakes, making Crystal wonder what it would look like if there was a wind blowing everything around. The closest comparison she could imagine was a rainstorm, and those got to be very hard to see through.

“Don’t think it’s warmer in the cave, though,” the young man added. “You’re walking into a freezer.”

“Then we’ll just have to be quick about getting in and out,” Crystal said. “Come on, guys. Let’s go find Team Flare and get them to stop bothering that Abomasnow.”

Chapter Text

The cave, just like they had been warned, was freezing cold.

“Is it colder in here than it was outside, or is that just me?” Crystal asked. She pulled her coat more tightly around herself, like that would keep the heat in better. A scarf might’ve been a good idea to bring along, now, but Crystal hadn’t grabbed one because she thought it would get in the way.

“It likely is colder.” Blaine tossed a PokeBall, releasing his Magmar. “With the cave keeping the cold air confined like a refrigerator does, it’s simply going to sit and make the area colder.”

The bipedal Fire-Type at Blaine’s side looked around, frowning at the ice-covered walls and the frosty floor of the cave. “Hm. What kind of mess have we gotten ourselves into now?”

“Finding those Team Flare idiots,” Blaine replied. “They’re causing trouble for the local Pokémon, apparently.”

Magmar snorted. “Since when do these guys ever not?”

“When they steal PokeBalls and power from the humans, apparently,” Blaine replied dryly. He shook his head. “We’re going into a frozen cavern in order to find Team Flare and keep them from doing anything drastic. I assume you’re willing to help?”

“Well, duh! I’m not keen on these idiots who mess with Fire’s good name, either!” Magmar slammed his fists together and grinned. “Let’s show them how hot fire really burns!”

“But we shouldn’t scare the local Ice-Types too much while we do this, right?” Freida spoke up quickly. “I mean, they’re not going to like it if we start throwing fire all over the place.”

“You’re right,” Crystal said with a nod. “But I think they’re used to Trainers coming in to train their Pokémon, since Anistar’s Gym is on the other side of the route. Still, the fewer fights we get into, the better.”

“Then let’s go find them!” Rummy declared. He started moving ahead, deeper into the cavern. A little pink Pokémon with yellow hair and giant lips stared up at him from behind an icicle as he passed.

Crystal, Blaine and their Pokémon quickly moved to keep up with the Duosion as he moved from the cave’s entrance and down one of the adjoining tunnels into the next room.

“Is your ability keeping you from feeling the cold as much, Rummy?” Crystal asked. “You said earlier you only take damage from direct attacks, so….”

“Eh, yes and no. I know it’s cold, and I can feel that it’s cold, but I don’t think I’m gonna get that frostbite thing that everyone else gets so worked up over.” Rummy bobbed from one side to another, probably trying to mimic a human’s arm motions as he went. Considering that the Pokémon had no limbs, it made for a strange sight.

“But I’m pretty comfortable in caves anyway, since I was born in one, so I don’t think I’m gonna have a problem in here. Besides, my hidden power’s always leaned towards Ice anyway, so that could mean I have a natural resistance or something.”

“You know where your Hidden Power leans?” Crystal asked in surprise.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised.” Blaine glanced at the ice-covered walls. “Pokémon are always able to tell for themselves what elements they can interact with. If you learned Hidden Power, Crystal, you would be able to know it as well. It’s just that you wouldn’t know what element you would get until you learned the move.”

“Pretty sure the humans came up with the idea of not telling anyone what the elemental type was,” Magmar added. “Or maybe it was a Pokémon thinking this kinda power was a sacred thing or something.”

“Didn’t it used to be that Hidden Power was only known by Unown?” Richie asked. “And that when they taught it to other Pokémon, neither side could really control what level of power or elemental type it turned out to be?”

A laugh came from up ahead catching the group’s attention.

“Hidden Power is supposed to be the power that is hidden within all of us, waiting to be unleashed,” said the Pokémon ahead of them. The purple-skinned, humanoid Pokémon looked at them with amusement. The Jynx shook her head. “The only one who knows what sort of power it is is the one who carries that power.”

“That’s how I learned it!” Rummy said cheerily. “Well met, sister. We’re looking for a group of humans in weird red suits and hair styled to look like it’s on fire. Have you seen anyone like that walking around in here?”

Jynx tilted her head in thought. “Ah. So you’re after them, are you? I sense that you’re not that keen on working with them?”

Crystal shook her head.

“Good. They’re causing Abomasnow a lot of grief at the moment. It seems they’ve come for him.” Jynx pointed deeper into the cave. “They have him cornered in his den, but they haven’t left yet, so I doubt they have what they’re looking for. Are you prepared to take them on?”

“Absolutely,” Rummy said with his version of a grin.

“If they want Abomasnow, they’re not getting him, or anyone else here,” Richie spoke up in agreement.

“Good.” Jynx nodded again. “I won’t stop you, then. If you need any help, just holler, all right?”

“Will do.” Crystal gave Jynx a relieved smile, then looked at Blaine and motioned for him to follow.

“Sounds like these guys are looking for trouble all over the place,” Magmar remarked as the group moved past the Jynx. She settled back on a flat piece of ice as they passed, a knowing gleam in her eye as they moved. “How many of them are gonna need a lesson taught to them, do you think?”

“Not enough of them, if they’re still causing trouble after what happened in Laverre,” Blaine replied. “Did the Jynx say anything of note, Crystal?”

“Team Flare is here for Abomasnow, apparently,” Crystal replied. “We’re going to have to go pretty deep into the cave in order to reach them, though.”

“Well, the sooner we get there, then, the better.” Blaine nodded slightly.

The frosted cavern became more ice-lined and colder the deeper they went. Crystal had to pull the hood of her coat up over her head to keep her ears from becoming frozen by the cold, and her tail found its way up into her coat to take advantage of her body heat.

Magmar and Frieda walking around with them helped keep some of the cold at bay, at least, but it didn’t help much against the ice-covered cave floors they had to traverse.

It wasn’t until Crystal started to wonder if they were going to have to turn back, to go back to town and warm up, that she started picking up the voices of a conversation ahead of them. A conversation that sounded more than a little one-sided.

“—would make this so much easier if you would just get in the PokeBall,” said a female voice somewhat impatiently. “We have a limited number after the failure in the PokeBall Factory, so if you would be a good, strong Pokémon and listen to the humans—”

“I am listening, and I am telling you that no good will come from what you have planned,” a male voice snarled back. Crystal’s ear flicked as she picked up the Pokémon’s increasing impatience. “I will not help you in this hair-brained scheme of yours.”

Crystal sent Blaine a wide-eyed look. “Sounds like that’s them up ahead.”

“Yes.” Blaine rubbed his chin in thought. “I can’t understand Ice-Type Pokémon very well just yet, but it sounds like that Abomasnow is becoming very annoyed with the people in front of him. How about we burn out that annoyance and make sure that he will be left in peace?”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “I’m all for it.”

“Excellent. I’ll go first, then. You and your team can follow behind – especially if they happen to be equipped with Pokémon you’d rather not look in the eye at the moment.”

“But Blaine, you—”

“I am not so old and frail that I need to hide behind Pokémon for the sake of defense,” Blaine told her. “Don’t worry. Let the adult of the group do what he’s supposed to do and keep you safe.”

Crystal blinked in surprise at his words, but then she smiled a little and nodded. “Okay.”

Blaine nodded back. “Good. Then let’s get this show on the road and hit them in the face with a few fireworks.”

Blaine shot Crystal a wide grin, then turned and walked towards where the voices were coming from. Magmar mimicked his expression, then followed on his heels. The Fire-Type looked almost murderous, which had Crystal worried for a moment.

Magmar and Blaine wouldn’t do anything like that to Team Flare, though. She knew them too well for that.

“Let’s go.” Crystal nodded to her team, then followed after Blaine.

Richie nodded in agreement, and he and the rest of the team followed after her.

“I can’t say that I was expecting to see you people bothering wild Pokémon,” Blaine said loudly as he stepped into the cavern ahead of them.

“Or that you’d stoop this low,” Magmar agreed as he followed his Trainer.

Crystal lingered near the entrance of the cavern with her team, rather than stepping in with Blaine. She glanced around the cavern, taking in everything she could about the situation.

There were a few Flare grunts standing around a large, white-and-green Pokémon that looked like a giant walking, snow-covered tree of some kind. Considering how the Pokémon was glaring at the Flare grunts like he could knock them over with a breath, Crystal guessed that was Abomasnow.

There was another Flare admin in the space as well, and another woman with strange-colored hair for a human. Her hair was a blue color, and was styled in looping pigtails on either side of her head.

“Hmm?” The blue-haired woman looked over at Blaine. She was holding a Premier ball in one hand, almost like she was ready to throw it. “And who are you to think we’re bothering this Abomasnow? We’re merely…negotiating.”

“That’s not what it sounded like to me,” Blaine replied.

Magmar huffed in agreement. He nodded to Abomasnow. “Don’t worry, big guy, we’ll get them outta here. They won’t cause you any more trouble.”

Abomasnow blinked at the Magmar’s words, and Crystal decided to take that moment to step into the cavern herself.

Richie moved to stand at Crystal’s right, with Amy taking up the same position on the left.

“Whatever it is you’re planning, you have to stop,” Crystal said seriously.

The Team Flare grunts looked over at Crystal, then exchanged looks before they burst out laughing. The blue-haired woman, on the other hand, shook her head with her mouth smirking in amusement.

“Stop?” the woman repeated. “What makes you think we’re going to stop just because you asked?”

“It never hurts to try.” Blaine cracked his knuckles. “But now we’ll get the opportunity to teach you what true fire feels like.”

The Flare grunt exchanged looks at Blaine’s words as Magmar stepped forward, grinning.

“You guys know what to do,” Crystal said to her team. Her tail flicked under the hood of her coat.

“That we do,” Richie agreed with a nod. He stepped forward, bringing out his blades and holding his arms in front of him.

The blue-haired woman tsked through her teeth and shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting that you would show your face so soon after that fiasco in the PokeBall Factory. I heard that it was quite the experience.”

Crystal’s ears pulled back, creating an uncomfortable feeling under her hood. She shook her head, pushing her memories of the factory out of her head as much as possible.

“That may have scared me,” Crystal said, “but I have friends who stand with me, and they’ll help to keep me safe from things like that.”

“Indeed we will,” Blaine agreed. “Your attempts to scare Crystal will have no power here, that’s for certain.”

The blue-haired woman pulled her lips back in contempt. “Hmph. What makes you think that what happened before will happen again?” She brandished a PokeBall. “I am Mable, and you are going to pay for what happened to my sisters-in-arms.”

Crystal’s breathed in sharply, but Richie moved in front of her and raised his arms.

“Don’t,” Richie broadcast. “What happened to them happened because they decided to join Team Flare, not because of anything they did to Crystal.”

“That’s what you think,” Mable muttered in response. She moved to throw her PokeBall, and the Flare members with her followed suit, releasing a number of Pokémon that Crystal was unfortunately starting to associate with their teams.

“Let’s see if you can take the heat!” Blaine declared, motioning Magmar forward. “Apologies, Abomasnow, but it may get a bit warm in your cave.”

“So long as you can kick them out,” the Pokémon grumbled back.

Crystal breathed in and rolled her shoulders back, attempting to brace herself. “We’ve got this. Let’s go!”

The frozen cavern was immediately turned into a brawling ring as Pokémon collided with Pokémon. The Flare grunts looked like they were confident about their chances, but their expressions quickly turned to horrified shock when Amy swamped the battlefield with a Surf moments before the rest of Crystal’s team could slam into them.

Crystal looked around and tried to find an opening herself, but her team and Blaine’s Magmar had the Flare grunts on their knees in seconds, their Pokémon scattered around the cavern and clearly out cold.

“If you can’t take the cold, then stay out!” Borealis stomped a foot on the frosted ground, the frills on his head glowing brightly. Then the glow overtook the rest of him, and his neck started to get longer, his body larger, and his legs longer. The frills went from short, eyebrow-looking things to much longer fans that ran the entire length of his neck.

One of the Flare grunts yelped. “Fossil Pokémon can evolve?!”

“He’s not the only one!” Rummy said cheerily. He started glowing as well, only for his body to become larger. A pair of large, muscular-looking arms erupted from the larger body, and when the glow faded, Rummy’s much larger cell body looked a lot more dangerous than his had been. “Ha! Reuniclus time! Now I can actually punch things if I want to!”

The Flare grunts exchanged nervous looks as Amy slammed into Mable’s Pokémon, sending it crashing it into the wall. Crystal couldn’t see the Pokémon clearly from her perspective, but she thought she saw curving horns before the Pokémon retreated into its PokeBall.

Mable gritted her teeth at the fainting of her and her grunts’ Pokémon. She turned her head sharply to glare up at the Abomasnow, ready to throw the Premier Ball that still lay in her hand.

Abomasnow raised a paw. Cold, icy winds started to gather in the space as something under his white fur started glowing. “Try it.”

Mable’s throwing arm faltered. Her fists shook in frustration, but she didn’t call Abomasnow’s bluff. Instead, she stomped a foot and grabbed something strapped to her dress.

Crystal started to run towards her. “Wait, you—”

“You’re not catching me today!” Mable declared as she raised a device high above her head. She pressed a button, then vanished in a bright flash. The grunts with her teleported in similar flashes a few moments after she vanished.

Abomasnow frowned, but he closed his paw as the light under his fur vanished.

“That felt like a Teleport,” Rummy remarked. “Kinda weird that the ones in Laverre didn’t try the same thing before they got arrested.”

“Something tells me we have Crystal to thank for that,” Blaine replied. He glanced at Crystal. “Are you doing all right?”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I didn’t see any Pokémon that made me…made me nervous. I think there might’ve been one, but Amy knocked him out before I could get a good look.”

The Azumaril nodded. She turned to look up at Borealis. “Pretty sure this guy would be able to hide you from view from a lot of them now. You’re not tiny anymore, buddy.”

The evolved Pokémon looked down at Amy, then around at everyone else. “I…yeah, I guess so. It feels weird looking at you from up here, but at least I don’t feel like I’m gonna trip over my own feet anymore.”

Abomasnow huffed, the noise catching their attention. “I haven’t seen a Pokémon like yourself before, but I know an ice cannon when I see one. Your defense is lacking. You will need something to help you either improve your defenses or your speed.”

Borealis frowned. “I…all right. I’ll remember that.”

Abomasnow nodded. He turned his attention to Rummy, then snorted and shook his head. “Your defense and speed could prove problematic. Be careful.”

“No worries, big guy! I know how to keep myself safe.” Rummy mimed punching something, grinning.

Abomasnow eyed him for a long moment, then turned his attention back to Crystal and Blaine. He scanned the old man before turning his attention to Crystal. “Olympia said you were going to cross paths with me. Thank you, for stopping Team Flare when they would not listen.”

Crystal perked up. “Olympia said I’d be here? Really?”

Abomasnow nodded. “You will see her soon, she said. Something is going to happen soon.”

Crystal’s eyes widened, and she turned to look at Blaine and her team. “If something’s going to happen soon, we need to move!”

Blaine frowned at Crystal’s words. “Crystal—”

“We need to move, before Team Flare tries something foolish!” Crystal turned tail immediately and ran for the cave’s exit.

Diantha said Olympia could see the future. If something was going to happen soon, then that meant they had to stop it before it happened.

Chapter Text

The blizzard was worse when Crystal existed the cave. She could barely see the route that the Mamoswine’s trainer had pointed out earlier in the day, much less the town they’d stayed in.

Crystal retreated back into the cave, staring at the snowstorm outside as footsteps came from behind. She could guess who was there without needing to reach out with her senses.

“Goodness, that is….” Blaine trailed off. “Well, it looks like we won’t be leaving town today.”

“What happened?” Crystal asked. “Did…did Abomasnow’s snowstorm…?”

“Abomasnow said his ability, Snow Warning, allows him to summon a blizzard, not remove it,” Magmar said. “We’re not going anywhere until this dies down. Whatever this is.” He motioned to the fast, falling snow. “Let’s find a way back to town and out of this cold. I know I can keep the heat away, but it’s gonna whittle me down after a while if we’re not careful.”

Crystal turned to look at her team and the others. “We can’t…we can’t go through it?”

“And die of hypothermia and frostbite?” Blaine shook his head. “Not this time, Crystal. We’re not prepared for this kind of weather. It would be better if we tried again later, when the storm’s died down. Tomorrow morning at the earliest, I imagine.”

Crystal’s shoulders sagged at the news, and she sighed heavily. “But…Team Flare, they—”

“I know.” Blaine looked at Crystal with a saddened expression. “Believe me, I am more than aware, Crystal. But we need to take some time to wait for the world to let us keep moving. You’ve already set the rest of the region in motion with bringing Team Flare’s actions to the forefront; I doubt that you are the only one who is fighting against them.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Come on; let’s go back to town and get ourselves warmed up. We can go over what we know and come up with a few questions we can ask Olympia before we plan any future battles against Team Flare. All right?”

Crystal frowned, then sighed and nodded. “All right. Something’s better than nothing I guess.”

Blaine nodded in response, then adjusted his coat and walked out into the blizzard. Crystal made sure her hood was secure over her head, then started moving forward herself. Their Pokémon bundled close to them, keeping track of each other and attempting to stay warm – for all except Borealis, who walked alongside them with his frills glowing brightly. It was like he’d been struck with an Aurora Beam and instead of being hurt by it, he was glowing because of it.

The snowfall died down when they got to the bridge outside of town, at least. Crystal was grateful to no longer have the snow blowing into her face and getting stuck in her ears.

Amy shook her ears out, sending white flakes everywhere. “I didn’t feel any hail in that; did you guys?”

“I didn’t notice anything,” Richie replied. “Although the snow’s coming down pretty fast.”

“It didn’t feel bad at all to me.” Borealis swayed his head back and forth, his frills rippling with energy. “It’s pretty great.”

“You’re an Ice-Type; of course it will,” Crystal told him.

“Maybe his kind lived in places like this centuries ago,” Blaine remarked. “There are records of an ice age that hit the northern half of the world; I wouldn’t be surprised if some Pokémon adapted to it and became Ice-Types as a result.”

Crystal frowned. “Hm…”

Frieda tugged on her jacket sleeve. “Can we go inside? It’s starting to feel kinda cold out….”

“Yes, let’s,” Blaine agreed with a swift nod. He immediately started towards the Pokémon Center, Magmar falling into step next to him.

Crystal started to follow after, but then she looked up at Borealis. “You’re probably going to have to return to your PokeBall. You’re a bit too big to fit in the Pokémon Center.”

“Aw, really?” Borealis looked down at himself, then sighed. “All right. But you’ll let me out the instant there’s enough space, right?”

“Probably when we leave the Center in the morning.” Crystal gave the large Pokémon an apologetic look.

Borealis nodded with another sigh, and he returned himself to his PokeBall before Crystal and the others followed Blaine to the Pokémon Center.

By the time they arrived, Blaine was already sitting in the cafeteria with a mug of hot chocolate in hand and an array of snacks for the Pokémon on the table in front of him. Magmar was already helping himself, looking rather pleased.

“You’ll have to get your own, I’m afraid,” Blaine said, raising his mug. “Nurse Joy is keeping an entire carafe warm for any Trainers coming in.”

Crystal nodded as Amy, Esmeralda, Frieda, and Rummy settled down around the table. She started to move towards the food, then paused and released Samuel and Sawyer from their PokeBalls.

Samuel looked around as Sawyer hovered in place for a moment. “So, what, you guys managed to beat up a bunch of Team Flare guys without us?”

“Jealous?” Richie asked.

“No.” Samuel sat down with a huff that definitely said otherwise.

Richie smirked briefly, then reached for one of the snacks that sat on the table – a cookie, frosted to look like Abomasnow.

Crystal decided to leave it to Richie to fill in Samuel and Sawyer on what happened, and turned her attention instead to getting some of that hot chocolate Blaine mentioned being around. She could do with something to warm her up.

She didn’t want to stay here long, but like it or not, she was going to have to. Blaine was making that very clear.

Crystal found the hot chocolate that Blaine mentioned, and quickly poured herself a cup before going back to the table.

Blaine was in the middle of finishing his mug by the time Crystal came back, and most of the snacks were gone. He pulled the emptied mug away with a satisfied sigh, then put the mug on the table.

“So.” Blaine looked around the table. “What do we know about Team Flare and what they’re up to?”

Crystal blinked at the question. “Uh—”

“We know they’re trying to capture Pokémon,” Richie said. “They tried to steal a lot of PokeBalls from Laverre probably for that reason.”

Magmar muttered the same thing to Blaine, who nodded. “Right. And they have likely made off with Yveltal as well, judging by what we’ve found. Valerie told us about him and the two other Legendaries in the region, and how the three of them are connected. We also know that there is an event that took place three thousand years ago that involved Yveltal and Xerneas somehow.”

Crystal frowned. “Blaine—”

“I know.” Blaine held up a hand. “But I want to consider all the facts, first.”

Crystal’s ears flicked, but she bit her lower lip and nodded.

Blaine nodded back. “Now, what else have they done, besides attempt to steal PokeBalls and make off with Legendary Pokémon?”

“They stole power from Lumiose,” Frieda said. “Clemont got hurt because of that.”

“They were bothering the Fossil Center in Ambrette as well,” Esmeralda added. “They seemed quite intent on stopping the researchers there from reviving ancient Pokémon.”

Crystal nodded. “That was when we first ran into them. They really didn’t like seeing me when we stopped them. They said fossil Pokémon were ugly, and they seemed to have the same opinion about me.”

“Hm.” Blaine frowned. He reached for his mug, then paused when he remembered it was empty. He looked at the mug for a long moment, then shook his head and looked away from it. “So, they’re stealing energy, Pokémon, and have opinions about people and Pokémon that is very much skin deep. They care about how a Pokémon looks, and how they came to be. Not the Pokémon or person’s personality or feelings.”

He looked at Crystal. “And they don’t seem to care much for those of you who had very little to do with your birth, especially.”

Crystal nodded. “Yeah. We don’t exactly know why they chose ‘Flare’ for their name, either.”

“We can say the same for Magnus, but I’m not about to speculate on them,” Blaine replied. “What we can work with are their actions. They are clearly attempting to plan something using the Legendary Pokémon – and other Pokémon, if their attempt to capture Abomasnow is any indication – as well as a large amount of energy. If we take that into account, as well as the history lessons we’ve had, then that likely means—”

“—that Team Flare wants to reactivate the weapon from three thousand years ago and use it for something,” Crystal finished quickly. “But the question then is – where is it? Have they found it already?”

“Or are they recreating the weapon’s destruction with their own devices,” Blaine agreed with a nod. “There is also the why of it to consider. You don’t do something like this without a reason, even if it isn’t a good one or a solid one. Cyrus was intent on recreating the world specifically for half-human, half-Pokémon hybrids, if you remember.”

“And Team Rocket merely wanted to take over the world,” Esmeralda added.

Crystal frowned. “Yeah, I guess so…but we figured out by this point that that was what they wanted, right? We don’t know why Team Flare wants it.”

“At this point, I don’t think it matters,” Samuel replied. “We know what they want to do, and we’re going to stop them from doing it.”

Richie nodded in agreement.

“So, we just have to find this powerful weapon before they can use it,” Sawyer said. “But…where is it?”

Crystal frowned at the question. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not from Kalos, so I don’t know the lay of the land as well as anyone else would. And you guys aren’t from the area the weapon might be, right?” She looked at Sawyer and Rummy.

The Vivillon and Reuniclus exchanged looks at the question, then shook their heads.

“Perhaps this is something we need to ask Olympia,” Blaine remarked. “If we can reach her tomorrow, so long as the weather is fair, we should be able to find her in Anistar city and ask her.”

Crystal’s ears perked up. “You think so?”

“That is the hope. I doubt that a Snow Warning storm is going to last for very long, if it does at all.” Blaine gave a slight smile. “So take a breather while you can. I get the feeling that we are going to be moving quickly as of tomorrow morning.”

Crystal nodded quickly. “Right. Absolutely.”

-----

Black gritted his teeth and directed Ash, now an Emboar, to go after the Liepard again. A low hissing snarl slipped through, layered with curses in a language most humans were never able to learn.

N, standing behind him, looked at Black sharply as the purple and yellow feline fell to the large, red and black boar with a yowl of pain. “Do you teach all your Pokémon words like that?”

“They’re just words,” Black replied with a wave of his hand. He grinned at N’s wide-eyed expression.

White rolled her eyes next to him as her Samurott companion slashed through a Watchog that was trying – and failing – to cast Hypnosis on any of them. “Dark-Types use any advantage they have to catch their opponent by surprise, remember? If swearing is an underhanded tactic, he’ll use it.”

N spluttered as the Trainers in front of them returned their Pokémon with expressions of shock and worry.

“Don’t worry, my king; we will deal with these foolish Trainers!” declared one of them – a young man wearing chainmail with cloth over it, the Plasma crest on his chest. The woman next to him wore much the same. “We will rescue you from these people who dare to get in the way of your goals.”

“I’m all right; you don’t need to worry about me,” N replied. “Really – you’re the second group I’ve told this to. I’m fine. Black and White are showing me things that I never thought possible, and they’ve given me much to consider. Please – ask the Seven Sages to push back their plans, just a little longer. I have a lot to think about, before I can become the Hero of Legend.”

“They’re messing with your mind, my lord!” the woman cried. “We need to bring you home – Lord Ghestis has asked us to give it our all in order to do so.”

Black clicked his tongue. “That guy has no sense. N is traveling with us because he wants to, not because we’re dragging him around. If he wants to go home, he’ll want to go home. Until then, I’d suggest you back off.”

As if to make his point even more clear, Black held up his hands and summoned a dark sphere of energy.

The pair of knights exchanged nervous looks of shock.

“What are you?!” the man demanded.

“My mom’s a Liepard,” Black replied with an easy grin. He slammed his hands into the sphere. “Dark Pulse!”

The explosion of energy caught the knights off-guard, causing them to take the brunt of the attack and get sent flying back a short distance.

“Did you have to do that?” N asked in alarm. “They were only doing what they were told!”

“So were we,” Black pointed out. “I didn’t hit them at full strength; relax. I’m not that stupid.”

N blinked at Black’s words, then slowly relaxed his fists. “They’ll be all right?”

“They should be,” White replied evenly. “Black knows better than to hit defenseless humans with everything he has, even if that would be underhanded.”

Black snorted, waving off White’s glare with an almost careless air. “Come on; you wanted to ask that Drayden guy about the legend, right? Pretty sure the town’s just up ahead. Shouldn’t take us too long to find out where he lives and get some answers out of him.”

“Nothing underhanded,” N said immediately.

Ash snorted.

“We’ll make sure he stays in check,” Samurott said with a pointed look at Emboar. “I doubt that a human would be that unwilling to share of our region’s history.”

“We’ll see,” Ash replied.

Black hummed in agreement. “Let’s go. Time’s a-wastin’.”

-----

Crystal woke up in the middle of the night with a gasp that was louder than she realized. Her head whipped around as her eyes scanned the room she’d woken up in.

The rented room was dark, but there was a desk lamp on to help light the way. She was on the top bunk of a bunk bed on one side of the room, with most of her team sleeping on the other beds or the floor.

Feeling grounded, Crystal focused on her breathing as she hugged herself tightly. She closed her eyes for a second, then shuddered and opened them again.

She did not want to see the city in ruins, with the large, imposing robed figures. Not now.

Was that Team Flare? Was that what they were planning on doing, using Yveltal and the weapon?

She didn’t know. And she didn’t want to let them win in order to find out.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the sky was a crisp blue that was clear of any cloud cover, and the ground to the east of town was covered in so much white that it almost hurt Crystal to look at.

At the same time, the bright morning sun and the sparkling white snow made Borealis’ aurora fins almost blinding in their brightness.

“We’re going to have to be careful walking around with you, it seems,” Blaine remarked, turning his head away from the Ice-Type Pokémon. “Crystal, what does your PokeDex have to say about Borealis’ new form?”

Crystal blinked, then her eyes widened. “Oh, right! I completely forgot to check yesterday!” She pulled her PokeDex out of her backpack and pointed it at her revived companion.

“Aurorus, the Tundra Pokémon. This unusually quiet and kindly Ice and Rock-Type Pokémon has a temperature of around -240 degrees Fahrenheit, causing diamond-shaped crystals to form on its body. Using these crystals, it can instantly create a wall of ice to block an opponent’s attack, or emanate freezing air, covering everything around it in ice. It is said that when this Pokémon howls, auroras appear in the night sky.”

Crystal blinked at the PokeDex, then looked up at Borealis. “Sounds like you’re going to be too cold for anyone other than other Ice-Types to ride.”

Borealis shook his head. “I’m fine with that. I don’t want to make you freeze or anything like that.”

“There could be a way for you to control it, but considering you’ve only just evolved, it would be wise not to push that train of thought,” Blaine remarked. “What about Rummy? You said you were a Reuniclus now, was it?”

“Yup!” The green Pokémon laughed. “I never knew having arms was so great!”

Crystal pointed her PokeDex at him.

“Reuniclus, the Multiplying Pokémon. These Psychic-Type Pokémon use psychic power to control their arms, which are made of a special liquid. They can crush boulders psychically. This liquid that surrounds them is said to grant wisdom when consumed, but it is toxic for anything besides Reuniclus itself. When these Pokémon shake hands, a network forms between their brains, increasing their psychic power.”

Crystal blinked at the PokeDex while Rummy looked over his hands.

“I’m toxic, huh? Cool!” Rummy looked at his arms, turning his hands over and clenching and unclenching his fists. “I guess that means Solosis and Duosion are toxic, too! They’ve got the same goo!”

“Makes sense to me.” Crystal put the PokeDex away and adjusted her coat. “So, we’re just waiting on the Mamoswine, and then we can go through the route to Anistar City, right?”

“That would be the thought,” Blaine replied. “He might be taking his time getting up this morning, though. I hope that we don’t have to wait for too long.”

Richie nodded in agreement. He, Borealis, and Rummy were the only ones who were out of their PokeBalls this morning – Samuel and Sawyer weren’t fond of the cold, and Esmeralda, Amy, and Frieda didn’t want to deal with snow getting stuck to their fur. The cold and the wet made for a combination none of them wanted to deal with.

Crystal didn’t blame them; she didn’t like the way the snow was soaking into her shoes.

The sound of footsteps from the gate behind them caused Crystal’s ears to flick in that direction. She turned her head to see who was coming up from town and onto the route.

“Hi!” A young girl with brown hair done up in pigtails waved vigorously at Crystal, eyes shining with a bright eagerness that Crystal hadn’t seen in some time. With her were two boys – both familiar – and the Mamoswine and his Trainer. “Crystal! It’s been ages since we’ve seen you!”

“Shauna?” Crystal blinked in surprised. “I – uh – yeah, it has been a while.”

“Friends of yours?” Blaine asked, a small smile on his face.

Crystal wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but she nodded anyway. “Blaine, this is Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor. Guys, this is Blaine.”

“The Cinnabar Gym Leader?” Tierno stared up, wide-eyed. “From Kanto?”

“Indeed!” Blaine raised his eyebrows. “Although, there has been some debate about whether or not to call me the Seafoam Islands Gym Leader.”

“What?!” Tierno’s eyes widened. “But – but that doesn’t sound quite as fiery!”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Blaine laughed.

“What are you doing in Kalos?” Trevor asked. He stepped away from the gate, the Mamoswine and his Trainer following after him. “I didn’t think Gym Leaders from other regions could travel like that.”

“Eh. We just had to make sure that there was someone who could take my place in case the Gym had a challenger, but there’s been a bit of a lull as of late.” Blaine waved a hand, not particularly bothered. “Besides, I heard that Team Flare existed, and I wasn’t about to let a group that used fire in their name exist without some repercussions from me.”

“Oh.” Trevor nodded.

“So, when did you meet Crystal?”

“We met her in Santalune!” Shauna replied cheerily. “She helped us train when we were getting ready to tackle Viola’s Bug-Type Gym! She helped us out a lot.”

“We’ve been following in her footsteps ever since,” Tierno added. “Not…not literally, but it seems like everywhere we’ve been to, Crystal’s been already. Some of the people we’ve talked to, like Gym Leaders, have talked about meeting her, too.”

“Grant was really put off that Team Flare was more of a problem than he thought,” Shauna remarked. “He didn’t like that he had less time to race cyclists and rock climb.” She shook her head. “He was glad to be able to fight us, though.”

Crystal frowned. “He didn’t seem to care all that much about them when I told him Team Flare showed up in Ambrette Town. If he’s finally admitting they’re a threat, then did something happen in Cyllage that forced him into action?”

Tierno rubbed the back of his head and looked over at Trevor. “I mean, they did kinda show up. They were stealing Pokémon from the fishermen on the coast, I think?”

“Yeah.” Trevor nodded. “Something about wanting all their Gyarados, which…I think most of them had Binacle and Magikarp. Grant sent his Auroros down there and had him freeze the coast so that Team Flare couldn’t bother the fishermen so easily, but it disrupted the coastal fishing Industry for a couple days.”

Crystal frowned. “Oh….”

The Mamoswine Trainer cleared his throat. “I’m guessing that all five of you want to get across the route and to Anistar city, right?”

“Oh!” Shauna turned to look at him and nodded. “Yeah, that’s right! I don’t think we’ll be able to challenge Olympia today, but I do want to try and get there to watch the sun dial!”

“You’ll have plenty of time in this weather,” the Trainer replied. “It looks like Abomasnow is keeping the snow at bay today, so travel shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Today?” Tierno repeated. “What do you mean? Did something happen yesterday?”

“He set up a nasty blizzard,” Crystal replied. “We weren’t able to get to town then, because he was dealing with a Team Flare problem.”

The trio exchanged wide-eyed looks.

“Tell us on the way?” Tierno asked.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Blaine replied. He looked up at Mamoswine. “Although, I doubt that we are going to all fit on that Mamoswine.”

Crystal looked at Mamoswine, then looked back at her team. She shrugged apologetically.

“I can walk alongside,” Borealis said. “But nobody’s gonna be able to sit on my back comfortably.”

“Just let us out the first sign of trouble, all right?” Richie asked seriously.

Crystal nodded back. “That’s a promise.”

Richie and Rummy nodded back, then returned into their PokeBalls.

Mamoswine gave Borealis a long, slow look, then huffed and knelt down to give the group a chance to climb on.

“That’s going to be a tight fit,” his Trainer said. “Are you sure you all are going to be able to fit?”

“I’m pretty sure we can,” Shauna replied. “We’ll just have to be careful and hold onto each other. Come on!”

Shauna climbed up first, sitting at the front. She motioned for the others to follow with a bright, cheery smile that wasn’t quite as blinding as the snow around them.

Tierno and Trevor exchanged looks, then shrugged and followed after her. The three of them were able to fight on the back of Mamoswine, if only barely.

Mamoswine’s Trainer rubbed his head, a frown on his face. “Looks like we’re going to need another Pokémon to help you cross the route. I don’t have another Mamoswine or Pokémon larger than that, though.”

Mamoswine huffed and shifted. “One moment. There’s someone coming.”

“Someone is coming?” Crystal repeated in confusion. She looked back towards town, then paused and looked over at Frost Cave.

She blinked in surprise as a second Mamoswine was walking away from the cavern and towards them.

“Oh!” Shauna gasped in delight. “Is that a friend?”

“What in…” Mamoswine’s Trainer stared at the approaching Pokémon. “But I didn’t even hear a call for help or anything.”

“Abomasnow sent me,” said the second Mamoswine as she approached. “He knew there were going to be people waiting to travel to Anistar.”

Crystal frowned. “I wonder if Olympia told him about this, too….” She shook her head a little. “Well, thinking about it won’t do us any good. Blaine?”

“Hm?” Blaine looked over at Crystal, only to notice that she was starting to raise her hands slowly. Too late, he realized what it was she was about to do, and suddenly he was floating up into the air.

“Crystal!” Blaine yelped, hovering in the air by Crystal’s Telekinesis. “A little more warning would be appreciated!”

Crystal carefully moved Blaine above Mamoswine’s back, then lowered him down onto the Pokémon. “Sorry. I just want to get there quickly.” She jumped up after him, hovering in the air as she moved up, then landed on the Mamoswine’s back behind him.

“Wow!” Shauna exclaimed. “That’s so cool!”

“Was that Telekinesis?” Trevor asked. “I didn’t know a human-Pokémon hybrid could handle the psychic strain of lifting up another person.”

“I can handle using Psychic, so I don’t see why I can’t,” Crystal replied. “It’s just something that takes training and time, that’s all.”

“Whoa….” Trevor trailed off, eyes wide.

The pair of Mamoswine exchanged looks beneath them, then looked over at Borealis.

“Are you prepared, ice cannon?” the second Mamoswine asked.

Borealis raised his head. “Yes, I am.”

“Then let us go.”

The Mamoswine started moving, Crystal’s ride moving ahead of the other. The reason why quickly became apparent as they left the town and Frost Cavern behind.

The snow drifts on the route up ahead were almost as high as the Mamoswine they were riding on.

“That’s a lot of snow,” Crystal said, wide-eyed. “And I thought there was a lot of snow out here already.”

“We are further north than Kanto,” Blaine remarked. “Although, the cold is more manageable than what comes up from the Seafoam Islands. There, it’s contained. Here, it’s much more spread out.”

“Hopefully, we won’t have to deal with the cold for long,” Shauna said, worried. “My Venasaur won’t be able to help too much against Olympia’s team if she keeps her Gym cold.”

“You guys are still going with the Gym challenge, then?” Crystal asked in surprise.

“Yup!” Tierno grinned widely from the back of the Mamoswine. “It’s helping me learn a lot of cool dance-like moves that I can use with my Pokémon team!”

“And it lets me learn about all the Pokémon that live in different areas of the region,” Trevor added. “My PokeDex is getting so much data from traveling around! It’s great!” He pointed at Borealis, walking behind the Mamoswine. “I haven’t seen a Pokémon like that one, though. It looks like Grant’s Amaura.”

“Borealis is an Aurorus,” Crystal replied. “He just evolved yesterday.”

“Wow. So that’s what an evolution of a prehistoric Pokémon looks like.” Trevor stared with wide eyes.

Borealis lowered his head to look Trevor in the eye, then snorted and raised his head up again. “I’ve got a good view of the route up here, Crystal. It looks kinda maze-y. Can I help us figure out the way to Anistar?”

“Only if the Mamoswine need it,” Crystal called back.

“He sounds so pretty when he talks,” Shauna cooed. “You’re so lucky to have him as a friend, Crystal!”

“Thanks!” Crystal smiled back. “I made friends with him in Ambrette; Team Flare was trying to shut down the Fossil Center because they didn’t like what the scientists were doing there. After I helped stop Team Flare, the scientists said I could take Borealis with me.”

The three Trainers exchanged looks while Blaine stiffened slightly.

“We haven’t run into anything like that, but there were a few hanging around in Shalour,” Tierno remarked. “They were really interested in the Tower of Mastery for some reason.”

“I think it had something to do with the Mega Stones that might be stored there,” Trevor said. “I don’t know why, though.”

“Do you think they want to Mega Evolve specific Pokémon?” Crystal asked, frowning. A shudder ran down her spine and out through her tail. “Those…those certain Pokémon aren’t able to do that, are they?”

Crystal noticed Blaine’s shoulders stiffen at the question, and a feeling of alarm ran through her.

“Blaine?” Crystal’s voice shook a little.

“They are capable of Mega Evolution,” Blaine said carefully. “However, considering how rare Key Stones are, I doubt they will be able to get their hands on the ability to Mega Evolve any of those particular Pokémon.”

“…that doesn’t make me feel entirely any better, but if they can’t use it because of supply, I’ll take what I can get.”

“I can freeze them if they try,” Borealis called.

The Mamoswine below Crystal snorted.

“Sounds like they’ve been causing you a lot of trouble,” Shauna said worriedly. “It almost feels like we’ve been following in their tracks wherever they go…what have they done?”

-----

By the time they arrived in Anistar City, it was late afternoon. The cold weather was no less biting than it had been that morning – if anything, the cold had gotten into Crystal’s bones and made her feel chilled right down to her core.

Did Ice-Types feel like this all the time? Or was there a cold that even they couldn’t handle? Crystal wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t about to ask about it. Borealis was cold to the touch already, and the Mamoswines’ tusks looked like ice.

“Thanks for the ride!” Shauna said cheerily as she hopped off the back of one of the Mamoswine. “I’ll make sure to remember that ride for the rest of my life!”

The two Mamoswine exchanged looks as Crystal let Richie out of his PokeBall. They looked over at Borealis with long expressions.

“You need better defenses,” one Mamoswine said finally. “And you should be more careful of what you step on.”

Borealis shook one of his feet and winced. “Yeah…Abomasnow said I should be careful.”

The second Mamoswine nodded. “It would be wise to remember that. Make sure your team is a good defense.”

“I think they are.” Borealis shook out his fins. “They’ve helped so far.”

The two Mamoswine nodded, then looked at Crystal. They considered her, then nodded again, then turned and walked into the tall drifts of snow they’d just plowed through.

Crystal watched them go with some confusion, but the expression didn’t get to stay on her face for long.

Shauna jumped over and grabbed Crystal’s hand, smiling brightly. “Come on! I want to see the sun dial before we go find the Gym Leader! It’s supposed to be really, really pretty!”

“The real show isn’t supposed to be until this evening,” Trevor pointed out. “We can locate the Pokémon Center first.”

“Show?” Crystal repeated.

“Yeah!” Tierno smiled brightly. “It’s supposed to get really sparkly and pretty in the evenings! It could make a really cool background for a dance performance, I bet!”

“If you got permission from the city, maybe,” Blaine remarked. “Whether you ask for permission or forgiveness depends on how the city runs itself – and whether or not you want to risk arrest.”

Tierno gave Blaine an odd look. Trevor looked like he wanted to ask what Blaine meant by that, but then he tilted his head and thought better of it.

“Let’s at least go find it so that we’ll know where it is this evening, then,” Shauna insisted. “Come on! Let’s go!”

Shaua let go of Crystal’s hand and grabbed Tierno’s and Trevor’s. She started dragging them towards the gate, laughing as they yelped at her tugging.

Blaine moved to stand next to Crystal, watching as the trio ran into the city. “They’re good children.”

“Yeah.” Crystal nodded. “They’re friends with Xavier and Serena. At least, they were. Serena hasn’t been the best of friends lately, according to what they told me.”

“I suppose the reveal of Serena’s and Xavier’s true origins hasn’t been easy on any of them – Xavier and Serena included.” Blaine sighed and shook his head, then started forward. “Well, come on. It wouldn’t do us any good to let them get ahead of us.”

Crystal jolted slightly, then nodded. “Right.”

“I should probably return, then.” Borealis sighed. “I’m probably too big to be in town….”

“Sorry, Borealis,” Richie said. “I’ll make sure Crystal lets you out the first sign of trouble.”

Borealis perked up at the promise, and he nodded before disappearing into his PokeBall.

Richie glanced at Crystal as they started for the gate, Blaine striding ahead of them. “You are doing all right, right?”

Crystal nodded back at the question. “Yeah; I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? Because I heard you last night.” Richie frowned at her. “It’s not the Pokémon we’re running into that are making you have nightmares, is it?”

Crystal stopped short at the question. “I –“ She cut herself off and shook her head. “No; no, I don’t think this is them. They just feel like bad dreams to me, Richie. I’m okay, I promise.”

She lengthened her stride, getting ahead of him as he fell behind a little.

It didn’t take him long to catch up. “Okay, but if it does turn out to be anything bad, I’m going to get those answers out of you, all right?”

Crystal nodded back to him as they stepped through the gate and into the city on the other side.

She thought she was going to have to start jogging to catch up with Blaine and the others, but then she saw them standing a short distance away from the gate’s exit. With them was a woman with dark purple hair done up in a crescent-like shape, wearing an almost black dress with a cape that seemed to mimic the night sky somehow.

The woman’s gaze turned to Crystal as she approached. “Ah; good. Greetings, Child of Mew. I am Olympia. Come; there is much we would discuss and make known between each other.”

Chapter Text

Olympia’s home was a simple one not far from the Pokémon Gym. There was a small garden in the back, and a second story that was more an astronomer’s study than a bedroom, judging by the telescope sticking out one window, but Crystal thought that was cool and very fitting of a Psychic-Type Gym Leader. Tate and Liza had Pokémon that represented the sun and moon, after all.

They didn’t go upstairs to Olympia’s study, though – they went to her dining room, decorated in soft purples and deep blues, and sat around a decently-sized table that had just enough spaces for Olympia, her five human guests, and Richie. Likely more of her divination at work.

Olympia handed out tea to her guests with flowing, practiced ease. “Long have I waited to meet with you all.”

“Same here,” Crystal replied. “Viola said that I should come talk to you.” She paused, glancing at her tea and then around the large table at the people and Pokémon present. “But, um…sorry if this sounds weird, but I was told you spoke in rhymes?”

Olympia didn’t look offended by the question. “I must confess, that is a common quirk of speech. However, when I peer into the past, I oftentimes find myself speaking in an older dialect. The words flow much easier for me now than they do under other circumstances.”

She eyed something behind Crystal’s head, causing Crystal to turn and look behind her, but she didn’t see anyone, human or Pokémon, standing in the room looking for a seat at the table.

Olympia chuckled as Crystal turned back around. “Worry not; not all Psychics can see what others can see.”

“That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” Tierno said. “Is there anything in here that we can’t see?”

“Nothing harmful at present.”

Tierno shifted in his seat. He glanced at Trevor, who was scrolling through his PokeDex and looking for something. Crystal wondered what Pokémon he was looking for, but pushed the thought out with a shake of her head. They came to Olympia for a reason; derailing the conversation wouldn’t help.

“Olympia, Blaine and I came to ask for your help.” Crystal turned her attention back to the Gym Leader.

Olympia sipped her tea and hummed. “Speak, that I may know what you know. You may yet have all the pieces you need, and not know it.”

“I really doubt it, but okay.” Crystal rested her hands on the table while Richie glanced at her with an encouraging expression. She nodded back to him, then breathed in and launched into her explanation. “Blaine and I think Team Flare is planning to do something with the weapon that was used three thousand years ago.”

Shauna gasped and exchanged looks with Tierno and Trevor, wide-eyed.

Olympia’s eyebrows raised slightly. “What hath brought you to that conclusion?”

Crystal blinked at Olympia in confusion. “’Hath’?” It took her a second to realize what was being asked. “Oh – well, they stole energy from the Kalos power plants in the badlands, first. Then they tried to steal a lot of PokeBalls from the factory in Laverre. We ran into them before we got here, trying to take an Abomasnow from Frost Cavern.”

“Hm.” Olympia sipped her tea.

“A-and Tierno and Trevor said they were looking for Gyarados near Cyllage – they’re strong Pokémon, so they’re obviously planning to go after them for a reason,” Crystal added. “But…but when we left Laverre, we found where Yveltal was supposed to be asleep, and he wasn’t there. It looked like there might’ve been a fight in that area, but we didn’t see any fainted Pokémon, or any sign that the Legendary had even been there, other than the petrified trees.”

Trevor sucked in a breath. “They found where Yveltal was sleeping? And got to him before you guys could?”

“Doesn’t the legend say that Yveltal and Xerneas are supposed to balance each other out?” Tierno asked. “So if Yveltal is gone – what’s Xerneas going to do?”

“Valerie told us about how Xerneas and Yveltal were involved in the weapon three thousand years ago,” Crystal added. “If they found Yveltal, and they’re already gathering together a lot of energy—”

“Then they could be trying to reactivate the weapon again?!” Shauna clapped her hands over her mouth in alarm, eyes wide. “Oh no….”

“That is our current concern, yes,” Blaine confirmed, nodding. “We just need to locate where the weapon is, and prevent them from activating it. Bar that, we need to make sure the weapon goes up in flames if they do manage to turn it on.”

“You wish to stop Team Flare’s machinations, in order to prevent them from causing another calamity,” Olympia said thoughtfully. “And thou hast not had other issues with their actions of late?”

“I don’t—” Crystal glanced at Blaine. “I don’t think so? Other than them trying to shut down the Fossil Center in Ambrette….”

“They used those strange devices—” Richie paused, then continued using telepathy. “They used those strange devices in Courmarine and in the Badlands. What did they call them again? Flare-remos?”

“I didn’t know Gallade could use telepathy,” Trevor said, wide-eyed.

“Gallade are Psychic in part.” Olympia sipped her tea again. “It is not outside the realm of possibility for them to learn such abilities.” She set down her cup and looked over at Crystal. “Team Flare have become a nuisance here for us as of late. They are insistent on breaking down Gym doors at all hours, demanding assistance from me and my pupils. They demand answers for questions that I do not intend ever consider.”

Crystal stiffened in surprise. “They’re what?”

“They’re here, too?” Shauna asked in alarm. “But – but I didn’t see any of them when we got here! Does that mean they’re going to try and break in here soon?”

“Should we prepare for a fight?” Trevor asked worriedly. “Oh…I hope that taking some time to train in the swamps south of Laverre was a good idea….”

“You got your gooey buddy to evolve there, and he’s become a real powerhouse since.” Tierno patted Trevor on the back. “I think we’ll be fine.” His voice shook a little as he spoke, speaking more for his nerves than he was wanting to let on.

“Worry not; the local Trainers will not take any invasion from their ilk lightly.” Olympia smiled slyly. “They have formed themselves into a local militia, when the police force did not form up in my aid. They have not connected that the Team Flare here and the Team Flare at the PokeBall Factory are one and the same. It seems there is someone working against us, and making others believe that Team Flare is no threat.”

“What?” Crystal blinked in confusion. “But – why? Team Flare is dangerous! They’re probably going to cause the end of the world if we don’t stop them!”

“That is correct,” Olympia said. “However, some refuse to believe, and see only the beautiful world that lies before them, rather than the terrible, ugly truths that lie beneath.”

“Huh?”

“I think she’s saying that there are some people in the police force and governments and places like that that work for Team Flare,” Trevor remarked. “I’ve heard about that kind of thing happening in stories, but I never really thought that sort of thing happened in real life.”

“Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, was also a Gym Leader,” Blaine spoke up, tone serious. “I would not be surprised if other organizations pulled something similar.”

“The leader of Team Flare could be a Gym Leader?” Crystal repeated. “But, then – which one?”

“A Gym Leader, he is not,” Olympia replied. “All members of the Gyms are honorable, and will not fall for Team Flare’s machinations. Much as they may attempt to reach out for us to change sides.”

Crystal frowned. “But, then…who?”

“I’m more worried about the Flare-remos,” Trevor said. “What are those things, and what was Team Flare using them for?”

“They caused a Confusion effect on us when we were in earshot,” Richie explained. “We had to plug our ears pretty thoroughly in order to avoid being affected. They haven’t used it after the badlands, weirdly.”

“This certainly is strange,” Blaine remarked. “I doubt they would avoid using something that helped them keep Pokémon away from whatever it was they were working on.”

“Maybe it’s because they have something they wanted now?” Shauna asked. “And they don’t need to use it anymore?”

“But wouldn’t they use it to keep Trainers and people like me away?” Crystal pointed out. “The Flare-remos affected me and Xavier, too. It really doesn’t make any sense that they would stop…unless it affected their Pokémon as well, maybe?”

“That could certainly play a part,” Olympia agreed, nodding.

Blaine nodded as well, then took a sip of his tea. He paused, tilted his head, then hummed and took another sip.

“But it doesn’t tell us what their final goal is…” Crystal rubbed the back of her head, frowning. “I wish I knew more…”

“You do know all there is needed to be known.” Olympia sipped her tea. “Overthinking will not assist you, young child of Mew. Relax, and it will come to you, just as easily as a forgotten memory rises to the surface at the best and worst of moments.”

Crystal frowned at Olympia. “But we don’t have the time to relax. We have to stop Team Flare, before they do something that could – I dunno, end the world or something.”

“Can they, though?” Shauna asked. “I mean – the weapon only did damage to Kalos three thousand years ago.” Her tone suggested that she was trying to be hopeful and optimistic, but her voice wavered.

“Didn’t something happen in Galar at the same time?” Tierno asked, frowning. “Wasn’t that because of—”

“I remember learning it wasn’t connected,” Trevor spoke up quickly. “Their ‘Darkest Day’ happening at the same time as the weapon’s destruction was a coincidence. Same for whatever was going on in Alola at about the same time, I think.” He paused. “Or, maybe I’m mixing up the dates for those….”

“Darkest Day?” Crystal repeated. Something about the word “Darkest” brought to mind her frequent nightmares again, with the city of skyscrapers and tall, dark figures. She shook her head, forcing that way. No way would Team Flare cause something like that. At least, she hoped not.

“Just a legend,” Trevor said. “Something about a monster that caused Pokémon to go berserk with power, and how it was defeated by a knight-king who sealed it away somewhere. Only, he was gravely wounded in the process and sent to rest in a faraway land until he’s needed again. Something like that, anyway.”

“An interesting story, but not relevant to the topic at hand,” Blaine replied, putting down his now empty cup. “Are you suggesting we already know where the weapon is, Olympia?”

“It is knowledge you have likely come across already, yes.” Olympia paused. “There is some distress I sense…Crystal, what hast thou remembered?”

“Remembered?” Tierno frowned.

Crystal shook her head. “It’s just a nightmare. It’s not something that’s involved in any of this.”

“You’ve had trouble sleeping the last few nights, though,” Richie said, frowning. “And for longer than that – it’s been since we confronted them in the badlands. It’s not because of the Pokémon they’re using, is it?”

Blaine stiffened, looking alarmed. “Crystal?”

Crystal shook her head. “It’s not because of the Pokémon. I don’t think it has anything to do with Team Flare.”

Olympia’s cup clinked against the table as she put it down, maybe with a little more force than was required. “Dreams can sometimes be the link to something between truth and fantasy. I would like to know why thou believest that your dream does not factor into anything that Team Flare is attempting.”

Crystal blinked at the question, meeting Olympia’s gaze. For some reason, there was a force in her gaze that Crystal hadn’t seen before.

She got the feeling that she wasn’t going to be able to get away without saying anything.

“…I don’t think it has anything to do with anything Team Flare is doing,” Crystal said again. “But if it’ll make you stop asking.”

 Olympia’s expression shifted to something more relaxed, and she nodded. “Please. Begin.”

Crystal considered the look on Olympia’s face with a long look, then looked around at everyone else in the room. Blaine’s eyebrows were together in an expression of concern, and Shauna looked openly worried. Tierno looked worried, too, but Trevor looked more curious than anything else.

“I-it’s really only a nightmare because of this…feeling of dread and panic I get when I see it,” Crystal admitted. “I don’t know why, but I just get this feeling that whatever I’m seeing, it’s not something that I want to exist.”

Olympia hummed, then motioned for Crystal to continue. “An alternate future, perhaps.”

Crystal shook her head again. “In my nightmare, I’m in a city that I’ve never been in before. There are more skyscrapers than in Lumiose or Saffron, and it almost feels like I’m hemmed in by them despite how wide the street is. And there are these…these figures, taller than a human and wearing these black robes. It’s hard to see their faces, but it looks like they have horns growing out through the hoods they’re wearing, and red eyes. Looking at them just filled me with a dread that I hadn’t felt before. The rest of it gets fuzzy after that, but – but then this bright white flash runs through everything and I wake up feeling like I was just running from something and I’d forgotten what I was running away from.”

“And we weren’t there to help?” Richie asked.

“I…I remember Samuel and Mike showing up at some point, but I don’t remember when they did in the nightmare, or how.” Crystal shook her head, then looked over at Olympia. “But whatever this was, it doesn’t feel like something Team Flare is doing. These things weren’t…they weren’t Team Flare. They weren’t Pokémon, or human. I don’t know what they were.”

Olympia’s expression shifted slightly. For a moment, it almost looked like a flicker of surprise and shock had settled on her face. It disappeared a moment later, however, as she regained her calm expression.

“Figments of your imagination, maybe?” Trevor suggested. “Whatever they were, they sounded terrifying. I could almost picture them in my head.”

“They are not a part of Team Flare’s ambitions, no,” Olympia said carefully. “However, a Psychic’s dreams are not something to take lightly. I would recommend that you heed them, but do not focus entirely on them. They will reveal what they have to tell you in due time.”

Crystal frowned at that, then nodded a little. “I hope so. But that all gives us is that my nightmares have nothing to do with the weapon Team Flare is trying to use.”

“You do have all that you require; I do not speak falsehoods on that.” Olympia paused. “It should be a place thou hast seen on thine travels, at least. A place that is considered sacred for lives lost, but not because it is the Lord of Death’s resting place.”

“A sacred resting place….” Shauna trailed off, frowning.

Crystal frowned, too, as she went back through her travels in Kalos.

It took her longer than she liked to remember where Olympia was talking about.

“The weapon’s in Geosenge?” Crystal asked.

“Geosenge?” Trevor repeated. “But – there isn’t anything out there! It’s just rows of stones and some cabins for people who don’t like living in Shalour near the Mega Tower or in Cyllage with the sports fanatics! There isn’t anything else out there!”

“Looks can be most deceiving,” Olympia said with a knowing glint. “I would recommend thou movest quickly, lest Team Flare overtake thee and implement their machinations.”

Crystal rose to her feet quickly. “Right. We don’t want them to use Yveltal to do who knows what.”

“Can we help?”

Crystal blinked at the question from Shauna. “I – you – you really want to?”

“Yeah.” Shauna nodded. “We’ve been running into Team Flare a lot, too.”

“I don’t know,” Trevor said, worried. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough against them.”

“Are you kidding?” Tierno patted Trevor on the back. “You know how Type matchups work, and you’ve got two Dragon-Types! That Garchomp of yours will plow through all of them!”

“I only have a Garchomp for PokeDex research purposes, not—”

“You trained it up all the way, you’ll be able to handle them just fine,” Tierno replied cheerily. “Come on – let’s go to Geosenge and keep Team Flare from ending the world as we know it.”

Tierno rose to his feet with a bounce in his step, and he pulled Trevor after him.

Shauna jumped to her feet as well. “Yeah! If these people want to use Legendary Pokémon to end the world, I want to help stop them, too.”

Crystal looked between them with wide eyes, only for her surprise to disappear under growing worry. She was about to say something when Olympia reached over and rested a hand on one of Crystal’s.

“They are your age,” Olympia said. “They are the same age that the Champion of Kanto was when he crossed the threshold of the tower of Silph. Allow them to assist, else they may never grow in the way fate intends them.”

Crystal blinked in surprise.

“She’s got a point,” Richie said. “It’s not like you went against Team Magnus alone.”

Blaine nudged Crystal with an elbow, and he rose to his feet. “All right. We have the target, and what Team Flare plans to do with it. Let’s move quickly so that they will not have their plan see fruition come the next dawn. I hope you all are planning on burning the midnight oil!”

“I’ve stayed up later for New Years’!” Shauna replied. “Let’s go!”

-----

Xavier wasn’t sure what to think of the stones north of Cyllage. He looked up at the pillars and felt the feathers on his arms stand on end.

His brothers stood next to him, staring up at the stones with either wide eyes or a bored expression.

“These things don’t look like much,” Andrew said, frowning. “They just look like rocks to me.”

“Yeah, but it’s still cool that there are so many of them,” Joshua spoke up. He looked up at Xavier and frowned. “Hey…are you okay?”

“There’s something about this place that feels off, but I’m not sure why,” Xavier replied. “You can’t feel that tension? It’s like something’s trying to ground me permanently.”

His brothers exchanged looks.

“We should go around,” Andrew said. “Is there any way around this so we can get to Geosenge?”

“Unless you want to go back to Lumiose and north through Shalour,” spoke up a girl’s voice behind them.

Xavier turned his head at the voice and blinked at the girl coming up the path. Red dress, a large flower held over her shoulder like an umbrella… “Serena? What are you doing here?”

“Tracking Shauna.” Serena rested a hand on her hip, frowning. “Did you know she’s taking a journey across the region, and didn’t think to invite me? The nerve.”

“From what I heard, you sent her on one and never asked to come with,” Xavier replied. His feathers shifted, and he did his best to ignore them. Something was telling him to fly away as fast as possible, but he couldn’t fly while carrying both his brothers.

Serena frowned. A visible shudder ran through her flower petals. “W-well – well, I did want to come with them, whether they knew it or not. So I’m trying to find out how far they went. Grant said they went through days ago, though, so I’m going to have to keep going in order to find them.” She looked past his shoulder and frowned at the standing stones. “What’s…it looks like there’s people in red suits up ahead. That’s a really garish fashion choice. I’d rather see those things burned.”

Xavier turned quickly to see what Serena was looking at. He caught sight of a flash of red-orange before something disappeared behind one of the stones. “That’s—”

A loud rumble shook the earth under their feet, cutting Xavier off as they focused on keeping their balance.

“What’s going on?!” Joshua yelped. “Xavier? Andrew?”

“Like I know!” Andrew called back. He looked to Xavier and Serena, a flash of worry crossing his face for a moment.

Xavier managed a few steps back as the shaking subsided. “I don’t know either, but all my instincts are screaming at me to fly.”

“You’re not the only one.” Serena spun her flower, frowning. She shook her head. “Those guys in red suits are bad news, right?”

Xavier looked back in surprise. “You—”

“I’m in the loop, you know,” Serena said irritably. “Just because I don’t write in doesn’t mean I don’t listen.” She grabbed a PokeBall from her dress’ belt. “If they keep creating earthquakes, they’re going to send me toppling and completely ruin my dress. I’m not about to let that happen.”

She stalked forward into the standing stones.

Xavier watched her go, then jolted forward to grab Joshua before he could run very far. “Hey!”

“We should stop them, too!” Joshua said. “It’s why we’re traveling, right?”

“We’re traveling for our Gym challenge,” Andrew said, frowning.

“But they’re keeping us from completing it! So we should stop them, right?”

Xavier considered again summoning some of his Pokémon and flying away as quickly as they could, but Serena was still moving forward. Serena, who had wanted to stay in Santalune with the flowers and not go anywhere else.

Serena, who had pushed their friends to go on a journey, and then had stayed behind.

Xavier frowned, then shook his head and tightened his grip on Joshua’s arm. “You two are staying behind me. Only fight if you have to, but leave them to me, all right?”

Andrew stared. “Y-you’re sure?”

“You’ve got this!” Joshua said with a grin. “Go beat up Team Flare!”

Xavier nodded to them both, then grabbed a PokeBall from his belt and followed after his adopted sister. “Watch my back, all right? If things get bad, we fly.”

Chapter Text

As soon as the six of them set foot outside Olympia’s home, three loud beeping noises caught them all by surprise.

“Where’s that coming from?” Crystal looked around, her eyes moving to the skies above them, first. She was only met with cloud cover, skies heavy with a snow that wasn’t ready to fall.

“I think that’s our Holo Casters.” Trevor grabbed his device, frowning. “But who are we getting messages from? And at the same time?”

“Maybe three different people decided to call us at once?” Shauna grabbed hers and activated the device. Tierno did the same.

Crystal, Blaine, and Richie moved behind them to watch the Holo Casters as they activated, releasing small holograms that looked identical to each other – a man in a suit, with a fiery mane of hair.

Crystal frowned. “Lysandre?”

“This is a broadcast announcement,” the holograms said in unnerving unison. “I apologize to all of you for not informing you sooner, but you are all doomed to die so that the world may return to its beautiful, natural state. We of Team Flare are activating the ultimate weapon, that we may save the world from its current downward slope towards inevitable destruction.”

Crystal’s breath caught in her throat. She’d gotten a bad feeling from Lysandre before, but…this? She had not been expecting this to result!

The hologram of Lysandre continued speaking. “As Team Flare’s leader, I have decided that the world has become too corrupt to continue on its current trending path, with groups of men and women eager to experiment with life and death in unnatural ways. In order to prevent this, we of Team Flare have decided to do away with such technology, but in order to do so permanently, this world must end. This will be the last time you will here from me. Good-bye, those of you not of Team Flare. I pray the half-breeds among you will vanish with everything else.”

Speech finished, the hologram winked out, signaling the end of Lysandre’s declaration. It left the six of them staring at the three Holo Casters in uneasy silence, but only for a moment.

“Wh-what was that?” Shauna asked uneasily. “That doesn’t – that doesn’t sound right.”

“Why would Lysandre do something like that?” Trevor asked. “It doesn’t – it doesn’t make any sense. He’s created technology to improve lives, and make the current world into something he called ‘more beautiful.’ Did he just…decide to give up?”

“I doubt that anyone would be able to pick apart his mind at this point in time,” Blaine replied, frowning. “And we don’t have the time to, either.”

“We need to get to Geosenge – fast.” Crystal nodded in agreement.

“But how can we?” Richie frowned. “It’s not like we have a Flying-Type Pokémon to carry us there. We haven’t made friends with a Pokémon of that sort just yet.”

Crystal blinked, then mentally double-checked her team before sighing. “Yeah, but…but—”

“I have a ride the two of us can use.” Blaine held up a PokeBall. “You needn’t worry.”

“And we have Flying Pokémon, too,” Shauna added.

Trevor muttered something under his breath.

“Huh?” Tierno looked over. “What was that, Trevs?”

Trevor blinked at the question, then shook his head and frowned at them. “I said, I think it would be a good idea if we split up.”

Crystal and Richie exchanged looks.

“Unless Lysandre managed to build an entire underground facility under Geosenge – which I doubt – he would’ve needed to use specific equipment to broadcast a message like that to every Holo Caster in Kalos.” Trevor paused, looking at Tierno and Shauna. “The kind of technology that the news stations would also have access to, or his own personal labs when they send out updates to our software.” He waved his Holo Caster around, as though that was proof enough.

Tierno frowned and tilted his head. “So…what? You think he’s in a news station somewhere?”

“Or his own labs?” Shauna added.

Trevor nodded to Shauna. “I think he’s there. That way he doesn’t have to ask a news station for access. I mean, he owns Lysandre Labs.”

“Why do you think we need to split up?” Crystal asked. “The weapon’s in Geosenge, right? So why don’t we just…go straight there?”

“The boy has a point,” Blaine replied. “There may be other things in his laboratory that he could use to replicate whatever this weapon is intended for. If we can stop those before they start as well, it will strengthen our chances of stopping Team Flare for good.”

Crystal nodded, then frowned and looked around at the others. “But, then…who’s going to go where?”

“Well, the Legendary’s gonna be near the weapon, right?” Tierno asked. “So you go save Yveltal, and we’ll focus on Lysandre’s labs! I bet they’ll be easy enough to find.”

“They’re supposed to be in Lumiose somewhere, but we don’t know where, exactly,” Trevor pointed out.

“Maybe we can ask Professor Sycamore if he has an idea!” Shauna replied. She nodded. “OK; that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go to Lumiose and ask Professor Sycamore for help!” She grabbed one of her PokeBalls and held it up. “You guys ready to go?”

“Just be prepared in case there are traps in there,” Crystal spoke up quickly. “I don’t think they’ll make it easy to reach Lysandre.”

“Don’t worry! I’m really good with puzzles.” Shauna tossed her PokeBall into the air, releasing a Pidgeot. “Come on, guys! Let’s go to Lumiose!”

“Yeah!” Tierno grabbed a PokeBall as Trevor and Shauna climbed onto the Pidgeot’s back. “Let’s meet up in Geosenge when we’re done!” He released a Pidgeot of his own and almost jumped onto the Pokémon’s back.

“An excellent plan,” Blaine replied with a nod. “Good luck to all of you.”

“Same to you!” Shauna replied. She patted her Pokémon’s neck, and the Pidgeot took off with a cry. Tierno’s followed after her without any prompting.

Crystal didn’t stand still and watch them fly up for long; instead, she turned her attention to Blaine and the PokeBall he was still holding. “I don’t want to give Lysandre more of a head-start than he already has.”

“I agree.” Blaine tossed his PokeBall, releasing an orange-and-gray Flying Pokémon with black tips on the wings. “Talon, we need to fly to a city called Geosenge in the west. Can you carry both of us?”

Talon looked at Blaine, then over at Crystal with a tilt of his head. After a moment, he nodded. “Sure. I’ll need you to tell me where to land, though.”

“I know where it is,” Crystal said. She looked up at Richie, who nodded back and returned himself, then up at Blaine. “Are you ready for this?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Blaine replied. “Let’s stop this madman from destroying the world.”

-----

 Geosenge was not doing well when Xavier, Joshua, Andrew, and Serena finally broke through the stone pillars and arrived in town. If the number of Team Flare members hooking Pokémon up to the pillars was alarming, the number that were standing in town was even more so.

Xavier’s instincts again screamed at him to fly, to take his brothers and Serena and get out, but then Serena moved forward, a Florges with a red flower mane floating alongside her with her head raised high.

“Well, you people are becoming less of an annoyance.” Serena paused. “And a lot more of a frustration.”

The Team Flare members standing in town exchanged looks.

“I don’t see anyone but Team Flare members,” Joshua said nervously. He stood behind Xavier, wide-eyed as he peered at the people in suits. “Is everyone in town okay?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is everyone in town.” Andrew held a PokeBall, ready to throw it at a curve into whatever Team Flare grunt decided to battle him first. “Xavier, are we fighting?”

Serena held up a hand, summoning a sphere of pink energy that sparkled and shimmered like moonlight.

The Team Flare grunts responded immediately, grabbing PokeBalls and moving to throw them with scrambling haste.

“Keep them occupied!” one of them yelled. “We have to keep them from shutting things down!”

“Guess we’re fighting.” Xavier reached for his team. “Everyone! Fight formation!”

The six PokeBalls at his belt exploded open, releasing a team that had not all come from Kalos.

A Pidgeot took wing to the sky, circling around the town square as a Talonflame and male Unfezant joined her on her right and left. Meanwhile, the Dodrio and Hawlucha on the ground lunged for the nearest Pokémon targets – a pair of Scrafty that were running towards them with an intent glare on their faces.

The last member of Xavier’s team, and the only Pokémon that wasn’t a Flying-Type, landed on the ground in front of him and looked back with an intense gaze of his own. The tongue-scarf hid the lower half of the Water-Type’s face, but Xavier knew how to read his expression well enough.

“Team Flare is planning something in Geosenge,” Xavier said. “We need to keep them from doing whatever they’re planning, but I don’t know what they’re up to.”

The Greninja – a gift from Sycamore last year, when he was a Froakie – nodded in response, then rippled and vanished from sight. Xavier trusted that the Water and Dark-Type knew what to look for.

“Go, Toadie!” Joshua released his own starter, a smaller, lean blue frog with a scarf of foam rather than his tongue. Toadie had evolved into a Frogadier only recently, and it was clear he saw Xavier’s Greninja as a mentor. “Let’s go beat up Team Flare guys!”

“Walnut!” Andrew released his own starter, a round, green Grass-Type that looked more like a walking, unripened chestnut than anything else. “Keep up the defense! Let’s do this!”

Above their heads, Xavier’s Pidgeot called as the Dodrio and Hawlucha finished off the Scrafty that had rushed the boys.

At the same time, Serena threw the attack she had been charging right into the center of the square. “Moonblast!”

The explosion of Fairy-Type energy only caused the Team Flare grunts to switch tactics, sending five Swalot forward. The large, purple Poison-Types were a familiar sight from Hoenn.

Serena took a slight step back, but then Xavier rushed forward and past her, wind whipping past him as he moved.

“Air Cutter!”

The burst of speed from Xavier immediately turned into a series of slashes that cut into the Poison-Type bottomless stomachs. Pidgeot and Unfezant swooped down moments later, each slamming into a Swalot to knock them out cold.

“Be careful,” Xavier said to Serena. “The Professor said they use Houndoom, too.”

“I’m not scared of Houndoom,” Serena said with a derisive snort. She summoned a large number of magically shimmering leaves and threw them over their heads; Xavier thought he heard a hound Pokémon yelp in pain from somewhere further back, among the Team Flare grunts and other Pokémon they had. “I do appreciate you stopping those unpleasant Pokémon from moving further forward. I don’t have any proper offense for them.”

The Florges with her hummed elegantly in agreement. “Most annoying.”

Xavier felt a brief twinge of annoyance and was about to respond when he heard a Talonflame’s cry above their heads.

“That’s a sea of red down there! Where do you want me to let you down?”

Xavier looked up sharply as his Talonflame swooped down, wings coated in steel, to finish off another Swalot. He saw another Talonflame hovering higher up, not yet in the battle.

And then a figure jumped off, tail flicking wildly as the Talonflame quickly moved to regain his balance.

A shout of shock rang from the back of the hovering Talonflame, but Xavier didn’t recognize the voice.

What he did recognize were the solid Psychic particles that appeared in the air before slamming into the remaining Swalot before any other Pokémon could finish them off.

“Psyshock!”

Crystal’s voice echoed in Xavier’s head as she slowed her fall to a soft hover and landed between him, Serena, and the Team Flare grunts.

“You?!” Serena asked in surprise.

“Sorry I’m late,” Crystal said back. “Although, I didn’t know you guys were in Geosenge, too.”

“That was so cool!” Joshua exclaimed. “I wanna do that!”

“No!” Andrew snapped back.

“Definitely not,” Walnut agreed. The Quilladin waddled over to look at Crystal with a curious look before returning his gaze to the Team Flare grunts. It looked like they were in shock from Crystal’s sudden appearance and were attempting to regroup.

“Late for what, exactly?” Serena asked.

“There’s an ancient weapon somewhere around here that they want to use to wipe out everyone except for themselves,” Crystal replied. “We’ve gotta stop them.”

Xavier’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry?”

An ancient weapon? But the only one he could think of was—

“Well, that won’t do.” Serena sniffed. “I had plans today. It seems I’ll simply have to take out all my frustration on these fools.” She glared at Team Flare. “Where is the weapon, then?”

Crystal shook her head. “I’m not sure. I just know it’s somewhere around here.”

“Xavier sent Grena out,” Joshua spoke up. “He should find something.”

“Grena?”

A Team Flare member shouted something, and more Pokémon started appearing in the town square – five black and white hounds, with ragged fur and red eyes.

Xavier didn’t catch the even the briefest sense of fear from Crystal as she stared down the Mightyena.

“You guys aren’t the ones I have problems with.” She hopped from one foot to the other, then tapped two PokeBalls and rushed forward.

The bright pink glow of Fairy-Type energy that came from Crystal caught Xavier by surprise.

It surprised Serena, too. “Did she just—”

“Moonblast!”

What Pokémon survived the attack from Crystal were quickly taken down by a punch-happy Azumaril and a Vivillon using Bug Buzz as loudly as he dared.

Serena’s jaw dropped, but she recovered herself with an indignant noise. “Where did she learn that?! She’s a Psychic-Type, not a Fairy-Type!”

“She’s a Mew,” Xavier corrected. “She’s free to learn whatever moves she chooses, like how I can leave the ground whenever I want.”

Serena looked at Xavier sharply, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find an argument, but found none.

Crystal jumped back a few steps as the Talonflame she’d been riding earlier landed behind the group. “I learned Moonblast from Diancie, actually. I needed something to help against Dark-Types.”

Serena spluttered. “Diancie?!”

“Lady Diancie graced her with the strongest of our Fairy-Type abilities,” the Florges said in amazement. “And she has always been a good judge of character.”

Serena spluttered again, clearly not sure what words to form, as the Team Flare grunts regrouped again and prepared to throw another set of five PokeBalls.

Xavier was prepared to take on whatever they threw at him, but as soon as the PokeBalls opened, Crystal’s Azumaril reacted with a strong Surf wave that knocked out all targets and forced them back into their PokeBalls.

“You’d think they’d’ve learned after the PokeBall Factory,” the Azumaril remarked.

Crystal’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks, Amy.”

“Glad to see you’re all safe and well,” remarked an old voice behind them. Xavier turned and blinked in surprise when he saw the bald man in a lab coat. “Although, I wish we had met under different circumstances.”

“Gym Leader Blaine?” Xavier guessed. “What are you doing here?”

“Offering my assistance, with the intent to see this Team Flare burn itself out before it can turn into something else.” Blaine frowned at the Team Flare grunts in front of them, each one looking more nervous, now that they no longer had any Pokémon to work with. “But first, we need to find where that weapon is hiding. I will not allow any end of the world scenarios to happen.”

Another ripple in the air, and Grena reappeared next to Xavier, causing Crystal to jump in surprise. “I’ve found an entrance, hidden in a rock pillar not far from here. It seems to have been…renovated, recently.”

“Where did – I didn’t—” Crystal stumbled over her words, eyes wide.

“Greninja are Water and Dark-Types,” Xavier offered, apologetic. “They’re the final form of the Water starters in Kalos.” He nodded to Grena, who bowed back, before turning his attention to Joshua, Andrew, Toadie, and Walnut. “I need you guys to stay up here and make sure the town’s okay. I won’t encourage you to rescue those Pokémon from the standing stones, but I won’t discourage it, either. Just remember that there will be a lot of strong Trainers out that way.”

Joshua pouted. “But Xavier—"

“We’ll take care of it,” Andrew spoke over his brother. “But make sure you don’t get your feathers plucked or anything stupid down there, all right?”

“I promise.” Xavier nodded back, then looked over at Crystal, Blaine, and Serena, as well as their Pokémon as his Flying team came in for a landing around them. “Are we ready?”

Crystal nodded. “Let’s stop Team Flare.”

-----

“I’m sorry, they built a what?”

“They renovated a castle under the Pokémon League,” N repeated. He kept his hands folded in front of him, watching Black pace while White calmly ate dinner from her seat next to him. “It’s a historical site, and there are ruins buried underneath it, like the ruins on Route 4. Does it…really come as that much of a surprise?”

“I think that depends on how much of our history is known by the common man,” replied the old man they were eating dinner with. “There are some things still left uncovered.” He inclined his head at N. “But what is your opinion, N? You do not seem to be so eager to serve as the ‘king’ that Team Plasma claims.”

N frowned at the question, then shook his head. “I’m…not sure, anymore. There are humans who are kind to their Pokémon, but there are people who abuse them, too. But humans have helped Pokémon, and Pokémon have helped humans in turn. And there are even some humans who are very much Pokémon themselves.” He nodded to Black and White. “I was raised all my life to think they were supposed to remain separate, but…now I don’t know what to believe as the truth.”

Black paused in his pacing to consider N’s words.

“Lots of people spend their whole lives trying to figure out the truth,” remarked the purple-haired girl sitting next to the old man. “Most of them think themselves in circles and never break out of it. I hope you don’t do that.”

N blinked in surprise at her words, then smiled a little and looked away. “I…thanks. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“If you were intended to be the hero of Truth, Reshiram will need you to have pure conviction in your truths,” the old man said. “If, however, you seek an ideal that could become reality, Zekrom might yet answer your call.”

White looked up from her meal.

“You seriously aren’t suggesting he still wake up one,” Black said, alarmed. “He’s been a puppet already for these guys – which are underhanded tactics I’m not fond of, let’s be clear – and now you’re suggesting he wake up one of the dragons like they were planning?”

The girl giggled. “They want Reshiram. If they get Zekrom, then someone else will be able to show conviction in their truth and use the White Stone instead!”

N frowned. “I…I don’t know. Can I have time to think about this, Drayden?”

“Of course,” the old man replied with a nod. “But be aware – Team Plasma will need to be stopped, with or without the help of a Legendary Pokémon. If you wish to help, whether or not you gain the favor of one, just remember that you have allies beyond the Pokémon you have befriended.” He reached across the table and rested a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “You do not need to be a hero of legend in order to become a hero of legend.”

N frowned at Drayden’s words, then nodded a little. “I…all right. I’ll think about it.”

“In the meantime, I wanna spar!” The purple-haired girl rose to her feet. “Come on! I’m a Gym Leader, and Drayden’s a Gym Leader. Do you guys wanna try for our Gym Badge?”

Black, White, and N exchanged looks while Drayden closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Give them the rest of the day before you ask, Iris,” Drayden replied. “They have a lot to consider.”

“Aw.” Iris’ shoulders sagged. “Okay.”

Black snickered. “He may have a lot to think about, but I don’t. Let’s see what you’ve got, kid, cause I hope you’re ready for what my team’s got.”

Iris perked up immediately. “All right! Meet me in the Gym; let’s do this!”

As she scrambled out of Drayden’s house, Drayden sent Black a meaningful look, which Black pretended to ignore with a wide grin and a laugh.

“She’s got a lot of energy,” Black remarked. “Kinda wonder if she’ll be able to read aura or whatever when she gets bigger. Regular humans can do that, right?” He glanced at White.

“There’s got to be a few,” White remarked.

“Cool.” Black grinned, then turned and stepped out of the house, following after Iris, and leaving N to consider his own future.

Although, if Black had anything to say about it, beating up Team Plasma was definitely the first thing on his list after getting that Gym Badge.

Chapter Text

Crystal wasn’t sure what to think of the fact that Kalos Water-Type starters turned into Water and Dark-Types when they fully evolved, but she decided to put the thought in the back of her mind for now. Grena wasn’t a Houndoom, after all, and if she thought of him as a Water-Type first, she didn’t feel all that panicked at the thought of being near him.

The only reason she was feeling uneasy at all was because of the stone pillar they were approaching, and the metal door that was installed in it.

“Is that an…elevator door?” Crystal asked cautiously.

“It certainly appears to be,” Grena replied. “But that is no guarantee it is one.” The ninja-frog moved to stand next to the steel door, tilting his head at it. “I saw Team Flare grunts disappear inside, but no one has yet to come out.”

“Hm.” Blaine rubbed his chin in thought, then walked up to the metal door with a confident stride.

“Who’s the old guy?” Serena muttered to Xavier.

Crystal’s ears flicked, and she frowned. She considered answering for Xavier, but she didn’t think Serena liked her very much.

“That’s Blaine. The Cinnabar Gym Leader.” Xavier nodded to Blaine as he looked over the metal door in front of them.

“You mean the guy who made Mewtwo?” Serena asked a little too loudly.

Crystal stiffened at the question and turned sharply, while Blaine paused in his inspection. For a moment, Crystal thought Blaine wasn’t going to answer.

“Technically, all I did was monitor Mewtwo,” Blaine corrected. “Mythos is no direct creation of mine, and I can’t say that I’m eager to claim him as my experiment in any sense of the word.”

“But you were still involved,” Serena insisted. “So, doesn’t that make you a bad guy?”

“Serena!” Crystal exclaimed, aghast. “Blaine’s not—”

“Consider me working towards atonement,” Blaine spoke over Crystal. “Although, there are some people who would claim that I have atoned enough for my previous actions. After all, I was forced to give some of my DNA to Mythos to stabilize him, but his DNA infected me and threatened to kill me in return.”

Serena blinked in surprise. “Uh—”

“After living through that torture, I would assume that any scientist worth their salt would want to rethink that which they once thought was their magnum opus,” Blaine said seriously. “I am content as a Gym Leader and a mentor to a new Champion. I don’t need to be more than that.”

Serena blinked a couple times. The Flogres – the evolved form of Floette, apparently – hummed and tilted her head in thought.

“I have some thoughts about how you have viewed the world, little flower,” the Florges remarked. “But we can discuss them at a later time.”

Crystal’s ears flicked at that, and she wondered what that meant, but then Blaine made a noise of triumph from the metal door, and she looked back.

“It seems they are expecting us.” Blaine motioned to the open door, and the chamber just beyond it. “Or, at the very least, they are expecting more Team Flare members to join them below. Let’s go see if they’ve put together a welcome party with the appropriate fireworks.” He paused. “There likely won’t be room for all of your Pokémon as well, but I doubt the base beneath us will be as cramped.”

“Beneath?” Crystal repeated.

“How far beneath?” Xavier looked down, frowning.

“Considering they intend to bring about the end of the world, likely very far.” Blaine frowned at the open door. “We likely won’t be able to be in contact with anyone on the surface, unless we come back to this point. So if anyone has any calls to make, I would recommend doing so now.”

Xavier sighed heavily and ran a hand over an arm. His feathers shifted in response. “I don’t keep a Holo Caster on me.”

“Nor I,” Serena added.

Blaine nodded to the two of them, then looked over at Crystal.

Crystal frowned, then shook her head. “I should be okay. I don’t think there’s anyone that I’d want to call right now.”

Blaine inclined his head slightly, then nodded. “All right. Let’s go see what they have waiting for us.” He put one foot into the elevator, then motioned for the rest to follow.

Xavier moved first, his team of Flying-Types and Greninja returning to their PokeBalls as he stepped inside. Crystal followed, Sawyer and Amy returning themselves as well.

Serena lingered at the elevator door for a long moment, looking between them and the late afternoon sky above their heads. It almost looked like the Florges was going to push Serena into the elevator when Serena sighed heavily and stepped inside, the Florges on her heels before returning herself to her PokeBall.

Blaine nodded and pulled his other foot into the elevator, and the doors closed. He nudged the single button on the side of the chamber.

The jolt that followed made Crystal brace herself against the wall as they started down.

Serena snickered. “Not used to elevators, are you?”

Crystal frowned back. “I am. But we don’t know how well this one works.”

Serena rolled her eyes, but then did a double-take as Xavier started nodding.

“We also don’t know how deep this is going to go,” Xavier said. “Even if we did, I likely won’t do well underground.”

“Because you are a Flying-Type?” Blaine guessed.

Xavier nodded. “I’m used to seeing the sky. I don’t like the idea of being…confined.”

“Ah.” Blaine nodded. “I understand that. We’ll need to make sure we keep a path open for a possible retreat, then – both for you and if we need to recover before trying again.”

Serena closed her mouth and huffed.

“Do you think we’ll need to make multiple tries?” Crystal asked. “I hope not.”

“It would be for the best if we prepared for every possibility,” Blaine replied. “But I would also like to burn through this place only once. So keep your medicines close, everyone. We may have need of them.”

Crystal, Xavier, and Serena nodded in response, then exchanged looks before letting their eyes wander elsewhere.

It took longer than Crystal liked to think about before the elevator came to a somewhat smooth halt. There was a tense moment where they stood together, reaching for PokeBalls or their own energy as they waited for the elevator door to open, but when it did, no Team Flare members rushed into the elevator.

Although, there were plenty standing around in the white-tiled room just beyond. It looked like some kind of work space, with computer desks spread out on either side of the room, and a walkway leading to a platform on the other side of the room.

And on the back wall of the room was a glass portion that showed something made of a glistening material that looked like it could be something important.

Blaine stuck one foot outside of the elevator to keep the door open and looked around at the space. “Well, so far so good. Are you kids ready?”

Crystal nodded as she grabbed Amy’s PokeBall. She saw Xavier and Serena move to do the same with members of their own team.

Blaine nodded back, then swiped a PokeBall from under his lab coat, and they stepped out into the room. “Good afternoon, posers! Let’s see who’s flame burns brightest!”

The Flare grunts and occasional scientist milling about stiffened in alarm at their entrance. Cries started going up almost immediately.

“When did they get here?!”

“I thought our base was top secret! How did they—”

“I thought that was Xerosic! He’s supposed to be here by now! Where is he? What’s holding him up in the labs?!”

“Lysandre’s going to be furious when he finds out they’re here! Stop them!”

PokeBalls started flying almost immediately, releasing Pokémon across the usual Type spectrum that Crystal had come to associate with Team Flare.

She released Amy from her PokeBall and prepared to throw a Psyshock at the nearest Swalot. “You’re not ending the world today!”

“We’re snuffing this fuse before it can get anywhere close to the explosives,” Blaine agreed. “Come! Let’s see if you can burn as hotly as I!”

-----

Shauna wasn’t expecting her puzzle-solving to lead them through a secret entrance into Lysandre’s laboratory, or that the labs ran underneath the city.

The lighting definitely wasn’t the best, and the area wasn’t big enough for her Venasaur to run around freely for the most part. There was space for battles, but other than that, the three of them were trying to find their way around alone.

Well, almost alone.

“Why did you decide to help Lysandre destroy the world?” Trevor demanded as the woman in front of them returned her fainted Pokémon. “We like our world the way it is! Why would you want to completely destroy it?”

“Because this world is fundamentally flawed, and we were chosen to remake it from the ground up,” the orange-haired scientist replied. She waved a hand, as though waving away their expressions. “Not everyone is going to be able to live into the new world, anyway. Narrowing the number down was a part of Lysandre’s plan, and it has worked out quite well.”

“That’s not a puzzle you want to solve, though!” Shauna replied.

“Or a song I want to dance to,” Tierno agreed, nodding. “Wouldn’t it be better to work on this world, and not give up on it?”

“Perhaps, but Lysandre made his choice, and we’re willing to stand by him.” The woman stepped aside, revealing two warp panels, colored yellow and green. “If you want to try and stop us, please do try and go deeper into the facility. If you think you can handle our combined strength, that is.”

The woman smiled slyly, and Shuana frowned back at her.

“We have more than enough strength,” Shauna said. “I have faith in my Pokémon, and my friends. They’ll stop you in Geosenge while we shut you down here!”

The woman’s mouth twitched, but Shauna didn’t stop to see if she would say anything else. She jumped onto the green warp panel instead, and warped away to another part of the floor.

Trevor and Tierno followed her through to the next portion of the lab, covered in movement tiles and partitioned off with more walls. Trevor held his stomach for a moment, but shook his head when Tierno gave him a concerned look.

“I’m okay,” Trevor managed. “I’m just not that used to teleporting.”

Tierno blinked, then relaxed and nodded. “Okay; I guess it’s good that I’ve been having my Sigilyph friend teleport me everywhere, then. I didn’t feel the least bit queasy. Are you doing okay, Shauna?”

“I’m running on nerves right now, but I’ll be okay.” Shauna nodded to them. “Come on. Something tells me we got a lot further to go.”

The boys nodded back, and they moved out of the walled-off area and started wandering around the lab’s main floor again, watching their step in case they ended up on another movement tile or five.

“I hope we can stop Team Flare from here,” Tierno said. “Then it would make things easier for Crystal in Geosenge.”

“I hope so, too,” Shuana agreed.

-----

It took them several minutes to fight the Team Flare grunts and scientists who were in the entrance. Crystal didn’t see so much as a hint of black fur or horns among them, which she hoped meant that they weren’t going to run into any Houndoom in this underground base.

She was glad to have Blaine, Xavier, and Serena fighting alongside her, though. There was something nice about having more than just her team at her back, covering for each other’s weaknesses.

“Well, that’s certainly the welcome I was expecting,” Blaine remarked. He dusted off his hands as he looked around the room. Desks and computers had been sent flying in the fight, turning the once pristine space into a wreck. “Not as much oomph as I was looking for, though.”

“You wanted them to come after us with something stronger?” Serena asked. “Are you insane?”

“If they want to take the title of Flare, I expect them to back it up,” Blaine replied. “They burn quickly and snuff out before they can turn into a proper blaze; they are not worthy of the fiery name they’ve taken.”

Serena looked at the Magmar next to Blaine with raised eyebrows, only to get a shrug in response.

“He’s a Fire-Type Gym Leader who takes his puns seriously,” Magmar said. “You learn to roll with it after a while.”

Serena blinked a couple times, then threw her hands in the air and shook her head.

“As interesting as this conversation is, we should keep moving,” Xavier spoke up. “I don’t want to be down here longer than we have to be, especially since we don’t know where they’re keeping the weapon yet.”

“Then let’s look around and see what we can find.” Crystal looked over at Amy, then up towards the platform on the other side of the room. “There’s probably a way deeper into the base over there...let’s see….”

“So, you came straight here, rather than attempted to find me?”

Crystal’s ears flicked at the voice, and she stiffened in alarm as a figure stepped out into the open. “Lysandre!”

“The man himself.” Blaine snorted. “Clearly, the man wishes he was one with fire.”

“What better way to become the embodiment of the old world’s destruction and its rebirth?” Lysandre replied. He looked back at the strange material behind the glass wall. “It’s a shame you came here at this time. The flower has yet to bloom.”

Serena frowned. “Flower…? That does not look like a flower I have ever seen.”

“It is a flower that has not bloomed in three thousand years.” Lysander looked back at them. “In truth, I had hoped that it would be the last thing you abhorrent creatures of science would see, but it seems that you will only see a little more before your lives end.”

Crystal’s ears flattened while Amy bristled next to her.

“I think you have a few words for someone who thinks someone doesn’t deserve to live just because of how they were born,” Blaine remarked.

“No kidding,” Magmar agreed. “I’ve heard of people who don’t like people, but this is something else.”

Lysandre’s eyes narrowed at Blaine. “As you are connected with them, I am not surprised by your opinion of them. Which will mean that you will have to disappear with the rest.” He looked back at the strange “flower” behind him. “I suppose it would not hurt, to tell you what I have in mind. You will disappear with the rest anyway.”

Crystal didn’t like the sound of that. She shifted back one step, Amy moving in front of her defensively.

“When the weapon is unleashed, it will draw its energy from the Legendary Pokémon,” Lysandre continued. “You may have come here to stop me, and I commend you for that, but you will not always get what you want. Conflicting egos drive this world, after all.”

“You’re drawing energy from the – from Yveltal?!” Crystal shrieked. “You’re using him to power this?!”

“He’s doing what?!” Xavier repeated, startled.

“You’re stealing energy from the lord of death,” Serena said flatly. “The Pokémon that is supposed to kill a lot of living creatures in order to fuel his sleep.”

“Resources on this world are limited,” Lysandre replied. “Space and energy are also limited, but the number of people and Pokémon increase regardless. Some may say it causes the numbers to become unsustainable, and cause money and energy to be stolen by those with more power, but I believe it alsocauses science to become…complacent, in their morals. Complacent enough to cause monsters to be spawned into existence. It is my intent to wipe the slate clean and prevent these things from happening again.”

“It may be true that Team Rocket and Team Magnus caused people like me and others to exist,” Crystal replied, “but that doesn’t mean you can destroy everyone else except for the people you think can survive!”

“Then tell me.” Lysandre turned around to look down at Crystal. “Do you intend to make more of your people, so that you can have a proper place in this world like the rest of us? Or are you going to allow your people to die out?”

“Wh-wha?”

“Crystal is too young to make such decisions,” Blaine spoke up. “She is a child. Clearly, you did not hear that she is ten years old. Would you ask a child if she wanted to marry and have children, when she has not yet formed an opinion of the rest of the world?”

Lysandre moved back a step at Blaine’s outburst. Then he shook his head and recovered his stance. “When something can’t be shared, it is fought over. When it is fought over, some must survive without it. And when some decide to give a few a piece of that great power, then people will fight over them as well. The only way to create a world where people live in beauty, a world without conflict or theft or immoral experiments, is to reduce the number of living things to a manageable level.”

Something in Crystal’s mind flashed back to Kanto, years and years ago, when Mythos had first awoken and set about destroying everything in sight. Before Arceus had reached out and given him a mind, a sense of self.

Lysandre may not be the same, but there was something about his plan that made her think of a destructive force that wouldn’t – couldn’t – see reason.

“You’re counting humans and Pokémon both in this,” Xavier said. “At least, I would assume, considering that humans need to eat meat and plants both.”

“Gross,” Serena muttered.

“You haven’t seen a Pidgeotto eat a Magikarp, then,” Blaine remarked.

Lysandre remained silent for a moment longer than Crystal thought he would.

“Pokémon….” Lysandre’s gaze moved away from Crystal, focusing instead on Amy standing in front of her. “Pokémon are wonderous beings. Humans have worked with Pokémon, and we have helped each other flourish. But they have become tools because of that, becoming weapons of war or unethical experiments of science. In order to prevent them from being used for such deeds again….”

The way he trailed off left a tightening sensation in Crystal’s chest that quickly spiraled out into a curling dread that sat heavily in her stomach. “No….”

“You are insane,” Blaine said with a shaking voice.

Lysandre’s eyes narrowed. “My mind is as sound as it has ever been. Now – you want to stop the ultimate weapon, and I refuse to do so. It will not be long before my head scientist activates the weapon from his place in my labs, and then the world will be remade anew.” A brief smirk crossed his face. “Allow me to keep you busy for a brief moment, while my men make their final checks below, and Xerosic follows through on what he promised.”

“Get ready!” Amy barked.

Lysandre held up four PokeBalls and tossed them at once, releasing four Pokémon into the room.

The long, purple Pokémon standing on two legs settled into a fighting stance immediately, only for Xavier to lunge forward and catch her attention with an Air Slash to the face.

A large, hulking Gyarados formed into being above Lysandre’s remaining two Pokémon – a Fire-Type Pokémon with a mane, and a black bird Pokémon with a white plume of feathers on his chest.

Amy lunged for the Fire-Type, her tail glowing with a barely-contained Aqua Tail. “Eat water, sucker!”

“Moonblast!” Serena hit the black bird Pokémon with her own sphere of bright pink energy, sending the creature skidding back. “Hmph. A Honchkrow isn’t going to do you any good.”

Crystal steeled herself and frowned up at the Gyarados, which was looking back at her with a hungry expression. Its tail started to glow with a readied Aqua Tail, but it wouldn’t take Crystal long to retaliate in her own way.

Crystal held out a hand, electricity sparking down her arm. The wide wave of Electric-Type energy immediately hit her opponent directly, almost wrapping around him. “Shock Wave!”

The Gyarados’ scream of pain didn’t last for long. He, along with the rest of Lysandre’s team, quickly returned to their PokeBalls.

Lysandre didn’t look the least bit pleased. “Why do you seek to stop me?”

“To save the world from being destroyed!” Crystal shouted back.

“So, you want to protect it from me? Is that it? But what if tomorrow were to end up worse than today?”

“Then we fight on,” Xavier replied. “And we’re not the only ones fighting for that future, either. I think the world would be in a pretty sorry state if we had to rely on kids to stop lunatics like you.”

“Agreed.” Serena twirled her flower. “You are not setting a very good example for the adults, you know.”

Blaine laughed, but he didn’t sound amused.

Lysandre frowned, but before he could offer a retort, something shifted and groaned in the bunker.

Crystal felt all the hair on the back of her neck and all the fur on her tail stand on end when the strange “flower” started to move upwards behind the glass wall.

Amy bristled and hissed in response to the movement.

“I don’t like that,” Magmar muttered next to Blaine. “Nope nope nope.”

“Since when is that moving?” Serena demanded.

“Oh no,” Xavier muttered.

Lysandre smiled. “It seems you are too late. Come! Join me on the lowest level, and see what you cannot stop!”

The man took off at a run through a doorway in the wall that Crystal hadn’t seen earlier, and the flower completely left their view as it disappeared above the glass wall. The only thing left to mark its passing was a line of red and black cables that stretched down towards something below.

“I hope that Shauna’s okay,” Crystal said.

“Shauna?” Serena repeated.

“She and those two boys went to the labs in Lumiose,” Blaine said. “I also pray for their safety, but there’s nothing we can do about that right this instant. Not with that weapon now above ground, and no doubt ready to do what it was built for.”

Serena whirled on Blaine. “Are you insane?! You can’t just—”

“They asked to help,” Crystal said. “I didn’t want to send them here, where the weapon was. Would you?”

Serena spluttered at the question, but her sounds didn’t form into an answer.

“Then let’s make sure that whatever they did wasn’t in vain,” Xavier said. “Come on. We’ve gotta catch up to Lysandre before he destroys everything.”

-----

“You – you big meanie!”

Shauna threw her Venasaur’s PokeBall without really thinking about what she was doing. The large, green Grass and Poison-Type lizard slammed into the pale, red-haired scientist who was standing in the room.

“I got the puzzle right!” Shauna pointed at the monitor, where the crystalline flower unfurled over toppled wood cabins. “I got the puzzle right, which meant you couldn’t just let that thing loose! But you did!”

Trevor and Tierno exchanged wide-eyed looks from where they stood next to her.

Venasaur settled a little more purposefully on top of Xerosic. “Oh, this one’s a bad one.”

“Get off me, you stupid beast!” Xerosic attempted to hit Venasaur’s leg to get the large Pokémon to move, but it only made Venasaur settle on top of the scientist even more. “Guh!”

“You don’t get away with tricking me like that!” Shauna snapped. “Trevor! Go outside and find a policeman – anyone! And don’t use your Holo Caster!”

“R-right!” Trevor yelped and scrambled out of the room.

Tierno whistled. “That’s what you get for ruining a puzzle.”

Xerosic wheezed in response.

Shauna growled something that was probably a curse in some Pokémon’s tongue, but she didn’t repeat it in the human language, thankfully. “Tierno, can you check on that old guy we found? He looked pretty beat up.”

“Sure!” Tierno nodded. “If you need anything, just holler, okay?”

Shauna gave him a thumbs-up, and Tierno turned and ran out of the room.

“How long do you want me to sit on him?” Venasaur asked.

“Stay there until he apologizes for messing up his puzzle,” Shauna replied. She started pacing the room, then paused and added, “and until the police get here. He deserves to be arrested after that.”

Xerosic groaned. A part of him suddenly wished that Crystal had been the one to show up, rather than three Kalosian children.

They were more trouble than they were worth.

Chapter Text

The hallway beyond the entrance was nothing but white walls and white floors – a sight which unnerved Crystal, bringing back memories of a time when she was running away from such things, howling creatures at her heels.

But now she was running into it, in order to stop a man from ending Kalos, and possibly the world at large, because he didn’t think most of the world was allowed to exist anymore.

A Flare member in a white suit met her not far into the hallway. “Liepard, go—”

Crystal threw forward a hand. “Moonblast!”

The pink blast knocked the feline into the wall, leaving the Flare member staring in shock as Crystal and Amy moved past.

“You picked that up pretty quickly,” Amy remarked. “Think it’ll work on those Pokémon?”

“I don’t know,” Crystal replied. “They’re not…not only Dark-Types, so—”

A howl rose up in the hall ahead of them, causing Crystal to freeze in place. An admin started coming around the corner, with something at his heels—

Amy lunged forward and beat the Pokémon back behind the corner, catching the Flare admin by surprise as his Pokémon yelped in pain. Crystal heard rather than saw his Pokémon get returned to its PokeBall, and her shoulders relaxed a little.

Footsteps resounded in the hall behind her.

“Crystal!” Blaine called as Amy came back. “Don’t run off so quickly; we don’t know what Team Flare could have prepared up ahead.”

“Sorry,” Crystal called back as the others caught up. “I just –“

“We know,” Xavier said. “We can’t let Lysandre decide the fate of the world himself. Everyone has the freedom to decide their own path. Letting him take control of the fates of others like this isn’t something I want to happen, either.”

Blaine nodded in agreement. “Indeed. But we should stay close; we don’t know what sorts of Pokémon are being employed down here.” He moved ahead of them, Magmar following after him.

Crystal started to move to follow them, but then Xavier moved in front of her and Amy, leaving Crystal and Serena at the back of the group.

 Crystal’s tail flicked away from Serena, being careful not to brush against her.

Serena sighed and shook her head. “I can understand why Lysandre thinks this world isn’t beautiful, but this rings too close to Hoenn. Did that fool learn nothing from what happened to us?”

Crystal turned to look at Serena in surprise. Ahead of them a pair of grunts jumped out with a Manectric and a Toxicroak, but Xavier and Blaine took them out with a Dodrio and Blaine’s Magmar.

Serena noticed Crystal’s stare and frowned in return. “What?”

“A-ah—”

“I think she’s just surprised, considering how you’ve been acting around your buddies,” Amy spoke up. “Don’t worry about it.”

Crystal’s ears shifted around wildly as they reached a long staircase that went down, deeper underground and hopefully closer to wherever Yveltal was being held. “I just – yeah. Sorry.”

“Hmph. Can’t be helped, I suppose. It’s not like I make myself easy to read.” Serena lifted her nose slightly. “How much further, do you think?”

“I doubt it will be that far,” Blaine called back. He and Xavier were halfway down the stairs already, a few steps ahead of Serena, Crystal, and Amy. “It didn’t seem that far down from where we were before.”

Serena nodded.

“Why do you ask?” Xavier frowned.

“I’ve been sensing a pressure the further down we go. Haven’t you noticed it yet?”

Crystal frowned and glanced at Blaine, who frowned back in response.

“I don’t think I’m picking up anything,” Crystal said. “Although I have been feeling pretty tense.”

Amy shifted next to Crystal. “Is it tension, or is it Pressure?”

“I’ll be honest, while there is a tension in the air, I have been attributing it to what we are trying to stop more than anything else,” Blaine remarked. “Are you suggesting it might be the Legendary Pokémon?”

“Maybe? I don’t know what sort of aura a powerful Legendary Pokémon has.” Serena gave Crystal a pointed look. “I wasn’t exactly there when Kyogre or Groudon got in their fight in Sootopolis. They wanted to keep us away from the action, in case things got bad enough that we were taken out.”

Crystal frowned back. “I’m young. I haven’t been alive as long as Kyogre or Groudon have, so I don’t have that kind of aura.”

“But you haven’t noticed it yet.”

Crystal blinked at the statement, then shook her head slowly. “I….I guess not? But I’m already focused on stopping Lysandre and Team Flare, and that has me stressed. If there is Pressure from a Legendary Pokémon, maybe it’s just adding to that?”

Serena hummed at that, then nodded slightly. “All right. Fair.”

The group reached the bottom of the stairs and turned another corner, where they ran into another admin-and-grunt combo. The PokeBalls opened, and Crystal saw a flash of horns before Xavier’s Dodrio slammed into one of the Pokémon, while Magmar threw a Fire Punch into the other Pokémon’s face – a Scrafty.

Amy puffed herself up in the face of the Team Flare members, threatening a Bubblebeam or Hydro Pump if they tried anything else.

The Team Flare members exchanged looks, then scrambled out of the way to let them pass.

“I don’t think Team Flare will be able to hold Yveltal for much longer, if we’re feeling this tension,” Xavier remarked. He walked past the Team Flare members as they exchanged looks of alarm. “If Yveltal is supposed to be asleep, I think there’s a chance he’s waking up.”

A chill ran down Crystal’s back at Xavier’s words. “Then – does that mean we’ll have to fight Yveltal? Will he let Lysandre order him around?”

“It’s hard to say.” Blaine paused, and glanced around at the group. “But prepare for the worst.”

Xavier nodded.

Serena scoffed. “As if I wasn’t prepared already.” She waved a hand and adjusted her hold on her flower with the other. “Well, this should be interesting either way.”

Crystal frowned at Serena, but Amy patted her arm and nodded for them to keep moving forward.

“The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can stop that idiot,” Amy said.

The passage continued to wind down and around, but they didn’t run into any more Team Flare members as they continued to climb down the stairs. As they walked, Crystal noticed that Serena was right – there was a dense pressure in the air that she’d mistaken at first for her own focused desire to get to Lysandre and the weapon as quickly as possible.

The pressure made the fur on Crystal’s tail stand on end, especially as they reached the bottom of the passage.

The bright red, Flare-themed door that stood out from the stark white hallway didn’t exactly help keep her stress under control.

“Well, that certainly makes it easy,” Blaine remarked. “I doubt that Lysandre will make it easy to get past, however. Let’s see….”

Blaine approached the door and set to work on looking it over. Magmar followed after him, glancing over his shoulder at the passage they’d come from.

Xavier moved back to Serena, Crystal, and Amy, his Dodrio following along behind. “Do any of you feel ready for this?”

“Not really,” Crystal replied.

Serena looked surprised. “Truly? But you’ve defeated Team Magnus.”

“With a lot of help,” Crystal pointed out. “This time, it’s just us. At least Team Flare doesn’t seem to have 18 different Type units for us to chase down across the region; that would’ve been difficult.”

Xavier hummed and nodded in agreement. “I can see that. At least we’re not dealing with Team Flare and Team Plasma at once, though. Black and White have their hands full in Unova.”

“Team what now?” Amy repeated.

“And what do Team Plasma what to do, electrify everyone in the region?” Serena asked dryly. “I could see the two of them having trouble then.”

“Actually—”

The loud shifting of metal cut Xavier off, causing their attention to shift from the conversation to the door that Blaine had been tinkering with.

“There we go!” Blaine stepped back with a grin as the Flame logo split in half, and the large door opened into a dark room beyond. “Nothing a little tinkering couldn’t get past.” He turned and looked at the rest of them, his grin dropping. “Are you all prepared for what’s coming? I don’t know what Lysandre has prepared in that next room, but I can imagine it will be difficult for us to defeat and stop him as a result.”

Crystal frowned. She looked over at Amy, then Xavier and Serena. “Well, I don’t want to give him any more time than he already has, and I have healing items if we need them.”

“A lot of them, if I remember right,” Amy said, nodding. “Although – you’ve got Heal Pulse, too, so we should be fine.”

“So long as she does not take a hit,” Serena replied dryly. “I hope you can hold your own in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy has a lot of Dark and Fire-Types at his disposal.”

“I’ve got Pokémon who can help with that.” Crystal ran a hand over the PokeBalls on her belt. Some of them shook in response, ready to release her team at a moment’s notice.

Serena inclined her head, then glanced down at Amy for a long moment. She shrugged. “All right. Let’s hope they are as good as they were in Hoenn.”

Crystal frowned while Amy shook her head.

“Are we ready, then?” Blaine asked again.

Xavier rolled his shoulders while the Dodrio with him nodded all three heads. “Let’s make sure our skies stay clear of what Lysandre wants tonight.”

Blaine nodded back. He looked at Serena and Crystal for a moment, then turned to look at Magmar. “All right. Let’s go give Lysandre what-for.”

Blaine turned to face the open doorway and squared his shoulders, then started forward into the dimly lit room. Xavier, Crystal, and Serena followed after him, Dodrio and Amy right on their heels.

The room they stepped into was dimly lit with red light. It glowed from a pedestal in the center of the circular room, with cables leading upwards towards something far above their heads.

Crystal would have glanced up to see where the cables led, were it not for the gray cocoon sitting on the pedestal. It looked almost like an egg, but there was something about it that didn’t feel like an egg.

On a whim, Crystal reached out with her aura – and immediately recoiled.

“Crystal?” Blaine frowned.

“That – that thing there.” Crystal pointed towards the pedestal. “It feels like a void that you could throw things into, and nothing would come back alive.”

“Dark-Type?” Serena guessed.

“More than that,” Crystal replied. “A lot more.”

“That’s not the only thing about this place.” Xavier rubbed his chest, frowning. “It feels hard to breathe here.”

“We are pretty far underground,” commented one head of his Dodrio. “Is that it?”

“Idiot,” muttered the middle head in the same voice. “It’s because of the Legendary Pokémon!”

“Why not both?” asked the third head. “That egg up there’s probably the Legendary Pokémon that’s supposed to be down here, right?”

“If that thing is the Legendary Pokémon, I’ll eat a leaf off my flower,” Serena said. “It doesn’t look alive at all.”

Blaine opened his mouth to add to the conversation, but then a stampede of footsteps resounded in the chamber.

Crystal whirled at the sound, catching sight of white suits as six Flare admins ran into the room – three men, three women.

“What the cocoon is is none of your business,” one of the men declared. “The ultimate weapon has taken 99 percent of its energy, and the weapon is ready to fire as soon as we have enough supplemental life energy from the Pokémon outside. We can fire anytime.”

“Supplemental?!” Crystal repeated, alarmed.

“What have you imbeciles done?!” Blaine demanded.

One of the women waved a hand. “We’re just using what we need to in order to create our new world. It’s not like it’s going to matter when we’re done.”

Crystal felt a chill in her chest. “No….”

“I don’t like the idea that such callous morons will rule the next world,” Serena remarked. “Really, you’re as cruel as the people you want to get rid of.”

That caused the admins to bristle immediately.

“Get rid of these interlopers!” one of the admins declared.

All six of them readied their PokeBalls.

“Guys, now!” Crystal exclaimed.

The unopened PokeBalls at her belt exploded open immediately, releasing Crystal’s team into the open as the admins released their teams.

Richie immediately set his sights on a Swalot, which set up a Stockpile to defend itself. It didn’t last long against his onslaught.

“We’re not going to let you steal all the fun,” Serena declared with a large grin. She threw out a hand, casting Moonblast and hitting a Mightyena as it lunged for Rummy. “Don’t believe for a moment that you are going to be able to beat us!”

Xavier drew back his arms, feathers sharp. Wind started picking up around him, unseen but definitely felt. “We won’t let you rewrite this world just because you few have decided it needs to!”

The Razor Wind that followed knocked two Scrafty off their feet.

The room immediately fell into chaos, with the Flare admins attempting to hold their position as best they could, while Crystal’s team, Xavier, Serena, and Blaine’s Magmar beat their Pokémon into the ground before they could so much as land a hit.

“Do you really think all living being can be truly happy in the world as it is?!” demanded a woman Admin. She returned her Liepard, felled to a Bug Buzz from Sawyer, and attempted to reach for another PokeBall. “You’re just dooming this world!”

“We’re giving this world another chance is what we’re doing,” Rummy replied. He punched a Manectric in the face, sending it flying into Frieda. She caught it with a Psychic and slammed the blue and yellow Electric-Type into the ground. “You people are just giving up because you don’t want to try and fix it.”

“Agreed.” Esmeralda flicked her tail, and Samuel leapt over her to punch a Mightyena in the nose. “I don’t see why we can’t work on this world. Being lazy and starting over doesn’t sound kind.”

The Flare admins exchanged looks at the Espeon’s words.

A Golbat screeched overhead and swooped down towards Esmeralda, but the Espeon seemed to be expecting it. She leapt up, her mouth glowing with psychic power, and she bit down on one of the large bat’s wings. It fell with a screech, unconscious.

“Glad to know my work with Psychic Fangs is paying off,” Esmeralda remarked.

It didn’t take long for all the Team Flare Pokémon to be knocked out. If it weren’t for the admins’ PokeBalls, their unconscious forms would’ve been scattered around the room.

The Flare Admins stared over their glasses in shock and alarm.

“No way,” one of the men stuttered. “This absolutely puts the ‘no’ in ‘no way’!”

“Get Lysandre!” another of them yelled. “We need reinforcements!”

The Flare admins scattered, scrambling for the open door in a panic.

Serena considered throwing a Moonblast at the retreating Flare admins, but Crystal ran towards the pedestal in the middle of the room instead.

“We need to get this thing taken apart,” Crystal said. “Blaine – can you—”

“I’ll do what I can.” Blaine moved towards the pedestal, rolling up the sleeves of his lab coat. “I don’t know about engineering as well as some people, but I think I can figure this out.”

“Hurry,” Xavier said. “Something tells me that we aren’t going to have a lot of time.”

Crystal hovered between Xavier, Serena, and Blaine as Blaine approached the pedestal and started to look it over more closely. She looked up at the cocoon of the Legendary Pokémon as her team gathered around her.

“I don’t like the feel of this place,” Samuel muttered. His tail lashed back and forth. “It feels like something’s going to crash down on our heads.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t,” Borealis replied. He looked up at where the cables went, high above their heads. “Because I think that’s the weapon thing.”

Crystal looked up too, following the cables up the hole that led to the surface. She could see the crystalline bottom of the strange flower high above their heads. “Oh….yeah, I don’t want that to fall, either.”

“Same,” Xavier agreed, also looking up. “I don’t think we would be able to survive. Who knows how much energy that has inside it already, if what those Team Flare goons said was true.”

“I wish I’d had the chance to see what it looks like unfurled,” Serena remarked. She frowned back when Xavier and Crystal looked at her in alarm. “What? Weapon or no, it’s gotta look at least somewhat pretty.”

“I don’t think I’d ever be able to see a weapon that can destroy the world as pretty,” Crystal said.

“Unnerving would be more accurate,” Xavier agreed.

Something rattled in the pedestal.

“That wasn’t me!” Blaine called. “I’m not sure what that was, but I doubt it was anything good!”

Crystal looked over at Blaine, then looked up as the rattling continued.

She swallowed nervously and shifted back a step. “Uh….guys?” She pointed upwards. “It looks like the cocoon is moving.”

Chapter Text

The cocoon was shaking, drawing power back into itself from somewhere in such a way that made Crystal’s fur stand on end.

The pedestal rattled and shook, all the parts inside it banging against each other in an unnerving cacophony that made Blaine and Magmar step back quickly from the noise.

“Is Yvetlal…?” Richie trailed off.

“Something tells me we should run,” Blaine said. “I have been in the same spaces as Legendary Pokémon before, and trust me when I say that meeting one as soon as it wakes up from a long rest rarely ends well.”

“He lives in the same island that Articuno does; I’m taking his word on that.” Crystal started to move back, her team moving with her.

“Remember what happened in Kyogre woke up?” Samuel asked. “Are we gonna get a repeat of Hoenn?”

“Does that mean we need to run out and find Zygarde before Yveltal sucks up all the life in the region?” Borealis asked.

No one got a chance to answer the Aurorus’ question, as the cocoon started shaking even more vigorously as it released a bright white light.

Crystal and the rest quickly turned their eyes away to avoid being blinded, but the light vanished in seconds, before any of them could close their eyes against it. Frowning, Crystal looked back up.

Where the cocoon had been, there was a red and black Pokémon standing on the pedestal, surrounded by now-broken cables. Its arms were wings with claws on the ends, and its feet were clawed. A white frill of fur sat around the Pokémon’s neck, and black veins ran across its body.

The Pokémon threw back its head and let out a loud cry that made Crystal feel chilled to the bone. It sounded like a Flying-Type’s cry, but something else, too. Something darker, and dangerous.

“Who is the fool who awoke me early?” Yveltal demanded with a low, irritated growl. “I am far weaker than I have any right to be at this time.”

Crystal’s breath caught. Her eyes quickly found Richie, who stared back at her with wide eyes.

“This guy feels like a Dark-Type,” Esmeralda murmured to Crystal. “Be cautious.”

“I would appreciate an answer from even one of you,” Yveltal said. “Speak! Or I will loosen your tongues for you.”

That was a threat Crystal felt Yveltal could and would follow up on if no one said anything. Her tail flicked as she looked around at the others, their expressions in varying stages of shock and fear.

Then Xavier shook his head and stepped forward. “A man named Lysandre wanted to use you to power a weapon that’s three thousand years old. He wants to destroy the world and remake it for the people he thinks are worthy.”

Yveltal huffed. “Great. Of all the things to wake up to. One would think that human fools would have a longer memory for disasters that should not be repeated.” He leapt off the pedestal and landed in front of Xavier, standing tall over all of them. He tilted his head, considering. “Hm…some of you are not wholly human.”

“A recent development,” Blaine said. “Unfortunately, because of humans who thought they could create something new to use. Those people have been given fates they deserve, except for one, who is still on the run.”

Crystal frowned. “Right…we never caught Charon after Team Magnus was disbanded.”

Serena frowned while Xavier looked over at Crystal.

“They haven’t found him,” Serena repeated.

Crystal shook her head. “It’s like he’s vanished off the face of the planet.”

“I’m sure he’ll turn up,” Blaine remarked darkly. “It’s only a matter of time, with people like him.”

“You.”

Crystal jumped at Yveltal’s voice, and found him staring at her with clear blue eyes. She wasn’t expecting that kind of a bright color in his eyes – pure black, maybe, or pure white, but not sky blue.

“These ones are Pokémon that can be found across the region.” Yveltal motioned to Xavier and Serena. “I know the feel of a young Unfezant’s and a young Floette’s life force; their time has not yet come, so I feel no need to feed off the experiences they have gained in order regain what I have lost.”

If anyone noticed Serena’s shoulders relax, no one commented on it.

“But you. I have not seen a young Mew in many, many lifetimes. No – not quite.”

Crystal fidgeted under his stare. “I’m…I’m like them.” She nodded to Serena and Xavier. “Just…a little older. Not a whole lot.”

“Hm.” Yveltal inclined his head, looking her over. He turned his gaze towards Blaine. “You have experienced much. The temptation to take everything you are to fuel me is great. Give me a good reason why I should not.”

Crystal sucked in a breath sharply. She looked at Blaine with wide eyes. “Blaine—”

“It’s all right, Crystal.” Blaine held up a hand to her, giving her a slight smile. He looked at Yveltal, meeting the Pokémon’s gaze. “You’re right; I have lived a fairly full life. But I feel that in order to continue to pay for some actions I have made, I need to continue to live, to ensure that the future will move in a better direction.”

“Oh?”

“I’m the reason that people like Crystal, Xavier, and Serena exist. I…experimented, with human and Pokémon genetics, and created Crystal as a result of that.” Blaine paused. “However, the people who I was working with at the time intended to use her as a weapon, not raise her as the child she was. Later, that data was stolen, causing Serena’s and Xavier’s creations, among others. If my time must be shortened further than it already has, I would like to live long enough to see Charon’s machinations halted – for good. I will not die while that information is being misused.”

Serena shifted on her feet next to Crystal.

“Blaine,” Magmar said quietly.

“Blaine’s given us the ability to be free, and decide our own decisions,” Xavier spoke up. His voice was bold, and loud. “Lysandre and others would like to see us cease to exist because we’re abominations to the modern world. That we don’t deserve to live because of how we were born.”

Yveltal threw back his head and laughed. “HA! I am certain my brother would have a few words on the matter.” He turned his attention back to Xavier, leaning down to look him in the eye. “I like you, child of man and sky. You and your people face death constantly, and you are able to look me in the eye without fear. Not many of your youth can claim to do so, with the knowledge of what I truly resemble.”

Crystal gulped, eyes wide. The last time she’d heard something like that—

“I will not join you yet, but I will be watching you,” Yveltal added. “Live more. Become more vibrant, and I will come when you need me most.”

“I—” Xavier cut himself off. “A-are you certain?”

“Of course. The only ones who decide your fate are yourself and the forces that are beyond the control of man.” Yveltal shook one of his wings over Xavier, dropping something on his head. It almost looked like a black feather of some kind. “Keep it close for when you need me.”

Xavier grabbed the black feather off his head and nodded. “I will.”

A familiar voice suddenly cut into the room. “I have to say, I’m surprised that Yveltal awoke, with how much energy we removed from it.”

Crystal turned sharply, her fists clenching. “Lysandre!” Her fists relaxed slightly as she blinked in shock. “What in….?”

Lysandre slowed his confident walk to a stop as Crystal quickly took in his appearance. He was wearing a strange visor, mechanized gauntlets on his wrists, and there were three flying devices attached to cables that were coming from his back somewhere. Was he wearing a device back there, or…?

Blaine shook his head slowly. “What have you done to yourself?”

“Prepared myself for what needs to be done, in order to create the world I envisioned,” Lysandre replied. He scoffed. “I have to admit, I had hoped Yveltal would kill you on sight, half-breeds.”

“Ah, this is what you meant,” Yveltal said. “He does not see them as life.”

“Indeed not,” Blaine agreed.

Lysandre gritted his teeth. “How dare you. How dare you side with creatures that have no right to live.”

“If they had no right to live, Xerneas would not have blessed them with life while we slept,” Yveltal replied boldly. “Do not assume you can convince me otherwise.”

Lysandre raised an arm, pointing it at the group. “I do not ‘assume’ anything. I will see them end, and I will use the weapon to bring about the world that I desire.” He grabbed a PokeBall and threw it out towards them, releasing a lanky, purple Pokémon with long limbs.

Only for it to be bombarded by twin psychic bursts of energy that almost seemed to take physical form first.

“Psyshock!”

The Pokémon fell back as Frieda lowered her wand and Crystal lowered her hand.

“We won’t let you end the world!” Crystal exclaimed. “Not even a region of it!”

“You don’t have any control over anyone else’s time to die,” Xavier agreed. “It is up to them, not you!”

“We are alive now,” Serena agreed. “You can’t just wipe us out!”

Lysandre gritted his teeth. “We’ll see about that!” He threw another PokéBall, releasing another Pokémon with a loud howl. Not a Houndoom, but instead a maned Fire-Type Pokémon, which looked down his nose at the lot of them.

Crystal turned. “Amy!”

The Water Rabbit leapt forward, summoning a wave of water as she went. “Eat Surf, stupid!”

----

The Dark Stone felt heavy in Black’s hands.

“You really think that I should try to wake the Ideals dragon,” Black said flatly to N. “You’re sure.”

“It makes the most sense to me,” N replied.

“But you’re the one who wants the ideal world and we showed you the truth of things. Shouldn’t it be, y’know, the other way around…?”

N frowned at the question, then shook his head. “I still see the truth of the matter – there are people who are mean to their Pokémon, and they do need to be separated from them.”

Black frowned.

“Not everyone,” N added quickly. “But Pokémon are abused by humans. You represent the ideal of humans and Pokémon working together much better than I ever could.”

The Light Stone in N’s hands flashed, and the calm breeze that had been blowing started to pick up a little.

“You may act like you’re prepared for underhanded tactics,” N continued, “but I think you see the world for what it could be, just as much as you see it for what it is. You are a much better fit for Zekrom than I ever was.”

The Light Stone’s flashing light started becoming a steady glow.

“It’s just a matter of whether or not Zekrom sees that, too,” N added. “Please, Black. Give it a try.”

Black’s frown deepened, and he looked back at the Dark Stone as the Light Stone lifted up and away from N’s hands, sucking in energy from the area around them.

“And you think Dragonspiral Tower’s gonna be a good place for this.” Black glanced over the edge of the partially-damaged tower, looking at the lake far below them.

“You have to admit it’s rather fitting,” N replied. The Light Stone was getting bigger.

Black snorted in response. “Well, if they’re both dragons, and we’re looking to make a statement…I guess it is kinda ideal.”

The Dark Stone vibrated in his hands. It felt like an Electric-Type was ready to release a charge straight into Black.

“Heh.” Black smiled wryly, his Liepard tail flicking behind him. “You know, black has always been my color.”

-----

Of course Lysandre had a Key Stone. And for his Gyarados.

Crystal almost considered Mega-Evolving Richie to take on the monster herself, but then Serena stepped in front of her, glowing in pink energy and with enough frustration on her face that Crystal definitely wanted to move away before she was caught in the crossfire.

The Moonblast that followed almost blinded Crystal, but it took out the Mega-evolved Water-Type before Lysandre could order an attack.

“Fun fact,” Serena said as Gyarados convulsed on the ground, losing its Mega-evolution in the process. “Just because you lost the Flying-Type doesn’t mean you didn’t get new weaknesses.” She grinned, teeth almost looking sharp.

Lysandre stood still for a long moment, then tore off his visor with a snarl of frustration. “Why?! Why do you stand against me and my attempt at creating a beautiful world?!”

“The issue we take with it is why you think you need to restart the world,” Blaine replied shortly.

Yveltal snorted. “I can think of a number of failsafes that would keep the world from disappearing. He would destroy this region at best, only to feed my strength and anger Zygarde.”

Lysandre shook his head, his eyes not focused on them, but something above them. “I thought I could bring an end to the abominations Charon created. Xerosic…why did you tell me this would end them?”

Crystal’s ears flicked, and she frowned. Xerosic? Who was that?

Lysandre shook his head, and his eyes refocused into a glare. “If I can’t remove all of you from this world, then I can at least remove the ones that are here with me!”

He raised a gauntleted fist. “End them here!”

Crystal felt all the hairs on her neck stand on end. “We need to move – now!”

“Let’s get out of here!” Blaine agreed. “It will do us no good to stay!”

“Let us take a short-cut, then,” Yveltal said with a sly look. “I spy a tunnel here that was once used by AZ. Come!”

He turned and started towards something at the back of the chamber, even as the space started to rattle and crumble apart around them.

Crystal exchanged looks with her Pokémon, then with Blaine, Xavier, and Serena.

Xavier nodded back. “Come on. I don’t want to be underground any longer than we already have been!”

“I couldn’t agree more!” Serena replied.

Chapter Text

“—the cleanup in Geosenge continues as crews work at cleaning up the rubble left behind by Team Flare. Because of the high energy readings in the area, it is recommended that Trainers not travel through Geosenge to reach Cyllage or Shalour for the foreseeable future.”

Crystal fidgeted at the kitchen table in Sycamore’s building. “What’s so dangerous about high energy? We were kinda… in the middle of that.”

“I think they’re concerned about what that sort of energy might do to someone in the long run,” Blaine replied. “If anything negative comes of it, there are treatments for that sort of thing, so I wouldn’t be too concerned.” He took a sip of his coffee, not looking at all concerned about the news station that was currently on TV. “I doubt anything will come of it, however; it isn’t radioactive, which is the first thing that people tend to look for.”

Crystal frowned, her shoulders relaxing a little. “Well, okay. But what will it do, then? I kinda sensed something as we got back to the surface, but it didn’t feel bad.”

Blaine frowned at the question and set aside the letter he’d been reading. “Something tells me that only time will tell, in this instance. I wouldn’t recommend you worry about it, Crystal. We have other things to be focusing on in the present.”

Crystal frowned, her tail flicking. “I…well, all right.”

After all, it had been a few days since they had stopped Lysandre from at least destroying Kalos. There were more important things to focus on than whatever that energy surge had been.

Lysandre had disappeared after the weapon had collapsed back into the hole it had been sealed in. Since they were still investigating the tunnels beneath Geosenge and clearing away the rubble, it was unknown if he’d been able to get out, much less was still alive deep beneath the earth. The government had stepped in and was working on arresting every member of Team Flare they could find, which was easy when they had access to Lysandre Labs.

While the local government had laid claim of the Team Flare data pertaining to the now-buried weapon and the member roster that Lysandre had pruned, the labs themselves had been given over to Sycamore, according to the will and testament that was found in Lysandre’s personal office. Sycamore was scrambling to find someone he could trust to take over the labs so that he wouldn’t be stretched too thin.

Crystal stirred a spoon in her hot chocolate as she mulled it over. If Lysandre didn’t care about the current world’s future, if he’d failed, he wouldn’t have given his labs over to anyone and probably would have blown it up or something. The fact that he cared enough to give Sycamore control of his company said there was still something that hoped for this version of the world to have a better future than what Lysandre saw.

Crystal wasn’t sure what Lysandre saw in the present, though. Everything seemed fine from her perspective.

The news station kept talking, shifting to a different topic. “In other news, the Unova region in the western hemisphere has been rocked by a recent series of events revolving around the Pokémon Liberation Organization, also known as Team Plasma. Trainers Blake and N awoke Legendary Pokémon in response to the threat that Team Plasma posed to the region.”

Crystal’s head turned sharply to look at the TV in the corner. “They did what?!”

“Oh, this is interesting.” Blaine raised his mug in a toast to the TV as pictures of Black and a green-haired young man appeared on the screen. Behind them stood a pair of large, black and white, winged Pokémon that towered over the two Trainers.

“It’s been recently revealed that Team Plasma was looking to force the region of Unova to release all the Pokémon who were working alongside humans, in an effort to control the region. The shadow leader of the organization, a man named Ghetsis, was captured fleeing the Plasma Castle by Blake’s sister Whitlea. He was recorded as declaring Team Plasma will rise again in the future, but with the Seven Sages currently arrested, it is doubtful that Team Plasma will be able to become a notable threat again.”

The TV cycled through various pictures and recorded snippets of video, showing Black and N fighting alongside the two Legendary Pokémon, and White encasing a fleeing man wearing an eye-covered robe in ice.

“I didn’t think I’d see more people with green hair,” Crystal remarked. “Wally said his hair’s green because of something that made it easier for him to get sick.”

“Hm.” Blaine nodded to the screen. “Perhaps this Ghetsis and N are related to each other. Hair color is usually known to be passed down in families, unless a mutation makes itself known, such as in Wally’s case.”

“Huh.”

“Blake and his sister Whitlea intend to continue to the Pokémon League and challenge Alder for the Championship,” the news anchor added. “N declined to comment on his future plans.”

“I have some things to consider before I can officially say what it is I plan to do,” N said quickly. His eyes glanced around off-camera, like he was tracking something. “I’d rather not saying anything specific right now.”

The screen shifted back to the news anchor again. “Blake and Whitlea were both involved in the incident in Hoenn last year, when the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon were revealed to the world. Is Team Magnus still in operation, or are the Trainers who were once a part of the organization working to atone themselves for their previous actions? Only time will tell.”

The TV shifted to a commercial then, but Crystal let her eyes be glued to the TV for a moment longer before looking over at Blaine.

“It seems trouble isn’t focused solely in our home region of the world,” Blaine remarked. “Still, though…Blake and Whitlea. I wonder if those were the names they were born with.”

“It is pretty close to Black and White,” Crystal remarked. “I don’t think I feel any better about the rest of the world having troubles, though. I wish the world just…didn’t have troubles.”

It would certainly make things easier, to not have to worry about more problems coming in from other parts of the world.

Blaine watched Crystal for a moment, then shook his head a little and sighed. He reached across the table and patted Crystal’s hand. “There will always be conflict somewhere. The best we can do is work with what we can for a better tomorrow. But you shouldn’t be expected to do much – you’re still young, after all.”

Crystal blinked at Blaine’s words, then nodded slowly in response. “I hope so. I don’t like getting as involved as I have been.”

“And neither do I,” Blaine agreed. He pushed himself up from his chair. “Come on, then. Let’s go check on the others. It won’t do us any good to be prepared for our trip to Hoenn if our teams aren’t prepared for the journey.”

Crystal quickly finished her hot chocolate and rose to her feet. “It feels weird leaving everything to Professor Sycamore, Xavier, and Serena. I hope they don’t get overworked.”

“I don’t think they will. They have their teams backing them up, after all.” Blaine grinned.

----

“—the Unova region in the western hemisphere has been rocked by a recent series of events revolving around the Pokémon Liberation Organization—”

A hand snatched a remote and turned off the monitor in the corner, cutting off the news anchor.

“I don’t need a distraction right at this moment,” muttered the man said in frustration. He threw the remote to one side, then turned away from the monitor and focused on the books in front of him. “What fools do doesn’t have anything to do with what I do.”

The quiet, dry cackle of an old man came from a darkened corner of the white, pristine room. “It would be wise for you to pay attention to the competition.”

“What competition?” the young man snorted. He looked towards the darkened corner and adjusted the large green, goggle-like glasses over his face. “They’re failures, all of them. What fool would I be to pay attention to them when I have my own successes?” He laughed.

The short figure on the cot shifted. “Then where are they, Faba?”

Faba’s laughter cut off in a slight choking noise. “A-ah…around. F-field testing.”

The old man tilted his head. “Oh?”

“Yes, of course! One can’t have a proper success that can be replicated unless the prototypes can withstand a few field tests.” Faba laughed again, trying to make himself sound more confident. “I’ll be making more when they come back and I have the chance to look them over for myself. I promise you, sir, these two will not be failures.”

There wasn’t an answer for a long moment, but then the old man’s dry chuckle came again. “Well, I do look forward to it. I let you have access to the information you obtained for me from our man, Faba. I do hope that you are worthy of being my equal.”

“What makes you think I’m not worthy yet?” Faba replied.

“The fact that they got away from you, of course.” The old man paused. “And, you are not hiding your tracks as well as you think.”

Faba stiffened in alarm. “What do you—”

The bright flash of a Teleport cut him off, and suddenly he was alone.

Alone with his thoughts, and a blinking alert on his screen, showing a boy with blond hair running through corridors, a Premier Ball held tightly in one hand like it was a stolen lifeline.