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Chapter Text

Penny leaned back in her desk chair, the dorm-issued one that felt like it had been designed for kindergartners--inefficient and clunky, its remaining shelf life painfully uncertain.

It was the perfect metaphor for everything in Paldea right now. Everything she could see.

Penny pushed her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose and scrolled through the photos on her computer screen. The anomalies had started as little things. A child swinging his legs under his desk, his movements slowing to a crawl while his voice remained as quick as chipper as ever. A wild Pokémon seeming to blink out of existence, only for the witness to be told by fellow students that she probably just saw a Kecleon or something.

Who's ever seen a Kecleon in Paldea anyway? Penny thought, rolling her eyes as she scrolled faster. Of course, with the way things were going, maybe she shouldn't shrug off the possibility so quickly. That was one nice thing about computers. They reported things exactly as they were, whether those observations made sense or not. Penny had documented as much of the strange phenomenon on her own as she could, but her sources had sent her even more, which made her grateful. If nothing else, it would good to have at least a couple people who didn't think she was straight-up losing her mind.

Beneath the desk, Sprigatito mewed and nuzzled her ankle with its grassy, blanket-soft fur. Penny gave a rare smile and patted the little Pokémon on the head. She didn't realize how dark it had gotten in the room. That was what happened when she got absorbed in work. Did she even eat dinner yet?

Penny leaned over and switched the desk lamp on, to which Sprigatito gave a satisfied nod before it curled itself back into a ball at her feet. The little Pokémon wasn't hers. She didn't actually know who it belonged to. The poor thing had phased through a wall and found itself next to Penny in the library, lost and disoriented. Penny had asked a few students nearby if this was their Pokémon, but they had all waved her off and said not to bother them. The treasure hunt was about to begin, and they had to prepare.

Penny had her own ideas for the treasure hunt. Much bigger and more important than any other student's. I'm going to find out what's causing all these strange occurrences in Paldea, she promised herself. If any humans are at fault, I'll make them sorry. And if any Pokémon are at fault...

She swallowed hard. Pokémon were such amazing creatures--capable of flooding entire regions, creating new land out of nowhere, treating even the fabric of time like their personal plaything. If one of them decided on a whim to distort and erase Paldea piece by piece, what hope did she have of stopping them? At best, she might be able to help people evacuate the region and find somewhere safe. If there was anywhere safe.

Penny shook her head and stood up from the desk. Her stomach growled, a sure sign that she had, in fact, skipped dinner. She walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a leftover sandwich. Chorizo, cucumber, and wasabi. The only correct way to make a sandwich. Then she retook the spot in her clunky preschooler-sized chair, breaking off bits of the spicy sausage and passing them to Sprigatito under the desk. Stay nourished, stay healthy, stay focused, she reminded herself.

If anyone had asked Penny a few months ago what it would look like, practically speaking, for Paldea's existence to deteriorate before her, she would have been clueless. She'd never been the creative type and didn't care to speculate on theoretical disasters. But all the strange events she had seen--Pokémon walking through objects, appearing and disappearing, humans and Pokémon moving like they were in some messed-up, stop-motioned animated film--if that didn't add up to a crumbling reality, she wasn't sure what did. Why, the other day, she'd even spotted the academy's newest student, tucked up in a seated position as if riding a large bike and gliding through midair on absolutely nothing. No one responded. No one noticed. Everyone acted like this was a completely normal and acceptable event. Even among the few students who admitted they'd seen "a few strange things lately," most of them passed it off. Pokémon were Pokémon. A few odd occurrences here and there didn't equal cause for alarm. And wasn't life at the academy all so wonderful? Who wanted to get bogged down with worry when badges and treasures and adventure all waited at their metaphorical doorsteps?

I'll put a stop to this, Penny thought, taking an extra large bite of the sandwich and chewing with uncharacteristic gusto. I'll put a stop to all of it. No matter what.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Penny was awoken earlier than she would have preferred. Much earlier, in fact. An alert on her phone. It was generally set not to disturb her at night, but she had programmed exceptions for certain circumstances. Some more disastrous than others.

She yawned and fumbled for her glasses, squinting at the screen's eerie glow, the only source of light in the room.

Defeat Alert: Mela

Her heart sank a bit at seeing the notice. Reading how her close friend had lost her status as a Team Star boss ...well, it was preferable to getting alerts that reality was deteriorating much quicker than she initially thought. But even so, it wasn't easy news to take. She checked the time on the alert: 4:21am.

Seriously? That weird student she'd recruited for Operation Starfall, Juliana, apparently had nothing better to do right before dawn than go running around attacking Team Star's bases. But Penny had made a promise, after all, so she dutifully sent the promised funds to Juliana's account. She took a moment to gather herself before calling Juliana directly, however.

With Mela's leadership overturned, the Schedar Squad would disband. The students would return to class. And more time in class meant less time they were sending Penny the data she needed. If they still sent it at all.

All perfectly natural consequences of the code Penny herself encouraged Giacomo to write. Her grip on the phone tightened. If only she could go back in time to before she had this stupid idea for Operation Starfall at all. Keeping her friends from getting expelled was the only thing on her mind back then, because...well, because of course it was. How was she supposed to know reality would start deteriorating a few weeks later and the school might need Team Star after all?

Her first hope had been that Juliana would flake out and never touch the Team Star bases. But now that possibility had been well and truly torched to ash. She needed a backup plan and quick.

"How do I get into these messes?" she muttered to the Poké Balls lined up on her dresser, then shook her head. Sometimes it improved her plans when she spoke them aloud to her Pokémon, but there was no need to wake any of them now. She created this disaster, and now she had to deal with it.

Penny took a deep breath, turned on her phone's voice filter, and tapped Juliana's name in her address book. Signal strength came and went in the dorms, a problem that existed long before the students and Pokémon had followed suit. As Penny waited for a good connection (and for Juliana to actually pick up), she mulled over her potential approach to this little chat.

I'd first like to know why Juliana went after Mela before Giacomo. Just a bit of asking around would have revealed that he's the least experienced trainer. Of course, Penny had some hand in his inexperience. Once Team Star secured its place in the school's hierarchy, letting anyone know that messing with members would no longer be tolerated, Giacomo had wanted to "start all over" with new Pokémon he'd never trained before. He'd avoided Dark-types in the past--they had a reputation, after all. Every criminal organization loved them, even the ones who specialized in completely different typings. Team Magma was infamous for its hordes of Houndour and Houndoom, as was Team Aqua for its Carvanha and Sharpedo. The list went on. But Giacomo had changed since Team Star, no longer adjusting his team to what he thought would impress others. It was wonderful progress for him.

Then Penny had contacted him, asking for his base's take on the strange happenings around Paldea...

"So you're tellin' me, you've seen Pokémon and people, moving all funny then vanishing?"

Giacomo had kept his tone flat and serious during that first call, leaving Penny clueless on how to respond. "You...haven't noticed anything like that?"

Giacomo gave way too long a pause before he let loose with a loud cheer. "Of course we have! Are you kidding me? But no one believed us! We all thought we were losing our minds over here! Man, am I happy we have you, Big Boss!"

The ring tone ended, and Penny heard a click as Juliana picked up and greeted her. Then came some scuffling as it sounded like someone took the phone away. The call ended. Penny grit her teeth. Bad signal again? But if Juliana just defeated Mela, she should still be outside the Schedar Squad's base. It shouldn't have been an issue. Penny dialed again, breathing deeply and falling back to her memories of her last chat with Giacomo.

"So what exactly have you seen?"

"Well, for starters, it was training time the other day, and somebody's Murkrow walked right through my Pawniard! Then part of its body vanished, and we just saw a floating Murkrow face for a second, then it went back to normal. Everyone was so freaked out, no one wanted to train the rest of the week. Especially the poor Murkrow!"

"I...I see..."

"Most members thought the base was haunted or something," Giacomo went on, "And we almost abandoned it. You know what's up, then, B.B.?"

Penny had cringed inside. If she would have told Giacomo the place really was haunted, maybe the Segin Squad would have disbanded on its own. No Operation Starfall needed to save them from expulsion. But somehow after all the hiding and deception she'd brought to the friendship so far, she couldn't bring herself to pile on another lie. Not about something as big as this.

She told him everything. Well, everything she had information on, which turned out to not be much. But Giacomo promised he and his crew would dedicate all their time to documenting the strange events and send her what they found. Which had left the crew very little time for Pokémon training. If she let Operation Starfall continue, she'd pretty much made him and the Segin Squad a bunch of sitting Duckletts.

I need to call off Operation Starfall, she thought, as Juliana picked up again. Any excuse will do. Tell her Team Star is too strong. Or maybe say they're not as bad as everyone thinks? Ugh, like she would believe that when the school is set to expel all the members.

"Hello?" she said. "Juliana?"

"Is this Cassiopeia?" said a voice that definitely did not belong to a school-aged girl. The voice came from an older male, mid-forties at her youngest possible guess. And it sounded a tad familiar, too.

"Who's asking?" she demanded.

"My name is Clive," the man replied. "I would like to help with Operation Starfall. I'm a student at the academy, you see."

And I'm Mega Diancie, Penny thought with a roll of her eyes. She hadn't attended many classes at the academy, but she did pay attention to all the announcements the school made. And Director Clavell was almost always the one who made them. With the video feed to Juliana's phone turned off, just listening to this "Clive's" voice...yes, there was no doubt as to who he was. Perhaps the man should have tried to disguise his tone a bit better.

"I will need some time to consider this," Penny said, trying to keep her answer as vague as possible. "In the meantime, I'm assuming the person I actually recruited for this operation would like her phone back."

"Y-yes. Of course she would. I mean, uh, yeah. Whatever and such."

More scuffling, and finally Juliana came through. "Sorry. I have no idea who that guy is, but he seems to be following me around. Should I get rid of this phone and maybe get a new one?"

"No need," Penny said. "I'm pretty sure he's harmless. He might even be useful, though that remains to be seen. About the next stage of the operation, though--"

Juliana cut Penny off with a monumental yawn. The poor girl sounded like a Snorlax after battle. "I need to get some rest in the dorms first, but I'll be out again as soon as I can to take down the next base. I promise."

"There's really no rush--" Penny began, only to be cut off again.

"Well, there's benefits to me, too," said Juliana, tacking on an awkwardly long giggle. Penny tapped her foot. Most new students were like her--not much for talking, mostly letting the more aggressive seniors like Arven and Nemona tell them where to go and what to do. Why did she have to recruit the one new student who actually liked chatting?

"I guess what I really mean is, thanks so much for the LP," Juliana said.

Penny's stomach twisted. "Oh, um...of course. I mean, you earned it." Another bonus to ending this whole charade. No more stealing. "Listen, Juliana, there's something I need to--"

"I mean, I don't know what I would have done out in the wild without those extra potions and revives," Juliana went on. "I didn't think I could afford them before, but since I knew you'd be paying me, I was able to spend more. My Pokémon are growing so much better and faster, and it's all thanks to you!"

"Oh, um...my pleasure," Penny said. "Your training helps too, I'm sure. Keep up the good work." It was poor phrasing, which she realized the second the words left her mouth. She'd meant Juliana should keep up the good work of training her partners. Not the work she was doing with Operation Starfall. There Paldea depended on Juliana doing atrocious work.

"Thanks!" Juliana said. "And good night!" The call dropped again. Penny took a few calming breaths (or maybe more than a few--she sort of lost track) and tried to call back. Only Juliana's voicemail responded. Penny hung up without leaving a message, which seemed like the Cassiopeia thing to do. No doubt Juliana would have turned the phone off so she could get back to the dorms and get some sleep. Penny's hacking could do a lot of things, but it couldn't remotely power on a phone.

So now in addition to figuring out what on Earth was going wrong with Paldea, she had to keep Juliana from completing Operation Starfall. Without revealing herself or getting Team Star in more trouble if possible. But if push came to shove...

The fate of Paldea has to take precedence, she reminded herself. That's what Team Star would do. She smiled just the tiniest bit at the thought of her friends banding together once again against an overwhelming thread. Her first plan had been to go back to sleep if she could. But adrenaline had taken over. She needed to call Mela. Even if the Schedar Squad had to publicly disband, the crew might still be able to set some sparks in the shadows.

Metaphorically speaking, of course. Penny really did need to watch her wording from now on.

Chapter Text

Arven had been watching Juliana from a distance for the better part of hour.

And no, he reassured himself, he was not being creepy. She'd said this morning she was taking this road through the Area One West Province, and so of course, he assumed she was doing that to help him take down the Open Sky Titan. What else would she do out here? Fight random trainer battles? Chat it up with the Team Star knuckleheads down the road? No way.

If she was going to be nice enough to help him collect the Herba Mystica, the least he could do was wait here until she arrived. He leaned against the mountainside, his large pack resting on the ground beside him, and perked up when her silhouette appeared in the distance. The girl wasn't hard to miss. A fluffy yellow hat sat atop her layered black hair. She also sported pink glasses, matching blue gloves and hiking boots, along with neon green leggings. All of which contrasted horribly with the school's standard orange uniform. It was like the uniform was the only article of clothing she would ever be allowed to wear, and she was determined to make it look as wacky as possible on principle.

The path was long and curved, but easy to follow, and Juliana should have reached him within ten minutes, tops. Instead, she had spent the last--Arven glanced at his watch--forty minutes trying to get Koraidon to jump the river. Koraidon failed over and over again, leaving Juliana to pull herself out of the water and ride the brute to where the water looked narrower. It did not help, and Arven was getting cold and shivery just by watching her.

She knows there's a bridge here, right? he thought as he stroked Mabosstiff's Poké Ball. Doubt crept into his mind about his choice of ally. Then again, there was that whole thing about beggars and choosers. No one else at school would give him the time of day. An attitude he was sadly used to, but that didn't mean he liked it. If Juliana's antics seemed like they would put Mabosstiff in more danger than help him...

Arven glanced down at his hand, opening and closing it experimentally, etching the sensation in his mind. Juliana's a kind person. I've seen that so far. And I need a back-up plan. Like it or not, she might be Mabosstiff's only chance. With that thought, he took a deep, slow breath of the crisp morning air and returned Mabosstiff's ball to his belt.

About five minutes later, Juliana finally decided to cross the bridge, and Arven waved wildly to get her attention. His eyes widened when she got close enough to return the greeting--her clothes and even her long dark hair were completely dry.

Another weird event? he thought. Or is this just a thing she does? Then he realized he still had his hand up in the air and dropped it quickly.

Juliana giggled. "You look like you're trying to answer one of Professor Tyme's class questions."

"I-I...I was just glad to see you," Arven said, his face growing hot. He pulled the heavy pack up high on his shoulders. "You ready for this next titan? It's been tossing rocks down the hillside here, so you need to be care--"

"Actually..." Juliana was already looking down the flat path, the one that definitely did not lead to the sky titan. "...I kind of had, um, other plans? See, I promised this Cassiopeia person I would help her take down Team Star..."

"But--this is important!" Arven said. More like shouted.

Which Juliana clearly didn't appreciate. A scowl replaced her usual friendly smile, and her uncertain tone grew pointed. "I think I get to choose what's important to me. The world is my Cloyster, remember?"

"I'm sorry," Arven sputtered, lowering his head in a deep bow. He didn't have great footing, and with the heavy, kitchenware-stuffed bag, he almost toppled forward. Probably not the best way to apologize. He straightened to regain his balance, letting a loose rock under his feet tumble down to the path.

Juliana, in spite of herself, covered a smirk with her hand.

Arven took a deep breath and made a polite, less dramatic bow this time. "Please. This isn't just about cooking research. I'm really worried about..." His hand went instinctively to his side. Can I trust her yet? And if so, with how much?

"About...?" Juliana pressed.

Arven lowered his hand and shook his head. "Help me get through this next titan, and I promise, I'll tell you everything."

She didn't agree, but she didn't turn away, either. Arven watched with building tension as she glanced between him and the road leading to Team Star's next base. With a sigh, she relented and took a step up the hill. A pushover for a half-told story. Arven grinned and began to lay out his plan. The ground beneath their feet rumbled slightly as the massive Bombardier rolled boulder after boulder from its perch above. For now, the rocks fell harmlessly to the side. Once they got moving up the rocky slope, it would be a different story. Still, Arven was optimistic they'd get through to the next herb without much difficulty. He glanced down at his hand one more time as Juliana began to run up the path ahead of him.

#

Arven waited until Juliana was almost at the peak of the hill before he started to run up himself. Looking back, it wasn't his best idea. While she and Koraidon were bumped and jostled and knocked down by one huge rolling rock after another, Arven scaled the whole thing in a fraction of the time. He didn't think Juliana would pay much attention. After all, she had a Titan Pokémon to deal with. Arven crested the peak of the hill just as Juliana's Tinkatuff took a wild swing at the titan with its hammer. Shards of ice crystalized on Bombardier's wingtips, and it struggled to keep itself aloft.

Yep, Juliana's Tinkatuff knew Ice Hammer. Because of course it did. Arven shivered, thinking of the terror this pink puffball's evolution would cause, when Juliana snapped him back to reality. Hard.

"Okay, how did you get up here?" she demanded.

"I, uh, ran," he said, hoping it would satisfy her. It didn't.

"Tinkatuff, use Ice Hammer again," she commanded, barely watching the battle. Her eyes were locked on him, and she wasn't stepping down without an answer. Meanwhile, her pink wrecking machine of a Pokémon squealed with delight and took another swing. The direct hit sent a cool chill across the wind, and Bombardier was forced to flee. It landed not far away, near a cave opening Arven hadn't seen a moment ago, and began munching on something. A plant that glowed and glimmered with powerful healing light.

Adrenaline pumped though Arven's veins. Herba Mystica!

He took a step forward, only for Juliana to block his path. "There's no way you could run up here that quick. You had a giant bag on your shoulders, and up until a minute ago, that stupid bird was throwing boulders left and right," she said. "What did you do? Run through them?"

If I say 'yes,' will you believe me? "I...can't explain it right now," he said.

Juliana stomped her foot. It might have looked childish if anyone else had done it, but with Tinkatuff at her side, it was downright intimidating. "You literally just said at the bottom of this mountain you'd tell me everything."

If Arven had an attack stat, it would have dropped six levels on the spot. "I-I meant everything about the Herba Mystica, not--"

A screech echoed across the rocky ground, and Bombardier flapped its now ice-free wings. Its beady black eyes fixated on the two humans who had been foolish enough to enter its territory. Juliana crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Fine!" Arven groaned. "I'll tell you. Everything everything. But only after we get in that cave and harvest the Herba Mystica. Agreed?"

She smiled in an oddly similar way to Tinkatuff. Her bright pink glasses only added to the spine-chilling effect. "Agreed."

#

Not even ancient magic-imbued herbs could give Bombardier an edge over Juliana. Arven wasn't quite sure why he brought his Nacli out, but he had to feel like he was contributing something. Once inside the cave, he approached the Herba Mystica with an entranced awe. Then Juliana elbowed him, and he quickly flipped through his notes. This was the bitter-flavored one. Not the best set-up for a tasty meal, but he could make do. He knew the way to prepare it so Mabosstiff would like it. He just had to remember to make extra this time. No doubt that brute of Juliana's would want more than its fair share again.

Juliana, for her part, didn't push him for answers immediately and instead began setting up the picnic table. Arven waved her attention.

"Hang on. Toedscool and Scovillain can handle that," he said. "I need you over here." He motioned towards his makeshift countertop, which really just amounted to a rock slab with an extra tablecloth thrown over it. He usually grabbed ingredients straight from his pack, knowing by feel how much he needed. But since he was aiming for a demonstration this time--or maybe a lesson was the better word for it--he set all the ingredients out so Juliana could easily see them. The horseradish jar and the jam jar looked oddly similar, and he rotated them so the labels were clear as she approached.

"What's all this?" Juliana asked. "Thought you were the sandwich expert. Now you need help all of a sudden?"

Arven fought back his first instinct, which was to snap that his sandwich skills would put even Katy's finest baked goods to shame. Then he remembered he actually did need help. "I just...want to make sure someone else besides me knows how to make these. My Pokémon needs them." He released Mabosstiff from its Poké Ball and told Juliana the whole story. About the injury no Pokémon Center could heal. He kept it quick and avoided her gaze as much as he could. He hated feeling so weak and vulnerable like this. He'd grown up taking care of himself. It felt like he could do better than relying on a near stranger, but life loved to prove how little it cared about his feelings. At least the atmosphere was nice for his confession. The soft glow of the herbs lit the place, and their sharp aroma overrode any damp or mossy smells the cave otherwise had.

When Arven finished his story, Juliana's eyes with shimmering with held back tears.

Great, Arven thought. I just told a literal sob story.

Juliana sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "All this talk about your Pokémon, but...what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"You said you wanna be sure someone else besides you can make these sandwiches Mabosstiff likes. What makes you think you won't be able to prep them yourself?"

Arven swallowed hard and looked down at his hand. Probably better to demonstrate this answer than explain it. There was no more stalling, no more excuses. He flexed his fingers, focused, and thrust his hand toward the rock slab. It glided harmlessly through like a ghost's.

"This," he said simply before pulling his hand back out again.

Juliana's eyes went wide, though she didn't freak out like he'd suspected. Maybe she'd witnessed something like this around school, too? Arven laid his hand on a bread roll, confirming he could touch solid objects again, and laid it sideways. "Now, the trick to slicing the bread is--"

"Don't change the subject like that!" Juliana snapped at him, her voice probably louder than she meant in the cave's close quarters. She lowered her head a bit, and her voice followed suit. "So you did get up the mountain by running through the boulders?"

"Yeah," he said. "It always happens when I get scared, so I figured I might as well use it to my advantage there. But sometimes it happens when I don't mean for it to at all. And those times have been getting more and more frequent." He sliced open the bread, not bothering to explain himself and began laying slices of cheese diagonally across the center. His voice cracked a bit as he continued, "Honestly, I'm kind of scared. I don't know why it's happening. Unlike Mabosstiff and that brute of yours, the first Herba Mystica didn't help me." He moved from the cheese to the proscuitto, folding each slice neatly before placing it. The awkward silence became intolerable, and he forced a pathetic-sounding laugh. "My worst fear is that it'll go off when I've challenged someone to a battle, only I won't notice, and I'll look like an idiot who can't even throw a Poké Ball."

"Is that why you slap your face before you send out your Pokémon?" Juliana asked. "To make sure you're not phasing through something again?"

His cheeks grew hot once more. "I thought it looked like I was getting pumped up."

"No," she giggled. "You looked kind of ridiculous."

He should have been insulted, but Juliana's blunt honesty had shattered the tension. Couldn't help but be grateful there. He talked her through the rest of the sandwich instructions, taking extra care to make sure she got the balance of horseradish correct. Mabosstiff loved spicy foods, but in its weakened state, it couldn't handle as much as it used to, so the measurement had to be perfect and the condiment spread evenly. Juliana listened and followed each step with focus and care. Her skills needed work, but there was time for her to learn. (And in the meantime, Koraidon would never refuse an extra goof-up sandwich.)

As Arven had predicted, the Herba Mystica worked its magic, and Mabosstiff's eyes lit up for the first time in months. Tears rolled down Arven's cheeks at the sight of it. As long as he existed in this world, he'd never give up hope. The trick for now was to just keep existing.

Chapter Text

With Mabosstiff happily stuffed, Arven repacked their supplies and led the way out of the cave into the sunlight. He felt pretty good about confiding in Juliana. His gut told him she'd soon prove out her reputation as the academy's most promising new student. Some people just had an air of significance about them. Usually it came with odd clothes. That girl Penny with the Poké Ball sweatshirt and Eevee backpack? She'd probably do something epic before she graduated. And Juliana with her neon, just-barely-regulation uniform? That was a save-the-world look if Arven ever saw one.

I'm carrying a giant bag, he thought. Maybe I'm important, too. He chuckled half-heartedly at the thought. Being the kid of someone in the news was enough stress and heartache for him. He'd take seeing Mabosstiff healthy again and leave the world-changing stuff to the people who cared about it. Probably all Mom ever did care about, he thought bitterly.

Then Arven noticed he wasn't hearing Juliana's footsteps anymore. In a panic, he whirled around, but she hadn't gone anywhere. She'd stopped walking and faced the cave they'd just left, staring intently.

"Everything okay?" Arven asked, not sure if he should approach and stand beside her or wait where he was.

"There were a bunch of Pokémon walking around while we were eating in there," she said. "But they disappeared the second we packed up to leave."

"Maybe they ran off?" Arven said. Not the most sound of suggestions. Anyone who took a few steps outside the safety of the academy's gates knew some Pokémon would flee from you. But just as many would charge at you full-force until they knocked you down and liberated half your picnic supplies. Pokémon centers were kind enough to instantly replenish any lost food (while they conveniently vanished some of the students' pocket money.) But Arven had lost more than one bouncy ball by rolling it too far from his picnic site and into energetic wild Pokémon territory.

In summary, the odds of a cave-full of Pokémon being scared enough to bolt all at once without a trace were pretty low.

"I don't think they ran," Juliana said. "It's more like they blinked out of existence."

Staring at the void-like mouth of the cave, Arven couldn't argue. "Yeah, guess so," he muttered, listening for a moment longer. Nothing. Not even the sound of scampering feet. So whatever was happening to him was happening to nearby Pokémon as well? He opened and closed his hand again for reassurance. It was easy to keep his mind on Mabosstiff when the rest of the world acted normal. But it had been doing less and less of that lately. "Guessing you've seen stuff like this before?" he went on. "Not that I'm complaining, but you're pretty calm now and didn't seem, um...particularly weirded out back in the cave, either."

Juliana shrugged. "Should I have been?"

"I stuck my hand through a rock, so yeah, seems weird enough!"

"Oh, right." Juliana rubbed the back of her head and hurried away from the cave, apparently anxious to put the creepy place behind her. "It's not the first time I've seen some strange stuff, but you're the first person who's acknowledged it to me. I guess I was too relieved to be weirded out." She motioned forward, beyond the sparse grass to the road proper. "Now come on, I wanna get moving."

Arven nodded and walked alongside her. When they'd defeated the first titan, he'd left her behind as soon as he could. Which was kind of rude, looking back on it. This time, he'd stick with her until it made sense to leave. "So, um, what do you think is causing all this?" he asked, trying for a casual tone. One that suggested he had his own completely valid theories for vanishing Pokémon and ghost appendages and was simply looking to her for a second opinion.

Juliana avoided his gaze while she considered her reply, which couldn't be a good sign. "Hard to say. Though I suppose...I mean, do you think it has something to do with those herbs you're gathering?"

"The Herba Mystica? Of course not!" Arven huffed at the suggestion and widened his stride until they reached the road.

Juliana jogged to catch up with him, the silver slider on her bag zipper jingling like a tiny bell. "But...you're the only one investigating them, and whatever's happening seems like it's hitting you harder than most."

Arven slowed his pace. "How many other people is it, um, 'hitting'?" The quick burst of anger had morphed to genuine curiosity. He kept to himself so much nowadays, his only real gauge for these strange events was how often they happened to him personally.

"I've seen some strange stuff with other students at school," Juliana said, now taking the lead down the road. A few Rookidee cocked their heads as she passed them. "But it's always a one-time thing, and they keep insisting they imagined it or their Pokémon's abilities must have had some unusual side effects."

"Sounds frustrating."

"It is!" Juliana said. Her voice jumped in volume, and the Rookidee scattered. Juliana clamped her hand over her mouth. Her gaze shifted, moving past Arven to the looming haphazard fence with dark, star-embroidered flags. "Guess I just lost the element of surprise, huh?" she whispered.

"What element of surprise?" Arven whispered back. "Didn't you tell me you ring a bell to start one of these raids or whatever they are?"

She blushed and nodded. Then she dropped her hands and smoothed her shirt before marching towards the gate in search of said bell. Arven followed, keeping a healthy distance behind.

The guard at the gate gave Juliana little trouble, and Arven fully expected to go his own way once Juliana rang the bell and stepped inside. Instead, she motioned for him to follow her. The guard didn't like this and insisted it was one challenger at a time. Juliana replied that Arven wouldn't fight, and even if he did, how many grunts planned to attack her at the same time? The guard conceded and let them both through.

"You sure about this?" Arven said, nervously. "Erm, not that I can't take these guys, but..."

His eyes widened as they cleared the entrance. This place sure wasn't the highly defended fortress he imagined. In fact, fortress seemed like far too generous a word. It felt more like a large campsite, with some scaffolding-turned-bleachers and what looked like rental tents in Team Star white and yellow. A scoreboard sat in the center--not a fancy digital one, but the flimsy plastic kind you had to physically flip the numbers on. The only electronic items were a few vending machines, which Arven could only assume were being powered by some Pikachus hidden in the tents, because there were no running cables anywhere.

Before this moment, he wondered if Team Star had some involvement in Paldea's ongoing strange occurrences. No one really knew what they did in their base camps all day, other than skip class and wait for people to challenge them. But even with his limited knowledge of the group's inner workings, he couldn't quite picture them as capable of reality-alternating shenanigans now. Especially when they barely seemed capable of keeping the drinks in the vending machines cold.

"Welcome!" blared a voice from the static-clogged loudspeakers. It had a deep, feminine tone with a punch of confidence and authority. "Now, you might think you're a big deal coming here to challenge us, but you should know we think you're a pretty small deal! Don't we?"

A chorus of cheers rose up from the grunts around them--some who circled the center area of the camp, some who watched from the safety of the scaffolding. Several threw Poké Balls, which opened to reveal a variety of dark-types, all snarling and ready for battle.

Juliana released Tinkatuff, and several of the Pokémon backed away.

"A-anyway, you're so small a deal," the announcer's voice went on, "That even though our boss Giocomo is totally here right now, you won't even see him. Because we'll take you out first!"

Another cheer from the crowd rose up, though less confident than before. A pair of Cactune moved forward, but an Ice Hammer swing knocked them right back. The grunt by the scoreboard flipped the numbers from zero to two.

"Y-you should know Giocomo is very strong," the announcer cut in as Juliana began running the inside perimeter of the camp, ordering her Pokémon to charge in front of her. "And he would so destroy you in battle if he faced you. Which he won't, because you'd have to beat, like, thirty of us in a row for that to--"

Tinkatuff laughed maniacally as she sent no less than eight Zorua bolting from the next swing of her hammer. Visible sweat trickled down the face of the grunt tracking their score in the center of the base. The grunts lined up along the fences threw themselves into a ball-chucking frenzy, releasing one Pokémon after another, none of which had any hope of putting a dent in Juliana's team. Arven tried to stay out of the way as much as possible, but with the bulky bag on his shoulders, he wasn't as agile as he would've liked. As Juliana felled her twenty-ninth Pokémon, a grunt directly behind Arven threw one more ball at full force. He winced, anticipating from the whoosh of wind that he was about to receive a sizable clonk on the back of his head. Which was kind of a scary thought. Which meant the ball passed right through him.

The riled-up crowd went silent. Arven slowly opened one eye. Crap. Did anyone see that? The scene was blurry from squeezing his eyes shut so much, but he noticed two things right away: One last Zorua fainting at Tinkatuff's feet, and the entirety of the Team Star crowd staring at him. No one moved. No one said a word. There was a crack of static on the loudspeaker, followed by a lull of extremely awkward silence before the announcer grunt's voice returned with a simple, "Um, hold, please." Then the mic turned off. The grunts took that as a cue to start rapid-fire whispering amongst themselves. Except their "whispering" was even louder than Arven and Juliana's had been outside the base.

"Went right through him."

"Did you see...?"

"'Course I saw. I was standing right next to you, wasn't I?"

"That's how it started with Selfie Sal."

Against his better judgment, Arven took the bait and stepped up to the nearest grunt in the crowd. "Excuse me, but who's Selfie Sal?"

"Who's--oh, right. Guess you wouldn't know." The grunt pulled a dirty handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his reddening eyes with the cleanest corner. "Selfie Sal loved selfies. Then one day, he noticed he could wave his hand, and it would go right through stuff. Thought this was pretty cool. Took even more selfies. That very afternoon, he waved at the camera, clicked the shutter, and--and--" The grunt blew loudly into the handkerchief, and Arven took a slow step away.

"Still think I'm being affected the worst by this?" he asked Juliana, who looked close to tears herself.

"I'm so sorry," she said to the grunt. "And you never saw Sal again?"

"Huh?" The grunt pocketed the handkerchief and raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course we did. Sal came right back. Hey, Sal!" The grunt waved his arm wildly, and a near-identical guy across the grassy field returned the gesture. "But his favorite camera did fall in a lake when he vanished for a second, and he can't afford a replacement. Hasn't been the same since."

"Does his hand still go through stuff?" Arven asked.

The grunt shook his head. "Nah. If it did, he'd have gone with Giocomo to visit the Ruchbah Squad this morning. That's where they're gathering everyone who's been affected by this weird stuff long-term."

"Would you say that describes you?" said a voice behind them.

Arven and Juliana both startled and turned to see another grunt, the one whose confident voice they recognized from the speakers. She was a bit taller than the others with bright orange hair roughly snipped into a pixie cut. "I mean, you didn't seem upset when one of our Poké Balls went through you--just worried we would notice. So I'm guessing you've had problems with this for a while now?"

Arven's grip on his backpack tightened. "I--that is...well, I guess it's been a few weeks but--"

The crowd broke into gasps and murmurs, these ones quiet enough for Arven to miss the exact words. The tone, however, was as clear as a thirty-minute day. Few other people had been dealing with these issues as long as he had.

"Would you mind coming with us to the Ruchbah Squad's base?" the announcer grunt asked, her voice rising in pitch as she clasped her hands together. "Pretty please with a star pick on top?"

"It's not far," Selfie Sal's buddy added. "Northern Province, area three. We might even be able to help you."

"Wait, so Giocomo's not here?" Juliana asked. "Did I defeat your squad or not?"

"Okay, technically, yes, but you've gotta admit, there's bigger problems right now," the announcer replied. "Don't be a bully and get all hung up on beating other people down."

You think we're the bullies? Arven thought, keeping his wits enough not to say it aloud. So far Team Star wasn't forcing them to do anything. They'd been pretty friendly, all things considered. Maybe there was more to them than Arven originally thought.

Which was very inconvenient, because now not only did he feel obligated to go with them, he felt kind of guilty for thinking so badly of them in the first place.

Chapter Text

Penny slipped the last of the supplies she would need into her Eevee backpack. She'd chosen her lighter-colored shiny edition this time, notable for its thicker, studier fabric. It wouldn't be a long trip. In fact, the flying taxi would take her most of the way to the Ruchbah Squad's base. But with the situation being what it was, she preferred to have emergency travel gear on hand.

She'd woken up this morning to three more alerts: one good and two bad. Neither of the latter were world-altering just yet. (She'd had the sense to upgrade her alert system, classifying the severity of the alert and playing a corresponding sound so she didn't panic without reason.)

The first bad news: Six disappearing walls had been reported since Monday--double the number seen last week.

The second bad news: Juliana and Professor Sada's son, Arven, had come into the Segin Squad's base and effectively taken it down without Giacomo there. The actual good news: Arven reported experiencing some long-term anomalies. In fact, he could even predict when they would appear. The grunts, by some miracle, had managed to convince both of them to meet up with Giacomo and Ortega. This was exactly the breakthrough the new Team Star needed; an anomaly with a known tigger could be studied. Perhaps the source could even be traced. Ortega had experienced some long-term effects himself, as had a few other citizens they'd managed to recruit, but so far, no one had any idea what set them off.

Yeah, this feels like it's going way too well, was Penny's first thought. Naturally she had to go meet Juliana and Arven. But like the emergency travel gear, she preferred to keep a healthy dose of skepticism on hand. Just in case. After all, no one gathering at the Ruchbah Base had seen Penny in person before. She could end up with both Team Star and Team Starfall (as she'd mentally dubbed Arven and Juliana) turning against her for all the lies. Her best hope was that the potential erasure of Paldea from existence would be enough for them to put their anger aside. Her more far-fetched hope was that they forgave her and even wanted to maintain a friendship with her. On an unusually optimistic whim, she'd borrowed a library book covering that exact topic.

The Eevee's bag fluffy tummy doubled as an extra pocket, so Penny slipped the library book inside to read on the trip. It was called "How to Show Your Face to Your Friends" by G.L. Allister, and so far, she'd found it enlightening. Apparently the author had quite a bit of social anxiety himself. But rather than hide behind a screen, he showed up to events in-person, wearing a mask. Penny couldn't picture herself doing that, but she did find a motorcycle helmet with a conveniently dark visor at the hat store. Why the dress code permitted students to completely obscure their faces but forbade fuzzy backpacks shaped like Pokémon was beyond her understanding.

She picked up the heavy bag (which now looked like a droopy, overstuffed shiny Eevee) as she recalled the passage she'd read before dozing off last night: Be warned that wearing a mask can cause people to not recognize you when the mask is removed. Especially if the outfit you wear with the mask is different from the one you wear without it. People are surprisingly bad at recognizing voices. See Chapter 8, "The Professor and the Masked Royal: a Case Study," for more details.

Penny nodded to herself, and before slipping the bag on, she grabbed her navy Ultra Ball sweatshirt instead of her gray Poké Ball one. Time to see if G.L. Allister's advice held up.

#

"And...just to be clear, you want sixty-three servings of peanut butter?" the shop clerk asked Juliana, raising a thick, bushy eyebrow. He was a tall, muscular guy, and when he leaned on the little sill of the shop window, the wood creaked in protest. Juliana nodded and offered her phone to scan. Instead, the clerk eyed Arven, who broke eye contact immediately. Not my circus, not my Aipoms, he reminded himself, looking around the scenery. They'd stopped in Medali for some picnic supplies, which had taken a surprising long time to locate. Every time they asked people what kind of ingredients they recommended, the folks would answer in some weird, cryptic way and insist on a battle. Arven and Juliana took a lunch break at the Treasure Eatery for some grilled rice balls--Fire Blast style with lemon, naturally--and somehow this had ended in Juliana walking away with her fifth gym badge. At this point, Arven really just wanted to get their supplies and get moving.

"Do you even have space for sixty-three servings of peanut butter?" the clerk asked as he relented and took Juliana's payment.

"Give me one box for now and have the rest sent to my dorm room at Naranja Academy," Juliana said. The man shrugged and walked away from the window, presumably to fill out the shipping forms.

"Why so much?" Arven asked. "Are you stocking for the apocalypse or something?"

Juliana cocked her head. "You said spicy peanut butter is Mabosstiff's favorite, right?"

She actually remembered that? "I-I...yes, it is. But you've got to mix the wasabi and the peanut butter just right. A little goes a long way."

"Right," Juliana said. "So I figured we'll need a lot of peanut butter to practice with."

"You're sweet, but this is expensive." Arven rubbed the back of his head, chastising himself even as he said it. Juliana's financial situation wasn't any of his Combee's wax. For all he knew, her family could be loaded. But even so... "I don't feel right letting you buy it."

"I've got a side job," Juliana assured him, then took a glance at her phone. She frowned when she saw the screen. Arven didn't hear it ping with any sort of update, so maybe she was checking for something that hadn't come in yet? Still none of his business, he supposed, though he hated to see her upset after how much she'd been helping him.

"Everything's fine," she said as she shoved the phone in her pocket. Then, after a few impatient taps of her foot, she added on, "What's the hold up, anyway? It shouldn't take so long to get a few dozen jars of--"

"Oh, blast it!" yelled the clerk, right on cue. "My Machop is stuck in the floor again."

Arven and Juliana stared at one another. The way their dumbfounded expressions seemed to mirror each other told Arven they'd probably both heard the same thing.

"Um...excuse me?" Juliana asked. She tried to lean through the window to see what the man was talking about, but he rushed over and waved her off.

"Hey, hey!" he said. "You don't enter a person's store. It's rude. You read a list of our fine selection and order outside like dignified folk."

Juliana apologized, explaining how she'd moved in recently and was still learning the local culture. The clerk nodded in approval. "Now, then, as I was sayin', I got a Machop that does the heavy lifting for me, but she's got this quirk that's been showing up more often lately. Sinks right into the floor like it's a vat of mayo. Then halfway into sinking, she gets stuck like it's hardened cement. By the way, that first one makes a fine sandwich topping. Don't recommend the second."

"That sounds awful!" Juliana said. "Your Machop must be so scared!"

The clerk let out a chuckle and held up his hands in a what-can-you-do motion. "Scared? Nah. She probably got a new ability or something. Or changed abilities. I'll bet a customer fed her an Ability Capsule when I wasn't lookin'. Anyway, we just close up shop and play cards for a while, and eventually the floor spits her back out. But I'm afraid I can't get you your ingredients until that happens."

Arven eyed the man's large, muscular arms. "So...you can't hand us a box?"

"I could, but it might make Machop feel bad. I gotta be considerate. I'll get your purchase shipped out as soon as I can. Thanks for patronizing our shop, and have a great day." And with that, he lowered the security blinds down over the window, waving to Arven and Juliana all the while. Instead of a plain steel gray, the blinds had a warm wooden color with a large emblem that looked like the upper half of a door. A glance at the wall space below the window revealed a corresponding emblem. When the blinds finished moving into place, the image was complete, and the closed shop appeared to have a cute little wooden door that no one could actually open.

Arven shook his head, told Juliana there probably wasn't much they could do, and suggested they move on. He had enough picnic supplies in his stash if he made the sandwiches himself this time. They could practice more when the shipment came through. With a sad sigh, Juliana agreed.

On their way out of town, Arven scanned every corner for a gift shop or an ice cream stand or some kind of cheering-up place. He came up empty. A wide variety of stores lined the road, but the bulk of them were closed shut the same way as the sandwich shop had been, fake doors included. Were there always so few shops in town open? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been able to buy a new T-shirt in forever. Or any groceries that weren't directly related to sandwiches.

"Was that guy's Machop really stuck in the floor?" Arven asked.

Juliana glanced at the grass, still frowning. "I didn't get a great look, but it seemed that way. He sure made it sound like it's normal, though." She turned to face Arven. "I feel silly for asking, but...is it normal?"

"No. The Terastallizing phenomenon has been around here forever, but whatever the guy was talking about...sounds a lot like what's been happening to me. And even Team Star agrees that's weird." Arven shook his head. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Team Star, but he was determined to spend this trip keeping as open a mind as possible.

"I guess you're right...oh, hang on. I need to send a text." Juliana lowered her bag to the ground and pulled out her phone once again. She typed lightning-fast, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Whatever it was about must have been important. Arven pulled out his own phone, where the Team Star grunts had sent the coordinates for their meeting place. If whatever was bothering Juliana was relevant to him, she'd share it when she was ready. Hopefully she was ready soon, though. Her frown was starting to look like it was permanently etched on her face.

#

Penny was almost dozing off to the rhythmic flapping of a surprisingly airworthy mob of Squawkabilly when her phone buzzed with a new message. She adjusted her glasses from where she'd been slouching to read it clearly:

Not sure if you got the alert or not, but I did defeat the Segin Squad, so whenever you're able to send the LP for that, I'd appreciate it. -Juliana

"Seriously?" Penny hissed, then covered her mouth. Not that the taxi driver was paying her any attention. The winds were so loud up here, it was hard to understand each other even when they shouted. Penny slipped on the helmet she'd brought. It not only cut down on the wind, it sent a clear message of, "I do not want to speak to you." She liked it.

What she did not like was Juliana asking to be paid for actively undermining the mission. And she detested the fact that she'd told Juliana to do this in the first place. Couldn't people just figure out what they needed to do without the inconvenience of communication? It would make life so much simpler.

I did get the alert, but I'm traveling right now, and reception is spotty, she typed back to Juliana. The reception was fine, but with the number of lies she'd piled up so far, what was one more? Besides, she needed more time to work up the nerve for the message she'd send once the payment went out. It had to be one action, then the other, so she didn't have the chance to cower out this time.

Payment sent, she typed into the box, without hitting send yet. But I must tell you this is the last one you'll get. I'm cancelling Operation Starfall. Thank you for your help. Penny read it over several times with deep breaths. Simple and straightforward. It would go out with the final payment when she reached her destination. Juliana would have to figure out how to deal with the consequences.

#

The moment the taxi landed, Penny did it. She even took her helmet off to show herself she could face this with her head high. With one app open, she sent the text, and then within a matter of seconds, she flipped to the banking app and sent Juliana's payment. Relief flooded her, even as the taxi took to the sky behind her, meaning she'd have to face Team Star for the first time in person. The lies were ending here and today. If she got through breaking the news to Juliana, she could get through the rest. And then she could save everybody. It all started with that first ste--

"What? Nooo!" Juliana's wail echoed across the green oasis of a field that surrounded the Ruchbah Squad's base.

Penny looked up to see Juliana cresting a grassy hill, which stood in sharp contrast to the icy mountains around it. A young man, most likely Arven, laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Juliana collapsed into the grass, sobbing. "I just got fired from my job! I owe almost 20k for peanut butter jars!"

Where and why did she buy 20k worth of... Penny shoved her helmet back on before Juliana or Arven could see her. Facing everybody was a noble goal, but she needed it to be a feasible one, too. Right now, that wasn't happening. A sinking feeling in her stomach--not unlike eating several dozen jars of peanut butter--said not to get her hopes up for the future, either.

Ugh. I knew this day started too well.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Clavell prided himself on, it was his sense of subtlety. Unlike the ruffians of Team Star, he knew when a situation required a quieter approach. Take the present moment, for example. He could be marching into the Ruchbah Squad's base, demanding the full story behind why a wealthy business heir like Ortega would join a group like Team Star to begin with. But instead he'd chosen to follow Juliana from a distance and see what Team Star did when they thought she had one less ally. She'd proven herself quite capable against the Segin Squad. But it would be irresponsible to expect her to handle Ortega the same way. His formidable crew had already managed to demoralize her without so much as cracking open the gate. Clavell knew this because of the way she'd cried out in great alarm only a few moments ago. He could not tell what she'd said from this distance, but she'd been looking at her phone at the time. Had they perhaps sent her some photographic evidence of their sinister plot to destroy Paldea piece by piece? If so, Clavell needed to get hold of that phone as soon as possible. He bent low in the grass, the tall blades encompassing him up to his shoulders and poking him in the neck. He'd been bumped by several Capsakids on the way here and had a Gyarados ready to chase off any more that showed up. Of course, using Gyarados would no doubt give away his position, so he sincerely hoped it didn't come to that.

Up until recently, he'd thought the same of Team Star that everyone else did: They were troublemakers--hooligans who spent class time customizing their clothing and vehicles with the most flagrant disregard for dress codes and decency. But in the past few weeks, Clavell concluded this was all a cover-up for their truly heinous plot: pulling apart Paldea's reality at the seams.

A genius-level epiphany, to be sure, though Clavell hadn't made it in a vacuum. An anonymous source had sent the school a list of incidents shortly after the inception of Operation Starfall. Clavell didn't want to believe it at first, but the more he began to pay attention, the more he noticed the strange occurrences all around him. It was especially bad in the classrooms. Sometimes his feet were so sluggish, he could barely move in there. Then there was the time he'd been training up his Pokémon in the schoolyard only to have a ghostly image of a student's face float through the middle of battle. And to think all this time he'd blamed such effects on his questionable choice of morning coffee.

The source didn't name any culprits, but Clavell knew how to read between the lines. Something bad was happening, ergo an organization that began with "Team" and ended with some jazzy-sounding noun had to be responsible. How fortunate he had Cassiopeia and Juliana to help him bring these criminals to justice. He hoped to speak with her before she entered the base itself. He simply needed to watch and wait for the proper opportunity...

#

Juliana dried her eyes, feeling more than a little foolish as she scrolled through her account balance. She'd thought the funds from Operation Starfall were her only major income. Surely defeating gym leaders couldn't pay that much.

In fact, it paid quite well. In retrospect, the gym leaders did tell her what she won after her matches ended, but they always squeezed it in with a bunch of thematic congratulations, explanations about what this or that TM did, and weird photo ops. Juliana would admit, she tended to tune them out. Whatever kind of funding the Pokémon League got, if members could throw this much at challengers, it had to be astronomical. She'd never considered a career in the League before now, but the possibility had moved pretty high up her list.

After she helped keep her friend in a consistent corporeal state, of course.

"You okay there?" Arven asked. He stood awkwardly at her side, unsure what to make of her outburst. Maybe with luck, he'd forget the whole thing ever happened.

"Y-yes," Juliana answered sheepishly. "I, uh...thought my finances were, um, more of a problem than they actually are." She scrolled a little further. "Plus, it looks like the store didn't charge me for the peanut butter shipment, since they didn't send it out yet. Maybe I can return half for a partial refund?"

"Uh-huh," said Arven. He turned and surveyed the base in front of them. On the outside, it looked just like the others: a slapped-together fence, an old school bell on the gate, and billowing flags embroidered with the Team Star logo. In theory, the pastel pink on these flags should have made them look softer. But Juliana knew as well as anyone that fairy types were nothing to be trifled with. If anything, the color was more intimidating.

"Excuse me, but...are you two going inside?"

Juliana startled. The quiet voice sounded familiar, but when she turned, she didn't recognize the speaker at all. The words came from a shortish girl wearing a navy Great Ball sweatshirt, a shiny Eevee backpack, and a helmet that totally hid her face. She reminded Juliana of the shy girl from school. But the backpack and sweatshirt were different, and the shy girl didn't wear a helmet. So they couldn't be the same person. Could they?

"We're about to," Arven said, straightening his backpack. "And you are...?"

"I came to help with Team Star's research into the anomalies," the girl replied. "My name's...uh, Jenny."

"Jenny," Juliana repeated. "I can remember that. Nice to meet you, Jenny."

Jenny didn't answer directly, but she did mutter something that sounded like, "Huh. Guess G.L. Allister was right." She then turned and walked towards the gate with a slow but purposeful stride. The girl really did seem familiar. Just like Clive did when he first showed up.

Juliana started to follow, but as she did so, Arven pulled her back and leaned in close. "Don't turn around, but there's a creepy man with purple sunglasses watching us from the grass. Pretty sure he's been following us since we left the Segin Squad's base."

Juliana lowered her hand from its ready position to slap Arven out of her personal bubble. "Oh?" she said, her gut sinking a bit. "Does he have a retro, gravity-defying haircut?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Sadly, yes," Juliana admitted. "You go on ahead. I'll follow when I can."

Arven didn't look thrilled with her answer, though he took her at her word and followed Jenny up to the gate. It opened without either of them needing to ring the bell. Guess that's how it goes when you call ahead, she thought.

#

Penny jumped as the gate slammed shut behind them. She couldn't help it. All her senses were on high alert. The student who might be their key to finding a pattern in all this chaos stood right next to her. It took all her self-control not to corner him and immediately insist he spill his guts. But for now, Team Star still thought she was a helpful hand called in by Cassiopeia. If they suspected she was doing anything to turn Arven away, they'd kick her out. I just need to talk to Ortega and Giacomo, she reminded herself. Drop this whole silly charade, tell them who I am, and then we can all get to work.

"Thanks for coming," said the grunt who showed them in, speaking more to Arven than Penny. "You're the guy who does all the phasing jazz, right?"

"Uh...I guess so?" Arven replied.

The grunt pointed ahead. "I'll take you to our boss. He's just up this way. And..." The guy crossed his arms as he looked Penny up and down. "...what's wrong with you, exactly?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Penny replied, more than a little put off by the rough tone. She could understand the team being under stress. The importance of their mission had to weigh on their minds. But Team Star prided itself on its acceptance. There was no need to be so terse with visitors. "I'm here to help--"

The gates creaked back open behind them. "Excuse me! Coming through!" a female grunt called from outside. "We've got another olive victim!" The Team Star members all bunched together, creating a wide path down the center of the camp while the edges got straight-up claustrophobia-inducing.

Another what? Penny thought, straining her neck to see through the crowd. She must have heard wrong. In all the documentation she'd been sent so far, there was no mention of anything that sounded remotely like--

A giant olive rolled down the cleared path. Penny recognized it at once as the surprisingly light and bouncy prop that Katy made challengers push through her strange, web-fenced maze. Far less familiar were the arms sticking out the sides of it, waving frantically. Somewhere from the obscured section of the olive, a voice squeaked out, "I don't know why this is happening! You're only supposed to roll the olive! Someone tell me why this is happening!"

"There, there, buddy," said the grunt pushing the poor victim along. "That's rough, I know. But you'll be okay."

Penny stared slack-jawed as the olive-bound gym assistant rolled past her. Then the tightness of the crowd got to be a bit too much and she pulled away, seeking a quiet corner to process everything. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She almost felt like doing both.

#

The second the gate had closed on Arven and Jenny, "Clive" came tumbling out of a tall patch of grass, yelling and slapping away half a dozen Capsakids. It was the kind of scene that made Juliana feel embarrassed by proxy. She kicked at a clump of dirt, politely avoiding interaction until he pulled himself together.

"I bet those Team Star ruffians sent them after me," Clive growled as he loosed his Gyarados to chase them off. "They want to throw us off the trail, eh? Well, we'll see about that! Operation Starfall all the way! Am I right?"

He grinned at Juliana, who only made eye contact long enough to acknowledge him. "Um, I don't know if you got the message, but Cassiopeia has cancelled Operation Starfall."

"She what?" Clive gasped. Juliana winced as a group of Team Star grunts crested a distant hill, rolling what looked like the giant olive from the Cortondo Gym challenge. They seemed pretty involved in their work, but if Clive got that loud again, he'd probably defeat whatever purpose he had for hiding this whole time. The open, grassy space carried sound inconveniently well.

"Um, you probably want to keep your voice down, Direct--"

"It's Clive!" he snapped, pretty much doing the exact opposite.

Juliana groaned. So it seemed, as with generations of children before her, she had to be the one explaining to an adult how to deal with his problems. She ducked into the tall grass and motioned for him to follow. She wasn't even sure why they were hiding, other than it seemed important to Clive. She'd follow his lead for now, though her willingness to trust his judgement was wearing pretty thin.

The Team Star grunts did pause at the noise, but then the olive started to tip backwards down the hill, and they ran to steady it.

"Why are you so angry at Team Star, anyway?" Juliana whispered.

Clive put a shaking hand to his brow, seeming for the first time to actually hear her. The man never looked young per se, but as he spoke, his voice carried the clear fatigue of his age. "I'm not angry," he said. "But I am frightened. Those criminals in there are actively destroying the very fabric of Paldea."

She blinked a few times. "Figuratively?"

"Literally."

Juliana bit her tongue in an attempt to hold back her laughter. Team Star had been a nuisance, for sure, and she certainly couldn't say she trusted them. But a criminal organization with the technology to attack Paldea's existence? How could anyone even begin to take that seriously?

Then Juliana realized she didn't need to bite her tongue. As hilarious as the situation was, she couldn't bring herself to so much as smile about it. In fact, she couldn't bring herself to smile at all.

Her hands flew to her face in what was probably a very good Arven impersonation. Her cheeks didn't feel numb, and she could speak just fine. But she couldn't change her expression. Her mouth and eyebrows--the muscles simply wouldn't budge past a certain point.

"What's wrong?" Clive asked, suddenly the picture of a calm and concerned teacher.

"I-I don't know!" Juliana squeaked. "I can't stop frowning! My expression won't change at all!"

She expected Clive to shake his head and call her crazy. She felt like she was crazy. But instead he settled cross-legged in the grass and gave a long sigh. "So, it's happening to you too, then?"

"Wha-what?"

"Close your eyes," he said in a calm but firm tone. "Take deep breaths. I've found if one can relax and reset themselves, as it were, this effect usually passes."

Skeptical as she was about "relax-and-reset" advice from the guy who couldn't keep his own voice down, Juliana slipped carefully from her kneeled position to a fully seated one. She rested her bag on her lap, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. Then, at Clive's prompting, she exhaled slowly through her mouth. She focused her thoughts on the air flowing in and out of her body, on the solidness of the ground beneath her and the grass all around. Then, as some of the tension began to recede from her body, she felt the edges of her mouth turning upwards. She worked her face muscles, which tingled with a pins-and-needles feeling, but to her vast relief, they moved how she pleased. Her heart pounded with adrenaline, but she forced herself to smile again and again just to make sure she could.

"What...what was that?" she asked as she opened her eyes. Clive, oblivious to his hypocrisy, put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. He nodded towards the Ruchbah Squad's gate, which had cracked open to allow the olive-pushing grunts through. They had to rotate their baggage to get in, and Juliana saw to her horror that something was sticking out of the olive. Something alive.

She gasped and covered her mouth. "Is that...a person in there?"

"Indeed," Clive answered. "My observations show Team Star has gathered quite a few affected individuals here, though for what purpose I do not know. I assume from your reaction that they have not sent you any convenient confessions?"

Juliana shook her head. "I thought they were going to help Arven. I just sort of took their word on it. And now I'm worried about Cassiopeia, too."

She supposed it sounded pretty naive now that she said it aloud.

Clive frowned and pushed his purple glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. "We should put Cassiopeia out of our minds for the time being. If they are willing to speak with you, you should go inside and get whatever information you can. But do not drop your guard. And call for my help the instant you feel you cannot handle the situation alone. Do you understand?"

Juliana nodded absently. What else could she do? Clive--well, Director Clavell--had all the resources of the academy to back up his claim against Team Star. And Arven was still inside the base, thinking these people could help him. And Jenny? Whoever she was, might know as little about Team Star as Arven did. Juliana stood, gripped Tinkatuff's Poké Ball at her belt, and marched forward. She would go in there, find out the truth, and deal with it. Her emotions would not overpower her again.

Chapter Text

In the confusion of the giant olive fiasco, Penny had lost track of both Arven and the grunt showing him in. Nothing to be concerned about, she assured herself. The nice thing about being in charge of Team Star was that every crew boss had sent her layouts of their respective bases for approval before building them. She liked to imagine herself touring each place, even if she never got the nerve to do it in person until now. Which meant she could easily find Ortega's tent with zero assistance. Or rather, find his "office," as he liked to refer to it. Every Team Star boss had their quirks. Atticus had a centuries-old vernacular, Mela enjoyed wearing boots she could barely walk in, and Ortega refused to acknowledge the difference between a professional work room and a tent in the middle of nowhere.

Then there's me, their leader, who refuses to speak to her closest friends face-to-face. Penny sighed and walked across the damp grass, taking a longer path behind the scaffolding to avoid the clusters of socializing Team Star members. She wouldn't be this nervous when she spoke to Ortega and Giacomo, she assured herself. After all, she knew them quite well. It was just all these strangers she didn't feel comfortable with. Strangers who had found a home here. Maybe it didn't matter too much if she struggled getting to know them. The important thing was Team Star doing exactly what she intended. Students had a place to come when school made them feel inadequate.

Penny smiled inside the helmet. Then she realized Ortega's tent--trimmed with gold and pink ribbons at the edges--stood only a few yards in front of her. As she approached the entrance, Ortega's authoritative tone stood out first, even if his words weren't quite clear yet. He wasn't happy. A muttering voice followed, but with the sound-muffling headgear, Penny could barely hear it at all.

The guard outside the tent stood unfazed by the conversation inside. In fact, he seemed downright distracted. The lanky teenager kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he craned his neck to search over his shoulder.

When he finally turned to look straight in front of him, he startled and pointed at Penny like she was the olive's second victim. "Wait...did you just appear here? Or did you walk up?"

"Walked," Penny assured him. "You were staring the other way."

"Right," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. See, I'm trying to find this researcher person. I was supposed to bring her to the boss, and--"

Penny timidly raised her hand. "Um, that'd be me."

Relief poured over the guy's face. "Really? Oh, that's awesome! Go in, go in!" He motioned her forward and Penny took a deep breath. The conversation inside had gone quiet for a moment, but when she pulled back the tent flap, the volume escalated.

"...and anyway, no one told me you were the one I was coming to see!" Arven was saying.

Penny moved inside and stood off to the corner. Ortega really did have the tent done up like a personal office--an outdoor carpet spread across the ground, a mahogany desk with a banker's lamp, and shelving with an array of medals from all the activities his parents shoved him into. He picked up a silver medal for Rapidash dressage and swung it back and forth. "Oh, really?" he said to Arven. "You got all the way out here and no one mentioned my name even once?"

"No, they didn't. I got a lot of yammering about your Radish Squad, but past that--"

Ortega slammed the medal onto the desk, shaking the lamp. "It's the Ruchbah Squad! I swear, is everything about cooking with you?"

"Oh, sorry," Arven crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Is cooking too pedestrian a topic for your sensitive, rich-boy ears?"

"Spare me the insults. Those are pedestrian." Ortega's gaze shot over to Penny. "You're the researcher?"

She nodded, unsure what else to do. Ortega had a short fuse, sure, but he generally kept it under control around strangers. The better he knew someone, the more likely he was to blow his top. So far this conversation suggested he and Arven knew each other quite well.

"Well, you might as well go back outside and wait," Ortega sighed, waving Penny towards the exit. "Our lead here might be too stuck-up to actually help us."

"I'm stuck up?" Arven repeated. "I'm stuck up?"

"Yes, you are. Good to know you listened to at least one thing I said."

Arven groaned with frustration and stomped outside the tent. The cooking utensils dangling off his pack clanged and clattered together with every step. They didn't get much quieter when the tent flap closed.

Ortega remained seated at his desk and made no attempt to follow. "Well, at least we'll hear if he leaves the base," he muttered. He returned the medal to its place on the shelf and leaned over forward, burying his face in his hands. "They just told me there were two students coming. I didn't get their names. Of all the stubborn, annoying..." He shook his head. "I know I should try to get along with him, but--"

"It's okay if you don't," Penny said. The words spilled out without thinking. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth, only to remember she still had the helmet on. Ortega watched her expectantly. Even hopefully. Like she might have some actual good advice.

Well, she at least owed him her best shot. "I-I mean, you can't get along with everyone," she continued. "Friendships don't last forever. Some don't last long at all. I think it's better to spend your time finding a good one than trying to hold onto a bad one, you know?"

Ortega smiled just a bit. "Funny. You sound just like someone else I know."

"Uh...I do?" The inside of the helmet suddenly felt stuffy. Sweat dripped down the back of Penny's neck. She'd been so focused on making sure no one recognized her face, she didn't really think about her voice. Or her words.

"If you are who I think," Ortega went on. "Then I'd like to say how glad I am to meet you in person. And how grateful I am for Team Star. It gives me a place where...people just accept me as me."

Penny's first instinct was to deny everything. But then a quieter part of her mind insisted it didn't matter if Ortega had figured her out or not. He needed to talk, and as his friend, she should be here to listen.

"My family...well, most people expect me to act a certain way, coming from that, you know?" he said, watching the tent flap sway in the breeze. "Arven and I were so close when we were little, but then...some stuff happened, and he took it the worst possible way. I feel like if I'd just been a regular kid, he would have listened. But maybe that's just wishful thinking." He stood and opened the top drawer on the desk. Inside sat several pastel-colored boxes, tied up with golden ribbon. The top box had the ribbon undone, and Ortega lifted it out and tipped open the lid in a single motion.

"Want a rare candy?" he said, offering the box to Penny. "I have, like, dozens of them."

Penny's eyes went wide. Rows of colorful sweets sat nestled in silvery wrappers before her. She picked one up and turned it side-to-side. There was no mistaking the candy's signature rainbow pattern with its glistening sugary shell. This was the genuine article. She stared dumbfounded at the box full of at least two dozen of them. Not that Ortega saw what her eyes were doing under the helmet. "How...?"

Ortega picked out a candy for himself, closed the box, and dropped it haphazardly back into the drawer. "My dad's using one of the anomalies to replicate these like crazy. Apparently if you let one of his special Cyclizars hold one, then get on to ride, then throw a Quick Ball at the nearest wild Pokemon, then get off and on again a bunch of times, the Cyclizar will clone whatever it was holding. At least, I think that's how it works."

Penny nodded and gingerly tucked the candy into her pocket. At another time, she probably would have pressured Ortega to tell his father how dangerous playing with the anomalies could be. But for now, she kept her worries to herself. Her friend had enough on his mind. Navigating relationships always felt like this confusing web of code in a language no one would teach her. It felt good to be around people who gave her the time and space to learn. And it felt even better to return the favor, giving them the time and space to unwind their own troubles. As friends did.

Chapter Text

When Penny imagined finally speaking to her friends in person, she didn't imagine it would go like this. To start with, the helmet didn't come off as easily as she expected. It was one of those things that seemed like it should be intuitive but wasn't. So instead of smoothly removing it to reveal her face to Ortega, she got stuck tugging it in several different directions. When she finally did figure it out, she had jostled her phone around so much, it started flashing at her.

"Why is changing accessories so difficult?" she muttered, checking the screen where she'd inadvertently opened the Pokédex app, the map app, and marked several locations she didn't actually want to go to. A long sigh escaped her lips as she closed everything and turned the screen off. Having a chaotic phone during a crisis was tantamount to cutting a finger off and telling her to act okay with it. By the time she'd finished, her glasses had fogged with condensation from the sweat on her face. Thankfully Ortega had the patience of a Gimmighoul coin hunter. He waited until she had cleaned the lenses and turned to face him in earnest. There was no playful teasing about her clumsiness, like her family would have done. Just a grateful smile. "Nice to meet you, big boss," he said.

"Nice to meet you, too," she said, her voice more confident than she expected. I'm the leader, aren't I? And I'm the one who thinks I can actually save Paldea from whatever's happening. I should act like it. Even if I don't feel it. "And it's Penny."

"Penny, then," Ortega said and picked up his Poké Ball staff from where he'd stashed it behind his desk. "Giacomo should be monitoring our, um...visitor from the Cortondo Gym. Is it okay if he comes in to see you, too?"

Penny rubbed her forehead, feeling where the helmet's padding had left a few marks. "Oh...um..."

"Because that's fine if you don't want him to," Ortega went on. "If you went through that much trouble to avoid talking face-to-face, it's obviously something you're uncomfortable with, and dragging the other Team Star bosses in here without even asking how you feel about it would be really rude. I mean, the absolute rudest."

"No, no, it's okay," Penny said. "Honest." Ortega gave a satisfied nod and walked outside the tent to find the Segin Squad leader. It was almost sweet how protective he was of her. Then Penny remembered that there wasn't a Segin Squad anymore, thanks to Operation Starfall. Her chest tightened. Maybe I could stand to be a little more protective of my friends in return.

#

Juliana entered the gate without too much issue. Several of the grunts had their Poké Balls at the ready, but when she explained to them that she was with Jenny and Arven, they backed off and let her through. One of them even helpfully pointed out Arven's location. Not that he was difficult to find. The guy was stomping up the path, headed straight for her.

Relief flooded through her as she jogged to meet him. "Glad I finally found you," she said, then promptly pulled him away from the Team Star grunts to whisper up against a corner of the fence. He seemed kind of flustered--probably from being left in the base without her all this time. "Listen. I just got some important intel. I don't think Team Star is out to help you like they said."

"Really?" Arven said with more than a hint of sarcasm. "And did this 'intel' come from that creepy guy in the grass?"

"He's not creepy. It's just the school director dressed up as this student named Clive following us around and watching what we do."

Arven did not need to reply to this. His deadpan expression said enough.

"Look, it's important he stays undercover," Juliana explained. "He's pretty sure Team Star is behind all this weird stuff going on."

"I see," Arven replied. His tone had softened to one less caustic and more...well, sad. "And what do you think about them?"

It seemed like a genuine question, which made Juliana divert her gaze in debate. She wasn't used to people actually hearing her opinion and changing their actions based on what she said. Usually she nodded and went along with people just because they left her little choice in the matter. "I mean, Clive said they're bad. And he's pretty trustworthy, so they're probably bad, right?" She crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly, and tapped her foot on the ground. She'd seen Arven do it a bunch of times, and it seemed to help him think. Unfortunately, it failed to have the same enlightening effect on her. "Then again, I guess believing whatever he said without proof just as bad as believing whatever Team Star says without proof?"

"No, they're bad," Arven assured her. "Stuck-up, irredeemable jerks we should not be talking to. Glad we're on the same page there. So let's go."

He started for the gate again, but Juliana grabbed the end of his backpack and pulled, halting his progress. "Hold on. If they're really the cause of all these problems, we need to help stop them."

"'If' is a loaded word." Arven gave the backpack a tug and loosened it from her grasp. "They're lousy people, yeah, but I don't know if they're capable of something that major. Not without a lot of adult help, which I always thought they were pretty strongly against."

How does he know so much about them? Juliana wondered. Even Clive didn't have this level of info. Maybe Arven was a former member who got out early? But if that were the case, he would have told her by now. The guy literally put the task of healing his Pokémon in her hands. If that wasn't a no-holds-barred level of trust, what was?

While Juliana stood in debate, the grunts had apparently gotten tired of watching them whisper in the corner. A group of them began to approach, accompanied by three people dressed outside the normal school uniform. One of them looked like a DJ, wearing a slick black and white jacket and a hefty set of headphones. This had to be Giacomo--the boss she was supposed to fight back at the Segin Squad base. He carted around a laptop that he was showing to a red-and-blue-haired girl with gray-patterned leggings, though the screen hid most of her face. The third person was shorter than the others and sported a pastel pink and yellow tailcoat that complimented his lavender hair. He also carried a small golden staff and walked with the confident gait of someone who could afford to drag a gold-plated stick through the muddy grass.

"Juliana, I assume?" he asked when he reached her.

She gave a cautious nod, while Arven crossed his arms and looked the other way.

"Excellent. That makes things easier." The lavender-haired guy tapped the ground with his staff. In a room with tiled flooring, it would have made an authoritative click. Out in the wet grass, it made a much less impressive squelch. "My name is Ortega. I understand you escorted Arven here? Perhaps you can help talk some sense into him."

"I could have gotten here on my own just fine," Arven muttered.

Ortega ignored him. "I'll be blunt. The anomalies around Paldea are getting progressively worse. I've experienced the long-term effects myself. We need your help to pinpoint the cause and stop it."

As he spoke, Giacomo closed his laptop, letting Juliana get a full view of the girl he'd been showing it to.

"Wait a second." Juliana narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. "Are you...?" The sweatshirt and shiny Eevee backpack looked like they belonged to Jenny. But her face reminded Juliana of the shy girl from school. Never mind that their names were only one letter apart...

"Y-you're Penny." Juliana did a face palm. Mostly to hide the scarlet flooding her cheeks. She could understand Director Clavell disguising himself so they could talk on the same level. But when fellow students hid who they were, too? Nothing felt sacred anymore.

"Sorry," Penny said, lowering her head.

Still flushing, Juliana turned to Arven. "I suppose next you're going to tell me that you're Cassiopeia?"

"Who?"

"Actually, um..." Penny took a step forward. "I'm Cassiopeia. Sorry again."

Juliana had no immediate response to that. Her brain fired through possibilities in a desperate attempt to not humiliate herself again. Penny had come here walking between the Team Star bosses, so that could only mean one of two things--either she was a boss herself or she was here against her will.

Gotta be the first one. No one that quiet runs a team of people this loud. "So. Did Team Star kidnap you? Blackmail you to shut down Operation Starfall?"

"Hey, hey!" Now Giacomo came forward, pushing past Ortega so he stood only inches from Juliana. The whole group of them were going to be pressing their faces together in short order if they kept this up. "She hasn't been kidnapped. Or blackmailed! Or whatever else you--" His eyebrows rose, and he turned to face Penny. "Hold up. You started Operation Starfall, B.B.? You wanted Team Star to go down?"

"N-no! Penny waved her hands frantically. "I-I mean...yes, I did. At first. To get you back to school so you didn't expelled. But now there's bigger problems than school, and we need Team Star to fix them, and...and..." She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "And why is this so complicated?"

Giacomo didn't raise his voice. He didn't even look that angry--more hurt than anything else. Hesitantly, he patted Penny on the shoulder in a halfhearted attempt to comfort her.

Ortega stabbed at the ground with his staff again, drawing Juliana's attention. "Look," he said. "I don't know where you got such weird ideas about us, but we want to help Paldea. The same as I assume you do. We just need to study Arven for a while and find out what causes his phasing to activate. With that information, maybe we can stop the anomalies altogether."

"I..." Juliana felt a serious headache coming on. She'd come in here so confident, but Team Star seemed genuinely confused by her accusations. Arven was no help, still standing with his arms crossed, refusing to take part in the conversation. What was she supposed to do? Answer for him?

"I don't know," she said carefully. "Phasing through stuff over and over again sounds dangerous. Even if what you're saying is true."

"What do you mean 'even if it's true'?" Giamoco demanded. "You think we're lying?"

"Well..."

"What would we get out of a lie like that?" Ortega said, pointing the muddy end of his staff in Juliana's face. "Seriously. How do you think it benefits us to watch Arven sticking his hand through random objects for hours on end?"

"Which I'm not doing," Arven said. "So you can lay off of my friend already!" He came up alongside Juliana and shoved the staff away. Hard. It knocked Ortega off balance, sending him down on his butt into the mud. Murky rainwater splashed up, covered Penny's leggings, and drenched Ortega's fairy-pink suit. Arven's eyes widened, but instead of apologizing, he crossed his arms and stood over Ortega with a piercing glare. "If the same thing is happening to you, why don't you be Team Star's lab Rattata?"

"Because I can't control it, and you can!" Ortega snapped as he pushed himself into a crouch. He reached for his staff, only for his fingers to move right through it. He growled and stood, leaving his staff in the mud.

Doubt again crossed Arven's face, but again his angry tone took control. "Oh, so I'm special?"

"Clearly! Gee, I wonder how that happened!"

Juliana bit her lip. Making a sound judgment here was getting trickier by the second. But first she had to keep Arven and Ortega from going staff-to-frying-pan at each other. "Look," she said, stepping between them. "There's obviously a lot of tension here, so why don't we talk things out?" She patted Arven's arm and gently pushed down on Ortega's balled-up fist. Mostly to make sure they didn't take any fury-filled swings.

Suddenly, she lost her footing. Or more accurately, her foot. Juliana looked down to see her leg sunk into the ground up to her knee. She cried out in surprise and pulled her hands back, only to start falling forward. For all their hatred of each other, the boys apparently shared a desire not to see her hit the ground face-first. Arven grabbed her left wrist while Ortega grasped her right.

Then things got really weird. Juliana's limbs burned with the sensation of someone powerful pulling on them with full strength. At the same time, the upper half of her body felt like it was flying straight up. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut, but her eyelids hit some sort of obstacle. She could only watch in horror as the ground got farther and farther away.

When it stopped, her feet remained planted on the ground. She was standing at roughly the height of a building, her limbs stretched thin like putty. But when she tried to reach her unnaturally long arm forward, she could barely see it from her peripheral vision. Like her eyes had jutted out too far from her body.

Juliana let out a guttural, horrified scream. The sound was echoed by dozens of terrified, normal-sized humans far below. Grunts were scrambling to get away from her. If she moved, she might step on them. Or fall on them. She tried desperately to look around and get her bearings, but with her disconnected vision, any movement turned her stomach and threatened her already precarious balance.

Then, as quickly as it had happened, the entire process worked itself in reverse. Her eyes pulled back, returning to their normal place in her sockets. Her arms shrunk to their normal length, and the ground got closer and closer.

When the whole insane event ended, Juliana collapsed onto the ground.

Despite all the grunts darting away, Arven came running to her side. "Juliana! Are you okay?" He seemed hesitant to touch her, but she reached out and grabbed his wrist, using it to pull herself out of the mud. Nothing happened. Her body remained normal. Of course it had. They'd bumped up against each other plenty of times before arriving here. Whatever freakish process had taken over her body, it wasn't Arven's fault. And since only one other person had come in contact with her, the culprit couldn't be clearer.

"Juliana?" Arven asked again. "Answer me!"

"C-clive was right," she said in a shaky voice. "Team Star is the cause of everything. We need to stop them." She scanned the grounds until she saw Ortega, Penny, and Giacomo. They were keeping a healthy distance from her, but they weren't running, either.

Juliana grabbed Tinkatuff's Poké Ball and thrust it forward. "Battle me!" she demanded. "And when I win, I want the Rhubarb Squad disbanded. Forever."

Chapter Text

Penny stood stunned. On one hand she could see how Juliana came to the conclusion that she did. Ortega did grab her only a moment before that horrible series of events occurred. Just watching Juliana's body stretch and change like that was terrifying. If Penny had been in her position, she'd be looking to blame the nearest person she could, all logic thrown to the wayside.

On the other hand...Ugh!

"Well?" Juliana demanded, still a touch out of breath as she held her Poké Ball aloft. "Do you accept my challenge or not?"

Penny breathed deeply. Fair or not, she had to take charge here. Maybe it was different than directing Team Star from behind the scenes, but she was still their leader. It was her job to guide them through this.

"Of course we accept your challenge," she said as boldly as she could manage. "Team Star follows its code. But we expect you to stand by our rules as well. You need to face thirty of our members first before Ortega." And when in doubt about what to do next, stalling's not a bad option.

Juliana nodded.

Ortega called for the members to regroup, assuring them the giant-student-related danger had passed. Once everyone had huddled together--including Ortega's tutor--Penny leaned down and whispered, "Listen. We need you all to buy us as much time as you can." She glanced to Ortega. "Would any of your Pokémon listen to another trainer if you lent them out?"

Ortega didn't look happy about this, but replied, "Mr. Harrington knows my Dachsbun pretty well. Likes his piano music. But that'll leave me short a team member."

"Go ahead and do it," she said. "I'll back you up with one of my own team members."

Ortega frowned at the suggestion but passed his Poké Ball to his tutor all the same. Penny ended with instructions to the scorekeeper to keep her and the others updated on Juliana's progress. With the group invigorated and ready to fight, Penny pulled the two bosses back towards the tents. Arven's gaze stayed locked on them the entire time.

#

Penny never went anywhere without proper equipment. Once inside Ortega's "office," she sat down in his swivel chair and laid her Eevee bag on her lap. From there, she extracted a thin, tablet-like collapsable monitor and a tri-fold keyboard. She laid them out across Ortega's desk, which was quite comfortable to sit at. If she was going to get stuck frantically planning countermeasures to Juliana's attack, this wasn't the worst place to do it.

"We need to know everything we can about Juliana and Arven," she said as she tapped on her phone. It immediately recognized the hardware and connected to it. The keys glowed with a soft blue light, and the monitor lit up with a mirror image of the phone's screen. "Ortega, start talking, please."

"Wha--?"

"You and Arven obviously know each other," Giamono said. He glanced at his phone. "Also, Juliana's taken out three members already."

"We knew each other as kids!" Ortega protested. "That's it!" When no one bought this excuse, he relented and stepped behind Penny to look over her shoulder as she typed. "Okay, okay. Look, the last time I saw Arven, we were both eight years old. My family provided the angel funding for his mom's research, so we always had access to her data and prototypes and all that stuff before anybody else did. Sometimes my parents let Arven and I hang out together at her lab. I'd bring this double-stacked bento box with me for lunch, which Arven always thought was the coolest thing ever. One day his mom was extra busy, and we didn't know where to sit and eat, so I started looking--"

"Not to rush you, but we only have so much time before Juliana takes out our first line of defense," Penny said. Her fingers itched to put her devices to good use. "I could use the quick version here."

"Eight members down," said Giacomo.

"I was getting there!" Ortega huffed. "The quick version is that something in his mom's lab terrified me that day, and I never wanted to go near her or Arven again afterwards." He gritted his teeth and faced the corner of the tent. "Arven doesn't know. He thought I'd suddenly decided he was below me or something."

"I'm sorry," Penny said, hoping to strike a balance between sympathetic and can-we-please-hurry-it-up. "What do you know about him now, though? What's most important to him that might get him over to our side?"

"I don't know anything about him now," Ortega said. He pulled out his phone and tapped through to his contact list. "I still have his contact info. But he blocked me a while ago. I blocked him back out of spite at the time, but--hey!"

Penny had already snatched the phone out of Ortega's hand around when he said "blocked him back." She fumbled around in her bag, pulled out an extra cable, and added Ortega's phone to her set-up. The monitor showed a split screen, and she enlarged the one displaying Ortega's data first. After a quick glance at what she had to work with, her fingers flew across the keys, her brain happy to communicate in a language that didn't have a million different ways the receiver could misinterpret the message.

This model of Rotom Phone didn't really block new messages. Instead, it stashed messages from unwanted senders in a trash folder, set to be deleted. And even then, phones of all types were horrible at actually deleting data.

"Fourteen members down," Giacomo said, his normally cool and collected tone waning.

Arven must have decided to unblock at Ortega at some point, because with a little bit of prodding, Penny found several recent messages from him. Ortega looked more and more upset as she scrolled through each one, starting from the last school term: Hey, know we haven't talked in a while, but Mabosstiff is hurt bad. Or sick, maybe? Potions and centers aren't helping. Does your family know anyone who could help?

The next message didn't come until a couple months later: Been doing some research. Have you heard of this stuff called Herba Mysitca? Think the titan Pokémon might be connected to it. I'm gonna go check them out but could use some backup. Please?

Then right as the current term began: Forget it. I'll find someone else to help. Or go on my own. Have a nice life.

Ortega rubbed at his eyes. "That's important to him," he said in as steady a voice as he could manage. "Mabosstiff was always there for Arven when his mom wasn't. If it's sick, Arven would do anything, and I mean anything, to help it. I'm kind of shocked he's with Juliana instead of hunting down one of the titans now."

"Juliana's up to twenty wins," Giacomo said. "Hey, you think maybe she's helping Arven with this titan thing? She seems strong enough for it."

"Let's assume that's the case for now," Penny said, then continued her work. In short order, she also recovered some odd spam messages from the supposedly deleted data. She was set to ignore them, but the awkward phrasing caught her eye:

tH3 w0R1D 1S unST4Bl3. O0DS of S4ving AR3... Accompanied by an image file. Finding it clear of any malicious code, Penny previewed it: a photo of a Tandemaus, its two faces blank, a number written across each of its stomachs: "92"

Odds are ninety-two? Okay, that was ominous. But then Penny saw this wasn't the only such text Ortega had received. Scrolling down she saw two more nearly identical ones, the first was from a week and a half ago, and the second had come in only yesterday.

The messages were the same. But the numbers on the two Tandemaus had changed to 89 and 86.

So according to whoever sent these, the odds of us saving Paldea are...going down? Penny shook her head. It wasn't like her to waste time on nonsense like this. Especially when there was little of it to waste.

"Any idea what these are?" she said, showing the texts to Ortega.

He shivered. "Ew. Creepy. But no. I haven't seen anything like that."

"Doesn't look like a mass text," Penny said. "But it could easily be some creep who doesn't like your family." She rescued them from the trash bin for further investigation later.

"Mr. Harrington is fighting Juliana for her thirtieth win," Giacomo announced. "And, uh...this happened." He turned the phone around to show the group the white glow of a Pokémon in mid-evolution. Juliana had come in here with a Tinkatuff. And now it was a Tinkaton. A very maniacal-looking one at that. On the ground beside it lay Dachsbun, falling into a faint.

"Doesn't change our plans," Penny said. "And anyway, it would be rude to embarrass Juliana by beating her too quickly." Wish I felt a fraction as confident as that sounded. She unplugged the two phones and returned Ortega's to him, along with Sylveon's Poké Ball. "She knows Moonblast, Quick Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, and Shadow Ball," she told him. When he hesitated to take it, she added on, "It's only if you get backed into a corner. Now let's get the Starmobile and show them what Team Star is made of."

#

When the Team Star trio reappeared on the field, things weren't looking great. Grunts were kneeled down beside their fallen Pokémon, feeding them potions and revives, along with every sort of drink the vending machines would spit out.

Mr. Harrington had recalled Ortega's fainted Dachsbun and sent out a Meowth. Not normally a Pokémon he battled with, Ortega noted to the group; it was more of a companion.

He must be giving this all he has for Ortega's sake. Penny had her eyes on Tinkaton. It let out a shrill cry and raised its hammer in a showy fashion, but it also looked fatigued. Maybe Ortega wouldn't even need to use Sylveon.

"Don't you have any other Pokémon?" Arven asked Juliana. "You can't use one for everything! It'll run out of moves."

"I know that!" she said. "And of course I have another Pokémon. Do I look like the type of person who would lose my Pokémon?"

Well, that sounded aggressively defensive, Penny thought. Maybe Juliana one of the people whose Pokémon had simply vanished in the series of anomalies. Or perhaps had one of them run away from her?

Either way, Juliana did take Arven's advice, recalled Tinkaton, and sent out another Pokémon...this one in a Premiere Ball. A blast of cold blew across the field, accompanied by a mighty roar and a bulky, white-furred body.

Arven staggered back. "Wh-when did you get a Beartic?"

"Honestly? I stumbled into a tera raid with a bunch of trainers way better than me. It's been my stronger Pokémon for a while. Especially after I gave it all the experience candy I had. But it usually ignores me. Or attacks at random." She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "I wonder if it gave those other trainers a hard time, too. Once I terastallized Tinkatuff, they all kind of vanished from the raid."

"Uh..." Arven did not look comfortable with any of this. Penny wondered if they should evacuate the base before Juliana's Pokémon decided to freeze it over Team-Plasma style.

"Th-they must have been intimidated by how strong Beartic is," Juliana said with a weak, uncertain laugh. "But I bet it listens now that I've got Larry's gym badge. Let's see..." She quickly pulled up her Rotom phone. "Blizzard, Rest, Superpower, and Sheer Cold. I'm not happy with its moveset, but I haven't really time to change it around much, and--oh! Superpower is a fighting move!" She tucked the phone away and turned her attention back to the battle. "Beartic, use Superpower!"

Beartic roared and charged full-force into Meowth. Penny winced, expecting to see the poor little thing flattened. This Beartic was high-level. Well, not on Sylveon's level, but it could certainly hold its own against any of Ortega's team. And that was concerning.

But when the dust settled, the audience let out a collective gasp. Meowth had taken heavy damage, but she was not knocked down.

"My little Meowth does love her focus sash," Harrington chuckled. "Now, then, let's see...use Spite!"

Meowth growled and swiped at the air. The shadow of its claws stretched out and formed a gloomy dark-purple haze around Beartic. The massive Pokémon shook it off, but looked confused when it went to raise its paw again.

"Superpower's been drained!" Juliana groaned. "Beartic, Blizzard! Keep Blizzard-ing until we win!"

"Meowth, Endure! Then use Spite again!" Harrington called out. The pint-sized little cat dug its claws into the ground, bracing itself against freezing chill of the Blizzard attack. She was hardy and determined, even in the face of everything working against her. Actually, it reminded Penny a lot of the Sprigatitio she'd rescued back in her dorm.

Meowth and Beartic seemed to have compatible speed, and this time, Meowth got the upper hand. Spite took out all Beartic's uses of Blizzard, causing its second move to fail. Harrington ordered a Play Rough next, and Juliana ordered a Sheer Cold. This time, Beartic went first, and Sheer Cold landed. Meowth fainted instantly in the blast, and even from a distance, the Ruchbah Squad members shivered. So much for good luck, Penny thought.

Harrington gave Juliana a polite bow before stepping down and handing the stage over to Ortega. He gave the Starmobile's engine a good loud rev as he pulled it forward. The billowing pink flag seemed to energize the members watching. Ortega then stood on the seat and announced the start of the match.

Juliana recalled Beartic and sent out Tinkaton as her first Pokémon. The shiny, heavy hammer was enough to strike fear in the heart of any fairy-type enthusiast. It certainly made Penny shudder.

To his credit, Ortega did try to sound cool and confident. It just didn't quite come out that way.

"Oookay, so...you're Juliana," he said. Then he seemed to collect himself a bit, put his foot up on the car's dashboard and leaned forward. "I-I mean, talk about underwhelming. Took you, what? Nineteen minutes to beat my crew? You almost ran out of time."

"Your last guy was really hard!" Juliana objected.

Ortega shrugged. "Whatever. Not like I'm gonna lose to you anyway." He flashed a grin and gave a theatrical twirl before sending Azumarril out to face Tinkaton. "Glad you have enough sense to know fairy types aren't all about cuteness. But you still made a big mistake challenging me with them. Azumarril, use Charm!"

Azumarril twirled the same way Ortega had, sending a flurry of pink hearts in Tinkaton's direction.

"Tinkaton, Gigaton Hammer!" Juliana called out.

Her Pokémon charged forward and hit Azumarril with a clang that echoed across the squad base. But loud and powerful as it sounded, Azumarril appeared more or less unfazed. It threw out another Charm attack to weaken Tinkaton's attack even more. Then Ortega started with the Aqua Tail attacks.

Like Beartic with Blizzard and Superpower, Tinkaton was quickly depleted of its best move, leaving it with Skitter Smack, Play Rough, and Flash Cannon. Penny stood back, watching with pride at Ortega's success. This is what a team was supposed to feel like.

Struggling with the effects of Tinkaton's devastated attack power, Juliana switched back to Beartic. "Sheer Cold!" she commanded. Not that Penny or anyone else was worried. After all, what were the odds of--

A blast of icy air burst from Beartic's mouth and hit Azumarril smack in the center of its bright blue take-all-hits tummy. It swaggered off balance for a moment before it fell over. Fainted.

No way!

"Lucky shot!" Ortega growled, pulling back Azumarril and sending out Wigglytuff. "Why don't you just try that again? I dare you!"

Juliana narrowed her eyes. And she did try again. Penny's heart sank as Sheer Cold hit its mark for the third time in a row. Hesitant to resort to Penny's Sylveon, Ortega sent the Starmobile's Revavroom, only for it to meet the same fate.

Penny shook her head, trying to process what she'd witnessed. Sheer Cold hitting four times in a row? The odds of that were less than one percent. Either Juliana was the luckiest trainer in the world or something else was happening.

Penny thought of the strange photos Ortega had received and swallowed hard. Can the anomalies affect statistics, too? How do we fight them if they can? She forced her eyes to stay on the match. But she barely registered as Ortega sent out her precious Sylveon. The last thing she wanted was to see her own Pokémon taken out in a single logic-defying hit.

Only this time when Beartic released Sheer Cold, it didn't work.

Or rather, the attack itself worked, but Sylveon seemed to shrug it off. Penny's heart leapt from the pit of her stomach back into her chest. Sylveon's at too high of a level to be affected!

And so she was. The pink and blue Eeveelution let out a Moonblast at Ortega's command. Beartic's special defense wasn't as shabby as its speed, but after two hits, it was on the ground.

Giacomo cheered, but Ortega looked like he'd swallowed some extra-bitter Aguav berries. He'd wanted to win but not this way.

Tinkaton came out next and landed a couple of super effective hits on Sylveon with Flash Cannon. But after all the battles she'd had so far, Tinkaton's uses of Flash Cannon were soon gone, too.

"Let's finish this!" Ortega said, raising his hand. "Shadow Ball!"

Sylveon glanced back at Penny, who nodded at it encouragingly. Her Pokémon gave a melodic cry, shot a cloudy ball of purple mist in Tinkaton's direction, and braced itself for the returning attack.

Except it didn't come. Tinkaton swayed back and forth several times before it dropped its hammer with a deep thunk and fell to the ground.

"W-we won?" asked Giacomo in an awed whisper.

"They won!" Juliana moaned. "How could this happen?" She shoved her two Poké Balls in her pockets and headed for the gates.

Ortega stomped his foot, clearly unhappy with his technically illegal win. If this had been an official match and someone saw him take Penny's Poké Ball, they'd have declared Juliana the winner by default. Instead of landing with a clang, his foot phased in and out of the Starmobile's floor, causing him to lose his balance. Penny and Giacomo hurried up to catch him.

"I'm fine," he said, pushing them off once his feet were on solid ground. "The base is safe, so let's just get back to work already."

Penny let go and looked back, expecting to see Arven halfway to the gate alongside his friend. Instead he walked up to Ortega, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. Or...disappointment? Actually, it could have been any number of intense emotions.

Maybe it was best to hear the guy out. Penny never claimed to be good at reading people.

Chapter Text

Arven ignored everyone else and spoke quietly to Ortega. "That Sylveon wasn't yours, was it? You don't keep your Pokémon in anything other than Luxury Balls."

If there was one thing Ortega detested more than winning by cheating, it was getting caught in the act. He held Sylveon's Poké Ball defensively to his chest. "I'll have you know this one was a gift!"

"A gift Pokémon?" Arven asked as he crossed his arms.

"Uh-huh."

"To you?"

"Exactly."

"In a standard, run-of-the-mill, cheap Poké Ball?"

Ortega looked down at the ground, flushing.

"Yeah, thought so," Arven scoffed with a shake of his head. "Listen, I don't know what crazy thing that was with Juliana before, but I don't think you caused it. So I won't say anything about Sylveon if you answer a question for me."

"Sure." Ortega swallowed hard, which gave Penny a sinking feeling what the question might be. "Ask away."

"Did you ever get my texts?"

"N-not until today." Even if it was the truth, the shakiness in his voice did Ortega no favors.

"That so?" Arven said, his own voice razor sharp. And why wouldn't it be? They were asking him to believe his former best friend had missed all his cries for help months ago but had somehow found those messages again in Team Star's time of need. Quite a convenient coincidence.

"I don't know why I try with you," Arven sighed. "Good luck whenever Juliana comes back here, because she'll probably kick your butt." He started towards the gate. Penny's heart sank. Yes, the squad was safe, but what could it actually do now? They were both going to leave--the only person who could control when the anomalies affected him and the person who'd experienced the most extreme anomaly Penny had witnessed thus far. Even worse, they were going to drain Team Star's resources trying to attack the bases over and over.

"We can help your sick Pokémon!" Penny blurted out.

Arven froze. "What?"

"I-if you're after this Herba Mystica, we can help you. We have dozens of members across Paldea, and our crew bosses' skills are top notch." She had no idea where the offer had come from. She'd entertained it as a last-ditch plan, but it wasn't like her to propose things without thinking them through.

For once, though, it felt like she could trust her gut. If any member of her team had been hurt like Arven's Pokémon had, she'd take any path available. She bet he would, too.

"I have someone helping me already," Arven said. But the doubt had already crept into his voice. He wasn't after loyalty. He was after results. Heck, even if he did think Team Star was plotting Paldea's destruction, he might still be in debate over this. But he wouldn't admit it on the spot. They needed to give him an out for now and pull him in later.

Thankfully Ortega delivered. "Penny fixed my phone so I can't miss your messages anymore," he said to Arven. "Think about it at least and call us when you decide."

Arven nodded and started walking away again, muttering a barely audible "We'll see" under his breath. It wasn't the well-calculated type of outcome Penny was used to. But for now it would have to do.

#

The gates closed behind Arven with a demoralizing clang. He couldn't believe he'd listened to Ortega's Team Star buddies, talking him up about the Herba Mystica. And he doubly couldn't believe he was thinking of taking them up on their offer.

No. Juliana said she would help, and he would stick with that plan. Maybe Ortega was the type to stab people in the back. But his and Juliana's friendship was stronger than that. It had to be.

"Sorry you had to see such an embarrassing battle," Juliana said. "But I'm glad you still want to travel with me."

"Of course," Arven said, trying his best to give her an optimistic smile. "Who said I didn't?"

Juliana shuffled her feet. "You took a while to catch up. I thought maybe you were waiting for me to leave so you could go off in another direction or something."

"N-no, nothing like that," Arven said. "I'm just slow sometimes, is all. And anyway, we should get going before--what the heck is that?" He pointed towards the horizon, where far in the distance, the oasis of fresh grass met the harsh, snowy ground. And traveling across the grass at full speed was someone on a Cyclizar. The girl was wearing a Naranja Academy uniform, and her dark brown ponytail whipped back and forth in the wind behind her.

The student council president? What's she doing out--

"Oh, no!" Juliana cried. "She's going to crash!"

She wasn't wrong. A large rock sat directly in the president's path. But her Pokémon made no attempt to swerve around it. As she zoomed closer, Arven also saw Nemona didn't have her usual confident expression, but a wide-eyed face of fear.

Cyclizar smacked the rock full force. The Pokémon itself appeared fine. Rubbery padding on its wheel-like appendages absorbed the impact with the same ease they would an attack in battle.

Nemona, however, was a different story. She continued to fly forward, still in riding position, her limbs frozen.

Arven flew into a panic, first thinking he should try to catch her, then realizing that because he was panicked, she would fly right through him and crash head-first into the fence at his back.

Thankfully, Juliana had more wits about her and brought out her newly evolved Tinkaton. "Catch Nemona!" she quickly ordered. Tinkaton didn't hesitate. She flipped her hammer upside down and braced herself against it, two pairs of pink squishy arms ready for impact. The larger arms on her head nabbed Nemona out of the air and pulled her down, while the smaller ones embraced her to absorb the force of her sudden stop.

"Th-thank you," Nemona said in a shaky voice as Tinkaton helped the girl to her feet. "Man, there's been some weird stuff lately, but...maybe I'll just take a flying taxi next time I need to catch up with you."

She dusted herself, smiled at Juliana, and extended her arms wide. "But hey, you're here! I'm so glad! I was waiting at the Montenevera Gym forever!" She pulled Juliana into a fierce but quick hug. "I mean, I assumed you'd go there next, after you beat Larry and everything. But then I waited and waited, and you didn't show, and La Primera hadn't seen you around, so I got super-worried. I don't know what I'd do without my best rival!"

"You don't need to worry about me," Juliana assured her, but returned the hug all the same. Nemona's Cyclizar joined them as well, trying to nuzzle itself between the two.

Arven crossed his arms. "Glad you're all right and all, but Juliana's not headed for the next gym. We have other plans."

"Huh?" Nemona recalled Cyclizar and cocked her head at Arven. Not like she was caught off guard by his presense--more like she was surprised he was there and speaking with her. "The treasure hunt isn't going to last forever," she said. "If Juliana wants to make Champion Rank before the semester is over, she has to keep moving forward."

Arven had so many snarky replies for that, he couldn't decide where to start. But before he could even narrow the list down, another figure appeared on the horizon. Arven squinted. It was that Clive guy, who seemed to have the sense not to ride around on out-of-control Cyclizars, and he was sprinting up to them while holding his hand fiercely on top of his hair.

"Does anyone require medical attention? I saw Miss Nemona rushing up at a dangerous, breakneck speed! I attempted to intercept her, but--" He looked between everyone, cleared his throat, and relaxed his stiff posture into a more casual stance. "Erm, that is...the prez here went zooming past me faster than a quick attack! Looks like she made it safe, though." He nodded in approval at each of their intact, non-injured appearances. Then he addressed Juliana. "Nemona was worried about you, so I gave her our location info. What happened in there? I don't know if it was an illusion or something else, but I could have sworn I saw you grow higher than the fence!"

"No, that was real," Juliana said with a shudder. "Not to mention terrifying. And it was completely the Team Star boss's fault! Everything happened right as he grabbed me."

"Well..." Arven wrung his hands a bit. "Technically, it happened when both of us grabbed you."

"So...you're saying it was both your faults?" Nemona asked.

Juliana looked at her two friends like they'd suggested a Hoppip use Splash against a Talonflame. "Don't be ridiculous. We've been traveling together this whole time, and Arven's had no effect on me at all. It was just a coincidence he grabbed me when the boss did." She turned back to Clive. "Anyway, Team Star is gathering people who've been effected by these weird events, just like you said. They were really interested in this phasing thing Arven does. They said they wanted to experiment on him."

"Study," Arven corrected. "Study is the word they used."

Clive glanced briefly at Arven but motioned for Juliana to continue.

"So, even though I was completely freaked out by what happened to me, I knew I couldn't let them continue their experiments. I challenged the boss to a battle and demanded he dismantle his crew if I won."

Nemona looked absolutely starry-eyed at this development. "Oh, wow! And?"

"I, uh, lost. Horribly." Juliana hung her head. "And the worst of it was, the battle was really lucky for me! Sheer cold hit four times in a row."

"Four times?" Nemona's eyes went wide. "That is impressive!"

"Indeed," Clive said. "You know, I've heard that if Pokémon have a super-close bond with their trainer, it can have some noticeable effects in battle. They'll dodge attacks more easily, land hits more often, and sometimes they can even shrug off status effects."

Juliana perked up at this insight. "So...maybe my Beartic hit so many times because of how close we are?"

"You said you only recently caught it in a raid, and it only just now started listening to you," Arven reminded her. "Sounds closer to the same weird events you think Team Star is causing than a long-forged bond of affection."

Juliana shrugged. "Maybe ice types bond to their trainers more quickly?"

"Hmm...you know who knows a lot about ice types?" said Nemona in an almost singsong voice.

Clive smiled, seeming to catch her meaning. "Grusha, the leader of Glaseado Gym. An excellent suggestion!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Arven stepped pointedly into the middle of their happy little gym-touring trio. "Aren't we forgetting something here? What about the titans?"

Juliana turned to face him, and to her credit, she did look like she felt a bit guilty. But apparently not guilty enough to change her stance. "I can't take the titans if I'm so weak that a Team Star bully can beat me up. Plus, if Grusha knows a way Beartic can hit with Sheer Cold every time, we'll defeat the titans much faster."

"What's this about titans?" Nemona asked, but Arven ignored her.

"You're just like the perfect little school council president, aren't you? It's all about the Champion title."

Juliana huffed. "I'd be glad to be more like Nemona. She plans her strategy ahead of time so she doesn't have to figure things out as she goes. She knows the results before she makes a move."

Nemona blushed at the compliment. Arven felt alone and betrayed all over again.

Juliana's expression softened and she patted his shoulder. Arven almost pulled away, but her words won him over: "I get you're scared for Mabosstiff. But I promised I'd help, and I will. Only, let me handle my Pokémon my way. All right?"

Arven kicked out the ground. Had he read her wrong? Maybe he was so used to people abandoning him, he didn't know what a reliable friend acted like. "I guess...the false dragon titan isn't too far from the Glaseado--"

Before he could finish, there was a rustle as something approached from around the side of the Ruchbah Squad's high, haphazard fence. Arven braced himself for some Team Star grunts to rush into view and make trouble. Nemona's hand flew to one of her Poké Balls. But instead of an ambush, the giant olive rolled forward.

"H-hello?" Nemona said. "Are you a student? If you're trying to do the Cortondo gym challenge, you know you don't have to roll the olive this far, riiii--" Her words dissolved as the olive rotated slightly. It looked much worse for the wear than when it arrived, with large chunks of olive green foam ripped out of it. Team Star had certainly done a number on the Cortondo gym icon.

But, as the olive turned, it soon became clear that their handiwork had also freed the poor gym worker trapped inside.

"I'm sorry. What am I looking at?" Nemona asked.

"Team Star's doing," Juliana replied, then eyeballed the gym worker. He looked dazed and disoriented, his hair disheveled. And he still had chucks of foam encircling his limbs like some roughly hewn pool floaties. But he was walking on his own two feet, which was a considerable improvement from before. "At least, I thought it was. Are you okay, mister?"

The gym worker didn't seem to hear her. He shook his head and pulled a bit of foam from his ear. "It is really weird in there," he said. "Don't suppose you folks are headed back towards Cortondo Gym? I'm not sure I'm in the best shape for travel."

Juliana and Nemona shook their heads, but Clive raised his hand. "I can call us a taxi and make sure you get back safely. And on the way, I'd like to hear about your experience. Everything you can remember."

The gym nodded and stumbled over to Clive, who let him lean against his shoulder.

"Well, that settles that, I suppose," Nemona said. "Let's get hiking."

"Hiking?" Arven whined. He knew the taxis wouldn't take them, not when he and Juliana had never travelled that far from the school before. Something about proper clearance and whatnot. But still, he didn't think they'd have to walk.

"I want to get Cyclizar to a center to make sure it's okay before riding it again. And I don't think Juliana's, um...ride Pokemon can carry all three of us and our stuff."

It could if it was at full strength, Arven thought. Bet it could even carry four of us then.

Nemona put on a bright, confident smile, which seemed to lift Juliana's sprits, but not Arven's. "But no worries, I know the quickest path we can take." With that, Nemona bolted off across the grass, motioning for the others to follow.

Juliana followed, full of energy in her step.

Arven readjusted his pack and reluctantly took up the rear. Carrying all this heavy stuff into the mountains wasn't going to be easy. He hoped the center wasn't too far.

As they crossed from the bare grass into the snow, Arven stole one last glance over his shoulder at the base behind him. The image of Juliana growing huge with those creepy stretched-out eyes wasn't leaving his brain anytime soon. She'd told him that what happened to her in there couldn't possibly be his fault. But he also couldn't help wondering if it still would have happened if Ortega had been the only one to grab her. Nothing happened when the guy interacted with his fellow team star members in the case. If anything, they could have observed the same event and, using Juliana's logic, blamed the entire thing on Arven instead. So, if it was caused by the two of us, what does that mean? he thought, gritting his teeth. If there's a connection, I don't get it.

Chapter Text

"You sure you're okay, Ortega?" Giacomo asked for at least the fifth time. It seemed that creepy Tandemaus photos combined with Juliana's freakish growth spurt had seriously put the dark-type trainer on edge. Add in Ortega's foot phasing through the Starmobile, and he was now downright paranoid his friend could vanish any second.

"I already told you, I'm fine!" Ortega snapped. It wasn't the type of behavior Team Star bosses showed to each other. They were supposed to have higher standards than time.

But Penny knew too well how fear could send standards flying out the window. While Giacomo and Ortega vented through their frustrations, Penny gazed at the gate where Juliana and Arven had just left. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, but when her thoughts were racing like this, it helped to keep her glaring focus on inanimate objects rather than people. The latter led to some awkward misunderstandings.

"Juliana wasn't happy about that loss," she finally said. "She's going to train hard to make up for it. And she'll definitely challenge us again."

"So we need to warn the other bosses to bolster their defenses," Ortega said. "Eri will probably be okay, but Atticus?" He rubbed his eyes with the cleanest part of his muddy sleeve and inhaled loudly through his teeth. "Ugh, we basically just sent the academy's most promising new student against him, didn't we? Maybe Eri can send him some reinforcements?"

He pulled out his phone, and Penny raised her hand. "Hold up. First, we should discuss the proposed adjustment to Team Star's code with them."

"Huh?" Ortega paused with his thumb over the screen. His eyes searched Penny's face in confusion. "What are you talking about? This isn't a time to debate over the code. He needs as much time to prepare as possible."

"Just wait a second!" Penny said, then covered her mouth, surprised at her own volume. "I mean, Giacomo worked really hard on this proposal," she said in a quieter tone. "And it's perfect for exactly this type of situation."

"I did what now?" Giacomo asked.

If Penny was the type of person who elbowed people to make them follow along, she might have taken a jab at Giacomo in that moment. Instead she locked eyes with him, mentally begging him to infer her meaning.

"O-oh. Yeah! I did!" Giacomo mockingly slapped himself in the forehead. "I called it the, um...Emergency Situation Addendum. Didn't I, B.B.?"

Penny nodded. "You did. And I thought it was especially insightful to add that part about how if a crew boss is forced to step down, the crew may remain assembled until they've concluded all necessary business."

"Riiight...and saving Paldea is very necessary," Giacomo added on.

"Extremely," Penny agreed. She turned to Ortega. "Of course, nothing Giacomo wrote is part of the actual code until we vote on it. So we need to get the bosses together as soon as possible."

Ortega rolled his eyes. "Eri and Atticus are never going to buy this. It sounds like we're a bunch of cowards trying to damage control before we lose."

"It doesn't matter what it sounds like. Mela's lost her status--"

"So have I," Giacomo pointed out.

"You're saying you personally battled Juliana and lost?" Penny said.

Giacomo scratched his head. "I mean, I didn't, no, but--"

"--then you haven't lost your status, have you?"

Giacomo appeared to debate over this, searching for a loophole. Juliana had certainly devastated his base. Several of his squad members had already joined Mela's in returning to school. Surely he'd lost by some spirit of the definition. But if Penny could get by on a technicality, she would.

"Right. Then that leaves five of us, including me. As long as we have three votes, the addendum goes into effect."

"The code says a consensus is preferred," Giacomo said.

"Preferred, not required," Penny replied.

Neither Giacomo nor Ortega looked happy at this. Penny feared for a moment that she might have pushed things too far. She needed both of them backing her up. What good was a leader if she couldn't take decisive action in a crisis? "Listen. We can't afford to divert resources keeping Juliana at bay. This way if a base goes down, our members won't feel like they have to leave, and we can still continue our work."

Giacomo looked thoughtful at this. "What about Arven? If he comes over to our side, maybe he could get Juliana to back down."

"That's a big if," Penny said. "And I've had enough uncertainty for the day." She looked to Ortega.

He seemed hesitant at first, but he finally sighed and pulled up the call list of Team Star leaders. "I'd love for Arven to help us, too, but..." He tapped Eri and Atticus, starting up a three-way call. "...I'd be stupid to stake the future of Paldea on crazy odds like that."

He switched the call over to speaker mode and set the phone down in the middle of the desk. He'd barely gotten in a hello before Eri demanded updates on everything. Her scout had received reports of an assault on the Fairy Crew's base, and she'd been on edge ever since. Were all the members safe? Did anyone need extra training? Was their research damaged in any way?

Ortega began with a rundown of his battle with Juliana, reassuring everyone that he'd chased her off and the badge was still his. Eri cheered at this news, while Atticus gave a hardy clap.

"'Tis good tidings, indeed! When the Navi Squad received word that thine encampment was under siege, it required greatest fortitude not to hasten to thine aid."

Ortega chuckled. "You're lucky you didn't show up! What would that have looked like to my crew, you rushing in here like I couldn't handle myself? Especially when my Pokémon are stronger than yours!"

"Ah. And yet, if memory serves, t'was I who took the victory in our last bout."

"Because you train poison types, and I train fairy types!" Ortega protested, much to the amusement of all involved. Penny tried to hold on to this happy moment before they moved to more serious matters. It had been so rare to hear Atticus laughing when Team Star first formed. His odd way of speaking had proved a barrier at the start, keeping him at an emotional distance from the others.

But Penny soon grew used to it. She also had her suspicions that distance was exactly his reason for taking up his new speech patterns in the first place. He'd confirmed as much on that fateful night during what she thought would be the last phone call with her friends. It was the one and only time she'd heard him ease up on the centuries-old vernacular:

"To be forthright...I mean...that is to say, I'm afraid I do not keep abreast of today's trends, even in the world of fashion. I feel like...as if I am always behind. Sometimes it's like everyone else is speaking a different language. What if I say something and it comes across wrong, due to some new slang or reference I don't follow? What if someone misreads me and I make them upset or angry, or..." A pause, followed by a slow, meditative inhale and exhale. "...I decided when I came to school that I would lean on my interest in history and simply speak in a way that was not...wasn't modern to anyone. Words frozen in time with their old definitions, not tied to any current references or hidden meanings. At least...until I got to know someone and could trust they didn't...would not judge me for my interests."

It was a moment that had nearly broken Penny's resolve to disband the group. Nearly being the key word. She'd felt so sure that if she really cared about Atticus as a friend, she'd get him back to school no matter what.

Now she saw things in an entirely new perspective. At the very least, she appreciated that school was not the be-all and end-all of the universe.

"It's good to hear your voices again," she said by way of announcing herself.

Several seconds of silence ticked by as Eri and Atticus processed what they'd just heard.

Eri gasped. "W-wait a second! Is that the big boss with you?"

"You mean Penny?" Giacomo said. "Yeah, she's here."

"Verily 'tis a joyous occasion!" Atticus said. "But pray tell, what circumstance has necessitated thine re-emergence, Lady Penny?"

Penny flushed, grateful this wasn't a video call. "P-please don't call me 'lady,' Atticus."

"Mine apologies."

Penny collected herself and laid out the proposed changes to Team Star's code. Not changes made out of preference, she emphasized, but made out of necessity. With as important as their work was, they couldn't afford for some random student to come in and dismantle everything with a few lucky battles. The group had to be permitted to stay together after defeat. Two of their bases going down had already reduced the amount of data coming in. A third squad dispersing would be a disaster. While Eri listened intently with a lot of "Hmm"s and "Okay"s, Atticus remained silent the entire time. Not completely out of character for someone from a family of ninjas, but Penny had noticed over the course of their friendship that the quieter Atticus got about a topic, the less he approved.

"Well?" Penny asked when she had finished. "What do you both think?"

The silence over the phone lingered for several moments. The screen clearly showed the call had not ended, and the signal was clear. Penny could have sworn the tent felt smaller and more suffocating around her.

To her great relief, Eri finally spoke. "I do understand where it's coming from, but...I sure don't like it," she said. "'Necessary business' could mean anything. You're basically writing a rule that says, 'if we lose, just go on like we didn't.'"

"Agreed," Atticus added. "The whole of this proposal reeks with the stench of cowardice. Acceptance would be tantamount to spitting in the noble face of mine heritage."

"I said I didn't like it," Eri said, an edge to her voice. "I didn't say I'd vote against it."

Atticus stammered at this. "H-have thine senses taken leave of thee?"

"My senses are right here, Atticus. We have to face facts. Our home is more important than our pride."

Ortega leaned towards the speaker. "I'm in the same boat as Eri. We have an enemy, and she isn't backing down. This is our best option."

"Forgive mine reluctance to join thee in thine hypothetical water-bound vessel."

Penny hugged herself. Everyone's voices were getting clipped and agitated. How were they such a cohesive unit before and now when they tried to get down to business, it turned to snapping at each other?

Because that's what a crisis does, she tried to remind herself. It stresses people out. Me included.

Giacomo, always the peacekeeper, spoke up: "Hey. Seems pretty clear we need to debate this. Let's meet in person at the Ruchbah Squad's base."

"I'm fine with that," Eri said. "My crew can handle themselves in the meantime."

Atticus gave a much longer pause before he replied. "The scoundrel who dared bare her fangs at Ortega's fortress...on what manner of timeline doth she seek to ravage the strongholds of his fellows?"

"We don't know for sure what she plans to do or when she plans to do it," Penny replied. "But she seemed pretty frustrated at the loss and only had two Pokémon with her. Our best guess is she'll be looking to expand her team before she attacks again."

"Indeed. Then I shall make haste to discuss your proposal face-to-face, Penny."

Penny winced, both at the curt way he said her name and how he called it "her" proposal, not Giacomo's. Leave it to Atticus to see right through people.

Chapter Text

"The center's just over this ridge," Nemona said, pointing ahead. The green meadows surrounding the Fairy Crew's base were far behind them now--a green line in the distance. Their hike into the snowy mountains had started off pleasantly enough, but the farther they got, the more the temperature sunk.

At least with Nemona in their crew, they were quick to chase off any wild Pokémon that crossed their path. It seemed to Arven that the student council president was prepared for anything and everything.

Until their travel discussions were cut short by Juliana's growling stomach. She paused and gave an awkward laugh. "I, uh, don't suppose you're also prepared with snacks?"

Nemona rubbed the back of her head. "I think I might have some chips in my bag. I don't remember when I put them in, though. They might be more like chip dust by now."

Arven stopped walking and surveyed their surroundings. While the weather wasn't awful, a few flurries swirled around, and several Bergmite eyed the trio from perches on the mountain. Or...were they part of the mountain? Arven shivered. If they were going to continue this hike, empty stomachs wouldn't do. He pointed to a small cave opening nearby.

"You guys, um...want to stop for a picnic or something?"

Juliana and Nemona both looked at him with sad, pleading expressions. "Yes, please!"

#

It was funny how quickly one got used to preparing meals in a cave. Within minutes, Arven had his supplies all laid out on another conveniently table-shaped rock. He rolled his sleeves up and grabbed a bread roll and a knife while Juliana looked over his shoulder.

"Can I practice the wasabi and peanut butter thing?" she said.

"That's a little more complicated," he said as he sliced the roll into two perfect halves. "I was just going to do a basic ham and swiss, since you guys seemed to be starving."

Juliana huffed. "Starving, maybe," she admitted. "But I need to expand my skill set. I've graduated from just putting cheese and lunchmeat on bread."

"I literally gave you one lesson," Arven sighed. But since she was the one who'd invested so much in their refill supplies, he couldn't exactly tell her no. He pulled the bowl over and gave careful mixing instructions. She actually did a decent job. After a few taste tests, Arven only had to intervene once. He still insisted on spreading the mixture onto the bread, but at his suggestion, Juliana added banana slices and strawberries, while Nemona jumped in and set the table. Anyone watching might have thought the group of them looked coordinated. Like a team or something.

When Juliana had finished with toppings, Arven handed her a blue flag pick and told her to stick it in as soon as he added the final touch. Juliana nodded with the full seriousness that completing a sandwich deserved.

Arven carefully held the top bread slice aloft over the toppings, making sure to get it in just the right position. Unlike with a sandwich made of just cheese and cold cuts, the condiments would stick to the bread as soon as he dropped it. Which meant it would be a goopy, uneven mess if he placed it wrong and tried to re-arrange it afterwards. The thought of such a messy and ugly sandwich was too awful to consider. Thus Arven had made a personal rule of never, ever lifting the top piece of bread once it had been laid down and staked with a pick.

He closed one eye, making sure he'd judged the distance correctly, and then, finally satisfied, he released the bread to fall into place.

It bounced off the strawberry halves like they were spring-loaded and flew back up in an arc, poised to land on the cave floor. Instead it vanished into nothingness.

Juliana looked down at the unfinished sandwich, shrugged, and stuck the blue flag pick into it anyway.

Arven cried out in despair. Dealing with a mom who ignored his existence? Fine. Dealing with his body going incorporeal on him? Not fine, though fixable. But a piece of culinary art ruined before his eyes? There truly was no justice in the universe.

"Sorry," Juliana said. "You want me to take it out?" As if the pick in the sandwich was the problem here.

Arven shook his head.

"You want me to slice another roll?" Nemona offered.

Arven groaned. "Then we're perpetually stuck with half a roll. Do you enjoy chaos in your meal preparation?"

Nemona gave a thoughtful pause before answering. "Well, I don't like letting food go to waste, that's for sure." And without any further invitation, she picked up the bread knife and proceeded to divide the hideous open-face sandwich into three sections. She lifted each piece carefully from the bottom and set it on a plate before distributing the servings to her friends. Arven got the one with the pick in the center.

"Cheers!" she said, lifted the plate in the air.

"Cheers!" Juliana echoed, doing the same.

"Um...cheers?" Arven tapped his plate together with the girls', and everyone sat with their food on their lap, looking for the best angle to consume it at.

Nemona decided to tackle hers corner-first. "Oh, my gosh!" she sighed as she took the first bite. Peanut butter was smeared all around her lips, and strawberry juice dripped down her chin. "This is amazing! The bread's as soft as an Altaria's wings!"

"And the spice in the peanut butter is so different!" Juliana said, opting to bite down the center. Which meant her face was even messier than Nemona's. Neither girl complained. In fact, it seemed to Arven that the sandwiches caused them both to redirect their previous stream of compliments all towards his cooking skills.

"The sweetness from the strawberries totally sets off the spice, though!"

"Uh-huh! And the bananas add the perfect texture!"

"I-it's not that big a deal, really," he said, certain his face had gone scarlet as Koraidon's scales. But that was the only objection he offered as his traveling companions brought out their Pokémon, shared the open-face sandwiches with them, and started up the compliments anew. The conversation then shifted to their various journeys across Paldea thus far. At one point during the meal, Juliana developed hiccups and held her breath to get rid of them. She was listening intently to Nemona and still holding her breath when she reached for her plate again. The sandwich smacked against her closed lips twice before she let herself breathe and realized why the food wasn't entering her mouth.

Arven and Nemona both burst into laugher and handed her a napkin. "Hey, you're really interesting when you talk!" Juliana said with mock accusation.

Nemona did not apologize. Instead, she took a bow.

About half an hour later, the food had all been eaten, the Pokémon were happy and content inside their Poke Balls again, and Juliana was packing up their supplies. She insisted this was an important part of the learning process, and Arven let her do it, so long as she put everything back where he could actually find it again.

"Oh, yeah..." Juliana said quietly as she closed up the peanut butter jar and returned it to Arven's bag. "I feel like I should apologize. We were kind of ignoring you on the walk earlier, weren't we?"

Somehow the fact that she'd noticed made Arven feel lousy for getting upset about it. "Not so much," he said, hanging his head to hide the heat in his cheeks.

"Oh, gosh, we totally were!" Nemona gasped. "Arven, I'm sorry. I just hadn't talked to Juliana in a while, and I guess I went overboard."

"It's fine, really," Arven assured them. "You guys are good friends. That's great." He failed epically at hiding the bitterness in his voice.

Nemona smiled anyway, neither oblivious nor nosy, and carried on the upbeat tone. "Oh, we're more than friends. We're rivals."

Arven gave her a questioning look.

"It's like friends who fight but in a good way," she explained.

He stared down at his plate, which now held only a few crumbs. Not even a drip of peanut butter. He'd gotten so frustrated with Nemona and her Champion-level goals. But when was the last time he even had any goals of his own, besides him and Mabosstiff just getting through another day? If the Herba Mystica worked, maybe he could complete the gym challenge with Juliana and Nemona.

He looked down at his hand, remembering that Mabosstiff's ailments were only one of his major problems right now. "How can you tell?" he asked quietly. "If someone's your rival, I mean?"

Nemona giggled. "Oh, that's easy. You say to them, 'we're rivals, aren't we?' And then they say yes, and then you're BRFs."

"BRFs?"

"Best Rivals Forever."

"Uh-huh. And if they say no?"

Nemona looked brokenhearted at the idea that anyone would turn down a rival proposal. But after considering the question a moment, she replied with complete seriousness, "Then you ask them again. And again. And again and again and again until they do say yes."

A part of Arven wanted to tell her this was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Another part of him wondered if he and Ortega might still be friends if one of them was just as determined to work things out as Nemona was to cement her rival status with Juliana.

"All set!" Juliana announced, holding her hands out to show off Arven's neatly-packed bag. She'd even put the measuring cup back in its proper place on the side.

Arven nodded with approval. "Okay, then. Let's go."

"Hold on," Nemona said, standing and holding up her phone. "This was a great bonding moment! We should take a selfie to commemorate--"

"NO!" Arven and Juliana both shouted together.

Nemona, wide-eyed at their reaction, slowly put the phone back in her pocket and did not ask any questions.

#

The flurries of snow had faded during their picnic, and the sun had come out as well, making the rest of the hike an almost pleasant experience. Arven could see on his phone map the Pokémon Center icon getting closer and closer. Nemona's familiarity with the area had panned out. And once they checked on her Pokémon, they'd be moving to the gym for some questions and finally onto the next titan.

The thought of it made Arven both excited and anxious to move faster, and he kept his eye out for something to keep his hands busy. A clump of grass sticking out of the snow gave off a soft jingle as he passed. Arven knelt down, and a roaming Gimmighoul burst out from the blades and scurried up his arm. Which surprised him a bit, but it was far from the oddest place he'd spotted the little creatures. Once he'd seen one atop a wall no human had a chance of climbing, let alone a four-inch Pokémon with minuscule limbs.

"Oh. Hey, there," he said to the one resting on his arm.

The tiny Pokémon proudly held out its coin to show off.

Arven smiled and tapped the coin. "Yes, that is very impressive," he told it. Then a thought occurred to him. Mostly inspired by Nemona and her aggressively optimistic view of the universe: She always acts like everything will be fine. Even when she's not sure it will. "Hey, what to see a trick with it?" he asked.

The Gimmighoul gave a tiny chime of delight and nodded eagerly.

If I did the same... Arven focused, letting some of the fear that was pretty much always churning in his stomach these days briefly cross his conscious thought. Predictably, his finger started to phase through the coin. ...maybe I'd see my whole situation differently.

The Gimmighoul clapped happily, distracting Arven, and when he looked down, the coin appeared to be stuck on him. He moved his hand, trying to shake it off, but he couldn't even feel the weight of it. It was more like the coin had decided it was simply going to float along, following his finger's every movement. Or my situation could get worse.

Chapter Text

The moment their call with Eri and the others ended, and Giacomo turned to Penny, arms crossed. "So. You didn't mention to anyone that you sent Juliana after us in the first place."

"They didn't ask," Penny muttered. Which sounded pathetic, even before she voiced it.

"Quit acting like you don't trust any of us to see the bigger picture like you do," Giacomo said. "Even if we're mad about Operation Starfall, we know how much everyone needs Team Star right now."

Penny sat at the desk and pushed Ortega's phone towards him, making more room for her own set-up. Only for something to do while waiting for Eri and Atticus. Definitely not to distract herself from any difficult conversations.

"I know I should trust you more," Penny said as the monitor booted up. "I just...I'm scared, all right?"

She stole a glance at Giacomo, who now looked even more insulted. "Yeah? Me too." He motioned to Ortega. "It freaks the hell out of me when Ortega starts phasing through stuff like he does, and it's only getting worse. Don't even get me started on the heart attack I had when I thought Juliana was going to crush us all like Joltiks under her feet!" He grimaced and massaged his temples. "Ugh. I'm sorry, Ortega. I didn't mean..."

Ortega shrugged. "I appreciate your concern. You're worried about me disappearing forever. But, really, I'm just worried I'll suffer the indignity of being merged with a gym test prop." He gave an exaggerated shudder, which finally lessened the tension.

"How...did everything go with that gym helper, anyway?" Penny asked, opening the folder with the files she'd extracted from Ortega's phone.

Giacomo shrugged. "We wanted to be careful and make sure cutting the olive wouldn't hurt them in any way. When we realized they weren't connected to it and were perfectly intact inside of it, Pawniard got them out quick. Ortega's crew did an interview before they sent the guy off. Though we didn't get much. The guy was pretty out of it and still had olive foam in his ears."

"Should be there in my documents," Ortega said.

Penny would never say no to nosing through someone's system and found the file in short order. The report showed that the gym helper was initially horrified at the wanton olive destruction, begging the grunts to find some way to remove him without destroying one of Cortondo's most precious treasures. They ignored him, and once he'd been extracted, he did seem relieved to be free. But he also reported that he hadn't phased into the olive on his own. Someone had bumped into him, and he'd had no other experiences with the anomalies otherwise. So they'd been able to help one person, but information-wise, he'd been a dead end.

Which meant their next best lead for now were the strange texts on Ortega's phone. "I bet I could get a trace on where these came from," Penny said, pulling his phone closer right as he was about to take it back. "Erm, if that's okay with you."

Ortega nodded. "Go for it. Let's see what we've got."

Penny plugged the phone in and started a trace on the messages. As the program ran its routine, she rooted through her bag again, hoping she'd packed a pair of headphones. Not to listen to anything, but to reduce the surrounding noise so she could focus. She pulled out a case of SD cards, several different cables, and her copy of "How to Show Your Face to Your Friends."

Ortega looked at it curiously and she almost shoved it back in before he said, "Oh, hey, my sister has that book. She loves anything G.L. Allister writes."

Penny smiled and laid the book to the side. The program reported back its initial findings--no exact coordinates yet, but it could at least give a rough idea of where the texts had come from. Penny frowned as she perused the results. "This doesn't make any sense. I'm getting readings that this text was sent from the Great Crater of Paldea. But that can't be right." She opened the program's settings to see if she'd calibrated something incorrectly. Or perhaps the anomalies had affected her system somehow?

"I know Arven's parents both studied the crater at some point," Ortega said. "His mom even discussed building a lab down there. Which I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to know about, but...she talked about a lot of things when she thought we weren't paying attention."

"Hmm..." Penny left the settings alone and returned to the unsettling photos of the Tandemaus. The background appeared to be a cave of some kind. The Pokémon did not seem in distress, though with their eerie featureless faces, it was difficult to tell. The pictures themselves were clean and well-centered, not tilted or blurry. So whoever took them probably wasn't in a panic. Or they were a superhuman who could frame a perfect shot of moving Pokémon while in a panic.

"The formatting of these texts is weird, too," she mused. "All the leet speak? Is the sender trying to be cryptic?" She sighed. "Guess it's impossible to say without knowing who they are."

Ortega didn't respond, seemingly lost in his musings about secret labs that might or might not exist. "We could check out the Poco Path Lighthouse," he said. "See if Arven's mom left any notes on the crater there. My dad made a copy of the key, and I'm sure my sister would bring it if I ask nicely."

"It's as good a lead as any," Penny said. "Go ahead, but don't disconnect the phones until the trace in complete." Ortega rotated the phone in his direction and dutifully scheduled the text to his sister. Scheduling was key, he insisted. Her phone would get confiscated if it pinged her during class one more time.

Before she could deliberate anymore about it, a grunt called Ortega from outside the tent, announcing that the bosses had company. The tent flap was pulled back, and in stepped Eri, Atticus, and behind them--

"Mela!" Giacomo exclaimed.

She gave a small smile, but didn't return his enthusiasm.

Penny stomach twisted. She'd been prepared for how she'd approach Atticus and Eri, but seeing Mela too threw her off balance. It felt like she had only gotten off the phone a few minutes ago. She expected to have more time to mentally prepare. Why did flying taxis have to be so efficient, anyway?

Mela stood as close to the tent entrance as she could without slipping right back out again.

"I'm sorry," she began. No greeting, just an apology. She fidgeted with her fingers and kicked at the dirt, not typical behavior at all. When Mela made a mistake, she was more likely to double down on being right than apologize. Of course, this time, she seemed to genuinely feel guilty. "I know I should have left Team Star when I lost, but I...I just couldn't. Most of my members went back to school, but...a few of stayed. I've been hanging out with Eri's squad for the most part."

"Why are you apologizing?" Giacomo asked. "We're still glad to see you, Team Star boss or not."

Mela raised her head, and Penny saw just a spark of her old fiery personality returning.

"She might not have an official vote," Eri said. "But Atticus and I both agree we should hear her out."

Atticus nodded. "Her opinion shall factor heavily into mine own decision."

Mela met the gaze of each person in the group. It was so strange, being in this place together. It should have been a happy time, but it felt like their group was one stray ember attack from a total meltdown.

"I want to hear what the boss has to say first," Mela announced.

In half a second, all the attention focused on Mela turned to Penny. She hadn't even been properly introduced to Eri, Atticus, or Mela yet. So much for Ortega's high and mighty talk about making sure she was comfortable first.

You could have said if you weren't before they got here, she reminded herself and took a slow, meditative breath before speaking.

"Atticus called this my proposal," she began. "And I'll fess up that yes, it is. I'll also..." She looked to Giacomo, who watched her the most intently. When he found out that she'd betrayed them, he'd been heartbroken. But their friendship had held fast, and he'd trusted she meant well. Now he was waiting to see if that trust was well-placed. "I'll also confess to the fact that...that it's my fault Juliana is going after Team Star to begin with."

There were no shocking gasps at this revelation. Simply quiet nods and motions for her continue. So she did. She laid out everything. How she'd started as Cassiopeia, meeting them through their devices, how she'd always meant to show her face but never got the nerve...and how she'd used that same persona to try to force them back to school using Team Star's code against them.

"I felt like such a massive idiot," she said. "I knew how messed up the academy and the teachers were...if even one of them had been paying attention while you were being bullied, they'd have known you had every right to stand up for yourselves." She removed her glasses and rubbed her burning eyes. "I knew it, and I urged all of you to face your bullies anyway, hoping the plan would miraculously work out."

She put her glasses back on, managing to only sniffle a bit before continuing. She was the one who had wronged them. She had to own up to it, not start making them all feel bad for her. "I felt like we got carried away, and it was my fault for encouraging it. That all of you were going to get expelled because I didn't have the sense to think through the obvious consequences."

"You did tell us we should call it quits once the bullies left," said Giacomo.

"We were the ones who ignored your advice," Eri added on.

"Of course we did!" said Mela. "Because we love this group and what it does!"

Atticus nodded. "Our fiery ally speaks the truth."

"I know that now," Penny said, forcing herself to look at each of them. If they asked her to leave so someone else could be in charge, someone who saw the value of Team Star from the beginning, she would be okay with that. But in case it did turn out that way, she wanted to see each of them face-to-face. So many unique personalities, and a single place they had all managed to come together. "At first, I tried to cancel Operation Starfall because Paldea needed us. It still does. But I've also come to realize that I need Team Star, too. Maybe it's shortsighted again, but...but..." She bit her lip, breathed in, and declared as boldly as she could, "But when all this is over, I want Team Star to stay together, no matter what sort of fuss the school makes about it."

"Including you as the leader?" Mela asked. "Because that's the only way I'd vote for this thing."

Penny startled. "I-I...don't think I've earned that position at all! I betrayed you!"

"If not for you, Team Star wouldn't exist," Eri said.

"We probably would have been the ones leaving school, not the bullies harassing us," Giacomo said.

"Seriously," Ortega added on. "I remember thinking I couldn't take one more day of this...then Team Star came along."

"'Twas thine fear for us which drove Operation Starfall," Atticus added on. "Should Team Star continue through its current plight, I, too, would support thee at the helm."

Penny could not stop her eyes from watering up this time. Especially as Giacomo called a vote for the addendum. "Now, since this is officially my addition, I'm voting yes. All others in favor of totally ignoring the code if we lose, say 'Star'."

"Star!" said Eri, raising her hand. She elbowed Mela, who tried to object.

It was difficult to ignore an elbowing from Eri, though, and Mela soon raised her hand as well. "If it counts from me, then, yes. Star."

"Ugh, this is so cheesy," Ortega said, raising his staff. "But, whatever. Star."

Everyone had their eyes on Atticus. If there was anyone who would hold to the code's original wording no matter what, it was him.

"I guess you could argue our previous code was made under false pretenses?" Ortega offered.

Atticus crossed his arms and closed his eyes in contemplation. Penny really wished she could see his expression while he debated. Then again, considering how many conversations she'd had with him behind the phone, he probably saw this as poetic justice. He wouldn't be wrong.

"In such circumstances, an addendum could rectify past misdeeds..." he began. The group leaned in towards him. When they were all pressed in, holding their breaths, Atticus shot his hand up so fast, it moved in a blur. "...verily, this addendum receives a 'Star' from me."

"Geez, you almost smacked me in the face!" Mela complained as the group leaned back. The group chuckled. Of course, the motion had more than passed by now. But there was something to be said for making it official.

"Then, if you're all in favor, so am I," Penny said with a smile. She put her hand in to join theirs. "Star."

"The motion passes unanimously," Giacomo said. "You can all put your hands down now."

Everyone sighed with relief. Well, most everyone. Eri cracked her knuckles. "Now let's to work already!" she said. "What have we got to do?"

Atticus bowed to Penny. "Doth the group have need of stealth operations?"

"Would it help if I set anything on fire?" Mela asked. "Anything at all?"

Penny held up her hands. It was all a little overwhelming, and they'd been in this stuffy tent for a while. The place felt way less spacious with six people gathered inside. "Let's go outside to talk," she suggested. No one objected.

As they walked across the base with their heads held high, the grunts of Team Star all watched them eagerly. A few asked what they had discussed, to which Eri simply replied that it was "nothing worrying, just long term plans for Team Star." The phrase "long term" lit up the grunt's face, and she quickly spread the word among the group.

"If you climb up on the scaffolding here," Ortega said, pointing to a space near the gate. "You get an amazing view of the mountains. Always helps me think."

Eri only took two wide steps to get up the ladder, but Mela needed some help getting up in her immovable boots. Atticus decided that ladders were for mere mortal non-ninjas and took a graceful, silent leap onto the scaffolding instead. He then held Ortega's staff as he, Penny, and Giacomo took the normal way up.

Ortega had just taken his staff back when his phone chimed with a new message. For the moment, he ignored it, and the group turned their attention back towards the scenery. Ortega wasn't wrong. The view was gorgeous up here. A rose-orange sky spread over the lavender-tinged mountains like something out of a watercolor painting. Penny breathed deeply, the chill air burning her nose but feeling so fresh on her tongue. It almost tasted like snow was about to fall.

The sunset had come earlier than expected, which meant the days were probably speeding up. Another anomaly they had to study. She glanced down, where the boards of the fencing cast odd shadows, some flickering like they weren't sure where to fall. Also not normal and potentially worrisome. Finally, however, she looked farther out into the grass, where Flabébé floated and danced while Gogoat grazed unperturbed. Among the Gogoat, a single Azurill bounced happily. An unusual Pokémon for this area, but the Gogoat all bleated with glee as it bounced around to chat with each of them. At one point, it bounced a little too high and accidentally flipped itself upside down. The helpless creature cried and kicked its minuscule feet in the air. An older-looking Gogoat nudged its tail until Azurill righted itself and bounced carefree once again. Penny smiled at the sight of it. A group of Pokémon so different, and yet the Azurill had been adopted into their family. And just like Team Star, they would weather anything together.

The danger might have been increasing, but in a strange way, Penny's hope was, too.

#

The green meadows surrounding the Fairy Crew's base were far behind Arven, Juliana, and Nemona now--a green line in the distance. Their hike into the snowy mountains had started off pleasantly enough, but the farther they got, the more the temperature sunk. 

Arven was more or less dressed for the weather--the mix of elements from his winter and fall uniform made the frigid air bearable. Juliana likewise seemed okay in her colorfully accented spring uniform. And Nemona, decked out in her summer uniform and thin black leggings, was probably keeping warm through sheer grit and enthusiasm. Neither of which Arven had much of right now. He figured traveling in a group of three would still be a pleasant change from doing everything solo like before meeting Juliana. Then he remembered that the phrase "third wheel" existed for a reason.

"You really know your way around, huh, Nemona?" says Juliana, keeping pace beside her while Arven, with his heavier pack, lagged behind.

"Sometimes La Primera lets me travel with her on her gym assessments," the president replied. "So I come through this way a lot. Plus, as a bonus, traveling through here makes me more prepared to handle any new students asking for directions to the gyms."

Juliana's eyes widened. "Student council presidents do all that?"

"Well, they don't have to," Nemona said. "But they should, don't you think?" She waved her finger like a teacher reminding students they mustn't be late. "I'm also making it a point to read all the records of important school events from the past five years."

"Whoa. That is prepared!"

The snow crunched under Arven's boots. The conversation had been going between Juliana and Nemona like this for a while. They both seemed to genuinely admire each other--Nemona was impressed with how quickly Juliana was growing as a trainer, and Juliana was fascinated with all the extracurricular duties Nemona kept up with in addition to her own training. So their talks just sort of shifted between praising each other.

Nemona, to her credit, slowed down and tried to include him in the conversation. "Hey, what was that thing you were doing earlier with the Gimmighoul coin? It looked like you were making it float or something."

"He was doing what now?" Juliana called out. She'd gone quite a ways before noticing that neither Nemona nor Arven was following her. She hurried to join the group right as Arven was taking out his phone to re-check the map.

"I was just testing out my, uh..." Arven looked down at his hand, not sure what word he should use. Power? Personal disconnect with the physical plane? "Ability?"

"He made a coin float," Nemona said rather matter-of-factly.

"Wasn't that one of the reasons we ditched Team Star in the first place?" Juliana asked. "So you didn't have to risk...whatever might happen if you phase through stuff too much?"

She had a good point, and he should have admitted as much. But something about her tone put him off, like he was being scolded.

"Thought it was because Clive said they're criminal masterminds, and you believed him."

Nemona raised her hand. "Sorry, but...what the heck is happening to Arven?"

"Same problem that got that gym worker stuck in a giant olive," Arven muttered. "It just...seems to happen more regularly with me." He swallowed hard. Which doesn't automatically mean anything horrible. Sure, it could mean something horrible. But...not automatically. Right? He tapped the map app and tried to zoom in, but the screen didn't want to cooperate. He brought the phone closer to his face, trying to see the details that way...

The phone pulled itself closer like a magnet until the bottom the screen smacked his nose and the top pressed against his forehead. Then, like the coin, it stayed suspended in the air, following the movements of Arven's face but refusing to actually leave.

"Uh, okay, that's enough, map," Arven said, trying to sound calm. Then his brain clicked that his face was possessing a phone, and panic took over. "Seriously, no more map!" he yelled, staggering back. "No more map! Get it off me!" The phone, probably more in response to his fear than his words, dutifully released itself and fell down. It sunk into the snow, the lock screen now on and simply displaying the time alongside the Naranja Academy logo. Arven stood over it, not sure if he should pick it up or not.

"See?" Juliana walked up beside him. "Now do you agree it's a bad idea to mess with this?" She picked the phone up and tried to hand it to him, but Arven instinctively leaned away.

Nemona stepped up. "Does this happen often?"

"More than it should," Juliana sighed, sticking Arven's phone in her pocket. "I'll carry it, then. Will that make you feel better?"

Arven nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more. Whatever bonding moment they'd had in the picnic earlier, it felt like he was undoing all of it. A cold wind blew across the snow, which only made the silence between the three of them more awkward.

Nemona made a show of hugging herself and trying to rub more warmth into her arms. "Brrr! I don't know about you two, but I'm more than ready to get that center. It should be just over..." She ran forward, where the snowy path crested at a hill. Nemona peered over the edge and pointed. "Oh, right here! We're there, guys!"

"Really?" Arven said and hurried up himself to see. Sure enough, there was the center, now just a short walk away. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked carefully down the slope. With each step, he buried his boot as deep as he could so as to keep his balance with the heavy pack on his back. Maybe he'd set his sights on the wrong thing. Sure, reliable friends would be great on this journey. But he couldn't let his desire for friendship distract him from his true goal.

As he reached the base of the slope, his eyes fell to the phone sticking halfway out of Juliana's pocket.

What would actually happen if I called Ortega and asked for help?

He had no doubt Juliana would keep her promise to help with the titans. Eventually. But how much faster could he acquire the Herba Mystica if Ortega got those Team Star guys to start now? He could direct them to the titans far away from here while his current trio took on the false dragon titan. True, Juliana would be hurt. Probably think he didn't trust her. But if Mabosstiff would heal faster...

"Actually, Juliana? Can I have my phone back?"

She looked confused but shrugged and returned it to him as requested.

Arven wiped a cold sweat from his forehead. However he decided to take on his problems, at the end of the day, helping Mabosstiff was his top priority. It had to be.

He let the girls walk on ahead, opened his address book, and tapped out a new text to Ortega.

#

The Team Star bosses had conveniently returned to the Ruchbah base tent when Ortega finally tapped his phone to read his messages.

Penny winced, expecting another of those creepy phones with an even lower probability of success this time. what a way to kill the optimistic mood. Instead, when Ortega unlocked his screen, he grinned at what he saw.

"You guys are gonna love this," he said, then rotated the phone so everyone got a good look at the screen.

Arven had sent a text: "OK I'll bite."

Even though it was only three words, Penny read it twice to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Then she read it a third time while she tried to settle the Butterfrees in her stomach. Arven's going to help us. The plan actually worked!

"Sweet," said Giacomo.

"I'm sorry--who's this Arven person?" Eri asked.

Penny adjusted her glasses in her best leader-like way. "Someone who will give our research a turbo boost." She nodded at Ortega. "Go ahead and answer him."

Ortega dutifully tapped out a reply and showed it to Penny for approval before sending. It was probably the most un-Ortega like thing she'd ever seen him write: "We're at your disposal. What do you need?"

Laying it on a little thick there, she thought, but then again, Ortega knew Arven better than anyone. If the guy was susceptible to flattery, this should work like a charm.

The seconds ticked by until Ortega's phone chimed with a reply: "Juliana & I have taken Herba Mystica from the Stony Cliff & Open Sky Titans. We're close 2 the false Dragon but that still leaves 2 more."

The message window had a blinking icon to indicate Arven was composing a follow-up, but Ortega jumped in with a quick "How close? Where are you?"

The icon went still only a second before it started blinking again in full-force. "Near the Glaseado Gym," Arven answered, followed quickly by, "You make the Lurking Steel & Quaking Earth titans into Team Star's TOP and ONLY priority & we'll talk about this study you wanna do on me. Deal?"

As the group of them debate how to reply, Penny tapped on her own phone out of habit. For the second time, she wondered if her technology was busted or if whatever was destroying Paldea had a personal vendetta against her devices. Her screen displayed the Pokémon in her party. She should have had five, with one being in Ortega's possession. But instead it still showed a full party of six, and one of the icons looked like an egg.

"Wha-what? I'm not carrying an egg!" she exclaimed. "I don't even like picnics!"

Ortega and Giacomo looked confused, so she turned the screen around to show them. Her hand squeezed the power button by mistake, forcing the phone to reboot. She rolled her eyes as she waited for everything to start up again, but once it did, she quickly tapped the Pokémon monitoring app and held it back for her friends to see again.

"Um...it doesn't say you have an egg," Giacomo said, squinting at the screen. "It does say you have a Sprigatitio, though."

As soon as he said it, the shelf behind Penny mewed. She turned around to see Sprigatito peeking out and taking cautious steps towards the group. A closer inspection of her bag revealed what looked like strands of grass settled at the bottom. She picked one up. More like strands from Sprigatito shedding.

"It must have stowed away in my bag," Penny said, then beckoned the little Pokémon onto her lap. It leapt up and purred contently as it nuzzled her hand.

"I thought you only trained Eeveelutions," said Ortega.

"Sprigatitio's not mine," she said. "It appeared in the library, but I haven't been able to find the owner." She inspected the screen. "Connecting to your phone might have messed with my apps. I can't run the trace again, and it thinks I have six Pokémon in my party now." Though at least it doesn't think Sprigatitio is an egg anymore.

"So, what? You need me to hold onto Slyveon for the time being?" Ortega asked.

"If you don't mind," Penny said, lifting the Pokémon up so she could set it somewhere to play and get herself back to work. "Now, as for how to reply to Arven..."

"Yeah..." Ortega glanced around at the group; his expression said he already knew how he'd answer. "Deal," he texted before Arven could change his mind.

#

The second Ortega confirmed their deal, Arven shoved his phone into his pocket and did his best to look like he'd been paying it no attention.

"Team Star...Team Star..." Nemona mused as the group finally reached the Pokémon Center. She'd been repeating it to herself to whole walk up here, with no context or explanation. Handing her Poké Balls over to the nurse, at least, seemed to snap her out of it. "Sorry," she said to the group while they waited for the results. "It's just been bugging me ever since you two said they were cause of all these problems. I'm sure I saw them come up in one of the headings while I was reading the old school records. But no matter how much I think about it, I can't recall any specifics." She put her tera orb into the charging station, and the others followed suit. "The next time we're near school, I'll go look up the details for sure."

"We'd really appreciate it," Juliana said. The charger chimed, and each of them retrieved their tera orbs right as the nurse waved for Nemona's attention.

"Your Cyclizar is in fine shape and should be well suited for all travel," she said brightly. Nemona thanked the woman and brought Cyclizar out, where it stretched and yawned.

"Well, let's get going to the Glaseado Gym. With some speed this time!"

Arven couldn't agree more and waited for Juliana to get that brute Koraidon out. Instead she stepped up to the storage system's touch screen. "Hang on. First I need to get out some more Pokémon to add to my team." She scanned her ID, and the interface glowed with recognition before laying out virtual icons of all Juliana's Pokémon currently resting in their Poké Balls.

"Oh?" Nemona asked. "How many do you have on hand now?"

"Just Beartic and Tinkaton."

Nemona's eyes widened at the small number. Arven's would have, too, if he hadn't seen her party first hand in the battle against Team Star.

To her credit, Nemona covered up her visible surprise as best she could. "Well, it's, um...very bold of you to travel with only two Pokémon. You must like a challenge, then?"

"It's not that," Juliana said quietly as she scrolled through the icons of Pokémon she'd caught. First on the list was a low-level Porygon. Hatched from an egg she got back in Galar, the screen said. "Guess the type-changing could come in handy," she muttered to herself. "Needs a lot of experience, though..." She tapped it and kept scrolling. All the other Pokémon appeared to be native to Paldea, and they slowly rose in level as she moved through the boxes. Box four had high-level catches from tera raids while the first box held Pokémon Juliana probably captured right outside school after getting her starter.

Actually, on that note... Arven paid a little more attention to the icons, watching for Sprigatito, Fuecoco, or Quaxly. But none of them were there. Nor were any of their evolutions. Of course, not every last person in Paldea started with one of those. There were exceptions when someone came from a family of famous trainers or otherwise got special permission to get their license before age ten. Arven was pretty sure the school council president got her first Quaxly this semester.

"So...why carry so few Pokémon if it's not for a challenge?" Nemona asked. Her tone was kind, though her curiosity was clearly getting the better of her.

"Just precaution, is all." Juliana's finger paused over the icon for a Farigiraf. She selected it as well and continued scrolling.

"Oh. That makes sense," said Nemona.

It made zero sense, and poor Nemona was quivering with desire to press her rival for more details. But Juliana's quiet, melancholy tone suggested it wouldn't be a good story.

Juliana tapped on the icon for a Baile Style Oricorio and selected "Retrieve." The system hummed as it transported her three selected Pokémon to the front desk. Juliana picked the balls up, turned to see Nemona ready to explode with curiosity, and gave a long sigh. "Maybe precaution is the wrong word," she said, attaching the balls to her belt. "It's more like paranoia. Remember Sprigatito?"

"Of course. Wait--" Nemona deflated a bit, her face going serious. "I haven't seen you battle with Sprigatito since our first match. Is it okay?"

The question seemed to break something in Juliana, who squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head. "I don't know. I...I lost it right before I left on the treasure hunt."

"What?" Arven exclaimed.

Nemona slapped his shoulder and put a comforting arm around Juliana, walking her away from the awkward stare of the Pokémon Center workers. "What do you mean you lost it?" she asked.

"Just that," Juliana said, her voice cracking. "I was outside the school, and Sprigatitio was walking alongside me. Someone came to chat with me. I only turned my back for a second, but when I looked around, Sprigatitio had vanished." Her shoulders shook as she fought back the tears. With several drawn-out breaths, she seemed to collect herself.

"Did you try putting up posters around the dorms?" Arven asked. Seemed the most logical solution from his view, but Juliana glared at him, her face flushed.

"Of course I tried. Sprigatitio had some pretty unique markings, so I thought it'd be easy, but...no one had seen any Pokémon like that. After a month of no leads, I took the posters down." Her hand went to the Poké Ball she kept separate from the others--the one Arven had given her to hold Koraidon. "Let's just get going," she said as she called the brute out. Koraidon screeched and shook its feathery mane. Arven inched back. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about Koraidon that never sat right with him. He tolerated it when they were in the lighthouse together because, well, what else could he do? But now that he'd gotten time away from it, being in its presense again was all the more difficult.

"Huh," Nemona said, tilting her head at Koraidon. "I don't know why, but for some reason, I thought your giant Cyclizar-ish Pokémon was purple."

"No," Juliana said, mounting it. "It's always been this color. Maybe you saw it some low lighting or something?"

"Ah, of course. That makes sense." Nemona mounted her actual Cyclizar and looked to Arven. Who really should have been getting on Koraidon. But he couldn't make his feet move. Being around the brute always made him feel like he'd forgotten something. A person? An event? He couldn't say. Something very important.

"Please don't tell me Koraidon bothers you," Juliana said.

"My Cyclizar is really friendly," Nemona said. "You can ride it while I ride with Juliana, if you want."

"N-no, that's okay..." Arven began, only for Juliana to interrupt.

"If you're scared of riding Koraidon, you should take Nemona's offer," she said. "The last thing we need is you phasing through it and falling to your death off a mountain."

"Oh, that's how it works?" Nemona asked. "You didn't get scared when you were making the coin float earlier, though. Or...did you?"

Arven flushed. Yes, Nemona had seen his weird phasing abilities in action not long ago, but that didn't mean Juliana had to go sharing exactly which emotion activated them. He liked it better when Nemona thought he could flawlessly will his ability to activate. And he had no intention of sharing which of his deepest fears he called on to make it work for real.

"That's personal," he muttered, stepping over to Nemona. "But Juliana's right. Better if I ride your guy."

Nemona dismounted and went to join Juliana on the larger ride Pokémon.

With everyone in place, Juliana pointed forward. "Let's get going! This way!" Koraidon gave a roar before bolting off at full speed. Guilt and fear continued to eat away at Arven the whole time. What exactly would be involved with the "study" Team Star wanted in return for their help? What would Juliana say when she found out he asked her adversaries to help him?

As scary as those thoughts were, Arven knew one thing for sure. He was not backing out of this deal. Mabosstiff couldn't afford it, and neither could he.

Chapter Text

Penny could barely contain her excitement. Finally, they'd get their best lead back. The plan would be on track again. Her friends who had missed the invasion of the Fairy Crew's base, however, didn't share her enthusiasm.

"Hold up. So this brat wants us to forget about saving Paldea so we can go on a fetch quest for him?" Mela asked.

"It's...more complicated than that," Ortega said.

Atticus crossed his arms. "I shall trust thine judgment. But where, pray tell, are these titans our 'turbo boost' speaks of?"

As if in response to Atticus's question, Ortega's phone chimed once again. This time, Arven had sent an attachment. A file of map data. Ortega forwarded the info to Penny's phone first, then to each of his allies' phones as well. "Bring the Herba Mystica to the Poco Path Lighthouse," Arven had written. "I'll meet you there."

Penny swiped her screen for the map app and zoomed out. She already had their current location highlighted in pink, and now the five titans' homes appeared as well-- two in a bight yellow hue, one in a dull red, and the final two were grayed out. The red marker was centered on a tiny island in the middle of Casseroya Lake. The false dragon titan. Probably marked red so Team Star knew not to go there. Arven had a pretty liberal definition of the word "close," though. Leaving from the Ruchbah Squad, he was getting farther and farther away from his goal. And if Juliana was taking the gym challenge first, it would add even more time before he was successful.

Right as Mela raised her hand and asked what the hell Herba Mystica was, Ortega's phone chimed once more, showing a photo of their prize. Penny looked it over and noted the details. Hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult to find a glowing, sparkly plant in a dark cave.

"The 'turbo boost' hath uncanny timing in his communications," noted Atticus.

The group nodded their agreement. But they were left in debate about how to divide their resources between the titans. No one really wanted to empty a full base out and leave it unprotected. Yet Arven's information suggested Juliana still posed no urgent threat. At last they agreed that if they each took roughly half a crew with them and worked quickly, Penny could bring the Herba Mystica to the lighthouse herself. Then everyone could get back to work with minimal interruption.

All that remained was which crew and boss would tackle each titan.

"I fear mine Pokemon would be rendered helpless against a steel-type," Atticus mused. "Whereas Dragalge and Toxapex, with paltry adjustments to their movesets, could prove themselves formidable foes against a ground-type. Many of my crew members have similar partners."

"I can back ya up, too," Giacomo said. "Especially if I round up some of my Dark Crew pals from school. Plus, I got a Cacnea and a Murkrow I've been training who could use some ground-pummeling practice."

"I'll take the steel one," Eri said.

"Me too!" Mela said, raising her hand. Not that she needed to, but with the other options being her fire team's two biggest weaknesses, Penny understood her enthusiasm.

"You two certainly don't need any help for that," she chuckled. Then she looked to Ortega. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'm useless against steel, too," he muttered. "I guess Azumarril could help with the ground-type, but geez, why did Arven leave the dragon-type out? I could crush it!"

Penny looked back at the map. It was true that Mela and Eri wouldn't need her or Ortega, but that left four of them ganging up on the ground titan. It didn't feel like the best use of resources, especially when she and Ortega were two of the strongest trainers Team Star had.

"The false dragon is the most difficult by far," Penny said, rubbing her chin as she often did to help herself think. The data said the false dragon was a water and dragon type. Though not as strong as the rest of her team, she had been training a Glaceon to learn Freeze Dry. With her and Ortega together, they should be able to overwhelm it easily.

"You think we should go after the dragon, too?" Ortega asked eagerly. "You want me to help you take it on?"

"Well, I'm obviously not ordering you to," Penny said. "But the quicker Arven can help us, the better. I say we go for it."

"Done!" Ortega grinned and bumped fists with Giacomo, who reassured the group that he and Atticus could handle themselves. In the event anything went wrong, they'd call for backup straight away.

"I'll get the Cyclizar ready," Eri said. She took a jump off the scaffolding and landed on the ground, hands at her sides, her knees barely bent. "The Starmobiles can take us most of the way, but the terrain might be rough at spots."

"And I'll have to switch up my team before we go," Penny said, checking her Poke Balls. From inside her bag, Sprigatito mewed. She pulled it out and patted its head. The grass-type gave her a pleading, big-eyed stare in return. "I guess you have to come, too," Penny sighed. "Since I don't actually have a Poke Ball for you."

Sprigatito's face lit up and it snuggled in the softness of Penny's sweatshirt before climbing back in her Eevee bag to snooze once again.

While the others went to gather supplies, Penny stayed atop the scaffolding to soak in this moment of teamwork a bit longer.

#

Meanwhile, Nemona was still trying her best to keep the peace between Juliana and Arven. He appreciated the attempt, but he also couldn't blame Juliana for being annoyed. He had been acting pretty weird. So it went when friends kept secrets from each other.

"Don't worry, he's always kind of kept to himself. It's not us," Nemona assured her friend as she held onto her waist. "I was the one who gave him the introductory tour of Naranja Academy last year, and he acted the same way."

"Wait...really?" Juliana asked. She nudged Koraidon to slow down, and the brute walked around some boulders in the snowy path, setting up for a clearer line of sight.

Nemona nodded. "Of course, I wasn't the school council president yet. Just an overeager freshman trying to help out. But since Arven joined the term a month late, I already knew my way around."

Arven flushed as Nemona's Cyclizar dutifully followed its trainer. He'd only enrolled late because the paperwork had been confusing and he'd missed the original deadline. Thankfully, the director had made an exception, given his home circumstances. It was still embarrassing, though.

"You know, now that I think about it, that tour was first time I saw weird stuff at school. See, we were about to walk up to the main building, and I did my classic, 'get ready to climb the worst staircase in the world!'" She motioned to Arven. "He was standing on the first step, waiting for me to get on with it, so I went to bolt past him. Only I ran through the stairs instead. Like they weren't even there!"

Arven remembered that. But the way she'd set it up made him think vanishing into the staircase was some gimmicky part of the tour. He didn't get how it was done, exactly, but he'd guessed a ghost Pokémon could pull it off.

Apparently not.

"It freaked me out, but then nothing happened for months after that. I thought everything was fine," Nemona went on. "But, hey, enough weird talk. Let's keep going! This way!" She pointed, and Koraidon gave a roar before bolting forward at full speed.

Cyclizar followed without any need for Arven to signal it. Which was good, because his mind really wasn't on directions right now. Did he cause that incident with the stairs? He'd thought his problems had only been showing up for a month or two tops. What if it been more than that?

He didn't want to think about the ramifications, but as they flew down the slick, icy road, his mind wouldn't let the idea rest. He hoped he was reading too much into things. If he did have some hand in the stair incident, though, he could be the cause of Juliana going giant at Team Star's base, too?

Arven swallowed. He didn't have the constitution to weather Juliana's wrath in that case. No living human did.

#

Mela had one goal for her battle against the Lurking Steel titan: show Eri she could handle herself. Well, okay, that and she wanted to beat the titan, so two goals.

As the training coach for the team, Eri saw herself as everyone else's big sister. It sort of came with the territory, being the oldest, tallest, and strongest of the group. But after everyone at school kept going on about how cute Mela was, the fire-type trainer wanted nothing more than to prove herself as tough and independent.

The duo took a flying taxi to Levincia then rode their Cyclizars out of the city and into the rocky area where the titan was known to...well, lurk.

"Here's what I'm thinking," she told Eri as they neared the spot on the map. Her Cyclizar was smaller and slower--not the note she was going for--but Eri's Pokémon was conscientious enough to keep pace. "You scare it out of hiding with some of your punching tactics, lead it right to me, and my Pokémon will swallow it up in an inferno!" She punched her fist into her open palm and almost lost her balance doing so. She really needed to speak with Atticus about a more manageable pair of boots.

"If you engulf it in flames, then it probably won't lead us to the Herba Mystica," Eri said. "We'll attack, but we'll pull our punches until we get a better feel for its power level."

"Oh," Mela hung her head. "Makes sense. You're right, as usual, Eri."

Eri muttered her thanks and they continued. She never was the best at taking compliments. Mela really needed to work with her on that.

The marking on the map led to a large depression in the ground. Mela had never been out this way before, but the area was surrounded with a barb-wire fence, and there were several large holes in the ground. A few Nacli paced back and forth, but they more or less ignored the two approaching humans. And each other, for that matter. The whole place gave the feel of an abandoned construction site that no one knew what to do with.

Eri pulled her Cyclizar to a stop and narrowed her eyes. "Is that..." she said and pointed. Mela followed her line of sight, and sure enough, a large head poked out from one of the holes. It had beady, almost cartoonish eyes, and the wide grin on its gaping mouth made Mela think of a Slowpoke. An extra-dense Slowpoke.

"That's a titan?" she asked.

Eri shrugged. "Looks like it. But I have to admit, I expected a more majestic Pokémon than a--"

"--a giant goofy-looking Orthworm?" Mela chuckled. Then she cracked her knuckles. "Doesn't matter what it is. Let's get this job done."

Eri nodded her agreement. "You approach it, and I'll keep watch at one of these other holes in case it tries to escape."

Mela scanned the area, which definitely had more than two escape routes. "Why stop there? Let's bring out our Pokémon now and guard all the exits."

"Good idea," Eri said. "Now you're thinking like a strategist."

Mela grinned. Maybe to someone who overheard their conversation, it sounded like a perfectly normal comment. But anyone who had been through Eri's merciless training regimen knew she could give no higher compliment. Mela had come here wanting to prove herself as they strong one. But proving herself as the smart one would feel pretty good, too.

She released Armarouge and Arcanine and instructed them to go to the two nearest holes, while Eri sent out Lucario and Annihilape. Lucario could easily sneak up on one of the holes closer to the titan without scaring it, and Annihilape, being a ghost-type, could straight-up vanish until it needed to appear.

Eri held up her hand and gave a visual countdown before she charged at the titan. At Mela's suggestion, she even added in a wild shriek for good measure. The titan's beady eyes widened at this crazy yelling person and it ducked into its hole, tunneling away.

As Eri had predicted, it tried to surface at another hole, only to be blocked by Annihilape's sudden appearance. It squealed in surprise and dove again. This time, it came up by Arcanine and just missed a Fang Fang to the face. Finally it exited by Mela, who braced herself as it raised its head. The Pokémon might have looked silly, but it was huge up close. She could feel herself shrinking back into that meek new student who tried to fit in, only for every thing she did to come off as adorable. A situation that only got worse when the bullying started.

But that was the old Mela. The new Mela stood her ground. Literally.

"Hey, dummy!" she yelled as the titan loomed over her. "In case ya didn't notice, you got nowhere else to go! So stop being a coward and fight me already!"

The titan paused. Then it pulled itself farther and farther out of the hole, never taking its gaze off her. While it might have simply looked like a ground type from its face and habitat, its solid steel plating now shimmered in the sunlight. As did the little blue arms it shook at Mela when it accepted her challenge.

"Oh, it is on!" she snarled back. "Torkoal, go! Flare Blitz!"

Her Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light and obeyed. The massive Orthworm clearly took some serious damage from the hit, but it was far from out. So much for needing to pull their punches.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Eri called out as she ran to join the fight. A blue ball of light gathered in Lucario's paws and hit its target with precision. Orthworm swayed after the hit but did not quite go down. Instead it pulled back and smacked open a section of rock to reveal a previously hidden cave. And inside lay some sort of sparkling plant...

Snacking on those magical herbs for a power boost, huh? Mela wasn't too worried. After all, she and Eri had nearly taken it down in a single hit already. But then titan gave a fearsome roar unlike anything she'd heard from it before. To Mela's horror, the Orthworm turned and performed an Earthquake attack. Chunks of ground flew everywhere as the move landed a critical hit on Lucario, taking it out instantly. Eri gritted her teeth and recalled her Pokémon. Mela could only assume Torkoal was still standing due to its Shell Armor ability. A small miracle. Defeating the titan might be trickier than she thought. Then again, maybe she was approaching this the wrong way from the start. Maybe she needed to think like more of a strategist.

Before she gave the next command, Mela mentally reviewed her Pokémon's move list. Yes, there was a better approach here. "Torkoal, use Yawn!"

Eri smiled and followed along perfectly. "Passimian, Protect!"

The titan's next Earthquake bounced harmlessly of Passimian's shield. It did bring Torkoal down but not before Yawn took effect. The massive Othworm shook its head and tried to swing its tail at Passimian again, only to fall laughably short. It then stared at both the Team Star leaders, its eyelids heavy...and gently slipped back into its hole, where its snores no doubt echoed for miles underground.

"Very nicely done," Eri said before she sprinted into the cave and collected their prize.

Mela followed as best she could in her boots. Two compliments from Eri in one battle? She'd better watch herself or her ego would get overinflated for sure. She snapped a photo of Eri bringing out the Herba Mystica and attached it to a text for Penny:

Mission accomplished, she wrote. See you at the lighthouse!

Chapter Text

Penny didn't make much conversation on the journey towards Casseroya Lake. She worried at first that Ortega would take her silence as brooding. But she soon discovered the time they'd virtually spent together as Team Star had not gone to waste. He understood she would never be a chatterbox, and he didn't push her. In fact, he seemed content to enjoy the quiet alongside her. At least until his pocket buzzed three times in a row.

They both pulled their Cyclizar to a stop. Ortega's phone had more or less turned into the source of updates on Paldea's stability, so he dutifully brought the screen up in Penny's full view. Penny wiped the melted snowflakes from her glasses. A trio of new messages had come in: The first contained yet another faceless Tandemaus photo, this time with the number down to 82. The Pokémon were huddled in close, as if trying to keep each other warm. Or perhaps trying to verify they were still together without the ability to see each other? Penny shuddered thinking about it and held Sprigatito a little closer. The Pokémon mewed and leapt to her shoulder. From there, it clawed at her jacket, undoing the zipper enough to crawl inside.

"Hey!" Penny objected, but Sprigatito had already made itself at home and wasn't coming out. Penny's jacket now had a large bulge that made it look like she was trying to smuggle an encyclopedia out of the library. "Guess it is getting cold out here by your standards," she said with a sigh. Then she turned her attention back to Ortega's screen. His second and third texts were from his sister, and they were a light-hearted jump in tone from the first:

1/2 Sure, Ortie! The lab key's at the summer house, tho.

2/2 Can meetcha up there in say...2 hours? K, bye!

Penny frowned. "Thought 'Ortie' was our nickname for you," she said. "And you never mentioned you have a summer house."

"Ugh, my parents have a summer house," Ortega said. "And a spring house. And a winter house. They're like a couple of confused Sawsbuck." He shoved the phone away. It fit perfectly into the side pocket of his lavender, fur-lined coat. "Vanessa overheard the team's nickname for me once, and she's been using it ever since. It hacks me off, and she knows it."

Penny nodded in sympathy and dropped the matter. Ortega had only mentioned his sister one or two times, and he ignored whenever someone brought her up in conversation. Or when they mentioned anyone in his family, really. Penny could only hope he didn't shift the topic to her own parents. Certain things were far too frustrating to have a civil conversation about.

The path before them narrowed, with walls of ice rising up either side. With no good way around, Penny urged her Cyclizar forward, and Ortega followed. Her teeth chattered, despite the extra layers of clothing she'd worn to protect her and Sprigatito from the mountains' chill. And she usually had such a high cold tolerance, too.

Wait a second. She straightened as Cyclizar slowed its pace. Her body kept shivering, but it didn't feel all that cold. But what else would cause her to react this way?

They'd gotten about halfway through the icy passageway now. She stared up the mass of ice surrounding them and got her answer.

"Is that..." Ortega pointed. Ominous black orbs protruded from the nearest section of wall. As the two travelers neared them, the orbs extruded a purple fog, and a pair of leering eyes appeared on each one.

"Gastly," Penny whispered.

"Yeah," Ortega replied. "But why are they here?"

Penny had no answer other than to keep moving. The Gastly seemed to be partially embedded in the ice. She worried if maybe they'd gotten themselves stuck there, though how such a thing was possible for a ghost type, she had no idea. With each one they passed, the Pokémon's eyes followed their every movement. Penny couldn't shake the uneasy image of being filmed by a haunted camera right before her death.

"Maybe we should turn around," she said. "Or at least try a different path."

"I know my way through these mountains," Ortega said, pushing his Cyclizar ahead of hers.

"Didn't say you didn't," Penny muttered as she followed. She should have guessed he'd respond like that. Ortega was always sensitive about being corrected. He worried about the others looking down on him, not trusting his judgment because he was the youngest. Of course, he was only the youngest by a few months, but the trouble was, half the freshman class looked older than him. Mela didn't help matters, either. She spent most of her birthday bragging about her quinceañera status and reminding Ortega how he was the only boss still stuck at a lowly fourteen years of age.

Ortega's insecurity made redirecting him much more difficult. And Penny would argue that right now, they needed a serious change of direction. The ice walls parted up ahead, several more Gastly floated in the distance, waiting and watching them. The path split at the exit, and they could take the longer, sunnier route to the left where the ghost Pokémon were less likely to follow. Ortega, seeming to sense where Penny wanted to go, urged his Cyclizar towards the right.

"Hold on," Penny whispered.

"I told you," Ortega hissed back. "I know what I'm--" He turned at the icy corner and ran smack into a Gastly hovering just out of sight.

The battle itself shouldn't have a problem. But whether it was the Pokémon or the location or simply evidence of Paldea's weak grip on reality, something dire happened in the moment Ortega and the ghost-type met.

The two combatants stood at an angle on a small hill, the Gastly farther below. The moment the battle started, a deep crack snapped through the mountain path with the sound and force of a canon. The ground beneath them shifted abruptly upwards. The earth broke open, but instead of facing a chasm of darkness, Penny stared at a reflection of the sky. Then she and Ortega fell towards the mirrored clouds. Mounds of snow followed, showering around them. Penny screamed. Both Cyclizar retreated to their Poké Balls while Sprigatito dug its claws through Penny's sweatshirt. She cradled the tiny Pokémon under her jacket and braced herself for the worst.

#

"Whew!" Nemona gasped as Juliana's group reached the crest of a snowy hill. It was a tight squeeze with less than ideal standing space, but the view was breathtaking. Dusk had fallen, and the town of Glaseado sparkled far below. The gym was the tallest building--a soft pillar of white light among the smaller houses and shops. Several markers broke up the path leading down, probably related to the gym test in some way. The air felt thin, and the clouds hung low. A few flurries had begun to fall but nothing concerning. If anything, they accented the picturesque snowscape.

Arven went to readjust his pack, which messed up the balance of Nemona's Cyclizar a bit. It started to slip but caught its footing. Then it turned and hissed at Arven for the inconvenience.

"Excuse me," Arven muttered.

Nemona gave him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. It's natural for her to be on edge now. She's more sensitive to the dangers up here than we are." She pointed to the snowy ground. "It might look firm, but this time of year, the snow can pile up quickly. There's lots of spots that are just one badly timed impact away from an avalanche."

"Really?" Juliana asked. "Wow."

Arven swallowed, wishing Nemona had waited until they reached the bottom of the hill to tell him this. The elevated view now felt much less beautiful and much more threatening.

Before they could start down, Arven heard a huge crack of thunder. He yelped and looked to see if the girls were okay. His brain could barely process what happened next. Ortega tumbled out of the low-hanging clouds, falling in slow motion right between Juliana and Nemona. His diamond-studded travel bag was shoved into Juliana's face while his Poké Ball staff smacked Nemona in the back of the head. Koraidon screeched its displeasure and reared up, almost throwing all three of its passengers.

Arven was about to dismount and demand answers when something collided with him from behind, knocking the wind out of him. Cyclizar let out a similar, though less primal, cry. Arven whirled around to find Penny back-to-back with him, curled up and clutching her stomach. Or maybe something under her jacket?

"What the--" he yelled.

Then came the snow. Not in gusts of gentle flakes but in a straight-up cascade. The clouds sparked and snow gushed out of them like a busted faucet. Koraidon jumped. All three of the people riding it held onto each other for dear life. Cyclizar followed suit, barely managing to escape being buried in the sudden rush.

Arven grabbed the Pokémon's neck and held fast. Penny clung to his waist, pressing her chest against his back. "I'm so sorry about this!" she cried.

"Wait, this is your fault?" Juliana yelled. It was the last thing anyone got to say before the ground began moving. The Pokémon's quick thinking might have saved them from an icy burial, but now they were effectively surfing atop an avalanche headed right for the Glaseado Gym's battle stage.

Arven gritted his teeth, desperate to keep his fear at bay and not phase himself into a death wish. The two ride Pokémon picked up speed, sliding this way and that to stay atop of the shifting rush of snow. Their paths crisscrossed over and over. It was a miracle they didn't collide with each other. The only thought that kept Arven solid was his pure fury at Team Star for whatever it was they did to start this mess. So he focused on that. And how, if their ride down the mountainside didn't kill them all, he would use Ortega's fancy staff and bag to strangle him.

Chapter Text

Nemona found their plunge down the mountainside absolutely thrilling.

She did not say so to her friends. Or to Penny and whoever the guy in the lavender coat was. Most of them were screaming in fear with their eyes squeezed shut. Arven in particular had gone red in face. He yelled less about the fall and more about his intent to commit murder with blunt objects. Nemona wasn't too concerned. Probably it was his way of making sure he could still hold onto Cyclizar. If he attempted actual violence once they got to safety, she'd step in and diffuse the situation then. A good student council president never let herself get overwhelmed with too many problems at a time. For now, she relished the rush of wind in her face, the spray of powdery snow around them, and of course, balancing herself on Koraidon as it swayed from side to side. The glow of the gym building grew larger and larger as they jetted towards it.

The avalanche slowed when they passed the gym windows. Nemona grinned and waved at the people inside, but no one waved back. Oh, well. Their loss."Guys, come on!" she squealed to her friends. "Look at this!"

Her lighthearted tone didn't work on everyone. But most of them opened their eyes a bit. Juliana even straightened up to take in the view. Cyclizar had pulled ahead of Koraidon, no doubt due to its sleeker, more aerodynamic build. It leaned into a curve, spraying more snow in Koraidon's direction. Nemona laughed and batted the powder away. Juliana smiled, which was totally a win.

The avalanche lost more momentum as it neared the base of the hill, though the snow continued to pile up. The gym leader Grusha did his best to direct frantic citizens out of the way. No one seemed to be listening, but no one lingered in the snow's path, either. Grusha threw up his hands in surrender and stood back to watch the strange spectacle instead.

Nemona had seen on a lot on her gym travels. She could only assume that as a gym leader and professional snowboarder, Grusha had seen far bigger and more exciting events than she could dream of.

Then again, maybe an entrance like this was novel to him, too.

The citizens' panic subsided as the cascade finally slowed to a crawl, piling up at the fence around the gym's battle area. Koraidon dug its heels into the snow, pulling itself to an early halt while Cyclizar coasted the rest of the way down. Penny clambered off before the Pokémon even got to a full stop, and she nearly face-planted in the process.

Nemona dismounted a bit more gracefully. "Glad to see everyone is okay!" She extended a hand to the stranger who'd fallen behind her--the one whose golden staff was probably responsible for the growing lump on the back of her head. Not that she held grudges or anything. "Don't think I caught your name. I'm Nemona. Champion-rank trainer and school council president."

He looked skeptically at her outstretched hand but took it nonetheless. "Ortega," he said with no elaboration.

"Stop!" Juliana squeaked out the moment their fingers met. "He's--" She paused. Ortega released Nemona's hand and shuffled back. Nemona looked down at her palm, but as far as she could tell, the guy hadn't done her any harm. He didn't even have a strong grip.

Juliana tilted her head in confusion. "Huh. You didn't grow giant."

"Giant?" Nemona asked. Then it clicked. She looked Ortega over again with a whole new level of respect. Not to mention a burning desire to challenge him to a Pokémon battle on the spot. "Wait. You're the Team Star boss who bested my best rival?"

Instead of a reply, Ortega huffed and walked over to help Penny, who was muttering something along the lines of, "What is wrong with that girl?" With one hand, she clutched something under her jacket. With the other, she dusted herself off and pointed a shaking finger in Nemona's direction. "She was laughing during that nightmare!"

Nemona held up in hands in a guilty-as-charged gesture. "I couldn't help it. It was so exciting!"

"A-are you incapable of fear or something?"

Incapable was a bit strong of a word, in Nemona's opinion. She never did anything careless or stupid. She simply had a fondness for adrenaline rushes that most of her fellow students lacked. "Arven wasn't afraid, either," she said as she pointed to him. "He would have phased right through my Cyclizar if he was."

Everyone in the group turned to Arven. He seemed to have calmed down once they got to safety, but now he went red in the face all over again. "Why does everyone have to share that?"

"Hold on," Penny said. "You control your phasing ability with...your fear?"

Arven crossed his arms and marched over. He only had a few inches of height advantage, but he used it to stand as tall as possible and narrow his eyes down at her. "I don't have to answer anything you ask. What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"Don't take that tone with us," Ortega said, missing the irony of his own sharp voice. "We were on our way to defeat the false dragon titan like you asked us to!"

"You did what?" Juliana asked, sounding more hurt than annoyed. Nemona didn't blame her. A promise of battle with something as powerful as the titans, and Arven had asked someone else to do it? Nemona felt pretty hurt herself, and not only because of the lump on her head.

"I told you to handle the other two titans and leave the false dragon to me and my friends," Arven said. Then he gestured back to Juliana and Nemona, making clear Ortega was not in the "friends" category.

The Team Star boss gritted his teeth. "They're handled!" he said. "Penny and I could take out a dragon-type with no--" He gasped, cutting off his own words. His staff clattered to the ground, though Nemona didn't see him let go of it. In fact, it seemed to fall right through his fingers. Then Ortega's whole body flickered. He winced and clutched his sides, his breathing quick and uneven.

Grusha, who seemed content to watch them from a distance before, hurried towards the group. "Hey! You okay, kid?"

Ortega didn't answer. Penny reached out to him, but he held up a hand and stopped her.

"I-it's fine..." he said. "Give me a minute...I'll be fine." He closed his eyes, breathing through parted lips. While his breaths came out halted at first, with each inhale, the next exhale sounded more even and calm. After a few cycles, his breathing became normal, and the flickering stopped.

A sigh of relief washed over the group. Behind them, Koraidon let out a whine. Nemona glanced over to find Juliana's Pokémon fully coated in a blanket of white.

Grusha stood up and faced it. "That was an impressive feat getting down here in one piece," he said. "But you know, most Pokémon leave the slope when they're done skiing."

Koraidon gave a head tilt like this idea had never occurred to it before. It grumbled and shook itself dry, showering everyone around with drips of melted snow. Then it bent its knees, poised for a massive leap. But instead of its whole body lifting off the ground, only its back legs got into the air, its front legs still buried in the snow. It grunted and twisted, but it couldn't seemed to get itself loose. The poor thing looked like it was stuck in a perpetual falling position.

"What's going on?" Nemona asked. "Is the snow really thick?"

Penny shook her head. "My guess is it's another anomaly."

Koraidon gave another grunt of frustration and slammed its back legs back into the snow. It then yanked out its front legs and made a smaller jump. This time it slid gracefully down the rest of the snow pile, coming to a stop right in front of Grusha. Its movement was rather smooth and elegant, and the gym leader seemed genuinely impressed. Koraidon seemed impressed with Grusha's fluffy scarf and leaned in to sniff it.

"Um, be careful," Penny said. "That thing likes to--"

Koraidon gave Grusha a slobbery lick across his face.

Penny winced. "--never mind."

While Grusha stepped back to clean his face, Ortega picked up his staff again. Something inside Nemona suggested he did not want to talk about what had happened. At all.

So she decided to talk about it for him. "Hold on. That flickering was the same thing Arven does!" She pointed between the two. Maybe if they realized they had something in common, they wouldn't be so snippy with each other.

"Huh?" Ortega said, exhaustion in his voice.

Of course. Nemona had gotten ahead of herself again. Ortega needed a bit more context, which she was happy to provide as quickly as possible. "Sorry, let me explain. See, after you beat Juliana, she came out really upset. I don't think she's ever lost a major battle before. Arven wanted to go after these titan things, but Juliana wanted to get stronger first with her Beartic, so I said we should talk to Paldea's number one ice-type specialist." She motioned over to Grusha, who looked confused on top of being wet and annoyed. But once Nemona started an explanation, it became tricky to stop. "Juliana agreed, but while we were traveling, Arven did this floaty trick with a coin and got a phone stuck on his face, and Juliana explained that it happens when he's scared. Also he might have made me run through some stairs last year..." She paused to debate. Was she getting off track here? Yes, probably time to reign it in. "Anyways, now that we're here, Juliana can get a badge and figure out why her Beartic can Sheer Cold with perfect accuracy, while you and Arven can talk about titans and this weird flickering thing you both do." She crossed her arms, pretty satisfied with herself. It was a lot of points to cover, but she felt she'd done well under the circumstances.

No one complimented her on a job well done.

Penny frowned at her. "Y-you talk, like...way too much."

Nemona took no offense. Perhaps she had gone on a bit longer than needed. But that was part of learning and improving. She could always grow her summarizing skills with hard work, determination, and a worthy abridgment rival. Maybe Juliana would volunteer.

"So...you wanted to talk to me or you're here for a badge?" Grusha asked.

Juliana rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, both, I suppose. Sorry about the mess we made coming in."

Grusha shrugged. "It's a mountain. It happens. Challenge accepted."

"What?" Nemona gasped. Not because of Grusha's nonchalance about the avalanche nearly engulfing his gym. There were protocols to be followed, and he was ignoring them! "But-but..but she didn't take the gym test!"

Grusha pulled up his scarf to cover his mouth and chin. "You mean the Pokémon skiing demonstration?" He motioned to the hill the group had dramatically descended to make their way to him. "You rode in here on an avalanche. I'll call it a pass. Though the arena might be a bit..." He glanced back to where snow had cascaded over the low fence and lay in a pile on the battlefield, surrounded by confused observers.

"...occupied," Grusha finally finished. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Either he was in debate about how to handle the situation or he was about to move the snow with his as-yet-unrevealed telekinetic superpowers. Nemona didn't know what to expect of anyone at this point. "...she has been bugging me to give it a try," he muttered. "Guess I kind of have to accept her offer now."

"Sorry, whose offer are we talking about?" Juliana asked.

Instead of answering directly, Grusha turned and motioned for them to follow. "This way. It's not a long walk, and it'll be easier to explain when we get there." He stepped over a large chunk of condensed snow and started down the road leading through Glaseado towards Montenevera. No one followed immediately, so Nemona took it on herself to show some initiative. She jogged after Grusha, calling to the others to catch up. After some hushed whispers with Penny, Ortega did so first. Then came Juliana, followed by Arven, and Nemona could only assume Penny took up the rear. The streets were quiet, the citizens all gathered around the scene of the avalanche. Most of the sound came from the crunch of snow under their shoes.

Juliana slowed her pace until she and Arven walked side-by-side. As much as Nemona wanted to drill Ortega on battle strategies--after all, if he had beaten her rival, he had to be skilled--she kept herself quiet so she could overhear their conversation.

"Why did you ask Team Star to help with the titans?" Juliana asked. "Do you not trust me anymore or something?"

"No, it's not that," Arven said. "You had so many things on your plate...I guess I wanted some assurance it would get done before--" He swallowed, unable to finish his sentence.

"Before it was too late? Geez, Arven, why do you think I came out here?" Juliana said, a crack in her voice on the last word. "Nemona's right, you know. I've almost never lost a Pokémon battle. I was scared we'd get in front of a titan, and I'd fail right when Mabosstiff needed us."

The group had left Glaseado proper now and were making their way down the wintery path around the mountain. There was a long pause--and a lot of snow-under-shoe crunches--before Arven replied. "So, it wasn't about the badge?"

"No, you knucklehead!" she snapped. Which gave Nemona the perfect excuse to glance behind her.

Arven's face had gone downright scarlet. "I know you said you wanted to handle your Pokémon your way," he admitted. "I just felt like Team Star could help me faster. That's all."

Nemona couldn't hold herself back anymore. "Maybe don't be too hard on him," she said over her shoulder. "He's scared for his Pokémon the same way you've been scared for your missing Sprigatito."

"Your what?" That was Penny's voice. She'd gotten so far behind the group, Nemona was starting to wonder if she'd gotten lost in the pile of snow in front of the gym.

Juliana froze. Nemona called the rest of the group to a halt. Grusha didn't look pleased with being ordered around, but seeing him from a distance with his thick hat and scarf pulled up, it was hard to say he displayed any emotion in particular.

Penny walked up to Juliana and unzipped her jacket. Something mewed from inside. "Is this the Sprigatito you lost, by any chance?"

Tears flooded Juliana's eyes. "Buddy, it's you!" She grasped Sprigatito and lifted it up so quickly, Penny staggered back to keep her balance. Juliana held Sprigatito close, whispering reassurances as the feline Pokémon licked her damp cheeks.

Nemona couldn't help getting a bit misty-eyed herself. Ortega smiled beside her, but Arven looked uncomfortable. Almost like he was happy and hurt at the same time. It was an awkward situation, Nemona supposed. Here was Juliana's Pokémon safe and sound while his was still in danger.

If Grusha was moved by the reunion, he didn't show it. Instead he announced that he was done waiting, and anyone who didn't want to get left behind should pick up the pace.

Juliana did her best to quickly dry her eyes. "Well, you heard the gym leader, Buddy," she said as the group moved forward once again.

Buddy nestled itself into a comfy spot on her shoulder, where its swinging tail flapped against Juliana's fuzzy yellow hat. Grusha, to his credit, gave everyone a few moments to catch up with him before he continued onward. The snowy path worked its way out of the barren wilderness and past a Pokémon Center. Beside the center, a man with an Abomasnow called out about some special hyper training he could do in exchange for rare and exotic bottle caps. Nemona made a mental note to check the drinks on their next picnic for some.

They had entered Montenevera proper now, with all its cozy shops and houses accented in a blanket of white. Chill winds gusted through the group, and Buddy gave an uncomfortable mew. Nemona looked back to see it shivering.

"Oh, here," said Juliana. "You don't have to ride outside if you don't want to." She held up a Poké Ball, but instead of getting inside, Buddy batted it like it was a toy.

Penny noticed the situation and closed the gap between them. "Um, an error with my phone might be causing the Pokémon inventory system to misclassify me as Sprig--erm, Buddy's trainer," she explained. "I can probably hack it to fix things..." She glanced at Grusha, who met her gaze with narrowed eyes. "...which would be very illegal, so of course, I will not do that."

"So how do we fix it?" Juliana asked. "Legally, I mean."

Penny adjusted her glasses. "If you have a low-level Pokémon you don't plan to train, a trade would be the easiest workaround."

"Hmm..." Juliana crossed her arms and tapped her foot in a perfect imitation of a thoughtful Arven. "I do have a Porygon with me..."

At the word "Porygon," Penny's eyes sparkled. Her face resembled a Skwovet who'd found a massive berry stash.

"Would that be an okay trade?" Juliana asked.

Penny nodded adamantly. It was kind of sweet to watch. Even if Nemona didn't know the girl that well, she could tell when someone found their happy place. For Nemona, that place came from a battle where she could well and truly go all out. For others, it could be as simple as getting a Pokémon that reminded them of home.

"Congratulations," Ortega said, startling her. She'd sort of forgotten they were walking together. "I think you broke my boss."

"Your boss?" Nemona asked. "So you're saying she's a better battler than you?"

"No question," Ortega said.

Nemona nodded. She'd thought a battle with Ortega would be exciting, but now she wanted to have a match with Penny even more. While she debated how to approach the girl without being too intimidating, Ortega slowed his pace. "Hey, Arven?" he said.

Up ahead, Grusha had now ascended the wooden steps leading to the Montenevera Gym. Nemona followed but kept her ear on the conversation behind her.

"Yeah?" Arven said.

Ortega cleared his throat. "I'd like...I mean, when your friends finish whatever this thing is, I want to talk with you. About what happened six years ago."

Six years ago? Nemona thought. Several pairs of footsteps followed behind her up the steps, making it tricky to catch Arven's reply.

"...doesn't matt--" Arven began.

Grusha held up his mittened hand, bringing the group to an abrupt halt. Everyone gathered together, and Nemona gasped when she realized where they were. Grusha had walked them to the stage where the MC of RIP herself stood ready for one of her epic Pokémon gym battles. She grinned and waved at her fellow gym leader, who acknowledged her with a nod.

"You put on quite the show coming in," Grusha said to Juliana. "Epic, really. I sent a video feed to Ryme when it started happening. And since she didn't have any gym challengers around to warm up the stage for her, she let the feed play while MC Sledge did some beat thing and worked up the crowd." He held up his hands to show how little sense the whole thing made to him. "Audience said it was the best warm-up they've ever seen. You're clear to battle for the Ghost badge whenever you like."

Ryme brought her signature mic to her lips. "If you chatter much longer, you're gonna kill the vibe I've worked up here. On the stage, Ice Man!"

"I am not Ice Man," Grusha said, though he ascended the steps anyway. Ryme was not the type to be argued with. The group of friends (well, mostly friends, at least) remained at the bottom, watching the two gym leaders in confusion.

"So you want Juliana to beat you then go right into a battle with Ryme?" Nemona asked.

"Of course not!" Ryme laughed and turned to Grusha. "You walked these poor kids all the way here and didn't tell 'em?"

Grusha adjusted his scarf again. "Seems more your thing than mine," he said.

"All right, you got a point," Ryme said. She gave a wink to the crowd and tossed her microphone into the air, where it spun like a baton. She caught it behind her back. A touch of feedback passed through the speakers as she motioned everyone onto the stage. Each of them climbed cautiously up. "See, my gym's all about double battles. Which are bigger n' better when you got two trainers on each side. You see where I'm headin' with this?"

The crowd clearly caught her meaning, and they cheered wildly.

Nemona watched Ryme and Grusha walk to the edge of the marked battle area, where each of them pulled out a single Poké Ball.

The crowd might have been excited, but they had nothing on Nemona when she realized what Ryme and Grusha were proposing. No way. No way. No way, she thought, bouncing up and down to keep from happy-exploding.

"Pick your partners, challengers!" Ryme called out. "You both beat us, you both get the Ghost and the Ice badges!"

Wait. I've already got all the ba-- Nemona went from wanting to scream with glee to wanting to burst into tears. If this was a battle for badges, she'd disqualified herself months ago.

Why did gym leaders have to add all the fun twists for her rival? Life was so unfair!

#

While Arven understood the gym leaders' challenge, it took him a moment to process it. After which, he had only one response. "Wha-what?"

Juliana looked from one person to another. Her eyes fell to Nemona first, but the champion held up her hands and shook her head.

"I'm afraid I've already done the gym challenge," she said. "I can't compete for the badges again. And helping you would be cheating." Arven could have sworn he heard her sniffle when she stepped back down off the stage.

"The girl's right," Grusha called. "Pick someone else."

Juliana froze with indecision. Her eyes met Arven's, her next most obvious choice. But he could tell she had some lingering mistrust after he'd gone behind her back. She might have understood why he did it, but moving forward was tricky. Then again, her only other options were the Team Star leaders.

"Ugh, this crowd ain't waitin' all night," Ryme said. "If you won't pick, I will." She pointed to Juliana and Penny. "You ladies can try first." Then she pointed to Arven and Ortega. "And you two Slowpokes can try second. Now who's ready for some epic double battles?"

The crowd roared their approval, and Arven moved back towards the steps. "I'm not competing for--" he began, only for Nemona to tug on his bag. He knelt down and she cupped her hands to whisper in his ear.

"Sorry to bring this up, but aren't you way behind in your schoolwork?"

Arven flushed but nodded. She wasn't wrong.

"Well, two gym badges would go a long way in earning you some leeway with the teachers."

"It would?" He looked back at the stage. Juliana had to more or less much drag Penny to the challenger's end of the battle court. From what Arven could make out, she added some heavy guilt trips over how Penny could have tried just a tad harder to look for Sprigatito's trainer. Penny at last relented and stood beside Juliana without objection.

"She's actually doing this?" Ortega said. Given his annoyed expression, Arven didn't need to guess if he'd overheard the conversation with Nemona. "And you want my help with your battle, I take it?" he sighed.

Arven huffed. "You're behind on your schoolwork, too. Probably way worse than me, with how many classes you've missed."

"Yeah, but unlike you, I don't really care. What happened to the titan battles?"

"I..." Arven looked back at Juliana. "...I feel like I owe Juliana here. I should have leveled with her." He took a slow and deliberate breath. "Besides, if things really do get better, I'd like to stay in school. It's nice to at least act like I've got a future."

Ortega shook his head. "Well, I can see you haven't been skipping drama class, at least." There was a cautious tone to his words--a testing of the waters. When they were friends, Ortega fell back on snark whenever he didn't know what to say. It was often the closest he got to an apology.

And Arven had no clue how to reply. The anger sure hadn't left, but there was something about surviving an avalanche together that made him want to give Ortega a second chance. "Hmph. Says the guy who's got the same problems I do."

"That's the way you ask for help? I'm afraid you need to up your persuasion game, Arven."

"Ortega!" Penny called from the far end of the stage, startling them both. "I know I'm not technically allowed to pull rank, but I swear if I'm the only Team Star member who has to battle up here, I will make you sorry!"

Ortega blanched. "So..." He turned to Arven. "...which Pokémon should we send out first?"

Chapter Text

Can't believe I got roped into this, Penny half-thought, half-muttered as she went through the Pokémon she had on hand. I seriously cannot believe I got roped into this.

Juliana had walked to the other side of the stage for a moment to ask some questions of Grusha, and she now waved to Penny as she returned.

"He says I can use Beartic if I want," she said. "But it can't use Sheer Cold. Which limits the number of moves it can use, so probably not the best option."

"Mm-hmm," Penny replied. Maybe if Juliana saw how very little she responded to any socializing attempts, she would go on with whatever strategy she had in mind and leave Penny to do the same.

Juliana looked through three other Poké Balls. She had a fourth, but it was presumably the Porygon that would be heavily underpowered here. "Y'know," she said, keeping two and returning the third to her belt. "I don't think Team Star is all bad."

"I'm flattered."

"I didn't--ugh, that came out wrong," Juliana said. When Penny didn't respond, she kicked at the stage floor and continued, "I mean, you guys are complicated, and I didn't want it to be that way. I wanted all Paldea's problems to be solvable through simple Pokémon battles." She looked down at the two Poké Balls, one in each hand. "I wish there was an obvious bad guy here, you know? An evil team boss...alien invaders...corporate greed..."

"How would you defeat corporate greed with a Pokémon battle?"

Juliana laughed awkwardly and ignored the question. "My point is, I get things are more nuanced than that. And I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and your team."

"Apology accepted, I guess," Penny said with a shrug. Because "please stop talking so we can get this over with " wouldn't land well. "So who are you bringing with you?"

"Oh, right. Tinkaton and Farigiraf," Juliana replied. Rather than looking hurt or put-off by the bluntness, she simply adapted Penny's no-nonsense tone. "You?"

Penny sighed. "Glaceon's not ready for a battle like this. And I removed Flareon from my team to make room for her. Umbreon has an obvious advantage, and Leafeon against Grusha would just be stupid, so it's really between Jolteon and Vaporeon..."

"I see. So do we prioritize speed or bulk?"

She knew the strengths of the two different Eeveelutions, then? Penny wouldn't call herself impressed, but Juliana did earn herself some goodwill. And she'd apologized, even if it was unwelcome and longwinded. Bonus goodwill, then.

I suppose I've built friendships on less. Penny held out Vaporeon's Poké Ball. "A doubles match could go long, and when one of our Pokémon goes down, we can't switch to another. I say bulk."

"Ready to start yet?" Grusha called.

"Y-yeah, we're coming!" Juliana replied. The two girls took their spots side by side on the edge of the battlefield. MC Sledge gave the signal, and four Poké Balls flew into the air. Four bursts of white light lit up the stage, revealing the first set of opponents.

Grusha and Ryme had sent out Frosmoth and Houndstone.

Penny and Juliana had sent out Umbreon and Tinkaton.

"Not liking the look of a bug-type against Umbreon," said Juliana.

"Me neither," said Penny, "But Umbreon's got a razor claw on hand. I'll force it to flinch, and you take it out with Tinkaton."

Juliana nodded her understanding, and all four trainers gave directions to attack at once. To Penny's pleasant surprise, Umbreon was the fastest and got Frosmoth with a direct-hit Dark Pulse. She smiled, having calculated the odds of a flinch many times. This move was practically as good as a Fake Out, with better damage to boot. She watched for the telltale sign of Frosmoth twitching in place, unable to move.

Except it did move. Its wings fluttered with a dandelion green powder that rose in a protective cloud around its buggy little body.

Its ability is Shield Dust, Penny realized to her dismay. It can't flinch.

Frosmoth gave a forceful flap of its wings. Clumps formed inside the wall of powder, each one looking like a tiny version of Frosmoth itself. The swarm flew towards Umbreon, surrounding and nipping at her while she growled and snapped. It did no good. This was Infestation, and not only would it continue to distract and disorient Umbreon, it would prevent Penny from calling her back.

To add insult to injury, Houndstone was charging at Umbreon with a pulsing pink light. Penny would never hear the end of it from Ortega if she failed to recognize that attack. Play Rough!

Dodging with a swarm of powder bugs in her face was impossible. But to Umbreon's credit, she took the hit like a champ. Of course, if the gym leaders continued to gang up on the Dark-type, she wouldn't last much longer.

Tinkaton might have been slow to wind up her weapon, but the power behind her swing made it worth the wait. Gigaton Hammer swung through Frosmoth's powder shield and sent the bug tumbling. Its crumpled wings quivered as it righted itself and returned to the battle--hurt but not out.

Everyone called out their next attacks, and the Pokémon tried again.

Unable to use Gigaton Hammer twice in a row, Juliana went for Ice Hammer instead. "I think Play Rough is the bigger threat," she said, pointing Tinkaton towards her target.

"Agreed," said Penny. "And they're not the only team who can focus their attacks, right?"

Umbreon grinned and readied another Dark Pulse. Despite the swarm of Infestation, it ran undeterred with Tinkaton straight for Houndstone.

Right before the attacks landed, Houndstone disappeared. Ice shards and dark energy bounced harmlessly off the stage floor.

Juliana gasped. "What the--?"

"How's our Phantom Force lookin' to ya?" Ryme laughed.

Penny felt like a fool. The gym leaders' setup was perfect, and they weren't done yet. Frosmoth came at Umbreon from behind with a Bug Buzz attack. Umbreon stood her ground and took the hit. Her legs quivered afterwards, her special defenses compromised. The Pokémon had enough energy for one more move. Maybe.

Better make it count. "Umbreon, ready a Dark Pulse for when Houndstone reappears!" Penny ordered.

Ryme gritted her teeth, but of course, there was little she could do. Houndstone materialized and hit Tinkaton with its ethereal energy. Umbreon's Dark Pulse blasted it from behind. The ghost Pokémon grunted and fell to its knees, the candle on its head flickering.

"Tinkaton!" called Juliana. "Show off that Gigtaton Hammer again!"

"Pick up the speed, Frosmoth!" said Grusha. "Use Tailwind!"

The order sent Frosmoth moving double time. It frantically flapped its wings, and a chill wind picked up behind the gym leaders' team right before Tinkaton landed her hit. The bug Pokémon plummeted to the floor and returned to Grusha's Poké Ball.

"Yes!" Juliana cheered. "One down and three to go!"

Penny wished she could feel as confident, but she had other concerns. "Is Houndstone..." She looked to where the canine Pokémon had fallen, but the light on its candle looked brighter now than it had before. And the more the audience cheered, the more energy Houndstone seemed to have, until it was back on its feet, howling mightily at the sky.

"Does cheering energize it or something?" Penny asked.

"Well, yeah, of course it does," answered Juliana. "Never underestimate cheer power. In tera raids or gym battles."

Penny didn't have the energy to question her.

In place of Frosmoth, Grusha sent out Beartic. Penny winced instinctively, but then again--

Unlikely a gym leader count on a luck-based move like Sheer Cold. She smiled and raised her hand. "Use Psychic on Beartic!"

"Tinkaton, use--" Before Juliana could finish her sentence, Houndstone vanished again. Beartic slammed its paws into the stage. The whole place shook as chunks of rock and earth materialized from the floor, surrounding both Umbreon and Beartic. The Earthquake attack hit where Houndstone had been a moment before. But of course, it wasn't there to take the hit.

Tinkaton squealed and Umbreon growled, but the power of Beartic's attack was too much. Both of them fell and returned to their Poké Balls in dual beams of red light.

"Oh, no," Juliana moaned.

My sentiments exactly, Penny thought. But Team Star's leader would not give up. Especially in front of one of the team bosses. She called forth Vaporeon, who appeared beside Juliana's Farigiraf.

Phantom Force failed against the normal type, the first breath of fresh air Penny felt they'd had.

"Full VeeVee power!" she called out. "Use Aqua Jet!" It wasn't a move she usually kept with Vaporeon, preferring a consistent Quick Attack across all her team members. But against ghost types, Aqua Jet became an excellent Quick Attack substitute. Before Houndstone could disappear again, a blast of water smacked its candle, and it fainted in earnest.

Juliana cheered but then turned to Penny with a smirk. "'Full VeeVee power,' huh?"

Penny flushed. "Sorry, but you put me on your team, you get my anime-inspired catchphrases, too."

"Why are you sorry? Your catchphrase rocks!"

And that, Penny decided, was how Juliana earned herself extra-bonus, possibly friendship-level goodwill.

Banette appeared on the scene next. Its red eyes glowed with a thirst for victory. And yet, its grin didn't stretch as wide as Penny expected.

It looked to its trainer, who nodded. "Do you whatcha can."

Banette turned back and stretched open its cloth-like mouth. Cold flowed from the darkness. Juliana rubbed her arms. Farigiraf braced itself. Ice crystals gathered around the Pokémon's ankles, which would no doubt slow her down. But otherwise she weathered the attack with no issue.

Vaporeon yawned like she hadn't even noticed an attack.

Penny didn't get it. They went out of their way for that Tailwind to let them move first every time. So why would they waste it with a weak, speed-reducing move like Icy Wind? Especially when one of their opponents is a water type? She wracked her brain, trying to see the logic. No gym leader would make a rookie mistake like forgetting type match-ups. Every move they made had a reason. But what did Icy Wind do that gave them any sort of advantage later on?

Penny yelped as Beartic let out a roar. Another earthquake attack rattled its way across the stage. Banette couldn't vanish like Houndstone could, but Ryme didn't look upset. In fact, her focus was more on Beartic.

They wouldn't waste moves. Unless...

Farigiraf leapt to avoid the flying rocks, but the iced ankles weighed her down. The Earthquake caught her in the back leg first, then on the side. She whinnied and huffed and stomped at the floor. If Penny could speak Pokémon, she'd translate it as, "Why, the very idea!"

Vaporeon leapt up as well. It still took a hit from a high slab of rock, but like Juliana had said, the water-type was built for bulk.

Unless...

"Slow them down!" Ryme commanded.

Unless...wait! It was unusually optimistic thinking for Penny, but she couldn't get the speed of the opponents' team out of her head. Controlling whose hits landed first turned the whole tide of the battle. Penny had Quick Attack on every team member for a reason. Priority moves were huge. And Banette with its Prankster ability had quite a few them.

Only now that was a bad thing.

The advantage of Icy Wind is that Banette can actually use it! All of Banette's other moves are status or priority moves, nullified by Farigiraf's Armor Tail!

Penny allowed herself a sly smile.

"I like that look," Juliana said. "I happened to teach Farigiraf Rain Dance, you know."

"Oh, did you?" Penny said casually.

"Mm-hmm. Shall we try it?"

Penny didn't answer the question. She rather thought the grin on her face--and the tera orb she brought out--spoke for themselves.

#

Arven watched Juliana and Penny's match with his jaw slack for most of it. First off, he had no clue how the stage was staying intact. After one team had summoned walls of dirt and rock out of nowhere and the other team called down torrential downpours, one would think even the most robust stage would have cracked by now. And this was all before both teams Terastallize their final Pokémon. Maybe Ryme had an army of Greavard using spamming Protect on their battle surface over and over.

"...changed up Vaporeon's moveset," Ortega was saying.

"Huh?"

Ortega rolled his eyes. "All of the boss's Pokémon know Quick Attack, but she changed it out for Aqua Jet at the last second. Probably because of Ryme's ghost team." He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through the data in his Pokédex. "Let's see...Sylveon's got enough offensive moves, so maybe a status move would be good? Skill Swap can be a real game changer in a Doubles Battle."

"You're still using her Pokémon for this?" Arven asked. For as full of himself as he acted, it seemed weird for Ortega to use a borrowed Pokémon when he didn't have to.

"Same bug that registered your friend's Sprigatito as the boss's seems to have registered her Sylveon as mine," he said. "It's a legit choice, and besides, I want this over with as quickly as possible."

You're not the only one, Arven thought.

#

The battle ended decisively when Vaporeon's Surf attack quite literally washed their opponents off the stage. Juliana walked down the steps and showed her new badges to Nemona. The girl squealed and pulled Juliana around the crowd, making sure every last person saw what her bestest best rival had accomplished. Penny shoved her own badges in her pocket and kept her head down. She had a brief talk with Ortega, but all Arven caught of it was, "I will commit murder before I do that again" before she worked her way through the crowd to a quiet corner in the back.

"She seemed upset," Arven said, looking for a conversation starter.

"Nah. She had a great time," Ortega replied. "Oh, and she approved my little tweak on Sylveon's moveset. I think we've got this in the bag."

"Yeah?" Arven said, happy to hear someone finally had some confidence in him.

Ortega readied his Poké Balls and gave his staff a theatrical spin. "Of course. I know you're weak at battle tactics, but follow my lead, and we'll be fine." Then he jumped onto the stage. The crowd cheered, hyped for another epic battle. Arven climbed up and hoped he didn't embarrass himself.

The two gym leaders shook hands and repeated the rules once again. Then, at MC Sledge's signal, the second match began.

Ryme opened with Mimikyu, while Grusha sent out--

Altaria? No way! Arven couldn't believe his good luck. He knew Grusha had a flying-dragon type. It was the whole reason he'd selected Cloyster for his team. But for him to lead with it? Arven might not have been great at type match-ups, but even he knew that oversized Q-tip bird was going down.

"Cloyster!" he cried. "Icicle Spear!"

Cloyster hissed. The air around it grew colder. But before it could release its attack, Grusha flashed something in his hand. Altaria glowed with a soft blue light. Four curved crystal walls sprung into existence, enclosing the Pokémon in a sparkling sapphire sphere.

And when the orb broke open, there stood an ice-type Terastallized Q-tip bird.

Beside Arven, Mimkyu flew forward like a bolt of silver lightning. It smacked Ortega's Sylveon with a Shadow Sneak the Pokémon had no hope of avoiding.

Grusha's Altaria didn't try to avoid anything. It didn't have to. Cloyster got off five rounds of Icicle Spear. Arven flushed with embarrassment after the first two hits bounced off it. By hit number five, he wanted to go hide in the corner with Penny.

"What did you think would happen?" Ortega scolded. "Of course he would Terastallize with a type disadvantage like that!" He waved his hand, and Sylveon fired off a Moonblast at Ryme's Mimikyu. Arven was about to object this wasn't effective, either. Then the beam of pink light made a direct hit. Mimikyu made a spitting noise as its costume snapped and fell lopsided.

Right. The damage didn't matter this turn, and Ortega wouldn't want to show off any super effective moves. That was...smart. He hated when the guy was right.

"Word of advice," Ortega went on. "Don't bring in Pokémon for their type advantage alone. Battles are more complicated than that."

Arven's impulse to smack the smug look off Ortega's face returned with a vengeance. "You brought Sylveon against Altaria! You did the exact same thing!"

"It's different! Fairy types are my whole deal!"

"So you only have one typing on your team, but I'm the one who sucks at battle strategy?"

While the two of them bickered, Altaria launched its own Moonblast at Cloyster. The Pokémon looked to Arven. What to do next? Dodge? Close its shell? Endure the hit to show off its defenses? Arven reacted way too late, and Cloyster was forced to take a guess. Its shell began to shut but not before powerful shafts of moonlight flew through the gap. Cloyster screeched from the impact.

"Pay attention!" Ortega snapped.

"You pay attention!" Arven retorted. It sounded stupid and childish, but that didn't matter. He turned his gaze to Mimikyu. His team wouldn't be caught off-guard again.

"Ugh, we're going to lose at this rate," Ortega muttered. "What's your Cloyster's ability? Shell Armor or Skill Link?"

"Uh..." Arven wanted to answer that he had no idea. He didn't even know what those two abilities did, let alone which one Cloyster had. He was also sick of looking like an idiot. With a fifty-fifty shot of being right, he answered with full confidence, "Shell Armor. But I'm gonna pull Cloyster back."

He looked back across the stage. Ryme and Grusha were giving their next orders now. They had to move fast.

"What? No!" said Ortega. "You'll setting up your next Pokémon to take damage without any clear benefit! Don't switch unless you have to. Sylveon, use Skill Swap on Cloyster."

What's that do? Arven thought. Which also would have sounded stupid. Was there anything he could contribute here besides proof he had no clue how to battle? "Cloyster, ready a Rock Blast this time!" Several fist-sized rocks materialized around Cloyster.

Sylveon turned to its ally and both of them pulsed with a soft white aura, like the glow of sunlight after a rainstorm. The pulses had distinct rhythms--a quick tempo on Syleon and a slower one on Cloyster. Then the two shifted, with Cloyster pulsing faster and Sylveon slower before the aura faded.

Altaria was beating its wings, building up a powerful gust of wind. But Mimikyu did not attack. It only sat there. What's Ryme thinking? Is this a Bide attack or...? Arven narrowed his eyes. Some kind of clear wall sparkled in front of Mimkyu. The thing had set up a Light Screen. If he hadn't been distracted by a stupid argument, he could have recalled Cloyster without taking damage at all.

Arven gritted his teeth. "Cloyster, attack Altaria now!"

Cloyster grinned. The floating rocks flew at their opponent. The first one struck, then the second. Then--

"That's it?" Arven cried. "But you always throw five of them! Like with the icicles!"

"What?" Ortega said right as Altaria unleashed a full-strength Hurricane on Sylveon. The Pokémon tried to move away, but the force of the wind threw it off its feet. It landed on the stage floor, where Hurricane blasted it with critical-hit force. Sylveon howled. When the winds died down, it got shakily to its feet. Its energy had nearly been depleted.

Ortega turned on Arven. "What is wrong with you? Skill Link is the ability that gives Cloyster five hits with Rock Blast or Icicle Spear! Shell Armor is the one that protects it from critical hits!"

"I didn't know that!" Arven shouted. Then he fully processed Ortega's words and got even more hacked off. "Hang on. Even if I'd been right, why would you have Sylveon steal Cloyster's critical hit protection?"

"Maybe because I know what I'm doing, and you wouldn't know a good strategy if it--"

Once again, Mimikyu came flying out of nowhere. Translucent claws appeared beneath its busted costume and plunged into Cloyster. Altaria flapped its cloud-like wings, gathering energy for another Hurricane.

Ortega gritted his teeth and staggered back. It was much more subtle than last time, but Arven didn't miss the flickering at Ortega's wrists. Panic shot through him, and his own wrist and hand suffered the same effect. He leaned over and grasped his arm. As if that would do any good. A hush fell over the sidelines.

Ryme raised her arm. "Time out!" The pulsing beat MC Sledge had been feeding the crowd died down. Altaria stopped flapping, and the building Hurricane dissipated. "Everything all right?" the gym leader called to Ortega and Arven.

Ortega leaned closer and smiled weakly. "K-keep your cool, you big moron. You want to disappear in front of an audience?"

"Heh, still the same routine with you," Arven whispered back. Was it always this hard to catch his breath when the phasing acted up? He'd never noticed it before. "I mean, why admit you're scared when an insult will do?"

"Not true. I was terrified at your mom's lab. Worse than I've ever been in my life. And I'll have you know zero insults were thrown that day." He lowered his head, the fake smile gone. "I just...stopped talking to you. Because I was a coward and a jerk, and...and I'm sorry."

Mom's lab? Arven didn't know which sounded stranger--Ortega insulting himself or offering an apology. If Paldea's reality didn't shatter from both those things happening in one sentence, maybe there was hope after all.

"Hey!" Grusha called. "Do we need a medic? What's going on?"

The crowd had gone silent now, except for a few worried whispers. No one seemed panicked or weirded out. They only thought the competitors might be hurt. Arven focused on his breathing and slowly straightened. His hand returned to normal. Yes, he could sell this.

"We're, uh, we're fine!" he called. Ryme and Grusha did not look convinced. Neither did the Pokémon standing on the stage between them.

Or not. Arven looked to Ortega for backup. His old friend straightened as well and waved to the worried onlookers. The flickering at his wrist had stopped, Arven noted. The guy seemed a natural at working crowds, and when he flashed a grin, the audience's tension vanished.

"Dude, seriously?" MC Sledge called as he pointed an accusing finger at Arven. "You looked like you broke your arm or somethin'!"

Oh. That. Arven mentally scrambled for a cover story. His mind flew to the first time he'd shown Juliana this little problem. Specially, how his face-slapping routine at the start of every battle was anything but subtle.

"It's, uh...it's a battle pose!" he said. With a turn towards the audience, he repeated the motion with emphasis. He bared his teeth and grabbed his arm, his hand tilted upward. His fingers quivered in a half-made fist, like he was trying to squeeze the life out of something. Then he released his arm and brought his hand to his forehead. The intent was to shove his bangs out of his face. But it looked pretty cool already, so he rested his raised elbow on his wrist and left the pose at that. "Yeah, you probably don't know this, but this pose is very popular in, um...other places. Far away. Places like, uh--"

"Alola!" Ortega finished for him. Then he mimicked the same motion. "Yep, super popular pose in Alola. My family travels there all the time. You folks should check it out."

The crowd's conversations picked up again. Mostly confirmations from the people who had visited Alola that yes, it was quite a lovely place, and why yes, they did recall seeing someone posing that way once. Weren't local customs interesting?

Ryme waved for the spectators' attention. "All right, all right. Now that we know none of ya are dying of stage fright over there, let's restart the show!"

Arven couldn't agree more. He stood beside Ortega and held out Cloyster's Poké Ball. "Still gonna switch, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Ortega replied. "But what else did you bring?"

Arven lowered his voice so their opponents wouldn't overhear. "Greedant."

"Ah." Ortega thoughtfully tapped his staff against his open palm. "Yes, I can see that working to our advantage. Will it throw anything off if I target Mimikyu?"

"Heh. Gotta prove your superiority with fairy types, huh? Go ahead."

Ortega took a bow. When he raised his head again, his expression suggested a barely-contained maniacal laugh. "Arven, you know me too well."

Chapter Text

"Sylveon, Shadow Ball!" Ortega called.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Arven slapped his face with both hands. "Greedent, Bullet Seed!"

Was that his attempt at another 'battle pose'? Ortega didn't bother to ask. The match had to be his focus. Greedent spat out four rounds of seeds, landing perfect hits on Altaria every time. A lucky break.

Altaria, to its credit, got in a nasty Dragon Pulse, but Greedent still had plenty of energy.

"Yeah, bet you wish you were a flying dragon again, huh?" Arven laughed.

Altaria cawed. Its voice was adorable. Its tone sounded murderous. Then it beat its wings to build up another Hurricane attack. Greedent produced a massive Sitrus Berry from its fur and began to devour it.

Sylveon waited until the swirling ball of ghostly energy reached its peak. Then she leapt and released it. Down, down it flew--straight at Mimikyu. But before Shadow Ball landed, Mimikyu disappeared in a flash of red light. Not a ghost-type attack but a recall. Ortega's stomach dropped. In Mimikyu's place came a large, muscular Toxtricity. Where Sylveon would have landed next to Mimikyu, it now scraped its ankle against a sparking, poisonous barb.

Shadow Ball found its mark and burst with a cloud of energy on Toxtricity's side. The massive purple lizard hissed with pain. Instead of spitting more poison, however, it threw back its head and howled. Sparks flew across its body. Electricity built up in the air, making Ortega's hair stand on end.

What the HECK? How am I the one losing? But he couldn't deny facts. He had one shot to make Sylveon's part in this battle matter. Which meant helping Arven. Greedent's cheeks were stuffed and ready to fire again. The number of hits would be random, unless--

Unless, of course, it had Cloyster's Skill Link ability. Which Sylveon was conveniently holding.

"Sylveon, use Skill Swap one more time!" Ortega called out.

The move came quicker to Sylveon now. A newly energized Greedent used Bullet Seed again. Five berry pits flew through the air. Each one was a perfect shot. At the same time, waves of electricity poured off Toxtricity, hitting every other Pokémon on their field. Its ally included. Grusha's bulky cotton bird might have taken the hit--if Greedent's full power attack hadn't weakened it so much. The building wind between its wings died out. The crystalline snowflake on its head melted as its Tera Form shell shattered. With a mighty cry, it fainted.

And in a perfect mirror image, so did Sylveon.

Grusha said nothing as he recalled his Pokémon. Then, in a flash, Cetitan appeared on the stage.

Greedent looked exhausted.

Ortega's fury rose as he sent Wigglytuff onto the field. If Toxtricity had only targeted Sylveon, Greedent would have a lot more energy now. But Ryme hadn't even seen his Pokémon as a threat. She'd been focused on Greedent, and Discharge conveniently knocked out Sylveon in the process. Why? Is it because I look like a little kid? Ortega thought. How does everyone take that brat at the Elite Four seriously, and I'm stuck trying to prove myself all the time?

Grusha gave Cetitan a command that was too quiet to hear. The Pokémon nodded and began bouncing from one foot to another, like it was gearing up for something.

"Hey, any more power-ups you can give?" Arven asked. "I got another move I bet could take down Toxtricity no problem."

Ortega huffed. He hated playing second fiddle to Arven. Especially when the guy made so clear he had no clue what he was doing. He raises his Pokémon well, though, Ortega had to admit. That counts for something, even if his strategy needs work.

"Discharge again!" said Ryme.

"Cetitan, Bounce!" called her fellow gym leader.

Cetitan bent its knees and, against all logic and physics, shot into the air like a rocket. Electric current rolled across the stage where it had been.

"You better be right about this," said Ortega. "Wigglytuff, use Helping Hand to assist Greedent!"

"Greedent, use Psychic Fang on Toxtricity!"

Given its bulk, Ortega didn't expect Greedent to move terribly fast. But when it was told to go sink its teeth into something, it got the job done. Wigglytuff barely had time to perform Helping Hand before the massive rodent charged forward. Its body glowed with the extra power from Wigglytuff. Its bared incisors pulsed with psychic energy. Toxtricity whirled and watched the thing like a Stantler caught in headlights.

Wham! Greedent attached itself to its foe's left front leg. Toxtricity tried another Discharge to shake it off, but Greedent's thick fur shrugged off the haphazard attack. Overwhelmed with waves of psychic power, Toxtricity groaned and teetered...

...and finally passed out. Greedent stood over its fallen foe, chattering with delight.

"I will never look at that rodent the same way again," Ortega muttered.

"Caught Greedent just at the start of the semester, too," Arven said.

"No kidding?" Now that is impressive. Ortega watched the center of the stage as Toxtricity returned to its Poké Ball and Mimikyu returned in its place. Its disguise remained busted, of course. But it had plenty of fight. Energetic or not, Ryme is still down to her last Pokémon. We can--

The moment he started to feel optimistic, Cetitan came careening down from the sky. Greedent saw it coming and cowered under its own fluffy tail. The two collided with massive force. Cetitan leapt up and spun in the air before landing back in the same position it left. Greedent dizzily swayed back and forth.

"Greedent! Hang in there!" Arven begged.

Hearing its trainers voice rekindled Greedent's energy. It shook its head and planted its feet on the stage. The Pokémon was a fighter. It could win this.

"You handle Cetitan," Ortega told Arven. "We've got Mimikyu covered."

Arven nodded and kept his eyes forward.

Across the stage, Ryme was chuckling to herself. "Think you can take my Mimkyu alone, then? Y'know what a punch this Pokémon's packin'?"

"Oh, I know." Ortega said. "And it's quick, too. Practically a blur when it moved across the stage earlier." He motioned to Wigglytuff. "Meanwhile, my Pokémon's speed is nothing. She's slow even for her species. You'd run circles around her, I'm sure."

Ryme frowned. Ortega got the feeling he'd already given too much away. A shame, but he carried on. "Wigglytuff, use Gyro Ball now!"

Wigglytuff gave a happy trill and spun herself like a top. A metal shield materialized around her, and she twirled forward. Mimikyu darted sideways. Cetitan had started moving from foot to foot again, too caught in its own rhythm to move aside for its ally. The Pokémon's bulky body blocked off Mimikyu's escape. Wigglytuff would soon close the gap. Panic set in, and her opponent moved faster, which only built up Gyro Ball's power when the attack hit. Mimikyu screeched and flew upwards. The eyes hidden under its disguise gleamed with fury.

"Oopsie!" Ortega called out. Maybe he'd ruined the full surprise, but he wouldn't let it sour his favorite catch phrases. "Did you just realize how outmatched you are? Nobody, and I mean nobody outclasses me when it comes to fairy types!" He pointed his staff at Mimikyu as it landed beside Cetitan. The Pokémon struggled to right itself. "If you wanna give up, now's the time!"

Mimikyu gave one more hiss and fainted. Ryme recalled it, clearly unhappy with the turn of tide.

"It's not over yet," Grusha said. More to his teammate than his opponents. But the certainty in his tone put Ortega on edge.

"Greedent, jump up and use Bullet Seed!" Arven called. "Don't let Cetitan get back in the air!"

"Let's finish with our full Fairy power!" Ortega yelled. "Moonblast, now!"

Greedent took a leap upwards and spit out a seed. Cetitan took the hit and readied for the Bounce attack again. Back and forth on each foot, building momentum. Greedent fired two more seeds. Cetitan winced but ignored them. The last two seeds fired. Cetitan's knees bent.

Then it was flooded in a blast of pink light, courtesy of Wigglytuff.

Cetitan let out a roar worthy of a dragon. But its knees buckled as it collapsed onto the stage.

The battle was over.

Arven stared at their fallen foe, his jaw slack in disbelief. "We...we did it!" he gasped.

"Well, don't sound shocked about it," Ortega said. "It ruins our image." He raised his hand. "Now act like we planned this all along."

If Arven felt put-down by Ortega's first remark, he did a 180 on the second. "Sure we did," he said and swung his own hand hard into the high-five.

This was a mistake.

A jolt of energy shocked Ortega's body, like he'd grabbed a Pikachu by the tail. The force threw him backwards. His staff spiraled off somewhere. At the same time, Arven cried out in pain, flung in the opposite direction. The two of them landed on the edges of the stage.

Then things got bad.

Ortega rolled over onto his back, his arms and face burning. Snow flurries hung suspended in midair above him. The overcast sky went from detailed and textured to a flat, pixelated grayscale. It returned to normal within moments, only for the cloud cover to crack and split. Sections vanished and reappeared like pieces popping in and out of a puzzle. And the shadows cast by those clouds went absolutely haywire.

Ortega winced and looked over the stage, where sections of dark and light flickered at a frantic pace. The fearful audience was working itself into a panic, with Ryme doing her best to keep them under control. Her clear voice, which could rapid-fire through the most tongue-twisting lyrics, caught their attention and gave them a focal point besides their fear. The people of Montenevera were in this together, she told them. They would help each other out. They could get to safety. She pointed towards the exits. Advised them to shelter inside until the strange phenomenon had passed.

The crowd began to flow in the direction she'd pointed. Well, most of the crowd at least. Penny, Juliana, and Nemona rushed onto the stage. Penny knelt beside Ortega, while Nemona ran over to Arven. "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay!" the school council president demanded.

Much to Ortega's relief, Arven gave an affirmative grunt.

"Ortie?" Penny's normally calm voice cracked. "Ortie, please say something!"

Ortega coughed. Every muscle ached worse, but it at least told Penny he was breathing. "I-I'll be all right, I think." He shakily sat up. Dizziness crashed over him, and Penny held him steady. "I wanna puke..." he muttered.

"Not on me, please," she said, then rubbed at her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Well, I'm alive at least." He flexed his fingers, his hands strangely empty. "Lost my staff, though."

"Good riddance to it!" Nemona called out. "Sorry, but that thing is a health hazard." She had Arven up on his feet, his arm over her shoulder, supporting him as they walked across the stage. No serious injuries, though Arven's hair and clothes made it look like he'd walked through a Whirlwind attack. He also appeared to be...glowing?

It was difficult to make out among the hyperactive, changing shadows, but Ortega could swear he saw a faint red aura around Arven. Then he took another look at his own hands. Something was off about them, too.

Ortega yanked one of his gloves off to see better. His hand pulsed with a faint purple glow.

"Okay, it's never done that before," he said, surprised at how calm his own voice sounded. Maybe the tranquil--or at least non-panicked--vibe Ryme instilled in the crowd was contagious.

"Let me see," Penny said. Less of a request and more of a command. Ortega dutifully held his hand out, and Penny examined it, snapping several pictures with her phone. She got a few shots of Arven as well, but within a minute, the effect faded. "How long has this been happening?" she asked Ortega. "Not the glowing. I mean your anomalies in general."

"I told you and the crew already. About four or five weeks."

Penny rolled her eyes. "How long has it been happening for real?"

"I..." Ortega slipped his glove back on in a pathetic attempt to stall. The shadows' flickering had slowed, but a persistent one flashed on and off above his head. "It's been half a year. Maybe more."

"Maybe?" Penny said.

"Give us a break," Arven said. "It's not like either of us kept a journal the first time this happened." He pulled his arm off Nemona's shoulder, determined to show he could stand on his own. His massive backpack almost pulled him down again. Nemona held out her hand and with a sigh, Arven removed his pack and handed it over. She slipped over her own shoulders like it weighed absolutely nothing.

"The first incident was right around the time of Operation Star," Ortega said. "Eighteen months ago. But then a whole year went by with nothing. I thought it was some freak event that would never happen again."

Footsteps shuffled across the stage as he spoke. The group turned to see Grusha approach, his gaze half on them and half on the exiting audience. After one last trio of flickers for good measure, the clouds and shadows returned to normal.

"You kids should get going once everyone clears out," Grusha said, even more solemn than usual. "I don't recommend staying in town." He tilted his head up at the sky. The light-and-shadow show might have ended, but it wasn't a scene the citizens of Montenevera would forget anytime soon.

"Hold on. You're saying we did this?" Juliana asked in shock.

"You're saying you didn't?" Grusha countered.

Ortega and Arven exchanged a guilty look. "Well, not on purpose," Arven said.

"I'm guessing that distinction doesn't matter much to a mob of terrified people," Grusha said. "Ryme's got them redirected for now, but there were more than a few talks about you. Frankly, the two of us are going to catch heat for not interrogating you to Alola and back."

"Riiight. Not that I'm complaining or anything," Nemona said. "But why don't you?"

Grusha kept staring at the strangely calm sky. A few flurries had started to fall again. "My career feels over, and I'm not even thirty," he said. "Some preschooler--a preschooler--holds one of the most coveted jobs in the world of Pokémon battles." He pulled down his scarf and nodded at each member of the group in turn. "You kids. Every last one of you is headed for something big. I don't mean eventually. Or when you grow up. I mean it's right around the corner. Because that's the nonsensical world I appear to be living in." He pulled his scarf back up. "If Paldea stands a chance, we don't need a bunch of adults hammering you with questions. We need you to go out there and work whatever magic seems to possess everyone younger than eighteen in this place." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball. Just a normal one, so it could have been anything, but Juliana held out her hand and received it.

"Your Beartic seems normal and healthy to me," Grusha said. "Train him up the same way you would any ice-types, and you'll have a nice ace up your sleeve if an important battle is going wrong. Caves are great. Flying Noibats, Gogoats on the peaks, ground-types all inside...plus the cool temperature makes for way better training than a desert. Just watch out for rock-type attacks, and you'll be fine. Oh, and here." He reached into his pocket and withdrew four shiny pieces of metal. Ortega startled when the gym leader pulled his hand forward and dropped two pairs of official gym badges into his palm. "You did earn them."

Ortega nodded and pocketed the badges while Juliana attached Beartic's Poké Ball to her belt. "Thanks for all the help," she said.

"Hmph," Grusha answered, waving her away as he went to direct the last of the crowd out of the area. "Man, I am way too young for this 'wise old mentor' crap."

And with those sage words, the group hurried to the back end of the stage, sneaking off the moment they were out of the crowd's view.

#

"We should call a flying taxi," Juliana insisted once they'd gotten into the mountains again. The frigid air made her shiver, but more importantly, she really didn't want to go riding a Pokémon on these slopes again.

"Two flying taxis," Ortega corrected. He motioned between himself at the front of the line and Arven at the back. "Just in case Arven and I making contact again causes the world to explode."

Nobody laughed at the joke. At least, Juliana sincerely hoped it was a joke.

"I still don't get why it's both of us," Arven said. "I mean, Mom was capable of anything when it came to her work. If you told me she accidentally washed my hair with reality-bending goo as a kid, I'd believe it."

"'Was'?" Juliana asked. She didn't recall Arven saying his mom was deceased, but then again, he barely discussed her at all.

Arven continued like he hadn't heard. "But if this is her fault, it'd only affect me, right? So why you too, Ortie?"

Penny raised an eyebrow at her fellow Team Star boss. "Does everyone call you that?"

"No. Only my treasured friends and people who know it annoys me." He narrowed his eyes at Arven, not clarifying which category he fit into. For all Juliana knew, it could be both. "What exactly do you remember about the Area Zero lab from back then?"

Arven shook his head. "I don't remember being down there as a kid at all. Why?"

Ortega pressed his lips together. He took a deep breath, clearly about to launch into sone long, involved monologue. Before he could utter a syllable, however, Penny's phone buzzed. She tapped the top of the phone to send it to voicemail, but it only rang again seconds later. With a sigh of resignation, Penny pulled the phone out of her pocket.

"I swear, every time there's about to be a backstory reveal..." she muttered as she checked the caller's ID. Juliana couldn't see the name, but she did catch sight of the profile photo--an intimidating girl with blonde hair and a loud, colorful wrestling mask.

Penny slid the button to answer. "Eri?"

"Boss!" shouted a frantic voice on the other end. Juliana startled at the volume. Granted, she was right next to Penny, but Eri sounded clear enough to be on speaker.

"What's the matter?" Penny said. "Is someone hurt?"

"No, we're fine!" Eri answered. "It's about the last titan, boss! It's...well, we don't know what happened, but--"

There was some shuffling on the other line, and another girl's voice--higher-pitched and downright adorable--shouted, "Giacomo murdered it!"

"Verily in the literal sense!" added someone right next to her.

"Shut up!" yelled a distant male voice. "I did not!"

"Slow down, all of you," said Penny.

The group of conflicting voices instantly hushed.

Penny nodded her approval, even though it was a voice-only call. "Good. Now that we're settled, tell me everything."

Chapter Text

Penny tapped the icon to switch to speaker phone. "Hang on, Momo. I'm with Juliana's friends, and I want to find a better place we can all listen."

"Right. Gotcha, B.B."

No one commented on their respective nicknames, for which Penny was grateful. She motioned the group out of the wind and over to an alcove in the mountainside. The last thing Giacomo needed was super-loud static whenever she spoke.

Everyone settled down in a circle. Well, everyone except Nemona, who couldn't seem to get comfortable with Arven's off-balance backpack. He had carried it on his own for part of the hike. But only because the group had stopped and waited for him to catch up half a dozen times. Nemona had since been reassigned to backpack-keeping duties.

Penny quickly spotted the source of Nemona's problem. A large bulge--probably some unnecessary camping gear--protruded from the pack's side. Every time Nemona leaned back, its highly asymmetrical shape would catch on something and tilt over. She gave up, took the bag off, and sat it in front of her instead.

"All right, we're settled," Penny told Giacomo. "Start talking. I've got you on speaker, so make it detailed enough for everyone to understand."

Static buzzed on Giacomo's end, but then his voice came through loud and clear. He sounded out of breath for some reason. Probably his panic from earlier. "Erm, right. Okay. Well, first off, I shifted around some of my team members. See, I've got this Glalie I trained back before Team Star got off the ground. I was still worried about using dark types back then, but Glalie is one of those Pokémon that at least looks like a Dark-type, so--"

"Maybe not that level of detail, Momo," Ortega cut in.

"Sorry," Giacomo said. "Anyway, I remembered Freeze Dry would be really good against the titan, so I brought it up to the crew. Eri and Mela were back by then. They dealt with their titan real fast."

"Ooo...kay," Penny said slowly. Wouldn't any ice move be good against the Quaking Earth titan? Why Freeze Dry, specifically?

"And we decided we should all go for it together, y'know? Anyway, we got out to the lake..."

For that matter, what about that Cacturne Momo's been training? Wouldn't it be even better?

"...and there was the titan, swimming around..."

Penny's brain clicked back into the present, and she re-processed Giacomo's words. "Wait. Lake? What lake? And how was a giant, ancient-looking Donphan swimming?"

"Donphan?" Giacomo asked. "Oh! You're thinking of the Earth-quaking guy. Wanna hear that story first? I mean, it did happen first. See, we got to the desert. Then Atticus threw a few Acid Sprays ahead of us--"

"One does not simply walk up to the Quaking Earth titan," Atticus noted.

"--and Cacturne took it out with an Energy Ball in one shot. We were waiting for you and Ortie to check in about the False Dragon, but we got nothing. So we decided to be provocative."

"Proactive!" Atticus cut in. "Mercy, but thine vocabulary suffers without regular grammar instruction."

Penny shook her head. "Hold on. So you beat the Quaking Earth titan, then you went after the False Dragon titan with Mela and Eri? And you 'literally' killed it?"

"Um...well, I'd argue the titan's more of a fish kinda thing than a dragon. And we're not sure it's dead, it just...maybe it's better if I explain."

"Please do," Penny sighed. Then she removed her shiny Eevee backpack, sat it down in the circle's center, and rested her phone on top of it. From the way Giacomo was talking, she'd be setting herself up for a nasty arm cramp if she tried to hold the phone the entire time.

#

Giacomo didn't like to brag, but he was quite the Cyclizar rider. When the rest of the team parked the two remaining Starmobiles as close to Casseroya Lake as they could, he rode up to the water's edge and surveyed the scene. It was a big responsibility being in charge when B.B. was out. He'd held the group together for a year and a half so far. But somehow he felt the extra weight of the job with B.B.'s return.

Penny, he reminded himself. It seemed right to use her name now that he actually knew it.

His Cyclizar yawned as he made his analysis. It was chilly outside, and the sky was overcast, but the winds appeared calm. The lake water was calm and gentle, the smoothness broken only by the occasional head fins of a Dratini or the splosh of a Slowpoke's tail. To the untrained eye, the crew would need a boat to cross. Or at least a spare Lapras. But Giacomo could spot patches of land among the surfacing Pokémon. Some were quite small--nothing more than an exposed rock barely big enough for a Cyclizar to land on. But if they took it carefully and his aim was steady, they'd be across with no problem.

Besides, if the worst happened and someone fell overboard, they could surely manage to scramble back out of the water, right?

"Okay, gang," he said as he raised his hand for attention. "It's tricky, but follow my lead here. Five jumps to that tiny island halfway between here and the big one. Then four more jumps to--"

Mela crossed her arms. "You do know Cyclizar can swim, right? Ow!"

Eri elbowed her. Mela rubbed her shoulder and flushed.

Giacomo stood there, still pointing at the landmarks he'd so carefully planned around, feeling like an idiot. "O-of course they can. I just didn't want to get our cool outfits soaked after Atticus worked so hard on 'em."

"Ah," said Atticus, nodding. "My greatest thanks to you, then."

With his dignity intact, Giacomo directed his Cyclizar to make the first leap. It landed perfectly, swinging out its trail for balance. They jumped again, and the group followed behind on their own Cyclizar each time.

The land marked on the map was nothing special. A nice view of the lake and lots of Tatsugiri flopping around. They all looked kind of pathetic. But this was the island in question, and they were the only Pokémon here. So logic said one of them was the mighty titan they were after. The only question was, which one?

The group split the island into quadrants, and each member set off to inspect a separate area. But even with only a fourth of the space to cover, checking every last Tatsugiri got old fast.

"Sure would be nice if one of these guys shouted 'I'm the titan!'" Eri sighed.

"Tiiitan!" called an adorable little voice behind her.

"Precisely thus, Mela," said Atticus. "Thou art quite the ventriloquist."

"Dude, that wasn't me!"

Everyone froze. Eri bolted first towards the adorable voice that wasn't Mela's, and the rest of the group soon followed. The sound had come from a larger Tsuguri, separated from the others on the island's edge. Giacomo tilted his head. Maybe in the right circumstances, he could imagine it as a strong opponent, but flopping hopelessly on the grass like this, the little guy was--

A huge Dondozo surfaced and swallowed the Tsuguri in one gulp.

Well, the little guy was lunch.

"Hey, check it out!" Mela chuckled as she pointed. "It's the food chain in action!"

"Would have rather fought the sushi with eyeballs," Giacomo muttered. But their battle had started nonetheless.

Giacomo led with his Cacturne. Eri backed him up with her Thunder-Punching Annihilape. The two put up an impressive fight, but this titan was much hardier than the quaking earth one. Their usual strike-fast-and-hard strategies wouldn't work here. The bulky fish weathered their attacks and hit back twice as hard. They wouldn't last long enough for Atticus's poison to wear the enemy down. And Mela's fire types were as good as fainted before she sent them out.

Luckily, Giacomo had Glaile up his sleeve.

Or on his belt. Same thing.

The previous damage the team had done soon became clear. Dondozo struggled to fend off Glaile's water-piercing ice attacks. Each reaction was slower, each move weaker. And in the final strike, Glaile was even able to freeze its opponent. Ice crystals covered the massive fish's scales. Its body went rigid as the frozen effect took hold.

"We did it, guys!" Giacomo stood back beamed with pride. With the titan defeated, all they had to do was wait for the Pokémon to reveal its Herba Mystica stash. It had to thaw first, of course. Once a battle ended, that usually happened within...what? Twenty seconds? A minute, at most.

Except it didn't thaw. The creature remained stiff as a board as it sunk to the bottom of the lake.

The four Team Star bosses gathered at the water's edge, staring down at it. They all waited with bated breath for some air bubbles, or water sloshes, or something to indicate there was life under the surface.

Nothing. The water remained as clear and still as a windowpane.

"Oh," Giacomo muttered. "Crap."

#

At this point in the story, Arven had gone pale. Juliana was rubbing his back, asking if he felt sick.

Penny was channeling all her willpower not to throw her phone at the icy rock face. "It sounds to me like you had a dead fish there, Momo."

"Well, Atticus thinks it could still be alive," Giacomo replied. "We didn't find its body after the lake disappeared, so maybe it snuck off--"

"What happened to the lake?" This time it was Nemona who'd spoken up. The group as a whole had been listening quietly up until now, but they apparently they drew the line at vanishing lakes.

"I told you to lead with that!" Mela snapped.

Arven bent over. Oh, shoot. He is going to be sick! Penny inched away while Juliana pulled her friend's massive backpack closer.

"Don't you have, I dunno, any stomach-soothing herbs in here?" she asked.

"No, and I'll be fine," Arven said. "Don't go through my stuff."

But Juliana had already undone the latch on the main section of the pack. The top flopped open. Whatever was causing the large bulge stuck out with a golden glimmer.

Ortega's eyes lit up. "Hey, you found my staff!"

"Heh. Yeah. Meant to show you once we got through the mountain," Arven said. He sat up wearily and rubbed the back of his head. Then he reached past Juliana, pulled the staff all the way out, and tossed it to his friend. Ortega caught it before it scraped the ground and gave it a twirl. Penny was half-surprised he didn't give it a hug as well.

"So that's why you were so slow before," Nemona said to Arven. Her tone balanced precariously between touched and disappointed. "You were going back to look for it."

"You didn't need to," Ortega added. "But...thank you."

"Eh, you don't look obnoxious enough without it," Arven said.

Penny couldn't believe she was witnessing those two get along. When they landed in Glaesedo, she feared Leafeon might need to conjure up a Grass Whistle just to keep the two boys from strangling each other. Now they were looking out for each other, exchanging unheard of phrases like "thank you."

The whole scene could have been a very sweet and sentimental moment.

Except, of course, for the fact that no one on Team Star had explained what happened to Paldea's largest inland water body.

The phone buzzed with static. "You still there, B.B?" Giacomo asked.

"Y-yeah, we're here," Penny said. "Sorry. You were saying about Casseroya Lake?"

"Uh-huh." There was a bit of shuffling on the other end, but it settled after a moment, and Giacomo continued his story.

#

While losing the titan dealt a serious blow to Giacomo's ego, what happened next dealt a blow to his sanity. The word "crap" had barely left his lips when the lake's water level plummeted. Not sucked into a whirlpool down some mystical vortex. Not pulled away with an unheard of level of telekinetic power.

The water simply got lower and lower at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed.

In seconds, the frozen titan had vanished. Along with the lake itself.

Team Star stared unblinkingly at a raised island of land, now centered in a small crater of...more land.

Mela was the first to speak. "Uh, guys, there was water here a minute ago, right?"

Everyone nodded while still staring at the space where the liquid used to be. Dense sand and a layer of scattered rocks stretched before them. The exposed lake floor looked damp with a few puddles but nothing more. The small pieces of land they'd hopped off on the way here jutted out like miniature hills. The remaining lake Pokémon seemed unperturbed by the whole event. Psyduck and Golduck floated about with their telekinetic powers, their arm movements identical to when they'd been swimming through water. Dratini and Dragonair snaked along, elegant as always. Magikarp flopped about to no avail, the same as everyone had seen them do on land before.

Giacomo had even seen one flopping itself down a walking path once, which really made him wonder why the fish bothered with water at all.

A few snow flurries fell from the overhead clouds, but otherwise, the air remained still.

"What do we do now?" Eri asked.

Mela cracked her knuckles. "Well, we've still gotta get that herbal whatever. The giant Orthworm smacked open a cave where it stashed the stuff."

"Our foe behaved likewise," Atticus said.

"Yeah," said Eri. "So it makes sense the false dragon would have a secret cave, too." She scanned the area. Unlike the other places the titans had made their homes, mountains were sparse on the island. In fact, there was only one place it made sense for the cave to be. "All right, maybe the location isn't secret," Eri said, pointing to the rocky peak in the island's center. "But the place is still closed off."

"Yeah, but we're Team Star." Mela landed a solid punch on her open palm. "We got fire power on our side."

"Enough to break through a wall of rock?" Giacomo asked.

"Sure," Mela said. "I should know. I was the one who evolved all those Charcadet for Ortie, remember?"

#

At the retelling of Mela's words, Ortega looked faint. "Hold on. You're saying you drove the Starmobiles over the floor of a lake?"

"A dried lake," Giacomo said.

"And you rammed them into a mountain?"

"Only Atticus and Eri's," Giacomo said. "We couldn't find the key to yours, and mine and Mela's were already busted by Juliana."

Penny expected Ortega to burst into a full-on tantrum at this news. He could be sensitive about his creations, after all. Instead he slumped onto the ground, buried his face in his arms, and sobbed. Nemona knelt down and rubbed his back.

"So did you get the Herba Mystica or didn't you?" Arven asked.

There was a long pause. No disconnect; she could still hear static from the occasional burst of wind against the speaker. And it sounded like the group was moving, too. "Answer the question, please, Momo."

"Sorry. Yeah, we got it all right, but, um...we might have also have left a...let's say less than positive impression on the cops that showed up to investigate the vanished lake. See, turns out some villain group in Sinnoh was in the lake-vanishing business a few years back, and when we all showed up in the middle of the thing with the Team Star logo all over our outfits and vehicles--"

"--they want to arrest us!" Mela snapped.

Ortega stopped sobbing. He lifted his head, looking horrified.

Penny couldn't even bring herself to reply.

"I facilitated our covert escape," Atticus said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "The neerdowells shant discover our location for at least a sennight."

"You ran from the police?" Penny finally got out.

"Covertly," Atticus reminded her. "We are en route to the rendezvous point. We shall reconvene there." And with that, the call ended.

"What's the..." Arven bit his lip, working extra hard not to reinterpret the unknown word as yet another food item. "Round-a-view point?"

Ortega's eyebrows rose with surprise and approval. "It's the Poco Path Lighthouse. With any luck, Vanessa will be there with the key. We should hurry over." He stood up and dusted himself off. Penny slipped on her bag. Ortega volunteered to call them some flying taxis so they didn't have to ride the whole way. Juliana agreed as long as he and Arven rode separately.

The group began to check their supplies while Arven stood there in the snow. "Hold on," he said to Ortega. "Why does your sister have a key to my place?"

Ortega took out his phone, which buzzed twice. "Because our dad's paranoid, that's wh--" His words cut off as he woke up the screen. There was some sort of text alert, but Arven couldn't make out the details. "Boss?" Ortega said shakily. He showed the phone to Penny, then finally to the group as a whole.

Arven recoiled at the image. A group of faceless Maushold had their heads thrown back, red blotches on their cheeks as if in the midst of a full-blown scream.

Each of them had the number 49 glowing across their chests.

Chapter Text

The group bolted for the lighthouse as soon as they could. Penny gave the quickest explanation for the texts she could manage--low numbers were bad, and they needed to move fast.

Nemona took the second part very seriously.

Were all of them supposed to have free access via Flying Taxi to wherever they wanted? No. Were they allowed to jump the queue and get two taxis sent their way at a moment's notice? Also no.

But when the academy's student council president insisted she had a group of stranded students who needed to be dropped off by Mesagoza's gates right this second, things got done. Penny had to hand it to Nemona--maybe she couldn't hack her way out of her own address book, but she brought her own strengths to the group. Not unlike Team Star's diverse crews.

And once the taxis had dropped them off, Nemona's Cyclizar and Juliana's Koraidon whisked the group down the road to the lighthouse within minutes. They passed a few random people trying to chat them up along the way, but the Pokémon moved so fast, the chatty pedestrians were out of view in the time it took Penny to turn her head and look behind them.

Well, at least Penny sincerely hoped they were only out of view. She couldn't stomach thinking of the alternatives.

All in all, the whole trip almost went a little too well. As everyone clambered off the bulky bike lizards, Penny soon realized there was no one standing outside the lighthouse doors. Either Atticus and the others really had been arrested or Penny and her--What are we? Traveling companions? Friends?--had arrived early. "Guess we have to wait for them," she said, shoving her hands in her sweatshirt pockets. "Nothing else to do."

"I still have to trade Porygon for Buddy," Juliana reminded her.

Penny nodded. As if she would forget she had a Porygon coming her way.

"Mom had a trading machine stashed in the back somewhere," Arven said. "Might be busted, though. Wouldn't turn on last time I tried."

"I'll make it work," Penny said confidently. "Just open the door."

Arven nodded and went digging through his massive bag for the key. He pulled out two different picnic blankets, several jars and peanut butter and wasabi, and a trio of frying pans. "It's in here somewhere..." he muttered.

Penny sighed and leaned against the lighthouse's curved, white brick wall.

"Well, now that we're right outside Mesagoza, maybe I can access the school network," Nemona said. She pulled out her Rotom phone and began tapping away at the screen.

Which naturally drew Penny's attention. "What's on the school network?" she asked, peering over Nemona's shoulder.

"Like I told Juliana earlier, I remember seeing something about Team Star in the school's records," Nemona said. "But the details are a total blank in my head." She had pulled up a list of files and sorted them by date. Quickly she scrolled past anything for the current year and slowed as she got to the files from roughly eighteen months ago. Although Penny had never seen these files before, it soon became obvious they'd been tampered with. The timestamps all had consistent intervals--a new file roughly every twelve hours. But a year and a half back, three days' worth of data was missing.

"I don't understand," Nemona said. "The records were right here. I'm sure of it."

"Weird," Penny said. She glanced over Nemona's shoulder and double-checked her work. The answer was the same. The school's records were very consistent, and the dates when Operation Star went down had been completely wiped. Penny tried searching instead for the names of the students who had led the bullying against Team Star's leaders. Again, nothing. It was like the students had never attended the school at all. She found herself and her friends in the system, but the records were minimal. Attendance and GPA data only.

"Maybe the data's been made private?" Nemona asked.

Penny shook her head. "I doubt it." True, Nemona didn't have the same level of clearance as the staff. Plenty of confidential info would be unavailable to her. But the most basic info that should have been there simply...wasn't. "It's kind of impressive, really," she added. "Whoever got rid of these did a thorough job. I don't know what info could have been in there that the school would find so interesting."

"I'm more worried about the info the school thinks they have," said Nemona.

Before Penny could ask her to elaborate, Arven triumphantly held up a small key. "Ah-ha! That's where I put it!"

"Who puts a key in an empty mayonnaise jar?" Ortega said.

Arven stood and pushed the key into the lock. "Where was I supposed to put it? Empty yogurt cups don't have lids." He pushed the door open. Ortega started to follow, but Juliana cut between the two of them. Just to be safe.

Guess it was too much to hope they'd get along all the time, Penny thought as she followed Ortega and Arven inside. Juliana was in such a rush to get to the trade, she nearly pushed Arven over in her attempts to get in.

Penny glanced over her shoulder.

Nemona didn't look ready to enter at all. Instead she faced the path they'd come down, a look of fierce determination across her face. "You guys go ahead and wait for your Team Star friends," she said. "I'm going back to school to see Director Clavell."

Ortega came up beside his boss. "Ooookay. Why?"

"Because I know he has the students' best interests at heart!" Nemona clasped her hands together. Apparently if she was going to make a speech, it had to be done the right way. Dramatic hand gestures included. "If he found out what Team Star is really like, I'm sure he'd help set the story straight with the police. And maybe he could look into why those records are gone as well."

"I don't know..." Penny said. She almost added that Clavell and the Pokémon League had plenty of reasons to think she wasn't trustworthy. But since no one had come after her for manipulating the LP accounts yet, she had to assume they didn't know. And Nemona didn't seem like the type of person she should confess to.

The class president hung her head. "I know it's sudden. I just...feel like I should be able to help more," she said. "All I've achieved so far is moving everybody around. Let me do what I'm good at here."

"By being a teacher's pet?" Penny asked.

Nemona perked up. "Exactly! Thanks for understanding! I'll catch up with you guys later!" And with that, she took off down the road.

#

Penny had the trading machine up and running within a few minutes. There wasn't that much wrong with the device. Arven had been using the platform for the Poké Balls as a place to store extra condiments, and at some point, a jar of jam had cracked and dripped into the crevasses around the power button, stopping it from being pushed all the way in. A little cleaning up, and the device was running smooth as ever.

Juliana bounced on her toes as she placed down her Porygon in the left round indent and Penny placed Buddy's ball down on the right. The machine hummed, and the screen glowed with a soft blue light. Both her and Juliana's Poké Balls quivered. The lights overhead flickered a bit, as if the machine was consuming all the energy the lab had to offer.

What's going on? Penny thought. Why on earth would it need that much pow--

The Poké Balls continued to shake, so much so that they appeared in a blurry double image of themselves.

Penny was about ready to grab both Pokémon off the platform for safety when the balls shot upwards like they'd been fired out of cannons. They blasted right through the roof of the house and into the sky. Bits of wood and debris trickled down as the balls flew into the overhead clouds.

"Oh, yeah," Arven said as he inspected the ceiling damage. "That's why Mom turned it off and stashed it away."

"Where's Buddy and Porygon?" Juliana asked in horror. Which Penny felt both lousy and relieved about. At least she wasn't the only one who thought this was insane.

"Chill out. They'll be back down in a second," Arven said. "Haven't you two ever done a trade before?"

"No!" the girls answered at the same time.

"That's how it works when you do a trade with someone who's far away," Ortega explained. "Like at a different Pokémon Center or something."

"We're not far away, though!" Penny snapped. "We're both right here!"

Arven shrugged. "Don't think the machine cares."

Penny wanted to smack both the boys until they made some sense. But sure enough, the Poké Balls floated back down to Earth a minute later with nothing more than a few colorful sparkles to show for it. Porygon's ball rested in front of Penny, while Buddy's rested in front of Juliana. Penny took the ball with shaking hands, while Juliana snatched hers up, took Buddy out, and drew him into an immediate hug. She then walked off to the corner, whispering to her Pokémon about how she'd never do another trade in her life.

With her nerves calm, Penny brought out Porygon as well. The Pokémon emerged in a burst of light with its digital 8-bit jingle of a cry. It then floated alongside Penny, full of curiosity.

Penny held her hand out. The Porygon's full body tilted forward like one of those drinking Swanna toys as it inspected Penny's palm. Warm electric energy pulse of its synthetic body. Its eye shape blinked from neutral to pleased when Penny gave it a cautious pat on the head.

Yes, this little fellow would work quite well.

"Now the real work begins," Penny said, facing Arven.

Arven swallowed hard. "Um...meaning what exactly?"

"Hmph. It should be obvious." Penny pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. The glow of the machine reflected off her lenses, which no doubt made her look like a mad scientist on the verge of a maniacal laugh.

She leaned into the image and dropped her voice to a dangerously soft tone. "Team Star dropped all its research for your wild titan chase. My crew nearly got themselves arrested for it. And unless Nemona can work miracles with Director Clavell and the League, they'll have to stay in hiding for quite some time." Her chest tightened. She'd been so wrapped up keeping her inner circle safe, she hadn't thought about what this development meant for the rest of Team Star. I need to get a message out to the lower-tier members, she thought. The guards, the grunts, everyone. Anything they've got that's associated with Team Star needs to be disposed of until this blows over. If it does blow over.

Porygon seemed to sense her distress and nuzzled her cheek, raising the hair on the back of her neck with its static.

Arven kept his eye on her, his stance growing more uneasy the longer she went without answering his question.

"I'm starting my analysis on your anomalies," Penny finally said. "Then I'm comparing it to what data I've been able to gather from Ortie. Then we're using that data to get to the bottom of this mess and save our home. Now sit."

Ortega grabbed a swivel chair from near the trading machine and plopped down, even though Penny hadn't spoken to him.

Arven hesitated--likely because Ortega had taken the most obvious sitting spot--and then backed off towards a bed in the corner. Given the fruit-and-veg pattern on the sheets, she guessed it was his bed. She grabbed an empty computer case and slid it over. Time to get to work.

#

The pastel-themed Iono Zone logo scrolled across the screen in a sparkling overlay. The livestream had been going for four hours solid--a near record.

Of course, a proper star gave her full energy until the end.

"And that about wraps things up! Whosawhatsit? You've been watching the Iono Zone's totally exclusive take on the cray-cray happenings at the Montenevera Gym! So stay subscribed, stay Iono-ized, and don't forget--your eyeballs are mine! Caught in my Electroweb! Now adios! Sayōnara! And bye-the-byesies!"

Iono gave the camera one final wink before she cut the feed. A mega sigh of relief escaped her lips as she kicked off her sparkling boots and soaked her heels in the cool snow. She'd bounced on her toes way too much this episode, and her feet were killing her. Iono didn't normally go for this current event stuff, but it was gym-related, and besides, the sky didn't go all blinky-blinky every day. What the public wanted, the public got.

"How're those cameras lookin'?" she asked the head of her equipment crew.

The woman rubbed the back of her head. "Should be okay. Had that drizzle come up and tried to take them under the Pokémon center awning to keep them dry while we did a wide shot. Rain came right through the roof, so we had to scramble for extra large umbrellas instead."

Iono nodded her approval. "You are good at thinkin' on the spot," she said. "Let's call it a night."

No one had to ask her to repeat that one. Half her crew began to take down the ring lights, mics, and all the other last-second equipment they'd had to drag in to cover the story. The other half made sure the crowd gave her some space. Not a hard job. Most of the witnesses to the weird event wanted to forget today happened and go home.

Speaking of which... Iono thought. She gazed up the hillside at her family's winter house, nestled into the mountains right between Glasedo and Montenevera. Maybe she'd stop in there for some hot cocoa before heading back to the bustle of Levincia.

She slipped back into her boots and tapped open her phone. No new messages, even though Ortie said he'd meet up with her hours ago. She'd given up on the idea that he was coming. In fact, the only reason she wasn't straight-up hacked off at him was that she'd arrived just in time to livestream the crazy sky flickers.

Wish he'd quit using my real name when he texts me, she thought, scrolling through their chat log. Anyone here coulda looked right over my shoulder, and bam! Hidden identity of the biggest streamer in Paldea exposed!

The idea alone made her shudder. When she was out in public, she didn't just play Iono. She was Iono.Thankfully, no harm had been done. This time.

She tapped out a new message: "hey, yur highness...u forget about me or what?"

Iono giggled to herself as she hit send. If there was any nickname her little brother hated her using (besides the one she'd stolen from his weirdo friends), it was a name that suggested he was a royally pampered baby. She turned the screen off, but the time still glowed on her lockscreen. She had a few hours to kill. If it was the key the lighthouse lab Ortie wanted, then he was probably down at the lighthouse now. She could roast him for ghosting her like this.

In fact, it sounded even better than a hot chocolate.

Chapter Text

Ortega knew better than to argue with the big boss of Team Star. Unfortunately Arven hadn't quite gotten that lesson yet. Penny was still using her polite voice, but it had a clipped pitch that meant her patience was wearing thin.

Arven stood beside his bed and continued laying on the dumb questions. "So, wait, what are you doing, again?"

"I told you, analysis," Penny answered. "Sit, please."

Arven looked annoyed but sat on the edge of his bed anyway. Penny settled onto the computer-case-turned-ottoman and beckoned over the Porygon she'd gotten from Juliana. The creature looked like something out of an old low-poly video game. It floated alongside her as she pulled her knees up into a typing surface. Her tablet and its attached keyboard sat cradled in her lap, and her fingers moved in a blur across it, lines of commands reflected on her glasses.

Arven locked eyes with his old friend. Then he tilted his head towards Penny like Ortega was supposed to intervene on his behalf. Ortega pretended not to notice.

Which left Arven to fend for himself. "This wasn't the deal. We agreed you could start after I got the Herba Mystica."

"Originally, yes. Then we changed the agreement." Penny glanced up from her typing. "Didn't Juliana talk to you?"

"Juliana?" Arven glanced over, but Juliana had taken a sudden, deep interest in the fuzzy orange carpet.

"O-oh, yeah," she said as she rubbed the back of her head. "I needed to convince Penny to do that gym battle with me. So I kind of said you'd let her start analyzing right away."

"Uh-huh. And how were you planning to convince me?" Arven asked.

"Um...by telling you I said this, so you'd be a pal and bail me out of a super awkward situation?"

Arven's scowl suggested she might have overestimated his sympathy. But they were so close to getting answers. Ortega couldn't let Arven's stubbornness hold them back any longer. "We have to wait for the rest of Team Star to arrive anyway," he pointed out.

"And we're pretty sure Penny is trying to save Paldea, not demolish it," Juliana said.

Arven crossed his arms and let the tense silence sit in the room a moment before he gave his answer. "Ugh...okay, okay. I'll do it."

Relief poured over Juliana's face, and she turned her attention from the carpet to Penny. "See? Not so hard," she said. "Now when can you do something about these phasing episodes? They're getting worse. Even I can tell."

Ortega wasn't exactly comfortable with hearing her say that. But he couldn't call her wrong, either. His episodes used to be weeks or even months apart. Now it felt like they were happening every other day. From what he could tell, Arven's issues were the same.

Penny nodded thoughtfully at Juliana's comment, even as she still clattered away at the keyboard. "Yeah, but is it getting worse on its own? Or is there a catalyst?"

"A what?" Arven asked. "Did you say a 'cabbage mist'?"

The group let out a collective groan.

"Y'know," Ortega said, vindicated at hearing them all as exasperated as he was. "I'm less annoyed and more impressed with how you can mishear literally anything as a culinary term. You're obsessed." He leaned over to Juliana. "I told the boss this story already, but when we were kids, he was captivated with the stacked bento boxes I brought over. Gave a full run-down every time of all the amazing subtle flavors, and the--"

Arven's face went scarlet as Koraidon's scales. "Because I was hungry, you pampered dumbass!"

The room fell silent--Penny's typing included, which was straight-up eerie.

Arven looked awkwardly around clearly not wanting to elaborate. Ortega hoped he wouldn't. Ugh! How could I be so dense? Again and again, he'd assert that he was more than a rich, spoiled brat. Then, like clockwork, he'd blurt out something to prove the opposite.

"This is why no one takes you seriously!" he could still hear Mela yelling. "You say some stupid things, you know that?"

Juliana was leaning in towards Arven so much, she was practically up in his face. Arven shifted farther down the bed. "Will you all quit looking at me like that? I told you my mom sucked as a parent."

"You didn't say she starved you!" Juliana exclaimed.

"She didn't! I mean, there was usually some kind of food in the house. Cereal or snack bars or whatever. Either Mom would bring them or she'd leave me cash to get them myself. I just hadn't quite mastered food budgeting at age six, is all."

Ortega was pretty sure Arven hadn't meant to share all that. But his words filled the heavy silence, so he continued, "The chef at Ortega's place is amazing. She'd put these delicious meals together. Usually with pretty simple ingredients so they'd travel well. And I'd keep thinking, 'it's not fair he gets to eat these all the time and I don't.' Then it dawned on me one day that if I made them myself, I could eat them all the time, too. I kept trying to pick out the flavors and discoverwhat kind of ingredients she used and how much." He glared at Ortega. "And I swear, if you don't wipe that pitying look off your face, I'll do it for you."

Now it was Ortega's turn to flush. "Y-you can't tell a story like that and then tell me not to have a pitying look!"

Juliana backed up, no doubt expecting another argument.

Penny broke the tension when she called out Espeon to sit beside her as she worked. "Drop it, both of you," she instructed without lifting her eyes from the screen. "We've got enough issues as it is. You said you can start this thing on purpose, Arven?"

"Y-yeah," he said, gripping the bed's edge. "Usually goes off when I get scared, but..." He swallowed and gave an uneasy glance around the room. "...I can make it happen easy enough."

Penny nodded but gave no further directions.

As they all waited for whatever the Team Star boss would do next, Ortega stood and stretched his arms. Juliana took a seat on the floor and drummed her fingers on her knees. "So...what feeling starts it for you?" she said.

Ortega thought this was a pretty stupid question, since Arven had just answered it. Then he realized Juliana was looking at him. His palms sweated inside his gloves. "Nothing we can tell. It's random with me. That's why studying the effect on Arven is so important."

"Oh," Juliana put a finger to her chin. "You sure it's not anger or something? Because every time I've seen it happen, you've been stomping your foot."

"What? I have not!"

Much to his embarrassment, Ortega's foot came down hard as he defended himself. And like Juliana had predicted, it phased right through the wooden floorboards. He quickly yanked it back out, and a hiss escaped his lips. Would the effect ripple through his body again? Screw up his breathing? He tensed and waited, but at least this time, the anomaly cut him some slack. His foot rested solid on the floor, and his breathing remained normal.

Only his dignity had taken a fatal hit.

"Huh. Interesting," Penny mused, staring at him over the edge of her screen. "When I'm done with Arven, I want you over here next, Ortie."

Ortega hung his head. No point in arguing. "Yes, boss."

"So what kind of analysis are you doing anyway?" Arven asked, looking thoroughly pleased that whatever Penny planned to put him through, his frienemy would have to deal with the same. "You got some sort of brain scanner on your phone?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "No. It's just that Pokémon exist." She pointed to Espeon. "And they can do things like read minds or auras or energy signatures. Some of them..." She now motioned to her new Porygon. "...can then transform those readings into data for a computer to interpret." She lowered her head and went back to typing. "I thought I'd have to run home to Galar for a Porygon, but Juliana made this much easier. Ironically without meaning to."

"Um...thanks, I think?" Juliana said.

Penny didn't reply. Maybe Ortega hadn't known her in-person for long, but he could tell the hyperfocus had set in. When the boss got absorbed in her work, nothing and no one could pull her out of it. She got up a few times, nabbing some experimental items for Arven to phase his hand into--a book, a plate, and the empty mayo jar he stashed his keys in. He succeeded with each try and was even able to float the objects around a bit before Penny told him to stop so she could recalibrate something.

"Hey, you know what would fill the time here?" Arven said after she'd gone a good ten minutes without asking him for anything. "Somebody telling me why they haven't been to this lighthouse in...what was it? Oh, right. Six years."

He didn't have to throw Ortega any knowing glares to make his meaning clear.

"I guess I did promise to explain that," Ortega said, head slumped. "But do I have to tell it with the boss and Juliana here?"

Arven shrugged. "If you don't, Juliana's going to bug me until I repeat it for her," he said. "And then she'll get the version with, like, three or four key words replaced with food items."

"Hmph, fine," Ortega huffed. He rolled the office chair a little closer to the group. He'd tell the story, but he wasn't shouting it across the room. And he was telling it to Arven. The others could listen, but this wasn't aimed at them. "Yes, it's been six years since I last visited, all right? But we didn't play in the lighthouse that day. Your mom took us to her lab by the crater."

Arven nodded. "It's a research station now. She built a much bigger lab inside the crater later on." His gaze fell to the floor. "Pretty much lived there."

"R-right. Anyway, she had this machine there. I don't know what it did, exactly. She called it some kind of prototype.Then she got a phone call and stepped outside to get better reception. Told us to wait for her." He closed his eyes, pulling back on the memories of the day. Not memories he cared to dwell on, but since he'd waited this long to give Arven an explanation, he wanted to tell it right.

#

"Will you look at this!" an energetic, eight-year-old Arven squealed, arms stretched up high. His fingertips barely reached the machine's middle. This was way bigger than anything Ortega had seen in the lighthouse--as tall as the ceiling and wide as the whole wall. The sides glittered with screens and glowing knobs and all sorts of things they absolutely should not touch.

And Arven, being Arven, wanted to try them all. "My mom made it all herself!" he gushed. "Isn't she the absolute coolest?"

"It's kind of creepy-looking," Ortega said, taking a step away. The machine made a low, rumbling hum and a tinny, high-pitched whine at the same time. He didn't like it. Every little screen had a bunch of changing numbers, and Ortega couldn't tell if they meant something good or bad. "Is she gonna be off the phone soon? I wanna go home."

"What do you think she keeps in here?" Arven said, ignoring Ortega as he pointed to a small metal door near the base of the machine. It wasn't big enough for a person--though maybe a starter-sized Pokemon would fit.

"Probably grown-up stuff." It was supposed to sound boring and forbidden so Arven would drop the topic.

Instead his eyes lit up with excitement. "You think so? Like what?"

"I dunno!" Ortega frantically brainstormed the most boring grown-up items he knew. "Junk mail? Taxes? Coffee?"

"I wanna try coffee!" Arven exclaimed and reached for the door. The handle had to be pushed in, then turned, and he struggled to move it the right way. Ortega braced for some kind of defense robot to burst out and shoot them with lasers once Arven got the door open. He didn't get why his friend was acting this way. When they played at the lighthouse, Arven talked like he hated his mom. How he wished she was cool like Ortega's parents. Those two ran a whole companytogether! Their designer clothes were everywhere! Did Ortega know they had TV commercials? Arven's mom, on the other hand, was never even home.

Ortega did think his family was awesome, and he told Arven as much, too. Anytime he got. Was that why Arven wanted to show off this scary machine? To prove his family was just as good?

For a split second, Ortega wondered--if he yelled out that his family was boring and stupid and also never home, would Arven stop?

The latch clicked, and the door flew open.

They were not attacked by robots. And there wasn't anything stored behind the door. The space inside looked like an empty mini fridge. With one big difference. Ortega was pretty sure mini fridges didn't glow. This thing's walls pulsed with light that shifted from red to purple and back again. The low hum got louder whenever the light glowed red, and the high whine did the same when the light changed to purple.

Ortega covered his ears. "It's scaring me! Close it back up!"

But Arven only stepped closer to the machine. His eyes were wide. His feet shuffled like a sleepwalker's.

"I wanna go home!" Ortega yelled.

Arven reached his hand out. His face reminded Ortega of Sleeping Beauty about to stab her finger on a giant needle. His fingertips brushed the glowing light as the low hum reached its loudest point.

Everything on the machine reacted at once. Numbers on screens raced up. Smooth lines on charts went all zig-zaggy and crazy. The light stopped pulsing, the red glow locked into place, and the strange compartment pulled Arven forward until the scarlet light swallowed up his whole arm.

Arven snapped out of his daze and burst into tears. He yelled for help, but no one came. However far his mother had wandered from the lab to take her call, it was too far to hear. His desperate eyes fell to Ortega instead.

"Help me!" he cried.

Ortega ran up and grabbed Arven's other arm. He tugged as hard as he could, but his friend barely budged. Then he remembered what he always saw characters on TV do. He moved his grip so he was holding as close to Arven's shoulder as possible. Then he braced one foot against the machine's side, pushing with his leg instead of merely pulling with his arms. This time, he could feel a bit more give from whatever force held Arven down. He sucked in a deep breath and gave one more yank with his full strength.

It worked. Arven's hand came free, and he stumbled backwards, away from the terrifying machine. But with the sudden release, Ortega was still pushing against the machine's side. His foot slipped sideways into the same space as the light shifted from red to purple. The machine screeched at such a high pitch, he thought his ears would bleed. He shoved his hands against the sides of his head and screamed for help.

The door to the lab flew open with a bang. "What are you kids doing in--"

Ortega couldn't see what happened next. A phone clattered to the floor. Strong arms reached around his chest and yanked him free. A foot kicked the door to the machine shut, and the terrifying sounds at last went quiet.

The arms around his chest gently released him and lowered him to the floor. Somewhere in the mess, his shoe had fallen off, and he could see the skin beneath his pristine white socks alight with a soft violet glow. He glanced over to Arven, passed out and laying on his stomach. The hand he'd gotten stuck inside the strange device glowed in a similar way but with a scarlet color.

Professor Sada staggered back, her breaths heavy as she took in the scene. The latch on the machine's door askew. Her son unconscious on the floor. Both the boys glowing like a pair of Volbeats.

Ortega didn't care if she was his mom or not. She was an adult, and that meant she could get him out of here. He scrambled up and threw his arms around her waist, burying his face in her worn lab coat. The fabric smelled of sweat and chemicals, but he couldn't care less.

"I-I wanna go home!" he repeated, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't make himself stop shaking. "I wanna go home."

Chapter Text

Ortega finished his story, his hands folded tightly on his lap. He was squeezing them together so hard his fingers ached. Arven hadn't said anything the whole time. When Ortega stole a glance up, Arven's eyes were wide, and his skin was clammy, like he'd been at the receiving end of a Dream Eater attack.

"Do you...remember any of that happening?" Juliana asked quietly.

Arven ran an unsteady hand through his hair. "N-not really, no. That day was such a blur afterwards." He glanced at Ortega. "I remembered you came over, but after that, I couldn't remember what parts were real. Mom never took me anywhere near the crater again. When I asked about it, she just said, 'don't be ridiculous, Arven. That's no place for a child.'"

Ortega laughed weakly. "Not a bad impression of her."

"Heh. Thanks for the non-compliment." He gripped the edge of the mattress and shook his head. "When I did remember parts of it, I thought it must have been part of a nightmare or something. Back then, I had all kinds of bad dreams about Mom's experiments. In some dreams, I lost her. In some, I lost Mabosstiff. Pretty sure my brain threw in a few apocalypses for good measure. No wonder you never wanted to come near her again. Or me."

"I still should have said why," Ortega said. "I'm sorry." He swallowed hard and waited for a reply. The seconds ticked by between them at a painfully slow speed. And no, Ortega didn't care that seconds didn't work that way.

"I mean, I'd pat you on the back and tell you all is forgiven, but..." Arven's voice trailed off. Ortega expected him to finish with some reason for why ghosting his friend after such an incident could never be fully forgiven, but then--

"...only if I had some assurance back-patting wouldn't make the lighthouse explode." Arven rubbed the back of his head. "Seriously. I get why you did it. Still not happy about it, but...we were both kids, y'know? I probably would have done the same in your shoes."

Ortega didn't even know what to say or do next. The chair felt stiff and uncomfortable, but holding onto hit also made him feel a bit more grounded. All that time holding those terrifying memories in his own head, and they were finally out to people who believed him. His parents hadn't wanted to hear a word of it back then. They had invested too much in Professor Sada's work. He shouldn't have been playing with sensitive, dangerous equipment. The glowing had faded before they arrived to get him, so maybe it was all in his imagination? And anyway, their family doctor said he was fine, so he must have been fine. No, he didn't have to see Arven again if he didn't want to. But Sada's project, without question, would remain on track.

"So, is no one going to point out what happened at the gym?" Juliana asked.

"With what?" Arven asked. "The weird sky flickers?"

Penny's eyes widened. "Oh! She means the way you two glowed afterwards." She pointed to each of them. "A violet glow, and a scarlet glow, you said?"

Ortega nodded.

Penny's hands went back to the keyboard, her fingers moving in a blur once again. "I'm finished with your analysis for now, Arven, but I need more data to compare it to. Can you, I dunno, get Ortie mad real quick?" She flashed her friend a brief look of sympathy but did not apologize.

A mischievous grin lit up Arven's face. He stood up from the bed and cracked his knuckles. "You're asking me to piss Ortie off? Oh, I bet I can manage."

#

Director Clavell sat at his high mahogany desk, his hands folded, watching Nemona with the full weight of a judge and jury wrapped into one. Which more or less summarized what school directors did when she thought about it. "I'm sorry,"Clavell said, in a confused-but-not-apologetic tone. "Repeat why you called this 'emergency meeting' with me, again?"

Rather than act intimidated, Nemona sat up straight and crossed her arms--a loose grip, one with authority, not aggression."Because I'm going to explain to you why Team Star is innocent," she declared. "And then you're going to help clear their name with the police."

Clavell lifted his eyebrows. No doubt the students rarely spoke to him this way. But Nemona didn't get her position by asking people if they would pretty please do stuff. She just told them they were doing it. Her parents might have been hands-off, but they made sure that lesson got through.

"Am I now?" The director shuffled through some papers on his desk. If he'd prepared like she'd hoped, all the evidence he had against Team Star had been copied for their discussion. "I'm not sure what you're going to say to convince me," he went on. "I'm not even sure how you know the police are involved."

Nemona held up her hand like she was answering a question in class. "Can we speed past the part where you try to hide info from me because of confidentiality or whatever? I know everything you know: The time these anomalies started, the identity of Team Star's boss..."

Clavell huffed at this. Nemona could sympathize. It sucked to think you'd discovered some big spoiler only to find out everybody else already knew it.

"...what they're accused of, all of it. And I'm really sure I can help dispel some of the--"

Her hand came down to her belt, smacking one of her Poké Balls. Nemona was first to admit, she could gesture a lot when she spoke. Her Sliggoo came out and stood in the middle of the room. It tilted its head at the director, then stuck its face through the desk, much in the same way Arven did with stuff. Nemona tried not to panic. Penny had assured her that as long as a Pokémon didn't phase through things regularly, they were fine.

So...do I call it back? Nemona wondered. Or will it phase through its ball if I try?

When peeking through desks did not intrigue Sliggoo much, it came around to the director's chair. After seeing it could also move through Clavell himself, Sliggoo puffed out its slimy antenna and let them fall to its sides of its face. It then mimed out its rendition of a Tinkaton swinging her hammer down on the director's foot. The Pokémon gave a sloppy giggle at its own cleverness.

Clavell carried on the conversation with barely an acknowledgment. "Please continue," he said. "The effect is temporary, but playful Pokémon will naturally experiment with it. And, truth be told, it's not even the oddest thing that's happened in here."

"It's not?" Nemona asked.

Sliggoo took another pretend swing, and this time instead of going through the director, it landed a blob of slime on his shoes. The Pokémon frowned and slumped down, disappointed its little game had ended.

Relieved, Nemona recalled Sliggoo and returned the ball to her belt. Curiosity ate away at her. "Pardon me for asking, but what was the oddest thing that's happened in here, Director?"

Before Clavell could answer, a student's face appeared in the window. Not behind the window and visible through the glass. Rather the face floated, disembodied, right through the windowpane and hung suspended by Clavell's desk. It looked rather like a creepy, all-too-realistic face mask--with vacant eye holes and a hint of shadows cast by invisible locks of hair.

Nemona screamed at the sight of it and pushed her back against the chair, nearly knocking herself over.

"Director?" said the face with an upbeat tone. "Kids are battling out in front of the school again. I'm watching it right now."

Clavell massaged his forehead. "Probably that," he told Nemona, then turned to the face and replied, "Tell them to disperse immediately or everyone will receive detentions."

"Gotcha," the face said and pulled itself back through the window, fading from view.

Nemona couldn't stop shaking. No amount of pleasant chatter or roll-with-it attitude could make that image okay. She would be having nightmares for months.

"Our school staircase seems to have developed a peculiar weak spot," Clavell explained. "A mere stroll through the area appears to cause no harm, but Pokémon attacks make it unstable. We had to ban battles in front of the school for that reason." He cleared his throat. "Now, back to the point at hand..."

"You're just going to ignore that?" Nemona asked, pointing a shaky finger at the window.

The director's expression darkened. "Not at all, Miss Nemona. It is incidents like the ones you've witnessed that are the cause of my concern. They are also why I cannot allow Team Star to continue on its reckless path." He sighed and shook his head, his voice full of genuine regret. "I didn't want to believe our students were capable of such villainy either, but the facts speak for themselves." He leafed through a few papers on his neatly organized desk and handed one of them over. It was a bulleted list of Team Star's supposed crimes. Half of them Nemona could explain. The other half, she didn't even know where to begin.

"Police have confiscated equipment from two of their bases," Clavell said, pulling out what Nemona could only assume was an identical printout. He cleared his throat as he read it over. "Among other things, they have records of all the strange phenomenon around Paldea--at a level of unprecedented detail. There are plans for all manner of untested and unauthorized vehicle modification. High-ranking members were witnessed running from the scene of both the Montenevera Gym and the Lake Casseroya incidents. Plus, the leader herself has engaged in multiple cyber crimes, including wire fraud, data theft, and remote invasion of students' personal devices."

"Oh."

Clavell rested the paper on his desk. "All information you already have, as you say. And wasn't your friend Juliana also injured by them when she went out to inspect one of the bases?"

"That's what I'm trying to explain!" Nemona said. "Juliana thought Team Star did something to her, but the squad leader is the one having the most issues. Juliana just stepped into the middle of an incident by mistake." She took a deep breath, regaining some of her signature confidence. "And of course they have lots of details on all these weird events. They're the ones who have been tracking them and trying to stop them."

Clavell lifted an eyebrow. "And these efforts compelled Miss Penny to commit bank fraud?"

"I..." Nemona held her finger in the air and bit her lip. "Okay, that one I don't think I can explain. Maybe she had to pay someone important a lot of money really quickly, and that was the only way to do it?"

For the first time, Clavell's confident expression cracked. His eyes darted to the corner of the desk. Not as if he saw something there. More like he was lost in his own memories, and the desk happened to be where his eyeballs landed.

Does he have an idea who she might have been paying? Nemona thought. She had to assume as much and keep going. "I'm not saying Penny did the right thing, but surely the circumstances make a difference," she pressed.

Clavell blinked and took up his unfazed, all-knowing posture again. "They would indeed. But it still does not explain the other offenses. Accessing students' phones without their permission? Wiping school records from our systems..."

"How do you know she attacked your systems?"

"Well, the documents we had about the confrontation between Team Star and another group of students--all of whom dropped out of school eighteen months ago--are all blank or missing. Nothing else was touched. One need not be a genius to put the pieces together."

So that's why I couldn't remember any details from those records, Nemona realized. The details weren't there to begin with.

"Director, I promise you Penny didn't touch your systems. When I looked up Team Star and couldn't find anything, she was as confused as the rest of us."

Again, Clavell broke eye contact. He was reconsidering. She could tell. Next she needed him to admit it. But once more, he pulled himself back to his stern, uncompromising expression. "Even if all you say is accurate, I'm afraid the situation is quite out of my hands at this point. With law enforcement involved, there are steps that must be followed..."

"I can't believe you!" Nemona slammed her hands down on the desk. Director Clavell startled backwards. It wasn't very student council worthy, but she'd had it with acting how he expected. If being the council president didn't catch his attention, maybe being a rowdy delinquent would. "Two of your students' lives are on the line! Maybe all of our lives if this keeps up! And the only thing you care about is whether or not we all stick to protocol?"

Clavell put up his hands. "Miss Nemona, what's come over you? I understand how frightening these events are, but that's why we are using every available resource to quell them. I assure you, we would never put students' lives at risk."

"You are literally doing that the longer you go after Team Star!" Nemona had never in her life felt so angry or upset at a teacher. She couldn't remember feeling this upset before, period. Penny had been pretty tight-lipped about Team Star's origins, only mentioning that she'd started the group to counter some bullying at school. If Penny and her friends had felt this way when they were being bullied, if no one believed them or paid attention...it was sort of impressive Team Star didn't become a nefarious gang bent on the academy's destruction.

"I-I do not understand," Director Clavell stammered. His stance and expression had changed. He leaned forward to hear her. Fear and worry creased his face. "Please explain, Miss Nemona. Who specifically do you feel is in danger here?"

Nemona released her breath slowly through her teeth. She could be angry that he wasn't listening before or be relieved he would listen now. She chose option two.

"Ortega, the Team Star boss you thought hurt Juliana, for one," she said.

Clavell jotted some notes on his paper. "And the other?"

"Professor Sada's son, Arven," Nemona finished. "The two of them have been disappearing more and more often. And whenever they touch each other...or touch the same thing, you get stuff like what happened to Juliana. And the Montenevera Gym."

Director Clavell was writing more and more quickly now. "The lake as well?"

"I don't know."

He flipped the paper over and continued writing on the other side. "Where are the two of them at present?"

"I..." Nemona barely managed to cut off her own words. She could only imagine how Penny would react if the director came into the lighthouse looking for her friend.

Clavell paused his writing. "My apologies. I can see why you'd be hesitant to divulge that information." He made a few more notes, this time at a more normal pace, then let the pen rest on his desk. "Please inform them, then, that their well-being--that any student's well-being--far exceeds the importance of any debt they owe, criminal or otherwise." He stood up. "This appears to be quite the tangled mess, legally speaking. But that is not my concern. If I can provide any assistance until their safety is assured, please tell me how I may do so."

Nemona nodded. It wasn't the win she was hoping for. But it was a start.

Chapter Text

"Okay," Penny said, scrolling though a mass of charts and spreadsheets that only she could comprehend. "One more time, and I should be good."

Espeon and Porygon stood by to send her Ortega's latest readings, but Arven was left a bit stranded. It wasn't that he didn't know what got Ortega annoyed. It was more that he had no concept of variety when it came to insults.

He started off strong--first with trash talk about how Team Star was full of delinquents and future crime bosses. When that stopped working, he walked around the lighthouse, picking up random objects and prompting Ortega for their names.

"And what's this again?" he asked, waving his latest find in his friend's face.

Ortega sighed. "That would be a charging cable."

"Excuse me? Did you say it's a 'champagne table'?"

Espeon and Porygon looked at each other in confusion. Penny's charts didn't so much as flicker, and Ortega remained firmly in the material plain.

"You've been pulling the same stunts over and over for twenty minutes," he sighed as he massaged his temples.

Arven frowned and dropped the cable on his bedside dresser. It plopped next to the menagerie of other items he'd been trying this with--school books, notepads, a curtain rod, a headset, three different colored highlighters, and an empty photo frame. "Okay, fine," he huffed. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. How old did you say you are again?"

"You know how old I am," Ortega said flatly. "Because we're the same age."

"Really? That can't be. You look like you're five at the oldest!"

"Not working."

"I'll give you six, maybe. No way you're a day over six."

Oretega picked up his staff and mimed bonking his friend on the head with it. "Earth to Arven! Did you forget how obsessed with appearances my parents are? I'd have been disowned by now if I lost my cool that easily."

"Aww. So the widdle baby is cute as a cupcake and cool as a cucumber?"

Orega grimaced. "That's less infuriating and more just sad."

"Hmm," Arven rubbed his chin and looked Ortega up and down. His eyebrows rose with that "new brainstorm" expression. With an impressive burst of speed and dexterity, he snatched a notepad from the dresser and tossed it at Ortega's wrist. The notepad hit its mark, forcing him to drop the staff, which Arven jumped in to catch. "Bet ruining this would piss you off."

"Oh, please," Ortega said with a roll of his eyes. "You couldn't damage that if you tried."

"You sure?" Arven asked. "When Mabosstiff is feeling better from the Herba Mystica, I'm sure he'd love a new chew toy."

Ortega's calm demeanor cracked. "You wouldn't."

"Maybe we could have Koraidon give it a test nibble first." Arven held the staff straight upwards--out of Ortega's reach, even if they weren't concerned that making physical contact would blow up the lighthouse.

Ortega stood anyway. "Atticus made that for me," he said. "Give it back."

"Nah, don't think so," Arven said. "Bring Koraidon out, would you, Juliana?"

Juliana hesitated, but at a nod from Penny, she did as Arven asked. The scarlet lizard took in its familiar surroundings, but Arven drew its attention in short order with his wave-around-a-shiny-object tactics. "Hey, Brutey! You wanna play?"

"Stop it."

"Does Brutey wanna play with this? Yeah? You gotta promise to slobber all over it. I mean, so the smell nevercomes out."

Koraidon looked confused at the whole ordeal, but it did lick its chops and give the offered new toy a sniff.

"Ugh, it's drooling!" Ortega said. "Stop!" He made a jump for the staff but came nowhere close and almost lost his balance. "Seriously, you're taking this too far. Give it back."

"Sorry, no can do," Arven chuckled. "Fate of the world and all." He lowered the staff in front of Koraidon't snout. The ride Pokémon opened its mouth wide.

"I said stop!" Ortega cried, right as the door to the lighthouse flew open. Beyond the threshold stood the four other bosses of Team Star.

Mela took a short glance over the situation--Arven holding Atticus's creation out of reach, Arven laughing while Ortega begged him to stop. Her face went about as red as her hair. "Oh, hell no!"

Arven went pale. Mela marched forward with slow deliberate steps. Eri shadowed her, cracking her knuckles the whole time. Even Penny found herself stuttering in the face of those two when they were angry.

"First we get bullied out of school," Mela said, stepping closer and raising her voice with each word, "Then we form a team to defend ourselves. Then we get bullied by the school. We try to help save it anyway, nearly get arrested for the effort, and now..." She leaned into Arven's face. "...now you think you can hide away and harass one of our own while we're gone?"

"U-um..." Penny stammered from her unassuming position on the floor. When that failed to call them to attention, Juliana pulled her off to the side for safety.

Ortega rushed forward and held up his hands. "Guys, it's okay! He was just trying to--"

"Don't worry, Ortie," Eri said, patting him on the head. "We'll take care of this."

Ortega pushed her hand away. "Ugh! I don't need you to take care of anything!" He looked to Giacomo and Atticus but didn't have much luck there, either.

"There's nothing wrong with relying on your teammates for backup," Giacomo said as he narrowed his eyes at Arven. "It's cowards like this guy who are the problem."

"Indeed," Atticus said, pulling out a kunai and holding it poised to throw. "I should gut thee right here, knave, to match thy gutless state!"

Arven backed against the wall. Sweat ran down the side of his face as he struggled not to phase. "Um, that's not a real blade, is it?"

"An apt question. Shall I test its merit?"

"Will you guys listen to me for once!" Ortega slammed his foot down and through the floor.

Espeon locked its gaze on him, its eyes alight with psychic power. Ortega pulled himself free and stumbled backwards, taking slow breaths to ground himself. The other members of Team Star froze as they watched him. When his body became solid again, Espeon dutifully touched noses with Porygon, who in turn hovered over Penny's computer, sending her the data it had collected.

"That should do it," Penny said, her confidence restored. Funny what a couple threats of violence could solve. "Thanks, you two." She nodded at Arven and Ortega before turning her attention to the rest of the team. "And, guys? Quit babying Ortie all the time. He doesn't like it."

Everyone dropped their ready-for-battle stances.

"I-I..." Mela shook her head. "Okay, I am seriously confused."

"I'll explain in a minute," Penny said. "But Arven's not a bully, all right? I think you owe him an apology." She lowered her chin to give Mela a pointed stare over the rim of her glasses. "And a delivery?"

Mela crossed her arms. She didn't make apologies easily, even less so when she didn't understand how she'd been wrong. Eri, however, took Penny at her word and motioned for Atticus to hand something over. Atticus sighed, sheathed his weapon, and retrieved a fist-sized pouch from his pocket. He walked it over to Arven and held it aloft.

"Salty. Sour. Spicy," he recited. "Three samples of Herba Mystica, as per thy request." He released the package.

Arven scrambled to catch it, and when he did, he cradled the herbs to his chest like a newly hatched Pokémon egg. "Th-thank you," he said.

Mela was still eyeing him with deep suspicion. But her tense stance eased up the longer she watched. Penny was no mind-reader, of course, but she hoped Mela saw the same thing she did: a renewed expression of hope on someone who hadn't felt hopeful in a long, long time.

#

With the four new arrivals, Arven did not have ample space inside the lighthouse to set up a picnic spot. Thankfully, the weather was nice enough, and he spread a blanket out beside the stone archway that opened to the lighthouse's ladder. The wind picked up a bit, and Skwovet came out to help prepare. It gathered several nearby rocks, placing them on the blanket's edges to weigh it down. Arven thanked the little Pokémon, and it rested on his shoulder while he eagerly set up the ingredients for Mabosstiff's miracle meal.

"I've got a good feeling about this," he said. "I think we'll do chorizo for this one. It'll blend the best with all those strong flavors. Plus, Mabostiff's a little stronger than before. I think he can chew it okay."

Skwovet chittered its agreement.

Penny stood by the doorway and noted how far the sun had gotten across the horizon since she last checked. "It's already getting dark," she said, hugging herself. Dusk and dawn could certainly be more erratic here than back in Galar, but this was bordering on near insanity. She checked the time since she'd started logging data. The sun had risen and set in the space of twenty minutes. Things were getting bad. She cringed at the thought of what numbers might come in the next time Ortega got one of his creepy, odds-of-saving-Paldea texts from the void.

Not that any of this mattered to Arven. He was in the sandwich-making zone. Not unlike her when she got involved in a good coding puzzle. His hands moved fluidly through each step of the preparation--lining up his precious ingredients, setting out Mabosstiff's "favorite" plate, slicing cleanly through a fresh roll of bread... As each task ended, he segued flawlessly into the next. If these had been steps in a dance number, Arven could put a Quaquaval to shame.

"We'll still start with the peanut butter," he told Skwovet. "But we don't need to mix wasabi in this time. Not when there's spicy herba mystica and chorizo involved."

Skwovet covered its mouth, making clear it would much rather take some sweet herbs and berries.

"No worries, you don't have to taste-test it," Arven said. He layered a generous helping of peanut butter onto the bread, wiped the butter knife clean, then went for the sausage. Instead of dropping it right away, he held the first piece aloft, muttering about the crucial factor of its starting position.

Juliana came out and stood beside Penny, followed by the Team Star crew. "Oh, you're seeing Sandwich Arven," she whispered.

Ortega nodded. "Yep, the professor's kid in his natural habitat. Don't make any sudden movements or you might scare him off." It might have been said as a tease, but Penny didn't miss the envy in Ortega's voice. There was plenty to admire when a skilled artisan set to work.

After much deliberation (either oblivious or unconcerned about his growing audience), Arven brought his hand to the left-most corner of the bread, pressing it up against the archway's stonework.

"And right...there!" he said. He released the chorizo, and it landed perfectly on the corner of the bread. Well, almost perfectly. It either got shorter in the fall or part of it phased into the stonework.

Arven reached for the next piece. As he lifted it over the bread, the plate, ingredients, and Arven himself also rose about an arm's length into the air. They hovered there as Arven placed the next piece and reached for a third. Once again, when he brought his arm up, the whole setup got a little bit higher. Penny didn't want to startle him out of his focus (mostly out of fear that he'd fall and lose the ingredients Team Star had worked so hard for), but the situation wasn't getting any better, either.

"Um..." Giacomo said, pointing.

Juliana cleared her throat.

Arven put down two more chorizo pieces before he looked around and noticed himself and the picnic floating a good six feet in the air. "Whoa! What the--?"

Skwovet, who had apparently been just as engaged as Arven, chattered in surprise and leapt from his shoulder to a support beam. It did not land on the support beam. But it didn't fall, either. It simply stood on all fours, the tip of its tail the only thing making contact with the beam at all. Its paws were grounded on nothing but air.

"O-okay, this is new," Arven said. "Also, I don't know how I get down."

Mela walked over and surveyed the scene up close. She could easily walk right under Arven's whole set up. She even gave the floating plate a test prod with her long, polished, red nails. "Yeah, dude, this ain't what a 'light meal' means," she said.

The group collectively groaned.

Skwovet chattered with worry as it tentatively lifted a single paw from the invisible plane it had found to stand on. It did not have the nerve to try anything else.

Arven tried to reassure it and reached out his hand to pat it on the head.

The moment he did so, gravity flicked back on. The dishes, utensils, and ingredients all began to plummet to the ground. Skwovet reacted with lightning speed. Using Arven's shoulder as a launch-point, it jumped forward, caught the bag of Herba Mystica in its mouth, then landed and perched on the mid-point of the ladder in the center of the room.

Arven only had time to bat away the bread-slicing knife before it could also become a hand-slicing knife. He landed on his behind with Mabosstiff's plate on his lap and a peanut-butter-laden bread slice clinging to his hair.

Mela carefully peeled it off, wincing as clumps of Arven's hair released their hold on the bread and plopped back down to the side of his face.

"Anyone got a trash bag?" she asked.

Giacomo raised his hand. "I could eat it."

The group groaned again. Atticus and Ortega both looked ill.

"What? I'm hungry!" Giacomo whined. "We haven't eaten anything all day."

With as much dignity as he could muster, Arven stood and tucked the goop of peanut-butter-coated hair behind his ear. "I've got plenty of supplies," he said. "I'll be happy to make something once I'm done with Mabosstiff's meal."

Giacomo and the others agreed this was a much better plan, and Juliana brought out some paper towels and a trash bag from inside the house.

"Why don't you let us help you this time?" Eri said while Arven wiped his hands and moved the picnic blanket away from any reality-bending building structures.

"Yeah," Mela agreed. "We might not be sandwich experts like you, but we can at least help clean up."

"If thou wouldst offer instruction, we can assist in preparation as well," Atticus added.

"You know the last thing I want is for anything to happen to Mabosstiff," Ortega said. "You and that mutt are inseparable."

Arven rolled up his grimy sleeve and rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrist. "Why do any of you want to help?" he asked. "I mean, a little while ago, you guys hated me."

"What makes you say that?" Giacomo asked, sounding genuinely perplexed.

Arven pointed to Atticus. "You aimed a knife at me, for one."

"Pure falsehood!" Atticus gasped. "I aimed a kunai at thee."

"I'm here, too, you know," Juliana mumbled, the cleaning supplies still in her arms.

Penny held out her hand, offering to take the trash. She wasn't much for jumping into things vocally, but she did want to help in her own, not-behind-a-screen way.

Mela smiled at Arven. "See? We're a team here. It's in our name and everything. Plus, everyone has had Atticus point a weapon at them at some point. It's pretty much a rite of passage with us." She patted him on the shoulder. "I don't know about the others, but I'd call you an honorary member of Team Star."

She looked to her fellow bosses, who offered a mix of wide eyes and hesitant nods.

"What?" Mela said with a shrug. "We've still got new member quotas to fill, and I call dibs."

Everyone agreed this was a very fair answer. Even when Penny pointed out that it was in no one's best interest to declare loyalty to Team Star right now, they insisted all the more. Their group would stay together, no matter what threat it faced.

Starting with their newest recruit's Pokémon.

Chapter Text

Juliana was impressed with how quickly the group worked. With everyone pitching in, Arven had Mabosstiff's sandwich ready within minutes. There was some debate if feeding him three Herba Mystica in one shot would somehow lessen their effects. But given the way Mabosstiff had been eating rather slowly--and sometimes refusing to eat at all--Arven decided the benefits outweighed the risks.

Juliana was the only one Arven allowed beside him when he stood by his bed and brought Mabosstiff out. No hard feelings to any of the others, he emphasized, but Juliana was the one his Pokémon was most familiar with now. Anyone else who wanted to be supportive (which was everyone else, really), could stand in the opposite corner of the lighthouse, away from Mabosstiff so he didn't feel overwhelmed.

There were no objections, and after some shuffling around, Arven was ready. With a deep breath, he called Mabosstiff from his Poke Ball.

The poor Pokémon was the image of exhaustion as it rested on the carpet. Arven knelt down beside his friend and stroked his deep gray fur. "Come on, bud. Eat up." He offered the sandwich, but Mabosstiff made no attempt to taste it. Juliana couldn't be sure, but the Pokémon's breathing seemed slower than the last time they met. His eyes had lost their golden luster, too.

"O-of course, he's still feeling pretty out of it," Arven said. "He's only eaten two of the herbs so far, and anyway, not like it's fair to expect every kind of Herba Mystica to have some huge effect. The effect might not even be immediate, you know?"

He inched closer and held the sandwich under Mabosstiff's big wet nose. "I bet you've got the three strongest, best herbs right here. They're gonna make you all better, I promise. Me, Juliana, and Team Star...we all did our best to get these for you." He swallowed hard. The silence in the room was painful for Juliana to wait through. She could only imagine the effect on Arven was ten times worse. Every time Mabosstiff didn't respond, Arven would blurt out whatever was on his mind, as if the silence itself was poisoning his friend.

"We're gonna play with your favorite ball as much as you want," he whispered. "Y'know? Just like we used to."

Mabosstiff weakly opened his mouth and nibbled the end of the sandwich. His muscles quivered with the effort.

"Th-that's it," Arven said encouragingly. "Keep going."

Mabosstiff continued to chew, breaths labored and movements lethargic. Juliana's chest tightened. Her mind raced with what to say if it happened. If they all stood here and witnessed the worst. If all Arven's efforts meant nothing.

"Please," Arven begged, quiet enough that only Juliana could hear him.

His voice lent Mabosstiff the smallest spark of energy. The Pokémon leaned forward and took the remaining half of the sandwich in his mouth, chewing slowly before finally swallowing. He then rested on his side again, chest rising and falling with an uncomfortable wheeze.

Arven reached into his bag and pulled out a bouncy toy shaped like a Poke Ball. With an unsteady hand, he offered it to Mabosstiff. "Please get better. That's all I want, really."

Mabosstiff gave a soft whine. His paw twitched. A golden glow enveloped his feeble body, and then...

Nothing. Mabosstiff remained with his eyes closed, his voice silent, his breathing weak.

Juliana swallowed. Maybe she was judging too quickly. Like Arven had said, the herbs might not work right away. To heal such an injury could take time, even for the Herba Mystica. But...the fact that they saw no visible progress, that Mabosstiff arguably looked worse than before...

Arven lowered his head, letting his messy hair hide his face from his audience. "Mabosstiff," he said, in a voice choked and broken. "You did your best, bud." He stroked his friend's fur with his free hand. The ball slipped from his fingers, rolling past Mabosstiff to rest at Juliana's feet.

Arven stood, his hands on his hips, and faced the corner. Juliana couldn't fathom what to do next. Her first instinct said to shoo everyone off and let Arven mourn in private. But who was she to tell them anything? Maybe Arven wantedthe company right now.

She stood perfectly still, afraid to move her foot and knock the ball away. Her focus locked on it, waiting for some cue from Arven about what to do next, how they could best make him and Mabosstiff comfortable.

Then a flicker of movement caught her attention. Sluggish and weak, but nonetheless determined. Mabosstiff had lifted his head. His eyes focused on his treasured toy. And slowly, with shaking limbs, he started to get up.

The group held a collective breath.

"A-arven," she whispered, afraid speaking any louder would somehow disrupt the herbs' healing power.

Arven didn't seem to hear her. But before she could speak again, Mabosstiff spoke for her: the gruff but gentle voice of an old friend who'd traveled long and far to spend a little more time together.

"Woof!"

Arven spun around and gasped at what he saw. Mabosstiff up and walking, however unsteadily, towards Juliana. Picking up their favorite toy in his mouth and facing Arven with a smile. As much as Juliana and Arven and Team Star had fought for those herbs, Mabosstiff was fighting harder. Of course they all knew it might not be enough. But for this moment, maybe--maybe it had.

"Bud!" Arven's legs gave out from under him. Undeterred, he crawled on hands and knees to his friend. Mabosstiff waited patiently and when Arven reached him, he dropped the ball into Arven's palm.

"Woof," he said again, stronger than before.

Arven looked at the ball in his hands and nodded. His eyes filled with tears and he threw his arms around Mabosstiff like he would never let go again. "I know! Me too, bud! Me--"

With the force of a blasting trumpet, someone in the group blew their nose. Arven went quiet, aware once again of how many people were watching him. Still hugging Mabosstiff, he lifted his head to take in everyone's reactions.

They might have been standing at a distance, but their emotions were unmistakeable. The five bosses of Team Star stood there with red eyes, tear-soaked cheeks, sniffling and sobbing with nothing held back. Juliana's face was far from dry, but these five took it to an entirely different level.

Arven gave Mabosstiff one more friendly pat on the head and sat back on his mattress. "Thought the whole point of you lot being here was emotional support," he said. "What am I supposed to do when you're crying worse than I am?"

"N-not our fault," Eri blubbered, taking care to rub her eyes without smearing her face makeup into them.

"Yeah," Giacomo said with a hiccup. "Who wouldn't cry at something like this?"

Atticus pulled down his mask and dabbed at his own damp eyes with his sleeve. "Verily, t'would be a stone-hearted wretch who could hold their tears at such a display."

Mela's eyeliner dripped in gray streaks down her cheek. "Sorry if this is awkward, but can I give you both a hug?"

"Can I bring you some tea?" Eri offered. "Or a pillow, maybe? How about some soup?"

Arven recoiled at the suggestions. "Whoa, whoa. What am I? The woobie of your collective hurt/comfort fanfiction?" When no one offered any words of contradiction, Arven backed farther away. He found the end of the bed occupied by Koraidon's snout, its chin rested on the mattress.

"And what do you want?" Arven asked.

Koraidon responded by giving him a pathetic puppy face to rival Mabosstiff's. Its goldenrod eyes shimmered. Its lower lip quivered. Arven half-expected the brute to borrow a tissue from Mela.

"I think he wants a sandwich," Juliana laughed, rubbing away the tears in her own eyes. "You did give him some those other two times we beat a titan."

Arven sighed. "That tracks, I guess. But, seriously, am I the only one who knows how to make food around here?"

No one offered any words of contradiction to that, either.

#

Juliana ultimately stepped forward and offered Team Star some sandwich pointers. At least long enough so Arven could use the shower to wash his hair. Penny and the Team Star bosses set up dual picnic blankets outside the lighthouse, with half of them preparing the food, the other half setting out flatware, and the big boss on alert for any reality ripples that might ruin their meal. Penny admitted the great outdoors weren't so great in her mind, but Atticus and Eri seemed to love it.

Arven was pleasantly surprised when he came back out--now smelling a little less like peanuts and a little more like cheap shampoo. He still had corrections to make on their picnic techniques, of course--the blanket was wrinkled right here, the tomato slicing was uneven there...and why did someone put out spoons when they were eating sandwiches? All in all, though, he couldn't hide the happiness on his face.

"Hmm..." Penny stood a bit of a distance away from the group, prodding at the empty air. "Interesting. My hand doesn't go past this point. Porygon can go through fine, but none of the wild Pokémon seem to be able to touch us."

"Yeah, picnics are weird," Arven agreed as he plopped down on Juliana's blanket between her and Giacomo. "Or at least, they're weird whenever I'm in one."

"Hey, quit taking all the credit for our crumbling reality!" Ortega teased from the opposite blanket. "This could all be my fault, too!"

Arven smiled, though it looked a tad more forced than before. He turned to Penny. "So, how are the results coming on that...whatever-ma-jig of yours?"

Penny took a seat beside Giacomo, where her own meal waited for her. "My portable system isn't as efficient as the desktop in my dorm," she explained. "It'll take some time to execute a full analysis and compile the results." She picked up the sandwich from her paper plate. "Also, I'm hungry. Food first, talk later."

"And the Big Boss has spoken!" Giacomo declared. He took a massive bite of his sandwich, and the rest of the group followed suit. Whatever awkwardness Arven had brought to the table soon faded.

Dawn had broken once again, making their cliffside view of the ocean worthy of a Paldean postcard. Sunlight caught the peaks of the gentle waves like a golden trim on a rippling curtain of blue. Paired with the buzz of friends chatting, the luscious scent of fresh bread, vegetables, and spices...it was easy to forget what a crisis they all faced.

At least until a stranger approached their picnic spot.

"Well, isn't this a cozy little set-up."

Juliana didn't even notice the young woman approach. She walked like a dancer getting on stage--silent, graceful, and deliberate. She stood about the same height as Mela with pale skin and a thin, almost bony frame. Huge sunglasses concealed her eyes, and her pink hair was done up two large, tight buns.

Oh, no. Is she with the police? Juliana thought. On second glance, probably not. The visitor wore a silky yellow tank top with black leggings--not exactly officer-appropriate attire. But who else had any reason to come out here?

"Vanessa!" Ortega exclaimed. He pushed his plate aside and stood, dusting the crumbs from his fancy jacket. "There you are! Why didn't you meet me here when I texted you?"

Vanessa frowned and removed the sunglasses. Her round pink-and-yellow eyes matched Ortega's almost perfectly. They couldn't have claimed to be unrelated if they tried. "Oh, let me think," she said, then made several exaggerated taps on her phone. She put a finger to her chin in a mock impression of the world's deepest thinker. "Ah, yes! It was because you didn't say to meet here. You said to meet at the summer house." She stepped forward and shoved the text chat inOrtega's face.

He broke immediately into a sweat. "Ah. S-so I did. Sorry about that. It was nice of you to come looking for me, though."

"It may feel less nice when I decide what to do about the fact that you ditched me. Does my busy schedule mean nothing to you?"

As Vanessa spoke, Juliana tilted her head. "I could swear I know that voice."

"Yeah, me too," Mela said. "And your face looks familiar, too. I mean, beyond you're-related-to-Ortie familiar."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, stood, and made two Vs with her fingers. When she brought them up behind one of her hair buns, it looked just like a Magnemite. She slipped into a super chipper voice and recited, "Whosawhatsit? Your eyeballs are mine, caught in my Electroweb!"

Eri's jaw went slack. Mela squealed and pointed but struggled to get any actual words out, "Th-th-that's-- Y-you-y-you're--"

"Iono?" Giacomo gasped. "The actual, real-life, Iono Zone Iono?!"

"Unless there's a clone of me walking around, yeah. But don't go shouting my stage name when I'm off camera. Got it?"

The group chimed back with a chorus of "yes" and "of course" and "whatever you say, m'lady!" They then gathered in a circle around her, ooing and ahhing and hammering her with questions about her livestream. Juliana had to admit, she felt pretty excited herself, even if she hadn't been a follower for as long as the others had. Iono had a wide fanbase not only in Paldea but in Galar as well. Even Penny looked a bit curious.

The only one who showed zero interest in chatting up Iono was Arven. Instead he sat on the blanket preparing Koraidon's sandwich from the picnic leftovers. "I'm sorry, who are you again, and why should we all care this much?"

Giacomo stared at him like he'd grown more heads than a Hydreigon. "You seriously don't know who this is?"

"I get she's Ortie's sister," Arven said with a shrug. "But I don't see why the rest of you are acting like she invented the freakin' sun."

"She did better!" Mela sighed with glittering eyes. "She invented the Iono Zone!"

To Mela's disappointment, this did not stir Arven to join them in honoring the grass blades Iono had tread upon. He called Koraidon out of its napping spot by the lighthouse. When the ride Pokémon came up to Arven with its tongue lagging, he made a show of feeding it the sandwich with his back to the star-struck Team Star.

Koraidon swallowed the sandwich whole without so much as a sniff. For a moment, it had no reaction. Then its scales flashed with a golden light. It jolted and reared up on its hind legs. A guttural cry escaped its throat.

Everyone stood protectively in front of Iono, Juliana included, but as quickly it had started, the effect faded. Koraidon settled down and shook itself off like nothing odd had happened.

"Um...is that thing okay?" Mela asked.

Juliana didn't know how to answer that, but before she could try, her ringtone interrupted them. She pulled out her phone and winced at the caller's name.

"Um...Arven?" she said, turning the screen towards him. "It's from your mom."

Arven frowned. "Hang up."

"Answer it," Penny said at the same time.

Juliana gripped the phone, lost on who to listen to. On one hand, Arven's opinion carried more weight. It was his mother, after all. On the other, Penny was the expert on Paldea's anomalies. If she thought talking to the professor would be helpful, maybe it should override Arven's wishes after all.

"Oo, did I get here in time for drama?" Iono asked eagerly. "I love drama. I vote put it through."

"No one asked you!" Ortega hissed.

With no one reaching an agreement, Penny's Porygon took matters into its own code. It floated over Juliana's phone, leaned forward, and tapped the green "answer" button with its beak. Static buzzed for a moment, but Professor Sada's voice came through clear enough:

"You children certainly have a slow approach to task completion," she said. "But I must put that aside for now. It seems Koraidon is back to its full strength. Which means you have everything you need to help me save this world."

Chapter Text

For a moment, Juliana stood stunned. She was sort of impressed with herself for not dropping the phone. "S-save the world?" she asked. "You mean, you know how?"

"I have a theory," Professor Sada began. "But we need to meet in person to be sure. Hence why your first task was to rejuvenate Koraidon."

Arven and Juliana glanced at each other in confusion. "My...task?" Juliana asked.

"I am perplexed at your slow comprehension. I thought my directions were quite clear from my phone call after your initial bout with a titan." The professor paused and recited her first conversation with Juliana verbatim, right down to the same inflection on each word: "I detect that Koraidon has regained some of its original power. It seems it will now be able to dash at high speeds while you're riding upon it. Seek out your own path, using your map and the tools you have at hand. I am relying on you to take good care of Koraidon."

"But...nothing in there was even remotely specific," Juliana said. "If anything, it was the opposite."

"I--" Sada stuttered, an odd shift from her prior confident tone. "My understanding is that people do not like to issued direct orders. But surely taking good care of Koraidon would imply bringing it back to its full power?"

Your 'understanding' of people? Juliana thought. Sada's phrasing was awkward at best. Then again, Juliana had also seen the school director dressed as a student with a hairdo bigger than his head. So there were a lot of odd things adults did that she didn't get.

"Misunderstandings aside, you ultimately got the job done," the professor continued. "I am glad I placed Koraidon in your care."

"You placed it with her?" said Arven. "Funny, I haven't you anywhere near Koraidon in years."

"Arven?" Sada's tone went soft. "That is you, isn't it? Wonderful. I have been trying to contact you for so long, because--"

"Let me guess. Because you need something?"

"Why, yes," Sada's tone brightened. "Precisely. You're the only one who can get into my lab."

Arven slapped his forehead. "I'm already at the stupid lab! Now what do you want?"

"Oh!" The call went silent for a moment. Juliana wondered if they'd lost the connection. "Oh!" Sada said again, once again with an identical inflection as the first time. "That does expedite things. Excellent. Go to the monitor, if you please. I will explain what I can." And with that, the call ended.

#

Arven did walk inside, but he dragged his feet about it. Juliana assured him they could wait longer if he wanted; his mother sounded infuriating. In fact, if Juliana hadn't been holding the phone when Sada spoke, she might have slapped herself in the forehead, too.

"It's okay," Arven assured her. "I'm actually feeling good. Gave her a piece of my mind for once." He leaned on the desk and watched his reflection in the blank monitor. "Normally I'd just let her talk, but with all you guys around, I felt...stronger, you know?"

Mela did a fist pump on hearing this. "Sweet! Wait until you punch stuff. That feels even better."

Arven did not picture himself as the punching type, so he gave her a noncommittal nod on that one. Then he leaned over and felt around the back console for the power switch. It had to be around here somewhere, but it had been ages since he'd turned the thing on himself.

Penny knelt down and pressed a prominent green button on the console's front instead.

"Uh, thanks," Arven said and straightened back up. "Y'know, if the great Professor Sada really cared about staying in touch, she'd have left directions for this thing." Penny nodded, unfazed by the sudden switch from 'my mom.' It felt freeing to use Sada's name. He had stopped calling her 'Mom' a long time ago but still fell back on 'my mom' when speaking to others. From now on, he decided, it would just be 'Sada.'

"Well, she wasn't lying about trying to contact you," Ortega said, pulling up something on his phone while the system booted up. "At least, if she's calling from Area Zero, I'm guessing these are from her." He held the phone at a safe distance but close enough for Arven to see the screen.

Arven glanced at the image of several faceless, number-covered Tandemaus. His stomach twisted with pure revulsion. "Eww, gross! Put that away!"

"I didn't take them," Ortega said, though he did as Arven asked anyway. "Penny thinks they're some sort of weird countdown--a reading of the odds that we'll save Paldea."

"Yeah? How about we quit worrying about creepy photos and actually save the place? Then the odds are, like, 1000%."

"Not how percentages work," Penny mumbled right as the monitor flickered to the life. The computer's calling app opened of its own accord and started a video feed. The grainy image showed Sada standing in a different lab, a board full of messy notes and equations behind her.

Ortega slunk back.

"There," she began. "Now that we're eye-to-eye, let me explain myself. I am currently at the deepest point of Area Zero, in the Great Crater of Paldea. I have been researching the unique Pokémon here for a very long time."

"Unique how?" Arven asked. "You mean like Koraidon?"

"I--" Sada began. "Well, Koraidon is indeed unique, but--"

"You know, Nemona told me once she thought Koraidon looked like some distant ancestor of Cyclizar," Juliana said. "Are there other Pokémon with forms like this?"

Sada diverted her gaze and made no reply.

So Penny stepped up instead. "I think there may be. While I was waiting for our data to finish compiling, I analyzed the background in those photos on Ortie's phone." She pulled out her own phone and made several swipes and taps. The video feed window shrunk slightly, making room for a screen-share from Penny's device. She brought up a series of images, mostly showing details of the floor where the creepy Tandemaus were standing. Some light and color adjustments revealed unusual shadows there--shadows of a Pokémon unlike anything they'd ever seen. Its body consisted of a trio of spheres supported by stilt-like legs with large tufts of fur on its feet.

"I can't say for sure what it is, of course," Penny said. "But it's got a vague resemblance to Magneton, don't you think?"

Arven squinted at the screen. "Oh, yeah, I could see that."

"I-it is not a Magneton," Sada said.

"Is it the ancient relative of one, then?" Juliana asked. "Or whatever Koraidon's relation to Cyclizar is?"

"That...that is a complicated question."

"It's a yes-or-no," said Penny. "Not really complicated at all."

"I-I..." Sada sounded like a looping audio file. "Why are you children talking this much?"

Arven shrugged. "Maybe because you're not talking enough. You said you'd give us answers, and so far, Penny's told us more than you."

"There are...many things I wish to tell you," Sada said, frowning. "But it was not my intention to say them all at once. I wished for you to first travel to the Zero Gate, then to each of the four research stations in Area Zero, during which time I would gradually explain the history of--"

"You do remember the world is ending, right?" Arven reminded her.

"Y-yes. Of course," Sada said. "Very well. The short version, then. The Zero Lab, where I am located, contains a time machine which summons ancient Pokémon to this place."

Arven kept his reaction as neutral as possible. Not as hard as he expected. He should have been shocked at a reveal like time travel, but somehow, with every other insane thing he'd seen, it almost felt mundane. "It is this the same machine that nearly killed me as a kid?" he asked.

Sada stared blankly at him for several moments. She didn't even blink. "You remember," she finally said. Not a question, simply a statement.

"Yeah," he said. "Ortega filled me in. Great baby-sitting job, Sada." Man, that felt good! Well, it would have felt better if she reacted to it instead of giving him a blank stare, but priorities and all.

"Your experience with the device was...unfortunate," Sada said. "So does this mean Ortega is also there with you?"

Arven glanced over to where Ortega was hiding behind everyone taller than him. Which was, well, everyone. "No."

"Why would you attempt to lie?" Sada asked.

The question set Arven on edge. There was too much conviction behind it. He wondered if she enjoyed making him uneasy like this. "How did you--?"

"I have been tracking the location of his phone, since it has been one of my few contact points," she explained. "Presumably you did not steal it. Ergo its owner is still there."

"Fine. Whatever. He's here. So what?"

"I will need both of you to come to the Zero Lab," she said. "Bring the Scarlet Book as well. Just in case."

"Why 'just in case'? And are you forgetting that Mabosstiff, Ortega, and I have all gotten seriously hurt down there?"

"Not at all. I don't suggest you come alone. In fact, I advise against it. Gather reliable allies before you venture out..." She looked over the group standing in the background. "...which it seems you have already done. I shall wait for you in the deepest part of Area Zero. And Arven?"

"Yeah?"

"No detours this time." The call ended.

It was the sort of moment that in any other group would have left the room in an uneasy silence for several minutes.

But this group had Vanessa in it. Or Iono. Or whatever it was she wanted to be called at this particular moment. Off-camera now, so 'Vanessa,' I guess.

"Um, details?" she said, turning on her brother. "You gonna tell me what happened with you two and a whoza-what-the-actual-hell time machine?"

"Hey, I didn't know it was a time machine!" Ortega snapped. Defensive but not angry. Yet.

His sister jabbed a finger at Arven. "He said it nearly killed you!"

"We don't know what it did, okay?" Ortega took a deep, all-the-calming-thoughts breath and exhaled through his teeth. "It's been having some weird effects on Arven and me. I need some air." He walked towards the door, and Vanessa followed behind.

"Yeah? What kind of weird effects?"

"Well, for example--" Ortega placed a foot outside, but instead of landing on the ground, he found himself hoisted several feet into the air. He plummeted, caught from an embarrassing landing by his Rotom phone, which floated out for him to catch. Ortega clung to it and only let go when the dirt confirmed it was okay with him stepping there.

"--things like that," he told her.

Arven made a mental note to carry his phone around more often. With no desire to snoop, he turned his back on the conversation, but not before he overheard Vanessa ask,

"How about Mom or Dad? Gonna say anything to them before you leave?"

Arven froze and glanced over his shoulder.

"Of course not," Ortega said. No hesitation.

Vanessa considered his answer, then nodded. "Yeah, I don't blame ya."

Arven's heart sunk. All those years as a kid, he wanted nothing more than for Ortega to get him. To understand how it felt to have a family that ignored him. That always put work above his safety or interests. It never occurred to him that for as oblivious as Ortega could be, Arven had been just as bad. He really didn't have a clue about Ortega's home life other than the rich and cushy part.

I wish I could go on this trip alone, he thought. What if something happens to us down there, and he never has the chance to make up with his family? He looked at everyone else in the room, who were all chatting like they planned to tag along, too. Sada had more or less told them to. What kinds of families would they leave behind if this all went to crap?

Penny inspected the charging cable from Arven's dresser and folded it into her bag. "So how long will it take to get to the Zero Gate?"

"And what kind of supplies do we need?" Giacomo added on.

Arven ran his hand through his hair, still a bit damp from the shower. "Look, I know you guys mean well, but this is some seriously dangerous stuff." They all looked at him in confusion. But that only fueled his determination. Sada had already hurt him and his friend. Maybe the whole region of Paldea, if her stupid invention was related to these weird happenings. It stopped here. Today.

Arven stood in the doorway, hands on his hips. It would have made for quite the dramatic effect with the setting sun's rays at his back, if Ortega and his sister weren't blocking most of the light. "Okay, I've decided. I'm going to Area Zero alone!"

The room was silent enough to hear a Krickitot chirp.

Mela burst into laugher. "Riiight. Sure you are."

"I-I mean it!" Arven said, his confidence deflated. "I can't let you guys put yourself at risk."

"Oh, hooray," Penny said with a sarcastic clap of her hands. "So now that we've had the backstory reveal, we get to the pointless self-sacrifice. What's next? You sneak off when we're not looking, get yourself in trouble, and then one of us gets hurt saving you?"

"Uh..." Arven sweatdropped. She'd nailed his backup plan when he'd barely started forming it.

"Sada said I have to go with you anyway," Ortega pointed out.

"And if you think Ortie's going without us, you're slower than a Slowking," said Giacomo.

Penny crossed her arms and walked up to him. "Listen, you big lunk. You act like you're the hero of this adventure, but the truth is, all of us here have our own stories. And we won't put them aside as your say so. You go after your treasure, but don't keep us from ours."

Arven stumbled back at her tone. He almost blurted out a "yes, ma'am!" but caught himself. Strange how confident she'd grown on this trip, even in the short time Arven had travelled with her.

"Fine, then!" he said. "If you insist, I won't stop you. But you have to show me you can handle yourself. Anyone who plans to come along has to have a Pokémon battle with me to see if they're really ready for Area Zero or not!"

"And why must our company prove itself to thee?" Atticus asked. Arven didn't miss the way he inspected the blade on his kunai as he spoke. "T'would be more fitting that we demand the inverse."

"Huh?"

"He thinks you should show us that you don't suck," Ortega explained. "Can't say I disagree."

"How would I do that?" Arven said.

Atticus got a devious gleam in his eyes. "Perchance a tera raid could demonstrate thy skill?"

"Nobody needs to demonstrate their skill," Penny cut in. "Although..." She rubbed her chin and looked Arven over. "Your team could use some higher-level members. A difficult Tera Raid could fill those gaps quickly."

"Or our gym leader here could test people's strengths," Juliana said jokingly. "I do still need her badge."

"Huh? Thought you had seven badges," Arven said. He wanted to kick himself. His one chance to take back control of the conversation, and he tossed it away on a badge question. Who do I think I am? Nemona?

"I do have seven badges," Juliana said. "Iono's would be the eighth."

"Why-the-what?" Vanessa asked. "I'm, like, the third easiest gym leader to beat. You even beat Tulip?"

Juliana nodded and pulled out her phone. Arven expected a snapshot of a typical trainer victory pose. Probably with Tulip looking all poised and perfect. His eyes widened when he saw the photo Juliana did have. Tulip's pose was graceful, standing on one leg like a Swanna. Or Flamigo. Or whatever flying type did that. Juliana was clearly trying to mimic the pose, but her leg had twisted around like a Tangela vine. It looked horribly painful.

"My leg didn't actually do that," Juliana assured the group. "But it was a freakish photo. I didn't show it to Tulip. I think she would have forced me to delete it for making her look so undignified."

Vanessa nodded in agreement just as an electronic chime sounded from the desktop computer. Arven walked over and tried to figure out what on the screen had changed, but it all looked the same to him: a bunch of icons and folders and labels he didn't care to understand. Penny came up beside him, but instead of pushing some magic button like before, she lifted her phone from the table.

"That was for me," she said. "If we're lucky..." She tapped open the screen, her eyes darting over lines of text. "...and we are, my data report on Arven and Ortie's energy readings is ready."

The news got everyone gathered around her like a bunch of preschoolers eager for storytime. Most of them plopped down on whatever surface happened to be available. Even Vanessa, who had no reference point for any of this, got it was important and sat beside her brother without question.

Arven shook his head. A bunch of teenagers showing this level of enthusiasm for the phrase "data report"? It had to be Paldea's strangest anomaly yet.

Chapter Text

Once again, Penny shared her device's little screen up on the desktop's monitor. "I ran dozens of comparisons on the info I gathered," she said. "None of them show anything of significance. Except this one." A graph appeared with no data other than a horizontal white line cutting straight through the middle.

Penny pointed to it. "This line in the center is a neutral energy reading. And this--" She made a few more taps, and two additional lines appeared--one red and one purple. The purple line rose and fell in a series of hills, but it always stayed above the white line on the upper half of the graph. The red line did the opposite, dipping into valleys and coming back up again, but never above the center point. In fact, the two lines were near-perfect mirror images.

"Guessing the red slumpy line is me?" Arven asked.

Penny shrugged. "Not sure 'slumpy' is a good scientific term, but sure. The farther you're getting from this center point, the more aura energy you're giving off. Whether the line goes up or down depends on the type of energy involved." She pointed to Arven's 'slumpy' line. "The downwards slope shows a surge of defensive aura energy." She then pointed to the purple line. "Upwards shows a surge of offensive, combative energy." She briefly removed her glasses to massage between her eyes. "Which might explain why these surges are tied to your emotions. Fear tends puts you on the defensive. Anger flares up when you're being aggressive."

"So, what?" Mela asked. "Sada's time machine gave these two aura superpowers or something?"

"That's the part we need the professor's help on," Penny said. "Right now all of this is certainly interesting, but it doesn't explain Paldea's problems on a larger scale."

"Does it explain them on a smaller scale?" Arven asked. His tone said he made it as a joke, but Penny jumped on the opportunity to segue.

"Well, sort of." She made a few more taps, and the center third of the graph darkened, highlighting the peaks and valleys. "When the energy reaches about this range, that's when you start causing other creatures or items to behave strangely as well." She jumped to showing a series of hasty photos she taken of each object she asked them to interact with. "I was able to get a brief aura reading off these inanimate objects, which I obviously shouldn't be able to do. It was like you left a kind of residue left on them. But after a few minutes or so, the effect faded." She closed the photos and stretched her arms over her head. "In other words, if there were only a couple odd things happening and only around you two, I could say the anomalies are caused when your emotions flare up and you interact with someone or something. But this is a pretty grand scale. You clearly haven't had contact with every single Pokémon that's gone all flickery. Or every person who gets their face stuck in a single expression. Or every--"

"We get it," Giacomo cut in. "So the only thing we can do is talk to Professor Sada."

"And hope she's open with us," Penny said. "For someone concerned with saving the world, she sure held back a lot of details on how to--"

Another ping, identical to the one that had started this whole gathering, sounded from Penny's phone.

"What was that?" Eri asked. "Did your program thingy come up with some more info?"

Penny held up one finger as she looked over whatever had popped up. Her face fell. "Unfortunately, no. I'm keeping tabs on Team Star's situation with the police, and it's...not great. They've taken over the Segin and Schedar bases, and they're searching the surrounding area for you guys. And we've still got to get to the crater." She rubbed her chin as she pulled up a map of Paldea on the monitor. "Let's see...if we approach from the Navi Squad's base, we might be able to stay under their radar, but--"

"Hold up!" Vanessa stood. Like everything she did, it was big and dramatic. Ortega almost got his hand stepped on. "What's all this now? You guys are wanted criminals?"

"Wanted innocents, more like," Eri said. "We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all." Vanessa raised an eyebrow, which Penny couldn't blame her for. Eri explained everything that had happened: going to the lake for the herbs that would cure Arven's Pokémon, accidentally freezing the titan, the lake disappearing, and finally, the police equating their group with some Team Galactic spin-off.

"Okay, Team Star, Team Galactic..." Ortega held out his hands in a more-or-less motion. "I guess I can see how they made the jump. Still sucks, though."

Vanessa listened patiently throughout Eri's explanation, but the more she heard, the redder her face got. When Ortega talked like this whole incident was some unavoidable nuisance, his sister looked ready to explode.

"Okay, that is not all-righty," she said. "Not even a Joltik's Thundershock worth of all-righty."

"Yeah, we know," Giacomo said. "But it's not like we can do anything about it."

"You can't," Vanessa said, hands on her hips like it was a magical girl pose. "But I can." She reached up to her left-side bun and yanked several large clips out of it. Her locks of thick pink hair gushed free, fluffing out into one of her huge signature ponytails. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two Poké Balls. When she tapped the button, a pair of shiny, golden Magnemites emerged with a flurry of sparkles. Vanessa undid her other bun, and each of them settled into place on top.

"Y-you've always said those are hair clips!" Mela exclaimed.

"Most times they are. Sometimes I don't have time to fix up my hair, and these two step in." She gave a wink and wagged her finger. The two Magnemites glowed with electric power, which they directed through Vanessa's hair. All the wrinkles and flyaway instantly smoothed.

"Looks like you might just get your badge after all," she said to Juliana. "Here's the dealy-o with influencin'. Ya don't just tell the people stuff. Ya make 'em ask you about stuff. So here's the set-up." She poked Juliana in the chest. "You, sweetie, are a poor struggling member of Team Star, and yer desperate to get your message to the world that your friends are innocent."

"O-okay," Juliana said.

"You know if you win a battle with me that I'll let you say a few words to the camera. So this is your one opportunity to save your whole team from a life of hidin' from the law. Can you handle it?" She leaned into Juliana's personal space, their noses less than an inch apart. "Well, can you?"

"Um, I think so?" Juliana said.

Vanessa burst into laughter and smacked Juliana on the back. "Good enough for me! Let's get this show started!"

#

Juliana was more or less dragged outside the lighthouse, where Iono--she now demanded her stage name--stood in her full gym leader attire and inspected the area for the best spot to stage a livestream. How she had fit the poofy outfit into her much-smaller travel bag was anyone's guess.

"It's at least flat enough to battle here," she mused. "We'll have to skip the gym test. Not really any good place to have it. But since it's a special episode, I think we can get away with it."

"Can you?" Ortega said with a smirk. "Sounds like neglect of your gym leader duties to me."

Iono flushed and ordered Ortega back into the lighthouse and out of view of the camera. On one hand, Juliana could see the advantage of jumping right to the battle. On the other, she had been friends with Nemona since her first day at school. And there was no way the school council president would let such neglect of Victory Road traditions go uncorrected.

"Um, maybe we should do the test?" she said. "If I'm getting a real badge, I'd feel bad for skipping it when none of the other competitors could."

Iono frowned. "Look, sweetie. I know I look like I'm a sparkling fountain of energy, but I'm running on three hours sleep for the past twenty-four hours." She directed her Rotom phone where to hover for the best shot. The sun was thankfully behind the lighthouse now; plenty of light, but none of it in anyone's face or turning them all into creepy silhouettes. "The gym test is my big streaming gig," Iono went on. "Sprinting all over the city, making a show and game on the spot, all while looking like I hardly broke a sweat? It's exhausting. I'm not up for it now, the space is horrible anyway, and I'm not giving my fans any less than the full show."

"Maybe I can get the toned-down version off-camera?" Juliana asked.

Iono gave her a death glare. Juliana had always found her on-camera persona a bit intimidating, but this was the first time she'd felt genuinely afraid of her.

"Ugh. Fine!" Iono turned back to the lighthouse. "Hey, Prince Moonblast! Get your royally spoiled self back out here!"

Her little brother peeked outside with an understandable amount of caution. "Why?"

"Because I need you for somethin'!"

After some nudging from the others, Ortega walked out and stood reluctantly beside her. The rest of Team Star watched from the doorway to see what would happen. "At least use a different nickname," he begged.

"Oh, sorry." She patted him on the head and ruffled his hair. "You wanna be Prince Stomping Tantrum?"

"Why are you like this?"

"No? Prince Growl?"

"Because you could be, y'know, a nice big sister."

"Ah-ha!" She snapped her fingers. "I've got it. Prince Leer. Because, y'know, you're defenseless right now."

Ortega groaned, which only encouraged her.

"Right. So now that we've got our second unwilling participant, let's get this over with." Iono turned to Juliana with a deadpan expression. "Sorry. I mean, let's play a little game. It's called Where in This Barren Field is Prince Leer?" She grabbed Ortega by the shoulders and yanked him back so he stood in front of her. He attempted to push her off, but her iron grip held firm. "This is Prince Leer. Can you spot him?"

A large sweatdrop formed on the back of Juliana's head. She had asked for the toned-down version, but this Iono sounded like she'd taken lack-of-enthusiasm lessons from Larry.

"I said, 'can you spot him'?" Iono repeated. "Get to searching now. Open those eyes wide like a Magnemite and stuff."

"Um...he's in front of you?"

"Wowzah," said Iono with all the speed and punch of a Slakoth reading a Terms of Service agreement. "You did it. What a cool kid. Now for a change." She reached into her pocket, fished out her large sunglasses, and put them on her brother's face. Ortega stopped trying to fight her and refocused his efforts on getting this over with as soon as possible.

"Prince Leer is once again hidin' somewheres," Iono said in her flawless deadpan. "Panic. Ack. Find him quick."

"S-still in front of you," Juliana said with a nervous laugh.

"Wow. Well done, challenger friendo," Iono droned. "There is no stopping you. You are the real deal. All righty, then. Last stage will be this place right here--the battle court. Where the battles..." She gave a massive yawn. "...they are a ragin'."

"But we haven't moved any--" Juliana began when Iono turned her brother around and gave him a push. He staggered backwards until Juliana put her hands out and helped him catch his balance.

"Can you find our Prince Leer now?" Iono asked. "Let's find out."

"He's, uh, in front of me this time," Juliana said.

"Ding-ding-ding. We have a winner. So sad this didn't go live. We could have had literally every last viewer in every corner of the earth on the edge of their seats."

"Sure," Juliana sighed. She motioned to Ortega that he could (and probably should) leave as soon as he wanted. He bolted for safety with Eri and Mela.

Once he'd left, Iono's demeanor change entirely once again. She flashed a sharp-toothed grin and twirled around. When she stopped, a Poké Ball was already poised in her hand. She snapped her fingers at her Rotom phone, which displayed a ten-second countdown to the stream going live.

"I-I thought you were exhausted," Juliana stammered.

"Oh, I am," Iono giggled. "Some days it's hard to muster up my full energy for a good gym test show." Juliana began to sweat as the countdown reached the last couple seconds. She stepped back to make sure she stood in view of the camera.

"But the battles?" Iono went on. "Oh, those get my blood pumpin' every time. I couldn't tone it down if I tried!" The countdown reached zero. Iono threw her Poké Ball, and out came Wattrel with a fearsome screech. "Hiya, everbodiiiies! It's time for an extra-bonus, extra-special, extra-super-high-stakes episode of the Iono Zone! Whosawhatit? I've got a guest here who says it's do-or-die, sink-or-swim for her in this battle, and if she can beat me, I'll give her an excluuusive chance to tell her story to all my fans!"

Juliana froze. How was she freezing up now when she got through the battle on Ryme's stage just fine? Without thinking, she grabbed the nearest Poké Ball on her belt and threw it. Beartic emerged with a roar.

"Thinkin' you'll freeze my baby outta the sky, eh?" Iono said. "We'll see about that! Now show me what ya got, friendo!"

#

Back inside the lighthouse, Ortega retreated to the kitchen. It wasn't stocked with any food, Arven said, but it did have a boiler for tea, which he took full advantage of. Watching his sister get taken down a notch was all well and good. However, in the face of a world-saving journey into a forbidden crater with an actual, real-life time machine, he figured he'd better take the time to relax.

The others kept their eyes on the battle. While Iono did her jazzy intro, Atticus asked Ortega what he knew of Juliana's current style, since he'd been the only one besides Mela to face her. Ortega gladly filled him in. Twice, actually, because the first time he explained what Juliana could do, Atticus didn't believe him.

"Am I to understand," he asked after the second run-through. "That Juliana possesses a Beartic whose Sheer Cold hits with infallible accuracy?"

Ortega nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"Harsh," said Mela, her eyes on the match with her ears on the gossip. "Is anyone gonna tell Iono about it?"

Before Ortega could reply, a loud blast was heard outside, and the air inside the lighthouse felt a touch cooler.

"Again?" Iono cried. "Nande? ¿Por qué? Pochemu? And WHY?"

Ortega smiled and set his mug down. "Oh, I think she'll figure it out."

The group nodded and moved forward to get a closer look at the excitement, keeping themselves just barely out of the camera's view. Ortega set the mug down and noticed the whole lighthouse interior had been left empty. And since Arven wasn't the least bit interested in watching Iono's battles...

Ortega glanced up at the ceiling. It had been a while, but if memory served, he knew exactly where Arven had gone.

#

Climbing the ladder to the upper floor of the lighthouse felt like crawling into the past. Ortega couldn't count the number of times he and Arven had come up here. They weren't supposed to. But if he had a Poké Coin for every time they did something Sada said not to, Arven could open his own restaurant.

Should have listened to her that one time, at least, he thought as he reached the top and pulled himself up. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.

He stepped out into the empty, circular room. There was still one more level above them, but this was the space the boys liked to hide out. A small window opened to the seaside and as Ortega had predicted, Arven sat beside it, legs hugged to his chest. His backpack sat beside him, extra-stuffed with supplies.

And behind him, in the middle of the floor, sat a Poké Ball.

Ortega cocked his head at it. "Um, did you drop that?"

"Hmm?" Arven turned and looked at where Ortega was pointing. "Oh. Nah, that was here when I climbed up. Looks like it's fake, though." He held up his phone. "Apparently Brassius is doing some new art project? It's called 'Pokémon at Our Cores'. He traveled around Paldea, entered random rooms in a bunch of public buildings, and cemented these clay Poké Balls to the middle of the floor." He scrolled a little farther. "Caused some complaints when it came out that some of the buildings were less public than others. Also, Pokémon have been known to stand over the balls, trying to figure out how to get in."

"Yeesh," Ortega said.

"Yeah," Arven agreed. "Brassius's official statement is that it's a compliment to his artistic skill. Even more fun, the guy is supposed to be a guest lecturer at the academy next semester."

Ortega sat on the floor next to Arven's bag, keeping it between them. "You sure we want to rescue all of Paldea? Maybe we can let the school go down and save the rest?"

Arven smiled but didn't laugh. For a long while, he stared out the window at the setting sun over the ocean. "I think it's my fault," he said out of the blue. "All of this."

"You think everything is your fault," Ortega muttered, also hugging his legs. He almost added a snarky "most times you're right" to lighten the mood, but it didn't feel like the joke would land.

"I'm serious," Arven said. "You heard what Penny said about the effect rubbing off on stuff? The places having the most problems are places I've been to the most." He buried his face in his folded arms.

"Quit whining," Ortega said. Mostly because he didn't know what else to say.

Arven didn't lift his head. Then his body started to flicker. It was subtle, probably nothing anyone would have noticed in the center of the dimly lit room. But in front of the sunlit window, it was more than clear.

Ortega rubbed his arm and for once, tried a softer approach. He reached out to pat Arven's shoulder, then remembered that was legitimately dangerous and rested it on Arven's bag instead. He was about to say something encouraging and sentimental about how they might not have chosen their pasts, but they could still choose their futures...

...then the bag started to glow. Not red or purple, but a sort of deep, mellow magenta. Arven jerked his head up and instinctively backed away from the bag. The glow effect stopped. Ortega felt a bit tired; like he'd sprinted through a hallway so as not to be late for class.

But stranger still, Arven had stopped flickering. He looked down at his hand. "I-I don't know what you did there, but I think it helped," he said.

"Touched the same thing you did, apparently," Ortega said, checking his own hand to make sure he wasn't phasing now. He wasn't. "Guess it doesn't blow stuff up when we're both close to calm?"

"Yeah," Arven said. "Guess so." He gazed back out the window. His posture didn't scream happiness or anything, but some of the tension had faded. He even cracked a small smile. "Who knows? Maybe if we do it right, our two messed-up foie gras can balance each other out."

"Wait. Our messed-up...what?" Ortega asked.

"Foie gras," Arven said matter-of-factly. "Y'know. Those energy waves Penny was talking about."

"Oh. Those." Ortega started to correct him, but then shook his head and smirked. "Yeah. I think maybe they can."

Chapter Text

"...a-and that's the story of how Team Star was formed! Thank you for listening!" Juliana bowed to the camera as she finished up her spur-of-the-moment monologue. Which was probably more formal and uptight than the Iono Zone's usual vibe. She couldn't help it. Her whole body was a bundle of nerves. She also felt more than a little guilty as she stood over Iono's team. Every last member was frozen in a block of ice. And without her film crew, Iono had to tend to her Pokémon and keep the steam going at the same time.

"Wow! That's quite a story, friend-o!" she said, waving to the camera as she emptied a revive onto her Wattrel. The bird Pokémon shook itself back to consciousness and surveyed its surroundings with its wide, round eyes. Which, Iono assured her, were perfectly normal eyes for a Wattrel and not the result of any reality-bending shenanigans.

"Thanks--" Juliana began, only to be interrupted by Iono's dramatic gasp.

"But what's up with the news about Team Star being chased by the police?" she asked as she handed three more revives to Wattrel. Her Pokémon dutifully flapped around and emptied one over each of its fallen teammates. "I mean, all the weird stuff in Montenevera's sky--linkie here for my vid on that, Electroweb eyeballers--I heard Team Star is suspected of causing it! Are you saying that's--" She gasped again. "--untrue?"

"Y-yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," Juliana said with a nervous laugh. "Team Star's been investigating all these weird events, and that's why the squad bosses have been seen at them. But, you know, I leaned something very valuable in school about how you can't assume causation from correlation..."

Okay, that one actually came from her mom, not the school. Because when someone told a twelve-year-old they could either attend class or travel freely across the countryside searching for their own personal definition of a treasure...well, the consequences were self-explanatory. Hmm, maybe the teachers should start bribing the students with special rewards for attending multiple classes.

Nevertheless, a little lie and a dash of flattery here could win some of the teachers over to their side. "In fact, I've grown so much at Naranja Academy," Juliana went on. "And I know none of the staff would ever want to see students wrongfully accused of something so horrible. I'm sure if Team Star has reassurance that they--erm, we won't be blamed for crimes we didn't commit, the team bosses will be glad to share any information they can to help solve this mystery." She stood tall and confident. That didn't sound half bad.

Of course, it helped to have an Internet celebrity at her side, nodding and agreeing with whatever she said.

With monologues and flattery complete, Iono signaled Rotom to rotate towards her. Juliana glanced at the preview image on Rotom's screen--she was out of the frame now, and Iono had a picturesque shot of the field behind her with a sliver of the lighthouse in view. "Iono here! Whozawhat-should-you-do-now? I'll tell ya! All you Team Star members and fans out there! Don't stay inside bein' quiet! Get out there and spread the word! Stage some protests and stuff! Make sure everyone in Paldea knows that Team Star is the bestest best crew out there!"

Juliana sweatdropped. She wasn't sure what she expected Iono to tell everyone, but this might be a tad over the top. Then movement caught the corner of Juliana's vision. She glanced back to the lighthouse itself, where Penny waved frantically from the entrance. When she saw she had Juliana's attention, she shook her head and made a nix-it motion, moving four fingers across her throat.

Giacomo mouthed with wide exaggerated movements, "Cut. The. Feed!"

"Oh, gosh! Can you believe the time?" Juliana said, jumping back into view beside Iono. "We've really gotta go! Get to our own protests and whatnot. Right?"

"Sure, sure, friend-o!" Iono said. "And remember, watchers, your eyeballs are mine! Caught in my Electroweb! Bye-the-bysies!" With a final wink, she signaled for her Rotom to end the stream.

The instant the screen went dark, Iono whirled on Juliana. "Never," she said, eyes blazing, "--and I mean ever, tell me when to end my own stream, understand?"

Juliana slunk back and pointed a shaking hand at Penny, who sprinted up with the rest of Team Star in tow. Arven followed behind as best he could with his giant bag.

"We were...all watching the feed from inside," Penny said, leaning over and gasping for air. "You got the lighthouse in the last shot."

"Sure did," Iono said, beaming. "Looked pretty nice, too."

"Nice!? It showed exactly where we are!" Penny snapped.

Iono rolled her eyes. "You weren't in the shot. I made sure. Trust me, the police are no wiser than they were before the stream."

"I'm worried about more than the police," Penny said. "Your fans all know where you are! And you got them all worked up. This place in going to get swarmed!"

The bosses behind her exchanged worried glances. Juliana could tell Eri and Mela were especially upset. They idolized Iono, and now her carelessness might have landed them all in a lot more trouble.

"Huh." Iono crossed her arms and scrunched up her face in an exaggerated thinking-hard expression. "Huh. You don't say."

"Uh-oh," said Ortega. "Incoming sarcasm flood."

Iono inhaled a sharp breath. "Well, golly-gee, friend-o Penny! Even though this is literally my whole job, I gotta say, it never, ever in a bazillion years occurred to me that announcing where I am with a big ol' call to action might summon a mass of fans!"

"Y-you...you did it on purpose?" Penny asked.

"Yeah. Obvs I did." Iono's face softened, and her tone quieted down. "You knuckleheads need a diversion so ya can get to that crater, right? I just delivered ya the motherlode. So take it and get your butts moving." She turned to the Team Star bosses and said with all the sugary warmth of a Fidough, "And you guys? I swear if you don't bring my lil' Prince Leer back home in one piece, I will have my fanbase rip you limb from limb and feed your remains to my Mismagius."

Eri clasped her hands together. "Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Give me one more cutsie royal nickname, and I'll tell Mom and Dad what your actual day job is," said Ortega.

"Ugh. A fate worse than death." Iono shuddered and then held out her hands. "Get in here, you."

Ortega stepped into his sister's hug and wrapped his arms around her. Even when her tight squeeze buried half his face in her poofy yellow jacket, he only tightened his grip. The rest of the group stepped back to give them some space. Atticus dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve in much the same way he had when Mabosttiff regained its health. Even Arven's eyes had a misty look.

As an only child, Juliana would admit some confusion over the sudden change in tone. But she took it as an education opportunity. Yes, exchanging threats of murder must be how healthy siblings told each other, "You mean everything to me" and "My world would not be all-righty without you."

#

Penny still wasn't thrilled with how the Iono Zone's latest episode put them all in a time crunch. But she had to admit, she was impressed. Ortega's sister wasn't nearly as single-minded or self-important as she played online. And she wielded that misconception to her serious advantage. If anything, Penny might do well to take notes.

For now, though, she focused on packing up all the supplies they would need and getting the group moving towards the Great Crater of Paldea. Atticus took the lead, guiding the group off the trail as early as possible and calling on his Skuntank to Mud-slap away their tracks.

"Mine comrades and I developed several discreet passages to ease travel between our stronghold and our fellows'," he whispered when they'd ventured into the sparse woods that lay northeast of the lighthouse. "Once we have traversed the South Province river, I can guide our company beneath the blockade's gaze."

"Aren't we taking the long way around to reach the crater?" Juliana asked as a branch brushed near her eye. She winced and batted it away.

"Verily so," Atticus agreed. "Our big boss hath instructed me to prioritize stealth over haste. Ergo, I shall continue thus."

"My feet are killing me thus," Mela hissed up ahead. She attempted to step over a tree root, but in rotating her hips, she almost fell flat on her face. Eri rushed up and caught her by the arm. It was her fifth save since they'd entered the woods. Penny bit her lip. It was true she preferred caution to speed. But at this rate, they'd be lucky to make it to the crater at all. They were also taking a huge risk by assuming the crater had multiple entrance points. Arven distinctly remembered a lot of teleportation pads built into the stations throughout the crater. Hopefully some of them extended to the crater's border, too.

"Let's take a short break," Penny said, to which Mela gave a huge sigh of relief. She plopped herself down against a tree and peeled her boots off. Her toes wiggled as her feet soaked in the refreshing open air.

"I...may perchance regret a handful of my previous design choices," Atticus said.

"You didn't know we'd have to hike around the Great Crater of Paldea in them," Arven said, setting his pack down beside Mela. He opened the top flap and began rooting through the contents. Various items clanged and clunked together, and after a few minutes, Arven withdrew his hand and shook his head. "Sorry. Got a lot of supplies, but extra footwear isn't one of them. Best I can do is a picnic blanket."

Atticus's eyes lit up at this, and he hurried over to inspect Arven's pack.

The rest of the group also began to settle down, and Penny decided she might as well use the time to check her messages. In the interest of not drawing attention to themselves, she had done the nearly unthinkable and put her phone in airplane mode once they left the lighthouse. Not even a flashing screen or a vibration. She eagerly switched it back on, keeping the screen dim and the sound muted.

Once she got a signal, the phone altered her that she had...

"Twenty-seven missed calls?" she said. That got a few heads turning her way. She scrolled through the recent activity list to find that all of the calls had come from one person. "What is Nemona pinging my phone like this for?" she said. "Did the world end and we missed it, or--" Before she could finish, the screen changed to show yet another incoming call. Penny tapped the answer button.

"You guys!" Nemona squealed for all to hear. Penny double-checked to make sure the speaker phone was off. It was. Nemona had a very...powerful voice.

Penny held the phone a healthy distance away. Nemona added video to the call, which was not at all Penny's thing. It seemed to energize her friends, though. Juliana sat down to listen in, as did Giacomo and Ortega.

"Good to hear from you," Juliana said, leaning towards the speaker. "How did it go with Director Clavell?"

"Really well. He's basically on our side now, but that's not why I'm calling!" Nemona replied.

Penny braced herself to hear the worst. The school had collapsed. Half the population had vanished. Wifi was down.

Instead, Nemona squealed again like a kid at a birthday party. "I saw you on the Iono Zone! You were amazing! And you got to hang out with Iono, too? Super amazing!"

Penny sweatdropped. In different circumstances, she might have been just as enthusiastic. But then, maybe the end of the world was exactly the time to nerd out with no remorse.

"Yeah," Juliana agreed. "Got my last badge from her, too!"

"¿En serio? That's great!" Nemona said. "We've been swamped trying to track down whoever got into these school records. It's a real head-scratcher."

"Ah," Ortega piped up. "I bet Mr. Harrington could help you pin down the culprit. He used to be the school director. Actually..." He leaned forward on his staff, determined not to lose it again. "...we need to get in contact with him anyway. He still has my Dachsbun, and I could really use it back."

"You harass me all the time about my cooking obsession, but you have a Pokémon that looks like food?" Arven muttered.

"Maybe we can set up a conference call here?" Nemona said. She then turned and called over her shoulder, "We can do that, right, Director?"

Clavell, half buried in papers, mumbled something that sounded vaguely affirmative.

"Actually, we need to get moving," Penny said. "We're en route to the Zero Gate, but we're not sure how much police presense is around."

Nemona nodded. "Understood. If you can't make it all the way there, maybe you can get to the Elite Four building? I know I shortcut from there we can use."

"A shortcut?" Penny was pretty skeptical on that point. The Pokémon League hadn't taken any official stance against Team Star, but she couldn't imagine them being friendly after learning who hacked them. Nemona's suggestion was like telling a Mareep to hide in a Pyroar's den.

Then again, Penny had underestimated the Levencia gym leader, so maybe she should take a lesson from that and trust Nemona here. Then again again, if Nemona was wrong...

"...and done!" Atticus declared. Penny startled and looked over. She had almost forgotten Mela's footware issue. Atticus's white sandals were gone, replaced with layered strips of cloth in a cute Deerling-and-Petil pattern. Mela, whose feet were slightly smaller than his, had the same fabric wrapped around her own feet, with small loops going over the sandals' straps to hold them more firmly in place.

"Oh, that is so much better!" she said as she took a few practice steps. "Thanks, you two!"

Arven sadly repacked the shredded remains of his picnic blanket. "Glad I could help," he sighed.

Penny brought the phone to her ear. "We'll aim for Zero Gate like we planned," she said. "But if we get in a tight spot, we'll switch directions to the Elite Four building. Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Nemona said. "I'll get Clavell in touch with Mr. Harrington and meet you there. See you then!" And with that, she hung up.

Penny sighed and pocketed her phone. She turned to tell the group their break time was over, but everyone was already poised to leave. Penny smiled and asked Atticus to lead the way once again.

In a few more minutes, they had neared the edge of the forest. Once they made their exit, it was vital to move quickly towards the river, Atticus explained, as there would be little cover in between.

Giacomo examined the path ahead. "There's some brush we could clear for a straighter path," he said. "Hit the ground running, y'know?" He readied what Penny assumed was his Bisharp's Poké Ball, but Juliana stepped up and released her Tinkaton instead. Giacomo looked a bit disappointed but waved at the two of them to go ahead.

Tinkaton clearly needed the release, and at Juliana's direction, she swung her massive hammer through the layers of vines and bramble like they were nothing. The path was cleared in seconds, and Tinkaton giggled and hurried on towards the sun-lit field now in view.

"Hold up! Don't get too far ahead," Juliana called in a hushed tone. She bolted after it, followed closely by Arven. Penny sighed and tagged after them, instructing the rest of her team to stay hidden until they could be sure the coast was clear.

Tinkaton was fast, Penny would give it credit there. It reached the field within seconds and showed no sign of slowing down. Penny sucked in a breath and sprinted forward, the ears and tail of her Eevee-themed backpack flapping wildly.

All at once, the ground trembled. Several flashes of blue light illuminated the trees around her, like lightning signaling the start of a massive downpour. Is it a storm? she thought. If so, it's got to be a huge one!

But once Penny stepped out of the trees, she found the weather outside to be perfectly sunny. She glanced behind them. Clear weather inside the forest, too, much to her relief. The flashes had stopped, and the ground was still. So...what had just happened?

Up ahead, Tinkaton gave a roar of frustration. Juliana gasped. Penny whirled back around to see the poor Pokémon embedded in the ground up to its waist. Its signature hammer was half-buried behind it, and little Tinkaton was not happy.

It waved its arms and bellowed at full volume, building up such a fury, Penny suspected it was trying to break itself out through sheer decibels. Arven covered his ears. His arms flickered as he worked himself into a panic. They were going to be found, he moaned. No one was getting to Zero Gate. No one would save their home. He would disappear first, and then Ortega would be next, and then anyone who didn't disappear would be skewered live on the next Iono Zone.

Juliana did everything she could to calm Tinkaton down, assuring it they would find a way to free it soon, just please-oh-please don't make so much noise. Then she looked past Tinkaton into the distance. Her face fell. Her posture stiffened. It didn't take any of Penny's genius to assess why.

A line of uniformed figures gathered by the riverbank up ahead. And two individuals were now moving towards them.

Chapter Text

We're caught. We're caught. We are so caught.

Lines of sweat ran down Penny's back. But the closer the two figures got, the more her fears eased. The figure on the left was much younger than he seemed from a distance--a teenager himself. He must be some kind of trainee. Or maybe the uniformed woman walking beside him was his mother, and this was one of those take your kid-and/or-Pokémon-to-work kinds of days.

If so, the kid was taking it with the utmost seriousness. His clothing looked normal enough at first--a white visor, baggy white shorts, and a blue half-zip jacket with short sleeves. But all of it went over what appeared to be a black cyber suit with electric blue highlights. His hair was wild, standing out in all directions, yet never obscuring his features. It was like he was role-playing at "regular kid."

His expression remained stone-faced as he walked up to the group. "Your Pokémon appears to be in distress," he said in a commanding presense that made everyone turn his way and listen. Even Tinkaton stopped its howling to watch him.

"U-um, yes," Juliana squeaked.

The kid motioned to the woman beside him. "I believe your Excadrill can handle this."

"Yes, sir!" the woman said. She called out the Pokémon in question, a familiar mammalian creature Penny hadn't seen since she was last home in Galar. The blades protecting its head gleamed in the sunlight.

"You call him 'sir'?" Arven asked skeptically.

The other officer straightened to attention. "Indeed. This young man is my superior, Codename Arrester, an S-ranked member of the International Police tasked with rounding up the final remnants of the notorious Team Plasma."

Seriously? Penny began to sweat again.

Arrester nodded. "Word is a local gang known as 'Team Star' may be collaborating with them. Heard anything about it?"

"Uh..." Penny was completely flustered, but thankfully Excadrill provided the perfect distraction. With a fierce roar, it aimed its blades at the ground near where Tinkaton was stuck. The fairy-type made a nervous gurgle as Excadrill spun itself like a top. Within seconds, it dug a circular trench around Tinkaton, churning up the earth and spraying dirt everywhere. At first, Tinkaton sunk even lower. But then, to everyone's surprise, she was able to walk forward, right through the dirt mounds like Arven or Ortega might when their strange abilities acted up.

Arrester glanced at his phone and stepped away for a moment, bringing it up to his ear.

Now free of the ground, Tinkaton gave her hammer a practice swing, showing herself to be back to normal. The adult officer thanked her Excadrill and called it back into its Poké Ball.

Arrester lowered his phone but kept his gaze on it. His fingers moved almost as fast as Penny's, tapping and sliding windows across the screen as he returned to the group. "Mark this area as volatile and keep civilians away from it," he instructed his apparent underling. "We've got a lead. And a bit of a situation. Some Paldean celebrity is a Team Star sympathizer. There's a mob of followers staging protests by the lighthouse."

"Sir!" she said and took off at a run towards the rest of the officers in the distance.

Arrester glanced up at Arven. "I take it you three were traveling through here to reach the tera raid?" he asked, pointing back the way they had come.

The trio turned and sure enough, up a short hill to the right of the forest sat a sparkling amber-colored crystal.

"Oh! I mean--yep!" Arven said. Way too loud and forced. "One hundred percent. That crystal right there you're pointing to? That is the exact spot we were trying to find. Our map confused us, you see, but now you've unconfused us, and we're super-grateful for it!"

Penny winced. There was no way any sensible person would buy Arven's story.

But either Arrester was bad at reading people or he was in too much of a hurry, because he nodded and waved them off. "Get going then. But for your own safety, don't re-exit here." He made several more taps on his phone screen. "Seems this crystal connects to a dragon-type crystal near the Pokémon League. If you walk farther into the tunnel once you defeat your foe and take your first left, you'll reach it soon enough. I hope it's not too far out of your way."

"N-no, but...you can do that?" Penny asked. "Walk between tera raid crystals?"

"Well, my data says you can," Arrester said. "So I don't see why you couldn't."

Penny nodded. Far be it for her to argue with data. She watched as Arrester finally turned his back to them, and the trio hurried towards the raid crystal. It would be tricky, but with Atticus's help and the tree cover, they should be able to sneak everyone through.

"Guess Grusha was right, huh?" Penny said once they'd made their plans. "No one older than us does anything important around here."

The group nodded in solemnity, the full weight of their duty to Paldea on their shoulders. It was one thing to take a wild shot at a task. It was quite another to know you and your friends were the only ones capable of completing it.

#

The group split into two: Arven, Mela, Eri, and Giacomo in the first raid party...Penny, Juliana, Ortega, and Atticus in the second. Penny wrung her hands as Giacomo took the lead and guided his three teammates through the opening in the crystal's side to the strange cave within. Atticus kept himself and Ortega hidden from view until the last possible moment. The police presense had certainly thinned out thanks to Iono's distraction, but that didn't mean they were going to risk running back in front of them. I should look on the bright side, Penny thought. Everyone is safe for now. And raiding with friends could be fun. Right?

Or so she tried to assure herself as she descended into a sparkling chasm of powered-up Pokémon and suffocating uncertainty.

The electric-type raid crystal contained a Raichu. This became obvious immediately. The moment Penny's eyes adjusted to the cave's low light, she saw a dozen Raichu eyes reflected in the faceted walls. So it would have actual electric attacks for its tera form to power up. They'd have to be careful. Not that Penny was worried. The moment their feet hit the ground, everyone nodded at each other, grabbed a Poké Ball, and threw it forward. Traditional, yes, but it did not feel like something they could skip.

Juliana sent out Tinkaton, of course, calling for one of its classic Slam attacks. The fairy-type bolted forward before anyone else's Pokémon, halfway to Raichu while the rest of them were still throwing their Poké Balls. It seemed waiting for the raid to officially start was for mere mortals who didn't have a giant hammer.

Much to Penny's disappointment, ground-type Eevees still weren't a thing, so she went with Jolteon for the type resistance. Plus, she wanted to try out some battle items while they weren't fighting for their lives just yet. Curious, she glanced over to see what Ortega had sent out. All she saw was her Sylveon forming from a ball of light with no trainer behind it.

"Ortie!" she cried out, heart pounding. Did she put him in danger by bringing him into the cavern? Did Arven have the same reaction when he entered here?

Once Sylveon fully emerged, however, Ortega blinked back into existence. "I'm okay!" he shouted.

Penny placed a hand on her chest and waited for heart rate to slow. She didn't have the stamina for this. "Pin Missile!" she called to Jolteon before they all forgot there was a large Terrealtized Raichu about to attack them.

"Shadow Ball!" said Ortega.

"Protect!" commanded Atticus.

Surveying an opponent's moves first, huh? Typical Atticus. Penny leaned forward to see what he had brought. It wasn't a large Pokémon. In fact, with the two of them at opposite ends of the battle line, she could barely see it at all.

"Aw, so cute!" squealed Juliana. Not at Atticus or his partner. Instead she pointed to the decorative balloon Jolteon had tied around his left paw while the group of Pokémon rushed forward, firing off their first attacks.

"Ah, it's a battle item, actually," Penny explained. "An Air Balloon. Prevents all damage from ground attacks."

"Really?" Juliana cocked her head. Penny couldn't blame her. The balloon was no bigger than Jolteon's paw, and it certainly wasn't giving him any lift. If anything, it was impressive it didn't pop on one of Jolteon's spikes while he was running.

"Really," Penny assured her, then looked towards Atticus again. Since his Pokémon had held back while the others rushed in, it was now much easier to see. A small, light brown bug type with something like a halo floated unmoving in front of him.

"You didn't tell us you had a Shedinja," Ortega said.

Atticus crossed his arms. "I felt its Dig attack would serve nicely here. Moreover, by its own moniker, it is a ninja Pokémon. I cannot help but feel a bond with it."

While Penny did want to listen more to Atticus, she also had an eye on the battle. The results were...concerning. Raichu didn't appear damaged by their attacks at all. First round jitters, no doubt. She'd heard of it happening even to skilled raiding parties. Their next attack would do damage for sure.

"What's so special about Shedinja?" Juliana was asking. "Oh, yeah, and Ice Hammer, Tinkaton. You know the drill."

Tinkaton laughed maniacally and charged forward again.

"What's special is that it has only one hit point, yet that is all it requires," Atticus said proudly. "For its ability will not allow it to take damage from anything short of a super effective attack."

"Wow," Juliana said as shards of ice flew everywhere from Tinkaton's attack. "Hey, what happens if Ortega uses Sylveon's Ability Swap thingy on it?"

"It's Skill Swap," Ortega corrected right as Sylveon returned to his side for more instructions. She straightened and flicked her ears, watching him intently. "And on Shedinja? Wouldn't work."

Sylveon purred and began to pulse with a soft white light. She faced Shedinja, whose hard shell of a body mirrored the rhythmic glow at a slower pace. The tempos shifted, and then their bodies then returned to normal.

Did Sylveon just...? Penny was pretty sure that looked like an executed move, but before she could give voice to her thoughts, Raichu put them on the defensive. It set its sights on Jolteon--bolting in, striking him on the leg, and withdrawing with the Air Balloon in its mouth.

"If I'm going to Skill Swap anyone, it's going to be that Raichu," Ortega went on, pointing forward.

Sylveon looked very confused at this point, but she shrugged and began to light up once again. Shedinja did not change, but it sure did look like Raichu was shining a bit brighter behind its tera crystal coating.

Raichu's ears twitched as it watched Sylveon with a perplexed look. When Sylveon stopped pulsing, Raichu flicked out its tail and looped its stolen prize around the crystalized lightbulb atop its head. The balloon held fast, though it stuck out to the side a bit, giving the impression of a Raichu with two tera types at once. Raichu's cheeks pouches sparked, ready for a new attack.

"Tink? Ti-tink!" Tinkaton said, making a come-at-me motion with her hammer.

"Chuuuuu!" the mouse Pokémon screeched. Waves of electricity pulsed out of its body and fanned out to all its opponents. A Discharge attack, then. The waves weren't terribly strong, spread thin as they were. Jolteon and Tinkaton barely reacted. Sylveon winced but held strong. Shedinja gave a high-pitched cry and plummeted to the ground.

"Fie!" Atticus yelled. "What mockery is this?"

"I thought so," Penny moaned. "Something's weird with this raid. Skill Swap is working on everything." She turned to Ortega. "And you keep saying stuff that sounds like an order and getting my poor VeeVee all confused!"

Ortega went pale. "You mean...both times, Skill Swap worked?" He pointed to the Raichu. The one that he'd handed Shedinja's ability to ignore any non-super-effective moves. The one that had stolen Jolteon's Air Balloon, so it couldn't be hit by ground-type moves, either.

To her credit, Tinkaton did try to swing her hammer at Raichu anyway. The weapon bounced back like it was made of rubber. Her target didn't so much as blink.

The Raichu looked at the balloon sticking off the side of its light bulb, then at the group attacking it and seemed to piece its situation together. A grin worthy of a Banette on a rampage spread across its face.

"S-so what does this do for our strategy, m'lady?" Atticus asked with an uncharacteristic stumble.

Penny swallowed hard. "It means we run!"

Nobody needed to be told twice. While the now-untouchable Raichu giggled with its newfound power, the group bolted down the tunnel Arrester had described, hoping the dragon-type raid wouldn't be such a nightmare.

#

Running through the tunnels connecting the tera raid crystals was an...unusual sensation to say the least. At first, no such tunnel seemed to exist. Running in the opposite direction of the entrance only led to a dead end. Atticus patted the wall as if searching for a secret switch. Just when Penny was sure the Raichu was going to charge at them, he located a ledge to their left. When he reached out to feel the underside of it, his hand disappeared into nothingness. He inspected the space further and found he could climb up and through the strange portal with little difficulty.

"The tunnel lies here!" he called to the others. "Make haste!"

Penny had many concerns about going through a dark hole of nothingness. Not the least of which was that they were taking Ortega, and she had no idea how it would affect things if he lost his temper in there. But she had worse concerns about the unstoppable, megalomaniacal Raichu frying them like overworked computer chips. She took Atticus's hand and let him pull her up and into the void.

It was not pitch black inside as she expected. Shafts of light fell in from random angles, though the sources remained unclear. The tunnel's black crystalline walls were high but incredibly narrow, forcing the group into single file. Atticus, being the fastest, went first. Juliana went next, sprinting at full tilt and still barely keeping him in sight. She was soon so far ahead that the only visible part of her was a pair of pink glasses bouncing through the dark.

Penny tucked her arms in as she ran for fear of smacking her elbows on the high, shimmering walls. This place was creepy--no outside sounds of wind or Pokémon cries, no smells of damp earth like a normal cave might have. Only their own footfalls echoed around them. And every once in a while, when Penny glanced up, she could swear she saw a flash of endless sky through the wall. It felt like they had found some secret path through the underside of Paldea itself. Dizziness swirled in her head the farther they went. At the moment she felt she might pass out if she had to keep going, Juliana's strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side. The world felt like a roller coaster, dipping then yanking her up with its momentum. She stepped through another strange portal and found herself in a normal tera raid cave once again. Only this time, instead of the yellow sheen of an electric-type raid, the walls glistened with the aqua tone of a dragon-type raid.

"The tunnel did go farther," Atticus said as Penny caught her breath. "But it contained a sudden drop into what appeared to be a vast ocean. I did not deem it safe for travel."

Good call, Penny thought. I wouldn't want to be traveling through a mysterious void ocean, either.

"Everyone, look!" Juliana said, pointing.

Penny glanced up. The tera Pokémon residing in this cave gave a loud bellow. It sounded like a baritone Oinkologne, the deep pitch vibrating throughout the small space.

It was an Appletun. Which did not have any visible eyes. So instead of covering the faceted walls with images of bouncing eyeballs, Appletun covered then with bouncing flaps of apple skin.

Charming, Penny thought as she brought out Umbeon. The crown atop Appletun's head showed a fierce dragon face and wings. Just in case she needed a reminder that she had no particular type advantage. Again. Still, her teammates had Tinkaton, along with a full team of fairy-types. And they were no longer traveling along a void tunnel through reality.

Penny put on a confident smile. She'd take her wins where she could get them.

Chapter Text

"Tinkaton, use Play Rough!"

"Sylveon, Moonblast!"

Juliana and Ortega's Pokémon charged full-swing into the second raid battle. Tinkaton in the rather literal sense of the hprase. Sylveon, eager to regain everyone's approval, leapt up and propelled herself off Tinkaton's raised hammer. It did not pay out. The hammer went sideways and Sylveon lost her footing. Moonblast and Play Rough both went wildly off course. Considering the size of their target and the way Appletun lumbered around at a sluggish pace, it was embarrassing to watch.

Once again, Atticus took a defensive approach to the situation. In lieu of Shedinja, he sent out Toxapex instead.

"Ready thyself for a Toxic strike at the first opportunity," he said. "Until then, let us rely on your Baneful Bunker for our protection!"

Toxapex gurgled and pulled its wide, spiky appendages close like a defensive tent. It allowed only the smallest opening so it could keep an eye on its opponent.

More than a little humbled from the previous battle, Atticus resigned himself to cheering on the others while Toxapex remained alert. Penny didn't understand half of what he said, but it seemed to energize their Pokémon all the same. The eyes on Penny's Umbreon and the yellow markings on his fur lit up as he forced Appletun back with a powered-up Psychic attack. Appletun returned with Giga Drain, pulling waves of glittering green energy from Umbreon's body. Thankfully, Tinkaton was just as energized from the cheering as her ally was. She broke the stream with one swift swing of her Ice Hammer. Shards of ice flew up, glittering like gems as they caught the light from Umbreon's body and Appletun's attack. Beams of light scattered around the already-twinkling cave.

"Ugh, this is too much!" Ortega moaned and reached into his pocket. Penny's Sylveon stood beside him, her ears a bit droopy. No doubt she could read his frustration with her from both battles. And now what? Was Ortega going to try to switch her out for one of his original team members? Could you even do that in a raid battle?

Instead, Ortega pulled out a pair of aviator shades and placed him on his face. "Ah, much better," he sighed. "I could barely see with all that sparkle. Now, Sylveon, let's try Moonblast again! And no jumping on things this time!"

"You too, Tinkaton!" Juliana called. "Go for Play Rough again!"

Sylveon perked up and ran forward.

Penny ordered her Umbreon to perform another Psychic attack, but she kept a thoughtful eye on Ortega. He'd been giving her Sylveon a lot of attention lately. Was it to help strengthen the rest of his team. Or because they couldn't afford to lose? Maybe to make her feel better by having her precious VeeVee nearby?

Then Penny realized that something was off about Ortega's shades. She didn't see herself reflected quite right in them. Or rather, she couldn't see herself at all.

"Uh, is there a problem, boss?" Ortega asked.

Penny shook her head. "S-sorry. It's just...the reflection in your glasses looks weird. It doesn't even look like the tera cave. More like..." She squinted harder. The image was clearly familiar--a wide open area accented by a quartet of towers in the background. And all four towers were clustered around an unreasonably large Poké Ball sculpture. "Wait! Is that the school courtyard?" She tapped her forehead with her knuckle, trying to dislodge some reasonable explanation from her brain. She didn't succeed. "Where did you get these shades anyway?"

"Eh, don't remember." Ortega shrugged and turned his attention back to the battle. "Honestly? This sounds more like a you problem."

Crash! Tinkaton's hammer connected with Appletun's side in a blaze of pink light. Their opponent had been trying to buff itself with Growth and gave a loud, painful grunt when Tinkaton interrupted. The tera raid Pokémon staggered backwards, swaying on uneasy legs as if almost knocked out.

"Toxic, now!" Atticus cried. Toxapex lunged forward and hosed down the weakened Appletun with its caustic purple liquid.

Penny couldn't resist. She pulled out her phone and ran a quick scan. Her eyes widened at the results. Based on Appletun's movements and attacks, it had been at over half health before Tinkaton's attack. Now it was barely clinging to consciousness. The scan said as much. That must have been a grade-a critical hit to do so much damage.

Juliana leapt up and down and cheered for her Pokémon's success. Unfortunately, not everyone in the raid was celebrating. Much to Ortega's dismay, Sylveon's second Moonblast also missed. Penny could see his fists shaking with rage as he fought to control his temper. Even using a Pokémon stronger than his usual, Juliana--a newbie--was crushing him in the fairy-type department.

Thankfully, Atticus picked up on the situation, too. He refrained from further cheering for the Pokémon's attack power and switched to cheering for Ortega to find his calm and happy place. Toxapex huddled back in its Baneful Bunker while it waited for Toxic to do its work.

Realizing it only had two active opponents, Appleton stomped forward and spewed a sweet-smelling gunk at its opponents. Then it let out a roar. A glistening, translucent shield appeared in front of it like a floating glass dome. Penny soon realized this battle wasn't nearly as close to finished as she thought.

"Okay, VeeVee, use Psy--" she began. Her Umbreon looked at her when she called his name but turned away before she could finish. She called again and again for her Pokémon's attention, but he only looked her way after everyone else had gotten another attack in. Including the Appletun.

Penny channeled Atticus's calm-and-happy-place pep talk and took a deep breath. "All right. For real this time. Use--" Once again, her VeeVee glanced away. It wasn't as if he was being defiant. More like he simply wasn't getting her message if she couldn't say it fast enough.

Something was strange here. Penny pulled out her phone and ran another scan. "Th-that's impossible!" she said when she saw the results.

"What is?" Juliana asked.

Penny re-read them once more to be sure of herself. The numbers didn't lie. "That Appletun is more healthy after our last round of attacks than it was before. And it's only been using Dragon Pulse and Apple Acid!"

"That's stupid!" Ortega said as Sylveon finally fired off an accurate Moonblast. With the shield up, however, Appletun barely budged.

Penny did not disagree with the "stupid" label, but she didn't have any explanation, either. Or a counter plan. It wasn't her usual style, but in the face of parameters that seemed to change at random, perhaps blunt force was their best option here. She stood back and began blurting out a stream of orders. Not because she expected her poor Umbreon to follow them all but hopefully if she spammed them fast enough, at least a few could get through.

It was Juliana who got ultimately got enough hits in to Terastallize first. And she took immediate advantage of it. Her orb pulsed with energy, blowing pieces of her hair out of her otherwise neat updo. Thank goodness they hadn't used up their tera orb charges on the Raichu. With a shout, Juliana threw the ball into the air and a silvery gem shell encased Tinkaton. Sparkles burst around it like fireworks. The little Pokémon now had a winged heart on its head and a hammer in its hands, and it couldn't be happier.

Watching Sylveon Terastallize was Penny's favorite part of a Pokémon battle. The way she went from ordinary to extraordinary--spinning and sparkling like the heroines in Penny's favorite magical girl anime...for the briefest moment, she made Penny feel like they could take on anything together.

She glanced to her left, hopeful to get that feeling again once Ortega got another hit in...only to find the space in front of him empty.

The sight made Penny do a solid impression of a Flareon in mid-Flame-Burst. "Ortie?" she said in her calmest possible voice. "Where. Is. My. VeeVee?"

"I swear, I didn't do anything!" Ortega cried. "I didn't even mean to bring her out to begin with! I was going to use my Wigglyfuff for this one, but I tapped her Poké Ball first by mistake!"

"If I may interject--" Atticus began, only to be cut off by Juliana's command for Tinkaton to use Play Rough. Her Pokémon rushed forward, its hammer held high. Something flickered in the spot where Sylveon had been standing. Like Ortega reappearing when all their Pokémon fully emerged, Tinkaton's attack triggered Sylveon's reappearance.

"VeeVee!" Penny cried.

Sylveon cooed and shook itself out.

Penny wasn't sure she could take any more emotional roller coasters today. She tried to lean on the one thing that always centered her--checking data on her phone or computer--but even that proved a struggle.

"Will you quit looking at your screen all the time?" Juliana said, half watching her and half watching Tinkaton.

"I'm trying to get a reading on its remaining health," Penny said. "But all my scanner says is 'Appletun!'"

Play Rough connected and once again, it seemed to deal a massive amount of damage. The dome-like shield shattered, breaking up into tiny shards that glittered briefly, then vanished. Appletun grunted. Its legs gave out from under it. The creature slumped down, its chin resting on the ground.

Penny resisted the urge to smack her phone into obeying. She shouldn't need any more data now anyway, right? The Appletun had clearly fainted. But when Juliana grabbed a Poké Ball and tried to throw it, the ball flew sideways as if propelled away from its target.

A perfectly normal event...for a raid that hadn't ended yet.

If the raid didn't end when Appletun got knocked out, what else can we do? At last, Penny's scanner decided to give her some info beyond their opponent's species. At first, the bar read as empty--Appletun had no health left.

"I-it said it's fainted!" Penny told everyone.

Appletun gave a deep-throated belch. Another round of sticky, sweet-smelling Apple Acid showered down on them. Tinkaton howled as it landed on her head. The two VeeVees got splashed on their paws and shook their legs wildly to try to shake it off.

"Why is it attacking if it's fainted?" Ortega demanded.

"I don't know!" Penny said as she desperately tried to get the screen to make sense. She checked Appletun's status icon. Still at supposedly zero health, but right where the fainted icon should have shown up was a cluster of tiny Zs. Now Penny was seriously confused. "Wait. It...says it's asleep?"

"It shouldn't attack while it's asleep, either!" Juliana said. "It's not a Snorlax!"

Penny threw up her arms. "Maybe it is! Maybe it's a Mew that learned Transform for all I know! Nothing in this stupid raid makes sense anymo--" She brought her hand down just as the screen refreshed. Appletun was not asleep, nor was it fainted. A small bit of health that definitely had been there a moment ago still remained.

"Enough of this," she said and pointed her VeeVee forward. She wanted to Terastallize for good measure, but given how that had gone before? Better to play it safe. "Dark Pulse, now!"

Her Pokémon heard her loud and clear and rushed forward. It gave a loud bark, which sent out a wave of dark energy. Appletun took its sure and final hit before fainting in earnest.

Penny's legs felt ready to give out. She didn't even want to catch the stupid thing at this point. All she wanted was to get out of here.

The others readily agreed.

#

Thankfully exiting the raid crystal this time did not involve any weird walks through physics-defying tunnels. The group stepped out of the normal cave mouth to find Mela, Eri, Giacomo, and Arven waiting patiently for them. They were high on a hill with a steep cliff at their backs. No other trainers lingered nearby, although the Pokémon League building loomed in the distance. Given all their recent legal trouble, Penny suggested they hang back here for a while. They had a good enough view to see when Nemona showed up. Plus, the rest would do them some good. No one argued.

"I'm sorry," Ortega told Penny as everybody settled in to wait. "For what I said inside the raid crystal, I mean. I don't want to sound like I hate using Sylveon. She's a wonderful Pokémon, but..." He swallowed. "But I've had to rely on her for almost every battle lately. Because she's so strong. And I miss using my regular team, you know?"

"It's okay," Penny said, kneeling in the grass. Her leggings kept any blades from tickling her skin, but she could still feel its softness. It reminded her of Buddy the Sprigatito's fur. "Really, you should use your regular team," she told Ortega. "You're a top boss in Team Star for a reason."

"Yeah? Thanks." Ortega blushed and sat down beside her. He pulled out VeeVee's Poké Ball. "If the Elite Four doesn't call the International Police on us, maybe we can use their equipment for a trade back."

"And even if they do, I can stealthily knock them out for thee," Atticus said with a bow just as Juliana walked up behind them. Her arms were full of an array of strange items--feathers, candies, nuggets of gold, and shimmering pearls.

"Look at all this loot I found when we finished the raid," she said. Then she knelt down and held the pile out to Penny. Her glasses slipped a bit and several feathers floated to the ground when she moved to adjust them. "I could totally sell this and make more money than you were paying me as Cassiopeia."

"Y-yep, sure seems so," Penny agreed, not caring to dwell on how all these items had come to appear in the cave. She turned to Arven. "So, you...caught yourself some new Pokémon in there?" It wasn't a great segue. But if they were going to be on the same team together saving the world, making polite conversation seemed helpful.

"Yep, sure did," Arven said proudly, holding up a Premiere Ball. "It's that Appletun we faced second. Named it Apple." He returned the ball to his belt, where its crisp white sheen stood out among his other Poké Balls. "I've sent Garganacl back for now to make room for this new guy on my team. A shame it's tera type doesn't match it's regular typing, though."

"Huh?" Penny asked.

"Y'know? It's basically a hot apple pie. So it's a fire-and-grass type. Like Scovillain."

Ortega held up a finger to interrupt. "Uh, Arven?"

"But no worries. After we've stabilized reality, I'm gonna take a trip out the Treasure Eatery. See if I can get them to whip up a dish that'll change Apple's tera type from dragon to fire." He beamed at his own cleverness.

Ortega put his hand down and shook his head. "Sure. You go right ahead and do that. Heck, I'll come with you to watch."

"Really?" Arven said with a happy uptick in his tone. Apparently his sarcasm detector needed some work.

But seeing his genuine enthusiasm, Ortega face softened. "Yeah," he said with not even a hit of snark this time. "Really."

"I'm surprised you nicknamed your Appletun," Juliana said, who had now piled her various treasures into her backpack. She brought Buddy out to rest on her shoulder and tickled his paw with one of the feathers she'd found. "You haven't nicknamed any of your other Pokémon. Not even Mabosstiff."

Arven blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head. "I, uh...did, actually. I nicknamed him Mabosstiff back when he was a Maschiff." He glanced over at Ortega, who did an impressive job of keeping a straight face. "I was, like four, at the time. So, yeah, in retrospect, it wasn't a great nickname. But he got so used to it, I've never had the heart to change it."

Juliana nodded and turned to Penny. "And I guess the only Pokémon you've nicknamed is your Sylveon VeeVee?"

Excuse me? It was quite the insult, suggesting Penny would play favorites with her team members. She crossed her arms to show as much. "Of course not. They're all named VeeVee." Then, hoping to educate Juliana, she brought out her full team and pointed first to Jolteon. "This is VeeVee," she said quickly. Next, she motioned to Flareon. "This is VeeVee." She slowed the name but emphasized the power in the first syllable.

Juliana and Arven eyed each other but didn't say anything.

"Then there's VeeVee..." This time Penny's finger went to Leafeon. "And VeeVee..." she nearly whispered as she indicated Umbreon.

"Um..." Juliana said.

"And of course, Ortega is carrying VeeVeeee," Penny finished, stretching the last syllable so it added a dreamy feel.

"And...Vaporeon?" Juliana asked.

Penny rolled her eyes. "Obviously that's 'V' Vee-Vee." Everyone nodded in agreement with her obviously perfect naming scheme. Why wouldn't they? It was quite simple and straightforward once she explained it. The group didn't get any time to shower her with compliments for her cleverness, however. Down at the bottom of the hill, someone was exiting the Elite Four building.

Penny was glad when she recognized it was Nemona.

She was decidedly less glad when she saw Nemona wasn't alone. In fact, the door swung open and closed several more times. The student council president had the entire Elite Four and Director Clavell with her.

Chapter Text

Penny's first thought was to duck out of view. Not a practical solution. There wasn't much to duck behind, other than the building itself, and Nemona was rounding the corner now. From up on the hillside, their only real advantage had been that no one had any reason to glance up here. Atticus retreated to a more shadowy area, but even with all his skills, there wasn't much he could do on featureless green slope while wearing his bright pink ninja garb.

Nemona shielded her eyes as she searched in every direction. "I told them to meet here," she said to Geeta.

Whatever Geeta said in response didn't carry far enough to be heard.

Nemona scanned the area again and glanced up this time. Her eyes lit up. "Oo, there they are!" she shouted, pointing right at Juliana. "Hey, guys! Down here!"

Mela and Penny both winced. "Well, Big Boss," Mela said. "What do you want to do?"

"I...it worries me to say so, but we'll have to trust Nemona and assume it's safe," said Penny. "The girl's tactless, but she's not stupid."

"Don't worry!" Nemona yelled again. "It's very safe! Trust me!"

Penny sighed. Well, they weren't going to get a clearer invitation than that. And if they ran now, they'd lose whatever goodwill Nemona had earned them.

Penny worked her way carefully down the grassy slope. The turf was slick--probably from a recent rainfall. Unlike at home in Galar, the weather here could change in the literal blink of a eye. The last thing she wanted to do was slide down the hill and knock over the Elite Four members like a cluster of bowling pins.

Eri, Mela, and Atticus jogged down, their footsteps steady and confident. The rest of the group mimicked Penny's cautious approach--Arven with his massive bag most of all. Once they reached ground level, Penny thought she heard some kind of music playing from inside the League building. The sound was muffled but it sent vibrations through the ground like one of Giacomo's full volume bass tracks.

"So good of you to join us," Hassel said, folding his arms. He was not smiling. No one in the group was. "I daresay not one of you has attended a class of mine in recent memory." He narrowed his eyes at Arven. "And you being in the Humanities track to boot. For shame!"

Penny's friends all glanced at one another in confusion. Hassel was talking like they'd been slacking in their dorms this whole time. (Okay, Penny had holed herself up in her dorm for several months, but not out of laziness.) Sweat formed on her palms. She gave the line of looming authority figures a glance-over, hoping one of them would be better informed. Clavell was stuttering something to Geeta. Rika seemed bored. Larry was...well, Larry.

"Now, now, Hassel, don't jump to conclusions," Rika said, holding her hand up. "We didn't even hear them out yet. And I know a promising candidate when I see one." She rubbed her chin and stepped up to Juliana, her long ponytail swinging elegantly behind her. "Tell me, what school do you attend?"

"Uh...Naranja Academy?" Juliana said, confused.

Rika nodded. "I see. Very good. And what brings you to the Pokémon League today?"

Seriously. Did no one tell them what we're doing? Penny thought.

"Gee, I dunno," Juliana said with a frustrated sigh. "Just for fun, I guess."

Rika's eye twitched like Juliana had spat upon the graves of all her ancestors. This was not going well. But as Penny desperately looked back to the Elite Four, she realized they were short a member. She'd assumed Poppy was hidden behind Geeta or Rika, but there was no preschool prodigy anywhere to be seen.

"Excuse me, but where's, um...the little one?" she asked.

Before Rika could answer, the door to the League building slid open. The muffled music came out clear and loud--an electronic staccato melody in a minor key. It sounded like the opening bars to some do-or-die battle soundtrack. But it never got farther than that. The same few measures repeated themselves in a matter of seconds.

Poppy sprinted out of the building as fast as her uncoordinated little legs would take her. The decorative key around her neck swung wildly until the thin cord snapped. The key fell to the ground, and Poppy kept running. She kept her hands clamped over her ears and screamed almost as loud as the music. The kid's face was bright red as she slammed into Geeta's side and latched onto her leg.
"Every-ting's over!" she wailed. "It's the end of the world!"

"Oh, dear," Clavell said with a shake of his head. "Now, now...don't cry. Please?" It did not help. Clavell, it seemed, related worse to four-year-olds than he did to teenagers.

Geeta knelt down and tried her best to smooth the hysterical preschooler. Another person walked out, an elderly man Penny soon recognized as Mr. Harrington. He did not make any declarations of the apocalypse, but he did look relieved to put the building behind him. The doors slid back shut, mostly sealing the creepy music in with them, but the repetitive beat still pounded through the damp earth.

"It's not the end of the world, kid," Rika said. "Calm down." She nodded to Penny, pegging her as the group's spokesperson. "Sorry. Our sound system's on the fritz. We can't make it stop playing whatever...that is."

"You turned it off!" Poppy wailed. "You un-pugged it from the whole wall! And it didn't stop! That's scary and bad and not okay!"

"She's right," Penny said. "I mean, kinda. Unless your system's got its own built-in power supply, unplugging it should have stopped the music straight away."

Poppy, rather than getting more worked up, sniffled and rubbed at her nose. She walked over and craned her neck at Penny, clear snot smeared on upper lip and glove.

Eww, kids are so gross, Penny thought. But since this gross kid also had a role in the group deciding their fate here, she did not voice that opinion.

Poppy kept her gaze on Penny for nearly a minute before she turned to Geeta. "These people are smart!" she declared. "Not bad!" She put her hands on her hips, and Penny assumed she'd now gotten snot on the waist of her dress, too.

"Not sure if your endorsement counts, kid," Rika said.

Poppy's hands balled into fists. "I'm an Elite Four member!" she yelled. "If Mister Larry counts, I count too! More 'cause I'm cute and Miz Geeta likes me!"

Larry showed zero reaction to this. He didn't even blink. "Geeta does like her," he said. "She finds me adequately competent, skill-wise. And I get the impression some of my characteristics make her uncomfortable." He paused to straighten his tie. "Most notably my ability to stare unblinking for inhuman amounts of time."

"No offense, but that is a bit creepy," Rika said. She nodded towards the closed doors. "Not as bad as the music in there, but y'know, unnerving."

"Everyone has a gift," Larry said.

Geeta cleared her throat. "To the matter at hand," she told Penny in a tone drenched with authority. "The police informed me you are responsible for our recent data breach along with a host of frightening and unexplainable events around Paldea." She indicated Nemona and Mr. Harrington. "Then several of my most trusted employees, along with the champion-ranked student council president, tell me that you are the only ones who can stop these events." She tapped her forehead. More like she had to make a show of deep debate. Penny worried the woman's mind might already be made up. In that case, she could only hope it was in their favor. "I do hope you comprehend the difficult position this puts me in."

"Y-yes, ma'am," Penny said.

"If it's all right," Mr. Harrington said. "Might we walk to the Pokémon Center? There is a Pokémon I must return to young Master Ortega, and I would like to use the trading machine to ensure it's done correctly. Not to mention..." He glanced down at Poppy. "...it may soothe our young Elite Four member to put some distance between herself and the building."

"That's a great idea!" Nemona said, clearly anxious to contribute to the conversation.

Poppy nodded emphatically.

#

As they walked to the Pokémon Center, Mr. Harrington shared briefly what he had already covered with Clavell and the Elite Four before Penny and her friends had arrived. As the former director of the school, he was familiar with Operation Star. He had witnessed the bullying first hand yet he had not done enough to stop it. When Team Star took action on their own, he did not blame them. They made a show of force, and in the end, a show was all it was. None of them did anything to harm anyone. But then the academy's bullies had begun to drop out one by one. The deputy director saw it as a scandal in the making and erased all related records.

So while there was no denying Penny had manipulated the League Point system, she was in the clear when it came to messing with the school's database.

Penny cleaned her glasses, stalling while she debated her response. In normal circumstances, she might offer her skills to inspect the school's equipment. It could help offset the negative view they had of her for the League Point mess. But nothing was normal, and as of now, she couldn't be in two places at once.

Then she remembered the newest addition to her team. She took out the Poké Ball containing Juliana's old Porygon. "Y'know, deleted data can usually be recovered if you know what you're doing," she said just as the group reached the Pokémon Center. The sun had gone down, and any wandering trainers had set off down the road. No doubt in search of populated areas with more than one building.

Penny tapped the button and let the virtual Pokémon float alongside her. "I need to go to Area Zero with Arven and the others," she continued. "But Porygon here might be able to help with the retrieval process."

"That is a very generous offer, Miss Penny," Clavell said, giving the chairwoman a nod.

"Hmph. I suspect it is a self-serving offer," Geeta said.

Ortega elbowed Penny's side. He wasn't gentle about it, and it kind of hurt. "I also need to get Sylveon back to you," he said. "We should do a double trade. Mr. Harrington gives you Dachsbun for Porygon, and I give you Sylveon for Dachsbun."

"That could work," Penny said.

Mr. Harrington nodded. "In that case, perhaps you would like it to hold this during the trade?" He reached into his coat pocket. At first, he came up with nothing and had to try several more pockets. The drab brown jacket had a surprising number of them. At last, he retrieved what looked like an old CD. It certainly caught Giacomo's eye. But Penny knew this disc didn't contain any music.

"An Upgrade?" she asked.

"Only if you and Porygon want it, of course," he said with a warm smile. Penny could see how this guy worked in education for so many years. And why he was content to take a job as a tutor despite it being a major demotion. The man loved to help students grow. In whatever way he could. Penny could see that passion in Clavell, too. Sometimes. When he was dressed normally and left the Clive get-up and wig out of it.

Rika nodded her approval, and they completed the first trade with no hiccups. Mr. Harrington let out Porygon so Penny could see it evolve while Clavell and Nemona continued talking with Geeta. Poppy clung to the chairwoman's leg the whole time, and Penny only caught a word here and there. Mostly Poppy saying things like, "Yeah!" and "See?" and "I toldya so!"

Juliana made small talk with Team Star, the group at a bit of a distance from the center proper.

Then the second trade began. Ortega watched nervously as their respective Poké Balls flew into the sky above, switched positions, and slowly made their way back down. "I hope Dachsbun isn't upset with me for leaving him so long."

"Don't worry," Penny said. "Even though I'll only have him a few minutes, I promise not to make him vanish in front of you or confuse it with non-orders that sound like orders."

Something twinkled just above them. Penny and Ortega both held out their hands. The Poké Balls slowly descended and rested on each of their palms.

"You're not letting me live that tera raid down, are you?" Ortega asked as he let out Dachsbun.

"Nope," Penny said, calling forth VeeVeeee. The Pokémon licked their trainers' faces over and over. Which, unlike Poppy's actions, was not gross and totally welcome. Penny's team felt whole again. That feeling she could do anything bubbled in her chest. From the blissful look on his face, Ortega must have felt the same. She wished this feeling could last forever.

Or at least more than a few minutes. Unfortunately, Geeta held up a hand and cut off whatever Clavell had been saying. Poppy frowned and let go of her leg. Nemona shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

The chairwoman put her hands behind her back and approached Penny. "I believe I have heard enough from others," she said. "I would like to hear from you, Miss Penny. You don't deny that you infiltrated the League Point database?"

"N-no, ma'am. But my group is innocent of everything else. We've been trying to help, and we don't know anything about this Team Galactic the police mentioned."

Giacomo raised his hand. Standing right outside the light cast from the Pokémon Center, Penny almost missed him.

"We do admit our name could be better," he said. "In retrospect, that is. Ma'am."

"Oh?" Geeta said. "So if the actual Team Galactic were to be a problem, you would offer assistance?

"Um, if that did happen to be the case..." Penny eyed the rest of the Team Star bosses. Answering for them, if not forbidden by their code, certainly broke the spirit of it.

Everyone nodded or gave a thumbs-up.

"...then, yes," Penny finished. "Yes, we would."

Geeta smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Of course, the biggest point in your favor in Nemona." She made a casual wave in Nemona's direction without breaking Penny's gaze for a second. "She's one of the most talented challengers we've ever had, and I greatly respect her opinion. As such, her vehement endorsement of you has..." She paused, brows furrowed as she chose her next words. "...convinced me to withhold my judgment of you and your team. For now."

Penny held her breath. There had to be a catch. A condition. Something.

"My considerable influence is not a gift to be squandered," Geeta went on. "Which leaves only one more matter unsettled before I can allow you to leave." This time she turned slightly and pointed to Juliana.

"Nemona says she knows Team Star's intentions are good because their leader gets along so well with Juliana here."

"So well" was a stretch as far as Penny was concerned, but far be it for her to object when the argument turned in her favor.

"Therefore," Geeta said. "To test Juliana's heart as a trainer and to see if your group is prepared to face the dangers threatening Paldea, I challenge her to a battle!"

The small crowd of them gave a collective gasp.

"Wait--what?" Juliana said.

Penny wanted to scream. Another battle? Now, after everything they'd done so far? Arven's mom had specifically told them not to get sidetracked. And if this Geeta woman really believed they could help Paldea, why would she delay them and tire out their Pokémon before they left?

Of course, seeing as how Geeta had just agreed to turn a blind eye to Penny's illegal activities, she couldn't complain, either.

Larry straightened his tie again and stepped forward. Penny assumed he would be the one to referee the match. Where would they even hold this thing, anyway? The building still seemed off limits. Would they battle beside the Pokémon Center in the middle of the night?

But instead of declaring some arbitrary rules, Larry stood beside Geeta. Right at the edge of her personal bubble. And he starred at her. Unblinking.

"Oh, yes," he said in his everpresent monotone. "You should certainly have a battle. Go right ahead. I will stand here. Watching. The whole time."

Geeta frowned, clearly unnerved by Larry's presense but unwilling to step away and distort the image of that perfect, collected Top Champion.

"Or we could, you know, let them get on with stopping this mess," Rika said. "If nothing else, it'd be nice to get back inside without the squirt having a breakdown."

"Time is of the essence," Clavell said. "I understand they are bound for Area Zero. It would not do to wear them down with such a daunting journey up ahead." Hassel nodded like he'd heard some great insight. Apparently as long as the director said it, he had.

Geeta stood her ground but swallowed hard. Her gaze darted between each of her allies. The impatience in their stances and expressions spoke volumes more than any words could.

Then, to Penny's shock, the chairwoman lowered her head. "Very well," she said as she moved away from Larry. "On reconsideration, I will step down from this battle and send you all on your way."

Penny was poised to take that declaration and book it with her teammates as fast as they could.

Nemona had other ideas. "Hold on," she said. "You started the battle, Primera. Officially and everything. So does this mean you forfeit?" She motioned Juliana closer and whispered loud enough for all to hear, "Not a lot of people know this, but it's up to the chairwoman how many of the Elite Four you take on before she deems you worthy of a battle with her. As long as you have all the badges, you can skip them entirely if she issues a direct challenge to you at the League."

"That is a fair point," Larry said. "I suppose she is forfeiting."

Geeta huffed. "What? I absolutely am not!"

"Yes, you are!" Poppy yelled. Tears welled up in her eyes again. Her lower lip quivered. "I want the world to not end. These nice people are helping. If you stop them, Miz Geeta, then...then..." She sniffed again, which made her nose more runny as she blubbered out, "You are a bad Chair Lady, and I will never, ever, EVER talk to you again!"

Geeta's confident stance deflated like a fainted Drifloon. She hid her face as she massaged her temples. "Just. Go," she told the group.

Penny was not waiting another second. She signaled for Team Star and the others to hurry out. They followed Nemona's lead, headed for whatever shortcut she assured them would lead straight to Area Zero. So far, she'd been a pretty reliable ally.

Larry waved and told Juliana the paperwork confirming her new Championship status would be mailed in six to eight weeks. So, if nothing else, she had to save enough of the world to retain a functioning postal service.

Chapter Text

"So where's this shortcut of yours?" Penny asked, trying to catch her breath without slowing down too much.

Nemona didn't answer. Not with words, anyway. Instead, she marched them towards the hill they'd descended to get here. She then proceeded to sprint up said hill like gravity was for losers who didn't have their Champion-ranked status yet.

Penny sighed and followed. She could have sworn her backpack's ears went extra droopy to coordinate with her energy level. But at least they were finally on their way. If Sada could help, this could all be over within a few hours. Ortie and Arven would be safe. Paldea would keep existing. Penny could even catch up on all the new anime episodes she'd been missing.

When they reached the top, Nemona extended her hands to the raid crystal. "Here it is! Ta-da!"

"Um..." Giacomo furrowed his eyebrows and pointed. "Am I missin' something? That looks like the way we came in."

"Well, it's still as convenient for travel as when you got here," Nemona said. She held her palm out towards him and traced her finger from wrist to knuckle, as if drawing out a map. "Now, when you step in, instead of going to the raid, you're going to find these tunnels. Feel along the edge of the wall long enough and you'll find a gap in the floor. It's really cool--you can see the whole sky through it."

Penny did not like where this was going. Not one bit. "Please tell me we walk carefully around the gap."

"No, silly," Nemona giggled. "You just fall right through! You'll always land in the ocean. And from there, you ride your Cyclizar across the water for a bit, come up and the right spot, and bam!" She raised her arms for the full dramatic effect. "Hello, Zero Gate!"

Too bad Penny was in no mood for drama. "Is there no other way to get there?" she said. "I thought I was going to throw up when we used that path through the tera crystals."

"You want to face the police line instead?" Mela asked.

Penny shook her head. Leave it to Mela to shove reality in her face when she needed it.

"We don't know how long we'll be gone," Juliana said. She faced the full group with a timid voice but a firm stance. "Last call. Everyone have all the items they need?"

"Got the Scarlet Book," Arven called out, holding it up.

"Got my staff to smack Arven with if he mentions food," said Ortega, doing the same.

Atticus shook his head and sighed. "Perchance we should acquire more medicinal supplies?"

"Oh, no worries," said Arven. "I've got that covered." He knelt down and opened his backpack, which seemed more stuffed than usual. Penny's eyes widened when she saw a number of containers that looked like round, sparkling yellow stars.

"Are those..." she began.

Arven nodded proudly. "Nice, huh? Last picnic we had, I kept opening the basket to find these Max Revives in there. Figured I'd stash them for an emergency."

"Yeah. Good call," Penny said with a smile. It wouldn't make their trip any easier, but it was nice to know that every once in a while, the anomalies worked in their favor.

#

Once again, Penny felt herself pulled and shoved through a shaky roller coaster of bent reality.

Even when they reached the ocean, as Nemona had said, Penny did not open her eyes to take in the "amazing view." Instead she clung to Eri for dear life, riding on the group's Cyclizar. The toes of her boots dragged through the water, the smell of salt was everywhere, and by all logic, her leggings should have been soaked from all the splashes Cycilzar made as it swam. They stayed completely dry. And not once did they encounter a single water Pokémon, despite riding for what felt like hours.

According to Juliana, you could see all of Paldea from here. If one were to look up, the cities, homes, deserts, and forests were all suspended in the air--dozens of floating islands above their heads. Penny tried not to think of the physics behind that and focused on even breaths until they reached their destination. She took Juliana's word that it was once in a lifetime experience and all. She also decided her lifetime did not need this experience.

After pedaling through the ocean enough to turn Penny's stomach several times over, Nemona called the group to a stop. "We jump up here," she said. "And as a warning, it gets a little weiiiiiiiiirrd!"

There was a sploosh and Nemona's words stretched out. Her voice carried above their heads growing quieter by the second. Penny cracked one eye open in time to see Nemona flung upwards like a Poké Ball in a trade machine.

Then, whether she liked it or not, the rest of the group followed.

#

Penny curled into a ball as her body shot upwards. She'd give just about anything to be inside a Poké Ball with her VeeVees right now. A heavy sense of vertigo sank in as space twisted and turned. Penny didn't slow down, but she got the sudden sensation she was now falling down instead of up. Then something wriggled in her pocket. Her phone yanked itself free and more or less shoved itself into her hands. The device brought her rapid descent down to a crawl and her feet landed softly on...a floor. Somewhere.

Penny opened her eyes, but it didn't do much. Wherever they were was pitch dark. Hearing the crowd of familiar, though confused, voices around her, she gathered that everyone else had landed safely as well.

Something clanged not far away, and Juliana let out a yelp. "Ow! I bumped into something!"

Sprigatito meowed with frustration, scratching its claws against what sounded like granite.

Penny blinked several times, but she still couldn't make out much. They were clearly indoors; soft green mechanical lights glowed about them. So, was this a circular room, then? Penny felt around while she waited for her eyes to adjust. The cool metal floor had a checker plate texture, with short raised lines all pointing perpendicular to one another. Light vibrations from the machinery pulsed through the metal plates, and the soft, familiar hum of machinery put Penny a tiny bit at ease.

"Pretty sure this is Zero Gate," Arven said. "But why's it so dark?"

"The anomalies must have spread all the way out here, too," Nemona said. Her voice lacked its normal I-can-face-anything tone, which showed how out of her element she was.

For once, though, Penny didn't think her fears were warranted. "Lights going off isn't that weird," she said. "Not compared to everything else we've seen."

"Indeed," Atticus agreed. "Though should you require a guiding hand around the area, m'lady, it would please me to assist you. My senses are quite keen, light or no."

Penny took him up on his offer and soon found her way to a control box along the wall. A tiny glowing thermometer and lightbulb icon suggested this would change the room's lights and temperature. The system didn't recognize Penny's face or fingerprint, but a bit of prodding made it cooperative soon enough.

The lights grew to their full brightness, making Penny squint. Everyone else sighed with relief. Juliana got to her feet and checked to see what she'd tripped on. Apparently yet another one of Brassius's Poké Ball sculptures had made it in here, too. Her Sprigatito frowned and pawed at the floor-embedded sculpture.

"Buddy, that is not a real Poké Ball," Juliana sighed. Buddy eventually it took its trainer's word and returned to its place on her shoulder. A flick of its tail, and the tips of its fur when from green to gray then back again.

Is it me or are these problems getting worse faster? Penny thought. Then Arven caught her attention with one of his dramatic hand waves.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" he asked as he pointed to the ceiling. "Get the lights on, I mean?"

Penny shrugged. "Seems they were in power-saving mode. I hacked into the system controls and overrode the settings."

"Whoa, awesome," Nemona said. "You really are a tech whiz, huh?"

Penny stared at her feet. It felt awkward to be the center of attention. But there were also so many things Nemona did better than her. Not the least of which was leave her room on a regular basis and communicate with people face-to-face. Penny didn't see herself getting any better at those things, but it was nice to get some recognition for the stuff she was good at. In moderation, anyway.

The lights flickered back to their dim settings for a second, then returned to their normal brightness. The machines around them hummed a bit louder.

"Welcome, child," said a woman's voice. Rather than coming from a single speaker, it flooded every corner of the octagonal room at once. Ortega flinched at the sound of it.

Everyone else stood still to see what the voice would say next.

After several seconds of silence, Juliana adjusted her glasses and picked a random corner to address. "Umm, excuse me, but--"

"Children," the voice corrected. "Children. Welcome, children."

Oh, this is reassuring, Penny thought. We're getting led into a crater of death by someone who can't even pluralize their nouns.

Nemona elbowed Arven. "So, that's Professor Sada...right?"

"Probably," Arven muttered.

Penny seriously wanted to pin him down and demand to know what he meant by that. She'd had more than her fill of cryptic commentary today. But Sada didn't give her the chance.

"Ah, I detect the two ba..." A burst of static overrode Sada's next few words. "...also with you. And you have the Scarlet Book as well, yes?"

"Sorry, missed that middle part," Penny said.

Sada waited an oddly long time before she replied. "I said, 'I detect the two...'" Her voice got quiet as she muttered to herself. "...baritones? No. Ballooners? No. Bad..." Her voice raised to its normal volume again. "Badasses. You have brought the two badasses with you. By which I mean Miss Nemona--Student ID 805C001--and Miss Penny--803B121. You should now make your way to me at the Zero Lab, in the deepest part of Area Zero. However, the entrance to the lab is barred by four locks, installed on the exterior, which I cannot unlock. On your way to me, you must visit four research stations that were constructed inside the crater. At each station, you will be able to disable one of the locks. Now please descend without delay."

"D-did you say 'badasses?'" Arven said, his eyes wide. Given the rocky relationship with his mother, Penny guessed nothing the woman could say would shake him now.

It seemed she guessed wrong.

Once again, Sada took a long while to answer. "Yes. That is most assuredly the word I used."

Juliana raised an eyebrow at Arven. "She sounds like you when you said you were only after the Herba Mystica because you loved cooking health food in the great outdoors."

"Desperate for attention?" Arven asked.

"She sounds like she's lying, dummy," Ortega said. "Even I know your mom never talked like that."

"Also, this whole set-up sounds awful video-gamey," Nemona said, taking a step forward. Sada voice still came from all around them, but since Juliana had picked this corner to talk to, Nemona followed suit. "Why are there four locks to get in?"

"Because my--that is, because I installed more than three locks and less than five," Sada answered. "Now please descend without delay."

"But we--"

"Without delay." Like before, when Sada repeated a phrase, she recycled the inflection with creepy accuracy.

Something beeped, like a call had been dropped. For a moment, the hum of the machines got a bit softer and the lights grew a little brighter. Then they flickered once again, and a massive hidden latch gave a loud click. The adjoined walls of the Juliana had been talking to cracked open like a laptop. Sunlight and a chill breeze flooded into the space. And Penny soon found herself very out of her element.

The wall-turned-double-doors showed a sky-high view of Area Zero. Far, far below, they could make out a spiraling rocky path, dotted with clusters of trees and glowing iridescent crystals. Juliana brought out Koraidon, though the Pokémon did not seem too impressed. It sort of slunk back by the wall. The braver people in their company moved to the edge to take in the majestic view.

Penny was content to stand back with Ortega, Giacomo, and Arven.

"Heh. Glad we have you on this trip with us," Arven said with a nervous laugh. "If you needed to hack stuff just to turn the lights on, who knows what kind of high-tech mumbo-gumbo we'll need to get these locks open?"

Penny appreciated the vote of confidence, but something else bugged her. That was a long trip down for a group of Cyclizars that did not come equipped with wings.

"Hey, Juliana?" Penny called, pointing between Koraidon and the group of nine teenagers trying to descend into Area Zero. Two of which absolutely could not ride together in the interest of a stable reality. "Your guy is good for making two trips, right?"

Chapter Text

Descending into Area Zero didn't take nearly as long as Penny expected. The wind currents within the crater were strange, to say the least. Juliana found that if she guided Koraidon slightly left, then right, then commanded it to drop its wings for a brief free-fall, then had it extend its wings again...somehow this process got the ancient bike lizard moving at phenomenal speeds.

She dropped off Arven, Nemona, Eri, and Atticus first, then returned for the rest of them. Penny had hoped the sight of Koraidon's safe landing and return would reassure her that this wasn't a jump to their deaths.

She found the reassurance effect minimal.

For the brief moments Koraidon glided in a straight line, the ride was pleasant. But those were gone in a flash as Koraidon yanked them back and forth through gusty winds. And the drops? It was like being on a roller coaster with every obstacle shoved into a ten-second window. Penny tried to hold onto Juliana without disrupting with her driving, but it proved difficult.

Ortega clung to Penny tight enough to squeeze some lunch out of her stomach. "We are so--ugh!--going to crash if we--oof!--don't snap our necks first! Oww!"

I think I've died once or twice already, Penny thought.

Juliana kept a confident smile as she steered Koraidon faster and faster. "Don't worry! There's no--whoa now, 'Raidon--no need to be scared if we're all together!"

"How does that logic work?" Penny yelled.

"I-I don't know! Nemona said it on the way down, and it sounded really good!"

"Anything sounds good when she says it that confidently!"

Juliana stopped her attempts to lift Penny's spirits after that. Instead she allowed her less courageous passengers to shout and scream about their impending doom as much as they liked throughout their descent.

#

Despite all the doomsaying on the way down, Juliana kept her promise. The friends landed safely inside Area Zero; Penny and Ortega couldn't get off Koraidon fast enough. Mela at least paused to thank the ride Pokémon for its help. But instead of accepting the offered chin-scratches, Koraidon lowered its head and cowered. Something about this place spooked it, but what exactly could scare a creature like Koraidon was anyone's guess.

The rest of the group waited nearby, though they looked a bit lethargic as Penny approached. For Eri and Atticus, that was almost unheard of.

"Everything all right?" Penny asked, jogging up to them. She was surprised how much energy she had, but the solid ground did wonders for her mental state.

"Nay, m'lady," said Atticus. "Not all of our company is accounted for."

"Huh?" Penny scanned the group but couldn't pinpoint who Atticus meant. All five of the Team Star leaders were together...Arven and Juliana stood nearby...

"I swear we only turned our backs on her for a second!" said Arven.

"He means that student council girl," said Eri. "She's gone."

"Wait. What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Penny asked, feeling like she wanted to throw up all over again. It was hard enough keeping Team Star safe. How was she supposed to keep track of Nemona, too? "You don't think she...?"

"Calm down," Juliana said. "Come on. You guys know Nemona. She probably wandered off to see all the strong Pokémon around here."

"Y-yeah," Arven said as he adjusted his bag. "That makes the most sense. I bet any minute now, she'll round the corner and yell out something like, 'Everyone! You have to see this! Area Zero is AMAZING!'" He raised his pitch until it sounded awful, but Penny had to admit, he did capture the essence of Nemona. She scanned the area in an attempt to get her bearings. It was much brighter here than she expected. Sunlight blazed over the grass, giving the whole place a hazy effect. Koraidon had dropped them off in a tiny alcove, surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffside. If Nemona had wandered ahead, she had only one direction to go.

So the group started off in search of the research stations. The hope that Nemona would meet them en route hung heavy and unspoken around them.

#

The group walked in silence for several minutes with zero luck. No Nemona, no research station, no message from Sada. Not that she had any reason to call them--the group had their assignment, after all. And unlike Zero Gate, there wasn't a central speaker system out here. At least, none that Penny could see.

Penny tried to push Nemona from her mind, but walking through this place made it impossible. It was everything Nemona dreamed about. The tall grasses rustled with powerful and dangerous Pokémon of all kinds. Outside of Tulip's gym battles, Penny had seen a Farigiraf once, maybe twice. It took a serious psychic-type trainer to work with them. Here they wandered freely as a Tauros. Arven's Mabosstiff had quite the field day, running ahead and tackling any that would accept its challenge. Several did, and Mabosstiff got a few impressive victories. But just as many made an irritated, deep-throated hum and kicked at the canine Pokémon who nibbled their heels. Mabosstiff whined and returned to Arven's side. He sprayed some potions on his partner and advised it not to agitate wild Pokémon five times its height.

There were also some strange Pokémon too far in the distance for Penny to identify. She assumed they'd get up close and personal soon whether she liked it or not.

"Maybe we should head back," Juliana said. "It's not like Nemona to separate from the group this long."

As she spoke, a voice cried out ahead. Penny might have passed it off as another annoyed Farigiraf, but Atticus held up his hand for silence. He closed his eyes, putting his finely-tuned skills to work as he focused on the sound.

"'Tis a distress call from our missing comrade!" Atticus jumped up and pointed down the grassy path. "This way!" He took off running at an insane speed, his arms swept behind him as he darted over roots, rocks, and any other obstacle in his path. Only Eri was able to keep pace with him while everyone else scrambled to keep her in view.

At last, they found Nemona, and it was pretty clear why she hadn't walked back to them: she couldn't walk anywhere right now.

The girl wasn't hurt, but her leg had sunk into a cliffside, not unlike when Tinkaton had been half-buried in the ground. How they would get it out was a puzzle. This wasn't like the guy from the Cortondo Gym being trapped in a bunch of soft foam. Whatever could destroy the rock would likely destroy Nemona's leg along with it. The sight of Nemona's predicament left Penny both relieved and terrified.

"Oh, great," Giacomo said. "The wall took her."

Nemona huffed. "Ha-ha. Now hurry up and get me out of--"

A large section of the cliff flickered out of existence, releasing her leg and throwing her off balance. She stumbled backwards and tried to catch herself. Then, to Penny's horror, the cliff section reappeared. It encased Nemona's waist and neck, leaving her arms and legs dangling out in mid-fall.

"H-help me!" Nemona gasped before the cliff flickered again. This time, she fell farther back and became even deeper enveloped in the rock. Only her hands stuck out, as did one of her feet, but all they could see of her face were her eyebrows and forehead.

"No!" Juliana cried and ran forward. She grabbed what she could of Nemona's wrist and yanked full-force, but her friend didn't budge. "She can't breathe in there! We have to do something!"

Fear froze Penny's muscles. No amount of pulling they could do would move a cliff. And if a Pokémon attacked the rock, Nemona would be crushed before they could pull her free.

Not that it stopped Mela. "Armarouge, let's see if we can break her out!" she cried. Her Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light.

"Wait! Let us try first!" Arven yelled. Then he waved at Ortega. "Come on!"

"What? What am I supposed to do?" He sprinted up to Nemona anyway, with Mela and Armarouge close behind.

"You remember what happened when we both grabbed Juliana at your base?" Arven asked.

"Y-yeah, but--"

"So do that!"

Ortega still looked confused, but he did as Arven said. Each of them grabbed one of Nemona's hands.

Her arm stiffened and stretched out, nearly bashing Arven's nose. The layers of rock that trapped Nemona's face broke apart as her body grew to twice its normal size. She took a loud, desperate gasp and kept growing. The crumbling rocks slid and fell around her enlarged body, landing with a series of loud thumps on the ground. Nemona's eyes were huge, unnaturally wide and round, like a fish-eye camera filter played out in real life.

The sight of it startled Ortega enough to let go, and Arven jumped back to avoid being smacked. Immediately, Nemona returned to her normal size. A few pieces of rock still crumbled where she had broken free, but she had cleared enough space for Armarouge to sweep in and carry her to safety. The Pokémon set her down in a patch of grass, where she fell to her knees and tried to steady herself. Her mouth gaped open as she heaved in large gulps of air. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face. Her arms quivered so much, she could barely brace herself up.

But she was alive. And grateful for it. "Th-tha..."

"Don't talk, dummy," Mela said, kneeling beside her. "Breathe first. Words later."

Nemona gave a shaky nod and did as Mela said. Pawmot came out of its Poké Ball to check on her as well. With gentle steps, it walked over and licked its trainer's hand. All the while, Mela sat by Nemona's side until the shaking finally stopped.

#

Nemona didn't say much once they got moving again. Penny couldn't tell if it was embarrassment at being rescued or taking so long to compose herself. Maybe it was neither, and she was still dazed from the gut punch of reality she'd gotten. This trip was no bright adventure out of a video game. Didn't matter how many arbitrary quests Sada gave them. Every moment down here added up to more risks. For their lives and Paldea as a whole.

Thankfully the walk to the first research station went without incident. Even the groups of Farigiraf eased up, leaving clusters of Jumpluff that shied away from the human visitors.

The station door proved stubborn and only opened when Eri gave it a good hard pounding. She stepped aside and let Penny take the lead. The inside looked unremarkable at first. But when Penny crossed the threshold, a greenish cloud filled the space. She heard footsteps behind her, but the cloud muffled their sound. It felt like Penny had left everyone else far behind.

A Pokémon stepped forward, pushing some of the fog aside.

Where did this guy come from? The station had been empty when she entered. Penny was sure of it. She rubbed her eyes. The green fog remained, but it had thinned enough for her to make out a Pokémon centered on a glowing green circle. Its face remained obscured as the fog took its time dissipating. But Penny could discern a mammalian creature with tall ears standing on all fours. Ribbons floated around its lean, muscular body. Penny would know that silhouette anywhere. A Sylveon!

But it wasn't her Sylveon. When the fog faded enough, Penny caught a flash of its eyes--its large, sparkling, pink eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat. A wild, shiny Sylveon standing here in the station? It went against all logic, but then, so did almost everything they'd seen down here. Penny fumbled for an empty Quick Ball. She had to catch it. She couldn't let an opportunity like this pass by.

Then something leapt in front of the Sylveon. Nemona's Pawmot. But where Sylveon had a soft, ethereal presense, Pawmot had a rugged, grounded one. Its fur was ruffled where it had been rolling on the ground, and its fur smelled of earth and grass. The Sylveon didn't smell like anything. It didn't even look furry. Its body was too smooth, too perfect, too...generated.

"A battle?" said Nemona. Her voice sounded so far away, even though they had been next to each other walking in. "To decide Top Champion? Why, this is a dream come true, Primera!"

None of this is real! Penny yanked her glasses off, forcing her brain out of the entranced awe that the shiny Sylveon had pulled her into "V-VeeVee!" she shouted, throwing her Poké Ball. "I need an Aqua Jet now! Keep it small!"

Her Vaporeon leaving his ball grounded her even further. The smell of the ocean, the wet plop of the Eeveelution's tail on the floor--the fake Sylveon didn't stand a chance. Penny put her glasses back on as the illusory Pokémon vanished when hit with a trickle of Aqua Jet.

V-Vee-Vee turned and quick-fired squirts of water in everyone else's faces behind her. There were some yelps and choice words, but it got the job done.

Juliana brought out her Oricorio to fan the strange fog out of the station. A thoughtful effort, though a needless one. With everyone coming to their senses, the green cloud faded before Juliana's Pokémon got a wing flap in. Penny wondered if it had ever been there at all.

Well, at least the room seemed normal now. It wasn't much to look at--scratched and dinged metal panels for the floor and ceiling, a bed that looked like it hadn't been touched in ages, a few bulky machines, and a glowing circle where the Sylveon had stood. Probably a teleportation circle back to Zero Gate. It sure looked like the kind gym leaders used so visitors didn't have to drudge through their weird obstacle courses twice just to leave.

Penny walked up to the box-shaped machines and brushed off a layer of dust. Only one of the devices appeared functional--the one with the convenient large red button. In case any doubt plagued her mind, "LOCK 1" was stenciled on the machine's side.

Juliana walked up beside Penny and slapped her hand down.

Penny held her breath. True, there were clear labels, this was not a video game, and Juliana was only doing as Sada asked. But something about pounding down on a big red button still terrorized her.

Fortunately nothing happened.

Juliana frowned. "It didn't work."

"Oh, come on," said Arven. "You thought undoing these locks my mom can't even work would be as simple as pressing a button?" He turned to Penny. "So are you gonna use your crazy mad hacking skills to get us in?"

Penny wanted to smack both of them. Juliana might have oversimplified the situation, but he was overcomplicating it. Instead she took a page from Iono's book and turned on the sarcasm faucet. Just a tad. "Hmm...I could do that. But a full hexadecimal analysis of the system's binomial googology could take as many as thirty-seven parsecs. To save time, let's assume the person who invited us here gave us a key to get in." She held her hand out. "Can I see the book you brought?"

"Oh. Um, yeah." Arven rooted through his back and pulled out the Scarlet Book. Its edges were dirty and worn, but the cover's color remained vibrant. Penny held the book over the button. No reaction. She flipped it around and this time, the machine clicked. A tiny light beside the button changed from orange to green.

Penny invited Juliana to do the button-pressing honors.

#

With the first lock released, Penny and the others debated if they should rest or hurry out. They reached the consensus that if one station had a bed, the others likely did, too. Not to mention those convenient teleportation circles if they needed to backtrack. They all exited the station and searched for the next one. Mela and Nemona spotted it at the same time--a bit down a slope but not too far away. The group set off towards it with Juliana in the lead. And along the hike, Nemona got talking again. Mostly she chatted about how she'd met Juliana, which got Arven on the same topic as if they were in some Juliana fan club. But it made Penny and her friends smile to see Nemona back to her normal self.

"Oh, yeah, I meant to ask you guys," Nemona said. "What did the rest of you see in that weird dream fog? Personally, I saw myself battling La Primera for her spot as Top Champion."

Penny raised her hand. At least this was a topic she could contribute to. "Um, I saw a shiny Sylveon."

"I saw us getting out of here in one piece," Giacomo muttered.

"Really?" said Nemona.

"No."

"What about everyone else?" Nemona asked the remainder of the group. She didn't get many answers. Atticus said a ninja kept his secrets. Mela blushed and said that as a non-ninja, she also kept her secrets. Eri nodded in agreement.

But Ortega simply looked puzzled. "What are you guys talking about? The fog was just--fog to me."

"Same here," Arven told them.

"Now, now, you two," Nemona said. "You don't have to tell us anything. Dreams are personal things, so it's okay if you're embarrassed. But we shouldn't lie to each other when we're on such a dangerous trip together."

"I didn't lie," Ortega said, his volume rising. He stepped back and took several deep breaths.

Arven gave it a try instead. "Look, there's a lot we don't know about what's going on in this place. Area Zero is scarier than even the stuff we've seen so far. So let's all give each other the benefit of the--"

Something rumbled in the distance. Arven stopped short.

In a flash, Atticus ducked down behind a tree. Everyone else followed--less flash-speed but as quickly as they could. The group held a collective breath to see if whatever made the sound would come for them next. The rumbling continued for several minutes, but it grew no closer or louder. Nothing charged their way, and the ground stayed solid. Finally, a few of them stole peeks around the bushes and tree trucks they'd taken cover behind.

Up ahead, two Pokémon appeared to be fighting. The same Pokémon Penny had seen in the far distance before. Only now she was close enough to get a better look.

Penny brought out her Rotom phone and zoomed in on the battling Pokémon. She thought at first it was a pair of Donphan. They certainly both had the same shape as the familiar ground-type Pokémon. One of the Donphan seemed smaller than the other, but it moved and spun around at ridiculous speeds. The larger one could only stomp and trumpet in its feeble attempts to subdue its opponent. When the smaller Donphan spun out of its ball and landed back on its feet, Penny spotted glowing red segments on its trunk. It struck her that nothing about the second creature looked organic. More like it was a robot of some kind. And the larger one...that bore a striking resemblance to the ancient-looking earth titan.

She lowered the phone and swallowed hard. "Uh, guys? I think I'm seeing the past fight the future here. And it's not pretty."

Chapter Text

"What?" the group exclaimed all at once. Some louder than others, but there was no denying that collectively, they made quite the noise.

And Donphan, regardless of what time period they hailed from, had excellent hearing. The two Pokémon had just collided with dual headbutts and rolled back from the impact, so they stood a decent distance away from each other for now. Penny tried to shush everyone, but the damage was done. She could only watch through her camera lens to see what happened next.

The Donphan, once aimed at each other, now turned in the direction of the loud humans. And they charged.

Penny couldn't think. Couldn't process anything beyond her lack of options. The group of them were up against a cliffside with both Donphan coming at them from slightly different angles. Their best escape route was the path to the next station. It felt so close a moment ago, but now it looked impossibly far away.

Nemona readied a Poké Ball, but Arven grabbed her arm. "Those aren't normal Pokémon. You can't fight them."

"Yeah? Watch me." She yanked herself from Arven's grip and threw it anyway. Her Goodra appeared with a fierce roar. "Muddy Water! Aim at the ground!"

The slime-coated dragon lowered its head and spewed out a gush of water. It cascaded over the grass, turning the dirt into a swampy sludge. Instead of throwing the two Donphan off-kilter, however, they both curled up and spun right through it. Even faster than before.

"¿En serio?" Nemona snapped.

Arven shook with fury. "You want Goodra to end up hurt like Mabosstiff? I'm telling you--"

His words cut off as he vanished right in the middle of his sentence.

Then his voice called out again, this time from behind Penny. "--to...run?" She looked back to find him far ahead, right in front of the research station. He sounded disoriented and confused, but he wasn't complaining about his sudden distance from the danger, either.

Penny sprinted alongside the cliff, hoping to join him as fast as possible. Most everyone else did the same. But there was no way Penny saw them all getting to safety in time. They were running through broad daylight. The ancient Donphan had already spotted them and shifted its course. What if all they'd worked for got trampled because nobody--Penny included--could keep their mouths shut?

Goodra sent out another Muddy Water, then retreated to Nemona's Poké Ball as she finally took Arven's advice. She sprinted at first, catching up to the back of the line with Mela and Penny within seconds. Then her stamina waned, and the distance between them widened. Mela glanced over her shoulder. "Hey, you okay back--?" She lost her footing and toppled to the ground. Nemona stopped short to help her up. The ancient Donphan uncurled itself and ran on all fours, nearly on top of them. The massive creature reached out its trunk, ready to grab Mela and toss her like a football.

Smack! The Pokémon's trunk flew backwards.

Mela grabbed Nemona's hand and yanked herself up, so hard it almost pulled Nemona to the ground. The robotic Donphan had now caught up to its counterpart, but it too was slammed back like it had hit a wall of unbreakable glass.

"D-did your Pokémon save us?" Mela gasped.

Nemona shook her head. "No. None of them can make a barrier like that. I don't know where it came from."

The two of them hurried to catch up, but the group's panic eased now that no one was getting crushed. They all paused outside the research station for one last glance at the spectacle of the two trapped Donphan. It was one thing to hear Sada talk about time machines. It was another to see a creature from a different era attack.

Penny examined the small metal building. Dings and scratches peppered its walls, but otherwise, it stood in good shape. The place could clearly take a hit when needed. "Could be the station's security system saved us...though that's an impressive distance for an electronic barrier to stretch." She turned to Arven. "Now that we're safe, care to explain how you pulled that teleporting stunt before?"

"You think I know?" he said. "I was just happy I didn't re-appear in that monster's mouth!"

Penny shook her head. "Whatever. Let's get inside, push a button, and get to the next station." She reached for the door handle. Then, thinking of the strange mirages from last time, she had Arven go first. As nice at it would be to see a shiny Sylveon standing in the middle of any room she entered, she preferred the next one she saw to be the real deal.

#

A green fog did build up inside the station as before, and Penny caught a brief glance of another hallucinatory Sylveon. But knowing what it was this time broke the image quickly. Juliana cleared the air, and Arven used the Scarlet book to activate the machine. Juliana even let him press the big red button. A brilliant display of teamwork all around.

Two down, two to go, Penny thought.

They exited the station to find the Donphan still hadn't left. They both walked back and forth along the barrier, poking at it in various places. The sight did nothing to ease Penny's nerves.

"They're searching for a way in," Ortega said as he took cover behind Eri.

Arven pushed his hair out of his face to stare intently at the creatures. "Hmm...maybe a distraction will keep them from following us?" He pulled a cluster of Nanab berries from his bag, walked up to the barrier's edge, and dumped the fruit into the grass.

"Here we go," he said to the strange Donphan in a soothing voice. "Why don't you guys keep your eyes on these for a while?" On seeing Arven with the treats, the ancient Donphan relaxed its tense stance. It even lay down in the grass and held up its trunk as if waiting for him to toss it a treat. The robotic-looking Donphan, on the other hand, leapt back, tucked itself into a ball, and rolled far off towards where Eri stood. Again, it tapped the barrier with its mechanical trunk but got no results.

"If it's from the future, I suppose there might not be much organic matter in its home," Penny said. "The berries could look closer to a weapon than fuel as far as it knows."

Eri moved away from the mechanical Donphan, Ortega sticking to her like a shadow. The Pokémon followed Eri's movements to a point, but when it reached its counterpart, it was unwilling to walk around it. Or go any farther.

"Someone should ensure we are not pursued," Atticus told the group, holding back as they continued down the path. "Make haste towards our next destination. I shall hide myself and keep an eye on our strange visitors."

"Hold on. We shouldn't separate," Penny said.

Atticus lowered his mask and gave her a warm smile. "Fear not, Lady Penny. Thou hast my word I shall reunite with thee in due time."

Penny still wasn't fond of this idea, but telling Atticus not to spy was like telling Nemona not to battle. She instructed him to catch up as soon as he could and encouraged the others to hurry out.

#

Atticus kept his promise and caught up with the group right when they arrived at the third station. This time the journey gave them no troubles at all. A few wild Venomoth and Dugtrio blocked the path, but nothing out of place. Or time. And Nemona was quite happy to find Pokémon she could battle without any life-or-death stakes attached.

The uneventful walk combined Atticus's safe return was almost suspicious. He reported that the strange invisible barrier did break down eventually, but by the time it did, the ancient Donphan was more interested in the berries than tracking them down. And the mechanical Donphan wandered off before the barrier dropped.

So when is something going to go wrong again? Penny wondered. Because it has to go wrong, right?

She got her answer when they walked inside. The fog cleared as before, the machine was intact, and Juliana held up the book to unlock the button. Seeing as how it was her turn and all.

The orange light didn't change. Pushing the button had no effect.

She tried rotating the book. Nothing.

Then she tried flipping it upside down. Still nothing.

Next Arven took the book. He tried shaking it, spinning it, opening it at the middle, then at the first quarter, then at the third quarter, then shaking it some more for good measure.

The button remained unpressable, and now the book was a little worse for the wear. "So what do we do now?" he asked Penny as he handed the book over to her. "What was that, um...full hexing geology you said you could do before?"

Ortega slapped his forehead. "She was being sarcastic, you idiot. She made all those words up."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?"

"Hate to say it, but we could use some tech wizardry here," Giacomo said, stepping between the two before they started another argument. "Otherwise we're stuck. Any idea how to get around this, B.B?"

Penny never worked well under pressure. So she tried to ignore the way everyone in the room stared at her. They didn't mean to, of course. They just all expected her to pull a magic solution out of thin air, because, hey, machines were machines, right?

Penny closed her eyes and tapped her knuckle against her forehead. She leaned into the calm rhythm of the repeated motion. Her sense of a captive audience faded. At least enough to let her thoughts flow freely. In all the other stations, the button was locked, and the book functioned as a key. So if it didn't work here, that could only mean a few things. Either the lock was busted or this was the wrong key.

"Arven," she said, opening her eyes. "Did anyone else work on this technology with your mom? Not like her assistant but like a peer who'd have admin privileges?"

Arven rubbed the back of his head. "I think my dad helped at the very start of the project. They were trying to make stuff work, but they just disagreed too much. Even on the tech itself."

"Classic creative differences, huh?" said Giacomo with a knowing nod. Penny listened to Arven's words, but she also pulled out her laptop and rested it on the bed, using the stiff mattress as a makeshift desk. If they had the wrong key, it was her job to forge the correct one.

She set her fingers on the keyboard. "What's your dad's name?"

"Um, Turo. Why are you asking all this, again?"

Penny had already typed four lines of code before she answered. She tilted her head towards the Scarlet Book she'd set aside. "This book isn't doing anything special. It's just giving the lock an access code."

"Like a password?" Nemona asked.

Penny gave a kinda-sorta motion with one hand while she continued to type with the other. "Eh. Passwords are personal. Access codes get shared across groups of people working together. So it'll generally be something everyone knows or can remember. In our case--" She brought up the book's signal data on her screen: sada-praeteritum-p4r4d0x. "--this is the message the book sent to the first two buttons that made them work. I'm guessing it's some combo of Sada's name with the passcode. Tells the lock to open while also signaling who's trying to open it."

"But it's...not open," said Giacomo in an uneasy tone, like he was worried everyone else could see something he couldn't. Given recent events, it wasn't an unfounded concern.

"No, it's not," Penny agreed. "Which means Sada doesn't have permissions for this lock. But if I try..."

She typed in turo-praeteritum-p4r4d0x and pressed Enter. With a tiny bit of a flourish.

Which made it extra embarrassing when the light remained orange.

The group let out a collective groan.

"Hey, not everything works on the first try, okay?" Penny said. She looked at the code again. "Maybe different locks are connected to different projects? If this third part is the general passcode, and the first part is the user's name, maybe the middle section is the name of whatever project they were working on."

She closed her eyes and tapped her forehead again, but it didn't help nearly as much as last time. Either she had to break into this highly secure system or she had to guess what an adult who thought time was a good idea would call his little pet project.

The first was doable--she'd hacked the LP system after all--but it was also time-consuming. A commodity they didn't have much of now.

Nemona walked around and leaned over Penny's shoulder. "Can I see?"

She didn't shove Nemona away, but it took some serious willpower. This was Penny's department, and there was no way Nemona could offer anything beyond a generous amount of space to work.

Nemona pointed to the middle section of the passcode: praeteritum. "Oh, that's Latin."

"What?" Penny paused her typing.

"It's Latin for 'past.'" Nemona glanced around at her wide-eyed peers. "What? I like Professor Salvator's classes!"

"So do I, but I don't actually remember them," Juliana said in awe.

Interesting. If Sada and Turo disagreed on everything, then maybe... Penny's fingers got moving again. "So what's the Latin word for 'future'?"

"Uh, 'futurum,' I think," Nemona said.

Penny altered the passcode once again--turo-futurum-p4r4d0x and sent the signal to the machine.

The light went green.

Juliana slammed her hand down on the button just in case it changed its mind. The machine whirred like the two others before it and confirmed the lock was open. Only one more to go.

Ortega gave a yelp of surprise as his phone buzzed with a message. He pulled it out and handed it straight to Penny, who read the message aloud:

"Very good. I was worried this station would slow you down, but you have performed admirably. The final station is located deep in a cavern nearby. Be warned that the most dangerous creatures of Area Zero have been convening there. I wish you all luck. Odds of saving entire world remain steady at..." She swallowed and handed the phone back to Ortega. "...thirty-two."

No one responded as she walked back to the door. If there was a pep talk to be had somewhere in here, Penny was not the one to make it.

#

The cavern wasn't far, but of course, Sada had already told them that. What she didn't warn them about was how strange it would look. And not just because of the sharp contrast between the sunlight outside and the dim tunnels within. Penny had not gone far when she saw huge chunks of iridescent crystals sticking out of the ground near the entrance. They caught bits of sunlight from outside and cast a sparkling pattern on the floor. But there was more to it than that. When Penny stepped closer, she could swear she saw shadows in floor patterns too. Shadows of Pokémon.

She looked up at the crystal itself. A Glimmora seemed to dance inside of it.

Of course, there were Glimmora clinging to the walls and ceiling of the cavern, too. The image in the crystal could be an odd reflection. That was the logical explanation. And yet Penny couldn't shake the vibe of staring through a mirror into some other plane.

"Hey, what do you think these are?" Mela called ahead of her.

Penny shook herself back to reality. Then she looked over to see her fellow Team Star leader beside a similar crystal. But the crystal wasn't what Mela pointed to. Driven deep into the ground at its base was a black stake. Penny had no idea material it was made of. Unlike iron or steel or any other conventional materials, the stake cast no reflection. It simply absorbed all the light on its surface. And the whole thing pulsed with an ominous purple glow.

"Oh, it's one of those guys," Juliana said. As if this was a totally normal object to find sticking out of the ground.

"One of what guys?" Mela asked, annoyed.

Juliana held up her hands and shrugged. "I mean, I don't quite know what it is, but I've seen them around Paldea here and there. Usually in far, out-of-the-way places." She motioned to the one in front of them. "I tried pulling out a few, because, hey, why not? Nothing happened, though, so I left the others alone."

Penny could think of dozens of reasons why Juliana should not have done that, but she lacked the energy to list them. If whatever Juliana did turned out to be detrimental to their mission later on, she'd give the girl an earful once Paldea was safe.

The group continued deeper into the cavern, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted again. And not in a quiet way.

Bam!

"Hey, what the--?" Giacomo yelled. Thankfully, they had not gone deep enough to draw the attention of whatever dangerous Pokémon had gathered here.

Penny startled and whirled around to see a gap between two sections of the group. She stood deeper in the tunnel with Arven, Juliana, and Ortega, while all the others had fallen back.

From the way Giacomo had his hand up like a Mr. Mime, she had a sinking feeling why they were behind.

"Another barrier?" Ortega walked up to Giacomo. He put his hand up, but their palms couldn't quite connect. Ortega leaned against this invisible wall and gave it a gentle push. Then a less-gentle-one. Then he ran against it, only to give the impression of running in place on a treadmill. Like the barriers that had kept the time-traveling Donphan from squashing them, this one held fast.

"Okay, we'll figure a way around this," Eri said. "You guys should go ahead."

"What?" Penny said. "There's no way that's happening." It was bad enough when Atticus split off from the group before. At least he had a clear path to reunite with them. This wall had sealed most of Penny's friends away from her with no off-shoots or alternate paths in sight.

"If it's like the other barrier, I'm sure it'll go away eventually," Giacomo said. "But Eri's right. We can't afford to wait. Arven and Ortega are the ones who need to get to the professor."

Ortega rubbed his head. "I don't like it, but maybe that's the best..." He swayed in place a bit and Penny rushed up to steady him.

Giacomo looked way less ready to leave now. "Ortie! You okay there, buddy?"

"Fine. Just...dizzy. It'll pass. Not used to running so much."

Penny tried to pull her arm back, but Ortega kept leaning on her. Like he couldn't support himself at all. It was starting to frighten her. All she could think was that the sooner they got him and Arven to Professor Sada, the safer they would be.

"Come on," she said in a kind but firm voice as she forced him to his feet. "Let's move."

Chapter Text

Ortega couldn't walk far. Arven, Juliana, and Nemona stood back to give him more space, but Penny barely got him a few steps before he collapsed again.

Maybe this is the wrong approach? She gnawed at her lip in debate. It was hardly the first time Ortega had an issue like this. If they let him rest for a few minutes here, the episode might pass faster. She knelt against the barrier that separated the two of them from the rest of Team Star. Ortega shifted over beside her. His staff rested on his lap as he braced himself against the invisible wall. Giacomo, Eri, Mela, and Atticus all watched through the wall with tense stances and nervous fidgeting.

"Are you sick again?" Mela asked.

He let out a harsh laugh. "Sick? Sure. I'm sick of running for our lives. I'm sick of the world going to crap with only guesses on how to fix it. And I'm sick of wondering if we'll escape this stupid crater cave!" He pounded against the barrier. The thick material, whether physical or supernatural, gave a dull thunk. No sign of a budge or a scratch. "I don't want to be here anymore! I wanna go home!" He pushed against the wall with all his strength, but nothing happened. And with each gasp of effort, Penny could see through him more and more.

"Ortie," she said. Her voice shook, no matter how she tried to steady it. "You need to calm down. You're making it worse."

Ortega didn't seem to hear her. Or their friends who repeated the same words from behind the barrier. He shoved and pounded, his eyes red, sweat trailing down his face. With each hopeless impact, his body grew more transparent. His voice went raw with his furious sobs.

"I...I wanna go home!" He buried his face in his hands. The staff on his lap fell through his vanishing legs and clattered to the ground. His voice squeaked as his breaths shortened.

No, no, no! His anomalies had never gotten this bad before. What if he couldn't improve? What if he disappeared for good this time and never came back? Penny braced for a jolt a fear-fueled adrenaline, but instead, she felt a connection with Ortega's words. He was right. They shouldn't have to be here. It shouldn't be their job to risk themselves like this.

No one had asked them to, the logical part of her mind argued. They had come here because they were the best equipped for the job. This situation was nobody's fault.

And still...as Ortie collapsed onto her, shaking and flickering worse than ever, a well of bitterness rose in Penny. She laid his head on her lap and spoke softly to him. Urged him to quell his fury. To focus on her and all the good things in Team Star's future. It felt more like trying to convince herself than him.

And she could tell it wasn't working. Maybe it was his anomaly or an effect of Area Zero, but she could feel an angry aura pulsing in her brain. Her hands burned, and her ears started ringing.

She was failing the both of them. Hard.

#

Arven paced back and forth, using movement to drive away the panic. The members of Team Star were working themselves into a frenzy--crying, calling their friend's name over and over...nothing worked. As Ortega rested his head on Penny's lap, his eyes grew unfocused. Arven wasn't sure if anyone's voices got through to him. But it soon became clear they needed more than words.

Arven did a quick turn and paced closer to the barrier. A set of footsteps approached from somewhere behind him. They sounded human, but then again, who knew for sure in this place? And Arven didn't care who joined them right now. His thoughts were laser-focused on this moment. What he could do. How he could help. He desperately thought back to the lighthouse. Ortega had pulled him back from his own bad episode once--like their two anomalies counteracted each other or something. If he could do the same now...

"Arven?" said an older voice.

Arven couldn't call it familiar. It was a voice he'd heard before but only in news clips and voice messages on Sada's phone. Both a long, long time ago. He stole a glance over his shoulder.

A man walked around the corner of the cavern's next curve. He had a rugged, unshaved face and wore a stained lab coat over what Arven could only describe as a cyber suit stolen from a sci fi convention.

"T-turo?" he said, catching himself before he let "Dad" slip out. If Sada had lost her familial title, Turo had lost it ten times over. Arven only knew the guy's name because he had asked about it so much as a child. Sada insisted they met when he was too young to remember. All Arven knew was when he came into the picture as a baby, Turo had checked out.

The man flinched at the sound of his name, but he didn't call back right away. Instead he turned and made a shooing motion behind him. Several strange Pokémon followed in his shadow--a Misdreavus that cast long trails of ghostly smoke like flowing locks of hair, along with an Amoongus that had spikes atop its head and vines obscuring its face. There was even a smaller version of that ancient-looking Donphan...perhaps a younger one, since its tusks were smaller and its legs stubbier. There was also a Tandemaus pair, the two members scampering together. Their faces were visible, thank goodness, but the number 32 glowed eerily on their chests. The Pokémon all walked as close to Turo as they could, nearly getting stepped on, and his attempts to make them leave had little effect. Only the Tademaus scurried away and sat between Juliana and Nemona.

"Arven," said Turo, giving up on the matter. "It's been a long time. I do apologize for the circumstances we must meet under."

"H-how are you even...?" Arven shook his head. He waved away his father the same way the man had done to the Pokémon trailing him. "You know what? I don't even care. I've got more important things to do now." He knelt beside Ortega and grasped the sculpted Poke Ball at the end of his fallen staff. The two of them hadn't made direct contact when this worked before. Instead, they had both touched the same object. And Ortie had seemed pretty calm, so he couldn't have been that hacked off, despite his power activating.

Arven thought back to the time he was playing with that Gimmeghoul. Letting in just enough fear for his anomaly to activate before it grew out of control. There was no shortage of stuff to fear now. Even with Mabosstiff healthy. His future. Ortega's future. The future of Paldea.

His body let off a soft scarlet aura. His hand phased partway into the Poké Ball but not fully through. It still felt like he was gripping the center of it somehow. If he could get Ortie to grab the other end...

"Stop," Turo said. "You can't save him."

It took Arven's full focus to keep hold of the fear and not let his anger burn it away.

"What do you know?" he said, holding his free hand open. Still solid. He could do this. And he wanted everyone else to know it. "When we were in the lighthouse, he did something with his ability that...calmed me down when I was scared. Like he grounded me. I bet I can do the same for him."

Penny nodded. "Try it, then. And hurry!"

"You miss my meaning, Arven," said Turo, firmer this time. "For the sake of Paldea, you mustn't save him."

Arven froze. "Excuse me?"

Ortega gave a shallow gasp again. Arven couldn't see his hands or feet at all. "Nemona? Juliana? Can you guys hold Turo off?"

"Oh. Gladly." Nemona cracked her knuckles. It must have been tough for her, stuck feeling hopeless when Pokémon battles had solved all her problems before. Well, now she had her opportunity to help. Goodra roared and Tinkaton laughed as the girls put a barricade between themselves and Turo. Arven had no idea about the man's battle skills. But he had confidence in his friends to get the job done.

Arven extended the handle of the staff towards Ortega. "Okay. I need you to hold this, buddy."

Ortega muttered something but did not make eye contact. His legs faded as well.

Tears welled up in Penny's eyes. "I promise I'll never do anything like this again...but I'm ordering you as Team Star's boss to take it! Please..." She lowered her head, tears falling on the lenses of her glasses.

Arven shook his head. This wasn't working. They'd been saying the same thing over and over. It probably sounded like background noise by now, even if Ortega could hear it. They needed to get his attention somehow. What was it his sister had called him?

"Hey, Prince Leer!" Arven called.

Ortega's fingers twitched. He tilted his head towards Arven, though he still didn't meet his eyes. I have to be careful, Arven thought. I can't make him any more angry or I'll lose him.

He swallowed hard. "Grab this, and I swear, I won't ever talk about food again." He pushed the staff forward one more time, squeezed his eyes shut, and focused on all the calming thoughts he could.

It turned his stomach. The waiting. The lack of control. All he could do was listen to each slow breath.

Then, for a moment, he felt the faintest bit of resistance at the opposite end.

#

Ortega's angry energy began to evaporate to moment he touched the staff. Even Penny could feel it. She glanced over at the Tandemaus. Was the cave growing darker? They seemed more shadowy now; the glowing numbers stood out more.

And they were dropping. Fast. Twenty-nine. Twenty-six. Twenty-four.

"Please!" Turo said. "You must stop!"

Goodra gave him a slap in the mouth with its slimy tail. He gagged and coughed. Arven didn't so much as twitch.

There was no doubt the light was fading now. Far behind them, at the mouth of the cave, the sun visibly sank. The soft glow from the cave's crystals flickered. But Ortega was coming back to them. His head had felt light as a Pidove's down on her lap before. Now his body grew heavier and more solid. His breaths came fuller.

Twenty-two. Nineteen. Sixteen.

The sun flew back into the sky, briefly casting more light in the cavern. All the ancient Pokémon around Turo did nothing to fend off Goodra and Tinkaton's attacks. They simply clung to Turo's legs and whined. The man couldn't go anywhere and flailed his arms to keep his balance.

Good, Penny thought. Let him fall right over and break his arm. Or his neck.

They weren't the types feelings she normally had. She got annoyed with people, sure, but she rarely held a grudge. Then again, she'd never had a friend dying in her arms with some horrible adult yelling not to save him. It was difficult to hold off grudges in a case like that. The ringing in her ears rose in pitch and volume.

The Tandemaus began to scream, only to go silent as their mouths and eyes faded, leaving only their featureless faces. Fourteen. Eleven.

No light shone from the crystals. The sun began to fall again. Blood-orange rays briefly flooded the cavern through an array of tall gaps in the cave. The rocky walls appeared hollow--paper-thin structures with random, rectangular chunks missing. As if the void inside the tera crystals had spread like a virus across all of Paldea.

The cave plunged into darkness. Only the glow from some nearby black stakes and the Tandemaus's numbers could still be seen.

Eight...Five...Three...

Come on, begged Penny. We're almost there. The more solid Ortega felt, the tighter Penny held onto him. Her ears rung so loudly now, she wouldn't hear him if he spoke. Turo yelled one more time for them to stop.

Then, in an instant, the danger was over. Penny signaled for Arven to drop the staff. It smacked her leg as it rolled to the side. Whatever angry energy had threatened Ortega flowed away at a rapid pace on its own. It still burned her hands as it left, but that didn't matter. His chest rose and fell. The flow of energy eased.

He's...he's going to be okay.

The sun began to rise again, still quick enough to be tracked, but slower than before. The high-pitched ring in Penny's ears finally softened. She looked over at the Tandemaus. The beady little eyes had returned to their faces, though they still had no noses or mouths. The numbers had gone up to nine. Then fourteen. They ascended quickly, reaching a peak at around twenty-eight. The walls appeared solid again, too.

But most importantly, Ortega had made a near-complete recovery. With each breath, his body grew more opaque. In a few moments, he had gone back to normal. Aside from a very un-Ortega-like glistening of sweat on his face and neck, no one would have known they almost lost him.

Eri broke into sobs. Atticus cried as well, though he kept it more contained. Mela let out a slew of curses to describe how scared she'd been. Giacomo demonstrated as much by collapsing to his knees.

Penny should have felt relief...huge relief with the rest of them. But she couldn't. Her mind refused to get over how close they'd come. The idea that their situation was no one's fault felt naive and childish. This had to be someone's fault, didn't it? Things didn't go this bad this fast with no one to blame at all...did they?

Ortega weakly turned towards Arven. "You...promised," he whispered. "No more food talk."

Arven wiped away tears as he laughed. "Y-yeah. I promised."

Ortega smiled before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Penny let him rest on her a little bit longer before she stood and gently lowered his head to the ground.

Then she marched up to Turo. Goodra and Tinkaton saw her coming and parted to make room. Their trainers did likewise. Penny must have looked like a raging Tauros if even Tinkaton didn't want to cross her.

"Are you children pleased with yourselves?" Turo said. He pushed at the strange Amoongus, which teetered as it hobbled away from him. "You do realize you came within seconds of wiping Paldea off the map?"

"Oh. Because we saved our friend?" Penny snapped.

Turo massaged his temples. "See, this is the problem with adolescents. You're too short-sighted. Too selfish. Did it occur to you for even a moment that your attempts to rescue your one friend could have cost the lives of countless others?"

"How are those things remotely connected?" Juliana asked.

Arven crossed his arms. "I'd guess the time machine him and Sada built plays a part in it."

"Of course it does," said Penny. She narrowed her eyes at Turo. "Start talking."

"It's too complicated for you, and I don't have time to--"

"Too complicated?" Penny stepped forward until she was right in his face. First to intimidate him but second because her ears hadn't fully cleared yet. The man had a height advantage on her, but she'd faced worse. "I'm the 'kid' who sliced through the Pokémon League's digital defenses in one afternoon over a bowl of instant noodles. Try me."

"Did you now?" The man looked exasperated. "Very well, then. If you insist." He stepped back, reclaiming his personal bubble, and motioned to the stakes embedded at the bases of three iridescent chunks of rock. Each stake glowed with a different color--one green, one yellow, and one blue. The rocks had regained some of their original luminescence, though they didn't look at full brightness yet. Then again, it was difficult to tell. "This may shock you to learn, but a time machine requires power. Unprecedented amounts of it. To say modern energy sources proved insufficient for our needs is a gross understatement."

"So you're using those stakes, then?" Penny said. "What are they, exactly?"

Turo huffed at the question. "They were originally designed to seal away four dangerous and powerful Pokémon, colloquially known as the Treasures of Ruin." He paused, eyeing Penny for some sign of recognition. When she made none, he frowned and continued, "Each set of stakes resonates with a specific Treasure. Drains their energy so they cannot break out of their respective prisons. In other words--" A spark lit up his eyes in a way that turned Penny's stomach. "They are ancient batteries, which have been storing incredible energy for centuries."

The look of self-importance and greed that flashed across the man's face decimated the dam on Penny's emotions. How dare he, was the only thought she could process. How dare he stand there and accuse us of being selfish when his invention almost killed Ortie!

In that moment, it wasn't enough just for Ortega to be safe. She wanted more. She wanted Turo and Sada and whoever else was involved in this disaster to feel as horrible as she did.

There was someone to blame for all of this. And he stood right in front of her. The high-pitched ring grew to full volume again. She raised her fist to point an accusing finger at him...only to find her hand pulsing with a violet glow.

Chapter Text

Nemona and Juliana both gasped in almost perfect synchronization. Arven's stomach sank when he saw Penny's hand. Unless she had snuck down here and messed around with the same machine he had as a kid...whatever this thing was could spread.

Penny gripped her affected hand with her less luminescent one. Arven could see her fingers quivering, even from a distance. "Wha-what is this?"

No one answered her. Nobody had an answer, for starters. And processing recent events while the adrenaline ebbed from their brains was its own challenge. Had the world nearly ended right in front of them? Seeing the light go dark, the cavern deteriorate...

Arven shuddered. Maybe it was all Penny's hacking talk, but the memory conjured images in his mind of data corrupting. Or maybe...becoming unreadable? Whatever happened to data when you couldn't use it anymore.

The only calm one in the space was Turo. He cocked his head at Penny in curiosity, but not a shred of surprise crossed his face. "A new egg, hmm? So that's how the numbers went back up." He rubbed at the stubble on his chin. "That does buy us some time. We should proceed to the final research station."

"With you?" said Nemona. "No gracias."

Turo ignored her and set off deeper into the cavern, his loafers scuffing against the stony ground. His gait remained confident--as if he fully expected the group of them would ignore his previous actions and follow him without question.

When no one moved, he paused but did not glance back. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I do not wish you children any harm."

"Oh, no?" said Arven, his blood boiling. "Then why were you telling us to let Ortie die a minute ago?"

Turo stiffened. "Do you not think I wouldn't save him if I could? Save you, your friend, and myself as well?"

"I-I..." Arven stuttered. He wanted to yell out a nice, powerful, "Hell, no!" or "Hell, yes!" but Turo's double-negative phrasing threw his brain for a loop on which one. Plus, what did the man mean by "and myself"? The moment for a good comeback came and went.

"I would never lift a finger to hurt any of you," Turo went on. "But by the same token, nature must take its course. I can't bring myself to intervene when I've caused so much harm already."

So you won't attack us, but you won't help us, either, Arven thought, his gaze locked on his friends. Their safety came first, no matter what.

Penny kept massaging her hand, trying to take calm breaths. But every word from Turo reignited her tension. Each time the violet light began to fade, Turo would speak, Penny's grip on her fingers would tighten, and the glow would return.

Nemona hadn't made a move against the man yet, but she was keeping a sharp eye on him as she petted Goodra on the shoulder. If she suddenly shouted, "Hyper Beam to the face!" Arven wouldn't be surprised. He'd probably cheer.

Juliana appeared to be the only one who wasn't teetering on the edge of beating Turo to a pulp. She took a cautious step forward. "If you don't want to hurt us, can you put down the barrier locking out our friends?" She pointed behind them, where the rest of Team Star was all but losing their minds being separated from their boss and their youngest member.

Turo shook his head. "That isn't my doing. Paldea is trying to protect itself in whatever way it can. The barriers form and dissipate at unpredictable intervals."

"Protect itself from what?" Nemona wanted to know.

"Well, myself, for starters," Turo said. Then he motioned to Arven, Ortega, and Penny. "Along with the two, or perhaps three of you."

Arven stared at Turo. "I swear, if you give one more vague, cryptic answer..." He didn't have a good threat prepared. Once again, he came off as a stupid kid who couldn't even finish sentences, while Turo acted the part of the level-headed adult.

"This is why you should continue to the research station," Turo said. "Sada was always better at explaining such things."

"Yeah, but she's not--" Arven began, then cut himself once again. He'd had some concerns about Sada for a while now. Her strange call at the lighthouse only deepened them. It was one thing to have an idea in his mind, however farfetched. It was another to voice it aloud. Especially to a guy he wanted to beat senseless with a frying pan right now.

Oh. That would have made a great-sounding threat. I should have used it. "She's not...acting normal," he finished.

"I should think not," Turo said. "The situation being what it is, acting 'normal' would not be appropriate at all." He began to descend into the cave once again. "By the way, I do not recommend your friends linger in these caverns. Dangerous Pokémon aside, the place is quite prone to cave-ins." And with that, he disappeared around the corner he'd emerged from.

Everyone looked at each other in debate. Juliana took the only logical step she could, which was to call out Koraidon so it could carry Ortega. It certainly wasn't pleased with coming out. Its ribbon-like antennae drooped, and it lowered itself to the ground.

While Juliana coaxed it up, Penny and Nemona walked over to Team Star.

Penny placed her normal hand on the barrier, and her friends did the same. "I want to tell all of you to leave and get somewhere safe," she said.

"We won't run off and hide like that," Eri said. "We'll stay."

"Verily, we could do little else," Atticus said.

Nemona crossed her arms. "If you want to do something, you're better going back than staying here. Clavell told me the Academy has several weak points where these anomalies hit harder. The students are probably in a panic, because none of them know what's going on. If they have to evacuate, it'll be chaos." She placed her hand on the glass behind Penny's, halfway between Giacomo and Mela's hands on the opposite side. "I know our school hasn't treated you well. But they could really use some student leaders right now. If you head out the way we came in, get La Primera or Rika to escort you to the Academy. Clavell offered to shield you guys from the police until we solve this."

"Riiight," said Giacomo. "Any suggestions for how we'd get out of the crater? Our Cyclizar don't fly, remember?"

"Just call a flying taxi," said Arven. "The fees are waived for trainers in trouble."

Giacomo huffed. "Last guy who told me that started a battle and refused to send his Pokémon out."

"Yeah, the drivers can be real pranksters when they're bored," said Arven with a sympathetic nod. "You need to cry a lot. Work up a good sob story. That'll make them cut the crap and come right away."

The group nodded. Atticus, Giacomo, and Eri dropped their hands and huddled together to discuss the matter. Mela didn't budge. She locked reddening eyes with Nemona first, then Penny. "Hey, whatever we decide, you guys have to keep Ortie safe, okay?"

"Of course," said Penny.

"Naturally," said Nemona. "I mean, you did save my life out there. That's worth at least a few rounds of me leaping into peril to protect your friend, right?" She gave a chuckle, but neither Penny nor Mela joined in. Mostly they blinked in bewilderment. Nemona's cheeks turned the non-glowing variety of scarlet. "I-it was supposed to lighten the mood."

Mela snorted and finally dropped her hand from the wall so she could stifle the sound. "I'll hold you to it, student council girl," she said once she'd gathered herself. "And if you're still in one piece when this is over, come visit my base. The crew and I might have something for you." She tilted her head toward Juliana, who had finally gotten Koraidon calm. "Tell your friend she can come, too."

Nemona nodded, still blushing, and Mela went to join the others. Juliana walked Koraidon over to where Ortega lay sleeping on the ground. Nemona carefully lifted him up and mounted the ancient Pokémon with ease.

Penny came alongside Koraidon and lowered her voice so only Nemona and Juliana could hear her. "I don't think they'll leave in front of me, but they might once we head out. We should get moving."

Juliana nodded and patted Koraidon on the snout, urging it forward through its fear. The Pokémon licked her hands and followed her directions, one hesitant step at a time.

"Hey, Nemona?" said Penny before they could get out of earshot. "Thanks for talking to them. I think...it helped a lot."

"Sure!" Nemona said with a grin. As if life-saving pep talks were a perfectly normal part of the student council job description. "My pleasure!"

#

There were plenty of dangerous Pokémon left in the cavern. But none of them gave the group any trouble during the rest of their descent--their steep, crystal-clear descent. Once they rounded the corner Turo had come from, the cavern opened up to reveal thin paths that pointed sharply down to some large building at the crater's deepest floor. Even where the patches of walkway had railing, the metal bars were low and thin. More of a tripping hazard than a safety measure.

Any Pokémon that approached the group behaved in the strangest way Penny had ever seen. First they would hurry up, full of excitement, like they had found an old friend. Then, when they got close enough, their eyes would widen. They'd throw themselves into a panic and scurry away. It happened to another young Donphan, along with a Magneton that lumbered around on awkward stilt-like legs--the shadow they'd seen in one of Sada's photos, no doubt. They were also approached by what Penny had been sure was a cute little Jigglypuff...until it bared Golbat-esque fangs at her and screamed like a hyperactive Loudred.

Nearly all the Pokémon appeared to come from the past, though a few robotic Pokémon were scattered among them. One in particular looked like a Delibird. That one followed Penny for a while, beeping and chirping, until Arven shooed it away. Penny was impressed he could. The other Pokémon generally approached Arven first, only to bolt when they looked over Koraidon.

You'd think they'd enjoy a familiar Pokémon like Koraidon, Penny thought. Then again, maybe it was a fierce predator in their time.

Koraidon sure wasn't looking predatory now. It still kept its head low and dragged its feet. But at least it was walking. Ortie had stirred a few times, but he remained sound asleep, Nemona's protective arm holding him steady.

Penny shielded her eyes as they went down a particularly steep chunk of path. Even more of the strange crystals stuck out of the stone here, and their glow was nearly overwhelming. They also gave the air a dry, warm taste--the feeling of standing under a heavy spotlight. If Penny closed her eyes, it was easy to forget they were in a cave at all.

Of course, it wasn't lost on her that all these strange crystals had the same sheen as a Terastallizing Pokémon. But they had enough worries as it was.

#

The final research station was nothing like the others. While all four had clearly seen some fights, this one appeared to have lost those fights. The outside walls were much more damaged and partly encased by the crystals. At least the door was accessible. Nemona dismounted from Koraidon, still carrying Ortega, and the ride Pokémon made a quick retreat into Juliana's Poké Ball.

The place was a wreck indoors as well. Large, dented canisters lined the wall, several over on their sides. There were no defense mechanisms or illusions to discourage intruders. Hunks of crystal protruded from the ceiling. One of them had half-engulfed a fan. And right beside a teleportation circle, which flickered with questionable function, stood Professor Sada.

To no one's surprise, Turo was already there, too. He had at least had the sense to stand in a corner as far from the entrance as possible. Penny wasn't sure it helped, but she could at least face Sada without looking at him. That had to count for something.

"I see everyone is here," Sada said, arms stiff at her sides. "Now, then. Will someone please inform me what happened out there?"

"I could have told you without waiting for these children," Turo replied. "The final Treasure created a fourth Bad Egg." Which had to be code for something for all the sense it made. Though if the 'treasure' meant one of those sealed Legendary Pokémon...

"Oh?" Sada asked. "Who is it?"

Turo gestured to Penny, who shoved her hand behind her back. It wasn't glowing so much anymore. The purple was barely visible unless you stared hard at her palm.

"That's a rude name to call her," Nemona said. "Penny's a good person. All she did was get a little upset."

Penny suspected plotting Turo's murder counted as more than "a little" upset. But she nodded along with Nemona anyway.

Sada looked confused for a moment, then closed her eyes and muttered briefly to herself. "Ah," she said when she'd opened them again. "No, no. Not as in a malicious individual. Turo simply means 'an entity that this reality does not recognize.'"

"And the term for that is a...Bad Egg?" Penny asked.

Sada nodded. "Quite so. The world of extraplanar research has its own unique colloquialisms. Remind me to tell you the tale of Missingno sometime. But as for the matter at hand..." She gestured to Turo, who straightened and reached inside his lab coat.

Everyone in the group tensed.

"It's only the lock key," he said, pulling out a worn, purple tome that bore a striking resemblance to Arven's Scarlet Book. He held it over the lock and when the light glowed green, he pressed the button. The station floor vibrated, and the light on the teleportation circle steadied itself.

"Ah, this is good," Sada said. "With all the locks open, this can take us straight into the Zero Lab." She paused and turned to the group. "Although...I suppose you children would like an explanation before we proceed?"

"We wanted one way before that," Arven snapped. "But we'll take it now, yeah."

Sada remained un-phased. "Very well. You are aware that Professor Turo and Pro--and myself...worked together to create a time machine."

"I knew about your work," Nemona said. "Your work on Terastallization, I mean. Everyone knows about that. But I'd never heard of time machines or Turo before today."

The others nodded in agreement. Turo's expression darkened at this reaction--it seemed Nemona had hit a nerve. Penny allowed herself a smidge of enjoyment at this.

"The time machine was always our biggest dream," Sada said. "The study of Terastallization functioned as a means of revenue. But ultimately, the dream was never realized."

"What are you talking about?" Juliana said. She pointed to the still-open station entrance. "There's tons of past Pokémon and even a few future Pokémon wandering the caves here."

"Yes, I suppose that is some measure of success," Sada agreed. "Yet we envisioned more. We wanted humans to explore different times themselves. Learn from the past..." She glanced back at Turo. "...or the future, depending on one's view. But we could not create a reliable way to travel to our own past. Or future." She lifted an eyebrow. "Any action, however slight, that would disrupt history or alter upcoming events broke the connection. It seems the Pokémon who can control such things will viciously defend that proprietorship. So we had to look beyond our timeline."

"You mean like, in the Distortion World?" Penny asked, not liking the direction of this conversation one bit.

Sada shook her head. "No. I don't mean another plane in this universe. I'm talking about a different reality altogether. One that does not and cannot co-exist with our own." Her stretched her two hands out flat, holding one slightly above the other as an illustration. "There are multiple planes in our reality...the aura plane that some Pokémon can see into, for example. And the Distortion World, as you suggested. Not to mention whatever it was Team Galactic tried to create years ago."

She pulled both her hands apart and balled them into fists instead. "But there is a different reality where humans and Pokémon reside in separate planes and rarely interact. Imagine a universe where the Distortion World is the place all Pokémon live, not simply Giratina."

"Sounds like a lousy reality," said Nemona.

"Perhaps to a passionate trainer like yourself, yes," Sada said. "Nevertheless, that is the universe our device was able to connect to freely. At any point in its timeline we desired. Though even then, only inanimate objects could traverse the barrier. If anything living passed from that universe into our own, it would slowly but surely cease to exist."

Arven gave an audible gulp. Penny shared the sentiment. Her thoughts drifted to the crystals, how their strange surfaces made her think of a mirror to another world. Maybe the image wasn't so imaginative after all.

"So you...brought back Pokémon from that other reality?" Juliana said. "How?"

"We brought back Poké Balls containing Pokémon," Sada corrected. "Our machine stabilizes the Pokémon within the Poké Ball during transport. It was never made to interact directly with organic matter. And even its power can't protect these creatures forever. Eventually, they will fade from this universe as well."

As if in response to her ominous words, Ortega stirred in Nemona's arms.

Sada continued, "I do not know what precisely happened when Arven and Ortega interacted with the device as children. But by any criterion I can measure, their bodies, auras, energy signatures...everything registers as extradimensional. Foreign to this reality."

"We attempted to create a remedy, of course," Turo cut in. "Instead, I found myself inflicted with the same symptoms. Now all three of us have started to vanish, the same as any Pokémon from outside this reality would do."

"H-hold on!" Penny said, desperate for a hole in Sada's story. Maybe because she didn't want to believe it. Maybe because she didn't want to think about what it meant for her and the others. There had to be a contradiction of some kind in there. "It's not just Ortie and Arven that have been flickering. We've seen it happen to Pokémon and objects and buildings...along with a bunch of other weird crap." She crossed her arms. "You going to tell us the sky over Montenevera also stuck its hand in your stupid machine when it was a kid?"

Ortega stirred again. His eyes blinked open. It took all Penny's self-restraint not to run over and hug him. If she had anything like what Arven did, touching him would be a really bad idea now.

"I would not tell you that," Sada said, confused. "Because the sky has neither childhood nor appendages. The phenomenon you describe occur when a Bad Egg connects with one of the Treasures of Ruin." She locked eyes with Turo first, then Arven, then Penny. Nemona lowered Ortega to the floor and helped him steady himself.

Sada waited until he was standing, then turned and spoke directly to Penny. "My knowledge is quite limited here. I do not even know how your readings would register right now, child. But I understand this much. You, Turo, Arven, and Ortega have each tapped into the energy of these cursed Pokémon that we were foolish enough to power our device with. And for at least some of you, that energy has created a sort of defense mechanism."

"What do you mean?" Penny asked, her throat dry.

"I mean," said Sada. "That rather than disappear yourselves, your bodies are trying to erase the world around you." She lowered her head. The teleportation circle cast an eerie green glow across her face. "And I regret to say, the effort is succeeding."

Chapter Text

Penny's head was spinning. This couldn't be right. Everything they'd worked towards was supposed to make Paldea better. Now...what? She'd been dragging two of the anomalies' biggest catalysts all over the region? And she'd become of them herself? She knew hard work didn't always pay off, but that didn't mean it should accomplish the exact opposite.

She stole a glance at Turo and felt a sour feeling in her stomach. Nothing had changed. This mess was still his and Sada's fault. And if they turned their backs on her for even a second...

Ortega cried out in alarm. "Whoa! You're doing this stuff, too, boss? How long was I out?!"

Penny looked at her fingers, which had gone translucent. The sight of it make her gasp and pulled her out of her vengeful thoughts. Her hand then returned to normal.

"You're gonna need to stop doing that," Arven told her in the same tone one might say, "It's rainy today; don't forget your umbrella."

"I'm not used to this like you two are, all right?" Penny said. Then she winced. Ortie had been conscious for all of a minute, and he'd already gotten quite the shocker from both her and Sada. He didn't need her snapping at him on top of it. And Penny was usually the last person to do that sort of thing. Seriously, does this weird connection make emotions stronger?

"S-sorry, Ortie," she said, her gaze on the textured metal floor. "I'm just...really disoriented right now. I didn't mean to make it sound like you guys have it easy."

"No worries, but someone seriously needs fill me in here," Ortega said. He raised his pointer finger and circled it to indicate both the station and its full list of emotional bombshells. "Because so far, you've been flickering, and all I heard from Sada was that the sky now has a body with defense appendages that are trying to erase the world." He massaged his forehead. "Also something about cursed Pokémon powering a device?"

"The second is accurate," Sada said, taking a step towards them. "The first less so."

Penny instinctively took a step back from her and smacked her ankle on a computer case. It stung. Also Turo and Sada's fault.

Sada continued, "I will be happy to correct any misunderstandings or knowledge gaps once we arrive at the Zero Lab." She motioned to the teleportation circle in front of her. "Now, which one of you is going in first?"

"Considering you think our deaths will save the world, I'm gonna say nobody," Arven told her. Then, speaking to Ortega, he added, "Oh, yeah, you were asleep for this part, but Turo wants to kill you, and Sada agrees."

"Wait, what?"

"That is also inaccurate," Sada said. A simple statement; her tone didn't raise in volume or pitch.

Penny might not have been a people person, but if someone felt wrongly accused of attempted murder, they should sound upset about it, right? Unless...? "Arven, can we talk a second? Away from these two?"

"I would not advise coming into close proximity with one another," Sada warned, despite Penny's attempts to keep her voice low. "But if you wish for Turo and myself to go through the teleporter first and give you some privacy, we will do so."

"Hold on!" Turo said with a loud, clipped voice. The way a person with objections was supposed to sound. "What's to stop them from fleeing the station once we leave?"

In lieu of words, Sada waved her hand at the entry threshold. The battered door, which Penny assumed had rusted into on open position, gave a loud squeal as it swung shut. The clank of the bolts locking into place broke whatever confidence their braver group members had.

"That," Sada said.

Turo huffed and stepped forward onto the teleportation circle. It kicked the glow factor up a notch, flooding the room in green. Several holographic hoops rose up, encompassing Turo, and in the next instant, he was gone.

Nemona reached out her hand before Sada stepped on the circle to follow him. "Wait a sec! So if Paldea doesn't think Arven and the others are from this reality, where does it think they're from?"

Sada appeared to genuinely consider this. "A curious question. When we reconvene, I believe my lab equipment can make a determination. We will see you there soon." She walked onto the circle mid-way through her sentence and barely got out the word "soon" before she vanished.

With the adults gone, the final research lab felt a little less threatening. Which was ironic, considering they were now locked inside it. Juliana and Nemona both went over to try forcing the door open. Even Tinkaton took a literal swing at it, which rung the whole station like a giant bell. The door barely budged, and from between the cracks along the edge, shards of iridescent crystal began to creep onto the hammer. Tinkaton shrieked at the sight and yanked her precious weapon back. Goodra looked intimidated as well. The crystal stopped growing, but neither Pokémon was willing to attack the door again.

Once her ears stopped ringing, Penny took the time to catch Ortega up on everything. He took it as well as she could expect, though he was clearly upset to learn the rest of Team Star couldn't come with them. All the while, Penny kept her eye on the teleportation circle Turo and Sada had left from. "I can't get over how unfair this is. I wanna wring both their necks so bad."

"Yeah, I can...see that," Arven said, looking her up and down. Penny had no idea what expression she had or body language she was giving off, but Arven looked concerned. So did the others, now that she glanced around the room. "No offense, but you're holding a bigger grudge against them than me. And I'm the kid they abandoned."

"I know," said Penny, taking a seat on the computer case she'd smacked her foot on before. It was thick and bolted to the floor--even had rounded edges instead of sharp corners. The thing was clearly begging to be reborn as an ottoman. "I don't know if it's stress or what. This isn't like me, but...anytime I remember what they did, it makes me..." Her hands balled into fists.

"Okay, slow breaths, now," Juliana said.

Penny did so. Arven fished out the Scarlet book and flipped through the pages. "It's probably more than stress. Sada said we tapped into the Treasures' energies or something. There's a bunch of info about them in here, along with the Herba Mystica stuff. Says they were...created by some powerful negative emotions? Yeah, here it is..."

He ran his finger down the page, eyes darting the same way Penny's did in a code frenzy. "Ting-Lu. A dark and ground type. Created from people's fear." He swallowed and turned the page. "Right. Guess that's my guy, then. Chien-Pao. A dark and ice type. Created from people's fury." He and Juliana both glanced over at Ortega.

"Hey, what's everyone eyeing me for?" Ortega snapped. Almost stomped his foot, too, before he caught himself and crossed his arms with a huff. "Fine. Point noted. Continue."

Penny thought she fit the bill for that one pretty well herself but held back until Arven could finish reading.

Arven went back to the book. "The other two are Chi-Yu, a dark-fire-type that comes from envy, and Wo-Chien, a dark-grass-type that comes from bitterness." He flipped the page. "Wo-Chien's a bit different. The others were all born from a bunch of people's negative feelings about this really lousy king. But Wo-Chien was created by one person's grudge."

"¿En serio? That's a nasty grudge," Nemona said.

"Well, I'm not jealous of your parents, that's for sure," Penny said. "And the grudge description fits my feelingsbetter than it does Ortie's...I think?" She met eyes with Ortega, who nodded his agreement.

"So if Turo is the fourth one, he's connected to Chi-Yu's energy through envy?" asked Juliana.

"That would make a lot of sense," Arven said. "Sada talked a lot when I was kid about how jealous he was of her work. Said that was the big reason he left. I don't know how much is true, but it's all we've got to go on." He put the book away. The room fell into an awkward silence as everyone took up what Penny could only describe as their thinking poses. Arven crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and tapped his foot; his shoes ding-ed on the metal floor every time. Nemona took up a similar position, though she thankfully didn't make any sounds with it. Juliana stared at the floor, occasionally swinging her arms back and forth. Ortega couldn't think at all without something in his hands. He found a length of PVC pipe on the floor and smacked it against his open palm in lieu of his staff.

Penny found herself rubbing her forehead with her thumb knuckle. It helped her focus more than she expected; even tunedout the background noise that Arven and Ortie kicked up. So...if we can sever our connections with these darkPokémon, will everything go back to normal? Or are we in too deep for that?

"Maybe the time machine is the key to stopping this?" she mused aloud. "I don't know if it can reverse the damage somehow or if we should destroy it. We obviously don't want to break the thing if it could help."

"How to break it is a whole different mess," Arven said. "I don't imagine it's sitting out in the open with a self-destruct button or a hammer that says, 'Use ME to bust up the time machine!'"

Nemona opened her eyes. "Um...I know this is way out of my area of expertise..."

To which Penny really wanted to reply, Yes, it is, so please keep quiet and let me think. But Nemona, Juliana, and Arven were as much a part of her team as any of the Team Star bosses. She'd certainly listen if Mela or Atticus had asuggestion, and neither of them were tech experts by any stretch. Then Penny realized Nemona was waiting for her go-ahead and nodded for her to continue.

"Well, maybe the time machine is a bit of a red Magikarp..."

"All Magikarp are red," Ortega muttered.

"You know what I mean. A mislead. If the problem is that you're not 'from here'--" She made exaggerated finger quotes. Probably to note that she considered them fellow Paldeans, whether the fabric of space-time agreed or not. "--is it possible for you to visit wherever you are 'from'? Maybe that will make your issues go away, and then afterwards you can come home."

"I think that just re-creates the original problem," said Penny. Though it sure is a nice thought.

"What about Professor Sada?" Juliana asked as she broke her staring contest with the metal floor. "Something's weird with her, right? Her project started this mess, but she doesn't seem to feel anything about it. She'd not defensive or upset at all."

"I don't know if she can get upset," said Penny. Arven watched her intently but made no other reaction.

"What are you saying?" Ortega asked.

Penny couldn't bring herself to answer him. It was such an insane suggestion--well, maybe not so insane given the circumstances...but if she was wrong, how would Arven feel?

"She's saying that wasn't Professor Sada who talked to us," Arven said. "And I agree. Which means...the last time I saw her for real was eight years ago."

Penny expected the next inquiry to be the obvious one: who were they all speaking to, if not Professor Sada?

In an odd moment of sensitivity, Nemona stepped up to Arven and ignored any burning questions. "I'm so sorry. So you think your mom--I mean, you think Sada abandoned you after what happened with the machine?"

Arven shook his head. "She was a lousy parent, but I always got emails from her now and again. And nothing in her last one sounded like she planned to cut off contact." He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his inbox, even though he didn't open any messages. "She always sent me one on my birthday. It'd come sometimes at 4am, sometimes at 10pm, but she never missed the actual day." He tapped the screen off and rubbed at his eyes. "Those emails stopped after I turned eleven. I don't know what that thing is we've been communicating with, but...it's not her."

"I think..." Penny quietly began. All eyes turned to her in an instant. The question might have been left unsaid, but everyone still wanted answers. "That is, she talks an awful lot like an AI. They can mimic human speech really well, but they don't have the reactions for extreme emotions. I mean, for obvious reasons. You don't want a robot driving recklessly because they just got bad news. Or flipping a table because they're mad. Also, her sarcasm meter is non-existent. She's taken everything we say at face value."

"So Sada's been replaced with an AI?" Ortega asked. "You realize how insane that sounds?"

Penny stood. The computer case wasn't as comfortable as expected, and she already felt sore. "Yeah, well, our home is vanishing because we all got emotional while interacting with some space-time-aura juice. I'm just adding to the list at this point." She stepped up to the teleportation circle, which bathed her Great Ball sweatshirt with its warm, green glow. "I'd say we've had enough private time. Let's get down there and find out how to fix this mess."

Nemona grinned and punched her fist into her palm. "You're speaking my language now. ¡Finalmente!"

She stepped up, the green glow now on her face as well, but she didn't put her foot on the circle yet. Maybe she was waiting to see if Penny wanted to go first? Penny motioned her forward. It seemed like a leader-ly thing to do.

But Nemona still hesitated to leave. "Hey. Weird question, but Mela said I...well, Juliana and I should go to her base when this is over. Any idea what that's about?"

Penny shrugged. Technically, Mela didn't have a base anymore. But the fact that she was talking about it meant she had plans to rebuild it. Plans for the future. And Penny would do all she could to make sure her friends had that future. "Team Star bosses do what they want," she said. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Nemona nodded. "Right. Here we go, then!" Instead of stepping forward, she took a small jump and landed on the teleportation circle with both feet. The holographic rings rose up around her, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Right, Penny repeated to herself, not feeling nearly as positive as she wanted to. Here's to making it back out alive. And with that, she held her breath, took a step, and let the light take her.

Chapter Text

"Welcome!" Sada--or rather, AI Sada--said the moment they stepped out of the teleporter. Arven was last to exit, which probably meant they had all been waiting on him. He ignored the greeting and set down his bag, taking the time to look around.

The lab wasn't as large as he expected, though he did notice a corridor along the back wall leading off somewhere. So maybe there was more to the place than they saw.

It was another octagonal metal room, similar to the research stations. At least half a dozen movable whiteboards stood side-by-side. Scrawled notes and faded photos plastered their surfaces. Large pipes and canisters occupied half the walls, while an array of flashing panels lined the others. In front of one of these panels, a circle glowed on the floor with a soft yellow light. Arven might have mistaken it for another teleporter at first...if not for a note on the nearest whiteboard. Written in thick black ink with an arrow pointing to the floor, it read, "NOT a teleporter!" From the smell of Sharpie in the room, Arven suspected this was a recent addition.

An elevator stood in one of the corners, a small bed in another. Unlike the station beds, it was smooth and well-kept. Almost too perfect. And the papers had been taped to the whiteboards at a clean, even distance from each other. As if someone had been working to keep this place as picturesque as possible rather than make use of anything in it. Turo sat on the bed's corner, his weight creating the only creases in its thin, olive-green blanket.

"Finally," he said, standing. The mattress creaked in relief. "Now we can get some answers."

"Indeed," said Sada, who waited beside the whiteboard-turned-warning-sign. She pointed first to Penny, then to the glowing yellow floor circle. "Since we have the least information on you, Penny, I suggest we perform a scan on you first."

When Penny didn't move, she added on, "This will allow me to determine whether or not you are still grounded in this time and reality. Afterwards, I will run an identical scan on Ortega and compare the data."

Arven sighed. Of course that was the info they wanted. At least it confirmed they hadn't been listening in on the conversation in the final research lab. They'd say something about Penny and Arven's revelation on the fake, robotic Sada if they had. Wouldn't they?

Then again, maybe they wouldn't. "Hey, what about me?" Arven said, moving in front of Penny.

"I can get a reading on you as well, if you like," AI Sada said. "My information is a bit dated, and an update would be helpful. You were originally scanned once after your first interaction with the machine and again a year later."

He rubbed his head. Vague memories stirred of his mother bringing him to the lab, asking him to stand here or there and not move...breathe in and out... It had all been under the pretext of making sure the machine didn't hurt him in some way. Leave it to Sada to treat him like her test subject first and her son second.

Penny walked around Arven and stood on the circle where Sada indicated. It didn't seem like the brightest idea to him, but then, maybe she had a plan? Or maybe her curiosity about all this overpowered her sense of self-preservation. She wouldn't be the first person in this room if it did, Arven thought as he watched Turo come up beside Sada.

The two of them flipped switches, adjusted knobs, and scanned both the Scarlet and Violet books. A small screen lit up on one of the panels with a yes-or-no prompt. "It is imperative that you hold still throughout the process," said Sada. "Do you understand?"

Penny swallowed hard and nodded. Then Sada tapped "yes" on the screen. The machine hummed, and the circular pad performed much the same way as the teleporter: rings of light rose up and down around Penny. She flinched every time one got near her face. But she kept her word and stiffened her muscles until the process was over.

"Very good," Sada said, scrolling through a block of text that had now appeared on the screen. "I need a moment to analyze this. But Turo can get you started next." She pointed directly at Ortega without lifting her head.

With some encouragement from Penny, he stepped onto the circle and Turo ran through the whole process again. Then he ran through it a third time with Arven.

Should I say something? Arven thought as the rings of light passed over his face. He kept his eyes closed, trying to picture himself on an elevator, the shafts of sunlight moving across his eyelids. A normal thing in a normal world where the worst he had to worry about was if he could graduate on time.

Of course, with his eyes shut, he didn't notice the process was over until the machine stopped humming. Turo shooed him off the pad, and he sheepishly stood alongside everyone else.

Sada put her hands behind her back like she was some guest lecturer from the academy. "The results are as predicted.Arven's reality is registering as approximately six thousand years in an alternate past, while Penny and Ortega's register at about two thousand years in an alternate future."

That seems unfair, Arven thought. Which was stupid, but his brain had to grab onto something. Might as well be some unequal numbers.

Sada shook her head. "I'm afraid neither of these are distances our stabilizer can remedy. Not even for a single one of you. Turo's solution is the only viable one."

Penny jolted at the word remedy. "Wait. You have a stabilizer!?"

"Do not raise your voice, young lady," the robotic Sada said. "It is only functional in the lab, with the tera crystals and the amplifying stakes nearby. And it is not strong enough to permanently correct any of your space-time displacements. However..." She twirled a piece of her hair...or whatever passed as her hair...the same way Arven remembered the real Sada doing his whole childhood. "...it can disable your defensive capabilities long enough to let nature take its course."She locked her gaze on Nemona and Juliana, who had both tensed up for a fight. "The teleporter is the only route out of here, and it was disabled upon Arven's arrival. I'm afraid it will have to remain so until Paldea's safety is assured."

"Wasn't planning on running," Nemona said.

Penny's hands balled into fists. "So that's your plan? Keep us down here until we just fade away?"

"My plan is to protect Paldea," Sada said. "I was under the impression this was your goal as well."

"Yeah, but we wanted to live through it!" said Ortega.

Sada gave him no reply.

Penny went hardcore into her tap-and-rub-forehead mode. Which Arven hoped meant she would come up with an idea. Soon.

"I am sorry not to have better news," the AI Sada continued. It was strange how she had just enough inflection to get the job done. Like a doctor with a perfectly aqueduct bedside manner. She didn't rush the news or try to sugar-coat it. Her apologetic tone sounded sincere enough without inviting any deeper discussion.

"Can a robot 'feel' sorry?" Arven said.

Turo's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

Sada stared at Arven. Unblinking. Mechanical. "How long have you known?" she asked. And just like that, it was out. No more tuning out all those times she didn't sound quite right. No more pretending the gaps in her speech were due to a bad connection or some other crap. He'd always kept his head down to avoid the truth.

But if they were going to get out of here, Penny needed time and space to think. Arven wasn't much of a planner. But hecould stir up some great time-filling drama when he wanted.

"So it's true, then? I can't believe I didn't see it before." Turo's voice had a low, visceral tone, more like a growl than a mutter. "To think...I bring this technology into our world, and the first thing Sada does is use it for her own benefit." He shook his head and paced the room, footsteps pounding into the floor. His volume rose with each word. "Of course...of course she would! Why should I have expected anything else from her?!"

Arven made a mental note to follow up on that comment later. For now, he had a better idea to keep these two occupied. And to get answers for himself as well.

"So if you're a fake Sada, where's the real one?"

Again, the robot stared at him. Probably running some process through her circuits, determining the answer most likely to work. "Deceased," she said at last.

Ortega gasped. Arven suspected she might answer that way, but the speed she did it with threw him off. He waited for some overemotional reaction to punch him in the gut. At least he should be crying or something, right? Instead, all he got out was a hollow, "How?"

"An attack by one of the Pokemon brought through the transporter," the robot replied. Without delay this time. "It became spooked by its new environment, and she was unable to calm it. The specimen fled and has now adjusted to life in Area Zero. I informed her that her injuries were fatal, administered what pain relief I could, and quietly took care of arrangements at her passing. At her request, I took on her identity and removed myself from the public eye."

Turo didn't stop pacing, but his footsteps had quieted.

Ortega sniffled and removed one of his fancy gloves to rub his eyes. Which seemed pretty inconsiderate. He hadn't seen Sada in years. And it wasn't like she had paid him any more attention as a kid than she paid Arven. So how come he was able to cry and Arven wasn't?

"Can we call you something besides 'Sada'?" Ortega asked quietly as he slipped his glove back on. "It feels...really uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" The robotic professor considered this. Or at least, she went through the motions of considering it. "I do follow your logic there. Is 'AI Sada' sufficient?"

"Not really," said Arven.

"Just call her 'Ai,'" Penny muttered, her voice distant and her gaze on the wall. Not the most creative name. Knowing Penny, she probably got it from some old anime or something. But she had more important things to think about right now. And from her distracted tone, she might be close to a breakthrough.

Arven, Ortega, and even Turo reluctantly nodded.

"Very well," the robot said. "I shall now respond to the name 'Ai' and retire the name 'Sada.'"

Arven breathed an audible sigh of relief. It was nothing of significance to the robot; she would respond however they asked her to. But for him, it felt like closing a chapter of his life he couldn't stop flipping back to. The tears still wouldn't come, but maybe with a little time, they could.

"There's got to be another solution," Penny said. "Another way to keep Paldea safe. Could this stabilizer of yours be expanded somehow?"

"I have considered all other angles," Ai assured them. "The stabilizer's power usage correlates to the distance of the subject's reality from our own."

Arven had no idea what that meant--a fact the robot was oblivious to, but their teen genius picked up on straight away.

"In other words," Penny said. "From here, it would take a huge amount of power to save Arven. More power than you already have."

"Exponentially more," Ai agreed.

Penny began tapping her hand against her thigh, keeping her thoughts moving. "But if this lab were located, say, a couple thousand years in the past...you'd need a lot less?"

"2,000 years in our past? We're still talking about a cross-universe stabilization, so the amount would hardly be trivial. But yes, it would be less."

"Right. And if we were all in this other reality you idiots tapped into?"

Turo flinched at the insult, but Ai remained impassive. "In that case, the energy usage would be trivial."

"You forget we don't have a time machine to our past," Turo cut in. "Or any past. Because, as I am quite sure we explained to you children before...the machine doesn't work on living creatures."

Ai faced Penny. "I do understand your desire to find an alternate solution. But I assure you, there isn't one. I suggest you children make yourselves as comfortable as possible rather than spend your remaining time in a frustrated search for what does not exist."

"I for one plan to consume an unhealthy amount of alcohol and hope I vanish before the hangover kicks in," Turo said.

"Hangovers are generally felt within twelve hours of consumption," Ai informed him. "According to my latest readings, the earliest you would vanish is a week from today." Then, to Penny, she added, "For you children...factoring in Arven's intervention in the cavern...I would place the estimates at roughly three to four weeks."

Someone stifled a sob. Arven thought it was Ortega again, but when he looked towards the teleporter, Nemona's face glistened with tears. The dull glow from the inactive teleporter cast her damp face in a greenish tinge. "H-how can you say all these things like it doesn't matter?"

Penny lowered her head and stopped fidgeting. "Because to her, it doesn't," she said, her voice barely audible. She was tired. Broken.

No, no, no! Arven thought. She couldn't give up now. There was no way a machine could imagine every weird, obscure possibility the way a human could. The way a young person could. Seriously, wasn't their whole job as teenagers to think of stupid crap that had no chance of working? To try that crap out because they had nothing better to do? Adults across every generation described teens the same: self-absorbed brats who believed they could do anything.

Right now, Arven and Ortega and even Turo--though he didn't deserve it--needed Penny to believe she could do anything. Screw "real-life" experience and AI analysis and any other obstacle that said otherwise.

Arven had to do something to keep Penny from listening to Ai. Something to spark her brain back to action--to make her remember what she excelled at.

"Hey," he said to Ai. "Give Penny some space. She's got stuff to process." He shot his friend a pointed look. "Right?"

Penny's reddened eyes met his. He wouldn't call her charged to action, but she had a spark of energy that wasn't there before. "R-right."

Arven faced Ai, his arms crossed. "Why don't you tell me more about this robot technology? What makes you so much like Sada?" He thought he'd nailed a topic that could get any robot talking for hours.

Unfortunately, it was Turo who stepped up to answer. "It's a fascinating technology, really." The man sounded exhausted. Like a sleep-deprived parent humoring a child with one more story before bed. Not that this jerk would know what that felt like. "Robotic avatars are quite commonplace in the future. We brought one back while we were still fine-turning the machine. It can project any sort of image with hyperrealistic detail."

"I get how it looks like her," Arven said. "I wanna know how this--" He indicated Ai's robotic body. "--knows what she would say and how she would say it."

He tried to ignore Turo as much as possible, but the man seemed convinced he was part of this conversation. "Ah. That's what makes...Sa--erm, Ai here so interesting. The system built into these devices were originally designed to reach a human's brainwaves. So Ai not only has a wealth of information about Sada's mannerisms and behavior patterns, she's developed a way to process all of it. And she sends the results as a signal so similar to a human's that her robotic body accepts it and behaves as commanded."

Arven was getting pretty annoyed at how derailed this conversation had become. Then he noticed Ai's gaze on them. And Penny behind her, back in thinking mode.

Turo sighed and massaged his forehead. "It's been so long since I've discussed things like this. I almost forgot what it feels like."

"What do you mean?" Juliana asked.

"Yeah," said Nemona. "Isn't studying the future your whole job?"

"It was my whole job," Turo said. "When Sada and I reached a fundamental disagreement on what the machine should be used for, we pressed our employer for a decision." He lowered his head, but it didn't do much to hide his seething envy. "They chose her. And they let me go. Like...everything I had done up to that point was only in service to her work. I was given an extremely generous severance package. Didn't need to work another day if I didn't care to. Ever since then, the only thing on my mind has been to unravel Sada's research. To find a flaw that would prove her views wrong."

A heavy silence hung in the air. If there was any question about which Treasure of Ruin Turo had connected with, he'd answered them in full.

Penny stepped forward. "Y'know, I really can't think with your pity party going on here." Her voice was confident once again. Strong. Just what Arven would expect from the leader of Team Star.

She said nothing else to Turo and addressed Ai instead. "Let us go back. Give us a week in our own space to come up with a different solution. If we can't..." She swallowed hard. "...then we'll come back here, and we'll save Paldea your way."

Turo barked out a laugh. "Right. And how do we know you'll return at all?"

"Because." This time it was Ortega who spoke. Arven didn't like the conviction in his voice. He sounded on the verge of something teenager-ly stupid. "I'm staying behind to make sure they do."

Yeah. Something like that. Arven, Penny, Juliana, and Nemona all stared at him.

"¿E-en serio?"

"You can't do that, Ortie!"

Arven couldn't even get his words out at first. He never wanted to smack his friend so badly. "Are you insane? With as infuriating as these two are, you'll vanish in a couple days!"

"You'll be worse," Ortega argued. "And you're a sore subject for Turo. He doesn't even know me. Besides..." His hands shook as he held his arms stiffly at his sides. "...everyone always says I don't think of anyone except myself. If we're gonna vanish in less than a month, I want one thing I do to show they're wrong."

It was a passionate sentiment. And it got Nemona crying all over again. This time Juliana joined her. Even Arven's eyes were burning. All he could think about was what he could say to get Ortega back off and see reason.

Only Penny stood firm. "All of you quit babying Ortie. It pisses him off. He's got this. And so do we." She smiled at her friend. "You hold the fort down here, all right? Boss's orders."

"We're Team Star," he said, smiling back. "I'd say it's more 'boss's strongly-worded suggestion.' And I will." He walked over and stood behind Ai, far away from the teleporter. She raised her arm just enough to block him off if he tried to run.

"Y-you can't all be serious," Turo said.

Ai's robotic gaze flickered to each of their faces in turn. Analyzing. Processing. Debating the most likely outcome. "I believe you," she said. In defiance of Turo's slackened jaw, she raised her free hand. The teleportation circle brightened. "One week. I will see you then."

Chapter Text

Ai programmed the teleporter to take everyone back to Zero Gate. Penny might have called it considerate minus the part where she was holding one of her best friends hostage. The place was still as they'd left it. The lights were low at first, but thanks to Penny's earlier intervention, they brightened when they sensed the arrivals.

The hatch leading to the outside world was cracked open, and a pounding rainstorm outside provided some oddly soothing white noise. The flying taxi agreed to come with the caveat that it might be more a wait than usual. But their no-pickups-at the-forbidden-crater broke upon hearing a few well-timed sobs and sniffles. And Juliana was making those on her own anyway after leaving Ortega behind.

Nemona had stopped crying soon after they left and instead turned to a fear-filled chant of, "Mela is going to kill us, Mela is going to kill us, Mela is going to kill us."

"She's not going to kill you," Penny said.

Juliana pulled off her glasses to dry her eyes. "No offense, but your phrasing makes it sound like breaking our limbs and beating us senseless are still real possibilities."

"They're not, it's just..." Penny groaned as she debated how to rephrase herself. "Mela and Ortie bickered from day one. She's scared of losing him like we all are, but she's terrified on top of it that their last conversation will be an argument. And when Mela's scared, she tends to, y'know, threaten a lot."

"I see." Nemona didn't look completely settled, but she at least stopped chanting about their imminent demise. "You know, when you phrase that way, it sounds kind of sweet."

"You and I have different definitions of 'sweet,'" Juliana muttered as she pushed her glasses back on.

Penny did not put in a vote on the matter. Mela and Nemona both communicated not through words or a screen but through battles. It wasn't her language of choice, but Team Star was never about people doing everything the same.

"Mela doesn't have to murder us, anyway," Arven said. "Because Vanessa will probably do it first." He shook his head. "Man, it's gotta be nice having multiple people who would kill to keep you safe. As opposed to having your own parents try to end your life."

A lump swelled in Penny's throat. She struggled to focus on Arven, on helping him to feel better, and not on how much any discussion of Turo made her want to punch her hand through a wall.

"That robot down there wasn't Sada," Penny said. "It's a program made to look like her. And your dad sucks."

Arven gave a harsh laugh. "Aw, come on. You're just saying that because his presense triggers some psychic bond you've made with the ancient embodiment of bitterness."

This got somewhat of a chuckle from the rest of the group as well. The conversation died down as they watched the falling rain through the open hatch.

After a minute or two, the teleportation circle glowed again.

For a split second, Penny had the unfounded hope Ortega would step out. Maybe even announce that the professor and the AI had seen the error of their ways and were committed to finding another way to save their home. Instead, much to Penny's dismay, Turo stepped out of the teleporter. He had his hands behind his back like he was there to inspect their posture or something.

"Ai requested I confirm that you have left safely," he said without anyone asking a question. "When you have fully exited the crater, I will return to the Zero Lab. Also..." He brought his hands forward to reveal Ortega's staff--broken clean in two. "...I took the longer route via the research station teleporters and found this jammed in one of the doorways. Does it belong to any of you?"

Penny shook with anger as she inspected it more closely. The cut was jagged, though she wasn't enough of an expert in these things to tell more. The last she remembered Ortie having this, Arven had used it save him. And right before that, they were running for their lives from a pair of time-traveling Donphan. Although Atticus had certainly fashioned the staff with love and care from solid materials, Penny imagined there wasn't much his work could do against an ancient monster and a futuristic robot equipped with who knew what.

She knew, logically, the staff had been broken before they even contacted Turo. Correlation, not causation, was pretty much her mantra in science class. But the obvious metaphor eroded the rational part of her brain.

"It's Ortega's," she said through gritted teeth. "You should return it to him, not me." She took what was meant to be a step backwards and lost her footing. Either a misstep or her foot going temporarily incorporeal, she couldn't say. She stumbled back several feet before she re-caught her balance and refused to look at anything except the floor.

"Okay, okay, cálmate..." Nemona urged her from behind. She put a hand on Penny's shoulder and guided her towards the hatch, where the sound of the rain could better drown out Turo's voice. Penny did her best to direct her attention there. She only half succeeded.

#

Arven, meanwhile, moved between his father and the rest of the group. Did the man not have any human contact the past decade? It was the only explanation Arven could think of for him being this dense. "Why did you decide to see us off?" he said in a low voice.

Turo cradled both sections of the broken staff in his left arm. "Ai seemed to think her presense would upset you."

"Yours is worse," Arven said. "You're the one who's supposed to be human."

Turo rubbed at the growing stubble on his chin with his free hand. "Just because your mother isn't here doesn't mean she would behave any different than I. Not to mention, you forget my life is also at stake." His hand slipped down to his lab coat pocket. His eyebrows rose a bit, as if he'd found something inside he didn't expect.

"If that's supposed to make me feel bad for you, I don't," Arven said.

Turo didn't answer him. Whatever was in his pocket, he kept fingering it. Finally, he pulled it out. It was a necklace--beaded with alternating colors of orange and brown and three white diamond-shaped beads, larger than the rest. Identical to the one Sada always wore.

Then it hit Arven. This was the one Sada always wore. The robot was only projecting an image of it.

"You know, we did meet up several years ago. Tried one more time to make it work. In the end, she left this behind. Said I was one part of the past she never wanted to hear about again." He shook his head and his fingers closed around the necklace. "I was so consumed with envy, I didn't even notice Ai's illusory one. If I had, perhaps I would have recognized the program for what it was."

So, what? He proposed with that necklace instead of a ring? It sounded pretty tacky to Arven. Which meant Sada probably loved it back then.

Turo tucked the jewelry back into his pocket. "Perhaps I only came here to get away from that lab for a time. As my presense seems to trigger your friend's connection with Wo-Chien, so Ai's presense triggers mine with Chi-Yu. But I must do what I can to ensure all the paradox beings, myself included, are kept from disrupting the world any further." He gave a tired sigh and massaged his temples. "I realize how empty this sounds, but I do genuinely hope you and your friends find another solution."

Arven stared at the man, struggling to process it all. Behind him, raindrops pounded all the harder...only now they were accompanied by powerful wingflaps. The flying taxi had arrived.

Arven turned his back on Turo. "You don't sound empty. You are empty." And with that, he walked towards his friends. The past certainly tempted him to dwell on it. But for the moment at least, he kept his focus on the future.

#

The flying taxi dropped the group off in front of the Naranja Academy library. Nemona had the sense to call ahead, and Director Clavell made sure the entrance was clear of students and staff before they arrived. Not the most difficult feat at three in the morning, but it was nice to enter the doors without fear of the International Police jumping on them the moment they stepped inside.

As Arven predicted, Vanessa was not happy with them when they called to report what had happened from Clavell's office. She even suggested she might switch the theme of the next Iono Zone to "Iono's Special Edition Weapons Zone"with them as the "targeted" guests. Arven was only ninety percent sure she was joking.

Much to his relief, the bosses of Team Star were much more forgiving when Penny shared the news. Though her delivery probably helped there.

"I need to emphasize that Ortie volunteered for this," she said, her Rotom phone floating in front of her in audio-only mode. She stood behind Clavell's desk, and her fingers trembled despite her authoritative tone. "He saw a way to help, and he took it, which is exactly what Team Star is about. So none of us should be giving anyone a hard time about 'letting' him make his own decision. Agreed?"

There was only a bit of murmuring on the other line before Giacomo answered for the group, "Yeah, we're all agreed, B.B."

Penny visibly relaxed.

"I mean, we're still worried sick," Giacomo went on. "But I guess no one said saving the world was safe, huh?"

"No," Penny agreed, almost monotone now. It seemed putting on a brave face drained her more than she let on. "No, they sure didn't."

"Hey, move over!" said Mela in the background. "I said I'm sleeping there!"

Atticus gave a reply too soft to fully make out, but it had a few choice words about Mela's respect for her elders.

"You're barely a year over me!"

"Thy point?"

"That ain't an elder!"

This was followed by the sound of several pillows being utilized as weapons.

Penny exhaled with relief. At least her friends had found a secure place they could settle for the night. "Where are you guys, anyway? Is everyone okay?"

"Hey! Atticus, that's a pocket dictionary, not a throwing star!" Giacomo yelled, followed by some scuffling. Penny could have sworn Giacomo's voice echoed around the whole office. He sounded out of breath when he returned to the phone. "Yeah, we're fine. Been hanging out in Clavell's private library. Where are all of you calling from?"

Penny's jaw slackened. "Um...we're in his office."

At this, the call ended immediately. Footsteps pounded from behind the walls, the sound starting at Clavell's desk and moving towards the back corner, where a bookshelf swung sideways of its own accord.

It was a door. And out of it came Atticus, Giacomo, Eri, and Mela. They were out of their Team Star gear, mostly sporting sweats and T-shirts. Penny barely recognized Eri and Atticus. Especially since Eri had washed off her makeup and bundled her hair on top of her head.

"Team Star's official lay-low gear," Giacomo explained. "Also our sleeping gear. It being the middle of the night and all."

Eri shoved him aside and proceeded to hug everyone, blubbering about how glad she was to see them safe. Even poor Clavell got a hug of thanks for bringing them here...and several popped joints along with it. Once Eri released him, he backed against the door to give everyone as much space as possible.

Eri's enthusiasm made the other three a bit awkward. Mela and Giacomo went around and delivered some combo hugs-and-shoulder-pats. Atticus gave each person a deep bow instead.

Clavell cleared his throat. "I hope I'm not insensitive, but we may be pressing the capacity of this room."

"Leave if ya want," Mela told him, either forgetting or ignoring the fact that they were in his office. Then she gave the group a closer look-over and frowned. "Still feels weird. Being short one, I mean."

"Yeah, I know," Penny agreed. "Which is why we're going to figure this out." She turned to Clavell. "Mind if I use your setup here?"

"Not at all," he said.

Unless most teacher's desks, Clavell didn't have a lot of personal knickknacks: a banker's lamp--identical to the one in Ortie's tent at the Ruchbah base--a small potted plant, and a few books lined up neatly. Atticus took the books and added them to the shelf that had swung open. Mela shoved the plant on a windowsill where it only semi-fit.

Penny thanked them and laid her computer tablet and keyboard in the center of the screen. It connected easily enough to the monitor on the wall. She even asked Clavell for the network password instead of showing off that she'd hacked it ages ago, which she felt was pretty considerate.

She shared her screen and brought up a blank note page. Then she gave Team Star--both its official and honorary members--a rundown of everything that had happened down in Area Zero. She made bullet points of the basics as went, except for the more sensitive info. The news of Sada's death hit Clavell hard, but he covered it quickly and urged Penny to continue.

Penny saved her notes and created two folders in everyone's view: "ai stuff," where she moved the notes file, and "naranja stuff," which she left empty for now. She then laid out their goal in no uncertain terms: They had one week. Seven days to ground herself, Arven, Ortega, and yes, even Turo, in this time and reality. They had a stabilizer with only enough energy for temporary effects. And they had a machine that could send inanimate objects to any time point in an alternate universe.

Mela rolled her eyes. "Well, seeing how none of you four are 'inanimate objects,' gonna say those both sound useless."

"Yeah?" said Giacomo. "Four Starmobiles that couldn't move sounded useless, too. Until you got your hands on 'em. We make stuff work, remember?"

Penny beamed with pride. No doubt she'd chosen the right person to act as the boss in her absence. "If you've got questions, hammer me with them. If I can't answer, we'll find someone who can. I'm in contact with Ai, and she's sending me all the information we have to work with--the type of technology she has available, how much she has available, the technology's limits and potential power sources, all of it. Basically, we're getting a bunch of different pieces from random puzzles, and our job is find the ones that actually make a complete picture."

"Like a treasure hunt!" piped up Clavell, who seemed to struggle with not being the one in charge.

Penny nodded. "Right. Like the Treasure Hunt." She slid her finger across the screen, and the folder switched from 'ai stuff' to 'naranja stuff.' "Ai shouldn't be our only source of information, through. There's a giant library downstairs. There's the school professors. The internet. The more places we can gather pieces from, the better."

Juliana raised her hand. Penny pointed to her, which felt a tad awkward. Then again, she was sitting at the director's desk.

"We should ask Professor Raifort for help," she said.

"Who?" asked Arven.

Nemona raised an eyebrow at him. "You really don't come to class much, do you?"

"Raifort is the history teacher," Penny said. "If we're talking about ancient evil Pokémon, she's a decent place to start.Good call."

"She's also one of the few staff who didn't leave after Operation Star," Nemona offered.

"I dunno," Mela said, crossing her arms. "I didn't like that lady. I haven't been to school in a year and a half, and I still remember how she creeped me out."

Clavell cleared his throat. "It, um, seems you have no further need of me, so I shall see myself out," he said. He stepped up to the desk and laid a card key beside Penny's tablet. "You are free to come and go as you need. I suggest you all use discretion with your volume and movements around the school. Pillow fights and makeshift ninja stars would be particularly ill-advised." He shot Atticus a pointed look before turning his attention to Mela. "Miss Meloco was not off-base on one thing. I will admit, Professor Raifort has, erm...creeped me out on occasion as well."

Nemona's eyes widened in shock, but it wasn't at the school director admitting he was scared of a staff member. "Y-your full name is Meloco?"

"Oh, yeah," Giacomo said, as if he'd completely forgotten it.

Mela gritted her teeth, her face going as red as her hair. "Yeah, it is. And I swear if the next words outta you are 'that's so cute'--"

Nemona covered her mouth. "Nope! Not from me!"

Giacomo laughed and elbowed Nemona in the side. "We've been calling her Mela or Mellie since we met. Mostly at her insistence. Guess being the school council president doesn't teach you everything, huh?"

While the group continued in their teasing banter, Penny disconnected her tablet from the monitor and thanked Clavell once again for his help. He turned and walked out, leaving Penny to scroll absently through her folders. It was all well and good to spur everyone to action. Now she had to make sure it got some real results.

Chapter Text

After a less-than-stellar sleep in her dorm room, Juliana rose early the next day. She'd already signed up for classes with Professor Raifort. She wondered at first if it might look suspicious to be selecting classes at three am, but then again, it was hardly the oddest thing she'd done at that hour.

Even though Nemona had already passed all of Raifort's classes, she was able to come along as well, under the guise of giving feedback to Director Clavell about the coursework's "freshmen friendliness." The term had been Arven's idea.

"He absolutely adores alliteration, doesn't he?" Nemona muttered on their way to class.

Juliana held tight to her notebooks and didn't comment on the hypocrisy.

#

Back in Clavell's private library, Mela, Eri, and Giacomo had resigned themselves to watching video streams of the various courses. Atticus was off perusing the main library for helpful reference books. Mela almost went with him but reconsidered when he pointed out her stealth skills weren't exactly on par with his own.

She couldn't call him wrong. So now she got to attend class. Ever since the near-destruction of Paldea when Arven had saved Ortega down in Area Zero, the academy had finally warmed to the idea of virtual courses. Some students felt understandably nervous about venturing out while others had returned home to visit with family after such a terrifying experience. For Team Star, it would hopefully provide insight as to who else they could prod for information besides Raifort. Giacomo put his laptop on a coffee table, and they gathered around it.

"Shame we didn't get these a year ago," said Mela as she sat cross-legged with a pillow on her lap and a bowl of honeyed oatmeal at her side. Clavell's office did not come equipped with a kitchen, but Arven had enlightened them on the shocking amount of things that could be prepared with hot water from a coffee maker. "Team Star coulda carried on without the teachers giving us a hard time."

"Not very rebellious to hang out taking virtual classes," Giacomo said, who was sustaining himself on protein bars despite the plethora of hot food options.

"We weren't trying to be rebellious," Eri reminded him as she sipped a mug of hot chocolate. "We were trying to make school tolerable."

"Yeah, well, it won't be tolerable until we have a full team again," said Mela.

On this, they could all agree.

The screen changed from the Naranja Academy logo to a wide shot of Professor Hassel's classroom. And it looked like he had another professor with him.

Mela squinted. "That's...the...what's-his-name? The ass who put those fake Poke Balls everywhere and called it art?"

"Gym leader Brassius?" Eri asked.

"Yeah, that's close enough to what I said."

"Welcome, everyone!" Hassel said to a mostly room. "Even though most of you are not physically in this space with us, my guest instructor and I shall do our best to enlighten your walk through the world of art."

"We shall start with a discussion of my latest piece," Brassius said. He then walked over to the teacher's desk, where a velvet cloth covered some rectangular object roughly the size of a cereal box. "Is it zoomed in? You need to zoom in!" he snapped while one of the poor students in the back fumbled with the camera to get a close-up shot.

"You students are quite lucky," Hassel was saying, now off-screen. "This original sculpture has not been revealed anywhere to the public yet."

"Indeed," said Brassius. "Now...behold!" He yanked the cloth away. The sculpture underneath was quite nicely made--soldered metal with intricate details. But it didn't look particularly original. In fact...

"That looks like a train model," Mela said, her mouth half-full of oatmeal.

"To some of you, this may look merely like a train model!" Brassius said, extending his arms so wide, it almost knocked the thing over. "But to true artists just as Professor Hassel and myself, it represents the relationship between humans and Pokémon. One is the train's engine--the source, if you will, of its might and power. The other is the conductor of that source, skillfully directing it in the proper fashion!" He belted out a rather maniacal-sounding laugh. "You see, art is not merely about aesthetic creation. It is about connecting with deep human truths!"

Whoever was working the camera tried to zoom out to get Hassel in the shot, too. Instead the camera bumped their arm, and the image shook. For a brief moment, Hassel appeared to be replaced with a block of static. When the image steadied and focused, Hassel appeared normal again. He was even trying to laugh along with Brassius, albeit in the forced tone of someone not in on a joke.

Eri leaned towards Giacomo. "Just to confirm, these are the teachers Clavell didn't find creepy?"

Giacomo nodded. Hopefully the others were making out better than they were.

#

When Juliana sat down for class, she suspected Professor Raifort was watching her. By the time class ended, all doubt vanished. There were at least a dozen other students in the room--apparently Professor Raifort didn't "approve" of virtual classes--and somehow Juliana got called on for every last question. She had to glance at Nemona for help once in a while, but thankfully most of the answers were obvious or they were things Juliana had learned from her impromptu history lessons down in Area Zero.

"Professor?" Juliana said timidly, approaching Raifort's desk after the bell sounded.

"I do not offer retakes on the mid-terms, nor do I offer additional help in preparation for them," Raifort said, lifting up an uneven stack of papers and knocking them into alignment against her desk. She glanced pointedly at Juliana, an eager gleam in her eye. "Unless, of course...you wish to discuss something else?"

"I was, uh, hoping for more information about the Paldean emperor you mentioned during your lecture. The one who, um...really liked treasure and stuff?" She was aiming for a balance between eager and oblivious. From the frown on Raifort's face when she said "and stuff," she'd stuck a perfect Tauros' eye.

"I see. Is it because you find this particular point of Paldean history appealing? Or perhaps..." She slipped the now-perfect stack of papers into a binder and tucked the binder inside her shoulderbag. "...you wish to learn the current location of the emperor's most valuable treasures?"

"I-I..." Juliana had no clue how to answer that one, and she couldn't shake the feeling that answering wrong would shut this whole lead down. "Both, I guess?"

"You 'guess'?" Raifort shook her head and sighed. "Well, that is more progress than I have achieved with, shall we say, smaller-minded students." She swung the bag over her shoulder--it was made of green-tinted leather and was embossed with the outline of a Zarude. Actually, now that Juliana looked more closely, she had quite a few mythical-themed accessories: a hair pin that resembled Marshadow's face, a necklace of criss-crossed cords that looked like Deoxys arms, and a bracelet with beads in the shape of a Celebi's wings. She tossed her graying purple hair over her shoulder and walked towards the door. "I will be in the staff room at exactly 12:15 this afternoon. The other instructors will all be at a group lunch, and the room will be conveniently available. If you think you have the dedication to study this topic, come see me then."

"Y-yes, ma'am," Nemona said, while Juliana gave a polite bow to Raifort as she left. Then she checked her phone. Less than two hours before the meeting. If they didn't want their growling stomachs to dominate the conversation, they had better find some lunch for themselves ahead of time.

#

Nemona left the cafeteria feeling quite satisfied. It had been so long since they'd been at school rather than traveling. She'd almost forgotten how good food could taste when not layered between slices of bread.

Juliana met her outside the staff room at 12:10. Better to be early than late, they both reasoned. But when Juliana tried the door, the handle wouldn't budge. They both knocked several times but got no results. Either Raifort hadn't shown up yet or she refused to let them in until exactly the agreed-upon time.

Nemona checked her phone. 12:11. "Guess we just need to wait," she sighed.

Juliana nodded her agreement. But standing idly in the hallway got pretty infuriating for Nemona in short order. If someone needed a Pokémon battle expert, she was all for it. If they needed a patience expert, she was more or less the last choice.

"Soo...." Juliana said, leaning against the wall. "What's your verdict? Is Professor Raifort creepy or just really enthusiastic?"

Nemona shrugged her shoulders. It was about as honest an answer as she could give. "Eh. I never talked to her much outside of class before. I don't remember her being particularly strange before, but--"

The time on Juliana's phone changed to 12:15. The lock clicked in near perfect synchronization. The girls exchanged a nervous glance, but Nemona refused to be deterred now. She gripped the handle, which now turned fully and pushed the door open.

Their history professor was indeed the only one inside the staff room, and her icy lavender eyes widened as she watched them enter. "So you did come. Excellent. You girls wanted more information on the Treasures of Ruin?"

Juliana gave a nervous nod. Nemona followed suit. If they were going to ham up their interest in these things, now was probably the best time.

"Ah, that's what they're called," Nemona said in her best attempt to match Raifort's soft but poorly contained enthusiasm. "I feel awful we gave you the impression we weren't that interested back in class. The truth is, there's just so little info out there about them." She lowered her head and inched closer, like she was confiding some huge secret. "I hope I don't sound juvenile, but all this mystery around the treasures just makes the two of us more and more curious."

A grin spread across Raifort's face. "Not juvenile at all. Indeed, it is a mature person who is willing to work for information rather than insist it be handed to them."

"I'm glad to hear that," Nemona said. "If you're willing to share what you know, then you've got two of the most eager workers in Naranja Academy right here."

Was she laying it on a bit thick? Maybe. But it got the job done. Raifort's grin widened enough to border on near-maniacal. "At long last. You have no idea how I've eagerly waited for some worthy students to help with my research. Oh, yes! My curiosity cannot be contained!"

Okay, now I definitely remember her freaking me out, Nemona thought. She wanted nothing more than to turn and bolt out the door without so much as an explanation. But that wasn't what they came here to do.

"Let's begin, then," Raifort said. "I will tell you the origin of the four great Treasures. And I will share with you the location for each of their prisons. Bring a Treasure back to me, and I will unveil everything I can about it to you.

She wants us to capture these Pokémon? Nemona swallowed hard. What would that do to the four people who formed a link with them? Would it free them or hurt them? In either case, they couldn't outright refuse the task, so Nemona nodded eagerly and handed over her phone to record the locations. If playing the part of Raifort's eager pupil helped keep Paldea and her friends safe, she couldn't show any reservations. She glanced at Juliana and knew she felt the same.

#

Back in Clavell's office, Giacomo and Mela had both sworn off virtual classes the rest of the day. Penny didn't blame them. So far, they'd sampled courses in Art, Math, Languages, Battle Studies, and Chemistry. Penny didn't even know the school had a current chemistry course.

"Did thy labors produce any oranges of knowledge?" Atticus asked as he laid a stack of library books on Clavell's desk.

Eri shook her head. "Nothing concrete. Though the art class lecture made me think about what you said earlier."

Penny assumed she was referring to something Atticus said, but then she noticed Eri looking right at her. "Sorry. What did I say earlier?"

"About the 'other universe' this crazy time machine connects to," Eri said. "How Pokémon and people live in separate planes there?"

"That's what Ai described it as," said Penny. She tapped open her tablet and connected it to a trio of travel-friendly monitors procured from her dorm. "Along with a metric crapton of other assorted info."

Eri seemed put off by Penny's clipped tone, but she continued her line of thought all the same. "I guess all Brassius's talk about the closeness of humans and Pokémon...working together like a conductor on a train...it just made me think about how lucky we are to live in this place and time, you know?"

"Uh-huh," Penny replied. She felt lousy about passing Eri off. But she couldn't get over how overwhelming it all felt. She scrolled through her tablet's "ai stuff" folder, overflowed with spreadsheets, text documents, and voice memos. Penny had been doing her best to sort through all the data Ai had provided to them, but all of it looked so random. How was she supposed to process all this and come up with a solution that had eluded Ai in the next six days?

"Ugh, this is impossible," Penny groaned. "I can't even categorize what's important or not here, because anything could be important. Look--" She tapped open a random text file. "Lab resource list A. Twenty-seven high capacity storage drives. Eight digital monitors, varying sizes. One humanoid robot, active and controlled by Program Codename 'Ai.'  Two additional humanoid robots, un-programmed and inactive. One canister of powdered coffee, half-full. Expiration date unclear." She sighed and slumped down in the chair. "This is only the first list out of ten, by the way. And I'm already feeling like that stale insta-coffee is the most important item here."

It at least earned a chuckle from Eri and the others, which Penny counted as a minor win. She clicked on another file. It wasn't a text list but a visual graph of the stakes used to fuel the time machine. drew Penny's gaze, if nothing else because it was more interesting to look at than a block of text. Apparently Ai had been monitoring the stakes' energy output, and while it had been mostly steady when Sada and Turo started their research, Penny could see more extreme fluctuations as time went on.

Maybe this is a lead? she thought hopefully.

She startled as her phone buzzed. Which of course it had to do right when she was getting focused. The tablet helpfully popped up a text alert from Nemona: Hey! How do you guys feel about checking out some ancient Pokémon prisons with us?

Well, no one was going to say no to that.

Chapter Text

Unlike the bosses of Team Star, Arven did not have to hide in a library for fear of being arrested. He planned to make full use of this perk. Right now he was headed for the east gate of Mesagoza to wait for a flying taxi. Now that he and the others had been trekking all over Paldea, the pilots would take him pretty much anywhere.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. It tried to levitate up to his face, but since he'd also shoved a notepad and two pencils in there, the device quickly got stuck. Arven wrenched it out by the third ring to find Penny's name on the screen.

"Erm...give me a sec," he said, walking past an ice-cream stand until he was away from the flow of pedestrians. Considering who he was taking the taxi to meet, it seemed better to take the call from Team Star's boss somewhere discreet.

"Okay. What's up?" he asked.

Penny kept her video feed off. No surprise there. "I'm going out with the crew to inspect the ruinous Pokémon's prisons. You want to come?"

"Oh. I'm, uh...actually following a different lead right now. I can probably meet you in a couple hours if you need the manpower. I-I mean--" He slapped himself in the forehead. "--if you need more Pokémon with you! Not as in you need a male trainer specifically!"

"Your meaning was clear," Penny said in her typical deadpan. "Stick with your first plan. The more leads we follow, the better. But where are you headed that you're so twitchy about it?"

Arven wanted to argue that he wasn't twitchy, but his outburst had left that a lost cause. He swallowed hard. "Don't get mad at me?"

She did not answer.

"Okay, fine, get mad at me if you want, but I'm going to talk to that police inspector kid. The Rester guy?"

"A-rrester, but go on."

Arven sighed. "I keep thinking about how Nemona cleared your name with Clavell. Maybe I could, I dunno...do the same here? It'd make it way more easier for the bosses to do research, and who knows? Maybe he has some info that could help us."

"I see. And how do you think you'll accomplish this?"

Arven's pace slowed to a crawl, far away from the crowds. "Well, I can tell him what I know from being friends with Ortega as a kid. And Operation Star. Clavell wanted to set the record straight there. And what I know about my mom's experiments. Maybe all that info put together could help steer him away from you guy--ow!" Arven stepped forward only to smack his foot into the side wall of yet another locked-up shop. Got a good loud thwack from it, too.

"Hmm," Penny mused, ignoring his self-inflicted pain. "If you stick to those topics and don't suggest you know our location, there's definitely a chance we'll all benefit from it."

Arven nodded. He didn't think Penny was going to be able to talk him out of this; he needed to do something more than tag along with everyone. But having her approval was still a win.

Now he had to make his way to the meeting place he and Arrester had agreed on. Preferably without running into anything else. He pulled up the map on his phone but found it blank. The image showed all of Paldea laid out before him, but it was centered on the crater and the usual you-are-here icon had vanished.

"Oh, and FYI, I added some extra security to everyone's phones and disabled all location capabilities," Penny said like it was a afterthought. "You understand."

"You know, not every situation requires hacking," Arven told her. "If you'd asked, I'd have said yes."

"I'll keep it in mind. Good luck."

"Yeah. You too--"

She hung up. Arven shook his head and put the phone back. The meeting spot was off the Socarrat Trail up north. Arven had stopped there several times for picnics in the past, and the taxi would drop him off pretty close by. Hopefully the thought of ancient monsters sleeping in hidden prisons around Paldea didn't throw off his sense of direction too much.

#

Penny waved at her tablet to close the phone app, pleasantly surprised at Arven's plan. Ever since their groups had merged together, he'd pretty much followed the crowd. She expected more of the same until his call. Of course, this was also the guy who'd uncovered the Scarlet Book and dug up all the research on the Herba Mystica. Maybe she hadn't given his initiative enough credit.

She tucked the tablet under her arms and continued down their path through Area One of the South Province. She'd pulled the device out so many times along the walk that putting it into her bag felt like a waste of time.

Even Nemona had her phone out as they closed in on their destination. "Raifort's info says we'll arrive at the Grasswither Shrine soon. Are you sure we shouldn't wait for Mela and the others?"

Grasswither. There's a pleasant name for a place. Penny nodded to Nemona. "I'm sure. They're still en route to the Icerend Shrine. It's faster to meet in between and compare notes afterwards."

"If you say so," said Nemona and didn't argue further, for which Penny felt grateful. She'd been second-guessing herself enough on the walk here. She wasn't willing to break the group up too much, but splitting them in half seemed an acceptable tactic. They'd check out the southern shrines first, regroup, then head for the northern ones. Penny couldn't recall the names of the other two locations off the top of her head. But given the name patterns she did remember, they were probably something like the Flameydoom Shrine and the Rocks-Fall-Everyone-Dies Shrine.

She tapped her tablet on to search the area for any of the ruinous Pokémon's energy signatures. Again. The device had built-in features for detecting if one type of Pokémon was present in the area. A bit of modding, some sample wave data from the stakes down in Area Zero--courtesy of Ai--and Penny had slapped together a handy scanner for each Treasure of Ruin.

And now, unlike every other time she'd used it, the thing gave her an actual response. Penny startled when the map lit up but tried to keep the calm-and-cool tech person facade as best she could. "I'm seeing four...possibly five yellow energy signatures in the area," Penny said. "Those must be the stake locations."

"Raifort said there were eight," said Juliana.

"There were. Until Sada and Turo harvested three of them for their stupid machine." She pressed her lips together and inhaled sharply. This was going too well to slip back into dwelling on him again. But the closer they got to the Grasswither Shrine, the harder it got to hold down her bitterness.

Maybe we should have headed for Flameydoom or whatever it's called first. Penny took several breaths to recenter herself and tapped the screen off once again. She could feel a serious headache coming on. Too late to turn back now.

Within minutes, their destination came into view. Penny couldn't fathom how such a place simply sat out in the open, casual as a park bench or a scenic spot for a photo op. True, there weren't any other people around now, but didn't anyone come out here before them? And if so, how did they not investigate this place? The shrine certainly did earn its title as a ruinous prison. Spring grass went down and gave way to chipped gray slate by the entrance. The door was circular, alight with glowing yellow patterns and sealed with heavy, criss-crossed chains. When Penny stepped forward, an ominous breeze nudged her closer.

"Okay, we're here," Nemona said, though Penny barely made out the words. Her headache had morphed into a migraine. The light from the door turned her stomach. But at the same time, she felt like if she could just touch it, she'd feel better.

"Do we go after those stakes and try to open it?" Juliana said. Her voice sounded muffled and distant to Penny. The breeze felt more like a strong wind now, pushing her from behind and drowning out most everything else.

She swayed but kept going. Her vision blurred. She reached out her hand to steady herself.

"That's what Raifort asked, but--Penny? Penny, what are you doing?"

Penny's fingers brushed against rusty metal. Then she found herself standing in a dark, chilly space. The migraine vanished but panic took its place. Had she somehow been teleported back down into the crater? She looked around for familiar features. For the shimmering tera crystals, the powerful wandering Pokémon from different timelines...or different universes altogether...and she found nothing. The space around her was an empty void. She felt a cool mist gathering around her ankles, and the ground felt rocky and solid like she was still in front of the shrine, but there was nothing else.

Except maybe...was that a voice? She cupped her hands to her ears, trying to make it out. Yes, she could hear someone. A man...younger than Clavell but certainly past college-age...muttering to himself. If only she could make out the words...

"...lost everything. Everything. Didn't even tell them what happened to me. Never even said good-bye..."

Penny could see some of the mist at her feet now, despite no light source she could make out. The vapor stayed at ground level, except for far in the distance, where some of it gathered into a small pillar-shaped cloud. Yes, that was where the voice had come from. Penny was sure of it.

"H-hello?" she called, kind of impressed she wasn't fainting right now. She didn't even feel that scared. Something about this place said it couldn't hurt her.

The voice paused. The cloud grew more solid. But then after a moment, the muttering picked up again:

"...left alone...waiting for me..."

Penny walked towards the gathered mist. The closer she got, the more distinct its shape became. When she could hear the voice clearly with no need to put her hands to her ears, its form was unmistakable. The cloud became an ethereal humanoid figure.

"...what did they say to her? 'Your father's gone'? 'Your father left'? But I didn't leave. He took me..."

She was speaking to a ghost. Or listening to one, at any rate. She still couldn't tell if the man could hear her or if he was lost in his own world she couldn't see. He floated back and forth, wringing his hands, running translucent fingers through his thinning hair. His eyes darted around, trying to see everywhere and focusing on nothing. His clothes were worn and frayed, and the style was old. More than old. They looked like some ancient robes. And hanging off the sash around his waist was a set of wooden tablets with line after line of text carved into their faces.

Penny took one more step forward. Seriously. How could she feel this calm? She hated anything with a hint of the supernatural, and here she was staring at a guy who might have died centuries ago. But she felt no more anxiety than speaking to a new member of Team Star--like they already had something in common before a conversation started. "E-excuse me?"

The man gasped and whipped around to face her. Nearby swirls of mist shifted with the motion. Penny feared for a moment he might have empty eye sockets like a zombie or something. But his eyes were whole and normal, only glistening a bit as if from recent tears. "How are you here?" he asked.

"I-I don't really know."

"Do you know how I can get out?" The ghost floated towards her, hands clasped together as he begged. She'd never heard such desperation in another voice before.

Her chest tightened, and she shook her head. "N-no. I'm really sorry."

She expected him to launch into a barrage of other questions, a frantic search for some helpful information. Instead he slumped onto the floor and buried his face in his hands. Like hope was a mythical creature he didn't have the stamina to chase anymore. "I haven't always been here. I had a future once, you know. A family. That man...I wanted to tell the world what he did. Right his wrong. Instead, he took everything from me."

The ghost began to sob openly. Only it wasn't just cries of sorrow. It was anguish and hatred and an unquenchable thirst to flip the tables on his oppressor. To let him be the victim. To show him how it felt.

Penny had first tasted that desire when she started Team Star. And even since she had learned what mess Arven's parents had caused, she could barely feel anything else. But instead of pushing those emotions away like before, she now embraced them. And she meant it wholeheartedly when she sat down beside the man and told him, "I understand how you feel."

#

Arven folded his hands and tried to be patient while Arrester covered yet another notebook page in notes. They were sitting at a picnic table that clearly hadn't been used in years--rusty framing, shaky benches, and chunks of dry wood missing from the edges. It had only been an hour or so of chatting, but the agent had a way of making it all feel so much longer.

Arven told the guy everything he remembered from childhood about his mother's experiments. He even talked about getting his hand caught in her strange machine, though he admitted the details there were fuzzy. Then he explained how Ortega saved him and later went on to join Team Star in an effort to combat the bullying issues at the academy. And he laid out the team's resources (or lack thereof) in comparison to the school's when Operation Star went down.

"...so, while I'm not a hundred percent clear what my mom was up to, I know it's had way more effect on Paldea's stability than anything Team Star could ever do," he concluded. "They really were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Arrester took several more notes before he bothered making eye contact or asking Arven a follow-up question. "I appreciate you divulging all this. Where is your mother now, if I may ask?"

"Couldn't say. She hasn't been seen publicly for a long time, and my last contact from her was on my eleventh birthday." Now it was Arven who avoided eye contact. This constant talk about his mom was dredging up a lot of old and ugly feelings from his past--all the fear and uncertainty that came with being raised by a parent who was mildly interested in his well-being on her good days.

"Interesting..." Arrester folded his hands. His right hand massaged the knuckles on his left as he worked through his thoughts. "I'm not ruling out the idea that Team Star is responsible for this mess, you understand. Your friend's group would have much better standing if they didn't flee the scene and go into hiding."

Arven gripped his knees as he struggled for a counterargument. "My best guess is they were scared. When you get falsely accused of stuff once, it's hard to trust it won't happen again."

"Well, if you happen to come into contact with them--"

"--I told you, I haven't seen any of them in almost two years." Crap. Does lying make you cut off sentences more? He tried to remember if Sada did that a lot when he was a kid. She lied plenty, so if there were universal tells, Arven should know them all. For a brief moment, he saw himself as a little kid--scared that every time she walked out the door, she would get too involved in work to come home.

"Noted," Arrester was saying. "I only meant if you happened to re-connect to Team Star in the near future, perhaps you could reassure them I always do my full diligence. I would rather see a guilty party escape than an innocent party punished."

Arven lowered his gaze. A dull ache thrummed in the back of his head. It was the fourth time it'd happened during this chat. But it felt like Arrester was wrapping the talk up, so hopefully they'd be done soon.

Arrester stared towards the trail. "You know, chasing Team Galactic and Team Plasma has always been my primary goal. It was where they assigned me when I joined, and it hasn't changed since. Even though both group's activities are negligible now. Perhaps I've become a Timburr who sees everything as a nail."

Arven didn't follow the analogy, but maybe it was a Unova thing. Hard to focus when his headache refused to improve. If anything, it felt worse. Either this conversation needed to end now, or he needed to take a breather. Was it being out in the sun too much? That didn't make sense. He'd hiked plenty and never gotten headaches before. But with the pain blurring his ability to think, he politely asked Arrester for a moment to leave and get some water. When Arrester agreed, Arven all but staggered over to a water fountain not far from the picnic tables--a tall one made of black stone. He took a slurp of water but then sat and leaned against the fountain's side. Something wasn't right here. He felt sick. And he could have sworn he heard a girl's voice crying from somewhere far away:

"I'm scared. My dad didn't come home that night. And I'm scared they're coming for me next."

Chapter Text

Arven closed his eyes. He knew things weren't going so hot if he was hearing voices in his head. But when he did so, the cool and solid feeling of the water fountain at his back faded. Had he leaned forward without noticing? He tried to lean back to make up for it and almost fell over. His eyes flew open only to find himself in a dark void with a mist at his feet.

The unexpected change of scenery surprised him enough that he actually did fall over. Pans and utensils clanged together inside his bag. If he had been in a large, empty room, the sound would have echoed like crazy, but it was clipped and short. He had flashes of traveling into whatever strange space existed between the tera raid crystals, but it didn't feel like that, either.

"Mister? Are you okay?"

That voice. The same one he'd heard before. Arven turned around and saw a young girl--maybe seven or eight at the most--standing not far away from him. Her body rose up from the fog, even looked like it was made of fog. Her clothing was a sleeveless ragged dress, no embellishments or patterns. She was every bit the image of a stereotypical ghost out of a horror movie.

"I didn't know anyone else could come here. Your clothes are weird. You look scary." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you scary?"

Arven swallowed hard. I'm either losing my mind or I'm dead. Then he considered the uncomfortable possibility he might well be both.

#

Penny sat with the ghost a long while. She didn't have a clue how much time had passed, but somehow that didn't bother her. It couldn't have been too long. Maybe in this place, it wasn't any time at all. They traded stories about their lives--he had indeed lived in the early years of the Paldean empire, under the rule of the evil king who had acquired the Treasures of Ruin to begin with. And it was his writing on the wooden treasure. His record of the king's wrongs. He'd been no one special in life; rather shy around others, but he did what he felt he had to. Penny shared her own frustrations with trying to fix everything broken in her home. How she struggled to keep it together and be a leader when she was so bad at working with others. How frustrated she felt about the choices she now had to make. He understood completely. It felt like they could sit and talk forever. The man's voice sounded so much like an old friend's.

Then she straightened when a new voice broke through the void. Someone was calling her name. Someone familiar.

"Penny? Penny, answer me!"

"Nemona?" Penny said, confused.

A crack opened in the darkness beside her, and more voices followed up. Mellie and Momo. Eri and Atticus...

"Big Boss!"

"You have to come back!"

"We beg thee, my lady!"

"Please!"

Penny shook her head. Whoa. How long have I been in here, really? The thought alone felt like surfacing after diving underwater too long. She realized she had no clue how many hours had gone by. And unlike a moment ago, the idea frightened her.

She turned to her companion. "Those are my friends. I...I'm sorry, but I have to leave." She stood up, and as she did, a bolt of inspiration struck. "Wait. We can both leave. You go first, and I'll follow." She reached out her hand and gasped. It was easier to see than it had been in the dark before. But now her hand was cloudy and translucent with a faint supernatural light--the same as his. If they were in some sort of ghost realm, maybe only her spirit could be here? But if that was the case, where was her body? Still standing in front of the Grasswither Shrine? Or was it--?

No. She couldn't get stuck in her own head again. These questions would answer themselves once she left. Once both of them left.

The man stared sadly at Penny's offered hand and shook his head. "If I leave, you'll be stuck here."

"Huh? By what?"

He tilted his head in confusion. "The Ruinous One."

"The Pokémon Wo-Chien, you mean?" Penny said. "It's okay. It's trapped in a prison. It can't get us here."

The ghost looked even more confused. "This place...this is the Ruinous One's mind. And it fuels itself with bitterness. Without the emotions of a human spirit to consume, it will cease to exist." He motioned to the crack of light. "It has no need for two spirits here when it can only make use of one. I doubt it even has a preference for which one of us it feeds off. I promise it will hold dearly onto whoever tries to step out last."

Penny swallowed hard. It wasn't that she didn't believe the man. He'd been inside Wo-Chien's mind for centuries. Maybe even millennia.

But he kept talking about Penny like she was some younger version of himself. And she wasn't. She couldn't say how, but she felt sure this place couldn't hold her the same way it had him. It might get its hooks in a part of her--that part that could only think about how her and her friends' future might be ruined thanks to Professor Turo. But it couldn't trap her completely. Maybe because she still had a body back in the physical plane. Maybe because she hadn't lost her future just yet.

If she could send this stranger-turned-friend out ahead of her, she felt confident she could find her own way out eventually.

But Arven and Ortega didn't have eventually.

Penny lowered her hand. "There's some people I need to help first," she said. "But once I do, I'll come back for you. I promise."

The man turned away and waved for her to leave. A dismissal from someone too tired for an argument. And once she stepped out, he'd fall back into ruminating on how much he'd been wronged during his lifetime. Back into an empty, futureless void.

No one deserved that fate.

Penny walked past him and touched the crack of light. The connection sent a warm pulse through her. She hadn't been cold before--not that she noticed, anyway--but the heat renewed her energy in a way she felt she could take on anything.

She would come back for this man and help him. The leader of Team Star made good on her promises.

#

Arven didn't answer the ghost girl right away. He wasn't even sure how to. Of course, he wasn't trying to frighten her, but she was frightening him pretty good right now just by floating there in the mist.

She backed up a bit, clutching her hands defensively in front of her. "I-I asked if you're scary," she squeaked out. "I-if you are, you should at least say so." Then she winced and tightened her fists, like she was bracing for an attack.

"I'm...not trying to be," Arven said. "I don't even know where we are or how I got here."

The girl opened one eye. "You...don't?"

"No. Do you?"

Her hands lowered a tiny bit. "I know we're inside a creature I made with the others."

Arven saw no 'others' around, but seeing as how he was pretty sure he was talking to a ghost right now, that didn't mean much. "O-okay. So you're saying you, uh, made this place?"

"Yes. Because we were afraid. We wanted a place to hide where the king couldn't find us. But I'm the only one here now. The others moved on a long time ago." She rubbed at her eyes with ethereal hands. "I don't want to go until I find my daddy again."

Arven took a few steps closer. He'd never been great with kids, but this was different. Even though they'd just met, something inside him knew this girl. Or at least, that they had enough in common, it felt like he knew her.

She whimpered a bit as he got closer, so he paused and knelt down to be at eye level with her. The swirling mist now came up to his waist. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to not have your parent at home. It's frightening."

"Y-yeah. It is." She sniffled and rubbed her nose. Then she floated closer to him.

He smiled, trying his best to appear friendly. Like the type of person he wished had been around when he was a kid. "I don't know if I can help you, but maybe if we can both get out of here..." He paused and took in the strange space once again. The girl had said she was looking for her father. She didn't want to leave. For that matter, Arven wasn't sure if he wanted to, either. The mist and darkness that had unnerved him at first already felt familiar, simple and safe. Which was much more than he could say for the world outside right now.

He sat cross-legged, and it felt like settling onto a soft pillow. If he stayed, the girl would have some company. And Arven would have someone around who understood him, ugly past and all.

"Young man?" a distant voice called. "Young man, are you all right?"

Arven shook his head. The voice felt intrusive, and he wanted to wave it away.

But the girl looked at him with glistening eyes. "If a grown-up calls you, you're supposed to answer them."

"Hey, I don't have to. I'm not a little kid anymore," Arven said. But the words felt off. It didn't take Arven long to realize why. Hiding in this place to avoid his problems was exactly what a little kid would do. Arven had grown past that--thanks in no small part to his friends from school.

He stood up from the fog, even though it felt like a monumental effort. There still was no way out of here he could see. But maybe if he kept listening, he could find one.

#

Penny's eyes flew open. It was pretty cloudy outside, but after sitting in darkness with only some faint ghostly glowing to illuminate the place, the shafts of peeking sunlight felt harsh. Penny squinted and shielded her eyes. Her wrist and hand, she was quite happy to see, were very much solid flesh.

She was still standing in front of the prison door. The voices that had called her back here now surrounded her even louder and more emotional than before.

"You're alive!"

"You're okay!"

"Thou didst nearly give us all a collective heart attack!"

Penny put her hand to her chest, which was warm, and to her vast relief, contained a very regular heartbeat. I...actually am okay. She smiled at each of her friends. Not only from Team Star, but Juliana and Nemona as well. All of them knelt around her, trading hugs and wiping damp eyes at seeing her.

Then she asked the question she wasn't fully sure she wanted an answer to. "How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours," Juliana said. "But..." Her voice trailed off, and she didn't finish her sentence. Penny knew the look of someone trying to spare her feelings. They didn't have time for that sort of nonsense. Whatever had happened while she'd been out of it, she needed the details. Al of them.

Penny tried to move forward only to find her feet stuck. She glanced down. Several thick vines had wrapped themselves around her lower legs. Moss covered her sneakers. She squealed and yanked her foot up, which snapped the vines easily enough, but the sensation was still plenty unnerving. "Y-you sure it was only a few hours?"

"Two hours and thirty-seven minutes, if you want to get technical about it," Nemona said.

"Yeah, we were only panic-checking every couple of minutes," Giacomo added.

Penny shook the greenery off her foot and then yanked the other one free as well. She reached down to slap the dead vines away, only to find bits of moss on the elbow of her sweatshirt. And in her hair. And a thick layer around the border of her computer tablet.

"The plants started growing a few minutes ago," Eri said. "You were standing in front of the door like you were in a trance or something. Then your skin went this pale, almost greenish color, and--"

"--and you had a freaky glowy fog around you," Mela finished. "And you started to look kind of see-though. I mean, we were scared for you before, but this was extra-punch scared!"

"I wonder..." Penny mused, being a bit of a hypocrite as she let her own voice trail off. Did those effects start when I almost let that ghost exit before me? When I nearly got trapped in there?

"You wonder...?" Eri prompted.

Penny shook her head. "Just...re-thinking some stuff I saw while I was out. I'll explain later, but let's get back to the academy for now."

"Couldn't agree more," Nemona said as she began to lead the group away from the glowing shrine door. She didn't make it far before her Rotom phone rang loudly. With the school anthem as her ring tone, of all things. She checked the name but frowned when he saw it and shoved the phone away. It continued to ring loudly from her pocket.

"Who is it?" Penny asked.

"Raifort. But I'll call her back. We need to get you--"

Penny held up her hand. "Answer it."

Nemona raised an eyebrow but took the phone out again anyway. "Hello? Yes, professor. Going? It's going fine. I mean, we did find two of the shrines. But we're heading back early. We can't inspect them right now."

A sharp, annoyed voice replied on the other line. "Why not? Well, if you, um, must know, we had a...medical emergency. Uh-huh. See, my friend starting feeling bad, and--Juliana? No. I mean, yes?"

Never should have told her to answer it. Penny had forgotten how bad Nemona could be at lying at the spot. She made a cut-it-out-right-now motion.

Juliana, however, did the opposite. She pointed to Penny and egged Nemona on. Nemona's gaze darted between the two before she went back to the phone and replied, "Actually, yes, we did bring a third person with us. Her name is...uh, Jenny, and she's very in tune with the supernatural."

Penny slapped her forehead. Nemona somehow took this to mean she should continue. "Oh, yes. In fact, that's why we had to back off, you see. Because she heard this, uh..."

Juliana spread her arms out wide.

"...this super-powerful strong voice from beyond when we got near the gate!"

Juliana gave Nemona a thumbs-up. There was a bunch of chattering on the other line before Nemona continued, "Oh? You...want to speak to her in person?" She eyed Penny for advice this time. "In your classroom this evening?"

As much as Penny wanted to signal that Nemona should call the whole thing off, if anyone knew something about what she'd had just experienced, it was probably Raifort. Which meant an after-class meeting was the perfect opportunity.

Penny gave a reluctant nod, and Nemona grinned. "Yep. Five o' clock. See you then." She tapped the phone off. "Okay, it's done. You sure you're okay to jump into this?"

"I'm going to have to be. There's a whole ton of stuff I saw while I was out of it, and Raifort might be the one who can explain--wait!" A sudden wave of nausea hit, only this time, it had nothing to do with her proximity to the shrine. "Any idea where Arven went off to today?"

Juliana rubbed the back of her head. "He told me this morning he was following a lead, but that he'd be around the Socarrat Trail if we needed him. Why?"

Crap. Crap. Crap. Penny's stomach sank like a Golem. She checked the map on her tablet to confirm, and sure enough, Arven was right near the prison for the ruinous Pokémon Ting-Lu. Only unlike Penny, none of them had come with him. She dusted off the last bits of moss from her tablet and quickly tapped Arven's name in her address book. Please answer. Please answer.

She could forgive herself for a lot of screw-ups. But being yet another person in Arven's life who wasn't there when he needed it wouldn't be one of them.

Chapter Text

"Young man? Arven! Can you hear me?" Click!

Penny gritted her teeth and checked her tablet screen. Her call had failed again. It went though each time she tried, and she caught snippets of someone yelling Arven's name, but the spotty coverage would fail before she could get any real answers.

Finally, after no less than six attempts, the signal held strong. Only it wasn't Arven who picked up. Instead, the face of the International Police agent--the one Team Star had been doing everything to avoid--filled the phone screen.

"Are you Arven's friend?" he asked.

"I-I--yes?" Penny said nervously.

Arrester turned the phone so the camera faced Arven instead. He looked awful. His movements were sluggish and sections of his body had gone completely transparent. His hair--his school shirt and vest--Penny could see right through them to the dark stony surface of whatever he was leaning against.

"Arven!" she yelled. "Snap out it! We need you back here with us!"

Arven winced and tried to sit up. If he was in the same headspace Penny had been before, she could only imagine how difficult it was to pull himself back to the present. But as Juliana and Nemona and the others joined her in calling out his name, Arven's body became more solid. His hair grew opaque once again. When he finally focused enough to wave at all them, his clothes appeared normal, too.

"Hey, guys," he said in a voice thick with fatigue. He struggled to stand up but couldn't quite do it. Penny had a hunch why.

"What the--?" As Arven settled back into a seated position, his gaze pointed down, and he startled. Then he batted at something out of view. He turned back to the phone screen after giving whatever it was several good smacks. "Sorry. It's...it's the freakiest thing. Arrester says I was only gone ten minutes, but my shoes are...well, they're um..."

"They're encased in dirt?" Penny asked.

Arven seemed relieved he didn't have to explain this. "Y-yeah. Wait. How did you know that?"

"Let's say experience and leave it there. Listen, Nemona, Juliana, and I are going to see Professor Raifort. Can you get back to school on your own?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," Arven said.

Arrester ducked back into view. "I'll see that he gets safely there myself. You have the word of the International Police."

Well, when you're going around calling people your same age 'young man,' you must take your job pretty seriously. Penny gave a hesitant nod, and Arven took his phone back once again. "I'll ping you when I'm there, but it might take a bit. Got a feeling this guy is gonna grill me on the way. And Penny?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for being there for me. You and...y'know, everyone else. It means a lot."

With that, the call ended. Penny smiled as she turned to Mela and the others. She was far from a mind-reader, but Arven's intentions were clear. He'd wanted to thank them each by name. Instead he'd kept to his promise not to let on he still had regular contact with them. "Check in with Arven as soon as that agent guy leaves," she told the bosses. "Stay with him, and don't let him get in his own head too much. Keep him talking."

"About what?" Mela said.

"Anything that'll ground him in the present. Talk about class if you have to."

"That sounds you want me to torture him."

"Torture very much alerts one to their present surroundings," Atticus said.

Mela shrugged. "Yeah, that's a good point. Okay. Let's head out, then." She led the way alongside Nemona back towards the school, and the rest of the group followed behind. Penny wondered if she should be concerned about how quickly Mela changed her tune when torture was brought up. Or how happy she now looked as they made their way to Mesagoza.

Then she decided with everything else going on, Mela was the least of her concerns. She had serious doubts that the ruinous Pokémon could be stopped. But they didn't need to be. They only needed to be controlled. And with a little more information, that Penny felt she could handle.

#

Juliana was a complete bundle of nerves. This whole adventure so far had taken her on quite the emotional roller coaster. Right now, she hoped she could at least make the rest of the evening without the need to jump in and save her friends from disappearing. Or permanently trapping themselves in a ghost realm. Or whatever other metaphysical chaos they seemed keen to get themselves into.

Despite the relatively short trip back, it was not far off from Raifort's proposed meeting time when they arrived at the school doors. Arven had returned safely, much to Juliana's relief, but she barely had the chance to exchange more than a few words with him before she, Nemona, and their amazing new medium friend "Jenny" made their way to Raifort's classroom.

If their first meeting was anything to go by, one minute late and they might as well not show up at all.

Thankfully as before, they made it with about five minutes to spare. Raifort didn't even lock the door on them this time. Whether because she'd reconsidered how rude it was or because school policy wouldn't allow her to lock the classrooms when she had no safety concerns to justify it, who could say?

She did shut the door behind the trio when they entered. Penny introduced herself, but she also kept checking over her shoulder at their closed-off entryway.

"I've signed out usage of the room for an independent study hall this evening," Raifort assured the group. "No one will come in to bother us." She motioned to the three chairs she had arranged in front of her desk. "Please have a seat and tell me about your experience at the shrine."

Juliana took a seat in the leftmost chair and pointed Penny towards the center. She was the one Raifort wanted to speak to, after all. They'd had some discussion ahead of time about what kind of act Penny should put on, if any. Most students in tune with the supernatural, like they'd claimed she was, had some aloofness to them.

Nemona wanted her to fully ham it up. Juliana just wanted to get through this interview without Raifort finding them out.

Penny took the middle road. She sat down and spoke with both a deadpan monotone and lots of drawn-out vowels. "Yeees. There I waaaaaas. Before the doooooor of Wo-Chien's prisoooon. And as I stoooood there, I heard a maaaaan call to me from beyooooond."

She seemed to realize how long this would take if she spoke that way the entire time, and her vowels shortened up. She spoke about the ghost she'd communicated with as if he'd been merely a voice in her head, not someone she'd seen face-to-face. Overall, she kept most of the retelling vague. But she did describe the details the ghost had given about his life. And about the wooden tablets he'd created.

The story was more than enough to get Raifort worked up with excitement. "I see! I see! So, in effect, you had a conversation with Wo-Chien itself!"

"Uh..." Penny said. Juliana gave her a gentle elbow nudge to remind her that she was supposed to be the supernatural expert here. "That is, yeeees. My otherwordly senses did indeed, um...sense that."

"Hold on," Nemona said, facing Raifort. "You said in class the Treasures of Ruin came from negative emotions, not ghosts. You don't believe in the origin story that you taught?"

Raifort gave an annoyed huff. "I certainly believe part of it. But do I think emotions alone could create powerful Pokémon out of inanimate objects?" She crossed her arms. "It may have been the connecting point, but I believe there is more to it than that. Pokémon are living creatures, after all."

"Meaning?" Juliana said, more annoyed than engaged.

Raifort frowned, obviously disappointed that he didn't buy into her dramatic build-up. Juliana couldn't muster much sympathy over it. Not her fault recent events had ruined her taste for flair-filled scientific announcements.

"Meaning your friend has confirmed what I suspected all along. The ancient treasures are, in fact, possessed by the ghosts of those whose emotions fueled them."

Juliana startled, and it knocked her pink glasses askew. "Wait! The ghosts of humans? Or Pokémon?" She stared at Penny, who didn't seem surprised or skeptical about any of this. Which most likely meant Raifort had nailed it. She just wished Penny had been a little more forthcoming with this info before they all walked in for this conversation.

"Well, some Pokémon are human ghosts," Nemona said solemnly. "Or started that way, at least."

"Indeed," Raifort said. "Spiritomb is comprised of one-hundred-eight human spirits, punished collectively and bound to an Odd Keystone. It is said that some of these spirits are ill-natured."

"Wait, only some of them?" Juliana asked. "Why are one-hundred-eight getting punished if it's only some of them?!"

Raifort kept going as if she hadn't heard. Or didn't care. "Yamask are born from restless human ghosts. They even carry masks of their faces, hoping to find people who recognize their human forms."

Nemona shivered. "Somehow that sounded less unsettling when I read it in my Pokédex."

"Truth be told, I'm not fully convinced the physical treasures themselves are anything special," Raifort said. "Merely convenient ports for these Pokémon to channel their power through. But of course, I could not say more without concrete evidence to study."

Juliana didn't know what to say to that, and given her expression, neither did Nemona. Penny, however, looked more determined than Juliana had ever seen her. "We'll get the treasures for sure," she said through gritted teeth. Then, without waiting for an invitation, she marched herself out of the classroom. Juliana and Nemona glanced at each other, shrugged, and thanked Raifort for her time before following their friend down the hall.

"What was that all about?" Juliana asked her. "You're acting like a Tauros in a glass shop of a sudden."

Penny yanked up the hood on her sweatshirt and pulled it tight. Which only underscored Juliana's point. "I'm just ready to confront this thing head-on, is all."

#

Back in Clavell's office, Team Star had followed their leader's instructions to the letter. Arven was seated and engaged in conversation with them, as he had been for the past three hours, whether he liked it or not.

Penny walked in to find Mela holding up a Poké Ball to her captive audience of one. Her words came out with an odd mix of her usual straightforward talk and Atticus's old-timely mannerisms as she waxed philosophy from art class:

"...for example, even consider the time machine that we're gonna smash to pieces. It only sends objects and stuff to this other reality, right?"

"Inanimate objects, yeah."

"But it can send Pokémon. Via Poké Balls. So, if ya think about it..." She held the ball a little higher. "Crap, how did Brassy-ass put it? Oh, yeah. One could argue Poké Balls represent how people see Pokémon as our tools...when in fact they should be seen as partners. Other halves! Sources of our, uh, magical bonds of eternal friendship!"

"I daresay thy senses require more time outside," Atticus sighed.

Mela's cheeks puffed with anger until she turned and saw Penny in the doorway. "Oh, hey, Big Boss! You like my mini-lesson? I think I'm getting the torture part real good."

Penny smiled and checked the calendar on her tablet. With everything that had happened, she was now extra cautious about time-tracking. Three more days before they had to report back to Ai. And not a lot of progress to show for it. They needed to get this business with the ruinous Pokémon settled. Tomorrow at the latest.

Something Raifort had said struck a chord with Penny. Nemona was right that they had no idea if destroying the stakes would help or hurt them. It would certainly render the time machine inoperable. And Penny wasn't fully convinced they wanted that to happen, either.

They needed to do two things: Stop the ruinous Pokémon's power from hurting Paldea. And stop themselves from vanishing. But if destroying the stakes for their first goal made the second goal impossible, what where they supposed to do?

Unless...

"Um, pardon me?" said Clavell's voice behind them. Penny turned to see him holding up a medium-sized cardboard box with various cords and cables inside like it was a peace offering. One of these days he was going to remember it was his office, and then they'd really have to watch themselves so as not to wear out their welcome.

"I, uh, brought some of the items you students requested." He rooted through the box and held up an AC charger. "Though I fail to see how you need high-end mini-speakers to fully indulge in Professor Tyme's mid-term tomorrow. You do realize it's all digital, and she won't say anything once the exam starts?"

Giacomo came up and snatched the box. "Oh, uh, the way she reminds us all to put our names on our papers really motivates me. Gotta have the full experience or I'll probably flunk."

He just wants to practice his sets as a way to unwind, Penny thought. Which wasn't a bad use of resources per se. Still, her chest ached a bit as she pictured Ortega calling Giacomo out on his silly BS. He did have a knack for that kind of thing.

We'll all be back together soon, Penny reminded herself.

"Anything else you children need?" Clavell asked, in a voice that strongly implied any polite person would say no.

Arven raised a timid hand. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, maybe you could find us another room?" When Clavell's eyebrows rose, Arven quickly added on, "I mean, a place I could throw together a real dinner? Atticus is right. We've either been in here or running for our lives. We need a change of scenery. Also we have a little something to celebrate." He gave a dramatic pause.

Everyone stared blankly.

Arven coughed. "As of this afternoon, the International Police will be suspending their investigation of Team Star while they dig into Professor Sada's research." He rubbed the back of his head. "They, uh...kind of want statements from you guys about the whole lake thing, but you can do that next week, if you want."

Penny's body took a moment to react. She understood Arven's words. Her brain flooded with relief. But her muscles had spent so much of their time tensed up, it was like they forgot how to do anything else.

"Is it not joyous news, Lady Penny?" Atticus asked.

"Um, yes? That is...no to it not being joyous? Meaning it is joyous." She hung her head. "Sorry, I'm a little out of it."

Atticus gave a soft laugh, which sounded pretty understanding to her.

"It certainly is a reason to celebrate. A dinner, you say?" Clavell rubbed his chin. "The staff room has a kitchenette, and it is not in use during school hours. Would this suit your needs?"

Arven smiled and rolled up his sleeves. "Sounds good to me." He then turned and addressed the group. "Everyone, tell your taste buds to prepare themselves. Because--and I know this shock you all--I am very good at cooking things other than sandwiches!"

It might not have been the most triumphant declaration in history, but combined with giving Team Star free reign of Paldea again, it got Arven a standing ovation.

#

Within an hour, everyone was seated in the staff room, their mouths watering. The scents of lime, garlic, cumin, and cilantro hung in the air. Arven was working a pan of sausages, beating a bowl of eggs, and grinding tomatoes with a mortar and pestle all at the same time.

"Okay, I'm keeping it simple here," he told the group. "Fried chorizo with a Paldean omelette." He flashed a grin and winked. "I hear it goes by the name 'cheese omelette with a spot o' salsa' back in Galar."

Penny realized he was looking at her and forced a quick smile in return. "I'm trying to be offended, but it smells too good."

"That's the idea," Arven assured her. He prodded the chorizo, then cut the heat on the flat little stovetop and turned his full attention to the salsa prep.

Penny went back to staring at the wall. She was distracted, but it wasn't just by the amazing smell in the staff room. She couldn't shake the replays of Raifort's conversation from her mind. The way she had spoken about the ruinous Pokémon and their treasures. Penny loved a good puzzle, and usually the solution came from exploring a new angle. What if they didn't need to destroy the stakes to hold the ruinous Pokémon off? What if they could do it without the Pokémon ever leaving their prisons at all?

"Are you making the salsa inside a rock?" Mela asked, pointing at Arven's choice of cookware. The mortar was a little bigger than his hand, and it made of rough-surfaced granite. Arven had already pulverized a sizable number of tomatoes, herbs, and peppers inside it.

He paused from his work to turn his nose up at Mela. "It's called a molcajete, and I'll have you know it's hand-crafted for grinding all kinds of spices and seasonings--"

"But it is made from a rock?"

He pushed the molcajete farther away on the countertop. "You want dinner or not?"

Mela lowered her head and apologized. Maybe because she'd spent several hours today bombarding Arven with regurgitated school lessons. Or because he was actually part of their group now and Team Star members respected each other.

Mela's stomach growled. Or she'd backed off because she was hungry.

In any case, Arven smirked and resumed making the salsa. But not before holding up the pestle and adding, "By the way, this piece is called a tejolote."

"How do you even wash that?" Nemona asked, sounding genuinely curious. She stood and indicated the bowl's rough surface. "See? The juice is soaking right in."

"That's the fun part. It, like...carries the flavor from one dish to another."

"So you don't wash it?"

Arven groaned. "I swear, I'm never cooking for you guys again!"

Like Mela, Nemona resumed waiting patiently in her chair and did not give Arven any more grief about his food preparation.

"Actually," Arven said after the silence got a bit too awkward. "These were the first pieces of kitchenware I bought just for myself. I was really focused on making things feel fresh and simple, and they seemed perfect. Nothing like Sada would ever use." He picked up the frying pan, pushed the chorizo onto a plate and dumped in the seasoned eggs. They cackled and sizzled in the leftover fat and smelled all the more amazing for it. Arven went to work pushing and prodding them with a spatula. "Honestly, if a meal couldn't be made in a rice cooker or a microwave, it didn't exist to her."

No one had any reply to that, but thankfully, the omelettes came quickly out of the pan and onto everyone's plates, alongside several pieces of hot chorizo. Arven topped each omelette off with a layer of hand-grated cheese and a generous spoonful of salsa.

Penny really did try to put her worries behind her. The whole meal smelled amazing. And this might be the last time in a long while they got to enjoy each other's company this way. But when she felt on the verge of solving something, her brain rarely gave her the luxury of putting those thoughts on hold.

The fact was, she did have a solution to their problem. She just wasn't sure if anyone would let her execute it.

Chapter Text

"Cheers," Arven said as he served up his own plate last. "To Team Star merely being questioned about a disappearing lake instead of arrested for it. May the group of us all live to see Paldea in one piece next week."

Each person around the table held up a plastic cup filled with lime soda and tapped their rim against a neighbor's. Because that's what Team Star did when they went fancy. A collective "cheers" went around the table with a mix of determination, enthusiasm, and a general wish that Arven's toasts would get on par with his cooking skills.

Penny swallowed, the bubbles tickling her throat as she looked at her plate. The steam fogged her glasses, and her stomach growled for something besides fizzed sugar water.

But she had to get this off her chest first. "Actually, on that note..."

Chairs squeaked against the linoleum as every person at the table turned to stare at her. Well, good to know she had their attention, at any rate. "I-I....the thing is, I'm pretty sure I know how to save Paldea. And hopefully Arven, Ortie, and I in the process. But it's a bit risky." She locked eyes with Arven. "I'm guessing you saw...someone while you were zoned out near the Rock...erm, the Groundblight Shrine, right?"

Arven frowned but nodded. "Yeah. She was this kinda-see-through little girl. Seemed pretty frightened of me. Said she was looking for her father."

Her father? Penny took a moment to clean her lenses. Could their two ghosts be related, then? It was an interesting theory and one she wanted to discuss with Arven later. But for now, it wasn't relevant to her point.

She returned her glasses to their place and continued, "I saw someone, too. Though they were older. Let's be frank. The people we saw haven't been alive for centuries. Professor Raifort thinks the ruinous Pokémon were formed from the ghosts of humans living under the tyrannous Paldean king." She paused to let that sink into everyone's heads. "And I agree."

Her revelation got quite a few murmurs going around the table but nothing as dramatic as Juliana's reaction back in Raifort's classroom.

Giacomo looked downright annoyed. "So what's this got to do with saving Paldea?"

Penny rested her chin on her folded hands. "Everything. My first thought was that after we rescued Ortie and our home, I could come back and help free the ghost inside Wo-Chien's mind. He made it pretty clear if he gets out, Wo-Chien will try to hold my spirit in his place."

She paused at the obvious discomfort from the group--squirming in their seats, putting their silverware down despite the plethora of delicious food left on their plates.

"I obviously thought that'd be something to avoid," Penny said as she cleared her throat. "Even if I could help the ghost I met, who knows how long before I'd get out myself? But we know for a fact that our bond with the ruinous Pokémon is what's causing them to attack Paldea in our defense. And now I think...no. I'm positive if I go back in there, I can stop Wo-Chien's power."

Everyone gasped. Mela leapt up, knocking half her meal from her plate to the table. "Whoa, whoa. We saw you standing there hypnotized for hours! You didn't help anyone. You nearly died! How the hell is this new plan any different?"

Okay. Here's where I need to sell it. Penny locked eyes with Mela and said in her firmest, most authoritative voice, "Because this time, I'll be the conductor. And I'm locking it away so even its powers can't work anymore."

#

Juliana, along with anyone else who expected Penny to follow up with some grand explanation, soon found themselves disappointed. All she would say was that despite being in its current prison, Wo-Chien was clearly still causing damage to Paldea. But Penny felt confident that if she could reconnect with the ruinous Pokémon and release the ghost that had satiated its hunger for so long, Wo-Chien would be weakened enough that she could knock it out, re-imprison it somewhere stronger, and then escape herself.

When pressed for details on what this "stronger prison" would look like and how long she thought it would take to get herself free, Penny would get conveniently distracted and not hear the question.

The meal ended, and Penny volunteered to stay behind with Arven to help clean up the dishes.

"I can help, too," Juliana offered, and the others all murmured a collective agreement. In retrospect, perhaps they should have sprung for disposable plates and cutlery along with the cups.

"The sink's too small for all of us crowding around it," Penny said. "Go get some sleep, all of you. That's a strongly worded suggestion straight from your big boss."

Giacomo, Eri, and Atticus frowned at this non-order but followed it anyway.

Mela defiantly stood her ground, Nemona at her side glancing nervously between Penny and the trio that had already left.

"She's feeding us some Tauros crap, I'll tell you that much." Mela said to Nemona. "I dunno where the stink is yet, but it's there." She turned on her heel and marched out the door. Nemona took this as a cue to follow and help emphasize Mela's point, leaving only Juliana still in the room.

Arven frowned at her. "Like Penny said, get some sleep," he said. "We'll take care of this."

With that, Juliana relented and walked out of the room as well. She even closed the door behind her. What she did not do was walk away from it. Since Arven and Penny had attended so little class lately, she hoped they would forget how bad the doors were at soundproofing when you stood close to them.

At first all Juliana heard was running water and the wheeze of a near-empty soap dispenser. Maybe she being paranoid. Maybe this was just an older student thing--doing chores in total silence to relax the mind? But just as Juliana was set to walk away, the water cut off and Arven called out,

"Geez, have you ever washed dishes before?"

"Huh?" Clusters of silverware clanged together. It sounded like Penny was scrambling not to drop the entire collection on the floor. "I...do a lot of take-out," she said as the cutlery plopped safely into a sink full of soapy water. "And instant stuff."

"My condolences to your stomach. Here, grab the towel. I'll wash, and you dry."

There was a bit of shifting around while Penny presumably nabbed the towel and switched spots at the sink with Arven. The water sloshed around quickly in his confident hands. Juliana took the opportunity to slide down against the wall, getting into a seated position as silently as she could.

"Mela was right, wasn't she?" Arven said after a moment. "You did lie to everyone."

"How so?"

"You said your plan would 'hopefully' help us and Ortie, too."

Penny's footsteps shuffled across the linoleum. "Um, where do you want the...uh..."

"Molcajete? Put it on the counter over there. I'll wash it last."

Despite its small size, the little bowl made a heavy-sounding thunk on the wooden countertop.

"Don't get me wrong," Arven continued. "I obviously want to save our home. If this works, I'm all in. But it doesn't fix whatever weird reality displacement the time machine gave us. Like you said, the ruinous Pokémon are trying to keep us from disappearing. Just...in a really stupid way."

Juliana hugged her knees tight to her chest. That's what felt so off, she realized. Like Mela, she'd been so sure Penny was hiding something, but she couldn't find any holes in her proposal, either. Penny was prioritizing Paldea's safety over her own and didn't want anyone to know that.

"Yes, but once we get the threat against Paldea neutralized," Penny said. "Ai and Turo will have every reason to help us."

Arven slammed a dish down. "That is a load of Tauros crap! You can feed it to your friends if you want, but don't you dare try feeding it to me. Not about my own useless parents!"

"I-I'm sorry," Penny stuttered. "You're right, okay? But this is the only solution that keeps the time machine online. And if subduing the ruinous Pokémon doesn't fix us--"

"--because there is zero reason to think it will--"

Penny exhaled sharply. "Will you let me finish, you big lunk? If it doesn't, the time machine is the only chance we have. I don't know how we can get it to reverse the damage it did to us, but we can't get near it to even try when Paldea's still in danger. And hand me that plate already. You've been washing it for five minutes."

There was a clink, but Arven still didn't speak.

Penny continued, "Everyone thinks I'm the genius who can come up a magic solution that fixes all our problems at once. But have you seen what Ortie can do with machines? He's every bit a genius, too. And what you learned to do with food? All on your own? Juliana told me you made bitter and salty herba mystica taste good. Who does that? And don't even get me started at what Nemona can do when you put her in a Pokémon arena."

Silence stretched between them. Whether Arven softened under the flattery or straight-up ignored her, Juliana had no clue.

Penny was the next person who spoke, and her voice sounded raspy, like her vocal chords weren't prepped for these sorts of lectures. "Just because logic and programming are my thing doesn't mean I've got some superpower, and I wish everyone would stop acting like I do."

More water sloshed around, followed by the steady clink of dishes being passed between them. Once they got into a pattern, the sound became rather rhythmic and soothing to Juliana's ears. The hallway had gone dim for the night, leaving a sharp contrast between the shaft of light from under the door and the dark silence that hung over the rest of school.

Penny cleared her throat. "You said the ghost you saw was a little girl looking for her father?"

"Yeah. We sort of scared each other, but I guess that makes sense." Water trickled into the sink as Arven wrung out his sponge. Or dish rag. Juliana couldn't recall which one she'd seen on the countertop before she left.

"The ghost I saw was a father looking for his daughter," Penny said. "It's possible...well, I'd say very likely....that they've been seeking each other all this time."

"Seriously? Man." Arven dropped the maybe sponge/maybe dish rag into the sink with a loud plop. "For thousands of years? I knew plenty of families were more dedicated than mine, but that's hardcore."

"I don't know if I'd call it that," Penny said. "It more seemed like the guy was mentally trapped in time. She could be the same."

"I suppose." The sink gurgled as Arven drained the water out of it. "So are you gonna tell me about this new, 'stronger' prison of yours? Because I'm guessing you plan for me to use it, too?"

"I expect yours will be different from mine," Penny said. There were at least five dish-clanks and the swing of a creaky cabinet door before she added on, "Ting-Lu's item is a stone bowl, correct?"

"The records call it a vessel, but yeah."

Footsteps crossed the little kitchen. Then stone scraped against wood. "You forget to wash something?" Penny asked.

"Oh," Arven answered after a long pause. "I see."

The water turned back on again, but despite sitting and listening for a while longer, Juliana got no more out of Arven and Penny's conversation. She finally gave up and moved away from the door before she punched it out of sheer frustration. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn Penny knew she was here.

#

The next morning, Juliana went with Nemona to their History Class midterm. Penny insisted on tagging along, too. Arven and the Team Star bosses agreed to meet them out in the lobby afterwards. Once they had their talk with Raifort, it would be off to the Grasswither Shrine for whatever Penny had in mind. Juliana hoped the girl knew what she was doing.

The trio showed up early to class, before anyone else had entered the room.

Raifort sat at her desk with an eerily flawless stack of test packets beside her. While she did raise an eyebrow at their entrance, it felt more like an acknowledgment than a genuine display of surprise.

"I would tell you I don't allow anyone to start tests early," she said as she folded her hands in front of her. "But I suspect you're not here for the mid-term."

Juliana bit her lip, as those were about to be her exact words, and she didn't have a backup option. This woman still unnerved her, and she preferred to have her lines rehearsed.

Thankfully. Nemona stepped up. "We actually wanted to tell you we won't be coming to class anymore. Or meeting outside class. We're done researching the ruinous treasures for you."

"Oh?" Raifort's tone barely rose at all. She sounded curious, maybe, but not upset. "And may I ask why?"

"I-I--" Nemona said, also put off the calm demeanor. "Well, they're ruinous, for one."

Juliana held her breath, waiting for a scolding about their incompetence or a lecture about today's youth giving up too easily. Or something. Instead, Raifort took a mid-term off the top of the stack and began writing on it.

"I suspected as much," she finally said. "Though of course, I had hoped my instinct was wrong. You were my best leads in quite a while. Perhaps I'll never achieve my dream."

"What dream?" Juliana demanded, glad to have found her voice again. "You're saying all this time, you only wanted was to capture one of these Pokémon?"

"Capture?" Raifort paused her writing huffed at the suggestion. "What a small-minded thought. No, Miss Juliana. I wanted to become one of them." Despite calling Juliana by name, Raifort kept her gaze hyperfocused on Penny. And Penny did the same in return. Neither one blinked, and Juliana's eyes burned just watching them.

It was Raifort who broke the silence with a simple observation: "You aren't surprised."

"I don't surprise easily anymore," Penny said.

Raifort smirked. "After what you encountered at the Grasswither Shrine? I expect not." She scribbled a few more things on the paper and then passed it over to Juliana. The questions remained blank, but Juliana's name was written neatly at the top with her score: 5/5. 100%.

"Um..." Juliana said.

"You and your friends understand Paldean history better than anyone else in this school, save for me. I grade honestly. Your final shall reflect the same."

Juliana decided not to argue the point, folded the test, and shoved it into her pocket.

"Perhaps the physical treasures of the ruinous Pokémon are nothing special," Raifort said. "Or perhaps the ghosts who feed them with their emotions are nothing special. Interchangeable, even."

Penny tensed up at Raifort's words. The woman made no reaction, but then, Juliana couldn't imagine she didn't notice.

"I've always believed the second to be true," she continued. "That if I could somehow bond with the ruinous Treasures, I would be able to merge my mind with one of theirs. All that ancient power at my disposal..." She let out a deep, longing sigh. "Sadly, there has always been one insurmountable hurdle for me."

"And what's that?" Juliana said.

Penny glared at her for taking the bait. Like she wouldn't do the same if Juliana hadn't.

Raifort certainly enjoyed the indulgement. "The emotions that created the Treasures...all of them started from worthy desires." Her gaze trailed to the hallway. She of course had no way of knowing that Arven and the others waited in the lobby for them. It was still creepy. "Safety for their home, for example. Or..." She shifted towards Penny. "Justice for their friends..." She closed her eyes, but as she spoke, Juliana couldn't help but picture the Pokémon Ortega and Turo had bonded with and the feelings of the people who had brought those Pokémon to life:

"Provision for their family...Success for their careers..."

Raifort shook her head. "You'll notice the king himself never created any of these. Because all he ever brought to the table was his own greed. A powerful catalyst but never a source of power. And sadly, I can offer no more than him."

She glanced at the clock hung above the doorframe and finally addressed Juliana. "My other students will be here soon, so I would appreciate it if you left before they arrive."

"No problem," Juliana said in complete honesty. She hurried towards the doorway, and Nemona followed suit. But Penny still stood at Raifort's desk. Apparently the woman had one more piece of advice for their supposed student medium.

"If your goal is the same as mine, I believe you will succeed, and I wish you all the best. However--" She adjusted her glasses. "--if you had in mind something more foolish, like trying to subdue one of the ruinous Treasures through your sheer force of will, I imagine it could only end in disaster for you."

"Appreciate the vote of confidence," Penny muttered. Then she followed Juliana and Nemona out the door.

#

When Penny reported back on Raifort's words, the group seemed pretty dejected. They headed out of the library and down the path towards the Grasswither Shrine as planned, but it was hardly a cheerful hike. Nemona's attempts at small talk were met with minimal replies. Really, if it weren't for the urgency of the situation, Penny half-expected the team to be dragging their feet, too.

To them, Raifort had been a complete dead end. Little to contribute beyond what they already knew and unwilling to help them find out more. But Raifort had just confirmed for Penny that this crazy stupid idea of hers might actually work.

When they finally reached the shrine, Penny took a deep breath. She expected she'd be a nervous wreck, and yet she'd never felt so calm. Her hands went to the six Poké Balls at her belt, and she pulled them free.

"I need you guys to hold onto these," she said, handing one to each of her friends. Except, of course, that there were seven of them in the group, and she only had six Poké Balls.

Arven stood empty-handed at the end beside the others and gave an awkward laugh. "I'd say I'm hurt if I actually knew what this is all about."

"I wanna know the same," Mela said, her voice low and dangerous. She dropped the Poké Ball Penny had given her into Nemona's free hand. Nemona, not expecting this, almost lost her grip on it. Then, looking between the two, she handed the Poké Ball Penny had given her over to Arven.

"What the hell are you doin' giving us your Pokémon?" Mela snapped.

Penny didn't answer. Instead she pulled up her tablet and made a several taps. "My student ID is on my desk, if you need to access my other teammates."

Mela grabbed her wrist. Almost instinctively, Penny flashed back to the moment of leaving Ortie behind with Ai and Turo. A lot of horrible thoughts bubbled to her mental surface, but they did let her pull herself free by phasing right through Mela's grip.

Mela staggered backwards, breathing heavily. "That's how it is, then? You're pullin' the same stunt on us again!"

The accusation took Penny by surprise. "What stunt?"

Now it was Giacomo who stepped forward. "'I'll fix this mess on my end. Just leave it to me.' Sound familiar?"

Before Penny could answer, Eri added onto the memory: "'I dragged you all into this. So I'll take responsibility for everything.'"

"'Even though we never met in person, you were all so kind to me...'" Atticus continued.

How do they remember everything I said so well? Penny thought. But that answer was obvious. Because for a year and a half, it was the last conversation they'd had with each other. Penny remembered their words just as well. Asking her to explain herself, why it sounded like they'd never speak again...

...and here she was, all set and ready to repeat those words once more.

Penny rubbed her eyes while Mela delivered the finishing blow. Her last farewell before she ghosted the team: "'I need to go take care of some things. Bye-bye, guys. Thanks for everything.' Did that about cover it for ya?" She spat on the ground at Penny's feet. "You think we were pissed because you started Operation Starfall? I don't know about these guys, but I couldn't care less about that. Thought it was pretty gutsy of you, actually. But don't you dare pull this mysterious self-sacrifice crap on us again. You wanna take the fall for the group? You freakin' tell us!"

A million excuses filled Penny's mind. But none of them held up against her team's words. Because they were right. She acted like she had to be this protector for the group. Like they couldn't handle themselves. Or make tough decisions when it came to setting things right.

Eri's eyes were already filled with tears, smearing her face make-up, but now Mela's mascara ran in lines down her cheeks, too. "We got you were doin' somethin' dangerous here. We know it ain't safe. But you talked at dinner like you were sure you'd come back."

"I plan to come back," Penny insisted. Mela rolled her eyes, and everyone else held up the Poké Balls she had distributed among them. "Okay, I concede I didn't communicate that well." She wrung her hands as she stared at the ground. There had to be some way to at least explain the rationale behind her actions, flawed as it was. "I want to think I can do this, but if the ghost inside there wasn't able to leave on his own after all those years...? I dunno. Maybe I'm too full of myself."

"Dude!" Mela threw her hands into the air. "You hacked the Pokémon League!" Her fellow bosses nodded their agreement.

"Thy guidance crafted our discombobulated acquaintanceship into a true team," said Atticus.

"You fixed the bullying at school when the actual people with authority couldn't handle it," Eri added.

"Your Eevee team is adorable!" said Nemona. She got a few questioning looks for this but assured everyone this was every bit the massive personal accomplishment as theirs were.

Giacomo smiled and laid his hand on Penny's shoulder. "You have reasons to come back, B.B."

A reason to come back. His words filled her with a warmth she'd almost forgotten. She closed her eyes to focus on it. If she could remember this feeling her friends gave her, there was no way whatever monster slept in that prison could hold her. She just wished she could pass that feeling onto the ghost who'd been trapped in there so long. If only...

Wait. Maybe I can. "Arven," she said, whirling towards him. "Hear me out here, but I think we should travel farther north. Halfway between the Grasswither Shrine and the Rocks-Fall-Everyone--ugh, I mean the Groundblight Shrine!"

"Oo...kay," Arven said.

Penny began to pace through the grass. "If we really want to starve the ruinous Pokémon, our best bet would be to do more than just release the ghosts. What if we could help them move past those emotions altogether?"

"You mean...?" Arven said.

Penny nodded, with no regard for the fact that Arven seemed to be the only one following her line of thought at all. "We shouldn't do this separately. Let's get to a halfway point and do it together." She started down the path only to turn at the last second as if she'd just noticed everyone else there. "Sorry. Just follow us, guys. You're about to see a long overdue family reunion."

Chapter Text

Before long, the group reached a meadow of tiny flowers and swaying grasses. If the world hadn't tried to end so recently, no doubt it would have at least a few picnickers around. But as things stood, the space was empty. Which was exactly how Penny wanted it.

"Arven and I talked last night after dinner," she admitted. Though she had a strong suspicion it wasn't news to Juliana. "The original idea was that we'd each create a path for our ghost to leave. Same as last time, really. When you guys called out to us, it made this...I dunno? Light portal thing? We figured we'd each have to coax the ghosts to walk through it instead of us."

"Then Wo-Chien and Ting-Lu would have no choice but to latch onto the two of us for their emotion fix," Arven said. "An inside job, if you will. The only problem is..." He rubbed the back of his head. "...well, my ghost at least doesn't want to leave."

"And that's the only problem?" Eri asked with a raised eyebrow. The group stood awkwardly waiting for him to reply.

"Well, it's the first problem, at any rate," Penny said. She lead the group a little farther through the grass. The meadow had a circular patch where the grass was sparse, and the flowers were non-existent. That was where the map had pointed.

"So you're...what? Gonna give the ghosts a millennia-overdue therapy session?" Giacomo asked. "Because I'll be real with you, boss, I don't think you two are qualified for that kind of work."

He wasn't wrong. Penny couldn't lie and tell him otherwise.

Thankfully Arven stepped in. "That's why we took a detour. Penny and I were going to face these ghosts separately at first, you know? But now we think the two of them might know each other. In fact, we're pretty sure they've been searching for each other a while." He grinned and gave a thumbs-up, the same way he had when announcing he'd be making them dinner. "And let's face it, there's no easier way to bring up positive emotions than a happy reunion."

"Reuniting them could dissipate those negative emotions Wo-Chien and Ting-Lu have been feeding on," Penny added. "Starve them out and make it easier for us to subdue them."

"Which would be the second problem," said Mela. Stated, not asked.

Penny nodded. "I have no idea how strong they are, but if our first encounters with them are anything to go by..."

She left the rest of the sentence unspoken, but it wasn't like anyone needed any reminders. They'd all seen what had happened when the ruinous Pokémon got their mental claws in Penny and Arven for even a little bit. The vines twisting around Penny's ankles. The dirt piling itself up on Arven's feet.

Nemona looked furious. She marched over to Arven and actually poked him in the chest. "Espera un momento. You mean to say you were planning to pull a secret self-sacrificing stunt, too?"

"Um..." Arven backed away from Nemona's threatening pointer finger. "If I say yes, are you going to finger-stab me again?"

"Ugh, you're a bad influence, boss!" Mela snapped.

Penny didn't argue and checked her map. They were standing right beside the meadow's "bald spot" where the ground was dry and bare. "Yep, this space should be just about right."

Atticus raised an eyebrow at the dusty ground. "For what, m'lady?"

"We're perfectly halfway between the two shrines," Penny explained. "With any luck, we should be able to connect to the ghosts from here, draw them out, and let them see each other again. After that..." She swallowed hard. "Well, after that, we've just got to suppress some ancient evil into new prisons. Ones their powers can't leak out from." She nodded to Arven. "You want to leave your Pokémon behind? Just in case, I mean?"

An awkward silence hung in the air as Arven debated. She wasn't going to try to change his mind either way. But it felt like she should at least bring the topic up.

Arven removed the six Poké Balls from his belt, holding three in each hand. "Yeah, I think so." He placed one into Juliana's hand first, then one into Giacomo's. He hesitated before he placed the third Poké Ball into Nemona's open hand. "But only because last time I got a whole bunch of dirt on me, and Mabosstiff doesn't like when his travel home gets all messy." He released the ball, and Nemona held tight onto it. Penny didn't have to guess which Pokémon was in there. An interesting choice. But Arven's companion would have a tough time finding a more temporary guardian more dedicated than Nemona.

With both their Poké Balls distributed, Penny and Arven came over to the circular patch of dirt in the middle of the meadow.

"You brought it?" Penny asked.

Arven nodded and set his bag down. But instead of rummaging through it like he usually did when he needed something, he simply opened the top flap, reached in and pulled the object right out. The bag was more deflated than usual, suggesting to Penny it was one of the few objects inside.

Arven showed the molcajete to the group. Penny could still catch a whiff of the peppers and spices from last night's impromptu feast.

"Um, is that what I think it's for?" Nemona asked.

"Depends," Arven said. "Do you think I'm planning to channel an ancient malevolent Pokémon from the stone bowl its been possessing for thousands of years into this one I made dinner with last night?"

She stared unblinking at him. "Uh..."

"Because if so, yes. It is exactly what you think it's for." He placed the molcajete on the ground and sat cross-legged behind it. Penny took up a similar position opposite of him. "I gotta say, I still feel kind of stupid trying this."

"How do you think I feel?" Penny muttered. Then she reached into her Eevee backpack--her original brown one this time--and pulled out the item she'd promised to bring. She sat it in front of her. Dang thing still smelled like moss from the last shrine incident. "I mean, seriously. At least you're trying to coax Ting-Lu into something that's more or less the same as before. My big plan here is to trap Wo-Chien in a freakin' computer."

"Computer tablet," Arven pointed out. "Basically interchangeable with a wooden one if you ask me."

"Ah. These are the 'new' prisons you spoke of yesterday evening?" Atticus asked.

Penny and Arven both nodded.

Giacomo huffed, clearly unimpressed. "Fascinating. So why didn't you just grab a piece of two-by-four from shop class or something?"

We have a shop class? Why are none of these courses ever mentioned at the front desk? Penny pushed her tablet forward on the ground so the edge of it tapped against Arven's bowl. "This is just a guess, but the objects that formed the ruinous Pokémon to begin with were all highly significant to the people who came to inhabit them. So we're thinking it's more important that the new items mean something to Arven and me."

Which meant if this worked and they wanted to repeat it with Ortega and Turo, they had to find objects that were equally important to the two of them. But that would come later. One monumentally difficult task at a time and all.

Giacomo shrugged, which was his usual way of saying that while he didn't agree with Penny's logic, he was willing to step back and trust her judgement.

"Okay," she said to Arven. "Let's do this."

He swallowed hard. "Right. See you on the other side, I guess."

The crowd of stepped back as the two of them both closed their eyes and placed their hands on their corresponding objects. The tablet was powered off, but Penny could feel a different kind of energy at its edges. She reached out with her mind to the monster she'd once met behind the Grasswither Shrine's door...and to the man who'd kept it alive all these centuries.

#

"Why did you come back?"

Penny gasped and opened her eyes, finding herself once again in the dark abyss where she'd first met the ghost. Inside Wo-Chien's mind, if Raifort was to be believed. She didn't expect the man to show up so quickly, and his annoyed tone threw her off-guard.

"I-I want to help you," Penny told him, taking a tentative step forward. They weren't far from each other, though distance became hard to judge in this place. But it felt like the closer she tried to get, the more he moved away.

"I told you, there's nothing for you here except to get trapped like me. Just leave!"

His words had actual force behind them, pushing Penny back like a strong wind. Then he moaned and curled up in the swirling mist, holding his head. "The last time we spoke, you said someone in your world wronged you, too...you understand I can't just let this go."

Penny did understand. Maybe more than she wanted to admit. "I-I know," she told him. "The desire to right that wrong? I get it. Even if it starts from a good place, it grows strong so quickly. Strong enough to take control of you. But..." She took a deep breath, mentally placing herself back with her group of friends. Giacomo's words cut through any fog that tried to cloud her mind. "But if you've got a reason to go...to leave it behind..."

"She was my reason!" The man's anguished voice hit Penny like a stinging blast in a sandstorm. But unlike before, she didn't lose any ground. "I wanted to make the world a better place for her. And in the end, she was left alone thinking I abandoned her."

"She doesn't think that!" Penny said.

The man lifted his head, glaring daggers at her. He'd never compared the severity of their situations before. But now he spoke like she was some spoiled child he'd been humoring all along. "How would you know?"

"I...I know because my friend talked to her," Penny said, even as doubt plagued her thoughts. The king executed plenty of people in all likelihood. Maybe Arven's ghost had nothing to do with Penny's. But surely determination like hers had to come from somewhere? "She's frightened, because she doesn't know what happened. But she knows you'd never leave her on purpose." Penny gave a gentle smile, now imagining the first time she stood in person with Team Star. "She's been waiting all this time. For you. You just need to take that first step."

#

Watching Penny and Arven from the outside was pure torture as far as Mela was concerned. This wasn't Area Zero where she could jump in to save them like she had Nemona. Locked in their meditative states, they were both beyond where she could reach them. She felt helpless, and she hated it. Her hands were so balled up, her fingers ached.

Nemona moved closer and gave Mela's tightened fist a tentative squeeze. "It's okay. They're strong. They'll get through this."

"Shut up," Mela said, though she didn't yank her fist back and punch Nemona in the face, either.

Nemona let go and looked kind of hurt until Eri leaned over and whispered, "That's Mela talk for 'thank you.'"

Nemona nodded, and the trio of them kept themselves focused on Arven and Penny. They knew what to expect from last time, but that still didn't make it comfortable to watch.

The ruinous Pokémon's weird effects hit Arven first. Small mounds of dirt built up from the ground, swallowing the tiny legs of his bowl before expanding up to its rim. Before long, the entire molcajete was encased in hard, dry earth. And it didn't stop there. The dirt spread out to capture Arven's fingertips as well, effectively sealing them in their held position. Arven didn't struggle. If he was aware there was anything to struggle against. Worse still, his grip on the bowl seemed to tighten.

Mela held her breath. This was not looking good. And if Arven was struggling, what would happen with the big boss? With Penny?

"Whoa, now!" Nemona said, as she jumped backward. Which seemed like kind of a rude way to break the silence. Then Mela caught a glance of Arven's Poké Ball shaking like crazy in Nemona's hand. Before she could try to stop it, the two halves of the ball split apart, and Mabosstiff appeared in a flash of red light.

Nobody moved. Had Arven told Mabosstiff what was happening? He seemed like he told his Pokémon everything, but then again, he'd been pretty secretive about this, even with his friends.

Mabosstiff walked over to Arven and gave a gentle woof.

His friend didn't move. The layer of earth encasing Arven's wrists moved its way up his arms.

Mabosstiff whined and placed a large paw on Arven's knee. When this also got no reaction, he paced back and forth as if searching for something. He came to his own Poké Ball resting at Nemona's feet, gently took it in his mouth, and carried it over to Arven.

The ball fell with a dull thud into Arven's lap.

"Wuuuf!" Mabosstiff said, more desperate than before.

For a split second, Mela could have sworn she saw Arven twitch. Or at least his lower lip quiver. Mela barely knew the guy, and she never wanted to shout at someone so bad. After everything he and Mabosstiff been through together? Something in him had to hear his friend's cries. It just had to.

#

"Get away!"

Arven jumped back at the sheer volume of the ghost's voice. This was the same one he'd talked to before, no doubt about it. But she wasn't quite so loud the first time. Even the mist around her briefly propelled away.

He held his hands up to show he meant no harm. "We've talked before, remember? Don't be afraid."

The girl slunk back and whimpered. "Easy for you to say. You're tall and strong and can do stuff for yourself. You don't know how it was for me back then."

Arven swallowed. "You're right. I don't know. But..." He reached out his hand towards her, debating how his younger self would want to be spoken to. Nothing dismissive. Nothing condescending. Simple so he could understand but honest regardless of his age.

"I did have something scary in my past," he finally said. She raised her head expectantly. Arven's mind started to flash back to that moment with the time machine. When he cried out to Ortega for help. When he didn't know if he would make it or not. He flinched at the memories, even as he chanted to himself that was all they were. Memories. They'd trapped him in the past long enough.

In fact, maybe the time machine's effects on his body weren't random. Maybe, in some weird way, his fixation on all that childhood fear had guided its reaction. The time machine had registered Turo as belonging in the past as well. Didn't Turo say he'd dropped his own research in his obsessive jealousy over Sada's success? Never moving forward. Remembering only a previous wrong?

But Arven was better than him. He was better than Sada's lousy upbringing and his own fears. Maybe not alone, but with his friends and allies...Juliana, Penny, even that know-it-all Nemona...

And of course, there was Mabosstiff...

--a deep-throated woof echoed in the empty space. Arven swore he must be imagining it at first. The same way he felt sure he'd imagined it when they fed Mabosstiff the second Herba Mystica. But while Arven had done a lot of crazy stuff recently, it had not involved hearing Pokémon that weren't there.

And of course, this wasn't any Pokémon.

"Mister?" the girl asked.

Arven breathed deeply. His hands were going translucent now, giving off that ghostly glow like Penny warned they might. But for the first time in a long while, Arven wasn't scared.

"Sorry," he said to the girl. "Where was I?"

She pulled at her own translucent fingers. "You were going to tell me the scary stuff that happened to you."

"Ah." He debated for a moment then shook his head. "You know what? There's times to talk about the past, but I'm guessing this isn't one of them." He pointed forward. It was meant to be a symbolic gesture, but quite dramatically, a crack of light opened up in the darkness--a perfect even distance between him and the girl.

"If you walk through there, someone's waiting to see you," he said. "Someone who's been looking for you as long as you've been looking for him."

She gasped and covered her mouth. It reminded Arven of something Poppy might do. Who he was absolutely going to challenge someday when he got out of here and trained up his team and took on the Pokémon League.

When he made a future for himself.

"Daddy?" she called out, stepping towards the crack of light. Arven inched back to give her space. And the closer she got to it, the easier it became to see her. The ghostly aura didn't fully leave, but she didn't feel like a creepy sceptre haunting some ancient piece of pottery anymore.

She looked like a kid about to find her way her home.

Onward she continued, one foot in front of the other until her toe brushed against the light. At the last moment, she turned back towards Arven. "But what about you, Mister?" she asked. "Will you be okay?"

Arven closed his eyes, listening one more time. Mabosstiff's bark echoed around him, louder and stronger than before. He could follow it anywhere.

"Yeah," he said with nothing but confidence. "You go. I'll be fine."

She nodded, whispered a tearful thanks, and did exactly as she told him.

#

"She's...here?" Penny's ghost asked, his hollow voice cracking with a spark of life. "My baby girl...she waited for me? All this time?"

Penny nodded, her eyes burning. She really wasn't the type for emotional stuff like this. But she was the person who'd made it in here to speak with him. And for now, that would have to be enough. "I'm sorry for what you lost. Nothing can change it or make it okay. And you have every right to feel the way you do. But..." She pointed towards a crack of light that had opened in the darkness between them. "...but I think it would a great thing if she could see you smiling."

He turned at looked at the light as he'd only just found it there. His phantasmal body didn't really have any color to it before, but for a moment, Penny could see a warm flicker of brown in his irises, and the whites of his eyes reddening as he held back tears.

"You're right. It would."

#

Mela's gut twisted as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. For all the boss's big talk about friends and found family and unbreakable bonds, it didn't look one bit like any of it was helping.

There were no vines in this in-between spot off the road. But within a few moments of Mabosstiff calling out to Arven, dark roots erupted from the ground and covered Penny's tablet. Moss grew from under her fingernails and swallowed her hands. And soon enough, two vines sprouted from the earth and braided themselves around her ankles.

But as both the boss and Arven became more and more consumed by their elements, a strange mist rose from each of them. A mist that condensed itself until it seemed to form shapes. In moments, two humanoid clouds hovered above Arven and Penny's heads.

Mela felt a chill, like that time Giacomo made her go to one of Ryme's concerts and all the Greavard came up to dance around her. The music was amazing. The Pokémon were terrifying. Like standing face to face with death.

The clouds moved towards each other, arm-like tendrils reaching out. They pulled themselves into one another, swirling and laughing and crying all at once. Their voices seemed to blend with the wind itself, passing briefly past the ears of each person in the group:

"I missed you, Daddy. I missed you so much!"

"I know. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you wait so long."

The last words softened, barely audible before they dissipated into the air as the spirits who spoke them moved on:

"It's okay. You're here now...it was worth waiting..."

"...yes...yes, it was."

Chapter Text

The moment the ghost left, a cry of pain blasted through Penny's skull. Wo-Chien was not happy. The crack of light in front of her vanished. She braced herself, knowing what was coming. But the effect was akin to prepping a thunderstorm and finding herself in a hurricane. The power of the ruinous Pokémon slammed into her full-force. Everything went black, even the ethereal mist at her feet. In a flash, all she could think about was the time machine and its two horrible creators. Her throat went dry. An unquenchable thirst for revenge ravaged her mind and body. And every time she tried to envision her friends' faces, the image morphed into one of Sada or Turo.

She never imagined it would be this bad. Wo-Chien ripped away her mental anchor in an instant. Although it didn't speak with direct words as the ghost had, she could feel its own thirst syncing with hers. It needed these emotions. It had come into existence because of them. It couldn't live on anything else.

She couldn't condemn it to wither away and die, could she? And if she stayed, it could help her. Give her power to exact the revenge she craved. To keep others from being hurt the way she had. All she had to do was to keep feeding it these feelings...

Its wordless pleas of desperation soaked into Penny's thoughts. She couldn't bring herself to refuse. At the end of the day, this was still a Pokémon. One she'd left helpless. How could she abandon it now?

#

When the two ghostly mists faded from view and the voices went quiet, there wasn't a dry eye in the group of them watching. Well, except for Mela's, maybe.

Because she didn't care about ghosts or sad old tales or whatever else. She cared about Team Star. And right now, the team's leader was in serious trouble. The moss and leaves covering Penny's tablet and hands grew at a frightening pace. In less than a minute, they'd swallowed her arms and waist. Vines and roots completely covered her legs. And the viral greenery inched closer to her neck with every second.

"Boss!" Mela yelled. "Snap out of it, please!"

At first, it seemed like Penny heard, and she turned her face in Mela's direction. But everything was wrong. The white sclera of each eye had turned an olive green. Her irises were now orange, while her pupils had gone yellow.

"I-I'm sorry," she said in a hoarse voice. "I...can't leave it. I'm so sorry..."

"The hell you can't!" Mela screamed at her. The rest of Team Star stood there like a bunch of spooked Deerling. No one knew what to do or say, so no one did anything.

No way. It couldn't end like this. Mela held the Poké Ball Penny had given her so tight in her grip, it was a wonder she didn't dent the sides. Everything had changed so much since those first days at school. Mela never said it, but she was so much like Penny back then. Shy. Quiet. The big difference was she was also a bit of a Nemona. By the rules. Eager to please. In short, a goodie-goodie.

She tried to wear the right things. Say the right things. Act the right way. Maybe Nemona just did all that stuff naturally. But Mela was always trying just a bit too hard. The bullies at school saw how quickly they could break her confidence. And they jumped on it.

Before Team Star, Mela had one thing that kept her grounded. That made the next day something to look forward to when school strove to do the opposite. Her Pokémon.

"Hey, there," she whispered to the Pokémon inside the ball. Maybe Penny had given it to her on purpose and maybe she hadn't. But Mela could feel the energetic flames of the Eeveelution inside. He was a fighter. Just like Mela and her team. Just like Team Star. "You want to help your trainer," she said. "I know you can help her. So come out, already!"

Mela extended her arm and held the Poké Ball out. Penny's Flareon appeared in a burst of light. Unlike Mabosstiff, it did not whine or cry out to its trainer to get her attention. Instead, after a brief glance at the situation, it gave Penny a full-on headbutt in the stomach. When this failed to rouse her, it stood back and took a deep breath.

"Watch out!" Mela yelled, pushing both Eri and Nemona back and she barely got out of the way of Flareon's Flamethrower. The fire didn't burn away the leaves, but it did get Penny's attention. She cried out in pain, and her body gave off a dark pulse of energy in defense. Flareon yelped at the...was that an attack? But the Pokémon held its ground. Then it sucked in another breath.

Following Flareon's lead, Mabosstiff bared fangs that flashed with a icy sparkle of power. The earth encompassing Arven hadn't made it as far as the greenery on Penny, but it had reached his upper chest and showed no sign of slowing down. Mabosstiff gave a deep-throated growl, then sunk his ice-coated fangs into Arven's arm.

Like Penny, Arven gave a yelp of pain. Energy flowed off him and returned what sure seemed like a counterattack. But if it was a dark-type move like it looked, Mabosstiff couldn't care less.

If Mela ever had a chance of getting through to her two friends, she wouldn't get a better opportunity than this. "Whatever that thing wants, it can't have it!" she shouted. "Not now! Not with everything we still have to do!"

At first, her words seemed lost. Then Penny's tablet pulsed with a green glow.

#

Arven knew how fear felt, but his encounter with Ting-Lu took the emotion to a whole new level. He couldn't think. Couldn't move. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide somewhere. The trouble was, dark empty voids came up painfully short on hiding places. With no way to ease his terror, it built up inside of him until he thought his head would burst.

"STOP!" He wasn't sure how he did it at first. All he really wanted to do was to scream incoherently, but somehow, he managed a word. And with that accomplishment, he managed a few more:

"S-stop," he repeated. "This isn't the answer."

His objection gave Ting-Lu pause. He'd only gotten general vibes and feelings off the Pokémon before. Now he could hear its voice clearly, like a deep, older version of himself:

Then what is 'the answer'?

Arven tried to get to his feet, but his shaky legs gave out from beneath him. He settled for kneeling in the darkness, unsure where to face. "Th-there's a new vessel...out there...I'm holding onto it. I-if you can pass through me and go inside, you'll be safe."

For such an intimidating creature, Arven expected a thundering threat in return. His body shook in anticipation of it. But the threat never came.

Instead, Ting-Lu moaned and wailed, You took the human who nourished me! You should stay here in her place! I would be safe here with you!

"It was wrong to keep her here," Arven said, surprised at how bold he was getting. "And it's wrong to keep me, too." The shaking had stopped. Then he realized that Ting-Lu's presense felt weaker. It was losing its stamina to fight him back and agitate his fear. Because it was staving. Which Arven admitted had been the goal all along.

But it didn't have to end there, did it?

"It...it would also be wrong to leave you alone when you're hurt," he said. "But if you go into the new vessel, I'll do what I can for you."

Ting Lu was practically whimpering now. So it's from one prison to another?

"Only for a little bit," Arven assured it. "But you can't keep feeding on people's fear. We need a long-term fix before we can help you." He swallowed and remembered what Penny had said the night before. How she hated the way everyone expected her to be the genius with all the answers. Even so, he really hoped she had an idea for what to do next, because he had nothing.

Ting-Lu didn't reply with words anymore. Maybe it had lost the energy for that. Or maybe when it trusted a human for the first time, words weren't necessary. Whatever the case, Arven felt the Pokémon's presence pass through him, pulling both him and itself back to the grassy field in the physical world.

#

Penny's eyes fluttered open. Her body was seated in the same position as when she had first closed them. She glanced down to see her tablet glowing beneath her fingertips. Her muscles felt stiff and sluggish, and she shuddered when she realized why. All that grass and moss that had encased her up to the ankles in her first encounter with Wo-Chien had now fully covered her body. Thankfully, the plants were now retreating down her neck. And the tablet's screen acted like a pulsing green portal, absorbing it all. Penny stole a sideways glance at Arven, whose layers of rock and earth shrunk back the same way.

Mabosstiff and Flareon were out of their Poké Balls for some reason, and they both sat back with extremely satisfied looks on their faces.

"Guess the Pokémon knew you'd be okay," Mela said. "Gotta admit, wasn't sure I believed 'em at first."

"I-I..." Penny said. Then she realized her arm hurt. A lot. As the greenery retreated, it revealed a sizable hole in her sweater's arm--one that looked like like it had been burned in. And as for the skin underneath...

Penny winced.

"Whoa, hold on," Mela said, leaning over to block Penny's view. She pumped a spray bottle, which sputtered out a gentle mist across Penny's injury. The flaring pain eased within seconds. It didn't go away, and when Mela leaned back, the skin still looked raw and pink. But it didn't scream, Get me to a hospital! either.

"What kind of medicine is that?" Penny asked. Then, considering the type of injury, she added, "And what was on fire?"

Mela hesitated but then held up what she'd used. It was a perfectly normal-looking bottle of Max Potion.

"You and Arven, um...those Pokémon were taking you over. Flareon--"

"Vee-Vee," said Penny.

"VEE-vee," Mela overcompensated, "and Mabosstiff brought you guys out of it with a Flamethrower and an Ice Fang."

"What!?" Penny felt faint at the story. She'd taken a direct attack from her own Pokémon and a Max Potion healed the injury? Okay, maybe it didn't heal it fully, but that felt beside the point.

Arven remained frustratingly calm about the whole thing. "Huh. Is that why my arm is cold? Ow!" He flinched as Nemona sprayed him with an identical bottle.

Penny took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. If the guy who'd bonded with the fear-based Pokémon could relax, so could she. "Sorry I snapped," she said to Mela. "And thanks for the first aid. It was a pretty clever solution."

Mela blushed and motioned back to Nemona. "Don't look at me. It was this dork's idea."

Penny's eyebrows rose.

"Wow," Eri said to Nemona. "She called you a dork? That's, like, Mela speak for practical BFF!"

"Quit translatin' for me, you dork!" Mela snapped, which only strengthened Eri's point.

Nemona's cheeks went a deeper shade then Mela's, and she tucked the Max Potion away before backing up to give Arven and Penny some space.

Arven flexed his fingers and stretched out his arm. Pink blotches marked the skin where the bite marks had been, but any other evidence of his injury had vanished. "Well, it's good stuff whoever thought of it," he said.

Penny gave a noncommittal nod, and Arven put his arm down before either of them could dwell on the implications of a medicine meant for Pokémon having any effect on them at all.

"So, uh...did your guy go into the computer right away?" Arven asked when the silence had gone on too long.

"Not at all." Penny shook her head. "I had to coax it the whole way. I mostly explained I didn't know how to help it permanently right now, but if it released me and entered the tablet, we could find a better solution together."

Arven's face brightened. "Hey, that's pretty much what I told my guy! Only with shorter words, because I'm not you." The group got an awkward chuckle out of this, amused but still very much outsiders on the conversation.

"Yeah?" Penny asked Arven. "Did you ask it to sense the locations of the other shrines, too? I wouldn't mind having a second opinion there."

"Umm..." Arven frowned. "Sure. Yup, I did one hundred percent think to ask it that. And it, uh...gave me the same answer you got, so we must have been totally on the same wavelength." He gave Penny a thumbs-up. She got the impression this was his go-to for gesture for, I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.

"But I didn't tell you where Wo-Chien said the other shrines were."

Arven dropped his hand. "Fine. You're the team leader for a reason, all right?" He glanced over at the two new treasures, still sitting there between them. The molcajete was dirty, even though it had been clean as Arven could make it last night. And Penny's tablet looked like she'd gotten a new case made entirely of moss. "Wonder what else they can do," he wondered aloud. "I mean, they are Pokémon. Can they get...I dunno, Heal Pulsed back to health or something?"

Penny considered this. "Well, it's worth a shot next time, I suppose."

"Whoa, whoa!" Giacomo stepped in as his fellow bosses all went slack-jawed. "'Next time'? Have you lost it, B.B.? There was no 'next time' in this plan!"

"Plans change," Penny said simply. She picked up her Eevee bag, giving it a therapeutic squeeze before she unzipped it. She still had her extra sweatshirt inside, which she used to wrap around the tablet without touching it. Then she carefully tucked the bundle into her bag and zipped it up.

Atticus tapped his foot in a rather un-ninja-like fashion.  "Do they now? Perchance you find us worthy of some elaboration?"

"I-I..." The sharp tone cut into Penny, and she lowered her head in shame, even as she stood and slipped the bag on. "I'm sorry. You're right. I guess the short of it is, the Ruinous Treasures aren't evil. They're just..." She struggled for how to explain it.

Thankfully this was more in Arven's repertoire than hers. "They're just hungry," he said like it was obvious.

Eri lifted an eyebrow. "Hungry?"

"Yeah," Arven said. He wrapped up his own treasure in a spare picnic blanket and put it inside his bag. "Except unlike normal Pokémon that snack on berries and poffins, these guys eat bitterness and fear." He stood opposite, his bag looking oddly deflated with its light load. "Hey. If the potions semi-worked on us while we were in that weird fusion state, maybe eating a bunch of a food when we're in it will feed these guys?"

"That's..." Penny was about to say his idea was ridiculous and clearly oversimplfying the issue. Then she remembered she'd just trapped an ancient Pokémon in a computer tablet and gotten her arm healed with a Max Potion. All logic had fled this scene ages ago. "...not a bad idea," she finally finished.

Arven gave a nod of satisfaction. The rest of the group tentatively got to their feet, though it was clear no one had a clue what direction to head in.

"We'll help Paldea first," Penny assured all her friends. "But once that's done and Ortie's safe, we should find some way to help the Ruinous Pokémon, too." She gestured to Arven's backpack then gripped the straps on her own. The plush Eevee tail brushed her back as it swung back and forth. "Wo-Chien and Ting-Lu are basically in stasis within the new treasures. Like two makeshift Poké Balls. But they'll still need nourishment same as a regular Pokémon. And if whatever happened makes us anything like their trainers, it's on us to find a safe way to provide for them."

No one in the group disagreed, though none of them jumped in to shower her with praise, either. Penny took the awkward neutrality as a win and pointed down the road. "Oh, and if anyone needs anything before we head back to Area Zero, say so now. Because that's where Wo-Chien felt the presense of the other two treasures the strongest."

#

If Penny had been expecting any arguments or shocked reactions, she'd be disappointed. The group agreed that they set out this morning with full intentions of seeing this through to the end. They might have expected to make a few more stops before Zero Gate, but they all knew it was their end goal. And frankly, they were happy to be getting there sooner.

What they did not expect was to climb the cliffside protecting the most secluded and forbidden space in Paldea only to find Vanessa waiting there for them. She leaned casually against Zero Gate's doorframe inspecting her nails like this was a perfectly normal place to chill out.

"Hiya there, friendos!" she said, perking up as they approached. "Figured you'd show up if I hung out here long enough."

Well, she doesn't sound like she wants to murder us, Penny thought. "Hey, Vanessa," she said timidly. "Um...what's up?"

While Penny had struggled earlier to mentally shift between the girl's regular name and the on-stage Iono persona, her current attire made it easy: full-on dark gray sweats and black sneakers. Granted, they were probably brand-name sweats and sneakers whose price tags could nab Penny a truckload of anime-themed merchandise, but they were still a sharp contrast to her gym leader get-up. Her multicolored hair had been wrestled into a tight twist of pastel pink and blue, and even her signature Sharpedo-like stage teeth had been removed to reveal a row of a normal-shaped--though inhumanely white--ones instead.

"What's 'up' is that I'm coming with you to rescue my baby brother," Vanessa said with exaggerated air quotes. "Obvs."

"Ah, of course!" said Atticus cheerfully. 'Obvs' indeed!"

While the other bosses, along with Juliana and Nemona, all nodded in agreement with Vanessa's flawless logic, Penny wasn't so sure.

And apparently neither was Arven. "Don't you have a show or something?"

Vanessa giggled. "My channel's taking a week-long hiatus. It's all over the news feeds. Didn't you notice?"

"We've been a little busy!" Penny said. She tried not to snap. She really did. But Ortie's sister or not, it was downright obnoxious of Vanessa to assume they all followed her every action on the Internet.

"It has verily saturated the feeds," Atticus said.

"Yeah, you really need to pay more attention," Juliana agreed.

Penny didn't have the energy to argue and asked Arven to just open the door. He did so, and everyone clustered around Vanessa as she led the way inside. Penny just hoped no one tripped on the way through Area Zero trying to get a selfie with her.

Arven stood back and waited until the rest of the group had gone in before he turned to Penny. "You didn't bring up our little disagreement with reality once on the trip here. Still gonna let them think our run-in with the Treasures actually cured us?"

"We don't know it didn't," Penny muttered.

Arven rolled his eyes at that. She didn't blame him. But with their home hanging in the balance, she couldn't afford to distract the group any more than they already were.

Chapter Text

The numbers were not good. And in this human-oriented world where precious few things were quantifiable, numbers were all Ai had to rely on.

A few of her readings showed an optimistic curve. The dark stakes' energy reading, which fluctuated wildly on its best days, had grown much more stable. But the numbers that mattered? The ones that signaled their likelihood of rescuing Paldea from destruction? Those were dropping. And that was not good. Bad, even.

Also dropping was the room's temperature reading. Ai had made adjustments to the thermostat several times in order to keep the two organic beings in the lab as comfortable as possible. It seemed to have no effect. Logic said the thermostat was broken, and perhaps that was true. But logic also said that given the season and the plethora of technical equipment, the temperature should rise when left to its own devices, not drop.

Another ten degrees and the lab's refrigerator would become redundant.

Then there were the non-quantifiables. Ortega showed many signs of severe mental stress. These had preceded the uncomfortably low temperature in the lab, though it likely did not help.

Yesterday evening Turo had brought Ortega his staff, snapped clean in two. Apparently, this was the item Arven had used as a energy conduit, pulling Ortega back right before his inevitable erasure from reality. Turo had scolded the children quite harshly for this action; he admitted as much. He also admitted he'd had the staff in his possession for several days before remembering to return it.

So it made sense for Ortega to jump to the conclusion that Turo himself had broken the item maliciously. But his reaction beyond this point did not line up with any of his earlier childhood behavior patterns. The boy had a quick temper; he was prone to lashing out when he did not get his way. But he tended to quickly lose interest in his fury. Especially in situations like this where nothing could feasibly rectify the harm caused.

But ever since Turo had given the staff back to him, Ortega hadn't let go of the two halves once. He paced aimlessly around the lab, his eyes closed more often than not. He grated his teeth incessantly, and his muscles tensed to the point that he should be quite sore. He drank water when pressed but refused to eat. Then there was the nonstop stream of speaking to some entity only he appeared to see.

If Ai was capable of emotions, she would find herself quite worried right now. Perhaps even join Ortega in his endless pacing. As it was, she could only re-run her calculations and make contingency plans in the event Penny and the others did not return in time.

#

Ortega was pretty sure he was going insane. Or that he'd been drugged. His mind teetered back and forth between the reality he recognized and one he didn't. First he'd be in the lab with the robot and Arven's deadbeat dad. Then he'd be standing in a dark void with nothing but a weird mist at his feet.

What really hacked him off were the voices. He could never tell who was talking to him:

"I do not think Turo meant any harm. Please stop pacing."

How did you get here? Did you just wander in?

The first voice was Ai's. He was pretty sure of that. But the second? It sounded like it came from a teenager. Maybe someone a little older than him but not by much.

Ortega squeezed his eyes shut and held his head, trying to focus on at least one voice he could answer. "I don't know, okay? I'm not even sure where here is!"

"I do not understand your reply." Ai's voice again. "Do you not realize your health is at risk if you cannot calm yourself? Your blood pressure and heart rate have sustained elevated levels for many hours."

Life must be pretty messed up for you. No one comes here because they lost their temper a little bit. The Ruinous One isn't interested in small meals like that. The teenager's voice. Ortega could ignore Ai, more or less, when he had to. But for some reason, this voice demanded an answer. And few things agitated Ortega more than when people demanded stuff of him.

"Quit being so cryptic!" he yelled.

"How is a heart rate cryptic? Please explain." Ai's voice sounded farther away now. Ortega blinked several times, trying to ground himself in the lab again, but the misty void was the only space he could see.

The teenager's voice sounded much closer now. Like whoever it was stood right behind him. You're so much like me. Always angry. What causes that?

Ortega whirled around, only to find the space behind him empty. "Shut up!"

This time, he heard no reply from Ai at all.

The teenager scoffed. Anger like ours doesn't come from nothing. Mine started from my older sister. What about yours?

Ortega froze. He wanted this strange voice to leave. But when it spoke, his mind flashed with an image of Vanessa, hard at work in her room as she edited together some of her first videos. Gathered her first fans. He thought it was pretty neat and impressive at first. He didn't get back then what the cost would be.

My sister...she always had these big ideas. Said she was destined for better in life. Said we all deserved more. Never took her eyes off the king's treasure stores.

Ortega's mental image of Vanessa changed. He saw at the computer again. She had less smiles these days, always comparing her numbers to the top five or top ten in her category. She complained more, too. Said most of the big streamers got there by pulling stupid stunts. They didn't add real value. But soon the world would see her. She'd be different. Ortega never knew anyone who understood how it felt watching her. To Vanessa's friends, her hobby was becoming a career. How great was that? From Ortega's view, it was becoming an obsession. And it was killing her happiness.

Suddenly, he didn't want the strange voice to be quiet anymore. He wanted the story to continue. He wanted to hear from someone who got how he felt.

I agreed it wasn't fair. But what could we do? Justice meant nothing to our king. Even a rumor of theft could cost my sister her life.

The scene in Ortega's mind shifted once again. He was eight years old, and Vanessa now spent every waking hour in front of a camera or monitor. She also spent their parents' money. There were a million excuses, all stuff they were happy to pay for. She wanted new shoes. A new wardrobe. A new stereo system. Every cent secretly went to personal promotion. Because they both knew their parents would never approve of the Iono Zone. Their family was above parading about like clowns on the internet.

And today, Ortega's mother had asked him directly if Vanessa needed an electrician to rewire her room for the new sound system. The one he knew she'd never purchased. Ortega panicked and told some stupid lie about how no, he'd installed it himself without any rewiring, because he was super interested in that stuff now.

She found this delightful news and immediately set him up with tutors and classes and everything he needed to become a pampered little engineering prodigy. And he never refused. Never said he had other interests. Because then she'd demand to know why he lied about it to begin with.

Over all my objections, she went anyway. She tried to steal from him anyway. I never saw her again because she couldn't just be okay with how things were.

Ortega did grow to love his unintended hobby, but that wasn't the point. Vanessa had put him in a horrible position for her almighty Iono Zone. And she refused to apologize. Her excuse was that she'd "never asked him to lie" for her. It turned into one of the biggest fights they'd ever had.

A few days later, he came home from the incident with the time machine. Vanessa was packing up. She'd be living on campus from now on, she told him. Where he didn't have to pretend to like anything or lie for her. He remembered holding onto her and begging her not to go. The fight was all his fault, and he wouldn't bring it up again. She told him moving out was about more than the fight. She couldn't play the role her parents set out for her anymore. He needed to stop being a baby and holding her back.

He did let go. But he cried for hours after she left. And when he got tired of crying, he yelled and screamed and punched pillows in his room. She'd ditched him when he needed her. Crying made no sense. It wasn't sad. It was infuriating.

I felt so angry. Livid at everyone. My sister for her envy. The king for his greed. Myself for not doing enough to stop her. The whole country for not doing enough to stop HIM.

When Ortega was old enough to attend Naranja Academy, he wanted to live on campus, too. Being the only kid at home was suffocating. But the bullies came in hard and fast from day one. Their insults were so frequent and coordinated, he swore they had a club to organize it all. He was a baby. A freeloader. A spoiled brat. He didn't add anything of value to the school beyond his parents' donations. If anything, his presense held the rest of them back.

And of course, they destroyed things. Homework projects were the targets of choice, but they especially loved anything he'd built himself. Ortega started to design new machines more quickly, in the hopes that maybe it wouldn't hurt so much when the bullies found them and broke them.

I hated them! I hated them all! And I still do! Nothing will ever get better, and it's all their fault!

Ortega flashed back to the present, still in the darkness and mist. Was he breathing this quickly before? He still couldn't hear Ai, and this worried him. He tried to focus on the lab again. He caught only a brief glance of it, but he saw Ai kneeling beside him, lips moving without sound. And he saw his own hands, gripping the two broken pieces of his staff. Both were coated in a layer of ice several millimeters thick.

The sight of it jostled Ortega out of his fury. Where were these feelings coming from, anyway? Yes, he'd been angry with Vanessa and even more angry with his bullies. But Team Star had helped him move on.

Whoever the teenager speaking to him was...or had been, given the ghostly feel of this place...they had never had a Team Star.

Ortega stood up. "This place...it isn't good for you," he said to the voice. "You should leave." A crack of light opened in the darkness as he said it.

The ghostly voice huffed. I don't think you want that. If I leave, there's no way you're getting out.

"I..." Ortega stiffened. He wasn't a baby. He'd grown and matured thanks to his friends. What if now was the moment he could be that level-headed person for someone else? He felt sure he could handle this place better than the strange teenager could. "I'll be okay," he finally said, full of confidence. "Go on."

The voice didn't argue with him. He shivered as a phantasmal presence moved past him and through the crack of light.

Then all the fury he'd been so confident he'd moved past stabbed back into him like a thousand icy needles.

#

Penny had already been impressed with Vanessa's foresight from their first encounter--using her popularity to cause a distraction for the International Police. The girl didn't disappoint this time around, either. Vanessa had come well-prepared, not only with the full team she kept on hands for gym inspections but also with one of Ortega's Pokémon from home: an elegant Hatterene. The silent Pokémon floated alongside their group, putting just enough distance between itself and the others that Penny suspected it thought itself a little too good to be down here on a rescue mission. As they hiked the steep slopes towards the lab, Juliana filled Vanessa in on what she'd missed. It all sounded like insanity hearing it summarized, and Penny was relieved to have that job off her plate.

Oddly enough, they had no encounters with any paradox Pokémon. They saw several, but most them kept themselves hidden in the shadows, even the ones who looked like they could gut anyone in the group with little effort. Maybe they knew help when they saw it? It was an oddly optimistic thought for Penny, but she held to it as long as she could.

When they reached the door to the Zero Lab, Penny's optimism was cut off fast. The handle burned her fingers with its chill, and the ground was slick with a layer of ice creeping from under the door. And even though Wo-Chien was sleeping within the tablet, some part of her felt the presense of another Treasure of Ruin inside. An extremely agitated one.

Mela already had one of her Poke Balls in her grip, but Penny raised a cautious hand. "Hold up. Think about what we're facing here. Chien-Pao amplifies anger. If Ortie's in the same state we were, he's going to lash out at any hint of a threat." She motioned to Hatterene. "Let his Pokémon try to reach him first."

The group nodded in agreement. Mela relented and put her Poké Ball away. "Sure hope you're right," she said as together they pushed the door open.

#

Penny didn't see Ortega when they entered. But she knew where he was right away. In the corner of the lab, several walls of ice stretched from floor to ceiling, creating a tiny, sealed-off room barely bigger than a school locker. Or a coffin.

"Ortie!" Guilt twisted Penny's stomach. She couldn't imagine what must be going through her friend's mind right now for the situation to already be this bad. They should have gotten here earlier. And they never should have left him in the first place.

The ice walls grew thicker when they entered, and several icicles shot off its trim like bullets. Ai braced herself in front of the more lab delicate equipment, ready to slap away any projectiles with her inhuman speed. Stacked atop the flat metal casing behind her were an array of hard drives, spare parts, and even a couple Master Balls. Did Ortega's father find a way to replicate those things along with those Rare Candies he was producing?

Turo leaned against the opposite corner, about as far as he could get from Ortega in the relatively tight space. He didn't appear to be protecting anything, nor did he respond when they burst in. His shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated motion, like he was struggling to breathe.

Before Penny could direct anyone where to go, a red light flashed behind her--the telltale sign of an open Poké Ball. She thought at first it might be Mela, reacting to the scene in defense, but instead Vanessa's Mismagius floated beside her.

"I just said don't bring your Pokémon out!" Penny snapped as several more icy shards fired off.

"She did it on her own!" Vanessa yelled back. "It's a ghost Pokémon thing!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Penny jumped to the side to avoid a flying piece of ice.

Vanessa did a little sidestep, avoiding three shards at once without even looking at them. "Ugh! She gets excited when there's other ghosts around. Wants to come out and be with her own kind, y'know?" She glared at the rest of the group. "None of you said you trained ghosties, so I figured she'd be fine."

Penny groaned. The last thing they needed now was complications like this.

"I did know a Ceruledge who did stuff like that once," Mela said. Her boots made dodging difficult, but they also provided a tough barrier. When some of the ice encompassed her heel, she simply kicked it away. "But funny how well-trained Pokémon like Eri's Annihilape don't pull this kinda crap!"

"I didn't bring Annihilape!" Eri said.

"Wait, what?!"

"Ortie's dealing with an anger-fueled ghost," Eri reminded her. "Don't you think bringing a ghost-type that evolves when its rage outgrows its body might be a bit...counterproductive?"

While the two of them argued, another round of icicles flew out. Penny ducked but soon realized they weren't headed in her group's direction this time. Instead, they flew towards Turo. Most of them missed, but the smallest one struck Turo in the wrist. He grunted in pain as a bright red line of blood dripped down his hand.

Vanessa pointed in his direction. "Uh, that might be our problem right there."

Penny stepped closer and narrowed her eyes. She doubted she'd ever be happy in Turo's presense, but she wasn't sadistically rejoicing in his injury, either. Which meant her mind was clear enough to focus on where Vanessa had indicated. A blob of mist was floating around Turo's head. Penny had no idea what it had looked like from the outside when her and Arven's ghosts had left, but this certainly had a phantasmal feel to it. Except the ghost--if that's what it was--didn't fade away. Mismagius floated closer, calling out to it, but it made no response. It only circled Turo.

"You might be right," Penny said to Vanessa. "But...something's off. That ghost doesn't look like it's leaving him. It looks like it's trying to get in. Which means..."

...that's not Chi-Yu's ghost? But what else could it be?

The next round of icicles fired off. One of them struck Mismagius directly. It did not like this one bit and spun around to fire off a Shadow Ball in defense. The attack slipped through a gap in the ice walls. Ortega gave a grunt from behind them, but he sounded much more annoyed than hurt.

"Lady Vanessa," called Atticus. "My admiration for your skills knows no bounds, but I must ask thee to get thy Pokémon under control!"

Annoyed as was by Atticus telling her what to do, Vanessa couldn't say she was wrong and recalled her ghost type back into its Poké Ball. Only Hatterene remained out. It tried to approach the wall of ice, reaching with the arm-like appendage on its head and pointing towards the gap the Shadow Ball had snuck through. The Pokémon's deep mournful cry flowed over everyone.

"H-Hatterne?" Ortega said in a shaky voice. Then he gave another grunt of frustration as the ice walls thickened once more. "Get out of here! I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to talk to anyone!"

Ice rained down again, showering everyone. Ai successfully fended off most of the shards coming at her...except one. It soared underneath her arm while she raised her hand in defense, jamming itself between two metal panels on whatever machine she'd been protecting. The impact shook everything nearby, knocking a glass beaker and a Master Ball to the floor. The lights in the lab darkened. Panels across the tops of the walls glowing a threatening shade of red. Although Ai's lips didn't move, her voice echoed around the room, sounding even more robotic than usual:

"External threat detected. First level of Paradise Protection Protocol activated. Locking all unregistered capture devices."

"Um, Boss?" Giacomo said shakily. "What's that mean?"

Ai gritted her teeth and answered the question for her. "It means no one except me can use their Poké Balls."

The group worriedly whispered amongst themselves, but Juliana stepped confidently forward. "Convenient for us we have a 'capture device' registered to you, huh? Come on out, Koraidon!" She held the ball high above her head.

Koraidon did not appear. Whatever had spooked the paradox Pokémon on the way down here had apparently gotten to her ancient Cyclizar, too.

"You coward!" Arven yelled.

Vanessa grabbed the Poké Ball she'd called Mismagius back into only a moment ago. Sure enough, the ball left off a strange glow, projecting an image of criss-crossed golden chains wrapped around it. Penny grabbed Flareon's ball to see the same effect, only worse. The ball pulsed with a double-image of itself. Penny quickly put it back on her belt.

"Hang in there, VeeVee," she tried to reassure it. "I'll figure this out." Then she turned on Ai, bitterness building in her again. "What the heck is this? Are you trying to clone our Pokémon now, too?"

"I'm not trying to do anything other than save this place!" Ai said, her tone still controlled but her volume amplified to make herself heard over the prerecorded alerts.

Penny held her head, trying to get back in mental space where she could focus again. Maybe Ai was telling the truth. Maybe not. Everyone around her--Giacomo, Mela, Juliana--was going into a panic without their partners. She had to focus on facts and what she could control.

Their Pokemon were unavailable. No, their Poké Balls were unavailable. There was a difference. A crucial difference.

She opened her eyes and turned to Arven. "Listen. Hatterene can't get through to Ortie on her own. We need to break that ice wall." She pulled off her Eevee backpack and unzipped it.

"Oh, no," Arven said, catching her intentions right away. "No, no, no. You are kidding me."

She lifted up the sweatshirt-wrapped tablet. "You have a better idea?"

"I-I..." For a moment, he stood frozen to the spot. Maybe the fear was getting to him again, same as her bitterness was getting to her. But if it was, Arven had grown stronger than before. He shook the hesitation off and pulled his own bag down to the ground.

"You know this could backfire in so many ways, right?" he asked, even while he tore the bag open and yanked out the stone bowl, still wrapped in its picnic blanket. "Their bodies were built around the old tablet and vessel. What if they can't even take a new physical form yet?"

Penny swallowed and unwrapped her tablet. "Then we let them borrow ours again." Then she pressed her hands to the screen and mentally begged Wo-Chien to come out and lend her its power one more time.

Chapter Text

The moment Penny closed her eyes, she found herself standing in that strange void once again. Wo-Chien stood across from her, but the poor thing looked horrible. In all the images Raifort had shown them, it had a distinct form, like a massive grass-type Magcargo, using wooden tablets as its shell. Now it looked more like an Alolan Grimer, both in shape and color. A shifting mound of dying leaves.

"I need you to come out," Penny said. "There's a battle I have to win no matter what. But I can't reach any of my other Pokémon right now. You're the only one."

Wo-Chien quivered and tried to form a more cohesive shape. It lifted itself up until it looked vaguely humanoid, possibly mimicking Penny's appearance for lack of any other model. Leaves drifted down from its makeshift limbs as it tried to hold itself together.

This new object is strange...and I'm so tired...so thirsty...

It reached its blob of an arm forward. An itch agitated Penny's mind, trying to pull out all those feelings about Turo. All that desire for revenge.

At first, Penny didn't know how to react. She couldn't ask the Pokémon to fight in its current condition. She had to get it healthy first. But to let it tap into her bitterness again? What if she couldn't hold herself back after it had its fill? What if she became like Ortie and started to attack everyone?

"No!" she told it, with much the same tone she would use if one of her VeeVees tried to bully another. A tone that said, I understand where you're coming from, but this behavior won't be tolerated.

"No," she said again with more sympathy. "You can't feed on my bitterness anymore. We'll find another way."

Wo-Chien moaned and the humanoid shape its had managed to hold melted back into a dull green mound again.

Penny swallowed. She was the one who'd taken the five bosses of Team Star--the ones that the bullies had beaten down so hard, they didn't think they had any chance of standing--and brought them together so they could lift each other up again. Maybe she didn't have nerves of steel like Nemona or eternal optimism like Juliana or even any long-term friendships like Arven and Ortega.

But when she wasn't surrounded by noise or oppressive crowds, she could move people with her words. That had to count for something, didn't it?

"You know...my history teacher once said that a thirst for revenge can start from a good place...from a sense of justice."

Wo-Chien lifted what amounted to its head the smallest bit.

Penny continued, "Those feelings you fed on for centuries? That was their source. And there's nothing I want more right now than seeing a wrong made right." She held out her hand. "If you can feed on that, I'll have you healthy in no time."

Wo-Chien hesitated but then began to raise itself up once more. It again took a humanoid shape, but one much more clear than before. There was no doubt this time it used Penny as its model. She felt like she was looking at a topiary of herself. But creepy as that image was, she could also see a brighter tint of green seep into Wo-Chien's dying leaves.

"Your new object is still strange," it said aloud this time. The voice was similar to hers but deeper, and it echoed all around.

"It's actually still called a tablet," she said. "And don't worry. I can help you there, too. It's basically an extension of my arm."

Wo-Chien nodded. "Ah. I can understand that much, I think. We will help each other, then?"

"Yeah," Penny said. "We'll help each other."

With that, Wo-Chien reached forward and grasped Penny's hand. Power surged through her. Her brain felt like she'd downed half a case of energy drinks in one go. And a burst of green light flooded the once dark space.

#

When Penny opened her eyes again, she felt...different. Much different. She struggled to find the word for it at first, but when she took a step forward, her foot seemed...heavier.

Then the fog in her brain cleared and she saw herself reflected in one of the large monitors on Ai's desk. Her eyes flashed with tints of orange and yellow. Layers of leaves completely encompassed her. Most were dull and limp, as if on the verge of death. But the ones at her fingertips had brightened, and the effect was quickly spreading.

Even her skin had gone a dull shade of green, though it seemed to be brightening along with the leaves. Her tablet was still encased in moss, and several vines criss-crossed over it, holding it firmly in place against her upper arm. But unlike last time, it didn't feel like the vines were suffocating her or trying to drag her down. If anything, they felt like a part of her.

Which was both exhilarating and terrifying.

She braced herself and turned to view Arven. She didn't know what she expected, exactly. But like her, his body had transformed to a strange, hybrid form of his Treasure's distinct element. He looked like a moving, breathing statue made of sedimentary rock. Layers of dirt and stone created earthy gray stripes across his chest. When he turned, his hair and clothes remained stiff, as if they'd been sculpted from clay and gone through a kiln. The molcajete hung from a stone belt around his waist, and his eyes glowed a threatening red.

"I see you got Ting-Lu to come out," Penny said simply.

He shot her a look like he wanted to Mud Slap her in the face. Which, it occurred to her, he might very well be able to do. "In a manner of speaking, yeah."

"Ah. Let me guess. You gave it a heartfelt speech about how fear originates from a desire for safety, and with its help, you can create that safety for everyone?"

Arven's stony jaw went slack. "How do you know this stuff?"

"Heh. Programming and logic are my jam, remember? That means I have the answers to everything."

"Um, hello?" Giacomo waved his arms at both of them, despite the fact that he only stood a few feet away. "Is anyone going to give us some answers here? What the hell did you two do?"

Arven pointed at Penny. At least he could move his fingers independently. "Hey, this was her crazy idea! I--"

Another blast of cold shot through the room, and the entire lab shook from its force. Penny's skin burned with the chill, and the color drained from some of her leaves. She heard a soft voice panting behind her, almost ethereal in its tone. Ortega's Hatterene. The poor thing looked exhausted.

Vanessa gave Hatterene a pat on the head. "She was firing off Dazzling Gleam after Dazzling Gleam while you two were..." She looked Arven and Penny over and waved her hand like she was dismissing their atrocious sense of fashion. "...doing whatever this is supposed to be." Her gaze shifted to the ice wall, and she frowned. "I dunno how much damage it did, but it sure wasn't enough to get in there."

"We'll make a path for her," Penny promised. "Arven, cover me."

With that, she sprinted towards the ice wall. The gap between the walls had narrowed. She could just catch a glimpse of Ortega inside, but what state he was in was anyone's guess.

Penny stretched out her hand. She'd never felt so strong before. This might have been Raifort's dream come true, but to her, it was terrifying.

"I need an attack here," she muttered, unsure if she was speaking to Wo-Chien or herself. Also unsure if there was even a difference between them right now. "Power Whip, come on!"

It felt like insane--like chanting a spell in some play or role-playing game and expecting it to actually work. But sure enough, the vines around her arms extended to hit the wall with a resounding crack. It certainly put a nice dent in the ice, but it wasn't broken. Not yet. And the next barrage of icicles flew right in her direction. She jumped back and hit the ice with a second Power Whip before she had to fully retreat to avoid being frozen on the spot. Slick patches littered the floor, and Penny nearly lost her footing.

Arven jumped in and caught her before she fell backwards. "Hey, I know I'm no battle genius, but aren't we at a serious type disadvantage here?"

"Ice is super effective against ground and grass, but it doesn't resist them," Penny said. Which wasn't a thank you, but her mind was elsewhere at the moment. She backed towards the corner where Turo still cowered, being completely useless. If she could get a wider view of the attacks, maybe she could find a path through them.

Arven followed. "So that means...?"

"It means don't get hit!"

As she said it, a chunk of ice flew at Arven next. Hatterene moved in and pointed at the air, summoning a Reflect. The ice crumbled to harmless snow. Arven thanked the Pokémon, clambered to his feet, and rushed over to Penny's side. Hatterene floated behind, still panting.

"So what do we do, then?" Arven asked. "Summon an earthquake?" He paused and muttered his last words to himself again. "Wait. Can I summon an earthquake?"

"Don't you dare!" Ai called out.

Penny winced. She hated following Ai's direction on anything, but it wasn't as if the robot could do anything about the way it had been programmed. If they damaged the lab along with breaking the icy wall, Ai might be forced to do much worse than lock down their Poké Balls. As things stood, it took all her strength to resist pulling out whatever Pokémon she had to attack them and Ortega indiscriminately.

Turo brushed his hair out of his face with his still-bleeding hand, watching his son in awe. "Y-you made new Treasures...how?"

"I dunno!" Arven snapped at him. "Through the freakin' power of friendship, okay? Now shut up so I can focus!"

Turo hung his head. Penny thought at first he was ashamed. But when he spoke, it sounded more like he was focused--struggling to piece together a puzzle that had eluded him for a long time. "There's a voice in my mind...a young woman...she keeps telling me about this king she robbed a long time ago..."

In his mind? Penny thought. Meaning his ghost hasn't left yet. Then whatever presense Vanessa's Mismagius sensed before must have been--

"Yeah, she's the ghost possessing Chi-Yu's treasure and feeding it her jealousy for several hundred years," Arven snapped. "What part of 'shut up' didn't make sense to you?"

"Hold on." Penny held up a hand. "Our ghosts were connected, right? Turo's and Ortie's could be, too. If he releases her--"

"--then he probably goes on a rampage same as Ortega did!" Arven said. "The guy isn't exactly in a good spot with his emotions right now."

Penny ignored him. For the first time, it felt like she could talk to Turo...well, not as a person she respected or even trusted, but at least as someone she could reason with. If any part of him wanted to fix this mess he'd created, now was the best opportunity he'd get. Maybe, just maybe, she could use that.

"We made new Treasures because we both found items important to us that resembled the old Treasures," she explained. "And we were able to channel the ruinous Pokémon into those new Treasures because we had the same feelings they fed on. If you can redirect Chi-Yu to a more positive source of energy, you might be able to use its power without causing any harm."

Arven stared at her like this was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever suggested. It was quite the silent accusation, given their situation, their current forms, and their methods of attacking--all largely stemmed from her other insane ideas. But they were running out of options. Penny couldn't take those ice attacks, and neither could Arven. Not without some backup.

Turo finally seemed to notice the injury on his hand. The bleeding had stopped, and he wiped the remaining line of blood onto the side of his lab coat. With all the other smudges and smears on the fabric, it was barely noticeable.

"You know," he said. "I've come to realize it hasn't just been Sada I've been envious of. When I was watching you all on your adventures from down here, I felt a sense of jealousy. For your freedom. For the choices you had. I wanted my path in life to be open again." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a necklace with a trio of ancient-looking beads.

Arven's eyebrows rose at the sight of it. "That's Mom--Sada's..."

"I'm happy you've found people you're willing to fight for, Arven," Turo said as he closed his fingers around the jewelry. "I wish I had been there to watch you grow. I wish I had been a better father."

"You..." Arven shook his head, his hair stiff in position as before. "You can't just go and say a thing like that now."

Turo cupped his opposite hand over the one holding the necklace. "I suppose you're right. I am sorry." A familiar, ghostly mist began to rise from his shoulders. Although it was not nearly as clear as it had been out in the quiet meadow, Penny heard the distinct sounds of laughter mixed with tears--of two long-separated spirits being united once again.

Instead of speaking to Arven, Turo now turned to Penny. "I know I was the source of your bitterness. And yet you're able to speak to me with full control. I do not think I have such capacity for change. My desire has always been for my own success. But maybe..." A spark of heat cut through ever-present chill in the lab. "...maybe I can use that to do one good deed in this life."

Penny looked down at Turo's lab coat to see small flames licking the edges. She gasped and moved back. But there was no smell of smoke. The coat was simply vanishing, and the growing flames were taking its place.

"I can get your friend out of that prison he's built," Turo continued. "But I do not think I can help calm him. That will be on the two of you."

"S-stop it!" Arven said. "Whatever stupid thing you're trying to pull, stop it now!"

Turo turned his gaze to his son one last time. "It is a little sad, but I'm afraid this is good-bye. Farewell, Arven...my free adventurer." The flames rose, still not burning, but taking Turo all the same. For a moment, Penny had a mental image of the Kantonian variant of Moltres--not a bird that could breathe fire or attack with fire, but a creature whose body was comprised of fire. As Turo's form vanished, the only thing left unconsumed was the necklace. In the man's place stood a pillar of flame in human shape, the necklace floating near his hand, as if wrapped around his wrist. When the figure glanced backward, the flickering shades of red and orange gave the unmistakable impression of Turo's face. He gave Arven a brief smile then charged forward. His attacks against the wall of ice were clean and direct. Just running a hand over it broke huge cracks where Penny had merely made dents. Steam rose wherever his fingers landed. Icicles rained down on him, but he didn't so much as flinch. In seconds, the wall of ice crumbled away to nothing.

Ortega stood at the center of his fallen miniature fortress. His lavender-pink hair had turned silver, his skin a pale, metallic blue. Frost coated his clothes, making it look from a distance like they were made of soft white fur rather than pastel fabric. His pupil-less slate blue eyes reminded Penny of the sky before a storm. And his posture was one of pure fury, shoulders tensed as he seethed, hands gripped tight around the two broken halves of his ice-coated staff. He pointed one of the halves at Turo, firing off a blast of white light.

Turo took the hit, but unlike the ice-type moves, this one seemed to genuinely hurt him. His head tilted. His body began to twitch and convulse. The soft expression he'd given Arven before he'd charged forward contorted with anguish and rage.

The leaves running down Penny's back stiffened, much like hair raising on her arms when she wasn't in a weird Poké-human hybrid state. "He doesn't have control," she said. "He didn't redirect Chi-Yu. He just fed it as much envy as it wanted."

Arven didn't react with surprise or dismay at this realization. In fact, he barely reacted at all. "It was the only thing he knew how to do. His only chance to help were the moments he had before Chi-Yu took over."

As he said it, Turo threw a blast of flame in Ortega's direction. Ortega managed to sidestep it and counter with another Icicle Crash, but Turo made no attempt to dodge. He simply took the attack with seemingly no effect. It didn't take a genius to figure out how this fight was going to end if they couldn't stop it.

Penny turned to Hatterene. "Can you use Dazzling Gleam again?"

Exhausted as she was, Hatterene did her best to summon one more blast of fairy-type energy. But it was no good. She'd already drained herself trying to get past the ice wall.

"What are her other moves?" Penny asked of no one in particular.

Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. Thankfully, the team's battle expert did her job well. "Reflect, Shadow Ball, and Psychic," she answered.

Right, Penny thought. Reflect might be helpful, but the other two moves are useless. She rapidly tapped her forehead in debate. Which felt like tapping against the smooth bark of a birch tree--a fact she vehemently strived to ignore. Arven had the type advantage against fire. He might not like the idea of attacking his own father--if the figure in front of them could still be called Arven's father. But they couldn't stand there and let Ortega get hurt either. Not while they still had a chance to save him. Penny refused to believe her friend was a lost cause, too.

"Okay, Arven," she said. "Turo is pretty fixated on Ortie right now. If we come at him from behind, maybe we can--"

Turo's convulsions hit again with full force, and he fired off three more lines of flame in Ortega's direction. Two missed, but the third one hit, and Ortega cried out in pain.

Before Penny could even process how to react, a rapid clack of heels approached from behind.

"Hey, STUPID! You keep away from my baby brother!"

Penny saw only a flash of purple as something flew through the air and smacked Turo on the back of the head. Penny wasn't sure at first how a physical object had managed to collide with a creature made only of flames. But it all fit together when she saw what Vanessa had thrown at him.

It was a Master Ball. A red glow surrounded Turo...or maybe Chi-Yu was the more accurate name for him now? He yelled and grunted in protest, but the Master Balls didn't get their nickname as the ultimate capture device from nowhere. The grunts and growls of frustration faded as Turo/Chi-Yu was swallowed by the red light and pulled into the Master Ball. It shook twice before it gave its familiar ping of a successful capture.

Vanessa stood frozen in her mid-throw stance. Her eyes widened. "I-I was trying to distract him!" she squeaked. "I didn't think that would happen!"

You think we did?, Penny thought, just as stunned. What could she do or say after witnessing that? Thankfully Vanessa still had her priorities. She left the Master Ball sitting on the floor and took a step towards Ortega.

"Hey, there, prince--" she began.

Ortega instantly shot an icicle in her direction. It sliced right through the band holding her thick braid together. Her aqua and pink locks untwisted from each other from the release in pressure.

"Okay, okay, Ortie," she said. "Listen, it's me. You have to calm down, okay? You can't stay like this."

Ortega's eyes widened for a moment. He seemed to genuinely hear her. But Penny soon realized that might work against them.

"Get away!" he screamed in a voice that shook the room every bit as much as his icy attacks had. "I hate you!"

"Of course you hate me!" she answered. "We're siblings!"

He attacked her again. This time, the icicles glazed her arm and left a wide slit in the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

Vanessa bit her lip and inhaled sharply. "And I screwed up big time, all right? You needed me, and I bailed to do my own thing! But that's why I'm not leaving you now!"

Ortega hesitated at first but then raised his staff to attack once more. Hatterene rushed to Vanessa's side and managed another Reflect attack to protect her. But when it reached out and called to its trainer, Ortega ignored its pleas every bit as much as he'd ignored Vanessa's. There was still plenty of fight in him. And if they had any chance of getting him back to normal, they had to wear him down first.

We have to battle him, Penny realized. It's the only way. She rubbed at her eyes. She was Team Star's leader. And the group needed direction right now. She could shed tears after they won.

"I'm working as quickly as I can to get the security system out of defense mode," Ai said. "I shouldn't need much longer, but the more damage this place takes, the more difficult it is to convince the system there isn't a threat."

"Right," Penny said. "So we can't fight in the lab. We have to get outside." She turned to her friends. "Nemona, come on! You're going to direct us."

"Me? Why?"

Mela nudged Nemona with her elbow. "You're the freakin' battle genius, aren't ya? Why wouldn't you go?"

Nemona stammered out a bunch of incoherent syllables. Which Penny took as an agreement to her plan. She ran towards Ortega, the vine around her arm quickly unwinding itself and stretching forward. She slammed it down hard at Ortega's feet, scaring him and forcing him back.

"You want to fight someone, Ortie?" she said. "Follow me. I'll give you the fight of a lifetime!" And with that, she turned and ran for the door. The unmistakable click of Ortega's ice-coated heels followed close behind.

Chapter Text

The soft natural light of the cave was a sharp contrast to the bright artificial lights inside. Thankfully, Penny's eyes were quick to adjust. If anything, this place energized her.

Another item to add to her list of stuff she didn't want to think about.

"Why are we taking orders from Nemona again?" Arven demanded to know as he hurried to catch up with her.

Ortega whirled around at the sound of Arven's voice and made a move to attack, but Penny managed to trip him up with another Power Whip, allowing Arven the chance to run past. The cavern was spacious enough for a battle, but if they made for any of the tunnels, they'd be cornered. And since they wanted Nemona to guide their attacks, they needed to stay close enough to actually hear her.

"Because we can't see the bigger picture when we're the ones in the middle of a battle," Penny told him. "And because she's really good at this. Just see if you can figure out Ting-Lu's moveset and focus on not getting hit by those ice attacks. Leave the rest to her."

Arven frowned at the plan, but he didn't argue. The two of them split up to opposite sides of the cavern to hopefully slow Ortega down. The move gave him pause, but he turned his sights on Penny in short order. The two halves of his staff glowed.

Nemona stood on the steps of Zero Lab, already locked in her battle mentality. Her eyes darted around as she made plans and calculations. "Okay," she called out. "First thing we do assess the opponent. Chien-Pao is clearly an ice-type. And probably also a dark-type, given the pattern from both of you." She pointed at Penny. "Quick! What moves does Wo-Chien know?"

Penny tried her best to read the Pokémon's thoughts while dodging a barrage of icicles. "Uh...Power Whip, Foul Play--eek, that was close!--Giga Drain, and something it calls 'Ruination.'"

"Hey, my guy knows that too!" Arven called out. In his second of distraction, a blast of ice smacked him in the side. He yelled in pain and jumped back.

"What did I say about not getting hit?" Penny scolded him.

"Hey, hey, focus on me!" Nemona said. She pointed to each of them. "Arven, do you have a rock-type move? Stone Edge? Rock Slide? Anything like that?"

"U-um...the second one? I think?"

Nemona gave him a confident nod. "Use it! And Penny, try Ruination!"

"We don't even know what that does!"

"So let's figure it out!"

Penny did not like this idea one bit. Her entire battle style revolved around sending out her VeeVee with the correct type match up to deal with the situation. Trying a questionably effective move just to see what would happen?

Then again, there was a reason Nemona had reached Champion Rank and she hadn't. Maybe a little experimentation wasn't the worst thing.

Penny sucked in a breath and called on Wo-Chien's power to execute the attack. Plumes of black smoke and flashes of bright red lightning swirled at Ortega's feet. Two forks of lightning stuck him, one in each shoulder. The cloud of smoke grew as if feeding off his energy before it broke apart and dissipated. Ortega bent over, grounding the two halves of his staff.

"That looked like it did a lot," Arven said.

Nemona nodded. "Sure did. But it also looked like a dark-type move, which shouldn't be effective."

As they exchanged words, Ortega caught his breath and lifted the two halves of his staff again. Four icicles flew at Penny, who tried to dodge them but halted so she didn't plow into Arven. Two of the icicles missed their mark, but the others plunged into her side and sent a blazing chill through her whole body.

"Shake it off!" Nemona encouraged, even as she continued to muse aloud. "Let's see...Ruination has got to deal a flat amount of damage, then. Like Night Shade. Or Nature's Madness."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Arven yelled as he thrust his hands forward. Half a dozen sharp-edged rocks materialized above Ortega's head. The rocks showered down into a pile at his side. Not one of them actually hit their mark. Ortega growled and pointed the weapon in his left hand right at Arven. The same dark swirls and lightning that Penny had summoned now struck Arven with equal force. In his panic, he couldn't dodge them in time.

"S-sorry!" he said, gritting his teeth against the attack.

"Don't sweat it!" Nemona called back. "What are your last two moves?"

Arven squinted as he tried to focus on answering her and not taking another hit at the same time. "Uh, Throat Chop--I think? And Stomping Tantrum?"

"Go with Stomping Tantrum! It's perfect after that last miss! And Penny, use Giga Drain to bounce back from the hit you took before!"

Penny nodded and rushed across the rocky cave floor until she was right behind Ortega. She worried at first she might not know how to pull the move off, but it came to her as instinctively as walking. The leaves across her arms rose up, and Ortega let off a soft green glow. The leaves greedily pulled in the energy like normal ones might pull in sunlight. The ache and fatigue Penny had felt from Ortega's earlier attacks dissipated. The green glow faded, and Ortega's movements slowed. For the first time, he actually looked tired.

"Try Rock Slide one more time," Nemona encouraged Arven. "Then Penny should be able to hold him down with a Power Whip. That'll give Hatterene her opening."

Arven gave her a thumbs-up. At first, Nemona's plan worked perfectly. Another cluster of rocks formed in the air at Arven's bidding, and this time, they did not miss their mark. Ortega shrieked as the attack connected and fell to his knees, shaking.

"Sorry, Ortie!" Penny cried as she extended the vines around her arms once more. All they needed were a few moments of holding him still, then his Pokémon could call out to him and bring him back. She felt sure of it.

Ortega gritted his teeth and sent out one last blast of energy before Penny's vines wrapped around his arms and secured him. It was the same attack he had used on Turo--a thin beam of white light, almost like a sword floated in the air before blasting forward. Penny didn't recognize it, but it had clearly caused a lot of damage when it hit Turo. She dodged the attack with ease. In fact, she dodged it too easily. Which meant Ortega likely had another target. As she held him in place, Arven gave a cry of pain behind her. His heavy, stone-encased body gave a loud crash as he fell to the ground.

"No!" Penny cried. The vines loosened a bit at her hesitation and she quickly redirected her efforts to hold Ortega still. What if Arven had been too badly hurt to heal? What if that last attack had--?

Then she realized Ortega hadn't tried to take advantage of her lapse. He was shaking, eyes wide as he looked past her. Tears welled up in his pupil-less eyes. "A-arven!"

Penny's own eyes burned as footsteps pounded all around her. Okay, so maybe leaders did cry sometimes. But even when they did, they still got the job done.

Their friends soon surrounded them in a protective circle. The Team Star Leaders each put a hand on Ortega. Vanessa held his wrist. The layer of ice that covered his broken staff creeped its way onto her fingers, which must have hurt. She didn't flinch. And despite how dangerous Chien-Pao's attacks could be, the biting cold of the frost covering Ortega's clothes, Eri, Mela, Giacomo, and Atticus sat still and calm as they supported him.

"Ortie, listen to me," Penny said. "I know you're angry. And I know how much Chien-Pao wants to fed on that." She nodded towards his broken staff. "But I need you to find another outlet."

Ortega trembled at her words. Tears ran down his cheek, only to freeze halfway through through the trip. "Y-you don't get it. I could never fix the things that made me mad before. Now I can."

"Bein' mad ain't the time to fix stuff, dummy," Mela said, then tightened her grip as the ice began to cover her hand as well. "Trust me. I know."

"We shan't ask thee to discount thy emotions," Atticus added. "Merely to approach them in a healthy way."

"Yeah," said Giacomo. "You're passionate about stuff, and that's a good thing. But you can't let this weird Pokémon twist it around and use it against you."

"Take that passion and use it to create something new," Eri said. "That's the Ortie I know."

Vanessa tried to reach up both hands to hug her brother, only to find the one too encased in ice to move it. She used her free hand to pull him in close. "I'm not lettin' go this time. And your friends aren't leavin'! All of us...we're your family, got it? So come back to us already!"

Ortega sniffled, and more tears began to fall. This time, however, they didn't freeze on his cheek. The two halves of his staff began to glow, and slowly but surely, the color returned to his cheeks. The silver in his hair transitioned back to its lavender-pink hue, and the frost covering him retreated down his arms and into his ice-coated staff. Its crystalline facets shimmered until Ortega had finally returned to normal. Then the glow of energy faded.

As Penny choked up with relief, Wo-Chien--still with a deeper version of her own voice--whispered in the back of her mind: I have not felt this satisfied in a very long time. I thank you for helping me.

Penny nodded, even if she was the only one who knew who she was nodding to. She felt selfish, in a way. If she had only run across Wo-Chien and didn't need its power so desperately, would she have gone this out of her way to help it? She liked to think so, but that seemed pretty egotistical. At least things had worked out.

So what happens now? she wondered.

Wo-Chien replied back in her mind: I do not know. This is not like before. The one who came before you...I constantly had to lure his spirit back in. Remind him of what I could offer...convince him not to leave. After this battle we have had together, I feel a part of your spirit has intertwined with my own. I could retreat into your strange tablet again and rest there. But it would not break our bond as it might have before.

Penny made no reaction other than to mentally confirm she'd heard and understood. Wo-Chien then went quiet in her mind. She couldn't quite tell what its feelings were on the whole matter. It had simply delivered the information, putting very little emotion around it. But maybe Penny's brain was simply too exhausted from reading emotions that it couldn't do any more right now. She reached over to the tablet that the vines held in place on her arm. Closing her eyes, she coaxed Wo-Chien back inside to rest. The Pokémon did as she asked, and Penny could feel her body shifting back to normal. Which was quite the relief.

Ortega sat up, still sniffling. "I-I'm sorry, boss. I really thought I could handle it. I'm so sorry." He put his arms around her and squeezed tight. Then he let go immediately when he looked over her shoulder to where Nemona and Juliana were tending to Arven's injuries. "Is he okay?" he asked, nearly tripping over himself to get to Arven's side.

"Calm down," Juliana said. "He'll be fine."

Ortega looked skeptical, and Penny could see why. She was no expert on reading injuries when it came to someone with an inorganic exoskeleton, but Arven sure looked like he'd been beaten up hard. The rest of Team Star gathered around in support.

"It was a Sacred Sword attack," Nemona explained. "Nasty strong move. Especially against a dark type." She rummaged through her bag. Capsules of Max Revives clinked together as she spread a large array of medicines out on the cave floor. "Thankfully I come prepared. He'll be okay."

Arven slowly sat up and rubbed his head. It sounded exactly like stone scraping against stone and he put his hand down. But he did give everyone one more thumbs-up, confirming Nemona's revives and potions had worked.

"Dang. Champion rank, student council president, and a budding Nurse Joy," Mela said. "You are impressive."

Nemona rubbed the back of her head. "You keep saying that, but everything I'm good at is just...standard school stuff. I couldn't start a massive anti-bullying team or build a car from scratch or make healing sandwiches from magical herbs." She packed the supplies she hadn't used back into her bag. "I wouldn't even have the nerve to wear one of Atticus's designs to school, let alone create anything that amazing."

"Sure you would! I'd bet money on it." Mela declared. Then she nudged Eri. "I got a fiver that says Nemona not only wears an Atticus original all day, she likes it and wants to do it all the time."

Eri pondered this. "My Poké dollars say she won't want to do it every day, but she will pull it off at least once."

"You're on!" Mela declared. Then she leaned towards Nemona and whispered, "Please do it and lie if you have to. I'm totally broke."

"I remain mystified as to where this 'Atticus original' shall come from," Atticus said. "As none hath requested such a boon of me."

While Mela and Eri begged Atticus to step in and settle their wager, Nemona begged him to ignore them both. Penny chuckled at the exchange. If nothing else about the world felt normal right now, Team Star's bosses (and its newest de facto members) always made her feel like she was home.

Arven, meanwhile, closed his eyes and touched the stone bowl on his belt. Like Penny, he soon reverted back to normal. The process reminded her of a mecha suit condensing itself back into its wearer's trusty transformation trinket.

Not that the reference would be useful to anyone in the group besides her.

As Arven set the stone bowl down, one of the Poké Balls on his belt broke open. Mabosstiff came out and leapt up at him, knocking him back down to the ground. The poor guy barely had time to put his hands out and keep from falling on his back.

"Whoa, whoa, there, bud! Come on!" Arven laughed as Mabostiff licked his face repeatedly.

Not to be outdone, VeeVee came out of Penny's Poké Ball and bounded around for attention. Penny knelt down and rubbed the large tuft of yellow fur on his head, just like he liked it. The feisty Flareon decided this was insufficient, put its paws on her lap, and began licking her face.

"Guess Ai got the security system to calm down," Juliana noted.

"Yeah--hey, VeeVee, watch the paws--guess so!" Penny said. VeeVee ignored her and lifted his front paws to her shoulders as he nuzzled against her hair. His soft fur smothered her so much, she swore the Flareon must have been a G-max Eevee before they met. He had picked the fire stone for himself when Penny had discussed evolution with her team for the first time. She would have been happy to evolve the team into all Flareons or all Jolteons or whatever it was they chose to be. But it seemed they had their own ideas.

Penny finally convinced her Pokémon to let her up with an extra-long hug and a playful belly rub. She stood and dusted the fur from her shirt--not that Flareon fur ever really come off of anything--then turned to address the group. "Come on, everyone. Let's get back into the lab and help clean up." And find out if Arven, Ortie, and I are done with the disappearing act. She had an uneasy feeling that problem wasn't quite solved yet. But as everyone ascended the ramp into the Zero Lab with nothing but happiness and relief surrounding them, she set that worry to the side.

Paldea was safe. Her home was safe. And at least for now, her family was, too. Nothing and no one could take away this moment.

Chapter Text

Turo curled into a fetal position, trying to grasp his shoulders, but his fingers found nothing solid to grasp. The last few moments he could remember replayed again and again in his mind. He was talking to the children, yes. Expressing regret for his failures as a parent. As an adult who should have protected them. But he was also speaking with a voice in his head.

"...it all happened so long ago...but let me tell you...why I decided to rob the king."

Turo had thought at first it was Arven or his friend speaking. But the voice didn't sound like either of them. And there was an ethereal quality to it, something that spoke from a world beyond this one.

"My brother and I lived alone. Our farm was small. The soil wasn't good. He was physically stronger than me, louder than me, commanded the herd and harvested the crops better than me...I just wanted to bring in equal value."

Turo had no clue who the voice belonged to. And yet he had never felt so connected to another person before.

"When I saw the king's treasure stores on display, I'm afraid I quite lost my mind. So much value. So little effort on his part to acquire it. My desire to be an equal provider turned to uncontrollable jealousy."

"I understand," Turo had said to the voice in his mind. Because he did understand. It had been the same with Sada. They seemed equals at first. But step by step, she got farther ahead of him. And ultimately, she left him in the dust. Sometimes, it felt like she was born to succeed. The more he worked to lessen the gap between them, the more he failed.

"My attempt ended in disaster. Not only did the king have me executed, my spirit couldn't even move on--trapped by the Ruinous One so it could feed on my envy. In all these long centuries, I have never failed to satiate it. I always have more to provide."

For the briefest moment, Turo had tuned the voice out. Took one more look at the situation in front of him. The wall of ice needed to be broken. Chi-Yu could break it...if Turo could only put himself in a position to command it.

"If it's jealousy this Pokémon needs..." he had whispered to the ghost. "I have plenty."

He heard himself saying his good-byes to Arven before the scene looped again. Turo wondered how many times he'd see it before he lost himself to Chi-Yu completely.

#

"Take that passion and use it to create something new! That's the Ortie I know!"

Ortega had barely been aware of Eri speaking. But her words became like an anchor to him. Of course he was passionate. He had so many things he cared about. His friends. His Pokémon. It made him so angry when he failed them. Angrier still when people expected him to fail.

And yet there he'd stood with another failure. Because he thought he could handle Chien-Pao, and he couldn't.

But right when the rage was about to overwhelm him, Eri's voice had redirected it. And in the process, it had allowed Ortega to redirect Chien-Pao, too.

"My friends are right," he whispered to the creature in his mind. He'd seen it with an icy feline body in illustrations. And when it appeared in the darkness the first time, it didn't look much different. But as he spoke to the creature now, its shape changed--shifting into a mound of snow.

"I can't...we can't fix anything when we're like this," he said. "You can feed off my emotions if you have to...but let's find healthier ones. For both of us."

The mound of snow didn't say anything in response, exactly. But Ortega felt a connection with the Pokémon he hadn't before. Before this moment, ensnaring a human mind had been its only method of survival. Now it began to ponder...could this human and itself...be partners?

As Chien-Pao solidified its connection with this strange new object--also broken in two as its old one had been, the mound of snow changed shape. Ortega stood facing an icy sculpture of himself. The snowy figure smiled and gave him a nod. Then Ortega had woken up crying in Penny's arms.

#

When everyone began to move again, Ortega was quick to dry his eyes. Which seemed a bit ridiculous from Penny's perspective. But if acting like he had no emotional reaction to nearly losing both his life and his humanity got him through the day...well, who was she to argue?

As far her, well...her legs were quivering so much, she was impressed she could stand up. She couldn't believe that Raifort wanted what she'd just experienced. There was power to be had in the Ruinous Pokémon, true, but the danger it had put everyone else in? No, she was more than happy to have her power limited to her hacking skills and her VeeVee team's overwhelming cuteness.

They re-entered the lab, and Arven walked straight over to Ai. Penny noted that his eyes, while red with recent tears, had also been hastily wiped dry.

"Well, we kept your stupid lab safe," he said. "Along with all of Paldea, I might had. So how about you use your machine to answer a little a question?" His voice cracked a bit on the last word. "Are we all back to normal?"

Penny knew what he meant, of course. They might all be looking much more normal than they had a few moments ago. She certainly felt much better.

But until Ai confirmed they were no longer in danger of vanishing due to whatever weird time-universe-displacement her and Turo's machine had given them, the tension wouldn't fully leave Penny's brain.

"You have my thanks for your help. If you'll wait a moment, I can perform a scan," Ai said simply. She motioned Arven to one of the circular spaces on the floor. The "not a teleporter" sign had fallen to the crossfire of the battle, but the scanner itself seemed in working order. Ai mentioned for Arven to step inside, which he did so, and Penny held her breath as the rings of light passed over him...once, twice, three times.

Ai's expression didn't change at all. Was that a good or bad thing? Why didn't robots act a little more emotional once in a while?

"Nothing," Ai said. Which was two parts vague, one part ominous, and five parts extremely annoying.

"Nothing what?" Penny said, trying to keep her cool.

Ai motioned Arven off and shook her head. "No change in the readings from last time. Arven is still a Bad Egg and will cease to exist in this universe soon."

Arven's fists tightened, but he said nothing.

Ortega, on the other hand, had plenty to say. "That can't be right! Not after went we went through! Everything we did!"

"I don't get the sense reality cares what you did," Ai said. "I can run scans on the rest of you if you want, but I suspect the results will be the same." She at least at the courtesy to frown about her horrible news. "Paldea is finally safe, but those who saved it are not. I agree it is an awful shame."

"H-hold on!" Penny said, desperate for a loop hole in all this. There had to be one. "What about that time Arven was able to...I don't know what exactly, but it was like he grounded Ortega when he almost flickered away."

"I'm afraid that was a temporary fix only," Ai said. "Even if you repeat it, you will only speed up one another's disappearances."

"¡Espera!" Nemona said. "You still have that stabilizer thing, don't you? I know it's not strong enough to fix the problem by itself. But now that Paldea is safe, maybe we can try to...I dunno...supercharge it or something?"

No one answered her. Arven hung his head, and Penny felt an ache growing in her chest. She was supposed to be the genius. She'd taken on the responsibility of coming up with a solution that didn't end this way. Had they gone through all of this just for her to fail?

Her mind drifted back to the conversation she'd had with Ai the first time they'd come down here. When the robot had explained the stabilizer's limitations: because of the vast difference between where Arven was "supposed" to exist and where he currently did exist, it couldn't do much beyond a temporary effect.

"But if this lab were located, say, a couple thousand years in the past...you'd need a lot less?"  Penny had asked. "And if we were all in this other reality you idiots tapped into?"

"In that case," Ai had replied. "The energy usage would be trivial."

Penny rubbed her forehead with her knuckles. A signal most everyone took by now to mean she was deep in thought. They weren't wrong. "Of course," she said. "Of course. That's been the solution all along."

"Come again?" Arven asked.

Penny added a healthy pace around the lab--or at least the still-walkable areas. "Let's say the time machine worked on Arven, Ortega, and I," she said to Ai.

"It doesn't."

"Theoretically. You can handle theoretical, can't you?"

Ai tilted her head, considering. "To a limited extent, yes. You may continue."

"Thank you. So in this theoretical world where we can go through the time machine, let's say we can also carry some version of this stabilizing device with us."

"As the device is an inanimate object, that is more plausible than your first suggestion."

"Right. So we each go to a point in time and space closer to where we're 'supposed' to be from. She walked over to the white board, where Ai had a convenient timeline of Paldean history sketched out at the top.

"In Arven's case, that's...what? 6,000 years in the past?"

Ai gave a nod, so Penny continued, "So let's say he goes 5,500 years in the past, uses the stabilizer. Could he come home without fading away then?"

"No. All he would have accomplished is grounding himself in that time period instead."

"But for very little energy usage, right?"

Ai raised an eyebrow, seeming to follow Penny thoughts. "Correct. Continue."

"So, next he travels..." Penny finger traced the timeline. "...to 5,000 years in the past. Uses it again." Her finger raced farther to the right. "Then to 4,500 years. Uses it again."

"How much traveling are you talking about here?" Arven said, who didn't seem to appreciate being the subject of her thought experiment.

"I don't know," Penny said. "But the time machine can clearly pull objects back once it's dropped them in. So if it can keep doing that, and the stabilizer doesn't run out of power due to the smaller changes..." She glanced over to Ai. "...he could eventually make his way back here, use the stabilizer one more time, and ground himself in this time and place. Couldn't he?"

"Yes, what you've stated is correct," said Ai. "If Arven were a teapot or a signpost or any other nonliving thing, this would be an excellent solution to the issue. But I suspect you would not care nearly so much about his well-being in that case."

Penny rolled her eyes. Apparently pretending Arven was a teapot was how Ai didn't short-circuit her brain in their theoretical discussion.

"But you can send Poké Balls?" Penny pressed.

Ai nodded. "Indeed."

"So you can send living things." Penny halted her trek around the lab to point triumphantly in Ai's direction.

The robot remained unimpressed. "The Poké Ball is a very special device. In effect, it shields the living Pokémon within. Hides it, if you will."

"Right." Penny bit her lip. "So if a Poké Ball can hide the fact that the Pokémon inside it is a living thing...can't the Ruinous Treasures hide the fact that we're, y'know, not Pokemon?

She gestured to the Master Balls Ai had retrieved from the floor and placed back on the table. Including the one Vanessa had thrown at Turo after he merged with Chi-Yu. And as far as any of them could tell, the capture had held.

Ortega's expression turned sour. "Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Y-you are not seriously suggesting we--" He seemed at a loss for words and pointed an accusing finger at Vanessa. "You want her to try that again? On us?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be Vanessa specifically throwing the ball, does it?" Penny replied. "Although for the purposes of tracking them, it might help if they are registered to the same trainer..." She resumed walking around the room, ignoring Ortega sputtering random syllables of objection behind her. Arven and the others didn't even get to the sputtering stage. Mostly they just stared slack-jawed at her.  "...of course, we'd need to modify the Poké Balls to hold miniature versions of the stabilizing equipment. Or make sure we could send said equipment to the exact spot we sent the Poké Ball to."

"I feel like you're not really hearing yourself," Ortega said. "You're suggesting we willingly merge with those monsters again, then trap ourselves in Poké Balls, travel through Sada and Turo's machine to some alternate reality, make dozens of skips along its timeline, all in the hope of eventually finding our way back here in a close-enough state that this stupid stabilizing machine can fix us without short-circuiting itself?"

"And what's your idea, Ortie? Hmm?" She halted and whirled to face him, which forced him a few steps back. "Because the alternative is we wait here and vanish."

"I..." He held up one finger like he was about to start a lecture, then dropped his hand and gave a pathetic-sounding chuckle. "You know what? No, I don't have a better idea. In fact, I'd say your idea is pure genius if it wasn't also pure insanity."

"Many a past breakthrough hath been some blend of the two," Atticus pointed out. Then he lowered his hood and pulled his mask down so Penny could get the full expression of worry on his face. "Nevertheless, I fear greatly for thy travels should this be thy route, m'lady."

"I fear greatly for our everything if we don't do this," Penny said. Then she looked over to Arven, who'd gone surprisingly quiet since his first interrupted. It could have been because he'd struggled to follow the conversation and decided to simply tune it out. But from the way he'd crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and tilted his head a smidge...Penny doubted it. As much as everyone had come to know her thinking face, she'd come to know Arven's, too.

"Could use a third vote here," she prompted.

He opened his eyes but kept his arms crossed. "I agree with Atticus that it sounds dangerous. And with Ortie that it sounds nuts. And I can't say the idea of time-traveling in a Poké Ball appeals to me much."

The silence that followed was painful.

"Well, of course it doesn't," Ortega said. "Standard Poké Balls are far too banal. When I'm traveling anywhere, I go in style." He held up Hatternne's Luxury Ball, with its jet black finish and gleaming gold trim. "I've got plenty of extras to share, so no worries," he added as he returned the ball to his belt.

Penny stared at him. The whole shift in topic was so abrupt and oblivious to the tone of the room, she swore he must have done it on purpose.

"Ugh!" Arven said with a shudder, following Ortega's lead. "You've got to be joking. You seriously want me to do this in one of those overpriced, gaudy--"

"'Gaudy?'"

"Hey, I'm just pointing out that basic Poké Balls..." Arven held up his hands in defense, then extended his arms dramatically. "... are classics for a reason. They say, 'The world is open to me. I have no set road. I have no limits."

Ortega rolled his eyes. "They also say, 'I have no money.'"  He looked over to Penny for some backup, but since her entire team was also kept in plain normal Poké Balls, he was quickly disappointed. She couldn't believe ball type, of all things, was the controversial topic in her plan. Then again, leave it to Arven and Ortega to lighten the mood with their superficial arguments.

"I do have a few Premiere balls I've gotten when I've bought Poké Balls in bulk," she said in an attempt to join in. "I keep saving them for 'something special.' If this doesn't qualify, I don't know what does."

"Free is the only thing worse than cheap!" Ortega said, turning to Vanessa now. "Please talk some sense into them!"

She made a show of putting her hands on her hips and hmm-ing loudly before she gave him an answer. "I'm an 'express-yourself' kinda girl. You know that," she said, then tapped a finger to her chin. "Though I'd still go with Luxury Balls in your position. I hear they're comfy."

"There, see?" Ortega said. Because apparently if he and his sister agreed on something, that counted as solid proof it was true.

Penny wanted to smile at the scene, but the reality of the situation still hit hard.   She couldn't even put her finger on why. She knew she could handle Wo-Chien, even if she wasn't comfortable with it just yet. She had no idea how she'd handle being inhuman enough--even temporarily--to fit inside a Poké Ball.

But if Pokémon were equal partners like she always said she believed, it shouldn't bother her at all...right?

Then Penny realized that in all the moodlifting bickering, Arven hadn't actually confirmed if he was behind this plan.

Ai stepped forward. "I would hope you would consider all this entails. It could take dozens of trips or more through various periods of time in an alternate universe before you are able to come safely back to the present in this universe. You will likely be treated with suspicion at every point, if not outright hostility. Never mind the cautions you must take to cause minimal damage to that universe's timelime while you're there."

Yeah, leave it to the robot to remind us reality, Penny thought.

"I'm willing to try it," Arven said.

"And so am I," Penny said. "Erm, which I guess was kind of obvious since I suggested it to begin with." She rubbed the back of her head and gave an awkward giggle. Which she was pretty sure sounded like a choking Wattrell. "Do you think you can modify the Poké Balls in time?" she asked Ai.

The robot closed her illusory eyes as she made the calculations. "It will prove difficult. I am fully confident of my ability to make the modification you're suggesting, but I am less so in regards to the timeline." She gave an almost human-sounding sigh. "If only there were two of me."

Penny's mind flashed back to the inventory lists Ai had given her nearly a week ago. Most of the items on there were a blur in her mind as soon as she read them, but she did recall the first page she looked at. "Aren't there two extra robotic bodies in the lab?" she said. "What's stopping you from making two copies of your code and running it on them?"

Ai considered this. "I suppose nothing at all is 'stopping' me. Those spares were intended for emergency--in the event my current body is damaged beyond repair." She looked at Arven, Penny, and Ortega each in turn, and Penny could almost hear the circuits humming in her electronic brain. "I daresay if that is classified as an 'emergency,' surely the risk of your bodies vanishing qualifies even more. Very well."

"Ortega and I can help too," Penny said. "We might not know this futuristic stuff too well, but we're both pretty tech-savvy, and we learn fast."

"Plus, it'll be a good preview of what we're getting ourselves into," Ortega added on. He made a motion like he was about to tap his staff against the floor, only to realize it was still split in two and encased in ice on the table. He put his hands to his sides and fingered the edges of his fancy tailcoat instead. "I guess the goods news is we won't be traveling alone, huh, boss?"

"You won't be traveling alone," Arven said.

Penny winced. One could say she'd gotten quite the ear for bitterness in someone's voice after this ordeal. And Arven was broadcasting his feelings at full volume right now.

Ortega made his best attempt to backtrack, but for the most part, the damage was done. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, well...wouldn't be first time you forgot not everyone has it as easy as you," Arven muttered. "But, yeah, whatever. Apology accepted."

Ai made a throat-clearing sound, which was every bit as nonsensical in execution as it was in concept. "If I may interject? I mentioned once that Sada and Turo were unable to travel to this world's past or future due to being blocked by various powerful Pokémon. But that doesn't mean such travel was universally impossible." She took a seat at the desk in the corner. The monitor blinked out of sleep mode with no visible cue from her. "Among those who found favor with time guardians such as Dialga...Sada was able to detect various moments when several mythical Pokémon--Arceus included--sent people to the past." She rested her hands on the keyboard, but her fingers did not move on it. Nonetheless, file and folder icons shifted around onscreen at a startling rate. It seemed that with no further need to act human, Ai was able to work a computer exponentially faster.

She pulled up a list of dates and notations from several years ago. Arven inched closer as Penny glanced over his shoulder. The names were written in some shorthand she didn't get, but the travel dates were clear enough. Humans had certainly time-traveled before. One human in particular--whom Sada had designated as A.K.151--had done so three times. Twice it was only a couple decades. Once it was several centuries.

"The mythical Pokémon do seem more keen on sending people to the past than the future," Ai mused. "But given Arceus's involvement in at least one of these incidents, it would not surprise me at all if Arven were to have a traveling companion--even in the past of a different universe--that he simply hasn't met yet."

She stood up from the monitor to allow the others to gather around and glance it over as they saw fit. "And, of course, Turo's destination would be the same as Arven's...if his mind recovers enough for the journey." She sadly shook her head. "I don't know if it's possible to bring him back from that, but..." She locked her gaze on Arven. "Perhaps you may be able to reach him in a way Sada and I could not."

Arven sighed and rolled up his sleeves. "Well, as long as Ortie and Penny are helping out with all the tech know-how, I can try talking to him, at least. And making sure the group of you stay well fed."

This prompted the rest of the crew, who'd all been watching in awkward silence from the side,s to buzz with excitement and suggestions.

"We can all take care of whatever else you need, B.B."

"Just say the word and we'll fetch it for ya, Prince Leer."

Ortega gritted his teeth at the nickname. "If you call me that again, I'll unfollow your channel the whole time I'm gone!"

"Y-you wouldn't dare!"

While the two of them bickered in the friendly, cut-throat way that only siblings could, Penny went into her bag and got out the Premiere Balls she'd mentioned earlier. Maybe it wouldn't be as comfortable as a Luxury Ball, but if they were going to travel this way, she wanted the vehicle to have her personal touch. She placed the balls on the table, careful to keep them a decent distance away from Turo's Master Ball. "Three should be enough to experiment on and get a working prototype, I think. Guess we need to get to work, then?"

Arven came up beside her and placed three regular Poké Balls beside hers. "Guess so. I'll start planning the menu. And..." he looked to Sada. "If I can, y'know, help Turo and get him back...well, there's a lot of messy stuff between us, but I wouldn't mind knowing someone else on this trip, y'know?"

She looked a bit confused but nodded.

Ortega came up as well. Whether he'd won the argument with Vanessa or just given up, he didn't say. He did, however, place three Luxury Balls on the table, nestled in with the others. "Just reminding you guys that you have terrible travel taste, but I forgive you."

The group shared a collective smile, but Ai's bewildered expression remained. "This is all well and good, but I don't suppose you could take the Poké balls off the table so I can copy my data to the additional hardware?"

Penny apologized as she gathered the balls up into her Eevee bag. It occurred to her that out of all the conversations they'd had with Ai so far, telling them to clear their stuff from the table was the most mother-like thing she'd said.

Chapter Text

The plan for Arven and the Team Star bosses to help with bringing supplies to the lab got dashed in short order. Within an hour of getting to work, Penny had listed five different absolutely necessary items, none of which Arven could discern the look of, let alone find. After she named three more items, all of which were just weird-sounding acronyms, he suspected she was making stuff up.

So she decided to go get them all herself. With a quick stop by the Schedar Squad's base to see how their repairs were going. Arven came along, not sure what else to do. And as weird as it sounded in his head, he did kind of feel like part of their their group now.

When the pair of them arrived, they found Nemona, Juliana, and the four Team Star bosses who weren't busy doing rocket science in the crater all waiting for them. In a line at the entrance. And Mela looked like she was holding boxes of chocolate or something. Bribes for the grunts to keep them hard at work, maybe? At least the early spring weather was still chilly enough that they wouldn't be melted chocolates.

"Hey!" Nemona waved excitedly, shouting at them while they were still a good distance off. "Hurry up already! Mela won't let us start until you're all here!"

"Start what?" Arven called back.

Nemona either didn't hear him or pretended not to.

Arven turned to Penny. "You know what this is about?"

"I might have an idea," Penny said but didn't elaborate any more than that.

When they got a bit closer, Arven saw a third person waiting, but he wasn't in line with the others. It was that guy from the International Police--not the kid in charge but his adult sidekick. Locker? No...Looker. That was it.

The man gave them a friendly wave as they entered the base proper. "You are free to come in," he said. Like they hadn't just done exactly that. "My officers and I are done all our interviews here." He stepped up to Penny and gave a polite bow. "I want to offer my apologies to you and your friends for any stress or inconvenience we caused you."

"Oh, u-um...it's okay," Penny said.

Arven didn't blame her for being thrown off. He was pretty shocked himself. Even if the International Police were in the wrong, he never expected them to admit as much. It was more awkward than it was gratifying.

As Looker shook her hand, he also lowered his voice. "I understand you may be participating in some...corrective time travel? If so, I may be able to offer some advice."

Arven perked up at his words, as did Penny. Now that they eagerly would listen to. "We'd appreciate it," Penny said. "Though I have some things I need to do with my friends first..."

"Of course, of course," Looker said. "Get in touch at your earliest connivence." And with that, he handed her a business card and stepped away, blending into the crowd almost immediately. Arven wasn't sure which impressed him more--the way he disappeared so quick or the fact that people in such a high-tech, modern organization still gave away their contact info via business card.

"So, with that out of the way..." Arven said, then he gestured to the weird line up and the stack of boxes Mela was holding. "What's all this about now?"

Mela smirked. "The others bosses and I agreed you three deserve these," she said, handing a box to each of them. Arven held onto his a moment while Juliana lifted the lid right away. Inside, atop folded satin, sat five badges--one orange, one black, two pink, and one red. The first two were sculpted together out of polymer clay, the pink ones were soldered together from scraps of metal, and the final one appeared to be whittled from a chunk of wood before it was coated with red and silver paint.

"Mela insisted she make her own badge without assistance," Atticus remarked.

"I-it's amazing!" Nemona gasped.

Mela went a bit red at the compliment. Or it might have been the light reflecting off her boots.

Quite suddenly, Juliana's box slipped backwards out of her hand. She startled and looked around, only to find Clavell behind her, peering inside it. He held up Eri's orange badge. "Why, these are perfect!"

"Perfect for what?" Mela said, her arms crossed. Nemona and Arven both closed up their boxes and shoved them under their arms where Clavell couldn't get a hold of them.

"Well, I had this idea, you see," Clavell said. He returned the badge to its place but failed to actually hand the box back to Juliana. "I'd like you and the rest of Team Star to run Naranja's Academy's latest addition--the STCs!"

"Um, director?" Penny said.

"Wondering what that means, are you? I thought so. Well, I call them the Star Training Centers. They'll run exactly as your bases have been, only now the school will sponsor them, and students can challenge you--"

"Director?" Penny said again.

"--I'm thinking of labeling it as 'school community service' lest the students think your alterations to the standard uniform are acceptable behavior, but that would simply be a formality--"

"Will you shut up, old man?" Mela yelled as she stamped her foot. How she bent her knee with the boots on remained unclear.

Clavell looked completely deflated. "O-old man?"

Juliana looked a little guilty about it, but she still took the opportunity to snatch her collection of Star Badges out of his hands. Arven didn't blame her. Eri stepped in to play mediator and fill the director in on everything that had happened--including what it would take to get Penny, Arven, and Ortega back to normal again. Clavell's frown deepened with each part of the story.

"I am...so very sorry to hear all of that," he said.

"I-it might not be anything you notice," Penny said, looking down at the ground. Her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose, and she pushed them back up again. "I mean, it's time travel. We could be back in a few minutes as far as the rest of you could tell, but..." She glanced back up. "...well, Ai is going to be monitoring our travel from her end, so that all has to take place in real time, so odds are it'll seem like we're gone at least a few months, if not more. Probably best not to rely on me or Ortega for Team Star stuff yet."

"Of course," Clavell said. "I don't suppose you have a replacement lined up yet?"

"'Yet'?" Penny was about to snap that nobody could replace Ortega ever, and the very suggestion that he was replaceable at all was pretty insulting. Then again, if none of this was happening, if school was just continuing as normal...Eri was due to graduate this spring. Either Clavell only planned for these Star Centers to run for a few months or he expected from the start that the bosses would intermittently change.

"It's...not anything we've thought about much," she said.

Mela crossed her arms and tapped her foot as best she could manage in her massive footwear. Then a spark lit up her face and she cracked a smile. "Well, I'm not against opening the position. But whoever would take over would have to be someone who'd proven their worth by getting all five of our badges already."

"Agree 100%," said Giacomo.

"Verily," said Atticus.

"Huh?" Arven pointed to himself. "But I'm leaving, too. So that's literally only two people who could do it."

"Right," said Mela. "And since she's the student council president and all, I nominate Nemona to take the first open spot." She motioned to Juliana. "Yer still a newbie, but with some extra training this semester, we could have you prepped to take over when Eri graduates, no problem."

Nemona waved her hands frantically. "I-I'm flattered, but I'm hardly an expert in fairy-types!"

"So pick another type," Mela said with a shrug. "It's yer Star Base, ain't it? Long as Ortie approves, 'course."

Penny smiled. "Well, I approve, for whatever that's worth. I think he will, too."

"Oo, now we get to settle our bet!" Mela said, elbowing Eri. Then she excitedly asked Nemona, "So, what's your costume gonna look like? You've gotta give Atticus some ideas!"

"Whoa, whoa, is this, uh...something I'd be walking around school in?" Nemona asked, as she looked over Mela's costume with a nervous giggle. "Because I don't know if I can pull that off..."

"Walking around school would surely prove a viable form of advertisement," Atticus said. "Though fear not--thine specifications are my first priority."

"Oh." Nemona looked decidedly less nervous now. "Can it just be a version of the school uniform, then?"

"Prithee tell me thou art kidding."

Nemona was prithee not kidding, though she at least gave Atticus free reign to style her hair however he wanted. Penny wondered if she would come to regret that concession later. But for now, Team Star had a healthy future. She supposed that was the most she could ask for.

\#

Ortega sat at a workbench with one of Arven's infamous banana and wasabi sandwiches in his hand. He had no idea how the flavor combination was working so well, but he now wished more than ever that Arven was traveling with him and Penny, rather than going the opposite direction on the timeline. Whatever point in the past Arven landed in, they were going to be eating great.

Ortega's Rotom phone floated in front of him, with Giacomo on speaker. There was some commotion in the background between Atticus and Nemona, which Eri assured him was nothing to worry about. She shared with him the success of their little badge-presentation ceremony--Ortega was especially proud of his craftsmanship on the fairy-type star badge--along with Clavell's plans for the STCs and their proposal to let Nemona take charge of the Ruchbah base in his absence. Ortega gave his full approval; it felt strange to let go of something he'd built so easily. But Nemona didn't feel like an outsider any more than Arven or Juliana did. Team Star had grown for the better.

"And she's converting the base to focus on electric types, hmm?" he asked Giacomo. "Sure, I think that'd work just fine."

Vanessa, who'd been tapping away at her phone in the corner, jolted upright at his last words. Her pink and purple eyes flashed with fury. Ortega sweatdropped. "Y-yeah, anyway, we're basically set here, so come on over if you want to see us off."

He shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and signaled for the Rotom to end the call. Vanessa had already tucked her phone away, and marched pointedly over to him, showing her full height advantage. "Whoa, whoa, electric types are my dealy-o!"

Ortega wiped the peanut butter from his fingers and smirked. "As I recall, you said several times while we were working that you wished there was some way, any way, you could help. Give my team a workout at your gym while I'm gone."

He expected Vanessa to blow up at the idea of changing her style in such a drastic way. And he had every intention of asking his fellow bosses to take care of his Pokémon in his absence. They were already doing the same for Penny and Arven. (Giacomo was especially happy to welcome Mabosstiff as a temporary member of his team.) But to his surprise, Vanessa thoughtfully tapped her chin. "Hmm...a total type change-up at the Levencia gym? That's, like, exactly the kind of content that'd make my views skyrocket! Ortie, you're a genius!" She gave him much too tight of a hug and said in her normal, non-Iono voice before she released him, "I'd fess up to Mom and Dad and let them shut the whole Iono Zone down if I thought it'd help you. Get back safe, okay? Promise me."

"Y-yeah," he said, taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. She released him and stepped back.

"Oh, duh! Where-the-whatsit was my brain at?" Vanessa slapped herself in the forehead in an over-exaggerated manner, back in her Iono persona, despite being off-camera. "Mr. Walksabout gave me somethin' for you three time travelers." She reached into the pocket hidden in one of her huge sleeves and pulled out three large envelopes.

Ortega took them with suspicion. "And these are...?"

"Diplomas, apparently," Vanessa said. "Somethin' about saving the world bein' worth a lot of independent study credits? Not that you can't take whatever classes you want when you get back, but..." She shrugged. "I think it's the old guy sayin' 'thanks' the best he can, y'know?"

Ortega nodded and set the envelopes aside. "Well, it's better than dressing as a student and bugging all of us with weird personal questions, I guess."

Vanessa nodded enthusiastically. For the second--or was it the third?--time in only a few short weeks, she and Ortega actually agreed on something.

\#

It took about an hour or so for the rest of Team Star--both old members and new--to arrive. This time, however, they didn't crowd in the smaller laboratory. Ai walked the group of them into the chamber that housed the time machine proper. The walls were made entirely of reinforced glass and steel plates that shimmered with tera crystals.

It was a wonder either Sada or Turo had ever been able to work in this place without getting constant migraines.

Arven wrung his hands in anticipation while everyone filed into the room. Mela, Eri, and Ortega's footsteps echoed the loudest on the tiled floor. Atticus was silent as always. Giacomo looked out of place without his laptop in hand. Nemona kept lifting her ponytail and pointing to Atticus as she whispered to Juliana all his insane ideas for her new Team Boss hairdo.

Arven missed carrying his giant bag. He missed knowing Mabosstiff would be at his side in a moment's notice, even though he hadn't left yet. And his heart ached at the idea that he'd be on this trip along. He looked behind him at the long table Ai and her two doubles had set out. The surface was covered with everything the group would need for their trip--the Poké Balls, necessary travel supplies, the three new Treasures, and of course...three hand-sized cubes. Miniaturized versions of the stabilization equipment. Which they had not attached to the Poké Balls despite Penny's original suggestion. As Nemona so helpfully pointed out before she left with the Team Star bosses, "If you're Pokémon as far as the balls are concerned, can't you just hold them?" Penny had been pretty embarrassed. But it had sped up their development and production time quite a bit.

The Master Ball Vanessa had thrown at Turo sat on the table as well, though a little separate from the others. Arven had no idea if the Treasures had any mental connection with each other, but he reached out and laid his hand on top of it anyway. "I don't think you're fully gone. If that's true, and if you really want to be a better father..." Arven swallowed hard and closed his eyes, saying the last words only in his mind, "I know I need to be braver. I know fear made this whole mess worse for me. But I'm scared. I don't want to go on this journey alone. Please don't leave me alone. Not again."

He opened his eyes and stepped away from the table. Everyone was locked in small talk, which he suspected they did to give him some space. When he turned around to face them, the chatter in the room went instantly quiet.

Ai stepped forward. "I'll start the machine and send Arven through first. It'll need a full reboot and cool down to switch directions on the timeline for Penny and Ortega's travels."

"D-don't we have to do anything else first?" Arven asked in a pathetic attempt to stall a tiny bit longer. "I mean, run more tests or something? We should really trying going into the Poké Balls a bunch of times first, shouldn't we?"

Penny and Ortega exchanged confused glances, followed by some accusatory finger-pointing.

"You didn't tell him?"

"I thought you did!"

"I don't talk to people--you know that!"

Ortega shook his head and faced Arven. "We, um...did test them. Several times, actually." He cleared his throat. "We'd be lousy engineers if we didn't."

"So it works, then? You can go in and out of these things?" He gestured to the Poké Balls on the table. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I-I meant to," Ortega said, going red in the face. "But it was...I don't know. Hard? I thought 'hey, great news! I spent the night in a Poké Ball!' sounded stupid."

"Your excuse sounds stupid," Arven muttered and crossed his arms. Then, after a moment of debate, he added, "So, um...how is it?"

Ortega rubbed his arm and looked at the floor. "It's quite comfortable, actually. I wouldn't expect any less given the Luxury Ball's qualit--ow!" He winced as Penny elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's...difficult to describe," she told Arven. "But I'd say it feels like being back in my dorm. A safe space, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Arven said with a nod. "Appreciate the info." He scanned the group, trying to guess who among them Penny and Ortega would trust enough to be the person throwing the Poké Ball in their experiments.

Then he noticed one extra non-Team-Star members in the group. She stood towards the back, but her aqua and pink hair was kind of hard to miss.

Arven pointed a shaky finger at Vanessa. "Hold on. Don't tell me you're the one who..."

She raised her hand and gave an awkward wave. "Uh, yeah. Guilty and whatnot."

And just when I thought this situation couldn't get any weirder, Arven thought.

"We agreed it would make the Poké Balls easier for Ai to trace while she monitors our progress," Penny said. "O-of course, this is a really personal thing! I get if you want someone else to do it."

Arven was about to say he would much prefer someone else. But when he tried to think of who that person would be, he came up blank. Juliana, maybe, but he felt bad putting that big a responsibility on the youngest member of the group. Ideally, if he was the only one leaving, he'd ask Ortega to do it. Maybe going with the person he trusted was the next best thing.

"Don't really have anyone else," he said. "Vanessa's fine."

She gave a solemn nod, one that suggested she understood full well how much he was asking of her. Then she stood up, picked up the plain, normal Poké Ball from the table and stepped a few feet back from Arven.

"Whenever you and your Pokémon are ready," she said.

Arven nodded and stepped up to the bowl, though he didn't quite touch it yet. It felt too soon to leave. He didn't feel prepared. But all the supplies were there. Their route was planned. Even that weirdo from the International Police had given him a rundown of all the dos and don'ts of time travel.

But every time he watched a movie or read a book before someone left on a big journey, there was always this big good-bye. Like, a group hug or something?

Arven's eyes burned, realizing he'd never had a big send-off to anywhere. He'd enrolled in school alone. Arrived at his dorm alone. Stupid as it was, he wanted everyone crowding around him, like they all had with Ortie to pull him back from Wo-Chien's mind.

Then, as the tears welled up, he felt Ortega's arms around his waist. Then Atticus patting his shoulder. Then Nemona, who had a good six inches on Ortie, flinging her arms around him from behind. Mela at her side, doing the same as best she could in the tight space. Giacomo ruffled his hair, Penny timidly held his hand, and Juliana clamped onto his arm. Then Eri stepped up, taller than any of them, and pulled the whole group of them in towards her.

Arven sobbed openly. It should have been humiliating...except for the first time in his whole life, he felt like he was in a place where that was okay. He was accepted. Welcomed. Home.

And there was no way he wouldn't come back to this family. Not after it took so long to find them.

The group eventually broke apart, and Arven gathered himself enough to reach out and touch Ting-Lu's new vessel once more. The sensation of earth and clay encompassing his body didn't feel as strange as before. Maybe because it was familiar to Ting-Lu now, too? In fact, he suspected that if the Pokémon appeared separate from him, it wouldn't look that much different than they did together. For better or worse, they were an inseparable part of each other's lives now.

Arven collected his supplies. It still felt strange to move around in this form. Thankfully they could separate at each point in the journey. In fact, Penny recommended it for them to get some rest. She'd remembered to tell him that much, at least. With no reason left to delay, Arven finally nodded for Vanessa to go ahead. She readied the Poké Ball.

"You got this, Arven!" Juliana called.

"We're gonna throw the biggest party at the Ruchbah Base when you get back!" Nemona called. "With lots of party battles! You'll love it!"

"If you're in the past, I know our present and future are gonna be awesome!" Ortega said.

"One-hundred percent guaranteed," Penny agreed.

"Thanks, everyone," Arven said. His voice was a bit deeper in this form. Another thing to get used to. He'd be glad to get some separation time when they arrived at their first stop.

As he closed his eyes, he could have sworn he heard Ting-Lu whispering to him, "We won't be alone. We'll have each other. And we'll see them all soon again."

Arven smiled, and Vanessa made her throw. Even with his eyelids closed, he could see a red flash of light as the Poké Ball opened up. A cloud of warmth surrounded him. Funny how with so much unknown up ahead, he could still feel safe. Like it was worth moving forward to see what would happen next.

And someday, he just knew it--he would see his friends once again.

THE END

A/N: And there it is. If you want to check out Arven's time travel story, you can find it here. Or if you'd prefer reading Penny & Ortega's time travel fic, that's right here.

One final shoutout to tearswerejerked for pointing out that Pokémon can hold things in Poké Balls. ^_^;;

Thank you to everyone who read this. I thought I lost a spark, and you guys gave it back to me times a million. I hope in return I created something that made you happy. And I hope you'll join me on future writing journeys in this weird little fanon you all helped create.

With so much gratitude,

-Katrina

Chapter Text

"Is this thing on? Testing. Testing." The infamous gym leader Iono was back online this week, and everyone was talking about it. Especially since she planned to feature a special follow-up Team Star broadcast. The announcement had caused a flood of disappointment from fans hoping for a quick gym battle.

Giacomo, on the other hand, couldn't be more hyped about it. Since she was doing the stream live at the newly remodeled Ruchbah Squad base, she'd given him the job of supplying the music. A guy couldn't get a bigger breakthrough opportunity than that. He had all his go-to tracks ready and a dozen others up his sleeve for even the most unexpected of events.

With the soundtrack set, all that way left was to make sure the other stars of the show were ready. He wandered over to Ortega's tent where they'd had so many meetings about Team Star's future. Well, he supposed it was Nemona's tent now, but the place would always scream "Ortie" to him. Either because of the memories or the mahogany desk and dressage medals still inside. Not like anyone was gonna move them. Ortega, Arven, and the big boss would all be back soon. He had no doubt about it.

Ortega's old desk had been fitted with a mirror, effectively turning it into a dressing table. Atticus was packing his makeup and standing back to admire his work when Giacomo stepped in.

"We're live in twenty minutes," Giacomo said. "You guys done yet?"

"One does not rush art," Atticus reminded him. "Though in this case, one has no need to, as my work is complete."

He stepped back to prove his point.

Nemona sat in the chair, checking herself in the mirror and muttering how she couldn't believe she'd said yes to this. She had been pretty strict about limits on her boss uniform design, forcing him to keep it as close to Naranja-Academy-approved as he could. A lot of her identity was wrapped up in being a student there, so her request wasn't surprising, though the restriction had clearly disappointed Atticus.

Then, with Mela's encouragement, Nemona had told Atticus he could do "anything he wanted" with her hair.

"Anything?" Atticus had asked gleefully.

Once Nemona confirmed her decision, Giacomo half-expected Atticus to cut her hair to half its length and dye it electric yellow. But he'd gone for a much more playful look. Nemona's Pawmot squealed with approval and delight as his trainer stood to face the group.

Atticus had done a creative spin off the Naranja Academy uniform: a goldenrod collared top with a light forest green neckerchief and a navy blue and cream satchel slung over Nemona's shoulder. But in place of the usual patch with the school emblem, she had one with the Team Star logo. Her shorts--the same forest green with cream accents--were poofier than the academy standard, to the point that they almost looked like a pleated mini skirt.

Then there was her hair.

Okay, Atticus had dyed a small piece of it--the strand that used to be green was now gold-colored and shaped like a skinny lightning bolt. But it was almost subtle compared to the rest.

Atticus had run with his creative freedom and sculpted Nemona's hair into two large egg-shaped buns resembling Pawmot's ears. Which was probably the real reason the Pokémon was so excited. Giacomo had no idea how much wiring, hair spray, or psychic powers were holding the look together, but Tulip had no doubt made a pretty Poké coin off Atticus's work.

"H-how do I look?" Nemona asked, her tone an unspoken reminder of how much her school reputation was riding on this.

Mela beamed. "Well, either you trust us a whole lot or you're super brave. Either way, I like it."

"Me too," Giacomo said. "You look like you're trying out for a magical girl stage show. In a good way."

Everyone gave him a weird look for this. Well, it sounded complimentary in his head, at any rate. Penny would've loved it.

#

"Okay, let's run through this again," Giacomo said once they got back outside. He took his place at the sound board, his hands on at least three different sliders at once. He kept his headphones half-off so he could actually hear when someone spoke to him, but then they started to slip when he pointed to Nemona. He brought his elbow up to hold them steady. "Iono will open with her spiel, of course, and when she's done, we summon you over. You wave and give the Team Star greeting, and we end with Eri and Atticus running in from each side to complete the group. Ready?"

Nemona nodded. Eri and Atticus both gave a thumbs-up from their positions.

"Okay, imagine Iono's just finished up. Mela waves, then...go!"

Nemona marched up and posed with her hands on her hips as she faced the imaginary camera. "Nemona here! I'm so pleased to meet everyone! Hope you're all burning bright today. Because here at Team Star, we shine so bright, it hurts to look at us!" Giacomo started up the wicked cool soundtrack he'd composed for her debut, and she quickly made Team Star signature hand. motion. But something about it felt...off.

Sure enough, Mela made an X with her arms, and Giacomo cut the music off.

"You're doin' the sign too fast again," Mela said, taking her hands for at least tenth time today and drawing it properly. "If you skimp on the bottom two points of the star, it looks like you're just drawin' an arrow. Do we look like Team Arrow to you?"

"Well, it's hard to tell when I'm in the middle of it," a red-faced Nemona objected. "It's not like I've got glowing lines in the air showing me what I drew so far!"

It was meant as a joke, but the thoughtful look Mela got afterwards made everyone nervous. "Huh. Maybe we could do that with some pyrotechnics or something. I'll ask around at art club."

"P-please don't!" Nemona sputtered.

Mela laughed and patted her on the shoulder, directing the group back into position. It didn't go unnoticed that she never took pyrotechnics off the table. At least it was too late to get them for this video stream. Everyone was stressed enough as it was. A group of grunts gathered in the back, where their job would be to walk back and forth looking busy. Nemona would helpfully direct them until Mela called her forward for her official introduction. Giacomo thought Eri would do a better job of that, being their official leader now, but for some reason, Nemona had pushed for Mela.

Iono got into position in front of all of them--and she had to be called Iono when they were mere minutes from going live. Her camera floated into view, the light still red for now. Just a few minutes to go.

"I outta chew you out, you know," Iono called over her shoulder to Nemona. "Focusing your base on electric-types when you know full well those are totes my thing!"

"No Pokémon type is only one person's 'thing'," Mela said with a roll of her eyes.

"And Pawmot is one of the first Pokémon I started training this year!" Nemona replied, her voice carrying impressively well. "Besides, isn't Team Star supposed to be about expressing yourself? I've never been much for fairy types."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky I added Dedenne to my team recently," Iono said. "With her and Dashbun's electric tera typing, I think I can make the transition smooth enough."

"No one said you had to change your gym type on her account," Mela said.

Iono laughed. "True, they didn't. But it's a good excuse, and this keeps things fresh. Gotta keep the Iono Zone top of the newsfeeds and all."

"Whatever," Mela said. "As long as you do one of these video thingies for Juliana, too. She's been working her butt off to take over Eri's base in May."

"Eri?" Iono cocked her head, though surprisingly her oversized Magnemite barrettes still stayed in place. "Your girlfriend's leaving too?"

Mela's cheeks puffed out as she snapped back, "Eri ain't my girlfriend! Why does everyone think that?"

She wasn't quiet--not that Mela ever was--and the comment drew the attention of several grunts. Not to mention Nemona, who kept watching the conversation even after the grunts shrugged it off and went back to their looking-busy business.

"Yeesh, you don't hafta yell about it," Iono said.

Mela crossed her arms. "Sorry. It just comes up a lot, and I've told the grunts a dozen times there is no way Eri and I would ever be a thing."

Nemona's shoulders slumped.

"'Ever'?" Iono teased. It seemed without Ortega around to pester, she'd chosen Mela to step in as her de-facto younger sibling.

Mela refused to take the bait and shrugged like Iono had asked an honest question. "I mean, if we were closer in age or she was staying at school longer, maybe. But I don't do the long distance thing."

Nemona went from looking disappointed to looking pretty hopeful. No doubt at the prospect at actually starting this video stream on time. That's where Giacomo's head was, at any rate. He watched the countdown timer on the camera, and when the light turned green, he got Iono's theme going solid in the background.

The music energized her, like all good music did, and she spun around and waved to the camera, showing a full grin with her Sharpedo-like stage teeth. "Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! Iono here at Naranja's Academy newest addition! Aka the STCs! Aka, the Star Training Centers!"

Giacomo blended in a nice little fanfare while Mela threw some confetti.

"What's that, viewers?" Iono said with a wink. "Were ya expectin' a gym challenge vid? Well, hold your Horseas 'cause today's all about the new! These training centers are the hot spot to hone yer skills before comin' to challenge yours truly! So let's meet the newest Team Star boss running them! She's already a rising star in the Pokémon League rankings! Give it up for Nemona!"

Nemona ran forward right on cue and did her thing as the music shifted from Iono's melody to her own. Her Team Star pose still wasn't perfect, but Mela didn't look too annoyed this time. If anything, she seemed to find it endearing. Eri and Atticus ran in as well, and the group gathered by the sound board so Giacomo could join them in a group shot. As they all leaned in against each other, it was weird how everything felt so different but also...happy? Giacomo couldn't say "perfect" or "complete" because it couldn't really be either of those with three of their closest friends absent. But the smile on his face felt genuine.

In a few months, if Mela had anything to say about it, they'd be doing this again with Juliana at their side. Maybe Arven, Penny, and Ortie would be back by then. Or maybe they'd be back later, after Eri had graduated and left for home.

Team Star had moved beyond six friends and their tight, closed-off group. It had become a force that would change and grow with each passing school year. And it would provide whatever the incoming students needed to feel a little less alone.

Iono was right. Today was about the new. New beginnings. New relationships. New hope for the future.

Even so, Giacomo looked forward to the day when Team Star's original bosses could reunite one more time.

Chapter Text

A/N: Wow, it is unreal to me that this fic has hit 36k views. I'm glad it's still being found. :)

I wanted to do something a bit different for this update, so I reached out to PokeDoku to make a Team-Star-themed fan puzzle (with a nod to the apocalypse countdown Maushold.) You can see the creation process here.

I also unearthed a little unused conversation between Team Star and Iono/Vanessa when my plan was to give her and Ortega the last name Acosta:

#

"So how did you come up with the name 'Iono'?" Eri wanted to know as they walked.

Vanessa made a face like she'd gotten a berry seed stuck between her teeth. "Eh. Mostly just to annoy my parents by derailing the family naming convention."

"Ah, of course." Eri nodded like she was silly for asking such an obvious question, but it left Penny in the dark.

"What convention?"

"You do know what clothing brand our family owns, right?"

Penny shook her head, and Vanessa gave an exaggerated sigh. "Acosta Apparel? Run by Santana Acosta and Clarissa Acosta?"

Why Vanessa thought Penny would recognize the brand once she said it aloud was anyone's guess. But at least it made the naming convention clear: Three-syllable names, all ending in A. "Yeesh. And here I thought 'Hasta la vi-star' was tacky."

"Yep. So when I decided to go into streaming, I knew whatever name I picked had to have three syllables but end in an 'o' just to piss 'em off."

"But Ortie said your parents don't know you're Iono."

"True," Vanessa said with a shrug. "They don't. But when they inevitably figure it out, there's somethin' for me to enjoy. Plus, I've had sponsorships with, like, every clothing brand in Paldea that isn't theirs."

"I'm placing bets right now," Ortega said. "Whenever they do find out, they're both furious that you made it at all and furious that you cut them out of a collab with one of Paldea's biggest streamer stars."

The two of them shared a strained laugh, and Vanessa shook her head. "I hate to say it, but yer probably right."

#

A/N: Pretty sure I mostly cut this because it was derailing the main conversation too much. And I ended up calling the clothing brand Kadabra's Kloset. If I find any more cut scenes, I'll add them on here.

I've been putting some thought into what it'll look like when the gang makes it back to the present time. I like the idea that it's not a perfect transition like they expect.

So while there's no full bonus story this time, you can look forward to more present-day shenanigans that will be posted as a continuation of this fic once Primal Sources and Coded Sources are concluded.

For now, I've moved the art from the last update over to here and added some amazing new pieces. Hope you enjoy them and thanks so much for all the support!

-Katrina (aka AscendedGlitchKat)

Jules created two adorable chibis of Ortega and Penny, along with a larger art of Penny in her Wo-Chien form:

ScraggScribbs created this stunning art of Arven in his Ting-Lu form:

And finally, our original cover artist Kibanyans finished off the quartet with this awesome art of Turo in his Chi-Yu form. (Her other work is below with my original comments):

Bonus art time!

The first pic is Arven and Ortega being typical frenemies...with a failed sandwich theft, because Arven knows how to protect his culinary creations by now. (And yeah, he's in the Uva Academy uniform. It looks better than his Naranja one, imo.)

The second is Nemona in her Team Star boss get-up. We went back and forth on Nemona's hair--Kibanyans' original design is inside the star, and I was the one who went full-on, "Let's do even BIGGER! Like Pawmot's ears!" So if Nemona looks a tad over the top, that's on me.

Oh, and the tacky lettering is on me, too. ^_^;;

Finally, we have Ortega in his Chien Pao form, which I just think looks awesome.